Family and Social Structures Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Family and Social Structures - Case Study Example If we compare contemporary families with those from a century ago, the most significant difference we can note is the divorce rate. In 1911, approximately 700 families experienced divorce in England and Wales (Simpson 1994). Today that number has risen to 160,000 per year (Simpson 1994). Britain currently has the second-highest divorce rate in Europe (Simpson 1994). 55 percent of couples who divorced in 1990 had a child under the age of 16 (Simpson 1994). What, then, does this mean for the family as a structural unit Today, families continue to be less clearly defined as they must incorporate step-parents, step-siblings, half-siblings, and biological siblings or parents that are not in contact with one another. One such example is "Steve," a husband and father that Bob Simpson interviewed for his article Bringing the 'Unclear' Family into Focus: Divorce and Remarriage in Contemporary Britain. Steve is in his thirties and is married to "Karen." Since marrying in 1990, they've produced two children together. However, prior to their marriage, Karen had a daughter from a previous relationship, and Steve had two children from his marriage to "Kath," and a son from a relationship he'd had as a teenager. Steve considers himself to be a father of six, and the numerous other participants in his children's lives, such as his ex-partners, and his ex-partners' current partners, creates a network that functions as the family unit. While the typical nuclear family has two parents, this family has six. This differs most strikingly from the traditional family in the fact that there are no clear definitions. All six parents are part of the unit, but two children might be related to one set while the other four are not, creating an even more complex matrix of kinship. This becomes most complicated in how the grandparents treat all of the children. Steve's parents acknowledge all six children as family, but Karen's parents only acknowledge the three children that were born to Kar en as family. This causes conflict when Karen's parents ignore Steve's other three children and only give gifts and candies to the three that are biologically Karen's. The "network" family could be successful were all parties open and accepting of different family ties, but now we have one family circle that only exclusively accepts blood relatives, thus dividing the family structure into blood relations versus non-blood relations. This calls into question varying definitions that people have for the family unit. Is a family just two parents and the children that are biologically related to them If so, what is the resulting implication for the rest of society A society in which its members must meet strict biological standards if they are to gain acceptance One such example of the conventional family unit coming into conflict with the "network" family unit is in William Shakespeare's play, Much Ado About Nothing. The play depicts the rigid social structure of the Elizabethan era as it follows the efforts of Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato to make Benedick and Beatrix fall in love with one another. Don Pedro is the prince of Aragon, blood-heir to the throne, and as such, represents order, goodness, and purity. His bastard brother, Don John, is evil and devious, purposely setting out to ruin the marriage of Claudio and Hero. Don John is an outsider, an intruder, and thus his character is

Argyle Diamonds Strategic Business Plan Case Study

Argyle Diamonds Strategic Business Plan - Case Study Example Companies should have successful competitive strategies to be able to attract, retain and grow customers. However, before the company can plan and execute these strategies, it should be able to pinpoint its sources of competitive advantage which can be differentiated through products, services, channels, people and to age (Kotler & Armstrong, 2001). Since the market is in the international orientation, the advertisers should keep in mind the differences that are distinct between and among the target market from different cultural backgrounds which may significantly affect the effectivity of the campaign. The fact is, there may be ideas that will not be applicable across the diverse target market population. Studies on the relationship of consumer behavior and their personal values and cultural orientation as well as their beliefs on certain principles, the dispositions they hold and the side they take on political, gender and social problems and issues should be duly accorded. Moreover, other elements, such as understanding the right target audience for a product or service, an indeed, researching such an audience in considerable depth, are equally important. Similarly, even if the appropriate channels are known and understood, the content of the messaging and communications developed for those channels, and that audience, or nature of critical importance. Such channels, for example, will include TV advertising, or an outdoor campaign. Advocates of such channels will argue with justification, that media can now be bought to give a highly articulate degree of one to one targeting, but more importantly the inclusion within messaging across these channels of a telephone number, email address, or website, fulfill our requirement to develop one to one dialogue (Elgar, 2003).

