Will American Hegemony Produce a Better World for Everybody?

Hegemony is defined as leadership, predominance, especially of one society over another. Encarta dictionary defines it as Control or dominating influence by one person or group especially over society or one nation over others. Referring to America, Stanly D. Brunn pointed out â€Å"the world’s single remaining superpower is the accountable hegemon† (p. 36). Every one would agree that the United States maintains its status as the only remaining superpower in the world though perhaps economically Japan and the rest of the G7 member countries are at par with the US.However many would disagree if one would say, ‘the U. S. remains the world’s police,’ and much more if one would add â€Å"a good policeman indeed. † Thus the question ‘Well American Hegemony Produce a better World for Everybody poses an important analysis of the role of the United States in the global community. But in the realist perspective, they see that the American attitud es towards international order is unstable not because of any special malign characteristic but because of the inherent insecurity that unequal power confers on weaker states.Michael Cox, Timothy Dunne, and Ken Booth pointed out their argument, â€Å"In anarchic orders, weaker states are threatened by extreme concentrations of power and will seek protection in counter-hegemonic groupings† (p. 193). But this has been debated issue as some contends that the American unipolarity is a highly durable political order. Cox, Dunne, and Booth argued that the American order is built on power.They point out â€Å"the extended system of American-led security protection in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, is an essential element of this order and it can only be sustained by dominant military capabilities, which in turn depends on continuing American economic and technological strength† (p. 193). Realism like any other ism such as naturalism and liberalism is a philosophical posit ion, therefore cannot be subjected to the test of falsifibility or cannot be proved or disproved. Benjamin Frankel point out that realism viewed peace as the result of power equilibrium than a cessation of conflicting ambition (p.6). They regard society as basically conflictive and the struggle for power among rival groups is a fundamental condition of human existence (Frankel, p. 6) Frankel cited that there is a differing position within realism. He noted that realist believed that human beings were driven by lust for power, while the rest including him, regarded power as essentially instrumental to and necessary for the achievement of other goals such as security and even liberal ideals (Frankel, p. 6). The American Hegemony American hegemony has been interpreted in some ways.Demetrios Caraley quoting the words of The Economist stated, â€Å"The united states bestrides the globe like a colossus. It dominates business, commerce, and communications; its economy is the world’ s most successful, its military might second to none† (p. 105). Caraley also cited French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine arguing that the United States had gone beyond its superpower status of the twentieth. He said â€Å"U. S. supremacy today extends to the economy, currency, military areas, lifestyle, language and the products of mass culture that inundate the world, forming thought and fascinating even the enemies of the United States† (Frankel, p.105). The American hegemony was also seen in the context of globalization. Caraley noted the statements of two American triumphalists stating, â€Å"Today’s international system is built not around a balance of power but around American hegemony† (p. 105). Globalization is seen simply a disguise for American imperialism. American hegemony has been described as â€Å"hyper power† and is not comparable, in terms of power and influence, to any thing known in modern history. G. John Ikenberry point out tha t hegemony is not just material power capabilities, and hegemonic order cannot be assured simply by a preponderance of such capabilities.He emphasized that a â€Å"leader needs followers and acquiescence of these followers is only achieved if the leader is seen as legitimate† (Ikenberry, p. 18) Quoting Michael Mastanduno, Ikenberry pointed out â€Å"Mastanduno argues that the United States has succeeded in establishing at least a partial hegemonic in East Asia† (Ikenberry, p. 18). The Realist view of Hegemony Realist held that only economically and militarily powerful nation-states qualifies as a hegemon since the use of power or economic sanctions against non-cooperating parties, is regarded as part of the game.Garrit Stratmann points out that this view hold that â€Å"a hegemon has to exercise hegemony over subordinated countries within its sphere of influence† (p. 37). In other words, though hegemony still reflects the preeminent position of a hegemonic actor , but does not necessarily imply dominance rather it is referred to as leadership. Thus, according to Stratmann in the realist view of hegemony, the focus is on the hegemon’s role â€Å"in mitigating collective action problems through the provisions of leadership over other donors and the creation of positive incentives to cooperate, e.g. by assuming a larger share of the costs to set up and maintain a cooperative infrastructure† (37). The realist argues that hegemony of one state provides a benefit for all by providing collective goods to all. Realist maintains that domination is always associated with coercion, state power, and indeed force, and hegemony remains consistently identified with equilibrium, persuasion, consolidation, and consent. Stuart Croft and Phil Williams cited Antonio Gramsci’s definition of hegemony whichâ€Å"stresses the explanatory importance of ideas – that this voluntary submission by one party to another is predicated on the b elief, right or wrong, that all parties will benefit from the interaction between the weak and the strong, even though it is important to emphasize that they might not recognize this act as submissive, nor may they recognize that the outcome might indeed be a hegemonic relationship† (68). Will the American Hegemony Produce a Better World in Realist Perspective? There are many factors that lead to a yes answer to the question above.It has been partly discussed above that the United State’s hegemony has been qualified, as the U. S. has succeeded in establishing partial hegemonic in East Asia. Further more, based on the definition and explanation of what hegemony is and the role of the hegemony in the international community of nation, it appears that indeed the American hegemony meets the requirement to produce a better world for everybody. The biggest threat to humanity to be able live a better life in a better world was the threat of communism prior to the collapsed of the Soviet Union.But with fall of Communism, it is now the evil of terrorism that brought real danger and fear worldwide. The political and social condition of life is no longer threatened by oppression but by the evil of terrorism, which only America can control. Michael Byers and Georg Nolte Noted that the concept of a â€Å"community by superpower is very popular in US international relations theory† (64) which promotes relations rather than dominion. In the realist view, state values of traditional international law prevail over community values such as human rights or sustainable development.Chrystalla A. Ellina noted that the â€Å"realist view of states as autonomous entities defined by geographical boundaries and distinctly separating domestic and foreign policy is incongruent with supra national policy† Realist argues that order is a result of the concentration of material power capabilities in a single state, which uses its commanding position to create and m aintain order. In a sense, realist’s view of hegemony is somewhat apprehensive as they tend to be suspicious of the real intention of the hegemonic nation. Paul J.D’Anieri asserts that Realist contends, â€Å"Great powers pursue hegemony in order to create a world order to favorable to themselves, and often exploitative to others† (p. 218) Jonathan Joseph point out that in the realist View, hegemony can only operate under conditions of social and material causality. Joseph cited â€Å"It is necessary to examine the social whole and its different structures and mechanisms, each of which has its own dynamics† (p. 126). However they admit that only militarily and economically strong nation is capable of being a hegemon.Since the only remaining superpower militarily and economically is the United States, it follows that American hegemony is legitimate and is capable to produce a better world for every body to live. The American use of power in the war against Iraq and against the Taliban forces maybe viewed as an attempt of global domination, but it is quite clear that threat of terrorism has been the main object the war. The world will never be safe with the terrorist around. The war on terror, which the US initiated, has put the world in a better and safer condition.Further more the benefit of globalization, democracy, and continues advancement of technology being carried out by the United States continues to make life easier. What the realist wanted to see actually in the American hegemony is that it should be able to provide benefit for weaker nations by providing collective goods to all. The US assistance in rebuilding European economies during the cold war era and its commitment for peace in the Middle East proves that the United States is working towards improving the world’s political and social condition.On the other hand, the problem that could be pointed out in the American hegemony is the concepts of democracy, which is associated with liberalization. It has been viewed that the American export of democracy and economic liberalization is imperialism, Americanizing its subject nations. Nevertheless, American democracies placed more values to human lives and give more protection and respect both for life and the basic rights of the individual.Realist maybe right that the American unipolar status may not last long but it may not be based on the dominant view that it is unstable and cannot but in time produce competition for the mantle of hegemon. John A. Agnew, Stuart Cordbridge admits that â€Å"there are a number of candidates for international ‘primacy’ available to replace the United States as Number One unless it acts decisively to prevent this† (130). Realist is not at all against hegemony or the American hegemony but just believe that society is basically conflictive.It means that they also recognize American hegemony as no one can dispute that the US is the only remainin g superpower. The realist assertion that hegemony means equilibrium or the balance of power does not certainly mean equal benefit or equal strength. They perhaps simply mean equal opportunity or equal protection, which is guaranteed in the American democracy. Andreas Hasenclever, Peter Mayer, and Volker Rittberger stated, â€Å"Realist theories of regimes emphasize relative power capabilities as a central explanatory variable and stress states sensitivity to distributional aspects of cooperation and regimes† (84).Hasenclever , Mayer, and Rittberger emphasized the realist teaches that the states are the most important actors on the world scene which act out of self -interest in an anarchical environment, without needing to renounce the liberal insights that state are able to realize common interests through cooperation and use international institutions to this ends† (83) Regardless of this statement, T. V. Paul James J. Wirtz, and Michael Fortmann pointed out that †Å"all realism agree on several fundamental assumptions about the nature of international politics† (104) It means that realist recognized some action by the state as a legitimate.Paul, Wirtz, and Fortmann noted that realist also believes that international politics are state centric, because politics are about relations between organized social groups and states are the primary organized groups in the modern world. Therefore the move to rid the world of international terrorist maybe state centric as it is triggered by the 7/11 terrorist attacked but it can also be in the realm of international politics as it was later joined by many other countries in an effort to subdue the international terrorist. Furthermore, based on the realist doctrines above, the U. S.led crusade against systematic mass extinction of people under a tyrannical rule that led to war against Taliban in Afghanistan and Saddam Hussein can still be viewed as part of the international politics, which aim to pro duce a better world for everybody to live. With all the effort of the United States to bring economic rehabilitation in Europe under the Truman Doctrine, the effort to bring peace in the Middle East by trying to mediate in Palestinian conflict, and the US effort to rid the world of the threat of terrorism; I can definitely say the American hegemony was able to produce a better world for everybody.Though the realist view seems to run counter on the concept of hegemony yet there are some areas that realist agrees to the hegemonic ideas. It is in this agreement therefore that the discussion in this paper was based. Realism maybe extreme in their doctrine about hegemony, power, and the community but they provided a political mirror by which the hegemonic states can be judge whether their actions are still within incongruent with hegemony. Work Cited Agnew, John and Corbridge. Mastering Space: Hegemony, Territory and International Political Economy.London: Routledge, 1995. Brunn, Stanley D. 11 September and Its Aftermath: The Geopolitics of Terror. London: Routledge, 2004 Byers, Michael and Nolte, Georg. United States Hegemony and the Foundations of International Law. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Caraley, Demetrios. American Hegemony: Preventive War, Iraq, and Imposing Democracy. New York: Academy of Political Science, 2004. Cox, Michael, et. al. Empires, Systems and States: Great Transformations in International Politics.UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Croft, Stuart and Williams, Phil. European Security Without the Soviet Union. Great Britain: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. , 1992. D’Anieri, Paul J. Economic Interdependence in Ukrainian – Russian Relations. New York: State University of New York Press, 1999. Ellina, Chystalla. Promoting Women’s Rights:The Politics of Gender in the European Union. London: Routledge, 2003 Frankel, Benjamin. Realism: Restatement and Renewal. Great Britain: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd. , 1996. Hasenclever, Andres, et.al. Theoris of International Regimes. UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Ikenberry, John. American Unrivaled: The Future of the Balance of Power. USA: Cornell University Press, 2002. Joseph, Jonathan. Hegemony a Realist Analysis. London: Routledge, 2003. Paul, T. V. , et. al. Balance of Power: Theory and Practice in the 21st Century. California, USA: Stanford University Press, 2004. Stratmann, Gerrit. Donor Coordination of Economic Assistance to Eastern Europe. London: Transaction Publishers, 2000.

