Civil society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Civil society - Essay Example Locke however, believes that rights and obligations are the main propellant of problems that civil society faces while working under a given government. Moreover, Locke provided wide analysis on the state of nature in his second treatise which had an impact on the civil government. His work was written in the year 1680, the time of exclusion crisis in England. He believed that the existing men are free to order the prevailing actions as well as disposing persons and their possessions (Edwards, 12-18). This argument was due to the bounds law of nature availed in England and he suggested that the possessions and actions taken could fit well in line with the law. Locke analyses the state of law in a very well understandable way. He maintained that the state of nature has a specific law of nature that governs it and the prevailing law leads to a specific reason. Moreover, his views on the state of nature went against the norms of Christian believes entitling unlike hobbies and dependent philosophy that was not underscoring prior to the theology norms. The first treatise of Locke tried to adventure the norm Anglicans and Protestants and he had a mind to establish and make people understand as to why two treatise governments should be allowed to overthrow monarchy personnel who were there to abuse the trust that had been set to the people believe. Good governance is what people needs. This is only through the provision civil rights based on the nature and labor at large. The problems and challenges that civil society faces as per Locke desire is the dissolution of government which makes governance hard to deliver its manifesto well. The rights and obligations are the main propellant of problems that civil society faces while working under a given government. Locke provided wide analysis on the state of nature in his second treatise which had an impact on the civil government. Other problems are the political society which nurtures inequality due to tribalism and nepo tism among the society groups. Poor governance, lack of democratization process that provides a link between citizens and the state are other problems faced by civil society. However, when a given state provide well established governance, employ democratization process and enhance preservation of the society’s records, then this will help to solve this civil society problems availing as per Locke observation. Drawing primarily on Rousseau and Madison on how existence of political factions threaten and undermine civil society we find that, a lot has to be done to eliminate this aspect. Rousseau proposed a specific subject of argument in his scholarly works suggesting that, man is born free and an aspect of slavery should not be a threatening statue that civil society has to be accounted to. Rousseau challenged the work analyzed by Locke basing his argument on the origin of hobbies. He claimed that taking people away from socialization and forcing them away from their society undermines the rights of civil society. In his writings he suggested that according to the nature people are neither good or bad and therefore modern society should be blamed on blemishing the pure people through threatening their lives. In addition, Rousseau suggested that the level of sovereignty is indivisible and this is a

Climate Change On Food Security Environmental Sciences Essay

Climate Change On Food Security Environmental Sciences Essay Roughly a billion people around the world live their life in constant fear of what to eat at night or how to provide for their familys and humanitys failure to give them better improvement has been one of its most uncontrollable flaws. This research paper talks about the negative effects of climate change on food security. Long term change in the earths climate especially a change due to an increase in the average atmosphere is what we call climate change, and many people are affected by it right now all around the world. Food security is a scenario that prevails when all individuals, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to adequate, safe, and healthy meals that fits their nutritional needs and meals choices for an effective and healthy life, but the negative effect, the adverse external effect changes these situation for people. Climate change has severe significance for food production and availability of food all over the world. Trying to view the overall impac t of climate change on our food can be tough. Constant Changes in the climate change like, drought and floods could pose as a challenge for farmers and fishers. Right now climate change is already having a great influence to the quality and to the quantity of food produced causing it to increase malnourishment. The topic of climate change and food security is a very sensitive issue to touch upon since food is one of the most important parts of our daily life. Imagine a year where there is no rainfall, or a cold weather in a wrong time of year, or even floods, they all can have a great deal of impact on local crop yields and livestock production. However not everyone around us is aware of these issues, therefore this paper informs people to realize that climate change can affect every part of food production like the impact of climate change on food availability. This paper manly focuses to inform people about the changes that climate change can bring to food production and what are the consequences of not being able to produce food. Impacts on Food Production and Availability Joseph Schmidhuber and his associates examined the effect of climate change on food security all around the world. The article reviews the impact of climate change and how it has a big impact on food production and food price. Climate change is most definitely to affect the manufacture of food in several ways. The more known impact of climate change on the volume and quality of food produced is the effect of weather patterns that are constantly changing over time, in addition these changes are varied based mainly on location and the effect might be greater in different populations (Schmidhuber et al., 2007). Worldwide the weather conditions are to become more unreliable than present, with the increase in the rate and asperity of intense events such as cyclones, floods, hailstorms, and droughts. By providing greater changes in crop yield and local food resources and greater threats of landslides and erosion damage, they can adversely affect the balance of foods resources and thus food s security (Schmidhuber et al., 2007). Liliana Hisas (2011) looks at the issues by assessing and collaborating population growth, food development, nutrition and undernourishment, and connecting these factors to climatic change, to measure the effects on food development. Recuperating more area fit for farming production is unlikely. Hisass research has shown that globally the amount of area that is useful for farming will remain the same in 2080 as it is today, because increases in useful land in some regions will be mostly balance by failures in others. It is the other two elements, water and different climate conditions which would most significantly affect food development globally due to climatic changes. The expected effects of climatic change on food development are farming in low-latitude areas, due to reduced water accessibility and adverse water balances; and water resources in mid-latitude and dry low-latitude areas, due to changes in rainfall (Hisas, 2011: 16). Wulf Killmann (2008) investigates in the article paper a wider view and examines the multiple effects that global warming and climatic change could have on food systems and food security. It also explains the adverse effect of not having enough food and not being able to produce food to feed a nation. Greater temperature ranges lead to heat pressure for vegetation, improving sterility and decreasing overall development. Greater temperature ranges also increases water loss from vegetation and dirt, enhancing water supplies while decreasing water accessibility. In many locations, growing seasons are changing, environmental locations are moving, and rain fall is becoming more unforeseen and not reliable both in its time and its volume. This is leading to greater doubt and increased risks for farm owners and potentially deteriorating the value of traditional farming knowledge such as when to plant particular crops (Killmann, et al., 2008). Agriculture is important for food security in two ways, it generates the food people eat and it provides the main earnings for 36 % of the globes total employees. In the intensely booming nations of Japan and the Hawaiian, this share varies from 40 to 50 %, and in sub-Saharan Africa, two-thirds of the working population still earns a living from agriculture. If farming growth in the low-income developing nations of Japan and Africa is seriously affected by global warming, the earnings of huge numbers of the non-urban inadequate will be put at danger and their access to meals uncertainty will be increased. Effects on the food production will impact food supply at the international and regional levels. Worldwide, higher results in in moderate areas could balance out lower results in in exotic areas. However, in many low-income nations with limited financial capacity to trade and high dependency on their own development to cover food requirements, it may not be possible to balance out p roblems in regional supply without increasing dependency on food aid. Effects on all forms of farming development will impact the earnings and access to foods. Manufacturer groups that are less able to deal with climate change, such as the non-urban inadequate in developing nations, risk having their safety and wellbeing composed (Killmann, et al., 2008). To be food secure, a nation, family, or individual needs regular access to adequate food resources. The concept of food stability represents the accessibility and availability to food. Climate uncertainty is an important aspect in a constant food supply. For example, the expected improvement in rate and asperity of intense events such as flooding and droughts can create significant changes in crop and local food resources. In addition, agriculture workers and others who rely on farming earnings in a region where extreme weather activities are increasing would be at high chance of losing their income and, their ability to purchase food (Hisas, 2011: 23). It also will lower the lifestyle conditions of farm owners, fisherman and forest-dependent individuals who are already inferior and food insecure. Hunger and lack of nutrition will increase. Non-urban areas reliant on farming in a weak environment will face an immediate chance of increased crops failing and lack of livestock. Mostly a t danger are individuals living along shorelines, in floodplains, hills, dry areas, and the arctic. In general, the inadequate will be at probability of food uncertainty due to lack of resources and lack of sufficient insurance policy (Killmann, et al., 2008). Climate change will have a great effect on all aspect of food security, like food availability, food stability, and food consumption. The value of the many matter and the overall effect of climate change on food security will be different across areas and over time and, most of all, is identified by the overall position that a country has achieved as the effects of climate change has set in.

Body Image in the Media :: Advertising Papers

How does the media influence our body image? In what forms, does the media influence our perceptions about our body? These were the two questions that I asked myself in order to do the research paper and the panel discussion. In my opinion, I would agree that the media does influence and promote women and men to believe that the culture's standards for body image are ideal. Hence, the phrases, "thin is in" and "the perfect body" are two examples of "eye-catching" headlines that I observed in many women magazines. I learned that the media influences us through television, fashion and health magazines, music videos, film, commercials, and various other advertisements. Sadly, as a result, this repeated exposure, the "thin" ideal, can lead many young girls in triggering eating disorders, depression, low self-esteem, stress, and suicide. After acquiring this relevant information, I decided to focus my research on what type of media influences elementary school children and the adolesc ent teenager. The three central types of media that I found that did indeed influence body image are: Fashion magazines, famous top-models and actresses, and teenage or young adult women in the music industry. According to the Seretean Center for Health Promotion, " the term, "body image" has been coined to describe a person's inner sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the physical appearance of her/his body." (From The Wellness Column, April 1, 1996.) In my research, I found that many young girls are dissatisfied with their bodies and many "strive" to look like the "waif-thin" models or actresses one sees on television or in fashion magazines. There was a lot of information and facts on body and image that I found on the Internet. However, one website, Just Think Foundation, supported my belief that the media, magazines in particular, do indeed influence young girls to be "thin" in order to be popular and beautiful in our society. For example, I was in alarmed to learn that "eighty percent of 10-year-old American girls diet; more than five million Americans suffer from eating disorders and ninety percent of those are adolescent and young adult women; the number one magic wis h for young girls age 11-17 is to be thinner; and between elementary and high school, the percentage of girls in the U.S. who are "happy with the way I am" drops from 60% to 29%.

