Analysis Of Trifles By Susan Glaspell - 846 Words

Society has put abnormal standards between women and men. Our gender equality has been an issue throughout history and legislative rights. In the short play â€Å"Trifles† by author Susan Glaspell, shows the feminist content and the failures of marriages. Mr. and Mrs. Wright had been married for a long time. They don’t have a family and live in a place that’s very solitary aside from any other houses. An investigation occurred to find the strange death of Mr. Wright and to discovered evidence if Mrs. Wright killed him. Thus, the play consists of five characters, an attorney, sheriff and his wife, and a neighbor couple that knew Mrs. and Mrs. Wright. Mr. Wright was cold man that fails to demonstrate affection feelings towards Mrs. Wright. He†¦show more content†¦Wright killed Mr. Wright. Mrs. Hale later discovers a pretty box and sees the dead bird inside (Trifles 733). They see a bird has been killed by a rope around the neck the same way Mr. Wright died . Mr. Wright strangle the pet with a rope he was probably tired of the noise the animal made. This made the wife mad because it was the only happy thing she had. After the death of the pet she felt solitary it was something meaningful to her. The title â€Å"Trifles†, means is little importance. The overall plot of the story is that woman lack of attention and aren’t taken serious. In the article â€Å"Trifles and Overtones† articulates, â€Å"it presents women as a transcending the constraints of their positions through acts of courage and refusal to collaborate in maintaining each other oppression.† Woman aren’t trifles, they are more than that, they are smart as man. A piece of quilt ended up solving the mystery that only the woman could’ve understood. The quilt saved Mrs. Wright from being hold in prison. The women stand for Mrs. Wright rights and females. Mrs. Wright is offstage but she’s an important role trough the story. †Å"The Jury of Her Peers† are the two women that develop great compassion towards Mrs. Wright. They both help her conceal the evidence and left no clues behind. The wife is and offstage character because she is in jail and allows the two women to solve the murder. Plus, it made the women realized that they are worthy and valuable. The two women realized thatShow MoreRelatedScript Analysis of Trifles by Susan Glaspell910 Words   |  4 PagesScript Analysis of â€Å"Trifles† by Susan Glaspell Summary   In the play Trifles by Susan Glaspell, there are five characters, three men and two women.   They are in a house where the murder of Mr. Wright took place the day before.   The men are trying to find evidence to name a killer or motivation to name Mrs. Wright as the murderer.   While the men are downstairs, the women occupy themselves with looking around the kitchen and living room.   They take note of Mrs. Wrights canned fruit and the factRead MoreAnalysis Of Trifles By Susan Glaspell907 Words   |  4 PagesThe play â€Å"Trifles† written by Susan Glaspell is about John Wright who was murdered. When the play begins the county attorney, sheriff, and Mr. Hale are all at Mr. Wright’s home to search for evidence for who murdered him. The two women that are in the poem are Mrs. Peters who is the sheriffs wife, and Mr. Hale’s wife, Mrs. Hale. Minnie Wright is the suspect in Mr. Wright’s case, but they are searching for answers to know exactly what happened. While the men are trying to solve the crime their wivesRead MoreAnalysis Of Trifles By Susan Glaspell804 Words   |  4 PagesIn the play Trifles, Susan Glaspell creates a situation that at first glance appears to place a woman at fault, but as the readers continue, he/she realizes that the truth is the opposite to what it appears to be. It is interesting to see how the author uses the image of a perfect husband to portray irony with the hidden theme of isolation and patriarchy within their domestic relationship. This irony leads into Minnie Foster, also called Mrs. Wright, to use the idea of justice vs. law within thisRead MoreAnalysis Of Trifles By Susan Glaspell1255 Words   |  6 PagesMurder, torture, and mayhem are merely three of the unique problems that can be found throughout the one act play Trifles by Susan Glaspell. The writer opens up the story by explaining the situation of Mrs. Wright, a middle aged woman who is being accused of murdering her husband. Th e crime scene is a mess. A sheriff, the prosecuting attorney and their wives are looking in to the gruesome death that occurred upstairs in the Wright household. It is immediately found that the men focus their attentionRead MoreAnalysis Of Trifles By Susan Glaspell1042 Words   |  5 Pagesits underlying meaning can represent to each character individually and together. In the short play â€Å"Trifles† by Susan Glaspell, readers and viewers are taken back to a period that is a lot different than the current. From the surroundings, viewpoints of each sex and their assigned roles in the society all gave a greater understanding of what was portrayed and how it was essentially handled. Trifles started with the Sheriff and his wife Mrs. Peters, Mr. Hale and Mrs. Hale and the County Attorney enteringRead MoreTrifles By Susan Glaspell Analysis1738 Words   |  7 Pageswomen dont realize the struggle women before them had to undergo. In the late 19th century women werent important , respected, or anywhere near equal to men. It was common for women to be misunderstood and or assumed by men to be uncivil. Trifles by Susan Glaspell shows the depiction of women towards the end of the 1800s. Men werent as kind or laid back when it came to running the household and handling every day matters as a family. Men were dominant. It was the patriarchal ignorance of the lateRead MoreTrifles By Susan Glaspell Analysis1257 Words   |  6 PagesTrifles by Susan Glaspell is a tragic mysterious drama that has to deal with a murderous wife, and a couple of friends who cover up her tracks. Throughout the story Glaspell gives clues to the reader to help him or her figure out what will happen in the end. Glaspell Wrote Trifles in 1916, according to the year it is safe to assume that this mysterious short story was placed in a time around the 1910’s setting. The clues she leaves, such as the quilting square, the bird, the reflections in the settingRead MoreAnalysis Of Trifle s By Susan Glaspell1425 Words   |  6 PagesIn the play Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, the plot develops through action. As soon as the play begins readers and viewers are introduced to the county attorney, the sheriff, and Mr. Hale. Due to the fact that these three men discuss the case and death of Mr. Wright quite a bit, the audience is made to believe that they are the main characters of the play. However; the true protagonists of the play are revealed as soon as the men departure from the kitchen and leave the characters Mrs. Peters and MrsRead MoreAnalysis Of Trifles By Susan Glaspell1829 Words   |  8 PagesMurder, torture, and mayhem are merely three of the unique problems that can be found throughout the one act play Trifles by Susan Glaspell. The writer opens up the story by explaining the situation of Mrs. Wright, a middle aged woman who is being accused of murdering her husband. The crime scene is a mess. A sheriff, the prosecuting attorney and their wives are looking in to the gruesome death that occurred upstairs in the Wright household. It is immediately found that the men focus their attentionRead MoreAn Analysis Of Susan Glaspell s Trifles 983 Words   |  4 Pagespreconception someone makes based on gender, race, or religion that in this case is by gender, and affects women based on their expected gender roles. Women endlessly have expectations that go along with being a wife, mother, or simply a female. In Trifles by Susan Glaspell, 1955 by Alice Walker, and Girl by Jamaica Kincaid women are stereotyped by men and told to follow unwritten but expected roles such as being seen and not heard. As well as how they present themselves, their behavior, and tasks they need

