Tuesday, October 22, 2019

International Legal System as Initiatives to Enhance the Umm Qasr Port Security

International Legal System as Initiatives to Enhance the Umm Qasr Port Security The article under discussion is called â€Å"International Legal System as Initiatives to Enhance the Umm Qasr Port Security†; it represents a study report prepared by Iranian researchers Hassan Jafari and Somayeh Dehdari. The paper under discussion is devoted to the examination of the port security problem in the framework of the Umm Qasr Port.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on International Legal System as Initiatives to Enhance the Umm Qasr Port Security specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The authors put a particular emphasis on the problem of the International legal system’s implementation and the efficiency of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code (Jafari Dehdari, 2013). From the very first lines of the introduction, one might understand that the researchers are mainly interested in the efficacy of the particular security measure – the ISPS Code. Before Jafari and Dehd ari introduce the research question itself, they cover a series of minor problems that it comprises. Thus, the authors point out the cost-effectiveness of this security code, its benefits for the customers and potential disadvantages for the personnel. Therefore, the readers might presume in advance that the question of the following research is going to be focused on the outcomes of the ISPS Code integration in the port security system. Even though the focus of the research is evident, the researchers clearly put their principal question at the end of the introductory passage. According to Jafari and Dehdari, their study is aimed at the assessment of the effects of the ISPS Code implementation (Jafari Dehdari, 2013). The hypothesis of the analyzed research is represented in the format of a series of assumptions. Thus, the authors do not have a principal supposition the validness of which they intend to test with the help of the experiment. Instead, they put forward six assumptions that imply various aspects of the security code’s performance: price, customers’ satisfaction, duration length, to name but a few. One should necessarily point out that the authors provide a detailed explanation of the security code phenomenon, introducing the readers into the main problematic and potential questions in this area. Such an accurate description of the examined subject helps one realize the importance of the research. The â€Å"so what† question will hardly arise as long as one gets acquainted with the provided data. Therefore, Jafari and Dehdari manage to convince the readers that the study is worth carrying out.Advertising Looking for article on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Meanwhile, as to the uniqueness of the analyzed research, this question is not elucidated throughout the paper. The researchers do not provide any information regarding the novelty of the following study and their insights. Nevertheless, due to the fact that Jafari and Dehdari examine the implementation of the security code on the example of a particular port, Umm Qasr, one tends to presume that the study is unique. Another point that is worth analyzing is the research’s design. One has to note that the main points of the article are slightly different from those that the standard study report includes. Thus, the major part of the paper focuses on the background of the problem, whereas the methodology, the description of the experiment, the recommendations and some other essential parts of the research seem to be neglected. On the whole, one might suggest that the paper has two main points: the introduction of the problem and the accurate description of the received results. The introductory part takes up one-third of the entire text and seems to be exceedingly detailed while covering all the aspects of the ISPS Code’s implementation in the securit y system. As it has been already mentioned above, the paper does not include a separate sector devoted to the literature review. Meanwhile, one might still note that Jafari and Dehdari’s narration is well grounded from the literature point of view. Thus, the researchers provide the minimum of their own suggestions and assumptions while speculating over the key subject. Instead, they try to support every idea with the relevant reference to the peer-reviewed source. One is to mention that a significant part of the sources the research includes is represented by official documents and standards. The rest of the literature sources that the authors use seem to be valid and up-to-date. The method of collecting and analyzing data is thoroughly described only in the final part of the paper that covers the received result. One should admit that the authors are particularly attentive to the problem of analyzing the results – they provide an exhaustive explanation of the performe d process. On the other hand, the question of collecting data for the study seems to be slightly unrevealed. Therefore, one can suggest that replicating the following research might be rather problematic unless some extra guidance is provided. As long as every assumption is tested with the help of the one-sample t-test, the question of variables is explicitly covered in the paper. Thus, every statistical table includes the â€Å"variable† and the â€Å"average difference† columns. In the meantime, one can note that the discussion on the variables issue is highly brief and concise; the authors do not touch upon the alternative point of view in their study.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on International Legal System as Initiatives to Enhance the Umm Qasr Port Security specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One should necessarily point out that the provided findings fully support the authors’ initial go als. Thence, the examination of the validity of every assumption throws light on a particular aspect of the ISPS Code implementation. At the beginning of the research, Jafari and Dehdari intend to find out the character of the impact ISPS Code is likely to have on cost, clients, personnel, etc. The performed study provides the answers for all of these questions. The only drawback one might point out is the fact that the researchers receive the findings that are true for a particular port, Umm Qasr, whereas the beginning of the paper makes an impression they need to receive a more general data. Nevertheless, the validness of their findings can hardly be doubted. Jafari and Dehdari employ the specific first-hand information and a reliable method of its analysis. As a consequence, the insights they introduce are relevant, though not universal. The conclusion that Jafari and Dehdari offer is very brief and concise. Although, it follows the evidence provided, one might suggest that the a uthors fail to cover some significant findings. Thus, the problem of the security code’s impact on the personnel seems to be overlooked, even though the researchers initially pointed it out as one of the key points for examination. On the contrary, in conclusion, the authors lay a particular emphasis on the port’s size as one of the determining factors of the success of the code’s implementation. However, the size of the port was not primarily supposed to become the focus of the study. Therefore, one might suggest that the main advantage of the following conclusion is the concise manner the authors use to represent information. Meanwhile, the principal drawback of the final part is the omission of some essential points as well as the introduction of new aspects. One of the principal shortcomings of the research report under discussion is the authors’ interpretation of their findings. Hence, Jafari and Dehdari provide a brief summary of the results of thei r experiment leaving out the potential implications the received data possesses. Therefore, the authors do not analyze the significance of their findings, the potential areas of their implementation, or the novelty of their insights. The readers do not receive any information regarding the possibility of employing the results in further research. One might suggest that the following research report could be improved if the authors tried to speculate upon the integration of the data collected from a particular port into the general port security system. Hence, one could have performed the analysis of the port security code in general and worked out a series of recommendations on how this code may be efficiently implemented. As a consequence, the analyzed research report has a number of strengths and limitations. Among the benefits of the following study, one might point out the specificity of the targeted subject – the study focuses on a particular port; hence, the research is more practical rather than theoretical. Moreover, the background reference is highly detailed and explicit that helps a reader receive a complete idea of the examined subject.Advertising Looking for article on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Finally, the validity of the findings determined by the reliable data analyzing method also adds to the research’s relevance. On the other side, the paper lacks some key parts that a research report has to include such as the description of the experiment itself and the analysis of the received results. One can suggest that the principal limitation of this study is the unclear experimental group and the lack of further recommendations that do not allow a reader to define the potential capacity of the authors’ insights. Reference List Jafari, H., Dehdari, S. (2013). International Legal System as Initiatives to Enhance the Umm Qasr Port Security. Journal of Social Issues Humanities, 1(7), 70-73.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Free Essays on How The Gold Rush Began

