Campus Couture

Essentially, this will work by Campus COUtUre purchasing pieces from designers and other local and international retailers, and offering it as a rental service to our clientele. Campus Couture allows its members to search dresses by new arrivals, size, color, style, or price. We aim to offer rental services for women to attend date nights, cocktail parties, and formal events idyllically for the Western Community. Campus Couture, Inc. Was incorporated in 201 2 and is based in London, Ontario (Exhibit 1). 1. Goals and Objectives: The initial goal of Campus Couture is to present our aggregate research and analysis to generate confidence in our business model and its feasibility. Establish a Presence Within the Campus Community: Establish a consistent base of users that rely on Campus Couture's site for their semi-formal and formal wear Establish ourselves are the forerunners in designer wear for the targeted consumers Minimize Start-Up Costs: From an operations standpoint, we strive to minimize start-up costs and maximize our customer-base in the first fiscal year, while generating a constant stream of profit in later periods.Promote Website Traffic: By increasing awareness about Campus Couture, we aim to capture 15% of Westerns female population to become active members of Campus Couture, Inc. By the end of our first year of operations (Exhibit 2) Financial: Usually negative cash from operations is risky, however sometimes is necessary to get the business afloat. Breakable by the end of 2nd fiscal year. Personal Goals: $1 5,000 in drawings by the Second Fiscal Year End (2013-2014) Drawings for Campus COUtUre Board of Directors at 70% Of net income by 3rd fiscal year-end Work part-time; between 5-8 hours per week 1. Key Success Factors: Successful Market Penetration: Initial market penetration is vital for our business to prosper. As a consequence of our generally unfamiliar business concept, our marketing practices must be well-planned and innovative in order to win over our customer base. Due to the influence of word-of-mouth and social media activity amongst our target demographic, we believe that once this initial base is established, we can expect a steady increase in customer base moving forward.Trendiest and Affordability: Trendiest and affordability are key determinants of Campus Couture's success, as today's youth wants to maintain a fashionable image without the substantial expenditures associated with purchasing an outfit. Campus Couture aims to keep its product offerings current and updated adhering to the latest fashion trends. Furthermore, each rental will be a fraction of the retail cost of the dress, meaning that Campus Couture will be a practical alternative. Affordability is the keystone to our business model, and it is imperative that it is maintained.Our price model is based off of the number of times we expect each dress to be rented, thus increasing the customer base and the number of rentals. We can expect to increase inventory, while driving down rental rates in the future. 1. 4 Corporate Capabilities: Strengths: Campus Couture adheres to a unique business model and can take definitive strides to provide our members a vast selection of dresses that cater to our students and young professionals. Campus Couture has skilled personnel that are capable of handling the daily operations and logistics involved with running a rental service.They have unrivaled insight into our target market as we are Western students representing other Western students. The use of social media technology has provided Campus Couture direct access to the target market, making us trendsetters for the rising trend in economical pending habits in this post-recession era. Weaknesses: Campus Couture has limited funds, inventory and connections to the fashion industry. This makes our company more vulnerable to our competitors who possess extensive fashion expertise and large capital allowances for advertising.Our business also h as the unique task of having to overcome the negative stigma attached to renting apparel. As well, the business's success is heavily reliant on keeping up with the latest trends and appealing to the young female's fashion needs/style. A strong marketing campaign and commitment to Campus Couture's business objectives will hopefully overcome these weaknesses, as well as increase traffic to our website. Seasonality will also impact our feasibility since a large portion of our target market attends Western University but leave for the summer months. . External Analysis: 2. 1 political: As of January 201 2, students across Ontario have begun receiving $1 ,600 annually from the provincial government, as part of an initiative to lower to tuition rates. This helps alleviate the financial stresses for students and also puts more disposable income back into their pockets, thus proving that female students will have increased means to rent dresses and purchase other novelties. Transmutes' are popularizing among environmental groups. These are individuals who value non-ownership for environmental and ethical reasons.The rhetoric behind this lies in the fact that â€Å"the more people share, the fewer goods need to be produced -? and fewer resources will be used up. † Therefore, dress rentals definitely cater to those consumers who will only use something when they truly need it. 2. 2 Economic: Due to rising university tuition rates, Western students on average have less disposable income and therefore increased pressure to spend their money wisely. Statistics Canada reported in 2008 that Canadian females between 16 ND 1 9 had an average income of $7,100 whereas females between 20 and 24 earned $15,100.If a student in either age cohort had to cover living and post- secondary expenses, they would have little or no money left for other expenditures. According to Western Statistics, approximately 681 9 bursaries, accounting for roughly $1 5 million were given to studen ts requiring financial assistance. These statistics imply that many Western students are looking to economize and curb their spending habits in order to offset their debt from student loans. The population of females at Western is currently 13,990 females that have gig demand for fashionable dresses due to the ongoing social scene in London.The price of clothing has escalated in as many years due partially to increased commodity, labor, and shipping costs, as well as markups associated with name brands. Consequently, consumers are finding it increasingly difficult to appear fashion forward at a reasonable price. On average, Western undergraduate students attend 6 to 8 major events per semester. 1 Provided that we can offer our clientele high quality dresses at a reasonable price, we aspire to take advantage of this opportunity and create successful business model that aligns with the needs of price sensitive Western University female students. . 3 social: Online shopping has also re volutionized over the past decade. According to Statistics Canada, in 2007 about 8. 4 million Canadian individuals aged 16 years and older used the Internet to make almost $12. 8 billion in purchases. By 2010, 113. 8 million orders were made by 1 1 2 million Canadians with a value of $15. 3 billion. From 2007 to 2010, the percentage of online shoppers that used the Internet to purchase clothing, jewelry, and accessories rose from 29% to 36%.This positive correlation demonstrates an increasing trend of online consumers and an opportunity for Campus Couture to capture this market because a large age of these shoppers were females under the age of 30. Currently, 60% of Western students are female; this rising trend along with plans to for the University to admit larger first-year classes secures Campus Couture?s growing target audience. Overall, these conditions are very favorable for our company as there is clear evidence that our target market is steadily expanding, implying that Cam pus Couture will likely gain customers and increase profits over time. 2.Technological: Modern technological developments, like the Internet have increased the consumers access to information thus reducing time spent shopping and has made retail prices more competitive by shifting the power from suppliers to consumers. This transformation is forcing current businesses to review their current operations and marketing strategies to better accommodate consumer demands. Campus Couture believes that implementing modern information technology to target the budget-conscientious young female consumer and to fulfill their need for fashionable apparel can offer a competitive edge over our competitors. 3.Consumer Analysis: 3. 1 Market Research: In our survey (Exhibit 3, Exhibit), 63% of respondents were inclined to rent a dress while 32% indicated that the idea was not appealing to them. Many hesitated as they worried about cleanliness and unfamiliarity to the concept of dress rentals. Our res ults show that approximately 73% of respondents are either impartial, agree, or strongly agree to this concept. This indicates that if Campus Couture can successfully promote dress rentals as fashionable, economical, and sanitary to the masses, we will unleash potential for large sales volumes and high returns from this untapped market.In terms of pricing, 76% of females surveyed indicated that they would spend less than $1 00 and 55% would spend less than $70 on a dress for a special occasion, therefore implying that price is a determining factor for the typical consumer. Therefore, Campus Couture must rent out its dresses at competitive rates to appeal to a vast market In which some would prefer to purchase rather than rent. 3. 2 Target Market: Campus Couture targets young female students and professionals from the Western and London community, ages 1 8 to 25 years old, who are searching for fashionable higher-end formulae at affordable prices.Students are very social individuals, but they are also on a limited budget With pressure to dress well, they want to look great by wearing new dresses. Buying new dresses is extremely costly, which is why this demographic would be more inclined to rent. 4. Competitive Analysis: Although, there are no specific businesses that provide a similar service to either community, there are many direct and indirect competitors impeding on Campus Couture's growth potential. 4. 1 Direct: Forever XIX: With 480 locations and revenue grossing over $2. Billion, Forever XIX is extremely popular among teen and young adult females and caters to an array of different styles at great value. In terms of marketing and promotion, Forever XIX has truly capitalized with its e-commerce venture. With Forever XIX opening up at Nashville Place in March 2012, Campus Couture could foresee immense competition from this clothing retailer. Forever XIX has far greater financial means to purchase inventory and to market their product. They have the poten tial to capture a larger audience due to their variety of inventory and reasonable pricing.These factors could pose as a real threat to the success of Campus Couture. A drawback to their business model is that with lower pricing comes poorer quality. This brings out the traditional quantity versus quality debate, and Campus Couture would have to evaluate which is more important to the desired target market. Forever Xi's dresses lie in the same price range as renting from Campus COUtUre's designer ones, however online purchases incur corresponding shipping charges. SASS: SASS is a global fashion e-commerce website, located in the UK, which sells fashionable clothing and accessories internationally.With 7. 