How the internet has affected Music

Before the invention of the Internet, Music was available from many sources. Most commonly, people would venture out into their local town and buy CD's and records from music stores such as HMV and Virgin. Sometimes they would even record a friend's CD onto tape instead of buying it. With the advance of technology, people could even record from CD to CD. Music piracy existed before the invention of the Internet. This essay will focus on the effects the Internet has had on the Music industry Microsoft are one of the most important companies involved in this issue because they make they make the most readily recognised software to access the Internet and to stream media. (Streaming media is when media is listened to or watched when the media is situated on the Internet and not on your computer). Due to Microsoft's monopolisation of the software market, few other companies were significant. However, in previous years, other companies have started to greatly affect the Internet side of this story. The most well known story of a company defying Microsoft's power is the story of Napster and Metallica. Napster provided a free file-sharing service which let millions of users across the Internet ‘share' their music files, which meant anyone with this program could download any music that was on another user's computer. Metallica, a Heavy Metal band formed in 1981, are the second highest grossing Heavy Metal band after Iron Maiden. They filed a lawsuit against Napster in the US District Court, Central District of California, alleging that the company encourages piracy by enabling and allowing its users to trade copyrighted songs through its servers. This is the main disadvantage of the Internet's affects on the Music Industry. Bands, record companies and music shops are all suffering from this new craze to download or ‘share' music files across the Internet. The common misconseption is that the music is on the Internet, but most people get music from Peer-to-Peer programs (P2P). This means that people can share their music with the rest of the world. Users then search for the music they want and download it. Although Napster has now been reduced to a subscription based service, the main program that is used with Internet piracy is Kazaa. Not only can you download music using this program, but you can also download videos, pictures and software through the new Broadband services available to the public. Broadband is up to ten times faster than a normal Internet connection. As you can see from above, you can find hundreds of files to download, some with a download time of only 32 seconds for one whole song. If I can draw your attention to the magnified section of the picture, you can see there was over 3 million users sharing their files at that point in time. This is the reality of the Internet; people download albums instead of buying them, which severely damages the music industry. However, before the invention of file sharing programs, and before Windows 98, the Music Industry was beginning to be helped by the Internet Music Companies were the first to capitalise on the new medium to advertise their company. Record companies such as EMI and Sony set up websites that advertised their corporate image and focused little on product promotion. However, with the release of Windows 98, web pages could be viewed in a secure form, where no one else but you could view the web page. (See left) Once consumers had been convinced that their credit card numbers and their personal details could not be ‘hacked', the Internet was revolutionised. The most famous companies to capitalise on this technology are Amazon. com and CDNow. Both offer services where the consumer buys the product from the website, and then the product is delivered to the consumers doorstep. The choice is overwhelming, with the consumer not only having the luxury of purchasing from home, but they also have a huge choice of products which are not available at their local record store. Here is an example of a rare Judas Priest import which is difficult to find here in the U. K. However, you simply need to type in your details and depending on how you have it shipped; you can have it the next day. This is both an advantage and a disadvantage for the Music Industry. It is positive for the consumers and the artists, because their material is easy to buy. Conversely, it is a disadvantage for music stores because people will simply stay at home and buy music. Bands have a lot to gain from the Internet. They can promote their band by making a website full of details, pictures, news and event dates, and even samples of the band's music. This draws larger audiences for bands and they can also be ‘discovered' by record companies who have seen their website. A further advantage is that bands can save money while controlling their CD sales. A band can record their own music in a studio and then distribute it themselves, therefore cutting out the publishing costs. Finally, to the present day, where connection speeds to the Internet are rising, and the number of people sharing music is soaring. How will the Music Industry survive? Microsoft could hold the key. It is rumoured that the next version of Windows will only play media that has been created on your computer, stopping the file sharing craze dead in its tracks. Is it true? Only time will tell.

Personal Values And Ethics Of An Italian Essay

Values are defined as â€Å"the deepest beliefs and we sentiments we subscribe to†. Every person has values that they put into practice in their lives whether they realize this or not in other words we all apply values in our day-to-day lives both consciously and unconsciously. An individuals’ set of personal values guides him or her on how to live his or her life. Once these values have been implemented, they enable the implementer to achieve great things in life that they would otherwise not have been able to accomplish. Once an individual has implemented his or her personal values in his or her life, these values then energizes the individual and enables him or her to tackle issues that were previously seen as impossible in other words personal values allow an individual achieve what they dream of. Once a person has identified the values that are important to them they go further and develop strategies to be used in implementation of these values. Upon implementation, these values are said to be able to work wonders in a person’s life in that the person now has a direction in life that guides them in making decisions that are in line with their overall aim. When one identifies a mission philosophy or belief that is meaningful to them in their lives, then that becomes their value. There many categories of values whereby they are ranked as either commonplace or those that is special and psychological. An individual day-to-day life including relations with others and how they approach their work is determined by their personal values. These values are the ones that determine the success of an individual in whether action they dedicate themselves to. Once they are applied it becomes very easy for the person to excel in the workplace and personal life. They are said to have the ability to multiply the impact of an action and in turn the consequences of the act. Italians are very religious people and the biggest percentages of them are Catholics. They follow the tenets of the Catholic Church very strictly. They are very emphatic on the importance of the family and especially the mothers. They come together as families as often as possible and even conduct their businesses as a family. The men are always seen as the bread winners in the house and the women are to take care of the family in all ways. Being brought up in such a setting has shaped my values in to confirming with a lot of the traditional that I found when I was born and grew up in. In 1884, the Italian Republic made an agreement with the Vatican regarding religious education in schools. There was then a provision made that ensured that there would be religious teachings offered in all schools that are below the university level (http://www. beginningwithi. com). Since Italy is a catholic state, it therefore means that these teachings are mostly catholic in nature. This therefore ensures that all Italians who are born and bred in Italy have an option of getting religious teachings in school. It was however noted that not everyone is a catholic or even a Christian. This then led to need to make these teachings optional to those who wanted to learn. Those whose parents did not want them to learn had an option of refusing to allow their children not to learn. Since my family was and still is a very strict catholic follower, I never had the option to even refuse to attend these lessons. In fact this was seen as an added advantage since I would be able to learn more about Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary alongside the various teachings found in the bible. This would in the long run make me a better Christian and it actually did. Having grown up in a catholic family and also an extended one made my personal values to develop in a way that enables me cope with then. My personal values include success commitment fairness faith family feeling hard work and tolerance. The church I have grown up in has taught me to have faith in what I do and in god and hop that all will end well. This has sustained me all through my life especially at times when I feel emotional and psychologically unstable. At these moments I prefer to go to church and say prayers to calm me down. It has also taught me to be committed and this is what has enabled me to hold one position for 15 years in the same store. In Italian culture, one tends to live with the extended family and this is expected of all people. It is customary for the grandparents to care for their grandchildren which they d thus one has to cope with having a house full of relatives and this makes one tolerant. This has gone a long way in enabling me work with other employees without losing my temper. In under standing their weaknesses I am able to correct them without causing the formation of negative altitude towards me and weakness I am able to correct them without causing the formation of negative altitudes towards the job and me. When correcting their mistakes, I do so just as I would if it were my family member and this makes them feel appreciated and thus workers are motivated. I am currently studying for my B. S in criminal justice. The desire to study this course was prompted by my belief in fairness. I have a very strong conviction that everybody of what his or her previous life has been like. As a Christian I believe that any person can change given the chance. It is also true that there are quite a number of people who are wrongfully accused and convicted and it is necessary to correct such wrongs. By learning the different theories propounded in the course study. I can be able to use them in my workplace and in my day-to-day life to blame where it his not due I avoid unnecessary confrontations with other people. In my 15 years of working at the Vons Grocery store, I have met a number of personalities made a positive impact in my life. Michelle Valverda and Shielha Mosley. These people have taught me how to deal with other employees in order to maximize their output. They have taught me the value of success. It has been clarified in my mind what success really means and not just in monetary terms but also in emotional, psychological and physical well-being. These two people have reminded me the importance of leading a round life without neglecting any part of my life since all are important and are required in measuring the success of an individual. When I joined college to study for the criminal justice course, I met other people who added to my list of personal values. One of them is Ian Barrimond who is a fellow student. He has strengthened my value of tolerance because he is becoming more enjoyable when I do not keep getting angry with people for minor mistakes. Furthermore Ian is really committed to his studies and thus has introduced a new value to my life that is commitments. Apart from attending college he has a very demanding job that does not leave him with much time for himself yet he still manages to find time to dedicate his studies. My teacher is also a major influence to my list of values since he is always insisting on the necessary of hard work. Steven Fraitas insists that only by hard work can one be able to achieve what they want from life. The other major influences in my life are my parents who have always insisted on the family unity. They have never allowed my siblings and I to be on bad terms with each other for long and they have always ensured that any problem that crops up among us is quickly resolved before it goes too far. Also they have used the many family gatherings that we hold to invite all of us including the members of the extended family to make sure that we all remain close. None of us feels like a stranger or outsider because we have never been allowed to have time to drift apart to a point of becoming strangers to each other emotionally. This has made me become even more committed to my own family in the hope that it will be as unified as the family that I grew up in. I work hard so as to provide for my family and make sure that they live as comfortably as I can make them. This is encompassed in the value of family feeling. In Italian culture, one tends to live with their parents long after they have reached the age of maturity (Giannotti E. & Rocchi R. 2004). It has been argued by some people that this makes them vulnerable to emotional and mental instability. I beg to differ with this conclusion because instead of destabilizing me this has made me a stronger person in aspects in life. There is an assumption that we should all be married at a certain age but by waiting until the right moment allows one to be able to choose the right partner in life. This is important because in the catholic church one is not allowed to divorce and thus it is necessary to choose someone who one will be able to stay with for the rest of their lives. I am among those people who lived with their parents long after the time that is set as standard for people to move out of their parent’s house. I can testify to the benefits that I reaped from this. Since almost all my brothers and sisters were also living with my parents, we were able to develop our relationship into our adulthood. Not only have we remained close with my brothers and sisters but also with my parents. Since I did not start my family until I was old enough to appreciate what I needed in a spouse, I am then able to treat my spouse the way it has always been in the Italian culture. I was also able to learn a lot from my parents on how to live in peace and harmony in the same house with your spouse.

