Ralph Ellison Essays - Literature, Fiction, , Term Papers

Ralph Ellison The Invisible Man Ralph Ellison manages to develop a strong philosophy through characterization in the Invisible Man. Ellison portrays the lonely narrator's quest in struggling to search for his identity and an understanding of his times. The well development of the character lays out the foundation on the philosophy of finding and understanding himself. Through a labyrinth of corruption and deceit the narrator undergoes events that manage to enrich his experience and further contribute in his search for himself. Such scenes include the battle royal scene, the college, Trueblood's visit, and the blueprint seller. The narrator at first never realizes his innocence. At first the timid Invisible Man is invited to attend his scholarship award ceremony. However with other Negroes he is rushed to the front of the ballroom where a stripper frightens them by dancing in nude. After staging the "battle royal" and attacking one another in response to the drunken shouts of the rich white folk, the boy is brought to give his prepared oration of gratitude to the white benefactors. An accidental remark to equality nearly ruins him, but the narrator manages to survive and is given a briefcase containing a scholarship to a Negro college. This acts a high peak in the narrator's quest since it sets him for his struggle in searching for himself. The narrator adores the college however is thrown out before long by its president, Dr.Bledsoe, the great educator and leader of his race. Ironically the narrator had seen Dr.Bledsoe as an idol aiming to gradually impersonate him. He was expelled for permitting, Mr.Norton , one of the college founders into the slave quarters and the Golden Day bar. After that incident the Invisible Man goes through the sense that he is losing his identity. This initiates an air of confusion as the narrator is now brought in a quarrel against himself. In the prologue the Invisible Man quotes, "I was na?ve...I was looking for myself and asking everyone except myself questions which only I could answer." The narrator is tempted to set out in the quest to search for his identity. The prologue identified the theme to the readers. It was however during Trueblood's visit that the character manages to learn about his true background and roots. It is through such people, of his true Southern nature, that the narrator glimpses a view on himself. This is true also when the Invisible Man encounters the blueprint seller who sang the blues, a common song of the south. Although the Invisible Man was in the North, he still found himself clinging on to the southerner, since he was of his similar race. If the narrator succeeds in finding his own identity then he will definitely be truthful to himself and the others. By finding his identity the narrator has ensured friendships and encounters with many people, since loneliness will be avoided. The Invisible Man's identity ensured him that he had opposed the idea of manipulating the whites as "Gods" or "Forces" through the "grins" and "yesses" while the whites manage to achieve their destiny through their control over him. Through characterization Ellison has managed to reveal his philosophy that dealt with struggling to find one's identity. The characters have been developed in a sense that has them reflect one another's traits and personalities. Through many encounters the narrator begins to set out to find who he truly is. By questioning his everyday living the narrator manages to progress in the quest to achieve his goal.

