The entrenchment of abortion in different countries

Legalizing or not legalizing abortion is one of the most controversial subjects in the world. Arguments for and against abortion have taken religious, political and moral perspectives with the proponents and opponents giving substantive claims to support their arguments.The entrenchment of abortion in different countries’ constitution has raised resistance from the conservatives who claims that the laws are contradicting when they impose death penalty on individual convicted of murder while legalizing abortion is itself legalizes murder of unborn. Despite the ensuing arguments over the subject, it is clear that abortion is practices in every corner of the world regardless of whether it is legal or illegal.My thesis is that abortion should be legalized since illegalizing does not deter people from aborting and it deteriorates and risks life of women. Abortion can be defined as a premature expulsion of a human fetus, whether in naturally like in case of a miscarriage or artifici ally induced through the use of surgical or chemical equipment.However the controversy around the subject surrounds about 93% of the abortion cases which are carried out for elective, based on no medical reason.Abortion should be legalized in cases case where a woman has undergone a painful ordeal like rape or incest which may affect the whole of their live and bearing such a child will rekindle painful memories of the ordeal.With rising population of homeless people and street children and families, abortion should be legalized so that those who feel that they cannot raise their children are not compelled to give birth to children who they cannot support and will leave them to wander on the street. Even in countries where abortion has not been legalized, there are rising cases of backstreet abortion where many women lose their life.These and other facts support the reasons why abortion should be legalized. I once again restate that abortion should be legalized since illegalizing do es not deter people from aborting and it deteriorates and risks life of women.Why abortion should be legalizedMy first argument is that abortion should be legalized in case where a woman conceive after undergoing a painful ordeal like rape, incest, and other sex related ordeals. Such an ordeal is likely to haunt a woman for the rest of her life.Research has revealed that one out of every six case of rape or incest usually results to pregnancy. Apart from the danger of the mother contracting venereal disease which may affect fetal formation, women who give birth to children conceived in such circumstances are likely to suffer repeated emotionally every time they see that child since they remember the ordeal.Research reveals that more than 50% of pregnancies resulting from such cases are usually aborted all over the world where abortion is legalized or illegalized (Johnson, 2008). Most women turn to backstreet abortion while many are not likely to report pregnancy resulting from rapes and incest fearing stigma. Therefore, they end up undergoing crude methods of abortion where not one risking their health.   In order to save women from such ordeals, I feel that abortion should be legalized.My second argument supporting abortion is that there are many women who conceive when they have no means of bringing up the child.   Many women will enter into a relationship and when they conceive, their partners depart them.Some have no jobs or any economic means and they end up bearing children who are left to wander in the streets.   With the declining welfare supports, abortion should be legalized in order to save women from undergoing such ordeals which are likely to affect their life and that of their children.Research shows that more than 21% of the cases if abortions are related to women who are not ready for responsibilities while 11% are related to young pregnancies mostly to teenagers who cannot take responsibility for the children they bear (Johnson, 2008).Wo men should have the choice to decide carrying to full term pregnancies which they are prepared to handle and bring up the child in a good environment. I feel that abortion should be legalized in order to give women a chance to make choices of giving birth to children who they can take care.My third argument supporting abortion is that even in countries where abortion has been illegalized, people have not been deterred from performing abortion. In contrast to countries which are legalized where women seek abortion in hospitals, there are more people who are seeking abortion in backstreet clinics through crude methods risking their health. A study by Henshaw et al.(1999) showed there were more than 26 legal and 20 illegal abortions worldwide in 1999, concluding that stringent measures against legal abortion did not guaranteed low rate of abortion.Another study by Sedgh et al. (2007) concluded that the rate of abortion in countries where it is legalized has been decreasing with time. L egalized abortion help women to access safe abortion which is not detrimental to their health while illegalizing abortion expose women to health hazards. Therefore abortion should be legalized to help women access safe abortion.ConclusionAbortion remains a controversial subject in the world. My thesis is that abortion should be legalized since illegalizing abortion does not deter people from aborting and it exposes women to health risks. Abortion should be legalized for women who undergo painful ordeals like rape and incest which are likely to haunt them throughout their life.

“Review of AIDS and Stigma’ by Gregory M. Harek

The current literature as of 1999 is reviewed regarding the stigma that attaches to people with AIDS (PWA’s and people with HIV (PWHIVs).   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Stigma† refers to discrimination and prejudice directed at PWAs and PWHIVs as well as those people associated with them or caregivers for them.This stigma has resulted in firings, evictions, and other forms of prejudice to people with AIDS and HIV. The existence of stigma has had a bad effect on the response to the AIDS crisis and could have a continuing affect on the various policies designed to assist PWAs and PWHIVs.Surveys throughout the world and specifically in the United States have indicated a negative attitude towards PWAs and PWHIVs by a significant majority of people.There are several possible reasons for the stigma. Many people believe PWAs and PWHIVs got the disease by their own actions and behavior. Others fear contracting the disease from any contact with PWAs and PWHIVs.Then there is the stigma associated wit h any disease considered that cannot be cured followed by the fear of contracting a contagious disease. Finally is the stigma associated with diseases or conditions affecting the victims’ outward appearance and capability.The stigma of AIDS has an impact on a personal level and with society and public policy.   For example, many people with AIDS or HIV do not get tested for fear of the stigma attached to the disease.In society the negative attitude has and continues to have an effect on public policy and public health issues and legislation. However, the situation has changed over the years with education, and with continued education discrimination and prejudice towards PWAs and PWHIVs will further decrease.I like this article for several reasons. It is well written and organized. It is written in a style and manner which is easy to read for the average student.There is no specialized language or information presented. Additionally there are no graphs or tables of statisti cs or lengthy quotations or references to other work. There is no detectible bias in the article. It is a very relevant topic today as much as it was when written. It is very thought provoking and informative regarding a variety of issues.The issue of stigma can have a very strong affect on the individual reader, as it has had on me. Unfortunately AIDS has spread to the point where more and more people know of someone afflicted with the disease or know someone who has been directly affected by the disease.With this increase comes the awareness of the stigma associated with PWAs and PWHIV, and the likelihood that someone we know has suffered from discrimination or prejudice.There is an â€Å"association† effect as well, when there is a similar prejudice, discrimination or fear of people who take care of or are related to PWAs and PWHIVs. The information presented in the article cannot help but make the individual aware of the issue if he or she is not already familiar with the disease, and adds knowledge to those who are familiar with it.Additionally, it makes the individual, and me, question whether or not I harbor any prejudice or discrimination and if so how I exhibit it. This article is very good at making me look past myself to broader issues, as well as to look inside myself for attitudes I should question.I particularly like the method in which the causes of stigma are presented. It is particularly helpful in examining whether or not I believe in any of the reasons or use them as an excuse. It is also helpful in realizing the fallacy of many of the reasons.The first reason presented seems very irrelevant, as regardless of how someone contracted AIDS or any disease should have no bearing on attitude, although for many people religious belief may be a factor that cannot be easily ignored.The second reason, fear of contracting the disease, was a personal fear of mine until I became aware of the fact that it cannot be contracted by casual contact. Com mon sense tells us that we are probably around PWAs and PWHIVs daily without knowing it, and there has been no cases caused by casual contact.The third and fourth reasons are the ones that I have the most difficult time with, as I have always been uncomfortable around people with life-threatening or terminal diseases, or people who obviously show outward signs of the disease.I believe many people have this discomfort, and probably always will, as it can be very difficult to interact with such strong issues â€Å"in the background†. However, what is important is to keep the discomfort into becoming a prejudice or source of discrimination.I really liked the article because it is hopeful. It has taken a very difficult and depressing topic but presented it a manner which gives optimism to the issue. It does this by making the reader aware of the reasons, and on reflection, realizes all of the reasons can be lessened or removed with awareness and education.It has made me more awar e of a very significant issue in society today. It has also caused me to reflect on my personal attitude and actions. It has clearly presents a thesis and evidence in an easy-to-read manner.I like it because it stresses how common and damaging prejudice and discrimination is, and the role of education in overcoming prejudice, which is important not just for PWAs and PWHIVs but for everyone. Finally, it is an article I can use as reference to anyone who can benefit from the information or may be interested in the issue.Works CitedHarek, Gregory M. â€Å"AIDS and Stigma†. American Behavioral Scientist, Volume 42, No. 7, April 1999. 1102-1112.

