File Management in Unix Essay

When it comes to UNIX systems all user data is organized and stored in files. These files are subsequently organized into a management structure comprising of directories and sub-directories. Much like forest and organizational units when it comes to active directory, UNIX also has the directories and sub-directories organized into a tree-like structure that it calls a file system. UNIX also has three basic types of files. When it comes to security files can be secured through UNIX file permissions as well as access control lists (ACLs). One of the most important things to keep in mind when giving permissions is to establish file and directory ownership. Traditional UNIX file permissions can assign ownership to three classes of users that are: user, group, and others. The user class is usually the file or directory owner, and that is the individual that created the file. The owner of a file can decide who has the right to read the file, or have the ability to write the file; which means they can make changes. This is effective if you had an organization that has five thousand employees and you only wanted four thousand nine-hundred ninety people to have permission to view and/or make changes. Another ability that the owner has is to decide if the file is a command or to execute the file. Groups are where you can put a number of users together to establish permissions. It is an effective way to manage policies for users. The others class is all other users who are not the file owner and are not members of the group. An important thing to note is that the owner of a file can usually assign or modify file permissions. Additionally the root account can change a file’s ownership to override system policy. In UNIX there are four different types of file permissions. The first permission is read and it designates which users can open and read the contents of a file only, but cannot make any changes. The second is the write permission, and that designates which users can modify the contents of a file or even delete the file. The next file permission that can be given is the execute permission. This permission designates which users can execute the file if it is a program or shell script. Another thing it does is that those individuals with this permission can also run the program with one of the exec system calls. The denied permission designates which users cannot read, write, or execute file. The types of file permissions apply to regular files, and to special file such as devices, sockets, and named pipes (FIFOs). A great way for any business organization to protect their files effective and to ensure that only people that have the need to access the appropriate is information is to apply the few protective measure that was discussed. You can protect the files in a directory by setting restrictive file permission on that directory.

Exploring Love Through Minding Theory and Triangular Theory of Love Essay

My bestfriend and I have been together for more than a year. However, there are times when we feel that our relationship as friends would never last. But on the deepest part of our hearts, we do hope that our friendship would last until the last day of our lives. Having known the Minding Theory of Love gives me an idea of how we could strengthen our relationship as best of friends. The Minding Theory of relationships claims that a variety of â€Å"expectations and cognitive patterns† are advantageous to satisfying close relationships (Harvey and Omarzu, 2006, p. 99). Using this concept, our knowledge about each other and attribution of each other’s behaviors would be enhanced. As Minding Theory promotes relationships based on â€Å"knowing, accepting and respecting a partner†, it is therefore important to have an ample of knowledge about each other (Harvey and Omarzu, 2006, p. 99). Sharing of information and getting to know each other day by day is one of the best strategies that would be employed to strengthen our friendship. This way, we could make each other know that one is special, treasured and cared for. Such actions could also prevent misunderstanding, miscommunication and break in our friendship. On my part, any collected information about my bestfriend would enable me to know his strengths and weaknesses and his likes and dislikes. Not doing the things that could hurt him and helping him to fight with his weaknesses, I think, could make my relationship with him to become stronger. In addition, appreciating him, trusting him and winning his trust, accepting the whole of him, understanding and respecting him, giving and sharing my resources with him, and providing disclosure in our relationship could also help in strengthening our relationship while pursuing continuity and synergy. Part Two: Exploring Love Through Triangular Theory of Love The Triangular Theory of Love by Sternberg (2006) holds that love could be understood in terms of three components that together could be viewed forming the vertices of triangle: intimacy (top vertex of the triangle); passion (left-hand vertex of the triangle); and decision/commitment (right-hand vertex of the triangle). On top vertex of the triangle, Intimacy in loving relationships refers to feelings of â€Å"closeness, connectedness and bondedness† (Sternberg, 2006, p. 185). It provides the partners the experience of warmth within relationships. On the other left side of the triangle, passion in loving relationship refers to the drives or motivation that lead to physical attraction, romance, sexual consummation and other related events in a relationship. It includes â€Å"a state of intense longing† for the union with a partner (Sternberg, 2006, p. 185). Furthermore, on the left side of the triangle, decision/commitment refers to the decision that one loves a certain other, for short term relationships; and to one’s commitment to maintain love, for long-term relationships. The three components of love interact with each other and determine the kind of love relationship one have for his or her partner. In the absence of the three components, a relationship is identified as non-love. However, if one of the three components exists, it is either an infatuated love or empty love. Infatuated love occurs when the relationship of partners is solely rooted on passion. On the other hand, a relationship that emanates from the decision that one loves another and is committed to that love is known as empty love (Sternberg, 2006). Meanwhile, a combination of two components of love also differentiates one kind of love to the other. A love relationship that is based on intimacy and passion is classified as romantic love while intimacy and decision/commitment are best associated with compassionate love. And lastly, a relationship that is rooted from passion and decision/commitment, on the absence of intimacy, is known as fatuous love. Nevertheless, the complete mixture of the three components of love – intimacy, passion and decision/commitment – is also possible as such kind of love is distinguished as the consummate love (Sternberg, 2006). With regard to the three components mentioned, it is perceived that the type of love relationship that an individual have for his or her partner or object of attention is greatly affected by the kind of attachment that he or she holds for the other. As an individual grows older, he or she would develop various forms of attachment for other people around him or her. For example, a child who is not yet familiar with things around him, only lives according to his instinct or to what is dictated to him by the people around him. The concept of attachment and love is still not innate to the child, thus the type of love he has as of this moment could be identified as non-love. As the child grows, he would develop a feeling of attachment to other people, most probably to his family. Considering Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love, forms of attachment which are likely to sprout on the child’s emotion are intimacy and commitment. Such forms of attachment is associated with compassionate love. Once he becomes a teenager, he might experience passion toward his opposite sex or come into decision of loving another person who is not his relative. On this stage, he is either experiencing infatuated love or empty love. Infatuated love is associated with passion while empty love emanates from a decision to love other person. As he matures, he might develop or experience another kind of love which is either a romantic love or a fatuous love. Romantic love involves intimacy and passion while fatuous love is rooted from passion and decision/commitment. When the partners finally take the bow of marriage, it only means that they have developed their love relationship into a complete form of love, which is consummate love. Consummate love involves intimacy, passion and commitment. Looking at the above example, we could conclude that the closer or stronger a relationship is, more developed feelings of attachment and love is being experienced by an individual. The forms of attachment, therefore, affect the type of love relationship an individual holds for the other person. Moreover, the amount of love and the balance of love also affects the relationship of partners such that the greater the amount of love being shared with a partner, the greater the area of the love triangle and the more stable the love relationship will be. On the other hand, the balance of love determines the shape of the love triangle wherein in a love relationship where partners have balanced their feelings of intimacy, passion and decision/commitment, the shape of the love triangle is also balanced such that an equilateral triangle is identified. A love relationship where intimacy and commitment have equal measurement yet passion is larger than the two is likely to have an obtuse love triangle and so forth. In general, an individual who had early experiences of love is likely to result in consummate love, which is recognized as an almost perfect kind of love, because his or her experiences of love relationships would enable him or her to develop various feelings of attachments, more love minding and better or improved love relationships. References Harvey, J. H. And Omarzu, J. (2006). Minding the close relationship: a theory of relationship enhancement. United States: Cambridge University Press. Sternberg, R. J. (2006). A Duplex Theory of Love. In The New Psychology of Love by Robert J.

ADHD Medication: Should Antihypertensive Drugs Be Used?

Throughout the 1980's, several published research papers suggested that antihypertensive drugs can be used to effectively manage ADHD symptoms, particularly hyperactive behavior and violent tendencies. It was found that anti-hypertensive drugs clonidine and guanfacine can improve the brain's use of dopamine and inhibit the production of too much norepinephrine. Clonidine was also discovered to be better than stimulants at reducing hyperactivity, impulsivity, and mood swings. But are these ADHD medications necessarily safer than stimulant drugs?There are many kinds of drugs that reduce blood pressure through different mechanisms. Some reduce the vigor of heart contractions while others lower the amount of fluid in the blood. The anti-hypertensive medications for ADHD lower blood pressure by affecting the nervous system. To be specific, they prevent the release of norepinephrine, the neurotransmitter that boosts heart rate when the body's fight or flight response gets activated. By inh ibiting norepinephrine's release, the medicine can calm down a hyperactive child.It's very likely that the desirable effects of anti-hypertensive drugs are due to its sedative properties; drowsiness and fatigue are two of the most common side effects of clonidine. Studies also show that these medicines do not improve short attention spans and productivity. To combat this, there was a trend where doctors prescribed anti-hypertensives with the stimulant methylphenidate, found in the popular ADHD drug Ritalin. Unfortunately, this practice resulted in the death of several children.Although a medical investigation was unable to come up with evidence that the deaths were due to these drugs, many prominent doctors started questioning the value of treating ADHD with antihypertensives and methylphenidate, considering that its long-term effects and safety are poorly studied. When used alone, anti-hypertensive medications may have some potentially worrisome side effects. Since these drugs are designed to prevent hypertension, the drug may cause low blood pressure and interferes with heartbeat, which may increase the risk of heart conditions.Its sedative effects can also impair thinking and slow down motor skills, which pose safety problems for ADHD sufferers who drive or operate heavy machinery. On the other hand, anti-hypertensive medications do not have the addictive potential of stimulants and will not cause heart failure by itself. Of all the medications used to treat ADHD, anti-hypertensives seem to have the least dangerous risks. However, these risks are very real and still have the potential to be life-threatening. Consider the pros and cons very carefully before deciding to treat your child's ADHD with proper medicinal remedies.

