Should Obese People Pay Higher Health Insurance Premiums?

Writing Assignment #3: Should obese people pay higher health insurance premiums than people who are not obese? – Rishard Rheyas Obesity has become a serious problem with more than one third of adults being obese in the United States. Obesity is seen as a self-destructive behavior accompanied with smoking and use of other drugs thus, government officials and other business bureaucrats expressed the need to impose higher health insurance premiums on the obese.Obesity is not always due to the personal behavior of people and can be linked with the environment and genetics; I personally feel that obese people should not pay a higher health insurance premium compared to those that aren’t. Government officials and other business bureaucrats expect that raising the health insurance premiums for the obese would help reduce the mortality and overall health of the country however according to a study, individuals with lower BMIs tend to associate themselves with less favorable hea lth conditions and mortality rates as compared to those with high BMIs.The body mass index (BMI) assesses one’s body weight relative to height. The weight in kilograms is divided by height in meters squared (kg/m^2). It correlates highly with body fat in most people hence is a useful, indirect measure of body composition. According to research carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with increasing weight the risk of diseases also increases including cancer, stroke, coronary heart disease etc. A BMI between 25. 0 and 30. 0 is defined to be â€Å"overweight† and a BMI of over 30. is defined to as â€Å"obesity† (30 or more pounds overweight). Overweight and obesity result form an energy imbalance which involves consuming too many calories as compared to the amount of physical activity one does. The question lies on whether this issue is mainly because of psychological factor beyond an individual’s control or personal choices ma de by the obese individual. Genetics and the environment do play a huge role in this however it also deals with the personal choices made by that particular individual.David Zinckenko argues in his article â€Å"don’t blame the eater†, that it is a matter of personal responsibility but can sympathize with the obese individuals as there is a lack of alternatives and information regarding fast food consumption. Society in the United States has raised concern about healthy diets, providing alternatives sources of food but unfortunately at a cost. The increased cost for a healthy diet dissuades teenagers from eating healthier food thus without a change of environment it can result in a lifetime of obesity. David Zinckenko briefly brings in the comparison with the automobile industry.The automobile insurance is significantly high for most high end vehicles and also for the younger generation. This is mainly because the higher end vehicles have a certain type of brand value and reputation as with certain big health insurance companies. The youth are charged higher automobile insurance as they are more prone to accidents as suggested with smokers and obese individuals with diseases. The government and other respective officials imposing this would mean that obesity is termed a disease which would force individuals to try to become thinner.This could lead to dangerous diseases such as anorexia. The difference is mainly because health insurance has a closer link to our economy and human life as compared to automobile insurance. Individuals should be given rights to decide what they would like as with the automobile insurance wherein individuals choose a higher end car thus pay a greater insurance. With regard to obesity, this increase in health insurance would not give individuals a choice but force them into a system of hardship.Judt claims that throughout the middle decades of the Twentieth Century society as a whole guaranteed certain rights for citize ns without questioning the motivations or the morality of citizens. There has been increased support for self responsibility and reduced expectations for â€Å"handouts† from the state since the 1980s. The current proposition to raise the insurance premiums for the obese questions the morality of the government officials involved as it forces individuals to change in order to fit into a certain framework of expectation.This is unfair and it deprives individuals of their freedom and rights to choose their way of life. Concerns regarding the health issue of obesity are justifiable however this type of proposition appears to be harsh and presumptuous. It comes down to the issue of state responsibility versus individual responsibility. The current issue at hand dealing with obesity is part of the state’s responsibility but is more about personal individual responsibility. The state should provide cheaper and healthy alternatives as one of the major reasons for obesity is d aily life.David Leonhardt argues that personal responsibility has become more complicated as our environment has changed. The present environment involves us prioritizing our work more than our health or anything else hence we become more unhealthy and obese. The solution to this is suggested to be beyond the control of an individual, if people want to become successful they need to work hard most of the time and that requires people choosing a certain type of lifestyle.Imposing higher insurance premiums would also be unfair to the obese as most obese individuals tend to earn less than their less obese counterparts. This increase in insurance would mean that individuals would have to lose their freedom and rights whilst suffering even more hardships trying to pay the health insurance. Controlling obesity can be done by implementing more healthy affordable alternatives and controlling the work environment rather than imposing higher insurance premiums and compromise on freedom.

Why Shift Attention To Second Generation Biofuels Environmental Sciences Essay

Second coevals biofuels are made from biomass-to-liquid engineerings, specifically cellulosic ethyl alcohol and Fischer-Tropsch gasification, and are intended to utilize lignocellulosic biomass. These engineerings are non by now commercially accessible. A figure of companies submit to some agro-fuel engineerings utilizing already bing provender stocks like palm oil or rapeseed oil as ‘second coevals ‘ like Neste Oil ‘s NExBTL Diesel, that consumes hard-hitting hydrogenation of fatty acids.Shift FROM FIRST GENERATION TO SECOND GENERATION BIO FUELSMany of the issues linked with 1st-generation biofuels can be sought out by the devising of biofuels which are manufactured from agricultural and forest left over ‘s and besides from non-food harvest provender stocks. Ligno-cellulosic feedstock is formed from specializer energy harvests grown on cultivable land, and at that place rather a few apprehensivenesss remain over viing land usage, although energy end products are expected to be high than if harvests grown for 1st-generation biofuels are produced on the same dirt. Additionally hapless quality land could besides possibly be utilized by the usage of 2nd coevals bio fuels.FEED STOCK YIELD AND ESTIMATION OF LAND AREA NEEDED[ 3 ] As we can see the tabular array gives us informations of the output of provender stock that is used for the production of 2nd coevals bio fuels, and besides the land that might be required for the sum of output. These 2nd-generation biofuels are relatively immature so they must hold all right potency for cost decreases and greater than before production efficiency degrees as more clip is base on ballss and research is done. Having an influence slightly from the future oil monetary values, they are likely to go an component of the solution to the job of traveling conveyance sector to the side of more sustainable energy resources. However, cardinal proficient and economic obstructions have still to come before they can be widely deployed. [ 4 ] Feedstock used by 2nd coevals engineerings include and their output is besides shown in the undermentioned tabular array: Dedicated agricultural production ( miscanthus, grass, etc. ) Agricultural production wastes ( straw, leaves, chaffs, etc. ) Dedicated forestry production ( wood ) A forestry and wood industry wastes ( subdivisions, sawdust, etc. ) Other wood residues, green wastes, portion of family waste, etc. Low-cost harvests, forest residues, wood procedure wastes, and organic fraction of the municipal solid wastes may all be utilized as ligno-cellulosic provender stocks. In the topographic points where these stuffs are gettable, production of biofuels should be made possible with practically no auxiliary land demands or consequence on nutrient and fibre harvest production. Though in a batch of parts these sorts of remains and waste provender stocks might hold unequal handiness, and therefore turning of vegetive grasses will be indispensable as options.BIO FUEL PRODUCTION AND CHARACTERISTICSHarvesting, treating, and presenting large volumes of biomass feedstock, with a needful quality, for whole of the twelvemonth, to a biofuels production works needs cautious logistical survey predating the investing in the works and its building. The program must be to cut down production cost, the cost of reaping and the cost of conveyance. Besides it should guarantee the economic feasibleness of the undertaking. This job is often insufficiently thought of when sing 2nd-generation options. The devising of biofuels utilizing ligno-cellulosic provender stocks may be done through 2 wholly separate fabrication paths. They include the undermentioned. biochemical – where enzymes and other micro-organisms convert cellulose and hemicelluloses mechanism of the provender stocks to sugars earlier to their agitation to do ethyl alcohol Thermo-chemical – for which gasification engineerings result in a synthesis gas ( CO + H2 ) through which a immense assortment of long C concatenation biofuels can be made. For illustration man-made Diesel The mentioned are non merely types or waies to the production of 2nd coevals biofuels, assorted researches are traveling on for others and betterments. They can do biofuels points like those which are produced via the cardinal waies or others which include di-methyl quintessence, methyl alcohol, etc.ECONIMICS OF BIO FUELSOn the footing of programs of assorted organisations the development of 2nd coevals biofuels initial full commercial-scale operation will likely get down by 2012. A little piece of informations demoing figures related to production of 2nd coevals can be seen in table 1. [ 1 ] Another major difference among biochemical and thermo-chemical paths comes to be that lignin constituent is a remnant of the enzymatic hydrolysis and therefore may be utilized for power coevals or possibly warming every bit good.BIO FUEL ENERGY BALANCENormally enzyme hydrolysis can be predictable to do up to 300 cubic decimeter ethyl alcohol / dry metric ton of biomass whereas the other path could bring forth like 200 cubic decimeter of man-made Diesel as shown in Table 2 [ 1 ] . There is an about same output in footings of the energy which is approx 6.5 GJ/t biofuels is since man-made Diesel has a larger value of energy denseness in comparative to volume than ethyl alcohol. Another chief thing that is different comes to be that biochemical waies produce ethyl alcohol in comparing to the thermo-chemical way which may be used to do a assortment of longer-chain hydrocarbons utilizing the synthesis gas.Technologies USEDCellulosic ethyl alcohol: This technique uses more energy than it really intends to do. Thus, sing usage and the end product consequences of energy it performs worse than 1st coevals maize ethyl alcohol. The undermentioned diagram gives the schematic of such a production [ 5 ] . A PRACTICAL PROCESS BY WHICH CELLULOSE ETHANOL IS PRODUCED Fischer-Tropsch gasification: Fischer-Tropsch gasification is utilized largely to bring forth Diesel from coal. It is a highly energy thorough process that is at the minute non at all commercially executable. It is of inquiry that use of Fischer-Tropsch gasification on a bigger graduated table may raise dodo fuel emanations. Following is an image of first bio-refinery ( a ) that was setup [ 6 ] and a Fischer Tropsch Section in China ( B ) [ 6 ] . ( a ) Image of the 1st Bio-Refinery ( B ) Fischer Tropsch Section in China [ 7 ] Above is shown the schematic of a Fischer-Tropsch gasification procedure. This is non a concluding version of the procedure as new betterments are being done to this new engineering every twenty-four hours. But however a basic thought can be interpreted from this scheme.Outputs of Bio Fuel in FutureTo bring forth 2nd coevals biofuels a broad scope of feedstock might be utilized. In add-on, the energy required for the intent of agribusiness and feedstock production can be reduced to a great extent. In immense transition services 2nd coevals provender stocks are predictable to be aptly transformed to biofuels. But, even though a high hereafter prospective may be present, at the minute it is non up till now confirmed that 2nd coevals biofuels will be improved in public presentation energy-wise, economically and with regard to carbon. Following is an extract from the European enchiridion to which presents the use of 2nd coevals bio fuels over the coming old ages as expected [ 2 ] . SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS AND CO2 EMISSIONSAlternatively of utilizing dearly-won nutrient harvests to do the bio-crude, second-generation biofuels for illustration agricultural waste are used. Second-generation biofuels processs do n't hold any consequence on supplies of nutrients. But one positive point is that they are decidedly environmentally much better and sustainable than the 1st coevals biofuels. If they are wholly made commercial, these advanced biofuels engineering can easy reconstruct fossil fuels with locally made biofuels which can in bend have positive effects like: Decreasing the demand for crude oil that is imported Lowering the emanation of nursery gases therefore diminishing of CO2A content per twelvemonth Opening new occupations, countries of research and skills peculiarly on rural sides Second coevalss biofuels are non at the minute commercial because of their production engineerings being in the research and development stairss. Assortment of feed stocks may be utilized to bring forth biofuels including lignocelluloses. Second coevals biofuels are for illustration bioethanol coming from cellulosic stuff. The ‘Technology Roadmap ‘ given in the ‘Vision Report ‘ explains coming up of these biofuels in 3 stairss which are, bettering the engineerings that exist, research and development of 2nd coevals biofuels and research and development of bio-refinery thoughts.REFRENCES[ 1 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //www.iea.org/papers/2008/2nd_Biofuel_Gen_Exec_Sum.pdf [ 2 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //www.compete-bioafrica.net/publications/publ/Biofuel_Technology_Handbook_version2_D5.pdf [ 3 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //ucanr.org/repository/cao/landingpage.cfm? article=ca.v063n04p191 & A ; fulltext=yes [ 4 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //www.etha-plus.ch/en/technique.html [ 5 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //www.frost.com/prod/servlet/market-insight-top.pag? docid=145254590 [ 6 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //newenergyandfuel.com/http: /newenergyandfuel/com/2009/04/16/exploring-a-new-gasification-process/ [ 7 ] hypertext transfer protocol: //coalgasificationnews.com/tag/sasol/