Alan Mullaly and Ford Motors Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Alan Mullaly and Ford Motors - Term Paper Example †). For instance, it was during the recent global economic downturn that most of the automobile companies faced various challenges in gaining a competitive position to survive in the international market which included General Motors, Harley Davidson and even Ford. It is in this context that leadership advantages were apparently observed in these companies. The most debated issues related to this context were the turnaround of Ford which is stated to be steered by Alan Mulally as the organizational leader (Dean & Varshney, â€Å"Your Next Turnaround Leader: Industry Expert or Outsider?†). Alan Mulally is considered to be an outsider to the automobile industry as well as to the company (i.e. Ford Motors) due to the fact that his early professional career related to the Boeing Company, a commercial airplane and integrated defense system producer and thus had limited knowledge about the operational structure of the automotive industry (BBC News, â€Å"Boeing Exec Made New Ford Chief†). He joined the company in the year 2006 when Ford was witnessing losses and severe downfalls in its overall competency. In order to face these challenges and sensing the upcoming recession then, Alan Mulally decided to borrow a significant amount from the debt market against the company’s assets. ... One factor has been the leadership of Alan Mulally and the other factor was the crisis faced by the company during the period. Thereby, the paper intends to recognize the stronger factors to influence the change management of Ford and reward its remarkable competency in the international platform. Impartial Evaluation Both the factors of change, i.e. the financial crisis faced by the organization and the leadership change witnessed by the organization can be observed as quite significant in influencing the turnaround of the company. It was in the year 2006 when the company was facing losses for four consecutive years. Therefore, it is quite evident that the company had to witness significant challenges to maintain its financial competency and survive in the fiercely competitive market of global automobile industry (Armitage, â€Å"Ford CEO Alan Mulally: The Turnaround Specialist†). Alan Mulally joined the company during the financial crisis of the company. Financial turmoil wa s also apparent in the domestic economy of the company that certainly supported the impacts of internal limitations faced by the organization. Considering these facts, Alan Mulally concentrated on the implementation of various strategies that included retrenchment, restructuring of the organizational operations, marketing strategies, as well as financial strategies (Wall Street Journal, â€Å"Testimony of Alan R. Mulally†). Few of the most significant strategies that boosted the change in the organization concentrated on the borrowing of $23.6 billion from the market against the assets of Ford Motors (Armitage, â€Å"Ford CEO Alan Mulally: The Turnaround Specialist†). The strategic decisions of Alan Mulally further initiated to cut almost 30,000

Sacrament of Baptism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sacrament of Baptism - Research Paper Example Baptism is seen as a way to salvation for the Catholics who consider the church as the universal sacrament of salvation. Catholics believe that the manner in which one is baptized is not important but the idea that they are baptized is. The person administering the sacrament must not be a priest but anyone who has undergone baptism themselves. However, during critical moments for instance in sickness or near death, anyone can administer the sacrament provided they follow the right way of doing it. The father or other right authority will then conduct a conditional baptism (Vorgrimler, 2002). This paper will seek to critically evaluate the concept of the sacrament of baptism and its relevance in a Christian’s life or at least for the churches that practice it. The paper will seek to view the sacrament from other Christians views and also give a scholarly critique to the act. This paper will evaluate what the bible says in the old and new testaments about salvation and baptism. This is has been perhaps the most controversial concern with baptism (Berkhof, 2006). The sacrament of Baptism The practice of the sacrament is normally conducted by the pries pouring water on the forehead of the faithful while saying the words â€Å"I baptize you in the name of the Father, son, and Holy Spirit.† This indicates that the member has been officially initiated into the ways of the church and through that he or she is saved since the church is the sacrament of salvation. The Anglicans also believe the sacrament is the only sure way to salvation. So, what is the necessity of baptism? Is it really important? What does the bible say about baptism and salvation? Old Testament on Baptism The old testament doesn’t really talk about baptism, or at least as we know it. Baptism is viewed in a symbolic form. For instance, the Noah case; when God got angry and ordered that every animal in the world be allowed into the ark with eight other people. The eight people were in a way saved by God through water. The water is a symbol of baptism for the eight people in the boat. In this regard, baptism is viewed as a sort of cleansing to the world. God cleansed the world through the use of water. This is the closest that the old testament has come to baptism, albeit symbolically (Osborne, 2008). New Testament on Baptism The oldest form of baptism ever recorded was done by John the Baptist and recorded in the New Testament. He then went ahead to announce to people that people should be baptized in order to clean them off their sins. Baptism, according to John the Baptist was to show that they had repented their sins. John the Baptist performed his miracles using water in the river Jordan. He did so by immersing the believers into the river and then they emerged baptized and born again. This is in the book of Luke. When John is found baptizing people by the river and believers ask him questions, he answers by telling them that he is baptizing them with wat er but someone is coming who is greater than he is †¦ and will baptize them with the holy spirit and with fire. This form of baptism is a

New Business Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

New Business Development - Essay Example ervice 28 7.3.Personal and personnel position 29 7.4.Financial Controls 29 7.5.Marketing Controls 30 Marketing control is a vital step for any organization. The Sale objective of the firm is estimated in this process and depending on that the Sales Forecast and Quotas are set for next year budget depending on that. Proper evaluation of the marketing plans is very crucial to set the budget. For this evaluation time to time marketing activities are done like data collection and doing market research on the existing plans how they are implemented and how much effective they are in the market. Depending on the survey results the budget for the next year is calculated. The Venetian Macao should do market research for their plans and find the quality of their services provided to the customer and keep track of every possible problem that can create a problem in the business (Kotler, 2008). 30 Reference 31 A. Assignment I 1. (Company / Business / Service) Description 1.1. The Concept Leisur e industry has become one of the attractive industries in the global market. This industry includes the sectors like tourism, hospitality, entertainment and recreation, and with the changing lifestyle of people, the popularity of leisure services are growing significantly. This paper will attempt to present a new business development of ‘Venetian Macao’ in the UK leisure industry. Venetian Macao is popular hotel based in Las Vegas, and it offers a range of services like accommodation, entertainment, casino dinning etc. leisure and casino industry has been playing an instrumental role in UK’s economic development as it attracts a large number of visitors in UK for leisure purposes (PWC-UK, 2011). 1.2. Developmental Perspective 1.2.1. Strategic Perspective Venetian Macao is a premium hotel group that offers leisure services, and hence it primarily focused on very niche market of segment. In the UK leisure industry, the hotel groups will attempt to follow the same s trategy. The following model shows it provisional generic strategy, Figure 1: Generic Strategy (Source: Eldring, 2009, p.7) Therefore, Venetian will focus on focused differentiation strategy by offering high premium leisure and entertainment services to UK people and inbound tourists in UK. By following this core generic strategy, Venetian can be able to develop a competitive advantage. However, in this process it needs to prepare an overall business development strategy. 1.2.2. Marketing Perspective In order to gain competitive advantage in the UK leisure industry, Venetian will focus on the value creation of its customers as well for the UK economies. Venetian is famous for its

American Type Painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

American Type Painting - Essay Example Greenberg notes that although painting had started showing signs of modernization earlier than other arts, there are several expandable conventions embedded in the art of painting. There are a great number of conventions that artists cannot isolate and this difficulty in isolation makes painting difficult to expand and change. The author reiterates that the law of modernization is to recognize and immediately discard the facets of a medium that are not essential for its viability. The process of self-purification is observed to have come to a halt in literature as the letters have few conventions to eliminate before reaching those essential to it. Likewise, music has changed over the ages to reach an in expandable state. Most of the facets of music that can be isolated and altered or eliminated have reached the limit of change. The author makes a radical simplification with the hope that the suggested and noted simplifications may be used to overhaul the existing arts to renew vitali ty of the arts in the face of the community that is bent on rationalizing everything as well as maintain irreplaceability. Clement Greenberg was an American specialized in the field of art critic who was closely linked with the American Modern art. His work American Type painting is generally viewed as a response to the Rosenberg’s American Action Painting, but its focus is more specific. It is an observed, unrelenting and sustained attempt to refute the idea that abstract expressionist painting. has fundamentals of a break with the past. The work is a close and meticulous visual analysis to the new critics, based on the most basic element of painting rather than ideas, concepts and psychological states (Frascina, Francis, Charles Harrison & Paul, 1998). It handles the emergence and development of abstract expressionist, which mainly argues for the discrimination of color field painting linking it to impressionism rather than cubism and explains that modern art evolved while artists were perusing advanced pictorial flatness. The title of the essay shows his discomfort with abstract expressionism which he believed was erroneous. Greenberg’s piece viewed abstraction as a facet for modern painting. This is the only way for any painting work to be authentically modern. Each medium had to engage in a process of rationalization which will eventually make it distinct from other related medium. Indeed it was a necessary element of modern art work because painting was being threatened by the introduction of commerce and cliches. Figurative art and the type of anectodal subjects were frequent in the American

Argument Essay, 1. I believe Existence of God. 2. God does not exist Research Paper

Argument Essay, 1. I believe Existence of God. 2. God does not exist. For example, like The Ontological Argument - Research Paper Example It would be no exaggeration to contend that human thought has been seized with the idea of God, from times immemorial (Safa and Ahmadi D1). Substantiations relating to the existence of God constitute some of the enduring features of philosophical discussion. Some of the classifications of the corroboration of God’s existence are those that are conceptual or dependent upon aspects of the created order (Cumming 3). It is a mystery, as regards the manner in which supernatural faith interacts with human beings. The highest knowledge relating to God that can be derived solely from philosophical considerations has been defined as the preambles of faith or the praeambula fidei. The few individuals who experience the act of belief, do not find these preambles of faith to be exceedingly enigmatic. These fortunate individuals have testified that the true believer enjoys the grace, which can be termed the intelligence provided by faith (Grzesik 258). It is indeed faith that induces one to seek God and thereby admit one’s shortcomings. As a consequence, individuals are enabled to comprehend that help from the Lord is essential to avail of the benefits provided by Him and to transform the intellect to understand the higher truths. This entire process of transcendence is critically dependent upon faith (Grzesik 259). Arguments that support or oppose the existence of God can be classified as deductive or inductive. Ostensibly, the existence of God tends to be difficult to establish, despite several of the atheists being rational human beings. This state of affairs has been attributed to certain ontological assumptions regarding the nature of the world and the nature of God (Crutcher 430). Presumptions regarding the existence or non – existence of God, tend to possess a circular nature. This is due to the fact that such arguments attempt to establish their hypothesis by making an assumption regarding the non – existence or reality of

A college education is worth the time and money Essay

A college education is worth the time and money - Essay Example Today’s workplace environment is a highly challenging one and that calls for a vast proficiency in specific industrial fields; employers are looking to recruit highly qualified employees with the relevant skills and knowledge, and this can only be acquired through college education. Through college education, one is able to improve their personal and interpersonal knowledge through interaction with people from diversified cultures. Socialization is a fundamental aspect of human interactions, and this skill is highly advanced in individuals who have been fortunate to go through college education. Being able to create personal and professional networks is the benefit of college education that results from increased human contact (McGuire). Apart from that, college education enables one to achieve prestige and self-actualization; it is highly gratifying for one to have college education, especially in changing attitudes towards education in the modern world. Possession of college education epitomizes civilization and enlightenment as opposed to lack of it, which indicates illiteracy and backwardness. Ultimately, college education is the key to career development, socialization and self-actualization. Therefore, given that college education is very important in today’s world, it is true to say that it is worth all the time and money. McGuire, Jeff. â€Å"Importance of College Education: Why it is important to go to college†. Collegereview.com. (n.d). Web. 22nd Feb 2013.

