computer :: essays research papers

Twenty-five years ago, Larry Ellison saw an opportunity other companies missed when he came across a description of a working prototype for a relational database and discovered that no company had committed to commercializing the technology. Ellison and his co-founders, Bob Miner and Ed Oates, realized there was tremendous business potential in the relational database model--but they may not have realized that they would change the face of business computing forever. Today Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) is still at the head of the pack. Oracle technology can be found in nearly every industry around the world and in the offices of 98 of the Fortune 100 companies. Oracle is the first software company to develop and deploy 100% internet-enabled enterprise software across its entire product line: database, business applications, and application development and decision support tools. Oracle is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest independent software company. Oracle has always been an innovative company. It was one of the first companies to make its business applications available through the internet--today, that idea is pervasive. Now Oracle is committed to making sure that all of its software is designed to work together--the suite approach--and other companies, analysts, and the press are beginning to acknowledge that Oracle is right. What's in store for tomorrow? We will continue to innovate and to lead the industry--while always making sure that we're focused on solving the problems of the customers who rely on our software (http://www.oracle.com/corporate/index.html?story.html) We will first look at the hardware and software platforms to see how they measure up, and what, if any, special requirements are needed, as well as the costs that are associated with them. Next, we will look at the deployment of the application and what it takes to roll out a production system. Once the application is up and running, performance becomes the top priority of the data center. We can first note that the hardware and software requirements are similar. The abstraction to the application is also the same with both solutions - it gives an illusion of a single database and there is no need to modify the SQL code. The differences are in ease of deployment, performance and manageability. Both databases have similar cluster hardware requirements. A cluster is a group of independent servers that collaborate as a single system. The primary cluster components are processor nodes, a cluster interconnect (private network), and a disk subsystem.

Amul: Deary Cooperative in India Essay

Abstract In this paper we describe a case study of a dairy cooperative, AMUL, in western India that has developed a successful model for doing business in large emerging economy. It has been primarily responsible, through its innovative practices, for India to become world’s largest producer of milk. A subset of strategies followed by AMUL would still be very useful. Thus, firms that are contemplating addressing large undeveloped markets or have an intention of taking advantage of extensive but marginal supplier base would still benefit. Introduction The Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited was established on December 14, 1946 as a response to exploitation of marginal milk producers in the city of Anand (in Kaira district of the western state of Gujarat in India) by traders or agents of existing dairies. Producers had to travel long distances to deliver milk to the only dairy, the Polson Dairy in Anand – often milk went sour, especially in the summer season, as producers had to physically carry milk in individual containers. These agents decided the prices and the off-take from the farmers by the season. Milk is a commodity that has to be collected twice a day from each cow/buffalo. In winter, the producer was either left with surplus unsold milk or had to sell it at very low prices. Moreover, the government at that time had given monopoly rights to Polson Dairy (around that time Polson was the most well known butter brand in the country) to collect milk from Anand and supply to Bombay city in tu rn (about 400 kilometers away). India ranked nowhere amongst milk producing countries in the world in 1946. The producers of Kaira district took advice of the nationalist leaders, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (who later became the first Home Minister of free India) and Morarji Desai (who later become the Prime Minister of India). They advised the farmers to form a cooperative and supply directly to the Bombay Milk Scheme instead of selling it to Polson (who did the same but gave low prices to the producers). Thus the Kaira District Cooperative was established to collect and process milk in the district of Kaira. Milk collection was also decentralized, as most producers were marginal farmers who would deliver 1-2 litres of milk per day. Village level cooperatives were established to organize the marginal milk producers in each of these villages. The first modern dairy of the Kaira Union was established at Anand (which popularly came to be known as AMUL dairy after its brand name). The new plant had the capacity to pasteurise 300,000 pounds of milk per day, manufacture 10,000 pounds of butter pe r day, 12,500 pounds of milk powder per day and 1,200 pounds of casein per day. Indigenous R&D and technology development at the Cooperative had led to the successful production of skimmed milk powder from buffalo milk – the first time on a commercial scale anywhere in the world. The foundations of a modern dairy industry in India had just been laid as India had one of the largest buffalo populations in the world. We move to year 2000. The dairy industry in India and particularly in the State of Gujarat looks very different. India has emerged as the largest milk producing country in the world. Gujarat emerges as the most successful State in terms of milk and milk product production through its cooperative dairy movement. The Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, Anand becomes the focal point of dairy development in the entire region and AMUL emerges as one of the most recognized brands in India, ahead of many international brands. Starting with a single shared plant at Anand and two village cooperative societies for milk procurement, the dairy cooperative movement in the State of Gujarat had evolved into a network of 2.12 million milk producers (called farmers) who are organized in 10,411 milk collection independent cooperatives (called Village Societies). These Village Societies (VS) supply milk to thirteen independent dairy cooperatives (called Unions). AMUL is one such Union. Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation or GCMMF is the marketing entity for products of all Unions in the State of Gujarat. GCMMF has 42 regional distribution centers in India, serves over 500,000 retail outlets and exports to more than 15 countries. All these organizations are independent legal entities yet loosely tied together with a common destiny. In a recent survey GCMMF was ranked amongst the top ten FMCG firms in the country while AMUL was rated the second most recognized brand in India amongst all Indian and MNC offerin gs. 2nd Phase: In 1966, Amul hired Sylvester daCunha, then managing director of the advertising agency AS to design a new ad campaign for Amul Butter. daCunha designed an add campaign as series of hoardings with topical ads, relating to day-to-day issues.[14]The campaign was widely popular and earned a Guiness world record for the longest running ad campaign in the world. Since the 1980s, cartoon artist Bharat Dabholkarhas been involved with sketching the Amul ads, who rejected the trend of using celebrities in advertisement campaigns. Despite encountering political pressure on several occasions, daCunha’s agency has made it a policy of not backing down. Some of the more controversial Amul ads include one commenting on Naxalite uprising in West Bengal, on the Indian Airlines employees strike, and the one depicting the Amul butter girl wearing a Gandhi cap. Amul hired DraftFCB+Ulka for the brands of Amul milk, chocolates, paneer, ghee, ice-cream. The establishment of Amul is also known as White Revolution. The White Revolution of India inspired the notable Indian film-makerShyam Benegal to base his film Manthan (1976) on it. The White Revolution ushered an era of plenty from a measly amount of milk production and distribution. Aside from the great measurable success that this project was, it also demonstrated the power of â€Å"collective might†. A small set of poor farmers of Kheda district in Gujarat had the vision and foresight to act in a way that was good for the society and not for the self alone. There have been several factors driving the restructuring of the dairy business (which has chiefly been organized around cooperative principles). These include efficiencies in managing fewer large plants versus a number of under-utilized small plants, need for more milk supply (and declining membership), need to offer wide variety, improvements in trucking & milk handling thereby facilitating long hauls, opening of new international markets (also markets for new products), seeking marketing clout and need to bring investment from outside the cooperatives. AMUL in India has learnt from many experiences and has been influenced by practices in dairies around the world especially in its formative years. It has, however, formed it own organizational structure (i.e., AMUL is a cooperative of village cooperatives) to bring about a change in the lives of marginal farmers of India. The AMUL experience has attracted considerable interest from the development community – predominantly an thropologists, development & agriculture economists, and political scientists. Key areas of their enquiry have been the role of AMUL in reducing social and economic inequality in the region of the cooperative, the sociology of cooperation, interface of the dairy cooperative and the rural power structure, relation of the State and the Cooperative and the role of government in its growth (interestingly, AMUL has successfully managed to exercise its independence from the government unlike other cooperatives in India), elements & replicability of the cooperative movement at Anand, cost effectiveness of subsidies to AMUL (in its initial years) etc. A few studies have evaluated the operational effectiveness of the operations at AMUL. Studies have reported usage of mobile veterinary dispensaries, wireless sets to link mobile units to service centers as early 1951, developing a programme of cross breeding of cows in early 1970s etc. that have led to a phenomenal rise in productivity of milk (Patel, 1988). AMUL’s Journey towards Excellence AMUL’s journey towards excellence is marked by some critical understanding of the business environment in large emerging economies like India where markets have to be developed by combining efficiency related initiatives with increasing the base of marginal suppliers and consumers. The essence of AMUL’s efforts were as follows: †¢ It combined market and social development in an emerging economy. It recognized the inter-linkages between various environments that governed the lives of marginal milk farmers and the unmet needs of consumers. It also changed the supply chain paradigm in order to reduce the cost to the consumer while increasing the return to the supplier. †¢ It realized that in order to achieve their objectives, it had to benefit a large number of people – both suppliers and consumers. While large scale had the danger of failure due to poor control and required more resources, it also had the advantage of creating a momentum that would be necessary to bring more people into the fold and thereby help more suppliers and consumers. †¢ It also realized that its goal could only be achieved in the long run and this required developing values in people and processes that were robust, replicable and transparent. †¢ It also realized that the cooperative would not be independent and viable in the face of competition if it were not financially sound. Leadership While Kaira Union (or AMUL) had the support of national leaders who were at the forefront of the Indian independence movement, its local leaders were trained in Gandhian simplicity and had their feet rooted firmly amongst people whom they had mobilized – the poor farmers of Anand. The foremost amongst them was Tribhuvandas Patel who had led the movement for the formation of cooperatives of small and marginal farmers in order to compete against investor owned enterprises on one hand, and keep bureaucracy away on the other hand. Tribhuvandas was the first Chairman of the cooperative. His skills lay in organizing the village producers, in making them believe in the power of cooperation and their rights towards improvement of human condition. He is remembered as fair and honest person whose highest sense of accountability to the members of the union laid the foundation of trust between network members. Another important aspect of his remarkable management style was his gentleness and ability to repose trust in people – he gave complete autonomy to managers of the union and earned complete commitment from them. Verghese Kurien was one such manager who would, first, shape the destiny of the Union and then the milk movement throughout the country. Several young people left better paying jobs to help create a dream of making India the milk capital of the world. Kurien had learnt the persuasive charm of Tribhuvandas through plain speaking and had soon created a cadre of highly capable managers to whom he had delegated both management as well as commitment. These leaders were created at the village, district and state levels in different organizations of the network. Tribhuvandas knew that his fledgling cooperative needed a technocrat manager who