The Rocky Road to Success

The Rocky Road to Success Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, a man who has walked down a tough road but never gave up on his goals. He was overlooked at the beginning but now he overlooks Lake Tahoe in his large house. Even though it looked bleak at first Stallone kept with it and ended up changing American views, the movie industry, and also he showed us that â€Å"It ain't over till it's over. † Sylvester Stallone's birth wasn't the easiest operation for a doctor. On July 6th, 1947, Stallone was pulled from his mother, Jackie Stallone's womb by the doctor's forceps which ended up severing a facial nerve.This paralyzed the lower left half of his face, which gave him his iconic look and slightly slurred speech today. Young Sylvester Stallone was born into a troubled marriage, for his first five years he lived in the infamous Hell's Kitchen going to-and-from assorted foster homes. Eventually his parents got their act together and they were all reunited as a family. Due to St allone's birth accident, his face and speech made him an outcast in school, which in turn led to multiple fights and poor grades. His father and mother got divorced when Stallone was eleven and soon after, he was sent to a school for â€Å"troubled kids†.He moved to Philadelphia where he attended Notre Dame Academy and Lincoln High School which is where he first started acting and was also a football player. After high school Sylvester Stallone went to instruct at the American College of Switzerland in Geneva. After a couple years he returned to the United States and enrolled for college. He enrolled at the University of Miami hoping to get a major in drama. Stallone's college life didn't last long because he dropped out to pursue an acting career in New York.The Jobs didn't come easy in the beginning like they do ow, but Stallone stuck with it and played some minor roles before he blasted off in 1976 when he wrote â€Å"Rocky'. This Jumpstarted his career to becoming the ma n we know today. Stallone owns a third of the world-wide icon Planet Hollywood. Planet Hollywood is a resort that has food, games, a pool, and hotel. The creation of this hotel/resort/restaurant gave people of the world the opportunity to look at some of cinemas most iconic costumes, art, and props. Stallone is also a dedicated painter. l think I'm a much better painter than an actor† Stallone states in an interview with Kate Roberts. He also believes â€Å"It's much more personal and I'm allowed to do Just what I want to do. Quite often in acting you have to play a certain part, you cannot speak as much as you want to speak. † His paintings can be seen in St. Petersburg. (Reuters. ) He also claims that he wouldn't take an acting Job if it interfered with his paintings. Some of his paintings depict his iconic creation Rocky Balboa. Sylvester Stallone wrote many of the movies he has starred in.In 1976 he wrote and starred in the hit film â€Å"Rocky', which eventually e volved into a six movie set that the main role as John Rambo a Vietnam War veteran. Stallone also wrote/co-wrote â€Å"F. I. S. T. ,†, â€Å"Rambo: First Blood Part II,† â€Å"Rhinestone† and â€Å"Rambo Ill. â€Å", â€Å"Staying Alive†, â€Å"The Expendables†, â€Å"The Expendables 2†. As an actor Stallone has had in ups and downs. His roles as Rocky Balboa in the Rocky saga, John Rambo in the Rambo trilogy, the movie â€Å"Cliffhanger†, and â€Å"Demolition Man† were some of his best roles. But after the success of â€Å"Demolition Man†, Stallone's career began to fade away.His career hit rock bottom in 2002 with the movie â€Å"D-Tax† which only earned fifty-five thousand dollars on its opening weekend (that's pretty bad). His career then took off again when he was 60 when he returned to the role of Rocky in â€Å"Rocky Balboa† the sixth and final movie to his rocky series. Stallone has earned many aw ards and nominations along the years. He has won two Oscars and won 27 awards and has had 31 nominations. He also holds the record for being the â€Å"only actor to open a number one film over five decades†. His career is still rolling strong today.Stallone is starring in an upcoming film called â€Å"Grudge Match† that comes out Christmas Day and had announced the production of an â€Å"Expendables 3† and also a spinoff of Rocky â€Å"Creed. † One of Stallone's greatest accomplishments was the creation of a little man with a big heart, Rocky Balboa, who overcame adversity and won the hearts of millions. In 1975, Stallone was out of work and his hopes where low, but then became inspired by a boxing match he witnessed, he soon wrote the script of â€Å"Rocky' in Just three days. He made his first mark in his career whenever he went to sell the script.He was the first person to write a script and refused to sell it unless he played the starring role. Nobod y had ever done this before but it soon caught on with actors like Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Owen Wilson. Most people shot him down because of his rule but he was finally accepted by Robert Chatoff and Charles Winkler and they soon began production. â€Å"Rocky' wasn't Just a hero but an icon for many, not because it was a boxing movie but because it was a movie of overcoming the odds, a true underdog story, and also a love story.The Rocky saga was seen as â€Å"this great symbolism of never give up and that your dreams can come true† (Stallone, The Rocky Saga: Going the Distance) or â€Å"A saga about America with the backdrop of boxing. † (Carl Weathers, The Rocky Saga: Going the Distance) these aspects are what made the series such a uccess. Today there is a marathon based off of the workout route Rocky took during his training in the movie called â€Å"Rocky 50K Fatass Race. â€Å", â€Å"Rocky Balboa wasn't Just an underdog boxing hero, but a full-fledged u ltra-marathoner, the waiting began.Someone, at some point, would emerge to stage a run based on the 30. 61 -mile course McQuade determined Rocky ran in the training sequence in Rocky II. † (Hamilton, Fun Run on Rockys 30-Mile Philly Route is On! ). The route starts at Rockys home and ends at the iconic stairs leading to the Philadelphia art museum. Rocky also left his mark n the city of Philadelphia; there is a statue of Rocky Balboa that stands at the front of the iconic museum where Rocky would end his workout run.When filming the scene of Rocky running up the stairs, Garret Brown got a chance to try out his newest creation the Steadicam, â€Å"Rocky' wasn't the first movie he used it on but it was the first nowadays in most films. Rocky Balboa also has been inducted to the Boxing Hall of Fame for his influence on the boxing community and the world. Stallone's other big hit was about a Vietnam War veteran, John Rambo. â€Å"Rambo dramatized the conservative pillars of the post-Vietnam period† (Wardenski, WhyRambo Mattered) this movie was about the Vietnam War but it was a story that showed that we couldVe won the war but we ended up losing because of the beaurocrats. Rambo changed how Americans viewed those who served in Vietnam. Rambo was the first real action hero, â€Å"setting a new standard for body count, property destruction, and a hero's view of human and material destruction. Why did Rambo change the action movie genre? Well first off Stallone created a character which became synonymous with big macho 80's fragging action but also because it was kind of smart.Not exactly a thinking man's movie but one where the characters ad some complex emotions that made them, want blow up the whole town. Thanks to Rambo and a host of mean-spirited vigilante movies, the Vietnam Vet had film options outside of hang wringing dramas about post-combat relationships.

Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball

Baseball is an international sport played by young and old, amateurs and professionals. After Team USA failed to win the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics, Barry Bloom wrote in March 2009, â€Å"And now it can't be ignored: The U. S. is no longer the undisputed leader of the game that was invented on its own soil. † (Bloom, 2009) The World Baseball Classic, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and supported by professional baseball leagues from around the world, is the first international baseball tournament to feature players from major leagues around the world (International Baseball Federation, 2010). The inaugural World Baseball Classic was played in 2006. The second was held in 2009, with tournaments to be held every four years (International Baseball Federation, 2010). Team Japan, Nippon Professional Baseball, won the first two World Baseball Classics while Team USA, Major League Baseball, finished sixth in 2006 and fourth in 2009. The basic objective in baseball is to win by scoring more runs than your opponent. Rule 1. 1 of Official Baseball Rules states, â€Å"Baseball is a game between two teams of nine players each, under direction of a manager, played on an enclosed field in accordance with these rules, under jurisdiction of one or more umpires. † (Major League Baseball, 2010, p. 1). The infield is a 90 foot square and the pitchers mound is 60’6† from home plate. The ball is round and â€Å"formed by yarn wound around a small core of cork, rubber or similar material, covered with white horsehide or cowhide, tightly stitched together. † (Major League Baseball, 2010, p. ). The bat, one piece of solid wood, is a â€Å"smooth, round stick not more than 2. 61 inches in diameter at the thickest part and not more than 42 inches in length. † (Major League Baseball, 2010, p. 6). While the rules and objectives are generally the same, just what differences exist between Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball? Major League Baseball is divided into two leagues with a total of thirty teams. The National League is comprised of sixteen teams and the American League is comprised of fourteen teams. The thirty teams play a 162 game schedule and compete for eight post-season playoff spots and teams are named after the city or state they represent. In contrast, Nippon Professional Baseball is divided into two leagues with a total of twelve teams. Six teams comprise both the Central and Pacific Leagues. The twelve teams play a 144 game schedule and compete for six post-season playoff spots and the teams are named after the company that owns them. Major League Baseball games are scheduled for nine innings. If the score is tied at the end of nine innings, play continues until a winner is determined; no matter how long it takes (Major League Baseball, 2010, p. 37). However, tie games are a possibility in Nippon Professional Baseball games. Similar to Major League Baseball, Nippon Baseball games are scheduled for nine innings. In contrast, if the score is tied at the end of nine innings, the teams play three additional innings. If no winner is determined, the game is called a draw (Williams, 2009). Major League Baseball players and managers place an emphasis on home runs and pitching. Former Baltimore Orioles Manager Earl Weaver said, â€Å"The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers† (Baseball Almanac, 2011). By contrast, Nippon Professional Baseball managers place less emphasis on home runs. Instead they focus more on the fundamentals of bunting, base running and fielding. Because of these differences, Nippon baseball games typically have closer and lower final scores (Hardcastle, 2006). Major League stadiums are standardized (Major League Baseball, 2010, p. 2). Infields and outfields are well-groomed grass or synthetic turf. Nippon Baseball stadiums, on the other hand, are smaller and irregularly shaped. The outfields are grass while almost all of the infields are dirt (Yates, 2005). While the rules are generally the same, Major League Baseball has more teams, plays more games, games do not end in a tie and teams are named after the city or state they represent. Players and managers focus on home runs and pitching and the stadiums are standardized and infields well-groomed. On the other hand, Nippon Professional Baseball has less teams, play less games, allows ties and the teams are named after the company that owns them. The focus is on bunting, base running and fielding and the stadiums are smaller and most infields are dirt. No matter the similarities and differences, both Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball have the same objective. Score more runs than your opponent!

