The Poisonwood Bible by Nathan Price Essay - 750 Words

The Poisonwood Bible is a book about a man named Nathan Price who takes his wife and four daughters on a mission into the Congo. All of their ups and downs are documented throughout the story. This novel was written by Barbara Kingsolver in 1998. This story was inspired from her own personal trip that her father took her on, to the Congo, where they lived without and water, electricity, and many other necessities. During the time period that this book was being written, a lot of feminist and post-colonial literature was being acknowledged. Feminist literature is both nonfiction and fiction that supports women by defending political, economic and social rights for women. Many works of feminist literature depict strong willed women who†¦show more content†¦[...] Its hard to say which is worse, seeing it run out and waste the water, or seeing it hold in and wreck the shoes(56). This goes to show how sexist Nathan can truly be. All of these examples show the way that women look at men and that the women are noticing that they are being treated wrong. If it were in the perspective of Nathan, or any other man, he would see absolutely nothing wrong in the acts downgrading women. All throughout the book, many of the women are displayed as very hardworking figures who can get by absolutely fine without a man around, which was a main goal in feminist literature. In the story, Leah says, â€Å"Congolese men didnt treat their own wives and daughters as if they were very sensible or important. Though as far as I could see the wives and daughters did just about all the work† (229). This is a way that Kingsolver depicts women as the harder working figures, because all throughout the book, the men do almost nothing and the women do everything. After Orleanna and the daughters have all left and decided to never come back, Leah says, â€Å"With no men around, everyone was surprisingly lighthearted† (390). This is her way of saying that now that they were f inally away from Nathan, they finally felt free and happy. These examples show how little the men did, and how the women could get along just fine without them in their lives. Another feminist writing characteristic conveyed throughout the story is the actShow MoreRelatedForgive and Forget in The Poisonwood Bible by Nathan Price Essay1516 Words   |  7 Pagesperson that had to be forgiven was themselves? In the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the story is told through multiple points of view. Each member of the Price family is noticeably different, and each have their own inner demons. As each character is unlike, the way they handle their guilt, and search for forgiveness are also different. Some characters like Orleanna Price are forgiven by the end of the novel, and others, such as Nathan Price are not as fortunate. In this story the biggest conflictsRead MoreCultural Morality: Comparative Analysis between a Fine Balance and the Poisionwood Bible1322 Words   |  6 PagesCultural Morality Comparative Analysis between A Fine Balance and the Poisionwood Bible Cultural relativism really emphasizes the concept that each individual cultural belief differs from one societal class to another; in consequence, moral and ethical principles are related to what a certain culture perceives to be considered acceptable or unacceptable, right or wrong. Jack Donnelly, a teacher at the University of Denver, he states, when internal and external judgments of a practice divergeRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1142 Words   |  5 PagesThe Poisonwood Bible Nowadays, in today’s society, survival is considered the basic instinct of all humans. Commonly defined as the state of â€Å"continuing to live or exist, in spite of an accident, ordeal or difficult circumstance,†(Dictionary) survival teaches us the will to succeed and face adversity despite the challenges and obstacles we may encounter along the way. In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel â€Å" The Poisonwood Bible,† there is a central theme of survival. Whether it includes finding suppliesRead MoreComparing Poisonwood Bible And Taming Of The Shrew1443 Words   |  6 PagesVictoria Bourikas Mrs. Waldorf Women in Literature 16 January 2014 Male and Female Characters in Poisonwood Bible and Taming of the Shrew The Poisonwood Bible and Taming of the Shrew are two works of literature that . The Poisonwood Bible, written by Barbara Kingsolver, is a story about the Price family’s journey deep into the heart of the Congo on a mission to save the unenlightened souls of Africa. Nathan Price, the Baptist minister responsible for moving his family, lives solely by his own rigid andRead MoreAnalysis of Book Titles in the Poisonwood Bible Essay1313 Words   |  6 PagesBook Titles Genesis Just like the first book in the Bible, the first book of The Poisonwood Bible is named Genesis. As well as the beginning, Genesis can also mean rebirth. When characters arrive in the Congo they realize the things they brought with them are changed by Africa and can no longer be as they once were. In this way, Genesis symbolizes the process of becoming their new selves. For instance, the first chapter in The Poisonwood Bible, narrated by Orleanna, strongly shows the guilt thatRead MoreChristian Missionaries Essay1240 Words   |  5 Pagesparticular have struggled in their efforts to convert indigenous people. Simply bringing the Word of God, as Nathan Price does in The Poisonwood Bible, was and is not possible. With a conversion of faith comes an adoption of customs, morals, lifestyles, and even political views. Even though young Leah Price says that the Word of God weighed nothing, it was actually the heaviest burden the Price family carried with them on their journey. Every m issionary who has brought the Word of God to the CongoRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1732 Words   |  7 PagesThe Poisonwood Bible 1998 Historical Fiction Characteristics: Unique location, Primitivism, different ways of speaking and racial views Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver, born in 1955, grew up in Kentucky and lived in many different countries such as : England, France, and Canary Islands. She attended Debauw University and University of Arizona where she earned a biology degree. Kingsolver now is a beloved author of eleven books and has been named the most important author of the twentieth centuryRead MoreCompare And Contrast A Doll House And The Poisonwood Bible1604 Words   |  7 Pagesselfishness is revealed. Nora leaves him, recognizing their marriage as unequal. Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible is set thousands of miles away in the Congo compared to the northern European setting of A Doll House, where the Price family newly settles in as Christian missionaries, headed by husband and father, Nathan Price. The Poisonwood Bible follows four main characters, the Price girls, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. The family is driven apart by inner familial conflict, heightenedRead MorePoisonwood Bible Summer Reading Assignment2010 Words   |  9 PagesFax Victor AP English Literature and Composition Ms. Elder The Poisonwood Bible Summer Reading Assignment August 12, 2014 The Poisonwood Bible 1. Barbara Kingsolver explores a quest in her novel â€Å"The Poisonwood Bible†. The criteria of a quest consist of a quester, a destination, a purpose, challenges, and reasons for the quest. In this instance the quester is Orlenna Price whom demonstrate guilt consistently. Orlenna is going there to accompany her husband, who is seeking to convert othersRead MoreThe Power of Women1242 Words   |  5 PagesWhat is a woman to men? Women are objects of possession to the inferiority of all men. The woman has always been the lower level of power between the two sexes, male and female. In the two books Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and in The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, the power and voice of the women become inferior to the one of the men. The women in both books are able to overpower the men with their own voice, women not only carry the will to do so but are prominent to be as equal as

The Effect Of The Middle Eastern Conflict - 1290 Words

In October of 1973, a short war between Israel and its regional neighbors, Egypt and Syria, nearly brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of war. The dramatic effect the middle eastern conflict had these two superpower’s relationship is both surprising and concerning. Prior to the Cuban Missile Crises of 1962, a series of threats between the Soviet Union and the United States created distrust and fear between the two countries. Additionally, a large imbalance in power contributed to Soviet feelings of vulnerability which led to Khrushchev’s decision to employ missiles in Cuba. However, conditions were very different on the onset of the Yom Kippur War. In the years preceding the war, strategic vulnerability, was no†¦show more content†¦Rational Actor Model assumes that actions that are undertaken by countries are calculated solutions to strategic problems. Behaviors of states are purposive and goal-directed. Therefore, when countries engage in foreign diplomacy they attempt to make the best choice that is available. For this reason, when studying the behavior of states through RAM, it is important to ask why a specific country believed a certain choice would be in their best interest, considering the information and options that were available to them at the time. When applying RAM, we assume that that the decision makers are rational and will make choices that are in their best interest. However, since the decision-making abilities of states are limited, rational actors will often make mistakes. Herbert Simon differentiates between two types of rationality; comprehensive and bounded rationality. In comprehensive rationality, the actor can evaluate all the alternatives to every decision and, therefore, could manage to consistently take the best course of action. In contrast, bounded rationality recognizes that the decision-making capabilities and knowledge available to the decision maker are always limited. No governme nt or country has full sight during their decision-making process, or the luxury of having access to all relevant information. For this reason, when an actor misperceives a situation and makes a poorShow MoreRelatedEffects Of The Middle East And Eastern Europe1097 Words   |  5 PagesWar I: The Effects in the Middle East and Eastern Europe War World I, otherwise known as the â€Å"Great War,† was a devastating ordeal for the people of the world, who faced the repercussions of the war. The war was started with ideas of nationalism, patriotic feelings, which can be unifying, however it can turn nations against each other as well. During the war, in the years of 1914-1918 and the years after it leading to the Second World War, the occupation of the regions in the Middle East and EasternRead MoreMilitary Spending1636 Words   |  7 Pagescountry only have one. To buy it, everybody in this country should dig their pocket. This product is named military spending. With the large amounts of research and the development of high technology weapons, regional warming of local wars, armed conflicts, and intensified arms race, the series of a new arms race, military deployment and new high-growth military spending boost are being performed on the international stage. However, governments are concerned about seeking â€Å" peace via war†. As the armsRead MoreU.s. National Security Strategy Essay1562 Words   |  7 Pagesâ€Å"Climate change is an urgent and growing threat to our national security, contributing to increased natural disasters, refugee flows, and conflicts over basic resources like food and water.† These words from the U.S. National Security Strategy show the United States is moving forward on addressing the challenges posed by climate change. The Department of Defense published the 2014 Climate Change Adaption roadmap establishing three overarching goals and four lines of effort to guide geographicRead MoreI INTRODUCTION A. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The impact of the dark ages had a1000 Words   |  4 PagesIt was a time when the emergence of new civilizations lead to conflict. â€Å"Invasions† of entire peoples and military expeditions were the largest contributors of these conflicts. Since there were no taxes it left no one to defend against this tyranny. The during this time the plague was breaking out in Constantinople as well. The fall of Rome was from constant conflict with barbarians, this during the migration period various groupsRead MoreThe Effects of the Iranian Hostage Crisis1117 Words   |  5 Pagesreceived the most coverage of any major event since World War II. It was one of many problems faced in light of the United State’s complex relationship with Iran. The effects on both the US and Iran were astronomical, especially politically as well as economically and socially. It took a heavy toll on American relations with the Middle East and changed the way we engage in foreign affairs. In light of this crisis, Iran started an international war that we are still fighting thirty-two years later.Read MoreThe Beginning to World Instability: World War I956 Words   |  4 Pageschanges in Europe and the Middle East, the Treaty of Versailles with its political and economic impact on Germany, and fear over the installation of Russian communism were among the negative legacies of World War I. Combined they would contribute to an unstable geopolitical climate inevitably leading to future world conflict. The European and Middle Eastern map changes ushered in by the Allied victors at the end of World War I were punitive and had an unfortunate effect on future world stabilityRead MoreWestern Media And Its Coverage Of Terrorism1155 Words   |  5 PagesEarth. This is the same principle that follows Western media and their coverage of terrorism. The U.S. media continues to remain loyal to a deceitful standard of terrorism, presenting the entire country with an invalid perception of terrorism in the Middle East. This coverage reaches all demographics nation wide and raises a misguided population. America is a democratic society where the power is vested in it’s people. It is imperative that we educate our nation to be globally contestant and accuratelyRead MoreU.s. Relations With Arab Nations Essay1554 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction U.S. relations with countries in the Middle East remain to be a point of great interest due to the geopolitical atmosphere and security. The vast number of resources both in the Middle East and the United States provide a point of common ground to build peaceful relations through trade. International trade is an extremely important tool within the global community as it helps to build relations. In order to aid in building trust with Arab Nations, the United States must rely on moreRead MoreWar Againsts Iraq: The Media, Its Portrayal of the War and the Effect of Its Perspective1374 Words   |  6 Pageson many fronts. The media has taken the lead on shaping public opinion on both sides of the war, that is, the US or rather North America and the Middle East. It is a fact that citizens get to understand an issue such as the Iraq war through the perspective of the media (Al-Rawi, 2013). This paper focuses on the media, its portrayal of the war and the effect of its perspective. North American Media’s Portrayal on the Iraq War The Bush administration claimed that they intended to protect the AmericanRead MoreThe United States And The Islamic State Of Iraq1080 Words   |  5 PagesSuccessful nations allow conflict to arise within and outside of the nation. War is the offspring of such political intercourse. The intention to gain power and control serve as enablers for national and international wars. Attaining power and control expand potential competition from a regional to a global level. The United States have involved itself in such terrorists attacks due to the desire to possess such resources, power and control. The Islamic State of Iraq also commonly known as ‘ISIS’

