Measuring Socialism in America Free Essays

Which of the two countries is more socialist, Canada or the United States of America? It must first be state that neither Canada nor the USA is considered a socialist state. For the purpose of this project, a socialist state would be one such as Greece was until the early 1990†³s; a country where the state owns all forms of companies and/or businesses and offers practically every type of social service known to modern governments. Since none of the two North American countries that will be featured in this paper can accurately compare to the bove description, the paper will simply attempt to determine which of the two has a higher degree of socialism when matched against each other following a Before going any further, let†s view the conceptual definitions to the key elements of this paper. We will write a custom essay sample on Measuring Socialism in America or any similar topic only for you Order Now Socialism, as referred to throughout the text, can be defined as follows: any of various social or political theories or movements in which the common welfare is to be achieved through the establishment of a socialist economic system. A socialist economic system can be defined as an economic structure in which the community owns the means of production, istribution, and exchange collectively, and the benefits are distributed to all members of that community. In this economic layout the people will run the government in a highly democratic fashion . Having established what socialism is, let†s move on to the research question, or hypothesis. It is assumed that Canada will have a higher lever of socialism than the United States of America based on its higher level of taxation and its apparently more developed social services system. The research question is therefore: is Canada truly more socialist than the United States of America? The variables that will be used to measure socialism are the level of democracy; social services offered; the minimization of social classes; and finally, the collective ownership of factories, corporation, and companies. According to the conceptual definition given earlier, a socialist country must be highly democratic. We must then find data that would help indicate the variable of democracy. What makes a country democratic? The representation and support of diverse political views as well as a high level of public participation in political decisions are two social characteristics that would ndicate a high level of democracy. To measure the representation and support of diverse political views, let†s examine the different popular political parties in both Canada and the United States of America. According to the network CNN , in the latest US federal election which took place in November 2000, three political parties could be said to have garnered enough public support to be considered important. After the tally of 99 percent of precincts, the Democratic Party stood at 49 percent of public support, the Republican Party at 48 percent, and the Green Party accumulated enough votes to have 3 percent of all votes. No other party received a single percent of all votes. There is also a federal election being held in Canada this month, and the nation will vote on November 27th. According to the latest Reuters/Zogby Research Canada poll , the Liberal Party holds the lead with an approximate 42 percent of public support, followed by the Canadian Alliance, which polled 29 percent, the Progressive Conservative Party holds 12 percent support, the Neo-Democratic Party has 7 percent and finally, the Bloc Quebecois holds 8 percent of public support. Canada therefore has five important political parties, all of which hold more public support than the United States† third important party. However, it would be incorrect to assume that Canada is more democratic than the USA by simply counting the number of political parties. Let†s instead look at how many political views are represented in both countries. In the USA, the Democratic Party can be said to be mostly left of the center on the â€Å"left/right† line, the Republicans would be mostly right of the center, and the Green Party would be considered to represent fairly left political views. If we place the political parties in Canada on the same left/right line according to the views they represent, we see that many more views are covered. The Neo-Democratic Party can be labeled as a far-left party, the Liberal Party and the Bloc Quebecois would be considered left-of-the-middle parties, while the Progressive Conservatives are right of the center and the Canadian Alliance (formerly the Reform Party) represents far-right views. It is evident that once the political views of the parties are exposed, Canada seems to have the edge over the USA when it comes to Let†s now take a look at the second variable that will be used to compare the degree of democracy between Canada and the USA: a high level of public participation in political decisions. To measure this variable, we will look at the number of public representatives who are elected by the population. At the municipal level in the USA, according to the City of St-Louis Board of Elections , the population elects a mayor, a comptroller, a President of the Board of Aldermen, the members of the Board of Aldermen (councilors) and school board members. At the state and federal levels, as maintained by the North Carolina Board of Elections , the population of North Carolina elects members of the US House of Representatives (In North Carolina,12 members are elected), associate Justices of the Supreme Court (2), Judges of the Court of Appeals (5), District Attorneys (37), Judges of District Court (87), members of State Senate (50), members of the State House of Representatives (120), Judges of Supreme Court (Non Partisan) (31), local County Commissioners ( 5), a President and Vice-President, a Governor, a Lieutenant Governor, an Attorney General, an Auditor, a Commissioner of Agriculture, a Commissioner of Insurance, Commissioner of Labor, Secretary of State, a Superintendent of Public Instruction, a Treasurer, a Chief Justice of NC Supreme Court and an Associate Justice of NC Supreme Court. In Canada, at the local level elections are similar. According to Elections Canada the public elects a Mayor, Councilors and School Board members, but no comptroller and no President of the Board of Aldermen, such as is the case in the United States. At the Provincial Level, according to the Government of Ontario , the population elects Members of the Provincial Government (Legislative Assembly) (In Ontario, 103 members are elected), and a Premier. Contrary to