Hip Hop Is Corrupting Our Youth

Do Guns Provide Safety? At What Cost? I am one of many Americans who believe that guns protect families. People who own firearms are supposed to be responsible and liable. There is controversy about whether gun possession really heightens personal safety and to what degree does gun violence factor in increased medical expenses. If less gun-related issues can come to a cease, than I believe health care cost would decrease sufficiently. I believe that people should have the right to bear arms in their home. I want to protect myself and my family from possible danger.The gun should have a trigger lock on the weapon and a lock on the box, in which the gun is stored. However, the presence of this weapon has resulted in accidental injury, suicide, homicide, and domestic violence (p315). According to this article, the presence of a firearm in the home reportedly results in death or injury to household members or visitors over 12 times more often than to an intruder (p315). This report has s omewhat influenced my initial thoughts about guns to be more hazard to my own family than to an intruder. Do guns make others safe?I don’t feel that we are safe at all from police or security guards. Trayvon Martin’s case is a prime example of a gun being used at the wrong time. If a person is armed with a weapon, most likely they are willing to use it. Although, Trayvon was in some sort of conflict with the security, if the officer were unarmed, then the death of Trayvon wouldn’t be an issue. Also, there seems to be a growing trend among mass shootings in America. The most memorable shooting was the attack on Virginia Tech in 2007. 2 students killed 32 individuals and wounded 24, then committed suicide.Targeting mass crowds seems to be more popular and carried out by copy cats. Most recently, a man starting shooting people in a crowded movie theater, during the premiere of Batman, which killed several people and injury dozens because he knew he could get attent ion. It is tragedies like these which cause controversy, awareness and anger. Lastly, the overall economic cost due to gun violence in America, including health care is about $100 billion per year (p316). Taxpayers often bear a large percentage of these financial burdens; thus this matter is a hot political topic in the presidential campaign.I agree that the gun laws should be reviewed and revised. Guns are dangerous yet are protective. Guns should be used by authorities only to prevent accidental deaths or injuries. If we can get that under control, then healthcare cost should drop. In conclusion, guns are controversial to some people and many politicians. Americans are at a crossroad with gun laws because most of us want to protect our families. Household firearm ownership is associated with elevated rates of shooting oneself, accidently shootings and domestic violence. We need to limit the ways we can purchase guns and accessories.

Out of My Comfort Zone

The whole month my friends have been continuously asking me to come ice skate with them. I had denied them several times, because I felt very uneasy going on a low friction surface on metal skates and was almost sure I would fall flat on my face. Public skate bothered me even more because I knew there would be several people there watching me, and potentially getting in the way of my skating. When the group decided to each get out of our comfort zones, I realized I should go with my friends this weekend, even though I felt very uncomfortable. Upon putting my skates on, I wasn’t sure what I was doing, and it took me a couple minutes to finally step out onto the ice. I held on to the railing for a long time, and my friend told me that was no way to learn something new, and that I should go in head first without being scared of failure. I felt ridiculous for caring so much, and let go and started skating around. I came to realize it was extremely similar to roller skating, and started enjoying it. When small children or fast skaters came by me, I was still a bit uneasy and would stop or slow down, but I realized it wasn’t as bad as I made it. Having everyone support me and show me tricks to go faster or make turns was very encouraging. I realized there were actually very many beginners during public skate that were going even slower than me. I didn’t feel so alone and realized I shouldn’t have chickened out for so long. My main fears were being out of control, that I would fail, or be embarrassed. Sometimes these things would pop up a bit, but in the end the experience gave me motivation to try new things and to wipe away the fear. It’s hard to grow and learn without taking risks, so I was proud I did it. To many it may have seemed like a small situation, but for me personally it was a bold step. Taking small bold steps may lead me to take larger more uncomfortable steps to get ahead. I realized that very few of the decisions or actions that you take are life or death. If you look at challenges through that lens it becomes much easier to step out of your comfort zone. As a concluding thought, I feel that if people don’t challenge themselves, chances are they will be drifting. If you want to be known as a leader, you need to be the first one to step outside of the box.

