Counterinsurgency in Iraq

Since the start of the Iraq insurgency in 2003 before the ruling of a new supreme government within its borders, the armed resistance of Iraqi security forces, insurgents and militia bursted, as Iraqi rebels instigated an ‘asymmetric war’ with much foreign assistance coming from NGOs and countries like Iran. Instead of attacking only the coalition forces and the acting government, insurgents started to attack even the less significant supporters.This paper suggests that the counterinsurgency in Iraq had been presenting immense risks and destruction to all parties, but especially to the U. S. , which had something to do with demography, economy, and power. By evaluating the event using the three basic criteria, it shall be concluded why counterinsurgency in Iraq should be brought to a halt. As social chaos and economic constraints have not been treated very well, the act of counterinsurgency has only made matters worse, as it brings destruction even to the United States o f America. Main Body Criterion #1: demography-related ruin In terms of demography, counterinsurgency in Iraq had only made matters worse since 2003.In the Information Clearing House article written by Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz entitled ‘The Economics Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years after the Beginning of the Conflict’, it is said that there were approximately 2,000 American combatants who had died from March 2003 to January 2006, and about 16,000 American combatants who had been wounded during those same years (2006, p. 2). However, as of now, the number of deaths went up from 2,000 to 4,147 in totality (Casualties in Iraq, 2008); while the number of wounded went up from 16,000 in early 2006 to exactly 30,561 in totality as of now (Casualties in Iraq, 2008).As of early 2006, this number of deaths led to benefits and insurances that totals a staggering $100,000 death benefits and as much as $500,000 life insurances (Bilmes & Stiglitz, 2006, p. 2). These numbers project the conclusion that demography-related ruin of the United States in the Iraq War damages not just the lives but also the economy of the nation. It can be evaluated that, in terms of demography, destruction brought by the Iraq War projects staggering amount and, thus, a disparaging situation. Criterion #2: economy-related ruinSecondly, in terms of economy, counterinsurgency in Iraq had only made matters worse since 2003. In the newspaper article also written by Linda Bilmes and Joseph Stiglitz entitled ‘The Iraq War Will Cost Us $3 Trillion, and Much More’, it was said that failed war at this age costs $3 trillion and that the costs and damages of the Iraq War has surpassed the financial costs of the World War II (2008, p. B01). As it was written, â€Å"As we approach the fifth anniversary of the invasion, Iraq is not only the second longest war in U. S.history (after Vietnam), it is also the second most costly—surpassed only by World War II † (Bilmes & Stiglitz, 2008, p. B01). With a ‘conservative’ estimate of about $12 billion expenses per month (or $16 billion if the one in Afghanistan would be included), the Iraq War depletes America’s resources that should have been allotted to other expenses at this present age. These numbers project the conclusion that economy-related ruin of the United States in the Iraq War damages not just the economy but also the future of the nation.It can be evaluated that, in terms of economy, destruction brought by the Iraq War projects staggering amount and, thus, a similarly disparaging situation. Criterion #3: power-related ruin Lastly, in terms of power, counterinsurgency in Iraq had only made matters worse since 2003. Together with the demographic and economic ruin, national power is being depleted because of the fact that â€Å"population [is] one of the most important indicators of national power because of its importance for determining economic and mili tary power† (Yoshihara, 2008, p.2). According to Susan Yoshihara (2008), Hans Morgenthau has pointed out the eight means of power appear to be the following: (1) geography, (2) natural resources, (3) industrial capacity, (4) military preparedness, (5) population, (6) national character, (7) national morale, and (8) quality of government (p. 3). Therefore, because the Iraq War is destruction to both demography and economy, the third, fourth and fifth means of power that are industrial capacity, military preparedness, and population are also being negatively affected by the war.Destruction to these three means of power implies destruction of power. This projects that demography-related and economy-related ruin of the United States in the Iraq War means power-related ruin. Thus, it can be evaluated that, in terms of power, the Iraq War projects destructive elements that lead to a similarly disparaging situation. Conclusion From the stated paragraphs, it appears that the counterin surgency in Iraq had been presenting immense risks and destruction to all parties, even to the American population.In relation to the three criteria that is demography, economy, and power, we can evaluate that counterinsurgency in Iraq should be brought to a halt. The war had only succeeded in bringing the country more than 4,000 deaths, more than 30,000 wounded, about $3 trillion worth of financial costs, with depleting power and less economic resources. It only brought social chaos and economic constraints. We should bring it to an end. Counterinsurgency can be defined as â€Å"military and political activities undertaken by a government to defeat a rebellion or guerrilla movement† (Counterinsurgency, 2008).As the United States started to invade and occupy Iraq in 2003 (Pirnie & O’Connell, 2008, p. xiii), it is evident that counterinsurgency had been quite tough, as numerous armed groups were united with a common theme that â€Å"[t]he occupation of Iraq by foreign forces is bad† (Pirnie & O’Connell, 2008, p. xiii). Yet, the case appeared to be a lot worse than just plain revolt. References Bilmes, L. , & Stiglitz, J. E. (2006, January). The economic costs of the Iraq war: an appraisal three years after the beginning of the conflict.Information Clearing House. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from http://www. uncle-scam. com/Breaking/jan-06/ich-1-9. PDF. Bilmes, L. J. , & Stiglitz, J. E. (2008, March 9). The Iraq war will cost us $3 trillion, and much more. The Washington Post, p. B01. Casualties in Iraq. (2008). Retrieved August 27, 2008, from http://antiwar. com/casualties/. Counterinsurgency. (2008). In Encarta dictionary. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from MSN database: http://encarta. msn. com/dictionary_1861600753/counterinsurgency. html.Pirnie, B. , & O’Connell, E. (2008). Counterinsurgency in Iraq (2003-2006). RAND Counterinsurgency Study, Vol. 2. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation. Yoshihara, S. (2008, March 29). American d emographic trends and the future of U. S. Military Power. Paper presented at the annual convention of the International Studies Association, San Francisco. Retrieved August 26, 2008, from the All Academic Research database: http://www. allacademic. com//meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/5/0/6/3/pages250636/p250636-1. php.

Unit 21: Level 2 Btec Business, P1 + P2

Subject: Two different businesses in London. Procedure: I have visited da coca cola enterprise in Edmonton, Never the less I have also been to Ash’s cafe. Findings: Coca- Cola enterprise limited in Edmonton. Purpose: Framework defines what being the best means for CCE, and outlines the strategic priorities that will help us become the best so we can drive consistent, longterm, profitable growth. Strategic Priorities: Grow value of existing brands and expand our product portfolio responsibly, Transform our gotomarket model to improve efficiency and effectiveness and Attract, develop and retain a highly talented and diverse workforce.Values: Accountable: We do what we say we will do, Customerfocused: We succeed only when we exceed the expectations of our customers and Teamdriven: We win as a team, and do it the right way. Business model /ownership: The coca cola enterprise is a public limited company. Nevertheless the company sells shares to raise investment, and it is owned and controlled by the managing director and other employed staff to run the plant. The brand name of coca- cola is known globally- in most countries in the world including the United States of America and countries outside of Europe.Location of the business: The organisation of coca cola enterprise is located in Edmonton. Nevertheless it is located off the A406 which is situated off the Lee valley industrial estate. Sector of business: The sector of the coca cola enterprise is in the secondary and the tertiary sector. This is because; the factory buys raw materials from other companies such as sugar from Tate and Lyle and produces their beverages. Coca- Cola enterprise Edmonton also sells their products and offers a service to the customer in relation, to storage of the product and how best to market it.Size of the business: The size of coca cola enterprise in Edmonton is medium because, it employs approximately 226 staff, who works 9:00- 17:00 or shifts to keep the plants up run. Reta il channel: The coca cola enterprise in Edmonton is a bottling company. Nevertheless the retail channel is to allocate their products to other companies like supermarkets, warehouse, shops and other business. The appropriate of coca cola enterprise: It is a successful business and is running successful. It is appropriate because it is the only bottling factor in Edmonton. It is also suitable because it is it is on an industrial estate with other factories.

