Information Technology Careers

These days, information resources have developed tremendously especially with the latest technology available. One way to manage them is by having a system that used to be called Management Information Systems (MIS). Nowadays, the terminology of Information Technology (IT) is widely used. IT has developed into a popular and a well paying job entering the 21st century. To become an IT professional, one must obtain a good educational background. Early preparation is important in high school. During that time, four years of math is required although more than four years would be better. The types of math classes are both Algebras, Geometry, and Trigonometry. Another important class to have is four years of English. Doing well in this subject is very important because this subject helps build good communication skills. Natural Science classes such as Biology, Chemistry, and Physics are also needed to prepare for an IT career. Another class including foreign language is a subject to consider. The most important foreign language to know is computer language such as COBOL, C++, PASCAL, and BASIC. In addition, high grades are required in those classes. If you have a poor record in high school, attending junior or community college can make up for the bad ones. Those schools also serve as excellent preparatory schools for universities (Bailey 55). Many big colleges offer Management Information Systems as a major. If one chooses that major,MIS can lead into a successful profession as an IT. The type of school does not really matter, as long as they offer an MIS major with a well-planned curriculum. In IT or MIS, the job can be separated into many different classifications. MIS generally falls into four categories: programming, sales, data-base administrator, and Information Center Management (Bailey 155). The more detailed classifications includes Financial MIS, Manufacturing MIS, Marketing MIS, and Human resource MIS. A financial MIS provides financial information to all financial managers within and organization (Reynolds 401). â€Å"A marketing MIS supports managerial activities in the areas of product development, distribution, pricing decisions, promotional effectiveness, and sales forecasting†(Reynolds 413). A human resource MIS, also called the personnel MIS, is concerned with activities related to employees of the organization† (Reynolds 418). The annual salary for an IT professional after he or she receives his or her bachelor†s degree ranges from $35,000 to $45,000 depending on the company and his or her experience. Most IT professionals work in an industrial company rather than a government supervised company. According to Khawaja, â€Å"Government owned companies are less challenging. † Some IT professionals work in companies or organization such as IBM, Compaq, Intel, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems. All of these companies have a good reputation in the IT market. If being an IT professional does not satisfy someone as a career such as being a network administrator, he or she can change the field of his or her profession. They can change their profession into a programmer, a system analyst, a data-base administrator or other fields that IT provides. Furthermore, he or she can work in the same environment even though they can change their profession into something else. That is Renadi 3 one of the advantages working as an IT expert. In conclusion, the development of information technology has transformed itself into a popular and a well paying job entering the new millennium. Possessing knowledge about computers and technology can be a big benefit. The advantage of that is because in the future, every stored or removed information involves the use of technology. As a matter of fact, the need of IT specialists is very essential to manage information properly â€Å"so that everyone who needs information has fast, accurate access to it at the time it is needed and in the form in which it is most useful† (Green 59).

Ethical problem in psychological research Essay

One very common ethical problem in psychological research is participants falling to answer question which they consider to be very personal (Michell, 1999). When conducting psychological research, the researcher is required to interview the respondents on each and every issue he considers suitable. Some questions posed could be very personal. This makes the respondent feel ashamed of answering the questions or he may feel that his personal life is being interfered with. The researcher needs to be very careful when asking the questions. He should understand the temperament of the respondent before asking the questions. People are normally different. There are some peoples who are hot tempered and others who are not. When approaching some one for an interview, as a researcher I should put on a smiling face. Smile is believed to be the shortest distance between peoples even between enemies. I as a researcher I should understand the mood the respondent is in. By understanding the mood of the researcher I would avoid any unnecessary disagreements, which might make me not get the information I am looking for. If the respondent is in a bad mood, I will try to approach him in a decent manner such that I may make his bad mood capsize. In each and every research, choice of language is very vital. Polite language may make a respondent who is not even willing to give answers to change his attitude and provide answers. Immediately I encounter some potential respondents, I should introduce myself. It defeats equity and common sense reasoning, to go straight to interviewing respondents immediately. As a good researcher I should great them. By so doing I will win their confidence and every doubt they could be having about me is dismissed. Dressing is an important aspect as for as research is concerned. Dressing does not only make one decent but also makes one look genuine in what he is doing. The participants may cease to participate in the research. The participants have the following responsibilities: They should explain to you why they wish to leave, so that you can conduct a debriefing. The participants may wish you to complete the research because you would not again ask personal question. When I am faced with an ethical problem there are some steps I would follow so as to solve it. In the very first I would determine whether there is an ethical issue. I would determine if in one way or another I have infringed one’s rights or values. If so I would ask for forgiveness and a lasting solution is reached at. Secondly I would identify the key values and principles involved. I would typically assess the meanings and limitations apparent to these competing values. Thirdly I would rank the values or ethical principles, which in my professional judgment are relevant to the issues. For example if one is doing a research on the, workers who are getting a monthly salary of $200, a question about salary scales have to be asked. It would sound unethical to ask a person how much he gets. Fourthly I would develop an action plan that is consistent with ethical priorities that have been determined, as crucial to the research. In my mind I will have several alternatives to present to the participant incase they react negatively. In the fifth step, I would implement my plan utilizing the most appropriate practice, skills and competencies. I would employ some tactics like sensitive communication, skillful negotiation and cultural competence. Lastly I would reflect on the outcome of this ethical decision making process. An ethical review committee or ethics team is necessary. These committees will provide counseling to those aggrieved.

Indian girl Essay

He was a good husband. No one could deny it. He let her have her own way, indulged her, even. When the kitchen was remodelled, for example, and she wanted pink and grey tiles even though he preferred white. White. A clean colour. A colour he believed to be innocent, just like his wife.  He was traditional as an Indian man could get. He had expectations from his wife. Demands that had to be fulfilled.  She would dress as he would tell her too, sleep with him when he wanted her to.  Not only that, she would provide him with a son and a daughter. The duty of every Indian wife was to give their husband a child, regardless of whether they wanted to or not. He would be the provider in this relationship. She would cook and clean at home while he worked.  It was tradition after all and he was very traditional.  However, when he did put his foot down he would often soften his no’s with kind remarks. There had been two occasions that he strongly remembered in which he had to be firm. Like when she wanted to get a job and go back to school or buy English clothes.  Nobody in his family had ever worn English clothes, except for the men that is.  His mother, his mother’s mother and sisters had always dressed in Indian clothes†¦no matter what the occasion. He preferred Indian clothes on his wife too. After all they hid her body. The loose blouses didn’t reveal her breasts like some English tops or show an unnecessary amount of cleavage. The endless mounds of fabric concealed his wife’s legs and waistline.  He believed his wife’s body was just for him to look at. Why tempt other men to look at his wife’s curvaceous hips or low cut neckline?  The soft remarks that often accommodated his no’s were mostly, â€Å"What for? I’m here to take care of you† or â€Å"You look so much prettier in your Indian clothes, so much more feminine.† He would pull her to his lap and give her a kiss and cuddle, which usually ended with him taking her to the bedroom. That was another area where he had to be firm. Sex. His wife was constantly pleading with him, â€Å"Please, not tonight.† He didn’t mind that. She was, after all, a well-bred Indian girl.  She had good Indian values that he felt all Indian women should have. Her dreams in life were those of his mother’s. She wanted to marry, have children and live a contented life in a glorious home. She was conservative and an introvert. Not a woman who would cause him embarrassment in front of friends and family. Timid†¦someone who needed support and he believed that he was indeed the support she needed. But her reluctance went beyond womanly modesty.  After dinner for instance, she would start on the most convoluted household projects, soaping down the floors, changing the liners in the cabinets. The night before she had disappeared she’d started cleaning the windows, taking out the Window cleaner and rags as soon as she’d put the boy to bed, even though he had mumbled, â€Å"Let’s go.†Ã‚  Surely he couldn’t be blamed for raising his voice at those times (though never so much to wake his son) or for grabbing her by the elbow and pulling her to the bed, like he did the night before she disappeared. He was always careful not to hurt her, he prided himself on that. Not even a little slap. And he always told himself he’d stop if she really begged him, if she cried, After some time, though, she would quit struggling and let him do what he wanted. But that was nothing new. That could have nothing to do with the disappearance†¦after all that was his right.  His grandfather had done the same with his wife, his father had treated his mother the same way too and she had turned out fine hadn’t she?  So, why should he have treated his wife differently? She too was an Indian woman and for generations Indian women had been afflicted upon. So what made her so special? Why couldn’t he behave the same way with his wife as his male ancestors had with theirs? Two weeks passed and there was no news of Zeneve, even though the husband had put a notice in the local newspaper as well as a half-page ad in India West, which he’d photocopied and taped to all the neighbourhood lampposts. The ad had a photo of her, a close up taken in too bright sunlight where she gazed gravely at something beyond the camera.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"How on earth will you come up with that kind of money?† asked his friend’s. The husband confessed it would be difficult, but he’d manage somehow. His wife was more important to him, after all, than all the money in the world. And to prove it he went to the bank the very same day and brought home a sheaf of forms to fill in so that he could take out a second mortgage on the house. He kept calling the police station, too, but the police weren’t much help. (They were working on it apparently.) They’d checked the local hospitals and morgues, the shelters†¦but there were no leads. It didn’t look very hopeful.  So finally he called India over a faulty long-distance connection that made his voice echo eerily in his ear. He told his mother what had happened.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"My poor boy!† she wailed. â€Å"Left all alone† (the word flickered unpleasantly across his brain, left, left.)  Ã¢â‚¬Å"How can you possibly cope with the household and a child as well?† she added. And when he admitted that yes, it was very difficult, could she perhaps come and help out for a while if wasn’t too much trouble, she replied â€Å"Of course! I’ll come right away and stay as long as you need me too and what was all this English nonsense about too much trouble? You’re my only son aren’t you?† She even said tha t she would contact the wife’s family too so he wouldn’t have to deal with that awkwardness. He was relieved at his mother’s kind gesture. How could he possibly face his in-laws at a time like this? How would he tell them that there one and only daughter may never come back?  Within a week his mother had closed up the little flat she had lived in since her husband’s death, got hold of a special family emergency visa and was on her way. Almost as though she’d been waiting for something like this to happen, said some of the women spitefully. These were his wife’s friends, though in his opinion, acquitances would be a more accurate word. His wife had liked to keep to herself, which had been just fine with him. He was glad, he’d told her several times, that she didn’t spend hours chattering on the phone like the other Indian wives.  He was livid when this gossip reached him (perhaps because he had the same insidious thought for a moment, when at the airport, he noticed just how happy his mother looked.) â€Å"Really† he asserted to his friends, â€Å"some people see only what they want to see. Don’t you think it is a good thing she has come over?†

