Criminal Justice Essay

In my essay I will explicate how the various aspect of criminal justice relate to one another as well as why it so important in society. Criminal Justice refers to the facet of social justice that concern violators of criminal law. The community interest within the criminal justice system demands the apprehension and punishment of law violators (Schmalleger, 2012, pg. 7). The concept of criminal justice is that someone or persons accused of crimes are innocent till proven guilty though the proof is overwhelming. The three major elements of the criminal justice system are the police, the courts and the correctional facility and everyone play a major role within the criminal justice system. These processes involve a series of steps starting with a criminal investigation and ending with the discharge of a convicted offender from correctional supervision. The primary element of the criminal justice system is law enforcement. Police are public agencies whose functions are to take care of order within the community, manage crime by implementing the criminal law, and supply accommodations. They assist the prosecution by getting proof compulsory to convict an offender in court. Within the policing method the subsequent problems are dealt with: the crime, initial contact either with the victim or the suspect, investigation, apprehend and custody. The second element is that the court system. This is where the person charged with committing a criminal offense has their case determined by a judge or jury. It’s within the court system where justice and truth prevails. It’s the prosecutors’ job to ascertain his or her case. The defense is there for the offender and therefore the judge is there to stay order on each side. Within the court process charging, preliminary hearing perceiving of whether or not or not an arraignment or grand jury hearing, bail or detention, plea negotiations, trail/adjudication and sentencing takes place. Lastly is the correctional facility. At Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility we’ve been told that our agencies purpose is to up hold the penalization that was imposed by the court, to rehabilitate, and maintain safety. Whether public or behind the fence, we must maintain safety. During this stage it’s determined whether or not you go home or to jail, parole/probation or house apprehend. These agencies process suspects, defendants, and convicted offenders and are interdependent insofar because the selections of one agency have an effect on different agencies. The importance of criminal justice system in our society goes without verbally expressing. If you take a glance around without those systems in place crime rates would be at an all-time high. Applied to society, criminal justice is the system that guarantees fairness and equal treatment to any underneath its guidance. The agencies directly or indirectly associated with the criminal justice system have an effect on everything that transpires in our everyday lives. Law enforcement ascertains that laws are being obeyed; judges ascertain that people who transgress the law are penalization fairly and attorneys ascertain that everybody has a voice in a court of law. The components of the criminal justice system are the police, courts and corrections. All of these components have on common goal and that’s to protect society from crime and criminals. Our criminal justice system plays a vital role in ensuring that this is done. Without our criminal justice system it would be like the quote from Dr. Martin Luther King; â€Å"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere†.

Macroeconomics Case Assignment Essay

GDP: Questions: 1. Assume that consumer spending is $1,000, government expenditures are $300, investments by industry are $150, and the excess of exports over imports is $200. Compute the GDP. (Please show your work) The basic formula for calculating the GDP is: Y = C + I + E + G C=1000; I=150; E=200 and G=300 Y=1000+150+200+300=1650, Y=1650 2. If we are able to increase our domestic energy production, and that allows us to import less oil from foreign countries, briefly explain what will happen to the GDP. If Exports exceeds imports then it will add to the GDP but if imports are more than the exports it subtracts from the GDP. With this being said if we import less oil from foreign countries then it would positively impact the nation’s GDP. Inflation Questions: 1. If the CPI went from 100 to 104 during the past year, the rate of inflation, in percent, was? (Please show your work) Rate of inflation = (104 – 100)/100 x 100 = 4/100 x 100 = 4% 2. If the CPI went from 231 to 234 over the past year, the rate of inflation was? (Please show your work) Rate of inflation = (234 – 231)/231 x 100, = 3/231 x 100, = 1.30% Unemployment rate Questions: 1. Assume the entire civilian labor force is 20,000 people and the number of unemployed is 2,000 people. Compute the unemployment rate, in percent. (Please show your work) Unemployment Rate= 2000/20000 = 0.1 *100 = 10 Unemployment Rate=10% 2. Assume the entire civilian labor force is 20,000 people, the number of unemployed is 2,000 people but, 500 of the unemployed have now stopped looking for work. Compute the unemployment rate, in percent. (Please show your work) Unemployment Rate=1500/19500= 0.078 Unemployment Rate= 7.8% International Economic Trends 1. Compare the four countries in terms of Output and Growth (Real GDP). The analysis should only cover the period from the beginning of 2008 to the present, and make sure the most recent 2011 changes are addressed. The 2008 economic contraction affected the world economy. 2008 seen the housing market crash both here and in Japan. By 2009, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States all saw negative economic growth. Japan’s economy was hit the hardest with -10% growth in 2009 as demand for their products weakened. Canada was the last to fall into negative growth and experienced the least negative growth of the four countries. All experienced a partial recovery in 2010 as GDP came out of negative growth and each seen minimal growth. The global economic crisis, however, hit the country’s mainstay exports hard and brought on Japan’s worst recession since World War II, in late 2008. Since mid-2009, Japan has limped back into recovery, helped by exports and stronger capital investment. 2011 was looking up for the Japanese economy, relatively speaking, but the earthquake and tsunami in early March 2011 has put the economy in a tailspin with a large portion of the country affected not only by the devastation but the effects of the nuclear power plan leakage. Canada, the UK, and the U.S. appear to be going into the double dip recession as the economies in 2010 were making slow recovery, 2011 has seen more contraction. The monetary policies of all four countries have slowed the pace of the recession, but are going to be unable to fix the problems, because the national debt are so high, deficit are rising, and projections are not good. Monetary policy, keeping interest rates low and printing more money can only do so much; fiscal policies implementing stimulus packages have foreseeable failed and only added to national debts. 2. Compare the four countries with respect to Inflation and Prices (CPI). The analysis should only cover the period from the beginning of 2008 to the present, and make sure the most recent 2011 changes are addressed. As the economies of Japan, Canada, the UK, and the U.S. were entering the recession in 2008, prices and inflation had hit a high, but began to fall as the GDP fell. GDP and CPI are nearly identical images when looking at the graphs of each. Prices fell as the economy tanked because consumers clearly did not have the purchase power. As the economies of each country experienced positive growth rates, CPI began to rise. Inflation rate refers to a general rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power. When comparing the four countries, Canada, UK and U.S. have experienced very similar changes in CPI, where Japan has remained relatively unchanged for 2011, but mimicked the others in 2008 and 2009. Inflation for 2011 in Canada, the UK and the U.S. is increasing. Some reports say peanut butter will see a 40% price increase in the next week, which may be due to a poor peanut growing season. According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Consumer Price Index, all food increased 0.8 percent between 2009 and 2010 and is forecast to increase 3.5 to 4.5 percent in 2011. The increases in food prices affect the overall purchasing power of consumers, combined with inflation, consumers are not going to be able to purchase our way out of recession. 3. Compare the four countries regarding the Labor Market (Unemployment Rate). The analysis should only cover the period from the beginning of 2008 to the present, and make sure the most recent 2011 changes are addressed. Regarding the labor market, United States posted the most consistent rates of unemployment ranging from 1.9% to just about 3%. In stark contrast, Japan posted the most unpredictable figures in terms of unemployment percentages; 0.8% in 2008 to -9.8% in 2009.In 2011, Japan recorded a percentage change of about 2.0%. As is the case with the USA, UK’s rates never went below 1% during this period. The future of the labor market is therefore quite promising in the USA as compared to the other countries in this particular category. Questions: 1. Assume interest rates on Treasury bonds, with the indicated time to maturities as follows: 15 years = 7.72% 20 years = 8.72% 25 years = 9.64% 30 years = 10.18% The differences in rates among these bonds is caused by: (please briefly explain your choice) a. Tax effects b. Default risk premiums. (Default risk premium will cause the interest rates among the T bond with different time period with different rates) c. Maturity risk premiums d. A down sloping yield curve e. Liquidity risk premiums 2. Which statement is False? (Please briefly explain your choice) a. The default risk premium is applied to all bonds including U.S. Government ones. b. The liquidity premium requires that an asset can be sold both quickly and for fair market value. c. The inflation premium is added on to the required return to protect the purchasing power of an investors earnings. d. The market risk premium is added to all bonds, even U.S. Government ones. (Market risk premium will be the same for all investors since the value is based on what actually happened). 3. Over the next 3 years inflation is expected to be: Year one 2.5%, year two 3.5%, year three 4%. What should investors require for an inflation premium on a Treasury bond with a three-year maturity? (Please show your work) Inflation premium on year 3 = (2.5+3.5+4)/3 Inflation premium on year 3 = (10)/3 Inflation premium on year 3 = 3.33% 4 If the rate of inflation is expected to be 0% for the next 4 years will the yield curve have an upward slope? (Please briefly explain your answer) Yield to maturity = = Rf + DRP + LP + MRP + Inflation Premium Everything consistent Inflation premium = (2.5+3.5+4+0)/4 = 2.5 it reduces the 3.33 to 2.50 No it wont be upward it will be downward sloping if the rate is 0 in year four Reference: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketriskpremium.asp#axzz1uEeDH1nd http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/Unemployment-Rate.topicArticleId-9789,articleId-9735.html http://inflationdata.com/inflation/inflation_articles/calculateinflation.asp http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/inflation.asp#axzz1lAEXt7uC http://research.stlouisfed

