D-Day, Invasion of Normandy, France (World War II) Research Paper

D-Day, Invasion of Normandy, France (World War II) - Research Paper Example As a consequence lead to France and Britain launching war against Germany two days later. Other countries then joined the war taking different sides depending on the side they supported (Hastings 1945). The war continued resulting in the battle of Normandy which is considered as the last greatest set-piece war that has ever occurred in the Western world. This paper will explore the events of the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France during World War II. Fein (5) notes that at the dawn of June 6, 1944, one of the greatest and historic battles started. Under leadership of United States of America, its allied forces entered France. The first Paratroopers were composed of approximately 175, 000 US allied soldiers sent to France that day. The first battle was fought for 24 hours during that day. This daring 24-hour battle is what is termed as D-Day. However, the war that followed after the D-Day is considered one of the most important wars of World War II which began in 1939 and ended in 194 5. This battle is what is known as The Battle of Normandy according to Fein (5). Fein (5) asserts that in 1944, the Axis controlled most parts of Europe. The Axis powers were under the leadership of Germany with the other axis powers consisting of Japan, Italy and Romania. The D-Day invasion of Normandy was the launching point of the Allies for Europe’s invasion. Under the strategy, the Allied forces first planned to liberate France from the control of the Axis. This was then to be followed by waging another war aimed at freeing the rest of Europe. The Allied countries consisted of the United States of America as the leader, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and several other countries. Hitler’s Troops The World War was caused by the fact that Adolf Hitler, then German chancellor, wanted the world to be under his control. This however never came to be as Hitler killed himself in April, 1945, days before Germany conceded to defeat (History Learning Site par 1). Fein (6) reveals that at that time, the German Army was perceived to be one of the strongest in the world. By 1944, German army had taken over most of Europe but later started to show some signs of weakness. It is reported that earlier in the battle, German arsenals had severely suffered huge losses in Africa and the Soviet Union. Therefore, by the time of D-Day battle, millions of German armies were dead or taken as prisoners. Fein asserts that the German arsenals were thinly spread making it weaker. Despite the situation, many German troops still fought in the Soviet Union and on other numerous fonts. Nevertheless, the army still could not respond well both defensively and in form of attacks. This gave the Allies the courage to hit harder as they knew that Hitler was now headed for another defeat. Stalin Demands Action Fein (7) reveals that as the war began, the Soviet Union recorded significant success in fighting Germany. However, due to huge bombardments and losses it incurred, it neede d support from the Allied forces to help it continue with the war. It is reported that at first, Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. This led to the deaths of many soldiers and civilians from Soviet Union. In 1942, Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union called upon the Allied forces to invade Europe. This was due to his belief that a huge attack in Europe would force Hitler to

Globalization and Implementation Plan Essay Example for Free

Globalization and Implementation Plan Essay This report will provide business and demographic information to determine a platform of business strategies and alternatives for Home Depot to re-enter or abandon the Argentinian retail market for home improvement centers. Home Depot must be very specific and strategic to try to re-enter the market due the abject failure in entering the market in 1997 and existing the market in 2001 from the lack of profits and community acceptance. Home Depot cannot afford another failure in Argentina or South America. (Home Depot. 2013). Home Depot: Home Depot is the 4th largest retailer in the US, the 5th largest retailer in the world and ultimately the worlds largest home improvement specialty retailer. In 35 years, Home Depot operates 2,257 retail stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, Canada, and Mexico. The foreign locations (294) generate just 12% of Home Depots’ total revenues. They have engineered entry and expansion into foreign markets through acquisition of smaller retailers and expanded upon their success. The Home Depot, Inc. operates as a home improvement retailer. It sells building materials, home improvement products, and lawn and garden products, as well as providing installation, home maintenance, and professional service programs to do-it-yourself, do-it-for-me, and professional customers. It serves home owners, professional remodelers, general contractors, repairmen, small business owners, and tradesmen. From the beginning, The Home Depot has developed strategic product alliances directly with leading manufacturers delivering the most exclusive products and national brands. They also provide a combination of proprietary products like Ryobi ® tools, RIDGID ® tools, BEHR ® paint, LG ® appliances, and Toro ® lawn equipment. Home Depot has set the standard for innovative merchandise for the do-it-yourselfer and the professional contractors. In addition, they can provide exporting servicing for products worldwide. (Home Depot. 2013). Argentina: This portion of the report will review the demographics, economic markets, income levels and currency values, culture and along with the legal and political environment in Argentina and South America for Home Depot reentrance. The total population of Argentina is just over 42 million people covering 2.8 million square kilometers (km). It is the 8th largest country in the world and speaks primarily Spanish and Italian along with English, German and French. The population is primarily located among five largest cities of the country in northern 30% of the country and within 600 km of the capital Buenos Aires with 13 million citizens. It has less than 1% population growth and the average age is 30 years old with a 98% literacy rate and 16 years of formal education. Regretfully, the average unemployment rate is estimated to be 10.2 and higher for females. The income level for individuals per capita is $18,820 and ranks 73rd in the world. The labor force is comprised of 17M workers and ranks 36th in the world. The percentage of the population below the poverty line is 30%. Between the poverty line and the percentage of unemployment and contraction in the economy is does not provide a lot of discretionary money to be used for purchasing homes, maintenance, and remodeling. The culture of Argentina is based upon traditional Roman Catholic values (92% membership) centered upon family values and 100’s of years of religious beliefs, values, dependence and fostering upon local relationships. The culture is also driven by personal relationships with the expectation of working with you to find solutions to consumer needs. Many Argentinians do not like the big box impersonal retail stores that do not have the personnel to spend time creating trust and loyalty with customers. (CIA Factbook. 