shared his concern for the farmers and also had the tenacity to organize marginal producers. Convincing farmers to join the cooperative required commitment bordering on stubbornness, a can do attitude and a desire to change lives of poor people. Verghese Kurien had those skills and had linkages to the government. He was charismatic in his communication and committed in his effort. Over a period of time, he developed a very close link with the poor farmers who, as he always says, â€Å"w ere his employers† at the cooperative. He would travel through the villages along with Tribhuvandas and work out the details of how the milk collection cooperative would work, how trucks would pickup milk from village societies, how the cattle would have to be taken care of and how all of this would help the poor milk farmer come out of poverty and the clutches of the middleman. Operational details were meticulously planned and executed. And then, he along with two of his close associates would work on the design of the dairy plant including conducting experiments to create powder out of buffalo milk – a task that was ridiculed by all who heard of it including the international aid agencies in the dairy industry. Tribhuvandas and Kurien were able to convince the government also of the value of his efforts and secured funding for several projects of the cooperative. Kurien’s biggest strength lay in his ability to convince people that the cause of rural farmers was important thus establishing an important shar ed value. Subsequently, he could convince the government to replicate the AMUL model in almost all states of the country. Strategy AMUL’s business strategy is driven by its twin objectives of (i) long-term, sustainable growth to its member farmers, and (ii) value proposition to a large customer base by providing milk and other dairy products a low price. Its strategy, which evolved over time, comprises of elements described below. Simultaneous Development of Suppliers and Customers: From the very early stages of the formation of AMUL, the cooperative realized that sustained growth for the long-term was contingent on matching supply and demand. Further, given the primitive state of the market and the suppliers of milk, their development in a synchronous manner was critical for the continued growth of the industry. The organization also recognized that in view of the poor infrastructure in India, such development could not be left to market forces and proactive interventions were required. Accordingly, AMUL and GCMMF adopted a number of strategies to assure such growth. For example, at the time AMUL was formed, the vast majority of consumers had limited purchasing power and was value conscious with very low levels of consumption of milk and other dairy products. Thus, AMUL adopted a low price strategy to make their products affordable and guarantee value to the consumer. The success of this strategy is well recognized and remains the main plank of AMUL’s strategy even today. To summarize, the dual strategy of simultaneous development of the market and member farmers has resulted in parallel growth of demand and supply at a steady pace and in turn assured the growth of the industry over an extended period of time. Cost Leadership: AMUL’s objective of providing a value proposition to a large customer base led naturally to a choice of cost leadership position. Given the low purchasing power of the Indian consumer and the marginal discretionary spending power, the only viable option for AMUL was to price its products as low as possible. This in turn led to a focus on costs and had significant implications for managing its operations and supply chain practices (described later). Focus on Core Activities: In view of its small beginnings and limited resources, it became clear fairly early that AMUL would not be in a position to be an integrated player from milk production to delivery to the consumer. Accordingly, it chose a strategy to focus on core dairy activities and rely on third parties for other complementary needs. This philosophy is reflected in almost all phases of AMUL network spanning R&D, production, collection, processing, marketing, distribution, retailing etc. For example, AMUL focused on processing of liquid milk and conversion to variety of dairy products and associated research and development. On the other hand, logistics of milk collection and distribution of products to customers was managed through third parties. However, it played a proactive role in making support services available to its members wherever it found that markets for such services were not developed. For example, in the initial stages, its small and marginal member farmers did not have access to finance, veterinary service, knowledge of basic animal husbandry etc. Thus to assure continued growth in milk production and supply, AMUL actively sought and worked with partners to provide these required services. Managing Third Party Service Providers: Well before the ideas of core competence and the role of third parties in managing the supply chain were recognized and became fashionable, these concepts were practiced by GCMMF and AMUL. From the beginning, it was recognized that the core activity for the Unions lay in processing of milk and production of dairy products. Accordingly, the Unions focused efforts on these activities and related technology development. Marketing efforts (including brand development) were assumed by GCMMF. All other activities were entrusted to third party service providers. These include logistics of milk collection, distribution of dairy products, sale of products through dealers and retail stores, some veterinary services etc. It is worth noting that a number of these third parties are not in the organized sector, and many are not professionally managed. Hence, while third parties perform the activities, the Unions and GCMMF have developed a number of mechanisms to retain control and assure quality and timely deliveries (see the sub-section on Coordination for Competitiveness later in the paper for more details). This is particularly critical for a perishable product such as liquid milk. Financial Strategy: AMUL’s finance strategy is driven primarily by its desire to be self-reliant and thus depend on internally generated resources for funding its growth and development. This choice was motivated by the relatively underdeveloped financial markets with limited access to funds, and the reluctance to depend on Government support and thus be obliged to cede control to bureaucracy. AMUL’s financial strategy may thus be characterized by two elements: (a) retention of surplus to fund growth and development, and (b) limited/ no credit, i.e., all transactions are essentially cash only. For example, payment for milk procured by village societies is in cash and within 12 hours of procurement (most, however, pay at the same time as the receipt of milk). Similarly, no dispatches of finished products are made without advance