US Airways Group - At the Back of the Pack Essay

US Airways Group - At the Back of the Pack - Essay Example Ever since the industry was deregulated in 1978 intense competition and price gauging has made profitability increasingly difficult for the airline industry in general. After the stock market crash of 2008 and the economic recession that followed coupled with rising fuel costs were the direct cause of several airlines having to file for bankruptcy protection (Plunkett Research, 2010). The airline companies that survived the onslaught were presented with a volatile and fluctuating operating environment of rising fuel and energy costs, coupled with a decreased demand for passenger travel in general and negative impact on revenues mainly as a direct result of the economic downturn. The rising costs have cut the margins in the industry so much that current the average net margin in the airline industry is two percent. The period of 2008 and 2009 remained a very challenging period for all the airlines with most of them struggling to remain profitable. For 2010 with the slow economic recovery businesses as well as private travel has increased significantly in volume, so occupancy rates in general for the airline industry have been full. When airlines are able to fill the seats of their airplanes to full capacity the company is optimizing the productivity of the operation. When the latter occurs and companies have idle capacity issues airlines have to take drastic measures to fill those seats which includes price deductions to spur the demand for air travel. After the previous years of consecutive losses the airline industry in general returned to profitability. U.S. Airways just like any other domestic airline is subject to a complicated array of laws and regulations that limit their operations as well dramatically increasing their operating costs. With the advent of the Aviation and Transportation security Act of 2001 which mandated the standardization and federalization of airport security and mandated additional security procedures which increased operational costs tremendously airlines had to absorb the costs and imposed a per passenger tax on ticket sales in order to fund the additional security measures. The Federal Aviation A dministration is the federal agency responsible for regulating the airline industry operations, procedures and their operational safety, including aircraft maintenance. The FAA will regularly issue new directives and changes in maintenance schedules and procedures which create mandated operational costs that are also a factor in increasing airline operational expenses. Other proposals to address airport congestion in certain airports in the U.S. involve increasing pricing to take into account congestion or placing a tax on certain particularly congested airports. This could potentially affect the airline industry in the near future by further increasing the costs of passengers to travel if these changes or suggestions are placed into law (Datamonitor, 2010). Further regulations and government legislation concerning pollution, climate change and aircraft emissions also post a significant operational threat to the airline industry as a whole. In the list of Fortune 1,000 : Most admire d companies 2006, U.S. Airways Group was consistently ranked lowest in all the eight key attributes that were taken into account. U.S. Airways Group achieved an overall score of 3.25 placing it as the least admired airline out of all the major competitors. For this survey U.S. Airways was ranked last in the industry in four of the eight

Analysis and Comparison of Iranian and American Management; the Cultural Dimensions and Values Essay Example for Free

Analysis and Comparison of Iranian and American Management; the Cultural Dimensions and Values Essay This report is aimed to represent a brief description of the Iranian management values today and compare the results with a developed country like Unites State. First it will give a description of some of the characteristics of Iran management and culture, then it is tried to categorize these characteristic base on Hofstedes Dimensions (1980) (power distance, avoiding uncertainty, masculinity/femininity, individualism/collectivism) and Flower’s dimensions, Flower 1975, (tribalistic, egocentric, conformist, manipulative, sociocentric, existential). In the next step will be presenting of relative information about United State and at the end the comparison between the results. Most parts of this report is focused on Iran management. IRAN The name ‘‘Iran’’ was used as early as the third century BC by a ruler who described his empire as Iran-shahr and himself as the ‘‘King of Kings’’. The country is highly diverse from every point of view, especially in topography and climate. The population of Iran is estimated at some 70 million, 12 million of which live in the capital Tehran and its suburbs. The official language of Iran is Persian (Farsi) which is an Indo-European language derived from Sanskrit. The country has one of the world’s most diverse ethnic groups ever assembled in one country: Persian (56 per cent), Turk (Azari) (24 per cent), Gilaki (8 per cent), Kurd (8 per cent), Lur, Baluch, Arab and Turkaman. The religious groups are Shiite Muslim, Sunni Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian and Bahaii. At the present, Iran is an Islamic republic, ruled according to a constitution providing for executive, legislative and judicial branches. The political system comprises both elected and un-elected institutions. Iran’s economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil, large enterprises, village agriculture, small-scale private trading and service ventures. All large industries and the majority of medium-scale enterprises are run by the public institutions