Hackers Today :: Essays Papers

Hackers Today Over the last twenty years, a technological revolution has occurred as computers are now an essential element of today's society. Large computers are used to track reservations for the airline industry, process billions of dollars for banks, manufacture products for industry, and conduct major transactions for businesses because more and more people now have computers at home and at the office. People commit computer crimes because of society's declining ethical standards more than any economic need. According to experts, gender is the only bias. The profile of today's non-professional thieves crosses all races, age groups and economic strata. Computer criminals tend to be relatively honest and in a position of trust: few would do anything to harm another human, and most do not consider their crime to be truly dishonest. Most are males: women have tended to be accomplices, though of late they are becoming more aggressive. Computer Criminals tend to usually be "between the ages of 14- 30, they are usually bright, eager, highly motivated, adventuresome, and willing to accept technical challenges."(Shannon, 16:2) "It is tempting to liken computer criminals to other criminals, ascribing characteristics somehow different from 'normal' individuals, but that is not the case."(Sharp, 18:3) It is believed that the computer criminal "often marches to the same drum as the potential victim but follows and unanticipated path."(Blumenthal, 1:2) There is no actual profile of a computer criminal because they range from young teens to elders, from black to white, from short to tall. Definitions of computer crime has changed over the years as the users and misusers of computers have expanded into new areas. "When computers were first introduced into businesses, computer crime was defined simply as a form of white-collar crime committed inside a computer system."(2600:Summer 92,p.13) Some new terms have been added to the computer criminal vocabulary. "Trojan Horse is a hidden code put into a computer program. Logic bombs are implanted so that the perpetrator doesn't have to physically present himself or herself." (Phrack 12,p.43) Another form of a hidden code is "salamis." It came from the big salami loaves sold in delis years ago. Often people would take small portions of bites that were taken out of them and then they were secretly returned to the shelves in the hopes that no one would notice them missing.(Phrack 12,p.44) Congress has been reacting to the outbreak of computer crimes.

Hamartia in Oedipus the King :: Greek Tragedy Tragedies Oedipus Essays

Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to Aristotle, the tragic hero is impeded by a distinguishable characteristic or character trait which leads to his ultimate demise. This trait is known as hamartia, or the "tragic flaw." This characteristic is said to not only lead to the hero's demise but may also enable the reader to sympathize with the character. So it follows that in Oedipus the King, a Greek tragedy, the tragic hero Oedipus should have some sort of flaw. However, after close examination of the text, no distinguishable "flaw" is revealed. Although Oedipus appears to have many "flaws" on the surface, namely his poor temperament, carelessness, curiosity and pride, close examination of the text reveals that he has many seemingly flawed characteristics that are not only justifiable but in some cases to be expected. One might expect that a quick and even murderous temper would be considered a serious impediment to Oedipus. However, he is quite justified in his rage against Creon and Tiresias, and he has good reasons to suspect them of plotting against him. From the view point of Oedipus, he has just discovered that the antecedent king Laius was savagely murdered along with the members of his entourage. Furthermore the murder has yet to be solved many years later, and the gods have placed a plague on his city until the murderer(s) is apprehended and punished. After learning of the death of Laius, Oedipus concludes that the murderer is "a thief, so daring, so wild, he'd kill a king? [It's] impossible, unless conspirators paid him off in Thebes" (140-142). Creon concurs that this thought had also crossed his mind. So with this evidence, it is easy to see why Oedipus is distrustful of his own peers. Maybe the actual killing of Laius and his four servants is an extreme display of Oedipus' murderous temperament. While it may seem a bit extreme in hindsight, at the time of the incident his actions are totally justifiable. Oedipus describes the incident as thus: as he was"making [his] way toward this triple crossroad [he] began to see a herald, then a brace of colts drawing a wagon, and mounted on the bench . . . a man, just as [Jocasta] described [Laius], coming face-to-face, and the one in the lead and the old man himself [was] about to thrust [him] off the road-brute force - and the one shouldering [him] aside, the driver, [he] struck [him] in anger - and the old man, watching [Oedipus] coming up along his wheels - he brings down his prod, two prongs straight at [his] head"(884-893).

Jamaica Kincaids essay On Seeing England for the first Time

Jamaica Kincaid's essay On Seeing England for the first Time "It's shit being Scottish! We're the scum of the fucking earth! Some people hate the English. I don't. They're just wankers. We're the ones what were colonised by wankers. We couldn't even pick a decent bunch of people to be colonised by." -Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting The cultural ties to empire are not so easy to efface as the political ones. This is perhaps one of the most important lessons the world has learned from the mass movement towards independence on the part of European colonies in the past half-century. Even we Americans, more than two hundred years after having rejected the British monarchy and all it stands for, are forever poking our noses in the supermarket tabloids to find out what crisis either Diana or Fergie is embroiled in this week. Have we progressed so little? Don't we owe it to ourselves to pay our own culture the tribute which is its due? This is one of the many questions that Jamaica Kincaid's essay, "On Seeing England for the first Time," raises. Being a "colonial" herself, she is forever being forced to question where her cultural loyalty should lie. Is she first and foremost an Englishwoman? An African? An Antiguan? Kincaid's essay is an attempt to come to terms with her own identity by exploring the influence of a colonial culture on her daily life as a child as well as on her education. She inundates the reader with "English images," just as she was once inundated with them as a schoolgirl. We sicken of the surfeit of imagery just as she must have when every waking moment, an image of England somehow wormed its way into her consciousness. "Made in England . . . those three words . . . ran through every part of my life, no... ...e United States for some years, she has maintained her Antiguan citizenship. Her writings, including "On Seeing England for the First Time," are all examinations of her own past and her cultural identity. Even though she has left her island home, she is actively engaged in a struggle to achieve a synthesis of what is English and what is African in her origins. Through her writings, Kincaid attempts to assert her present self-an Antiguan woman-and all that her present self signifies. Perhaps such a synthesis-or even just the struggle for it-is the best that any of us can hope for. Works Cited Gordimer, Nadine. "Where Do Whites Fit In?" Hoy and DiYanni. 292-298. Hoy, Pat C. II and Robert DiYanni, eds. Encounters: Readings and the World. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Kincaid, Jamaica. "On Seeing England for the First Time." Hoy and DiYanni. 