Good and Evil Hand-In-Hand

Characters such as Wolverine from the X-men, Batman from The Dark Knight, and Shrek from Shrek the movie are great examples of people who seemly are evil, but really do good for others around them. These characters are very similar to Jean Valjean in Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. People, in general, have both good and evil in them. Hugo proves this by showing that characters that do bad can still be a good person, that they use their conscience to make decisions, and that if they try they can make bad situations, good. In Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Hugo proves that people that do bad things can still be a good person. When you first learn about Jean Valjean, he seems to be this criminal up to no good. When he entered a town unknown to him, people â€Å"regarded this traveler with a sort of distrust† (7), which means he seem deceitful and mysterious. But throughout the book, Jean Valjean becomes a much kinder, nice person. At one point, he saves a young girl, named Cosette, from the abuse she was enduring from the Thenardiess. Before he leaves the Inn that the Thenardiess were running, when he is talking to the lady innkeeper, he asks if he can take Cosette with him. All he says is, â€Å"suppose you were relieved of her? † (174) and she was his. He did a lot for this young girl. One major thing he did was risk his life to save the man that she was in love with. After a big fight, Marius becomes greatly wounded, and Jean tries to save him. Marius was helped from â€Å"the hand which had seized him from behind at the moment he was falling†¦ was the hand of Jean Valjean† (505). Jean tried to help everyone, even though he did badly when he was younger. In Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Hugo shows that characters use their conscience to make decisions. Everyone has choices to make on a daily basis and they can choose to do good or bad. In the book, the characters had the attempt to make the good choice in their decisions. When Jean Valjean stole from the bishop and got caught, he busted himself out even when the bishop covered for him. When the gendarme brought him back to the bishop, Jean â€Å"raised his head with stupefied air† (33) because he knew he had to face the kind people after he had stolen. After this bad choice, he made the choice to do better, which theoretically his conscience is telling him to do good things. Javert also made the better choice by, at the end, letting Jean Valjean free. Throughout the whole book, it’s been a wild goose chase for Javert to catch Jean and finally he does. While Javert, he went on a walk. There he realizes that â€Å"there was matter for self-examination† (529) and he revaluates his situation. During his â€Å"self-examination† he realizes that Jean was good and that now Jean has saved him from death, he couldn’t send him to jail. That self-examination is like having a conversation with your conscience and thinking of if you should do good or bad. And in the end, he did good and let Jean go. In Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, Hugo shows that anyone can make a bad situation, good. If you’re stuck in a bad condition, you need to think fast and get yourself out of that bad situation. Most people would do that by doing well. When Fantine gave up her daughter because she knew she couldn’t take care of her alone, she was trying to make a bad situation, better for someone else. She even cut her hair off, so that her daughter had money. Towards the end of her life, she goes a tad crazy. She would say to herself, â€Å"When I am rich, I shall have my cosette with me, â€Å"(64) and she laughed, like she knew what she was saying was totally insane, but she kept telling herself that anyways. When Jean Valjean first took Cosette, he had to hide from Javert and the others with him. He was in a bad situation, but he tried to remember that he had a young girl with him and tried to make it a good situation. When they were running and finally gave up, Jean heard voices. And â€Å"while these voices were singing Jean Valjean was entirely absorbed in them. He no longer saw the night, he saw a blue sky† (200). So even though he was in pain and struggling to go on, he let his religion over take him and he knew he had to go on to have Cosette. No matter how bad a person is, there is always some good in them. Hugo has proved this by conveying that characters that do bad can still be a good person, that they use their conscience to make decisions, and that if they try they can make bad situations, good.

Summary and Reflection

The article contains a piece of history because in a way, it talks about how the Cold War started based on the point of view of an editor named Charles L. Mee.As can be readily ascertained from the title, the author is merely presenting his educated opinion pertaining to the contribution of different countries like the United States, Russia, Germany and other countries , their hidden conflict, how they acted and reacted, and how they each played their role in the beginning and ending of the Cold War.The author also discussed some of the so-called behind -the-scenes strategies that came into play which involved famous political figures, and he is leaning to the possibility that what these authorities did may have mitigated or aggravated the circumstances that further ignited the beginning of the Cold War (Mee, 2009).The author opens the article by painting a picture of two scenarios: The first one focuses on how President Truman expressed his uncensored sentiments about the Russians t o Foreign Minister Molotov who only arrived to pay his respects to the remains of President Roosevelt, and the second one talks about how Winston Churchill kept thousand of captured German troops and prepare them against Russia (Mee, 2009).In both of these pictures, the author is trying to illustrate sarcastically that the behavior of these people was a sure fire way to start a conflict. It is not unknown to many that the Cold War began after the World War II. Sensitivity should be exercised at all cost during these trying times when talking about matter relevant to national security and diplomatic relations and the author is trying to say that these political figures showed the exact opposite of being sensitive.The author goes on to discuss how the different countries picked the strategy that would work best for their country economic- and military- wise, and they also picked on the countries which they would deem as allies.The Cold War resulted in a battle between the strongest of countries, the east against the west. This view of the author is strengthen when he mentions that the Big Three does not care about what happens to other countries as long as they did their part right and make sure that they can have everything going in their direction.He further extends his argument when he said that these contenders were just using the weak ones as pawns because during these times, the power is up for grabs and they need all the help they can get. The Big Three that the author is referring to are Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill (Mee, 2009).

History of Fashion Essay

Fashion has always been a reflection of the collective consciousness and unconsciousness of society. In politically conservative times, fashion reflects the staidness of the majority, but also the subversive elements of the minority. No less a controversial figure than King Louis XIV of France was rumored to have said that fashion was a mirror. Music, films, and television, all potent pop culture mirrors in their own right of the anxieties, hopes, and dreams of any society, all collectively form a synergistic relationship with fashion, each informing, influencing, and cross-pollinating the others in various turns. Fashion is also a pop culture manifestation of the intellectual and cultural trend of postmodernism. Fashion depends on newness; summer, fall, winter, spring are seasons that occur inexorably each year, and with them, the demand for new fashion lines. The inexhaustible hunger for new ideas and inspirations in fashion and other pop culture arenas leads inevitably to cannibalization, plagiarism, re-contextualization, and re-imagination of ideas past and present – the essence of postmodernism. If we survey the landscape of where pop culture and fashion have been, we can to some degree predict the elements which may define where it will go, though in the postmodern universe of the 21st century, it is next to impossible to predict what incarnations will come to pass. Fashion is the byproduct of a leisure society that has transcended many of the basic human struggles on the lower level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Most people in prosperous Western nations are fortunate enough to lead lives in which the acquisition and/or maintenance of food, shelter, and clothing is not a struggle that consumes their existence, as is sadly true in many African nations, for example. Free to ponder the meaning of their lives and the many ways in which it is possible for humans to express their inner thoughts and feelings, citizens of the leisure society began to use fashion as a mode of self-expression and reflection of any number of zeitgeists of their time. As far back as the 1700s, French women consulted fashion magazines to learn the latest fashion trends. Sketch artists were present in royal courts to make note of the fashion choices made by the ruling classes, and communicated these ideas to dressmakers across the nation, who in turn crafted facsimiles for those who were able to afford such fashion mimicry. The French have historically held a special place in the fashion universe since this time. As the 1800s and 1900s saw Western societies evolve from agrarian societies to industrial societies, with the concurrent increase in wealth and disposal income, the focus on and indulgence in fashion increased. With the advent of pop music, most notably rock-and-roll in the 1950s, and television, teenagers all around the world saw the likes of Elvis Presley and his gyrating hips, causing a global fashion sensation. Boys everywhere began to sport white t-shirts (in whose sleeves the more raucous ones rolled packs of cigarettes), blue jeans, and grease their hair. Celebrities from the arenas of music, film, and then television became the new royalty, the new elites, for Western cultures, and the fashion trends they embodies became inspirations for millions in each successive generation. The messages of rock-and-roll became more complex, subversive, and powerful in the 1960s, corresponding with the United States’ controversial entry into the Vietnam War and a wholesale rejection on both sides of the Atlantic of many of the traditional values of the Cold War era. The Beatles’s turn from fresh-scrubbed, feel-good bubblegum pop to psychedelic and metaphysical subject matter influences a new set of fashion trends which shocked the Establishment to the core. Men and women everywhere began wearing colorful (both literally and figuratively), outrageously expressive, and even outlandish fashions, and allowing their hair to grow long. The exhaustion from the myriad political and socio-cultural revolutions of the 1960s, and the stagnant Western economies of the 1970s gave way to a culture preoccupied with escapism and simply having a good time. Sit-ins and political protests gave way to champagne-filled boogie nights. The flower-power psychedelia fashion trends of the late 1960s and early 1970s gave way to the groovy leisure suit styles inspired by the music trend of disco that consumed the world from roughly 1976 to 1980 and cemented by the global box office phenomenology of the film Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta and featuring a soundtrack packed with disco hits written by the Bee Gees. The tight-fitting and well-cut suits worn by Travolta, and the sexy, stylish dresses and pantsuits of the women in the film inspired millions to change their wardrobes accordingly. On the tail end of the disco era came a brief but potent preoccupation with cowboy fashion, inspired by the peculiar utilitarian clothing from the American Old West – cowboy boots, rugged blue jeans, ten-gallon cowboy hats, etc. , again propelled into the collective fashion consciousness of the world by another hugely successful film, 1982’s Urban Cowboy. At the same time the fashion trends inspired by disco and cowboy culture were dying out, the realm of the political again profoundly affected the universe of fashion. The elections of conservative political figureheads Margaret Thatcher in England and Ronald Reagan in the U.  S. sparked a schizophrenic revolution in clothing and music: as economic recoveries were engineered on the backs of the working poor, the culture that proclaimed â€Å"greed is good† took to reveling in the wearing conservative, yet expensive or even shocking clothing – furs, for example — which reflected the mindset of conspicuous consumption. Simultaneously, those cultural elements who were not benefiting from the economic boom were rebelling against the conservative establishment trends and adopting controversial styles embodied, for example, in the slut-chic clothing popularized by the music and videos of Madonna. Music videos, a new invention in pop culture and institutionalized by the power of MTV, became a new showcase for outrageous fashion statements in the 1980s and beyond. The greed and spiritual bankruptcy of the 1980s gave way to the hippie nouveaux culture of the Earth-and-cause-friendly early-to-mid 1990s, and then to the greed nouveaux culture of the late 1990s, spawned by the phenomenal economic growth of the Internet boom. By this time, pop culture had begun to liberally cannibalize itself for new ideas, having exhausted much of its potential for true originality. As technology and civilization continue their exponential evolution of consumption, genuinely original ideas become more and more difficult to generate, leading fashion designers to borrow from past ideas, to combine hitherto uncombined or un-combinable ideas, as evidenced by the infamous phrase â€Å"What’s old is new; what’s new is old. The early 21st Century is a time of profound uncertainty in fashion, with a myriad of recycled influences competing for the crown of the next hot fashion trend. The inherent self-referentiality and cannibalism of post-modernism, however, makes it virtually impossible to predict which trends will take hold and when. The next decade will make for a fascinating time in the universe of fashion.