2013). International Considerations for Argentina and Home Depot: The economy of Argentina is the 22nd largest in the world with a growth rate of 2.6% with a GDP of $475B in 2012. It has a diversified economy due to the many natural resources available to them. Manufacturing is the largest segment of industry with 20%; agriculture with 5% and the remaining in the services and tourism sector. The currency in Argentina is based upon the peso and the current exchange rates ranges for US dollars range from 1 peso to 4.1 to 4.6 dollars. Argentina is a member of Mercosur with Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay implementing a Common External Tariff (CET) for non-members to pay tariffs up to 35%. This was implemented to protect those economies from the dumping of cheaper foreign goods. Argentina defaulted on its debt in 2002 leading foreign investors to flee and take their investments elsewhere. Since then, Argentina nationalized the $24 billion pensions fund and limited the amounts of foreign purchases of land. Argentina has not been able to pull out if the economic slump and economic growth has completely stalled. The optimistic view point for economic growth in Argentina in 2013 will be less than 3.5% for consumer demand, industrial production and exports. This will apply additional economic pressure for homebuyers to make purchase homes and banks willing to lend. They have implemented a number of measures to keep dollars in the country restricting foreign currency exchanges and debt obligations in defending the value of the peso. These restrictions have effectively made it almost impossible to obtain US dollars for the purposes of real estate purchases. The federal tax agency’s authorization is now required before making any foreign exchange purchase. The implementation of these tight policy measures has the real estate activity in 2012 fell approximately 40%, making it one of the sectors worst performing years in the country in a decade. â€Å"The number of commercial real estate transactions in Buenos Aires fell 46% to 6,315 and residential transactions fell 15% in 2012. (Bifani. 2013) The legal system for Argentina has become very restrictive over the years to protect their business and economy from inflation and currency issues. They have the Argentina’s Customs Code (DGA), which registers all foreign importers and exporters. They apply import duties and taxes to all imports along import duties, statistical taxes, value-added taxes and excise duties. Argentina has strict regulations and fees regarding the purchasing of property by foreign interests, which limits the potential for revenues and growth. (CIA Factbook. 2013). Market Considerations for Argentina and Home Depot Is Argentina, the best possible country for Home Depot to reinvest into? Argentina ranks in the bottom 10 countries in the world for foreign businesses to do business in. Specifically for Home Depot, it takes 12 months for a construction company to obtain a construction permit, which double what it takes throughout the rest of South America. This would greatly impact Home Depot ability to build stores and expand within Argentina. The majority of businesses hours operate between 9am 7 pm and can run to 9 or 10pm for retail stores. The business hierarchy is top down with ideas and instructions come from the top. They are very respectful of business protocol and will not break those social norms or status structure. With these facts in mind, it demonstrates Argentinians require time to develop trust and familiarity, especially for foreigners. Negotiations will take a considerable amount of time and you must be willing to argue and debate to get their support and consensus. They will no t hesitate to interrupt and argue for the finer points of agreements before proceedings to the next step. (Communicaid. 2009). The following are business points regarding the desire to potentially expand into Argentina. They have a value added tax (VAT) across the economy and a wealth tax. These taxes discourage both internal and external business to invest in larger business ventures due the country’s desire to confiscate profits from business people from investing. The government has huge political swings of ideology and purpose. This creates an environment that can propagate corruption, bribery and short term political or economic decisions to encourage voting support. They are a 60% tax evasion rate, which is triple that of US citizens. For many of the key economic indicators, Argentina ranks the bottom 25% in the world for doing business, economic freedom, human rights, taxes, and corruption. The inflation rate is about 10% and outside economists are reporting about 20%. Credit cards have low credit limits restricting higher purchases and up to a 45% interest rate. This does not encourage businesses to take any risks or initiatives for business growth i.e.: construction businesses. (Chafkin, M. 2001). Overall according the financial reports, Argentina is now considered a third world country due to its difficulty with globalization and working with foreign countries. * They have established strict foreign investment guidelines prohibiting foreign ownership. * They have restricted construction companies for building and developing business areas. * They have high tax rates and low reinvestment rates back into their country. * They have problems with government corruption, bribery and ethics. Entry Modes (Globalization Implementation Plan) This portion will cover the various possibilities for establishing the Modes of Entry for Home Depot to reenter Argentina. Home Depot’s expansion in foreign markets has been less than successful such as the ones in South America, China and Southeast Asia. They have had some success in Canada and Mexico due to being substantial trading partners in the NAFTA agreement and similar ideology of home ownership and access to