Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Aviation Security 2 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aviation Security 2 - Case Study Example It can either be private, run by the government or both (Zellan, 2003). This is because there are many airports with the three forms of ownership and operates smoothly. It is important for the airline to choose the best form of ownership (Zellan, 2003). Each form has some advantage sand disadvantages that should be well analyzed before a final decision is made. The three methods are good and have worked in many parts of the world but choosing the best option is the challenge. a. The government ensures that its people are well protected. It will do anything to guarantee secure flights for the passengers. This is why it came up with the Transport Security Administration after the September 11 accident (National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.). & National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.), 2003). b. There will be minimal financial constraints because the government will be responsible for providing funds that will ensure that all security details are in place (National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.). & National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.), 2003). c. All activities will be under the Federal Aviation Administration that is known for quality control this assures passengers that they will have the best that the government can offer (National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.). & National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.), 2003). a. The first disadvantage is in the delays in implementation of projects. The government has a history of, not implementing all the ideas right in time. There is historical evidence of the slowly run projects that have lead to inconveniences in the airline industry (National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.). & National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.), 2003). b. When funds are not available, there are no alternatives methods of looking for money. It has to be released by the treasury regardless of the delays (National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.). & National Research Council (EÃŒ .-U.), 2003). a. All projects and operations will be successful because of completion from

Monday, October 28, 2019

Government-operated gambling Essay Example for Free

Government-operated gambling Essay Over the past few years, government operated gambling has grown into a massive business, there has been much controversy around the topic of weather or not Gambling should be regulated. In this essay I will explain my point of view on this topic and give examples that support my ideas. So, what should the state’s policy towards gambling? I believe that the state should not regulate gambling because of three main reasons. My first reason is people’s rights and freedoms. Second, Gambling has grown into a major industry over the pas few years; the centre for addiction and mental health stated in their Gambling Policy framework in 2011 â€Å"Government-operated gambling has steadily expanded in Ontario in the past two decades, revenues reaching $4. 7 billion in 2009. † (2). This shows that Gambling has grown to become a major industry in today’s economy and by doing so it has helped society in several different aspects, the growth of the gambling industry has lead to an increase in revenue for the government, thus resulting in more social benefits towards the public. Finally, The gambling industry has lead to many job opportunities in north America, offering a beacon of hope to those in need of jobs during a recession. In modern society, freedom is not only supported but also cherished, people should be given the freedom to live their lives as they please, weather they choose to live their lives in a healthy way or not that is up to them. However, they must be given the right to live as they please. In the United States, groups such as the KKK are protected under the first amendment, which protects their freedom of speech, no matter how ludicrous it may be, they have the right to say as they please. The same should be applied to life. People should have the choice to live their lives as they please without being watched over by the government. Since gambling does require participants to be of legal age, we know that the people gambling are adults. These grown ups should be able to have control over their own lives, its their responsibility to understand the chances they are taking when gambling. Some may argue that certain people can’t control their gambling problems and have gotten too addicted to gambling and that casinos take advantage of these people. These claims are supported by some statistics given in the centre for addiction and mental health, which states, â€Å"it is estimated that between 30% and 40% of Ontario’s gambling revenues come from the 3% of the population with gambling problems† (2). This statistic shows that the gambling industry does heavily depend of the people addicted to the game. I would respond by expressing two points. First, the people with gambling problems of which they cannot control are a minority, in Jonathan Wolff’s â€Å"Ethics and public policy A Philosophical inquiry†, the author states that â€Å"between 0.6 and 0. 