Contemporary Issues In Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Contemporary Issues In Nursing - Essay Example Hospital staff nurses try to improve their work efficiency by improving and increasing the quality of work and at the same time keeping up with the changes in new technology. (1) Competent nursing professionals are very essential for delivering high quality and effective care. (2) There are number of activities that the hospital nurses are required to perform in their day to day work which are – Compensation in the form of bonus and incentives is fundamental to any professional viability. Compensation although not the only factor for satisfaction can also be a potential dissatisfier. A non monetary benefit includes insurance for the staffs, incentives and other factors. The nurses also need to take some initiatives to understand the value and the benefit of the compensation plans provided. They should also look beyond salaries and be very efficient in employment negotiations. Based on the role played in a particular health care organization, the nurse needs to reach an agreement with the compensation. (2) With the increase in vacancy rate, the hospitals are hiring less experienced staff which has a direct impact on the quality of the patient care and there is also a compromise in the patient safety. In a survey conducted in 2001, only 18% of the staff leaving had considered compensation and pay package as the reason. The shortage of the practicing nurses in the healthcare industry is going to drastically reduce because of the following reasons- Benefits in the form of flexi timings, pensions and healthcare insurance have a direct impact on employee retention. Optional benefits assists in retention as it provides the staff to have a work life balance. Wellness programs such as gyms and other health clubs can also reduce absenteeism and increase efficiency of the employee. Educational assistance provided by the employer in the form

Employer & Employee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Employer & Employee - Essay Example What we need to do, It can be proposes, is to understand the "communicative process" involved with the use of the Internet. If "communicative process" suggests the functions undertaken by both senders and receivers of information, as well as the information, itself, then understanding a Web site, that is, a component of the Internet, would require an examination of its creators and their environments, in addition to its users and content. Interpreted in this way, Jones' idea suggests a need to study Website of Employer-Employee.com from the perspective of the organizational conditions within which they function. These conditions would have effects upon the Website of Employer-Employee.com' structure, elements, appearance and functionality. The interface recommends examining the Web from the broad perspective by characterizing the functions of Website of Employer-Employee.com as being for entertainment, browsing, education, work, and academic use. Understanding this informs design choices, It can be argues, as does recognizing that a Web site is simultaneously a mass medium and a means of interpersonal co mmunication. The Webpage for August Tips also suggests that studying communication as a "practice" would be to look at the cultural processes that

International trade operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International trade operations - Essay Example Since 2000 however, although the revenues from exports to EU have increased, its share has decreased with respect to total exports. With respect to the other industries such as cement and manufacturing, the theory is not applied. Therefore, the theory has been able to account for trade patterns with the EU-15 countries until 2000 with respect to the timber industry. The Heckscher – Ohlin theorem explains a country’s production characteristic by taking into account the various factors of labour, land and capital. A country is hypothesized to abundantly produce and export those types of goods that conform to its strengths, being either capital intensive or labour intensive. Moreover, similar to the theory of comparative advantage, the country need not necessarily have a particular resource in abundance; it only needs to be abundant with respect to the other resources. After taking into account, the various features of the country’s economy and resources, the writer applies the theory to the timber industry. Latvia’s high land ratio relative the population is used to explain the high percentage of timber exports as being a land – intensive product. Therefore, it seems to be quite satisfactory. However, when the case of countries such as Sweden and Finland is considered, the theory fails since they have lower population densities than Latvia. Once again, this theory is also not applied to other industries. In addition, both the theories deal with comparative advantage but do not have an account of changing comparative advantage of a nation or the future direction of the economy of a nation with respect to its strengths. 2) While both of the theories are able to explain some of the patterns of trade in a certain time period applied to a single industry, it might be argued that any theory of international trade will be able to do this (Zhang, 2008, p.71). The requirement of a theory is that it must be able to account for a majority of the factors that influence an economy. Its success is therefore determined by its proximity and applicability to practical situations that are very complex rather than explaining simple models. Hence, the theories can be considered as guiding principles upon which more complex theories of international trade are built upon. At the same time, it is not possible for a theory to account for all of the changes over a long period of time and must be constantly updated. The theories have provided a starting point for development of more inclusive models. An important trait of a theory is that it is able to simplify the various factors that it deals with. For this purpose and for academic analysis, complex practical situations are often isolated and studied independently of the other. However, the application of the traditional theories of comparative advantage and that of the Hecksher – Ohlin model has proved that they have been successful only in certain conditions. As economie s around the world and the factors influencing them have become numerous and more complex, a need for a more effective theory(s) that incorporates many of these factors has grown. Therefore, the writer has been ambitious in concluding that the theories have been able to corroborate findings with respect to the Latvian economy and its trade partners. However, the article provides a considerable amount of information that is useful to the Latvian

7 Separate annotated bibligraphy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

7 Separate annotated bibligraphy - Essay Example Globalization, Dirlik argues, is not simply global integration, as suggested by its economistic ideologues and interpreters, but a new mode of fragmentation and of comprehending the world. It is therefore necessary to critically consider the historical relationship between globalization as a new beginning in breaking down old hegemonies and as the ultimate victory of capitalist modernity. He concludes that whilst globalization is best understood historically, it also has produced new ways of looking at history, and that there is a need to write world history in non-Eurocentric ways and to understand globalization from two different historical perspectives. Ikenberry shows the linked history, present, and future questions between American hegemony and open economic markets characteristic of globalization. Whilst this is not surprising since â€Å"economic relationships always bear the imprint of powerful states†, what is admirable is how America successfully utilised its political and economic interests and the tools – building institutions, managing monetary policy, and forging security alliances – to open the world economy. Ikenberry attributes hegemonic success to political and economic leadership that allowed America to resist temptations of protectionism, colonialism and isolationism. Global domination and leadership, by allowing America’s political-economic partners to prosper, assured security and economic prosperity despite distractions of domestic politics and international security. This strategic interdependence amongst America’s allies, in Europe and Japan, led to winning the Cold War. In answer, Ikenberry proposes two questions: first, how important is stable and non-competitive great power relations; and second, America’s willingness, as the world’s only superpower, to underwrite global

'In this modern day and age, it is arguable that changes to Essay

'In this modern day and age, it is arguable that changes to traditional employment patterns and the growth of what might be ca - Essay Example Strengthening the Case for Extending Statutory Rights Generally, the traditional employee is entitled to statutory employment rights. Such rights as right from unfair dismissal and other related jobs are enjoyed by employees who have jobs that last from 9 AM till 5 PM. This means that such an employee has a right to be informed in advance of the intention by the employer to lay him/her off. There are a lot of case laws that has been affected to protect the rights of the traditional employee. An example, such a case, is the case of Commissioners of Inland Revenue v Ainsworth [2005] IRLR 465. In this case, the matter was of the enforceability of the right to holiday pay (Moffatt 2011). There are all forms of material concerning the protection of the rights of the traditional employee. The new or emerging form of employment has also necessitated an urgent need to protect the rights of the atypical employee. One of the contentious matters that are encountered in this stage is the form of protection that an atypical employee is afforded. In England, more than 25% of the labour force constitutes part-time employees (Vettori 2007). Vettori 2007 emphasizes on the number of the atypical employees globally has shot up to a very large size warranting the need to revise the title ‘atypical’ that is normally assigned to them. Currently, the atypical employees do not enjoy many rights (Vettori 2007). This means that employers have the power to hire, and fire them at will since they do not have signed contracts to secure tenure at the place of employment. The employer who utilises these atypical labourers has the advantage of having a labour force that is highly vulnerable, therefore, easy to manipulate in his/her favour. The employer in this case is able to escape many obligations in the form of collective bargaining or even legislation. This sorry state of affairs thus brings up the urgency to grant these employees statutory rights. In some countries like Engla nd, there have been steps towards the granting of a level of protection to the atypical employees. One way of doing this has been through the passing of the Employment Relations Act 1999 (Galbraith et al 2011). This law grants authority to some statutory organs to ensure that the statutory rights are extended to other forms of employment such as atypical employees. This aims to ensure that the employees are given a sort of protection by the law. An example of this in the application is the case of Byrne Brothers (Formwork) Limited v Baird. In the above case, the employees who were level D subcontractors-only were able to claim paid leave for the duration of time that they were laid off. This was during the period of Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. The basis of their victory was because the Work Time Regulations 1998 applied to all employees. This sort of egalitarian law had the effect of placing all the employees in the same rights level. This thus ensured that employe es were protected within this duration, and it was not easy to lay them off. Currently, the atypical employment sector is growing steadily. This sector, which includes the temporary employees, part-time employees, self employees, and subcontracted employee has managed to grow. Some of the reasons for this growth are attributed to the absolute growth in the sectors or industries that rely in this form of labour such as retail