the USA, the population does not elect the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the Auditor, nor any secretaries, superintendents, treasurers, ministers, Chief Justices, Judges or District Attorneys; these positions are awarded by the governing Premier and his Cabinet. The same pattern exists at the federal level. In accordance with the Government of Canada , the Canadian population elects a Prime Minister and members of the House of Commons (In Canada, there are 301 members). Again, there is a stark contrast with the American political ! stem, as Canadians do not elect members of the Supreme Court, or even Senators. When we count the number of representatives who are elected by the population, it seems that the American political system is more democratic than the Canadian system, as it is clear that many important positions are chosen by the people in America and by the politicians in Canada. It is important however to note that the men and women who hold the most power of all in both countries, the members of cabinet, are named by the leading politician. In Canada these people must be chosen from the Legislative Assembly at the provincial level, and the House of Commons at the federal, therefore they were elected to represent the population . However, in the US the Governors and President may choose whomever they please as their cabinet , whether they were elected or not. Despite the previous fact, when looking at the democracy variable as a whole it must be acknowledged that the US is at least as democratic as Canada, therefore the first variable must be considered void. Let†s now move on to the second variable, well-established social services system. For a state to be deemed socialist, it must offer numerous social services to its people, free of charge. Lets begin by examining education. The first indicator for education is the amount of years of free education that are offered by the state. Both countries offer free pre-school, elementary and secondary education through the public schooling system. (A totally socialist state would also offer free post-secondary education. ) In Canada, according to Statistics Canada , most provinces offer 14 years of free education, beginning at the age of 4 with pre-kindergarten. The only exception is Ontario, which currently offers an optional 15th year, known as the Ontario Academic Curriculum. OAC is basically a fifth year of high school, designed to prepare students for university, also acting as their first year of university. However, the Government of Ontario has passed a bill to abolish OAC ! by the year 2002. In the USA, according to the National Education Association , all states offer 15 years of public education, beginning a year earlier than in Canada, therefore offering one year of pre-school more than the provinces of their neighboring country does. It can therefore be said that the USA offers more years of free education than Canada does. But how much does the state spend on these years of education? Let†s look at the second indicator for the variable of education: the amount spent-per student per-year on education. In accordance with data from Statistics Canada , the three levels of government combined to spend an approximate 50,407,100 Canadian dollars per student for the school year of 1996-97. In that same year, Statistics Canada states that 5,065,914 students were enrolled in public schools across the country. Therefore, the state spent approximately 9,949 Canadian dollars per student. Based on the US Census Bureau†s data , all three levels of American government combined to spend an approximate 5,882 US dollars per-student for the same school year of 1996-97. In order to compare these numbers realistically, let†s convert the Canadian dollars to US dollars. In 1997, the Canadian doll! ar was worth approximately 0. 68 American dollars, therefore the Canadian government spent an approximate 6,765 American dollars per-student, compared to the US government†s approximate 5,882. The next social service to be examined is income security. It must be noted that the term â€Å"income security† does not mean exactly the same thing in both countries. In Canada, income security stands for social assistance, benefits to the elderly, employment benefits and child benefits. These services are covered by the Canadian and Quebec Pension Plans, Old Age Security, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Spouse†s Allowance, Unemployment Insurance, Children†s Financial Benefits, Social Assistance, and Worker†s Compensation. On the other hand, in the United States the term â€Å"income security† stands for disability insurance, private pensions, federal employees retirement, and disability programs. These services are offered through Food Stamps, Supplemental Security Income, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Earned Income Tax Credit and Unemployment Compensation. In 1994-95, according to the Government of Canada†s overview of Income Security , the Canadian governments ! spent a total of 88,900,000,000 dollars on Income Security. When divided by the approximate population at the time, 29,500,000 people, it averages out to 3014 Canadian dollars per citizen. If that number is then multiplied that by . as the Canadian dollar was worth approximately 86 cents American at the time, we get 2050; the average spent per citizen in American dollars. The United States governments spent 257,000,000,000 dollars on Income Security in 1999, according to the Budget of The United States Government for the fiscal year 2001 . When divided by the US population in 1999, which was 272,691,000, according to the US Census Bureau , we get the amount spent per citizen on Income Security: 942 US dollars. It seems as though Canada spends more on Income Security, but it must be taken in account that the US also has what they call Social Security. The latter covers Old-Age benefits, and Survivors, and Disability Insurance. Since these services fall under the Canadian defi! nition of Social Insurance, it would only be fair to measure them under the same variable. According to the US Census Bureau, 383 billion dollars was spent on Social Security in the US in 1999. That comes out to 1405 US dollars per citizen. When added to the previous total (amount spent per US citizen on Income Security) we get a total of 2347 US dollars spent per US citizen, compared to 2050 US dollars spent per citizen in Canada. However, before declaring the United States more socialist when it comes to Income Security, we must consider the fact that the Canadian data dates back to 1994-95, almost five years younger than the American data. It must be assumed that the Canadian