Vomiting

Your body has a few main ways to respond to an ever-changing, wide variety of invaders and irritants. Sneezing ejects the intruders from the nose, coughing from the lungs and throat, diarrhea from the intestines, and vomiting from the stomach. Vomiting is a forceful action accomplished by a fierce, downward contraction of the diaphragm muscle. At the same time, the abdominal muscles tighten against a relaxed stomach with an open gastroesophageal sphincter. The contents of the stomach are propelled up and out. As part of a bodily reflex, you may produce more saliva just before vomiting. Vomiting is a complex, coordinated reflex orchestrated by the vomiting center of the brain. It responds to signals coming from: †¢The mouth, stomach, and intestines †¢The bloodstream, which may contain medicines or infections †¢The balancing systems in the ear (motion sickness) †¢The brain itself, including unsettling sights, smells, or thoughts An amazing variety of stimuli can trigger vomiting, from migraines to kidney stones. Sometimes, just seeing someone else vomit will start you vomiting, in your body's effort to protect you from possible exposure to the same danger. Vomiting is common. Almost all children will vomit several times during their childhood. In most cases, it is due to a viral gastrointestinal infection. Spitting up, the gentle sloshing of stomach contents up and out of the mouth, sometimes with a burp, is an entirely different process. Some spitting up is normal for babies, and usually gets gradually better over time. If spitting up worsens or is more frequent, it might be reflux disease. Discuss this with your child's doctor. Most of the time, nausea and vomiting do not require urgent medical attention. However, if the symptoms continue for days, they are severe, or you cannot keep down any food or fluids, you may have a more serious condition. Dehydration is the main concern with most vomiting. How fast you become dehydrated depends on your size, frequency of vomiting, and whether you also have diarrhea.

