Starbucks/Itunes Partnership

Final Project Karen Cotts South University Abstract When it comes to IT Information Planning, it is very import to lay out the details of each area of this business. The IT Information Planning stage is when to decide on the IT Infrastructure which encompasses the technology and equipment required from the front end to the backend of the system. In this case, that will involve beginning with the customer as they enter a Starbucks store, browse the Apple iTunes music store, browse, and purchase and then download music back to the customers’ device. This will include the technology and equipment required from the customer, Starbucks and iTunes to make the transactions all complete. Along with the planning for the successful completion it is necessary to plan for when failures will occur. This includes planning for the points in the process where the failure(s) can occur and what resolution for each failure will be, along with who will be responsible for the resolution. It is important to understand what the long term effects of the failure could mean to the business. One very good way to document this information is with an Information Flow Diagram. This will depict the resources involved in the flow of information throughout the process. Mobile Technology is expanding daily. It seems to be one of the fastest growing kinds of technologies in the news today. With the advancements in Personal Area Networks (PAN) and Wireless Access Protocols (WPA) mobile devices of today can be developed that are more secure than ever. They can be more accessible than ever before and provide faster and more accurate data transfer. The uses for the mobile devices have begun to expand into more and more areas of daily life. The iPhone mobile phone developed by Apple, Inc. s one of the most popular and bestselling mobile phones on the market today. In order for the iPhone to be at the head of the industry several of the most important technological features are required. The protocol for connecting wirelessly to access points must be of the highest quality. The security of the connection between access points must be the best it possibly can be. And finally, the security from the device itself must be effective to safeguard any monetary transactions and data. Information Flow (Part I) ITunes has made it very easy to log on and create an account with them. Creating an account is free. All you need to do is log on to http://www. itunes. com . There is a button you can click on to log-in and another you can click on to register. Click on the button to register. You will need to enter your email address, First and Last Name, Billing Address and Credit Card Information. Your email address will be used if ITunes needs to contact you about your account for any reason. Your Name and Address, along with your Credit Card information will be used to bill for any items you purchase from the ITunes store. Using banking services for micropayments is very expensive. ITunes is able to avoid the high cost because of the volume of business they conduct. They are able to negotiate a transaction fee with the credit card issuers and banks that cost them very little. Figure 1. 1 is the Information Flow Diagram which will show the process for registering with iTunes and then ordering music for downloading. Customer accesses iTunes store online to purchase music. Customer clicks on Registration Button, and then enters Registration Information. iTunes verifies Credit Card information from Bank. Sends Customer confirmation. Bank verifies Credit Card information for iTunes. Customer searches for item(s) to purchase. Click buy, confirm. iTunes sends payment information to customers’ bank. Once confirmation is received the download process is initiated. Bank deducts payment amount from customer account and sends it to iTunes account. Music is downloaded to Customer. iTunes retrieves the correct music from the database. Database of music stored in . mp3 format ISP ISP ISP ISP ISP ISP ISP I = Internet Service Provider Figure 1. 1 Information Flow Diagram Customer accesses iTunes store online to purchase music. Customer clicks on Registration Button, and then enters Registration Information. Tunes verifies Credit Card information from Bank. Sends Customer confirmation. Bank verifies Credit Card information for iTunes. Customer searches for item(s) to purchase. Click buy, confirm. iTunes sends payment information to customers’ bank. Once confirmation is received the download process is initiated. Bank deducts payment amount from customer account and sends it to iTunes account. Music is downloaded to Customer. iTunes retrieves the correct music from the database. Database of music stored in . mp3 format ISP ISP ISP ISP ISP ISP ISP I = Internet Service Provider Figure 1. 1 Information Flow Diagram After purchasing music for download from ITunes, sometimes the download can be interrupted or will fail for various reasons. These download instructions are directly from the http://support. apple. com/kb/ht1725 website: Restart the download with the following steps. Resuming downloads from a computer 1. Open iTunes. 2. Choose Store > Check for Available Downloads. 3. Enter your account name and password. 4. Click the â€Å"Check Downloads† button. 5. Click the Resume or Resume All button, or the resume arrow to resume the download. You can manually resume the download on your device with the following steps. Resuming downloads from an iOS device 1. From the Home screen, tap the iTunes icon. 2. For iPhone/iPod touch, tap More > Downloads. For iPad, tap Downloads. 3. Enter your account name and password. 4. Click the â€Å"OK† button. 5. Click the Resume, Resume All, or button to start the download. Business Use Case (Part II) Beginning on October 2nd, 2007, Apple and Starbucks began their music partnership. This partnership involved Starbucks supplying the T-Mobile Hotspot Wi-Fi network to its customers as it already had been doing. This network allows customers at participating Starbucks to automatically connect to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store where they can browse, search and preview millions of songs available on iTunes. Customers wishing to participate would need to bring their iPod ® touch, iPhoneâ„ ¢, PC or Mac ® with them to Starbucks. The customers have the ability to just sit and listen freely to music. If they find a song or an album they are interested in purchasing they can easily buy and download the items directly to their device. Both the Apple Corporation and Starbucks benefit from this opportunity in more than one way. Because both corporations have excellent reputations, forming a partnership makes good business sense. Starbucks Coffee Company was founded in 1971 and is committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality Arabica coffee in the world. (Starbucks) The idea of offering the extra perks that iTunes offers in a social setting where people gather with friends is a wonderful concept. Starbucks customers that may not formerly have used iTunes might become customers because of the free access to the trial of iTunes previews and features. This would increase iTunes customer base and sales revenue. This would also increase the number of customers returning to Starbucks for the purpose of iTunes usage. ITunes users that had not previously frequented a Starbucks might start to, for the benefit of iTunes access. And they might bring their friends along. This in turn would increase Starbucks profits. In October, 2007, Starbucks and iTunes offered ‘Song of the Day’, allowing customers to download a handpicked song every day for a month. Six million songs were downloaded. Realizing the huge potential with an audience hungry to discover new music and entertainment content, Starbucks and iTunes worked together to create an ongoing version of the program. In April, 2008 Starbucks announced a new program with iTunes called ‘Pick of the Week’. The program offered coffeehouse customers a complimentary new music and music videos each week. Each Tuesday Starbucks 7,000 US based stores would stock a download card redeemable on the iTunes Store (www. itunes. com). The available music or video of the week was hand-picked by the Starbucks Entertainment team and iTunes. Starbucks) As of August, 2011 new offering from the partnership between Apple and Starbucks allows customers to now get paid apps free at the coffee chain. Physical cards are available with redeemable codes printed on them. This offering is a way for Apple to offer customers who normally only download free apps, a chance to try out some of the paid apps for free. If Apple can impress c ustomers enough with the quality of the paid apps, they have the opportunity of turning some of them into customers who buy apps in the future. (Etherington). The Business Use Case diagram in Figure 2. shows the interaction at Starbucks from the customers’ point of view. The Starbucks and customer interaction is a physical one. Then there is the customer interaction with iTunes. Starbucks Cafe Starbucks Cafe ITunes Music Store ITunes Music Store Search items Search items Enjoys Starbucks refreshments while browsing iTunes Enjoys Starbucks refreshments while browsing iTunes Browse items Browse items Starbucks/iTunes Customers Starbucks/iTunes Customers View recommended items View recommended items Customer authentication Customer authentication Add to shopping cart Add to shopping cart Download to customer Download to customer Payment Processing Payment Processing Add to wish list Add to wish list Figure 2. 1 Business Use Case Diagram- Apple and Starbucks IT Information Planning (Part III) The IT Information Planning stage is a very important one for a business in terms of how successful they will be. The planning that goes into the infrastructure of a company can have a long term effect on the bottom line. If the backbone of the IT structure isn’t built soundly, with adequate flexibility for growth and adaptability, it can affect the way the system can be built upon for years to come. Apple/iTunes Technology Infrastructure The Apple/iTunes music store is a widely popular music and video distribution service. In general, owners of iPods, iPads and computers can download music after purchasing the item from the iTunes store. The music is in an MP3 format. ITunes itself is a browser, but only for the Apple iTunes Music Store. Web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Firefox are excluded from access. The only authorized way to transfer media files to the iPod is by use of the iTunes program. ITunes also serves as a media player for audio, video (MP3/MP4 variants) and Internet radio stations. Starbucks Infrastructure Starbucks coffee house is where the customer will come to enjoy refreshments and listen to music either with or without friends. With an iPod, iPhone or a PC, the customer will be able to connect wirelessly to the Apple iTunes store. Starbucks has been using the Wi-Fi network from T-Mobile to service all of its hotspots. This was prior to entering into the partnership with Apple/iTunes. That was not changed when the partnership began. This is an important piece of information which must be included in the Information Flow Diagram. Information Flow Diagram As can be seen from the Information Flow Diagram in Figure 3. 1 different pieces of information are required at various steps in the flow to make a transaction possible. In this simplified example, a customer enters a Starbucks store. Upon entering they connect to the T-Mobile Wi-Fi hotspot that Starbucks currently has a contract with to provide their wireless internet connection. Next the customers device will be populated with a list of the 10 most recently played songs in the cafe. This information is kept updated on a continuous loop by iTunes. Every time a new song is played the recently played playlist is updated. The customer can then request to preview a song from the list. This long is retrieved from the iTunes MP3. db and returned for preview. If the customer chooses to they can then select the song for download. At that point the song is downloaded to the customers’ device and their account is charged a fee for the transaction. There are several points in the process where a failure in the transaction could occur. It is important to plan ahead for the possible fail points to plan for prevention if possible, correction if necessary and damage control. The first point of failure is if there is a problem with the connection between the users device to the T-Mobile hotspot. Unless it is a problem within the users’ device, Starbucks would be the first line of customer assistance to try to troubleshoot the problem. If it is a broader issue and a problem has occurred with the access point it would be up to T-Mobile to correct the cause of the problem. Another possible failure point that would be of key importance is the download to the customers’ device. If the download is interrupted it can be restarted in several ways. If the problem is with one of the physical storage units iTunes would be responsible to have a backup plan to repair/replace the database or other piece of equipment. T-Mobile Wi-Fi Access point T-Mobile Wi-Fi Access point Starbucks Cafe Starbucks Cafe iTunes Music Distribution iTunes Music Distribution Connect to T-Mobile Wi-Fi hotspot Connect to T-Mobile Wi-Fi hotspot Automatically plays songs at Starbucks and updates the playlist of the last 10 songs played. Automatically plays songs at Starbucks and updates the playlist of the last 10 songs played. Retrieves and plays songs in Cafe from MP3. b Retrieves and plays songs in Cafe from MP3. db Request music to preview Request music to preview Retrieves list of last 10 songs played Retrieves list of last 10 songs played Song retrieved from MP3. db and downloaded to customer device Song retrieved from MP3. db and downloaded to customer device Selects song for purchase Selects song for purchase MP3. db MP3. db Figure 3. 