Illicit Trade free essay sample

I was aware of the ongoing war between the government and the drug cartel. I know the new ways their trafficking drugs, animals, weapons, or even people whether it be from drug mules and border crossings all the way to submarines and puppies. I know thousands of people die every year due to the constant war on illicit trade. I understand that many people ignore the Canadian US border in terms of smuggling. I know the precautions they’re taking in terms of searching (x-ray machines, drug dogs) I know that were spending billions upon billions of dollars on the US Mexico border. I always felt that there was information I didn’t know and wanted to know. So I came up with a question â€Å"How does illegal trade effect social and government standings in the world.† How does it impact me, how it impacts you and how it impacts all of us? It doesn’t take a masters degree to realize that a lot of 3rd world countries are corrupt by drugs and illicit trade. We will write a custom essay sample on Illicit Trade or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page You have a bigger impact on illicit trade then you’d expect which I plan on talking about in the next few paragraphs. I looked through the book Illicit – Moises naim which talks about how smugglers and traffickers are changing the world around you there’s a chapter in the book called changing the world where he goes on to talk about how it actually can improve or â€Å"boost† a government but most of the time it will hurt or even destroy a government to the point where they can’t tell the difference between smuggled money and official economy. Governments to attempt to stop this have began enforcing stricter laws, increased technology, and increased appropriations. But so far have had little to no effect of setting in a durable permanent plan on stopping the trades. It’s to be expected that they can’t stop the black market or any illicit trade for that matter. They have insane amount of connections they’re able to go to a government official and basically say â€Å"let us stay here or else.† And of course the government caves whether it be the money or the thought of what they could do to them or worse, their family. They’re able to break down their market and bring it up within a couple months with new customers and new ideas. Terrorists are actually following in the footsteps of the black market in terms of routes to take who to buy from how to kill and when. The illicit traders have a greater effect then you’d think. You’d expect governments like Somalia, Asia or Mexico to be corrupted due to the lack of government but even power houses like Russia and China are affected by trafficking. A big part of illicit trade is counterfeiting and not just money. People have been for thousands of years counterfeiting medicine, software, car parts, animal bones, and pelts and that’s only to name a few. The thought of being given counterfeited medicine scares me honestly. You’d be surprised on how much you contribute to trafficking, illicit trade, and counterfeiting. If you’ve ever taken a copied disk from a friend that contributes to counterfeiting. Counterfeited car parts are to have an expect revenue of almost $12 billion If you have an Iphone many of the materials in an Iphone a re bought from 3rd world African countries where slave labor is used. The most obvious but we continue to ignore is sweatshops mostly in china where small children will make niceties for you and I for little to no pay. Overall this paper enlightened me on how creative, smart, and devious traders are. I learned that there is a bigger market in counterfeiting then I’d like to think. I learned that most governments don’t really know what to do when it comes to illicit trade. I wish I could have learned some names from some of the cartel I’m sure I could have easily had Googled it but I wouldn’t be able to tell how legitimate it is.

