International Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Risk Management - Essay Example om now, this essay will provide the readers with insightful map to explain the firm’s business model followed by discussing its strengths and vulnerabilities as a globally known social network. In the light of the business model, risk factors that Facebook is currently exposed to will be identified. Eventually, the underlying drivers behind the company’s current risk factors will be tackled in details. This information is useful in terms of enabling the company forecast its future risks. This essay will also examine the appropriateness and effectiveness of Facebook’s risk management strategies in terms of making the company survive the global challenges of social networking sites 10 years from now. In order to prevent the development of potentially new risks as a result of implementing the company’s current risk management strategies, some of the recommended proactive and holistic risk management strategies which can be used in allowing the company monitor and manage its risk exposure will be tackled in details. Although Mark Zuckerberg – the founder of Facebook admits that the company is still searching for a business model that will enable the company have a clear path to profitability (Manjoo, 2008), the business model of Facebook seems to be based on network effects business model. It means that the company is using networking effect by inviting individuals more than 13 years old to register with the social networking website. In line with this, the higher the number of individuals who register with Facebook would mean an increase the company ability to earn from investment value and advertising gains. Since the goal of Facebook is to increase the number of its online users, the company decided to include Digg in its new business model (ONeil, 2010). According to Nicole Ozer – technology and civil liberties policy director for ACLU of Northern California, â€Å"Facebook is in the business of making money, not protecting privacy† (Swartz, 2010). In

Military Orders Essay Example for Free

Military Orders Essay The issue of following military orders from higher ranking military officials that may be unethical has been a disturbing and controversial issue over many years and decades. Many soldiers and service members in general have been put into a situation where they were given in order, knowing well that the situation isn’t right but cannot disobey. The leader giving the order in all likelihood may threaten or set out stiff punishment on to the individual who did not follow the order or hesitates to follow out on the order. It just isn’t fair that these soldiers and service members are put in these situations and get punished for doing the right thing. When this situation may be in question in a court of law because of the severity of the crime, these soldiers may get in trouble for committing the act even though they were just following orders. This is a big problem in the United States military and it’s not fair that these soldiers and service members, who sacrifice their lives for our freedom, are punished and put in this situation. Military members who fail to obey the lawful orders of their superiors risk serious consequences. Article 90 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) makes it a crime for a military member to willfully  disobey a superior commissioned officer. Article 91 makes it a crime to willfully   disobey a superior Noncommissioned or Warrant Officer. Article 92 makes it a crime to disobey any lawful order (the disobedience does not have to be â€Å"willful† under this article). In fact, under Article 90, during times of war, a military member who willfully disobeys a superior commissioned officer can be sentenced to death (Powers, N/A). The articles that mentioned above clearly state that a service member cannot disobey a lawful order or they will be punished for the crime, under the article covers their punishment. The excuse of just following orders when they are lawful or not is not an excuse nor will it bold well in a military court. Following through with an unlawful order is bad if not worse than disobeying a lawful order. The individuals committing these crimes will be held accountable and will be punished to the fullest extent. In other cases, some service members have made willful decisions in which they have went AWOL from the orders they received and were supposed to report. An example is when an Army flight surgeon who is risking his career to force President Barack Obama to prove he’s a natural born citizen is under investigation by the Army after failing to report for duty in preparation for an Afghanistan deployment. Lt. Col. Terrance Lakin was ordered to report to Fort Campbell, Ky. on April 12 but instead reported to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, his former assignment (Jordan, 2010). In this situation, Lt. Col. Lakin is committing a willful crime that is illegal under the articles of UCMJ and is only doing this because of his beliefs. His beliefs that President Barrack Obama needs to prove he is a natural born citizen of the United States. Just reading this article, it provides me with this question: Is it really worth getting in trouble and potentially giving up on a well decorated, stable career for just not showing up to your assigned place of duty just for some proof. President Obama was put into office for a reason and like any job out there was checked up upon and is very much qualified for the position. I think this is a bad decision by Lt. Col. Lakin. Giving up so much for this purpose is just plain ridiculous to me. There are also times where groups of soldiers disobey orders set out for them only because they feel for their lives. Maybe, they experienced something before they lead them to disobey the order. In 2004, Jeremy Hudson of the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. , the reporter who broke the story about a military unit in Iraq refusing to go on a dangerous mission. The U. S. military unit in Iraq reportedly refused an order to join what the soldiers called a suicide mission to deliver fuel from their base near Nasiriyah to another base near Taji further north. The soldiers were reservists in a Quartermaster Company. They were supposed to deliver fuel. And they had had some concerns previously about delivering the fuel because of, as they termed it, ill-equipped vehicles mainly lacking the proper armor, and even maintenance problems with the vehicles. They had expressed this, from what I have been told, to their commanders, and basically it fell on deaf ears. They got together and talked to their commanders, from what Im told was for some time, and basically got nowhere. So they decided together to not go (Hudson, 2004). In an article in the Lancet (The Lancet, 2011), a survey was conducted 7 to months into a 15 month, intensity combat deployment in Iraq, between December 11, 2007 and January 30, 2008. An infantry brigade combat team soldiers were picked randomly based upon their company and last four digits of each of these soldiers social security number. The following is an a piece of the article explaining the methods conducted to produce this survey. These soldiers were then invited to complete an anonymous survey 3 months after completion of the training. Reports of unethical behavior and attitudes in this sample were compared with a randomly selected pre-training sample from the same brigade. The response patterns for ethical behavior and reporting of ethical violations were analyzed with chi-square analyses. We developed two logistic regression models using self-reported unethical behaviors as dependent variables. Factors associated with unethical conduct, including combat experiences and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were assessed with validated scales (The Lancet, 2011). 500 random soldiers were selected to take the survey and 421 agreed to do the anonymous post training survey. 97 soldiers completed the pre-training survey. The following is the results of the surveys that these soldiers took. Training was associated with significantly lower rates of unethical conduct of soldiers and greater willingness to report and address misconduct than in those before training. For example, reports of unnecessary damage or destruction of private property decreased from 13 ·6% (54 of 397) before training to 5 ·0% (21 of 421) after training (percent difference ? 63 ·2%), and willingness to report a unit member for mistreatment of a non-combatant increased from 36 ·0% (143 of 397) to 58 ·9% (248 of 421). Nearly all participants (410 [97%]) reported that training made it clear how to respond towards non-combatants. Combat frequency and intensity was the strongest predictor of unethical behavior; PTSD was not a significant predictor of unethical behavior after controlling for combat experiences (The Lancet, 2011). With the results of this survey I have come to the conclusion that training is the key to educate these soldiers on how to handle combat situations. The percentage increased in every topic discussed and it proves the fact that training is the absolute way to help these soldiers learn and understand the rules and regulations. What is lawful and what is not. Also, the soldier rights to disobey an order that is not lawful. There are other unethical matters that deal with the military and orders that are ordered to take place. The issue of a soldier that is wounded/injured in a warzone or a military environment and is taken to a medical facility receives but the soldier makes the decision to refuse the medical attention. What rights does the soldier if any have? Does this soldier have the right to make this decision? By not receiving the medical attention, he or she can affect their own livelihood and also others around them by refusing to get help. In an article by Janet Kelly, of the University of Hull, UK, she presents a few scenarios on about this topic and what happens when a soldier does deny medical treatment. The following paragraph is in the article and shows one of these scenarios. With the examples I provided, I have learned that the United States military strictly punishes its service member with the crimes they commit by going by their governing document of the UCMJ. Following military orders is a strictly enforced. There isn’t any room for error when an order is given unless it is an unlawful order and can be challenged by the service member towards the superior official.