People, Power, and Politics in Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

People, Power, and Politics in Canada - Essay Example McRobert profoundly disagrees with Trudeau, who offered to get rid of the villagers in Canada outside Quebec. In the process, they left the poor and the local people in the worst and most pathetic conditions. McRobert disagrees stating that before Trudeau came into the lime light, there was a veritable ambiguity about the Canadian deal. He says Trudeau never improved the asymmetrical arrangements for the Quebec in any way. He claims that Trudeau ruined Quebec social economic status. Democracy Reforms Democracy is a fundamental aspect in every state. The people defined it as the rule for the people and with the people. The perception that ordinary citizens have about the government and those who are in should substantially change (Robert & Doreen, 2009). With these reforms in place, various parties will conduct themselves in a good manner. It will also provide an opportunity for people to select their preferred leaders. In most cases, people often evade engaging in the government-initiated processes like elections since they believe that it is a waste of time. Therefore, the basic advantage of these reforms will be to enable different citizens to exercise their legal rights. Common citizens will also be free to compete for various political posts in the government. Whether these are federal, senate, or other elective posts, democracy is a very crucial aspect and warrants priority. The electoral reforms are also necessary as they determine the mode of carrying out elections. This implies that people competing for various positions need to have guidelines to aid them. The electoral body should be selected wisely and democratically to ensure free and fair elections. The political parties also need to have policies governing the manner by which campaigns are done. The reforms of elections also need to touch on areas like setting the exact date for the elections as well as appointing watchdogs to oversee the entire process (Robert & Doreen, 2009). The electoral body should also train and enlighten individuals as for the importance of carrying out elections. The electoral reforms should touch on various aspects like the number of women to be elected to the Senate seats. This will ensure fairness in the state elections and the members elected

RITUALS&SYMBOLS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

RITUALS&SYMBOLS - Essay Example Most of the people were dressed nice, but some were wearing blue jeans and nice T-shirts with tennis shoes. The overall impression was a group of fashionable suburbanites at one of their more important social gatherings. The church looked as if it had been constructed sometime in the past ten years. It was relatively large and didn’t necessarily look like the traditional country church with steeple. Instead, it was shaped almost like an L, made of light brown brick and creamy white siding with darker brown brick accenting the cornerstones and other features. At one end of the church, there was an impressive open-air tower that might have been a modern interpretation of the old steeple. The roofs were sharply peaked and tiled in green, giving the church a very natural appearance as if it had been placed there by God for the use of his servants. Inside, the first thing a person entered was the lobby. This was a long, very wide corridor that was lined with windows and covered with skylights. This made it seem almost like standing outside, but was protected from the elements and could be heated and cooled at appropriate times. For those who feel the only proper worship should be held outside, this lobby was very close to bringing the outside in. The light associated with God seemed very welcome and people were offered drinks, food and religious reading or listening material as they passed by small tables. The sanctuary didn’t have as much light, but regular windows, curtained with soft, gauzy white fabric, also allowed plenty of natural light to stream in from the edges. The large array of pipes for the pipe organ stood impressively behind the altar with the choir standing in front of it singing a hymn and making it obvious that music was a large portion of this church’s worship. A large wooden cross and plenty of green potted plants, mostly palm-type plants, decorated the altar as well, again bringing to mind the concept of the natural

Exploring CSR in aquacultural sector in Greece evaluating Nireus SA Essay

Exploring CSR in aquacultural sector in Greece evaluating Nireus SA CSR strategy - Essay Example In a recent survey report that was conducted, it was ascertained that the implementation as well as the application of CSR in an organisation fosters significant progress as well as provides business benefits. Furthermore, it has been revealed that CSR represents and depicts the company’s values and norms (ABA Section of International Law, 2008; Brennan, 2011). CSR plays an important role in aquaculture sector as well. Aquaculture deals with aqua farming which represents the farming of the aquatic organism. In the recent scenario, aquaculture is determined as a relatively growing sector and moreover, it is enabling to generate a significant extent of quality fish as well as other aquatic food items for human consumption. Furthermore, aquaculture depicts a highly diversified production sector that encompasses various systems, facilities, processes as well as products under a vast range with regard to political, social, economic as well as environmental conditions. In accordance with the present day context, aquaculture productions as well as allied trade activities have accelerated by a considerable extent. In this situation, a major concern has cropped up with regard to the negative impact of aquaculture based activities on environment, consumers as well as communities. CSR plays an imperative role in this particular sector as it depicts the prior responsibilities of an organisation. In present times, the business firms related to aquaculture are adopting an increased level of CSR initiatives in order to attain technical as well as financial assistance to comply with the competitive market requirements along with advanced marketing methods regarding aquaculture products. CSR with regard to aquaculture provides an insight on organisational development. Furthermore, CSR initiates sustainable development of aquaculture that mainly depends upon three basic factors social, environmental as well as economical. It also helps in ascertaining welfare as well as h ealth concerns of animals, environmental integrity and socio-economic aspects (Karnani, 2012; Morsing & et. al., 2006). Nireus SA group is represented as the leader in terms of the production as well as the exportation of aquaculture species on a worldwide basis. At Nireus SA, the company performs an effective set of CSR initiatives on the grounds of human beings, society and environment. On conducting the business related to aquaculture, it aims to diminish the negative impact if any on society at large as well as on the environment. The concerned company focuses on quality that reflects its compliance with legal aspects and regulations. This also frames a part of Corporate Social Responsibility (4Nireus, 2012). The concerned research study intends to â€Å"explore CSR in the aqua-cultural sector in Greece along with evaluating Nireus SA CSR strategy†. The objective of the study is to ensure and explore the CSR of Nireus SA group within Greece. Furthermore, this study entail s introduction with regard to the implementation and benefits of CSR on aquaculture sector. Moreover, this study will also ascertain about the company and its Corporate Social Responsibilities. This particular research study also presents findings based on a questionnaire survey in which a set of questions related to Nireus’ CSR initiatives have been presented. In addition, qualitative semi-structured interview has been conducted. The interview takes into account

Nurture and Nature in the early human development Assignment

Nurture and Nature in the early human development - Assignment Example However, due to the rise in behaviourism, experts opined that nurture played a role in human development. This argument was based on the fact that training in early childhood can make the child develop into any kind of adult. However, most psychologists of current generation are of the opinion that both nature and nurture have a role in the development of humans and adulthood depends on the interactions between these two aspects. Most attributes of human beings, like emotional stability, sociability and psychiatric illnesses are a result of interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Experts are of the opinion that even innate biological attributes are modifiable by environmental factors. A good example for this is development of congenital anomalies and other problems in the fetus consequent to exposure to infectious diseases, maternal malnutrition, maternal smoking and maternal alcoholism. Similarly while development of milestones is programmed genetically and all childr en go through similar milestones at similar ages, some research has shown that achievement of milestones, to some extent depends on the stimulation. Similar features were noted in speech development. While newborns are born with functioning sensory, development of the sensory systems depends on environmental stimulation. For example, at birth newborns watch only flashing lights, or ridges and movements of head. They however gradually learn to recognize faces and identify them. Newborns start at loud noises and turn their head towards sound. But this disappears at 6 weeks and reemerges at 3-4 months age when the infant even turns the eyes towards the source of sound. Speech development occurs based on perception of sounds. Babies also have taste sensation and touch sensation and have preference to sweet taste and different types of touch. Their expressions towards different tastes are different. They also have good olfactory sensation and behave

