Child Labour in Third World Countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Child Labour in Third World Countries - Essay Example In 2002, the U.S. Congress passed legislation ordering the Department of Labour's Bureau of International Labour Affairs to study the relationship between education and military expenditure in countries where child labour is recognized to be particularly common. The word child labour in general refers to any economic activity carried out by someone not above the age of 15. Not all work done by children is harmful or manipulative. Child labour does not normally refer to part-time work after school or rightful internship opportunities for young people. Nor does it refer to adolescent people helping out in the family business or on the family farm. Rather, the "child labour" of concern is general employment that prevents children from getting education, and which is often performed under conditions dangerous to the physical and mental health of the child. The International Labour Organization, or the ILO, defines child labour as "some types of work" done by children under the age of 18. The ILO also says that child labour includes full-time work done by children under 15 years of age that prevents them from going to school (getting an education), or that is dangerous to their health. More complete definitions of what child labour is in regard, age restrictions, job types, and exceptions can be found in convention 138, convention 182, and the convention on the rights of the child. (Child Labour) Other sources and organizations disagree on what child labour is. Some utter that it is merely perilous work or work that obstruct with a child's education, while others are broader and include any work done by children working for compensation. Some organizations, such as UNICEF draw a line between child labour and child work, which can consist of light work done by children above the age of 12. Child Labour in the Fashion Industry There are no reliable statistics on the rate of child employment in any particular economic activity, including the fashion industry. Most information on child labour in the garment industry comes from eyewitness accounts, studies by non -governmental organizations (NGOs) and academicians, reports by journalists, and studies by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Unreliable information obtained during the preparation of this report indicates that in some of the countries examined, fewer children could currently be working on garment exports for the U.S. market than two years ago. A striking example involves Bangladesh, where great numbers of children worked in garment factories as lately as 1994. Worldwide media attention and intimidation of boycotts and cancelled work orders led to the dismissal of thousands of child workers from the garment sector unfortunately without any backup support for them. Thus, it is possible that in the lack of government programs to help the children, the abrupt discharge of child workers can put them in danger, rather than protect them. More research is required so that governments, industry, international organizations, and others apprehensive of the welfare of children are better capable of designing suitable programs. It is obvious, though, those local and national assurances to collective and free education for children are instant and optimistic steps which can and should be taken. One cause for any possible downward

E-Commerce and the Value Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words

E-Commerce and the Value Proposal - Essay Example The platform of e-commerce has emerged as one of the popular modes of performing related operations of retail chain businesses in an electric form. Notably, the activities in e-commerce include performing operations and making transactions with the use of internet. For several businesses, the platform of e-commerce is also used for gathering relevant information about consumer market and competitors’ actions amid the prime ones. The rationale behind conducting this study was to explore the benefits and identifying the challenges that Sainsbury’s experienced with respect to introduction of e-commerce in its business process. Besides, further supporting the assessment of the identified issues, certain recommendations has been made that will certainly assist the business of Sainsbury’s to improve its operational process. Considering the fact that the platform of e-commerce has emerged as one of the beneficial approaches to reach more customers in highly conventional setting thus, apparently, the prospective to conduct this study was to explore e-commerce trend in the global retail market. Along with this prospect, the significance of conducting the study also laid in exploring the issues that Sainsbury’s faced within aggressive e-commerce trend in the marketplace by other competitive businesses. Rationale after the study resolution to recognised the problems of the corporation that can be positively to sustenance the company in developing its commercial procedure. Appropriately, this study will support the company.