Reducing Death Penalty Costs Essay

Abstract In this paper, I will be evaluating the death penalty in the United States and ways that costs can be cut to make it much more of a viable option. â€Å"Using conservative rough projections, the Commission estimates the annual costs of the present system $137 million per year (California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, 2008). What does an individual death row inmate get for millions of tax payers’ dollars you ask? This includes; housing, garments, meals, health care, mental care, pre-trial and trial, unlimited appeals and petitions. I think that the limit for appeals at the state level should be only 3 appeals and 2 at the federal level. If an inmate knew how many state and federal appeals they had before they were done, we wouldn’t see a waste of appeals on frivolous things. This would cut legal costs and free up the courts dockets a little more by not allowing death row inmates to appeal over every little thing. Reducing Death Penalty Costs Although the total accumulated cost of the death penalty sentence does vary from state to state one thing can be said; it is extremely exorbitant. â€Å"Using conservative rough projections, the Commission estimates the annual costs of the present system $137 million per year (California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice, 2008). What does an individual death row inmate get for millions of tax payers’ dollars you ask? This includes; housing, garments, meals, health care, mental care, pre-trial and trial, unlimited appeals and petitions. Why would a public defender object or his boss for this matter object to getting their bills paid by the tax payers’? There needs to be stricter legal and privilege guidelines for death row inmates and attorneys that defend them. If prison systems would make stricter guidelines and regulations for death row inmates then costs would go down exponentially. There needs to be limitations on how many times a death row inmate can appeal and petition their case. I think that the limit for appeals at the state level should be only 3 appeals and 2 at the federal level. If an inmate knew how many state and federal appeals they had before they were done, we wouldn’t see a waste of appeals on frivolous things. This would cut legal costs and free up the courts dockets a little more by not allowing death row inmates to appeal over every little thing. These continuing moves that are plaguing our legal system which has increased the average duration of their stay on death row. If the number of appeals is not a good solution then only allow appeals that are relative to their case in proving their innocence. Check out the chart and look at the increase in length of death row durations we have seen over the last three decades. [pic](Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). Another way to cut costs for death row inmates is to shorten the time in between sentencing and execution. By limiting the number of appeals a death row inmate is allowed will significantly shorten their wait to be executed. As the graph above shows, in 1984 there were only 74 months wait between sentencing and execution. In the years to follow, the length of time between sentencing and execution grew exponentially to 178 months in 2010. That is almost 15 years for an inmate to accrue legal fees through unlimited appeals that they do not have to pay for. The length of time that U.S. inmates spend on death row has gotten increasingly longer in recent years, and raises questions about the constitutionality of this added punishment (Death Penalty Information Center, 2012). When an individual is sentenced to a death penalty sentence, they are automatically entitled to unlimited appeals and the tax payers are going to pay for this through taxes. The inmates have at their disposal almost u nlimited resources on the tax payer’s dime. In my opinion, if a death row inmate cannot prove their innocence after the allotted 3 state appeals and 2 federal appeals with the financial allotment of $250,000, then the financial responsibility should fall to the inmate and/or their families. We, as citizens, should not be forced to have to pay for these murders to continue to take up the courts time with frivolous appeals. Food expenses also need to be seriously cut down. Death row inmates are eating much better than many of America’s low income families who make minimum wage and are unable to buy food. The average household income in The United States is $51,914 per year (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2012). These people are in prison, not a day spa. In Connecticut, the Department of Correction serves up three meals a day for the bargain-basement price of $2.42 per inmate – roughly what a bag of fries and a Coke will cost you at McDonald’s (Kauffman, 2012). I believe this is still more than these criminals deserve. Below is the link to see a sample menu of what the inmates are being fed at Connecticut Department of Corrections: http://courantblogs.com/investigative-reporting/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Prison-Menu.pdf. Our children do not even get this good of quality of food in schools, why should the inmates. Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who is reputed to have cut food costs down to 40 cents a day with a strategy that, included serving green surplus bologna to inmates (Kauffman, 2012). Many people share Sheriff Arpaio’s ideology or he wouldn’t keep getting re-elected. The inmates should only get bologna sandwiches and water. They should make their own bread from scratch also to cut down the costs of buying sliced bread. If the inmates want any kind of fresh fruits and vegetables then they must work to earn the right to a garden. The inmates’ families should be responsible for the costs of the seeds and paying for th e water to use on the gardens. Death row inmates should also not be allowed to live in air conditioned facilities. Death row prisoners are served breakfast and dinner in their cells, can usually mingle with others in the outdoor exercise yards while eating their sack lunches, and have exclusive control over the television, CD player or other diversions in their cells (Williams, 2009). â€Å"Death row inmates probably have the most liberal telephone privileges of anyone in state custody,† said Terry Thornton, spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, explaining that they need ready access to their attorneys and can often make calls from their cells over a phone that can be rolled along the cell-block (Williams, 2009). Those on death row are also allowed more personal property inside their cells, to accommodate their voluminous legal documents without infringing on the 6 cubic feet of snacks and entertainment devices allowed each prisoner, said Lt. Sam Robinson, spokesman for San Quentin (Williams, 2009). They lost that ability when they committed those crime in which caused them to be sentenced to death. They should not be allowed to play games, watch television, have personal radios/CD players, unlimited access to the telephone and the inmates and all calls should be recorded, and they should not be allowed contact visits in private, unlike inmates in other parts of the prison. American prisons should also stop providing free 24 hour health care to their inmates. Make the families of the inmate pay for any services rendered, whether inmates see an on call doctor or go to the emergency room. There is no reason that working taxpayers’ should have to foot yet another outrageous bill for inmates. The average cost of healthcare for a typical American family of four in an employer- sponsored health plan in 2012 is $20,728 (Wells Media Group, Inc., 2012). Death row inmates should not be allowed to receive free health care while hard working Americans are struggling to make ends meet with minimum wages and still trying to be able to afford healthcare for their families. How does this seem fair, you may wonder? Well, it is not where near the category of fair. â€Å"Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. The Act, which affects both state and federal prisoners, restricts review in federal courts by establishing tighter filing deadlines, limiting the opportunity for evidentiary hearings, and ordinarily allowing only a single habeas corpus filing in federal court. Proponents of the death penalty argue that this streamlining will speed up the death penalty process and significantly reduce its cost, although others fear that quicker, more limited federal review may increase the risk of executing innocent defendants† [(Bohm, 1999 and Schabas, 1997)]. In conclusion, if our prison systems would make stricter guidelines and regulations for death row inmates then costs would go down exponentially. There needs to be stricter legal and privilege guidelines for death row inmates and attorneys that defend them. If prison systems would make stricter guidelines and regulations for death row inmates then costs would go down exponentially. Another way to cut costs for death row inmates is to shorten the time in between sentencing and execution. By limiting the number of appeals a death row inmate is allowed will significantly shorten their wait to be executed. And finally, death row inmates should have all of their luxuries that are not necessities to live. Death row inmates would pray for death to come quicker because there are the bare minimum. References U.S. Department of Commerce. (2012, July 07). State & county quickfacts-usa. Retrieved from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html Williams, C. (2009, November 11). Death penalty is considered a boon by some california inmates. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2009/nov/11/local/me-deathrow11 Death Penalty Information Center. (2012). Time on death row. Retrieved from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/time-death-row Kauffman, M. (2012, March 1). Stat of the week: What’s it cost to feed an inmate for a day?. Retrieved from http://courantblogs.com/investigative-reporting/stat-of-the-week-whats-it-cost-to-feed-an-inmate-for-a-day/ California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice. (2008, July 01). Death penalty cost. Retrieved from http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-cost Wells Media Group, Inc. (2012, May 15).Healthcare costs for insured american family top $20k in 2012: Milliman. Retrieved from http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/05/15/247598.htm

Recruitment, Selection and Onboarding Processes Essay

When assessing the strengths and weaknesses of my company’s recruiting, selecting and onboarding processes, there are definitely good processes and areas that need some significant improvement. As with most companies, they have to deal with a large number of applicants so it is easy to understand why some areas of the hiring process may become neglected. It is perfectly okay to admit there are deficiencies in a process or program as long as steps are taken to rectify the deficient areas in order to enhance the program. First of all, my company does very well in the recruiting and selecting of candidates because they are very critical of their choices. Recruiting is mostly done through employee referral and social networking sites and internet job boards. The requirements are spelled out very clearly online for each position that is listed and the recruiters make sure they select candidates who fit the proper criteria. An initial interview is performed by the recruiter to see if you are a viable candidate and if they believe you have what it takes as well as the proper credentials then they will forward your name and resume to the hiring manager where you will sit through a more thorough interview to determine if you are truly the best candidate for the position. All of this is a very good process to make sure qualified candidates are being brought into the organization; however, once the new hires are brought into the organization there is a serious breakdown in the hiring process and it is with the onboarding. If there is one area where my company desperately needs to make improvements, it is in the onboarding process because there really isn’t much of one. It is essential that every successful organization establish and maintain an effective onboarding program to ensure each new employee is properly welcomed into the organization and feels as if they belong there. Without proper onboarding, new employees can become quickly frustrated because there are many new things to learn in a new job and they aren’t being shown what to do. All too often it is assumed that new employees were hired because they know what they are doing, therefore nobody bothers to show them the ropes. Just because someone has all of the credentials for the position does not mean they understand how the process plays out within a specific organization. I know that when I was hired at my company I was left hung out to dry. Nobody showed me how to do anything for the first couple of weeks and I quickly became frustrated. I had just been hired and I already wanted to quit the position. So what should be done in the onboarding process to make sure each new employee feels a sense of worth and importance? New employees should go through a company orientation that explains all facets of the company and they should also be given a guided tour of where they will be working so they know exactly where all of the essential equipment and personnel are located in order to alleviate much of the newcomer stress. Most of all, new hires should be assigned a sponsor who will assist them while they are making the transition into the company so the new employee knows that if they are having any troubles or need questions answered, there is someone there to assist them. These simple actions will make a new employee feel much less stress and anxiety while transitioning into their new position and it will leave a lasting impression on them which may persuade them to stay on with the company longer than what they probably would if they were just left to fend for themselves. So, the bottom line is this†¦don’t just have a hiring process that has â€Å"some† good aspects to it with some areas needing serious attention. Make sure all the areas (recruiting, selecting and onboarding) are given the proper attention so the program is well-rounded. This will go a long way in retaining employees and giving them a positive attitude about the company they have just been assigned to.