Deponds on what proverbs you choose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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It's up to paper comments - Essay Example The sentence that â€Å" I write for myself† is therefore a clear expression of the intention a writer often set for herself when she starts writing and projecting what is internal to her and only materialize through her imaginative thinking. This paper will therefore attempt to present an Stylistic analysis of the above mentioned piece of writing and will discuss as to how Amy Tan was successful in using stylistic tools such as lexis, syntax etc. From the contextual perspective this piece of writing clearly establishes as to how to write and how a writer shall clearly tackle her emotions and memories at the time of writing. It is clear that the Amy Tan writes for herself but the overall style and context within which the writing is done indicate the way a good writer shall always relate to her audience. For example, Tan mentions that she like the peculiarities of the language therefore she writes in a manner so as to understand what life really is all about. The confession that she don’t know much about the life itself indicate the relative intellectual thirst of the writer with which the overall thoughts and emotions are portrayed on the piece of paper to craft a perfect paper. The above quotation indicates the use of four as a symbol by Amy Tan in one of her works and refers to the way she associate it with different aspects of life. The use of word four is also can be considered as one of the motifs as it is used repeatedly and in some particular sense. Amy Tan however, consider the use of symbols not in their Jungian sense but rather they basically offer a clue to some of the hidden meanings. Amy writes: â€Å"To me, Symbols are stand-ins for abstract ideas. They belong to the High School of Hidden Meanings.† (Tan). This also indicates that the overall style of Tan, like her most of her work, is direct and often reflects the writer’s overall digression from established literary facts and conventions. (Chan and

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Loyalty Program and the effectiveness on Thai consumer decision-making Essay

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Steeple Analysis Of UK Supermarket

Steeple Analysis Of UK Supermarket The UK supermarket industry is the fastest growing sector of the UK economy that has made a great contribution to its economic development. Currently, the supermarket industry employs more than 1.1 million people and contributes more than 8% to the UK GDP (Euromonitor International, 2010). In every business environment, macro analysis is important to identify the factors that can hamper operations of organisations progress in the industry. STEEPLE (Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic, Political, Legal and Ethical) analysis is amongst the most effective tools that are used to monitor changes taking place in the environment of the business (Brown, 2007; Griffith Harmgart, 2008); the analysis is done to identify all important factors that can have a significant impact on any organisation operating in the UK supermarket industry. Li (2008) and Vasquez-Nicholson (2011) emphasized that Morrison PLC is a dominant brand in the UK supermarket industry as it derives its competitive edge by doing STEEPLE analysis frequently. It has successfully achieved its target market size by exploiting all strengths and availing opportunities present in its external environment. STEEPLE Analysis of UK Supermarket Every market is significantly impacted by both micro and macro environmental factors, but macro environmental factors have more influence on operational activities of a business (Jarett, 2012). Each factor of STEEPLE analysis with its relation to the UK supermarket industry is discussed below: Social Analysis The current trends of consumers in the UK market depict that they are moving from one stop shopping to a bulk buying mode as there are various social changes happening in the country. Supermarkets have availability of various non-food items which are usually on sale in the market. There have been demographic changes because there is an increase in old people, the number of female workers is increasing, and there is a significant reduction in homemade meals (Davis and Relly, 2009). There is more emphasis on the private label share of every business mix, efficiency in supply chain, and improvements in operational activities so that the overall cost of business is reduced. Most of the retail giants in UK are now shifting to local suppliers for their purchases and stock requirements (Vasquez-Nicholson, 2011; Waterman, 2007). In addition, consumers demand of products and services has changed because of their social conditioning along with their beliefs and attitudes (Lyan, 2007). Technological Analysis Technological developments have enhanced the service level of supermarkets in UK as they have benefitted both consumers and companies. With the help of technological gadgets, products are available quickly, personalized services are offered to customers and shopping has become convenient (Akter, 2012). The major systems that have enhanced UK supermarkets functioning are Electronic Point of Sale, Efficient Consumer Response, Electronic scanners and Electronic Funds Transfer System; these systems have assisted in efficient distribution and merchandizing activities so that requirements of each company are effectively communicated on time to the supplier (Grugulis, Bozkurt and Clegg, 2010). Environmental Analysis All organisations have to show that they engage in environment friendly activities; there is increased pressure on various managers and companies for acknowledging their social responsibility and they are required to behave in a beneficial way for the society (Smith, 2004). In the UK supermarket industry, the main issue at hand is that food retailers have to demonstrate that they conduct their operations in ways that are beneficial for the society as a whole and that is why every leading supermarket has taken initiatives to show their Corporate Social Responsibility promise. Even the UK government has launched a strategy for consumption in a sustainable manner and made mandatory changes in production methods to cut down waste, reduce resource consumption that produces harmful gases or particles which can cause pollution, and minimize damage to the environment (Trail, 2006). Economic Analysis The main factors to be studied in economic analysis are demands, costs, prices, profits, inflation, unemployment, interest rates and fluctuation in exchange rates along with various micro economic factors such as labour availability, product market, competitive structure and nature of competition. Considering the UK economys performance in 2012, its GDP growth rate is 1%, CPI rate is 2.2 %, unemployment rate is 7.9% and the current balance of payments is account deficit of GBP 2.8 billion (Trading Economics, 2012). Micro Economic Analysis Since international businesses of these supermarkets are growing, they are likely to get affected by reduction in the demand of UK food market and there is an increased exposure to risk of market concentration. There is immense pressure on existing companies to make sure that every factor is well studied so that all resources are effectively utilized. The Product Market All supermarkets have been developed with providing one stop buying facility and they have provided a wide range of options to the customers. Nowadays, people are looking for healthy and nutritious food so that they remain fit and healthy; the demand of organic foods has increased and customers are looking for easy access to these food items. The supermarkets are now placing these food items in their outlets to respond to their customer demands. The Labour Market As the number of supermarkets is increasing in UK, there is a huge requirement for workforce that can provide services to customers with perfection. Since skills required for performing necessary tasks are of a lower level, people with minimum education can easily find a job in this market. The labour availability is high as people have many jobs available in this field. Also, the demand of products is increasing, so supermarkets have added huge variations in each category. Competitive Structure In UK, the supermarket industry is believed to be an oligopoly market, which is highly competitive; there are four main firms in this industry, i.e. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrison, which have more than 75% of the overall market share (Jarett, 2012). The pricing is almost the same, so customers are able to buy the products they need within their affordable range. Nature of Competition The nature of competition is getting intensified: the number of competitors is increasing because other companies are entering this field, such as Waitrose, Marks Spencer and many more (Seely, 2012). Political and Legal Analysis The political parties in UK are taking aggressive steps to protect the small shops and stores in the country so that their business does not close down; they have imposed many restrictions on the supermarkets so that a fair and competitive environment is created in the grocery industry. The Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission are the two main bodies that ensure that supermarkets do not create monopoly and offer fair prices to the customers. Recently, the government has relaxed UK Sunday Trading Laws for benefits of the employees and introduced a new style of food labelling so that shoppers in the supermarket can make healthy choices. Since obesity is the primary issue in the UK population, there is a growing trend of organic and healthy food and various initiatives are being taken by the government to create awareness of eating healthy and nutritious food. The government has also passed the laws for reducing the usage of single carrier plastic bags so that the environment is protected from any kind of pollution. Ethic Analysis In the UK supermarket industry, each company has to ensure that its business operations are conducted in accordance with the ethical standards. The sector is assumed by law to be observing ethical behaviour and conduct business practices in accordance with corporate governance. Every organisation has to ensure that it conducts its practices with integrity, transparency, accountability and honesty (Nicholls and Opal, 2005). Linkage of STEEPLE Analysis with Morrison PLC STEEPLE analysis plays an important role in identifying all important factors that are impacting Morrison PLC, but the most important factors are social, economic and legal ones. The social factors are of utmost importance because every company exists to serve its customers; it is important to understand their changing trends so that products and services are modified accordingly. Likewise, analysis of economic factors gives an idea of economic condition along with spending power of customers; with the help of these factors, it can decide on its operational activities and further expansion plans. Since legislation is a mandatory part of every business environment, Morrison will have to ensure that it follows all rules and regulations to ensure compliance with the legislative framework; in case any rule is broken, a heavy penalty will be charged, which can be costly for the company. Hence, these three factors are the most important areas of concern for Morrison PLC. Importance of Human Resource Management in Supermarkets HRM is an integral part of every business organisation, and it is important for them to have a highly skilled and motivated workforce that will assist them in achieving their desired goals and move successfully ahead in the industry (Torrington, Hall and Taylor, 2008). Following are the two examples of importance of HRM in the UK supermarket industry: Tesco Tesco is among the largest supermarkets of UK that employs more than 326,000 people and has been earning a consistent stream of revenue in the last couple of years (Euromonitor International, 2010). The company has done a competitive analysis to improve the ways in which interaction is done with customers. In order to enhance its position in the supermarket industry of UK, it has used concepts of welfare management, continuous improvement and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) along with well designed HRM strategies. The employees are treated as champions and are even rewarded for their extraordinary achievements; they are involved in decision making process as well. All of these interactive initiatives enhanced employees satisfaction level, motivation and productivity along with acceptance to change and have high morale for work. In order to ensure that Tesco provides a favourable working environment to its employees, it has properly implemented all important laws that will ensure employees are given their rights. For instance, they are given competent compensation packages, working environment is conducive, preventive measures are taken to provide healthy and a safe environment, and equal job opportunities and various other benefits are given (Freeman, 2009). In order to ensure that everyone is given the best employment opportunities, it is important for Tesco to conduct market analysis on an ongoing basis. It seeks help from marketing agencies that evaluate environment and ensure that they design competent compensation packages. By focusing on efficient development of its workforce, Tesco has been able to gain a competitive edge in the market. The satisfaction surveys of employees have shown that they are satisfied with their working environment and they will remain loyal to the company forever. With the help of a participative management culture, Tesco has been able to identify its weak areas and has successfully made the required changes so that overall performance of the company improves (Grugulis, Bozkurt and Clegg, 2010). Sainsburys When Sainsburys noticed that its sales were declining and it was unable to achieve its target market share, it decided to do its competitive analysis, which meant doing both internal and external analysis. The main problem highlighted in the analysis was that it lacked a competent and loyal workforce and there was misalignment between the organisation strategy and the companys overall strategy. There was a lot of miscommunication in the organisation as employees had lack of clarity about their jobs and how they were supposed to make contribution in the company. Overall, its HR department was not functioning smoothly as the right workforce was not employed at that time (Fox and Vorley 2004; Li, 2008). The foremost thing that was required was to change the culture of the organisation and it was made possible by receiving top management support. The code of conduct along with HR policies and regulations were distributed to employees so that they were aware of new rules and regulations that they had to abide by; job descriptions were changed to match demands of every position. Sainsburys even did a market survey to identify HR structures of its competitors and also compensation packages that should be offered to employees. After planning of HRM, it was implemented properly and monitored at small intervals to check its progress; six months later, Sainsburys observed an upward trend in its sales figures, along with an improved satisfaction level of employees. The company made changes in its recruitment and selection, training and developments, compensation and benefits and performance appraisal processes so that everything in HRM was well-integrated. Conclusion In order to be competitive in todays supermarket industry, companies have to make sure that they do analysis of their internal and external environments on an ongoing basis so that they have the latest information about things that are happening in their surroundings. Although STEEPLE analysis is important for identifying the factors which have a tendency of influencing the working environment of supermarkets, equally important are their workforces as they are the ones who are in direct interaction with customers. The main factor affecting the supermarket industry of UK is the workforce as it is important for the supermarkets to employ people who are well-skilled and efficient in helping the companies in achieving their corporate objectives. Since the number of employees in this sector is increasing, there are more chances that the employment level increases and spending power of people is enhanced. Another important factor that needs to be addressed is the growing concern for a healthy lifestyle and food; the consumers are now shifting to organic food. Therefore, the supermarkets have to ensure that they have a specific range of products that are demanded by customers, so that they can ensure that they maintain their position in the market.