Racial Problems Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Racial Problems Critique - Essay Example Different groups of people, from different races all over the world, have found their way into America in different ways. Shortly after its discovery, many Europeans, faced with the need to find a better life elsewhere after the famous European revolutions, migrated to America. They claimed large amounts of land, embarked on large scale farming and helped fuel the agrarian revolution that led to another revolution called industrial revolutions. In subsequent years, when the need for human labor to labor the large American plantation emerged, Africans were brought to America to fulfill this need. Later years saw the bringing of Chinese, Indians, Spanish and other groups into America. Later immigrations have been fueled by opportunities for better life assumed to be in America. It is thus the country with the highest numbers of racial groups in the world but for a long time in the history of America, there have been problems with harmonious racial coexistences. Resultant problems have not only been witnessed at personal levels but also in status quo and political levels. Until recently, after election of president Obama, there were widespread notions that black Americans were very lowly regarded in the American society, however this is not exactly the case. Over the years, racial segregation has reduced in the American setting, and it has no profound effect in the American setting and political environment. This is because, America being a strong democracy, issues to do with race continue to be wiped out every year, and with time, this will be a thing of the past.In order to understand whether racial segregation is a great problem, it is important to understand the historical background of racism in the early 20th century. Racial problems in the twentieth century Issues of racial discrimination at personal level From his letter from Birmingham jail, Luther claims that there are numerous injustices committed on the black community by white moderate who instill on following order and not justice. He claims that there are various instances where black community has undergone oppressive behavior from the white majority. His justification of engaging in creation of tension as direct engagement of provocation of dialogue is aimed at highlighting the need for immediate engagement of it, hence a mirror of the amount of racial problems in America at personal levels. In support of the same, Belgrave and Allison (15) argue that after taking psychological test differences between blacks and whites, insurgences on injustices went higher. Their report claims that there was proposition of developing a less abstract type of education for blacks since they were considered mentally weak. But criticism for the tests indicated that such injustices included formulation of test questions only relevant and familiar to whites, hence favoring the whites over blacks. Secondly, the text continues to indicate that racial problems were greatly profound in America durin g the 20th century at personal levels. Luther explains that black children were not allowed to attend the same amusement parts as white,

Change in Business Environments (External and Internal factors) Essay

Change in Business Environments (External and Internal factors) - Essay Example This paper discusses the external and internal factors that impact a business. External Environment Economy The economic condition of a country plays a big role in determining how successful a business may be. In this regard, it is very crucial for a manager to determine the economic state of a country when making business decisions. The economic factors that must be analyzed here includes the country’s gross domestic product, its per capita income, exchange rates, inflation, capital market strength, goods and service market among others. Understanding these economic aspects is very crucial because they determine they improve the speed of economic growth, which determines business success (Fernando 2011, p.42). Managers also need to consider the economic policies adopted by a country in making business decisions. This based on the fact economic policies adopted by a country have a direct influence on the operation of every business venture. The policies also keep changing from time to time, meaning the managers must be vigilant to adapt to the changes as and when they are made. The economic policies managers need to consider when making business decisions include policy of the industry, fiscal policy, monetary policy, export and import policy and country’s foreign investment policy (Fernando 2011, p.42). ... Oman also has a very strong monetary policy, which has kept its inflation rates to less than 3.5%. The country also has a favorable fiscal programme that has ensured that duty on products is kept low, no personal income tax charged, as well as establishing a moderate corporate tax to encourage investment (Oxford Business Group 2009, p.9). Social environment The social environment of a country also influences the operation of a business. The social environment consists of the social factors such as beliefs, values, customs, traditions, poverty level and the life expectancy rates among others. In this regard, findings have shown that the social structures that a society cherishes impacts hugely on the operation of a business. For instance, the increase in literacy level has made consumers more conscious of the quality and type of products they consume. In addition, the changing family composition has seen an increase in the nuclear family concept thereby increasing demand for different types of products and services. Nevertheless, the social environment varies from one social and cultural structure to another and from one country to another. Managers, therefore, must study the social trends and make rational and informed decision to that effect (Kumar and Sharma 1998, p.81). Political environment The political environment of a country also determines whether a business in likely to be successful or not. The political factors include the attitudes and policies of the government towards the business community. The strategic decisions of a company depend hugely on these aspects. A country’s political stability also impacts on the operation of a business greatly. A stable government usually sends good signal, which

Death Penalty Outline Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Death Penalty Outline - Coursework Example by Sangiorgio will help in understanding how death penalty violates human rights standards, and how numerous states have started shifting away from this sentence. Death penalty is cruel and unfair based on race and ethnicity. Schweizer (2013) argues that capital punishment is unfair especially to the black people who live in the United States. Courts also pronounce this sentence based on the resources and benefits that they get from the plaintiff or the defendant. The article by schweizer (2013) will help in analyzing the cruelty and unfairness of capital punishment. Capital punishment wastes time, energy, and finances. Courts have to spend a lot of time and money while implementing death penalty. These resources would have been used in preventing crimes that are punished through death penalty. McLaughlin (2014) will help the research in understanding how death penalty wastes resources. Capital punishment prevents defendants from enjoying the due process of the law. Since new laws are created every day, defendants should be allowed to benefit from the upcoming laws instead of taking away their lives. An article by Sarver (2013) will help in understanding how death penalty prevents victims from enjoying the due process of

Retail Marketing - John Lewis Company in the UK Essay

Retail Marketing - John Lewis Company in the UK - Essay Example Newer brands of retailing industries are also becoming more and more dependent on support activities such as online support sections, manufacturing and supply chain. The vulnerabilities posed by various facets of the retailing industry are myriad although currently the retailing industry in under great pressure due to lowered spending levels. Retailing has evolved and emerged over the years as an essential connection between the modern consumer culture and the supply chain mechanisms used to support the retailing in force. The domain of retail commodities spans all kinds of goods such as cosmetics, food products, homemade ups, textiles, draperies and the like. The size of retail outlets however depends on a number of other factors such as the consumer markets around the retail stores and outlets, the historical image of the retail outlet etc. The various retailing businesses around Great Britain have are also structured accordingly with small, medium and large retail outlets. The his tory of retailing in Great Britain has historically deep roots with large chains such as Harrods, John Lewis etc. spanning over decades. The drive to diversify and expand the domain of business activities as well as strong fiscal grounds has ensured that these historical businesses have remained strong in terms of performance. The resilience of these businesses has been evident from their dealing with large crises such as the Second World War or the economic depression of the seventies. 2. Chosen Company: John Lewis Partnership The chosen company John Lewis Partnership has also had deep historical roots as well. The company begun as a simple drapery store on Oxford Street, the historical shopping district in London but it soon emerged as a chain of stores around London. The move to obtain more stores around London went through before the First World War providing John Lewis a comprehensive retailing network. The John Lewis Partnership emerged with the novel idea of providing employe e led partnership. This idea ensured that after the death of the original owner’s son, the John Lewis Partnership was bequeathed to the employees in 1925. This trend has continued in the same spirit ever since and the John Lewis Partnership has been stewarded by a counsel of employees ever since. Over time the John Lewis partnership has diversified its business interests in order to augment its market standing. The John Lewis brand also supports other business interests such as the Waitrose supermarkets as well as the Greenbee range of products and services. In addition to the above, the John Lewis brand also provided support to the Ocando brand but it later absolved itself of any such business interests. It is evident from the facts presented above that John Lewis represents a major retailing business in the context of the United Kingdom. This contention is further strengthened by the argument that John Lewis Partnership is the third largest retailing business present within the boundaries of the United Kingdom. As mentioned before, the John Lewis Partnership is also distinct from other brands in the retailing industry due to its power sharing structure that stretches from the CEO to the person looking after the aisle in the stores around the United Kingdom. All employees of the John Lewis brand are considered partners of the company. The annual profit is also distributed amongst the partners and recent years have seen the distribution of such

Commercial Aircraft Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Commercial Aircraft - Research Paper Example Less-$759 $1,483.5 Trip#2 Time and cost comparison between General Aircraft and Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) for a round trip from BNA to BAB for 3 persons Time Comparison Terms General Aircraft Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) Office to Airport :20 :10 Terminal boarding :90 :30 En route time 4:00 2:00 Deplaning time :30 :15 Airport to office :10 :05 Total 6:30 3:00 Cost Comparison Terms General Aircraft Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) Travel- En route(1) $851.54 $2,310 Rental Car (2) $31.72 $31.72 Value per Man-Hour (VMH)(3) $1,483.5 $655.5 Total $2,366.76 $2,997.22 Calculations 1. General Aircraft- $409 round trip 3 persons (less 30.6% tax savings) Commercial Aircraft- 2 hours $1,155/hour 2. Rental Car- $52/day- unlimited mileages (less 30.6% tax savings) 3. VMH = 2.5 $92,000(avg. salary)/2000 hours= $115.00/hour VMH Summary General Airline Total time: $115 6.5 hour 3 persons $2,242.5 En route time: $115 4 hour 3 persons $1,380 Less- 15% productivity credit - 207 $1,173 Less-$1,173 $1,069.5 Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) Total time: $115 3 hour 3 persons $1,035 En route time: $115 2 hour 3 persons $690 Less- 45% productivity credit 310.5 $379.5 Less- $379.5 $655.5 Trip#3 Time and cost comparison between General Aircraft and Commercial Aircraft (one-stop) for a round trip...There are one stop and non-stop flights between BNA and BAB. From trip 1, it seems that if we use automobile, time and cost are more than using general aircraft. While Automobile takes 12 hours to reach BAB from BNA, it is only 6:30 hours in terms of General Aircraft. But Automobile takes more costs from General Aircraft. It is $3939.41 for Automobile and $2,366.76 for General Aircraft. From trip 1 it is clear to us that General Aviation Aircraft is better than Automobile. From trip 2, it seems that if we use general aircraft, it takes more time than using Commercial Aircraft (non-stop). While General Aircraft takes 6:30 hours to reach BAB from BNA, it is only 3:00 hours in terms of Commercial Aircraft (non-stop). However, it takes little more costs from General Aircraft. It is $2,366.76 for General Aviation Aircraft and $2,997.22 for Commercial Aircraft (non-stop). Although Commercial Aircraft (non -stop) costs a little bit more than the General Aviation Aircraft but Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) saves more valuable time for executives. Therefore, Commercial Aircraft (non-stop) is better than General Aviation Aircraft. From trip 3, it seems that if we use general aircraft, it takes more time than using Commercial Aircraft (one-stop).

