Five Forces Framework Essay

Porter’s Five Forces Model is a model that analyzes an industry to help develop a business strategy. The model uses five forces that have been identified to categorize an industry as intensely competitive or not competitive at all and this will then determine the attractiveness of the market.There are many features of an industry in which a company competes that determines the level of competition it will face and the profits it will get. The most famous classification was done by Michael Porter, known as Porters Five Forces framework which can help a company determine its potential profits by looking at five sources of competitive pressure. The five sources of competition are: 1. Threat of new entrant 2. Threat of substitutes 3. Rivalry among existing competitors 4. Bargaining power of suppliers 5. Bargaining power of buyers. Porter’s Five Forces In particular, we will focus on three different industries; We will start analyzing the five forces in the smartphone industry and then we will continue dealing with the personal computer industry and finally we will present digital music portable industry. SMARTPHONE Industry: In general the smartphone market is rapidly changing, with constant product introductions. It is characterized by quickly evolving technology and designs, short product life cycles, aggressive pricing, rapid imitation of product and technological advancements, and highly price sensitive consumers. Self-elasticity and cross-elasticity are high. No one firm in the market has sufficient market share to control prices, resulting is strong rivalry and competitive pricing. 1. Threat of new entrant: The barriers to entry are high due to the existence of patents, high fixed costs and economies of scale, regulation, and brand loyalty. The individual market participants engage in attempts at product differentiation, some being more  successful than others. The standout is Apple, which has successfully differentiated its iPhone, and stands a good chance of maintaining that differentiation due to its closed and all-inclusive model or development and use.Barriers to entry in the smartphone market are relatively high, but the rapid growth of the market is providing opportunities despite this. There are significant fixed costs associated with smartphone manufacturing. While most firms have the hardware of the phones manufactured overseas by foreign companies, the costs of developing the research and engineering personnel to design and test the smartphone and software can be prohibitively expensive for an entering firm. These fixed costs include not just the cost of the manpower, intellectual knowhow, intellectual property, computers, test equipment, prototyping devices and supplier and manufacturer contracts, but also the time necessary to develop all of these. Because the industry moves so quickly, an entering firm would either have to enter with existing resources targeting the smartphone market, or it would have to have another significant competitive. Moreover consumer will face an high switching costs if they decide to change their products, as a result of the fidelity every brand put on its product. Because all these reasons smartphone industry is extremely difficult to enter. As a result the threat of new competition is low. Smartphone production needs huge number of money and high technology. Even if established the company, it is impossible for new brand to compete with big company like Apple and Samsung. 2. Threat of substitutes : As a result of the high barrier to entry, to build and launch a substitute product is a hard work. Thus Threat of substitute is low. It’s extremely difficult to enter Smartphone production; because this industry base on high technology. As a result, it’s very hard to invent the substitute to replace smartphone with low price and more power function. 3. Rivalry among existing competitors:With rapid innovation necessary for a rapidly changing market, where customers are very price conscious, rivalry among firms in the smartphone market is fierce. Firms in the smartphone market actively work to adopt the successful ideas and technology of their competitors. This has been the trend with large touch screens, touch friendly operating systems, embedded cameras, and availability of an easy to  use app store, among other things. As consumers are more and more driven to purchase by the features that are available on the smartphone, there is a constant rivalry among firms to match each other on features. There is also an effort to stifle each other’s efforts to develop those technologies through obtaining of patents and filing lawsuits seeking injunctions and trade restrictions. No particular firm in the market has a significant amount of market power; every firm is vying for a greater piece of the pie. This has resulted in drivin g down of smartphone prices and relative price parity for flagship smartphones from each major firm. Firms are heavily involved in price discrimination, pricing their phones differently based on the sale outlet. Smartphones sold through retailers are frequently cheaper than those sold through network service providers. The one exception to this is Apple. Apple maintains price equivalency no matter the outlet, and the prices it charges for its smartphones is in many cases much higher than its competitors. Because Apple has been able to do this, its smartphone sales are reportedly highly profitable, while smartphone sales for Motorola have not been profitable at all. Rivalry also comes from outside the manufacturers’ market as other firms try to cash in on the smartphone profits. Google open sourced the Android OS so that it could find revenue from sales of apps and ads through the smartphones that run the OS. This cuts directly into Apple’s effort to become the dominant player in the smartphone manufacturer market, changing the nature of the market significantly. Such changes are likely to continue as other firms attempt to enter the market. Therefore, threat of substitute might have two factors (price and performance) which allows customer to switch the product as well as willingness of buyers to switch. Threat of substitute can be reduced as much as buyers become loyal to the products. To give an example, Apple has been able to create an â€Å"ecosystem†. People buy iPhone for standard, apps and other Apple’s product for upgradeability and stability which gives customer the ability to transfer knowledge and apps among devices 4. Bargaining power of suppliers: Bargaining is very high; Smartphones’ producers have to deal with two different categories of supplier: the hardware producers and the software. Because smartphone production market is not easy to enter , also supplier are limited. If the smartphone company  changes their supplier of components or CPU, the performance of smartphone will change a lot. So the company have to stay under their suppliers’ rule and they have to accept their price, that will be reflected in the price of the final product inevitably. The smartphone company are not willing and will be not willing to take the risk to change their suppliers, in order to maintain the quality of their products. 5. Bargaining power of buyers: customers are not concentrating on price; when they decide to buy a new smartphone they will take into consideration the design and the prestige the product will give them. Sometimes they choose basing on the advertising they receive. So they do not have a strong influence on this industry. Firms get the power to influence their customer and their ability is to make them trust in their own brand, providing for some value added. Take iPhone for example, the function of iPhone is just as good as some that other smartphone could have; However, the price of iPhone is one of the highest in the entire variety of smartphone present in the market, just because the prestige of iPhone is very high. This example shows that the bargaining power of customer is quite low. PC INDUSTRY The computer hardware industry consists of companies that manufacture and assemble personal computers, computer hardware, and computer peripherals. This industry is highly competitive, which means that companies must continuously be innovative in order to sustain a competitive advantage. The major companies of this industry include Oracle, IBM, HP, Dell, Apple, and Toshiba. This analysis will focus on computer manufacturing since it is the largest component of the industry, containing 43.7% of the market’s total value. The computer industry has been rapidly growing and shows no signs of slowing despite the recent economic downturn. 1. Threat of New Entrants :PC market is dominated by some major competitors as Hp, Dell, Acer, Apple, and others who currently have nearly the entire market share; this will likely discourage any potential new companies from entering the market. So we can state that the personal computer industry is characterized by a very weak threat of new entrants. A huge problem that  has to be faced in order to entry this market is that the market requires significant investments to be made in research and development to continually develop innovative products as well as large fixed start-up costs for manufacturing and employees and customer service.Existing firms can benefit from their capabilities of manufacturing at lower prices because of the advantage of economies of scale, where the will have fewer per unit costs as a result of their large scale production. Companies trying to enter the market will initially have smaller production and will consequently have higher prices. In the personal computer industry there is currently much emphasis put on price because consumers have become more price sensitive as personal computers have become more or less a commodity. New entrants will not only have higher prices but they will likely have a less innovative product as well because they do not have equal funding for research and development as other established brands and they will also have to deal with the brand loyal customers that have trusted the existing players in the industry for years. By attempting to join the market without any market share it will also be important for a new entrant to focus its investments more heavily on advertising and marketing then existing brands. A new entrant to the personal computer market will likely not fare well and is almost guaranteed to always be a second mover as the larger companies will develop more innovative products more rapidly because of their many competitive advantages. 2. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: It is possible to identify three different groups of suppliers in the personal computer industry including hardware suppliers, software suppliers and service suppliers. The first group is not able to exert a significant power. The core of their products are generally standardized and they compete by focusing on creating better, more advanced products at a better price and not through their attempts to differentiate them. As a result, firms within the industry are able to switch between this kind of suppliers relatively easily. It is really in the hands of the firm and which strategy they are committed to that will determine whether or not they will utilize a high or low end supplier. On the other hand, suppliers of hardware and software within the industry play a critical role in the pricing of products. With the quality of a computer being largely  determined by their microprocessors and application system installed within them. If a firm is following a high quality strategy then it can be expected that their prices will generally be higher to reflect the higher prices they are paying their suppliers.In terms of service suppliers, the service that can be offered within the personal PC industry include internet, tech support and repair services. These suppliers focus highly on operational performance and relational performance in order to increase customer satisfaction. They also offer a variety of customer loyalty programs in attempts to lock in and expand their customer base while trying to gain the competitive edge over competitors within the service industry of personal computers. While the PC industry changes regularly, it can be observed that only the central processing unit (CPU) is a key input. All other items are commodity in nature and so don’t command a bargaining power. Intel has a significant market power as it is a single major supplier of microprocessor and has an 80% of market share.Thus, Dell as computer manufacturer holds a power over the suppliers as opposed to the suppliers holding a power over the manufacturers. It is the suppliers that are in direct competition with each other. The suppliers are often forced to slash prices or merge with larger companies in order to survive. Hence, the bargaining power of suppliers is moderate. 