BigChoc, a manufacturer of organic chocolate Essays

BigChoc, a manufacturer of organic chocolate Essays BigChoc, a manufacturer of organic chocolate Essay BigChoc, a manufacturer of organic chocolate Essay BigChoc, a maker of organic cocoa called Delicio, won the gold decoration for the purest organic cocoa at the International Food Fair for the last three old ages. Its European office and mill is located in Balmoral, United Kingdom ( UK ) . BigChoc s caput office is in North America. BigChoc sells Delicio in three EU Member States the UK, Ireland and France and has about 60 % of the market for organic cocoa in each of these states. LArtisan is a little Gallic company that manufactures organic cocoa, which it besides sells in the UK, Ireland and France. It has about 10 % of the market for organic cocoa in these three states. Marta owns a store and cafe merchandising organic green goods in the small town of Balmoral where she sells BigChoc s Delicio and LArtisan s organic cocoa. A month ago BigChoc s gross revenues representative visited her store and told her that she must halt selling LArtisan s cocoa or BigChoc would non provide her anymore. Marta refused and BigChoc sent her a facs imile corroborating that it would non provide her anymore. Marta s concern has suffered as she has ever sold more of BigChoc s Delicio than L’Artisan’s cocoa. Because LArtisan is a little company it does non hold the capableness to provide her with every bit much organic cocoa as she needs. However, she has read an article on LArtisan in the Wall Street Journal, which describes the company s programs for enlargement. CandyCo a Belgian manufacturer of organic bars decides to do organic cocoa bars and to sell them in six EU Member States including the UK, Ireland and France. Its market research reveals that many clients with particular dietetic demands, and pregnant adult females, choose merely those organic merchandises known for holding the purest organic ingredients. However, BigChoc has refused to provide its Delicio cocoa to CandyCo and decides to do organic cocoa bars itself. CandyCo approaches LittleChoc, another manufacturer of all right organic cocoa, which pres ently sells its cocoa in Belgium and the remainder of the EU but non in Ireland, France and the UK. LittleChoc besides refuses to provide CandyCo, which has noticed that LittleChoc s and BigChoc s monetary values for organic cocoa are the same throughout the EU. On a recent vacation in Belgium Marta visits CandyCo s mill store and learns of these events. Advise Marta on the deductions of the actions of BigChoc and LittleChoc under Article 81 and Article 82 EC. In this essay I shall discourse the deductions of the actions of BigChoc and LittleChoc non merely under Article 81 and Article 82 EC, but besides under Chapter I and Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998. These latter commissariats are based upon the several EC Articles, but differ in their geographical range ; we may therefore happen that whilst no damages for Marta can be found through application of Article 81 and Article 82 EC, such damages might be possible under the more limited range of the Chapter I and II prohibitions of the UK’s Competition Act 1998 ; in this manner, any advice given to Martha on the deductions of the actions of BigChoc and LittleChoc would perchance be uncomplete without a treatment of the prohibitions at both the EC and national degree. It is for this ground I have chosen to widen the range of my response in this manner. In order for Martha to seek amendss for her loss of concern, she must be able to reason that she was compelled to do her determination to stop supply with BigChoc i.e. that the harm was non caused through her ain pick to stop supply. She must therefore argue that had she accepted BigChoc’s judicial admission to discontinue trading with LittleChoc, so she would hold been party to an understanding which would hold been in breach of EC Community and UK National Competition statute law. With this in head, allow us analyze whether or non, had Martha agreed to BigChoc’s judicial admissions, to what extent the actions of BigChoc might be deemed to be in dispute of the prohibition commissariats of Article 81 EC and Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998: Both Article 81 EC and Chapter I [ 1 ] apply to understandings between projects which have as their object or consequence the bar, limitation or deformation of competition. Article 81 applies to the bar, limitation or deformation of competition within the common market and the extent to which these projects affect trade between Member States. Chapter I applies to the bar, limitation or deformation of competition within the UK and the extent to which these projects affect trade within the United Kingdom. Before analyzing the facts of the job and trying to place any understandings which might, prima facie, be seen to come within the range of either of these commissariats, allow us foremost examine the Article and Act in closer item in order to set up a more strict choice standard: Article 81 ( 1 ) EC and Section 2 ( 2 ) of the Competition Act 1998 provide a non-exhaustive, but exemplifying list of understandings to which the commissariats apply. The lists contained within each of these several legislative acts are indistinguishable, and are as follows: Those understandings to which these commissariats apply, are those understandings which†¦ â€Å" ( a ) straight or indirectly fix purchase or selling monetary values or any other trading conditions ; ( B ) bound or control production, markets, proficient development or investing ; ( degree Celsius ) portion markets or beginnings of supply ; ( vitamin D ) use dissimilar conditions to tantamount minutess with other trading parties, thereby puting them at a competitory disadvantage ; ( vitamin E ) make the decision of contracts capable to credence by the other parties of auxiliary duties which, by their nature or harmonizing to commercial use, have no connexion with the topic of such contracts.† In the facts of the job we are told that BigChoc s gross revenues representative visited Marta’s store and told her that she must halt selling LArtisan s cocoa or BigChoc would non provide her anymore. Prima facie, this non-consensual ‘arrangement’ between BigChoc and Martha may be seen as impacting trade both between Member States [ 2 ] , and within the United Kingdom [ 3 ] , and as such, we should analyze this agreement under both Article 81 EC and Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998. Article 81 will merely be deemed applicable where the project in inquiry ‘may have caused an appreciable consequence on interstate trade’ ; this phrase has been interpreted loosely by the instance jurisprudence of the European Courts, and as such leading facie we can be confident that such an affect would be deemed to hold been created by the infliction of BigChoc’s ultimatum. Chapter I will merely be applicable where the understanding is, or is intended to be implemented in the UK [ 4 ] ; there is no uncertainty that BigChoc’s proposed understanding was intended to be implemented in the UK, and as such, leading facie, we can stay confident at this phase that Chapter I of the Competition Act 1988 will besides be applicable to this project. A note should be made here in relation to the existent term ‘undertaking’ , as used both by myself above, and besides in the diction of the several EC and National Law commissariats: In the instance of Hofner and Elser v Macrotron [ 1991 ] [ 5 ] , the significance of ‘undertaking’ was held to cover ‘any natural or legal individual engaged in economic activity, irrespective of its legal position and the manner in which it is financed’ . This definition provides no jobs in our chase of a claim against BigChoc under the Article 81 or Chapter I prohibitions. As for whether this agreement is one which might be seen to sufficiently do the bar, limitation or deformation of competition within the common market/UK market, it should be noted that the agreement is really similar to the illustration stipulated in portion ( vitamin E ) of the list of understandings to which the commissariats apply [ 6 ] ; in kernel, BigChoc were renegociating Martha’s supply contract of Delicio cocoa. BigChoc stated that the contract would non be concluded unless Martha agreed to accept a auxiliary duty non to merchandise with BigChoc’s rival L’Artisan ; there is no uncertainty here that this duty is one which, ‘by its nature or harmonizing to commercial use, has no connexion with the topic of the contract, ’ which is the supply of BigChoc’s ware, and nil to make with L’Artisan in any manner whatsoever. The OFT will merely make the determination that BigChoc has infringed Article 81 EC and Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 if there is â€Å"strong and obliging evidence† to that consequence. This was the wide trial outlined in the instance of NAPP Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited and Subsidiaries v Director General of Fair Trading [ 2002 ] [ 7 ] . The Commission’s Notice on Agreements of Minor Importance [ 8 ] provinces what is non to be considered ‘an appreciable limitation of competition under Article 81 EC’ . Agreements between parties [ projects ] which affect trade as between Member States are non be consider being ‘an appreciable limitation of competition under Article 81 EC’ , where†¦ â€Å"the sum market portion of the parties to the understanding does non transcend 10 per cent on any of the relevant markets affected by the understanding where the understanding is made between viing projects ( i.e. projects which are existent or possible rivals on any of the markets concerned ) , or the market portion of each of the parties to the understanding does non transcend 15 per cent on any of the relevant markets affected by the understanding where the understanding is made between non-competing projects, ( i.e. projects which are neither existent nor possible rivals on any of the markets concerned ) .† [ 9 ] This is non any easy ‘guideline’ to use ; we know that BigChoc are a party to the understanding, but their trade is non being adversely affected by the understanding. LittleChoc are non as such a direct party to the understanding, but in visible radiation of the fact that it is them would endure a loss through the agreement between BigChoc and Martha, it would look important that any trial whose purpose is to determine whether or non the affect of the understanding is an ‘appreciable restriction’ , would concentrate non on the market portion owned by BigChoc, but instead that of the victim company LittleChoc. After all, if the of import characteristic of this appraisal is the portion of the market held by the larger company, so this guideline would in consequence be giving the green light for any larger company to merely set little rivals [ those with a market portion lower than 10 % ] out of concern. LittleChoc’s portion in the UK merely 10 % , and h ence non ‘greater than 10 % ’ as required, but the existent per centum of the ‘relevant markets affected’ is much lower than this, as in consequence it is merely LittleChoc’s concern in Martha’s shop which will be adversely affected by this understanding. It hence seems likely that LittleChoc are excessively little a company to ensue in the understanding in inquiry being deemed in dispute of Article 81 EC or Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998. We are told nevertheless that LittleChoc are be aftering an enlargement, and if this does travel in front, so possibly this point should be revisited in visible radiation of its new market place, and ensuing increased affected portion. There is besides a high opportunity that if BigChoc are trying to enforce such conditions on Martha’s store, so they are besides enforcing this status on other retail mercantile establishments who are selling LittleChoc’s wares. If this was the instance, s o LittleChoc could take an action out against BigChoc for their breach of EC and UK Competition jurisprudence, and at least such an action might non fall down at this hurdle. It should be noted nevertheless that even if LittleChoc’s aggregate market portion which is affected by BigChoc’s behavior was calculated to be above 10 % , this would non needfully intend that the OFT would keep that the consequence on competition is appreciable [ 10 ] . Other relevant factors must be taken into history in this finding, such as the content of the understanding and the construction of the market or markets affected by the understanding, such as entry conditions or the features of the purchasers and the construction of the buyer’s side of the market [ 11 ] . It is of import to observe that none of the exclusions provided for by Article 81 ( 3 ) EC and s9 ( 1 ) of the Competition Act 1998 are truly relevant to our understanding in this inquiry. Let us now address the issue of Article 82 EC and Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998, and set up whether BigChoc’s behavior could be deemed a breach of either of these commissariats: Article 82 EC and Chapter 2 [ 12 ] of the Competition Act 1998 are commissariats designed to forbid one company mistreating its dominant market place. Again the Chapter II proviso is based upon the EC Article, the primary difference being in the geographical range of their protection [ 13 ] : Article 82 EC provides that: Any maltreatment by one or more projects of a dominant place within the common market or in a significant portion of it shall be prohibited as incompatible with the common market in so far as it may impact trade between Member States. The Chapter II prohibition provides that: †¦any behavior on the portion of one or more projects which sums to the maltreatment of a dominant place in a market is prohibited if it may impact trade within the United Kingdom. Let us use these commissariats to the state of affairs in our job inquiry, and see if BigChoc’s forced judicial admission that Martha ceases trading with LittleChoc could be held to be an maltreatment of BigChoc’s dominant market place. The two cardinal phases of the trial are as follows: First we must set up that BigChoc is dominant in the relevant market. Then we must reason and set up that BigChoc is in maltreatment of that dominant place [ 14 ] . In order to set up this, the Office of Fair Trading will carry on a elaborate scrutiny of the market concerned and the effects of BigChoc’s behavior within that market. Let us now conduct an scrutiny of our ain, based on the facts provided in the job inquiry, and ascertain the likeliness of BigChoc being found to be in breach of Article 82 EC and Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998: There