Company profile and SWOT analysis for Saravana stores

Company profile and SWOT analysis for Saravana stores Saravana stores is a chain of retail stores located in the heart of Chennai, TamilNadu, India. It sells textiles, jewellery, vessels, leather goods and other wide range of products under one roof. It is the No.1 retailer in Chennai and is the leader in the sector. The founder of Saravana Stores is Mr.Selvarathinam, died in 2003 following which his elder brothers namely Rajarathinam, Yogarathinam takes control of their different shops. The company has started as a textile showroom in Ranganathan Street, T. Nagar, Chennai and later diversified into Apparels and Accessories, Perfumes, groceries, Restaurant, shoes and much more. The companys tagline Good Quality at Reasonable Cost is much attractive that the customers in Chennai always prefer low price products which offers reasonable quality. Saravana Stores assures the customers a wide range of products and collections in almost all categories of products it offers. It is the first of its kind in Chennai to start a multi-storeyed shopping mall spread over 100,000 Sq.ft with 5 floors. It is now operating under 4 buildings in T. Nagar, Chennai including three in Ranganathan Street and one in Panagal Park, T. Nagar which is operating under the name New Saravana Stores which is specially constructed to avoid overcrowding during festival seasons. 1.1 VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS The companys vision and mission statement is mentioned in Tamil saying Truth, Hard work and Growth (à  Ã‚ ®Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ  Ã‚ ®Ã‚ £Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ®Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¯Ã‹â€  à  Ã‚ ®Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ  Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ´Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¯Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ªÃƒ  Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ªÃƒ  Ã‚ ¯Ã‚  à  Ã‚ ®Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ  Ã‚ ®Ã‚ ¯Ãƒ  Ã‚ ®Ã‚ °Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ®Ã‚ µÃƒ  Ã‚ ¯Ã‚ ). Our objective is to provide customers with wide range of collections in almost all the categories at reasonable cost. Saravana Stores The name Chennaites consider as the meaning of Good Quality at Reasonable Cost. 2. INDUSTRIAL ORGANISATION ENVIRONMENT Any organisation stand on the environment and not by themselves. The company environment and external environment are connected with each other and has a close relationship. The main objectives of any organisation are profitability and sustainability. The optimal positioning of the company in the dynamic and complex environment is achieved through proper strategic planning. How to achieve optimal positioning? It is achieved by analysing all the environment factors both internal and external environment. The organisations environment is depicted as below. 3. SWOT SWOT is an essential and the most important method to analyse the overall position of an organisation. SWOT includes analysis of Strengths and weaknesses of the company within its internal environment and matching them with the opportunities and threats that exists in the external business environment. This analysis can be used as a benchmark to develop strategic alternatives and focus on planning for the time ahead. Now let us analyse the strengths and weakness of Saravana Stores and the opportunities and threats it faces from its competitors and external environment. 3.1 STRENGTHS Saravana Stores has better understanding of the customers in Chennai and focuses on serving them better. They provide wide range of services and products under one roof which helps in attracting customers who prefers shopping with their family together. They have the First of its kind advantage as they are the first to provide such shopping experience in Chennai. They offer low price and reasonable quality on products which is the main reason for the customers. Diversified business in Chennai offering most of the consumer much needed products under one roof. They offer variety of discounts and deals everyday providing value for money shopping to the customers. The consumers in Chennai fall under serving class and they do not hesitate to shop even at crowded places. They expect good value for money even in a crowded environment and ready to compromise on quality to an extent. Saravana Stores has understood this and provides such products which the customer exactly wants. Understanding the customer preferences is considered as one of the major strength of Saravana Stores. Saravana Stores follow tall organisation structure as this type of business needs the workers to be highly supervised. It has also lot of promotion opportunities for the employees. Their simple philosophy is Low Margin High Turn Over. 3.2 WEAKNESSES There is a very high attrition rate of employees in Saravana Stores. The staffs are not well trained, not educated and not motivated. Most of the staff comes from rural areas and they are paid less. These people join the company because of poverty and compulsion that still exists in many rural parts of India. The operational level people are being suppressed and sometimes being treated as slaves. It is a company following THROB model where a single person takes control over all his stores in Chennai. Due to this, the responsibilities and the freedom which should exist at least to some extent is restricted. Even though THROB model is considered as the perfect choice for this kind of store especially in India, the truth is Saravana Stores suppresses the operational level and dominates to exert its power and control on them. The management does not care their employees at all. Saravana stores does not want to sell most of the reputed brands. Nowadays the expectations of customers are changing and expect more quality. But Saravana Stores compromises on the quality aspect and just sell products that are of low quality at cheaper price. The customers are increasing day by day and Saravana stores is not able to manage the crowds properly (especially during the festival times). There are not adequate staff to manage them. Saravana Stores does not have many counters for cash and card payments. Due to this, Customers need to wait in a long queue for payments. Most of the products are not properly organised and are not found in their respective place. Many products are found on the floor and the workers too does not care about it. Customer Service and Customer Satisfaction are very less. This is due to the carelessness of the workers as they are not at all motivated and managed efficiently. 3.3 OPPORTUNITIES They have many opportunities to expand their market in other cities including Madurai, Trichy, Salem, Coimbatore and so on. Since Saravana Stores has understood the needs of many customers who mostly fall under lower middle class categories, it can offer more products and services. Saravana Stores has a first-mover advantage. They have a reputation. Customer preferences are evolving. Most of the customers prefer to visit stores that provide wide range of products under one roof. 3.4 THREATS The buildings of Saravana Stores are constructed by violating most of the security regulations. It may have to face legal threats by the concerned authorities. There was a fire accident inside the building on 2 September, 2008. It has resulted in the death of two employees and more than 10 million worth of products damaged. The main reason considered for this incident is ignoring the safety measures. The perception of the customers towards Saravana Stores is changing and many customers are switching to their rival stores. The competitors of Saravana Stores provide a pleasant shopping experience which attracts customers towards them. Saravana Stores may lose most of their upper middle class customers. Rising number of competitors pose threat to Saravana Stores. The cleanliness and hygiene factor is missing in the premises of Saravana Stores. This may act as one of the factors to lose the customers. Saravana Stores faces many legal complications that affects its reputation. The customers feel that the products are over-priced for their quality. Initially, they offered low price and reasonable quality. But now Saravana Stores has increased its price on all its commodities. Customers also recognised the increase in price. The Government policies are changing and the company would face more and more problems. Other International competitors look forward to enter Indian retail industry. 4. ANSOFFS MATRIX ANALYSIS Ansoffs Matrix is used to analyse the growth strategy of a company. It serves as a decision making tool to choose a suitable product and market growth strategy for a company depending upon the internal and external environment. Ansoffs matrix suggests four different strategic options for a company. They are as follows. Market Penetration Market Development Product Development Diversification Saravana Stores can adopt Market Development strategy geographically. It can spread into other major cities in TamilNadu and can gain additional market shares and increase its revenue. The biggest advantage of developing its market along other areas is that customers from those areas find the store within their reach and shop over there. As many people from other cities come to Chennai to visit their relatives , they shop at Saravana Stores and they dont want to miss the opportunity. But in case Saravana Stores is in their locality, they can shop at any time as they wish. This is a great opportunity because most of the people in the mentioned cities fall under middle class segment and they wish to buy products at low prices and good quality. Saravana Stores already introduces many new fashion and material range continuously which is one of their core competencies. If they continue to do that in the new geographical areas, they can surely succeed. 5. PORTERS VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS This analysis is intended to analyse the internal strengths and weaknesses of the organisation i.e., the internal environment analysis. The role of any organisation is to add value to all its stakeholders. The more important stakeholders considered in the organisation are mentioned below. Shareholders Employees Suppliers Customers Financial Institutions Society Government Every organisation competes with its competitors with their unique resources and core competencies. It is these two capabilities that drives the organisation to sustain in the competitive market. The greatest advantage of being participating in the competition is gaining more margin than others in the specific segment and establish itself from others. In order to compete successfully, analysis of the firm process and the work system of the firm is needed in time. An organisation is often viewed as a chain of value creating events. To analyse the firms activities which can create a competitive advantage, Michael Porter described a model called Value Chain in his book Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance published in 1985. Porter classified the organisations activities into 2 types Primary Activities and Support Activities. 