1 Information Fl ow Diagram- iTunes and Starbucks Revenue Model (Part IV) Apple/iTunes Revenue ModelThe customer requirements for iTunes are to be able to listen to the last 10 songs played at the Starbucks they are visiting. If the customer finds a song they would like to buy, they want to be able to select purchase by clicking on a button and have the song downloaded to their mobile device. The customer’s account will be billed by the method stored on their account profile for the amount of the purchase. The cost to the customer is $. 99 for a single song. Apple receives $. 29 as profit from this. The competitive advantage for iTunes is that they offer the only music being played at Starbucks. ITunes is also the only music compatible for direct download for iPhone and iPod. The clientele are the customers at each particular Starbucks location. This means the music must be chosen by locality to maximize profits. Starbucks Revenue ModelFor Starbucks in this partnership, the customer requires the usage of the T-Mobile Wi-Fi access. This allows them to have access from the Starbucks location to the iTunes store. This is the wireless protocol access plan used to securely connect the customer’s mobile device to the iTunes store making the possibility of purchasing and downloading music or other content both easy and secure. In a deal with Apple, Starbucks receives eleven percent of the net profits each quarter on the songs downloaded. The competitive advantage for Starbucks is that they have the name and reputation of the Apple/iTunes store behind the music system they are partnered with. This can be a draw for more customers to their coffee shop for the music experience alone. This adds to the current client base increasing the clientele. Benefits All AroundThere are many benefits to be had by both companies in the partnership. Both companies can benefit indirectly. Starbucks has increased coffee and other refreshment sales due to the increase in customers. ITunes has been able to bring in new customers by offering free ‘songs of the week’. This has let customers who may never have started out buying get a taste and decide to buy music. The suppliers to the Starbucks stores also benefit indirectly, as Starbucks does more business they need to order more supplies and that continues on down the supply chain. Location Changes EverythingFor a Starbucks located in the Brewery district in Columbus, OH the choice of music played would be very different than what is played in New York City in Manhattan. Should Apple choose to just play the same song list at all of the Starbucks locations it partners with, there would be a large loss of potential revenue. Song choice by location makes a huge difference for the clientele as to whether they will be interested in purchasing a song or not. Other Potential PartnershipsThe type of partnership that has worked so well with Apple and Starbucks could work equally well with some other types of businesses. I think that any type of business that caters to a rather quiet environment where a soothing music background would add to the enjoyment could benefit from this kind of arrangement. In particular two of the businesses I had in mind are Laundromats and certain types of Restaurants. For the Laundromat business I see no reason that adding music to the mix wouldn’t make for a much more enjoyable experience. I think an extra benefit to iTunes would be that someone doing Laundry might want a little pick me up by way of purchasing a new favorite tune during the rather boring process of doing such a chore. For the Laundromat, one that offered free Wi-Fi and iTunes availability would seem far more attractive than just a mundane, boring Laundromat. It would be a much more pleasant way to spend a few hours. On the restaurant front, it would be nice for a small diner to offer the same type of service. I often see people who are eating alone. When they don’t have someone to converse with, it would make for a nice way to enjoy the meal. They could browse their favorite genre of music and then choose a song to download. This may take a little different song choice selection than the Starbucks selection does. I do think this possibility is something to consider. Revenue Model (Part V) Apple/iTunes Revenue ModelThe customer requirements for iTunes are to be able to listen to the last 10 songs played at the Starbucks they are visiting. If the customer finds a song they would like to buy, they want to be able to select purchase by clicking on a button and have the song downloaded to their mobile device. The customer’s account will be billed by the method stored on their account profile for the amount of the purchase. The cost to the customer is $. 99 for a single song. Apple receives $. 29 as profit from this. The competitive advantage for iTunes is that they offer the only music being played at Starbucks. ITunes is also the only music compatible for direct download for iPhone and iPod. The clientele are the customers at each particular Starbucks location. This means the music must be chosen by locality to maximize profits. Starbucks Revenue ModelFor Starbucks in this partnership, the customer requires the usage of the T-Mobile Wi-Fi access. This allows them to have access from the Starbucks location to the iTunes store. This is the wireless protocol access plan used to securely connect the customer’s mobile device to the iTunes store making the possibility of purchasing and downloading music or other content both easy and secure. In a deal with Apple, Starbucks receives eleven percent of the net profits each quarter on the songs downloaded. The competitive advantage for Starbucks is that they have the name and reputation of the Apple/iTunes store behind the music system they are partnered with. This can be a draw for more customers to their coffee shop for the music experience alone. This adds to the current client base increasing the clientele. Benefits All AroundThere are many benefits to be had by both companies in the partnership. Both companies can benefit indirectly. Starbucks has increased coffee and other refreshment sales due to the increase in customers. ITunes has been able to bring in new customers by offering free ‘songs of the week’. This has let customers who may never have started out buying get a taste and decide to buy music. The suppliers to the Starbucks stores also benefit indirectly, as Starbucks does more business they need to order more supplies and that continues on down the supply chain. Location Changes EverythingFor a Starbucks located in the Brewery district in Columbus, OH the choice of music played would be very different than what is played in New York City in Manhattan. Should Apple choose to just play the same song list at all of the Starbucks locations it partners with, there would be a large loss of potential revenue. Song choice by location makes a huge difference for the clientele as to whether they will be interested in purchasing a song or not. Other Potential PartnershipsThe type of partnership that has worked so well with Apple and Starbucks could work equally well with some other types of businesses. I think that any type of business that caters to a rather quiet environment where a soothing music background would add to the enjoyment could benefit from this kind of arrangement. In particular two of the businesses I had in mind are Laundromats and certain types of Restaurants. For the Laundromat business I see no reason that adding music to the mix wouldn’t make for a much more enjoyable experience. I think an extra benefit to iTunes would be that someone doing Laundry might want a little pick me up by way of purchasing a new favorite tune during the rather boring process of doing such a chore. For the Laundromat, one that offered free Wi-Fi and iTunes availability would seem far more attractive than just a mundane, boring Laundromat. It would be a much more pleasant way to spend a few hours. On the restaurant front, it would be nice for a small diner to offer the same type of service. I often see people who are eating alone. When they don’t have someone to converse with, it would make for a nice way to enjoy the meal. They could browse their favorite genre of music and then choose a song to download. This may take a little different song choice selection than the Starbucks selection does. I do think this possibility is something to consider. | Starbucks Customers Starbucks Customers Starbucks Cafe Starbucks Cafe Starbucks CafeT-Mobile Wi-Fi AccessiTunesArtists supply music to iTunes databases Artists supply music to iTunes databases | Figure 5. 1 Supply Chain Diagram- iTunes and Starbucks Executive Summary Starbucks is the ideal location for the partnership with Apple/iTunes for the music partnership. One of the reasons for this is that Starbucks locations already offered free Wi-Fi access which allowed iPhone users to be able to connect to apple. com and the iTunes Store. The wireless service provided at Starbucks is from T-Mobile. The Hotspots offered are 802. 1x authentication standards and WiFi Protected Access (WPA). This is better than the required basic WEP encryption (Landesman, 2011). The WPA protocol is used to make the connections from customer to access points to the iTunes store and back in reverse for a secure, fast transaction. The security is an important requirement for all parties concerned. This protects the customers monetarily and also their identification information. The security also protects iTunes corporate concerns allowing them to authenticate their customers and accurately process the payments for the transactions. The iPhone is one of the ideal mobile devices to download music at Starbucks locations for several reasons. Beyond the obvious reason that the iPhone was created by Apple and the iTunes Music store also belongs to Apple. As purchased, the iPhone can securely connect to guest Wi-Fi networks. The ease of connection is a great customer benefit. The WPA2 Enterprise with 128-bit AES encryption provides users the highest level of data protection. The iOS installed on the iPhone enables it to securely access corporate services and protect important data. IOS provides strong encryption for data in transmission, proven authentication methods for access to corporate services, and hardware encryption for all data at rest. IOS also provides secure protection through the use of passcode policies that can be delivered and enforced over the air (Apple, 2011). References Apple. (2007, September 5). Apple and Starbucks Announce Music Partnership. Retrieved from http://www. pple. com/pr/library/2007/09/05Apple-and-Starbucks-Announce-Music-Partnership. html Apple. (2011). Deploying iphone and ipad Security Overview. Apple, Inc. Retrieved from http://images. apple. com/iphone/business/docs/iOS_Security. pdf Apple. (2011). Deploying iphone and ipad Wi-Fi. Apple, Inc. Retrieved from http://www. apple. com/iphone/business/integration/http://im ages. apple. com/iphone/business/docs/iOS_WiFi. pdf Bishop, T. (2011, February 15). Starbucks: Mobile payments catching on — 1 million so far. Retrieved from http://www. techflash. com/seattle/2011/02/starbucks-a-million-mobile-payments. html Dominus, S. 2006). The Starbucks Aesthetic. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www. mktgsensei. com/AMAE/Retailing/Starbucks%20and%20Culture. doc (2004, February 2). Enabling the Future of Wi-Fi ® Public Access. Wi-Fi Alliance. Retrieved from http://www. wi-fi. org/files/wp_2_Future%20of%20Wi-Fi%20Public%20Access_1-2-04. pdf Ee, L. (2001). Essential components of e-commerce education: Supply chain and logistics management. In A. Herrmann and M. M. Kulski (Eds), Expanding Horizons in Teaching and Learning. Proceedings of the 10th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, 7-9 February 2001. Perth: Curtin University of Technology. ttp://lsn. curtin. edu. au/tlf/tlf2001/ee. html Etherington, D. (2011). Now you can get an app with your grande chai  latte. Retrieved from http://gigaom. com/apple/now-you-can-get-an-app-with-your-grande-chai-latte/ Hirano, K. , Nakantani, Y. , McCarty, S. (2007). Applications of Mobile Research in Japan. WAOE. ORG. Retrieved from http://waoe. org/president/ubiquity. pdf (2010, April 13). How Much Do Music Artists Earn Online? Information is Beautiful. Retrieved from http://www. informationisbeautiful. net/2010/how-much-do-music-artists-earn-online/ Ian. (2011, July 27). Difference between mp4 and m4v. Retrieved from http://www. differencebetween. net/technology/difference-between-mp4-and-m4v/ iTunes: How to resume interrupted iTunes Store downloads. Retrieved from http://support. apple. com/kb/ht1725 Jordan, J. M. (2007, February). Beyond Servicization: The Rise of Digital Hybrids, Retrieved from http://www. smeal. psu. edu/cdt/pubs/white-papers/beyond-servicization-9. 07. pdf Landesman, M. (2011). Using your laptop at starbucks: Is it safe?. Retrieved from http://antivirus. about. com/od/wirelessthreat1/a/starbucks. htm Levere, J. L. (2004, July 27). Wi-Fi Service Expands Its Reach. The New York Times.

