Nigerian Scams – 419 Scam

Nigerian Scams – 419 Scam Information Nigerian, or â€Å"419†, scams are one of the most common types of fraudulent email currently hitting inboxes. Nigerian scam messages can also arrive via fax or letter. The messages generally claim that your help is needed to access a large sum of money, usually many millions of dollars. In fact, this money does not exist. The messages are an opening gambit designed to draw potential victims deeper into the scam.Those who initiate a dialogue with the scammers by replying to a Nigerian scam message will eventually be asked for advance fees supposedly required to allow the deal to proceed. They may also become the victims of identity theft. The so-called â€Å"Nigerian scam† is one of the longest running that I know about. In fact, it predates the Internet and email. The scams are also known as â€Å"419 scams† after the appropriate part of the Nigerian criminal code. The scammers still use surface mail and faxes as well as email.There are a great many versions of this scam. Although many originate out of Nigeria, hence the generic term â€Å"Nigerian scam†, it is certainly not only Nigerian based criminals that send them. In spite of the longevity of this type of scam and the large amounts of publicity that it has received, many people around the world are still being conned out of substantial sums of money. I regularly receive enquiries from Internet users who have received Nigerian scam emails and do not know what they are about. Basically, the scam works like this.You receive an unsolicited message that masquerades as some manner of business proposition, request for assistance, notice of a potential inheritance, or opportunity to help a charity. In fact, there is a seemingly endless array of cover stories that the scammers use in order to draw potential victims into the con. In spite of this diversity, virtually all of the scam messages share a common theme. The messages all claim that y our help is needed to access a large sum of money, usually many millions of dollars.The scammers use a variety of stories to explain why they need your help to access the funds. For example: * They may claim that political climate or legal issues preclude them from accessing funds in a foreign bank account. * They may claim that your last name is the same as that of the deceased person who owned the account and suggest that you act as the Next of Kin of this person in order to gain access to the funds. * They may claim that a rich businessman, who has a terminal illness, needs your help to distribute his wealth to charity.The messages offer to let you keep a significant percentage of the funds in question in exchange for your assistance. This percentage is the bait that the scammers use to entice potential victims deeper into the scam. Once a recipient has taken the bait, and initiated a dialogue with the scammers, he or she will soon receive requests for â€Å"fees† that the scammer claims are necessary for processing costs, tax and legal fees, or bribes to local officials.The scammers will warn the victim that these advance fees need to be paid before the funds can be procured. In reality, the supposed funds do not exist. The major purpose of these scam messages is to trick recipients into parting with their money in the form of these advance fees. Fraudulent requests for fees will usually continue until the victim realizes he or she is being conned and stops sending money. In some cases, the scammers gain enough information to access the victim's bank account directly or steal the victim's identity.

Forensic Psychology Essay

1.How often is the insanity defense used and how successful is it? I would like to answer this question, with the presentation of my opinion and the performed research. It is within my opinion, that the insanity defense is used over excessively and is taking part in almost every defense to any crime. Offenders seem to have the knowledge to the use of this defense and will often provide a plea to guilty by insanity or temporary insanity, within the faith, to receive a reduced sentence. While insanity has to be a proven fact and a psychologist has to conduct a variety of tests to confirm the offender is suffering from a mental incompetence or insanity, most offenders have the ability to mislead or deceive psychologists to receive the evaluation they seek. Such action, if discovered, would actually prove the sanity of such offenders, but in most cases, it cannot be ascertained. The success of such defense is, within my view, very effective. The performed research is revealing a different answer. According to the St. Joseph News Press (2007), it has stated the opposite to my opinion. This article within a study of the national mental health institute claim’s; â€Å"the insanity defense plea is used in less than one (1) percent of criminal cases in the United States and less than a quarter of those pleas are successful†. Retrieved from; St. Joseph News Press (2007). With these opinions and views in combination, one would have to conduct further studies on this subject, to establish the correct answer. Everyone has different sentiments, within the use of the insanity defense and the successfulness of such validation. 2. Identify and discuss the major criticisms of the insanity defense. It is my belive,the major criticism of the insanity defense could be the establishment of prove to the claim of insanity. More often, offenders will try to make use of this defense for the hope of receiving a reduced sentence or the sentence to receive institutional care. According to my research, there are three (3) major criticisms within the insanity defense. The Insanity defense is mentioned as confusing to the psychiatric and legal concept. Furthermore, it is explained that the word â€Å"insane† is more of a legal word, then a medical term, and therefor to prove a person or a criminal insane, one must find the mental condition, of a criminal, severely impaired to the point of losing one’s free will. A psychiatrist may be or may not able to determine such illness, and a jury’s decision solely based on a psychiatrists’ opinion may be grounded on unreliable evidence. Retrieved from; West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2 (2008). 2. This criticism is on the moral basis and the consequences. This section suggests that the crime is of more importance, then the moral imperatives. It also addresses the way a criminal, who does plea insanity, should be trialed and punished for the crime. It is suggested, that the criminal should be convicted and the mental illness should be taken in consideration at the time of sentencing. If this method would be used by the court, it would allow the judge to determine the length of imprisonment, within a hospital prison, and the defendant would have to provide prove of improvement to the once dangerous behavior. Retrieved from; West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2 (2008). 3. This last criticism, is turned to the rich and wealthy criminals, who make use of the insanity plea. It is argued; â€Å"only wealthy defendant have the ability to retain a high-priced psychiatrist, who may be able to declare the defendant insane with the performed examination†. It also is believed, people who have less monetary funds and depend on the defense of a public defender, will not receive the same quality of defense, and they are also unable to receive the same value within the insanity exam. Such critic is based on the suggestion, that the insanity defense should be eliminated. Retrieved from; West’s Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2 (2008). 3. When a mentally ill person is convicted and incarcerated, what are some of the difficulties in providing appropriate psychological treatment for these offenders? The difficulties in providing appropriate care, to a incarcerated mentally ill person, would stand to the inappropriate care and knowledge of the staff or facility personnel, to the condition of the mentally ill. A prison or jail is not equipped nor can such establishment provide the correct treatment to the mentally ill. To take in consideration the staff and the special medical treatment such person would require, every day, while in such confinement. But the alternative to this problem is stated in: Wrightsman’s Psychology and the Legal System, 6e,(2011) in which it is proposed; â€Å"When defendants are found incompetent to stand trial, they can be committed for a period of treatment designed to restore their competence†. And also; â€Å"for dealing with the unrestorably incompetent criminal defendant include her or his waiving the right to be found incompetent to proceed to trial and using a special form of commitment for incompetent defendants who are judged at a provisional trial to be guilty of the crimes with which they are chargedâ€Å". Retrieved from; Wrightsman’s Psychology and the Legal System, 6e, pg; 249 (2011). It is my believe, the above suggested method, would be the better approach to the incarceration of incompetent or the mentally ill offenders.

What is the best type of data to use when doing research in your field Essay - 1

What is the best type of data to use when doing research in your field of - Essay Example e need to design and implement efficient international relations guidelines and practices, it has become imperative that more accurate international relations researches are conducted. Among the issues surrounding international relations researches is that of the best research method and type of data to be used. Central to these debates are quantitative and qualitative data, which are the two major types of data used in most disciplines. This paper explores the type(s) of data that is best suited for researching international relations, taking the stance that these two types of data can be used complimentarily in international relations research since each has its strengths and weaknesses, which could be complimented by the other. That the two data types can be combined to ensure accurate international relations researches is supported by the fact that while quantitative data are numerical representations and the manipulations of the obtained observations to describe and explain international phenomena, qualitative data emphasises meanings and processes that may not be measured (Mahoney & Goertz, 2006). From these definitions, it is quite evident that both numerical and non-numerical aspects of international relations would be catered for if researchers combined both qualitative and quantitative data (Mahoney & Goertz, 2006). That is, qualitative data presents, interprets and explains non-numerical aspects of an observation so that underlying international relations patterns, issues and meanings are discerned and understood. In other words, the two types of data have relative values depending on the nature and the objectives of the international relations research to be conducted. The aspects of international relations issues that qualitative data may help explore and explain are issues whose quantity, intensity, amount or frequency may not be rigorously measured. In other words, this type of data would emphasise the social nature and the relationships of

How would you account fro the rise of fidel castro Essay

How would you account fro the rise of fidel castro - Essay Example Fulgencio Batista’s government which seized power illegally in 1952 was corrupt and unstable. This form of writing pieces together what might have driven Fidel Castro’s rise to power at the age of 30.Fidel Castro introduced the first communist state in the western hemisphere after a successful overthrow of Fulgencio’s government in 1959 and ruled for almost five decades with great performance in plummeting illiteracy, engraving out racism and improving public health though condemned for depriving economic and political freedoms. Fidel Castro who interestingly came to power with an intention of fighting oppression, injustice, corruption and poverty finally became the oppressor after realizing that only revolution could help Cubans. â€Å"Bio. True Story† explains that Fidel was born in 1926 in the eastern Cuba before studying law at the University of Havanna where he got into student politics (1-2). His intelligence, political savvy and being a good orator earned him a place as a student leader and later joined a political system that was opposed to Batista. His attempt to go for peaceful political change was unsuccessful and being an idealist, he believed that the populace would gather behind him to overthrow the then leader, Batista. Castro initially attacked the Moncada military barracks with only 100 followers using inferior weapons (Eldridge Web). Interestingly, Fidel Castro even prepared a revolutionary address which he expected to be broadcasted on the radio stations then give weapons to people and win Santiago. However, inadequate experience of the revolutionaries failed the mission. The failure was followed by brutal overreaction of the army killing innocent civilians and later led to Castro being put on trial and imprisoned for 15 years in Isle Pines (â€Å"Bio.True Story† 1-6). Although in prison, Castro still used his oratory prowess to make outstanding speech and ensured they were printed and circulated during his trial. Fortunately, the violent response to the attempted revolution by the army and the reaction by the Catholic Church to the army’s response made him respectable and a great hero. In 1955, Batista declared a general amnesty for all political prisoners prompting the release of Fidel, his brother Raul who went to Mexico and formed the 26th of July Movement where he officially announced that they would invade and overthrow Batista (â€Å"Bio.True Story† 2-5). On December 1956, he landed with his team in eastern Cuba where they prepared for a night march while sleeping in a cane but they were betrayed by a guide. They were then ambushed and badly tortured and butchered but still Castro survived and he continued gathering and recruiting his army. They invaded small town army posts and the army expeditions in the mountains making soldiers to refuse marching at the head of the column. He divided his army into various columns headed by numerous commanders as more people wer e recruited in the revolution. They established base camps and resembled small cities with hospitals, schools and hydroelectric station and a rebel newspaper, El Cubano Libre was published as well as telephone lines connecting several revolutionary columns (â€Å"Bio.True Story† 2-4). â€Å"Bio. True Story† explains that Fidel’