Government has increased its spending on Income Security since 1995, as has been the trend with all of the social services for both Canada and the US. However, we must still recognize the fact that the United States governments spend a good deal of money on these types of services and can be said to sp! end more, or perhaps only slightly less than the Canadian governments do. The final social service variable to be inspected is health care. In order to compare the two countries’ health care systems, two indicators will be examined: the number of health services offered for free and the amount spent per citizen on heath care. In the United States, there are two types of heath care services: Medicare and Medicaid. According the US Federal Government , Medicare is offered to most citizens who are 65 years of age or older, people entitled to Social Security disability payments for 2 years or more, and people with end-stage renal disease. Medicaid is offered to certain low-income families to help cover their medical costs . The Medicare recipients will receive durable medical equipment such as oxygen equipment, wheelchairs, arm, leg, back and neck braces, ostomy pouches, surgical dressings, splints and casts, one pair of eyeglasses after surgery, and other medically necessary equipment that a doctor prescribes for use at home. Medicare also helps cove! r the costs for doctor’s services, outpatient hospital care, blood, lab tests and physical and occupational therapy. Medicaid on the other hand covers much more. On the other hand, according to the Health Care Financing Administration, Medicaid recipients receive inpatient and outpatient hospital services, physician services, medical and surgical dental services, nursing facility services for persons aged 21 or older, laboratory and x-ray services, pediatric and family nurse practitioner services, ambulatory services to individuals under the age of 18 and individuals entitled to institutional services, prenatal care and delivery services for pregnant women, as well as some home health and clinical services. In Canada, as stated by the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Heath , health care covers all services by a physician (except work or school-related physicals), five or ten annual visits to a podiatrist (chiropractors, osthopasths) and Physiotherapists, dental services do! ne in hospital, optometry services every two years for all 20 to 65 year olds and once a year for all under 20 and all over 65 year olds, and importantly, emergency care of injuries that occur outside of the country. If we compare the services offered in both countries, we see that Medicaid is very comparable to the Canadian Health Plan, plus and minus a few services, while Medicare trails both systems, at least as far as services offered are concerned. The second indicator for health care is the amount spent per person on health services. This is an area where the US is expected to perform poorly, as mentioned in the hypothesis, because so few Americans actually receive government-paid health care. In fact, according to the US Census Bureau any form of government-paid health care covers only 24. ercent of the US population. Medicare covers 13. 2 percent of the population, and Medicaid covers 10. 2 percent while the remaining 3. 1 percent are military personnel who receive basic military health benefits. According to the US Census Bureau , the three levels of government in the United States of America spent 40,168,000,000 dollars on 34,900. 000 Americans in 1991, therefore spending 1147 US dollars per recipient. However, when divided by the total America population at the time, which was approximately 258,000,000 people, we see that a mere 156 US dollars was spent per citizen on heath care. Canada on the other hand offers heal! th care to all of its citizens, therefore it is expected that the per-citizen number will be higher. According to Health Canada , in 1994-95, the three levels of Canadian government jointly spent 51,900,000,000 Canadian dollars on health care. When divided by the total population at the time (29,500,000 people), we get 1759 Canadian dollars per person. Hence, after the conversion to US dollars, the amount spent per person on health care in Canada is 1196, almost eight times as much as the US spending. Consequently, it must be alleged that although the US data is four years younger than the Canadian data, Canada still spends much more on health care than the United States does. Canada then comes out on top when we add all of the variables together in an attempt to determine who is of a more socialist nature, as far as social services go. It must nevertheless be admitted that aside from health care spending, the US does not trail Canada by an extreme amount when in comes to soci! al services, and even comes out on top when in the amount of years of free education offered through the public schooling system. Aside from an advanced social services system, a socialist country must also have a low level of diversity when it comes to social classes. In order to reduce the difference between social classes, one must first reduce the variation of income levels. Therefore, the indicator for the variable â€Å"minimization of social classes† will be income inequality. As said by the paper Income inequality in North America: Does the 49th parallel still matter? , â€Å"Canada has not seen the substantial increase in income inequality that has occurred in the United States. The paper states that the US† average income level has been rising rapidly when compared to Canada†s, but that the US†s income inequality has been growing consistently as well. â€Å"In terms of comparative economic well-being, Canadian families in the bottom 25% of the income distribution were better off in absolute terms in 1997 than were their counterparts in the United States. However, in the top one-fifth of the income distribution, American families had disposable incomes more than 20% higher than their Canadian counterparts. In the top one-tenth of the income distribution, disposable incomes among American families were about 25% higher. † (Income inequality in North America: Does the 49th parallel still matter? , The Daily, Statistics Canada) Although it was not possible to view the data that was used by the author to make the above conclusions, the information will be considered credible for this paper, as it was written on the part of Statistics Canada, which is highly reputed to be an accurate source of data. A more precise way of determining Income Distribution would be to actually compare the spread of income in both countries. According to a US Census Bureau chart, in 1998, 3,6 percent of American households were in the lowest quintile of income (lowest level of income), 9 percent were in the second quintile, 15 percent in the third, 23. 