3. Bargaining Power of Buyers: The personal computer industry is somewhat vulnerable against the bargaining power of buyers. Personal computer buyers are price-sensitive. Buyers are interested in quality and specifications thus making consumer loyalty low. Should one company not offer a product a product to suit the customer’s needs, they will find one that will. Buyer power is reduced slightly as computers are increasingly seen as a necessity due to the importance of online communication and information processing. Moreover, in the last recent years, some new technologies came on the market providing customers with the possibility to have more and more alternative options to the personal computer as smartphones, tablet computers, and other handheld devices like Ipods have most of the same capabilities as a personal computer. Because of the availability, sleekness, and trendiness of these alternatives, personal computers are becoming more and more obsolete. Personal computer must differentiate itself  in order to regain market share and compete with these newer alternative options. Large businesses, governments and schools which buy computers in large volumes have the power to bargain on price, quality and service. PC manufacturers can reduce a threat of buyer power by differentiating their product.DELL has introduced a new way of selling (direct model concept); buyers can directly buy computers with DELL without a so called middle man. By using this concept, computers cost per unit can be reduced. Furthermore, buyers are able to customize the PC based on their needs. The basis of this model, the direct model concept is to improve efficiency by effectively eliminating the intermediaries thereby allowing the company to speak directly to the customer. Dealing directly with customers allows Dell to customize their orders according to the customers’ needs. But, despite several ways in which manufacturers have differentiated their products and found ways to increase switching costs, customers still see units as very similar and thus choose primarily on price.To conclude we can consider a strong bargaining power of buyers. 4. Rivalry among Existing Firms: There is fierce competition between the top manufacturers in the personal computer industry. As the PC has increasingly become a commodity in a household, the fight to keep costs low while bringing the best product to the market has become a never ending battle. Thus competitors are trying to produce a low cost, powerful machine with the most efficient operating system. Firms specialize in different areas in order to compete amongst their rivals. Some focus on innovation and attempt to bring the newest technology to their customers first. Nevertheless, others may focus on their distribution channel and services throughout their firm. For example, DELL is focusing on distribution channel and high quality service while others such IBM and Apple focus more on innovation. All these create differentiation to some extent. Low-cost production at DELL contributes its positive growth rate, while other major manufacturers are experiencing negative growth rates. However, one of the fiercest areas is the price competition throughout the industry. It is to underline that the determinants of a pc’s quality are the microprocessor and application systems installed. As a result, there is a direct correlation between the firm’s profitability and the profitability of the firm’s suppliers.The major  manufacturers as DELL, IBM, HP, Acer and Apple are in competition to produce the least expensive and most efficient machine. Japanese companies such as Fujitsu, Toshiba, Sony and NEC also have large market shares.This intense competition are beginning to be felt its effect.Some companies exit via selling to other companies or simply exiting the industry altogether. For example, Compact Computers was acquired by Hewlett-Packet in 2002 while Xerox exi ted the computer business and concentrate on printers. Today, regardless of the number of companies present, the computer industry will continue to expand and remain competitive for a number of years to come, although threat to industry rivalry will continue to be strong. 5. Threat of Substitutes and Complements: Although it is very hard and challenging for a new entrant to join the personal computer industry there are currently other growing industries such as the smartphone, tablet, TV set/top boxes industries which are predicted to affect the sales of personal computers. All those alternatives started to encroach on functionality that was once the sole purview of the PC. Also if those products have different major players, their offers similar benefits to consumers that a personal computer also has. Moreover the technology advances are improving those products day by day. Thus they continue to increase in popularity and in performance, leading the sales of personal computers to a decline. The internet can now be accessed through phones and tablets and they are more portable than a laptop. Currently laptops and personal computers offer many unique applications and are compatible with much more software than smartphones and tablets. If smartphones and tablets can attain greater memory space, processing speeds, and compatibility with similar software, smartphones and tablets may be an all-in-one alternative to personal computers. Not only smartphone and tablet, but also some advanced game device like Sony PS3 allowed consumers to watch DVDs, surf the web, and play the game directly online in addition to play traditional video games. As technology continues to increase these separate industries may merge into one, or at least drastically affect each other.Hence we can conclude that threat from substitutes is strong in the PC industry. Digital Music Portable Industry 1. Threat of new entrant: In this industry, threat of entry is medium because the production cost is quite low. For example, the cost of material, packaging, assembly of iRiver (H320) only costs  £69 and the company can sell it in retail shop at  £153 (Skee G., 2005) Therefore, it may attract new competitors to enter into the market due to the low cost of material and the high product margin. Furthermore, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reports that the demand for music on the internet and mobile phones is booming and it may replace physical formats such as tape, CD, and DVD in the future; hence, it can be predicted that the market is still growing gradually (The Computer & Internet Lawyer, 2005). As a result, many companies come into the market and pose new threat to existing companies. For example, Microsoft has recently entered to this industry and launched â€Å"Zune† into the market. Many experts believe that Zune might be a competitive rival with iPod; however, it is not easy for new entrants to gain market share in this industry. It is obvious that Apple is still the market leader because Apple has economies of scale in its production that Apple produces and sells iPod more than 10 million with the high margin cost in each year. Next, Apple’s product is highly differentiated from other brands that customers still buy iPod due to its differentiation. For instance, iPod Nano, the latest model from Apple, has attractive features such as full color screen and the copyright-click wheel button, and iTune system which customers can use it easily to buy and download songs into iPod from internet. As a result, it is difficult for new entrants which have recently entered into the market to develop product to overcome existing companies in the industry. 2. Threat of substitutes : he threat of substitute product in the industry is medium because digital portable music products are quite unique which could not be easily replaced by other products. Products have many advantages for customers. For example, it is cheaper to download songs from internet into iPod than buy CD audio. Next, the quality of sound is equal to an original CD after encoding into audio file format. Customers can enjoy listening music as the same as they enjoy listening music from original CD but cheaper price. Therefore, these are reasons why a MP3 player is still popular today. However, in this last recent years we can see the birth of new product which perhaps can replace MP3 player. They are the new mobile phone and smartphone that are provided with an integrated music players ( previously Nokia N91 with a built-in 4GB hard drive or Motorola E398 with removable memory card and now iPhone, Galaxy and so on). Music phone can download songs via WAP or GPRS and store it in a built-in or removable memory. Importantly, many experts believe that the music phone will be the most serious threat to the industry in the near future because it is all-in-one functions that customers can use it for both communication and entertainment. According to some recent research, the benefit of music phone will make some consumers may hesitate to spend  £149 on MP3 Player when they could buy music phone with  £169 or  £189. 3. Rivalry among existing competitors: In this industry, the intensity of competition is high because there are many players in the industry and each company try to complete with each other by developing new products in the market all the time. For example, Microsoft has recently launched their new product which is MP3 player â€Å"Zune†. It has many features which is different from other products in the market such as an integrated FM tuner, bigger screen, and WiFi connection. Microsoft reports that Zune can penetrate into the market and gain the market share from dominant companies. Two weeks after launching, it took the second place of the market from SanDisk and grabbed 9% of the U.S.A. market but following Apple whose its product (iPod) still dominated the market (Martell, D., 2006) Moreover, â€Å"Cut Price† is popular business strategies in the industry. Most companies use it to overcome with other competitors and it can drive the industry to be more competitive. For example, Creative is a MP3 Player manufacturer that lost the market position to Apple two years ago. In 2005, Sim Wong Hoo, the founder of Creative, declared war on Apple’s iPod by launching new and modern product (Creative Zen Neeon) which Apple tried to counter by cutting price on its product that it forced Creative to do the same thing in its product; therefore, the intensity of rivalry was increasing gradually from this situation. (Sudhaman A., 2005) Besides, the market is growing very fast in the industry that it could also make the industry to be more competitive as well. For instance, iRiver anticipates that MP3 player market in Thailand  will continue to grow increasingly and consumer’s demand will double in the near future; therefore, iRiver has launched new product in the market which it hopes to gain more market share from 13.7% up to 20%. (Veerasak, 2005) When the market is growing very fast; it tends to stimulate many companies to enter and launch their product in the market to gain profit in the industry. 4. Bargaining power of suppliers: In this industry, the bargaining power of supplier is medium because, firstly, there are a lot of suppliers which provide materials for companies such as flash memory, hard disk, semiconductor, and so forth. These suppliers mostly come from Asia region especially in China which is a major source for many companies due to the low price of material. Secondly, according to a supplier in the industry, iSuppli anticipates that the shipment of MP3 players with Hard Disk Drive (HDD) – based product is growing up to 42.6% in 2009 from 26.6% in 2004. Consequently, it made many suppliers come to produce material for MP3 Player market. (Electronic News, 2005) Thirdly, most companies in the industry have power to negotiate with suppliers regarding the price of material. Nowadays, the demand of digital music player is growing dramatically; therefore, the growth of the market made many companies have to produce their product in high volume in order to serve market’s need and it made suppliers lost bargaining power because the large production gives company to be able to order material in high volume from suppliers. Furthermore, some companies that need lots of material in their production tend to have a long-term agreement with supplier to supply them material. For example, Apple need to have lots of material such as flash memory and hard disk memory for its product; therefore, Apple decided to make a long-term supply agreement with flash memory manufacturers such as Samsung, Toshiba in order to get good deal of price and ensure to have material for their product up until 2010. 5. Bargaining power of buyers. The bargaining power of buyer in the industry is low. Although, there are a lot of competitors in the market, products in some companies made a great success in sales volume because of their specific characteristics, such as iPod for example. It is not product’s price but it is product’s differentiation and the brand of the product.  Firms have the power to address customers to choose their specific product focusing on marketing tools. As a result, Apple can set price for its product and it can push high switching cost to customers if they want to change to other products in the market. Importantly, customers buy iPod because it also contains good features and attractive appearance. For instance, although, the price of iPod Nano is higher than other competitors in the market, the excellent features and functions of the product such as it can be played movies and it has higher storage capacity compared to previous model (iPod Mini) made Apple to get lots of profit from iPod Nano in 2005 which iPod Nano is not only just Apple’s best-selling iPod, but also the best – selling digital music player model worldwide.