Women and Leadership Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women and Leadership - Case Study Example Promotion to the highest rank positions happens rarely in the modern America. 3% of Fortune CEOs is occupied by women, but they are promoted for occupying middle-rank positions and management professions. 3) Development of a more androgynous type of leadership is required. Women should be released from lower-level and lower-authority leadership positions and has equal opportunities for further promotion. Gender diversity of the organization leads to its financial benefits1. 4) Understanding different components of labyrinth will facilitate a process of understanding between male and female employees. There are three main differences in explanation of gender differences between men and women. Firstly, there is a human capital difference. Women are supposed not to contribute much to their education and training. However, women obtain undergraduate degrees more often than men. Secondly, there are prejudices about gender differences, explaining a gap in leadership by claiming that men and women are different by nature. 1) Lori encounters a â€Å"ceiling barrier†, which means that women cannot be promoted only because they are women! This case study illustrates a typical situation of men’s behavior to women: they do not think that women are able to be promoted to higher positions and they just do not understand some matters the way men do. 2) They should have greeted her, then ask her opinion about game and then listen to her creative ideas attentively. Basically, Lori was captured in leadership labyrinth and it was very difficult for her to give her ideas to someone else. Her colleague stole her ideas and she could do nothing about that. 3) She should have drawn attention of her colleagues and insist on her opinion. Her innovative ideas were very important in the future, that is why she had to fight for them with all her heart. It

Introduction to Hegel's Philosophy on Art Essay

Introduction to Hegel's Philosophy on Art - Essay Example In his work, Hegel’s (pp.35) idea revolves around the fact that art is on its way to extinction from the fact that the society is moving on its own way, a situation whereby actions that relate to art will be justified on the basis of beliefs. In the case of productions of nature and production of art, there is a great disparity between the two. Productions of art, in this case, are not much more inclined on modernity- aspects that hold less value to the perfection of art. He continues to argue that art must originate from the individuals, and not from modernity attributes that derail the progress of art. According to Hegel (pp.36), productions of nature can be described as upholding the features of aesthetics, unlike the works of art that are much more concerned with the status and recognition that the artists may acquire from their work. This, however, needs not be confused, art is not about recognition of pieces done, but recognition on good pieces produced. It is due to thi s fact that Hegel terms art as completely dead and does not believe in any idea that art may, by any chance be expected to revive. In fact, in his works, he is keen to say that there is nothing much better that the Greek architecture that come up from the exiting humanity. Hegel (pp.35) terms Greek pieces of art as aesthetics, as they embrace all the aspects of a good piece of work unlike today’s pieces that are only concerned with issues of modernity. Hegel can be indicated to seek happiness from the fact that that part of ‘true’ art is gone and no one can improve or change that. Productions of art, on the other hand, do not encompass, what Hegel would term as basic â€Å"need† from which all art-making process operates- the spirit- but just come up with pieces that would elevate the status of the artist. Hegel’s thoughts comparison on the productions of art versus the productions of nature can be best understood under the definition of both concep ts. Productions of art, according to Hegel, are motivated by the visual images or rather the sensory perceptions of the artist. Productions of nature, according to Hegel (pp.36) are not vivid enough, as it emanates from the human mind, and at times, the entire aspect can be considered vague. Concepts of nature, in this context, can be described as being too imaginative to be real. Productions of art according to Hegel revolve around ideas of beauty. Beauty, as he describes includes the ideas behind composition of any piece of art by an artist. This turns down to the basic need of production of art as underlying from the spirit of the artist. Judgment of the pieces of art can be described if the piece of art is good enough or not. Hegel’s argument on art, in essence, revolves around the concept of well-organized thoughts prior to the compilation of any piece of art. As a result, productions of art revolve around the senses and spirits that have created such great pieces of art . On a layman’s point of view, productions of art can be described as those pieces that communicate various forms of messages to the target audience with a lot of ease. Just like other areas like Philosophy, Psychology developed; art has gone through a form of transition from medieval art to art that conveys meanings to

NFL Personnel Hiring for market plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

NFL Personnel Hiring for market plan - Essay Example This was done in order to guarantee a large audience-not everyone can make it to the stadiums. Some of the television stations include NFL network, ESPN, FOX and NBC. Some of the radio stations owned by the NFL include Westwood one, Sports USA and the United Stations Radio Networks. (Green Berg, 2007) Players in the NFL all belong to a union called the NFLPA. This union has the mandate to negotiate contracts for players. The players are governed by a contract called the CBA. Players are only allowed to play for teams that endorse them. Other older players are allowed to negotiate their contracts with other teams after a certain number of years. The contract signed by the players and the NFL has regulations regarding salary packages and it stipulates what are the minimum and maximum amounts to be paid to players. The NFL has a peculiar way of picking out its players. It normally uses the NFL draft. Teams usually endorse a player and earn the right to keep him. However, trades can be made for players from other teams upon agreement by the first team that chose him. The NFL requires that the Franchise owners pay an amount of fifty dollars when they appear for drafting. This is normally done annually in the month of April. There are specific amounts given to those who get first, second and third place. Franchise owners are allowed to make moves as soon as the draft is complete. They also have to pay a small amount for every interchange made in order to finance an award at the season's end. (Sands, 2002) Once these players have been selected by their teams, they are allowed to play in any position within the team that chose them. Franchise owners are supposed to choose players from six categories that include quarterbacks, kickers, defenders, running backs, tight ends and wide receivers. Each category has a maximum number allowed by the league. Franchise owners should submit in names of players that will participate in the expected week's game from all the categories listed above. Trade offs between franchise-owners for players are permitted only after notifying the commissioner. In addition, there must both agree to the terms of the deal. This can only be done within a stipulated amount of time. Franchise owners must make sure they do not exceed the deadline. Waivers can be done all through the season after payment of a specified fee. In addition, there must be a notification to the franchise owners that a player has been waived. (Ed Gruver, 1997) The League can overrule a player trade off that has been done unfairly. This could be possible when a team has taken a player in order to weaken a certain team and to strengthen itself unfairly. Franchise owners can also conduct a vote that overrules decisions by the commissioner. Names chosen by Franchise owners must be free of offence. This is especially in regard to players' wives. The commissioner can also reject names that are deregulatory or stupid. As franchise owners enter the league, they ought to submit their logos. Lastly, there is a provision for a modification of the rules after the end of the season. Here, there must be a unanimous vote by franchise owners. How the last Franchise expansion was done There are a number of franchise expansions that have characterized the National Football League. A good example is the Houston Texans Team. This expansion was done in the year 1997 by franchise owner Bob McNair. He wanted to bring

A Contrastive Study between English and Arabic Prepositional Phrases Essay

A Contrastive Study between English and Arabic Prepositional Phrases - Essay Example This problem also has pedagogical implications, as a better understanding of the problems faced by students during translation can enable teachers to better address the problem. This study could therefore prove useful in the field of language education, particularly for teaching EFL to Arab students.Ho-Abdullah & Hasan’s (2009) study also examined issues concerning English prepositions when translated into Arabic and vice versa. However, it was concerned solely with the preposition explaining how its translation reflects the use of different conceptual mapping domains. Moreover, this study only involved 75 Iraqi secondary school students, so it was focused on the translation difficulties faced by Arabic speaking students when translating from English into Arabic. In Habash’s (1982) earlier study on the use of English prepositions by Arab students, the errors made in using prepositions were categorised according to their number of occurrences. While this is useful, agai n the focus was on teaching English to Arabic students in order to improve their English. Moreover, the analysis of translations was based on existing and formal written work rather than under experimental conditions.This study attempts to compare and analyze English and Arabic prepositional phrases in terms of their functions, uses, order and meanings. It also attempts to illustrate similarities and differences between English and Arabic prepositional phrases as not every prepositional phrase.... This includes difficulties related to pronunciation (Al-Saidat, 2010), various reading difficulties (Patil, N.d.), and so on. This study will be concerned with difficulties encountered in translating prepositional phrases. The preposition is a key component of the prepositional phrase so the difficulty in translating the latter is often due to difficulty with the preposition itself. The difficulty of translating prepositions from English into Arabic can be illustrated by the contrast between and . Whereas suggests a position, suggests a movement, but in Arabic, would be used in both cases, so Arabs may find it difficult to differentiate between them. The Arabic thus has a much wider domain for its usage, and it can also be used for expressing , , , etc. On the other hand, Arabic prepositions are purely spatiotemporal prepositions whereas English prepositions actually function as either proper prepositions, substantive-derived locative (directional) adverbs, or as particles (Lindstrom berg, 2010, p. 23). Hence, the English concept of a preposition is wider in scope than in Arabic. The nature of the errors tends to be errors of omission, substitution, or redundant usage. Prepositions also pose a problem for machine translations in translating English noun phrase into Arabic (Shaalan et al., 2004) so the problem is not unique to human translation. Also, the problem is by no means peculiar to Arab students. English prepositions are notorious for being problematic for many EFL students. As Pittman (1966 in Mickiewicza, 1993, p. 181) remarked, â€Å"Among those who teach or learn the English language, prepositions have earned a reputation for difficulty if not downright unpredictability†. The main