U.S and the world Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

U.S and the world - Research Paper Example Get directly to the point, prove the point critically from the evidence, and conclude your paper. This paper should be between 8-10 pages, the cumulative work from both papers.   One of the key focal points in the American history that aim to solve the enigma of the isolationist policy of American politics is indeed very interesting to study. The birth of a new nation undoubtedly sparked the interest of international nations as well. After the Spanish American war, the Americans wanted peace and stability of mind. Undoubtedly, the US could remain as an isolationist as it continued to expand outward. Even looking back at history, the country’s attempt to remain an isolationist during both World War II was not susceptible. The US verily had to enter both World Wars since it became a leader in the Western frontier. The United States returned to isolationist foreign policy since domestic problems plagued the country. Furthermore, Europe was in chaos itself and the US could not afford to indulge itself in such petty issues. However, one can argue that the isolationist policy did have some ramifications towards American diplomacy. The United States embodied the foreign policy of isolationism into an international role because it wanted to strengthen its capitalistic economy, address reform, acknowledge immigration and continue to pursue its beautiful American dream even though it lost threshold in foreign affairs. The colonies themselves wanted to be domestically involved as many had entered American in search of new provisions. The roots of isolationism were well established years before independence [2]. A brilliant testament towards this theory can be clearly seen through the decision of the Continental Congress to reject help from France during the War of 1812 [4]. The notion of America to remain independent was because of the exerted influence by the forefathers and Thomas Paine’s Common Sense.

Graduate Career Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Graduate Career - Essay Example Serving in the ministry whether in Nigeria or in their foreign missions is okay with me but I would wish to work abroad. I am a person who likes travelling and meeting new people and this job would offer me the best chance to do that. I believe I am well suited to perform tasks in the ministry basing this on my academic credentials. I am currently pursuing a bachelor degree at Greenwich University, London in Politics and International Relations to end in 2012 and I also have a Diploma in Law acquired in 2005 from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in many occasions deals with political assignments between countries (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria 2011). This is basically the role that is centred in international relations and the other part of my degree covers this fully. The ministry also acts accordingly through the understanding of international law and that of the land i.e. Nigeria. In this regard my law diploma comes in handy to offer the required background knowledge. It is important to note that this position will require me to have ample experience in international relations of which am short of. My plan in order to eliminate this gap is to apply for internship programs in related areas within the time I will be doing my degree. Hopefully it will be a foreign affairs ministry or other relevant organization. The current employment state has been plagued with institutions and organizations asking for experience from job applicants mostly ranging from 2-5 years. I therefore seem to have quite a mountainous task to clock the minimum experience requirement for the current job market. The other huge requirement lies with the need to acquaint myself with a number of languages that come in handy in the international platform like French and Spanish among others (Vsesoi?uznoe 2006). Language barrier is the biggest obstacle when dealing internationally and one needs to have knowledge of as many languages as possible. Lo oking back at the passion I have for this kind of job, I believe the task ahead is achievable with the required amount of effort and dedication. Applications are sent in their thousands to the ministry and to get an appointment one needs to have skills and experience that offer a considerable level of competitive edge. On the side of skills am planning to enrol in a law class to further my diploma in a college in London particularly to study International Law. World Vision International The world has been dogged by many challenges ranging from poverty, disease and natural disasters (Jones 2006). It is here that World Vision International comes in to alleviate people from such suffering by offering the necessary humanitarian assistance and advocacy (World Vision International 2011). In community development initiatives World Vision concentrates more on poverty and people’s welfare more so that of children. This Non-governmental Organisation is the other that I wish to join aft er my graduation. It is centred on helping the less fortunate in the society and the world at large. I am a charitable person and it is my wish to see the world being a better place through my direct efforts. World Vision in this case offers the best platform for me to exploit my knowledge and expertise in helping these kinds of people. I may wish to concentrate more on the African plight and Nigeria in particular. Helping people who are in need and enabling them to cross to some level of comfort is the

Training Effectiveness (Human Resource Management) Essay

Training Effectiveness (Human Resource Management) - Essay Example The main question thus arises, how can one measure the effectiveness of training in organizations, yet training is an intangible and unquantifiable expense? One of the highly used methods is the visual confirmation. The visual confirmation aspect, hence considers various aspects that include the changes in behaviors, an increase in productivity and the overall level of expertise each of the people who have undergone training exhibit. This measure of training effectiveness is usually observed by the training manager or the HR head in charge of training. Another measure of training effectiveness is the aspect of social ownership. Social ownership is the ability of a trainee to disburse this knowledge to other people, acting as a trainer. Social ownership can be packaged an analysis of peer-to-peer teaching moments or commanded training by manager, whereby the trainee would have to share his or her learning from the training program (Eades, 2014). Even so, the most used and reliable method is skill assessment. After training has been conducted in the organization, a periodical monitoring and assessment of skills can be conducted to ensure that the training was effective in imparting such skills. Of all the mentioned methods, the most appropriate is the skills assessment module. Skill assessment is the preferable measure of training effectiveness that can be used in this organization. Primarily, one of the key reasons why skill assessment is the most appropriate, is the fact that a statistical quantification can be implemented. By assessing the skills, a manager can understand the effectiveness of the training. As such, it is arguable that skill assessment is one of the best approaches of measuring training effectiveness in any given