payment from distributors etc. This was particularly important, given the limited liquidity position of farmer/suppliers and the absence of banking facilities in rural India. This strategy strongly helped AMUL implement its own vision of growth and development. It is important to mention that many of the above approaches were at variance with industry practices of both domestic and MNC competitors of AMUL. Organization AMUL is organized as a cooperative of cooperatives (i.e., each village society, a cooperative in itself, is a member of the AMUL cooperative) thereby deriving the advantage of scale and uniformity in decision making. The founders of Kaira Union realized that to fulfill their objectives, a large number of marginal farmers had to benefit from the cooperative – a network of stakeholders had to be built. And once built, it had to grow so as to draw more rural poor to undertake dairy farming as a means of livelihood. The network had to have several layers – the organizational network where the voice of the owners governed all decisions, a physical network of support services and product delivery process and a network of small farmers that could deliver the benefit of a large corporation in the market place. More importantly, a process had to be put in place to build these networks. Building an organizational network that would represent the farmers and the customers was the most complicated task. A loose confederation was developed with GCMMF representing the voice of the customers, the Unions representing the milk processors and the village societies representing the farmers. Competition in the markets ensured that the entire network was responding to the requirements of the customers at prices that were very competitive. The task of ensuring that returns to the farmers was commensurate with the objectives with which the cooperatives were setup was achieved through representation of farmers at different levels of decision making throughout the network – the board of directors of societies, Unions and the Federation comprised farmers themselves. In order to ensure that most returns from sales went to the producers, the intermediaries had to operate very effectively and on razor thin margins. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise – the operations remained very â€Å"lean† and started to provide cost based advantage to the entire network. AMUL establ ished a group to standardize the process of organizing farmers into village societies. In addition to establishing the criteria for selecting members, the group had to train the VS to run the cooperative democratically, profitably and with concern for its members. This included establishing procedures for milk collection, testing, payment for milk purchased from member farmers and its subsequent sale to the union, accounting, ensuring timely collection and dispatch of milk on milk routes established by the union, etc. The Village Societies Division at AMUL acts as the internal representative of village societies in their dealings with the Union. Cooperative development programmes at the village level for educating & training its members have become an important part of the strategy to build this extensive network. Milk procurement activity at AMUL comprises development and servicing of village societies, increasing milk collection, procurement of milk from societies & its transport to the chilling locations, and resolving problems of farmers and village societies. Thei r stated objective is to ensure that producers get maximum benefits. The Village Societies Division coordinates these activities. Milk collection takes place over a large number of pre-defined routes according to a precise timetable. The field staff of this division also help village societies interface with the Union on various issues ranging from improvement of collection, resolving disputes, repair of equipments to obtaining financing for purchase of equipment etc. In addition, they are also responsible for the formation of new societies, which is an important activity at AMUL. In essence, the organization structure of AMUL allows effective utilization of resources without losing the democratic aspiration of individual members. It is obvious that such a system needs charismatic leadership to achieve consensus across issues – a process that has long-term benefits for any organization. Marketing GCMMF is the marketing arm of the network and manages the physical delivery and distribution of milk and dairy products from all the Unions to customers. GCMMF is also responsible for all decisions related to market development and customer management. These activities, which range from long-term planning to medium-term and short-term operational decisions are described below. As mentioned earlier, introduction of new products and choice of product mix and markets should be consistent with the growth strategy, and synchronous with growth in milk supply. GCMMF’s demand growth strategy may be characterized by two key elements: (i) developing markets for its high value products by graduating customer segments from low value products, and (ii) maintaining a healthy level of customer base for its base products (low value segment). This strategy often requires GCMMF to allocate sufficient quantity of milk supply to low value products, thereby sacrificing additional profits that coul d be generated by converting the same to high value products. Interestingly, advertisement & promotion (a la FMCG) was not considered to be enough of value addition and hence the budget was kept relatively small. Instead, GCMMF preferred a lower price with emphasis on efficiency in advertising. In this context, GCMMF provides umbrella branding to all the products of the network. For example, liquid milk as well as various milk products produced by different Unions are sold under the same brand name of AMUL. Interestingly, the advertising has centred on building a common identity (e.g., a happy & healthy â€Å"cartoon† AMUL girl) and evoking national emotion (e.g., the key advertising slogan says â€Å"AMUL – The Taste of India†). GCMMF also plays a key role in working with the Unions to coordinate the supply of milk and dairy products. In essence, it procures from multiple production plants (the thirteen Unions), which in turn procure from the Village Societies registered with each Union. GCMMF distributes its products through third party distribution depots that are managed by distributors who are exclusive to GCMMF. These distributors are also responsible for servicing retail outlets all over the country. GCMMF sales staff manages this process. Retailing of GCMMF’s products takes place through the FMCG retail network in India most of whom are small retailers. Liquid milk is distributed by vendors who deliver milk at homes. Since 1999, GCMMF has started web based ordering facilities for its customers. A well-defined supply chain has been developed to service customers who order in this manner.