The Life of Kate Chopin Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

The life of Kate Chopin      Ã‚  Ã‚   Kate Chopin led a fascinating life filled with times of triumph but also times of great loss. Living in the South during the post-Civil War era, the setting and experiences of her life would have a great impact on the subjects of her writing. Chopin began writing as a way to express her frustration with life. This is why her emotions about life are conveyed so strongly in her writing. One of her short stories, "Juanita," is an excellent example of how Chopin's life affected her writing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story of "Juanita" is that of a young woman who, though not incredibly beautiful, had many admirers. The people of her small town gossiped continually about which man she would marry. Would it be the man who had traveled all the way from the city for the sole purpose of seeing her? Or would it be the rich millionaire from Texas who owned a hundred horses? The townspeople all assumed she would choose the richest of her suitors, until one day Juanita announced that she had secretly married a poor one-legged man whom she loved very much.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To truly understand the characters of Chopin's stories, one must examine the history of her life. Kate Chopin was born as Katherine O'Flaherty to a wealthy Irish St. Louis family on February 8, 1851. While she was still a young child, her father died in a train accident. Only a few years later her brother died after being captured by Union forces during the Civil War. The loss of all the males in her life, according to Hoffman, led to the intense female relationships she shared with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. As a young woman, Kate treasured her independence. Late 1860's society was highly critical of her because she walked, unac... ... about the world as she actually saw it. For a woman to do this in the late nineteenth century was unheard of, and Chopin was highly criticized for it at the time. But after going through as much as she did in her life, she could not stay silent. Ker suggests that "after 39 years of trials and tribulations and just plain living, she finally had something to say!"    Works Cited Chopin, Kate. "Juanita." A Vocation and a Voice Stories. Ed. Emily Toth. New York: Penguin Books. 1991. 86-88 Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. New York: Bantam Books. 1988 Fox-Genovese, Elizabeth. "Kate Chopin: A re-awakening." http://www.pbs.org/katechopin/interviews.html Hoffman, Audrey. "Kate Chopin." http://www.kutstown.edu/faculty/reagan/chopin.html Ker, Christina. "Kate Chopin- Ahead of her Time." http://empirezine.com/spotlight/chopin/chopin1.htm         