5.1 PRIMARY ACTIVITIES These activities are most important for any organisation and is the core activities. These activities cannot be outsourced. These activities includes the following in order they operate. Inbound Logistics : This includes the received inventories, inventory control and storing of the input materials. Saravana Stores receive the fully made products and store them in their warehouse located underground of their main store. Operations : This is concerned with the processing of the input materials received through inbound logistics. The operations part of Saravana Stores is service oriented. The activities include providing the products and services to the customers, maintaining the shelves and store with the products and stock management. To gain competitive advantage in this department, Saravana Stores has to closely monitor the maintenance and filling of stocks neatly. When customers arrive at the shop, they find most of the products found scattered in the premises and it is annoying. Saravana Stores could try focussing on this and can gain even more advantage over its competitors who provide excellent services in this department. However, rectifying this problem has to deal with the motivational factors of the employees. Outbound Logistics : It is related to delivering the services/products to the customer. Saravana Stores creates and adds more value to its customers through its Home Delivery system. However, it needs to improve on its parking facilities, shopping bag, security, bill counter staff and systems which if done efficiently, can save the customers time and earn their loyalty thereby gaining more competitive advantage. Marketing and Sales : Saravana Stores attracts the customers through advertisements in Media, Newspaper and Radio channels. These advertising campaigns are carried out more perfectly as Saravana Stores has endorsed most of the leading top actors and actresses for its campaign to promote its current offers (Eg., Festival Discounts) . The advert in the TV appears once every 10 minutes and this is apparently one of its competitive advantage. This department works perfectly and this has helped Saravana Stores in tasting the success. Service : It includes the service of the products after it has been sold and delivered. It means keeping the customer satisfied with his product and carrying on the activities to ensure his satisfaction. Saravana Stores does not provide after sales service for all the electrical and electronic items whereas it has exchange system for its textile section. Though they provide after sales service for few products which they offer at low cost (below market price), the service is not at all satisfactory among the customers because of the very poor service. If this area is improved, customer satisfaction which is one of the intangible resources can be gained which in turn can act as a very big competitive advantage. It can also help in increasing the profit margin. 5.2 SUPPORT ACTIVITIES The support activities are the functions that supports the primary/core activities within an organisation. These activities are as follows. Infrastructure : This is concerned on the departments including accounting, finance, planning, controlling, quality assurance and generic management. The planning and control functions ensure the companys cash and cost control with a strong and continuous focus. Saravana Stores has emphasized on the security to avoid the internal and external theft by installing more security cameras and experienced staff. Human Resource Management : HRM consists of the activities starting from the recruitment to dismissal or lay-offs. It takes care of activities like hiring, training, developing, compensating.. etc. Saravana Stores is good in terms of its recruitment but fails in providing proper training and motivation. The staffs of Saravana Stores are not at all motivated and encouraged. The service is also not linked to their wages. They pay very low wage and extract more work from the employees which is unfair. Hence the HRM part is really poor in Saravana Stores. Most of the customers in Chennai knew about the staff treatment by Saravana Stores management and they feel it is highly unethical and unfair. Due to this, the reputation of Saravana Stores, an intangible resource is deteriorating nowadays. Technology Development : It is concerned with the innovation, technical knowledge, hardware and software which is important for the companies today to survive in the market. As mentioned earlier, Saravana Stores is still lagging behind the technology and a strong focus is needed in this department to add more value to the customers and the company. Procurement : This department is responsible for purchasing the essential materials to be used by the operations department. In Saravana Stores, procurement department is operates well as it buys the materials at very low cost and sells it a moderate price with moderate quality. 6. MARKET ANALYSIS STP 6.1 SEGMENTATION Market segmentation is the process of segregating the market into groups of customers with specific needs and requirements, specific characteristics and behaviours. This process is useful in identifying the potential competitors, segments, the power of the competitors based on which a suitable segment is selected to attract the customers. Segmentation of a market is important because the market is heterogeneous. Segmentation can be based on several ways. Some them are lifestyle segmentation, Psychographic segmentation, Age Lifecycle segmentation, Behavioural Segmentation, Geo-demographic segmentation. Saravana Stores targets the lower middle class and the lower class customers. This segmentation is based on the behaviours of the customers. It is now targeting the upper middle class segment in order to gain market share. Customers under the above categories prefer to buy products with low cost and reasonable quality offered by Saravana Stores. Moreover, these customers serve the highest population in the city. The perceived quality and the cost of the product helps Saravana Stores to taste the success further when introducing a new product or service. This is very well notable in their stores such as Saravana Stores Jewellery and Saravana Stores utensils section. 6.2 TARGETING After the most appropriate market segments are being selected, the company starts targeting those selected segments. Certain other factors are also to be considered such as competitive analysis and internal analysis. The internal analysis include activities such as analysing companys ability to outperform its competitors in the segment. As in the case of Saravana Stores, family and youths are being targeted. In recent times, youths who work in corporate prefer to shop most of the time whenever they get off. A typical family shopping is being found only during the festival days. Saravana Stores offers more deals and discounts in the textiles segment to family shoppers during festive days whereas it raises its prices marginally during other days when the young people shop. 6.3 POSITIONING When the targets are being targeted, the company decides on the marketing mix or strategy to position itself to that targeted segment. Saravana Stores has positioned itself as a store offering low cost and good quality product among the middle and lower class customers successfully. This can also be considered as one of their competitive advantages over its competitors like The Chennai Silks, Pothys, RMKV etc. Now Saravana Stores is well established in the city. 7. EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS 7.1 PEST ANALYSIS PEST analysis is used to analyse the external macro environment in which the company operates. Several factors are considered to find the opportunities and the threats that exists in the macro environment. PEST is an acronym of 4 factors which includes as follows Political Factors Economic Factors Social Factors and Technology Factors 7.1.1 POLITICAL FACTORS Political factors should be considered for the smooth flow of business. It has a high influence on the business regulations and spending power of the customers. There are not many factors to be considered for Saravana Stores as the top management has fixed everything using its influence over the ruling party. To say literally, Saravana Stores has taken advantage of the bribery that prevails in the State Government. The stability of the political environment also influences the industry. In TamilNadu, the forthcoming state assembly elections play a vital role for all the sectors. The winning partys policy towards businesses and taxation schemes is expected to create an impact on retail industry. 7.1.2 ECONOMIC FACTORS The economic factors are considered the most important aspect for any industry in any area. A companys growth depends on the economy of the country in which it operates. The financial system of India is good and so the GDP is also good. The growth rate of GDP is approximately 6-6.5%. The Indian retail industry is expected to grow by 25% annually and its worth is expected to be $175-200 billion by the year 2016. All major economic factors such as inflation rate, exchange rate, interest rate considerably affects the buying power of the customers as well as the organisations capital cost. These factors also decide the price of the product. People in Chennai begin to shop at the start of every month and most of the time their shopping place is T.Nagar. The inflation rate is becoming high nowadays and this has led Saravana Stores to increase their prices. 7.1.3 SOCIAL FACTORS The cultural and social factors differs from one country to another. In India, these factors vary from one state to other. It is often said about India as Unity in Diversity. In TamilNadu, the social and cultural aspects are more traditional than the other states. These aspects directly affects customer needs. Though Western fashions are introduced in TamilNadu, people still prefer traditional garments and other products. For example, in cosmetics department ayurvedic and natural products are preferred by the customers more than the other International branded products such as Lo`real, Neutrogena. Saravana stores is facing many complaints regarding the social issues such as ignoring the safety regulations and polluting the environment. Other factors also include heavy traffic in the area all the time which creates a discomfort for the customers to shop peacefully. Moreover, customers are not preferring T.Nagar as their shopping spot due to high traffic and the inconveniences that prevails. Saravana Stores does not have a special parking area for its customers and so the customers have to find the spot by themselves. This even worsens the reputation of Saravana Stores as it is in the verge of losing most of its customers. People nowadays prefer to shop in the local stores nearby that are within their reach at an acceptable price. The customers are shifting their preferences in product and services. Saravana Stores should act immediately before the situation worsens. 