Should Chinese Student Study Abroad Essay Example for Free

Should Chinese Student Study Abroad Essay With sustained economic growth in China, the option to study abroad has become more affordable for increasing numbers of Chinese families. For example, China Daily reported in 2007 that the number of students choosing to study abroad has increased by 11 percent over the last five years till 2007. However some problems occur when choose to study abroad destination, whether it is one-semester exchange or full-time engagement. Some of these problems include culture shocks and loneliness, language difficulties and financial hurdles. First, we will discuss the three arguments raised by the opponents against studying abroad. Second, we analyze corresponding counter arguments referring to research conducted by the International Education of Students (IES). Finally, the feedback from the alumni who experienced oversea studies will strengthen the stance on the obvious advantages of studying abroad. Though it is widely believed that it is beneficial for students to have an oversea education in developing students’ capacity (Bodycott 359), many opponents are skeptical about it. They claim problems of studying abroad are many, including language difficulties, homesickness and financial hurdles. In terms of language difficulties, they argue that most Chinese students have too poor language skills to handle the oversea life. According to Marilyn Renee (qtd in Zhang Brunton 126), the disadvantage in language skills directly influences the performance in academic activities and contributes to the lowered score of self-esteem. It is suggested that the students’ fluency in English may impact on cross-cultural relationship (Ward 544). In this respect, Toyokawa also finds that the poor English of an international student will result in a worsened situation of social interactions (qtd in Zhang Brunton 127). However, language difficulty cannot be a reason for Chinese students to quit international education. Firstly, most foreign universities provide extra classes or set up supporting departments to facilitate the language adaptation of foreign enrollers. Se condly, students may overcome this by interacting and associating with people from their native land or opt for a tandem partner. International students can also join clubs and participate in teams such as sports, drama and debate which all offer fabulous opportunities for learning a foreign language (King 1). According to the research by IES, 90 percent of the respondents state that being in a complete English environment forced them to learn English and helped a lot in developing a western way of learning and speaking. Another difficulty facing Chinese international students is loneliness in an entirely different environment and culture. A review by Toyokawa and Toyokawa (2002) demonstrated that â€Å"international students experience difficulty including culture shock, adjustment to customs and values, isolation and loneliness, homesickness and a loss of established social networks† (qtd in Zhang Brunton 126). The opponents also claim that Chinese students are from collectivist countries. They focus more on social networks than some of the individualistic western cultures. This may result in their helplessness confronting failure or frustration. Moreover, distance from families and friends and being situated in a different social environment and culture adds to their feelings of loneliness. Despite the truth of loneliness encountered by international students, chances are more for them to survive it. Suggestions are raised by Suraweera, an expert in the research of international students’ behaviour and psychology, in two aspects. For one thing, if students who study abroad put the best effort in their study and score a good academic performance, they are less likely to feel lonely but for a sense of success. On the contrary, bad academic performance may lead to depression which is one cause to stimulate homesickness. For another, students can seek new friends and new experiences. Through building a fine network with colleagues, homesickness is reduced by a large extent. In addition, engaging in a different experience, such as going on travelling or taking on a part-time job, will absorb students in more important things. With respect to intercultural development, the IES result shows that about 91 percent understand better of their own cultural values and biases. About 94 percent reported to make more multicultural friends and continue to explore a new culture. This result corresponds to the study abroad educators who often expect to train future global leaders to be more influential, respectful of other cultures and political and economic systems. In this respect, studying abroad is succeeding in its goal. The last potential difficulty is financial hurdles, which are often the biggest problem with studying abroad. Even for students on a semester exchange abroad program, the living expenses and tuition cost can probably add at least a couple thousand dollars excluding plane tickets and sightseeing. The opponents of international study hold the view that the expenses will never be covered and it is not worth the struggle. Nevertheless, while the financial prospect of a study abroad program can seem daunting, it is rewarding in the long run. According to the survey made by IES, a majority of participants give positive responses in terms of personal development. 96 percent said the unique experience increased their self-confidence. 97 percent reported studying abroad served as a catalyst for increased maturity and 95 percent stated that it had a vast influence on their world view. The data collected from the participants show that studying abroad is a critical moment in a young person’s life and continues to influence the respondents’ life in their future development. Moreover, Boycott (360) discovers that with an oversea education, a graduate can largely increase his chance of being employed. In summary, a number of Chinese students, pursuing higher education abroad, are reported to gain advantages while opponents hold different opinions against it. The advantages are shown mainly for students’ individual development if the opportunity abroad is seized and commanded properly. However, arguments against studying abroad are raised including three major ones. Firstly, the language difficulties can lead to the lowered performance of individual student, thus reducing the quality of overseas education. Nevertheless, most universities offer language support and the environment itself play as the impetus for language developing. The second problem lies in a negative reaction towards a foreign environment, which is loneliness. This can be addressed through network building and culture exploration. Lastly, the financial hurdle, seemingly daunting, cannot be an obstacle for the experience brings more to individuals in the long run than the initial financial input. The research conducted by IES acts as the major evidence of the positive examples for overseas learning. In a word, Chinese students should study abroad, despite the various opposing opinions. While more efforts are needed including overcoming the language difficulties and developing the personality that is flexible, adaptive, and it is clear that the efforts extended are well worth it in the end.

