Housing segregation in the us Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Housing segregation in the us - Research Paper Example Gotham (2000, p. 13) found out that while housing subsidy housing programs created a situation for a great number of white families to buy â€Å"new† housing units in suburban areas, African American families were only able to buy â€Å"existing† homes in â€Å"racially transitional neighborhoods† in the inner city. Gotham (2000, p. 13) interpreted his data to mean that his research corroborated research that showed that the â€Å"market-centered† focus of federal housing policy has created obstacles to the â€Å"ability of African Americans to accumulate wealth through home ownership and reinforced racially segregate housing patterns.† For Gotham, the culprit is Section 235 of the 1968 Housing Act that â€Å"was designed to shift the focus of federal housing policy away from dispensing aid to local housing authorities for building public housing to providing direct supply-side subsidies to the private sector to stimulate home ownership for nonwhit es and the poor† (2000, p. 13). Taking off from the work of Oliver and Shapiro (1995), Gotham argued (2000, p. 14) that the operation and implementation of the United States 1968 housing program is an example of the â€Å"racialization of state policy.† Citing the study of Massey and Denton (1993), Gotham (2000, p. 15) specifically pointed out Kansas City as one of the United States’ prime examples of â€Å"hypersegregated metropolitan areas due to the high degree of segregation in housing patterns on a range of indices.† Gotham (2000, p. 16) blames the â€Å"segregative effects of federal housing policies and programs, and private real estate activity† for the hypersegregation. In addition, Gotham said (2000, p. 17) â€Å"the various economic and political dimension of housing-related activities have been conducted through an organized and interconnected system of racial discrimination.† At the same time, Gotham (2000, p. 17) also pointed out racial discrimination was

GoodWill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GoodWill - Essay Example Life skills training and counseling, elements of GoodWills core services, help to prepare individuals for the demands of the workplace. Many GoodWill agencies also provide assistive technology devices and training to eliminate barriers for people with disabilities such as vision or hearing impairment and paralysis. (Lysecki 2005) The organization serves individuals with physical, mental and emotional disabilities, as well as those with disadvantages such as welfare dependency, illiteracy, homelessness or lack of work experience. In 2000, the agency began implementing a $20 (m) million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to provide training and support to place welfare-to-work recipients in temporary Census and permanent community jobs. So far, GoodWill has exceeded the goals of the project, serving 15,175 participants and placing 5,180 of these in competitive employment. GoodWill also established national partnerships with Bank of America and CVS/pharmacy to recruit and train individuals for a variety of jobs at these companies. GoodWill placed 77,895 individuals with disabilities and other disadvantages in competitive jobs; they earned $973.4 (m) million in salaries and wages. "We want to make sure that we are helping people develop a lifelong career plan through education and career development opportunities," says Samuel W. Cox, Interim President and CEO of GoodWill Industries International. "We have the flexibility to meet the needs of the individuals while meeting the needs of employers. Our efforts boil down to building lives, families and communities one person and one job at a time." Over 42 (m) million people donated clothing, household goods, computers, cars, and other items to GoodWill, generating $941.1 (m) million in revenues for GoodWill programs. GoodWill sells its donations in 1,869 retail stores across North America and on its Internet auction site, shopGoodWill.com. GoodWills retail stores earn more than 50 percent of

Moral Standing of Abortion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Moral Standing of Abortion - Essay Example This paper is an attempt to undertake an objective approach to develop an unbiased and a logically sound thesis aiming at implying a set warrant of the issue by arguing that abortion is morally wrong and unjust, however only under special circumstances (like rape or mother`s like at risk) can abortion be justified as a morally sound decision. Abortion is defined as â€Å"the expulsion of a  fetus  from the  uterus  before it has reached the stage of viability† (Encyclopedia Britannica). The biological makeup of an embryo or a fetus, by any standard, resembles that of a human as the genetic makeup of the cells of the embryo is the same as that of a human, and the viability stage reaches at week 20 when the embryo fully resembles that of a human. Thus, at the stage of viability it would be only sane to regard abortion as an immoral act as murdering an innocent life negates all the principals of morality. However, under special circumstances, the woman may be allowed to a bort the baby, especially when the woman`s life is at stake or if the baby will result in the mental trauma for the woman in case the embryo is a result of rape or sexual abuse. However, if the woman was engaged in a voluntary act which resulted in the conception of an embryo, it would be insane to kill the baby if the embryo has reached the stage