Learn About the U.S. Presidential Oath of Office

Learn About the U.S. Presidential Oath of Office Since George Washington first said the words on April 30, 1789, as prompted by Robert Livingston Chancellor of State of New York, every President of the United States has repeated the following simple presidential oath of office as part of the inauguration ceremony: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The oath is worded and administered in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution, which requires that â€Å"Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:† Who May Administer the Oath? While the Constitution does not stipulate who should administer the oath to the president, this is typically done by the Chief Justice of the United States. Constitutional law experts agree that the oath could also be administered by a judge or official of the lower federal courts. For example, 30th President Calvin Coolidge was sworn in by his father, then a Justice of the Peace and notary public in Vermont. Currently, Calvin Coolidge remains the only president to be sworn in by anyone other than a judge. Between 1789 (George Washington) and 2013 (Barack Obama), the oath has been administered by 15 Associate Justices, three federal judges, two New York state judges, and one notary public. Hours after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, U.S. District Court Judge Sarah T. Hughes became the first woman to administer the oath when she swore in Lyndon B. Johnson onboard Air Force One in Dallas, Texas. Forms of Administering the Oath Over the years, the presidential oath has been administered in two ways. In one form now rarely used, the person administering the oath posed it in the form of a question, as in, â€Å"Do you George Washington solemnly swear or affirm that ‘you’ will †¦Ã¢â‚¬  In its modern form, the person administering the oath poses it as an affirmative statement, with the incoming president repeating it verbatim, as in, â€Å"I, Barak Obama do solemnly ‘swear’ or ‘affirm that ‘I’ will †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Use of Bibles Despite the First Amendment’s â€Å"Establishment Clause† guaranteeing the separation of church and state, incoming presidents traditionally take the oath of office while raising their right hands while placing their left hands on Bible or other books of special – often religious significance to them. John Quincy Adams held a law book, indicating his intention to base his presidency on the Constitution. President Theodore Roosevelt did not use a bible while taking the oath in 1901. After George Washington kissed the bible he held while taking the oath, most other presidents have followed suit. Dwight D. Eisenhower, however, said a prayer rather than kissing the Bible he was holding. Use of the Phrase ‘So Help Me God’ Use of â€Å"So help me God† in the presidential oath calls into question the constitutional requirement for separation of church and state. Enacted by the First U.S. Congress, the Judiciary Act of 1789 explicitly required â€Å"So help me God† to be used in the oaths of all U.S. federal judges and other officers other than the president. In addition, the words of the presidential oath - as the only oath specifically spelled out in the Constitution - do not include the phrase. While not required by law, most presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt have added the phrase â€Å"So help me God† after reciting the official oath. Whether presidents before Roosevelt added the words is a source of debate among historians. Some say that both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln used the phrase, but other historians disagree. Much of the ‘So help me God’ debate hinges on the two manners in which the oath has been given. In the first, no longer used manner, the administrating official frames the oath as a question, as in â€Å"Do you Abraham Lincoln solemnly swear†¦,† which seems to demand an affirmative response. The current form of â€Å"I do solemnly swear (or affirm)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  demands a simple response of â€Å"I do† or â€Å"I swear.† In December 2008, atheist Michael Newdow, joined by 17 other people, plus 10 atheist groups, filed a lawsuit in the District Court for the District of Columbia against Chief Justice  John Roberts seeking to prevent the Chief Justice from saying â€Å"so help me God† in the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Newdow argued that the 35 words of the Constitution’s official presidential oath do not include the words. The District Court refused to issue an injunction preventing Roberts from using the phrase, and in May 2011, the U.S.  Supreme Court refused Newdows request to hear the case.   What About the Vice Presidents Oath? Under current federal law, the Vice President of the United States recites a different oath of office as follows: â€Å"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.† While the Constitution specifies that the oath taken by the vice president and other government officials states their intention to uphold the Constitution, it does not specify the exact wording of the oath. Traditionally, the vice president’s oath has been administered by the Chief Justice on inauguration day on the floor of the Senate shortly before the president-elect is sworn in.

Current Issues in Corporate Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Current Issues in Corporate Reporting - Essay Example The core mandate of integrated reporting therefore is to gather information about an organizations strategy, its governance, future prospects and performance in a manner that reflects the structure it operates in terms of the commercial, environmental and social context. It is meant to be an organizations most important reporting tool (ACCA (GREAT BRITAIN), 2010). Its aim is to create a formula for accounting for sustainability, bringing together governance, social, environmental and finance in a cohesive way. In order to achieve its mandate and to be welcomed internationally as the standard reporting method, the international integrated reporting committee had a representation from different parts of the corporate world (Eccles & Krzus, 2010).These includes the civil society, the investment sectors, accounting, the academic front, standard setting sectors, the regulatory sector as well as the security sector. It also has task forces that deal with content development, governance, engagement and communication as well as a working group and a steering committee. This report therefore broadly discusses the need for integrated reporting and the challenges that were met when constituting such reporting methods during the 2011 international integrated reporting committee meeting. Corporates need to achieve financial development, sustainability and improved performance while reporting on their corporate performance. Against the background of this, previous reporting did not manage to yield such objectives (Bennett, Burritt& Schaltegger, 2006). In fact, it exposed some businesses to their bare minimum since companies were revealing most of their financial details while yet they did not achieve improved performance that they expected. This therefore necessitated the need for a new framework for corporate reporting that

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 9

Case study - Essay Example On the pricing side, it is necessary to know what the prices should be, and what the price customers are willing to pay is. The company should be in a position to offer value addition to products and services, in order to enhance sustainability, and sustain a strong and consistent customer base. Products need to be designed according to the requirements of the customers, and the materials should conform to quality and pricing standards. After the transformation of the raw materials into finished goods through the manufacturing processing, these are packed and shipped to the various customers. It is important that the company receive relevant feedbacks from the manufacturing, suppliers, logistics and most significantly from the customers. It is necessary to offer the most economical and competitive prices to the customers, by reducing costs and increasing margins to the optimum level and also ensuring high quality products through satiation of the demands of the customers. The demand and supply aspects of the company should be continually increased, so as to be able to offer enhanced supplies for catering to a large demand for the products and services offered to the customers. (Produce best product, lowest cost). The Manugistics views are that there should be an integrated approach to the supplier relationship management and the supply chain management by strengthening pricing and optimizing revenue generation. It is therefore to be ensured that increased levels of demand side and the supply side of marketing are aimed at; thereby the pricing and optimization aspects could be taken care of. However, it is necessary to have complete knowledge about the customers’ profiles, including segmentation of markets based on the ‘ability to pay’ concept. (Produce best product, lowest cost). The best product mix provided to product locations