Global Health Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Health Systems - Essay Example Health statistics and costs The health statistics and costs of Singapore and United States can be compared to get a clear picture of where the two countries stand. The life expectancy at birth in Singapore is 82 years and it is 78 years in U.S. the infant mortality rate is 2.3 deaths per 1,000 births in Singapore while in U.S. it is 6.4 deaths per 1,000. U.S. has more caregivers than Singapore due to its population. There are 2.6 physicians per 1,000 people in U.S, while Singapore has 1.4 physicians per 1,000. There are 9.4 nurses per 1,000 people in U.S. while 4.2 in Singapore. The number of dentists in U.S. is six times greater and pharmacists are three times of those in Singapore. According to the WHO, U.S. spends about 15.3% of its total GDP on healthcare and Singapore spends only 3.7% (Holtz, 2008). Despite these figures, Singaporeans are healthier than Americans and the amount they pay per person is one-fifth of what the Americans pay. Healthcare Financing In Singapore, the sta te funds one-fourth of the total healthcare costs. The major source for the healthcare finance is individuals themselves and their employers. The government, using taxes, spends about U.S. $381 per capita on healthcare. As compared to the U.S. government, this figure is about one-seventh of the total costs spent by American government (Holtz, 2008). Singaporeans take care of their own healthcare and pay for their medical care. The role of the government is to make the healthcare affordable through subsidies and funds to the public hospitals for those who cannot afford. On the other hand, Americas healthcare depends on the private insurance sector and the government agencies are only for elderly or low income groups. The private healthcare is costly. Healthcare Administration The main regulator of the healthcare system in Singapore is the Minister of Health (MOH). MOH is responsible for the regulation of the healthcare services. It promotes the health education, monitors the quality and accessibility of the health services, controls and prevents diseases, allocates resources and administers the licenses of healthcare establishments. On the other hand about 60% of the U.S. health provision is regulated by the programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Medicare provides healthcare to the elderly which is supported by the taxes paid by the working class. Medicaid is for the people with low incomes. However, due to the high costs of private healthcare services, the Medicaid program is being overflowed (Holtz, 2008). Healthcare Personnel and Facilities U.S has one of the best medical education system and it has physicians and nurses several times more than that of Singapore. However this is because of the population gap. In reality, U.S. has a decreasing number of physicians and nurses. This is because of the inability to pay wages to the nurses and physicians (Holtz, 2008). The nurses roles have been increased because of which they are leaving the jobs. On the other h and, Singapore has authoritative and administrative controls in its healthcare systems hence they are successfully providing and ensuring that all citizens in need are receiving the adequate healthcare facilities. Their nurses and physicians are paid good because of which

Contemporary Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contemporary Issues - Essay Example It is, therefore, the engineers’ prerogative to offer this protection. The education bar needs to be raised to ensure all those who qualify are up to the task of offering their services to the world (Osif, 2006). This paper will review some of the contemporary issues they face, and their possible solutions. There are many issues that face the civil engineering fraternity. One of the issues they face today is the lack of investment. The fraternity faces a particularly immense problem with lack of investment that they cannot conduct business as usual. Every engineer is aware of the dangers and consequences of poor structures. They have to face the burden of proving their innocence when it comes to disasters concerning their structures. It is a risky investment, thus; not many individuals are willing to invest in this field (Hansen & Zenobia, 2011). Organizations prefer to play it safe. The need to invest in a risky business is usually not appealing to anyone. Even in the past, the need to have structures built in order to connect people and the world was downplayed by lack of capital (Hansen & Zenobia, 2011). It played a frighteningly crucial role in preventing the creation of exceptional structures for a long time. When infrastructure over the years does not get the recognition, they tend to have a negative impact on society. This presents a problem to everyone in today’s modern society. Society evolves on a daily basis. Many individuals do not want their society to be depleted of all its natural beauty. Civil engineers need to realise this and strive to be â€Å"sustainers†, not just builders or designers. This is another problem or challenge they face. They need to shape society to accept the new, innovative way in which the world is changing (Hansen & Zenobia, 2011). The world should be ready and willing to invest in some of the civil engineering projects. This can prevent some of the problems that face the fraternity. Capital is

Exit Exams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Exit Exams - Essay Example A description of those affected most by the exit exams will be given, and a look at what some districts are doing to improve test scores will be worthwhile. Exits exams have many aliases, including proficiency tests, graduation exams, minimum competency exams (MCEs) and mandatory exit exams (MEEs). The bottom line to all of them is that even if a student finished the 12th grade with the minimum required grade point average, and the mandatory amount of credits, no diploma will be issued until the student passes the exit exam required by the state. As of June 2008, students in 23 states will have to pass exit exams to receive high school diplomas (Rosenthal, 2008). Some states don't require it yet, but soon will. Students in Maryland, for example, won't have to begin passing the exam until 2009 (Rosenthal, 2008). Other school districts, though, are begging out of the exam. Two years ago, "Utah pulled back from making exit exams mandatory" (No New States, 2006). In California, lawsuits were filed when students didn't receive diplomas, based solely on the inability to pass a proficiency exam, but the California Supreme Court upheld the stat e's decision to withhold diplomas when students failed to prove minimum competency using the exam. Decisions like that have sparked debate all over the United States. Proponents believe it is a good idea for various reasons. Opponents have an even longer list of reasons why the exit exams are unfair. Teachers claim to be tired of juggl[ing] two accountability standards (Cromer, 2007), one from the state and one from the No Child Left Behind act, and others feel that teachers have no right to complain since many of them do, or will receive "some form of incentive pay" (Cromer, 2007) when their students pass their exam. With all of this going on, it is not difficult to see why the states are in such a state of flux about the issue. Proponents Those who are for the examine take much criticism, but have valid points. Proponents claim that the exam will "encourage students to achieve basic competency in core subjects and to make the high school diploma more meaningful" (Rosenthal, 2008). There is little definition about what a meaningful diploma is, but the arguments don't stop there. They claim that dropout rates haven't declined because of the exam (Greene & Winters, 2004), as evidence that students take more pride in their high school experience. It is said, "Most students who are serious about graduating high school should be able to pass such an exam if given enough tries" (Greene & Winters, 2004). Although this opinion is biased in the opinion of some, the fact is that every state gives the students multiple chances to pass the exam. Some students even begin taking the test in Spring of the 8th grade year. Ironically, some of the biggest supporters of the exam are students who have received their diplomas by passing it. One news report reads, "They want the exams, as well, because it validates the formula that they worked so hard to achieve" (O'Reilly, n.d.). The meaning is that once students have felt the threat of not graduating if they can't pass the exam, and then they do pass it, they are more likely to feel like everyone else who works hard should pass the exam, too. The fact that people want students in high school to begin taking

Quran Essay Essay Example for Free

Quran Essay Essay Among the innumerable facts, this writing will contribute two facts only: First, the Quran contains many scientific facts that are only being found out recently. The Quran’s linguistic style is far superior then any other form of writing. Without a doubt men have negated and contested the truth and revelation from God including the Quran revealed to prophet Mohamed (sallahu alahi wa salaam). For that reason, men in their objection and adamant behavior suggested that the Quran is word of Mohamed or the Quran is created by Mohamed; such statement is away from the truth. Undoubtedly there are other verses in the Quran related to human development that will be understood in the future as our knowledge increases. † In the Quran, Allah (subhanahu wa tala) also speaks about the Cerebrum: ( ) ( ) (Nay! If he (Abu Jahl) ceases not, We will catch him by the forelock (the front part of the brain also known as the prefrontal lobe) (15) A lying, sinful forelock! (96:15-16) Why does Allah describe the front part of the brain to be lying and sinful? In recent research scientists have found out that the prefrontal lobe actually controls a person’s decision making, cognitive behavior, personality expression, and moderating social behavior (Yang, Y Prefrontal structure†¦). This part of the brain also deals with the creation of thoughts and actions (Miller, Earl the prefrontal cortex†¦). This shows that the prefrontal lobe is the part of the brain that may engage in sinful behavior and entices someone to lie or not. This also shows that the Quran does confirm scientific facts and there is no way an unlettered nomadic Arab man[5] in the 7th century could have known these facts. The pagan Arabs of the 7th century were for the most part isolated from the two great empires[6] at that time. The two empires did not waste their time in conquering the vast Arabian deserts because of its plain and unattractive look. The Arabs had nothing, they didn’t have any monuments, and they didn’t have masterful pieces of art. Therefore the Arabs of Mecca[7] were not much of a concern to the two empires; as well the two empires were not willing to send their forces through the dangerous deserts. Thanks to this isolation, the Arabs were able to refine their language. After a few centuries, the Arabs had shaped their language into an eloquent language where everyman was known to be a poet. The Arabs prided themselves on their language. So much so, they would have tribal battles not with swords but rather their tongues and the losing tribe would be shamed. The pagan Arabs marveled at the amazing speech of the Quran. When a person speaks he is able to organize his thoughts, but a person is incapable of organizing their words based on what they are going to say later . For example, there are two ayahs that are very much the same one ayah states: â€Å"Say (O Muhammad): Allah is enough as a witness between me and you†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The other ayah states: â€Å"Say (O Muhammad): Allah is enough between me and you as a witness † The difference is sequence, in the first ayah Allah says â€Å"witness† first, and â€Å"me and you’ later. The Quran is very sensitive to context, at the end of the first ayah Allah says â€Å"†¦he is the ever all knower, all seer of his slaves†. The ayah ends speaking about Allah, the word â€Å"witness† for Allah is used first so therefore the ayah begins with Allah and ends with Allah. While the second ayah ends with speaking about people it uses â€Å"between me and you† first then â€Å"witness† second. So the ayah begins with speaking about people and ends with speaking with people. So what is about to be said in the future has a direct influence on how words are organized before. Humans are unable to do that. Prophet Muhammad (sallahu alahi wa salaam) was never known to be a composer of any types of poetry or any other forms of literature. So when they heard this literature they were amazed. â€Å"Umar bin Al-Khattab was a great enemy of the prophet. He planned to kill the prophet, but on his way he was informed that his sister had joined the religion. He immediately changed course. Upon arrival he hit his sister. He regretted what he did so asked for the paper she was reading (containing ayahs of the Quran). Once he read it he immediately went to prophet (sallahu alahi wa salaam) and accepted Islam†. Umar bin Al-Khattab was a man that was amazed by the Quran’s linguistic style and its strong meaning. This is one of the many men who accepted Islam because of the Quran’s amazing speech. The famous Arab grammarian H. Gibb had this to say about the Quran: â€Å"As a literary monument the Koran (referring to the Quran) thus stands by itself, a production unique to the Arabic literature, having neither forerunners nor successors in its own idiom. Muslims of all ages are united in proclaiming the inimitability not only of its contents but also of its style†¦ and in forcing the High Arabic idiom into the expression of new ranges of thought the Koran develops a bold and strikingly effective rhetorical prose in which all the resources of syntactical modulation are exploited with great freedom and originality. John Penrice stated: â€Å"That a competent knowledge of the Koran is indispensable as an introduction to the study of Arabic literature will be admitted by all who have advanced beyond the rudiments of the language. From the purity of its style and elegance of its diction it has come to be considered as the standard of Arabic † These two men have an understanding of the linguistic exc ellence of the Quran. Allah says: Do they not then consider the Quran carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely have found therein many contradictions. (Quran 04:82). The Quran contains many palindromes; palindromes in many languages can only be done with one word. For example, in the English language the word Race Car can be written the same backward. In the Quran there are entire sentences that are palindromes. For example, in the Quran, Allah says: ( ) Magnify your Lord (Allah)! (Quran 74:3) In conclusion, the Quran has impacted the world in many ways. The Quran was not only sent to the desert Arabs but rather it was sent to all of mankind. Allah sends out a challenge, Allah (subhanahu wa tala) says: ( ) â€Å"And if you (Arab pagans, Jews, and Christians) are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down (i. e. the Quran) to Our slave (Muhammad Peace be upon him), then produce a Surah of the like thereof and call your witnesses (supporters and helpers) besides Allah, if you are truthful. † (Quran 2:23) The Quran is a revelation from Allah and it was revealed upon the tongue of Muhammad (sallahu alahi wa salaam). The Quran contains many scientific facts ranging from embryology to the purpose of the frontal lobe. All of this presented in a beautiful linguistic form, so much so when the Quran is translated into English, the language’s primitive level is unable to display the Quran’s linguistic beauty. This renders the English native unable to appreciate the Quran in a way the pagan Arabs of the 7th century were able. The Quran reaches the top level of eloquence in the Arabic language as well as other languages. The idea of Muhammad (sallahu alahi wa salaam) being able to go from being a unlettered man to the top author in the Arabic language is impossible on all plains of reality. Therefore, the only logical reason to say is that Muhammad (sallahu alahi wa salaam) has received revelation from the Almighty. QURAN: A REVELATION? Name: Harun O. G Course: GLE20 Teacher: Ms. Vacar Date: April 09, 2011 1]sallahu alahi wasalm means peace be upon him [2] Allah is the Arabic word for God and is preferred(to Muslims) [3] subhanahu wa tala means glorified and exalted be he(Allah) [4] Ayat: this is the plural version of Ayah, this word does not have a direct translation in English but the closest one is verse. In other places in the Quran ayah means signs. [5] According to sources Prophet Muhammad (sallahu alahi wasalm) was a illiterate man [6] Persian and Roman empire [7] Is found in Saudi Arabia and is th e holiest city for Muslims