7.1.4 TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS The technology is considered as the important factor for competitive advantage. These factors can minimise the barriers of entry, aids in efficiency and can even influence the decisions. Saravana stores has not concentrated till now on the technology department. They still use the old system for billing and services. The supply chain management, customer relationship management, store management is not yet computerised. Card payment counters are relatively very less in the store. Most of the customers would wish to pay by card and there exists a long queue for card payment. There is no online service such as online shopping till now. Though online shopping is not suitable for garments and clothing department which is the main department of Saravana Stores, it can still provide that facility to other sections like Consumer Electrical and Electronics. But Saravana Stores is not willing to offer online shopping at all. Since Saravana Stores lack in technology aspects, it is difficult to maintain the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and communication with the customers (Feedback). These are missing with which business can be improved by analysing the customers more perfectly. Saravana Stores can concentrate on its technological factors which may increase the quality of the products and services they offer at a low cost. These developments benefits customers and the company as well. 8. PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Porters five force analysis is a simple but effective tool to figure out the potentiality of the organisation in a given business scenario. It is very useful to find out the strengths of the current position and the position where the company is intending to get into. This is considered as an important tool for planning as it helps in taking advantage of the strengths and avoid the mistakes by recognising the weaknesses. It is an internal micro environment analysis. However, the analysis is generally static. The competitive environment is dynamic and is changing constantly. There is a high chance of these forces changing at any time more rapidly. Though it is considered as an internal environment analysis, this framework ignores the human resource aspects for strategic analysis. But this model serves as a starting point for environment analysis. According to Porter, there are five different forces determining the competitive advantage of a company in a business scenario. They are Bargaining power of suppliers Bargaining power of customers Competitive rivalry within an industry Threat of the substitutes Threat of new entrants 8.1 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS Here, we can assess the bargaining power of the suppliers that determine the prices of the product they supply to the company. It is often described as market inputs. The factors responsible for increasing the supplier power is contrary to that of the buyer power. Saravana Stores supplier power is low as they deal with huge amount of stocks. And moreover, those brands are not recognised by the customers often. Customers just buy them for their low price alone. In the current scenario, the suppliers find it difficult to sell their stocks by setting up a new store. Their entry cost is too high that they cannot afford. They run their businesses by supplying huge volume of stocks to Saravana Stores and gain profit. There are many suppliers and there are many substitutes for them. So it is highly likely to have less bargaining power of the suppliers of Saravana Stores. The cost of switching the suppliers for Saravana Stores is not too high as they are well balanced and managed in these aspects. Since the retail industry in India is unorganised, this has dominant position over the suppliers. 8.2 BARGAINING POWER OF CUSTOMERS The buyers are called customers who exerts more power under many conditions. Some of them are mentioned below. If the customers are focussed and there are few of them Undifferentiated product Vulnerability of Backward-Integration The customers are always price-sensitive. The perceived value by the customers is the strong advantage for Saravana Stores. The customers are also not focused and prefers unbranded products rather than the branded items. So the threat of backward-integration (influencing the power of suppliers) is also low. The availability of many alternatives is the main issue to be considered in the case of Saravana Stores. 8.3 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS New entrants foray into the market if the profit margins are highly attractive and their barriers of entry is low. According to Porter, there are seven sources of barriers to enter the market. Economies of scale Product differentiation Capital requirements Switching costs Access to distribution channels Cost disadvantages independent of scale Government policy In the case of Saravana stores, Government policy acts as a high barrier for the International companies. FDI policy of the Government is unfavourable for the International companies. The local domestic companies such as Wipro and other conglomerates are planning to start the retail chains in India. This is really a threat for Saravana Stores as it has to devise a new strategy and plan to minimise these threats. 8.4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES In the business scenario, substitutes are often considered as the most important threat to any company. If the company offers products, it can be easily replicated in the industry. More often, substitutes introduce new technologies or reduce the prices of the same product but do not replace the existing products in the market. To be precise, the profit gained from the substitutes is kept low by the followers. Unorganised retail industry is the main threat for Saravana Stores. As there are more substitutes for the unbranded products, customers are more likely to switch where the prices are very low than Saravana stores offers. This threat is relatively less in grocery department as there are not much substitutes for the branded products. Though some substitutes are available for the groceries, customers prefer branded in this department. All the other departments like textile, jewellery has more substitutes and Saravana Stores is pushed to keep its prices low to attract customers. 8.5 COMPETITIVE RIVALRY Some of the competitors for Saravana Stores are The Chennai Silks, Pothys,Big Bazaar,Kumaran Stores, RMKV and few others. These stores are located in and around T. Nagar shopping area. The rivalry is high between these companies as each fights to gain the market share. Because of this extent of rivalry, the profits fall. But Saravana Stores is the larger company amongst the rivals and is able to interrupt any actions taken by its small competitors. The emerging Big Bazaar poses a high threat to Saravana Stores as it gaining its market share significantly over the years within a short span of time. The competition is price-based and hence it is very hard to gain the customer loyalty. In a recent study, middle class customers are switching from Saravana Stores to Big Bazaar as both the companies offer same products and services. Saravana Stores is losing its middle class customers and should act immediately. 9. MARKETING MIX This is also called as the 4 Ps of marketing. The decisions for marketing a product or service can be made considering the 4 Ps as follows. Product Price Place (Distribution) Promotion Just like cooking where all the ingredients are to be included in the right amount and at the right time to get the tasty food, these 4 Ps are considered at the right time to taste the success of a product or service. Note that the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment is to be considered while making marketing decisions. The objective of right marketing mix is to create a positive value and positive response from the customers in the targeted market segment. 9.1 PRODUCT Saravana Stores offers wide range of products that ranges from Apparels, Accessories, Food, Furniture, Groceries, Utensils, Textiles, Toys, Electricals Electronics, Stationary items, Jewellery etc. Apparels Casuals, Formals, Jeans, T shirts, Party wear, Under garments, Night wear, Sarees, Silk Sarees, Ladies wear, etc. Home Personal Care products Utensils, Shampoos, Detergents, Soaps, Creams, Plastics, Cookery, etc. Electrical Electronics Mobile phones, TV, Radio, Speakers, Computers, Peripherals, Watches, Hair trimmers, shavers, etc. 9.2 PRICE Saravana Stores objective of pricing is to gain more market share thereby sustaining its position as a leader in the segment. The pricing strategy of Saravana Stores lies balanced between penetration pricing and economy pricing but it is more inclined towards penetration pricing. Saravana Stores adopts Value pricing, promotional pricing and Bundling. They assures consumers low prices everyday without any coupons. They also caters special event pricing on special occas

Just Do What the Pilot Tells You :: Comparative, Stanley Milgram, Theodore Darymple

Stanley Milgram’s experiments on obedience are the focus of Theodore Dalrymple and Ian Parker. Theodore Dalrymple is a British physician that composed his views of the Milgram experiment with â€Å"Just Do What the Pilot Tells You† in the New Statesman in July 1999 (254). He distinguishes between blind obedience and blind disobedience stating that an extreme of either is not good, and that a healthy balance between the two is needed. On the other hand, Ian Parker is a British writer who wrote â€Å"Obedience† for an issue of Granta in the fall of 2000. He discusses the location of the experiment as a major factor and how the experiment progresses to prevent more outcomes. Dalrymple uses real-life events to convey his argument while Parker exemplifies logic from professors to state his point. Dalrymple starts his essay by stating that some people view opposition to authority to be principled and also romantic (254). The social worker Dalrymple mentions on the airplane with him is a prime example that certain people can be naturally against authority, but she quickly grants authority to the pilot to fly the plane (255). Dalrymple also mentions his studies under a physician and that Dalrymple would listen to her because she had far greater expanse of knowledge than him (256). Ian Parker writes his essay explaining the failed logic with Stanley Milgram’s experiment and expounds on other aspects of the experiment. One of his points is the situation’s location which he describes as inescapable (238). Another focus of Parker’s article is how Milgram’s experiment affected his career; the experiment played a role in Milgram’s inability to acquire full support from Harvard professors to earn tenure (234). Dalrymple states that he obeyed his superior because she was more knowledgeable over her job (256). The Milgram experiment demonstrates how ordinary people act towards authority in certain situations. Dalrymple accurately utilizes that point by describing when a boy is turned in for trying to steal a car and then the parents proceed to yell at the guards. The guards began to stop reporting kids because they wanted to avoid the conflict all together (257). Parker agrees with Dalrymple by explicating that the experimenter alludes to conflict when the teacher wants to discontinue the experiment, but stumbles to rebel when dictated to continue (238). Parker’s solution is to offer a button for the teachers to press when they are no longer able to continue the experiment (238).