Bruno Mars And The Objectification Of Women

Although singer-songwriter Bruno Mars perpetuates many stereotypes about women and money in his music videos, he also challenges traditional views with pro-social messages. Both Mars’s perpetuation of sexual and financial stereotypes and his way of breaking with tradition can be seen particularly clearly in the song 24k Magic.Background Keys writes, that â€Å"In traditional African societies, the bard is a storyteller-singer and above all a historian who chronicles the nation’s history and transmits cultural traditions and mores through performance.† Mars, as a singer-songwriter, fulfills this kind of role today, transmitting cultural messages and mores through his performances to both black and white communities. While some of the messages he conveys may have negative effects on society, others may be beneficial – especially to the black community. Main Song: 24k Magic In the music video for the sing, Mars dances through glitzy areas – most of them casinos with a posse of men. From time to time, women join them. All of these women are skinny and scantily clad. Their hair is straightened. These styles are in keeping with electropop tradition. In the electropop scene, according to Jiminez, â€Å"There was a preference for tight clothing, hair products and even makeup. Photographs reveal Prince’s influence on the style of the time as an effeminate masculinity comes to the forefront.† In Mars’s videos, tight clothing and effeminate masculinity are featured heavily. The tightly clad women are not a part of Mars’s main posse, but instead, dance behind an effeminately masculine Mars and his boys much of the time. Mars and his boys are heavily clad, in pants, jackets, hats, and jewelry. The women are in bathing suits. While Mars and his posse do dance, the women dance more sensually, with barely anything covering their b ottoms as they shake them. They sway their hips provocatively. The video is set in a hotel dripping with gold. The boys drive fancy cars, play the slot machines and drive through the ritzy area without a care. They stack chips on the roulette table as the girls look on admiringly. They drive past lit up casinos. They dance through the halls in luxurious robes. They jet-ski through fountains. Mars sits back in a patio chair outside as women shake their bottoms beside his face. He doesn’t even look at them. Everyone smiles and dances. The way in which Mars objectifies women in his songs supports traditional, negative stereotypes of women in art. Klein writers that â€Å"Visual images throughout art history have revealed the status of women by their appearances and bodily attributes.† She further notes that traditional images of ideal women showed them as available and passive – displayed to appeal to male voyeurs. Women were shown as objects for men’s viewing pleasure. Women’s sexuality in comics and advertisements is often dependent on their ability to attract men.† The same is true of women in music. According to Flynn, â€Å"Women are the most frequent targets of objectification within music lyrics.† Indeed, in one recent study, of billboard hits â€Å"the authors found common themes regarding the objectification of women (women were viewed as objects for men to comment on, look at, even touch, hit, and eat) and sex as a top priority for men (wanting, needing, and experiencing sex).† This is exactly how Mars treats the women in his videos. They are there to show how cool and attractive Mars and his posse are. They are available and largely passive. Their bodies, rather than their minds or desires are what Mars’s video displays. We see more evidence that Mars views women as objects in the lyrics to 24k Magic. In them, he glorifies â€Å"players†, men who play around with a lot of women, and treats them much in the same way he treats other objects like rings and links. For instance, he sings, â€Å"Players, put yo pinky rings up to the moon.† Mars, in this song, is completely obsessed with money and material things and girls are among these materials. â€Å"Twenty-four karat magic in the air,† he sings, glorifying the pursuit of wealth. â€Å"I bet they know soon as we walk in (showin up) Wearing Cuban links designer minks Inglewoods finest shoes.† Here, he tells his listeners that possessing things like Cuban links and designer minks will grant them status. Possessing these things will make people know who they are. Not only that, but possessing money and wealth will help them obtain women. â€Å"Oh shit, Im a dangerous man with some money in my pocket,† he boasts,  "So many pretty girls around me and they waking up the rocket.† Mars further emphasizes that it is his ability to win women and to spend money that win him recognition as he sings, â€Å"Everywhere I go they be like oh, so player!† and â€Å"Spend your money like money ain’t shit.† He objectifies women once more in the end, singing, â€Å"I gotta show em how a pimp can get it in.† Here, he glorifies men who sell women and, once again, portrays women as mere sexual objects. 24k Magic is not the only song in which Mars treats women like objects. In songs like Uptown Funk he sings about living it up in the city and praises girls like Michelle Pfeiffer for being â€Å"straight masterpieces.† And in â€Å"That’s what I like,† he sings almost exclusively about money and sex with lyrics like, â€Å"Go pop it for a pimp, pop-pop it for me† and â€Å"â€Å"Sex by the fire at night Silk sheets and diamonds all white.† While it is clearly true that Mars objectifies women, what is less clear is whether this objectification is harmful to them. Some argue that it is. Nussbaum, for instance notes that â€Å"Feminist thought, moreover, has typically represented mens sexual objectification of women as not a trivial but a central problem in womens lives, and the opposition to it as at the very heart of feminist politics.† On the other hand, some argue that objectification can be a good thing. Cass Sunstein writes, â€Å"Peoples imaginations are unruly It may be possible to argue, as some people do, that objectification and a form of use are substantial parts of sexual life, or wonderful parts of sexual life, or ineradicable parts of sexual life.† Furthermore, by rejecting the norms of a society which suggests the objectification is bad, Mars may be championing an idea of sexual freedom that society represses. Green writes â€Å"There’s an agent of subversive reversal of negative stereotypes and portrayals of African-Americans embedded within the prosocial text of some rap lyrics.† In spite of the fact that videos those made by like Mars and his counterparts objectify women and black women in particular, â€Å"Black females generally reported more satisfaction with the shapes of their bodies [than white women] and less susceptibility to the negative effects of media.† Perhaps, then, there is something gratifying about Mars’s prosocial messages and his rejection of white mores. Gracyk suggests that we analyze art to help us understand human behavior. Perhaps Mars’s songs give us some insight into why black women have higher esteem than their white counterparts. And perhaps his rejection of society’s rules leads to greater positivity.

The Black and the Blues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Black and the Blues - Research Paper Example † which depicts the distinct difference between their personality and insights can be considered as the focal points of the story. Truly in the trajectory of life, people are pushed and weathered with numerous battles either economically, personally, socially, or conflicts within the family. Through these most who prefer to stay on the safe side, surrender and be submissive to what is dictated by the society as they deem that this is a more practical and rational path to take. For the other free spirits, they opt to follow their dreams no matter how surreal the idea may seem yet for them it is something worth believing and following. Baldwin’s story though written in 1957 depicted a crucial message on bitter realities within the society which strongly affected him and the black community of his time and still somewhat remained unchanged in some parts of the world today. The story focused on the narration of an algebra teacher in Harlem who struggled to earn and maintain a middle class status and keep his wife and kids on a safe part of the society; and his antonym relationship with his brother Sonny, a man who elected to navigate the road less traveled and pursued to become a jazz pianist though ended up behind bars from possession and addiction to heroin. Trimmer and Urbana (p.165) discussed that the differences between the brothers represent the division within the black community where the narrator represents the middle class men who strives to live the American dream and aspires for an improved standard of living in the United States; while the other group, as represented by Sonny, are those who just accept the fact that they will forever be locked up from the privileges the white people savor. Take note that the setting happened on a post war as the narrator cited his military service to the US government. It is an era where people, particularly the blacks, are rallying for equality and their war against racism. The narrator tried to understan d his brother and struggled to reach out to find answers to his questions though remained blindly to accept the truthful answers. The story reminds us on the importance of listening and true understanding in every form of relationship and in using these rather than coercion or rigid authority. There was a scene in the story, after their mother’s funeral, when they discussed the future of the teenage Sonny. There was tension between the brothers as Sonny declared that he wants to be a jazz musician while the older brother sees that dream to be irrational. This scene together with the one when he offers his wife Isabel’s place to be Sonny’s home manifests the narrator’s sense of responsibility to his younger brother’s welfare. Throughout the story, issues on racism and inequality were strongly reflected. During his time there was strong discrimination for the black people in the racist America. On strong reflection of Baldwin’s personal strugg le is the part of the story where the narrator recollects the death of their uncle who was driven over by a group of drunken white Americans and recklessly left the carcass on the street. Depression from racism was not confined to the character’s family but it extends to the entire black community during that time (Reilly 56). Baldwin succeeded in

The effectiveness of ( Career Development Plan) in an organization Essay

The effectiveness of ( Career Development Plan) in an organization - Essay Example Specifically, this research will explore whether the career development plan is an effective training method to use in an organization and whether it will affect the performance of the company. There are a variety of theories that involve career development and many have been applied to business and leadership. To understand these theories, it is important to understand some general issues about career. When an individual begins a position within a company, they have been recruited in some way. At first, they are doing the job they were hired to do and if they are ambitious, they may want to move to other positions within the company. Usually, there are new skills that the individual must acquire during the course of moving to other positions. In order to do this, many theorists have created an idea of what happens when people enter into career development. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs is one of the theories that people discuss when they are discussing career matters. According to Maslow, every individual has needs that must be met in order to eventually live a fully actualized life. The basic needs of food, shelter and safety (security) must be met before the individual can move onto needs of belonging and eventually self-actualization. It is important for leaders, according to this theory; to understand their needs in an organization and what motivates them (Maslow, 2009). Usually people working in organizations will be motivated internally and externally. Career planning can help understand which things are most motivating, which makes an individual more focused and productive in their job. Maslows hierarchy is very important in understanding how people are motivated to work. Behaviour theories are another area to study in career development because they discuss how people behave within their workplace. These theories place the importance of a career on the factors

Data Mining Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Data Mining - Lab Report Example In addition, data on the number of science related course that a student had taken and data on years of professional experience that a student had prior to the course were missing for some of the participants. In addition, data on expected salary for first job had unrealistically low values and required cleaning. Means were used to clean data on previous number of science course and professional experience and expected salary while mode was used to clean ordinal data. A majority of the students, therefore, had undertaken about three science related courses and had about 3.65 years of professional experience in data areas. The students expected first salary of about $ 29795.78. A majority of the students (60.9 percent) were fair in data mining efficiency while only 8.7 were good. Only 21.7 percent had much confidence in becoming data analysts after graduation while 56.5 percent were not sure of their positions. Most of the students lived away from campus with 34.8 percent being within a driving distance while 52.2 percent lived far away, though within the United States. Most of the students preferred a one-by-one virtual meeting. The following histograms illustrate the distributions. Majority of the students have sufficient background knowledge in data mining, having done many related course. They however lack experience in data mining and report average efficiency. Their level of motivation into data analysis profession is low, their locations are far from the campus, and they prefer one-by-one virtual meetings. A one on one approach to learning that focuses on technology for online study is therefore