0 million registered users and 35,000 new products each season, SASS attracts a wide range of demographics, allowing the business to penetrate the global market. By offering free shipping worldwide, consumers are more likely to purchase, however there are a number of downfalls, Cana dian customers are required to pay both HAST and duties, increasing the overall cost to the consumer. This also makes international returns more difficult, as the consumer will have to pay freight for the item(s) to be returned, which could be costly.In addition, this may even hinder the company's potential for making sales, as skeptic consumers would be hesitant to order without previously seeing the quality of the clothing. The efficiency of the delivery service is essential to ensure that customers receive their products on time in order to maintain customer satisfaction. Campus Couture differs as we offer rentals for similar items, but with a limited inventory. Our inventory will focus on the needs of the London community, instead of the world market.With that said, we provide our Members the opportunity to have a personal fitting. In addition, Campus Couture will not have to bother with online payment security and delivery timings, as both will be handled in-store. And Ezra: Ou r market research relayed that H and Ezra were highly popular within our target market. Whereas, H has a flagship in London, Ezra, is only coated in Toronto. Many Western students are from the Toronto area and travel home frequently, thereby making Ezra a direct competitor. Both retailers have strong brand recognition and customer loyalty across Canada.H's business concept is to give the customer unbeatable value by offering style and quality at a reasonable price. Ezra in comparison, concentrates on quality, design, and rapid turnaround. H&M's dresses retail between $20 and $60 whereas Ezra retails its dresses for $80 based on current website pricing. One weakness both of these companies share is their lack of an online store, while Campus Couture provides its consumers with the ability to reserve dresses online and on your phone. Oftentimes, customers find an item online and by the time they get to the store, the size or color of dress may be sold out.Overall, retailers who transi tion their marketing strategy to reflect technological trends will be better equipped to handle the the needs Of the modern consumer. Boutiques along Richmond Row: Richmond Row is home to various local apparel retailers in downtown London. Regardless of our partnership with Elliot, a local boutique (Exhibit 5), they would still remain indirect competitors as similar items would be arrested to the same audience. Price is a huge factor as Elliot has sizeable profit margins for it sales, however with increased competition and lower prices for the similar goods may result in a price war. Ultimately, Campus Couture will be able to overcome this form of competition due to its offering of a fundamentally different service. 4. 2 Indirect: High-End Departmental Stores High-end department stores including Holt Renew, Anemia Marcus, and Nordstrom provide designer apparel at high costs. These department stores target an older and wealthier demographic than students, who can afford to ay high pr emiums for higher quality. While many of these high-end stores ship to Canada, the costs associated with shipping makes these pieces virtually impossible for the average student to afford.Online Flash Sales: Online Luxury Flash Sales websites such as Beyond the Rack, Net-a-Porter, and The Peacock Parade are an up-and-coming trend in today's technology- dependent world. Here, designers and retailers have their merchandise discounted between 50-70% of the original retail value. Sales are typically short (under 72 hours) and start at inconvenient times during the day. This sakes purchasing from these websites difficult and inconvenient for students with busy schedules. Flash sales have limited selection, so specific styles may not be available.Most of these websites have headquarters in the States, adding shipping costs to the original purchase price. 5. Four Up's 5. 1 Product: We offer a dress rental service in London Ontario, where consumers can browse our inventory online and reserv e dresses, then allowing them to come in before their event to try on the dress and pay for the rental. 5. 2 Placement: We chose to place our business in the North London borough because Of its rigidity to Western University and college population, who are looking for the latest trends and outfits to present themselves in.The area is known for student housing, and therefore is more convenient for them to walk to in comparison to either mall or the downtown core. We believe that being located in close proximity to campus is advantageous as there are no other clothing retailers in the area, unlike the competition we would have faced from retailers along Richmond Row or in Nashville. 5. 3 price: While finalizing our inventory, the costs associated were taken into account in order to set the rental fees.The rental price represents 30 to 35% of the original retail price, therefore we will be able to generate a return on our investment after three rentals. This value is reasonable enough that consumers would still be inclined to rent rather than purchase a dress from elsewhere. As a start-up, we did not want to take too big of a risk. Since the business concept is unfamiliar to a large portion of our demographic, high initial promotional costs are necessary to inform and penetrate the market. Afterwards, Campus Couture can rely on the social behavior of the demographic to steadily build our customer base in years to mom. . 4 Promotion: In order to reach out to our clientele, we aim to incorporate a pull strategy, using a variety of social media outlets, promotional events and incentives, and personal selling strategies in an attempt to build up consumer demand for high-end designer dress rentals. Promotional Campaign: Social Media (Exhibit 6) The 18 to 25 cohort represents the highest consumers of social networking and the Internet. Social media outlets including, Faceable has made girls more vigilant to keep up with fashion trends and to have an extensive wardrobe for every occasion.Nowadays, girls are self-conscious about rearing the same outfit repeatedly, fearful that someone might remember. Due to these societal pressures, females have resorted to online retail browsing and shopping for clothing and accessories. With Campus Couture on all major networking sites: Faceable, Twitter, and Pinsetters, we can inform our customers about the latest trends and what is new at Campus Couture, enabling our clientele to interact with us, and even see how other clients are wearing Campus Couture. This will positively influence our company's image, as one that cares about its clientà ¨le's needs before their special event.Mobile Application (Exhibit 7) Imagine Campus Couture, at your fingertips. Our mobile application can be downloaded onto your Blackberry, phone, or Android to see the latest in trends and new in-stock items, and book fittings. This will allow girls who wait until the eleventh hour to reserve a dress at any time. With that said, the mo bile application is expected to be of greatest utility to customers for those always on-the-go. It will also enhance accessibility to our catalogue and overall business, further inclining potential customers to use our service.Undoubtedly, the greatest asset we can gain by using the mobile application s ensuring Campus Couture's constant presence in customers' lives. Viral Youth Campaign With today's youth constantly viewing, posting, and sharing Youth videos all over the social media circuit, Campus Couture has the opportunity to be recognized quickly, without incurring the cost of airing pricey television commercials. By filming a video that highlights Campus Couture's brand power and competitive advantage, we can influence students to share the video.In turn, they will be personally selling Campus Couture to their social circles without even realizing that they are doing it. This will elevate inquiries, ND with proper sales training within the Campus Couture team, this will resul t in increased volumes of rentals, equating to higher gross revenue as well as a higher return on our initial investment. Print Advertising and Word of Mouth (Exhibit 8) Print advertising is a promising technique as it catches the attention of many students while walking around campus.With posters up in areas of high traffic, students will be able to familiarize themselves with Campus Couture. These advertisements will be concentrated in locations with the highest prevalence Of our target market in order to garner their attention. Launch Party: The executive of Campus Couture, Inc. Will be working closely with the George Boatswains, Resident DC of Cobra London to organize a launch party and Fashion Show on Friday September 14th, 2012. With upwards of 500 attendees, we hope to make our mark on the Western and London community by selling advance tickets to the event for $10.Advance ticket sales will be a key marketing strategy to spread word out about Campus Couture to all social circ les across the campus community. All revenues generated would be paid to Cobra London. The launch party will promote our business, while the Fashion Show will best exhibit Campus Couture's collection to the female demographic. This will be coordinated in part with Blackbirds Salon and Spas, who have donated their time and expertise into making this event a great success. Our team will be able to personally sell Campus Couture to our target market, while promoting to the masses. . Internal Analysis 6. 1 Operations: Operations will commence on September 1st, 2012 with promotions, leading up to our launch party on September 14th, inaugurating the business. In order to use the site, a customer must make an account (Exhibit 9). Members can search through different dresses by style, color, size, or price. In addition, the calendar widget displays the availability of each dress. This calendar will mark off the dates that the dress has been booked for, the size, and the event she will be we aring it to, allowing other customers to skim through dresses efficiently.This also ensures that no two people will be renting out the same dress for the same event. Once the customer has decided on a dress, they will book a fitting appointment, where Campus Couture will hold onto two sizes of any one dress for the customer, ensuring a proper fit. Once they have been fitted, the client will choose whether to proceed with the rental. Our storefront provides them access to browse through other dresses. If they choose another dress, we would ensure that it was not previously on hold for another customer and that it was clean and undamaged.