Confucianism and the Chinese View of Life Essay -- Papers

"The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved.† – Confucius -- Confucianism created the Chinese view of life. The Confucian view is based on the ancient Chinese tradition. It can be stated that the view of Confucius and that of the Chinese began in the same place (  Bush, 15). In subsequent centuries Confucius’ teachings exerted a powerful influence on the Chinese nation. Therefore, the history that surrounds both Confucius as well as Confucianism is relevant to how many eastern people live their life today. Confucius was born in 551B.C., to the noble K’ung family. He was born in the state of Lu, which is present day the Shandong in the Shantung Province. Confucius’ real name was Ch’iu, which means a hill. This was because there was a noticeable bump on his head. His literary name however is Chung-ni. These names have been rarely used because of the Chinese practice of showing reverence by avoidance. K’ung Futzu which means the Great Master has been his most popular name (DeVous and Slote 9). Confucius was born into an impoverished noble family. At the time of his birth, the imperial court of the Chou dynasty had lost its power and the empire virtually disintegrated into a number of feudal states. Confucius’ father who was the commander of a district in Lu died three years after Confucius was born. This left the family in poverty (DeVous and Slote 12). Nevertheless, Confucius received an upscale education. Even in his childhood, Confucius liked to play ceremonies, whi... ... Walter H. Slote ed. Confucianism and the Family. New York: State University, 1998. Fowler, Jeaneane D., Chinese Religions: Beliefs and Practices. Brighton:Sussex Academic, 2008. Print. Mungello, David E. Leibniz and Confucianism the Search for Accord. Honolulu: The University Press of Hawaii, 1977. Robinson, B.A. â€Å"Religion in China.† Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. 17 Jun. 2005. Web. 10. April. 2014.   Nivison, David S. The Ways of Confucianism. ed. Bryan W. Van Norden. Chicago: Carus Publishing Company, 1996. Overmyer, Daniel. "Religion in China Today: Introduction."  China Quarterly  (2003): 307-316. Web. 21 Jun 2014. Twitchett, Denis and Arthur F. Wright ed. Confucian Personalities. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1962. Wolf, Arthur P. ed. Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1974.

Criminal Law Intoxication Essay

For hundreds of years, it has been assumed that individuals behave more aggressively while under the influence of alcohol. Alcohol related crimes cost the UK taxpayer  £1.8 billion on average per year . However, society has taken an ambivalent attitude towards intoxication. Alcohol consumption is generally depicted as a puritanical moral barrier used to escape pain and the harsh realities of life. Intoxication can conversely be portrayed as a sign of weakness, impeding human reasoning leading individuals to behave in an unacceptable manner. Does this lack of consistency in society’s opinion reflect the clarity of the law as regards to when intoxication can be a defence? Drunkenness was a crime punishable by imprisonment in the form of stocks or a fine from 1607 to 1828. The law in this area concentrates on whether the accused who committed the prohibited act, has the necessary mens rea due to voluntary or involuntary intoxication. There are two extreme approaches that the law could follow on intoxication; the strict subjective theory emphasizes the defendant lacked the required mens rea and supports the idea of absolute acquittal from liability. The absolutist policy theory highlights the importance of public protection and endorses punishment. This arena consisting of the two aforementioned principles have created a tangled web that leaves numerous questions unanswered. The law has tried to achieve an intermediate compromise, rejecting both theorems in favor of adopting different strategies for each criminal offence. An initial distinction has to be drawn between being drunk and being intoxicated. It was expressed in R v Sheehan and Moore that ‘a drunken intent is nevertheless an intent.’ A drunken individual would not be able to use the defence of intoxication, as he is still capable of forming the necessary mens rea. The case of R v Stubbs stated that intoxication needed to be ‘very extreme’ as it is impossible to form the mens rea due to the effect of copious amounts of alcohol. This essay will investigate the situations when intoxication can be used as a defence, analyzing the decision in R v Majewski and its impact on the specific and basic intent dichotomy. The Law Commission has taken a ‘stripped-down approach’ attempting to codify the main principles of the common law regarding voluntary and involuntary intoxication. There is an opinion that ‘there is much in the Report to commend it’ but others have drawn attention to the production of ‘head scratching provisions’ leading some to question whether intoxication should be called a defence at all. The Scottish Law Commission have recognized the difficulty in reforming the law and have stated ‘intoxication as a complete defence in all circumstances would be extremely serious.’ To what extent is intoxication used as a defence in criminal law and should the legal boundaries be clearer? Voluntary Intoxication Voluntary intoxication is defined in the Butler Committee Report as ‘the intentional taking of drink or a drug knowing that it is capable in sufficient quantity of having an intoxicating effect.’ In reality, the law does not support the stringency of this explanation. The main rationale is that the intoxicant must be able to impair the defendant’s rationality and human reasoning abilities. In the case of R v Hardie, the question of whether valium could be classed as an intoxicant arose. The defence was that the valium was only administered for relaxant purposes and according to Lord Parker, ‘there was no evidence that it was known that the appellant could render a person aggressive.’ Does this mean the court has to decide whether a substance is an intoxicant individually for each case? The Law Commission believes this approach is overall inadequate. The law in England and Wales presumes that intoxication is voluntary unless evidence is produced that allows the court or jury to conclude that it was involuntary. Recent government proposals refrain from attaching a definition to ‘voluntary intoxication,’ preventing the creation of a narrow approach developing. Consequently, voluntary intoxication is not a defence in the law but it can become a mitigating factor and be considered as a â€Å"partial excuse† reducing the echelon of criminal liability. This area has caused serious problems in English criminal law, as it is fraught with ambiguity and uncertainty. How should the law decide the effect voluntary intoxication has on the defendant’s liability? The effect of voluntary intoxication on the mens rea of criminal acts is often comprised of the defendant foreseeing the consequences or intending their occurrence. The strict subjective theory emphasizes that intoxication will always be relevant to the outcome of the case but the absolutist policy theory allows the possibility to escape liability completely. Each theorem supports contrasting trains of thought and makes the options for reform more unenviable and unclear. In an attempt to reach a ‘compromise’ and stabilize the theoretical problems and public policy issues involved, the law has categorized criminal offences into two groups; specific and basic intent offences. Despite the broad scope for divergence, the Law Commission has approved the common law’s implementation of this â€Å"midway course† distinction. Specific and Basic Intent Dichotomy ‘All people have the right to a family, community and working life protected from accidents, violence and other negative consequences of alcohol consumption.’ The essence of the law in England and Wales is not dissimilar to this aim in that intoxication can provide a defence to crimes that are of specific intent, but not to those that are of basic intent. The House of Lords in the leading case of Majewski depicted this approach, which has been dubbed a ‘dichotomy.’ They declared it must be proved in specific offences that the defendant lacked the necessary mens rea at the time of the offence. It is for the prosecution to establish the actual intent of the defendant, taking into account the fact that he was intoxicated. In crimes of basic intent, the actuality that intoxication was self-induced provides the necessary mens rea. The original distinction between crimes of specific and basic intent initially appeared to be clear: the courts did not want a defenda nt to escape liability for his crimes caused during his intoxication. In practice, the distinction is difficult to ascertain and has created incongruity in the law. The courts also desired the dichotomy to be flexible allowing partial defences and mitigation in some cases. Simester argues this similarity is ill founded, as ‘intoxication is a doctrine of inculpation†¦and work in opposite directions.’ Simester’s view regarding the dichotomy is persuasive but I believe clarification is needed before the law can be deemed acceptable. Lord Simon developed another analysis where ‘the prosecution must in general prove that the purpose for the commission of the act extends to the intent expressed or implied in the definition of the crime.’ Another approach put forward was the ‘ulterior intent test,’ which was more widely accepted. This supports the idea that in specific intent crimes, the mens rea extends beyond the actus reus and in basic intent crimes, the mens rea goes no further than the constituents in the actus reus. However, the most prevalent explanation, the â€Å"recklessness test,† which was given by Lord Elwyn-Jones and later approved in the House of Lord’s decision in the case of R v Caldwell. An individual is Caldwell-type reckless if the risk is obvious to an ordinary prudent person who has not given thought to the possibility of there being any such risk, or if the individual has recognized that there is some risk and has nevertheless persisted in his actions. This test states intoxication can only be relevant to crimes that require proof of intention and it is immaterial to crimes that are committed recklessly. Lord Diplock took the objective view that classification of offences into basic or specific intent was irrelevant where â€Å"recklessness† was satisfactory to form the mens rea. However, the distinction between the varying offences is important if the intoxicated person who is charged with an offence of basic intent has thought about a possible risk and wrongly concluded it to be negligible. In this case, there is a lacuna in the â€Å"recklessness test.† The defendant would be acquitted unless convicted under the Majewski ruling on the basis that the actus reus of an offence of basic intent has been committed. Lord Edmund-Davis dissented arguing ‘however grave the crime charged, if recklessness can constitute its mens rea the fact that it was committed in drink can afford no defence.’ Is this too harsh to adhere to the justice proclaimed in the English legal system? The case of R v Heard, the Court of Appeal rejected the recklessness test in favor of the â€Å"purposive intent† and â€Å"ulterior intent† test. The judgment contains vast amounts of ambiguity with the difficulty of ‘fitting an offence into a single pigeon hole.’ The â€Å"recklessness† test was finally confirmed in the 1980 Criminal Law Revision Committee Report and provided an ample explanation for voluntary intoxication. The offence of rape provides a good illustration of the difficulties involved in the â€Å"recklessness† test. The case of R v Fotheringham concerned the rape of a 14-year-old girl by an intoxicated husband who mistakenly underwent sexual intercourse in the belief that the girl was his wife. The offence of rape at that time could be committed recklessly but this has been altered to the principle of ‘reasonable belief.’ The court had to decide whether the defendant had an intention to carry out unlawful sexual intercourse or whether recklessness was sufficient for conviction. Public policy of protection triumphed over the strict subjective theory where intoxication would prevent liability and defined rape as a basic intent offence. The recent case of R v Rowbotham (William) concerning the offences of murder, arson with intent to endanger life and burglary were invalidated where defence expert evidence showed the defendant’s mental abnormalities combined with extreme intoxication had prevented him from forming the specific intent necessary. This case illustrates the dichotomy is still used by courts today despite aspirations for reform. Involuntary Intoxication The courts have taken a moderate approach to defendants who have become intoxicated through no fault of their own. The most common cases of involuntary intoxication involve intoxication that is unknowingly induced by a third party. The main principle is that a defendant will not be held liable for any crimes they carried out while involuntary intoxicated. Their transparency and lack of knowledge shields their ability to form the necessary mens rea. This is not a â€Å"blanket† rule and there are various requirements as to what satisfies the definition of ‘involuntary intoxication.’ Lord Mustill in R v Kingston described the phenomenon as a ‘temporary change in the mentality or personality of the respondent, which lowered his ability to resist temptation so far that his desires overrode his ability to control them.’ He declared the Court of appeal supported the view that protection flows from the ‘general principles’ of the criminal law, b ut what exactly does the term â€Å"general† entail? The first criterion is that the defendant cannot claim they are involuntarily intoxicated if they were misinformed about the description or specific alcohol content. This is illustrated in R v Allen where a man was convicted of indecently assaulting his neighbour even though he had no knowledge of the high alcohol content of the home made wine that he was drank at home having returned from the pub. The second criterion imposed by the courts is that the defendant must have been intoxicated to the point where it would be impossible to form the mens rea to commit the crime. The case of R v Beard created the rationale that there is no remedy if an individual’s inhibitions are lost due to involuntary intoxication. This case was more complex as it involved succession of acts; the defendant whilst intoxicated, raped a 13-year-old girl, placed his hand on her mouth to stop her from screaming, and thus suffocating her resulting in her death. The trial judge at first instance erred in a pplying the test of insanity to a case of intoxication, which did not amount to insanity. Has the ambiguity in this case been eradicated? A recent paradigm of involuntary intoxication can be seen in the Kingston case involving a situation where a 15-year-old boy was drugged and indecently assaulted after the defendant’s drink was spiked. The trial judge directed the jury to convict if they found that the defendant had assaulted the boy pursuant to an intent resulting from the influence of the intoxication. The Court of Appeal upheld the appeal on the basis that it was the defendant’s ‘operative fault.’ Smith has depicted this outcome as ‘surprising, dangerous and contrary to principle.’ The opinion of the House of Lords, who took a narrow view of blame, was Smith’s preferred alternative but others favor the creation of a new common law defence determined by character assessment. Sullivan has described this as comparing the defendant’s â€Å"settled† character with their â€Å"intoxicated† character. If the character is ‘destabilized, he should have an excuse.’ Should the blame not be directed at the 3rd party instead of the defendant though? This method creates a schism between the relevant blame and moral fault. As a consequence, mens rea is being given a more normative meaning negating its cognitive counterpart. However, the Commission is adamant to reject the creation of a new approach and wishes to give statutory effect to the decision in Kingston. They believe that ‘there should be no defence or reduced inhibitions or blurred perception of morality where the defendant’s condition was caused by involuntary intoxication.’ Only time will tell, if the legal reform bodies will cling to their orthodoxy or embrace change. Dutch courage and diseases of the mind To what extent is alcohol-related crime attributable to those with already dysfunctional lives, with a propensity to problematic behaviors, rather than apparently ‘normal’ people engaging in criminal acts when intoxicated? The union of actus reus and mens rea is known as contemporaneity. It is necessary to establish for a conviction to be successful. However, the Dutch courage rule, where the accused gets into a drunken state after deciding to commit a crime, is an exception to this principle. It was decided in Attorney General for Northern Ireland v Gallagher that the accused would be liable for the crime even though they were too drunk to satisfy the required mental element. Lord Denning declared ‘the wickedness of his mind before he got drunk is enough to condemn him.’ Although, it has been recognized that ‘it is almost inconceivable that the case envisaged could ever arise.’ The sale and consumption of alcohol are legal so should we accept t he consequences of diminished responsibility as a cause of criminal activities if perpetrated whilst under the influence? There has been more discussion surrounding the affiliation between alcohol and diseases of the mind. The case of R v Dietschmann concerned a defendant who was intoxicated at the time of the killing that suffered from a mental abnormality due to a recent bereavement. Lord Hutton said ‘drink cannot be taken into account as something which contributed to his mental abnormality.’ The main principle is that drunken defendants are not excluded from pleading diminished responsibility or insanity if they suffer from mental abnormalities. Ashworth believes the task of the jury to decide whether the mental abnormality affected the mens rea is ‘fearsomely difficult.’ Medical experts to some extent aid the task of the jury but the margin for error is significant as the effect of drink and drugs is unique to every individual. It has also been argued that there could potentially be a genetic predisposition to alcoholism but the scope of this is unknown. Tolmie’s conceptualizations of the ‘disease model’ and the ‘habit model’ are eccentric and provide light recovery from psychoanalytic evaluations. I particularly enjoy the fact that she has highlighted the importance of ‘normal human processes†¦and bad choices,’ which are often overlooked. She concentrates on the need for treatment for defendants and does not fall into the trap of defining intoxication as an express defence. The current position of the law in this area is unfair as it deforms other doctrines, supports unprincipled sentencing and punishes some defendants far more than they deserve. Adoption of a generic, doctrinal mitigating excuse of â€Å"partial responsibility† with application to all crimes would solve these problems. This alternative option would function in a similar manner to the ‘not proven’ verdict used in Scotland. In the end, to provide blame and punishment reduction based on fair respon sibility ascription will not support a denial of responsibility. Reform Certain statutes expressly state that a defendant has a defence if they possess particular beliefs. Does this apply where a belief is acquired through intoxication? There is only one type of case where an intoxicated belief can be used as a â€Å"defence.† In the case of Jaggard v Dickinson, the defendant appealed against a conviction of reckless criminal damage to property. The accused, owing to voluntary intoxication, mistakenly but honestly believed that she was damaging the property of a friend and that they would have consented to her doing so. A major anomaly in the law is found when the approach taken in Jaggard is contrasted with that taken in Majewski where the Criminal Justice Act 1967 was not relied upon. Wells has commented that ‘it is difficult to see how†¦the sections perform any different function.’ The area surrounding drunken mistakes is just one theme encircled with uncertainty. There has been much discussion of reform regarding the position of intoxication in the law. The concepts of basic and specific intent are ambiguous, confusing and misleading. The Law Commission has created a proposal to abandon them but the substance of the distinction has been retained. The main question regarding the specific and basic intent dichotomy is the affect it has on the voluntary intoxicated defendant’s liability. The blameworthiness of the defendant is expressed by an evaluation of criminal liability. An enlightened system of criminal justice should respond differently to ‘common criminals’ and voluntary intoxicated defendants. If a man commits mischief when intoxicated, should society take steps in the framework of the criminal law to prevent him? Judicial insistence upon the requirement of mens rea might remove the problem of antisocial drinking but alternatives will not develop if the courts allow these problems to be thrust upon them. The Majewski decision has been criticized as it allows conviction for causing harm where mens rea has not been formed. This is even the case where a defendant is convicted of a basic intent offence instead of a stricter specific intent offence. The House of Lords decision acknowledged the principle of allowing intoxication to be adduced to show that the mens rea for specific intent offences did not exist. They were persuaded by policy objectives to convict of basic intent offences despite the intoxication. This â€Å"midway course† is acceptable on policy grounds but it fails to accord with the basic principles of justice in the criminal law. Is this a clear and logical compromise? The idea to secure conviction for serious offences without satisfying the criteria of mens rea is conjured. This conflicts with the burden of proof, which is placed on the prosecution. This means the fictitious objective â€Å"recklessness† test allows conviction of offences, which require proof of subjective â€Å"recklessness.† The current rationale of the law is that the subjective reckless involved in becoming intoxicated is the moral equivalent of the subjective recklessness usually required for liability. A further criticism is that â€Å"recklessness† relates to the risk of becoming intoxicated and not to the risk of specific harm being caused. As a result, the liability for the harm caused whilst intoxicated goes against the principle of contemporaneity and is constructive, which is contrary to the trend of current law reform. The English law reform bodies have created proposals to replace Majewski with a separate offence of intoxication. This separate offence would remove the possibility of a complete acquittal, which is available in specific intent crimes. A disadvantage to the proposal would be the construction of a â€Å"status† offence with no mens rea involved. This contrasts with previous social policy illustrated in the case of Reniger v Fogossa where a drunken killer was hanged to death to protect human life. However, the Criminal Law Revision Committee rejected the idea of a new offence of intoxication and instead suggested the codification of the law, whilst approving the â€Å"reckless test.† Authors such as Jeremy Horder, who depicted the Law Commission’s efforts as making ‘little effort to discern any deeper principles underlying the common law’, have criticized the Law Commission attempts at clarifying the law. The reform bodies now intend to amend their previous proposals and return ‘to the subject with a stripped down approach.’ Conclusion Why is it taking an unbounded amount of time to evaluate reform of the law on intoxication when 61% of the population perceives alcohol-related violence as worsening? The bare components of the law on intoxication are complex but the added series of exceptions that the Law Commission have proposed to introduce, in my opinion, will undermine the principle of justice in England and Wales. The common law has found a reasonable balance between the subjective and absolutist theories but the ‘midway course’ of specific and basic intent is not satisfactory. The dichotomy requires the courts to evaluate individual criminal acts on their merits putting them into a category of specific or basic intent, which squanders the court’s time and thus, decreases the overall inefficiency of the legal system. Child’s innovative approach involving the correlation with subjective recklessness is an alternative to the recent reform proposals. He declares intoxication will constitute fault only where the burden is replaced by subjective reasonableness and if the defendant would have foreseen the risk if sober. The ‘midway course’ is preserved but in a clear and logical manner without a list of exceptions. However, I disagree with Child’s interpretation of intoxication as the equivalent to recklessness. I believe more research needs to be given to determine the extent of their connection and ultimately decide whether they are analogous or mutually exclusive. Ultimately, liability is ascertained by the intention element but how can this truly be deduced when automatons are intoxicated? Lady Justice Hallett in the recent case of R v Janusz Czajczynsk commented that ‘drinking to excess and taking drugs seems to us to be something of a two edged sword.’ It is tempting to view the defence of intoxication as denying a defendant ‘a valueless opportunity to exculpate himself by pleading his own discreditable conduct in getting drunk.’ However, it is impossible to accurately determine an individual’s thoughts at a precise moment and draw a line where a defendant’s account matches the truth. Simester suggests the intoxication doctrine is reversed to benefit prosecution, becoming constructive liability instead of a defence. I believe there is some accuracy in this initiative but it fails to address the main problem regarding the mental state of the accused. Should there be a common law or statutory defence of intoxication expressly declared? The courts and the Law Commission know the law is not clear and desire to reform the law only after exploring every open avenue. The Law Commission has rightly prioritized consistency, precision and simplicity in their Reports but ‘another round of re-evaluation’ is definitely needed before a firm conclusion can be established. We can only hope that time does run out, allowing the reform debate to finish sooner rather than later.