2 percent were in the fourth quintile, and finally, 49. 2 percent of households were in the highest quintile of income. In Canada, the same chart can be found in Canadian Fact Book On Poverty, which was posted on the Posted on the Canadian Council on Social Development website (http://www. cfc-efc. ca/docs/00000327. m). According to the data, in 1991, 4. 7 percent of the Canadian households could be found in the bottom quintile, 10. 3 were in the second quintile, 16. 6 were in the middle quintile, 24. 7 were in the fourth quintile and 43. 8 percent were in the top quintile. Although the difference may not be huge, there is no denying the fact that there is a larger gap between the income levels in the US as the above data shows. As mentioned in the paper Income inequality in North America: Does the 49th parallel still matter? he highest quintile plays a major role in the spread of income in the US. Almost half of all households are in the highest fifth, whereas in Canada, seven percent less (43. 8) households are in the highest quintile. What does all this mean? In keeping with the conceptual definition of socialism used for the purpose of this paper, it means that Canada fits the description of socialism better than the United States of America when it comes to income distribution since the gap ! between the rich and the poor is thinner in Canada than it is in the United States. Aside from having a high level of democracy, good social services and a low level of distribution of social classes, a socialist state must also own many, if not all businesses. That brings us to the fourth variable of a socialist state; collective ownership of corporations, companies, and factories. Traditionally, Canada has had many Crown Corporations (Corporations owned by the State), but the recent trend has been to sell these companies to private investors. Nonetheless, the Canadian governments still own many businesses today. Even so, the Federal Government still owns 49 Crown Corporations according to the Treasury Board of Canada . The most commonly known of these corporations would likely be Canada Post, a nation-wide postal service, The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, which runs the CBC and SRC radio and television stations, and VIA-Rail. A few of the less known companies are the Canadian Commercial Corporation, International Development ! Research Center, Royal Canadian Mint, the Business Development Bank of Canada, Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation, Export Development Corporation, Farm Credit Corporation, Defense Construction Limited, National Capital Commission, Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. Bank of Canada, Marine Atlantis Inc. , and Jacques Cartier and Champlain Bridges Inc. In addition to federally owned Crown Corporations, the provinces also own their own â€Å"public businesses† the government of British Columbia for example runs sixteen Crown Corporations. The most commonly known of these are BC Hydro, BC Rail and BC Ferries. The US Governments also own similar corporation, although they usually tend to be agencies more than companies. A few examples would be the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. There are however some agencies that can compare to the ones owned by the Canadian governments, as illustrated on the White House†s Federal Agencies and Commissions web page ! such as the US Postal Service, AMTrack, the Export-Import Bank of the US, the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Bank for Reconstruction Development, the Legal Services Corporation, the National Park Service, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, the Overseas Private Investment Corp. , and the Securities Investor Protection Corp. Since the â€Å"corporations† are included with the agencies and commissions all government sites, it is difficult to count a precise number of government divisions that could be considered â€Å"Crown Corporations† in the US. It can however be estimated that at the Federal level, between 10 and 20 of these corporations exist. In addition, the American public also owns a television station independently of all forms of government. The educational station PBS is funded entirely by the people, depending largely on personal pledges for its survival. It must however be concluded that Canada has a great deal of State-owned companies when comp! ared to the US since it is nearly safe to say that there are at least twice as many of these corporations in Canada than there are in the United States. In conclusion, the hypothesis must be accepted, as the research proves that Canada is indeed more socialist that the United States of America. Although America is relatively strong when it comes to education, Canada does indeed spend more social services than the United States of America does. Canada also has more state-owned corporations than does the United States of America. Since the US does not clearly come out ahead of Canada in any of the variables, we cannot claim is as being in the same league as Canada as far as socialism goes. We can however state that the United States offers more years of public education than Canada does, and that it spends approximately the same on income security. In fact, if the United States offered health care to all of its citizens like Canada does, it could be argued that both countries are very similar in terms of socialism, with Canada being the frontrunner. However that is not the case, and what the entire research came down to was t! fact that health care is only offered to 24 percent of all Americans. The US Government actually spends 1147 US dollars per health-care recipient, only 49 US dollars less than Canada spends per recipient. What does this research tell us? It simply reinforces the theory that Canada is more socialist than the United States of America in its ways of governing. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that it is younger than its southern neighbor, that it still follows its European parents, France and England. America has matured more than Canada has, since it has been a free nation for much longer. There is no doubting that the US has developed its own governing system, with its own distribution of services and is striving off of it economically. There is however no less doubting that Canadians are proud of their social services, and education and democratic system. It seems both countries are in a state of comfort. America is generally content with its system and Canada is also generally happy with the way the country is run. It is however always fun to peek on the other side of the fence and see how our neighbor is doing, and how we compare to him/her. How to cite Measuring Socialism in America, Papers

