Legal system in Great Britain Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Legal system in Great Britain - Case Study Example Precedent brings consistency to the English legal system, in that two cases with similar material facts will be treated in the same manner. No legal system can be perceived as fair unless everyone receives equal treatment. Predictability allows lawyers to advice their clients with some degree of certainty. Certainty is an important advantage from the existence of precedent. A judge may be prevented from making a mistake, which he or she might have made if there were not any guidance available. However, some may feel that treating two cases alike doesn't allow for much freedom and rigidity is formed, inhibiting the development of the law and therefore giving the impression that the law of precedent is strict and inflexible. A criticism against the law of precedent is the fact that it can actually lead to a degree of rigidity in the system. Nevertheless, a judge may avoid following a previous decision in various ways. A judge may be able to distinguish an earlier case from the present case on its facts and thus avoid following it. No two cases will ever be identical in every way. The cases of Jordan (1956) 40 Cr App R 152 and Smith (1959) 2 A11 ER 193illustrate a 'real life' example of distinguishing two separate cases from one another. They may seem at first to be alike in many ways, but when the facts are investigated fully, its becomes obvious that they are actually different. This indicates that separate precedents would need to be used. A judge could avoid using a precedent because he or she found the ratio too obscure or the previous decision was per incuriam i.e. by mistake and without all the facts. Reversing occurs where a court higher up in the hierarchy overturns the decision of a lower court on appeal in the same case. The House of Lords has since 1966 indicated that it is actually prepared not follow its previous decisions if they feel that injustice will occur or there will be unreasonable restriction of the development of the law. Its own previous decisions as well as those by the House of Lords will bind the Court of Appeal, but there are two main exceptions to this rule. The court will choose which decision to follow if there are two conflicting decisions and will not follow one of its own decisions if it is inconsistent with a decision of the House of Lords or the Privacy. Miliangos v George Frank (Textiles) Ltd (1975) 3 A11 ER 801.Where a judge can actually avoid using a precedent it can be seen that the law of precedent is not as strict and inflexible as the title and some peoples opinions may suggest. However some judges (particularly in the Lords) have been, at times (and to an extent still are - holding decisions to be wrong, but not refusing to overrule them) very strict in their adherence to stare decisis i.e. they do not care whether a decision is 'right' or 'wrong', just or unjust. This can be seen as a big disadvantage as it means to say that judges have too much power at times and a bad precedent can be ignored which would make the law strict and inflexible at times. Other advantages include; how it is applicable to all future cases and is immediately operational. It is said that the legal system is "regulated" by constitutional conventions, whereas the truth is that those

11 & 12 Language related assignment Essay Example for Free

11 12 Language related assignment Essay Generative Context A woman student in Brighton walked home by herself late at night and was mugged. She was carrying a lot of cash, didn’t tell her friends she was leaving the club and walked down some dark steps. The next day I criticised her actions. 2. Meaning We use this form to express a critical attitude towards the past actions of someone else. (Advice after the event – Rosemary Aitken – Teaching Tenses – p. 138) 3. Form (subject) + should (+ not) + have + past participle 4. Phonemic transcription, including marking the main stressed syllables (Longman dictionary of contemporary English) Particular attention needs to be paid to the weak form of â€Å"have† and, possibly there may need to be some revision of the various pronunciations of the â€Å"ed† ending of the past participle 5. Concept checking questions (with answers), and, where appropriate, time lines, diagrams, pictures, etc Did she go home by herself? Yes Was it dangerous? Maybe Was it a good idea? No Am I criticising her? Yes Am I talking about the past or the future? The past Entirely accurate Accesses reference material reference information learned about language to an appropriate source No evidence – even implicit – of appropriate source being referenced Evidence (even implicit) of some referencing of appropriate sources Plenty of explicit evidence of appropriately referenced research Uses written language which is clear, accurate and appropriate to the task Numerous errors

An Investigation Into Electrical Resistance :: essays research papers

Background Knowledge Resistance, in electricity, is a property of any object or substance to resist the flow of an electrical current. The quantity of resistance in an electric circuit determines the amount of current flowing in the circuit for any given voltage applied to the circuit. The resistance of an object is determined by the nature of the substance of which it is composed, its resistivity, accounting for its dimensions and its temperature. Resistivity is expressed in terms of Ohms / cm3 at 20Â ºC. An electrical conductor is any material that offers little resistance to the flow of an electric current. The difference between a conductor and an insulator, which is a poor conductor of electricity, is one of degree rather than kind, because all substances conduct electricity to some extent. A good conductor of electricity, such as silver or copper, may have a conductivity billions of times as great, or more, as the conductivity of a good insulator, such as glass or mica. Method We were set the task of investigating the factors that come into play when determining the resistance of a piece of wire. We would be provided with the necessary apparatus needed to carry out the investigations. The basic setup would involve a circuit with a set of cells connected in series with an ammeter and the piece of wire being investigated, and a voltmeter connected in parallel with the wire. The ammeter is placed in series with the wire. An ammeter has a low resistance, so that it introduces as little extra resistance as possible into the circuit. The voltmeter is connected in parallel with the wire. Voltmeters have a high resistance, so the current they take is usually negligible. We decided on the variables that could affect the resistance of a wire:  Length of the wire  Thickness of the wire  The material used as the wire  Temperature We were to investigate as many of these factors as possible given a limited period of time. We would carry out a set of experiments where in each one we changed one variable while keeping the others constant. In each case we would have to measure the current passing through the circuit and the potential difference across the wire; given these the resistance could be calculated using the formula R=v/i, where R is the resistance in Ohms, v is the potential difference in Volts, and i is the current in Amperes.