Customary Law free essay sample

Adediji (Reader) an erudite scholar of the law, who practically gave the entire outline of the course that this research must sail (table of content) To display my scholastic content I have laid it on myself to provide nine court decided cases relating to customary law in addition to the original task required of me by my amiable lecturer. In addition, this research shall also identify limitations of customary law and also proffer workable recommendations that are potent to assail the problems confronting customary law in Nigeria. Hon Justice Narebor (1993) gave a definition of customary law to be: a rule of conduct which is customarily recognized adhered to and applied by the inhabitants of a particular community in their relationship with one another within or outside the particular community and which has obtained the force of law, in that non-compliance with the rule or custom in question attracts adjudication and possible sanction. The definition above bears close resemblance to that given by Allen (1939) while analyzing the Gold Coast Colony Native Administration Ordinance 1927. Said he, Native customary law means a rule or a body of rules regulating rights and imposing correlative duties, being a rule or a body of rules which obtains and is fortified by established native usage and which is appropriate and applicable to any particular cause, action, suit, matter, disputes, and includes also any native customary law recorded as such †¦ When the two definitions given above are seriously considered, it will be detected that customary law consists of customs accepted by people in a community as binding among themselves. Customary law according to Mukoro (2004) while speaking about the Evidence Act of Nigeria Section 2, sub-section 1 of 1990 said that customary law is the rule in a particular area that has attained the force of law due to prolong usage. Both Elias (1977) and Badaiki (1997) see customary law as a body of customs, accepted by members of a community as binding upon them. In summary therefore customary law possesses the following characteristics: 1. A mirror of accepted usage or culture of the people that observe it 2. Flexible (elastic), organic (not static), regulatory and a living law of the indigenous people subject to it 3. Largely unwritten – either wholly or partly unrecorded 4. Long and unvarying habits and in existence at the material time, not dead ashes or customs of by gone days. 5. Accepted as a custom of universal application and enjoying the assent of the community, etc From the above characteristics, it is obvious that customary law is of a varying nature, the source of customary law is majorly from custom through human being. The anthropomorphic nature of this source therefore necessitates the fact that customary law vary across space and time. It is therefore important that every custom that shall parade itself as law must pass the following tests in which failure in one is failure in all†¦ for the test that states that one also state all. (a) The Repugnancy Test: The repugnancy test of the evidence Act of the laws of Nigeria states that a court should not enforce as law a custom which is repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. Therefore, no customary law should obstruct the rules of natural justice like the right to be heard, liberty and freedom of association. b) Incompatibility with Local Enactments: Although it has been established that both statutory enactments and customary laws are sources of law in Nigeria, the â€Å"incompatibility test† has undoubtedly ranked local enactments above customary law. This means that customary law which is not compatible with any existing enactment ought not to be enforced by the courts. The argument is that existing customary laws must not be incompatibl e with any written law (Obilade 1991). (c) Public Policy Test: This means that a custom shall not be enforced if it is contrary to public policy. Proof may grow more difficult because custom, as a question of fact, does not depend on judicial reasoning and activism. It must be proved by strong evidence. The burden of proof lies on those who assert that a particular customary law exists. The role of the court is simply to accept or reject it. The following are prominent asserters of customary laws: 1. Expert evidence and opinion e. g. evidence of Kabiyesi, Offor, or Oba, Emir or native chiefs who possess special knowledge of the subject matter. 2. Evidence of credible witnesses e. g. vidence of persons who are sufficiently acquainted with the custom. 3. Assessors: Persons with local knowledge and duly appointed assessors may assist with their knowledge. 4. Writers: Text books, manuscripts that are recognized by the subject people may be used in evidence. 5. Judicial Notice. The evidence Act provides that custom may be established as judicially noticed or evidence may be called to establish what a custom is and the existence of such a custom and to show that persons or a class of persons concerned in the particular case regard the custom as binding upon them. Customary law consists of customs that are accepted as legal requirements or obligatory rules of conduct; practices and beliefs that are so vital and intrinsic an 4 art of a social and economic system that they are treated as if they were laws. It is not enacted but grows or develops with time. It expresses itself not in a succession of words, but in a course of conduct. It has no definite authors; there is no person or defined human agency one can praise or bless for its being good or bad (L. Fuller, 1968). Every customary law was once a custom; it is not every custom that is customary law. The reason is that customary law has certain unique features. They also have their problems. It is a matter of fact to be proved by strong evidence unless it is already judicially noticed. A custom or taboo becomes law if it is: In existence from time immemorial (i. e. or as at 1189) Exercised continuously within that period Exercised peaceably without opposition Obligatory Capable of precise definition Consistent with other customs Reasonable. From the foregoing, it is therefore clearly stated far from the grasp of doubt that no one and nobody can take the glory for making customary laws but such laws self-generate in the course of time through culture and other particles that form the way of life of the people. Rules, norms and conventions develop in response to exogenous shocks through a natural process of selection and evolution; such that leaders of the people to whom the honour of making of customary laws is accorded does nothing more than assert the laws that they did not make. Touching the application of customary laws, I should quote the words of Osborne C. J: â€Å"the court cannot by itself transform a barbarous custom into a milder one. If it still stands in its barbarous character, it must be rejected as repugnant to natural justice, equity and good conscience. † At this point I would love to make some diversion from the heading of this segment. I believe that this heading (examples of customary laws) su ggests the application of customary laws to various aspects of life. It must be noted that no singular researcher can exhaust the entire sphere wherein the tentacles of customary law have gained relevance; with this understanding therefore, it has to be specified the extent of the scope of this research as touching the matter in question. In a nutshell the scope shall extend only to the following areas of life with reference to certain regions precisely Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa. â€Å"Customary law is rooted in the history, tradition and culture of the people that sometimes it is interchangeably used with custom†. a) Land holding in various parts of Nigeria. b) Inheritance. c) Marriage. A. LAND HOLDING The case of land holding is one of the cruxes in which local government through bye-laws and traditional rulers through customary laws have been made to resent each other the most. This is as a result of the inconsistent provisions of the constitution: beginning with the 1979 constitution that made the matters of local government in Nigeria a federal matter provided for local government to in charge of land which was and still is under the jurisdictions of the traditional rulers. This issue degenerated into a big fight and it didn’t come as a surprise to many why the good 1976 local government reform failed. However, the 6 government through the military in 1984 tried to correct this anomaly by rolling out another reform (Dasuki Report) that can accommodate the traditional rulers. All of these arguments notwithstanding, the land use act of 1978 section 1 subsection 1 which the constitution also recognizes states that â€Å"all Lands belong to the government. † However, customary adjudication is not based on rules and laws in the same way that formal legal systems are structured. Customary practices are fluid because they are socially embedded and are based on evolving local social and political relations. The custom provides that the land is not a personal property but can be owned only by family, to be administered by the head of the family and on no occasion can such land(s) be transferred. Also custom is also in accordance with Quid Quid Plantatur Solo Solo Cedit i. e he that owns the land owns all the things on the land even to the skies and beneath the land. B. INHERITANCE It is significant to observe that lives of a majority of Nigerians are governed by customary laws. Not surprisingly about 80% of disposition of property are settled under customary law. The fact that many states do not have appropriate laws to deal with intestate succession has also increased the application of customary laws in distribution of real and personal property. Since customary laws are generally heavily weighted against women, their rights of inheritance suffer unduly in the face of systematic gender discriminatory and oppressive rules. It should be noted that customary laws recognize the will provided by the deceased, which brings us to the classification of inheritance into categories under customary law: the testate and the intestate inheritance. THE YORUBA SYSTEM Generally, under the Yoruba customary law, it is the children of the deceased, whether male or female, who are entitled to succeed to the deceased father’s property on his death intestate to the exclusion of other relations. 7 The property is shared among the children, either equally per capita (â€Å"-ori jori†) or per stipe (â€Å"idi-igi†) where the deceased man has more than one wife. In Sule vs. Ajisegiri, it was held that the partition must be equally between those entitled regardless of sex. Thus, the defendant’s claim that being a male he was entitled to a larger share was rejected. In contrast, a wife has no right of inheritance in her deceased husband’s estate. Under customary law marriage, the widows form part of the estate of their husband. As Jibowu, F. J. observed in Suberu vs. Sunmonu â€Å"It is a well settled rule of native law and custom of the Yoruba people that a wife could not inherit her husband’s property since she herself is, like a chattel, to be inherited by a relative of her husband†. The Administration of Estate Law 1958 applicable to the whole Yoruba land, which gives spouse’s right to succeed to each other’s property, does not apply to persons subject to customary law. THE IGBO SYSTEM In the vast majority of Igbo communities, the family grouping is strictly patrilineal. Thus, inheritance is based on the principle of primogeniture; that is, succession by the eldest son, known as â€Å"Okpala† or â€Å"Diokpa†. Where the deceased is a polygamist and has many sons from several wives, the eldest sons of each of the wives may take part in sharing of the intestate. However, daughters and wives have no right to succession to their father’s movable and immovable property. As has been stated: â€Å"Personal property including wives and slaves descends to the eldest son as heir, or failing a son, to the oldest brother or male relative† Basically, wives do not inherit because of the customary notion that women are property and, therefore, object of inheritance themselves. A long line of authorities has firmly established this principle. In Nezianya vs. Okagbue, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, held that: â€Å"Under the native law and custom of Onitsha, a widow’s possession of her deceased husband’s property is not that of a stranger and however long it is, it is not adverse to her husband’s family and does 8 ot make her owner; she cannot deal with the property without the consent of his family. She cannot by the course of time claim the property as her own, if the family does not give their consent, she cannot it would appear, deal with the property. She has, however, the right to occupy the building or part of it, but this is subject to good behaviour. Further, the court stated that no equity arose in the widow’s favour through her long possession, it having been acquired by her qua member of her husband’s family with consent (actual or implied) of his family†. Daughters, like wives, do not inherit under Igbo customary law. The only situation where a daughter can inherit is where, for example, she chooses to remain unmarried in her father’s house with a view to raising children in the father’s home. This is known as â€Å"nrachi† or â€Å"Idegbe† institution. It usually happens when a man left on death a substantial estate, but no surviving sons or other male issue of the lineage to inherit it. The idea behind this practice is to save the lineage from extinction. The daughter, as an â€Å"idegbe† or â€Å"nrachi† is entitled to inherit both movable and immovable property of her deceased father’s estate. The legal interest vests in her until she gives birth to her own children.