2 short journal entries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

2 short journal entries - Essay Example Secrecy, by contrast, concerns what citizens may know, and the citizen is not told what may not be known.† Government restrictions on press credentialing as documented in the June 2014 study, and the government’s de facto position that embedded journalists have reduced First Amendment rights, as highlighted by Manning’s editorial, point to crisis of the free press, one of the most fundamental institutions in a democratic society. First and most obviously: in 2014, corporate media continue to reproduce what Hall termed â€Å"official ideologies of the status quo†- not simply reflecting a â€Å"consensual† style of politics but also reinforcing it by blocking certain kinds of events and actors from achieving news worthy status. It’s well known that burning fossil fuels in the form of coal, oil, and natural gas releases carbon dioxide into the air. Less understood is that a quarter of this carbon dioxide- about twenty trillion pounds, every year- is absorbed by oceans. Governments and international organizations are least concerned with damages caused by the burning of fossil fuels, and this negligent behavior of the policy makers have resulted in the unprecedented increase of ocean acidification. The top ten countries and their expected assistance (in millions of current US dollars) are as follows: Israel 3,100; Afghanistan 2,200; Egypt 1,600; Pakistan 1,200; Nigeria 693; Jordan 671; Iraq 573; Kenya 564; Tanzania 553; Uganda 456 Three former General Electric bankers- Dominick Carollo, Steven Goldberg, and Peter Grimm- had been convicted in 2012 for rigging auctions of municipal bonds, essentially stealing from projects intended to build public schools, hospitals, libraries, and nursing homes in virtually every US state. Exploiting the world’s resources and governments with criminal impunity, a wealthy elite- sporting an estimated $32 trillion in tax-exempt offshore havens- are the deep dark secret of plutocratic imperialism, operating

Same sex parenting issues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Same sex parenting issues - Research Paper Example In the present modern world full of unconventional notions which were once unheard of, the American family has in response changed a lot and the concept of nuclear family is no longer as prevalent as it once was. Papers and TV talk shows are rampantly seen talking about same-sex parenting issues every other day and earlier this year, same-sex marriage has been openly legalized in more than nine US states as a staggering number of state voters approved and stressed on this step. Amidst protests by conservatives and gay marriage marches, one thing is settled though that the family structures in America have unequivocally changed a lot and this change is followed by a huge string of same sex parenting issues. It is implied by conservatives that there is a huge assortment of various risks associated with same-sex parenting which inflicts a direct influence on the children also. With such a collection of studies reporting problematic same-sex parenting issues, it has become increasingly h ard for gay couples to raise children in a safe and healthy environment. This research paper is primarily based on contemplating the grounds of several such major issues faced by same-sex couples in reference to parenting. Relevant literature will be reviewed in order to find out what the scholars have to say on the notorious challenges encountered by same-sex parents and why. One of the biggest issues is related to the lack of legal recognition awarded to same-sex couples which affects the upbringing of children in such families in that they remain unsure of their roots and reality. The thing that lesbian and gay parents are not trusted with their parenting by the society gives birth to grave obstacles of multiple kinds. Same-sex family is not considered an optimal structure for child development and all associated constellations are thought to be fraught with deficiencies which could negatively influence a child’s development. Parent-child relationship in gay or lesbian families is sadly not adequately protected or even recognized by law (Martin, 1998). The ability of gay and lesbian parents to address the emotional, psychological, and social needs of children in comparison to heterosexual parents has also been widely debated both by entertainment media and research literature. Nearly all

Middle east issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Middle east issue - Essay Example er and later imperial dominions by Britain, USA, France, and former Soviet Union took roots during European colonial times even before the rise of Ottoman Empire when colonizers aimed both to impair the latter and gain possession of the lands under successful conquest (Shah). Moreover, the Westerners around this period were very critical at propagating not only their political but also religious influence, seizing every opportunity to banish Islam so that Middle Eastern subjects on conversion to Christianity would eventually accept fate of becoming colonial inhabitants. With the turn of history, the West to some extent was able to accomplish pursuit of its objectives and even made allies through certain Arab leaders whose notorious authorities came rather more dictatorial by nature. As they combined forces to settle disputes on whose side should yield or acquire the most reserves of oil from the rich targets, the common people among Arab nations had perceived other unpleasant attributes underlying the general motive. To them, based on austere encounters, the West had suppressed the concerns of multitude in Middle East so that any favor sought was achieved on their end at the expense of freedom, given over to corrupt leadership and manipulated regime. Furthermore, people of Middle East became consumed with anguish towards cultural stereotyping, racism, and especially the fact that their high respect for early civilizations, as in Mesopotamia, reared for them an unbreakable character as a whole in the light of religion, established principles, and or iginal ideologies which could also determine the measure of their commitment and regard for the roots of citizenship (Shah). Fighting more than the right to religious and philosophical preferences, some anti-West groups were compelled to employ armed terrorism, extremism, and Islamic militancies that secretly spread, operated under conspiracy to attack US and other connected oppositions with the most intelligently and