Customer Service Essay Example for Free

Customer Service Essay 1. The key concepts and topics in this course that have made me a stronger candidate to continue in the business world would be what I have learned from the units dealing with: Diversity, Customer Behavior, Customer Loyalty, and Exceptional Service: I have learned that customer comments, good or bad should always be taken into consideration, addressed and handled appropriately. Comments can provide insight to the thought process of the customer and it could help improve not only the customer service department but the product as well. The success of a company relies on the customer. Relationship Building and Solving Customer Problems: Satisfied customers will remain customers until there is a better option offered to them. Loyal customers establish an emotional connection with a business and/or company. Their loyalty is motivated by their experience with the products and the service. Customer service is what a company or business provides; customer loyalty is the result of the service. Extraordinary approaches to customer service is to go beyond the customer’s satisfaction, and make every attempt to surpass the customer’s expectations every time. A company earns customer loyalty by molding the shopping experience to the needs of the customer. Customers have a tendency to patronize companies that interactive with them in a positive, meaningful, personal manner. Many companies offer their customers loyalty programs such as; reward programs. This method can ensure a company keeps their current customer base and entices possible new customers. The Impact of Communication Styles on Customer Services:  A business cannot afford to lose customers because of a lack of customer service, but many do. Customers remember how they are treated and pass the word along, good or bad. Once a customer has been treated poorly they are likely not to return to buy from that business again, even if that business has what they need. When customers are satisfied, it is probable that they will spend more on the product or service and keep returning to that business. Customer service representatives (CSRs) play a big role in keeping, and bringing customers to a business. That is why it is essential to train customer service representatives in effective communications styles and skills because they are the liaison between the customer and the business. The CSR’s communication skills can impact the decision of a customer’s loyalty and the right communication style can be helpful in avoiding conflicts. Communication styles are methods in which a particular individual converses with another individual. Great service requires effective communication styles, and skills. Having a combination of these elements will guarantee that the right message is conveyed in a way that ensures the customer receives and understands it correctly and as intended. 2. Discuss how this course has affected you in your professional development as a student and as a person as well as encouraging you on your academic path. This was a very beneficial, educational and informative class. I have chosen the legal  field, more specifically, paralegal studies. I currently work for a bankruptcy law firm and I have learned a great deal since I have been employed there. I have 30 plus years work experience and a great work ethic. With what I have learned in this class, my work ethic, and common sense, I believe I will be successful as a paralegal. I have learned the importance of maintaining professionalism. This class has reinforced my desire to continue in the legal field and has helped me in interacting with clients, co-workers and the attorneys I currently work with. My skills in listening, communicating, observing and relationship building have improved by taking this class. I would recommend a class in customer service, regardless of the professional field one decides to enter into. I believe it would be very insightful and valuable.

Research Paper: CalREN Systems

Research Paper: CalREN Systems Introduction: The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) projected that they the state of California can achieve greater heights if they give it a better and more improved internet. On April 9, CENIC announced that they had talked with the technology giants and are working on the same project and those partners are going to provide all the hardware and communication technology to create a more robust network for California known as CalREN-2 which would be high performance internet for the California. The high-speed networking hardware such as routing and switching equipment will be provided by Cisco System, Pacific Bell Communications. California Research and Education Network (CalREN) is amongst the most powerful technology tool California has in its sleeves. The network infrastructure is a multitiered network with around 3,800 miles of fiber optic connecting over ten thousand educational and research institutes and universities like California State, Stanford, USC and community colleges to 58 counties of California. The CalREN system is completely owned and monitored by the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), a non-profit organization which was established in 1996 by the various education and research communities from California to create a very high bandwidth and efficient solution to networking that would meet the needs of the faculty and all students which belong to these various schools and universities. Goals: CalREN is completely monitored by the CENIC now and has new goals to achieve high quality video conferencing to the classes to let students receive high quality education in real-time at all levels even if the faculty is not currently present in the city, state or nation. This would also connect many scientists around the globe to this existing high bandwidth network. With CalREN, various artists could take live stream classes of the production house from institution like San Francisco Opera from any part of the world. The San Francisco would create an online video classes to students throughout the world and would share these libraries so that all the musicians could learn music via special software or any streaming media. Recently, Los Angeles has also been added to CalREN system in 2016. Backbone: The CalREN backbone provides various capabilities to the network as follows: CalREN-DC: The Digital California is presented for everyday applications like video conferencing, emails, web browsing etc with a bandwidth of 10 Gbps to the students and faculty. CalREN-HPR: The High-Performance Research network which is used for applications with high data needs. This is a high-end network with a speed of 40Gbps. CalREN-XD: The eXperimental/Developmental network is a support network to other services for network research in universities like University of Southern California, Advanced Computing Research at Caltech etc. This is to have a focused perspective on research and innovation on the network.   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Backbone image from, http://cenic.org/network/network-maps The Central Valley Next Generation Broadband Infrastructure Project (CVNGBIP): The Central Valley Next Generation Broadband Infrastructure Project (CVNGBIP) was implemented to provide internet connectivity in 18 counties. Only 8% of the nations agricultural output is produced by the central valley. This kind of a strong and robust infrastructure network was implemented because central valley was still not completely connected to the internet. This was possible because of a vision in mind next generation connectivity where people living in those counties can learn things in a different way leaving the traditional way of learning behind where people used to ask each other for tips and methods. This is when two organizations CENIC and Central Valley Independent Network (CVIN) came together forming a joint venture making this like a dream come true and provide a better future to the people. The service also aims to keep the cost of the internet service as low as possible to help the schools, universities hospitals etc. to take as much as profit they can. The project was funded by NTIA (70%), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)s CAS Fund (10%) and the rest form other parties and the total amount is to be estimated at around 66 million involving 1,371 miles of cabling and connecting businesses together. California Library Initiatives: There are various initiatives by the California libraries. Video conferencing, emailing, and public research to schools and colleges are enhancing the learning possibilities at higher level. Many benefits and innovative ideas are initiated at the Public libraries making them abundant possibilities to achieve more in the coming future. Therefore, merging these libraries with CalREN would be an addition to the feature and service provided in digital age where everything and everyone is connected. Pacific Research Platform (PRP) initiative: Pacific Research Platform (PRP) is an initiative carried forward by UC San Diego and Berkeley which would help the college network for data access to be much faster than it is today within a few years. There is also a 5 million dollars funding for the initiative from the National Science Foundation (NSF). this would help the PRP with this grant. Quality of Service (QoS): Quality of Service (QoS) is the service provided by the network service provider that would affect the overall accessibility of the computer while performing certain task related to the internet connectivity. It is generally used to measure overall network performance over few characteristics like bandwidth, transmission delay etc. CalREN is a very high bandwidth network that provides is vital services to various research institutes throughout California hence, making quality of service a very important aspect to CalREN system. 100 Gigabit Ethernet connections: To achieve superfast speed for faster data travel, we need a higher capacity bandwidth. This is all possible by implementing and installing 100 Gigabit Ethernet connections that support lightning fast transmission over fibers or over the air. This is achieved with framerate of 100 gigabits per second bandwidth providing services to laboratories and research centers where there are supercomputers that can use this huge capacity bandwidth along other big facilities. A supercomputer in San Diego is using this speed and is connected to CalREN system. Network Operations Center (NOC): Network Operations Center is a building or a place where all the network connections are monitored, managed and if possible or need arises are also troubleshoot so that to avoid any possible chances of network failure or unavailability of the service. CalREN uses a multitiered network as we discussed earlier that allows access to many universities and research centers throughout California. This is where NOC would play important role in the system to manage and troubleshoot the network in any such cases. Applications for CalREN: On march 2006, at the CENIC workshop, iGrid showcased and important application of CalREN to the people. It was an experimental real-time broadcast of very high quality 4K video that was very much improved over our conventional televisions. They were also awarded networking innovation award. There was an issue with the video over the internet protocol on the CalREN-DC network. To trouble shoot the problem they adapted the new codec for the video broadcast throughout the CalREN system. Since the new codec was transmitted through packets, high quality of service was a concern which can be overlooked if we use the CalREN systems high speed network. K20 Video: CalREN is supporting this project by providing high speed internet connections. K20 video is an adaptation of video conferencing technology throughout the state with the collaboration of all K12, University of California and California State University sites. This is achieved by improving the distance learning scheme by providing high quality video services to all the students and faculties. End-sites connected to CalREN-DC network: There are 34 end sites to the CalREN-DC network. Everyone are using optical fiber for their access technology. The capacity provided to the end-sites is more than sufficient as we can see that some of the sites are underutilized and need proper resource management as most of the resource are wasted. End-sites connected to CVNGBIP network: There are many things that are carried forward in the fields of health care, business and residential with more than 63000 access lines. they are also using optical fibers for their access technology. SLA performance guarantees of CALREN: The SLA performance guarantees are as of November 2006. Implementing ticketing system to the educational institution with 99% availability. Various means of deployment would be assigned and operations to be performed to avoid outages. The jitter form central point to Los Angles for round-trip time should not be over 80 ms in 5 minutes. SLAs will be forced in all regions of network deployment such as fibers, routers etc. and use third party equipment to solve the problem.The problem can also be rectified by mailing to [emailprotected] to choose appropriate actions necessary. All the performance guarantees seem reasonable as there is a definite time to resolve any issue and rectify the problem using the ticketing system that is very efficient everywhere in communications business. Hierarchy in CalREN: CalREN is a multitiered network with 3 tiers. CalREN-XD with experimental or developmental abilities, CalREN-HPR for big applications and CalREN-DC with 10gbps bandwidth for research institutes and video conferencing uses. The CalREN-DC would consist of 3 level hierarchy network as a final design. One will be hub sites following with level two as nodes sites and all these node sites connected to CalREN infrastructure where all the schools, colleges and universities will be connected to each other for information Backbone Locations: The backbone locations for the CalREN are Corning, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland, Fergus, Sunnyvale, Fresno, Soledad, Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo, Riverside, Los Angeles, Tustin, and San Diego. Most of the sites are reasonable but Tustin could be dropped as it can share resources from either of the two Los Angeles or Riverside. In future, maybe we can add San Jose or Palo Alto as it is booming in I.T infrastructure and the data availability would be much more and easy to troubleshoot. CSUEB to CalREN: Following are the links that connect CSU East Bay to CalREN: Link Speed Average Utilization [eb-csu] 10G DF to svl-agg4 Te0/7/0/4.212 CLR 6378 10 Gbps 9.8% [eb-csu] 10G DF to oak-agg4 Te0/4/0/7.208 CLR-6366 10 Gbps 10.3% To take full advantage of the bandwidth we could start features like online classes where a student could also attend classes if he/she is sick and cannot be physically present at the lectures or this could be also helpful to the students who need accessibility services. Also, keeping the bandwidth use in mind, we could also upload our video presentations over the network that could be asked to be rated or grades accordingly by our classmates. Comparing CalREN2 with SoX: Southern Crossroads (SoX) is an organization that provides high capacity internet service with global connectivity in Atlanta. It serves with internet2 to provide international research access.by the help of its supporters, SoX can implement a very low cost internet service in the whole Atlanta area. Comparing it to CalREN, SoX supports k-12 education as well as federal agencies in the united states. Similarly, CalREN is also powering research in various field in networking and development for the institutes. Conclusion: The CalREN system is an excellent design and the robust characteristic makes it a strong and better solution to form of higher level learning with technology. Few Strengths of CalREN is that the infrastructure is focused on various educational institutes and research facilities. Helping public libraries join CalREN is a brilliant step towards achieving that goals per the situation. CalREN also has few weaknesses amongst itself. We have seen that the backbone supports the CalREN which is a good thing but most of the links are underutilized which can be improved drastically over a period. Few of the resources could also be shared among sites which are close to each other saving expensive resource. References: http://www.cvngbip.org http://cenic.org/network/library-initiative http://cenic.org/files/publications/2011-13CENICAR.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Gigabit_Ethernet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_operations_center http://www.sunnycv.com/steve/local/pacific/art980408.html http://cenic.org/network/network-maps http://cenic.org/network/service-level-expectations http://prp.ucsd.edu/ http://www.sox.net/about-us/ https://intermapper.engineering.cenic.org/CENIC%20-%20DC%20Backbone%20Overview/document/_/full_screen.html