The United States Supreme Court Marbury v Madison

Introduction The case of Marbury v Madison 5 U.S 137 (1830) is one of the most notable cases in the United States. Over the years, scholars have presented varying views concerning the validity of judicial review as one of the roles of the Supreme Court and its effect on separation of powers between the judiciary and congress.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The United States Supreme Court: Marbury v Madison specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Justice Robert H. Jackson underscores the dilemma that the judicial review process creates by granting the judiciary power to nullify laws passed by the representative body of the government thus limiting the power of the majority to govern the country. On the other hand, judicial review provides an avenue through which the judiciary provides checks and balances for the legislature, thus ensuring adherence of laws to the constitution. Constitution makers in the United States ch oose the limited majority rule option as their preferred ideology. This paper explores arguments by Lawrence Baum and Timothy Johnson on the validity of this choice. The authors discuss issues regarding the decision making process in the Supreme Court and its effects on legislative policies. In my opinion, limited majority rule benefits all branches of government as well as the people that the institutions serve. It also ensures that members of congress enact policies that address the needs of the American society as opposed to personal needs of the lawmakers, thus making it the better option of the two choices as explained in this paper. Arguments in support of limited majority rule Lawrence Baum in his book, The supreme Court, explains that the one of the main issues generating controversy with regarding the role of the Supreme Court is the fact that the role grants the court the ability to nullify laws made by congress. In his defense of the implementation of judicial review, he draws attention to a distinction between the will of the majority in reference to the society and the will of the majority in reference to the members of the legislature. He states that most of the scholars who present opinions against judicial review often overlook the difference between the two concepts of the term majority in their analysis of situations. In his opinion, statutes that fail to comply with the constitutional provisions often represent the will of the majority in terms of members of the legislature and note with reference with the American people (Baum 32). He states further that in cases when the will of both the society and members of Congress is evident the Supreme Court often grants its support through its decisions.Advertising Looking for essay on constitutional law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, during instances when it is evident that the will of the majority only represents the will of the r epresentatives of the people and not the people themselves, the judicial review creates a threshold where the courts can protect the interests of the American people by limiting the power of the majority (Baum 38). In the case of Marbury v Madison, the court gave its reason for dismissal of the petition as repugnancy of the statute, which provided the basis for the petition. In the case, President John Adams appointed William Marbury Justice of the Peace for the District of Columbia. It was the duty of the Secretary of State at the time, James Madison, to deliver the commission to Marbury. However, Madison refused to deliver the commission, thus prompting Marbury to petition to the Supreme Court seeking orders to force Madison to deliver the commission although the court found that Madison acted unlawfully by failing to deliver the commission, it ultimately ruled against Marbury. he court found that the provision of the Judiciary Act, under which Marbury had petitioned, was unconsti tutional as it extended the court’s original jurisdiction established under Article III of the constitution. The article established the judicial branch as well as powers the branch should exercise. The court dismissed the petition and explained that it had no obligation to abide by a statute made by Congress that made provisions contrary to those of the constitution. Chief Justice John Marshall found the provisions of the statute to be repugnant and thus inadmissible in determining the case. An analysis of the case with Baum’s argument on the entity constituting the majority reveals that judicial review in this case limited the rule of the members of Congress rather than the American people. Baum defends the limitation of majority rule in this case by stating that the court also plays the role of defending the integrity of the constitution as part of its implementation. According to Baum, the constitution forms the fundamental law that lays ground for the generation o f the rest of the laws in any society. In his analysis of the issue, he adds that the constitution represents the fundamental policies that define a society and govern its existence. Therefore, any other policies that fail to comply with the provisions of the constitution fail in their representation of the majority (Baum 60). In his perspective therefore, nullification of such statutes by courts results in the protection of the will of the people rather than its limitations. According to this justification, judicial review limits majority rule in instances when the majority is an entity other than the American public and is thus legitimate.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The United States Supreme Court: Marbury v Madison specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of the arguments that lawmakers have advanced against this perspective of the majority rule is that the legislature acts as a representative entity of the people in government and therefore the statues it enacts represent the will of the people. Baum expounds that even though the legislature represents its electorates, the decisions individual members of Congress make are sometimes indicative of personal interests and go against the constitutional provisions. He insists that the court’s mandate regarding judicial review operates principally according to the constitutionality of a statute (Baum 65). Another argument that some scholars advance against the limitation of majority rule is that courts use judicial review to dictate laws and create opportunities for the creation of other laws favorable to the institution. This argument stems out of the premise that some of the methods that the judiciary uses to interpret statutes allow it to overstep its mandate and assume the power of the legislature. Such scholars note that one of the defenses the judiciary gives for such action is the absence of legislative provisions on some issue s and vagueness in others. They add that by limiting the majority rule, the courts encourage the persistence of such inadequacies and subsequently create an environment that allows them to ‘create’ laws through case law and manipulate the direction in which Congress creates laws. For instance Timothy Johnson, author of Oral Arguments and Decision Making in the United States Supreme Court, mentions the application of precedents as one of the methods judges of the Supreme Court apply when interpreting statutes and making decisions. He explains that the application of the principle of precedents in case law requires judges of the Supreme Court to consider decisions the court has made in the past, exhibiting similar facts under similar circumstances. In most cases, lawyers also use this principle to support their cases and make compelling arguments (Johnson 43). Although the argument bears some truth, it is critical to appreciate that judicial review seeks not to curtail th e ability of the legislature to make laws, but it only prevents the application of repugnant statutes due to their unconstitutionality. Johnson explains that even though the Supreme Court sometimes bases some of its decisions on case law, it collectively considers other factors including statutory law.Advertising Looking for essay on constitutional law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More He adds that case law often serves to clear doubts regarding the application of certain statutory provisions in cases where the provisions bear more than one meaning (Johnson 52). Baum’s contribution regarding the use of case law in decision-making is that it creates some uniformity and eliminates the possibility of contradictory application of the law by the Supreme Court. In fact, the element of predictability in the application of case law makes the formulation of statutory laws easier as it allows lawmakers to spot gaps in legislative provisions and make appropriate changes, constitutionally. He emphasizes that the Supreme Court cannot make laws and thus relies on the input of Congress in rectifying statutory inadequacies (Baum 72). In cases where Congress fails to identify such gaps in legislation, the courts continue to use case law. It is also important to note that the inception of case law applicable as precedents always relies on existing laws. Any substantial alter ation in the statutory provisions on which such case law is founded elicits formulation of new case law, which incorporates the current changes. The old cases only serve to persuade the court on points of law. Conclusion It is worth noting that the judiciary’s power to nullify laws passed by Congress only runs to the extent of the unconstitutionality of such laws. This provision ensures that the judiciary also stays within its mandate and does not extend its mandate to include making laws through disapproval of laws that do not appeal to the institution’s interests. Although limitations of majority rule through judicial review lacks codification or universal acceptance, the application of the concept depends on the jurisdiction and regarding this case warrants acceptance in the United States. The power of judicial review exists in the American constitution as one of the roles of the judiciary, thus eliminating the need for elements such as international acceptance and statutory inclusion. In addition, the concept of separation of power requires each branch of government to keep the other in check to avoid misuse of power, and thus the legislature should not be an exception based on the simple view of its representation of the people. The limited majority rule is thus a valid and important concept with which all branches of the American government under the American constitution should comply, regardless of the arguments some scholars present against the idea. I chose the limited majority rule as my preferred option as the concept prevents the possibility of moral hazard and protects the interests of both the majority and the minority classifications of the populations that leaders represent. Works Cited Baum, Lawrence. The Supreme Court, Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 2012. Print. Johnson, Timothy. Oral Arguments and Decision Making in the United States Supreme  Court, New York: State University of New York Press, 2011. Print. This essay on The United States Supreme Court: Marbury v Madison was written and submitted by user The Watchers to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Women Involvement in Business

