Saturday, August 31, 2019

Good Versus Evil Essay

Good versus Evil At first, it appears that the definitions of good and evil are straightforward. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, good is defined as â€Å"that which is morally right; righteousness†; evil is defined as â€Å"profoundly immoral and malevolent. † For centuries there has been an argument among many philosophers on the belief of â€Å"good versus evil† and whether it really exists. Some argue that human beings are the perpetrators of evil. Others argue that the world is not a bad place and that evil and suffering is, in fact, necessary. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there is a clear struggle involving good and evil. The reader is introduced to the protagonist and narrator, Victor Frankenstein, at the beginning of the novel. Victor, a family oriented man, becomes very interested in the modern science world and later on believes that he has discovered the â€Å"secret of life. † With this discovery he goes on to create a monster, who remains without a name throughout the whole novel. At first glance it appears that the monster did everything in his power to prevent Victor from having the happy life that he longed for. Mary Shelley purposely chose Victor Frankenstein to be the narrator of this story. Readers only get the story from his point of view. Frankenstein plays on the emotions of the readers, therefore anything he is feeling, readers feel the same way. He is seen as this helpless man who has been through so much in such a short life, and all because he was being terrorized by this heinous creature. â€Å"I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin†¦ The trial, the presence of the magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body I exclaimed, ‘Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor’† (122). However, readers do get a glimpse in to how the monster feels and the struggles that he comes across. â€Å"†¦ She continued her course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly her foot slipped; and she fell into the rapid stream. I rushed from my hiding place, and, with extreme labour from the force of the current, saved her, and dragged her to shore†¦ I was suddenly interrupted by the approach of a rustic†¦ On seeing me, he darted towards me, and, tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper parts of the wood†¦ he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired. I sunk to the ground, and my injurer, with increased swiftness, escaped into the wood† (95). Mary Shelley’s anecdote of a struggle between good versus evil makes the reader constantly redefine who is truly the good one, and who is evil. At the end of the novel, the reader discovers that it is really Victor Frankenstein that is the evil one. He manipulated the readers thoughts and feelings by leading them to believe that he was the good one, that he was being tormented by this evil beast. In reality, this is how the story really goes: Frankenstein was the creator of this â€Å"beast. † Frankenstein abandoned the beast and treated it as if it were too wretched to be loved. Frankenstein, knowing how the beast felt and what he was capable of, continued to ignore the monster’s requests for a companion. Frankenstein knew that the beast would take away all of his loved ones until he got what he wanted. Victor manipulated this monster in to doing his dirty work for him. Mary Shelley displays this battle between good and evil very well. Candide, written by Voltaire, is a satire which pokes fun at a number of Enlightenment philosophies. The protagonist, Candide, is a good-hearted but naive young man. His mentor, Pangloss, is described as a teacher of â€Å"metaphysico-theologo-cosmolonigology† who believes that this is â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † This belief, which is argued by Leibniz, is the main reason why Voltaire is satirizing his play. Pangloss is an optimist, and believes that no matter what happens, this is the greatest life anyone can live because the good will always be the case. Voltaire mocks the idea that good prevails over evil because he believes that human beings perpetrate evil. He believes that evil does, in fact, exist and ignoring that existence is wrong and dangerous. Other philosophers such as Leibniz believe that the existence of any evil in the world would have to mean that God is either not good or not omnipotent, and that idea could not possibly be true. With this reasoning, philosophers such as Leibniz believe that since God is indeed perfect, then the world that he has created can be viewed as no less than perfect as well. All the â€Å"evil† or â€Å"bad† that people claim exists in the world is only because they do not understand what God’s ultimate plan is. Voltaire strongly disagrees with this idea, as it is evident in his novel. He does not accept the idea that a perfect God exists, maybe a God does not even exist. To prove his point, Voltaire uses a great deal of exaggeration; the biggest optimists in the world, Candide and Pangloss, go through a series of hardships and horrors. These woes do not serve any apparent purpose but to attack this belief that this is â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † A perfect example is when Pangloss tells Candide that he is dying because of syphilis. In chapter four, Candide cries, â€Å"O sage Pangloss what a strange genealogy is this! Is not the devil the root of it? † Pangloss simply replies, â€Å"Not at all, it was a thing unavoidable, a necessary ingredient in the best of worlds; for if Columbus had not caught in an island in America this disease, which contaminates the source of generation, and frequently impedes propagation itself, and is evidently opposed to the great end of nature, we should have neither chocolate nor cochineal. † This part of the novel makes the reader laugh because chocolate is not the result of syphilis; they are in, no way, related. Voltaire then adds more intelligent and rational characters into the story, such as the old woman, who have more pessimistic views about how the world works. By the end of the novel, Pangloss finally admits that maybe this is not â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † Shelley, Voltaire, and Leibniz all touched on the subject of good versus evil. Voltaire and Leibniz had opposing views on how the world really works. Maybe there is a bigger plan, but evil does exist and evil is created by all of us. Shelley definitely showed how humans can truly be evil. No matter what, there will always be a battle between good versus evil.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Leadership and Roles of Graduate Nurse

After taking the leadership quiz, it was revealed to me that I am a Participative leader. This type of leadership style describes me very well and up holds my beliefs and values in leadership. Understanding the meaning of participative leadership style helps me understand to roles that are required for this style of leadership. As a participative leader one listens to what the team has to say and allow them to express their opinions, ideas, and suggestions to make decisions and solve problems.However, as the leader of the team he or she has the final say in making the decisions. A participative leader supports and encourages his or hers team. The effectiveness of this leadership leads to correct decision for all that is involved. The leader of participative style uses the team's creativity, knowledge, skills, and education to help reach the decisions. A leader who does this is considered fair and not favoring one side or the other.Leaders with the above qualities and characteristics lead to great leadership. The attributes of participative leaders has great respect from their team. From my experience as a staff nurse in the ED, it takes great teamwork to deal with the everyday stress and the call of duty in the ED; this only can come from a department with great leadership. I have had leaders who will server right beside you and help when things go crazy and I have had leaders who will sit in their offices and not come out to help at all.I prefer the lead that will come out and will answer the call light, place a patient on the bedpan, take a patient to the floor, and give you a bathroom or lunch break. My leaders have allowed me to cry when needed too, and not appear weak, vent when a patient or family is being demanding, listen to my concerns and not view them to being negative or complaining and willing to take my concerns and make changes to help all. A good leader does not allow the authority to overcome the reasons why he or she became a nurse in the firs t place.I believe that one of my strong attribute to participative leadership is encouraging others and lifting them up with words of appreciation and gratitude. From my experience a few words of appreciation and a pat on the back builds relationships and teamwork. I have always lived by the motto â€Å"Lead by example† and that is what I believe we all should do not just in nursing but also in everyday life. Actions speak louder than words in any type of leadership one has.A would have to say that one of my weakness in leadership that I would need to work on is being too sensitive at times and not taking constructive critism very well. Therefore, this is an area that I am willing to grow and learn from as I continue my education as APN. A quote that I feel that goes along with participative leadership: â€Å"Recognize the talent of others and acknowledge it† by Gloria Smith, PhD. , RN, FANN of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation (Burnham, 07). This quote covers all the meani ngs of participative leader style from listening to praising.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