Mentors in Professional Nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Mentors in Professional Nursing - Research Paper Example Mentorship extends over a period of time, within which reciprocal sharing, learning, and development take place in an environment formed around respect and collegiality (Mariani, 2012). Further, Mariani (2012) emphasizes that reinforcing mentoring relationships within the nursing profession is essential in order to ensure that crucial facets of the vocation are retained, particularly in the present day healthcare environment. Moreover, an effective nurse mentor relationship is important for the upcoming generation of nurses. The purpose of this paper is to discuss how mentors support the nursing profession, the required characteristics of a mentor, and components of an effective mentor program. How Mentoring Supports the Nursing Profession Today, training, education and administration within the nursing profession is required to support and provide fundamental solutions that are directed toward the existing and progressively waning decline in nursing professionals’ collegialit y, self-confidence, and support. Indeed, the consequential damaging effects are realized in declining staff performance, and in deficient patient care outcomes. Additionally, the rapidly transforming health care environment requires that actions be taken to reinforce and inspire new and experienced nurses so as to retain competent nursing staff. Consequently, mentorship offers a unique opportunity for newer nurses to cultivate durable relationships with experienced nurses that are beneficial to the growth of both individuals and contributes to the retention of nurses within the organization and the profession. As noted earlier, mentors offer information, support and professional advice to novice nurses over an extended period of time. As such, both the mentor and mentee devote a substantial amount in the mentoring relationship emotionally, thus enabling self-directed growth and learning. To this end, mentorship provides many benefits to the nursing profession. First, mentoring helps decreases or alleviates stress and anxiety among nursing professional which impacts burnout rates. In recent years, professional nursing has been considered as an extremely stressful occupation owing to the increasing acuity of patients, declining staffing ratios, and time pressures arising from increasing productivity and performance requirements in healthcare facilities. In a research conducted at two tertiary care hospitals in New Delhi, Bhatia, Kishore, Anand, and Jiloha (2010) reported substantial job stress in approximately 87.4% of the eighty seven staff nurse respondents. According to the study, â€Å"time pressure† was identified as the top placed stressor (Bhatia, Kishore, Anand, & Jiloha, 2010). In another study, Duvall and Andrews (2010) surveyed the literature to establish why staff nurses left the bedside in connection to the nursing shortage and increased turnover rates. The study revealed a variety of reasons including management issues, job stress, job desig n, physical demands, and the inability to develop new nurses (Duvall & Andrews, 2010, p. 309). Furthermore, job stress has been linked to poor job satisfaction (Hassell, Archbold, & Stichman, 2011), undesirable physical and mental health outcomes (Nash, 2010), and ultimately to

PUBLIC LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

PUBLIC LAW - Essay Example udicial review, is where the law is contravened at some point by an administrative body in its actions or inactions, as was defined in White and Collins v Minister of Health.1 In this case, procedural ultra-vires is evident. This is whereby an administrative body fails to follow the right procedure in its actions or inactions (Fitzroy 2014, 1). As much as Catford district council is vested with the power to issue licenses, procedure as per the relevant statute law requires it to conduct consultations where necessary. Bearing in mind that the shop operates within a residential flat, it was necessary for the council to consult the adjacent household dwellers regarding the same before issuing the license. As a renter of a dwelling premise, Alya has a right to peaceful and quiet enjoyment of his property. Therefore, she has every right to protest due to the nuisance emanating from the shop during Sunday. Had the council consulted her prior to the issuance of the license, things might hav e turned differently, as some conditions could have been attached to the operating license. It was therefore illegal for the council to issue the license without conducting necessary consultations as the relevant authority suggests. Unreasonableness: The principle of reasonability is to the effect that an administrative body should be rational in acting or making its decisions. Unreasonableness is seen when an administrative body acts or makes a decision in a manner so absurd or outrageous, that a reasonable person acting in the same capacity and under the same circumstances would to do or make, as was defined in Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v Wednesburry Corporation.2 In this case, the reason given for the council’s failure to conduct consultations, something which is done by all other local authorities, is so unreasonable that one would not expect such an authority to fail to act on that basis (Harel and Kahara 2010). Time and money saving is not reasonable enough to

Reflective Writing Study Skills Essay Example for Free

Reflective Writing Study Skills Essay At the beginning of the task no one took the initiative of introducing themselves. Our initial concern was getting started on the jacket. This seemed to be of more importance to everyone. This could be viewed as unsociable, but on reflection, previous to this task we all took part in an ice-breaker session, whereby we had to introduce our selves by name, followed by a descriptive word, this meant we were already acquainted with one another, so concentrating on the task in hand seemed most appropriate. I believe we were all very wary of taking over as we were always asking one another do you think this is a good idea? and shall we do this?, rather than just doing it without the opinion of other team mates. Although this was the case it is possible we were being very agreeable to any idea put forward in order to keep peace, and put over a likable persona. Upon reflection the organisation of our group to begin with was very inefficient, we did not consult one another about how we would make the jacket, before getting on with the task, this meant the sleeves were being made by myself, whilst the body of the jacket by another, with no idea how they would fit together. I believe this is because we all wanted to have a share in making the jacket and help as much as possible, but no one wanted to adopt the role of task leader. On the other hand our team displayed great efficiency in the way we worked together, at one point we had a production line, where one would pass the Sellotape, then one would hold the piece in place, while the other stuck them together. We became a more efficient team the more we worked together on the task. Communication between us became more important. On the whole and on the basis of the finished product, it is evident that our team did work together efficiently, as we finished the task in good time and all of us had an input in the overall finished product. I believe I took on many different roles within the team. Initially I took on the role of energiser. This was evident by my enthusiasm, I was eager to get started and began listing many different ideas I had about how to put the jacket together, Jake was also an energiser as he had many different ideas he wanted to express and was fully involved in the task. Ricky initially  took on the role of relaxer as he was contemplating how things would work out and managed to condense our ideas to form a jacket. In these kind of situations I would usually put forward a good argument as to why my idea should be used above someone elses. I did not adopt this attitude in this instance because my team mates were new acquaintances so I wanted to leave a good impression, I was more conscious of their thoughts and ideas and accommodating them was important to me. With this in mind I would conclude that we worked as a collective rather than a hierarchy. Further into the task I took on the role of nurturer. I wanted to make sure that everyone had an input on the finished product and that all of our ideas had been listened to fairly, and put in place if all agreed. This was evident in that I was asking my team members what other ideas they had, and finding ways of accommodating them. I did not want anyone to feel left out or less involved. Rickys mathematical mind meant that it was easier for us to measure out the different parts of the jacket equally and in proportion. As Jake is used to working as a team when he plays football, this quality was evident in this task, as he was an up building and upbeat member of the team, trying to include everyone in the activities. Jake was soon nominated by myself and Ricky to be the model for the jacket, therefore it was up to me and Ricky to actually make the jacket. We both had an equal share in the labour, cutting, sticking and measuring different parts of the jacket at the same time, then finding a way to fix them together. This was important because if somebody was uninterested or just giving out orders the whole team could be affected and not want to take part. We all helped each other when needed and were happy in our individual tasks. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate the importance of achieving the task 6/10. This is because I did view the task as a competition, even though we were never told it was such. On reflection this would show I am a competitive person and I like a challenge. When a task is viewed competitively one will be more inclined and motivated to try their best and ultimately reach their potential. Initially the task seemed menial and pointless hence why I only  scored 6/10. I was aware the jacket itself had little importance and that rather the emphasis was on team work. Even though I was aware of this my competitiveness made me want to create an excellent jacket. With the prospect of becoming a teacher one day, this teamwork exercise has taught me that there are many different roles people can take on under a team building exercise. Everyone within my team had different skills and abilities. This exercise has taught me, not only how to identify these skills and abilities but also how they can be used in a beneficial way to complete a task. As a teacher I will have to cater for the needs of each student identifying their strengths and weaknesses and using them in a positive and up building way, so they can reach their potential. I have also seen how important these exercises are in terms of the class getting to know one another, for the student this can help by taking the emphasis of social fear and more onto learning. This is evident by more members of the class being involved in group discussions after the task. This could have the same effect on my future students.

Eating Misconceptions in America Essay Example for Free

Eating Misconceptions in America Essay The eating habits of Americans have been changing throughout the years of history. It could be noted that as the state of life increases in terms of wealth and a more stable economy, there are those people who are much encouraged to take in ready-to-eat mixture of preserved foods, some are even more interested in eating junk foods particularly because of the fact that there are numerous kinds of junk foods as well as processed food available in the market for such type of people. Why do they do this? Because of primarily the time that they might consume in preparing â€Å"much-healthier† foods in comparison with the time that they would spend in grabbing a bite of the junks. Since their stomach requires them to fill it with something when they hungry, they preempt that the food they take in counts no matter what kind the food they eat are. Most likely, the aim of eating for them is to simply give in to the craving of their stomach. How is this particular claim proven through statistical studies? The following paragraph shall show the necessary informations collected by the researcher of this particular paper. Methodology The researcher of this paper decided to deal with the situation in a much more actual way of collecting the needed data for the intended study. To be able to do so, the said researcher aimed to pass a random survey-interview among several students in a college campus. With the questions â€Å"What types of foods cause weight gain? † and â€Å"What types of foods help you lose weight? †, the researcher tried to get the opinion of the students and base the study on their answers as to how they view the food that they take in everyday.

