2nd Degree Murder Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

2nd Degree Murder - Essay Example Some individuals are overly sensitive to some conditions that would be generally harmless to other people. In such a situation, it is easy to deliver justice since accidental cases would be remedied accordingly under the other homicide classifications. In New Jersey, the 62nd State’s General Assembly of 1837 deliberated and passed among other important resolutions that the State would need to be governed, the punishment of death. In the homicide intricacies that the General Assembly had to deal with, as observed above was to distinguish the various classes or degrees of homicide. Three general classifications were found to be definitive of the challenge earlier highlighted of the actual case parameters such as the intent of causing death and general threat to the entire population. Legislation effected later had a considerable reliance on the resolution passed in the General Assembly sitting of 1838. Alternatively, comparisons were made to consolidate the postulates of the American law with the prevalent common law practices. Contained in this discussion is the legislation in New Jersey and the common law position of homicide category of second degree of murder. In light of the elements of the two sets of law and usages, th e changes that have occurred in the circles of legal practice regarding homicide cases of the specified nature are also discussed. According to Lanning and Vroom (2005), general statutes of the State of New Jersey provide that there shall be two degrees of murder distinguished by the intention of the perpetrator at the time of occurrence of the death. The authors provide the Supplement 271 among other General Statutes of the State of New Jersey which provides for the first degree of murder to constitute such death caused by actions of an individual who commits the crime willfully, deliberately and in a premeditated account. The Supplement 271 continues to state that the other forms of murder fall under the second degree of

Siddharta Essay Essay Example for Free

Siddharta Essay Essay Teachers are important figures in everyone’s life: they prepare for future events teaching lessons and giving suggestions. The book Siddhartha, written by the German author Herman Hesse, shows a perfect example of education and understanding given by different types of instructors. The protagonist, Siddhartha, is the son of a Brahmin, and he has an assured future as a religious figure. He is unhappy and unsatisfied in the beginning of the novel: he can’t find the right answer to his questions. He distrusts teachers, because they didn’t teach him the life lessons he wanted. He doesn’t think his actual life can lead him to nirvana, the maximum status of joy and understanding of the self. The following quote proves this statement: Siddhartha had started to nurse discontent in himself; he had started to feel that the love of his father and the love of his mother, and also the love of his friend, Govinda, would not bring him joy for ever and ever, would not nurse him, feed him, satisfy him. (Hesse 5). He decides to embark in a journey to reach enlightenment, and during this spiritual path he learns some life lessons through persons considered nontraditional teachers, people who influenced his life, and taught him indirectly, such as Govinda, Kamala and Kamaswami. The first instructor that Siddhartha acquires knowledge from is Govinda, one of the most influential characters in the novel: Siddhartha’s best friend, companion and disciple. He is unlikely to be a teacher, mostly because of his follower behavior, but despite the reader’s opinion of him in the beginning, he reveals himself as one of the most important nontraditional teachers. The main feature of Govinda is the fact that he doesn’t choose his own path, he always is a follower. Hesse emphasizes Govinda’s status by defining him as a shadow: â€Å"Govinda wanted to follow him as a friend, his companion, his servant, his lance bearer, his shadow† (4-5). Initially he assists Siddhartha in his quest for enlightenment, but when he encounters another master, Buddha (an enlightened person with a group of followers), he decides to apply his philosophy and to become one of his disciples. This character is really important for Siddhartha, because, in the moment of his friend’s worst depression, the climax of his journey, he saves him. A clear evidence of this fact is the  following quote: â€Å"I saw you lying and sleeping in a place where is dangerous to sleep. Therefore I sought to wake you up oh sir† (67). This shows how Govinda cares about his friend and takes the role of a nontraditional teacher. Another quote that proves the fact that Govinda has a savior role is the following one: â€Å"Once, O worthy one, many years ago, you came to this river and found a man sleeping