351-360. Jamaica Kincaid's essay On Seeing England for the first Time Jamaica Kincaid's essay On Seeing England for the first Time "It's shit being Scottish! We're the scum of the fucking earth! Some people hate the English. I don't. They're just wankers. We're the ones what were colonised by wankers. We couldn't even pick a decent bunch of people to be colonised by." -Irvine Welsh, Trainspotting The cultural ties to empire are not so easy to efface as the political ones. This is perhaps one of the most important lessons the world has learned from the mass movement towards independence on the part of European colonies in the past half-century. Even we Americans, more than two hundred years after having rejected the British monarchy and all it stands for, are forever poking our noses in the supermarket tabloids to find out what crisis either Diana or Fergie is embroiled in this week. Have we progressed so little? Don't we owe it to ourselves to pay our own culture the tribute which is its due? This is one of the many questions that Jamaica Kincaid's essay, "On Seeing England for the first Time," raises. Being a "colonial" herself, she is forever being forced to question where her cultural loyalty should lie. Is she first and foremost an Englishwoman? An African? An Antiguan? Kincaid's essay is an attempt to come to terms with her own identity by exploring the influence of a colonial culture on her daily life as a child as well as on her education. She inundates the reader with "English images," just as she was once inundated with them as a schoolgirl. We sicken of the surfeit of imagery just as she must have when every waking moment, an image of England somehow wormed its way into her consciousness. "Made in England . . . those three words . . . ran through every part of my life, no... ...e United States for some years, she has maintained her Antiguan citizenship. Her writings, including "On Seeing England for the First Time," are all examinations of her own past and her cultural identity. Even though she has left her island home, she is actively engaged in a struggle to achieve a synthesis of what is English and what is African in her origins. Through her writings, Kincaid attempts to assert her present self-an Antiguan woman-and all that her present self signifies. Perhaps such a synthesis-or even just the struggle for it-is the best that any of us can hope for. Works Cited Gordimer, Nadine. "Where Do Whites Fit In?" Hoy and DiYanni. 292-298. Hoy, Pat C. II and Robert DiYanni, eds. Encounters: Readings and the World. 1st ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997. Kincaid, Jamaica. "On Seeing England for the First Time." Hoy and DiYanni. 351-360.

International Business Finance Essay

1.Introduction This report is specific for JKX Oil & Gas. She is a petroleum company focusing on exploration and production in countries of the ex Soviet Union and the Ukraine. Her management is considering weather following her competitor expansion into Far East and Oceania. In this report I am going to show analysis in two sections. The first section is analysis on motivation of cross border investment in using FDI and find out the reasons of home countries & host countries encourage company to FDI. The second section is evaluating any key causes of a financial crisis and show how financial crisis affect the international trading. 2.Motivations of using FDI as cross border investment Basically FDI could be divide into three type of motivates they are market-seeking, resource-seeking, and efficiency-seeking (Malllampally and Sauvant 1999). Other than above there are a lot of academics theories, which could explain the motives behind the FDI by enterprises. In these theories I have chosen five theories that is common to be use for explain the motivations of FDI. First is international product life cycle theory (Vernon 1966), every product ought to go thought some stages from a new product to a mature product. In order to take efficient and cost advantages in different stage, production plant move towards foreign. This theory help explain the motive of manufacturing business efficiency-seeking and market-seeking in using FDI but fail to explain reason of using FDI instead of using others methods such as licensing. For example car producer such as Honda, their new car will be firstly starting design and produce in Japan during the new product stage, then shift to USA for listen to the market where have a huge demand and lastly the production will be shift to the East-Asia to produce in order to lower the production cost in the standard product stage. Second is transaction cost theory (Williamson 1993), it stated that when enterprises business is affected by market imperfection, which lead transaction cost increase. They will go international which benefit the efficiency and decrease the transaction cost. Be remind that this theory fail to explain reason of enterprises using FDI instead of using others methods and it is usually apply to manufacturing business efficiency-seeking which products are low in price, heavy, and easily to product in every where. For examples cement manufacturing industry as the raw-material is easy found in every where and easy to product also it is cheap in price and heavy so that firm will be product it locally instead of export it. Third is market imperfection approach, (Hymer 1970) assume that due to market imperfection FDI present. Theory stated that when any factors which lead failure of perfect market. Because of extra cost of cover the barriers, advantage present in foreign countries, and advantages in using FDI over licensing such as full control, unique knowledge, and skill cannot be transferred. Enterprises will do the FDI to achieve profit maximization on their business. This theory help explain the motive of efficiency-seeking in every business by using FDI when they facing market imperfection. Fourth is eclectic theory (Dunning 1993), theory stated that following factors found by enterprise FDI will be present. Firm will get advantage over particular location ownership, the advantage of have location ownership are not by selling or leasing, for the advantage a profit advantage must be gain. This theory help explain the motive of industries using FDI to take advantage of market-seeking and resource-seeking. Fifth is following competitors theory (Knickerbocker 1973), this theory stated that in oligopolies industries firm will follow her competitors to move towards foreign countries. Following competitors in order to reduce the chance monopoly in a new oversea market by her competitor. This theory help explain the motive of oligopolies industries go international for market-seeking But this theory fail to explain the reason of first mover and reason of using FDI to expand other than licensing. Eclectic theory, following competitors theory, and market imperfection approach which help explain why JKX chose to invest internationally with FDI. JKX is focusing on petroleum exploration and production of oil. It is just perfectly apply the eclectic theory because JKX is fully depending on use of local resources oil field. FDI is the only way to gain the resource by takeover the location ownership, and JKX uses the location resource to generate profit by production. Also maybe reason of addition cost on oil production JKX will decide move to other country because of the unique knowledge and skill cannot be transferred JKX need to use FDI to build new production plant. Also exploration and production oil industry in oligopolies. If JXK do not follow her competitors she will lost the potential oil field and her potential customer in new location. Moreover when JKX decides to invest internationally she needs to beware of the following such as economic risks, political risk, exchange rate risk, and cultural risks. 