Factors Affecting Students Interest in Biology - 3740 Words

Science Education International Vol. 17, No. 1, March 2006, pp. 31-48 Factors Affecting Junior High School Students’ Interest in Biology1 RICARDO TRUMPER (rtrumper@research.haifa.ac.il), Faculty of Science and Science Education, Haifa University, Israel ABSTRACT Our study, conducted as part of the ROSE Project, on students interest in biology at the end of their compulsory schooling in Israel, and its relation to their views on science classes, out-of-school experiences in biology, and attitudes to science and technology, showed that their overall interest in learning biology was relatively positive but not high; girls showed greater interest in it than boys. Students interest in learning biology correlated closely with their†¦show more content†¦1064). Their comprehensive literature survey shows that one of the main motivators of genderrelated research in science education is the fact that there are few girls in technical and science-related occupations, while more qualified personnel are needed. Israel took part in the Second International Science Study (SISS) in 1983-1984. In this study, 82% of the ten-year-olds and 66% of the 14-year-olds said that science was interesting. Among the 17-year-old students who elected to s tudy science for their matriculation examination, 72% found the study of biology interesting, while only 48% Students Interest in Biology 33 found the study of physics interesting (Tamir, Levine, Lewy, Chen, Zuzovsky, 1988). Shemesh (1990) found that Israeli junior high school girls tended to be more interested in languages, social studies, and humanities, while boys were more interested in science and technology. Furthermore, boys interest in science and technology increased with age, while older girls became less interested. Likewise, the USA Department of Education (1997) reported that, while male and female seventh and tenth graders had similar positive attitudes toward science, high school seniors demonstrated a greater difference in these attitudes. Unfortunately, these less favourable attitudes ofShow MoreRelatedDo You Have Research Experience?. Currently I Am Employed1054 Words   |  5 PagesCurrently I am employed as a Biology laboratory technician, through a program called Building Infrastructure Leading to Diversity (BUILD). The BUILD program is an NIH Funded program, which I will be working under from June 1, 2016 till May 2017. Through this position I am a full time staff member at Xavier University of Louisiana and have worked approximately 677.5 hours from June 1, 2016 through October 4, 2016. Prior to this I was employed as a student researcher in the Biology department from June 1Read MoreThe Role Of Socioeconomic Status And Behavior As Determinants Of Health999 Words   |  4 Pagesso I understand the role of socioeconomic status and behavior as determinants of health. This inspires me to pursue a career in public health where I can help to control epidemics in Africa and other underserved communities worldwide. My career interest is to work in conjunction with non-profit organizations to research the etiology of diseases, distribution, and preventive measures, and to increase public awareness through health education. My ultimate goal is to team up with health professionalsRead MoreEssay on My Path to Public Health1267 Words   |  6 PagesMy interest in public health stems from my interest in healthcare. While growing up, I have seen family members suffer from maladies and were later able to, through the attentive care of the skilled physicians, enjoy life more freely. 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Addiction The American Society Of Addiction Medicine (...

Addiction is a problem that is misunderstood by many people. One of the reasons it is so misunderstood is because there is no real consensus as to what addiction really is due to Satan’s lies as to the true nature of addiction. Many people consider addiction a disease. The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) states â€Å"Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory and related circuitry†. However, Psychology Today questions whether addiction is a physical disease or a mental illness. One might logically assume that an illness is a disease, whether it be physical or mental in nature. In fact, to the average person, there would be little discernable difference. If†¦show more content†¦The definition of the disease would determine who would best be able to cope with, or cure the disease, or if it could be cured at all. For instance, according to the ASAM addiction is a chronic disease. The definition of chronic is â€Å"marked by long duration or frequent recurrence†. Therefore, one could conclude that addiction is not curable, but will recur over time. The true definition would actually look at the root cause of any addiction. It would make sense from a theological perspective that since sin is the root cause of addiction, and sin can be cured, addiction, too, can be cured. The next step, of course would be to test the hypothesis. Ephesians 5:18 states â€Å"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit†. This verse determines that alcoholism would be sin because it goes against the teaching â€Å"be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess†. Paul tells the church at Philippi in Philippians 4:5 â€Å"Let your moderation be known to all men†¦Ã¢â‚¬  One could conclude that moderation in all things preclude any type of addiction which would be the exact opposite of moderation. One could go on to conclude, therefore that addiction is sin. Sin is curable. In fact, not only curable but sin has been purged (Heb 1:3). Satan does not desire people to recognize this fact. If Satan can convince everyone that Moore – 3 addiction is an incurable disease the addict would

Should Mental Illness Be Taken Into Account in Determining Punishment Free Essays