In 2011, What Are Social, Political, and Economic Impacts of Slavery in the U.S.?

In 2011, what are social, political, and economic impacts of slavery in the U. S.? To review American history, â€Å"American Dream† is encouraging a lot of foreigners to immigrate to America where can let these immigrates willing to the better life which refers to the success of economy through individual efforts. However, there is a dark side, namely the slavery, in American history that should not be neglected. The impact of slavery can be recognized in three fields, namely the economic field, the political field, and the social field. Each field has been interacting with each other, there are some visible and invisible phenomenons that might be helpful to spell out what the social, political, and economic impacts of slavery in American in nowadays. From 1619 to 1869, America was the biggest western country which owns huge populations o slavers and strict system of slavery. Slavers didn’t have any rights, such as education, suffrage†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦etc. Simply put, slavers are not considered as people, they are the property of slave owners. The transition of the status of African-Americans, which has gone through too many struggles, is from slavers to African-Americans, in 1865, the United States Congress adopted The 13th Amendment Act, it explains that â€Å"neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. â€Å" It means that the slavery became a history of America. There is no denying that it is the long-term impact of slavery on economy in America, there are two economic transformations, which are triangle trade and industrialization, in American history. The structure of triangle trade is based on the business among Europe, America and Africa. At that time, the North America was the transfer spot between England and its colonies, it means that North America exported agricultural products to England, such as cotton, in the mean time, North America imported slavers. Due to the different economic systems between northern and southern states: industry and commerce were centered on the northern states, agriculture was centered on the southern states, the economic confliction was increasing and then changed to the political and social confliction. At that era, the northern states claimed that protectionism which claims America should take high customs duties to protect the development of industry and commerce, but this policy caused great damage of agricultural economy in southern states. because slavery was major foundation of economy in southern states, so the confliction between northern and southern states was unable to avoid. Another point is that America was not a federal government at that time, it was a confederation. According to the aforementioned, I do not think that northern states want southern states to be the dependency of England in some day, so the Civil War is avoidless process. Slavery is the foundation that forces America to be t he most powerful country in whole world, especially economic and social impacts. After Civil War, slavers get freedom and they enter into the labor market of industry, it improves the economic benefits and rapid industrialization, America was prospering before Great Depression. However, America has experienced some economic failures, such as Great Depression and Financial Tsunami. I think it is the long-term economic impact of slaver because American government adopted over-protected economic policy, and it is one of reasons which caused Great Depression and then American government has gone toward another extreme way, namely the over-liberalism, and it is one of reasons that caused Financial Tsunami. After the disaster of Financial Tsunami. The most important political impact of slavery is American changes to federation. The problem of confederation is that the confederation government does not have enough political, military and economic power to restrain each state, it means these states usually ignore the motions of confederation government. With the establishment of federation after 1865, America is toward the centralization, the interests of country is far higher and more important than the interests of each states. The racial discrimination is a long term problem in the American society, some white people think that they are more superior than other races, and it is called â€Å"White supremacy†. African-Americans are facing the racial discrimination since the era of slavery, such as the racial discrimination in Major League Baseball. An unwritten policy is called â€Å"gentlemen’s agreement† created a colored barrier in Major league baseball until 1947. The possibility of African-American players in Major League Baseball had been excluded. In the late of twentieth century, American government adopts â€Å"Affirmative Action† to try to improve the situation of black people through the structure of law, however, it caused the reverse discrimination. As William J. Wilson’s book, â€Å"The Truly Disadvantaged† noted , he claims that the racial discrimination and its damage were happening in the past, the education is the major factor which effects the economic success of black people because black people are in the bottom of the economic pyramid. In fact, I can not agree with this point because I think that the long-term discrimination is causing the unfair of education and social status, and these factors also influence with each other, this discrimination is invisible that has gradually permeated to the cultural, political, economic field. In nowadays, the racial discrimination still exists in the American society, as one survey from â€Å"Gallup Poll† in 2008 noted, the racial discrimination can be found in four specific problems—â€Å"lower average education levels for U. S. blacks, lower average income levels for U. S. blacks, lower average life expectancies for blacks, and a higher percentage of blacks serving time in U. S. prisons. † It was impossible that African-Americans can be the American president in two hundred years ago, but Barack Obama won the election of American president in 2008. To most people, the victory of Barack Obama is breaking the racial discrimination in the American society, but I do not think so. Because changing the law is easier than changing the opinion of people, especially the long-term concept. Works Cited 1. EH. Net. â€Å"Slavery in the United States. † EH. Net. The Economic History Association with the Support of Other Sponsoring Organizations. , 1 Feb. 2010. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. . 2. Wagley, K. â€Å"Slavery's Economic Basis and Impact on the Emerging United States. † Yahoo! Voices – Voices. yahoo. com. 30 Sept. 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 011. . 3. Wright, Gavin. Slavery and American Economic Development. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2006. Print. 4. Wilson, William J. The Truly Disadvantaged. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1987. Print. 5. Jones, Jeffrey M. â€Å"Majority of Americans Say Racism Against Blacks Widespread. † Gallup. Com – Daily News, Polls, Public Opinion on Government, Politics, Economics, Management. Gallup, Inc. , 4 Aug. 2008. Web. 04 Dec. 2011. .