The use of official corruption by transnational organised crime groups Essay

The use of official corruption by transnational organised crime groups - Essay Example The aim of this project is to compile a 10,000 word research paper following independent research in the area of transnational crime prevention. The topic selected by the author to research is the use of official corruption by transnational criminal groups to further their illegal activities. The topic is relevant to transnational crime prevention in that transnational criminal groups greatly rely on the use of various forms of official corruption to facilitate and grow their illegal activities. Transnational organised crime groups exist in all types of societies, whether or not there is a high incidence of official corruption. However, they are able to operate, remain viable and sustainable, grow and even become a serious threat to the state and civil society when certain conditions prevail. Such conditions include: Where the state is weak or corrupt or, more commonly, both. The agencies that are meant to control crime are unable to do so or else are unwilling, and instead are happy to be paid off by criminal groups or even work with them. The legal, political and economic systems fail to meet the needs of the society, or at least a significant section of them. In such circumstances, desire for illegal goods and services, such as drugs or other contraband, is often high and organised crime groups can and will fill any vacuum created by the weakness of the state to and provide essential and non essential services, including protection. If, for example, people do not believe that the police can or will protect them and their property, then paying criminals for protection may, in many circumstances, seem necessary and inevitable. Official corruption takes many forms and involves many different types of officialdom, from elected politicians, to officials in various ministries, including law enforcement agencies. The aim of this project is to put forward a definition of official corruption that best suits the purposes of research into the ways

No need for topic Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

No need for topic - Case Study Example Herr acted on instinct, even though he gambled he eventually bought the Boeings when the dollar was at its lowest. In that aspect, Herr should not be accused of mistimed purchasing and thus should be retained as the chairman of Lufthansa airlines by the board. 2. Even though he had expected the dollar to depreciate, he would not have left the whole amount unhedged, due to a variety of factors. First Herr was not sure that the dollar was going to depreciate; he was just going by his instincts. In that aspect living, the whole amount unhedged would have lead to the firm using more money in purchasing the Boeings. Hedging half the amount was a brilliant idea as it ensured that either way; the company would not use a lot of money in buying the Boeings. If Herr had left the whole amount unhedged and the dollar appreciated further, the organization would have used the colossal amount of money in buying the Boeings. However, hedging half ensured that the firm was cushioned whether the dollar appreciated or depreciated the firm would still benefit. Faced with such uncertainties Herr made a wise decision in hedging half the amount. Remaining uncovered as contemplated by the board would have had a positive impact, however, if the dollar would have appreciated and Herr’s anticipation proved wrong, then the firm would have lost a lot of money. Some of the risks associated with remaining uncovered include; higher spending. Full forward cover also has some advantages as well as disadvantages. The advantage of full forward cover is that the firm would have been protected adequately against currency exposure. However, taking such a risk in purchasing would have been a dangerous option, most companies prefer taking such a risk in other lines of business other than purchasing. 3. Herr had expected the dollar to depreciate, however, leaving the whole amount unhedged was risky, and however using forward contracts was not a good idea. Herr was

A Detailed Analysis of the OpenOffice Research Paper

A Detailed Analysis of the OpenOffice - Research Paper Example In addition, the twin licensing system outlines that we are permitted to select either license. Moreover, both the LGPL and SISSL are OSI accepted as open source system licenses (OpenOffice1, 2012; OpenOffice, 2010). Application Similar to all other open source software applications, OpenOffice can be used as a commercial tool. In fact, as compared to other freeware applications, open source software is not restricted to only educational or personal use. In addition, there is no limit on where or how we utilize this software. Additionally, there are numerous applications of OpenOffice software. In this scenario, one of the key applications is Word processor application for creating documents. It also includes Spreadsheet-based application that is similar to MS Excel. Moreover, it also contains a Presentation Package for the creation of presentations. Furthermore, similar to MS Access, OpenOffice also offers database management system capability. As well, one of the most popular tools that OpenOffice contains is a drawing tool that is missing in traditional MS Office Package (OpenOffice1, 2012; OpenOffice, 2010). Goals OpenOffice.org is going to launch a 3rd version of the OpenOffice in the market, which is the result of over 20 years' software engineering. Intended from the initiate as a single element of software, it has reliability other products cannot compete. In addition, a totally open development procedure outlines that anybody is able to report bugs, can add new and innovative features, or improve the software. Moreover, OpenOffice.org version 3 offers everything that we need from our office software to carry out, the way we want to use it (OpenOffice1, 2012; OpenOffice, 2010).  Similar to all other open source software applications, OpenOffice can be used as a commercial tool. In fact, as compared to other freeware applications, open source software is not restricted to only educational or personal use. In addition, there is no limit on where or how we utilize this software. Additionally, there are numerous applications of OpenOffice software.  

Cancer Research and Funding Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Cancer and Funding - Research Paper Example cancer’s condition, with which it kills its victims, many organizations have ventured into research to address various aspects pertaining to how it can be controlled. For the past one hundred years, the American Cancer Society has been at the forefront in addressing different issues pertaining to cancer, most especially, on how it can be transformed from being deadly to preventable. Based on this perspective, this paper analyzes the different aspects of cancer with regard to its research and funding. Cancer has very diverse, complex, and least understood causes, and in the current situations in which lifestyles have changed significantly, more causes have actually been attributed to the changed lifestyles among many (Patlak and Sharyl 147). There are a number of elements considered to cause cancer including dietary factors, tobacco, environmental factors, exposure to certain elements such as radiation, and obesity among others. All these cause severe damage to cells in certain instances or even result into mutation of cells to cause cancer in other instances. Because a majority of cancer causes are elements that people interact with on choice, has is indeed preventable. This has been one of the reasons for which research has been established to address the different aspects on the causes and prevention of cancer. Some of the preventive measures against cancer include increased intake of fruits and vegetables in addition to whole grains, less consumption of refined foods, constan t exercising, and little radiation exposure (Langwith 108). Initially, cancer was considered as a condition for the rich but the current trend in which it knows no boundaries has raised concerns and increased the calls for research. The major areas that the research seeks to address include preventive measures and treatment procedures for those already affected. Considering the complexity of cancer in how it occurs, calls for detailed research in order to reach an all-inclusive