Oil in Venezuela Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Oil in Venezuela - Research Paper Example Despite the knowledge of oil for ages the, the first oil wells were not drilled up until 1910s. According to McBeth (2005) asserts that when Juan .V. Gomez took the reigns of power in 1908, he granted several concessions to explore, produce and refine oil. Most of these concessions were actually given to his closest allies, and they in turn passed them over to foreign oil companies that could develop them. From 1914 to 1917, more oil fields were discovered across the nation. By the end of 1918, petroleum had appeared for the very first time in Venezuelan export’s statistics at 21,194 metric tonnes (Martinez, 1979). After 20 years, Venezuela became the largest oil exporter in the whole world and second largest oil producer after the United States of America. This led to an influx of foreign investors. By 1929, with the nation being the second largest oil producer in the world. Currently, Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporting nation in the world, with the largest reserves of both conventional oil in the western hemisphere and non-conventional oil. This fact is very immense importance to the understanding of Venezuela because it has shaped the country’s political, economical, cultural, and historical scenes (Wilpart, 2003). Venezuela has 77.2 billion barrels of proven conventional oil reserves, the largest in any state in the Western Hemisphere. Approximately 267 barr els of this might be producible at current prices utilising the current technology. Venezuela was the first country to make a move towards the establishment of the Oil Producing and Exporting Countries (OPEC). It approached Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Gabon, and Libya in 1949, but OPEC was not set up until 1960. This was when the United States forced import quotas on the Persian and Venezuelan Gulf oil so as to support the Canadian and Mexican oil industries (Martinez, 1979). In 1973, OPEC wielded its first power with the 1973 oil embargo against Western Europe and the United States. Discussion Economy In Venezuela, there was dramatic development of the oil industry, and the oil sector commenced to dominate all other economic sectors in the country. On the other hand, agricultural production began to decline slowly. Agriculture accounted for about one third of the economic production in 1920. According to Yergin (1999) argues that this sudden change increases attention on oil and ne glecting the agricultural sector causing the Venezuelan economy to suffer from a phenomenon referred by economists as the â€Å"Dutch disease†. The occurrence of this disease is manifested when a commodity brings substantial increase in income in one sector, resulting in strengthening of the currency which in turn harms exports of the other manufacturing sectors. This increased sectoral income has caused a distorted growth in services and other non-tradables, which can not be imported whilst discouraging the production of tradables, which are actually imported. The reason for this disparity is that, greater income dramatically raises the demand for imports because the domestic market production can not meet the production quickly enough. This raises the demand for services of which the domestic market has to supply because the services can not be easily imported as the tradables. When one looks at the extent to which there has been increased oil production and income, which w as followed by a corresponding steady decrease in agricultural production, one can clearly observe the symptoms of Dutch disease in the Venezuelan economy. This resulted in a delay in industrialization. The other Dutch disease symptoms are evident in the constant

Insurance Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Insurance Practices - Essay Example On one hand and often uppermost in the mind of the healthcare organizations, they may estimate the upper limit of the compensation they may need to claim and then compare the premium which they must pay. On the other hand, important factors also include the nature of the insurer, the way the insurer manages claims, the obligations and benefits specified in the policy and possibilities of additional insurance coverage (Thornton). Of interest to the healthcare organization is not only the capacity of the insurer to pay out claims finally awarded, but also to fund the costs of ongoing litigation in the meantime. Healthcare organizations must understand that ' Serious problems can arise in each of these areas that can make a health care liability claim even worse than imagined' (Thornton). Aggravating factors that work to increase claims are the cost of continued healthcare to treat or remedy the problem under discussion and the potential loss of earnings for the plaintiff. (Bell). In some cases the rocketing level of claims awarded have driven healthcare insurance companies out of certain states because they cannot afford to do business in those circumstances. Only revised state legislation capping the level of claims made has allowed them to return and resume business with the healthcare organizations in the area. (Thornton). The first category, workers' compens... The first category, workers' compensation insurance, protects the healthcare organization from legal action following accidents or illness suffered by its employees in the workplace and funds the medical attention and compensation for lost income for employees affected by such events; workers' compensation insurance applies no matter whose fault the accident or illness was, as long as it was workplace related (Insurance Information Institute). The second category, liability insurance, applies to a third party other than the insured and its employees, meaning a person or persons who have not contracted with the insurer (Farlex). Policies for liability insurance are defined in accordance with a maximum level of payment to be made by the insurer per stated period (typically 1 year). If the healthcare organization wishes to have insurance coverage above this level, this is typically available from the insurer. The insurer then often pays for legal costs associated with such claims in excess of the original amount, although this is by no means an absolute rule (Bell) Liability insurance can then be further sub-categorized into claims made and occurrence policies. Claims made policies taken out by a healthcare organization protect the organization against claims or events reported during the term of the policy (Tennant). At the discretion of the insurance company, such a policy will typically cover events prior to the claims made policy term, if a similar claims made policy was in operation immediately before the term of the current claims made policy. These claims are settled according the law as it was defined at the moment of the event triggering the claim, rather than at the moment when the claim itself is made. Occurrence

Writing assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Writing assignment 2 - Essay Example ferent", Apple has been able to convince its present and potential consumers of its product superiority in the technological industry through advertising. Basing primarily on television and internet advertising apple has been able to persuade a majority of personal electronics consumers of the need, simplicity and product superiority in their products (Dooley, 2007). Apple’s television advertising kick-started in 1984 towards the launch of the Macintosh computer, and it was dubbed ‘1984’. The advertisement hyped the Macintosh computer while promising 1984 not to be the same again after using the Macintosh computer. With 85% of the European population being active Television users, the use of televised commercial advertising was very effective until late 2000’s. The use of celebrities in their advertising has been so instrumental in creating brand awareness. In the European, as well as other markets different local celebrities, were used with the same original theme and music. The latest in television advertising was â€Å"I am a PC, and I am a Mac† that started off in 2006 and ended towards 2010 (Forker& Ward, 1993). After the end of television advertising, Apple shifted its focus to internet advertising through videos uploaded online to its website, YouTube plus other captivating slogans on social media. This was as a result of the digital migration where more than 50% of the world population became active internet users by 2009.With the increase in social media uses over the past few years; Apple has gone social too by creating dynamic pages and setting sales promotions and brand awareness whilst actively engaging its customers. Their internet advertising move has received some criticism over unethical interruptions, but this cannot be equalled to the increased sales revenue both online and in vendor shops. The internet has enabled it to provide an active customer support globally as well as create potential customers (Moriety et al., 2012). The latest

Evaluate the evidence for a critical period of language acquisition Essay

Evaluate the evidence for a critical period of language acquisition. At what point does the brain appear to lose its plasticity for language - Essay Example Apart from the small things or concepts taught by the parents, siblings, schools, etc, etc as part of life’s and academic education, the children will tend to learn many things on their own. The children using their brains and other sense organs will learn from the environment, the things they handle, the images they see, and importantly the words they hear, etc. So, the crucial formative years only functions as a perfect setting for the child to develop physically, intellectually, emotionally and also vocally. Vocally in the sense, they will develop the ability to acquire multiple languages and speak in them. But, as the child grows, the ‘plasticity’ of the brain to acquire languages tends to weaken. So, this paper will discuss why the brain appears to lose its plasticity for language, from different angles. Even though, the vocal box, and other vocal and auditory organs only help the humans to listen, speak and thereby acquire languages, the brain only plays an omnipresent role in all the process. That is, when children hear languages in the form of sounds, their brain, which will be in the developing stage, will try to form patterns and importantly will try to reproduce it. And only when the child’s brain develops further the formation of pattern will accelerate, resulting in seamless reproduction and also own creation of sounds and languages. â€Å"†¦ before babies utters their first slobbery syllable, they have been hard at work mentally calculating the statistical nuances of their parents language. Not only are babies capable of deciphering sounds, she said, but they also can map how the individual sounds are combined, how syllables are stressed, and what the intonation qualities are--"all by the time they celebrate their first birthday (NIDCD). So, the bottom line is, in the critical period of language acquisition, the brains plays a crucial role.