there. You sat beside him to guard him while he slept, but you did not recognize the sleeping man, Govinda† (95). The main teaching he taught to Siddhartha is that he has to find his own path; he has to embark on his own journey to reach the understanding of the self. This character will remain important even in the end of the story, because the novel finishes with his word s, meaning that Siddhartha has become a teacher, the figure he distrusted. The second influent person in the protagonist’s is Kamala: she is an attractive courtesan that makes the protagonist fall in love with her. Before Siddhartha met Kamala all he knew was thinking, waiting, and fasting(46). The main character meets her during a period on his life where he tries to focus on material things; he tries to find a different way to understand the self. Kamala represents Siddhartha’s entering into the world of greed and lust. She is considered a teacher because she teaches him some important life lessons; she shows him the best of what the material world has to offer. This quote proves her status as a teacher: â€Å"If it doesn’t displease you, Kamala, I would like to ask you to be my friend and teacher, for I know nothing yet of that art which you have mastered in the highest degree† (50). Kamala makes Siddhartha realize that the material world isn’t enough to satisfy him, it isn’t the right choice for his path and the right way to reach nirvana. He learned from her that he could not expect to receive love unless he gave it first. She taught him the the value and the meaning of the life in which he was living and the moments he had spent with her are considered good. She instructs Siddhartha in the art of physical love: In addition to being Siddhartha’s lover, Kamala helps him to leave his ascetic life as a Samana behind. When he met her, he had some ideas and principles of his previous ascetic group, in fact he was a simple Samana from the forest(45). Siddhartha, thanks to the beautiful courtesan, understands what love is, and after some time they give birth to a son. Her teachings include also exterior aspect and clothes: â€Å"I am beginning to learn from you. I already  learned something yesterday. Already got rid of my beard, I have combed and oiled my hair. There is not much more that is lacking, most excellent lady: fine clothes, fine shoes and money in my purse† (54). Her goal is to educate him about sex and human passions. Although Siddhartha becomes disillusioned in the end, because of the emptiness of his life in the material world, he cites Kamala as one of his primary teachers on his journey to find nirvana. The third important teacher is Siddhartha’s journey is Kamaswami, an older businessman who represents an instructive figure mainly because he teaches him the art of business. The protagonist, referred by Kamala, puts himself in the old man’s hands. Under his guidance, Siddhartha successfully enters into the society of city-dwellers: â€Å"When Kamaswami came to him to complain about his troubles or to take him to task over some business deal, he would listen with good humor and interest, marveling over him, trying to understand him. He would allow him to think he was right to the extent that he seemed to require and then would move on to the next person who sought his attention† (75). Kamaswami tries to teach Siddhartha about business life. He shows him the accounts, the goods and warehouses (65). While Siddhartha is working for him, he realizes that business doesn’t satisfy him, it doesn’t create any interest; more particularly, it does not stir his heart (66). Another quote that proves the statement is His heart was not indeed in business (69). Material things do not interest Siddhartha, in fact he hears a voice inside him, telling him that business and money are a game: Kamaswami conducted his business with care and often with passion, but Siddhartha regarded it all as a game (66). The old man, as a wealthy merchant, has qualities that Siddhartha refuses as a Samana. The businessman is obsessed with wealth, so there is a noticeable contrast between them. The life lesson he learns from Kamaswami is that material things create unhappiness. He realizes that money and business are not important: they are just temporary things. During his journey, Siddhartha learns some life lessons from different teachers like Govinda, Kamala and Kamaswami. All these instructive figures contribute to his accomplishment, contribute to the achievement of enlightenment and were indispensable to his spiritual mutation. Throughout  Siddhartha condemns and left his teachers, in the end he becomes one. For his whole journey he is the one who learns, and all his past experience leads him to become the one who teaches. Thanks to those teachers, he finally finds what he has been looking for, after all the sacrifices he did and all the difficulties he has been through.