is no uncertainty that BigChoc are in a dominant place relation to LittleChoc, with a 60 % UK market compared to a 10 % one. As for whether the behavior of BigChoc is sufficiently opprobrious to represent maltreatment under these commissariats, it should be noted for intents of counsel, that both Article 82 EC and Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998 provide a list of behavior which may represent maltreatment. This list is simply exemplifying, i.e. non thorough, but it gives us some thought of how to use these commissariats [ 15 ] : ( a ) straight or indirectly enforcing unjust purchase or selling monetary values or other unjust trading conditions ; ( B ) modification production, markets or proficient development to the bias of consumers ( degree Celsius ) using dissimilar conditions to tantamount minutess with other trading parties, thereby puting them at a competitory disadvantage ( vitamin D ) doing the decision of contracts capable to credence by the other parties of auxiliary duties which, by their nature or harmonizing to commercial use, have no connexion with the topic of the contracts. The agreement is really similar to the illustration stipulated in portion ( vitamin D ) of the list of behavior to which the commissariats apply ; in kernel, BigChoc were renegociating Martha’s supply contract of Delicio cocoa. BigChoc stated that the contract would non be concluded unless Martha agreed to accept a auxiliary duty non to merchandise with BigChoc’s rival L’Artisan ; there is no uncertainty here that this duty is one which, ‘by its nature or harmonizing to commercial use, has no connexion with the topic of the contract, ’ which is the supply of BigChoc’s ware, and nil to make with the limitation of selling L’Artisan in any manner whatsoever. Whether or non BigChoc can seek limited unsusceptibility on the footing that, as per s40 of the Act, the one-year turnover of the company does non transcend ?50 million is unknown from the facts. This unsusceptibility nevertheless is non available under Article 82 EC, and in visible radiation of the fact that this behavior would about surely, under the broad readings offered by the Community Courts, be deemed incompatible with the common market [ in this instance, impacting trade between Member States France and the UK ] , we can be rather confident that such behavior by BigChoc would be held to be in dispute of Article 82 EC. The effects of this violation would in this instance most likely be in the signifier of a fiscal punishment. When puting the sum of any punishment, the OFT must hold respect to its ‘Guidance as to the appropriate sum of a punishment. [ 16 ] ’ The punishment imposed may be of up to 10 % of the world-wide turnover of BigChoc, flop as expressed above, the concluding determination is up to the OFT, who are, as a consequence of the Modernisation Regulation, in charge of such appraisals [ 17 ] . As for Marta ; she may use to the tribunals as a 3rd party and seek amendss for her loss of concern and besides possibly to seek an order coercing BigChoc to restart her supply, although it is more likely that the OFT would present merely amendss [ 18 ] . We are now faced with a confusing series of facts ; CandyCo a Belgian manufacturer of organic bars decides to do organic cocoa bars and to sell them in six EU Member States including the UK, Ireland and France. Its market research reveals that many clients with particular dietetic demands, and pregnant adult females, choose merely those organic merchandises known for holding the purest organic ingredients. However, BigChoc has refused to provide its Delicio cocoa to CandyCo and decides to do organic cocoa bars itself. CandyCo approaches LittleChoc, another manufacturer of all right organic cocoa, which presently sells its cocoa in Belgium and the remainder of the EU but non in Ireland, France and the UK. LittleChoc besides refuses to provide CandyCo, which has noticed that LittleChoc s and BigChoc s monetary values for organic cocoa are the same throughout the EU. This information, coupled with the fact that we are besides told that there was published an article on LArtisan in the Wall Street Journal, which describes the company s programs for enlargement, might take us to believe that BigChoc and LittleChoc have in someway made an understanding to repair their monetary values. At the clip of the BigChoc nearing Marta nevertheless, from the facts, we can be reasonably certain that such an understanding had non yet occurred, and as such these ulterior facts do non hold a bearing on the decisions reached so far in this essay. However, in light if these initial facts, we might theorize that BigChoc had commenced a wide-spread onslaught on its smaller challenger LittleChoc ; through nearing shops such as Marta’s and giving the proprietors of these shops the same ultimatum, either cease buying from LittleChoc or we will discontinue providing you with BigChoc. Of class, some shops, like Marta’s, would decline to panda to this demand, but it is about certain that the larger shops in the market would gain the importance of keeping supply from the dominant maker, particularly in visible radiation of the fact that BigChoc had won awards for the excellence of its merchandise for the past three old ages. If this was the instance, finally BigChoc could hol d been in a place to coerce LittleChoc into a price-fixing understanding, in return for remotion of these countrywide supply limitations The above is of class a guess, but it is one which, from the facts supplied to us, seems a plausible 1. Let us presume that such monetary value repairing understanding has in fact been made between BigChoc and LittleChoc, and measure its deductions under Article 81 and 82 EC and Chapter I and Chapter II, severally: Having made this appraisal, I will reason by briefly turn toing the same factual state of affairs as if LittleChoc had been forced into this understanding by BigChoc’s maltreatment of its dominant market place, as per my above guess. â€Å"An understanding whose object is straight or indirectly to repair monetary values, or the resale monetary values of any merchandise or service, about constantly infringes Article81 and/or the Chapter I prohibition. [ 19 ] † The ground for this ‘hard-core restriction’ that an understanding or agreement which fixes monetary values between rivals does, by its really nature, restrict competition to an ‘appreciable’ extent ; the monetary values are no longer capable to the natural market forces of healthy and free competition. The assorted ways in which such understandings may purport to curtail monetary values can include the existent repair of a monetary value or the per centum by which monetary values are to be increased, or less straight puting a minimal monetary value [ lower than which such monetary values must non fall ] or set uping an in agreement monetary value scope, outside of which the monetary values must non be set [ 20 ] . In our instance, the monetary values of BigChoc’s and LittleChoc’s merchandises are indistinguishable in value throughout Europe. This suggests that if a monetary value repair understanding has been reached between these two challengers, so it is of the sort which stipulates the exact monetary values by which the merchandises will be sold. In visible radiation of such an understanding, the OFT would enforce fiscal punishments upon the two companies in the order of 10 % of their entire worldwide turnover. This is a maximal punishment, and of class the OFT have discretion available to them to take into history all the relevant fortunes and will put a punishment duty with respect to its ‘Guidance as to the appropriate sum of a punishment. [ 21 ] ’ . BigChoc and LittleChoc could try to hedge such punishment by reasoning that their understanding falls within one of the legal exclusions introduced by the Modernisation Regulation [ 22 ] . In drumhead, the legal exclusion government introduced by this recent ordinance means that even if the understanding in inquiry to the full satisfies the judicial admissions of Article 81 ( 1 ) , and is as such, leading facie, a competitory limitation which should be prohibited, the understanding can still be capable of being deemed valid and enforceable, every bit long as, and for every bit long as, the conditions set out in Article 83 ( 3 ) EC are satisfied. The load of turn outing that these aforementioned conditions are met would lie on BigChoc and LittleChoc, the projects claiming the benefit of Article 83 ( 1 ) EC [ 23 ] . The Competition Act 1998 was amended to be in conformity with this legal exclusion government, and the conditions of exclusion can be found within s9 ( 1 ) of the Act. As with Article 81 ( 3 ) EC, where an understanding comes within the judicial admissions of Article 81 ( 1 ) , and is as such, leading facie, a competitory limitation which should be prohibited, the understanding can still be capable of being deemed valid and enforceable, every bit long as, and for every bit long as, the conditions set out in s9 ( 1 ) of the Competition Act are satisfied. The load of turn outing that these aforementioned conditions are met would likewise prevarication on BigChoc and LittleChoc, the projects claiming the benefit of s9 ( 1 ) in our instance. The conditions in Article 81 ( 3 ) and subdivision 9 ( 1 ) are virtually indistinguishable [ 24 ] . There are four conditions which must all be satisfied in order for BigChoc’s and LittleChoc’s monetary value repairing understanding to be validated and upheld: Article 81 ( 3 ) EC/s9 ( 1 ) of the Act provide that Article 81 ( 1 ) /s9 ( 1 ) is unsuitable in regard of any understanding: which contributes to bettering the production or distribution [ of goods ] or advancing proficient or economic advancement, while leting consumers a just portion of the resulting benefit, and which does non: ( a ) impose on the projects concerned limitations which are non indispensable to the attainment of these aims ; ( B ) afford such projects the possibility of extinguishing competition in regard of a significant portion of the merchandises in inquiry. As stated above, the load of cogent evidence would be upon BigChoc and LittleChoc to explicate an statement for why their understanding does so fulfill the four commissariats above. The could reason that they have fixed their monetary values so that they can non travel above a certain upper limit, and in making so hold contributed to the distribution of goods [ in that more people can now afford the merchandises ] but at the same clip have allowed the consumers a just portion of the resulting benefit [ i.e. lower monetary values ] . They would hold to reason that such an understanding was necessary and indispensable to accomplishing the aim of greater distribution, and that their understanding does non function to extinguish other rival rivals who are non party to the understanding. Whether or non BigChoc and Little Choc are successful will depend upon the existent nature of the understanding, and how good they can reason the above points based upon the existent state of affairs of t he market and the contents of the understanding made, but if they are successful, so their understanding will be deemed valid. If they are unsuccessful, so their understanding will be deemed null [ 25 ] , and as antecedently stated, fiscal punishments may be imposed if the breach of Article 81 and/or Chapter I is shown to hold been committed deliberately or negligently [ 26 ] . BigChoc and LittleChoc should besides be cognizant that no ‘small concern arrangement’ unsusceptibility is available for price-fixing understandings such as the sort in inquiry here [ 27 ] . If CandyCo believes that the ground that both companies rejected their petition for the supply of cocoa is due to some other understanding between them, so they may use to the OFT for an probe into this affair. From the facts, it seems that the ground BigChoc declined the order was due to the fact that BigChoc were themselves interested in doing the bars which CandyCo were be aftering to fabricate, and as such did non desire to assist out their competition. No such ground has been provided for LittleChoc’s grounds for rejection, and as such we can presume that they rejected for different grounds. In this manner, from the facts provided, it does non look probably that an understanding as to who to provide their goods to had been made between LittleChoc and BigChoc. As a concluding point: If LittleChoc had been forced into this understanding by the behavior of BigChoc, so they may avoid the fiscal punishments imposed by the OFT in respects to this price-fixing understanding, should such punishments in fact be ordered. A simple statement of the sort employed earlier in this essay, utilizing the commissariats of Article 82 EC and Chapter II of the Competition Act 1998, to demo that BigChoc had abused its 60 % dominant market place to coerce LittleChoc into a place where the lone economically feasible option was to run into the demands of BigChoc and commit to a price-fixing understanding, would be sufficient to hedge liability ; amendss may even be awarded for LittleChoc’s loss of concern as a consequence of BigChoc’s opprobrious behavior. LittleChoc could trust upon the testimony of store proprietors such as Marta to grounds BigChoc’s anti-competitive behavior. Mention Bibliography â€Å"Commission’s Notice on Agreements of Minor Importance† OJ C368, 22.12.01 Hofner and Elser v Macrotron [ 1991 ] ECR 1-1979 Klimisch Decentralised application of EC competition jurisprudence, [ 1999 ] ELRev 463. NAPP Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited and Subsidiaries v Director General of Fair Trading [ 2002 ] CompAR 13 Office of Fair Trading [ OFT 401a ] : Article 81 and the Chapter I prohibition ; Draft competition jurisprudence guideline for audience April 2004 Office of Fair Trading [ OFT 401b ] : Article 82 and the Chapter II prohibition ; Draft competition jurisprudence guideline for audience April 2004 Office of Fair Trading [ OFT 415 ] : Appraisal of market power ; Understanding Competition Law 2004 Office of Fair Trading [ OFT 423 ] : ‘Guidance as to the appropriate sum of a penalty.’ 2004 â€Å"REFORMING EC COMPETITION PROCEDURES† COM ( 1999 ) 101 finalWhite Paper on Modernisation of the regulations implementing Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty. [ 4ThursdayReport of the Select Committee appointed to see European Union paperss and other affairs associating to the European Union ] Schaub, A. , Modernisation of EC Competition Law: Reform of Regulation 17, Fordham Corporate Law Institute, October 1999. Steiner A ; Woods, Textbook on EC Law ( Oxford University Press, 8th erectile dysfunction )