Essay on School Uniform

Essay on School Uniform Imagine being able to wake up every morning, roll out of bed, put on the same thing you wore the day before, and head off to school. Not only would you be able to do such a thing, but all of your friends were doing it, too! Sound too good to be true? Well, it’s becoming more common in our society as school uniforms have gone beyond private schools to public schools. Uniforms have a positive effect on students’ self-esteem, attendance, discipline, and test scores. They have also been proven to decrease the rate of crime and violence in public schools. Most students and even parents will argue that school uniforms stifle individualism. The teenage years are a time when adolescents try out different personas, often experimenting with different styles of clothing during this phase. Opponents argue that uniforms take away an individual’s freedom of expression. However, the clothes that people wear, or can afford to wear, often define the group by which they are accepted. As a result, many teens are outcast due to the fact that they cannot afford the top-of-the-line, name-brand clothing. This rejection can lead to several problems for the outcast teen: depression, inability to concentrate on schoolwork, or just a general feeling of inferiority. School uniforms put everyone on the same level because no outfit is more stylish or expensive than another. Linda Moore, principal at Will Rogers Middle School in Long Beach, California, states, Uniforms reduce the differences between the haves and have-nots† (Ritter, 1). Uniforms a llow students to interact with one another without experiencing the socioeconomic barrier that non-uniform schools create. More importantly, children are not judged on how much they spent on clothes or how stylish they look, but rather for their talents and personalities. School uniforms not only break down socioeconomic barriers, but they also increase the safety of the students. In 1996, President Bill Clinton encouraged the use of school uniforms as part of an education program that sought to improve safety and discipline (Hoffman, 1). If students are all wearing the same type of outfit, it becomes much easier to spot outsiders who may wander onto the campus. In addition, uniforms decrease the number of incidences of students being attacked or beaten for items of clothing such as shoes and jackets. Also, members of gangs frequently have a color or style of clothing used to identify themselves. Unsuspecting students who wear gang colors or gang-related attire might be threatened or intimidated by members of opposing gangs, students wearing expensive or fashionable clothes might become victims of theft, or certain fashion accessories or attire may be used as a means of concealing weapons, or even as weapons (Paliokas, 1). At a school in Long Beach, C alifornia, after only the first year that uniforms were implemented, overall school crime decreased 36 percent, fights decreased 51 percent, sex offenses decreased 74 percent, weapons offenses decreased 50 percent, assault and battery offenses decreased 34 percent, and vandalism decreased 18 percent (Manual, 3). Schools with uniform-clad students are also proven to have fewer disciplinary problems and increased attendance than non-uniform schools. Dr. John German, principal of South Shore, located in Seattle, Washington, reports, This year the demeanor in the school has improved 98 percent, truancy and tardies are down, and we have not had one reported incident of theft (Manual,4). Ruffner Middle School, located in Norfolk, Virginia, reports a 47 percent decrease in students leaving class without permission (Manual,5). With the implementation of uniforms, students no longer spend hours deciding what they are going to wear to school. This fear of looking â€Å"uncool† will often cause kids to decide that they do not feel well enough to go to school because they can’t find anything to wear. Uniforms allow students to focus more on their academics, and less on what everyone else is wearing. According to Long Beach police chief William Ellis, â€Å"Students concentrate more on education, not on who’s wearing $100 shoes or gang attire† (Manual, 3). Elementary Guidance Counselor Sharon Carter of Memphis, Tennessee states, â€Å"The tone of the school is different. There’s not the  competitiveness†¦ about who’s wearing what† (Manual, 5). Many families worry about not having enough money to buy uniforms. Due to the fact that no child can be denied an education because of economic disadvantage, all schools requiring uniforms must include provisions to assist low-income families. For example, the Long Beach School District solved this problem by setting up a boutique shop, funded by private donors, where needy students can shop (Paliokas, 5). In addition, community and business leaders provide or contribute financial support for uniforms, and students who have graduated often donate their used uniforms to incoming students (Manual, 3). However, uniforms are considerably cheaper to buy than non-uniform clothes, and the students can wear them every day and it isn’t considered unusual. Parents can buy a few pairs of pants, shirts, or other variations of a uniform for under $100, while parents of non-uniform-wearing students can spend from several hundreds up to $1,000 a year on clothing. Parents find that buying two or three uniforms is ultimately cheaper than buying clothes to follow the fads, and it stops arguments at home in the mornings about what to wear (Oland, 1). Pop culture increasingly sends young girls the message that the smaller and tighter the clothes, the more readily they will be accepted. These outfits, which flaunt navels and bra straps, are not only distracting, but detract from teaching time as teachers argue with students about what is considered acceptable attire. With uniforms, there are only a few acceptable variations of the outfit, no questions asked. A less well-known theory concerning the pros of school uniforms is the â€Å"halo effect.† According to researcher Marc Posner, the â€Å"halo effect† refers to the idea that while uniforms may not change student behavior, the uniforms may change the way teachers and other adults perceive the students who wear them. In a study of the correlation of student clothing and teacher and student perceptions, Dorothy Behling of Bowling Green University found that students and teachers alike believe that uniform-clad students not only behave better, but also do better academically than those who dont wear uniforms. While this may be an illusion, these positive perceptions can help create a self-fulfilling prophecy that teachers and administrators raise their discipline and grading standards to reflect their more positive image of students, who, in turn, behave better. (School Discipline, 1). While research on the effectiveness of uniforms is still ongoing, they have been proven to raise test scores, boost self-esteem, reduce violence and crime, and create a sense of newfound pride in students. They help children to focus on learning and schoolwork, not on what everyone else is wearing or whether or not they fit in. Uniforms are not the solution to all of the problems that teens, teachers, and schools face today, but research and statistics suggest that they may be a step in the right direction. You can order a custom essay, term paper, research paper, thesis or dissertation on School Uniform topics at our professional custom essay writing service which provides students with custom papers written by highly qualified academic writers. High quality and no plagiarism guarantee! Get professional essay writing help at an affordable cost.