Quikr vs Olx

SWOT ANALYSIS TEMPLATE Before you sit down to plan the future of your club’s marketing activities, you need to take stock of where your club is now and why you are there. One useful way to get a clear picture of where your club currently sits is by using a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. By using the SWOT analysis you can identify where your club stands in the market, which provides a useful launch pad for making future marketing plans. Take the time to work through the SWOT process carefully and you will have a clearer idea of: The things your club does well, and the things you need to improve on (strengths and opportunities). †¢ What types of competition exist for your club and which ones can be defended (strengths and threats) †¢ Whether your club needs to change the product itself to protect from outside influences (weaknesses and threats) †¢ Which issues your club needs to make as its priorities (weaknesses a nd opportunities). Strengths When you look at the strengths, concentrate on the club itself and whether it can achieve the outcomes you want.Examples of strengths include: †¢ Strong financial base. †¢ Strong local need for your product, many new members, etc. †¢ Group of skilled volunteers. †¢ Support from local businesses, politicians, etc. †¢ Well-equipped clubhouse. †¢ Committee is well-structured, enthusiastic, capable, etc. Weaknesses Weaknesses often appear as the direct opposite of the strengths listed above and include: †¢ Weak financial base. †¢ Diminishing need or desire for your product, fewer new members, etc. †¢ Few volunteers. †¢ No support from local businesses, politicians, etc. Out of date ill equipped clubhouse. †¢ Committee is poorly structured, overworked, disinterested, etc. Opportunities Opportunities refer to the possibilities of new growth because of the changes in the external environment and can include such things as: †¢ Promotion of sport by government authorities, e. g. renewed ‘Push Play† campaign. †¢ New population of potential users moving into the area, e. g. with children. †¢ Grants by local and national government to encourage sport and recreation. †¢ Organisations looking to sponsor local activities. Seasonal interest in particular sports, e. g cricket in summer, football in winter. †¢ International or national interests the activity your club is involved in, e. g Commonwealth or Olympic Games. †¢ Promotion of your activity to a different age group or gender e. g. lawn bowls to teenagers, rugby to girls. Threats As with strengths and weaknesses, the threats are often very similar to the opportunities. Examples of threats include: †¢ Traditional sponsors of sport and recreation changing the way they spend their sponsorship dollars. Seasonal interest in particular sports or activities which is in direct competition with your o wn, e. g. competing codes of Rugby. †¢ Promotion of sport to different age groups or gender which competes with your club’s interest e. g. ballet and soccer for girls. †¢ Other interests including television, video games, school activities, part-time work for teenagers, and so on. †¢ Time related issues for example, competition for volunteers time, longer working hours, both parents working – children unable to attend, limited available free time for both children and parents. Other organisations with better facilities. †¢ Lack of knowledge and interest in your product. A SWOT Analysis should be drawn up to look like this: |Internal |STRENGTHS |WEAKNESSES | |Factors |Vision : simple and quick |Not having international experience, therefore diversification | |(Things about |Strong funding |might be a problem at later stage. |your club) |Experienced partners: Norwest Venture Partners brings in a lot of |No acquisition till date as a result OLX has s urpassed quikr. | | |experience |Employee base is very low: Need to increase the sales force and| | |Horizontal rather than vertical |target other opportunity to increase market share. | |Customer Centric, not just technology centric : Free missed call | | | |Investment in analytics, mobile platforms | | |External |OPPORTUNITIES |THREATS | |Factors |Internet penetration(10%) is bound to increase |Low entry barrier | |(Things |Internet surfing through mobiles has surpassed PC. Competitors have international experience and deep pockets. | |outside of |Mobile base is huge and recently they have introduced a missed call |Zero switching cost. | |your club) |feature. |Intense Competiton | | |Cloud computing (SaaS, PaaS) could be useful in reducing the cost. | | | |Network Effects | | It’s a great idea to draw this up on a whiteboard or large piece of paper and use as a brainstorming base at a committee meeting.

America’s Global War on Terrorism Essay

At 8:46 am, on September 11, 2001, the world would take witness to an event that would change it forever. Five hijackers, with the support of a terrorist group named Al Qaeda, crashed a passenger jet into World Trade Center Tower 1, and seventeen minutes later a second passenger jet was crashed into World Trade Center Tower 2. Now, everyone can remember exactly where they were when they received the news of the attack, but, what most American’s didn’t realize is that these events would lead to the majority of the world into war. This was the first time that the United States would participate in a war against and idea, terrorism, and not a declaration of war against a country itself. In every war that the United States had been involved in, they had been faced against an enemy in the form of a country. Whether it was Spain, Mexico, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, or even against itself, the United States always had a target. These â€Å"targets† usually had a uniform; they were also in support of a dictator, king, or even a tyrant. But with the War on Terror, the United States and its allied NATO Nations were not taking actions against a country; they were taking actions against an ideology that had affected the entire planet. The route of this ideology can be traced back to one man, Osama bin Laden. Osama bin Laden, with the help of the United States, forced an invading Soviet Russia out of the country of Afghanistan in the 1980’s. Then, with the support of a radical Islamic state, and the formation of a radical group calling themself al-Qaeda, he declared war on the United States in 1996 (Lansford, Watson & Covarrubias, 2009). Bin Laden was quoted saying, â€Å"If the instigation for jihad against the Jews and the Americans†¦is considered a crime, then let history be a witness that I am a criminal (Lansford, Watson & Covarrubias, 2009).† With this foundation of hatred towards Western influence in the modern world, Osama bin Laden and his radical group al-Qaeda instigated a War against the world. The group al-Qaeda has taken responsibility of many terrorist attacks against the United States and its allied countries. From the World Trade Center attacks of 2001, to the Spain subway bombings of 2004, al-Qaeda has been at the center of these terrorist attacks. Unfortunately, unlike most wars declared against a country, al-Qaeda has roots in many countries. They’ve been linked to attacks in: Africa, Europe, North America; are believed to have ties to other terrorist cells like the Taliban, and the Revolutionary Armed Forced of Colombia; and are known to have cells based in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan (Lansford, Watson & Covarrubias, 2009). Former President George Bush described al-Qaeda as â€Å"a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics; a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam (Holloway, 2008).† This declared War on Terror was against terrorist groups, like al-Qaeda , but many did believe that the Former President had a hidden agenda. With the attacks of September 11th, a new foreign policy known as, â€Å"Bush Doctrine,† was implemented by the Bush administration. The â€Å"Bush Doctrine,† which the Bush administration rarely ever called its new foreign policy was based around four ideas: to make no distinction between terrorist and the countries harboring them, take the fight to enemies overseas before they can attack the United States, confront threats before they become threats, and promote democracy instead of terrorist ideology (Holloway, 2008). At the beginning of the war, the American people being full of patriotism and wanting revenge for the 9/11 attacks were in 100% agreement with this policy, but as time passed and the years that this â€Å"war† has gone on, more and more are in less support and just want the United States military to be brought home. Towards the end of President Bush’s second term, he began to be under constant attack due to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was accused of invading Iraq under false pretenses of: weapons of mass destruction, and a direct influence of 9/11 by Saddam Hussein’s regime (Holloway, 2008), a plateau that our current President, Barack Obama, used to his advantage during his initial campaign. Yet, even though Former President Bush was attacked and scrutinized about his policies, he stood by his initial belief that his â€Å"Global War on Terror† was against an ideology, and not a certain country. Whether or not the current 10-year war was actually waged against Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Muammar al-Gaddafi, or any other tyrant is truly unknown, and if the September 9/11 attacks were hoaxed and just a coercion for the American people to be tricked into war, who knows. What can be known is this; the War on Terror is the first time that the United States has declared war on an idea, a way of life, and not against a country of its own, and because of this, the true length of this war has the ability to last forever. Holloway, D. (2008). 9/11 and the war on terror [electronic resource] / david holloway . Edinburg University Press. Lansford, T., Watson, R., & Covarrubias, J. (2009).America’s war on terror [electronic resource] / by tom lansford, robert p. watson and jack covarrubias. (2nd ed.). Burlington, VT: Ashgate.

Construction and business law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Construction and business law - Essay Example Rather it can be said that the informal sources of law does not have a strong legal validity. In case of a conflict between the common law and the formal source of law always the formal source of law gains primacy. Courts which hear civil issues like issues related to debt, contract related matters and also property related issues. It also includes succession, real estate and custody related issues. The structure of the civil courts is as follows in the base lies the sheriff court, above it the Court of Session and above everything is the House of Lords. The Criminal Courts are those which deal with the criminal cases like rape, murder, theft, forgery and adultery. The structure of the Criminal Court is different from that of the Civil Court in the sense that at the base lays the District Court, then the Sheriff Court and above all the High Court of Judiciary. A real obligation always creates a debt and in the process becomes a principal obligation. In the English law there are two types of real obligation, they are namely land and rent. On the other hand the payment which is due against the land becomes a personal obligation. On the other hand it can be said that personal obligation and the real obligation are related to each other. One produces the other. For instance if land is the real obligation then in that case the fruits and flowers produced from that piece of land becomes the personal obligation. (Langdell, 2009, p. 199). The Inner House of the Court of Session is actually the appeal court. This court is divided into the First and the Second Divisions and each of the divisions have been given equal authority. The Divisions are presided by the Lord President and the Lord Justice Clerk respectively. The Inner House hears cases from the Outer House and some other Sheriff Court and Tribunals. The Outer House on the other hand hears cases at the first instance. They generally hear commercial cases, case related to contract and also judicial review. The judges of the Outer House also hear on the Intellectual Property Rights. Thus it can be said that the Inner House of Courts has more compared to the Outer House of Courts. (Court of Session - Introduction, n.d). The European Court of Justice is the highest Court of law in the European Law and it deals with all the laws of the European Union. This Court refers to the law of the community and it deals with all kinds of cases. The European Court of Human Rights on the other hand is the highest International Court. It deals with case related to the violation of the European Convention of Human Rights. Individuals can directly apply to the European Court of Human Rights. The main aim of the Court is to protect the human rights of the individuals or the states. Thus it can be said that the major difference between the two is that the European Court of Justice deal with all kinds of law and the European Court of Human Rights only deals with human rights related issues. Question 2: A courier company promises a 24 hour delivery service.' Its customer,a web-based travel agency, orders the couriers to deliver an essential computer component from the suppliers to their premises. En route, the couriers lose the package and end up taking 72 hours to deliver a replacement. The travel agency wishes to sue the courier company for the losses it has incurred as a result of the delay in delivery of the vital component.