credit, Exporting: This mode of business entry will not effectively work for expanding and opening home improvement stores in Argentina at this time. Local competitors will prefer to source construction products from local suppliers rather than to purchase from foreign suppliers. They have implemented restrictions for international trade with tariffs and entrance barriers, which will increase the possible competitive pricing to become less attractive for Home Depot. Turn-Key Operations: This mode of entry will not be a viable alternative due to the fact that Home Depot does not provide any explicit technology over the local DIY businesses such as EASY. This mode could damage Home Depot by training and possibly improving competitor’s ability to compete with Home Depot in other markets in South America like Mexico. Licensing: This mode of entry is similar to Turn-Key due to the lack of control over the foreign business and again Home Depot cannot provide any real production improvements other than economies of scale to existing or new business. It would only provide royalty fees to Home Depot and would not warrant the business investment. Franchising: Franchising is similar to licensing. It works when companies have a strategic production process like such as mentioned in the text with Fuji-Xerox or even McDonalds. Home Depot does not provide the specialized processes or supply chain to support the development of franchising into foreign markets. Wholly Owned Subsidiary: This is the method and mode of entry Home Depot tried before and failed. At that point in time, Argentinians ability to own and purchase property was very restrictive for a majority of the population. Argentinians are not accustomed with reinvesting into their homes or dwelling. They did not have the incentives to reinvest or the desire to learn how to perform the tasks that it would take to complete a successful DIY project. Also, Home Depot is not an Argentinian or Latin American business, which creates a lack of respect and loyalty. The Easy company growth is due to Home Depot building the model and Easy taking them and restructuring them for Latin American consumers. (Hill, C. 2011). Joint Ventures: This is the only method or mode of entry that makes sense for Home Depot to pursue. In the textbook, there are examples of Tesco and Jollibee competing with bigger more entrenched businesses by using joint ventures and investments to establish a foothold. For Home Depot to renter the South American market and specifically Argentina, I believe the only choice Home Depot has is to engage in joint ventures with smaller DIY businesses in Argentina and gain some traction similar to Tesco in Europe and Asia. Also, EASY is now the big player in the market with 49 DIY stores. It is doubtful they would entertain any joint ventures without the ability to be the controlling partner or give up its majority interest. Monetary Systems: This portion will evaluate Argentina’s history of monetary policy and its effect upon the potential desire or ability for Home Depot to reopen home improvement retail stores there. Argentina history relating to financial and monetary policy has been turbulent and at a crisis stage numerous times. Argentina is working hard to revamp their economy and currency ratings. It has a GDP of $475B ranking 22nd in the world and one of the largest economies in South America. In 1998 Argentina entered a four year depression resulting from governmental tax increases, devaluing of its currency, freezing bank deposits, defaulting on foreign debt up to $93B, and finally removing the linkage between the peso and the US dollar. Some of international issues relating to Argentina’s reputation have been reducing the international trade/currency exchanges have been their protectionist’s policy and rated the worst in the world by the World Bank. They have seized control over the largest oil and airline companies in the country. They are also being censured by the IMF for dishonest reporting of national statistics specifically inflation rates. (Singer, H. 2013). Argentina has attempted practically every single monetary system known today to their economy and all have failed resulting in financial crisis over the last 35 years. The flexible exchange rate system led to a hyperinflation and the currency board has led to dramatic recessions. During the first three crises, Argentina was using a fixed exchange rate to allow government control. The first crisis was in 1975 with the collapse of that stabilization plan resulting in the devaluing of their currency by 100% and more than a dozen followed the next year. The second crisis was to the Tablita plan in 1981; the Tablita plan was to reform banking regulations and capital account restriction affecting its currency and exchange rates. It still ended with an 82% devaluation of its currency in one year. The third crisis occurred within 12 months in 1982 with Alemann Plan. This plan was designed around the banking and insurance industries connected to foreign currency exchanges. At this time, Argentina abandoned the fixed exchanges for a floating exchange system. The next strategy Argentina attempted was after the 2001 crisis and implemented a dual exchange rate system to manage and control their economy and currency values. This allows them to use both fixed and/or floating system with the ability for different fixed and floating rates during the same period of time. The fixed exchange rates are used for essential imports and exports account transactions. The floating exchange rates are used for capital account transactions determined by the market critical to providing foreign cash reserves for the country. Usually, countries implementing dual exchanges rates are using protectionist control to protect their economy and financial markets such as China. (Investopedia. 2013) Business Strategy for Home Depot to enter Argentina This portion of the report is to provide a platform of business strategies and alternatives for Home Depot to re-enter the Argentinian retail market for home improvement centers. Home Depot cannot afford another failure in Argentina or South America. From the beginning, The Home Depot develops strategic product alliances directly with industry-leading manufacturers to deliver the most exclusive products assortments to customers. Home Depots expansion strategies have been very successful throughout North America when they have used acquisition strategies. Their expansion in Argentina did not produce the same results due to the lack of a substantial home improvement company to purchase. They chose to organically grow the market in Argentina. This strategy failed due to many different situations occurring during the same time frame: political failure of the government and presidential resignations, huge drop in their GDP, default on the foreign debt, currency failure, widespread unemplo yment and public riots. It was like the perfect storm for the country and Home Depot. (Home Depot. 