The penal system has been no help in alleviating the stigma attached to mental illness, routinely and historically treating mentally unstable inmates with just the same harsh approach as their criminally insane counterparts. Indeed, the distinction between these two populations is significant; however, authorities have long been reluctant to entertain such a concept. Similar to the treatment availed to them in institutions, mentally ill inmates have a history of being shackled, beaten and deprived of the most basic human needs. We will write a custom essay sample on Should Mental Illness Be Taken Into Account in Determining Punishment or any similar topic only for you Order Now One might readily argue how state and federal penitentiaries exist for one reason and one reason only: to lock up the criminal and throw away the key. The conspicuous absence of rehabilitation programs speaks to the attitude society openly harbors about its convicted felons – keep them out of sight forever. Only recently has the idea of rehabilitation over incarceration been considered throughout contemporary correctional institutions as an alternative toward addressing the imprisoned mentally ill, a population many believe are deserving of this option because of their blatant lack of free will in making morally responsible choices. The perpetuation of criminal activity, coupled with the severely limited resources availed to the state and federal criminal justice system, has made it almost compulsory for the penal system to implement comprehensive mental health programs not only to help alleviate prison overcrowding but also to rescue those inmates who do not belong in the penal system. Most people like to think that human beings possess free will, at least with regard to a wide range of actions. In contrast, however, some believe that certain people lack the aspect of free will. Many great theorists have contended that the reason some people may, indeed, lack free will is not so much due to the determined nature of their choices and behavior, but rather due to the fact that their behavior is not responsive to their choices in such a manner as to reflect those who do possess free will. When examining this viewpoint in further detail as it relates to mental illness playing an integral role in punishment, it is important to consider whether or not an individual can truly possess free will while at the same time having one’s choices and behaviors determined by a greater force, as well. When one attempts to distinguish the principle essence of such theorists as David Hume, it is essential that one understand the difference between free will and determinism. When one is cast forward by ay of determinism, it is as though one has absolutely no control over the various and sundry occurrences that take place during one’s life. Free will, on the other hand, speaks to the concept of having full authority over one’s aspirations and ultimate direction, reflecting the exact opposite of those ruled by determinism. Having grasped the difference in meaning, the student may then want to argue that Hume’s position was more than significantly biased toward the concept of determinism. One might readily surmise how an individual whose life is ruled by determinism could realistically become void of any moralistic tendencies, inasmuch as one can claim that responsibility for any action would not fall upon the individual but rather the fateful path his is forced to follow. The manner in which this concept relates to Hume’s radical principle is such that one might not be compelled to fight his own destiny, choosing instead to follow a path that is not always pristine and virtuous. The message that Hume is trying to convey is one of responsibility – all man’s ideas come from impressions of things that have occurred before. Contrarily and without assuming responsibility for one’s own actions in light of this assertion, the world would be nothing if not a jumble of adulterated confusion. By acting upon a basis of Hume’s principle, one effectively relinquishes all accountability for his actions and – in the case of considering mental illness when doling out punishment – does not deserve the option of rehabilitation over incarceration. A world without moral liability, according to Hume, is certainly no place for a civilized being. â€Å"There is a species of skepticism, antecedent to all study and philosophy, which is much inculcated by Descartes and others as a sovereign preservative against error and precipitate judgement. It recommends a universal doubt, not only of all our former opinions and principles, but also of our very faculties; of whose veracity, say they, we must assure ourselves, by a chain of reasoning, deduced from some original principle which cannot possibly be fallacious or deceitful† (Hume PG). Characteristic of humanity’s constant quest for the concept of meaning, the journey of understanding has come to represent myriad things to myriad people, ultimately rendering any universal explanation virtually impossible. The problem with meaning as it relates to free will’s impact upon one’s moral responsibility is attempting to successfully pinpoint a single yet comprehensive connotation to its overall concept; however, this cannot be achieved as long as any two individuals harbor decidedly different interpretations, which is usually the case when debating this highly controversial subject matter. Critics have long questioned the theory of free will existing within the shadow of determinism, arguing how difficult it is to realistically determine if people exhibit certain behaviors out of fear of consequence or because they have the power to take control of their own lives, often causing them to become neglectful and unwise. Unlike other living beings, for what is possible is pretty much fixed by instincts and reflexes, one may argue how people initiate much of what they do, whether that means for better and for worse. Clearly, the connection one might make between free will and behavior based upon Hume’s conjecture leads one to believe that people are much more likely to act out in such a manner that is motivated only by their personal desire to do so, rather than depending upon automatic reaction or stimulation. â€Å"The skeptic, therefore, had better keep within his proper sphere, and display those philosophical objections, which arise from more profound researches† (Hume PG). Society has not been very successful in addressing its mental illness problem; one only has to witness the nation’s tremendous homeless population, obtain criminal justice statistics and examine the number of people currently taking psycho tropic medication in order to underscore the prevalence of mental illness. Understanding the origins of mental health is paramount to gaining further understanding of how to address punishment issues directly associated with mental illness, which requires the examination of myriad cultural and genetic elements that have been suspect in the study of human behavior. Recognition and treatment of mental illness has undergone a tremendous metamorphosis over the past three centuries, with the very definition of â€Å"insanity† having encountered a most significant evolution. What was sane and what was normal was completely left open for interpretation by the powers that be, ultimately sealing the fate of many a mentally unbalanced individual whose only crime was chemical disparity. Institutional inmates were forced to live out their lives in formidable surroundings where they were cloistered in small, dark, dank rooms accommodated with one floor mattress for some half a dozen people. Chained in place, the inmates were forbidden to enjoy any of what one would consider necessary daily elements for sustaining sound mind and body: fresh air, sunlight and nutritional sustenance; along with regular beatings, the unfortunate victims of ignorance were deprived of virtually every common decency known to man. A handful of professionals from the medical community sought to defend the legitimate nature of insanity and tried to explain the need for medical attention; however, their attempts fell upon deaf ears, and their reputations were immediately tainted. The mentally ill were lumped together with the criminally insane, with officials making no distinction whatsoever between the two, inasmuch as the former â€Å"were not recognized as sick people and were accused of having abandoned themselves to shameful and forbidden practices with the devil, sorcerers and other demons† (History of Mental Illness). Ancient Egyptians understood the inherent connection between the body and mind, supporting the notion that if something was amiss in one’s life it could easily cause one a bout of mental instability. Their approach was simple and straightforward: talk it out and rejoice in religion. The combination of these two elements was believed to empower the individual with internal strength that would ultimately overrule the continuation of any mental imbalance. Similarly, Aristotle and Socrates – the logical beings that they were – also recognized mental illness for what it truly was and prescribed such cures as soothing music to help alleviate melancholia. Hippocrates followed suit by prescribing a natural vegetable diet and exercise as a means by which to overcome mental illness (History of Mental Illness). It was not until the concept of the â€Å"mind† began to overtake such simplistic approaches, along with blaming the victim for such a disgraceful downfall, that the entire notion of mental illness began to shift for the worse. Dual diagnosis presents yet another concern where mentally ill offenders are concerned, a situation where an individual is diagnosed as being both mentally ill and a drug addict. While it is wholly possible to be dually diagnosed with a different secondary disease, drug abuse ranks high on the list. Research findings indicate that mental illness leads into drug abuse, inasmuch as the mentally ill partake of recreational drugs no differently than their mentally stable counterparts. What does separate the two groups, however, is what is termed downward drift, meaning that â€Å"as a consequence of their illness they may find themselves living in marginal neighborhoods where drug use prevails† (Dual Diagnosis). In these cases, it is customary to address the drug problem before approaching treatment for mental illness. There are a number of social and environmental factors that encourage criminal delinquency – one in particular is overlooked more than the rest when it comes to, for example, juvenile delinquency: mental illness. Indeed, an adolescent who is suffering from any one of many forms of mentally illness can display myriad socially unacceptable behaviors; within this mindset, juvenile delinquency has been found to be a prevalent occurrence. Considered for decades to be a disease of the insane, mental conditions like depression that intensify juvenile delinquency have finally been recognized for the debilitating and emotionally unbalancing illnesses they truly are. With an astounding nineteen million Americans suffering from clinical depression, the disease can no longer be looked upon as nothing more than merely the blues. Additionally, another five percent are victims of occasional despondency, with one of every six people succumbing to a serious or major depressive episode at some point in life (Clinical Depression). Depression often hits the elderly more than any other age group; however, with each passing year the average age of sufferers continues to drop as depression in young people is on the rise. Indeed, mentally ill offenders have much to contend with in their own way; as such, their punishment needs to fit their mental stability. If an offender is convicted of aggravated assault yet lacks the capacity to ascertain that he actually committed a crime, then it would seem prudent that he be given the right to appropriate counseling as a means by which to overcome his tendencies. However, the implementation of the insanity plea has allowed for perfectly normal criminals to reap the rehabilitative benefits typically bestowed upon the mentally ill, which has served to compromise the very foundation of this legal loophole (Harley 45). The theoretical implications contend that far too many people are crying insanity as a means by which to evade punishment for a crime they willfully committed, knowing full well that if they can achieve an insanity status, the penalty they receive will be significantly less overall, if they receive any. Clearly, intent does not have any relevance to its determination; as such, the tactics and strategies of both the prosecution and the defense have little, if any, bearing on how insanity is determined. The implications of such a problem speak to the overall distortion of insanity, as well as illustrate how much more difficult it makes it for the truly mentally ill to secure a legitimate insanity plea (Harley 45). Re-training the mentally ill offender to become positive, contributing members of society has always proven to be a challenge for officials in charge of rehabilitation. Myriad programs have been implemented throughout history to achieve this goal but according to those in the field, none have proven as effective as the treatment approach. In attempting to put back the missing elements of a stable and productive person, such programs as behavioral therapy have been said to be instrumental in realigning otherwise maladjusted individuals as opposed to the harsh approach of boot camps and shock incarceration programs. Critics of such programs contend that such brutal methods do nothing but instigate more of the same behavior the recovery programs seek to overcome. If delinquency is â€Å"rooted in personality characteristics rather than in external forces† (Banks et al 49), then it does not make sense to employ this type of rehabilitation. Implementing behavior therapy is one way of addressing the issue of mentally ill offenders whose deviant tendencies lead to criminal activity. With the help of professional therapists, law enforcement agencies are learning the art of behavior therapy as a means by which to control otherwise unreachable mentally ill delinquents. The objective of behavior therapy is to first assess and then treat mental problems that cause people to act abnormally. The current consensus among mental health professionals is that behaviors responsible for causing distress or preventing normal functioning in daily life are considered abnormal. There is a social standard by which all members are expected to abide; however, when an individual shows a propensity for straying from that social norm, behavior therapy theories are more than likely applied to determine the problem’s origin and ultimate treatment. There exist myriad influences that can prompt a person into sidestepping what is considered to be normal behavior, including mental disorders, physical diseases and stress-related issues. Experts report successful treatment outcome and maintenance for dealing with mentally ill offenders, inasmuch as behavior therapy theories focus upon unconscious conflicts that cause anxiety or maladaptive behavior. In effect, these myriad theories represent the means by which therapists are able to assess, diagnose, treat and finally heal their mentally ill patients. News reports that usually frame mental illness in the context of violence and crime are giving rise to stereotypes which stigmatize de-institutionalized mentally ill people. Thus, the challenge facing journalists is addressing deep-rooted and largely unjustified public perceptions about mental illness and violent crimes† (Smellie 25). In order to work toward a solution to the overwhelming inadequacy of mental health resources in contemporary penal systems, grants must be both created and obtained to address the following issues: Housing the mentally ill in places other than jail and prison †¢Revisiting community mental health centers from the 1960s and 1970s †¢Assembling a task force of researchers to undertake myriad projects †¢Assessing mental health issues in minority communities †¢Exploring mental health issues in African-American communities †¢Providing a more active role by the clergy in reference to mental health issues, especially in African-American communities †¢Researching the correlation between mental health, crime and recidivism, with particular emphasis upon minority populations Conducting ongoing research for early identification programs, prerelease programs, transitional care management programs and effective parole/probation programs †¢Maintaining consistency i n all programs from start to finish (Clinical Depression and African-Americans). Clearly, continuum of care is the key for the incarcerated mentally ill, a model consisting of three distinct phases: jail/prison; community mental health programs; and probation/parole. Within this continuum resides effective pre-release programs for all incarcerated mentally ill inmates; ongoing substance abuse and literacy programs; and behavior modification programs. Activities for daily living would include employment, job training and retraining through vocational rehabilitation programs, state employment services, adult ex-offender job programs and effective communication programs; and alternatives to incarceration programs for the mentally ill and dual diagnosis. Are all delinquents created equal? Indeed, there are myriad levels of criminal activity that land offenders in jail, with a percentage of those criminals committing their crimes under the duress of mental illness. These prisoners, who many believe are deserving of severe punishment, often do not have full control of their faculties. These orphans of society are compelled by an emotional or mental imbalance that provokes them to display deviant behavior toward society and their fellow human beings. Clearly, such individuals need treatment, not prison; rehabilitative help is in order for these offenders, not a lifetime behind bars. By placing the criminal into long-term therapy, there is at least a chance of rehabilitation there likely would not be in a full security prison. To stray from the norm is to deviate from socially acceptable behavior; when one is deviant, he goes against the very essence of what society has deemed acceptable. One of the easiest things in life is to deviate from what is considered by the masses to be normal; in fact, Morpheus points out that it is often considerably more difficult to remain upon a straight and narrow path with the myriad obstacles that appear in daily life. Therefore, one can readily argue how deviant behavior has found its niche within contemporary society, even to the point of infiltrating what is considered to be a standard of normalcy; as such, appropriate corrective measures must be applied in order to expect any semblance of rehabilitation for the mentally ill criminal. WORKS CITED Banks, Terry Dabbs, James M. , Jr. â€Å"Salivary testosterone and cortisol in a delinquent and violent urban subculture. † The Journal of Social Psychology 136, (1996): 49. Clinical Depression. 25 April 2004 http://www. nmha. org/ccd/index. cfm Clinical Depression and African-Americans. 25 April 2004 http://www. intelihealth. com/specials/depression/htm DeprAfrAmer. html Dual Diagnosis: Substance Abuse And Mental Illness. 25 April 2004 http://www. schizophrenia. com/family/dualdiag. html Harley, Debra A. How to cite Should Mental Illness Be Taken Into Account in Determining Punishment, Papers