Marketing Essay example -- GCSE Business Marketing BTEC Coursework

Marketing According to the American Heritage Dictionary, marketing is defined is the act or process of buying and selling in a market, but what are some of the strategies that successful corporations use to gain an advantage over their competition? Successful companies invest up front to develop an advertising and promotions plan, which clearly outlines the goals and strategies of the organization. Once the plan is in place and ready to implement, identification of target markets must be determined. Successful companies also pay close attention to the competition and use failures and successes to their advantage. An advertising and promotions plan will include such items as identifying target markets, creating messages to the market and what avenues will be used to communicate the message. The plan should also identify how successes are measured through the use of a quantifiable list that tracks whether or not the tasks are accomplishing the goals. One of the most valuable factors of successful marketing is to know your target market. If Anheuser-Busch, one of the most recognized trademarks in the world, targeted customers under the legal drinking age of 21 years, chances are they would not be a world leader. The most effective way to find out about the targeted market is through basic market research. How will they perceive the offered product or service? The best way to find out what they want is to ask them. Send out surveys and offer incentives f...

Comparing Male and Female Relationships in Cat in The Rain and Hills Li

Comparing Male and Female Relationships in Cat in The Rain and Hills Like White Elephants by Hemingway This relationship is examined closely in two short stories. The stories, Cat in The Rain, and Hills Like White Elephants, both show a man and a woman in what seems to be a quiet and passive moment. However in both stories, Hemingway carefully uses imagery and subtlety to convey to the reader that the relationship in the story is flawed, and is quite clearly dysfunctional. Both male characters in each story clearly have trouble understanding their women, and it is this inability to see them and what they want that Hemingway is addressing and criticizng. What, in both works, appears to be a quite and passive moment, is in reality a pivotal point in each relationship, and neither man seems to realize it. Â   For example, Cat In The Rain tells what seems to be a simple tale of an American couple spending a rainy afternoon inside their hotel room. This simple set up serves as a great metaphor for what appears to be the couples relationship. Outside it's ugly and gray. And nothing is going on inside. Form the begging, we can see that their is a well established rift in the relationship between George and his unnamed wife. The woman sees a cat standing in the rain, and tells her husband (who is being non communicative and sits aside reading, the whole time) "I'm going down and get that kitty"(129). Hemingway writes the response of the Husband as '"I'll do it", her husband offered from the bed"(129). The fact that George seems so detached, and makes no effort in even getting up clearly shows us that his "offer" her means nothing. He is simply going through a mechanical motion of seeming to listen and care, with out even bothering ... ...tle bit of light she needs. Â   In conclusion, neither of these stories really gives any hope to their respective relationships. It seems that both cases feature men who have long already ignored and under appreciated their loved ones, and have hurt them and not even seen that hurt. Hemingway seems to be telling us that they key to keep relating is to not only listen, but listen with intent. Both the women in these stories are sad, hurt and lonely. Those are traits Hemingway seems to have written about numerous times, but they come across beautifully in these tales that at first seem small and insignificant, but truly do offer a snapshot into the emotions of it's characters, and into ours as well. Works Cited The Complete Short Stories Of Ernest Hemingway. The Fianca Vigia Edition. Scribner Paperback Fiction. Published By Simon and Schuster. New York, NY.

A Warning to Society :: English Literature Essays

A Warning to Society Fahrenheit 451 Essay--A warning to society Social Satire: â€Å"trenchant wit, irony, or sarcasm used to expose and discredit vice or folly†, as defined by Merriam-Webster Online. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury uses social satire in a most direct way to expose censorship today. When Bradbury wrote this book, censorship was just creeping into the lives of humans, and today censorship has built a protective bubble around everything we do. Fahrenheit 451’s satire of censorship is aimed at American media and mind, American society, and our entertainment. The medium in Bradbury’s book is the epitome of a controlling media. Due to books being burned and forgotten, the government is capable of changing the outcome of history by rewriting it; therefore, history can be whatever the media want it to be. America’s government is autonomous in that they are afforded the same liberties as the free media. If the media get their hands on a certain story, they can change or omit important details that affect the story. The media of our time can censor what they want, and moreover, control the minds of American citizens. In Bradbury’s world, the media is so powerful that they burned books to oppress any uncontrolled thoughts or subliminal messages. As a result, people are then forced to stop reading. Books are condensed into smaller and smaller pieces, removing all â€Å"unimportant† information in today’s world, and the general public doesn’t care. Many pieces of literature in our world are now abridged; people can not get the full meaning of these books by reading a much shorter version. In Bradbury’s book, both the media and government were guilty of censoring books to the point of nonexistence; the written word had no substantial meaning. School is described by Clarisse as a place where one can’t think. With our society’s increasing stupidity, how long will it be before our books become burned? Much of American society today is focused on what we censor, and we are so worried about the small things in life that we don’t focus on the big things. In the land of Fahrenheit 451 the people of the society focus on the burning of books, and they don’t seem to care that the overall quality of life is declining in their society. Parallels can be drawn with our world today. For example, the government has groups specifically focusing on the censorship of media.