Case Study on Swindodn plc Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Case Study on Swindodn plc - Research Paper Example Thus, fundamentals of accounting tells us that the cost of an assets includes cash paid outright when the assets is bought plus the amounts that will be paid in the future. Such future amounts also includes interest expenses paid for the use of borrowed money(Brigham, 1985) For there are two ways to get an asset, through investment of cash and through creation of loans or long term debts or bonds. In addition, the cost of the assets includes all other cash outlay that will put such assets into operation. Meaning, the additional cost includes trial runs, hauling or delivery expenses to deliver the drills from the supplier's warehouse to the purchaser's factory or place of business(Ross, 1996). For, the cost of capital here includes the drill and platform cost of 14,000,000 and the 1,000,000 additional costs. Evidently, the cost of amount that the company will have to pay in order to put the long term investment into operation. The prior accelerated cost recovery system had been the product of the economic recovery tax act of 1981. Also, the MACRS was a complete going away from the prior tax depreciation procedures instituted by fundamentals of financial accounting. Meaning, the prior depreciation methods took cognizance of including the salvage value or scrap value of the assets(Ross, 1996). The prior depreciation methods include the straight line method, the sum of the years digits, the double declining method, the 150 percent declining method, the units of production method, the hours of production used method and tools expense methods among others. This prior system that had been closely similar to the financial accounting depreciation methods has now been changed to mechanical computation called MACRS. Distinctly, the MACRS c) The project's Operating Cash Flows (inflows) (15 marks) Cash inflows Year Cash inflows 1 3,500,0000.88503,097,500 2 4,000,000 0.7831 3,132,400 3 6,000,000 0.6931 4,158,600 4 8,000,000 0.6133 4,906,400 5 12,000,000 0.5428 6,513,600 Total for 5 yrs 33,500,00021,808,500 Less depreciation 5 yrs 14,130,000 Cash inflows before tax 7,678,500 Tax 40% 3,071,400 Cash inflows after tax 4,607,100 Add back depreciation14,130,000 Cash inflows 18,737,100The cash inflow for the first year is 3,500,000 multiplied by the present value factor of 1 of .8850 results to cash inflow of 3,097,500. on the second year, the 4,000,000 multiplied by the present value factor of 1 of .78831 results to cash inflow of 3,132,400. on the third year, 6,000,000 multiplied by the present value factor of 1 of .6931 results to cash

How Gambling, Chemical Dependency, and Racial Discrimination Affect Essay

How Gambling, Chemical Dependency, and Racial Discrimination Affect our Urban Community - Essay Example Associated to the gambling menace have been the overindulgence in alcohol and other chemical substance whose effects are wholesomely detrimental not only to the individuals in addiction but also to the state at large (ONDCP, n.d., 1-4). Dependence on chemical influence has been in the rise with efforts to curb the menace in the city raising costs of living. Addiction to chemical and substance abuse in Cleveland have been pointed to raise levels of unemployment and in effect poor standards of living. The resources committed to management of these vices by the authorities have detrimental effects to the economy and the outcome is retarded growth to the economy and failure to offer basic services to the citizens. On the other hand, racial prejudice in Cleveland, Ohio has long history with adverse effects recorded. For instance, the issue of racial discrimination fueled the Cleveland Hough uprising of 1966. In like manner to the vices of gambling as well as the overindulgence in chemical substance, the racial discrimination has been associated with great adverse effects to the healthy living of the urban dwellers in Cleveland and the entire Ohio. Discussion In view of the existence of addiction into gambling, chemical substance use as well as the prejudice in racial orientation within Cleveland, this paper seeks to evaluate the effects resultant to the communities living in the urban areas. In particular, this paper will analyze the social, economic as well as cultural impacts that the three vices have on the communities living within the urban areas in Ohio especially in Cleveland. A significant population of the adults in Ohio suffers gambling addiction and the estimate is projected to keep rising every year with increase in Casinos. The gambling disorders are projected to keep rising in years to come with the probability of many adults developing these disorders at one point in their lives. The social economic effects of the conditions developed in gambling diso rders include high levels of debts among others. These are seen to increase the likelihood of these persons to file bankruptcy protection through research support to link gambling and the personal bankruptcy is yet to be revealed. Study have shown that persons with chronic gambling problems suffer high unemployment rates with research revealing that the addiction counts for 8% of the total unemployment problems for these persons. In matters of crime and incarceration within the urban community, the people with the gambling complications have higher likelihood to have been victims at least once in their lives. People with the gambling disorders have higher chances of exhibiting physical ailments, high divorce rates, high suicidal rates, familial abuse as well as higher divorce rates as compared to the rest of the urban dwellers. However, this has not had any empirical evidence as per se. besides, the gambling problem cost the society highly in matters of caring for the economically u nproductive (dependent) working populations as addicts to gambling. Many resources are also directed towards treatment and counseling such persons which in essence affects development, which would otherwise be realized through such resources. Koo and friends in a report show that Ohio in general has not committed enough resources to the management of the gambling prob

The Marketing Concept and Marketing Communications Essay - 1

The Marketing Concept and Marketing Communications - Essay Example developed an online resume databank so job-hunters and employers can find each other more efficiently; or CarMax which invented a new way to sell used cars because people want more certainly when buying such vehicles, all illustrate a drive to turn a private or social need into a profitable business opportunity (Hansell, 2002; Healey, 2002). Companies must carefully monitor their customers and competitors, continuously improve their value offerings, carefully define the target market and value proposition, and take a long term view to satisfy customers, stockholders, employees, suppliers and channel partners. As a managerial definition marketing has often been described as the â€Å"art of selling products†. But Peter Drucker (1973) a leading management theorist says, â€Å"the aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sell itself. Ideally, marketing should result is a customer who is ready to buy.† The American Marketing Association offers this managerial definition: Marketing (Management) is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges that satisfying individual and organizational goals. The success enjoyed by many firms like General Motors has been a strong influence on the strategic school of management thinking. Not surprisingly, therefore as marketing emerged as a distinct management discipline in the second half of the twentieth century, many academics drew upon strategic management concepts to create the first ever-theoretical models of marketing process. Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Levi Strauss performance could be linked to the adoption of a marketing oriented business philosophy. This approach to management is based on the concept that financial goals can best be achieved by first determining the needs of the customer and then satisfying these by

Are HIV-Infected Persons at a Higher Risk for Certain Types of Cancer Article

Are HIV-Infected Persons at a Higher Risk for Certain Types of Cancer Comparative to the General Population - Article Example Subjects included in the study were 54, 780 HIV- infected persons in the Adult and Adolescent HIV disease project and 6948 HIV positive outpatients. The subjects were subjected to 2 large prospective cohort studies; the Adult and Adolescent Spectrum of HIV Disease (ASD) project and the HIV Outpatient Study (HOPS). 12-month initial medical review was conducted by the researchers to establish the characteristics of the subjects of study. During this period a total of 60,000 HIV infected persons were observed with over 180,000 person-years of observation. The HOPS study was conducted at 9 HIV specialty clinics in 8 US cities with the data being gathered electronically from physician-patient interactions. Of interest to the researchers included; symptoms, diagnoses, CD4 lymphocyte counts, laboratory test results and socio-demographic characteristics. For the HOPS project, investigators conducted follow-up medical reviews after a six month period. With the total study population of 54, 780 HIV-infected persons, median follow-up times were 2.0 and 2.6 years in the ASD and the HOPS projects respectively. Standardized Rate Ratios (SRRs) was used during data analysis to compare cancer incidences within the HIV infected population together with standardized cancer incidence within the general population. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to evaluate the trends of specific cancer types in HIV infected population. The study found that the incidence of a number of non-Aids defining cancer was higher within the HIV infected population comparative to the general population. The combined HOPS and ASD project identified 3550 cancer incidents of which 80% (2842) of the cases were Aids defining and the remaining 20% non-Aids defining cancer types. Subjecting  Subjecting specific cancer cases to Standardized rate ration (SRR), the resu lts were; 42.9, 21.0, 14.7, 7.7, 3.3, 2.6, 2.5, 2.3, and 1.8 for anal, vaginal, Hodgkin lymphoma, liver, lung, melanoma, oropharyn- geal, leukemia, colorectal and renal cancer types respectively.  

Debates and essays Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Debates and essays - Research Paper Example This has created problems with the Palestinians who feel that they were dispossessed. Even in the West Bank, nominally a Palestinian state there is Jewish settlement and brutal military repression. This issue, and the resentment of the Arab states about a Jewish state in the Middle East has led to many wars (1956, 1967, 1973, the Israeli invasions of the Lebanon in 1982, 2006 and the 2009 Israeli invasion of the Gaza). Iran has been a country much longer than Israel. In 1978 a revolution deposed the Shah and started an era of theocracy or religious government. Internally and externally the government has adopted very pro-Islam policies including threats to destroy Israel. Iran has also worked to develop a nuclear program nd nuclear missiles capable of targeting Israel. The Iranian nuclear threat is at the heart of the current diplomatic conflict between Israel and Iran. This is somewhat unfair. Israel has nuclear weapons, although it does not officially admit that it does. Therefore, it is difficult, particularly for Muslims, to understand its stance that Iran cannot have them.2 On the other hand, both Israel and the United States are adamantly opposed to Iran developing nuclear weapons. After meeting U.S. Vice-President Biden on November 8, 2010 a source told Aljazeera, â€Å"The only way to ensure that Iran will not go nuclear is to create a credible threat of military action against it if it doesnt cease its race for a nuclear weapon."3 Israel attacked a suspected Iraqui nuclear reactor in 1981 and a suspected Syrian reactor in 2007. It is suspected of planning to attack Iran in the same way.4 The second key issue is Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Iran strongly opposes this, as do the United States and the United Nations. However, Israel recently ended a 10-month freeze on settlement and has settled 500,000 persons in the illegally occupied West Bank since 1967.5 The

Digital Image Creation for Interactive Media Assignment

Digital Image Creation for Interactive Media - Assignment Example color, gradients, layers, object, brushes, history, actions, size, resolution; layers, e.g. copying, saving, arranging; flattening; colour selection, e.g. foreground, background, color swatch, eyedropper Advanced tools: effects, e.g. layer effects, filters, channels; image adjustments, e.g. brightness and contrast, hue and saturation, color balance, gradients, transparency, invert; masks; paths, e.g. vector paths, converting text to paths; image slicing 2. To publish gave a name to City Guide Monthly type. The Publication Name is not the same as the Name of the Folio. The Folio Name was visible on web client of Folio producer and Name of publication then was visible on the viewer. 4. Selected the (the Link URL found in the menu, and put address in the field of URL previously used). The URL was http://www.bikeworks.org/. I then deselected the Shared Hyperlink Destination. Selected OK. (Ayoub) 5. In the panel of Folio Builder, clicked twice on the Layout of the Landscape to see the document of Enjoy_h.indd. I copied and pasted object of the hyperlink from the vertical file (‘Enjoy-v.indd’) file to the horizontal file (‘Enjoy_h.indd file’) (Ayoub). I then shifted this object to the log of â€Å"D.I.Y. Meet† . 1. In the horizontal file, selected the File > Place, browsed the CityGuide_Folio > Enjoy Article > Folder links, and clicked twice on the image â€Å"cycling_432x234.mpg† (Ayoub) and shifted this movie file in the right most corner. 2. On the panel of the Media (Window > Interactive > Media), select Chose Poster pop-up menu image. Clicked twice on the Folio of City Guide image â€Å"cyclist.jpg† so that Enjoy Article > Links folder† (Ayoub) In conclusion, the creation of this interactive media was a success as the result was what was expected. The various tools employed in graphics design were applied in the right manner to give the intended

