Friday, September 6, 2019

A tale of two airlines case Essay Example for Free

A tale of two airlines case Essay As Professor Roger McPherson’s wait to go through the security process a second time dragged on into its third hour on this Spring day in 2002, (all passengers had to be rescreened upon the discovery that one of the airport screening machines was unplugged) he was reminded of another delayed business trip and the role that information technology played in the story. At 5:30pm on February 15, 1995, 200 feet off the ground, Professor Roger McPherson gazed anxiously through the fog as his airplane moved to touch down at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, more than 1 hour and 15 minutes late. He had 30 minutes to catch his 6:00pm flight to London, where he would be meeting with the executive leadership of a major British power company to discuss their information strategy. He felt fortunate, however, to be flying this carrier, which had a reputation for outstanding service. He was even more comfortable because he had a full-fare first-class ticket and was a Gold Card member. Professor McPherson was always uneasy about the large premium charged for full, first-class tickets, but knew that in a crunch it often meant the difference between a making a connection and missing one. He well remembered a decade ago flying this airline from Milan to London to connect to a flight to New York. Bad weather then had also reduced his 1-hour-and-30-minute connect time to 10 minutes. A discussion of the problem with the first-class cabin attendant had resulted in a phone call from the pilot to London (the airlines hub city), and a car to whisk him and one other passenger to the New York flight, which took off only one minute late. That extraordinary service had made Professor McPherson a 10-year devotee of the airline. In the network age, he knew it would be different and he was secure. The airline flying to London would have identified him off their computer as a close-connecting passenger. It would have noted he checked no bags through, and it would be anxious to capture his $2,500 fare—about 10 times that of the average passenger—on an only moderately loaded flight. As his plane pulled into the gate at 5:40pm, he knew it would be tight but he would make it, particularly given the fact that all planes were coming in late. Moving his 57-year-old frame into a dim recollection of a high school 400-meter specialist, he set off. Two escalator rides and one train ride later, the gate came into sight and he braked to a halt at 5:53pm. It was close, but he had done it. Looking through the airport window, however, he was stunned to see the air bridge detached from the plane with splendid teutonic efficiency 7 minutes early. The door to the bridge was closed, no agent was in sight, and he was reduced to waving his bags through the window to the pilot 20 yards away (it had, after all, worked once in a similar situation on Continental Airlines). Alas, by 5:58pm the plane was pushed back, and the agents emerged and quite cheerfully (and unregretfully; they had no clue who he was) booked him onto another airline that would leave 1 hour and 45 minutes later. He would be 30 minutes late for his meeting in London, but the executives would understand. Distinctly irritated, he straggled off to the new airline’s first class lounge to begin a frantic series of phone calls and faxes to the United Kingdom. As he trudged through the airport, McPherson began to see the beginning of a lecture on service in the network economy and the fact that technology is only a small enabling piece of a total service concept. At 7:50pm, comfortably seated in the first-class cabin of his new carrier, McPherson jerked to attention as the captain came on to announce that because of a leak in the hydraulic system, there would be an aircraft change and a two-and-one-half-hour delay. Sprinting off the plane, McPherson realized that the meeting with the power company executives, planned three months ago, would be over before he got there. The following day he was due in Frankfurt to give the keynote address at a major information systems conference. Flying to the United Kingdom to connect to Frankfurt would be a hassle and unnecessary since the purpose of stopping in the United Kingdom   was now totally negated. Glancing up at the departure board, McPherson was surprised to see a 7:55pm boarding departure for a plane to Frankfurt, nine gates away. Pulling into the gate at 8:02pm, he discovered several things: 1. The plane was at the gate, and with commendable dispatch the gate agent relieved him of his London boarding pass and his London-to-Frankfurt ticket and hustled him onto the plane minutes before the door closed. 2. The cabin attendant, giving him his favorite drink, explained that because of favorable tail winds across the Atlantic and the fact that eight passengers (plus now McPherson and one other) had very tight connections, they had decided to hold the plane for 15 minutes to get the extra passengers and still arrive on schedule. The note of pride in the cabin attendants voice was evident. One-and-a-half hours later, appropriately wined and dined, McPherson drifted off to sleep, reflecting on what a remarkable case study had played out in front of him in the previous two hours. Information technology, operations strategy, management control, an empowered (also unempowered) work force, and service management had been interwoven into a tableau. A revised format for his speech in Frankfurt began to emerge. Best of all, he would not have to go through a case release process because it had all happened to him.