Themes of The Stranger by Albert Camus - 1439 Words

Is there any logical meaning of living? Is life worth living? These are the main questions that Albert Camus attempts to answer throughout the novel The Stranger. Albert Camus is a French-born Algerian who lived through the conflict between the French and the Algerians in the mid 20th century which later erupted into a formal war. Camus won nobel prizes for his writing, which delineates many philosophical ideas. Meursault, the main protagonist of the novel, lives life as a physical being and shows little to no emotions towards events that are happening around him. Camuss ideas that are presented in this novel not only reflect his absurdist and existentialist views, but furthermore it also explores the importance of the physical world and the discriminations happening during this period of time. In the book The Stranger, it shows nothing in the world is as important as the rest, that everything is pointless. Albert Camus, he conveys ideas of happiness and sadness, light and dark, and profound questions about life and death in his books and essays. It was his purpose to analyze that life is meaningless, and humans are the creature doomed to perish. In the beginning of The Stranger, the main protagonist Meursault was an ordinary worker at the shipping company, but he turned to a prisoner who is sentenced to death. Readers might realize that his life is a consecution of absurdity. As the book is written in his perspective, the sense of absurdism is clearly shown by hisShow MoreRelatedThree Themes in the Stranger by Albert Camus Essay1447 Words   |  6 PagesTROIS THEMES DANS L’ETRANGER D’ALBERT CAMUS In the novel, The Stranger, author Albert Camus confronts some important issues of the time, and uses the singular viewpoint of the narrator Meursault to develop his philosophy and effectively weave together themes of absurdity, colonialism, and free will. Through the progressive disruption of Meursault’s life and his characterization, Camus presents the absurdity of the human condition along withRead MoreThe Topic of Defiance of Societal Rules in The Stranger Through Absurdism1018 Words   |  5 Pagesthe novel The Stranger by Albert Camus there is a prevalence of characters breaking societal rules, but as a result these characters face the consequences. Albert Camus connects these actions to the overarching themes of the books in order to convey his message more effectively. To what extent does the topic of defiance of societal rules in The Stranger convey the theme of Absurdism in the novel? The sub-themes of femininity, individuality, and isolation connect to the overarching theme of absurdismRead MoreAlberts Aimless Absurdity898 Words   |  4 PagesIn Albert Camus’ novella, The Stranger, he exposes his beliefs on absurdism through the narration of Meursault. Camus’ definition of absurdism is a philosophy based on the belief that the universe is illogical and meaningless. Camus, founder of absurdism and French Nobel Prize winning author, sends the reader his underlying theme that life is meaningless and has no ulti-mate significance. This underlying theme of life’s absurdity is extremely personal to Camus through his own individual experiencesRead MoreCritique of Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot and Albert Camus The Stranger1052 Words   |  4 PagesCritique of Samuel Becketts Waiting for Godot and Albert Camus The Stranger Modernist fiction is incredibly dense and abstract. Writers from the twentieth century also seem to carry with them the weight of the world, and thus their fiction has been filled with realistic misery and pain. Still, these writers often add to this element with existentialist thematic structures, which construct a very unique and experimental viewpoint on a modern existence. This is what is occurring in both SamuelRead MoreEssay on The Caracter of Meursault in The Stranger (The Outsider)1136 Words   |  5 PagesThe Caracter of Meursault in The Stranger      Ã‚   Albert Camus The Stranger is a startling novel at worst and a haunting classic at best. Camus presents a thrilling story of a man devoid of emotion, even regarding the most sensitive, personal matters. The main character, Meursault shows no feelings after the death of his mother, during his romantic relationship with Marie, or during his trial for the murder of an Arab. Meursault never shows feelings of love, regret, remorse, or sadnessRead MoreEssay Theory of the Absurd1667 Words   |  7 Pagesover insignificant things and rejecting the notion of â€Å"logic.† Albert Camus, a major writer of the â€Å"Theatre of the Absurd†, construes the â€Å"Absurd† by completely varying this concept through the human personality, exemplified by The Stranger and â€Å"The Myth of Sisyphus.† Camus redefines the absurd by envisioning the â€Å"absurd† as a world consisting of â€Å"the struggle to find meaning where none exists† (Albert) . In The Stranger, Camus writes about a man named Meursault, who one day is notified thatRead More The Stranger Essay962 Words   |  4 PagesThe Stranger The Stranger was originally written in French. When Stuart Gilbert translated the novel, he came across a small problem. â€Å"The title of Camus’ classic novel is difficult to render into English because the French word bears the connotations of both ‘stranger’ and ‘foreigner’ at the same time, and each of these concepts is at play in the novel.† (Mairowitz1) Finding the right translation was crucial because the title is symbolic. â€Å"The Stranger symbolizes the theme of theRead MoreThe Stranger by Albert Camus1115 Words   |  4 PagesIn the novel, The Stranger, by Albert Camus, the pointlessness of life and existence is exposed through the illustration of Camus’s absurdist world view. The novel tells the story of an emotionally detached, amoral young man named Meursault. Meursault shows us how important it is to start thinking and analyzing the events that happen in our lives. He does this by developing the theme of con flicts within society. Albert Camus’s novel The Stranger portrays Meursault, the main character, as a staticRead MoreAnalysis Of Meursault A Stranger To Society1026 Words   |  5 Pagesrealizes how meaningless and pointless life is and accepts his fate- wishing only that the crowds would scream their hate for him on the day of his execution. Albert Camus accurately depicts Meursault as a stranger to society, to himself, and to human emotions in general, while arguing for the philosophy of absurdism. Meursault is a stranger to human emotions. In Part I, preceding Maman’s funeral, Meursault sits by the window in his apartment. He makes observations of the happenings on the streetRead MoreOf Mice And Men And The Stranger Analysis831 Words   |  4 Pages Of Mice And Men And The Stranger In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the brotherhood and the characters work together to fulfill a dream. George and Lennie are hard working men looking for a job and they are dedicated to get their own land. George and Lennie have faith in succeeding, dreaming about what they are going to do in the near future. While In â€Å"The Strangers† by Albert Camus, human existence in life does not matter. Meursault acts like he doesn’t really have

Situational Prevention of Domestic Violence †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Situational Prevention of Domestic Violence. Answer: Introduction This case study deals with criminal hearing for assault that was heard in the Adelaide Magistrate Court. The Adelaide Magistrates Court had been dealing with cases involving criminal charges against men for assaulting a family member (Bond and Jeffries 2014). The designated courts that deal with such matters enable the police to provide necessary assistance to the victims and implement Abuse Prevention Programs management under the responsibility of the Courts Administration authority (Buchanan, Powe and Verity 2014). The analysis of the following case study shall include a synopsis, Courts ruling and relevant legislations. It shall also include discussion on social justice and ethical issues that are relevant to the case. In Tracys case, the Tracy Brown has been subjected to domestic violence committed by her husband Jeff brown. Her neighbor Mrs. Smith could hear yelling and screams coming from Traceys House and she called the Police complaining about the loud noises. She suspected that Jeff Brown was assaulting his wife Tracey and their kids. Tracey comes to Mrs. Smiths house the next day, to apologize for all the noises that caused her disturbance. Tracey had a broken arm, as Jeff grabbed her by her hair, and banged her head against the wall while she was trying to protect her kids from him. She further said that Jeff was a control freak and it has become impossible for her and the kids to live with him. Tracey had earlier told Mrs. Smith about Jeff being a control freak. If Tracey would return home late, Jeff would shout at her. Last night, the police arrived and arrested Jeff. Tracey said she signed an affidavit and the police issued an intervention order against Jeff, according to which Jeff is prevented from coming near within 50 m of the house and is neither allowed to meet Tracy or the children (Buchanan, Powe and Verity 2014). However, Jeff brown is allowed to appear before the court but it is not mandatory for Tracy to attend the court as she had made her statements and signed an affidavit that shall be produced before the court on her behalf. If Tracey must appear before the court, she does not have to stay in the same room as him and may give her evidence in some other courtroom. Although Jeff is on bail but he is not allowed to contact Tracey or the children. Identification In South Australia, an intervention program is defined in the Bail Act and the Sentencing Act as a program that provides any one or more of the following services : Supervised rehabilitation; or Supervised treatment; or Supervised access to support services; or Supervised behavior management; or The legislative statute that is relevant to this case is the Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009. In this case, the police had issued a domestic violence intervention order and the court suggests Jeff about the Abuse Prevention Program. The program provides an opportunity for men who have been committing abusive behavior against their female partner or former partner (Zannettino and McLaren 2014). These programs are also known as Domestic Violence Prevention Programs (DVPPs). The Magistrate explains the defendant that an intervention order may be issued by either the police or the court. In this case, the police on the scene of incident issued an intervention order when Jeff was assaulting Tracey while she was trying to protect their children. This order was issued to the defendant to prevent him from committing domestic and non-domestic abuse and to safeguard the children from being exposed to the effects of such abuse. An act shall amount to an abuse under this statute if such act causes emotional or physical injury or any psychological harm. An intervention order is issued against persons who either are subject to the abuse or are at the risk of being exposed to the abuse caused by the defendant. Such persons are referred to as protected persons (Brown and James 2014). The police of South Australia are usually contacted first in case of an occurrence of domestic violence, as was the case in the present scenario. The police had issued the intervention order against the defendant to safeguard Tracey and her kids, who are the victim in this case. The Adelaide Magistrate court is required to conduct a review of the intervention order within 8 days. Although the court or the police issue a single intervention order against the defendant to protect the victim, but if the issuing authority is of the opinion that an intervention order must be issued to safeguard more than one person, the authority may issue multiple intervention order to ensure safety against the defendant exhibiting abusive behavior. In this case, Tracey was subjected to assaults committed by her husband but their children were also being exposed to the behavior as Jeff banged Traceys head against the wall, and twisted her hand badly, in front of the children. This establishes that the children were also at the risk of being exposed to such abusive behavior exhibited by their father; hence, the police management had also issued an intervention order against the children along with their mother. The court also informed the defendant, Jeff Brown, about the fact that the review of the Intervention order is heard in the Family Violence Court. It may also be heard in general court hearing (Salter 2014). The Magistrate may refer the man alleged to have committed abusive behavior to participate in the Abuse Prevention Program and undertake an assessment for an intervention program to address his abusive behavior. The man accused of committing domestic violence against his female partner or any family member shall be referred to attend prevention program. It is mandatory for the accused person to attend su8ch prevention program, as he is under statutory obligation to participate in the Abuse prevention program if his participation is one of the conditions stipulated in the Intervention Order. In case, the accused person is released on bail, and his participation in the prevention program is one of the conditions of his bail, such person becomes legally obligated to under the assess ment that is conducted under the prevention program to resolve his abusive behavioral issues. In this case, Jeff was charged with committing domestic violence against his wife Tracey and police had issued an intervention order against Jeff. One of the conditions of his intervention order was that he shall have to attend the Domestic Violence Prevention Program which is also known as the Abuse Prevention program as such program would help him learn to manage his relationship with his wife Mrs. Tracey Brown in a better way. Since it is one of the conditions of his intervention order, Mr. Brown is required to participate in such program. The court asked his lawyer to contact the agencies that conduct such programs to assess whether Jeff is eligible for participating in the program. While attending the prevention programs, Mr. Brown shall be prohibited from contacting with Mrs. Tracey Brown and the children. Intervention On the day of appearance, the court explains Mr. Brown that he may consent to the intervention order that had been issued against him for committing abusive behavior against his wife Tracey Brown. This would imply that he would not be able to apply to change it for at least a year. If he does not consent, the court would adjourn the order for three weeks with the charge of assault made against Mr. Brown (Zannettino and McLaren 2014). The court mentioned that from the day of appearance until the next date of court appearance proceedings, the defendant shall have to comply with the following considerations: The bail conditions have prevented Jeff to go near the house; Tracey being a tenant of the house is entitled to transfer the lease into her name; The court also asked the defendant about how he is going to deal with the matter related to children who are also protected persons (Gray et al. 2014). The court informed that in such case, children are sent to family courts but the defendant wished to consult his lawyer about the concerned matter (Gray et al. 2014). The defendant asks about whether he could fetch his work tools that are in the house, the court held that it would vary the order to allow the defendant to go to the house at a time organized by the police to get his work tools. The court states that the defendant is not allowed to make any contact with Mrs. Tracey Brown. He is not allowed to contact her through, texts, emails, facebook or through any form of electronic communications except he may contact his wife to discuss about how they may save their children. As per Mrs. Tracey Browns statements in her affidavit, Mr. Brown grabbed her by her hair and hit her head against the wall. He twisted her arms and slapped her so badly that she had to undergo medical treatment. Given that they were protected persons, Mr. Jeff Brown was not allowed to meet his children as per the condition of the intervention order (Prenzler and Fardell 2017). The court, instead, ordered that the defendant should attend Domestic prevention program that would enable him to learn to manage his relationship with his wife and children. If there is progress in the program, he shall complete the course of the program, which would make things better for him and his relationship with his wife. In the meantime, he is not allowed to meet his wife or his children. In case the defendant wants the matter to be contested, a trial date would be given until then he is prohibited from meeting his wife and children (Brown and James 2014). The court asks whether defendant had understood whatever happened in the court proceedings as the same shall be typed and handed to him. He is asked to contact the police to organize a time when he could visit his house to collect his work tools only. The court adjourns then matter until 9 February. Role of Human Service Worker In regards to the case, Tracey who has been subjected to domestic violence may require appropriate counseling and support from her family as well as from the society. The social workers can play a significant role under such circumstances. The social workers provide services to victims, such services are advocacy, and empowerment oriented services (Gray et al. 2014). Tracey being the victim of domestic violence may be provided with therapy. Some social workers even provide training and other necessary assistance to such victims such as maximizing her support networks, enhancing her communication skills, etc (Ellsberg et al. 2017). The social workers encourage the victim to overcome their fear and weakness and give more emphasis on their strength, which in this case are Traceys children. As a mother, she would have to strive to overcome her fear and live for her children teaching them to overcome their fears and not to endure any wrongful acts. Tracey had no courage to leave her husband or report against his abusive behavior towards her due to which she had to suffer physical and psychological harm. The social justice issues with respect to this case was Tracey was not aware of her rights and neither had she made complaints against her husband before the police. She was too scared of her husband for which she could not leave him. She endured all the abusive behavior that Jeff committed against her. As per the AASW Code of ethics, social justice should be upheld by societies and the societies should strive to safeguard and provide maximum benefit for all the members of the society (Salter 2014). In this case, Mrs. Smith, the neighbor who was aware of Jeffs nature did not given much attention before the night when she heard loud voices and screams. It was only then that she called the police to check on Tracey and her kids. If she had an idea of the rights and the intervention order, she could have assisted Tracey to exercise her rights. Now, that she is a victim of domestic violence, it is the responsibility of the society to cooperate with her, support her and respect her as a person and encourage her to lead a normal life. The social workers shall encourage her by working on the ethical dilemmas and make decisions that comply with the ethics outlined in the AASW Code (Brown and James 2014). Conclusion The issue arising in the case study is that of domestic violence. Tracey was a victim of domestic violence committed by her husband Jeff Brown. He slapped her and twisted her arms so hard that she required medical treatment and these conducts were exhibited in front of the children who also became subject to the risk of exposure to such abusive behavior. The South Australian Police issued an intervention order against Jeff that prevented him from contacting Tracey and her kids and was prohibited from going near 50 m to the house. A man who commits domestic violence or exhibits abusive behavior against their female partners or a family member are referred to participate in Domestic Violence Programs where they learn to manage their relationship in a better way (Buchanan, Power and Verity 2014). Domestic violence in any form is not acceptable and any person who is being subjected to such abusive behavior has every right to raise their voice against it. Reference list Bond, C.E. and Jeffries, S., 2014. Similar punishment? Comparing sentencing outcomes in domestic and non-domestic violence cases.British journal of criminology,54(5), pp.849-872. Brown, J. and James, K., 2014. Therapeutic responses to domestic violence in Australia: A history of controversies.Australian and New Zealand journal of family therapy,35(2), pp.169-184. Buchanan, F., Power, C. and Verity, F., 2014. The effects of domestic violence on the formation of relationships between women and their babies:I was too busy protecting my baby to attach.Journal of family violence,29(7), pp.713-724. Ellsberg, M., Arango, D.J., Morton, M., Gennari, F., Kiplesund, S., Contreras, M. and Watts, C., 2015. Prevention of violence against women and girls: what does the evidence say?.The Lancet,385(9977), pp.1555-1566. Gray, R., Lewis, P., Mokany, T. and O'Neill, B., 2014. Peer Discussion and Client Motivation in Men's Domestic Violence Programs: An Australian Qualitative Interview Study.Australian Social Work,67(3), pp.390-404. https://www.courts.sa.gov.au/MagistrateCourt/InterventionPrograms https://www.courts.sa.gov.au/OurCourts/MagistratesCourt/InterventionPrograms/Pages/Abuse-Prevention-Program-and-Family-Violence-Courts.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1080v=j1C7HXULcNY Intervention Orders (Prevention of Abuse) Act 2009 Prenzler, T. and Fardell, L., 2017. Situational prevention of domestic violence: a review of security-based programs.Aggression and violent behavior,34, pp.51-58. Salter, M., 2014. Multi-perpetrator domestic violence.Trauma, Violence, Abuse,15(2), pp.102-112. Zannettino, L. and McLaren, H., 2014. Domestic violence and child protection: towards a collaborative approach across the two service sectors.Child Family Social Work,19(4), pp.421-431.