4th Gospel Revision Notes

Ethics EITHER 3 (a) (i) Examine the key ideas of one critique of the link between religion and morality. (18) (ii) To what extent does this critique effectively undermine the link between religion and morality? (12) (Total for Question 3(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) Analyse the important features of either Deontology or Natural Moral Law. (18) (ii) To what extent is the selected theory persuasive? (12) (Total for Question 3(b) = 30 marks) EITHER 4 (a) (i) Examine the important concepts relating to justice and law and punishment. (18) (ii) Consider critically the extent to which subjectivism poses problems for these concepts. 12) (Total for Question 4(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) Analyse the contribution made by emotivism to debates about ethical language. (18) (ii) To what extent do the problems of ethical language remain unsolved? (12) (Total for Question 4(b) = 30 marks) New Testament EITHER 17 (a) (i) Examine the religious significance of either the teachings of Jesus concerning the Kin gdom of God (Luke’s Gospel) or the teaching of the Prologue (Fourth Gospel). (18) (ii) To what extent are these teachings important for an understanding of the gospel? (12) (Total for Question 17(a) = 30 marks)OR (b) (i) ‘The gospel was written to reveal the nature of Jesus as the Christ. ’ Examine this claim regarding the purpose of either Luke’s Gospel or the Fourth Gospel. (18) (ii) To what extent may other purposes for the gospel be equally important? (12) (Total for Question 17(b) = 30 marks) EITHER 18 (a) (i) With reference to either Luke’s Gospel or the Fourth Gospel, examine the reasons why the religious and political authorities put Jesus to death. (18) (ii) To what extent was Pilate responsible for the death of Jesus? (12) (Total for Question 18(a) = 30 marks) OR b) (i) Examine the significance of the religious symbolism contained within the crucifixion narrative of either Luke’s Gospel or the Fourth Gospel. (18) (ii) To what extent does the resurrection narrative add to an understanding of the rest of the gospel? (12) (Total for Question 18(b) = 30 marks) Ethics EITHER 3 (a) (i) Analyse the important features of either Deontology or Virtue Ethics. (18) (ii) Consider critically how effective the selected theory may be as a guideline for moral living. (12) (Total for Question 3(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) Examine the key ideas of Natural Moral Law. 18) (ii) To what extent do critiques of the link between religion and morality undermine the value of Natural Moral Law? (12) (Total for Question 3(b) = 30 marks) EITHER 4 (a) (i) Examine key ideas associated with either justice or law and punishment. (18) (ii) Evaluate the view that objectivity and relativism pose problems for the concept selected in part (i). (12) (Total for Question 4(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) Examine the problems which scholars have identified regarding the use and meaning of ethical language. (18) (ii) To what extent may these problems be solved? 12) (Total for Question 4(b) = 30 marks) New Testament EITHER 17 (a) (i) Either examine the important features of Luke’s presentation of Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom of God or examine the key ideas of the Prologue (Fourth Gospel). (18) (ii) Evaluate the claim that this teaching/these ideas are crucial to the meaning of the gospel. (12) (Total for Question 17(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) ‘A careful reading of the gospel reveals the purpose the author had for writing it. ’ Examine this claim with reference to either Luke’s Gospel or the Fourth Gospel. 18) (ii) Evaluate the view that knowing the purpose of the gospel does not add to our understanding of its meaning. (12) (Total for Question 17(b) = 30 marks) EITHER 18 (a) (i) ‘It was the religious officials who were responsible for Jesus’ death; the political authorities had nothing to do with it. ’ Examine this claim with reference to either Luke’s Gospel or the Fourth Gospel . (18) (ii) Evaluate the view that conflict was crucial to the ministry of Jesus. (12) (Total for Question 18(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) Analyse three examples of religious symbolism in the crucifixion narrative of either Luke’s Gospel or the Fourth Gospel. 18) (ii) Evaluate the claim that the resurrection adds little to our understanding of the ministry of Jesus. (12) (Total for Question 18(b) = 30 marks) Ethics EITHER 3 (a) (i) Examine the important concepts of two critiques of the link between religion and morality (18) (ii) To what extent do these critiques succeed in weakening the link between religion and morality? (12) (Total for Question 3(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) Analyse the key features of either Natural Moral Law or Virtue Ethics. (18) (ii) Evaluate the extent to which the selected theory can withstand criticism. (12) (Total for Question 3(b) = 30 marks)EITHER 4 (a) (i) Examine central ideas relating to justice and law and punishment. (18) (ii) To what extent does objectivity pose challenges for imposing punishment? (12) (Total for Question 4(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) Analyse two problems raised by the use and meaning of ethical language. (18) (ii) Evaluate the view that these problems cannot be solved. (12) (Total for Question 4(b) = 30 marks) New Testament EITHER 17 (a) (i) Examine the key religious concepts of either the teachings of Jesus concerning the Kingdom of God (Luke’s Gospel) or the teaching of the Prologue (Fourth Gospel). 18) (ii) Evaluate the claim that these teachings lay down the primary themes of the gospel. (12) (Total for Question 17(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) ‘The Gospel was written to make clear the identity of Jesus. ’ Examine this claim regarding the purpose of either Luke’s Gospel or the Fourth Gospel. (18) (ii) Evaluate the claim that there are also other important purposes for the gospel. (12) (Total for Question 17(b) = 30 marks) EITHER 18 (a) (i) With reference to either Luke’s Gos pel or the Fourth Gospel, examine the [pic][? ] |&'(*,. /@AGJKY[^_pqrs†¹ Zâ€Å" ¤?  ¬iaiaiaiaiaiOAa ·a ·?  ·aâ„ ¢? A†¦? {†¦A{A{A{†¦g†¦? u†°OJ[? ]QJ[? ]U[pic]^J[? ]mHnHu[pic]h? †ºOJ[? ]QJ[? ]contribution of both the religious and political authorities to the death of Jesus. (18) (ii) Consider critically the claim that it was Pilate who was responsible for the death of Jesus, not the Jewish leaders. (12) (Total for Question 18(a) = 30 marks) OR (b) (i) ‘The religious symbolism of the crucifixion narrative is vital to understanding the whole gospel. ’ Examine the meaning of this claim. (18) (ii) To what extent does the resurrection narrative enhance that understanding? (12) (Total for Question 18(b) = 30 marks)

BUILDING E-COMMERCE APPLICATIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE Assignment

BUILDING E-COMMERCE APPLICATIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE - Assignment Example on for businesses who are aiming to step into the digital world, although it might sound ancient but there are many businesses that are not making the most of the web tools. Campmor turned to their program integrators Tychon Solution so they could really be able to exploit the web analytical tools. After the masterful tweaks from their internet solution providers, they were able to document from which part of the world they were getting most visitors from and for who long they stay on their web page and which items they are most interested in, that is pure marketing manipulative exploitative tactic. They also upgraded their whole website so that it became truly user-friendly and people were not abandoning their sopping when they took out their credit cards to buy because it became easier to navigate through the website. There is a lot more to building an EC application than to be able to really put it to use. Having a sniper rifle is one thing, having the skill of breathing, wind direction, sunlight, target movement, length of the bullet, range of the gun, trajectory and even the earth’s rotation, is quite another. The EC architecture, its design and how it can be customized to fit a business need is the real ingredient to online business success. D-M-E is another success example of incorporating EC to modify their cloud presence. Knowing how to exploit the Internet marketing, almost any business can tremendously increase their

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Media and Sexuality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Media and Sexuality - Essay Example Fashion magazines are a good example of how media represents sexuality. With particular interest to the Dolce & Gabbana; we are looking at how fashion will allow me to suppose about the specificity of the visual pleasures and forms of identification that will be extracted from such magazines. The dissimilar consumer habit that is assumed in lesbians and gay men in addition to their reading of fashion images is related to the difference in historical relationship to fashion (Lewis 19). Whatever the fashion, dress has become a huge marker to the identity of the everyday’s lives of gays and lesbians. They have served as an identity to other homosexuals or as a method of passing; for those who may be gay coded. Because of these reason clothes have been so important to the lives of gays and lesbians and so related pages may seem of more interests to them. It has also been an argument that lesbian viewers and readers have always had a mode of selfish identification with images of be autiful women images and producing desires to have or to be the displayed woman. As she gazes at the model she may synchronize at a fantasy level of desire to be like her, a desire to have her, and moreover, a longing to be because she is the receiver of another woman’s gaze. Besides, in the female world the fashion magazine produces logic female desires gazes whether she is consciously lesbian or not. This is referred to as paradigmatic lesbian viewing (Lewis 23). She can be imagining to be looking at the images so as to learn how to make herself desirable for her man. But this does not police the viewer against the lesbian pleasure. Although we are focusing on the lesbian visual pleasures, gay magazines have the habits of illuminating. ... But this does not police the viewer against the lesbian pleasure. Although we are focusing on the lesbian visual pleasures, gay magazines have the habits of illuminating. Previously, the male body has been documented in ways that thought to be connected with the body of the female alone. Gay magazines have done it in the reverse; they seek to sell the idea of homosexuality as a lifestyle which they openly celebrate. They try to make the readers to celebrate and participate in their mainstream culture, rather than to converse to them in an insulate of fantasized gay separation. It means that the advertising revenue is possible, more so when this campaign adverts look to be increasing at homes in a gay venue (Lewis 29). So while looking at the fashion coverage we are viewing it in the increasing queering of the popular gay culture. A single reading experience for a gay or lesbian will engage the reader in reading prevailing representational codes and this may more or less open them to same sex pleasures. To consume a gay or lesbian magazine is therefore, an experience of simultaneous reading with and against the grain. The re-reading of images that were previously consumed is laid with obviously homoerotic connotations in the homosexual context. There has been some debate on the nature of picture presentation in lesbian magazines. Popular lesbian magazines such as diva have brought up the naughty/nice composite of picture presentation that is a signification of the up to date awareness and style of the lesbian dress debates (Lewis 38). A look at the top figures invites a participation and identification. It is the policy of lesbian and gay magazines to use photographs of

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

How the Olympics Influenced History Research Paper

How the Olympics Influenced History - Research Paper Example This paper is critical analysis of the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, with special focus on the historical significance of that particular global event. Historians refer the 1936 Olympic Games in various terms, including â€Å"Hitler Olympics† and â€Å"propaganda Olympics†. Some of the factors that made the event remarkable include the features and facilities installed in the venues, use of modern telecommunication technology and the propaganda propagated by the Nazi government in addition to exemplar performance by the participating athletes. By the time Berlin City was granted the right to host Olympic Games, Germany was under the leadership of Weimer, but in 1933, Adolf Hitler took over the government heralding one of the most momentous and eventful eras in history. The coming to power of Adolf Hitler transformed the growing and delicate democracy into an absolute dictatorial country, under one party rule, the National Socialist German Workers Party popularly referred as Nazi (Rippon, 78-85) Hitler’s ascendancy to power in 1933 elicited widespread concern in the world, throwing the 1936 Olympic Games in jeopardy. United States and several European democracies questioned the morality of supporting and sponsoring Olympic Games under Hitler’s oppressive regime. ... In order to make Aryans the dominant race in Germany, Hitler passed laws that authorized doctors to conduct sterilization by force on colored people, psychiatric patients and people with physical disabilities (Kass, 225). The Jews in German experienced the most severe crackdown characterized by physical assaults, economic boycotts on their interests, and forced expulsion from government jobs and other professions. In addition, they were excluded from social places such as recreation amenities. Moreover, Jews were prohibited from engaging in intermarriages with the Aryan race (Kass, 226). According to Rippon (152), Nazi leadership used the Olympic Games to promote the superiority of the Aryan race. German citizens that were not of Aryan ancestry were excluded from the German team, and sports facilities. In addition, they were condemned to poorly equipped facilities that severely limited their abilities to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games (Rippon, 163). The reports on persecution of J ewish athletes in Germany in 1933 reached organizers of the Olympic Games, which responded by the sending observers in the country to asses the situation. Young (144) notes that the American Olympic committee strongly condemned the unfolding events in Germany, by asserting that the basis of Olympic Games revitalization would be severely undermined by the limiting participation of athletes on grounds of race, creed or race. Several member nations in the Olympic committee considered Germany to be denied the right to host the games. In view of the growing concern from global leaders, the German government embarked on a well orchestrated propaganda aimed at impressing the world on its