of viability. Thus, in any case abortion is an immoral act as an embryo older than twenty weeks is as alive as a grown up human being. However, some cases may be considered as exceptional ones and in some special circumstances abortion can be deemed as a moral act. Firstly, when the life of the mother is at stake for the reason that giving birth to the baby will risk the life of the mother, abortion is absolutely moral. Secondly, if birth resulted from rape or any kind of sexual abuse, which would cause mental trauma as the birth would constantly remind the woman of the unfortunate incident, thus in this case the woman should have the free dom to choose if she wants the baby or not. Thirdly, factor of viability is of importance to decide whether or not abortion is immoral i.e. an embryo if any younger than twenty weeks is conceived it will be fair enough to abort the baby as it won`t be a viable one. In this case, it is important to analyze the arguments and propositions put forth by Thomason (1971) which are referred to by many pro choice advocates. Thomason (1971) tries to negate the conclusion derived by two propositions that firstly, human embryo has the right to life, and if human embryo has the right to life it is morally impermissible to kill him. Thus, it is sensible enough to conclude that it is impermissible to kill the human embryo. However, she tries to negate the conclusion by replacing the second proposition by the relative rights of the mother and the child, i.e. she claims that the mother has a right to take decisions about her body and the fetus has a right to life. In other words, she is trying to ar gue that the pro-life advocate will then regard abortion as a breach in the rights of the mother as opposed to the rights of the baby. Though the argument seems to be valid, but it lacks soundness as it is a clear example of the fallacy of inappropriateness. Though it is true that a mother has rights, but at the same time she should be responsible enough to take precautionary

Effect of Globalization on Poor Countries

Effect of Globalization on Poor Countries This paper discusses the development of the globalization process, the meaning of the term globalization and the impacts of globalization and global companies on the world economy, global community, inequality and different living standards in the wealthier and poorer countries. It is pointed out that globalization has both, negative and positive aspects, but it certainly brings a significant change. The developed countries and global companies are carriers of the globalization process which are using very well the global conditions. With the development of information and communication technologies the world has become a single system where a connection between two subjects in different parts of the world is made within a few minutes. An eternal theme during the development of globalization is the discussion of problems of economic inequality and poverty. The question is what are the concrete effects of globalization causes? Who are the losers and who are the winners in this process ? In response to this question there are two opinions. Someone think that if merging the developed and underdeveloped countries follows an increase of inequality and dislocation of production, while others argue that the winners actually are both sides. Is it a game with two winners or one loser? Globalization means a dynamical, political and cultural process that has enabled the rapid development in the fields of transport and communication, which is often driven by the desire of large corporations to conquer new markets. Globalization is a controversial process. There are three types of globalization: Economic globalization means primarily the creation and regulation of a single world market with free competition and encourages development. Opponents on the other hand argue that the large multinational corporations have been using already-earned capital to prevent the creation of competitors with whom to share the market. Political globalization is closely associated with economic globalization. The existence of a single world market reduces the ability of national governments to directly stimulate the development of their economies by setting rules that give priority to our own companies. City decision-making is transferred from state to international institutions, thereby reducing the ability of people to direct election of representatives of government influence in their own development. Cultural globalization is the encounter of diverse world cultures and customs. The flow of goods, capital and people across national borders brings with it the flow of habits, customs and cultures. This process of different people often provokes a different reaction. Some consider the impact of a new culture positive development that enriches the existing culture, while others in the new culture they see a threat to established values and rules (http://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globalizacija). Globalization is preceded by an incredibly rapid technological development. There was a combination of information technology and communications. Computer technology, satellite communications, optical cables and mobile phones allow a quick and cheap communication that has, among other things; result in geographic branching of companies. Plants are moved around the world depending on the benefits of natural resources and cheap labour. In most developed countries are formed knowledge industries, while manufacturing plants are located