particularly the foundations which were set up during the revolution. These entities own some 20 per cent of the country’s assets, and contribute 10 per cent of GDP (Khajehpour, 2000), however, they are generally mismanaged. Management in Iran Iranian management today is interesting firstly because the country is slowly opening up to the West after two decades of ignorance on the part of Westerners as to sides of life in Iran other than the political and religious aspects. Up till quite recently, the political discourse was dominated by the belligerent official language and images of mobs demonstrating in the streets against â€Å"the devils in the West†. Now after twenty years of austere clerical regime, the reform movement is gradually gaining momentum, especially among young people who have not known life before the Revolution. Secondly Iranian management is interesting because most people confound Iranians with Arabs, believing that what they learn about Arab countries is also valid for Iran, and this obviously is a misunderstanding. We begin our discussion with bringing some insights into Iranian society and its culture. Based on Hofstede’s findings (1980) Iran is classified in near Eastern cluster including Turkey and Greece. A more recent research found that Iran is part of the South Asian cultural cluster consisting of such countries as India, Thailand and Malaysia (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003). For a newcomer these findings may seem very different from the image of Iran as a predominant Islamic/Middle-Eastern country which is often confused with its neighbours. The point is that as a country situated in the Middle East, Iran has many commonalities with its neighbour Muslim countries; however, due to its unique historical, linguistic and racial identities it has a different and unique culture. Collectivism A very fundamental issue in every society is the priority given to interests of individuals versus those of collectivity. Hofstede (1980) views an individualistic society as one in which beliefs and behaviours are determined by the individual; whereas in a collectivistic society the attitudes are determined by loyalty towards one’s group. The manifestations of collectivism and social networking are very common in Iranian management. Personal connections and informal channels seem more practical, whereas formal systems, official institutions and procedures are considered less efficient and even bothering. As a direct result, Iranian society tends to perate rather on the basis of personal relationships among people, than on the basis of impersonal and mechanised institutions. The use of informal channels may imply bending rules and taking advantages to which one is not formally entitled. The popular Persian term for this practice and other forms of nepotism and favouritism is Partibazi, which is a common practice in Iranian organizations. For instance, it would not be unusual for Iranian managers to hire a relative or acquaintance for a job vacancy, even though they could easily employ a more competent but unknown worker. Collectivism has also a significant influence on the communication. An outcome of collectivism is the implicit and high-context communication in Iranian culture. Iranians from an early age learn to be careful about what they say and are advised to use an indirect language for expressing their intentions (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003). Persian language and literature are full of nuances and metaphors which should be interpreted in their context and cannot be taken at face value. A particular and very common form of indirect language in Iranian culture is Taarof which can be translated literally as politeness, but has a much more profound significance. In fact, Taarof implies a wide range of complicated and highly polite expressions/behaviours, which should not be interpreted literally. This kind of context-bound communication is very common in Iranian organizations in both written and oral forms. Power distance This orientation concerns the extent to which the less powerful members of a society expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. This orientation concerns the extent to which the less powerful members of a society expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Results from Yeganeh and Zhan(2007) about ‘‘hierarchy’’ reflect the high degree of hierarchical distance among Iranian managers. Hofstede (1980) considers these characteristic as power distance in his research. The antecedents of this high hierarchical distance are deeply rooted in many aspects of Iranian mythology, history, politics, religion and family structure. Manifestations of high degree of hierarchical distance are various and numerous in Iranian management. A very clear example is the over-centralization of the capital Tehran. Despite the diversity and largeness of country, all administrative bodies and decision-makings are concentrated in the capital and other provinces should obey the resolutions. Other examples include top-down management, authoritarian decision-making (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003) and hierarchical structure of reward systems. For instance, there is considerable gap between compensation packages intended for people working at the top of organization and those working at entry levels. Managers consider it normal that people at higher levels have more privileges than those at lower levels. An outcome of hierarchical distance, combined with effects of collectivism and family-orientation is the dominance of paternalism in Iranian organizations, which is encouraged also by Islamic virtues. Schramm-Nielsen and Faradonbeh (2002) reported that Iranian employees expected superiors to help them in a variety of issues