Scheduling and Implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scheduling and Implementation - Essay Example It is almost like a unexplainable process for the choosing appropriate deadlines for appropriate tasks. It is like estimating the time based on some features and historical factors in correspondence with the task. When the exact deadlines are not given, this is the method that is chosen to estimate the deadline. If planning is done properly, the project scheduling can almost help in accurately meeting the deadlines. (Haugna 65-68) The networks are not only used to identify the time and material factors. The usage of resources for each task and their allocations can be well planned if proper networking techniques are followed. Simple networking techniques like Gantt charts could help in a large way in identifying the quantity of resources required. Network analysis also helps in maintaining a constant work time for all resources and also ensures equal amount of distribution of work. It helps in identifying the activity times , The resources required for each activity, resources that are available in each category and any other management level restrictions. (Lucey 403) Total float in a project schedule is the delay of performing an activity. This delays the activities that succeed the delaying activity. The delay in total float is allowed by ensuring that it does not affect the total project time. IndependeIndependent Float Independent float of an activity in a project is the slack in the entire scheduling of the corresponding activities. The preceding activity is assumed to begin late and the succeeding activity is assumed to start early. Free Float In a project schedule, the free float is defined as the maximum delay in the performance of the corresponding activity without disturbing the schedule of the succeeding activity. Remaining Float In a project schedule the activities may be scheduled to begin late. In this situation the remaining float is the maximum amount of speed permitted in the work of an activity. It is made sure that it does not affect the activity that precedes the particular activity. This does not reduce the duration of activity, but working on the particular activity even before it starts its execution. (Lock 80) Why should an organization be charted An organization should be charted to know the structure of the organization. It depicts the internal relationship between the various departments and the employees. The organization chart clearly shows the employees and their hierarchy. It is also used to represent the people working in a particular team. Charting an organization will define the roles and responsibilities of each and every employee in that organization. It helps in establishing the strategies for team work and assists in the decision making process. (Lock 100) Discuss the importance of personal agreement and commitment to a schedule. Once a schedule is planned and designed it should be followed. There should be a commitment to the planned schedule. If any of the activity in a schedule is modified or altered, it will definitely affect the other activities in the schedule. This will result in the time delay of the project which in turn will affect

