Saturday, August 31, 2019

etitioner Leegin Creative Leather Products

Petitioner Leegin Creative Leather Products, a manufacturer of women’s accessories under the brand name Brighton, entered into a vertical minimum price agreements with its retailer, which includes herein respondent, PSKS, Inc. Petitioner avers that such price agreements intend to encourage competition among retailers in the areas of customer service and product promotion. However, herein respondent discounted Leegin products below their prescribed minimum price. After being dropped by Leegin as one of its retailers, PSKS filed a lawsuit, arguing that Leegin violates Section 1 of the Sherman Act by engaging in anticompetitive price fixing.The District Court decided in favor of PSKS citing Dr. Miles Medical Co. v. John D. Park & Sons Co. , which held that mandatory price agreements are per se illegal under the Sherman Act. Petitioner, in an appeal to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, argued that this rule was based on outdated economics and contended that a the à ¢â‚¬Å"rule of reason† is a better legal analysis. Petitioner further claimed that price minimums will only be held illegal when proven to be anticompetitive.The appellate court ruled in favor of the district court hence, this petition for certiorari. ISSUE: Is it per se illegal for a manufacturer to set mandatory minimum prices for its products? RULE: No, it is not illegal for a manufacturer to set mandatory minimum prices for its products. Section 1 of the Sherman Act prohibits â€Å"[e]very contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the several States. † This provision only prohibits unreasonable restraints in trade or commerce. REASONING:The Court reasoned that Section 1 of said Act outlaws only unreasonable restraints. It further ruled that the Dr. Miles case should be overruled and that vertical price restraints are to be judged by the rule of reason. The Court, through economic literature, averre d that vertical minimum price agreements are rarely anticompetitive and can often function to increase inter-brand competition. The Court further argued that instances where the price agreements are abused for anticompetitive reasons can be judged on a case-to-case basis under the rule of reason.In overruling the Dr. Miles case, the Court held that the Sherman Act must be treated as a common law statute, which should be allowed to evolve in courts as economic circumstances change. DECISION: The Supreme Court ruled for Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. The Supreme Court overruled the decision in the Dr. Miles case. It further ruled that in cases where vertical price restraints are involved, the rule of reason should be applied. I agree with the decision of the Supreme Court favoring Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc. The decision in Dr.Miles was based on reasoning and economic assumptions that predate and conflict with modern economic theory. It was never shown in court that setting retail price minimums is anticompetitive. Further, retail price minimums have no absolute economic effect. In order to assess the anticompetitive tendencies of price minimums, the rule of reason must be employed. The Supreme Court, in the case at bar, employed the rule of reason in order to determine whether the actions taken by Leegin Creative Leather Products, Inc would hurt the economy. Hence, vertical price restraints should be judged by the rule of reason.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez Essay

Many authors like to write fantasy novels, stories that detached themselves from reality, novels that tell us about magic, parallel dimensions, between others. But even in these fictional stories there is still the presence of the universal themes that can be touched not only in this kind of novels but also in the simpler ones, themes like the fight between good and evil, love, between others. There are also the authors that actually mix the fantasy and the reality to a point that it is really hard to see the difference between them, Gabriel Garcia Marquez is said to be the father of this gender called â€Å"Magic Realism†, he said that the reason that he sees the world in that particular way of his, is because of the persons that raised him when he was really young â€Å"He was made by the sententious, worldly, rationalized tone of his grandfather and the premonitory and supernatural exclamations of his grandmother seasoned by his unique humor, with this he would be capable of making a new vision of the world† (Gerald Martin 41). And even in this extraordinary vision we can still catch the reality like when he speaks about the natural oppression that exists in the countries of Latin America, when he talks about the 1000 days the conflict that actually won the independence of Colombia from Panama an event that his grandfather love to tell him about after all he fought in this war and lose in it, also he talks about the massacre in the United Fruit Company a really striking episode on Colombian history. We can also catch his own reality, we can appreciate in his writings all of those special and striking memories that were kept in him, the one that made a mark on the man he became, in the stories there is not only memories there is also characters based on members of his own family and also towns based on the ones of his childhood and we are not only talking about how he used Aracataca to create Macondo, there is also the mention of how he uses Sucre to describe a place that he really despised. So we are going to explore how Gabriel Garcia Marquez used parts of his life to write his famous stories. First of all in his autobiography Garcia Marquez talks about how his grandfather used to drag him around Aracataca (the small town where he lived most of his childhood) and while he was at this he create a bunch of memorable moments that he would immortalize in his novels. This memory, the one were the grandfather takes the kid to meet new things is very repetitive even the own author says it â€Å"I had a bunch of mages but the one were the old man takes the kid by the hand is the most vivid one† this one is used in two of his novels in the â€Å"Leaf Storm† when the father takes the son to a funeral and also in his Nobel Prize winner Novel One Hundred Years of Solitude when the father takes the kids to see the ice, in the book he uses his own impression when Aureliano Buendia says â€Å"It’s Burning† (Garcia Marquez). Another one of those memories is the one about the Belgian that lived in Aracataca that committed suicide by inhalation of cyanide, â€Å"He drag me to the house of the Belgian†¦ The first thing that shock me was the smell of the cyanide that the Belgian had used to committed suicide† (Gabriel Garcia Marquez). This story is represented also in two of his novels in â€Å"The Leaf Storm† where he is the doctor united with the Venezuelan pharmacist Alfredo Barbosa; the other one is in the novel Love in the Time of Cholera where he is Jeremiah de Saint-Amour (Gerald Martin). Another one of the moments that make a big impact in his life was while he lived in Venezuela, by the time Garcia Marquez lived in the country Marcos Perez Jimenez a dictator was in the power, he start to ask himself why did so many people find it attractive to have a dictator in the power , after all it wasn’t an uncommon characteristic in the many countries of Latin America to have a dictator, the impressive thing was that only a month after Garcia Marquez moved to Caracas (the capital of Venezuela) there was a movement against the president that finally took him out of the power, it was the first time a dictator had been taken of the power in Latin America. This fact was what inspired him to write â€Å"Autumn of the Patriarch† a story that talks about an eternal dictator, he based this character in real-life autocrats like Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, Francisco Franco and Juan Vicente Gomez. Many of the characters in his stories are based in real-life persons not only in famous characters like the autocrats in the â€Å"Autumn of the Patriarch† but also people of his own family. The first character and one of the most obvious one would be Jose Arcadio Buendia one of the characters of his most famous novel â€Å"One Hundred Years of Solitude† Jose Arcadio Buendia married to Ursula Iguaran was an adventurous man that took his wife from of what all that they knew to a mysterious place, he was always looking for new hobbies to entertain himself and because of this he ended up lacking as a father, this is a clear mirror of the father of the author a men who would constantly travel looking for adventures, moving the family from one city to another to look for a way to make business and easy money, always leaving the care of his own children to other persons, most of the time to his in-laws and because of that the relationship with his children wasn’t really good. Another one would be Ursula Iguaran a women full of character and a strong command, a person who loved her supernatural beliefs and would do anything to sustain her family, in this character there is the reflection of two persons of great importance in the life of the author one of them would be his grandmother Tranquilina Iguaran (obviously this is where the last name comes from) this one gave the character her belief for the supernatural, her being very superstitious even when this characteristic is very common in older people even today they still carry this kind of fears, maybe because this fears also come from the strong feeling they have for their religion (mostly catholic) another common trait in Latin American society, the other one would be his mother Luisa Marquez while at the beginning of his life he didn’t have a strong vincula with his mother after all she left him to be raised by her parents (even when this was very common back in those days) but after Gabriel Ga rcia start living with her many years later there would be a time when she was variably able to feed all of the children but she pull through and by this time she made a strong bond with her son, so the strong will of Luisa Marquez was represented in Ursula Iguaran. There is also Florentino Ariza a character of his novel Life in Times of Cholera this one was based on a mix between the author Garcia Marquez and his father Gabriel Eligio, while the character was a person who didn’t seem to notice the levels that make him different from others and was always trying to reach to this ones like Gabriel Eligio there is also the fact that Florentino Ariza was a telegraphist like Gabriel Eligio, also there is a part in the novel where Fermina Darza’s father tries to separate them by sending Fermina (Florentinos’s love interest) to visit her family to another town this actually happened to Luisa and Gabriel Eligio, Luisa’s father try to separate them by sending Luisa out of Aracataca. While from the author Florentino took the dreamer the passion for writing, in the book Florentino wrote many letters to her something that the own author did with his wife Mercedes. There is also Fermina Daza a mix of Mercedes and Tachia (a lover of Garcia Marquez), Fermina was represented for being secure of her way of being, straightforward and down to earth quite the opposite of Florentino. While the doctor Juvenal Urbino was a representation of everything the author hated and envied of the high class people of Cartagena in this character there was even a bit of Gabriel Eligio with his petulant and Self-confident character and it was also notable a bit of his Granfather in Juvenal.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Flowers for Algernon