West Meets East an Exchange of Royal Letters Essay

West Meets East an Exchange of Royal Letters - Essay Example In his letter, King Louis seems to be interested in personal achievements rather than the general good of France citizens. Motivation to him appears to originate from the concept of punishing sinners and not propagating his religion, as stated in his letter to the King of Tonkin (Spielgovel 431). On the contrary, the King of Tonkin recognized the virtue of fidelity as held by King Louis as well as emphasizing the importance of justice. In his perspective, King of Tonkin notably believes that fidelity and justice would not produce worthy results. The King of Tonkin upholds the custom of his kingdom rather than that of private friendship. He also seems not to have belief and trust in King Louis following the long war that had persisted for several years between the two nations. However, the sense of sincerity from King Louis constitutes the source of his motivation. In addition, the feelings of justice and fidelity also motivate the King of Tonkin (Spielgovel 431). In writing to King o f Tonkin, King Louis had a wooing voice towards capturing the consideration by the King on accepting his request to propagate his religion. In the letter, the voice and language used presents numerous praises with the motive of irony. This would be evidenced by the use of certain praise words that seem to portray an opposite meaning to the King of Tonkin to what he really intends. King Louis also advocates a motive of expanding his personal ambitions and territory of operation. Furthermore, in the letter, King Louis gives reference to his subjects who once received protection under the Realm of the King of Tonkin. This inclusion of the protection accorded to his subjects indicates a point of reference by him in convincing the King of Tonkin to accept his request (Spielgovel 431). The letter by King Louis reveals certain personality traits about him. He does not exist as a theologian but instead uses the virtue of religion in seeking to achieve his personal associations. Also, he rem ains to be an eminent figure in France’s history during the western civilization period. Moreover, King Louis practices an authoritarian leadership style. This becomes evident in his letter when he informs the King of Tonkin about his commands for the Royal Company and Messrs to establish itself in Tonkin soonest possible. In presenting the gifts to the King of Tonkin, the language used in writing does not reflect the willing and free choice of giving, but rather a command. This, thus, portrays a sense of customary formality in his way of appreciation through gifts and not a heartfelt appreciation. King Louis may be a hypocrite in the sense that he pretends to have moral virtues and opinions that he does not actually have. The idea of Christian missionaries reveals this personality in him (Spielgovel 431). In his response to King Louis, the King of Tonkin refused to accept Christian missionaries in his kingdom. He justified his position by asserting that some authorities or e dicts had already introduced a custom that forbids Christian missionaries. In addition, the King of Tonkin justifies his position by way of asking a straight forward question indicating that he could disregard a well-established custom in satisfying private friendship.

The Metamorphosis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

The Metamorphosis - Essay Example He is motivated by his need to fit into the role of being a family man. However, once Gregor is inexplicably transformed into an Ungeziefer— which is roughly equivalent to â€Å"vermin†Ã¢â‚¬â€ he is no longer capable of taking care of his family in a traditional capacity. Instead, he is relegated to being a blind, wilting creature. All of his energy goes towards looking out the window, even as his vision and perception deteriorate. He devolves from desiring to care for his family and retain his job to desiring nothing more than to delude himself into believing that his sister is playing the violin for him. He scurries out into their midst, no longer conscious as his familys need for him to remain hidden. He confronts his mother with his shriveled form and terrifies their lodgers with his uncleanliness. Ultimately, Gergors nature as a man is completely destroyed. As his family —however horrid they might be— points out, â€Å"If [this creature] were Gregor he would have seen long ago that its not possible for human beings to live with an animal like that and he would have gone of his own free will.† Gregor has lost his ability to place his family above himself, but he still retains his ability to feel affection as evidenced by the â€Å"emotion and love† he holds for his family. The obligation that he held as a traveling salesman, however, has long since faded away, taking with it the satisfactions and desires that mark him as