Women Involvement in Business Abstract If evolution of man really occurred, then probably it took place in the business side of life and the way people carry it out. In the earlier years, the business sector was dominated by men, from the small scale businesses to large scale multinational organizations. This could have been the ‘stone age ‘of the business life characterized by male dominance in all the business sectors.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Women Involvement in Business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At that time the preserve of women was the home and minor positions in the business arena. Women were perceived incapable of handling serious business matters, and were a bit sidelined in this area. This period was followed by the enlightenment era in which women began to realize the great potential and the influence on business environments that they posses. It is in this era that women started taking up senior positions i n business and transforming the organizations they work for. Women’s involvement in business has become a major issue that has raised mixed reactions from different corners of the business world. Women’s participation in business has seen the rise of great heroines like Vera Wang and Gail Kelly, who have made permanent marks in the male dominated business world. This paper discusses the issue of women in business and how it affects the way business is done at present. Women involvement in business has been an issue that has raised much debate and reactions from different corners of the world. Some perceive it as boost to business, while others see it as a barrier to commercial progress. In either of the perspectives, women involvement in business is a major issue associated with undertaking trade in the world today. This paper discuses how this issue affects businesses in today’s world. Definition and Description Women have been running businesses for quite a lo ng time without any serious recognition being accorded to them. The lack of recognition came because they worked in the invisible side of the business, which is behind their husbands. The only time they could rise was when their husbands had passed away or when they were forced by circumstances to do so. A number of factors in today’s world have contributed to the visibility of women in the business world. As more women joined the workforce in the recent past, they gained more professional and managerial experience and skills needed to rise to top positions in firms (Duff, 1993, p. 45).Advertising Looking for report on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Of recent, the trend has changed and we can see a lot of women coming to the limelight, with majority of them taking up challenging positions in the business world. Positions like chief executive officer, presidents, among others are now no longer reserves for the male gender. In earlier years the female folk dominated business sectors like the fashion and trends, and food sectors but of recent they have moved into men dominated domains like engineering and construction. Unlike men who enter businesses for growth opportunities and profit making, women join this world to meet personal goals like acquiring the feelings of accomplishment and achievement among others (Laurie, 1990, p. 34). Women tend to consider financial success as confirmation and proof that their ability is bearing proof rather than a motivation for joining business. Areas of Business Affected The issue of women in business has raised various reactions from various corners of the business world, specifically the areas where this issue has become a disadvantage rather than an advantage. There has been a trend of women taking up managerial positions in many organizations, and though this number is still low, the trend is growing gradually (Walsh Heppner, 2006, p. 461). Women in management positions account for thirty three percent of those in administrative posts and forty percent of those in professional related occupations (Davidson Burke, 2000, p. 224). Another area in which the issue of women in business is evident is the increasing number of female entrepreneurs. The number of women entrepreneurs has been increasing since the 1990s in which there were over six million female entrepreneurs in the United States alone (Davidson Burke, 2000, p. 234). It is estimated that by the onset of the twenty-first century, women will make up of fifty percent of the self employed American population. Women have owned businesses for years, but most of them have been working side by side with their spouses, and that is the reason their efforts have not been recognized. Despite working as employees, a number of women are leaving the employment field for self-employment due to number of factors.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Women Involvement in Business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These factors include discrimination against women more so in larger companies, sexual harassment, and the need to balance family and career life. Some women find entrepreneurship as the ideal solution to juggle the competing demands of family and career, in the case of single women this venture is a means of keeping poverty at bay (Silver, 1994, p. 56). Women entrepreneurship has further been facilitated by the sharing of responsibilities of taking of children in the household by both partners. It is no longer a trend in which the woman is left with all the child caring and house management issues as the man goes out to bring food for the family. This has further relieved the woman of some roles and given her much time to endeavor in business ventures. Further to this, the modern day law tends to promote equity and equality providing opportunities for women to excel in such f ields just like their male counterparts. Another sector of business that is seeing an increase in women representatives is the managerial side or the boardroom issues of organizations. The number of female heads is still insignificant especially in the third world nations, but many of them are gradually earning such positions. This aspect has further been propelled by the issues of gender equality and affirmative action, for example the Norwegian quota system of its state law proposes a forty percent female representation of the board members in any company (Vinnicombe, Singh, Burke, Bilimoria, Huse, 2008, p. 81). Women representation and influence in the board meetings has affected decision making and has a touch of ‘professionalization’ in the whole process depicted by more comprehensive and formal meetings (Vinnicombe et al., 2008, p. 120). Problems Associated Women involvement in business has presented some of the most unusual problems, and some have cost some comp anies millions in terms of revenues. Despite the fact that governments are fighting for an increased number of women representation in boardrooms, there is a great need for some decisions to be left to the male executives of the company.Advertising Looking for report on gender studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Though researchers have proved that women are better managers than men, there is need for the decision making to be left to the men. There could be isolated cases where women are good excellent decision makers, but the bigger portion of the pie suggests otherwise. Some of these problems include: Decline of Profits A greater women representation in companies boardrooms has a brought a positive effect on gender representation in the company at the expense of the company’s profits. Recent research shows that employing more women in boardrooms can destroy a company’s financial performance, since female directors focus more on getting rid of underperforming male executives, which could make the company less profitable (Koster, 2009, p. 1). This research further shows that companies having greater female representations in their boardrooms are less profitable with lower market values. Women are prompt at attending the board meetings and have a better record than their male c ounterparts, and in fact their traits could profit a badly-run company. On the contrary, these traits could negatively affect the well-governed companies. Lack of Authority The female folk generally lack the authoritative personality that their male executive counterparts possess. There are more focused on personal experiences, family, among other issues. Managers are fundamentally authoritative people, and are required to dictate the rules and the structure in order to manage the subordinates effectively. Incompetence The proposal by affirmative action to increase women representations in boardrooms has led to the employment of incompetent persons, in an attempt to fulfill the demands imposed by the law (Dodenhoff, 1997, p. 10). Incompetence is brought in by the fact, that employing unqualified women for the posts leads to declines in corporate governance, for example the Norwegian move to raise female representation in boardrooms by forty percent has led to an average of twenty pe rcent drop in corporate governance in the firms that brought in the new and relatively inexperienced female folks (Crumley, 2010, p. 8). Obtaining Financing for Entrepreneurs The female entrepreneurs normally face bigger challenges when it comes to obtaining financing as compared to men. In the recent past, women have faced discriminations when it comes to receiving loans for business ventures. Though this barrier is being lifted, it is still experienced in the third world countries and under-developed economies. Gender Discrimination Gender discrimination is evident in that women can only dominate certain businesses seen as feminine. Case Study The following are two case studies concerning women in business, including Gail Kelley and Vera Wang. Gail Kelley has managed to rise in ranks and transform the Australian Banking industry and has managed to become a force in the male dominated executive boards by becoming the first woman to head a public corporation in Australia. The next w oman is Vera Wang, an entrepreneur of a kind in the fashion and design business segment. She is known for her wide collection of wedding and bridesmaid gowns in America. Gail Kelley Gail Kelly is a successful Australian business woman, born in Pretoria South Africa in the late 1950’s. Currently, she is the chief executive officer of the prominent Australian bank, called Westpac and the first female executive officer of a major bank in Australia (Swanepoel, 2008, p. 21). Gail started off her career as a teacher in Zimbabwe after clearing her university studies in 1974, and then moved to South Africa with her husband where she continued with her teaching job. She was introduced to the banking industry by his father through his own connections and immediately she became a teller at the Nedcor Bank, which was South Africa’s fourth largest bank at that time. Through the bank’s training programs, she managed to climb the career ladder to several higher ranks. After ta king a year leave to do her MBA, she was appointed as the human resource head at Nedcor, and still rose to higher ranks and held various general manager positions at this bank. After moving with her family to Australia, she became the general manager of strategic marketing at the Commonwealth Bank, and eventually the CEO of St. George Bank in January 2002. She become the head of St. Georges Bank after the then chief executive passed away, leaving the position vacant. Her good performance and success at Commonwealth Bank made her a hot cake for this position, which she took over before moving on to where she is at the moment. At St. Georges Bank, Kelly managed to increase the profitability level, and increased the levels on return of assets, removing the bank from a takeover target in which it had fallen into. She further increased this bank’s capitalization by three billion dollars, making the bank to extend her contract indefinitely and give her a key pay rise. Her success a t this bank earned her the best financial services executive awards in two consecutive years;: 2003 and 2004. Four years later, she resigned from this bank to head Westpac, which later took over St. George Bank (Swanepoel, 2008, p. 21). In her time and with her impact, St. Georges Bank has become very profitable that it was earlier. Currently, Gail Kelly is the highest paid woman in Australia, the first woman CEO of Westpac, and the thirty second most powerful female in the world according to Forbes ranking of 2011. She is also the first woman to ever head one of Australia’s fifteen largest corporations. What is fascinating about her is the speed within which she rose to top positions from a mere teacher to the head of Australia’s fifth largest bank. She credits her reasons of success to giving every task the great attention it so much deserves, and creating an environment where each individual can do his best by creating teams of people who love working together. She further says the secret of success is not being motivated by money, ego or power, but instead achievement and achieving quality outcomes. This case study is about women involvement in the leadership of business organization, and their involvement in the boardrooms. I found it while doing my research about the influence of women in the business sector. It talks about one woman who has outdone many to dominate the men dictated executive positions. She is one woman who has transformed the banking business industry, and has lifted her organization from a muddy miry to profit haven. What made Kelly rise to these ranks occurred one day while she was still a teacher in Zimbabwe, when she became so much frustrated and disappointed by the students. Somehow, she had allowed the stress in the school interfere with her life and take away her happiness. Despite being married, she was still sad, and it is only after realizing that she can change her life and situations for better did she make a m ove to join the banking industry. It was doing what she loved most that mattered to her, and this aspect is what propelled her to success. Apart from this realization, she also gained from the banks training programs and her MBA, which gave her an upper hand during the period when major changes were taking place in the banks. Some of the challenges and problems that Kelley faced was the guerilla war and the effects of the apartheid rule, which they successfully managed to overcome. Moving to a new environment and country also provided a healing effect to overcome the problems that were manifesting themselves. Vera Wang Vera Wang is an American of Chinese origin, an excellent entrepreneur, and an excellent fashion designer widely known in New York, where she is based. Whenever her name; which is also her logo, is mentioned a wider variety of wedding gowns and bridesmaids gowns, jewelry, and other decors can be seen. She is known for her simple and contemporary designs which have ador ned many brides which has been her mark in the bridal fashion industry. This great female entrepreneur was born and brought up in the city of New York, with her Chinese parents of Shanghai origin in the late 1940s (Dakers, 2010, p. 15). While studying at high school she took training as figure skater as one of her co-curricular activities. She loved this game so much and often took part in number of competitions in the United States. After failing to make it to the United States Olympics team, she decided to drop this sport and join the fashion industry. Joining the fashion industry was a big decision to make, since she had a passion for ice skating, being forced to drop it for the sake of her studies depressed her. She then departed to paris, from where she developed the passion of fashion (Dakers, 2010, p. 15). In the fashion industry she got employed by Vogue, where she worked as senior fashion editor for around sixteen years (Dakers, 2010, p. 34). After being turned down the pos ition of an editor-in-chief she decided to leave this firm to join Ralph Lauren for the next two years before opening up her own design salon. Her shop dealt with trademarks and bridal gowns as the main product. Her presence in the fashion industry has seen her soar high after making wedding gowns for public figures like Chelsea Clinton and Campbell Brown among others. She was inspired to start up a bridal salon, while she was searching for the perfect dress fit for her wedding. She spent three months searching for the dress in several departmental stores and bridal salons. She failed to get thee dress that matched her preference and eventually she hired a dressmaker to create her dream gown which cost her ten thousand dollars. This experience became her inspiration for her new business endeavor. Later in 1990 after letting the business idea wait for nearly two years as they tried to get children, being newly wed, her father offered her financing so that she could launch her busines s right away. After receiving this initial capital, she opened up shops in New York and started her bridal business. In a bid to attract more customers she used colors and a lot of innovative ideas in her dresses and the use of illusion netting in her gowns which became her trademark. Eventually Wang’s vision has expanded beyond bridal attires, to ladies’ and men’s fragrance, designing mattress sets, and clothing for handbags, among others. Some of the problems and challenges that Wang’ faced include she had to wait for more than two years after getting married to his husband Becker since he wanted children. During this period she was on infertility drugs in an attempt to get pregnant, after getting married at forty years of age. Another challenge was the lack of financing, which forced her father to come to her rescue and offered her financial backing. She also had to fight the negative image that the fashion press had branded her, despite brides loving her dresses. The fashion press perceived her to be an insider to the fashion industry and due to this it was said that she was receiving special treatment. Summary The major issue that this paper was discussing was the involvement of women in business, which has raised various reactions from various corners of the world. In some places it has been positive, and in some isolated instances it has led to great regrettable losses. The specify areas where the influence of women has been seen in both positive and negative perspectives include the entrepreneurship aspect and the boardroom issues. As from the two case studies of Vera Wang and Gail Kelley, women too can achieve much in the corporate world. When women are given the support needed from the family and from fellow male employees they can produce the best of the best. Some of the problems that have been identified from women’s involvement in these two areas include: Decline of profits due to meddling with the executive le adership Lack of authority leading to poor coordination of subordinates Problems of obtaining finances due to gender bias Gender discrimination and sexual harassment Incompetency due to employing unqualified women To curb such problems the following solutions can be effective: Since women have proved effective in bringing up poorly managed companies, they should hold such positions in such companies. Only qualified and experienced women, irrespective of the affirmative action requirement should be employed to hold executive positions. Conclusion The issue of women in the workplace is a modern day trend, and it is there to stay. Man has moved from the days of male dominance to a cosmopolitan world where the women are called into the decision making boards. This paper has looked at some of the problems associated with the issue of women in business, it also has a case study of two successful women, and it has further provided solutions to the problems associated with women in busin ess. References Crumley, B. (2010, Apr 26). Boardroom revolution. Time Magazine. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1982304,00.html Dakers, D. (2010). Vera Wang: A passion for bridal and lifestyle design. St. Catharines, ON: Crabtree Publishing. Davidson, M., Burke, R. J. (2000). Women in management: Current research issues. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Dodenhoff, D. (1997). Affirmative action has negative consequences. The Business Journal, 4, 9-15. Duff, C. (1993). When women work together. Berkley, CA: Conari Press. Koster, O. (2009, Aug 8). Why ‘meddling’ women in the boardroom can wreck a company’s profile. Daily Mail. Retrieved from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1205014/Why-meddling-women-boardroom-wreck-companys-performance.html Laurie, Z. (1990). On your own: A women’s guide to building business. Chicago, IL: Upstart Publishing. Silver, A. D. (1994). Enterprising Women. New York, NY: Amacom. Swa nepoel, S. (2008). Swanepoel trends report 2008. Laguna Niguel, CA: RealSure Publishing. Walsh, W. B., Heppner, M. J. (2006). Handbook of career counseling for women. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Vinnicombe, S., Singh, V., Burke, R. J., Bilimoria, D., Huse, M. (2008). Women on corporate board of directors: International research and practice. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