2013). In reviewing the many strategies that are available for Home Depot to re-enter the market in Argentina, there are many limitations based upon the history of Argentina and Home Depot. They definitely have the ability to leverage economies of scale for providing home improvement products at almost any price point that the consumers is willing to pay. These economies of scale would be too large for any competitive business to ignore. Their major competitor, Cencosud is the company they sold their four stores to in 2001. It is the largest retailer in South America with over 1,045 retail store in a variety of markets. It is a $19B company with 125,000 employees. Home Depot is a $70B corporation with 331,000 employees in about 2,294 stores. This would be an extremely difficult acquisition and inevitably against their acquisition strategy of buying smaller businesses and expanding through gradual growth. This also limits the amount of exporting potential to Argentina through Cencosud due to the lack of exporting profits. (Cencosud. 2013). Recommendations All of these factors leave The Home Depot with a limited amount of possibilities to re-enter the Argentinian market. The best possibility is to partner with Cencosud in a strategic alliance or find smaller specialized retailers that are currently competing with Cencosud in Argentina and offer them very attractive distribution, pricing and profit sharing. I would find it difficult to invest in this country’s economy due the protectionist ideology of the government. Their policies have not created real economic growth and restrict the ability for foreign companies to invest without excessive tax on profits. The current business environment, banking system and construction restrictions are not conducive for foreign involvement or investments. Home Depot has already attempted once, I believe it would take an even larger investment to overcome the negative perception in 2001. Also, they have a major competitor Sodimac in place and have had double digit growth since 2005. Their best expansion strategies for Home Depot to get back into go into Argentinian markets would be establishes strategic alliances with the smaller retailers for exportations, joint ventures directly with Fallabella and foreign direct investments to invest with either of the businesses if available depending upon the political complexity of the government. (Forbes. 2011). References: Bifani. (2013). Argentine Real Estate Activity Sharply Falls. Retrieved from http://www.homechannelnews.com/article/hd-expounds-plans-mexico-latin-america Castro, G. (2012). Chile’s new Sodimac home improvement store continues to break ground underground. Retrieved from http://blog.kimcorealty.com/2012/02/chiles-new-sodimac-home-improvement-store-continues-to-break-ground-underground/ Cencosud. (2013). Our Company. Retrieved from http://www.cencosud.com/nuestra-empresa/descripcion/?lang=en Chafkin, M., (2001). Inc. magazine. A Constant Feeling of Crisis. Retrieved from http://www.inc.com/magazine/201106/doing-business-in-argentina_pagen_5.html CIA Handbook. (2013). Argentina. Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ar.html Communicaid. (2009). Doing Business in Argentina. Retrieved from http://www.communicaid.com/access/pdf/library/culture/doing-business-in/Doing%20Business%20in%20Argentina.pdf Easy. (2013). Easy Argentina. Retrieved from https://www.easy.com.ar/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/es/easyar/information-pag e?identifier=mapa_locales.html Encyclopedia of Business. (2013). Joint Ventures and Strategic Alliances. Retrieved from http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Int-Loc/Joint-Ventures-and-Strategic-Alliances.html#ixzz2SRvvAulT Forbes. (2011). Home Depot Remodels Its Growth Plans. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2001/11/30/1130homedepot_print.html Global Property Value. (2013). Argentina. Retrieved from http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/Latin-America/argentina/Price-History Hill, Charles W. L. (2011). Global Business Today. (7th ed.). New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.. ISBN: 978-0-07-813721-1. Home Depot. (2013).About Us. Retrieved from https://corporate.homedepot.com/OurCompany/History/Pages/default.aspx Kaminsky, G., (2009). Thirty Years of Currency Crises in Argentina. External Shocks or Domestic Fragility?. George Washington University. Retrieved from http://home.gwu.edu/~graciela/HOME-PAGE/RESEARCH-WORK/WORKING-PAPERS/argentina.pdf Isora, M., (2009). Importan ce of Strategic Alliances in Company Activity. Retrieved from http://www3.mruni.eu/~int.economics/5nr/Isoraite.pdf Sprawl Busters. (2008). Argentina. Adios, Home Depot!. Retrieved from http://www.sprawl-busters.com/search.php?readstory=821

Thunderwith Essay -- essays research papers

Thunderwith Essay Everyone goes through a grieving stage in their lives. Lose of a loved one like a mother or just personal problems can cause a person to be upset and grieving. In the novel Thunderwith by Libby Hathorn, the main character Lara gives an example of the stages of grieving. And how she learnt to overcome her mother's death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the beginning of the novel, Lara is faced with the death of her beloved mother. She is sent to live with her father that she has not seen since she was a child. Lara is also going to live with her father's new family that she has never met. Larry her father has a new wife. 'Lara has the impression that the Man will care for and look after her, saving her from his wife and kids.'; When Lara eventually meets her new stepmother, her half-brother and half-sisters, she immediately knows that she is not wanted and that they hate her. So Lara thinks that the Man will look after her and save her from his family. This is further denial of the pain and loneliness she feels. Thunderwith the novel expresses a young girl grieving over her mother's death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soon afterwards Lara meets a dog. She decides to call it Thunderwith because she thinks that it is a gift sent down by her mother. Lara is so happy that she can have one moment of happiness. 'She had just met Thunderwith and somehow by caring about him meant she didn't care about being by herself. She 'was not really alone at all-Thunderwi...