The Duration Of Coaching Csa Trinity Education Essay

Knowledge is deemed an indispensable portion of training within any clean environment. Furthermore, within any clean environment all managers require some sort of training cognition whether novitiate or expert in which constructed throughout life or coaching experiences. Coaching cognition is critical whether planning, coach/athlete relationship, analysing, and observation etc†¦ In which is important towards participants larning. Therefore, the intent of this paper is to find whether any cognition has been extended and how farther cognition can be constructed to heighten personal coaching towards accomplishing long clip personal end of expertness coaching. This will be completed via 20 completed hours with the CSA Trinity ( CSA ) and training Sessionss which were delivered within the 12 hebdomads at Oxford Brookes University to detect if any patterned advance from a novitiate to expert knowledge base manager. Phases of development Throughout the continuance of training CSA three Football Club training observations were deployed towards myself via feedback from participants and parents to find what training degree public presentation stood. Mention to appendix 5, manager public presentation feedback sheets. As Bloom ( 1985 ) provinces, three stages of the faculty include induction, development and flawlessness in which designed to better immature jocks within a suited environment and hence enhances the development of expertness. However, a somewhat different position from Dreyfus and Dreyfus ( 1986 ) whereby expertise accomplishment involves five phases of completion novitiate, advanced novice, competent, proficient and expert within anyone ‘s field of expertness. Conversely, farther surveies demonstrate several transmutations of athletics context as Cote ( 1999 ) adopted four phases and designed a faculty to raising and develop participants, but besides could drop out at different phases in required duri ng the sampling, specialising, investing and diversion stages. Another theoretical account as Bush and Roberts ( 2011 ) Schempp et Al ( 2006 ) suggest managers ‘ demands of going an adept practician involve extended cognition base. However, in order to make drawn-out cognition base managers require commence through four phases of development, novitiate, competent, proficient and expert. Though each theoretical account demands are important in order for development to make a 1 ‘s end â€Å" expertness † significantly for different types of work industries and degrees of abilities. However, Hargreaves and bate ( 2009 ) province ; experience and cognition are good as developing and training the participants within the session to obtain improved accomplishments and cognition of the game, instead than running a session via accretion drills. Furthermore, Bush and Roberts ( 2011 ) Schempp et Al ( 2006 ) suggest, novice accent lay on participant ‘s behaviors than slightly developing the participant and hence, no future battle of cognition to better acquisition. However, Schempp et Al ( 2006 ) continues, within the competent stage, cognition is consumed to diminish the sum of errors that occur, but every bit concerned with regulations, such as no speaking policy when manager is speaking. Therefore, competent coaching within the first five or six hebdomads at University and ( CSA ) as somewhat confounding due to letters of information received within talks. Consequently, deficiency of experience and cognition prevailed as proficient cognition, contemplations ; planning, coach/athlete relationship and coaching manners etcaˆÂ ¦ were slightly a learning stage and hence running alternatively of training a session in which no acquisition or developments took topographic point when presenting Sessionss. Mention to appendix 4, brooding journal and one to six hebdomads of session evaluations/reflections for under 8 ‘s and 11 ‘s. For that ground, building cognition was the following phase in order to accomplish a degree of proficiency as Perlus ( 2008 ) feels that, training cognition comes from personal experiences, i.e. playing the athletics, expertise degree and context etcaˆÂ ¦ and hence playing ability is indispensable in which refines training cognition. However, these properties would hold a certain grade of effectivity, although non indispensable to go an adept manager. For illustration, Linford Christie ‘s ex-coach Ron Roddan highest accomplishment was running for his county Middlesex and Jose Mourinho current Real Madrid director both encountered short low profile, playing callings. As Carter ( 2006 ) provinces, Jose Mourinho playing calling was really brief, nevertheless, during his brief enchantment as a participant whilst analyzing football methodological analysis within Lisbon ‘s Sports University. Therefore, increased his cognition base in which Mourinho encountered all phases t o expertise which lead him to assorted assistant/manager occupations at high-profile nines. However, deriving experience from old playing calling is non indispensable to derive expertness cognition. Whether professional jock or playing recreational athleticss expertness cognition can be gained through sheer finding and motive and create solid foundation within training. Therefore, indispensable for different facets to derive cognition, i.e. experiences, books, diaries, analyzing public presentation, playing experience and detecting other coaches- penetration into tactics and technique and feedback are important constituents to make coveted end of expertness. Mention to appendix 1,2,3,4 and 5 of portfolio. However, deriving expert cognition requires hours and old ages of deliberate pattern harmonizing to Ericsson and Charness ( 1994 ) , Nelson et Al ( 2006 ) , Ericsson et Al ( 1993 ) , Schempp et Al ( 2006 ) , cote ( 2006 ) and Gilbert et Al ( 2006 ) which are from different Fieldss and slightly indecisive within the continuance and experience to necessitate expertness cognition base. Nevertheless, all theories fluctuate and suggest five, 10 and 13 old ages, 3,000 to10,000 hours to make full potency. However, Schempp et Al ( 2006 ) provinces, adept cognition are neither familial nor typical features, but fineness within training which instruction and experience in which can be expanded over hours or old ages of deliberate pattern dependant on the single motive of success. Though, depending on what type of coach/person, sheer finding, personality, visions, passion, motive and ends etcaˆÂ ¦ you possess cognition. Hence, experience could be administered quicker to stand out from novi tiate to expert to accomplish the end they require as Schempp et Al ( 2006 ) points justly out. Finally, if required plenty cognition and content with the degree of coaching/knowledge, managers may choose to halt if gained a degree of efficiency. Another method which coaches concept cognition is formal, non-formal and informal manager larning whereby ongoing and womb-to-tomb development to build farther cognition in different organisations. As Nelson et Al ( 2006 ) , Bush and Roberts ( 2011 ) , Smilde ( 2009 ) and Edwards et Al ( 2006 ) study that, formal acquisition is institutionalized and organised instruction system with inactive or additive learning aims and chief focal point is the merchandise and non the procedure for illustration, course of study administrations i.e. BTEC, national government organic structure ( NGB ) classs and degrees-foundation grades etc.. â€Å" enfranchisement constructed † . For case Ehlers ( 1998 ) found that, disadvantages occur within formal larning ‘learners remember merely 20 % of the information presented during a formal lesson ‘ . Consequently, formal acquisition has no consideration for the individual/learner and low impact on cognition and hence, decreases the trouble of the demands of the manager. For illustration, managers, possibly hesitant when using cognition to pattern, when and how to train. Although, Nelson et Al ( 2006 ) , Bush and Roberts ( 2011 ) , Smilde ( 2009 ) and Edwards et Al ( 2006 ) continues, non-formal acquisition takes topographic point outside formal acquisition within workshops, groups, administrations and best pattern etcaˆÂ ¦ acquisition does non happen, because, on the other manus good for basic apprehension. However, inordinately hard to mensurate if learning/knowledge has taking topographic point as no base on balls or fail occurs and hence, does non supply a model which is critical for building training cognition. Though, Informal larning consists of building cognition, developing accomplishments and behaviors which benefit training pattern via the usage of diaries, books, pictures and autonomy etcaˆÂ ¦ . Therefore, research and acquisition within the environment over ongoing life long procedure is good for expertness cognition. For illustration, detecting to dispute something, reflecting in ( within session ) and on ( after session ) pra ctical, proficient and critical jobs can make a deeper acquisition or development of training cognition. Mention to appendix 6, readings-development of adept training page 2 and 6. However, persons are slightly different and learn at different velocities, ways. Therefore, to make a sound cognition base, formal and non-formal acquisition would supply non merely enfranchisement, but a foundation for patterns, drills and the rudimentss apprehension of the coaching environment. However, informal, the most good, but using cognition from informal with the usage of the non-formal and informal would turn out slightly good for some persons within the coaching environment. Hence, persons learn otherwise i.e. in their ain in manner which they feel conformable, see different chances to detect the result themselves etcaˆÂ ¦ to accomplish a certain end. Areas of cognition The sentiment of Cassidy et Al ( 2004 ) and Robyn et Al ( 2008 ) is that, the work from researcher Shulman ( 1986 ) in respects to content cognition required three subdivisions, capable affair content cognition ( SMCK ) refers to the manager and cognition to present a session i.e. nucleus accomplishments accomplished by the participants whilst the regulations are coached etcaˆÂ ¦ pedagogical content cognition ( PCK ) is the ability to learn or pass on whilst engaged with the ( SMCK ) participants. Finally, course of study content cognition ( CCK ) ‘tools of the trade ‘ as mentioned by Robyn et Al ( 2008 ) , intending explicating and analyzing the capable affair towards pupil acquisition. However, Metzler ( 2000 ) suggests, Shulman ‘s work is a great get downing point in respects to content cognition. However, Metzler ( 2000 ) continues, farther dislocation of the current constituents into a farther three classs declarative, procedural and conditional cognition would be good as it would go confidant within the designated athletics. Therefore, Metzler ( 2000 ) and Bush and Roberts ( 2011 ) portion the same position in that declaratory cognition ( DK ) in which managers explains and show verbally or within a written format, i.e. the cognition about and facts and things. Metzler ( 2000 ) and Bush and Roberts ( 2011 ) continue, procedural cognition ( PK ) , intending â€Å" knowledge how too/ how to accomplish it † i.e. how to execute a undertaking or process and conditional cognition refers to when and why to make something and what happens if. Refer to appendix 6, readings-development of adept training pages 5-6. However, both Metzler ( 2000 ) and Shulman ( 1986 ) in respects to all classs are slightly good when using both methods together within the coaching environment whereby managers can better participants ‘ public presentations and hence, larning takes topographic point as the cognition to acquire something done had occurred â€Å" adept Coaches † . Mention to appendix 2 Sessionss plans 9 and 10 of both under 8 ‘ & As ; 11 ‘s. The latter phases of the 20 hours training and lectures going more confident as expanded cognition and experience was clearly apparent as some larning took topographic point. Therefore, proficient cognition, reflections/evaluating, planning, coach/athlete relationship and coaching manners etcaˆÂ ¦were developing together non merely certain facets of coaching. However, due to huge accrued cognition and experience proficient cognition base was more distinguished, but still needs betterment. Mention to appendix 4, brooding journal and seven to ten hebdomads of session evaluations/reflections for under 8 ‘s and 11 ‘s. Though, concentrating more on the participants ‘ performance/development, participant battle instead than running a session as before. However, expert knowledge more formidable and hence, more cognition and experience required to make lifetime end â€Å" adept cognition base manager † . As Schempp et Al ( 2006 ) Wiman et Al ( 2010 ) conclude to derive expertness cognition involves changeless planning for coveted results of Sessionss, deriving cognition all the clip via diaries, books, workshops, programmes which involve enfranchisement etc.aˆÂ ¦ Furthermore, larning and detecting from other adept managers, experience etc†¦ Refer to appendix 5, peer observations-strengths/weaknesses Decision Given this grounds, it can be seen that managers get cognition they need to be effectual and adept manager via different methods through a figure of formal, non-formal and informal acquisition environments. However, larning is diverse and dynamic procedure in which is really typical and hence, different to being taught something within instruction. Therefore, indispensable to derive cognition through all types of experiences from playing recreational to professional athleticss, reading diaries or books, written work, workshops programmes which involve enfranchisement etcaˆÂ ¦ Furthermore, deriving expert cognition requires hours and old ages of deliberate pattern all dependant on what type of attitude the coach/person requires as sheer finding, passion, and motive to make the coveted ends could stand out towards the journey of dream end â€Å" adept manager † .

American history since 1876

Wars often have a significant impact upon the domestic development of a nation. Every nation at one point or the other has experienced a war of some sort and this has gone a long way in shaping economic, political and social lives of citizens. United States in particular had a fair share of wars especially looking back at the last two or so decades. The World War and the Cold War were very instrumental in shaping what the United States of America is today. This discussion looks at how these two wars brought about changes in the political, social and economic arenas (Martin, G.S. 2004). The Second World War commonly referred to as World War 2 was conflict in the military that was felt throughout the world by all nations. The Cold War on the other hand was subsequent to the Second World War and it was a conflict between the western region of the world led by U. S and the Soviet Union. The effects of the world war were evident in many countries and United States was no exception. The ef fects were both negative and positive. They were negative in the sense there was a lot of destruction of property and many lives were lost.However there are also many positive effects in that many developments were achieved. The first notable development was in the area of technology. It is during the world war that the forerunner was developed which would later bring about the development of television. This paved way for the growth of the economy of what was later to become the world’s superpower. It was not all about growth. As already mentioned the Second World War also had far reaching negative effects.One of the greatest economic devastations that have always been associated with the Second World War was the Great Depression where banks closed unemployment soared as factories closed down, people starved, there were long queues for bread and the rural folks lost their mortgages. It was due to deteriorated housing conditions, unbearable working conditions and unavailabili ty of essential commodities that is said to have brought the economic growth down. The government’s ability to control the economy through control over spending and consumption emerged during the great depression.It is thus believed that the Great Depression did contribute indirectly to the growth of the economy of the U. S. It is also clear that the Cold War left the U. S as the only super power with Russia having collapsed (Martin, G. S. 2004). The World War 2 and the Cold did also have effects on the social and cultural life of the Americans. It was evident that after such a long period of war American citizens were finding it hard to adjust to the ordinary life. It took them a couple of years before they could adjust but finally they were able to.However from research conducted there are clear indications that the general living standards of American citizens improved. In conclusion it is clear that the Second World War and the Cold war did have a great impact in the inte rnational community and United States in particular. The effects were both positive and negative. However in most cases the positive effects are more visible as America emerged as the world’s super power due to these wars. Words: 555 Reference: Martin, G. S. (2004). The Second World War: A Complete History, New York: SAGE.

We The People essays

We The People essays Declaring our independence from the British Crown was only the beginning of our development of becoming a successful, and independent and free nation. It marked the need to create a sound national government under a new constitution that would be strong enough to rule the nation. Between the American Revolution and the Civil war, many changes took place in American society: The development of the market economy in the North and South, the population growth that resulted from the new economy and the movement westward to acquire land and wealth, marked important changes in the early progress of our nation. Though we were proven successful in establishing ourselves as a nation, it was often a brutal process involving much blood shed, and followed in the footsteps of our earlier history of taking what we wanted, by force. In the early 1800s we encroached on the land that belonged to the Indians and took their land through a process we called Indian removal. In the mid-1800s, we enc roached on the land to the West that belonged to the Mexicans. However, by 1848 we had conquered the continental United States and the groundwork of our nation was set. The first step in forming our nation was the adoption of the constitution in 1787, which was in many ways a work of creative genius. With its adoption, all states were now one national government and our republic was formed. Though the constitution is a very general statement, it allows us to continually develop our nation through political and social negotiations. We can grow in to it as our country grows. In the early 1800s as American cities grew, the nature of work and society changed. There were two different social and economic systems growing at the same time. In the South, society was based on agriculture, farming, and cotton. Cotton was the most abundant crop coming out of the South and it represented a vast investment of capital. Theirs was a societ...