Sociology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23

Sociology - Essay Example This concept is what Wright Mills called â€Å"Sociological Imagination.† Mills (1956) contends that sociological imagination enables the person to look into himself as a part of a larger whole, and failed to â€Å"grasp the interplay of man and society† (as cited in Henslin, 2005). Poverty is not an isolated case pointing out to a particular country. Nations considered being the best in the world when it comes to financial capability, also having cases of families in poverty line. In the United States, though it is the source of the world’s â€Å"American dream,† was also devastated by disasters such as the memorable Hurricane Katrina, which turned the progressive New Orleans into a ghost town. Jobs were scarce after the disaster because of the damages caused by the hurricane to several business industries in both macro and micro levels (Kornblum, 2008). The problem was heightened by the recession of 2009 brought about by the foreclosure of the Lehman Brothers. Banks, real estates, and the marketing industry fell resulting to the retrenchment of jobs to save profit. The fall of the company delivered a domino effect to other businesses most especially in the real estate. Prices of mortgage have gone higher than usual; a price where the jobless and middle class Americans are unable to afford. Ling (2009) reported that families were desperate in search of job, food and shelter. The effect of the recession was clearly seen in certain places in Sacramento where people are forced to build â€Å"tent cities.† Life’s little rewards such as hot meal, hot shower, and accessibility to potable water are not the main issues; the people in the tent cities are more concerned of where to get a meal, shower and water. Living in the tent cities is like â€Å"starting to live all over again.† Poverty and homelessness may come from two significant and nondetachable things: personal and societal factors. The impact of the recession, the struggling budget

Formal and Informal Organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Formal and Informal Organisations - Essay Example The paper tells that the nature of clientele and the manner of activities that form their core objectives sometimes demand that formality can be suspended to attain immediate outcomes as situations of the health of patient might warrant. Nevertheless, for the reasons of administrative effectiveness, they must strive to retain formal organization to stand the challenges of the medical-legal issues, economy, and the body politics medical professionalism. This critical analysis looks at the pertinent predicaments in the health and social services sector and evaluates the remedies that they may have to manage such exigencies. Social or health organizations derive their institutional power from the quality of services they render to clients. They must, therefore, objectify their systems to their most desirable outcomes without which they may have no regard. On the other hand, such organizations render very useful services to the public and therefore must be very rigidly controlled and reg ulated. They organizational types they must embrace therefore result from a unique mix of opportunities and challenges. Conventionally, health and social organizations assume a formal design because of the centralized administrative practices in the public sector. Mixed systems in the institutional plan are therefore called for to bridge the gap between uncertainties and emergency. It is through the mixed designs that many organizations adjust to their real predicaments and survive the market. Without the ability to survive, organizations would simply perish to bankruptcy. The demands at the operations end of the organization are enormous. It is the nature of such demands that compel the organizations to adjust to informal approaches to such operations. It must be mentioned that such organizations retain perfect formal operations at the policy and administrative levels.

Developing Leaders at UPS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Developing Leaders at UPS - Assignment Example Similarly, Jovita used her skills and knowledge to progress in future which came out positive for her. She focused on her individual development and with the passage of time; she gained experience which helped her to become a successful leader. As a leader, she took challenges regardless of the results and focused her attention on learning from the experiences of other people. According to her, observation and remaining close to skilled employees helped her to gain a competitive edge in the market. She knew when to use her leadership style in which situation. Basically, Jovita’s approach can be framed as a situational leader who acts according to the situation. Secondly, she focused mainly on developing good relations with her subordinates. A good leader always focuses on building good relations with his peers, employees and subordinates. She encouraged active participation of her employees, motivated them and helped them to improve their skills through training and developmen t programs. A good leader always focuses on developing high communication with the employees, greater teamwork interaction and gives them space to act and behave within a certain limit. Jovita followed the same rules which helped her to become a successful leader in the corporate world of UPS.... Without these three basic elements, it is impossible to attain growth in the spiral of experience. Answer 3: Some of the skills that Jovita Carranza demonstrated in her career as a successful leader are: 1- Cognitive ability: Jovita possessed both raw intellectual horse power and mental flexibility (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy 2012). She joined UPS when she was ready to take her skills to next level. According to her, intelligence and flexibility enable a person to groom one’s skills. It was her flexibility and willingness to learn that helped her to attain her goals both personally and professionally. Leaders learn from the experiences of others and by experimenting with their practices. 2- Strategic Thinking: Strategic thinking has helped Carranza to gain global competitiveness and an edge over other competitors in the market. She knew how to make the most of her skills and thinking ability. Leaders know to compete with the other players in the market by making the most of t heir leadership potential. 3- Analytical Ability: Jovita Carranza worked in different regions with different employees from diversified backgrounds and under different situations. This helped her to develop analytical ability to analyze different situations and then to act differently according to the requirement. Also, it helped her to know the exact situation and the solution through her prior working experience in different regions. 4- As described by Jovita, it is impossible to make sound decisions and winning impression without eagerness to learn and without taking challenges, especially when one is uncertain about the results. These are the qualities of a true leader to take

Unemployment statistics in US Essay Example for Free

Unemployment statistics in US Essay Unemployment refers to a situation whereby a person who is able and willing to work is currently without a job. The total number of employed people plus the number of unemployed persons who are seeking work is referred to as labor force (US Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2010). The participation rate is the labor force divided by the total number of working age population that is not institutionalized (US Department of Labour, 2010). The unemployment level is the difference between the labor force and the total number of people who are currently employed. The unemployment rate is the level of unemployed divided by the total number of working population. There are different types of unemployment types in the overall macro-economy. They include frictional unemployment, structural unemployment, natural rate of unemployment and demand deficient unemployment. Frictional unemployment reflects the time taken by individuals to find and get settled in their new jobs. Structural unemployment is the difference between the skills and other attributes possessed by the labor force and what the employers actually demand. This type of unemployment considers employees who are undergoing re-training in order to start a new job as being unemployed. It is usually increased by technological changes. Natural rate of unemployment is the sum total of frictional and structural unemployment. It is considered to be the lowest rate of unemployment that is expected to be achieved by a stable economy. Demand deficient unemployment is the level of unemployment which is beyond the natural rate unemployment. Causes of unemployment According to Keynesian economics, unemployment results from deficit in effective demand for both goods and services in an economy (US Bureau of Labour Statistics, 2010). Other schools of thought attribute unemployment to structural problems and inefficiencies which are common in the labor markets. Classical economics attribute unemployment to rigidities in labor markets resulting from external environment such as unionization of workers, taxes, minimum wages and other factors that may limit hiring of new employees (US Department of Labour, 2010). Other economists view unemployment as a voluntary choice of the unemployed and the time it takes them to find a new job also referred to as frictional unemployment. Efficiency wages and sticky wages are seen by behavioral economists to be a cause of unemployment. Unemployment level in US Unemployment in 27 US states was reported to have increased in February 2010 while seven states reported a drop in unemployment. There was an increase in unemployment in the state of Mississippi by 0. 4 percent (highest increase). The unemployment in Detroit fell from 15. 3 to 14. 8. The unemployment nationally by February 2010 was reported by Labor Department to be 9. 7 percent. However, job layoffs were fewer than previously anticipated (Trading Economics, 2010). Since the onset of recession in December 2007, 8. 4 million jobs had been lost by March 2010. The US official unemployment was reported to be 9. 5% in June 2010. This accounted for about 14. 6 million unemployed Americans. The black teens were leading with unemployment of 39. 9% Asians had the lowest unemployment rate of 7. 7%. The total number of officially unemployed and the hidden unemployment (29. 1 million) account for 18. 2% of the labor force. The graph below illustrates the levels of unemployment in US between 1999 and 2009.