Charlie's disability to communicate with people Isolated him as a person and leads to him being left out of society. Charlie's lack of vocabulary and ability to communicate at a high degree due to his mental disability is the cause of many issues that happen to him. Charlie, understanding his own mental capabilities, wants to intellectually grow, â€Å"while they [work] they start to talk about things like god or about politics, I want to talk like that† (Keyes 15). Charlie's struggle to articulate ideas with others eaves Charlie vulnerable to social injustice, where Charlie is isolated from society.Consequently, Charlie becomes mentally stressed because he is not permitted into society. This saddening issue for Charlie leaves him thinking, â€Å"If you are smart you can have lots of friends to talk to and you never get lonely by yourself all the time,† (Keyes 15) referring to himself because he is alone. His misunderstanding of friendship makes him think that the only way of having friends is by being smart, when he tries to talk smart he is still a reject from society. Charlie is alienated from he rest of society and is being mistreated for the lone reason of not being able to properly communicate with his peers.Furthermore, Charlie's struggle to comprehend information in relation to its context leaves him sensitive to being mistreated and misused. Charlie neglects the fact that he is being made fun of, but thinks they are laughing with him, as friends. Charlie at work is being used as the punch line of a joke, â€Å"Carp [says] hey look where Charlie [has] his [operation], what did they do, put some brains in. Then Frank [says] Charlie, did you open a door the hard way, they make] me laugh, they are my friends and they like me. (Keyes 22) Charlie Is blind of the fact that they are not his friends and they are making fun of him, and taking advantage of his mental disability. As a result, Charlie's disability to comprehend between true or false and right from wrong, Is used against him to take advantage of his Innocent character. Charlie's goal Is to become smart, to be accepted In society, and for this reason Charlie volunteers to be the test subject of an experiment to create a medicine that will Increase the Intelligence of the patient.Professor Newer, he scientist In charge of the experiment tries to please Charlie, â€Å"he said that means [l am] doing something grate for science and I'll be famous and my name will go down in the books. I don't care so much about being famous. I just want to be smart attempts to impress Charlie with promises of fame and great contributions to science reveal his true motivations, it is Newer who wants his name to go down in the books, not Charlie. For the reason that Charlie cannot make his own decisions properly or understand the severity of the experiment, he is being used for an experiment that is o bring fame and fortune to the scientist.Charlie's disability to comprehend what is happening clearly, he is being taken advantage of through unethical use of medical experimentation which is a social injustice that happens to Charlie. Moreover, Charlie struggles to interact with society suitably due to his past experiences, which show the injustice that is shown to him at a younger age. Charlie grew up in a strict family where respecting women are a big thing, Charlie experiences a sexual arousal when he sees a women.For natural reasons Charlie gets an erection where his mom seawards that it happens, â€Å"he can't read and write, but he knows enough not to look at a girl that way. I'll beat that filthy mind out of him,† (Keyes 112) and she traumatized him to a very high degree. Charlie's mom prevents any sexual thoughts coming to Charlie's mind and scares him from ever thinking of it. Charlie is a victim of malpractice a a very young age for a reason that cannot be punished upon because it is a natural behavior. Evidently, Charlie struggles at an older age to create a strong relationship because of the fear his mom put into him.However, Charlie after the successful operation falls in love with his teacher. They are very close and start to form a sexual relationship, but Charlie is still petrified by is mothers abuse, â€Å"l [know] what she [is] doing, she [is] kissing me, it started, I felt nausea. I turned away, she said, I [cannot] do this anymore, and left. † (Keyes 113) Alice is not accepting the past events causing Charlie's reaction and is being unfair. Charlie's past events and memories force him to interact with society differently from others, where he is not being treated unjustly in a relationship.Charlie's mistreatment due to his immunization and comprehension disability causes him to struggle interacting with society. Firstly, Charlie's weakness in communication unjustly isolates him from society where he is lonely and struggles to make friends. Secondly, Charlie's incapacity of understanding general conversation makes him vulnerable to be victimized and used as others please. Finally, Charlie fears of forming a sexual relationship because of his traumatized past. Even being able to live both the intellectual and mentally disabled life Charlie still faces the difficulties of social injustice.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Commercial Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Term Paper

Commercial Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - Term Paper Example Both ideas failed however, but the concept lived on. In the 1960s, the US started developing drones for spying and reconnaissance missions and extensively used them in the Vietnam War (UFL, 2011). With the development of artificial intelligence, today, UAV are a regular feature in military missions and are extensively used for various operations from reconnaissance to defensive and offensive missions. With increasing reliability of the UAVs, they have also now been identified for various commercial uses. This paper discusses these commercial applications where UAVs are increasing finding use. 2. Commercial uses of UAVs As the UAVs are free from human limits of fatigue and endurance, they can perform several functions very efficiently and in areas where it is not possible or too costly/risky to reach in a piloted aircraft. With improvements in technology, efforts to reduce the operating costs of UAVs, and by complimenting the UAVs with other advanced technology and devices, several ar eas of commercial applications have been identified for UAVs where they can prove to be not only more cost effective but also much more efficient than conventional methods used today to do those tasks. The following sub-sections describe each of these commercial applications. 1. 2. 2.1. ... ay, this work is done by men walking in the field, using manned small aircrafts, and using other farm equipments like tractors with a sprayer fitted at the back. These methods are often time consuming and using small aircrafts is costly. Also, in order to reduce drift on the sprayed materials, aircrafts must be flown very low. Since, fields are generally surrounded by obstacles like trees, buildings, telephone and electricity lines, pilots must be very careful. With a UAV, this task can be accomplished with much less hassles. Estimates suggest that UAVs take 1/15th the time to complete the task as compared to other conventional means (Wong, 2001) and it costs 1/10th the hourly rate of a manned helicopter (Hanlon, 2004). Figure 1: UAV helicopter being used for crop dusting Source: Gizmodo, 2006 Crop monitoring refers to monitoring the health of crops in the fields. With sensors and high resolution image processors on board the UAVs, farmers can remotely monitor the crops and take time ly actions to save the crops. Also, farmers and governments can use it for making crop yield forecasts and assessment of damage due to external factors like flooding, pests, and draught. Further, color images from UAVs can be useful for mapping invasive weed outbreaks and for revealing irrigation and fertilization irregularities in the vast farmlands. Another example of regular use of UAVs in crop monitoring is at Vineyards. Current frost detection techniques do not provide accurate and consistent data for temperature across the entire farmland. UAVs with real-time thermal imaging could provide an excellent solution to this problem. Another area of application in agriculture industry is monitoring soil and moisture. One of the most important aspects for maximizing the crop yield is to know

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Commercial Property Development in London Essay

Commercial Property Development in London - Essay Example A report by Ball, Lizieri, and Macgregor (2012, p.41) indicate that the city has witnessed a faster growth of commercial properties in the recent past. In this regard, the report showed that many property developers have been targeting central London as the best place to put up a commercial property. Nevertheless, this growth in commercial property, in London, is taking place at the backdrop of the recent financial crisis that did affect the U.K. adversely. Research has shown that the recent financial crisis of 2007/2008 did affect all the economic sectors in the nation including the property market, which dropped to an all-time low as many people could not afford to invest in commercial properties due to lack of enough funds required for the project. In fact, the U.K. is still struggling to recover from the effects of the financial crisis, by introducing measures aimed at improving the state of the economy such as opening up the country for investments. O’Kelly (2012) noted t hat the economy of the U.K. shrunk by about 4.9% in 2009 due to the effects of the 2007/2008 financial crisis. In fact, the economy of the U.K. has not been able to experience any significant improvement since then. Only recently, in 2012, did the economy registered a growth rate of about 1%. However, economists remain positive that the economy is on the right course and is likely to enjoy significant growth over the next few years. However, as earlier stated, central London has overcome all these odds and has been experiencing increased growth in commercial property development over the last six years.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Personal Educational Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Educational Philosophy - Essay Example Vicarious reinforcement is indirect reinforcement and does not come from without. It comes from the person himself so that it is also called self-reinforcement. Imitation and modeling as the terms suggest simple mean that a person learns what he sees. Models particularly are imitated. The model could be a parent, a teacher, peer, basketball star or even I whose behavior is imitated. My impact as a teacher being a role model in the classroom cannot be overemphasized. This is true in all aspects of learning that range from mechanical speech learning to the more complex learning of values. No matter how good I am on the theories of good speech if I do not talk well, the learners may not learn to talk correctly. In like manner, a good discourse on moral values like honesty will not do any good if the learners are witnesses of dishonesty in the classroom and in bigger society. Most observational learning studies have been focused on films and television shows. In fact, the researches of Bandura and Walters on observational learning included exposures of the experimental groups to films. Aside from this, I also adhere to Bandura's different models. Environmental model refers to the observations made of sexual reproduction among domestic animals like dogs, cats, chickens, and other including plants like vegetables and fruits. Parental instruction model ... Also included in this category are the peer groups through teasing, conversation, cursing, etc. Cultural model refers to the use of folk tales in order to illustrate the concept of size, the normative and "don't's" in verbal reference to sex; the use of language to identify basic elements of social organizations. The foregoing results reveal the modeling role of parents and peers which become especially important within the context of parents and teachers as authorities. In a society where children are left more and more with their peers, the latter's modeling could lead to more imitative sex-related and other forms of behaviors. In social or observational learning, Bandura emphasized four subprocesses; namely, attention, retention, motoric reproduction, and reinforcement. For any observational learning to occur, I believe that the model stimulus must be attended to. What has been observed must be retained if the model's behavior is to exert influence even after a period of time. Imitation follows only if the individual had motoric reproduction or actually imitated the behavior of the model. The last, reinforcement is internal rather than external. In this Bandura states that reinforcement is a motivational factor rather than a strengthening factor. Social learning theory seemingly explains many of our behaviors. The way we talk and walk - our gestures - many have been learned from the models that we have been exposed to. No wonder, children talk like their parents and resemble those of their parents. Friends, too, behave similarly. The social learning theory points out the crucial influence of television, radio, movies, and other forms of mass media which are fertile sources of models for

Monday, August 26, 2019

Research Report on Competing with Information Technology Paper

Report on Competing with Information Technology - Research Paper Example The issues addressed include; various ways that Spotify music service uses IT to compete with iTunes music service and the technologies leveraged by the two corporations to enable competitive advantage. Most customers are mindful about the music delivery business and the effectiveness of each one of them. Because the music industry will exist into the foreseeable future, most music companies are developing strategies that will help them capture a larger share of the market among its rivals (Kusek et al. 82; Latham 4). This competition, however, has streamed down to only two main competitors existing in the market. These music services include the Apple iTunes and Spotify. These two music services experience large economies of scale and have a huge demand on a global scale. Both Apple iTunes and Spotify have pressed on with sweeping overhauls of their digital music services that allow fair competition. Apple iTunes has about 800 million customer accounts out of which 200 million customers are active buyers. Spotify, on the other hand began in Sweden and move into the United States in 2011. Spotify currently has about 15 million customers that subscribe through payments and 45 millio n customers that listen free, with advertising (Lester 49). There, however, exist various uncertainties as to how Spotify music service will match up to Apple iTunes. Michael Porter’s value chain is applied in iTunes service in order to get an insight of the chain of activities involved before a valuable service is provided to the consumers. Apple iTunes is a service that comes in form of an online platform providing music distribution structures(O’Grady 112). The Value-chain model of iTunes’ primary activities is as follows 1. Content creation- the content is regulated by licensing agreement partnerships with various music labels.In this partnership, iTunes offer artists’ music to customers and for each download Apple is entitled a share in revenues. 2.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Supermarket Buyers Using Suppliers as Cannon Fodder Supply Management Assignment

Supermarket Buyers Using Suppliers as Cannon Fodder Supply Management - Assignment Example Supermarkets are engaging to exploit all the possible opportunities and they are doing so, by aggressive purchasing from multiple suppliers (Jennings, 2014). Purchasing from large number of manufacturers gives them power to bargain on price and quantity and due to this power they are generating more profits, whereas food manufacturers are suffering. This price war has raised many questions among marketers and economics, and they are seeing this war as an unfair tactic of retailers which is creating negative impact on the overall supply chain.Supermarkets are engaging to exploit all the possible opportunities and they are doing so, by aggressive purchasing from multiple suppliers (Jennings, 2014). Purchasing from large number of manufacturers gives them power to bargain on price and quantity and due to this power they are generating more profits, whereas food manufacturers are suffering. This price war has raised many questions among marketers and economics, and they are seeing this w ar as an unfair tactic of retailers which is creating negative impact on the overall supply chain. In today’s dynamic world, companies are not competing with each other in fact their whole supply chains are competing and retailers are creating trouble for the supply chains of different manufacturers (Bolton, Shankar, & Montoya, 2010). Additionally, many economists believe that a supply chain is as strong as its weakest link and retailers are weakening the supply chains of manufacturers by demanding heavy contribution from them and by aggressive purchasing.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Saudi women and the achievement equation Research Proposal