Redbox Marketing Within the Box free essay sample

Americans are an elite class of consumers. As consumers, Americans are very comfortable in knowing when a product will be needed or wanted, where to find that particular product, and how much they are willing to pay for a particular product. Consumerism has become a second nature that we seldom give much thought to the process. This desire for products can be attributed to the work put in to marketing and promoting such items. Marketing strategies put in an overwhelming amount of effort to grab the consumer’s attention, create a need or desire and develop brand loyalty. The first REDBOX kiosk was launched in 2002, inside a McDonald’s restaurant. Since then REDBOX has expanded to over 27,000 locations. Solely in part to the way the REDBOX has marketed itself, targeted current and potential customers, and created brand loyalty. This paper will discuss how REDBOX uses its product, placement, price and promotion as a part of the marketing strategy to generate millions of dollars in annual revenue. REDBOX is a â€Å"Coinstar Company that rents DVDs for a dollar a day through vending machines in more than 25,000 convenience store, supermarkets, and fast-food restaurants† (Kolter and Armstrong, 2012, p. 70). REDBOX was the first of its kind to offer affordable daily DVD rentals from a kiosk. REDBOX is still in competition with Blockbuster and Netflix in the DVD rental market. However, REDBOX is a step ahead. They realize the high cost of rental and membership fees consumers can endure, so they offer a unique distinguishing marketing tool, $1 a day rentals. Imperative to their success, REDBOX uses a sophisticated software system designed to skillfully deliver DVDs to consumers instantly at the touch of a button. REDBOX does not anticipate cutting back on its products or kiosks; instead they are diligently trying to fulfill higher demands from consumers by using the future of technology. â€Å"REDBOX operates more than 24,000 DVD rental kiosks in McDonald’s, Walmart, Walgreens, and other retail outlets. Customers make their selections on a touch screen, then swipe a credit or debit card to rent DVDs at $1 a day. Customers can even prereserve DVDs online to ensure that their trip to the kiosk will not be a wasted one† (Kolter and Armstrong, 2012, p. 504-505). Businesses are faced with a multitude of challenges, especially in the beginning development and establishment phases. The first challenge for an organization is to identify the type of consumers that will be purchasing the product and to identify their specific needs. REDBOX implemented â€Å"Free Movie Monday’s† in which a monthly code is distributed the first Monday of every month. â€Å"’Our free rental code promotions are a great tool to raise awareness and trial of REDBOX and to encourage consumers to experience the convenience of our DVD rental kiosk,’ said Mitch Lowe, president, REDBOX† (Michael, 2009). With such promotions, marketing representatives are given the chance to identify and analyze their audience. Once a target audience is identified, marketing strategies can be targeted and categorized. Once a company starts to grow, the clientele becomes larger and broader; as such, the marketing aspects change. REDBOX is unique in the sense that they target the entire DVD rental market. There is no specific demographic that the REDBOX marketing strategy caters to. With the debut of its â€Å"’Location Finder’ text service is designed to make renting and returning DVD and Blu-ray Discs easier for consumers nationwide† (Anonymous, 2010). The first element of focus for a marketer is the product as a whole. This includes developing appropriate pricing for the product or service, distribution and promotion. All three components are vital in order to keep the consumer interested. REDBOX offers easy-to-use, hassle free and affordable DVD rentals. This unobtrusive, budget-friendly method of watching blockbuster movies is almost a guarantee that any demographic, can and will at least try it. Businesses offer incentives to consumers such as, free trials and discounted coupons to grab a potential customer’s attention. Once consumers test the service and are satisfied they are likely to become loyal customers. However, if there was no â€Å"try before you buy period† an alarmingly large number of potential customers would not take the risk. In order for promotions such as these to be successful, business have to appeal and cater to consumers to achieve brand loyalty. They do this by offering loyalty discounts, above and beyond customer service. REDBOX does this with their â€Å"Free Movie Monday’s† promotion and â€Å"return anytime, anywhere† policy. The most remarkable characteristic of the marketing strategy of REDBOX is how minimal their marketing efforts have been, yet they’ve risen to a leader in the DVD rental industry. â€Å"Redbox combines the easy and usability of Netflix with the â€Å"watch it tonight† concept of Blockbuster† (Boris, 2010). However, with competition there will always be issues brought on by consumer dissatisfaction and REDBOX is no exception. â€Å"REDBOX is losing some business as renters use kiosks to get new releases and go to Netflix for older, harder-to-find titles† (White, 2010). Recently, â€Å"REDBOX ended legal battles this year with three studios, News Corp. s Fox, General Electric Co. ’s NBC Universal and Time Warner Inc. ’s Warner Bros. , over access to DVDs. The studios agreed to sell discs to Redbox for rental after the movies had been in stores for 28 days. Walt Disney Co. , Viacom Inc. ’s Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment a nd Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. let Redbox offer DVDs when they become available for sale in stores† (White, 2010). Such litigation can often times become a problem for businesses as they are scrutinized by the public for not being capable of fulfilling consumer needs and potentially losing current and future customers. On the other hand, to some industry observers, the settlement looked more like a strategic win on REDBOX’s part. Finding a target consumer is too strenuous for businesses that offer items that various demographics use. REDBOX has no qualms about advertising to anyone and everyone. â€Å"Testing various approaches has enabled Redbox to leverage Bing as a key marketing channel, said Fenske. â€Å"You have to understand the mindset of Bing customer—it is more shopping and retail focused than Google. Bing has positioned itself as a decision engine. It understands its place is to help you decide. For a retailer like Redbox that means helping shoppers decide what movie to rent and where they can rent it† (Stambor, 2011). REBOX has studied its audience enough to know busy parents are interested in keeping avidly watching DVDs themselves, with children or family; while keeping costs low and without having to deal with a video store. Keeping this tactic in mind the busy parents are able to rent a DVD while grocery shopping or picking up dinner. REDBOX is successfully using a marketing strategy that attracts the busy parent by being readily available and affordable. The value innovation concept provides a relevant support for questioning product/market strategies as well as underlying assumptions. The purpose of a business is to develop and retain a customer base. Differentiation refers to a business’s ability to separate itself and the product from competitors which is instrumental in building and maintaining a competitive advantage. REDBOX is in high competition with Blockbuster and Netflix. Of course, Blockbuster has been around for decades and suffering a decline, and Netflix offers the same hassle-free service but with a wider selection. Netflix is rapidly replacing Blockbuster; it is imperative that REDBOX keep above the competition. REDBOX offers unique and special benefits that no one else can offer the DVD rental customer. Changes in modern day technology have made businesses like REDBOX possible and evermore popular in society. When VHS players became obsolete, it became mandatory to own a DVD player; in order to rent and watch movies in the comfort of one’s home. REDBOX has made it possible, with exasperate box office ticket prices, to be able to enjoy the movies without having to leave the house for a movie night. REDBOX is using advanced technology to their benefit when it comes to marketing aspects and the way the business is conducted, for its consumer’s benefit. REDBOX started out as one kiosk in a McDonald’s restaurant and has developed into a business, which is now has over 27,000 locations and over 1 billion rentals. When a business utilizes advancing technology to their advantage they are opening more doors to provide goods and services to a wider range of consumers. As REDBOX evolves to a market leader and continues to rival against the others; it is important to remember the consumers have the last word. Despite the strong and vigilant efforts of advertising and marketing representatives put into a product or how much research goes into making it appealing to the public, the current and future consumers will be the ones to sink or sail the product ship. Word of mouth, Internet blog, forum discussion, social networking chats or undesirable rate increases have the power to make or break a product in the end. Reference: Anonmyous,. (2010, Sep 28). Redbox Locations Finder Invites Movie Lovers to Text to Find the Nearest Location. PS Newswire. Retrieved Jun 21, 2011, from ProQuest Kolter, P, G. Armstrong. (2012). Principles of Marketing. (Vol. 14, Ed. ). Boston, Pearson Prentice Hall. Michael,. (2009, May. 7 ). Retrieved Jun. 21, 2011, from http://www. insiderredbox. com/redbox-extends-free-movie-monday-promotion/ Stambor, Z.. (2011, Jun. 14 ). Retrieved Jun. 20, 2011, from http://www. internetretailer. com/2011/06/14/irce-2011-report-google-isnt-only- game-town White, M.. (2010, Jul. 19 ). Retrieved Jun. 20, 2011, from http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2010-07-19/redbox-plots-internet-movie-strategy-in-challenge-to-netflix-on-home-turf. html | | | | | | | | | |

Redbox Marketing Within the Box free essay sample

Americans are an elite class of consumers. As consumers, Americans are very comfortable in knowing when a product will be needed or wanted, where to find that particular product, and how much they are willing to pay for a particular product. Consumerism has become a second nature that we seldom give much thought to the process. This desire for products can be attributed to the work put in to marketing and promoting such items. Marketing strategies put in an overwhelming amount of effort to grab the consumer’s attention, create a need or desire and develop brand loyalty. The first REDBOX kiosk was launched in 2002, inside a McDonald’s restaurant. Since then REDBOX has expanded to over 27,000 locations. Solely in part to the way the REDBOX has marketed itself, targeted current and potential customers, and created brand loyalty. This paper will discuss how REDBOX uses its product, placement, price and promotion as a part of the marketing strategy to generate millions of dollars in annual revenue. REDBOX is a â€Å"Coinstar Company that rents DVDs for a dollar a day through vending machines in more than 25,000 convenience store, supermarkets, and fast-food restaurants† (Kolter and Armstrong, 2012, p. 70). REDBOX was the first of its kind to offer affordable daily DVD rentals from a kiosk. REDBOX is still in competition with Blockbuster and Netflix in the DVD rental market. However, REDBOX is a step ahead. They realize the high cost of rental and membership fees consumers can endure, so they offer a unique distinguishing marketing tool, $1 a day rentals. Imperative to their success, REDBOX uses a sophisticated software system designed to skillfully deliver DVDs to consumers instantly at the touch of a button. REDBOX does not anticipate cutting back on its products or kiosks; instead they are diligently trying to fulfill higher demands from consumers by using the future of technology. â€Å"REDBOX operates more than 24,000 DVD rental kiosks in McDonald’s, Walmart, Walgreens, and other retail outlets. Customers make their selections on a touch screen, then swipe a credit or debit card to rent DVDs at $1 a day. Customers can even prereserve DVDs online to ensure that their trip to the kiosk will not be a wasted one† (Kolter and Armstrong, 2012, p. 504-505). Businesses are faced with a multitude of challenges, especially in the beginning development and establishment phases. The first challenge for an organization is to identify the type of consumers that will be purchasing the product and to identify their specific needs. REDBOX implemented â€Å"Free Movie Monday’s† in which a monthly code is distributed the first Monday of every month. â€Å"’Our free rental code promotions are a great tool to raise awareness and trial of REDBOX and to encourage consumers to experience the convenience of our DVD rental kiosk,’ said Mitch Lowe, president, REDBOX† (Michael, 2009). With such promotions, marketing representatives are given the chance to identify and analyze their audience. Once a target audience is identified, marketing strategies can be targeted and categorized. Once a company starts to grow, the clientele becomes larger and broader; as such, the marketing aspects change. REDBOX is unique in the sense that they target the entire DVD rental market. There is no specific demographic that the REDBOX marketing strategy caters to. With the debut of its â€Å"’Location Finder’ text service is designed to make renting and returning DVD and Blu-ray Discs easier for consumers nationwide† (Anonymous, 2010). The first element of focus for a marketer is the product as a whole. This includes developing appropriate pricing for the product or service, distribution and promotion. All three components are vital in order to keep the consumer interested. REDBOX offers easy-to-use, hassle free and affordable DVD rentals. This unobtrusive, budget-friendly method of watching blockbuster movies is almost a guarantee that any demographic, can and will at least try it. Businesses offer incentives to consumers such as, free trials and discounted coupons to grab a potential customer’s attention. Once consumers test the service and are satisfied they are likely to become loyal customers. However, if there was no â€Å"try before you buy period† an alarmingly large number of potential customers would not take the risk. In order for promotions such as these to be successful, business have to appeal and cater to consumers to achieve brand loyalty. They do this by offering loyalty discounts, above and beyond customer service. REDBOX does this with their â€Å"Free Movie Monday’s† promotion and â€Å"return anytime, anywhere† policy. The most remarkable characteristic of the marketing strategy of REDBOX is how minimal their marketing efforts have been, yet they’ve risen to a leader in the DVD rental industry. â€Å"Redbox combines the easy and usability of Netflix with the â€Å"watch it tonight† concept of Blockbuster† (Boris, 2010). However, with competition there will always be issues brought on by consumer dissatisfaction and REDBOX is no exception. â€Å"REDBOX is losing some business as renters use kiosks to get new releases and go to Netflix for older, harder-to-find titles† (White, 2010). Recently, â€Å"REDBOX ended legal battles this year with three studios, News Corp. s Fox, General Electric Co. ’s NBC Universal and Time Warner Inc. ’s Warner Bros. , over access to DVDs. The studios agreed to sell discs to Redbox for rental after the movies had been in stores for 28 days. Walt Disney Co. , Viacom Inc. ’s Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment a nd Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. let Redbox offer DVDs when they become available for sale in stores† (White, 2010). Such litigation can often times become a problem for businesses as they are scrutinized by the public for not being capable of fulfilling consumer needs and potentially losing current and future customers. On the other hand, to some industry observers, the settlement looked more like a strategic win on REDBOX’s part. Finding a target consumer is too strenuous for businesses that offer items that various demographics use. REDBOX has no qualms about advertising to anyone and everyone. â€Å"Testing various approaches has enabled Redbox to leverage Bing as a key marketing channel, said Fenske. â€Å"You have to understand the mindset of Bing customer—it is more shopping and retail focused than Google. Bing has positioned itself as a decision engine. It understands its place is to help you decide. For a retailer like Redbox that means helping shoppers decide what movie to rent and where they can rent it† (Stambor, 2011). REBOX has studied its audience enough to know busy parents are interested in keeping avidly watching DVDs themselves, with children or family; while keeping costs low and without having to deal with a video store. Keeping this tactic in mind the busy parents are able to rent a DVD while grocery shopping or picking up dinner. REDBOX is successfully using a marketing strategy that attracts the busy parent by being readily available and affordable. The value innovation concept provides a relevant support for questioning product/market strategies as well as underlying assumptions. The purpose of a business is to develop and retain a customer base. Differentiation refers to a business’s ability to separate itself and the product from competitors which is instrumental in building and maintaining a competitive advantage. REDBOX is in high competition with Blockbuster and Netflix. Of course, Blockbuster has been around for decades and suffering a decline, and Netflix offers the same hassle-free service but with a wider selection. Netflix is rapidly replacing Blockbuster; it is imperative that REDBOX keep above the competition. REDBOX offers unique and special benefits that no one else can offer the DVD rental customer. Changes in modern day technology have made businesses like REDBOX possible and evermore popular in society. When VHS players became obsolete, it became mandatory to own a DVD player; in order to rent and watch movies in the comfort of one’s home. REDBOX has made it possible, with exasperate box office ticket prices, to be able to enjoy the movies without having to leave the house for a movie night. REDBOX is using advanced technology to their benefit when it comes to marketing aspects and the way the business is conducted, for its consumer’s benefit. REDBOX started out as one kiosk in a McDonald’s restaurant and has developed into a business, which is now has over 27,000 locations and over 1 billion rentals. When a business utilizes advancing technology to their advantage they are opening more doors to provide goods and services to a wider range of consumers. As REDBOX evolves to a market leader and continues to rival against the others; it is important to remember the consumers have the last word. Despite the strong and vigilant efforts of advertising and marketing representatives put into a product or how much research goes into making it appealing to the public, the current and future consumers will be the ones to sink or sail the product ship. Word of mouth, Internet blog, forum discussion, social networking chats or undesirable rate increases have the power to make or break a product in the end. Reference: Anonmyous,. (2010, Sep 28). Redbox Locations Finder Invites Movie Lovers to Text to Find the Nearest Location. PS Newswire. Retrieved Jun 21, 2011, from ProQuest Kolter, P, G. Armstrong. (2012). Principles of Marketing. (Vol. 14, Ed. ). Boston, Pearson Prentice Hall. Michael,. (2009, May. 7 ). Retrieved Jun. 21, 2011, from http://www. insiderredbox. com/redbox-extends-free-movie-monday-promotion/ Stambor, Z.. (2011, Jun. 14 ). Retrieved Jun. 20, 2011, from http://www. internetretailer. com/2011/06/14/irce-2011-report-google-isnt-only- game-town White, M.. (2010, Jul. 19 ). Retrieved Jun. 20, 2011, from http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2010-07-19/redbox-plots-internet-movie-strategy-in-challenge-to-netflix-on-home-turf. html | | | | | | | | | |