Strategic Alliance of two companies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Strategic Alliance of two companies - Essay Example After being aligned together Sony Ericsson in a short span of time captured the market share of Nokia, Motorola and Samsung. The main reason behind this gaining of market share was the reasonable price of the phone, additional features, attractive looking of the mobile phones. Slowly and gradually they are making advancement in technologies and bring better phones into the market for the consumers. The consumers are satisfied with the products of Sony Ericsson and the eye catching mobile phones of Sony Ericsson are a brand in the minds of the customers. The Stylishness of the phone along with the features including Camera, Blue tooth, Infrared, Java enabled games, mp3 player being available at a reasonable price, and easy to use mobile phone. Most consumers are opting for the Sony Ericsson Mobile phones. With the changing times, people have started to adapt to changing technologies and quite rightly so, Sony Ericsson has caught on the bandwagon well. Strategic alliances are chances for small businesses to achieve things that would otherwise take much more money or staff time. There are several ways small businesses can work together with other business unit. While you may be courageously stepping down the path of running and increasing your businesses, there may come a time when you need to form strategic alliances for your business. Given the current state of business today, competitive pressures are forcing companies to come-up with creative ways to improve brand identity, attach with clientele and draw top-notch staff. Corporations are teaming up more today to enhance their competitiveness in the marketplace and keep speed with the quick modification of technological improvement. More than 20,000 corporate alliances have been formed worldwide over the past two years. Strategic alliances are shaped when one company alone cannot fill the gap in helping the needs

American Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

American Civil War - Essay Example Certain reasons fueling the rebellion charges by the confederate stood out in the Civil War. Among the most conspicuous charges chanted by the rebellion was the continuation of slavery among the Confederate States of America. Whereas the United States indicated its intentions to abolish slavery through well calculated moves and policies, the Confederates held the opinion that abolition would be a socioeconomic disaster for the country. Many abolitionists hailed from the north, and secession from the south was taken as an insult to the integrity of the American dream of equality for all Americans (Davis et al. 23). Slavery was concentrated in the south, and its expansion into the north was seen as a looming socioeconomic danger to the Union and compelling the abolitionists to declaration war. The call to secede was also a move against the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1960. Apparently, Lincoln was instrumental in antislavery campaigns and the Confederate States knew that his administration would not support their opinion on a slave labor-driven economy. As an illustration, among the 996 electoral counties from which secession was demanded, Lincoln only managed to win two counties. Secession was fueled by the fear that Lincoln would impose his position on slave labor, thereby endangering the economy of the Confederate States as well that of the United States. By the establishment of controls in respect of slavery and its eventual abolition in 1820 across the world, the United States pledged its support for a free world, and, therefore, had to act to eliminate slavery across all member states. In addition, nearly all of the southern states had common ways of getting slaves; through purchase or conquest. In view of the diversity of the southern states in terms of their heterogeneity with the rest of the states, conflicts always cropped up. Among the most prevalent conflicts was the territorial uncertainty by the subjects. Despite the fact that the iss ue of economic reliance on slave labor characterized the tension, certain acquisition techniques did not resolve identity crises for certain groups of people. Common slaveholding characteristics of the southern nations posed a major threat to entry into the Union. New entrants into the Union had to reorganize and adapt to the northern cultural and political environment, or find a way out, leading to the confusion (Garraty 56). Lincoln’s insistence on strength for all border states and oneness in the Union throughout the campaign provided enough support for the Union’s victory. The initial intention of the confederation rebellion was to spread its slavery ideologies to back the economy, but the resistance at the border front effectively facilitated defeat for the Confederate States. Whereas the crashing of the nucleus of the secessionist movement was key in the deliberation of the relationship between the two blocs, Lincoln knew that its neutralization at the neighborin g countries was vital to the realization of success. The war broke between the two States’ blocs, and despite the huge population advantage as well as industrial resources held by the north compared to the south, it was a difficult battle to win. Abraham Lincoln led the Union to war, and the initial onus was the mobilization of the military into the war. However, it appeared to be a difficult war. Despite the numerical disadvantage held by the south in the war, the

Visa Company Essay Example for Free

Visa Company Essay Internet shopping is just one of the many types of â€Å"Shopping from Home† (Trading Standards Service, New Jersey, p. 1). The convenience of shopping online had encouraged shopping for airline tickets, computer hardware, books and even stocks and mutual funds. In the United States studies in 1997 showed that Americans spend as much as $5 trillion annually (Strategies Group Inc. , 1998). In another study, Visa Company estimates that 30% of Internet users, corresponding to 18.3 million shoppers will have to shop online in 2002, which mean that it will triple the 1997 figures (Visa, 1996). Visa also found that 25% of Internet users in 2002 have visited websites for shopping purposes while 12% have undergone banking transactions. Relative to percentage of internet shoppers by age group, Strategies Group Inc. estimates that 77% of consumers ages 25 years and below are willing to shop online while 67% pertains to consumers ages 26 to 34 (Strategies Group Inc. 1997). Technology and the globalization trend has made even shopping more convenient to people. These factors have influenced much of the shopping behaviors of consumers and Internet shopping is not an exemption. Several other factors include the following: (1) experience in conventional in-home shopping methods, (2) internet experience, (3) work in the computer branch, (4) convenience factors, (5) uniqueness of the product sold in the Internet, (6) perceived risk and (7) the desire of consumers to experiment (Yankelovich Partners 1996). Aside from these factors, there are studies that show some other factors that are somehow related to the consumer’s Internet shopping behaviors. Time and internet experience according to Network Wizards influence internet shopping behaviors stating that online shoppers are frequently people who spend more time over the Internet or those people who regard Internet surfing as a habit (Network Wizards, 1996). TAKING THE RISKS OF INTERNET SHOPPING The convenience and fun of Internet shopping have corresponding risks that consumers must take and must seriously consider. Because Internet shoppers are required to give their personal information such as name, address, phone numbers, credit card numbers and even Social Security Number (SSN), shoppers are at risk of fraud and identity theft. Our main concern in this paper is to trace back the processes that Internet shoppers undergo before the actual purchase of the product in order to find out where is the loophole located. There have been studies and surveys including criminal records that prove fraud and identity theft to be true. Surveys provided by the Privacy Rights Organization revealed that there are about nine million victims of this crime each year. Studies also show that there are various ways criminals have been using in order to steel one’s identity. They can acquire personal information such as SSNs, driver’s licenses, credit card and ATM numbers including birthdates, addresses and phone numbers that they use to spend the victims’ money without permission. This is done through the process of impersonation. There are two types of identity theft: Account takeover and application fraud (Privacy Rights Clearing House, 2007). Account Takeover happens when the criminal â€Å"acquires your existing credit account information and purchases products and services using either the actual credit card or simply the account number and expiration date. † On the other hand, Application Fraud (true name fraud) happens when the criminal opens new account in your name using your personal information he acquired somewhere. There are several ways by which personal identifications are stolen by these criminals. The website of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse has provided the following information relative to the most common methods by which one’ identity is stolen. One way is called Dumpster Diving wherein criminals may come as scavengers who fish for unshredded credit cards, loan applications and other documents containing personal information such as SSNs in trash bins. Criminals may also steal mails by unlocking mailboxes. They may also other documents in the mailboxes such as issued credit cards and other documents containing vital information relative to one’s identity. Shoulder Surfing can also be one way wherein criminals can acquire PINs by looking over your shoulders while doing business on ATM booths. Finding identifying information on Internet sources, via public records sites and fee-based information broker sites are ways wherein criminals acquire personal data but they remained unnoticed. Criminals also send email messages that look like they are from your bank, asking you to visit a web site that looks like the banks’ in order to confirm account information. This is called phishing. Take note that of the five methods enumerated above, two are related to the use of the Internet. This therefore suggests that Internet shopping, using the fact that the process requires the use of personal identification numbers, is risky. It is therefore important that each Internet user, especially shoppers, have knowledge on the risks of Internet shopping. Moreover it is important that they too have at least the basic knowledge of Internet and email security information. WHAT SHOPPERS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT INTERNET SECURITY There is basic security information that every shopper should be aware about the Internet. Take note that this information is required by websites who are into the business of online retailing. The terminologies that we are going to discuss are defined and described based on the information provided by the Office of the E-Envoy (Security Tips: Beginners’ Guide to Computer Security). One should learn the importance of a password. A password is a code which the website asks in order to have an individual and exclusive access of the site and the account you have created. Passwords may either be a series of numbers, letters or a combination of both. It is basic and a requirement that such password is a secret code that should be exclusively revealed between the user and the company and therefore should not be disclosed or shared to anyone else. A Security Lock Layer (SSL) is a software tool which ensures that information sent to or from a website cannot be viewed during transmission. It uses a public and private key encryption system. Another security tool common in the Internet is the Padlock. There are cases wherein the Internet user comes across with a padlock (a figure displayed as in a real padlock) displayed in the browser. A padlock in the browser suggests that the website is secure since they are using the SSL software. A site in the padlock therefore means that the information you are transferring from your computer to the operating system of the website offers the assurance that they cannot be intercepted by anyone during the transferring process. Each shopper is also advised to look consider only secure browser when doing online shopping. A secure web browser complies with the standard technical security protocols. This compliance gives the website visitors the assurance that the information they provide to the site cannot be viewed by unauthorized persons. Secure web browsers necessarily has the padlock symbol which when double clicked will reveal a â€Å"digital certificate† which confirms that the site is authentic. Needless to say, Internet shoppers should always shop only on authentic websites. Remember that â€Å"phising† is one of the many ways you can be fooled by imposters.