MindTree: A Community Of Communities

MindTree: A Community Of Communities MindTree is a mid-sized 278 million Indian Information Technology firm known for its knowledge management practices, strong culture and values, and collaborative communities. Its strategy is to become a company that is consulting-led in the IT services business and intellectual property led in the RD-services business. Currently the CEO of the firm has set an ambitious goal of becoming a $1 billion company by 2014. This requires that employees innovate and create new businesses. How would you characterize the culture of MindTree? People-Centric: In an industry where all firms are assumed to possess homogenous skills, MindTree knew that, in order to succeed, it had to differentiate itself from its competitors. The company realized that culture and values were key elements that could be used as Soft Differentiators. Also, being a multicultural company, MindTree realized that it could not possibly manage all the different cultures efficiently. Instead, it decided to develop a common set of values which could be shared by people from across different cultures. The company has always strived to become an emotionally bonded organization. In this regard, the culture of MindTree can be characterized as a people-centric culture. Value-Driven: According to the MindTree senior management, Every MindTree mind is driven by CLASS Caring, Learning, Achieving, Sharing, and Social Responsibility. From this, it is evident that MindTree wanted to create a culture rich in innovation and creativity. MindTrees emphasis on aspects such as High achievement orientation and high caring further shows that MindTree aimed to promote a culture of high performance, stakeholder responsibility, cooperation and corporate citizenship. Transparent and Participative: Transparency and rich, frequent communication were cornerstones of the culture. Mindtree incorporated participative decision-making by promoting openness across organizational levels. This resulted in the companys 95-95-95 principle, which stated that 95% of the people should have 95% of the information 95% of the time. How has this culture been created and institutionalized? At MindTree, the managements belief that values drive behaviour and behaviour drives results was at the heart of all decision-making processes. Internalizing CLASS Values: Mindtree sought to internalize the CLASS values by integrating them into its recruitment, recognition, and reward systems. The process started right from hiring of a new employee, whereby the candidates were assessed on whether they would be a good fit in the organizations culture. New employees then participated in extensive sessions with the senior management, which emphasized the importance of these values in the companys culture. The process continued with performance appraisals, where each value had a clear metric and 40% weight was assigned to performance against these values. The success of MindTrees endeavours to internalize the CLASS values can be seen from the fact that 90% of the senior leaders voluntarily asked for 360o feedback on how well they were complying with the company values. Other initiatives like rechristening the HR dept. as the people function and giving stock options to its employees, have also helped MindTree in building and promoting its culture among its employees. Socialization Tactics: MindTree has also employed the use of several socialization tactics to foster and institutionalize its culture among its employees. When a new employee joins MindTree, she is given explicit information about the sequence in which she will perform new activities or occupy new roles (Sequential Role Orientation). As employees gain experience, they are allowed to pursue their interests by joining or initiating a community (Random Role Orientation). Senior employees at MindTree actively engage with new hires and act as role models (Serial Tactics). This not only helps MindTree imbibe its core values in the new employees, but also promotes the participative culture within the organization. Building Knowledge Communities: Knowledge management was another activity that supported and contributed to MindTrees culture and values. MindTree adopted a holistic, encompassing approach to KM, as it believed that KM could play an integral role in helping people perform their jobs better and develop themselves, which again reflected on its goal to be a High Achievement oriented and High Caring organization. To implement KM a work, MindTree encouraged its employees to self-organize and collaborate through communities of practice. MindTree also took a number of steps to build a supportive environment for cultivating KM. The development and contribution of the KM function has been discussed in detail later in this article. What role does culture play in MindTree Consulting? How does it contribute to strategy of the organisation? MindTree has always believed that its values are one of its core competencies and a key factor which differentiates it from its competitors. At MindTree, its values define its culture and are a cornerstone of decisions concerning future strategy. Competitive advantage: Core values such as Learning and Sharing have allowed MindTree to develop an extensive intellectual property base, which gives it a clear advantage over its competitors. MindTrees focus on building a people centric, emotionally bonded organization has allowed it to retain its employees, and has also led to higher job satisfaction levels among the employees. Together these factors have directly contributed to MindTrees success in delivering better service to its clients. Strategic Initiatives: 95-95-95 principle To ensure transparency and rich, frequent communication, two key elements of culture at MindTree, the management realized that it needed to make information available to its employees. Hence was born the 95-95-95 principle which aims at providing 95% information to 95% employees, at 95% of the time. The Gardener program As a part of this program, the leaders at MindTree actively engage with employees to develop them into future leaders of the company. The program stems directly from the companys goal to institutionalize its culture and ensure that the core values are carried forward by the next generation of leaders. The 5*50 program MindTrees participative culture and its integration with the companys strategy is best highlighted by this program. This initiative called on all MindTree Minds to offer innovative ideas for building new $50 million businesses from scratch. Knowledge Management (KM) would help in the ideation process and would provide critical IT systems support. The fact that MindTree entrusts its employees with resources and encourages them to build businesses, demonstrates the importance of culture in the companys growth strategy. What role have knowledge management practices played in developing and instilling culture at MindTree? Knowledge Management (KM) refers to the processes, activities and technologies that are specifically aimed at improving organizational performance, by acquiring, organizing, applying, sharing and renewing both the tacit and explicit knowledge of its employees. KMs role at MindTree, however, is not limited to helping employees perform their jobs better. KM plays a vital role in carrying forward the core values of the firm. KM enables knowledge creation, which leads to innovation KM enables the environment, which leads to knowledge sharing collaboration KM enables processes and practices, which helps build a knowledge culture KM directly enables changes and shifts in mind sets Knowledge Communities: MindTrees communities of practice reflect the companys socio-technical approach to KM, which emphasize social interactions as a means of enabling knowledge sharing and collaboration. A community could have members working in different departments. This ensures that the best practices and expertise of various departments go into creating the knowledge repository. It also ensures holistic development of employees who participate in the communities, through interaction with fellow members of varied expertise. Community Maturity Levels: The first level is a community of interest which is a collection of individuals who share an interest and enjoy talking about it. The main purpose here is sharing. The next level is competency building in which individuals learn from one another in face-to-face meetings. At the third level is capability building which enabled achieving better results in the company by improving existing processes, software and building relationships between communities and other organizational activities. At the highest level was capacity building in which communities would absorb knowledge from external experts and the focus would be on innovation.