Event Management Proposal Essay

759 Kawaiiland is the chain of outlets under the brand extension of 759 Store which selling personal care product import primarily from Japan and Korea to provide up-to-date and high quality products with reasonable prices. The first outlet of Kawaiiland was launched in December 2013, currently has  seven outlets and aim to expand to 20 stores in 2014. This event proposal is aim to reinforce our brand image and reputation, also celebrating the launch of our new outlets through the first ever event â€Å"Afternoon Tea in Kawaiiland† in order to create awareness and spread word-of-mouth to the media and customers. Our event audience includes female customers and potential customers, beauty bloggers, celebrities, sponsors, media and participants aged 18 to 30 years old. More than 150 participants in attendance and it will reach more than thousands of audience with rich media coverage. The first ever event, â€Å"Afternoon Tea in Kawaiiland† will be held on November 23rd 2014, Sunday from 2:00 to 6:00p.m. at Discovery Park shopping mall in Tsuen Wan. The event theme and concept is feeling like a group of girls enjoying afternoon tea in a fancy and fun atmosphere. A series of event activities are related to personal care and beauty which is divided into 5 sessions on the day of event including makeup contest, expertise sharing, games, photo booths and surprise mechanism. Gifts and souvenirs will be offered to the winners and participants. Refreshments and drinks will also be served during the event. This event will go with advertising supports through magazines, social media, websites, posters, leaflets and bloggers. Based on the size of the event and target audience, we expect to ensure 80% of total attendance participating in the event through online registration and invitation, to obtain around HK$190,000 of sponsorship; to have 3 artists performing in the event; to attract 80% of invited media visiting the event; and to get 70% satisfied rating from attendees and sponsors. These gains will be evaluated through a variety of evaluation methods after the event. In order to achieve these objectives, we are seeking the approval of funding of HKD two hundred and forty thousand by the management to support this event proposal. This plan and this investment will lead 759 Kawaiiland in becoming the most competitive retail brand in the region. Company Background 759 Store is a retail brand in Hong Kong established by a list company CEC International, the store is named with the stock number â€Å"0759†. 759 Store aims to provide a high-quality lifestyle and consumption model in the Japan residential area to Hong Kong locals. 759 outlets has rapidly growth from 2010, the first store which selling snacks, food and beverage, to 2014, over  200 outlets selling different variety of products include food& beverage, household goods and personal care products. Over 1 million customers have owned a 759 Store VIP card. 759 mainly rely on Facebook and mobile app to communicate the discount, product information and outlets location with customers. 759 Kawaiiland is the chain of outlets which selling personal care product import primarily from Japan and Korea. 759 Kawaiiland aims to provide up-to-date, high quality products with reasonable prices. The first outlet was launched in December 2013, 759 Kawaiiland currently has seven outlets and aim to expand to 20 within 2014. The 759 Store VIP card can also be used in 759 Kawaiiland. 10% discount will be offer to customer with a VIP card, non-scheduled discount will also offer to customers. The First Ever Event By using the market development strategy, â€Å"Afternoon Tea in Kawaiiland† will be the first event hold by 759 Kawaiiland. Since many personal care or beauty products companies have engaged in difference events to communicate their marketing message. In Hong Kong, the Sasa bloggers events invites customers to their new product presentation and new product trial, Shiseido and Shu uemura hold makeup workshop to encourage product trial. Also in Singapore, Guardian and Waston hold â€Å"Haraju-cute† event and â€Å"Look alike† contest to entertain customer and to create awareness. The first ever event for 759 Kawaiiland can create a WOW effect to the media as well as the end market. With the event tactics, 759 Kawaiiland will be able to reinforce existing reputation and image, entertaining the participants and audience, and at the same time communicate our marketing message to our customers.

Exploratory Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exploratory Narrative - Essay Example They even use hidden cameras to see pin numbers as they are typed in by cardholders and then later on they steal wallets and withdraw cash from ATM machines (Safdar). The ease of robbing others is making this crime popular amongst individuals with criminal minds and intentions. This crime is on the rise and the loss of wealth can be significant if this crime goes undetected. I therefore strongly feel that we can all become the next target of such criminals. I feel that this crime must be stopped by card issuing companies by changing the design of information storage on cards, which is possible if they use small chips for storing information. Moreover, on individual basis we can take certain precautions to prevent criminals from getting access to our private information. When using the cash machine I will surely look out for any signs of glue, hidden cameras, and even cover my hand when I type in my pin code. Only this way I can avoid being robbed and loose my hard earned

Marry Wollstonecraft Womens Right Research Paper

Marry Wollstonecraft Womens Right - Research Paper Example It will help to develop an effective and significant social order. This report will describe a brief summary of the life of Marry Wollstonecraft. In addition to this, the report will discuss about the above mentioned master piece. Discussion â€Å"A Vindication of the rights of Women† was published in the year 1792. This book of philosophy is based on the rights of women in society. In Western Europe, married women lost their individual legal identity and single women had minimal protection under the law during the eighteenth century. In addition to this, women could not avail the rights to sign a legal contract, retain a lawyer for individual legal needs and inherit property. Most importantly the women during that period of time did not have the right over their children. The wife and husband were considered as one person during that era. The women generally lost their legal existence right after marriage. Mary Wollstonecraft created a huge sensation in the year 1792 by writi ng the book based on women’s right in society named â€Å"A Vindication of the rights of Women†. She declared that men and women should be treated with equal rights to liberty, pursuit of happiness and life. She appealed for women to become knowledgeable and educated. She persisted women should be allowed and free to pursue professional careers, enter into business and vote if they ever wished as these are their morale rights. According to Mary Wollstonecraft, â€Å"I speak of the improvement and emancipation of the whole sex† (Powell 1). In addition to this, Mary Wollstonecraft declared that â€Å"Let woman share the rights, and she will emulate the virtues of man; for she must grow more perfect when emancipated† (Powell 1). Mary Wollstonecraft was able to inspire the community and people within it as she used to speak from the heart. Her writings were easily understandable but she used to provide examples and facts from her own turbulent experience. Acc ording to Mary Wollstonecraft, â€Å"There is certainly an original defect in my mind† (Powell 1). She confessed that â€Å"for the cruelest experience will not eradicate the foolish tendency I have to cherish, and expect to meet with, romantic tenderness† (Powell 1). Mary Wollstonecraft passionately tried to give proper rights to the women in the society. She was a full-time professional writer. She used to write on serious and complex subjects without having an aristocratic sponsor. She had that much courage to share her views through her writing with the aim or objective to improve the scenario of the society (Brody 99). She had to struggle hard as the women were conventionally cherished for several domestic services. Mary Wollstonecraft developed her sheer skills on scanty earnings. Several contemporaries noted the provocative presence of Mary Wollstonecraft. In â€Å"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman†, Mary Wollstonecraft responds to the political and ed ucational theorists of the late 18th century. Several political and educational theorists did not believe that women should avail the right and needs of education. She continuously argued that women have the right to education as the women are the first teachers of their children. In addition to this, she stated that education will help a woman to give company to her husband in difficult situations.

The problem of corruption in Liberia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The problem of corruption in Liberia - Essay Example At the beginning of 2002, UNHCR assisted the refugees who voluntarily wanted to repatriate to Sierra Leone, and by the end of September, close to 13,000 refugees had been repatriated. UNHCR intends to continue its work in close cooperation with the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), which is the government institution responsible for constructing and implementing programmes for the displaced in Liberia (UNHCR, 2002c; Kamara, 1999b). Many of the studies on the topic of resettlement and repatriation emphasise the security conditions and the importance of guaranteeing protection for the refugees. This seems to be a major concern not only throughout the conflict but also in the postwar period. In late 1992 there were reports of security problems, especially in the northern Lofa County, and as a result UNHCR and NGOs were unable to reach the Sierra Leonean refugees in that area. Moreover, although UNHCR has had a voluntary repatriation plan in place since July 1991, the ongoing fighting has prevented Liberian refugees from returning (Jesuit Refugee Service, 1993:7). According to UNHCR, the security situation improved somewhat in 1993. However, the implementation of the Cotonou agreement, which was argued to be a condition for the return of the refugees, was behind schedule (UNHCR, 1993). Furthermore, in early 1994, UNHCR was asking donors for funds regarding the voluntary repatriation of some 700,000 Liberian refuge es residing in neighbouring countries at that time (Jesuit Refugee Service, 1994). Abdi and Tinstman discuss voluntary repatriation to Liberia, and they too argue that the security situation in Liberia is precarious and that there is a need to ensure that the refugees are protected (Abdi and Tinstman, 1995). Paul Stromberg reports that, in late 1997, the UNHCR shifted its policy of facilitating repatriation to a more active policy of promoting repatriation, but progress has been slow. The problems have been several, for instance, the cross border insurgencies, together with the lack of interest from the international donors which have resulted in lack in funding (Stromberg, 1998). In a paper by Tom Kamara, several aspects concerning returnees and repatriation are discussed. Kamara argues that security issues, as well as the economic environment, make the conditions for repatriation and reintegration difficult (Kamara, 1999b). Along the same lines, Philippa Atkinson has conducted a study of the political and socio-economic conditions facing the Liberian refugees as they returned from neighbouring countries to Liberia. She analyses a number of different factors, including shelter, food aid, income distribution, and employment (Atkinson, 1992). In a more recent study on economic opportunities for those returning home, Rein Dekker studies a group of Ghanaians who moved to Liberia, but due to the war returned to resettle in their home country. The government of Ghana and international agencies were focusing on the Liberian refugees while Ghanaian refugees were left to fend for themselves. However, loan schemes were offered by an NGO, and it is this scheme which Dek ker evaluates in her study. Dekker examines the factors that determined whether the refugees were successful in making use of this economic opportunity and able to repay their loans (Dekker, 1995). Jeff Crisp reports on

Apple Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Apple Company - Essay Example It took Apple only five years from 2003 to 2008 to have the market value of its shares increased by as many as 25 times, as the value of Apple’s share in 2003 was $7.5 which increased to $180 in the year 2008. â€Å"At July 2008 prices, before the US Financial Crisis, Apple stock market capitalization was $160 billion. In January 2010 Apple shares topped the $210 mark† (Vertygo Team, 2011). The case study of Apple Company provides an excellent practical example of how the theoretical marketing principles can be brought to life by incorporating them into the business strategies, and their benefits can thus be obtained. This paper discusses the potential ways of integration of the marketing theory with practice, and explores the comprehensive marketing strategy adopted by the Apple Company that has led it to the profound success. The secret of Apple’s success lies beyond the design standards of its products as well as the core philosophy of Apple which suggests tha t â€Å"the user doesn’t always know what they want† (Tiojanco, 2012). ... potential hurdles in the way of integrating marketing theory with practice, and recognition of the measures that can be taken to overcome those obstacles. Subjectivity in the knowledge of marketing theory is introduced by the conflicting and complimenting marketing theories of different scholars and educationalists. There is not a single established way of marketing that has gained mutual consensus of all scholars and authors. In fact, different good practices have been explained in different books and literatures depending upon the context, circumstances, organizational objectives, and internal and external environmental and cultural factors that vary from one case study to another. However, there is a need to generalize certain marketing practices and principles that have been approved by a vast majority of scholars. Such marketing principles include but are not limited to improving the brand image by fulfilling corporate social responsibility, incorporating innovation and diversit y in the product design so that the product addresses the needs of a vast majority and diverse population of consumers, and selecting the right medium and the right time to advertise the products. Application of the marketing theory in practice requires understanding of difference between the role of advertisement and promotion. â€Å"[A]dvertising-like messages are used for longerterm strategic efforts to build brand awareness and attitude while promotion-like messages are designed for shorter-term tactical needs to stimulate an immediate sales response† (Percy, 2008, p. 28). Some of the hurdles in the integration of marketing theory with practice include lack of consistency between the organizational structure and the scope of work and organizational objectives, lack of involvement of