Monday, August 26, 2019

Business Culture Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Culture Environment - Essay Example His mission does not include trying to transform the Chinese business culture or their society. So taking a very hard and principled stance is never a great business strategy. A sound business strategy is one that is pragmatic, realistic and with a clear profit motive and wealth maximization for the company's stakeholders. [Ref. 2: "Profit Motive" by Murphy Warren.] This is even more so, because by winning one moral victory at a very high cost, there is no guarantee that it will bring greater benefits to the joint venture in the future. There is no guarantee that it will lead to a change of heart and a change of culture of your Chinese partners. There is no guarantee that even the same people with whom you negotiated this protracted conflict, will even be there by the time the joint venture moves forward into its next stage of progress, considering that most of the key employees belong to the state and the communist party, and can be re-shuffled or transferred to other positions at any time. The problem with a joint venture is that the more time you lose in the beginning over smaller issues, the lesser time you are left with by the time you confront larger issues. [Ref. 3: "Effective International Joint Venture Management" by R.C. Wolf] Since the joint venture was already off to a bad start with an eighteen-month delay, the pressure was bound to increase as the negotiations progressed to other areas of the venture. During negotiations, the TNT manager must take it into account the experiences of his competitors, and how they are dealing with such problems. In business, you cannot afford to ignore your competitors' behavior and their strategies, while you remain trapped in your own personal beliefs or biases. Excessive loss of time gives opportunities to the competitors to occupy the space that has been left vacant by you. The fact that the negotiations of TNT with the Chinese lasted five years before the joint venture could see the light of the day, speaks eloquently about its dismal performance. There is no way to justify such an inordinate delay merely by explaining the extremities of the Chinese culture. The TNT manager learned about the Chinese culture the harsh way, which proved too expensive for the joint venture. He ought to have done his homework well in advance, and been fully aware of what to expect from the Chinese. Without a thorough knowledge and understanding of the Chinese culture, it would waste a lot of time in gathering one's learning and experience, which is what happened with the TNT manager. The biggest strategic error of TNT was to put such a man in-charge of the negotiations with the Chinese, who had apparently no past experience in dealing with them. Such a valuable joint venture definitely needed such people on the team of TNT who had either worked for many years in China, or alternatively, who were men of Chinese origin working in the west for many years. In other words, the joint venture needed negotiators who understood both sides intimately. ANS. 2: The TNT case is an outstanding example of cultural misunderstandings and miscommunications. Its

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Impact of culture on globalization strategies Essay - 1

Impact of culture on globalization strategies - Essay Example Accordingly, Manrodt & Vitasek (2004, 3) averred that â€Å"the literature is clear that global and transnational firms can benefit from a coordinated and integrated management of their key processes.† The complexity of managing global processes on a wider scale is eminent taking into account obstacles including â€Å"language, customs, current standards, education levels, and government regulations. Increased competition, demanding customers, and constantly changing business environments have forced management to seek radically different ways for their companies to succeed in the marketplace.† (Manrodt & Vitasek, 2004, 3) The authors opted to utilize two methods in to achieve their objective. The first method is the use of comprehensive literature on the subject of global process standardization. The second method comprised of an in-depth case study of an actual organization, the Modus Media International, Inc. (Modus) identified as a â€Å"leader linking metrics from strategy to the plant level across its 23 manufacturing/distribution facilities.† (Manrodt & Vitasek, 2004, 4) The study that was conducted interviewed senior management to line managers using structured standardized questions on Modus’s process management standardization practices. Manrodt & Vitasek formulated a framework for standardizing global processes enumerating six critical steps, to wit: articulate a strategy; adopt a process review of logistics; identification of key segments, processes and process attributes; determination of impact to customers; selection of improvement of key segments; and identification and training of the global segment owner. A background on the company and the case was initially provided. A supply chain conditioning maturity profile was designed to indicate each of the processes which had several attributes that helped employees determine their level

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Health and Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health and Safety - Essay Example Its main provisions are: To provide and sustain as far as is, feasible for workers a working environment that is safer and with no risks to health. In this feature, â€Å"feasible† means doing what can be achieved in terms of: the cruelty of risk or hazard in question; the suitability and availability of ways to mitigate or remove that risk; and the state of knowledge about the given risk and any techniques of mitigating the hazards. Another feature of the Occupational Health and Safety Act is that it sets out a framework to build procedures and policies in which a health and safety board is established. The board formulates, disseminates, and reviews the rules, standards, and procedures to employees associated to safety and healthy that are to be complied or carried out at the workplace. The above regulations are relevant in the World Federation of Engineering Organization (WFEO) because this organization has set a working environment that is geared to the advancement of the engineering profession. The engineers therefore are made aware of procedures, rules and policies of the firm. Since its mission is to create a professional team that helps in disaster reduction through the transfer and exchange of technology from one nation to another, the regulations are vital in ensuring that the technologies are transferred safely with special consideration to the health of the workforce. He or she gives expert skills and knowledge to create and promote a positive health and safety attitudes. This represents a major role in assisting to control work-related risk. They work in collaboration with employees, employers, trade unions, and directors (Murray & Dainty, 2013). The Health and Safety advisor is responsible for making sure that all legislations related to safety are adhered to and practices and policies are adopted. They are also

Friday, August 23, 2019

What were the main economic and institutional differences between the Term Paper

What were the main economic and institutional differences between the studio system of the 1930s and 1940s and 'new Hollywood' post-1975 - Term Paper Example 20). A lot of talent was drained from western countries and the Hollywood nurtured that talent by providing them lucrative benefits and rich culture. The staring era of films in the Hollywood was the era of silent movies and the messages were delivered by the body language, sounds, and the sequence and some time running the text on the screen. However, the economic, technological and institutional transformation occurred around the world revolutionized cinematic activities and Hollywood witnessed major changes in the studio system during different eras. ... Some of the movies are inspired by the true events and some of them are inspired by the fabricated plots, fictions and the legends. Classical Era Types of the movies in the classical era (classical studio) As it seems clear by the name that the classical movies had class, these movies were based on the Fictional and real plots. Irrespective of the time frame, both the movies based on the idealism and realism has been presented and has become hit on the box office. The combination of the real situation has also been used in some movies like the De Vinci Code (2006) and it has been done irrespective of the time frame. Either the classical movies or the modern movies both have been reflecting the contemporary culture in their entities but the difference is the time, so understanding the difference of time can put a light on the above mentioned criteria of the question. The classical era had many glamorous stars which provided synergies to the film industry of that super glamorous era, a nd the faith killing beauties were cast with the support of solid stories. The beautiful faces were not the only criteria there, but the strong script was the trade mark of that era which is still believed as the golden era of the film industry Solid plots with strong theme and story Both Gone with the Wind (1939) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) were based on the bestselling novels and both movies were released in the same years. The 1930-40 was an era when the cream of best writer, directors and actors were coming there and it was a heaven for them (Chaplin, 2003, p. 91). A good work was immediately noticed in the Hollywood, and the feasibilities were made for them to release films on them. The industrialization affected the film industry and the base for

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Invictus Explication Essay Example for Free

Invictus Explication Essay Written in the form of a sonnet, William Ernest Henleys poem Invictus describes the continuos battle against darkness and sin that every human being experiences in his or her life. Invictus is formatted in four stanzas with four lines each and every stanza serves a separate purpose then the stanzas before. Henley reveals one of the major themes of this poem through the words My head is bloody, but unbowed (8). This line at the end of stanza two displays that everybody will endure struggles at some point in their life, but they cannot let those struggles complete destroy hemselves. Each stanza not only introduces realistic struggles and hardships that human beings face, but they also illustrate how humans can triumph over those hardships. For example, the very beginning of the poem starts off with Out of the night that covers me/ Black as the pit from pole to pole implying that darkness and wickedness surround someones life (1-2). Later on in the beginning of stanzas two and three words such as fell clutch/ horror of the shade [and] menace of the years also introduce a dark and gloomy tone to the poem (4,9-10). Once the gloomy tone has een presented, Henley quickly switches gears and flips the tone to one of strength and encouragement; The transition of tones is exhibited in strong language such as l have not winced, nor cried aloud (6). Henley formats each stanza in a way where the reader leaves with positive thoughts as he or she continues reading. All throughout the poem, every line contains either a positive or negative tone; however, the order in which the lines are written change with each stanza. Rather than simply alternating between positive and negative tones with each line, Henley hanges not only the orders but also the amount of the positive and negative lines within each stanza. For example, the first stanza contains two negatively toned lines that are followed by two positive lines, but the second stanza alternates from negative to positive. By altering the order of the lines, Henley hints at the fact that life can throw good or bad things at you in any order. Different from all other stanzas, the third stanza contains three negatively toned lines and only one positively toned line. The stanza begins Beyond this place of wrath and tears/ Looms but the Horror of the shade/ and yet the menace of the years creating an extremely dark and malicious feel to the stanza (9-11). However, the maliciousness is shown to be ineffective to this person as the menace of the years/ finds and shall find [him/her] unafraid (11-12). Since stanza three contains three negatively toned lines in a row, it indicates that life can become absolutely overwhelming with darkness and evil, but no matter how hopeless life may seem people always have the choice to fight and be unafraid. The themes of self-reliance and survival present themselves strongly in the last stanza. Essentially, Henleys Invictus can be summed up with one simple statement: humans control their own lives, they have been given the authority to do whatever they desire. The use of the words Master and Captain in lines 15-16 prove this statement because both masters and captains are leaders who are inclined to make their own decisions. These lasts lines ultimately prove that people are in control of in their own hands. Whether a person ends up down the road of triumph or defeat falls complete upon his or herself because [they] are the Masters of [their] fate/ [they] are the Captains of [their] soul (15-16).