How The Gold Rush Began The California Gold Rush Shortly after the acquisition of California from Mexico. A man by the name of John Sutter arrived in East San Francisco Bay in 1839. Born in Germany he had to leave because he was unable to pay his creditors. With plenty of charm and letters from friends he convinced the Mexican governor of California to award him a land grant of more than 50,000 acres. John Sutter built a stockade and a fort and soon after became referred to as Captain Sutter, and his riverbank establishment Sutters Fort. Sutter chose a location on the south fork of the American River, 50 miles to the south of his fort, to build a sawmill . A millrace was dug and wooden gates were opened periodically so that the current would widen and deepen the channel. During his inspection on January 24, 1848 James W. Marshall found the first piece of gold at the end of the race. Over the next decade his discovery would have a profound effect on the experiences of hundreds of thousands of individuals , their families, their communities, and ultimately the nation as a whole. By the winter of 1848, whispers of a gold strike had drifted eastward across the country but few easterners believed it. The gold discovery needed validation, and President Polk was just the one to deliver it. In his opening address to Congress on December 5, 1848 Polk said that at the time of the California acquisition it was known that â€Å"mines of the precious metals existed to some extent. Recent discoveries render it probable that these mines are more extensive and valuable than was anticipated. The accounts of the abundance of gold in that territory are of such an extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by authentic reports.† With Polk’s address making headlines around the world Gold Fever had begun. The future forty-niners now under the influence of Gold Fever had to overcome a cruel journey, miserable li... Free Essays on How The Gold Rush Began Free Essays on How The Gold Rush Began How The Gold Rush Began The California Gold Rush Shortly after the acquisition of California from Mexico. A man by the name of John Sutter arrived in East San Francisco Bay in 1839. Born in Germany he had to leave because he was unable to pay his creditors. With plenty of charm and letters from friends he convinced the Mexican governor of California to award him a land grant of more than 50,000 acres. John Sutter built a stockade and a fort and soon after became referred to as Captain Sutter, and his riverbank establishment Sutters Fort. Sutter chose a location on the south fork of the American River, 50 miles to the south of his fort, to build a sawmill . A millrace was dug and wooden gates were opened periodically so that the current would widen and deepen the channel. During his inspection on January 24, 1848 James W. Marshall found the first piece of gold at the end of the race. Over the next decade his discovery would have a profound effect on the experiences of hundreds of thousands of individuals , their families, their communities, and ultimately the nation as a whole. By the winter of 1848, whispers of a gold strike had drifted eastward across the country but few easterners believed it. The gold discovery needed validation, and President Polk was just the one to deliver it. In his opening address to Congress on December 5, 1848 Polk said that at the time of the California acquisition it was known that â€Å"mines of the precious metals existed to some extent. Recent discoveries render it probable that these mines are more extensive and valuable than was anticipated. The accounts of the abundance of gold in that territory are of such an extraordinary character as would scarcely command belief were they not corroborated by authentic reports.† With Polk’s address making headlines around the world Gold Fever had begun. The future forty-niners now under the influence of Gold Fever had to overcome a cruel journey, miserable li...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Dark Money - Definition