File Sharing Copyright For Information Professionals

Kristen Hanmer IST735: Copyright for Information Professionals Professor Jill Hurst-Wahl Assignment 3 9 November 2014 File sharing is a widely-used process that allows users to download and upload different types of files and share them with other users either over the internet or on a specific network. Almost as soon as file sharing was introduced and gained popularity with the public it began to raise questions regarding copyright infringement, and the first major lawsuit to deal with file sharing quickly followed. Although that case was decided almost 15 years ago, file sharing continues to remain popular and also continues to raise questions about copyright and intellectual property. In 1999 a 19-year-old college student co-founded a†¦show more content†¦For example, regarding music, copyright law allows a consumer to listen to a CD and even lend the original material to a friend. The matter of copyright infringement begins to come into play if the user decides to make a copy of the item or give a copy to a friend without permission, which is exactly what file sharing does. At the time file sharing was relatively new and many users were not familiar with how copyright was involved. Most people assumed since they paid for and owned physical copies of CDs they should also be allowed to copy that CD into their computer’s memory and share the electronic copy. The amount of file sharing that was taking place soon caught the attention of musicians and record companies who were afraid widespread distribution of the material would lead to huge monetary losses for the recording industry. Some artists were even experiencing â€Å"leaked material,† or material being uploaded and shared with others before it was even released publicly. The popular heavy metal band Metallica discovered one of their singles was circulating widely on Napster before being officially released, and even ended up playing on some radio stations. This caught the attention of the band and they soon realized their entire music catalogue was available for free on Napster and decided to file a lawsuit (Doan). Hip hop artist Dr. Dre also filed a lawsuit againstShow MoreRelatedShould People Be Penalized for Downloading and Unauthorized Copy of a Song or Movie806 Words   |  3 Pageshave allowed peer-to-peer sharing between people around the world possible. This peer-to -peer sharing has manifested the debate of copyright infringement, and many CEO’s of major Internet companies have been convicted for copyright infringement. Although peer-to-peer sharing has allowed direct access to songs, movies and TV shows, it has also had several repercussions on copyright holders. Peer-to-peer sharing websites should cease to exist as they commercially damage copyright holders, steal exclusiveRead MoreA Brief Note On The Social Media Revolution1317 Words   |  6 PagesPinterest, and host of lesser known mediums; opportunities for copyright infringement have substantially increased. Along with this ease of access comes the challenge to monitor one’s self for sharing content. Social media can make gaining sharing music, books, photos, articles, and video media easier and can cause individuals, community groups, and businesses, among a few, to commit copyright infringement without realizing the mistake. 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Unfortunately, the internet has impacted upon criminal and/or harmful activity in three main ways-this is after discounting the fact that many of the behaviors that have been identified as cybercrimes are not actually crimes as such but invoke civil remedies instead (Wall, 200a). First, information security is an organization-wideRead MoreShawn Fanning, Creator of Napster, Changed the Music Industry2085 Words   |  8 Pagesto share filers over a central server, specifically music files. This became known as Napster. Napster, which was created in 1999, became an internet sensation in the blink of an eye. It was a free file-sharing community that involved millions of users. Napster linked numbers computers to a centralized server, which was accessible to almost anyone that had access to the internet. When logged onto the server, users could see music files along with their location, and begin to download them to theirRead MoreDeveloping, Using Organising Resources Within the lifelong Learning Sector4589 Words   |  19 Pagesresources to the learners. Once the task in completed by the learners the resource developer then can assess their performance which will automatically enable the resource developed to identify the effectiveness of his resources. According to the information given by Turkish online journal of education technology (2009), two student groups are surveyed where one group of students provided with the lower level of teaching resources while second group of students are provided with the higher level of

Lowering The Drinking Age Essay - 1848 Words

There always has been controversy as to should the united states lower the drinking age to 18. Eighteen year olds should have the right to drink. By lowering the drinking age to eighteen it will give people supervision, teach responsibilities, and eighteen years olds are already considered adults; however, it may cause binge drinking, it will lead to more deaths, and drinking damages brains cells and especially the body itself. Lowering the drinking age to eighteen would be good for supervision because the drinkers will drink in public where there everyone watching them. Likewise that will have the drinkers drinking responsibly because they will have to follow regulations for drinking in public. In addition they are adults already.