Discussions about sex gender and society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussions about sex gender and society - Essay Example drag queens giving a very conscious illustration of glamorous women that shows security and a sense of belonging within the gay community, showing a type of power relationship that defies femininity. What is interesting is that Paris is Burning tends to show that queers’ bodies have become instruments that elicit hatred and contempt. Gay drag queens appear more comfortable in their skin when exemplifying the ideal of severe femininity and a sense of self-hatred when forced to engage in social activities without costume. It is perhaps because society has constructed norms that applaud heterosexual ideals (the ultra-feminine woman persona), but chastise when gay men give off femininity in their inherent male form. The documentary is an interesting case study of how established social norms regarding gender determine self-esteem for a queer out of costume and when in costume in terms of their perspective on social belonging. When Ru Paul is discussing the drag transformation that the jocks will be undertaking, he says, â€Å"so put some muscle into it†, as though making appeals toward masculinity that underpins the typical jock. He wants the jocks to be comfortable and excited about being turned into a drag queen, using discourse associated with gender stereotypes of masculinity. It is as if the jocks might be shamed or less motivated if he were to use the same feminine mannerisms he uses with other drag queens. This is an interesting idea for representing how gender roles are socially constructed. He must appeal to the stereotypical construction of masculine attitude and behavior to affect a genuine desire to participate in this transformation. Sharon Osbourne, the judge, states that one drag queen looks very vulnerable, yet comments that the male in costume is doing the best he can. In other episodes, judges are very critical of poor femininity and glamour in performance, but here there is a type of social sensitivity for the straight drag queens in order to

China's Air pollution Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

China's Air pollution - Term Paper Example In this situation, China is faced with a major debate. The country is one of the highest contributors of environmental pollution; particularly the air. The air is an important part of human life and it is an established belief that the microscopic particles that people inhale while breathing can potentially cause serious damage to their health. The amount of damage is dependent on the level of concentration of pollutants in the air. These pollutants are emitted in to the environment through various industrial and economic activities, which in turn increases the concentration level of pollutants in the air. There are a number of factors that affect the relationship between emission of pollutants and their concentration in the air. However, it is a commonly agreed notion that the emissions are an outcome of increased level of industrial activities in the economy, or in other words, the level of development activities that take place in the economy (Matus, et al., â€Å"Health Damages from Air Pollution in China†). Among the factors affecting the level of pollution in the air, site is very important. Certain places are the key source of emission; such as the center of the cities, and exclusive industrial belts. These areas are most populous; increased proximity to these regions affects meteorological conditions more than the other areas in the country, which in turn determines the extent of environmental damage. Secondly, the characteristics of the source such as the emission temperature and the velocity of emission affect the rate at which level of air pollution increases. Thirdly, physical dimension of the pollutant particles interferes in the level of impact cast on health condition of human beings. Hence the particle size of matter is an important factor in determining air pollution in the country. Not only are the humans sufferers of this environmental condition, other animals are also adversely affected in this environmental degradation (Ho, â€Å"Ai r pollution in China†). The Economic reform China’s economy has been reflecting massive growth rates since the past two decades. During this period China has undergone economic reforms and is now considered one of the world’s fastest growing economies. The per capita income of the citizens in the country has been growing at the astonishing rate of 9% in 2011 (Mendez, â€Å"Chinese Economic Development and Pollution†). China has been ranked as the third largest country that take part in the international trade. It comes immediately after United States of America and Japan. This economic reform in the country is the main reason that has pushed China to the position in the international sphere. Increasing importance of the economy in world trade has transformed the economy into a global powerhouse. There has been emergence of new factories and overall rate of productive activities in the country has rocketed. These industries obtain their primary supply of en ergy from the reserves of coal possessed by China. Energy is produced by burning this coal, which emits huge amount of carbon particles in the air. This implies that urbanization and development of the Chinese economy has also led it on the path of making significant contribution towards degradation of the environment.

Robert Mondavi Company Essay Example for Free

Robert Mondavi Company Essay California wine-maker Robert Mondavi has been one of the worlds most innovative and high-quality producers of fine wine. The Mondavi family did significant effort on showing the Napa Valley region to the forefront of international winemaking. Robert Mondavi is an Italian migrant and started his winemaking business since 1960s. His intelligence and passion in wine lead him to be a legend in Californian premium wine industry and owned brands like Robert Mondavi Napa Valley, Robert Mondavi Coastal, Woodbridge, Vichon Mediterranean, Caliterra and Lucente. Since 1979, Mondavi has also produced, in joint partnership with the Baron Phillippe de Rothschild wine family, the ultra-premium Opus One label. The company sells about 10 million cases of wine per year, with Woodbridge as its top-selling label. In 2001, the company earned $481 million in revenues and distributed wine in more than 80 countries. The Robert Mondavi Corporation went public in 1993, although the Mondavi family controls 92 percent of voting stock. Problem Statement How can the Robert Mondavi Company strengthen their competitive advantages and thrive in the long run in the global wine industry with many established and consolidated competitors. External Analyses – Porter’s Five Forces †¢Buyers The bargaining power of buyers in the wine industry is fairly high due to their concentrated control of sales at both wholesale and retail levels. Several large distributors control a substantial share of the market and generate most of the revenue for wine producers such as Mondavi. At the retail level, supermarkets and discount chains have become more concentrated, often accounting for 70% or more of off-premise sales in Europe. In fact, Mondavi’s largest wholesaler, Southern Wine and Spirits, accounted for 29% of the firm’s sales. And Costco, the largest wine retailer in US, also accounted for 10% of Mondavi’s total sales volume. The  concentrated bargaining power of buyers gives the large wholesalers and retailers significant influence and power over wine producers’ business decisions. †¢Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is relatively low in the wine industry due to the large number of suppliers for raw materials such as corks, bottles, and grapes; and prices for these raw materials are relatively stable as a result of significant competition. This situation creates less bargaining power of suppliers. On the other hand, backward integration within the industry also weakens the bargaining power of suppliers because the companies can control their supply chain. For instance, Mondavi signs long-term contacts with its grape suppliers and works closely with growers to improve grape quality and availability. This practice increases the price stability and limits the suppliers’ bargaining power over the company. †¢Entrants The threat of new entrants in the wine industry is fairly low. Winemaking is a capital-intensive business that requires significant investments in working capital, as well as the cost of acquiring land. For luxury wine producers, an acre of land can sell for as much as $150,000 in California and $250,000 in France. There is also the fact that a new plot of land cannot produce revenue for several years, due to the maturity of the grapes. A new entrant must be able to sustain itself in the industry with no revenues or profits for a reasonably long start-up period. For these reasons, the threat of new entrants in the wine industry is fairly low. †¢Rivalry The threat of rivalry is very high in the premium wine business. Major focused competitors in the premium wine market include Kendall-Jackson, Trinchero Estates, Southcorp and Robert Mondavi. Large-volume producers such as EJ Gallo and Constellation Brands are also shifting toward the premium wine market. And even large alcoholic beverage firms such as Diageo, Foster’s Group, Brown-Forman and Allied Domecq are acquiring wineries to enter the premium wine business. The number of big competitors and  aggressive acquisitions within the industry makes the competition of rivalry exceedingly intense in the premium wine industry. †¢Substitutes The threat of substitution in the wine industry is high since there are many alternatives including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The alcoholic beverages mainly include beer and distilled spirits, while the non-alcoholic beverages include soda, coffee, and water. According to Exhibit 18a, beer accounts for nearly 55% of the World Market Share between the top 5 firms of beer, spirits, and wine, whereas wine only accounts for roughly 3%. Other substitutions include cheaper and large volume producers of wine such as EJ Gallo and Constellation Brands, which are both Mondavi’s competitors. Internal Analyses – VIRO †¢Access to capital Mondavi (MOND) is a publicly traded company listed on NASDAQ, which enables the company to extensively finance its investments and expansion through its access to the capital market. Mondavi’s access to capital is valuable as the firm raised approximately $600 million in exchange for its stock shares. Mondavi’s access to capital market is also rare since many of its competitors are still privately held or independent. In addition, the huge expenses and complicated processes of an Initial Public Offering make Mondavi’s access to capital market costly to imitate. Finally, Mondavi is organized to benefit from this resource and the firm has utilized its capital to invest in several new production lines, new brands, land acquisition and winery acquisitions etc. †¢Path dependence on land One resource of Mondavi is its path dependence on land. Robert Mondavi bought his first winery in Napa Valley in 1943 for $75,000. Today that land is worth more than five times that amount. Since 1943, Mondavi has made many similar purchases, and the land is only increasing in value. For this reason, Mondavi’s path dependence on land creates value for the firm.  Mondavi’s path dependence on land is also rare in the industry. Not many of Mondavi’s competitors have the same history with purchasing real estate as Mondavi. Since path dependence on land results from past actions, and since real estate in the wine industry is always appreciating, it makes this resource very costly to imitate. Finally, the organization is benefiting from Mondavi’s path dependence on land. Without it, the company would be spending millions of dollars on purchasing land, and would most likely not have the same competitiveness that it has today. †¢Organizational structure Mondavi has reorganized its organization structure into three distinct business units: RMW, Woodbridge, and Joint Ventures Small Wineries. This structure is valuable to the firm as it helps to enhance the brand clarity within the company. Customized sales and marketing strategies help shape the distinct competitive positioning for each of the firm’s brands. Although Mondavi’s organizational structure is not common in the industry, it would not be very costly for its competitors to imitate this structure. †¢Variety of brands One capability of Mondavi is its variety of brands. A variety of brands creates value for the firm because they can sell to different customers in different markets, thus increasing their customer base. Many of Mondavi’s competitors also have a variety of brands, making it not rare in the industry. †¢Reputation Mondavi has 16 different wine brands through company-owned wineries and joint ventures. Each brand had a reputation for quality in its market segment and good relationships with the independent growers. It is definitely a valuable source of the company. However, a resource is rare simply if it is not widely possessed by other competitors. In this case, most of the competitors of Mondavi all have high quality reputation and well-known brand name, so it is not rare in the premium wine industry. †¢High quality Robert Mondavi Winery has been recognized as one of America’s highest-quality winemakers since 1960s. Mondavi consistently uses only high-quality fruit along with traditional winemaking and aging processes to produce premier wines. RMC wine’s high quality has attracted a good number of loyal customers and rewarded the company a decent market share. Nevertheless, high quality is not exceedingly rare in the segment, competitors such as Trinchero Estates, Kendall Jackson and many other traditional European wineries also produce quality wines. †¢History Robert Mondavi founded the iconic Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966. As early as the late 1960s, Robert Mondavi Winery helped introduce to California such fine winemaking techniques as the use of cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks, and French oak barrels. The history is the valuable and intangible source of the company. But since most of Mondavi’s competitor also have remarkable histories, it is not rare in comparison with others. †¢Process innovation Robert Mondavi became one of America’s most innovative winemakers by introducing many new methods and techniques. These techniques included cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks, and the use of small French oak barrels as a way to age fine wine. He also enhanced the company by working with NASA to apply remote-sensing and digital mapping techniques which in turn helped enhance the vineyard. The company also developed a capsule-free, flange-top bottle. Mondavis innovative process is very valuable, because it keeps his company at the top of the industry. For example, in 1972 his 1969 Cabernet Sauvignon was named the best wine produced in California. Assuming these techniques are firm specific, Mondavis process is very rare and costly to imitate. Overall, the new inventions and innovative processes have allowed the company to be successful and earn money throughout the years. Alternative Solutions †¢Merger Mondavi is currently competing in a market were consolidation has become the  new norm within the past decade. Many of Mondavi’s competitors have been aggressively consolidating, and the results have been profitable for them. An optimal merger partner would be with a well- established firm that already has a market presence in different geographic regions, such as Constellation. The advantages of this strategy would be the opportunities that would arise from entering new markets and regions, as well as the opportunity to become more cost effective. By consolidating like operations in both firms, such as accounting, the firm can reduce costs and increase the bottom line. Another advantage of merging would be that the new consolidated company would have a viable presence in more market segment. The disadvantages of this strategy are possible public disapproval, as well as loss of independent reputation. Another disadvantage would be the initial costs involved with consolidatin g like operations, and other predictable costs of merging. To stay competitive in the industry and to gain market share in new geographic regions, it would be beneficial for Mondavi to consider the consolidation strategy †¢Global expansion Mondavi sells 90.5% of its wine domestically, but the United States is only ranked ten in wine consumption worldwide. For this reason, Mondavi should consider a global expansion strategy. The advantage of a global expansion strategy is the increased market share, and exposure to a larger customer base. Only 12% of Mondavi’s customers consume 88% of their wine. Mondavi must increase their customer base to stay competitive in the long run. The disadvantage of this strategy is the risk and costs involved when entering new markets. It is very expensive to not only place a product in a new market, but to also market the product and build brand awareness. Global expansion also takes a major time commitment and investment in human capital. These costs make it a very risky venture with no guarantee for success, because early-mover competitors, such as Southcorp and EJ Gallo, already have significant market share and resource advantages in these foreign markets. For the necessary reaso n of increasing their customer base, Mondavi should consider a global expansion strategy. †¢Sale of the firm The entire Mondavi reputation and history are built around the legacy of Robert Mondavi. When Robert Mondavi is no longer active in the business, it may create financial distress for the company. Mondavi built his winery from the perspective of a family business that produces high quality products with innovative processes and environmentally friendly methods. Over the years, Mondavi introduced new techniques to the California wine industry, and he also hosted concerts, art exhibits, and other cultural events at the winery. Mondavi has built his reputation and customer loyalty by producing award winning products and being involved with the community. If Robert Mondavi is no longer here, then his reputation and history may die with him. For these reasons, Mondavi might want to consider selling the company as an exit strategy. Recommendation and Implementation Overall, we recommend Robert Mondavi Company to merge with another well-established firm such as Constellation that holds significant market shares in both domestic and international markets. The new consolidated company would have the opportunity to enter new market segments and geographic regions. Cost effectiveness would be another huge benefit when operations and processes are consolidated. This option of merger is superior to global expansion in term of cost and time efficiency. Merger is also better than sale of the firm because it will keep the core competencies of the company rather than abandon the entire business. Once all the formalities of the merger are complete, the new company must start an integration process. The company must decide what name to keep, as well as what to do about the shareholders. If the company that Mondavi merged with is a public company, they must decide on how to convert the shares. If the company is a private one, they must make a decision on issuing more shares or buying out the current shareholders. The newly merged company must also start consolidating like operations as soon as possible to benefit from the forecasted cost savings. Finally, the new company must decided which brands will sell in which market, along with the appropriate enter and exit strategies.