Thursday, September 5, 2019

Fashion and Rebellion In The 1960s

Fashion and Rebellion In The 1960s What are the main differences between subculture and counterculture and what do they tell us about fashion and the rebellion in the 1960s? I shall be studying about the difference between subculture and counterculture and what they tell us about fashion and rebellion in the 1960s. I shall do this by looking at the way how the 1960s influenced the generation of the hippies era in relation to fashion, music, media and photography. I am going start by exploring the definition of subculture and counterculture. Culture is the way, the forms, in which groups handle the raw material of their social and material existence. (Clarke et al, 1975: 10) Subcultures are sub-sets smaller, more localised and differentiated structures, within one or other of the larger cultural networks. (Clarke et al, 1975: 13) both references from (Populism, Jim McGuigan, Chapter 3, Youth Culture and Consumption, pg95) The 1960s were an immense time to be young. Youth culture and youth fashion, had begun to take shape in the fifties, blossomed as never before. Hippies culture became very popular in the 60s after the Beatniks.Hippie culture, with the new interest in vegetarianism, the environment and peace, proved ready not just for revival but for a permanent place in this endless youth culture. (Post Modernism and Popular Culture, Angela Mcrobbie, pg.159) As of Stuart Hall, he saw the hippy movement as an identification towards poverty. It was also politically informed in the sense of being determined to create an alternative society. This subculture was therefore able to develop an extensive semi-entrepreneurial network which came to be known as the counter-culture. (Post Modernism and Popular Culture, Angela Mcrobbie, pg.143, Subcultural Entreprenuers) Hippies popularised kaftans, Macrame bags and Afghan coats. the flares of the late 1960s widened out to bell-bottom proportions before high-waisted straight trousers and platform soles stepped into view. (Speak the Culture, Britain, Be Fluent In British Life and Culture, Neil Thomas, ThoroGood, Pg.253) The distinct style of hippie are mainly colourful and floral wear, a lot of accessories such as headbands, rings, necklaces and earrings, usual would wear flip flops for footwear. Carnaby street was where they would all shop, Hippie Land that is what I would call it. Summer of Love was associated with the hippies, known as the Swingin 60s Carnaby Street in 1966. During the 60s, Lord John was the hippest store. (Fashion of a Decade, The 1960s pg.41) This is where Twiggy comes in, famous model, with her long lashes, big eyes and bob, she became the British style icon of the 60s. Made it big for wearing the mini-skirt. And to this day she has brought a new life to fashion for the older person as they relate to her and connect her to Marks and Spencer, which has made profit to them. A new style then came into sight, by a new group of teenagers which they called Mods. The Mod style were inspired by the beatniks and from American fashion. The well known designers at that time were Mary Quant, Zandra Rhodes and Barbara Hulanicki. Mary Quant introduced Britain to mini-skirts, and that made a huge impact in fashion in the 60s. The mini-skirt was mainly worn by the young, most of the audience were shocked, others saw this as free will. Zandra Rhodes influenced by pop art, with her unconventional clothes and pink hair. Rhodes sold some of her first textiles work to Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin. Associated with pop art during this decade were artists such as Andy Warhol, the fact that this movement was unrealistic, the audience were interested from the use of expression and abstract, which made people feel free, this is how the hippies were seen as. Pop art became the parcel of fashion, which made clothing more fun and colourful. Barbara Hulanicki opened a clothing store with her husband in the early 60s, she later became known for the garments she had designed for Cathy McGowan, the TV presenter for the music show Ready, Steady, Go. Till this day these three designers are the icons of modern fashion. Retro fashion is always coming back with new and fresh looks. Many contemporary designers now such as Anna Sui, Diane von Furstenburg, Erdem are influenced by the hippie culture. Music in the 1960s has made a big impression in the lives of youth culture. They still have an appeal to old and young, they were the ones mainly responsible for the change in music and social change from the war and 50s onwards. For example, the Beatles, which created Beatlemania their style was a start of a new era, having long hair with long beards, Lennon known for wearing the granny glasses, this is where the Beatniks were introduced, which then led to the hippy movement. Elvis Presley known as the King Rock and Roll. Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones. The Glastonbury Festival, would have varieties of artists, in an open field, which lasts up to 3-4 days, usually visited by hippies during the 70s when it was first held, the festival was an excuse for sex, drugs, socialising with others. And to this day The Glastonbury Festival is still a successful event. This is where technology comes in, it is rapidly progressing from records to cassettes, to cassette tape walkman, to cds, to cd walkmans, to mp3 players such as Ipods,mobile phones. Also being able to download music from the internet illegally, this is causing music stores, such as HMV to close down shops, due to not enough sales to keep the business afloat. During the 60s, youths from under 25 years of age regularly visited the cinema as entertainment before TV became more popular. Also it was another excuse to socialise with others when they take a visit to the movies. The theatre was also popular for the upper age group as a form of entertainment. Photography plays a big role in fashion advertisement in a form of magazines such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, which introduces the upper working-class to upcoming fashion trends, which is currently still happening today with many more magazine options to choose from such as Dazed and Confused, ID etc. Fashions and faces: Beaton, Bailey and Rankin As Britain pursued its passion for photojournalism in the mid 20th century a more affected genre of photography also evolved, set to explode in the 1960s. It embraced fashion, advertising and high society (in short, beautiful people) and found its outlet in magazines like Vanity Fair, Harpers Bazaar and Vogue. Cecil Beaton bore the torch with staged, glamorous images of Marlene Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn and the Royals from the 1920s through to the 60s. (Speak the Culture Britain Be Fluent in British Life and Culture, Neil Thomas, ThoroGood, pg.245) To conclude, I have discovered that the subculture of hippies in the 1960s, were free spirited, peace loving, rebellions against war, and also introduced a fashionable trend that are still current in some societies. What I think about the difference between subculture and counterculture is that subculture is the identity of an individual. You can show your personality through clothing, the music you listen to, where you get together in the environment, the region of a culture. E.g. When you think of Camden, you automatically think of punks and rockers. Notting Hill Gate, the Notting Hill carnival comes to your mind. Where as counterculture, as seen as the political part of the culture i.e hippies. A subculture is the way of defining and honouring the particular specification and demarcation of special or different interests of a group of people within a larger collectivity. (Culture, Chris Jenks, pg.10)