†¦show more content†¦Besides alcohol goes all the way back to the late centuries and back then young youth were drinking. Governments think! To begin with lowering the drinking age to eighteen would be good for supervision. For example being able to drink at age eighteen will have the citizens drink legally in bars, restaurants and other licenses establishments ( DrinkingAgeProCon.org#4).In fact all licensed establishments have a time that says only certain amounts of drinks to a person. Future more that will cause the workers at the restaurants or at the public place to be notify how much that one person had to drink. Which that will prevent that one person from not over drinking. Or if the person already drink intoxicant the workers can assistant them the safely route to be getting home, safe and un harm. According to the website (DrinkAgeProCon.org#4) it says â€Å"allowing eighteens to twenty year olds to drink alcohol in regulated environments with supervision would decrease unsafe drinking activity. In fact having restaurants or any licensed establishment’s serving alcohol to eighteen years olds would help the economy because the age group went down then greater amounts of tax revenue should be collected by the government (DrinkingAgeProCon.org#4). So public drinkers will be in save drinking because there will be regulations to be follow. At the same time they would be making money for the government, how can the governmentShow MoreRelatedLowering the Drinking Age1523 Words   |  7 Pages According to Andrew Herman, â€Å"Each year, 14,000 die from drinking too much. 600,000 are victims of alcohol related physical assault and 17,000 are a result of drunken driving deaths, many being innocent bystanders† (470). These massive numbers bring about an important realization: alcohol is a huge issue in America today. Although the problem is evident in Americans of all ages, the biggest issue is present in young adults and teens. In fact, teens begin to feel the effects of alcohol twice asRead MoreNot Lowering the Drinking Age1642 Words   |  7 PagesBryan Blejski ENG 101-010 Ms. Abbott 28 July 2011 Not Lowering the Drinking Age Many teenage deaths in the United States are caused in some way by the influence of alcohol; however, many people still believe that the legal drinking age should be reduced to eighteen. This issue has been going on for years, but the law has not been changed since the change to twenty-one in 1980. States have become stricter about preventing under-age drinking, but teenagers have no problem getting alcohol. There areRead MoreNot Lowering The Drinking Age989 Words   |  4 PagesNot Lowering the Drinking Age There are many different views on drinking alcohol, especially underage drinking. Everyone has different views on the drinking age. Some think it should be lowered and others believe that it should be raised. Then some believe that it should remain the same at the age of twenty-one years old. Keeping the alcohol consumption age at twenty-one limits the dangers of not only those under twenty-one, but other people in the community. Lowering the drinking age will causeRead MoreLowering the Drinking Age1223 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"What we’re doing now to prevent underage drinking isn’t working; it’s time to try something else.† Although many people argue that the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1964, which lowed the drinking age from eighteen to twenty one, was a good idea. David J Hanson a professor in the State University of New York believed that something needs to be done to make the United States a safer place to live. Is it fair that people in the United States can serve in the military, vote in elections, serveRead MoreLowering the Drinking Age1576 Words   |  7 PagesComposition I April 6, 2014 Why the Drinking Age Should Stay at Twenty-One The United States drinking age throughout all 50 states has been the same since 1984 when a law was put in place by the U.S. Congress punishing all states who did not abide by the legal age limit of 21. Since this law was put into place, it has become one of the most widely studied laws in history. While there are many arguments and new bills being created to reduce this age, especially among college universitiesRead MoreLowering The Drinking Age1336 Words   |  6 PagesStudies show that keeping the drinking age at twenty-one improves lives. When the United States raised the age limit to twenty-one in 1985, a shortage of drinking occurred at a whopping 40% by 1991. As a result, fewer students drop out of high school, less motor accidents occur, and suicides rates dropped significantly. However, lowering the drinking age to eighteen will bring serious consequences on young adults by reversing these statistics. Lowering the drinking age will cause significant healthRead MoreLow ering The Drinking Age Of The Age981 Words   |  4 PagesHowever, there are those who remain persistent in their requests to drop the drinking age to a slightly lower option. Opposition to the legal drinking age of twenty-one has shown to have some support from mostly younger groups of people, without much validation as to why a lowered drinking age would be beneficial to our country as a whole. Yet, there are still some interesting arguments for those in favor of dropping the age at which it is legal to drink to eighteen. Consider how many young adults chooseRead MoreLowering The Legal Drinking Age903 Words   |  4 Pageshelp myself get a better understanding about how others feel about lowering the legal drinking age in the United States and to better understand what role alcohol plays in people’s lives. The first question I asked for in my survey, was what the participant’s age was. I used this question to see if there was a difference on how different generations felt towards lowering the legal drinking age. I was expecting more people over the age of 25 to take the quiz because I didn’t know if younger adults wouldRead MoreLowering The Minimum Drinking Age1380 Words   |  6 PagesOnce a person reaches the age of 18, they are allowed to tattoo their bodies, smoke tobacco, gamble and even enlist if they wanted to! As an adult, they want to be treated as one but how can they feel like an adult if hanging around with their friends and drinking beer while watching TV is illegal ? Of course, that does not stop them, though. The United States is one of the few countries in which still have such a high minimum drinking age. Although most people think young adults (18-year olds) areRead MoreLowering The Minimum Drinking Age1429 Words   |  6 Pagesand Thailand are others – with a minimum drinking age over 18† (Griggs, 1). When Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, its goal was to reduce less-mature adults from consuming alcohol and performing reckless acts (Cary, 1). However, despite the current drinking age, 17.5 percent of consumer spending for alcohol in 2013 was under the age of 21. It is estimated that â€Å"90 percent of underage drinking is consumed via binge drinking†¦with alcohol abuse becoming more prevalent