Molecular and Genomic Analysis of Bacterial Pathogenicity Essay

Molecular and Genomic Analysis of Bacterial Pathogenicity - Essay Example So far, in genetic analysis the resolving power has been limited only by the refinement of techniques. In the type of recombination on which classical genetic analysis is based, these structures are the chromosomes and their linearly arranged elements. The latter are recognized as genes as a consequence of their specific activities in metabolism and development (Pontecorvo, 1958). Complete genome sequences are now available for multiple strains of several bacterial pathogens and comparative analysis of these sequences is providing important insights into the evolution of bacterial virulence. Recently, DNA microarray analysis of many strains of several pathogenic species has contributed to our understanding of bacterial diversity, evolution and pathogenesis (Fitzgerald & Musser, 2001). Comparative genomics has shown that pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Helicobacter pylori and Staphylococcus aurues contain extensive variation in gene content whereas Mycobacterium tuberculosis nucleotide divergence is very limited. Overall, these approaches are proving to be a powerful means of exploring bacterial diversity, and are providing an important framework for the analysis of the evolution of pathogenesis and the development of novel antimicrobial agents (Fitzgerald & Musser, 2001). It is of little relevance whether the agents of risk are organic or inorganic; their effects both relate to processes of 'contamination' and 'spreading'. They can both be understood as 'actors'. In the discourses that have brought viruses to our attention, pathogen motivation is of crucial importance. Viruses make us ill because they are replicating themselves; like waste, they are virulent objects of modernity. However, unlike waste, they 'take over' bits and pieces of our bodies because they are motivated by self-replication. That is, they borrow bits of genetic material (DNA or RNA) and ribosome from their hosts (Cann, 1997; Levine, 1992). Popular culture can indeed be seen as playing a crucial role in the social and symbolic organization of risk management; expositions of newly emergent pathogen virulence have fully embraced the technological culture of the risk society. However, our exploration would not be able to escape the ironic turning-inward if it would merely circulate on the plane of textual analysis. Therefore, we turn to more sociological explanations of infections and epidemics to argue that pathogen virulence is part of a wider network of actors (humans, animals, technologies, and spirits). Moreover, it allows us to understand the social in terms of a complex spatialization of body politics and biopolitics, in which pathogen virulence constitutes a particularly effective medium of both 'sense-making' and the management of body boundaries (Joel Cracraft, Michael M. Miyamoto, 1991). Bacterial Pathogenesis Molecular Mechanisms De Bary (1879) broad definition of symbiosis includes parasitism and disease, areas in which significant discoveries are being made. This has been most evident in bacterial pathogenesis. During the past decade, scientists have introduced innovative approaches and concepts from disciplines such as bacteriology,

Love and Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Love and Marriage - Essay Example od, Zora Neale Hurston narrates how a free black grandmother marries off her sixteen-year-old granddaughter, Janie Crawford, to a landed old black man, Logan Killicks. Another arranged marriage occurs in The Book of Ruth, where Naomi arranges the marriage of her daughter-in-law, Ruth, to a wealthy landowner and relative, Boaz. Logan and Janie’s marriage did not flourish because Janie they are in complete conflict regarding their marriage expectations, whereas Ruth and Boaz’s marriage flourished because they both believe in a traditional form of marriage based on shared social norms and customs, and because Boaz loves Ruth physically and emotionally too. Logan marries with traditional expectations of controlling his wife, particularly in serving his economic needs. Coontz describes traditional marriages that are based on economic goals. Instead of marrying out of love, people married because they needed to secure their financial conditions in life, such as what happens when aristocratic families marry to preserve or improve their wealth (Coontz 69-70). One of the reasons that Logan marries Janie is because he wants someone to help him run his large farm. He asks her to chop woods and to not depend on him for these chores, but Janie retorts that if she would be chopping wood, he would not be getting dinner (Hurston 25). Despite Janie’s protests in handling masculine tasks, Logan leaves her to get a mule that she can manage and to cut up seed potatoes. He also insists that Janie should start helping him more in his farm and stop pretending that she was â€Å"born in a carriage† (Hurston 29). He marries to have a reliable , unpaid helper in his farm. Instead of hiring more people, Logan marries a servant. Besides economic interests, Logan marries for the traditional reason of controlling a woman who will fulfill his social and power needs. Coontz notes that people traditionally married to gain social advantages. Marriage has been â€Å"the most important

Ethics in Psychology Essay Example for Free

Ethics in Psychology Essay The definition of ethics is as follows: â€Å"a theory or system of moral values; the general nature of morals and of the specific moral choices to be made by a person†. (dictionary.com ) In modern day society, we have bio-ethicists; professionals who are trained to judge what can be considered ethical, as well as strict guidelines set forth by the APA (American Psychological Association). However, during the early years of the formation of Psychology, there were no bio-ethicists or universal guidelines, therefore some of the early experiments such as the â€Å"Little Albert†, and â€Å"Mother Attachment† would be considered unethical and therefore would not be permitted today. In 1920, behaviorist John B. Watson and his assistant Rosalie Rayner conducted an experiment now called the â€Å"Little Albert†. The desired outcome of the experiment was to show empirical evidence of classical conditioning in humans. (T. Bartlett) A similar study that preceded â€Å"Little Albert† was conducted by Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov, which demonstrated the conditioning process in dogs. It is said that Watson wanted to continue and further Pavlov’s research to eventually show that emotional reactions could be classically conditioned in humans. Watson and Rayner first selected a nine month old baby from a local hospital, his name was Douglas Merritte. The child was then exposed to a series of stimuli including a white rat, a rabbit, a monkey, masks, and burning newspapers; his initial reactions were observed and recorded. The boy initially showed no fear of any of the objects he was shown. However, the second time the boy was exposed to the white rat, it is accompanied by a loud starling clang, that clearly frightens the child. This portion of the experiment is repeated multiple times until the mere sight of the white rat, or creatures that have a similar appearance, frighten the child even when unaccompanied by the startlingly clang. The researchers have successfully conditioned Little Albert to be afraid. (T. Bartlett) Today â€Å"Little Albert† is considered to be a cruel experiment of questionable value, clearly in violation of all five of the APA’s general ethical guidelines. The APA states that psychologists must: â€Å"respect the dignity and worth of all people, and the rights of individuals to privacy, confidentiality, and self-determination. Be aware that special safeguards may be necessary to protect the rights and welfare of persons or communities whose vulnerabilities impair autonomous decision making. Be aware of and respect cultural, individual and role differences, including those based on age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language and socioeconomic status and consider these factors when working with members of such groups. Try to eliminate the effect on their work of biases based on those factors, and they do not knowingly participate in or condone activities of others based upon such prejudices.†(APA) The first problem with â€Å"Little Albert† stems from the harm caused to the individual in question. Douglas Merritte was ultimately driven to feel extreme fear and even terror when exposed to anything that remotely resembled the white rat. This was mentally damaging for the child, and may have impaired his ability to integrate himself into society at a later date. (Cherry. K) Secondly, the right to withdraw was not present in the experiment; even when the boy became distressed and even ill the experiment continued. Therefore, today, the â€Å"Little Albert† experiment would be considered highly unethical. During the 1960’s, American Psychologist Harry Harlow, conducted a series of controvertial experiments known as the â€Å"Mother Attachment Experiments†. These experiments were used to analyze the mother-child relationship in primates. In Harlows initial experiments, infant monkeys were separated from their mother’s shortly after birth and were raised instead by surrogate mothers made either wire or soft terry cloth. In one experiment both types of surrogates were present in the cage, but only one was equipped with the ability to nurse the infant. Some infants received nourishment from the wire surrogate, and others were fed from the cloth mother. Harlow established that mother love was really behavior based, meaning the offspring would seek physical comfort, rather than feeding. Harlows isolation studies also demonstrated the need for maternal interaction with their infants and the importance of play as part of the normal process of psychosocial growth. Harlow has received multiple awards for these experiments, they have been deemed of extreme significance for understanding those aspects of human behavior related to depression, aggression or sexual dysfunction, which originated in the formative years of mother-infant interaction.†(Theodore Lidz of Yale University Medical School). However, due to the fact that the experiments caused extreme psychological effects on the primates used in the trials, they could be seen as highly unethical. In the APA’s ethical principles of psychology, section 8.09 clearly states that psychologists must have a: Humane Care and Use of Animals in Research. Subsections B and D of sectio n 8.09 are relevant when considering Harlow’s treatment of the primates. Subsection B states: â€Å"Psychologists trained in research methods and experienced in the care of laboratory animals supervise all procedures involving animals and are responsible for ensuring appropriate consideration of their comfort, health and humane treatment† (APA). In the â€Å"Mother Attachment† experiments, Harlow himself was not trained in the research methods and experienced in the care of the primates, nor was there any consideration for their comfort or mental health after the experiment. Furthermore, subsection D states that: â€Å"Psychologists make reasonable efforts to minimize the discomfort, infection, illness and pain of animal subjects† (APA). Harlow failed to minimize the negative effects of his experiments on the primates in a long term setting; most primates involved in the study were clinically depressed after the termination and in some cases during the experiment.Therefore, in accordance to the APA’s ethical guidelines Harlowâ €™s experiment would be seen as morally questionable and in most cases unethical in modern society. There is no question that the science which is psychology has been built and greatly advanced through the means of what some would consider unethical means and experimentation. â€Å"Little Albert† is seen today as a cruel experiment of questionable value. However knowledge was gained from this â€Å"unethical† experiment that has helped modern day psychologists. The â€Å"Mother Attachment† experiments, have won multiple awards for their â€Å"extreme significance† (Theodore Lidz) in the analysis of behavior based on the mother-child relationship; despite the fierce criticism and controversy surrounding the experiments. Should both experiments be considered morally wrong and unethical? Perhaps. Did both experiments play a large role in the advancement of psychology? Without a doubt. Therefore in Harlow and Watson’s cases, the end justifies the means. References American Psychological Association (APA). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://www.apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx?item=3 Bartlett, T. (2012). The Sad Saga of Little Albert Gets Far Worse for a Researchers Reputation . Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 58(Issue 23), A-26. Cherry, K. Psychology Complete Guide to Psychology for Students, Educators Enthusiasts. Little Albert The Little Albert Experiment. Retrieved December 10, 2012, from http://psychology.about.com/od/classicpsychologystudies/a/little-albert-experiment.htm (1975). Honoring Harlow for dedicated research . Science News , Vol.107 (Issue 24), 383.