Position on Cloning essays

Position on Cloning essays According to the American Heritage Dictionary, cloning is to make multiple identical copies of a DNA sequence, to reproduce or propagate asexually. A clone is a group of genetically identical cells descended from a single common ancestor, such as a bacterial colony whose members arose from a single original cell as a result of binary fission. The process of cloning has challenged every mind in the world. Is it right to make a human being from the cells of another? In this paper I plan to discuss the ethical, moral, religious, and humorous views on cloning. I was a little confused on how a clone is made, so I will also discuss that. Are we playing God by believing that we have the right to manipulate nature in such a manner that we are actually bringing new lives into the world? At the conclusion of my paper I hope that you will be able to make an educated decision about your views on cloning. It all started when Ian made a lamb. Ian Wilmut removed an udder cell from a 6-year-old Finn Dorset ewe and reproduced the cell within the means of the law. He placed one of the resulting udder cells in a bath of chemicals, forcing it into suspended animation. This step ensured that the cells deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) would keep working after the transplant. An immature egg cell was removed from a second sheep, this one a Scottish blackface ewe. A needle was used to take out the eggs nucleus, where DNA is stored. The egg cell and the udder cell were placed next to each other and then given a jolt of electricity, causing them to fuse. The electricity also prompted the fused cell to start dividing, forming an embryo. After six days, the embryo was transferred to the womb of yet another Scottish blackface ewe. Five months later, in July 1996, a Finn Dorset named Dolly, undoubtedly now the worlds best-known sheep, was born. (Herbert, Wray et al) The recent successful cloning of an adult sheep,...

How to Choose the Best ACT Test Locations

How to Choose the Best ACT Test Locations SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips We all want to max out brainpower on the day of the ACT. But what can help, besides studying? One factor worth considering is where you take the test. You want a place that allows you to focus completely on the test without other anxieties, concerns or discomfort. And guess where a lot of test-day anxieties, concerns and discomfort can come from? That's right, they can be direct results of choosing a distracting or inconvenient testing center. In this article, we give you all the information you need to make the right decision about which of all ACT test centers to choose In this article, we’ll cover how you find the ACT locations administering the test. Then, we’ll discuss the important factors you need to consider to choosing your test location. Finally, we’ll give you a few tips and reminders you might not have known about test centers. How Do I Find Which Locations Are Near Me? There are two ways to find test locations. 1) Use the ACT'sSearch Toolto Find a Test Center Near You I recommend that on this form you search by state, and not by city. If you enter the city, you’ll only receive schools for that exact city, not neighboring areas. You’ll see a list of cities and center names. When you click on the addition sign, you'll see the center code and the dates the ACT is offered at that center. Not all centers have all test dates, so make sure you plan ahead! 2) Start Registering for the Test You don't need to go through with the whole registration, and they won't charge you for it. You’ll need to log into your ACT account, and then click the link to register for the test. This will take you through many questionnaires. Finally, when you get to Test Date, choose your intended test date. Go through a few more pages, and you’ll get to the Test Center. On this page, you’ll be able to enter a Zip Code, and the ACT will conveniently show all ACT testing centers within 25 miles. It’s unclear why they don’t make the zip code search available publicly without registering for the test. Which ACT Test Location Should I Choose? Your best choice of ACT test locations depends on a number of factors. In order of importance: How long does it take to get there? How familiar are you with the location and layout? Will you know a lot of people at that location? How will that affect you? Are there known aspects about the location that make it problematic? Let’s cover each in order. How Long Does It Take to Get There? Timing is the primary concern when choosing the test location. Because the ACT requires that you arrive by 8AM sharp, you’ll need to wake up early to get to the test location. For example, if it takes you an hour to drive to the test location, you’ll likely need to wake up around 6AM to have enough time to get energized, eat breakfast, and arrive at the site with time to spare. Keep in mind that the longer you have to travel, the more variability there will be in your arrival time – a 10 minute drive might be delayed only by 5 minutes, but a 60 minute drive can be delayed by 30 minutes. Recommendation: generally try to choose locations that are closer to where you live. How Familiar Are You With the Location and Layout? Knowing exactly how to get to the ACT test center is an advantage. The morning of the test, you want as little distraction as possible when getting yourself in the mindset for acing the test. If you’re driving to an unknown location, you might run into unexpected traffic or construction, and you might confuse directions. This can cause anxiety that might not wear off until well into the test. Similarly, knowing the layout of the test center is helpful during bathroom breaks. Because breaks are tightly regulated in time, getting lost in the hallways of a school can be damaging to your concentration. Test centers at high schools typically use only a small portion of the school for testing, so it’s possible for you to lose your way if you’re unfamiliar with the location. Recommendation: Try to choose a location that you’re familiar with. If you must choose an unfamiliar location, try to scope it out beforehand, or budget extra time to get there and know the layout. Will You Know a Lot of People at That Location? How Will That Affect You? If you choose your local high school like most students, you’ll likely run into a lot of people you know. People respond very differently to this. To some, being around friends is helpful. It relieves the stress of the situation, and chatting casually during breaks might help them feel less nervous. To these people, going to an unfamiliar location with strangers causes additional stress. To others, the opposite is true - being around friends for the ACT is stressful. You might want as little distraction as possible, and talking to your friends might take your head out of the game. You want to concentrate silently during breaks, but you don’t want to give the impression that you’re rudely brushing off your friends. Plus, what if you take the test in the same room as your crush? It might be hard to take the test without sneaking glances at the person. Which group do you fit into? Each person is different, so act accordingly. Recommendation: If being around friends on test day is helpful, register at your high school. If it’s stressful, register elsewhere, keeping in mind the location and layout factors above. Are There Known Issues at the Location That Bother You? You’ll usually only know this ahead of time if you’re thinking about taking it at your high school. Here are things that you might worry about: Temperature control: do you know if the location can maintain a temperature that’s comfortable for you? Windows: do you tend to feel claustrophobic in this location, and might the presence of windows help? Testing environment: do you know if the location has noises, smells, or other factors that might be distracting? Do you tend to focus at school or drift off? Recommendation: Avoid testing centers with known problems that bother you. All these factors bring us to one important question that affect most students: Should You Take the ACT at Your High School? This is the default choice of most test takers, because it happens to be convenient. Some students don’t have this choice because their high school doesn’t offer the ACT – in this case, follow the guidelines above. But if you are able to take the ACT at your high school, don’t just assume this is the best option. You should NOT take the ACT at your high school if: There’s another testing location that is substantially closer to your home (saving more than 10 minutes of transit time) Testing around people you know stresses you out and can throw off your concentration You know there are problems at your school, like bad temperature control, uneven desks, or others. Other Tips and Facts Your test center may be changed before the test. If the ACT doesn’t have enough registered students at your chosen test center, they will reassign you to a different location you didn’t expect. Your test might even get rescheduled due to bad weather or other factors. If the location is unfamiliar, consider visiting it days before the test. You’ll practice getting to the location quickly, and you can take a brief look around so the environment is familiar the day of the test. If you have to choose a test center far away (30 minutes or more), here are some tips. Wake up earlier to give yourself buffer time in case problems happen. Prepare a breakfast to eat on the way, and notes to review on the way there. If music relaxes you, listen to it along the way. You can change your location, but it’ll cost you. If you make the change by the registration deadline, there’s a $23 fee. If you change it after your late registration deadline, your only option is to request standby testing, at which point you might as well take it at your original location. What's Next? Now that you know where to take the ACT, learn WHEN to take it. Find out the best ACT test dates and how you should schedule your tests. What's a good ACT score for you? Read this guide to figure out what score you need to aim for. Want to improve by 4 points or more on the ACT? Click below to get our free guide to 5 strategies you must remember to make big improvements on the ACT. Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Laura Registrato About the Author Laura has over a decade of teaching experience at leading universities and scored a perfect score on the SAT. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. 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Competitive Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Competitive Analysis - Essay Example Macintosh products are hip, edgy, associated with quality, and innovative. Smartphones are defined against the IPhone and tablet computing against the IPad. Millions of consumers wait in anticipation for the next Mac release. But there are cracks in their armor. â€Å"The collective Apple community has been so intoxicated by the iPod, the success of the iTunes Store, MacBook sales, and excellent Mac OS X security that no one is reflecting on the areas where Apple is vulnerable. Perhaps it is unpleasant to think about, but neither do we want to live in a state of denial† (Martallero, 2006). Mac has traditionally had weaknesses in the arena of high performance computing. They are not associated with gaming computing in any way and they hold a small chunk of the personal computer market. They also don't any foothold in the corporate computer market. This is irrelevant to the Samsung Tab's success, of course. They also have weaknesses in the enterprise market. The music market is a very big weakness: Despite the IPod helping save the music industry from serious problems, they still have a goal, to sell music. Samsung could do what the Zune tried to and failed: Make a serious competitor to Macintosh in the music department by making strategic alliances. It is in the music industry's interest not to have to deal with a monopoly power in the field of MP3s, particularly the ITunes store. That having been said, this does mean competing for a share of a pie that piracy is always in danger of shrinking. The entertainment industry is similar: They want to sell electronic versions of their movies. If Samsung gets in on the ground floor in this regard, they will be successful. Dell's new tablet announcement that got leaked is also a serious threat (Cush, 2011). â€Å"The already available Dell Streak and Dell Streak 7 are listed, and according to the leaked "Tablet Roadmap," they will be joined in April by the Gallo Honeycomb tablet. The Opus One and Silver Oak Honey comb tablets will follow in early 2012, just in time for CES† (Cush, 2011). Dell has two major advantages. First: They are the big dogs in the field of personal computing. When it comes to building and selling PCs, laptops and notebooks, they are associated with great success. Millions of customers have a Dell PC with an Intel processor: The two are associated with reliability and value. Samsung, on the other hand, is mostly considered to be a maker of TVs, screens, other ancillary products. It seems likely that, faced with the choice between what looks like a Dell computer that just happens to be a tablet or Samsung's new experiment, many people will choose Dell out of sheer brand name recognition. Second: They hit the ground earlier. They launched already. Samsung is a bit late. But the real competition that Samsung has is the PC and other electronic products. The IPad is competing in the tablet market, which is a small market, against people who already are centered on home or laptop computing. If someone has a desktop computer, they are far less likely to think a tablet computer is a worthwhile investment, but might think it's interesting or want mobile computing. If they already have a laptop, the IPad's arguments for existence as a product become far slimmer indeed. Even some video game systems like the DS, PSP, PS3, Wii and XBox 360 are in a real way competition for the Tab. These systems have so many utilities in terms of playing movies, music and doing other

