Gang Leader for a Day Essay

In so doing, Venkatesh revealed a complex mix of subculture (the Black Kings were a highly organised gang with a clear hierarchy, recruitment rituals, and socialisation processes) and culture – the gang were embedded in the day-to-day life of the Projects. Although their primary purpose was to make money through selling drugs (mainly crack cocaine), they also performed a range of secondary functions within their territory – from the provision of protection for Project residents from other gangs, through the organisation of social activities (such as Basketball games), to policing the Projects (involving things like the provision of shelter for â€Å"the homeless†.). a. Ethnicity: His South Asian ethnic background allowed him to pass among the overwhelmingly African-American subjects of his study in a way that would have probably been denied to him if he had been white (since the only â€Å"white faces† in the Projects were those of the police – and, with one or two notable exceptions, they rarely ventured into the place except to make arrests and, it is implicitly suggested, extort protection money). Venkatesh’s initial encounter with the Black Kings was one where he was mistaken for a member of a rival (Mexican) gang – his ethnicity was variously considered by the people in the Projects to be â€Å"Mexican, â€Å"Spanish† or the largely-ubiquitous label  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ay-rab†. The fact he was relatively young, casually dressed and a student at the University also gave him credentials accepted by both those in the gang and the Projects generally – something that leads into a second consideration: His ethics, however, are questionable. He started doing research and had not gotten human subjects approval. He deceived his advisor and dissertation committee about the extent that he was embedded into the gang. He saw clearly illegal activities take place and never told anyone, and once or twice did something illegal. Their claims are not only that he was unethical, but that he put people’s lives at risk, that he lied to his main informant, JT, to get into the research site, and the only person who has benefited from the book is Venkatesh. To be fair, Venkatesh did teach a course when asked to, and on occasion he brought food or drink (often alcohol) to parties and such. The tenured radical folks mention approvingly  Mitch Duneier’s Sidewalk (another great book) about homeless people and how he shares his royalties with those whom he interviewed The book’s main focus is on race, as it examines the day-to-day struggles of the virtually all African-American residents in a poor housing project. However, there is much in the book that could be mined for courses in deviance, race⠁„ethnicity, inequality, research methods, sociology of organizations, and to a lesser extent, gender. Issues of class, race and identity also surface, as Venkatesh (the child of middle-class South Asian immigrants) discusses his role as a â€Å"brown man† Southern Californian, and how his experiences shape his academic vantage point. Venkatesh sets up a clearly delineated debate on the qualitative-quantitative divide, coming down squarely on the qualitative side, learning early that the question â€Å"How does it feel to be Black and poor?† is n ot easily answered using a Likert scale. He deftly highlights issues of ethics, identity, race⠁„class⠁„gender dynamics in data collection, the realities of ethnographic work, and the value and use of qualitative versus quantitative methods of collecting data. Gang Leader for a Day throws into sharp relief the thorny issues of conducting ethical research. For instance, Venkatesh struggles with maintaining allegiances with powerful community members, while trying to forge close ties with less powerful residents. Venkatesh gives refreshingly honest, clear examples of his missteps. For instance, he focuses the target of his research on the underground economy of three high-rise buildings within the gang’s territory, and collects detailed information from residents about how much money they make, expenses they incur and so forth. Venkatesh talks with pimps and prostitutes, as well as those who sold food or offered child care in their apartments, styled hair, prepared taxes, offered psychic fortune telling, performed carpentry, fixed cars, collected scrap metal, as well as a host of other off-the-books businesses. Venkatesh provides a vivid, gritty account of life in a notorious Chicago housing project. His book interweaves issues of social class, race, ethnicity, gender, crime, deviance, and the study of organizations. Moreover, his perspective on the discipline is a compelling one; a self-described â€Å"rogue† sociologist,