Logistics management and international logistics management

Logistics management and international logistics management The literature overview relates to the problem area occur when the penetration to foreign market presented in chapter one. Firstly, I will describe definition of logistics management and international logistics management. Second, I will thrash out the reason of a logistics management start international operations. Further, I will talk about theories regarding the market selection. Next, I will present the different types of channels of distribution and the process for choose a representative in the foreign market. Lastly, I will end this chapter with environmental of logistics. 2.1 LITERATURE OF INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT Definition of logistics management and international logistics management Generally logistics refers to the inbound and outbound flow and storage of goods , services, and information within and between organisations (Gundlach et al, 2006). The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), which is the pre-eminent professional organisation for academics and practitioners in the logistics field, formed in 1963, defined logistics management as that part of supply chain management that plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods ,services, and related information between the point of origin and the the pont of consumption in order to meet customers requirements (see www.cscmp.org) This definition has resulted from numerous changes in the process to understand logistics (see Table 1). Table 1: The Development of Logistics Management (source) Period Development Prior to the 1980s Logistics was primarily concerned with the outbound flow of finished goods and services, with an emphasis on physical distribution and warehouse management. As a managerial activity, logistics focused on its role to support an organisations business strategy and to provide time and place utility. During the 1980s The industry globalisation and transportation deregulation led to the expansion of logistics beyond outbound flows to include recognition of materials management and physical distribution as important elements. In 1986, CLM (now CSCMP) defined logistics as the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of raw materials, in-process inventory, finished goods, and related information flow from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of conforming to customer requirements (see www.clm1.org). During the 1990s Logistics was defined as the process of strategically managing the procurement, movement and storage of materials, parts and finished inventory and related information flow through the organisation and its marketing channels. The definition was changed as a result of accelerated market changes due to shrinking product lifecycles, demand for customisation, responsiveness to demand, and increased reliance on information (Christopher, 1998). During the 2000s These years experienced further changes as to how logistics is defined. Development in international trade, supply chain management, technology and business process re-engineering generated a need to re-evaluate the logistics concept. As a result, in 2001, it was defined as that part of supply chain process that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective flow and storage of goods, services and related information from the point of origin to the point of consumption in order to meet customer requirements. * Adapted from Gundlach, G.T.; Bolumole, Y.A.; Eltantawy, R.A. and Frankel, R., (2006), The Changing Landscape of Supply Chain Management, Marketing Channels of Distribution, Logistics and Purchasing, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, Vol.21/7, pp 428-438. The internationalization process of logistics is the best way that a supplier in one country are transferred procurement, transportation, storage, processing, collating, distribution, marketing and information are tied in and commodities to a demander in another country with the lowest cost and minimum risk, keeping goods quality, quantity and timely. The essence of Internationalization of logistics is the principle of collaboration with the international division of labors in accordance with international practice, the use of international logistics networks, logistics facilities and logistics technology and achieve global flows and exchange of goods and services to promote regional economic development and the optimal allocation of resources in the world (YANG 2003). 2.2 CHANGE AGENT A change agent is an event, organization, material thing or, more usually, a person that acts as a catalyst for change. In business terms, a change agent is a person chosen to bring about organizational change. Corporations often hire senior managers or even chief executives because of their ability to effect change. An internal change agent is usually a staff person who has expertise in the behavioral sciences and in the intervention technology of OD. 2.2.1Internal Change Agents Internal change agents will affect the organization from within. These are  individuals working for the organization who know something about its problems and has experience of improving situation in the same organization .The entry of new employee can view as the possibilities of prolonging the life cycle for a goods via internationalization. 2.2.2External Change Agents External change agents are those that have influence on the organizational from the outside. These are outside consultants who are temporary employed in the organization to remain engaged only for the duration of the change process. External change agents usually do not implement plans or take responsibility for decision making. Supporting change leaders and programming and project teams in negotiating the transition between the current state and the desired future state is the preoccupation of external change agent. External change agents facilitating, through coaching, mentoring and knowledge transfer, the development of new skills and behaviour in others. 2.3 Motives for foreign expansion There are many reasons for a company going expand to foreign country. Most of them are market related. The market related motivations to expand their business divided to proactive and reactive motivations. Proactive motives are motives that stimuli organizations to attempt strategy change, based on the firms interest in exploiting unique competences or market possibilities. Reactive motives are motives which the organization not influence over the threat or pressures and adjust passively to them by changing its activities over time. Czinkota Ronkainen indicate that proactive organizational go international because they want to, however, reactive organizational because they have to. Several disadvantages will occur when an organization operation in a foreign market compared to the domestic competitors. As a result, an organization must build some advantages to get established in the new market compared to the domestic market. 2.3.1 PROACTIVE MOTIVATIONS FOR LOGISTIC MANAGEMENTS Accordingly to Ross,1995, proactive motivations occurs when the enterprise make a decision to expand their operations into foreign markets. The proactive motivation are defined as Profit advantage Products Exclusive information Managerial urge Tax benefits Economies of scale Usually, an enterprise perceive that internationalization will provides a great opportunity of increasing profits, which also the most well-known reason for internationalization . An enterprise will produce a product or service ,which is not readily existing in foreign markets. The product or service may be very attractive on foreign market, due to technological advantages of the production process, which gives the enterprise gain a competitive advantage over the domestic enterprises.(Czinkota Ronkainen,1995) The next reason for export is that numerous enterprises realized the home market is too small and cannot afford to extend product at domestic market. Besides that, an enterprise may also acquired knowledge about the foreign market than other competitor which do not have. Thus, enterprise will initiate steps towards the internationalization process. Further, when an enterprise start to export, the domestic government may exploit the tax benefit to the enterprise. Lastly, an enter prise can obtain economies of scales as their advantage through export activities. The economies of scales means produce larger volumes then will diminish the cost per unit produced. 2.3.2 REACTIVE MOTIVATIONS FOR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT When the domestic industry outlook is not attractive, the enterprise will try to penetrate foreign market, to decreased their resource commitments at domestic country. The reactive motivation are defined as: Competitive pressures Overproduction Declining domestic sales Saturated domestic market Excess capacity Relationships Unsolicited order The high competition on the domestic industry or overproduction during the economic decline, might affect the enterprises profitability. Thus, the enterprise try to seek new markets abroad. Declining domestic sales occur when a product reaching the declining stage of the product life cycle and a saturated domestic market will lead an enterprise to export their product to foreign market, in order to prolong the lifetime of a certain product. Additional, if the enterprise has excess capacity ,internationalization may aid the enterprise in reaching the desired production level in order to reduce the fix cost per unit produced.(CzinkotaRonkainen, 1995) .On top of that, some enterprise want to maintain or defend its position in a particular business network, therefore, they may be enforced to face internationalization process..Last but no least, the enterprise may fit into exporting sector because of the unsolicited order. 2.4 FOREIGN MARKET MODE OF ENTRY A foreign market mode of entry is a channel which enables the enterprises product, human skills, management, technology or other resources, to enter into a foreign country. The choice of market entry mode is a vital strategic decision for firms intending to carry out business overseas. A number of definitions of different modes of entry exist. Hedman (1993) classifies the modes of entry as indirect , direct and alternatives to export. However, Hedmans model does not assume joint venture as entry mode ,which other authors such as Jeannet Hennessey,1988;Root 1994b;Ross,1995 identify as an entry mode.Joint ventures will be presented under heading 2.4.3.4. Most models of foreign market mode of entry is due to limited resources , therefore ,enterprises initially penetrate a foreign market through indirect export methods. Indirect paths to internationalization are those whereby small firms are involved in exporting, sourcing or distribution agreements with intermediary companies who manage, on their behalf, the transaction, sale or service with overseas companies (Fletcher, 2004). Export intermediaries play an important middleman role in international trade, linking individuals and organizations that would otherwise not have been connected (Peng and York, 2001, 328). Small and new ventures use intermediaries toovercome knowledge gaps, find customers and reduce uncertainties and risks associated with operating in foreign markets (Terjesen et al., 2008) The mode of entry will switches to direct export such as agents, distributors, and sales branches, when the enterprise becomes more dynamic in international business. Direct export known as the producer will conduct the distribution activities to a foreign agent or importer or to the end customer directly Selecting the channel of distribution is a long-term strategic decision and need to build long-term relationships and the necessity of stimulating cooperation among distribution alliance partnersMehta et al., 2001 R. Mehta, T. Larsen, B. Rosenbloom, J. Mazur and P. Polsa, Leadership and cooperation in marketing channels: a comparative empirical analysis of the United States, Finland, and Poland, Int Mark Rev 18 (2001), pp. 633-666. View Record in Scopus | Cited By in S. Distribution channels defined as the external contractual groups that firms cooperation to accomplish their distribution objectives (Rosenbloom, 2004 B. Rosenbloom, Marketing channels: a management view, South-Western, Mason (OH) (2004).Rosenbloom 2004). The chosen channel will affect the enterprises effectiveness and efficiency for as long as it is operating (Doyle, 1994). As a result, the enterprise should plan a long-term strategy and evaluate the own enterprisess future economical abilities, before select distribu tion channel. 2.4.1 INDIRECT EXPORT Indirect export is a chain that connect with the exporting enterprise with a domestic middleman in the target foreign country and link to the end customer as a final point(Akhter,1996). Export intermediaries often help their clients to identify customers, financing and distribution infrastructure providers (Balabanis, 2000). Intermediaries also help firms in overcoming knowledge gaps of the local market , reduce uncertainties and risks associated with operating in foreign markets. Firms may hire export intermediaries because they perform certain functions related to exporting without large investments, with low start up costs and few risks better than the firm itself could. Firms may hire export intermediaries because they perform certain functions related to exporting better or at lower costs than the firm itself could, for example because they possess country-specific knowledge that the firm lacks (Li, 2004) . For this reason Peng and Ilinitch (1998) argue that manufacturers may be more likely to use intermediaries when entering foreign markets. Export intermediaries can also help firms to save costs associated with searching new customers and monitoring the enforcement of contracts (Peng and York, 2001) as well as to help access intermediaries contacts, experience and knowledge of foreign markets (Terjesen et al., 2008). According to Hedman (1993), indirect export may work in three ways: through a trading firm ,an export merchant and an export agent. 