Kosovo Conflict Essays - AlbaniaSerbia Relations, Kosovo War

Kosovo Conflict Essays - AlbaniaSerbia Relations, Kosovo War Kosovo Conflict Kosovo Background of Kosovo: -The Balkans have been a very unstable region for hundreds of years. The reason for contention is because of ethnic origin and disputes of which race owns which land.. That is the reason for the dispute over Kosovo is because of the same thing. This is a very complicated situation, that I don't really know everything about. I just kind of know the basics. Back in the 1500 hundreds, the Serbs conquered the Kosovo area, slowly and gradually over the years the Ethnic Albanians started occupying the territory, until before the bombing began, Kosovo consisted of 90% Ethnic Albanians. Well, the Serbs didn't like this, especially Milosevic who is the ruler over Serbia. Since Kosovo has many historical ties to the Serbs, and the Serbs conquered that territory back in the 1500 hundreds, Milosevic wanted to reclaim their rightful territory. And his method to do this was through ethnic cleansing Kosovo. Stats: -Milosevic has been doing this subtlety for years, and as of last fall has increased his killing of ethnic Albainians. To date, there are now 200,00 people dead as a result of Milosevic's ethnic cleansing. That is probably a very low figure. 100,000 Kosovar men are now missing, which might be the reason for the mass graves that have been pictured. Nearly one half a million people have been expelled from their homes, many forced out at gunpoint, while the Serbian troops destroyed their identity papers, making them unable to return to their homes. This flood of refugees have overwhelmed neighboring countries, who are economically weak, and are unable to take in all the refugees. 600,000 Kosovars are surviving off the land in mountains nearby. Controversy: -You might wonder what business the U.S. has in a country on the other side of the world, where it seems to be no political interest whatsoever. That is a big controversery of whether or not NATO should be involved. At first I was against NATO involvement for just those reasons, why should NATO get involved where there would be no benefit to us, because this was more of a humanitarian issue. But as I researched this and read more about it, I am in favor of NATO involvement. I believe that we should do everything possible to help stop Tyrants from killing innocent people. Which is what was and is occuring in Kosovo. -But I am against NATO in who, why and how NATO is handling this conflict. Who: -NATO is very hypocritical by saying they got involved in this situation purely because of humanitarian reasons. There have been many occasions where the U.S. looked the other way on bigger humanitarian disasters. In West Africa, there was a similar ethnic cleansing situation where the U.S. did not get involved. Why: -In the begging, where NATO was on the verge of bombing Kosovo, Clinton spoke in a public meeting about why we were getting involved. He said, trying to get public approval, that the reason the U.S. is getting involved is largely an economical reason. He said that this war would help the U.S. financially. By getting involved, we would become partners with Europe, thus increasing a trade relationship. That is what I am against. I am against the U.S./Clinton thinking more about how much money we can get, rather than saving innocent lives from being brutally murdered. -After the bombing had dragged on for longer than expected, which was only about a week in some people's opinion, the objectives were stated as follows: To stop ethnic cleansing, stop flood of refugees into nieghboring countries, stop NATO from splitting, prevent Milosevic from strengthening his grip on the Balkan region. And, after over 2 months of involvement, NATO has not been able to meet those objectives. -Bob Bennet said that the current bombing has been no help to the Albanians and Macedonians, who have seen hundreds of thousands of refugees flood across the borders into their ill-equipped countries. It has been of no help to NATO, an alliance that has seen its military stocks drawn down to dangerously low levels, with no effects on the atrocities going on in the killing fields. -One speculated reason to get involved was because of the military stategic point in the

How to Add Rocket Fuel to Your Job Search Strategy

How to Add Rocket Fuel to Your Job Search Strategy Finding a job like everything else in life requires a plan. When you buy a new car, you probably look at different car makers, models and reviews. You learn about the vehicle’s handling, braking distance and gas mileage. Once you have acquired a knowledge base, you might visit showrooms, check classified ads or go online. Finding a job is not very different. The parameters might be, but the basic research, knowledge acquisition and plan execution are not. Pick  a Job That Is Right for YouThe first order of business is to look at your strengths, interests and experience. You need to identify the job that best suits you. Once you have established that, it is a good idea to check who is hiring in the area. Job classifieds may detail local openings. Online job sites, such as TheJobNetwork, provide multiple listings and send email alerts when a job opportunity surfaces.Companies and Hiring ProfilesOnce you have chosen the type of job you want, it is important to search for compan ies who offer that type of work. Companies are often specific about the type of candidate needed. Whether written directly or not, companies put forth a hiring profile. Deciding if you meet the criteria is a good first step. If so, checking into company preferences concerning resume style and other information the company may want is advisable. Use the resume to set yourself apart and provide categorization of your strengths and achievements while staying within the company job description.Creating the Resume and Extraneous ProfilesPotential employers often check out applicants on LinkedIn. Having a profile that is well written and provides an accurate presentation of your skills, employment history and connections is important. In addition, knowing about a company will help to set you apart later on during the interview process. This shows attentiveness to detail and curiosity, qualities that are highly valued. Researching the company and its beliefs and value system, as well as it s product or services, indicates that you have taken the time to learn about the company.Checking Your Resume and Cover LetterWriting a generic cover letter and resume is a good idea. Your resume should succinctly chronicle your experience and training as well as education. Modifying the resume and cover letter to fit the job makes sense. It is obvious to employers when the resume is not job specific. Letting a mentor or friend review your resume and LinkedIn profile helps give you fresh perspective.Job OutlookThe job outlook has seen an uptick since 2010, and statistically this growth is strong. The number of jobs in each sector varies. By using labor statistics, it is possible for a job seeker to determine which category has the most jobs at any given time.Finding Jobs Depends On Where You LookLooking online for jobs every day helps you catch a new opening as soon as it is announced. TheJobNetwork finds opportunities and alerts you by email as soon as a job is available. Signing u p for this service is free and easy. Once you upload your information, this job recruitment network searches its database and others for new job opportunities.

Demonstrative communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Demonstrative communication - Essay Example Demonstrative communication consists of nonverbal and unwritten communications. It involves sending and receiving wordless messages and is mostly utilized to support verbal communication; although it can convey messages on its own. Facial expressions are the most regular among the entire nonverbal communication. Proper attire, a firm handshake and a pleasant behavior can â€Å"speak volumes† (Matsumoto et al, 2012) regarding the type of person someone is. It is the fact that demonstrative communication can be positive or negative, successful or unproductive. It relies on the way the sender sends the message and the way the message will be corresponded. Any form of association can be positive or negative as it is supported on communication method, whether it is personal life or professional one. As mentioned by Barbour, merely seven percent of communication is supported by words, Volume, tone and pitch of the voice makes 38 percent; and a complete 55 percent is supported facial expressions in addition to other non-verbal communication. One can enhance the possibility that others will understand him if he is aware of the proper as well as effective use of demonstrative communication. ... Eye contact is an extremely significant component of demonstrative communication as it can display thoughtfulness as well as sincerity, or the lack of respect. Poor eye contact can form communication obstacles, which damages the communication process. Demonstrative communication helps in self-expression. The way any individual person presents himself says a lot regarding his personality to others. For example, a business person â€Å"dresses in a smart suit to show he is successful and walks with confidence to show they are in charge. This allows them to command respect without overtly seeking it†. The tone of one’s voice has a significant part in the communication process. The tone within a message can be positive or negative. For example, if the sender of the message has a â€Å"very loud angry tone the message will perceived as negative†. On the other hand, if the sender has a composed and even tone, the message will be perceived by the receiver as being. Indi viduals use demonstrative communication on a daily basis without even being aware of it. Even though this form of communication can be positive, people should be cautious in the way they use demonstrative communication as it can be vague and can easily be misinterpreted. Gestures and facial expressions can represent different things to different individuals. It can be simple for somebody to misapprehend the individual that they do not know. For instance, if a person is talking to someone who has his arms folded, he can be considered as being defensive. However, this could also indicate that he is simply feeling comfortable. In a number of instances, demonstrative communication should not be completely relied on as there are no set rules

Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural - Essay Example The nation was at the crossroads with the process of meeting the threat of secession and absorbing the shocks of the related challenges.Abraham Lincoln, the greatest American President, had to face the bitter critics for his style of functioning. In this connection, one important aspect related to his Presidency, is worth profound consideration. Wise people say desperate situations need desperate remedies. Lincoln was not a power hungry individual and he reached up to the office of the President by employing fair, democratic means. Those who accused Lincoln of â€Å"executive usurpation† need to bear in mind this trait of his personality. He acted and used the power of the Executive under extraordinary circumstances, when the nation was in the thick of Civil War. He took office as the President and then his executive branch consisted of a small number of staff but it had expanded substantially by the time his term was over. His critics leveled charges against and labeled him of being despotic for sidetracking a decision of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and for the suspension of habeas corpus. His actions were set as precedents by other Presidents at the time of war for increase of Executive authority. The discussion on the legal implications as for the power of the Executive was still at infancy when Lincoln assumed the office of the President. One of the examples quoted was, Lincoln waged war by raising armies but the Constitution directed the Congress to take action on those lines. Roy. P. Basler argues, â€Å"Now, it is insisted that Congress, and not the Executive, is vested with this power. But the Constitution itself is silent as to which or who is to exercise the power.†(601) Unity, integrity and security of the nation were of utmost importance. Actions of Lincoln needed to be judged from the angle of his conscience, and not in which legal frame they would fit into. In his address to the Congress in July 1861, he silenced his critics by stating categorically that he would do anything that he considered right in the interest of the nation in a state of rebellion. Basler substantiates this position and writes, â€Å"It was with the deepest regret that the Executive fo und the duty of employing the war power in defense of the Government forced upon him.†(609) Lincoln’s stand on the Emancipation Proclamation is liable to be interpreted both ways. That he was trying to usurp more powers for himself as the President of USA or was it the situational demand? That was a legal document written by Lincoln himself and it was drafted from defense view point. He did that as the Commander in Chief. He gradually expanded his powers as the President, like the horse that moves ahead, well-controlled by the jeans. That particular Executive decision was supported by indisputable legal stand. Under the umbrella of the legal provision Lincoln proceeded to act to abolish slavery and involuntary servitude. Even otherwise, Lincoln was a rebel against procedures, wherever they blocked national progress. Lincoln was a man of words and a man of action who delivered results to his country. Under any weak and wavering President, the unity of United States of Am erica would have been in peril and the country would have been torn into fragments. He was not inclined to over-reach for the sake of

Socrates and Crito Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Socrates and Crito - Essay Example Crito visited Socrates before dawn and made different arrangements for smuggling Socrates from the prison. But Socrates was not willing to accept the views of Crito. Crito placed many arguments for influencing Socrates to escape from prison. Crito believed that death of Socrates would create negative impressions on him and his friends. Crito and his friends supported Socrates and loved him a lot. For this reason they wanted to save him. But if they are unable to save Socrates then people would think that Crito and his friend did nothing for their dear friend. Crito stated that Socrates should not be concerned about the financial costs and risks which his friends had to bear for saving him. Crito and his friends were willing to pay money and fines for saving Socrates’ life. They also arranged a better life for Socrates. Crito tried his best by presenting best arguments to take Socrates out from prison. Ethical issues were pointed out by Crito. He stated that if Socrates stays i n the prison then his enemies would be benefited by this. So it would be an injustice to Socrates. Moreover if Socrates accepts his execution then his sons would be left alone. They would not get the guidance of their father. But Socrates was not concerned about public opinion (Plato 67). He was interested to listen to the advices of expert people. For this reason Socrates advised Crito not to get concerned with the opinions of others.