such as financial problems, wedding expenses, purchasing of new homes, illness in the family, education of children and even marital disputes. Past-orientation Results from Yeganeh and Zhan (2007) indicate Iranian managers tend to be past- rather than future-oriented. The orientation toward past may be crystallized in honouring indigenous managerial styles and their underlying foundations. After the revolution of 1979, there was much emphasis on substitution of modern/western management by traditional/Islamic work-related principles. Therefore, Iranian executives were urged to realign their managerial styles and practices to religious, social and political values of revolutionary ideology. Not surprisingly, most of these managerial styles were not based on rationality and progress, but on old-fashioned and obsolete views which were not efficient and practical. The past orientation can be manifested also in terms of neglecting plans or setting short-time horizon and also relative high uncertainty avoidance. High uncertainty avoidance means that members of the society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity and thus support beliefs that promise certainty and conformity. Activity orientation (being versus doing) According to Yeganeh and Zhan(2007) , ‘‘Activity Orientation’’ corresponds to masculinity dimension as described by Hofstede (1980). It is argued that in a ‘‘Doing’’ culture, people tend to view work activities as core to their existence, and they attach much importance to achievement and hard work. In contrast, in ‘‘Being’’ cultures peace of mind is cherished and emphasis is placed on immediate and unplanned actions. In reality, it is possible to witness demonstration of both ‘‘Being’’ and ‘‘Doing’’ orientations in Iranian society. For instance, a good deal of Persian literature is devoted to peace of mind, pleasure and frugality. Moreover, affected by Islamic culture, Iranians tend to view the world as an ephemeral step which does not worth hard work and which should be considered as a transitional phase toward eternal life and salvation. While these manifestations correspond to ‘‘Being’’ orientation, Iranians are known also for ‘‘Masculine’’ qualities such as individual achiever (Javidan and Dastmalchian, 2003), militant, hard-working and efficient. Bargaining Whereas doing business always means trying to negotiate the best deal in terms of price and related conditions anywhere in the world, this does not normally in the Western world extend to everyday little purchases. The bargaining represents a tradition that goes back thousands of years. According to this tradition the choice of dealer or business relation is an important one. The tradition is also that you bargain with your usual suppliers. The Western custom of shopping around for the best price and the best conditions is not well accepted. The obvious reason is that it breaks with the golden rule of trust. It takes time to build up a relationship based on trust, and so you need to have a long-term strategy and a lot of patience. Uncertainty avoidance High uncertainty avoidance means that members of a society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity and thus support beliefs that promise certainty and conformity (Daft 2003). According to Ali and Amirshahi (2002) results, the primary values of Iranian Managers are conformist. Flower’s dimensions Based on a research by Alishahi (2002) which was conducted through istributing twenty-two hundred questionnaires to a random sample of Iranian managers, the primary values of Iranian managers are conformist, sociocentric. Indeed, the outer-directed values (conformist, sociocentric, and tribalistic) are relatively dominant. This result may have its roots in the political and cultural reality. Since the Islamic revolution, Islamic values have been propagated. The emphasis has been on achievement and human dignity and on societal causes, rather than on personal material gains, in alleviating internal problems. Both dimensions reinforce conformity and sociocentric attitudes without discounting the existential outlook and personal growth. The Islamic regime constantly reminds the public about the outside threat and the need to sacrifice personal gains for the sake of society. In addition, the core philosophy of the regime is that the poor and unfortunate segments of the society must have access to political and economic opportunities. It should be mentioned too that the current Islamic regime condones both conformity and sociocentric outlooks. In an era of transition, managers may seek to avoid uncertainty by going along with the public pronouncements of the regime. Nevertheless, certain values differ across some variables, such as size of organization, ownership, managerial position, and father’s occupation. For example, manipulative managers were found in larger organizations and in the private sector. A typical manipulative manager relies on building a network of friends and supporters, and on careful political manoeuvres. Large corporations in Iran were public or had been nationalized after the revolution. Both have experienced profound restructuring in terms of power distribution and economic partnership. Perhaps this situation created opportunities for a new allegiance to seize power and gain influence. Sociocentric value is found among lower-level managers and those with peasant, working class, and clergy origins. Those with working and lower class origins, therefore, may have developed an awareness of the enormous social differences, and may nurture the feeling of belonging to â€Å"social classes† that have little or nothing in common with upper social classes. Perhaps this in turn creates a commitment to humanistic and community causes and strengthens the desire for a just society. United State