in less developed and underdeveloped countries. Economic globalization has an appropriate infrastructure in which are basic liberalization and free market trade within countries and between them. It is not an ordinary interdependent economy, but it is a system based on strict rules that provide free production and exchange in the world. The globalization process is independent of our will, because it is conditioned by objective laws. Society should be aware of the great advantages and bad effects of globalization. One of the most serious consequences of globalization is certainly excessive increase in economic inequality and poverty. Below I will try to explain more clearly the relationship between globalization, global companies and the differences in living standards. The Affect of Globalization and Global Companies on Poor Countries Globalization creates certain problems for even the most developed countries, because the modern technology leads to a reduction in employment and related social problems and the multinational companies (MNC) often give priority to their own interests over the interests of other countries. Through globalization, developed countries have getting privileges, leadership, profit, control, influence and power, conquer new markets, and expand their sphere of influence and looking preferably for new investments. Developed countries and the multinational companies impose globalization and its rules to developing countries like a long development vision, using the fact that for development of these countries foreign investments are needed and this are offering only developed countries with their rigorous criteria. Who owns the capital of the world? According to Anderson and Cavanagh, among the largest 100 economies in the world, 51 are multinational corporations (MNCs), whereas only 49 are countries. The analysis is based on a comparison of the corporate sales of MNCs and the GDPs of the countries. The study further shows that, out of the 200 largest economies of the world, 144 are MNCs. The combined sales of the top 200 corporations are bigger than the combined economies of all the countries of the world, minus the largest 10. The income of MNCs is 18 times higher than the combined annual income of the 1.2 billion people of poor countries (24 percent of the total world population). The study has found that the growth of sales of top 200 corporations is faster than overall global economic activity. Between 1983 and 1999, their profits grew by 362 percent whereas their combined sales grew from 25 percent to 27.5 percent of the world GDP. Most of these MNCs belong to the rich countries; therefor e, it is natural that MNCs and their respective countries should safeguard their mutual economic, political, and cultural interests under the cloak of globalization. Economies are the catalysts of the globalization process, and they are represented by MNCs and transnational corporations (TNCs), which maintain the highest stakes and stand to gain the maximum benefits. Having poor economic infrastructure and little capital, developing countries very easily agree to host MNCs. At times, their weak regulatory positions are subsequently exploited by MNCs. MNCs either buy out the local companies of the host countries or push them out of the markets by offering cheaper and better quality goods for some time. MNCs carry out research to identify human needs, problems and lifestyles and come up with multidimensional responses, including the development of products and services. What causes them to conduct such researches and produce goods accordingly? Is it for the good of public or maximizin g their own profits? This puts the whole process of globalization in question as its generally proclaimed goal is the good of common people. Before examining what happens when MNCs enter host societies to achieve their commercial objectives, it is pertinent to discuss the problems and strengths of the host societies. (Anderson and Cavanagh. 2000. quoted in Rahman K., n.d.). Unlike developed countries that use the positive effects of globalization, undeveloped countries are not able to actively participate in the expansion of world trade and to attract a greater volume of private foreign investment, resulting in lagging behind the development of global economy. Structural weaknesses and problems of external and internal debt of these countries is a key constraint to economic growth. This limitation is related to the lack of the market, underdeveloped technology and private sector, entrepreneurial and marketing skills, as well as non-transparency of legal and regulatory framework. Globalization is imposing further restrictions in terms of the need to adapt the new competitive international environment to these countries. Globalization and Living Standards It is quite difficult to measure the living standards in the global economy; it is even more difficult to measure these standards in relation to globalization. The living standards are different from country to country because of their national economic structure. Standards of living in the global economy are devised of income, health and education. These broad terms are indexed by GDP per capita, literacy, infant mortality, GNP per head, secondary and primary education, doctors per 100.000 people and so on. Living standards differ because of national economic structure high-income countries are based on agricultural production. They differ within the population and labour market factors with high-income countries have a population with a high