Zaras Supply Chain Managment Essay Example for Free

Zaras Supply Chain Managment Essay Abstract This case essay provides a business analysis on Zarathe most profitable and well-known fast fashion brand under the world’s largest fashion distributor Inditex Group. The analysis will evaluate Zara by using Porter Models, looking at its Supply Chain Management and defining its current IT challenges. Then, the essay will discuss the costs and benefits of upgrading to the new OS systems. The essay will give recommendations on whether Zara should upgrade its POS terminals after considering all above factors. Case Summary Founded by Amancio Ortega, the richest man in Spain and its biggest shareholder, Zara is a clothing and accessories retailer that opened its first store in La Coruna, Spain in 1975. Zara has been operated under Inditex Group, the world’s largest fashion distributor, since 1985. Zara was originated on a simple business idea explained by the CEO of the company Jose Maria Castellano Rois who joined Inditex in 1997 that: Link customer demand to manufacturing, and link manufacturing to distribution. (McAfee, Dessain, Sjoman, 2007) As a flagship chain store of the company, Zara plays a very important role in the Inditex Group. By 2003, Inditex has 1558 stores in 45 countries which nearly one third of them were part of the Zara Chain. For the fiscal year of 2002, Inditex’s net income was posted as â‚ ¬438 million on â‚ ¬3,974 million revenue, which Zara alone generated nearly three quarters of sales. Women clothing accounts for 60% of Zara’s sales, and Menâ€℠¢s and Children’s segment each accounts for about 20%. (McAfee, Dessain, Sjoman, 2007) Zara’s operation system is very critical. Compare to other companies that it takes them about six months to develop a product and deliver it to the store, Zara only needs three weeks to complete the whole procedure. And Zara launches about 11,000 garment items on average each year. (Business Week, 2006) Only the fast speed of Supply Chain Management (SCM) can assure Zara to respond very quickly to the demand of target customers who are young, fashion-conscious city dwellers. And to reach its goal to quickly respond to customer demand, Zara developed three cyclical processes from ordering to fulfillment to design and manufacturing. Zara’s Information Technology has matches its preferences for speed and decentralized decision-making. There’s no CIO within Zara, but instead, Salgado and Castellano are on board of the technology committee who makes decisions around IT. Due to Zara’s business uniqueness, most of its IT applications are established internally by its IS department rather than buying commercially available software or outsourcing. At August 2003, Salgado and Sanchez must make a decision on whether Zara should upgrade its operating system or not. In every Zara store, there are basically two technological systems that are used—PDAs (short for Personal Digital Assistant) and POS (Point of Sales) terminals. PDAs are handhelds that were used primarily for ordering and were upgraded constantly. POS terminals are cashier computer systems with Zara’s own application installed and had remained unchanged for over a decade. Zara, at 2003, was using the DOS operating system that was no longer supported by Microsoft. The POS application that was ran on top of the DOS system worked very fine and efficient for Zara so Sanchez insists on not changing it. Salgado, on the other hand, thinks that there are potential problems with the outdated system and there are rooms for improvement if they upgrade it with a new system. As far as the debate could go, the two men need to agree on a decision and come up with a solution for this challenge. Business Analysis To help Mr. Salgado and Mr. Sanchez to solve this tough problem, we need to firstly understand Zara’s business model. I will use Michael Porter’s Generic Strategies, Five Forces and Value Chain to analyze Zara Company. Generic Strategy Among the three generic business strategies Dr. Porter identified, which are (1) broad cost leadership, (2) broad differentiation, and (3) focused strategy, I think Zara inherited both cost leadership strategy the differentiation strategy. Zara differentiates itself from the rest of the clothing industry not only by offering unique products but also by having full control of its operation processes. As Daniel Piette, LVMH’s fashion director, described as â€Å"Possibly the most innovative and devastating retailer in the world†, Zara truly has its unique business philosophy. (CNN Business, 2001) Zara meets its customers’ expectation by delivering the latest fashion lines at affordable prices the soonest it can. This concept itself is unique enough. Unlike high-end designer brands that offer limited exclusive lines at big prices, or like some other clothing retailers that offer trendy styles at low costs but poor qualities, Zara is able to bring the newest fashion into mass production and deliver them to people with a normal quality for very good prices. While most of the clothing or textile companies rely on outsourcing and cheap labors from China, Zara established a vertically integrated operation system. (Osterwalder, 2005) Customer demands are Zara’s heavenly goal, and Zara collects them from its stores throughout the world. Zara has its own â€Å"commercials† that make decisions on what to design and produce. Zara owns a group of factories around La Coruna and near Spain to finish manufacture and production quickly. Zara is able to use this network to move a new design from concept through production and into the Distribution Center in as little as three weeks. And deliveries to the store usually take only one to two days via various transportation methods. Jeffrey Ballinger, a Harvard researcher and director of pressure group Press of Change, said that. â€Å"Zara has turned control over garment factories into a competitive advantage.† (CNN Business, 2001) Zara’s differentiation strategy results in a low cost strategy. Zara uses a low cost structure than its competitors to cut cost. Unlike fashion brands that creates or used well-known designers or design groups that cost millions of dollars, and produce with exotic, rare to find fabrics. Zara takes its designs from its â€Å"commercials† and use easy to find textile to not only react to changes quickly but also cut the majority of the cost, therefore, Zara can always offers a lower price. Zara’s generic strategies—both differentiation strategy and low cost strategy are due to Zara’s closeness to its customers. Zara’s designs are generated from preferences collected in the store, and Zara is able to satisfy its customer by taking full control of the operation process and therefore, fulfilling customers’ demand quickly. The ability to transform this close relationship into a value proposition gives Zara complete advantage over its competitors. (Osterwalder, 2005) Five Forces Michael Porter’s Five Forces can be used to identify Zara’s competitive forces within the environment to assess the potential profitability in the clothing retail industry. According to Paige Baltzan, Five Forces’ purpose is to â€Å"combat these competitive forces by identifying opportunities, competitive advantages, and competitive intelligence. If the forces are strong, they can increase competition.† (Baltzan, 2010) Below, I will discuss Zara’s competitiveness from the five forces. 1, Buyer Power—is the ability of buyers to affect the price they must pay for an item. (Baltzan, 2010) Buyer power is not very strong in Zara’s case. Customers who buy from Zara know exactly what kind of merchandises they are purchasing from this brand—trendy fashionable items with a normal quality for a good price. Since Zara has 531 stores over the world, it has a large number of customers. Since Zara’s garments have â€Å"fairly short life spans† (McAfee, Dessain, Sjoman, 2007), it creates a sense of urgency for customers. Customers know that if they don’t buy the item this time because they are hesitating on the price, they may not even be able to find it next time they visit the store. This gives Zara power to name its own price, but of course, within a reasonable â€Å"Zara price range†. Although there are brands like Gap, HM, Benetton and so on to compete with Zara, the unique fashionable items that are offered at Zara, which c hange constantly, makes the switching costs high for Zara. There are definitely loyalties in Zara’s customers who check out the store frequently hunting for new items as soon as they are available. 2, Supplier Power—consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in obtaining raw materials or a products. (Baltzan, 2010) Zara’s operation structure gives it a comparably lower supplier power. Clothing retail industries rely on their manufactories to produce their garments, so usually their suppliers have high bargaining power. If the price of cotton goes up, the whole industry is likely to be influenced and therefore, their cost will go up, their merchant price will rise as well. However, since Zara owns its factories, Zara is its own supplier. Supplier power is comparably lower than its competitors. 3, Threat of Substitute Products or Service—is high when there are many alternatives to a product or service. (Baltzan, 2010) The thread of substitutes is low for Zara. Even the fashion industry is very unpredictable and Zara has a lot of competitors wanting to make the next big fashion trend, Zara is still distinctive because it is known for constant innovations and designs for the latest fashion. No competitors of Zara could catch up its speed on producing so many items a year and deliver that fast. 4, Threat of New Entrants—is high when it is easy for new competitors to enter a market. (Baltzan, 2010) The enter barrier to create a company that is similar to Zara is high so the threat of new entrant to Zara is low. Profitability always attracts investment to enter the industry, and in fact, there are new entrants all the time. However, Zara’s business model is quite unique and difficult to copy. Zara has already built its reputation, and is the leading company in the industry. It will be hard to achieve what Zara has. It also takes time and capital to establish a successful company like Zara. It is hard to gather all the resources including talented people like what Zara has to create an industry giant. There are going to be some threats of new entrants but not that big of the influence to Zara. 5, Rivalry among Existing Competitors—is high when competition is fierce in a market. (Baltzan, 2010) Since there is not many similar fast fashion stores in the market, Zara’s rivalry is low among existing competitors. Zara’s existing competitions come from sharing the same clothing retail industry, but not so much from what Zara is specialized in—fast fashion. So again, Zara distinguishes from other competitors for its products and speed, and so far competition for Zara is not that fierce within the market. Value Chain Analysis Support Value Activities Value Added Michael Porter created value chain analysis to identify competitive advantages by viewing a firm as a series of business processes that each adds value to the product or service. (Baltzan, 2010) By identifying Zara’s value chain, we can determine the ways in which Zara can implement IT or add value to its products and services. Primary Value Activities As it was described in the case, Zara’s primary value activities are Ordering, Fulfillment, Design and Manufacturing, Distribution and Store Operations. Store managers at Zara place an order to La Coruna twice a week encompassing both replenishment of existing items and initial requests for newly available garments. Commercials at La Coruna then fulfill and ship clothes to stores to satisfy their orders. Zara has its own team of design who amazingly produce approximately 11,000 new items a year. Zara also has a vertically integrated manufacturing operation system that moves its design to production quickly. Zara’s distribution center then transport and distribute Zara products to stores. Zara stores are responsible for selling items and collecting customer preference for fashion trends. These primary activities consist all basic business activities happen within the company everyday. Zara’s Support Value Activities, like many other companies, are Administration, Information Technology, Human Resources and Procurement. Zara’s approach to IT is consistent with its preference for speed and decentralized decision making. (McAfee, Dessain, Sjoman, 2007) IT team, who creates most of the applications that Zara uses internally, supports Zara to function the best way it can and supports well. Zara’s IT is used in store operations, logistics, administrations and so on. It has reduced the overhead cost in many areas, and therefore, has helped Zara to achieve a cost advantage. Implementations of Porter Models Zara differentiates itself from the rest of the industry for its concept of fast fashion at an affordable price. And this is done and supported by not only Zara’s talented employees such as powerful store managers and commercials but also by the IT Zara employs. Information plays an important role through Zara’s supply chain management. Information of customer preference was collected from the store and transferred to commercials so that they can generate the right products quickly. Information of SKUs (stock-keeping-units) was communicated so that the Distribution Center knows what to replenish to stores twice a week. IT