Alternative Methods of Lactic Acid Production

Alternative Methods of Lactic Acid Production Lactic acid is a hydroxycarboxylic acid, which is widely used in food, pharmaceutical, leather, cosmetic and textile industries. It can be polymerized to biodegradable and biocompatible plastic, i.e. polylactic acid, which has environment-friendly and great potential for replacing petrochemical plastic. Industrially, it can be produced by either chemical synthesis or microbial fermentation. Presently, approximately 90% of lactic acid was produced by lactic acid bacteria fermentation. Fermentative production has the advantage that by choosing a strain of LA bacteria producing only one of the isomer and optically pure product. The widely used substrates for lactic acid production are pure sugar, which are expensive. It is also possible to use lignocellulosic biomass, especially by product or waste materials from agriculture and industrial waste as substrates for fermentation. Therefore, the use of alternative substrates, low-cost and raw materials become thus of special interest for la ctic acid production. The present study the utilization of industrial wastes and lignocellulosic as an alternative substrate for lactic acid production. Lactic acid Lactic acid (2-hydroxy propionic acid) is a chemical compound that a role in several biochemical processes. It is a carboxylic acid with a chemical formula of C3H6O3. Lactic acid is chiral and has two optical isomers as shown in figure 1. Lactic acid is organic solvent that can dissolve in water but insoluble in other organic solvents. Other properties of lactic acid are presented in Table 1. Table 1. Physical properties of lactic acid. Parameter Chemical formula C3H6O3 Molecular weight 90.08 Acidity (pKa) 3.85 Melting point L : 53  °C D : 53  °C D/L : 16.8  °C Boiling point 82  °C at 0.5 mm Hg 122  °C at 14 mm Hg Dissociation constant, Ka at 25  ° C 1.37 x 10-4 Heat of combustion, Hc 1361 KJ/mole Specific Heat, Cp at 20  ° C 190 J/mole/  °C Source: Vickroy (1985) Lactic acid can be produced by chemical synthesis or microbial fermentation. The chemical synthesis produced a racemic mixture of D, L lactic acid. Presently, about 90% of lactic acid made by LAB fermentation and the remainder is produced synthetically by the hydrolysis of lactonitrile. The advantage of fermentation technologies is possible to use renewable resources as substrates, such as starch and cellulose in fermentative production. In figure 2 described the diagram of commercial uses and applications of lactic acid. Food applications reported for approximately 85% of the total lactic acid, while the nonfood industrial applications reported for only 15% of the demand. Alternative substrate for lactic acid production In fermentation process, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) need carbon source, essentially simple sugars and nitrogen source, as vital nutrients for their growths. The widely used substrates for lactic acid production are refined sugar, which are expensive. Therefore, attention has turned towards lignocellulosic biomass and industrial wastes to provide a source of carbohydrate for lactic acid production. Lignocellulosic Lignocellulosic resources are generally considered to represent an interesting and inexpensive raw material for microbial fermentation of lactic acid production, as they are renewable and cheap. A schematic diagram of the procedures for the preparation of lignocellulosic hydrolyzates is provided in figure 3. Wee and Ryu (2009) reported the production of lactic acid from lignocellulosic, glucose and lignocellulosic hydrolyzates were used as the carbon source. The concentration of lactic acid decreases with increases in the dilution rate. Generally, the cell concentration obtained from lignocellulosic hydrolyzates media was approximately 10-15% lower than observed with glucose media. The lactic acid yields were provided at more than 0.90 gg-1 the result are shown in table 2. The lignocellulosic hydrolyzates have to be detoxified in order to reduce these inhibitory effects prior to fermentation, as some of the by-products released during the pretreatment (Mussatto and Roberto, 2004). Ruengruglikit and Hang (2003), reported the lactic acid production from lignocellulosic materials by R. oryzae. After an enzymatic hydrolysis and 48-h fermentation, lactic acid yields of 0.3 gg-1. Food wastes Food wastes, which are supplied at lower costs, high in moisture and rich in carbohydrates. They could be suitable alternative substrate for lactic acid production. The food wastes contain polysaccharides as well as various oligosaccharides. Ohkouchi and Inoue (2005) reported the production of lactic acid from food wastes. The composition of food wastes is shown in