Stricter Gun Control Laws

Stricter Gun Control Laws Gun control in the United States has been a controversial issue over past years, especially in light of the recent events of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings. Gun control is the regulation of the selling, owning, and use of guns. Americans have many reasons for owning and using fire arms, both positive and negative. The second Amendment of the Constitution gives the rights to American citizens to keep and bear arms. On the positive side of the issue for stricter gun control laws in the United States, there are many reasons how we can keep a safer environment inside our country. Stricter gun control laws will decrease the overall number of accidental shootings. It will also make it more difficult for criminals to obtain guns. Semi-automatic weapons, which are the leading types of guns used in mass shootings could be eliminated from being able to be purchased and will ultimately lower the number of overall deaths if a shooting were to occur. Creating stricter gun control laws could also hurt or have no effect on the number of overall shooting in the United States. People who want guns and are unable to obtain them legally, can purchase them through the black market. Most people simply want guns for their own protection and self-defense. GUNS PROTECT PEOPLE The majority of gun owners admit that owning a gun gives them a feeling of assurance and security. The ownership of a gun adds to the safety of the owner especially during dangerous incidents like, burglary, attempted murder, and other crime alike. Ownership of a gun could satisfy the second level of the hierarchy of needs as dictated by the widely known Maslows Hierarchy of needs. This fact could prove that the ownership of a gun is necessary to live comfortably. Prohibition is not the best solution. Banning guns will not kill gun culture. The use of guns will not disappear or make them any less dangerous. It could even promote illegal purchases of guns. As stated in the previous paragraph, safety is a need, and people are most likely to do whatever it takes to assure it for themselves and for their families. Citizens are not only capable but also have the right to protect themselves, their families, and their property. If owning a gun is the easy, then why not? Many people also need guns for other reasons. Farmers need fire arms to protect their fields and livestock from wild animals. If the banning of guns will push through, the livelihood of these people will be greatly affected. The least that could happen is them resorting to technologies that are way above their budget to compensate for the security provided to them by the confiscated guns. If the banning of guns is after the welfare of the people, these realities are not to be disregarded and should be considered. Though these people are a minority compared to the whole population, their voices should be treated as those of the majority. Shooting is a major sport enjoyed by many law-abiding citizens in the United States. Just like other sports, shooting is recreational; it promotes discipline, and camaraderie and healthy relationships among its enthusiasts and practitioners. There are even more sports that are considered to cause more injuries compared to shooting sports. Statistically, the sport with most injuries reported is basketball; shooting injuries are less likely to happen because the guns are not pointed at humans but to inanimate, lifeless targets. Practicing shooting for hurting people is not the intention of the sport. Shooters shoot objects to improve accuracy and precision in shooting lifeless objects, and lifeless objects alone. Sportsmen have the right to continue their chosen leisure activity. Also, spending on guns and ancillary equipment commissions large sums of income into the economy. Law-abiding citizens are worthy of the right to protect their families in their own homes. Even with the banning of guns, criminals will still have access to firearms sold in the black market. In fact, most guns used in heists and organized crimes are guns do not have legal papers, sold in the black market. Thus, the banning of guns will put the potential victims into a disadvantage. Law abiders will not even think of buying from the black market. Criminals do not think this way. They buy from the black market because it makes them harder to track down. Would-be rapists and armed burglars will think twice before attempting to break into a house where owners may keep firearms. Some incidents of shooting are often prevented when both parties owning guns. Though the guns assure self defense, it does not actually help you dodge bullets. It is only an advantage when, the other party is in no possession of a gun. Thus, when an armed attacker is aware of you owning a gun, he would begin to have second thoughts about using his gun because of the possibility of being shot back. Therefore, this fear of being shot back neutralizes the attackers urge to shoot the victim. Instead of a life lost, a life is spared. GUNS ARE DANGEROUS Gun control has been a very controversial and heated topic worldwide. Guns are the reason why the crime rate is still high and it will remain or increase if there are no actions that will be taken to lessen the illegal use of firearms. The main function of a gun, like any other weapon, is to kill. Guns were invented to be used in war. Though guns have the potential to protect its owner from harm, the fact that someone from the other party will be, or should be, consequently harmed does not justify its purpose. Though the understanding of this idea will vary among different levels of morality and beliefs, the fact of someone getting hurt, a bad person or a good person, should not be disregarded. The use of guns to promote peace will be ineffective without its capacity to harm others. Though guns are not the only weapons, they are certainly more effective in taking away lives. The death rate when a gun is used is much higher than when knives or other weapons are used during an attack. Household brutality assaults involving guns are twelve times more likely to bring about fatalities than those without guns. These facts are nothing new. Shooters generally shoot to kill, and, even if they shoot to maim or warn, the unpredictable trajectory of bullets can still kill. The more instruments of demise and harm we remove from our social norms, the more secure we will be. The law has already made appropriate penalties for crimes like theft; burglary should not be punished by vigilante killings. Nothing is worthy enough to pay for a human life. Even crimes of murder are not punishable by death, the legal sanctions for these crimes should be treated as seriously, unbiased, like legally owning a gun which is difficult to observe because most killings involving guns are initiated when the shooter is in a high emotional state, not in his/her rational mind. In 2005, 75 reported cases of children 14 and below died from accidental firearm-related injuries; most children of this group have ages ranging from 10-14 years old. The majority of unintentional gun-related deaths among children take place in or around the household; 5 out of 10 cases occur at the victims home while 4 out of ten cases happens at a friend or relatives house . Keeping firearms at home for protection often leads to accidental deaths. Common cases for gun shootouts is that people possessing it have mental illness, goes out and shoot people. People with mental illnesses have no right to possess firearms but the problem is that sellers of these guns do not know if the buyer is mentally ill until they go out and shoot people. The government, though they did something about this case. The issue on the mentally ill people who can easily possess guns is on heat especially on the recent case of shooting in the United States. People with tendency towards violence and those with histories of mental illness are not allowed to be able to obtain firearms in the United States. But experts, as what they call themselves, says that the laws pertaining to the possession of firearms is only applicable to people who have been considered by the authorities to be unsafe. The government mandates that people should be evaluated before the issuance of firearms to them. Background checks and interviews are supposed to be done before a per son can acquire any firearms. The problem is that the government has insufficient funds to sustain the process. Thus, the government resorted to just allow the people who would like to acquire firearms after conducting simple tests. CONCULSION My opinion on this matter is simple and goes along with the saying guns dont kill people, people kill people. Although gun laws today are becoming stricter, individuals who want to kill or harm others will still be able to do so. Regardless of how hard it is to obtain a firearm, a person can still find other ways to harm others, even without guns. The issue whether or not semi-automatic weapons should be allowed to be sold is something that is understandable and can have a positive effect. These types of weapons should certainly not be used for hunting, and have no reason to be on the streets of our country. The difference in the number of people one can harm or kill is drastically different and can make an overall difference in the number of deaths each year. After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, several people began to talk about buying a gun before stricter laws came into effect. My own father did just that. My mother has always been against having a gun inside her home until recently. She had realized that it is better safe than sorry. My dad went and applied for a permit to own a gun and is currently in the process of a background check. He plans to keep it locked up, and used only if necessary. I personally feel safer, and better about the well-being of my parents if they have a gun for protection inside their home. There are countless numbers of robberies and attacks that occur every day in our country. Owning a weapon for the pure safety of yourself and your family is a valid reason in my mind. The fundamental goal of the laws pertaining to owning a gun is to keep the firearms to those people that are most likely to do violent actions and those that are mentally challenged. But then there is no existing effective system that can prevent these people to legally getting a gun. The government has to do something about the stricter implementation of the laws pertaining to the people who are mentally ill and wishes to get a gun. Access to mental health plays a vital role in this case thus even the government should look over its beneficiary requirements and funding. The required background checks and mental health evaluations should be stricter and more informative so that proper data and evidence can be evaluated properly and it could be a great help to lessen violence in the United States.

What is borderline personality disorder? Essay -- Psychology, Emocion

According to the DSM-IV(2000), Borderline Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: 1. Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. 2. A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation 3. Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self 4. Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating) 5. Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behaviour 6. Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days ) 7. Chronic feelings of emptiness 8. Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights) 9. Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms (DSM IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). According to American psychiatric association, Consumer & Family Information (2001), people with the disorder experience a great deal of anxiety and psychological distress, and they have difficulties at school or work. They can learn to manage the disorder, but the disorder itself is life long. People who have borderline personality disorder can be very sensitive to the way others treat them, reacting strongly to criticism or misinterpreting oth... ...ed psychotherapies have demonstrated efficacy for some BPD symptoms in randomized controlled clinical trials. In conclusion, borderline personality disorder is characterized by instability of emotions, periodic impulsive and self-destructive behavior, and troubled relationships with other people. Despite the positive findings of the treatments for some patients and some symptoms of the disorder, comprehensive BPD treatment continues to be a challenge. The BPD symptoms least impacted by psychotherapeutic treatment are those more related to temperament and the ability to function effectively in occupational and social roles (Binks et al., 2006 as cited in Joan et al 2009). Medications that targeted some symptoms of borderline personality disorder have also been used. However, this practice has been proven to have different side effects and not reliably effective.

The Causes of Deforestation in the Amazon Rain Forest Essay -- Exposit

The Causes of Deforestation in the Amazon Rain Forest      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Amazon Rain Forest crosses several national boundaries in South America, although the majority of it is located in Brazil. It covers over 3,562,000 acres, making it the largest in the world. But globally, over 138,600 acres of rain forest are lost each year to deforestation, 50,000 of those in Brazil alone (Holdsforth), and the world's rain forests are quickly disappearing. Deforestation in the Amazon occurs primarily for three reasons: clear-cutting, fragmentation, and edge effects.       The term "deforestation" refers to the clear-cutting of large sections of primary or original-growth forest, which causes the loss of native species of plant and animal life. This clearing of land is mainly due to agricultural needs, such as farming and cattle ranching, but also occurs to support logging and mining companies. The effect of the loss of forest is most obvious in the loss of native species. Eugene Ng, of the Hong Kong Technical Institute, explains that the "destruction of habitat forces species out of areas, or causes them to die." Other factors, according to Ng, "further restrict their range, exposing them to disease and predators."       Deforestation does not occur neatly. "Fragmentation" also weakens the rain forest. As large sections of rain forest are cut down by farmers, ranchers, and loggers, those plant and animal species are left to die. If all deforestation occurred along the outside boundaries of the forest, then some of the species could move deeper into the Amazon to survive. But as Mason Skold and Bill Myer explain, fragmentation produces "areas of less than 100 square kilometers which are surrounded by d... ...in Forest and to protect the species who live there must take into account how deforestation occurs.       Sources Cited    Center for Planetary Studies. "Deforestation Isn't the Real Problem in the Amazon." June 1996. http://www.ctr_planets/Amazon.html (7 June 2003).    Holdsforth, J. R. "Deforestation Estimates for Eight National Biozone Regions and Implications." 1990. http://www.biozone_project.html (7 June 2003).    Johns, Lucia and Freida Simms. "Deforestation: Global Problems, Programs, and Agreements." Environmental Policy Division,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Congressional Research Service. March 1997.   Ã‚   http://www.cnie.org/nle/for-4.html  Ã‚  Ã‚   (14 June 2003).    Ng, Eugene. "Deforestation Affects Diversity." Hong Kong Technical Institute. 1991.  Ã‚   http://www.hktech.edu/forests_diversity.html  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (12 June 2003)