1page for each question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

1page for each question - Essay Example However, none of the two declared military warfare against the other but they used indirect means to curb the other’s influence in the global arena. Americans were largely made to fear the communist agenda and this saw the republicans and democrats wage political wars based on which side can better handle the Soviet Union. Cold War was thought to ultimately lead to a nuclear war as both nations increased their nuclear stockpiles to deter the other from attempting an invasion. Hollywood released many anticommunist films and this instilled patriotism in Americans. For US to advance its agenda around the world and not to be seen as hypocrites, President Truman triggered laws that aimed at ending discrimination of the African Americans in the 1950s. On the other hand, US intervened militarily in regions across the world such as Korea and Vietnam so as to stop the communism agenda from spreading. Cold war, I believe, could not have been avoided. The differences between the US and the USSR were so huge and parallel that it was inevitable that they had to agree to disagree. The ideologies of capitalism versus communism could not merge while both Truman and Stalin could not agree as they had conflicting ambitions of controlling the post WWII world order. The systems of government were so different and the heated arguments between the two leaders made matters

Drug Dilemmas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drug Dilemmas - Essay Example Unfortunately, in a free market economy such as the United States, nothing can be done about it, except by government intervention through price regulation. Considering what Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, said about how pharmaceutical companies spend enormous resources in developing "me-too" drugs simply to get a share of the market of a top-selling drug, there is reason to believe that U.S. drug prices do not reflect the operation of a fair and competitive market, rather, the pharmaceutical companies have somewhat cartelized themselves resulting in a monopoly of the drug pricing. 2. Given the nature of their product, do pharmaceutical companies have ethical responsibilities that other corporations don't have In your view, are the large U.S. drug companies good corporate citizens According to the Case Resource, many drug companies enjoy larger profit margins than other U.S. corporations. At the very least, and considering the nature of their product, this writer believes that pharmaceutical companies should take on the ethical responsibility of reasonably pricing their products, at least at the level of most corporations. It would be more ethical of course, for pharmaceutical companies to reduce their profit margins in order to make their drugs more available to a greater number of people. After all, the mission and vision of most drug companies is to "lead the way to a healthier world by providing products that improve lives" (Wyeth, 2008), or "we are here for the people we serve in their pursuit of healthy lives" (Abbott, 2008). However, in terms of corporate citizenship, drug companies would be thought of as good corporate citizens especially if they pay the government the correct taxes from all the revenues and profits they make. 3. Are the large drug companies guilty of price gouging or charging an unfair or exploitative price for their products In general, what factors should determine the price of drugs Should Americans be permitted to import drugs from Canada or other countries Whether or not large drug companies are guilty of price gouging or charging an unfair or exploitative price for their products is highly debatable. On the one hand, if the drug company sets its price at a profit level well beyond regular profitability standards for U.S. corporations, then the company would be guilty of price gouging. However, to determine such profit level, various factors would need to be taken into account and some of these factors may not be existent in other corporations, such as costs of compliance with government regulations considering that such regulations may be stricter in the health industry than in other industries. In general, factors that determine the price of drugs would be production costs, distribution costs, marketing costs, administration costs and other overhead costs such as R&D. This writer believes that Americans should be permitted to import drugs from Canada or other countries for that matter. If the cost of imported drugs is less expensive than U.S.-manufactured drugs, this would be very beneficial to Americans. Moreover, it would provide a natural check and balance for the pricing practices of the U.S. drug companies. 4. Do drug companies have an obligation to make new drugs available to patients who were involved in their development, either here or overseas

Cruise line research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cruise line - Research Paper Example The Victoria Tourism is an enormous industry in the tourism of British Columbia, and it is worth to survey people who have chosen to come to Victoria. The research company will communicate with ten different Internet travel agencies in Europe and America who are willing to facilitate the research by allowing the company to access the contact information of the customers. These customers will be asked to participate by completing the survey via Skype or email. The questions on the survey will uncover the relevant reasons for their cruise ship vacation cancelation. This research survey will be conducted to bring a solution to the issue of the decreasing number of tourists who are cruising to Victoria, BC. According to Victoria News, there was a decrease in number of visitors from 481,733 passengers in 2013, to 465,065 in 2014 (Stewart,  2014). For this reason, the research will study the cruise ship industry and try to come up with the best ways to increase the number of visitors and implement a marketing strategy that would help the Victoria BC to regain and enlarge its customer base. The research will help to correct the problem of reduced numbers of tourists by surveying the real reasons behind the decline. In this way, the cruise ship companies will be able to correct their marketing efforts and planning immediately. The recommended methodology to conduct an effective survey is to have one-on-one Skype interviews with the 30 to 40 customers across European and American regions. Skype is a web conferencing tool that enables individuals to participate in a one-on-one interview; it facilitates an instant audio-video communication regardless of geographical location (Bembenutty, 2014). Good (Morning or afternoon), my name is Saud Bin Aqeel from Victoria Tourism. Your recent travel Agent gave us your contact information. Thank you for taking this time to participate

In the document I upload Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

In the document I upload - Essay Example It would have been long term as it has lead to an anticipated economic growth with up to 2% within duration of 2 years. Therefore, the government should fast track the adoption of laws to avert the expiration of this tax relief and this time make it even more lasting as the testing face of the laws have proved fruitful. To do this they need the support of the major opposition, the Republicans. This is because for many households’ tax rates under the Obama’s administration has been much lower and affordable as compared to the same in Bush administration. This is despite the fact that they were introduced simply as stimulus laws. The extension of such tax cut measures will ease life for the households and extend support to the ailing economy. Second assignment How to avert tax increases if averting tax cliffs will not work The owing automatic rise in the tax rates of the American households have the impact of negatively affecting the lives of the Americans in terms of the ir welfare socially, politically and at most economically. The Obama’s administration is majorly left with the option of allowing the payroll tax systems established 2 years ago to elapse in its efforts to solve the fiscal cliff. This is though likely to have a negative impact on the social security funds by the U.S. wage earner by lowering their share in the said funding system by a clear 2 percent increasing the taxation of the household by $ 1,000 a year for earners of $50,000 annually. This act should though be progressive so that the impact on the wage earner is uniformly felt. The more wealthy individuals should be taxed according to their earnings as the less income earners are taxed the other way round. The government through the support of the opposition republicans has to join hands to in their efforts to fuel the government role of protecting their citizens socially by way of creating a habitable social environment largely dependent on the security measures placed. The government must also put aside their political differences in its efforts to provide a secure political climate for the thrive of the economic activities engaged in by the citizens. Despite the lapse of the payroll tax system, the household composed of the tirelessly working Americans can still work to cover the anticipated loss of 2% if the government unites with the opposition to create a favorable economic climate supporting every bit of economic activity that the American engages in. Taxation is a government initiative that can only be regulated through the formulation of the favorable laws and fiscal tools to enable the functioning of the government. The government and the opposition in such times have to come together and formulate laws, which are not exploitative to the citizens. This will involve the government considering an opportunity costs between allowing the tax rate reverting to the original 6.2% from the regulated 4.2%, which would result into a raise of the gov ernment revenue by about $125 billion in 2013, and the economic welfare of the wage earners. The economic growth that is likely to result from this is quite negligible of a mere

Law - Civil Procedure (Hong Kong) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Law - Civil Procedure (Hong Kong) - Essay Example James (1854) 5 De G.M. & G. 876 and its brethren (Novello v. James (1854) 5 De G.M. & G. 876). This undertaking is not given to the party against whom the injunction is sought, but to the court who is overseeing the proceedings from which the injunction came (Zuckerman, 1994, p. 546). The reason that the plaintiff has to give this undertaking is in the event that either the injunction is dismissed for any reason, or that the defendant wins in a trial on the merits. In either of those cases, it must be shown that the defendant was kept from exercising his or her lawful rights, and was harmed by this. Therefore, the money given as an undertaking must be equivalent to what monetary damage that the defendant would experience because of this loss of rights. This undertaking is a safeguard for defendant’s rights, as the court is sworn to give both parties equal treatment, and it is a matter of â€Å"elementary fairness† that this undertaking is given (Kirklees Borough Council v. Wickes Building Supplies Ltd. [1991] 3 W.L.R. 985). However, the entitlement to damages is not independent of the undertaking (Fletcher Sutcliffe Wild Ltd. v. Burch [1982] F.S.R. 64), and whether or not the defendant is entitled to the undertaking is not decided by the material event, such as the injunction being dismissed or the defendant prevailing on the merits, but, rather, is a discretion of the court (Attorney General v. Albany Hotel Co. [1986] 2 Ch. 696). This discretion is not limited in any way (Cheltenham and Gloucester Building Society v. Ricketts [1993] 1 W.L.R. 1545. This means that the court does not necessarily have to grant the defendant the damages that have been deposited, even if the defendant prevails on the merits and even if the injunction is dismissed, and this discretion about whether or not to award the defendant is essentially unbridled. This brings up the question of what the undertaking is meant to compensate. The injunction usurps the defendantâ€⠄¢s rights in some way, and this is a harm that is suffered by the defendant. For instance, perhaps the defendant is enjoined from keeping open his business after he has already opened it, because the plaintiff seeks an injunction based upon the fact that defendant is, say, operating a business that is not zoned for a particular area. As it turns out, the zoning for the area is proper, and the existence of the business in this area is also proper. Yet Defendant has now lost several days or even weeks of business. This is a clear harm to the defendant, yet the court does not have to award the defendant the undertaking if the court deems this to be fit, and this discretion is not limited, therefore the defendant probably could not prevail on an appeal on the matter, as appeals courts are loathe to interfere with judicial discretion. This is obviously an injustice, but, since an undertaking is not a function of tort, criminal or contract law, it is difficult to classify it, so it is di fficult to state what is proper when examining judicial discretion on the issue. One clear way that the defendant may get the undertaking would be when it is clear that the injunction should never have been granted (Norwest Holst Civil Engineering Ltd. v. Polysius [1987] CA Transcript 644. However, there is a difficulty in ascertaining when an injunction should