adds value to Zara in almost every primary and supportive activity in the value chain. Zara used IT in terms of functional processes and decision level. Even Mr. Sanchez states that the current system is stable, effective and easy to use, there are still many potential risks and problems and there is a big room for Zara’s IT to improve so that the operation could perform even better. Zara POS terminals are run on DOS operating system that is not supported by Microsoft any more. Zara also uses the PDAs to make orders and handle returns. (McAfee, Dessain, Sjoman, 2007) As important as sales information is, Zara’s POS terminals were not connected to one another via any in-store network, so employees have to transport all the information on a disk and to the one modem-equipped terminal to accomplish transaction. This process is inefficient and has many potential risks of losing the information. PDAs also use the same terminal’s modem to receive the offer and transmit the order. Within a store, POS terminals and PDAs could not share information. That being said, one the terminal modem is dead or has some kind of flaws, the whole store operation will be delayed or stopped. Then, Zara will lose its competitive advantages from its five forces in the market and less value will be added to the value chain. As a result, its generic strategy won’t work as well. Solution Evaluation The question is: should Zara choose to upgrade its POS system? Nicholas G. Carr explained in his article It Doesn’t Matter that IT has lost its ability to create a sustainable competitive advantage and suggested companies not to try new technologies but follow the ones that have been tested to reduce risks. (Carr, 2003) But from the study of all publically traded companies in the article Investing in the IT we learned that there is an industry concentration that large share of the market is concentrated from a small number of companies. (AcAfee Brynjolfsson, 2008) As where Zara stands in the clothing company, it definitely doesn’t want to lose its competitiveness as one of the small group of companies who hold a large piece of pie from the market. The case problem is a semi-structured one since we only know some of the valuables and it is hard to measure the future value of the result. Peter Drucker said that â€Å"If you can’t measure it, don’t do it.† Within Zara company, Salgado and Castellano were only involved early in discussion of initiative that might include computerization. They only determine what new system there is department should purchase or who should work on them without further conductions for cost/benefit analyses. However, I will give a financial forecast using the numbers given in the case to show whether upgrading the system would add value to Zara or not. Cost analysis From Exhibit 13 of the case, we can collect some data and ideas of how much it will cost Zara if it decides to upgrade the system. The company can try the new system in a few stores first to test the efficiency. However, my calculation is based on installing the Windows Operating System throughout all 531 Zara stores average five terminals per store within a year. (Despite new store openings) Total cost to purchase and maintain the Windows OS system per terminal is â‚ ¬170. Hardware required to install in the store including POS terminals, wireless router and wireless Ethernet card cost â‚ ¬5,430. High-speed Internet connection will cost â‚ ¬240 per store annually. Time required per store to install new POS terminals with new POS application, establish wireless network and train staff is 32 hours, which convert to four days of work. Cost per day will be â‚ ¬2,000 times four days, and that gives â‚ ¬8,000 expenditure per store. So, total cost per store to completely install the new OS system with new POS application ready to perform daily tasks is â‚ ¬14,520. Total programming time required to port existing POS application to new OS and expand POS application to include some new features is 20,000 hours. Assuming that computer programs can be run on the machines 24 hours a day, each day cost â‚ ¬450, total cost will be â‚ ¬375,000. As a result, 531 Zara stores will cost â‚ ¬7,710,120 to install the program, plus â‚ ¬375,000 expenses from the IS department, total cost to upgrade the POS system will be â‚ ¬8,085,120. (See Exhibit 1) Since Zara generated 73.3% of the Inditex Group’s sales, Zara’s Net Operating Revenues can be estimated at â‚ ¬2,913 million in 2002. And assume all companies under Inditex Group operate in the same way and share expenses equally as sales, Zara will make â‚ ¬313.8 million Net Income. (See Exhibit 2) The â‚ ¬8 million upgrading expenses will count for a 3% investment for Zara. Benefit Analysis A â‚ ¬8 million IT upgrade is not a small investment, we need to look at potential benefits that can be made out of the system to measure if it makes a profit for Zara. In another word, we need to forecast future returns to see if the new system will add value to Zara or not. I will use some Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and some Critical Success Factors (CSF) to analyze the outcome. Financial Forecast There are some tangible KPIs we can measure to see if Zara benefit from the new system. I will use Revenue, number of garment, percentage of time saved using the new system as my KPIs. Every business is about making money. If the new system cannot bring Zara extra revenue, why invest? Let’s suppose that the system runs smoothly and well once it is installed. Hopefully it will link up the POS terminals and PDAs that are used in each store to headquarter automatically using the wireless Internet. Added new features are supposed to enable staff to check theoretical inventories from the store as well as all other Zara stores near it. The system will minimize faulty transactions from human errors. Staff in the store does not have to record sales numbers and transport it from one terminal to another. More information from customers and store managers can be collected and sent back to commercial teams quicker and more accurately. Distribution Center will be able to see store inventories from the system simultaneously so replenishment can be made without making an order. Shipment can arrive more frequently to the stores. Let’s say the system accelerate the whole operation process by 10% of the total time, and the design group is able to make 10% more garment items a year due to the time they saved. That will make a total of 12,100 items a year compared to 11,000 before. Revenue can be increased to â‚ ¬3,204.23 million from â‚ ¬2,912.94 million. Although the number may be too positive, it gives us an idea that multi-million of revenues can be made due to the increased efficiency of the system. Another important fact is that the new system installed will last for a period of time, not just one year. The current DOS system has been used for over a decade, and I believe the new system can be run for about the same period. The IT investment expenses can be distributed over the next few years and Zara will continuously benefit from the uses of the system. Other benefits There are also some intangible values that can be added from the new system. Some Critical Success Factors include market competitions, Supply Chain Management, Customer Relationship Management and Material Resource Planning II. The new OS system will help Zara to be competitive in the industry. As an innovative company, Zara has its unique and simple business model that has a proven success. The IS department of Zara that create program application for Zara to use is a valuable Proprietary Technology benefit that Zara owns. It is beneficial because no other competitors have access to the technology. Infrastructural Technology such as this DOS or new OS system has better value when more users are taking advantage of it. (AcAfee Brynjolfsson, 2008) Zara should take the advantage by also applying the new OS system as many other competitors in the industry have already used it. Thus, Zara will have both benefits from both proprietary and infrastructural technologies and stay competitive in the market. New OS system will link Zara’s supply chain better and faster. Zara’s business model decides that the company wants to exchange information and it wants the information to be exchanged fast. Zara’s supply chain links from Supplier to Manufacture to Distributor to Stores and to Customers are tighter than many other companies because its products turn over more frequently. Zara needs a good system to perform operation than any other companies. Having an upgraded system will help Zara to achieve its business goal. New system will bring more customer satisfaction to Zara. A lot of Zara’s customers have some degrees of loyalty to the company and their satisfaction is important to Zara. Despite chatting with customers for their fashion sense when they are in the store, Zara doesn’t make much networking effort with customers. Product says it all. Zara simply keeps its customers coming by offering their favorite items. These fashion-forward, young city dwellers come to Zara enthusiastically want to buy what they like. So, being able to check inventories in nearby stores when a customer’s size runs out is very important. The new system will let Zara do that. Material Resource Planning and Labor will also be better off with the new system. Zara’s vendors have promised to follow Zara’s IT system so it was not really problem. Yet, Zara shouldn’t be standing on the passive side to wait until when it has to switch to a more up-to-date system. By taking the lead, Zara gains more flexibility and comfort to utilize resources it needs. The new system will also fix and install some new features that Zara’s employees have being requesting for. Keeping the labor force happy is essential since talents (people) are the key factor that makes it hard for other companies to copy and apply the same IT and business model Zara has successfully. (AcAfee Brynjolfsson, 2008) Auditing Some main reasons that Sanchez pointed out to support his idea of not upgrading and some other factors that need to be considered are discussed below.   Mr. Sanchez worries that switching to the new system will turbulent the stable usage of the current system and cause troubles. We have to admit that what he said could happen. That’s why we take close consideration of it to prevent it from happening rather than not to do it. The current system is effective, stable and rolls out easy to use for employees because it has been tested and run for more than ten years. Staff is familiar with the system, and IS department knows how to fix it when there’s a problem. However, this shouldn’t stop Zara from innovations. Zara can plan on installing the new system and test it with a small number of stores first and slowly transformed the rest of the company to use the new system. Zara may also face the difficulties to train employees to use the new system, or the system doesn’t work perfectly for Zara at the beginning phase, and therefore, causing systematic troubles that affect the business negatively. Yet, generally speaking, these software interfaces for businesses are easy to use. Not to mention that Zara has a strong IS department that can support its technology uses. In the process of new system development, Operation/Maintenance consists 80% of the time and cost while User Acceptance only contains 20%. That being said, maintaining the system and Auditing the system after it has been installed is crucial. Zara’s IS department should pay more attention to them. Overall, there are more benefits and predictable profits than shortcomings to upgrade the outdated DOS system for Zara. Conclusion and Recommendations Taking into considerations of all possible factors, I believe that this case analysis is in favor for Zara to consider upgrading its outdated DOS system to OS system. As a successful fast fashion clothing retailer, Zara’s business idea, which links customer demand to manufacturing, and links manufacturing to distribution, works very well and keeps Zara a flagship chain store for Inditex Group. Zara’s generic strategy is to differentiate and save cost. Since Zara has a strong demand for speed in the operation process and tight links in Supply Chain Management, its requirement for IT is high. The evaluation of the solution shows us that there are more predictable advantages than disadvantages for Zara to upgrade its system. With thoughtful considerations and backup remediation plans, Mr. Bruno Sanchez shouldn’t be so conservative and against the idea to upgrade the system. I am confident that upgrading the system will meet Zara’s business goal to be the most innovative and profitable fast fashion retailer in the industry. References AcAfeeAndrew, BrynjolfssonErik. (June-August, 2008). Investing in the IT. Harvard Business Review. BaltzanPaige. (2010). Business Driven Information Systems (3rd Edition). New York, NY, USA: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Business Week. (Arip 4th, 2006). Zara-Taking the Lead in Fast Fashion. CarrNicholas G. (May 2003). IT Doesnt Matter. Harvard Business Review. Castellano RiosMariaJose. (1975). Business idea for Zara. Spain. CNN Business. (June 15th, 2001). Zara, a Spanish sucess story. McAfeeAndrew, DessainVincent, SjomanAnders. (2007). Zara: IT for Fast Fashion. USA: Harvard Business School. OsterwalderAlexander. (June 23rd, 2005). Business Model Alchemist. http://www.businessmodelalchemist.com/2005/06/zaras-business-model.html