Leading and Managing Change :: Organizational Development, Planned Change

Organisational development is both a professional field of social action and an area of scientific inquiry†. (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.1). Organisational development does not have common definition; however, it has more than one definition that expresses the meaning of organisational development and change. Organisational development can be best described as a â€Å"system wide process of data collection, diagnosis, action planning, intervention, and evaluation aimed at enhancing congruence among organisational structure, process, strategy, people, and culture; developing new and creative organisational solution; and developing the organisation’s self-renewing capacity.† (Beer as cited in Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.2). It occurs through the cooperation of organisational members working with a change agent using behavioural science theory, research, and technology (Beer as cited in Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.2). Organisational development and change managem ent deal with the effective implementation of planned change (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.3). The two terms deal with the leadership issues and the change process (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.3). Change is very critical process for every organisation and it is a characteristic of organisational development. Change is moving from one state to another; it is the inevitable aspect of life and the essence of any organisation (sharma,2007,p.1);it is the only constant and is moving target as change pace became so rapid so it needs effective management and leadership to be successfully implemented (Cummings and Worley, 2009, p.27). Change Management: Management and change are interrelated. It is impossible to undertake a journey without addressing its purpose (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.3). â€Å"Managing change is about handling the complexities of change; it is about evaluating, planning, and implementing operational tactics and strategies† (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.3). According to Armenikas and Bedeian organisational change is greatly responsive to management; its possibility remains high as managers strive for successful and perfect change in the organisation (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.3). Change management is a complex, and dynamic process; it is about finding best fit for the organisation to get best results (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.4). The environment is rapidly changing resulting from changes in technologies, customers’ preferences, alteration in the economy and many other factors (Paton and Mccalman, 2008, p.10) so organisations have to take the journey of change to cope with the external forces facing them and that is done through management. In order to be able to manage change effectively, managers have to look to the faults and problems found in the organisation, putting alternatives and stating its pros and cons, decide on the future state of the organisation and then implement the change process (Paton and Mccalman,2008,p.