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Eugenics the Unethical Pseudoscience Essay Example for Free

Eugenics the Unethical Pseudoscience Essay Our topic was on selective human breeding, or in other words eugenics. If you don’t know what eugenics is don’t worry I’ll tell you, according to Oxford dictionaries eugenics is the science of improving a population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. Desirable heritable characteristics for example can be things like a particular eye color, hair color, height, etc. My question to you all is if you think eugenics is ethical or not? I want to hear your answer after I give you my reasons of why I don’t believe eugenics is ethical. Now this might not sound like such a controversial topic but the history of eugenics is not exactly a bright one. Now everyone knows how WWII began, and the people responsible for it. Hitler and his henchmen victimized an entire continent, murdered millions, during his search for what he called the â€Å"Master Race. † His vision of the ideal race was white, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed, but contrary to popular belief, this idea of the â€Å"Master Race† did not originate with Hitler. The idea came from the United States and its eugenics program. The E. R.  O also known as the Eugenics Record Office was founded on 1910 in New York. A thing that not many people know is that the United States actually had one of the largest eugenic movements in the world. Eugenics was used by scientists as a way to control people, by that I mean they would use various research methods, hereditary questionnaires, and interviewing groups with special interests. The E. R. O. was able to convince the U. S. government to administer eugenic laws nationwide. This included immigration and marriage restrictions, race segregation, and forced sterilization of criminals and who was seen as undesirable. Well what is forced sterilization you ask? To simplify it for males it’s a vasectomy and for woman it’s a tubal ligation, getting your tubes tied. The U. S. was forcing people to be sterilized just because they were seen as unfit to breed, because they didn’t fall under what was seen as desirable. Now this thing eugenics they called it science, I personally see it as pseudoscience used to discriminate people, was used for decades. Oh and did you know that California had the largest eugenics movement in the country. From 1907 to the 1970’s over 60,000 people were forced sterilized in the U. S. alone, and 20,000 of those people were in California. Now who decides if a person should be forced sterilized or not, well a list was made and if a person has or falls under any of the items on that list, they are to be sterilized right away. The few things on that list are paralysis, congenital blindness, acquired deafness, sexual promiscuity, and not being physically attractive. Now I have a video I’d like to show you about eugenics and its forced sterilization.