Mandelas Leadership

Executive summary Mandela is one of the greatest leaders of the twentieth century. By the turn of the millennium, Mandela had become a household name because of his success in ending apartheid in South Africa. Not only did he successfully lead South Africa in the fight against apartheid, but he also united people of different races after he became President, and thereby prevented civil war in South Africa.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Mandela’s Leadership specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Mandela is also one of the most selfless leaders the world has ever seen. During his term in office, which ran until 1999, he never misused power. Instead, he sought to empower the masses by exemplifying cohesion. He forgave his tormentors and urged the South African public to live in harmony with one another regardless of their race. After one term, he left office and became the first African leader to do so. His succ ess as a leader can be attributed to the fact that he was a charismatic, transformative and democratic leader. Introduction Nelson Mandela is indubitably a revolutionary leader. The transformative aspects of his leadership brought changes that are treasured by South Africa two decades after the country’s independence. He remarkably negotiated for the end of apartheid and persuaded the South African public to forgive each other and live in harmony despite their racial differences. He left office after only one term as President, paving way for other leaders. Mandela never misused power while in office, a fact that explains why he never held to it in the first place. He used his power to better the lives of the public in South Africa and set an example of selfless leadership. Mandela’s effectiveness in leadership can be attributed to his personal traits and decisive selection of good leadership styles. He is a charismatic and democratic leader. His leadership is also tra nsformative in nature because he transformed the mindset of the public. He ended apartheid, ushered in democracy and promoted a cohesive government, a feat that was seemingly unachievable during the years of apartheid. This paper analyses Mandela’s leadership styles and investigates his use of power.Advertising Looking for report on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Mandela’s leadership style and behaviour In his fight against apartheid and during his advocacy for democracy, Mandela always used the charismatic leadership style. In leadership studies, charisma is defined as a quality that differentiates the person who possesses it from others, giving him/her unrivalled persuasive power (Dalglish Miller 2010). Mandela’s charismatic leadership had a touch of democracy. A democratic leader engages followers in discussions and encourages interactions among the followers with the aim of reaching consen sus in decision making (Ripka 2007). It is however important to note that without certain traits, a leader cannot successfully adopt the charismatic and democratic styles of leadership. Charismatic leaders are particularly good in persuasion, speech and organizing (Rabinowitz 2013). They are honest, open minded and they have good listening skills. Mandela was the kind of leader who could listen to an argument for hours without making a comment and later help the people involved to reach consensus. He â€Å"is legendary for listening to all sides of the argument, taking guidance and then offering his analysis† (Curnow 2011, p. 1). He sometimes made proposals, which he gladly accepted as unfeasible if other people made him realise so. For instance, he once proposed voting age to be brought down to fourteen in South Africa. After public backlash on the proposal, he gave up on it. These are some of the qualities of a charismatic and democratic leader. Mandela’s experiences in the hands of the minority government had made him synonymous with the anti-apartheid movement. He found himself being the unquestionable leader of anti-apartheid groups across South Africa. In addition to this, Mandela was the symbolic leader of a myriad of liberation movements that were established during the fight against apartheid. He became the story through which people were made to understand the evil nature of apartheid (O’Fallon 2012). This status was a delicate affair for Mandela, who could have easily lost the confidence of the people if he adopted a poor leadership style. However, Mandela is intelligent and he possesses a sociable charisma that enabled him to connect well with the masses as well as the oppressive administration. Mandela also believes in non-violence and thus â€Å"his weapons were those of persuasion not of guns and bolts.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Mandela’s Leadership specifically for you for onl y $16.05 $11/page Learn More He was not a revolutionary bent upon seizing power. His ambition was higher, to convince all South Africans to embrace reconciliation, fairness and learn to live in harmony† (Bray n.d., p. 1). Mandela used dialogue and consensus to solve issues. These are important aspects of any democracy, and the leader of the democracy must be good in nurturing them. One of the reasons for Mandela’s success in leadership is his understanding of the fact that in South Africa, democracy could not be achieved without reconciliation. Additionally, he knew that justice was not achievable without peace. Mandela was ready to pursue whatever means to liberate the South African public, but being a wise man, he knew he had to follow Mahatma Gandhi’s example of non-violence. Upon this realization, Mandela employed his political cunning, charm and farsightedness to achieve a dream for which he had been imprisoned for decades (Carlin 2013). This shows his charismatic leadership because he was able to control himself in order to realize his dream of a peaceful South Africa where people of different races lived together in harmony. Mandela’s transformative and transactional leadership Transformative aspects of Mandela’s leadership Leaders are often encountered with the need to change the status quo. Some qualities are a must for transformative leaders. The first is charisma. The leader needs to â€Å"have vision and a sense of mission† (Dalglish Miller, 2010, p. 140). The leader has the confidence, respect and loyalty of his/her followers. This kind of framework ensures that the transformative aspects of the leader are fully realized. Mandela was such a leader. Mandela’s vision of â€Å"a beautiful South Africa† (Le 2009, p. 1) had profound effects on governance in South Africa. The vision actually resulted in a changed nation, after the Mandela influenced the public to share his vision. Tr ansformative leadership is all about realizing change that has been envisioned before the realization (Shields 2010), and thus Mandela was rightfully a transformative leader. Dalglish and Miller (2010) state that transformative leaders are more likely to be successful if they are inspirational. â€Å"Part of the inspiration derives from communicating a vision with fluency and confidence† (Dalglish Miller 2010). By appealing to supporters and supporting them emotionally, a leader is able to inspire his/her supporters to exceed the expectations they initially had. The leader must be a skilful communicator like Mandela was. Mandela was among the few leaders who are capable of inspiring audiences beyond their country. â€Å"Few others would have managed to unite the disparate warring parties and steer South Africa from what seemed to be the brink of civil war† (Nelson Mandela 2013, p. 1). The cohesive transformation brought by Mandela was one of his most remarkable accomp lishments.Advertising Looking for report on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lastly, transformational leaders offer personal attention to their followers and support them in the steps they take to realize their mission (McDowelle 2009). Mandela was such a leader. While in prison, he devised new communication methods that helped in organizing for hunger strikes. The strikes led to better living conditions in the prison. However, the most transformative aspect of Mandela’s leadership was his leadership against apartheid, and the subsequent reconciliation. Transactional aspects of Mandela’s leadership In a transactional leadership, there is an exchange between the leader and followers (Lai 2011). The transaction does not have to be composed of pre-defined valuables, but rather the leader gets something he/she needs and his/her followers also get something they need. However, the transaction must be acceptable to both parties (Dalglish Miller 2010). In Mandela’s case, he offered the public with inspiration and vision, which turned them from ordinary to extra-ordinary. Mandela also saved South African masses from the polarization that had threatened their peace for long. He shared his vision of peace in multicultural communities and set an example not only to South Africans, but also to the world. His Gandhi-inspired belief in non-violence has also been treasured by South Africans and the world because it is arguably the reason South Africa did not descend into civil war. The masses on the other hand, offered Mandela companionship in the fight against the apartheid government. After election into office, the South African public offered Mandela unwavering support that increased his confidence and made him more determined to serve his country (Baale 2013). Mandela’s use of power The most remarkable aspect of Mandela’s leadership is perhaps his use of power for the good of the public, and his lack of greed for power. During the fight against apartheid, Mandela remarkably used his intellectual and political power to influence the administration until it gave him a chance to implement his vision of reconciliation, protection of property, protection of human rights and the rule of law. This was accomplished after the minority government gave in to the demands for a democratically elected government in the year 1994. Instead of holding on to power after being elected President, Mandela sought to empower the public (Le 2009). Mandela’s style of managing power is proof of his transformative leadership skills. Lowe, Kroech and Sivasubramaniam (1996, p. 407) state that a â€Å"transformational leader, through intellectual stimulation, instils feelings of power in followers to attain higher goals through socialized power rather than the pure charismatic leader who attempts to exert dominance and subjugate followers through personalized power†. Mandela used his visionary power, charm and negotiation skills to win the confidence of the minority government, which eventually agreed t o voluntarily give up power. Among his powers were expert and referent power that he utilized well as he led South Africa in the fight against apartheid. Mandela was a trustworthy individual who could easily convince his opponents, both in political circles and in prison, to follow his ideals. He remarkably used his intellect and charm to negotiate with prison warders for better living conditions. After he won the subsequent 1994 elections with two-thirds of the votes, he used his power to reconcile the people who had previously been fighting, a step that led to worldwide peace efforts. â€Å"Unlike dictators and so many populist Presidents, he left office after only one term. He showed no love for power, only a fearless commitment to the most noble of values, which he celebrated even in the most terrible of times† (Bray n.d., p. 1). This decision has earned Mandela the respect of world leaders, as he showed no greed for power because he did not misuse power during his term i n office. It is common knowledge that Presidents who hold on to power do so to protect themselves from prosecution for abuse of the power bestowed upon them. Mandela’s knowledge and skills gave him influential power over South African populace. Mandela had graduated from the University with a degree in Law and he enjoyed political power because of his tenure as the ANC (African National Congress) leader. Mandela also enjoyed prestige power because he was a member of the South African elite before his political endeavours (Read 2010). The aforementioned power would prove helpful to Mandela even in prison. As mentioned above, he used his political power in prison to rally support against poor living conditions (Le 2009). Mandela’s power management skills are arguably the reason he succeeded in leading South Africa against apartheid and in becoming the global icon he is today. Conclusion Mandela is arguably the greatest leader alive. He is famously known for leading the f ight against apartheid in South Africa, and subsequently reconciling the public when he was elected President. During his politicking days, Mandela showed transformative, democratic and charismatic leadership styles. He is a gifted individual who used his persuasive power to get the approval of both the public and the apartheid administration. Mandela is open minded, honest and a good listener. These qualities made him a successful charismatic and democratic leader during the fight against apartheid. He is also confident and good in speech, qualities that indubitably make him the great leader he is. He remarkably encouraged people from different racial backgrounds in South Africa to live in harmony with each other, and thereby avoided a civil crisis. He embraced his tormentors and encouraged the masses to emulate his forgiveness. He became synonymous with the struggle against apartheid because he was the central figure and the leader of the anti-apartheid movement. After serving onl y one term as President, Mandela handed over power, becoming the first African leader to do so. Reference List Baale, L 2013, Valuable Leadership Lessons From Nelson Mandela, viewed on http://www.leadership.ng/nga/columns/50686/2013/03/23/valuable_leadership_lessons_nelson_mandela_2.html Bray, R n.d., Nelson Mandela, http://www.capetown.at/letters/mandela.htm Carlin, J 2013, Nelson Mandela’s Legacy, http://www.aucegypt.edu/gapp/cairoreview/pages/articledetails.aspx?aid=69 Curnow, R 2011, Mandela’s Leadership Lessons, http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2011/07/21/mandela%E2%80%99s-leadership-lessons/ Dalglish, C Miller, P 2010, Leadership: Understanding its Global Impact, Tilde University Press, Australia. Lai, A 2011, ‘Transformational-Transactional Leadership Theory’, AHS Capstone  Projects, Paper 17, http://digitalcommons.olin.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013context=ahs_capstone_2011 Le, T 2009, Leadership Style: Nelson Mandela Vs Adolf Hitler, ht tp://articles-book.com/Article/Leadership-Style–Nelson-Mandela-Vs-Adolf-Hitler/377375 Lowe, K, Kroeck, K Sivasubramaniam, N 1996. ‘Effectiveness correlates of transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic review of the MLQ literature’, The Leadership Quarterly, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 385-415, http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/K_Lowe_Effectiveness_1996.pdf McDowelle, J 2009, ‘A Contemporary Consideration of Transformative Leadership’,  Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 1-5, East Carolina University, DOI 10.3776/joci.2009.v3n2p1-5 Nelson Mandela: Leader Among leaders 2013, http://www.southafrica.info/mandela/mandela.htm#.UW5NkRdHLsQ O’Fallon, S 2012, Nelson Mandela and Unitive Leadership, http://integralleadershipreview.com/7460-nelson-mandela-and-unitive-leadership Rabinowitz, P 2013, Styles of Leadership, http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1122.aspx Read, J 2010, ‘Leadership and Pow er in Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom’,  Journal of Power, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 317-339, Taylor Francis Online, DOI 10.1080/17540291.2010.524792 Ripka, J 2007, Nelson Mandela and His Leadership Style, http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/j/m/jmc441/NelsonMandela.htm Shields, C 2010, ‘Transformative Leadership: Working for Equity in Diverse Contexts’, Educational Administration Quarterly, vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 558-589, Sage Journals, DOI 10.1177/0013161X10375609 This report on Mandela’s Leadership was written and submitted by user Emery Yang to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