Human Resource Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Human Resource Managment - Essay Example This paper approves that several writers have stated that the stereotypical view of diversity is limited to one of racial-ethnic diversity. This fact needs to be considered while building a multicultural team. The implementers of policy may view diversity in this fashion, or the organization itself might restrict its definition to such a narrow understanding. If organizations are to realize the full commercial advantage advantage of promoting diversity, they should have a wider understanding of the term, and more importantly, should examine what kind of diversity would help their organization most. This essay makes a conclusion that in building such a team the organization needs to show awareness to a number of factors. The organization should appreciate the fact that inherent prejudices that cannot be wiped out but can be overcome to allow smooth operation of the company. Training is one of the major inputs that will have to be employed for this purpose. The organization should also foster a conducive atmosphere that promotes mutual respect and accommodation among various groups. The experience of American Airlines in promoting a multicultural team was briefly reviewed to understand how this organization has achieved a good measure of success in this area. Apart from American’s commitment to the concept, its actions such as the promotion of Employee Resource Groups and Diversity Advisory Council have helped it to leverage the benefits arising from a multicultural team to provide better customer orientation, and help achieve business objectives more effectively.

Corporate governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Corporate governance - Essay Example management styles with those of the U.S. Many of the largest British multinationals, such as GlaxoSmithKline and BP, have merged with or acquired large U.S. firms, and almost all leading U.K. companies derive substantial proportions of their revenues from the U.S. The differences in management style and culture have become far more nuance. Large British multinationals probably remain more international and cosmopolitan in their outlooks than their U.S. counterparts, slower to act and less inclined to adopt the latest management fads, and less ruthless in dealing with failure and under-performance. However, there is vast industry and firm differences. Under UK GAAP fair values are assigned to identifiable intangible assets only if the identifiable intangibles are capable of being disposed of or settled separately, without disposing of a business of the entity. Under US GAAP, identifiable assets are separately valued and amortised over their useful lives. The separately identifiable intangible assets included in the US GAAP balance sheet are principally comprised of brand rights, which are being amortised over periods between 25 to 30 years. US GAAP requires the Group to record all derivatives on the balance sheet at fair value. The Group has decided not to satisfy the SFAS No. 133 "Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities" (SFAS 133) requirements to achieve hedge accounting for its derivatives, where permitted, and accordingly movements in the fair value of derivatives are recorded in the profit and loss account. (Annual Report and Accounting, 2005) The new era of globalise businesses and increased awareness in the stakeholders have given importance to the notion of Corporate Governance. The execution of the notion will have important consequences for investors, companies, and, critically, for the stock and other financial markets of UK. With the increasing globalisation when every country can be seen as an opportunity for the investors the lack of understanding of effective corporate governance can adversely effect the investment intentions of investors. Nowadays corporate governance is seen as the key of attracting investors. Capital flow seems directed towards the companies, which practice fair and transparent ways of governing their organisations. With the changing global business scenario the need of understanding and effective practise of fair and technologically advance corporate governance has also increased. In my speech I will first explain the notion of Corporate Governance. ICAEW (2002) has explained corporate governance in a very effective and comprehensive manner as " Corporate governance is commonly referred to as a system by which organisations are directed and controlled. It is the process by which company objectives are established, achieved and monitored. Corporate governance is concerned with the relationships and responsibilities between the board, management, shareholders and other relevant stakeholders within a legal and regulatory framework."

Metaphors For HCI Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Metaphors For HCI - Assignment Example Unrelentless research in the field of HCI has been mostly successful. Consequently, this has basically transformed computing (Brad, 1999). Metaphors are often used in daily speech. For example, people speak about time like it is currency or money. By employing a metaphor, time which is an abstract concept is made more understandable and familiar. By using this currency metaphor in respect to time, it becomes normal for people to spend, save, waste, give or borrow time. When we look at how system interfaces are designed, we can also view how metaphors play a vital role. The types of user interactions people do, the objects found on the screen, and names associated with commands are mostly based on terms which are familiar. Icons, desktops, windows, menus, pasting, cutting and copying are all part of the virtual interface metaphor. The desktop metaphor has been used by mac windows system from an early age. This led to the windows operating system designed by Microsoft. The current desktop metaphor poses some significant problems to its users. They have difficulty in; finding or organizing information within the hierarchical file systems, managing their reminders and schedules, obtaining a big picture view, and utilizing archived or stored information, which is often discarded by users so that they are not overwhelmed by it. However, these problems have been addressed in Lifestreams. As such, it is a better metaphor than the current desktop metaphor. Lifestream replaces conventional directories and files by adopting a time ordered stream of documents. The human memory too works this way in storing information. It stores information in a stacking order according to time. To locate, organize, monitor or summarize incoming information, Lifestream uses software agents and stream filters. Lifestream solves the difficulties experienced by desktop system users by providing a metaphor

Ecological problems Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ecological problems - Case Study Example For a start, it is prudent to acknowledge that such kinds of mishaps arise due to inexistence of clear-cut communication channels between various departments that constitute the City’s Fleet Operation Maintenance Bays. The situation can also be as a result of lack of quick and steadfast implementation of changes made over a given period of time in the City’s Fleet Operation Maintenance Bays and other departments that work in unison with it. Such kinds of mishaps have to be addressed amicably to ease managerial strains and enhance smooth operations in the bays and their affiliate departments. I therefore recommend that the four dumpsters lying at the power site remain there until an amicable solution to the quandary is constituted and implemented to the letter. This recommendation is based on the fact that, returning the dumpsters to the front of the City’s Fleet Operation Maintenance Bays would bring serious environmental repercussions and even unwarranted indust rial mishaps that would affect the Bays’ functioning and processes. Bringing back the dumpsters back to the bays would also pose grave health risks to the workforce that operates in the bays. In the meanwhile, before a lasting resolution to the impasse is found, I recommend that the concerned stakeholders in the department chart a temporary approach ahead to deal with dumpsters that will be filled before a permanent solution is instituted. What responsibility does Fleet Operations have? Fleet operations are charged with the ardent task of warranting cars and other automobiles within the City’s fleet are well maintained and execute performance to the uttermost. This calls for the personnel operating in the Bays to have experience in treating automobiles in the event of any required operation, executing habitual maintenance checks and make plans for repairs on malfunctioned or damaged motor cars and automobiles registered under fleet’s name. Furthermore, the fleet operations have the responsibility of reducing the number of oily rags disposed as a sign of being environmentally conscientious and more so, as a means of plummeting disposal expenses. To achieve this, the fleet operations ought to adopt effectual means and measures of reducing the number of disposable rags from the bays. Such measures include reducing drastically the average quantity of absorbents used and generated sequentially to reduce quantities of spills, drips/leaks and overfills that typically take place during operations (Committee on Health Effects of Waste Incineration, 2000). This is possible through implementation of trouble-free and minimal-cost pollution/contamination prevention mechanisms such as: Performing scheduled scrutiny of fluid storage spaces for spillages overfills or leaks. Perform habitual anticipatory maintenance checkups on equipment, automobile machinery and containers like replacing permeable container seals, and dispenser machines. Train baysâ€℠¢ personnel on how to implement and maintain excellent baykeeping measures and strategies. Curtail the trip numbers and distance correlated to substance shifting in order to lessen chances of inadvertent spills. Use of suitable storage and transfer equipment to avoid unnecessary spills, container breakages and loosening of seals. Case Scenario # 4 What are your first actions? My foremost reaction to such a scenario would be to ask the power plant supervisor to put off the cigarette since it is not advisable to smoke in such an establishment purely on health and hazard justifications. From his explanations that expose what one of the workers has unearthed, I direct him to thoroughly wash his hands because of his involvement in sorting out the garbage which is in essence, ‘ripe’ and has probably come into contact with the contaminated box. After he

English Composition. (Discussion Forum 3) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

English Composition. (Discussion Forum 3) - Essay Example There is nothing more perfect than the New York skyline which suggests various business opportunities and challenges one can find in the City. But New York is not just the Wall Street, the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty; it is more than that. It too is a place of culture as evidenced by the presence of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York Department of Economic Development , par 4). For people who prefer to be near nature, they can always visit the Central Park and the 265 acres of wildlife at the Bronx Zoo. After mingling with nature, one can satisfy his gastronomic desire by stopping over at any one of the 20,000 restaurants offering a wide range of culinary experience (New York Department of Economic Development , par 6). But the New York experience does not end here. Shoppers will have a heyday at New York visiting the Fifth and Madison Avenues which hosts some of the most popular designer boutiques. New York City is a paradise in itself. The unforgettable experience that one encounters in this city makes up for whatever flaws it has. It is the perfect natural environment where humans can exist, whether one fancies the unhealthy polluted air or the breath-taking scent of nature’s