A Discussion On Police Discretion Criminology Essay

A Discussion On Police Discretion Criminology Essay Domestic violence, is associated with a series of long term physical problems alongside it will have also psychological factors which is a serious health problem. The growing concerns of violence against woman caused the increase of more police officers to take extra shifts to cover the victims of domestic violence. However, with that the police also has to implement a great deal of discretion. The police department will give the officers indirectly or clearly the choice what laws they want to enforce and when, most of the time police officers already know which cases prosecutors will keep and which ones the judge will convict. In some cases police officers have already been persuaded from many of the last cases they had to deal with, which kind of makes their decision easier. Research shows that most of the arrests are made by the officers if there was physical harm done. Domestic violence is a growing issue and it has an impact on may different individuals such as, partners, parents, children, and extended family members. In many cases domestic violence can often be fatal , but it can also be prevented and treated. Many cases include spousal battery, sexual abuse, child abuse to name a few. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also calls domestic violence intimate partner violence is well defined as physical or sexual violence or even psychological and emotional abuse that is intended to hurt a spouse, or even a current spouse (CDC, 2012). The center for disease control also defines intimate partner violence spouse abuse, battering, and even marital rape (CDC, 2012). The community and society is a perfect place and it has the ability to protect and separate the risk of such vast growing violence. Woman which is most exposed to domestic violence have two types of solutions that they are able to use. One, police officers can arrest or charge an individual and prosecutors can follow a criminal restrictive. Secondly, victims of domestic violence can also follow civil actions against the offenders by filing for a protective order in which case it can be temporary or permanent. These kinds of order can be issued to individuals that are involved in an abusive relationship, which will keep the abuser from contacting the victim. A temporary restraining order can be issued which can last up to one to two weeks, after that a mandatory hearing is set to determine the reason why the individual needs a restraining order and for how long. In 1994 the Violence Against Women Act was passed, with that the demand for police officer also grew higher to protect domes tic violence victims. At the same time more funding was passed to make it mandatory for police officers to arrest an individual based on probable cause and to determine that a crime has been committed and the person in question has committed the actual crime. Additionally, the enactment of the primary offender concept and a speedy prosecution were also ordered by the state. With that the increase in domestic violence arrest was rising to 30 percent and higher. The federal government spends a large amount of money, to encourage local areas to cure the cause of domestic violence and to treat it as a serious crime and to attack these kinds of crimes with force. There are many other states that are now passing the law to make it mandatory for police officers to arrest individuals that are under a restraining order (Holmes, Sylvia I. Mignon William M., 1995). However, under this new law the officers can use less discretion. The study showed that incidence under that new law showed the re lations with arrests and the offending arrests are less and offending based on reports and victims story. The spectrum of the criminal justice starts with the police itself. Discretion is distinct for the officer to have the power to make his or her choice based on possible options of actions or inactions. Police officers implement a large amount of discretion that comes with their job description as a protector of the community and their safety and also for the individuals that are unable to protect themselves. There is a plethora of research that has been done on police discretion: it lists as many as 140 titles related to discretion of the police in criminal justice alone and the the way discretion is used and how it affects their decision making. There are many factors to consider that might influence police discretion when arresting individuals such as, race ethnicity and how serious the offense is (Justice, U.S. Department of, 1999). There has been many debates on the advantages and disadvantages of a mandatory arrest and it depends on three main questions. One, will mandatory arrests increase or decrease the violence for victims? Two, will mandatory arrests encourage or discourage victims, and lastly should domestic violence be treated the same way as a violent crime (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004)? Increase or decrease, the argument in support of mandatory arrest for violence can be decreased due to the warning signs that are affected by the abuser. This means that abusers will learn to control their violent behavior due to the fact that they are afraid of future arrests. Studies have shown that mandatory arrests will control domestic violence. However, in some other studies the increase of domestic violence has been noticed when following the mandatory arrest procedure, and most of the victims were unmarried or the abuser was unemployed (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004). In this case it led s ome to believe that mandatory arrests do not work on lowering the domestic violent crimes on the contrary it actually escalated the violence for some victims. Empowerment or disempowerment, has the possibility that mandatory arrests may disempower a victim or survivor, because it take the womans right away to make her own decision to a much more powerful court system that has not been exactly the sensitive womans rights (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004). There are also many reasons why an abused woman may not want to follow through with the abusers arrest, for the following reason; she might be afraid of retaliation, financial issues that it might cause to name a few. Certainly, a court system has the assumption that the victim does not what might be best for the family and to a victim that might come across as condescending. In some cases there was also an increase of concern that there might be a dual arrest under the mandatory arrest law. What makes matters worse is when a victim is arrested that would be a great disempowerment. However, it has been used in the past that when the empowerment of a woman is taken away , the implementation of a mandatory arrest is placed. So by letting the victim have some empowerment it will ensure that her complaint