Commercial Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Commercial Law - Essay Example For the agreement to be effective, the assured has to inform the insurer of certain information about the thing that he or she wants to be insured. The assured can be an individual or a company and is expected by law to insure something that has money value. In other cases, the person or the company can insure a person who she or he values, for example, a wife insuring her husband. Scenario Steve is a customer who has an insurance policy to cover the house which he constructed in 1940. When he was agreeing with Home Protection Insurance to cover his house, he said that the house was built using concrete blocks but in reality it was built using straw bale. He failed to provide information on the strength of the building materials even though the company asked him. One month after getting the cover to protect his house, a severe storm damaged his house together with the items inside the house (Kelly, 1997). Analysis and facts Steve should have been aware of the following facts so that the Home Protection Insurance Company could compensate him when his house was damaged by a severe storm. The request to insure the house by Home Protection Insurance was intended by Steve but he forgot to disclose all the information concerning his house. For example, he did not mention that his house was very old and that it was built with materials that could not last long, therefore, increasing the risk to the company. If the company could have known this information by the time they were writing the policy they could have maybe increased the premium per month (Dobson, 1997). The communication between Steve and Home Protection insurance was not properly done and what was insured was not clearly described. The communication process was also not clear because the kind of damage which Steve insured against was not disclosed. For example, neither Steve nor the Home Insurance Company stated whether it was a fire insurance or burglary. Steve did not also take time to test whether the i nsurance cover could work for him before officially signing it. The law of insurance states that, â€Å"the alleged offer must be in force at the time when the other party purports to accept it.† The time taken before the insurance fully comes into force is important because the customer can gauge how well it can work for the intended needs. Steve did not take this into consideration when he was taking the cover (Ellison, 1997). The agreement between Home Insurance Company and Steve is important when claiming the insured value of money after damage has occurred. A detailed analysis of every factor that can arise and affect the agreement should have been discussed. The facts which are known to the Home Insurance Company about house insurance covers, should have been discussed. Home Protection Insurance Company is well experienced in issues dealing with house insurance and, therefore, it has fine details that people do not recognize when it comes to dealing with house covers. A nother important detail the law of insurance is concerned with, and that should be captured when formulating an insurance cover, is the information which is hidden. However, Home Insurance Company can get this information by deeply interviewing the customer (Dobbyn, 2003). Although the insurance company tried to interview Steve, most of

The helping process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The helping process - Essay Example Assessment is the basic step in the development of a helping process. It involves a comprehensive evaluation of the situation to identify the problem and give insights of the possible remedy (Poulin, 2010. Moreover, the professionals get the overview of the skills and capability of the people in need of help. Therefore, I can be observed that assessment stage lays the foundation for the helping process development. However, some ethical considerations must be followed when conducting the assessment process. For instance, the people involved in the assessment exercise should be informed fully about the practice to eliminate ignorance. In addition, the rights of individuals, as provided for in the constitution, must be followed appropriately.PlanningThis phase focuses on putting the necessary structures and strategies in place to facilitate a smooth process of helping those in need. In essence, the planning stage facilitates the collection of the required resources to enhance a success ful process. During the planning stage, the people to be helped are prepared for the projected activities to improve their efficiency. Barsky (2010) states that the planning stage must follow certain ethical principles to ensure that social and constitutional rights of individuals are not infringed. For instance, the professionals organizing the helping process should ensure that the budgeted expenses are with the reach of institutions responsible for implementing the new developments.

Commercial Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Commercial Law - Essay Example For the agreement to be effective, the assured has to inform the insurer of certain information about the thing that he or she wants to be insured. The assured can be an individual or a company and is expected by law to insure something that has money value. In other cases, the person or the company can insure a person who she or he values, for example, a wife insuring her husband. Scenario Steve is a customer who has an insurance policy to cover the house which he constructed in 1940. When he was agreeing with Home Protection Insurance to cover his house, he said that the house was built using concrete blocks but in reality it was built using straw bale. He failed to provide information on the strength of the building materials even though the company asked him. One month after getting the cover to protect his house, a severe storm damaged his house together with the items inside the house (Kelly, 1997). Analysis and facts Steve should have been aware of the following facts so that the Home Protection Insurance Company could compensate him when his house was damaged by a severe storm. The request to insure the house by Home Protection Insurance was intended by Steve but he forgot to disclose all the information concerning his house. For example, he did not mention that his house was very old and that it was built with materials that could not last long, therefore, increasing the risk to the company. If the company could have known this information by the time they were writing the policy they could have maybe increased the premium per month (Dobson, 1997). The communication between Steve and Home Protection insurance was not properly done and what was insured was not clearly described. The communication process was also not clear because the kind of damage which Steve insured against was not disclosed. For example, neither Steve nor the Home Insurance Company stated whether it was a fire insurance or burglary. Steve did not also take time to test whether the i nsurance cover could work for him before officially signing it. The law of insurance states that, â€Å"the alleged offer must be in force at the time when the other party purports to accept it.† The time taken before the insurance fully comes into force is important because the customer can gauge how well it can work for the intended needs. Steve did not take this into consideration when he was taking the cover (Ellison, 1997). The agreement between Home Insurance Company and Steve is important when claiming the insured value of money after damage has occurred. A detailed analysis of every factor that can arise and affect the agreement should have been discussed. The facts which are known to the Home Insurance Company about house insurance covers, should have been discussed. Home Protection Insurance Company is well experienced in issues dealing with house insurance and, therefore, it has fine details that people do not recognize when it comes to dealing with house covers. A nother important detail the law of insurance is concerned with, and that should be captured when formulating an insurance cover, is the information which is hidden. However, Home Insurance Company can get this information by deeply interviewing the customer (Dobbyn, 2003). Although the insurance company tried to interview Steve, most of

Serial Rapist Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Serial Rapist - Research Paper Example Some people commit the crime of rape for once or twice but some are the serial rapists who continue to do what they want in order to fulfill their wishful yet deadly desires. No law or court can stop their ultimate desires and its subsequent actions. Where ever they go they take their rapping attributes with them because they do not consider it a crime rather they call it their right. One similar case of a serial rapist illustrates that the criminal was arrested and then sentenced to prison in 1994 in Manhattan, New York. He was an old offender of raping and exploiting women. He once raped a business woman of 30+ years old in her own apartment. This guy managed to get into the house when she was out and hide. When she returned back in the late afternoon she did not know that some serious criminal is waiting for her on the side. As soon as she opened the door she found him in front of her. She looked at his face and then she could never remove his image from her mind. That guy raped t he girl. This was not his first act of rape rather he was a serial rapist who had been involved in other raping activities as well in Manhattan. However, the girl was raped for the first time. This girl had a clear look on his face whereas in all his previous cases he was able to hide his identity so that nobody could report against him. NYPD’s Detective Bureau has a Special Victim’s Squad to deal with the cases related to rape and forceful sex in the New York. This Bureau has a very distinctive way of investigation. They initiate the search of the offender with his Composite Sketch. In this case also they were able to draw the sketch of the criminal with the help of the girl victim who could easily recall his features and then told to the sketch designer. The composite sketch session went pretty successful and the detective unit got the sketch of the serial rapist. The victim herself was satisfied with the drawn sketch and said that it closely resembles the original person. The detective then made several photocopies of the criminal’s sketch which were then sent to the printing press in order to make it a wanted poster. This poster was then distributed among all the departments and key positions. It was hanging under some police boundaries that Assistant District Attorney (ADA) was within the Ne w York City for some other responsibilities and purposes. As she had a sight of the wanted poster she immediately recognized him as her step brother. She showed the highest level of courage and selflessness by telling the Detective Squad about her relationship with this serial rapist and fully cooperated with them in the investigations. Her recognition of the picture gave a very important clue to the Squad. The serial rapist was Anthony. This man lived in Florida where he was involved in rape cases. Few years ago he was arrested by the police because of the same crime. He was released just a few months before his recent case. The Special Victims Squad successfully arrested him from his Florida residence and he was then presented to the victim who also recognized him. During Anthony’s trial the judge identified that he used to have a great pleasure in raping women. He never considered it as a crime or an illegal activity. He was pretty much contented with what he was doing. Si nce he had committed the first degree rape therefore he was sentenced to 20 to 40