Business plan (entrepreneurship) Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Business plan (entrepreneurship) - Thesis Example GetLaunched! offers the following propositions to its users: 1. Seamless and uncomplicated participation, with most of the technical aspects, such as compliance, ironed out by the company; 2. All-or-nothing scheme where collected money is returned to supporters if the proposal fails to achieve its goal within the given time; 3. No hidden or initial fees as the company implements a flat rate fee only on successful proposals; 4. By special arrangement, the company has access to the proponent’s account for 5 years for the sole of purpose of taking out and delivering the shares of profits of supporters, which are given in proportion to the latter’s investment. 5. Sharing of profits with supporters will be limited to 5 years and structured in such a way as not to unduly burden the proponent because the spirit of crowdfunding is not strict investment but more towards philanthropy. The Opportunity There are more than 2 billion internet users, which can be harnessed to realize the aims and goals of GetLaunched!. According to statistics, internet users number 2,095, 006,005 in 2011 up by about 480.4% from the 360,985,482 users in 2000. Facebook alone has more than 500,000 million users as of 2011 statistics. There is in every person a need for charity because it gives them self-actualization. Fundraising expert and author of â€Å"Grassroots Fundraising† Kim Klein states that every person has an urge to give because it makes them feel powerful and good-like and not merely an onlooker. GetLaunched! will tap into this need and use it to turn somebody’s life around. The gap between economic classes is widening and people on the lower social strata are getting more and more marginalized. The gap between social classes are growing bigger and bigger, and there is a need to try to level the playing field, and crowdfunding is one of the more acceptable means. Business Concept Online crowdfunding is getting popular in social networking sites, but at p resent there are only a handful operating. GetLaunched! is capitalizing on the growing popularity of crowdfunding, not only as a business endeavor, but as a means of helping people from both sides of the spectrum: for proponents to realize their dreams of materializing their business dreams, and; for supporters to channel their inner philanthropic urges. Industry Overview Crowdfunding had its origin in 1997, when American fans raised $60,000, through internet campaign, so that the British Rock band Marillion could do a US tour. French filmmakers Guillaume Colboc and Benjamin Pommeraud used the same strategy in 2004 to fund a film, raising a total of $50,000 within three weeks over the internet. Their counterparts in America Spanner Films raised ?900,000 the same way to finance a documentary film about climate change. Fig. 1 The Crowdfunding Mechanism Today, several crowdfunding societies offer themselves as platforms to raise funds for various ends - to support talent in the arts, t o market original inventions, to initiate charitable events and start small businesses. The present market has still room to grow dramatically because of the millions of internet users, which are ready to invest or donate money for causes that they can emotionally connect to. Figure 1 illustrates how crowdfunding can snowball from a small close circle of family and friends to a number of supporters that can donate and/or investments the right amount needed to launch a project. Target Market GetLaunched! targets two types of users: the proponents, and; the

Should Britain adopt the Euro Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Should Britain adopt the Euro - Essay Example This transformation has been successful in meeting its goal. Greece has since adopted the Euro while Sweden, Denmark and Britain, the latter of which is not considered a European country, have not. Many legislators and economists have suggested that it is simply a matter of when, not if, the UK will adopt the Euro. This discussion examines the benefits the UK will retain when this eventually happens and answers the legitimate concerns of those opposed to the transformation. Certain indisputable results have occurred following the conversion to the Euro. It has eliminated the costs and risks involved when exchanging foreign currency with other counties of the EU and made more transparent the cost of products. By adopting the Euro, Britain would be allowed a place on the European Central Bank (ECB) board thus being able to participate in the economic policy of the EU.   This would enhance the political influence of the UK which in turn would produce beneficial long-term opportunities for its economy. According to many published studies conducted regarding the effect of the Euro, using a common currency has already proven to augment trade and competitiveness within the countries that use it. One study that measured the influence of the Euro on trade discovered â€Å"countries that share a common currency trade about three times as much as countries without a common currency† (Micco et al, 2003). It is clear that trade between Britain and EU countries would escalate if the same currency was used. Differences in types of money present barriers to trade because of the cost factors involved in converting it. Large corporations would save significant amounts and open up previously unfeasible opportunities of trade to smaller companies. Reducing the cost of trade will make Britain more competitive as companies will be able to charge less for products yet yield