3. FDI impact on nation states Because of FDI bring a lot of advantages to nation states (host & home), nation states attempt to encourage FDI to do so. 3.1Advantage of FDI to host country There are seven advantages of FDI to nation states, which explain why host countres attempt to encourage foreign to do FDI. First is resource transfer effects, FDI by foreign firm bring along with their capital, technology, and management skill to host country. Capital bring alone by FDI is an importance source of stable private external finance for every country especially to developing countries. For example JKX buy an oil field form the host country and invest on the oil drilling equipment and build production plant ,which is a long term investment, profit making though production ,and could not leave easily. Moreover the external finance give a big hand on the balance of payment and foreign exchange reserve which is importance element for the economic health. Technology and Management Skill are another resources bring alone with FDI, which enhance productivity and competitiveness of host country. Both of them are importance elements for success in global market when chance comes. Foreign firm provide training on knowledge and skills on how to produce and management skill to local employee in order to facility the production. These knowledge transfer direct benefits to local labors and enhance productivity and competitiveness of host country. For example in the 90’s computer parts MNCs build production plant in Taiwan by FDI, nowadays Taiwan is be came another computer parts manufacturing kingdom in Asia. Second is employment effect, FDI creating employment for host country. Foreign firms build up their manufacture plant in the host country which increases the employment directly by foreign own plant and relative industry, for example in Mexico FDI create every 1 job in the foreign production plant and create 7 job in the relative industry (Farrell 2004). Also the local trained employees may start their own business. But there will be opposite effect in market-seeking† FDI raise unemployment by forcing less competitive companies out of business as foreign firm will bring along with advance technology reduce employment need in same production, For example Wal-Mart’s entry into the Mexican food Market which decrease the margin of that industry push less competitive companies exit (Farrell 2004). But actually this effect is just base how government manage the FDI for example in the 90’s china government restrict of the sold inside market of foreign firm which protect the local employment would not be substitute. Third economic growth and local multiplier effect, high employment leads more consumption by the local country citizen. As a result encourage industries further develop to fulfill increasing consumer needs; lower prices, better quality, and more selection for consumers. It is because of further developed of the industries, which increase employment, and new products encourage consumer to do more purchase, the cycle will go on and on. Fourth credibility in international market because of demonstration of first mover success, build up a model for the followers others foreign firms will be more confident to FDI to the same country. As followers could learn the first-comer experience, enjoy the effort done by first comer in host country such as infrastructures, educated customers, trained labors, and research done. Also stop the first-mover to become monopoly. In additional the credibility may attract short-term investment others than FDI. For example India starting by the first mover to starting computer software relating industry, nowadays it became another silicon valley in. Fifth access to return markets (Malllampally and Sauvant 1999), as FDI by foreign firm increase accessing international marketing network. The network benefit to transnational systems related industry, domestic firm to getting spillovers foreign business, and wider economic of host counties, by greater the links between foreign and domestic. This also helps spread the enhanced productivity and competitiveness of host countries. Sixth tax revenue from profit (Razin 2002), profit generated by FDI contribute to tax revenues to the host country in general. But some countries may cancel out direct taxes for the MNCs to attract for investment, tax revenues will still be benefit as more consumption in local {Sales Tax} and better income of citizen {Income Tax} Seventh reinvestment within local economy, the credibility of host country established the foreign firm may reinvestment into same country by using the profit earns in there. Moreover host counties encourage foreign firms to do so as foreign firm bring the profit back to their home country may deplete the foreign reserve and the profit earned put back to host country will bring along with new benefit to host country. In additional FDI force host country improve their economic health such as policy system, industry, and better the living standard of the host country by better income, lowing price, improve quality and more selection for customer. 3.2Disadvantage of FDI to host country There are also some bad points together with FDI incoming such as, Adverse effects on local competition due to spending power and brand of MNC, MNCs become an impact on government decision due to the economic power of MNCs, Over exploitation of country mineral wealth etc†¦ 3.3Advantage & Disadvantage of FDI to home country Looking on the surface impact of FDI to home country surely will be lot disadvantages follow by such as negative impact balance of payment and increase unemployment. But why home country will encourage company to do FDI aboard , FDI will benefit the country in such ways, company go aboard may increase the export due to new development demand, MNCs will bring the FDI profit back to home country that benefit the balance of payment, jobs will be create as additional need of support activity represent by FDI aboard. FDI increase the long-term competiiveness by learn from others countries. Home country could benefit from the FDI of the sunset industries to free labor force form the costly and low-value industry. FDI good to host country and long-run good to home country FDI need management and benefit to both MNCs and host government For FDI to be successful it require win-win situation benefit both MNC and Host country, but require a good control in order to manage FDI well. If the management of FDI is done badly which may result in harmful to whole host country’s economic system. On the other hand FDI going aboard not only bring alone with disadvantage to host country in the long-run which may also give a huge benefit to the home country. The following paragraph will be shown both advantages and disadvantages of FDI to nation states 4.Root causes of financial crisis  There are many underlying reason which form a financial crises such as excess capital inflow, speculation activities, poor financial infrastructure, monetary policy etc.. all these factors encourage financial crises breakout. The following is a simple flow of twin crises (Kaminsky and Reinhart 1999). Starting form establishes of credibility of a country, foreign investors will start to invest into the country because expectation of return high. When the capital going into the local economic, that increase the economic health, local money supply, economic activity, foreign reserves, and government budget. All these factors increase country credibility and once again increase the attractiveness of capital inflow. The continuous increasing expectation of return will form rational bubble (Blanchard 1979) investors and speculators will holding an overvalued currency but would not sell it yet, they believe there will be a further appreciation on the local currency. Because of more and more capital inflow, banks in the country will facing difficult in generating profit as they have too much cash on hand, the banks will decrease the liquidity ratio lend more money out of the banks which result in increase risky loan, overinvestment, over-consumption, and asset price bubble. Banking crisis will more like to happen when bubble bursts and increasing bad loan. When the Banking Crisis outbreak which decline economic activity, costly fiscal bailout, decline the country credibility and lead capital flight. (Aghevli 1999) Capital outflow, costly fiscal bailout, decline economic activity, and speculation activities fasten decline the foreign reserves that result currency crisis.