Women s Role During The Military - 2192 Words

April 20th, 2015 Keri Devine 1 Research Paper Mr. McNeill Women’s Role in the Military Over the course of time, the military has gradually allowed women to take part in wars, starting off as nurses or spies. Eventually, women were granted the right to fight on the battlefields alongside men. According to a 2014 study, by Gender Roles, many opposed the thought of women being accepted into the military. Surveys show that the average woman enlisted in the military, navy, air force or marines are about 5 inches shorter than their male counterpart and women’s upper body strength is half of a male’s; also having 37% less muscle mass. (1) Although some people may oppose allowing women to serve in front line†¦show more content†¦For example, on a Devine 2 physical endurance exam, a women could excel and score a higher average on a certain required boot camp event than her male counterpart. During the last century, women have proudly and competitively served in our military wars (Owens). (4) Women are seen as inferior to men when it comes to a career sought out to be for men only. Women are discriminated in the military. At Camp Normandy, located in Iraq, women faced challenges with warfare, but also gender differences. Women are forced to share bathrooms with men; showers are being shared as well. Women were outnumbered by men, almost 100 to 1. Since such issues were brought upon these women who enlisted in the military, they were forced to become creative to get along with men while stationed on base. (2) While on the field, women would constantly be harassed by the men. The Iraqi men would converse amongst themselves and stare at the women walking past. Some men would try to surround them, place a hand on them, or even ask them to get married. Wearing their battle gear helped hide their body figure and sometimes their face. This was just one way of protecting themselves from the men (Macur). (2) Sgt. Vincent Vetterkind says, â€Å"Out here, there is no male gender an d no female gender. Our gender is soldier.† (1) Also, the commander of Devin Synder’s (a

1960 establishment Essay Example For Students

1960 establishment Essay ?The Establishment in the 1960sThe nineteen sixties were times of great change.Many people went frommoderates to radicals because of the environment around them. That environmentwas called the establishment. It included all of the events going on in the nineteensixties. Some of the main events taking place were the Vietnam War, thegovernment, the Democratic National Convention and the culture (*). Manyprotested things that they did not believe in or thought was wrong (*). There weremany things that made the radicals different from the moderates. They were themusic they listened to and the clothes they wore. Most obviously was the wayIn the summer of 1967, society and rock and roll were going through somemajor changes. People who listened to rock and roll wore flowers in their hair andon their clothes. They Grooved to tunes by The Grateful Dead, Cream,Jefferson Airplane, and many others (*). Radical was the name given to thesediverse cultural icons of the sixtys revolution. These radi cals were associatedwith the many of the youth parties who shared their views with the country. Themusic that the radicals listened too greatly affected the way the acted. It was themellow tune and the moving lyrics that inspired this generation of teenagers. Theystood up for what they believed in from listening to the rock and roll, which isnow, classified as classic rock. The people who didnt listen to the new rock androll, listened to classical and jazz music. They thought the radicals who listened torock and roll were rebels. Large get togethers were common in the sixties. Atthese be ins, as they were called, people ate, drank, and listened to music (*). The greatest musical get-together that had the most influencing effect onthe people of the sixties was Woodstock 69. This was the largest rock concertever and was held in Bethel, New York. It was three days long, beginning onAugust 15 and ending on August 17 in 1969. The Woodstock Ventures was thenewly founded company organizing the three-day festival. The Town of Wallkillwas the anticipated site for the music festival, but city officials and residentsprotested it. Laws were made to make sure that Woodstock was not to be held inWallkill. The laws were passed, so the Woodstock Ventures team had to searchfor a new site. They ended up finding a 600-acre cow pasture suitable for a three-day concert in the town of Bethel, New York. The city and state officials said theyhad everything planned for and prepared before the concert. But when it camearound to the opening day, they knew what they hadnt planned for, a crowd ofmore than 500,000 people. The concert started at exactly 5:07 P.M. on August15, 1969 (*). Around midnight on the first day, it started to rain. In as little asthree hours, five inches of rain fell. This caused the field to flood, and makingeveryone and everything a big mud puddle.Through the three days there weretwo deaths, but also two births. Both of the deaths were by accident. At the endof the final day, people began to slowly make their way out of the once was grassfield. That barren field now has a monument remembering those three days ofmusic. It attracts visitors from all over the country, who want to see where thebiggest party of all time was once held (*). Dress in the nineteen sixties showed what kind of attitude you possessedand the views you obtained. There were two dominant groups of dress in thesixties. One was the radical and hippie attire. It consisted of older, more raggedlooking outfits. They usually wore headbands or bandanas on their heads. Sometimes they would wear tie-dye or multicolor mixed shirts. The pants thatmost of this teenage generation would don were usually aged and battered, whichsometimes beared holes in them. The types of shoes that they wore depended onthe individual. Some wore tall boots, short boots, and sandals. The most popularshoes were the original Converse All-Stars (*). Most people just wore whateverthey could find, and didnt care what they looked like (*). The second dominantgroup of dress was the older, non-teenage generation. The men usually woreclean, newly pressed clothes. Some men wore suits all of the time.Men mostlywore black shiny dress shoes. The women wore clean, new clothes unlike .