The Last of the Mohicans Essay Example for Free

The Last of the Mohicans Essay Nicole Kidman and Daniel Day Lewis both render excellent performances as Satin and Hawkeye in the movies, ‘Moulin Rouge’ and ‘The Last of the Mohicans’, respectively. However, with the genres being quite different for each of these movies, both performers had to face specific demands in terms of their acting and preparation for their roles in each of these films. Acting is something that not most people can do and do well. On film acting takes on a brand new life when compared to acting on stage. While many people claim that acting on stage is much more difficult than acting on film, what most people don’t know is that in film, there is no room for falsity because the performers are expected to be the exact copy or portrayal of the character that they perform. In stage acting, on the other hand, actors usually own the role and in many cases the character is forgotten in favor of the actor. For instance, in Miss Saigon, it was not the main protagonist ‘Kim’ that people wanted to watch for but Lea Salonga. The case is different in film; for instance, in the movie, ‘The Queen’ Helen Mirren had to perform as an actress to be as truthful and accurate as she can be to the real Elizabeth, Queen of England. The demands in film and stage acting are different and albeit dissenting opinions, film actors go through more rigorous preparations before they are seen in their films so that the truth becomes more apparent and vivid to the audience. This means that acting on film is a craft of truth and that it should be something that actors and actresses assimilate and internalize to be able to perform well. In ‘Moulin Rouge’ Nicole Kidman played the role of Satine, a turberculous, love struck, performer/courtesan to whom a struggling poet falls in love with. Satine is then torn between two men, one a wealthy Duke and her true love, Christian, the poet. This film can be considered a hybrid because it is both a musical and a romantic comedy and it is surprising that Nicole Kidman had to use her real voice in performing as Satine in the many instances in the film where the character had to sing. The actress admits to having had gone through voice lessons to prepare for the film, which initially gives one the idea of what the film demanded of this particular actress. Other than getting voice lessons, Nicole also had to take dance lessons for the numerous dance numbers that she had to do in the film. Save it to say that the film was created in the Bohemian tradition which involved ostentatious set designs as well as loud colors and surreal scenery. These took their toll on the actress as well; being set in a bohemian environment required that the actress also exude a bohemia air. So, Nicole as Satine brought life to the character (pun intended) as she portrayed the calloused personality and soft, longing girl that Satine was. In effect, Nicole had to convey two characters that belonged to entirely different spectrums, one, an insensitive and gold-digging whore, and two, a lonely girl in love who would want to break away from the demands of her job. Satine’s conviction, however, lies in her dream of having a show of her own and finding her one true love, so Nicole had to balance the calloused personality that Satine was known for and the gentle, thoughtful, and loving girl that had dreams of her own. Another acting demand that Nicole had to meet for this film was the need to remain indifferent yet hopeful throughout the film. The challenge here is to be indifferent and allow small slivers of hope to shine through in her almost subdued acting. The reason for this is that Kidman had to maintain the mood of the film and while at the same time excluding herself from the fanfare that characterized most of the actors. The mood was quite surreal, a mood to which the wealthy Duke belonged to but the film offered another dimension, that of Christian, a more realistic and truthful dimension, so Satine had to be adequate for both worlds to successfully exist. Hence, Kidman, while being portrayed as a colorful and surreal character had to retain a certain degree of anchorage on reality in her performance to also make her fit for her true love, Christian. All in all, Kidman’s performance as Satine was out of the box because she had many demands on her beyond just the initial demands of learning to sing and dance for the film. Her performance successfully brought her character to life and effectively conveyed the kinds of messages and emotions that were required of the character at certain points in the film. In this particular film, Kidman had to act more accordingly to emotional acting than on physical acting. Physical acting, while all acting is in fact considered physical, is the kind of acting that requires the performer to use more physical language instead of emotional language as opposed to emotional acting. This means that a character has to make full use of physical faculties to illicit a physical response instead of using these faculties to illicit a subtle emotional response from the audience. Physical acting is more evident in action and adventure films of which ‘The Last of the Mohicans’ is one. In this film, Daniel Day Lewis who plays Hawkeye, a white man who is part of the dying Mohican tribe refuse to join the English Militia and come across two Indian women with whom love stories blossom amid the war. Immediately, it becomes evident that there were demands of conviction for the actor as he was expected to again, be torn between defending the Mohicans and the woman that he loved. While this film may be considered an adventure in all its aspects, it has elements of a love story and may be considered a hybrid. Perhaps most contemporary films now are considered hybrids because conflicts are created on the basis of various relationships and situations that pass for different theme genres. Going back to Lewis, another demand that this actor had to meet was the physical demand for the film – Lewis had, according to some sources, undergo agonizing weight training to get into character. He also had to assimilate to the rugged environment of the forests in which his character lived; this meant that he had to learn how to hunt and fish and survive only on the resources found in the forest. In addition to this, crew members involved in the film reveal that Lewis also had to learn to skin animals and carry a long rifle at all times to remain in character. This is a film where the environment is an important element of the acting, and may even be considered a character because included in the demands of the actor was that he had to learn to interact with the environment and approach it like it was part of the story, as in fact, it was. Comparing this to the earlier film, â€Å"Moulin Rouge† Lewis had to do more physical acting than emotional acting because while there was a love angle in the film, Lewis also had to convey the savageness and fierceness of the Mohicans, the tribe which he represented and had to embody. So, despite gentle and passionate scenes in the film, these were only added to give a deeper dimension to the conviction of the character, but more importantly, Lewis had to act like he was part of the environment and like he was the meat and bone of the conflict to portray his character more accurately and more realistically. In both of these films, the acting demands are quite clear and in any film in particular, any actor will have to meet these acting demands not as an obligation or a duty to the director or the producer but as a responsibility to the audience that has faith on the way actors and actresses should perform in character. Films are often driven by the way characters act and how the actors and actresses meet the acting demands thrown at them. Any effective and successful film will have actors and actresses fully meeting the demands of both the technical film and the creative aspect which is the story; and only then when the actors and actresses do meet these demands will they be able to give back to the audience a film that will grace movie history and hopefully transform into a timeless classic.

