LotsOfEssays.com

Introduction Increasingly, companies are recognizing that they are part of larger communities and that active participation in those communities can form a critical part of their corporate citizenship. Employees are often attracted to organizations that "give back," and companies can benefit from increased community exposure as well as good public relations. Merrill Lynch is one such company that has a philanthropic aspect to its operations, and this research considers the mission, vision and values within the philanthropic operation of Merrill Lynch. Specifically, the company's grant and volunteer program that provides financial education to young people is considered in terms of its mission and values as well as how that mission might be restructured to improve the organization's effectiveness. Background (Products/Services, Customers) Merrill Lynch is perhaps best known as a financial services company offering investment products, but it also has

950

Discrimination-related hate crimes abound in the United States, with 7,400 hate crimes being reported to the FBI in 2003 alone. The hate-crime problem can be explained by people's "unfortunate human tendency...to protect their own while finding a scapegoat to blame the problem on" (DeAngelis). The mechanism behind hate crimes is the "outgroup homogeneity effect," where "people tend to see groups they're not a part of as more homogeneous than their own group" (DeAngelis). Psychologist Charles Judd explains that people who exhibit this effect are "more willing to ignore individuating information about members of outgroups, lumping them all into a single disliked category," and ascribing to them a "cultural 'essence,' a sort of innate temperament they erroneously believe defines the entire culture" (DeAngelis). The problem of bias-related attacks is something that "every major city in the country grapples with," and most attacks are sparked by bias in race or sexual orientation, wit

812

Description of the Model The Autonomous Learners Model for the Gifted and Talented (ALM) was developed by George Betts (1996) to meet the diverse cognitive, emotional, and social needs of gifted and talented students. Over time, the model has become incorporated into regular education programs as well (Betts, 1996). At issue herein is an analysis of the ALM focusing on its central assumptions, its strengths and weaknesses, and how it is used in terms of teaching gifted children. Betts (2008) states that the ALM emphasizes meeting the individualized needs of a learner through the use of activities in five major dimensions, which are orientation, individual development, enrichment, seminars, and in-depth study. The model is designed to provide multiple learning opportunities that can be tailored to the interests as well as the skill levels of students. Orientation gives students and teachers an opportunity to develop a foundation for the program while individual devel

2108

The West Virginia State Educational Technology Plan does reflect what I feel are some important priorities. It establishes a program for technology acquisition that calls for an increased number of computers and projectors each year, for example, yet it also emphasizes professional development instead of merely the provision of technology. One of the key objectives it states is to "Provide for teachers, administrators and school staff, high-quality, research-based, job-embedded, technology professional development that is aligned with local, state and national standards and course of study content standards" ("West Virginia State Educational Technology Plan," 2007, p. 50). On the other hand, the plan fails to address the issues raised in the material studied in this class. The learning objectives are extremely general and do not include guidelines for achieving student engagement or project-based learning. The term "21st century" is used liberally in the plan, referring to skills, tools, development, and other facets of education, but it

710

Introduction According to Strauss and Kinard (2008:1), "5 years ago titles like 'Chief Brand Officer' (CBO) or 'SVP of Brand Strategy' didn't exist. Today, they're highly coveted, global roles that pilot an organization's most important asset." One of the world's strongest brands is Coca Cola. Strategically, Coca Cola has changed its branding strategy in order to embrace a more holistic marketing orientation. This is specifically because of increased competition that is a threat to the company, as well as the opportunities offered it from emerging lucrative markets like China. This analysis will compare Coca Cola's former branding strategy - which was highly patriotic and American-based - with its current marketing strategy that is holistic and seeks to brand Coca Cola by associating it with foreign cultures. Body The switch in marketing strategy at Coca Cola is not only a reflection of increased global competition and emerging and lucrative markets. It is also a direct reflection of macroeconomic and demographic factors. In the U.S., macro-environmental and demographic factors have traditionally shaped C

769

CPI's decision to expand involves a number of issues that must be addressed, as well as some hurdles that could cause problems if not planned for. One issue that CPI needs to tackle is the fact that expansion will change the way it does business. Operating a multi-site business, for example, will be vastly different from operating a single-site business. CPI will have further decisions to make, such as whether to bring in new personnel to run the new sites or move existing personnel and what sites to choose ("The Art of Geographic Expansion in Business," 2008).