Inequalities in our society: gender and sex Essay

Inequalities between men and women had been in struggle I believe as older than I am, as older than my ancestors. Everyday I see simple proofs that although we are in the 21st century, although we are living on the fast lane, we are still shackled with the shadows of the past. According to Gallup Surveys, in 1946 Americans felt by a margin of 54%-19% that women live more difficult lives than men. More than one-half century later that margin had increased to 57%-7% with most of that change swing to increasing agreement among men (from a 47% to 27% margin in 1946 to 52%-19% in 1997. In the 1930s, 26 of 48 states had Laws prohibiting the employment of married women. (It was the midst of the Great Depression and there were not enough jobs to keep the men out of political mischief, so married women had to go. ) As human beings it is only natural for a caged man to seek freedom. Freedom from injustices and realize their rights. One great example will be the foundation of ‘Living the Legacy: The Women’s Rights Movement in 1848’. In her ‘Declaration of Sentiments’ Stanton’s version read, â€Å"the history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world†. Then she went into the specifics. †¢ Married women were legally dead in the eyes of the law †¢ Women were not allowed to vote †¢ Women had to submit to the laws when they had no voice in their formation †¢ Married women had no property rights. †¢ Husbands had legal power over and responsibility for their wives to the extent that they could imprison or beat them with impunity †¢ Divorce and child custody laws favored men, giving no rights to women †¢ Women had to pay property taxes although they had no representation in the levying of these taxes †¢ Most occupations were closed to women and when women did work they were paid only a fraction of what men earned †¢ Women were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law †¢ Women had no means to gain an education since no college or university would accept women students. †¢ With only a few exceptions, women were not allowed to participate in the affairs of the church †¢ Women were robbed of their self-confidence and self-respect, and were made totally dependent on men Strong words†¦ Large grievances†¦ And remember: This was just seventy years after the Revolutionary War. Doesn’t it seem surprising to you that this unfair treatment of women was the norm in this new, very idealistic democracy? But this Declaration of Sentiments spelled out what was the status quo for European-American women in 1848 America, while it was even worse for enslaved Black women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s draft continued: â€Å"Now, in view of this entire disenfranchisement of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation, — in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States. † Here some additional aspects that the organization dealt with: help-wanted ads in newspapers were segregated into â€Å"Help wanted – women† and â€Å"Help wanted- men. † Pages and pages of jobs were announced for which women could not even apply. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled this illegal in 1968, but since the EEOC had little enforcement power, most newspapers ignored the requirement for years. The National Organization for Women (NOW), had to argue the issue all the way to the Supreme Court to make it possible for a woman today to hold any job for which she is qualified. And so now we see women in literally thousands of occupations which would have been almost unthinkable just one generation ago: dentist, bus driver, veterinarian, airline pilot, and phone installer, just to name a few. To site another example, an article was written about a woman prayer leader, an Islamic scholar at Virginia Commonwealth University, Amina Wadud. The organizers who invited her claimed that she is the first woman to have presided over a mixed gender prayer service in public since Islam’s earliest days. The event was held in cavernous hall in the grounds of New York City’s cathedral church of St. John the Divine because no major mosque would play host to it. â€Å"There are still men who believe women are not allowed to be leaders. They’re bullies,† says organizer Asra Nomani, an author. Furthermore she said that it was time that women take their rightful place alongside men. Last fall, at Chicago’s Muslim Community Center, a 6-feet partition that had long divided the genders during prayer was was reduced to 3-feet after several women protested. That enabled the women to see the ‘imam’ in front, and center president Mohammed Kaiseruddin says the change has helped women â€Å"feel like part of the congregation. † Another woman whose a Muslim, Nomanis , according to her fight began on her return to Morgantown, W. Va.from a pilgrimage to Mecca, â€Å"I experienced full and unfettered access to the holy mosque in Mecca,† Back in Morgantown, she decided to defy a ban that forbade women to use the from entrance and pray in the man hall with the men. Mosque leaders are considering banishing her for such disruptive behavior, but she feels she’s making progress. She prays in the main hall now and say,† they just pretend I’m not there. † For a more grave evident in the issue of inequality between men and women, it has been noted that violence against women has been called â€Å"the most pervasive yet least recognized human right abuse in the world. † The Vienna Human Rights Conference and the Fourth World Conference on Women were organizations that gave priority to this issue, which jeopardizes women’s lives, bodies, psychological integrity and freedom. Violence may have profound effects- direct and indirect on a woman’s reproductive health including: †¢ Unwanted pregnancies and restricted access to family planning information and contraceptives †¢ Unsafe abortion or injuries sustained during a legal abortion after an unwanted pregnancy †¢ Complications from frequent, high-risk pregnancies and lack of follow-up care. †¢ Sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS †¢ Persistent gynaecological problems †¢ Psychological problems The noted violence intentionally or unintentionally perpetuates male power and control. Despite the evidences a culture of silence exists and denial of the seriousness of the health consequences of abuse. Most domestic violence involves male anger directed against their women partners. This gender difference appears to be rooted in the way boys and men are socialized — biological factors do not seem to account for the dramatic differences in behaviour in this regard between men and women. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence. Some husbands become more violent during the wife’s pregnancy, even kicking or hitting their wives in the belly. These women run twice the risk of miscarriage and four times the risk of having a low birth-weight baby. Cross-cultural studies of wife abuse have found that nearly a fifth of peasant and small-scale societies are essentially free of family violence. The existence of such cultures proves that male violence against women is not the inevitable result of male biology or sexuality, but more a matter of how society views masculinity. Studies of very young boys and girls show only that, although boys may have a lower tolerance for frustration, and a tendency towards rough-and-tumble play, these tendencies are dwarfed by the importance of male socialization and peer pressure into gender roles. The prevalence of domestic violence in a given society, therefore, is the result of tacit acceptance by that society. The way men view themselves as men, and the way they view women, will determine whether they use violence or coercion against women. UNFPA recognizes that ending gender-based violence will mean changing cultural concepts about masculinity, and that process must actively engage men, whether they be policy makers, parents, spouses or young boys. The majority of sexual assault victims are young. Women in positions of abject dependence on male authorities are also particularly subject to unwanted sexual coercion. Rape in time of war is still common. It has been extensively documented in recent civil conflicts, and has been used systematically as an instrument of torture or ethnic domination. Resulting from the inequalities happening between men and women, Sandra Lipsitz Bem decided to create a book discussing the matter in psychological perception. Her book was entitled ‘The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the debate on sexual inequality’. According to Sandra there were three lenses that were evident: androcentrism, gender polarization, and biological essentialism. Androcentrism, defined as male-centeredness, moreover, these are definitions of male and male experience as a neutral standard or norm, and females and female experience as a sex-specific deviation from that norm. it is thus, not that man is treated as superior and woman as inferior but that man is treated as human and woman as â€Å"other. † Gender polarization is the more subtle and insidious use of the perceived difference as an organizing principle for the social life of the culture. This male-female difference is super imposed in so many aspects of the social world that a cultural connection is thereby forged between sex and virtually every other aspect of human experience, including modes of dress and social roles and even ways of expressing emotion and experiencing sexual desire. The last lens is Biological essentialism, which rationalizes and legitimizes both other lenses by treating them as the natural and inevitable consequences of the intrinsic biological natures of women and men. According to Sandra, the lenses systematically reproduce male power in two ways. First, the discourses and social institutions in which they are embedded automatically channel female and males into different and unequal life situations. Second, during enculturation, the individual gradually internalizes the cultural lenses and thereby becomes motivated to construct identity that is consistent with them. In line with my research, I concluded that our society have still a lot of work to be done to deal with the issue of inequality among men and women. Even in a famous novel like The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown the plot of the story was about the conspiracy of having a woman be seated at the right hand of Jesus of Nazareth. Abuses of women were told. Fiction as it may seem the whole story had a very astounding effect to anyone who read it challenging their faith intentionally or unintentionally. That was why there had been some instances where the movie of â€Å"Da Vinci Code† were tried to be banned on showing in other countries where Catholicism religion is dominating. I just want to reiterate from my comparison that authors usually based their pieces according to what they see, imagine or deal with everyday life. From my point of view, the author might have not said it literally but I know that he wanted to imply that we need look at how we look and treat women per se. We can never change the world overnight but we it can be done one step at a time, I hope that the first step would be mine. Works Cited Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. Living the Legacy: The Women’s Rights Movement. 1848-1998 Eisenberg, Bonnie. Ruthsdotten, Mary. The National Women’s History Project. 1998 â€Å"Gender Equality: An End in Itself and a Cornerstone of Development. http://www. unfpa. org/gender/index. htm Heise, L. Violence Against Women: the Hidden Health Burden. World Bank Discussion Paper. Washington D. C. The World Bank. 1994 Bem, Sandra Lipsitz. The Lenses of Gender: Transforming the Debate on Sexual Inequality. Yale University Press. 1993 http://www. trinity. edu/rmkearl/gender. html Chu, Jeff. Mustafa, Nadia. Her Turn To Pray. Time Magazine. March 21,2005.