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Poverty and Crime Correllation

Poverty and Crime Correllation America is experiencing poverty at an increasing rate in terms of the number of children in poverty and the intensity of poverty. There are approximately 15.3 million U.S. Children living in households defined as falling below the poverty line (Duncan, 1998), and they are increasingly concentrated in impoverished and underclass neighborhood (Greenwood, 1995). One-third of all children experience poverty in at least one year of their life and only one in twenty experiences ten or more years of poverty. Poverty has become a major concern in the United States because of the effects it has on the youth in our society. Many young children are faced with lack of food, inadequate living conditions, and lack of parental guidance. Strains are placed on children living in poverty as young as the age of seven. Children living in poverty generally isolated from mainstream society, dont have access to community organizations, poor schools, low self-esteem, depression, behavioral problems in school, and engage in delinquent activities. Delinquency among the poor has been studied over the years to see if there is a relationship between delinquency and poverty. Theories have suggested the link between delinquency and poverty is due to unemployment, family disruption, lack of education, marital disruption, female- headed households, teenage pregnancy, isolation of poorer neighborhoods, lack of role models in the communities, less supervised youth programs, and no formal community networks to deter potential criminal (Anderson, 1993; Hannerz, 1968; Liebow, 1967, Rainwater 1970, Sullivan, 1993, Sutles, 1968). The link between poverty and crime is diverse (Jargowsky and Bane, 1991). The reasons why people who are living in poverty commit criminal acts vary from crime being the only opportunity to achieve a higher level of socioeconomic status to enhance financial ability. People of all class commit crime for different reasons, but it has been proven over the years by different researchers that people living in poverty commit more crime than any other class. This literature will focus on what is known about the poverty and delinquency, the gaps in this field, method used in this field, and current study in this field. Literature Review How Poverty is defined and measured? How poverty is defined and measures has attributed to different results in the study of poverty and crime. Poverty has been defined in several different ways. One definition of poverty is a situation in which a persons income is below 60% of the median income of a country. According to the Census Bureau, poverty is defined an inability to provide a family with nutritious food, clothing, and reasonable shelter. The official poverty measurement was adopted in the last 1960s and it consisted of a set of thresholds for families of different sizes and composition that are compared to a resource measure to determine a family poverty status. The thresholds represent the cost of a minimum diet multiplied by three to allow for expenditures on other goods and services. This measurement of poverty had several weaknesses according to the National Research Council and the Panel on Poverty and Family. The official measurement did not take into consideration the expenses it takes to hold a job, and it does not reflect the effects of key government policies that alter the disposable income available to families (Citro and Michael, 1995). Alternatives approaches to measure to poverty thresholds were viewed by in 1995 by the Panel on Poverty and Family in regards to experimental poverty measures. For experimental purposes, poverty was measured by a dollar amount for food, clothing, shelter, and utilities, as well as a small amount for needs such as transportation expenses, expenses to maintain a household, and personal care. The panel developed a threshold designed for a family of four- a mother, a father, and two children. According to the panel, thresholds can be adjusted for the needs of families of different sizes and composition and geographic locations. Paul Jargowsky, one of the most well known researchers on poverty and crime, adopted only a small fraction of the official measure of poverty recommendations of the Panel of Poverty and Family. During his methodology for his many studies, he measured poverty by calculating a simple poverty score by determining the proportion of high poverty census tracks within a city during his several different studies. He believed that the cut off threshold was 40% of poor residents, and other researchers such as (Wilson, 1996) used 30% threshold to represent poverty. Data from the Census Bureau has also been used to measure poverty as well. The percentage in poverty is calculated as the percentage of the total population in the census that fall below the Social Security Administrations poverty line. Poverty definitions and measurement differ from researcher to researcher; therefore, results in research will vary depending on what definition and measure of poverty is adopted (Jargowsky and Bane, 1991; Rickets and Sawhill, 1988; Wilson, 1996). Why People living in Poverty Commit Crime People living in poverty commit crimes for several different reasons. Survival in the poverty stricken neighborhoods is one of the main reasons for criminal behavior. Often times, many people have to commit crimes such as robbery or burglary as a mean to have financial gain in order to feed themselves and their children or to be able to maintain their household expenses. People also commit crime because it is the norm to take the law into their own hands (Cooney, 1997). High poverty areas do not have the access to the local law enforcement as other areas normally have. Law enforcement is often viewed as not being helpful; therefore, we see many retaliatory crimes committed in these areas. Retaliatory violence in response to disrespect becomes a way to achieve status in the absence of other opportunities. People living in such neighborhoods believe that they have to take the law into their own hands because the local authorities have failed to protect them Kurban and Weitzer (2003). T he response time to such neighborhoods is much slower compared to neighborhoods in the suburbs, and everyone is viewed as a criminal when they may actually be a victim. Crime in poorer communities is a just a form of self help (Anderson, 1993). Many people living in poverty do not want to be living in poverty. In order to obtain a higher level of socioeconomic status, crime is seen as the only option (Wilson, 1987). Money that is made by committing crimes such as illegally selling crack cocaine, or another type of drug, or money that was obtain illegally is used to established some type of legal business establishment. Once the legal business is established, there is no longer a need to commit crime and this places the individual into another class. Crime is also committed to have fun or have something to do to occupy an individuals time (Agnew, 1992). Grand Theft Auto is one of those crimes that are committed to just have fun. Many people, especially, adolescents, commit this offense to joyride around the city. Many youth begin a life of crime because of their parents ineffective parental practices. Being poor and having children to provide for can lead to emotional distress. Parents are inconsistence with their children, forceful, and extremely harsh and the bond between parent and child is weaken (Sampson and Laub, 1994). When that bond weakens, children are more at risk for deviant behavior. Parents are also not involved with their childrens education as other parents in mainstream society. It has been proven that poor performance in school is associated with the onset of delinquency (Maguin and Loeber, 1996). School is often viewed as a place to go to fight and steal from classmates rather than a learning institution. Obtaining an education is not