386

Current Economic Conditions The administration of President George H.W. Bush has fashioned economic policies that are much more in keeping with Keynesian economic theory than the classical economic theory of individuals like Adam Smith and David Ricardo. Classical economic theory advocates free markets in the sense that an "invisible hand" helps regulate markets through the unfettered forces of demand and production (Adam, 2008, p. 1). The concept "laissez-faire" is part of classical economic theory, the doctrine that market forces should dictate the economy and not government (Adam, 2008). Keynesian economic theory is based on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes. Keynes rejected classical economic theory, especi

496

In each of A Doll's House, Death of a Salesman, and A Raisin in the Sun, the main characters suffer from illusion, become disillusioned, and come to a tragic end because of the disillusionment. In Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, Nora Torvald abandons her family to escape the restrictive confines of patriarchy, marriage, and economic control of women typical of her society. In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, after years of maintaining illusions about himself, his family, and the American Dream, succumbs to disillusionment and ultimately commits suicide. In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Younger Jr.'s disillusionment over living in a racist society where opportunities for African Americans are limited nearly breaks apart his family before he is rescued by their love. In this sense, Nora and Willy's fates are more tragic than Walter's, but the illusions and disillusionment of all three of these characters serve as specific criticisms of socie

2031

A number of performance measures are used within a health care organization to determine fiscal solvency. Kindig (1998) pointed out that the most basic measures include cost per unit of service, but that such measures are often inadequate to assess performance because of the wide variety of programs and clinical/surgical services that are offered within a single institution. Obtaining data on reimbursement rates is seen by Kindig (1998) as one way of determining average cost per service by category or type. While different insurance companies and third party payers have different rate schedules for reimbursement, health care institutions must achieve an average reimbursement l

460

The future of America's transportation policy and network is vital in America's ability to remain competitive internationally. According to Victor Mendez, President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), "Our generation inherited the world's best transportation system made possible by the commitment of the past two generations to invest in the country's future. We have spent that inheritance" (Transportation, 2008, p. 1). From a lack of capacity to meet demand (highways, railways, mass transit, etc.) to increasing demand for highway use and low levels of mass transit ridership, America faces a number of challenges to remain competitive with countries like China or India. This analysis will discuss some of the pressures on America's transportation network and what challenges must be addressed to assure its vitality and competitiveness in future. According to Pete Rahn, the Director of the Missouri Department of Transport

810

The Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) handed down a decision in March 2008 in the case of Cheung v. F C of T, holding that self-education expenses incurred by a full-time hospitality management student who worked at two hotels during the course of her studies were not deductible ("Self-Education Expenses Not Deductible," 1). At issue in this analysis is a description of the decision by the AAT, a summary of the facts of the case, the rationale for the decision, and the general principles that can be discerned from this decision and whether or not the taxpayer (Cheung) is likely to be successful on appeal. The case relates to Section 8.1 of the Income Tax Assessment Act of 1997 ("General Deductions," 1), which affirms that taxpayers can deduct from the assessable income any loss or outgoing "to the extent that (a) it is incurred in gaining or producing your assessable income; or (b) it is necessarily incurred in carrying on a business for the purpose of gaining or

1504

To not care about art is on the same level as saying one does not care about history, culture, philosophy, or other aspects of human existence. This is because in many instances we come to know the history, culture, philosophy, and other aspects of existence of different peoples past and present through the art they create. In John Malcolm Russell's essay "Why Should We Care," the author argues that in essence to disassociate ourselves with the art of past cultures is to disconnect ourselves from humanity. This analysis will summarize Russell's reasons for why we must care about art, followed by my own thoughts on the significance of caring about art. Regardless of what culture we live in or what ethnicity we may be, the art of other cultures and ethnic groups remains part of our collective human experience. Russell (27) maintains that when people destroy art or plunder archaeological sites to profit from the sale of antiquities, the rest of us lose, "The losers are all of us who care about the past as a place where people like ourselves lived and still live i

732

In 1986, then Senator William Proxmire (Dem-Wisconsin) presented the "Golden Fleece" award for wasteful government spending to the Urban Mass Transit Administration (UMTA) for "playing Santa Claus to the nation's cities" (Moore, 1986, p. 1). Proxmire was referring to the federal government's 10-year, $40 billion investment in urban transit, which he called a "spectacular flop" (Moore, 1986, p. 1). Federal funding continues to serve as the backbone for highway and mass transit projects in states and cities across the nation. However, more than a decade after Senator Proxmire criticized this system of funding as wasteful, not much appears to have changed. The federal government subsidizes both highway and mass transit development in the U.S. The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) was created in 1956 as part of the Highway Revenue Act (Highway, 2008). The HTF collects tax revenues from excise taxes on highway motor fuel and truck-related taxes on tires, sales of trucks, and heavy vehicle use (Highway, 2008). These taxes are marked for expenditure for highway and mass transit development. In 1983, the Mass Transit Account