Monster Hunters :: Essays Papers

Monster Hunters Monsters are hunted. The lore of their destruction is excessive, glowing, and dispersed. It is a crucial component of their mythology. There is no eluding the hunter, armed with the vampire stake and crosses and the werewolf’s silver bullet. But then it is the hunter whose tale it is to begin with. Beowulf cannot stay hidden forever, or he would not be Beowulf. Monstrosity relies, in this sense, on its exposition for its production, and it is in this superficial sense of vitality by revelation that two theorists of monstrosity concoct a fantastic world of ‘society’ to keep themselves at bay. Michael Uebel’s â€Å"Unthinking the Monster† and Mark Dorrian’s â€Å"On the Monstrous and Grotesque† represent similar though distinct theorizations of monstrosity in terms of otherness, difference, relation to self, and production in/by rhetoric. The articles consider the relation between monstrosity and the terms against which it is defi ned. Yet the pieces are also monsters, and the worlds they sing of are the ones they behold with rapt attention. It is their theorization of monstrosity that allows for the continuation of both insides and outsides in a way more immediate than their encapsulation of such a movement considers. Dorrian takes Uebel’s general form of abjection seriously as a description of aberrations of the body, the human body it even seems. â€Å"As a starting point we will assume the conventional understanding of the monster as a being whose existence runs against, or is contrary to, nature - with the proviso that for ‘nature’ we understand as ‘what has been naturalized’† (Dorrian 310). The article’s understanding of monsters departs little from the starting point, for the terms outlined here. What of the understanding itself? It seems accurate to require that monsters enact renditions of living bodies. However, this assumes monstrosity not only contrasts some pre-selected canon of bodies, but also is to correspond to a set body of monsters, which is of course never set, and thus monstrosity is to predict what might be called monstrous. But the term is not only part of an effort to describe some referent. Monstrosity is also to think t hrough or around the functioning of monster as agency - how does the idea of a monster matter. Or, how does the monstrous feeling fragment representations? In any case, it is to be a study of monstrosity, for both Dorrian and Uebel, that is aware of the impossibility of identifying a definition or set of definitions of monstrosity.

Reality TV Is Fake Essay

Imagine this. A producer came to you and said: â€Å"Hi, I would love for you to be in a reality TV program.† So you asked what it means to be in a reality TV program. He’d answer with â€Å"all you need to do is act normally. Just do what you normally would do, but the exception that a camera crew will be following you around.† You agreed, and the camera men, producer, director and writer started following you around. And when they’re filming you and your friends having dinner together, they suddenly stopped and asked you to start talking about a certain boy in your school. You agreed, and started talking about some boy you know. And then the director and writer asked you to pretend you like the guy and squeal and spaz about him. But the thing is, you don’t like this guy. And you don’t want to squeal and spaz about him. You both are only friends but the director asked you to pretend that you like him. So is that what reality TV is? Isn’t it about real life people doing real life stuff in a real life situation? But why are the producers and directors and writers asking you to do stuff that you don’t normally do? Why are they making something up to make it sound more interesting? Reality television is a television program genre that presents unscripted situations, documents actual events and usually features unknown instead of professional actors. What they do is the reality TV stars do whatever that they’re doing, just like what we normally do. But with the exception that there are cameras filming everything. Such shows usually have participants that double as the show’s narrator. They are interviewed about the situation and the participants talk about how they feel about it and what they think about the situation. Another type of reality TV shows are competition based reality shows. They often have additional common elements such as participant being eliminated per episode, with a panel of judges, and the concept of immunity from elimination. The participants or challengers are put into tests and missions with the possibility of being eliminated or punished. And a prize is always on the line. Is the reality TV shows really real? Are these reality programs fabricated and staged or are they genuine? If they are fabricated, how much then are they fake and how much are they real? Body All these reality programs are very successful not only in U.S but also all over the world. They are well known to people of every age, race, education, and language. They show how relatable these stars are to the viewers and how alike these stars are to the viewers. But are they real? Are these reality shows real? And if it’s not, how fake are these shows? Pawn Stars chronicles the daily activities at a high end pawn shop, where staffs of the store interacts with customers who bring in a variety of artefacts to sell or pawn and who are shown haggling over the price and discussing its historical background, with narration provided by the Harrisons. There are proofs in which these reality TV are not real. For example in Pawn Stars, there was an episode where a man named Rod who brought in his 1960 Les Paul Custom guitar. And he claimed that he had gotten the guitar during his tour with the bands Toto and Triumph. But with further investigations, it was later found out that the whole thing was completely staged. The Les Paul Custom guitar was actually from a local Las Vegas vintage guitar store, Cowtown Guitars. The â€Å"customer† Rod, was actually an employee of that store. And the â€Å"expert† that was also in the show was also another employee/manager (centraltendencies.com). Another episode named Time Machines in season 1; the customer simply named Jim is actually Jim Waters, a local Las Vegas comedian and actor. He’s one of the founders of a Las Vegas group called Film and Television artists of Las Vegas. What was seen as a customer with an antique was actually an actor hired to stage an episode. As for the competition-based reality programs, one of the most famous one is American Idol. It is a singing competition and after the preliminary rounds, the live shows start. And each week, a contestant will be eliminated through the votes of the public. Even with judges to give reviews of the participant’s performance that night, it is the public who will decide who would leave and be eliminated. There are testimonies from an American Idol participant who have came out to testify how it really is when auditioning for the show. How all that we see on TV is not what it really is like. She’s known as Maria Saint, and in her writings are very explicit accounts of what she encountered during her audition process. At one point, all the contestants were asked to learn a new song: Billionaire by Bruno Mars and Travis McCoy, to test their ability to learn a new song fast. And what is shown on TV is a bunch of people singing the same song in front of the judges. But if you look carefully at the clip, you’ll notice that there was not a frame that shows the contestants and the judges in the same room. In actual fact, they are recorded at different times. According to Maria Saint, it was actually taped â€Å"to make that ridiculous compilation of people singing the same song privately, some good, and some bad (Saint).† And at the final round before really going in to meet the judges, she accounted an event whereby an â€Å"adorable but strange little blonde haired boy, dressed kind of how you’d expect to see Forrest Gump, nice white dress shirt, slacks, and loafers, passionately waving an American Flag for the cameras† screeching the song â€Å"Smile.† And at that particular round, if a contestant is cut, and they act crazy, they will be put back in so that they can air the reaction on the show. And when â€Å"flagboy† were cut, he started crying hysterically. Cameras immediately swarmed over him, and were brought back into the audition room. A few minutes later, he came out proudly with his large sticker than indicates that he passed that round (Saint). Amazing Race is another competition based reality TV show that is very famous around the globe. It is a game show in which teams of two people, race around the world with other teams. Each team are given missions and are needed to complete these missions in order to be able to go to ‘pit stops’ where the last team to arrive would either be eliminated or be faced with disadvantages in the next round. Popular race show, Amazing Race is also not as it seems. What is shown on television has also been controlled by the producers and directors. The clothes that they wear, the expressions that they have on their faces and every scene has been altered so it would be shown on TV the right way and with the right angle. The world of entertainment is making changes to spice up their programs. It was then the reality TV shows were introduced. And the audiences loved it. From a reality show of singing, acting, modelling, sports, magic, and even to parenting, audiences from all walks of life enjoys it. Closing In conclusion, as popular as these reality programs are, many of them are staged and controlled behind the scenes. What should not have scripts are actually scripted. And what should be natural and real are actually fake and created by directors and producers. And with so many demands in this genre, there would be more reality TV shows and they would still not be ‘real.’