2.4.1.1 Trading firm An export trading firm is an alliance among a few local small and medium enterprise (SME) to export their product to a target country. They will do export as teamwork to developing and penetrating a target country rather than do it single-handedly. Those firms cooperate to reduce export costs and risks while can develop market research to find new export business opportunities Firms that team-up for exporting can negotiate favorable rates on transportation, insurance and other export services .However ,a trading firm is independent when it operate in a foreign market(Hoagland,1996) 2.4.1.2 Export through an export agent Export agent is buyers in foreign countries who will buy products from enterprise and sell it abroad in their country. The agent usually awards the lowest bidder with the order and sell it with receives commission as compensation for their effort. Normally, the payment for export agent is received almost immediately plus there is very little effort required to complete the sale. Therefore, the manufacturer can get access to a larger market with minimum cost and risk . The manufacturers reputation is the largest risk when the manufacturer choosing export agent in foreign market. The manufacturer absolutely looses their control of the export activities after they select an export agent to help them sell their product in foreign market. 2.4.1.3 Export through an export merchant An export merchant acts as a kind of international wholesaler (Ross,1995). An export merchant seeks out needs in foreign markets and negotiates with a manufacturer. After makes purchases from manufacturers, the goods are exported to the waiting buyer. After having the merchandise packed and marked to specifications, the export merchant resells the goods in its own name. The export merchant normally specializes in a particular line of products or in a particular geographical market area where they have been operating during a longer a longer period. Sometime it sells the goods with the original suppliers labels or puts its own label. 2.4.2 Direct export Direct export may be conducted in three ways: (1) directly to the final customer,(2) with the help of a representative or (3) through the exporting enterprises own establishment (Hedman, 1993). The enterprise will confront with higher investment risks when they conduct export their product through direct link to foreign country. On the other hand, the enterprise may gain potential profit margin and the cost for transaction between home country n host country will drop. 2.4.2.1 Export directly to the final customer When conduct direct export without going through an intermediary in the home country to develops an overseas channel so that it deals directly with a foreign party, the exporting enterprise takes hold of all exporting activities. Therefore, they have to conduct their marketing research, investigations, transportation and documentation (Young et al .,1989 ). The advantages of directly to final customers is active market exploitation and greater control to the transaction in the host country. On top of that, the channel also improves communication and consistency. However, it is a difficult channel to handle if the manufacturer is unfamiliar with the foreign market and causing time consuming and expensive. 2.4.2.2 Export through a representative Export through a representative have played a crucial role in the development of the internationalization process. A representative is an intermediaries in the foreign market which have their own market organization that separated from the exporting enterprise . The company can determine to adapt the quantity of the home-based sales representative travel abroad at certain times to take orders or find business. Those enterprise want to penetrate the foreign market but afraid of the risk can find an experienced intermediaries to help them start their operation in foreign country. This is because those intermediaries obtain the knowledge about the country and may efficiently locate the product to the final customer. Agent An export agent, is an intermediary or trading company that acts on behalf of a company to open up or develop a market in a foreign country. However, the agent does not take title to the products and gives the exporter to take part in the planning and monitoring of the marketing activities. Export agents usually paid a commission on all sales and may have exclusive rights in a particular geographic area. A good agent will know or get to know local market conditions, which the exporting enterprises lack. An agent just carrying out part of the operations on behalf of the exporter, the exporter owns the product until it is sold to the final customer. The exporter has responsible for the customers risks because of the agent does not do not handle the products .The role of the export agent is to evaluate the export potential of the local manufacturers products, advertise them abroad, look for foreign buyers, place orders with the manufacturer, or arrange for, the documentation, take care of shipments and insurance once a sale has been made. Distributor Distributor is a firm located in the foreign market that purchase goods, re-label them with their own name, brand or trademark and then sell them as their own products. Foreign distributors are the backbone for many export manufacturerBello, D.C. and Lohtia, R., 1995. Export channel design: the use of foreign distributors and agents. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 23 2, pp. 83-93 Full Text via CrossRef | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus. These export intermediaries possess crucial contacts with foreign buyers, strong local-market knowledge, and the ability to provide sophisticated marketing services. Distributors usually has a close relationship with the exporter and given the exclusive right to sell the product. They typically provide complementary services to their buyers, such as maintenance, parts sales, and technical assistance. On top of that, the distributor will assist the export enterprise by running processing orders, stock foreign inventories, grant buyer credit n delivery. Entering foreign market with using distributors is less risky and payment will get directly after transaction. This methods allow SMEs with limited resources to operate in major markets and companies with significant resources to offer their products and services in smaller markets. 2.4.2.3 Export through an own establishment Export through an own establishment usually is a company-owned export department for a enterprise sells their product directly to companies or final customers in the foreign market.The enterprise has full control over export activities such as the marketing and distribution of its goods and services, and coordinates research, distribution, sales, marketing, pricing, and legal. This department usually consists of an export sales manager with some clerical assistants. Export through an own establishment is an expensive way but very effective for enterprise to conduct their business in foreign market. Sales office An enterprise starting a sales office in a foreign market have to be establish new relationships in the foreign business network .Enter a foreign market with sales office is very costly n time consuming. This is because establish a sales office in foreign market required a high level of resources n effort into the market. , however, it is the best way to enterprise to obtain the knowledge of the local market. Branch A branch office established facilitate sales in the foreign market . They is an intermediary who selling products and providing support services to the manufacturers sales force .A sales branch allows the manufacturer to achieve greater presence and programme control in the foreign market. The role of sales branch handle sales is distribute product and managing warehouse and promotion. It often serves as a display centre and customer service centre in the foreign market. However, there are no manufacturing is done at this location. Subsidiary An export sales subsidiary basically removes the export function from the parent company and places the function in a separate wholly owned subsidiary. The export subsidiary purchases goods from the parent company, then resells it on their country. Export subsidiaries is able to add products from outside the parent company in order to round out its product line, and is able to separate out costs and expenses more efficiently than an internal department. On top of that, export subsidiaries can also develop into centre of excellence, controlling critical resources that other parts of the MNE depend upon Holm and Pedersen, 2000 U. Holm and T. Pedersen, The emergence and impact of MNC centres of excellence, A subsidiary perspective, Macmillan Press Ltd, Houndsmills (2000).. 2.4.3 Alternatives to export A lot enterprise realized the importance of expanding their business internationally. However, there are several obstacles to internationalization for firms in the developing world. One of these is a lack of information and knowledge about foreign markets. In such case, licensing or franchising might be the right choice (CzinkotaRonkainen, 1995). 2.4.3.1 License manufacturing Licensing is another easy way to for a manufacturer to involve in international marketing with a limited degree of risk. Licensing occurs when an enterprise within the foreign market, the licensee, make an agreement with the licensor who offering the right to use a manufacturing process, trademark rights, patent rights, or trade secret of value for a fee or royalty. The licensee will produce the licensors products and market these products in his assigned territory. After that, the licensee will pay the licensor royalties related to the sales volume of the products. The producing enterprise hereby escapes expensive toll and other trade barriers, exchange fluctuations, high transportation costs and political risks(Root,1987). The disadvantage of licensing is the firm has less control over the licensee than if it had set up its own production facilities. After few years, once the know-how is transferred, the foreign firm may begin to act on its own and the international firm may theref ore lose that market. Therefore, the licensor must establish a mutual advantage in working together, and a key to doing this is to remain innovative so that the licensee continues to depend on the licensor. 2.4.3.2 Franchising Franchising is an entrepreneurial activity that plays a crucial role in the creation of new jobs and economic developmentFalbe et al., 1998 C. Falbe, T. Dandridge and A. Kumar, The effect of organizational context on entrepreneurial strategies in franchising, Journal of Business Venturing 14 (1998), pp. 125-140.. In franchising, an exporting enterprise collaborates with a franchisee-entrepreneur to create economic value in a prescribed manner. The franchisee obtains the right to use franchisers, brand name, and marketing techniques to market goods or services. In return, the franchisee pays an up-front fee and ongoing royalties to the franchiser. Franchisees usually operate in local markets and communities, therefore, they can provide local knowledge to penetrate the foreign market. Thus, franchisees bring to the franchise system not just financial capital, but also a knowledge of geographic locations and labour markets, and their own managerial labour; that is they represent an effi cient bundled source of financial, managerial and information capital Dant, R.P. and Kaufmann, P.J., 2003. Structural and strategic dynamics in franchising. Journal of Retailing 79, pp. 63-75. Article | PDF (157 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (24) ( Dant, R.P. and Kaufmann, P.J., 2003. Structural and strategic dynamics in franchising. Journal of Retailing 79, pp. 63-75. Article | PDF (157 K) | View Record in Scopus | Cited By in Scopus (24)Dant and Kaufmann, 2003). The franchising tends to be more directly involved in the development and control of the marketing program. The main disadvantage of franchising is the level of the standardization of the product and service. Without a standardization there might be a risk of losing transferred know-how. (Hackett,1979) 2.4.3.3 Foreign direct investment(manufacture) Foreign market investment is the direct ownership of facilities in the foreign market. There are two ways for enterprise to enter foreign market through investment. The first option is make a direct acquisition or merger in the host market. The second option is develop its own facilities from the ground up. The reason that the firm invest in the foreign market may be the production in the foreign market is much cheaper . On top of that, the firm develops a deeper relationship with government , customers and local suppliers, so that make a better adaptation of its products to the local marketing environment.Glass and Saggi, 2002b A. Glass and K. Saggi, Licensing versus direct investment: implications for economic growth, Journal of International Economics 56 (2002), pp. 131-153. 2.4.3.4 Joint venture Joint venture is a contractual agreement between an international enterprise and foreign enterprise to execute a particular business. According to Fletcher and Brown (2004), joint venture is a second broad method of entering a foreign market to set up production and marketing facilities. in common with licensing. In joint ventures, the international firm has an equity position and a management voice in the foreign firm. Therefore, international firm better control over operations and also access to local market knowledge. The international firm has access to the network of relationships of the franchisee and is less exposed to the risk expropriation thanks to the partnership with the local firm. Previous studies (e.g., Blodgett (1992) L.L. Blodgett,Factors in the instability of international joint ventures: An event history analysis, Strategic Management Journal 13 (1992) (6), pp. 475-481. Full Text via CrossRefBlodgett, 1992; Geringer Hebert,1989; Merchant Schendel, 2000) have show n that equity ownership in a joint venture is an important determinant of its performance. This is because if the partner has different strategy than the international enterprise, it may lead to conflicting interests.