Non Equillibrium Green’s Function Technique

Non Equillibrium Green’s Function Technique NON EQUILLIBRIUM GREEN’S FUNCTION TECHNIQUE USED FOR THE METAL-INSULATOR-METAL DIODES ANSHUMAN Electronics and Communication Dept. NIT Kurukshetra Abstract – In this paper theoretical analysis of NEGF method, including the transport equation and Poisson equation, is done followed by the derivation of an analytical model using NEGF tunnelling probability through any number of insulating layers. Numerical NEGF simulator are shown matching with the AF-TMM simulator results. INTRODUCTION THE STUDY OF tunnelling phenomena in Metal Insulator Metal (MIM) is an important topic for the aim of the development of rectennas for energy harvesting and infrared detectors applications. Although the interest in Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) diodes dates back to 1950s [1]–[4], but they attracted the attention again in the last few years due to its applications, energy harvesting [5]–[8] and infrared/terahertz detectors [9]–[11]. Earlier, various analytical expressions for the tunnelling transmission probability through MIM diodes were developed based on WKB approximation [2]–[4]. However, the WKB does not take into consideration the wave function reflections at the interface between different layers [14]. Therefore, there came the need for other models to simulate the tunnelling probability. Non Equilibrium Green Function (NEGF) [12] numerical method is one of the methods used to calculate the tunnelling transmission probability [15]–[18]. It is an accurate numerical method, but it needs long time of calculations on a PC in comparison to other analytical models. Any program used for the simulation of a device performs a solution of transport equation and â€Å"Poisson† equation [19].The transport equation gives the electron density, n(r) and the current, I for a known potential profile U(r), while Poisson equation gives the effective U(r), felt by an electron due to the presence of other electron in its vicinity. Here, in this paper the Quantum transport, Green’s functions and its various equations under non equilibrium condition are discussed and a detailed quantum mechanical modeling of the tunnelling current through MIM diodes is presented. An analytical expression for the tunnelling transmission probability is presented using the NEGF equations for any number of insulator layers between the two metals. Fig.1. Transport of electrons for single energy level device The paper is organized as follows: in Section II, the transport equations are discussed. In section III NEGF equations for MIM Diode is described in detail. The governing equations and numerical implementation of it is outlined. The material parameters used in the simulation are also summarized. GENERAL TRANSPORT EQUATION Let’s consider the model for a single device sandwiched between two metals 1and 2ION THE METAL-INSULATOR.ce of other electron in its vicinity.port and 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111, as shown in fig. 1.The device is assumed to be having a single energy level, Ô . Our first aim is to find the number of electrons, N in the device. Let Ef be the Fermi level set by the work function of the two metal contacts under the equilibrium condition. On applying the bias voltage, Vb between metal 1 and 2, the Fermi- energies of two metals gets modified to  µ1 and  µ2 respectively and given as [19]: (1) This difference in Fermi-energy gives rise to a non-equilibrium condition and hence two different Fermi-functions for the two contacts. If device is in equilibrium with metal 1, then number of electrons will be f ­1 but if it is in equilibrium with metal 2, number of electrons will be f ­2, where (2) Let and be the rate of escape of electron from device into metal 1 and metal 2 respectively. Therefore the currents I1 and I2 crossing metal1 and 2 interfaces are given as[20]: And (3) For I1 = I2 = I, we get steady-state number of electrons N and current I as: (4a) (4b) Due to the applied bias voltage one of the reservoir keeps pumping the electron trying to increase the number while the other keeps emptying it trying to lower the number. Ultimately, there is a continuous flow of current, I (eq. 4b) in the external circuit. Assuming à °Ã‚ Ã…“†¡1 > à °Ã‚ Ã…“â‚ ¬ > ÃŽ ¼2 and the temperature is low enough that f1 (ÃŽ µ) ≠¡ f0 (ÃŽ µ − ÃŽ ¼1) ≈ 1 and f2 (ÃŽ µ) ≠¡ f0 (ÃŽ µ − ÃŽ ¼2) ≈ 0, the Eq. 4b simplifies to [21]: If = (5) Eq.5 suggests that we can flow an unlimited current through this one level device if we increase, i.e. by coupling the device more and strongly to the metal contacts. But the maximum conductance of a one-level device is equal to [20], so there must be some reduction factor. This reduction is due to the broadening of the discrete level that occurs because of increased coupling of the device with the two metals. This broadened discrete level can be described by the distribution: With line-width of ÃŽ ³ and shift of level from ÃŽ µ to ÃŽ µ+à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  , where. This broadening phenomena modifies the Eqs. (4a, b) to include an integral over all energies weighted by the distribution D(E) [13]: (6a) (6b) Using algebraic manipulation Eqs. (6a, b) becomes: (7a) (7b) Where (8) (9) Till now we have discussed device with single energy level ÃŽ µ. But in practical situation (i.e. for real devices) there exist multiple energy levels. Any device, in general, can be represented by a Hamiltonian matrix, whose eigenvalues tells about the allowed energy levels. For example if we describe the device using an effective mass Hamiltonian H = then it can be represented with a (NxN) matrix by choosing a discrete lattice with N point and applying methods of finite-differences [13]. This corresponds to using a discretized real space basis. Similarly, we define self-energy matrices [∑ ­1,2] which describe the broadening and shift of energy levels due to coupling with the two metals. The required NEGF equations now can be obtained from Eqs(7a, b) by replacing scalar quantities ÃŽ µ and ÏÆ' ­1,2 with the corresponding matrices [H] and [∑ ­1,2], and is given as: , (10) , (11) The number of electrons N, in the device is replaced with the density matrix, given by: {} (12) Current is still represented by Eq. (7b). The transmission can be given as the trace of the analogous matrix quantity: (13) TRANSMISSION EQUATION FOR MIM DIODE USING NEGF EQUATIONS The 1D time-independent single-particle Schrà ¶dinger equation is given by [13]: Where, is the reduced Plank constant, ψ(x) is the electron wave-function, m is the effective mass and U(x) is the potential energy. If it is assumed that the insulator layers are divided into M grid points having uniform spacing, a, then finite difference discretization on the 1D grid is applied to Schrà ¶dinger equation Eq. (1) at each node i as follows [14]: (2) Where, represents the interaction between the nearest neighbour grid points i and i+1, Ui ≠¡ U (xi), and mi is the electron effective mass between the nodes i and i + 1. The coupling of the potential barrier to the left and right metal electrodes is taken into consideration by rewriting Eq. (1) for i =1 and i = M with open boundary conditions expressed at Metal1/Insulator and Insulator/Metal2 interfaces. So, Schrà ¶dinger equation now takes the following form [13]: (3) Where, H is the M Ãâ€" M Hamiltonian matrix of the insulator potential, I is the M Ãâ€" M identity matrix, ψ is the wavefunction M Ãâ€" 1 vector and S is M Ãâ€" 1 vector. ∑L and ∑R are the M Ãâ€" M self-energies of the left and right contacts respectively. Fig. 1. Potential of a stack of N insulator materials under applied bias voltage, Vb. Each insulator layer is characterized by a barrier height (Uj), a thickness (d j), a dielectric constant ÃŽ µ j, and an effective mass (m j). Now, under a tri-diagonal form H can be rewritten as: ∑L and ∑R are given as: The solution of Eq. (1) can be given in the terms of retarded Green’s function as where is MÃâ€"M retarded Green’s function [13]: The rate of escape of electron to either left or right metal from a given state can be taken into consideration by defining two quantities, ΓL and ΓR [14]. Hence, the tunnelling probability can now be computed as [14]: COMPARISION OF NEGF MODEL WITH OTHER MODELS A model of MIIM diode was simulated using NEGF, AF-TMM and WKB Approximation for a comparative analysis of their transmission probability vs. electron transmission energy curve. The parameter spacing, a, for the NEGF calculation was assumed equal to the hundredth of the insulator layer thickness. This was found adequate for reasonable simulation time. The effective mass was assumed equal to the free mass of the electron throughout the MIM structure. Fig.3 below shows theof the simulated MIIM of Nb/Nb2O5 (2nm)-Ta2O5 (1nm)/Nb at 0.1V of bias voltage. A complete matching between AF-TMM and NEGF results is observed. Fig.3. Transmission probability T (Ex) versus the electron transmission energy calculated using AF-TMM, NEGF, and WKB at Vb = 0.1 V for Nb/Nb2O5/Ta2O5/ Nb MIIM diode. Fig.4. Energy band diagram of the MIIM diode used for simulation REFERENCES J. G. Simmons, â€Å"Electric tunnel effect between dissimilar electrodes separated by a thin insulating film,† J. Appl. Phys., vol. 34, no. 9, pp. 2581–2590, Mar. 1963. J. G. Simmons, â€Å"Generalized formula for the electric tunnel effect between similar electrodes separated by a thin insulating film,† J. Appl. Phys., vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 1793–1803, 1963. R. Stratton, â€Å"Volt-current characteristics for tunneling through insulating films,† J. Phys. Chem. Solids, vol. 23, no. 9, pp. 1177–1190, Sep. 1962. J. G. Simmons, â€Å"Potential barriers and emission-limited current flow between closely spaced parallel metal electrodes,† J. Appl. Phys., vol. 35, no. 8, pp. 2472–2481, Aug. 1964. S. Grover and G. Moddel, â€Å"Applicability of metal/insulator/metal (MIM) diodes to solar rectennas,† IEEE J. Photovoltaic, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 78–83, Jul. 2011. K. Choi, M. Dagenais, F. Yesilkoy, A. N. Chryssis, and M. C. Peckerar, â€Å"Solar spectrum rectification using Nano-antenna and tunneling diodes,† Proc. SPIE, vol. 7605, pp. 1–12, Feb. 2010. M. R. Osgood, B. R. Kimball, and J. Carlson, â€Å"Nanoantenna-coupled MIM nanodiodes for efficient vis/nir energy conversion,† Proc. SPIE, vol. 6652, no. 1, pp. 1–11, Sep. 2007. R. Osgood, J. B. Carlson, B. R. Kimball, D. P. Ziegler, J. R. Welch, L. E. Belton, G. E. Fernandes, Z. Liu, and J. Xu â€Å"Plasmonic nanorectennas for energy conversion,† Proc. SPIE, vol. 7394, pp. 1–11, Aug. 2009. J. A. Bean, A. Weeks, and G. D. Boreman, â€Å"Performance optimization of antenna-coupled tunnel diode infrared detectors,† IEEE J. Quantum Electron., vol. 47, no. 1, pp. 126–135, Jan. 2011. B. Tiwari, J. A. Bean, G. Szakmany, G. H. Bernstein, P. Fay, and W. Porod, â€Å"Controlled etching and regrowth of tunnel oxide for antenna coupled metal-oxide-metal diodes,† J. Vacuum Sci. Technol. B, Microelectron. Nanometer Struct. , vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 2153–2160, 2009. J. A. Bean, B. Tiwari, G. H. Bernstein, P. Fay, and W. Porod, â€Å"Thermal infrared detection using dipole antenna-coupled metal-oxide-metal diodes,† J. Vacuum Sci. Technol. B, Microelectron. Nanometer Struct. , vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 11–14, 2009. Arun Goud Akkala, †NEGF Simulation of electron transport in resonant inteband tunneling diodes†, Purdue University, pp. 8-18, 2011. Supriyo Dutta, â€Å"Nanoscale device modeling: the Green’s function method,† Superlattices and Microstructures, vol. 28, no. 4, pp.253-272, 2000. Islam E. Hashem, Nadia H. Rafat and Ezzaldin A. Soliman, â€Å"Theoretical study of metal-insulator-metal tunneling diode figure of merit,† IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 72-80, January 2013 M. Moreau, D. Munteanu, and J.-L. Autran, â€Å"Simulation of gate tunneling current in metal–insulator–metal capacitor with multilayer high-ÃŽ º dielectric stack using the non-equilibrium green’s function formalism,† Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., vol. 48, no. 11, pp. 111409-1–111409-8, Nov. 2009. D. Munteanu, J. L. Autran, M. Moreau, and M. Houssa, â€Å"Electron transport through high-ÃŽ º dielectric barriers: A non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) study,† J. Non-Crystall. Sol., vol. 355, no. 21, pp. 1180–1184, Jul. 2009. S. Grover and G. Moddel, â€Å"Engineering the current-voltage characteristics of metal-insulator-metal diodes using double-insulator tunnel barriers,† Solid-State Electron., vol. 67, no. 1, pp. 94–99, Jan. 2012. A. K. Ghatak, K. Thyagarajan, and M. R. Shenoy, â€Å"A novel numerical technique for solving the one-dimensional Schrà ¶dinger equation using matrix approach-application to quantum well structures,† IEEE J. Quantum Electron., vol. 24, no. 8, pp. 1524–1531, Aug. 1988. Supriyo Dutta, â€Å"The Non-equilibrium green’s function (NEGF) formalism: An elementary introduction,† IEEE IEDM, pp. 703-706, 2002. Supriyo Dutta, Quantum transport: atom to transistor, 1st ed., Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp.1-30 SYMBOLS

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Martin Luther :: Reformation Christianity Religion Protestantism

Martin Luther This essay is concerned with Martin Luther (1483-1546), and his concept of Christianity. Luther began his ecclesiastical career as an Augustinian Monk in the Roman Catholic Church. Consequently, Luther was initially loyal to the papacy, and even after many theological conflicts, he attempted to bring about his reconciliation with the Church. But this was a paradox not to endure because in his later years, Luther waged a continual battle with the papacy. Luther was to become a professor of biblical exegesis at Wittenberg where, in 1957, he posted his critique of the Roman Catholic Church's teachings and practices. This is otherwise known as The Ninety-Five Theses, which is usually considered to be the original document of the Reformation. Basically, this document was an indictment of the venality of the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the widespread practice of selling indulgences in association with the sacrament of penance. Luther's beliefs on the matter was that after confessio n, absolution relied upon the sinner's faith and God's Divine Grace rather than the intervention of a priest. At this point, Luther did not advocate an actual separation from the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, Luther felt his suggested reforms York-3 could be implemented within Catholicism. If this had taken place, the Protestant Reformation would probably not of ever seen the light of day--nor would it have been necessary. But the theological practices being what they were in the Roman Church, there was little chance at that time for any great variations to occur within its folds. The Church of Rome was thoroughly monolithic and set in its ways and was not about to mutate into something else. If a metamorphosis had occurred within the Roman Catholic Church, Luther would have had a different destiny. But Luther's fate was sealed, and his job was cut out for him. Concerning Luther and the Reformation, Paul Tillich states: "The turning point of the Reformation and of church history in general is the experience of an Augustinian monk in his monastic cell--Martin Luther. Martin Luther did not merely teach different doctrines; others had done that also, such as Wyclif. But none of the others who protested against the Roman system were able to break through it. The only man who really made a breakthrough, and whose breakthrough has transformed the surface of the earth, was Martin Luther. . . . He is one of the few great prophets of the Christian Church, and his greatness is overwhelming, even if it was limited by some of his personal traits and his later development.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Jack London :: essays research papers