Democracy Rising? Essay -- International Politics

Since America's tragedy on September 11, 2001 the Middle East has been the epicenter of international attention. Cries for democracy and freedom in the region have permeated the western media. When Iraq was found to be devoid of the Weapons of Mass Destruction, bringing democracy to the country became the new reason for the war. Nearly every first world country in the world is a democracy if not in name then in practice. It would be forgivable to think that democracy is the cause of wealth, civil liberties, and all the things associated with first world countries, for there is almost no wealthy nation today that is not a de facto democracy. However while democracy is undoubtedly a tremendous invention of mankind and works well in many nations that, does not mean it is universally correct and should be applied to every nation in the world. For if democracy were forced upon many Middle Eastern nations it would not be a harbinger of increased civil liberties, wealth, and peace, b ut a step towards secular extremist regimes, far less friendly to each other and the west than their moderate authoritarian predecessors. In the early nineteenth century after world war one, the Ottoman Empire collapsed. It encompassed much of the middle east and Arab world, the League of Nations, a group of imperialist western nations which had fought on the winning allied side during the war had grand intentions of preventing future wars. However some of their actions are credited with directly leading to the second world war. One of their mandates that would have grim consequences for future generations was ratified in the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, this treaty effectively divvied up the middle east into new colonies for the victorious Eu... ...rative Political Studies 43.11 (2010): 1442-1470. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. Falk, Richard. "America's Pro-Iraqi Neutrality." Nation 231.13 (1980): 398-401. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. Guida, Michelangelo. "The New Islamists' Understanding of Democracy in Turkey: The Examples of Ali Bulac and Hayreddin Karaman." Turkish Studies 11.3 (2010): 347-370. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Dec. 2010. Tibi, Bassam. "Islamism and Democracy: On the Compatibility of Institutional Islamism and the Political Culture of Democracy." Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions 10.2 (June 2009): 135-64. Print. Weiffen, Brigitte. "The Cultural-Economic Syndrome: Impediments to Democracy in the Middle East."Comparative Sociology 3.3/4 (2004): 353-375. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 7 Dec. 2010.

The Vices of Human Nature in Homers The Odyssey Essay -- World Litera

The sum of all human traits is defined as human nature, meaning the excuse for our vices, and the flaws of mortal life. In Homer's The Odyssey, the main character Odysseus demonstrates these flaws throughout his journey, constantly struggling through the eternal fight for realization of life and death, and is weighed down by the never ending power struggle of nature versus mankind. In The final chapters of Odysseus's quest, the reader believes that the main character has finally found himself. The problem with his happy ending is that he has forgotten one thing. Odysseus is not perfect he is human. Though he has learned much through his perils, the vices of Pride, vengeance, and dependency, all come back to haunt him during the slaughter in the hall, leaving the reader to wonder if he learned anything during his time away from home. What if the true lesson learned was that human nature will always prevail? In book twenty-two, when Odysseus is preparing to slaughter the suitors, he exclaims, murdering bow in hand: "Look-your crucial test is finished, now at last! But look ...