Compare and Contrast Great Depression Essay Example for Free

Compare and Contrast Great Depression Essay The 1929 stock market crash and the subsequent ‘great depression’ was the biggest economic crisis that the world has experienced. The depth and length of the crisis and the suffering that it caused is legendary. Therefore when the global financial crisis struck in 2007, many rushed to proclaim that we were about to experience another depression on a similar scale, or at least what some have termed a ‘great recession’. This essay will compare and contrast the two economic crises to analyse the key similarities and differences between the two. To do this, the essay will firstly provide an outline of the conditions that led to the 1929 crash in the economy. Moving on from here the essay will then look at the policy responses that were implemented to tackle the crisis before analysing the conditions that precipitated the 2007 financial crisis and the policy responses, to draw out the similarities and differences of each of the crises, and to ascertain were any lessons learned during the current global crisis from the policies of the great depression era. Finally the essay will conclude with a discussion of the main points raised by the analysis of both crises and a look at the future prospects for recovery. Capitalism is a system of economic development that has crises as an inherent feature. Many crises have occurred both before and after the 1929 stock market crash, however the length and depth of the great depression has made it the point of reference for judging the severity of a financial crisis. Much debate has occurred over the causes of the great depression. While many see the late October 1929 New York stock market crash as the defining feature of the crisis, the reality was much more complex and multifaceted. As (Teichova 1990, p.8) suggests, the great depression was â€Å"the deepest, all embracing (agricultural, industrial, financial, social and political) and longest crisis with catastrophic consequences†. As well as this, although the United States led the way, this crisis was global and the rest of the world also experienced depression. So, any analysis of the great depression must look at the various factors that caused and perpetuated it. The 1920s in America hav e been described as the roaring twenties. After the devastation of the first-world-war, during the 1920 to 1925 period US and international economies were experiencing a boom. During that period, world mining and manufacturing output grew by nearly twenty percent (McNally 2010, p.63). However, in terms of inequality the poor were less poor but the rich were  getting richer at a rate of four to one. As well as this, four fifths of American had no savings compared to twenty-four thousand families at the top who held a third of all savings combined (Canterbery 2011, p.13). During the boom, ninety percent of all Americans saw their incomes fall in relative terms (McNally 2010, p.64). A factor in this was an increase in union-busting and anti-labour laws which increased income inequality. As well as this, agriculture, coal mining and textile industries were suffering from a post-war hangover which saw their profitability decline and in many instances wiped out. This inequality which concentrated wealth in so few hands led to a huge increase in consumer credit which in turn sparked off rising levels of private debt and a massive speculative bubble in the form of a property boom in Florida (Canterbery 2011, pp.13-14). The mania of speculation was not confined to proper ty and between May 1924 and the end of 1925, there was a huge eighty percent rise in stock prices. The trend continued and as Galbraith (2009, p.16) has suggested, â€Å"in early 1928, the nature of the boom changed. The mass escape into make believe, so much a part of the speculative orgy, started in earnest†. During 1928, the Times Industrials (a pre-cursor to the DOW) gained a huge thirty-five percent, from two-hundred and forty-five points to three-hundred and thirty-one points. To maximise their gambling profits, many investors financed their purchase of stocks with borrowed money, with speculators buying one-thousand dollars of stock by putting down one-hundred dollars (Canterbery 2011, p.15). Of course, capitalism’s bubbles must always burst, and this was no exception. The US real economy was showing signs on a slowdown long before the stock market crash. However, on Wednesday October 23rd 1929, a drop in the stock market lost four months of previous gains and the following day panic selling began. This was briefly halted by a meeting of the nation’s biggest bankers who promised to pool their resources to halt the slide. Their efforts however were futile and on ‘Black Tuesday’ October 29th the bottom fell out of the market, giving up all of the gains of the previous year (McNally 2010, p.65). Most economists agree that the great depression that ensued lasted for over ten years. Its economic impact was striking as GNP fell from a peak of $104.4 billion in mid-1929 to $56.6 billion in 1933. Its social impact was even more harrowing as twenty-five percent of the US civilian labour force was unemployed by 1933, the worst point of the  depression (Canterbery 2011, p.18). There are a number of competing explanations as to why the crisis was so severe. Explanations can be grouped into the two categories of monetarist and non-monetarist. For example, in a mixture of the two Ben Bernanke (1983) suggests that there were three interlinked factors that propagated the great depression. The first was the failure of financial institutions, in particular commercial banks. The percentage of failing banks in 1930 was 5.6% jumping to 12.9% in 1933 and this left a situation whereby in 1933 there were half the number of banks that had been operating in 1929 (Ibid, p.259). Bernanke goes on to cite defaults and bankruptcies as key, with the ratio of debt service to national income going from nine percent in 1929 to nearly twenty percent in 1933. This was pervasive across all sectors with home mortgages; farm mortgages, personal debtors and even state governments defaulting on their obligations (Ibid, p.260). However, key to Bernanke’s view was the correlation of the financial crisis with macroeconomic factors. The crux of this view was that the financial crisis affected the macro-economy by reducing the quality of certain financial services, primarily credit intermediation (Ibid, p.263). In line with the monetarist view, it could also be argued that the Federal Reserve did not help matters. Its policy at the time was only to increase the credit base in line with requirements of trade, which essentially meant that as businesses were afraid to borrow, the Federal Reserve did not increase the money supply. Somewhat similar to the monetarist elements of Bernanke’s analysis is that of Friedman and Schwartz (1971,pp. 359-60) who argue that the crisis that originated in the United States was a domestic construct which was prolonged and deepened by a failed policy of failing to cut the discount rate, which meant a failure to provide credit and expand the currency. Kindleberger (1986a) taking a similar monetarist position but focusing more on international factors suggests that the world depression stemmed from reparations and war debt, the overvaluation of the pound, the return to the gold standard in Britain and an undervalued French franc. These factors were aggravated by a fall in commodities and a rise in stocks in New York. From a non-monetarist perspective US government actions were no better, with the introduction of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in mid-1930, sparking of a wave of protectionist tariffs around the world and a trade war which saw world trade figures nosedive (Canterbe ry 2011, p.19). The  deflationary process was exacerbated by the huge levels of unemployment, which combined with other factors to initiate the ‘multiplier/accelerator’ interaction, reinforced by wage-cut enforced under-consumption as wages fell for manufacturing production workers by at least thirty-one percent between 1929 and 1933, as well as debt deflation and international interactions (Devine 1994, p.166). While this was happening, consumer prices only fell twenty percent during the 1929-33 period. This, as Devine points out helps to explain that falling consumption was a major factor in the decline in GNP during this time, more so than previous or subsequent recessions (Ibid). There are others such as Temin (1976) who suggests that monetarist explanations are wrong, and it was consumption and spending that declined first, therefore leading to a tightening of the money supply. Therefore, it was not monetary factors alone that caused the depression. Taking a different approach to explaining the depth and length of the depression, Kindleberger cites the lack of a lender of last resort as the major factor preventing any form of fast recovery (Kindleberger 1986b, p.4). This he suggests was due to Britain’s inability after the First World War, and the United States’ unwillingness to act in that regard. What each of these arguments above show is there is still no consensus on the policy responses that would have prevented such a deep depression occurring. Such a lack of a consensus has also been a feature of the current global crisis. Since the global financial crisis broke out, many have rushed to make comparisons between it and the great depression. However, before one makes these comparisons, an analysis of the fundamental differences in the nature of the capitalist system between now and then must be undertaken. After the World War boom in output and the post-war move to Keynesian economics, which essentially saved capitalism from self-implosion, the emergence of neoliberal capitalism in the latter 1970s in the form of Reaganism in the US and Thatcherism in Britain ushered in a new era of capitalist development that was distinctly different from its previous incarnations. This period of capitalist modification saw the creation of the era of what Canterbury has termed ‘casino capitalism’ (Canterbery 2011, pp.83-121). He suggests that this era began with three powerful forces converging. These were; monetarism, which Milton Friedman advised Regan would bring down inflation with minimal effect on employment or production, the influence of the  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœneo-Austrians’ who sought to reduce state influence over entrepreneurs through deregulation and finally, the pervasive idea that less taxes on the rich produced the trickle-down effect (Ibid, p.83). Regan’s policies during this era, continued under the Clinton administration gave huge power over to Wall St through deregulation, and contributed to a huge shift from production to financial services. As the financial sector grew its asset base, it became a much bigger part of the national economy. This can be seen in the fact that between 1978 and 2005, the financial sector grew from 3.5 percent to 5.9 percent of the US economy in GDP terms. To put this in perspective, from the 1930s to around 1980 the rate of growth for the financial sector was roughly the same as that of the non-financial sector. However, from 1980 to 2005 financial sector profits grew by eight-hundred percent, compared with two-hundred and fifty percent for the non-financial sector (Ibid, pp.116-117). This form of capitalism, where value and profit are not ‘produced’ but the result of speculation is a form that gives huge power to unelected rating agencies and bankers to set the agenda, which even governments and international institutions find difficult to alter. It was under this system of capitalism that the global financial crisis emerged. Many different arguments for the causes of the global crisis exist and whilst it can be difficult to pin down the exact causality because of its global nature, there is agreement on a number of factors. Just like its sister crisis the great depression, before the global crisis struck, the global economy went through a boom period with the world economy growing at a faster rate between 2001 and 2007 than in any other period in the past thirty years (Wade 2008, p.23). Most agree that the crisis was sparked by the subprime mortgage bubble collapse in the United States. However this spark was not the sole cause of the crisis. Just l ike the great depression, the factors that caused the crisis were numerous. Although signs of an emerging crisis first appeared in 2006-7, it was not until 2008 when banks such as Lehman Brothers were going to the wall and financial assets were crashing that the full extent of the crisis was realised. As a result, flows of credit dried up and economies the world over started to suffer. However, this crisis was not solely a monetary crisis and had deeper dynamics at play. In particular, the financialisation of capitalism being built upon debts as a means of making profit (McNally 2010, p.86). The subprime  mortgage crisis is illustrative of this. For example, in the year 2000 there was $130 billion of subprime lending in the US, backed up with $55 billion of mortgage bonds. Yet by 2005, those figures had jumped to $625 billion in subprime loans backed by $500 billion in securitised bonds (Ibid, p.103). The ‘speculative orgy’, as Galbraith termed it speaking on the 1929 crash, was back with a bang. What exacerbated the orgy more was the creating of innovative financial instruments in the form of credit default swaps (CDS) and other debt securities. For example, by 2006 the CDS on mortgage bonds was eight times the value of the bonds themselves, so when the crisis hit, that wealth was wiped out (Ibid, p.103). The European context experienced similar problems as contagion spread throughout the world economy. Trade imbalances within the Eurozone created by the power of the German economy, in particular its exports produced vast wealth within Germany, generating credit that was more than was required for domestic demand. The result was an outflow of cheap and easy credit to peripheral European states. This in turn with low interest rates created the basis for a speculative property bubble in places such as Ireland and Spain, and a rise in consumer debt across Europe (Avellaneda and Hardiman 2010, pp.4-5). This, coupled with the ECB having light regulatory practices and liquidity responsibilities, and the fact that the Euro project created an quasi-federal state with a centralised monetary and exchange rate policy, but had no fiscal control over individual states led to a disaster of structural design in the Euro which prevented adequate policy responses from individual states, who instead we re burdened with a one size fits all, centralised Franco / German led response. It is clear that the immediate causes of the crisis were centred on â€Å"excessive debt leverage or imprudent lending† (Wade 2008, p.27). Much of this debt leveraging was in the form of the complexly structured credit securities, like the CDS, and when market panic set in following the collapse of Lehman, and this huge default risk pushed investors towards the tipping point. However, as Bernanke (2010) has pointed out, many factors were at play. Although the most prominent was the prospect of losses on the subprime market when the housing bubble burst, the system vulnerabilities as well as shortfalls in government responses explain the severity of the crisis. For example, the â€Å"sudden stop† in June 2007 of syndicated lending of asset backed securities to large borrowers. Other factors included the  overreliance of banks on short-term wholesale funding, deficiencies in private sector risk management, an over-reliance on ratings agencies, excessive leverage on the part of households, businesses and financial firms, statutory gaps in regulation on special purpose vehicles and a failure of existing regulatory procedures worldwide (Bernanke 2010). Although causality had similarities between the United States and Europe, the policy responses to deal with the crisis have been markedly different. Quite early into the crisis, perhaps learning from pa st mistakes from the great depression, the US government approved various Keynesian inspired fiscal stimuli and financial and auto sector bailouts. In particular, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a $700 billion rescue fund for the banking sector which bought toxic loans at reduced rates (Nguyen and Enomoto 2011). This policy has been seen to be a relative success with an estimated final cost of $32 billion to the United States taxpayer (Congressional Budget Office 2012). In contrast to this, the European solution has been overwhelmingly austerity based, and the cost of the crisis being mainly burdened by the taxpayers of Europe. In particular, the Irish taxpayer’s bill for the bailout of one bank, Anglo Irish will cost the taxpayer more than the total final cost of the TARP program in the United States. In this regard, it does not seem that lessons from the great depression have been learned in a European context. When we look to the rates of unemployment over the past number of years, it seems like the American policy of stimulus may be working slightly better than the European austerity agenda. For example, in the US unemployment rose sharply after the onset of the financial crisis going from 4.6 percent in 2007, to 7.2 percent in 2008, 9.3 percent in 2009 and 9.7 percent in 2010. However, in 2011 there has been a decline in unemployment to 9 percent (Index Mundi 2012). The European Union (twenty seven members) on the other hand has seen its unemployment rate grow from 8.3 percent in 2006, to 9 percent in 2009 and 9.7 percent in 2011(United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 2012) to a current figure of 11.7 percent (Eurostat 2012). So, how does the global crisis match up to the great depression? It is obvious that there are a number of similarities between the two crises. For example, with both crises there was an extended period of economic growth preceding the crashes. Each of the crisis periods also saw speculative bubbles based on the flow of easy credit  which fuelled both property based and stock market excess. Both crises also saw staggering drops in Industrial production and increases in unemployment. However, there are also key differences between the great depression and the global crisis. Primarily, the nature of the capitalist system has cha nged fundamentally from productive industrialisation to financial capitalisation. The policy responses of governments have also showed that lessons have been learned, especially in the American case, where Keynesianism and central bank intervention has been preferred to the Laissez-faire attitude during the great depression. In a European context, the decision to make taxpayers foot the bill for the losses of financial speculators marks a departure from the policies of the great depression where speculators suffered heavy losses. There are of course other key differences between the two crises in-so-far as although initially the global crisis seemed every bit as bad, if not worse than the great depression, there are now signs that this may not be the case. For example, by measuring from the peaks in industrial production the decline in industrial production in the nine month period from April 2008 was at least as severe as in the nine months following the June 1929 peak (Eichengreen and O’Rourke 2009). Similarly, in that initial nine month period, global st ock markets were falling even faster than in the Great Depression and World trade was also falling much faster than in 1929-30 (Ibid). However the authors of this study have revised their analysis for 2012 and it paints an altogether different picture. The levels of industrial production had shown shoots of recovery over the past couple of years but growth of global industrial output now appears to be slowing. The upturn had been promising, but this follows months when production was essentially stagnant. Notably in the Eurozone, industrial production declined (Eichengreen and ORourke 2012). Since initial early forecasts, global trade had showed signs of recovery â€Å"But trade is now also fluctuating without direction, at levels barely higher than those of April 2008† (Ibid). As the authors also point out, while equity markets have recovered to a large degree compared with their initial drop, â€Å"it is worth observing that world equity markets remain considerably below pre-crisis levels† (Ibid). The somewhat gloomy outlook is confirmed by the latest United Nations ‘World Economic Situation and Prospects’ pre-release document which states; Four years after the eruption of the global financial crisis, the world economy  is still struggling to recover. During 2012, global economic growth has weakened further. A growing number of developed economies have fallen into a double-dip recession. Those in severe sovereign debt distress moved even deeper into recession, caught in the downward spiralling dynamics from high unemployment, weak aggregate demand compounded by fiscal austerity, high public debt burdens, and financial sector fragility (United Nations 2012, p.1). So, although there are signs that the global crisis may not be as severe as the great depression, recent economic forecasts do not suggest that there will be a clear path to recovery in the near future. Capitalism has been proven to be susceptible to crises and cycles of boom and bust. The two cases here have been the most high profile of those crises. It does seem that some of the lessons of the great depression have been learned to reduce the severity of the global crisis. However, only time will tell if these lessons will ultimately stop a double dip global recession and if lessons can be learned from the global crisis for the inevitable next financial crisis that will come down the line.