Saudi women and the achievement equation - Research Proposal Example King Abdullah is the ruler of the state (CIA, The World Factbook). It is a Middle Eastern country. The governance of Saudi Arabia is according to the Islamic Law (Saudi Arabia: Country Specific Information, 2008). The country is regarded to a great extent by other Middle Eastern countries and has strong ties with these states. Its total population is 28,146,656 (CIA, The World Factbook). Women as a major part of the population should be dealt equally as men. They are nearly half of the whole population of Saudi Arabia. The rights of women and their status, everything is described in the light of Islamic rules and principles. They are required to get permission of their husband or any other male authority of the family in order to leave Saudi Arabia (Saudi Arabia: Country Specific Information, 2008). Without allowance, they are not allowed to leave their houses. Husbands are regarded as the owners of the women but it is only for their security. Fatany has informed that wrong perceptions are kept about women in Saudi Arabia by European society that the women of Saudi Arabia are treated mercilessly in Arabian society and are also deprived of their due rights (Fatany 2004). The women of Saudi Arabia are not treated mercilessly. If they make use of veil, they use it because they have their own intention towards its usage. They make use of veil on their own will and Islam that is their religion asks them to take veil as a religious obligation (Saidi 2000). As Islamic rules are followed in Saudi Arabia, therefore a woman is given the right of inheritance in his father’s, husband’s or son’s property (Saidi 2000). A man usually gains double of a woman’s share because men are considered as the authority of Arabian society and they also have the responsibility of household. The women are not asked to carry the burden of household. If they are interested to share the burden of household, they are not stopped. They are allowed

Friday, August 23, 2019

Cell Phone Use Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cell Phone Use - Essay Example During the early periods, cell phones were considered as a luxury and only the business class was able to tolerate its expenses. Today, almost every individual coming from different classes use cellular phones during their everyday life. These devices are utilized by individuals in various aspects of their everyday life; these devices are even commonly used while people are moving from one place to another. A huge population of drivers have reported using cell phones while they are driving. Increase in number of people using phones while travelling have resulted in several road accidents and have not only led to damage to assets but have even resulted in several deaths. These incidents have made policy makers stand against the use of cellular phones while driving and these concerns have been addressed through restrictions through rules and regulations. Jurisdictions that have not yet levied such bans are even debating over banning the use of cell phones while driving. This paper will argue on why the use of cell phone should be banned or restricted during driving and what measures are already in place to control this act. Body There have been various changes in trends on who uses cell phone devices and for what purposes, they are using these devices. According to Cain and Burris, the number of people using these devices for family business elevated from 40% to 61% during the era of 1990 and 1998 (Cain, 1999). The NHTSA reports that the 15% of individuals who have not graduated from high school, 26% of individuals who have graduated from high school 30% of those who have not yet completed collage and 40% of those who are collage pass outs are cell phone users (NHTSA, 1997). A common application of the use of this device is during driving a vehicle. The NHTSA and Cain and Burris reported that around 90% of the owners of mobile phone use the device during driving. The PCIA have reported that those who use mobile phones for over 1 hour per month account for 15% of the owners of this device, those who use it less than one hour but more than half an hour account for 15% of owners, those who use it between ten to thirty minutes account for 20% o the owners and those who use it more than one minute but less than 10 minutes account for 39% of the owners (PCIA, 1999). An accident can result not only in loss of property; it even results in loss of life. When an accident takes place, the people involved directly in the accident can experience hurt at the level of getting minor injuries to the extent of losing their lives. Accidents can lead to heavy damages to very expensive vehicles, along with the incident of damaging public assets. Other expenses or negative impacts of an accident include; loss of working hours, insurance cost, legal costs and huge health care bills. In case of an accident taking place in urban regions, huge traffic jams take place due to which the emergency service providers may not be able to respond in a timely manner and people end up losing their lives. The negative effects of a collision caused due to usage of hand held phones during driving have increased the concerns of policy makers, organizations and insurance companies and various other stake holders. When drivers use cell phones during the act of driving, they are indulged in various activities related to the use of cell phone while driving. Drivers engage in actions such as finding the device, dialling the number, sending and receiving messages and ending the call. These activities do not only distract drivers physically but even emotionally. Drivers are emotionally distracted if they are being a part of an emotional conversation. Odgers stated that drivers are highly distracted during the

Art History Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Art History Project - Research Paper Example Additionally, the participation in domestic and community affairs helped women to influence the political system at the time. There was a limitation on women to express their political views against their husbands. Moreover, women could not publicly condemn the established political order in the era. The women that went against the established norms in the society risked their lives through death. In this period, there was limitation to women that wanted to venture in art. Most of the women lacked access to sophisticated training required to be an accomplished artist (NMWA 1). The period only saw few successful women artists. Such women were children, nieces, or spouses of the successful male artist in the period (NMWA 1). The family connections helped them to acquire skills and network to establish their careers. On the other hand, the country of origin of women conferred them with some advantage. Those that came from Northern Europe had some advantage as compared to their counterpa rts in the south. The Roman Catholic played a significant role in support of the artist in the period (NMWA 1). The church focused on devotional images that could only be possible through artistic skills and techniques. This significantly disadvantaged women as they were prohibited from getting such skills and techniques. In contrast, the Protestant north focus on art was based on activities and experiences of their daily lives (NMWA 1). As a result, women artists benefited as they produced still life and genre paintings that appealed to the patrons (NMWA 1). Despite these challenges, there were various successful and professional women artists in the period. Women for a long time have been defined by history. One of the periods that depicted the position of women in society was Baroque. The period lasted began in the last decade of 16th century and lasted up to 1750 (Schneider 1). The period was characterized by religious and political turmoil (Schneider 1). The religious and

Thursday, August 22, 2019

The Pollution Caused by Cruise Ships Essay Example for Free

The Pollution Caused by Cruise Ships Essay Cruise ships and the industry as a whole are vital to the economic stability of the local port cities in which they dock at daily. These ships carry up to 3,000 passengers who spend enormous amounts of money at tourist locations around the world. It is estimated that millions of dollars are generated and placed into the tourism markets annually. This is great news for local communities that depend on the cruise ship industry in order to survive, however it is bad news when it comes to the environment. Cruise ships create a massive amount of waste which ends up polluting our water ways and sending vast levels of pollutants into the air as well. These large ships typically produce around 170,000 gallons of waste water, 21,000 gallons of sewage, 6,400 gallons of bilge water, and 1 ton of solid waste per day ((Brooks Dunn, 2012). Unfortunately, these waste products are dumped into our oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes. There are numerous laws, regulations, and guidelines to prevent such things from happening but most of the cruise ship operations have found a way to work around them. They understand that states such as Alaska and Washington prohibit dumping of waste materials in their waters. The cruise ship corporations have taken advantage of the relaxed laws of places like British Columbia (B.C.) which for the most part allows them to release their waste products into their water areas. This presents a dilemma for the cruise ship industry because they ultimately have to decide between making a profit and being environmentally sound. Corporations such as the cruise ship industry have an ethical responsibility to meet all environmental regulations and laws regardless of where they are sailing. Corporations have an obligation to the general public and that includes making sure they are meeting standards set forth by the government. Environmental groups have a major influence on the general public and can create enough pressure where the reputation of a company is tarnished and sales start to decrease. It would be to a corporation’s advantage to show the general public that it is going above and beyond meeting environmental needs regardless of the rules in a particular country, state, etc. When sailing in international waters cruise ships should go by the strictest of all guidelines. Ethically, a corporation should set the standard for all others to follow. They can’t allow relaxed rules to be an excuse for creating environmental damage. The general public would feel betrayed to learn that a company built on having good, â€Å"clean†, vacation fun is in fact dirtying up the water ways. CEOs of such corporations should exercise due care and professional skepticism. They should ask how my actions will affect the water ways in the future. In addition, executives should question the rules of other countries and do everything in their power not to take advantage of weak laws. Port cities depend on tourism to generate revenue within their communities. It is of the most importance to balance the needs of tourism against the needs of maintaining an environmentally safe society. Compromise is essential in the effort to reduce as much waste going into our waters as possible. These tourist destinations should always work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop reasonable plans that can be accomplished slowly in order to prevent pollution now and in the future. It is understood that cruise ships will always have waste products to get rid of so decisions should be based on what is good for the environment not solely on tourism. The responsibility to maintain a clean and healthy environment is up to everyone. Corporations have a major responsibility as well because they can influence the thoughts, ideas, and beliefs of the average citizen. If a major corporation promotes the idea of improving air and water quality then it can influence the actions of other corporations. The cruise ship industry is in the position to set the standards for all to follow. They have the ability to show others that no matter the location or circumstances that a standard set of rules should always be followed. They should not let profit get in the way of doing the right thing. In the long run doing what is expected is more important than profit. The general public would accept a rise in ticket prices for a cruise if they were informed that it is because of the environmental rules they are trying to follow. Profit is the main goal of any organization, but it should not come at the expense of people’s health and well being. If the proper research is conducted and coordination between countries is established then it should be no reason why environmental needs should not be met. The general public is the first priority of corporations and every effort of compromise should be attempted. References Brooks, L. J., Dunn, P. (2012). Business professional ethics for directors, executives accountants. (6th ed., p. 530). mason, oh: cengage.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Chocolate Milk As A Sports Recovery Drink Physical Education Essay