Strategic HR Approach Essay Example for Free

Strategic HR Approach Essay A HR Director has many job responsibilities throughout the work day. They ensure that payroll and accounting are done properly; they are in charge of the hiring and training of new employees. They must also keep up to date information and training for current employees who wish to continue to work for the company. Also HR directors also have to deal with the termination of employees. One other task which HR directors must deal with is employee safety. They must ensure the company and the employees are following all federal and state guidelines. By following all safety and security measures maintains the employer and employee have proper balance within the workplace. Listed below are four case scenarios in which I, as the HR director, must ensure all federal guidelines are being met by the company to offer the best outcome for the employees involved. Case Scenario 1: Medical Bills This employee has been a dedicated employee within the company for the past 25 years of service. They have been diagnosed with cancer which has required them to be hospitalized for two months. While in the hospital, they have accumulated a numerous amount of medical bills due to different treatment options. With the mounting amount of medical bills and no work, this employee is seeking additional help from the employer with additional medical costs and to help cover the cost of these bills. The company is already following state and federal guidelines by covering their 80% coverage and the individual pays the remaining 20% coverage. Also the employee has paid into disability insurance and the company is complying with that additional coverage as well, as the employee takes an extended leave of absence. It has been deemed the employee’s cancer was not due to working and hazardous materials from the company, so the employer is under no obligation to cover anymore medical expenses. Another step which can be taken for the employee to help offset the cost of treatment is the company can host several fundraisers for the employee and their family. All the money either donated or raised through the fundraiser can be set up in account which will cover the cost of current and any additional medical bills. Although not required by the company to take these extra steps, it can bring coworkers together to help in times of need and boost employee morale around the office as well. Case Scenario 2: Accidents with New Management â€Å"Accidents have been occurring in a department of 10 employees under a new supervisor. With the change in management, employees who worked for the company for more than 4 years complain that the new supervisor frequently micromanages, whereas the supervisor complains that the employees do not respect him because he is new and younger than his subordinates. Aside from the accidents, the supervisor thinks the team performance is below average† (University of Phoenix, 2012). The HR Director has many options which they can choose from to handle this rather difficult situation which are legally legit. One of the first things the HR Director needs to do is have a mandatory meeting with the supervisor in charge. There is a proper way to manage and lead a team to achieve results. Talking down to them and micromanaging them over every move is not the proper way. With constant micromanagement, the employees may feel like they are being babysat and hounded. They will not be able to get any work done which in turn will increase the low production rate and not only frustrate the employees but the supervisor as well. To earn respect of the employees, the supervisor also needs to give some respect to them and not talk down to them. The HR Director’s next step is to explain to the supervisor and the employees of the company’s safety guidelines and their accordance with OSHA (Occupational Safety Health Administration). â€Å"Under the OSH Act, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace. OSHAs mission is to assure safe and healthful workplaces by setting and enforcing standards, and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance. Employers must comply with all applicable OSHA standards. Employers must also comply with the General Duty Clause of the OSH Act, which requires employers to keep their workplace free of serious recognized hazards† (United States Department of Labor, 2012). All workplace safety and health standards must be in compliance of OSHA. Any company that is not in compliance with OSHA can face severe penalties. Also the HR director needs to inform the supervisor and employees that if all OSHA guidelines are met this will lower the illness and injury prevention. With a lower injury and illness prevention more work can be done and increase productivity for the entire company. â€Å"Most successful injury and illness prevention programs are based on a common set of key elements. These include: management leadership, worker participation, hazard identification, hazard prevention and control, education and training, and program evaluation and improvement† (United States Department of Labor, 2012). Following these guidelines and programs will prevent more injuries and illness at the workplace. This will also lower the cost of sick pay leave and insurance premiums can also remain relatively low. Also a company does not what and a reputation as an unsafe and hazardous workplace. This will cost the company billions of dollars as more people will not be willing to either work for the company or consumers will not want to purchase products from this company as well. The supervisor, who follows and implements these new changes will gain more respect from their employees as well, will have increase in productivity, and also employee morale will increase throughout the company. Case Scenario 3: Workplace Tardiness * â€Å"A recently hired female employee was late more than eight times during her * employment and was terminated because of the tardiness. The employee came back with a union representative asking to be rehired. She claims that some male employees and another female employee have been late many times. None of these employees have been terminated. The other female employee has not been fired because she is the manager’s wife† (University of Phoenix, 2012). This terminated employee is allowed to have a union representative review the case as deemed acceptable by OSHA guidelines. Since the company and HR director refused to terminate the other two employees who also were tardy on numerous occasions, the fired employee has the right to file suit for being terminated due to discrimination. The company was following proper procedure for this one employee but not for the others and this one employee was singled out. All the employees should have been terminated immediately for their tardiness. Under OSHA guidelines â€Å"If you have been punished or discriminated against for using your rights, you must file a complaint with OSHA within 30 days of the alleged reprisal for most complaints† (United States Department of Labor, 2012). Once the complaint was filed a proper investigation between an OSHA investigator and HR Director will be conducted to ensure all policies are adhered to by the employer. * Case Scenario 4: Employee returns to work after baby * A once high performing employee has returned to work after only taking a three week maternity leave. Since her return, her work productivity has drastically decreased; she has been distant with co-workers and at times to melancholy to work with. She has lost interest with her professional work attire and has become discombobulated with her daily work functions and duties. With her decrease in performance has had a great impact on the company as well. The company needs to let her know that she is able to take the full six week leave of absence which they provide and will not affect her job standing. The employee also has the option to file a â€Å"12 week leave of absence in the event of a birth of a child and to care for the newborn child within one year of birth† (United States Department of Labor, 2012). This will give the new mother the needed rest she needs and then can return to work and be more productive again. This will not only help her and her family but also the company as well. * These scenarios occur daily throughout our lives. Many times they may not be handled properly and result in investigation and lawsuit. A properly trained HR director will be able to sort through these scenarios and take the necessary steps that are legal and beneficial to both employee and employer. Following proper legal rights and laws will increase work productivity and morale for all parties involved. * References United States Department of Labor. (2012). Family Medical Leave Act. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/ United States Department of Labor. (2012). Injury and Illness Prevention Programs. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/safetyhealth/index.html United States Department of Labor. (2012). OSHA Laws Regulations. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/law-regs.html University of Phoenix. (2012). University of Phoenix: Individual Strategic Approach. Retrieved from http://https://portal.phoenix.edu/classroom/coursematerials/hrm_552/20120925/OSIRIS:43038327