Satan :: essays research papers

Satan If you take a look at his personality with an open mind, Satan actually has characteristics of a respectable person. One of Satan's characteristics is his evilness; he is the personification of evil. That isn't one of his admirable traits, but it's what makes Satan who he is. When you hear the word, Satan, you immediately think evil. In general, people look at Satan and that is all that runs through their minds. Evilness is the trademark of Satan's personality. Another of Satan's features is his intelligence. He usually isn't noted for this. If you think about it, Satan had to be reasonably smart to plan a crusade against God. He also has the intellect enough to trick people and to transform a person's personality. That is why when you get involved with Satan you usually end up losing. A person is sometimes respected for his intelligence. Many of the famous people in our past and present are intelligent. Satan is also a leader. He led the war against God in heaven, and he is also the leader of hell. You can tell Satan is a leader when he quotes, 'it is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven';. Leadership is a respected quality. Look at Martin Luther King, Jr. He led a rebellion for black people and today he is respected for that. Bravery is another one of Satan's 'respectable'; mannerisms. Satan had to have been fairly brave to plan a battle against God. Even though he was banned from heaven, he is the leader of hell, and he still plans to get God back for what he did. A brave person is usually always recognized in society. To have pride is a good thing. People or teams that have pride are the ones that succeed. They need to have the type of pride that gives esteem and not ego. Satan had pride mainly in himself and his work. He is proud of all the things that he does. Satan is a very ambitious creature. He doesn't give up on something once he starts. With God, Satan can't directly torment him. So he must use God's creation of people to 'win';. Satan doesn't give up easily. The first thing that he thought when he got to hell was how he could take revenge of God. Satan's ambition might become more noticeable in the

Crisis Management Essay

Crisis management is easily becoming a concern and priority because of the needs of the modern world. More than ever, there is advancement in technology. Technology can be used to assist prepare for crisis and to make them more manageable. Man made crisis can arise from disasters created by human activity like bombs or war equipment. They require preparedness so as to minimize or eradicate effects on society. Crisis from natural disasters like tsunami, volcanoes also require preparedness since even when they can be predicted, their effects can be quite extensive and hard to wholly avoid. An earthquake of 8. 9 magnitude hit Indonesia, creating a tsunami that led to extensive costs in human life, buildings and finances. As a result, many countries accessed their crisis management systems so as to be prepared in future against such a disaster. Tsunami emergency management systems Due to the 2004 tsunami disaster, countries have amplified their systems for warning, planning and monitoring tsunami. TsunamiReady is such an initiative encouraging alliance between several sectors. StormReady cites these sectors are emergency management agencies in the local, state and federal levels as well as the National Weather Service and general public population. The first task of the alliance is to create tsunami awareness among the population. More awareness will lead to better response. Concentration is on those who are more vulnerable, for example, those along the coasts who would be in direct line of a tsunami. An example is the Australian Tsunami Warning System that deals with exclusively with tsunamis. Governments have launched initiatives to assist in this. In the UK, for example, the contingency planning outlines the management of a crisis from what constitutes a crisis, its declaration as a crisis, what follows after and the role of the various part in the management. In this case, a crisis is an occurrence within the UK threatening grave harm to the public wellbeing (Civil Contingencies Act 2004). It outlines the responsibility of the leaders and accountability. The programs responsible for tsunami crisis management are operated in coordination with Meteorology, Geosciences, and Emergency Management departments. It is through this effort that communities can be served effective tsunami warnings. Information and knowledge gathered by individual countries is also contributing towards international establishment of regional Tsunami Warning System, for example, Indian Ocean Tsunami warnings, West Pacific tsunami warnings among others. These tsunami warning services provide 24hour analysis and monitoring of tsunamis. Documented seismic and sea-level networks are continually extended to facilitate efficient tsunami warnings. They are also actively involved in improving community tsunami training and education programs countrywide. Governments have also set aside radio service that will be operational during tsunami crisis and the frequencies distributed to those at the coastline so that communication can be facilitated during threats of tsunami. National websites have been set for these areas for updates and warnings including tracking tsunami movements. In additional, toll free emergency telephone numbers for tsunami crisis have been set aside in many countries for the dispensation of information. In the America pacific area, tsunami threat is handled by the StormReady under Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Its one of the programs affiliated with TsunamiReady. It was created in Oklahoma USA in 1999. Its main goal is to assist communities increase safety and communication skills. These two skills are important before, during and after a crisis. StormReady (2010) assists those responsible for community wellbeing to reinforce local safety programs through more education and awareness and better planning. Interagency coordination According University of Defense ( 2003. p. 3) managing crisis effectively means a synchronized addressing of all spheres of a crisis. The University of Defense (2003. p. 3) states that these spheres could be the political, diplomatic, economic, humanitarian or social. Without coordination in planning, operations and communication it is easy for responsibilities to be unmet because it’s unclear whose obligation it is. Interagency coordination also assists maximize efforts and avoid redundancy. When each agency concentrates on one area, another takes a different route and more service and help is offered to those in need. Government role in a crisis Haddow et al (2008, p. 9) states that the government has a major role to play in helping its citizens prepare for crisis like the tsunami crisis. One of the best things the government can do is grant funding that will facilitate smooth running of emergency management services. Paramount in crisis management is education of its citizens, coordination of evacuation procedures and funding for recovery efforts. It is not easy to know the best way to respond to a threat when one does not know the nature of the threat. If a threat is from weather, the citizens need to know all the aspects that are involved and how to respond. Education should aim to educate those who are especially vulnerable. For tsunami, all those on the front shores, coastlines, or are involved in marine life should be well educated as to proper response incase of a crisis. According to Haddow et al (2008, p. 101) The local communities on their part should seek to educate its local population before a crisis hits. They should ensure continuous education and that the local population is well knowledgeable on the crisis that are most likely to affect them and they are able to respond in an effective way incase of a crisis. Practice should be used so that all members of a family, for example, know what to do incase of a crisis. The government should also ensure effective communication before, during and after a crisis. That way, it is able to give warning in time, communicate evacuation routes, assist with information during evacuation and offer necessary services in any aftermath. Some of the services that the government can offer during a crisis proposed by Haddow et al (2008, p. 105) are search and rescue missions, medical services and food provisions to survivors. The role of media in a crisis The media tends to provide information fast. Due to modern technology, the media is able to relay information widely too. During the 2004 tsunami crisis, the local media coverage drew attention to what was happening. Although the tsunami was not expected, media worldwide was able to communicate the disaster and rescue missions were launched. This was one instance where the media really played a crucial role in dispensing information. Sommers et al ( 2006, p. 1) states that media raises awareness and can be challenging to authorities as was seen in the hurricane Katrina disaster. It is argued that sometimes also becomes directly involved in the events as happened in New Orleans during the disaster. However, media can be discriminatory in its coverage. Even as media was creating tremendous awareness on the situation, its response was considered sluggish. In an ironical twist, racism was blamed for the slow response to the disaster by media even as the media blamed the government’s slow response on racism as Sommers pointed out (2006. p. 2). Sommers et al ( 2006, p. ) found that sometimes the media can also pick a spin on a crisis that might not be of most importance as long as it will give their news an edge. This has been cited as what happened during hurricane Katrina where there was undue focus was on crime happening. Sommers et al ( 2006, p. 7) also argues that media is also prone to exaggerations especially in the heat of the making of a story as was also evident in hurricane Katrina coverage. Public perception during a crisis Public perception in crisis is largely influenced by information that the public receives. This is because in most cases the public is far from firsthand information. If they receive erroneous information from the media or government, they will respond according to that. Sommers (2006, p. 8) found that in the case of hurricane Katrina crisis the emphasis on crime coverage may have greatly discouraged some individuals from rescue efforts and had potential to bias people outside that state. In the age of free media where overload of information seems like the norm, the role of responsible media coverage can not be over emphasized in the formation of healthy public perception. While crisis are hard to deal with, the media can find itself pressured to create scapegoats when the public wants to allocate blame. In the case of 2004 tsunami many reports especially on the Internet tried to blame the victims, global warming, western countries and even God. It can sometimes feel easier to blame victims for what happens to reduce feelings of vulnerability in the general population as Sommers et al noted (2006. p. 9) Post crisis recovery and continuity strategies Post recovery and continuity plan are integral parts of managing a crisis. The process of crisis management is not over until those affected are able to continue with their economic, social and productive life. According to research by Gartner (2001, p. 2) the economic aspect is especially imperative since it accelerates the recovery of businesses and thus peoples lives and their communities. Post crisis recovery strategies need to be in place before the disaster for best effect. It is necessary to set recovery objectives. Gartner cites one of the most important post recovery strategies as recovery of data and critical technology. Loss of information is one of the hindrances to quick recovery. For example, businesses find it important to have human resource information so that it can facilitate services to its employees, for example, as they claim benefits. Another strategy is government funding and dispensation of emergency funds. Finances play a big part in the recovery process especially in rebuilding. Finances also facilitate businesses to begin their functions and rebuilding of communities can begin. Gartner (2001, p. ) states that in addition governments require financial institutions to continue their services in areas hit by crisis as a means of encouraging growth and to avoid disruption of economic endeavors. This was helpful after hurricane Katrina for example. Through policing peace and security are enforced to avoid lawlessness. Other human needs are addressed through various agencies offering humanitarian assistance that caters for social requirements. Doctors and counselors are especially helpful in dealing with the physical and psychological effects of a crisis. Conclusion Crisis can come from human activities or through natural forces. It can be hard to anticipate them. Even when they are anticipated, it might not be easy to avoid their impact on communities. There is better preparedness today against crisis but at the same time, there are increasing threats to human wellbeing. While nature continues to threaten human wellbeing with better planning and execution of crisis management much of the effects can be reduced. Human threats like chemical warfare are best avoided and stringent measures put in place to reduce loss.