stressed by some parents to their children; therefore; their children never understand the importance of education. School is looked at as a place for fighting, bullying, stealing, and just a place to hang out. Poor children are not successful in school. They have been found to be deficient in reading and mathematical skills (Beebe, 1993). Rewards from the school environment are limited by the lack of school success, therefore, the risk for delinquency is increase and a life is crime behavior is developed (Mofitt, 1981). Growing up in an isolated poverty community, children are told they can not achieve high academics because of their living conditions. Many children are forced to withdraw from school because of attendance. Missing school on a daily basis is a norm in high poverty areas because children lack decent or proper clothing for different types of weather, the lack transportation. They may faced interrupted utility services and over crowdedness in the home they may hinder their ability to attend school and learn (Swain, 2006) Poverty and Delinquency (Isolation) . Poverty can be classified into three types which are persistent poverty, underclass poverty, and ghetto poverty (Wilson, 1996). Many studies have link poverty to geographic isolation and street crime as crime and violence (Anderson, 1999). High poverty areas are generally clustered together and are isolated from mainstream society. Jargowsky (1996) suggested that the loss of jobs in the poor neighborhoods, and the creation of managerial and professional jobs in the suburbs lead to economic segregation. Isolated neighborhoods are deprived of the basic needs that it needs to prevent problems such as violence and crime. Excellent schools, churches and reinforcements of morals and values that mainstream society lives are absent from the neighborhoods that are segregated (Jargowsky 1996). Segregation from mainstream society has limited people in high poverty areas to have contact with people in mainstream society. Due to the limited contact, poor people are not given the opportunity to see values and norms that the remaining of society bases their lives. People living in mainstream society base their life around obtaining the American Dream. They believe in college education, marriage, family, career, and home ownership. In poorer communities, these values and beliefs are irrelevant and replaced with norms that are appropriate for their environment (Wilson, 1987). As suggested, the norms for most poor people are some form of criminal behavior. Poor people tend to only associated themselves with others that are poor. This is mainly because they feel intimated by someone who has higher socioeconomic status, or someone who has a higher education level than themselves. They are most comfortable with someone who is receiving welfare or some form of assistance from the government. Seeing only criminal behavior and not being able to see mainstream societys behavior severely handicaps poor people. Behavior is learned; and if an individual is isolated and only see crime being committed within their communities, they will be more likely to commit crime. For the high poverty stricken areas, criminal behavior is spread throughout the community and thus creates a powerful predictor for delinquency (McDonough, 1992). Some members of the isolated would like to move to a more their families to a more affluent neighborhood to decrease the chances of their young children engaging in delinquency (Ludwig, 1998). Children will have more opportunities, better education, better job networks, and will be able to achieve the American Dream. Moving from a poor isolated community to a more affluent community can be difficult for some of the residents. Due to the isolation, they are often afraid and believe they are not intelligent enough, and fear they will be rejected by society because of their background. Poverty and Delinquency (Time and Persistence) People who are identified as poor do not have the same experience of poverty. The difference in the experience of poverty is based on its persistence and its timing (Franworth, 1994). Poverty early in a childs life and the longer a child lives in poverty are strong indicators of delinquency (Brooks-Gunn and Duncan, 1997). Many children are born into poverty and remain in poverty throughout their entire childhood. This type of poverty is known as persistent poverty. African Americans experience poverty longer than other ethnicity groups, and the elevated rate of delinquency among African Americans is contributed to lower socioeconomic status and urbanization (Hawkins, Laub, and Lauritsen, 1998). Recent studies confirm that exits from poverty are higher for household headed by white males and much lower for those headed by black females (Steven, 1994). A child living in persistent poverty faces a wide range of behavior problems that leads to delinquency. Some of these problems are school related issues such as fighting, humiliation, and anger. Duncan (1994) investigated the impact of persistent poverty on children who were five years old. The study indicated that the effects of short-term poverty are not as large as the effects on persistent poverty (Duncan et, al., 1994; 307). Delinquency is most prevalent in persistent poverty than short-term poverty. Poverty early in a childs life can be detrimental because it is then when shaping of a child is most important. If poverty is experienced later in a childs life, it can affect school attendance and possible it can be a factor in whether a child graduates from high school or not (Duncan, 1998). School is not a priority for an adolescent living in poverty; but rather, living conditions, survival, negative influences within the community, and any emotional issues that may arise within a child living in poverty. Previous Researchers Studies and Methods To determine the link between poverty and crime, determines what type of method is used. Ethnographic research is best used to examine the relationship between poverty and delinquency (Anderson, 1990; Jankowski, 1991; Sullivan, 1989; Williams and Kornblum, 1985). This type of study link other factors such as persistent unemployment, marital disruption, and female-headed household and teenage pregnancy to poverty and delinquency (Anderson, 1993). Ethnographic is best for capturing persistent poverty which is living in poverty for a period of eight years or longer (Duncan and Rogers, 1991). Although the best method, it would take at least a ten year longitudinal study which most researchers dont have the time to dedicate to such study. Individual analysis is the most convincing type of research, but provides the least support between poverty and crime (Jankowski, 1995, Tittle and Meier, 1990). Empirical research has also suggested that persistent poverty leads to crime (Currie, 1985; H agen and Peterson, 1995; Jencks, 1992; Krivo and Peterson, 1996; Sampson and Wilson, 1995). Researchers such as Coulton, Chow, Wang and Su (1996), Massey and Denton (1998), and Lee (2000) used at least one of the three measures while looking at poverty segregation in 100 metropolitan areas. The first measure used was the proportion of poor families living in the extreme poverty census track. The second measure was proportion of poor families living that would need to move to a different census track to achieve an equal distribution of poverty throughout the metropolitan area, and the last measure was the probability that poor families would encounter other poor families within their census track. These three measures are distant, but are empirically related (Coultron et al. (1996). To show the poverty by census track, Pittsburg (PA) and Cincinnati (OH) cities with near the same in population (334,563 verses 330,662) was used. Cincinnati had 31.2 % of its poor residents living in the census track in which 40% of the tract residents are poor in contrast to 22.5% in Pittsburg. It was suggested that poor residents living in Cincinnatis poverty ring