Select ONE country and consider the countrys current and likely future Research Paper

Select ONE country and consider the countrys current and likely future role in transnational crime over the next decade - Research Paper Example â€Å"The porous ness of the border with Mexico, which has recently become a major trading partner for the United States, in particular reinforces peoples perception that the nation is not in the control of its destiny† (Petrie & Reuter, n.d pg 2). The improvement in the technology has also added to the woes of United States, with communication being made easier the international borders have become very permeable. Traditional criminal activities were limited to a particular criminal trade while the present transnational crimes are global in nature and even diverse in dimensions. These crimes are not limited to a particular form and the groups involved in these crimes also are results of motivated groups who aim at destruction, example terrorist groups (Walia, n.d). â€Å"A well know example of transnational crime in the form of terrorist attacks is the 9/11 attacks in USA which caused economical damages of 15 million dollars to the infrastructure as well as costed life of mo re than 3000 people† (Walia, n.d, p. 2). In this paper we try and discuss the different kinds of transnational crimes and understand America’s current and future role in the controlling and monitoring such crimes. The United Nations in the year 1995 defined International crime as the "offense whose inception, prevention and/or direct effect or indirect effects involved more than one country" (Petrie & Reuter, n.d, p. 8). We discuss the major transnational crimes under this section. We further discuss the laws and policies prevalent in the United States of America against these crimes in the past years. Money laundering is transferring of money through different countries so that the origin nation of the money becomes difficult to understand. The smugglers, drug traffickers, corrupt officials and public officials basically carry out laundering activities. These

Reader Response essay on the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Reader Response on the book The Jungle by Upton Sinclair - Essay Example For example, he lost his job after an injury he got from a work accident. Ona, Rudkus wife, also explains that she was raped by her boss. The major opinion of Upton Sinclair in his book The Jungle is that workers, especially immigrants, were exploited at the workplace by their employers. The author uses Jurgis in his book to explain experiences where capitalism operates without checks or balances. To get the extra profit; workers are killed due to workplace accidents, meat inspectors are bribed, wastes are deposited into public water system, and workers get sick due to workplace infection. My opinion is that all workers should be protected from exploitation of any form at the workplace. The government should put in place proper legislations to ensure this; for example, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. One of the values of the author is that he believes in socialism which creates fairness and equity. He stresses that socialism is the only idea that can right all the wrongs of capitalism. Socialism is just because it ensures each and every person benefits. The main character Jurgis believes that a social political system is capable of achieving dignity, respect and humanity of the previously exploited immigrants and working class. The profits that capitalists make should be used to; improve the working conditions, compensate workers adequately and assist in community development projects. The author’s values conflict with mine because I prefer capitalism. People should strive to create wealth by starting enterprises which earns profits; however part of the profit should be allocated to improving working conditions of workers, and also improving the welfare of the surrounding community and workers. Distribution of profits ensures fairness to both workers and employer. The Jungle reminds me of other texts which support social justice, equity and fairness. For example, the Dragon’s Teeth authored by Upton Sinclair

Child’s behavior Essay Example for Free

Child’s behavior Essay Action speaks louder than words, the adage goes. The same applies for child rearing, specifically in setting a childs behavior. Verbal admonitions, advices, and instructions are important to make it obvious to the child what the parent expects him to follow and do. Words specifically define the desired behavior parents want from their children. However, children are easily distracted, especially with long sentences, so that while talking to them, their attention or their mind strays from grasping every word thus deterring understanding. Another, words oftentimes have ambiguous meanings to the child so that the latter might not get it in spite of having been told. Actions leave more imprints into a childs memory compared to words because actions explain more than words could express. Usually, when a parent verbalizes an instruction, he accompanies it with action. This is because the more senses are involved during the comprehension process, the better and more lasting the comprehension. Actions involve more senses. They engage the child more into the character-building process because they do not just hear; they also see it in action through their parents. Furthermore, when the parents behavior contradicts with what they say, it confuses the child and might diminish the parents trustworthiness and authority in the eyes of the child. Children imitate grown-ups a lot during their formative years since they still have to develop their own individual personalities and judgments. Children tend to think that whatever their parents do are always the right things. After all, in their yet young lives, parents have been doing a lot of things for them, feeding them, taking care of them, dressing them, etc. By doing the right and proper actions, therefore, the child would confidently follow—with this knowledge that whatever their parents might be doing could be right.

Are Children Born with an Innate Ability to Acquire Language

Are Children Born with an Innate Ability to Acquire Language Humans ability to use language is essential and many believe it to be the sole ability that seperates us from all other mammals (Chomsky, 2006 ; Crrystal, 1997 ; Hocket, 1960. The importance for humans to be able to acquire language from a young age is unquestionable, but how we acquire it is under huge debate amongst psychologists and psycholinguists. Nativists such as Chomsky (1959) believe language has an innate basis and this is how we acquire it so quickly and at such a young age, whilst behaviourists believe we acquire language like any other learned behaviour (Skinner, 1957). Another theory in this debate is the social pragmatic theory which states that children create constructions of languages which develop over time (Tomasello, 2003). This essay aims to explore the theories that exist within this debate and therefore examine the support and evidence for each in order to assess if children are in fact born with an innate ability to acquire language. Immitation Perhaps the most simplest theory existing within this debate is the idea that children learn language by imitating adults and modelling their speech based on what they hear others saying. Adults also use child directed speech and therefore talk differently to and around children compared to how they talk around other adults (Cook and Newson, 2007). Many psychologists have also said that this theory is too simplistic to account for language acquisition (Bloom, Hood, and Lightbow 1974, Clark and Clark 1977, Chomsky 1986, and Dale 1976). This theory cannot be ignored though as imitation has been proven to help children acquire an accent (Blades, Cowie and Smith, 2003). Skinner Further support Evidence for the imitation theory comes from Skinner, who founded behaviourism, which claims that any behaviour is learnt from experience and subsequently there is no such thing as an innate ability; this includes the ability to acquire language. In 1957 he claimed that language acquisition was simply a matter of imitation, reinforcement and association therefore we learn language in the same way that Skinner showed how a rat can learn a path in a maze. Support for Skinner comes from Clarke-Stewart (1973) who found that children who experienced a vast amount of spoken languages from their parents had a larger vocabulary compared to those who experiences little spoken language. Chomsky Chomsky however disagrees with Skinner (Chapman and Routledge, 2005) and believed that children are born with an innate knowledge of the structure of language. He called this a language acquisition device (LAD) which is an innate mechanism only in humans which allows us to develop language. (HARTLEY). Chomsky argued that a poverty of the stimulus existed as the language in by which children are surrounded is not rich enough for children to successfully learn language and so they must be helped with the process of acquisition by some form of innate knowledge (HARTLEY). Chomsky (1959) pointed out that children cannot learn by imitation alone as they are able to produce sentences they may have never heard before and this is one of the major flaws of behaviourism. Children use grammar to construct these new sentences by using grammatical rules, this also means they can identify when they produce ungrammatical sentences and can prevent these mistakes from being produced again in the futur e (WHITNEY). Chomsky also noted that all languages have universal grammar or linguistic universals which all humans are programmed to understand and learn quickly early on in life. The theory of Universal Grammar says that all languages have the same basic foundation. As humans were not genetically programmed to speak a particular language so grammar allows us to learn the patterns of a particular language without actually being taught them (WHITNEY). If no one is born knowing a particular language, and were prepared to acquire language, then we must be born with the ability to acquire any language. This is reflected in children of a younger age as it is easier for them to learn a new language than it is for adults. However, this ability to acquire language rapidly must be taken advantage of before puberty, as after this critical period it is much harder for a child to learn how to talk correctly (HARTLEY). Support for Chomsky Like Chomsky, Jill and Peter de Villers (1978) showed that parents use child directed speech when talking to their children, and so if imitation were to be the answer to how we acquire language, children would talk using this motherese language. Support for language acquisition being innate can be taken from a longitudinal study conducted on a 9 year old deaf child called Simon. Researchers studied him from 2 years old and found that despite his parents teaching him incorrect grammar when it comes to in sign language, he was able to sign with correct grammar (http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/01/health/linguists-debate-study-classifying-language-as-innate-human-skill.html). However, this study was only conducted using one child and therefore cannot be seen as representative of the whole population. Dionne, Dale, Bolvin and Plomin, 2003 (Mccartney and Phillips, 2006) conducted a study using same sex twins and found that when they correlated vocabulary and grammar ability, they were equally correlated at ages 2 and 3. This, they believe, suggests that there are genetic factors influencing these abilities and therefore there is a general innate language basis. If language does in fact have an innate basis then language disorders should be inheritable Criticism for Chomsky There are less extreme nativists than Chomsky who say that we are born with language biases allowing us to learn language. This is called the whole object assumption or fast mapping. The acquisition of names for entities belonging to different types and the effect of lexical contrast (Kipp and Shaffer YEAR). Bard and Sachs (1977) reported a study where a child had two deaf parents, despite being surrounded by speech from television and friends he was unable to acquire language until a speech therapist began to work with him around the age of 4. After this he was able to acquire language rather quickly showing there must be some form of innate knowledge that allowed him to acquire languages quickly, however he still needed to be taught how to use language. Gomez and Gerkhen, 1998 (Hoff and Shatz, 2009) reject the idea that language has innate properties. They say that many researchers assume that because language is so complex, it is unlearnable and therefore we must be born with a way of knowing how and when to generalise from the stimuli in which we encounter. Piaget, 1980 (Piaget, Piatelli-Palmarini and Chomsky, 1980) also said because language is complex we cannot assume it has a specific innate basis simply because we acquire it quickly and early on in life. Bloom and Markson (YEAR) pointed out that the focus of most language acquisition research is based on parents teaching children speech. This research is mainly conducted within western cultures, however this is not universal as in some cultures parents dont help their children to learn words, therefore they learn from overheard speech. However these children still develop a good vocabulary. Locke, 1995 believed that all knowledge that rationalists said was innate can actually be learnt through experience. At birth our mind is a tabula rosa on which sensations can influence and determine our future behaviour. Research has been conducted regarding the critical period that Chomsky referred to regarding optimal acquisition of language. Research has shown that if children have not acquired language before puberty then they are not likely to ever fully acquire it, regardless of any innate mechanisms they may hold. If the language acquisition advice truely existed, like Chomsky believed it to, then surely this critical period would not exist, or at least we should be able to acquire language at any age (Hayes, YEAR). Lenneberg Lenneburg (1967) believed in a critical period for language acquisition but that that said that a child must experience spoken language frequently during this critical period in order for language to be fully acquired. After this critical period prior to puberty, the child undergoes several changes which makes it increasingly harder for the child to acquire language. This is also supported by the fact that it is harder for adults to learn a language than it is for children. Social Pragmatic Theory Tomasello (2003) looked away from a specifically innate theory of language acquisition and instead created a construction based approach to how children acquire language; developing from simple to more complex constructions. Bruner (1983) said that almost all language a child acquires is done so through a routine of interaction with adults or more complex speakers than themselves. A child will first learn to understand a persons intentions by sharing goals and therefore enabling the child to know what is going on and why it is happening. This then facilitates joint attention between the child and adult allowing them to both focus on the same object or cultural routine. A cultural routine is an activity or event which occurs frequently in the childs everyday life and so the child is able to predict successfully the shared goals existing in that activity (Tomasello 2008). An experiment conducted by Baldwin 1991, 1993 (Bates and Tomasello, 2001) showed that children are capable of monitoring an adults attentional focus and know that a label refers to an object that the speaker is attending to, even if this object was hidden. At around 16 months children were unable to identify any object, but around 19 months they successfully chose the object the adult was attending to despite this object being hidden from sight. Despite this Atkinson (1982) and Gleitmen et al (1984) believed that the social pragmatic view of how children may acquire language is vague and subsequently does not produce testable theories of language.