The Seven Dimensional Model of Religion

The Seven Dimensional Model of Religion This essay examines Smarts seven dimensional model of religion against six main world religions. I shall then examine how other belief systems fit into the same model. I shall consider other models briefly attempting an analysis of whether Smarts model is successful. When I mention religion I mean the Christian religion; and not only the Christian religion but the Protestant religion; and not only the Protestant religion, but the Church of England. (Henry Fielding: TomJones) The first consideration when attempting the definition of religion is that a straight forward definition such as Fielding attempts in his classical work excludes the world view of religion. He speaks of Christianity excluding some traditions we will examine. Each religious tradition within itself embodies numerous belief systems. Many philosophers and theologians would insist that religion is not definable. Smart recognises that religion: is partly a matter of convention as to what is counted under the head of religion and what is not. (Ninian Smart: ThePhenomenon of Religion p10) In setting out his model Smart attempts to find one that is inclusivistic of global religion whilst confining the definition to that which can be classified as of religion. The seven dimensions are: InowExperiential; Doctrinal; Mythical; Ritualistic; Institutional and Ethic I now  propose to examine these key areas explaining briefly what Smart meant by them attempting to apply it to the six world traditions. Experiential Smart explains the experiential dimension as the emotions witnessed by the founder of the tradition and its followers. Rudolf Otto describes it as the numinous experience, that is, the feeling one experiences when the senses of man are aroused as a result of paranormal or special places. Examples of this are Moses and the Burning Bush; Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. The second aspect of the experiential is that of mysticism. This is an inner seeking of that which is unknowable. Examples of this would be the whirling dhervishes and the Hasidic tradition within Judaism. Doctrinal Smart explains this as the formulation of a system to encapsulate the tradition. For instance, Smart gives Aquinas philosophical explanation of creation an authoritative feel compared with the story of creation in Genesis. There is also the doctrine of theTrinity going some way to explain Jesus as God within Christianity. Within Buddhism, the Buddha explained himself the path to salvation whereas other traditions have left that to the succeeding institution to develop. Mythological Smart explains this as sacred history or sacred story rather than the term we are familiar with today. The great religions have stories to tell of their founders such as the Enlightenment of the Buddha or the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus. There are also stories to explain difficult concepts for example evil. Many faiths strengthen these stories by writing them down as in the Torah or the Quran.Oral traditions also evolve such as the Catholic tradition of relying on various saints for help. Ritual Smart explained this as a method by which religion expresses itself. Humankind uses rituals worldwide as a form of communication, for example, the handshake. There is a binding together of people who recognise these rituals. Examples of these will be: the ancient Jewish tradition of ritual sacrifice in the Temple; Baptism withinChristianity. Ethical Religions usually follow a code ofethics they expect their followers to adopt. This concerns not only the individuals behaviour but also that of the society. Examples of this are: the ten commandments; the 613 commandments of Jewish Law; Vatican Edicts on birth control. Institutional Smart describes this as the tangible visual embodiment of religion that can be seen on two levels through groups of people as in the Church, or the Sangha. The second level is through the buildings such as the mosque, the mandir, the cathedral. Also within this category can be places of religious significance such as Benares, the River Ganges and Jerusalem. Visual/Artistic These aspects of religion can be translated into works of art; architecture; music. This aids ritual or understanding sacred story for example hymns, rosary beads. In Smarts book Religious Experience and Mankind he argues that this model works as closely as possible to discovering the nature of religion. He struggles however in that other world philosophies such as Humanism and Communism closely follow the model. For the purpose of brevity, I shalloutline the model against communism to illustrate the comparisons. In the ritual dimension, communismhad set in place ceremonies performed in praise of the philosophy for examplethere were annual celebrations of the revolution. In the experiential dimensionKarl Marx was held as the prophet and founder of wisdom. His revelation of anew system created the wow factor. In the mythological dimension oraltraditions were developed of the revolution. Das Kapital became the sacredtext. In the doctrinal dimension, edicts were passed down explaining howpeople were now meant to work and live. In the ethical dimension moralbehaviour and the laws of society were adjusted to make credible the communisttradition. For instance, it was acceptable to murder if the criminal was apolitical agitator and the authorities executed. In the institutional dimensionthe communist party became the church and the mission was communism. In thematerial dimension places such as Lenins tomb became a shrine, a focal pointof worship. Yet, communism could never be considered a religion but more anideology. Yet it fits within the model quite confortably. The social dimension isquestionable. It also relates to politics and racism as an identity, a label,a badge of allegiance of a group. This is how Richard Gombrich terms modernworld religion. For him, the key to defining religion is what you do, notwhat you think. Hans Kung demonstrates thatreligion can be classified in terms of family. Indian religions tend to followa mystical route with a mystical leader; Chinese religion with a wise sage; andNear Eastern religion with a wise figure. It is not possible to put a narrowdefinition on the religion but I can accept that they belong together infacilitating humankind with its humanity. Bibliography Fielding Henry: Tom Jones Oxford World Classics Oxford 1998 Gombrich Richard: TherevadaBuddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benaresto Modern Colombo RoutledgeLondon 1988 Kung Hans: Tracing the Way:Spiritual Dimensions of the World Religions Continuum 2002 Otto Rudolf: Mysticism(East) RA Kessinger Publishing 2003 Open University: A5 Religion Block4 units 14-15 pp 36-38 Smart Ninian: The Phenomenon ofReligion London and Oxford 1978 p10 Smart Ninian: ReligiousExperience and Mankind Collins New York 1971