The theory of normalisation

The theory of normalisation Howard Parker and colleagues (1995) have had a dominant role in the development of the normalisation thesis. They argue that illicit drug use is no longer a sign of deviant behaviour in relation to crime, but a central part of youth culture due to freedom of choice and consumption, it has become recreational rather than problematic. They predicted that within a few years time, the young people that had not tried drugs would be the minority and therefore be the deviants. They also argue that post-modern Britain has an increasing issue of globalisation and consumption that has affected the increase of drug use as globalisation means that trade and accessibility of drugs is more common and easier, and having spare money due to the labour market and a longer childhood allows young people to consume freely. In this essay I will further discuss the theory of normalisation by Parker et al. Parker, Williams and Aldridge (2002) use the normalisation theory to measure sensible recreational drug use. These drugs include cannabis, amphetamines, LSD and ecstasy, sensible drug use does not include using a combination of these drugs at one time or using them on a daily basis due to addiction (Parker et al., 1998). Parker, Measham and Aldridge (1995) argue that drug use moved from deviant subcultures, such as the Mods and Hippies from the 1960s-1970s, to mainstream youth culture in the 1980s when the rave scene occurred. This dance culture became normalised as it was a recreational leisure pursuit of young people that introduced an appealing new drug, ecstasy. British surveys have shown that the late teens and early twenties are the main users of illicit drugs (ISDD 1994). The normalisation theory was introduced so to rule out the stigma about young people that take recreational drugs as the majority are not deviant or involved in crime. The trends in drug use have altered from the addiction of hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, to drugs that are used by the modern youth culture in leisure activities, including alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy (Muncie 1999). Although this may provoke crime that is out of character due to being under the influence, it does not create a lifestyle of crime which heroin may. For example, in order for class A drug addicts to fuel their habbit they turn to criminal acts such as burglary and mugging. Yet when a young person uses ecstasy or cannabis it is for leisure and does not necessarily cause the individual to partake in a criminal offence. However, Professor David Nutt was recently asked to resign as the c hair of the ACMD (Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs) due to declaring that alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous for the human health than illegal drugs such as ecstasy, LSD and cannabis. He wrote in a paper at Kings College, London, that the legal drug alcohol ranks 5th as the most harmful drug. We could therefore argue that the consumption of alcohol is normal in society despite the harm it can cause. Also, although David nutt smoking,,, public bans it is now marginalised Alcohol is social activity,,, but some become dependant. abuse of any substance can cause issues to health or impact on family members. Although Parker et al. (1998) does not fully undertake postmodernism as structural inquality still exists, they believe that young peoples behaviour and choices have changed towards drugs due to a post-modern society that allows them to consume freely. For example, Mott and Mirrlees-Black (1993) found that the number of 16-19 year olds using cannabis more than doubled from 1983 to 1991. Normalisation has become an indicator of changes in social behaviour and cultural perspectives, meaning that the opinion about some illicit drugs has changed within the youth culture which in return affects their social behaviour as they do not think that using the drug is wrong or immoral. However, it could be argued that it is overgeneralizing to assume that all young people see drug use as normal, Dowds and Redfern (1994) found that approximately two-thirds of 12-15 year olds saw taking cannabis as a serious offense. Hunt and Stevens (2004) suggest that the government and media use drug normalisation as the proof for an increased disciplinary regulation and endorse policies as it is viewed to be a drug outbreak that needs to be broken or finished. For example, drug testing has been introduced in some schools to help prevent usage by young people (Craver, 2004). Illicit drug use is frequently associated with the youth culture, Robson (1994) points out that the most common time for using or trying drugs is between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four. It is suggested that this is due to adolescents being the time of experimentation in many aspects of life which can lead to rebellion. Coleman (1992:13) suggests a psychoanalytical-theory of three main reasons why young people and drugs are linked together: adolescence is a time of vulnerabilty as well as being impressionable, of rebellion and non-conformity and the need to be independant by disengaging from family relationships. These changes through adolescence support Colemans sociological theory that youth culture experiment in different social aspects of life, such as subcultures and trends or sexualities and in this case drugs. In relation to the normalisation theory, young people are able to experiment with drugs due to the wide availabilty of them as well as the access young people have to them due to people they know (Barton 2003). EVALUATION It is argued that the claims about the normality and extreme use of illicit drugs is over exaggerated and in fact illicit drugs have always been an underlying issue and therefore society has not suffered an instant or radical change due to industrial or post-modern reasons. For example, in 1932 Aldous Huxley discusses a hallucinogen called soma, showing the existence of drugs in previous decades. if ever by some unlucky chance such a crevice of time should yawn in the solid substance of their distractions, there is always soma, delicious soma, half a gramme for a half holiday, a gramme for a weekend, two grammes for a trip to the gorgeous East, three for a dark eternity on the moon. (Huxley, 1932: 49) Illicit drugs have always been present within society but throughout time the drugs have changed to match different subcultures and trends, such as hippies in the 1970s were associated with using LSD, Mods in the 1960s were associated with amphetamines and todays youth culture is associated with dance drugs such as ecstasy (South, 1997). LOOK AT S+N.. difference between frequency and normallcy Shiner and Newburn (1997) argue that the normalisation theory focuses on the measure of lifetime illicit drug use. They point out that if evidence of drug use is measured in shorter time frames such as within the last month or week, there is a dramatic decline in the results of illicit drug use. This is also relevant to the media panic over dance drugs such as ecstasy, amphetamines and LSD in which the media has exaggerated a high rate of use within youth culture. Yet ecstasy is one of the least addictive drugs and tends to be taken less regularly, for example when someone takes an ecstasy pill in a clubbing atmosphere they are less likely consume alcohol which can be an equally as dangerous drug if drank in access (Coleman, 1992). Shiner and Newburn also point out that when time frames such as whether or not the respondent has used any dance drugs in the last year are used, it was found that one in twenty young people said they had. Also, only one in four 16 to 25 year olds said they had used cannabis, the most commonly used illicit drug, in the last year. Overall, Shiner and Newburn criticise the normalisation theory as although there is an increase in the numbers of young people using illicit drugs, it overgeneralizes young people as it does not necessarily mean that they all see it as normal due to conservative norms and values about drug use still existing to many people and they view illicit drug use as wrong or bad. This challenges the argument by Parker et al. (1995) that soon the young people that were not using drugs would be in the minority and therefore be the deviant subculture. However, it is important to remember that Shiner and Newburn are evaluating the work of Parker et al. in 1995. Their work about normalisation in 1998 does acknowledge that young people view each drug differently and their decision to take illicit drugs is complex and sophisticated (Barton, 2003:121-122). It could also be argued that illicit drug use only appears to have become normalised due to a moral panic, a term that is commonly used to describe media stimulated over-reaction to subcultures, such as youth groups and issues within society. Stanley Cohen (1973) coined the term moral panic in the 1960s as a result of over exaggerated reports about the feud between the Mods and Rockers, he noted that moral panics tend to focus on topics concerning the actions of young people. Other sociologist such as Goode and Ben-Yehuda (1994) suggest that moral panics occur when a proportion of society feel that the folk devils (as suggested by the media) have become a threat to society and social order. For example, when the rave scene occurred there was a new folk devil associated with the acid house dance culture and ecstasy that became normalised among the youth culture. Ecstasy has had huge media coverage, especially since the death of Leah Betts in 1995 after she took one ecstasy pill on her 18th birthday. Leah collapsed in to a coma four hours after taking the tablet and died three days later. The police claimed the death was due to the tablet being contaminated, this resulted in the media using the tragedy to create a panic about the effects of the drug within society. However, it was later revealed that Leah did not die directly from the ecstasy pill but from drinking an excessive amount of water in reaction to dehydration from the drug.