Barbados Essays - Barbados, Portuguese Colonization Of The Americas

Barbados Barbados is a small country located in the Caribbean Sea. The capital is Bridgetown with a population of about 8,789. The head of state of Barbados is Queen Elizabeth II and she is represented by General Dame Nita Barrow. The total population of the country is around 252,000. The main language is English and the predominant religion is Christianity. Their date of independence was November 30, 1966. Barbados is the eastern most Caribbean Island. It is about 200 miles North-North East of Trinidad and about 100 miles East- South East of St. Lucia. It is the second smallest country in the Western Hemisphere. The major urban centers in the area include Bridgetown, Speightstown, Oistins, and Holetown. The land is mainly flat except for a series of ridges that rise up to about 1,000 feet and then falling towards the sea. The climate of the region consists of tropical temperatures influenced by the Northeast trade winds. The average annual temperature is approximately 77 degrees Fahrenheit. The daily temperatures rarely get above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The dry season is cool, while the wet season is slightly warmer. The main rains come during the months of July, August, September, October, and November. The annual average rainfall is 40 inches in the coastal areas and 90 inches in the central areas. The net migration into Barbados is 4.82 per 1000. The annual growth rate is 0.4%, which is one of the lowest in the world. The annual birthrate is 15.45 per 1000, and the annual deathrate is 8.27 per 1000. Barbados ranks fourth in the World in population density with the overall density being 1526 per square mile. The whole island is inhabited, leaving no sparsely populated areas. The main race is Negro, which is about 92% of the population. The remainder of the population is consists of Whites (3.8%), Mulattoes (3.8%), and East Indians (0.4%). About 70% of the population is Anglican. The other 30% belong to various denominations such as Moravian, Methodist, and Roman Catholic. Barbados was once under British control from 1624. Its House of Assembly, which began in 1639, is the third oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere. By the time Britain left in 1966, the island was completely English in culture. The British influence is still seen today in quaint pubs, cricket games on the village greens, and in the common law. Barbados' government is British Parliament. The queen is the head of state and she is represented by the governor general. The governor general appoints an advisory council. The executive authority is the Prime Minister who is Owen Seymour Arthur which came into power on September 6, 1994. The Deputy Prime Minister is Billie Miller who also came into power on September 6, 1994. The democratic government works well in the country. They have had three general elections and one smooth transfer of power from the Democratic Labor Party to the Barbados Labor Party. Barbados carries on trade with other Caribbean nations and does have diplomatic relations with Cuba. Their closest relations are with the United Stated, and the United Kingdom. Barbados joined the United Nations is 1966. The economy of Barbados is one of the 35 upper middle-income countries of the world. They have a free-market economy, but the dominant sector is private. Their economy is based on sugar and tourism, but the government has encouraged a policy of diversification in order to achieve a more stable nation. They also depend on a light manufacturing industry. Their monetary unit is the Barbados dollar. The coins are made in 1, 5, 10, and 25 cents. The paper money is made in 1, 5, 10, 20, and 100 dollar bills. One U.S. dollar is equal to 2.01 Barbados dollar (1975). About 60% of the land is cropland. The agriculture industry employs 7.4% of the labor force and contributes about 8.7% to the Gross Domestic Product. Sugarcane makes up over half the acreage. Bananas are also grown, but only on a limited scale. Sea island cotton is also grown. All of the farmers are required by regulations to plant at least 12% of their arable land with some food crop. Barbados' natural resources include petroleum, fishing, and natural gas. The fishing industry employs about 2,500 people and 500 small boats. Their are no natural forests in the country. Manufacturing contributes about 11.2% to the GDP. Manufacturing and mining employ about 18.9% of the labor force. The majority of the industrial establishments are engaged in some form of sugar processing. Sugar is the principal export. The principal imports include machinery, motor vehicles, lumber, and

Kodak Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Kodak - Case Study Example Besides, the Company has been creating differentiated value offerings in new growth markets, waiting to be revolutionized. The Company’s four selected growth products include consumer inkjet in CDG division, and commercial inkjet, workflow software and services, and packaging solutions in GCG division (Kodak Annual Report, 2010). The Company’s business strategy is aligned with performance-Based compensation. The component of compensation of the Company’s Named Executive Officers’ yearly target overall direct compensation is variable and based on performance and equity price rise, which can go to the limit of 69% to 87% (162) (Kodak Annual Report, 2010). Market competition has been one of the big pressures, creating risky situations on Kodak’s income, total profits, and its market share as well. Market is quite powerful and highly competitive. Market for new products lacks the leverage that old players have from the scale of distributors. Besides, Kodak faces price competition on global front, affecting Kodak’s functional and financial position from product pricing and across the industry pricing pressures. Therefore, Kodak is highly under pressure to reduce prices to remain in the market although it is affecting the company’s overall profit levels and income (Kodak Annual Report, 2010). Kodak business model in 2010 was focused on primary growth strategy, which was negatively impacted because of competitive pricing and increasing commodity costs in relatively mature product categories, such as Prepress Solutions, Digital Capture and Devices, and Entertainment Imaging. Goals for 2011 were aimed at Kodak business model in 2010 was focused on primary growth strategy, which was negatively impacted because of competitive pricing and increasing commodity costs in relatively mature product categories, such as Prepress Solutions, Digital Capture and Devices, and Entertainment Imaging. Goals for 2011 were aimed at The Company has