Effect of Broken Family to a Childs Academics free essay sample

This is very hard for the couple but the person who ends up with the greatest amount of problems is their child. Children incorporate repertoires of angry, impulsive, and violent behavior into their own (Kelly, 1968). The problems that the child develop are not always noticeable, and do not always come to the surface immediately. Broken Family is a family with children involved where parents are legally or illegally separated. There are many aspects in the childs life that may change when he is a member of a broken family.One of the most important aspects hat is affected is his academic performance. Children who are a member of a broken family earned lower grades and their peers rated them as less pleasant to be around (Chervil, 1981 Somewhat, there is simple evidence to show that a broken family brings anxiety, disturbance, lack of motivation and pressure. These manifestations act negatively on a childs academic performance. We will write a custom essay sample on Effect of Broken Family to a Childs Academics or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, this may not be germane in all instances. Some children disregarding their family background may perhaps work hard and be successful in life.Thus, the researcher has proposed a study on the impact of a broken family to a childs academic performance as perceived by Bettys Vermilion Academy students, school year 2012-2013 to further distinguish the scope of the problem. Statement of the Problem This research seeks to determine the impact of a broken family to a childs academic performance. Specifically it seeks to answer the following questions: 1. What is the impact to the childs academic performance when they see their parents undergo the following: 1. 1 Simple misunderstanding, 1. Yelling at each other, 1. 3 Having physical contact? 2. What are the effects of a broken family to the childs: 1. 1 Mentality, 2. 2 Social life 3. 3 Academics 3. What can be the other factors that inhibit the childs academic performance? Hypothesis To work out the solutions to the problem rose in the investigation the following hypothesis is tested at 0. 05 level of significance. Ho: A broken family has no impact to the childs academic performance Ha: A broken family has an impact to the childs academic performance Significance Of the StudyThis research about the impact of a broken family to the child may be useful to the following: Parents that experience this family condition can make use of this research for them to have additional ideas on the situations effects on their childs academics. Teachers can use this research for them to have ideas of the possible reasons why their students suffer from their academics. Students that suffer from a broken family can make use of this research for them to understand their condition and its effects on their academics.

Gucci Company Advertising

Introduction In the contemporary world, both teens and young adults tend to identify themselves with particular brand names in the clothing sector. This is basically because they believe that, it promotes a certain image to them as individuals. One of the most common brand names is â€Å"Gucci†.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Gucci Company Advertising specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This company is often referred to as the House of Gucci or just Gucci. It is famous for its luxurious designs in both clothes and accessories that are coveted globally. The original designer of the Italian fashion house was Guccio Gucci and the company logo thus consists of the ‘G’ letter. Two ‘G’ letters face each other interlocked in such a way that, one ‘G’ is reversed. The teens and young adults today perceive attires from the Gucci Company, as the ‘main thing’ that make s them look classy and cool by virtue of the company’s good reputation and fame. This classy and cool image they acquire in wearing Gucci clothes can be said to have been created by both the company advertising, and the Gucci users themselves. The Connection between Advertising and Cultural Values Advertising and particular cultural values connect in such a way that, the way a product is advertised ought to be in line with cultural values for it to be accepted and sold easily. According to Hovland, advertising often impacts the choice of brand customers decide to utilize versus the advertisement’s capacity to add the product’s generic demand. The way a certain product is advertised plays a big role in fostering the standards of a certain product. However, it is still uncertain as to how much advertising remains a reflection of what already exists, or it actually sets standards that are followed by others. Even in the Gucci Company, it is paramount that its adver ts utilize values as well as symbols relevant to teen’s culture. Despite the fact that advertising may reflect the already existing culture, the fact that it reflects can actually shape culture because there is no equal reflection for everything. It is therefore true to say that, as much as advertising reflects on certain cultural values, it is very selective on this because it echoes as well as reinforces certain behaviors, attitudes and values more frequently than others (Hovland 164). Impact of Advertising on Brands and young Adults The cultural values of teens or young adults ought to be in line with a particular urge to be cool and classy at the same time. This has largely been identified with the way the Gucci clothing is advertised to make the consumer feel that its products are classy and most cool in the fashion trends. It is thus very crucial that an advert attracts customers to buy its products, and also that these products also meet the standards claimed in the ad vertisement.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As much as its adverts are good, the Gucci clothing can be said to have acquired merit in that, they have quality products that have over years gained much reputation. The young adults tend to have a culture of coolness, they want to have and wear the latest designs around and not just any imitations there is. It is because of inter alia, such cultural values within the young generation, that the Gucci Company has increasingly gained market for its clothing. Conclusion In a nutshell, the teens and young adults of today love the Gucci brand name when it comes to clothing. This is because the youth have over time developed a culture to always be fashionable and cool, at the same time to be classy or original as the Gucci clothing depict. The youth thus believe that, wearing the Gucci products promotes this image of coolness and clas s. This is something created by both the existing cultural values of young people, as well as the influence of advertisement such as Gucci. The two factors therefore connect in bringing interest to young customers in purchasing Gucci clothing. Works Cited Hovland, Roxanne. Advertising, Society, and Consumer Culture., New York: M.E Sharpe, 2010. This essay on Gucci Company Advertising was written and submitted by user Sophie Morton to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Retarded isnt stupid Mom essays