Mid Term Paper on Peter Browning and Continental White Cap (A) Article

Mid Term Paper on Peter Browning and Continental White Cap (A) - Article Example As such, the case delineates the issues and hardships that Browning has with meeting each of these requirements and seeking to ensure that he does not take away from the magic that has allowed for this particular branch to experience a degree of success in the path; rather that he can try to maximize this. The reader is ultimately able to come away with an appreciation for how the best practices take shape with regards to the experience that Browning has and the way in which he seeks to elicit stakeholder support. Position: With regards to being for or against the article, it must be stated that this particular student is patently for most of the changes and the particular approach that was delineated. This is due to the fact that the change agent, Browning first sought to engage all of the stakeholders in the process and forge a path forward. This is not always an easy step to make and many agents of change fall into the pit of seeking to instantly begin changes for the sake of chan ge. However, the entire case cannot be considered as a best practice; partially due to the fact that the author references the inability and difficulty that Browning had with regards to managing the friendships that he had. Naturally, it is not the expectation of this author that he should have necessarily been able to turn his back upon the personal friendships and co-operative levels of understanding that he had built so many of the 20 years of his career building. With all of that being said, no single case provides a running tally of best practices for each and every agent of change to follow; however, the case of Browning is at least a starting point by which the student can come to better understand the conflicts and difficulties that are likely to arise. 1. What was Browning's predicament at White Cap? There are a number of predicaments that Browning faced at Whitecap. Arguably, the greatest predicament of all was with regards to the fact that he was tasked with the very diff icult job of improving upon an already productive and profitable section. Whereas many change agents are asked to come in as a means of improving upon a dismal situation and/or turning a branch of a given firm around, Browning was tasked with the even more difficult job of using his skill and expertise as a means of evoking an even higher level of profitability and competitiveness out of the White Cap sector of Continental Group. A secondary issue that he faced was with regards to the culture and the way in which many of the individuals with whom he would need to interact and engage were in fact old friends of his; as a function of the fact that he had working relationships with them at some point over the past 20 years that he had been with Continental Group. As such, seeking the best way forward without damaging an already successful business entity, burning bridges among former colleagues and seeking to maximize the utility of the branch are but a few indicators of the many tight ropes that Browning had to walk. 2. What should his change objective and time frame be? Many agents of change seek to delve right in to a situation without taking the requisite amount of tie in seeking to understand what is broken, what needs fixing, what can be scrapped, and what should be

Silk Road Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Silk Road - Essay Example â€Å"Both terms for this network of roads†, as Joshua J Mark notes, â€Å"were coined by the German geographer and traveler, Ferdinand von Richthofen, in 1877 CE, who designated them `Seidenstrasse’ (silk road) or `Seidenstrassen’ (silk routes)† (Pars. 1). After its establishment during the Han Dynasty in 130 BCE, the commercial routes have been regularly used by different peoples until the Ottomans imposed blockade on the routes in 1453 CE in order to cut off the Europeans’ commercial relation with the East. Along the passage of time, the routes have played significant roles in the international military as well as cultural relationships among the ancient and medieval nations. At any given point of history, the â€Å"Silk Routes† also have â€Å"played the role of a determiner of international relationship† (Elisseeff 45). Therefore, the routes have undergone various transformations, additions and often contractions according to the natures of the existing socio-political, geographical and cultural milieus of the world. Early History of the Silk Routes Historians popularly believe that the â€Å"Silk Routes† had been established in 130 BCE during the Han Dynasty. But in reality, its history dates back in the 5th century BCE to the 3rd century BCE, when the commercial relationships among the nations were being determined by the imperial influences and control over countries and nations. Before Alexander’s military enterprise began to expand eastward, the commercial relationship of Europe with Eastern nations was not that deep and intense. Instead, the Greeks and the Romans would maintain their commercial and trade relationship with few of the Middle Eastern nations such the Syrians and the Persians who were then in control of the Achaemenid Empire, and sometimes, with the Indian nations through the â€Å"Persian Royal Road† which would â€Å"come to serve as one of the main arteries of the Silk Road, was established during the Achaemenid Empire (500-330 BCE)† (Mark pars. 2). In fact, the commercial route between the Greeks-Romans and the Middle-Eastern had been facilitated by the Mare Internum maritime route, in the Mediterranean Sea, which easily connected the Greeks and the Roman City states with the Middle East, and by the Syrian-Persian Terrain which was much friendly to the merchants. This western commercial route, which stretched to the Indian Subcontinent, achieved individuality because of its contribution to the growth of regional commerce among those countries (Elisseeff 56-62). Though the Persian Achaemenids maintained intermittent trade relationship with the Chinese, it was not as frequent as it was with the Greeks and the Romans. After Alexander the Great conquered the Persians in 339 BCE, the root of the ‘Persian Royal Road’ (the predecessor of the Silk Routes) further became solidified. Yet the west’s commercial relationship wit h China did not open up. By the time, the Greco Bactrian was ruling in Fergana Valley of Neb of Tajikistan, Central Asia, the Han Dynasty was struggling against the nomadic Mongolian invaders of the Xiongu on the north-western border of China. The harassments

Ripple Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ripple Effect - Essay Example modern popular cultural texts have a major impact on the society because a number of aspects are now being talked about which was not the case in the past. It is a fact that media affects society and that too by a large proportion. This has been made clear by an understanding that gets its basis from the belief that media avenues and platforms in essence affect a great part of the society whether or not which likes to keep in touch with what is taking place on the media and the kind of attention society is being given to (Martin, 2011). This is one of the reasons why media is playing a significant role and hence the responsibility aspect has become bigger and better with the changing times nonetheless. What affects most of the society is how well the media is portraying the societal domains and this has been made sure of by the proponents and advocates that are making the rounds of the media circles and regimes (Hannabuss,

Fast Food in HK Essay Example for Free

Fast Food in HK Essay Fast food, as you can understand is the term referring to food that is prepared and can be delivered in a fast time. It is traditionally American style meal that always included French fries, burgers and soft drinks. Restaurants store precooked ingredients, once the customer gives an order, take-away can be ready in a while. To be called as â€Å"Fast food†, these foods must meet a few standards: good time management, quality stability and fixed price. It is a very popular meal style in some well-developed cities, since the people have a totally busy life. The first recorded fast food restaurant AW is founded in 1919 at the United States of America, and the second one is the famous company White Castle in 1921. In this century, fast food restaurants develop and most of them become chains suppliers. US people spent billions on buying fast food every year. The fast food globalization had now become a huge social issue. Nowadays there are over 500,000 fast food restaurants and thousands brands in the whole world. And today we are going to focus on the two head quarters in Hong Kong– McDonald’s and KFC. Introduction of McDonald’s McDonald’s is definitely the biggest fast food chain in the world. It founded in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald. Nowadays, over 33,000 McDonald’s restaurants were established in the worldwide. The products of McDonald’s are in various types, mainly hamburgers, French fries, chickens and soft drinks. Sometimes, they will provide seasonal meal to attract customers such as ‘Shake Shake French fries’. Following differences of choices, McDonald’s would also offer vegetarian food too. In order to fit the culture, they may change the meal a little bit for example not providing beef in India. You can always find one on the street, because there are in total 200 stores in Hong Kong. McDonald’s became popular all the time due to busy life schedule of Hong Kong people. Introduction of KFC On the other hand, the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) is the largest fried chicken shop in the world, and the second largest fast food chain after the McDonald’s. Harland Sanders founded KFC in 1930 at Kentucky in the United States of America. KFC practically sells fried chicken pieces, coleslaw and drinks. The popularity of KFC’s chicken comes from its original secret recipe which mixed with 11 herbs and spices. Not like the McDonald’s, KFC has a smaller scale with only 63 stores in Hong Kong. However, the numbers didn’t affect the KFC’s second largest place of fast food chain in Hong Kong. Advantages and disadvantages of Fast Food The biggest advantage of fast food is definitely FAST. People in modern societies are always in busy life schedule. Facing the hard workload, they may only have half an hour to have a meal and rush beck to their work. Thus, these quick service restaurants help to solve to lack of time problem. Meals can be prepared within ten minutes. No matter how delicious other food are, Hong Kong people have not enough time to buy ingredients, cook or enjoy. Second is the stability of food within one chain of fast food restaurant. Tastes are mainly the same in any store. You will never taste bad with the same meal. And the prices are predictable and affordable too. One fast food meal is always cheaper than you cook alone at home. However, fast food as called as junk food, affecting people’s health. Restaurant usually uses a lot of additives such as salt, flavorings and preservatives. The large amount of calories and additives are harmful to human body. Since the fast food is all pre-cooked, the nutrients of the ingredients are lost. Therefore, some people may say that fast food is only for surviving. Eating fast food in a long term may cause various diseases such as diabetes and heart attack. Comparison of McDonald’s and KFC In Hong Kong, McDonald’s is obviously in a larger scale than KFC. Except the differences on the food kinds, the way they run the company are a bit different too. Apart from fast food restaurant, McDonald’s have McCafes to provide desserts and coffee like Starbucks. Besides, McDonald’s have works in different area of society such as charity, children health affair. But the KFC is just only a restaurant in Hong Kong. Therefore, people would called McDonald’s as a better company than KFC in Hong Kong.