Nationwide Public Health Care in US: The Argument

The right to preserve the mental and physical well-being of a person is inherent to his right to live.   All over the world, this right has been protected and established as one of the basic human rights.   However, there is a disparity among nations on how it is enforced, with most of the developed world having a universal health care system provided to everyone regardless of their ability to pay (Healthcare, par. 2).   The United States is one of those countries in the developed world which does not have a national healthcare system, but rather, healthcare is provided by many separate legal entities (Healthcare in the United States, par. 1). Many critics of the system have described it as inefficient and ineffective. According to the Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), the current U.S. healthcare system is â€Å"outrageously expensive, yet inadequate.† (Single-Payer National Health Insurance, par. 2)   The U.S. spends more than twice as much as other developed nations at $7,129 per capita, yet it only ranks 37th out of 191 countries according to its healthcare performance in a World Health Organization (WHO) report in 2000. Where is all the money going to?   The U.S. system is a mixed system where private and public insurers coexist.   Still, according to PNHP, private insurers waste healthcare dollars on things not involving care: â€Å"overhead, underwriting, billing, sales and marketing departments as well as huge profits and exorbitant executive pay.†   Additionally, doctors and hospitals must maintain administrative staff to deal with the bureaucracy.   Combined, this accounts for 31 percent of American's health dollars (Single-Payer National Health Insurance, par. 3) Just by looking at the numbers it seems there should be no debate on establishing a national healthcare system in the U.S., but in fact the argument rages on in the halls of national politics.   There are still several criticisms against a national health care program, mostly stemming from the fact that Americans, by and large, have a tradition of capitalism and for-profit enterprises have most of the time had their way. Cited criticisms include the old adage that introducing the free market into anything, including healthcare, will drive prices and costs down. In fact, the opposite is currently proving true.   The excess payments for care in private for-profit institutions were substantial: 19%. (Himmelstein and Woolhandler, 1814).   The standard â€Å"free market† and does not apply to the healthcare system, where competition is often absent in some areas, and where the average person is very much in the dark on evaluating the â€Å"product† of healthcare.   Add to it the unique inefficiency of the U.S. government insuring 27.3% of the population and so we have them paying these for-profit hospitals a premium on what they could do much more efficiently themselves. Likewise, private insurance have to pay significant overhead, with these costs trickling down to the individual consumer.   Under a single payer system, it is estimated that the overall savings in paperwork would amount to more than $350 billion a year, enough to provide comprehensive coverage to everyone without paying more than we actually do. (Single-Payer National Health Insurance, par. 4) In my case, this mix of private and public insurance makes me and my spouse concerned over our future rates.   Both of us are self-employed, and so have to purchase private health insurance coverage for us and for our two children.   Instead of a nationwide security system that would protect us from the costs of rising rates, I am faced with the fear that, if we make too many claims, our rates could potentially skyrocket that we could no longer afford to carry it. As compared to a country like France, which has the best healthcare in the world according to the WHO (WHO Assesses, par. 1), we are wallowing in a system that is grossly inefficient, especially considering the huge cost we pay for our health compared to these nations.   The existence of organizations like the PNHP shows that there is widespread support among physicians in the country for a universal healthcare system that will protect the right of every American to live his or her life to the fullest.   Implementing a single-payer healthcare system would not only mean better health services for Americans, it will also drive down costs (How Much would a Single-Payer System Cost, par. 1), saving money for the government, and ultimately saving our own money. R E F E R E N C E â€Å"Single-Payer National Health Insurance†. Physicians for a National Health Program. 2006. 12 June 2007. ; http://www.pnhp.org/facts/single_payer_resources.php; Introduction: How Much Would a Single-Payer System Cost?†. Physicians for a National Health Program. 2006. 12 June 2007. < http://www.pnhp.org/single_payer_resources/ introduction_how_much_would_a_singlepayer_system_cost.php> â€Å"Healthcare.† Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. 12 June 2007. â€Å"Healthcare in the United States.† Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 12 June 2007. < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_the_United_States> Himmelstein, David and Woolhandler, Steffie. â€Å"The High Costs of For-Profit Care.† Canadian Medical Association Journal. 8 June 2004. 1814-1815.