Management Consultancy Services Essay Example for Free

Management Consultancy Services Essay Following the Enron case and others, the place and role of professional advisers within corporate governance was thrown into public focus and as a result the professional management bodies across the world revisited their policies on various regulatory mechanisms. The policies formulated by Institute of Management Consultancy, United Kingdom is taken as a reference in the discussions below. The general principles are summarized. Self-regulation is best delivered through a modern, professional approach, i.e. through standards backed by disciplinary arrangements that are supported by external validation and a Code of Professional Conduct and Ethical Guidelines that apply to all members. A framework is required at the organizational and individual level to ensure that clients are able to make an informed decision about their choice of consultancy advice. A sector-wide definition of management consultancy should be developed that will assist in a number of ways, including the debate around self-regulation, and be sufficiently flexible to accommodate new providers of consultancy. The sector-wide definition should be Management consultancy is the provision to management of objective advice and assistance relating to the strategy, structure, management and operations of an organization in pursuit of its long-term purposes and objectives. Such assistance may include the identification of options with recommendations; the provision of an additional resource and/or the implementation of solutions. The definition of a management consultant should be Management consultants are those organisations and/or individuals that participate in the process of management consultancy within a framework of appropriate and relevant professional disciplines and ethics designed for the activity of management consultancy. The principle of detailed technical regulation of management consultancy should be rejected and that the essential skills of consulting are primarily behavioral, stressing the importance of competences and ethical standards. Any regulatory regime requires a significant element of independence from the profession in terms of membership and operation. The option of a regulatory system that provides easily accessible information from clients on the performance of firms and individuals should be considered carefully. The global nature of consultancy means that the complexities of jurisdiction and applicable law need to be taken into account and the dangers of regulatory systems being used as restraints on trade or for the furtherance of the interests of trade blocs recognized. The question of the interaction of parallel regulatory systems needs to be explored thoroughly with a wide range of professional and trade bodies. Management consultancy is immensely competitive. Any self-regulatory regime must not fetter the ability of management consultants to compete for business, with the opportunities for other companies that they may bring. The Government does not have a formal role in regulating the profession of management consultancy. Its role is to encourage and support stakeholders in management consultancy, including clients and other institutes, to develop a system that protects users and enables the UK profession to compete in a global market. 2. PROFESSIONAL CONSULTANCY ORGANIZATIONS CHALLENGES Traditionally the state has awarded associations of professionals the privilege of self-regulation in return for an assurance that members abide by a set of standards and an ethical code of conduct to ensure protection of the public interest. As increasing levels of education and social awareness give rise to greater expectations traditional structures, rules and regulations are challenged and justification for privilege is questioned. The position of trade and professional bodies is also made more complex by the increasing demand from members for such bodies to defend them from these pressures. This representational role has to be balanced carefully against the public protection responsibility. The regulatory function itself is not without its pitfalls. They are cent red on ensuring that everyone in the market is covered, how any regulations are to be enforced and also possibly ensuring that restrictive trade practices legislation is not used against them. All such arrangements are potentially unstable and perhaps are held together predominantly by the fear of more onerous statutory regulation. But these difficulties are compounded in an international environment. The increasing globalization that result in emergence of a single market mean that the developments of rules and regulations concerning two issues competition amongst professionals and standardization of qualifications are of particular concern. But the profession is also global in nature and regulation has also to be seen in against a shifting pattern of international trading and political structures. One driver for change is seen as ..deregulation and privatization, combined with a gradual shifting of policy-making to the global level. If regulation is the key, what form should it take? It can be introduced at a number of levels, i.e. the activity (technical regulation); individuals (standards and qualifications); firms (the trade association model) or the profession as a whole (ethics and principles). All of them have their difficulties. Some believe that the accounting profession in the USA had the wrong approach, i.e. Based on strict adherence to rules, it inadvertently encouraged innovations of the worst kind; creative accounting. 