is taken seriously, which makes her think her police is on her side. Some believe that mandatory arrests empower women by limiting police discretion and that leads to a non bias arresting. It is also noted that woman who has increased empowerment which is more likely in woman that are a minority, they are more likely to use the police services to stop violent crimes from happening. (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004) noted that for instance family violence shoulcategorizeded differently then stranger sault. Some believe that police officers should only handle only very dangerous crimes, and that the rest of the crimes should be handled outside the criminal system like privet counseling. Mandatory arrest laws need to be replaced with organized police discretion, which include using the victims decision and using it for example taking the item to a safe place like shelter or such. Some say hat revoking of the mandatory arrest law would make things worse in controlling domestic violence, and would return the violence to its normal stage. Criminalizing domestic violence will send a big message to the public that this kind of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. The mandatory arrest debate produced a lot of attention for much of the problem of policing and domestic violence. However, whether or not it is beneficial to have a mandatory arrest law for victims of domestic violence remains questionable. After carefully observing the evidence pertaining to the violence issue, it has generated inconsistent findings in the conclusion. Two of the findings on the issues of arrests whether or not it empowers or disempowers victims of domestic violence, is an issue that might be better off if it is dealt with inside/outside the criminal justice system. But it has still to be examined with research and it is mainly a speculation. There is still important information that is yet to be studied, and that is the victims themselves, and how they preserve the mandatory arrest law. Do victims of domestic violence care about the enactment of the mandatory arrest and what do they observe as being an advantage or disadvantage of the action. Whether victims feel t hreatened or safer with this particular law and are they more inspired or discouraged is the question. In recent times victims of domestic violence were clearly not in a talking mood. Fortunately, there has been an outpouring of research in recent years that has studied victims and their presumption of the criminal justice system. There has been only a few studies that show the consideration for victims and the support for a mandatory arrest (Barata, Paula C; Schneider, Frank, 2004). It has shown that most of the victims are supporting the mandatory law not necessarily for them but for the other individuals benefit. Though, either one of the studies dug deep enough into the above mentioned issues that have been stressed in the debate about mandatory arrest. It is the strategic effect on the levels of violence, of empowerment and if it demonstrates that domestic violence is looked at as a serious crime. The main influence of this study is that it goes much further into the question i f victims care for the mandatory arrest law and it also examines the view on the issues. This study is also useful to see how flexible as well as not so flexible the study is. The main idea of this study is to find out what victims think of the mandatory arrest law and if it has an advantage or a disadvantage. The main point is to find out to what degree victims support this kind of law. Individuals have been asked in the study if the mandatory arrest is sufficient enough to keep violent offenders away from victims and the second question was should domestic violence be treated as other violent crimes. Additionally, the support for mandatory arrest was also measured if it was mainly for the victims own case in terms of domestic violence or if it was measured in a general sense. Results showed which was expected that victims supported the policy for domestic violence very strongly for more general purpose than for their own cases. It is clear that many of the participants in this above study are more interested in the benefit that it helps other individuals before it helps the victims itself. As mentioned at the beginning domestic violence has long term physical problems alongside it will have also psychological factors which is a serious health problem. Which make police discussion a huge problem in some cases it is whether to arrest some offenders and permit others to keep taking part in criminal misconduct. It is the way police departments implement this discretion and what consequences it might have in the long run. However, when police officers have to tackle a domestic violent case it can be very stressful for an officer, because they only have a split second to think. When officers have little to no time to think it makes it very hard to determine what kind of discretion is appropriate and what is not. In many cases it is very hard to make this kind of decision on a short notice, however as mentioned above many of the officers already have a hunch from previous cases if the victim is saying things for their own personal gain or if they are telling the truth. In conclusion all of the above main issues mentioned earlier on mandatory arrests were addressed to variable degrees in individuals that participated in the open ended response. Much of the studies that took place was very encouraging because it showed that the discussion are important for the victims concerns. However, in recent research it was highlighted that some issues such as, the effects it had on supporting or non supporting of mandatory arrests. Domestic violence was certainly a noticeable concern for many of the victims in this study, though it was not their first priority in their decision to support this kind of policy. For that reason, it would be a mistake to use the study to increase or decrease in domestic violence to measure the achievement or the disappointment of the issue. Many other similar studies have been conducted, and many of the women participating in this study felt that mandatory arrests are very important. Which is quite a lucky break because in many cou ntries and other states the mandatory arrest law is already in place. What was most important in this particular study was the fact that many of the individuals sheds light on many of the reasons why monetary arrests should be made to save the victims. Even though some have issues with the mandatory arrest laws and some do not the best way to figure out the pros and cons on this issue to have the victims of domestic violence decide what is best for the individual crime. The officer will always face issues when it comes to arrests but it is for the individual officer to decide whether to arrest an abuser or whether to listen to both parties to make the right judgement call.