8 of the UK adult population could be classified as problem gambles† (59). Furthermore, in the centre for addiction and mental health’s Gambling Policy framework in 2011 that â€Å"just over 3% of the province’s population experiences moderate to severe gambling problems. †(57). These numbers do not justify having to discipline an entire industry that would affect hundreds of thousands of people that work in it and making their living off jobs in that industry. Second, increasing government regulations on casinos and lotteries will not stop these problem gamblers from gambling. Jonathan Wolff states â€Å"in the late 1950s there were towns about 25 percent of the adult population gambled illegally on a regular basis. †(55). Taking this point into perspective, it could be inferred that if the government increases the regulations on legal casinos and lotteries that would make it harder for people with an addiction to gamble, these people will find other ways to feed their addiction. This is a severe problem because when these people begin to gamble illegally they will put their money into other illegal activities, which could include drugs, weapons or violence. In fact, many large gangs could use this opportunity to fund their illegal activities, which would lead to more trouble in society; another point to be made towards this issue would be that of money, not only would these gamblers be putting their lives at risk when gambling illegally and dealing with gangs, but they could also be keeping this money out of the government’s hand which could go government programs to help the less fortunate. This brings me to my next point and that is that gambling has become a major source of revenue for the government. Government regulated gambling has grown into a massive industry which generates a significant amount of revenue each year of which most ends up in the government as funding for many different organizations. in the paper named â€Å"Gambling: Its Pleasure and costs† by Lorne Tepperman it states that â€Å"The industry group’s report says 57 per cent of gambling revenue $8. 7 billion- supported government services and charities. † (9). Tepperman also states that gambling is the â€Å"most financially significant† (9) segment in entertainment and that it contributes â€Å"$15. 3 billion a year to the economy, according to the Canadian Gaming Association. † (9). Ronald Pavalko also states in his paper titled â€Å"gambling and public policy† â€Å"State revenues from casino taxes totaled nearly $3. 5 billion. † (336). The reality is that today, we are in a recession we can’t afford to decrease that revenue by implementing harsh restrictions on gambling. It is argued that even though gambling is a major source of revenue for the government, it is also a source of misery for people with gambling addictions. The centre for Addiction and Mental health states that â€Å"For these individuals, a range of harms may occur, resulting in heavy social, economic, and health costs such as crime, dysfunctional relationships, and bankruptcy. † (2). However, the solution to this problem is not adding restrictions to gambling but is actually using the money made from gambling towards a better cause. As I have previously stated, people addicted to gambling will not be cured from their addiction by regulating legal gambling because they will find other means to feed their addiction. I believe that the best solution to these people’s gambling problem would be using the revenue that they generate for the government in taxes could be used to create social programs for people with serious addictions to gambling that would help them quit. I believe this solution would be ideal because the minority of people with gambling addictions will be treated in a proper healthy way in order to get over their addiction, the left over revenue could still be used in other social programs and finally, the money and profit that the casinos and lotteries generate will still flow which would result in more jobs, another source of income to the economy and would prevent people from getting fired from their jobs if harsh restrictions were to be applied to gambling agencies. My final argument for this essay is that of employment. As previously stated, gambling generates a huge amount of revenue for the government, Gambling is a growing industry and with its growth it creates several opportunities for jobs for people in need. Gambling generates many jobs that help the economy grow in this time of need. Gambling generates jobs of all sorts, from the engineers and architects that build and design the casinos, to the people who sell lottery tickets, to those who actually work in casinos. All of these people generate their income because of the gambling industry. Tepperman states that in Canada gambling accounts for â€Å"267,000 full time jobs. † (6). Pavalko also states in his paper that in only eleven states a total of 370,207 people are employed in casinos, In a country with a current unemployment rate of 8%, the Gambling industry should be seen as a source for solutions to a much more serious problem than an addiction to gambling. Expanding the gambling industry will in return create more job opportunities and help decrease the unemployment rate dramatically. However, if the government begins to set harsher policies towards gambling and casinos are required to cut costs, the unemployment rate might increase which would create even more social issue, which could result in protests and riots from the workers who have lost their jobs due to the harsh policy towards gambling. Some might argue that Gambling still creates harm towards many people and even though it can create jobs it can also result in many people losing their jobs. I would respond by quoting Lorne Tepperman â€Å"A majority of adults gamble responsible; only a small minority of the population experiences gambling related harm. † (1). I believe that gambling will create more jobs that it will end and that that is just a minor side effect that could be easily cured by the revenue that gambling will generate for the government, this money could be put back into society and produce new projects that create new job opportunities and these jobs could be offered to those who had lost their previous jobs. In conclusion I would say that I do not believe that the government should regulate gambling because of the reasons that I have stated earlier in this essay. First, Gambling is a choice and freedom. It a civil right and the government should not be able to decide weather or not you are allowed to gamble or how much you are allowed to gamble. Second, Gambling has grown into a major industry and has become a