Economics Assignment

ECONOMICS ASSIGNMENT For a market of your choice, keep track of the spot or share price fluctuations during a period of at least two years. Prepare a report of approximately 3000 words, for each market, discussing in detail the multiple forces (interesting developments) responsible for the trends. Tuesday 24 May 2011 Table of Contents Executive Summary Executive Summary In analysing the consumer market, we have chosen the share prices of two JSE listed companies, namely SABMiller and Rainbow Chicken which belong to the beverages and food producer’s sub-sectors respectively. Our two-year analysis is for the period March 2009 to May 2011. We will explore how Rainbow Chicken fared relative to its nearest competitor – Astral Foods. SABMiller allowed us to expand our thinking and methodology as the company also has a dual-listing on the London Stock Exchange. Its three closest competitors Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg Breweries have foreign listings. It stands to reason, therefore, that we begin our assignment with an overview of the global context in which both companies operated in the period under review. The aftermath of the recession and changes in global economic indicators like the ZAR:USD exchange rate and the price of Brent crude oil will be examined. What we found particularly interesting was the resilience of both company’s share prices in the challenging global economic climate. We mention the factors that insulated each share from the global downturn. We then turn our attention to South Africa’s economic environment and examine the extent to which the foregoing global factors impacted on South Africa’s macroeconomic policy landscape. The two variables that we pay particular attention to are the local repo and CPI rates. We address the extent to which changes to these local variables impacted on the share prices of SABMiller and Rainbow Chicken. As mentioned in the first paragraph, our analyses consider the industries in which both companies operate by comparing their share prices with those of their nearest competitors. Our company analyses focus on internal considerations and the strategic objectives detailed in SABMiller’s and Rainbow’s annual reports for the 2009 and 2010 financial year ends. In our analyses of each company’s share price, we remain mindful of the fact that, although not directly responsible for the share’s daily performance, the objectives and calibre of management nevertheless impact on the share price. We conclude each analysis with a justifiable prediction of the expected trajectory of each company’s share price. The concentric eclipses in the diagram below depict the logical progression of our assignment’s structure, beginning with the outer-most eclipse. The diagram also shows the inter-relatedness of each eclipse relative to the other and how it is impossible to isolate the effects of one from the other. This reinforces the aphorism that: â€Å"in Economics everything is related to everything else; and usually in more ways than one. † The Global Environment [pic] Source: www. eia. doe. gov The price of Brent crude oil has been steady at an average level of $70 to $80 a barrel until November 2010. Since December 2010, the oil price has been rising, reaching a peak of $120 / barrel in April 2011. This has been partly due to uprisings in the Arab world, which holds the majority of global oil reserves. The oil price affects domestic inflation as fuel and energy are a major component of South Africa’s CPI basket. The price of petrol, which is based on oil prices, also raises logistical costs. SABMiller and Rainbow paid more to transport their products in the December 2010 to May 2011 period as a result of the spike in oil prices. It stands to reason that these higher transportation costs would be passed on to consumers as higher product prices by both companies. pic] Source: www. xe. com The graph above shows that the Rand has been strengthening relative to the US Dollar from 1USD:10ZAR to 1USD:6,3ZAR between March 2009 and May 2011. The strong rand has had a favourable impact on our terms of trade as can be seen from the self-explanatory graph below which depicts the Balance of Payments. The company analyses below reveal that SABMiller exports and imports a number of its brands across the world. Rainbow Chicken imports the soy component of its chicken feed wholly from Argentina. The rand’s strength impacts on both companies’ performances (and hence) their share prices favourably. [pic] [pic] Source: www. resbank. co. za The South African Environment Domestic interest rates [pic] Source: www. resbank. co. za The graph above shows that the Reserve Bank’s stance to monetary policy has been expansionary. This is shown by the gradual decline in the repo rate from 9,5% in March 2009 to its current level of 5,5% in May 2011. The Reserve Bank’s mandate is to keep the inflation rate within its target band of 3% to 6% and it uses the repo rate as the instrument with which to impact inflation. The Reserve Bank’s lowering of the repo rate is due to the CPI breaching its upper target limit of 6%. This is shown in the graph below. There is a positive relationship between the repo rate and CPI. It stands to reason, therefore, that the gradual lowering of the repo rate would be accompanied by a decline in the CPI rate. This is indeed the case. However, because of lags, the effect of a fall in the repo rate on the inflation rate is not reflected immediately and the CPI remains significantly above the upper limit. A fall in the repo rate eases pressure on consumers by raising their disposal incomes since they, theoretically, spend less on their credit commitments. All things being equal, this would raise the sales volumes of SABMiller’s and Rainbow’s products. Domestic Inflation [pic] Source: www. statssa. gov. za The graph above depicts the trend in inflation. It is clear that although the inflation rate has been on a downward trajectory (following the lowering of the repo rate) it was in breach of the upper limit of 6% from March 2009 to Oct 2009. It was within the target band in November 2009 but breached the upper limit again between December 2009 and February 2010. The latter breach is attributable to the market’s inflation expectations because of the steep increase in electricity tariffs during this period (www. eskom. co. za). As mentioned previously, the biggest components of South Africa’s CPI basket are food and fuel and the graphs below will be used to explain the impact of inflation on SABMiller’s and Rainbow’s performance specifically. CPI indicator relevant to SAB Miller pic] Source: www. statssa. gov. za This graph shows that inflation for alcoholic beverages has not only been consistently higher than the upper limit of the inflation target band, it has also been significantly higher than the country’s inflation rate. This is due to the fact that a major component of the price of alcohol is a â€Å"sin tax†, which is imposed by the finance ministry, because of the relative ly inelastic nature of the price elasticity of demand for alcohol as well as irresponsible and excessive consumption patterns. For some consumers, even a sharp increase in the price of alcoholic beverages does not result in a fall in the quantity demanded. There would, in all likelihood, be a shift away from the consumption of relatively more expensive alcoholic beverages towards relatively cheaper alcohol – not a complete cessation in the consumption of alcohol. This is one of the reasons that SABMiller’s share price has shown steady gains relative to the market. CPI indicator relevant to Rainbow Chicken [pic] Source: www. statssa. gov. za Consumer food price inflation decelerated sharply from December 2010. It is also interesting to note, that between January 2009 and January 2010, the prices of wheat fell by 24,58%, maize by 22,57% and sunflower seeds by 18,49% (www. finweek. co. za) Decreases in the prices of these staple foods has a positive impact on the poor as they spend 33,4% of their incomes on food; versus the rich who spend a mere 2,6% of their incomes on food. Poor people consume relatively more chicken than red meat because the latter is relatively more expensive. Chicken is the cheapest form of protein in South Africa and demand for it is high (www. astralfoods. com). Furthermore, the above staple foods are used as chicken feed which is a significant input cost for Rainbow Chicken, therefore the company has had cost savings because of bumper crops and the consequent price decreases in these commodities. The table on the following page clearly accounts for the nearly vertical decline in the graph above which shows food price inflation. [pic] Source: www. resbank. co. za GDP – South Africa [pic] [pic] Source: www. statssa. gov. za The graphs above show that South Africa was in a recession in 2009, as defined, because of the two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. Our recovery from the global recession was due to the fact that we had a low exposure to the sub-prime market crisis that was responsible for the global meltdown. Our banking and macroeconomic policies remain robust. The growth in the economy from the third quarter of 2009 is also due to infrastructural investments that were made for the 2010 Soccer World Cup as well as South Africa’s contributions to the BRIC emerging markets bloc – especially our trade with China. It is expected that our formal inclusion to the BRICS nations since April 2011 will maintain the upward trend in GDP (www. lobalsherpa. org). Positive GDP growth has a positive impact on the performance of SABMiller’s and Rainbow’s shares. In a boom everyone does well. SABMiller, in particular, has a presence in all five BRICS nations and is poised for growth as emerging market economies have overtaken developed economies in their contributions to global GDP. We now examine SABMiller’s s hare price in more detail and then turn our attention to Rainbow Chicken in light of the foregoing discussions on the global and local environments. Analysis of SABMiller pic] SABMiller is a global operation covering 75 countries on six continents and employing over 70 000 people. Its portfolio of businesses is divided into six regions and is well balanced between developed and emerging markets. Between them, the businesses produce over 200 different brands and sell 213 million hectoliters of lager a year. Since listing on the London Stock Exchange 10 years ago the company has grown substantially and has a market capitalisation of ZAR 419,837,700,000 on the JSE and GBP 36,099,310,000 on the LSE. The company’s markets range from developed economies such as the USA to the fast growing BRICS economies (SABMiller Annual Report, 2009). SABMiller is also the number one bottler of soft drinks for The Coca Cola Company. The breweries market can be seen as oligopolistic in nature since SABMiller and its three main competitors (Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg) are the dominant players in the market and have significant market share amongst them. The oligopolistic market structure has a positive impact on the company’s operations and share price performance. In North America, SABMiller (through its strategic partners) is the second-largest brewer in the United States and owns nearly 30% of the US beer market. In Latin America, it is the number one brewer by market share. In the majority of the ten European countries in which it operates, the company is the number one or number two brewer by market share. The same holds for Africa and Asia. In the 2009 annual report Mayer Kahn, the Chairman of the Board, stated that the global brewing industry was expected to continue to consolidate and that participation in industry consolidation provides opportunities to enter growth markets and to create value from scale benefits. The graph below shows SABMiller’s share price relative to its three main competitors. It is clear that all four companies’ trajectories have moved in tandem but Carlsberg’s share price has significantly taken the lead with SABMiller in second place. At the turn of the century, the top 10 brewers accounted for just over one-third of global beer sales volumes. The past decade has seen a rapid consolidation, resulting in the top four brewers – Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller, Heineken and Carlsberg – accounting for almost 50% of beer sales volumes and up to 75% of the global profit pool. (SABMiller Annual Report, 2010) [pic] Source: www. heineken. com Mr Kahn attributes the company’s good results (in both 2009 and 2010) to the operational strengths of the businesses and the power of their leading local brands. He concedes that even though SABMiller