Perfect competition and demand curve Essay Example for Free

Perfect competition and demand curve Essay COMPARE(SIMILAR) similarity. The cost functions are the same. [16] Both monopolies and perfectly competitive companies minimize cost and maximize profit. The shutdown decisions are the same. Both are assumed to have perfectly competitive factors markets. compare monopoly and perfect competition is the four characteristics of perfect competition: (1) large number of relatively small firms, (2) identical product, (3) freedom of entry and exit, and (4) perfect knowledge. * Number of Firms: Perfect competition is an industry comprised of a large number of small firms, each of which is a price taker with no market control. Monopoly is an industry comprised of a single firm, which is a price maker with total market control. Phil the zucchini grower is one of gadzillions of zucchini growers. Feet-First Pharmaceutical is the only firm that sells Amblathan-Plus, a drug that cures the deadly (but hypothetical) foot ailment known as amblathanitis. * Available Substitutes: Every firm in a perfectly competitive industry produces exactly the same product as every other firm. An infinite number of perfect substitutes are available. A monopoly firm produces a unique product that has no close substitutes and is unlike any other product. Gadzillions of firms grow zucchinis, each of which is a perfect substitute for the zucchinis grown by Phil the zucchini grower. There are no substitutes for Amblathan-Plus. Feet-First Pharmaceutical is the only supplier. * Resource Mobility: Perfectly competitive firms have complete freedom to enter the industry or exit the industry. There are no barriers. A monopoly firm often achieves monopoly status because the entry of potential competitors is prevented. Anyone can grow zucchinis. All they need is a plot of land and a few seeds. Feet-First Pharmaceutical holds the patents on Amblathan-Plus. No other firm can enter the market. * Information: Each firm in a perfectly competitive industry possesses the same information about prices and production techniques as every other firm. A monopoly firm, in contrast, often has information unknown to others. Everyone knows how to grow zucchinis (or can easily find out how). Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a secret formula used in the production of Amblathan-Plus. This information is not available to anyone else. The consequence of these differences include: * First, the demand curve for a perfectly competitive firm is perfectly elastic and the demand curve for a monopoly firm is THE market demand, which is negatively-sloped according to the law of demand. A perfectly competitive firm is thus a price taker and a monopoly is a price maker. Phil must sell his zucchinis at the going market price. It he does not like the price, then he does not sell zucchinis. Feet-First Pharmaceutical can adjust the price of Amblathan-Plus, either higher or lower, and so doing it can control the quantity sold. * Second, the monopoly firm charges a higher price and produces less output than would be achieved with a perfectly competitive market. In particular, the monopoly price is not equal to marginal cost, which means a monopoly does not efficiently allocate resources. Although Feet-First Pharmaceutical charges several dollars per ounce of Amblathan-Plus, the cost of producing each ounce is substantially less. Phil, in contrast, just about breaks even on each zucchini sold. * Third, while an economic profit is NOT guaranteed for any firm, a monopoly is more likely to receive economic profit than a perfectly competitive firm. In fact, a perfectly competitive firm IS guaranteed to earn nothing but a normal profit in the long run. The same cannot be said for monopoly. The price of zucchinis is so close to the cost of production, Phil never earns much profit. If the price is relatively high, other zucchini producers quickly flood the market, eliminating any profit. In contrast, Feet-First Pharmaceutical has been able to maintain a price above production cost for several years, with a handsome profit perpetually paid to the company shareholders year after year. * Fourth, the positively-sloped marginal cost curve for each perfectly competitive firm is its supply curve. This ensures that the supply curve for a perfectly competitive market is also positively sloped. The marginal cost curve for a monopoly is NOT, repeat NOT, the firms supply curve. There is NO positively-sloped supply curve for a market controlled by a monopoly. A monopoly might produce a larger quantity if the price is higher, in accordance with the law of supply, or it might not. If the price of zucchinis rises, then Phil can afford to grow more. If the price falls, then he is forced to grow less. Marginal cost dictates what Phil can produce and supply. Feet-First Pharmaceutical, in comparison, often sells a larger quantity of Amblathan-Plus as the price falls, because they face decreasing average cost with larger scale production. * The single seller, of course, is a direct contrast to perfect competition, which has a large number of sellers. In fact, perfect competition could be renamed multipoly or manypoly, to contrast it with monopoly. The most important aspect of being a single seller is that the monopoly seller IS the market. The market demand for a good IS the demand for the output produced by the monopoly. This makes monopoly a price maker, rather than a price taker. * A hypothetical example that can be used to illustrate the features of a monopoly is Feet-First Pharmaceutical. This firm owns the patent to Amblathan-Plus, the only cure for the deadly (but hypothetical) foot ailment known as amblathanitis. As the only producer of Amblathan-Plus, Feet-First Pharmaceutical is a monopoly with extensive market control. The market demand for Amblathan-Plus is THE demand for Amblathan-Plus sold by Feet-First Pharmaceutical. * Unique Product * To be the only seller of a product, however, a monopoly must have a unique product. Phil the zucchini grower is the only producer of Phils zucchinis. The problem for Phil, however, is that gadzillions of other firms sell zucchinis that are indistinguishable from those sold by Phil. * Amblathan-Plus, in contrast, is a unique product. There are no close substitutes. Feet-First Pharmaceutical holds the exclusive patent on Amblathan-Plus. No other firm has the legal authority to produced Amblathan-Plus. And even if they had the legal authority, the secret formula for producing Amblathan-Plus is sealed away in an airtight vault deep inside the fortified Feet-First Pharmaceutical headquarters. * Of course, other medications exist that might alleviate some of the symptoms of amblathanitis. One ointment temporarily reduces the swelling. Another powder relieves the redness. But nothing else exists to cure amblathanitis completely. A few highly imperfect substitutes exists. But there are no close substitutes for Amblathan-Plus. Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a monopoly because it is the ONLY seller of a UNIQUE product. * Barriers to Entry and Exit * A monopoly is generally assured of being the ONLY firm in a market because of assorted barriers to entry. Some of the key barriers to entry are: (1) government license or franchise, (2) resource ownership, (3) patents and copyrights, (4) high start-up cost, and (5) decreasing average total cost. * Feet-First Pharmaceutical has a few these barriers working in its favor. It has, for example, an exclusive patent on Amblathan-Plus. The government has decreed that Feet-First Pharmaceutical, and only Feet-First Pharmaceutical, has the legal authority to produce and sell Amblathan-Plus. * Moreover, the secret ingredient used to produce Amblathan-Plus is obtained from a rare, genetically enhanced, eucalyptus tree grown only on a Brazilian plantation owned by Feet-First Pharmaceutical. Even if another firm knew how to produce Amblathan and had the legal authority to do so, they would lack access to this essential ingredient. * A monopoly might also face barriers to exiting a market. If government deems that the product provided by the monopoly is essential for well-being of the public, then the monopoly might be prevented from leaving the market. Feet-First Pharmaceutical, for example, cannot simply cease the production of Amblathan-Plus. It is essential to the health and welfare of the public. * This barrier to exit is most often applied to public utilities, such as electricity companies, natural gas distribution companies, local telephone companies, and garbage collection companies. These are often deemed essential services that cannot be discontinued without permission from a government regulation authority. * Specialized Information * Monopoly is commonly characterized by control of information or production technology not available to others. This specialized information often comes in the form of legally-established patents, copyrights, or trademarks. While these create legal barriers to entry they also indicate that information is not perfectly shared by all. The ATT telephone monopoly of the late 1800s and early 1900s was largely due to the telephone patent. Pharmaceutical companies, like the hypothetical Feet-First Pharmaceutical, regularly monopolize the market for a specific drug by virtue of a patent. * In addition, a monopoly firm might know something or have a piece of information that is not available to others. This something may or may not be patented or copyrighted. It could be a secret recipe or formula. Perhaps it is a unique method of production. * One example of specialized information is the special, secret formula for producing Amblathan-Plus that is sealed away in an airtight vault deep inside the fortified Feet-First Pharmaceutical headquarters. No one else has this information. CONTRAST Arguably, perfect competition has the advantage of promoting consumer sovereignty, in the sense that the goods and services produced are those that consumers have voted for when spending the pounds in their pockets. When consumer sovereignty exists, the ‘consumer is king’. (However, the extent to which consumer choice exists in a perfectly competitive world would be extremely limited. All the firms in a particular market would sell identical goods at an identical price, namely the ruling market price. ) Firms and industries that produce goods other than those for which consumers are prepared to pay, do not survive in perfect competition. By contrast, a monopoly may enjoy producer sovereignty. The goods and services available for consumers to buy are determined by the monopolist rather than by consumer preferences expressed in the market place. Even if producer sovereignty is not exercised on a ‘take-it-or-leave-it basis’ by a monopoly, the monopolist may still possess sufficient market power to manipulate consumer wants through such marketing devices as persuasive advertising. In these situations, the ‘producer is king In contrast to perfect competition — and once again assuming an absence of economies of scale — monopoly equilibrium is both productively and allocatively inefficient. Figure 6. 6 shows that at the profit-maximising level of output Q1, the monopolist’s average costs are above the minimum level and that P MC. Thus, compared to perfect competition, a monopoly produces too low an output which it sells at too high a price. The absence of competitive pressures, which in perfect competition serve to eliminate supernormal profit, mean that a monopoly is also likely to be X-inefficient, incurring average costs at a point such as X which is above the average cost curve. A monopoly may be able to survive, perfectly happily and enjoying an ‘easy life’, incurring unnecessary production costs and making satisfactory rather than maximum profits. This is because barriers to entry protect monopolies. As a result, the absence or weakness of competitive forces means there is no mechanism in monopoly to eliminate organisational slack. 62 Marginal revenue and price In a perfectly competitive market price equals marginal revenue. In a monopolistic market marginal revenue is less than price. [17] * Product differentiation: There is zero product differentiation in a perfectly competitive market. Every product is perfectly homogeneous and a perfect substitute for any other. With a monopoly, there is great to absolute product differentiation in the sense that there is no available substitute for a monopolized good. The monopolist is the sole supplier of the good in question. [18] A customer either buys from the monopolizing entity on its terms or does without. * Number of competitors: PC markets are populated by an infinite number of buyers and sellers. Monopoly involves a single seller. [18] * Barriers to Entry Barriers to entry are factors and circumstances that prevent entry into market by would-be competitors and limit new companies from operating and expanding within the market. PC markets have free entry and exit. There are no barriers to entry, exit or competition. Monopolies have relatively high barriers to entry. The barriers must be strong enough to prevent or discourage any potential competitor from entering the market. * Elasticity of Demand The price elasticity of demand is the percentage change of demand caused by a one percent change of relative price. A successful monopoly would have a relatively inelastic demand curve. A low coefficient of elasticity is indicative of effective barriers to entry. A PC company has a perfectly elastic demand curve. The coefficient of elasticity for a perfectly competitive demand curve is infinite. * Excess Profits- Excess or positive profits are profit more than the normal expected return on investment. A PC company can make excess profits in the short term but excess profits attract competitors which can enter the market freely and decrease prices, eventually reducing excess profits to zero. [19] A monopoly can preserve excess profits because barriers to entry prevent competitors from entering the market. [20] * Profit Maximization A PC company maximizes profits by producing such that price equals marginal costs. A monopoly maximises profits by producing where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. [21] The rules are not equivalent. The demand curve for a PC company is perfectly elastic flat. The demand curve is identical to the average revenue curve and the price line. Since the average revenue curve is constant the marginal revenue curve is also constant and equals the demand curve, Average revenue is the same as price (AR = TR/Q = P x Q/Q = P). Thus the price line is also identical to the demand curve. In sum, D = AR = MR = P. * P-Max quantity, price and profit If a monopolist obtains control of a formerly perfectly competitive industry, the monopolist would increase prices, reduce production, and realise positive economic profits. [22] * Supply Curve in a perfectly competitive market there is a well defined supply function with a one to one relationship between price and quantity supplied. [23] In a monopolistic market no such supply relationship exists. A monopolist cannot trace a short term supply curve because for a given price there is not a unique quantity supplied. As Pindyck and Rubenfeld note a change in demand can lead to changes in prices with no change in output, changes in output with no change in price or both. [24] Monopolies produce where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. For a specific demand curve the supply curve would be the price/quantity combination at the point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. If the demand curve shifted the marginal revenue curve would shift as well and a new equilibrium and supply point would be established. The locus of these points would not be a supply curve in any conventional sense. [25][26] The most significant distinction between a PC company and a monopoly is that the monopoly has a downward-sloping demand curve rather than the perceived perfectly elastic curve of the PC company. [27] Practically all the variations above mentioned relate to this fact. If there is a downward-sloping demand curve then by necessity there is a distinct marginal revenue curve. The implications of this fact are best made manifest with a linear demand curve. Assume that the inverse demand curve is of the form x = a by. Then the total revenue curve is TR = ay by2 and the marginal revenue curve is thus MR = a 2by. From this several things are evident. First the marginal revenue curve has the same y intercept as the inverse demand curve. Second the slope of the marginal revenue curve is twice that of the inverse demand curve. Third the x intercept of the marginal revenue curve is half that of the inverse demand curve. What is not quite so evident is that the marginal revenue curve is below the inverse demand curve at all points. [27] Since all companies maximise profits by equating MR and MC it must be the case that at the profit maximizing quantity MR and MC are less than price which further implies that a monopoly produces less quantity at a higher price than if the market were perfectly competitive. The fact that a monopoly has a downward-sloping demand curve means that the relationship between total revenue and output for a monopoly is much different than that of competitive companies. [28] Total revenue equals price times quantity. A competitive company has a perfectly elastic demand curve meaning that total revenue is proportional to output. [29] Thus the total revenue curve for a competitive company is a ray with a slope equal to the market price. [29] A competitive company can sell all the output it desires at the market price. For a monopoly to increase sales it must reduce price. Thus the total revenue curve for a monopoly is a parabola that begins at the origin and reaches a maximum value then continuously decreases until total revenue is again zero. [30] Total revenue has its maximum value when the slope of the total revenue function is zero. The slope of the total revenue function is marginal revenue. So the revenue maximizing quantity and price occur when MR = 0. For example assume that the monopoly’s demand function is P = 50 2Q. The total revenue function would be TR = 50Q 2Q2 and marginal revenue would be 50 4Q. Setting marginal revenue equal to zero we have 1. 