Still I Rise - Maya Angelou free essay sample

Describe at least one memorable use of language in the text. Explain how this use of language helped you to understand one or more important idea in the text. â€Å"Still I rise† a poem by Maya Angelou is about a black woman’s point of view towards a white person in the 1900’s. Angelou used various language techniques, rhetorical questions, metaphor, and similes to show us her thoughts at the time when she was being ruled over. Self-esteem was the reason that the poet wrote this poem in the first place and it was self-esteem that she overcome the obstacles she faced in life. Firstly, Angelou uses similes to compare herself to nature that unremittingly â€Å"rises†. Although she was being treated poorly, â€Å"you may trod me in the very dirt†, but her pride and resilience swallowed that unforgivingly thing to do to a human being and â€Å"still, like dust, I’ll rise†. We will write a custom essay sample on Still I Rise Maya Angelou or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The simile â€Å"like dust, I’ll rise† show the reader that she is strong and will-powered who â€Å"rise† seamlessly. This language feature helped me understand that you should not give up easily when downed, because you will only lose pride for yourself. Having pride for you means much, it can about help you do anything you want to accomplish and, for Angelou she hopes to have her freedom taken back to her. Secondly, metaphor was used by Angelou to describe her; she described herself as something that has liberty over herself. She looked at herself as something that’s free and pure despite her painful terrorizing past, â€Å"A black ocean, leaping and, wide†. This portrays that she is free who can do anything she wants. â€Å"I’m a black ocean leaping and, wide† this tells the reader that she has power over her life now, big and powerful who can’t be controlled or be abused by anyone. Thirdly, the poet used abundant of rhetorical questions that were really powerful to show us that even in difficult times you should have confidence in you. Angelou asks powerful questions every time, after she makes a point. â€Å"Does it come as a surprise that I dance like I’ve got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs? † This was asked after she made a point, and it made it come out more significant that made it convincing to the reader and the person she was referring to that she has power and that she is a one mighty person. This helped me understand that if you want something, freedom for that matter, you should fight for it, it can’t be given on to you on a clean plate and, by having genuine confidence it will take you there. In conclusion, the once helpless woman who was a victim of slavery is now free from all of it, the chains are finally broken, and it was portrayed potently by Maya Angelou. She crafted the poem bits by bits of language features that were really interesting that couldn’t be forgotten without a hitch. No matter how difficult life can be, there will always be hope that it can be amended, and if you see the opportunity you should take it.

Skeletal Muscle Physiology Frogs Human Subjects free essay sample

There Is a greater concentration of An+ f : there is a greater concentration of K* e . When the stimulus is delivered, the irremediably of the membrane at that point is changed; and c , initiating the deportation of the membrane. Almost as soon as the deportation wave has begun, a revitalization wave follows it across the membrane. This occurs as b . Revitalization restores the h of the resting cell membrane. The g Is (are) reestablished by I . 5 3 2 4 5. ElectricalChemical 6. A) latent phase, -3 masc., the interval from stimulus application until the muscle begins to shorten b) contraction phase, ?27 masc., the muscle fibers shorten c) relaxation phase, 110 masc. , the muscle fibers relax lengthen 7. 1) d 8. 1) rapid 2) lactic acid 3) more 10. The muscle become paralyzed flaccid, atrophy 11. As the load on a muscle Increases, Its strength of contraction also Increases until the muscle reaches maximal force generated. 12. The way the skeletal muscles attached to skeletal system makes them slightly trenched. We will write a custom essay sample on Skeletal Muscle Physiology: Frogs Human Subjects or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By changing the length, the arrangement of myosin actinic is less optimal causing less favorable binding of Ca++ 14. Due to wave summation, the muscle will contract more rapidly. 15. Producing a steady Increase In muscle force by Increasing the # of active motor units 16. After prolonged activity, theres an accumulation of lactic acid depletion of ATOP, ion imbalances or tissue damage, hence the loss of the ability to contract, or muscle fatigue. Physique Skeletal Muscle Physiology (all) Actively 1 rerun all of the skeletal muscle fibers it innervates.Skeletal muscle twitch: 1 contractile response to a single AP Electrical stimulus: excitation of muscle contraction using electrical impulses. Latent period: the start of muscle contraction 2. Initiating a change in ion permeability that results in a graded deportation of the muscle plasma membrane 3. The entire process starting from the release of ACH that creates a graded potential leading to the end-plate potential, triggering events that results in the muscle interactions. 4.The latent period: time that elapses b/w the generation of an AP in a muscle cell the start of muscle contraction Contraction phase: starts at the end of the latent phase ends when muscle tension peaks Relaxation phase: time from peak tension until the end of muscle contraction. 5. It doesnt change. Results match predictions 6. Sodium ions move in the cell to bring about the membrane deportation. Activity 1 . Maximal voltage at which all skeletal muscle fibers are activated. Results match predictions 2.Each fiber in the muscle receives direct stimulation via a nerve ending 3. All of the skeletal muscle fiber are activated. Activity 3 1. Intensity: strength of stimulus Frequency: rate of delivery 2. This is trapper. The 2nd force is larger than the 1st force 3. Wave summation. The force keeps adding up when the muscle twitches dont fully relax. Results match 4. Continuous frequency of stimulations will achieve an active force of 5. G. Results match predictions 5. The more we have, the higher the force. Wave summation is about the rapid frequency.