William Still and his Impact on Black History :: American America History

William Still and his Impact on Black History Working on farms to receiving whippings were just a few things all African Americans had to endure in the time of slavery. However there have been numerous people and events that have been influential in black history. One momentous event is when William Still escaped from slavery. William Still was born on October 7th, 1821, in Burlington County, New Jersey. Still’s original name as William Steel but his father changed it to protect his wife. Unfortunately the Steel family was unable to escape slavery together. After his escape from the life of slavery, William moved to Philadelphia where he learned to read. He then started to assist fugitive black slaves when being paid to work as a janitor at Pennsylvania’s Society for the Abolition of Slavery. While helping the escapees he wound up disentangling his long lost brother from slavery. In 1972 William wrote The Underground Railroad, which included documents he received from former slaves. This book was crucial because most books on slavery had some bias views written by white abolitionists. After visiting multitudinous escapees in Canada, Still was inspired to launch a desegregation campaign in Pennsylvania railroad cars. The campaign was triumphant and caused Pennsylvanian legislature to preclude segregation. William Still served as both President and vice president for the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. He served as vice president for eight year and President for five. William did not stop there he then organized a YMCA for blacks, an orphanage for children of black sailors and soldiers and the mission Sabbath school. At age 81, in 1902, William Gant Still died of a disease known as Bights disease. However his exploits will never be forgotten. William Still’s achievements triggered many essential events on the path to abolishment of slavery. As one can see William was a man who did great things for those in need of help throughout his lifetime. However if he had never escaped from slavery his accomplishments may have never occurred. If he had not fled from slavery then there may not have been a chance for the successful escape of six hundred and forty nine slaves nor would his organizations have been formed to help many of those who needed assistance in overcoming the burdens of being former slaves.