Jack London fought his way up out of the factories and waterfront dives of West Oakland to become the highest paid, most popular novelist and short story writer of his day. He wrote passionately and prolifically about the great questions of life and death, the struggle to survive with dignity and integrity, and he wove these elemental ideas into stories of high adventure based on his own firsthand experiences at sea, or in Alaska, or in the fields and factories of California. As a result, his writing appealed not to the few, but to millions of people all around the world. Along with his books and stories, however, Jack London was widely known for his personal exploits. He was a celebrity, a colorful and controversial personality who was often in the news. Generally fun-loving and playful, he could also be combative, and was quick to side with the underdog against injustice or oppression of any kind. He was a fiery and eloquent public speaker, and much sought after as a lecturer on socialism and other economic and political topics. Despite his avowed socialism, most people considered him a living symbol of rugged individualism, a man whose fabulous success was due not to special favor of any kind, but to a combination of unusual mental ability and immense vitality. Strikingly handsome, full of laughter, restless and courageous to a fault, always eager for adventure on land or sea, he was one of the most attractive and romantic figures of his time. Jack London ascribed his literary success largely to hard work - to "dig," as he put it. He tried never to miss his early morning 1,000-word writing stint, and between 1900 and 1916 he completed over fifty books, including both fiction and non-fiction, hundreds of short stories, and numerous articles on a wide range of topics. Several of the books and many of the short stories are classics of their kind, well thought of in critical terms and still popular around the world. Today, almost countless editions of London's writings are available and some of them have been translated into as many as seventy different languages. In addition to his daily writing stint and his commitments as a lecturer, London also carried on voluminous correspondence (he received some 10,000 letters per year), read proofs of his work as it went to press, negotiated with his various agents and publishers,

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Capital Punishment Essay -- Justice Law Government Morals Ethics Essay

Capital Punishment Should we kill killers is the question to answer regarding the controversial subject of capital punishment. There is strong support for both sides and many people have offered their opinions in writing for all of us to examine. John M. Olin, the Professor of Jurisprudence and Public Policy at Fordham University, gave us his Pro-Capital Punishment opinion in the Harvard Law Review in 1986. Although his article was written more than a decade ago the argued topics have not changed. In his work The Ultimate Punishment: A Defense Mr. Olin addresses why he feels capital punishment is necessary in our society and across the world. According to Olin retribution is the number one reason for capital punishment. He goes on to say that the retributive notion of punishment in general is that as a foundational matter of justice, criminals deserve punishment and punishment should be equal to the harm done. What counts as â€Å"punishment equal to harm†? Olin refers to lex talionis commonly known as â€Å"an eye for an eye†. This idea was drawn from the Babylonian Law of Hammurabi from the 18th century. It states: If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death. If it kills the son of the owner, then the son of that builder shall be put to death. Besides being totally absurd there are a couple of points to make. First, retribu tion cannot be uniformly applied to every harm committed. What about rapist? Should they be raped? What about those who commit mass murder? How can we make their punishment proportional? The answer is we can not. Killing one person who killed another serves no practical... ...ntly, especially if death is involved, then we need to stop, back up and say â€Å"what is going on here?† Criminals no doubt deserve to be punished, and punished with severity appropriate to the harm they have caused to the innocent. But severity of punishment has its limits, both by justice and basic human dignity. Too many studies have shown that a lengthy sentence of 20 to 30 years of a murderer has been proven to be sufficient. After this period of time most individuals have proven to be constructive, worthy members of society and have lived prosperous lives after being released. I do however; recognize the fact that many individuals should stay in prison for the rest of their lives for the safety of all as well as retribution. For a Nation that is supposed to be founded on Christian morals and beliefs I have to wonder how they justify much of what they do.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Friday, August 16, 2019

Greenmail & firing employees Essay

The term is a greenmail is formed by combining the terms greenback and blackmail, invented by journalists and commentators who saw the practices of corporate raiders as a form of blackmail. The target company is financially held hostage, and is legally forced to pay the greenmailer to go away. Greenmailing is a variation on the corporate raid or hostile takeover. The greenmailer commonly targets a publicly traded company that is cash rich but often undervalued, with large assets and possibly a solid customer base. Other targets are companies that are simply inefficient. The greenmailer isn’t really interested in the business of the company. It doesn’t want to own the company, improve it, or further build it up. It will, if forced to acquire the target, sell its parts off piecemeal, which can bring a greater profit than selling the whole target. This is called asset stripping and involves replacing management and firing employees. Greenmail proved lucrative for investors such as T. Boone Pickens and Sir James Goldsmith during the 1980s. In the latter example, Goldsmith made $90 million from the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in the 1980s in this manner. Occidental Petroleum paid greenmail to David Murdoch in 1984. However, if a proper greenmail occurs, the greenmailer merely secures a significant stake in the target company. The greenmailer can offer to end the threat to the target company by selling its share back at a substantial premium. The target or â€Å"mark† can also go private with the same results: a profit to the greenmailer. The greenmailer gets away with no oversight, low overhead, and its profits. The target is left poorer and without the assets that attracted the raid in the beginning. A company which agrees to buy back the bidder’s stock position avoids being taken over. In return, the bidder agrees to abandon the takeover attempt and may sign a confidential agreement with the â€Å"greenmailer† who will agree not to resume the maneuver for a period of time. Greenmail is a corporate defense mechanism to buy back shares from shareholders attempting to control the firm. The practice has many critics but it can result to potential windfall for the company by protecting company shares from low takeovr bids and gives the firm the opportunity to restructure management. While benefiting the â€Å"greenmailer†, the company loses capital and other assets. This hamstrings its future growth potential. This means the shareholders lose as well in addition to impacting the supplier and customers economically linked to the company. Generally the company’s existing management may remain in place but the employees usually see their ranks reduced. Courts in states such as Calfornia have favored shareholder lawsuits, based on the contention that greenmailer constituted a breach of fiduciary responsibility. Greenmail is arguably counter productive because once such a payment becomes public others may feign a takeover attempt. Greenmail is money paid by a company (or allied company or individual) to acquire its own shares of stock from a shareholder who is threatening to take control of, or unwanted influence over, the company. In the parlance of the financial community, strategies to prevent a takeover are called a â€Å"Poison pill†. This implies that the corporate raider will suffer if they try to swallow the target of the takeover. This involves a myriad of arcane changes in the details of corporate ownership structure, investment market rules, and may involve legal requirement in the jurisdiction where the company is incorporated. Individual states may pass â€Å"protectionist† laws that impose limits for launching formal bids, or obligations to seek shareholder approval for the buyback of its own shares, and in Federal tax treatment of greenmail gains have all made greenmail far less common since the early 1990s. Heckmann et al. v. Ahmanson trial in July 1989. This was one of the final cases involving the payment of †greenmail†. Greenmail is slang for targeted share repurchases – transactions in which a company repurchases shares from specific holders, rather than on the open market. In the 1980s, it was not uncommon for companies to pay greenmail to large investors who were challenging corporate management and threatening a takeover of the firm. In this case, Disney had paid a premium price to repurchase shares accumulated by Saul Steinberg’s Reliance Group. Working with attorney Michael Hennigan, I explained to the jury how this could damage Disney’s other shareholders and to estimate the amount of the damage. Following my direct examination, as Arthur Liman was standing to begin his cross, the judge decided recess the trial early for the July 4th holiday. During the recess, the case settled. It was the only greenmail case in which plaintiffs received a cash settlement.