The History Of Payless Shoesource Inc Marketing Essay

The History Of Payless Shoesource Inc Marketing Essay Payless ShoeSource Inc. is a self-serve fashion-focused low cost shoe retailer.   The company was founded in 1956 in Topeka, Kansas and has expanded significantly within the domestic and international markets to almost 4,500 stores.   On their website, the stated mission is to democratize fashion and design in footwear and accessories.   Payless seeks to compete effectively by bringing to market differentiated, trend-right merchandise before mass-market discounters and at the same time as department and specialty retailers but at a more compelling price.  [1]  Payless is a subsidiary of Collective Brands, which a holding company for three business units: Payless ShoeSource,  Collective Brands Performance  + Lifestyle Group,  and Collective Licensing International. These units function separately, but have significant business relationships especially in brand licensing for Payless. In 2009, Payless reported $2.576 billion in sales and capture a large percentage for the cost-leader footwear market.  [2]  Payless is represented in all 50 states.   Internationally, Payless has multiple locations in Central and South America, Canada, and the Caribbean.   In 2009, Payless opened stores in the Middle East and has signed agreements to franchise into Russia, the Philippines, Israel, Malaysia, Singapore, Mexico and Indonesia.  [3]  Ã‚   When Payless was founded, it was based on being a low cost provider of shoes for families in a self-service format.   During the 50 years since, Payless has evolved from a low cost distributor to a low cost producer to an on-trend fashion, cost conscience producer and provider while retaining the self service format.   This evolution was a result of changing customer demands and increased retail competition.   Payless retooled their strategy when other low-cost shoe providers such as Wal-Mart and Target entered the shoe market.   This increase in competition on the cost-leader strategy forced Payless to examine their core competencies and their position in the marketplace.   As a result, the emphasis on fashion and design became a priority which is reflected in both their shoe and retail store design.  [4]  Ã‚   Over the past fifteen years, Payless has been increasing the fashion level of their products and have now repositioned themselves as an on-trend fashion outlet with trendy names at reasonable prices.   Payless has formed several partnerships with designers to create capsule collections exclusively at Payless that comprise one season; however due to the success of these designer collections Payless has been expanding these designer relationships.  [5]  Ã‚   The partnerships with designers started in 2007 with Abaetà ©, as a seasonal collection.   The success of the Abaetà © collection leads Payless to develop other partnerships with designers like Lela Rose, Alice + Olivia as well as Zack Zoe.   The most recent guest designer, Christain Siriano, has been a success due to both his design and his popularity of winning season four of Project Runway.   With the immense success of the show, there was instant name recognition and the target audience of the show is in line wit h the target market of Payless.   In fact, Christian Sirianos capsule collection contract was recently extended to be a multi-year contract to its immense success in the market.  [6]   External Analysis When looking at the external analysis for Payless ShoeSource, the general environment is composed of elements that influence the shoe industry and the companies within it. These elements group into six different environmental segments: demographic, economic, political/legal, sociocultural, technological, and global. Demographics for Payless have always played an important role in their overall strategy. Targeting women 16-49 with an income lower than $75,000 USD is their key to success.  [7]  This target market is ideal because individuals within this demographic express themselves through fashion. The economic factors for their general environment are a major downfall. With a target segment on a middle-class income, economic hardships are going to be devastating for Payless. Consumers will spend less on non-necessity goods in hard times, shoes being one of those items. The economy will also influence Payless because they compete based on lower priced fashion items to gain market share. However, since Payless is an international business, economies in other countries such as Latin America or the Middle East can offset these issues in the domestic market. International expansion is where political and legal elements can comes into play for Payless. Currently Payless has 643 international stores with plans to expand heavily in the years to come. By executing joint ventures and franchising, Payless is able to mitigate some of the political and legal risk it could encounter in foreign markets. The sociocultural environment for Payless externally is again positive. Since they are well known in the United States and Canada for keeping up with the latest trends, they can leverage this strategy worldwide. Each country is researched constantly for new trends or looks in the footwear and accessory industry. This research combined with knowledgeable local partners helps Payless with product selection to meet local demand. By researching and overcoming the sociocultural factor, Payless has gained market share each year, even in rough economic times in the United States.    When looking at the technological external environment for Payless, the company is far beyond its competition. Although Payless is based in Topeka, Kansas, all of their shoe manufacturing is completed in the Unites States and 13 other countries around the world. Their main warehouse is 807,000 square feet designed with a state of the art coordination system. These systems keep all the stores replenished with new supply at least twice a week based on style, color and size of the shoes. The global environmental factor for Payless is also a significant part of their strategy. Global factors influencing business are legal, political, social, technological and economic. Each country Payless enters, these influences will change. Moving into global markets via joint ventures or franchising helps lessen the risk for Payless because the partner understands the market and environment the store is operating in. When looking at the supplier power for Payless, 85% of their footwear comes from Chinese factories, 10% from Vietnam and the other 5% from Brazil, India, Indonesia and Thailand.  [8]  Since Payless depends on third parties to manufacture and supply their products, this could cause several problems. There could be a shortage of raw materials, inadequate manufacturing and shipping capacity of the product. In addition, the third parties price fluctuations of raw material, skilled labor as well as currency exchange risk could impact the low price strategy of Payless. Payless also has risk in transportation since it relies on third parties to transport and deliver its products. These third party relationships impact the ability to deliver footwear on time and at a low cost. The buyer power for Payless is a significant threat. Given their current fashion strategy, Payless could one day overcome buyer power, but as of now, they still compete on price and focus this incentive to benefit the consumer. With this buyer power, the threat of substitution is very high for Payless. The footwear industry is all about the latest styles, colors and looks. If Payless did not have a research team focused on implementing new products, substitution would be high for Payless. Bringing in Christian Siriano, Lela Rose and Isabel Toledo as new designers has given Payless a more upscale look at a cost effective price for the consumer. Though there are substitutions for their brands in each product category, Payless is less expensive overall. Competitive rivalry in the footwear industry is never ending. Payless has to compete with the big box stores such as DSW, Famous Footwear, J.C.  Penney, Kohls, Macys, Marshalls, Ross Stores, Target, TJ Maxx, and Wal-Mart. All of these competitors have the capability to hurt Payless in a cost leadership strategy. However, Payless competes in fashion at a lower price point. This fashion focus aligns with their target market that will buy these designer shoes with Christian Siriano, Lela Rose and Isabel Toledo.  [9]   The threat of new entry for Payless is currently small. Although Payless has many competitors in their industry, it would be almost impossible to compete with their net sales and store locations around the world. The startup costs would be high and the sourcing for factories would be time consuming. Designers would need to be experienced and willing to work with foreign factories. New competition could compete on price, but not on quality fashion footwear. Payless has a very favorable position and it should be easy to defend against new entrants. Internal Analysis Payless ShoeSource is dedicated to democratizing fashion and design in footwear and accessories to the world and inspiring fun fashion possibilities for the family.   We provide our customers with the style they want at a great price, and our nearly 4,500 store locations offer an engaging, easy-to-shop experience and outstanding customer service.  [10]  The current mission of Payless ShoeSource has not been long-lived in this form.   After the company experienced it is first lost in 2003, the company worked hard to turn things around.   Beyond working to increase sales and correct the inventory problems, the company revised its mission statement, vision, and company strategy in 2005.  [11]  Ã‚  The current mission has driven the company to develop strategies, which have led the company to exhibit internal strengths and prevailing weaknesses. The most obvious overlying strategy for Payless is cost leadership.   This can be determined not only by the mission statement,  [12]  but also by the name of the store.   As the mission statement states, Payless wants to provide their customers with the style they want at a great price.   Also, the title Payless gives the impression that customers will pay less when buying their shoes at Payless Shoe Source.   This name not only exhibits the goals of the company but what customers can expect by shopping at any of Payless ShoeSources 4470 locations. With the major changes made in 2005, Payless developed new strategies to expand their customer base, which would in turn lead to more sales. These strategies developed in 2005 will be focused on in this analysis as 2005 was a monumental year for strategy development and will be compared to the 2009 annual report analysis of the success of such strategies. One of these new strategies was that Payless would go forward with an offer of on-trend, differentiated products.  [13]  Ã‚  With this, it would increase its accessories and offer a larger athletic footwear section.  [14]  In the 2009 Annual Report, Payless stated that they advanced their strategy to grow beyond footwear as broader and deeper product offerings drove dramatic improvement in the accessories business at Payless ShoeSource.  [15]   Another strategy developed in 2005 was to strengthen and reposition Payless by introducing a house of brands available to the consumer at a discounted price,13 which would fall directly in line with their overlying cost leadership strategy.   This house of brands allowed customers to have access to a variety of brands within Payless, which, according to Matt Rubel, CEO of Payless, would fulfill their focus of democratizing design and fashion in footwear and accessories and their goal to inspire fun fashion possibilities for the family.   Acquiring brands like American Eagle à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢, according to Mr. Rubel, is an important step in achieving this and to our ability to connect with young consumers.   The house of brands includes American Eagleà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢, Champion ®, Airwalk ®, Spalding, and Shaquille ONeal endorsed Dunkmanà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ .  [16]   The third strategy developed in 2005 was to enhance the customer experience by hiring friendly, helpful employees to improve customer service.  [17]  The 2009 annual report confirmed that one aspect of this customer service included measuring childrens feet, which helped increase the sales of the childrens shoes segment.  [18]  Ã‚  Beyond this, there is no data shown as to how successful this strategy has been. The last change in strategy added in 2005 was to improve the efficiency of the business by introducing better technology including a POS system in order to shorten checkout time and keep better track of sales.   In addition, a logistics network would be introduced to improve the companys inventory system and also to improve flexibility in the inventory.13 As far as efficiency goes, the 2009 annual report stated that an added U.S. distribution center shorted replenishment times and lowered costs, improving the gross margin by changing how sizes were assorted and defined store clusters, improving productivity and profitability in 2009.  [19]   Beyond the 2005 strategy developments, a more recent development for Payless is its newly defined international expansion strategies as outlined in the 2009 annual report. Looking at Payless specifically, Collective Brands began franchising Payless internationally 18 months ago and predicts that it will have about 700 locations abroad within the next five years, including 300 of those in Indonesia.  [20]  Ã‚  In the 2009 annual report, it was stated that Payless opened a significant amount of stores in Columbia within the year.  [21]  Ã‚  In 2010, the store introduced a new franchising business model to expand internationally in a quick, low-risk, capital-efficient manner.  [22]  Although the strategy was introduced in 2010, the first three franchised stores opened in the Middle East in 2009.  [23]   Ownership strategy differs by geographic regions.   In North America, mainly the USA and Canada, Payless stores are company-owned.   In Central and South America, stores have been opened as joint ventures with a multitude of partners.   As stated above, franchised stores have existed thus far in the Middle East with franchising as a strategy for future expansion, mainly focused on the Middle East and Asia.  [24]   The last strategy to be assessed in this analysis is a method Payless developed just this year.   Ã‚  This strategy is to develop a recognition of the company as social responsible in order to lure in the socially conscious consumers.   Payless has teamed up with Airwalk   for The Good Shoe Project to allow shoppers to Buy-One-Give-One to a child in need where customers can buy a pair of Airwalk shoes for $19.99 and Payless will give a pair of kids shoes to a child in need through their new partner, World Vision.   Payless plans to give a minimum of 100,000 pairs of shoes to children in South America this Christmas season.  [25]   The core competencies and strengths of Payless ShoeSource exist in its store presence, financial stability, and its ability to keep prices low.   Store presence encompasses the fact that it has already established itself in all 50 states plus a growing number of international locations.  [26]  Ã‚  This presence includes 4470 stores total in 19 countries as of 2009, with 18.6% of stores abroad, or 873 total in 2009.   According to many sources, Payless can be considered one of the largest footwear retailers in the Western Hemisphere selling 140 million pairs of footwear and over 40 million accessories in the US, Canada, Caribbean, Central America, and South America in 2009.  [27]   Financially, Payless has grown its gross margin regardless of the 3.9% decrease in sales due to the recession.   This includes a 5.2% increase in gross margin in 2009, increasing the gross margin to 34.5%.   However, this is primarily due to a low gross margin in 2008 attributable to pre-tax charges of $88.2 million related to the impairment of trade names, $45.1 million due to pre-tax litigation expenses, and $13.2 million of pre-tax charges related to the tangible asset impairment and other charges.   However, the higher gross margin can also be attributed to lower product costs and higher initial mark-on prices of footwear in 2009.  [28]  Ã‚  Though all of these additional charges decreased the gross margin in 2008, a better representation of gross margin improvement is to compare to the 2007 32.6% gross margin.   From 2007 to 2009, the gross margin was improved by 1.9%, or 0.95% per year. Lastly, Payless has been rather successful in their skill to encompass a wide variety of skills including supply chain management and sourcing to keep prices low while also focusing on fashion.   This has allowed Payless to capture the market of moms and middle-class people who care about both fashion and their budget, which is considered to be a success factor of 2009 in the annual report.  [29]   The supply chain management procedures of Payless assist in keeping prices down by making the company more efficient.   This includes the strong supply chain management (SCM) system satisfying the 2005 strategy to improve inventory levels.  [30]  Ã‚  In 2009 annual report, Payless manages inventory through the use of a variety of systems and models related to planning, forecasting, pricing, and allocations to help align promotions, product flow, and pricing with customer shopping patterns.   Although the annual report does not give technical details on these systems, it is clear that the organization of Payless SCM systems have proven to increase the efficiency of the company, and improve the gross margin as previously stated.    One way it has done this on a large scale is by reducing markdowns through using intelligent SCM tools which have been able to stock stores by use of customer clusters, or customer profiles based on lifestyle, demographics, shopping behavior, and appetite for fashion.   Also, the systems keep track of seasonality and climate considerations by geography which have improved the timing of inventory distribution.   The SCM systems have the ability to track historical data to use as a precedent of stores sales volumes and categories that stores tend to sell well along with specific proportions for inventory forecasting.   The high amount of data stored in this system also involves a size assortment matrix tool. This data has reduced old product markdowns by analyzing sizes that could have been avoided in initial purchasing.  [31]  Ã‚   On a smaller scale, the supply chain management systems have provided store-level data management which allows for pricing and inventories to be adjusted on a per-store basis based.   Product pricing is performed per store in order to price products appropriately on a smaller scale rather than one corporate or regional price.   Size variations are also taken into account on a per store basis in order to produce sales forecasts for ordering inventory, optimizing gross margin dollars and reducing markdowns by giving each store individualized attention.  [32]   Another resource advantage of Payless is its sourcing capabilities.   Payless sources out 72% of production to large factories which serve as their manufacturers, consisting mainly of 26 core factories which account for 75% of Collectives footwear purchases.   These factories are given specification and performance standards and then bid for jobs on a competitive basis.  [33]  Ã‚  This network of factories allows Payless to manufacture their products at low prices with companies that they know and trust.   This is a core asset in its ability to keep prices low in its overall strategy of cost leadership. Other than supply chain management and sourcing, other factors providing key assets and skills to Payless are listed in the 2009 annual report.   These factors are the companys ability to develop fashionable, high-quality merchandise in an assortment of sizes, colors, and styles appealing to their target customers; the ability to anticipate and respond to changing customer demands in a timely manner; creating an acceptable value proposition for customers; providing an inviting, customer friendly shopping environment; and, providing effective marketing support.  [34]   Resource disadvantages, or assets and skills that are lacking at Payless, mainly include its lack of knowledge in a few key markets, its marketing resources, its financial resources, and its lack of independence.   These factors keep Payless from optimizing its ability to compete in the market of footwear and accessories. Payless lacks significant knowledge in operating in South American markets.   According to the 2009 annual report, the firm closed 26 Payless stores in Peru and Chile and were categorized as discontinued operations in the report.   The closing of these stores eliminated 200 management and administrative positions, concerning the company with its failure in these markets and the reduced employee morale based on the elimination of these positions.  [35]   Next, the report states its lack of marketing and financial resources as compared to competitors such as Wal-Mart, Target, and other department stores.   Payless is concerned in their ability to continue to compete against these low-cost retailers which provide more of a one-stop-shop for consumers and who also have much larger marketing budgets.   Beyond this, Payless lacks financial ability to withstand reduced shoe sales whereas these competitors have the ability to withstand fluctuations in the market.   High fixed costs in proportion of operating expenses cause declines in operating performance to be magnified with sales shortfalls.   Major fixed costs include leasing costs of stores, debt service expenses, and labor expenses which will all remain regardless of sales.   Labor expenses in particular remain the same as the stores generally employ minimum employees regardless of sales volume.  [36]   The last resource disadvantage to be concerned with in this analysis is the lack of independence from third parties to manufacture and distribute products.   Though this is somewhat an external concern, it is also a problem internally as the company is weak in its ability to withstand factors affecting the manufacturing line.    Overall, the internal analysis of Payless is strong in many areas, mainly its ability to follow execute its mission statement and strategies following directly in line with this mission.   A competitors analysis will get more into the analysis of Payless ShoeSources ability to compete in the footwear and accessories market on both a short and long-term basis. Comparison to Competitors   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The retail footwear and accessories industry is highly competitive. It is comprised of department stores, footwear specialty stores, discount mass-merchandisers, sporting good stores and on-line competitors. In addition, many retailers that have not carried footwear have added footwear and accessories lines to their stores.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For Payless Domestic, they compete mainly with DSW, Famous Footwear, J.C. Penney, Kohls, Macys, Marshalls, Ross Stores, Target, TJ Maxx, and Wal-Mart and they seek to compete effectively by coming into the market with differentiated, trend-right merchandise before mass-market discounters. Besides the timing of producing new merchandise, Payless also requires their trend-right merchandise to be priced below department stores and specialty retailers. In the worldwide footwear industry, Payless faces various competitive challenges from retailers and wholesalers since their financial and marketing resources are less than some competitors. Although under high pressure of increasing competitiveness, Payless still focuses on the following points as bases of enhancing their low cost on trend-fashion competitive advantage: Developing fashionable, high-quality merchandise in an assortment of sizes, colors and styles that appeal to their target consumers: For example, Dyelightsà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ is exclusively offered by Payless ShoeSource stores. It is a unique feature that sets Payless apart from the competition. The shoes are dyed to the customers specifications and are available for pick up in about 10 days at the Payless ShoeSource store or delivered to the customer for an additional shipping fee.  [37]  As previously mentioned, Payless also has strategic partnerships with designers that emphasis high fashion for under $60. With their extensive licensing Payless is also able to have a house of brands that appeals to fashion focused consumers. Ensuring product availability and optimizing supply chain effectiveness: Payless uses different systems and models to ensure timely delivered to meet customer demand, which drives sales and margin growth. The company creates targeted assortments based on localized demand and specific product lifecycles. Payless also prices their products at the store level to manage aged inventory. Payless has a global supply chain structure that integrates their design, product development and sourcing functions. Coordinated transportation is also a vital component of efficiency for Payless. They employ the just-in-time model and each distribution center only has eight days of supply for store replenishment.  [38]   High quality assurance and low price:   Payless contracts with factories that meet their specified quality and safety standards for shoe production; minimum capacity requirements; production control processes; and agree not to use forced or child labor.  [39]  Payless also provides technical design support for their direct purchasing functions. For example, Payless locates their field inspection personnel close to the factories and freight consolidation facilities that they use throughout the world. By concentrating on quality, Payless is able to reduce rework costs. Shopping environment and customer service: Payless uses a customer focused sales staff to provide attentive, product knowledgeable service. Payless also offers customers a self-selection shopping environment, which allows customers to select their shoes freely. Shoes and accessories are displayed neatly and grouped by type of shoe ensuring self-selection is easy.  [40]  Customers can seek help from trained and professional associates if they need any help. In addition, Payless executes an easy and convenient return policy even if the shoes are worn. This emphasis on cost containment through efficient supply chain management helps Payless maintain its historic low-cost position. This, when combined with its retail product selection optimization, increases profit margins. Payless is focused on the customer experience through excellent customer service and accessible on-trend fashion. Their competitors compete on cost or brand, but are unable to combine the strategies efficiently. Payless has developed a competitive advantage by leveraging their house of brands, designer partnerships, efficient supply chain, and optimized product mix. Recommendations Although Payless has made some bold and aggressive steps in recent history in order to further strengthen their position in the marketplace, we feel Payless needs to initiate changes on four unique planes. Continued and expanded efforts in pricing strategies and product differentiation, a refined domestic retail system, new strategic marketing initiatives, and a revised overseas expansion policy are all necessary for Payless to realize sustainable competitive advantages in