Modern Organisational Theory and Applied Science Assignment

Modern Organisational Theory and Applied Science - Assignment Example The abovementioned makes the question of methods effectiveness and appropriateness to each certain case extremely important. This project will examine the appropriateness and effectiveness of qualitative research methods in organizational studies as well as provide an overview of the specific characteristics and methods of qualitative research. Historically, quantitative approaches and methodologies have been the first and foremost choice in the area of professional organizations and management research. The quantitative bias can probably be explained by the origins of modern organizational science which relies heavily on the natural sciences such as mathematics, economics, and sociology. Quantifiability and precision have traditionally been among the most essential features of these sciences and quantitative paradigm was undoubtedly the best choice to maintain and reinforce them (Patton and Appelbaum, 2003: 60). The primary task of a qualitative study is to provide the researcher with data that relates to a specific context or setting, for example, explaining participants' perception of an organization, understand participants' understanding of various phenomena, reveal their experiences, motivations, etc. At the same time, extrapolation of the qualitative study results in other similar situations and contexts is also an important aspect of qualitative research (Hoepfl, 1997). There is a definition of qualitative research found in the literature. Strauss and Corbin (1990) define qualitative research as "any kind of research that produces findings not arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of quantification" (p. 17). Denzin and Lincoln (1998) describe qualitative research as "...multi-method in focus, involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them' (Denzin and Lincoln 1998: 3). Cassel and Symon (1994) claim that the most characteristic feature of qualitative research is "...a focus on interpretation rather than quantification, an emphasis on subjectivity rather than objectivity" (p.7). These three definitions identify the basic distinctions between qualitative and quantitative research and highlight the key features of qualitative me thodology mentioned above. It shall be noted though that quantitative and qualitative research shall not be perceived as absolutely antagonistic to each other: "qualitative research usually does use some form of quantification, but statistical forms of analysis are not seen as central" (Mason 1996: 4).

Jackson County Judges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jackson County Judges - Essay Example This study requires us to determine the probabilities of a case being appealed and reversed and the results have been tabulated as shown in the results. The judges will then be ranked in the order of their performance. This will be achieved through the application of skills in probability and excel spreadsheets. Based on common pleas, Judge Judith J. Gische was ranked the best as she had the least probabiliy of her cases being appealed or reversed. On the other hand, Judge Richard T. Andrias was ranked the poorest performer at position 16 as he had the highest probability of his cases being appealed or reversed. The Number of judges handling the municipal cases were quite many and Judge Richard T. Andrias was ranked the best among them with the lowest probability of cases being appealed while Judge Angela M. Mazzarelli was ranked as the worst performer at position 20 with the highest probability of cases being either appealed or reversed. We can conclude that the main objective of this study was achieved and the probabilities of each possible outcome were determined and the judges ranked based on their performance. These statistics are of particular importance especially in awarding promotion to judges which will be based on their performance which reflects their decision making capabilities. The best performing judge handling the common pleas was Judge Judith J. Gische, in the domestic courts, judge William E. McCarthy was the best and in the municipal courts, Richard T. Andrias was ranked the best

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Criminology - Essay Example Discussion The key ideological disparity between positivist theorists and classical theorists is how the two categories differentiate how some individuals are increasingly more prone to crime than others. For instance, classical theorists believe that individuals engage in criminal acts entirely on their own will while positivist theorists assert that people commit crimes outside their free will (Lilly, Cullen, and Ball 45). Classical school of thought that developed in the 17th century anchored on philosophy of utilitarianism. Cesare and Jeremy, as well as other classical thinkers, believed that human beings have free will to direct the choice of their actions, and the deterrence is anchored on the idea of a person as a hedonist being that seeks satisfactions and prevents discomfort, and a ‘reasonable calculator’ estimating the cost and advantages of each action’s results (Hagan 10). Therefore, the school of thought objects the chances of irrationality and involu ntary desires as triggering aspects. In addition, they believe that punishment (of adequate difficulty) can prevent human beings from criminal acts, as the loss (sentence) outweighs advantages, and the difficulty of penalty should be equal to the offense. Classical philosophers suggest that the more swift and precise the penalty (sentence) is, the more efficient it is in preventing crime attitudes. Cesare and other classical philosophers asserted that criminal attitudes or behavior could be reduced through human nature basics (O'Brien and Majid 47). According to classical theorists, criminal behavior is regulated by people’s self-interests. Theorists argued that rational human beings join a social contract where they recognize that maintaining a harmonious society would benefit them. Cesare and his colleagues sought to minimize criminal acts and behavior through reforms to the system of criminal punishment that they saw as hostile, unreasonably excessive and ineffective deter rent. The key purpose of sentencing was to deter criminal behavior among people. Classical theorist believed that the most crucial efficient deterrent from crime would be abrupt penalties instead of a long sentence of trials (Shteir 10). They considered criminal acts as irrational behaviors that resulted from individuals who could not behave from their free will or in society’s interests. They contended that penalties should be constantly imposed for certain criminal acts, with no unique circumstances, to show people that crime will cost them since there are fixed effects. Classical school proponents sought fair and equal justice for crime suspects. Prior to classical ideology, judges punished offenders at their own interests irrespective of the crime severity, an act that made some people perceive the system of a criminal sentence as tyrannical. Consequently, Cesare and his colleagues struggled for penalties for certain offenses to be controlled by legislative arm and forbid unleashing power. They believed that if legal officers could use legislatively authorized penalties, trials would be swift and there would be fair justice because offenders would receive faster and fair punishment (O'Brien and Majid 50). The classical theorist thought that combating crime is increasingly crucial than punishment, but by setting clear system of punishment offenders would utilize their reasoning to realize that criminals behavior is against their self-interests. Similarly,

Doctrine of Precedent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Doctrine of Precedent - Essay Example But in due course, to cope with the administration of the colony, the English in Australia, simply acquired almost all of the prevailing British law at their discretion and for their easiest convenience, started applying them according to the call of the circumstances in the colony. Thus, common law of Britain which originated in the thirteenth century based unevenly on Roman traditions became the guiding principles of the current legal system of Australia. The Australian legal system founded on the common law has the elements of trial by jury, adversarial system and presumption of innocence. But as the society became civilized and the living conditions changed, many of the existed laws became incapable to meet the challenging situations and requirements of the people. Hence, legislation was required to formulate new statutes or Acts to meet the varying needs of the people. These legislations were enacted to broaden the living style of the people and also to regulate the society as a whole, to bring in equity of law. However, the laws based on the doctrine of precedent or case laws edge over the statutory laws, because of its simplicity in its application facilitating decisions on a case by the jury. The statement that the current Australian legal system exhibits an increasing reliance on statute law must be analyzed in the above context, and in order to verify its sanctity it is necessary to have a clear picture of the law structure of the Australian legal system. (Robin Banks, 2006, Law Australia, Legal Information Access Centre, (Sydney, NSW), http://www.liac.sl.nsw.g ov.au/hot/pdf/aust_leg_syst_60.pdf. viewed on 9th May, 2009) Classification and Sources of Law Law can be classified into two, as public law and private law. Public law is criminal law and is concerned with matters of the State whereas, private law is civil law pertaining to the matters of individuals. Criminal law is used to suppress criminal offences by punishing the accused. Civil law deals with disputes between individuals Australian law is based on the system of common law and its procedures are (i) the adversarial nature of court proceedings, and (ii) the appeal provisions. The sources of the law are statute law and case law, and they are of equal validity. Statute law known as Act is enacted law made by parliament. Case law is the principles of law arrived at by the judges in court decisions. (Victoria Law Foundation, 2009, Law & Our legal systems, Chapter-1, http://www.rurallaw.org.au/handbook/xml/ch01s02.php, viewed on 9th May, 2009) History of Case Law and the guiding Principles According to Baker, 'A precedent is a decision or judgment of a court, which is used as authority for reaching the same decision in subsequent cases.' (Baker J.H., 1979, An Introduction to English Legal History p. 171, Butterworths, London) However, it should be noted that Australia has a federal structure and that it has a parliament for each state and also has one for the Commonwealth. The Federal system of government was established by the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900. The colonies became states and the states joined to form a Federation. The Law making power is vested with the Federal government as well as the state governments The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty demands that nobody can annul a law promulgated by the parliament, whereas, common law can be changed through