Retarded isn't stupid Mom essays I am capable, a quote from the mentally retarded Nicole Kaufman to her mother, could have been an alternate title for the book, Retarded Isnt Stupid, Mom. Nicole was a very resilient girl right from the beginning. Rarely did she fail to achieve what she set out to achieve. It wasnt always the simplest and quickest of processes but somehow, someway she would get it done. Nicoles drive and ambitions were something to be desired by anyone. Sandra Kaufman, author and mother of Nicole, expressed her familys frustration with Nicole but at the same time commended and proved that Nicoles family couldnt be prouder after seeing all that she had accomplished. Dancing in the ballet and teaching operations of armored tanks, were not professions that Sandra and Matt Kaufman had gone into to prepare themselves for parenting a child with mental retardation. After meeting in Los Angeles, then being shipped to the Panama Canal Zone, Matt and Sandra decided to make an addition to their family. Their first daughter Nicole was born in 1955. Is she all right, escaped the mouth of Sandra just seconds after Nicole was brought into the world. It was a routine question. One could say it was even the anesthesia talking because it had never entered Sandras mind that her baby would not be 100% healthy. There was, however, some room for concern since Nicole, who was a full term baby, only weighed 4 lbs and 7 ounces. The countless hours of crying and tantrums that came from Nicole for the next 2 years or so were thought of as just the normal noisiness of having a baby. It was in fact Matt and Sandras first child. They were new parents not quite knowi ng the ropes of parenting yet. There was more than just an obsessive amount of crying though. Nicole didnt seem to be developing at a rate that Matt and Sandra could be comfortable with. This led to denial; some babi...

Business Law Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Business Law Questions - Essay Example The third element of a contract is Contractual capacity. Those entering contracts must be legally competent and have the legal capacity to enter a contract. The fourth element of a contract is legality. The contract has to be legal and not against public policy (211). Thank you for contacting me regarding the unsolicited order and invoice that you received from Hot Air, Inc. I have reviewed the information you presented and can provide you assurance, based on the information given, that you are under no obligation to Hot Air, Inc. for the receipt of the mentioned merchandise. One of the four elements of a valid contract would be ‘agreement’, which would consist of an offer, and an acceptance of that offer. (Clarkson et al. 225) No authorized representative of your company accepted this unsolicited offer, which provides a solid defense. This would fall under the category of an implied-in-fact contract, if you had not returned the merchandise. With an implied-in-fact contract, the conduct of each party, rather than words, would define the terms of the agreement. (215). No words were used, so the remaining question would be is if your actions after receiving the unsolicited goods could constitute a binding contract. (215). This appears not to be the case. In contract law, an offer is â€Å"a promise to or commitment to do or refrain from doing some specified thing in the future.† (Clarkson et al. 225) One of the terms of an offer is â€Å"it must be communicated by the offeror to the offeree, resulting the the offeree’s knowledge of the offer† (225). The ‘reasonable person’ standard is important. Under the reasonable person standard, someone’s words or conduct are taken to mean what a reasonable person in the offeree’s position would think or do. (228). I understand that the blower was held in the mailroom for a couple of weeks and at least one or more people in the receiving department

Company Law in the UK Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Company Law in the UK - Assignment Example The ruling of Lord Halsbury seems to uphold the company law that provides that whenever a company is registered, it acquires a separate legal entity and that it can no longer be termed as an agent of its members. In the case of McDaid Development (Ireland) Ltd Company, Mr. Peter McDaid, also the director of the company, was the sole shareholder of the company. On bankruptcy, Mr. McDaid owed the Ireland Bank over  £38 million and about  £800 thousand to small stakeholders. When the company was put under administration, Mr. McDaid was relieved of his duties as a director for a period of eight years on the grounds of misconduct. From the court’s decision in Mr. Salomon’s case, Mr. McDaid cannot be held liable for the company’s debts. Lord Halsbury defended Salomon by the words, â€Å"Company’s debt is Company’s debt† (Wooldridge, 2009, p. 58). As such, company’s debts and the shareholders have little, if not no connection. However, in the U.K. Company law act of 2006, the director is liable to accountability in matters concerning company assets, which Mr. McDaid had failed to provide. On this ground, the removal of Mr. MCDaid is justified. In brief, Company law perceives the company as an entity that is completely isolated from its shareholders. Therefore, it is upon the members, shareholders, and debtors, to evaluate the company’s viability. Though this aspect of the law has been criticized, there is still a lot of support to this ideology of the law.... In the case of McDaid Development (Ireland) Ltd Company, Mr Peter McDaid, also the director of the company, was the sole shareholder of the company. On bankruptcy, Mr McDaid owed the Ireland Bank over ?38 million and about ?800 thousand to small stakeholders. When the company was put under administration, Mr McDaid was relieved of his duties as a director for a period of eight years on the grounds of misconduct. From the court’s decision in Mr Salomon’s case, Mr McDaid cannot be held liable for the company’s debts. Lord Halsbury defended Salomon by the words, â€Å"Company’s debt is Company’s debt† (Wooldridge, 2009, p. 58). As such, company’s debts and the shareholders have little, if not no connection. However, in the U.K. Company law act of 2006, the director is liable to accountability in matters concerning company assets, which Mr McDaid had failed to provide. On this ground, the removal of Mr MCDaid is justified. In brief, Compan y law perceives the company as an entity that is completely isolated from its shareholders. Therefore, it is upon the members, shareholders and debtors, to evaluate the company’s viability before engaging in its operations. Though this aspect of the law has been criticized, there is still a lot of support to this ideology of the law. Question 3 The U.K. company law provides clear guidelines on the duties of Company directors and the consequences of breach of the duties so stated. The expectation of the law is that the director works in the best interest of the company and does not contribute directly to any actions that would hurt the company and its shareholder. Consequently, there exist liabilities and penalties for a

New York and Caribbean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

New York and Caribbean - Essay Example lationship between the Europeans and the Amerindian people was affected due to the policies that were put in place by the Europeans who also became the rulers in the region. The Europeans were quite aggressive and they changed the way of life of the people in North America. The paper is thus a reflection of the European settlement in the Caribbean and North America. The non indigenous communities including the Europeans settled in the region due to various reasons. One of the reasons for settling in the area was to spread Christianity. Christopher Columbus was a Christian of the catholic faith and he thought that it was his duty as a good Christian to spread the Christian religion (Cantwell & diZerega Wall, 2003). This led to the settlement of the missionaries in the region. The authorities in Spain were also for the idea of spreading the catholic faith and they sent missionaries who settled in the region. The missionaries from Spain were accompanied by the soldiers who were sent by the authorities. This led to the colonization of the indigenous people as the settlers stated forming the administrative units. The indigenous people were also forced to abandon their religious and cultural practices. The Europeans also intended to establish trade routes along the coastal region and hence leading to the settlement. T his is considering that the Euro peans at the time were mainly involved in trading activities. The coast areas were import for the trade as there were good habours a long the coastal area. The presence of the good habours indicated that the area was good for carrying out the trading activities. The economy of the region at the time was not good as the indigenous people were not actively engaged in economic activities. The explorers were able to come up with the conclusion that the region was not developed economically as compared to the other parts of Europe. Developing the region economically was therefore considered important as it would have