Chocolate Milk As A Sports Recovery Drink Physical Education Essay Sports drinks are a highly lucrative business with many athletes believing they significantly improve performance. However recent research analysing the potential of low-fat milk as a post-exercise recovery aid has shown that highly commercialised carbohydrate-based sports drinks may be less beneficial. I have witnessed the rebranding of drinks such as Mars Refuel being packaged in sports bottles and using athlete endorsement and am interested in its effectiveness in intermittent sports. As a badminton player, I am keen to see whether low-fat milk can be used to aid recovery in varying-intensity intermittent sports. Also, there is currently a new campaign, Milk it for all its Worth, run by the Dairy Council following funding by the EU aiming to promote the health benefits of milk in young people (Dairy Council, 2010). Therefore, it is a good time to be conducting research in this area. Title Is post-exercise consumption of chocolate milk a suitable recovery drink following glycogen-depleting exercise in male badminton players? Literature Review Roy (2008) reviewed the current research on milk and its potential as a sports drink. He recognised that the limited research in this field has been conducted into the recovery from resistance training and endurance sports. The available research suggests milk favourably alters protein metabolism and is more nutrient dense than commercial sports drinks. This review also recognises the need for further research into the possible applications and efficacy of milk as a recovery drink. Recent research has shown that milk consumption immediately and one hour after exercise, is effective for strength and resistance training athletes to increase muscle mass, encourage type II muscle fibre hypertrophy and promote loss of fat mass leading to leaner mass and favourable change in body composition, (Hartman et al. 2007 and Josse et al. 2010). This is topical as young women in particular avoid dairy products believing them to be fattening (Josse et al. 2010). Hartman et al. (2007) tested whether consuming fat-free milk post resistance exercise would promote greater lean mass accretion compared to consumption of soy or an isoenergetic carbohydrate drink in young novice weightlifters. They used a relatively large sample size, increasing reliability. Josse et al. (2010) conducted an equivalent experiment in female athletes producing similar results, verifying Hartman et al.s method. Josse et al. (2010) also theorised milk consumption may have led to increased bone health; howe ver more research is needed for verification. Cockburn et al. (2010) investigated the most effective timing for consumption of a milk recovery drink. They investigated consumption before muscle damaging exercise, immediately after and 24 hours later. The study produced the recommendation that athletes consume milk immediately post-exercise, which would allow the athlete to perform at closer to optimal levels 48 hours later. This corresponds with recommendations from Pritchett et al. (2009). Precise recommendations have been given as 50-75g of carbohydrate consumed 30-45 minutes post-exercise and 1.0-1.5g of carbohydrate.kg-1.h-1 for next few hours (Ivy et al. 2002). Research has also been conducted into the effectiveness of milk for rehydration. Shirreffs et al. (2007) found milk an effective recovery aid following mild exercise-induced dehydration. They compared low-fat milk, low-fat milk with added sodium chloride, a sports drink and water at restoring fluid balance post-exercise. A volume equal to 150% of the volume of body mass lost during exercise was consumed 20 minutes post-exercise to ensure sufficient rehydration. All four drinks initially hydrated participants. However, the gastric emptying rate of milk is much slower than for sports drinks and water. This gave a greater percentage of drink retention with the milk drinks and the subjects remained in a net positive fluid balance and euhydrated at the end of the recovery period (Shirreffs et al. 2007). Conversely, the sports drink and water increased urine output resulting in a net negative fluid balance. There was no difference between the two milk drinks possibly because low-fat milk a lready contains a moderate quantity of sodium, higher than most commercial sports drinks. Research is needed to compare milk and sports drinks containing the same electrolyte content to confirm whether it is the haemodilution effect of sports drinks that led to a negative fluid balance. Low-fat chocolate milk contains the same nutritional benefits as low-fat milk but has been found to be more palatable than popular carbohydrate replacement drinks (Pritchett et al. 2009). Karp et al. (2006) found chocolate milk an effective recovery aid between two exhausting exercise bouts. Their study on endurance-trained cyclists involved glycogen-depleting exercise, a recovery period in which test drinks were consumed and a test to exhaustion. The research showed that both the time to exhaustion and the total work performed was significantly greater following the consumption of chocolate milk compared to a carbohydrate replacement drink with subjects cycling for 49% longer (Karp et al. 2006). However the chocolate milk had no significant difference compared with the fluid replacement drink. The carbohydrate content of the three different drinks in this research were equal, which had not been addressed in previous studies and produced contrasting results showing no significant difference in performance between the different drinks. However the types of carbohydrates and calorie content of the drinks were unequal. Both the chocolate milk and fluid replacement drinks contained a mixture of monosaccharides and disaccharides compared to the complex carbohydrates present in the carbohydrate replacement drink. This may account for the results as the complex carbohydrates may not have completely digested in the 4 hour recovery period. Also the greater number of calories in the chocolate milk may have accounted for the improved performance. Thomas et al. (2009) addressed this problem with a study comparing isocaloric chocolate milk and carbohydrate replacement drinks with an isovolumetric fluid. The protocol was also a submaximal (70% VO2max) endurance exercise cycle in a glycogen-depleted state. Participants cycled for 51% longer and 43% longer with post-exercise chocolate milk consumption compared to consumption of carbohydrate replacement and fluid replacement drinks respectively (Thomas et al. 2009). This further supports the usage of chocolate milk as an effective post-exercise recovery drink, following prolonged endurance exercise. This research focuses on endurance athletes and the test to exhaustion is at a moderate intensity suggesting fat may be the predominant fuel source. The increased fat content of chocolate milk and subsequent increased concentrations in free fatty acids circulating in the plasma could account for the increased time to exhaustion, suggesting carbohydrate replacement drinks may be a more b eneficial recovery aid when working at higher intensities. Therefore, this research shows chocolate milk to only be a good recovery aid for moderate endurance exercise. Furthermore, this research was partially funded by Mars U.K. Ltd. which could be a potential source for bias. More recent research has studied this area, finding chocolate milk to be an effective recovery aid for cyclists after intense exercise. (Pritchett et al. 2009). The ratio of carbohydrate to protein in chocolate milk is similar to that in carbohydrate recovery drinks and therefore may help attenuate muscle damage post-exercise. Pritchett et al. (2009) compared chocolate milk and a carbohydrate replacement drink as recovery aids. They investigated the time to exhaustion working at 85% VO2max following intermittent high-intensity training and a 15-18 hour recovery period. Their study showed chocolate milk and carbohydrate replacement drinks are equally effective in attenuating muscle soreness. Time to exhaustion was not significantly different between the two drinks. The study by Pritchett et al. (2009) used drinks that were isocaloric and had equal carbohydrate content. The recovery period was 15-18 hours to allow complex carbohydrates to be broken down and participants worked at 85% VO2max during the test to exhaustion to ensure a greater reliance on carbohydrates as the main fuel source. Despite all this, the participants used to test milk as a recovery aid for high-intensity training were endurance trained cyclists. Therefore this is unrepresentative of athletes who participate in high-intensity intermittent sports. There has been only one recent study into the effects of milk consumption in team sports (Gilson et al. 2010). Training programmes for competitive sports containing varying-intensity intermittent exercise such as football have been shown to deplete muscle glycogen stores. Such programmes should produce similar results in badminton players. Gilson et al. (2010) found that post-exercise chocolate milk compared to carbohydrate consumption had no preferential effect on short-duration, high-intensity exercise. The exercise regime in this study may not have been of an adequate intensity to impair muscle recovery which could explain the results as increases in training volumes were relatively modest. The above evidence shows low-fat milk based drinks to be suitable for rehydration and recovery from endurance and strength training. However, it fails to reach a firm conclusion on whether they are more effective than carbohydrate drinks and lacks analysis on physiological reasons behind the findings. For example, none of these studies directly measures the efficacy of milk to promote muscle glycogen recovery following endurance exercise; only performance is analysed. Admittedly this is harder to achieve. The lack of research into the efficiency of milk as a post-exercise recovery drink to varying-intensity intermittent exercise sports, despite the large market for recovery drinks in this field of sport, has prompted my research. The aim is to find through similar testing as in the studies reviewed whether chocolate milk can be an effective aid for those who participate in varying-intensity intermittent sport, focusing on badminton players. Research problem There will be no significant difference in the time to exhaustion from high-intensity intermittent shuttle running following the consumption of chocolate milk and an isocaloric carbohydrate-based drink during a recovery period post glycogen-depleting exercise. Method Sampling County-level, healthy, male badminton players between the ages of 18-30 will be used (n=14). Other studies have used a sample size of 9 so whilst being realistic the increase should provide more reliable results. Well-trained athletes will be used to avoid mood or learning impacting performance. The standard will be defined as a minimum of 6 hours training per week, playing for their county and minimum of 3 years playing badminton. The Leicestershire Badminton Association (LBA) will be contacted to provide the participants needed. Snowball sampling may be used to gain participants or random sampling to reduce numbers if necessary. Lactose intolerance volunteers will be excluded. Procedure The procedure will be based on the Thomas et al. (2009) study, but will focus on intermittent exercise. This will be a crossover and fully counter-balanced study. Each participant will complete glycogen-depleting exercise to exhaustion, followed by a recovery period and an experimental trial on three occasions. Participants will be asked to arrive in a fully rested, hydrated state and to have refrained from strenuous exercise for 24 hours. They will be required to complete a 3 day food diary prior to each trial. They will be asked to arrive at the same time of day for each trial to minimise diurnal variation and this will be in the morning following an overnight fast. Participants will come for a familiarisation trial where they will be fully informed of all the risks and basic measurements such as height, mass, age and frequency of participation will be recorded. They will then be required to do a VO2max test, see Ramsbottom et al. (1988) for method, from which the running speeds for 55% and 95% will be calculated. They will also have a trial at the Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (LIST) (see Nicholas et al. (2000) for method) to familiarise themselves. During this they will be able to consume water ad libitum. In the following experimental trials they will be encouraged to consume an equal amount. Experimental Sessions Following a warm-up, participants will complete the LIST (Nicholas et al. 2000). Heart rate monitors will be fitted and record heart rate every 15 seconds during exercise using short-range radio telemetry. Rate of perceived exertion using Borgs 6-20 scale will be recorded every 15 minutes. Sprint times in one direction over 15 metres using two infrared photo-electric cells and computer software will also be recorded throughout the test. Following completion of the LIST they will be given one of the two experimental drinks; Mars Refuel Chocolate Milk (CM) or carbohydrate replacement drink; Endurox R4 Chocolate (CR). The volume of CR will be calculated to provide 1 g carbohydrate.kg-1 body mass. The volume of CM will be calculated to give an isocaloric amount. The drinks will be placed into opaque bottles by a laboratory assistant not directly involved in the test. Recovery drinks will be assigned to the participants by a coin-toss. Once half the sample has been assigned to one drink t he remaining participants will be given the other for the first experimental trial. Participants will be given the alternative drink during the second trial. An equal total amount of carbohydrate will be given to the participants immediately post-exercise and 2 hours into the recovery period. Although the LIST does not replicate the situation of a badminton match, it does include the correct type of exercise used in training and often during tournaments players have long waiting periods. A total recovery time of 4 hours will be given representing this waiting period. During this time water may be consumed ad libitum in the first trial. This will be recorded and they will be encouraged to consume the same amount in trial 2. After the recovery period participants will be required to complete the LIST again. The time to exhaustion and variables previously measured will be recorded. Participants will then be asked to return one week later in the same state as previously described, replicating their diet 24 hours before the trial. The experimental procedure for trial 2 will be the same, however participants will be given the opposite recovery drink. A placebo is not being used as it has already been shown in many studies that post-exercise consumption of carbohydrate improves recovery. If at any point during the trials the participant wishes to stop or their health and safety becomes compromised the experiment will be stopped. Statistical Analysis Statistical analysis will be used on the collected data using SPSS (version 17). The time to exhaustion, sprint times and heart rates following consumption of the two drinks will be compared as will the results for the initial LIST and post-recovery LIST. The significance level for tests will be P