management American culture is characterized by high individualism with loosely knit social frameworks. In individualistic societies, people are supposed to take care of themselves and their immediate families. Since individualism is high in the United States, work and accomplishments are viewed as person-centred. Thus, issues of individual meritocracy and perceptions of fairness are likely to be more pronounced among American employees. Materialism, according to Abdu K. (2004), conveys the idea that being affluent, prosperous and rich should be encouraged and suggests that a certain product or service will make the user well off. However, the simplistic approach, like in the USA, conveys the â€Å"just enough idea,† which emphasizes ego needs and self-actualization, rather than just material comfort. Pluralism refers to the degree to which national culture fosters simultaneous coexistence of different ethnic groups with strong identities. In a low pluralism culture, minority groups are completely absorbed by the dominant culture. The minority groups either completely replace their identities with those of the dominant culture, or retain weaker cultural linkages with the dominant cultural group. High pluralism on the other hand characterizes simultaneous coexistence of diverse ethnic groups with strong identities. Both Iranian and American culture is non-pluralistic or ethnocentric. Ethnocentrism means that people have a tendency to regard their own culture as superior and to downgrade other cultures. In both countries cultural differences are unified into a coherent, universal work culture. Diverse groups are absorbed into the mainstream work culture to create uniform work norms, beliefs and values. In such a non-pluralistic culture, minority communities have weak identities and legitimacy. Thus, the in-group–out-group ideology may not be as prominent in non-pluralistic cultures as in pluralistic culture. Rather than compete with minority cultures, the dominant culture aims at absorbing the minority cultures. Ethnocentrism within a country makes it difficult for foreign firms to operate. Based on a research by Alishahi (2002), prevailing dominant values in the U. S. are, (egocentric, manipulative, and existential; 60% inner-directed). United state is characterized by low power distance a relatively high tolerance for uncertainty and emphasizes shared power and authority, with team members working on a variety of problems without formal guidelines, rules, and structure. Many workers in Iran expect organizations to be hierarchy.

Health Care Reform 2010 Health And Social Care Essay

Health Care Reform 2010 Health And Social Care Essay US healthcare system was inefficient despite of spending 15% of GDP during 2006 which was more than three times than in 1960. Ten years back, the health care system of USA was announced to be broken and in future it didnt improve. Managed care did not make visible the fixes promises. The rates of premium are increasing. The irritation of patients as well physicians flourish. The study shows that about 45 million people in Americans are still uninsured. In the coming future, these issues will get worse and new challenges will come on the screen. New technology is making place and it is making the things efficient, but the cost of treatment as well new test is higher then before.  Doctors are making the lives of people lengthy so now more people require the medical treatment then before. As the age of baby is increasing so they are demanding the better treatments. Owing to the increased cost, employers will not accept the status quo. Sp they exclude the benefits for new hiring. Others might leave the business of insurance business completely and will contribute only to cover the costs but will not give coverage by themselves. The number of uninsured people in America will increase because of these changes. Disenfranchised middle  class will rise in results of these changes. Employers will go for and favor this modification. The health care system of American splits the population into two groups first is insiders and second is outsiders. Insiders are those who are insured and they have good insurance so they get everything modern. No matter hoe expensive the medicine and treatment is. Outsiders are those who have poor insurance plan or nothing at all. They receive very little out of their insurance plans. About 47 million Americans are uninsured and the number is growing day by day. Insurance companies currently deny covering people with pre-existing conditions. People who have severe medical conditions like AIDS, cancer and other such diseases were not covered by the insurance companies. These people are at high-risk and thats why not covered by companies. Major employers are cutting their costs in healthcare spending to compete in the global challenging market.  [2]  Employers are denying paying insurance premiums to these workers due to high premiums and the current economic situations. Employers are shifting the economic burden towards the employees like deductibles and co-pays. Almost half of the bankrupt people are due to the high medical costs and this cost is directly or indirectly affects the economy. Hence, government has to pay more. One more problem in the current system that doctors are not paid according to their service quality. Doctors are paid very less as compared to other countries of globe like in United Kingdom, doctors are paid for 95% while in US only 30%. Lot of people even did not go to doctor due to high costs of tests, treatment or follow-up after the treatment. These higher costs associated with healthcare also stopped Americans visiting physician regularly for checkup. Also doctors do not know the history of patients due to not visiting them regularly. Americans also have high ratio