How Nothing’s Changed and Two Scavengers deal with social injustices Essay

Both â€Å"Nothing’s Changed† and â€Å"Two Scavengers† deal with social injustices, however, there are some big differences between them. â€Å"Nothing’s Changed† is set in Cape Town, Africa and focuses on the segregation of black and white people, after an apartheid was made. It is an autobiographical poem by Tatumkhulu Afrika. The poem is about how District Six used to be a place for blacks and whites to live together. But when that changed, Tatumkhulu left in anger (and prison). Now he has returned to his old home after many years and has discovered that the segregation has gotten wider and worse. The social injustice in the poem is the black and white segregation. On the other hand, â€Å"Two Scavengers† deals with the social segregation between the classes in America. At a set of traffic lights, early in the morning (9am), a garbage truck has stopped next to a couple in a Mercedes. The garbage men then ponder on the class system and how they are less respected by people like this couple. They wonder if they’d ever be seen as equals as they wonder if the democracy of America really works. The social injustice in the poem is the way the different classes are each treated differently. The first stanza of â€Å"Nothing’s Changed† is setting the scene as the writer walks towards his old home. We can tell that the area is now a wasteland by what the writer treads over (like the cans and weeds) on his walk back home. We can tell he’s angry from how his old home has turned out from when he says, â€Å"The hot, white, inwards turning anger of my eyes†, as he knows he has returned home. Although all of the stanzas use commas a lot, the second stanza uses â€Å"and† after each comma. I feel that the commas are used to in order to add more expression as you read, and as you pause at each comma, you wonder what’s coming next, thus creating suspense even though, in my opinion, the poem is not that exciting or interesting enough for it to have any use. On the other hand, the â€Å"ands† that are used throughout the second stanza, instead picks up the pace as we experience what he is going through at the same time that he is going through his feeling, since the poem is wrote in first person, as if he is actually reliving these memories, making us feel more emotional and connected to the writer. In the fourth stanza, there is only one line, but one that I feel is a very important line for comparing the poems.†No sign says it is: but we know where we belong†.This line shows us that although no one is saying that whites are treated better (new restaurant) than blacks (working man’s cafà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½), this line shows us that the blacks know that the segregation is still there. The writer says of how his, â€Å"Hands burn for a stone, a bomb, to shiver down the glass† of the whites only restaurant. We know that this is the same reason why the writer was sent. to prison all those years ago, but we are unsure whether this is that memory he is â€Å"reliving† or if he is speaking of the present day.The next and final sentence of the poem has the writer commenting that, â€Å"Nothing’s Changed†. This, I’d like to believe, tells us that, either way, the writer is willing to risk prison (or worse?) in order to vent his anger at the segregation. The first stanza of â€Å"Two Scavengers† sets the scene by introducing us to the characters and telling us what they are doing.The garbage truck is described as â€Å"bright yellow† while the garbage men are described wearing â€Å"red plastic blazers†, both of which would stand out anywhere in San Francisco at nine in the morning. I feel that this tells us that no matter how hard the government might try to â€Å"hide† the garbage men, they are going to get noticed at some point. The writer says of the garbage men, â€Å"one on each side hanging on†, in reference to where they are on the garbage truck (back stoop).This makes me think that the writer is trying to make out that the men are struggling to hold on to this job, even though it is such a looked down upon job. The writer then says that the two garbage men are â€Å"looking down into an elegant open Mercedes with an elegant couple in it†. In that section, the writer has took the literal meaning of â€Å"looking down† but we also think of the figurative meaning and then are meant to wonder if the garbage men are in fact better people than the couple and so their position should be swapped. From the fact we know that the couple are heading to his architect’s office while the garbage men are on their journey home, shows us that the couple and garbage men are like night and day, both there, but never at the same time. This emphasizes the segregation between the different classes. In the second stanza, the writer describes the older of the two garbage