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Reviewing The Usefulness Of Official Statistics Criminology Essay

Reviewing The Usefulness Of Official Statistics Criminology Essay Official statistics give information on the number of crimes commit that are collected directly from each police. They claim to provide answers to two questions; the extent of crime, and who commits it. Criminologists have identified the problem of official statistics giving a false picture of the level and type of crime that actually exists. As a result, other types of information are turned to including victim surveys, longitudinal research and self-report studies. This essay will begin by exploring the uses of official statistics then go on to explore the problems with the data. The other types of data available will then be outlined and the usefulness of them will be evaluated. Offical statistics are figures that have been collected by the police and are published by the Home Office annually and contain data on crimes known to by the police. Official statistics have the use of showing trends in crime that can easily be compared over time. For example, the Office for National Statistics (2008) published a report saying In England and Wales, 4,060 Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) were issued in 2005, over 18 per cent more than the previous year. They also clearly show which social group is more likely to commit certain types of crime. This could be the persons age, ethnicity, social class. They allow police to know where their priorities should be and aid governments in setting their policies on crime. To a criminologists point of view, they are a free, secondary source of data that are going to be useful even if it is just to identify how much of a dark-figure there is. The term Dark-figure is ultimately the entire problem with using official statistics to study crime. The dark figure is defined as the amount of crime which is unreported or unknown about. The total amount of crime is made up of those that are known of and recorded, and the dark figure of crime (Online Dictionary Of The Social Sciences 2008). The dark figure is said to exist due to the social construction of crime. This is the idea that what is seen as criminal behaviour to one person may not be to another. The result there are crimes that the public to do not report to the police, and there are crimes that the police to not record. These make up a large number of crimes that are not recorded by the police, and make up the dark figure. Unreported crimes occur for a range of reasons, and are a massive contributor to the dark figure, which removes usefulness from official statistics. The police rely on the public to inform them about crime, they do not generally find out about crimes themselves. As Maguire et. Al (2002:322) said; whether people perceive a particular action or event as crime, let alone whether they report it as such to anyone elseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦can vary according to their own knowledge, awareness, or feelings about crime, which in turn may be influenced by the general public mood or the preoccupations of politicians and the media. Crimes will only generally go reported where there is a victim, therefore there is a large number of victimless crimes which the police are not getting told about. Typical crimes of this nature included traffic offences and violations of laws regarding public decency such as public drunkenness. These crimes will all contribute to the dark figure. Crimes may not be reported t o the police if it is not perceived to be serious. The victim may regard the offence as trivial and believe that reporting it to the police is more effort than it is worth. A major source of unreported crime comes from white-collar crimes. Edwin Sutherland came up with the concept in 1945 which, at the time, was a very different idea of crime from anything before (Coleman and Moyniham 1996:9). Sutherland (1940 cited in Coleman and Moyniham 1996:9) defined the concept as crimes committed by persons of respectability and high social status in the course of their occupations. Crimes of this nature could include bribery and corruption in business and politics, the breaking of trade regulations and breaking food and drug laws. Some crimes may be committed by organizations or corporations themselves, rather than an individual, and are often known as corporate crimes. Sutherland (1940 cited in Coleman and Moyniham 1996:9) explains how these types of crimes are very widespread, yet a measure of them doesnt appear in police records. Prosecutions are unlikely due to the apparent trivial nature of the crime, and often it is difficult to get sufficient evidence. Ge nerally, other procedures are used to deal with these criminals, such as civil actions or those of special agencies. Firms are unlikely to prosecute employees over internal crime to the company such as stealing property, as they believe the result will be their company looking bad. He goes on to explain that white-collar criminals are the most damaging of all due to the results. These crimes will therefore make up a large proportion of all crimes committed, yet the majority of them are not included in official statistics, so contributing to making them useful to study. Another major contributor to official statistics not giving a true picture on crime is crimes that go unrecorded by the police. Simmons and Dodd (2003) point out that the police have a legal obligation to record all crime, however over 30% of all crimes reported to the police in 2002/3 were not recorded. Cases where crimes arent recorded include cases where the crime is seen by the police as being trivial and the offence minor. The police may see that the time taken to fill in the paper work on a minor crime or one where catching the victim is unlikely is simply a waste of time. A process known as cuffing is where police downgrade crimes in order to meet Home Office efficiency targets. They may even make a crime disappear all together so it does not show up in statistics, for example theft can be downgraded to lost property, which is not a crime. This may be done in cases where police pay is partially determined by clean-up rates, so it is in their interest to have a low number of cr imes recorded. An example of this is in a recent news article where Alan Travis (2008) said, the Home Office disclosed that up to 17 police forces have been under-recording some types of the most serious violent crime. There is further dispute in the usefulness of official statistics from the problem that certain crimes appear more frequently than others. A key cause of this is media amplification. This is where certain crimes are concentrated on by the media and made out to be big problems (often when they are not), known as moral panics. The result is that the police will concentrate more of their time in areas where these people are. This could mean that the tendency of the police to concentrate in low income areas may mean higher arrests of the working class, which may distort the figures. It could also be argued that police resources are devoted to patrolling public places, which is where most young males spend their social life, so leading to higher arrest rates amongst them and distortion to the statistics. As a response to the problems of the data in official statistics, a number of alternative ways are also used to study crime. The most popular alternative if the British Crime Survey, which is a victimization study. The British Crime Survey was first conducted in 1981 and has become an annual event since 2000. The Home Office carries out the victim study so they dont have to simply rely on using police statistics to study crime, and see it as being more reliable than police statistics for certain types of crime. The survey itself involves asking a sample of 47,000 adults if they have been the victim of crime in the previous year. It also asks individuals if they reported the crime, and whether the police ultimately recorded it. Data from the British Crime Survey may reveal that there are either more or less offences in particular categories, implying that an offence is being either under reported or that it is being reported accurately. All in all then, the BCS data seems to indicate that official statistics on crime do not provide a valid picture of the extent of crime, and overall they may underestimate the trend.  However, we cannot say that the British Crime Survey is giving a true picture, as there are also many limitations with the survey. Maguire (2002) explains how there are categories of crime that are not included in the British Crime Survey that are included in police statistics. This could include cases where there is a commercial or corporate victim (such as shop-lifting), or if it is a victimless crime. He also noted that sexual offences have been reported so rarely that it is not possible to put forward reliable statistics. Another major flaw with the survey is that it excludes offences against victims under sixteen years old. He goes on to explain that national surveys are therefore much less useful at obtaining information about certain incidents of crime than others. He makes it clear that the BCS, therefore, it cannot be too heavily stressed , provides an alternative, rather than a directly comparable, overall picture of crime to that offered by police statistics: it is fuller than the latter in some respects, but narrower in others. (Maguire 2002). Another form of information on crime is Self-report studies. These are where questionnaires or interviews are conducted in confidence to collect information about individuals, and ask them to admit to the number of crimes they have committed, including those which they were not caught. The data can then be compared with official conviction rates to determine which offences are most likely to be committed. Maguire (2002) concluded that: On the one hand, these suggest that crime is committed by a much larger proportion of the population than is officially held responsible for it. On the other hand, survey respondents who have previously been in trouble with the law tend to admit to more serious and more frequent offending behaviour than people who have never been convicted The studies are useful as people generally do not fear getting in trouble for admitting to the offences, so a more valid picture of the number and extent of crime is given. Self-report studies do however come with fundamental problems. Unreliable answers are believed to be obtained as; respondents may exaggerate when answering questions, respondents may be embarrassed so either not admit to a crime or give an unreliable account of it, respondents may have forgotten the full details of a crime they committed. The majority of self-reported studies survey are conducted on samples of school and college students, and are rarely used on adults. This therefore doesnt make them a good technique in studying the general level of crime in society. The surveys are also likely to undercover minor and trivial crimes, but not find out about the major and less common more serious crimes. For this reason, the self-report study cannot be said to be an effective way of investigating crime. Overall, it appears that there is not single method effective in studying crime, and while the official statistics do contain the dark-figure, they do provide a very useful starting point. When used in combination with the British Crime Survey, the inaccuracy from the dark figure becomes less problematic, and a truer picture of crime is given. Neither is an effective source of information on its own, and only give part of the picture.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Abduction and Computer Game Design :: Technology Doom Myst Essays

Abduction and Computer Game Design Introduction In this paper, I will look at the process of abductive reasoning and show the implications of this concept as it applies to computer game design. While my comments will relate to most computer games, I will specifically discuss two games: Doom, which is produced by the Id software company, and Myst, which is produced by Broderbund software. Doom First, a little information about the game Doom. The first version of Doom was released as shareware (free demonstration software) in 1993, and its successors have included Doom II, Ultimate Doom and other variations. It has also inspired many similar games from other companies. Estimates put the number of players of this multiple-computer-platform software program at 10 million worldwide. One of the developers of Doom once boasted, "In 1994, we fully expect to be the number one cause of decreased productivity in businesses around the world. â€Å" What characteristics have led Doom and its many imitators to such success? I would argue that the most important reason is that game puts the player in an immersive environment. There is a compelling sense of â€Å"virtual reality† (to use a term that is more a cliche than any real description) in Doom. The action of the game is presented from a first-person point of view; that is, what you see on the computer screen is approximately what the character you are playing would see. Your character is invisible, just as you cannot see yourself but in a mirror; however, the weapon the character is holding is visible in the lower center of the screen. This technique of first-person presentation (fig. 1) serves to involve the player in the game action more directly than a third-person, overhead view might, and it makes for a more 'realistic' presentation of the "3D" action. As the player moves from room to room, lights flicker and fade and sounds get louder or softer. Doom has a frame (or image) rate greater than that of film or television, which has been shown to create an effect of heightened 'reality.' Players have been observed exhibiting physical responses to the game's action: ducking and leaping back from the screen, and trying to peer 'around' the walls displayed on the monitor. Doom can be played by a single person alone, by two people over a modem, or by up to four connected to a computer network, and these networked players can either cooperate or compete against each other.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Biometrics :: Biotechnology Science Essays