“Mending Wall” by Robert Frost Essay

Robert Frost’s poetry is always simple and direct, yet strangely deep. Everyone can read into his poem but with different kind of expression. Frost has been discovering the world. He likes to explore relationships between individuals and between people and nature. One of his famous poems, ‘Mending Wall’, reveals his feelings and ideas about community, life and imagination. In New Hampshire, where Frost’s house was, there was a stonewall. This stonewall was the inspiration for the poem â€Å"Mending Wall†. It was here that Frost used to repair this wall with his neighbor Napoleon Guay, who always says: â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.† In his poem ‘Mending Wall’, the persona and the neighbor are mending a wall that separates their properties. The most interesting statement in this poem: â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors† (line 25) is a paradox, which attracts our attention and lead us to further discussion on Frost’s intention to write this poem. Every winter, the wall fell down and every spring, the persona and the neighbor met together to mend it. It has somehow become an entertainment for them, as stated in line 21, â€Å"Oh, just another kind of outdoor game†. Later, the persona found that there were no reasons to mend the wall at all, and this arises to the central theme of the poem. The persona kept on questioning the reasons for mending since they do not keep any animals. In the poem, it says: Why do they make good neighbors? Isn’t it Where there are cows? But here there are no cows, Before I built a wall I’d ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offense.(Line 31-34) If a wall needs repair every year, it is not a good fence. Yet, it does make good neighbors because it brings the men together every spring. Maybe the neighbor’s father had this very same intention too. The two characters meet and know more about each other when they work on the wall together. This  explanation is quite ironic because the wall is meant to isolate them, but is also a common ground that connects them. And the persona’s words also possess some kind of irony in it because though he was somehow criticizing the neighbor for mending the wall, he was doing it too. As Rober Poirier claims that ‘The real significance of the famous poem ‘Mending Wall’ is that it suggests how much for Frost freedom is contingent upon some degree of restriction.’ If the persona is actually Frost himself, he is then subject to a restriction for what he wants to do. He has no choices. He suffers because he has to rebuild the wall with his neighbor every yea r. But the point is, if the neighbor could not feel that they were in the dark, there would be no possibility of light for both of them. In order to change the whole situation, the neighbor needs to think it over what’s the mean of having the wall between them. But still, the persona has very limited control to the situation. About Community†¦ â€Å"Mending Wall is about the opposite impulse which is to fence yourself in, to form relationships that are really exclusive.† (Richard’s book, p.7) ‘Mending wall’ is a poem about the world. It is about our community. The wall represents what we as individuals are blocking out. Frost questioned why the neighbor insists upon blocking their properties, though there are only trees inside. Maybe the man was just trying to keep out people, or even the world in order to feel more secure. The neighbor and the persona know that they have to rely on each other. But at the same time they are building walls to protect themselves. Here, the Chinese proverb â€Å"A wicked heart is unwanted, but a defensive heart is vital† can very well support their behavior. In line 21 â€Å"Oh, just another kind of outdoor game†, it suggested that since the outdoors game involves some kinds of rules, it also can applies to the situation that people must know the rules in the community and play the game properly. It is ‘the wall’ in our mind that acts as part of the rule in our  game and that ‘wall’ that has been taken for granted. Frost wants to break down the barriers set up by man and to make the community live in harmony. The barriers, which are represented by the ‘wall’ in the poem, are what kept people from questioning or even contemplating things out in every day’s life. These barriers are often subconsciously put up and strengthened by people in a society and they control one’s thought. Frost reminds us to free our thoughts from barriers and to help us eventually attain freedom. In line 20, the persona said, â€Å"We wear our fingers rough with handling them†. He asks his neighbor not to mend the wall anymore since it makes no reason for doing that. He wants to live in harmony. However, the neighbor says, â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.† He thinks the wall keeps people honest but the only thing he is hiding behind the wall might be – fear.He gave himself an excuse that distance could guarantee everything. But â€Å"distance† can be easily been misinterpreted, as Mark Van Doren says: â€Å"Distance is a good thing, and so is admitted difference, even when it sounds like hostility. For there can be a harmony of separate sounds that seem to be at war with another, but one sound is like no sound at all, or else it is like death.† (33) To keep a distance doesn’t really mean to have to build a wall between the two. The wall here seems not quite necessary for the persona and the neighbor. In a community, a wall can act both positively and negatively. Negatively, it can act as a barrier that put off communication, trust and unity. Positively, it can guarantee security and privacy in nowadays’ society. In the past centuries people kept on building walls, both concrete and abstract ones. The former protects both their property and privacy, while the latter blocks away their trust and communications with others. One very good example of the building of wall that blocks people apart was the Berlin Wall in Germany (1961-1989). After the Second World War in 1945, Germany was divided into two sectors called the FRG (the west Germany) and the GDR (the east Germany). For 28 years, the Berlin Wall separated friends, families, and a nation. At least 100 people were killed at the Berlin Wall. So, what’s  the wall for? Is it really good to have a wall? For those years when the wall was there, relationship of people had not been improved but only hatred and grief had grown. About Life†¦ Robert Frost has written many poems about life. His poems contain topics on life choice, obstacles and gaps between people, such as The Road not taken, The Gift Outright and Come in. Reading his poems is just like â€Å"sucking the marrow of life†. He is a philosopher, but his ideas are lying behind his poems, not in them-but buried well in it, for us to guess at if we please. In ‘Mending Wall’, a barrier is discussed. It can be both psychological and physical. The father of the neighbor reinforced and insured a lack of communication so it resulted in the ignorance in the next generation. The neighbor is a perfect example of the product of these barriers. He does not really know why the wall is there, he never questions his father’s words and understands that the wall is really keeping him and his neighbor from having a better friendship. Frost describes the neighbor as follows: like an old-stone savage armed. He moves in darkness as it seems to me.(Line 40-41) The darkness is the ignorance that he has while mending the fence. This shows that the neighbor has limitation of thoughts. The wall restricts people’s sight and mental power without widening their insights that is why the neighbor is described as â€Å"an old-stone savage armed†. Their farm contains only trees, which would be enough for a boundary. There is no physical need for the wall, so there is no apparent reason for going through the trouble of fixing it every year. The neighbor repeats saying â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors† although he does not know why the wall is necessary nor does he know why it will make them better neighbors. Frost is criticizing the ignorance of the neighbor here. However, it is ironic that  self-righteous persona obsessively committed to the â€Å"wall building† himself. Maybe the main theme of the poem: â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors† does not only mean a good fence helps to make good neighbors because it can separate clearly their possession and one cannot interfere with others. It can vice versa be explained in the way the ‘good neighbor’ can helps to make ‘good fences’ because both of them will be responsible and willing to make their shared possession looks nice r. The poem suggests something about no matter how or where we live, the place will become smaller and more enclosed if we forget to explore beyond our own boundaries. When we go beyond our walls, we can be more comfortable by knowing others. The persona thought that the wall is not necessary. He is perhaps non-traditional, non-confrontational and desires to have a true relationship without boundaries that can divide mankind. Line 23 illustrates that: â€Å"There where it is we do not need the wall†. However, there might be a difference in perception about the wall affairs. The persona might think that it is a â€Å"wall building† but the neighbor thinks that it is just â€Å"fence mending†. To Frost himself, he thinks that a wall between men is terrible. From the first line in his poem, the â€Å"something† that made the wall fell might be ‘the power of love’. It reinforced the idea of â€Å"We must love one another or perish†. That ‘power of love’ doesn’t love the wall, for it is blocking people from loving one another. â€Å"The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.† A wall is exactly the thing that prevents people from putting these words into action. The feeling of love is one of the basic needs for one’s life as this feeling influence very much our behaviors. A wall is a wall. No matter how hard the neighbor tries to fix it, it would not change its original implication and effect, that is, to block out people. Just as a German painter claims that: â€Å"We are not trying to make the wall beautiful because in fact it’s absolutely impossible. 80 persons have being killed trying to jump over the Berlin wall to escape to West Berlin, so you can cover that wall with hundred of kilos of color, but it will stay  the same†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Thierry Noir) About Imagination†¦ Imagination is the forming of a picture in mind in a creative way. It is human’s internal thinking. Imagination is always needed for creating a poem and when analyzing it. It gives us dream and a sight of the future. The more a person is civilized and educated, the more imaginative their minds will be. Every person (but more on poets and artist) possesses these qualities. Imagination is needed to work out the abstract ideas in our lives. Without imagination, we won’t be able to understand our lives because life itself is very abstract. In the poem, the persona made an imagination that â€Å"Something there is that doesn’t love a wall† (line1). That ‘something’ is an imagined agent who caused the wall to fall every year. It was left as a mystery. Frost led us to think who or what that ‘something’ is, and why it has caused the wall to fall, and later, bring to the argument of â€Å"Good fences make good neighbors.† The theme of the poem is that the persona thinks that no wall is necessary between his neighbor and his property. In the poem, the persona thinks that the neighbor seems to use the wall just for keeping the cones of the pine trees away from the apple trees. Frost made use of metonymy in line 24-26 to describe his feeling: He is all pine and I am apple orchard. My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. It means the persona is growing apple orchard while the neighbor is growing pine trees. Since they are only trees and not animals, they would not be able to get across to the other side to disturb each other. Frost mentioned this to reinforce his feeling of mending the wall is foolish. If imagination is applied in interpreting this part of the poem, I think these lines could also mean that the persona was comparing himself to an apple orchard, he is nice and he can bear fruit, and the fruit is sweet. The apple here may symbolize the persona’s thoughts and ideas, which is quite right and brilliant. The neighbor is compared to a tall, unbendable pine tree, which symbolize that he was stubborn and reluctant to change. The neighbor does not have individual thoughts and critical thinking, he only believes whatsoever his father told him about. Imagination makes impossible become possible. It also turns meaninglessness into meaning. In reading poetry, it should be open for interpretation instead of having one possible answer. It is people’s emotional state of mind that cannot be concrete or visualized. Poetry is dead because the poem is dead; it’s different imaginations and interpretations, which makes poetry alive. Robert Frost’s poem is easy to understand. It covers a large area of topics. The poem is easy and simple. Yet, if you drill more into it, you may discover that it contains many morals that enlighten you and help you to live a better life. As Mark Van Doren has said: He is a poet who can be understood anywhere by readers versed in matters more ancient and universal than the customs of one country, whatever that country is. (32) His intention of writing this poem is to reveal the strong message about love and unity, as in the song â€Å"The Internationale† has stated: Let no one build walls to divide us Wall of hatred nor walls of stone Come greet the dawn and stand beside us We’ll live together or we’ll die alone†¦

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Sins of the Marketplace

The sin of Dalton Is the sin of selling you more than you really want to buy. The electronic stores are the worst sinners of the marketplace. They induce you into buying add-ions, such as expansive power-bars or cables, and extended warranty. Most of the times you don't need them or could have bought less expensive items that have the same quality. The sin of addition Is a commonly used tactic called: â€Å"packing the deal† and It's where the profit is made.The sin of omission: The sin of omission could be committed when you sign an Insurance policy. A vendor, who has reason to know or suspect adverse prior medical history for you, does not tell you the details that will disqualify you from getting compensation. To close the deal and make money, companies only look at your ability to pay. This tactic Is called: â€Å"Post Claim underwriting†. They will Walt until you file a claim before spending money to confirm that the fine prints have disqualified you.The sin of cre ation: The sin of creation is committed when a company creates a need that induces you to buy a product you would never have thought you would need. The best example to Illustrate this Is the need for antibacterial soap. Impasses have made us believe that regular soap does not kill germs as well as antibacterial soap. Well, tests done in laboratories have proven that this belief is wrong and even that it can harm us because It can weaken our natural defenses.The sin of salvation: When a company says that, if you buy its product, you will be cured of whatever condition you might suffer from, you are witnessing the sin of salvation. So beware, they will try to get at you through: persuasive testimonials, * sketchy scientists * and paranoid peddlers who will pretend that doctors don't prescribe this product cause they are afraid of losing their lucrative business Conclusion: As a conclusion, use your common sense, do a lot of research and read the fine prints before signing any contrac t Doing this, you'll avoid failing for one of the marketplace's sins.For businesses will always try to reach into your pocket by using addition, omission, creation, salvation, assurance, persuasion and deception. Questions: -What is for you the biggest sin of the marketplace? -Have you ever been victim of any of these? * Do you think that, as consumers, we have a responsibility in the fact that businesses are using these practices?