Observation of Challenging Behaviour by Child

Observation of Challenging Behaviour by Child ECE 214 Observations and Child Development Early Childhood PORTFOLIO ASSIGNMENT 40 % Sociogram Write an anecdote that describes the behaviours that concerns you. You may include more than one example from different instances. Child’s name: Alisha Observer: Meng Ting Yu (Angela) Age/D.O.B: Date: March 3, 2014 Time of Observation: 4:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Setting: Bayview fairway public school Purpose: The purpose of this observation is to identify the child’s challenging behaviour. Context: It is afternoon free play time in the gym; there are 11 children in total and three adults. Two boys are playing basketball; three are running around and six girls are playing roller cart game with teachers. Observation: I was playing the roller cart game with Alisha in the gym, she cross her leg and sat on a cart. She held a Hula in her hand and asked me to hold on the other side to drag her around. After a while, C came and asked â€Å"can I join?† I said â€Å"sure†. Then Alisha started pushing at her, said â€Å"no, I don’t want you to play here†. C looked at Alisha then looked at me. Then I looked at Alisha and ask â€Å"She is your friend, we don’t push our friend. She would like to play with you. Can you tell me why you don’t want her to stay?† â€Å"Because she’s been mean to me all the time† Alisha answered. C continued keep silence and looked at Alisha, â€Å"Alisha, I didn’t been mean to, because you didn’t be nice to me†. Then I said â€Å"but she didn’t be mean to you today. She loves to be your friend, why don’t we forgive her past and try to build a friendship with C?† Alisha looked at C, thought about it and said â€Å"ok, I’ll try†. Alisha walked toward to the shelf from her table, she then bend her knees down and took out her favourite board game â€Å"Candy Land† with her both hand. She then stand up and jumped quickly back to her table and ask S, â€Å"S let’s play Candy Land together†. Alisha and S walked to the back of the room; they sat down on the floor face to face. Alisha opened the box with her both hands and took out the ice cream character for herself. S took out the board map of the game from the box, she opened and put it between them, and then she put the candy shape spinner on the top of the map with her right hand. Alisha looked in the box and found a marshmallow character and hand it over to S and said â€Å"Here S, you can be marshmallow†. S looked at the box and said â€Å"No I don’t want the marshmallow, I want the Gingerbread man†. Both of them put the character at the bottom of the map and ready to start the game. â€Å"I’m first because I’m the youngest† said Alisha. She took the spinner into her left hand and rotated the spinner between her right thumb and index finger. The spinner pointed at the edge of color green and almost at peanut area, so she moved her â€Å"Ice Cream† on the peanut area. S looked at the spinner and said â€Å"Alisha, you suppose to move to one green, is pointing the green area†. â€Å"No, is peanut† Alisha replied. S took the spinner in her hand and start to show Alisha, â€Å"Look its green!† â€Å"No, you moved it, give it back to me† Alisha start yelled at S. S did not give back the spinner to Alisha, â€Å"No is my turn now†. S rotated the spinner, she rotated it with her left thumb and index finger and the spinner stopped and pointed at the cupcake. She moved her Gingerbread man to the top of the map almost near the end, and then Alisha became angry. She yelled at S â€Å"No! You are cheating! You s upposed to be red!† Alisha took the Gingerbread from the top to the bottom and put beside her ice cream man. â€Å"Look Alisha, it pointed at the cupcake, you have to follow the rule† said S by showing the spinner. Then Alisha stood up and bent her elbows beside her body and yelled â€Å"No, this is not fair, you’re cheating†. S stood up and took the game tutorial sheet from the box and showed to Alisha, â€Å"Look Alisha, it says move the character to the next space, to matches the colour.† I have already talked to you in the hall way about my situation. The problem of the child in my placement is playing games. Write a developmental inference based on the sociogram where you describe the child’s problem in developmental terms. Provide an in text citation to support. Inference: According to the observation, Alisha seems to have trouble in social, emotional and behavioural. Children misbehaviour are based on their own perspective, for example, when Alisha think C’s arrival into the game is being mean to her, so she started to push C around with addition of a loud voice. Both verbal and non-verbal behaviour comes up in her mind without thinking, and she did not realize that her word and action can hurt other’s feelings. As children enter the school years, they become much more selective about whom they choose as friends. Just as kids compares themselves to others, they also start making judgments about other children (Cherry), just like Alisha judge that C is not her friend because they contain different personality. She observed C by looking her outfit, appearance and her friends, then think about it whether this person can be friend or not. Children at the age 6 to 8 try to convince others that their views are right, just like Alisha judged with S about the spinner. The child did not have enough ability to identify or understand the rule of the game. In order to achieve her goal of winning the game, she would rather use cheating strategies to succeed. The biggest problem is that the child is ego-centrism; she thinks that her own behaviour is correct instead of allowing others to do the same. Base on Piaget’s levels of moral reasoning, she did not know that the rule of the game is unchangeable, she think maybe change the rule will be more enjoyable, but her action might cause cheating without telling other about her own rule at the beginning of the game. Create a developmental goal based on your inference. These goals are to be written in paragraphs. Outline your rationale or reason for your goals. This should be the detailed evidence to back up your goal. Why is your goal developmentally appropriate for this child? Ensure you follow APA formatting. My goal for Alisha is to develop her social and emotional skills base on activities. The reason is because she needs to learn self-regulation and empathy for another’s feelings while interact in the game. In Erickson’s second stage, children are trying to master skills at home, school and in their community. When they are successful they get the tools they need for important social tasks such as getting along with others. When they are unsuccessful, they feel inferior—set up a pattern for possible failure throughout life (Santrock, 2012) Games with Rules Record an anecdote of a child playing a game with rules. Child’s name: Alisha Observer: Meng Ting Yu (Angela) Age/D.O.B: Date: March 10, 2014 Time of Observation: 4:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Setting: Bayview fairway public school Purpose: The purpose of this observation is to identify the child’s behaviours during the game. Context: It is afternoon free play time in the classroom; there are 20 children in total and three adults. Four boys are chatting with each other, five girls are knitting, three boys are playing blocks beside the window, five boys are playing words puzzle game, and three girls are playing board game. Observation: Alisha walked to M and pulled her hand, said â€Å"Let’s play games together†. She pulled M to a table with games. They took out the game board together and four chess pieces with different colour. Alisha took the entire green colour and placed them one by one at her side, â€Å"Here you can be the yellow side† she said by picking all the yellow chess and handed over to M. â€Å"I like red; I want to play the red side† M replied. â€Å"No you can’t have red, you must be yellow† Alisha began to rise her voice up. Then M asked â€Å"why†, â€Å"because this is my game, you must follow my rule† she answered. M said â€Å"no, I don’t like yellow, if you don’t give me red, I’m not play with you†. Alisha looked around the room then said â€Å"fine, you can be red†. Alisha placed all four colours of chess on the board and started to do the dice. After few turns, Alisha continued took her green chess and began to move. When she moved to the yellow area, she substituted for yellow chess and continued move on. M saw it and said â€Å"hey, Alisha, you can’t do that. You suppose to use the green one; you can’t switch it during the game.† â€Å"Oh yes I can. This is my rule for this game† Alisha looked at M and answered. Write a developmental inference which explains the child’s knowledge of games with rules using course resources. Base on this observation, Alisha seems to having trouble playing games with others. She usually likes to make up her own rule while playing board games. She did not understand that the rule of the game must set up before the games begin; also she will play in her own way without telling others about her rule at the beginning, this sometimes makes people confuse or think she cheated the game. Before they start the game, the hierarchy of roles is established for individuals and roles. Alisha always goes first without asking the other child, she often self-talk â€Å"I’ll go first† and others just keep silence. In Erickson’s theory, for middle childhood it is important to be good at something in school. For example, Alisha is the girl who takes seriously about winning, in her world, winning means â€Å"I am the best†. If Alisha win a game, she will raise her voice in front of the other child and said â€Å"oh yeah, I win†, then the child will tell Alisha that playing game is for fun not about winning. She did not understand the process of playing a game is more enjoyable social with other children; also this is not appropriate way to express her feeling. Create a developmental goal and how you would implement it based on your inference. Outline your rationale or reason for your goals. Why is your goal developmentally appropriate for this child? Ensure you follow APA formatting. My goal for Alisha is to let her understand that participant in the game will be more interesting than winning the game. According to Piagets research and theory, convince constructive educators of the value of group games for intellectual and moral development as well as for social and physical development (Piaget J., 1932/1965). Social and moral development is promoted as the child tries to figure out how to cooperate and negotiate with partners in order to play fairly (DeVries) such as group games. Playing in a group will lead the child to learn to problem solving and cooperate from each other, for example, one child can read about the rule at the beginning of the game, then decide the role of who will go first; another child can be the referee which avoid foul. The reason I plan to set up the group game is because Alisha often like to cheat in the game in order to win the game, but this may cause the game finish faster, and also she did not show respect to other children. From th is point, group game can help the child learn to empathize other’s emotion and express her feeling in proper ways. When conflicts arise, other child and adult can support and help (scaffolding) Alisha discuss rules and reach mutual agreement about how to play the game by following the rule, and learn to negotiate and compromise. Self-Concept and Stage of Friendship Interview your child for the purpose of understanding the child’s Stage of Friendship according to Selman. In order to avoid any negative effect on the children’s relationships in the room, ask the child to think of a friend, but not name them! Then ask the child to describe what makes that person of friend and what friends do with each other. Write up what happened in the interview using an anecdotal format including your questions and the child’s answers. After snack time, I took a chair and sat beside Alisha, â€Å"hi Alisha, do you have any homework today?† â€Å"No† she answered. Then I said â€Å"okay, can I ask you some questions?† She nodded and replied â€Å"sure’. I asked â€Å"the first question is who do you usually or like to play with? Think of the name in your mind, and do not speak out.† Alisha stood up and looked around the room, â€Å"Okay I got one in my head.† I asked â€Å"is it a girl or a boy?† â€Å"Of course is a girl† Alisha replied. I continued asking â€Å"So why do you think she is your friend?† â€Å"Because we are in the same class, and we are cousin. Her mom and my mom are sister, and we live really close. Oh and she help me to do my homework sometimes. Can I go get some water? I’m really thirsty†. I stop my writing and looked at her, said â€Å"sure, go ahead†. When she came back, she asked â€Å"can you play Candy Land with me?† â€Å"I just have three more questions for you to answer it, and then I will play with you, okay?† I answered. Alisha seems fidgeted in her seat, but she still listened to my questions. â€Å"Alisha, what do you think a friend is?† She said ‘I don’t know, someone I like and doesnt been mean to me†. â€Å"How do you treat your friend?† I asked, she then answered â€Å"we play games together†. â€Å"Okay the last question is how many friends do you have?† Alisha stood up and count the number by pointed other child with her left index finger, said â€Å"Hmm, I guess everyone is my friend†, she sat on her chair and continued â€Å"except A and BS, they are the oldest, especially they are boys. Can we play now?† â€Å"Yes sure, go get your game and set up on this table.† I said. What can you infer regarding the child’s stage of friendship according to Selman? According to Selman’s five stages of friendships, the children at the age between 3 to 7 years old like to play with a friend who lived nearby, such as Alisha’s cousin. They went to the same school, live in the same area, their age are close and as well as family relationships. At this age, Alisha view her cousin as momentary playmate, it shows that they both are having fun while playing with each other. However, Alisha always likes to play in her own way and expect others to follow her rule, she have very limited ability to see other perspectives, she will think that other child will have the same thought as her. If other children do not agree with her, she will get upset very easy. Alisha is the girl who likes to do things in her own way, and she changes frequently. For instance, she might say â€Å"C is my best friend, I like to play with her† for today, and the next day when she find out S is playing a game that she interested in, she will say â€Å"S is my best friend now†. On the other hand, Alisha likes to play with a child who has similar cultural with her. For example, C is a nice Chinese girl in our room, but Alisha does not like to play with her because she think that C always be mean to her. Base on a third person’s point of view, C always friendly to Alisha and never have any misbehaviour to her, all the things come up in Alisha’s own perspective. I also find out that she usually sit with her cousin and her other friends instead of Chinese. Analysis of self-concept Ask the child a series of questions that will let you infer the child’s understanding of sense of self ; Self-concept (p. 370) class notes During homework time, I interviewed Alisha again. I sat in front of her but she continued eating her snack. So I began to ask â€Å"what do you think about yourself?† she took a carrot in her hand and said â€Å"I’m the best, because I always win†. I continued asked â€Å"do you like your cousin S? What do you usually do with her?† she said â€Å"we do almost everything together. But we usually play games.† After I took note of her sentence, and asked â€Å"another question, who do you think is the leader? And who is the follower?† â€Å"Me, I’m the leader because I’m the youngest. She has to listen to me† Alisha pointed to herself. In the early years as kids realize that they are independent individuals and progressing to a firm understanding of whom they are and what they like. (Santrock, 2012) Works Cited Cherry, K. (n.d.). Social and Emotional Development in Middle Childhood. Retrieved from Psychology: http://psychology.about.com/od/early-child-development/a/social-emotional-development-in-middle-childhood.htm DeVries, R. (n.d.). How to Promote Childrens Development Through Playing. Retrieved from Moral and Intellectual Development Through Play: http://www.uni.edu/coe/regentsctr/publications/Moralandintellect.pdf Kelly. (n.d.). The Cognitive Developmental Theory. Retrieved from Moral Development in Children: http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/DLiT/2000/KESPres/cog.nit Piaget, J. (1932/1965). The moral judgment of the child. London: Free Press. Santrock, J. (2012). Children. New York: McGraw-Hill. Please submit this page with your assignment.