Negotiation Article Analysis

Negotiation Article Analysis When negotiations are held, the main intention is to come up with an agreement that will provide a roadmap for an action to be taken (Howard, 1982, p.5). Negotiations have mostly been aimed at ensuring that existing conflicts are resolved amicably. They occur over a wide area and have no restrictions. In addition, negotiations can occur between organizations, businesses, governments and in other personal situations.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Negotiation Article Analysis specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are many actual negotiation situations that have occurred in a global context. Examples include between international corporations and organizations, government to government and international acquisition (Howard, 1982, p.15). In international business there have been negotiations between the US and China (in relation to currency). China has been accused of manipulating the value of the Yuan. It has been ag ued that they have not moved towards a more flexible currency. On the other hand, the US has been accusing China of being a currency manipulator because it has kept the value of its currency unchanged to the dollar for almost two years (Stohr Mattingly, 2010, p. 7). There has been pressure for a Yuan revelation so as not to put their exports ahead of others like America. Most of the public pressure has come from the US as they have felt more offended than anyone else. Chinas policies and practices have given most exporters an unfair advantage over their US competitors. As a result the US government through its Treasury secretary has been involved in negotiations to resolve this dispute once and for all. Some have been calling for immediate imposition of import duties to the Chinese. This is ultimately a global issue that pits the world’s largest economies against one another. In coming up with negotiations to resolve this dispute some US lawmakers have argued that Chinese le aders are not committed to this issue (Stohr Mattingly, 2010, p. 3). Of course it is evident that problems between the US and China can be solved through negotiations. There has been a multilateral effort to ensure that this issue is solved through negotiations. Negotiations have been aimed at looking into the relationship between the two countries (that will define how they relate in business). Before these there has been a distributive bargaining where the US has urged China to try and correct the situation for better trade relations between the two countries. To resolve this issue China has been urged to move towards a more flexible currency. As a matter of fact, the Chinese president was able to visit Washington in a bid to ensure that trade ties are not severed. On the other hand, China has put in place good measures that allow for negotiations in an aim to resolve this issue. An involving negotiation process has been called for among the players to reach an amicable solution as this is a global issue.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In a broader perspective, to give the negotiation process a professional approach many economic experts have been called in to ensure that the authenticity of the claim has a basis from which it can be well argued on. The process has involved the people who run treasury from the two countries (Stohr Mattingly, 2010, p. 9). This is because it is an economic dispute that needs a comprehensive solution. Although negotiations are the only way to resolve the dispute; it has not been successful over the years as the Chinese have not been ready (in many occasions) to sit down and commit themselves. The negotiation process is ongoing and will open a window for more issues to be looked into. Reference List Howard, R. (1982). The Art and Science of Negotiation. Harvard: Belknap Press. Stohr, G. Mattingly, P. (2010) . (2010). Geithner Delays Currency Report, Urges Flexible Yuan. Web.

Understanding Dinosaur Combat

Understanding Dinosaur Combat In Hollywood movies, dinosaur fights have clear winners and losers, carefully demarcated arenas (say, an open patch of scrubland or the cafeteria in Jurassic Park), and usually a bunch of scared-out-of-their-wits human spectators. In real life, though, dinosaur fights were more like confused, chaotic bar brawls than Ultimate Fighting matches, and rather than persisting for multiple rounds, they were usually over in the blink of a Jurassic eye. (See a list of the Deadliest Dinosaurs, as well as Prehistoric Battles featuring your favorite dinosaurs, reptiles, and mammals.) Its important at the outset to distinguish between the two main types of dinosaur combat. Predator/prey encounters (for example, between a hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex and alone, juvenile Triceratops) were quick and brutal, with no rules except kill or be killed. But intra-species clashes (say, two male Pachycephalosaurus head-butting each other for the right to mate with available females) had a more ritualistic aspect, and rarely resulted in a combatants death (though one presumes serious injuries were common). Of course, in order to fight successfully, you need to be equipped with suitable weapons. Dinosaurs didnt have access to firearms (or even blunt instruments), but they were endowed with naturally evolved adaptations that helped them either to hunt down their lunch, avoid being lunch or propagate the species in order to restock the global lunch menu. Offensive weapons (like sharp teeth and long claws) were almost exclusively the province of meat-eating dinosaurs, which preyed on one another or on gentler herbivores, while defensive weapons (like armor plating and tail clubs) were evolved by plant-eaters in order to fend off attacks by predators. A third type of weapon consisted of sexually selected adaptations (such as sharp horns and thickened skulls), wielded by the males of some dinosaur species in order to dominate the herd or compete for the attention of females. Offensive Dinosaur Weapons Teeth. Meat-eating dinosaurs like T. Rex and Allosaurus didnt evolve big, sharp teeth merely to eat their prey; like modern cheetahs and great white sharks, they used these choppers to deliver quick, powerful, and (if they were delivered in the right place at the right time) fatal bites. Well never know for sure, but reasoning by analogy with modern carnivores, it seems likely that these theropods aimed for their victims necks and bellies, where a strong bite would cause the most damage. Claws. Some carnivorous dinosaurs (like Baryonyx) were equipped with large, powerful claws on their front hands, which they used to slash at prey, while others (like Deinonychus and its fellow raptors) had single, oversized, curved claws on their hind feet. Its unlikely that a dinosaur could have killed prey with its claws alone; these weapons were probably also used to grapple with opponents and keep them in a death grip. (Bear in mind, however, that huge