Identity Crises in A Separate Peace :: A Separate Peace Essays

World War II, the major historical event during the life of John Knowles, the author of A Separate Peace, started in 1939. Germany instigated the war, and shortly afterward was joined by Japan and Italy. America, however, fought on the side of The Allies, England and France. Although the United States was still recovering from the Great Depression, it entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The military drafted men into the war, and women took their places in the work force, people abandoned the old way of life and looked forward to a new one. American literature reflects this transition, as the novels written in the post-war period are far more ambitious, expanding past the bounds of traditional literature. Modernism, a major movement at that time, was stimulated by World War II, severing ties with the past and embracing the changes of the future. *Knowles in A Separate Peace illustrates the identity crisis of teenage boys with Gene Forrester?s hypocrisy, P hineas? duality, and Elwin Lepellier?s insanity. Knowles reveals Gene?s hypocritical love towards his closest friends, especially Phineas (Finny). Gene attends every meeting of Finny?s ?Super Suicide Society? during the summer session, even though Gene would much rather be studying. Gene wants to do well in school and is resentful of Finny always pulling him away from his books, however, instead being honest with Finny, Gene behaves as though he enjoys the meetings. Gene, an adolescent struggling to be sincere in his relationships, says, ?I went along, I never missed a meeting?acting against every instinct of my nature, I went without thought of protest? (Knowles 34). Gene refuses to let Finny know how he actually feels about the meetings, and despite his outward love toward Finny, Gene allows bitterness to take root inside of him. Knowles also depicts Gene?s hypocrisy through his response to Finny?s fall. After Finny falls, Gene calmly jumps from the tree branch into the Devon River. Later, when Finny is lying in a hospita l bed, Gene misleads Finny, telling Finny that he tried to help him and keep him from falling. What Gene says is false, because Gene is, in fact, guilty of causing Finny?s fall. Gene says, ?I tried, you remember? I reached out but you were gone, you went down through those little branches underneath, and when I reached out there was only air?

Pest Analysis of Russian Retail Market

PEST Analysis The PEST analysis is used in this report to evaluate the political, economic, social and technological aspects of the macroeconomic environment in the targeted market, Russia. This study helps to frame the basis for the decision-making about a possible market entry. Thus, it is of vital importance to scrutinize the macroeconomic environment as part of the market research. Political and Legal Aspects According to the Russian 1993 Constitution, Russia is a democratic federative state with a republican form of government grounded in the rule of law (pwc, 2012).After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia has gradually opened up and after a seven-year transitional period with numerous market reforms, political stability was achieved under Prime Minister Putin and President Medvedev. Moreover, since 1999 when Putin became president for the first time, Russia’s political system has shown continuity in its policies. The Russian judicial system is based on statutor y law, but has been ineffective and weak since the fall of the Soviet Union. However, the introduction of many reforms is expected to eventually bring about improvements.Russia has also entered various legal assistance programs with countries across the world, as unfair competition practices are hindering FDI inflows into the country (Datamonitor, 2011; pwc, 2012). However, corruption and crime are still major challenges for doing business in Russia. Russia has been ranked 143rd in Transparency International’s corruption perception index of 2011 concerning perceived public sector corruption. In addition, the high degree of bureaucracy within the country makes doing business slow and complicated.The business environment is further negatively affected by the high number of corrupt state officials (Datamonitor, 2011). Terrorist activity is one of the major concerns in Russia as bomb explosions and suicide attacks (such as those in the Moscow-St. Petersburg express train in 2009 or in the Moscow metro in 2010) have killed dozens of people over the last years (Datamonitor, 2011). Russia is member in many different international, regional, economic and financial agreements such as G8, G20, and International Monetary Fund just to name a few of them. pwc, 2012) The country further integrated within the world economy by entering the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2012 (Datamonitor, 2011). Economic Aspects Russia of 2011 is characterized by a per capita GDP (PPP) of $16. 750, GDP and FDI growth of 4. 