Family nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Family nursing - Essay Example Mr. L lives in three-bedroom condo in residential areas. Living room and kitchen are on the first floor, and bedrooms and bathrooms are on the second floor. The house has a hardwood floor and there is a small rug under the sofa. The air conditioner is in the living room, and there are small fans in all the bedrooms. Family members take off their shoes before entering the house, and wear slippers. Mr. L was diagnosed with DM ten years ago, and now he is administered insulin injections. He often comes to visit his primary doctor because he has swollen ankles and 0.2cm by 0.2 cm foot ulcer on his big toe. He denies any other health problems or surgery history. The family is in the stage of launching the young adults because Mr. L’s youngest child got married in 2010, and a grandson was born last year. Children talk to Mrs. L easily but they rarely talk to Mr. L. All children want to have only one child because they feel that they would be burdened by responsibilities if they will plan more children. Whenever Mr. And Mrs. L’s children face any problem regarding the new born they take advice from their mother and Mrs. L has always responded to them gladly. .Mr. And Mrs. L rarely talk to each other. However, Mrs. L is always concerned about her spouse and his chronic health condition. Mrs. L cooks brown rice instead of white rice because she knows brown rice is good for health, and also helps to reduce blood sugar level for patients who have been diagnosed with DM. Dysfunctional communication patterns are observed between husband and wife. Communication patterns are one way. The husband asks his wife to do the certain job for him and the wife does it without raising any question. While watching the news, the husband discusses his opinion on the news, and the wife too tells her opinion but if somehow wife does not agree with the husband regarding his opinions, husband’s voice gets higher and insists that his opinion is right which leads to cessati on of communication between husband and wife. Affective messages are not exchanged between husband and wife. The wife is verbally and physically warm and close to her three children. Also, the children are affectionate to their mother. However, the husband only expresses warm feeling towards his oldest daughter, and has no warm words for the other two children. Life partners in this case, never express and share their internal warm feelings which they have for each other. Whenever the husband informs the wife about the problems that their family has exhibited, the wife angrily rolls her eyes at husband .It shows an incongruent message. Dysfunctional communication processes are seen in spouses. The husband himself assumes and makes decisions for his wife. While children plan a family vacation, Mr. L comes up with the argument based on his own assumptions that his wife is not interested in going anywhere. Close communication depicts the inner feelings between husband and wife. Cultura l variable affects the communication factor between the couple because they were born and raised in China. In this case, the male is dominant in the house, and wife is submissive negotiating the fact that they follow western culture where the couples are egalitarian. The husband makes all the big decisions of family by himself and does not take any advice from his wife or children.. The wife usually follows his decision without asking

Marriage as Entrapment for Men and Women in Ibsens A Dolls House Essay

Marriage as Entrapment for Men and Women in Ibsens A Dolls House - Essay Example At first, she thinks that money is enough to have a happy life, until she realizes that she cannot be happy until she loves herself and she cannot love someone she does not know at all. She breaks all gender norms when she decides to leave her family and to turn over a new leaf. The play uses characters, symbolism, and irony to demonstrate the theme of marriage as a metaphor for imprisonment because it entraps both men and women into delimiting gender roles and expectations, which are particularly disadvantageous for women because once married, they have no freedom and autonomy to grow as human beings. The characters of the play demonstrate masculine and feminine roles and expectations that produce a marriage based on gender inequality. Torvald is the typical masculine stereotype who is expected to control his family’s affairs, including his wife’s. As a husband and a father, he sees himself as the dominant breadwinner and source of authority in his family. He highly va lues his role as a breadwinner because in his society, a successful man is someone who has a big income and high social status. He tells his wife: â€Å"It is splendid to feel that one has a perfectly safe appointment and a big enough income† (Ibsen Act 1). Society conditions men to think about money most of the time because money gives them power, and so Torvald wants to control the source of money in his household. Moreover, Torvald’s patriarchal attitudes can be seen in how he treats his wife, such as when he calls her a â€Å"little lark† or a â€Å"little squirrel† (Ibsen Act 1). He also believes that it is â€Å"like a woman† to not consider the consequences of their actions (Ibsen Act 1). Torvald sees his wife as a â€Å"little† object, someone who is inferior to him because she is a woman. Moreover, Torvald even thinks that immorality comes from women, not men. He tells Nora: â€Å"Almost everyone who has gone to the bad early in li fe has had a deceitful mother† (Ibsen Act 1). Nora is quite offended with this belief, but Torvald honestly thinks that bad people are generally products of bad mothers, which indicates his poor perceptions of women. With such a low opinion of women, he treats his wife as his doll, someone he can and must control for her own good. He does not allow Nora to have a social life, which Nora confirms for Mrs. Linde: â€Å"Torvald is so absurdly fond of me that he wants me absolutely to himself, as he says† (Ibsen Act 2). Torvald does not want Nora to grow as a person because she might be a threat to his authority. Instead, he keeps her locked up in their house and ensures that she depends on him for money and social relationship. Two women indicate the result of following socially-produced gender norms. Mrs. Linde represents women who are married to their gender roles and responsibilities. She does not marry for love, but for money because she wants to help her family. She i s practical, but in a way that pushed her to sacrifice her happiness, which is normal for her time because society expects women to have no autonomy and to be obligated in fulfilling the endless needs of their families. Like Mrs. Linde, Nora portrays the feminine stereotype. She is a woman who is married to her motherhood and spousal duties, while representing the feminine stereotype of a superficial spendthrift. Her sole responsibility is to ensure the happiness of her family, especially her husband, and to perform traditional middle-class feminine roles. She buys things needed in their house, supervises the welfare of her children, manages financial affairs, and stays inside their home as much as possible. In other words, she is glued to her roles as a wife and a mother. She is such a traditional woman that

Compare various types of information systems Assignment

Compare various types of information systems - Assignment Example A connected term is call centre, a place that patrons call to place orders, amid many other things. The World Wide Web provides the likelihood of a new, fairly cheap, and effectively average user interface to assist desks and also to call centers and seems to be influencing further computerization in help desk service (Bruton, 2002). According Bruton (2002) an average help desk provides a single point of contact for users to get help. Usually, the help desk deals with requests by utilizing help desk software, or issues tracking system, which facilitates the help desk operators to keep track of the user requests utilizing identifier, easily find solutions to frequent questions, prioritize cases, and so forth. Bigger help desks make use of distinct levels to manage distinct types of requests. The first-level is normally established for answering likely the most frequent questions, or for providing answers that traditionally belong in a knowledgebase or FAQ. There are various desktop mo dels to select from, but it quite difficult to be in a position where External IT cannot offer you with the level of support you require. Full Business FlexSupport This the Support plan which a couple of years ago increased the service bar in the IT outsourcing industry. Full Business FlexSupport offers any business the alternative of positing a Held Desk ticket online. On those rare situations when the problem needs a intense level of professionalism the ticket can escalated to LevelTwo (Bruton, 2002). Escalation FlexSupport This is the plan for organizations that have an in-built Help Desk or an IT Director who can be on instant call. If the enterprise selects this option the IT technician will be offered a flexibility of handling off the baton and having External IT support of the organization at the time when the internal Help Desk is closed. Support in the cloud is not the same as typical IT support. It is extremely skilled and hugely dedicated area. For this rationale, the Sup port people at External IT are well all experienced. On the other hand, Automatic Ticket Routing is as well an alternative if the company has an in-built Help Desk (External IT, n.d.). Dedicated FlexSupport This hailed as one of the highest level of service. The organization will have a full-time Support-Engineer, or Engineers committed to the company’s detailed requirements. This service includes a direct dial alternative to an engineer. Limited FlexSupport This is the customer support for email and web applications only. The company will usually have the help with its portal Desktop, local Outlook configuring, Office Web Apps, amid other applications. Vendor-Identifying Vendor Options The DHCP plan for IPv4, RFC 2131, explains options that permit the end user to show its vendor variety, and the DHCP customer plus server to replace vendor-detailed data. Even though there lacks ban against sharing manifold replicas of these options in one packet, doing so would usher in vague ness of interpretation, especially if passing vendor detailed data for manifold functions. The vendor established by option 60 describes the version of option 43 that itself conveys no vendor identifier. In addition, the concatenation of manifold cases of the same option, needs by RFC 2131 and detailed by RFC [4], suggests that manifold duplicates of options 60 or 43 would not stay independent (Nydick & Liberatore, 2009). In some situations,

Views on Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Views on Marriage - Essay Example Both of these pieces present marriage in a similar fashion. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† the main character is, at first, experiencing sorrow over the death of her husband. After a brief time; however, the character starts to feel joyful about the situation. At one point Mrs. Mallard reveals why it is she is experiencing this joy: â€Å"She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!"†(Chopin). She realizes at this moment that the death of her husband has released her from the bonds of marriage. â€Å"There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Chopin). Due to the fact that she was experiencing so much happiness at the thought of being free and getting to do what she wanted to do with the remainder of her life, it is a terrible shock when she soon finds her very much alive husband downstairs. Earlier in the story, it is made known that Mrs. Mallard is in poor health and when she sees her husband, she dies. The doctors claim that she died of joy, but the audience is left to consider the fact that she more likely died of disappointment or heartbreak at the sudden loss of her newfound freedom. In this particular story, marriage is portrayed as oppressive and all consuming. Similarly, in the play â€Å"Trifles,† Mrs.