Julius Caesar Essay -- essays research papers

How Betrayal Led to Downfall in Julius Caesar   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare shows how friends often betray each other. Julius Caesar is about to be crowned king of Rome, when some well-known Romans decide that it is not a good idea for this to happen. They form a conspiracy and kill Caesar. Brutus, an honorable Roman and a very good friend of Caesar’s, betrays Caesar by killing him for the good of Rome. Antony, Caesar’s best friend and another honorable Roman, betrays Brutus by turning against the conspirators. Cassius, a respected Roman, and Brutus betray each other by arguing and destroying their friendship. All this betraying lead to many deaths in the play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Brutus betrayed Caesar for the good of Rome by killing him, he had no idea that he would regret it later on in his life. Brutus wanted to kill Caesar because he thought that if Caesar became king, he would forget who his real friends are and he would not pay attention to them. He also thought that Caesar would become too powerful and therefore did not want him to be king. This is shown when Portia says, â€Å"†¦Brutus hath a suit / that Caesar will not grant†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (2.4.41-42). Although Brutus had a clear conscience, the people of Rome did not. This eventually led to Brutus being driven out of Rome by the citizens. Not being associated with Rome anymore made Brutus’ life worse and he eventually took his own life as the only way to...

Abuse in Government Care Essay example -- Childcare Foster Adoption Ab

Abuse in Government Care   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is unfortunate that in our society some children grow up without the opportunity of having a loving family to raise them. More unimaginable is children growing up with parents or family members that are abusive. Children raised in abusive environments that are reported to social services and removed from their home are placed into foster care. Foster care is defined supervised care for delinquent or neglected children usually in an institution or substitute home set up by the government. Some advocates claim that the government child care system is adequate, but others like David Van Biema of Time Magazine state that, â€Å"foster care is intended to protect children from neglect and abuse at the hands of parents and other family members, yet all too often it becomes an equally cruel form of neglect and abuse by the state (Biema).† There is substantial research that looks deeper into the foster care system. It reveals that abuse in foster care is a big e nough problem that it needs to be addressed, but what changes can or should be made?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Government statistics, newspaper articles, and thorough research projects have been completed to answer the question, â€Å"is there a problem in the foster care system?† The results have revealed that a serious problem exist within foster care in the United States. At any given time there are approximately 542,000 children in the foster care system (Dept of Health). This number continues to rise each year. In 2001, 290,000 children entered into foster care, while only 263,000 children left the system (Dept of Health). Of the 263,000 children that left foster care in the year 2001, 31% were in care for over two years (Dept of Health). Nineteen percent of those children were in foster care for one to two years (Dept of Health). Two years is an unacceptable amount of time when taken into consideration that between the ages of 8 and ten are critical developmental years in a child’s life. The average age of the a child leaving the foster care system in 2 001 was 10.2 years old (Dept of Health). The amount of children per foster home at any given time is another problem. The average number of children per home in the foster care system is 3.7, which is up from 1.4 in 1983. Although 3.7 children is an average per home, there are claims that tens of thousands of homes have 5 – 8 children at once (C... ... we can ask for is that they come out alive (Thoma 8).† Work Cited: Biema, David Van. â€Å"The Storm Over Orphanages.† Time Magazine, p. 144   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  12 Dec. 1994. Cohen, Deborah L. â€Å"Foster-Care Reforms Often Ignore Problems Children Face in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  School.† Education Weekly 15 June 1991. Maier, Timothy W. â€Å"Suffer the Children.† Insight on the News 24 Nov. 1997: Pg. 11. Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. â€Å"Public records and confidentiality laws.† Jan. 2004 http://emanuals.odjfs.state.oh.us/emanuals/legal/pubrec/@Generic__BookTextVie w/3;cs=default;ts=default;pt=23. Ritchotte, William. â€Å"Foster Care Reform.† Adoption.com   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://library.adoption.com/Advocacy/Foster-Care-Reform/article/5053/1.html. Thoma, Rick. â€Å"How Widwspread a Problem? A Critical Look at the Foster Care System† Liftingtheveil.org 24 June 2003 http://www.liftingtheveil.org/foster04.htm. Thoma, Rick. â€Å"A Critical Look at the Foster Care System: How Safe the Service?† Liftingtheveil.org 15 Nov. 2002 http://www.liftingtheveil.org/foster03.htm. U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services. â€Å"Foster Care National Statistics.† 2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://nccanch.acf.hhs.gov/pubs/factsheets/foster.cfm.

Free Essays on Kafkas Metamorphosis: Metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa :: Metamorphosis essays

   â€Å"When he lifted his head a little, he saw his vaulted brown belly, sectioned by arch-shaped ribs, to whose dome the cover, about to slide off completely, could barely cling. His many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, were waving helplessly before his eyes.† Gregor Samsa has gone through a metamorphosis. This change has turned Gregor into a â€Å"monstrous vermin†. The anxieties, inner terrors, and cynicism, which fill Gregor’s life, are expressed by Kafka throughout the novel, metamorphosis. Franz Kafka uses these feelings as an element of Expressionism to convey Gregor’s attitudes towards his life and society. Examples depicting this element of Expressionism used in the novel are Gregor’s feelings towards his job, the effect his job has on his family, and the cruelty that his family displays. The novel opens with Gregor in his monstrous state, late for work. He infers that his job as a traveling salesman is very consequential, yet he is growing tired and frustrated, â€Å"The upset of doing business is much worse than the actual business in the home office, and, besides, I’ve got the torture of traveling, worrying about changing trains, eating miserable food at all hours, constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that last or get more intimate. To the devil with it all!† Gregor has a great amount of fury towards his job, which eventually led to his anger towards society as a whole. The fact that his office manager showed up at Gregor†™s house plays an immense role in creating trepidation and anxieties in Gregor’s mind. Gregor feels strangled by his job and is too weak to tolerate the pressure. In addition to the pressure created by his office manager and society, the Samsa’s, especially Gregor’s father, take advantage of him. Gregor earns the basic income to support his family. â€Å"But of course he actually could have paid off more of his father’s debt to the boss with this extra money, and the clay on which he could have gotten rid of his job would have been much closer, but now things were undoubtedly better, the way his father had arranged them.† The superficiality of the Samsa’s has put Gregor in a difficult position, which is a component causing Gregor’s metamorphosis. Gregor’s family in general, had given him the attitude he has on life. They took advantage of him to the point where he was the means of the family’s survival.