3. SHOULD MANAGEMENT CONSULTANCY BE REGULATED? There is, equally, the view that regulation is not needed at all. The market will regulate itself. This, of course, ignores that fact that business takes place within a societal framework and the view that the market is the ultimate regulator is, surely, flawed. It is based on the notion, sound in theory but questionable in practice, that the market is a perfect mechanism. Others suggest that the secret lies in the education of the client to make it an informed marketplace. It also has to balanced with the view that, if management consultancy wishes to be seen as professional, Professional awareness and behavior come when the early juggling with a little knowledge gives way to skilled application of a generally accepted body of knowledge according to accepted standards of integrity. It is also the case that the development of partnerships between clients and professional service firms (including investment by the latter in the former) may well limit the willingness of clients to shop around. The key question then is what is regulation for. In essence of course it is to ensure that the customers or stakeholders receive the goods and services that they need and that the suppliers claim to provide. In the case of management consultancy this must mean that clients receive the best possible advice to help them in taking their organizations forward. In a market dominated by a few global brands, it is about extending the transparency and extent of choice to enable clients to choose on the basis of expertise, quality of delivery and cost. It is also about balancing the need to extend these principles down from the firm to the individual and the costs of any system. The government view has been that good self-regulation coupled with demanding industry and people standards help companies compete in a global marketplace. When combined with effective self-regulatory systems and where appropriate supporting mechanisms exist to encourage good practice and resolve cross-border disputes, this development will reduce barriers and realize a single market worldwide. 4. STEP 1 IN REGULATAION WHO ARE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS? A number of definitions have been developed in recent years. The following is a small selection: Management consultants are used first to provide wider additional expertise than is available within a single organization. Thus a change in production or marketing may require expertise in designing and implementing a new system. Secondly, management consultants are used to provide objective appraisals where it is often easier for the expert outsider to see the broader picture and recognize the long-term requirements. Thirdly, the management consultant may be needed to provide additional assistance where there is a temporary increase in the management workload. This may be to cope with a major change or new development in any area of management responsibility. The rendering of independent advice and assistance on management issues. This typically includes identifying and investigating problems and/or opportunities, recommending appropriate action and helping to implement those solutions. Management consulting is an independent professional advisory service assisting mangers and organizations in achieving organizational purposes and objectives by solving management and business problems, identifying and seizing new opportunities, enhancing learning and implementing changes. The term Management Consultancy applies when a firm is engaged for a definitive duration to undertake specific enquiries, conduct studies, identify options and make recommendations or give advice of a strategic nature relating to the organization, management and operation of [the organization] for consideration/implementation. These definitions or descriptions have a number of threads in common. They are concerned with management issues of a significant, although not necessarily strategic, importance. Secondly, they are concerned with the role of the expert outsider. Finally, they extend the role of management consultants beyond advice and into implementation. Taking these threads into account the Institute believes that the sector-wide definition should be Management consultancy is the provision to management of objective advice and assistance relating to the strategy, structure, management and operations of an organization in pursuit of its long-term purposes and objectives. Such assistance may include the identification of options with recommendations; the provision of an additional resource and/or the implementation of solutions. Some have raised the issue of whether, if the professional activity is defined, the role of the individual management consultant also needs to be placed within a definitional framework. 5. REGULATION WIDER ISSUES Conversely, it is likely to be the case that others, even if introduced for the best of reasons, may see any system of regulation, as a restraint of trade. The danger is that the introduction of any self-regulatory system may also require an accompanying increase in bureaucracy and industry overheads and that the perceived failure of any such system may provoke a call for statutory intervention. The potential costs of any regulatory regime, however light its touch, are also of concern when Government does not seem to appreciate the costs, whether financial or opportunity, that may arise. Additional administration for practices and activity by professional bodies require resourcing and, in many cases, it is practitioners who have to bear the burden. The reality is that management consultancy, like every other business, is immensely competitive. Any regulatory proposals must take into account the need for the consulting profession to retain flexibility to adapt to a new global and technology-driven world. While global practices dominate the market, internal consultancies within domestic companies are turning to external and, hence, foreign markets, for business and small practices in niche markets are also competing on a global stage. The key is responding to the needs of clients rather than a regulatory regime that will always be behind developments in the marketplace. 