major source of revenue to the government. Gambling has helped fund many government programs used to help the less fortunate, even though gambling does create certain people who are addicted to it, they are nowhere near as many as the people whom gambling helps. In this situation the pros drastically outweigh the cons and as previously stated, the revenue generated from gambling could go towards social programs made to help people with gambling addictions, that way these people will eventually cure themselves of their addiction and the hundreds of thousands of people whom depend on gambling a source of income would not be affected, which is what I believe is a win-win situation. This brings me to my final argument, employment. The gambling industry has created hundreds of thousands of job opportunities to many of those who need it, especially in a recession where millions struggle to find an income support for them and their families. I would say that the government should encourage gambling businesses to grow. However, as Christiane Pouline states in his paper titled â€Å"Gambling† that â€Å"Decisions on policy pertaining to gambling need to be based on a full accounting of the health, economic and social benefits and costs of gambling. † (1208). Which is why the policy towards gambling should be set to help both the gambler and the Casinos. That policy should state that a majority of the profit that is generated from Casinos should go towards social programs that will benefit society; these social programs should include programs made to help gambling addicts with their problems. James Doughney perfectly sums up this policy in his book titled â€Å"The poker machine state†. Doughney says, â€Å"Try to do good; but even when you cannot at least do not knowingly cause harm. † (1). Over the past several years, gambling has grown into the largest sector of the entertainment industry, creating the most amount of revenue to the government. Our society should be scared of this phenomenon and try to regulate it, we should actually take advantage of it and use it to help make the most the most of this opportunity by using the money made from gambling to improve our lives and the lives of those around us.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Skateboarding Photography :: essays research papers

Over the last twenty years the world of skateboarding has changed greatly because of the exposure it has had through media. The originators of this media were skate magazines that highlighted many photographers and their talents. The photographs from twenty years ago were using nothing but a cheap old 35mm and came up with some incredible artistic shots. But those old cameras have been replaced by today’s photographers with the top of line cameras and lenses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The top two magazines in the skateboarding world today are Thrasher and Transworld Skateboarding magazine. Both of these magazines have been around since the early 80’s and have covered every angle of skateboarding that’s possible. Transworld has adopted an annual edition of there magazine for just photographs on every page and no articles. In the 2001 edition many photographers were interviewed and asked about their inspirations and there gear. Ryan Gee, a photographer out of Philadelphia, said â€Å"My first camera was some piece-of-crap Mamiya I found around ’92, today I’m using a Hasselblad 501 CM, and a Canon EOS 1N RS†, most photographers in the skate industry today are using a camera like the Canon 1N for shooting sequences of the more technical skateboard tricks. Some of these photographers also carry around a medium format camera like a Hasselblad for stills because of the great images that format creates. For lenses eve ryone seems to use a 15mm fisheye for those up close in the action shots and a good zoom telephoto for those long view shots. Fisheye shot, by Ryan Gee Telephoto shot, by Ryan Gee   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Photographers like Ryan Gee know that without the photographers from the 80’s they would not be doing what they are doing now. One huge inspiration in the industry would have to Spike Jonze. Jonze started out shooting photos of all the top pros for Transworld Magazine and became their senior photographer around the late 80’s. He then decided to get involved in the business side of skateboarding by starting one of today’s biggest brands, Girl Skateboards. Today many people know him as a music video director and major movie director. He has also been nominated for an Oscar for his direction on â€Å"Being John Malkovich†. But he has always looked back at his skateboarding photography as his biggest influence and achievements. Spike Jonze   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Other influences on the industry would be Skin Phillips, Daniel Sturt, and Grant Brittain.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Breaking Norms

Breaking Norms Over the first few weeks of the semester we have gone over many topics such as mores, taboos, rules, regulations, and laws. But there is one topic that stood out the most and that was the idea of norms. Norms are much more different than that of mores, taboos, rules, regulations, and laws. Rules, regulations, and laws are clearly defined and outlined rules that the public must abide by. Mores are a set of norms that define fundameental ideas about what is considered right, wrong, or moral.Taboos are norms that society strongly holds so much that violating one would result in extreme disgust. But norms on the other hand are quiet different. Norms as defined by the text are the informal, unwritten rules that guide people's behavior. Last week we were given the assignment to pick a norm of our liking that didn't include breaking any laws, taboos, or mores. After taking time to truly think over which social norm I would break I chose one that particularly gets under my ski n and that was sitting next to someone in an open area.To break this norm I would