The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises Essay

The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises - Essay Example The Belgian government ordered Coca-Cola to recall all its products, a move that was also witnessed in the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Coca-Cola at first underestimated the gravity of the matter, and took several days before correcting the situation or even going to the press about the issue. As a result of this delay, other people continued to suffer from the contaminated products, which had been determined to be the result of a consignment of carbon dioxide that had been improperly processed. France also reported about a hundred people had become ill after consuming coke, which led to all Coca-Cola products being banned from the country (Ferrell, Ferrell & Fraedrich ,2011) . The situation escalated and culminated in December the same year, when Belgium ordered Coca-Cola to halt a campaign it had launched to re-introduce its products in the country. Coca-Cola market eminence in Europe reduced significantly after this scandal, due to the incapability of the corporation to handle the cases professionally and with the seriousness they deserved. Coca-Cola was also accused of unfair competition in the international arena especially in European countries. In 1999, Coca-Cola sought to expand its market in France by trying to purchase a beverage company. The government intervened and stopped Coca-Cola from acquiring the company, under the antitrust laws of the European Union. Other countries such as Italy also accused Coca-Cola of anticompetitive prices and won a case against the company on the same. Other companies such as Pepsi also accused Coca-Cola of using discounts and refunds to get more consumers, something that was against European laws. Allegations of racial discrimination also plagued the Coca-Cola Company in 1999, after about 1500 employees of African-American descent sued the company on grounds of racial discrimination. The employees complained that favoritism was evident, in terms of payment, performance analysis and promotion. These allegations caused a lot of unrest in the company, and Coca-Cola had to pay 193 million dollars to settle the case (Griffin & Moorhead, 2011). Another case was in store for Coca-Cola, when it was accused of shipping more inventories to its supplies before a quarter was over, against business law. Afterwards, the company would count the shipments as sales, despite such goods remaining in the warehouses or being returned. These sales were then counted as revenue, thus creating the impression of a strong company, therefore, fooling investors who believed the inflated profits. Distributors of Coca-Cola products in the U.S sued the company in early 2006, after the company started using delivery agents to supply its products to warehouses. This move according to the distributors was against antitrust laws, and Coca-Cola had to find a way to settle this dispute. In Colombia, accusations surfaced between 2001 and 2004 that Coca-Cola had been intimidating its employees since 1989. Statistics showed that eight w orkers had died, 48 forced into hiding, and 65 issued with death threats in the Colombian bottling plant. The workers union sought compensation for the affected families, although Coca-Cola maintains that these allegations were unfounded. In India, the Coca-Cola subsidiary was accused of using contaminated ground water to make soft drinks, resulting in excess levels of pesticides in these drinks. In addition to this,

Internet Banking Master Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Internet Banking Master - Assignment Example The present form of online banking finds its roots in the pioneering initiative launched by four of the major banks of New York, Citibank, Chemical Bank, Chase Manhattan and Manufacturers Hanover bank. These banks simultaneously, yet individually, offered home banking services that allowed bank customer to maintain records as well as carry out transactions without leaving the comforts of their home (Mary J.C., 1997) Internet Banking received a major boost with the rapid development and penetration of banking activities conducted over the internet. Activities like money transfer and securities trading can be done through internet banking. It's a virtual bank in itself which is often an extension of its brick and mortar model. With expanding information technology it is wise for the banks to adopt and leverage it, for expansion of business and better and faster delivery of services to the customer. Some of the benefits of internet banking are: Internet banking is being used both in B2B (business to business) and retail banking. There are also some banks which only have a virtual presence, for example Nexity Bank. Generally bigger banks tend to offer internet banking. This is because smaller banks often find the cost of the service unprofitable before they expand to a certain scale (Gup B.E., 2003) Lloyds TSB is the largest retail bank in UK serving over 30 million customers. Being one of the largest banks in UK and the world, it has taken to internet technology in a big way and offers an array of services to its customers over the internet. Some of the internet banking services offered by TSB are like payment of bills, management of direct debit and standing orders, online application for savings account- over draft - credit card -personal loans, online travel money (without commission),online statements and so on. They also provide online banking guarantee and free weekly text alerts and the best is that registration for such services comes free of cost. (Lloyds TSB Bank Plc., n.d.) Internet banking has different stages. The very fundamental or basic stage is about 'information'; it offers information about the bank and its offerings. The next level is 'communication' which offers interaction between the customer and the bank's information or IT system. 'Transaction' is at the core of the next stage, where customers virtually transfer money/funds, pay bills and so on. (Ravi V., 2007) Internet bankin