6. CODE OF ETHICS INSTITUTE OF MGMT CONSULTANTS, USA All IMC USA members pledge in writing to abide by the Institutes Code of Ethics. Their adherence to the Code signifies voluntary assumption of self-discipline. The Code specifies: Clients * Members will serve their clients with integrity, competence, and objectivity, using a professional approach at all times, and placing the best interests of the client above all others. * Members will establish realistic expectations of the benefits and results of their services. * Members will treat all client information that is not public knowledge as confidential, will prevent it from access by unauthorized people, and will not take advantage of proprietary or privileged information, either for use by them, their firm or another client, without the clients permission. * Members will avoid conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such, and will disclose to a client any circumstances or interests that might influence their judgment and objectivity. * Members will refrain from inviting an employee of an current or previous client to consider alternative employment without prior discussion with the client. Engagements * Members will only accept assignments which they possess the expertise to perform, and will only assign staff with the requisite expertise. * Members will ensure that before accepting any engagement a mutual understanding of the objectives, scope, work plan, and fee arrangements has been established. * Members will offer to withdraw from a consulting engagement when their objectivity or integrity may be impaired. Fees * Members will agree in advance with a client on the basis for fees and expenses, and will charge fees and expenses that are reasonable, legitimate and commensurate with the services delivered and the responsibility accepted. * Members will disclose to their clients in advance any fees or commissions that they receive for equipment, supplies or services they could recommend to their clients. Profession * Members will respect the individual and corporate rights of clients and consulting colleagues, and will not use proprietary information or methodologies without permission. * Members will represent the profession with integrity and professionalism in their relations with their clients, colleagues and the general public. * Members will report violations of this Code to the Institute, and will ensure that other consultants working on behalf of the member abide by this Code. The Institute of Management Consultants USA, Inc. (IMC USA) adopted its first Code of Ethics in 1968. Since that time IMC USA has modified the wording of the Code for additional clarity and relevance to clients. The current Code was approved February 22, 2002. It is consistent with the International Code of Professional Conduct published by the International Council of Management Consulting Institute (ICMCI) of which IMC USA is a founding member. Members who apply for the CMC (Certified Management Consultant) designation must pass a written examination on the application of the IMC USA Code of Ethics to client service. The CMC mark is awarded to consultants who have met high standards of education, experience, competence and professionalism. 7. CODE OF ETHICS THE GROUND REALITY This paper is based on an Ethics Survey conducted by the Institute of Management Consultants among American business consulting clients of IMC members who are Certified Management Consultants (CMCs). Results * Over-promising expected results and/or benefits (Nearly half of the respondents-46%) * Not serving the best interest of the client (32%) * Under-delivering results vs. commitment (31%) A high percentage of respondents40%indicated that they believe professional service firms would lie to protect themselves. Thirty-nine percent (39%) also indicated that they think employees would lie to protect themselves. Counterbalancing this, however, was the expression of 54% of the respondents who indicted that in a difficult situation, they believe employees will behave honorably. Half of the respondents also believe that professional service firms do place a high value on the welfare of the clients organization. It can therefore be concluded that while business executives believe that both employees and professional service firms do have an interest in the success and welfare of the organization/enterprise, they also feel that both groups would be inclined to act to protect their own interest or enhance their own position-an action which could inevitably be to the detriment of the enterprise. Two additional issues in which professional service firms can be faulted by business executives included: * Allowing the projects scope to expand/creep. (One-fourth of the respondents indicated this was happening frequently.) * Being imprecise or non-specific when setting expectations. (Only 19% indicated that this happens frequently, yet 68% indicated this occasionally happens.)

Economic Inequality in Australia

Economic Inequality in Australia Why has economic inequality increased in Australia since the 1970s? What have been the consequences of this increase in the quality of life in Australia? Since 1970, people have been challenging the issue of â€Å"conventional wisdom† that was connected to the scarcity aspect rather than attaining successful way of managing affluence. There have been various real problems that required to be addressed. Some of these problems were related to wastage of resources, especially on the weapons of war, the lingering poverty and the imbalance of quality among the public provided services and the privately produced goods that can be summed as â€Å"public squalor and private opulence.