3% and 33% respectively. Furthermore, the ease of doing business in the country improved by 4 ranks between 2011 and 2012 and hence Russia is ranked 112th in 2012 (Datamonitor, 2011; pwc, 2012). Historically successful economic reforms during the 1990s led to liberalization of the Russian economy and to high growth rates.Yet, the global economic downturn beginning in 2008 led to a negative growth of 7. 7% in 2009. However, the country’s economy managed to q uickly recover, achieving a 3. 9% GDP growth in 2010, mainly due to the high oil prices (Datamonitor, 2011). Improved competitiveness and higher oil prices facilitated a turnaround in the current account, from a deficit in 1998 to a surplus of 12% of GDP in 1999. Since 2000, Russia has maintained a current account surplus, which dropped from around $102bn in 2008 to around $47bn in 2009 (Datamonitor, 2011; pwc, 2012).Current challenges in Russia’s economic landscape include a high budget deficit and a banking system being under continuous stress. Moreover, the unemployment rate of 6. 6% is another negative side of Russia’s economic landscape (Datamonitor, 2011). Social Aspects The main ethnic group within Russia is Russians with 79. 8%, while other ethnic groups include Tatar 3. 8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1. 2%, Chuvash 1. 1%, other or unspecified ones with 12. 1% (2002 census) (CIA The World Factbook, 2012).Concerning religion, estimates from 2006 suggest that 15-20% o f the population are Russian Orthodox, 10-15% are Muslim, and 2% – other Christian, yet large parts of the population are non-believers, a likely legacy from the Soviet era (CIA The World Factbook, 2012). The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranks Russia 66th with regards to overall human development, making Russia part of the high human development quartile. However, one major challenge within Russia is the huge gender gap concerning life expectancy.Average life expectancy is 66. 2 years, yet it is only 59. 8 years for men, while boosting 73. 1 for women (United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 2011; Datamonitor, 2011). Russia is estimated to be one of the fastest-growing countries concerning proportion of population to be considered middle class. (Financial Times – Chart of the week: tracking the rising EM middle classes, 2012). The related increase in disposable income can be illustrated by the tripling in middle class spending between 2000 and 2010.Howe ver, the widening income inequality may pose a challenge for long-term success (Datamonitor, 2011). In general, Russia’s current strengths concerning social development are the high level of social governmental spending and the well-educated population. However, the country still struggles with a high mortality rate and a widening income inequality gap (Datamonitor, 2011). Technological Aspects Russia has signed the TRIPS (Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property) agreement, but nevertheless faces Intellectual Property Rights issues regularly.Moreover, the country still lacks adequate telecommunications infrastructure (Datamonitor, 2011). PEST Implications for the Retail Industry Russia’s political and legal framework suggests that foreign retail operations in Russia, although not restricted, may be inefficient because of bureaucracy and corruption. In addition, the usage of the ruble exposes foreign investors to exchange rate risks. The economic characteristics of the Russian market, however, paint a much more attractive picture of the industry, which represents 15. % of the country’s GDP. The Russian retail and wholesale sector has attracted 17. 1% of the country’s FDI in 2011. The country also has the lowest retailer penetration rates in Europe (pwc, 2012), suggesting it is a market in its growth stage with significant opportunity for new entrants. Yet, a recent study conducted by the management consulting group, AT Kearney, shows that Russia has fallen behind BRIC and other emerging market nations in terms of the countries’ attractiveness for investments in the retail sector.In fact, it ranks 26th out of 30 emerging market nations with regard to the attractiveness of the retail sector. As some experts argue such a ranking may reflect the strong foothold of local retailers, with such rivalry making the Russian retailer market a developed rather than an emerging one (Financial Times – Russia retail: loosing app eal, 2012) The pending commercialization of the cloud-dispersal aircraft technology may also have a positive trickledown effect on the retail industry.The technology may solve the problem of drought-prone areas, representing 6% of arable land within Russia, possibly improving domestic food production, and supplier reliability (Datamonitor, 2011; CIA The World Factbook, 2012). Overall, the country environment suggests that despite some institutional voids, the economic environment is conductive to a booming retailer segment with a growth that can be exploited by foreign retailers. The decrease in FDI attractiveness, however, points to the likely presence of established competitors that may prevent such an entry, which will be analyzed in greater detailed in the industry analysis.