Introduction to Personality Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Personality Essay Behavior geneticists assess the question of inheriting personality. Are our genes responsible for our creativity, aggressiveness or confidence? Examining personality traits through a genetic focus is an obscure task. Methods employed by behavior geneticists involve epidemiological studies, such as screening family pedigrees, conducting twin heritability studies, and adoption studies. Personality is best described as what makes up a person, their traits and individual differences that make them unique. There has been much research undertaken as to what actually causes a personality to develop whether it is nature (genetically inherited) or by nurture (the environment) research has shown that it is a combination of both. (Walter, shoda, smith 2003) Human society is complex and this presents researchers with difficulties in measurement of the environmental effect and to define exactly what causes personality. Psychologists and behavior geneticists have tried to estimate contributions made by genetics and the environment to individual differences through heritability. See more: how to start an essay Heritability is when research has been carried out to establish the contributions of genetics and the environment to a population sample. This is based on knowing the birth relationship (genetic relatedness), measuring the trait in question and making comparisons between groups with differing levels of genetic relatedness. The amount of variability in a trait or physical measurement within a population is accounted for to show how much has been inherited (genetically) and the percentage remaining is the environmental contribution. Twins were an excellent source of study since their DNA is identical. Before 1970 there was not much recorded information about twins, however there are now larger information sources and larger samples have become available. In Sweden and Finland the central recording of twins raised together and apart also improvements in the interpretation of statistics and technology enabled larger samples to be examined. Findings from heritability studies have shown that personality traits are associated with genetic influence, however this can vary depending on the trait measured, eg neuroticism shows heritability as 30% but measurements of extraversion/introversion show heritability as 50%. Measurements could be inaccurate as variables have to be considered eg environmental factors twins that have been reared apart may have still lived with a family member and could still be brought up in a similar way. The media stories have focused on successful reunions of twins previously separated, twins separated may spend years getting to know each other before they are researched which would be enough time to adapt their personalities. The time separation aspect could mean different things, eg some twins researched had actually spent some years together. (walter, shoda, smith 2003) Twin studies have often used different measures of a person, therefore the results may be unreliable unless the same measurement is taken each time. Other research in families involved examining differences in relatedness between other family members ie siblings, half-siblings, cousins, parents and children. There have also been adoption studies. Research has shown that nature has a proportion of about a third effect on personality, which would infer the larger effect on a personality derives from the environment. There is continual interaction between an organism and its environment from conception throughout life, environments that are both physical and made up with other people. Individual differences psychologists describe environments as ‘dimensions’ ie whether the child has been raised in a controlled or a relaxed environment, the mothers health and well being and the parents relationship. Personalities can change dependant upon the situation that the person is in. The Stanford Prison Experiment is an example of a social experiment where volunteers undertook new roles. Twenty four were selected after various tests to rule out medical, psychological and other tendencies. They were told that the research was to study the psychological effects on prison life, the experiment took place in a mock prison environment within the university. The experiment was cut short because prisoners became demoralized and showed signs of stress, depression and others lost touch with reality. Guards behaved in authoritarian and aggressive way, some became sadistic. The research here showed that social situations have powerful effects on behavior. Researchers have used various forms of evidence that seem to indicate that personality is developed through an interaction between genetics and the environment therefore it would be wise to conclude that only a portion of a persons personality is inherited. Differing situations should be accounted for when comparing the results, to date it has been difficult to define what the exact ratio of heritability – environment is, research has shown heritability to be approximately 30%. References Introduction to Personality: Toward An Integration, Seventh Edition by Walter Mischel, Yuichi Shoda, and Ronald E. Smith. John Wiley Sons; 7th edition 10 Jul 2003