of chronic diseases. This is also leads to more spending on healthcare and its availability to poor people. United States is the only country among the developed countries whose all citizens do not have access to its citizens except South Africa  [3]  . Medicare and Medicaid are two of government programs which provide medical as well as health related services to the specific group of people in USA. Both of them are different but are managed by the centers of Medicare and Medicaid which is a division of US Department of Health and Human Services. Medicaid is a program which includes means tested health and medical services for specific individuals and families who have low income and limited resources. It is primarily looked after at federal level, but each stat develops its own standards like eligibility standards; determines the amount, type, period and scope of the services; setting the rate of payment for services; administers its own Medicaid programs. As mentioned above that States is the final decision authority of planning of service which will be provided under their Medicaid program. But there are some necessary requirements which must be matched by the States to receive funding from Federal. Following are the mandatory services: Impatient and Outpatient hospital services Prenatal care Children Vaccines Service of Physician Facility of Nursing services for individuals aged 21 or older Services of Family planning with supplies Rural health clinic services Home health care for persons eligible for skilled-nursing services Laboratory and x-ray services Pediatric and family nurse practitioner services Nurse-midwife services Federally qualified health-center (FQHC) services and ambulatory services Early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment (EPSDT) services for children under age 21 Besides the above, the states can add more 34 optional approved services and can receive the Federal matching funding. Although each state has the authority to set the eligibility criteria for getting the Medicaid services but basically the program has been started to help the people with low income. Other requirements may include age, pregnancy, disability, other assets and citizenship. Medicaid does not pay money to the individuals. Medicaid program works like a program provide treatment to the individuals and gives payment to the health care providers. State makes the payment while states receive reimbursement from Federal Government. Medicare is a Federal health program of insurance. It pays for elderly and certain disabled Americans to hospitals and medical care. The program is divided into 4 parts: Part A, B, C and D. But two main parts for hospitals and medical insurance are Part A B. Part A may be known as Hospitals Insurance, pays for the hospital stays and it includes meals, supplies, semi private rooms and testing. It also pays for home health care. Part B which is known as Supplementary Medical Insurance. It pays for physicians visits, home health care costs, outpatient hospitals, and other services for aged and disabled. It covers durable medical equipments, certain vaccinations, blood transfusion, lab and diagnosis tests, X-rays, chemotherapy, hormonal tests and eyeglasses. Part B requires a certain premium which caries each year. Part C is also known as Medical Advantage Plan because it allows the users to design a custom plan that can be more helpful and align to the needs of their medical needs. Part D includes the prescription drug plan. It is administered by one of many private insurance companies. Eligibility for Medicare requires a US citizen or continuous 5 years legal resident of US must be at least 65 years old or under 65 and disables or any age person with End Stage Renal Disease. Payroll taxes which are collected through Federal Insurance Contributions Act and Self Employment Contributions Act are the major elements of funding for Medicare. US healthcare reforms bill 2010 will cost $940 billion over the period of ten years.  [4]  This bill will cover 32 million American people who are uninsured. Health Insurance can be purchased through state-based exchanges and financial subsidy will be offered to the income below 133 percent and 400 percent of poverty level in US. Tax relaxations will be offered to the small business to purchase employee insurances. People who are availing subsidies will not be eligible for Medicare, Medicaid and also for employer covered insurance. New tax will be imposed in 2012 at rate of 3.8 percent on income of families making over $250,000 per year. Insurance reforms will be introduced and insurance companies wont deny to the people and children with pre-existing conditions. Medicaid will expand to include 133 percent of the poverty level in United States. In 2014, everyone must purchase a insurance or face the annual fine fees. Employers who have more than 50 employees must provide insuranc e to their employees or face a fine on the basis of per worker. Illegal immigrants can not avail insurance even if they pay their own money. Abortion insurance will be paid by private money and it will not be subsidized by federal or tax payer funds. Republican offered an alternative program on the basis of four common-sense reforms which can be afforded by people of US named as Common-sense healthcare reform. It includes that all businesses and families can buy insurance across US. The second point is that individuals, small businesses and trade associations can acquire insurances at lower costs by combine efforts. It also allows states to lower costs by creating innovative reforms. The last reform is to finish the lawsuits which must be obeyed by doctors because of getting sued by Police. This will end the high cost tests and other procedures which are actually not required by the patients.