Democracy in the USA Essay

Text of the US Constitution does not contain the word â€Å"democracy†. The U.S. Constitution was not a perfect document. Originally it contained provisions that are can be recognized as ambiguous. â€Å"The US Founding Fathers† did not create democracy in the modern sense of the word, but the republic. They did not fully trust the wisdom of the American people and their ability to make sound decisions. For many years America was considered to be an ideal democratic country, however in recent years the situation has drastically changed. Among the most important challenges facing America today is the growing social inequality, discrimination on racial, ethnic or religious grounds, practice of indefinite detention of prisoners without charges, judicial bias, operating outside the law in prison, use of torture, the impact of government agencies on the trials, weak penitentiary system, infringement of freedom of speech, Internet censorship, legalized corruption, limiting of citizens’ voting rights, acts of intolerance based on race and ethnicity, the violation of the rights of children, extraterritorial application of the U.S. law, leading to human rights violations in other countries, kidnapping, tracking dissidents, disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrators, application of the death penalty to minors and the mentally ill, etc. At the same time, the international legal obligations of the United States, continues to be reduced to participation in only three of the nine core human rights treaties, providing control mechanisms. The USA has not yet ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979, Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, 1990, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, 2006. At the same time, Americans continue to wrongfully position themselves as an absolute authority and unquestioned leader in the field of democracy and human rights. They are engaged in mentoring, trying to teach others how to build their democracy and ensure human rights. Of ten they do this roughly, ignoring the basic international law principle of state sovereignty. Often their attempts to take care of human rights in other countries is bordering on outright interference in the internal affairs. At the same time, in the USA the situation with human rights remains very complicated. Fundamental political rights of Americans in today’s society, are not only exempt from the archaic elements, but they become even more vulnerable. Elections cause the most serious complaints. The U.S. president is still not elected by direct popular election, and by the Electoral College. Many rightly believe this system obsolete and undemocratic. With it, in particular, the voice of a resident of Delaware or North Dakota has mathematically much more weight than the voice of the voters in the larger states, such as California or New York. With this system, three times in the history of the U.S. the candidate with fewer votes than his opponent was elected the President (George W. Bush in 2000). And Gerald Ford has never been elected. At first, he was co-opted by the Republican National Committee instead of thieving Vice President Spiro Agnew, and then automatically took place of Richard Nixon who departed from his position because of the Watergate scandal. In general, the U.S. political system is based on the absolute monopoly of the two political parties which is far enough from the European-style multi-party democracy. More than 5.8 million Americans (2.5% of all potential voters) are deprived of voting rights because of a criminal record. This means that in general every 40th American citizen has no right to vote, among them every 13th African American (7.7% of total), and in some states, such as Kentucky, Virginia and Florida, more than 20 % of black Americans are deprived of voting rights. According to the Census Bureau, of the 75 million eligible citizens who did not use this right in the presidential election in 2008, 60 million were not able to do so due to lack of registration, which is associated with many cumbersome procedures. Currently only the states of Missouri, South Dakota and New Mexico, as well as the District of Columbia have laws that allow the access of international observers during the elections. In other regions, the issue of the activities of foreign observers is in the competence of local authorities. The implicit control over the population is being enhanced. The current U.S. law, in effect, allows the intelligence community to carry out a total censorship of all electronic communications of foreign and U.S. citizens without a warrant. It also requires telecommunications companies to assist the Government in gathering intelligence about foreign objects and to keep the information gathered in secret. Currently under consideration in Congress, the Cyber ​​Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act – CISPA, according to human rights activists, practically does not limit the possibility of the U.S. government to monitor web browsing of individuals. Freedom of speech is being limited. For attacks on journalists covering the action of the Occupy Wall Street movement, NGO â€Å"Reporters without Borders† in January 2012 lowered its rating of the U.S. in its annual global press freedom index for 27 items at once and put the U.S. on the 47th position (57th with the territories in which Washington exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction). According to an investigation of the Coalition of Independent Lawyers (Protest and Assembly Rights Project), only in New York from September 2011 to July 2012 at least 18 accredited reporters have been arrested. The site WikiLeaks was the subject of persecution by the U.S. administration in retaliation for the publication of the diplomatic dispatches. According to the latest Google report on the availability of services of the company, during the period from July to December 2011, the amount of requests for removal of content received by it from the U.S. government has increased by 103% compar ed to the previous reporting period. U.S. law enforcement agencies requested removal from YouTube video sharing hosting of 1.4 thousand videos that â€Å"contain insults.† 6.3 thousand queries required disclosure data of more than 12.2 thousand users of this company. 93% of these requirements were met. Quite specific topic is absolutely abhorrent practice of extrajudicial killings abroad. As part of the â€Å"war on terror† in Washington highly specific approaches have been developed, the application of which caused not only massive violation of many international legal norms, but also killing thousands of innocent people. Crimes against humanity committed by U.S. soldiers abroad often do not receive proper legal assessment of the national judicial system. Illegal abduction and detention of people remain in the arsenal of U.S. intelligence. In September 2006, President Bush acknowledged the existence of secret CIA prisons. As it became known later, in 2002-2003. secret services built about ten such detention facilities, including in foreign countries – Afghanistan, Iraq, Thailand, Morocco, Djibouti, Romania, Lithuania and Poland. In January 2012, a special prison at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) â€Å"celebrated† its 10th anniversary. U.S. President B arack Obama, despite his campaign promise, failed to close it because of counteraction of Congress. The practice of torture condemned by most countries of the world remains legalized in the United States. April 6, 2009 the Department of Justice published four memorandums, prepared in 2002-2005 by the lawyers of this agency. They thoroughly substantiated the legality of application of harsh interrogation techniques to prisoners of CIA prisons in terms of U.S. and international law. Along with other human rights violations in the United States numerous cases of police brutality have been recorded. Human rights activists note that the level of sexual crimes among American police is much higher than among the U.S. population as a whole. Mass practice in the United States have become systematic violations of human rights in detention. Business, which uses the prisoners’ labor flourishes in the USA. One in 10 prisoners in this country is contained in a commercial prison. The other fact demonstrating the low level of democracy in the USA are as follows: 1. In 33 U.S. states the death penalty is still permitted and applied; 2. Hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. are abused which results in some cases (in 2010 – 1.6 thousand) to a lethal outcome; 3. In the U.S., social and economic rights are seriously disrupted. In the country there are 12.8 million unemployed, 40 million people do not have health insurance, 14.5% of families are experiencing food shortages; 4. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the USA has one of the highest levels of income inequality; 5. One of the most rightless segments of the population of America are migrants, who make up at least half of all those employed in the agricultural sector of the country; This brief review shows that the issue of human rights, facing all of humanity, is acutely relevant for the modern United States. All claims of the United States to be the moral leader in this area require a lot of preliminary work to clear own American â€Å"Augean stables.† Works Cited Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Study on Targeted Killings, Human Rights Council, 9-11, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/14/24/Add.6 (May 28, 2010).

Non-reactive Techniques, Observation, and Experimentation

In research, the question, hypothesis, research design, data collection strategy, and data analysis procedures are rooted in previous literatures and identified before the project begins. Any changes in the proposed design while carrying out the research would be seen as weakening the validity of the research finding and, well, just bad research practice. An explanatory, also called classical experimental, design is seen as the most robust, since it follows procedures that meet the criteria for proving causality.It identifies independent and dependent variable, required random assignment of research subjects to experimental and a control group so that both groups are the same, describes procedures for manipulation of the dependent variable(s), and requires development of pretest and posttest instruments and time frames. If this design is implemented then threats to internal validity (proving causality) are removed.Descriptive designs address correlational relationships between indepe ndent and dependent variables, usually through large-scale surveys. Samples are preferably random (representative of the population being studied); however, these samples are not manipulated into control and experimental groups but are surveyed in their own settings using valid and reliable data collection instruments developed in advance of data collection. Such designs do not address threats to internal validity, but they are considered to have stronger external validity (generalizability of findings from the sample to the population of interest) than the explanatory design (Morris, 2006).The â€Å"Classical† Experimental DesignAll experimental designs are variations on the basic classical experimental design, which consists of two groups, an experimental and a control group, and two variables, an independent and a dependent variable. Units to be analyzed (e.g., subjects) are randomly assigned to each of the experimental and control groups. Units in the experimental group r eceive the independent variable (the treatment condition) that the investigator has manipulated. Contributors in the control group do not obtain the independent variable handling. Pretest and Posttest measures are taken on the independent variable(s), and the control group participants are measures at the same time as the experimental group, although no planned change or manipulation has taken place with regard to the independent variable in the control group.Researchers often use this design when they are interested in assessing change from the pretest to the posttest, as a result of a treatment or intervention. This