Political Maharashtra

Politics of Maharashtra After India's independence, most of Maharashtra's political history was dominated by the Indian National Congress party. Maharashtra became a bastion of the Congress party producing stalwarts such as Yashwantrao Chavan, Vasantdada Patil, Shankarrao Chavan, Vasantrao Naik, Vilasrao Deshmukh and Sharad Pawar. The party enjoyed near unchallenged dominance of the political landscape until 1995 when the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured an overwhelming majority in the state to form a coalition.After a split in the Congress party, former chief minister Sharad Pawar formed the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), but formed a coalition with the Congress to keep out the BJP-SS combine. Prithviraj Chavan of Congress party is the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Maharashtra, 1960-1971 Establishment of the State : In 1956 the Bombay State ceded Kannada-speaking territory to Mysore, but gained Marathwada (Aurangabad Division) from Hyderabad State a nd Vidarbha (Amravati and Nagpur Divisions) from Madhya Pradesh & Berar.In 1960, Bombay State was split into the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Administration : From 1962 to 1979 Maharashtra was administrated by an Indian National Congress (INC) led government Annals : 1960 : Bombay State split into Gujarat and Maharashtra; Bombay capital of Maharashtra, Marathi provincial language 1960 : Nagpur Pact; Nagpur (Vidarbha) elevated to second capital of Maharashtra; legislative assembly meets here for two weeks in December every year 1961 : communal violence in Nagpur (BBoY 1962) 962 : state election; INC formed government 1966 : communal incidents in Maharashtra (BBoY 1967) 1966 : Shiv Sena (SHS), Maharashtra Hindu party, founded 1967 : state election; INC formed government 1968 : Hindu-Muslim riots in Aurangabad and Nagpur (BBoY 1969) 1969 : India's first nuclear power station at Tarapur became operational (BBoY 1970) Social History : In 1961 the population of Maharashtra was 39. 9 million, in 1971 50. 3 million. The Statesman's Yearbook, based on the census of 1971, gives the literacy rate for Maharashtra in 1971 as 39. %; in 1961 80. 2 % of the population were Hindus, 7. 6 % Muslims, 7 % Buddhists. Government, Politics and Judiciary Maharashtra is one of the most advanced states in India, the second most populated state and the third largest state in India. The government, politics and judiciary of Maharashtra is quite similar to those of the other states. The state of Maharashtra is governed by the Governor and the Chief Minister. The Governor is the nominal head of the state and the Chief Minister is the Head of the government.He is the head of the political party which has the maximum number of seats in the State Legislative Assembly. The State Legislative Assembly is also known as the Vidhan Sabha and it is situated in the capital city of Maharashtra, Mumbai. The Chief Minister has all the executive powers which he can execute taking the advice of his c ouncil of ministers. The government of Maharashtra is aided by a bicameral parliament, the lower house and the upper house – the Vidhan Sabha and the Vidhan Parishad.At present the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is Vilasrao Deshmukh from the Congress Party. The political party which holds the maximum number of seats in the Vidhan Sabha at present is the NCP which had formed the government with a coalition with the Congress. The state of Maharashtra has been nominated 19 seats in the Rajya Sabha and 48 in the Lok Sabha. Commissions : The four commissions of the government of Maharashtra are the State Election Commission, Maharashtra Public Service Commission, Union Public Service Commission, and Staff Selection Commission.These commissions have been formed to fulfill certain special responsibilities such as conducting exams which are related to government jobs. The State Election Commission: has the responsibility of taking care of the election chores in the state. There is a s tate election commissioner who is appointed on the basis of certain qualifications. Maharashtra Public Service Commission: the MPSC consists of examinations which are scheduled for the posts of Judges of the Co – Operative courts, Assistant Director, Special District Social Welfare Officer, Medical Officer.This commission fixes the dates of the examinations, the syllabus for the examination, the schedule for the interview and other details in connection with the examinations. Union Public Service Commission: the most important function of the Union Public Service Commission is the recruitment of services through written examinations and interviews, advising the state government on the recruitment of personnel, disciplinary functions, other miscellaneous functions regarding pensions and reimbursements of legal expenses. Staff Selection Commission: he function of the Staff Selection Commission of the Maharashtra government is to select staff of the Group B and technical staff o f the Group C in the Ministries or Departments, Government of India offices, Election Commission and the Central Vigilance Commission. The Commission is responsible for formulation of policies which might assist in conducting the examination smoothly. Government Departments : Maharashtra government is dedicated towards serving the citizens and for that purpose it has delegated the responsibility to the various departments of the government.Each department takes care of the different needs of the inhabitants. Apart from the government departments, the government of Maharashtra is assisted by the Boards and Corporations in the fulfillment of its duty. The Government Departments and their functions are: Agriculture Department Co-operation Department Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) Directorate of Technical Education, Maharashtra Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) Employment and Self Employment Department, Maharashtra Finance Department, Maharash traFood, Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department Forest Department Home Department Irrigation Department Public Works Department (PWD) Vidhan Sabha : The Vidhan Sabha of Maharashtra is the lower house or the House of the People. The total strength of the House is 289 members and the term of office for the members is five years. Under unusual conditions the House may be dissolved. It consists of members who are directly elected by the people of Maharashtra. There are certain qualifications required to be the member of the Vidhan Sabha which are: To be a citizen of IndiaTo be not less than 25 years of age To be mentally sound and not bankrupt To have an affidavit of not having any criminal procedures against him. Mumbai High Court : The highest body of the Maharashtra judiciary is the Bombay High Court under which there are the Subordinate Courts which serve the districts and the City Civil Courts. The Bombay High Court can exercise original jurisdiction over the state of Ma harashtra, Goa, Daman and Diu. It has benches in the cities of Bombay, Aurangabad, Nagpur and Panaji in Goa. The Bombay High Court can exercise both original and appellate jurisdiction in Bombay.The Bombay High Court can have maximum of 64 judges. The judiciary of the state of Maharashtra offers legal aid services in all its benches. The Lokayuktas and the Upa – Lokayuktas form the subordinate courts of Maharashtra. the benches of the Bombay High Court in the cities also serve as the subordinate courts in the state. Other than that there is the Maharashtra State Legal Services and Authority department which provides all the necessary information about the important names and contact numbers related to the judiciary services. Maharashtra Politics : Current ScenarioIndia is the biggest democratic country in the world. Indian democracy provides the right of vote to its citizens to elect the government of their choice after every period of five years. However, some times unfortun ately the situation rises when the ruling government looses majority in the house and vote of non-confidence is passed by the opponent party, and if the ruling party is not able to win the vote of non-confidence the house has to under go the mid-term elections. This situation may rise at the Lok Sabha in centre or at Vidhan Sabha or State Assembly in state.The major political parties dominating Indian Politics from the last few decades have been Indian National Congress and Bhartiya Janta Party besides them there are various regional parties at state level which play an influencing role in the political scenario. These parties however do not have their threshold in whole country but they have their impact on the politics at state level. These parties are the ruling parties in some of the states and in some states they act as an alliance of the party in rule. The politics of Maharashtra is not an exception to it where apart from the two major political parties i. e. , Indian

Social Media: Bane or Boon?