The Truth Exposed in A Clockwork Orange Essay -- Clockwork Orange Essa

The Truth Exposed in A Clockwork Orange      Ã‚   Alex, the fifteen-year-old narrator of Anthony Burgess's novel, A Clockwork Orange, lives in a society where violence reigns. This novel has a very direct nature, and is often blunt to the point of offense, but this makes it more powerful and helps to further its point.   This point is that everyone is out for themselves, whether they be the police, government or citizens of this society.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this book, the police can be just as violent as Alex and his droogs, or gang.   In fact, by the end of the novel, his droogs have themselves become the police.   The police have no qualms about beating people almost to the point of death as they do with Alex both at the beginning,   "...they all had a turn, bouncing me from one to the other like some very weak bloody ball...and fisting me in the yarbles and the [mouth] and the belly and dealing out kicks...I [was] sick...on the floor..." (70) and at the end of the book for no other reason than they feel like it. "...It was all panting and thudding against this like background of whirring farm engines..."  Ã‚   (150) There seems to be no difference between the people being beaten by streets punks such as Alex and the police, who are supposed to protect them. The novel begins with the police doing little to protect the citizens, for how else could a fifteen year old kid and three of his friends rule the streets?   They also seem to relish beating Alex for the reason that they don't get to do it often.   However, by the third part of this book, crime is almost non-existent, but   the police are far more brutal. Neither of these scenarios is the bet... ...of the violence and decide to settle down and start families.   This is something the citizens, police and government never learn.   A young woman defends herself by beating Alex at the beginning of the novel, and an old man beats him at the end.   The government changes him one way at the beginning, and still not satisfied, change him again at the end.   The police beat him at the beginning and the end.   Even Alex's social worker spits on him.   However, maybe we see hope for the future with the true change in Alex at the end of the novel.    Works Cited and Consulted Aggeler, Geoffrey.   Anthony Burgess:   The Artist as Novelist.   University:   University of   Alabama, 1979. Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York, NY: W W Norton & Company. 1986. De Vitis, A. A.   Anthony Burgess.   New York:   Twayne Publishers, 1972. The Truth Exposed in A Clockwork Orange Essay -- Clockwork Orange Essa The Truth Exposed in A Clockwork Orange      Ã‚   Alex, the fifteen-year-old narrator of Anthony Burgess's novel, A Clockwork Orange, lives in a society where violence reigns. This novel has a very direct nature, and is often blunt to the point of offense, but this makes it more powerful and helps to further its point.   This point is that everyone is out for themselves, whether they be the police, government or citizens of this society.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this book, the police can be just as violent as Alex and his droogs, or gang.   In fact, by the end of the novel, his droogs have themselves become the police.   The police have no qualms about beating people almost to the point of death as they do with Alex both at the beginning,   "...they all had a turn, bouncing me from one to the other like some very weak bloody ball...and fisting me in the yarbles and the [mouth] and the belly and dealing out kicks...I [was] sick...on the floor..." (70) and at the end of the book for no other reason than they feel like it. "...It was all panting and thudding against this like background of whirring farm engines..."  Ã‚   (150) There seems to be no difference between the people being beaten by streets punks such as Alex and the police, who are supposed to protect them. The novel begins with the police doing little to protect the citizens, for how else could a fifteen year old kid and three of his friends rule the streets?   They also seem to relish beating Alex for the reason that they don't get to do it often.   However, by the third part of this book, crime is almost non-existent, but   the police are far more brutal. Neither of these scenarios is the bet... ...of the violence and decide to settle down and start families.   This is something the citizens, police and government never learn.   A young woman defends herself by beating Alex at the beginning of the novel, and an old man beats him at the end.   The government changes him one way at the beginning, and still not satisfied, change him again at the end.   The police beat him at the beginning and the end.   Even Alex's social worker spits on him.   However, maybe we see hope for the future with the true change in Alex at the end of the novel.    Works Cited and Consulted Aggeler, Geoffrey.   Anthony Burgess:   The Artist as Novelist.   University:   University of   Alabama, 1979. Burgess, Anthony. A Clockwork Orange. New York, NY: W W Norton & Company. 1986. De Vitis, A. A.   Anthony Burgess.   New York:   Twayne Publishers, 1972.