Drug Trafficking in the US: Causes and Effects

Drug Trafficking in the US: Causes and Effects Drug Trafficking is a growing epidemic that faces are great nation and fragile borders every day. The United States has been fighting this battle for decades and there seems no end in sight. When will enough be enough and when will we see change across the United States to stop the drug trafficking problems? Every day in the news there is a headline about drugs and how the prison population is growing because of drugs. Something has to be done and done soon before we run out of money and cant support the War on Drugs anymore and it rules are society at a level that we cannot control. This paper will analyze the different issues of drug trafficking that we are having in America. In America, drug trafficking has become an increased problem and is continually on the rise even since the time when President Nixon established the famous phrase War on Drugs in 1968. Drug trafficking is defined and consists of selling or distributing illegal drugs. In the 1960s this was a known but was referred to as recreational use and there was not much done to put a stop to it. This problem has produced a global network of illegal acts that has taken over communities all over the globe and even in the backyards of some of our own communities here in America. It is important that we analyze the issues, look at the pros and cons of the prevention and control measures and decide what the next move for America will be on the War on Drugs. According to US Legal the federal government has given out guidelines for sentencing to state and local officials that forbids the manufacture, import, export, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance or the possession of a controlled substance. Although drugs have been around for many decades it wasnt until the 1960s when the government started to crack down on the use. There was a sudden increase in the 1960s in the use of marijuana, amphetamines, and psychedelics were the government had to finally step and try and take control. One of the most known acts to put a stop to the drug trade would be in 1973 when the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was developed. The DEAs mission statement today is to enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States, or any other competent jurisdiction, those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufac ture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States; and to recommend and support non-enforcement programs aimed at reducing the availability of illicit controlled substances on the domestic and international markets. Drug trafficking is one of the most extensive operations worldwide with bringing in billions of dollars annually. These operations are led by sophisticated organizations that have no regard of laws or rules. One of the most recent countries in todays news that is having a huge influence in the drug trade is Mexico. The New York Times says that more than 28,000 people have been killed since the new president Felipe Calderà ³n started to tackle the drug trade in Mexico. In 2006 the Mexican president started an offence to stop the drug trade in Mexico by sending his troops and police force out into battle against the drug cartels but wanted the United States to be held responsible for its actions since Americans are the ones that influence the drug trade with the high demand. If the demand is low then the supply would have to be low, so therefore the United States has to figure out how to reduce the demand and stop the supply. Two of the main methods of drug trafficking are sea and air. During the early 1980s drug trafficking pilots were flying to South America and brining the shipments back to America for distribution. These pilots were getting paid thousands of dollars and had little to worry about because of sophisticated approaches of bypassing the law. One of the most recognized cases of air drug trafficking is the Devoe Airlines which was busted by the DEA in 1984. They DEA discovered that Devoe Airlines was responsible for one of the biggest drug bust of Cocaine they had ever seen. Jack Devoe was the CEO and leader of the smuggling plan that would fly to South American and then fly back into the states and distribute the drugs back to the cartels. Obviously after the DEA caught onto their plan the airlines was shut down and Jack Devoe was convicted. The DEA has become a powerful organization of stopping the drug trade which operates over land, sea, and air. This did not happen overnight this was a p rocess that started with trial and error. The DEA experienced the use of planes in the 1970s has a means to stop drug trafficking since drug traffickers had no means of boundaries. Using air has a means to stop the drug traffickers was a success and the DEA increased their fleet fast. According to the DEA museum there were 41 Pilots and 24 planes working in the U.S. in 1973. Drug trafficking on the seas is one of the oldest trades and smuggling drugs into the ports of American cities is an overgrowing problem. The DEA works with the Coast Guard on an everyday occurrence to stop the drug trafficking on the seas. The DEA has a hard job especially since the supply and demand is always on the rise and the criminals are always thinking of new ways to outmaneuver the law. In 1988 the White House created the National Drug Control Policy which came from the Anti-drug abuse act. The Office of National Drug Control Policy states the following goals: The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences. (http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov) One of the programs that this agency created was the High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program (HIDTA) which provides federal assets to areas that are hit hard with drug trafficking. Basically areas that are seen has a treat for drug trafficking are allowed to use this program to stop drug related problems and they can also share information throughout the different law enforcement agencies. The DEA and National Drug Control Agency are just a few agencies that provide resources and law enforcement which are trying to crack down on the ever-growing drug trafficking problem. With their hard work and determination to stop these problems they are faced with countless issues that bring their operations to a sluggish halt every day. One of the most overlooked and not taken serious issues is analyzing the statistics of the prison population and a federal commission program that can set forth new polices that can make changes to the criminal justice laws with political oversight. Here are a few interesting statistics of the prison population: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2009) states Current illicit drug use among persons aged 12 or older varied by race/ethnicity in 2008, with the lowest rate among Asians (3.6 percent). Rates were 14.7 percent for persons reporting two or more races, 10.1 percent for blacks, 9.5 percent for American Indians or Alaska Natives, 8.2 percent for whites, 7.3 percent of Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, and 6.2 percent for Hispanics. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration states there are racial disparities in the rates of drug arrests which conclude in high racial imbalances among incarcerated drug offenders. They say that two-thirds of drug arrests result in a criminal conviction but many convicted drug offenders are sentenced to incarceration: an estimated 67 percent of convicted felony drug defendants are sentenced to jail or prison. The criminal justice system that we have set in place now is making America which only has 5% of the population in the world have the highest incarceration rate in the world. Changes need to happen in the Criminal Justice system when it comes to sentencing drug offenders. A few of the hot topics that prevent the stopping of drug trafficking are Mexico, Demand, and Legalization. These issues are deep and routed with great deliberation that have not been resolved and are having a huge influence on the drug trade every day. The Mexican Drug War is a war that is taking place in Mexico where the government is fighting the Drug Cartels which is trying to prevent the drug trafficking. Drug Trafficking has existed in Mexico for a long time now but in the recent decades it has become very noticeable with the drug cartels gaining power and control. The Council of Foreign Relations stats that there have been more than 2,500 drug cartel related deaths in 2007, and more than 4,000 deaths in 2008. These drug cartels are ruthless with their actions has they are bringing local battles to the streets of innocent citizens and making it a turf war. The Mexican police have not gained any ground in stopping them has the local Mexican-US border towns are becoming more devastated from the drug trafficking every day. The State Department stated in 2008 that that 90% of the cocaine smuggled into the United States came across the Mexican border. The ruthlessness of this crisis is Mexico reached an all time peak in 2006 and has been on the rise. The drug cartels are using violence that is only seen in times of war such has beheading anyone that opposes there power. The cartels have it out especially for the police, media, and government officials. It was reported in 2008 that the Mexican federal police chief was killed by drug cartels during a drug bust. Since the Mexican military has been deployed inside their country with trying to stop the growing cartels power it has been though through many public forums that this is only a quick solution to the problem. Although there hasnt been any other real solutions brought to the table and when the Mexican President was elected he had to act quickly. One of his only choices was by sending troops into the cities to stop the violent behavior. Through the past couple years since the military deployment in Mexico and the growing violence some officials have brought to light some new tactics on the military involvement. Once the military was deployed it brought the media into the actions which brought a world presence. The media was able to shed light on how bad the crime truly was and how bad the drug trafficking was becoming in the Mexico-US border towns. Some of the attention that has taken places has been the following: Judicial transformation in Mexico that brought forth a speedy process trial used in a speedy warrant case. These small groups of judges can act quickly with allowing the evidence to be new and the sentencing to be fast. They also created a criminal database and a group of police officials that will track future criminals and their actions. Mexico has also been on the rise in the extraditing process since 2006 of cartel criminals from the United States. One of the most recognized contributions in fighting the war on drugs in Mexico is the Merida Initiative. The Merida Initiative is an agreement that President Calderon and President George W. Bush put into effect in stopping the narcotics trade in Mexico and United States. The challenge that was presented to President Bush was that Mexico was producing over 18 tons of heroin, and 16,000 tons of Marijuana which was recorded in 2007. The drug trade was creating a profit of over $13-$25 billion dollars and over 500,000 people in Mexico where involved in some type of drug trade operation. President Calderon also explained that must of the drug lords where arming themselves with American Guns that came across the American borders into Mexico. Posing these problems to the United States congress acted by responded with the different types of aid. There was over $465 million dollars spent in 2008 in the first phase of the Merida Initiative, mostly all of the money was spent in Mexico but there were some other countries in South America that also received money as well. President Caldron greatly appreciated the aid from the United States to help fight the war on drugs but he has also identified many problems with in his own country that has an enormous effect on the drug trafficking. Some of the problems that the Mexico President is fighting are corruption, Judicial Reform, money laundering, and border security. There are many skeptics across the nation that are saying that it is going to take too long for the President Caldron to fix his country much less the drug trafficking that is effecting the borders. Time will only tell how well the Merida Initiative is going to affect the drug trade but at least its action and something is being done about it. One of the overlooked problems in drug trafficking is that the majority of buyers of the drug trade are coming within the United States. If we looked at this closely we could make the assumption that the drug cartels would be out of business if the demand was low or there was no demand at all. Therefore has long has the demand is high there is going to be business in America. Its all about the supply and demand. Overtime since the war on drugs has taken place the supply has increased and the demand has grown off the charts. We can control the borders all we want but has long as there are consumers of a drug they will find ways to get it, especially since its a drug that alters the mind in the first place. According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy in 2009, 104 million Americans age 12 or older have tried Marijuana at least once, which is 41.5% of the US Population. There are many statistics and data that show the demand for drugs in the United States and around the world , so until we solve the problem of the demand then there will always be one around. One of the raised topics in our society today about the demand of drugs and the drug trade is to end the prohibition of illegal drugs. If we made drugs legal then the drug cartels would be out of business and then the government could control the product and tax the product. Basically instead of focusing all of the attention on the supply and how to stop the drug supply the government would not have to spend hardly any money, but yet would make money off of taxing the drugs. If one could only imagine gangs, and drug cartels going out of business because they lose their biggest revenue what would the world be like? Not all drugs would be legal but drugs such as marijuana could become legal without much backlash. Once the government makes it legal and starts to make money off of the taxes than they could reinvest the money back into programs that fight against using the drug, just like fighting smoking and alcohol abuse. With crime on the rise and drug trafficking coming from Mexico the hot topic on the table is should we just go ahead and legalize marijuana like the Netherlands did. There are some pessimistic views with making this type of change though by looking at other countries such as Netherlands and seeing how it works there. According to the druglibrary.org the government doesnt really make anything of taxing marijuana because majority of the crime and unemployed come from using the legalized drug. The government in the Netherlands spends millions of dollars on welfare which relate to the high drug use by the citizens. The Netherlands states that one of the reasons that they legalized marijuana was to stop drug trafficking and to reduce the harm to the citizens. Although they keep a strict enforcement on the drugs that are allowed it has seemed to just put a band-aid on the problem with no real solution. Obviously just fighting the supply is not really making a huge difference to the drug tr afficking in America because the demand is still high in effect. If the legalization of marijuana was to take place it is believed that the demand would go up even higher because the risk for buying the drug would be out of the picture. With no risk of getting in trouble than more people would want to purchases the product. The government could control the supply by taxing at certain prices high or low depending on how