Romeo’s Diary

I truly believe I am the luckiest man alive. Friar Lawrence has finally agreed to match me and Juliet later today. Rosalind is my heart's old desire, but my heart doth gape for Juliet. ‘She doth teach the torches to burn bright' with her exquisite beauty. I have been frivolous until now believing my heart belonged to Rosalind. ‘Is love a tender thing? ‘Loving her felt like a ‘ feather of lead', true her beauty astounded me, but my unrequited love towards her vexed my soul. I longed to be with her, but she wanted to remain chaste, causing me great amounts of pain that ‘pricked like thorns'. I could not forget about Rosalind, she was constantly in my thoughts, but I was purblind to ever think she could love me. I now realise my feelings for her were false and fanciful. What my heart now feels is not another fantasy; my new love takes all my strength and makes every other woman look like miserable hags. How I wish I had taken my own advice sooner. I was terribly unhappy this morning, and looking back, I was a pathetic, immature sibling, hanging on to what I was felt for Rosalind, now vowed to an eternity of chastity. We both loved different attributes, it is only fitting we remain this way. To begin with I was extremely confused and slightly arrogant as to why she did not take an interest in me. I am always unsure about what to do about the situation, and talking to my friends about it is usually an inexcusable NO. But, I was bewildered as to which path to take, I told Benvolio, which looking back was the correct decision; the only friend that wouldn't laugh or take off for a drink. I told him of my problem and strangely his advice was to help him crash a Capulet party, to enjoy myself and remember how Rosalind is not the end of the world. There are plenty other beauties in the world. Immediately, I recoiled and did not believe anything that spurted out of his mouth. I only allowed him to drag me along to the party as to not worry them. Was that the right thing to do? This never-ending grudge between our ill-fated families bound me, and the fighting between such parties is a disgraceful burden, holding me back, as so I cannot take the fair lady Juliet in my arms. My hot tempered friend accompanied by the vengeful Benvolio encountered a hurtful opposition in that of the brute Tybalt and many of his serving men. Sooner or later all will die under the wielding of a weapon. My father later drew his unsheathed weapon of that against Lord Capulet, when will this silly brutality come to a close. A' last Prince came and took charge, but I cannot help but think if this is the attitude I wish to understand if I finally want to elope and continue the family name. Do I need to grow up? Suddenly, no sooner as I had pulled on my visor, I met eyes with the most beautiful girl created. She made my lovely Rosalind look like a hag, and one more shot of Cupid's arrow and I was in love, yet again with a younger beauty.

Racial Disparity in Criminal Justice System Essay

Introduction Twenty-five percent of the world’s prison population, 2.5 million people, are held in American penal institutions. (ACLU, 2008). Sixty percent of those incarcerated are racial and ethnic minorities. These figures mean that 2.3% of all African Americans are incarcerated. The percentage of whites admitted to prison is 0.4% of whites and Hispanics, 0.7%. (Associated Press, 2007; Bonczar, 2003; Mauer & King, 2007; ACLU, 2008; Bridges & Sheen, 1998;). One of the primary contributors to this gross disproportion of incarceration of blacks is the result of â€Å"the war on drugs† and â€Å"tough on crime† initiatives that were established in the 80’s. The aggressive law enforcement strategies of The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, disproportionately arrested, convicted, and incarcerated millions of blacks for relatively minor nonviolent drug offenses as compared to white offenders. The dramatic escalation of incarceration for drug offenses was accompanied by profound racial disparities. Blacks were incarcerated at a grossly disproportionate rate to white Americans and blacks received much harsher and longer sentences, 14.5% longer, creating racial disparity within the criminal justice system (Alexander, 2010; Austin, et al.; Georges-Abeyie, 2006; Gonzà ¡lez & Chang, 2011; Lynch & William, 1997; Mauer, 2007; Mauer & King, 2007; Spohn, 2000 (Alexander, 2010, Associated Press, 2007, Mauer M. 2009; Mauer M., 2008; Spohn, 2000) Mass incarceration functions more like a caste system than a system of crime prevention serves the same purpose as pre-Civil War slavery and the post-Civil War Jim Crow laws: to maintain a racial caste system: a system designed to keep a racial group locked into an inferior position by law and customs. (Alexander, 2010) While scholars have long analyzed the connection between race and America’s criminal justice system, argue that our growing penal system, with its black tinge, constitutes nothing less than a new form of Jim Crow. There are writers that feel the analogy’s myopic focus on the War on Drugs diverts us from discussing violent crime—an oversight when discussing mass interaction in the United States. (James Forman) There is no dispute as to the extent of the escalation in criminalization and incarceration in the United States in the 40-year war on drugs. That violent offenders make up a plurality of  the prison population, but research has shown that the unequal enforcement of mandatory policies in place, black males received longer terms than whites for similar drug offenses, 14.5% longer, this creates the level of mass incarceration that racial disparity within the criminal justice system. ). Look at states in there Midwest and northeast have the greatest black-to- white disparity in incarceration. So when states as Iowa, the 10th safest state in the US, 91.3% of the population is White (88.7% non-Hispanic),and 2.9% is Black or African American, how is it for every 100,000 people Iowa incarcerates 309 white and 4200 are black, imprisoning black at 13 times the rate of whites. The unequal enforcement of mandatory policies in place, black males received longer terms than whites for similar drug offenses, 14.5% longer, this creates the level of mass incarceration that racial disparity within the criminal justice system. Supporting data shows the extraordinary increases in several states of nonwhite drug offenders committed to prison receiving harsher sentences for similar drug offences. (Alexander, 2010; Tonry, 1994 (ACLU, 2008; Alexander, 2010; Green, 2012Lacey, 2010; Bonczar, 2003; Glaze & Herberman, 2010; Mauer, 2009; Mauer, 2008; M Mauer and King (2007);Russell-Brown, 2008; Mauer & King 2007; The Institute for Economics and Peace, 2012; Petersilia,1983; Loury, 2010; Russell-Br own, 2008). There have been studies in theoretical foundation and methodological sophistication to assess the disproportionality in incarceration of racial minorities. Research has dispelled the assertion that blacks are disproportionality sentenced and incarcerated due solely to differential crime commission rates. All actors within