Biometrics Biometrics is a new term for many, but it is not a new idea. The idea of Biometrics first began with finger print analysis. Today, Biometrics has expanded to not only your fingerprints but also ear, face, facial thermogram, hand vein, hand geometry, iris, retina, signature and voice analysis. Technology has gone from science fiction to reality. This paper will include a brief description of each of the types of Biometrics and who is using them. The answer to "Who is using Biometrics?" may surprise you. In the United States over 150 schools are using a Biometrics system. This system allows the children to pay for cafeteria lunches. Over 200,000 students are participating in the Fingerprint Biometric system. The average system will cost any where from $4,000 to $10,000 to implement. How does it save you money? The answer is simply, you no longer need cashiers. All you need is a monitor. There is no longer cash to be accounted for, and children no longer have to bring money to school. Parents don’t have to worry how the money is being spent. The Fingerprint system is easy and results in quicker lines. Some major concerns for the parents are; 1.) How does the Fingerprint technology work? 2.) Can this technology be used in the police department? 3.) What about privacy issues? The technology being used in our school cannot be used in law enforcement. The fingerprint of your index finger is scanned, then transformed into a twenty-seven point grid, and a mathematical algorithm is the result. This is what the computer matches upnot your actual fingerprint. Ear Prints have had success for the Police in the United Kingdom. They have been using this technology to find missing persons and to identify unknown bodies. Ear prints are generally accepted as being unique, still it is hard to get a conviction if an ear print was left at the seen of a crime. Even though each ear is unique with its contour and lines; it has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the ear print itself left behind is unique. There are fears of this new technology, because of its possible misuse and its accuracy. One of the greatest fears is that our justice system will go from innocent until proven guilty to guilty until proven innocent. This technology will bring great benefits until it fails, and then a tremendous amount of harm to even those who benefit from the technology.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

How Does the Childhood Obesity Rates Compare in Wales and Usa

How Does The Childhood Obesity Rates Compare in Wales and USA Intro I have chosen the issue of childhood obesity in Wales and America. I have chosen this issue as obesity is a main problem in today’s society, and I want to see how Wales compares to what is known as the ‘Fattest’ country, America. Also I hope to find out the main reasons behind the high or low rates in obesity. This topic interests me as it has a big impact on today’s youth, and I as a rugby player would prefer to see more people out exercising than sitting in the house eating. Aims For my investigation I have found both secondary and primary information.My secondary information is from various sources off the internet. This will help me find out the information I need such as rates of obesity in Wales and USA, and also give me a better understanding of the issue. I will use facts and figures from my research to give a clear outlook of childhood obesity. For my primary information I produced a questionnaire to hand out to a range of people. Twenty five of these questionnaires will be given out to children aged eleven to sixteen, and the other twenty five will be handed to adults. This will give me a two different view points which could contrast or be very similar.From this I should be able to see what the main cause of childhood obesity is, and shall show my findings in graph form to show clearly my results. I will show a clear understanding of the issue chosen by looking at both view points (adult and children), this will give me a balanced view and not a bias one. I shall also then produce an overall conclusion about my investigation and evaluate the quality of my findings too. Issue Childhood obesity has nowadays become a serious health matter world wide. â€Å"Obesity is an abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight.Obesity is associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death. † [www. answer. com] Even though obesity does not affect every child, it is becoming more increasing. Also with obesity comes health problems, maybe not straight away but in the future, these problems could be such things as diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol and heart attacks which could lead to an early death. In today’s world many people had a part to play in the rising obesity figures. Today's reliance on cheap convenience and fast foods make it easy to consume large amounts of calories and they are well advertised to children.Only a very few children are overweight due to medical problems. Parents may be feeding their child too much at a young age, therefore making them obese before they have a choice of what to eat and what not to eat, from this when the grow up a bit they may feel depressed and look to food for comfort, only making the problem worse. Another reason is that in schools the amount of physical activity has dropped, with more children getting lifts to school too, and ch ildren now prefer to sit on the computer or watch the T. V. than going out and playing. Secondary ResearchFor my secondary research I planed to find rates of obesity for both Wales and America, and see how much/if the rates have risen through the years. I am expecting to find an increase over the years and hopefully find an explanation to why this is happening. Also I plan to find out if the government has any plans to try help this issue and decrease the rates. I hope to find that most information gives the similar answers, so I can then find out who is most responsible for the rates increasing. The figures of childhood obesity all over Europe are rising quickly, and up to 400,000 deaths each year in Europe are linked to excess weight.In America it has 25,814 deaths related to obesity a year, this is close to the European number for just one country. Therefore proving obesity is a huge problem within today’s everyday life. In Wales around 10% of six year olds are obese, with it rising to 17% of 15 year olds being obese. It is said that Welsh children are now among the fattest in the world, aged ten to fifteen years old. With the United Kingdom number three in the world with 23% of the population being classed as obese. RankCountry%Population Obesity 1USA30. 6 2Mexico24. 2 3United Kingdom23 information from http://www. nationmaster. com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity) America is rated the number one for obesity in the whole world, with a 30. 6% of the population being classed as obese. Also it has had its own T. V. documentary show done on it, â€Å"Super Size Me† which shows what Americans eat and the drastic damage it can do to your body. I have found from my research that child obesity is a major issue in Wales and more so, America. There needs to be drastic changes to try solve this problem, yet there doesn’t seem anyone/any organisation big enough to do so.However, there are small changes over world that I have noticed, such as schools taking out more fatty foods and bringing in new healthy options to take there place. This started with Jamie Oliver going round Britain looking at school dinners and then giving the children a new healthy option. Also from my research I have found that in both America and Wales the main cause seems to be an unhealthy diet combined with a lack of exercise. High-calorie foods such as chocolates, sweets and fast food are cheap and readily available to children.Alongside this, physical activity and exercise are no longer a part of most children's days – some children never walk or cycle to school or play sport. Instead, many of them spend hours in front of a television or computer. With this being the main cause it seems that the parents are also to be blamed for not controlling or joining in with activities in their children’s lives, if this is the case it may be a hard trend to get out of. Primary Research For my primary research I decide to produce 50 questionnaires to hand out, twenty five went to children aged eleven to sixteen and twenty five to adults.I have done this to try give a balanced view on what people of the area believe the main cause of obesity could be. However I know with questionnaire that you do not always get all of them back completed fully and appropriately, but I cannot let this effect me as it happens to everyone. Fourteen of the adults I asked to complete my questionnaire had children while eleven didn’t, but I found this did not affect my findings significantly. Below I will show you a few results of my questionnaire in graph form, and also a copy of the questionnaire I gave out. Who do you think is responsible for the wellbeing of obese children? (Adults)Who do you think is responsible for the wellbeing of obese children? (Children) As you can see from the graphs, there is a slight trend in who people believe to be responsibility, this is the parents. However from the adult graph you can see that parents come seco nd behind cheap foods, but this could be that the parents asked did not feel it was their fault and felt it was someone else’s. What do you believe the main cause for child obesity is? (Adults) What do you believe the main cause for child obesity is? (Children) From the above graphs you can see most adults saw junk food being the main cause for obesity, then parental control.I agree with this as junk food has become more advertised and easier to get hold of in today’s society, and with lack of parental control over their children they give in to them and let them have junk food or let them watch the T. V. instead of controlling them and giving them the healthy option and time slots for video gaming. However, in the children’s graph you can see they feel the school meals are to blame. I disagree with my findings here as I believe the children who have done the questionnaire have been more boas towards the rest of the options and not voted for them as much as it i s what they like in today’s life.Instead of going out, they prefer to sit in watching T. V. instead of eating healthy, they snack on junk foods. I find the adults graph to be more realistic in finding the main cause, but to get a balanced opinion I had to look at what children in my age range thought. Conclusion After looking over all my findings from both my primary and secondary research I have been able to come to a valid conclusion on the topic I chose to look at, Childhood Rates of Obesity in Wales and USA. It is easy to say that America is most obese country out of the two, with it being ranked number one for obesity in the whole world, with 30. % of the population being obese. I found that childhood obesity can be caused by a number of issues. Firstly the way children are brought up; if they are brought up on junk food it is hard to get out of this bad habit and they will carry on this into their adulthood and then carrying it on to their children. Another reasons is t he bombardment of fast food and its advertisement, this entices people to go to a fast food restaurant like McDonalds which is full of unhealthy foods that some people chose to live off instead of making a healthy meal in their house.In Wales the rates may not be as high as America, but they are still a great deal of children classed as obese. This has become a bigger problem in Britain over the past few years, with Britain being number 3 in the world rankings for obesity. However, there has been some Government work towards solving this problem such as change in school meals and healthier advertisements for restaurants like Pizza Hut and McDonalds, but most people feel this isn’t enough and more work could be done to help. EvaluationI encountered a number of problems during my research for both secondary and primary research. With my primary research the main problem I had was getting the questionnaires back in fully completed, also once in I was able to see that some may ha ve been done quickly and not completed seriously. The main problem with the secondary research was finding appropriate websites that can be trusted and give valid information. With so much on obesity it was difficult to find the right sources, however once found it was relatively simple to extract the information needed.Another problem that occurred was the size of both countries, Wales being a tiny country compared to America so it was hard to compare the rates in both. Overall though, I felt my investigation went well and what I believed was true, that USA was higher in childhood obesity than Wales. If I had to do this investigation again I would change two parts to what I have done, firstly I would have chosen a different country to USA due to its size over Wales, now looking back I think it would have been better to have pick a country such as France.The other change to my investigation would be with the questionnaire, I would ask more people to try get a wider picture instead o f a small amount which may not be an accurate opinion of the country in hand.Websites Usedhttp://news. bbc. co. uk/1/hi/wales/2997940. stmhttp://www. cdc. gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overweight/overwght_child_03. htmhttp://www. nationmaster. com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity

Elizabethan Poor Laws

?Life for the poor in Elizabethan England was very harsh. Unemployment and rapid price inflation increased causing many villagers to leave their homes and come to the towns to look for work. However, they often could not find employment and ended up begging in the streets. Elizabethan Poor Laws, enacted in 1601, were incredibly beneficial in uniting the community to provide care and nurture for the qualifying less fortunate. These laws set a critical foundation for Britain’s welfare system and established guidelines for the â€Å"deserving† and â€Å"undeserving† poor.I chose this topic because it vastly influenced our world today, not only physically, but morally. My extensive research was conducted mainly through internet resources. Thanks to online databases provided by the Public Library System I was able to find valuable primary sources such as newspaper articles. I was also able to find credible, scholarly summaries, documents, essays, and more on my topic, making it much more manageable to thoroughly educate myself and others.Gathering so much background knowledge also provided more validity to statements I concluded and overall information included in my presentation. I personally felt an exhibit would be the most tremendous in portraying the vast research I completed throughout the History Fair process through vibrant illustrations, documents, photos and more. The 1601 Elizabethan Poor Laws suitably fits the Rights and Responsibilities theme. Everyone had a share – rights and responsibilities, from the Justices of the Peace, to the substantial householders, even the poor themselves.The poor weren't just goldenly treated out of the blue. Only the â€Å"deserving† poor were assisted. â€Å"Deserving† – classified as the â€Å"Helpless poor† also known as old folk, or children of poor families and the â€Å"able-bodied poor†- people who could work, wanted to work, and attempted at earning a li ving. It was the responsibilities of the poor to remain determined and avoid indolence, sluggishness, and misdemeanor or else they would be classified under the more dangerous and itinerant group of â€Å"rogues and vagabonds†(beggars and stealers) vastly targeted by the government.Townsfolk were known to dislike beggars and treat them harshly. Their streets had become overcrowded and dirty, and the poor and beggars were accused of being scroungers and suspected of being criminals. It had then become a right, where two or more â€Å"substantial householders† were to be yearly nominated by the Justices of the Peace to serve as overseers of the poor in each parish.The overseers  were to raise â€Å"weekly or otherwise, by taxation of every inhabitant, such competent sums of money as they shall think fit,† however; one of the later complaints about the 1601 Act was that the basis of the law was that it rated land and buildings but not personal or movable wealth. Consequently it benefited the industrial and commercial groups in society who did not fall within the parameters of the legislation and so did not pay into the poor rates unless they also happened to own landed property.The 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law continued with additional variations and adjustments, for example the 1662 Settlement Act, Gilbert's Act (1782) and the Speenhamland system of 1795 — until the passing of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act which ultimately formed the basis of poor relief throughout the country for more than two centuries. It was a reasonable and unbiased system run for and administered by local people at a time when the population was undersized enough for everyone to know everyone else and his/her conditions and circumstances.Personally, the 1601 Elizabethan Poor Laws taught me that caring for the poor is a divine purpose in our community today, that it will remain a responsibility to the poor to guide our actions in international development to end ing poverty. This act recognized that well applied, targeted, and effective aid can and should be used to achieve progress on challenges such as health, education, and substantial living in our poverties. â€Å"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of a good government,† – Thomas Jefferson

Friday, August 16, 2019

American Alligator Primary Habitats

Alligator mississippiensis is in the family Crocodylidae. This family has existed since the upper Triassic period, but the modern family members appear in the fossil record as little as 80 million years ago. There are three subfamilies, Alligatorinae, Crocodylinae, and Gavaialinae. Some people also include a fourth subfamily, Tomistominae, which contains a single species, the False Gharial. Alligatorinae includes the American and Chinese alligators and the caimans. Crocodylinae includes the crocodiles. Gavaialinae contains the gharials (or gavials). The alligators are unusually tolerant of cold and have been found frozen in ice at the most northern parts of their ranges (Beck). All of the family Crocodylidae is endangered. However, the American alligator has undergone a dramatic population resurgence because of human protection. Restrictions are still in place on capturing alligators from the wild (Beck). Studies have shown that using hormones such as norethindrone can be used to feminize alligator embryos at the male producing temperature (Lance, 79). This could lead to a way to help alligators increase in numbers of both sexes as well as help other members of the family Crocodylidae. Alligators are important ecologically and are dependent on the spatial and temporal patterns of water fluctuations. Patterns of courtship, mating, nesting, and habitat use are all dependent on marsh water levels. Alligators are a great study organism to study the adaptations and responses to the seasonal changes to the hydrological conditions in the everglades. Alligators seem to be able to adjust the height of the nest egg cavity based on the spring water levels, which historically indicated the water levels later in the nesting season. Water levels also determine the availability of food therefore affecting the patterns of growth and survival. Alligators are most abundant in central sloughs, which is probably due to recommendations regarding managing hydrological conditions for alligators focused on maintaining alligators in central slough habitats (Mazzotti, 485). The American alligator is one of the keystone species in the Florida everglades and other marsh systems. It is the only large, abundant, widespread nonmarine carnivore left in the southeastern United States (Mazzotti, 485). They are spread as far west as reserves in Texas, and their northern boundary is in South Carolina. The interesting thing about alligators is the temperature determination of sex. At 29? C all females will be produced. At 32? C all males are produced. Temperatures in-between will produce mixed sets of young. The lower the temperature the less yolk there is for the young, there fore the young turns out smaller and female (Allsteadt, 76). It would be the opposite for warmer temperatures. The female alligator chooses the nest site, which in turn determines the sex of the young. The sex of the young is determined in the first two-thirds of incubation. During the final third of incubation the quality of the young is determined. Snout length, carcass lean dry and lipid mass, and yolk sac lean dry and lipid mass are determined by the final third of the incubation period (Congdon, 497). These characteristics could affect the vitality of the young in competition after they hatch. In South Carolina growth rates of alligators were thought to be slower, but it seems that alligators reach sexual maturity at a later age and larger body size than alligators elsewhere. It is assumed that the delayed breeding of alligators in South Carolina may be related more to social dominance than to growth rates. It is essential that age and size relations need to be understood better if alligators are to be managed effectively (Wilkinson, 397). All alligators, caimans, gavials, and crocodiles are carnivorous. In the wild, each depends upon a somewhat different selection of prey from its local fauna. For captive specimens, diet should vary with the size of the animal and the availability of prey. Small captives will do well on small animals (e. g.. goldfish, insects, or mice. ) As the reptile grows, its diet should change from mice to rats to rabbits, chickens, and other suitable larger prey. It's prudent to supplement meals with added calcium. Reptiles are susceptible to a variety of cutaneous and deep mycotic infections, however relatively few cases are reported in the American alligator. A juvenile alligator in Texas was captured that was covered with a fungus-like material, which was a dermetophillic fungus (Foreyt, 530). This could indicate that alligators are becoming more susceptible to cutaneous infections. Since alligator's sex is determined by temperature there is a problem with primarily one sex being born. This causes a major problem since you have to have both male and female to produce young in alligators. Many surveys of juveniles and adults show a male-biased ratio, although a female-biased ratio exists in Louisiana. From a study of 25 nests with 778 hatchlings a ratio of 1 male to every 3. 8 females was determined (Rhodes, 640). However since sex ratios vary temporally and spatially, long tern studies in representative habitats would be required for adequate ratios. Hypoxic incubated alligator eggs temp to hatch later and produce smaller young. Their hematocrit was significantly higher after hatching. Alligators exposed to 20% Oxygen maintained oxygen consumption relative to their normoxic siblings despite their lower mass (Warburton, 44). Obviously being in hypoxic conditions wouldn't be life threatening to a certain point, but in future competition being smaller than the rest of the alligators is not a good quality. Humans as usual are a threat to any type of wildlife including alligators. Thirty farms in Florida's swampland are currently raising an estimated 100,000 alligators. They sold nearly 26,000 adult skins in 1995. The price for skins has increased 67% since 1993, and 30 % from 1995 to 1996 (Good). With skins being worth more each year, $150. 00 in 1996, more people may decide to take a risk in capturing alligators from the wild to sell skins. This could be detrimental to the wild population of alligators. However in 1998 trappers reported a decline in the demand for alligator skins resulting in a decrease in the price for skins. This helps slow programs where alligators that frighten people are killed (Falling, 6). If skins become popular again programs like these would hurt the population. This program has flaws because most alligators are relatively calm. The psychological orientation of alligators is interesting. It appears that alligators tend to regard humans as animals larger than themselves and thus will not generally attack a human without provocation. However, they will certainly look after their interests, and a small number of accidents have occurred when their predatory or protective instincts were inadvertently triggered. Crocodilians will attack in self-defense, to obtain food, and to protect their young up to two years after birth. Indeed, the outstanding parental care they afford is unique among herps and (along with certain anatomical features) illustrates the close alliance of this family to birds and, ultimately, dinosaurs (Beck).

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Organic Foods in India Essay