French Introductions, or Les Présentations

French Introductions, or Les Prà ©sentations When you meet French speakers, you need to know how to introduce yourself and what to say when you are introduced.  French can be a bit tricky when introducing yourself or others depending on whether you know the person to whom you are making the introduction(s) or even if you have had any contact with the person. In French, those circumstances all require different introductions. Basic Introductions French uses the verb  se prà ©senter, not  introduire,  meaning to introduce something into something else, which translates into English as to insert. The most basic introduction in French, then, would be: Je me prà ©sente. Let me introduce myself. Using s’appeler is the common way of introducing yourself in French. Don’t think of it as â€Å"to name oneself† because it will only confuse you. Think of it in the context of introducing your name to someone, and link the French words to that context instead of applying a literal translation, as in: Je m​appelle...   My name is... Use je suis with people who already know your name, such as those  you have already talked to on the phone or by mail but never met in person, as in: Je suis...   I am... If you dont know the person or have never spoken to him on the phone or contacted him by email or  mail, use  je m’appelle,  as noted previously. Introducing by Name There are also distinctions between formal and informal introductions, as well as singular versus plural introductions, as noted in the tables in this and the subsequent section. French Introduction English Translation Mon prà ©nom est My (first) name is Je vous prà ©sente (formal and/or plural) I’d like to introduce Je te prà ©sente (informal) I'd like to introduce Voici This is, Here is Il s'appelle His name is Elle s'appelle Her name is Meeting People In French, when you are meeting people, you have to be careful about using the correct gender, as well as whether the introduction is formal or informal, as in these examples. French Introduction Enlish Translation Comment vous appelez-vous? (formal and/or plural) What is your name? Comment t'appelles-tu? (informal) What is your name? Enchantà ©. (masculine) It's nice to meet you. Enchantà ©e. (feminine) It's nice to meet you. French Names Nicknames - or  un surnom in French - are much less common in this Romance language than in American English, but they are not unheard of. Often, a longer first name will be shortened, such as  Caro  for Caroline or  Flo  for Florence.   French Name English Translation Le prà ©nom first name, given name Le nom last name, family name, surname Le surnom nickname Cheek Kissing and Other Greetings Cheek kissing  is certainly an accepted form of greeting in France, but there are strict  (unwritten) social rules to follow. Cheek kissing is generally OK, for example, but not hugging. So, its important to learn not only the words that go with cheek kissing - such as  bonjour  (hello) - but also the social norms that are expected when greeting someone in this manner. There are also other ways to say  hello  and ask  How are you?  in French.