are more geographically and socially isolated from non-poverty tracks that are resident s of Pittsburghs high poverty track. In 2000, 236 cities with a minimum population of 100,000 were used in a research that focused on the relationship between poverty clustering and crimes in the cities. For the purpose of the research, the Uniform Crime Reports and the Census of Population and Housing were the two data sources used. The Census of Population and Housing calculated the percent of residents on poverty in each census tract. This study used two tracks for the research; one track for 30% poor census track and one for contiguous 40% poor census tracks. The study took the median age of city residents because the crime rates are most likely be committed by younger residents (Baller, Messner, Deane, and Howkins, 2001; Cohenand Land, 1987). Other factors that were measured in this study were unemployment, African Americans, and female headed households. This study concluded that social isolation rather than deprivation contributed to the relationship of segregation and crime. Longitudinal data spanning over 14 years was used to measure the level of exposure to poverty and its timing and used to examine the relationship between poverty and delinquency. The sample population range in ages from 10 -15 years old and a face to face interview were conducted from 1979-1992. This study had an over representation of Hispanic and African- Americans disadvantage youths. The sampling in this study has several limitations. First limitation was the self-reporting of delinquency for the youth, and no one older than the age of 15 could participant in the study. This sample is not a national representation of all children living in poverty between the ages of 10-15. Exposure to poverty was measure by the number of years the youths family lived in poverty. The family income was measure by each year the family was below the poverty level, thus was the divided by the youths age to determine the percent the youth spent in poverty in his/her lifetime. The study also examined t he impact of poverty at different stages in life (Brooks-Gunn, 1997). Stages in a youth life were measured form birth to 5 years old, from 6 to 10 years old, and from 11 and older. The results of this study indicated that the extent that the level of exposure to poverty is important in the likelihood of delinquency. It also revealed that poverty had more effect on a child in the early years of development (Jarjoura and Triplett, 2002) Kurbin and Weitzer (2003) studied retaliatory homicides in St. Louis. They found that retaliatory homicides were more prevalent in disadvantage isolated communities. They took narratives from individuals who were involved in homicides and they confessed retaliation was associated with a mistrust of the police. Kurbin and Weizer (2003) concluded that disadvantage isolated communities suffer from policing vacuum and promotes cultural values to settle disputes among themselves. Kurbin and Weizer were not the only researchers that concluded that crime is way to settle disputes. Anderson (1999) and Wilson (1897) argued that poor people who are isolated developed a set of alternative norms in order to survive on the streets. Cooney (1997) also argued that poor people engage in more criminal behavior because the limited access to the law. To truly capture the relationship between poverty and crime, ethnographic research is the most productive type of study. A field researcher will have the opportunity to capture the lives of people living in poverty for an extended period of time. This type of research will provide the answers to why people living in poverty become delinquent and a researcher will understand the struggles and hardships poor people face. A researcher conducting ethnographic research will be able to explain in his findings the state of mind of someone living in poverty and clearly explain why criminal activity has become a way of life. Many different researchers have conducted research using different methods, but most of the researchers have concluded that there is a direct link between poverty and crime. It can be concluded from the various studies that people living in poverty commit greater amounts of crime than others not living in poverty. It can be concluded that the limited access to police is one of the reasons greater amounts of crime occur in poor communities. It can also be concluded that isolation plays a major role in criminal behavior among poor people. Previous study mainly focused on segregation and isolation. Current study has focused on spells and timing of poverty as it related to criminal behavior. Gaps in the Knowledge on Poverty and Delinquency One major gap is that there has not been a study to explore the interaction between overall poverty and concentrated poverty, even though there is some indication that poverty may indeed interact with its spatial concentration in predicting crime. An example of this is the research that was conducted by Sampson and his colleagues on neighborhood effects. Their findings were that social behavior is influenced not only by what happens in ones immediate neighborhood, but also by what happens in surrounding areas (Sampson, Raudenbush, 2001). The negative consequences of living in a poor neighborhood and living in non-poor neighborhood can spill over to surrounding communities, implying a possible interaction between poverty and its geographic distribution. The effect of poverty on crime may be higher in neighborhoods where poverty is spatially concentrated because poor residents in such areas are less likely to experience negative influences not only fro their own community but surroundi ng ones as well. Researchers can believe that poverty on criminal behavior may be somewhat mitigated when it is less spatially concentrated and potentially exacerbated when it is more concentrated. Another gap in the relationship between poverty and crime is criminological investigations. Nor do criminological researchers draw upon the vast literature that now exists on poverty in America to inform their analyses of delinquency. It is not shown that there are considerable differences among the poor by the level of exposure. Understanding the importance of distinguishing the poor by level of exposure begins with recognition that there is a dual nature of poverty in America (Bane and Ellwood, 1986). The concept of a dual nature to poverty refers to the fact that while there are substantial numbers of people living in persistent, long-term poverty, many people, including children, experience only short-term poverty. There is a need to pay more attention to the measures of poverty that that is used and to understand just who is captured by the measures. What is missing in most studies of poverty and delinquency is data on more than one year in the life of the subject. Debate on the Subject There has been some debate over the relative roles of concentrated disadvantage and segregation in explaining violence (Sampson and Wilson, 1995). Researchers are at odds with whether or not it is isolated African American communities or race related factors that explain higher crime in those communities. Massey and Denton (1993) believe that segregation is more important than race related factors. In previous studies, it was shown that overall poverty and isolated poverty affected whites, but only the overall poverty affected American Americans (Pruitt, 2000). The most difficult part of the debate is the importance of isolated poverty verses the importance of racial segregation is that isolation poverty is related to African American and isolated poverty among whites is rare (Krivo and Peterson, 1996, Kasarda, 1993). Researchers have conducted several studies to try an overcome this debate. Krivo and Peterson (1996) analyzed the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and ind ex street crime in Columbus, Ohio with some white neighborhoods experiencing disadvantage. Conclusion