Huck Finn :: essays research papers

Huckleberry Finn - A Racist Novel? There is a major argument among literary critics whether Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is or is not a racist novel. The question boils down to the depiction of Jim, the black slave, and to the way he is treated by Huck and other characters. The use of the word "nigger" is also a point raised by some critics, who feel that Twain uses the word too much and too loosely. Mark Twain never presents Jim in a negative light. He does not show Jim as a drunkard, as a mean person or as a cheat. This is in contrast to the way Huck's (white) father is depicted, whom Twain describes using all of the above characterizations and more. We see Jim as a good friend, a man devoted to his family and loyal to his companions. He is, however, very naive and superstitious. Some critics say that Twain is implying that all blacks have these qualities. When Jim turns to his magic hairball for answers about the future, we see that he does believe in some foolish things. But all the same, he is visited by both blacks and whites to use the hairball's powers. This type of naivete was abundant at the time and found among all races-the result of a lack of proper education. So the depiction of Jim is not negative in the sense that Jim is stupid and inferior, and in this aspect of the story clearly there is no racism intended. It is next necessary to analyze the way white characters treat Jim throughout the book. Note that what the author felt is not the way most characters act around Jim, and his feelings are probably only shown through Huck. In the South during that period, black people were treated as less than humans, and Twain needed to portray this. The examples of the way Jim is denigrated: by being locked up, having to hide his face in the daytime and how he is generally derided, are necessary for historical accuracy. So, Mark Twain had to display Jim's treatment in this manner, even if it is not the way he felt. Huck, however, does not treat Jim as most whites do. Huck looks at Jim as a friend, and by the end of their journey, disagrees with society's notion that blacks are inferior. There are two main examples of this in the story.

Evolution Of Technology Essay -- essays research papers

Primitive men cleaved their universe into friends and enemies and responded with quick, deep emotion to even the mildest threats emanating from outside the arbitrary boundary. With the rise of chiefdoms and states, this tendency became institutionalized, war was adopted as an instrument of policy of some of the new societies, and those that employed it best became - tragically - the most successful. The evolution of warfare was an autocatalytic reaction that could not be halted by any people, because to attempt to reverse the process unilaterally was to fall victim. -E.O. Wilson, On Human Nature As every day passes we are become more and more a globalized society. With this ongoing cycle we come across a vast multitude of impasses. One of the main ideas leading toward this "global paradox" is the concept of global mindset. In this paper we will discuss all of the aspects of the global mindset: what it is, how it helps people live productively and successfully in the globalizing society, and how to develop an effective global mindset. Having a global mindset is a crucial competence of most businesses futures. What crucial competence means is the most sought after characteristic. Any level of manger that does not act with a global strategy will be left in the dust in today's globalizing markets. So what is a global mindset? Before we discuss what a global mindset is we must look at the reasons why we need a global mindset, so we can get a clearer picture of what we actually need. The world is becoming more interconnected and there have been recent changes in the world political systems. Incidents such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union; as well as revolutionary advances in communication technology. The implications for higher education in this changing world scene are significant as the new global workplace, driven by the up and coming information technology (IT) area, has made communication in daily life increasingly multinational and multicultural (Kim 617). Informal education is also a way to start. By this we mean that you don't have to go to formal classes to learn. Just by paying attention to people from other cultures in every day life we can enlarge our global mindset. In a class offered at the University of Rhode Island, BUS/COM 354, International Business Communication Exchange, students work in teams a... ... nations (Craige 5). To simplify this books main idea is to say that there is an underlying battle going on between not necessarily the nations to be the best, but inside the individuals, most of whom have tribalistic instincts. It is hard to do things and participate in things that you don't feel accustomed to which drives us into the conclusion of this paper. Those who want to succeed in today's global society, yes, have to have a global mindset, but it is much bigger than that. One must excel in what he or she does and give one hundred and ten percent effort all of the time. Of course, some people get lucky and get jobs handed to them, but for the vast majority of us it is a race. One race to the end of the path that we decide to take. Not everyone wins that race, and maybe that is not important. In today's globalizing society it is hard to feel like you are even part of the race. You may feel like you are doing well and then someone runs right past you and you don't even know what happened. We can't control the rate at which the global society is growing at and we wish we could say that everything and everyone will turn out a winner or at least happy. Yet this is untrue. Evolution Of Technology Essay -- essays research papers Primitive men cleaved their universe into friends and enemies and responded with quick, deep emotion to even the mildest threats emanating from outside the arbitrary boundary. With the rise of chiefdoms and states, this tendency became institutionalized, war was adopted as an instrument of policy of some of the new societies, and those that employed it best became - tragically - the most successful. The evolution of warfare was an autocatalytic reaction that could not be halted by any people, because to attempt to reverse the process unilaterally was to fall victim. -E.O. Wilson, On Human Nature As every day passes we are become more and more a globalized society. With this ongoing cycle we come across a vast multitude of impasses. One of the main ideas leading toward this "global paradox" is the concept of global mindset. In this paper we will discuss all of the aspects of the global mindset: what it is, how it helps people live productively and successfully in the globalizing society, and how to develop an effective global mindset. Having a global mindset is a crucial competence of most businesses futures. What crucial competence means is the most sought after characteristic. Any level of manger that does not act with a global strategy will be left in the dust in today's globalizing markets. So what is a global mindset? Before we discuss what a global mindset is we must look at the reasons why we need a global mindset, so we can get a clearer picture of what we actually need. The world is becoming more interconnected and there have been recent changes in the world political systems. Incidents such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union; as well as revolutionary advances in communication technology. The implications for higher education in this changing world scene are significant as the new global workplace, driven by the up and coming information technology (IT) area, has made communication in daily life increasingly multinational and multicultural (Kim 617). Informal education is also a way to start. By this we mean that you don't have to go to formal classes to learn. Just by paying attention to people from other cultures in every day life we can enlarge our global mindset. In a class offered at the University of Rhode Island, BUS/COM 354, International Business Communication Exchange, students work in teams a... ... nations (Craige 5). To simplify this books main idea is to say that there is an underlying battle going on between not necessarily the nations to be the best, but inside the individuals, most of whom have tribalistic instincts. It is hard to do things and participate in things that you don't feel accustomed to which drives us into the conclusion of this paper. Those who want to succeed in today's global society, yes, have to have a global mindset, but it is much bigger than that. One must excel in what he or she does and give one hundred and ten percent effort all of the time. Of course, some people get lucky and get jobs handed to them, but for the vast majority of us it is a race. One race to the end of the path that we decide to take. Not everyone wins that race, and maybe that is not important. In today's globalizing society it is hard to feel like you are even part of the race. You may feel like you are doing well and then someone runs right past you and you don't even know what happened. We can't control the rate at which the global society is growing at and we wish we could say that everything and everyone will turn out a winner or at least happy. Yet this is untrue.

Billy Pilgrims Coping Mechanism for PTSD in Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five

In Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim becomes â€Å"unstuck† in time. The question here is, why? The fact of the matter is that he does not actually begin to time-travel. Billy â€Å"becomes unstuck† as a coping mechanism to deal with his traumatic experiences during the war. Billy attempts to reorganize his life’s events and cope with a disorder known as post traumatic stress (PTSD). â€Å"Post traumatic stress disorder is a debilitating condition that follows a terrifying event† (Marilyn 8). It occurs when one has witnessed or experienced a traumatic event, such as war, child abuse, or other types of violence. Victims may claim to relive or re-experience events that were traumatic to them. They may even â€Å"feel† or â€Å"hear† things from the event. Other symptoms may include: â€Å"forgetfulness†¦amnesia, excessive fantasizing†¦trancelike states†¦imaginary companion, sleepwalking, and blackouts† (Putman 2). A lot of times, coping mechanisms fail and the following inner dissonance can lead to a multiplicity of upsetting emotional and physical symptoms (Robert Saperstein 2). Some children suffering from PTSD may show traumatic play. This refers to the reenactment of a traumatic experience. Usually, children will change the ending to make it happier. This is an extreme example of using the imagination as a way to escap e the terrible memories. Billy has all the symptoms associated with the disorder as he also used his imagination to escape his bad memories. When Billy Pilgrim goes to war in Germany, he is soon captured by the Germans and taken to a prisoner camp. While there, he is mocked and ridiculed. He is a very passive character, and so is not bothered by this taunting, but when Billy realizes that the war doesn’t just affect soldiers and people, but all animals, such as the horses they find after the bombing of Dresden, his life is scarred forever. He sees that the horses are bleeding from their mouths and that they are in agony when walking. When Billy sees that his colleagues had mistreated the horses, he realizes that that is what war does to the entire world. Billy is forever changed and even weeps (197). This may have been the trigger for PTSD in Billy’s life to begin with. One of case post traumatic stress disorder tells of a Vietnam veteran sleeping with a gun under his pillow and having nightmares so intense that he woke up strangling his wife. Another time, the same veteran saw a neighbor walking outside after dark and dodged under a bush and started crawling around with a gun (McGirk 1).