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 5

International Business - Essay Example People from one region within a country used to go to other regions to exchange goods. Different communities realized that there were other goods that they did not know and were available in long distances. This was realized when people from different regions travelled long distances in search for more resources. Word soon spread across the world and communities from different parts of the globe started to look for the different goods. There were goods that were more precious. Merchants went across the world just to get those goods. Such countries included China, India, America and Europe. International business started to blossom at that time leading to a number of civilizations. Domestic business or trade is a form of business, which is confined to the borders of a country. People within that country or territory buy goods and services within their borders. Domestic trade is usually good as it develops local infrastructure and also plays a role in enriching its own. This form of tr ade is probably the oldest form of trade. It was the main type of business in many parts of the world long before, merchants started to go to far lands. On the other hand, international business is business between countries. In this case, merchants from different countries exchange goods for money. Different countries are endowed differently. There are some that are good in industries while others have resources that can be used as raw materials for their industries. The country with industries, for example, would buy raw materials from the country with those resources. Money paid to the country with the resources would be used to buy industrial goods from the industrialized country. Ideally,what is sold to another country is export and what is received from another country is imports. The two countries benefit by getting what they did not have and foreign exchange (Curtin, 2002). One country can trade with many countries depending on its needs. Some countries have been found to im port much more than they import while others export much more than they import. Countries importing more are known as net importer countries, for example, the United States while countries that export more are known as net exporter countries, for example, Japan. International business has assisted many countries to develop and share with others. The unique characteristic of international business is that it also boosts domestic business in some way. Use of the terms domestic business and international business has been very confusing to some people in some scenarios. For example, there are some people who may argue, since domestic business is in certain territories or countries, then in countries with state government systems, the individual states experience both domestic and international trade in some way. Such people will argue that a State like California and Texas trading is international business. Nevertheless, different counties within California do domestic trading. Accordi ng to such people, interstate trade is the same as Britain and France trading (Curtin, 2002). This theory is true, to some extent, and wrong in another way. The different states in the United States represent some form of territorial jurisdiction. In fact, some states operate very differently from others. They have their own regulations for different things and differ from others. Each state has its own governing body that is responsible for drafting and passing policies. As such, the different countries of diverse

Lockheed Martin vs Boeing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Lockheed Martin vs Boeing - Essay Example Over the last few decades, the aviation industry has witnessed significant changes in its overall operating business environment. This change has resulted in creating both favorable as well as unfavorable circumstances. Nonetheless, these changes fundamentally impose challenges within an aviation industry to sustain the business efficiently by relying on the old business model (Office of Inspector General, 2012). At the same time, the current aviation industry can be regarded as highly competitive, high-technology and safety sensitive. Contextually, the effective human resource management (HRM) has emerged as one of the primary options among the airline companies in the aviation industry to establish their competitive advantages over their competitors. Due to the increasing customer awareness and expectation along with intense competition flourishing in the industry, the performance of an airline company is largely being determined by the efficiency and competencies of its human reso urces. Additionally, in order to survive in the global aviation industry, it is often being argued that a company must have skilled and dedicated employees who contribute their best for transforming the company’s mission and vision into reality. ... of human resource management (HRM) on the aviation industry and compares and contrasts the HRM practices of two major companies currently operating around the world which include Lockheed Martin and Boeing. Impact of Human Resource Management on the Aviation Industry Role of HRM in Aviation Industry Human resource management (HRM) is firmly related with the management of human assets within the internal context of an organization. The HRM deals with certain specific activities and practices that are being related with planning, developing, and retaining the most appropriate number of skilled and competent staffs within an organization which in turn facilitates in gaining competitive advantages and attaining the organization’s goals and objectives. Additionally, the role of HRM has dramatically expanded almost in all the sectors of business. Consequently, aviation industry is one where the dimensions of HRM are often being perceived as the crucial factors for attaining competit ive advantages in the highly competitive industry. Thus, the airline companies in the global aviation industry are primarily engaged in framing and implementing their own human resource strategies in order to seek the advantages of their efficient HRM over their major competitors in the current as well as future aspects. The aviation industry is also engulfed by several challenges from various sources such as recession, changes in technology and privatization. In order to warmly respond to such circumstances the global aviation industry has undertaken numerous measures to effectively tackle these problems arising from the aforesaid issues. A few major measures that have been widely implemented in the aviation industry include cost control strategies, positioning strategies and most importantly

Energy Drinks Essay Example for Free

Energy Drinks Essay Energy drinks are part of the human life nowadays especially to the younger generation. Like other activities such as smoking and drinking, the consumption of energy drinks also goes on increasing. Most of the energy drink manufacturers target the youths for their marketing strategies and hence the advertisements are mostly aimed at attracting the youths. Millions of dollars are spent for the energy drink advertisements. Most of the world famous celebrities like film actors/actresses and sports personalities are the brand ambassadors of energy drinks. Energy drink Advertisements The advertising campaigns are mostly ranges from extreme sports activities like, cliff-diving, surfing, windsurfing, snowboarding, racing, and break dancing to art shows, music, and video games. Most of the international cricket teams and football teams are sponsored by energy drink manufacturers like Red Bull, Pepsi, and Coca Cola. For example Pakistan cricket team was sponsored by Pepsi for a long period. Some of the American Football and Basket ball teams were sponsored by Red Bull. Some energy drinks manufacturers sponsor marathon races across the countries to promote their product. Their intention is to spread the brand awareness in two ways. First, they know that a marathon rays will cover a long distance across the country and hence it will attract many people. Second they know in sports like marathon race, the participants Energy Drinks 2 need lot of stamina and energy to complete the race. So they will utilize the stamina of a marathon racer to their advantages. â€Å"Energy drink slogans are as different as the drinks themselves, but they all work to appeal to the ideal consumer crowd. Energy drinks, unlike other beverages, are traditionally marketed to a very small, specific consumer group. For example, some energy drink brands focus on extreme sports enthusiasts, others cater to students and their energy needs, and still others try to attract the video game crowd. † (Facts expert) Mouth publicity is considered as one of the most effective marketing strategy and hence attractive slogans are used in the advertisements of energy drinks. Youths are especially very much interested in songs and slogans and they will give mouth publicity attractive to the songs or slogans which they may feel special. So the ad agencies are very keen in introducing some slogans in their marketing campaigns of the energy drinks. â€Å"If most energy drink slogans are responsible for a large part of a brand’s advertising, it is essential that they be catchy and memorable. Some of the drink names themselves act as slogans—either officially or unofficially—like Crunk and GoFast!. Because most energy drinks are appealing to the younger teenage and twenty-something generation† (Facts expert) The success of a slogan campaign lies in lyrics of the slogan. The slogan must be simple and easy to say. It should reflect the theme of the energy drink to attract the customers. The lyrics should be persuasive, attractive Energy Drinks 3 and it should motivate the target people to repeat it again and again. There should not be any abusive or dirty words in the slogan. It should ignite the minds of the target people so that they will be motivated to give mouth publicity to it and thereby the brand awareness of the energy drink will be increased. Youths are always interested in taking risks and also playing adventurous sports. They need things to be happened at a rapid pace. Because of their enthusiasm and the psychological level, they like fast life and like to have more energy in their veins. So they will participate in anything and consume anything because of the reasons mentioned above. Advices to the Marketers It is a good habit to utilize the possibilities of sports and games in the marketing of the energy drinks. The modern youths are experiencing lack of physical activities and hence most of them have obesity and overweight which result in lack of self esteem and other health related problems. The marketing campaign through sports activities will definitely improve the awareness about the physical activities which is essential for the modern world. So the energy drink manufacturers should continue the marketing campaign through sports activities. â€Å"Some of the energy ingredients in the variety of energy drinks include: Royal Gelly, (Honey bee byproduct), Ginseng (Herbal root very popular in Asia), Ashwaganda, (Member of the pepper family also known as Indian ginseng), Horny Goat Weed (Chinese plant), Skullcap (North American perennial herb), Energy Drinks 4 White Willow (North American tree bark, natural alternative to aspirin), Black Seed (Ancient herbal remedy in Asia, Africa and the Middle East), Guarana (Fruit vine found in Amazon Basin with a powerful caffeine bean), Taurine (A naturally occuring acid)Additionally, healthy ingredients such as green tea and fruit juices are being added to capitalize on the better-for-you trend. Green tea and pomegranates are some of the more obvious recent attempts to tie in products that are currently hot trends in healthy eating with a traditional energy drink. † (Agri-Food Trade Service) At the same time the energy drink manufacturers must improve their commitments to the society by enriching the energy drinks with some essential nutrient which is lacking in the modern fast food culture. Most of the essential vitamins required for the health are vanishing from the current food culture and hence the energy drink manufacturers must take that social responsibility to enrich their drinks with essential vitamins required for the health. â€Å"Energy drinks – usually a mixture of caffeine, taurine, carbohydrates, B-complex vitamins and gluconolactone – have become very popular in recent years† (Energy Drinks Do Not Help Maintain Alcohols Buzz) Some of the marketing techniques of the energy drink manufacturers include: Tension, stress relief, Sobering effects, Improved love life, Stamina, Reflexes, Alertness, Virility, and Stimulates metabolism (Agri-Food Trade Service) Neither of the above mentioned claims from the energy drink Energy Drinks 5 manufacturers are proved scientifically yet. But still they keep on using the same slogans in their ad campaigns to attract a specific segment of the society and they must think of stopping such slogans. Conclusions Most of the energy drink advertisements are misleading. The manufacturers offer so many things which will never materialize through the consumption of it. The ad campaigns utilizing sports activities will definitely create awareness about the physical activities among youths. The energy drink manufacturers must think of including certain essential vitamins in their drinks which is diminishing from the modern world due to fast food culture. They should stop utilizing caffeine like ingredients in their drink. Energy Drinks 6 Works Cited 1. Facts expert (2005), Drink Advertising and Energy Slogans, Retrieved on March 5, 2009 from http://energydrinks. factexpert. com/905-energy-drink-slogans. php 2. Agri-Food Trade Service (2008), The Energy Drink Segment in North America Retrieved on March 5, 2009 from http://www. ats. agr. gc. ca/us/4387_e. htm 3. Energy Drinks Do Not Help Maintain Alcohols Buzz, (2004) Retrieved on March 5, 2009 from http://alcoholism. about. com/od/college/a/blacer0409