billy bathgate essays

billy bathgate essays Billy Bathgate, is a book of a young boys transition into manhood. It is an amazingly well-written book that intrigued me the entire way through. It starts out in Billys hometown, the Bronx of New York in the twenties; a time of social unrest and prohibition. The apartment building Billy lives in is not the epitome of cleanliness. The streets are littered with papers and loud noises of the trains that go by every hour. Rundown little bungalows and an occasional three-story fake brick building separate the boatyards and factories in Billys neighborhood. Across the street from Billys apartement building is an orphanage which he visits often because of a girl, Rebecca who he screws two times for a dollar. His mother works at a laundromat, washing clothes for a company and has been driven insane by the poverty she lives in. She doesnt really take care of Billy and in essence he learns how to survive in the Bronx with the street smarts he has taught himself. He knows that he has something special; a desire to work and be prosperous that many of the other younger boys do not. He acts older than his age and maybe that is why he catches the eye of Dutch who also lived in the neighborhood and is now rich. Dutch is the leader of a mob that has one of their main warehouses located in the Bronx. All the boys here wish they could become like Dutch; as someone that rose from this dirty place and made a place in the world for themselves. One day, Billy was juggling on the train tracks when he hears someone yell, Hey, boy! He is motioned to come over to Dutch who hands him ten dollars and compliments him on his juggling. This is where the fire in Billy is sparked and he becomes determined to join Dutchs gang. After following and watching around the neighborhood, Billy finds out about another warehouse on Park Avenue and brings a brown paper bag, so he will be allowed to get in...

Algae Production For Biofuel Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Algae Production For Biofuel - Article Example Traditional ethanol and oil rich plants such as sugarcane, corn and rapeseed have been tried successfully in various regions of the world to yield biodiesel for industrial use. However, the economics of biodiesel production has still to provide figures for potentially feasible and sustainable means to this end. Algae, which are simple botanical forms of life possessing the ability to reproduce at a fast rate with minimal of inputs are being looked at as a potential sources of biodiesel, as some of the millions of its species have been discovered to be rich in triglycerides and other fats/oils necessary for biofuel production. The major advantage of using algae for biofuel production is that they grow in ponds and wastewater, which do not encroach upon terrestrial territory already reserved for the cultivation of food crops. Moreover, algae possess the ability to double their biomass in as less as one day under optimized conditions (Odlare et al, 2011). The high growth rate however ha s to be optimized in relation to oil production within the organism as these two properties are contradictory to each other (Csavina et al, 2011). Methodologies and technologies are therefore being developed to cultivate algae in controlled conditions to achieve this objective. Lipids, sugar and hydrogen gas are considered the primary units of energy and a study at the University of Arizona reveals that algae have a distinct advantage over terrestrial cultivable crops such as corn as they possess a 300 fold advantage in producing the basic units for producing biofuel (Littin, 2011). Although the cost of production of fuel from algae still exceeds the value of the final product, intensive research is going on at the university as well as other parts of the world to optimize the process towards a profitable direction (Littin, 2011). Moreover, it has been discovered that secondary wastewater rich in nitrogen and phosphorus can be utilized to grow algae eliminating the need of fertilize rs (Littin, 2011). In turn, the algae besides producing lipids for potential use as biofuel purify the water as well, resulting in a double benefit. Grown in controlled conditions of specific light exposure and deprivation of nitrogen and sulfur at particular stages of their life promote lipid production in the algae, which are the strategies being explored by the scientists involved in this research (Littin, 2011). Biofuel or biodiesel can be produced from any biomass which has high lipid content. The process involves extraction of oil from the biomass by a process called transesterification which yields triglycerides, which possess the properties ideal for a biofuel (Taylor, 2011). Algae can either be grown in open ponds or in controlled conditions in what is known as a photo-bioreactor (Taylor, 2011). The latter is a sealed aquaculture system in which conditions can be optimized and manipulated according to required objectives of high lipid production by the organisms. Such biore actors are however costly to build as well as maintain and may not be the ideal means for biofuel production from algae. Identification of the appropriate species and varieties of algae growing in natural ponds and wastewater reservoirs in natural conditions, which provide the maximum yield of lipids can be the only means, once identified, to make economically feasible and sustainable methods for