Smart City Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Smart City - Essay Example identifies that majority of these individuals still live in slums (2011). Comparatively, although cities only occupy 2 to 3 percent of the total earth’s surface, they are responsible for about 75 percent of carbon secretions and 80 percent of the total energy consumption (Haftor, Mirijamdotter & Bradley, 2010). It is thus in this context that, to be livable in the future, cities require efficient urbanization plans with a huge emphasis placed on the concepts of sustainability, smart, and livability. Essentially, there are various factors which characterize and define Smart Cities. According to Sanseverino, these factors include smart economy, sustainability, smart mobility, economic development, smart people, a high quality of life and smart governance among others (2014). Thus, these factors are essential for the improvement of lives of individuals residing in cities. It is worth noting that these factors can be enhanced through the appropriate and effective use of infrastructure, Information Computer Technology (ICT), as well as social capital (Galbraith, 2014). As such, a Smart City creates an environment that not only presents the residents with numerous opportunities to be tapped, but also a broad range of actions and activities as embraced in its voluminous definitions. According to Giffinger, et al., a Smart City can be defined as â€Å"an innovative city† which makes use of ICTs and other strategies to increase urban competition, improve efficiency in the service s offered and improve the general quality of city life (2007). It is however worth noting that in order to achieve this, it is important to not only meet the needs of the present generation but also the future generations. Notably important, there are six important dimensions that are key to the creation of a Smart City. These dimensions can be identified as smart mobility, smart economy, smart people, smart environment, smart governance

Harassment at Work Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Harassment at Work - Case Study Example The plaintiff, Alisha alleged that her employer discriminated against her on the basis of her sex, by failing to restore her to her position, after she took a leave owing to complications with her pregnancy. This case shares some of the circumstances that are similar to the Collins case. Betty Cattino sued her former employers Genesis Healthcare for discriminating against her because of her sex and for the violation of Equal Pay Act. This particular case also has close affiliations with the Collins case. After conducting the research on the case under consideration by the sneaky method, one comes to the conclusion that Shepardizing is a much more organized and time efficient method of conducting legal research. This becomes peculiarly evident from the extreme variation in the results derived from the two suggested methods of research. Shepardizing saves a lot of inconvenience and hassle involved in conducting legal research. Especially the CLAR method of Shepardizing provided by Lexis cuts short the botheration and confusion involved in looking for the text of the document that cited a particular case by using keywords. Above all the hypertext features available in the online Shepard Citations enable a researcher to navigate conveniently from the Shepard's reference to the text of any specific document that cited a particular case. Almost all the sources located during the research referred to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits all forms of discrimination at work on the basis of an employee's color, race, sex, religion or national origin. In the case of Collins, she is specifically being discriminated against on the basis of her sex and the ensuing responsibilities as a mother and a partner. Thus she can undoubtedly sue her employers for the violation of Title VII. Some sources also refer to the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which allows for claiming damages in case of being subjected to any intentional discrimination at work. Evidently in the Collins fact pattern, the ABC Advertising is conclusively discriminating against Collins on the grounds of her dressing sense, sociability and parental responsibilities. Hence this legal provision can be