level of education and relatively high rates of production. Institutional factors stable government and policies allows for better living standards, economic growth influenced by culture, access to capital and ease of establishing a business, global relations and levels of foreign debt (http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/53146.html). However, the standards of living, or quality of life is not simply a measure of the level of economic growth or change in real GDP, but it is a measure that takes into account the literary levels, education, health care, technological changes and mortality rates. An example of a quality of life indicator is the Human Development Index (HDI) which measures changes in those factors as a result of globalization. Over the last few decades, the HDI of the worlds richest countries have increased as a result of globalization, where growth and development has been attributed to these economies through willingness to embrace market liberalization. However, the HDI of the poorer nations have grown at a slower rate to the richer nations which, as some economists put in, shows that globalization is another word for the continual plundering of the poorer and weaker nations by the rich and powerful economies. It has been strongly argued that the benefits of competition go only to those who can com pete, and poor countries have to negotiate on unequal terms (http://www.bukisa.com/articles/92708_impact-of-globalization-on-economic-growthm-quality-of-life-external-stability-on-market-economies). There have been two important trends since about 1980. The first of these has been acceleration in economic growth in many of the worlds most populous countries particularly the Asian countries of China, India, Bangladesh and Vietnam. These countries, which were among the worlds poorest as recently as 1980, have all grown faster than the rich countries, in per capita terms, in the period since then. Largely as a consequence of this improved economic performance in these populous Asian countries, the poorest one-fifth of countries in 1980 had a population-weighted annual per capita growth rate of 4 per cent from 1980 to 1977, compared with 1.7 per cent for the richest fifth of countries over the same period. The second, and much more problematic, trend has been the continued poor economic performance of most of the countries in Africa, with some countries experiencing declines in average living standards, not only relative to the rich countries, but even in absolute terms. These two opposing trends have had important implications for global poverty and inequality over the past decades (Gruen D. and OBrien T., 2002.). As everyone knows, much of the world has been left aside. Most of Africa and Latin America, Russia, all of the Middle East, and large parts of Asia.  Moreover, for many countries, the degree of participation in the global economy varies by region.   In fact, globalization is not global but is mainly limited to northern latitudes.   Linda Weiss points out that as of 1991, 81% of the world stock of foreign direct investment was in high-wage countries of the north: mainly the United States, followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada (Kenneth N. Waltz. 1999 quoted in Sidani K. 2003.). The concept of globalization is not really global but based on the very few dominant and powerful countries, and especially the United States.   Many globalizers believe that America had stumbled into the right way of controlling the global market.   Globalization is not such a happy thought for most poor countries, because they are being used by the richer countries.   The rich countries buy the raw material from the poor countries, and then sell their finished products for relatively high prices, thus increasing the financial gap between themselves and the poor countries (Sidani K., 2003).   Conclusion Globalization is a process that has started and that cannot be stopped anymore. It has brought an increasing interaction among the participants of international trade, global networking of the financial markets and growing power of multinational corporations. Today, globalization is seen as a world without borders. Everything begins to be reflected globally. So, today are global products, fashion, consumers and citizens. Globalization can be understood as a stage in the development of the civilization. Globalization often confronts with some anti-globalists all over the world. They have common responses to globalization; regionalism, nationalism and patriotism in order to preserve national and cultural particularities and to some extend protect their economic independence. The strengths and power of the Multinational Corporations are more and more visible in the globalization process. Many countries where these corporations operate and especially those small and poor are just having affiliates of the Multinational Companies because of the enormous financial resources of these corporations. The GDP (Gross National Product) of these countries cannot be even remotely compared with the profit that realizes the MNC. Multinational corporations, however, spread their influence and power in all countries, none can escape. Investment decisions are taken by corporations at global level, transferring capital or resources from one country to another, impacting (un)employment of millions of people and level of economic activity in some countries. What brings the globalization, global businesses and economies and the developing world in the future remains uncertain.