Youth Empowerment Scheme for Poverty Reduction

Youth Empowerment Scheme for Poverty Reduction The depiction of Nigeria as a paradox by the World Bank (1996) cannot be faulted. The paradox is that the level of poverty is a contradiction of the countrys enormous wealth. Nigeria is immensely endowed with human, oil, gas, agricultural, and untapped mineral resources, just to mention but a few. Unfortunately, despite these endowments, the country remains one of the poorest in the world. In its 2000 Human Development Report, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) placed Nigeria among the 30 least developed countries (LCDs) of the world (UNDP, 2000). Although poverty is rampant in Nigeria, it is more prevalent in certain areas; and with a much more devastating dimension in rural communities. One of these areas is the Niger Delta region, which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy because of its significantly high level of oil reserves. The region has vast oil reserves but remains poor, underdeveloped and torn apart with conflict (Eweje, 2007). Amnesty International (2005) confirmed that the Niger Delta remain among the most deprived oil communities in the world with 70 per cent living on less than US$1 a day, which is the standard economic measure of absolute poverty. Decades of political and economic marginalization that resulted from the neglect of the Niger Delta region by successive Nigerian governments, and the initial hesitation of multinational companies (MNCs) to attend to their social responsibility and contribute to social development, enshrined poverty in the region (Idemudia, 2007). According to Orogun (2009), the many years of oil production has benefited the federal, state, and local governments as well as the multinational oil companies, yet this huge profit has yet to improve the deplorable human condition, misery index of the indigenous inhabitants; nor has it fostered sustainable economic development in the oil producing communities. Sequel to this, the youth of the region have incessantly expressed their grievances by attacking deployed law enforcement and security agents, vandalizing oil installations, kidnapping and taking foreign oil workers hostage, bearing arms against the state, and forming militia groups in order to draw governments and multinationals attention to their plight. Globally, there have been growing demands on MNCs to provide community development programmes and assistance to their host communities, especially in developing countries in other words, meeting locally defined social and economic goals. This is primarily because developmental projects and other social infrastructures are lacking in most of these countries; and most of the time they are not provided by the state. Multinational corporations, as Etheredge (1999) believes, have an obligation to act as responsible members of the societies which grant them legal standing. He goes on to say that MNCs good corporate conduct does not only imply responsibilities that are only within the bounds of minimum legal requirements but also social responsibilities that are both acceptable and beneficial to various social constituencies that surround business enterprises. In developing countries, MNCs are expected to provide some social services and welfare programmes in addition to their normal economic activities. Although these are not the functions of businesses in economic terms; but in the developing countries, as Eweje (2006) stresses, these roles are expected from MNCs as an expression of demonstrating corporate social responsibility (CSR). Elucidating this view, Wasserstrom and Reider (1998) maintain that oil and gas companies in Asia, Latin America and Africa, for instance, are facing demands from the local community to provide education and healthcare programmes. They continued, saying that, these programmes are not give-aways, but involve training and working with community members to allow them to plan for meeting their own needs in the future. Wasserstrom and Reider (1998) further noted that by establishing such programs and working with the demands of the community, firms find less resistance to their operations, not only from the local community but from environmental and human rights special interest groups as well. Against this background, the Multinational oil companies in the Niger Delta have demonstrated commitments to the reduction of poverty through their respective community development initiatives. The study, therefore, evaluates the youth development strategies of Shell (normally called Shell Petroleum Development Company SPDC) in the Niger Delta. From the foregoing, it suffices that MNCs have a role in development not only through capital investment but more importantly by investing in human capital and providing local people with the tools to drive their own economic development (Nelson, 1996). Statement of the problem The high incidence of poverty in the Niger Delta is in sharp contrast to the regions critical importance to the Nigerian economy. The Niger Delta oil contributes enormously to the well-being of the Nigerian state, which depends on the oil industry for approximately 95% of export earnings and 80% of government revenue (SPDC, 2009); yet the poverty level in the region is higher than the national average (Clark et al., 1999; NDDC, 2004). Zandvliet and Pedro (2002) illustrated the picture of the region in the following words: About 70 per cent of the community lack access to clean water, has no passable roads or electricity supply, a shortage of medical facilities, a large number of dilapidated schools and suffers from severe environmental degradation due to oil production. After over 40 years of oil exploration and hundreds of billions of dollars of oil revenue, the oil producing communities have received little attention from successive administrations, particularly in the areas of socio-economic and infrastructural development. The cumulative circumstances have led to perceived alienation, and the result of which is the frequent social disorder as the only means by which attention could be drawn to them. Obi (2008) states the following as being responsible for the regions agitations: Oil pollution, extreme poverty, high levels of youth unemployment, pollution, perceived discriminatory employment practices against locals by oil companies and socioà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ economic and political marginalization and neglect by successive administrations constitute the main grievances against the oil companies and the government. The prevalence of poverty is very high in the Niger Delta, with over 70% living on less than a dollar per day in the rural areas. This soaring incidence of poverty is in sharp contrast to the regions position as the treasure base of the nation. This, notwithstanding, it is a political culture of governments at all levels in Nigeria and the elites to lay blame on the multinational corporations for the poverty situation in the region. Such culture of blame goes further in inciting the community members into believing that the MNCs are the architects of the regions poverty, and believing that the companies are massively exploiting them, but giving too little or nothing in return to them in form of development. Consequently this has occasioned persistent community protests, agitations and conflicts. The widespread poverty afflicting the people of the region has led to a condition of despair and the recourse to violence against the state and multinationals by the youth. The youths resentment stems from the regions loss of their traditional means of livelihood which are farming and fishing, caused by the activities of the oil companies, such as environmental degradation, oil spillage and gas flaring. Similarly, faced with massive unemployment and a bleak future due to absence of both government and private employment, the youth, which constitute a larger proportion of the region, have persistently expressed their frustration through hostage taking, arson directed at oil installations and attacks on the Nigerian state. Although successive Nigerian governments at different times have put up a lot of poverty alleviation programmes, yet all attempts to put the Niger Delta on course of development have been unproductive. Among the ills that hamper the development of the region are corruption and bad governance. For instance, while the institutions of the state at all levels (federal, state and local governments) are very corrupt, making it difficult for budgeted funds to trickle down to the target population; politics on the other hand is used to promote individual and sectional interests, as against the pursuit of public good. Therefore, due to this lack of significant government commitment to the development of the region, poverty has remained a pervasive problem in the Niger Delta. Hence, conditions have continued to worsen and poverty has become a major issue in the region in spite of her rich resource base. This failure to provide the developmental needs of the communities has led to the reliance by the region on the multinational oil companies to step in and fill this wide development gap. Accordingly, MNCs in the Niger Delta have responded to this challenge by employing community development strategies geared towards poverty reductions in their host communities. The need for MNCs involvement in poverty reduction cannot be overemphasized. As Ite (2004) pointed out, foreign direct investment flowing to developing countries has the potential to make important contributions to the development of local economies, including creating jobs, capacity building, and the transfer of technology. As a result, multinational corporations (MNCs) can have a positive impact in developing countries, especially through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives focusing on sustainable development and co-operation with civil society. As corporate citizens, multinational companies have contributed in various ways to local community development in the area as a way of addressing the unemployment, poverty and squalor that are stacking realities of daily living for the people of the area. For instance, Shell has been involved in educational initiatives, healthcare services and youth development projects, just to mention but a few. The main focus of the study which is on youth development scheme is a vocational training programme in which participants acquire necessary skills for self employment or eligibility for employment, such as welding, auto mechanics and electrical work. The study, therefore argues that the youth development scheme is an empowerment scheme that has improved the livelihood of the participants; although the efforts of the multinationals are constrained by factors which are political economic and social. However, the strategies must be sustainable if they have to make long term impact on poverty reduction. Has the vocational training on the youths been empowering? Have the youth been empowered by the vocational training? Do the community participate in the scheme and what is the level of their participation? RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following questions will be addressed: To what extent have youth vocational training been empowering? How much does the community participate in the scheme? What are the barriers that hamper MNCs community development efforts in the area? OBJECTIVE OF STUDY The general objective of the study is to evaluate the youth development initiatives of Shell multinational, aimed at poverty reduction among the youth of the Niger Delta. To evaluate the impact of youth development strategies on the participants To examine the level of participation of youth in the projects To identify the barriers of CD efforts of the multinational oil companies in Niger Delta 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY The study seeks to be a contribution to the already existing literature on Niger Delta. It will serve as a reference source to the authorities of Nigeria, multinational oil companies, and other Niger Delta stakeholders in gaining more insights into the root causes of the persistent conflict in the region; and consequently look in a new direction for a more effective approach aimed at addressing the crisis. There is minimal evidence in literature about community development initiatives of the multinationals in Niger Delta. This research adds to the literature on MNCs CD assistance in the region. It also shows that business has an obligation to help in solving problems of public concern. In addition to spurring economic growth and prosperity to the Nigerian state, the community assistance of multinational corporations in Niger Delta should be commended. However, the condition of the region demands a more vigorous corporate social responsibility by the MNCs in the pursuit of community development. Poverty reduction is an important development concern, which requires sustained involvements of the stakeholders in addressing community needs. The study highlights the usefulness of the MNCs corporate social responsibility in reducing poverty among the youth, which represent one of the major assets of any community. In this respect, the study contributes to knowledge on poverty in Nigeria. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF STUDY The study evaluates the impact of vocational and skills training programmes employed by Shell to empower the youth. It will also examine the level of youths participation in the programmes. Thirdly, it will identify the factors that constrain the CD efforts of the multinationals in the Niger Delta. It will examine several government intervention programmes in the region and why they yielded no positive results. Among the limitations of this study is inability to cover the entire oil producing communities of the chosen state of study due to time, financial constraint and proximity. The geographical terrain of the communities and the presence of security personnel also constitute an impediment to reaching certain key individuals. Further, the volatile condition of the area poses difficulties to the researcher as fresh conflict is capable of springing up at any moment. Hence, the researcher would, as a matter of caution avoid some locations, that otherwise would have provided useful information to the study. OPERATIONALIZATION OF CONCEPTS In this section, the important points and variables to be considered are described to foster a clear understanding of the proposed inquiry. Niger Delta Niger Delta is defined both geographically and politically. The former comprises of states in the South-South geo-political zone, namely, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States; while the political Niger Delta extends to the neighboring oil producing states of Ondo, Abia and Imo, for reasons of administrative convenience, political expedience and development objectives (UNDP, 2006). The study focuses on the geographical Niger Delta, with River State as the case study. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and Multinational Oil Corporations (MOCs): Multinational Corporation is a firm which control and organize production using plants from at least two countries (Caves, 1996:1). Multinational oil corporations are corporations operating in more than one country for the purpose of exploring for, producing, refining, and marketing oil. In Nigeria, there are many of these multinationals oil corporations such as: Shell, Texaco, Chevron, Elf, Exxon, Mobil, Agip, Fina, and Total, just to mention a few. For the purpose of this study, Shell multinational will be my case study; although references will be made to other multinationals, where necessary. Poverty: Poverty connotes a condition of human deprivation or denial with respect to the basic necessities of life food, shelter, and clothing. It is above all a symptom of embedded structural imbalance, which manifests in all domains of human existence (Hamdok, 1999). The author also believes that poverty is highly correlated with social exclusion, marginalization, vulnerability, powerlessness, isolation, and deprivation. Community Development (CD): Community Development means improving the quality of peoples lives and expanding their ability to shape their own futures through improving their access to opportunities to better themselves (Soubbotina, Sheram World Bank, 2000). Community development in this study refers to the provision of capacity to the youth of the Niger Delta, through vocational training, with the ultimate goal of reducing unemployment among them. Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS): The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD, 2000) defines CSR as the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life. According to Idowu and Papasolomou (2007), CSR addresses the fundamental role that business plays, or ought to play in society. Corporate social responsibility in the current study refers to Shells community development programmes targeted at youth, with the view of improving their livelihood through job creation programmes. Capacity Building: Capacity building is the process by which individuals, groups, organizations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to perform core functions, solve problems, define and achieve objectives; to understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner (UNDP, 1997). UNDP. (1997). Capacity Development Resources Book. New York: UNDP Eade (1997) is of the view that within the concept of capacity building is the idea of development, which is an empowering process; while the notion of overcoming poverty is part of the process of development [Eade, D. (1997]. Capacity Building: An approach to people-centered Development. Oxford: Oxfam Publication. Capacity building as employed in this study refers to the process of equipping the youth with skills such as welding, electrical work, auto-mechanics, which will enable them to become gainfully self-employed, thereby reducing poverty. Chapter three: Methodology This chapter presents the research methods used to guide and accomplish the study objectives. It discusses the research design, how the researcher intends to gather his data, the type of techniques to be employed in assembling the information, the respondents, and the method of analyzing the data. The appropriateness of the design, the target population, the sampling frame and the size of the sample are also discussed. 3.1 Research Design The study will utilize the qualitative research approach, using in-depth interview, and will be analyzed descriptively. Qualitative in-depth interview provides a valuable means to probe intensely into subjective realities; covering a wide range of topics because of its flexible formality. According to Kvale (1996), qualitative in-depth interviewing approach is comparable to wandering together with interviewees; while interviewers who genuinely want to understand are on a journey with interviewees, giving the later an opportunity to communicate stories in their own perspectives. Kvale, Steiner. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Potter (1996) confirms that the ability of interviewing to explore the subjective perception has made in-depth an essential data collection tool in research. Potter, W. J. (1996). An analysis of thinking and research about qualitative methods. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. The method enables the researcher to understand the experience and viewpoint of the interviewee and gather information about issues that cannot be comprehended by other means. On it flexibility feature, Lindlof and Taylor (2002) advised that it can be conducted wherever two people can talk in relative privacy. Similarly, Fontana and Frey (1998) are of the view that it can take the form of face-to-face interviewing and telephone interviewing. Rubin Rubin (1995) further maintain that another quality of in-depth interview is its malleability in redesigning the study by the researcher based on new information emerging from his probing. In-depth interviewing is most appropriate for this study because of the aforementioned merits; and more importantly, because of its distinctive ability to generate rich information on topics that have limited literature and topics that have been relatively understudied as the current study. Lindlof, T. R., Taylor, B. C. (2002). Qualitative communication research methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Fontana, A., Frey, J. H. (1998). Interviewing: The art of science. In N. K. Denzin Y. S. Lincoln (eds.) Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials (pp. 47-78). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Rubin, H. J., Rubin, I. S. (1995). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 3.2 Population and Sample The population of the study will be drawn from Obia-Okpor community of River State. The youth of this community who have been involved in the Shell projects will constitute the sample frame. A total of seven respondents will be selected from among the sample frame to make up the sample size for the study. This number is considered suitable for the in-depth interviewing, as the interview itself will cover a wide-range of questions. It is hoped that the diverse contributions of the seven respondents will provide extensive information to the researcher. In qualitative research, a sample is chosen, not to be representative of a larger population but rather for the depth and insights the sample can offer the researcher on the topic of interest (McCracken, 1988). [McCracken, G. (1988). The Long Interview. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.] Also, an official of the multinational company who is directly involved in the youth projects will be interviewed in order to have his insight into t he impact of their projects on the youth. 3.3 Data collection: The research will use both primary and secondary sources in collecting data. Semi-structured interviews will be employed as primary data collection method. This is the type of interviewing conducted with a written list of questions and probes that are used as an interview guide (Bernard, 1988). [Bernard, R.H. (1988). Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications] McCracken (1988) discusses many benefits of conducting semi structured interviews with interview guide. Some of these benefits include the fact that the guide ensures that the researcher discusses all the topics that are vital to the understanding of the issues under study. Also the guide allows the researcher to focus attention on listening to the informants responses, thus offering more understanding of the testimony and better probing by the researcher. McCracken (1988) also stated that the guide does not hinder the open nature of the interview process. There is still opportunity for the researcher to follow the informants interesting lines of thought and their unexpected explanations of the issues. A semi-structured interview is the most useful interview format for conducting qualitative research. This is because the interview is neither highly structured as is the case of an interview comprising of all closed-ended questions nor is it unstructured such that the interviewee is simply given the permission to talk freely about whatever comes up. Semi-structured interviews present topics and questions to the interviewee, but are carefully designed to draw out the interviewees ideas and opinions on a given topic, as opposed to leading the interviewee toward preconceived choices. They rely on the interviewer following up with probes to get in-depth information on topics of interest. This study will also rely on secondary data obtained from textbooks, journals, periodicals, newspapers, reports from both the government of Nigeria and multinational corporations. 3.4 Data Analysis: After data collection, notes and recorded interviews will be transcribed and descriptively analysed. Interview transcripts and notes will be copied and pared down to represent major themes or categories that describe the topic being studied. Transcripts are also coded as they are transcribed. This involves assigning a particular theme or idea a number or keyword (the code) and then marking the code next to any text on the transcript that concerns the relevant theme. Otherwise called thematic analysis, it is a process for coding qualitative information. A thematic approach will be employed in the analysis of the transcribed data. According to Gibson (2006), thematic Analysis is an approach to dealing with data that involves the creation and application of codes to data. The data being analyzed might take any number of forms an interview transcript, field notes, policy documents, photographs, video footage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ there is a clear link between this type of analysis and Grounded theory, as the latter clearly lays out a framework for carrying out this type of code-related analysis. This general approach to qualitative data analysis was first developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and termed grounded theory to refer to the fact that the data for analysis (in the proposed study, the transcribed responses of interviewees) are grounded in their experiences and the context of the topic under study. The researcher will create codes to label the findings, and will analyze the interview data obtained from each participant independently. The notion of Capacity Building Capacity building is in some sense as old as development assistance itself. Slogans such as helping people to help themselves and the proverb, teach a man to fish point directly at capacity building. Capacity building is a relatively new concept in the field of development, emerging in the 1980s (Lusthaus, Adrien Perstinger, 1999). Lusthaus, Adrien Perstinger. (1999). Capacity Development: Definitions, Issues and Implications for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. Universalia Occasional Paper, (34), p.1 As with the concepts such as globalization, development, and sustainability, the term capacity building is an ambiguous concept that means different things to different people, groups and organizations. Although many people use these terms, their definitions do not conform to the same, as each puts emphasis on a certain aspect of capacity development (James, 2001). (James, R. (Ed.). (2001). Power and Partnership: Experiences of NGO Capacity Building. Oxford: INTRAC Publication. However, a group of these definitions have emphasized that capacity building is a tool to build and improve the skills, resources and ability of people to implement, monitor and assess a project. Thus, capacity building is seen as a process by which individuals, groups and organizations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to perform core functions, solve problems and define and achieve objectives; to understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner (UNDP, 1997) UNDP. (1997). Capacity Development and UNDP: Supporting Sustainable Human Development. New York: UNDP. Morgan (1993) conceives capacity building as the ability of individuals, groups, institutions and organizations to identify and solve development problems over time. Another definition sees capacity building as an approach to development which encompasses all the fields that influence the development sphere (Eade, 1997) Eade, D. (1997). Capacity Building: An Approach to People-Centered Development. Oxford: Oxfam Publications. In this approach to development, capacity building identifies the weaknesses that people experience in achieving their basic rights, and finding proper means through which to build up (develop) their ability to overcome the causes of their exclusion and suffering. To have successful capacity building is attainable through a strong process of learning and education. And for capacity building to be sustainable, new technologies, new knowledge and information need to be introduced, especially in this period of globalization. This is because development is not comprehensive without sufficient knowledge in this age of globalization and information and technology. Capacity building is a comprehensive process that involves all dimensions of life. It is not so much a matter of just implementing a project or enhancing a particular aspect of life. It is an approach to development which aims to enhance the capability of people in its broadest and in a comprehensive manner. As a people-centered activity, capacity building is a process of community development where people are the focus of capacity enhancement. It creates an enabling environment where people are developed in order to manage themselves and contribute to their societies. To this end, community development becomes the ultimate output of capacity building process. Thus, capacity building is a response to community development needs. Capacity building therefore is seen as women and men becoming empowered to: bring about positive changes in their lives; about personal growth together with public action; about both the process and the outcome of challenging poverty, oppression and discrimination; and about the realization of human potential through social and economic justice. Above all, it is about the process of transforming lives, and transforming societies (Eade Williams, 1995). Eade Williams. (1995). The Oxfam Handbook of Development and Relief. Oxford: Oxfam Publications. In this process of capacity building, people acquire and improve their abilities. This creates an avenue for them as individuals and as members of the community to achieve their development objectives. Capacity Building and Sustainability The concept of sustainability has generated varied interpretations in literature, just like other development concepts. Although the concept emerged as a human response to the human destruction of the environment, it has been argued that sustainability cannot be an issue for a solely social and natural science (Kohn, 1999). Notwithstanding the myriad definitions and interpretations of sustainability, the ultimate goal of the concept is to improve human well being (Sachs, 1999). Capacity building, therefore, as an approach to development is linked to sustainable development. While sustainable development is an attempt to provide improved livelihood for the people, it is through the process of capacity building that the potential of people to achieve sustainability in their lives can be realized. Eade (1997) likened achieving the objectives of sustainable development to the outcome of capacity building, and maintained that both cannot be differentiated. Kohn, J., Goody, J., Hinterberger, F., Straaten, J. (1999). Sustainability in Questions: The Search for a Conceptual Framework. Northampton: Edward Elgar Sachs, W. (1999). Planet Dialectics: Explorations in Environment and Development. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. Capacity Building and Empowerment Empowerment is a cross-disciplinary term, mainly used in fields of Education, Psychology, Community Development, Economics, among others. The understanding of the concept varies among disciplines, too. Based on this many meanings of the term, it has been seen as a construct easy to define by its absence but difficult to define in action, based on the idea that it takes different forms in different people and contexts (Rappoport, cited in Page Czuba, 1