International Legal Position on Software Patents

International Legal Position on Software Patents Title ‘Discuss critically the current international legal position on the patentability of software and business method inventions’. Introduction As a general proposition, the speed at which a true global economy has been assembled over the past 20 years has been the dominant element in the re-ordering of international legal regulations concerning software and business method patents. The central premise of this paper is the that ability to regulate by patent the speed of scientific progress is akin to attempting to score a direct hit on a moving target. This paper will examine the relationship between global economic forces and patentability, first from the United Kingdom perspective as an example of a national intellectual property protection system. The analysis will then be directed to the European Patent Convention and its regulatory framework, with a comparison drawn between the EPC and other regimes. The supranational patent enforcement structure provided by way of the World Trade Organisation is the final international aspect of the review. These selected legal frameworks are not intended as an exhaustive summary of international patent law; they establish a useful basis against which the present question may be considered from commercial and public perspectives. As the following review illustrates, international software and business method patent law is a mixture of legal theory, economic factors, and philosophical preferences regarding the control of ideas and related technologies. The international intellectual property legal order is not so much a finite system as it is a still-evolving organism where certainty of result and clarity of legal purpose are not settled. Patents, software and business method inventions generally The term ‘business method invention’ is a very broad and circumstance driven notion; it is often defined by what it is not, as opposed to what in fact it represents. As a general rule, business method inventions are any design that encompasses economic activities such as buying and selling items, marketing techniques, financial schemes (e.g. pension plan organisations) and gaming strategies.[1] In the European Union, the historical distinction between patentable and non-patentable inventions was the presence of a technical component in the design or system; business method inventions were therefore inherently non-patentable concepts in Europe.[2] Software is a similarly broad term that is capable of bearing several meanings. For the purpose of the present review, system software is any software required to support the production or execution of application programs but which is not specific to any particular application[3]. Examples of system software would include a computer operating system[4]. By contrast, application programs include Microsoft Excel © or computer assisted drawing (CAD) programmes; this software includes source code written by humans and executable machine code[5]. Software does not usually include the data processed by programs unless the desired format depends on the use of computers for its presentation, such as multimedia[6]. Patents and intellectual property protection turns on two fundamental principles, the territorial nature of the protection, and the extent to which a patent holder may permit others through licenses or other agreements to use the protected property. Given that patent law is not harmonised to any significant degree, patent protection is at best a variable and imperfect tool to promote rights associated with software and business inventions. [7] As this analysis progresses, it is important to distinguish between the characteristics of patents and those of copyright. Copyright is the protection afforded to intellectual property regarding how an idea may be expressed or controlled. While copyright does not safeguard the idea itself, software copyright usually extends its coverage to the reproduction of software source codes. Patents are the legal protection granted by a country over an invention, its underlying methodology, or its function. Patent law provides more comprehension protection that that available by copyright, licensing, or other any other safeguards that may be created by a contract over intellectual property. A patent is commercially desirable because as it establishes a legal monopoly over the protected property for the patent holder, adding value to the protected concept. The American influence A critical discussion of international software patent law that does not touch upon the American legal position is akin to not mentioning the proverbial white elephant seated at one’s dinner table. The United States Patent Office historically has been the busiest such institution in the world; American based companies initiate more patents world wide that any other business sector. The United States Supreme Court was the first to legalise software patents[8] and the first major jurisdiction to give explicit recognition to the concept of the business method patent.[9] American influence has been important but not determinative in these areas; however, the American test for a business method invention patent as whether the subject concept leads to a ‘useful, concrete and tangible result’ is very influential.[10] The American approach may be borne in mind as the UK, European, and World Trade Organisation positions are considered. UK patents Reflecting the biases of the first English patent law[11], there was a long held reluctance in the UK to permit computer innovation patents. In the 1970s, as computer technology experienced incredible global growth, UK patents were restricted to industrial innovations, machinery, manufactured products, and tangible items. Patents were not granted in the UK where the subject involved the mathematical expression of a scientific truth such as an algorithm. Three recent UK patent law decisions are instructive in this regard. The most current and arguably the most important articulation of UK software patent law principles is Aerotel Ltd. v Telco Holdings Ltd.[12] The Court of Appeal considered the deficiencies of both UK and European patent legislation in light of modern global commercial developments. The Court, through Jacobs LJ stated that it had no concern for the intense current political debates concerning software patents[13], a statement that is difficult to accept at face value given the multinational nature of the case. However, the Court described the fundamental purpose for modern patent protection in clear and unambiguous language: The patent system is there to provide a research and investment incentive but it has a price. That price (what economists call transaction costs) is paid in a host of ways: the costs of patenting, the impediment to competition, the compliance cost of ensuring non-infringement, the cost of uncertainty, litigation costs and so on. There is, so far as we know, no really hard empirical data showing that the liberalisation of what is patentable in the USA has resulted in a greater rate of innovation or investment in the excluded categories. Innovation in computer programs, for instance, proceeded at an immense speed for years before anyone thought of granting patents for them as such[14]. The Court held that all (emphasis added) potential UK patents should be validated by a two part test expressed in the following terms: First, determine what the inventor has contributed to the art over and above a computer operating in a new way as a matter of substance and, second, determine whether this contribution lies in excluded matter or, on the contrary, whether it consists in a technical contribution or effect.[15] Menashe Business Mercantile Ltd v. Hill [16]is an equally instructive 2002 decision of the Court of Appeal, as the reasons for judgement underscore the fluidity of modern computer based commercial applications and the difficulty to apply traditional enforcement methods, in the context of the relationship between UK and European community patent law. The plaintiff Menashe commenced an action seeking UK enforcement of a patent issued by the European Patent Office regarding his interactive gambling software. The defendant Hill claimed that as the host computer required to operate the software system was located outside of the UK, there could be no breach of the Menache patent. The Court held that in this case, jurisdiction over the patent ‘lay with the punter’[17] – where gambling activities occurred by means of UK computer access, Hill violated the patent and the UK courts could enforce the patent. The decision referenced as CFPHs Applications, 2005[18] is a useful summary of how the UK and European Patent offices approach both software patents and business inventions; the Court strikes a blow for pragmatism in its conclusion that there will likely never to be a comprehensive definition of ‘invention’.[19] Accordingly, the court suggested that difference in the approaches of the UK and European patent offices should have little effect on how patents are enforced in most cases.[20] The complexity of each of the noted cases underscores an important barrier to enforcement the current patent system serves only those who can afford to litigate a patent claim. European Patent Convention (EPC) The European Union is the second most active patent registration regime in the world. EPC Article 52(1) sets out the general rule: European patents will be granted for any inventions that include a ‘technical character’.[21] Conversely, the patentability exclusions described in Article 52(2) include traditional business methods that have no invention or technical component. However, a number of concepts that combine technical and non-technical components have been approved for European patent, including an x-ray machine with a software component[22] and other computer related devices.[23] The language of EPC Articles 52 and 53 when taken together has resulted in significant confusion with respect to the availability of software patents.[24] The articles stated that ‘as such’ computer programmes are excluded from patentability, yet as of 2005 over 40,000 software –related patents had been granted by the EPO in a host of technology fields. When coupled with differing rules enacted in each of the EU member nations, software patent laws in Europe are decidedly ambiguous.[25] Europe has been an ideological battleground pitting commercial software developers against the advocates of Open Source Software (OSS)[26] over the question of whether software should be patented at all. The OSS proponents (a world wide constituency) regard software patent laws as an inhibition to true technological progress. In July, 2005 the European Parliament rejected a legislative proposal that would have expanded the ability of software developers to obtain patent protection for their inventions. Given the size and influence of the European market, the European rejection of tighter software patents may be an indicator of a larger global trend to make software generally more accessible and conversely, less amenable to patent protection.. Since 1977, patents issued by the European Patent Office have enforceable through the patent legislation of member countries; Menashe[27] is an example. EPC Article 64 provides that the national law is the only enforcement mechanism for an alleged patent violation. It is submitted that without harmonised European enforcement, a truly effective patent system is impossible; given the importance of software development, the persistence of the present system suggests that the software industry is not entirely troubled by the patchwork European law in this regard. This European legislative deficiency mirrors those of the global software and business method patent arena. World Trade Organisation (WTO) With more than 150 member countries and a host of trade agreements and protocols that touch upon wide areas of international commerce, the WTO occupies a position of apparent importance in international software patent regulation. The foundation WTO initiative is TRIPS[28], the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, ratified January 1, 1995. TRIPS is an initiative that represents the culmination of a series of multi-lateral intellectual property agreements concluded by the WTO membership. TRIPS has been heralded as the blueprint for handling international intellectual property disputes. In light of the European developments noted above, coupled with the resounding failure of earlier WTO initiatives[29], it is exceedingly doubtful that TRIPS will become an accepted software patent legislation standard. The ability of the WTO to enforce TRIPS must also be considered in light of how modern international commercial forces are often transnational entities and not the traditional nation state.[30] No significant enforcement action has been successfully undertaken pursuant to the TRIPS protocols since its enactment. What the future holds It is submitted that the current state of international software and business method patents is a natural consequence of the speed that underlies both the function of the global economy and technological development. A coherent and enforceable international patent structure may be laudable, but the speed and inherent flexibility of innovation operating independent of any government restriction appears to have spawned a new world order where rules exist as guidelines only. As Europe and the WTO struggle to resolve the patentability of â€Å"simple† computer software applications, science is relentlessly forged ahead with biotechnical and genetic software questions[31] that will pose even more perplexing regulatory issues. Bibliography Beresford, Keith â€Å"Patenting Software under the European Patent Convention† (London: Sweet Maxwell, 2003) Boyle, James â€Å"Fencing off ideas: enclosure the disappearance of the public domain† (2002) Daedalus Vol. 131, Cahill, Lisa Sowle â€Å"Biotech Justice: Catching up with the New World Order† (2003) The Hastings Center Report Vol. 33, 1 Caulder, Isis E. â€Å"Patenting Software – The Standards in U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada† http://www.bereskinparr.com/English/publications/pdf/Patent-Six-Minute-IP.pdf (Accessed January 28, 2007) FOLDOC (Free On-Line Dictionary of Computers), Imperial College http://foldoc.org/index.cgi?query=software (Accessed January 28, 2007) Guadamusz, Andres â€Å"Open Science: Open Source Software Licenses and Scientific Research† BILETA April, 2005 Ius Mentis http://www.iusmentis.com/patents/businessmethods/epc/ (Accessed January 28, 2007) Lerner, Paul and Alexander Poltorak â€Å"Essentials of Intellectual Property† (New York: Wiley, 2002) Raymond, Eric â€Å"The New Hackers Dictionary† (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1991) World Trade Organisation / Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/trips_e.htm (accessed January 28, 2007) Table of Cases Aerotel Ltd. v Telco Holdings Ltd. [2006] EWCA Civ 1371 CFPHs Appns [2005] EWHC 1589 (Pat) Commissioner of Patents v. Harvard College [2002] SCC 77 (S.C.C.), Computer-Related Invention/Vicom, Decision T 208/84 EPO (OJ 1987, 14) Diamind v Diehr (1981) 450 U.S. 175 Koch Sterzel, Decision T 26/86 EPO (OJ 1988, 19) Menashe Business Mercantile Ltd v Hill [2002] EWCA Civ 1702 State Street Bank and Trust v Signature Financial Group (1998)149 F.3d 1368 (Fed. C. A.) Table of Statutes European Patent Convention UK Patent Rules, 1995 UK Patent Act, 1977 WTO / Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property 1 [1] Ius Mentis http://www.iusmentis.com/patents/businessmethods/epc/, 1 [2] See the European Patent Convention Art. 52, 53, infra [3] Software definition by FOLDOC, http://foldoc.org/index.cgi?query=software [4] FOLDOC, ibid [5] FOLDOC (Free On-Line Dictionary of Computers), supported by Imperial College (Department of Computing), London [6] FOLDOC, ibid [7] See Pt. 5 (EPC) and Pt. 6 (WTO), infra [8] Diamind v Diehr (1981) 450 U.S. 175 [9] State Street Bank and Trust v Signature Financial Group (1998)149 F.3d 1368 (Fed. C. A.) [10] Caulder, Isis E. â€Å"Patenting Software – The Standards in U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada†, 4, 5 [11] Statute of Monopolies, 1623 [12] [2006] EWCA Civ 1371 [13] Aerotel, supra, 7 [14] Ibid, 8 [15] Ibid, 9 [16] [2002] EWCA Civ 1702 [17] Ibid, 1707 [18] [2005] EWHC 1589 (Pat). [19] ibid [20] ibid [21] See also Rule 27, European Patent rules [22] Koch Sterzel, Decision T 26/86 EPO (OJ 1988, 19 [23] Computer-Related Invention/Vicom, Decision T 208/84 EPO (OJ 1987, 14) [24] Beresford, Keith â€Å"Patenting Software under the European Patent Convention† (London: Sweet Maxwell, 2003), c 3,4 [25] Caulder, 5 [26] The Open Source debate is one beyond the scope of this paper. See Raymond, Eric The New Hackers Dictionary (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1991); also Guadamusz, Andres ‘Open Science: Open Source Software Licenses and Scientific Research’ BILETA April, 2005 [27] (n 14) [28] World Trade Organization http://www.wto.org> [29] E.g. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade [30] E.g. Microsoft; Cahill, Lisa Sowle â€Å"Biotech Justice: Catching up with the New World Order† (2003) The Hastings Center Report Vol. 33, 1 [31] Commissioner of Patents v. Harvard College [2002] SCC 77 (S.C.C.)