Marketing Of An Innovative Ide :: essays research papers

The number of people in the United States that work on their own automobiles continues to increase. This is evident by the continuing number of auto-part stores that are opened every year. New stores, new chains, the competition is fierce. One reason for this is that the cost of taking your automobile in to the shop, to change something as simple as a $10 gasket, can be very expensive. It could end up costing you a couple of hundred dollars do to labor. Labor can make up anywhere from thirty to ninety percent of the bill. The other problem is finding a place to go that you can trust. There are a lot of crooked mechanics that seem to find more problems or even make more problems with your vehicle than what you originally brought it in for. Another issue with using a service garage is that you usually have to leave you vehicle the whole day in order to get the work done. This usually turns into quite an inconvenience. You end up having to wait at the shop or having to find someone to p ick you up and take you back. It is no wonder that people are becoming more involved with working on their own vehicles. Budget conscientious people will not pay for high labor and better yet, unnecessary labor. Actually, lots of people enjoy, and prefer to work on their own automobiles. You can save a lot of money from the cost of labor and unnecessary maintenance. Doing it yourself also gives you reassurance of the job being done thoroughly and correctly the first time. Not all work though, is considered feasible to be done by the do-it-yourself mechanic. An average person is not going to take an engine out of the vehicle and do an overhaul. What they can do though, is change parts, filters, fluids, tires, and perform many other routine maintenance tasks. A lot of these jobs involve having to lift up the vehicle. Usually what you have to do is get a jack, lift up the vehicle, place a stand underneath, and then lower the vehicle on to it. The stand is necessary if you need more tha n one corner of the vehicle lifted at once. This could be a time consuming process. The first thing you usually have to do is find that jack from the trunk. Once you do that, you then have to figure out where it goes on the vehicle to properly lift it. Marketing Of An Innovative Ide :: essays research papers The number of people in the United States that work on their own automobiles continues to increase. This is evident by the continuing number of auto-part stores that are opened every year. New stores, new chains, the competition is fierce. One reason for this is that the cost of taking your automobile in to the shop, to change something as simple as a $10 gasket, can be very expensive. It could end up costing you a couple of hundred dollars do to labor. Labor can make up anywhere from thirty to ninety percent of the bill. The other problem is finding a place to go that you can trust. There are a lot of crooked mechanics that seem to find more problems or even make more problems with your vehicle than what you originally brought it in for. Another issue with using a service garage is that you usually have to leave you vehicle the whole day in order to get the work done. This usually turns into quite an inconvenience. You end up having to wait at the shop or having to find someone to p ick you up and take you back. It is no wonder that people are becoming more involved with working on their own vehicles. Budget conscientious people will not pay for high labor and better yet, unnecessary labor. Actually, lots of people enjoy, and prefer to work on their own automobiles. You can save a lot of money from the cost of labor and unnecessary maintenance. Doing it yourself also gives you reassurance of the job being done thoroughly and correctly the first time. Not all work though, is considered feasible to be done by the do-it-yourself mechanic. An average person is not going to take an engine out of the vehicle and do an overhaul. What they can do though, is change parts, filters, fluids, tires, and perform many other routine maintenance tasks. A lot of these jobs involve having to lift up the vehicle. Usually what you have to do is get a jack, lift up the vehicle, place a stand underneath, and then lower the vehicle on to it. The stand is necessary if you need more tha n one corner of the vehicle lifted at once. This could be a time consuming process. The first thing you usually have to do is find that jack from the trunk. Once you do that, you then have to figure out where it goes on the vehicle to properly lift it.

Identity and Margaret Atwoods Lady Oracle :: essays papers

Identity and Margaret Atwoods Lady Oracle The relationships we have with different people throughout our lives are strong influences on us all. Our relationships with one another can define who we are, as well as the quality of the lives we lead. Strenuous relationships cause stress and unhappiness, while close, loving relationships are a source of support and comfort. Joan Foster, the main character in Margaret Atwood=s Lady Oracle, is a complex woman who has had more than her share of turbulent relationships during her life. From her childhood and teenage relationship with her mother, to her bond with her husband later in life, Joan=s relationships are rarely free of turmoil and drama. These relationships definitely have an influence on Joan, impacting her as a person. The issue of Joan and her relationships reveals a question: How are Joan=s relationships important to her identity? The first major relationship in Joan=s life is the one with her mother. Joan feels unwanted and unloved by her mother, who treats Joan coldly because of her weight problem. At first, Joan struggles to fit in with her mother=s perfect vision of her and tries to live up to her mother=s expectations. When she fails at this, Joan resents her mother=s unbearable attitude and becomes antagonistic toward her. Joan=s identity then becomes based on the opposite of what her mother expects and wants from her. At this time my mother gave me a clothing allowance, as an incentive to reduce. She thought I should buy clothes that would make me less conspicuous, the dark dresses with tiny polka-dots and vertical stripes favored by designers for the fat. Instead I sought out clothes of a peculiar and offensive hideousness, violently colored, horizontally striped. Some of them I got in maternity shops, others at cut-rate discount stores; I was especially pleased with a red felt skirt, cut in a circle with a black telephone appliqued onto it. The brighter the colors, the more rotund the effect, the more certain I was to buy. I wasn=t going to let myself be diminished, neutralizes, by a navy-blue polka-dot sack (Atwood 84). Joan went out of her way to buy clothes that she knew her mother would hate, and that become part of who she was.

What Is the Importance of Leonard’s Body Tattoos in Memento?

Memento (2000) is a movie directed by Christopher Nolan that follows the life of Leonard, a man who, after an accident, suffers from short-term memory loss. When Lenny tries to save his wife from a possible rape, he hits his head on the floor damaging the way his brain functions, losing his capacity to create new memories. Every action of the film is set around a single objective; the relentless pursuit of the alleged murderer of Leonard’s wife.In order to be able to follow up the mystery, Lenny has developed a system where he writes up notes to himself, takes pictures of important people and events, and, most importantly, tattoos his body with important â€Å"facts† to remember clues as he tracks his wife’s murderer. Lenny’s tattoos are extremely important in Memento (2000) once they provide a memory trigger for the protagonist, building up his feelings of anger and revenge; they are key in character development and essential for the framework story.Lenny ’s tattoos are a memory source for the protagonist, allowing him to remember the murder and building up mixed emotions regarding the case. The character has different tattoos in the front part of his body representing what he believes are facts and key pieces on the murder of his wife. One of them in particular, located on his chest and written backwards says: â€Å"John G. raped and murdered my wife†. Lenny’s tattoos not only helps the protagonist remember his goal, to catch and kill whoever it was who hurt his wife, but also feeds his feelings of revenge and anger towards the killer.When Lenny believes he has uncovered Teddy as being the killer of his wife, for example, he quickly catches sight of his tattoo establishing a casual connection that motivates him to go after Teddy and kill him. Lenny has a visual memory, even though he must relearn daily who he has met and what he has learned since the incident, he still finds strength and is encouraged by the pow er of his tattoos to keep looking for John G. In the movie, tattoos have hidden meanings and help reveal and develop the character.One in particular, the â€Å"Remember Sammy Jankins† on Leonard’s hand, provides a miniature of the movie as a whole, as it has multiple meanings. Leonard believes that the tattoo is there to remind him that unlike Sammy, who has the same condition as him, he has a system and can therefore, control his ‘disease’. However, further in the movie we discover yet another hidden meaning in the tattoo. Sammy has never existed the way Leonard believes, in fact, the tattoo is a reminder that Lenny lies to himself, â€Å"not only the fiction of the cautionary tale of Sammy Jankins, but also of his inability to tell when people are lying† (Heuser, 2011).The tattoo represents Lenny’s lies and struggle to believe on what he wants to see as the truth, it unwinds a closer understanding of the protagonist giving meaning to the mo vie. Tattoos are essential for the flow and understanding of the story. They are introduced without many explanations, throughout the movie; however, different events and flashbacks allow the viewer to have a closer understanding of them. The viewer first discovers the various tattoos that cover Lenny’s body as he undresses in front of a mirror.In the same scene, â€Å"medium, close-up and point of view shots fragment Leonard’s body into readable tattooed statements which align the spectator’s knowledge with Leonard’s sense of being in the world† (Molloy, 2010). The viewer starts to slowly become familiar with the â€Å"facts† tattooed on the protagonist’s body and connect each tattoo to each other, making sense and framing the story. Leonard’s tattoos are essential in the progress of the framework story in Memento (2000), it is key in character development and it is a source of memory trigger for the protagonist.Leonard lies to himself, and his tattoos are simple excuses for him to believe on what he wants to be the truth, embracing his feelings of anger and revenge. Because he is covered in tattoos, â€Å"his subjectivity is made obvious, whereas culture and memories are literally inscribed onto him† (Blake, 2004); additionally, the lastingness of tattooing is what helps trap Leonard in his limitless search for his wife’s murderer.No matter what happens, Lenny wakes up every day, facing the â€Å"facts† and goes off on his search. Therefore, tattooing his body helps Leonard accept the murder and enhances his feelings of anger influencing his unstoppable search for revenge. Leonard is a locus of signs and his tattoos are important in the development of the story, making the final connection to what is believed to be the truth and the actual truth, reinforcing character development as well as the spectator’s identification with Lenny.Reference: Blake, L. (2004). Snapshots of M emento: Angles of Interpretation. George Washinton University. Heuser, D. (2011). Memento – What was this movie about again? Retrieved from: http://www. davidheuser. com/Memento. html (Feb 22, 2012). Todd, Jennifer (producer) & Nolan, Christopher (director). (2000). Memento. [Motion Picture]. (Available from Helkon, USA). Molloy, C. (2010). Memento. Adinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ?