Graphics Communications Industry Essay

Graphics Communications Industry, according to the College of Technology at the University of Houston, is defined as the processes and industries that create, develop, produce, and disseminate products utilizing or incorporating words or pictorial images to convey information, ideas, and feelings. Its products make possible learning, enjoyment, enthusiasm, and business. These products like books, magazine, maps, invitation, etc. are part of people’s daily life. Graphic Communications includes those market sectors that exploit the technologies of printing, publishing, packaging, electronic imaging, and other associated industries. They are often referred to as the graphic arts, print, or imaging industries. Graphic communication companies are entrepreneurial and innovative. Ideas are created on the computer and carried through different stages that can include the Internet as well as printed forms of several types and variations. Due to the emerging technological advances, companies in the business have expanded services such as creative design, e-commerce, web page design and hosting, mailing, fulfillment, and a multitude of services that provide parallel marketing beyond the major printing activity. (Education Summit for the Graphic Arts 1) The field of Graphic Communications is obviously a technology-based system. It includes the developing technologies of computer-age press, image generation, data repurposing, designing and posting internet web pages, interactive multimedia, digital photography, electronic digital imaging, and desktop publishing. Furthermore, it offers a lot of career opportunities. Thus, it contributes a lot to the economy. It needs millions of people in a range of challenging technical, creative, or professional activities. They vary from small companies with a few workers to large plants with several hundred people on multiple shifts. Almost all companies have acquired modern computerized equipment and stay updated with technology changes taking place in the industry. The top ten leading states in total number of graphic communication employees are California, Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Michigan. (Education Summit for the Graphic Arts 1) REFERENCES: â€Å"Graphic Communications Industry. † (2006). College of Technology, University of Houston. 7 April 2009 †¹http://graphics. tech. uh. edu/industry/industry. php†º â€Å"The GraphicCommunication Industry: A Quick Overview. † (April, 2008). Education Summit for the Graphic Arts. 7 April 2009 †¹http://teched. vt. edu/gcc/HTML/CareerInfo/PDFs/GraphicCommunicationOverview. pdf†º

Consumerism in Cloning the Consumer Culture by Noreene Janus

Consumerism in Cloning the Consumer Culture by Noreene Janus Definition and significance Consumerism refers to the process of creating and retaining the urge to buy goods and services in larger volumes in a socially and economically accepted order. It can be a crucial and vital process in the growth of the economy of a country particularly in developing countries .In his article Consumerism Dr Ashfaque H Khan attributes Pakistan’s sturdy economic growth that span for a period of five years (between 2003 and 2007) to the process of consumerism.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Consumerism in â€Å"Cloning the Consumer Culture† by Noreene Janus specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The country’s growth was reportedly at 7% per annum on average for the whole period. This effect is due to the fact that consumerism takes up a share of between seventy and seventy five percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). During this particular period it was close to 72 percent . Sixty percent of India’s GDP also depends on consumption and is projected to increase by the year 2025 (Khan 1). How it works The process by which consumerism increases and retains the growth momentum is a consequence of the linkage between the growth of the economy, increase in the per capita income, raising consuption, increase in retail space and popularization of products. Khan explains that increased economic growth causes an alteration in the consumption pattern through the upsurge in per capita income. Weakening of laws prohibiting entry international products results in flooding of the domestic market with international products. The consumers become more informed and begin experimenting with the different showcased products in the increased retail store spaces. However, in â€Å"Cloning the Consumer Culture: How International Marketing Sells the Western Lifestyle†, Noreene Janus argues that the economic status of the consumers will greatly influence their pu rchasing power or interest. Khan proceeds to say that the growing consumer appetite encourages greater investments in manufacturing equipment and growth of the service industry such as real estate. The increased investments create more job opportunities which in turn increase the amount of disposable income available for the prospective customers. This act of consumption thus propels the private sector to expand in order to satisfy the now enormous demand. Despite criticism the method has been italicized by countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam making them a darling of the international markets (Khan 2). Relation between consumerism and religion In order to understand how to increase consumption of a product we have to know how these brands act as religion. An anonymous article in the Financial Times refers to modern day products as the new religion. Religion refers to what one believes in that influences how they relate with others.Advertising Looking for essay on busines s economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is meant to satisfy a psychological want of openly showing one’s self-worth just as brand dependence. Regions where people are more religious and ardent church goers’ products such as Apple which are brand name stores are bound to perform dismally. This is attributed to the fact that religious people tend to shy away from nation-brands of self-expressive goods but purchase tendencies remain the same for functional products. Atheists