Examine the Argument That Neighbourly Relations Essay

Neighbourly relations can be ordered and defined in a number of ways whether it is through certain identities or virtual social rules, created, maintained and repaired by people in groups with a situation in common or a relationship to act out in their everyday lives. This essay examines the relations, conflicts and differences that come with neighbourhood life both in the Uk and other countries where contradictions and the limits between what is seen as friendly and where invasive behaviour starts are an important part of ordinary, daily life. Last of all it will show how these relations can easily break down due to tensions caused by conflicts over noise and space where the division between private and public life is hard to define. When we speak about local residents we see them as having a collective or group identity with a particular situation in common, but they also have relational identities as neighbours with conflicting feelings of trust and suspiciousness. In addition people seem to behave in certain ways when they are part of a group as many researchers have discovered through studies on identity, one of these Tajfel cited in Taylor, 2009, p. 170, from his study found that if you tell people that they are part of a group this automatically influences the way they act. We often behave in ways which tell others who we are or how we want to be seen, a little like play acting, our daily lives become a stage on which we perform and relate to our public in social situations, as Ervin Goffman cited in Taylor, 2009, p. 72, found from his study in 1959 on everyday lives, society is a moving picture and identities are understood by looking at what people do rather than who they are. Furthermore a social identity is created through connections with others in different situations or places as we can find in neighbourhoods, by looking at the way people interact with each other and the sort of virtual, unwritten rules regarding privacy and friendsh ip that people abide by everyday. Stephanie Taylor, 2009, on pg. 173) seems to sum all this interaction up in just one short sentence; â€Å"social life proceeds rather like an endless slow dance†, and if we look at the discursive psychological approach that Jovan Byford (2009) uses to analyse a conversation he had with his neighbour, a perfect example of this dance is the way his neighbour tries to maintain a pattern of identity and typical behaviour of a how a ‘good’ neighbour should act. These patterns of behaviour and uses of identity are an essential part of maintaining and repairing order within certain groups or in society in general something which we have heard an example of in ‘Studying Identities’, 2009, track 1, when Professor Margaret Wetherall speaks about the studies carried out on conflicts of a segregated society in Ireland. She explains that the segregated groups had a stronger sense of community with less elaborate identities and social networks, but that this had a great impact on the levels of prejudice towards other groups. Neighbourly relations can be complicated and contradictive as there are two contrasting sides to this type of relationship, the first being that neighbours need to live together happily, be helpful and always be there when needed and the other is that they need to respect a person’s privacy and mind their own business. This is when the dancing partners need to keep an adequate distance from each other trying not to step on each other’s toes, and as (Jovan Byford, 2009, pg. 251) says â€Å"good fences make good neighbours†. This is particularly so with regards to the UK, Anthropologist Stanley Brandes cited in Byford, 2009, p. 59, from his study on social order in Becedas, Spain found the same kind of strong contradictions in rural life, but with a difference in how they acted and danced in their every day lives. He compared neighbourly relationships to the family and found that they feared privacy and saw it as being rude something which could be seen as a breath of fresh air from an English point of view, but these neighbours needed each other to survive and this closeness was seen as a form of surveillance and the necessity to lean on each other brought with it great suspicion, vulnerability and distrust. However there can be tensions in neighbourly relations causing them to break down, this can be for a series of reasons but mostly regarding space and noise when we talk about neighbourhoods. Disputes can arise through people stepping over unwritten, social or group boundaries and if the two sides are unable to repair or settle their dispute then a mediator is often introduced to try and stop the case getting out of control and ending up in court. Elizabeth Stokoe, cited in Byford, 2009, p. 264, in 2006 examined cases of complaints about sexual intercourse and found that people didn’t really want to complain as they were afraid of invading a person’s private life, but at the same time they believed that private activities should be kept private. Another example of tensions between neighbours is a study done by Joanna Bourke, cited in Byford, 2009, p. 66, in 1994 on the noise in overcrowded working-class housing in the 1940/50s, and here too we can see that residents took measures to distance themselves from their neighbours like placing their bed on the other side of the room to try and resolve and repair the conflict that could or had already arisen. In conclusion we can say that the fine line between what is seen as a friendly or intrusive neighbour is very difficult to decipher, and we are continuously dancing with each other throughout life to find the right balance, so finally we can say that neighbourly rel ations are definitely characterized by a friendly distance.