50 4Q = 0 2. -4Q = -50 3. Q = 12. 5 So the revenue maximizing quantity for the monopoly is 12. 5 units and the revenue maximizing price is 25. A company with a monopoly does not experience price pressure from competitors, although it may experience pricing pressure from potential competition. If a company increases prices too much, then others may enter the market if they are able to provide the same good, or a substitute, at a lesser price. [31] The idea that monopolies in markets with easy entry need not be regulated against is known as the revolution in monopoly theory. [32] A monopolist can extract only one premium,[clarification needed] and getting into complementary markets does not pay. That is, the total profits a monopolist could earn if it sought to leverage its monopoly in one market by monopolizing a complementary market are equal to the extra profits it could earn anyway by charging more for the monopoly product itself. However, the one monopoly profit theorem is not true if customers in the monopoly good are stranded or poorly informed, or if the tied good has high fixed costs. A pure monopoly has the same economic rationality of perfectly competitive companies, i.e. to optimise a profit function given some constraints. By the assumptions of increasing marginal costs, exogenous inputs prices, and control concentrated on a single agent or entrepreneur, the optimal decision is to equate the marginal cost and marginal revenue of production. Nonetheless, a pure monopoly can -unlike a competitive company- alter the market price for its own convenience: a decrease of production results in a higher price. In the economics jargon, it is said that pure monopolies have a downward-sloping demand. An important consequence of such behaviour is worth noticing: typically a monopoly selects a higher price and lesser quantity of output than a price-taking company; again, less is available at a higher price. [33] Sources of monopoly power Monopolies derive their market power from barriers to entry – circumstances that prevent or greatly impede a potential competitors ability to compete in a market. There are three major types of barriers to entry; economic, legal and deliberate. [6] * Economic barriers: Economic barriers include economies of scale, capital requirements, cost advantages and technological superiority. [7] Economies of scale: Monopolies are characterised by decreasing costs for a relatively large range of production. [8] Decreasing costs coupled with large initial costs give monopolies an advantage over would-be competitors. Monopolies are often in a position to reduce prices below a new entrants operating costs and thereby prevent them from continuing to compete. [8] Furthermore, the size of the industry relative to the minimum efficient scale may limit the number of companies that can effectively compete within the industry. If for example the industry is large enough to support one company of minimum efficient scale then other companies entering the industry will operate at a size that is less than MES, meaning that these companies cannot produce at an average cost that is competitive with the dominant company. Finally, if long-term average cost is constantly decreasing, the least cost method to provide a good or service is by a single company. [9] Capital requirements: Production processes that require large investments of capital, or large research and development costs or substantial sunk costs limit the number of companies in an industry. [10] Large fixed costs also make it difficult for a small company to enter an industry and expand. [11] Technological superiority: A monopoly may be better able to acquire, integrate and use the best possible technology in producing its goods while entrants do not have the size or finances to use the best available technology. [8] One large company can sometimes produce goods cheaper than several small companies. [12] No substitute goods: A monopoly sells a good for which there is no close substitute. The absence of substitutes makes the demand for the good relatively inelastic enabling monopolies to extract positive profits. Control of natural resources: A prime source of monopoly power is the control of resources that are critical to the production of a final good. Network externalities: The use of a product by a person can affect the value of that product to other people. This is the network effect. There is a direct relationship between the proportion of people using a product and the demand for that product. In other words the more people who are using a product the greater the probability of any individual starting to use the product. This effect accounts for fads and fashion trends. [13] It also can play a crucial role in the development or acquisition of market power. The most famous current example is the market dominance of the Microsoft operating system in personal computers. * Legal barriers: Legal rights can provide opportunity to monopolise the market of a good. Intellectual property rights, including patents and copyrights, give a monopolist exclusive control of the production and selling of certain goods. Property rights may give a company exclusive control of the materials necessary to produce a good. * Deliberate actions: A company wanting to monopolise a market may engage in various types of deliberate action to exclude competitors or eliminate competition. Such actions include collusion, lobbying governmental authorities, and force (see anti-competitive practices). In addition to barriers to entry and competition, barriers to exit may be a source of market power. Barriers to exit are market conditions that make it difficult or expensive for a company to end its involvement with a market. Great liquidation costs are a primary barrier for exiting. [14] Market exit and shutdown are separate events. The decision whether to shut down or operate is not affected by exit barriers. A company will shut down if price falls below minimum average variable costs. Monopoly versus competitive markets While monopoly and perfect competition mark the extremes of market structures[15] there is some similarity. The cost functions are the same. [16] Both monopolies and perfectly competitive companies minimize cost and maximize profit. The shutdown decisions are the same. Both are assumed to have perfectly competitive factors markets. There are distinctions, some of the more important of which are as follows: * Marginal revenue and price In a perfectly competitive market price equals marginal revenue. In a monopolistic market marginal revenue is less than price. [17] * Product differentiation: There is zero product differentiation in a perfectly competitive market. Every product is perfectly homogeneous and a perfect substitute for any other. With a monopoly, there is great to absolute product differentiation in the sense that there is no available substitute for a monopolized good. The monopolist is the sole supplier of the good in question. [18] A customer either buys from the monopolizing entity on its terms or does without. * Number of competitors: PC markets are populated by an infinite number of buyers and sellers. Monopoly involves a single seller. [18] * Barriers to Entry Barriers to entry are factors and circumstances that prevent entry into market by would-be competitors and limit new companies from operating and expanding within the market. PC markets have free entry and exit. There are no barriers to entry, exit or competition. Monopolies have relatively high barriers to entry. The barriers must be strong enough to prevent or discourage any potential competitor from entering the market. * Elasticity of Demand The price elasticity of demand is the percentage change of demand caused by a one percent change of relative price. A successful monopoly would have a relatively inelastic demand curve. A low coefficient of elasticity is indicative of effective barriers to entry. A PC company has a perfectly elastic demand curve. The coefficient of elasticity for a perfectly competitive demand curve is infinite. * Excess Profits- Excess or positive profits are profit more than the normal expected return on investment. A PC company can make excess profits in the short term but excess profits attract competitors which can enter the market freely and decrease prices, eventually reducing excess profits to zero. [19] A monopoly can preserve excess profits because barriers to entry prevent competitors from entering the market. [20] * Profit Maximization A PC company maximizes profits by producing such that price equals marginal costs. A monopoly maximises profits by producing where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. [21] The rules are not equivalent. The demand curve for a PC company is perfectly elastic flat. The demand curve is identical to the average revenue curve and the price line. Since the average revenue curve is constant the marginal revenue curve is also constant and equals the demand curve, Average revenue is the same as price (AR = TR/Q = P x Q/Q = P). Thus the price line is also identical to the demand curve. In sum, D = AR = MR = P. * P-Max quantity, price and profit If a monopolist obtains control of a formerly perfectly competitive industry, the monopolist would increase prices, reduce production, and realise positive economic profits. [22] * Supply Curve in a perfectly competitive market there is a well defined supply function with a one to one relationship between price and quantity supplied. [23] In a monopolistic market no such supply relationship exists. A monopolist cannot trace a short term supply curve because for a given price there is not a unique quantity supplied. As Pindyck and Rubenfeld note a change in demand can lead to changes in prices with no change in output, changes in output with no change in price or both. [24] Monopolies produce where marginal revenue equals marginal costs. For a specific demand curve the supply curve would be the price/quantity combination at the point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. If the demand curve shifted the marginal revenue curve would shift as well and a new equilibrium and supply point would be established. The locus of these points would not be a supply curve in any conventional sense. [25][26] The most significant distinction between a PC company and a monopoly is that the monopoly has a downward-sloping demand curve rather than the perceived perfectly elastic curve of the PC company. [27] Practically all the variations above mentioned relate to this fact. If there is a downward-sloping demand curve then by necessity there is a distinct marginal revenue curve. The implications of this fact are best made manifest with a linear demand curve. Assume that the inverse demand curve is of the form x = a by. Then the total revenue curve is TR = ay by2 and the marginal revenue curve is thus MR = a 2by. From this several things are evident. First the marginal revenue curve has the same y intercept as the inverse demand curve. Second the slope of the marginal revenue curve is twice that of the inverse demand curve. Third the x intercept of the marginal revenue curve is half that of the inverse demand curve. What is not quite so evident is that the marginal revenue curve is below the inverse demand curve at all points. [27] Since all companies maximise profits by equating MR and MC it must be the case that at the profit maximizing quantity MR and MC are less than price which further implies that a monopoly produces less quantity at a higher price than if the market were perfectly competitive. The fact that a monopoly has a downward-sloping demand curve means that the relationship between total revenue and output for a monopoly is much different than that of competitive companies. [28] Total revenue equals price times quantity. A competitive company has a perfectly elastic demand curve meaning that total revenue is proportional to output. [29] Thus the total revenue curve for a competitive company is a ray with a slope equal to the market price. [29] A competitive company can sell all the output it desires at the market price. For a monopoly to increase sales it must reduce price. Thus the total revenue curve for a monopoly is a parabola that begins at the origin and reaches a maximum value then continuously decreases until total revenue is again zero. [30] Total revenue has its maximum value when the slope of the total revenue function is zero. The slope of the total revenue function is marginal revenue. So the revenue maximizing quantity and price occur when MR = 0. For example assume that the monopoly’s demand function is P = 50 2Q. The total revenue function would be TR = 50Q 2Q2 and marginal revenue would be 50 4Q. Setting marginal revenue equal to zero we have 1. 50 4Q = 0 2. -4Q = -50 3. Q = 12. 5 So the revenue maximizing quantity for the monopoly is 12. 5 units and the revenue maximizing price is 25. A company with a monopoly does not experience price pressure from competitors, although it may experience pricing pressure from potential competition. If a company increases prices too much, then others may enter the market if they are able to provide the same good, or a substitute, at a lesser price. [31] The idea that monopolies in markets with easy entry need not be regulated against is known as the revolution in monopoly theory. [32] A monopolist can extract only one premium,[clarification needed] and getting into complementary markets does not pay. That is, the total profits a monopolist could earn if it sought to leverage its monopoly in one market by monopolizing a complementary market are equal to the extra profits it could earn anyway by charging more for the monopoly product itself. However, the one monopoly profit theorem is not true if customers in the monopoly good are stranded or poorly informed, or if the tied good has high fixed costs. A pure monopoly has the same economic rationality of perfectly competitive companies, i. e. to optimise a profit function given some constraints. By the assumptions of increasing marginal costs, exogenous inputs prices, and control concentrated on a single agent or entrepreneur, the optimal decision is to equate the marginal cost and marginal revenue of production.