the revenues look. If it was made legal there would have to be a lot of laws that would have to be put in place to control the abuse of the product for instance like alcohol. There is unlimited amount of data that states that drugs are terrible and that drugs lead to crimes, so has much as we want to debate the hot topic of legalization it will cause the war on drugs to become even a bigger disaster than it all ready is. Here are a few concerning quotes from interesting sources around the nation on their views of legalization. The Journal of the American Medical Association in 1994 reports that cocaine use is linked to high rates of homicide in New York City and that homicide victims may have provoked violence through irritability, paranoid thinking or verbal and physical aggression which are known to be pharmacologic effects of cocaine. The Department of Justice Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program underscores the crime-drugs link. Of a sample of males arrested in 23 U.S. cities in 1993, the percent testing positive for at least one drug in the DUF survey ranged from 54% in Omaha to 81% in Chicago. Among female arrestees, the percent testing positive for any drug in 20 cities ranged from 42% in San Antonio to 83% in Manhattan. All legalization will do is increase the use and the crime to unseen ratios that have ever been seen before. With this being said there are groups or organizations such as the LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) that are willing and wanting to legalize all drugs. Their attitude is to stop prohibition of all drugs in order to stop the drug trafficking problems and bring safety to the citizens. The topic of legalization is being broadcasted all through Congress and the White House even during a YouTube the LEAP had the highest rated questions on legalization for the President Obama to answer which is he does not agree with. There are many views on this topic and there are good points on both sides of the fences but something needs to be done. What needs to happen is fight the war on drugs and stop the drug trafficking problem in America. We need to increase the environment around us with positive effects to increase the positives outcomes. Over the past few decades the United States has established all types of different control measures to stop the drug trade in America and abroad. For instance we have all types of laws that fit each type of drug and the penalties for having these drugs on you can cost you many years behind bars. For example cocaine, if you have a second offense charge you will get no less than 10 years behind bars, or a second offense of trafficking marijuana could cost you no less than 20 years in prison. If these laws are so strict why do Americans take the risk in using a drug that could cost them so much time behind bars? Under the US Code Offenses and Penalties there are over 24 sections that relate to drug charges and trafficking. This control measures are serious but yet the trafficking is gaining ground every day. The most well known control measure that has been in place for a while now, but has gained media attention lately is the establishment of US Customs and Border Control which falls under the Homeland Security Agency. One of the main missions that the Border Control has to deal with is stopping narcotics from entering the United States. A news release was issued in October 2010 stating that the Border Patrol in Arizona seized more than 580 pounds of crystal methamphetamine  worth over $535,500 depending on the location that it is sold in. That same day they had another incident where they seized more than 570 pounds of marijuana worth over $455,000. This shows that the drug trade is alive and well all around the borders. The border control is a method of stopping the drug trafficking problem with in the United States but there is a lot of improvement that can be done in this area to ensure more drugs get off the streets. It is amazing that we has the United States are first to go and fight and win hearts and minds in countries abroad but yet we have a growing epidemic of drugs taking place in the United States where it has been labeled a war on drugs. We have only sent 1200 National Guard troops to the borders to help assist the Border Patrol agents in the past year. That is a start but if we started to take care of our own country a little more compared to rebuilding nations that feel has if we should not be in there country then maybe, just maybe the progress on the drug trade would start to decline. Maybe each state should be deploying there National Guard assets to their borders and start fighting the drug cartels on the borders in relationship with the Border Patrol, and let them know we are not playing games. Although this would not be a long term fix to the situation we would need one because drugs will still be around, and the cartels will just find new ways to maneuver the drugs in and out of America. The cost alone would not be something the United States would be able to maintain for a long period of time so it might be a good idea just to use the money to educate, build national treatment centers, and reform drug incarceration. If we started to reform these ideas with the money that we are spending in other countries and the failed war on drugs across the border then we might lower the demand which will take away jobs in the drug cartels and the supply would decrease because of the demand. Education on drugs has been around for decades now with one of the most well known programs being D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). D.A.R.E is an officer lead program that is established in the public school districts where officers give class room lectures to students on drugs and how they can negatively affect you. The program used to be a well funded program and was gaining national attention across America but over recent years it has lost its enthusiasm throughout the schools. Although this is not the case in Oklahoma were it leads all states in D.A.R.E programs in schools. Education on drugs at an early age is vitally important to the success of our students since drugs are on all the streets that are kids are surrounded by. The peer pressure to try drugs has been happening at a younger and younger age every year. If we can educate more kids on the negative effects of drugs and increase the positive recreation activities for kids then we might see a decline in drug abuse. According to D.A.R.E in 2006 more than 2.1 million teens abused prescription drugs and  most teens get these drugs from friends and family. One of growing epidemic drugs in schools our anabolic steroids which reached a peak use in 2002 and has been growing ever since. Then there is alcohol use amongst kids at an early age and is usually the gateway drug that leads into many more drugs such marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine. The Office of National Drug Control Policy has established some educational programs throughout the country that are to increase positive environments for kids and to educate kids on drugs. These programs include Boys and Girls Club, D.A.R.E, Drug Free Communities Support Program, Drugs and Sports, and Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools just to name a few programs that the government supports. Another very interesting program is the American Council for Drug education which is a substance abuse and prevention program that bases there information on the most recent data on drugs and creates material for education purposes. These programs are great and it does deter away some students from the use of drugs but not all and that is way drug use is growing at such a fast pace, so more needs to be done instead of just having these educational programs. A few ideas would be to implement a drug abuse class that students have to participate in once a year or they can choose to participate in it as taking as a elective and it can go towards there diploma. Then there is the idea of starting a mentor program to start mentoring younger students in the school districts and holding kids more responsible for their actions. Kids need good role models to follow and if there are positive kids in schools that are willing to be a mentor to a younger student in the schools then we should allow this to happen. The program would be a big sister or big brother program and would allow the older students for instance the high school students to mentor the middle school students once they have meet certain criteria and have not had any discipline actions against them. Then if the program works then would could start having college students mentoring high school kids in all areas. This would allow kids to see goals and allow them to have something to work towards. They would have someone a little older to talk to besides their parents but someone that they could relate to in a positive way. A lot of times we allow are kids to go through school defending for their self and allowing their role models come from TV. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has lead a ground breaking information fact sheet that highlights the good and the bad among drug statistics in schools. One of their positive findings in school age kids is the decline of cigarette use among kids and is at the lowest point in history. This is fantastic news since cigarette use is also labeled a gateway drug and is one of the most addictive drugs on the market. One of their areas of concerns in High Schools is the use of marijuana, and prescription drugs which is still increasing every day. One of the best ways to treat this growing problem is to infiltrate the poorer communities with highly funded educational programs that fight against drug use. Education and how we teach are younger generations will be vital if we plan on having a bright future of success in the Unites States. A lot of people will argue that the gang population is growing and is increasing in these poorer neighborhoods around America and are corrupting the scho ols and the education programs. This is where the federal government should help fund state programs and increase the local police departments and start shutting down gangs on the streets. We need to start a surge of police on the streets now in order to get a hold of the violence and growing drug problem. Gangs are the main distributors of drugs in the United States and street gangs are the managers of local organization crime that has the influence of drug control in local neighborhoods. There are currently over 21,500 gangs and with over 731,000 members in the United States. According to a 2001 Department of Justice survey, 20 percent of students aged 12 through 18 reported that street gangs had been present at their school during the previous 6 months. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) claims that 27 percent of public school students aged 12 to 17 attend schools that are both gang and drug-infected. This shows that 5.7 million students attend schools which are both gang and drug dominated around America. The relationship of gangs and drugs is an epidemic monster that must be crushed now in order to stop drug trafficking. One of the interesting points that the CASA points out is the relationship between public and private schools and how drug use is more pr evalent among public school children then private school children. Protecting are education system must be protected and the government needs to ensure this is happening with a reformation act that sets forth new polices and laws that can do this. We need to flood the education system with money and highly educated teachers that can handle and maintain the education system with the growing violence on the streets of education. Once we dismantle the gang population then the drug trafficking will decrease. The focus should start in poor rural communities first and then spread to the inner cities. The focal point should be on rebuilding schools, community buildings, job growth, and helping the youth become more flexible and adaptive. We do this and change will begin to grow like a wild flower among are communities and change is what we need to stop the drug war. One of the other approaches that we need to try is building more drug treatment centers among are communities with a community based outlook. We take the drug abusers off the streets that want help, apply them with education and a fresh start to society, and then give them the tools to make it on their own. We need these centers all over, and we need to look at attaching these centers to public schools allowing are youth to get help with the option of not receiving backlash from parents. Drug treatment centers provide rehabilitation services for all types of drug abuses and addictions. We should allow these centers to work in partnership with local police stations to find the people that need or want help instead of locking them up in the prison system and then making the matters worse once they are released. The prison system shouldnt be used as a drug rehabilitation center for society but used to lock criminals up that have committed horrible crimes. Prisons are not equipped with t he right resources to conquer the quest of drug rehabilitation, so we need to conquer this on the streets before they end up in prison. We know that these treatment centers work and so do the drug cartels. The Washington Post wrote an article on the Mexican cartels and how they have taken over some of the treatment centers in Mexico and using them has a recruitment center for drug addicts. These treatment centers need to be a nationally protected and funded program by the government so we can keep these gangs out of the way of helping people that want help. Reformation of laws and regulation are one of the hottest debated issues in the criminal justice system especially when it comes to sending people to prison and they way we go about helping individuals. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) states their mission statement as: Drug Law Reform Projects goal is to end punitive drug policies that cause the widespread violation of constitutional and human rights, as well as unprecedented levels of incarceration. The ACLU fights for individuals that are serving time in prison for non violent crimes and trying to get them released by trying to get the President involved. One of the most informative and interesting organizations that are fighting for reform is the Drug Sense organization which a nonprofit organization informing the community as a database of articles that show information that pertains to the war on drugs. Reformation needs to take place in drug laws, and prisons around the United States, because our laws are outdated and are prison system is outdated as well. Prison reform is needed to improve the system and rehabilitation process to have a more effective system for the new generation ahead. Right now are system is working against us with overcrowding, and repeat offender population. We need to build are prison to rehabilitate the ones that want to be rehabilitated and build prisons for individuals that cause harm separate from others. We need to separate these individuals once they are introduced into the prison system. If we do this we stop certain crimes from being committed and we also have a chance of stopping repeat offenders. Right now our prisons are overcrowded and we are intermixing everyone together even the weak with the strong and the system is becoming corrupt and the weak ones are becoming prey. The system must allow these criminal minds to be used in a positive way so when they are released they can bring something back to society in a positive way. If we increase the manual labor that inmates have to perform each day instead of sitting in the cell for 23 hours of the day then we might be able to save money at the state and federal level. It would also give the inmates something to do and give them the chance to clear their thoug