was not immune to the global crisis, beer is a fairly resilient product which placed the company in a better position than many to weather the storm. He goes on to say: â€Å"Thanks, partly, to our long experience of emerging markets, we are used to operating under difficult conditions. If we look back ten years to our London stock market listing, it is worth remembering that the Asian currency crisis at that time had shaken investor confidence in emerging markets and that the outlook was far from encouraging. Nevertheless, we prospered and grew and achieved the international expansion that our listing was intended to facilitate. Ten years on, our geographic spread is proving to be an advantage in that different countries are affected by the crisis at different rates and to differing degrees. So while demand in Europe has dropped sharply, countries in emerging markets such as Africa and Asia have fared relatively well despite falling back from the high – one might say unsustainable – rates of growth of recent years. † SABMiller Annual Report, 2009 In short, SABMiller’s diverse spread of businesses, strong market positions, and a portfolio of leading brands mitigated against the risks and negative consequences of the global downturn and contributed to the steady upward momentum in the share price. In response to the mismatch between the supply of, and demand for, certain brewing and packaging raw materials in Africa, the company is increasingly using locally grown crops such as sorghum and cassava to produce affordable brands. This is done to minimise supply shortages and the price volatility of key raw material inputs. Continued robust pricing and productivity enhancements offset increased commodity costs (SABMiller Annual Report, 2010). It comes as no surprise, therefore, that the combination of the above factors resulted in a steady upward trend in the company’s share prices on both the London and Johannesburg bourses in the period under review as seen in the graphs below. [pic][pic] Source: www. sabmiller. com In 2010, Mr Kahn had similar good news for investors, citing the same reasons as for 2009. However he mentions the company’s management team as being a key contributor to the positive results: This year, in addition, we have benefited from management’s ability to reduce costs and selectively increase prices in order to maximise revenues†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Source: SABMiller Annual Report, 2010 In the third paragraph of our Executive Summary, we mentioned that the management of any company is not responsible for the share price. However, in fulfilling its primary objective of maximising shareholder value, the credibility of and strategies employed by management invariably have an impact on the share price. It would appear that the management and directorship of SABMiller are market-friendly. The members of the executive team are representative of each of the continents in which the company operates; with Mr Cyril Ramaphosa and Dr Dambisa Moyo as the notable representatives for Africa. Other market-friendly strategies include the December 2009 announcement that 8. 45% of the shares in SABMiller’s South African subsidiary, The South African Breweries Ltd (SAB), would be placed under Black ownership as part of its commitment to Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment in South Africa. This transaction created 40,000 new shareholders among SAB employees and qualifying retailers. The deal also created a charitable foundation that holds 18% of the shares that were issued under the transaction. The dividend income will be used for the benefit of the wider South African community (SABMiller Annual Report, 2010). The company also capitalised on the strength of emerging markets (particularly in China and Africa) by channeling its growth strategies to these markets. â€Å"Globally, the beer market grew by 1. 5% in 2010, led by a continuing strong performance in Asia, Africa and Latin America. China grew by 6. 5%, Africa by 3. 1% and Latin America by almost 3%. Western Europe continued the trend of declining beer volumes, driven by a shift in consumption to other beverages and the decline of on-premise consumption. † Source: SABMiller Annual Report, 2010 In the 2010 financial year the company acquired four new breweries in China, invested in new breweries in Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola and Southern Sudan and carried out expansions and upgrades in Uganda and Zambia. The trends in the graphs depicting SABMiller’s share price on both the London and Johannesburg Securities’ Exchanges (given above) require no further explanation. With good management being both a contributory factor to and a consequence of the share’s strong performance, it is reasonable to conclude that the positive momentum will continue. [pic] Analysis of Rainbow Chicken [pic] Rainbow Chicken Limited is the largest processor and marketer of chicken in South Africa. It is a fully integrated broiler producer that breeds and rears its own livestock which it feeds from its own feed mills. Rainbow processes, distributes and markets fresh, frozen, value-added and further-processed chicken. The company has a market capitalisation of ZAR 6 124 893 000 009 was a very challenging year for the South African poultry industry, both locally and globally. The local chicken industry was negatively impacted by the fall in demand due to the recession. An oversupply by local producers and increased imports due to the strong rand also added to the industry’s woes. These difficult market conditions were a further test of Rainbow’s differen tiated brand strategy, which through its foodservice and consumer brands, seeks more consistent, profitable and sustainable business (Rainbow Chicken Annual Report, 2009). Despite these challenges, Rainbow managed to deliver an acceptable overall performance. Positive performance, like a rally in the share price, is a function of several variables and while we can make inferences about the correlation between the two, we make no such inferences about their causality. Like SABMiller, Rainbow’s Black Economic Empowerment transaction (which was concluded in July 2008) was market-friendly and boosted the company’s share price. Rainbow provided vendor financing for a 15% equity stake that was issued to a consortium that was constituted by its employees, Imbewu Consortium, Ikamva Labantu, and Mrs M Nhlanhla, a non-executive director. The BBBEE transaction resulted in the share price rallying from R12. 0 to R16. 80 in the latter period of the second quarter of the 2009 financial year as shown in the graph on the following page. 2010 was an equally challenging year for Rainbow but its effects were mitigated by South Africa’s steady recovery from the recession, a lower interest rate and inflationary environment. Maize prices d eclined since their peak in July 2008. The global financial crisis caused a dramatic decrease in the demand for maize, improving the previously dangerously low US and global maize stock situations to such an extent that international prices fell sharply from their record levels. Rainbow Chicken, Annual Report, 2010). The fall in maize prices, which is a major component in chicken feed, resulted in a reduction in the company’s input costs which boosted the bottom line. Local producers added significant production capacity for wheat, grain and soy over the past five years. Rainbow imports the soya component of its chicken feed from Argentina and it has a significant FOREX exposure. The strong rand, however, in the period under review, has been in the company’s favour. The company’s 2010 annual report reflected acceptable profit margins. In both 2009 and during 2010, the company’s share price maintained its upward momentum as reflected in the graph below. [pic] |Key Features – Rainbow Chicken Share Price | |Year |Low |High | |2009 |11500 |16800 | |2010 |15900 |16900 | The graph and table above confirm the findings in the preceding paragraphs. Although the difference between the year’s highest share prices is negligible, South Africa’s economic recovery may be gleaned from the fact that the lowest share price for 2010 was 4400c above the 2009 low. Consumer’s disposable incomes were higher in 2010 because of falling interest and inflation rates. Falling input costs and increased consumer demand increased the appetite for the company’s shares as investors’ expectations of earning better returns were supported. Other events that led to sharp movements in the company’s share price include the market’s speculative expectations immediately prior to the announcement of the group’s 2009 results. After the results were announced, the share price dropped to R13. 90 because of the 39. 6% decline in headline earnings. The reason for this decline in earnings can be attributed to the company’s policy of buying feed products forward. The share price stabilised for the remainder of 2010 due to an increase in the multitude of families that joined the ranks of South Africa’s middle class. As the middle class grows in size, so the taste of chicken diversifies allowing entrepreneurs to come up with new ways of marketing chicken to end consumers. We now turn our attention to Rainbow’s competitor, Astral Foods, to get a better idea of the South African poultry industry before making conclusions about how justifiable a continued rally in Rainbow’s share price is. Astral Foods is Rainbow Chicken’s nearest competitor. The company holds investments in subsidiary and joint venture companies. Its primary activities are animal feed pre-mixes, the manufacturing of animal feeds, broiler genetics, the production and sale of day-old broiler chicks and hatching eggs, integrated breeder and broiler production operations, abattoirs and the sale and distribution of various key poultry brands. Its current market capitalisation is R5,5 bn (www. moneyweb. co. za) Despite a 5% drop in sales volumes, revenue for Astral Foods’ poultry division increased by 13% for the 2009 financial year. (Astral Foods Annual Report, 2009). The market was neutral about the appointment of Chris Schutte as the Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 May 2009. The share price was also not responsive to the appointment of Daan Ferreira as the Financial Director. This may be because it was not perceived to be mindful of BBBEE. The improvement in Astral Foods’ revenue for the 2010 period was largely attributable to a sustained growth in volume. The volume growth was on the back of improved production results supported by better poultry health status. Depressed consumer spending, together with higher levels of imports and high local stock levels, contributed to vigorous promotional activity with prices at levels below historical levels. Reduced feeding costs during the period countered the effects of lower poultry selling prices. A lengthy period of industrial action at Earlybird Standerton negatively impacted the company’s share performance. (Astral Foods Annual Report 2010) |[pic] | |The graph above shows the steadily upward trend in Astral Foods share price. Not surprisingly, it follows a similar pattern to Rainbow | |Chicken’s share price – with pronounced sell-offs in the first and second quarters of 2009 and improvements thereafter. This pattern | |provides comfort because of the consistency of both company’s responsiveness to events in the poultry industry. It would be concerning if | |the companies had different trajectories. The consensus amongst analysts is that the South African poultry industry is poised for | |significant growth given that the price of chicken has risen by 30 per cent year-on-year while the cost of feed has come down. We | |anticipate that Rainbow’s share price will maintain its upward trend. | | | BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Astral Foods Limited Annual Report, 2009. www. astralfoods. com 2. EIA Independent Statistics and Analysis, US Energy Information Administration, www. eia. doe. gov 3. www. eskom. co. za 4. www. finweek. co. za/Economy/Food-inflation-still-a-concern-20100301 5. www. globalsherpa. org/china-africa-brics 6. www. heineken. com 7. www. moneyweb. o. za 8. Rainbow Chicken Limited Annual Report, 2009 and 2010, www. rainbowchicken. co. za 9. Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin March 2011,www. resbank. co. za 10. SABMiller PLC Annual Report, 2009, www. sabmiller. com 11. SABMiller PLC Annual Report, 2010, www. sabmiller. com 12. Statistics South Africa, Statistical release P0141, www. statssa. gov. za 13. www. xe. com [pic] ———————– Economics Assignment 2011 GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT LOCAL ENVIRONMENT INDUSTRY / COMPETITORS COMPANY SHARE PRICE