Antitrust: Cartel and Federal Trade Commission

The purpose of this paper is to discuss antitrust law with regard to federal regulations. In the form of a case study, this paper will examine the legal obstacles faced by the merger proposal between US Airways Group Inc. and American Airlines' parent corporation AMR. The focus of the paper is to examine the legal hurdles posed by antitrust laws used to block the merger and then briefly explore possible ethical issues associated with allowing US Airways Group Inc. and AMR to merge. Antitrust Laws There are three core federal antitrust laws in effect today in our US legal system.They are the Sherman Act, The Federal Trade Commission Act, and the Clayton Act (â€Å"Antitrust†, n. d. ). The Sherman Antitrust Act (Sherman Act, July 2, 1890, ch. 647, 26 Stat. 209, 15 U. S. C.  § 1–7) is an antitrust law primarily aimed at prohibiting the formulation of monopolies by making them a felony offense. As the Sherman Act evolved the US Supreme Court decided that monopolies in and of themselves are not bad and do not automatically violate the Sherman Act. Instead, it is the particular actions taken to obtain or maintain monopolistic positioning that is illegal (â€Å"Sherman†, 2008).The Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U. S. C.  § 45: US Code – Section 45: Unfair methods of competition unlawful; prevention by Commission) has a primary duty of prohibiting actions within commerce that are deemed unfair to competition (â€Å"15 U. S. C.  § 45†, n. d. ). The Clayton Act (15 U. S. C. A.  § 12 et seq. [1914]) is an addition to the antitrust laws primarily used today to prohibit certain types of business practices making them illegal when their usage severely restricts competition and/or creates a monopoly.The practices specifically addressed in the Act are price discrimination, making it illegal to sale the same product to different people in the same market at different prices; tying and exclusive dealing contracts, making it illegal to forbid a shopper from shopping with competitors; corporate mergers, the acquisition of competing head to head companies by one company; and interlocking directorates, the members of which are common members on the boards of directors of competing companies (â€Å"Clayton act†, 2008).The Enforcers The federal antitrust laws are enforced by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice. They both open up and conduct antitrust investigations. In situations involving the airline industry the Department of Justice has jurisdiction in matters pertaining to antitrust laws. There are other regulatory agencies that also must give approval before certain mergers can take place. In these instances The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice provide support to the agencies. Individual states may also work in conjunction with the two federal agencies to enforce its state's antitrust laws.Additionally, the states can file antitrust lawsuits on behalf of it s citizens or the state. This is usually done through the state's attorney general office. Individuals and businesses can also initiate antitrust complaints and file suits to have the antitrust laws enforced (â€Å"The federal government†, n. d. ). Mergers Section 7 of the Clayton Act addresses the antitrust laws concerning mergers. Mergers are not inherently bad or illegal. So long as the merger doesn't cause a significant increase in prices, a serious reduction in quality of goods and services, and doesn't deter innovation.Mergers become a problem when they significantly lessen competition or lead to a monopoly. When head to head competitors propose a merger it will usually sets off antitrust alarm bells that most likely will lead to an investigation by one of the federal agencies (â€Å"Mergers†, n. d. ). External Obstacles In 2005, US Airways and AMR publically proposed a merger that was met with a great deal of resistance. The government has the responsibility to regulate mergers to ensure the merger doesn't violate antitrust laws.This merger had to be reviewed by several agencies such as the U.S. Justice Department, the U. S. Department of Transportation, the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, the Security and exchange commission, and U. S. Bankruptcy Courts. This was a very high profile merger proposal and it was met with a great deal of opposition (Cobb, et al. , 2006). The airline eventually won Department of Justice approval but had to agree to give up some airport slots to clear antitrust concerns. Both airlines agreed to the terms in order to keep the merger proposal alive (Majcher & Russell, 2013).Because of a Philadelphia to London route the proposed merger also had to gain some clearance by the European Commission. The airlines once again agreed to give up the route to alleviate any international anti-competitive effects (Knibb, 2013). Ethical Concerns The Department of Justice and six state attorneys-general together filed a suit against the merger arguing that the merger would lead to an increase in airfare, in fees, and also limit choices also the merger agreement will cost workers jobs as American Airline was forced to relinquish hub status at several airports.This merger really benefits the two airlines but leave hundreds of workers out of jobs and taxpayer subsidized airport infrastructure customizations will lose return on investments (â€Å"The airline mergers†, 2013). Higher airfares as a result of the merger would put the merger in violation of antitrust not only would it be illegal but it can also be considered unethical. Conclusion There are laws in place to protect consumers and businesses from anticompetitive behavior. They are called antitrust laws (â€Å"antitrust laws†, n. d. ).When US Airways and AMR announced their intention to merge into one company the merger deal was scrutinized by the Department of Justice and regulatory agencies to see if the merger violated any anti trust laws (Cobb, et al. , 2006). The two airlines were forced to agree to certain concessions in order to gain the approval of the federal government, regulatory agencies and courts (Majcher & Russell, 2013). This paper doesn't show any evidence that the merger was unethical however, many interested parties attempted to block the merger on the grounds that the merger would give the company an unfair advantage over rivals and passengers.