Genetically Modified Food Essay

Genetically modified (GM) foods are ethically unacceptable. GM foods are food product derived in whole or part from a genetically modified organism by human intention. It is a special set of technologies that concerns the alteration, deletion, or addition of the genetic makeup of living organisms such as animals, plants, or bacteria. This is an important issue because GM foods have been dubbed as the â€Å"Food of the Future† and although studies have shown that genetically modified foods may bring about many benefits to mankind, we must also look into the ethical issues involved in producing such food before we even consider accepting it as the way of the future. First, we must understand that the word â€Å"ethical† is defined as having to do with ethics or morality; or of conforming to moral standards. There will be 3 parts to this essay. Firstly, I will be presenting and defending 2 arguments that support my stand. Following that, I’ll take into consideration some common objections against my thesis. Lastly, I will summarize the main points in this essay before drawing to a conclusion. The essay’s argument takes the form of Modus Ponens: If GM is X, GM is unethical GM is X > GM is unethical My main argument is that it is unethical to tamper with nature by mixing genes among the different species. By doing so, it may actually lead to a violation of natural organisms’ intrinsic values. There is a very delicate balance that links this world together and this is the balance that makes things work. GM foods might actually give rise to more complications such as the disturbance of nature’s food pyramid. For example, the pesticide produced in the crop may unintentionally harm other creatures while producing a benefit to others. The introduction of pest-resistant genes into crops could lead to the death of the pests and other animals causing an imbalance in the food chain that could possibly lead to the extinction of some species especially if they are only localized in one particular area. In Britain, a native farm bird, the Skylark, was indirectly affected by the introduction of GM sugar beets that were designed to resist herbicides. The result in planting this crop was that weeds were reduced substantially. However, since the birds rely on the seeds of this weed in autumn and winter, researchers expect that up to 80% of the Skylark population would have to find other means of finding food. Another issue brought up is that GM crops may also pose a health risk to native animals that eat the plants and may be poisoned by the built-in pesticides. Although others might also argue that the cutting down of trees to construct buildings might also be a way of tampering with nature, GM food not just tampers with physical nature but with the foundation of nature – genes. Every organism, no matter how small, is made up of genes. These genes control the physical development and behavior of the organism and are passed down from parent to offspring. The word â€Å"genes† (comes from the Greek word â€Å"genos† meaning â€Å"origin†) actually defines nature’s origin and the production of GM food would mean to change the origin of nature. Furthermore, religious communities – Christians, Hindus, Jews and Muslims Ââ€" also share such concerns regarding GM products. According to Bishop Jeff Davies from the SA Council of Churches, â€Å"With genetic engineering, we are tampering with the structures of life that have taken millions of years to evolve and we have the arrogance to think that we can improve on them in 10 years†¦ to transfer a gene from one species into another.† Different religious communities have different believes and one of them would be their food such as kosher and halal food. But with the introduction of animal genes into plants how will they define a tomato with a fish gene? This will also be a major concern to vegetarians. All in all, I believe that people should be happy with what nature has to give and not â€Å"play God† and try to control nature. It is unethical to sacrifice other creatures and meddle with the delicate balance of nature. Furthermore, there will be potential chain reactions that may be unstoppable. One other argument is how GM products can affect our health especially in the long run. The unpredictable changes in our food could lead to negative reactions that are not detected by research techniques until much later. A quick acceptance of GE foods without proper testing could show corporate profitability to be very influential but that would be too dangerous because there has been no adequate safety testing to ensure that using other organism’s genes is going to have the same useful effects if inserted into a totally unrelated species. Furthermore, testing has only been done on a small scale currently and it’s hard to predict what will happen when it’s used on a wider ecology. In 1989, dozens of Americans died and several thousands were afflicted and impaired by a genetically altered version of the food supplement L-tryptophan. Studies have been done to show how viruses can mix with genes of other viruses to give rise to more deadly viruses. To mass market the use of GM food when it has not been properly tested for safety issues would mean that businesses are gaining at the expense of consumer’s health and is therefore ethically unacceptable. On the other hand, some organizations insist that GM technology is the solution to solving the problem of world hunger. However, I feel that it is simply a ploy of corporations and countries that are using the plight of the developing world as a marketing strategy to gain acceptance of GE foods. GM technology is not an economical method that can be easily implemented by most countries. In fact, genetic engineering techniques are currently being applied to crops important to the industrialized world and not on crops which the world’s hungry depend on. GM foods could actually reduce developed countries’ reliance on crops from developing countries, resulting in loss of trade and severe economic damage for them and intensifying their problem of poverty. This would mean that there’s a conflict of interest. Furthermore, an important factor that Friends of the Earth has pointed out is that â€Å"many people in the world are suffering from malnutrition and hunger because they cannot afford to buy food, not because it is unavailable.† Therefore, even with GM food, people would still not be able to afford it or have it distributed appropriately. Most of the causes of hunger are found in global politics, rather than issues of agriculture and technology. As a result, a variety of groups and people are questioning the motives behind GM foods as the political causes of hunger appear to be ignored. An article from Food First observed that â€Å"most innovations in agricultural biotechnology have been profit-driven rather than need-driven† and it questions whether GE technology can really ensure food security, protect the environment and reduce poverty in the developing world or is it produced simply because it’s patentable and thus, profitable to businesses. In some cases, as reported by The Institute for Science, pesticide usage is actually increasing, and GE crop actually yield less than conventional crops. In this essay, I have come up with several valid reasons why Genetically Modified Foods are ethically unacceptable. GM foods tamper with the origin of nature which is the genes and there is inadequate safety testing to prove that GM food is safe for human consumption. Therefore, businesses are mass marketing GM food at the expense of consumer’s health and proclaiming that GM Food is the solution to world hunger when it might not be true. Although there might be potential and benefits in GE technology, there are still many unknown areas that might prove to be more harmful then beneficial. Furthermore, there are still too many important ethical issues that have been ignored and that reason by itself makes it ethically unacceptable.

Literature Review on Types of Discipline Essay

2.1.1: Vandalism According to article ‘What is vandalism’, written by Dye1, she defined vandalism as a crime that generally involves the destruction, disfigurement of public or private property. A person does not have to destroy a property to be charged with vandalism. This crime can include acts that simply demise a piece of property. For example, a person may rip the seats of a school bus. The bus is still operable, but its value and its ability to be used are greatly reduced. Kraus (1979) said that vandalism consequences are often simply causing trouble and anger. One aspect of school vandalism is often reported in research studies from the United States as the research from Rubel (1977) states that the connection of vandalism with other types of school crimes such as petty theft in the school and personal violence against staff and students. According to Cohen (1973) the public sees this type of behavior as threatening. Even though vandalism is directed at public property, the public still feared being victims of uncontrolled juveniles that roaming the street. 2.1.2: Absenteeism Then, Heathfield2 defined absenteeism as the chronic absent from work or study. Absenteeism usually addressed through progressively stricter disciplinary measures that can result in the termination of the individual’s employment. This is generally governed by the institution attendance policy. Rayner & Riding (1996) cited Schostak (1980) in the United Kingdom that found at least 800,000 students absent from school for unexcused reasons. Webb (1993) suggest that approximately half a million students were absent each day. Students who have absenteeism problems generally suffer academically and socially. According to Baker and Jansen (2000), studies indicate that students who are absent have lower achievement and may be penalized on test scores. Sustained absences may lead to retention and truancy. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-vandalism.htm 2 http://humanresources.about.com/od/attendancepolicy/g/absenteeism.htm 2.1.3: Truancy Wisconsin (2000) defined simple truancy as any absence of part or all of a school day for which a pupil’s parent or guardian has not provided a valid excuse†. According to Cavallari3, he states that many institutions throughout the world have difficulty enforcing mandatory attendance for a variety of reasons. Some students find it more worthwhile to enter the world of career and earn money for their families, while others struggle with coursework and choose simply not to attend class while others have difficulty getting to school because they live in rural areas. The reasons why students do not attend school are complex and seemingly endless, making mandatory attendance difficult to enforce. Some schools base part of a student’s grade on attendance, while others make an attendance percentage a requirement for graduation. A student must attend classes a certain percentage of the school year in order to advance to the next grade as the student can be held back in the same grade if he or she fails to meet compulsory attendance requirements, which some critics claim can discourage students from attending school at all. However, some advocates claim it encourages students to attend class because it means they can progress to the next grade level with their peers. 2.1.4: Smoking Henderson4 and her colleagues found that in their research about smoking habits and wider social environment in school, on average, 25% of males and 39% of females aged 15-16, reported that they either regularly or occasionally smoked. The age group of 14 to 18 years is most likely to attract towards the smoking habit and become an addict for the rest of his or her life as this age represents the growth of maturity where teens make choices for their life style and plan where they want to see themselves in the future. The teens are more conscious about their personality, styles and making up their role model as their inspiration in life. On the other hand, this is the age where factors like stress, attention disorder, psychological pressures and conflicts from parents play an important role in impacting the individual personality and most of the teens are seen fighting with these kind of problems due to lack of parental interest, or sometime over protectiveness of parents. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3 http://www.wisegeek.com/how-can-schools-enforce-mandatory-attendance.htm 4 http://www.journal-archieves14.webs.com/848-855.pdf