Dark Money - Definition Anyone whos paid attention to all those mysteriously funded political ads on television during the 2012 presidential election is probably familiar with the term dark money. Dark money is a term used to describe political spending by innocuously named groups whose own donors - the source of the money - are allowed to remain hidden because of loopholes in disclosure laws. How Dark Money Spending Works So why does dark money exist? If there are Federal Election Commission rules requiring campaigns to report their sources of funding, how can it be that some of the money spent on trying to influence elections is coming from unnamed sources? Related Story: A Guide to Money in Politics Most of the dark money making its way into politics comes not from campaigns themselves but outside groups including nonprofit 501[c] groups or social welfare organizations that are spending tens of millions of dollars. Those groups are required to report how much they spend trying to influence elections. But under the Internal Revenue Service code, 501[c] and social welfare organizations are not required to tell the government or public from whom they get their money. That means they can spend money on electioneering or make contributions to super PACs without naming names of individual donors. What Dark Money Pays For Dark money spending is very similar to spending by super PACs. 501[c] and social welfare organizations can spend unlimited amounts of money trying to sway voters on specific issues and thereby influence the outcome of elections. History of Dark Money The explosion of dark money followed the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark 2010 ruling in the case of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. The court ruled that the federal government cannot limit corporations - including those 501[c] and social welfare organizations - from spending money to influence the outcome of elections. The ruling led to the creation of super PACs. Dark Money Examples Groups that spend money on trying to influence elections without having to disclose their own donors appear on both sides of the political spectrum - from the conservative, anti-tax Club for Growth and U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the left-leaning abortion-rights activist groups Planned Parenthood Action Fund Inc. and NARAL Pro-Choice America. Dark Money Controversies One of the biggest controversies over dark money involved the 501[c] group Crossroads GPS. The group has strong ties to former George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove. Crossroads GPS is a separate entity from American Crossroads, a conservative super PAC funded by Rove that was sharply critical of President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. During the campaign, the groups Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate Crossroads GPS after the 501[c] group received an anonymous $10 million contribution. The new $10 million secret contribution to Crossroads GPS to run attack ads against President Obama as he runs for re-election is a stark illustration of the problem caused by groups engaged in campaign spending claiming eligibility as social welfare organizations under section 501(c)(4), wrote J. Gerald Hebert, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center, and Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21. It is apparent that these groups are claiming section 501(c)(4) tax status in order to keep secret from the American people the donors financing their campaign-related expenditures, they wrote. If these organizations are not eligible for tax status under section 501(c)(4), then they are improperly using the tax laws to shield their donors from public disclosure and improperly using secret contributions to influence the 2012 national elections. Crossroads GPS reportedly spent more than $70 million from anonymous donors on the 2012 election even though it had previously told the IRS political spending would be limited in amount, and will not constitute the organizations primary purpose. Dark Money and Super PACs Many advocates for transparency believe spending by 501[c] and social welfare organizations is much more problematic than that by super PACs. We are seeing some 501c4s becoming pure election vehicles, wrote Rick Hasen on the Election Law Blog. ... The key is to stop 501c4s from becoming shadow super PACs. Yes, campaign finance reform community, it has become this bad: I want more super PACs, because the 501c4 alternative is worse!