Analysis of Animosity and Sexism in Sporting Activities Involving Women

Analysis of Animosity and Sexism in Sporting Activities Involving Women Throughout this paper the issues of women, athletics, stereotyping and opportunities that are/are not available to females in the professional arena of athletics will be explored. Indeed, racism and sexism has traditionally (and continues to be a great extent) steeped in American society, as well as institutions. There have been a number of laws passed regarding this practice, i.e. Affirmative Action being the one more notable, as well as others. Nevertheless, from a legal, social, and political perspective, females are still stereotyped as the weaker sex, and inevitably this mentality continues to impact women in U.S. society, as well as capabilities within other aspects of society. It is my intention to address these variables both individually as well as intertwining units. Within the world of sports, or athletics, we have particularly seen evidence of this within the Olympics. The Olympics is the epitome of sports for all people, male, female, as well as color, and ethnicity from around the world. Title IX was supposed to change the world, and it has: the number of women participating in college sports has jumped up considerable since the law was enacted twenty-five years ago. But the world changes slowly. U.S.A. Today surveyed 303 Division I schools to see where Title IX has taken us in it twenty-five years and found that men still get most of the money. Taken together, the results are like a good new, bad news joke. The good news: the number of female athletes has increased 22% since 1992. The bad: for every one-dollar spent on woman s colleges sports three dollars is spent on men s. Female athletes get just 38% of the scholarship money, 27% of recruiting money and 25% of operating budgets. It is encouraging to see the increases for women but very di scouraging to see that they are not really sharing equally in the money. The money side of the ledger still gets the vast amount of the money, says Patty Viverito, Chairwoman of the NCAA s Committee on Women s Athletics. The newspaper took a detailed look at the issue in late 1995, when it stated numbers for 1994 of the 107 Division I-A school. Since then, the Equity In Athletics Disclosure Act, requires all colleges to report data on men and women s athletics. The Federal law took effect April 1, 1997. To ensure that A college is in compliance with Title IX, The Department of Education office for Civil Rights, uses a three-pronged test to decide. A school is in compliance if it passes a single prong. One prong asks its school to show a history of continuing expansion of women s athletics programs. Another asks if interest and abilities of women athletes have been met. The only measurable prong asks if the percentage of women athletes at a school is substantially proportional to the percentage of women in its undergraduate enrollment. Though the rules do not specify what constitutes substantially proportionality, some out of court settlements suggest coming within five percentage points might be enough. U.S.A. Today found that 28 of the 303 Division I-A schools, only 9% passed the proportionality test. That includes 9 of 108 schools in Division I-A, made up of big time football schools. That is the same number passed in 1995. (Brady and Witosky, p, o4C) Some critics have stated that Title IX has no powers of enforcement. Historically it has taken a lawsuit by female athletes to achieve corrective action. For example, the Black Women In Sports Foundation has received a $50,000 grant form Athletic Footwear Association to conduct a program that will introduce African American girls and women to golf and tennis, and to each other in ten U.S. cities. The program to begin soon will train black women in the elements of sports and mentoring techniques. Then the mentors will be matched with girls who are interested in learning sports. We want to create relationships that will continue as the adult and child learn the sport together, said Gina Sloane Green, President and Executive Director of the Foundation We are not trying to recruit adults who are experienced players. Instead, our adult mentors need only a strong interest in learning the game and a desire to make contributions to a young person s life. The chosen cities chosen for the prog ram are: Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, and Washington D.C. The foundation hopes to involve between 100 and 150 mentors and children in each city during the first year. Local coordinators and instructors are being recruited who will conduct a series of clinics. They will be held first for the adults and then for the adults and children together. After that the mentor adult is responsible for registering the child in a local sports program and for providing transportation. We plan to arrange scholarships to local organizations and programs so that the children can continue to play and learn for as long as they want Green said. The Black Women In Sports Foundation was established in 1992 to increase opportunities for African American women in all levels of sports, from participation, to lifetime careers. In 1993, it produced a video, entitled, Amazing Grace, Black Women In Sports, that encourages young women to pursue career opportunities in sports. The Athletic Footwear Association sponsors the video. (Walter, p. A-8) In my opinion there has been an ongoing effort to advance women in sports. Much of this has to do with so-called Civil Rights, or giving U.S. citizens equal opportunities. Civil Rights, Affirmative Action etc., has been the tradition over the past 20 or 30 years, and fortunately for women in sports, it has served as a factor in advancing women in sports. Recently, Timer Incorporated announced that it would debut the first test issue of Sports Illustrated Women/Sports on April 21. The magazine, aimed at women 18-34, will be sent to 450,000 female Sports Illustrated subscribers as well as women selected form a Time Warner database, and 250,000 copies will be sent to newsstands for sale. The first issue will have more than 100 editorial pages and 70 advertising pages. The new magazine was to have publication twice in 1997 with completed frequencies in 1998. It has been said that grumpy old men had their way in the Olympics for generations. However when we look at Atlanta we can see a new leaf turning over. In the Atlanta games there was 36% more women competing then in any other previous Olympics. Most of the recognizable names on the American team were women. Jackie-Joyner-Kersee, Janet Evans, Mia Hamm, Shannon Miller, Gail Devers, Rebecca Lobo, etc. Two new Olympics sports have been added for women this year: soccer, and softball. For the first time U.S.A. basketball put women under professional contract for a year to train an Olympic team rather than gather college all stars at the last minute. In Track and Field, the 5,000 meter run has replaced its 3,000 for women and the triple jump has been added for women, to look more like the men s program. There has been progress, and partly for the right reasons, said Donna Deverona, twice an Olympian and twice gold medallist in swimming in the 1960 . This was a time when female sport champi ons were what she called unique pioneers. Deverona acknowledges that the growth of women team sports in the Olympics is a step in the right direction. She goes on to state The team is formerly the male sandbox, and women need to know that they can be team players, that they can be aggressive, sweat, and work together, and have strategies. Rebecca Lobo, former University of Connecticut basketball superstar, stated My own experience was that women only competed in sports like gymnastics, swimming and diving when I watched the Olympics. I think its wonderful for little girls now to see team sports on TV, too, because a lot more kids play team sports rather than individual sports. Mia Hamm, the world s finest female soccer player, states We tell people we are the U.S. National soccer team and we are going to World Championship s Tournament or something like that and it s Oh, that s nice , But now that we are able to attach the word Olympics to ourselves, they can identify with that. Joa n Benoit Samuleson, champion of the first ever women s Olympic marathon in 1984, states There weren t opportunity s for women in running then, and having three brothers and being very competitive, I did have the skiing. I was going to go that way By the time Samuleson won the marathon gold it was 2474 years after man first ran a marathon (a Greek messenger) and 88 years after a man won the marathon in the first modern Olympics. Samuleson goes on to state The longest race I ran in high school was 800 meters, because they thought that if women ran farther, it could cause bodily injury and they would be unable to bear children, she goes on to say We are making strides year after year and you know, Rome was not built in a day. Since the 14th century men have fought to keep women out of the Olympic games. It would not be until the 6th modern Olympics in 1920 in Antwerp that the United States allowed women to compete. Also, it was not until the last two decades, under the current International Olympic Committee and President Juan Antonio Samanach, that women s participation began to grow significantly. For the 1976 Montreal Olympics, the male to female ratio for athletes was 6 to 1, for the Atlanta games it was 3 to 1. We can see that we are moving in the right direction. The passage of Title IX in 1972, federal legislation that mandates full equality for women s intercollegiate sports, experiences and expectations for girls and women began to change dramatically. Recently female politicians in Germany called on the IOC to bar from the Olympics any nation attempting to forbid female participation, They stated that 35 countries had registered only male athletes for Atlanta. They called this female apartheid which is as damaging as racial apartheid that kept South Africa from participating in the Olympic games for more than 30 years. That protest was targeted at Middle East countries, whose Islamic Fundamentalist frown on female athletic participation because it necessitates what they feel is public immodesty. For instance showing their bare legs while participating in sports. Hassiba Boulermia is a prime example of such prejudice. She was an Algerian middle distant runner who was spat on and stoned while training in her country because of the perceived public immodesty. She kept training anyway and won the Barcelona Olympic 1500 meters and proceeded to shout Algeria ! at the TV cameras and carried the Algerian flag. Boulmerta was able to open a door for other young girls in her country. If the IOC were to boycott such countries from the Olympics other countries will not have a chance to open he door and see the light to let these young women compete. In the long run it would only hurt these women in Middle East countries instead of help them Nevertheless we can see that there are cultural, religious, political, and social imperatives which must be considered. However when it comes to the Olympics, a place of all sports for everyone, these universal imperatives are brought into question. All women should have an equal opportunity to compete. However we are gradually realizing that there is ongoing erosion of stereotypes and prejudices against in the women in the arena of what was traditionally a man s sport. It may take more time but we are definitely moving in the right direction.

Arab-Israeli Peace Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Arab-Israeli Peace Process - Essay Example Its goal was to destroy PLO bases there and to end the attacks across its borders. Meeting little resistance, Israeli commanders pushed northward. They reached the outskirts of Beirut within a week. Fighting with Syrian forces erupted as well; nearly 80 Syrian MiGs and 19 missile batteries in the Bekaa Valley were destroyed without the loss of a single Israeli plane. By the end of June, Israel had captured most of southern Lebanon and besieged PLO and Syrian forces in West Beirut. The siege ended through U.S. mediation in August. Israel agreed to leave Beirut provided Syrian and PLO forces also withdrew. A multinational force from the United States and Western Europe supervised the Syrian and PLO evacuation. On September 15, after the assassination of Lebanese president-elect Bashir Gemayel, Israel reoccupied Beirut. It then authorized Gemayels Phalangist militia to "cleanse" Palestinian refugee camps of any remaining PLO fighters. The Phalange massacred hundreds of Palestinians. The massacre sparked antiwar protests in Israel. (Ovendale, p. 243) Israel signed an agreement with Lebanon ending the state of war in May 1983. Under Syrian pressure, Lebanon renounced the pact in March 1984. Public pressures in Israel led to the withdrawal of Israeli troops by June 1994; Israel left some 1,000 "security personnel" behind to assist its Lebanese allies. Although Israels borders remained secure, its internal stability was threatened by ongoing demands for Palestinian self-determination and by an intifada (uprising) in the occupied territories launched in December 1987. Israel and the PLO signed a series of agreements on Palestinian self-rule beginning in 1993. These led to the turnover of much of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip to Palestinian control. Israel and Jordan formally ended their state of war in 1994. Peace talks between Israel and Syria resumed in December 1999. But they soon broke down. On a more

Religion and technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Religion and technology - Essay Example Therefore, the relationship between technology, specifically as a function of science, and religion is characterized by ‘mutually exclusive’ tendencies on both sides that restrict their ability to work together. Religion and theology refuse to acknowledge and often dismiss the technological claims that do not resonate with the role of God in the Universe or that spelled out by the scripture. For example, advancements in technology are meant to increase efficiency in production and make life easier. On the other hand, religion is concerned with the interactions between man and man, man and the environment and man and God. Ethics are a function of religion because, in most cultures, ethics define right and wrong. The values of right and wrong are defined by the religious values of a community. Currently, there are many problems in the use of technology. For example, environmental degradation is a function of technological advancement. In addition, violation of important ethical considerations in the society has increasingly resulted in poverty in poor societies because of a technological handicap compared to the developed countries. On the other hand, the role of religion has been decreasing over the last few centuries. More people are abandoning their religious beliefs because they often feel that the beliefs are outdated or impractical. In addition, the proposition of other theories of the origin of man and sources of answers previously only provided by religion has lessened the role of religion to the people.

Quantification of reducing sugar in wine Lab Report

Quantification of reducing sugar in wine - Lab Report Example The amount of alcohol is produced is related to the sugar initially present in the juice. Thus by controlling the amount of sugar, the winemaker can control the amount of alcohol in the wine. The remaining sugar present in the wine after fermentation might destroy yeast after a certain alcohol content is reached. 6. Sucrose is a disaccharide sugar composed of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose joined together forming a glycosidic bond between the reducing ends of the reducing sugars. Sucrose is therefore not a reducing sugar because it doesn’t have a free aldehyde or keto group which are anomeric hydroxyl groups. 7. The Gold Coast test can be used to measure the amount of sucrose that can be added to wine for extra sweetness. However, the sucrose needs to be converted to fructose and glucose which are reducing sugars though hydrolysis by enzyme sucrose first. This is referred to as the Gold-Coast invert. 8. Lactose is a disaccharide sugar composed of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of galactose joined together forming a glycosidic linkage. Lactose is not a reducing sugar because it does not have free aldehyde or keto group and cannot act as a reducing agent. 9. The Gold Coat test can be used to measure the lactose content in milk. Enzyme lactase must be added first to convert lactose into galactose and glucose which are reducing sugars for the test to be effective. Lactose is a non-reducing sugar and the Gold Coast test is used to measure the content of reducing sugars. 10. A Gold Coast test can be used to measure the completeness of conversion of starch to syrup because it will help determine the important properties of the syrup such as sucrose and dextrose content. This is essential in quality control of the syrup