† After the post-war period, a new world has been delivered, where there have been dominant ideas and concerns over the past on declining significance that is more than inequality (Atkinson, Piketty Saez 2011). There are few things that can be evidenced in the modern social history rather than the interest of declining the inequality as part of the economic issue. There are various reasons to this. Inequality was not getting to it worse, but it is s till profound. Large part of the population had a sense of the economic inequality and security level. The real income level for all the people increased with dramatically while the wealth for those who were at the top stagnated. This situation was well described by certain theory of transformation. The theory indicates that, as the country was more industrialized, the citizens were able to move away from agriculture to industry. This issue caused inequality to rise since some of the people become richer while other remained poorer. Taking full industrialization aspect of the country would have caused mass education, increased wage for the workforce, and increase political powers for the mass populations. These were part of the issues that could have caused an increased level of inequality in the country. The income inequality level in most of the OECD countries has increased in the past 20-30 years among them Australia (Alderson, Beckfield Nielsen 2005) This paper will explore the causes of increased level of inequality in the country while outlining the nature of the economies using both political and historical techniques. The argument will be based on the fact that, the increased inequality level has been due to the deliberate policy, government ideas of shifting the income from wages to profits. As well, there was a shift of income from low to the middle-income earners and to those who earn higher and s queezing the consumption level with an aim of increasing the reward that is available for the investment. Skill Biased Technical Changes This has been one of the factors that have been debated as a cause of distribution of market outcomes. In Australia, the dominant explanation that can be cited for the increased income inequality is the impact created by the skill-biased technical changes that have been fostered by the globalization. Skill-biased technical changes can be set out as the shifts that are experienced in the production technology that do favor all the skilled individuals (such as the more educated, more capable and more experienced) than the unskilled individuals. They are being favored due to the increased relative production capacity hence has a relative demand (Alderson, Beckfield Nielsen 2005). Skill-biased technical changes in the country have been cited as a mean that deliver premium wages to all individual who have certain specified skills and more to the workforce that has higher education level. The first impact of this issue has been due to the globalization, where production of the unskilled i ndividual is considered quite low. In the economy, labor-intensive commodities are being outsourced to the low wage economic groups, hence reducing the prices. As well, the demand for the unskilled labor in the country has been quite low. As well, another cause is associated with the rise of the production system that do rely on the information technology levels, advanced technology. This situation has a directly increased demand for the skilled and educated staffs compared to the less educated. In the manufacturing sectors, there is an evident rise in the relative employment for the high -educated skilled production staffs, who usually receives higher salaries and wages (Bramble Kuhn 2011). Polarization of Income Distribution at the Top There have been various studies undertaken by scholars to investigate on the extent at which the income inequality may be the main product of the relative low income for the poor individuals. As well, the studies have highlighted or consider the aspect of relative higher incomes for the rich people (Bramble Kuhn 2011). According to most studies, it was found that, the rise in inequality level is related to the aspect of polarization rather than the downgrading or upgrading that may lead to hollowing out of the model income part of the society. As well, it was found that, in the societies that experience the large increased level of inequality, upgrading would have to take precedence over the aspect of downgrading causes such as polarization. In other better terms, the wells off individual have the chances of becoming much richer. This has been the pattern that is evidenced by the rapid increase for the top income earners. In Australia, the share of the total income that is taken by the top 10 percent has decreased from 50 per cent in 1929 and in 1932, it decreased to 35 percent but later in 2007, it increased to 50 percent (Bramble Kuhn 2011). Back in year 1970, the decline of inequity was celebrated but one scholar noted that â€Å"it no longer seemed possible for the ownership of tangible assets of the public and the disposal of the income to pass through negligible number of hands. After few years later, this was the situation on distribution of income changes. The situation that was experienced indicated that, almost one percent of the rich population was able to appropriate more than half of the increase in the national income. The remarkable idea was related to the degree of the top 0.1 percent of the income earners that captured the misappropriated share of the overall national income. According to statistics, the Australian growth rate offers no indication of having experience to most of the population (Brandolini Smeeding 2009). Back in year 1975-2006, the country average real income per household in the country grew by 32.2 per cent but taking the top 1 per cent, the growth was by 17.9 per cent. This is a findi ng that has been challenging the primacy of the skilled biased technical changes as part of the increased income inequality in the country. The rise in the top incomes has been greater than the suggestion of the extra productivity levels of the skilled workers. As well, very few of the top income earners have higher education and the skilled non-finance professions (Brandolini Smeeding 2009). Tax and Welfare Regime In Australia, the income inequality level has increased and the rise may significantly be