Self Esteem Essay Example for Free

Self Esteem Essay People who base their own self-worth on what others think and not on their value as human beings might pay a mental and physical price, according to research by Jennifer Crocker, PhD, a psychologist at the University of Michigans Institute for Social Research. Crocker, who has worked on a series of self-esteem studies, found in her latest research that college students who based their self-worth on external sourcesincluding appearance, approval from others and even their academic performancereported more stress, anger, academic problems, relationship conflicts, and had higher levels of drug and alcohol use and symptoms of eating disorders. For the study, Crocker surveyed more than 600 college freshmen three times during the yearbefore they left for college and at the end of the fall and spring semesters. Overall, students were found to have a high level of self-esteem. When students were asked about what they base their self-worth on, more than 80 percent said academic competence, 77 percent said their familys support, 66 percent said doing better than others, and 65 percent70 percent of which were womensaid their appearance. College students who based their self-worth on academic performance did not receive higher grades despite being highly motivated and studying more hours each week than students who did not rate academic performance as important to their self-esteem, Crocker found. Students who based their self-worth on academic outcomes also were more likely to report conflicts with professors and greater stress. They feel motivated to do well in academics, but having their self-worth on the line doesnt help their performance, Crocker says. She speculates that students who base their self-worth on academic performance might become anxious and distracted and threatened by feelings of failure, and, as such, their anxiety might then interfere with their memory. Students who based their self-esteem on internal sourcessuch as being a virtuous person or adhering to moral standardswere found to receive higher grades and less likely to use alcohol and drugs or to develop eating disorders. We really think that if people could adopt goals not focused on their own self-esteem but on something larger than their selfsuch as what they can create or contribute to othersthan they would be less susceptible to some of the negative effects of pursuing self-esteem, Crocker says. Its about having a goal that is bigger than the self.