Chronicle Of A Death Foretold :: essays research papers

It was rainy on the day of Santiago Nasar’s murder, and yet by the account of others, it was not. His death is so mingled with illusory images that everything seems mystified: much like death itself. The fact that the story is about how a death consumes the lives of the entire town as well as the victim, shows that it is concerned with death in life and asks us to evaluate our own views. Not only is the story concerned with death in life on the literary level, but the people of the town feel obliged to honor and offer gifts to a bishop that doesn’t even like the town. It is perhaps because they fear if they do not keep their faith, they are putting in jeopardy their fate after death; this is the primary concern of all religions, life after death and fear of the unknown. "For years we couldn’t talk about anything else. . .and it was obvious that we weren’t doing it from an urge to clear up mysteries but because none of us could go on living without an exact knowledge of the place and the mission assigned to us by fate"(113). "‘All right, girl,’ he said to her, trembling with rage, ‘tell us who it was’. . .’Santiago Nasar,’ she said"(53). Whether or not Santiago Nasar was the reason behind Angela Vicario’s lost honor, his death shapes and defines her life afterwards. Many in the town describe her as being a woman half in mourning and the narrator is amazed at how she ends up understanding her own life despite how much she was made to die in life(101). Chronicle of a Death Fortold makes us look at life and death and face uncertainty about our future. Because it questions death and our belief in religion, it depreciates, in a sense, our

A View from the Bridge: Relation Ship Between Eddie & Catherine

Eddie and Catherine are two important characters form the play â€Å"A View From The Bridge† by Arthur Miller. The play takes place in Brooklyn around 1950’s. Catherine is an orphan who grew up with her aunt and her aunt’s husband. She sees them as her parents. Eddie who is her aunt’s husband is like a real father to Catherine. Eddie and Catherine’s relationship changes from father and daughter to woman and man throughout the play. This change affects everybody around them and causes problems which ends tragically. In the play there are several main stages that show us the changes in Eddie and Catherine’s relationship.These stages are usually small incidents but each of them develops a new point to the relationship. The first point is on page 6 where Eddie starts commenting on Catherine’s skirt then goes on to criticize her walk and her actions. In that conversation Catherine says, â€Å" â€Å"Eddie, I wish there was one guy you cou ldn’t tell me things about! † This dialogue shows that Eddie has been overprotective before and Catherine has realized it. She does not say it seriously but rather, a joke; however she is actually trying to express that he’s being too overprotective.The device of depicting Italian and Sicilian immigrants, enables Miller to make them more or less articulae in English. Only Alfiery is a properly articulate, educated speaker of American English: for this reason he can explain Eddie’s actions to us, but not Eddie, who does not really speak his language. Eddie, who does not really speak his language. Eddie uses a naturalistic Brooklyn slang. His speech is simple, but at the start of the play is more colourful, as he tells Catherine she is â€Å"walkin’ wavy† and as he calls her â€Å"Madonna†Catherine’s speech is more often in grammatically standard forms, but not always. Her meekness is shown in the frequency with which her speeches begin with â€Å"Yeah†, agreeing with, or qualifying, Eddie’s comments. Rodolpho speaks with unnatural exactness. The words are all English but the phrases are not always idiomatic. He recalls vivid details of his life in Sicily, and he is given to poetic comparisons as when, on page 46, he likens Catherine to â€Å"a little bird† that has not been allowed to fly.Marco has to think before he can speak in whole phrases or sentences: this means he says little, which reinforces two ideas: that Marcois thoughtful, and that he is a man of action, rather than words. e Eddie Carbone is the tragic protagonist of â€Å" The view from the bridge†. He is constantly self-interested, wanting to promote and protect his innocence. Eddie creates a fictional fantasy world where his absurd decisions make sense, where calling the Immigration Bureau in the middle of an Italian community that prides itself on protecting illegal immigrants has no repercussions.In Eddieâ€℠¢s world, he imagines protecting Catherine from marriage or an male relationship and wants her for himself. While Eddie wavers and switches between communal and state laws and cultures, his motivations do not change. Eddie constantly looks out for himself at the expense of others and is ruled by personal love and guilt. There are several moments in the text where the audience is given clues that Eddie’s love for Catherine may not be normal. For example, when Catherine lights Eddie’s cigar in the living room, it is an event that gives Eddie unusual pleasure.This possibly warm and affectionate act between niece and uncle has phallic suggestions. Depending on interpretation by the actors, this moment many have more or less sexual undertones. Eddie’s great attention to his attractive niece and impotence in his own marital relationship immediately makes this meaning clear. Although Eddie seems unable to understand his feelings for his niece until the end of the play, other characters are aware. Beatrice is the first to express this possibility in her conversation with Catherine.Alfieri also realizes Eddie’s feelings during his first conversation with Eddie. Eddie does not comprehend his feelings until Beatrice clearly articulates his desires in the conclusion of the play,† You want somethin’ else, Eddie, and you can never have her! † Eddie does not realize his feelings for Catherine because he has constructed an imagined world where he can suppress his urges. This suppression is what devastates Eddie. Because He has no outlet for his feelings, even in his own conscious mind, Eddie transfers his energy to hatred of Marco and Rodolpho nd causes him to act completely irrationally. Eddie’s final need to secure or retrieve his good name from Marco is a result of Eddie’s failure to protect Catherine from Marco. Eddie believes he will regain his pride in the community, another wholly self-interested act. Eddie e scaped restraint because he escaped all thoughts of other people or the community at large. Eddie’s â€Å"wholeness† is a whole interest in himself. Eddie’s tragic flaw is the bubble, the constructed world he exists within, but is unable to escape or recognize.

Producer Protection, Prior Market Structure and the Effects of Government Regulation