men as some â€Å"gargoyle Quasimodo†, Quasimodo being the title character of â€Å"The Hunchback of Notre Dame†, the main theme of the book being the cruelty of social injustice.Quasimodo led a tragic life, being kind and loving despite his ugliness. However, he dies of a broken heart. Quasimodo means â€Å"almost finished† or â€Å"half made†.From this, I believe that the writer is backing up my point about the garbage men perhaps being better people than the couple and that what we are seeing of the garbage men is only the tip (no pun intended) of the iceberg. In the second stanza, the writer describes the older of the two garbage men as some â€Å"gargoyle Quasimodo†, Quasimodo being the title character of â€Å"The Hunchback of Notre Dame†, the main theme of the book being the cruelty of social injustice.Quasimodo led a tragic life, being kind and loving despite his ugliness. However, he dies of a broken heart. Quasimodo means â€Å"almost finished† or â€Å"half made†.From this, I believe that the writer is backing up my point about the garbage men perhaps being better people than the couple and that what we are seeing of the garbage men is only the tip (no pun intended) of the iceberg. The last stanza is made almost entirely of a metaphor, one part of which grabs my attention because it is an oxymoron, the part being â€Å"small gulf†.The metaphor describes how even though there is not much of a gap between the two vehicles, making it easy for one person to climb into the other vehicle, they’ll never be able to do so because of the class system and how, because of it, they are always going to be looked down upon. Of course, the two poems are similar in the way that they both deal with social injustices (Class system and Segregation), but, in the same way, different because the two place settings (San Francisco and Cape Town) are so far apart. In â€Å"Nothing’s Changed†, as previously mentioned, the writer uses a lot of commas to slow down the pace in order, I believe, to add suspense.On the other hand, the writer of â€Å"Two Scavengers† doesn’t use any punctuation, instead stopping the line whenever he wants the reader to stop and let what they’ve just read sink in. Because of the punctuation, the structure of â€Å"Nothing’s Changed† looks less pre-prepared and more â€Å"straight from the heart†, as the plot would suggest.However, â€Å"Two Scavengers† is neater in it’s construction, despite the lack of punctuation, thus giving off the opposite feel to â€Å"Nothing’s Changed†. After studying both poems, although I feel that I wouldn’t need to, it’s obvious to me that â€Å"Nothing’s Changed† shows far more anger, raw as it might be, than â€Å"Two Scavengers†.The reasons for this being that in â€Å"Nothing’s Changed†, there is a constant reminder of how angry the writer is as he walks around his old home, in the end, of course, wishing he had a bomb to blow up a white’s only restaurant.But, in â€Å"Two Scavengers†, the two garbage men look at the social injustice in hope rather than anger, as seen by when they wonder if they’d ever be able to reach in to the Mercedes and start a normal conversation with the couple, like old friends.

Publish Your Short Story and Poetry Submissions HERE

Publish Your Short Story and Poetry Submissions HERE Top Places Accepting Short Story and Poetry Submissions in 2019 When it comes to becoming a successful author, sending short story submissions or poetry submissions to open publications is the equivalent of learning to walk before you run. It gives you experience appealing to editors, helps you build your writer’s resume, allows you to reach an audience - and, notably, gives you the opportunity to get paid for your writing. In other words, it can be an incredibly useful and accessible stepping stone for launching your writing career.The following is a list of our favorite publications currently accepting short story and poetry submissions in 2019.Poetry SubmissionsResources to help you nail your short story and poetry submissionsWhile these publications are some of our favorites, there are hundreds of other places you can submit your writing. Search for them here:The Best Writing Contests of 2019The Best Literary Magazines of 2019Or maybe you’re still working on your writing, and are not quite sure if it’s ready to send out to the world yet. If that’s the case, here are a few resources to help:Browse through hundreds of editors who work on poetry and short fictionFinally, maybe you’re still at step one: you haven’t started writing yet and are waiting for inspiration to strike. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered there as well:200+ Short Story Ideas100 + Creative Writing Exercises500+ Creative Writing PromptsWhat are some of the challenges or success you’ve experienced while sending out poetry and short submissions? Leave any thoughts or questions in the comments below!