Allied Irish Bank SWOT Analysis and Strategic Evaluation

Allied Irish Bank SWOT Analysis and Strategic Evaluation Allied Irish Bank performed the Market Entry Strategy to expand their business size. Stated below is the brief of their strategic evaluation in the aspect of suitability feasibility acceptable. Suitability Build on/exploit strengths In the late 1990s and early/mid-2000s, and capitalized on the buoyant housing market, booming business banking profits and much lower write-offs than in previous years, such profitability and growth have had a significant positive effect on the Irish Economy. That helps AIB having good capital base for future market development such merging. Shape Managements sense in the company, they clearly realized that internationalization is a good way for business expansion. Good/tailored services to be provided by the company towards customers, it can be helpful for the business penetrating into the market. Simultaneously, they are easily winning the reputation too. Good experiences in managing banking business, that helps the company to control over the new merging company. Overcome/avoid weaknesses Cultural Difference the company cant fully twin their culture to other countries, as easy to generate other contingencies problems. Complicated organizations chart caused human resources problems, like salary expenditure increased, hard to manage†¦. Exploit/Develop Opportunity Economy Growth in East Asia, that creates new opportunities for the company. Through Merging, obtaining the other customer base, co-efficient is expected. Counteract/avoid threats The other countrys government may not allow foreigner to obtain national bank and may set some restriction as a barrier. Expanding too fast may cause lack of capital if the business is running not as good as expected. Feasibility From 1966 to the end of 2005, the assets of $323.8 jumping up to 133 bn. Employee 24000 people and 750 offices now, that proved the company is profitable, emerged in the obvious capital gain and more employee needed Acceptability As the company asset built up rapidly, no wonder the companys price in stock market will be going up as well. That can fulfill the stakeholder needed. The company becomes biggest bank in Irish and gradually penetrate into other market and seems grow healthy. Stakeholder should also satisfies for the continually grow. Never heard that the company has any news about layoff, so assuming that the companys finance is good and staff is working stably. As company focused on the tailored service, their customers loyal should even be higher. Page 4 of 12 Subject : Strategic Management Name of Student : Chan Sheung Ming Student ID#2102 5544 Section A : Question 2 Here is the Strategic Development Plan of Allied Irish Bank (2007 2012) Background of the Company Allied Irish Banks (AIB) was structured in 1966, they brought together with the three distinctive Irish Traditional Banking companies: the Provincial Bank in 1825 the Royal Bank, eleven years later for mercantile links; the Munster Leinster that was formed in 1885, considered as the largest banks with the most large scale of branch network During that moment, the alliance was thinking out a best way to overcome the fragmented nature of the Irish banking industry. Hence in the middle of 1960s Ireland was changing fast and the merger had strengthened the position of the bank in the developing global business era. Over the decades, the company had showed an increasing expansion in the global arena, from its establishment of branch network in Britain during 1970s to its investment in the USA during 1980s Four decades since its establishments, it and be said that AIB has a dynamic and successful organization. As a result, in 1966, AIB had showed aggregate assets of Є323.8 million that had grown to Є133 billion AIB Groups is considered as the leading banking and financial services organization in Ireland that operates principally in Ireland, Britain, Poland and the USA. It has more than 24,000 employees word wide in more than 750 offices . It has four main divisions: AIB Bank (Republic of Ireland); AIB Bank AIB Capital Market; and Poland. SWOT Analysis (S)trengths Strong position in the home market; Good Image of the organization to the home market and other countries; Specializes in straight forward approach banking; Relationship oriented approach. (W)eaknesses Do not have enough knowledge and experience towards global banking; Not willing to take the risks; Afraid to jump to the bandwagon of internalization. (O)pportunities Blooming domestic economy; Large increases in the credit growth in 1990s and mid-2000s; Development of non-traditional bank; Trends towards international banking market; Exploit the Irish ethnic market in the UK; Access to Asian market; Merging and acquisition. (T)hreats Growing number of competition; Competition from businesses or banks that are offering e-banking. The SWOT analysis of AIB which pertains on the different characteristics or attributes of the organization as well as the external environment that can affect the entire decision-making process of AIB. The strength of the company focuses on its strong position in the home market. Thus, it enables the company to have a good image in other countries where in it also offers their services. In addition, the company also specialized in straightforward banking approach and relationship oriented approach where in it is considered as their primary advantage towards their relationship with the customers. The said aspect is the reason why AIB was voted as Britains greatest bank. On the other hand, the weaknesses of AIB focuses on its immaturity n terms of international banking, or lack of much knowledge in management in distance. The most visible example is their withdrawal from the Singaporean market. As a result, the company no longer has interests in taking the risks in other important markets in Asia, primarily in China. There are different opportunities that can be exploited by the company in order to improve and expand. First is the blooming domestic economy as well as the large increase in the credit growth during 1990s and mid-2000s. In addition, there is also a growing trend towards non-traditional banking or e-banking. This is due to the massive impact of the Internet. Thus, it is important to consider that in terms of emerging markets, the leaders in e-banking are found in Asia, and Singapore is considered as the primary e-banking customers, garnering 5% ( 2001). Thus, it shows that it will be important to focus on the Asian market, primarily in China, that is facing fast growth in terms of economic aspects. This can be done by the process of merging and acquisition. The major threat for the company focuses on the growing number of competitors in the industry, particularly those banks that are offering e-banking features and services. Mission The mission of Allied Irish Bank is to strengthen both domestic and international performance and position in the market of the bank. Objectives The following are the objectives of AIB: To maintain the competitive advantage of the company; To expand the size and branches of AIB in different part of the world; To promote efficiency, stability and effectiveness of AIB banking system; and To meet the changing demands, needs and preferences of the people towards their banking experiences. Strategies The Ansoff Growth Matrix is a tool that is used in order for a business to decide regarding their product and market growth strategy. It suggests that a business ability to grow depends on whether it markets new or existing products in a new or existing market (2007). The strategy of AIB will focus on Market development or offering the same product to a new market. This is important due to the growing influence of globalization to the banking system, thus going global is one of the most important way of expansion of size that will help to increase profits. In the case of AIB, the company had been able to apply new technologies including the Internet in their services, thats why it will be important for them to explore and exploit other nations or markets, particularly China. This is due to the continuous growth of Chinese economy. However, alongside with the said strategy, it will also be important to focus on improvement of the core banking system, together with the human resource management. Recommendations The following are the recommended strategies: Improvement of the System Application of Information System and IT in an organization is one of the most important actions that can be done by the organization due to the fact that it can help them to manage all of the data and information that are important and use it in the process of decision making. That is why it will be important to focus on application of core banking system that will give way for future enhancement or changes in the internal and external aspects of the company. In order to support the growth plans from 2007 2012, improve AIBs speed to market for new product introduction as well as to provide greater back-office integration, it is important to make a move to transform the core banking system by using packaged banking application that will ensure scalability, performance as well as reliability. This is important due to the growing competition, where in all of the major players in the world of banking are looking for innovative ways to modernize and improve their core systems that can help to reduce the operational costs by changing the massive server farms to a more flexible as well as efficient systems ( 2007). This strategy will focus on the product development, where in it will focus on the initiative of the company to offer new products. By doing this, it will enable AIB to gain competitive advantage by means of offering differentiate products or services towards the customers. As of now, more and more people are becoming aware of the security issues regarding their money, thus the technological advancement of a bank can affect the image of the brand, thus will help to create a feeling of security for the clients. Development of Centralized HR Activities It is important to consider that AIBs human resource management as the companys strengths due to its ability to motivates the employees, particularly the managers to work at their bests, as well as to communicate and relate to the customers in order to give what they needs and want to understand. However, the company is having difficulty in managing in a distance. This is due to the different issues, primarily culture and tradition. It is important to consider that culture plays an important role in the process of motivating employees. It will be important for AIB to apply international standards or principles, however it is important to know that people from other country, primarily Asia, has a different perspective and understanding towards several things, specially in terms of management that are related to leadership styles and approach. This also goes the same as the clients of the company. There are different characteristics between their client from the US and Asia. The said f actors must be considered in order to ensure that all of the rules, regulations as well as policies will meet the expectations and needs of all the stakeholders that are involved in the entire process of the company. This strategy will help the company to have a good customer relationship that will help to strengthen their connection with the customers. The said aspect is very important due to the fact that the attitudes, behaviors and knowledge of the employees, specially the branch managers and front personnel can affect the perception of the clients towards the bank. If the employees or personnel were knowledgeable enough, they will be able to answer the queries of the clients; therefore, it can help to build up trust, and later on strong and long lasting relationship. Expansion to Asian Market, Particularly in China As of now, Asia is considered as one of the most profitable on a pre-tax return on asset basis. As a matter of fact, the report of BCG in 2007 showed that the wealth managers in the Asia-Pacific reported a median pre-tax margin of about 45.5% during 2006 that beats the overall global profitability of 34.7%. As a result, the industry is expected to continue to growth to about 20% to 30% a year, together with the increasing number of well-heeled individuals as well as greater awareness regarding shifting of cash in the banks (2008). The improving and booming economy of China has been accompanies by the fast-growing banking sector of the country. It has been showed that by the end of 2007, the total assets of banking sector of China had reached a total of 52.3 trillion, showing a great annual growth of 17.4% from 2003 2007. The banking industry in the country is considered as the primary provider for capital of about 80% of the non-financial enterprises fundraisings in the most populous nations in the world as well as the fastest growing major economies ( 2008). This strategy will help the company to expand to a vast market, particularly China, due to the development of its economy. Section B: Turn Around Management in Marks Spencer Background of the Company Marks and Spencer emerged as one of the largest retail companies in the world that had become a limited company in 1903 in Manchester, Britain ( 2006) Marks and Spencer plc is the largest retailer in the UK. It has 300 company-owned stores, with more than 68,000 employees around the world that sell clothing, footwear, gifts, home furnishing and food to more than 13 million shoppers. Most of the products being sold under the private label St Michael brand ( 2006 (. In addition, the company also owns and operates more than 100 stores in different part of the world such as Europe, Hong Kong and Canada. There are more than 85 franchise stores of the company that can be found in Europe, Far East, Australia, the Middle East, the Bahamas and Bermunda . MS owns the Brooks Brother, its chain of store of mens clothing that has more than 170 units in Japan as well as the US. In addition, MS also owns 20 stores of King Super Markets grocery store chain in New Jersey Causes and Symptoms of Decline It is important to consider that the primary cause of any decline in profitability is bad management. This is because if management were enough and applicable in the process of tracking the success of the companys products and changes that are likely to take place in their respective markets, and if the company is taking the correct actions, then profits would not decline. However, as such success would require omniscience; even the most systematic managers will make mistakes (1996.) Poor Management All of the problems start at the top, thats why poor management is often the primary reason to the decline in profitability. This is due to the fact that those personnel or people that are responsible for the different operations of the company are making wrong decisions regarding the specific strategic decisions that are being made or even to the personnel that are being employed in order to implement the said decision ( 1996, ). In 2002, , a Belgian executive who is responsible in the turn around of MS, that causes the company to report a four consecutive increase in terms of sales, hand over to Roger Holmes, considered one of the youngest chief executives of blue-chip Brits companies (2002). The said event is considered as one of the primary reason for the decline of MS, due to mismanagement by the CEO. Most of the senior and middle management reported that they are disappointed with the lack of progress, due to leadership problems of Holmes such as being to nice, taking too long to make decisions and lacking relevant in terms of experience. Another cause of decline of MS is the complicated structure where in beyond the main board was an operating committee with 19 members. The said aspect is due to the fact that CEO was not that familiar with the core products of the company. Financial Control It is also important to include that poor financial control is a common cause of falling profitability due to poor budgetary control, inadequate costing system as well as the inability to monitor as well as control cash (1996). In the cause of MS, Holmes believes that throwing more money at the problem can be the best way to boost profits. This can be seen in the massive actions of the company which involves acceleration of transformation of the business by firing employees, and development of stores and other line of products ( 2004). Marketing Efforts Lack of trust from the customers is considered as one of the causes as well as symptoms of decline. This has been one of the primary problems of the company. Customers had complained that the trust had been damaged, due to the fact that the company was already offering low-quality products. In addition o that, the company had a problem regarding their innovation process, which is considered as very important aspect in any company. Production and Operations The fallen quality of the product is one of the primary aspects that focus on the production and operations aspects of the company. In MS, it was due to poor labor relations of the upper management. Environmental Factors The changing demands, tastes preferences and needs of the customers are the primary factors that can affect any company. However, in the case of MS, the company did not focus on strategies that will help them to meet the said change. The said aspect is important because it can greatly affect the perception of the customers in any brand. In addition to that, more and more customers are looking for products in lower price but in good quality. Thus, in order to meet the said expectations, the company decided to implement different strategies that will help them to lower their price, like their competitors, however, the said aspect affected the quality of their products that later on affected the demand of the customers. As a result of the said causes, the company encountered falling profitability, falling dividends, increased debt, decrease liquidity and falling sales (1996). This can be observed on the fact that despite of more than 10 million customers every week, the company have not yet recaptured the glory days between 1997 and 1998 when it had made over  £1 billion pretax profits. In 2004, MS announced a decreased in sales of 3.6%, compare last year (2004). Recovery Strategies The management was changed in 2004, as part of the entire organizational change when Robert Rose took place. Rose focuses on the five core values of new MS: quality, value, service, innovation and trust. This is due to the fact that Rose believe that Holmes management focuses on the management processes instead of products, costs and disapprove of their decision for not growing out of town. As part of that, Rose decided to have a partnership with HSBC in order to manage the financial division of the company. This is due to the fact that the company, under the previous management showed characteristics such as no coordination across department; as well as the fact that the product proliferation by sub brands had weakened the core proposition. Aside from that, it was also found out that the process from drawing board up to the shop floor was kind of slow that resulted to lack of innovation due to weak pricing strategy. The change strategy of the company focuses on abandoning , because it was not targeted at natural MS customers; obtaining Per Una from Davies for  £123 million; canceling more than 500 food products; developing supply chain and sourcing in order to reduce the overhang of the stock; stopping waste and unnecessary administration costs; improving different core services; returning  £2.3 billion to the shareholders; moving to out-of-town retail centers; restructuring and redundancy; changing the mentality of the employees; and closing or upgrading the companys stores The said strategies had been done by focusing on the internal communication process, as well as focusing on the needs and demands of the customers in terms of styles and qualities of their products, as well as the services that are being rendered by the employees towards the customers. Current Strategies In 2007, under the new management, MS had reported its strongest results since 1998, showing a profit of 29%. In addition, the company increased their appeal beyond the middle-aged, middle-class housewives by offering younger brands such as The Limited Collection. The said strategy enables the company to focus on one particular segment of their customers. The primary problem of the company is the pricing process; this is due to the fact that MS primarily perched at the top end of the mass market by selling high-quality products that the customers were willing to pay a little more for. However, due to the changing preferences of the customers, together with the growing competition with other stores, primarily Tesco, that is offering the same type of products, the company decided to focus on lowering the price of the products that they are offering. Aside from that the company also focuses on their food division in terms of marketing, by showing to their customers the importance of the quality of their products (2008).