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumers’ decision-making process for purchase of organically produced foods in India Design/methodology/approach – Using already existing research model and scale, forming hypothesis, and testing its validity in Indian context. Using convenient sampling (Tier 1, 2 B school Graduates) to gather data for factor loading. Type of Research – Descriptive Research Introduction Organic production system is a system that produces organic foods in harmony with nature and the environment. In other words, this is a unique system which ensures that the â€Å"best practices† in the area of production are utilized to ensure that the output is a healthy and safe apart from having a positive symbiotic effect with the environment. Thus, one can say in lay man’s terms that an organic food product is one that has been produced using only natural agents in the production process. For the vast majority of human history, food has been produced organically. It was only during the 20th century that new synthetic chemicals were introduced to the food supply. Under organic production process, the use of conventional non-organic pesticides, insecticides and herbicides is heavily regulated. In the case of livestock, they are reared without the routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones. Scenario in India Organic foods are fast changing from a fad to a serious proposition in India. Today, the reach of organic foods is expanding to gradually find its way into the average Indian household. An indicative reason for the same is the rising health consciousness among Indian consumers. Pegged at Rupees 6. 5 billion in 2010, the organic food market is witnessing the shift from being an elitist to a healthy product. Although production and consumption figures for organic food in India are way behind the world average, the market is now showing signs of a strong growth trend. Slowly the deterrent of high price is being out-weighed by nutrition, quality and a chance to shape a safe environment. The organic food products market has been continuously facing the issue of absence of recognizable brands, small range of products, high prices and faulty government policies and a general lack of retail presence which has translated to low demand in the domestic market. In spite of this industry players are optimistic about the future prospects, as they are of the opinion that this industry holds a lot of promise. The export industry remains undeveloped with most producers being either small or marginal farmers, small cooperatives or trade fair companies. The small farmers, scattered across the country, offer an incomplete product range that are mostly available as a local brand. This is especially an issue in developed countries where the shelves of an average supermarket is stocked with a large range of certified organic foods. Problem Statement The question on everyone’s mind is where exactly is the organic food industry falling short? What are the main factors that influence a consumer’s decision to purchase organic foods? The fact of the matter is that this area has suffered from lack of interest/attention and a very low level of research. Thus, our Problem Statement is as follows â€Å"What influences the decision to buy organic food products in India? † Research objective The purpose of this assignment is to understand the primary influencers that motivate our target study group of individuals belonging to the upper middle-class category in their decision to buy organic foods products in India. Since the students of the top B-Schools either belong to or will be a part of the aforementioned category and will be starting new families, they are part of core prospective customer segment for this market. Hence, we have decided to focus our research on them. Literature Review Scope This research study focuses on understanding the primary influencers motivate our subjects (individuals from the upper middle class category) to buy organic foods. Students of B-Schools are from diverse backgrounds and origins. Most belong to the upper middle class category and we can safely assume that those that aren’t will be a part after they graduate. Moreover, they are also in that stage of life where they start a family of their own and assume additional personal responsibilities. This makes them appropriate subjects for this study. This study will analyse their responses with respect to knowledge about and attitude towards organic food, and their sensitivity to the health and environmental benefits associated with it. Sources and their Details: Honkanen, P. (2006), â€Å"Ethical values and motives driving organic food choice†, Journal of Consumer Behaviour , 5, pp. 420-430 The paper tries to investigate the role of ethical motives in consumers’ choice of organic food. The relation between ethical food choice motives, attitudes and intention to consume organic food was studied by estimating a structural equation model. We were able to comprehend ethical motives better and were thus able to incorporate it under environmental Consciousness. Donovan, P. , McCarthy R. (2002), â€Å"Irish Consumer preference for organic meat†, British Food Journal, Vol. 104 No. 3/4/5, pp. 353-370 The paper tries to examine Irish perception of organic meat. It identified three consumer groups. Beliefs and purchase intentions of consumers and non-consumers were differentiated. Proposed factors leading to purchase intention were Health Consciousness, Perceived value, Income and environmental concern. After validation checks they had had to make the constructs less abstracts due to low values. Aertsens, J. , Verbeke, W. , Mondelaers, K. , and Huylenbroeck, G. V. (2009), â€Å"Personal determinants of organic food consumption: a review†, British Food Journal, Vol. 111 No. 10, pp. 1140-1167 It uses theliterature concerning personal determinants of organic food consumption. This is the ? rst paper providing a comprehensive overview and linking the literature on organic food consumption to the values theory and the theory of planned behaviour, including the role of personal norm and focusing on emotions. The proposed integration of mental processing in an organic food consumption model leads to interesting hypotheses and recommendations for policy makers, researchers and stakeholders involved in the organic food market. Padel, S. , Foster, C. (2005), â€Å"Exploring the gap betweenattitudes and behaviour, Understanding why consumers buy or do notbuyorganic food†, British Food Journal, Vol. 107 No. 8, pp. 606-625 Its results show that most consumers associate organic at ? rst with vegetables and fruit and a healthy diet with organic products. Fruit and vegetables are also the ? rst and in many cases only experience with buying organic product. The decision-making process is complex and the importance of motives and barriers may vary between product categories. The motives and barriers provided herein helped us in adapting the survey questionnaire. Baker, S. (2004), â€Å"Mapping the values driving organic food choice, Germany vs the UK†, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 38 No.8, pp. 995-1012. This study explores the reasons why the behaviour of consumers in the UK and Germany has been so divergent despite both groups of consumers holding similar attitudes about organic foods. This was done by investigating the underlying values driving food choice behaviour using means-end theory and Laddermap 5. 4 software. The dominant means-end hierarchies were uncovered and the cognitive process mapped. {draw:frame} Makatouni, A. (2002), â€Å"What motivates consumers to buy organic food in the UK? , Results from a quantitative study† , British Food Journal, Vol. 104 No. 3/4/5, pp. 345-352 Its main objectives are to identify beliefs, with respect to organic food, of parents who buy and do not buy organic food; the positive as well as negative attitudes towards organic food of those who buy and do not buy organic food; the impact of those attitudes on food choice for parents who buy and do not buy organic food; and to model the food choice behaviour of parents with respect to organic food. It employs both qualitative and quantitative methods. This paper also uses the means-end chain approach. The key idea is that product attributes are a means for consumers to obtain desired ends. It provides a very detailed means end chain which helped us finalize some aspects of our questionnaire. Magistris, T. , Gracia, A. (2008), â€Å"The decision to buy organic food products in Southern Italy†, British Food Journal , Vol. 110 No. 9, pp. 929-947 Its findings provide more evidence on consumers’ underlying motivations to buy organic food to the already existing evidence in Europe to evaluate the future implementation of the Regulation (EC) no. 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and labelling of organic products. In addition to this the empirical results would help local policy makers to establish appropriate market strategies to develop the future demand for these products. It indicates that consumer’ attitudes towards organic food, in particular towards the health attribute and towards the environment are the most important factors that explain consumers’ decision-making process for organic food products. It has been found that larger information on the organic food market, which drives to a higher consumers’ organic food knowledge, is important because it positively in?uences consumers’ attitudes towards organic food products. It also that consumer who try to follow a healthy diet and balanced life are likely to have more positive attitudes towards organic food products and towards the environment, inducing a more likely intention to purchase organic foods. This paper provided with the adequate Structural equation model. It also possessed the relevant constructs and variables which could be easily adapted to Indian requirements. Since for the target segment of our paper income is not an issue, it proved easy to adapt to the theoretical model according to our needs. The questionnaire has been validated, which has been duly adapted by us. Outcome Through this study we hope to drawing links between knowledge about and attitude towards organic food, and their sensitivity to its health and environmental benefits and the decision to buy it. Also, we can gauge as to which are the primary contributors to the purchase decision. This can go a long way in helping a player in the organic food industry understand the market and position himself appropriately to achieve success. Research framework and hypothesis specification A study on the food choice is a complex phenomenon that represents one of the most important parts of human behavior, where several cognitive and behavioral factors can vary sharply between individuals. In other words, whether the consumers intent or decide to purchase organic foods is a difficult task because it depends on many factors that cannot be directly observed. Thus based on the above mentioned paper by Magistris, T. , Gracia, A.(2008), it can be conclude that the more favorable health and environmental attitudes consumers have, the more likely they will buy organic food product. In accordance with this, the first hypothesis of the proposed model is defined as follows: Hypothesis1: When consumer’s attitudes towards organic food (H1-a) and towards the environment (H1-b) are positive, consumers’ intention to buy organic food products will also be more likely to be positive. Hypothesis 2: When a consumer has higher organic food knowledge, he/she will be more likely to have positive attitudes towards organic food products. Hypothesis 3: Consumers’ lifestyles related to healthy diet and balanced life influence internal factors of consumers, such as, attitudes towards organic foods (H3a) and attitudes towards the environment (H3b) during the decision process to buy organic food products. Proposed Research Model {draw:rect} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} Explanation of factors and observed variables Intention to purchase organic foods Intention is the cognitive representation of a person’s readiness to perform a given behaviour, and it is considered the immediate antecedent of behaviour. Findings from many studies reveal that consumers’ attitudes towards different organic food attributes (human health, safety, etc. ) and towards the environment are the most important factors that explain consumers’ decision-making process for organic food products. Organic knowledge Knowledge It indicated the knowledge the consumer possesses about organic food Definition Does the consumer know that, â€Å"_Organic foods are produced without the use of conventional pesticides, arti? cial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge_†? Healthy diet and balanced life Exercise Processed food. Fruits and vegetables Red meat Additive free Health check ups Balanced life The observed variables are self-explanatory Environmental attitudes Pollution Belief that the current developmental path and consumeristic culture will end up destroying the environment Damage It quantifies the feeling that unless we do something the damage to the environment will be irreversible. Conservation Describes whether one performs conservatory tasks. Recycled Preference for consuming recycled products Recycling Whether one partakes in recycling of products Attitudes towards organic food products. Health Does on believe that organic products are healthier? Quality Do organic products have superior quality? Taste Are organic products are more tasty? Research Methodology Data will be collected from a survey conducted across the top B-Schools of the country. It is our opinion that the budding managers from these institutions are (or will be) part of our target group of affluent customers for organic food products. The ? nal sample will include 200 students selected through convenience sampling. This method has a reputation of being less reliable but it is the best suited due to its convenience and low cost. Moreover, it is known to work with a sample that contains students. A questionnaire will be designed to analyze the knowledge of organic food, attitudes towards organic foods and purchase behavior of the selected students. The ? rst question was related to their knowledge on organic food products. The second set of questions comprised of those related to organic food consumption (consumption level, intention) purchase, frequency of purchase, perceived quality, place of purchase, etc.). The third and final question includes several questions on consumers’ attitudes towards organic food products and environmental aspects. The questionnaire also contains questions on socio-demographic characteristics (i. e. sex, family size and composition, age, education, income and lifestyles). The questionnaire format will be validated using a small pilot survey before being administered to the students. Questionnaire Would I buy organic food products? How will you rate your knowledge on organic food products? What is your opinion on â€Å"Organic foods are produced without the use of conventional pesticides, arti?cial fertilizers, humanwaste, or sewage sludge â€Å"? I do exercise regularly I avoid eating processed food I often eat fruit and vegetables I avoid eating food products with additives I take regular health check-ups I try to have an organized and methodical lifestyle Is the current development path is destroying the environment? Unless we do something, environmental damage will be irreversible I practice environmental conservation tasks I prefer consuming recycled products I partake in product recycling Organic products are healthier Organic products have superior quality Organic products are more tasty Activity and time based plan Data Analysis/ The Data analysis will be carried out on the valid survey responses obtained from the respondent pool to which the survey is administered to. We will be using SPPS 17. 0 to carry out various correlation tests to figure out what factors affect the ‘intention to buy organic foods’ and also what sub-factors affect them. This will also allow us to point out which all factors show strong correlations and which all show less correlations. Bibliography Honkanen, P.(2006), â€Å"Ethical values and motives driving organic food choice†, Journal of Consumer Behaviour , 5, pp. 420-430 Donovan, P. , McCarthy R. (2002), â€Å"Irish Consumer preference for organic meat†, British Food Journal, Vol. 104 No. 3/4/5, pp. 353-370 Aertsens, J. , Verbeke, W. , Mondelaers, K. , and Huylenbroeck, G. V. (2009), â€Å"Personal determinants of organic food consumption: a review†, British Food Journal, Vol. 111 No. 10, pp. 1140-1167 Magistris, T. , Gracia, A. (2008), â€Å"The decision to buy organic food products in Southern Italy†, British Food Journal , Vol. 110 No. 9, pp. 929-947 Padel, S. , Foster, C. (2005), â€Å"Exploring the gap between attitudes and behaviour, Understanding why consumers buy or do not buy organic food†, British Food Journal, Vol. 107 No. 8, pp. 606-625 Baker, S. (2004), â€Å"Mapping the values driving organic food choice, Germany vs the UK†, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 38 No. 8, pp. 995-1012 Makatouni, A. (2002), â€Å"What motivates consumers to buy organic food in the UK? , Results from a quantitative study† , British Food Journal, Vol. 104 No. 3/4/5, pp. 345-352 Zanoli, R. and Naspetti, S.(2002), â€Å"Consumer motivations in the purchase of organic food: a means-end approach†, British Food Journal, Vol. 104 No. 8, pp. 643-53. Yiridoe, E. K. , Bonti-Ankomah, S. and Martin, R. C. (2005), â€Å"Comparison of consumer’s perception towards organic versus conventionally produced foods: a review and update of the literature†, Renewable Agriculture and Food System, Vol. 20 No. 4, pp. 193-205. 10. Soler, F. , Gil, J. M. and Sanchez, M. (2002), â€Å"Consumer’s acceptability of organic food in Spain: results from an experimental action market†, British Food Journal, Vol. 104 No. 8,pp. 670-87. 11. Connor, R., Douglas, L. (2001), â€Å"Consumer attitudes to organic foods†, Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 31, Issue: 5 12. Grunert, S. C. and Juhl, H. J. 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