Monopoly versus perfect markets Essay Example for Free

Monopoly versus perfect markets Essay This paper investigates the two extremes of market structures. A monopoly firm, and a firm which operates in a perfectly competitive market. We will compare features, similarities, differences, advantages and disadvantages. The monopoly firm I have chosen is Thames Water. This company is an accurate example, as it’s the sole supplier of the industry. The firm, is the industry. Thames Water supply water through peoples taps in and around London. Fyffe is my chosen firm in a perfectly competitive market. I think this is a good example. It sells bananas to supermarkets and food suppliers, who resell on to customers. The next two paragraphs explain the features of perfect competition, then a monopoly. â€Å"The theory of perfect competition illustrates an extreme form of capitalism. † (Sloman, 2007:113) There are many suppliers, who all only supply and produce a small fraction of the total output, of the whole industry. None of the firms have any power over the market. (Mankiw, 2001) Barriers to entry do not exist. Therefore firms can enter and leave the market freely. Apart from the money and time it takes to set up the business, there are no other obstacles. Both producers and consumers have perfect knowledge of the market. Therefore they both know prices which should be paid, quality which should be met, availability of the product. Market opportunities for expansion, and entry opportunities in the industry as a whole. The price Fyffe must charge for their bananas will depend upon the demand and supply of the whole market, not just Fyffe personal demand. Hence they have no power over prices. They must follow the market forces. (Sloman, 2007)Established firms in the banana industry have no advantage over firms who have newly entered the market. (Parkin, Powell, Matthews)â€Å"This means they can sell all the products they can produce at the market price, but none at a price which is higher. † (Sloman, 2007:114) If Fyffe raise their selling price above p1, their demand will drop to 0, because if Fyffe raise the price of their bananas, consumers will just buy from another firm selling at the current market price. Illustrated in diagram 2. (Beardshaw, 2001) All firms operating in the banana industry sell a homogenous product, all the firms in the industry sell an identical banana. The theory states there is not a great need for advertising or branding. (McConnell, 2008) I would agree with this statement in the context of bananas. Advertising is not needed as people will not look for a specific brand of banana. They all taste the same. However I think a firm in a market selling shampoos and conditioners would need a certain amount of branding and advertising so people choose their product and gain customer loyalty. In the shampoo industry products are not as homogenous. A pure monopoly owns 100% of the industry. Thames water have a great deal of power, and are price makers, thus they set the price to how much they want to charge. If the consumer cannot, or doesn’t want to pay the price, they have to go without the tap water. In the short run both perfect competition and monopolies can make economic profits, losses and supernormal profits. Only monopolies can manage to sustain super normal profits in the long run. â€Å"Persistant economic profits are called monopoly profits. † (Dobson, 2005:99) Monopolies can sustain supernormal profits and remain safe and unaffected by competition due to barriers to entry. Supply to the industry does not increase with new entrants. (Hunt, 1990). There are many types of barriers to entry. Thames water is known as a natural monopoly, meaning there are barriers to entry due to large economies of scale. (Sloman, 2007) Capital equipment is so expensive and large scale that only one sole supplier could manage to make a profit in the water industry. However Thames Water incurred low marginal costs once they are set up. â€Å"If average cost falls as output increases over the entire range of market demand its a natural monopoly. † (Dobson, 2006:100) â€Å"Each would have a very high average cost at a low output. † (Begg, 2005:134) Correspondingly Thames Water gain barriers to entry through lower costs. This is an artificial barrier. The firm is experienced in their field. Has good knowledge of their market, and will be able to gain the best rates of interest on finance, the best suppliers at the lowest costs, and lean methods of production. Other firms would struggle to compete. If a firm decided to set up and compete with Thames Water, and failed by going out of business there would be huge sunk costs. This occurs when high amounts are spent on capital expenditure, which cannot be used on another business venture. (Sloman, 2007) This is an example of exit costs. It would be a huge loss to the firm, and would discourage firms from entering the market. Thames water also have patents copywrite and licensing. The next two paragraphs explain the effect on demand for perfect competition, then a monopoly. For Fyffe the price charged for the bananas is equal to marginal revenue. Average revenue and demand are also equal to price. If average cost dips below average revenue the firm will earn supernormal profits. If demand is above where marginal costs and marginal revenue meet the firms will be making normal profit. See diagram 2. Normal profits cover opportunity costs of the owners money and time. If Fyffe set output below equilibrium marginal cost would exceed marginal revenue and profit would be lowered. If Fyffe raised output above equilibrium marginal costs would exceed marginal revenue and profits would also be lowered. See graph 1. (Dobson, 2005:99) The demand curve is elastic for the banana industry, but not perfectly elastic. Hence why it slopes downwards in diagram 1. If there is a rise in price for bananas, consumers will spend less on the product, and Fyffe will entail a fall in revenue. In contrast if the price of bananas drop, consumers will buy more of the product, and providing the firm is covering their costs they will receive an increase in revenue, because bananas can be relatively easily substituted by another cheaper fruit. Furthermore bananas will sell for a cheaper price when they are in season, due to a larger supply to the market in this period. Fyffe is perfectly elastic which is why their demand curve is horizontal. See graph 2. The firms prices are not affected by their output and their decisions do not affect the industry. (Ison, 2007) Firms must produce at equilibrium to maximise profits, which is where the market supply, meets the market demand, as illustrated in diagram 1. Short run â€Å"assumes the number of firms in the industry does not increase, as there is not enough time. † (Sloman 2007:114) When a firm produces quantity and price, where marginal costs, and average costs meet they are breaking even. See diagram 2. (Begg, 2005) Consumers are charged a price which is equal to what it costs the firm to produce the extra unit. See diagram 2. If the demand curve for bananas increases short term, the demand curve will shift to the right. See diagram 3. This results in a higher equilibrium and a higher selling price. As selling price has increased farmers will raise their output by increasing their variable costs such as labour and materials. This will result in a larger profit and profits are maximised. As illustrated in diagram 4. In contrast if the demand for bananas was to decrease, this would cause a shift to the left in the demand curve. See diagram 5. This results in a lower equilibrium for the industry, and a fall in the selling price. Consequently all firms in the industry including Fyffe would reduce output, by decreasing variable factors and the firm would suffer economic losses. As illustrated in diagram 6. (Dobson, 2005) If Fyffe or Thames Water are not covering their average total costs in the short run, they should carry on trading, but if they are not covering their short run average variable costs, it would be cheaper to temporarily close down. The theory is known as the short run supply decision. (Ison, 2007) In the long run any firm should close down if it is not covering its total average costs as it is loss making. Called the long run supply decision. (Begg, 2003) When demand increases and selling prices rise in the long term, existing firms are making supernormal profits. Several new firms will enter the market. The supply curve will shift to the right, and supply will increase, which will lower market price. As more new industries join firms reduce their output until they are making a normal profit again. Output of the whole industry will be larger now that more firms are in the market, and there is no incentive for firms to enter, or leave the market as breakeven profits are being made. Referred to as the entry or exit price. When there is a decrease in demand, prices will fall, and firms will reduce output to minimise losses. Eventually due to losses some firms will leave the market which lessens supply and the supply curve will shift to the left. This raises prices due to restricted output, and farmers will start to make normal profits again. So there are less firms and less output in the industry. (Dobson, 2005) In the long run there are no fixed costs in any industry, as firms can change their plant size or machinery. Resulting in a long run supply curve which is flatter than the short run. (Begg, 2003) If all firms operating in the industry restricted supply together increasing demand and prices, new firms would enter the market which would increase supply and lower prices. (Begg, 2005) Thames water are price inelastic, and have a low income elasticity of demand, because there are no close substitutes for their product, and water is a essential item. However they are not perfectly inelastic, as a rise in price will still amount to a small drop in quantity demanded. This means Thames water’s revenue will increase with a rise in price, and decrease with a fall in price. A profit maximising level of output is where marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost but rising up to the demand curve to obtain price. See diagram 9 (Sloman, 2007) The demand curve in diagram 9 represents the value of Thames water to customers, and the marginal curve shows the costs Thames water must pay. The marginal revenue curve must lie below the downward sloping demand curve as marginal revenue is less than price. The further the distance between the demand curve on the right hand side and the marginal revenue on the left the more inelastic the demand, see diagram 9. (Dobson, 2005) ) A firm cannot produce to the right of marginal revenue as this part of the diagram is inelastic. In order for the monopolist to sell a larger amount, the price must be lowered on all previous units, so to prevent this the monopolist may restrict output to keep a larger revenue. Creating scarcity and raising the equilibrium price. (Begg, 2005) â€Å"The excess of price over marginal costs shows the monopolies power† (Dobson, 2005:102) The power to raise prices by selling a smaller amount of output. Diagrams 8, 9, and 10 show long run economic profits, normal profits and losses. Thames water will then check weather the profit maximising level of output covers their total costs in the long run and variable costs in the short run. (Begg, 2003) Thames water is not a contestable market due to the fact it’s a natural monopoly, and has very high barriers to entry. This means they can charge high prices and make supernormal profits, without the threat of competition and new entrants. (Sloman, 2007) Thames water may want to behave ethically when setting prices. If they choose too high a price which people cannot afford this could lead to poverty, but if they charge too low a price this could lead to a wastage of water. Monopolies often use price discrimination when setting prices. Although Thames water do not. Perfect competition cannot use this method. Particular consumers are charged a higher price for an identical service so the monopoly can earn higher profits. (Ison, 2007) Revenue is not lost from previously sold units when price is reduced. More output can be sold ands firms can catch some of their consumer surpluses. See diagram 12. â€Å"Surpluses are the difference between actual price paid and what consumers will have been willing to pay. † â€Å"So the business is treating the demand curve as the marginal revenue curve† (Ison, 2007:138) Only works when consumers cannot buy the product for a cheaper price and sell on to others. (Begg, 2005) A firm operating in perfect competition will achieve allocative efficiency. This exists when price is equal to marginal costs. â€Å" Society is better off when resources are allocated to maximise the total surplus in the market. † (Dobson, 2005:91) Productive efficiency will also be achieved, meaning Fyffe will produce and sell their output for the lowest price they can in the long run giving consumers the best possible value for money. â€Å"Price equals minimum average total cost. † (Dobson, 2005:92) This is good for consumers and society as consumers get the best possible value for money. (Sloman, 2007) Perfectly competitive markets are critised for having a lack of variety, unable to fully satisfy consumers wants and needs. Furthermore the long term entry and exit of firms can be a waste of certain resources such as empty buildings. This is called competitive forces in action. (Dobson, 2005) Monopoly’s are in a position to give us a lower price if they decide to, due to economies of scale. The marginal cost curve is lower than the supply curve in their graph which means the firm can supply more output at a lower production cost. Supernormal profits can fund research and development which will improve the quality of the product. Therefore the monopoly can innovate and introduce new products. (Ison, 2007) However some firms may not do this as they do not need to fight to stay in the industry, with no competition around. (Mankiw, 2001) Joseph Schumpeter said in theory monopolies have more ability and incentive to innovate which can make them better for society. If you imagine a whole industry was taken over by a monopolist, they could eliminate competition and charge very high prices, by reducing output level to which raises price. Supernormal profits represent a redistribution of income from consumer to producer which can be critised on equity grounds† (Ison, 2007:137) Monopoly firms have been known to â€Å"engage in dirty tricks to protect themselves from competition. † They do not produce an output which minimises average costs. Making them productively efficient. â€Å"Perfect competition is rare due to larger companies expanding, gaining economies of scale and market power. Resulting in other firms being forced of the business. So if economies of scale did not exist any industry could have perfect competition. † (Dobson, 2006:94) Monopolies are also rare, and both are extremes of market structures. Most firms lie somewhere between the two. I think the two firms I picked are a fair comparism. They are both from a mixed economy. Thames water will have regulating agencies monitoring them. There are only 3 legal monopolies in Britain Thames Water included. In the past there was a significant amount of monopolies which were government owned. When Margaret Thatcher came into power she privitised these firms as she believed competition would lead to greater efficiency and lower prices which would benefit society as a whole. I agree with her decision and I think after researching, perfect competition appears to be the better option for consumers. Monopolys benefit society in certain situations such as retained profits ploughed back into research and development for medical reasons, and natural monopolies who could not survive in a perfectly competitive industry. Monoplies and perfect competition are becoming more rare as time goes on and who knows what will happen in the future.