due to lack of a religion tend to take brand names as their religion whereas the religious people already have something to believe in thus they do not value these products. A perfect instance s is that of the Apple Inc. customers who viewed Steve Jobs as their ‘messiah’ while extending hostility to their ‘evil advisory’, Microsoft’s Bill Gates or HP’s Hewlett Packard. Therefore by understanding its consumers a country can influence the effect of consumerism to its economy’s advantage by selectively liberalizing the different market types or international product brand-names. The advertisements will be viewed as the missionaries of the brand-religion. How to promote consumerism According Andrew Lam assertions in his article, â€Å"Closing of Age in a Changing Nation†, the West has a great influence on Vietnam. People view such places as America as the places with the magical spar in life. Hollywood films are being watched and several people such as Nguyen want to take their loved ones to the United States (103). This is due to what they have seen in adverts on the newspapers and television sets. We can take advantage of these to promote consumerism. Janus says that there exists a transnational culture in the use of products such as automobiles, watching of Hollywood movies, shopping malls that generate the homely feeling irrespective of whichever part of the world one is in. The current global culture is a consequence of slight but spontaneous developments that relied entirely on technological advances, augmented international trade and air travels. Forging customers Transactional culture is based on the consumption of a product and relies on advertising to pass the message of ingestion in a simple but understandable way. According to Janus, an advertiser is supposed to rely on the positives such as excitement, youth, status or fashion while avoiding the resultant social incongruities, class variances or workplace disagreements. Consumer freedom of choice should be offered as an alternative to political democracy. The advertiser should capitalize on the fact that the only means of self-expression for social change available to a great majority of the people is the freedom to choose between varieties of products. Transnational culture will only hold once the local cultural differences are done away with.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Consumerism in â€Å"Cloning the Consumer Culture† by Noreene Janus specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Engaging in a global marketing strategy where a similar advertising message is used in all the countries is an effective method. Targeting the poor families in the 3rd world countries in the advertising campaigns is also bound to bear fruit as these people can contribute money amongst themselves to raise the required amounts. Use of global media A crucial factor in the creation of the transnational culture is the swiftness and the scope of transmission of the intended advert through media such as television, newspapers and magazines. A company should therefore ensure these media convey the adverts appropriately particularly in television which is efficient with illiterate people. This is according to Greys Advertising International in Janus’ article advertising using such media may alter the thinking of the customers. For example, when light-skin products are advertised through television they persuade African women to hate their completion and try to be white. These way breaching products are sold to these women. Governments and consumerism The Government of the day plays a vital role in promotion or limitation of consumerism in their country. According to Khan and Lam Vietnam government has promoted the process by allowing sales of international products to its citizens indiscriminately. For India the last decade has seen its GDP grow at an average of 7 percent and the per capita income rise by two points lower. This can be attributed to the increased middle class who have in turn raised the demand higher. Through this, the government has recognized the importance of developing consumerism and brand-awareness as ingredient maintaining high economic growth. To nurture this more, the government came up a retail FDI policy five years ago that has greatly benefited the foreign retail ers such as Rino Greggio (Argentina). This policy does not only boost the consumption rate it also sets India apart from other countries of the world. The steady economic growth of China over the last thirty years has witnessed expansion of the middle class purchasing power making it the leading consumer market in the world. According to Khan China also has the second largest number of luxury goods consumers in the world (2). In order to uphold this, the government has a 5-year plan being one of its priorities. Moreover, other nations are beginning to value the role of consumerism in their economic growth and are putting measures in place in readiness. Conclusion Consumerism can be used as a way of encouraging and supporting economic growth for any nation as discussed above. It can also be used as a measure of the standards of livings of the people while mirroring the resilient middle class in the economy. The aim of any government is to upgrade the standards of living of its people . When used appropriately consumerism can serve as diligent tool for that goal. Were it not for consumerism, India would not be a member of the elite G-20 group (Khan 2).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Professionals who undermine the usefulness of this process end upbringing down the economies of their countries. A good example is Pakistan whose economic growth was diminished due to false advice by ‘professionals’ who undermined its usefulness. Countries such as Vietnam should do more to promote consumerism in order to improve the living standards of their people rather than using its resources to restrict the freedom of speech of its people. Khan, Ashfaque, H. â€Å"Consumerism.† The News. 04 October. 2011. 17 October. 2011. https://www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/324568-consumerism Lam, Andrew. Perfume Dreams. Berkeley: Heyday Books, 2005. Print.