Film :: essays papers

Film Legalization: A Debate In the United States today, there is much controversy about the legalization of certain drugs. In a book written by Eliot Marshal entitled Legalization: A Debate, he talks about such circumstances. Not only does he just talk about the U.S., but the laws on drugs around the world. â€Å"Laws regulating drug use vary widely from country to country. In Malaysia, for example, substance abuse is a violation of religious law and drug trafficking is automatically punished by death. In Nepal, by contrast, the government not only tolerates the use of psychoactive substances but collects taxes on the drug trade. Policies concerning drug abuse in the United States lie somewhere between these two extremes and are constantly changing as evidence concerning the dangers and consequences of drug use accumulates.† In the book, the talk about Prohibition comes up. The author writes, â€Å"In time, Prohibition came to be seen not just as a failure but as a desperate and foolish mistake. Today, many people who oppose controls on â€Å"recreational† drugs - particularly controls on marijuana - cite Prohibition as evidence that it is futile to try to outlaw a popular intoxicant. The heart of this argument is that, even if it was desirable in theory, prohibition cannot be carried out in practice. People will find a way to get what they want, the argument goes, and outlawing a drug merely sends drug seekers into an illegal black market.† Another chapter in the book, which is discussed by the author, is Illicit Drugs as Medicine. The author talks about a man named Robert Randall. Robert Randall is a man who can just walk into a pharmacy and pick up a prescription that contains about 300 neatly packed marijuana cigarettes. He had taken this idea all the way to the court as being â€Å"marijuana therapy†. The marijuana is cultivated on a farm run by the federal government in Mississippi and processed under federal government. He had said that the marijuana eased the pain caused by his illness known as glaucoma. Glaucoma, is a progressive disease of the eye and optic disc that often results in blindness. Randall does not have to pay for the marijuana, because the government does not want to put itself in the awkward position of selling marijuana, an illegal activity. Marijuana has also been proven to help out other illnesses. For example, marijuana has been proven useful in preventing the nausea and vomiting com mon in cancer patients treated with strong chemicals and radiation.

Gay and Lesbian Issues - Gender Identity in Gumbys Adventures :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Gay and Lesbian Issues - Gender Identity in Gumby's Adventures When Jerry Falwell's conservative paper "outted" Tinky-Winky (the purple Teletubby) as being gay, fans of the Teletubbies television series usually fell into two camps: those who supported Tinky-Winky as a positive gay character and those who maintain Tinky-Winky has no developed sexual identity. A few unfamiliar with the BBC/PBS show asked the question, "how can you even tell if Tinky-Winky's male?" Brushed off by most fans as a naive inquiry, this concern does merit discussion. How do we, as television viewers, determine gender identities for non-human characters? How is this complicated for children's characters? Sometimes obvious cues are given to viewers. For instance, Mickey and Minnie Mouse are undeniably male and female. Due to current moral standards (at the time of Mickey's and Minnie's creation, but also now), genitalia is not graphically displayed in children's programming. Of course, genitalia is only an indicator of physical identity, which may be different from the gender identity an individual accepts. Instead of physical clues, we look for other signs of masculinity and feminity. Mickey is usually a man's name, although that is not always the case. Minnie is almost always a female's name. Minnie wears a dress, thus presenting herself as female. Minnie's high-pitched voice (higher than Mickey's) also forces viewers to accept her as female. The actions of Minnie are keeping with those of traditional females. It is not "Steamboat Minnie." Minnie does not break any stereotypes. Mickey controls most of the action, receives most of the press, and is the most famous of all Disney chara cters. It is Mickey's show; Minnie's just along for the occasional cameo. But what happens when clothes are no longer an issue? None of the Teletubbies regularly wear clothes; neither do the characters of Gumby's Adventures. Yet ask any child familiar with the characters and they'll like answer that Gumby and Pokey are boys. How can they tell? How do they determine those assignments? Defining Goo Goo, from Gumby's Adventures, is Gumby's closest female friend (non-family member). Her blue body is shaped like a cross between a seal and a raindrop. Long blond hair (made of yarn) signals to most people that Goo is female; her high-pitched voice and long eyelashes usually cement the decision. While a few physical indicators exist, it is the way Goo is treated by the boys around her that truly identity her as girl and thus Other.

Public Schools vs. Private Schools Essay

Public or private? That is the question. One important thing to keep in mind when determining a school choice is the long and short term effects on students and their views. The differences between them can help with the decision on which kind of school to choose. Public and private schools are different in funding and their learning environment. Public and private schools have different sources of support. Public schools depend on various government funding. One example being, they get funds from the state sales taxes collected from businesses, stores, etc. Another way they get their funds is by The Minimum Foundation Program, which is the state approbation formula. Finally, the most common way of funding is through local sales taxes and from the communities property taxes. Private schools, however, are not supported by money from the government. The main way they receive their money is the tuition payments made by the families of the students. Similarly, they’re also able to receive money from grants, such as The Private School Aid program, and also A+PELs Grant and Scholarship Program. Finally, charitable donations by the local community organizations play a big part in funding things needed for the  schools. Also, public and private schools have different learning environments.Public schools are generally known to have a poor learning environment. One example being, they have a tendency to be virtually all one race dependent on  the communities’ location. Also, their learning atmospheres are generally not a safe and secure environment. Finally, there would be more of a chance of being around drugs and violence. Public school discipline procedures tend to be more lenient. Often many rules are broken and nothing is done to punish the rule breakers. On the other hand, private schools tend to have a better learning environment. They’re mostly chosen for the well being of the child. For example, having strict procedures allows the student to have a more independent means of achievement. Also, they tend to have more racial diversity and economic groups, which put a better clientele of students together. And finally, having these procedures allows the student to focus more on their studies, rather than having to worry about what another student will do to them. In conclusion, there are different funding and learning environments in public and private schools. However, it is still up to an individual to make the choice on where to go. Some parents may choose public schools, because financially that is all they can handle. On the contrary, some will choose private schooling simply based on its learning environment. The better environment a student has the better protection and knowledge it will receive.