claws dont necessarily connote a carnivorous diet; the big-clawed Deinocheirus, for example, was a confirmed vegetarian.) Eyesight and smell. The most advanced predators of the Mesozoic Era (like the human-sized Troodon) were equipped with large eyes and relatively advanced binocular vision, which made it easier for them to zero in on prey, especially when hunting by night. Some carnivores also possessed an advanced sense of smell, which enabled them to scent prey from far off (though its also possible that this adaptation was used to home in on already-dead, rotting carcasses). Momentum. Tyrannosaurs were built like battering rams, with enormous heads, thick bodies, and powerful hind legs. Short of delivering a fatal bite, an attacking Daspletosaurus could knock its victim silly, provided it had the element of surprise on its side and a sufficient head of steam. Once the unlucky Stegosaurus was lying on its side, stunned and confused, the hungry theropod could move in for the quick kill. Speed. Speed was an adaptation shared equally by predators and prey, a good example of an evolutionary arms race. Since they were smaller and more lightly built than tyrannosaurs, raptors and dino-birds were especially quick, which created an evolutionary incentive for the plant-eating ornithopods they hunted to run faster as well. As a rule, carnivorous dinosaurs were capable of short bursts of high speed, while herbivorous dinosaurs could sustain a slightly less brisk pace for a longer period of time. Bad breath. This may sound like a joke, but paleontologists believe that the teeth of some tyrannosaurs were shaped so as to purposely accumulate shreds of dead tissue. As these shreds rotted, they bred dangerous bacteria, meaning any non-fatal bites inflicted on other dinosaurs would result in infected, gangrenous wounds. The unlucky plant-eater would drop dead in a few days, at which point the responsible Carnotaurus (or any other predator in the immediate vicinity) chowed down on its carcass. Defensive Dinosaur Weapons Tails. The long, flexible tails of sauropods and titanosaurs had more than one function: they helped to counterbalance these dinosaurs equally long necks, and their ample surface area may have helped dissipate excess heat. However, its also believed that some of these behemoths could lash their tails like whips, delivering stunning blows to approaching predators. The use of tails for defensive purposes reached its apex with the ankylosaurs, or armored dinosaurs, which evolved heavy, macelike growths at the ends of their tails that could crush the skulls of unwary raptors. Armor. Until the knights of medieval Europe learned to forge metallic armor, no creatures on earth were more impervious to attack than Ankylosaurus and Euoplocephalus (the latter even had armored eyelids). When attacked, these ankylosaurs would plop down onto the ground, and the only way they could be killed was if a predator managed to flip them onto their backs and dig into their soft underbellies. By the time the dinosaurs went extinct, even titanosaurs had evolved a light armored coating, which may have helped fend off pack attacks by packs of smaller raptors. Sheer bulk. One of the reasons sauropods and hadrosaurs attained such enormous sizes is that full-grown adults would have been virtually immune to predation: not even a pack of adult Alioramus could hope to take down a 20-ton Shantungosaurus. The downside to this, of course, was that predators shifted their attention to easier-to-pick-off babies and juveniles, meaning that out of a clutch of 20 or 30 eggs laid by a female Diplodocus, only one or two might manage to reach adulthood. Camouflage. The one feature of dinosaurs that rarely (if ever) fossilizes is their skin colorso well never know if Protoceratops sported zebra-like stripes, or if Maiasauras mottled skin made it difficult to see in dense underbrush. However, reasoning by analogy with modern prey animals, it would be very surprising indeed if hadrosaurs and ceratopsians didnt sport some kind of camouflage to cloak them from the attention of predators Speed. As mentioned above, evolution is an equal-opportunity employer: as the predatory dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era become faster, so do their prey, and vice-versa. While a 50-ton sauropod couldnt have run very fast, the average hadrosaur could rear up onto its hind legs and beat the bipedal retreat in response to danger, and some smaller plant-eating dinosaurs may have been capable of sprinting at 30 or 40 (or possibly 50) miles per hour while being chased. Hearing. As a general rule, predators are endowed with superior sight and smell, while prey animals possess acute hearing (so they can run away if they hear a threatening rustle in the distance). Based on an analysis of their crested skulls, it seems likely that some duck-billed dinosaurs (like Parasaurolophus and Charonosaurus) could bellow to each other over long distances, so an individual hearing the footsteps of an approaching tyrannosaur would be able to warn the herd. Intra-Species Dinosaur Weapons Horns. The fearsome-looking horns of Triceratops may only have been secondarily intended to warn away a hungry T. Rex. The position and orientation of ceratopsian horns lead paleontologists to conclude that their main purpose was in dueling with other males for dominance in the herd or breeding rights. Of course, unlucky males might be wounded, or even killed, in this processresearchers have unearthed numerous dinosaur bones bearing the marks of intra-species combat. Frills. The giant head ornaments of ceratopsian dinosaurs served two purposes. First, oversized frills made these plant-eaters look bigger in the eyes of hungry carnivores, which might opt to concentrate on smaller fare instead. And second, if these frills were brightly colored, they could have been used to signal the desire to fight during mating season. (Frills may also have had yet another purpose, as their large surface areas helped to dissipate and absorb heat.) Crests. Not quite a weapon in the classic sense, crests were protrusions of bone most often found on duck-billed dinosaurs. These backward-pointing growths would have been useless in a fight, but they may well have been employed to attract females (theres evidence that the crests of some Parasaurolophus males were larger than those of the females). As mentioned above, its also likely that some duck-billed dinosaurs funneled air through these crests as a way of signaling to others of their kind. Skulls. This peculiar weapon was unique to the family of dinosaurs known as pachycephalosaurs (thick-headed lizards). Pachycephalosaurs like Stegoceras and Sphaerotholus sported up to a foot of bone on the tops of their skulls, which they presumably used to head-butt one another for dominance in the herd and the right to mate. Theres some speculation that pachycephalosaurs may also have butted the flanks of approaching predators with their thickened domes.