Strategic Human Resource Management: British Petroleum

Strategic Human Resource Management: British Petroleum William DArcy of Anglo-Persia Oil Company is the founding member of BP, in the year 1901. However, BPs first retail gas station first ever opened in Britain in 1921. Through the years it has grown massively due to its brand reputation worldwide. It has since become a very powerful Oil company and enjoys a fair market share. Upon merging with Amoco- a USA Oil Company, in 1998, BP then rebranded its retail gas stations and convenient stores. BPs is into the extraction and refining of oil and natural gas. Their retail ventures are under subsidiaries of Arco and BP filling stations. Since the turn of the millennium, BP took into investing into research and development, focussing on alternative energy sources like bio fuels and so far it seems to be leading in this regard. In 2009, BP was reported to be worth over $238 billion in assets with equity of $101.6 billion. With the ever increasing oil prices, their profits were reported to be nearly $21 billion in revenues of $291 billion. Today they have since gone beyond the above quoted amounts of 2007. They employ over 96, 000 people worldwide. MISSION, VISION AND VALUE STATEMENT BP has a slogan statement that has not officially been says What we stand for BP wants to be recognised as a great company that is competitively successful and a force for progress. We have a fundamental belief that we can make a difference in the world. We help the world meet its growing need for heat, light and mobility. We strive to do that by producing energy that is affordable, secure and doesnt damage the environment. PRODUCTS BP products include; Bio fuels, Gas and petrol stations, Motor oil and lubricants Route and journey planner, Gas and petrol station locator Target neutral a non profit carbon offsetting initiative Liquefied petroleum Gas Solar energy Business investments include; Air BP, Arco Aluminium, Aromatics Acetyls, Asphalt and bitumen, BP Crudes, Franchising, Shipping Gas and fuel cards, gas and power energy, Natural Gas Liquids, Solar power Industrial lubricants, Invoice tracking systems, Marine fuels and lubricants Organisational Structure This is the line of command in an organisation. It is a hierarchal structure that shows the composition and relation between the different departments within the organisation, showing clearly the channel of command, which may either, be a tall or flat kind of structure. BPs organisational structure Board of Directors Robert Dudley Iain Conn Byron Grote Executive Management Mike Daly Sally T. Bott Rupert Bondy Mark Bly Lamar Mckay Bob Fryar Bernard Looney Andy Hopwood Steve Westwell BPs Executive Management (bp.com) includes; Robert Dudley Group Chief Executive He became Group Chief Executive from 1st October 2010, taking over from Tony Haywood. Dr Byron Grote Chief Financial Officer Is a member of BP board of directors and a member of the executive management team. His responsibilities include, accounting for BPs integrated supply and trading activities. Iain Conn Chief Executive Refining and Marketing He is the chief executive of the BP Groups refining and marketing business and also holds regional responsibilities for Europe, Southern Africa and Asia Pacific. He is a member of the board of directors and a member of the BP executive management team Mark Bly Executive Vice President Safety and Operational Risk His responsibilities includes strengthening safety operations, Risk Management and the systematic management of operations across BP corporate group Rupert Bondy Group General Counsel He is responsible for legal function, trademark, patents and licensing and compliance Sally T. Bott Executive Vice President Human Resource She has held the post since her appointment, in 2005. Bob Fryar Executive Vice President EP Production His responsibilities are for the Safe and Compliant Exploration and Production and Stewardship of resources across all regions Mike Daly Executive Vice President Exploration He is accountable for the leadership of BPs access, exploration and resource appraisal activities and the long term replacement of BPs resource base. Andy Hopwood Executive Vice President, EP- Strategy and Integration Has worked in various positions in which he has been successful. He is also a member of the executive team Bernard Looney Executive vice President -Development Is responsible for Drilling and completions and project activity in the upstream Lamar Mckay President BP America. He is the chief BPs representative in the United States. Based in Houston Texas, where BP business units are involved in oil and natural gas exploration and production, refining chemicals, shipping and alternative energy Steve Westwell Executive Vice President Strategy and Integration He is accountable for BPs alternative energy businesses and manages all of BPs corporate activities in strategy and policy, internal communication media, press, investor relations, economics and long term research and technology. 4.2 ANALYSE THE IMPACT OF BPS CULTURE ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES. Organisational culture is the collection of relatively uniform and enduring values, beliefs, customs, traditions and practices that are shared by an organisations members, learned by new recruits and transmitted from one generation of employees to the next. (Buchanan Huczynski 2004). It has been very successful in line with its brand name and corporate reputation. Its culture reflected in their statement slogan as below BP is progressive, responsible, innovative and performance driven. They have further defined this statement as: Progressive They are restless in the research and development and improvement in exploration and refinery of oil, gas and fuels. They believe they have the principle of mutual advantage and can build productive relationships between themselves, their clients and partners. Responsible It is committed to the safety and development of its people and the communities in the societies in which they operate. They aim for no accidents, no harm to people and protecting the natural environment. Innovate we push boundaries today and create tomorrows breakthroughs through our people and technology Performance Driven BP is committed to deliver on their promises through continuous improvement and safe, reliable operations, by learning from their mistakes BP has over the years, has maintained a culture that, as exhibited in its code of conducts and their governance procedures in place. One characteristic business strategy that BP has continued to use in its system is that of Mergers. Over the years, BP has merged with other oil companies in most parts of the world and this had lead to the organisations diverse corporate culture. Generally BP has a large market share and has always had the potential to grow- thanks to other strategies, such as Acquisitions, Franchising and licensing .The BP brand is so strong and successful world over and enjoyed a good reputation. Unfortunately, the fatal accidents at the refineries (2005) and the latest oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 are not helping the current situation that the organisation is in. It has presumed that BPs outmost interest is profit marginalising than the welfare of employees and the general environment within which the firm operates. Trends of its culture in the nex t few months to come are expected to have been improved, if not changed completely, in relation to how the organisation operates. BP is primarily made up of two segments: Exploring and Production and the Refining and Marketing, along with other business units including alternative energy. BP prides its human resource capital and refers to them as our people. The organisations Human resource management aims to get the right people in the right jobs, accessing different specialist skills and promoting excellent performance. They carry out a focussed recruitment procedures, they analyse performances and reward accordingly and invest in training and development. The human resources department is made up top level executives and these make up what is known as People Committee, which takes the overall responsibilities for policy and decision relating to the employees. BP being a multinational corporation, and having employees from different countries, altogether, ensures that has one of the most biggest BPs human resources are highly skilled and efficient. The organisations Human Resource professional act as business partners, some delivery strategic guidance, while others support the day-to-day needs of managers and employees. In supporting its employees, BP invests in systems, data and core processes like governance, policy and compliance, so as to enable its human resource to respond quickly and effectively to the fast changing energy industry. 4.3 EXAMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IS MONITORED IN THE ORGANISATION BPs Human Resource management is one of the tops around the world. Its activities have also been admired and BP used to be one of the top priorities for employment in the energy sectors. Human Resources Systems This is the systems that BP has set in place in terms of its human resource management. It involves; Recruitment BP is committed to a culture of diversity, this helps them attract, develop and retain outstanding talent- regardless of background, age, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, disability, sex orientation, gender or marital status (BP code of conduct document) (BP sustainability review 2009) BP was named as the best energy company to launch a career in, based on factors like pay, rapid advancement and training programmes. (Business Week 2009) The organisation has schemes like the student and graduate employment facility which offers interested students and graduates intern opportunities. BP recruits graduates from a wide range of technical disciplines. In 2009, BP employed about 6500 out of which 470 were graduates. As BP is ever expanding, it requires qualified and skilful workers for its various projects around the world. Reward Systems BP has redesigned its reward strategies and processes, in such a way that, they can identify and reward top-performing businesses and individuals. In addition to pay, employees are rewarded according to how well they perform against specific objectives that must be clearly linked to the goals of the team as a whole. BP ensures to have benefit packages that are fair, attractive and sustainable for the long term for its employees. It states on their website, that as of 2010, they introduced a new flexible benefits plan in the UK, which includes private medical insurance and health screening, as well as a cash allowance for new hires to purchase benefits and defined contribution pension plans for those employees no longer eligible for the defined benefit plan Executive Reward packages Remuneration for executives is in cash and equity. This policy has been established by the remuneration committee of the board, whereas the policy for all other employees is by the group people committee. According to BP, their reward packages, strike the appropriate balance between rewarding individual performance and reflecting group performance. Performance Management BP does recognise that its high organisational growth and market share is due to the employees great performances (both individually and as a team). It strives for a performance -driven culture, with a clear alignment between team performance, individual performance and bonuses that are received. BPs performance approach entails that each BP business plan is designed to accomplish elements of the groups overall strategies. Objectives and milestones for each individual are set in accordance with the team plan. There is a direct link between the goals set by BP board and that or other BP key businesses, and the performance contracts of their executive leadership. Standard approach is that, the executives performance is evaluated against their performance contract. BP carries out an internal and external evaluation processes in developing plans for these group leaders Managers, peers and team members review leaders performance, using a 360ÂÂ ° feedback tool, to identify their top three relative strengths and weaknesses. It runs Career Acceleration programme which supports rapid development of employees who have the highest potential and are expected to achieve For Managers, it runs a series of development programmes called Managing Essentials. This is aimed to assists line managers in attaining leadership skills. They encourage leaders to develop, as they expect the leaders or managers to not only exhibit valuable expertise, but also to influence and motivate employees and be able to act decisively and deliver high quality results. RECOMMENDATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN BP Having researched and discussed the Human Resource Management in BP, I hereby recommend the effectiveness of the Human Resource Management. Their current systems in comparison to most local jobs (companies) are indeed second to none. Some of the highlighting points I base my recommendation on, includes the following working conditions: BP recognises the needs of individuals and has set out innovative working practices that encourage employees to enjoy a happy and productive work and life balance at every stage of their career. Flexible working BPs Information Technology infrastructure helps support flexible working and there are a variety of flexible working arrangements e.g. part time, and depending on employees role, they have home-based working or teleconferencing in some circumstances replaces the need to travel. Time to live As a global business, there are occasions when people have to work very hard an unsociable hours. If this is the case, BP may consider whether to provide extra time off and or additional benefits. Family time BP supports family friendly policies, such as career breaks and adoption leave, aimed at allowing people to contribute to their families without compromising their professional development aspirations Global Diversity and inclusion Council in the lead, is the Group Chief Executive. He ensures that the managers have the support they need to promote diversity and inclusion at every level of BP. It includes other senior managers and together they share their focus on making diversity and inclusion priority. Global Affinity Groups These are local affinity groups, employee-led teams of individuals who share interests or backgrounds. These groups offer support, information and the opportunity to help the business reach its diversity and inclusion goals. BPs Human Resource Management aims to attract and retain the best people, by offering opportunities to employees to learn and develop both informal training and mentoring. Teams set out to support individuals through their progress, by assisting new employees discover their talents and abilities. BP has a focused performance management system is one of the best in the world When employed, BP will align the individual objectives with the goals of the area of specialisation, upon which will be measured to ascertain the effectiveness of the individuals performance against the objectives and contributions to those goals. Norman Rockwell: Artist Biography Norman Rockwell: Artist Biography Norman Rockwell was born in 1894. Rockwell enjoyed drawing at an early age and soon decided he wanted to be an artist. At age 15 he left high school and enrolled in two art schools simultaneously. His mornings were spent at the National Academy of Design, and his afternoons, spent at the Art Students League. He is perhaps best remembered for his countless Saturday Evening Post illustrations and artistic contributions to the advertising industry. His early covers made Rockwell a star, and his paintings appeared in magazines and advertisements for the next half-century. Rockwell never considered himself an artist, but rather a commercial illustrator. After all, Rockwell never painted freehand, and almost all of his paintings were commissioned by magazines and advertising companies. No matter how many contributions Rockwell made to the commercial arts over his career, they all had something in common. He understood the importance the drawing process had in order to achieve effective ill ustrations for his advertisements and magazine covers. In the beginning of his career Rockwell worked from real life. He used models drawing directly onto his canvas. It has never been natural for me to deviate from the facts of anything before me, he says, so I have always dressed the models and posed them precisely as I have wanted them in my picture; then I painted the thing before me. If a model has worn a red sweater, I painted it red I couldnt possibly have made it green. I have tried again and again to take such liberties, but with little success. To keep up with the demand for a quicker turnaround for finished art, Rockwell began to use photos as a reference for his drawings. For twenty-three years I did all of my drawing and painting without any help from the camera. Even today I often work without photographs, yet I have found that if they are properly utilized they can sometimes prove an invaluable aid. I feel very strongly, however, that no one should resort to photographs until he has learned to draw and paint extremely well without them.In Guptills book Norman Rockwell Illustrator a description of Rockwells technique is given in extensive detail. The first step was to get an idea. Without a good idea right at the start, only failure can result, Rockwell said. Once he had an idea, his procedure was to make small scale thumbnails with pencil. When the idea was approved, the models were selected. He commonly used friends and neighbors and his models. He always insisted on getting the perfect model even if it entailed a len gthy search. Rockwell then acquired the necessary props and would hire a photographer to shoot the scenes, while he directed the models. With his okayed preliminary pencil sketch and his selected photographs, Norman then did a small sized study in pencil. This was done to organize his materials and his thoughts about layout and composition. Next, he made a full size detailed charcoal drawing on architects detailpaper. This was made to the exact size which he intended his final painting to be which varied according to the subject matter it was used for.Now the photographer was called again to reshoot the desired layout. Rockwell then painted from the photographs and did several color studies which allowed him to make tweaks to the tone, form or color. Rockwell then made a transfer from his full size charcoal layout on to his prepared canvas. First, he would trace this ona sheet of architects tracing paper, which he would then attach to his blank canvas. Between the tracing paper and the canvas he would place transfer paper and traced it onto the canvas. After all this meticulous prepping he was now ready to paint. Eventually, Rockwell altered his sketching process by using an opaque projector called a balopticon, which allowed him to cast photographic images onto his drawing surface, and lightly trace them. Rockwell said, When using the balopticon in this way, I do not simply copy everything which is projected from the photograph. Instead, I make many, many changes, large and small, in order to make the drawing like the image in my mind of what I want to portray. I cannot emphasize this point too much. The real danger in using the balopticon is that you will develop the lazy tendency to follow the image exactly instead of following the creative idea or image within yourself.Painting from photographs canbe a wholly creative performance if the artist himself is creative. To copy the form, tone and color of a photographic print certainly is not creative. But one can be creative by modifying drawing, values and other aspects of the photo to realize the creative needs of the subject. The camera is no substitute for those creative faculties of mind and hand which have always produced art and always will. The artist who cant draw or paint will never getanywhere trying to work from photographs. Probably the most important stage in Norman Rockwells technique was the drawing stage. In this stage, subjects were drawn in great detail, going so far as to indicate differences in light and shade by filling in areas with varying values of grey. If you look closely at a Norman Rockwell painting, much of his pencil lines can be seen lurking below the paint. I take the making of the charcoal layouts very seriously, Rockwell once remarked. Too many novices. I believe, wait until they are on the canvas before trying to solve many of their problems. It is much better to wrestle with them ahead through studies. Knowing that the success of his covers and advertisements depended on the strength of his ideas, Rockwell struggled to develop engaging picture themes. With the emphasis on preliminary drawings this allowed Rockwell to produce strong illustrations for his commissions. His successes in commercial art and the advertising industry are a result of those drawing phases. With his art on cover of the Saturday Evening Post, Norman Rockwell became an American icon. Although hesitant about approaching the Saturday Evening Post, he had dreamed for years of having his illustrations on the cover. Rockwell put aside his fears and in 1916 took two paintings and three sketches to Phildelphia and Mr. Lorimers office. Mr. Lorimer liked the two paintings and approved the three sketches for future covers for the Saturday Evening Post. The first Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover was published May 20, 1916. Entitled Boy with Baby Carriage (See fig. 1), it shows 2 boys in baseball uniforms making fun of another boy dressed in his Sunday suit pushing a baby carriage. One of Norman Rockwells favorite models, Billy Paine, posed for all three boys. On June 3, 1916, the second Saturday Evening Post Norman Rockwell cover was published. His second effort featured a kids circus with one kid in long underwear being the strong man. Another kid in a top hat was the ci rcus barker, extolling the other kids in the painting to see the show (See fig 2). This was the second of the two finished paintings Rockwell originally showed to Mr Lorimer. All in all, more than 300 Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post covers were published. Norman Rockwells painting of a colonial tavern sign painter in the February 1936 issue of The Saturday Evening Post had caught the eye of Princeton architect Thomas Stapleton, who decided to commission Rockwell to do a mural for the reconstructed 1756 Nassau Tavern located in Princeton. Rockwell enjoyed doing colonial subjects and because Princeton was the site of a major Revolutionary War battle, a painting of Yankee Doodle seemed appropriate. Yankee Doodle was placed behind the bar to be enjoyed by all the male guests (See Fig. 3). Rockwell researched and had new costumes made for his models. He engaged his friend, Fred Hildebrandt, a professional model and illustrator, who had posed as the colonial sign painter, to pose as Yankee Doodle. This painting underwent several phases in preparation for the oil painting. First, a drawing was done from the model, with very little changes being done (see fig 4). Second, a drawing was done from the first drawing. In this version the drawing was pushed further. Here he makes the body thinner, the arms and legs are elongated, and the shape of his nose is changed. The clothing also adds to the character and his action. The vest now creates a more interesting silhouette, while the smaller scarf helps thin the shape of his upper body. The negative space between him and the saddle, as well as the disheveled hat, flowing hair and coat, convey a bouncing ride (see fig. 5). Third, the drawing is transferred and a color-study is done (See fig. 6). Finally, the finish changes are made. Most are subtle, but there is improved contrast to the coats folds, and changes to the negative space in relation to the elbow. (see fig 7). These process images support Rockwells comments that the ability t o draw is the most import. In the cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post on April 16, 1955, Art Critic, Rockwell was far from beginning his final painting when he completed this drawing. His photographer recalls that Rockwell considered this one of the most difficult paintings he had done. He spent more time on it than on almost any other Post cover. Using his wife Mary as the model, the face of the woman in the portrait changed no fewer than 17 times. (See fig 8). For each alteration, Rockwell painted a separate oil-on-acetate sketch, which he then could place for consideration within the portraits frame. At some point Rockwell replaced the 17th-century landscape on the opposite wall with a group portrait of Dutch cavaliers. The cavaliers critical observation of the students close examination of the ladys pendant added a new dynamic and further compelled the viewers participation in Rockwells painting. You can also see Rockwells process drawings leading up to his finished Post cover paintings in Fix ing a Flat August 3, 1946 (See Fig. 9) and Weighing In June 28, 1958 (See Fig. 10). Record of his work process is rare and really provides insight in to his technique. On the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, Norman Rockwell earned his reputation as an artist. Inside, however, his work was just as moving. His paintings regularly appeared inadvertisements. Rockwells advertising career started in 1914 with a Heinz ad in the Boy Scout Handbook and ended 64 years later in 1976 with Lancaster Turkeys. Rockwell also did advertising illustration for companies like Jell-O, Willys cars, Grape Nuts and Orange Crush. He is also remembered for his numerous advertisements for such companies as Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, and Sun-Maid Raisins. Even in Rockwells advertisement illustrations he continued his technical processes and the use of drawing with models and photographs. When people ask why I sometimes resort to photographs, I tell them what a job it is to get models to take and hold poses like in this Interwoven Socks advertisement. Any time you wish to become a model, try either of these poses for a few minutes, says Norman. (See Fig. 11). In the Fisk Tire advertisement he draws from a live model rather than a photograph to create his painting (see fig. 12). In this case my model was old Pop Fredricks, known to all illustrators. He was a great guy, an old actor. He used to pose twenty-five minutes and then rest. Before the pose we would set the alarm clock, a noisy Big Ben. Waiting for the blasted thing to go off was nerve-racking; after about twenty minutes I would be on edge. Once I had Pop in a sleeping pose and he actually fell asleep, I let him sleep until noon. One of Rockwells advertising campaigns resulted i n 81 black-and-white drawings. The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. commissioned him to create scenes reflecting family life for a national advertising campaign. Rockwell reportedly used a hard, grease-free type ofcrayon for the sketches (see fig.13). Massachusetts Mutual chose the black-and-white medium because it represented a contrast to the color advertisements used by most companies in the 1950s and 1960s, and the company hoped it would grab peoples attention. The company ran ads with the drawings in The Saturday Evening Post, Time and Newsweek.