Breast cancer reflection

The finding was made through a study from the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program at Michigan State University, which indicated that before any umors appear, there are changes in the breast that include increased cell growth and alterations in immune cells. I believe this is a great topic for a health science class for students, has many other broader areas of work and subject to further discuss such disease and preventions that can be made and helps teachers have more knowledge as to what diseases can be prevented from articles like this one..This article helps a lot in a health science class. In health science it is important to teach students the different diseases that are killing many out there and the early reventions that can help reduce the risk of it become a disease, in this case, cancer. In a health science class, we can discuss food groups and differentiate what are high fat diet foods. Also, we can deeply discuss puberty, which usually half of them know, b ecause even their parents are too shy to discuss such topic.Sometimes students see changes in their body and have no idea why, and I think this subject links puberty to a well discussed topic in a classroom. Finally, being able to discuss breast cancer, and other cancers can link a great topic for a health science class, discussing hat is a cancer, how it develops, how it is reduced and moreover and most important, how it can be prevented.Discussing about how high fat diet plans during puberty increases the risk of breast cancer, we as teachers can link this topic in other subject so students grasp the information, share it with their families and spread what can save a life in their community. In English, writing essays as to how you would inform the community of what high fat diet during puberty can cause can link the topic. In social studies, students can be engaged in the global social month of cancer awareness which is in the month of October.And finally linking health science with English, and social studies, to help more and broaden such article, we can engage in different arts and craft that visually help to explain students and others of how we help in cancer awareness, know what it is and how we can spread the word. Articles like this one are very important to students and teachers for the betterment of self-knowledge and also to help the community. While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same.We have made a lot f progress but still have a long way to go and articles like these make us have a broader idea of what can cause it and instead of finding ways to prevent it, once and for all be able to avoid it by taking the necessary steps to live better, longer and healthier. Students, females in this case are able to also avoid un-healthy dietary plans and take more care ot them and us as teachers not only help increase the cancer k nowledge of what can cause it to our students but moreover help our students share the information and make our community help a nation with more information flowing for the betterment of everyone.

The Kite Runner Chapter Review (Narrative Aspects) Chapter 1

The Kite Runner Chapter Review of Narrative Aspects Chapter 1; It is December 2001, and our narrator, recalls an event that occurred in 1975, when he was twelve years old and growing up in Afghanistan. He doesn’t say what happened, but says it made him who he is. He follows this recollection by telling us about a call he received last summer from a friend in Pakistan, Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan asks Amir, to come to Pakistan to see him. When Amir gets off the phone, he takes a walk through San Francisco, where he lives now.He notices kites flying, and thinks of his past, including his friend Hassan. Narrative aspects: Narrative voice: 1st person narrative, ‘I became what I am today’ – Amir tells us a story about his past, and what he remembers, from his point of view. Indirect speech, ‘I thought about something Rahim Khan said†¦. There is a way to be good again. ’ – it doesn’t let the reader make a relationship with the other cha racter, as this chapter is all about Amir.Setting: Introduces the alley almost straight away, ‘I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years’ – it gives us a mysterious setting, and the alley becomes a key symbol of misdeeds in the novel. Talks about where he is while telling the story, ‘like a pair of eyes looking down on San Francisco. ’ – gives us a brief idea of where he is and wants us to find out why he is there, as it also talks about Afghanistan and Pakistan.Structure: the repetition of kites, ‘saw a pair of kites, red with long blue tails, soaring in the sky. ’ ‘twin kites. ’ – significant because it sticks in a reader’s brain as they try to work out how the kites may be significant in the rest of the novel. Which they find out they are. Also ‘twin kites’ can refer to Hassan and Amir, as they are brothers and the last kite they ran together made their fr iendship fall apart. Non- linear, it talks about different points of his life in a very short amount of time, because he is ooking back on his life as well as telling the reader what is happening in his life while he is telling the story. Form: Monologue, speaks in broken language, almost like in his thoughts he can’t put in words what he is thinking and what he remembers, ‘I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. ’- it gives the reader an impression that there is a lot to find out about Amir. Retrospective Narrative, he is looking back on his past, and the opening chapter makes us curious about what will happen next. The Kite Runner Chapter Review (Narrative Aspects) Chapter 1 The Kite Runner Chapter Review of Narrative Aspects Chapter 1; It is December 2001, and our narrator, recalls an event that occurred in 1975, when he was twelve years old and growing up in Afghanistan. He doesn’t say what happened, but says it made him who he is. He follows this recollection by telling us about a call he received last summer from a friend in Pakistan, Rahim Khan. Rahim Khan asks Amir, to come to Pakistan to see him. When Amir gets off the phone, he takes a walk through San Francisco, where he lives now.He notices kites flying, and thinks of his past, including his friend Hassan. Narrative aspects: Narrative voice: 1st person narrative, ‘I became what I am today’ – Amir tells us a story about his past, and what he remembers, from his point of view. Indirect speech, ‘I thought about something Rahim Khan said†¦. There is a way to be good again. ’ – it doesn’t let the reader make a relationship with the other cha racter, as this chapter is all about Amir.Setting: Introduces the alley almost straight away, ‘I have been peeking into that deserted alley for the last twenty-six years’ – it gives us a mysterious setting, and the alley becomes a key symbol of misdeeds in the novel. Talks about where he is while telling the story, ‘like a pair of eyes looking down on San Francisco. ’ – gives us a brief idea of where he is and wants us to find out why he is there, as it also talks about Afghanistan and Pakistan.Structure: the repetition of kites, ‘saw a pair of kites, red with long blue tails, soaring in the sky. ’ ‘twin kites. ’ – significant because it sticks in a reader’s brain as they try to work out how the kites may be significant in the rest of the novel. Which they find out they are. Also ‘twin kites’ can refer to Hassan and Amir, as they are brothers and the last kite they ran together made their fr iendship fall apart. Non- linear, it talks about different points of his life in a very short amount of time, because he is ooking back on his life as well as telling the reader what is happening in his life while he is telling the story. Form: Monologue, speaks in broken language, almost like in his thoughts he can’t put in words what he is thinking and what he remembers, ‘I looked up at those twin kites. I thought about Hassan. Thought about Baba. Ali. Kabul. ’- it gives the reader an impression that there is a lot to find out about Amir. Retrospective Narrative, he is looking back on his past, and the opening chapter makes us curious about what will happen next.