go to an rea that was a sparsely populated with pretty open seating and instead of sitting far away from people as most people would, I would choose to sit right next or at least closer than most. I chose to conduct my experiment at Laurel Park Mall in Livonia near my mother's job. Like I stated before I hate when there is an abundance of seats to choose from and someone chooses to sit next to me especially if I that person I a complete stranger. Before I did the experiment I felt really weird because I knew that this was gonna be really awkward and I knew how people were gonna feel because Breaking norms The first norm that I broke was done at a busy street downtown. I was with my friend to help me evaluate the reaction of the people around me when I was doing the thing. I planned to execute the â€Å"breaking norm activity† during rush hour so that I would be able to get good reactions since many people are walking the busy street. As my friend and I arrived at the busy street, I lied down like a dead person at the middle of the street where hundreds of people are passing by. As soon as I lied down, a woman at my back was frightened that I just automatically feel down in front of her.However, she had soon recovered from her shocked reaction when I smiled at her and continued what I am doing. Many people had bumped each other so that they would not step on me. I was surprised that even though I laid there like a silly man, several people still considered me since they had been very careful not to step on me. The lying down like a silly man or even like a dead man continued for almost thirty minutes. For half an hour, I already created a secluded part in the middle of the busy street. I even extended for another thirty minutes of lying down at the busy street.It was then a woman together with a five-year old kid passed by. Maybe out of curiosity of the five-year-old boy, he came back to where I am lying. He was holding an ice cold coca-cola can. He tried to touch me and waited for my reaction. When I tried to ignore him and have not responded to his touch, he desperately touched my hand with the ice-cold cola he was holding. I was shocked that I shouted ouch! to the boy. He was frightened in just a couple of seconds but had recovered when her mother approached her already.I felt sorry for the kid but I pretended that I do not have any reaction to what happened. I even have heard the mother talking to her child. She said that next time, do not talk to strangers or do not ever approached anyone especially if the person feels like stupid or the person is lik e a mentally disturbed one. I chuckled to the thought that I looked like a mentally disabled person. For one hour of lying there in the middle of the street I have realized that some people are still (â€Å"Breaking Norms) (â€Å"Page # 2)considerate of the people around them whereas some people also are frightened of the consequences that stupid or mentally disabled people can do to their children. I have also realized that children are keen observer and they always do something to get attention from the people around them. The second activity I have done for breaking the norm was in the beach. Over the weekends, I went to a popular beach to execute my assignment. As I arrived to the beach, I surveyed the area and the first thing I secured is the presence of lifeguards.I saw three lifeguards visible at their posts securing that everything is fine in the water. Then I estimated that people in the beach doing their own activities are quite enough for me get attention. As I have sec ured everything that I need for the success of the activity, I ran to the water and went to the part where the water level is just below my shoulders. The tides were small and it is not dangerous for me to act as if I am drowning. I can swim well so that if my plan will not work I will be able to save my own self. I acted even more by raising my hands and really pretended that I am drowning.At the count of three, I heard someone near me shouting for help. Help! Help! Someone is drowning! Then immediately, a couple of the beach goers helped me to get near the shore. When my lifesavers and I were half way to the shore, the lifeguards arrived. It was then when I realized that lifeguards on that beach are not that fat to rescue if ever there are problems on the water. One of the lifeguards asked me if I am just fine or I need some medicine or first aid to keep me calm. I said that I am just fine and thanked them. I also thanked the couple who saved my life.I sat down at the shore and wa tched the people on the water. I have observed that for almost five to ten minutes, there is tension in the water. The children went on the shore to observe, the same thing as what I did. The parents or the adults have also observed somehow to make sure that the water is safe for them to enjoy swimming. The norm that I had just done is sociologically (â€Å"Breaking Norms) (â€Å"Page # 3) inappropriate since I have ruined the day of those swimmers. They somehow had a frightened reaction because of what happened.The incident also created a realization in my part that lifeguards were not the first to rescue in scenarios like that. I hope that I was only mistaken. Social norms when broken sometimes require some punishment from authorities. The punishment will depend upon how heavy was the action or mistake done (Asbourne). Reference: Ashbourne, Craig. â€Å"The Punishment for Breaking Norms or Trans-Phobia†Swimming Against the (Main)stream Current (2007). 11 June 2007 < http: //swimmingagainstthemainstream. blogspot. com/2007/02/punishment-for-breaking- norms-or-trans. html>

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Agriculture in Brazil: Perils, Trials, and Economic Crisis