ASBO Order for Environmental Health Legislation

ASBO Order for Environmental Health Legislation Write a cabinet paper on the potential for ASBOs to contribute to the effective enforcement of legislation enforced by environmental health departments. The following are the arguments in favour of ASBO’s contributing or having the potential to contribute to the effective enforcement of the legislation carried out by environmental health departments across the country. The Prime Minister has already expressed in public his determination to reduce and eliminate anti-social behaviour and allow the general public to feel safer and have the problems associated with anti-social behaviour reduced. ASBO’s have already proved that they have potential in making Britain a cleaner and safer place to live in. Between their introduction from 1 April 1999 and the 31 March 2004, 2455 ASBO’s were approved and enforced showing the determination of the police, environmental health departments and social services amongst others to reducing the problems associated with anti-social behaviour.[1] ASBO’s are an alternative sanction available to both environmental health departments and ultimately the police to ensure that legislation is enforced and public order is maintained. Environmental health departments have to meet requirements such as reducing the level of graffiti, vandalism and litter or tackling noise nuisance, all of which can be considered anti-social behaviour and can lead to the involvement of the police and the courts. Such behaviour either directly effects law abiding people, intimidates them or blights their lives with fear. ASBO’s have the potential and the intention of protecting the property, the environment and the personal safety of the majority of law-abiding people. They are intended to remove the anti-social behaviour carried out by the law breaking minorities that ruin the lives of the most vulnerable and cause social, economic and environmental damage to local communities.[2] Tackling anti-social behaviour through the use of ASBO’s has the potential to make people feel safer as well as improving the physical environment they live in. The work of environmental health departments is closely linked with not only the police but also social services and local education authorities as there are strong connections between truancy and youths being involved in anti-social behaviour and crime. Close co-operation between these agencies increases the potential of ASBO’s to decrease crime, people’s fear of crime whilst making Britain a better place to live in. This government should take pride in been able to reduce people’s fear of being the victims of crime. The British crime survey has shown a fall from 40% in 1995 to 26% in 2004 of people expecting to be the victims of crime and anti-social behaviour or believing that they faced such a risk. If ASBO’s allow environmental health departments and other agencies to reduce the amount of graffiti and vandalism visible and counter the presence of gangs that fear of crime should diminish further as should the risk.[3] ASBO’s offer the potential to break up the gangs that break the law through acts of vandalism, graffiti and other forms of anti-social behaviour by banning individuals from the estates or areas they cause damage in. Breaking up gangs would mean that environmental health departments could deal with individuals rather than more intimidating gangs. ASBO’s can allow agencies such as environmental health departments and the police to control, punish or rehabilitate minor offenders whilst avoiding imprisonment were possible. However ASBO’s it should be stressed are not a soft option and the breaking of their conditions should result in further appropriate action been taken to curb anti-social behaviour including ultimately imprisonment.[4] Through the use of ASBO’s environment health departments have the potential to tackle persistent offenders without spending so much time preparing prosecutions whilst still being to prosecute people that breach their ASBO’s. While any ASBO is still in operation the onus remains on environmental health departments, social services and the police to monitor the behaviour of those subject to ASBO’s. ASBO’s can be used as part of the government’s crime reduction targets. [5] Central government can offer incentives for local authorities to tackle anti-social behaviour and has already allocated extra resources to the areas worst affected by anti-social behaviour. The success of environmental health departments in tackling anti-social behaviour will be measured with little extra cost through the Comprehensive Performance Assessment process already carried out by the Audit Commission that monitors local authorities provision of services. The public will be able to find out which local authorities are the most effective and will be able to press the less effective councils into taking further action.[6] ASBO’s potentially allow environmental health departments to fulfil their legislative obligations by diffusing and stopping anti-social behaviour more efficiently and with greater speed. The removal of persistent offenders or gang ringleaders will show the determination and effectiveness of environmental health department to enforce the law properly and completely. ASBO’s have the potential to reduce anti-social behaviour whilst the involvement of environmental health departments and other agencies could allow the police to switch their resources to tackling more serious crimes. Anti-social behaviour may not always be considered to be major crime yet it can lead to it hence the importance of ASBO’s in reducing the problem. Reducing anti-social behaviour will not only enhance the public’s quality of life it would prove cost effective in terms of lower expenditure in cleaning up graffiti and property damage as well as fewer people in overcrowded prisons.[7] The availability of ASBO’s offers the potential for environmental health departments to clean up areas of environmental damage or anti-social behaviour that impacts on the environment such as noise pollution, juvenile crime and vandalism. Other areas in which ASB0’s have the potential to allow environmental health departments fulfil their statuary requirements include countering anti-social behaviour caused by drinking and to a lesser extent begging in public. There are certainly strong links between heavy drinking (and drug taking) with anti-social or criminal behaviour.[8] Some crimes such as burglary, car crime and robbery have fallen significantly in 2004-05 by 20%, 17% and 12% respectively. However the potential of ASBO’s to work effectively for environmental health departments, the police and other agencies would increase with measures against binge drinking. Binge drinking is directly connected to most violent crime and anti-social behaviour. ASBO’s are part of the solution to environmental health departments meeting their statutory requirements yet will work best in combination with other strategies and through co-operation with other agencies.[9] Bibliography Coxall B, Robins L Leach R (2003) Contemporary British Politics 4th edition, Palgrave, London Dodd T, Nicholas S, Povey D and Walker A (2004) Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Crime in England and Wales 2003/04, Crown Copyright, London Home Office (2005) The Government Reply to the Fifth Report from the Home Affairs Committee Session 2004/05 HC80 Anti-Social behaviour, Crown Copyright, London Jones M and Lowe R (2002) From Beveridge to Blair – The first fifty years of Britain’s Welfare State 1948-98, Manchester University Press Manchester and New York. Slack, R ‘Drunken yobs blamed for record violent crimes, Daily Mail 21st July 2005 www.homeoffice.gov.uk Crime Policing / Anti-Social Behaviour Orders Legally Binding Undertaking I (Barry Vale) undertake that in line with my contractual obligations this work is completely original, and has not been copied from any website or any other source, either in whole or in part. By submitting this work I understand that if my work is found to be plagiarised I will not only forfeit my fee but also be subject to legal proceedings in order to recover damages for loss of profit and damage to business reputation. Moreover, I understand that I may be subject to legal proceedings from any third parties, such as the end clients and copyright holders of the original work who may have had their rights infringed or suffered loss as a result of my actions. I also understand that in addition I will be liable to a  £100/$200 administration charge and that I may be liable for legal costs. I understand that this e-mail and the work I am submitting may be used as evidence against me if I breach this undertaking. Please take this to constitute my electronic signature (Barry Vale) [1] www.homeoffice.gov.uk [2] Home Office (2005) p.3 [3] Dodd, Nicholas, Povey Walker (2004) p. 18 [4] Home Office (2005) p. 6 [5] Coxall, Robins Leach, (2003), p.275 [6] Home Office (2005) p.1 [7] Coxall, Robins Leach (2003) p. 276 [8] Jones and Lowe (2002) p. 189 [9] Slack, Daily Mail 21st July 2005