The need for imigration refom Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The need for imigration refom - Research Paper Example From the findings of the analysis carried out in the paper, it has been viewed that the aspect of rapid illegal immigration has been the cause of various illegal activities in the nations. Additionally, it has also been determined that reform in the current immigration policies would not only facilitate in decreasing the illegal activities but would also aid in developing an environment that would be safe for both the civilians and immigrants who migrate legally from other nations either for professional or academic purpose. Introduction The facet of immigration plays a vital role for every nation as it not only involves financial benefits but also aids in developing the country technologically and culturally among other aspects. In general, immigration is the process through which the people belonging to a particular nation move to another country owing to economic, political, natural disaster or other factors. With the advent of globalization and the increasing literacy rate, peopl e tend to emigrate from their home country to another nation because of the need to progress their professional or academic life. ... However, in recent years it has often been viewed that the lure of reaching the land of American dreams has propagated many individuals to tread the forbidden path of illegal immigration. Subsequently, in the act of immigration, people who belong to different terrorist groups move to the country either legally or illegal and cause great harm to the citizens. This has given rise to the debate amid many political critics to implement strategies and policies that would help in reforming the immigration policies effectively along with helping to maintain a safe place for the civilians to live in (U.S Department of Homeland Security, 2012; Library of Congress, n.d.). The purpose of the paper is to depict the need for immigration reform which allows legal immigration in the United States, while enabling to protect the nation from the people of groups that aim at causing it harm. Discussion History of Immigration in the United States The aspect of immigration in the United States can be div ided into four major parts. From the Colonial era to 1880, most of immigrants came from northern part of Europe especially from countries such as England, Germany and Ireland. It is worth mentioning that the Africans were also brought in America in this period through salve trade and Chinese began migrating towards the end of this period. The second period started from 1880 and ended in 1920. In this era, people especially from the southern and eastern part of Europe especially from countries such as Italy, Russia immigrated in America. The third wave of immigration can be categorized during the World War I targeting Asians, southern and eastern Europeans to strengthen the military force of the country. And, the fourth ended after the conclusion of the World War II. The Immigration

Voting Rights Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Voting Rights Act - Essay Example Section 2 allows individuals, non-governmental organizations and the attorney general to file civil actions in order to seek injunctions, preventive, and permanent relief from the section’s violation. Having noted that, many will agree that the section was destined to achieve greater heights in voter right protection than it is currently. However due to its broad text, section 2 has failed to address comprehensively the problem of discrimination in the states which have a History of discrimination, leave alone providing a lasting solution. Section 2 of the Voter Rights Act is more reactive than being proactive in the essence that often the damage has already been done to a group of voters by a state that cannot be remedied after a voting –related deadline, or an election has passed. Moreover the cost and expediency of voter rights Act enforcement under section 2 has proved to be a nightmare for the plaintiffs’ who cannot afford the resources required to litigate fact-intensive cases. Though this has since been resolved through the partly involvement of the department of justice to essentially assume plaintiffs’ costs for section 2 suits by either initiating the action itself or intervening in support of the plaintiff, it’s still a course for concern for the cost effectiveness availed by the section. It’s well known that section 2 vote dilution standards are fairly well developed in the courts. In the section’s vote dilution cases, plaintiffs are usually required to first pass the Gingles test-from the case Thornburg v. Gingles- then an effect test. This is intended to prove that the plaintiff’s vote has been diluted based on the current voting district boundaries by proving that had the boundaries been drawn differently, the minority population would have the voting power to elect a candidate of its choice. However as earlier noted, this seems to be more of reactive than

McDonalds Cost Structures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

McDonalds Cost Structures - Assignment Example The franchises have to pay their own occupancy costs which consist of rent, property taxes, insurance and maintenance costs. Certain corporate general and administrative expenses are fixed too which comprise of office support costs in areas of training, legal, supply chain, finance, information technology and human resources. Variable costs which vary with the level of sales include a major chunk of food and labor costs. Sales staff and countermen whose salaries are based on the number of customers they serve are also variable costs for the company. Also, packaging costs, the paper material, employee benefits, selling and general expenses are variable charges. Certain corporate general costs are variable such as training and restaurant operations. As for the fixed costs, the factors that affect them are mostly the market changes. McDonald's needs to spend more on advertising and promotion when they see that market competition is getting fiercer and bitter. Moreover, in order to retain the higher level experienced staff, they need to raise the salaries of their staff and hence payrolls and compensation of management level employees increase. However, in times of recession like the major financial crisis, all fixed costs also dwindled down. The royalty charges or franchise fee is mainly fixed at a certain percentage after a 25% down payment initially unless the franchisor wants to alter the fixed rate for some reason. The variable costs are more directly responsive to changes in the level of sales. The main factor affecting the variable costs is the demand and the number of sales that McDonald's has. The more people want to eat McDonald's, the higher will be the food supplies costs, the packaging and paper costs, the more the number of counter employees to serve the customers, the higher the selling expenses and other general expenses.