Producer Protection, Prior Market Structure and the Effects of Government Regulation Assignment on Regulatory Economics 1/5/2012 ? INTRODUCTION The direct economic regulation of business by independent government commissions has a one-hundred year history on the North American continent. It is generally asserted that the purpose of such commissions is to protect consumers from exploitation by limiting the economic powers of certain firms having pervasive effects on the public interest (for example, transportation companies and public utilities). However, the findings of the relatively few em-pirical studies of the economic effects of regulation indicate that important differences actually do exist in these effects. The disparities in these findings raise the question of why the actual economic effects of regulation differ among industries despite the supposedly common, avowed purpose of regulation. They also question whether a single hypothesis is adequate to explain the diverse effe cts of regulation. THREE HYPOTHESES REGARDING REGULATION 1. Consumer-Protection Hypothesis: This is the most popular of existing hypotheses. It implies that regulation will protect consumer interests by reducing prices until they equal marginal costs, by preventing discriminatory pricing, by improving service quality (at existing prices), by encouraging the entry of firms that are more efficient or that offer more preferred price/product combinations, and by reducing industry profits to the market rate of return. they often appear to promote the interests of regulated firms to the disadvantage of consumers. Despite the real purpose of regulation, the regulated industries have managed to pervert their regulators until the commissions become the protectors of the â€Å"regulated† rather than of consumers. 2. No-effect Hypothesis: This hypothesis implies that regulation has no effect on regulated industries (other than to impose certain costs in the performance of regulatory procedures). This situation could result if †¢an already powerful industry is able to control its regulators (the supplementary perversion hypothesis). †¢if the market structure prior to regulation were competitive and the actual effect of regulation is to obtain competitive performance †¢the prior market structure were monopolistic and the actual effect of regulation is to yield monopoly performance 3. Producer-Protection Hypothesis: It says that the actual effect of regulation is to increase or sustain the economic power of an industry. Such a situation could result if regulation converted a formerly competitive or oligopolistic industry into a cartel (that is, if regulation helped previously independent producers form an agreement to act together9), if it increased the effectiveness of an existing cartel, or if it maintained an existing monopoly (or cartel) where rival firms would otherwise enter to provide competition in response to the growth of markets or the development of new technology. Under this situation, one would expect to find regulation doing such things as increasing prices, promoting price discrimination, reducing or preventing the entry of rival firms, and increasing industry profits. The no-effect hypothesis does not appear to be generally descriptive of the effects of government regulation. The implications of the consumer-protection hypothesis also have a problem of reconciliation with available evidence and are quite inconsistent. The implications of the producer-protection hypothesis do turn out to be consistent with much of the available evidence regarding the effects of government regulation, once recognition is given to the effects of the prior (non-regulated) market structures of various industries. The obvious way to test the ability of the producer-protection hypothesis to explain the apparently diverse effects of regulation within the context of prior market structure is to classify regulated industries into two groups on the basis of their non-regulated market structures, and then investigate the impact of regulation on industries within each group. One group should include those industries whose prior market structure was a natural monopoly. This group would include electric utilities, natural gas pipelines, local gas distribution companies, telephone companies, etc. The second group should consist of industries having oligopolistic or competitive market structures prior to the implementation of regulation, for example, airlines, motor carriers, railroads, and water carriers. If the producer-protection hypothesis is descriptive of the fundamental effects of regulation, one would expect to find regulation having little or no effect on the first group, whereas the second group would experience substantial changes following the effective implementation of regulation. ? NATURAL MONOPOLY INDUSTRIES Among other things, effective monopolies are characterized by relatively high price levels, by extensive price discrimination, and by rates of return on investment exceeding those attainable if the firm operated in a competitive market structure. Thus, the producer-protection hypothesis implies that following the implementation of regulation over natural monopolies, the price level will be essentially unchanged and will be above marginal costs, price discrimination will continue to be widely practiced, and rates of return will remain above those which would exist under competition. Price level At least three studies have been made regarding the effects of regulation on electric utility price levels. Taken together, these three studies indicate that regulation has had a limited effect on lowering electric utility rates and that most of its benefits have been enjoyed by commercial and industrial consumers rather than the more numerous residential consumers. Also, it seems relevant that it took about 25 years for state regulation to be associated with any reduction in commercial and industrial rates, and around 45 years for it to be reflected in lower prices for residential consumers. Davidson presented the price relatives of average gas rates charged by the Consolidated Gas Electric Light and Power Company of Baltimore from 1910. During the 43 years covered by these data, rates decreased from 1910 to 1918, then increased until mid-1923, decreased and then generally remained constant to 1947, increased sharply in two steps in 1947 and 1949, and then fell again in 1950. The Company was more active than the Commission in granting rate decreases, while the two instituted the same number of increases. Furthermore, it can be seen that the industrial users enjoyed proportionally more rate decreases than their proportional share of rate increases. Evidence shows that Company originated changes resulted in net rate decreases for all nine user categories with the major beneficiaries being the medium and large domestic users, and the large industrial users. In comparison, the Commission ordered or negotiated rate changes resulted in net rate increases for small and medium domestic users, and small commercial users, while the major beneficiaries of Commission actions were the large commercial and the small and medium industrial users. Overall, the largest users enjoyed the greatest rate reductions during the 43-year period, while the smallest users either had small increases or decreases. This leads to the conclusion that factors other than regulation were important in these rate reductions. And the above evidence shows that the Commission's regulation did not always result in lower rates, and that the Company was more active than the Commission in instigating rate decreases. Price Discrimination The literature regarding public utility pricing is unanimous in agreeing that discrimination is widely practiced by electric utilities, natural gas pipe-lines, local gas distribution companies, and telephone companies. Stigler and Friedland found that in 1917 and 1937 both the regulated and the nonregulated electric utilities discriminated against domestic (residential) consumers in favor of industrial consumers, with no difference existing in the degree of price discrimination after allowance was made for the relative consumption of electricity by the two classes of consumers in the various states. Thus, they concluded that regulation had no detectable effect on price discrimination. Some studies indicate that in those years price discrimination might have been even greater under regulation. Since price discrimination is a matter of price structure, it is clear that, regulation has had little or no effect on any price discrimination. . The existing studies all indicate that regulation has not significantly decreased the power of natural monopolies to practice extensive price discrimination. Thus, the producer-protection hypothesis seems to be more applicable in describing this situation than the consumer-protection hypothesis with its implication of a reduction in or absence of price discrimination. It is not surprising to find discriminatory pricing consistently practiced by natural monopolies, be they regulated or non-regulated. So long as economies of scale result in decreasing long-run average costs, marginal costs will lie below average costs, and equating a single price for all customers to marginal cost will result in the eventual bankruptcy of the firm and the termination of service. Even given the usefulness of discriminatory, multi-part pricing in sustaining a natural monopoly without subsidy, it should still be possible for regulatory commissions to reduce the price discrimination practiced by regulated natural monopolies relative to that practiced by those that are not regulated. The available evidence indicates that this has not been achieved. Rates of Return There is some evidence that regulation has not significantly altered the rates of return of privately-owned electric utilities. Specifically, Stigler and Friedland found no effect of regulation on stock prices of electric utilities from 1907 to 1920. Continuing plant growth and continuing flows of investment funds should be proof-of-pudding tests that the Commission restrictions have not yet become excessive constraints. The success of utilities in general in selling bond and common stock issues, and the lack of bankruptcies in â€Å"recent years† are evidence that the rates of return of regulated utilities have been at least equal to the market rates of return. The regulated rates of return have been high enough to attract the capital necessary for rapid expansion by the electric, gas pipeline, and telephone utilities, but there is no indication of how much different the rates of return or the growth rates of these utilities would have been without regulation. OLIGOPOLISTIC INDUSTRIES The producer-protection hypothesis implies that regulated industries whose natural market structures were oligopolistic or competitive prior to regulation will experience substantial changes following the implementation of regulation. There should be significant increases in price levels, price discrimination should be greater, and rates of return improved. Perhaps crucially important, the producer-protection hypothesis implies that effective regulation will also restrict or delay entry into the industry in order to prevent new suppliers from capturing some of the regulatory benefits gained by existing producers. Price levels Airline passenger fares within California have been subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC), but, in contrast to the complete regulation of both fare decreases and increases, through 1965 the regulation was limited to automatically approving all proposed fare decreases while imposing brief delays on the implementation of requested fare increases. The result of these differences in regulation was that coach fares within California were consistently lower than such fares in similar regulated markets. The available evidence regarding the effects of regulation on price level for formerly oligopolistic industries is consistent and unambiguous. Regulatory actions and procedures have allowed the carriers in each industry to reach agreements regarding prices and to enforce adherence to these agreements. The result has been substantial increases in price levels for the interstate airlines, the freight motor carriers, and the railroads. Without regulation prices would be from 9 to 50 per cent lower than they are with regulation, with many reductions in the long-run exceeding 30 per cent. Price Discrimination A consistent pattern also emerges regarding price discrimination by these three transport modes. Large differences have been found in the extent to which price discrimination has been practiced by the CAB-regulated interstate airlines (with their much higher price levels) compared with the relatively non-regulated California intrastate carriers. The time honored use of the value-of-service method of pricing in establishing rates, the adjustment of the resulting rates in response to intermodal competition, the relatively low marginal costs of movements combined with large fixed costs, the extensive joint production and common costs, and the application of commodity rates to 85 per cent of all rail freight traffic, have combined to make the use of discriminatory pricing the norm among the railroads. Over 100 years of development have resulted in a marvel of complicated discriminatory pricing. Given the pervasiveness of price discrimination in rail and motor transportation, the question arises whether regulation has significantly changed the degree and amount of discrimination. it does appear that personal discrimination has been reduced. Due to the usefulness of the regulation in sustaining rail-road rates, the need for personal discrimination was largely eliminated. Its demise is not therefore surprising. Since regulation provides such rate control, it appears to have made possible the pervasive and long-lived commodity price discrimination practiced by the railroads and to have supported their extensive use of locational discrimination. An even greater effect on price discrimination has resulted from the application of regulation to the motor carrier industry. Since monopoly power is a necessary condition for price discrimination, and since regulation appears to be necessary for monopoly to exist in the motor carrier industry, it follows that regulation has been the primary cause of price discrimination in this industry, and that much less discrimination would exist without regulation. In total, the above analysis shows that regulation has been the essential ingredient for long-term price discrimination in those transportation industries whose nonregulated market structures would be oligopolistic or competitive. Rate of Return It proved difficult to estimate whether public utilities have been able to obtain higher than market rates of return under regulation. This is also the case for the transportation industries. Since regulation has clearly resulted in increased price levels and greater price discrimination among the airlines, motor carriers, and railroads, one would expect increased rates of return to be a result. Data indicate that railroad profits did increase during the period that effective regulation was being developed, and prior to the beginning of the railroad's decline. This conclusion is supported by the history of the railroad's rates of return on book investment from 1890 to 1968. Just as monopoly power is no guarantor of excess profits, it can be seen that regulation does not guarantee the achievement of greater than market rates of return by an industry, especially one that is in secular decline. from 1956 to 1965, the most successful of the California intrastate carriers (Pacific Southwest Airlines) had returns on stockholder equity of from 0. 0 to 227. 2 per cent, with most returns being between 30 and 45 per cent. 4 On the face of it, this indicates that while the CAB has approved liberal rates of return and that such returns have been achieved in some years by the regulated airlines, the most successful non-regulated airline has enjoyed generally higher returns. Overall, the above evidence is quite inconclusive regarding whether regu-lation has raised the rates of return for these regulated industries. Entry Control There was no need to con sider entry control in the case of the public utilities since, as natural monopolies, only one firm can operate efficiently in any market. Therefore, the most regulation can do is to decide which one of several alternative firms should be allowed to provide the desired service in various markets. Assuming comparable operating efficiency, this is a matter of a wealth transfer between individual firms with little effect on fundamental economic results. Wherever two or more firms can survive in a market, how-ever, entry control is vitally important for the maintenance of a monopoly or cartel. Without such control, any larger than normal profits will attract new suppliers to the industry, thereby reducing the benefits available to the exist-ing producers. Thus, an indication of producer protection by regulatory com-missions is their effectiveness in limiting entry into an industry. It is important to note, however, that while regulation has served to re-strict entry and hold down the number of regulated airlines and motor carriers, it has failed to limit the inflow of resources into these industries because of two fundamental imperfections in the regulatory framework. The first imper-fection results from there being little or no control over the amounts of re-sources each existing carrier can bring into the industry. The second stems from the fact that the CAB and the ICC have no power to assign specific market shares to individual carriers where two or more carriers are authorized to provide comparable service. Since regulation prevents the carriers from utilizing price rivalry to obtain larger market shares, they turn to service-quality rivalry in their endeavors to obtain increased shares of the cartel benefits available in each market. The result is chronic over capacity despite (or because of) regulation. CONCLUSION The evidence presented above has not always been clear and unambiguous, but the essential thrust has been consistent with implications derived from the producer-protection hypothesis, once the effects of prior market structure were taken into consideration. In important respects, regulation has not had significant impact on public utilities (whose non-regulated market structures are natural monopolies), whereas it has substantially influenced the transportation industries (having oligopolistic or competitive non-regulated market structures). With regard to price level, regulation has clearly increased the prices charged by airlines, railroads, and freight motor carriers. In contrast, it ap-pears to have had only limited and long-delayed effects in lowering electric utility rates, with most of the few regulatory benefits going to industrial and commercial consumers, that is, to the consumers who already possess consider-able market power and whose large use of electricity makes it worthwhile to seek to influence regulatory decisions. In addition, the evidence from one local utility shows that gas rates were increased and decreased by both regulatory and company actions, with no clear pattern of regulatory effects. There was a similar pattern of effects regarding price discrimination. Little change in this practice resulted from regulating the natural monopolies, except for those cases where discriminatory prices appeared. On the other hand, industries whose prior market structures were oligopolistic or competitive were able to practice extensive price dis-crimination with regulation, while they had difficulty doing so without it. The evidence regarding rates of return is quite inconclusive. Overall, remarkably little of the available evidence suggests that consumers are protected by regulation. The producer-protection hypothesis yields implications that, by and large, are consistent with what is found to have occurred as a result of regulation. It follows that wherever substantial monopoly power exists in a non-regulated market structure, regulation should have relatively little impact; and, where there is little or no monopoly power in the prior market structure, regulation should have an important impact by help-ing formerly independent producers form a cartel for their benefit and protection. It is probably incorrect to conclude that the producer-protection hypothesis is the most predictive of all possible hypotheses regarding the effects of government regulation.