Company Purpose And Stakeholder Analysis: Wonderland

Company Purpose And Stakeholder Analysis: Wonderland Wonderlands history dates back to 1950s when it was started in Germany as a partnership business between a chemist and a child psychologist. These toys flooded the German and the Scandinavian markets in their initial years of launch. The market extended to cover the US and UK in the 1960s. Currently, the company enjoys the largest market share with its toys being available in more than 80 countries worldwide. The company is headquartered in Frankfurt and it has regional head offices in New York, Hong Kong and Buenos Aires. The offices in Frankfurt, Montana and Bute are dedicated solely to the creation of new toys to improve the companys brand. However, China, Taiwan, India, Korea and Honduras do most of the manufacturing works. Wonderland has recorded admirable growth both in its scope of operation and in its revenues. In 2009 for example, the company recorded total revenue of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬850 million from all its regions. In a bid to serve the customers even better, the company diversified its activities in the 80s and 90s to include other childrens items such as school bags, board games and party items. The company has also employed more than 10,000 people who work in different centers. For instance, 3,000 people work in Montana while 2,000 work in Frankfurt. Others work in the local offices as marketers, sales representatives, retailers and distributors of the companys products. LIST OF STAKEHOLDERS Wonderland has been very successful as a result of the contributions made by its stakeholders. These stakeholders are categorized into two divisions; primary stakeholders and secondary stakeholders. Primary stakeholders These are stakeholders who are directly affected by the company activities and vice versa. They include: Employees Shareholders Customers and Suppliers Secondary stakeholders These have interest in the company but their effect is not felt directly by the company. They include: The government, Media, Competitors, Lobby groups and The local community COMPANY PURPOSE AND STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS Company Purpose The purpose of this company is to produce high quality branded children items and distribute them globally so as to reach our target customers and hence fulfill their educational and recreational needs. Stakeholder analysis Primary stakeholders A) Shareholders Shareholders are the owners of Wonderland Company. They invest their money in the company so as to propel it to achieving its objectives. Wonderlands shareholders are categorized into two: institutional shareholders and individual shareholders. Institutional shareholders refer to organizations that have bought shares in this company with the hope of realizing returns from their investment. Examples of such organizations might include Virgin Airlines Company and Sony International Corporation. Individual shareholders, on the other hand, are the individuals who purchase shares of a given company with the aim of making profits. The founders are the major individual shareholders since they contributed the start-up capital. They possess majority of Wonderlands shares and have greater voting powers. In addition, the company has offered shares to other individual shareholders in Frankfurt (Turner, 2011). Interests of shareholders in the company Shareholders have a great interest in Wonderland, as noted above. They invest their money in the company with the hope of realizing returns in the short and long term. They are therefore concerned with the profitability of the company. Wonderlands managers have a great responsibility in ensuring that shareholders are contented with the performance of the company. When making decisions about the company, they ought to be very careful with the outcome since any loss made by the company will be felt by the shareholders. Managers ensure that both the short term and long term effects of their decisions are beneficial to the company so as to improve the value of shareholders investment. Powers of the shareholder In Wonderland, shareholders greatly influence the way it is operated. They decide who will be the company manager and who will be in the board of directors. Shareholders have voting rights on a variety of issues concerning the company. This means that the important decisions affecting the company, such as mergers, cannot be made without their consent. They vote for or against the proposal by the board of directors. Shareholders decision in the company is final. Notably, managers cannot change what has been jointly agreed upon by the shareholders (Worthington, 2007). Shareholders also have the power to make by-laws of the company. By-laws refer to a set of rules and regulations that govern the operation of the company. All the employees of the company abide by these by-laws. Any violation of these by-laws is sanctioned and necessary actions taken. The company holds annual meetings with its shareholders to discuss and review the performance of the company. In this meeting, they review the companys accounts for transparency and profitability check. During these meetings, the appointed auditor presents periodic reports. Members have powers to either endorse or refuse to endorse these reports. Nonetheless, the powers of shareholders in Wonderland commensurate with the number of shares held in the company. For example, an individual shareholder with 1,000 shares in a company has more powers than the one with 50 shares. This means that if the majority of Wonderland shareholders have 20 shares and one of the shareholders has 1,000 shares, it will requir e the company to have 50 shareholders with 20 shares so as to match the voting powers of one member with 1,000 shares (Worthington, 2007). B) Employees Employees refer to the workers in a company. They are directly associated with daily operations and therefore determine the output of the company. They can be categorized into different levels depending on the nature of the company. They include individual contributors, professionals, managers and senior technical professionals, directors and company presidents. In Wonderland, each employee fits in his place in the organization depending on the level of education and skill specialization. In order to effectively achieve the objectives of the company, managers have a duty of ensuring that work is well structured so as to avoid collision of employees. Similarly, it is important for the managers to communicate the vision of the company so that employees work collectively towards achieving this vision (Shukla, 2006). Interests of employees There are various interests that employees have in Wonderland. One of the most important ones is having their fundamental rights respected. These rights include the right to remuneration, right to associate with others, right to fair treatment, freedom from discrimination and freedom of expression, among others. Therefore, they will be productive if these rights are honored and if they feel that they are being respected. To achieve this, managers need to cultivate a working environment that will compel employees to give their best so as to achieve the objectives of the company (Shukla, 2006). Wonderland employees just like in any other company want to receive competitive pay. Competitive pay refers to the payment that is made to employees and that which commensurate with the employees skills, level of education and motivation in the work place. They expect a pay that is consistent with the market rates (Shukla, 2006). The companys employees also want to be given an opportunity to earn more. This is made possible by increasing their pay with time, paying them for overtime work and commissions where necessary. Another expectation of employees is regular review of their pay. This means that employees do not expect to stagnate in one pay scale. In addition, they need to be given a chance to participate in the decision making process as this will motivate them to work towards the enactment of these decisions (Shukla, 2006). Employee powers Employees have a great influence on the direction that a company takes. As highlighted above, managers, as the employees of Wonderland, are mandated to run the company. They therefore have powers to make decisions on the day to day running of the business. If these decisions are sound, the company stands to benefit. However, if they make misguided decisions, the performance of the company will deteriorate. It is the duty of Wonderlands human resources manager to hire junior employees to carry out middle and lower level activities of the company. If the human resources manager hires skilled and qualified people for this work, then the company will yield good results. However, if he hires under-qualified staff, Wonderland will not achieve its objectives (Shukla, 2006). The motivation of the employees in the company also plays a big role in the achievement of the company objectives. It is the duty of the employee to carry out the decisions made by the shareholders and the top management. A positively motivated workforce will carry out its duties with passion thereby enhancing the realization of the goals communicated to them. Negatively motivated employees on the other hand may affect the reputation of the company by producing poor quality commodities. It is therefore the duty of the company managers to cultivate a participative culture where an employee will be free to communicate his feelings about the company (Shukla, 2006). C) Customers Customers are the buyers of Wonderlands products. They are the end users of its product. They include the parents of children in pre-schools and primary schools. Throughout the manufacturing process, great care is taken so as to produce products that are competitive in the market and they that add value to the customer. It is important for the business to understand the behavior of its customers. Satisfied customers are pillars of any successful business. They also contribute to the reputation of the company if their needs are met as they desire. The customers determine the growth potential of a business (Akinnola 2011). Accordingly, every business manager who has the desire to generate income from the business must strive to ensure that the desires of the customers are met. Though customers are not included in the decision making process of the company, they play a big role in enhancing the achievement of the set business objectives. Interests of customers The interest of the customers in Wonderland is to maximize the utility derived out of the consumption of its products. They want the company to meet their needs in a way that creates value for their money. In order to fulfill this demand, the company must ensure that they first survey those needs before embarking on production. Through this, the company will be assured of ready market. However, companies that go ahead to make production without consulting from the customers risk market failure (Akinnola, 2011). Power of the customers Customers have a greater influence on the success of the company than any other stakeholder. It is a known fact that the profits of the company are out of the customers spending. If the spending by the customers is low, then the profitability of the company also declines and the opposite is true. The influence of the customers is so strong that managers must consult before making any decision affecting them (customers). In the toy industry, customers tastes play a big role. It is imperative for the Wonderland to carry out a research so as to understand the tastes of customers in different parts of the world. Cultural influences also affect the customers decision making process. As the companys products target different cultures, it is important to study these cultures so that the toys which will be produced meet the demands of these markets (Akinnola, 2011). D) Suppliers Suppliers are the firms and the individuals who deliver the resources that the company uses in the production of goods and services. Wonderland establishes specific suppliers so as to ensure consistency in the provision of the necessary resources. If resources are not supplied on time, production delays will be inevitable and consequently the customers will not receive finished goods on time. In establishing the relationship between the suppliers and the company, it is important to note that this relationship is based on value. Value in the sense that if the suppliers deliver quality resources, the end products will be of high quality and therefore goods delivered to customer will reflect value for his money. Interests of suppliers Suppliers are businessmen and therefore their main interest in the company is profits. The second interest of suppliers in the company is to secure a contract that will shield them in case the market fluctuates. Suppliers desire to be in business throughout the year. However, there are seasons when the prices go down making them to operate at a loss. Securing a contract to supply resources to the company means that the prices will not fluctuate and therefore the supplier will make profits all through. Powers of the suppliers Sometimes suppliers may join forces to dictate the terms of their supply to the company. This is especially in situations where suppliers are few and the buyers are concentrated. When the supplier has a strong brand name, he may have greater influence in the company than other factors. Nonetheless, mutual agreement between the supplier and the company is required to ensure that a sustainable relationship exists. To neutralize these powers, Wonderland can contract for its needed resources in advance so as to prevent the supplier from misbehaving as the market changes. Secondary Stakeholders A) The government The role of the government in Wonderland cannot be overlooked. Being an external stakeholder, it plays an important role in shaping the external environment within which the company operates. The roles of the government in the company are executed by a specially formulated agency that is answerable to the government. The main interest of the government in the company is to regulate its operations so as to ensure that consumers do not suffer loss as a result of business activities. The government therefore regulates the competitive practices, and the industry-specific practices. In addition to its regulatory roles, the government has powers over the Wonderland Company. It can revoke its license and subject it to legal actions in case its activities are not acceptable in the country where it operates (Enotes, 2011). B) The media Media plays an important role in Wonderlands growth. For example, the company will use media to reach out to the target customers. Media also creates a forum whereby the customers express their views about given company. The media can influence the image of the company among the customers and therefore influence their purchase decision. The company must therefore cultivate a positive relationship with the media so as to have a positive image in the face of its stakeholders. As far as Wonderland is concerned, efforts have been put in place and agreements achieved with Disney and childrens TV programme producers so that the company will use the character of these programs in designing toys and accessories (Liss, 2000). C) Competitors Competitors are other important stakeholders in the company. The presence of competitors in the industry help in improving the quality of products produced and services rendered. The interest of the competitors in a company is to learn its weaknesses and capitalize on them. There is competition for customers as well as market share. Our companys managers therefore need to be cautious when disclosing information about the company that can be used by the competitors to the disadvantage of the company, especially in a market where there are many competitors (Carlson 2004). It is important for our company to take a survey of the market so as to identify competitors, their weaknesses and strengths. In the toy market, Wonderland faces stiff competition from Mattel and Hasbro. Both have been in the market for many years and therefore offer stiff competition to Wonderland in its bid to capture the promising markets all over the world. In addition, the two companies have strong brand names be sides offering a variety of products targeting different customers. D) Lobby groups A lobby group refers to a collection of people who come together to advocate for certain interests that they feel are threatened by the decision made by the company leaders. In as much as lobbying affects the performance of the companies, it is one of the trusted means through which proper functioning of the businesses can be achieved. Environmental activists are examples of a lobby group that greatly influences the operations of Wonderland. With the issue of global warming taking priority, they seek to regulate the amount of carbon dioxide that the company releases in the process of modeling the toys. Their interest is to ensure that the operations of the company do not negatively affect the environment. Lobby groups have powers to influence the activities of the company. They can influence the consumers to boycott the products of the company. It is therefore imperative for the company to establish a positive relationship with the lobbyists so as to avoid instances of being accused for undertaking illegal activities (Hart, 2004). E) Local community When the company undertakes corporate social responsibility activities, its intention is to create a positive impact on the local people directly related to the company. In Wonderland, local communities are the people who surround the company. In case of harmful emissions from the company, the local community would be the first to receive the effects. Local communities offer the local infrastructure that the company needs in order to achieve its objectives. On the other hand, they expect the company to pay back by carrying out activities that do not adversely affect them. These stakeholders have powers to influence the company to either continue with its activities or to stop its operations. They are able to unite and stop the company from causing negative effects to the community (BusinessLink, nd). The Global Society Global society, in its most basic definition, refers to the society that is integrated together into a single community with improved levels of interaction. Global society is a consequence of the globalization process. Human beings are social by nature and would embrace any means that brings them close to each other. Courtesy of internet technology, people can communicate with other on the far side of the world just by a click of the mouse. Nonetheless, global society deals more with the individuals in the society than it does with the general society. It is the efforts of individuals that lead to the development of global society. The vision of the founders of Wonderland was to reach customers in all parts of the world. Globalization has speeded the achievement of this vision by facilitating prompt marketing and distribution of the company products. Generally speaking, global society has improved efficiency with which people in the society interact (Taylor Francis, 2011). Integrating the concept of global society into the operations of any business raises issues that are not consistent with the goals of the company. Some of these issues favor the accomplishment of the business objectives while others hinder this accomplishment. These issues include: Cultural differences Inequity in development Environmental degradation Human rights abuse Government structures 1) Cultural Differences Culture refers to a set of beliefs that a given group of people has adopted as their way of life. No culture is greater than the other and attempting to change peoples culture is an effort in futility. Founders of Wonderland decided to launch their operations in areas with a culture different from that of the companys home country so as to be more competitive and more profitable. They also wanted to outsource raw materials from other countries where the cost of acquiring those resources are lower than in the home country. (Smith Ethel, 2007). The most successful companies are those that have understood the cultural differences of target customers. These companies keep abreast of the importance of these differences and will research ways to fulfill customer needs without interfering with their cultures. Wonderland understands that people from different cultures might have different approaches to the same issues (Smith Ethel, 2007). 2) Inequity in Development This refers to the differences in the levels of development in different countries. It is measured both in economic and infrastructural terms. Inequity in development affects the running of international companies. Factor endowment contributes more to this inequality whereby companies that are endowed with more resources excel better than those with fewer resources. With development inequality being experienced in the global society, it is hard to achieve a fair play ground where all companies can compete favorably. Also, as a result of differences in the factors of production, massive movement of labor from one country to another is affecting the operations of the company. For this reason, a difference in Wonderlands prices is justifiable. In countries where cost of operation is low, our products are low and vice versa. In general, companies operating in the global environment are as competitive as their resources can allow (Taylor Francis, 2011). 3) Environment Degradation Environmental degradation is another issue that global society has brought. The issue of global warming is being addressed and measures being put in place to combat global warming. The Kyoto protocol of 1997 that sought to regulate the percentage of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from the industries is still in discussion with companies being forced to adhere to the restrictions imposed by this protocol. Wonderland therefore checks on its processes to avoid legal actions from being instituted against it. Notably, in the toy companies, modeling plastics releases smoke into the atmosphere. Being part of the global society, the company will take measures to ensure that it honors this requirement (Taylor Francis, 2011). 4) Human Rights Abuse When operating in a global society, it is possible to unknowingly promote the abuse of human rights. Much business is done via the internet without necessarily knowing the processes that take place at the other end. For example, a company may order a product online. The supplier will send the consignment to the buyer. Without proper research the buyer may not know how this product has been manufactured. The supplier may have used child labor, which is in contravention of basic human rights. Wonderland will ensure that it chooses suppliers that do not engage in such activities. 5) Government structures in a global society Another issue that Wonderland faces when operating in a global society is the difference in government structures. The structure of the local government where the company is located may be different from the structures of the other country. An example of this is where the local government embraces socialism economy and the foreign country embraces capitalism economy. Secondly, a government may be aristocratic while another one may be democratic. Operating in varying government structure may be difficult therefore companies will need to understand this from the outset (Taylor Francis, 2011). Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass | Summary Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass | Summary Frederick Douglass revolutionary novel, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass; An American Slave, sent a seismic shock through American society, altered many peoples perception of the â€Å"peculiar institution†, and utilized a stylistic combination of flawless rhetoric and his poignant first-hand account of childhood shattered by slavery. Douglass childhood was marred by an all-encompassing sense of nothingness, he did not know his parentage, mother, age, or birthday; he felt inferior to white children, and lusted after the simple knowledge about themselves the whites regarded so casually. Through revealing specific details of his childhood experiences Douglass creates an emotional connection with his intended audience, Christian, white, Northerners, and by use of pathos, strengthens that bond with every paragraph. Douglass begins his haunting tale with one of the few cemented truths of his childhood; his birthplace. He was born in Tuckahoe, Maryland, to Harriet Bailey, an attractive slave woman with a dark complexion and light, loving demeanor. However, these small truths were overshadowed by dark, looming clouds of uncertainty, which posed more questions than it ever answered. A young Douglass was left confused; Who was his biological father? Why was he so cruelly separated from him mother? What was his true age? Was the master actually his Father? These questions pestered Douglass for years, and as the excerpt explains, he had no venue through which to glean the information. â€Å"I was not allowed to make any inquiries of my master†¦He deemed all such inquiries on the part of a slave improper and impertinent.† Douglass spent his childhood swathed in mystery, he never had the chance to enjoy the warmth of a mothers love, swathed, bundled, protected. Douglass accounts his separation from his mother for a variety of reasons; including an effort to solicit pathos from his readers, illustrate the magnitude of inhumanity bestowed upon slaves, and to appeal to white mothers, who would deem the action both barbaric and unforgiveable. Douglass reflects upon his mothers death with very little emotion, and states â€Å"She died when I was about seven years old, on one of my masters farms, near Lees Mill.† This quote exemplifies an understatement at its best; Douglass remarks upon his mothers death the way one talks about the weather, matter-of-fact and resigned. The casual way he speaks of his mothers absence in his life is directly conflicts with the sacred bond betweenmother and childset forth through countless books and artworks, such asLa Pieta.According to Douglass, separating a mother and child before twelve months was a common practice in Maryland, an action which most likely would have been deemed irreprehensible by sympath etic northerners. Douglass also tackles another large and unsolved topic; the mysterious identity of his father. Although Douglass is mostly uncertain of the details of childhood, one concrete fact remained a constant; his father was white. Douglass writes â€Å"The opinion was also whispered that my master was my father; but the correctness of this opinion, I know nothing†¦the means of knowing were withheld from me.† This quote is perhaps the most profound piece of the provided excerpt, not only did it add a new and puzzling aspect into the glimpse of Douglass childhood, but it also provided ammunition to enrage the pious, abolitionist, Northerners. Douglass rawappeal to emotionspeaks volumes, the scope of slavery knew no bounds, and bent the moral code of the 19thcentury to suit its depraved ways. Douglass non-existent father is introduced alongside the death of his mother, conjuring up feelings of sympathy and pity for Douglass among his intended audience. Douglass innocence was snatched away by the poisonous talons of slavery, leaving him vulnerable to the plights facing the adult world while still within the confines of childhood. By recollecting thetraumatic eventsof his early years he solicits a barrage of emotions from his intended audience, ensuring the success of his slave narrative. The death of his mother and hidden the identity of his father, Douglass paints a picture of heartache, loneliness, and uncertainty. In conclusion, Douglass detailed recollection of his past created pathos within his intended audience and undoubtedly opened the eyes of a plethora of ignorant Americans who simply believed slavery was a natural practice within Americas boundary lines.