Transcendentalist Mccandless

Transcendentalist McCandless What is transcendentalism? How is Christopher J. McCandless a transcendentalist? Transcendentalism is a philosophy, and a way of life. It consists of being a non-conformist, becoming one with nature, and rejecting materialism. Throughout Jon Krakauer’s novel, Into The Wild, McCandless happens to achieve all of the above. â€Å"Whoso would be a man, must be a non-conformist† (Emerson). He defied society, lived in the wild, and never cared about â€Å"things†. He existed off the land in Alaska, the west coast, and even Mexico. McCandless did not want anything else in life but happiness; he found this in the wilderness.As Emerson states in Self-Reliance, â€Å"society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of ever one of its members. † Conforming to society means to not be true to oneself. McCandless thought that conforming to society would make him another robot citizen. He believed in having his own opinion, being origi nal, and living how he wanted to. He proved this by â€Å"wandering across North America in search of raw, transcendent experience† (Krakauer authors note). This describes the adventure of his life, what he wanted, and what his plans were. Nobody knew Chris had planned on this.During his time working at McDonalds, McCandless also refused to wear socks. The assistant manager, George Dreeszen, even says that Chris â€Å"just plain couldn’t stand to wear socks† (40). McCandless did not care what people criticize him for, he did what he wanted to do, not what others told him was proper. In fact, as soon as he was done work he would immediately take his socks off. Another way McCandless proves to being a non-conformist is by living in the Slabs. Anybody could live in the Slabs, â€Å"the retired, the exiled, the destitute, the perpetually unemployed.Its constituents are men and women and children of all ages†¦the middle-class grind† (43). Any type and eve ry type of person lived in the Slabs. Chris felt accepted here, for nobody was judging your every move. By wearing no socks, living in the Slabs, and doing what he wanted made McCandless a non-conformist, a social outcast. Throughout the novel, it is evident that McCandless promotes becoming one with nature by talking about it with other employees when working at McDonald’s, writing about it in a letter to Ronald Franz, and writing about it in other letters as well.For example, in a letter McCandless wrote to Ronald Franz, he talks about becoming one with nature. He pressures how Franz should life his life. McCandless states, â€Å"you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of†¦ Don’t settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon† (57). McCandless not only wants a life in the wild, he is also trying to spread the wilderness lifestyle to Franz. Likewise, while McCandless wa s employed at Bullhead’s McDonalds, he tends to talk about becoming one with nature.Other employees could tell that he loved nature by spending very little time with him. Lori Zarza, the second assistant manager of the McDonald’s, states that, â€Å"he was always going on about trees and nature and weird stuff like that† (40). McCandless was infatuated over the idea of living in the wild. Moreover, in another letter that McCandless wrote, he talks about how nature has transformed him. McCandless states, â€Å"The beauty of this country is becoming part of me† (91). He is absorbing the country; it is changing the way he looks at life. McCandless can only fixate on becoming one with nature while he is not in its presence.Christopher McCandless rejects materialism during the course of the novel and pursues the simple life by refusing a brand new car from his parents, rebuffing Jim Gallien’s watch, and giving his savings away, and burning his cash. McC andless first rejects materialism by burning all the cash he had left after giving away his savings. He did not wish to be able to use money as a way to help him. â€Å"He changed his name, gave the entire balance of a twenty-four-thousand-dollar savings account to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, [and] burned all the cash in his wallet† (Author’s Note).Any materialistic person would consider him crazy for his bizarre actions. Then, he turns down a brand new car his parents offered to buy him. He believed his car to be in perfect condition. McCandless states, â€Å"I’ve told them a million times that I have the best car in the world†¦ yet they ignore what I say and think I’d actually accept a new car from them† (21). McCandless has visibly made his point that he does not want any â€Å"things†. McCandless then goes on to decline Jim Gallien’s offer to take his watch. He did not want to know the time nor whe re he was.Gallien states that wished not, â€Å"to know what time it is. I don’t want to know what day it is or where I am† (7). McCandless wants to be as free as he can, having a watch will give him too much unnecessary information. A typical materialist has reasons to believe McCandless as outlandish for his discarding of his money, and not wanting a free watch or car. McCandless did not worry about the â€Å"things† in life; he just wanted happiness. Krakauer proved McCandless to be a transcendentalist. McCandless could not care less about the standards that were bestowed upon his generation.He wanted to be himself, not a societal robot. McCandless did not enjoy wearing socks, he lived in the Slabs; a place where almost all non-conformist go. He left the Slabs to live in the wilderness; he worshipped the wilderness, which led to his demise. Of all the things that were offered to him, McCandless accepted none. â€Å"Rather than love, than money, than fame, gi ve me truth† (117). He just wanted the truth to his family. He wanted happiness, McCandless wanted to know everything would be safe and sound. McCandless is a transcendentalist, he only wished to be happy, free of all the â€Å"things†, and in the wild.