This paper examined the historical and political rule of agricultural policy formulation in Brazil from 1964 to 1992. The article also centered on how trade, credit, and support-price policy evolved in response to economic crisis and democratization in the 1980s.The economic crisis caused the agricultural policy of Brazil to be redesigned with the change in political regime and with the institutions of interest-group representation that significantly influenced the direction of policy reform programs and assessments.The return to a democratic regime of this nation permitted the local legislatures and the judiciary to take part in more significant agricultural policy rules. Simultaneously, the republic led to the questioning of other institutions and there was an emergence of more participatory organizations in the agricultural sector.These changes have caused policy making to become increasingly subject to explicit rules, which should lead to more predictable policies and a long-term reduction in discrimination against Brazilian agriculture (Helfand 1999).Brazil promoted agriculture and greatly achieved a rapid expansion in this sector, but its record on poverty was disappointing (Helfand 2001). One reason was that biases within the agricultural sector, notably in taxation and subsidized credit, favor large farmers and work to the disadvantage of labor.These biases interact with the highly inequitable initial land distribution to reduce the gains to the poor from growth. Brazil vividly demonstrates that promoting agriculture is not enough. Policies within the sector also matter.Brazil's income tax greatly favors agriculture in relation to other sectors, but only the rich can reap the benefits. Through special provisions in the income tax code, corporations can exclude up to 80 percent of agricultural profits from their taxable income, and individuals can include 90 percent. Fixed investments can be fully depreciated in the first year and can even be depreciated two to six times over.This, together with high inflation, encourages corporations and the rich to over invest in land. The result has been the accumulation of largeAgriculture in Brazil: Perils, Trials, and Economic CrisisPage 2landholdings and increases in land prices that exceed growth in land productivity. The poor do not benefit from the tax breaks, since they pay no income tax, and they cannot afford to buy land. Many move to frontier areas in search of unclaimed land.A progressive land tax could offset the bias in the income tax. Brazil tried this but failed because of widespread evasion and many exceptions. One such exception, intended to encourage land use, reduces the tax by up to 90 percent if owners use the land to graze cattle. This promotes the conversion of forestland to uneconomic livestock ranching, reduces the demand for labor, and has harmful environment consequences (Grahan 1987).Agricultural credit has been exceptionally distorted in Brazil. Until recently, real interest rates on official credit were negative, and real interest rates on loans for agriculture were lower than in the nonagricultural sector (Grahan 1987).The difference in credit terms between sectors has been capitalized in the price of land. Although subsidies raise profits in agriculture, they have mainly benefited large farmers and have encouraged excessive mechanization, again reducing the demand for unskilled labor. Poor people who lack land titles have not benefited from credit subsidies.Agricultural policies in Brazil have reduced labor demand and have made it almost impossible for a poor person to buy land and become a farmer. Opportunities for unskilled workers to acquire skills by becoming long-term workers have been substantially reduced by subsidized mechanization (Helfand 1999).The years from 1947 to 1963 were generally called the import substitution period. The primary agricultural goal in the first period was to produce an adequate supply of reasonably priced fo od for urban wage earners. A secondary goal was to generate foreign exchange to finance the importation of industrial raw materials and capital goods. Agriculture was not considered a vital growth sector, but rather a reservoir for surplus labor not absorbed by rapidAgriculture in Brazil: Perils, Trials, and Economic CrisisPage 3industrialization. From 1961 to 1963, food shortages, high food prices, and near hyper-inflation forced the government to give more attention to the agricultural sector. The inability to cope with these problems and concern over leftist politics resulted in the military-led revolution of 1964.The second period (1964 to present) is a phase of economic growth characterized by export expansion and diversification. The military governments after 164 advocated a completely different role for the agricultural sector.The relative backwardness of the sector was acknowledged, but the causes and cures were perceived quite differently. Farmers were believed to be respo nsive to prices and the distortions and disincentives created in the earlier period were gradually removed. New government investments and incentives emphasized modernization of agriculture (Truran 1977).Large quantities of subsidized credit were tied to the purchase of â€Å"modern† inputs such as improved seed, fertilizers, chemicals, and machinery (Grahan 1987). These inputs were made more easily available by exchange rate controls, overvalued exchange rates, tax exemptions, and direct government distribution.Low interest loans for operating costs and investment expenditure encouraged farmers to produce certain crops and livestock. Investments to improve marketing and transportation facilities were made, in part, to benefit the agricultural sector.Agricultural research and extension received more attention as the development and adaptation of technology became important in the face of stagnant yields (Truran 1977).Agricultural development in Brazil throughout its history h as also been associated with the extension of its land frontier. After 1950, this process has been supplemented by some infrastructure development, undertaken by large farmers and private companies, whoAgriculture in Brazil: Perils, Trials, and Economic CrisisPage 4were heavily subsidized through negative interest rates, especially in the 1970s (Grahan 1987).