767

One of the fundamental elements in a democracy is suffrage, the universal right of adult citizens to cast ballots in municipal, state, and national elections and in doing so, exercise a degree of influence over the political process. However, "voter turnout is among the lowest in the Western world and America ranks in the bottom three of countries that hold free elections" (Ralph Nader for President Campaign, 1). There are many reasons why people choose not to vote, but the issue in this report is why it is important to vote even when a voter may feel that he or she is only choosing between the lesser of two evils and the related question of whether or not voters should support a third party candidate that has no chance or winning instead of supporting a major party candidate whose views are at least acceptable. A brief analysis of the elements of political participation in the United States and the effects of political parties will be provided. The thesis to be addressed is t

1260

Political advertisements generally fall into two broad categories. According to Ted Brader (21), in Campaigning for Hearts and Minds, most commonly "scholars have characterized ads as either positive or negative according to the 'tone" of the information given." A recent political advertisement by Republican presidential candidate John McCain is being characterized as a negative ad, showing images of press fawning over Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as if he were a celebrity. To make that point even more clear, the advertisement features media-frenzy celebrities like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. The ad, called "Celeb," juxtaposes images of Obama speaking to a massive crowd in Berlin with those of the female celebrities known more for their celebrity than substance (McCain 1). The ad has generated criticism for McCain, from the Obama camp as well as from Hilton, who made a response video throwing herself into the political ring for president and in which s

1296

A number of factors, known as macroeconomic principles, are used as indicators of the overall performance of the economy. These principles include such factors as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Real GDP, the unemployment rate, the inflation rate, and the interest rate. This analysis will define these macroeconomic principles, along with a discussion of the circular flow diagram, which illustrates the interaction of households, government, and businesses. A conclusion will discuss how economic conditions are affecting my organization, and which is the most important economic indicator affecting my firm. There are a number of macroeconomic principles that are used as indicators of the health of a particular nation's economy, including GDP, real GDP, inflation, interest rates, and unemployment rates. Gross Domestic Product is one of the most significant economic indicators of the state of any economy. GDP "measures an economy's total expenditures on newly produced goods and services and the total income earned from their produc

708

Introduction The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the U.S. Bill of Rights that "expressly prohibits the U.S. Congress from making laws...that infringe the freedom of speech" (First 1). Over time, the Supreme Court has ruled on a number of cases that have shaped free speech parameters. In Schenck v. United States (1919), Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., established the "clear and present danger" test, in which spoken words that illustrate a clear and present danger "to bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent" are not protected by the First Amendment (First 2). Because of the threat of Communism during the Cold War, in 1940 Congress passed the Smith Act, which "made punishable the advocacy of the propriety of overthrowing or destroying any government in the U.S. by force and violence" (First 2). During the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court ruled in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (

1761

Existentialism is a philosophy that rejects man-made or conventional values or religious doctrine. An atheistic perspective, existentialism sees a Godless universe with no meaning or justice inherent in the world. Solomon and Higgins (279) maintain that existentialism views existence as "a sense of confrontation between ourselves and our demands for rationality and justice, on the one hand, and in 'indifferent universe' on the other." Existentialists often remained detached from life, whether it offers joys or tragedies, seeing little meaning in an unjust and meaningless universe in the face of man's mortality. Fewer descriptions could better describe Mersault, the main character in Albert Camus' "The Stranger." This analysis will use Mersault's attitudes, feelings and behaviors in "The Stranger" to illustrate various elements and attitudes of the philosophy of existentialism. Albert Camus was born in Algeria in 1913 and died in an automobile accident on January

1033

The traditional view of man is a carnal one. It portrays him as a biological organism that inhabits a three-dimensional world where space is delimited by boundaries of ownership or jurisdiction apart from which the space has no intrinsic meaning. In reality, however, man is a cosmic being, connected to the universal and eternal by way of the sacred. In their book The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion, Mircea Eliade and Willard R. Trask assert that there are two kinds of space, two kinds of time, and two kinds of objects-the sacred and the profane. Of these two types, it is only the sacred that is valuable; the profane is irrelevant. This paper is predicated upon that insight, and it will examine the issue of the sacredness of time, space, and objects in the light of Biblical clues that can explain why Eliade's and Trask's assertion is valid. Eliade and Trask describe the concept of sacred space by citing the scripture where the Lord tells Moses, "D