Exploring the theme of guilt in the fifth business and macbeth

This paper will explore the theme of guilt in the stories of â€Å"Macbeth† by William Shakespeare and the â€Å"Fifth Business† by Robertson Davies. More specifically, this paper claims the guilt is a powerful emotion that can destroy a person. Basically, guilt in the context of the two stories led to devastations and up to some extent the ultimate downfall of a person. Moreover, guilt is confronted by people in different ways. Some would have a difficult time getting over it while others would easily get rid of it. And finally, it is the guilt of a person that serves as a catalyst to his suffering which is most of the time, on the emotional aspect On the story of Macbeth, guilt is found on the act of killing. The protagonist of the story, Macbeth, was persuaded to kill King Duncan of Scotland as well as his guard due to the persuasion of the three witches and his wife. But after the deed was done, Macbeth was guilt stricken. This is evident on the absent-mindedness nature of Macbeth after committing murder. In fact, after immediately killing the King, Macbeth is still carrying the bloodied daggers which are supposed to be planted on the guards of the King. Because of this, Lady Macbeth has to return into the King’s chamber to plant the daggers and even smear blood on the guards. It was noted that Macbeth has told her wife that he could not bring himself to return at the room anymore. In addition, even before the act of killing the King, Macbeth already feels guilty to what he will do. This is depicted on Act II, Scene II, Line 42 and 43 of the novel. It was declared in these lines that he heard of a voice saying that he has â€Å"murdered sleep† and that he â€Å"shall sleep no more†. Even after Macbeth became a King, the guilt feeling still lingered. It has even aggravated by his hallucinations with his order of killing Banquo. Furthermore, even Lady Macbeth has suddenly felt remorse with their deed. As a matter of fact, Lady Macbeth’s conscience has been irrelevant on their earlier part of the story. Eventually, she was also guilt-stricken thus having hallucinations and other vivid forms of imagination. At the end of the story, both of the Macbeths suffered a painful death which is a result of their deed in killing King Duncan. Meanwhile, the story of the Fifth Business tells about the guilt felt by Dunstable Ramsay towards a woman named Mary Dempster. Basically, when Ramsay and his friend, Percy Boyd Staunton, are snow fighting, they accidentally hit Mrs. Dempster who is pregnant at this time. Because of this, the act resulted to the very problematic as well as premature labor of Mrs. Dempster to his child, Paul Dempster. Unlike his friend Staunton, Ramsay was very guilty to what happened because he was the one who is supposedly hit by the snowball. This is evident in his lines, â€Å"I was contrite and guilty, for I knew the snowball had been meant for me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Davies, p. 3). From then on, everything had changed especially on the family of Mrs. Dempster. These changes had greatly affected Ramsay which caused him great emotional suffering. Although Ramsay was not directly affected by the changes in the family of Mrs. Dempster, he was nonetheless indirectly hit hard by these changes. More specifically, after the premature labor of Paul Dempster, Mrs. Dempster has become what they call a ‘simple-minded fool’ or a plagued with ‘madness’. This condition was perceived by Ramsay to be a lifelong responsibility to take care for Mrs. Dempster, thus offering some help in the chores of the Dempster household. Furthermore, Paul Dempster ran away from home even before he reached the age of ten (10). This is because of the Mr. Dempster blames him for the things that happened to his wife after giving birth to him. Specifically, he blames him for his mother’s madness. In fact, this blaming is complicated by the cruel jokes of people to Mrs. Dempster who thinks there is something funny about her. All throughout his life, Ramsay felt guilty to the many things that happened after the untimely labor of Mrs. Dempster. This is proclaimed in his lines delivered to Staunton that, â€Å"[This] is the stone you put in the snowball you threw at Mrs. Dempster†¦ I've kept it because I couldn't part with it.† (Davies, p. 270) In other words, up to the end of the story, Ramsay was not able to get rid of the guilt he felt toward the incident that happened during his snow fighting. Indeed, the theme of guilt is relevant on the two stories. On Macbeth, the protagonist of the story, Macbeth, was guilt stricken for killing the King in order to get his throne. In the long run, he was not able to get rid of this guilt thus contributing to his downfall. The same is true with the fate of her wife, Lady Macbeth, who committed suicide because of her guilt, which she was not able to contain. On the story of the Fifth Business, the protagonist, Ramsay, was also unsuccessful in getting rid of his guilt despite the efforts he had done in order to reconcile with it. In a nutshell, guilt can be concluded as a strong emotional force which can significantly shape the lives of every man. This is especially true in the case of people who are guilt-stricken. All their lives, they will be haunted by their conscience because of what they have done. And most of the time, it is their guilt that dictates the tempo of their life. As such, they become forever bound with the power of guilt. REFERENCES Davies, Robertson. (2001). Fifth Business.   New York: Gail Godwin Shakespeare, William. (1992). Macbeth. Ed. by Barabara Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Press.

What is Crime?