Effective Business Communication Routines Essay

Effective Business Communication Routines - Essay Example In practice, communication is an unavoidable venture in running day-to-day business and, therefore, the way communication is to be done must be effective in disseminating the message. It is worth noting that communication is a process that involves delivery of messages from the sender to the recipient and back. In both ways, the message delivered should have qualities such as clarity, accuracy, brevity, preciseness, and sensitivity to needs and emotions of the recipients. (Belch &Belch, 1993). Stacks and Salwen (2008) stated that efficient communication is subject to regulation by specific moral values. Business ethics control a companies’ course of action as per the accepted moral standards and principles. Ethics are applicable to the way a company relates to the customer and the society as a whole. Stacks and Salwen (2008) further, added that ethics in business language refers to the practical use of regulations, values, and set standards of discipline related to a business setup. Ethics act as a guide to business behavior and order that propels the business in the right direction. This order controls preparation of documents and fosters good relationship between employees and clients. This relationship is fostered when communication is done effectively and positively leaving no chances to arrogance in routine messages and replies (Stacks & Salwen, 2008). In order to prepare an effective business communication message, there is a need to apply the three-step process of writing routine positive messages and replies. Body Nearly all communication activities performed by officers in a business firm can be viewed in two perspectives: Firstly, all communications dealing with real work for instance contacting business clients. Secondly, communication actions dealing with internal issues for example communicating across departments or management. Internal communication is divided into two parts: Important communication, whereby a new message with an attached value is passed for instance an answer or resolution to a puzzling problem, talks, team consultations, and planning. The other part of internal communication is routine which includes; submitting reports and assignments to relevant departments and authorities, sharing experiences in the face of a problem or a challenge just to mention a few. This paper focuses on Routine Replies and Positive Messages a sub section of internal communication (Guffey & Almonte, 2008). The letter below is an example of a complain letter to the accounts department in a business firm whose services were not satisfactory. It follows the three-step progression of writing routine positive messages (Bovee & Thill, 2008). The tone is professional, expects a fair adjustment and all correspondents has been documented. It comprises of three parts delivering the message, which are; Problem statement in the first paragraph, Details of the letter, and explanation of the problem in the second paragraph and action or solution expected in the third paragraph. Managing director, Print Point Company, 8452 Green valley. February 1, 2012. To: The chief accountant, Accounts department, Dear Sir, RE: DEPARTMENTAL COMPLAINTS As someone who has worked with this firm for a long time, the board was very dissatisfied with the quality of work done by your department in the last financial year. We expected you to

Wk5 Implementation, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plans Essay

Wk5 Implementation, Strategic Controls, and Contingency Plans - Essay Example One of the noted weaknesses of Apple is its poor relationship with the market than Microsoft (Iftikhar, 2013). This means that for many years, Apple has the consensus of specifying its own standards, rather than the standards of customers. This could mean more of a production-centred management strategy of products, rather than market or customer-centred approach. For this reason, it is necessary to ensure that Apple will take seriously the necessity of ensuring the voices of the customers are constantly heard in its production setting. On the other hand, Iftikhar noted that the products of Apple have very short life cycle, implying that constant maintenance of the research and development department has to be initiated. This prevailing management system has to be changed for good. Thus, the research and development department has to be dynamic, but on the other side, should also be one of the most expensive departments at Apple. Thus, it is necessary to ensure huge capital for this reason. The management therefore, in order to ensure a sustainable competitive advantage should further double its effort in research and development, primarily for the associated expenses of its actual operation. This is to suggest that point that Apple should primarily put the context of adjusting its budget for research and development much more than what is has tried so far from the past until recently. In addition, Apple according to Iftikhar has very low presence in the advertisement. The marketing department should therefore try to improve its strategic approach in communicating its product offerings. This means that in order to ensure a sustainable growth for its offerings and retention in the market, Apple should ensure constant communication and a wide coverage of its message to its market. Finally, Iftikhar also pointed out that Apple has very small market occupation. This issue is one pertaining to organizational

Strategic management Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Strategic management - Article Example Issues such as higher volume of patients catered through limited capacity in the emergency room as well as the lack of adapting new technologies have made it relatively difficult for the hospital to keep pace with the larger hospitals. Recruiting and retaining skilled physicians as well as nursing staff at relatively affordable cost was another operational issue faced by hospital. Due to the structural changes in the healthcare industry overall availability of the physicians declined due to reduction in their wages. It is also important to note that the increasing influence of the managed care organizations is also sited as one of the operational issues faced by EMC. The overall influence of the managed care therefore is forcing the hospitals to offer services at reduced costs. Strategic Options Available One of the key elements to be explored before EMC can make any strategic move is the understanding of the external environment of hospital. Over the period of time the changes which have taken place largely were regulated as well as driven by competition. A closer analysis of the competitive environment suggests that most of the players were non-profit organizations with focus on developing extensive network to gain the competitive edge in the market. The essential nature of the competition therefore may force EMC to look for the options which can allow it to exploit the established network of different direct as well as indirect players in the market influencing the overall outcome in the market. One of the most important strategic actions which EMC can take is to merge with any competing HMO in order to take advantage of the core competencies of other organization. Since most of the organizations are non-profit organizations therefore hospital can also achieve the required level of synergy with relative ease. Further, the utilization of the existing technology of the bigger player would enable it to overcome its traditional weakness of adapting to the new te chnology in slow manner. This would further allow the hospital to become better equipped to reduce the number of complains also. It is also important to note that the merger with any other HMO will also provide an opportunity to gain access to the larger base of medical and health care services providers such as physicians and nurses. This would therefore can allow broadening the overall scope of services offered under one roof. Another important strategic option which may be considered is to maintain the status quo and initiate a program of change. President Moeen however, would require drastic changes in the way hospital is managed. This would require taking a holistic view of the operational challenges faced by the hospital and than taken on a systematic strategic approach to utilize the core competencies of the hospital to gain the required momentum to achieve the growth. Recommendations In order to overcome the operational challenges as well as to make EMC a competitive force w ithin the area, President Moeen can take on the drastic changes to further rationalize the cost while at the same time maintaining the status quo. This would involve looking for new ways and methods to further rationalize the cost while at the same time ensuring that the hospital continues to expand. In order to achieve this, it would be better if the hospital look for more financing