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Startup Plan for Wedding Internet Business :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Startup Plan for Wedding Internet Business Frequent Shopper Programs Card Programs, or Frequent Shoppers Programs (FSP) are increasing in supermarkets around the country. FSPs are bringing more consumers into the grocery stores more often and studies show that these cardholders are more likely to spend than non card members. One study shows that over 80% of customers shop less than once a week in the same store. Most consumers have low customer loyalty, so retailers are looking for a way to reward them in order to get them to continually shop in their stores. Retailers are looking for a way to increase their profits by having repeat customers. Studies show that cardholders account for 75% of the stores sales. Main goals of using a FSP are to retain customers, have them visit frequently and spend more money. Targeted demographics for card programs consist of larger, upscale, educated families of three or more. Studies show that the top five reasons for a consumer to choose a retail store are due to: 1). Convenient Location 2.) Store Deals 3.) Frequent Shopper Programs 4.) Assortment of Merchadise 5.) Store Cleanliness Consumers who have cards spend 4xs more each transaction than a non card member. The average non card holding consumer in the store spends $7 versus a card holder who spends $28 per transaction. By using frequent shopper programs, retailers can keep a database to segment their customers by their buying habits in order to better market themselves to the needs of their customers. Databases can help with marketing efforts geared at differentiating themselves from competitors by segmenting customers by how often they shop, how much they spend, and what their shopping patterns are. Grocery retailers are seeing benefits from these programs but there are some glitches to joining one. FSPs are expansive programs to initiate. The program costs anywhere from $15,000 to $20,000 a year. Retailers must consider whether their ready to initiate a program and monitor the database in order to create a variety of marketing schemes to follow through on.