The Root Causes Of Terrorism

The Root Causes Of Terrorism Few events in history shape the way societies react to future anomalies, one such being, the attack on the Twin Towers in 2001.With this event followed a flurry of discussions on Terrorism in media, academia circles, and several other forums. The spill over effect was felt all across the globe in form of pre-emptive coercive military and diplomatic intervention by the super powers in states like Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. But with rising number of losses, both human and pecuniary, suffered by the society on the whole; is this strategy of intimidation coupled with aid addressing the root cause of the problem? Terrorism is one of the gravest challenges faced by the world today. Vast monetary resources in form of military as well as developmental aid have been diverted to counter this menace. In spite of the ostentatious expenditures sustained by the world community, have we been successful so far in quelling this threat? Leaders and academicians from wide spectrum of disciplines have been advocating for addressing the root causes of this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the question looming over this entire debate is what are the root causes of Terrorism? One of the key linkages of terrorism identified by the political ranks, especially after the 9-11 attacks was, terrorism and other forms of political violence are a product of economic and socio-political factors. US-President Bush (2002) argued that there is a vicious circle of political disenfranchisement, state failure and terror, saying that because [] persistent poverty and oppression can lead to hopelessness and despair [] these failed states can become havens for terror. Similarly, then-UK Prime Minister Blair (2004) argued: [] poverty and instability leads to weak states, which can become havens for terrorists []. (Krieger and Meierrieks 2010). The remarks discussed above open a new-fangled and a broader approach to addressing the problem. Terrorism is admittedly a very complex social phenomenon. It is the outcome of a set of quantitative as well as qualitative factors, which function at various levels of causation and where some of the factors are directly observable while others are latent (Drakos and Gofas April 2006). Although terrorism is a presumably multifaceted and multi-casual phenomenon lying between the nexus of war and peace, scholarly research on the causes of terrorism has all but escaped rigorous empirical analysis (OBrien June 1996) .Nevertheless, in this contribution I attempt to identify the plausible reasons for the emergence of terrorism. The study exposits the economic, social, and political factors which are considered to be the main causes of manifestation of terrorism based on the existing literature and widely held perceptions. I explore the empirical validity of the causes of terrorism using econometric methods and seek to establish results which could be used in formulating effective counter terrorism strategies. The Dissertation is divided into 4 sections. I first discuss the theoretical foundations of my work and then in the subsequent section move on to discussing the existing literature on this issue. The main focus of Section 3 is to show if there exists a relationship (even though casual) linking terrorism with economic, social and political conditions in various regions across the globe. In order to capture this relationship I estimate a panel regression for 109 countries from 1971 to 2005. Section 4 involves a detailed discussion of the problems associated with the estimated procedures and how results could have been affected by them. Lastly I conclude by summarizing my main findings and provide recommendations based on the empirical findings using the panel regressions Theoretical Foundation There are myriad circumstances capable of giving rise to terrorism. Terrorists exist in developed as well as less developed countries; in former colonial states and in independent ones; in democratic and in non democratic states and so on. This implies that one needs to incorporate a number of diverse conditions while trying to develop an understanding of Terrorism. This makes it difficult to arrive at any form of generalisation (Lia and Skjà ¸lberg 2000). In spite of this complexity, the causes of terrorism can be broadly explained by the following approaches1 -: Psychological Societal Geopolitical The Psychological approach focuses on the individual or a group of individuals decision to become a terrorist or join the terrorist group or sympathise with the ideology. Psycho-pathological and Psycho-sociological are two important approaches that fall under the psychological approach. The former treats an individual terrorist in isolation and accepts violent behaviour as a deviant characteristic. Such an advancement has been criticized not only for divesting terrorism completely from socio-economic and political setting, but also on empirical grounds (Lia and Skjà ¸lberg 2000).Authors such as Wintrobe (2006), Frey and Luchinger (2004) while criticizing the psycho-pathological approach argue that terrorists are indeed rational beings and operate on the basis of a cost-benefit principle. The Psycho-sociological approach on the other hand relates psychological factors and the societal environment [Wilkinson, Paul 1990]. Several others, such as Crenshaw (1990), Stedman (1997) also arg ue in favour of combining psychological and environmental factors on various stratums to arrive at any comprehensive theory of the causes of terrorism. Under the above mentioned framework theories such as the relative deprivation theory [Piazza, A James (2004)], Contagion theory [Weimann and Brouiss (1988)] are the most widely used premise to explain the phenomenon of terrorism. The relative deprivation1 theory emphasizes deprivation in form of poverty, health, life expectancy and etc as major causes of terrorism. The contagion theory on the other hand considers terrorism to be duration dependant i.e. terrorism being far from random (Lia and Skjà ¸lberg 2000); There exists voluminous empirical evidence suggesting the relevance of the contagion theory1. Societal approach lays emphasis on the historical and present social, cultural, economical, political, in short overall environmental development of any given region. Under the societal approach, factors such as modernization, globalization, urbanization, economic development, state legitimacy, politics etc are assumed to be primary in explaining terrorism [Crenshaw 1990a, 1995]. Critics of the societal approach often argue that the relationship between terrorism and the factors treated under the societal approach are at best casual. Lastly the geo-political approach essentially relates to International Terrorism. This approach considers factors such as state sponsorship of terrorism, hegemony and weak and collapsed state as major causes of terrorism. Works of Volgy et al., Guelke, have pioneered in using the geo political approach to explain the phenomenon of terrorism. The opportunity cost model is one of the extensively used models in economics to analyse the causes of terrorism. In this work I use the same microeconomic opportunity cost model presented by Freytag Kruger and Schneider (2008), Anderton, Charles H; Carter, John R (2004)]. As I will show in discussions to follow, that such a treatment is indeed capable of encompassing the theories explained by the various approaches discussed above, hence making it ideal for usage in my analysis. Also, while formulating policies for counter terrorism strategies the usage of opportunity cost model assumes even a greater level of importance [Bruno S. Frey and Simon Luechinger (2003)] The traditional microeconomic framework looks at the decision making calculus and goals of an individual terrorist, as well as a group of terrorists and their sympathisers. One of the basic assumptions of this framework is that terrorist or the terrorist organizations are rational decision makers (essentially adhering to the rational choice model1) who have preferences over terrorism as well as ordinary activities [Anderton, Charles H; Carter, John R (2004)]. Incentives for an individual terrorist differ from that of the leaders who organize the terror. The opportunity costs of a leader of the terrorist organization are not measurable directly; violence for them is just a means to an end (Harrison, 2006).Thus their opportunity costs are reflected in their ability to use violence. Since the ability to use violence depends on the involved economic costs which inturn depends on the environment, hence we can conclude that the societal environment indirectly reflect the opportunity cost f acing a leader. On the contrary, for an individual terrorist, incentives could be the solidarity that the group provides or the economic rewards that the he or she may be able to reap from terrorism or otherwise .His or hers opportunity cost in fact would be directly reflected in the societal environment. How an individual decision making dilemma can have an implication for the various subgroups on the whole is as follows. For any organization to survive, it is the preferences of their recruits or the volunteers that matter the most since they are being directly affected by their own actions as against the leader. Hence by analysing the individual choice problem we are in a way capturing the choices faced by the various sub-groups on the whole. Given this I focus on an individual faced with 2 choices either to become a terrorist or consume material rewards. I assume that there exists a set of rewards (mental) that an individual can gain from committing an act of terror or sympathising with the cause. On the other hand an individual by not becoming a terrorist can reap the benefits of employing his energies in other productive activities. I represent this in the figure shown below. The decision to become a terrorist or not depends on the shape of the utility curve. A high preference for terrorism would imply greater their willingness to some material rewards to achieve an increment to mental rewards; they would have steep indifference curves in the utility space. Non-terrorists receive no utility or even disutility from terrorism, so their indifferences curves would be flat or upward sloping. The shape of the utility curve determines the strength of the substitution and the income effect. For any terrorist the utility maximization problem can be written down in the following manner: Argmax. (T, O) U (1) Subject to R = Pt T + Po O (Budget Line) 1(eyerman) (2) Where R denotes the total resources; Pt and Po denote the respective prices of terrorism1 (terrorism as a public good and its pricing) and composite good respectively; T denotes the quantity of terrorism and O denotes the quantity of composite good. In fig 1 for any individual the utility is maximized at point A. Now suppose that the GDP, democracy or education etc increase. This increases the material wealth available to the person there by increasing the opportunity cost of terrorist activities. The budget line pivots around the point D and the new budget constraint is DF with the new equilibrium level being at point C. Similarly, when opportunity cost of terrorist activities fall, the budget constraint becomes flatter (shown by DG) and this over all increases the preferences for mental rewards otherwise Terrorism. The corner solution given by point D shows the maximum level of utility that a person can achieve by committing a terrorist attack. As noted by [Kruger et al (2008)] this is the point at which an individual chooses to commit suicide bombing. Mental Rewards Source: The origins of terrorism One can also represent this choice problem using an inter-temporal budget constraint. Assuming that the terrorists have a two-period horizon and must choose between terrorist activities today (T0) and tomorrow (T1) based on resources today (R0) and tomorrow (R1), the inter-temporal budget constraint1 [Walter Enders* Todd Sandler 2002] is given by: T1 = R1 + (1+ r) (R0- T0), Where r is the interest rate. (3) In the above equation tomorrows terrorism equals tomorrows resource endowment plus the earnings on savings from the initial period. The inter-temporal budget constraint framework can be used to explain the contagion effects via effects such as the inter-temporal substitution effects. Hence any shift or a tilt in the budget line DE would either raise or lower the opportunity cost of terrorism. The changes in the budget line are due to changes in the economic, social or political factors, and other factors which fall under the various approaches discussed in the first paragraph of this section. One can also restate the above mechanism in the following way, the utility that an individual derives from being peaceful or being violent depends upon the environment that the individual functions in. This is because the opportunity costs for being violent or peaceful facing an individual depend on macro variables affecting the settings that he or she operates under. These macro variables as we have seen can be either country specific or globally universal. This essentially gives us a new equation for the utility of the form (4) Where is a vector of macro variables that affect the opportunity cost of an individual; represents the vector of coefficients which suggest the magnitude and the direction of the relationship that each macro variable shares with the utility that an individual attains from being either peaceful or violent; is the error term in the equation depicting the other factors which may effect the utility. As seen earlier, factors identified by the theories listed above such as poverty, globalization, geopolitical-setting, urbanization etc. can be used to explain the phenomenon of terrorism by using the traditional framework of opportunity cost Thus the challenge lies in identifying the key macro variables which affect the opportunity cost. But before moving on to empirically testing the relevance of the macro variables effecting terrorism, I now review the existing literature in the subsequent section. Existing Literature one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter problem (Jenkins 1982; Hoffman 1998).