Human Development Paradigm and Human Happiness Paradigm

Human Development Paradigm and Human Happiness Paradigm ANALYZING THE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM AND THE HUMAN HAPPINESS PARADIGM FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE CONCEPT OF INDIVISIBILITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS INTRODUCTION The term development is determined in different aspects. One could say that rich countries having high financial capabilities are developed whereas another would say that a country with social values is developed whereas Recent United Nations documents emphasize â€Å"human development,† measured by life expectancy, adult literacy, access to all three levels of education, as well as people’s average income, which is a necessary condition of their freedom of choice. (Worldbank, 2004) With advances in development presently development is not only economic development it should be development of social factors, environmental factors, human development and economic factors. The World Bank report further expands to refer to sustainable development and the relationship of equity to sustainable development. â€Å"Sustainable† development could probably be otherwise called â€Å"equitable and balanced,† meaning that, in order for development to continue indefinite ly, it should balance the interests of different groups of people, within the same generation and among generations, and do so simultaneously in three major interrelated areas–economic, social, and environmental. So sustainable development is about equity, defined as equality of opportunities for well-being, as well as about comprehensiveness of objectives. (Worldbank, 2004) According to the reports definition sustainability covers every aspect including human rights. But the issue arises where human rights are neglected in the development process because sustainable development is a new term which is not much practiced. Human rights development paradigm and Human happiness development will be discussed in depth separately. Looking further to what human rights are, Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. (Rights, 1996-2015) Human rights have the qualities of universal and Inalienable, interdependent and indivisible, equal and non-discriminatory, and they are both rights and obligations. When considering human rights it clearly shows that human rights are indivisible. Whether they relate to civil, cultural, economic, political or social issues, human rights are inherent to the dignity of every human person. Consequently, all human rights have equal status, and cannot be positioned in a hierarchical order. Denial of one right invariably impedes enjoyment of other rights. Thus, the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living cannot be compromised at the expense of other rights, such as the right to health or the right to education. (UNFPA, 2005) Next will consider the human development paradigm and the human happiness paradigm in the light of indivisibility. HUMAN DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM When considering the human development it mostly consider the aspect of economic development keeping other development factors ranked lower. The question arises whether human development should be mainly backed up by economic development. With the recent concept of sustainable development other aspects of human development should be given a similar rank but does this happen in reality and is sustainable development so widely grown among the world population. Amartya Sen comes up with the capabilities approach to answer the following complication in the development process. We would say before Amartya Sen’s capability approach it was a basic needs approach but Amartya Sen has come forward with the capabilities approach in order to achieve the human rights of people. The people’s freedom should be provided and they should be given space and access to opportunities. The concept of a capability has a global as well as local character such that its definition abstracts from particular circumstances, but its realization depends on specific local requirements. For example, the same skill can be compared for different people although it may require different amounts and kinds of food depending on one’s age, state of health, and so on. This makes the Capability Approach applicable across political, economic, and cultural borders. For example, Sen points out that being relatively income poor in a wealthy society can require ab solute povertyin some important capabilities, because they may require more resources to achieve. For example, a richer society may require more years of education for better employment. Many capabilities will have fundamental requirements that vary strongly with social circumstances. For example, a capability that people might generally be said to have reason to value such as the ‘ability to appear in public without shame’, but its requirements vary significantly according to cultural norms from society to society and for different groups within each society (such as by gender, class, and ethnicity). For example, Presently in Saudi Arabia, women must have the corporation of a close male relative to appear in public, and require a private car and a chauffeur to move between private spaces (Saudi Arabian women are not allowed to use public transport or drive a car themselves). The Capability Approach leaves open whether such ‘expensive’ capabilities, if well thought-out significant enough to be assured by society as a matter of justice, should be met by making more resources available to those who need them (chauffeurs and subsidized cars), or by reviewing the relevant social norms. The Capability Approach only identifies such capability failures and identifies their causes. However, if there is general agreement that such capabilities should be in the same way assured for all, there is a clear basis for disapproving undoubtedly unfair social norms as the source of relative denial and thus as inconsistent with the spirit of such a assurance. The capability approach takes a multi-dimensional approach to assessment, thus it is more sustainable and provides space for human rights. Time and again it may seem that people are generally well-to-do, yet a closer study reveals shortfalls in particular capabilities, for example, the sporting icon who can’t read. Capability analysis discards the belief that unusual attainment in some dimensions pay off for gaps in others. The capability approach’s relevance here is to argue that if people are falling short on a particular capability that has been collectively agreed to be a significant one, then justice would require addressing the shortfall itself if at all possible, rather than offering compensation in some other form, such as increased income. Capability assessment is informational demanding and its precision is narrow by the level of arrangement about which performances are appreciated. However, Sen has presented that even where only basic assessment of quite basic capabilities is possible (for example, life-expectancy or literacy outcomes), this can still provide more, and more relevant, action-guiding information than the normal changes. In particular, by making perspicuous contrasts between successes and failures the capability approach can direct political and public attention to neglected dimensions of human well-being. For example, countries with similar levels of wealth can have dramatically different levels of collective achievement and inequality on such non-controversially important dimensions as longevity and literacy. And,vice versa, countries with very small economies can sometimes score as highly on these dimensions as the richest. This demonstrates both the limitations of relying exclusively on economic m etrics for evaluating development, and the fact that national wealth does not pose a rigid constraint on such achievements (that GNP is not destiny). (Wells, n.d.) Amartya Sen’s capability approach has some draw backs such as information gaps and It contains only three dimensions – longevity, literateness (average years of schooling), and Gross National Income per capita – which are weighted equally. The Capability Approach is supposed to be concerned in evaluating how people charge on many magnitudes of life including some which seem very difficult to obtain information about, such as people’s real choice sets or such complex competences as the capacity to appear in public without shame or to form relationships with others. Human development paradigm shows well the concept of indivisibility in human rights. All rights should be given equal importance and it depends upon cultures norms and countries of different countries, there cannot exist tradeoffs for example a country having high economy does not mean that law literacy rates could be acceptable. Equal importance should be given to all human rights and human rights are always interrelated such that neglecting one human right would lead to a decline in the development of a country. HUMAN HAPINESS PARADIIGM Human happiness is considered as a new aspect of development and also it concerns with the human rights. People would be happy if there human rights are fulfilled, therefore happiness seem to have a direct relationship with human rights. The human happiness could be fulfilled when all the needs are fulfilled rather than only the wants. With the more accurate focus on actual needs, the human happiness paradigm is able to identify the devices that can help protect Mother Nature, achieve unbiased and sustainable socio-economic development, promote culture, and ensure good governance. To achieve these goals the policies must draw on existing natural, human, social and economic resources, which then have to be managed sustainably and responsibly to ensure this wealth remains available for used by future generations. Societal wellbeing as the desired outcome of these structures and policies. That certain skills and processes are also needed to transform these wellbeing outcomes to the higher goal of human happiness which will enhance satisfaction of the needs identified as the basis of development. (Bhutan, 2013) Human happiness considers wants and needs and these are also components of the human rights. In my opinion if human rights are fulfilled most people would be happy, therefore human rights are indivisible. In conclusion the human development paradigm and the human happiness paradigm are two paradigms which go in line with the human rights. When we talk about human rights as discussed above human rights are indivisible they are interrelated and if one human right is given less importance and if it is violated with the opinion it would not affect development that would give an adverse impact on the development process. Human happiness paradigm is a new aspect of the human development paradigm and it is also an improvement to move towards sustainable development in the development process. Therefore, I would conclude that the new human happiness paradigm which is and addition to the human development paradigm along with the indivisibility of human rights would support sustainable development to reach higher and make the sustainably developed rather than economically developed. Bibliography Bhutan, R. G. o., 2013. HAPPINESS: TOWARDS A NEW DEVELOPMENT PARADIGM, s.l.: s.n. Rights, O. o. t. H. C. f. H., 1996-2015. United Nations Human Rights. [Online] Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx [Accessed 26 06 2015]. UNFPA, 2005. United Nations Population Fund. [Online] Available at: http://www.unfpa.org/resources/human-rights-principles [Accessed 26 06 2015]. Wells, T., n.d. Internet Encylopedia of Philosophy. [Online] Available at: http://www.iep.utm.edu/sen-cap/ [Accessed 15 06 2015]. Worldbank, 2004. What is Development , s.l.: s.n.