Monday, September 2, 2019

Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights - Infanticide and Sadism :: Wuthering Heights Essays

Wuthering Heights: Infanticide and Sadism    I would like to begin by simply defining the terms infanticide and sadism. Webster's Dictionary defines infanticide as the killing of an infant or the suffering of an infant. The same source defines sadism as both a disorder in which sexual gratification is derived by causing pain or degradation to others and simply pleasure in being cruel. Now, while reading Wuthering Heights, I was giving every character the benefit of the doubt. I was accounting their rough life to simple hard times. However, after reading "Infanticide and Sadism in Wuthering Heights" my eyes were opened to the perversion of the world portrayed in Wuthering Heights. To start off, I would like to take a good look at the suffering of the children. Each child does not have the benefit of their mother for a very long period of time. "Catherine Earnshaw is not quite eight when her mother dies; Cathy Linton's birth coincides with her mother's death; Hareton's mother dies the year of his birth; and Heathcliff is an orphan by the time he is seven. Even the children who receive motherly care throughout childhood do not receive it long after they reach puberty. Linton Heathcliff loses his mother when he is not quite thirteen- Linton, of course, is a child all his life- and Isabella Linton is orphaned when she is fourteen. The only exceptions- and these unimportant - are Hindley Earnshaw and Edgar Linton, who are sixteen and eighteen respectively when their mothers die (and even their mothers are apparently not very motherly)." (Thompson 139). Bronte does away with all of the mothers. Why does she so that? She kills off the mothers to help better accent th e children's struggle against all the psycho adults who are all out to kill them. The first child to receive this kind of treatment was Heathcliff when he first arrived and Mrs. Earnshaw wanted to "fling it outdoors." This sort of treatment was subjected to every child in the book, and without their mothers, there was nobody to protect thern. Hareton Earnshaw lives a more dangerous life than most of the children. He lost his mother the year of his birth and spent a great deal of his childhood hiding from his father, whose first instinct when drunk is to kill his son. Hareton manages to survive, but Linton Heathcliff is not so lucky.

Regional Problems and Urban Problems Experienced In UK Economy Essay

United Kingdom economy is a developed economy. Developed economies experiences different challenges as its tries to sustain its operations, in this essay I shall write on the urban and regional problems experienced in the United Kingdom economy. According to Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (2006) growth of the economy came along with increased migration to the cities where the economic activities were many. This migration strains the resources available such as the infrastructure of roads, railways, water and sewage systems, waste managements and sustainable supply of food and other consumable goods (Jacobs, 2006). Such straining of limited resources makes them more expensive as a result lives in the cities is becoming expensive by the day. There is also stiff competition for the available job opportunities as the local and migrants from other countries flock in the country in seek of Jobs. These ends up denying the locals who are not much skilled accessibility to Jobs which leads to most people being Jobless in cities which are expensive to sustain their livelihood they therefore result to crime. This is the reason why state of insecurity and crime is in increase as the economy grows. According to George, (2007) the regions surrounding such strong economies tend to dwindle because most of their experienced laborer seeks employment in the already developed economies because their compensations are much higher. This denies them a chance to develop as they brain washed. The performances of such economy and its effect in the region could be measured by use of Regional Economic Performance (PSA) target and Gross Value Added (GVA). Therefore there is need to strategize on how United Kingdom would be able to solve the regional and urban problems which they experience for its sustainability References George, C, 2007. ‘Regional Activity Relocation Problems In A Developing Economy’, Center of Economic Research. Vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 311-338 Jacobs, B, 2006. ‘Cities Under Stress: Problems of Development and Decline’, Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 104 – 112. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, (2006), UK Presidency EU Ministerial Informal on Sustainable Communities, Available at http://www. communities. gov. uk/documents/cit