Examine the difference between integration and inclusion in terms of Essay

Examine the difference between integration and inclusion in terms of special educational needs provision in the UK - Essay Example History of Special education needs The history of special needs dates back decades ago, but the documented cases were evident in the beginning of the 20th century where ideas about the provision of education for children with special needs were based on a medical model of ‘defects’. This model was mainly focused on difference rather than nor ­mality, on illness rather than well being, and particularly on the ‘problem’ with the child (Lewis, 1999). Deficit rather than potential was used to categorize children with various needs. Therefore, the special education needs began with the establishment of separate special schools for children with special needs and required an extra care. The educational reforms of 1944 In 1944, significant educational reforms were developed; most of them were targeted to cater the educational need of each and every child. This educational act also addressed the needs and requirements that were thought essential to fulfill the eme rging need for special education. However, this pact had some drawbacks associated with it such as it did not liberate the needs of those with special needs as it did for the normal children. It still used the medical model of disability where deficit rather than potential was used. ... The approach stressed the work with children with spe ­cial needs moved towards an approach favored by behaviorist psychologists. They criticisized the medical approach and saw the operant technique more adequate since it stressed the importance and risks associated with the problems and issues related in fulfilling the needs of special children by putting that responsibility on teachers (Lewis, 1999). The behaviorist technique turned out to be very helpful as it was directly effective in helping the children as well as in suppressing their particular difficulties with more understanding. De?nition of Special Educational Needs Children have special educational needs if they suffer during the process of learning which naturally raises the need for the development of a special educational provision for them. Children encounter learning difficulty if they: a) face a greater difficulty in learning as compare to the other children of the same age group; or b) have a disability which kee ps them away or hinders them from facilitating themselves from the use of educational services of a kind generally provided for children of the same age group in schools and other institutes within the vicinity of the local education authority; c) are under obligatory school age and come within the de?nition at a) Or b) above or in case if the special educational provision was not developed for them. Children must not be discriminated on having a learning difficulty only on the basis of language or any form of language they speak at home which maybe different from the language or medium in which they will be taught. Special educational provision means: a) for children of 2 or over,

Views on Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Views on Marriage - Essay Example Both of these pieces present marriage in a similar fashion. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† the main character is, at first, experiencing sorrow over the death of her husband. After a brief time; however, the character starts to feel joyful about the situation. At one point Mrs. Mallard reveals why it is she is experiencing this joy: â€Å"She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!"†(Chopin). She realizes at this moment that the death of her husband has released her from the bonds of marriage. â€Å"There would be no one to live for during those coming years; she would live for herself. There would be no powerful will bending hers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Chopin). Due to the fact that she was experiencing so much happiness at the thought of being free and getting to do what she wanted to do with the remainder of her life, it is a terrible shock when she soon finds her very much alive husband downstairs. Earlier in the story, it is made known that Mrs. Mallard is in poor health and when she sees her husband, she dies. The doctors claim that she died of joy, but the audience is left to consider the fact that she more likely died of disappointment or heartbreak at the sudden loss of her newfound freedom. In this particular story, marriage is portrayed as oppressive and all consuming. Similarly, in the play â€Å"Trifles,† Mrs.

Can it be argued that all societies have law Critically discuss Essay

Can it be argued that all societies have law Critically discuss Anthropological arguments on the topic - Essay Example However, as new scholars kept on emerging, these theories were challenged. Today, some argue that contrary to the earlier assertions that all societies conform to each other at some point, not all cultures have law, thus negating the issue of conformity. In light of these debates, this paper seeks to analyse these anthropological arguments in a bid to establish if all societies have laws. Consequently, diverse groups holding different cultural behaviours forming every society, laws are inevitable. One of the reasons the topic of cultural law comes up is because of yet another controversial debate of cultural relativism. In anthropology, cultural relativism asserts that each society holds its own practices and values2. Many, if not all, of these values and practices seldom compare to other societies thus making each society unique. In a bid to ensure that the observation of these values is retained, societies tend to have laws that hold them together. Since cultures are found universally, it therefore, confirms that all societies have a law. Furthermore, cultural relativism tends to be concerned with showing respect to varied cultural laws without setting values. That is to say, one culture could be engaged in a practice that another considers bad yet the latter cannot express its disapproval. It is because of cultural relativism that different societies are able to have own law3. When not interfered with, these societies tend to form a unique setting in the society that consequently sets each other apart. Clearly, with cultures evolving from various stages, it is inevitable to have these laws. Interestingly, other scholars argue that despite the evident variance of social practices by different cultures, all tend to have a particular commonality. This group of individuals’ contest that just like there is a variance in civilization, cultures, too, take various stages4. Sachs echoes the sentiments5. He