Ethical Code of Conduct Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical Code of Conduct - Case Study Example The case study "Ethical Code of Conduct" talks about an ethical code of conduct which exists at least in every profession. In the accounting profession, for instance, every accounting officer has to abide by the rules and ethical principles of accounting. An accountant must maintain his loyalty to the ethical provisions. Every accountant has to ensure that no one influences him to do something that would be unethical no matter the circumstances. The reason for this is that the result may be as stated earlier, criminal and ethical violations and also may be detrimental to many others who have interests in the company. In the case of Northstar Company, the accountant is faced with an ethical issue. He has to increase expenses arbitrarily for no justifiable reasons that would also affect everyone in the company. As a result of increasing expenses despite having had low-income investors capital may be at risk considering there is no guarantee that increasing expenses would justifiably in crease income. In fact, the President seems to be having no good motive for the company other than getting his incentive. Fooling the company that it made profits yet it does not mean well for the company’s future. The company may continue making losses a matter that would lead to loss of employment for other members of staff. They could lose essential factors for the investors such as markets through improper financial investments. Under these circumstances, the best thing to do is find out why there was low income during the current year.

Apartheid and Crimes in South Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apartheid and Crimes in South Africa - Essay Example The novel tells the story of Stephen Khumalo who is a black Christian in the rural South Africa who sets for Johannesburg to look for the missing members of his family, his sister Gertrude and his son Absalom and his brother John. Even though, he gets to fin d them, it is evident that it is at an appalling cost. This is because he finds his brother having lost his faith and in turn learnt to hate his sister had lost her dignity and turned to prostitution, and his son having killed Arthur Jarvis son who is a white man opposed to the apartheid. Despite all these findings, it is noteworthy that the novel ends in a hopeful note, and this is by way of a conversation between James and Stephen on the future of South African racial understanding. This paper assesses the novel by focusing on the rampant crime that existed in the then South Africa, and this is to establish the accurate origin of the crimes. This book is laid down in South Africa of the 1940s a time during which there was both economic and political tensions that had resulted into a lengthy complicated history. Before the arrival of the Europeans in the mid 1600s, South Africa was inhabited by a considerable number of African tribal groups such as the San and the Khoikhoi and afterwards the Bantu speakers who are the ancestors of the present Zulus (Natarajan, 200). Even though, the Europeans had not come to settle as colonizers, a century later had resulted into a settlement of Europeans into deeper areas of South Africa, thus, displacing the native south Africans (Natarajan, 202). The arrival of the English almost a decade later transformed South Africa into a colony, and this had disastrous effects on the South Africans. This led to a conflict between the Boers who were the European settlers of South Africa and English, but it was till 1881 that a war between them transpired. However, this was after a series of clashes between the Boers and the native South Africans. At this time, it is evident that bla ck workers were only permitted to hold unskilled jobs, and subjection to pass laws that restricted their freedom (Ikejiaku, 451). The enactment of the Natives Land Act led to a reduction in the land the natives were permitted to own. This is evidenced by the assertion of Arthur Jarvis that it is merely a tenth of the territory, that was allocated to the native south Africans yet they formed four fifth of the country’s population (Paton, 156). This subsequently resulted into the emigration of most native South Africans into urban areas to work on mines. This influx of cheap labor was welcomed by the min e owners, who did not care about the housing and services of these people. It is in this context that the novel begins as Stephen Khumalo goes to the city to look for his son and other members of his family, and these are associates he had not made out for a lengthy time. The status of his family members at the time he finds them paints a true picture of the social evils in the Apartheid Africa, and this is of course the cause of the rampant crimes in South Africa. This is a clear indication that it is the society itself that caused the crimes. The novel depicts the whites as those affected by the native crime but also sheds some light on the social instabilities as well as moral issues as the cause for the breakdown of the tribal system. This disconnection, thus, leads to conglomeration of crime as the natives strive to survive.