Table 3. The optimum pH for L (+)-lactic acid production by L. manihotivorans LMG 18011 was 5.0 and under these condition the L (+)-lactic acid was 19.5 g produced from 200 g food wastes Kim et al. (2003) determined lactic acid production from food wastes by simultaneous saccharification fermentation technical. The effect of food wastes concentration on lactic acid production as shown in figure 4. In figure 4, the highest yield was obtained from 65 g/L of food waste with a final lactic acid concentration of 44.3 g/L, while the highest lactic acid concentration of 79.7 g/L was obtained from 145 g/L of food waste. Pineapple waste Most of the work using starch, beet molasses and sugar cane as the fermentation media for lactic acid production. Recently, Uno (2003) used grape invertase to attractive the production of lactic acid utilizing pineapple syrup as substrate. The efficiency of lactic acid production has been an affect from various aspect and ability to use fruit waste. Idris and Suzana (2005) reported the liquid pineapple waste, it is feasible to use produce lactic acid by immobilized L. delbrueckii. The maximum lactic acid can be obtained when parameters initial pH of 6.5, temperature of 37  ° C and sodium alginate concentration at 2% with a bead diameter of 1 mm in diameter. The highest values of kinetic parameters are obtained at 37  ° C and initial pH 6.5 (Table 4 and Table 5). Recycled paper sludge Recycled paper sludge is an industrial waste has high polysaccharides (mainly cellulose) content. The conversion of polysaccharides on sludge to be broken down into the monomers and released sugars to be fermented to lactic acid. The methods for conversion of a polysaccharide into the monomer consist of enzymatic and acid hydrolysis. Marques et al. (2008) studied the utilization of recycled paper sludge as an alternative substrate for lactic acid product. The maximum production of lactic acid was produced 73 g/L of lactic acid, maximum productivity of 2.9 g/L/h, with 0.97 g LA per g of carbohydrates on initial substrate. The fermentative parameters concerned the lactic acid production of all the cultivations in this work are presented in table 6. Conclusions The widely used substrates for lactic acid production are refined sugar, which are expensive. It is also possible to use lignocellulosic biomass, especially by product or waste materials from agriculture and industrial waste as substrates for fermentation. Therefore, the use of alternative, low-cost and raw materials become thus of special interest for lactic acid production. The ability to utilize this industrial wastes and lignocellulosic as alternative carbon sources for lactic acid production will help reduce of environmental pollution problem and also reduce production costs. LITERATURE CITED Idris, A. and W. Suzana. 2006. Effect of sodium alginate concentration, bead diameter, initial pH and temperature on lactic acid production from pineapple waste using immobilized Lactobacillus delbrueckii. Process Biochem. 41: 1117-1123. Kim, K.I. , W.K. Kim, D.K. Seo, I.S. Yoo, E.K. Kim and H.H. Yoon. Production of lactic acid from food wastes Appl. Biochem. Biothnol. 101-108: 637-647. Marques, S. , J.A.L. Santos, F.M. Gà rio and J.C. Roseiro. 2008. Lactic acid production from recycled paper sludge by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. Biochem. Eng. 41: 210-216. Mussatto, S.I. and I.C. Roberto. 2004. Alternatives for detoxification of diluted-acid lignocellulosic hydrolyzates for use in fermentative processes. Bioresour. Technol. 1-10. Nexant. 2008. Biotech Route to Lactic Acid/ Polylactic Acid. Available Source:  http://nexant.ecnext.com/coms2/summary_0255-130_ITM Ohkouchi, Y. and Y. Inoue. 2006. Direct production of L(+)-lactic acid from starch and food wastes using Lactobacillus manihotivorans LMG18011. Bioresour. Technol. 97: 1554-1562. Ruengruglikit, C. and Y.D. Hang. 2003. L(+) lactic acid production from corncobs by Rhizopus oryzae NRRL-395. Lebensm. Wiss. Technol. 36: 573-575. Uno, T., Y. Ozawa, M. Ishikawa, K. Nakanishi and T. Kimura. 2003. Lactic acid production using two food processing wastes, canned pineapple syrup and grape invertase as substrate and enzyme. Biotechnol. Lett. 25: 573-577. VickRoy, T.B. 1985. Lactic acid, pp. 761-776. In: Blanch, H.W., S. Drew and D.I.C. Wang eds. Comprehensive Biotechnol. Vol. 3. Pergamon Press, Oxford. Wee, Y.J., J.N. Kim and H.W. Ryu. 2006. Biotechnological production of lactic acid  and its recent applications. Food Technol. Biotechnol. 44(2): 163-172. Wee, Y.J. and H.W. Ryu. 2009. Lactic acid production by Lactobacillus sp. RKY2 in a cell-recycle continuous fermentation using lignocellulosic hydrolyzates as inexpensive raw materials. Bioresource Technol. 100: 4262-4270.