1858

The words of Abraham Lincoln delivered at Gettysburg were ones that from the perspective of Gary Wills (89), "remade America." Wills goes on to add that "in the crucible of the occasion, Lincoln distilled the meaning of the war, of the nation's purpose, of the remaining task, in a statement that is straightforward and magical." In his address at Gettysburg, a succinct, direct 272-word speech, Lincoln successfully connected the cherished principles of the Declaration of Independence with

340

Young males and females are at risk for developing any number of behaviors or associations that are risky or overtly dangerous. Among these developments, participation in a gang is of enormous significance in that such groups are linked to crime, violence, drug use and abuse, school dropout and failure, and other activities that are viewed as both deviant and destructive (Grand Prairie Police Department, 2008). While familial factors such as divorce, single-parent homes, poverty, poor or abusive parenting or guardianship, and drug or alcohol abuse within the family are linked to a potential for gang involvement, other factors can also be identified that place young people in the age 12 to 18 year-old cohort at risk

488

The hypothetical classroom activity is one in which students document on the computer what they smell, taste, see, feel, and hear at each of five "sense stations," respectively, and then participate in a group discussion where they explain how these sensory experiences taught them something new. The information they documented at the sense stations would be compiled into a "sense mystery." This classroom activity meets the outcome for the assignment, which was to plan strategies to manage student learning in a technology-enhanced environment, creating an enthralling learning experience for the students involving technology. The activity integrates sensory experiences with the use of technology, an approach that makes the technology more exciting for students because it is being used to document things that they have experienced firsthand. In addition, the writing of a mystery is compelling, exciting, and creative, so it would be an engaging and engrossing exercis

1132

At a time when nations like China and the U.K. are developing high-speed, sophisticated new railways, rail travel in the U.S. and the railway infrastructure continues to decline. America's passenger rails are managed by Amtrak, a company that was created in 1972. According to Semmens (1982) during the first decade of its existence, Amtrak cost the U.S. economy over $12 billion and more than 125,000 jobs. Believing private railroads were driving away riders deliberately, Amtrak was created through taxpayer funding with the goal of "revitalizing rail passenger operations" (Semmens, 1982, p. 1). A quarter-century later, Amtrak has failed greatly in its goal and represents serious consequences for passenger rail travel in the U.S. and the economy. In the wake of declining ridership, reduced numbers of routes, numbers of trains serving existing routes, and continued economic losses; in 2003 the Bush Administration created a plan for Amtrak under the Passenger Rail Investment Reform Act. The plan breaks Amtrak into three entities. The Northeast Corridor would be owned by the Department of Transportation and "leased to a multistate compact" (Zukows

789

A number of factors in today's business environment have turned management focus toward supply chain management. Increased global competition, rising costs, and rapid technological change have created greater pressure on organizations who wish to remain competitive to improve efficiency and cut costs. Improving efficiency and cutting costs at all stages of supply chain management is viewed as critical to remain competitive. From the military to retailers and automobile manufacturers, organizations are achieving competitive advantage by improving efficiency and lowering costs associated with supply chain management. Many organizations are focusing on the supply chain as a means of improving efficiency and lowering costs. Vander Vorst, Van Dijk, and Beulens (2001) argue many firms are striving for supply chain managements systems that exhibit "leagility," the "combination of agility and leanness" (p. 2). Many firms have streamlined and automated outbound operations. However, inbound operations have not experienced such improvements. As Gonzal

721

Introduction Forensics or forensic science is defined as the application of science to questions that are of interest to the legal system (Forensic science & forensic medicine, 2008). Forensic scientists must be impartial and draw conclusions that are based solely on what evidence shows. This particular scientific discipline depends on the proper application of the elements of the scientific method. This report will examine the scientific method as employed in forensic science during a criminal investigation. It will provide a focus on psychological profiling, which comprises an increasingly significant source of information used during criminal investigations to identify suspects and establish motive, opportunity, and so forth (Goodwill & Alison, 2007). Overview of the Scientific Method One of the most significant developments in the history of science was the scientific method, the procedure used by scientists in many different disciplines to acquire knowledge. Measu

2364