Reducing the Harm of America?s Drug Problem Essay -- essays research p

The use and abuse of non-prescription drugs has been a problem in America since colonial times. Historically, the reaction to this problem has been the enforcement of prohibition laws and providing total abstinence education. This has resulted in big business in America; according to the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy, the federal government spent $19.2 billion dollars in 2003 on the war on drugs (1). Unfortunately, the abstinence based education and prohibition laws that are incorporated in the war on drugs have been wholly ineffective in slowing the demand for illicit drugs, and have had the opposite effects of driving up demand, street value, and drug-related crimes. The U.S. war on drugs bases its success on a decrease, and eventual eradication of the prevalence of drug use, a goal that has yet to be met. Detroit chief of police Jerry Oliver, in a 2002 interview with ABC news, said â€Å"Clearly, we’re losing the war on drugs in this country [and] i t’s insanity to keep doing the same thing over and over again† (qtd. in Stossel). As the war on drugs continues to fail and cost this country billions of dollars, it has become clear that a new approach to the problem is needed. By changing the focus from trying to decrease the overall use of drugs to focusing on decreasing the negative side effects (both personal and societal) of drug use, our country will finally be able to make significant steps forward in our drug problem. This approach is known as harm reduction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harm reduction is a multi-faceted philosophy that includes various strategies to help lessen the negative impact of drug abuse on our society. These negative impacts include death, disease, suffering and crime. One of the basic assumptions which harm reduction is based on is â€Å"there has never been, is not now, and never will be a drug-free society† (Drug Policy Alliance). Some of the approaches endorsed by harm reduction are science-based, rather than scare tactic education, treatment for drug addicts instead of imprisonment, and the reduction of health risks for addicts still actively using drugs. The programs which have grown out of these ideals will not only reduce the cost of the drug war through reduction of imprisonment and law enforcement costs, but will reduce the spread of diseases associated with drug use such as HIV/AIDS.   Ã‚   ... .... Drug Policy Alliance. â€Å"Treatment vs. Incarceration† Drugpolicy.org 2004. 21 July 2004. Myers, Jim. â€Å"Just Say Less.† Youth Today May 2003. Pew Research Center. â€Å"Interdiction and Incarceration Still Top Remedies† People-Press.com 21 March 2001. 25 July 2004. Riley, Diane & O’Hare, Pat. â€Å"Harm Reduction: Policy and Practice.† Prevention Researcher 2000. 25 July 2004. Rosenbaum, Martha. â€Å"Kids, Drugs, and Drug Education, A Harm Reduction Approach† Drugtext.org 1996. 22 July 2004. Stossel, John. â€Å"Just Say No: Government’s War on Drugs Fails.† ABC News.com 30 July, 2002. 25 July 2004. United States. Office of National Drug Control Policy. National Drug Control Strategy: FY 2003 Budget Summary. Feb 2002. 25 July 2004. United States. Partnership for a Drug-Free America. A Snapshot of the Teen Drug Problem in America Today 2002. 25 July 2004. < http://www.drugfreeamerica.org/ Templates/Article.asp?ws=PDFA&vol=1&grp=NewsCenter&cat=Feature+Stories&top=Articles&tit=A+Snapshot+of+the+Teen+Drug+Problem+in+America+Today> Zernike, Kate. â€Å"Anti-Drug Program Says it will Adopt a New Strategy.† The New York Times on the Web 15 Feb. 2001. 25 July 2004.