The Oxford English dictionary defines crime as â€Å"an act punishable by law, as being forbidden by statute or injurious to the public welfare, an evil act; an offence, a sin, -an act can only be considered a crime when identified as such by law. An act was defined a crime in the old testament with the creation of the Ten Commandments. This was when it was literally set into stone that numerous acts became a crime against God, the first rules of the world.Crimes are now defined as crimes with the help of the legal system and certain pieces of legislature and cannot always necessarily be traced back to the Ten Commandments. Crime now has abundant definitions, the most obvious being crime as criminal law violation. The Hg Worldwide Legal Directories website delineates criminal law as encompassing, ‘the rules and statutes written by Congress and state legislators dealing with any criminal activity that causes harm to the general public, with penalties.’ Therefore to viola te criminal law, the individual would be engaging in behaviour that is prohibited by the criminal law. However it has recently become extremely difficult to determine what is now perceived as a crime.Crime has no universal or objective existence but is relative to the subjective contingencies of social and historical circumstance, this is crime as historical intervention. For example, causing death of another individual, whether by neglect or with full intention is a crime, however it is almost justifiable and on many occasions heroic when practised in warfare. This is reiterated with the recent poaching ban, poaching only became criminalised through the convergence of new class and power interests in the 18th Century. James Treadwell argues this point as a criminologist and indicates that specific acts that were once socially acceptable are now becoming criminalised, ‘crime is not static or fixed, it constantly changes.Things that once were not criminalised become so, such as paedophiles ‘grooming’ victims on the internet. . .similarly, activities, which were illegal, may become legal, such as consenting homosexual behaviour between men’. These arguments make it hard to define what crime is as the ‘rules’ of crime are ever-changing. The BBC published an online article that illustrates the extent to which crime is uneasily defined, ‘a hundred years ago you could buy opium and cocaine over the counter at Harrods. Acts which are perfectly legal here may be serious crimes in other countries and vice versa.’ To help us understand what makes a crime a crime, Cesare Lombroso, an Italian criminologist introduced to the idea of positivism, the social reaction to classicism.Classicism is the theory that the punishment for a crime should reflect the severity of said crime. This concept was developed during the transition from feudalism to capitalism and is a strong believer that each individual chooses whether to commi t a crime or not as every person is raised in society that outlines the difference between right and wrong. The criticism for this concept is argued that at what age do you become criminally responsible, for example the horrific act of the two young boys that committed a severe crime when kidnapping and torturing Jamie Bulger.The boys were eleven at the time, therefore as children they unfortunately served half the period of time that an adult would have if they had committed this crime due to the legal system believing they were not fully responsible as they had been raised in broken homes. The contrasting theory to this is that of Positivism, the scientific approach to crime. This concept developed by Lombroso attempts to look at the genetic or biological explanation for a criminal gene. This concept is harshly criticised as many members of the public deem this as treating criminality as an illness.Lombroso published a book in which he makes sever references to the concept of posi tivism and argues that people are wrong to fear that, ‘positivism encourages communistic ideas and even worse criminal behaviour’. This became the birth of criminology. Treadwell discusses Lombroso’s work and informs us that his work is still being studied to the modern day, ‘Lombroso’s work could be placed under the heading of biological criminology, investigations of the causes of criminality using more sophisticated research methods. . .have continued to be developed in the twentieth century’.Tim Newburn wrote that Edwin Sutherland defined criminology as, ‘the study of the making of laws, the breaking of laws, and of society’s reaction to the breaking of laws’. Crime can also be defined as social harm. For example, we ask the question are tobacco companies selling harmful products that are in turn, effectively killing us, murderers. Is this a crime? This is known as the crime of violation to human rights, therefore a fur ther definition could be health and safety issues in the workplace. This is reiterated when we discuss ‘white collar crime’.We struggle to define crime as crime is an act  that breaches the criminal law, however many of the people we put in charge of running our countries or deciding these criminal laws are in fact themselves committing crimes. If this is so, why are these crimes socially acceptable? The offences of these crimes tend to be ‘invisible’ or painfully difficult to trace. They are often committed by persons of high social status and respectability therefore they find it easier to evade persecution. ‘White collar crime’ is often broken down into, embezzlement, breaches of health and safety and environmental crimes. Bhopal was identified as one of the worst industrial ‘accidents’ this world had witnessed.The 1984 incident that killed 8000 people instantly and injuring a further 200’000 was believed an accident du e to the lethal gases leaking from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory. For 20 years after this tragedy, an estimated 30 people a month were believed to have died from lung disease, brain damage, cancer, all linking to the gas leak of 1984. This accident was contested in court yet the people involved have yet to receive a settlement fee and not one person was held responsible for this mass homicide. Newburn records Bhopal as a crime and a ‘major industrial disaster’ in his book as he files it under the heading, ‘environmental crime’. This helps us to define crime as a class issue due to crimes of the powerful having greater potential to cause more harm than crimes of the less powerful.Newburn furthermore analyses hidden crimes within criminology, ‘Criminology has been regularly, roundly and rightly criticised for this preoccupation: a concern with the crimes of the powerless rather than the powerful, with the ‘crimes of the streets’ rather than the ‘crimes of the suites’. The Marxist concept of this is crime as an ideological censure, that acts would only be defined a crime when in the interest of the ruling classes at that period of time. These crimes remain hidden for various reasons. The diffusion of responsibility means that is extremely difficult to legally and morally identify a persecutor, secondly a lot of the crimes the general public hear about are in the media and corporate crime simply does not sell. Media coverage creates moral panic and fear of ‘crime’.To define crime we often look to the media to decipher their reaction on a specific incident. However, although crime consumes an enormous amount of media space as both entertainment and news, concepts of crime are mediated by profit margins. Due to only crimes that are considered to grasp the attention of the general  public being reported, this effects what we as an individual define as a crime. Treadwell argues that, à ¢â‚¬Ëœmost media institutions seek to attract as wide an audience as possible to maximise their profits. . .to attract and retain audiences media products have to entertain, be dramatic or exciting, and sometimes cause outright shock’. Therefore as crime is seemingly a troubling aspect of our life this would seem the most appropriate topic to cover.Treadwell labels this concept, ‘newsworthiness’. He goes on to discuss that, ‘Today, crime stories are increasingly selected and ‘produced as media events on the basis of their visual . . . as well as their lexical-verbal . . . potential’. There is a vivid and highly complex relationship between the media and the criminal justice system. A further more obvious way in which we can define crime is by the Home Office statistics. The Home Office websites defines themselves as, ‘the lead government department for immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime, counter-terrorism and police’. T he two main methods of collecting the criminal data that feature in the Home Office are victim surveys and statistics recorded by the police force. However, only particular offences, ‘serious crimes’ are reported by the police to the Home Office statistics, not the summary offences that are heard in the Courts.Police are also under the instruction to record every allegation they hear and many police officers do not believe a number of allegations or there may be a lack of evidence and many times the victims decide to not press charges therefore they see it unfit to record it as a ‘crime’. Furthermore a crime is only a crime when ‘officially’ recorded and since most victims do not report crimes there is a ‘dark figure’ of crime that remains unknown. The reasons to why victims fail to report their crimes can be broken down into three categories: embarrassment, unworthiness and failure to realise. If a victim has been sexually abused or raped they may fail to report this as they may be overwhelmed with a feeling of embarrassment or in certain religious cultures it may bring shame upon a family.Some victims also feel the nature of their crime isn’t worthy of police time, such as rowdy neighbours or petty theft. Finally, if a person is a victim of identity theft, nine times out of ten they fail to realise and therefore have nothing to report. In conclusion, a crime only seemingly exists when society perceive it as a crime or a great reaction to an act therefore labels it as one. An act is  often acceptable until labelled as morally wrong by a social group.At some time or another, some society somewhere has defined almost all forms of behaviour that we now call ‘criminal’ as desirable for the functioning of that society, (Williams (1964:46)), this would be crime as a violation of moral codes. In the BBC article written by Mark Easton, he reiterates that, ‘one cultures crime is another cu ltures social norm’. This concept is crime as a social construct. In 1963 Becker created the ‘Labelling Theory’ which illustrated that crime is dependent upon social reaction and that the societal consensus is regularly challenged.At the beginning of my essay I provided the Oxford dictionary definition for crime and after studying the wide range of criminal concepts I have reached the conclusion that there is no right or wrong answer to define crime. The dictionary defines crime as punishable by law yet also defines crime as a sin. A person will be prosecuted for an act that does not abide by the legislation set up by the criminal justice system, however an individual may go to church to repent a sin that is only deemed as a crime within their religious culture.Crime will forever be surrounded by questions of social order, it will always be contested and people will always wonder how it can be perceived due to the fact that society’s vision of crime change s with the growth and development of society. Crime is elusive, contested and an ever moving concept that is tied to our social processes.

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