Strategy and Creativity of Halo Coffee London

Strategy and Creativity of Halo Coffee London STUDENT NAME: PHAMGIA HUY TRAN 1.1 Threat of Substitutes: High Current: Although coffee market is a growing rapidly, tea continues to be the leader of the hot beverage products. There are other beverages which are used, enjoyed and supported by many people instead of coffee such as: fruit juices, water, soda, energy drinks etc. Consumers do not have to pay any cost when they switch from coffee to substitutes, which may increase the threat. Future: Since coffee and coffee bean are the only products of Halo, their target customer market is really limited. Nowadays people have more choices of their beverage, especially the hot one like tea or milk, which are much healthier than coffee. In the research of the share of hot beverages consumed most often by individuals in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2015, evidence has showed that 44 percent drink tea most often, followed by 21 percent who drink instant coffee (Statista, 2015). 1.2 Intensity of Competitive Rivalry: High    Current: The industry has a monopolistic competition and Nestlà © Group is dominating the largest market share especially by their two brands Nespresso and Nescafà ©. Other competitors also have a remarkable markets share. Consumers do not have to pay any cost for switching to other brands, which creates high rate in rivalry. Because the industry is mature with low growth rate, there is the predictable retaliation from well companies against each others for brand equity, resources, important locations and price competition due to all of them looking for increasing their market share from established firms. Future: Since B2B is the maily target market of Halo, their market is too narrow and it is possible to lost their market share easily to others brands which are more popular. Nespresso and Nescafà © have been widening the market share to B2B market. According to Nestlà © Nespresso S.A (2016),   Nespresso has formed partnerships with prestigious culinary organizations and chefs around the world to interact and share viewpoints with key players in the industry such as: Served by over 780 star-rated chefs or equivalent, served by 15 major airlines including: Cathay Pacific Airways, Qatar Airways and Emirates Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Etihad Airways. Halo is now facing the threat of losing their business partners to bigger brands like Nespresso. 1.3 Difficulty in supplying Current: Purchasing coffee is not a straight forward process and often purchasing direct from a grower can create problems further down the supply chain. This can be a serious problem because Halo cannot have a stable coffee resource with high requirements from the local famers and growers. Future: Climate change- Less suitable land for coffee: Droughts in a long period of time, increased temperatures and heavy rains are the main factors that make harvest seasons suddenly change without any reason and therefore not able to be predicted. It is estimated that the areas suitable for coffee cultivation will decrease substantially by 2020 (CBI, 2016). The underlying drastic changes in the suitability of land for coffee production are having adverse effects (Coffee Barometer, 2014). This will effect highly and directly to the resources of Halo from their suppliers. 2.1 Assumptions and assumption reversal Assumptions about Halo: Halo sells only coffee and coffee beans Halo has 2 ranges of products available only online: Halo Signature and Halo Speciality and target customers: B2B, home-coffee drinkers. Halos suppliers are from South America Reverse each assumptions: Halo has other products Halo coffee products are various and sold in coffee shops or retailers, customers are diversified Halo supplies itself How to accomplish those reversals: Halo has other products According to the identified issues mentioned above, people now have a huge number of choices for their beverage. It is considerable for Halo to produce and develop other kind of drinks than coffee such as soft drinks or energy drinks, especially tea due to the taste of consumers. Nespresso and Nescafà © are just two of different brands from Nestle beside others drink brands like Milo, Nestea and Nesquik. With this strategy, Halo can get benefits from the non-coffee drinkers, which is a very wide and profitable market. However, this is also a mature market with big brands dominating like Pepsi, Coca-cola, Monster, Red bull. If Halo decides to be a new entrant into a new market with different products than coffee, Halo need to start over again from the market research as well as marketing research. This is not recommendable for Halo to spend their resource into a mature market like soft drinks because Halo is still facing difficulties in remaining and increasing their own coffee marke t share. Halo coffee products are various and sold in coffee shops or retailers Currently, Halo has served only their coffee with 2 ranges of products available only online: Halo Signature and Halo Speciality. This may creates a limit of choice for customers who want to enjoy a new taste or their personal one. Instead of providing only 2 ranges of products which are Halo Signature and Halo Speciality, Halo should create more different tastes of coffee, or especially let the customers choose and mix the ingredients to create their own personal taste. This special service will make Halo unique and will satisfy a number of customers who do not like the 2 old ranges of products in the past. To make this service possible, Halo should open their coffee shops chains or retailers because this will make Halo more accessible to everybody than the online business way. Customers will find it more convenient and interested to create and have a cup of coffee with their personal taste rather than the old online way. About the old online way, Halo should develop their website t o make it more attractive and home-coffee drinkers can