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Case Analysis: the Bribery Scandal at Siemens AG

The Siemens bribery scandal brought to light a strategic dilemma facing multi-national firms attempting to gain a competitive edge by operating abroad; specifically, how can they balance adherence to their own ethical and legal standards with the customs required to do business efficiently, or perhaps at all, in foreign markets? Germany’s Co-Determination law has since drawn intense criticism as hampering competitiveness and creating untenable situations for management, rife with conflict-of-interest issues, not only because of Siemens, but also because of the number of other German-based companies accused of bribing labor union representatives. The forced resignation of CEO, Klaus Kleinfeld, despite the resulting success during his tenure, illustrates the predicament international managers face with regard to conflicting operational methods, and leads us to larger questions about accountability within an organization. As the case study author states, the Siemens scandal is representative of what many firms believe is the inevitable â€Å"ethical cost of intense competition in global markets†, particularly emerging markets, where payments for contracts are described as common place and perhaps even required. ?Perhaps the most glaringly problematic observation remains that the Siemens AG top management claims that they failed to notice rampant, and arguably conspicuous embezzlement leading to lucrative foreign contracts. Are there flaws in the German System of Corporate Governance? The 2007 scandal resulting in charges against Siemens’ Chief of Information Technology, Johannes Feldmayer, and Chief of Finance, Karl-Hermann Baumann, was rooted in illegal payments designed to work around German corporate governance laws. In this instance, IG Metall complained that Siemens was illegally funding smaller, rival union, AUB, in an attempt to grow and cultivate it as an ally against IG Metall in the bargaining process. This scandal marked the beginning of the unearthing of unethical behaviors in other German-based firms that have since lead to criticism that the Co-Determination law is antiquated and hampers competitiveness. The Co-Determination law was designed to provide a mechanism for worker participation in management decision-making via a two-tiered system with a supervisory board having oversight of the management board. Critics, however, argue that the law, in fact, limits the management board’s ability to make strategic decisions due to the control exerted by labor holding 50% of the seats on the supervisory board. I agree with the author’s statement that this creates, â€Å"a suspicious alliance between the management and the labor representatives†. The end result was often agreements made prior to the official meetings to facilitate outcomes favorable to management. Although the law was meant to bring balance to the corporate governance structure, I would argue that the potential for corruption of the labor representatives, or on the other end of the spectrum, obstruction of the management board, has a destabilizing effect likely to manifest in questionable and dysfunctional partnerships, such as was the case with Siemens. Another component of the Co-Determination law prevents selection of supervisory board members who are non-German, regardless of the expertise or perspective they could bring to the table. Naturally, the result is a limited, often recurring, and potentially like-minded pool of candidates, which the author points out, may have contributed to the ousting of Kleinfeld. The facts presented indicate that the lion’s share of the bribery scandal took place under Heinrich von Pierer, who was the CEO from 1992 until 2005, and the supervisory board chairman from 2005 to 2007. Kleinfeld took over in 2005 and, within a period of only two years, had accomplished a remarkable and profitable restructuring, as evidenced by a 26% increase in the stock price. This was not without growing pains, however, as it is speculated that Kleinfeld’s aggressive management style, often described as â€Å"American†, did not meet with the approval of the more conservative supervisory board. As such, analysts opined that the bribery scandal was used as an opportunity to remove Kleinfeld, citing the need for a â€Å"new beginning†. I agree that this is likely the case. The growth under Kleinfeld was impressive, particularly given the timeframe. Furthermore, the timing of the actual instances of bribery put them squarely during von Pierer’s tenure as CEO; and he had already stepped down from the supervisory board. Nevertheless, under the power granted by the Co-Determination law, the supervisory board opted to bring in a new CEO, Peter Loescher, indicating, in my opinion, that its issue with Kleinfeld was not performance based. Why Such Risky Business? The history of Siemens AG paints a picture of a successful and arguably dominant multi-national firm, with a reputation for a war chest of competencies and innovative products. The obvious question, then, is why would a firm with this resume and list of global achievements become involved with corruption and criminal behavior? The author recounts the opinions of analysts who believe the answer is simple; many firms view the types of payments at the heart of the Siemens scandal to be the necessary cost of doing business in the current global environment. At first glance, the facts of this case may seem to support this theory. There were â‚ ¬420 million of questionable payments made over a seven year period from 1999 to 2006. Official Siemens records showed the payments as having gone to external consultants. It was determined, however, that they were actually paid to foreign purchasing officials and that the expenditures coincided with the procurement of â€Å"fixed line telecommunications business in various international markets†, including Italy, Puerto Rico, Greece, and the United States. By March of 2007, two former Siemens managers were convicted of embezzlement of company funds for the purpose of bribing foreign officials. The employees argued that their actions did not violate any laws, resulted in no personal gain, and were taken solely for the purpose of improving Siemens’ positioning. They argued that they worked, only to secure a lucrative deal in which the payments were required by Enel management as part of the standard bid process. In fact, Siemens AG argued that the court order requiring forfeiture of earnings from the contract, prior to 2002 when the German government instituted a law prohibiting bribes to private officials abroad, specifically, had no basis in law. As previously stated, these events may appear to support the case in favor of questionable payments and loose ethical boundaries as a necessary cost of business. It is my opinion, however, that these events illustrate a flawed management culture and strategy. They are evidence of a system where a focus on true technological innovation has given way to a focus on unfettered expansion, and the unnatural duplication of the monopolistic type control over infrastructure in developing countries that was enjoyed during previous decades in other parts of the now industrialized world. If Siemens had bolstered their technologically competitive strength, they would not need to rely so heavily on their financial strength to gain entry into markets. Is this the New Cost of Doing Business? The fact that Siemens top management continue to take the official position that, despite the scope, depth, and intricacies of the bribery scandal, they had no knowledge of it remains difficult to explain. Further, they take no responsibility, save acknowledgement that they lacked adequate internal compliance systems. I find the truthfulness of this position to be of remote possibility due to the conspicuousness and magnitude of the payments, as well as their direct correlation with the securing of highly lucrative contracts. Moreover, the idea that entire sections of Siemens’ managers were of the character that they would be comfortable blatantly committing criminal acts for the sole benefit of their employer, but not themselves, I find to be quite counter-intuitive. The debate over whether events such as those unearthed at Siemens are part of the usual and customary cost of doing business abroad must be framed in terms of the complete denial of culpability by the top management. A legitimate, above-board expense is accounted for, tracked, and justified; this is the case even when it is outside the norms of the firm’s home country. It is not hidden from shareholders. A buffer of scapegoat-able employees need not lie between it and top management. If a light cannot be readily shown upon it, I believe it is without question, unethical. Whether or not it is illegal, however, depends upon the laws in the countries the firm is operating in. I could conceive of a situation where a firm could distribute cash â€Å"incentive† payments openly, on the books, as well as legally. In addition, firms have other options. They could improve their offerings to increase the competitiveness of the bid, and/or structure them with above-board incentives. They could operate with a clear and unwavering zero-tolerance policy for bribery; recognizing that it will be necessary to educate those conducting bid processes in markets where it is believed to be common to expect questionable payments. A firm could also exercise patience, and restraint, and be willing to walk away from markets requiring participation in corrupt processes. The Kleinfeld Conclusion. The Siemens AG supervisory board did provide adequate justification for the decision not to renew Kleinfeld’s contract, due to the scandals breaking during his time as CEO; yet, I believe that they were wrong in doing so in light of his track record of impressive and expedient accomplishments. Though his termination clearly pleased the board, unless Mr. Loescher is able to maintain the growth trajectory set by Kleinfeld, I believe his departure will not inspire confidence from management or shareholders. This is of concern because confidence has a direct impact on value, which could make it harder to move beyond the bribery scandal. Was it Worth It? One question still remains: was Siemens really at fault, given the apparent prevalence of these sorts of issues among other German companies; or was their only sin gett ing caught? It is my opinion that the magnitude of the â€Å"bribing† which took place at Siemens made it highly unlikely that knowledge of it would stay buried. I believe Siemens had to have anticipated this, hence the buffer between top management and the â€Å"bribers†. I believe they made a calculated business decision that whatever the consequence may ultimately be, it was a greater benefit to get a foot hold in the infrastructure of those markets. In short, yes, Siemens is to blame, and yes, they are okay with it.