design is also known as â€Å"pretest-posttest† or â€Å"before-after† design, to differentiate it from a posttest-only design in which one group receives a treatment, whereas the other group receives no treatment and serves as a control.The key difference in the posttest-only design is that neither group is pretested, nor only at the end of the study are both groups measured on the dependent variable. Some researchers favor this latter design over the classic two-group pre- and posttest approach because they are concerned that the pretest measures will sensitize participants or that a learning effect might take place that influences individuals’ performance on the posttest (Babbie, 2005).Ascertaining Causality between VariablesResearchers challenge to establish cause-and-effect associations linking independent and dependent variables by experimental studies.An experiment characterizes a set of processes to decide the fundamental nature of the causal association linking independent and dependent variables. â€Å"Systematically changing the value of the independent variable and measuring the effect on the dependent variable characterizes experimentation†(Maxfield & Babbie, 2004). Sometimes, the experiment appraises the outcome of arrangements of independent variable comparative to one or more dependent variables. Not co nsidering the quantity of variables considered, and experiment’s crucial purpose challenges to methodically segregate the result of at least one independent variable connected to at least one dependent variable. Simply when this occurs can one choose which variable(s) truly clarifies the happening (Morris, 2006).To conclude causality, science necessitates that an alteration in the X-variable (independent, influenced variable) go before an adjustment in the Y-variable (dependent, variable predictable for change), with suitable deliberation for scheming other variables that may in reality root the relationship. Perceptive in causal aspects in associations among variables improves one’s perception about experimental data.Controlling all potential factors that influence those effects of the independent variable(s) on the dependent variable(s) requires considerable effort, knowledge about the main factors, and creativity (Lewis-Beck, Bryman, & Liao, 2004).ConclusionIn other words, the fact that a dependent variable and an independent variable are strongly associated cannot always be extended to a logical conclusion that it is the value of the independent variable that is causing the value of the dependent variable to be whatever it is.To achieve causality between variables, one must conduct an experimental study about these variables. Oftentimes, investigational outcome are not constant as they come out. Even though field studies supply purpose insight about probable causes for experiential phenomena, the need of full power innate in such study confines capability to deduce causality. Because neither dynamic treatment of the independent variable by the experimenter nor manage over probable overriding factors happen, no assurance survives that any experiential disparity in the dependent variable essentially resulted from difference in the independent variable (Maxfield & Babbie, 2004).References:Babbie, E. R. (2005). The Basics of Social Research. Belm ont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.Lewis-Beck, M. S., Bryman, A., & Liao, T. F. (2004). The Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods. New York: SAGE.Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R. (2004). Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.Morris, T. (2006). Social Work Research Methods: Four Alternative Paradigms. New York: SAGE. Non-reactive techniques, observation, and experimentation In research, the question, hypothesis, research design, data collection strategy, and data analysis procedures are rooted in previous literatures and identified before the project begins. Any changes in the proposed design while carrying out the research would be seen as weakening the validity of the research finding and, well, just bad research practice. An explanatory, also called classical experimental, design is seen as the most robust, since it follows procedures that meet the criteria for proving causality. It identifies independent and dependent variable, required random assignment of research subjects to experimental and a control group so that both groups are the same, describes procedures for manipulation of the dependent variable(s), and requires development of pretest and posttest instruments and time frames. If this design is implemented then threats to internal validity (proving causality) are removed.Descriptive designs address correlational relationships between indep endent and dependent variables, usually through large-scale surveys. Samples are preferably random (representative of the population being studied); however, these samples are not manipulated into control and experimental groups but are surveyed in their own settings using valid and reliable data collection instruments developed in advance of data collection. Such designs do not address threats to internal validity, but they are considered to have stronger external validity (generalizability of findings from the sample to the population of interest) than the explanatory design (Morris, 2006).The â€Å"Classical† Experimental DesignAll experimental designs are variations on the basic classical experimental design, which consists of two groups, an experimental and a control group, and two variables, an independent and a dependent variable. Units to be analyzed (e.g., subjects) are randomly assigned to each of the experimental and control groups. Units in the experimental group receive the independent variable (the treatment condition) that the investigator has manipulated. Contributors in the control group do not obtain the independent variable handling. Pretest and Posttest measures are taken on the independent variable(s), and the control group participants are measures at the same time as the experimental group, although no planned change or manipulation has taken place with regard to the independent variable in the control group.Researchers often use this design when they are interested in assessing change from the pretest to the posttest, as a result of a treatment or intervention. This design is also known as â€Å"pretest-posttest† or â€Å"before-after† design, to differentiate it from a posttest-only design in which one group receives a treatment, whereas the other group receives no treatment and serves as a control. The key difference in the posttest-only design is that neither group is pretested, nor only at the end of the study a re both groups measured on the dependent variable. Some researchers favor this latter design over the classic two-group pre- and posttest approach because they are concerned that the pretest measures will sensitize participants or that a learning effect might take place that influences individuals’ performance on the posttest (Babbie, 2005).Ascertaining Causality between VariablesResearchers challenge to establish cause-and-effect associations linking independent and dependent variables by experimental studies.An experiment characterizes a set of processes to decide the fundamental nature of the causal association linking independent and dependent variables. â€Å"Systematically changing the value of the independent variable and measuring the effect on the dependent variable characterizes experimentation†(Maxfield & Babbie, 2004). Sometimes, the experiment appraises the outcome of arrangements of independent variable comparative to one or more dependent variables. Not considering the quantity of variables considered, and experiment’s crucial purpose challenges to methodically segregate the result of at least one independent variable connected to at least one dependent variable. Simply when this occurs can one choose which variable(s) truly clarifies the happening (Morris, 2006).To conclude causality, science necessitates that an alteration in the X-variable (independent, influenced variable) go before an adjustment in the Y-variable (dependent, variable predictable for change), with suitable deliberation for scheming other variables that may in reality root the relationship. Perceptive in causal aspects in associations among variables improves one’s perception about experimental data.Controlling all potential factors that influence those effects of the independent variable(s) on the dependent variable(s) requires considerable effort, knowledge about the main factors, and creativity (Lewis-Beck, Bryman, & Liao, 2004).ConclusionIn oth er words, the fact that a dependent variable and an independent variable are strongly associated cannot always be extended to a logical conclusion that it is the value of the independent variable that is causing the value of the dependent variable to be whatever it is.To achieve causality between variables, one must conduct an experimental study about these variables. Oftentimes, investigational outcome are not constant as they come out. Even though field studies supply purpose insight about probable causes for experiential phenomena, the need of full power innate in such study confines capability to deduce causality. Because neither dynamic treatment of the independent variable by the experimenter nor manage over probable overriding factors happen, no assurance survives that any experiential disparity in the dependent variable essentially resulted from difference in the independent variable (Maxfield & Babbie, 2004).References:Babbie, E. R. (2005). The Basics of Social Research. Be lmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.Lewis-Beck, M. S., Bryman, A., & Liao, T. F. (2004). The Sage Encyclopedia of Social Science Research Methods. New York: SAGE.Maxfield, M. G., & Babbie, E. R. (2004). Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.Morris, T. (2006). Social Work Research Methods: Four Alternative Paradigms. New York: SAGE.

Effect of Tax on the Selling of Apples in a Small Scale Assignment

Effect of Tax on the Selling of Apples in a Small Scale - Assignment Example This scenario takes two rounds or instances of selling and the supplier’s interest are the amount of profit. According to the data, in round 1 the supplier sold a bushel of apples at $10 and the second round at $19. The formula to calculate profit is: In the second set of data, session #1 has apples sold for every unit from 1 to 20. The indication is that the demand for the apples is high when there is no tax charged during the buying and selling of the apples. The demand for the apples in the experiment is less elastic than the supply. In the second session, the supplier bears the tax burden. In the experiment, the apple supplier still has a seller cost of $18 for a bushel of apples. Above the seller cost, the supplier must pay a sales tax of $15. However, if the seller does not sell any apples, he does not pay either seller cost or sales tax. From the record of prices and profits, the supplier never sold a bushel of apples in either round 1 or 2 showing a significant decline in the profits to zero when the supplier pays the tax. From the second data set, session #2 indicates a drop in the supply of the apples. In the first 14 units sold, the sellers supply pattern indicates some increase in volumes of the sales of apple. On the other hand, from 15 to 20 units, the seller never sold any apples due to the high costs from taxes. The tax burden shifts to buyers in the third session. The supplier of apples in the first set of data does not sell any apples due to drop in demand since the buyers deter from buying. In the second data set, the buyers could still afford the bushel of apples for up to 12 units sold. From 13 to 20 units, the supplier does not sell any apples. This experiment uses a method of comparative statistics to analyze the effect of the tax on demand and supply. The economic theory that comes into play in this scenario is the optimal tax theory. This theory  suggests the best way to affect taxation with minimal distortion of the demand and supply. According to this theory, the sales tax imposed on suppliers and buyers has the same effect; reducing the demand and supply.