also choose and mix the ingredients to create and order coffee as well. This option is highly suggested because it not only solves the limit of target customers, but also makes Halo become famous for the special service. To follow this way, Halo needs to carry out more research and test to produce new coffee products or new ingredients so that customers will have a variety of choices. Halo supplies itself Although the bargaining power of the suppliers has been limited, Halo cannot control the negative effect from climate changes on the crops as well as the resource. It is predictable that the areas suitable for coffee cultivation will decrease substantially by 2020 (CBI, 2016). In order to have a stable resources, Halo can supply itself by creating an area in the UK that have a same condition to South America to grow coffee beans. By modern technology, it is possible to build a technical farm with modern equipments can make the same weather conditions and import the soil from South America. In addition, Halo can apply some technique skills in growing coffee beans to make sure that they can harvest coffee beans all around the years. This option prevents Halo from the risks of supplies from South America, which is too far and cannot be control well, provides a stable resource for Halo to sell 12 months a year. However, it will cost a lot of money to set up a modern farm like this and it will usually take 4-5 years for a coffee tree to start producing coffee which is a long time. This option is not recommendable because it costs a lot of time and money and it is not suitable for a small company like Halo for now. 2.2 SCAMPER Substitute o To compete with other beverage brands, Halo can develop more different types of products like tea, soft drinks, mineral water, which are all substitutes. However, these products are in mature markets so it will be hard for a new entrant like Halo to have market share. Halo can choose and take coffee beans from suppliers in closer areas instead of South America to reduce the shipping cost, but the quality of coffee beans may be reduced as well because the soil and the weather in closer areas are not the best to grow coffee. It is possible to build a modern farm in the UK with the same climate and soil condition to South America to grow, harvest and supply for itself, but it will cost Halo a huge number of money and time to carry out this plan. Combine o Halo should run the business both online and offline as the same time. Opening coffee shops chains to introduce product directly will help Halo become more recognizable and increase image of the company. Doing just-in-time system service, especially online to reduce flow times within production system as well as response times from suppliers and to customers. Making more ranges of coffee to give more choices to the customers, or providing them a special service that let customers create their personal coffee taste. This can increase Halos brand and the company will be more popular to everyone. It will take time and money to carry out researches for new coffee or ingredients. Adapt o To reduce the threats from substitutes and rivalry, Halo needs to diversify their coffee products to attract more customers and key partnerships. This will help Halo to gain market share and compete with other competitors. When this trend nowadays is taking care of the environment, Halo should take advantage of their biodegradable capsules, which is one of their strength to increase the companys image. Modify o Halo should widen the ranges of coffee products to be more accessible because customer will have more choices than the 2 old ranges. Halo should increase the use of the biodegradable capsules to gain good impression from the society. Put to another use o Halo can benefit from the used coffee beans by selling the coffee grounds to some organizations that take care about beauty to produce cosmetic or sell coffee grounds to farmers because it is good for the soil. This can save a lot of money for Halo as well as recycle the coffee grounds to protect the environment. Eliminate o Halo is lack of target customers as well as diversification of product ranges, so they need to improve more things, not eliminate. Reverse o Currently, Halo has 2 ranges of products available only online: Halo Signature and Halo Speciality and target customers: B2B, home-coffee drinkers. This may creates a limit of choice for customers who want to enjoy a new taste or their personal one. Instead of providing only 2 ranges of products which are Halo Signature and Halo Speciality, Halo should create more different tastes of coffee, or especially let the customers choose and mix the ingredients to create their own personal taste. This special service will make Halo unique and will satisfy a number of customers who do not like the 2 old ranges of products in the past. To make this service possible, Halo should open their coffee shops chains or retailers because this will make Halo more accessible to everybody than the online business way. Customers will find it more convenient and interested to create and have a cup of coffee with their personal taste rather than the old online way. In conclusion, the most realistic and effective strategy for Halo to solve their issues and get more market share is to provide more choices of coffee products and provide coffee shops and retailers with special service. What is the company selling? Coffee and coffee bean What is the benefit of using it? Coffee with your personal taste Who is the target customer for this product or service? People who want to have a best cup of coffee with their own favorite taste REFERENCE Statista. (2015) Hot beverage consumption by type in the United Kingdom (UK) 2015 https://www.statista.com/statistics/466550/hot-beverage-consumption-by-type-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/ Nestlà © Nespresso S.A., Corporate Communications. (May 2016) Nespresso business to business https://www.nestle-nespresso.com/asset-library/documents/nespresso%20-%20b2b%20backgrounder.pdf Nestle. (2016) http://www.nestle.com/brands/drinks Equal exchange. (2016) From bean to cup http://equalexchange.coop/products/coffee/steps CBI- Ministry Of Foreign Affairs. (2016). Which trends offer opportunities on the European coffee market? Retrieved from: https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/coffee/trends/ CBI- Ministry Of Foreign Affairs. (2016). How to do business with European coffee buyers Retrieved from: https://www.cbi.eu/market-information/coffee/doing-business/