Comparison of How it happened and The Signalman Essay

The atmosphere in How it happened is full of mystery and energy. The plot moves very quickly, imitating the speed of the automobile as in the story it is said the automobile has a horse power of thirty, ‘Then I remember the big motor, with its glaring headlights and litter of polished brass, waiting for me outside. It was my thirty-horse-power Robur, which had only been delivered that day.’ It also emphasises the lack of control the driver has over it. Whereas the atmosphere in The Signalman creates both suspense and mystery. The appearances of the spirit help to create suspense as we anticipate them to lead us to the climax. However, we find out at the end of the story that the signalman was getting premonitions of his own death. The appearances are really red herrings as it is the signalman himself who dies. Whereas the biggest red herring in How it happened is how the narrator speaks from memory in the first person, fooling us into believing he must still be alive. This makes the twist at the end so much more powerful. The difference of experience between the first time reader, who is fooled into believing the narrator must still be alive and the 2nd time reader who is able to pick out things that are ironic, for example, ‘ I can live it again.’ The 2nd time reader knows he’s dead when he’s saying it. Dickens creates a strong atmosphere through the characterisation of his characters as well as his long complex sentences that can be difficult to understand. This is because of the 150 year cultural gap of reading the story. This makes differences with the way we read the story. For example, ‘The monstrous thought came into my mind, as I perused the fixed eyes and the saturnine face, that this was a spirit, not a man.’ The word ‘monstrous’ meant abnormal in 1866. This also shows Dickens’s effort to create psychological state. He also describes things very ambiguously, for example, ‘ I resumed my downward way, and stepping out upon the level of the railroad, and drawing nearer to him, saw that he was a dark sallow man, with a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows. His post was in as solitary and dismal a place as ever I saw.’ The words underlined make the signalman difficult to imagine because if everything is dark, you would not be able to make out his features. The title How it happened is deliberately allusive to draw the reader in. But, it does immediately introduce suspense as we wonder what it refers to. Whereas the title The Signalman conveys urgency. The characterisation created in How it happened is that the narrator characterises himself as a risk taker, admitting ‘one often does foolish things’ to the reader. This adds to his sense of honesty but also makes us question his decision taking. Also, it provides tension between two ways of behaving which should interest us. Whereas the characterisation created in The Signalman is a bit different because both the characters remain shrouded in mystery and this adds to the sense of curiosity that surrounds the story. We don’t know the protagonist intimately to picture him in our mind. The themes in The Signalman include death, the supernatural and reason. Dickens sometimes uses the convention of quotation marks and sometimes does not. This reflects the contrasts of rationality and supernatural goings on. The narrator tries to give reasons to the visions that the signalman has, yet the final image of the story is of the narrator seeing the image of the signalman and the ghost himself. Dickens cleverly manipulates tension to give the final image the haunting effect. Whereas in How it happened, Arthur Conan Doyle was an apparent rationalist and he believed that after your death, you could continue to live on as a spirit. It was also believed that these spirits could communicate with the living through people known as ‘mediums’. This belief is present in the story where the narrator has survived his death in order to tell us how it happened. This idea is given more credit when we know that the story originally started with the line, ‘This story was told to me by a medium’. The story How it happened was written in 1918 and involves a high-powered automobile. This suggests to us the story must have been written about the present at the time. It is also set in London. At that time, London was still the centre of an empire and this important as the story involves aspects of modernism. Whereas the setting of The Signalman is important as Dickens goes to a lot of effort to make the story seem ghostly and surreal. Dickens was writing this story involving trains because they were the biggest and finest machines at the time and by writing the story to do with railway system he is challenging it. Dickens was also in a famous train crash. The Signalman’s job is a job of life and death. The one in the story has a reputation for being good at the job. The signalman works in a cutting and that the descent into this place is described as if one is descending to the underworld of Greek Mythology. The ‘clammy stone’ and that fact that it becomes ‘oozoer’ and ‘wetter’ helps create this sense. They key aspect of the cutting is its remoteness. The tunnel as well is described as having ‘wet stains’, suggesting that this is a place you would not want to visit. This helps to make an eerie atmosphere and makes it easier for us to imagine spirits and other ghostly aspects. The story is an intensely human story about psychological differences between two people whereas How it happened is about dealing with the physical and spirit world. The narrative voice in How it happened is in the first person and we tend to trust its honesty about the first person. This is because the narrator admits to not remembering everything clearly. ‘I can remember some things upon that evening most distinctly, and others are like some vague, broken dreams. This is what makes it so difficult to tell a connected story.’ This openness suggests we are going to hear the truth. He also blames neither the car nor Perkins for events but himself. ‘I also remember asking Perkins, my chauffeur, how she had gone, and his saying that he thought she was excellent.’ The ways he says, ‘Perkins, my chauffeur’ tell us social standing and class of narrator. The narrator gains a ghostly aspect at the end, when we find out he is dead, and this introduces the idea of Spiritualism that is key to the story. Whereas the narrative voice in The Signalman is also in the first person and we find that until the end of the story we are not sure if we can totally trust it. This is because of the ambiguities in the description of things as well as the lack of information about the narrator himself. But we can tell the visitor is a sceptic. He chooses not to believe that the bell was rung by a ghost without proof. ‘I caught at that. Did it ring your bell yesterday evening when I was here, and you went to the door?’ As readers, we side with the sceptic. The skill of the story is that most people will not agree the bell rang without sound. There is also an additional piece of irony, the sceptic doesn’t believe in the ghost but he says the same things the ghost said like ‘Halloa!’ Although he does tell us that he is ‘a man who had been shut up within narrow limits’ until ‘at last set free’. But it is difficult to understand this because we don’t know if he’s referring metaphorically to something else or talking as if he has spent a long time in prison.

Family structures and roles Essay

We use the word role today meaning a function or part played in life. As a member of a family or a work situation the roles we have in life depend on the situation we are in at the time. I myself am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a care assistant, a student and a friend. As you can see I have many different roles in my everyday living. The main role in my life will be the role within my family unit. This project will look at the roles of members in a family unit and how this has changed over the last 25-50 years. Nuclear family The roles within the nuclear family used to be the father being the main provider and working long hours to support his family and the mother looked after the children and the home. Because men were the ones with the money they took charge inside the family. This was considered the norm but over time changes came about when the wife began to reject the housewife role and demanded a greater say in decision making in the home. They wanted to be considered equal to their husbands. Women began insisting men carried out tasks around the home. This lead to husbands spending leisure time with family instead of spending time with his male companions down the pub after work, it resulted in close emotional bonds with his wife and children, he began to help with household tasks and childcare. With the introduction of the contraceptive pill in the 1960’s women were able to limit the number of children they had and gave them the freedom to obtain paid employment. A marriage now became a partnership with the husband and wife now sharing the routine of everyday life. Attitudes changed in society, it was now considered normal for husbands and wives to both work and share household tasks and childcare. In today’s society it is not unusual for the wife to be the main provider and the husband stay at home to keep house and look after the children. The term househusband is now well known. There are three different roles: Joint roles; where couples work together in the house or garden. Complementary roles: where couples helped one another such as one may paint the other may paper. Segregated roles; where couples have separate jobs to do, e.g. the wife does the ironing the husband mows the lawn. Extended family The role of members in the extended family did not vary greatly from those of the nuclear family. The daughter settled in close proximity to her mother and they saw each other on a daily basis. This gave the grandmother the opportunity of a supporting role in the upbringing and education of the child(ren). They were also if able to give financial support. The extended family members usually took on the role of caring for an elderly parent. A person is now expected to live well into their 70th or 80th year, this means there has been a huge growth in the number of three-generation families. Nursing homes and residential homes are now on the increase in today’s society and the role of looking after a parent in their old age within the family unit has now decreased. The roles within the extended family have varied greatly due to women and men now having equal opportunities and both going out to work. The care of the child while the parents work is more often than not taken on by a family member e.g. grandparent aunt or uncle. Whilst the local extended family takes on the role of childcare it is both the parents responsibility to take on the role of providing for their family. Reconstituted family Reconstituted families became more popular after the divorce reform act of 1971 was introduced making it easier to obtain divorce. The roles within the reconstituted families can be very difficult due to stepparents taking on their new role and children rebelling against the discipline given out by a stepparent. In reconstituted families both the man and the woman take on the role of the living expenses and food costs of the home. Joint financing of the stepchildren’s expenses is less common, it is much more common for the mother to receive financial help from the stepfather in order for her children’s expenses. Both parents along with household tasks usually take on the role of childcare and educator. Members of the extended reconstituted family also take on the childcare role when both parents work. One parent family The role of the single parent can be a difficult one, as they have to take on the role of mother, father, carer, provider and educator. This itself can become a huge task especially if there is no immediate family around to offer support Single parents have become more popular in today’s society for a variety of reasons. There are more women than men who take on the role of the single parent but it is probably a harder role for a man to cope with. A mans role in life is seen to be masculine; they define themselves by their work role. Single fatherhood requires men to look at their priorities around work and family and so their role in life now becomes the sole provider for his child(ren). Partnership arrangements There are many types of families in today’s society including gay and lesbian couples. The public’s opinion of these couples has changed enormously over the last few years. The role of carer and educator within this type of family usually falls on both individuals. Benefit such as income support or working families tax credit is paid to the natural parent of the child and does not include the other persons income, as the law does not recognise them as a couple, therefore the main provider will probably be the natural parent but not in all cases. Cultural influences There are many people from many cultures settled in Britain today. Being of a different cultural background has resulted in prejudice. Prejudice still exists today, and although there is discrimination out there, it is against the law and much harder to prove. Because of so many cultures in our lives we have seen many changes in society, namely the opening of shops, supermarkets, take-away food shops and restaurants. Many years ago it was unusual for families to eat outside their home or the home of a family member, today take-away food and eating out is a part of every day life. We now have new tastes ranging from Chinese to Indian and Italian to Mexican. Why roles have changed Many changes have taken place over the years especially the roles within family life. The introduction of the pill made it easier for women to take control of their bodies resulting in fewer children being born. The influences that have changed the way we think the way we see the family and the roles we play are due to the media, television newspapers and magazines. Legislation has given us equal pay, equal opportunities for all and equal rights regardless of our class gender or culture. Women can now own or rent their own home and are considered equal owners in the case of divorce. Women can now take out loans or credit agreements without their husband or fathers consent. Health care has improved considerably over the years and screenings for women’s problems has been forced into action. Overall life has become better for women today. They now have the same rights as men and are considered an important part of our society today.