Descartes Free

Descartes Free Will Essay In Meditations on First Philosophy Descartes attempts to explain the cause of errors in human beings. Descartes says that error occurs since the will extends further than the intellect (Descartes p. 39). Thats because our intellect is something that is finite; it is limited to the perception of only certain things. Whereas our will, ability to choose is not limited; it is has an infinite capacity. Therefore we sometimes attempt to will things which we do not have a complete understanding of. Descartes argument, as I will briefly describe, is quite sound, if you agree to all his conditions (being that the intellect is limited and the will infinite). I am not, as of yet, sure if I necessarily agree to the later of his two conditions. I will strive to evaluate different discernments of what will is, and if it is truly free. Then apply it to his argument. But first let me explain Descartes argument on the causation of errors. Descartes discussion begins in saying that errors depend on the simultaneous concurrence of two causes: the faculty of knowing that is in me and the faculty of choosing (Descartes p. 38). I will first tackle the faculty of knowing, or intellect. Descartes says that it merely perceives and understands ideas, which can later have judgment passed on them (see Descartes p. 38). The intellect is limited and finite because it can occur in different degrees. While some people have a simple understanding of a language others have a mastery of its grammar and syntax. But no one can have a mastery of all the mysteries of the universe. Then there is the faculty of choosing, as Descartes calls it, or rather the will. Descartes says that he experience[s] that it is limited by no boundaries whatever (Descartes p. 38). It is seen as infinite because unlike the intellect is does to adhere to different grades. It exists merely as a matter of being able to do or not to do something; to affirm or deny something proposed by ones intellect (see Descartes p. 38). In some cases ones will is unable to make such a decision, Descartes says, not because of a fault in the will but rather because the intellect is lacking complete knowledge of the situation (see Descartes p. 39). It is here that one should be indifferent to passing judgment. If in such a instance indifference is not the outcome an error is most likely to occur. Descartes says that this error will occur only when both work together because alone they cannot produce error. Thats because intellect, in and of itself, only perceives ideas which one knows and error would only occur if one tried to perceive ideas he did not know, which is impossible. The other, the will, in that it acts of itself, is only a utility of choice which alone cannot error. Therefore error and sin occur when both intellect and will work with each other. It is the disproportion between the limit of the will and the intellect that causes blunders. The will, as Ive stated, is a limitless aspect of ourselves and therefore can pass judgment on any proposition brought forth. But the intellect can only clearly perceive and understand very few propositions. As Descartes says it is where I extend it (the will) to things I do not understand (Descartes p. 39) that error is caused. Thats because one is, instead of acting indifferent, passing judgment on things that are not clear in the intellect. A person can easily then turn away from the good and truth given to our intellect by God and partake in sin and deceit (see Descartes p. 39). The finally area that Descartes adds is that in some instances a person can pass judgment on things that arent understood and not produce an error. In those cases the person has still acted in an incorrect manor, but it is just be chance that the correct choice, or judgment was made (see Descartes p. 40). It is here that I have concluded Descartes argument and will now attempt to seek answers to my own questions: If the will is in fact as free as Descartes speaks? If it is actually comparable to that of Gods? And if its ideal state is the same as that of practical use? The first aspect I would like to navigate through is the constraints placed on the ability to choose. One does not have the opportunity to choose freely in an organized society, community or institute. There seems to always be a restriction to the actual amount of choices one has. If Descartes was correct in his assumption of complete freedom of choice and will every option would be available to someone at any given time, in any given situation. But this is not necessarily the condition. There are a few different examples that one can view to comprehend this facet of my argument. Take for instance, perhaps an extreme but an occurrence none the less, people born of poverty do not have the ability to choose to acquire certain things. It is impossible simply by the fact that they do not have the means to get it. There is no choice of purchasing a fifty dollar object if all one has is twenty dollars. I feel though that perhaps Descartes was speaking of another free will, a non-materialistic aspect. Another example one can then try to explain is how in many middle eastern nations individuals are born into a society where one religion is forced upon them. They must live to follow this religion or risk outcast by the community or even death. In such a decision one does not have the opportunity to choose to not follow the religion because, although it may seem available, most choices against the norm bring with them an extreme consequences. Is there really a free will if one knows a consequence to be so evil, or heinous that they really have no choice but to go with the other option. On the other hand if Descartes was strictly speaking of free will in the sense of judgment and affirmation another option arises. One should have the ability to, in a sense, will something even if its not available to him. For example if a person has been convicted of a crime and is going to be sent to prison he can will that he doesnt have to go. Although here is seems that willing something is almost in a way the same as wishing it. But if it does follow that free will is only involved in passing judgment then a person can will whatever they want in their own mind, it doesnt mean necessarily that they will receive it. But one again this illustration is somewhat similar to my previous two, in that, if in actuality a choice will provide no outcome is the choice even there and if not its a limited faculty. The definition of limitless qualities that Descartes affiliates with the will is something that is questionable as well. Descartes, in a sense, contradicts himself when he says that he can see mans image and likeness to God in the ability to choose because both are infinite (see Descartes p. 38). But then says that the faculty of willing is incomparably greater in God than it is in me because of the power and knowledge God uses with it (ibid). So I ponder then if the ability to will cannot truly stand on its on, because by Descartes definition it passes certain judgment on something else, and that something in God is greater, how can one be equal to God. How can His infinite ability be greater than mans infinite ability. By definition there are no degrees of infinite, there is only finite or infinite, limited or limitless. In such a practical aspect I must appeal to my reason and then say that we cannot have an equal will to that of Gods. I say this because Gods willing can partake on any area of knowledge and have a boundless consequence over many things. Where as mans cannot. As I said, that was my practical deduction of our will in comparison to Gods. I was sure to state practical because I do feel there is a great difference between ones free will in a practical sense and an ideal sense. Actually in the practical sense I will be so bold as to say ones will is not free at all. All the examples I have given are practical uses of the will. And all of these examples seem limited for a number of reasons. As I already pointed out, I felt that the comparison between mans will and God will not be equal because in practice will cannot stand unaccompanied. That is why the will is not free or infinite in a realistic way because it never stands by itself. It relies on other faculties that, as Descartes even says, are limited which in turn make it limited. Therefore when people are faced with choices, like in my examples, not all the options are available because of a lack of knowledge or perhaps a constraint placed on someone from his society. If the will was able to stand alone I would agree that it is an infinite faculty but it doesnt. Hence I must also reason that the will Descartes speaks of is not the will that can be used in practice but rather it is an ideal will. In this ideal state people would be able to will anything they wanted, although they would most likely not receive it. In an ideal state I would have been able to will that I did not have to do this paper and not receive and F on it, but I very well know that would not have been possible. But the acting of willing alone would be free and infinite. I now must apply what I have learned to Descartes original argument of error. Since I have concluded that the ability to choose, or will that Descartes speaks of is ideal, this causation of error would also be ideal. Descartes said that when one should be acting indifferent to things and does not is when errors or correct choices by luck occur (see Descartes p. 39). Ideally this would be true, but in actuality many things lead to errors, and prevention of errors as well. Of course I do agree that in many cases mistakes are made because of people make judgments on things they have lack of knowledge of. But errors and sin can also occur when people have no other choice. For instance if a person is held at gun point and told to do something he may very well be passing a false judgment on something he has total knowledge of and in turn acting in error. From the other side of the argument Descartes says that to prevent himself from ever erring he must follow his feeling of indifference and stick with it instead of attempting to affirm or deny something (see Descartes p. 41). But I must also add to this argument that society does place constraints on things to prevent people from committing errors. Therefore it is not entirely internal. So I will conclude with saying that I have no choice but to say, from my reasoning, that in Meditation on First Philosophy Descartes speaks of a very ideal situation which would, in that state, hold true. But in the practical world ones perception cannot be so narrow because there are many facets that contribute to what we can do and why we can do them. Works Cited Descartes, Rene. (1993). Meditations on First Philosophy . translated by Donald A. Cress. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Corp.