photovoltaic cells :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Photovoltaic cells are solid state devices that convert light directly into electricity. Photovoltaic literally means â€Å"light electricity.† These devices can be commonly found providing power for small scale devices such as calculators, watches, and small radios. However, they are not limited to small scale systems. They are also used to power satellites, communications equipment, houses and many other things, especially in remote locations where a power grid is not readily available. In isolated locations the only power attainable comes from the sun. The sun shines approximately 1000 watts of energy per square meter of the planets surface, which if harnessed could power any city.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The commercial development of the photovoltaic cell took more then a hundred years to begin. A french physicist Edmond Becquerel first described the photovoltaic effect in 1839. At the age of 19 Becquerel found that certain materials when exposed to light produced small measurable currents. Henrich Hertz also studied the effect in solids in the 1870's and he managed to produce photoelectric cells with an efficiency of about 1%. In the 1940's the new Czochralski process made generating highly pure crystalline silicon possible and furthermore made commercializing photovoltaic cells an option. Development really started however, in 1954 when Bell Laboratories used the Czochralski process to produce a 4% efficient crystalline silicon cell, which was essentially for application in space. This was the beginning of photovoltaic cells.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Photovoltaic cells generally consist of five layers. Two of these layers are semiconductors and the remaining three are merely for protection and to aid absorption of light. The top layer is generally a glass cover for protection against the elements since photovoltaic cells are used outside. Underneath this is an anti-reflective coating. Since most photovoltaic cells are made of silicon and silicon is reflective this prevents the photons from merely being bounced off the cell and allows the highest amount of absorption possible. These two layers are secured with a transparent adhesive. Transparent, obviously, so the photons can pass through it. Surrounding the entire cell is a metallic grid on top and a metal contact on bottom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The two layers of semiconductor are the most important. Semiconductors are materials that have electrical conductivity intermediate between the high conductivity of metals and the low conductivity of insulators. Conductivity is decided by how many free electrons are available to carry charge, and in turn how tightly electrons are bound to the parent atom.

Punic Wars Essay -- essays research papers

Discuss the Roman Punic Wars, in terms of their circumstances and overall effect on Rome’s economic and social development Also discuss the ensuing â€Å"Gracchan turbulence† from the same perspective. The circumstance for the Roman Punic Wars towards Rome was a simple human reaction. If an outsider such as Italy, Carthage, or Greece make threats towards Rome, Rome will simply fight. The Punic Wars lasted in 3 stages, all resulting to the obsessive pride and higher standings of Rome. Rome’s initial desire of expansion was only for farming land. Romans believed like anyone else that victory brought them honor as well as a strong, political career. Rome strongly had their victory of Italy due to their military discipline. Cowards were not welcome in the Roman Army. If a Roman fled from his standings, or left his comrades to die, they would receive severe punishment from the generals worse than the enemy could give them. The confidence of Roman soldiers grew because they knew their comrades would assure their well being if anything is to happen. The opponents were usually barbaric and disorganized. Most often, the opponents would flee leaving their comrades to die. The discipline of the Roman army was formed throughout the Punic wars. Poet Virgil Maxim best referred Romans by the quote â€Å"Yield you not to ill fortune, but go against it with more daring.† Rome’s Military form helped their enemies become allies and eventually citizens dedicated to Rome. The ...