Implications of Internet Censorship Essay -- Critical Thinking Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abstract:   This paper deals with the ethical and social implications inherent in filtering content online.   As exposure to the Internet penetrates deeper into mainstream lives across all demographic groups, there has been increased concern about the ability of children to obtain access to printed and graphic material believed to be detrimental to their development and/or well-being.   Not only could this material be argued to be damaging, it could possibly lead children to act violently or maliciously towards others.   Proponents of filtering objectionable content argue that through such means society will be able to utilize the power of the Internet to acquire information, while still adhering to certain community values regarding the welfare of children.   Numerous critics of this argument claim that by filtering Internet content, society would be crippling individuals' right to use the power of the Internet for free-speech.   They argue that not only will unregulated speech be discouraged, but that the means for filtering are themselves inherently imperfect, often restricting worthwhile content from reputable queries. While not a complete solution to the dilemma, perhaps enforcing an instituted rating system on web pages might be an effective means for working past the unpredictable nature of content filters.    Just one decade ago few could have envisioned a world where scientists, business professionals, media agencies, activist groups, and children all over the globe would have access to equal common material via an online medium.   Originally started as a small interconnected network for government agencies, educational institutions, and computer researchers to trade information, the Internet has permeated the daily ... ...n Law Firm, http://www.fmew.com/archive/censor/.    The Internet Police. http://www.internet-police.co.uk/aims.html.    "Information about Labeling and Rating Systems". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. http://www.mit.edu/activities/safe/labeling/summary.html. "Communications Decency Act," Yahoo!. http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes/Civil_Rights/Censorship/Internet_Censorship/Communications_Decency_Act/. Communications DecencyAmendment (full text of final language passed by the u.s. senate on June 14, 1995). http://www.prognet.com/contentp/rabest/thebill.html. "Internet Indecency and Communications Decency Act," University of Texas. http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~cjyoung/. "Net filters strain to block sites," cnetNews.com, http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4833800.html?tag=st.cn.1.lthd

Fraudulent Elections: A Look at Russia, Iran and Nigeria Essay

Despite the governments’ attempts to portray a democratic front, the obvious corruption and fraud involved in the presidential elections over the last few years in Russia, Iran, and Nigeria expose the reality of the situations. In examining the election processes of these three countries, one can clearly see that the electoral body is not independent of the party in power. The poor electoral processes have snowballed into a legitimacy crisis in Nigeria and full-fledged riots in Russia and Iran; though the authorities were able to repress these public demonstrations, the governments’ legitimacy continues to be challenged. The considerable public outcry against the results shows that the elections do not accurately reflect the intentions of the voters, that there was widespread fraud in which the vote counts for the winning candidate were significantly augmented. In addition, the cycle of fraudulent elections in these nations has created a lack of social capital and great ly hindered the pace of democratization within each of the states. Nigeria has a long history of corruption and violence marring the process of electing the country’s leaders. Assassination, voter intimidation, and ballot tampering have all been common factors of past elections; rather than focusing on the pressing issues facing Nigerians, the elections have been centered on the acquisition of power. The 2007 elections â€Å"marked the first time in the†¦postindependence history of [Nigeria]†¦that one civilian government would hand over power to another,† and what should have been a milestone for democracy was instead â€Å"riddled with corruption and malfeasance.† What could have been a break in the long chain of violence and corruption involved with the election process, c... ... (2012): 1-11. Alexanian, Janet A. â€Å"Eyewitness Accounts and Political Claims: Transnational Responses to the 2009 Postelection Protests in Iran.† Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 31, no. 2 (2011): 425-427. Ashore, Reza. â€Å"A Historic Moment in Iran.† Human Rights Quarterly 31 (2009): 843-854. Giddy, Clifford, and Andrew Kuchins. â€Å"Putin’s Plan.† The Washington Quarterly 31, no. 2 (2008): 117-127. Lewis, Peter M. â€Å"Nigeria Votes: More Openness, More Conflict.† Journal of Democracy 22, no. 4 (2011): 60-74. Nichol, Jim. â€Å"Russia’s March 2012 Presidential Election: Outcome and Implications.† Congressional Research Service (2012): 1-11. Powell, Bingham G. and others, Comparative Politics Today: A World View, New York: Longman, 2009. Subaru, Rotimi T. â€Å"Nigeria’s Muddled Elections.† Journal of Democracy 18, no. 4 (2007): 95-104.