Nexity and the Us Banking Industry

Introduction of Nexity3 I. External Analysis3 A. Industry and Demand Analysis3 B. PEST Analysis6 II. INTERNAL ANALYSIS9 A. Resources View Analysis. 9 B. Value chain analysis10 III. Nexity Financial analysis12 A. Nexity bank business model and strategies. 12 B. Nexity Financial Analysis. 13 IV. SWOT ANALYSIS15 V. TOWS ANALYSIS16 Conclusion17 Introduction of Nexity Nexity is an online bank, which was initially called the People State of Grand and it was opened in February 2000. Its headquarters are located in Birmingham, Alabama, USA.Currently, David Long is the President of Nexity and Greg Lee the CEO. The turnover represented an amount of $13,018 millions in 2003. Banking online is a very good opportunity for the banking industry, there was a projection of 67 million of American using it by 2007 compared to 38 millions by 2003. There were a lot of players in this competitive market but Nexity had a generic strategy of differentiation by spreading its geographic and demographic custom er base throughout the US. External Analysis Industry and Demand AnalysisHistorically, there was a rebound of the banking industry and rapid growth in this area after the Great Depression and World War II, with the hope to keep the industry from being highly concentrated. Indeed, the US banking industry was a fragmented and dispersed system but it changed in the 1980’s. These changes were due to financial legislation which wanted to lead to a more integrated financial system in US in terms of activities and products The deregulation led to consolidation and consequently to new rivalry.Helped by the Gramm Leach Bliley’s Act offering extended banking but also by the changes in communication and information technologies, the US banking industry knew a merger mania and a lot of acquisitions were done. All had the same goal : to develop a more national brand recognition in a market newly concentrated. But scandals also appeared due to these new changes. Concerning the size of the industry, it is obvious that the concentration could be seen between 1980 and 2002.Number of institutions declined from 14,434 to 7,887 contrary to their branches which raised a lot from 38,738 to 66,185. However it is important to make the distinction here between two types of banks. At first, there were the brick-and-mortar banks and then appeared the virtual ones, such as Nexity. Now, let’s compare Nexity in the US virtual banking environment by a review of the main actors performances in 2002. |Institution |Assets (in thousands) |Deposits (in thousands) | |E*Trade Bank $17,453,676 |$9,157,328 | |ING Direct |16,142,091 |13,112,826 | |NetBank |4,280,899 |2,479,421 | |Principal Bank |1,967,342 |1,826,018 | |BMW Bank of North America |1,149,732 |156,983 | |National Interbank |645,448 |528,516 | |Nexity Bank |501,167 |368,523 | |American Bank |472,181 |336,288 | Here we can see that Nexity is the 7th virtual bank on the market in terms of assets. More important, we also notice that E*Trade Bank and ING Direct are the first and second ones, with a huge gap separating them from the others, among which competition is really hard. Porter’s five forcesEven though there are less and less institutions since the 1980’s, there is still a high rivalry among the competitors in virtual banks. Clients are more and more oriented to the more rentable channels like internet and ATMs. Virtual banks consequently deliver a lot of services but only through internet that allow to reduce costs in occupancy and salaries in order to offer better rates of interest (to 3 times better than averages). Virtual low-costs positioned banks compete against other virtual banks with good customer service, in-house costumer data and service center operations, strong management teams, a good mix of attractively priced products, and low marketing costs.It’s a price competition which includes lower margins directly. What about the entry barriers with potential entr ants? It is a low threat. The largest barrier to entry is the expenses in founding a bank: a new bank needs to raise 8-12 million to begin operations. But start-up costs for virtual banks are much less expensive than for traditional banks: virtual banks could begin operations for millions less than traditional banks (no offices, etc. ) , even though they’ll have to invest a lot in marketing and advertising budgets in order to attract depositors at the start-up time. The second barrier is loyalty to older, larger, and more established brand-name banks.Here we can talk about a network effect. And third, an existing bank holding company provides investments and backing for the new bank by spinning off a separate banking entity. Concerning the substitutes, the only ones could be traditional banks because people need safety and want to be sure about their money by advices. There would be a switch from virtual banks to brick-and-mortar ones, because people are deceived or want to e xperiment again the first one, with a better consideration of its advantages. But there is less possibility for this than the opposite because people want more and more to gain time. That’s why there is a low threat of substitutes. Clients are the buyers.They have a relative bargaining power especially on the rate of interest on borrows. The first have an interest to bargain and have a bargaining power because of the rate of interest as a complement revenue and because banks need liquidity to operate. He can have some influence on the bank with other clients. Word of mouth works a lot with a service you use daily. Brand recognition also can be negative. Suppliers: They are the companies that provide inputs/services that banks purchase in order to be able to borrow and lend money. It can be a safety certificate for online web, labels†¦etc. With an environment impacted by scandals, they can have a bargaining power but it is still relative because there are a lot of supplie rs. ==> Internal rivalry, Buyers and Suppliers are the strongest forces in the US online bank industry, whereas potential entrances and substitutes are the weakest.Key Success Factors can consequently be defined for this industry: forecasting all the marketing and communication budget for implementing and then keeping talking about the bank for new customers; using the more rentable channels for the customers; offering low rate of interest in borrowing and high for revenues to client and convincing people of the value of virtual banks ; implementing more and more safety with technologies. PEST Analysis One of the main points in the external analysis is the PEST analysis. The goal of this part is to determine which are the main external forces affecting the US banking industry.Then, we will introduce and analyse in the following development which factors impact directly positively or negatively this sector in dividing them on the political, economic, social and technological views . On the political view, the US government has a place of protagonist in the current US banking system. In fact, US government launched series of laws which have completely changed the US banking landscape such as the Reigle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The first one allowed a bank holding company to buy another bank anywhere through the United States without taking into account the state law. The second one allowed affiliation between banks, securities firms and insurance company.Logically, this deregulation, or the opening of state market that it includes, has strongly impacted the US landscape in increasing the competition on the national area. Moreover, the deregulation led to a merger mania that is to say institutions use a process mergers and acquisitions in integrating vertically and/or horizontally in order to have more costumers and so to gain market shares, and to develop the range of products and services. Finally, t he impact of the US government could be seen as an opportunity for banks (the biggest currently) which got out as leaders to the deregulation and merger mania because the market is bigger but as an threat for banks which went to bankrupt.It’s significant to notice how the Fed affects the economy and the US banking system through the actions on the real interest rates. In fact, because the Fed can set the nominal funds rate as a sole supplier of reserves for US banks. But it can influence too the real interest rate thanks to the set of the monetary policy that will operate in the future (the monetary policy of tomorrow influences the real interest rate of today). Then, the Fed has a direct impact on the level of the real rates and consequently on the whole of economy. For example, if the real rates are lower, the activity of banks will increase because borrowing costs will decrease and investments from households will increase in order to buy goods or services.Increasing of co nsumption from householders will boost the different industries which will invest in capital, in production capacity or in labour (decrease of unemployment). Reducing real rates will get investments as common stock more attractive and will boost the US internal business in limiting imports because the foreign exchange value of the dollar is reduced and so, the foreign product get more expensive. On the economic point of view, multiple factors should be taken into account. One of the most significant points is the interest rate which is developed upside. Finally, that represents an opportunity if the real rates are declining and rather a threat if it is growing. Moreover, other non-negligible point is the purchasing power of households.In fact, according to some economic theories, an increasing part of households’ consumption is oriented to service expenses on the one hand, and, on the other hand, other certain part of it matches to savings. Generally speaking, a growing purch asing power represents an opportunity for banks because deposits increase and the banks are more resources for investments on financial markets. But it’s essential to notice that two significant elements have a direct impact on the purchasing power of households: the unemployment rate and the inflation rate. Effectively, if the unemployment rate is increasing and/or if the inflation rate is superior to the increasing rate of wages means that the global purchasing power is decreasing.Social factors impact directly the US banking system because of the diversity of the population, the demography, the differences of client expectations concerning bank services†¦ all of these elements play a role on the behaviour of the clients. The first point that we have to take into account is the fact that an average costumer want to have trust and confidence in his financial institution. That’s why banks have to reassure their clients about the financial health of the institution , about the quality of the offered services and about the security of the operating system. That is a positive impact for oldest bank which have developed a brand name and focused on a client-loyalty strategy or for biggest institution which bring proof to the financial health. But through the analysis of the demography, we can categorise the population.For example, old people prefer to keep a physical contact with the banker in opposition to youngest people which have more confidence and more ability to make financial operations on new channels as internet. Moreover, we can distinguish clients in function of their expectations: long-term engagement combined with quality of services against short-term engagement with profitability (hit-an-run costumer for example). This categorisation of the population linked to a particular behaviour can be seen in parallel to the age, race, social level, kind of job occupied†¦ then we can say that it’s more an opportunity for tradition al banks which offer a largest range of products and channels.Concerning the technological factors what is significant to put in relief is the technological improvements perceived as an opportunity for banks and the threat of hackers linked to this news technologies. In fact, thanks to the technological improvements, banks have more and more ways to meet the consumers themselves and these needs. Banks use different ways to satisfy clients such as ATMs, debit cards, call centers and telephone banking, wireless banking and internet sites. These are channels to keep a constant contact with the client for different reasons and to be all the time available to respond to any demand. Moreover, banks develop strategic technology partnerships (like Fiserv for Nexity for example) in order to save the cost of technology and to have the last updated software.Updating software limits the risk of hacking and restores confidence of clients about the security on the account financial information. B ut even if a regular updating software and a reinforcement of the security, the threat of hacking stays pervasive. Furthermore, with the development of internet, we have seen emerged a new kind of competitors for the traditional banks which are the virtual banks as Nexity or ING Direct. INTERNAL ANALYSIS Nexity gets the opportunity to growth quite fast and its profitability could be High. In order to understand the most appropriate strategy of the company, we will try to highlight its different aspects by presenting its Resources View Analysis and its Value Chain. A. Resources View Analysis.As the matrix exhibit 7 shows us, the company benefit of a high improvement of its assets that reinforce its capacity to provide a high level quality range of products Tangible asset: Due to its activity, the company owns few tangible asset. In fact, its services allow it to only get some offices from its acquisition of People bank