SOCIAL MEDIA BOON OR bane? Roberto M. Macatuggal, Ph. D. weather vane 2. 0 has alterd blade-based work, much(prenominal)(prenominal) as amicable lucreing sites, wikis, communication tools, etc. , that strain collaboration and sh ar among l give up superstarselfrs. This plat get (Davis, 2012), set forth but as the read/ salvage web, entirelyows callrs to be two consumers and producers of online centre. It is an active bipartisan web a flummox where chance(a) folks with earnings access broadcasterior create and edit stuff. Davis compargons Web 1. 0 and Web 2. 0 Web 1. 0 was a place to go and get, era Web 2. 0 is a place to be and do.Gregory (2011) clarifies further that Web 2. 0 allows for participating and sharing in the take of resources. It is ab place communities, participation, and peering. A hearty network (Wikipedia) is a theoretical construct that is utilise to involve the transactionhips between and among individuals, mixer units, or even whol e societies. Georg Simmel pi whizered in aboriginal structural theories in Sociology and Jacob Moreno is cr redact for having substantial the low gear sociograms in the 1930s to subject field inter psycheal races. Web 2. 0 fond networking working capabilities withstand spawned the development of mixer media tools.What is fond media? According to Parker (2011) fond media atomic number 18 the uses of Web technology to rotate subjects through tender interaction that happens online. Rean John Uehara (Webdesigner. com) defines kind media as a combination of gay interaction through web applications where multitude produce their admit pith, mold their testify experience, and define their online charge. A loose commentary of genial media is that its like a country, mass gather and interact with ample amounts of heap from their bea and abroad. Its in reality a broad place, both wonderful and terrible depending on its use.Two of the most general complaisant me dia are Facebook (visited at http// blog. facebook. com/blog. php? post =287542130) which claims to have more than 400 zillion drug users and chitter (http//blog. twitter. com/2010/02/measuring-tweets. html) receiving around 50 one thousand million modifys a day from users, which is an average of 600 tweets per second. Parker (2011) differentiates the quest affable media tools 1. Blogging an informal conversational strong suit for writing and publishing message online on lawful basis. (e. g. , Blogger, Typepad, WordPress). 2. Microblogging a short form of blogging where posts are usually limited in length and format. e. g. , chirrup, Friendfeed) 3. br differently Networking a agency to engage and interact with a specialised online community by way of a fan or profile page. 4. brformer(a)ly Bookmarking a rudimentary location for handbill links to useful resources which do- nonhing be seen and allocated by other users. (e. g. , Digg, Stumbleupon, Delicious). 5. m ultimedia Sharing rich media such as video, images, and presentation online. (e. g. , YouTube, SlideShare, Flickr). 6. Reviews and Opinions a way for customers to partake opinions and reviews of products and services online. (e. g. , yokel Answers, Epinions, eHow). 7.Wikis a central repository designed to be edited by a group earlier than one person. (e. g. , Wikipedia, Wikia, Wikitravel, Dealipedia, Wikimapia). What are the benefits of complaisant media? Nakul Arora wrote in his blog that in todays fast growing world, social media is the in vogue(p) thing which has made its presence mat virtually crossways all the sectors. Facebook and Twitter are two big players having volume control within social media. and so, it becomes precise of import for whatever organization today to be present in some form or the other on these networks so as to associate with the wide-eyed following these networks have.These networks have to a fault interpreted individualism to a nonh er level all told with each person having a considerable say over his friend group. Thus if any program lineal psychiatric hospital at all succeeds in winning over a student to avail of its educational services, the chance of influencing his friends in like humans beingner increases. According to Arora, at that place are 5 things that educational understructures heap do to tap into the students on Facebook and Twitter 1. Forming a devote group. This aspect involves excogitation of a dedicated team for the sole purpose of managing the social media setup for the entry.This is rattling important in the present milieu there beingness more than one department in an institution. It is also important to assure the smooth functioning of the online groups with the social media team managing and ensuring a straight-laced adjust between all the different aspects of the institution. An sample here to show the need of such a team would be to simply take a case wherein an ex -student of the university sends step up a job fortune to a group of present students online. Now, the social team would keep track of this and forward it to the individual department which an then ensure that the opportunity is properly utilized by the students. This dedicated team would also ensure that the institutions updates are well aforethought(ip) and organized instead of doing them at random. This would thus, allow well to the different groups of ex, current and potential students. 2. Giving before receiving. A mutual rule of the internet is that you have to inaugural give before you receive. Any person would only follow a particular(prenominal) group or institution if they are sharing things that are queer and advantageous in some way for the person.This is non a tough thing to achieve, for either institution is unique in its cause aspect and thus, creation and sharing of unique things wouldnt offer such a big problem. Also, the university cease utilize its antecedently existing case-studies, problems, etc. for the purpose of engage the prospecting and other interested students. It pot also persona impudentlysletter articles about happenings in the institution with the people who are interested in keeping updated with the affairs of the school. 3. Forming and organize student online groups.Students are any institutions biggest asset and send away be the best people to spread the depicted object of the happenings and current carriage of the institution. Thus, any institution should maintain an online students group where it should form a dedicated team of student volunteers to share the latest things from the campus. This would give the prospective students a real glimpse of the actual life in the campus and also help them connect with the current students. The ex-students earth-closet also use this group to remain connected with their Alma Mater.Such groups can also be formed for circumstantial purposes a group can be formed solely for the purpose of sharing internship opportunities by the alumni with the current students. Another such group can be totally for the alumni and staff members to reconnect and be in touch. Also, small groups can be formed to bewitch students who have negative attitudes and perceptions about the school. 4. movement of influential personalities on the networks. Every college has its heroes professors or teachers who are famous for their service in a particular field of study.These are people who have a abundant fan following and thus, any update that they make will be followed by a large number of people. The university has to ensure that professors of such repute have their presence in the social world as well and they also communicate on a regular basis with their followers. more a(prenominal) institutions have already initiated this with their chancellors and heads having an active Facebook or Twitter account. They can actually hold open open forums, discussions or simply dissolving agent some queries occasionally on the social media. 5. Trying to create a reform world.The institutions can also use the social media for their aims towards providing a good education to all. This can be done with the creation of spare online courses which can be taken by anyone and bothone. The world has been propel guide in that direction with the macrocosm of Apples iUniversity which gives the universities an opportunity to bid a host of courses, either throw in the towel or paid. This will go a long way in ontogenesis the reputation of the university while benefiting in the outgrowth due to development of good content and new courses.This will help towards creating a better world where quality education will be free and easy to all. As the prevalence of social media continues to rise, organizations of all eccentric persons and sizes are recognizing the ways in which social media can help them better understand, serve to, and attract the attention of their scrape auditory sense. As a result, product linees are now start on the social media bandwagon at a rapid pace, embracing blogs, social networks, wikis, and other vehicles to achieve their marketing and public relations goals.The types of benefits that corporations achieve with an effectual social media system (http//shiftcomm. com/social_media_benefits. html) are the following 1. Get the message out faster and to more people. companionable media enables more rapid sharing of teaching. It whitethorn take hours, or even days, for a new announcement to reach the end consumer through traditional channels. Why? Because when a press release is issued, a diarist or writer must first wade through all the gross revenue and marketing lingo to find the divulge points.Then, the content must be re-purposed in article format, and sent to an editor or proofreader before it is published. Social media vehicles, on the other hand, allow for instantaneous dissemination of not just news, but images, audio, video, and other multimedia content as well. And because releases accommodate toward social media outlets intercept only anchor highlights, pertinent facts, and hyperlinks to related statistics and quotes, the information they contain can be immediately picked up and posted by bloggers and other online journalists.Social media also provides more widespread coverage, enabling gap news to reach a overmuch larger and broader reader base than step media outlets alone. While magazine readership and the number of on tap(predicate) print publications continue to decline, the number of consumers development the internet to access and share information continues to rise sharply. For example, one upstart study showed that almost one out of every quaternary Internet users over 41 million people total in 2006 visits MySpace on a regular basis. 2. remediate discolorationing.Social media, and blogs in particular, can be a highly useful tool for enhancing bo th awareness and image. Blogging can help spread the word about a company, its products, and its services to more people, dramatically increasing brand recognition and awareness. Additionally, social media can enable executives to gather input and feedback directly from their target audience, and use that intelligence for more strong reputation management. Insight into why people like or hate a brand is needed to help castrate and control audience perceptions and preferences. 3. advertize the partake of direct marketing.Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key component of todays direct marketing and lead extension strategies, and social media has proven its ability to significantly complement SEO initiatives. many social media techniques such as frequent use of car park jargon and key phrases, title tags, heart and soul symbols, and links to blogs and other relevant Web content can dramatically make better look to engine rankings. Additionally, while SEO relies on ju st a handful of prevalent search engines such as Google and Yahoo to drive target prospects to a site, social media expands the potential audience by creating jumpstart channels.For example, when content is published to a site, and that content is then linked to delicious or reddit, it can let a awesome boost in Web traffic. Many companies also find it much easier to generate compelling content that is likely to be picked up by bloggers, than it is to keep up with the rules required to rank high in todays popular search engines Parker (2011) suggests five (5) steps in the effective use of social media in business 1. Think of the bigger picture. Be self-consistent with the message you wish to convey across various tools. 2. Use less rather than more media tools.It is important to consider your objectives as a basis for selecting the appropriate media tool. 3. cite a social media champion. The person would be trusty in engaging the clients / customers regularly develops strate gies to promote the business through social media. He/she would also be responsible in coordinating employees personal and social media activities. 4. Tracking the effect. Track the impact of social media efforts on the business such as increased traffic to the website of your business. 5. Take action. keep on the social media tool that gives you more business.Schools have likewise taken advantage of social media to reach out to as many students as possible. For universities competing to attract top students, its no longer enough to have a glossy brochure and a cunning website. Schools like Johns Hopkins are reaching out to engage with applicants on Facebook and Twitter. Theyre also conclusion that a robust social media campaign, along with such creative features as student-run blogs, can lure prospective students while a stale online presence can flex them off. College admissions officers are indeed learning to interact with students where they hang out online.According to a rec ent study by the Center for merchandising Research at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, 100% of universities surveyed use social media to communicate with students, up from 61% in 2007-08. The study found that 98% of the responding colleges have a Facebook page and 84% have a Twitter account. What are some of the misuses of social media? Social media, fit to Prateek Shah, is as prone to misuse as your computer is to virus. One of the misuses of social media is defaming people/groups/religions/communities. This is possible because of the anonymity of the person menu the derogatory statements.Celebrity fake accounts are being made and untrue stories about them are being spread. Hacking at home has led to stealing of passwords and accessing the private lives of others, leading to relationship woes and even divorces. A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) revealed that four out of five lawyers reported a growing number of divorce cases that cited narr ate derived from networking sites. What is at stake when social media is misuse and abused? Because of social media misuse and abuse, Uehara (posted at Webdesigner. om) says that you as a social media user may lose 1. Your soul. If you have a huge audience and you make one little blunder, people will spank you with their pitchforks. 2. Your integrity. Huge claims, especially in public, can easily be cross-examined. 4. Your privacy. Often, people would share snippets of their personal lives on social media sites which is equal to loss of privacy. 3. Your job. community have disjointed their jobs because of a single tweet 4. Your proximo. People remember. What you share now with people can haunt you several years from now.The future of social media Gregory argues that social networking through the web with sites such as Twitter, Myspace, Facebook, Second Life, YouTube, and sparkle is becoming a widespread if not dominant form of communication among Internet users, and most popu lar phenomena prognosticators forecast that this type of collaborating will continue and grow exponentially. Prateek Shah warns that regular attempts at curbing the freedom of social media will be made, but the justness is that it is leading us towards a new world where the lies will be trashed and the red-handed will be charged.He says that It will not happen overnight but heighten has begun and it is for the common good. In the Philippines, our legislators have crafted star sign Bill 3732, otherwise known as the Freedom of learning Bill. Social Media and the Internet will be among the enablers of the Freedom of Information Bill, which will boost transparency and background graft and corruption in the government. Maintaining respectable motive in the hyper-networked world of social media Tyler Pennock, coach of Social Media, Rude Finn Creative limit formulated the following ethical guidelines in the use of social media 1. Honesty tell nly what you know to be true and be clear about opinion or conjecture vs. fact. 2. Transparency Be frank about who you are and who youre representing online. 3. lever Respect for yourself, your peers, and even your adversaries. 4. Privacy accomplish the intimate details of others as you would your own personal information. 5. Relevance Ensure that the content youre posting is relevant to the audience and the venue where its being posted. 6. debt instrument Take ownership of your online activities, the content youve created, and any missteps youve made along the way.Conclusion Social media is mans creation to respond to a need for expanding the network of social relationships, towards the identification of a real global village. However, the effectivity of such social media depends on the survival of the tools that suit ones purposes and objectives, including their proper use through the observance of ethical practices that respect the rights and uphold the dignity of the human person. References Arora, Nakul. 5 Ways Educational Institutions hobo Use Facebook and Twitter For Studies And Coordination.Davis, Cheryl Ann Peltier. (2012). The Cybrarians Web. capital of the United Kingdom Facet Publishing. Gregory, Vicki L. (2011). Collection Development and focussing for 21st Century Library Collections An Introduction. unsanded York Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. Parker, Catherine . (2011). 301 Ways to Use Social Media to Boost Your Marketing. New York McGraw-Hill. Prateek, Shah. Use, pervert and Abuse of Social Media. Posted at http//greensmyles. com/2012/06/the-use-and-misuse-of-social-media/ Uehara, Rean John. Social Media Misuse That Could Cost You Big Time. Webdesigner. com.