Conflict Handling Styles Essay

In a dispute, it’s often easier to describe how others respond then to how we respond. Each of us has a predominant conflict style that we use to meet our own needs. By examining conflict styles and the consequences of those behaviors, we can gain a better understanding of the impact that our personal conflict style has on other people. With a better understanding, you then can make a conscious choice on how to respond to others in a conflict situation to help reduce work conflict and stress. Behavioral scientists Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann, who developed the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, have identified five styles to responding to conflict—competition, collaboration, compromise, avoidance, and accommodation. No conflict style is inherently right or wrong, but one or more styles could be inappropriate for a given situation and the impact could result in a situation quickly spiraling out of control. 1. Competing Value of own issue/goal: High Value of relationship: Low Goal: I win, you lose People who consistently use a competitive style come across as aggressive, autocratic, confrontational, and intimidating. A competitive style is an attempt to gain power and pressure a change at the other person’s expense. A competitive style of managing conflict can be appropriate when you have to implement an unpopular decision, make a quick decision, the decision is vital in a crisis, or it is important to let others know how important an issue is to you – â€Å"standing up for your right.† The biggest disadvantage of using this style is that relationships can be harmed beyond repair and may encourage other parties to use covert methods to get their needs met because conflict with these people are reduced to – â€Å"if you are not with me, you are against me.† 2. Accommodating Value of own issue/goal: Low Value relationship: High Goal: I lose, you win By accommodating you set aside your own personal needs because you want to please others in order to keep the peace. The emphasis is on preserving the relationship. Smoothing or harmonizing can result in a false solution to a problem and can create feelings in a person that range from anger to pleasure. Accommodators are unassertive and cooperative and may play the role of a martyr, complainer, or saboteur. However, accommodation can be useful when one is wrong or when you want to minimize losses when you are going to lose anyway because it preserves relationships. If you use it all the time it can become competitive – â€Å"I am nicer than you are† – and may result in reduced creativity in conflict situations and increased power imbalances. 3. Avoiding Value of own issue/goal: Low Value of relationship: Low Goal: I lose, you lose Avoidance is characterized by deliberately ignoring or withdrawing from a conflict rather than facing it. This style may be perceived as not caring about your own issue or the issues of others. People who avoid the situation hope the problem will go away, resolve itself without their involvement, or think that others are ready to take the responsibility. There are situations where avoidance is appropriate such as when you need more time to think of how to respond, time constraints demand a delay, confrontation will hurt a working relationship, or there is little chance of satisfying your needs. However, avoidance can be destructive if the other person perceives that you don’t care enough to engage. By not dealing with the conflict, this style allows the conflict to simmer and heat up unnecessarily, resulting in anger or a negative outburst. 4. Compromising Value of own issue/goal: Medium Value of relationship: Medium Goal: I win some, you win some The compromising style demonstrates that you are willing to sacrifice some of your goals while persuading others to give up part of theirs – give a little, get a little. Compromising maintains the relationship and can take less time than collaboration and resolutions might mean splitting the difference or seeking a middle ground position. The downside to compromising is that it can be an easy way out and reduces new creative options. If you constantly split the difference or â€Å"straddle the fence,† game playing can result and the outcome could be less than ideal. 5. Collaborating Value of own issue/goal: High Value of relationship: High Goal: I win, you win The collaborative style views conflicts as problems to be solved and finding creative solutions that satisfy all the parties’ concerns. You don’t give up your self interest; you dig into the issue to identify the underlying concerns, test your own assumptions, and understand the views of others. Collaboration takes time and if the relationship among the parties is not important, then it may not be worth the time and energy to create a win-win solution. However, collaboration fosters respect, trust, and builds relationships. To make an environment more collaborative, address the conflict directly and in a way that expresses willingness for all parties to get what they need. Although all of the approaches have their time and place, you need to ask yourself the basic question, â€Å"Is my preferred conflict handling style the very best I can use to resolve this conflict or solve this problem?† Focus on Interests (Needs), Not Positions (Wants) Understanding people’s interests is not a simple task because we tend to communicate our positions – things that are likely to be concrete and explicit. It is helpful to learn to recognize the difference between person’s positions and interests to assist in creative problem solving. †¢Positions are predetermined solutions or demands that people use to describe what they want – what the person wants to happen on a particular issue. For example: â€Å"I want the report.