Free Volunteer Income Tax Clinics Canada

Free Volunteer Income Tax Clinics Canada Updated: 03/06/2014 If you need help completing your Canadian income tax return and you cant afford an accountant or commercial income tax preparation service, take advantage of the Volunteer Income Tax Preparation Clinics offered by the Canada Revenue Agency. These free clinics are offered every year between February and April at locations across Canada. Eligibility Requirements Trained volunteers can help you with your taxes if you have a straightforward income tax return and your income is low. The program has basic eligibility requirements, including maximum income levels. Community organizations can adapt their own eligibility criteria depending on their economic location and capabilities, so check with the individual clinic. They can not help with income tax returns for: deceased individualsbankruptciescapital gains or lossesemployment expensesbusiness or rental income and expenses See Also: Filing Your Canadian Income Taxes - The BasicsHelp With Your Canadian Income Taxes

10 Companies Hiring Admins Like Crazy Right Now

10 Companies Hiring Admins Like Crazy Right Now Every company needs an administrative professional to operate the office. If you are looking to find a job in the admin field, you are in the right place. We have found 10 companies that are hiring admins like crazy right now.1. Sutherland Global ServicesEstablished in 1986,   Sutherland Global Services is a global provider of business process and technology management services. It employs over 36,000 professionals and has locations across the United States, Australia, Brazil, and other countries.See all open admin jobs  from  sutherland global services2. Quest QiagnosticsQuest Diagnostics is a leading clinical lab and offers the most extensive clinical testing network in the U.S. It employs over 10000+ professionals country wide.See all open admin jobs  from Quest Diagnostics3. Mount SinaiThe mission of the Mount Sinai Health System is to provide compassionate patient care and advance biomedical research. It employs over 6600 physicians, 12 ambulatory surgery centers, over 4 5 ambulatory practices.See all open admin jobs  from Mount Sinai4. Baylor Scott White healthBaylor Scott White Health is the largest not-for-profit health care system in the state of Texas. The organization includes 56 hospitals, more than 5,800 active physicians, and over 40,000 employees.See all open admin jobs  from Baylor Scott White Health5. SobeysEstablished in 1907, Sobeys is one of only two national grocery retailers in Canada. Sobeys hires over 124,000 employees all over the country.See all open admin jobs  from Sobeys6. VHAVHA home healthcare (VHA) is a not-for-profit chartiable organization, providing health care and support services to people of all ages and cultural backgrounds. it also employs over 2000 staff and service providers.See all open admin jobs  from VHA7. LowesLowes is a home improvement company and has stores across United States, Canada and Mexico. Lowes has more than 1,840 home improvement and hardware stores and hires over 265,000 employees.Se e all open admin jobs  from Lowes8. Express ScriptsExpress Scripts is a prescription benefit plan provider and manages prescriptions for over 100 million Americans. Express Scripts hires over 10,000 employees across the country.See all open admin jobs  from Express Scripts9. Air Force Personnel CenterAFPC executes programs covering the entire life cycle of military and civilian personnel for the air force and ensures commanders around the world have the right number of skilled air forced personnel to conduct the mission.See all open admin jobs  from Air Force Personnel Center10. Hudsons BayFound in 1670, Hudsons Bay is North Americas longest continually operated company. It has more than 460 stores and employs over 66,000 staff around the world.See all open admin jobs  from Hudsons Bay

Excessive Force Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Excessive Force - Essay Example This essay will summarize the incident, analyze the use of force and will look into measures to prevent police misconduct. Police Officer Edward Krawetz was convicted of a felony assault in March 2012 for the use of excessive force. â€Å"Officer Krawetz was caught on video kicking Donna Levesque (suspect) in the face, while she sat on a curb, handcuffed, in May 2009† (Allen, 2012). Although Krawetz claimed self-defense, the video clearly showed the officer kicking Levesque hard after she kicked him. Other officers at the scene agreed that Officer Krawetz was never in danger. After a trial, Karawetz was sentenced to a 10 year suspension without pay and to undergo counseling. In addition, the police department served him with a notice of termination. He will appear to a board hearing made up with three panel officers in accordance with the Officer Bill of Rights on a later date. According to Eyewitness News 12, it was reported that the incident was Karawetz’s second conviction (Daly, 2012). Officer Krawetz was previously convicted for a misdemeanor assault in 2001. Given the outcome of Kara wetz’s actions, it can be assumed that termination from service was something that Karawetz was expecting. Regardless of the reason leading to the arrest of a suspect, police officers are required to demonstrate integrity beyond approach (Ortmeier, 2006). Officers should never use unnecessary force or violence unless the situation necessitates it. Although there is no standard operating procedure for evaluating excessive force when subduing a suspect, common sense plays a good role when apprehending a suspect after employing handcuffs. The Constitution and other laws place limits on how far the police can enforce the law using appropriate measures. The use of excessive force should be as low as possible unless the officer is being threatened or in danger. According to Segan’s (2012)

Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Safety - Essay Example Hence, it is important that all business, large, medium as well as small have an occupational health and safety system in place within the organization. The most prevalent occupational health and safety standard which is in existence today is the Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series OHSAS 18001standard, which is suited to many organizations large and small. It has been implemented in many countries including the United States of America, Great Britain, Japan etc with the support of the local standards institutes. Toyota, Honda, Nissan and Chrysler have all thrown their lot with this standard which is also supported by the British Standards Institute. In the absence of an International Standards Organization or ISO standard, the OHSAS standard is the one widely accepted standard recognized all across the world. In this brief essay, an attempt has been made to investigate how a newly started small business may be able to set itself on the path to incorporating the OHSAS 180 01 based occupational health and safety management system within its broader system of corporate management. Implementing an occupational health and safety system is important in a business because the business has legal responsibilities to provide for the safety and welfare of its employees. Unsafe working environment is in the long run counter productive for those who have interests in a business organization, including the stakeholders, employees and perhaps even those with business dealings with the company. An occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) provides a framework for managing the occupational health and safety responsibilities of a business so that they become more efficient and more integrated into overall business operations. Faced with such responsibilities, it is important for a company to try and follow an established standard related to safety and occupational health in its business operations. Many countries have been waiting for the