George Street Bridge Project Charter

George Street Bridge Project Charter This Project Charter outlines the budget, schedule, scope, milestones and delivery strategy for design construction of the George Street Bridge, Newport. This charter also includes the major risks and risk mitigation strategies associated with this construction Project. Once the project charter is complete, the project team will finalize a detailed construction schedule. And after the approval is granted by the Council, the project will be guided by this Charter. Background and problem statement This project focuses on the construction of a reliable and safe street bridge in Newport. It has been observed that during peak hours in the city, the high speed traffic makes it very unsafe for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the street. Thus the construction of a crossover bridge with bike lanes and trails has been suggested that can improve the road safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Scope The scope of this Project includes: Construction of a new bridge of modern standards; 2 travel lanes; Bike lanes in both directions on the bridge; Trails for both pedestrians and cyclists Separate pedestrian pathway on the north side of the bridge; Traffic Signal intersection at Harbor Road; Links to existing and future pathways and trails; Improved approach roads to the bridge; Improved safety and accessibility; Relocations of utilities; Decommissioning of existing construction on the area where the bridge is to be constructed; Landscaping; and Public art. This project aims at providing alternative transportation amenities. This bridge will ensure that the pedestrians and cyclists can safely pass through the high speed traffic. This bridge will improve the city infrastructure and will lead to orderly traffic movement. Objectives This bridge will be a sustainable bridge with improved cyclist and pedestrian amenities. The objective of this project is to build a bridge that will provide a transportation link on the George Street. The bridge will be constructed following all the construction guidelines of Newport city. The bridge will link existing and future trails and pathways. This bridge follows all the laid down policies of development and transportation, and will support the economic vitality of the downtown. This project will create jobs during the construction period and the traffic to and from the city will be minimally impacted. Project Team The Project Team will consist of the George Street Bridge Project Director, the Project Team, which will be supported by professional expertise and key staff in areas of finance, engineering and procurement. Also experts form audit, legal, communications, risk management, and from other areas as required will be assisting the project management team. The project team will also include professional engineering support from the chief consultant. The team will have support from sub-consultants which include bridge architecture, structural, quantity survey, geotechnical, mechanical electrical during various phases of the project. The chief consultant Group has expertise and experience in constructing bridges. In addition to the above, the chief consulting team can provide recommendations related to design-assist procurement as well as contractor procurement. Issues 1. Numerous stakeholders with diverse interests are involved. 2. Project delay would impact many citizens of Newport city 3. Since the global economy is recovering, a large number of pending projects might start in same timeframe as George Street project. Risks and risk mitigation Construction projects are characterized by the presence of many risks. Some of these can be directly controlled by the project management team, while there are others that are linked to the market. Some of these risks are major ones that can have a significant impact on the project budget or project schedule. The major risks and the risk mitigation technique to control risk are as follows: Steel Prices: Steel represents a significant portion (approximately 45%) of the bridge material and cost. Steel prices are affected by global economic drivers. This can be mitigated by securing steel unit prices by signing contracts with the suppliers well in advance or placing them on the design assist team. Market conditions for construction: Market conditions for construction may change. This is again linked to the market and cannot be controlled by the project management team. This risk can be mitigated by securing a general contractor as early as possible to work with the design-assist team Competing projects: Competing projects draw resources and contractor interest away from the ongoing project. This can again be checked by securing a contractor on the design team. Actual site conditions vary On many occasions the actual site conditions vary significantly from what has been expected. To control this risk additional geotechnical investigation work can be carried out. Utility relocation Significant delay in utility relocations takes place. Project managers can work towards having more cooperation and coordination with external utilities providers. Other risks could be lengthy gap between construction disciplines or conflicting instructions from clients staff to contractor. These risks can be mitigated by having better communication and coordination or with the use of appropriate cost control measures and project management techniques. Change Management Any Significant changes in the scope of the project will be approved by the Management Committee. These changes could be changes in the items list provided under Scope. But these changes will be well within the contingencies provided in the project budget. If any of the changes appear to fundamentally alter the mandate then they will be presented to Council and the management committee for final approval. These could be changes in the deliverables listed under Scope. The authority to make critical decisions will be with the George Street Bridge Project Director. Quality Assurance The responsibility of overall design of the bridge will vest with the prime consultant for the project. The consultant will be responsible for the design integrity of various works undertaken under the George Street Bridge contract. The chief contractor, after appointment, will be responsible for complying with the design as shown in the design documents prepared by the consultant Group. The quality assurance program will aim at delivering regular reports to the city project team during fabrication and construction stages in a pre decided format. Budget: The estimate cost of designing and constructing the George Street Bridge is estimated at $20 Million. This estimate assumes that there will be no significant change in the current economic conditions and the steel prices will not increase significantly. The budget also assumes that quality labour will be available throughout the construction of the bridge. This budget includes a contingency of 10% as recommended by the chief design consultant which was reviewed by an associate consultant. The construction of this bridge involves a significant quantity of steel, representing approximately 45% of the current estimate as mentioned earlier. Cost control measures will be employed throughout the project lifecycle to monitor and track the budget. Funding for the Project is as follows: $10 million City borrowing $3 million Reprioritization of City capital projects and other internal sources $7 million federal Contribution Agreement TOTAL $20 Million Timeline: The timeline for this construction project considers the time required for steel manufacturing and fabrication; erection and testing; and construction of the piers, detailed design; bridge assembly abutments and approaches. The project manager aims to complete the project by no later than March 31, 2015. Project constraints The following are the project constraints that can impact the completion of this Project: 1. Regulatory requirements 2. Disbursement of utilities 3. Construction economy 4. Availability of resources and construction materials 5. Unstable global steel market Most of these are not in direct control of the Project Team. Assumptions The Project completion assumes the following: 1. The Economic situation remains almost stable 2. Steel prices will not increase dramatically 3. There will be very few changes in the ground conditions 4. Coordination with fisheries windows to minimize delay construction 5. Steel materials and fabrication resources are available 6. Utilities will be available on time and will be well within budget 7. Qualified Engineers and Contractors are easily available 8. All the decisions are well informed and are as per the schedule Management Accountability Approach The sustainability of a project depends on the sustainability of its stakeholder relationships. There are many stakeholders having different proportions of stake in a project. Stakeholder management is essential for a successful project. An active reporting system will be followed to keep the stakeholders involved and updated. Progress Reporting A quarterly summary report will be provided to the Council and the stakeholders. Informal reporting will also be done through weekly meetings of the project team members and/or their representatives. Active use of internet will be done to keep both the public and the staff informed of developments of the project. Arrangements will be made to update regular reports on the project website. The project will be a success if the project manager is able to complete the project on time with enhanced safety and reliability. The bridge will be a model for other construction projects taken up in the city of Newport. The project will be successful if it achieves its objective of improving the crossing experience for pedestrians and cyclists.

Animal Farm: Comparing The Book To The Movie :: Animal Farm Essays

The novel†¦no†¦no†¦it’s not really a novel, it’s more of a fable. The fable by George Orwell†¦no†¦no†¦George Orwell isn’t his real name. His real name is Eric Blair. He wrote under a pen name to save him and his family embarrassment from earlier books he had written. The fable, by Eric Blair is a cute story how animals take over a farm. Well, actually the farm and the animals are just symbols. The fable by Eric Blair is political satire on the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 and the events that followed. The whole story is filled with symbols and irony. All of the characters in the story are symbols of real life people. The pigs as a group represent the Bolsheviks. Old Major represents Karl Marx, the founder of Marxism. Both speak out on how they feel. Napoleon represents Lenin in the beginning of the story, but as he gains more power, he becomes a Joseph Stalin. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky who was also banished from his land. Squealer represents propaganda and is a Party Hawk. Boxer and Benjamin represent the heroic working masses of Russia. They do most of the work but get none of the credit. The dogs represent the KGB, or the secret police. They take orders from Napoleon and do as he says, right or wrong. Moses represents the Orthodox Church as his name alone makes you think of religion. Mr. Jones represents a filthy capitalist. He is only concerned about money for himself. The book goes greater detail than the video. The book explains the characters better and gives more exa mples of their symbolism. The point of view in which the story is told in is ironic. The point of view is told from the lowly animals prospective. An example is when Boxer is â€Å"treated at a hospital.† Benjamin realizes that the truck is for horse slaughtering but Squealer convices Benjamin and the rest of the animals that hospital just didn’t have time to re-paint the truck. A couple of paragraphs later, the pigs hold a party in honor of Boxer and suddenly have acquired money to buy whiskey. Once again, the book goes into greater detail and has more examples of irony. A The book and movie are surprisingly not that far apart on many levels, although there are some venial differences.

Asserting Masculinity in the Cultural Context of Camp :: Sociology Essays Research Papers

Asserting Masculinity in the Cultural Context of Camp Summer camp is an important annual experience in many children’s lives. Some kids choose to continue with camp long past their camper years and become counselors. A program, the Camper in Leadership Training (CILT) program, exists within the camp structure as a leadership program designed to educate kids, aged fifteen through seventeen, on how to become effective counselors. Each session typically concludes with a closing campfire, which the male CILTs extinguish after the females have left by urinating on the embers. This folk ritual, affectionately known to the CILTs as â€Å"pissing out the fire,† is employed by the male CILT folk group as a strategy that allows them to reassert power, to reaffirm the solidarity of the all-male group, and to regain their masculinity, which has been altered within the camp environment, before leaving the shelter of that environment. During this transitional period, the CILTs anticipate returning to the larger social world and are soci alizing themselves accordingly. These kids’ experiences with gender identity at camp mirror Barrie Thorne’s point that gender is socially constructed and highly contextual (Thorne 10). This folk ritual allows these boys to regain their gender identity, the identity largely accepted by the outside culture, as they prepare to re-enter mainstream society. The program is an emotionally challenging one: apart from teaching the foundations of counseling skills, the CILT directors encourage an opening of one’s true self that often involves breaking down the gender fronts kids bring with them. Thorne argues that â€Å"boys’ social relations tend to be overtly hierarchical and competitive† (92). The program does not encourage this type of social interaction. Rather, the program chooses to emphasize the emotions in personal relationships and self-disclosure typical of girls’ social relationships (94). After two weeks of learning, sharing, and growing within the camp context, the males’ social relations operate similarly to the females’ because there is no threat of being socially outcast for adopting the behavior values of the other gender. That is to say, the males have become bicultural along gender lines. Just as teasing (as Thorne points out) dissuades cross-gender interaction, social pressu re outside camp plays a similar role in limiting males’ expression of things seen as feminine, such as sharing feelings (54). For an age group faced with many social anxieties, extinguishing the fire at the end of the session is an essential tool of anticipatory socialization used to recreate the male gender identity necessary for acceptance in the outside male social world.

Typography

Typefaces vary greatly – they have different looks and deferent meanings for people. Certain typefaces are very formal and elegant; others are casual and relaxed. Some typefaces suggest antiquity; others are very modern. The point is that, Just as the size of the television screen affects television programs, so do the typefaces chosen affect how people will Interpret a given message. † (Berger 2008) Here are 4 example of typography that I will explore In the essay. First, we have the phase Happy Birthday. This example of happy birthday is a happy feeling for a hill's birthday.It gives the impression of fun, excitement. The use of purple let you know that this will be a little girl's party. You can use bright purple when promoting children's products. â€Å"We are affected by the size of a given typeface because size affects the way we respond to the design of individual letters† (Berger 2008). This is why I decided to use a large type size for this phase. Happy B irthday Magnolia Grove Bed ; Breakfast Jackson, Mississippi This example Is a way to combine typefaces with similar proportions. â€Å"ProportionsInvolves how they relate to one another In general, relative to the size or area of the visual field being 200). Here, two hard-w;irking typefaces assigned supporting roles: the Brush Script MET that serves as the spotlight by appearing big and the Basketballs Old Face serves for text. Love is patient and kind This example of script font is elegant and formal. This typography is a design that you would use for a wedding. Script fonts are usually use for formal invitation such as wedding invitations such as wedding, formal dinner parties or in my case I use this font when I am scrapbook.This typography has a feminine feel to me Mexico This example really reminds me of a Mexico. The bold color of red Is an example of all the bright and bold colors of Mexico. Why is typography important? Typography has many advantages and its use has Decode Important Tort various communications on a global level. Learn more auto why the use of type is a staple in everyday life and how its use is something on which we all rely. Reference Berger, A. (2008). Seeing is Believing: An Introduction to Visual Communication (3rd deed. ). New York: McGraw-Hill