Macro and Micro Environment Analysis of McDonalds

Macro and Micro Environment Analysis of McDonalds 2. Literature Review This section provides a broad picture of the dissertation that includes setting up the arameters and limits to the field of inquiry going into the research. Its aim is to identify key ideas, marketing theories applicable and marketing case studies that impinge upon the area of this investigation. It makes an effective starting point leading into the introduction and the background of the dissertation. 2.1 Macro Environment Analysis of McDonalds The analysis is done using a top down approach where first the Macro Environment and then the Micro environment has been examined, in which McDonalds operates. 2.1.2 Internal Anlaysis Internal Analysis is done using Value Chain analysis. The term ‘value chain was used by Michael Porter (1985) in his book â€Å"competitive advantage; creating and sustaining superior performance†. Brown (1997),â€Å"described value chain as a tool to disaggregate a business in to strategically relevant activities†. In McDonalds case, the key value adding activities are inbound logistics, operation, outbound logistics, marketing sales and service. McDonalds logistics function is to buy food on behalf of its operator (franchisee) and arrange delivery in to their restaurants. McDonalds logistics includes; the procurement and shipment of raw materials in to suppliers, the procurement and shipment of finished goods between the suppliers and the distribution centres, together with the warehousing at each distribution centre, the ordering and the delivery to restaurants of all food, packaging and operating supplies. To improve its logistics operation, McDonalds combines a number of food-processing plants dedicated to its operation only. The establishment of â€Å"food towns† consisting of a distribution centre and a bakery, a meat plant, a sauce plant and a chicken plant, gives McDonalds competitive advantage. The supporting activities that can be identified are procurement, human resources development and technology. McDonalds uses electronic procurement system. It had set logistics trends for restaurants with its online ordering system. It was noted that more than 12% of McDonalds franchisees ordered food supplier electronically. Revamping its supply chain with software and technology made it easy to respond quickly and efficiently to customers needs. With the online ordering system, McDonalds had a return on investment of 23.2% in 2008. However, the human resource development at McDonalds is excellent. McDonalds uses a high-engagement approach to improving both their operations, leadership pipeline and employee satisfaction with their career growth. Every management staff at McDonalds receives training at one of the regional training centres and at the national centre, Hamburger University in East Finchley. Training all employees to work in one best way (quick-service culture) made McDo nalds to gain customers loyalty continuously leading to a competitive advantage. 2.1.3 External Anlaysis PEST analysis is applied for an in depth understanding of macro environment in fast food industry where McDonalds operated. Kotler (1998) claims that PEST analysis is a useful strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations. POLITICAL The operations of McDonalds are affected by the government policies on the regulations of fast food operation. Currently government are controlling the marketing of fast food restaurant because of health concern such as cardiovascular and cholesterol issue and obesity among the young and children in the country. Governments also control the license given for open the fast food restaurant and other business regulation need to follow such as for a franchise business. Good relationship with government in giving mutual benefits such as employment and tax is a must for the company to succeed in any foreign market. McDonalds should also protect its workers by ensuring all the hiring, compensation, training or repatriation is according to UK and European Labour Law and the Middle Eastern Labour Laws as stipulated. ECONOMICS As a business entity, McDonalds need to face a lot of economic variables outside its company or its macro environment. Dealing with international sourcing for its material McDonalds should be aware on the global supply and currencies exchange. Remember, McDonalds import most of its raw material such as beef and potatoes due to local market cannot supply in abundant to meet the demand of its product. Any upside of currencies especially dollar will be impacting its cost of purchase. Working on the local country, McDonalds must face government regulations on tax of profit where it gains from the operation and other tax such as entertainment and restaurant service tax. Each country may have different scale or types of tax available and McDonalds should follow the regulation if it wants to continue the operation. As a franchise, McDonalds should also pay certain percentage of the revenue to the parent company in United States. The economic condition and growth of the country also is an important indicator to the demand of products that McDonalds offered. As the food priced slightly above normal foods, not many people will have the income range to consume the products. Moreover if the economy is bad and income percapita is affected, the demand of McDonalds product will certainly going down. On the other hand the good economy also means disposable income is more and people can spend more on more expensive food at fast food restaurant. SOCIAL/CULTURAL The changing lifestyles of Malaysia due to development of Malaysian economy should be also taking into consideration. While more people are able financially to eat at more expensive outlet such as fast food restaurant, they have higher expectation. They want to have quality in services and more conveniences that can differentiate one restaurant from another. Young urban consumers want technology in their life and facilities such as credit card payment, wireless internet, cozy and relaxing ambient place, and other attraction for their hangout and eating. All these needs should also be taken into consideration. There is not much difference between cultural and the purchase of products in a single country but for different countries cultural sensitivity should be upheld. For example in India people (Hindu) do not take beef, Muslim countries do not take pork, German like beers, Finnish like fish type of food menu, Chinese like to associate food with something good (for ex ample prosperity), Asian like rice and Americans eat in big-sized menu. So far McDonalds has shown good efforts in localization of its menu to suit local taste but it should constantly survey and learn about local culture to better understand and design the best product for them. TECHNOLOGY For a fast food restaurant, technology does not give a very high impact on the company and it is not a significant macro environment variables. However McDonalds should be looking to competitors innovation and improve itself in term of integrating technology in managing its operation. For example in inventory system, supply chain management system to manage its supply, easy payment and ordering systems for its customers and wireless internet technology. Implementation of technology can make the management more effective and cost saving in the long term. This will also make customer happy if cost savings results in price reduction or promotional campaign discount which will benefits them from time to time. LEGAL As a certified fast food operator, there are many regulations and procedures that McDonalds should follow. For example is the Halal certification that becomes a concern to Muslim consumers. McDonalds should protect its integrity and consumer confidence by ensuring all materials and process are as claimed or must followed. Other legal requirement that the business owner should follow as stipulated in laws are such as operating hours, business registration, tax requirement, labor and employment laws and quality environment certification (such as ISO) in which the outlet has been certified. The legal requirement is important because the offenders will be fined or have their business prohibited from operating which can be disastrous. ENVIRONMENT As one of world largest consumer of beef, potatoes and chicken, McDonalds always had been critics for world environmentalist. This is because high consumption of beef causing the green house effect by methane gasses coming from the cows ranch. Large scale plantation has effect the environment and lost of green forest opening for plantation activities. Vegetarian environmentalist criticizes the fast-food giant for cruelty to animals and slaughtering. In Japan, once McDonalds want to introduce whale burger causing uproar because whales are endangered species. Before using paper packaging, once McDonalds also had been criticized for being insensitive to pollution because using polystyrene based packaging for its foods. Imagine millions of people purchase from fast food operator and how is the impact to world environment by throwing away those hard to recycle packaging. Our world is getting concern on environment issue and business operating here should not just care for prof it, but careful usage of world resources for sustainable development and care for environment safety and health for our future generation. Critics and concern from all public or activist should be review and support if necessary to ensure we play our social responsibility better. 2.2 Market Position McDonalds is operating in a very competitive market. In order to maintain on the top position of the competition, it is important to understand the companys industry environment to be prepared for actions. Porters 5 Forces is a useful model for analysing the industry environment, it identifies five competitive forces that shape every single industry and market. Supplier Power If suppliers have strong bargaining power, competitive pressure will be greater (Pearce and Robinson, 2004). McDonalds works in partnership with most of their suppliers to protect the quality of their foods and minimise the bargaining power of suppliers. Buyer Power Consumers buying power in the food market is high. With the continuously changes in tastes and the increased concern in healthy eating, companies in the food market has to make changes and improvements to satisfy its customers. Otherwise there is a high possibility in getting bad publicity and lost in profit. Threat of Substitute The threat of substitute is high in the fast food market due to the strong competition and the increasing amount of ready to eat foods. Customers have many choices other than McDonalds, and ready to eat meals are cheaper and convenient. Competition The competition in the fast food market is very high. McDonalds has to compete with strong competitors like Burger King, Pizza Hut, Wendy and KFC. Threat of Entry The threat of new entrant is low in the fast food industry because of the amount of competition with the big players in the market. New entrants will not likely to win due to lack ok economic of scale. The fast food industry is highly competitive. Taking one step further from the internal analysis, in this chapter, external analysis was done so as to determine where McDonalds I positioned in the market, given the intensive rivalry. PESTLE is used to gather data for completion of this analysis. From the data using PESTLE, swot analysis is done to determine how McDonalds strong market position as the largest foodservice and fast-food retailing chain in the world is bolstered by robust all-round growth witnessed by the company. By analyzing PEST and SWOT an understanding of overall of the companys power and how it can grow, is established. This was done keeping the focus on Western European Market and the Middle east. Hence the impact of European Regulations and turbulence caused by ter rorism and Iraq war is also taken as a significant point as part of analysis. Porters five forces model is used as the tool to analyse the market competition in the European and the middle east market. The existing rivalry in the industry is already strong although McDonalds is in a dominant market position. The above analysis helps to conclude MCDonalds competitive advantage and its uniqueness to gain broad target in the aforementioned markets. 2.3 : Marketing Strategy and Mix Every organisations need to identify their strategic aims to be able to have a direct focus of what and when to achieve it within a given time. This is usually based on the organisations limited resources and capabilities. As (Barney 1991), â€Å"stated an organisation could extend their limited resources and capabilities through organisational learning, sharing, generation of knowledge, redeployment of existing resources in an effective and efficient ways†. In this section, the strategic aim of McDonalds is discussed. This is used for evaluating the way it has implemented its objectives and the effectiveness of the global and local marketing strategies. This was important to fully understand its market and environment in order to evaluate its right marketing plans and the adopted strategies. After analysing the market and environment of McDonalds, this chapter focuses on the plans and strategies adopted by the company to overcome its weaknesses and avoid the threats. It uses various survey results to determine the effectiveness of its marketing mix. In the year 2003, when, McDonalds had been having problems on losing market share, reducing profit and bad publicity, the company started aligning their global system around a common mission with a common set of customer focused goal oriented actions. It was called â€Å"McDonalds Plan to Win† which was to put the companys concentration on the five drivers of exceptional customer experiences Product, People, Place, Promotion and Price. This plan was aimed to increase profits by improving its services to increase customers. These 5 variables are also known as the Retail Marketing Mix or the 5 Ps. They are the variables that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the target market. This cha pter discusses and evaluates the way McDonalds has established its revitalisation plan in the European and the Middle East markets. While doing the research on the five Ps, McDonalds relationship marketing is also examined, that is viewed as an asset and the companys marketing goal is to attract, maintain, and enhance customer relationships. Then there is an argument on whether the combination of five Ps with the relationship marketing is enough to stay on the competition or is there any other areas to be focussed as well. In the aspect of marketing sales McDonalds adopted the concept of 7ps of marketing mix formulated by McCarthy (1975) and Gilligan Fifield (1996). These 7ps includes; product, place, price, promotion, people, process, physical. With these 7ps McDonalds was able to create a uniformity of items that taste the same in different countries. McDonalds realises that although there is cost savings in standardisation but success can be achieved by being able to adapt to a specific environment. It has a pricing strategy that enables it to cope with a particular market. In setting price, McDonalds looks at the elasticity of demand for its product in response to price. Considering the diverse range of culture, custom in different countries, McDonalds has localised its marketing communication strategy using different promotion and advertisement. For instance McDonalds uses the England footballer Alan Shearer as a logo to advertise its hamburgers in the UK and in France its uses Fabien Barthez, t he French international goalkeeper. Obviously, McDonalds uses a number of styles to attract customers. After analysing the market and environment of McDonalds, this chapter will be focusing on the plans and strategies adopted by the company to overcome its weaknesses and avoid the threats. In the past few years, McDonalds has been having problems on losing market share, reducing profit and bad publicity. In the year 2003, the company have aligned their global system around a common mission with a common set of customer focused goal oriented actions. It is called â€Å"McDonalds Plan to Win† which was to put the companys concentration on the five drivers of exceptional customer experiences Product, People, Place, Promotion and Price. This plan was aimed to increase profits by improving its services to increase customers. These 5 variables are also known as the Retail Marketing Mix or the 5 Ps. They are the variables that marketing managers can control in order to best satisfy customers in the target market. (Please refer to appendix 2 for further information on the 5 Ps) Product The following are the strategies applied by McDonalds on their Products: To satisfy customers desire for premium products at affordable prices. More choices on the Happy Meal such as fruit options and milk for the kids. To address the desire for foods that fit into todays lifestyle. McDonalds has added new choices like meal-size salads, fruit options and sandwiches in order to fit the increased concern on health eating. McDonalds is controlling the quality of the foods by working in partnership with its suppliers and to work closely with food experts to ensure the quality is in the highest standard. People The following are the marketing strategies adopted by McDonalds on its People: Speeding up service by simplifying the restaurant environment for their staff and customers. Ensuring the restaurant staffs are focused on being friendly, as well as fast with hospitality training. Providing cost-efficient, relevant training for their world-wide workforce. There are more than 1.6 million people worldwide working for McDonalds. McDonalds has placed emphasis on the training and development of its employees, aiming to provide career opportunities for people to achieve their potential. McDonalds has five commitments to their employees, which are: Respect and Recognition Values and Leadership Behaviours Competitive Pay and Benefits Learning, Development and Personal Growth Resources to Get the Job Done Place McDonalds has over 30,000 restaurants in 119 countries. It opens in places where has high consumer flows such as high street, shopping malls, train station, airports, retail parks, gas stations, and even schools. Freestanding restaurants are positioned so that customers are never more than a few minutes away by foot in the city or by car. The following are McDonalds strategies on Place: To make the environment the gold standard for cleanliness. They have recalibrated their standards and are consistently enforcing them. McDonalds has added additional service to customers by providing Wi-Fi accessibility in some of the restaurants so customers can stay connected to the internet while enjoying their foods. Giving customers more reasons to visit McDonalds by adding more products offering such as coffee and to locate in the right place. Relocating, renovating and rebuilding some of the restaurants to give McDonalds a fresh edge. Promotion Every year McDonalds spent huge amount of money on promotion. The company has been trying to maximise the impact of the advertising spending and broaden their reach through public relations and by placing adverts in media well beyond the traditional prime-time network television format. The objective of spending so much money on promotion is to build brand loyalty and bonds of trust. The following are the strategies: The new creative brand direction â€Å"Im Lovin It!† is designed to connect with customers around the world, especially young adults, moms and kids. It has became McDonalds signature brand voice in 119 countries, generating awareness figures as high as 96% in some parts of the world. Appealing to young adults with relevant advertising. McDonalds is bringing top creative teams from around the world to gather ideas, study trends and find inspiration to create world-class advertising. Price McDonalds has a rigorous pricing process that is used to determine the price for that particular market in each country. The reason is to be able to offer affordable prices to customers and also to be profitable for the company. The following are the process which sets out the basic framework that allows the company to set localised pricing: Selecting the price objective Determining demand Estimating costs Analysing competitors costs, prices and offers Selecting a pricing method Selecting a final price (www.mcdonalds.com) 2.4 : Performance Measurement Quality is an important issue in services due to the features of inseparability, intangibility and perishability. That which can not be stored and is intangible cannot be checked for defects before ‘delivery to customers. In addition each individual involved in the exchange process brings with them varying levels of expectations and levels of satisfaction in addition to the unpredictable nature of human beings. It is this dominant role of human interaction in services that shape customers expectations and create difficulties in understanding and implementing quality initiatives (Behara Gundersen (2001)). Officially McDonalds names three elements in their strategy to be the worlds best quick service restaurant: People (being the best employer), Customers (providing them excellence) and System Growth (for owners/operators, suppliers and company). ‘McDonalds has always been a franchising Company and has relied on its franchisees to play a major role in its success. McDonalds remains committed to franchising as a predominant way of doing business. Approximately 70% of McDonalds worldwide restaurant businesses are owned and operated by independent businessmen and women, our franchisees. Usually, McDonalds offers franchises to poor performing restaurants in order to sustain profitability. Advertising is used to differentiate McDonalds products from competitors and as a means of branding: Advertising Spend in 2001 amounted to  £39m (KFC:  £14m, Burger King:  £8.6m, Pizza Hut:  £7.4m). Furthermore, McDonalds is involved in various high profile sponsorship schemes (e.g. major Sponsor of FIFA World Cup, ‘gold sponsor and official restaurant of the Olympic Games) that secures them favourable PR. Recently McDonalds acquired Boston Market Chicken restaurants, the Donatos pizza chain and Chipotle Mexican Grill. In the UK, it purchased the Aroma coffee chain and 33% of Pret A Manger. This demonstrates that McDonalds has diversified into other segments of the fast food/ convenience /take away market. McDonalds is the worlds largest food service organisation. It has the greatest market share of the breakfast, lunch and dinner market and holds 67% of the UK Burger Market. McDonalds golden arches are the worlds biggest brand with higher awareness than Coca-Cola. McDonalds is constantly introducing new products, usually for a limited period of time. This is because management recognise that consumers like variety as well as a continuation of good products such as Big Macs and Cheeseburgers. Also, they are well aware that if McDonalds has too many products running at the same time then the speed of customer service will deteriorate. However, McDonalds has not introduced healthier products in response to growing concerns about obesity. It is difficult to evaluate the extent to which McDonalds fulfils customers demands. In the 2001 consumer survey conducted by Sandelman Associates, McDonalds was ranked as last out of 60 chains for taste. Statistics that describe McDonalds cleanliness are not available and therefore the achievement of this objective is difficult to examine, but anecdotal evidence suggests that suitable policies are in place to meet that objective. Customer service quality is difficult to assess but it is renowned for being quick. 2.5 : Ethical Criticism Ethical behaviour has come up as one of the most important aspect of any organisation. By ‘Doing the right thing internally and externally, businesses created a good working atmosphere, while also benefiting society and the environment. However many ethical issues are subjective and based on ones values and beliefs. As a result, they are often difficult to enforce and easy to neglect. The result of this is that ‘when the costs are added up, the social balance sheet contains enormous debts to society (McEwan, 2001). This chapter discusses the ethical issues that McDonalds have been facing over a period of time and how effectively it addressing its corporate social responsibility. The 2008 corporate social responsibility report has been critically evaluated and based on that it is determined, whether much of its efforts are just descriptive or has been realistic. It uses various results from the data set based on the primary and secondary research to determine the effectives. It is the notion of an organizations ‘debts to society, which led to the branch of ethics known as ‘corporate social responsibility. This refers to ‘the economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic expectations placed on organizations by society at a given point in time (Carroll and Buchholtz, 2000). This theory of responsibility to society is based around two headings, stated by Wells (1998). Social Responsibility deals with ‘the purposes for which companies should act (Wells, 1998), and Corporate Responsibility is the ‘liability attached to a company for actions done in its name (Wells, 1998). On 2002, McDonalds published its first Corporate Responsibility Report and this was followed up with an updated version in 2004. Neverthless many critics of McDonalds still believe that this, like many Corporate Responsibility Reports, is simply a medley of generalities and assumptions, that do not provide hard metrics of the company, its activities or its impacts on society and the environment (Hawken, 2002), and is ‘peripheral to the core interests of an organization (Strategic Direction, 2002). Consequentially, there is a need to analyse the claims made towards McDonalds, and whether they have been resolved within the two Corporate Responsibility Report. The incident which has done the most damage to McDonalds ethical reputation was the ‘McLibel trial, where the company expected a quick conclusion to its action against activists who had distributed a pamphlet, Whats Wrong with McDonalds?. Instead it ran for two and a half years and became the longest ever English trial , upon its completion in June 1997 (McSpotlight.org: The McLibel Trial, 2005). One of the main ethical criticisms consistently faced by McDonalds over the last 30 years relates to the food offered in its stores. Critics claim that McDonalds is a major contributing factor to the ver-increasing levels of obesity in the UK and European countries. Medical studies show that ‘waistlines are expanding faster in the UK than in any other European country†¦with 1 in 5 adults dangerously overweight (Walsh, 2003), while in 2001 it was reported that 300,000 deaths a year in the U.S. are related to obesity compared to 400,000 through cigarette smoking (McMans Depression and Bipolar Weekly, 2004). McDonalds contribution is a result of the unhealthy nature of fast food. For example, a meal of a Big Mac and medium fries would provide you with ‘910 calories, as well as 46g of fat, 13g of which are saturated (McDonalds.com, 2005). Considering the fact that this is half the Recommended Daily Allowance for a female adult, it is clear that McDonalds does not meet U. S. dietary requirements. Apart from obesity, ‘diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and some forms of cancer are related to a diet high in fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). The impacts of a McDonalds diet were clearly shown in Morgan Spurlocks controversial film ‘Super Size Me, where he ate nothing but McDonalds for one month. Although this was an extreme example, the impacts on Spurlock were dramatic. ‘Spurlock gained 25 pounds, raised his cholesterol by 60 points, dropped his libido and turned his liver into pate (McMans Depression and Bipolar Weekly, 2004). He also experienced headaches and depression, and actually became addicted to the products. The impact of a McDonalds diet on children is also a major ethical concern, as an increasing number of children are faced with obesity problems. ‘Every month, 90 percent of the children between 3 and 9 in America visit a McDonalds (Schlosser, 2001). McDonalds has been cri ticised for exploiting children with advertising. They have traditionally aimed themselves towards children with collectable toys in ‘Happy Meals, as well as colorful advertising campaigns and promotions in schools. Most criticized is the use of the Ronald McDonald clown character, which has been seen as a ‘cynical exploitation of children to use a clown to drum up business (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). These marketing tactics contribute to the increasing unhealthy diet of many children. Stakeholders in a corporation may not only be human because animals are also seen as an important part of society and deserve the same treatment as humans. McDonalds has been criticized for the way it treats animals before they are killed and turned into fast food. ‘The corporation is the worlds largest promoter of meat-based products, the largest user of beef and the second largest user of chicken (McSpotlight.org: McDonalds and Animals, 2005), and thus is faced with the usual claims aimed at slaughterhouses. It is claimed that ‘chickens were crammed into sheds with less than one square foot of space per bird and no daylight (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). As a result, ‘44% had leg abnormalities and other health problems (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). This treatment was not just reserved for chicken but also other animals involved in McDonalds fast food products. 40% of piglets were held in indoor breeding units, and half had tails docked for no apparent reason (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). Ethical criticism is also aimed at the methods for killing the animals. ‘14% of chickens received pre-stun shocks, which caused undue stress, while 1% (1,350 per day) were decapitated before being stunned (Inside the McLibel trial, 1995). As well as social ethical issues, corporations must also consider environmental ethics, which means treating natural resources not just as commodities, but as part of the ecological whole. It is important because it affects the image of the company and consumers perceptions. For example, ‘a Wall Street Journal poll in 1991 claimed that 53% of people avoided purchasing a product because of environmental concerns about a product or manufacturer (Hawken, 2002). The most famous environmental issue is the suggestion that McDonalds has destroyed hundreds of acres of Brazilian rainforest to make way for large-scale cattle ranching. This not only removes a valuable natural resource, but also has an impact on global warming, as the rainforest is an essential mechanism for the absorption of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere. McDonalds also ‘annually produces over a million tons of packaging used for just a few minutes before being discarded (McSpotlight.org: Environment, 2005). Traditionally a number of ozone depleting gasses were used in polystyrene foam packaging. In the 21st century, McDonalds uses almo