the criminal justice system are under the delusion, or pretense, of objectivity in the criminal justice system. (Spohn, 2000; Russell-Brown, 2008) In response to this gap in literature, the current study will focus exclusively on the consistent patterns indicating that offender race operates directly through other factors, arresting officer, prior record, type of crime, pretrial status or type of disposition, or interacts with other variables that are themselves related to racial disparity. I will also attempt to determine why these disproportionalities exist by examining the criminal justice system policies and practices that have contributed in recent decades to t he disproportionate overrepresentation of minorities in the criminal justice system. Literature Review Criminologist and social-political geographer Daniel E. Georges-Abeyie introduced the concept and theory of petit apartheid in criminal justice and juvenile justice in 1990 to describe discriminatory, discretionary acts by law enforcement, correctional officers, and jurists that advantage or disadvantage an individual, or individuals, on grounds of their identity characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexual orientation, age, religion, or nationality Georges-Abeyie Petit Apartheid Social Distance Severity Scale to predict criminal justice process outcomes when the identity characteristics of those making discretionary decisions and those impacted are similar or dissimilar. Petit Apartheid Social Distance Severity Scale. His frank interview with Justice Bruce Wright confirmed that each actor brings his personal bias into his duties in the criminal justice system. New York State Supreme Court Justice the Honorable McM. Bruce Wright, author of Black Robes, White Justice (1992), a criminal justice advocate, believed that a judge should consciously be â€Å"Black, Hispanic, female, working class, et cetera†, while adjudicating. Judge Wright believed that all judges manifested their social, cultural, racial, ethnic, gender, and social class biases while adjudicating. We are all impacted by life experiences. He gave an example, a specific judge, who would regularly, with pride and pomposity, proclaimed that he â€Å"quickly sized-up a defendant† as the defendant was led into the court in chains, by noting the demeanor, gait, body-language, and general physical appearance of the defendant before the defendant’s attorney, or the defendant, uttered a single word. What appalled Judge Wright was not the scrutinizing of that defendant but the denial of the phenomenologically filtered judgment, which accompanied that observation. (Georges-Abeyie, 2006) Multi factors economic, personal bias and what are considered subtle bias, offender age and gender, are major factors in the level of racial disparity within the criminal justice system. (Georges-Abeyie, 2006;; Austin, et al., 2012;Bonczar, 2003; Brewer & Heitzeg; Glaze & Herberman, 2012; Green, 2012; Lacey,2010; Gonzà ¡lez & Chang, 2011; Lee & Vukich, 2001;Loury, 2010)Mauer & King, 2007; Petersilia, 1983; Spohn, 2000; Tonry, 1994; Marc Mauer has been reporting on racial disparity since 1975 report on racial disparity and mass incarceration in the criminal justice system. His 1995 report led the New York Times to editorialize that the report â€Å"should set off alarm bells from the White House to city halls – and help reverse the notion that we can incarcerate our way out of fundamental social problems.† Finding evidence of direct discrimination against minorities in the role of race, prediction, and discretion in the criminal justice system (Baradaran, 2013; Mauer M. 2009) Research has proven that the first point of discrimination that afflicts the system is contact with the police. Police arrest black defendants more often for crimes than white defendants. (Mauer & King, 2007) Spohn in his report, Thirty Years of Prison Reform: the race for a neutralizing sentence process,† found that â€Å"a certain type† of minority offenders, perhaps because they are perceived as being more dang erous, are singled out for arrest and harsher treatment. These markers are Blacks and Hispanics who are young, male, and unemployed are particularly more likely than their white counterparts to be sentenced to prison and in some jurisdictions, they also receive longer sentences or differential benefits from guideline departures. There is also evidence that minorities convicted of drug offenses, those with longer prior criminal records, those who victimize whites, and those who refuse to plead guilty or are unable to secure pretrial release are punished more severely than similarly situated whites. (Spohn, 2000) Crime rates, law enforcement priorities, sentencing legislation and other factors play a role in creating racial disparities in incarceration. (Roth, 2001). The prosecutors, more than any  other officials in the criminal justice system, have the most direct impact on racial disparities, and thus, must bear the most responsibility in remedying them. (Davis, 1998) Race (and in particular racial stereotypes) plays a role in the judgments and decision making by all of the participants within the criminal justice system. The influence of an individual’s bias is subtle and often undetectable in any given case, but its effects are significant and observable over time. When policymakers determine policy, when official actors exercise discretion, and when citizens proffer testimony or jury-service, bias often plays a role. (Georges-Abeyie, 2006). In January of 2000, 19-year-old Jason Williams was convicted of selling a total of 1/8 oz. of cocaine on four separate occasions. Although he had no prior convictions, the Texas youth was sentenced to 45 years in prison under a state law provision that increases penalties for drug sales that occur within 1,000 feet of a school or park. As it turns out, roughly half of Williams’ hometown of Tulia falls within these â€Å"drug-free zones.† Williams was just one of 46 Tulians – including more than 10 percent of the town’s black population – caught up in a law-enforcement sweep initiated by a single undercover officer who claimed that he had bought drugs from each of them. Half faced enhanced prison terms under the drug-free zone statute, and many pled guilty in order to avoid Williams’ fate. In the months that followed sentencing, it became clear that the evidence used to convict Williams and the other defendants had been fabricated by Tom Colem an, the undercover ofï ¬ cer. The wrongfully convicted Tulians were pardoned by Governor Rick Perry in August 2003, but the incident remains a vivid example of the dangerous excesses of the nation’s increasingly unpopular â€Å"war on drugs.