Gary Paulsen Biography Essay

The 1990’s was a time known as the â€Å"Digital Decade†. A time when the Stock Market rocketed and the internet took off. Along with technology becoming popular, Gary Paulsen was writing one of his two hundred novels, The River. It showed how the U.S. Government wanted young Brian to go back in the wilderness and reenact his survival skills he used a few years back, after he was involved in a plane crash. Gary Paulsen is a great novel and short story writer for people of all ages. He is one of America’s most popular writers for young people, including adults and children (About). His life was full of interesting things. Many of the things he did, including working on a farm over the summer in his youthful years, and jobs such as being an engineer, construction worker, sailor, truck driver, and ranch hand gave him lots of material to work with from which he created his great stories (About). Throughout his life, since he started writing, he has written over 100 b ooks and short stories and many have became very popular. Gary Paulsen was born May 17, 1939 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (About). His parents were Oscar and Eunice Paulsen (Gary). In his youth he was never a â€Å"dedicated† student in school but he had a passion for reading ever since he was very young (About). On a cold, wintery day, he walked into a library to warm up with nothing to do. On the way out he had himself his own library card and a book to read. From then on he was hooked to reading and writing (Gary). He spent many hours alone in the basement of his apartment building, reading book after book after book. Soon after he acquired a taste for adventure when he ran away from his home to travel with the carnival at the age of 14 (About). Yates 2 In 1959, he attended Bemidji College in Minnesota, and he worked as a trapper to pay off tuition fees. He quit college two years after and joined the Army, working for the missiles department (Biography). In 1966, Paulsen began to write and has completed well over 100 books and short stories. He has written fiction, nonfiction, and drama for adults and children. He still continues to write to this day. Many of his nonfiction books relate to his jobs and interests. He has written books about farming, hiking, football, tennis, skiing, and canoeing (Gary). Gary Paulsen says its his overwhelming belief in young people that drives him to write (About). A few of his best sellers are: Lawn Boy, The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Hunt, The Rifle, Soldier’s Heart, Tracker, The Crossing, Sentries, and Brain’s Return (Biography). Three of his novels- Hatchet, Dogsong, and the Winter Room were Newberry Honor Books. They often appear along with his other books on the best books list of the American Library Association (About). One thing Gary loves to do most was dog-sled racing. He took part in the famous 1,180 mile long dog-sled race known as the Iditarod twice, once in 1983 and again in 1985. His third attempt was shattered when he was diagnosed with a serious heart disease called angina (Gary). After he was forced to give up dog-sled racing, he started to focus more on writing with the same energy and effort that he used on h is dogs while training them for the race. He worked 18-20 hour days every day staying committed to writing the way he would with his dogs. He said all he does is work, he doesn’t have time to drink or fool around. He has always been that way and the end result is a lot of books being published out to the world (About). His wife, Ruth Wright Paulsen is an artist. In fact she has illustrated several books of his. They divide their time up writing and drawing between a home in La Luz, New Mexico and a boat out in the Pacific Ocean (About). Gary Paulsen has written many books during his life. A few have won special awards and honors. Others are liked by many young adults and children. His writing, especially his nonfiction Yates 3 books reflect his interests and past jobs that he had acquired. An example would be his book â€Å"Harris and Me†. About a young boy who works on farm one summer with his cousin, is full of funny and adventurous events. This book is related to Paulsen because he also worked on a farm over the summer doing chores during his youth years. He also likes to write about survival, which you can see in his books Hatchet, Brian’s Winter, and The River. Although Gary Paulsen has written many books, over two hundred of them, one of his books called The River, was written and published in the 1990’s. The 1990’s is a time also known as â€Å"The Digital Decade†. The pace of life quickly sped up in this technology-driven decade (Digital Front Flap). At the beginning of the decade, it seemed that the economy was going to be sluggish. Instead, the Stock Market sky rocketed and the internet took off. From then on it has been a fast pace through life (Digital 79). Mr. Bill Clinton was the president at the time. He had an enthusiasm for people and wanted to help them fulfill their dreams (Digital 63). When Clinton was a boy at age 16, he met with President John F. Kennedy in the Rose Garden and shook his hand. After that day his life changed and he had a strong desire to become the president of the United States of America. Bill Clinton was just 46 years old when he became the nation’s 42nd chief executive. Clinton attempted to fulfill a campaign promise to disable the ban on homosexuals in the military. His decision ended in the â€Å"Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell† compromise that didn’t satisfy commanders of the military or the gay community (Digital 66). After a humanitarian effort was launched in Somalia, and after Clinton’s best decisions to handle the situation, thirty American Servicemen died. Ever since that happened, Clinton refused to come in contact with Rwanda, despite widespread genocide that happened there, and caused over one million deaths. More than thirty million American citizens did not have medical insurance in the earl 90’s. Candidate Bill Clinton promised to expand coverage and affordable healthcare for every person in America (Digital 66). He named Hilary Clinton to lead the drive to recreate the health insurance Yates 4 industry. This is why critics accused him of nepotism (Digital 66-67). By the end of his first year in office, many Americans were wondering just how ineffective and unpopular he could become (Digital 67). Laptops and cell phones became popular in offices, airports, and in pants pockets. Huge SUV’s were found all over the road and fashion became as wild and weird as the world wide web itself. Children began spending time with the latest Pokemon cards or playing the latest video game. The 90’s was a time of almost unlimited choices and personal freedom. The 1990’s was summed up by the word â€Å"whatever† (Digital 79). Electronic-game industries had a growth rate twice that of the movie industry and brought in an annual revenue of about 6.3 billion dollars. Even though console based games such as the Playstation and Nintendo became much more faster and complicated than they u sed to be, the real reason behind the game industries huge growth came from the personal-computer games. A new kind of athlete called adrenaline junkies were on the lookout for new and exciting, but often physically dangerous challenges. This created a subculture called â€Å"extreme sports† in the 90’s (Digital 80). Some extreme sports such as sky surfing and street luge were viewed by the people as mostly lunatics, and not athletes. But snowboarding, mountain biking, and climbing became very popular to most people. In 1995, ESPN gave extreme sports some help by creating and airing the X Games. It showed athletes competing in summer and winter competitions (Digital 80). On August 2, 1990, infantry, armor, and tanks of the Iraqi Republican Guard invaded Kuwait and seized control. United States responded with operation DESERT SHIELD to stop invasion of Kuwait’s neighbor, Saudi Arabia (Operation). On August 7, deployment of U.S. Forces began. The U.S. Objectives included immediate, complete, and unconditional withdrawal of all Iraqi forces from Kuwait. If Iraqi dictat or Saddam Hussein did not remove his troops from Kuwait by January 15, 1991, U.S. led troops were to force them out. On January 17, the U.S. Coalition launched air attacks on Iraqi targets. On February 24, ground forces began their attack. On February 27, Kuwait City was declared Yates 5 liberated. This was known as the Gulf War (Operation). The field of medical science and the advances made in the late 90’s will most likely have the biggest impact on our society (History). The two advances found will leave us with political and moral questions in the future. Cloning and Stem Cell Research are the major medical science advances. The 90’s also saw the development and growth of Genetic Engineering. Genetic Engineering is used to help make plants resistant to herbicides and insecticides. Over 60% of products on U.S. Grocery store shelves have genetic engineering in them (History). The 1990’s was a decade of electronics. The computer and internet were huge inventions in the 90’s. The pace of life was sped up dramatically in this decade. Overall this would have been a great d ecade to choose to live in. With all of the technology and internet setting in, authors were still writing books on paper. One of those authors was Gary Paulsen. He wrote the novel The River in the 1990’s and it is about true survival. The River has a few themes in its story, but the biggest one is true survival versus role playing. After Brian’s survival story when a plane crashed and left him stranded in the woods for fifty-four days, he was asked to reenact it. A psychologist named Derek joins him in what he calls Brian’s reenactment, an â€Å"experiment†. Brian insists that Derek leave behind all of his equipment he is wanting to bring with them (Paulsen 23). He thinks that Derek doesn’t truly understand the spirit of the â€Å"experiment†. Brian’s ability to convince Derek leaves them with a briefcase, and emergency radio, and a few other small things. Brian tells Derek that the only way to teach survival is to physically put a person in a real life or death situation (Paulsen 34). Derek wants Brian to think out loud so he can write down his every thought and move. Then all of the sudden t he so called experiment turned too real way too fast. That night a terrible storm had moved in, and it wasn’t just any storm, it was a storm that Brian had never experienced before. Derek Yates 6 reached for his radio and briefcase and was struck by lightening (Paulsen 52). This is when the experiment turned from role playing to true survival. Brian woke up from the storm and saw Derek laying in a weird position. He was scared that Derek was dead but found out he was only unconscious. He panicked and grabbed the radio to try and get help but the radio was destroyed by the lightening strike. When Brian tries giving Derek water, he chokes immediately (Paulsen 65). Brian fears the worst and knows that Derek won’t be able to get water until someone rescues them. He reaches for Derek’s briefcase and finds only a map inside, but on the map he sees a river. He studies it and finds that a trader’s post is one hundred miles down along the river (Paulsen 73). Brian decides to take Derek with him instead of leaving him alone and coming back for him. This brings us into the symbol of nature and the river. All throughout the novel, nature is a huge part. From the beginning when Brian and Derek first leave for the Canadian wilderness, to camping out and surviving. The whole novel is about surviving the wilderness. Paulsen also shows nature at it’s best when Brian and Derek were attacked by swarms of mosquitoes multiple times while rafting down the river (Paulsen 86). Another point in the novel, they were faced with a dangerous waterfall in the river. The main inspiration for writing this book came from Paulsen’s award winning book Hatchet. So many of his fans loved reading it that they sent Paulsen letters saying they wanted him to write a sequel. After reading the letters, Paulsen came up with the idea to write The River. A perfect sequel to Hatchet, Brian, the main character of the book, is asked to reenact his survival skills by the government when a plane crashed in the Canadian woods and left him stranded for fifty-four days. I think Gary Paulsen wrote this book for the same reason he wrote many of his books, for hi s love of nature. He has always loved nature and survival. Another reason he wrote this book is because he loves to travel. After reading The River, I realized the whole story was about survival. I wasn’t surprised though, as I read many other books from Gary Paulsen including Hatchet, Brian’s Hunt, Brian’s Yates 7 Winter, and Dogsong. All of those books are similar to The River in that they all have a story based off of adventure, survival, and nature. They are all very well written books and I enjoyed them a lot. If you are into books about a realistic, intense, and interesting survival story packed full of adventures, Gary Paulsen is one other you can turn too. I would highly recommend his books, especially The River. Yates 8 Works Cited â€Å"About Gary.† www.RandomHouse.com. Random House, Inc., 2004. Web. 29 Nov 2011. . â€Å"Biography of Gary Paulsen.† usa-people-search.com. USA People Search, 2011. Web. 29 Nov 2011.