Life of Pi :: essays research papers

Life of Pi Pi Patel is on a ship to a whole new world. He’s leaving his whole world behind except the zoo, it‘s on board with him. When awoken by a sound, Pi goes to explore. He finds that the ship is sinking and before he can wake his family he is thrown into a lifeboat. A zebra falls into the lifeboat, breaking its leg. Without truly realizing what he is doing, Pi helps Richard Parker onto the lifeboat. Then he realizes, he is on a lifeboat with a 450 pound Bengal tiger. Pi builds a raft out of oars and life jackets so that he can stay a safe distance from the lifeboat. The lifeboat doesn’t seem to have the tiger on it at all. Just a zebra and a hyena and orangutan. The hyena attacks both zebra and orangutan and then the tiger appears. He is sleek and quiet about his approach. None the less, Pi Patel is now alone on a lifeboat with Richard Parker. He wonders how he will survive with a tiger. Pi decides that it would be best to keep the tiger alive, to act as the alpha. He trains Richard Parker to understand which space belongs to who. Pi uses a solar power water filter for fresh water and fishes for food. He feeds himself and the tiger. This keeps them at more of a alpha relationship because Richard Parker knows where his food and water come from. When there is no fish to caught and no more supplies, the only option is to starve for that day. Finally, Pi and Richard Parker land on an island. It is a very mysterious place. The trees seem to grow straight out of the algae and the meerkats do no seem to be afraid of anything. There are fresh water ponds and for some reason Richard Parker always returns to the lifeboat at night to sleep. Pi finds out the algae is acidic and that’s why Richard Parker sleeps in the boat at night.

Analyzing Themes in Robert Frosts The Road Not Taken Essay -- Road No

Analyzing Themes in Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken This is a wonderful poem with many different themes and ideas. One of the biggest themes is not being afraid to take a chance. Some of the other themes include, not following the crowd, trying new things, and standing for something. This poem stated that the author "took the one (road) less traveled by, and that has made all the difference" so the author is telling the reader that we too should not be afraid to take another path. The Road Not Taken is a twenty-line poem written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABAAB. This poem starts with the author walking through the woods. He comes to a fork in the path and is torn by which path to take...does he take the path that is traveled by everybody, or the one rarely traveled upon? He decides to take the road less traveled by. By taking this path he changes his life in some way unknown to the reader. We get the idea that the poem starts out in the fall, "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood" (5). The season fall represents the year coming to an end, and e...

The Debate Concerning the Legalization of Marijuana :: Legalization Marijuana Drugs essays papers

The Debate Concerning the Legalization of Marijuana The debate over the legalization of marijuana is long standing and will continue indefinitely for years to come. Both sides of this issue are passionate in their positions and provide strong arguments to support their stands. After reviewing all the information, I understand each argument but I feel strongly that it would do our country more good than harm to decriminalize marijuana. Aside from what the government would like you to think, there are actually positive effects that come from the use of marijuana. Perhaps the most popular current controversy dealing with the ongoing war on drugs is legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. As of August 1999, five western states - Alaska, Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington - passed laws legalizing the medical use of marijuana. Over the past two decades, more than 20 states and the District of Colombia have passed measures recognizing marijuana’s therapeutic value, but those did not authorize cultivation as the new measures do. Some states have made progress towards helping the chronically ill, but those in other states who are experiencing the same symptoms and dying from the same diseases deserve the same treatments. It may be a slow process, but we can only hope that every other state cares enough about their people to give them the best therapy for their illness as well. Jeff Jones, executive director and co-founder of the Oakland Cannabis Buyer’s Cooperative, remembers being 14 years old and watching his father die an agonizing death from kidney cancer. â€Å"Exactly four months after my dad passed away, I heard on CNN about Judge Young’s recommendation that marijuana should be made available for treating things like chemotherapy-induced nausea. I’ll tell you the message I got: that the federal government had been withholding valuable medicine and was indifferent to the suffering of its citizens.

Hall High/Low Communication

Hall High/Low Context Communication In this essay I’d like to  express my opinion about Hall’s Context Communication. In general, in today's business relations, it's a small world after all. As more companies turn towards global markets, professionals are finding themselves in foreign locales, wheeling and dealing like never before. However, the key to effective communication between countries is an understanding of each other's culture, especially a working knowledge of how each society conveys meaning.First used by author Edward Hall, the expressions â€Å"high context† and â€Å"low context† are labels denoting inherent cultural differences between societies. High-context and low-context communication refers to how much speakers rely on things other than words to convey meaning. Hall states that in communication, individuals face many more sensory cues than they are able to fully process. In each culture, members have been supplied with specific †Å"filters† that allow them to focus only on what society has deemed important.In general, cultures that favor low-context communication will pay more attention to the literal meanings of words than to the context surrounding them. When individuals from high-context and low-context cultures collaborate, there are often difficulties that occur during the exchange of information. These problems can be separated into differences concerning â€Å"direction†, â€Å"quantity† and â€Å"quality. For example, employees from high-context cultures like China and France share very specific and extensive information with their â€Å"in-group members† (good friends, families, close coworkers, etc). In comparison, low-context cultures like the United States and Germany prefer to limit communication to smaller, more select groups of people, sharing only that information which is necessary. And now I’d like to speak in detail about the main features of each kind of Context Communication. High-Context CommunicationHall: â€Å"Most of the information is either in the physical context or initialized in the person. † * Knowledge is situational, relational * Less is verbally explicit or written or formally expressed * More internalized understandings of what is communicated (ex: â€Å"in-jokes†) * Often used in long term, well-established relationships * Decisions and activities focus around personal face-to-face communication, often around a central, authoritative figure * Strong awareness of who is accepted/belongs vs. outsiders† Low Context Communication Hall: â€Å"The mass of information is vested in the explicit code [message]. † * Rule oriented * More knowledge is public, external, and accessible. * Shorter duration of communications * Knowledge is transferable * Task-centered. Decisions and activities focus around what needs to be done and the division of responsibilities. To draw the conclusion, once can say tha t communication is everything, so make sure you know not only  what  to say, but also  how  to say it!