Contemporary social problems questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Contemporary social problems questions - Essay Example The main reason for the high rate of population growth is the poverty and related issues, which could be checked by the increase in the development. Industrial and urban development along with literacy and good standard of living can be of great help in this regard. The rapid growth of population in developing nations can be reduced by the industrialization and its benefits. A. There are various ways in which impoverished nations can be assisted in fighting the problems of malnutrition disease. The underdeveloped and the developing nations struggle due to poverty, hunger, and misery around. Wealthy nations have got much to contribute in this regard. They need to allocate more resources for humanitarian aid, which aim ultimately at the fight against malnutrition and disease in particular. They should also guarantee that the aid reaches its intended targets. Wealthy nations can assist the governments for using these new resources. An international fight against the problems of malnutrition and contaminated diseases and malnutrition can work for the best of such nations. International agencies, supported and funded by the wealthy nations can engage themselves for the betterment of these miserable people.

Political Science 1 Introduction to Government Research Paper

Political Science 1 Introduction to Government - Research Paper Example Depending with the states laws, an official is allowed to run for re-election once the term is over. In the United States, system of government is categorized as the representative democracy; American citizens do not directly make any government decisions. This is because they elect officials to govern their affairs. It is common for most elections to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in the November in the year they happen, however, elections for public offices may be held any time depending on the state law (Trent, pp 36-194). After the American constitution was written in 1787, it indicated that every state had the mandate to determine who could vote in elections, African-Americans and women were denied their voting rights. Nevertheless, in 1870 the 15th amendment was passed that allowed male African Americans to vote, in 1920, the 19th amendments was enacted which allowed women to vote, the next November saw millions of American women voting in presidential elections for the first time. Nevertheless, the election of the president and the vice president of the United States remains an indirect vote, in this process the citizens cast ballots for a slate of members of the US Electoral College these people are the ones who are constitutionally mandated to directly elect the president and his vice president. The presidential elections are organised to occur quadrennial where the count starts from 1792 on the Election Day Tuesday between November 2 and eighth. These dates are made to coincide with various oth er federal states and local races (Trent, pp 36-194). The electro process in the United States is highly regulated by a combination of the federal and state laws. Each state is allocated a number of Electoral College electors whom are made to be equal to the number of its senators and representatives in the U.S congress. Connectively, in Washington D.C the number of electors is equal to the number held by