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 , .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .postImageUrl , .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 , .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688:hover , .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688:visited , .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688:active { border:0!important; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688:active , .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688 .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u1f48f85a94c2bb6770237af0ee197688:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Abnormal Psychology: Mental Disorders Essay

Japan In Isolation Essays - Samurai, Edo Period, Japan, Nagasaki

Japan in Isolation Japan in Isolation The problem question being dealt with is "To what extent was Tokugawa Japan's policy of isolation a benefit or drawback when examined in terms of social stability, treatment of foreign influences, and standard of living?" The benefits of isolation when looked at by the subject of social stability are numerous. The social stability of Japan during isolation was something to be looked at upon with great respect. Isolation gave Japan stability and internal solidarity at a time when these factors were urgently needed. Under the new system of Tokugawa merchants were at the bottom however, encouraged by the availability of money, they bought, sold, traded and developed a new system of credit and became wealthy. Also during this time of isolation businesses created new farms and mines that strengthened the growing national economy. Finally enterprising farmers who produced a surplus could sell their excess for coin, invest in more land, and grow cash crops like cotton and tobacco. There were some drawbacks of the isolation on the social stability of Japan. Ironically, as Japan became increasingly sealed off, the rest of the world was being opened up to an unprecedented interchange of goods and ideas on comprehensive scale. The rate of social and technological change and development in the West grew dramatically in the two centuries after 1640. In Japan, the rate of change the rate of change was deliberately slowed down by the Tokugawa policy. When Japan reopened its doors after 1853, there was much ground to make up, but the skilled, hard working population was in a strong position to close the gap rapidly. The second criteria for the isolation of Japan are the treatment of foreign influences. Japan was not open to any foreign influences during their period isolation, except for the Netherlands. Some benefits did arise from this, one of the most noted is the perfection of the sword in Japan. The Japanese samurai voluntarily gave up the use of firearms, even after Japanese craftsman had advanced the use of matchlocks (a type of gun). They decided that it was dishonorable to use firearms in combat. Traditional weapons regained their importance. Japan made the best swords in the world. Tests done in the twentieth century showed a Japanese blade cut a European sword and even cut through the barrel of a machine gun. The drawbacks of the isolation when concerning foreign influences are also apparent as well. Christianity was a very disputed topic among the Japanese before isolation took place. The Catholic missionaries came to be regarded as agents of foreign powers. In 1613, leyasu decreed that all missionaries had to leave Japan and that all Japanese Christians had to join a Buddhist sect and prove they had genuinely switched faiths. There were repeated deportations of missionaries from Japan and repeated incidents of oppression of believers up to 1687. The Exclusion Acts of the 1630's included the prohibition of overseas voyages and restrictions on trade. Those living abroad were considered corrupted and not allowed to return. Meanwhile, in 1637a bloody revolution of Christian peasants in Nagasaki, which was brutally crushed, hastened the policy of isolation. Finally another drawback of isolation and the treatment of foreign influences was with no new ideas entering from foreign countries it set them apart and Japan fell behind excessively in technological discoveries. Instead of advancing they digressed. The final criteria that will be looked at is the standard of living in Japan during the period of isolation. There were some great benefits that came along with this plan of isolation for the standard of living, one of them is the fact that with the extra money farmers were making off of other extra crops they could grow cash crops such as tobacco and cotton. With this the farmer could now afford extras like sake (rice wine), fashionable clothes and other previously unattainable luxuries. There were also some Social-climbing merchants who had money and paid to become adopted by a samurai family. There were also some drawbacks to this plan of isolation by Japan when regarding standards of living. For instance it was the samurai who were most drastically affected by Tokugawa peace and stability. The cherished principles of loyalty, simple living, and honor had previously enriched their high social status, but these were earned in a time of war. Peace undermined these virtues. With no major wars to fight, the samurai became listless. Since their wages were fixed at a time when prices were rising, their money bought less. Only the samurai could carry two swords as a sign of distinction, but this did not always compensate for