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Heuristics and Print Advertising Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Heuristics and Print Advertising - Essay Example This calls for the use of simpler methods to get satisfactory solutions. An example of this is the application of heuristics. Heuristics refers to experience-based techniques for discovery, learning and solving problems. Heuristics can also be described as simplifying strategies or rules of thumb that help people in their reasonable judgment and make guesses more quickly. Therefore, they are informal shortcuts or rules used to make daily judgments and get satisfactory solution since organizations cannot afford to spend large amounts of resources like energy, time and money on every single judgment or detail of life (Kahneman et al, 1982). Consumer behavior theories also give a good understanding of the behavioral trends among consumers and the factors that affect their decisions. Marketers combine information from these theories with heuristics so as to attain strategic marketing. The consumer behaviour theory gives a practical application of understanding the behaviour trends in con sumers and thus providing a way of strategizing to influence them. The theory explains the psychological, mental, emotional, non-utilitarian or subjective aspects of consumer behaviour in making buying decisions. ... It is also important to understand that there are consumers who are always after brands of high value hence they seek a lot of information on available brands before making any purchase (Engel et al 1995). Other consumers have habitual buying behaviour whereby they purchase products as a habit whereas others are variety seeking. Howard (1989) states that variety consumers always shop around to get a different brand of a product just to have variety. Variety seeking consumers are the best targets for advertisements since it brings the existence of the brand into their attention so that they can seek it. When they have got used to it, the manufacturers can make slight changes to re-advertise it as a new or improved product once again. Another consumer behaviour theory that explains the trends in consumer behaviour is the neoclassical consumer theory. This theory is a branch of microeconomics that deals with understanding consumer behaviours through the application of classical models o f economics. These models are based on the perception of consumers as people who are very rational in their decision making. In this respect it views them as people who always seek to maximize their satisfaction and benefits with purchases through informed and reasoned analysis of utility and value. When the neoclassical consumer theory is applied to consumer behaviour, it assumes that the utility or benefit of a product describes their behaviour over a life time. The utility maximizing rule states that for consumers to maximise satisfaction, they should allocate their finances so that the last amount of money spend on each product yields the same utility. The neoclassical theory factors in the issue of elasticity. If a product is highly elastic, its consumption will reduce if its price

Friday, October 18, 2019

Report investigating the London Olympic Stadium 2012 programme Essay

Report investigating the London Olympic Stadium 2012 programme - Essay Example The stadium provides a seating arrangement for 80,000 viewers and has been made to scale the seating arena to a smaller 25,000 seated stadium. This requires an in-built flexibility and it maximises the potential of the stadium to meet needs of the community and arrange smaller national sports events in the stadium. The designer, Rod Sheard, and his team introduced ingenious designs and used 3D computer graphics, time-lapse photography and conducted persuasive interviews with the key personnel of this programme so as, to receive advices and feedback on the work done. The roof of the stadium is one amazing piece of art and scientific architecture; it is a cable-net roof of more than half kilometre circumference, and is erected as one enormous piece of roofing. The lighting arrangement is equally amazing (Channel5, 2012, Megastructures: London's Olympic Stadium). Lighting pads are attached to each individual seat which when lighted produces a magnificent effect. Also the administration team has taken care of the environmental issues. The entire structure has been created to minimize waste generation right from the structure of the building to the transportation and food facilities, procurement of raw materials and checks on carbon emission. All these have helped the building to achieve a successful seat in modern architectural development. Program management Programme management refers to an approach that is integrated into the approach of project management and streamlines the effect of project management principles implemented for the proper delivery of different projects (Gray, 1997). Programme is a group many portfolios of separate projects (Shehua and Akintoye, 2009; Ferns, 1991; Reiss, 2003). These projects are managed in a synchronized manner which creates certain benefits that would not have been earned had the projects been administered independently. When the cost benefit analysis is made while planning a mega event, nalysts must calculate long term cost s and benefits. These affect the economy of the host destination and also influence the performance of the programme in the long run (Jago, et al., 2010). In this paper the business objective of the London Olympic Stadium built for the 2012 games would be evaluated according to the academic theory of risk management and PRINCE2 methodology. The architectural design would be studied to assess the long term performance of the programme. Risk management Mega-events as the World Cup in football or cricket or the Olympic Games are special events that require rigorous practice for risk management. Although mega-events take place for a limited time span, they cast long-term impacts on the host cities. Hosting of such mega events require the creation of large infrastructure that often entail long-term debts and necessitate long-term programming (Roche, 1994). It requires efficient analysis of the probable security risks and their proper management of security risks. It involves substantial interdependencies among the different projects within the large programme and provides a wide scale of resource commitments. Apart from the consequences on the host nation, these events are of