of Alabama with 30$ in asset. The company have also a competitive advantage thanks to the location of its call centre that facilitate the exchange of data between the main office and the call centre. Intangible asset: By getting a top tier award from Bankrate for its High yield on money market accounts and certificate of deposit, the company proves to its customers its efficiency and in capacity to provide good quality products.By acquiring People bank of Alabama, Nexity has get as well a know-how of over 100 years, which gives it a significant advantage compare to its competitors, as it has enjoyed the different expertises made by the former company so it has been able to produce High quality products but also reinforce the formers one adapting them to the new requirement of the market, and it remains also a good point for its advertising with it customers: they can focus it with the over 100 year of experience which people are sensitive with. It also ahs the Web Trust Seal accreditation that is a certification from the services of the American Institute of Certificate Public Accountant and the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accounts. It proves that its website delivers safe services. So it reinforces the trust its customers give it but also can be very useful in order to attract new one and to spread its market.Capabilities  : By getting its break-even point in only 18 month, Nexity has a strong competitive advantage compare to most of its competitors that usually get it in 3 years average. That is to say the company can invest money in R&D for example in order to create and provide highest quality product. It proves that the company realises large economy of scale, that it is highly efficient to get result and it is as well relevant that it is very successful. Its renowned customer service, which has a very good image with its Customer, as it remains friendly and quick, allow the company to keep its customers as they trust it to give them High quality services.It is the result of the proximity between the main office and the call centre: employees are able to provide High quality answers to customers as they keep being updated about the characteristics of the products and services and the evolution of them. The competitors cannot give as quick answer as Nexity does because they might have their call centre farer away from their office, and maybe abroad, sot hey cannot give more relevant answer as Nexity does. By reimbursing customers using other ATM than Nexity’s ones, the company can meet some weaknesses as it costs it quite a lot of money Value chain analysis Firm infrastructure: The firm has a main office with all the facility costs to support, and its call centre with the same type of costs.So all those generic costs are not a constraint for Nexity and they can concentrate their budget to the R&D or to the improvement of its strengths such as the customers service. Human resources management: The main cost is due to the call centre as the company is very focused to give a high custome r service. Technology development: Nexity website is highly renowned as it gets the Web Trust Seal accreditation, which is a proof of quality for a company that uses the Internet for its distribution channel Inbound logistics: As the company provides services, it only has to increase if necessary its tangible and intangible assets. So it has not have to deal with any inbound logistic and it is a strength for its economy of scale politic. Operation:This might be the main department of the company as employees from the call centre with present the different product but also supply strong customer services; and those to point are the most important one for the firm to provide a competitive advantage compare to its rival. Marketing and sales Focusing on an Internet-based advertising channel like Bankrate. com, the company invest quite a lot to improve its visibility in order to attract as many people as possible throughout the 50 states of the USA. The fact that Nexity proposes a lot of products and services constraints them to spend a lot because they want to provide the best services. This is the result of adopting a differentiation strategy based on reducing costs. Services:The company provides a strong customer service in order to keep them as they can be very versatile and find another bank if they are unsatisfied. So it is very important for Nexity to be focused on that and the fact that call centre employees are close to the main office give them a qualitative advantage as people mainly remains satisfied. Nexity Financial analysis A. Nexity bank business model and strategies. Nexity bank is a virtual bank wich works only on internet and earns money from interests rates based on loans. Nexity is build from traditional banking practices, that means this bank is able to deliver all the advantages and financial products[1] as a normal bank but with no branche.David Long and the others managers decided to applied for their bank the  «Ã‚  Blue Ocean Strategy  Ã‚ » wich links at the same time  «Ã‚  differentiation and low costs strategies  Ã‚ ». One can talk about blue ocean strategy, because the market was not established and competitors were not really present in this sector. This strategy aims to create a new market space and to make competition irrelevant. Nexity’s builders knew that, if they were able to propose at the same time good quality products with attractive interest rates coupled with an efficient call centre they will earn market shares and money. These criterias permited to develop the Nexity’s strengh, and one can observe that the differenciation is based on these same criterias  : an efficient call center and good quality product at the lowest price.If Nexity has attractive interest rates, is just because, it doesn’t have to pay high overhead costs (no branche) so Nexity can pay more interest on deposits and charge lower rates on loans. This is the second part of the  «Ã‚  bleu ocean strateg y  Ã‚ », the  «Ã‚  low costs  Ã‚ » strategy because adopting this concept Nexity attracts price-sensitive consumers. Nexity has the lowest interest rate for the cheking but has the highest for One-year Certificate Deposit and Money Market. That means, Nexity wants to keep its consumer. Nexity doesn’t want to be a simple bank where consumers only want to check their accounts. Nexity prefers to have people whose need loans and are engaged with the bank. Moreover, Nexity proposes bank’s services and bill pay online.With these offers, the bank aims to work with people between 32 and 49 years old, with an income average of $81,600 and investible assets of $320,300 and these persons spend at minimum 27 hours per week on the internet. So these people have money and spend many time on the internet that permits to the bank to benefit of  «Ã‚  good quality  Ã‚ » consumers. Finally one can underline that Nexity adopt also the  «Ã‚  low cost strategy  Ã‚ » for its ad vertising. In fact they did all their advertising on the Internet so they benefited of a huge advertising compaign at the lowest price. Nexity Financial Analysis. Previously, one observed the strategies employed by Nexity in order to become an important actor in the US (virtual) banking industry. Now, it’s important to know if these strategies are efficients or not.Firstly, if one look at the bank net income growth, one can observed that the net income had grown by 181% in 3 years, from $-3,032,000 in 2000 to a profit of $2,461,000 in 2003. This is really important growth wich reflects the good health of the business. [pic] Evolution of the net income between 2000 and 2003 One can also observe if the bank respects its strategies. The turnover has grown by 250% in three years wheras the overheads grown by only 16%. So Nexity respects the strategy of keeping overheads costs low in order to offer interesting interest rates. If one looks at the distribution of the turnover betwee n the interest income and noninterest income, it can observe that the Nexity makes 97. 1% of its turnover with interest rates and only 2. 79% with the noninterest rates. Secondly, it is interesting to observe some financial ratios  : – The coumpound annual growth wich gives the annual growth rate. And for Nexity, this ratio is around 30%. It is a good indicator for the company’s development. – The return on equity, wich is relevant for a bank because it gives the bank’s profitability by revealing how much profit the bank generates with the money shareholders have invested. For Nexity, the ROE passed from -32,71 in 2000 to 12,99 in 2003. One can easily observed that in three years Nexity learnt how to make money with shareholders investments. The efficiency ratio evaluates the overhead efficiency structure of a Financial institution. Banking is no different from any industry. If the bank wants to survive the bank has to keep overhead costs down.The effic iency ration permits to measure how the bank is operating, how much money the bank must spend to generate each dollar its bring on. In the Nexity case, this ratio is getting lower and it is good for the bank ans its shareholder. . In fact the ratio passed from 230. 69 in 2000 to 63. 54 in 2003. Lower the ratio, better it is for the bank. So, one can conclude that Nexity respects its commitments because the bank makes money from interest rates and keeps its overhead costs low. SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGHTS |Large range of product | | |High satisfaction of customers | | |High quality of customer services | | |Many awards from Bankrate( high quality of products | | |High efficiency of the website( Web Trust Seal Accreditation | | |Strong expertise thanks to the acquisition of People’s bank of Alabama (over 100 years of | | |experience in the Banking sector) | | |Growth of its assets (over + 400% from July 00 to July 2003) | | Good compound annual growth | |WEAKNESSES |Some costs can b e avoid (ATM reimbursements) | | |Increase of other borrowed funds that has to be controlled | |OPPORTUNITIES |Impact of the American government with the deregulation of the market ( advantages for | | |leaders | | |Internal rivalry buyers and suppliers | | |Forecasting all the marketing and communication budget | | |Bank and bill pay online customers present the most interesting profiles (high income and | | |lots of investable assets) | |THREATS |Hard to attract new customers as they rely a lot on their old financial institutions. | | |Hackers | | |New competitors should appear | TOWS ANALYSIS |STRENGHTS |WEAKNESSES | | |Large range of product |Some costs can be avoid (ATM | | |High satisfaction of customers |reimbursements) | | |High quality of customer services |Increase of other borrowed funds that has| | |Many awards from Bankrate( high quality of products |to be controlled | |High efficiency of the website( Web Trust Seal Accreditation | | | |Strong expertise thanks to the ac quisition of People’s bank of | | | |Alabama (over 100 years of experience in the Banking sector) | | | |Growth of its assets (over + 400% from July 00 to July 2003) | | | |Good compound annual growth | | |OPPORTUNITIES |Improve the advertising on internet and traditional media channel in |Open a new office in another state in | |Impact of the American government with the deregulation |order to get new customers |order to understand the market of the | |of the market ( advantages for leaders |Make advertising on the financial media (magazine, news papers†¦) in |western state that have a different | |Internal rivalry buyers and suppliers |order to target a segment that have high income and asset to invest |demography (different insurance depending| |Forecasting all the marketing and communication budget |(managers, directors, institutions†¦) |on the state( natural disaster) | |Bank and bill pay online customers present the most |To hire a good communication manager t o improve the visibility | | |interesting profiles (high income and lots of investable|Propose investment solutions in order to propose high yield products | | |assets) |(for institutions and high income) | | | |Improve more and more the quality of services given by the call | | | |centre to customers | | |THREATS | | |Impact of the American government with the deregulation | | | |of the market ( advantages for leaders | | | |Internal rivalry buyers and suppliers | | | |Forecasting all the marketing and communication budget |Improvement of the quality of the web platform in order to propose |Invest in getting its own ATM system in | |Bank and bill pay online customers present the most |safe services |order to avoid reimbursement and do | |interesting profiles (high income and lots of investable|Improvement of the back up system |economy in long term keep doing its | |assets) | |strategy based on low costs | |People are mistrustful with bank on line | | | | | | |Even if we could sugg est many recommendations, we would choose the SO strategy: the company has to reinforce his strengths as the market can involve positively and it can really propose a competitive advantage compare to its competitors based on the low prices of its products. Nexity would need to be focused on improving its marketing and communication but as well the quality of the websites to win the trust of customers. Conclusion As one said in this paper, Nexity bank has many strenghts which allow it to be one of the learder on the market. Moreover they apply correctly the blue ocean strategy which allow them to generate more profits and to count more clients, but senior executive can not stay on these basis. If they want Nexity to be the number one into this business they have to improve their capacity of attractiveness towards potentials clients.