Information Systems Alumni Questionnaire

Figure 4 shows the size of the company. Figure 4: Size of the Company Size of the Company 3% From 1 to 10 employees 61% From 11 to 50 employees 5 From 51 to 100 employees More than 100 employees Most of the alumni who answered the survey (74. 2%) work for a company that is located in Puerco Rich. Figure 5 shows the company location. Figure 5: Company Location Company Location A foreign country Continental USA Puerco Rich 74% The vast majority of the alumni who answered the survey (90. 3%) indicated that the location where they work is in Puerco Rich. Figure 6 shows the distribution.Figure 6:Job Location Job Location 90% 6 Most of the alumni who answered the survey (77%) are male. Figure 7 shows the distribution. Figure 7: Gender Gender 23% Female Male 77% 7 Frequency distributions In this research, two main areas were analyzed. The first area addressed the career and professional accomplishments of the PR-RPR CICS alumni, which purpose is to measure the achievement of the program's o bjectives. The second area addressed the abilities gained from the Information Systems education, which purpose is to measure the achievement of the program's outcomes.Frequency distribution of the objectives of the program Eight career and professional accomplishments statements in the survey have he intention to measure the five objectives of the IGRP-RPR CICS program. Objectives one, two, and five are determined using two different career and professional accomplishment statements. Objectives three and four are evaluated with only one career and professional accomplishment statement. There is one independent variable for each career and professional accomplishment statement.A four-point Liker scale was used to measure each career and professional accomplishment. The scale consists of â€Å"Very frequently', â€Å"Frequently', â€Å"Sometimes†, and â€Å"Never'. From the program's objective perspective, the results show that in a sample of 31 alumni, most who participate d in the study felt that they: Sometimes implement and manage information systems in an organization. Very frequently apply technological, analytical, and critical thinking skills in the solution of problems related to information systems in organizations.Very frequently take into consideration the context in which information systems operate, when implementing and managing these systems. Very frequently maintain his professional expertise by updating his knowledge in technology and information systems. Very frequently perform his functions showing respect and appreciation for ethical values, interpersonal relationships, communication, and team work. Table 1 shows the frequency distribution of the objectives of the PR-RPR CICS program where the sample is 31. Figure 8 shows a column chart of the frequency distribution of the objectives from Table 1 .Frequency distribution of the outcomes of the program There are ten outcomes for the PR-RPR CICS program. Each outcome is understood to be the ability that the alumni developed or gained while studying for their Bachelor's degree. There 8 re ten questions or survey items regarding to those abilities to measure the program's outcomes. Each survey items from this section helps assess the effectiveness of the PR-RPR CICS program's achievement of an outcome of the program. There is one independent variable for each statement that measures the abilities developed from the Information Systems education.A four-point Liker scale was used to evaluate each of the ten statements addressing the abilities gained from the Information Systems education. The scale consists of â€Å"Highly effective†, â€Å"Very effective†, â€Å"Moderately effective†, and â€Å"Not effective†. From the program's outcomes perspective, the results show that in a sample of 31 alumni, most who participate in the study felt that they are: Highly effective in the ability to analyze an operation within an organization, identify problems and make recommendations to solve these problems.Very effective in the ability to select or design a system to solve the problems identified in an operation. Very effective in the ability to plan and supervise the implementation of a system that solves the problems identified in an operation. Very effective in the ability to use current techniques, skills, tools and best raciest to design, implement and manage information systems. Very effective in the ability to understand the impact that organizational, local and global environments have in the implementation and management of information systems.Both highly effective and very effective in the ability to value the protection of information system resources in an organization, and to identify ways in which this protection can be achieved. Highly effective in the ability to be aware of the high level of change in the Information Systems field, and the need to use different mechanisms to update your knowledge. Highly effect ive in the ability to recognize the importance of ethical values and interpersonal relationships in an information systems professional.

Different Interpretations of Taming of the Shrew Essay

Since there are so many different adaptations of Taming of the Shrew, there are quite a lot of differences when you see it, then when you read it. Especially when you try to imagine the Wooing Scene, in Act 2 Scene 1. Here are a few main differences I noticed in two of the different adaptations I watched: * Gaudete Academy 2010 Production (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaebQOnnHMU) * Petruchio was a little scared of Katherina when he first met her * Katherina was a lot more harsh, physically * Instead of dialogue with words, they made Petruchio speak and Katherina act with facial expressions and basically actions. Petruchio: You lie in faith. For you are called Kate. Plain Kate. Bonny Kate. And sometimes Kate the curst. (Katherina flicks him annoyingly) * Also Petruchio has long monologues, but instead they make Katherina respond with actions and not verbally. So Kate’s actions made it seem like dialogue * There is so much more physical abuse, than verbal abuse Petruchio: My super dainty Kate. (Katherina pushes him off the stage) * They change some words and sentences, so the audience understand the jokes and puns * A lot of interaction with the audience Petruchio: Take this of me, Kate of my consolation: Hearing thy†¦ hearing thy†¦ Uh, help? What’s that sir? *Harpy* Hearing thy Harpyishness praised in every town * Taming of the Shrew (1976) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdqOHvcD-VU) * Baptista acts a little evil when Petruchio asks for Kate’s hand in marriage * Petruchio acts a lot more rude, physically * Katherina struggles with Petruchio a lot more * Katherina seems weak, even from the start * Kate doesn’t argue as much as in the play * Petruchio over powers Kate a lot, instead of them being equally horrid * Petruchio adds more actions, so it adds more emphasis to the argument * Gremio’s line stands out more, than in the play script * Taming of the Shrew (CorkShakespeare) This one is very similar to the original play script, so not many points (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxtQKwHO6xU) * Most of the other adaptations points * Costumes were modernized * Petruchio is very forceful