Shouldice Hospital Case Study

Shouldice Hospital Case Study Calvin Barron Liberty University March 2, 2010 Respectfully submitted to Prof. Scott McLaughlin Overview The Shouldice Hospital serves as a glaring example of extraordinary service and care for the impaired and needy. From carpeting and soft lighting to doting personal care from the staff, the Shouldice experience sets a standard of excellence for the industry. Dr. Earl Shouldice displayed an early desire for medical understanding with an age 12 exploratory of a farm animal. Medical training at the University of Toronto led to a private practice after World War One. An appendectomy of an obstinate young child led to questioning of his medical training concerning surgical recovery. The child’s refusal to remain still and bedfast after surgery led to the present â€Å"Shouldice method†. The consideration of immediate ambulation promoting quicker recoveries was proven by the observation and inspection of numerous cases following the stubborn child who refused to sit still. Dr. Shouldice used the following years to study and improve on these observations. The Shouldice Hospital was founded to use these observations to promote and capitalize on his proven method of hernia repair. In something of an assembly line method, Dr. Shouldice designed and developed his current factory type facility. Textual Concepts Competitive Service Strategies from pages 38-41 of the text offers strategies to further the expansion of the Shouldice hospital service methodology. Service and Design Elements from pages 68-69 highlight Shouldice Hospital in the text specifically. Deming’s Plan-Do-Check-Act system of continuous improvement on page 146 of the text seems the basis of Shouldice’s methodology. Deming’s 14 Point program from page 154 of the text offers some important steps which could be used to softly promote progress within the Shouldice program. Franchising from page 343 of the text offers an answer to immediate inexpensive expansion to the current model. Strengths The Shouldice Hospital has an easily identifiable surgical procedure, recovery practice and service known by the Name of Shouldice worldwide. The hospital experiences a backload of patients for the better part of the year due to simply word-of-mouth advertisement. The hospital has an â€Å"Alumni† of 140,000 clients assumed to be satisfied with the procedures. Out of the 140,000 just . 8% is reported as be reoccurring hernias. Compared to the United States alone, noted as having the best health care in the world, the report indicates a 10% U. S. reoccurrence problem. The relatively low cost of services provided including the operation and travel is small to say the least and serves only to increase demand for the experience. The increase in patient applications prompted an expansion in productivity which only served to increase the demand the more. Shouldice is as supportive to their staff as they are to their patients. Above average pay, benefits, and profit sharing serve to entice a dedicated performance out of the staff. Doctors are said to find the Hospital desirous due to the light workload and the ability to live a full home life with their families. Weaknesses Only external hernias are repaired by the program. The inclusion of internal hernias has been discouraged due to the increased amount of time needed to deal with the more extensive procedures in such a fast paced environment. The chances of extenuating circumstances create an unpredictable outcome as well as increased recovery time. The only site offering these unique services is located in Canada. Cases such as that of the author of this report are found to be excluded from such a procedure due to the need for international travel, governmental barriers, and monetary relations with foreign entities. Dr. Obney has resisted changes based on his inability to be on hand in case of an emergency or on his personal preferences. The ability to add another surgical day or an additional floor to the Hospital and take on more patients is as well off-set by the age and availability of Dr. Obney to be there at an increased rate. Only healthy average weight individuals are accepted as patients. The hernias are chosen as quick and easy repairs to maximize the ability for a greater quantity of patients and a quicker turnaround time. Doctors are taught and expected to adhere to the Shouldice method barring any deviation from the routine. Any deviation from the norm is required to demand a conference with other surgeons before continuance. Free thinking is frowned upon and the motto of â€Å"Excellence is the enemy of Good† is taught and adhered to there. Suggestions From page 39 of the text, Standardizing_ a Custom Service_ offers an ideal prospect for the Shouldice Hospitals’ expansion of services. â€Å"†¦family health care centers are attractive means of delivering routine professional services at low cost. (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2008, p. 39) Considering the profile listed in the text concerning Shouldice Hospital and the service design element of the Facility being highlighted as the discussion topic from pages 68-69 any further discussion of the facilities design would be counterproductive. The ability to reproduce the factory type facility in Canada should be simple enough due to the strict discipline followed and the highly controlled and co-productive nature of the clientele, the operation techniques and procedures, and the strict recovery process. The relocation to different countries would be the obvious next step since patients worldwide seem to flock to their present location. The garden acres typesetting would indicate a rural setting for additional locations which would allow the lesser expense of non commercial and non prime real estate for typical settings. The feasibility of offering franchises with the demand to strictly duplicate the Canadian model would allow a swifter expansion to a global market. The franchiser retains the right to dictate conditions. Standard operating must be followed. Materials must be purchased from either the franchiser or an approved supplier. No deviation from the product line is permitted, training sessions must be attended, and continuing royalty fees must be paid. (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2008, p. 343) The Harvard business case of Shouldice Hospital includes a reproduction of a Boca Raton Florida advertisement for a knock-off Shouldice experience; â€Å"The Canadian Hernia Clinic† featuring â€Å"no overnight stay†Ã¢â‚¬ . (Heskett, 2003, pg. 8) This could be avoided with simple advertisement and a franchise offering to the popular and lucrative Canadian model. The Plan-Do-Check-Act prospect introduced by Deming in the text appears to be the process indicated in the case study that Dr Shouldice employed in the facilities development, or at least some variation thereof. To use W. Edwards Deming’s 14-point program as a model for the implementation of progressing the service model implemented by Dr. Shouldice would only be appropriate. On point Ten with the â€Å"Excellence is the Enemy of Good† Shouldice employs serves to allow and promote mediocrity as opposed the Deming’s point of striving toward excellence. From Deming we find statements such as; Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs†¦Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs†¦Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of an overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers†¦Eliminate slogans†¦Remove barriers that rob the hourly paid worker of his right to pride in workmanship. (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2008, p. 154) The leadership and allow worker pride in their workmanship all seem to go against the Shouldice model. Followers and automated pre programmed automatons are seemingly encouraged at The Shouldice Hospital. The situation seems to discourage the exact kind of innovation which was responsible for the Hospital and the method and the experience developed by Dr. Shouldice through innovation and improvement on the status quo of his day. Deming said â€Å"Innovation in all business of should be expected† (Fitzsimmons and Fitzsimmons, 2008, p. 154) this is not the practice of Shouldice. Instead they repeat a proven function and disallow any deviation or improvement. It is suggested that Dr. Obney step aside and allow the Facility to be globalized as well as the process. Expanding upon the process as well as the facility should open up new avenues of improvement and innovation such as that which Dr. Shouldice noticed, explored, developed, and expanded upon so many years ago. The Shouldice Hospital serves as a glaring example of extraordinary service and innovation and should be reproduced and made available to the rest of the world. References Fitzsimmons, J. A. & Fitzsimmons, M. J. (2008). _Service Management: Operations, Strategy, and Information Technology_ (6th ed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Heskett, James (2003) MBS-Harvard Business Case, Shouldice Hospital Ltd. , Harvard Business Cases MBS Direct, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163