Analytical Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Strategic management case study-skf case - Essay Example At such a point in time when the world has become a global village, and when companies need to put extra efforts to get noticed by the customer, it is important for a company to stay focused. SKF, the company which is the focus of this report, needs to maintain a consistency strategy when it comes to the future and what it aims to do with respect to the new decision that it has to make. SKF needs to maintain the strategy that they have been using till now, that is, to price their product at a premium price and play on value based selling, that is, they have designed and developed their product so well that it comes out to be one of the best in the industry and the perception that they have created in the eyes of the consumer is that of a premium product which cannot be easily replicated by any other company. It is important for companies to follow such a strategy in this clutter filled world, and where product differentiation can only be done in perceptions, and not in reality. SKF is thinking of changing its value based strategy to the strategy where it will compete on price and cater to the markets where price is an important factor. This will be a very wrong strategy for SKF, since till now, they have been premium priced and price was never a factor that they even considered. Customers came to SKF when they wanted true value for whatever money that they give. There will be value that will be reflected in the products that they receive. It was a win-win situation for both the consumers and the SKF Company. But this decision to change the strategy to compete on price would take the organization into a wrong direction, and they need to correct themselves as soon as possible. One of the first things that they need to remember is that there should be consistency in the strategy of a company, especially when the strategy has helped the company build the brand name that it has, and has helped it secure the

HR Strategies That Google Has Implemented

HR Strategies That Google Has Implemented Management of human resources has become one of the most important business functions for any company in todays dynamic business environment. With the high level of competition and a multitude of options available to the employees, attrition rates have grown tremendously. Companies are struggling to attract and retain the best talent. Companies have started coming up with many innovative strategies to attract the best talent and keep them happy at the workplace. Google is one such company that has implemented non-conventional HR strategies and believes in providing maximum value to its employees. This report talks about the HR strategies that Google has implemented and what their ramifications have been. Also the reasons behind implementation of these strategies and the how they would help the company achieve its long term goals. This report also studies the unique working environment prevalent at Google and what keeps the employees motivated and committed to innovation. Also the very important role of hiring and retaining the best talent available in the market, performed by the HR machinery has also been discussed in this report. Introduction Google has a highly energetic and dynamic working environment. The employees, known as Googlers in popular jargon know how to work hard and at the same time have fun at the work place. The entire campus in Mountain view, CA exudes a lot of creative energy and dynamism. The office has a relaxed environment of a college campus with no compulsory dress code or daily formal meetings of any kind. The campus has the facilities for the employees to play games like beach volleyball, foosball, table tennis and many others. The employees are instilled with the belief that they are superior to the competition not just in terms of the money they earn but also in terms of their lifestyle and culture. They are taught to believe in values of teamwork and satisfaction through creative achievements. As a result of this culture, the employees also feel proud to be a part of the Google brand. Google has comprehensive HR policies that help employees grow both personally as well as professionally. People of many communities and ethnicities work in Google, who are all made to feel part of one big Google family. Also the employees have a firm belief that they are working for the best company in the world and the work they are doing be it either organizing information or creating advertisements is for the betterment of the society. The motto of the company is Dont be Evil and encourages the employees to strictly adhere to the ethical norms of the company. Google HR Policies: Critical and Theoretical Analysis Success of Google: Employee Motivation Theory Perspective Google encourages its employees to work on 70-20-10 rule where in the employees have to devote 70 % of their time to core search and advertising work, 20% on a project of their choice and 10 % on working on far-out ideas. The product innovations of Google Talk and Gmail have been a result of this kind of initiative. The business benefits of the 20 % off time are very limited as far as their core search and advertising businesses are concerned. However the HR department and the executives still continue to encourage the employees to go for these efforts to remain motivated and committed to innovation and novelty. The compensation policy of Google is highly rewarding with the employees getting salaries, bonuses and stock awards at regular time intervals. Google also encourages and rewards outstanding performance achievements amongst the employees. The Google premise has a big collegiate environment with many sporting facilities and other benefits that the employees can avail. The whole idea behind creating such an environment is that the employees feel very comfortable and easy working in the office and can be as creative as possible. In order for the employees to maintain work life balance, Google offers the employees flexible working hour options, work from home facility, telecommuting and a generous vacation policy. This combined with the TGIIF sessions that are held every Friday afternoon which is a get together within the company itself. The company has a strong code of conduct and encourages its employees to report any violation of policies and feel safe doing the same. The HR policies are all aimed at improving employee productivity. The offices are designed in such a way so as to provide color, lighting and a shared room to the employees. The employees are seated very close to each other and made to share offices, thus making knowledge sharing an essential part of the everyday culture at Google. On an average, each employee generates more than 1 million in revenue each year. This gives leverage to the Google employees and manager to try out new things, make mistakes and learn from their failures, which is again a great motivating factor for the employees to try out new stuff. So as a result any employee in the company has a chance to create a new product or a feature. Hiring Job Design Practices: The Organizational Perspective Google is considered by many employees to be the best place to work. The core strength of the company is its employees. All the benefits provided by the company help it in recruiting the top employees who are willing to spend their entire day at the work place itself. The entire HR policy of Google is based around hiring the best talent; make them work hard and long and manage to keep them at Google for a long time. Google also carries out various people programs in order to support the growing expansion of the Google workforce across different countries in the world. These programs are run to explain the many virtues of Google as an employer and also to deal with the cultural diversities of the workforce across the nations. Google has an innovative hiring strategy and hiring the right people is one of the core pillars of the HR policy of the company. The company has a centralized hiring team, comprising of specialists whose main endeavor is to identify the best talent in the market and retain them. The branding team of Google also plays a very important role in attracting the best of the professionals to work for Google. The candidates have to go through a tough screening process. Google uses an innovative recruiting tool that relies on algorithms to identify the potential talent rather than traditional ways of hiring like those based on academic grades, SAT scores, degree from well-known colleges, prior industry experience, interviews and subjective test results. This gives Google the power to identify and select the candidates on a more data driven approach. The whole idea behind this screening procedure is to evaluate the candidates on their innovative and dynamic skill and to check their ability to work in a flat organizational structure with small teams as present in Google, which is also referred to as Googleyness. This recruiting team is also well funded with 1 recruiter being provided for every 14 employees, which again makes it the best funded recruiting functions amongst the product based organizations in the country. Google has HR Business partners who perform the task of developing and implementing innovative programs and technology in place to identify and resolve end user issues across the company anywhere in the world. They collect and maintain important user data collected over an employees life cycle which is then used to find out important traits and trends of employee behaviors and identify the potentials problems. Google has quarterly hand holding sessions with the senior executives to celebrate the achievement of the previous quarter and set the agenda for the next quarter. However for those who are not comfortable of speaking up in a public forum, the company conducts regular surveys which are kept anonymous to understand the trends and identify the problem areas if there are an y. Googles Learning and Leadership Development (LLD) team innovative learning programs to identify and groom the companys existing talent. The managers perform the task of being life coaches and advise the young employees on a lot of aspects apart from work also. Google HR Policies: Practical Implications Employee Motivation Factors Google has got huge financial strength at its disposal. It spends a lot of money on providing its employees with a lot of benefits which are not comparable to any other company in the world. This makes it a highly motivating work place for any employee. Google has a very flat organizational structure where in the employees can go and talk to the executives and other team members and share their ideas and thoughts. Google has pushed very hard to remove the bureaucratic boundaries that normally exist in such a big company. This is also explains the fact as to why there is no dress code of the company and also no formal meeting structure that the employees need to follow. The young work force that the company has also proliferates such an environment. This is also one of the major reasons why so many talented young people want to work with Google. Google has been successful in building a brand over the years that has made it the most lucrative company to work, for the employees, not onl y in terms of compensation but also in terms of attaining ones creative pursuits. It has been constantly cited as one of the best companies to work for in the world in many surveys over a period of time. So for any other company to emulate the same feat would be a huge task both in terms of financial capability and also in terms of brand value. Hiring Job Design Practices The hiring process that Google follows is also very innovative and non-conventional. In a normal conventional company the process would involve interviews, academic background check, work experience in the industry and so on, but not in Google. Google has come up with a very innovative hiring procedure based on algorithms making the entire process of hiring very scientific and data driven. However there are criticisms for this kind of process also as it goes on for months and is very inconvenient for the applicants, but it has been very fruitful to Google from a business perspective as it has been able to hire the best of the talent from the industry. Such a long hiring cycle again might not be feasible for any other company in todays day and time. Also the applicants are ready to wait for months despite the inconvenience because working with Google is such a lucrative proposition in itself. However its difficult to imagine that the applicants would be ready to go through such a long and a tedious hiring cycle for any other company. Moreover it is not only the HR department that is involved in the hiring process in the case of Google; its the entire company that gets involved as the application first needs to be approved by the team that has the opening. So its the entire machinery of the company that is involved in the hiring process. Google can do this because of its flat organizational structure. Other companies however would have to remove the bureaucracy in their system and create small team structures in order to implement something on similar lines. Conclusion Google is one of those companies that puts its employees at the core of their strategy and looks at the long term benefits that they would bring to the shareholders and their peers. In fact, in 2008 when Google began cutting its employee perks, its employee productivity and stock prices both fell. This shows a direct correlation between gaining and retaining outstanding employees with innovative ideas and the overall company growth. The companys success has been based on the fact that they have been innovative, flexible and dynamic in their functions. Managing growth by keeping the same collegiate environment in the future will be essential to companys success. As Google grows in shape and size, the challenge for the company will be to maintain the same level creative activism and sense of empowerment amongst its employees. Google is having problems finding the right talent in its other offices worldwide especially in its South Asia operations. The employees must be encouraged to wor k in a more entrepreneurial manner and they must be provided adequate resources and finances for the same. Google is one of the few companies where in the employees know that they will be paid for their innovative efforts irrespective of the fact whether the product that they are working on, may or may not come out right. This is a highly motivational factor for the employees to remain committed to innovation. This is also an example how a HR strategy of a company is directly linked to its business strategy.