America Needs Environmental Equity Essay -- Environmental Racism

Introduction "...We live in a breakable takeable world, an ever available possible worldÃâ€"" These words, by poet and singer-songwriter Ani Difranco, articulate the relationship between the environment and its inhabitants. Society is constantly manipulating the environment. Our capacity for changing the environment is kept in check by the destructible aspect of nature. The changes we make, those advancements in technology, are limited. While the industrial revolution, per say, is over, industry is ever expanding, moving us into a faster, more efficient lifestyle. However, efficiency and advanced technology are not without their price, and that fee, even more so than monetary in nature, is more accurately quantified by an increased duress on the environment and its inhabitants. As industry expands, waste products increase, and often this waste is toxic to humans, plants, and animals. So-called advancements, such as pesticides, which can greatly increase crop production, may cause chronic health problems. Environmental stressors, such as smelters, chemical plants, incinerators, and landfills all result from efforts to improve the functioning of society, and all have adverse effects on the populations living within proximity of these stressors (Bullard 1994). The Problem We have decided as a collective society to further our technology and expand our industries at the cost of a less healthy environment. Because this decision is one that affects all of us, we must be willing to take equal responsibility for the harm done to the environment and to its inhabitants. Unfortunately, white members of the middle and upper socio-economic classes have not accepted the price of advancement, and have instead placed the burdens of ou... ...onmental Planning and Management. June 1996, Volume 39:2. "Less Equal than Others." Lancet. April 2, 1994, Volume 343:8901. Payne, Henry. "Green Redlining." Reason. October 1998, Volume 30:5. Bibliography Boerner, Christopher. "Environmental Injustice." Public Interest. Winter 1995, Issue 118. Bullard, Robert D. "Overcoming Racism in Environmental Decisionmaking." Environment. May 1994, Volume 36:4. Durning, Alan. Action at the Grassroots: fighting poverty and environmental decline. Worldswatch Institute: Washington D.C., 1989. "Environmental Racism?" Wilson Quarterly. Spring 1995, Volume 19:2. Sachs, Aaron. Eco-Justice: linking human rights and the environment. Worldswatch Insititute: Washington D.C., 1995. Reilly, William K. "Environmental Equity: EPA's position." EPA Journal. March/April 1992, Volume 18:1.