How Do Others People’s Feelings Influence Our Decisions? Essay

How do others people’s feelings influence our decisions? Other people’s feelings can influence our decisions. People have an incredibly powerful effect on us. We care about other people and we don’t want to hurt their feelings, and we want to make good decisions too. But, don’t let other people influence your decisions or thoughts too much. Because, sometimes the fate of someone/something hang on our ability to make good decisions. People’s feelings can influence our decisions, they can influence our decisions even more if they’re important to us. For example, Glee Episode 4, Kurt is a ‘girly guy’. His dad wants him to be on the football team. Of course his dad is an important person to him, and he wants to make his dad proud rather than being this ‘girly guy’. So, he joins the team and made the team won. But, Kurt’s passion is not for football, but singing. At the end, Kurt confessed the truth and his dad understands. I think it’s true that people’s feelings can influence our decisions, even more if that person is important to us. We don’t want our decision to hurt other people, like declining something that hurt other people’s feelings. In his book, â€Å"The Power of a Positive No,† Dr. William Ury says taking a second to stop and think it through will allow you to weigh the pros and cons and make an effective decision, which will yield an effective answer. Many people struggle with declining offers or requests because they’re afraid of hurting another person’s feelings. My opinion, i agree with this, many people struggle declining offer or request because they’re afraid of hurting another person’s feelings, but there are many ways to say ‘no’ without upsetting or hurting other people’s feelings. Sometimes when we make decisions, we need other’s people comment and sometimes people are too scared to make their own decisions, they’re scared it wouldn’t be accepted and hurt their community of friends. Marilyn Manson said, â€Å"A lot of people don’t want to make their own decisions. They’re too scared. It’s much easier to be told what to do†. I kinds agree with this, i think it’s easier to make your own decisions that being told what to do by other people, but sometimes it’s true that we want our decisions to be accepted in public/community. My conclusion, we don’t want to hurt other people’s feelings because we care about them, and we don’t want to hurt their feelings. If our decisions hurt their feelings, we will consider it again. There’s this quote that i like, by Keri Russell, â€Å"Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever†. We can care about other people’s feelings but don’t let it influence you too much. Sometimes important decisions must be based on reasoning and our own way of thinking. pls take full credits if you’re using my essay 🙂 twitter @AimeeJsminee

Of Mice And Men Report

Although Lennie from â€Å"of mice and Men† and Mrs. Jones from â€Å"Thank You Ma’am†are similar in a way the authors portray them as caring, there are diffrences in theses characters that help readers understand important themes in the two stories. Lennie and Mrs. Jones have little similarties, But yet have many diffrences There are some similarties between Mrs. Jones The main characters in the twon storys. Both characters are sympathetic towards others. Lennie from â€Å"of Mice and Men† showed many sympathetic action towards other charcters and animals. (pg. 58)An rabbits, lennie said eargily; and id take care of them tell how id do that George† this showed that lennie cared for rabbits. Mrs. Jones is Also very sympathetic for another. She show sympathy by helping out a young boy who was in need of food and money. Mrs. Jones bring a boy into her home and fixes him up a hot plate of food. The boy had once had tried stealing from her, so she sees if she can trust the boy by turning her back towards he purse while she was cooking, to see if the boy would runaway with her purse. â€Å"(Pg. 9) Theres nobody home at my house,† said the boy. â€Å"Then we’ll eat said the woman. † â€Å" I believe your hungry- or been hungry-to try to snatch my pocket book. † Mrs. Jones notices that the boy most likely had no one around to buy food or buy him clothes so she shows sympenthy by helping him out. Later on we find out that the boy was stealing to buy some knew blue suaed shoes. Mrs. Jones gives hime ten dallors,and trreaches him a very important life lesson. She shows him that you don’t need to steal to get what you want you ask or either work to get what you want in life. Despite Lennie and Mrs. Jones similarties they have very important diffrences. â€Å"Pg. 90) the woman did watch her purse to see if the boy would runaway, nor did she watch her purse when she left it behind her bed. † This action shows that Mrs. Jones is intellegant Because she left one of her great valuables behind her to test the boy if he would runoff with her purse. In contrast, lennie also had diffrences from Mrs. Jones. A matter of fact Lennie would have some else speak for him for he was mentaly slow. He was of say the wron thing and getting him self into trouble. â€Å"(Pg. 62)What the hell you laughing at? Curly † â€Å"Lennie looked blankly at him, ‘huh? ’† Lennie got him self into trouble and curly began to swing on Lennie and lennie cried for George/ George yelled for lennie to fight back to protect himself and lennie did. This action showed that Lennie wasn’t very intellegant to keep his mouth shut and be quite to himself. Also it shows how slow he is by having Gorege telling him What to do.

Homosocial and Homosexual Desires in “My Fair Lady” Essay

Today, relationships are hard to define. With the newfound acceptance of homosexuality, the border between male homosocial relations and homosexual relations has become fuzzy. The distinction between male homosocial and homosexual desires are what I will be exploring in My Fair Lady. In the classic movie My Fair Lady the relationship between Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering displays both homosocial and homosexual characteristics, and models the triangular desire defined by Eve Sedgwick. Higgins invites Colonel Pickering to his house and then the next morning invites Eliza to his house. This action of inviting Eliza to stay over after inviting Pickering can be explained as having both homosocial and homosexual characteristics. The homosocial interpretation of this situation is Higgins feels a strong friendship towards Colonel Pickering. Rather than having him pay for a hotel while visiting London, he invites him to stay at his home because it is the friendly thing to do. Higgins then sees it might be awkward for two confirmed bachelors to be living together, however temporary it may be. Uncomfortable with implications some people may draw, he invites Eliza to stay in order to maintain his masculinity and not have people speculating about his homosexuality. When arguing his actions as homosexual, his invitation to Pickering is not motivated by friendship but by his desires to have sexual relations with Pickering. Having Pickering live with him would be the easiest way to accomplish a discrete relationship. Creating a faà §ade, Higgins invites Eliza so society will not discover his true intentions. After bringing Eliza into the house and suffering through a few problems Higgins sings Im an Ordinary Man to Pickering. Listing some negative qualities of women in his song displays both homosocial and homosexual characteristics. A homosocial standpoint sees this as Higgins, like many men do, telling his buddy about all the drama a woman brings into his life when having a relationship with a woman. Just like women get together with their girlfriends and gossip about the silly things men do, Higgins and Pickering are doing the same thing. The two laugh about the silly behavior of women and can relate to one another because both have had similar experiences, bonding in a strictly same-sex, non-sexual manner. Higgins is also promoting  his own masculinity by noting the flaws in a womans character, expressing his views on why males are more superior then females. However, at the closing of the song, Higgins declares, I shall never let a woman in my life, implying his homosexuality. Rather than listing the faults of women jokingly, his song can be interpreted as a justification for his choice of a homosexual lifestyle. He even states, Why Cant a Woman Be More like a Man, implying women should lose all their female characteristics and become men, thus, making them appealing to him.Again, Higgins is declaring man the superior race and because men are superior, he has a sexual attraction for them which he may not share for women. Higgins focuses so much attention on Eliza while refining her and this attention can be viewed as his romantic feelings for Eliza, meaning his relationship with Pickering is strictly homosocial, or that his feelings for Eliza are a displacement of his homosexual feelings for Pickering. The homosocial viewpoint sees Higgins, transforming Eliza from a measly flower girl into a beautiful lady, his ideal woman. He felt an attraction to Eliza when he found her in the gutter but due to social restraints, he knew it was not socially acceptable for him to date a woman of her class. After her transformation, he is now free to love her. Ironically, the women he creates is goddess-like, statuesque, untouchable to the common manHiggins and Pickering strike a bet with one another on whether or not Higgins can pass Eliza off as a duchess. Higgins will have to teach Eliza proper English, dress her in high fashion, and train her in the appropriate manners of society. In my experience, not many straight men find giving a woman make-over to be very fun which is why Higgins actions can be viewed to have homosocial and homosexual motivations. A homosocial attitude on the situation would explain this as two men competing in a bet, meaning Higgins is only participating in activities categorized with the homosexual stereotype to win. The two are able to bond over the experience and in the process; Higgins can shape Eliza into the kind of woman he desires. Instead of directing his motivations for playing real-life Barbie on the premise he is only doing this to win a bet, the homosexual interpretation would focus on the primary action; taking a girl from drab to fabhomo. Lets face it, while this is a huge generalization, most men in Western culture dont care  about fashion, let alone womens fashion. If any two confirmed bachelors today were to do these same action, singing all through the house, designing high fashion clothes, and showing up at an event sharing one girl amongst the two of them, (with their kind of money they could get two or more girls for each of them) suspicions of homosexuality would be inevitable. This three way relationship between Eliza, Higgins, and Pickering forms a model of Sedgwicks triangular desire. Both men feel affection for Eliza but feel a stronger connection for one another. When celebrating their victory of passing off Eliza as a duchess, Higgins and Pickering completely forget about Eliza and celebrate amongst themselves. As Eliza becomes more of a lady each day, she becomes less of an actual person and more of a symbol of their creation, their relationship, until she completely fades out of the picture. Thus, Higgins constant displacement of his homosocial and homosexual feelings on Eliza are finally directed on Pickering, the person they were originally intended for. Homoerotic relations are present in several other movies, television series, and literature. Currently, when men wish to express emotions and love for their friends, in a strictly homosocial way, they are blocked by homophobia, fearing if these emotions are projected, they will be labeled homosexual. Breaking down current sexual beliefs and behaviors, I believe the entertainment industry is the most accepting medium for the varying degrees of male relations. I believe as more homosocial works are produced, men will find it easier to express their emotions and still maintain their masculinity and heterosexual identity. Bibliography â€Å"My Fair Lady† Directed by George Cukor. Warner Bros. Studio. California 1964

Brothels and Convents in Renaissance and Measure for Measure Essay Example for Free