Essay Sample on Software and Copyrights

Essay Sample on Software and Copyrights Sample essay on Software and Copyrights: Current copyright and patent laws are  inappropriate for computer software; their imposition slows down software development and reduces competition. From the first computer as we know them, the ENIAC, computer software has become more and more important. From thousands of bytes on miles of paper to millions of bytes on a thin piece of tin  foils and witched between two pieces of plastic, software has played an important part in the world. Computers have most likely played an important role in all our lives, from making math easier with calculators, to having money on the go with ATM machines. However, with all the help that has been given to us, we havent done anything for software and the people who write it. Software by nature is completely defenseless, as it is more or less simply intellectual property, and not a physical thing, thus very easily copied. Copied software does not make money for its creators, and thus they charge more for whats not copied, and the whole industry inflates. There are two categories of intellectual property. The first one is composed of writing, music, and  films, which are covered by copyright. Inventions and innovations are covered by patent. These two categories have covered for years many kinds of work with little or no conflict. Unfortunately, it is not that easy when dealing with such a complex matter as computer software. When something is typed on a computer, it is considered writting, as it is all written words and numbers. However, when executed by the computer, it functions like an invention, performing a specific task as instructed by the user. Thus, software falls into both categories (Del Guercio 22-24). It is generally covered today by copyright laws, for most mass market software at least. More advanced software or programming techniques, however, can be patented, as they are neither obvious nor old. This results in many problems which I will go into later. Copyrights last the lifetime of the author, plus 50 years, and can be renewed. Patents last only 17 years, but cannot be renewed. With technology advancing so quickly, it is not necessary to maintain the protection of the software for the length of the copyright, but also, it is sometimes necessary to renew them (Del Guercio 22-24), say, for a 10th sequel in a video game series or version 47.1 of Bobs Graphic Program. With copyrighted material, one is able to write software similiar to someone elses, so long as the programming code is their own, and not borrowed from the others (Del Guercio 22-24). This keeps the industry competitive, and thus results in better software (because everyone is greedy, and they dont want to fall behind). With patents no one is allowed to create software that performs a similar functions. Take AutoCAD and TrueSpace 2, two 3D modeling programs. TrueSpace 2 would be a violation of patent laws, as it performs a very close task to AutoCADs, which came first. Luckily for us, CAD programs are not new, they have been around for more than 10 years, and no one thought to patent them. Thus, you can see the need for change in the system. The current laws regarding the protection of intellectual material cannot adequately protect software, they are either too weak or too strict. We need a new category of protection. The perfect protection law would most likely last for 10 years, renewable. This is long enough to protect a program for as long as it is still useful, and allows for sequels and new versions just in case. It would also have to allow for others to make similar software, keeping the industry competitive, but it would have to not allow copying of portions of other software (because you cant quote something from someone elses software like you can with a book). However, there are many who dispute this, and I can see their point. Current copyright laws have and will protect software effectively, it can be just as protected as other mediums (Cosgrove). This is true sometimes, however, to copy a book would take time. You would have to type up each page to make a copy of it, or at least photocopy or scan each page, and it would most likely take up much more time than its worth. To copy a computer program however, takes seconds. Changing the law would take time and money, you might be saying. It would be a tremendous hassle in Congress to have a new law written just to cover that Information Superhighway thingy. Yes, thats true too, but to not change the laws will cost more. With the ability to patent new and non-obvious software functions comes serious problems. The latest new technology, be it ray-tracing 3D engines, anti-aliasing software, or a new internet exploring fad can be patented. This would mean that only one company and its software could use it. Any other companies that wanted to use the software would have to pay them a large sum of money for the rights. Also, since patent hearings are conducted over a period of 3 years, and in secrecy, company a might create a software package and then apply for a patent, and company b may create better software during that period, and might become quite successful, and then bam, the patent is given to the company a, who prompty sues the pants off company b. T his stagnates the computer industry; it used to be that company a would retaliate by making better software (Del Guercio 22-24). For example, Lotus software. They used to make data organization software. Up until I did this report, I thought they had gone out of business, because I hadnt heard about anything new being done by them. Well, while I was researching, I found the appalling truth. When patenting of software became acceptable in the early 90s, they closed up their RD departments and called in a bunch of lawyers to get them patents on all their programming techniques (Del Guercio 22-24). Ever since then, theyve been selling out the rights as their primarily (and Im willing to bet, only) business. This could even be taken to the extremes of actually patenting simple methods of handling data, such as say, mouse support. Now, it cant happen to mouse support as it is today, but in the future, something  undoubtedly will replace the mouse as the preferred method of input, for instance, in what may be a virtual reality future, the glove might be the input device. Anyway, say it did happen to mouse support. Every single program that uses mouse support would have to pay a fee for the rights to do so. This would result in higher software prices (arent they high enough?), and reduced quality in the programs, as they have to worry about the legalities more (Del Guercio 22-24). Needless to say, the patenting of software is not a widely loved policy, mostly embraced by large corporations like Lotus and Microsoft (Tysver Software Patents). Smaller companies and most often consumers are generally against it. Even with all the legal problems Ive mentioned that arise with current laws, thats not all. The complexity of software protection laws brings up a large degree of confusion. I myself thought that copyrights lasted 7 years until I read this. I asked 15 people in a chat room on the Internet what they knew about software protection laws, and only one of them knew that software could be patented. 12 of them thought that it cost lots of money for a copyright, which it doesnt. Its $20 for a copyright at most, and $10000 at most for a patent. 5 of them thought that software copyrights lasted 7 years (hey, its a popular misconception, I thought so myself at one point). And last but not least, 10 of them believed that there was no laws regarding the copying of software (there are, but theyre virtually ineffective). Now that you know all about the legal and business aspects of software protection, lets take a look at how it can affect you. Say youve got a web page, and youve got a link on your web page to your friend Bobs web page, and hes got a link on his page to JoeS LeeT PiRaCY aND WaReZ, and on that site, there is a link to a pirated copy of AutoCAD. Then Joe gets busted. Joe will almost certainly be in trouble, Bob will likely be either questioned or considered responsible, depending on the blatancy of the link, and YOU will likely be questioned and your page might be monitored for a time (Bilodeau). One such example is my web page. I had a link from my page (the Wierd Wide Web) to Archaic Ruins, which is a site regarding information on emulators of old video game systems. When the operator of Archiac Ruins got sued by a video game company (I think it was Konami), I too got questioned, and had my page had ANY questionable material on it, I would have been sued. Thankfully, I was too lazy t o work on the page, as I had planned to put up a page that had really old videogames. Who said procrastination was bad? How can you prosecute someone for a crime that is undefined? Thats a question many people are asking. What is a copy of software? Is it a physical clone of the media it came on? Or is it the code duplicated to someplace else? If so, where else? Currently, software copying is generally considered a copy of the code someplace else but thats a problem. We all know that a backup of software is a copy, but did you know that even running the software creates a copy of it? Yes, it does. When you load a program, it goes into your computers memory, and is legally considered a copy. While the copy does not stay indefinitely, it does stay long enough to perform a certain task, and can and has been looked upon as a form of software piracy, as stupid as that sounds. (Tysver Software Patents) BBS (Bulletin Board Systems, small online services run by normal people) Sysops (system operators) are legally considered responsible for all the files that are available on their system (Elkin-Koren). While at first this seems like an obvious thing, after all, it is their computer, they should know whats on it. However, if you had ever run a BBS before, which I do, youd know that its hard, if not impossible to know whats on your computer. Planet-X, my friend John Morses BBS, which I co-run, has 50 calls a day. Of those 50 calls, about 35 of them upload or download software. Neither one of us is constantly monitoring the system, nor is there a way to make the computer automatically check to see what happens. Thus, about half of the public files on the BBS we dont know about. Lets take a look at an example of BBSs and copyright, and how they oh-so-beautifully coincide. Sega Ltd., maker of the Sega Genesis and Sega Gamegear, recently sued the Maphia BBS for making Sega Genesis ROMs publically available in a download section. This section was a type of digital rental as it is commonly known in the BBS community. Commercial software publically available for download, on an on-your-honor system, you had to delete the files after a short period of time (24-48 hours). Unfortunately for the Maphia BBS, they did not have a disclaimer, stating that the files must be deleted after a trial period, and thus, Sega was able to sue them for it, as without the disclaimer, there was no proof that they had used the digital rental system, and thus it was not fair use, as it could be used for monetary gain by the downloader (not having to buy the game). Of course, it could be used for that purpose WITH the disclaimer, but the disclaimer does just that, disclaims the BBS operator of the responsibilities of that copy of software (Elkin-Koren). Another such case was the case between Playboy (I think we all know who that is), and the Frena BBS. The public file areas on the Frena BBS frequently contained image files, and more often than not, they were adult image files. Well, I dont know exactly how it happened, but Playboy somehow found out that this BBS had some scanned photos from a Playboy magazine, and because they have the copyright to all their photos, they w ere able to sue the operator of the Frena BBS. The operator had no idea that there were any Playboy images on his system (Elkin-Koren). Speaking of image files, they too can be a problem with software protection. Say youve got an image file that someone had copyrighted. You load it up in a photo-retouching program, and add a big old goat in the background and paint the sky red. Then you remove the artists file name. Viola, the picture is now semi-legally copyrighted to you, as it has been significantly changed from its original, although I wouldnt recommend going to court over it (Grant 12). All you have to do is change a very large portion of the image files coding. Technically, darkening or blurring the image, changing the file format, or interlacing the file changes the file entirely, and thus, its yours. Sounds too easy? It is. Copyrights and patents are designed to help the media it protects. But in the case of technology, its actually hindering it. CD-ROMs contain a lot of information, and are the perfect media for music. A lesser known media, the Digital Video Disc, or DVD, is much more versitile, containing 26 times the storage compacity of a CD-ROM, and 11500 times more than a standard floppy disk, or about 17 gigabytes (the largest hard drives are 9 gigs). However, DVDs are not available to the public. Why? Because of the ease of copying them. Weve all dubbed tapes, its easy to do. However, we often opt for higher quality originals, because there is always a bit of degradation in the copies (although its very small now). With DVDs, a copy is exactly that, a copy. No degradation, no reason to buy an original. All the big companies are really scared by this technology, because it will take another five bucks out of their pockets. DVDs would be one of the greatest advancements in the short history of computers, but because of the shadier uses it could be used for, well never see it. I like to compare it to the Internet, its very useful, but it can be used for illegal purposes. You be the judge (Ross 134-140). Luckily, we may yet someday see DVDs, because several companies are developing copy protection schemes for them, to stop the casual home hacker/copier. Macrovision, for instance, is producing hardware for the DVD player that will make them incompatible with VCRs (the easiest dubbing-to platform, the equivilant of CD to audio tape). It will send output through the audio/video out ports that when played on a TV, will appear normal, but when played through a VCR, will have color stripes running sideways across the screen. This is due to the differences between the ways the two work (Ross 134-140). So as you can see, current methods of protecting software are a hinderance on the software industry. The problems outweigh the benefits, but with a new law, the industry would be able to keep the benefits and minimize any drawbacks. Instead of having to nitpick over who wrote something that did something similar, it would be back to who wrote something more powerful than the other guy, and thats what makes the industry great, competition. Oh, and Id like to add that I broke copyright law a total of 13 times in the making of this report, when I made a copy of each reference with the school copying machine (James 16), although it was fair use, so Im not in any trouble (Ruth). You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on Software and Copyrights topics at our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with custom papers written by highly qualified academic writers. High quality and no plagiarism guarantee! Get professional essay writing help at an affordable cost.