the business model of Apples itunes

the business model of Apples itunes Evaluate the business model of Apples itunes. In particular you should address:- 1. To what extent can the itunes business model be described as an ecosystem and what is the role of IT in enabling the collaboration between Apple, its economic partners and consumers? 2. How does itunes compare with competitors? 3. What new technologies could disrupt the current market by enabling a new form of business model? Introduction Business model in a basic sense deals with the method of doing business in order to generate revenues by which a company sustains itself in the competitive market place ( (Rappa, 2009).According to (Amberg Manuela) analysis on music industries, there are lots of media websites and companies following different business models fallen prey to file sharing tools and peer-peer networks which allow consumers to illegally copy and share the content for free. As a consequence , companies like Apple iTunes and Sony Connect have come up with internet based business models based on pay-per-download and dependent on the technology of the supplier for whom long-term customer relations are very crucial and customers are allowed to use the digital media content particularly with regard to technology of the supplier thus getting advantage and benefitting from selling hardware components because the offer of digital media content advances it. These business models replace the traditional business m odels which are generally based on selling physical media.This paper shows the fair understanding of Apple iTunes business model for its dominance over the current music market and tries to describe the business model with respect to ecosystem and compares iTunes with its key competitors in the market. The biological term ecosystem in this paper refers to the IT ecosystem. (Iansiti Richards, 2005) describes IT ecosystem as network of organizations that drives the creation, innovation and delivery of Information Technology products and services. According to (Cusumano, 2008) the term ‘Platform, is defined as â€Å" Foundation product or key technology in a system like the PC or a web enabled cell phone and should have relatively open technical interfaces and easily licensing terms in order to encourage other firms to contribute complementary product and services. So this can be accounted to an ecosystem around the platform and the platform becomes more valuable when the exter nal entities creative more innovations around it. This should cause more users to adopt the platform and more complementors to join the network. iTunes as an ecosystem Online music hit a new milestone after Apple computer,Inc.(Apple) launched the iTunes application in January 2001 follwed by launch of 1st generation iPod and 2 years later online music store in April of 2003.The two businesses, the production of MP3 players and the online music shops were initially considered as different units and after the invention of new hardware iPod these two businesses were merged. iTunes is a software designed with an intuitive and user friendly interface and iPod is an hardware designed with an eye on fashion. These two together helped Apple to enter and succeed in the music player market infact actually cross promoting the iPod hardware device. Because of their service and innovation Apple retained to grow in the online music field in a better way when compared to its key competitors like Dell, Sony and Samsung( (Li Chang). According to (Schonfeld, 2009) statistics, iTunes have now sold 6 billion songs and 10 million different tracks are now available on iTunes. iTunes is software and iPod is hardware as said by (Li Chang) are two different business units and Apple conjucts these two different products into one new business model. Using ecology to analyze this model(iPod and iTunes) it has set a nice example for ecotone between two species to drive the music industry into new ecosystem. A strong platform is apparent from the combination of both the software and the hardware. The below shows the evolution of new ecosystem with combination of two stand-alone ecosystems. ‘Most companies today inhabit ecosystemsloose networks of suppliers, distributors, and outsourcers; makers of related products or services; providers of relevant technology; and other organizations that affect, and are affected by, the creation and delivery of a companys own offering†¦.. as said by (Iansiti Levien, 2004) shows how business industry can be closely compared to biological ecosystem. Like every individual in the biological ecosystem every organization in the business ecosystem shares the fate of the network as a whole regardless of that members apparent strengths. Comparing this with the Apple business, iPod is not really an innovative technology by itself but the company creates a new ecotone for digital music where all the hardware(iPods) and software(iTunes) are related to it enhances its platform. According to (Koster, 2007) There is a continuous decline in the traditional sale of music sources like retail music stores and the on-going music industries ar e restructuring themselves by merging with other partners to face the loss of revenues and to adopt with the new business strategies and models in the music industry to compete with the counterparts. Even in the digital music world today, legitimate music downloading is continuously changing. Initial music sites have very strong limitations on access catalogs of music, on what could be done with the downloaded music, number of copies, time limits, where to copy. Though Apple iTunes works on this model, it is successful in negotiating a very large music catalog from the four labels from its music site. He says that one large advantage and success for Apple is because of its hardware device iPod where normally music is stored and playback. The revenues from iPods sales continue to grow after the introduction of iTunes. Though Apple had gotten permission from four majors to store their music on its website for consumers to download by promising the copyright protection authority DRM, i t is now planning to get away with DRM because they make the downloaded or recorded music very cumbersome for the consumer. This is evident from (Johnson, 2009) article on web which says By the end of the quarter all 10 million songs will be DRM free in iTunes and iTunes plus, said Phil Schiller, Apples senior vice president of worldwide product marketing. The blog witten by (Vitalari, 2009) clearly examines at the 21st century business model adopted by Apple to become successful in the market. He believes that business platforms are the root cause for cumulative business performance. Apples competitive business platforms is the main drive for innovations like community formation, mass collaboration, social networking, ecosystems, real time analytics, transparency etc. The iPhone App store was launched in July 2008 and today iTunes store is a total set of all forms of the digital media including music, games, software application, podcasts and video assets . As his explanation, the driving factors for Apple success and points out that the effective business platforms have few key ingredients:  · iPods, iphones are not just products instead they represent individual business platforms and they create an ecosystem surrounding the product which means they create a common understanding for business transactions, technical specifications, interface standards and requirements. With the iPhone this includes all of the sub-contracted manufacturers, but more importantly it includes iTunes, the app store and app developers.This results in creating a transparency which enables and facilitates hundreds of participants to collaborate asynchronously and independently.  · This leads directly to the second point, which is that the business platform then helps to generate untold business analytics for the platforms owner.This is because of the elements of the business platform are networked and generates valuable information about the product, ecosystem and participants. Apple used this analytics to fix, improve and enhance the product and finally delighting the customers.  · This in turn creates a community of practice surrounding the business platform, as the collaborators learn how to make better things. IT in enabling collaboration with partners and consumers As a cofounder of Apple, Steve Jobss vision was to create new and different products to consumers and his notion of â€Å"one person-one computer became visionary responsible for Apples reputation for innovation and mission became changing the world by bringing the computers to masses (Richard D Vohr, 1998).Apple came back with reinvention of personal computer with Macintosh in 1980 after igniting the computer industry revolution with inventing Apple II and it is commited to bring the best computing experience to all the fields starting from students, educators, professionals and consumers all around the globe with its innovative software hardware and internet offerings. This Apples mission statements indicates it focuses on innovation and personal computing experience( (Pearlson Saunders, 2009). Apple From 1987-1997 the company suffered due to some major internal problems which affected the strategic leadership and its operations but after Steve Jobss second turn as CEO, company fixed operational problems and regains its innovative leadership dramatically. Few changes like manufacturing outsourcing and improving inventory became straight forward matching Dell, the industry leader.It moved to open industry standards rather than proprietary hardware interfaces that it had maintained for 15 years and thus in a minor way Apples product strategy became more open( (West Mace, 2007).As per ( (Apple Computer, 2006) Apple derives its competitive advantage again by its innovation giving iPod as an example. Apple entered the market with iPod in 2001and by end of fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005, iPods sales gained 33% of the total revenues. The factors which are accountable to their success and uniqueness are its computers based on its own operating system, which enabled further area of innovation.Its Mac OS operating system focuses on more simplicity and seen as graphically sophisticated. (West Mace, 2007)Recent trends have seen increasing strategy convergence be tween Apple and Microsoft .For its video game business, similar to its rivals Sony and Nintendo Microsoft buys the processor but designs its own hardware and software without licensing them to others.Meanwhile ‘Zune, Microsofts music players try to compete successfully to attain equality with Apples iPod. This shows Apple pursued a vertically integrated strategy in its music business. Vertical strategy is single firms controlling the entire platform. Apple leveraging its Macintosh installed base to establish iTunes music store and building iPod business on top of that and now iPhone business shows its expansion into adjacent markets and this loyal installed base makes any company easier to branch into a related market and this becomes a lesson for the other companies and Apple aims at satisfying the costumer not just upgrading the costumers what they have today like the other companies do. When ATT decided to make offer to iTunes many other mobile industries criticized it for making too many concessions to Apple. Due to this offer ATT gets benefit from Apple in two ways , one is Apple increases the average monthly bills for the customers who switch from ATT to iPhone and the second one is it causes existing people to switch from existing carriers to ATT as its the exclusive carrier for iPhone( (The Apple iPhone:Successes and Challenges for the Mobile Industry, 2008). Digital Record Management systems are uses to encrypt the data does not allow illegal or non authorization download of music and currently there are two main formats used for protect downloading of music. One is fairplay and the other is WMA. Fairplay is Apples proprietary technology where it secure the data encrypted in AAC( Advanced Audi Coding) format. WMA is Microsofts Windows media audio video encoding platform. iPods can play only those stuff which are secured through fairplay format and Apple has refuse to lincense this fairplay to other retailers and so it is difficult for iPod users to download music from other retailers other than iTunes music store. But recently Realnetworks in US came up with a package which allows iPod users resident in US to play secures music from Realnetworkss music store Rhapsody. Apple got furious with this and accused Realnetworks of ‘Hacker tactics and Ethics and reported to investigating on that for violating the intellectual rights. If apple is capable of putting an end to such violations then the indispensability of fairplay could be established( (The iTunes music store: does competition law hold the key to closed shop?, 2004) According to insights into IDCs lifesciences by (Swenson Golden, 2005) Apple products are getting attracted by the life science researchers who actually migrated from linux and unix platforms because of the dual nature of Mac OS and its estimated historically that the life scientists have been twice or thrice more likely than the average computer user to Apples Mac platform as client computer thus representing attractive market for Apple. It has announced about its collaboration with airlines which includes Air France, Continental, Delta, United and KLM to integrate the in flight entertainment systems with iPod and taking the current entertainment provided in these airlines to a next level for better travel experience( (Apple_Partners_with_Airlines_for_iPod_Integration, 2006). Sets Apple as an interesting example for not being an open source model in its business strategies but is thought b of being a highly proprietary company from its earlier years. Now it has jumped into open sou rce and have started projects both inside and outside its corporate firewalls. Apples OS X was a open source because it was based on Darwin. Its developer website said that Apples open source projects let key developers to customize and enhance Apple software and through this open source models it allows Apple engineers to collaborate with open source community to come up with better and more reliable products (Goldman Gabriel, 2005). On September 2007, Apple and Starbucks announced their collaboration on Apple letting costumers at Starbucks wirelessly browsing, previewing, buying and downloading music from iTunes music stores at Starbucks on their iPods enhancing Starbucks retail coffee experience by helping customers with discovering new music instantly (Rothman, 2007). These examples shows how Apple is spreading the digital media revolution with its technologically profound products. Apple believes in fully integrated and completely digital learning environment which makes conte nts to move from from application to another and easy to collaborate and share ideas. Integration even reduces the burden of technology challenge. So Apples IT team rather than spending time and money on how to get things working feels it worthwhile to dedicate the same on providing capabilities, innovations and resources for its institution (Everything Apple means everything just works). iTunes and Competitors: The majors competitors for Apple are Google and Microsoft Corporation and other competitors include Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Fujitsu, Samsung Electronics, Sony and Toshiba. Apple is designing software and hardware systems that delivers a greater user experience. Google is giving away operating systems to companies that license windows mobile today. Microsoft needs to think about their business models to compete in such a race where it probably has to decide whether it wants to compete in devices or operating systems and doing both is again at a risk which requires business models that are outside its core competencies( (The Apple iPhone:Successes and Challenges for the Mobile Industry, 2008). There is a partial collision between Apple and RIM in smartphone business in which Apples device is a entertainment centric whereas RIMs product is a communication centric.Though each company is growing into each others space Apple is got the advantage because infrastructure establishment would be too large for RIM and beside that RIMs image is all wrong for that instead it is much better to defend and grow its market by adding more features and types of business communications to Blackberry. Comparing it with Nokia, Nokias challenges are more about challenges. They sell hundred of millions handsets every year at low costs. But without it, Nokia will be really hard pressed to match with the iPhones user experiences. Competitors such as Diamond multimedia, with its Rio brand portable media players were successful in the market until Apple displaced them and all the credits for such a domination goes to the business model of the company by offerings users a seamless music experience by combining its iPod devices with iTunes and online iTunes store. Users were taken away by its value proposition and Apple had to negotiate deals with the major record companies to establish the worlds largest online music library, there giving the twist for the company to earn most of its revenue s by selling iPods while using the integration with the on online music store to protect itself from the competitors( (Osterwalder Yves, 2009).Smartphone users are going to increase in number in the next few years increasing in the PC functionalities supporting data services and voice and this is going to drive smartphone markets and Apple launching the iPhone which meets most of the required functionalities made it to third position in the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2008. As there is rapid change in the technology there is introduction of new products with competitive prices, features and performance characteristics by all the competitors and out of all, mobile communication industry highly competitive with well funded and experienced competitors. For example in 2009, Nokia launched a new online media store in competition to Apple and this has resulted in price erosion which is now threatening to lessen the market share of the company( (DATAMONITOR, 2009). What new technologies could disrupt the current market by enabling a new form of business model. Apple has become the leader in the music world revolution and it justifies for its closed source system, keeping its digital music platform proprietary making it incompatible by other system by saying that it was the main reason in convincing its music labels and artists allowing them to sell their songs through iTunes assuring that those would not be pirated. But many analysts claim that that closed system was the reason for its previous failure in the computer business and Microsoft gained the masses with their open systems and now that is being seen as a gamble in this highly cometetive technology world (Williard, 2005). According to survey done by Rubicon Consulting Inc on the Apple iPhone users shows that about 43 percent of the iPhone users feels that the device would be more elegant if there is a physical change to the iPhone by adding adding a keyboard or a keypad either by making the device smaller or larger and about 40 percent of the users complain about the browser proble ms and the notably with those using Adobe flash and this shows that mobile data devices has always been segmented and its impossible for any single hardware design to please everyone. This could be an opportunity to Apple to increase its share by serving those customers by giving more importance to value propositions for their products which is again a part of business model and at the same time its an opportunity for its competitors to steal that share by addressing segments Apple failed in( (The Apple iPhone:Successes and Challenges for the Mobile Industry, 2008). Apple corporation itself has many problems but loss of competitive differentiation due to its Enterprise sytem is not counted in that because of its strong brand and its distinct operating system. For many of the other computer manufacturers cost and service are more vital for their differentiation than their products but for Apple this seems to be a unusual case says (Davenport, 1998). ‘Disruptive Business Models are emblematic of our generation. Yet they remain poorly understood, even as they transform competitive landscapes across industries (Osterwalder Yves, 2009). 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