Vitamins Essay -- Health Nutrition Papers

Vitamins What Are Vitamins? Vitamins are a group of organic food substances or nutrients found only in living things, plants and animals. They are needed to maintain normal body functions. The body cannot synthesize its own vitamins so we must get our vitamins from the foods we eat, or from dietary supplements. Vitamins are essential for metabolism, growth, and physical well-being. Why Do We Need Vitamins? To put it plainly, if we did not consume adequate amounts of vitamins our bodies would not be able to function properly. Vitamins are essential to so many processes within the body that it would be very difficult for me to tell you all of the things vitamins are needed for. The fundamentals of cells depend greatly upon vitamins. Vitamins are responsible for keeping cells strong, binding tissues, fighting infections, etc. Without vitamins our cells would not function properly and thus our organs would suffer and eventually we would no longer be able to survive. Vitamins help regulate metabolism, help convert fat and carbohydrates into energy, and assist in forming bone and tissue. Vitamin A works in our immunological systems strengthening membranes thus fighting infections, it works in our eyes aiding vision, it helps our ears by treating otosclerosis, it helps jawbone and tooth formation, healthy mouth membranes and gums, keeps our skin clear and keeps our reproductive systems healthy including fertility and sperm production. The vitamin B complex is probably one of the most essential groups of vitamins to our health. There are twelve B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, biotin, pantothenic acid, choline, folic acid, inositol, and PABA. These vitamins together are responsible for helping enzymes releas... ...tlesey, MJ; Deschenes, MR. "Dietary supplements and improved anaerobic exercise". International Journal of Sports Nutrition. 4(4):387-97, 1994 Dec. Mills, JL and Conley, MR. "Periconceptual vitamin supplementation to prevent neural tube defects: how can we do it?". European Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology. 61(1):49-55, 1995 Jul. Null, Gary. The Complete Guide to Health and Nutrition. Dell Publishing. New York, New York. 1984. Oakley, GP Jr.; Adams, MJ; Dickinson, CM. "More folic acid for everyone, now". Journal of Nutrition. 126(3);751s-755s, 1996 Mar. Seymour, J. "Nutrition: vitamins and supplements". Nursing Times. 91(17):48-50, 1995 Apr 26- May 2. Steen, SN; Mayer, K; Brownell, KD; Wadden, TA. "Dietary intake of female collegiate heavyweight rowers". International Journal of Sports Nutrition. 5(3):225-31, 1995 Sep.