Brothels and Convents in Renaissance and Measure for Measure Essay In this investigation I will focus mostly on the regulation of both convents and brothels in the time period of Shakespeare and the early Renaissance. Ruth Mazo Karras’ â€Å"The Regulation of Brothels in Later Medieval England,† focuses exactly on this topic throughout England and other European countries during the Renaissance. In regards to the convents I will be looking closely at an article entitled â€Å"Subjects on the World’s Stage: Essays on British Literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,† written by David G. The regulations of brothels in the Renaissance were regarded heavily. Karras says that women within these brothels were basically regarded as evil and as sinners yet they remained occupying the position of prostitution solely because of the sexual appetite of men; these brothels were considered â€Å"†¦a necessary evil† (Karras). The first parallel between women of convents and stews I came to find was that of the aspect of being forbidden from society in a sense. Women of convents were completely shut off from the public, no insiders could leave and no outsiders could come in (Allen). The only difference in the secrecy of these two places was the fact that the brothels were attended by men. Karras also states that the women of brothels were not given any rights that regular women had, â€Å"In some places, she was not allowed to reject any customer, indeed could not be raped because she was considered to belong to all men and thus had no right to withhold consent† (Karras). These two aspects of women’s lives in this time period play a major part in the drama Measure for Measure, and especially set up the scene in the opening act of the play. When Claudio sends for his sister, Isabel, to help him get out of jail, in which he was sentenced to death for having premarital (by the eyes of the church) sex with Juliet, Isabel leaves the convent in which she was about to take her vows in order to save her brother. Thus, we have an almost-nun and sinful intercourse immediately in Act 1, both directly related to the idea of convents and brothels and the women within these places. In this case, however, Juliet is not a prostitute but in the eyes of Angelo and the law is regarded as one because of her and Claudio’s unofficial and insufficient marriage. Brothels and Convents in Renaissance and Measure for Measure. (2016, Oct 13). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Risk Protection Measures for the Bank Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Risk Protection Measures for the Bank - Essay Example Bank A may have the option to propose an early termination date in order to avoid further losses (FN3). However the contract between the two banks should make provision for such losses and one of the best options open to Bank A is to enter into an ISDA Agreement. An ISDA Agreement allows a bank to operate in financial markets while conforming to strict regulations. The EU Directive 2001/24/EC dated 4 April 2001 has laid out specific guidelines on the winding up of credit institutions and will apply to both bank A and Bank A who are in Europe. (a) Article 25 specifically clarifies that netting agreements will be solely governed by the nature of the agreement that exists between the two parties – Bank A and B. Therefore, Bank A can cope with the risks by introducing appropriate clauses into the Schedule to the ISDA agreement. If Bank A has any intimation of the potential winding up of Bank B and then enters into any financial arrangements with them, recoveries will be limited, despite any risks. However, if at the time of entering the agreement, Bank A is not aware of any winding up, then financial obligations due to it from Bank B may be secured through the means outlined below. Derivatives are financial instruments that are used for financial speculation and their fluctuating value is caused by volatility in the financial markets1. Counterparties enter into derivatives for purposes of hedging and arbitrage to be derived in financial transactions through the management of asset liabilities2. Contractual provisions under ISDA Agreements include a Master Agreement which is standard all contracting organizations and an attached Schedule may be tailored according to the requirements of the two parties. Therefore, Bank A can tailor the Schedule by including a clause that will also regulate oral trading arrangements of the two parties.

All DP- CH-1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

All DP- CH-1 - Essay Example The paper discussed the prevalence of diabetes in South Asian women in Los Angeles County in a critical manner highlighting reasons and impact in the recent run. It was found that South Asian women suffer from diabetes mainly because of the genetic and lifestyle issues. They are well educated and supported by strong demographics still lack focus and dedication to deal with the diabetes issue. One of the most critical factors pertaining to the treatment of diabetes is based on the notion that, it cannot be treated and thus can only be managed and controlled. However, in many cases, individuals do not even take initiatives in controlling it rather than getting affected by it to the core and then taking actions and initiatives. South Asian women have strong demographics and weak social factors making them all the more vulnerable towards the treatment of diabetes in the long run. This report makes a conclusion that South Asian women are exposed to little awareness programs that affect their thought process. The problem lies in dealing with the diabetes issue that is dependent on the understanding of reasons behind the rise of diabetes (Mather and Keen, 1985). In the past, it was found that health intervention programs have been of great help but considering the need of mutual cooperation and coordination; at times; healthcare models and programs create very little impact and in the case of South Asian women, it was found that healthcare models affect for a brief period of time and then are of little use and importance considering the lack of continuation and zeal to take positive initiatives.

Is the world tourism orginasation overexaggerating the benefits of Essay

Is the world tourism orginasation overexaggerating the benefits of tourism and recreation - Essay Example The WTO has clearly delineated tourism and its possible benefits under the many classifications, such as : a factor of sustainable development, a cultural heritage promoter and enhancer, a beneficial activity for the host country and community, and ultimately as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment. With this agenda, the WTO has been promoting tourism across countries and zones. Tourism offers, an indirect way to balance the flow of money from the economically rich nations, whose people have plenty of money but are stressed due to lack of time and leisure, to the people of economically backward nations, but with relatively less stress factors and with backgrounds of more cultural heritage, historical monuments/preservations or rural wilderness. It conducts periodic research and guidelines as to what are the things that tourists should take note of, while embarking on tours and travelling across borders. Poverty alleviation program through tourism, has been vigorously ad vocated by the WTO. With WTO promoting the cause of tourism so largely, the world population at large, tend to believe more and more in the positive benefits of travel and tourism. On closer analysis, however, the question does arise, in one's mind, as to whether, the benefits of travel and tourism are really as great as portrayed by WTO, or is there some exaggeration. For this purpose, this research shall cite some case studies and citations to explore the cases in which the impact of tourism had indeed been beneficial and , how in some cases tourism has had some sort of negative impact on the people. Social Impact of Tourism Research findings of Hall et al, (1997), show us that the phenomenon of countryside tourism is found worldwide, and greatly encouraged to give a boost to the regional economies found in the area. The tourism movement itself, holds the potential to be diversified into as many ways as the following : Wilderness tourism, National parks, Recreation resorts, Second homes, Retirement market and Cultural-heritage tourism. As more and more people retire, they would like to move away from the hectic and timeless lifestyles that the developed economies offered, to more peace filled beach resorts or rural resorts or houses. Sometimes studies reveal that the very existence of farm lands and the pre-industrial development life-style is good enough to induce people to have a rural visitation. A case of Chemainus a town in British Colombia is cited as an example.( Murphy, 1981). How the nondescript

Sustainable Practices in FM Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Sustainable Practices in FM - Assignment Example The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 1997 encourages countries to make an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Corporate social responsibility requirements for all businesses has now expanded to include a duty to reduce and control carbon emissions (Lee, 2008). In other words, as a business organization, this organization is bound by legal and corporate social responsibility requriements to reduce and control carbon emissions. This report will identify the ways in which a business’s carbon footprint is made up, why there is a need for this organization to manage and control its carbon footprint, options for appropriate renewable energy solutions, recommendations in light of the building’s condition, type and location. ... 5840). Teir 2 businesses are those that create emissions from the use of electricity and gas. Teir 3 businesses include the entire supply chain and could include both tier 1 and tier 2 businesses for which the tier 3 business is indirectly responsible for (Matthews, et al., 2008). In other words, a business can be both directly and indirectly responsible for carbon emissions. This business is a retail organization and although it does not directly consume carbon at the production gate, it does contribute indirectly by purchsing goods for retail from production gates that do. In the meantime, this business also directly emits carbon in the use of energy such as electricity from fossil fuels. All goods and services including food and household products as well as transport, business products such as ink, paper, computers and so on are produced with the emission of carbon (Hertwich & Peters, 2009). This organization provides household products and this is significant because a study con ducted by Hertwich and Peters (2009) found that worldwide, household consumption accounts for 72% of all carbon emissions. Therefore as a provider of household goods, this business indirectly contributes to the largest source of carbon emissions. In addition, this business as a retail business, retailers contribute to a carbon emission in a number of ways. There is the direct emision of carboms from using fuels to indirectly contributing through employee travel or via the supply chain (Minahan & Sands, 2012). The Need for Reducing the Business’ Carbon Footprint There are two significant changes occurring in the market. First, there are countries such as the EU and the US that have

Migration Policy of United Kingdom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Migration Policy of United Kingdom - Essay Example The applicant work experience, higher academic achievement such as a bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees, English language ability which requires that an applicant should have a bachelors degree taught in English - will be given more merits and consideration. Migrants must also pass the International English Language Testing System requirement. The government will also deem the employment of illegal workers a criminal offence carrying a punishment of up to two years imprisonment. The new system also calls for the termination of 'chain migration', which means that there will be no instantaneous rights for a family member to bring in more relatives into the country. In addition, the new rules call for the automatic termination of right for residency for some categories of migrants and calls for an introduction of new mechanisms for an enhanced migration control. Although research on migration suggests that economic migration had given the UK economic advantage as migration is not detrimental to employment opportunities or responsible for depressing wages, some policymakers contended that the low cost of labour only benefited employers, but not the unskilled workers, composed mainly of many migrant workers. Immigration to the United Kingdom has increased considerably during the previous and the current decade. With continued economic development and historically low unemployment figures causing increased demand for migrant labourers, immigration figures have augmented to an unparalleled number (Pinkerton, 2005). As a result of this of rising immigration figures which caused apprehensions not only to the policy makers but also to the populations - 60 percent of the populace, according to a recent survey, believe that there are too many immigrants in Britain - lawmakers have tried to create efficient policies to handle migration (MORI Survey, 2006). One important part of the UK debate on migration is the question of how to control the flow of workers from the 10 new members of the European Union joined in May 2004. Under the EU terms, existing members of the EU had the alternative to put provisional limitations on the migrant workers from the Central and Eastern European countries. This was devised to alleviate any possible 'labor market shocks' which will occur as a result of the economic differences between existing and new EU member countries. In the months that followed, many other existing member countries began to put restrictions on the surge of workers from these countries with the exception of UK, Ireland, and Sweden. In effect, the UK government came under enormous pressure to put restrictions and devise plans to control labor migration (Shaw, 2004). Amid these new migration policies, new studies show that migrant workers have contributed as much 36.7 billion - or 3% - to the United Kingdom's economy since 1997 and more than one-third of that amount spawned since the appointment of 10 countries to form the EU-25 in May 2004. Nonetheless, the report, from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, stated the benefits had not been allocated uniformly, and had most likely added to an increase in unemployment among the unskilled laborers. Furthermore, the institute stated that about 5% of the existing workers has arrived in the country since 1997 - one third of those since 2004 - and that the latest migrants comprise 4.5% of the national wage bill. Recent research