Copper as a Valuable Resource Essay examples -- Essays Papers

Copper as a Valuable Resource Introduction: Copper is a valuable resource whose intricate steps from initially a raw product to ultimately the final product may be traced. The life of copper can be followed from its extraction, processing, and disposal. All of these steps, including the wastes produced, have an impact on human life and the environment. The developments of resources, such as copper, have helped change history. The environmental impacts of these changes may also be felt. Thus, it is important to understand the in’s and out’s of the process. By doing this, it is possible to see what resources and what waste products come out of this resource. Only then, can proper methods be taken to manage this resource properly. Resource Source: Copper is an important mineral resource used in many different areas. Its properties of high ductility, malleability, and thermal and electrical conductivity, as well as its resistance to corrosion, make copper very useful as a major industrial metal (http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/copper). Copper can be refined from metal ores or scrap copper so it can be used as a powder in automotive, aerospace, electrical equipment, in –fouling compounds, and various chemicals and medical processes. Compounds of copper can be found in fungicides, wood preservatives, copper plating, pigments, electronic applications, and specialized chemicals. It can be produced either as a primary product or as a co-product of gold, lead, zinc, or silver (http://nuclear.hazard.uiuc.edu/packets/primmetals/chapter5.htm). Following after steel and aluminum, copper is ranked third in world metal consumption. In 1990, the major copper-consuming nations we... .../how/howdo3.htm). Introduction to the Hydrometallurgical Process. Retrieved (1/29/02), (http://teach.eac.cc.az.us/pmcbride/HTML%20Presentation%20folder). Mining Technology-WMC Copper- Uranium Mine- Olympic Dam- South Australia. Retrieved 2/11/02 from the World Wide Web: http://www.mining-technology. Com/projects/Olympic/. National Slag Association: Iron and Steel Slag Uses. Retrieved 3/5/02 from the World Wide Web: http://www.nationalslagassoc.org/uses.html. Newly Mined Copper: Why Do We Need It? Retrieved 3/5/02 from the World Wide Web: http://innovations.copper.org/199810/virgincopper.html. Production, Import, Use, and Disposal. Retrieved 3/5/02 from the World Wide Web: http://www.astdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp132-c4.pdf. TVA: Copper Basin Reclamation. Retrieved 2/11/02 from the World Wide Web: http://www.tva.gov/environment/land/coppper.htm.

How Did America Win the Revolutionary War Essay

Name: The American Revolution: The Upset of the Eighteenth Century Part A â€Å"How did it happen that thirteen colonies on the fringe of civilization, as it were with perhaps half a million males of fighting age, without military resources without leaders, without even a national government, a national army, a national treasure, brought the mightiest of European powers to its knees, and wrung from it concessions beyond the greed of conquerors?† This summary explains the attitude of most English and, indeed, many colonists of the 1770s. Still, The American rebels won the war. Listed below are six factors often cited to explain the American victory. Use your textbook (pgs. 66-70) and notes to cite at least one bit of evidence to support each of these indications of hope for the colonists. Be sure to EXPLAIN each answer!!! (12 points) 1. British governmental and personal concerns with things other than the war effort 2. A belief that the colonial cause of freedom and independence could carry them to victory 3. British mistakes in the war 4. Effective American leadership 5. Natural and geographic advantages of the Americans 6. The French goal of revenge against Britain Part B Think about the factors that explain the American victory in the American Revolution. Place the six possible reasons for the colonial victory in order of importance. (1 being the most important and 6 being the least important). For each one, you must explain WHY you think that factor is important. (6 points) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Part C

Do You Agree That Students Can Bring Hanphones to School or Not?