Team Project Narrative: The Midtown Perspective Essay -- Urban Develop

For many decades, the midtown inner city area has been the most focused essential location for future economic prosperity, residential and business growth, inner-city vitality and vibrancy, and city wide expansion. The reason is that Rochester, New York was most known for being a key Rust Belt city which specialized in large scale production in transportation, electricity, and industrial processes. In the last 2 decades it has been universally known that with the new generation of emerging technology and the decreased use of old traditional factories, our foundation to economic uphold would soon decease. This example is shown simply by the presence of many huge vacant buildings located within the downtown city of Rochester. Not only does this harshly affect our industrial businesses and the city’s economic growth, but it also affects the entire community downtown, residents, visitors, and also changes the perception of what Rochester’s downtown area used to be. Every bu siness, retail shop, market, or educational facility in the area has been severely struck by this ripple effect. Rochester was also very popular among the U.S being the first to implement a downtown enclosed shopping center called Midtown Plaza in the heart of the city. This place was a prime source for highly concentrated economic success and population increase. When suburban malls were then built in neighboring towns, the Midtown Plaza also suffered a great loss. From being one of the most prosperous places during the 1960’s – 1970’s era, to this day of April 26th, 2012, the Midtown Plaza no longer standing resulting in nine acres of shovel ready development property; desperately awaiting offers. In the mist of the mess, remained the presence of the Monroe Comm... ...t/article.asp?aID=190595 Cooper, C. (2012). Mcc statement on efforts to negotiate a lease at the sibley building. MCC News, Retrieved from http://www.monroecc.edu/etsdbs/pubaff.nsf/HomePageNews_Include/58897C9EA54C116985257983006DBA02?OpenDocument Kress, A. (2011). An open letter on mcc's proposed downtown campus at kodak. Manuscript submitted for publication, Monroe Community College, Monroe Community College, Rochester, New York. Retrieved from http://www.monroecc.edu/downtown/docs/OpenLetterfromDrKress.pdf Richards, T. S. (2011). Mcc student focus group: What they said. 13Wham Blogs, Retrieved from http://www.13wham.com/content/blogs/story/MCC-Student-Focus-Group-What-They-Said/TC377v9_3kaZ8QHgHRr3ng.cspx Stewart, J. S. (2012). Mcc extends lease at sibley building, for now. Education, Retrieved from http://wxxinews.org/post/mcc-extends-lease-sibley-building-now

Dunkirk and the battle of Britain Sources Questions

1) How useful is sources A, B and C in understanding what the battle for Dunkirk was like? Explain your answer. Source A is useful in the effect of giving us a first hand account of the events that occurred. The only problem with this source is that we don't know if it applied to many people, or if it just applied to Commander Thomas Kerr. We also need to know the date that this source was written to find out how accurate it really is. Source B also gives us a first hand account of what happened on the beach. But also, only gives us one mans views of what he was experiencing and we don't know how popular this sort of thing was, we would need more evidence to find out how useful this source is. Source C unfolds one mans views of a brave soldier attacking many planes. But this source may have only applied to this certain individual. After long hard thort, I have come to the conclusion that source B and C supports each other in the sense that the British army are fighting back. But sources B and C don't support source A. 2) â€Å"Dunkirk was a great deliverance and a great disaster.† Is there any sufficient evidence in sources d-j to support this interpretation? Use the sources and your own knowledge to explain your answer. This interpretation is correct in the sense that Dunkirk was a triumph and a disaster. It was written by A.J.P Taylor. Although at the time of Dunkirk it was only seen by people as a great triumph. Only after time as historians studied sources the thought of disaster was introduced. Source D shows the beaches with people being rescued from them. It also shows plains bombing. Its factual accuracy unknown. This is because it is on its own and on its own, the source is hard to tell how accurate it actually is. Also the government used to employ artists to paint ‘glorified' pictures of events. The painting was actually painted by a British man named Charles Cundull. If the government didn't employ this man his versions of events would have been bias anyway. The government also stopped all paintings during the war unless they were designed specifically for positive propaganda. Source E shows thousands of troops lining up on the beaches to be picked up. This source is pretty accurate because it is a photograph and photographs don't lie. But on the other hand we know that not all the troops were this well behaved. But because it is only a photograph we can only see one instant of time. And only gives us a glimpse of the events that unfolded. Source F shows the allied troops defending them self's and shooting at German plains. This source is interesting because it backs up source B. this source fits in well with other sources but again, only provides us with one instant of time. Source G is a speech about the spirit of the British army. It was written by Antony Eden. He was minister of war. It was written in 1940. This speech was almost certainly written and spoke to keep moral high. We can't exactly rely on this source due to the position that Britain was in at the time this was written. Source H is a source extracted from a British newspaper, published in 1945. The basic facts it explains are correct. What's not accurate is the way the people felt. The way they express this is a little bit bias. this source is also for boosting moral but not as much as source G. this source tells a bit more of what the conditions are really like. Source I is a historians view of the Dunkirk operations. This sources factual accuracy is very good as far as the facts go. This was written by A.J.P Taylor, and was published in 1965.

Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System

Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System Free Online Research Papers Capital punishment is the legal imposition of death on a person convicted of a crime. At the root of this controversial subject are moral, legal and ethical concerns. It is said to be reserved for the most serious, heinous crimes and its use has been justified through claims of deterrence and prevention of further crimes. The death penalty has often been warranted from a religious viewpoint, quoting the command of Exodus in the saying an â€Å"eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, life for a life† (Meltsner, 1973, p. 46). In contrast to this way of thinking, many people have come to heed the words of the late Martin Luther King, Jr. who warned that an eye for an eye attitude only makes everyone blind (Bessler, 2003). One would think it strange if one would suggest that we rape the rapist or rob the armed robber. Yet, our society continues to justify murdering the murderer. Throughout history, minorities, especially African Americans, have been treated differently than their white counterparts in the criminal justice system. Dating back to the days of the â€Å"Old South† where blacks were lynched for the slightest infraction, there have been documented cases of African Americans having been punished more harshly than whites for the same law violations. This racial bias is especially evident in the administration of capital cases. According to the United States Census Bureau, about sixty-nine percent of the American population is of white, non-Hispanic background and African Americans make up approximately twelve percent of the population. Yet, when looking at death row inmates, blacks consist of forty-two percent of inmates. This is quite a difference in relation to their population numbers. As of July 2004, there were 3,490 inmates sitting on death row, forty-four percent of those taking residence in just three states, California, Texas, and Florida. And, published research has shown that the death penalty in Florida, Georgia, and Texas is reserved almost exclusively for those (white or black) who kill whites (Death). During this year alone, fifty-nine prisoners have been killed at the hands of the state (â€Å"Facts†, 2004). The manner in which capital punishment is administered in this country is far from being free of discrimination in its application. The Supreme Court of the United States first officially recognized this bias in the landmark decision, Furman v. Georgia (1972), in which the court held that by imposing the death penalty, punishment is â€Å"cruel and unusual†. And most recently, New York declared its use of the death penalty unconstitutional (â€Å"Facts†, 2004). All of the justices in the majority of the Furman decision had different views on why the death penalty infringed on the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, however they all agreed that it was unconstitutional (Bessler, 2003). Justice William Douglas wrote: The words cruel and unusual certainly include penalties that are barbaric. But the words, at least when read in light of the English proscription against selective and irregular use of penalties, suggest that it is cruel and unusual to apply the death penalty or any other penalty selectively to minorities whose numbers are few, who are outcasts of society, and who are unpopular, but whom society is willing to see suffer though it would not countenance general application of the same penalty across the board. There is increasing recognition of the fact that the basic theme of equal protection is implicit in cruel and unusual punishments. A penalty . . . should be considered unusually imposed if it is administered arbitrarily or discriminatorily. The extreme rarity with which applicable death penalty provisions are put to use raises a strong inference of arbitrariness. Yet we know that the discretion of judges and juries in imposing the death penalty enables the penalty to be select ively applied, feeding prejudices against the accused if he is poor and despised, and lacking political clout, or if he is a member of a suspect or unpopular minority, and saving those who by social position may be in a more protected position (Furman v. Georgia, 1972). Justice Brennan, also in the majority, wrote, â€Å"When a country of 200 million rarely inflicts an unusually severe penalty, the inference is strong that the penalty is unfairly and irregularly applied, that it runs counter to community values, and that there is a deep-seated reluctance to employ it. The notion that because people fear death the most, the death penalty is a superior deterrent to crime only applies to those who think rationally about committing capital offenses† (Bessler, 2003, p. 94). In the Furman v. Georgia (1972) decision, the concurring justices agreed that the Constitution prohibited the execution of the 631 men and two women held on death row in 32 states. Of those 633 inmates, 547 were murderers, 80 were rapists and four were armed robbers; of which 351 were black, 267 white and 13 of other racial backgrounds. All of the condemned had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, to a term of years, or, in a few cases, to new trials (Bessler, 2003). The Supreme Court eventually rescinded this decision in 1976. In relation to discrimination in capital punishment, Bessler (2003) identifies seven common myths: Myth #1: Innocent people aren’t executed. The Stanford Law Review published a study in 1987 and found that since 1900, at least 23 people who were possibly innocent have been put to death. Over 100 people have been released from death row since 1973 because of uncertainties about their guilt or because DNA or other evidence positively proved their innocence (Bessler, 2003). So far this year, there have already been five exonerations (â€Å"Facts†, 2004). Bessler (2003) calls attention to a study conducted by James Liebman, a professor at Columbia Law School, which showed just how many mistakes are made in death cases. The study looked at 4,578 capital sentences reviewed by state appellate courts and 599 capital sentences reviewed in federal habeas proceedings from 1973 to 1995. Of the 4,578 death sentences reviewed on direct appeal, 41% were tossed out due to serious error. Even more sentences were vacated in state habeas corpus proceedings, and of the 599 sentences reviewed by federal courts, 40% were set aside because of potentially fatal errors. In those instances, it took on average more than seven years to detect the errors. Incompetent defense attorneys were responsible for 37% of mistakes, 20% involved faulty jury instructions and 19% were due to police or prosecutorial error. At retrials, 75% of convicts whose death sentences were vacated got lesser sentences or acquitted. The overall error rate from 1973 to 1995 in capital c ases was 68% (p. 89). A margin of error that high is hardly acceptable on university level exams, yet our society continues to allow people to be put to death under such circumstances. George W. Bush, former governor of Texas, expresses confidence that no innocent inmates were ever executed during his gubernatorial tenure. â€Å"I know there are some in the country who don’t care for the death penalty,† he once said on the presidential campaign trail, â€Å"but I’ve said once and I’ve said a lot, that in every case we’ve adequately answered innocence or guilt† (Bessler, 2003, p. 71). Yet, under his administration, Bush decided that 30 minutes was too long to spend on a final review of a death sentence, so he cut reviews to a mere 15 minutes. How can someone â€Å"adequately† determine guilt or innocence in a 15-minute review? A former French justice minister, Robert Badintor, was so bothered by Bush’s oversight of (and lack of oversight of) more than 100 Texas executions that he called Bush â€Å"the world champion executioner† (Bessler, 2003, p. 77). Perhaps Bush should have followed the lead of Illinois Governor George Ryan, who in 2000, declared a moratorium on executions in his home state. After 13 death row inmates were exonerated by new evidence, Ryan said he would not allow any more executions unless an independent panel could give him a â€Å"one hundred percent guarantee† against any mistaken convictions (Bessler, 2003, p. 68). Also in 2000, President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno concluded that a moratorium on federal executions was necessary to conduct a further study of the problem. That study was ditched in 2001, when President Bush’s newly appointed Attorney General, John Ashcroft, declared that another study showed â€Å"no evidence of racial bias in the administration of the federal death penalty† and who declared the Department of Justice would not postpone executions on the basis of doubts about racial fairness (Bessler, 2003, p. 88). Myth #2: Death row inmates all get fair trials. How much does a trial cost? For some, it is merely a monetary issue. For others, it can cost them their life. A fair trial inherently revolves around the ability to retain competent counsel, and under most circumstances, competent counsel does not come under the guise of a court appointed attorney. For example, in Alabama there is no state funded public defender system. Attorneys, subject to severe compensation restrictions by the state, end up representing defendants in capital cases who are unable to afford counsel. Until 1999, Alabama’s cap on compensation in capital cases was the lowest in the nation. Alabama’s hourly rate of compensation was $20 per hour for out-of-court work and $40 per hour for in-court activity. Out-of-court compensation was capped at $1,000 per phase of a capital trial. These restrictions led many lawyers to neglect the time necessary to effectively assist their clients in capital cases. (Stevenson, 2004). When a poor person is tried for a capital case with a court appointed attorney, more often than not, they are receiving less consideration in their cases than someone like Scott Peterson, a California man recently convicted of murdering his wife and unborn child. Peterson was able to retain a high profile lawyer and, although he was convicted, his lawyer gave 110% to ensure Peterson was afforded every opportunity under the law. Naturally, Peterson’s lawyer was well compensated for his efforts. Another high profile example of this is the OJ Simpson case. Simpson, accused of brutally murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, was acquitted after his team of lawyers proved how inept the prosecution was and a showed a conspiracy with the local police department. A person of modest means, who would have no way to afford such diligent attorneys, often falls prey to the injustices of the criminal justice system. In other cases, condemned inmates have been represented by drunk attorneys and lawyers who fell asleep in court or called their own clients â€Å"wetbacks† or â€Å"niggers† (Bessler, 2003, p. 75). The Chicago Tribune found that 33 people sentenced to die in Illinois were represented by attorneys who were later disbarred or suspended from practicing law. Lawyers less than a year out of law school have been appointed to defend capital cases, and incompetent attorneys have failed to hire investigators or experts, present evidence of a defendant’s mental illness, or put on any evidence at all at the penalty phase of a capital case (Bessler, 2003). In 1997, Stevenson (2004) represented a death row prisoner on appeal whose appointed attorney did not call a single witness or present any evidence whatsoever on behalf of his client at either the guilt or penalty phase during the trial. The evidentiary portion of the penalty phase takes up less than a single page of the court’s transcript. And, in a 2000 Dothan, Alabama, case, the entire trial lasted only seven hours-including closing statements and jury instructions-before an underprivileged man accused was convicted of capital murder. After the state’s presentation of evidence, the defense presented no witnesses and the jury began deliberating at 3:15pm on the same day that the trial had started. The jury sentenced the defendant to death. (Stevenson, 2004). Bedau (1987) says that, â€Å"Persons are sentenced to death and executed not because they have been found to be uncontrollably violent or hopelessly poor confinement and release risks. Instead they are executed because at trial they have a poor defense (inexperienced or overworked counsel), they have no funds to bring witnesses to court, they are transients or strangers in the community where they are tried, the prosecuting attorney wants the publicity that goes with â€Å"sending a killer to the chair†, there are no funds for an appeal or for a transcript of the trial record, or because they are members of a despised racial or political minority (p. 44). Reasons beyond the scope of control for a defendant are not legitimate enough to execute them. Myth #3: There’s no discrimination in the death penalty’s administration. Between 1930 and 1990, 53% of the 4,016 people executed in the US were black, and from 1930 to 1976, when blacks made up just 12% of the US population, 90% of all rapists executed were black. According to one report of six white men sentenced to death for rape since 1940, five had received clemency or had their convictions reversed by the courts. In contrast, of the forty-eight black rapists sentenced to death since 1940, twenty-nine had died in the electric chair. Of those remaining, twelve were awaiting execution at the Florida State Prison in Raiford. The convictions of only four of the forty eight blacks were reversed by the courts; only two of the forty eight persuaded the Pardon Board to commute their death sentences; the forty eight was killed in custody by a white sheriff under mysterious circumstances (Meltsner, 2003). Every study of the death penalty has confirmed that black male rapists (especially where the victim is a white woman) are far more likely to be sentenced to d eath and executed than white male rapists (Bedau, 1987). In some capital cases, the existence of racial bias is overt. Stevenson (2004) called attention to the case of Victor Saldano. The Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2000 after the attorney general of Texas conceded that the â€Å"prosecutions’ introduction of race as a factor for determining ‘future dangerousness’ constituted a violation of the appellant’s right to equal protection and due process.† At trial, the state’s expert testified in the penalty phase that one of the factors associated with a defendant’s future dangerousness was his race or ethnicity. The state’s â€Å"expert† identified the Argentinean defendant as Hispanic and relied on the overrepresentation of â€Å"black and brown† people in prison to support his assumption about the correlation between race and dangerousness. After the United States Supreme Court reversed the lower courts decision based on the Texas attorney general’s co nfession of error, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reinstated the death sentence. The Texas court held that the attorney general had no authority to confess error in a death penalty case appealed to a federal court. In another case, Anthony Ray Peek, an African American, was wrongly accused of capital murder and sentenced to death in Florida after a white trial judge inappropriately admitted evidence and expedited the penalty phase proceedings by stating from the bench, â€Å"Since the nigger mom and dad are here anyway, why don’t we go ahead and do the penalty phase today instead of having to subpoena them back at cost to the state† (Stevenson, 2004, p. 87). In 1989, another case of clear discrimination was documented when a federal judge found that Wilburn Dobbs, was tried by a state court judge who had spent his life defending racial segregation and would only refer to Mr. Dobbs at trial as â€Å"colored† or â€Å"colored boy.† A jury, some who later revealed that they believed the Ku Klux Klan did â€Å"good things in the community† and that black people are more violent than whites, convicted Dobbs of capital murder. Mr. Dobbs was defended by an attorney whose own racist views included a belief that black people are â€Å"morally inferior, less intelligent, and biologically destined to steal.† The District Court and the Eleventh Circuit Court nevertheless affirmed Mr. Dobbs’ conviction and death sentence. The United States Supreme Court eventually reversed the lower court’s ruling on other grounds (Stevenson, 2004 p. 88). Myth #4: The death penalty is cheaper than life without parole sentences. In Texas, a typical death penalty case costs $2.3 million, three times the cost of imprisoning someone in a single cell at a maximum-security prison for 40 years. In Florida, death sentences cost over $3 million, compared with $516,000 for a life sentence, and in North Carolina, they cost at least $2 million more per. A recent study in California showed taxpayers would save more than $90 million per year by abolishing the death penalty (Bessler, 2003). Myth #5: Impartial jurors hand out death sentences. In a process approved by the US Supreme Court, all capital juries are â€Å"death qualified,† meaning death penalty opponents are excluded from sitting in judgment in capital trials (Bessler, 2003). An 11 state study of capital juries showed that 4 of 5 jurors agreed with the statement â€Å"persons sentenced to prison for murder in this state are back on the streets far too soon†. Those jurors, however, routinely underestimated how long a defendant would be incarcerated if not sentenced to death. In all 11 states, citizens’ release estimates for murderers often fell far below the mandatory minimum sentence required by state law. Defendants are thus sentenced to die by jurors on the basis of misinformation (Bessler, 2003, p. 82). Myth #6: Death sentences are a better deterrent than life without parole sentences. Bessler (2003) reports statistics from active death penalty states to show how ridiculous it is to say the death penalty deters or reduces violent crime more effectively than incarceration. In 1997, Louisiana had 15.7 murders per 100,000 residents; by comparison, Minnesota’s murder rate was 2.6 per 100,000. Texas has one of the country’s worst records when it comes to violent crime. From 1988 to 2000, 1,608,276 violent crimes were reported, including 23,795 murders. There were, on average, over 10 murders per year, per 100,000 residents. A recent study commissioned by the New York Times examined FBI data and found that death penalty states’ average homicide rates consistently exceed those of non-death penalty states. That study showed that, â€Å"over the last twenty years, death penalty states’ murder rates have been, on a per capita basis, an astonishing 48 to 101 percent higher than those in non-death penalty states† (Bessler, 2003, p. 35). As one can easily detect from the examples provided, racial discrimination can rear its ugly head in most aspects of the criminal justice system. In capital cases especially, continued bias from judges, juries and attorneys often condemn defendants before they are even tried. Justice Harry Blackmun, who stated in his bold dissent in Callins v. Collins (1994) â€Å"From this day forward, I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death. For more than twenty years I have endeavored- indeed, I have struggled- along with a majority of this Court, to develop procedural and substantive rules that would lend more than the mere appearance of fairness to the death penalty endeavor.† Blackmun continued, â€Å"Rather than continue to coddle the Courts delusion that the desired level of fairness has been achieved and the need for regulation eviscerated, I feel morally and intellectually obligated simply to concede that the death penalty experiment has failed. â€Å" It is virtually self-evident to me,† he says, â€Å"now that no combination of procedural rules or substantive regulations ever can save the death penalty from its inherent constitutional deficiencies.† â€Å"The basic question-does the system accurately and consistently determine which defendants deserve to die? -cannot be answered in the affirmative,† Blackmun wrote. â€Å"The problem is that the inevitability of factual, legal, and moral error gives us a system that we know must wrongly kill some defendants, a system that fails to deliver the fair, consistent, and reliable sentences of death required by the Constitution.† Even when the problems with the administration of justice in capital cases are recognized, no action has been taken to prevent problems for occurring in the future. So the debate continues, as it has for hundreds of years. Bedau (1987) summed it up simply: The actual study of why particular persons have been sentenced to death shows those executed were usually the unlucky victims of prejudice and discrimination, the losers in an arbitrary lottery that could have just as well spared them, the victims of the disadvantages that almost always goes with poverty. However, heinous murder and other crimes are, the system of capital punishment does not compensate for or erase those crimes. It tends only to add new injuries of its own to catalogue of human brutality (p. 44). References Bedau, H. (1987). Death is Different. Boston, Massachusetts: Northeastern University Press. Bessler, J. (2003). Kiss of Death. Boston, Massachusetts: Northeastern University Press. Callins v. Collins, 510 U.S. 1141 (1994) Facts About the Death Penalty. (2004). Retrieved November 24, 2004, from Death Penalty Information Center Web site: deathpenaltyinfo.org/FactSheet.pdf Haas, K. C., Inciardi, J. A. (1988). Challenging Capital Punishment: Legal and social approaches. Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications. Meltsner, M. (1973). Cruel and Unusual: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment. New York, New York: Random House. Stevenson, Bryan (2004). â€Å"Close to Death: Reflections on Race and Capital Punishment in America† in Bedau and Cassell eds., Debating the Death Penalty: Should America Have Capital Punishment? New York, New York: Oxford University Press. 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