The Pirate Bay Case Study Essays

The Pirate Bay Case Study Essays The Pirate Bay Case Study Essay The Pirate Bay Case Study Essay Keywords: advertisement, copyright, digital, file sharing, piracy, The Pirate Bay The Pirate Bay (TPTB) is an online directory of digital content, founded in 2003, that allows users to search, download and contribute magnet links and torrent files, which enables peer-to-peer file sharing. In 2009, the websites four founders were found guilty in Sweden for facilitating copyright infringement and sentenced each to one year in prison and payment of $3. 5 million in restitution to the plaintiffs (major record label firms). Some countries have required Internet service providers to block access to the website. In return, proxies have been able to provide access to the website. TPTB is appealing the court judgment and has yet to pay any fines or serve any time in jail. In 2011, the firm moved its servers to an unknown location in Sweden, as well as dispersing several copies in other countries (Lauded Travel, 2013). The global internet world is riddled with file sharing sites like The Pirate Bay, they operate by inducing, enabling and encouraging users to share music and other forms of copyrighted content without the permission of the copyright holder. This unlawful exchange of copyright material falls supranational on U. S. Companies, stockholders and employees, as well as on federal, State and local governments. In return the U. S. Government, European Union as well as several other countries are working to fortify intellectual property protection laws. Is it possible for The Pirate Bay and other file sharing services to endure even with consequences of large fines and imprisonment (for both site owners and users)? Perhaps more importantly, will new media platforms with the support of copyright owners be enough to discourage users from partaking and procuring pirated trials? The Impact of Piracy In 2007, The Institute for policy Innovation released a report stating that piracy of sound recordings has resulted in $12. 5 billion dollars in losses to the U. S. Economy annually (more staggering, $20. 5 billion to the movie industry); $422 million in lost federal, state and local tax revenue annually; 71 ,060 lost jobs; and $2 billion in lost wages to American workers (Seek, 2007). Today industry revenues from digital formats continue to cultivate, exceeding $4 billion for the first time in 2012, and attaining nearly $4. Billion in 201 3 while counting for 64% of industry revenues, digital music theft has been a major factor behind the degeneration in sales within the last 15 years (decline of 53%). Despite the decrease in the use of peer-to-peer sites in recent years, other formats of digital theft have been emerging, comprising of unsanctioned digital storage lockers used to allocate copyrighted music, streamlining programs, and mobile applications that ass ist digital content theft (ARIA 2015). More recent studies held by the Recording Industry Association of America show that from 2004 to 2009 alone, around 30 billion ones were illegally downloaded on file-sharing networks, like The Pirate Bay; only 37% of music acquired in the U. S. In 2009 was legally paid for; digital theft of music, movies and other copyrighted content takes up 24% of global Internet bandwidth and 17. 5% of the U. S. Bandwidth; and digital storage locker downloads makes up for 7% of all Internet traffic, while 91% of the links found on them were from copyrighted material, and 10% of those links were to music specifically (ARIA 2015). Combating Piracy The U. S. Government has increased its focus (and encouraged other entries) on endorsing stricter laws such as Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property (Protect IP Act). Inopportunely, these firmer legislations come with their disparager. The European social and political movement, civil liberties groups as well Google, Yahoo, Faceable and several other large Web Companies vie that these proposed laws prohibit the free effort of information and would result in Internet censorship. Critics believe that both bills are exceedingly broad and generally only serve in the interests of Hollywood and the U. S. Music industry. While they agree that new enforcement implements are necessary to combat rogue websites devoted to copyright infringement and counterfeiting, they say the proposed bills go too far (Fijian, 201 1). The challenge ascends with how to find an equilibrium among the rights of one person against anothers. Along with amplified legislation, many governments are taking a sturdier place on intellectual property theft and aggressively prosecuting organizers of illegal downloading. This can be seen within the rulings and sentencing of The Pirate Bay founders. More recently, Limier founder, Mark Gorton, who was found guilty of copyright infringement in 2011 and fined $105 million (Lauded T rave, 2013). Despite the threats of fines and imprisonment, file sharing sites are still flourishing even more than before. Regardless of legalities, these sites are able to entice advertising dollars from top blue chip brands like Allocate, Chevrolet, Target, McDonalds, and Dominos (Johnson, 2014). The Digital Citizens Alliance conducted a study reporting that 30% of large websites that traffic heavily in infringing media array ads for these premium brands. Thirty of the largest content sharing Sites are generating upwards of $227 million annually in ad revenue, while the smaller sites are generating around $100,000 annually (Benson, 2014). This report also showed that these sites that yield wholly from advertising averaged $4. 4 million, with the most heavily trafficked Bitterroot and POP sites producing 36 million. The lesser sites earned more than $100,000 in ad revenue. With profit margins for these sites ranging between 80% and 94%, it appears crime does pay (Benson, 2014). So long as there is money to be dad, file sharing sites like The Pirate Bay will continue to subsist. The Shift Technology platform owners and distributors such as Apple, Amazon and Google, with the aid and backing of intellectual property owners, have chosen to address the transferal from physical to digital format. Platform owners offer consumers instantaneous and inexpensive access to a multitude of digital content while warranting content owners are remunerated for their work. Benefits for consumers also lay in the ability to acquire a better quality product than could be found in a POP software download. Apples tunes has men the leader in digital content sales since its origination in 1998. In 2013, Apple announced that more than 25 billion songs had been downloaded from the tunes Store (Apple, 2013). Regardless of recurrent moderate price increases, consumers still continue to utilize the mobile and internet site. Notably, these sites offer easy integration of purchases to the user devices. As well as, more and more digital stores are inflowing the market as a means of attaining a portion of the digital download pie, which in return provides consumers more choices. Websites like Google Play, Amazon Prime and Nettling make efforts to distinguish themselves by posing a monthly or yearly membership that permits users access to unlimited instant streaming for a flat fee. Many of these platform technology owners are offering cloud computing which provides users to lease disk space to store music and other digital content. Users can then access this data anywhere, at any time without having to download it onto a device. Which these technology in itself is rapidly turning into its own competitive market (Mesenteric, 2015).