† These systems operate collectively to ensure the subordinate status of a group defined largely by race. And while the size of the system alone might suggest that it would touch the lives of most Americans, racial disparities in the US prison system have been increasing throughout the last third of the twentieth century (Alexander, 2010; Tonry, 1994). We have to look at the first point of contact for the defendant – and follow his journey through the criminal justice system through the maze of racial bias and discrimination and focus on answering why these disproportionalities exist. The problem of racial disparity is one which builds at each stage of the criminal justice continuum from arrest through parole, rather than the result of the actions at any single stage. How race, ethnicity, class, and gender influence decisions about individuals being processed through the criminal justice system. (Georges-Abeyie, 2006; Marc Mauer; 2009; Lynch & Sabol, 1997). Statistics show the cumulative impact of decisions made through personal bias at one level contributes to racial disparities at subsequent levels in the criminal justice system. Race-based differences in individual treatment are some of the most apparent in American society today and these bias based decisions challenge the principle that the criminal justice system is fair, effective and just. Methodology Study Purpose This study explores the extent of racial disparity within the criminal justice system and where it exists. The criminal justice system involves numerous actors—such as police officers, prosecutors, judges, jurors, and eyewitnesses—whose decisions and judgments have a significant impact on the conviction and punishment of criminal defendants this study will demonstrate how how race significantly affects the decisions and judgments of those at various levels within the criminal system. (Blumstein et al. 1983, 72; Lee & Vukich, 2001). Does racial disparity exist within the criminal justice system? Does the perceptions of race affect their response to offenders? Hypothesis: Racial disparity exist within the criminal justice system? Null Hypothesis Racial disparity does not exist within the criminal justice system. Research Design This study will use a longitudinal design that will collect data through questionnaire structured interviews, observations and analysis of documents. Sampling  Using secondary data from the General Social Survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago in connection with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which measures reaction times in response to certain visual stimuli. (Gonzà ¡lez & Chang, 2011). The sample frame will represent all actors in the criminal justice system. This study uses a research design that simultaneously collects quantitative and qualitative data through the use of various survey instruments, observations and questionnaires by which to conduct bivariate comparisons of incarceration rates for whites and racial minorities and methodologically more rigorous multivariate analyses designed to identify direct race and indirect race effects and for interaction between race and other predictions of arrest,  sentencing and adjudication. A link between discrimination and disproportionality using multi-variate organizational, environmental, contextual and individual factors with police behavior and research on the effects of pre-trial decision making (Mauer & King, 2007). The intent of this approach is to gain a broader perspective than would be otherwise achieved from only one data collection method (Small, 2011). Moreover, this mixed-methods approach for the collection and analyses of data will be utilized to increase the validity of the research and the reliability of the findings by using the results of both methods to support each other (Bachman & Schutt, 2007; Creswell, 2013). Quantitative data using a survey and school database will be used to obtain an overview of the research questions I will use qualitative methodology through semi structured focus groups, giving studies the opportunity to convey their personal encounter with the criminal justice system so that a fuller understanding of factors involved with racial/ethnic disparity. Issues of validly and reliability Validity methodologies include testing subjects while â€Å"measuring cardiovascular response, micro-facial movements, or neurological activity when viewing. As another example, police officers in one experiment exhibited a tendency to associate Black (as opposed to White) faces with criminality. In yet another experiment, both police and probation officers exhibited a significant influence of race on their judgments of culpability and decisions to arrest and to charge. Much of this research is done in connection with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), which measures reaction times in response to certain visual stimuli.71 Other methodologies include testing subjects while â€Å"measuring cardiovascular response, micro-facial movements, or neurological activity (Gonzà ¡lez & Chang, 2011) Limitations What tends to be expressed may not provide good data about â€Å"true† attitudes, especially when people wish to conceal their motives or if they have unconscious biases. Sentencing data are limited in terms of demographic and extra-legal variables, and these data are neither readily available nor easily obtainable. Contribution to the field Racial disparity operates as a tightly networked system of laws, policies, customs, and institutions within our criminal Justice system. This information will inform decision makers about differences in the unequal treatment of defendants based on the illegitimate criteria of race, when ‘like cases’ with respect to case attributes—regardless of their legitimacy defendants are sentenced differently. Possibly identifying gaps between established policies and actual practices. It will outline the various levels that racial disparity enters the criminal justice system. The decision-making that occurs prior to sentencing often has a greater impact on the punishment that offenders receive than does the exercise of discretion in sentencing. If there are differences in the way these decisions are made for different racial and ethnic groups, such differences could contribute to sentencing disparities that would be masked by â€Å"legal† factors. Arrest and conviction rates do not correlate precisely with criminal behavior rates and cannot serve as a proxy for criminality. A very large portion of disproportionality cannot be explained by legitimate race neutral factors, leading us to conclude that race matters in ways that are not fair, that do not advance legitimate public safety objectives, that produce racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and that undermine public confidence in our legal system (Gonzà ¡lez & Chang, 2011)　 Analysis will show that the ways that the correctional system in the United States functions to control minorities through deliberately chosen, systematically imposed legal restrictions. Is that crime rates do not explain the sudden and dramatic mass incarceration of African Americans during the past 30 years. Crime rates have fluctuated over the last few decades—they are currently at historical lows—but imprisonment rates have consistently soared. Quintupled, in fact. And the vast majority of that increase is due to the War on Drugs. (Alexander, 2010; Russell-Brown, 2008) References ACLU. (2008). The Prison Crisis. Washington, DC: American Civil Liberties Union. Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of coloirblindness. . New York: The New Press. Associated Press. (2007, July 18). Study show racial disparities in prison. USA Today, p. 1. Austin, J., Cadora, E., Clear, T. R., Dansky, K., Greene, J., Gupta, V., . . . Young, M. C. (2012). ENDING MASS INCARCERATION:CHARTING A NEW JUSTICE REINVESTMENT. Washington: The Sentencing Project. Baradaran, S. (2013). Race, Prediction, and Discretion. George Washington Law Review, 157-216. . Bonczar, T. P. (2003). Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001. Washington,DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/piusp01.pdf Brewer, R. M., & Heitzeg, N. A. (2008). The Racialization of Crime and Punishment: Criminal Justice Color-Blind Racism, and the Political Economy of the Prison Industrial Complex . American Behavioral Scientist, 625-644. Bridges, G. S., & Sheen, S. ( 1998). Racial Disparities in Official Assessments of Juvenile Offenders: Attributional Stereotypes as Mediating Mechanisms. American Sociological Review, 554-570. Davis, A. J. (1998). â€Å"Prosecution and Race: The Power and Privilege of Discretion.†. Fordham Law Review, 50. Georges-Abeyie, D. E. (2006). Race, Ethnicity, and Social Distance Severity. The Western Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 30, (No. 2), 20. Glaze, L. E., & Herberman, E. J. (2012). Correctional Populations in the United States Series. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Gonzà ¡lez, S. C., & Chang, R. S. (2011). Task Force on Race and the Criminal Justice System . Seattle: Task Force on Race and the . Green, A. (2012). The disproportionate impact of the criminal justice system on people of color in the capital region. The Center for Law & Justice. Greene, K., Pranis, K., & Ziedenberg, P. (2006, March). Disparity by Design: How drug-free zone laws impact racial disparity – and fail to protect youth. Justice Policy Institute, p. 1. James Forman, J. (n.d.). RACIAL CRITIQUES OF MASS INCARCERATION: BEYOND THE NEW JIM CROW. Yale Law School. Kleiman, M. (1997). â€Å"Drug-Free or Unfree: To Get Heavy Users to Stay Clean, Link Parole and Probation to Abstinence. Washington: The Washington Post . Lacey, N. (2010). American imprisonment in comparative perspective. Daedalus, Vol. 139(No. 3 ), 102-114. Lee, N., & Vukich, E. M. (2001). Race in the Criminal Justice System. Wsashington: State of Washington Sentencing Guidelines Commission. Loury, G. (2010). Crime, Inequality and Social Justice. American Academy oif Arts and Sciences, 134-140. Lynch, J. P., & Sabol, W. (1997). Did getting tough on crime pay? Washington, DC: The Urban Institute. Mauer, M. (2008). Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Hearing on Federal Cocaine Sentencing Laws. The Sentencing Project, 8. Mauer, M. (2009). Racial impact statements: Changing policies to address disparitie. The Sentencing Project. Mauer, M. (2009). The changing racial dynamcis of the war on drugs. Washington: The Sebtebcing Project. Mauer, M., & King, R. (2007). A 25-year quagmire: The â€Å"war on drugs† and its impact on american society. The Sentencing Project, 33. Mauer, M., & King, R. (2007). Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration. Washington, DC: Sentencing Project. Mauer, M., & King, R. (2007). Uneven Justice:State Rates of Incarceration By Race and Ethnicity. Washington: The Sentencing Project. Nellis, A., Greene, J., & Mauer, M. (2000). Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System. Washington: The Sentencing Project. Petersilia, J. (1983). Racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Santa Monica,: Rand Corporation. Roth, K. (2001, March 2014). Race and Incarceration in The United States. Human Rights Watch. Russ ell-Brown, K. (2008). The Color of Crime; Racial Hoaxes, White Fear, Black Protectionism, Police Harassment, and Other Macroaggressions. New York: New York University Press. Spohn, C. C. (2000). Thirty years of sentencing reform: The quest for a racially neutral sentencing process. National Institute of Justice. The Institute for Economics and Peace . (2012 ). Peace in the United States of America. Washington, DC: The Institute for Economics and Peace . Tonry, M. (1994). Racial Disproportion in US Prisons. British Journal of Criminology.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Essay

I. Key Problem What Steven Ells began with a small taqueria in Denver, Colorado in 1993, one may not have foreseen this venture to become the fastest growing restaurant chain in the last decade. By 2006, Ells’ idea made its initial public offering with 535 restaurants throughout the world. Things were going tremendously well for CMG until late afternoon on October 18, 2012 when Ells finished receiving the company’s third quarter results. While data indicated an overall satisfactory outcome, it was the competition from Yum Brands’ Taco Bell and their recent launch of the Cantina Bell menu that would result in what seemed to be the onset of a major problem. Taco Bell had now become a major competitor to Chipotle since the launch of their new Cantina Bell menu allowing them to enter into the fast-casual segment in offering similar ingredients and items as Chipotle had. At the same time CMG paid a significant amount more for their products forcing them to charge a higher price on their menu items. Taco Bell, however, now offered similar items for half the price. The bottom line: competition was the root of this problem. The fact that Chipotle menu prices were higher as compared to that of Taco Bell’s new menu would lead to consumers or normally loyal customers to give the Cantina Bell menu a try. After the launch of the Cantina Bell menu in the summer of 2012, CMG stock significantly declined just after third quarter results were announced. To add insult to injury, Jeff Einhorn, a hedge fund leader, presented at the Value Investors Conference in New York City proclaiming that CMG was an attractive stock for short-sellers because of the considerable competition from Taco Bell. He further stated, â€Å"23% of Chipotle customers had already tried Taco Bell’s Cantina Bell menu†¦and two-thirds of those customers indicated they would return. What’s more, the customers most likely to return to Taco Bell were also those most likely to eat at Chipotle, a dynamic that indicates to me that Chipotle is most at risk of losing its frequent customers.