† †¢Interests define the problem and may be intangible, unexpressed, or not consistent. They are the main reasons why you say what you want – the motivation behind the position. The conflict is usually between each person’s needs, desire, concern, or fear. For example: â€Å"I need to receive the report by Friday, so I can have time to review and edit before the due date next Wednesday.† Remember that figuring out your interests is just as important as figuring out their interests. How to Identify Interests To identify interests of the other person, you need to ask questions to determine what the person believes he or she truly needs. When you ask, be sure to clarify that you are not asking questions for justification of their position, but for a better understanding of their needs, fears, hopes, and desires. Using open-ended questions that encourage a person to â€Å"tell their story† helps you begin to understand their interest. Open ended questions are opposite of closed-ended questions, which require a response of â€Å"yes† or â€Å"no.† To illustrate the difference, consider the following example: †¢Did you have a good relationship with your supervisor? (closed-ended) †¢Tell me about your relationship with your supervisor. (open-ended) Examples of open-ended questions: †¢What’s your basic concern about †¦? †¢Tell me about †¦ †¢What do you think about †¦? †¢How could we fix †¦? †¢What would happen if †¦? †¢How else could you do †¦? †¢What could you tell me about †¦? †¢Then what? †¢Could you help me understand †¦? †¢What do you think you will lose if you †¦? †¢What have you tried before? †¢What do you want to do next? †¢How can I be of help? The most powerful interests for you to consider are the basic human needs for security, economic well-being, sense of belonging to an organization, identify, recognition of contribution or efforts, and autonomy or control over decisions or work. It is not uncommon for you or the other person to have multiple interests and it would be helpful for you to write them down as they occur to help you sort them out. This list may be helpful to think through ideas that may meet these interests. Problem solving on your interests and the other person’s interests leads to more creative and successful resolutions because you meet not only your need but theirs as well. Source: Fisher, Ury, and Patton, Getting to Yes, 1991

Hershey chocolate Essay

Go the Hershey website to learn how to make Hershey chocolate. (There is also a â€Å"print friendly† version of the chocolate making process at the end of the video.) Review the process and take a look at some of the videos. Pay particular attention to the process steps of milling and pressing, mixing the ingredients, and refining. In at least one paragraph, describe the costing system that you would recommend Hershey use to account for its cost of goods sold and why. Include a few product costs you think would be traceable, which costs should be allocated and how Hershey should account and apply the manufacturing overhead costs. After reviewing the production videos on the Hershey’s website, it seems likely the company would use process costing versus job costing techniques to track the costs associated with producing the various chocolate bars. Both techniques will identify the costs associated with producing the candy bars, the difference is the process costing tech nique allocates the total cost of production across all units of output. This usually entails accumulation of costs for each stage (or department) of production and assigning those costs to all output from that stage. I feel that the process technique best matches the production process Hershey utilizes. Even on their website videos, Hershey breaks the production of the candy bars into seven separate functions, each with the end goal of developing the finest chocolate bars possible but with unique and separate processes. Just as Hershey has multiple processes, they will also have multiple product costs. A few traceable product costs that come to mind are associated with the seven website videos. The first film shows the production of the raw cocoa beans. The company will determine the costs associated with the purchase of raw materials such as the beans, sugar, and milk. This cost would be variable costs, as the production is increased, the volume of raw materials would also increase. The second stage of roasting and breaking the beans may also have variable inventory costs, and possibly a combination fuel costs to heat the roasters. Hershey will always have the fuel costs, but the amounts will vary depending on the amount of beans being roasted. The third stage of milling and pressing the beans will also have a combination of fuel cost to run the machinery. The process of blending and mixing of the chocolate looks to have a lot of direct labor and once again fuel costs to run mixers, heaters and dryers in addition to the various  employees creating direct labor costs. The refining process runs many heavy granite rollers and mixers to develop the chocolate into a smooth texture and will also generate additional fuel and power costs. Finally, the wrapping and packaging stages will have variable costs for the materials to wrap and package the candy in preparation for transportation to the consumer. In each of the categories, fuels and power costs are utilized in the preparation of the chocolate bars. This is one cost that one that could be allocated to each department. In addition, the facility costs, square footage and non direct labor may be allocated to the various departments. I feel Hershey should debit factory overhead for the actual costs incurred and credit Factory Overhead as these costs are allocated to Work in Process, which eventually gets transferred to expense as Cost of Goods Sold as shown via the preceding entries.