fostered by the inequality in the market incomes. As well, changes in the tax and welfare regimes have in some ways reduced or increased the impact experienced in the market outcomes. There was in an increase in the inequality of the market outcome between 1979 and 2004 caused by the higher tax rates and the increased level of generosity on social assistance and employment assistance. This was taken in the ways of counteracting the effect of increased inequality in market outcomes or the households. In 1990s, the market income inequality grew rapider and, the tax and welfare program failed in reducing the polarization effect. Lowering the personal taxes mainly for the highest incomes reduced the issue of unemployment benefits, and this assisted in accounting for the rise in inequality. Increased social assistance and tax and welfare reforms were the most deliberate policy and decisions that caused the impact of inequality in the country (Card DiNardo 2002). An argument that was raised stated that, if the effect if taxation of the income at the top was frozen, there would be a very big chunk of the increased inequality for the super-rich and the rest part of the population. As well, recognizing the skill-biased technical changes to have a direct impact on the jobs and wages, it was criticized that the fixation of inequality was among the large section of the income distribution pattern. This was an issue that was obscuring the government policy that targeted becoming more generous toward individuals who were at the top (Bramble 2008). There is an extent of strength of the trade union organization that has been crucial when it comes to limiting the income inequality. This argument has been linked with the decline in income inequality in the post-war years that was d ue to the strong trade unions, the progressive tax methods, low level of unemployment and the welfare system. Collective bargaining has been cited to be the cause of reduced the inequality of pay when compared to the competitive nature market. The inequality increase has been due to the result of a decline in the crucial bargaining power in the government expenditures (Bramble 2008). Economic crisis of 1974-1975 actively contributed to the inequality in Australia. This economic crisis erupted after Whitlam Labor government was re-elected in 1974. During this time, the government policies that were in place swung from the Keynesian stimulus of austerity with struggle of a Minister policy. As well, the Australian trade union has won a case on pay rise but the level of inflation was spiral and out of control hence alarming the business. The society polarized sharply. Australia had strong and organized trade unions that laid their attempts of defending the unions and gain wage rise that could have sustained the real values of price, while the government tried to restrain the wages. This plunged the country into severe political crisis, and this caused seven years of a political impasse. The business, government, and the unions were quite mobilizing with attempts to defend their interest. The political impasse ended in year 1983, this was followed by election of new l abor government, and there were results of unprecedented and restructured economy (Borland, Gregory Sheehan 2001) To end the crisis, the new elected government has to propose Prices and Income Accord that was part of agreement set by trade unions and guaranteed an industrial peace and wage restraints in exchange of guarantee and the government way of protecting the real wages and improve the social wage. All business representative were to be consulted and the trade unions movements especially on economic, tax and social issues. After the Labor won the election, the agreements become the structure of the government for the next one decade. There were a closer ways of monitoring the prices and all the workplace and unions that attempted to increase the wages beyond the maximum agreed rate was highly disciplined (Bagguley 1995). Along the wage policies, the government was able to restructure the business taxation policies. The statutory tax rates were reduced in year 1983 to 46 per c ent and in year 1996 to 36 percent. Changes in the rules that were applied in corporate tax caused a great impact on the effective rate and corporate tax decline. Later in year 1986, the fringe benefits tax and the capital gain tax were introduced (Card DiNardo 2002). These were some of the crucial measures that tried to reduce the income inequality level. The personal taxes that were charged in the higher income individual were cut in two crucial ways. As well, the government has to introduce dividend amputation that tried to reduce the income tax on share dividend a significant reform that benefited wealthy individuals. In the history years, business used to pay for company tax, and dividends were paid to shareholders and they were expected to pay tax on them (Alderson, Beckfield Nielsen 2005) Conclusion The society will never be equal, there must be horizon for the disadvantaged, and they are hard to rise. Normal operations of the economy may place great economy power to the hand of business owners especially when it comes to employee’s relation. The government has to take some alternative and facilitate successful and profitable operations for the business that target a protection of a business owner from the employee’s harmful actions. The government has ideas of reducing the inequality with consideration of low unemployment, increased levels of social security, minimum wages and higher marginal tax rates for the income earners. References Bibliography: Alderson, AS, Beckfield J Nielsen F 2005, â€Å"Exactly how has income inequality changed? Patterns of distributional change in core societies,† International Journal of comparative sociology, vol. 46, no. 5-6, pp. 405–23 Atkinson, AB, Piketty T Saez E 2011, â€Å"Top incomes in the long run of history,† Journal of Economic Literature, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 