Disadvantages of gm food

Disadvantages of gm food Abstract This report strives to provide an insight upon the numerous disadvantages of GM food and crops pertaining to humans and the environment. The fundamental core of this report concerns the human health risks posed by the consumption of GM food by the community. Safety tests for GM foods are scant and sparse, and toxins as well as allergenic components in these GM foods are unpredictable. Alternatively, GM crops prove to be disparaging to the environment. As a result of GM crops being grown, GM superweeds exist and the earths biodiversity is disrupted. Conversely, GM crops incur substantially high costs. Cost of seeds for GM crops is excessively priced and agri-biotechnological companies stand a chance to abuse this cost in order to reap more profits. 1.0 Introduction Genetically modified foods, otherwise recognized as GM foods, pertain to crop plants or animals engineered for consumption through the application of the latest techniques for molecular biology (Whitman, 2000). Desired traits and characteristics such as increased resistance against pests and improved nutritional content are expressed through the modification of these plants in laboratories. Newly improved crops have been known to demonstrate resistance towards pests, require less water, and generally thrive as well as develop in less than optimal growing environments. Genetic engineering was first discovered in the year 1983, and since then has been utilized for the potential benefit of mankind. However, GM foods have made an impact on the world as it is today. As avowed by Whitman (2000), GM foods have been actively protested against by environmental organizations in Europe and public interest groups for months, and the matter of genetic manipulation has been propelled to the vanguard of public awareness by contemporary disputable studies regarding the effects of genetically-modified corn pollen on monarch butterflies. In the United States of America, research has proven that in the year 2001, more than 60% of processed foods in the country contain bio-engineered foodstuffs such as genetically-modified soybeans and corn (Sakko, 2002). Though there are many queries regarding the safety of such GM foods, in addition to its advantages and disadvantages, the actual question arising from such an issue remains evident: Should GM food be banned for the benefit of mankind? Despite claims that GM food is beneficial to human health, environmentally friendly and its benefits outweigh its disadvantages; GM food should be banned for the greater good as it evidently poses human health risks, is environmentally hazardous, and is costly. This report exposes the disadvantages and adverse effects of GM foods on humans as well as the environment. The scope of this report is global, as GM foods are present in almost all countries around the world and GM crops are on the rise in replacing conventional crops in order to to conform to the needs of humans. 2.0 Human Health Risks Many shortcomings arise from the consumption of GM foods. First of all is the endangerment of human health. It is possible that by introducing foreign genes into the genetic make-up of a plant may result in unexpected and negative impacts upon the wellbeing of humans. As the application of genetic engineering is relatively new to the human society, there is inadequate scientific study regarding the many dangers to health caused by GM foods, and safety test technology is insufficient in gauging the potential dangers to humans. Aside from that, GM foods may carry within themselves unpredictable toxins and might possibly increase the threat of allergenic reactions. 2.1 Scarcity of Safety Tests Knowledge regarding health risks due to GM foods is sparse. As affirmed by Domingo (2000), many opinions exist concerning health risks of genetically modified foods. However, actual publications and information on GM food toxicity remains scarce. It is relatively harder to appraise the safety of foods originating from crops compared to individual chemicals, food additives, or drugs. This is because of the genetic composition of crop foods that is much more complex, and may vary in accordance to discrepancies in growth and agronomic conditions. An example of this is the initial and sole assessment of a GM fruit, the FLAVR SAVR tomato, as assigned by Calgene. This GM tomato was cultivated through the insertion of kanr genes into a tomato by an antisense genetic modification method. Outcomes asserted that no major differences in overall mineral and vitamin as well as in toxic glycoalkaloid levels were observed. Hence, the GM tomatoes are considered to be as harmless as their parent tomatoes (Pusztai, 2001). This is undeniable that the safety test in regards to the safety of the FLAVR SAVR tomato is oversimplified, and does not encompass all aspects of how a safety test should be. As such, the safety test is defectively planned and executed, rendering the conclusion that the GM tomatoes were safe implausible. 2.2 Unpredictable Toxins and Allergenic Components Unwanted consequences can also be a result of the insertion of genes into the genetic make-up of GM crops, as some of the ways and methods the incorporated genes express themselves or the way they affect the exhibition of the genes of the crop are evidently random and mostly erratic. This could result in the production of unfamiliar toxins and allergenic components when consumed unknowingly. This is as evidenced in a toxicity test done on mice. Mice were fed with GM potatoes induced with a Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki Cry1 toxin, a toxin imbued within the genetic composition of the potato for the sake of repelling insects. This was shown to have caused villus epithelial cell hypertrophy and multinucleation, disrupted microvilli, mitochondrial degeneration, increased numbers of lysosomes and autophagic vacuoles and activation of crypt Paneth cells in the mice (Pusztai, 2001). These results still manifest despite claims of the contrary by its producers and manufacturers, resulting in widespread confusion and fear within its consumers. In another case, a proposition to splice a gene originating from Brazilian nuts into soybeans was rejected due to the trepidation of resulting in unforeseen allergic reactions. GM food derived from modified GM crops is known to trigger new allergies through the synthesis of new proteins by the imported genes introduced. Almost all food allergens are protein-based, and they are likely to be comparatively small and resistant to heat, acid and stomach enzyme degradation (Chow, 2009). Although crops frequently used as staple foods contain thousands of dissimilar proteins, relatively few are known to be allergenic. Though so, their allergenic potential might have been altered through the use of genetic engineering, rendering even foods not generally known to instigate allergies to do so. Should a host plant be noted to express allergenic properties, bringing in new genes into its genetic make-up could actually lead to the allergenic proteins being over-expressed, making the plant more all ergenic. Beneficial to Human Health Proponents of GM foods constantly assert that GM foods are beneficial to human health. They contend that GM foods possess medical advantages, and are able to be modified to make edible vaccines. However, this argument is inadequate. GM foods are still being researched on, and the assumption that they are able to function as supplements is dangerously over-rated. Data and information regarding the effects numerous types of GM foods are insufficient, in spite of everything that those who support the commercialisation of GM foods state. Should GM foods be released to the population without proper examination and regulation, many lives would be endangered, in contrast to what is as claimed due to the unknown effects of many allergens to the human body. As such, GM foods are actually detrimental, and should not be acclaimed to be advantageous to human health when it has not been proven to be so. 3.0 Environmentally Hazardous Additionally, another disadvantage due to the cultivation and breeding of GM crops is the risks it poses to the environment. Numerous environmental activists and advocates of the environment have all made known their concerns and apprehensions regarding the threat GM crops create for the ecosystem. Tempering the genetic make-up of crops to produce GM food might consequently result in the manifest of GM Superweeds. Also, the biodiversity of the environment will be altered or could potentially be disrupted at a larger scale. 3.1 Creation of GM Superweeds Crops genetically manipulated to be able to generate their own pesticides or to be herbicide-resistant pose a dangerous danger to the environment. These crop plants altered genetically to be tolerant to herbicides and pesticides might cross-breed with the local flora, causing the herbicide-resistant genes to be transferred from crop plant to weed. As avowed by Cummins (1999), the growing of these GM crops will inevitably ensue in the emergence of weeds that are resilient to pesticides and herbicides, resulting in the need for stronger, more potent forms of toxic chemicals to liberate the pests. These superweeds will then be a menace to the GM crops in turn, and even to the environment as a whole. This is as illustrated by the emergence of the first superweed, a plant that cant be killed by almost anything, in Canada. A single canola plant in Ottawa was discovered to be resistant to numerous types of pesticides (gmwatch.org, 2001). Canola plants contrived to help farmers in increasing their productivity had instead escaped and cross-bred with one another to produce offsprings that are even more resistant than their parents. Most pesticides werent able to exterminate these super canola weeds, which were wrecking havoc in wheat fields and other prospective areas in which farmers dont want them to grow in. 3.2 Disruption of Biodiversity The notion of biodiversity denotes the wide variation of organisms in a given ecosystem. Numerous interactions between these organisms keep the biodiversity of an environment high, and when disturbed will result in an often adverse if not disadvantages effect to the particular ecosystem. Wild type plants in an area will typically be overwhelmed when a GM crop is planted in its vicinity due to the superiority and better adaptation of the crop to its environment compared to the wild type plants. The GM crops will then be competing with the wild type plants for essential resources like light, water, and important nutrients in the soil for survival, and will most likely prevail. The subjugated wild type plant will then either be extinct or be wiped off from that area. This will then indirectly affect the survival of other organisms that might have relied on the wild type plant for food, shelter, or protection. For instance, research has proven that the plantation of a GM plant, B.t. corn resulted in a high mortality rate in monarch butterfly caterpillars (Whitman, 2000). Unfortunately, the ideal conditions for the plantation of B.t. corn coincides with that of the milkweed plant, which is the staple food for monarch butterfly caterpillars. Milkweed plants were unable to compete and were wiped off in large amounts due to the prevalence of B.t. corn in the ecosystem. This caused monarch butterfly caterpillars to perish in significant numbers owing to insufficient food supply. Hence, this perfectly illustrates the adversity of GM crops to the environment. Can Be Engineered to Maintain Quality of Soil Supporters of GM food relentlessly insist that GM crops are able to be genetically altered to maintain the quality of the soil regardless of the nutrients required. They claim that akin to herbicide-resistance, GM crops can be engineered to return the nutrients it derives from the soil, to the soil, thus sustaining the nature of the soil. However, this assertion is derisory. In fact, as verified by Cummins (1999), due to the mounting use of herbicides owing to the herbicide-resistant traits typical to GM crops, the effectiveness of pesticides will gradually decrease. This will subsequently increase the use of even more toxic pesticides by farmers intending to rid their fields of weeds without any detrimental effect to their crops. Should these super-pesticides be used excessively without moderation, pesticide residues in soil and on crops will inexorably increase, rendering the soil infertile and even poisonous. Therefore, it can be deduced that the cultivation of GM crops is harmfu l to the environment. 4.0 High Costs Introducing a GM food into the market worldwide proves to be a costly and arduous process, in which companies involved would then be inclined to ensure positive, profitable revenue for their investment towards its manufacture and marketing. To avoid copyright infringement, these companies then patent new plant engineering technologies and GM crops produced by them respectively. This would inevitably raise the costs of seeds of GM. In addition, agri-biotechnological companies might abuse the costs of these seeds to generate more profit and proceeds to the dejection of farmers. 4.1 Excessive Cost of Seeds Due to the patenting of GM crops and new crop engineering technologies, the price of seeds of GM crops has soared to astonishing heights as the prices are dictated by their respective agri-biotech companies. Certain breeds of GM crops and their seeds can only be created by certain companies, and these companies will then have full monopoly over its pricing. As such, prices of such GM seeds are not regulated and can even be as much as ÂÂ £10 for 100 grams as compared to ÂÂ £10 for 100 kilograms for its conventional counterpart (Malone, 2008). Small-scale farmers and Third World countries are unable to afford the cost of these GM seeds, but remain dependent upon them due to dire circumstances or termed conditions. This inevitably widens the gap between the privileged and the marginalised. As elucidated by Andrews (2009), GM seeds have skyrocketed and increased sharply throughout subsequent years. Farmers and Third World countries purchasing Monsantos Roundup Ready 2 Soybeans, a GM crop engineered by a leading agri-biotechnological company specialised in the manufacture of GM crops, in 2010 are required to pay an additional 42% more than the price they disbursed for in 2009. However, these countries and farmers are tied down by a contract in which they are required to patron Monsanto for specified number of years, rendering themselves incapable of any other option other than being indebted to the company. This is merely one of the examples in which the elevated prices of GM seeds prove to be detrimental to farmers and Third World Countries. 4.2 Abuse of Cost by Agri-biotechnological Companies Agri-biotechnological conglomerates might also exploit the cost to produce GM seeds. In an effort to enhance sales and profits, agrochemical industries have developed a technique referred to as the terminator technology to prevent farmers cultivating particular GM crop to save and re-plant harvested seeds. The terminator technology designates crops that have been genetically manipulated to yield sterile seeds upon harvest. This will result in farmers and Third World countries being compelled to procure seeds from those companies often at an inflated price. To further fortify this argument, it has been reported that Monsanto has incorporated Delta Pine Land, the worlds prime cotton seed company possessing three US patents on terminator technology, into its midst. These sterile genetically altered seeds would be able to secure a much greater monopoly than patents by making it unfeasible for farmers to re-use harvested seeds from their GM crops. This compels force dependence upon external sources for seeds by small farmers as well as Third World countries that are financially challenged. Hence, agri-biotech companies stand a chance to garner huge profits from the fragile fiscal instability such parties endeavour from. Beneficial to Farmers Advocates of GM crops persistently insist that even with the high costs required for growing GM crops, farmers remain as the ones reaping the benefits eventually. They are assured that GM crops are able to incur massive yields and produce, despite their initial costs for seeds. The profit gained at the end of the day would be more than sufficient to reimburse the cost of GM seeds at the start. On the contrary, this allegation is falsely based. GM crops have proven time and time again to be damaging to farmers. As is the case in India, thousands and thousands of Indian farmers are resorting to suicide after planting GM crops (Malone, 2008). They were promised with harvests previously unheard of and riches as well as incomes undreamt of by cultivating GM crops. Enticed by the assurance of future prosperity, these farmers then borrowed money in order to purchase the seeds needed. However, when harvests failed attained what has been promised, these farmers are left with escalating debts , and no incomes. Consequently, to escape from reality and anguish, they remedied their predicament through suicide. Hence, it can explicated again that GM crops are in fact, disadvantages to man. 5.0 Recommendations To address this issue, first of all, governments worldwide should play their respective parts. To curb and stem the growing ascendancy of GM crops and the marketing of GM foods, governments of countries should place a nationwide ban on GM food and crops. Agri-biotech companies should be imposed upon to discontinue manufacture and further development of GM food immediately. However, should this option be impractical, mandatory health testing of GM food must be employed. Before being released to the public as food products, GM food must be made to undergo multiple examinations to determine its various side-effects, if any, and to ascertain its safety for human consumption. Furthermore, compulsory food labelling of GM food must be necessitated. Agri-business industries should be made to mark their products of GM food in order for consumers to identify genetically modified foodstuff from unmodified ones. Additionally, the usage of chemical and toxic substances such as pesticides and herbicides that may result in harm to the environment should be regulated by the government. Stringent perimeters should be implied upon the amount of these pesticides used that may be employed throughout the growth and production of these GM foods. 6.0 Conclusion Succinctly, GM food should be forbidden for the greater good of mankind due to human health hazards, environmental risks, as well as exceedingly high costs for cultivation. GM food has not been proven to be entirely safe for consumption, as proven by multiple cases of dangers wrought through its intake as well as utilization. Therefore, in an attempt to restrain the increasing popularity of GM food, various parties must play their respective parts and take a stand in this issue. We, as humans capable of thought and logic, must progress with caution and prudence lest we bring destruction to ourselves and to the environment. Only by doing so can the future of mankind be guaranteed and the lives of our future generations spared from unnecessary dilemmas. 7.0 Bibliography Andrews, J., 2009, GM seed prices soar, Farmers Weekly Interactive, Reed Business Information Ltd., viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/12/07/119087/GM-seed-prices-soar.htm> banterminator.org, n.d., Introduction to Terminator Technology, Ban Terminator, viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.banterminator.org/The-Issues/Introduction> Chow, S., 2009, Genetically Modified Food Allergenicity and Safety Assessment, Centre for Food Safety, viewed on 2 March 2010, http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_36_02.html> Cummins, R., 1999, Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods and Crops: Why We Need A Global Moratium, In Motion Magazine, NPC Productions, viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/geff4.html> Domingo, J. L., 2000, Health Risks of GM Foods Many Opinions but Few Data, Mindfully.org, viewed on 2 March 2010, http://www.mindfully.org/GE/Many-Opinions-Few-Data.htm> geneticallymodifiedfoods.co.uk, n.d., Are GM Foods Destroying Biodiversity?, Genetically Modified Foods, viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.geneticallymodifiedfoods.co.uk/are-gm-foods-destroying-biodiversity.html> gmwatch.org, 2001, Superweed story turns nasty, GMWatch, viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/4021-superweed-story-turns-nasty> Malone, A., 2008, The GM genocide: Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using genetically modified crops, Mail Online, World News, Associated Newspapers Ltd., viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1082559/The-GM-genocide-Thousands-Indian-farmers-committing-suicide-using-genetically-modified-crops.html> Steward, G., 2000, Genetically Engineered Superweeds Emerge in Canada, Organic Consumers Association, viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/superweed.cfm> Pusztai, A., 2001, Genetically Modified Foods: Are They a Risk to Human/Animal Health?, actionbioscience.org, American Institute of Biological Sciences, viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/pusztai.html> Sakko, K., 2002, The Debate Over Genetically Modified Foods, actionbioscience.org, American Institute of Biological Sciences, viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/sakko.html> Whitman, D. B., Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?, ProQuest, viewed 2 March 2010, http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php> 8.0 Appendix 1