Consumerism Causes Unhappiness Essay -- Cause and Effect Essays

Theresa H., a woman in Massachusetts was, inarguably, strapped. She had lost her $18,000-a-year job several months earlier, and her live-in boyfriend didn't earn much. Health insurance for her and her daughters was out of reach: "I just punt and hope we're healthy," she said. And yet, in her apartment, were the trappings of upper-middle-class comfort. The big-screen TV and VCR. The crush of name-brand toys. And outside, the fairly new Lincoln Town Car--for which she was several months behind on payments. The tableau was at once absurd and sad--but not altogether surprising. We are, after all, a nation of accomplished spenders, slaves to advertising and status symbolism. The conspicuous fruits of our consumption shout out our aspirations and insecurities. This is the phenomenon Juliet Schor explores in The Overspent American. Schor, a University economist, has delivered what amounts to a sequel to her breakthrough 1992 study, The Overworked American. That book, justifiably embraced as gospel by the human-resources intelligentsia, expertly documented the time squeeze faced by two-income families as hours on the job expanded. Americans' leisure time, Schor demonstrated, was vanishing. Why are we killing ourselves this way? In large part, Schor argues now, we work so that we might spend. Americans are engaged in an intensifying "national shopping spree" rooted in competitive emulation--keeping up with the Joneses on a manic scale. "We are impoverishing ourselves," she writes, "in pursuit of a consumption goal that is inherently unachievable." Corrosive consumerism, of course, has existed as long as envy and avarice. Look at the pharaohs' pyramids. And much of Schor's evidence of its current manifestation will seem bl... ...lator." Much of our spending clearly is unnecessary or wasteful, raising troubling moral questions. Moreover, the uphill pursuit of material nirvana is stressing us out. Amid widespread wealth, most Americans aren't content with their lives. Is that such a terrible thing? I'm ambivalent. Ambition, dissatisfaction with the status quo, a desire to improve our lots and those of our children--these are profoundly American, if not universal, traits. They have driven us to stunning accomplishments and global leadership, and few would want the alternative of complacency and stasis. Yet we spend more than we should on Armani and OshKosh B'gosh, and it's making us crazy. Schor would have us on a middle path, one that retains the ardor but loses the insanity. Perhaps it's worth a try. Source Cited Schor, Juliet B. The Overspent American. Boston College Press, 2002.

Hard rock Cafe global strategy Essay

1. From your knowledge of restaurants, from the video, from the Global Company Profile that opens this chapter, and from the case itself, identify how each of the 10 decisions of operations management is applied at Hard Rock Cafà ©? Design of Goods and services Hard Rock Cafà © is providing the customers with an experience of music, rock and roll ambiance as well as good food. This unique experience is not limited to the meals on the menu. They combine the good food with the harmony of their memorabilia and the rock and roll spirit, which makes the experience non-replicable elsewhere. Managing Quality Surveys are done on a regular basis to make sure of customer satisfaction. If the result is less than 7 from the scale of 1 to 7 it is considered a failure. Process and Capacity Design Every product is designed and tested for cost of ingredients, labor requirement and client satisfaction. Then they are only put on production is the ingredients are available from qualified vendor. Location strategy: They narrow down the search from country to city and then to precise street corner. They try to select the right market and go there at the right time. Layout Strategy The company designs the kitchen flows for food preparation and the bar layout for the maximum revenue. Every piece of experience strategy including memorabilia, music and visuals takes on a new significance Human Resources and job design: The company seeks people who are love music and enjoy serving and share the experience to visitors. They train and support the employees and help them develop as contributors to their community. Supply Chain management: They buy their ingredients based on market analysis and from qualified suppliers. The supply chain process is designed to yield a quality meal. Inventory, MRP, JIT: The inventory includes food and merchandise as well as $40M of Rock and Roll memorabilia which most of them are on the walls of its cafes around the world. Their warehouse in Orlando cataloged every single item and every single story with that item. They know exactly what is on what wall in which cafà ©. They can locate that value. Scheduling: The staffs are scheduled down to 15 minutes intervals to meet daily and seasonal demand. Maintenance: Every 5 to 7 years they collect all the memorabilia in each cafà © and bring it to the main warehouse, they refurbish them and then replace it with new gear. 2. How would you determine the productivity of the kitchen staff and wait staff at Hard Rock? Single factor productivity for kitchen staff is unit food produced divided by labor hours and for the waiting staff is number of people served divided by labor hours. 3. How are the 10 decisions of OM different when applied to the operations manager of a service operation such as Hard Rock versus an automobile company such as Ford Motor Company? Although Hard Rock Cafà © is considered service industry and Ford Motor is a company that manufactures goods, the application of 10 critical decisions are applied to both of them. They both have marketing, operations, and finance. They also have labor hours, supply chain of goods, facility costs and are needed to provide high quality products (service or good).

Sexiest Language

Language is the basis to all cultures in the world, today. Whether it is in writing, sign language, or body language, it is a must in every civilization. Language is perceived differently through the male and female genders. Many forms of sexist language have been identified into three forms – language that ignores women, language the defines women narrowly, and language that depreciates women (Wetherall 276). Women have been discriminated for years. This all strings back to when the female was thought to be less of a person, since early civilization. It has been the use of masculine genetics that has concealed women. Since that time we have came a long way in equaling women’s rights. The problem now, is that language still portraits women as something less in society. The narrow definition of women in language relates to the observation that women are more often discussed in relationships, whereas men are more often discussed in what they do (Wetherall 276). A perfect example is when women are given their spouse’s last name after being married. This is a show of ownership of sorts. Women do not have accompany this tradition if they do not feel it is necessary. Language described women, in the past, in a negative manor and it is hard to break free from such stereotypes. In a study of female and male terms listed in the dictionary you will find many more unfavorable, sexual and trivializing to describe women that men (Wethrall 276). Women have taken a large leap towards equality but it will take some time before sexist language and discriminative language will cease. I did a survey where I asked twenty people, â€Å"If a girl fools around with five guys in a month and a guy fools around with five girls in a month what would you classify the man and woman? All twenty of the people I asked said the girl is a slut. Sixteen of the people said the man was a â€Å"pimp†(which is a good thing). The other four said he is a male slut. Why is this so? Just because the person is a female, she should be classified as a slut? This is how society thinks. Women should not be stereotyped this way. Men do the same things and they are thought of as the â€Å"Bomb†. I asked five men and five women how they would address a woman who was a chairperson. This is a direct statement of how or language is sexist towards women. Because of this sexist language, our society faces the consequences. Sexist view can influence people’s perception of women (Wetherall 277). Research theoretical developments on language, power and social relationships suggests more subtle and complex associations between language and social behavior than those initially used to describe the significance of sex bias in language (Wetherall 277). For example, discourse analysts explore how the production and organization of social categories in conversation are influenced by the context and function of the particular interaction (Wetherall 277). The use of sexist language makes the idea of inequality live on. When people constantly use this sexist language it becomes routine and people start to use this in their every day conversation or even just in their minds. The routinization of sex bias in language makes sexism more covert and hence a legitimate way of communicating racism (Wetherall 277). With this common and accepted racism being used in everyday life, it shows how men have maintained their monarchy in social groups. For example, when I was younger there was a girl on my baseball team who was very good, but everyone emphasized how good she was â€Å"for a girl†, not a person. Sexist language is a direct suppression of women and is so commonly used, it goes unnoticed. Though, steps are being taken to stop sexist language, for example it is not longer a policeman it is a police officer, still, there has to be more done to prevent in from existing. Our language reflects the fact that, historically women engaged in public activity that has been suspect (Jamieson 125). The whole idea is that when society speaks of a human being it is usually thought to be a male. For instance when a man is interviewed, he is judged as an individual while a woman is categorized as a â€Å"women† (Jamieson 127). Language is not only a way to communicate, but, also a way to judge the character of society. Starting at age two or three when boys and girls first learn to communicate they are placed in two separate categories. This separation continues through childhood and up to their teenage years when they become men and woman. Woman are brought up to be clean, proper, and always be on their best behavior. Men are brought up to play in the dirt, be messy, and act like tough guys. When men and woman become their own self and have their own traits they will then began to interact and communicate with each other. At this time different language will be shared with each other and many agreements as well as disagreements will occur. A man will usually overpower the woman with words, because a mans language is a lot stronger in content. As each generation goes by men have been more successful and always in a higher power position than woman have been in. In the mid 1970’s, a survey was taken, that is showing words that are used on men and their parallel meaning towards women.