† This message led to CMG’s stock falling by more than 4% within hours of the conclusion of the presentation. The announcement of projected increases in food costs on the part of CMG also contributed to the competition between them and Taco Bell. While Chipotle stood by its belief that it is â€Å"Food with Integrity† because of better ingredients, the Cantina Bell menu produced something similar while lowering the cost a customer would have to pay for a meal, therefore, causing further competition between the two. II. Relevant Theory By looking at the items offered on the Cantina Bell menu versus those on Chipotle’s menu, I determined that they both have a competitive advantage. Chipotle is a premium product offered at a higher price where it reaches a broader market share that is willing to pay more money. On the other hand, Taco Bell’s main strategic course is cost leadership which enables them to reach a broader market share with a lower price for the desired item. As shown on Example 1 the Competitive Advantage and Economic Value Created are somewhat different between the two companies. Since Chipotle offers a better quality of ingredients, consumers are willing to pay a higher price. As a result, creating a higher Value (V) for a burrito is at the same time creating a greater economic value (Value-Cost.) Meanwhile the economic value created by Taco Bell is smaller since the value of their product is less and consumer’s maximum willingness to pay will be lower. Example 1 Since Yum Brands launching of the new Cantina Bell menu, this new organic ingredient-driven list of selections has been a pretty obvious attempt to compete with fast casual giant Chipotle. This is what has become the major concern for Chipotle where competition is becoming fierce and for practically half the price the Cantina Bell menu is a definite value. However, you do get what you pay for and the overall quality and taste of Chipotle still has a slightly greater edge over Taco Bell. The value someone will be willing to pay for a Taco Bell burrito will be less than the value Chipotle has created with their better quality ingredients, hence creating a greater economic value. III. Assessment of Alternatives How could Chipotle effectively approach their key problem which is Taco Bell’s new Cantina Bell menu? What seems to be the main concern for Chipotle is that Taco Bell is trying to provide a similar product for half the price. Some of the alternatives available to Chipotle to are: †¢ Buy low cost goods to reduce prices using Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) †¢ Another option could be to offer a smaller burrito for a smaller price, or to include less amounts of meat as Taco Bell does †¢ Continue doing what they do best and differentiate themselves Should Chipotle buy low cost goods to reduce prices using Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), it would allow them to offer menu items at a lower cost to the consumer providing greater competition between them and Taco Bell’s Cantina Bell menu. However, in doing so would contradict their philosophy of providing the best quality ingredients in their food. In doing so, it will change CMG’s strategy from being a premium product and higher price to a cost leadership strategy and at the same time reducing the value of its product. Another option could be to offer a smaller burrito for a smaller price, or to include less amounts of meat as Taco Bell does in its Cantina Bell menu. This would also allow for cost effectiveness on both the consumer and Chipotle’s side, however, it would go against CMG’s mission statement of being â€Å"Food with Integrity†, lower its value and become a cost leadership strategy as opposed to being a premium product and higher price. A third alternative is for CMG to continue to compete effectively by doing what they already are doing which is differentiation based on quality and sustainability. This approach supports its philosophical message of better food for the consumer and community as well as being environmentally conscious. This allows CMG to maintain its values and remain within their strategy segment. On the contrary, this alternative force Chipotle to increase their menu prices while reducing its consumer surplus. IV. Suggested Course of Action After carefully analyzing the different alternatives, the best course of action is to continue to compete effectively on differentiation based on quality and sustainability given the mounting competitive and sourcing challenges. Even thought Taco Bell’s new menu seems like a significant threat they are far from creating the same value and reputation Chipotle has created since it opened its first restaurant in 1993. Not only does Chipotle provide the freshest and best ingredients with a bold flavor, they are setting themselves apart from any other restaurant chain and main competitor since they continuously are working toward better practices. They continue to push to sustainable sourcing like getting their meat form non Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) while at the same time contributing to the promotion of good animal health and fighting against animal abuse. In addition, CMG buys products from local farms, builds restaurants to be eco friendly and LEED certified (leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) while trying to keep the cost and price of other items down. As their value statement proclaims, â€Å"Food with Integrity† is a mission of serving good quality food with inputs sourced using sustainable farming practices. Even thought new threats like Taco Bell’s Cantina Bell menu are presenting a challenge there will always be competition. CMG upholds strong beliefs to do what is best for the environment and for its communities in order to provide the best products to its consumers. This is precisely why they have grown so fast from the opening of their first taqueria, to the capital infusion from McDonald’s, to its initial Public offering (IPO.) They have been the fastest growing chain in the last decade and just like any fast growing business, regardless of their success, they will reach a slower growth as they approach maturity. There will still be opportunity for expansion. Chipotle is certainly heading toward a different direction than their competitors making them stand out and become a lot harder to imitate. This alternative is truly the only logical option for Chipotle as it continues to enforce its philosophy of providing â€Å"Food with Integrity.† There will always be competition between companies and products, however, if Chipotle chooses another route for combating this rivalry with Taco Bell, it would not allow itself to differentiate from them. V. Key Takeaways Before reading this case, I knew nothing about Chipotle but after reading it I am quite impressed by the approach CMG has taken choosing to go a different route most companies are afraid of doing because of higher cost prices. I was equally impressed they choose organic products, to buy from local farms, being against massive animal feeding as well as animal cruelty and that they are eco friendly and are looking to make all their restaurants like this. Of course, I should also mention that one knows one will be eating the best ingredients and most fresh available foods. I am confident as the values of this company are brought to the attention of more of the public, Chipotle will reach a bigger market share as the public demand will rise. I would also predict other companies and restaurants will follow similar suit. As mentioned earlier, there will always be competition in business, but a firm must find their differentiation advantage. As individuals become more educated and understand the factor facing the environment people will be willing to make a change and help make a difference.