3–71 Bagguley, P 1995, â€Å"Protest, poverty, and power: a case study of the anti-poll tax movement,† Sociological review, vol. 43, no. 4, November, pp. 693–19 Borland, J, Gregory B Sheehan P 2001, â€Å"Inequality and economic change,† Work rich, work poor: inequality and economic change in Australia, Centre for Strategic Economic Studies, Victoria University, Melbourne, pp. 1–20 Bramble, T Kuhn R 2011, â€Å"Labors conflict: big business, workers and the politics of class,† Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne. Bramble, T 2008, â€Å"Trade Unionism in Australia: a history from flood to ebb tide,† Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne Brandolini, A Smeeding MT 2009, â€Å"Income inequality in richer and OECD countries,† The Oxford Handbook of Economic Inequality, Oxford University Press, pp. 71–100. Card, D DiNardo JE 2002, â€Å"Skill-biased technological change and rising Wage inequality: some problems and puzzles,† Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 20, no. 4, October, pp. 733–83. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

The Treasure of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pisan Essay

The Treasure of the City of Ladies by Christine de Pisan Christine de Pisan’s book, The Treasure of the City of Ladies, explains in detail the various aspects of women’s lives during the late Medieval and Renaissance culture. She addresses all women of this time from those with power and authority to the poorest peasant women. Christine de Pisan focuses on three main areas of a women’s life during this time period. First she discusses the role of knowledge and education in the lives of the various women. Then she offers her advice to all the different women of varied backgrounds and social standards. She relates how all of these women are in fact connected due to common concerns. Finally, she depicts how men and women interact with one another. By describing the way in which women are treated by the men during this time, she portrays the typical relationship between men and women during Renaissance times. Women were expected to lead a very specific life, focusing on the men of their society. Throughout Christine de Pisan’s book, she refers to the three ladies of Virtue: Reason, Rectitude, and Justice. These ladies are the foundations of her teachings. She uses them to explain the relationship between men and women and how they view one another. The lady Prudence teaches all the women of that society about the â€Å"rules† they should follow in order to be good Renaissance women, specifically in their relations with men. â€Å"Now we would like to advance for their edification seven principal teachings, which according to Prudence are necessary to those who desire to live wisely and wish to have honour† (62). These teachings say that the women should love their husbands; they should live in peace with men. If they f... ...d the chance to lead a respectable life according to the â€Å"rules† of the ladies of Virtue. In the late Medieval and Renaissance time period, women had a strict standard to live up to. They should love their husbands, respect them, and obey their commands. The men in return fulfilled the women’s needs by supplying them with whatever they needed. The men and women lived with a mutual respect between themselves. Works Cited Author: Christine, de Pisan, ca. 1364-ca. 1431 Uniform Title: Livre des trois vertus. English Title: The treasure of the city of ladies, or, The book of the three virtues / Christine de Pisan ; translated with an introduction by Sarah Lawson. Published: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England ; New York, N.Y., U.S.A. : Penguin, 1985. ISBN: 014044453X (pbk.)

Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain :: essays research papers

It is my opinion that the book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain should be taught in schools because this book is very well written and can teach many lessons. I think that the people in today's world, or maybe just the USA, try to be censor and shelter the children. I think that it is wrong to censor things, this book is supposedly wrong because it says the word nigger a lot and has death in it. I think that although the word nigger was used frequently in this book it showed the separation between the slaves and the owners and how Huck overcame this separation and saw through the societies views on niggers . Racism is now a very big issue but when the book was written African Americans didn't have the rights they have today and racism didn't exist. Twain wrote this book not having to worry about racism. In our day and time they want to censor out the words like nigger but that really would be wrong because it wouldn't be realistic, people need to know what it was truly like. Sheltering people from the truth Is the worst thing you can do. If kids don't learn about how slavery was then they won't truly understand where racism comes from. In the book there is much violence. "It's a dead man. Yes, indeedy naked, too. He's been shot in de back."(pg. 50) The book is better with violence because it becomes more interesting to the reader. It becomes more of a real life situation than just a fairy tale world where nothing goes wrong, because in real life things do go wrong and people do get shot and killed. It is hard to read these kinds of things with death that are gruesome but it helps form feelings for the characters. Also it was necessary for them to find the dead man so that Huck didn't have to worry about pap taking his money. In the scene where Jim finds pap we learn more about Jim and that he is a sensitive person and was cautious not to upset Huck by letting him see pap's body. Many people could have been offended by the stereotypes in this book. For example, "I see it warn't no use wasting words—you can't learn a nigger to argue."(pg. 78) In this example Huck stereotypes Jim as being a stupid nigger that can't learn anything.