Management and Planning

Tyco Company is a multinational group of companies that are destined to providing manufacturing services based on telecommunications as well as electronics.   It also provides services on security and healthcare.   The corporation of Tyco Electronics has experienced quite a rapid growth for the past few years, and it is today ranked as the world’s largest manufacturer of components. Management planning is a broad concept that ideally entails definition of the process of engaging all the resources and stakeholders of a particular business enterprise in order to accomplish the set goals of the business, which include success and long-term prosperity.   Planning is very crucial to management because having a plan on how all the business resources are managed is the first step to success of the business. Tyco Company has exercised a very high degree of planning for its management.   Planning has enabled the company to wisely and economically manage its process assets.   These assets include the stipulated standards as well as policies that govern the Tyco Company.   These process assets that have been well managed through proper planning within the Tyco Company are risk categories, whereby risk management planning has been emphasized roles as well as responsibilities of each member of the company that is the workforce, the management team and the stakeholders, and finally processes of decision making within the company. Tyco Company has also been able to plan for managing the company’s environmental factors.   These factors disclose tolerance that whole company organization and the stakeholders’ experience.   Understanding of these factors have enabled the whole Tyco Company organization and the stakeholders to be satisfied with decisions that reward the level as well as the density of risk management that is applied in the company.   Budgeting is also very important in any organization.   Therefore planning on how to manage budgeting has been a key issue in Tyco Company and this has contributed to even distribution of resources within the different branches of the company organizations.   Planning has also ensured that such overlooked issues in many companies such as risk management are considered and budgeted for. Time is always a constraint and time management is a very important aspect that should be stressed on by every organization that seeks to succeed.   Tyco Company has a well plan for time management, something that has ensured coherence among the various companies’ departments (Drucker,Harper & Row,1954).Planning for time management has also helped Tyco Company in fast manufacture, and supply of its products such electronics in time and as well, time service provision. This has highly boosted the company’s credibility and reliability, while at the same time rising to the higher levels of success. There are legal issues that arise within the Tyco Company. The fact that Tyco Company is a multinational Company means that it has several business operations in different states of countries. Each country is bound to have a different scale for tax payment.  Ã‚   In some countries, therefore, Tyco Company meets a lot of expenses through tax payment and this affects planning for budgeting management.   Planning is hence affected on the basis of budgeting due to this legal issue. Ethics deals with good relations towards others or the moral standards that are expected in the society.   Tyco Company has been able to maintain high ethical practices by understanding that, ethics as far as a business is concerned, begins right from the top.   The top managers in the Tyco Company therefore have been able to observe high critical standards hence setting a good example for the employees at the lower level to emulate.   This has enhanced management planning through establishment of a strong relationship and trust among the company’s staff, and the entire society. Drucker, Harper & Row, 1954). The company also exercised quite high social responsibility standards. It identifies and work s towards mentioning its customers through establishing good employee customer relations.   This has affected the management planning for Tyco Company since the company’s reliability is heightened and the customers are assures for the companies time management. Tyco Company has also laid down strategic contingency, operational as well as tactical plans.   Strategic planning is a process though which a company’s goal that are long term are determined at also involves identification of the most appropriate approach though which these goals can be achieved. Contingency planning involves putting into place long-term measures that are aimed at responding to any unlikely disaster that is bound to occur.   It involves planning for the unexpected. Operational planning involves all the activities that are short term and are geared to operating together towards success of the company while tactical planning involves planning for immediate future. All these plans are influence by various factors in any company.   In Tyco Company, lack of adequate resources such as funds and time has entirely affected perfect strategic, contingence, operational and tactical planning.   Most of the funds and available time is committed to expanding the business networks and technology as well as providing in service training to the companies workforce. (Thompson & Sheldon, 2003). Lack of qualified personnel who can deliver reliable plans has been another factor that has influenced the company’s strategic, tactical, operational and contingency planning.   This has led to increased chances of for instance, future risks since there are no firm laid grounds for risk management plans.   Unqualified personnel have also led to a problem of not documenting all the research and activities that the plans establish. This planning is also influenced by credibility which is created by representative participation, clear documentation as well as adhering to the rules of achieving the complete process. References. Drucker P. F. Harper & Row. (1954).The Practice of Management.