Directing Richard III

Shakespeare's King Richard the Third deals with the theme of corruption by ambition. The play is designed to depict the tragic and rapid downfall of an evil manipulator who murders, lies, and deceives in order to further his lust for power. Due to the fact that Elizabethan drama moves at a decidedly slower place than most modern stories, any modern director of King Richard the Third, who wanted to hold the interest of contemporary audiences might choose to trim or even eliminate some of the long monologues that are a part of the original play.A good example of where a monologue might be cut is the opening monologue of the play, which is both rhetorically sublime and deservedly famous. In the opening monologue, Richard, who is still the Duke of Gloster, and not yet King, delivers a haunting, expository soliloquy to the audience where he reveals the deep-seated motives for the terrible crimes he will soon commit. After lamenting peace and proclaiming that he is not a lover, Richard say s â€Å"†And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover/ To entertain these fair well-spoken days/ I am determined to prove a villain/ And hate the idle pleasures of these days.† (Richard III, 1-1)However, for a modern audience, this exposition is completely unnecessary and, in fact, the suspense of the play would seem to build in an even more starling fashion if Richard did not so overtly express his motives and the audience was made to determine the motives as best they could for themselves as the play develops. The following scene between Richard and Anne, one of the most intense and moving scenes in all of literature, in my opinion, forwards enough of Richard's essentially sociopathic personality and delivers enough information concerning his motives to power as the opening scene.Due to the erotic element of the Richard and Anne scene, the deletion of the opening monologue would foster a very powerful sense of acceleration and suspense. Another scene which might be ben eficial to cut would be the scene between Richard and Queen Elizabeth here Richard admits to having killed her sons. This scene mirrors the earlier scene between Richard and Anne and is meant to reveal Richard as being as manipulative and persuasive as the devil himself.However, I feel that the scene is somewhat redundant and, again, the information about Richard and aspects of his character development which are integral to this scene are expressed elsewhere, most clearly in those scenes which seem to intimate that Richard is — if not the devil — literally in league with the devil. To further accelerate the plot and to further heighten suspense, these subtle references to black-magic, devils, and the black arts could be magnified.These elements are part of Shakespeare's original play, but they were originally created with a feeling for the sensibilities of an Elizabethan audience. For a modern audience the elements of deviltry and black magic would have to be exaggera ted. One way to do this would be to literally include obvious elements of the supernatural: ghosts, demons, and perhaps even succubi and phantoms who haunt Richard and who inhabit his macabre England.Such a portrayal would also forward the play's theme of raging, damning ambition by demonstrating how a single person's dark-vision could unleash terrible, in fact, supernatural power over an entire nation. In cases of the cult-of-personality, such a dynamic is present even if it is not literally based in the supernatural. The supernatural, however, offers a great way to symbolize the power of demagogues and ambitious leaders that make stark and dramatic statements possible. All in all, if I were directing King Richard the Third I would change very little from Shakespeare's original play.The reason that I would choose to keep the play as close to the original as possible is because I feel the play is already a single, harmonious whole which can be rightly considered one of the greatest tragedies in the English language. I am willing to concede that modern audiences may need a swifter-moving plot and a few embellishments like obvious black magic and devils, but in the long run, Shakespeare's original vision and his original language would still probably prove to be very compelling, memorable, and cathartic for any audience.

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction Essay

†¢Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction: concerned with the end of civilization either through nuclear war, plague, or some other general disaster. Post-apocalyptic fiction is set in a world or civilization after such a disaster. The time frame may be immediately after the catastrophe, focusing on the travails or psychology of survivors, or considerably later, often including the theme that the existence of pre-catastrophe civilization has been forgotten (or mythologized). Post-apocalyptic stories often take place in an agrarian, non-technological future world, or a  world where only scattered elements of technology remain. There is a considerable degree of blurring between this form of science fiction and that which deals with false utopias or dystopic societies. †¢ †¢Dark fantasy: a subgenre of fantasy which can refer to literary, artistic, and filmic works that combine fantasy with elements of horror. The term can be used broadly to refer to fantastical works that have a dark, gloomy atmosphere or a sense of horror and dread and a dark, often brooding, tone. †¢Gnome, being of earth (gnomus). He describes them as two spans high, very reluctant to interact with humans, and able to move through solid earth as easily as humans move through air. [4] [5] †¢Undine or nymph being of water Undines are almost invariably depicted as being female, which is consistent with the ancient idea that water is a female element. [8] They are usually found in forest pools and waterfalls,[9] and their beautiful singing voices[10] are sometimes heard over the sound of water. †¢Sylph, being of air (sylevestris) is a mythological spirit of the air †¢Salamander, being of fire (Vulcanus).

Aristotle slavery

Aristotle believes that some people are by nature slaves. What Is his argument for that claim? Do you agree with Aristotle that a slave-holding society can be democratic? According to Aristotle, a slave is the property of its master, and that any piece of property can be regarded as a tool enabling a man to live. The slave, therefore, is a living tool of the master, whose purpose is to allow the master to live well. A slave belongs to a master, but a master doesnt belong to a slave. The rule of a master over a slave, then, is exercised with a view to the masters and the slaves goals or nterests. He represents slaves as a tool in his definition of slavery. Aristotle continues his definition of slave by explaining that those people who are slaves are naturally born as slaves and they are naturally the property of some one else. Those who are as different [from other men] as the soul from the body or man from beast and they are in this state if their work is the use of the body, and if this is the best that can come from them are slaves by nature. For he is a slave by nature who is capable of belonging to another which is also why he belongs to another nd who participates in reason only to the extent of perceiving it, but does not have it. Slaves are tools but they are alive and they belong to their masters. But when he widens his explanations about slavery, he states that all slavery instituted by human convention Is not compatible with Justice by saying the distinction between slave and free Is one of convention only, and In nature there Is no difference, so that this form of rule Is based on force and Is therefore not Just. Therefore, If someone Is not naturally born as a slave, it is unjust to refer him as a slave in his opinion. This critic of Aristotle means that if the slavery is built up my laws or is enforced by some particular communities; these are unjust because they are unnatural and they have no equivalency in nature. In his arguments, the people the laws treat as slaves and those they treat as free which coul d Justify the legal difference are indistinguishable. So, when Aristotle claims are scrutinized it is obvious to see that in some points Aristotle seems as accepting that some in fact, some legal methods which make people slaves are unjust. But he defends some dfferences between people and these differences make slavery Just. If legal slavery represents these Inherent differences It Is Just, but If It Is contrary to his then It Is totally unjust. Aristotle also states In Polltlcs that: the one strong for servile labor, the other upright, and although useless for such services, useful for political life in the arts both of war and peace. But the opposite often happensthat some have the souls and others have the bodies of freemen. And doubtless if men differed from one another in the mere forms of their bodies as uch as the statues of the Gods do from men, all would acknowledge that the inferior class should be slaves of the superior. It is clear, then, that some men are by nature free, and others slaves, and that for these latter slavery is both expedient and right. and this claim takes us to the point that distinguishing the differences among people. Also, there are some natural differences between people and these differences can Justify slavery or being someones living tool. Human beings are divided into groups according to different categorizations. The first partnerships among human eings would have been between persons who cannot exist without one another. There are two groups of people in this case; male and female for the sake of reproduction. and he continuous this discrimination by explaining the second partnership:the naturally ruling and ruled, on account of preservation. First, the ones who have less knowledge and who have more knowledge to manage with life. First group cannot properly exercise the practical virtues on their own and they have less chance to achieve the happiness. So, to treat someone as a living tool as Aristotle did, is not a complication to achieve the happiness. Furthermore, it is better to do so in order to give him the best possible use of that entity for the happiness. Where then there is such a difference as that between soul and body, or between men and animals, the lower sort are by nature slaves, and it is better for them as for all inferiors that they should be under the rule of a master. For he who can be, and therefore is, anothers and he who participates in rational principle enough to apprehend, but not to have, such a principle, is a slave by nature. By looking all these things Aristotle indicates about slavery, still it is not valid to defense the existence of slavery no matter what. Because in Aristotle arguments he defends that to be a natural slave is better for a slave, but to decide such an important in a human beings life is not possible, therefore not valid or ethic. Because it is unknown that if someone really unable to sustain his life and achieve the happiness especially for a short time of period. People may give their whole life to achieve the happiness and they can reach this aim maybe at the end of their lives, nd die as a happy human being without being treated as a slave by someone elses orders. Aristotle claims that natural slaves are people Whose condition is such that their function is the use of their bodies and nothing better can be expected of them. But by saying that he does not exactly mean not able to think or understand. Because if it was so that would be impossible for masters to expect all those things that slaves virtue is. But they are not the only one who are incapable to understand it, it is the majority of the society. Thus, if that would be an acceptable argument that, it would be necessary to agree that most people are incapable of true virtue and therefore they are all slaves which is impossible and completely absurd . Also another issue can be changed in a contrary way to what Aristotle claims. He distinguishes people as slaves and non-slaves, or the ruled ones and the rulers. But this grouping method can be collected in one group by using some techniques such as education. Even assuming that to be natural slave is natural and Just;it is quite logical to give a ualified education to group which includes the slaves and elevate them to the identical level as the rulers are. It is much beneficial to look for solutions rather than just categorizing people and treat them by some criteria without even questioning their rationality. Although the basic claims Aristotle makes, he is unable to explain not explain why some people are both weak and also have lack of knowledge and why some people are both strong and capable of knowledge. His arguments are also weak about why the children of natural slaves appears like natural rulers and how someone can ecome a slave even that not being captured in a war r how one can become a slave while he or she is the child of a natural master. When it is looked from different perspectives and from the society that we live in, all these reasons given above makes us to stand Just opposite to Aristotles thoughts and believing that it is unjust to enslave someone no matter what. Nobody is capable enough to decide whether someone has enough knowledge or not; or unable to sustain their lives and achieve the happiness, therefore it does not make any sense to try clarify the slavery is Just in todays conditions.