Roosevelt a Liberal and Hoover a Conservative

Throughout the history of America conflicting beliefs of how the government should affect our lives has been categorized from either a Liberal or a conservative standpoint. A liberal is one who may be considered a radical, one who believes government has a role to play in our lives and moves towards the new age of humanity. Conservatives share a completely different set of beliefs, they believe in the old ways, a government which doesn't influence our lives, and side with the rights of states and the people. According to these beliefs Hoover follows conservative beliefs more or less and Roosevelt follows a more liberal beliefs. These standpoints can be more defined by comparing them with radicals and influential figures of the age. President Hoover being who he was, was a conservative. Being raised in poverty and still achieving to gain the presidency instilled the idea in him that if he can overcome challenges and economic turmoil so should every other person in the country. Rugged Individualism, as this ideology was called, influenced Hoover against providing direct aid to the people in the Great Depression. To keep the government out of the peoples lives he gave money to business’s and banks with the hope that money would trickle down to the people. As a part of this attempt he created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in attempt to create jobs for the common people. Providing aver half a billion dollars to indirectly help the poor. (Doc C). Later in his term however Hoover began taking a more liberal stance on important issues. Realizing his previous policies didn't help the people he began asking congress to help fun public work projects. (Doc. B). One of the largest of these projects was the Hoover Dam which provided many jobs to those in need. One of the final changes of heart that Hoover experienced was giving a helping hand to unions. By passing the Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injunction Act he succeeded in outlawing yellow dog contracts, and stopped the use of injunction on strikes and boycotts. These displays of authority during his term proves Hoover to be a developing man of both conservative and liberal beliefs. Roosevelt was a Liberal president, one that strived to bring change to our government, bringing it to terms with the modern era. To bring us out of the depression Roosevelt pulled out as many new and crazy ideas as he could to try and bring our economy back to normal and benefit those in need. (doc. E) Within months of becoming president Roosevelt had already created a number of government based programs to support his three point plan to provide relief, recovery, and reform. In doing this Roosevelt proceeded in one of the most liberal actions of any president, passing the 21st amendment which canceled out another amendment. This amendment allowed for beer and wine to be sold so that the government could receive tax money. The three point plan instilled by Roosevelt included much more then just the legalization of booze. A number of what became known as Alphabet Agencies arose to help ease the need to find jobs. Programs such as the CCC helped with forest protection, while FERA directed by Hopkins granted a few billion dollars to the states to be distributed as seen fit. Other agencies such as ADA or HOLC contributed in other ways to ease the economy. These tendencies prove Roosevelt to be a Liberal president, however he saw himself as a conservative, a savior of democracy in hard times. It was because of his liberal actions that he was able to preserve conservative ways. (Doc. G) By these policies and beliefs it becomes valid point that Roosevelt is much more liberal then he is conservative. Many Influential people of the time and age can help define the outlook these two presidents and exactly where they stand. President Wilson was the embodiment of liberal thinking, bringing the nation into the first world war, making the government a part of every persons life. Coolidge was in contrast to Wilson an embodiment of conservative ideals refusing to give pity to the poor and taking part in their lives. With these marks to judge by the standpoint of Roosevelt and Hoover become very apparent. While Roosevelt may claim to be conservative, he is in fact very liberal, although not nearly as much as Wilson. Hoover may seem to be a conservative, but when compared t Coolidge it becomes clear that he is almost borderline liberal. Whether a president claims to be a liberal or a conservative his true beliefs are hidden until the full extent and intentions of his policies and actions are taken into account. The characterizations that Herbert Hoover was a conservative, and that Franklin Roosevelt is a liberal are both very valid points.