Internet Censorship in China

FYC Ruoxuan (Catherine) Yuan Internet Censorship has negative effects on China Censorship in China has gained much attention recently because of the conflict between Google and the Chinese government’s self-censorship policies. In fact, censorship has been practiced since ancient China and the intensity only increases by the years. Nowadays, the most notable measure of censorship is being done on the Internet. More and more restrictions have been put into actions by the Chinese government, which make the life of Chinese Internet users, the Chinese netizens, very inconvenient. With the intensity of censorship increasing and the censoring technology improving, Internet censorship has mainly negative effects on Chinese society. To start off, the current censorship situation needs to be described. In China, censorship is determined by the ruling party, the Communist Party of China, so Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, special administrative regions that are mostly self-governing, are not fully affected by it. But in mainland China, Internet censorship has great impacts on the society. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, which people use everyday around the world, are banned in mainland China. Every time a Chinese netizen tries to open these sites, a blank page with bold words â€Å"404 not found† appears. This is very inconvenient for Chinese netizens. Moreover, the number of websites that are inaccessible is increasing. Also, Chinese government has forced search engines to adopt the self-censorship policies that force them to filter the search results for certain words. This triggered the withdrawal of Google from the mainland Chinese market. Attempting to search those â€Å"sensitive† terms not only results in little or no information being displayed but also in the shutdown of one’s Internet connection for a short period of time. Some people even suspect that doing so may lead to being spied on and arrested by the government. With so many coercive protocols, Internet censorship affects China in many different aspects, especially in economy, politics and culture. First of all, to boost the national economy, the Chinese government believes that using Internet censorship for economic protectionism is a good method. However, Internet censorship actually hinders the development of economy inside China. No matter in which nation, the best way to improve its economy is to utilize the most updated technologies and to focus on scientific innovations. China has always emphasized the development of science and technology and on learning the latest innovations from foreign countries, and the ex-leader of China Xiaoping Deng famously claimed that science and technology constitute the primary productive forces. However the new technology and innovations need a market of free competition in order to expand their influence and earn more benefits. Without good management ideas and marketing theories, these technologies cannot be applied properly in order to produce qualified commodities. This is exactly what the Chinese Internet censorship has caused. According to the national condition of China, a market combining socialism and capitalism is needed to rejuvenate the economy. However, the Chinese government proclaims its socialist ideology and promotes local businesses in a socialist manner and refuses the influx of some constructive theories, which may contain capitalist ideas in order to â€Å"maintain the stability of the Communist Party and to create a harmonious society. The restricted and narrow-minded economy strategy of the Chinese government, resulted from the Internet censorship, has undermines the development of the Chinese economy. The Chinese Internet censorship not only blocks useful information, but also interrupts communication between companies, therefore negatively affecting the Chinese economy. Nowadays the re is growing cooperation among companies from different countries, which is an important way to promote economic growth in a nation. However, the partial blocking of popular email services and the shutdown of multiple chat rooms has created many problems for local business contact with foreign ones. A famous example took place in May 2006, when Chinese netizens encountered difficulty connecting to Hotmail, which is an important method to communicate with foreign partners, since it is used all around the world. Also, soon after this event, Chinese netizens again reported that the access to POP mailboxes in many mail providers was difficult. Although Chinese netizens have tried to use blogs and forums to maintain communication, many blogs have been blocked ever since then, including Xanga and the LiveJournal. This makes international cooperation difficult. From this, the efficiency of producing commodities and the quality of the products in China cannot catch up with international standards, thus the Chinese economy suffers. Internet censorship and the requirement of self-censorship not only harm the economy inside China, but also are negatively affecting China in aspects of international commercial trade, even as globalization becomes the trend of today’s world. Chinese Internet censorship is applied to both directions; not only blocks Chinese Internet users’ access to certain foreign websites, but also prevents foreigners from knowing the truth about China through refusal of releasing reliable information. So when foreign companies want to enter the Chinese market, they face a serious question: â€Å"How do you assess an investment opportunity if no reliable information about social tensions, corruption or local trade unions is available? † It is impossible. All this information is necessary for a company to make wise decisions, to figure out a general plan and to find strategies that suit this market. Since most companies do not dare to enter a new market without analyzing and planning ahead, in this way, China lost the potential influx of many investments, technologies, and new management ideas. Even though some corporations were brave enough to challenge the Chinese market due to the lack of information and the restricted policies, most of them have failed. Examples are many, especially when concerning the Internet companies. â€Å"Many Internet giants have retreated from the country†¦ In fact, no major American Internet company has dominated its field in China. These companies, who are â€Å"armed with cash, intellectual property and an ability to manage complex networks and introverted workers,† have failed in the Chinese market. Therefore, it is natural for those companies who are less equipped and less experienced to presume that they will fail as well. Although some scholars assume that China’s restriction may decrease in the future, the block in Februar y 2007 of the French organization Observatoire International des Crises’ website after it posted an article on the risks of trading with China, makes the claim less convincing. This case of censorship, affecting a very specialized site with solely French-language content, shows the government attaches as much importance to the censorship of economic data as political content,† Reporters Without Borders quoted the organization’s comment. Hence, Internet censorship has discouraged foreign business to invest in the Chinese market, and it may keep doing so. Internet censorship has also been used as an efficient tool for economic protectionism in recent years, but the effect may hurt both sides. Renren, (original name is Xiaonei) the Chinese version of Facebook, was founded in 2005, and then in 2009 Facebook was banned in mainland China. Tudou, founded in 2005, and Youku, founded in 2006, both are Chinese versions of YouTube. Their shares of the market greatly increased after YouTube had been banned in 2007. The most notable example occurred when Google decided to quit the Chinese market. After warning in January that it might pull out of China, Google shut its mainland Chinese-language portal and began rerouting searches to its Hong Kong site in late March to avoid self-censorship demands from Beijing. Because China recognized that losing ties to the world's largest global search engine would dampen its innovation and business expansion efforts, and Google certainly wasn't happy at the prospect of losing China's online advertizing market, both sides reached a compromise when China renewed Google’s operating license in July 2010. Yet the damage had been done. Baidu, the Chinese version of Google and China’s top Internet search company, profited greatly and gained a much larger share of the market after Google exited. However, Baidu’s gain is China’s loss. â€Å"The whole industry will become worse. Without competition with Google, Baidu has no motivation to innovate. † said Yu Yang, chief executive of Analysys International, a Beijing research firm. Baidu is known for providing illegal music downloads, although it defended the practice, (Google vs China 2010)saying it simply provides the links. Also, Baidu faced criticism after the local media published reports saying Baidu gave high search rankings to companies selling illegal drugs. Soon after, Baidu signed a multimillion-dollar sponsorship deal with China Central Television, which had broadcast a fake investigative piece on Baidu to â€Å"clear its name†. Furthermore, Baidu is very cooperative with the government’s censorship efforts. So with Google’s absence from China, Chinese citizens are forced to use Baidu, whose ethics are questioned and which will increase the intensity of censorship by following every government order. â€Å"Chinese netizens are the biggest loser in this accident. † Additionally, the lacking of information and the coercive use of native providers caused by Internet censorship affects citizens not only economically, but politically as well. As mentioned in the previous paragraphs, censorship does not only apply to one direction; it affects both Chinese and foreign websites. So the Chinese press cannot post any reports on certain issues online, and they cannot report on those issues in any publications, because the Chinese government has always considered these issues â€Å"sensitive† and capable of â€Å"inciting subversion of the national regime or overthrow of the socialist system. Therefore, when the Internet was first introduced to China, many Chinese netizens discovered that the Internet can be a great way to gain access to foreign press. In this way, they were able to listen to opinions and comments, even critics, from all areas, which is an important step in learning about the government’s advantages and disadvantages and to participate in political lives. However, the Chinese Internet censorship has a focus on neutralizing critical online opinions, especially those that come from foreign press, and the most common way to execute this is to simply make whole websites completely unavailable in mainland China. By doing so, Chinese netizens are unable to know what the international reaction is about a new Chinese policy, or to see the evaluation of China in an international scope and to view the same issue from different sides. For example, the website of BBC, a relatively objective British TV channel, has been banned in mainland China since 2007. Before it was banned, BBC had provided many Chinese citizens access to the latest review on China from an international point of view. CNN, another TV channel, was banned for some time and now is accessible only partially. Chinese censorship policies are applied on Chinese websites as well. Many big Internet companies have to cooperate with the Chinese government, assisting and reinforcing the system of censorship, because they do not want to lose the Chinese Internet market. Therefore, these companies allow the Internet policies to examine their contents and remove anything inappropriate ones right after polices disapprove them. Even worse is that the number of the Internet polices is rumored at more than 50,000. With such an intense level of Internet censorship, critical comments appearing on Internet forums, blogs, and major portals usually are erased within minutes. In this way, Chinese netizens can never gain a full understanding of their own politics and their own government, because all they are exposed to is the government’s propaganda. The function of censorship is focused on preventing Chinese citizens from learning more about past and current failures of the Communist Party and about alternative systems of governance. However, as time passes by, the censored subjects are not limited to the Communist Party any more. Anything about politics can be termed â€Å"sensitive,† and reports on political contents are censored carefully since censorship about news reports is always a focus in the censorship systems. Although censorship does not follow any specific laws or regulations, the censorship system is vigorously implanted and the apparatus of Internet repression has become the most advanced and most extensive in the world. Moreover, Amnesty International notes that China â€Å"has the largest recorded number of imprisoned journalists and cyber-dissidents in the world. The offences of which these people are accused include communicating with groups abroad, opposing the persecution of the Falun Gong, signing online petitions, and calling for reforms and an end to corruption. Under such circumstances, the Chinese netizens can only read reports from the Chinese press which are untruthful and biased; on the other hand, the relatively objective reports from the foreign press are inaccessible. The lack of truthful reports harms the political consciousness of Chinese citizens. If one cannot even know about the truth, he or she cannot be aware of the real situation he or she is facing. For example, the Chinese news report website about the earthquake in Sichuan mainly contains the Communist Party’s propaganda, and lacks useful data or updates of the process on this event. When probing this website, people are more focused on emotions, and they cannot acquire many statistics or real information on the earthquake itself. But when looking at the Japanese news site about the same event, it is clear that its major contents are plain descriptions about the earthquake and the reconstruction process. There are abundant amounts of data, and the reports are largely based on facts and very objective. The American website of the earthquake, although it may not appear to be as objective as its Japanese counterpart, is still very truthful. People can find useful information about the earthquake, and the press also provides some comments and analysis on it. Chinese netizens desperately need the information provided by the foreign press to be politically conscious, but in reality, they cannot gain access to any of these websites, as they are banned by censorship. The government claims that their censorship practices can â€Å"harmonize† society, but in fact, they are only intensifying social conflicts and slowing down the progress of political development. In today’s world, as cultural exchange, which is as important as political communication, becomes more and more frequent, Internet censorship harms China from the perspective of cultural development and cultural communication. A culture is always in a continuous state of change. By communicating and acquiring knowledge from another culture, it is able to learn about the trends of the world’s cultures and update itself. Thus, such a culture will be greatly changed towards a more modern mode. An important compartment of cultural exchange is the exchange of popular culture. With the gradual spread of globalization, popular culture becomes similar across nations and cultures, and the entire world contributes to its further development. In a manner of speaking, popular culture in the world today is a combination of many cultures, each providing its own features and advantages to make the combination attractive to all kinds of people. By contributing to and learning from this popular culture, a nation can improve its own cultural features, thus providing better contents and even leading the trend in the world. However, Chinese Internet censorship inhibits the flow of foreign popular culture into China. A noticeable case is YouTube, an icon for fashion, freedom, individuality and novelty, which has beens inaccessible in mainland China since March 2008, right â€Å"after dozens of videos about protests in Tibet appeared. The issue about Tibet has long been a â€Å"sensitive† topic in China and the Chinese government has used many ways to keep the media out, even if this act is considered violation of the freedom of press. However, in this case denying the access of YouTube not only prevents people from knowing about the issue but also eliminates the communication and interaction between American popular culture and Chinese popular culture. Now it is hard for Chinese netizens to acquire the latest information on fashions in America, and they lose a good chance to be inspired by ideas presented through video clips and to develop their own cultural innovations. In conclusion, Chinese Internet censorship undermines economy improvement, hinders political development, and slows down cultural innovations. Although the Chinese government never admits their censorship policies in public, and although there are no specific laws or regulations addressing the censorship policies, the negative effects caused by Internet censorship are obvious. The president of China, Jintao Hu, vowed to purify the Internet, saying China needed to â€Å"strengthen administration and development of our country’s Internet culture. However, censorship is not the solution, even though the Chinese government does not want to face the reality. It is trying its best to stop people from discovering the truth and to feign a perfect society. Nevertheless, the public cannot be fooled and Chinese citizens are waking from the mirage. A group of former senior Communist party officials in China have criticized the Internet censorship, stating that strict censorship may †Å"sow the seeds of disaster† for China's political transition. Although a government spokesman responded that the government’s rules are â€Å"fully in line† with the rest of the world and that â€Å"no one had been arrested just for writing online content,† reports from the international society opposed this announcement, and Chinese citizens, who are experiencing Internet censorship every day, know the announcement to be a lie. The Chinese people can sense the deep sorrow under the superficial harmony. The nation seems to be prosperous and progressive, but no one knows what unpredictable crisis may happen if the government still insist on the censorship policy so arbitrarily. Although ordinary people may be powerless and vulnerable individually, the strength of the mass cannot be ignored. Chinese netizens have developed some Internet memes to ridicule Internet censorship. Some of them, for example the famous â€Å"Grass Mud Horse,† have become icons of resistance against Internet censorship and have gained media attention globally. These images and slangs cannot change the difficult reality, but they show the citizens’ increasing awareness of problems brought up by censorship. Hence, there is hope that by the effort of the mass, the increasingly pervasive and draconian censorship would end one day, and the government could become as democratic as it always claims to be. Works Cited Barboza, David. â€Å"Baidu’s Gain from Departure Could Be China’s Loss. † New York Times, January 13, 2010. Blum, Suan Debra. Happy news: censorship, nationlism, and language ideology in China. Notre Dame: Ind: The Helen Kellogg Institue for International Studies, 2010. Cheung, Anne S. Y. Self-censorship and the struggle for press freedom in Hong Kong. The Hague, the Netherlands; New York N. 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