Understanding the Strategies of Activision Blizzard

Understanding the Strategies of Activision Blizzard, Inc. What is the vision of Activision Blizzard, Inc.? Activision Blizzard, Inc. ’s corporate vision is to be a â€Å"worldwide leader in the development, publishing, and distribution of quality interactive entertainment software, online content and services that deliver a highly satisfying entertainment experience (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † Horizontal Integration & Synergy; Activision Blizzard, Inc. ’s approach to success. Activision Blizzard, Inc. s â€Å"a worldwide online, personal computer, console, handheld, and mobile game publisher (Activision Blizzard – 2011 Annual Report). † The company was created via the merger of Activision, Inc. , Sego Merger Corporation, Vivendi S. A. , VGAC LLC, and Vivendi Games, Inc. (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). Utilizing horizontal integration, the merger integrated â €Å"ownership of production facilities, distribution channels, exhibition outlets and ultimately allowed the formerly separate companies to profit from the others expertise (Turow 175). The new company uses three separate operating segments. Activision Publishing, Inc. , Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. , and Activision Blizzard distribution. Activision Blizzard, Inc. holds â€Å"leading market positions across every major category of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry (Activision Blizzard – 2011 Annual Report),† and is a classic example of synergy, â€Å"a situation where the final product is more valuable than the sum of it individual parts (Turow 175),† at work.What is the competitive environment for Activision Blizzard, Inc.? â€Å"The interactive entertainment industry is intensely competitive with new products and platforms regularly introduced. Competitors vary in size from small companies with limited resources to large corpora tions who may have greater financial, marketing, and product development resources than Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † Whom is Activision competing with in the marketplace? Activision Blizzard, Inc. competes primarily with other publishers of PC, online and video game console interactive entertainment software. Most similar in operating structure is Electronic Arts, which has the largest portfolio of blockbuster games, including many sports titles, and other game franchises with long histories of success. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft compete directly with them in the development of software titles for their respective platforms.They also compete for the leisure time and discretionary spending of consumers with other interactive entertainment companies, as well as with providers of different forms of entertainment, such as motion pictures, television, social networking, online casual entertainment and music (Activision Blizzard 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † What does Activision see as their primary competition? Activision Blizzard, Inc. elieves the primary competitive factors in the interactive entertainment industry include: â€Å"product features, game quality, and playability; brand name recognition; compatibility of products with popular platforms; access to distribution channels; online capability and functionality; ease of use; price; marketing support; and quality of customer service. (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † What strategies and specific activities is Activision considering to compete with others? Expanded product development – Activision Blizzard, Inc. s â€Å"creating a publishing arm that will bring third-party mobile games to market. Through the program, it will assist independent game makers with funding, development, distribution and promotion of their titles across both iPhone and i OS. The company is collaborating with Flurry to help with this transition (Duryee, Tricia. â€Å"Activision Starting to Take the Plastic Wrap off Its Mobile Strategy. † AllThingsDigital. com, 13 Jun 2012. Web). † Increase online capability & functionality – access new customers & audiences: ‘Skylanders’ Is Officially Activision’s newest $1 Billion Franchise. The ‘Skylanders’ franchise became the first kids’ video game IP to cross the $1 billion mark in just 15 months, and I think we are still just starting to realize its potential,† Activision publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said in a statement (LeJacq, Yannick . â€Å"Skylanders’ Is Officially Activision’s newest $1 Billion Franchise. † IBTimes. com, 11 Feb 2013. Web. ). † Access new distribution channels – Activision Blizzard, Inc. â€Å"announces in-game live streaming via YouTube for Black Ops II (McGlaun, Shane. â€Å"Activision announces in-game live streaming via YouTube for Black Ops II. SlashGear. com, 8 Nov 2012. Web. ). † What might an Activision customer see in terms of different offerings or approaches because of the strategies the company is undertaking? Increased Content and Online Services. Activision Blizzard, Inc. ’s shift towards digital delivery of content will result in more diverse online product offerings. Expansion of Mobile Products and Services – Activision Blizzard, Inc. will continue to expanding into the mobile arena by supporting legacy franchises as well as creating new brand assets.A Narrowing of the Gap between the real and virtual worlds – Riding an unprecedented wave of success, Activision Blizzard, Inc. will produce additional Skylander style kid’s games. Which one of the six changes in media is Activision’s strategies addressing well? Distribution of products across media boundaries: Activision has been very successful at creating meth ods of distribution that â€Å"allows businesses to make money back on products† (Turow 186). Activision Blizzard, Inc. will absorb the growing demand of digital content distribution without issue.Many of its video games and content expansions are already available for direct download. For example, â€Å"Activision Publishing’s innovative new online service, Call of Duty Elite, which launched with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is one of the fastest growing premium online services ever created. As of January 2012, more than seven million gamers had registered for the service, which includes more than 1. 5 million users who purchased premium annual memberships. Additionally, the franchise is estimated to have had over 40 million monthly active users across five Call of Duty titles (Activision Blizzard – 2011 Annual Report). Which of the six changes in media is Activision neglecting to address? Audience Segmentation: Activision Blizzard specializes in developing, publishing and distributing first-person action games, â€Å"which account for approximately 16% of the interactive entertainment industry’s revenue (Krause Fund Research, Web)†. Activision Blizzard’s target audience, â€Å"the people whom their products are directed (Turow 36),† are males 18 – 45 who â€Å"account for over 55% of all gamers and are the back bone of the industry (Krause Fund Research, Web). Activision Blizzard has been wildly successful with their media franchises, â€Å"properties that are highly profitable over time and in many media formats beyond their original appearance (Paul, Nora, slide 10),† but has neglected to address the need for audience segmentation, â€Å"creating products designed to reach different types of people (Turow 160). † Due to this dependence on a specific target audience, failure to achieve anticipated results by one or more products may significantly harm their business.For example, Activ ision Blizzard’s four largest first-person action franchises (Paul, â€Å"Understanding the Strategies of Media Giants† slide 10), accounted for approximately â€Å"83% of net revenues, and a significantly higher percentage of their operating income, for the year (Activision Blizzard – 2013 SEC Form 10-K/A Amended Annual Report). † If consumer demand trends away from first-person action games and Activision Blizzard fails to attract new audiences or add other sources of revenue, their lack of audience segmentation could significantly harm their business. References From news article: McGlaun, Shane. Activision announces in-game live streaming via YouTube for Black Ops II. † SlashGear. com, 8 Nov 2012. Web. From news article: Duryee, Tricia. â€Å"Activision Starting to Take the Plastic Wrap off Its Mobile Strategy. † All Things Digital. com, 13 Jun 2012. Web From news article: LeJacq, Yannick. â€Å"Skylanders’ Is Officially Activisio n’s newest $1 Billion Franchise. † IBTimes. com, 11 Feb 2013. Web. From SEC report: Activision Blizzard, Inc. Form 10-K/A, Amended Annual Report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012. Web. From Annual report: Activision Blizzard, Inc. 2011 Annual report for fiscal year ending Dec 31, 2011.Web. From Journal article: Miller, Z. , & Umphress, J. , & Wang, B. (2012). Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI). Krause Fund Research Fall 2012 Technology, 13 November 2012. Retrieved from The University of Iowa Research and Technology Department. Web. From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Chapter 2, â€Å"Making Sense of the Media Business: Identifying an Audience for Mass Media Content,† p. 36. From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011.Chapter 5, â€Å"A World of Blurred Media Boundaries: Horizon tal Integration,† p. 175. From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Chapter 5, â€Å"A World of Blurred Media Boundaries: Synergy,† p. 175. From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Chapter 5, â€Å"A World of Blurred Media Boundaries: Contrasting Views on the Social Pros and Con of Media Trends, Distribution allows businesses to make money back on products,† p. 86 From the text: Turow, Joseph, Media Today: An Introduction to Mass Communication, 4th edition, New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Chapter 5, â€Å"A World of Blurred Media Boundaries: Audience Segmentation, â€Å"creating products designed to reach different types of people,† p. 160. From PowerPoint Presentation: Paul, Nora, Jour 1001 – 002, Chapter 6, â€Å"Understanding the Strategies of Media Giants,† PowerPoint pres entation in â€Å"Introduction to Mass Communication,† Slide 10 Media Franchise,† February 10, 2013.