Sunday, September 1, 2019

Violent Video Games Cause Behavior Problems Essay

Video game violence is an increasing problem in today’s society with violence as one of the most popular themes. Games such as â€Å"Grand Theft Auto† and â€Å"Call of Duty† are among the most popular games and have been scientifically proven to have a major effect on teens. Many people try to argue that there is a difference in the effects between behaviors after engaging with video games. Video games have the same effects as other forms of entertainment, but other forms of entertainment do not get attacked like video games because the other forms are much larger and have a much wider audience. Playing violent video games can alter men’s brain function, cause teens to drive recklessly, and can contribute to aggression. Many people disagree that violent video games cause behavior problems. It seems doubtful to some people that such violence and aggression can be caused from watching flickering pixels on a nineteen-inch television screen. In the scale of t ime, television has existed for less than a wink, and if it is indeed undoing what oral and print cultures have so laboriously built, then those traditions may be far briefer than advertised (Smith). Throughout mankind’s history, each new means of expression has been castigated as the cause of evil in the world such as, books, art, and music (Smith). Some people even believe that violence is linked with aggressiveness and stress rather than with video game violence (Smith). Some may even say, â€Å"If society could just put limits on X, society would have fewer problems with Y.† That is not how life works. People who disagree that violent video games cause behavior problems believe that violence exist because people exist, but their logic is simply not enough (Smith). On the contrary, research on the troubling effects of video games is plentiful and persuasive. There is overwhelming evidence that witnessing and engaging in video game violence is predictive of increases in aggressive behavior. In fact, the research on the effects of exposure to video game violence is in keeping with research conducted over the last half century about the effects on people’s be havior of watching television violence (Wendling). As video games come more engaging, society spends ever-increasing amounts of time playing them (Wendling). In the popular video game â€Å"Grand Theft Auto,† people have the power to solicit prostitutes and then kill them to get their money back, drive down the sidewalk of a virtual city mowing down pedestrians, run around attacking  people at random, and all sorts of other demented activities that would be tragic in real life (Wendling). These types of video games make these specific crimes seem okay. A recent study provides parents, physicians, and scientists with data proving that differences in brain function exist in teens that play violent video games, compared with those who do not (Wendling). Dr. Matthews and his colleagues at Indiana University, Indianapolis, randomly assigned the adolescents to play either â€Å"Medal of Honor,† a violent video game, or â€Å"Need for Speed,† an equally exciting but nonviolent video game, for thirty minutes immediatel y before imaging (Wendling). The group that played the nonviolent game showed more activation in the frontal lobes, and the group that played the violent video game demonstrated less activation in the prefrontal lobes (Wendling). There have been numerous studies since the 1970s demonstrating that adolescents exposed to violent media demonstrate aggressive behavior, but because the adolescents in this study were randomized into two similar groups, the findings go more directly to the question of causation than did previous research (Wendling). Playing violent video games can alter men’s brain function, cause teens to drive recklessly, and can contribute to aggression. There have been multiple studies to prove that playing violent video games can alter men’s brain function. In one study, Dr. Matthews and his colleagues demonstrated the short-term effects of violent video games on brain functioning adolescents (Birk). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) revealed decreased activity in areas of the brain involved in inhibition and attention after thirty minutes of game time (Birk). Dr. Matthews saw that there is a decrease in normal blood flow after a week of playing violent video games (Birk). Violent video games could also lead teens to drive recklessly. Some researchers conducted phone interviews with more than five-thousand teenagers over the course of four years (Correa). Ninety percent of the teenagers they interviewed responded that they were engaged in risky driving habits, including speeding, tai lgating, weaving through traffic, and running red lights (Correa). It is clear that the video game exposure preceded the risky driving because the study began when the participants were playing video games but were too young to drive (Correa). Numerous racing video  games make it look cool to drive recklessly, which can cause a great impact on teens to drive in this manner. Lastly, video games can contribute to aggression. School shootings, such as the infamous event at Columbine High School, have stimulated interested in research on the violence of boys and men (Levart). One focus, the effects of violent video games on aggression, has begun to yield some empirical results (Levart). Today, videogames are highly engaging and interactive, putting players in a first-person perspective where they must make a decision to perform a violent act prior to performing the act (Levart). Effects of long-term exposure of violent video games include personality change and beliefs that aggression is an acceptable way to handle a problem (Levart). This may have so mething to do with the obvious that the objective in most video games is to kill. Video game violence is an increasing problem in today’s society with violence as one of the most popular themes. Playing violent video games alters men’s brain function, could cause teens to drive recklessly, and can contribute to aggression. Many people try to argue that there is a difference in the effects between behaviors after engaging with video games. To some, it seems doubtful that such violence and aggression can be caused from playing video games on a nineteen-inch television screen. There are others who totally disagree with that logic. People do not just watch video games, but they interact with them. Works Cited Wendling, Patrice. â€Å"Violent Video Games After Brain Functioning in Imaging Study.† Clinical Psychiatry News Jan. 2007: 39. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Birk, Susan. â€Å"Playing Violent Video Games Alters Men’s Brain Function: From the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.† Clinical Psychiatry News Jan. 2012: 16. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Correa Frances. â€Å"Games Inspire Reckless Driving.† Clinical Psychiatry News Oct. 2012: 28. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Levart, Ronald F. and Kimberly D. Thomas. â€Å"Does the Endorsement of Traditional Masculinity Ideology Moderate the Relationship between Exposure to Violent Video Games and Aggression?† Clinical Psychiatry News Oct. 2012: 20.1. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014. Smith, Mark. â€Å"Video game backlash?† Technology & Learning Nov. 2005: 6. Psychology Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.