Julius Caesar Essay -- essays research papers

Cassius If there were to be a villain in the Tragedy of Julius Caesar Cassius would be it. Cassius is the character who first thought up of the conspiracy against Julius Caesar. His motives weren’t as noble as Brutus’ but he made Brutus believe they were. Cassius did whatever it took to get Brutus to join in the conspiracy. We can clearly see Cassius’ true nature by what he does and says in the play. Cassius is a sly, deceitful and an untrustworthy character. Caesar described him best. He said (act1, scene 2, line 195), â€Å"Yond Cassius has a lean and hungry look; He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous†. Cassius is very superstitious. This is shown when he says (act 5, scene 1, line 75) â€Å" you know I held Epicurus strong, and his opinion. Now I change my mind, and partly credit things that do presage†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . He believes in omen and signs that foretell events to come. Cassius is conceded. This is shown when he says to Brutus (act1, scene 2, line 116), â€Å" And this man is now become a god, and Cassius is now a wretched creature, and must bend his body if Caesar careless but nod on him†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Cassius continues on saying about times when he saved Caesar from drowning and when he saw Caesar with a fever and he started to shake. All this tells us that Cassius thinks he is just as good or even better than Caesar. Cassius first shows his character of deceit when he put false notes from people in the window of Brutus. This was so Brutus would think a lot of people would be with him if he ...

Nature and Nurture in Crime and Punishment Essay -- Crime and Punishmen

Nature and Nurture in Crime and Punishment       In the news today there is an article about a high-school boy who brought guns to school and shot several students. The parents of the victims are suing various computer game companies saying that the violent games present shooting and killing people as pleasurable and fail to portray realistic consequences. A representative of one of the companies released a statement saying that this is another example of individuals seeking to elude responsibility that has become so common in our society. This case is not about software. What is on trial is the age-old debate between nature and nurture, which also lies at the center of Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.    In his dream about the gray nag, Raskolnikov as an unshaped child is innately compassionate; he weeps for horses being cruelly beaten, but already society, in the form of his parents, begins to shape him, to train him, to numb his compassionate feelings for those in pain. His mother draws him away from the window when he sees such a horse pass and his father tells him when the men kill the nag "They're drunk, they're playing pranks, it's none of our business, come along" (59). Already Raskolnikov is being taught to rationalize murder, for all those people who watched and did not interfere are partly to blame as they rationalize that "it's none of our business."    Mikolka, the horse's murderer, also rationalizes his role; first, he defines the mare as property, not as life. Repeatedly he says "It's my goods" (57) while those who object refer to the horse not as an neuter object but as "her." Secondly, he attempts to justify the act through cold reasoning: "I might as well kill her, she's not worth her ... .... Even today as we scan the news we can still find the nature versus nurture issue addressed by Dostoevky still prevalent in our court cases and legal system.    Works Cited and Consulted:    Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations. New York, New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.    Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. New York: Random House, 1992.    Gale Research Co. Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. Detroit, MI 1984, Vol. 7.    Kjetsaa, Geir. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, A Writer's Life. New York, New York: Viking Penguin Inc., 1987,    Magill, Frank. Masterplots. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Salem Press, 1976.    Terras, Victor. Handbook of Russian Literature. New Haven, CT; Yale University Press, 1985.    Timoney, John. Speech on Crime and Punishment. Mt. Holyoke College, November 10, 1994.