An Analytical Essay on Excessive Pride in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart :: Things Fall Apart essays

Excessive Pride in Things Fall Apart In Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart, a well-known aphorism, "pride goes before a fall", was used. I agreed with and supported this statement. The story line itself backed up this statement as well. Through Okonkwo's hard work he became a "great man" with a sense of pride and haughtiness, who then suffered a loss of pride, which ultimately led to his down fall and his own suicide. This book went along with the commonly stated cliché. In addition to that, there was a widely known joke that went well with this. "One day there was an airplane pilot flying Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Bill (a kid), and Billy Gram. Something went wrong with the plane, so it had to be abandoned. The airplane pilot strapped on a parachute and said to them, "there is only four parachutes but I am taking one." Bill Clinton grabbed the second one and said, "I am the most important man and my country needs me so I am taking one too." Then, Bill Gates grabbed the third one and said, "I am the smartest man in the world and my people need me." So, Bill (a kid) was just looking... at the fourth parachute and Billy Gram said to him, "I am an old man and you are young, you have your whole life ahead of you, take the last parachute." Finally, Bill (a kid) looked up at him and said, "I was not thinking about that, it's just that the smartest man in the world took my backpack." As you saw from the book and the joke, both Okonkwo, and Bill Gates were full of prejudice pride. They thought they were "great men", and saw others as inferior to them and incapable of living substantially if they were not the backbone. Okonkwo's pride grew immensely when he was an eighteen-year-old boy growing up in Umuofia. His father, Unoka was a lazy and imprudent man so Okonkwo sought to be everything his father was not. He threw Amalinze the Cat, who was a wily craftsman, and great wrestler that was unbeaten for seven years from Umuofia to Mbaino. That victory made Okonkwo known past the nine villages.

Paula Jones Lawsuit Against Bill Clinton :: Free Essays

Paula Jones' Lawsuit Against Bill Clinton A lawsuit has been filed by Paula Jones, a clerk for the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission, for sexual harassment by then Governor Clinton. In her lawsuit, Paula Jones states that Clinton told an Arkansas State trooper to escort her to a private hotel room where she claims that she was sexually harassed. There are two sides to this case: Clinton states that he did not do it and that he has never seen this person before. Clinton's lawyers say that forcing the president of the United States to answer to a lawsuit will distract him for his already hard and time-consuming job. On the other hand, Paula Jones says that "no one is above the law," not even the President of the United States. What she wants most is for the truth to come out and for her story to be heard. "In no way is she looking for her fifteen minutes of fame," Jones says. The case is going before the Supreme Court to decide whether to reverse the decision of the two lower courts and delay the sexual harrassment lawsuit until President Clinton leaves office. It could be months before the verdict from the Supreme Court will be announced. I believe that the case should be held at a later date when President Clinton is no longer in office. It takes away from his job which is to run the United States of America. Fifteen years ago, the Supreme Court blocked a damage suit against Richard Nixon with a five to four vote finding that the president is immune from being suied for his official acts. If the president gets in trouble, the whole nation is also in trouble because after all we did elect him. Our confidence in our political leaders will suffer, and out

Barks Computer Screens Case: a Market Analysis

Running head: BARKS COMPUTER SCREENS CASE Barks Computer Screens Case: A Market Analysis Barks Computer Screens Case: A Market Analysis A market analysis is a key component of a business plan and should be conducted every few years due to market and product changes. One important aspect is identifying the supply and demand of a product in the target market. The supply curve is a positive sloping curve because as the price increases so does the quantity of product. The demand curve is a negative sloping curve because as the price increases the demand for the product decreases (Hirschey, 2012).Changes can occur to both curves as changes in the market and economy take place. This will cause the curves to shift either to the left or the right. The supply curve is affected by changes in the economy such as an increase in the prices of material or a natural disaster that would prohibit supply of product. The demand curve is affected by changes in population income, economic outlook, govern ment spending, and real interest rates (McBride, 2008). In the Barks Computer Screens Case, Barks has hired me as a consultant and provides the results of his market analysis.He has found that the functions for supply and demand in his market are: Qd = 157 – 35P + 12. 5Pw + 0. 1Y and Qs = –120 + 75P – 30Pw + 13PL + 12R. Where: Qd = Demand, Qs = Supply, Pw = Average price of Wides, Y = Income in his market, PL = Price of labor, and R = Is the average humidity level measured in hums. I have assumed the quantities demanded and supplied are a function of price and applied the following conditions: Pw = $6. 00, Y = $1,600. 00, PL = $9. 00, and R = 25. Demand: Qd = 157 – 35P + 12. 5Pw + 0. 1Y = 157 – 35P + 12. (6) + 0. 1(1600) = 157 – 35P + 75 + 160 = 392 – 35P. Supply: Qs = –120 + 75P – 30Pw + 13PL + 12R = -120 + 75P – 30(6) + 13(9) + 12(25) = -120 +75P – 180 + 117 + 300 = 117 + 75R. The following price conditio ns were used to determine supply and demand market conditions: $1. 75, $2. 10, and $2. 70. Qd = 392 – 35P = 392 – 35(1. 75) = 392 – 61. 25 = 330. 75. The same equation was used for the other two prices to determine quantities demanded at each price. At $2. 10 the Qd is 318. 50 and at $2. 70 the Qd is 297. 50. Qs = 117 + 75P = 117 + 75(1. 5) = 117 + 131. 25 = 248. 25. The same equation was used for the other two prices to determine quantities supplied at each price. At $2. 10 the Qs is 274. 50 and at $2. 70 the Qs is 319. 50. The following graph illustrates the supply and demand curve to reflect my findings. As you can see on the above graph, Qd and Qs intersect at a point. This point is when market equilibrium is met. â€Å"Market equilibrium describes a condition of perfect balance in the quantity demanded and the quantity supplied at a given price† (Hirschey, 2012).To determine equilibrium price, I set the Qd equation equal to the Qs equation and solved for P (price): 392 – 35P = 117 + 75P, 275 – 35P = 75P, 275 = 110P, 2. 5 = P. Equilibrium price is $2. 50. To find equilibrium quantity, use P = 2. 50 in either Qd or Qs equation: 392 – 35P = 392 – 35(2. 50) = 392 – 87. 50 = 304. 50. Equilibrium quantity is 304. 50. The equilibrium price and quantity determines shortage or surplus. A surplus of product occurs when actual price is greater than the equilibrium price. A shortage of product occurs when actual price is less than the equilibrium price (McBride, 2008).Based on an equilibrium quantity of 304. 50 the only time there will not be a surplus or a shortage is when they are priced at $2. 50. When Wides are priced at $1. 75, there will be a surplus of 26. 25 screens. At $2. 10, there will be a surplus of 14. At $2. 70, there will be a shortage of 7. My recommendation is to price the Wides at $2. 50. Having a surplus builds inventory but eventually decreases market prices and product output, wherea s a shortage can increase market prices and create a push on production.At equilibrium, revenue is generated without a change in price or quantity produced (Hirschey, 2012). References Hirschey, M. (2012). Fundamentals of Managerial Economics, 9th ed. (9th ed). South Western Educational Publishing. Retrieved from http://digitalbookshelf. southuniversity. edu/books/1111439907/id/ch4 McBride, C. (2008). Supply & Demand Analysis Chron. com. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness. chron. com/supply-demand-analysis-727. html