Emotions in Psychopathy and Borderline Personality Disorder

Emotions in Psychopathy and Borderline Personality Disorder Fathimath Shaiba Nimal Citation: Herpertz, S. C., Werth, U., Lukas, G., Qunaibi, M., Schuerkens, A., Kunert, H. J., Sass, H. (2001). Emotion in criminal offenders with psychopathy and borderline personality disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58(8), 737-745. The extensive commonality between the current range of recognized personality disorders is evident amid the conditions that constitute to form cluster B, a sub group best referred to as the theatrical, emotive, and volatile cluster (Personality Disorders Symptoms, n.d.). Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and psychopathy are believed to be the most infamous and controversial of the bunch, and share a great deal of parallel features. (Comer, 2009). This particular article aims to build a more concrete barrier between the pair by comparing their respective styles of emotional response. The authors emphasized that though the DSM-IV criteria disregards the expected emotional features of psychopathic patients, the diagnostic measures for psychopathy by Cleckly states that psychopaths usually lack receptiveness to negative stimuli. Experimental studies on psychopathic criminals conducted prior to the article seem to support the claim. However, studies of emotion in BPD offenders were scarce. Accordingly, the authors based their research on the conjecture that patients with psychopathy will demonstrate a significantly weaker reaction to unpleasant and pleasant stimuli compared with BPD patients and control subjects, thus steering the first experiment to touch on the problem of diagnostic specificity. Hypotheses: The hypotheses generated by the experimenters comprised of several prongs, including one null hypothesis and two alternative hypotheses. H1: Psychopaths will display a weaker startle response, weaker facial expressions and lower autonomic responses to emotional stimuli when compared with both BPD criminal offenders and noncriminal control subjects H0: BPD subjects and controls will demonstrate similar configurations of startle response and facial expressions. H1: BPD subjects are will show a decreased electrodermal response, thereby illustrating why BPD patients exhibit a penchant for stimulus-seeking and impulsive behavior. Subjects and Selection Procedure: 50 male inmates convicted of capital crimes from two separate forensic treatment facilities were selected for the initial screening. They were informed that 25 of the criminal offenders were diagnosed with psychopathy, while the latter half was believed to have BPD. The subjects were further evaluated with the aid of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV) and the International Personality Disorder Examination (IPDE). The two investigators responsible for the screening process were oblivious to the clinical diagnosis the patients had received at the treatment facilities. Depending on their respective scores, the subjects were then selected for one of the two experimental groups. The article accentuates that both the raters had been in agreement on whom to include in the study. Offenders with mental deficiencies, dementia, schizophrenia, paranoid disorder, or current alcohol or drug abuse were disqualified. 25 male controls with no history of psychiatric illness or criminal violence were recruited via bulletin board announcements. The final count consisted of 18 subjects with BPD, 25 psychopaths and 24 controls. Methodology and Procedure of Data Collection: Materials: The investigators opted to use 24 slides from the International Affective Picture System, consisting of 8 pleasant, 8 neutral and 8 unpleasant slides. The slides were selected on its capacity to incite positive and negative feelings from the subjects and were presented in random order for less than six seconds each. Variables: The article had two dependent variables, the valance and arousal ratings, that hinged on the responses demonstrated by the psychopaths, BPD offenders, and controls towards the slides. Therefore, the subject groups and stimuli are believed to be the independent variables controlled by the experimenters while the BPD patients and psychopaths were the experimental unit. The three different types of slides (pleasant, unpleasant and neutral) pertained to the levels of the responses. Valance and arousal ratings were measured via a self-assessment report and physiological measurements. These variables constituted to form a 32 contingency table. Self-Assessment Report: Subjects were asked to rate the strength of their affective response using the Self-Assessment Manikin. The ratings (0-9) reflected both the arousal and valance of emotion. Physiological Measurements Electrodermal Activity: The changes in the skin’s ability to conduct electricity were recorded to demonstrate the arousal dimension of emotion. Electrodes fixed on the non-dominant hands of all subjects measured the magnitude of the skin conductance response every 20 milliseconds. Modulation of the Startle Reflex: The defense response to a sudden acoustic probe was used to measure the valance of emotion. Two miniature electrodes placed round the left eye measured the strength of the eye blink, if any. Electromyographic response: Muscle activity of the face determined whether the subject frowned or remained constant in response to the stimulus and was recorded with the help of tiny electrodes placed above the right eye. Data Analysis and Results Diagnostic group effects were assessed using Kruskal Wallis tests and post hoc Mann-Whitney tests for pairwise comparisons of independent samples. Fluctuations in physiological parameters were analyzed using the Friedman test for repeated measures while post hoc pairwise comparisons were performed on slide valance categories using Wilcoxon signed rank tests for paired samples. The connection between slide valance and psychophysiological measures were tested separately for each diagnostic group. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons for group effects and slide valance categories paved the way for the Bonferroni-Holm procedure which identified the pair with a substantial effect for that particular variable and conserved a 0.05 level error rate. P values were ordered from smallest (i=1) to largest (i=3) among 3 comparisons. The groups relevant to Pi are said to differ at the overall 0.05 level provided Pi ≠¤ 0.05/ [(M+1)-i]. Post hoc contrasts verified that pleasant slides were rated higher compared to both unpleasant and neutral slides, with unpleasant slides being rated significantly lower than neutral slides in valence. Overall slide valence effect for arousal ratings demonstrated similar results. However, the psychophysiological measurements diverged from the self-assessment results. Post hoc Wilcoxon signed rank tests exhibited that the skin conductance responses were higher when viewing pleasant (P Furthermore, the Friedman test showed a noticeable change in electromyographic responses with slide valance categories in both BPD subjects (P=0.02) and controls (P=0.03), as opposed to psychopaths (P=0.44). However, Post hoc Wilcoxon signed rank tests directed that controls exhibited a larger EMG response to unpleasant slides likened to pleasant ones (P=0.01), unlike BPD subjects who displayed no difference in their response to pleasant and unpleasant slides (P=0.46). In fact, BPD subjects revealed a trivial change to pleasant slides (P=0.06). Lastly, psychopaths failed to respond to the startle probes often, regardless of the valance of the slides presented, contrary to both BPD subjects and controls. Nine psychopaths, 1 BPD subject and 2 controls were completely unresponsive. Dear Sir, This article has certainly opened my eyes to a few things, including the fact that reasons for the stigma associated with â€Å"psychopaths† need rebuttal and amendment. One must realize that all people are unique and comprised of distinctive predispositions. The article proved the hypotheses that psychopaths, indeed, displayed hypo-emotionality compared to both BPD subjects and controls, clearly illustrating why tend to act out in their need for stimulation. While I found the article quite interesting and cohesive, it cannot be denied that the experimental design had certain limitations in itself. For starters, the test groups were relatively small and of varying sizes. However, the article stresses that great care was taken to recruit distinctive diagnostic groups with vastly different PCL: SV scores. Secondly, experimental subjects were recruited from psychiatric treatment facilities, all believed to have a criminal record. This can possibly modify the outcomes, since it can be difficult to say if their responses were solely due to the psychiatric illness. Consequently, it can be argued that the differences in responses of control subjects are due to their non-criminal background, rather than the absence of a personality disorder per se. Of course, there is no denying that future research in this matter is essential to grasp a deeper understanding of why violent behavior is prevalent in personality disorders. Perhaps, further studies can use psychopathic and BPD subjects who need not necessarily come from a criminal background. Moreover, I feel that women should also be included in the sample, in order to form a diagnostic sample that can denote the entire population. Overall, I found the article to be an interesting and informative read. They had showcased the evidences for their hypotheses brilliantly well and I found myself completely engrossed in the study. REFERENCES Comer, R. J. (2009). Abnormal Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers. Herpertz, S. C., Werth, U., Lukas, G., Qunaibi, M., Schuerkens, A., Kunert, H. J., Sass, H. (2001). Emotion in criminal offenders with psychopathy and borderline personality disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 58(8), 737-745. Personality Disorders Symptoms. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2014, from Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/personality-disorders/basics/symptoms/con-20030111