Child labour Essay

Abstract It has been observed over decades that, poverty forces poor families to send their children to work, which results in a serious problem the world is facing nowadays. Child labour can leave many severe consequences on children and their families. When children work, it does not mean as a standard, they support their families economically, neither all of them get paid for their work since many of them work as bonded labour or as slaves. In addition to that, they face many problems which may cause permanent damage to their childhood. Children usually work to contribute and provide financial support to their families. Their health is often ignored by their parents or they may not be aware about their children’s health. This paper illustrates how both India and Nigeria have adopted laws and regulations to eliminate child labour. However despite all the efforts, child labour and the factors that  influence the incidence of child labour continues to be prevalent. The results from this study explain the reasons which forces children to work, poverty. This paper also draws conclusion that governments, societies, and communities should cooperate in a better way with each other to decrease child labour. Possible and innovate solutions and suggestions are arose at the end of this paper. Keywords: child labour, poverty, education, India, Nigeria, governments, International labour organizations 1 Introduction For many years, child labour has been one of the biggest obstacles to social development. It is a challenge and long-term goal in many countries to abolish all forms of child labour. Especially in developing countries, it is considered as a serious issue these days. Child labour refers to children who miss their childhood and are not able to have the basic amenities which a child should have. Recently the International Labour Organization (ILO,2013) estimated there are around 215 million children between the ages five to fourteen who works worldwide. They are often mistreated and work for prolonged hours, in very bad conditions. This can affect their health physically, mentally and emotionally. These children do not have the basic rights like access to school or health care. According to ILO (2013) the largest numbers of child labourers are working in hazardous work and the total number of child workers is increasing, even though it is forbidden by law. These children are vulnerable to diseases and they struggle with long-term physical and psychological pain. The main cause that induces children to work is poverty. These children work for their survival and their families. (Mapaure, 2009).Some studies like Dessy and Pallage (2003) argue not all the work that children do is harmful or brutal.  Some work may provide successful learning opportunities, such as babysitting or newspaper delivery jobs, but not if the work exposes them to psychological stress, like human trafficking, prostitution and pornographic activities. The international organizations have made great efforts to eliminate child labour across the world. Many countries have adopted legislation to prohibit child labour; nonetheless child labour is widespread throughout the world. It is not easy task for low income countries to achieve banning child labour. Several studies and international organizations considered that education is the key strategy in addressing child labour, and it can help children to stay away from work. However not every family can afford to send their children to school or, even if they enrolled, afford to keep them attending the school. 1.2 Research purpose and questions Child labour is a serious problem and a challenge for many developing countries. Many countries have enacted various laws and have taken serious initiatives to eradicate child labour, but still the problem is very widespread throughout the world. This paper critically examined child labour in India and Nigeria and how both governments undertake various programs to eradicate child labour through different organizations and agencies. In addition to understanding and investigating different reasons behind the plague of child labour that has engulfed throughout the world and a brief review on how child labour has so far been studied .Further, this paper states how to contribute to in raising the government’s awareness about the importance of issues related to child labour, education and their living condition. This research work addresses a question: What are the current patterns in child labour in India and Nigeria now? What kind of policies are adopted to address child labour in India and Nigeria? How does policies adopted relate to previously identified causes? 1.3 Methodology This study it has been based on a comparative case study between two countries. The comparative method is going to give the researchers practical tools for analysis and research. This approach allows the researcher to understand when two or more cases are set against one another(Bryman 2008, p.58). In order to answer research question secondary data is collected through literature material researched from academic books, articles, and news and research reports on child labour, poverty education and public health of child labour. The literature review is mostly based on research papers of different scholars and reports provided by UNICEF, ILO and World Bank in terms of international labour standards and human rights conventions. Secondary data were also extracted from international organisations like the ILO, the UN and the World Bank. This paper attempts to provide with realistic overview of the child labour situation. Peer reviewed online resources and academic articles written by d ifferent scholars, were used in this paper to determine the existing child labour policies. 1.4 Delimitation Since child labour is an extremely complex phenomenon, this study is limited to examining the nature and extent of child labour aged between five and fourteen years old. The largest number of working children between the ages of five and fourteen involved in economic activities worldwide. The study focuses on the fight against child labour, and the importance of legislation for working children. This study looks at the two countries India and Nigeria and to describe   what policies have already been implemented to tackle child labour. India and Nigeria have been chosen for the study because today, Asia has more child labour in the world, for example India has the largest number of world’s working children with almost every third child being a child labour  and every fourth child between the age group of five to fifteen is engaged in some economic activities. While, Nigeria has the highest the incidence of child labourers in Africa. Both countries have been experiencing th e burden of the phenomenon and difficulties to eradicate it(Bhat& Rather, 2009; Owolabi, 2012). 1.5 Outline This study is divided into four chapters. Chapter One provides the background of the problem, the purpose of the research question, methodology, delimitations and outline. Chapter Two explores the situation of child labour in India and Nigeria and then explains the problems of enforcing child labour regulations. Chapter Three gives an overview and definition of child labour- , rural and urban, the differences between boys and girls engaged in economic activity, the link between child labour and poverty, various factors involved in child labour. After a description of the International Legal frameworks of ILO and UNICEF and also describes some of the major international and regional organizations, governments and the work they have done to fight against child labour. Chapter Four presents the theoretical framework which gives outline of the causes behind child labour,the child labour problems in relation to primary schooling and the reasons which makes children drop out of school or not go to school. Chapter Five, the results of the study is reported. In Chapter six presents the conclusion. 2 Background The incidence of child labour is most prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa followed by Asia and the Pacific. The prevalence of child labour is very high in sub-Saharan Africa especially in Nigeria. About 48 million child laborers across sub-Saharan Africa, including 15 million in Nigeria engaged in child labour (Ajakaye,2013) In Asia and the Pacific is the region with the largest number of child labour, India has the largest number of children in the world (ILO,2012)Child labour is an old phenomenon in both India and Nigeria According to Vaknin(2009), it is traditional in both countries to  send a child to work children participated in agricultural and household work. Parents consider that the work help children learn new skills, however these children are exposed to hazards and to physical factors. Both countries were colonized by British. Nigeria became a British colony in 1800 but acquired its independence in 1960. Since independence the country experienced a very violent history. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with more than 170 million people. The country has the largest oil and gas reserves in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite its oil wealth, however, Nigeria remains highly underdeveloped. Poor governance and corruption have limited infrastructure development and social service delivery and slowing economic growth keeping much of the population suffers from extreme poverty (Ploch,2013) In 1612 India became British colony and independent in 1947. India is world’s second most populous country with 1.2 billion people. Indian economy is among the fastest in the world, however the level of poverty in India is still high with high rate illiteracy rates, disease, and malnutrition and largest awareness of poor people in the world(Krishna , 2012) In this chapter I look into the child labour situation in India and Nigeria and how government supporting to eliminate child labour. 2.1 Child labour in India The use of child labour is very prevalence in India and the cause is deep rooted with poverty. UNICEF India has estimated 28 million children aged five to fourteen involved in work (UNICEF,2011) Child labour is not a new phenomenon in India where children has always worked. During the industrial revolution child labour increased, due to the shift of labour movements to colonial countries. Children can be found in every sector of the informal economy (Molanka,2008).The incidence of working children in India are engaged in hazardous occupations such as factories manufacturing diamonds, fireworks, silk and carpets, glass and bricks(Waghamode& Kalyan,2013). There are several factors that force children to work such as inadequate economic growth, poverty, unemployment over population and lack of education and health care (Ahmad,2012). On school attendance in India a large number of children between ten to fourteen years of age are not enrolled in school because of household economic condition. Attendance in school or dropout differs for male and female while boys are more likely to provide financial income for the family, girls are more involved in household chores (Kakoli & Sayeed ,2013).High illiteracy and dropout rates are high in India due to inadequacy of the educational system. Even through many poor families don’t see education as a benefit to society, they consider that work develops skills that can be used to earn income (Ahmed, 2012) 2.2 The legal framework and policies to control child labour in India The India government has established various proactive policies towards elimination of child labour. India has not yet ratified ILO Conventions 138 and 182 on banning child labour and eliminating the worst forms of exploitation. However the government of India implemented a child labour law in 1986(The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act) the legislation sets a minimum age for employment of children at fourteen years and forbid child labour in dangerous sectors. The Government prohibits forced and bonded child labour but is not able to enforce this prohibition. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act does not forbid child labour but consider about regulating it.But indeed the law does not eliminate all forms of child labour specially when the vast majority of children under the age of fourteen are working in family farms or doing households (Venkatarangaiya Foundation;2005). India has a number of child labour projects which have been implemented to help children from hazardous occupations and provide them an education. Including the National Child Labour Policy (NCLP) started in 1987. The aim of NCLP is to help children in hazardous activities and provide non-formal education, vocational training, supplementary nutrition etc. The ILO IPEC (International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour) is also another progarmme which eliminate child labour, the programme sponsors 175 projects in India(Padmanabhan,2010 ) Furthermore, several NGOs like Care India, Child Rights and You, Global March against Child Labour, etc. have taken up the task to get the children back to school and also volunteers along with villagers. The MV Foundation is  non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose mission is to tackle child labour through promoting elementary education, even approaching parents to send their children to school. In spite of various laws regarding child labour and much efforts done by the non-governmental organizations, nonetheless children continue to work on a massive scale in most parts of the country. This is a problem because most child labour laws in India do not cover all types of work such as agriculture, wholesale trade, restaurants and domestic works. Usually these children are the most vulnerable child labourers (Venkatarangaiya Foundation;2005). Despite these efforts, child labour legislation to protect children has been unsuccessful, this is because of the majority of Indian population lives in rural areas with lack of infrastructure and is difficult to enforcement of laws and policies in rural areas. Many of the policies and legislative tools in India are rooted deeply in defection, allowing for illegal behaviours to take advantage of flaws. Many people believe that the cause of these behaviours is something technical, it will be shown that there is a relative heavy percentage of human omitting factor involved, often arising from the mentioned attitudes towards children’s work(Murphy, 2005). 2.3 Child labor in Nigeria Child labour is prevalent in urban centers in Nigeria. This is because a large number of people move from the rural areas to urban area. Over the years there has been a rapid growth in Nigeria’s population because of massive rural-urban migration. For instance Uyo is the capital of Akwa Ibom State, the city has experienced rapid urbanization and many poor rural families struggle for a better life in urban areas. This pushes families to force their children to work in order to supplement family incomes (Okafor,2010; Nseabasi & Abiodun 2010). The number of child labour is increasing in Nigeria, in 1995, the number of child labour was twelve million while by 2006 the number of child labour under the age fourteen has risen to fifteen million (Adegun,2013). The International Labor Organization estimates that about 25 percent of Nigeria’s 80 million children under the age of fourteen are involved in child labour. Children works in different  sectors such as farms, domestic help, in fishing, mining, armed conflict, street hawking, and child trafficking. The number of child labour involved in street hawking is a very common form of child labour in Nigerian cities, these children working from morning to evening and as a result of this, they do not have the time to enroll in schools or most of them drop out of school. Awosusi& Adebo (2012) assumes that many child labourers in Nigeria are abused physically, mentally, sexually and psychologically. They work long hours under dangerous and hazardous conditions with little or no pay benefits. Education in Nigeria is compulsory for a child that till nine years old. Nigerian government makes primary education free and compulsory for all children However, many children do not attend school, about six million children in Nigeria, both boys and girl, are estimated to be working .The dropout rates for primary school are high for both boys and girls because of several factors such as poverty and early marriage teenage pregnancy poor school, or cultural and religious issues (Awosusi& Adebo,2012; Elijah & Okoruwa,2006) 2.4 The legal framework and policies to control child labour in Nigeria Several policies and legislations have been adopted by the Federal Government of Nigeria for improving the welfare of children by eradicating child labour. However, ILO (2000) states some of the legislation and policies have deteriorated, and are not being imposed. Although, there is no direct labour policy in the country, there are several policies and social programmes which aims at improving education, health, population, social development, and child welfare if enforced would help to reduce child labour (ILO,2000) The Federal Labor Act Government have set the minimum age for the employment of children at twelve years and is in force in all the 36 states of Nigeria. The Nigeria’s Labor Act permits children at any age to perform light work in domestic service or work with family member in agriculture. However, the Child Rights Act prohibits the worst forms of child labour, including the forced labour of children and use of children in prostitution or in armed conflict. The Labor Act sets different ages for various hazardous occupations. For instance, a child aged fifteen or older can work in  industries. The law forbids children under age of sixteen to work underground or to work with machines but clearly allow children aged between sixteen to eighteen to do these hazardous occupations. However, the same law prohibits employment of child under the age of 11  eighteen to work in harmful environment. The law does not remove children from domestic service, this can increased incentives for parents to send their children to work (United States Department of Labor, 2011). In 2002 Nigeria ratified Convention No. 138, the Minimum Age Convention and Convention No. 182, the Worst Forms of Child Labour. Nigeria also adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, which appeared to have laid rest to the argument that children have no clearly definable rights in Nigeria. Both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) were adopted in 1991 and 1985 respectively. However both the CRC and CEDAW have now been â€Å"domesticated† in Nigeria. The African Charter has also been domesticated by Nigeria. However, the National Assembly should seriously look into these and other international laws, especially human rights issues that adversely affect the rights and fundamental freedoms of the citizenry. Thus, the problem now is how effectively to enforce and monitor the implementation of these provisions as they affect children’s and women’s rights in Nigeria. This also presupposes that all social rights should be made justifiable in Nigeria so as to empower the less privileged in the society (Onyemachi, 2010). The Nigerian government has provided an enabling environment and support for these civil society organizations (CSOs) to thrive and has drawn from their work formulate policies, programmes and interventions for child victims of abuse and violence (Ekpenyong& Sibirii, 2011). On 2000, the Nigerian Government established a national program to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in Nigeria (Elijah& Okoruwa, 2006). Despite all these children are still abused. Ekpenyong and Sibirii (2011) states the reason child labour is prevalent is due to the economic situation where many families  live below poverty and can barely earn enough to feed themselves and their children. Furthermore mainly child laborers are engaged at the household level or street hawking Togunde and Arielle (2008) argues that regulations regarding street hawking have been difficult to control by the government.