Alexandru Florea Economic Development and Growth

Indicators of economic development: Labor productivity Weighted Machine tool industry in total industry Weighted Machine tool exports in total exports Weighted Brain drain in total export Weighted Employment in services Economic growth is represented by the evolution of specific economic indexes, with benefits for the social and economic life, in a specific time and area. The most known index for calculating the economic growth is the GAP/ capita. Types of economic growth Extensive economic growth- based on growing the GAP/capita by increasing the number of workers, arable lands etc.Consolidated economic growth: it would be realized at the global scale Zero economic growth: is happening when the economic indexes and the population of the country are increasing with the same percentage. The single way that a state can achieve economic development and growth is by using their economies to make investments. Economic development represents a qualitative process while economic growth is a quantitative one. However the processes of economic development and growth are produced simultaneous therefore they must be considered together. The first part of the analysis will provide an overall picture of Roman's economic performance.It will be presented the current economic development situation and its growth during the analyzed years. The second part of the analysis represents an econometric exercise which will provide the connection between GAP, Urban Population and Employment. At the end of the exercise it will 3 be possible to predict values of GAP depending on Urban Population and the level of employment. The third part of the analysis will provide information regarding the development lacks of Roman's economy. The fourth part of analysis refers to Romania market inefficiency.It will provide the most important issues about market failures in Romania. The fifth part of analysis includes the Development Policies. It will present the main targets to improve Roman's econom y for the next years. B. Analysis 1. Methodology For this analysis were chosen indexes from 5 areas: Romania, Bulgaria, Germany, France and European Union. Besides Romania, which is the main subject of the analysis, it was chosen Bulgaria like a state with similar economic situation. Germany and France were chosen because they represent two of the most developed country in Europe.In the same time they represent examples of how the economic situation should be in a developed country therefore Romania must achieve a close level to them in order to become a State with a developed economy. Nevertheless, all of them are member states of European union therefore all of them must converge to the same level, as result, it is absolutely necessary to include the European union indexes. First part of the analysis contains statistical results about the economic development and growth situation in Romania. The analyzed period refers to 1990-2013.For this part there were seed data series, with an nual frequency, from the official website of World Bank. Second part of the analysis is represented by a linear regression model. For analyzing the correlation between variables, were used data series (1991-2012), with annual frequency, from the official website of World Bank. The data refers only to Romania. The purpose of the exercise was to find the influence Of that urban population and employment have on GAP. The form of linear regression model is: AMPLE+?* POP 4 Where: BIB – Gross Domestic Product AMPLE -? Employment POP – the urban population percentageThe GAP was deflated referring to the year 2005 as the base year. Views was the soft used for testing and correcting the regression model. The intensity between the dependent variable and the independent variables was analyzed considering the correlation coefficient R The sign efficacy of linear correlation coefficients was tested using t-test Starting from the hypothesis: HO: the model is not valid and HI: the mo del is valid, the validity of the regression model was tested using the Fischer test.The model's significance was tested with: – Wald test for testing the regression coefficients F test for testing the significance of the correlation ratio. – graphic method, Durbin Watson test and Breach Godlier test for verifying the independence of the random errors. – White test for verifying the homosexuality. -Jarred-Berea test for verifying the normality hypothesis. Third part of the analysis contains statistical results about the development lacks in Romania. The analyzed period refers to 1990-2013.For this part there were used data series, with annual frequency, from the official website of World Bank. Fourth part of the analysis contains statistical results about the market inefficiency in Romania. The analyzed period refers to 1990-2013. For this part there were used data series, with annual frequency, from the official website of World Bank. Fifth part of the analysis presents the main targets of the current development policy. It represents a summary of the Romania â€Å"National Strategy for Development'. 5 Economic Development and Growth Of Romania 2.Used data Gross Domestic Product: According to Ryan Barnes: â€Å"The GAP is the predecessor of all macroeconomic indexes; as an aggregate measure of the total economic output of a country, GAP represents the total value of goods and services produced by the economy, in a specific period†. Frequency: annual Source of collected data: World Bank website Other changes: *only for the regression model: 1,000,000,000 Expressed in: US$ Inflation: Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services. It is measured as an annual percentage increase.As inflation rises, every dollar you own buys a smaller percentage of a good or service. Frequency: annual Expressed in: percentage Urban population index According to National Statistic Office: â€Å"Urban population index refers to the number of people which live in urban areas† Other changes: *only for the regression model: 1 ,OHO Expressed in: percentage of the total population Employment index Employment index refers to the active population (15-64 years old) rate: the ratio between the active population and the total number of people with the same age. Other changes: *only for the regression model: AMPLE( 1)= AMPLE(O)* 1,000 Health Expenditure index Health expenditure refers to the sum of public and private health expenditure. It covers the provision of health services (preventive and curative), family planning activities, nutrition activities, and emergency aid assassinated for health but does not include provision of water and sanitation. It is calculated as the percentage of a nation's GAP. Frequency: annual Pupil-teacher index Pupil-teacher ratio: the number of pupils enrolled in primary school divided by the number of primary school teachers.Expressed in: absolute num ber Public spending on education index Public expenditure on education as % of GAP is the total public expenditure (current and capital) on education expressed as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GAP) in a given year. Public expenditure on education includes government spending on educational institutions (both public and private), education administration, and transfers/subsidies for private entities (students/households and other private entities) 7 3.Literature review About Roman's Economy According to the Constitution of 1991, Economy of Romania is an economy based on supply and demand rule therefore it means that the state must ensure the freedom of trade and the fair competition. In 1 939 the most important branches of industry were the oil and natural gas industries. 6. 24 million tons of oil was produced in Romania in 1939 and the total exports of oil valued 56 million dollars. Furthermore, with a production slightly lower than Germany, Romania had a very good sit uation in terms of grain.However salt and tobacco had also an important role for Roman's economy during this period. Even if it was of poor quality, tobacco was the main source of income for the people from the Danube Plain. After more than four decades, at the end of 1 989, economy of Romania had the basic communist economy, in all branches of industry' it was a state cooperative monopoly. Price, credits, salaries, the interest rate were directed y the â€Å"single national plan† without reflecting the supply and demand needs. On 21st of December 1 989 Romania had no external debt, the external debt was fully paid by the end of February 1989.