MicroEconomics Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MicroEconomics Homework - Essay Example For example, a product with really high elasticity will mean that you don’t value a product very much and hence it will have a low consumer surplus and vice versa. 2) Elasticity, simply, is the responsiveness of quantity demanded to a change in price. For example, when you levy a sales tax on any product its price increases. This price increase is going to decrease the quantity demanded of this product. The magnitude of change, however, will depend upon the elasticity of demand. For example, if sales-tax is levied on a product with inelastic demand, then quantity is not going to fall by a large amount and large revenue will be collected. On the other hand, if sales-tax is levied on a product with elastic demand, the change in price is going to decrease the quantity by a greater amount and revenue collected will be less. 3) I think that the government should charge those products with high price inelasticity of supply. This is because, if it levies taxes on products with high elasticity of supply, the suppliers would pressurize the government by supplying fewer amounts in the market and hence majority of consumers will be deprived of the product. So, it should charge a product with low price elasticity of demand so that supply does not change much and consumers get the adequate amount of product. 4) Simply, the perfectly inelastic demand and supply would ensure that imposition of tax is going to reduce the quantity in the market by smaller amounts and hence, this will result in little or no welfare loss. 5) In this case, consumer will bear a bigger burden of the tax because suppliers will easily pass it on consumer by supplying less, but consumers would encourage them to keep producing the same amount of cigarettes by paying a bigger share of tax. 7) In this case when price is more inelastic for suppliers and less inelastic for consumer, then the suppliers of a product

The Global Business Environment Meeting Challenges Essay

The Global Business Environment Meeting Challenges - Essay Example The company presently has a central savoury production unit and an armada of 375 delivery vehicles present throughout the day for ensuring the punctual delivery of the fresh food to the customers. The company also is the leading employer of approximately around 20,000 people and has a future dynamic plan of installing 500 new shops in the near future and generating 6,000 new jobs. The regional bakeries prepare baked food for the daily delivery shops with expert advices and under strict supervision from the skilled bakers from 90 in- store bakeries responsible for the provision of ultimate fresh baked food (Company Overview, n.d.). Growth potential-present scenario The analysts have established the facts with their sophisticated statistical forecasting tools and inferred that around 50% of the population of UK currently is devoid of access to Greggs shops. Thus they state that there is a boosting potential for the establishment of an additional 600 shops in the United Kingdom in the n ext few years (Growing Greggs, n.d.). Fig. 1. Dynamic Growth Potential (Growing Greggs, n.d.) The above diagram depicts the positive and rising growth potential forecasted by the analyst. Focus of the paper The paper emphasizes on the analysis of several factors affecting the financial health of the company initially with the macroeconomic environment analysis with respect to the famous PESTEL analysis and subsequently the microeconomic variables including customers, competitors and collaboration. Having a transparent insight about the factors affecting the company the focus will be shifted on the SWOT analysis in order to analyze the strengths, weaknesses opportunities and threats the company faces with an endeavor to formulate optimal strategies to ensure the forecasted escalating growth potential and reaping huge revenue generation along with the spreading of the reputation of the company to an all new dimension. A short insight on the financial health and performance of the comp any Before entering into the detailed analysis a short glimpse of the financial operations of the company needs to be mentioned. The year 2011 was indeed a challenging year for the company with respect to the economy and the consumers. The performance of the company was noteworthy in 2011 and has maintained the pace of progress towards the attainment of the strategic objectives with the record number of openings of shops across UK as well as investment in two major bakeries in Newcastle and Cumbria. A five period analysis (2006-2010) of the company’s financial health with respect to the key performance indicators (although trhere are many four of them are discussed) can be seen from the graphical analysis provided as below: A) Like-for-like sales growth Fig.2 The Like-for-like Sales growth figure (Annual Report & accounts, 2010, p. 18) The variable Like-for-like sales growth performs the comparison of year on year cash sales in the core shops of the company and is not distort ed by the opening or the closure of the shops. The refitted shops are included in the like-for-like comparison unless there have been significant changes in the trading space. The growth of the Like-for-like sales also incorporates the selling price inflation. Year 2009 was a 53 week year affecting the total sales growth for that year and also