Personal Fictional Writing Essay

Imagine you are Ralph on the island; write a series of at least three diary entries, which record important episodes during your stay there. Include in the entries your changing thoughts and feelings about what occurs and about yourself and the other boys with you. Diary Entry 1: Chapter 5: Beast from water I just do not understand. It is not meant to be like this. I mean, everything requires improvisation. I call a meeting and all of them, Jack’s group of boys, think that they are there to make jokes. There is no time for fun, but business. I tell them about the huts and how they are unstable, but they remain pessimistic as if they have something better to do. What can that something be? Hunting. Well, Jack seems to think so. He said that he would hunt down the beast. Really, we do not even know if the beastie truly exists. Jack is so aggressive, marching on an army of anarchy among the boys to hunt down an imaginary beast. Mass hysteria erupted when one of the diffident littluns, Percival was his name, said that the beast came from the sea, like a giant squid. I really do not know what has gone into their poor, innocent souls, torturing them like that. The fear of the boys is mounting, day after day. Well, perhaps there could be a beastie. I know that even I am not immune to fear. Nevertheless, Piggy says there is no beast, so there isn’t. Piggy knows. I mean, he is intelligent unlike me. He can think and make decisions without being unsuccessful with his natural, intellectual ability. He would be so much better at being chief than I am. It is just inequitable that Jack bullies him. But what can I do? Do I really want Jack on my back too? It’s enough I cannot stand having him within a one-metre radius of me. Moreover, Jack’s focus on hunting will prevent all of us on this island from leaving it and seal our fate as no more than animals. I just cannot help realising this. However, Jack and his hunters do not. It is simple to them: fear ferments and spreads in the group, so they result to violence and hunting as a solution to the obstacle. They do not care about where they use the lavatory, about keeping the fire going, or most importantly, getting rescued. Even the rules they do not care about. I am very frustrated. I just cannot stand this any more. Without my rules, there will be disastrous consequences to everything Jack and his hunters do. My rules keep the boys tethered to some semblance of society, but they seem oblivious to it and are willing to drop the rules like a hot pan. Life on this island just seems to get harder by every passing day. With Simon wandering off at night, no wonder the littluns are frightened. However, I should not let that bother me. On this island, there are by far more important things to do, like being rescued. How much boys on this island do believe in ghosts? What are the children on this island? Humans, animals, or savages? Piggy was head-on right by yelling at them. Surely, there are not any ghosts or beastie’s on this island, because Piggy told me so. He tells me everything, and everything he says is true. It has to be true. I feel as if I should step down as chief, for once and for all, but Piggy’s already warned me that if I do, Jack will become leader and the only thing he will lead us to do is hunt. But being rescued is better than hunting and I, for that matter, want to be rescued and back to my old life: with my mother and father. It is dreadful here. I try to shut my eyes of the surroundings that envelope me, and force the image of my life before this tragedy. Nothing. There is nothing to see. This life is like a virus, invading and sweeping the happy memories of my life before until there is nothing. I thought life here would be different, better somehow, but it seems that I got the contrary. Now, everything on this island makes me feel depressed. Even my own physical appearance, especially my hair; it has grown shabby and uncomfortably long. I have all grown shabby with neglect. With all the oppressive responsibility weighing down on my shoulders, I wish that the ground now would open up and swallow me down into its depth, to close me off the problems on this island, which I face. Diary Entry 2: Chapter 7: Shadows and Tall Trees This is it. A change from this place will do us all a whole lot of good. I have become so dirty and unclean over the past few months, that the conditions that I take myself for now is normal. The rest of the boys seem to take these conditions as normal too. The longing that I have for a deep, hot bath to purify my body and wrap me up in its enclosing warmth is unbearable. Every thing seemed to have been going well, but every step I take on this island to please Jack, just defines the how hard it will be, when you try to break the boys away from Jack’s spell-binding habit: Hunting. Not that I am complaining. I followed the hunters today and the view that is to be seen on the opposite side of the island is utterly different to the view that is observed from the side of which we have settled in. However, although there are spectacular sceneries that can be viewed from this island, there is no place like home. The ocean is like a thick wall, an impermeable barrier, preventing my and the other boys escape. Simon seems to think that we will leave the island eventually. But I doubt that will ever happen. Simon is so batty. Now, with Jack thinking himself chief, everything is impossible. But I have to say, I did enjoy myself at the hunt. It was breathtaking. Originally, we were meant to be hunting down the beast, but Jack suggested that we could also hunt a pig in addition to continuing our search for the beast. It was smashing! I was excited so much that I was caught up in the adventure; I threw my spear at the boar, and hit it. But I suppose it was not much of a hit; it only nicked his snout. That was the first time I took aim and I cannot believe my luck. It has to be good marksmanship. I felt so exhilarated during the hunt, as the primal appeal of killing pigs dawned upon me. At least I have something to be proud of, other than some cut by a boar’s tusks. Jack thought that it was necessary to point the wound on his left arm out to the crowd of boys. I cannot understand Jack. He has such an eccentric personality; predictable though, he would not actually change much from his self-centred self. I hit the boar but he still pays the same attention as if I were thin air. The boys are impervious too, when they are around Jack that is. It is like he has the glamour that allows the other boys to be absorbed in him. No matter how much attention you persist or demand to acquire, the power that is bound inside Jack will not give in. I tried to show the boys that I was a good aimer, even though it was my first time hunting, but it was useless, like I said. Jack and the boys were truculent when they closed on towards Robert. They started chanting, â€Å"Kill the Pig† and I guess they were caught up in their momentum of chanting, that they actually started jabbing Robert with their spears, at first in jest, then with a more dangerous intent. He was yelping so much that I though my ears would give out. Instantly, all the excitement that I had in me from the hunt vanished. I was so glad that Robert escaped their grasp. I did join them with this too. I didn’t know what was happening to me. The urge to kill was too overpowering. For all I know, we would have killed him. Jack was so self-absorbed, taking himself seriously, that he said that they could use a littlun next time to dress up as a pig, so that they can actually kill it. That was such a sick idea. They are taking a life away. The matter of life is not a game. However, the boys enamoured by Jack’s statement began to laugh. This was not funny. They had to be reminded that this is only a game. I am starting to get concerned about the increasingly violent and impulsive behaviour of the hunters. Killing the littluns is trivial compared to what these hunters are capable of. We started climbing the mountain, as evening fell, and I realized that we would not be able to get back to the beach until morning. I did not want to leave Piggy with the littluns all night. I thought it was too much responsibility for one to handle, but I suppose Piggy would not mind; he will work things out easily. But Jack did not address this concern for Piggy kindly; he mocked me about it. What good chief would he make if he does not treat the boys with respect? But luckily Simon offered to go and inform Piggy of our whereabouts. Jack was still on his frenzy of hunting a pig, in the dark. Surely he could see that it was not a suitable time to hunt, but he is so impulsive that even he will not be blinded by the darkness that encloses the island. I thought that if we hunt in the morning it would be more apposite. He does not even think twice when I speak to him. I am chief, he should listen to me as any other boy on the island does. Giving the new understanding that Piggy provided me with, and sensing the hostility from Jack, I knew that he loathed me. I asked him why but he had no answer. What would he answer if he had one anyway? I never showed him any hatred but if he wants me to play his game, I will play. He was so pressing to climb up the mountain, even though most of the hunters were ‘tired’ and, of course, afraid. It was unveiled in their eyes. At that moment I thought of going back myself too, but what Jack said obliged me to remain. He said that I was afraid. I am not afraid more than he is and he knows that, but he just doesn’t want to admit it. I was surprised that my voice actually balanced itself proportionally, so that none of my reluctance or weakness showed. I was almost motivated by it. Just moments before this, Jack was accusing me of being afraid and now he was. He claimed that he saw something bulge on the mountain. Of course, due to my newfound bravery, I agreed to search for it immediately. But while I had a mask of bravery composed on my outside, inside I was not sure of what to do. Not sure about whether I should take a step forward or backward. What to do if the beast attacks me. It was so frustrating that it felt like the anxiety was scratching my brain away bit by bit. It seemed at the top of the mountain that I was paralysed. But I realised, eventually, what I was doing this for. To show Jack that I am not scared like he claims. So I fused my hatred for him, with my will and took two steps forward. That is when I saw it. My legs gave out under me, like an involuntary reflex reaction, but a button inside triggered me to get upon my feet as quick as I can and escape. It seemed like hours had passed in those few seconds for me to get over the shock of what I had just observed. It was like a huge rock thing and it bowed, and when the wind blew, it lifted its head to reveal a ruined face. It was unapproachable. Terrifying. I realised that the horror witnessed by the littluns in words, is inconsequential, in comparison to when you view the beast yourself. I am glad it is over for now, but I have a deep feeling that this thing, beastie, will not take long to return its visit. We must get prepared. Diary Entry 3: Chapter 8: Gift for the Darkness No one believes me. Even piggy. He was sceptical of the whole idea of me witnessing a beast on the top of the mountain. What angered me more is Jack’s assurance to the group of boys that the hunters can defeat the beast. But are his hunters any good when faced with a beast that even the bravery of me, Roger and Jack could not defeat? His hunters are merely boys with sticks. I was right to point this out to him; he cannot be so ignorant of the beastie. Piggy said that I should not have called his boys that, but honestly, what choice did I have! And he never left it there either. Oh no. He called me a coward and accused me of calling the rest of his hunters cowards too. What right does he have to call me that? He even said that I am not a proper chief. As if he would be better than me as chief. All he cares about is hunting, hunting, hunting, and nothing else. If this is how he wants to live his life, then I doubt he will ever have a life, since he will be spending the rest of it on this doomed island. Adding more to this, the punch from the whole of this meeting came when he put my position of being chief in a vote, between him, and me to the boys. It is so hurtful when I think about it; I cannot believe that he holds such a grudge against me, that much to challenge my position of being chief. I have not did anything wrong to him. But, I guess I should not be so surprised. It’s so Jack. Whenever he comes across something that he cannot stand, he feels compelled to sweep it out of his way. In this case, it is me. Oddly, I do feel sad and uneasy due to him leaving. I, certainly, was not expecting him to leave so quickly. Especially crying. The thought of him crying has never crossed my mind at all, even though I have been living with him for several months. It is not like him. He was always that kind of person like a rock, with his weaker feelings and emotions imperceptible, no one would have thought that he would be exposed so easily like that. Relieved that he left, Piggy and Simon seemed untouched, as if a burden has been lifted away from their shoulders. I guess they are calm now, since all Jack would do is pick on them, as they are the weaker vessels of the boys. Piggy tried to make me realise that there are potential benefits from Jack leaving, but I have this strong feeling inside me, telling me that something ominous is about to happen, resulting from this predicament. I just cannot put my finger on what is going to happen. He said that now we can start focusing on the fire more. Now that the fire has been built on the beach it may be difficult to see from far away, but at least somebody will keep it going. At least there is a trace of hope of being rescued. However, I really doubt that most of us will actually be rescued, as just after the building of the fire was done on the beach, I noticed several of the biguns missing. I did not know what to do. I felt as though Jack had taken part of me as an equipment to equip himself for evil and savagery on this island. The more I come to think about it, the clearer it becomes to me that Jack is the disruptive element and the root of destruction on this island. My authority is slipping away faster than I could imagine. Just a few months ago, I had it all, but now there is nothing left. I cannot understand the appeal of hunting if you do not attempt to be rescued at the same time. There is a battlefield of emotions warring in me. I tried to show the boys’ that I am a good chief, that I will get them rescued, but they were all oblivious to me and so left for Jack. It hurt so much that even speaking was like climbing a cliff for me. I suppose now everything is too late; everything is set in motion, I cannot do anything to change it. Maybe it would be better. We could be happier. Piggy says so. Piggy is so confident that everything will turn out to be okay, it almost scares me. We still have Samneric to help us keep the fire going, some littluns and I suppose Simon. Although Piggy and I never knew where he was, we thought that he might be climbing up the mountain. He would still stay unfazed by anything. He has cracked. With Simon, he is that kind of person that his feelings are buried deep inside him and you would have to dig a lot before reaching them. I am surprised that I never thought of Simon, in a way like this, before. You just have to listen to him to get to know him, but of course, Jack never listens to anybody or anything, so what would he know? At this point, I really don’t care who I have got in my group as long as they are with me; I need all the support I can get. I was startled by the sudden uproar in the forest. Jack, wearing just dazzle paint and a belt, was even more startling. He told us that he and his group were living across the beach, by a flat rock, where they have fun. It was kind of him to invite us to join his tribe, but I know that if I were to join his tribe, there would be no going back and certainly no hope of rescue. I thought he was about to take the conch at first, when I saw him. I mean the conch to me is still a symbol of ritual and order, and without order on this island, there would be nothing. I still do not know why that thought passed through my head at that moment. But I saw that some of his hunters did take some branches of fire. Perhaps they took it to keep warm, or even cook their latest hunting victim on. But even by how much I would like to go to eat the meat and have fun, keeping the fire going was and is still the most important task at hand. It is going to be hard to keep the fire going, and the amount of wood that we need is even harder to get. I suppose Samneric could take two shifts. But Bill appeared sceptical to the whole idea that we will be capable of keeping the fire going. He suggested that we go to Jack and his hunters feast and tell them that the fire is hard among us. Moreover, the fact that there was meat there, hot and satisfying, was enough to make us sprint to cross our enemy’s border. Even Piggy could not resist. He was ravenous. I saw it in his eyes. Every face that my gaze landed upon was burning with the overwhelming hunger for meat. No one would ever let a chance like this pass by and we weren’t going to either. The thought of food and meat was too appealing, so we gave in to our desire.