Managing Financial Principles and Techniques Coursework

Managing Financial Principles and Techniques - Coursework Example Management of the institution is also recommended to reduce the amount of cash and cash equivalent assets outstanding to avoid investing in projects with negative net present value, and avoid pushing management into empire building. In all, Autonomy Plc has a good performance in its liquidity, profitability, efficiency and Long term financial stability as on average it out performed the industry performance. These interpret a favourable signal to the company horizontal trend. To suppliers, the quick payment system operated by the company is unique to the industry as such; suppliers should strife at strengthening their relationship. For applicants, the company is a going concern; applicant should not hesitate to seek a career with the company Globalisation, the new information technology, and deregulation of financial markets have eased the provision and search of finance. Millions of shares are traded every day on the world's stock markets. (Penman, 2003). Investors who trade on these stocks are often forced to ask themselves whether they are buying or selling at the right price. (Artril & Elliot , 2003). Artrill & Elliot (2003) argue that, they often attempt to provide answers to these questions by turning to various media including internet chat rooms, printed press, "talking heads" on television and financial networks, who often voice opinions on what they feel the stock prices should be. In addition, investors consult investment analysts who provide an almost endless stream of information and recommendations to sort out. There are often claims that some shares are undervalued and vice versa. (Penman, 2003). This information at times becomes confusing leaving the investor with no clear indication of what the true prices of stocks should be. (Penman, 2003). In the prevailing circumstances, Brealey & Myers (2005) state that the investor is forced to make the investment decision following his/her instinct or based on the information provided by the market. (Penman, 2003). Investors who make the decision based on instinct are referred to as intuitive investors while those who make investment decisions based on capital market efficiency are referred to as passive investors. (Penman, 2003). Passive investors carry out their investment decisions based on the assumption that the market price is a fair price for the risk taken, that is, that market forces have driven the price to the appropriate point. (Brealey & Myers 2005). These investment mechanisms appear to be very simple, as they do not require much effort. (Penman, 2003: pp 3). However, Berlin & Lexa (2003) caution that, both investors run risks that are even more than the risks of the firms they are investing in since they can either pay too much or sell for less and as a result suffer a decrease in returns on their investments. (Penman, 2003). Penman (2003) argument was supported by Brealey and Myers (2005) when they stated that, the intuitive investor has the problem of the intuitive bridge builder: "one may be pleased

Marketing question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Marketing question - Essay Example This is because customers could prefer buying commodities from his premises which could intern increase his sales volumes and returns revenue. The Wallmarts everyday pricing strategy was reported to be a successful pricing strategy and was adopted by numerous businesses in the United States. The strategy was applied by most business to consumer /goods such as tooth paste, toilet papers to mention just but a few of the products (Matthews, pp.1-2). Wallmarts everyday pricing strategy has been reported to have some disadvantage. Among that disadvantage include; low product quality perception. This means that customers may perceive that cheaper goods may mean low quality goods. Further, price reduction by Wallmarts could mean that sometimes the company may be forced to sell goods and services at a loss in order to remain competitive in the market. It has been discovered that Wallmarts everyday low pricing strategy may detriment its operations (Soderquist, p.211). This means that this strategy reduces Wallmarts profit margin. Therefore, instead of concentrating on everyday low pricing strategy Wallmarts should employ other marketing strategies such as segmentation, distribution and market expansion strategies to remain competitive (Cheng, paras.

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Strategic management - Essay Example This is because every finite extensive form game contains at least a sub-game perfect equilibrium. For example, by applying backward induction it can be proved that the strategy combination comprising of the Nash-equilibrium contours of all sub-games is apparently sub-game perfect. c) Yes, after iterated elimination of dominated strategies in two player games and only one strategy survives, then the strategy combination must be a Nash-equilibrium. This is because the strategies match up to rationalizable strategies. Indeed, no pure strategy that is persistently strongly dominated can comprise of a Nash-equilibrium. Non-recursively weakly dominated strategies can comprise of a Nash-equilibrium and so the iterated elimination may remove one or more Nash equilibria. It can then be shown that one Nash-equilibrium will survive the iterated elimination of weakly dominated strategies. Question two a) Extensive form of the game Rating profits on a scale of 100 for best, payoff for the incumb ent are 100 if the entrant fails to enter, 50 if he enters and shares the market and 0 if he enters and the incumbent starts a price war. The entrant payoffs are 0 if he does not enter, 40 (profit – entry cost) if he enters and -10 if there is a price war. The game can be presented in an extensive form as illustrated below: War (-10, 0) Enter No (40, 50) No (0, 100) In the figure, the entrant’s choice is indicated at node 1 and the incumbent’s choice is indicated at node 2. The numbers at the right side indicates the payoffs with entrant’s payoff first. Therefore, the entrant will need to think strategically or to anticipate how the incumbent responds if he decides to enter. Normal form of the game In normal form of the game incumbent strategies are contingent strategies: If the entrant enters then accommodate and if he enters then initiate price war. The entrant’s strategies are enter and do not enter. The game in normal form is indicated below: I ncumbent If the entrant enters, then accommodate: if the entrant does not enter, continue with the usual business If the entrant enters, then initiate prices war; if the entrant does not enter continues with the usual business. Entrant Enter 40, 50 -10, 0 Do not 0,100 0,100 b) Pure strategy Nash equilibrium Incumbent If the entrant enters, then accommodate: if the entrant does not enter, continue with the usual business If the entrant enters, then initiate prices war; if the entrant does not enter continues with the usual business. Entrant Enter 40, 50 -10, 0 Do not 0,100 0,100 Enter and accommodate is a pure-strategy Nash equilibrium. c) The sub-game perfect outcome is the Nash equilibrium in the simultaneous move game, which is (no entry, business as usual). Question three Due to Nash equilibrium, pricing strategies that appear to be super-competitive can in fact be anticompetitive. The market strategies for all players respond to the Nash equilibrium. This is best explained by an example. Suppose that the monopoly price for gaming consoles is $200. Now suppose firm A advertises that if a consumer buys a console from him at $200 and discovers that he/she can buy it cheaper at B, A will refund the full purchase price. Again suppose that B does the same thing. It can then be shown that it is Nash for both firms to charge $200. Question four Glaxo and EMI developed important innovations in the 70s, but succeeded