The relationship between teens and drugs has been around for decades; however, this is not what you would call positive. Substance abusing (which is using drugs or alcohol in ways than can cause physical harm) is often associated with crime. But why do youths take drugs† Youth take drugs for the following reasons: social disorganization, peer pressure, family factors, emotional, or rational choice. Social disorganization deals with drug abuse to poverty and disorganized urban environment. Drug use by youth minority group members has been tied to factors such as racial prejudice, low-esteem, social status, and stress produced from environment.The National Youth Survey found that drug use tends to be higher among urban youths. Peer pressure is the most well-known reason for teens to partake in substance abuse. Some may argue that teen drug abuse is highly correlated with the behavior of close friends especially when family supervision is weak. This relationship, in fact, is recip rocal: substance abusers seek out friends who engage in similar activities. Associating with drug abusers leads to increased levels of drug abuse. Another explanation is that drug users have a poor family life.Studies show that majority of drug users have had an unhappy childhood which included harsh punishment and parental neglect females and Caucasians who were abused as children are more likely to have alcohol and drug arrests as adults. Youths who learn that dugs provide pleasurable sensations may be most likely to experiment with illegal substances; a habit may develop if the user experience anxiety and fear. Other family factors associations with teen drug abuse include parental conflict over child-rearing, practices, failures, to set rules, and unrealistic demands followed by hard punishments.Low parental attachment, rejection, and excessive family conflict have all been linked to adolescent substance abuse. Psychodynamic explanations of substance abuse suggest that drugs hel p youths control or express unconscious needs thus come in taking drugs for emotional reasons. They may use drugs as an escape from real or imagined feelings of inferiority. Substance abuse is one of the many problems that begin early in life and remain throughout the life course. Youth who abuse drugs lack commitment to religious values, disdain education, and spend most of their time in peer activities.Rational choice is when they choose to drugs because they want to: some use them to get high, relax, improve creativity, or increase their sexual responsiveness. Most teens say â€Å"it's my life; I can do what I want. † However, some teens may use to this cover up the fact they do have problems or want to fit in. They don't want to be portrayed a follower rather than someone who can make their own decisions. The top two substances abuse is marijuana and alcohol; alcohol is the number one drug abused respectively.A survey from the Washington Post showcased that: out of 10, 61 6 8th graders: thirty-six percent had tried alcohol and thirteen percent admits to drinking regularly. Out of the 10, 484 seniors interviewed, seventy-two percent had tried and twenty-nine percent still use it. Fourteen percent of them sold drugs at one point while twenty-nine percent said they have came to school drunk or high. A direct relationship has been established between drug use and delinquency. Drug users may commit crimes to pay their habits. A study conducted in Miami found that 563 users annually committed more than 200, 000 crimes to obtain cash.Drug users may be more willing to take risks because of their inhibitions is lowered by substance abuse. Cities with high rates of cocaine are more likely to experience higher levels of armed robbery. Basically they are trying to say that teens who take drugs contributed greatly to the crime rate. With all the reasons for teen to take drugs like social disorganization, for example, I believe that the main reason is because of e motional problems and rational choice. I believe that drug abusers do contribute to the crime rate but not as much as they try to say it does.Studies have shown that the rates of teens that partake in drugs have dropped. Most teens drink and smoke with friends or alone. Some don't go out and commit crimes; they associate getting high as a regular part of hanging out with friends. With several programs like D. A. R. E. , the consequence of doing drugs is being spread out. I believe that's why most teens tend to smoke marijuana since the dangers aren't as high as cocaine and heroin users. However, some will do it out of rebellion and not recognize the link of their actions of today and the consequences they may have tomorrow.