Why Evolution and Religion Can Coexist

Jason Soares 1-1 Science and Religion Can Coexist – Revision 2 For centuries science and religion have been competing with each other to reign supreme over the other. It makes one wonder just why it has come to this. After all aren’t they in many aspects quite similar? Consider the following; the theory of evolution, the big bang theory, and the Copenhagen interpretation theory all have one constant term, â€Å"theory†. Why? – All of them haven’t been proven yet as they are still mere theories.Now shifting over to religion, when reading a holy book, one finds no facts or substantial evidence of how things exist as they do today. Religion, as much of science, is merely based on beliefs. Yet billions choose to either believe in a higher being or eliminate the idea of a god altogether. No matter which side is true or false, one true statement that can be made is that one could not exist without the other. Religion is for spiritual healing and belief; w hereas, science is, in most cases, the actual embodiment of our beliefs.Science and religion can coexist because; arguably the greatest mind of them all said so, religion’s morals and values uses science to the benefit of all mankind, and perhaps God himself used science to create all that we see. Firstly, if indisputably the greatest scientist in the history of mankind, Albert Einstein – the person who set the base for modern science as we know it today – found no problem in believing in both science and religion, then why should we?Einstein did not believe in a personal God, a god who cares for us or intervenes in the lives of people, but in one that maintained and created the harmony of the universe; a god nonetheless. That may seem quite odd as many beliefs render science and religion incompatible. Yet, many scientists, according to surveys, say that there is no conflict between their faith and their work. Joel Primack, a professor from the University of Cal ifornia, Santa Cruz, co-developed the cold dark matter theory that seeks to explain the formation and structure of the universe.He also believes in God and that God and science can exist in harmony. He claims that â€Å"in the last few years astronomy has come together so that we're now able to tell a coherent story† of how the universe began, Primack said. â€Å"This story does not contradict God, but instead enlarges [the idea of] God. † (National Geographic News website) This is one example of how clearly science and religion go hand in hand. Secondly, most religions in this world teach three basic steps in being able to enter the â€Å"eternal life† that most of them offer: respect one another, love your neighbour and be kind to all.Not a bad list on which to base a whole religion on. In fact it sounds quite noble. Think about it, many lives are based on the above list due to a strict enforcing of religion from family or a community, and if even a small port ion of those people grow up to be doctors and scientists, we can say with ease that the future of our technological advancements is bright and it is in the right hands. After analyzing the upbringing of these theoretical people, we can come to a conclusion that religion helped a great deal in steering their science-filled future in the right direction.It will be foolish on our part to deny religion just because we've advanced in science and technology. As our knowledge increases, we must move nearer to the roots of our religion, and this is the stage when both religion and science will be working together for the betterment of mankind. For example, euthanasia, the killing of a human being to relieve pain and suffering (mercy-killing), is widely considered unethical. This mercy-killing is just a euphemism for suicide. The reason why we don’t say suicide is because it is usually frowned upon by society, yet when someone is on a hospital bed and doesn’t want to live anymo re, it’s justified.People say suicide and mercy-killing are different, but they both lead to the same result: the killing of a human being because the person no longer has a desire to live. By definition, this is indeed suicide because it is taking a life away since they no longer find value for it, and yet it is being done throughout the world in public hospitals. Now a doctor with a good moral and ethical background due to religion or a community with strong values would not succumb to the pressures of this daily occurrence. And aren’t doctors supposed to bring life into this world and help sustain it when outside forces threaten it?Moreover, it is daunting to think that someone can just â€Å"pull the plug† on another being just because the former wants to die. Science and technology can be a blessing in the hands of wise men, while it can be deadly in the hands of others, and if we are wiser and nearer to our religious roots we can enjoy our lives better kno wing that religion’s morals and values will use science to the benefit of all mankind. Thirdly, possibly one of the most controversial and heated theories of all is the one that concerns the very place in which we live in, the big bang theory.According to the big bang theory, space, time, and all matter around us was created by the grandest explosion ever to occur in our universe. When consulting religious persons about this theory they would whole heartedly disagree with it. Assuming they were Catholics, they would immediately refer to the Bible and cite that God created the world, the vegetation, animals, and humans within it. Now level headed persons who are on neither side of the science-religion debate would argue that, why can’t both the big bang theory and the biblical story of God be true?They would reason that perhaps God used this method of creation for His own purpose, to create a world that is habitable by life. Once again the religious would disagree, sayi ng that according to the book of Genesis, God created Earth in seven days, and according to the big bang theory the earth took billions of years to develop in order to exhibit any traces of human life. Seven days compared to billions of years is quite a difference, yet when examining the word of God in the Bible, the religious cannot take the seven day period so literally.Perhaps it did take God seven days to create the earth, but maybe God was on a different time scale. One day for us is twenty four hours, but one day for God could have been thousands, millions, or billions of years. Furthermore, perhaps these seven days weren’t consecutive. They could have been spanned out over billions of years and just the major days on which God created his most praised wonders are mentioned. In addition to the creation process of the earth, God could have used the scientific methods of photosynthesis, natural selection, and countless others to create this world.Not only can we bring sci ence and religion closer together than ever by this new perspective, but we can say that one definitely assisted in the process of the other and that the relationship between science and religion is strong. Ultimately, one can see that science and religion can coexist, because; many of our brightest minds are an example of this, science can be used for worthy causes due to religion’s ethics, and with a new perspective it can be debated that God himself used science for his own creation purposes. No one is forced to sway either way of the debate and everyone is elcomed to stay neutral, nonetheless, one cannot obliviously deny one and praise the other with an un-open mind. We can choose to believe one, but we shouldn’t reject the other altogether. All we should ask of ourselves is not to ignore the pressing questions which alter our views on religion or science, but to expand our tunnel vision and wander into unfamiliar territories to grasp a better understanding of both ; consequently closing the gap between science and religion so that one day the feud between the two may rest peacefully in the minds of all.

Harrison Bergeron Essay

In the short story, â€Å"Harrison Bergeron†, Kurt Vonnegut portrays a society in which â€Å"everyone is equal†. Through the efforts of the Handicapper General, all persons who were endowed with anything more than moderate talents are forced to wear various devices meant to make everyone equal, intellectually and physically. Through showing his audience what a truly â€Å"equal† society could be, as well as how government could regulate equality, Kurt Vonnegut clearly makes the point that truly equality leads to a loss of true individuality within a society. Each person in society has talents that another does not, which is what creates diversity in our communities and careers. By removing this diversity from society by making every person equal, the government is inviting its own demise. The first example of how idealistic equality creates a lack of individuality is in the scene where George and Hazel Bergeron are watching ballerinas on television. George notes, â€Å"They weren’t really very good – no better than anybody else would have been, anyway†. By leveling the playing field, and forcing ballerinas to wear weights and masks to hide their talent and beauty, the Handicapper General has taken away from the dancers their unique talents for dancing and eliminating any competition between ballerinas. If all dancers must be equal, this eliminates the need for any one ballerina to spend extra time practicing, or trying to be a better ballerina. This, in turn, could create a less than desirable work ethic, as the ballerinas do not have to work as hard to be competitive. As Philip Fetzer explains, â€Å"†¦ even if it were possible to create a society based on equality of ability, it would not be desirable to do so. A society without differences of ability would generate no leaders, no great works of art or literature, no new ideas. The society would quickly stagnate†. The second instance in which Vonnegut shows his readers the impact of an equal society is when George and Hazel are talking about what society would be like without handicaps to make everyone equal. George cannot think for more than a few seconds at a time because of the handicap that he must wear in his ear, to distract him from his thoughts by blaring loud noises at random. All people who have above â€Å"average† intelligence are required to wear such a device to eliminate any unfair intellectual advantage over others. However, by scaring off the thoughts of truly intelligent people, the government is also creating a society in which nothing will ever change. Without the truly intelligent men and women in any society, there are no new inventions or new ideas that, in the past, have revolutionized a society. By making all people intellectually equal, the government and the society itself will remain unchanged and unadvanced. Ironically, George believes that without handicaps to keep everyone equal, â€Å"pretty soon we’d be right back to the dark ages again, with everybody competing against everybody else†. However, without competition, society would revert to the dark ages, unable to compete with other societies and develop new technology and innovation. As Christopher Alexion points out, human beings must be careful with creating equality, because of the risk of taking it â€Å"to extremes that eventually destroy whatever it was we were trying to protect. That’s why our efforts toward equality need vitally to be guided by a love of liberty. Naked equality is just another name for tyranny – for if everyone’s going to be equal in all aspects, then no one can really be free†. The final example of the effect of a truly equal society occurs when Harrison Bergeron appears on television with all of his clanking weights and extreme handicaps. Harrison is athletic and intelligent, and has an obscene amount of handicaps because of this. Harrison attempts to overthrow the government, by declaring himself â€Å"the Emperor†, and removing all of his handicaps, as well as those of his chosen Empress. By having independent thoughts and beliefs, Harrison leads his own revolution in an attempt to change society for the better. Harrison sees that the constant equality means that people are no longer competitive, and he decides to try to change that. However, he is killed by the government in the process, and any dreams of change die with him. As Steven Saus notes, â€Å"The maximization of human potential – and the potential of society – can only be achieved by allowing all individuals to have the best opportunity to succeed within the limits of their primary characteristics†. Any person who has new ideas or tries to initiate change within an equal society would be met with the same fate, and consequently, nothing would ever change. By creating a society in which every person is equal, Kurt Vonnegut is able to show his readers how devastating to a society equality could be. At a time when political correctness is a must, and society strives for equality, it is easy to see how true equality could lead to a lack of diversity and competition within a society. Although Vonnegut’s society was a fictional one, a society similar to the one in â€Å"Harrison Bergeron† would become a stagnant and unmotivated environment, falling behind in innovation and invention. Ultimately, the equality in this story will lead to the demise of the society.