Outline the nature of audit planning and describe its principal Essay

Outline the nature of audit planning and describe its principal objectives, identifying issues that you consider to be relevant to the planning of the audit of FXT - Essay Example Planning in auditing the books of FXT International Limited will ensure that the auditing process produces the maximum out of the minimum. The various aspects of auditing the books of FXT International Limited include vouching, verification and valuation (Kumar and Sharma, 2005, p. 59). It is Abacus’ plan to conduct an effective audit through an efficient approach that will last the shortest possible time. The basis of the auditing plan is FXT International Limited’s line of business. FXT International Limited offers structured financial products as well as financial derivatives to institutional investors. Therefore, the basis of the auditing plan is the understanding of the financial and derivatives market. Abacus will perform tests of control and procedures to come up with reasonable conclusions that will assist in the formation of an opinion on the client’s financial statements (Kumar and Sharma, 2005, p. 72). The plan will be based on FXT International Limited’s accounting system policies and procedures that direct its internal control processes. Concisely, some of the factors that Abacus will consider when planning the audit include: 4. Knowledge of FXT International Limited business apart from the reporting requirements of financial services institutions. It is the most important factors that Abacus will consider when planning an audit. It is the most important factor because it will enable Abacus to identify the events, transactions and practices that may affect financial information. Auditors will derive such knowledge from areas such as: The article of association will give auditors ideas about FXT International Limited’s size and nature. Additionally, auditors from Abacus will acquaint themselves with the management of FXT International Limited’s business (Kumar and Sharma, 2005, p. 80). Accounting standards requires that listed companies publish audited books of account. The rationale is

Cloud Computing Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cloud Computing Assignment - Research Paper Example According to a theoretical viewpoint, the terms ‘cloud’ indicates the abstraction of resources, technology, and its location which are significant in establishing the incorporated infrastructure of computing which comprises of systems, networks, and applications. Most of the information technology experts view the concept of cloud computing as a model instead of technology. According to them, this model is used by the customers to plug into the â€Å"cloud† to access IT resources which are priced and provided â€Å"on-demand†. Essentially, IT resources are rented and shared among multiple tenants much as office space, apartments, or storage spaces are used by tenants (David, 2010). The concept of cloud computing is a substitution for the service providing or the data centre through the delivery of an internet connection. At the basic level, the concept of cloud computing relies on shared services and very broad infrastructure convergence. A very precise def inition of the model states that it is a computing system based on the internet technology where the software, platform, infrastructure, devices and other resources are provided by the virtual shared server on pay-as you- use basis. Therefore, all such information which is provided by the digitized system in the model is the cloud computing. These services can be accessed by users with the help of ‘internet cloud’ even if the users do not have any prior knowledge on the resource management. Thus, this technology can enable them to focus more on the basic business functions and processes instead of wasting time on gaining the knowledge on the resource management of the business processes. The usage of cloud computing does not require the ownership of any type of infrastructure. In this way they are able to avoid huge expenses. They only use the resources and pay for it and most of the infrastructure of cloud computing comprises of the services which are built on servers and delivered with the help of common centres. These types of data centres permit the business organizations to introduce their applications and make them more efficient and faster with an ease of maintenance and manageability. Moreover, they also make the Information Technology able of adjusting the resources quickly in order to meet the varying and uncertain business demands (Luit Infotech, 2012). History The fundamental concept of cloud computing originated in the 1960s, with John McCarthy giving his opinion that the concept of computation needs to be established as a public utility some day. Then, Douglas Parkhill's , in his book, The Challenge of the Computer Utility, published in 1966, thoroughly discovered almost all the advanced features of cloud computing, which include elastic provision, the usage of the private, public, community and government forms and the comparison to the electricity industry. There were other scholars and researchers too, during 1950s, who worked upo n the features, operations and feasibility of the cloud computing model. The real term "cloud" has been taken from the telephony in the companies of telecommunications, which had continued to offer the customers point-to-point data circuits until 1990s. Then, they began offering Virtual Private Network (VPN) services which lead the IT