Body Piercing and Using Steroids

Nowadays, more and more teenagers are interested in body piercing while their parents don’t agree with them. On the other hand, using steroids is common among athletes and young people who want to increase their muscle size or reduce their body fat. Although getting body piercing and using steroids have become popular activities in modern society, they can both be very dangerous. There are different reasons why young people take steroids or pierce their bodies. Recently, piercings of the lip, tongue, nose, ear, navel, and nipple are growing in the world. The reasons for piercing vary greatly; some people pierce to fit into a certain group that they want to be the member of. Some teenagers pierce to be rebellious against their parents. However, some young people use steroids to increase their performance in sports. For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger has used steroids in 1974, 1977, 1967, 1992, and 1996. He said, â€Å"I used them because they help me an extra five percent, but it was a risky thing to do. † Others use steroids to change their appearance. This drug gives muscles the potential to grow bigger and stronger more quickly. Both users of steroids and people who have their bodies pierced have a similar purpose: to call attention to their body. Some people who use steroids want to show off their body shape with big strong muscles. In addition, most people who have their body pierced try to decorate their bodies with ornate jewelry pieces and show off their personalstyle or follow popular fashion. There are two different ways to have the body pierced or to take steroids. Piercing body is a piercing or a puncture made in a body with a needle. After that, a piece of jewelry is installed into the puncture. The needle must be very sharp and clean, and the pierced area should be clean too. Nevertheless, steroids are taken as pills or are injected. There are several different methods to use. One of them is called cycling, in which users take steroids for six to twelve weeks or more, stop for several weeks, and then start again. What happen after someone uses more steroids? He gains weight very rapidly. According to the author of, Dying to Be Bigger: †I was told to take maybe two or three per day, but I immediately started taking five per day. My body transformations were clearly visible. In less than a month, I took the entire three-month supply. I gained nearly thirty pounds. Most of my weight was from water retention, although at the time I believed it to be muscle. † Conversely, there is often no big problem after body piercing for users, but they should be careful about the piercing area. The approximate healing time for body piercing sites varies. It could be between two weeks and nine months. Both activities, using steroids and getting body piercing, can also lead to some emotional or physical side effects . According to ygoy, the side effects of piercing are nerve damage if the piercing is in an unsafe area of the body; cross-contamination, which is an infection or virus through dirty needles; allergies and infections if your skin is sensitive; pain; keloids; a type of scarring; and prohibition of donating blood for a year.