The Jamaican Hero Essay -- Biography, Bob Marley

He is an iconic figure and an inspiration to millions of people around the world. His name is Bob Marley. Marley had a profound impact on the world’s culture that still has a lasting impression today. His music inspired people everywhere to maintain a sense of calmness, and enticed the Jamaican people to keep peace during the country’s tough political and economic times. Marley also inspired many of the future reggae musicians, and his legacy still stands to this day. His songs become well-known for its messages of universal love and Biblical prophecies, and inspired people across the world to spread the message of peace and harmony. Bob Marley was a charismatic leader, who used the power of music and his religion to influence and change his country and eventually the world. He had a lasting impact on the world that still exists today. No doubt, â€Å"One of the most important and charismatic champions of human freedoms in the 1970s, Marley emerged from humble beginnings and an early life of austere poverty in Jamaica to bring reggae music to international popularity† (King 4). Marley suffered from a very tough childhood, as the country he was born and raised in was in political and economic torment at the time, and suffered from the harsh rule of Great Britain. Marley’s mixed ancestry embodied his homelands tormented colonial past. Until 1962, the country of Jamaica had been ruled by Great Britain, whose original founders had driven the Spanish from the island in 1655 (Dolan 19-20). Marley grew up in these harsh conditions, but he managed to get through them. â€Å"Marley possessed qualities that seemed to help him through the harsh conditions. Very small, and generally soft-spoken, he managed to exude an aura that deterred people from m... ...to unite a nation in tough, impoverished times, in an attempt to unite the unstable nation of Jamaica, and later, future countries that endured the same economic, political, and social difficulties. Marley helped a troubled nation bind together during tough political times, simply with the power of music and his religion of Rastafarianism. He brought the issues to light, where other countries and people could observe the troubles of this little island country called Jamaica. Marley was raised in a very unforgiving country, and in a way, raised himself. With little money and family help, with friends, and with the message of love and peace, Marley rose above all these troubles to eventually become a legend that cannot be duplicated. Bob Marley is the definition of charismatic, and his impact on the world during and after his life will not ever be reproduced again.

A Reason to Hope in There Are No Children Here :: There are No Children Here Essays

There Are No Children Here - A Reason to Hope  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      The West side of Chicago, Harlem, Watts, Roxbury, and Detroit. What do all of these areas have in common? These areas, along with many others have become mine fields for the explosive issues of race, values, and community responsibility, led by the plight of the urban underclass. Issues such as violent crime, social separation, welfare dependence, drug wars, and unemployment all play a major role in the plight of American inner-city life. Alex Kotlowitz's book: There Are No Children Here, confronts America's devastated urban life; a most painful issue in America. Kotlowitz traces the lives of two black boys; 10 year old LaFayette, and 7 year old Pharoah, as they struggle to beat the odds growing up in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. Their family includes a welfare dependent mother, an alcholic-drug using father, an older sister, an older brother, and younger triplets. Kotlowoitz describes the horrors of an ill-maintained housing project completely taken over by gangs, where murders and shootings are an everyday thing. Kotlowitz does a fine job at portraying ghetto life; those who are outside the American dream. He succeeds at putting a face on th people trapped inside the housing projects with virtually no hope of escape. One can truly feel a sense of great loss for the family, and a great deal of hope for the two young boys. You can truly feel yourself hoping that things will work out for them, and you can really feel like you know these young men on a personal basis. Kotlowotz spent a great deal of time with the boys so he could portray the world from the eyes of a child growing up in the ghetto, and he does an amazing job.    All through their lives Pharoah and LaFayette are surrounded by violence and poverty. Their neighborhood had no banks, no public libraries no movie theatres, no skating rinks or bowling allies. Drug abuse was so rampant that the drug lords literally kept shop in an abondoned building in the progjects, and shooting was everywhere. Also, there were no drug rehabilitation programs or centers to help combat the problem. Police feared going into the ghetto out of a fear for their own safety. The book follows Pharoah and LaFayette over a two year period in which they struggle with school, attempt to resist the lure of gangs, mourn the death of close friends, and still find the courage to search for a quiet inner peace, that most people take for granted. A Reason to Hope in There Are No Children Here :: There are No Children Here Essays There Are No Children Here - A Reason to Hope  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      The West side of Chicago, Harlem, Watts, Roxbury, and Detroit. What do all of these areas have in common? These areas, along with many others have become mine fields for the explosive issues of race, values, and community responsibility, led by the plight of the urban underclass. Issues such as violent crime, social separation, welfare dependence, drug wars, and unemployment all play a major role in the plight of American inner-city life. Alex Kotlowitz's book: There Are No Children Here, confronts America's devastated urban life; a most painful issue in America. Kotlowitz traces the lives of two black boys; 10 year old LaFayette, and 7 year old Pharoah, as they struggle to beat the odds growing up in one of Chicago's worst housing projects. Their family includes a welfare dependent mother, an alcholic-drug using father, an older sister, an older brother, and younger triplets. Kotlowoitz describes the horrors of an ill-maintained housing project completely taken over by gangs, where murders and shootings are an everyday thing. Kotlowitz does a fine job at portraying ghetto life; those who are outside the American dream. He succeeds at putting a face on th people trapped inside the housing projects with virtually no hope of escape. One can truly feel a sense of great loss for the family, and a great deal of hope for the two young boys. You can truly feel yourself hoping that things will work out for them, and you can really feel like you know these young men on a personal basis. Kotlowotz spent a great deal of time with the boys so he could portray the world from the eyes of a child growing up in the ghetto, and he does an amazing job.    All through their lives Pharoah and LaFayette are surrounded by violence and poverty. Their neighborhood had no banks, no public libraries no movie theatres, no skating rinks or bowling allies. Drug abuse was so rampant that the drug lords literally kept shop in an abondoned building in the progjects, and shooting was everywhere. Also, there were no drug rehabilitation programs or centers to help combat the problem. Police feared going into the ghetto out of a fear for their own safety. The book follows Pharoah and LaFayette over a two year period in which they struggle with school, attempt to resist the lure of gangs, mourn the death of close friends, and still find the courage to search for a quiet inner peace, that most people take for granted.