The aims and nature of ryanair

The aims and nature of ryanair The aims of this report are to analyse and explain the nature of Ryanair business organisation, identify the contribution of functional areas to the operation of Ryanair organisation and to demonstrate an understanding of core concepts in functional areas. The objective of this report is to show understanding in organisations key areas such as: organisational type, financial information, marketing management, quality and supply chain. The Ryanair Holdings second-largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger numbers came to the business world in July 1985 with flights on a 15-seater Bandeirante aircraft. It was operating daily from Ireland to London Gatwick airport. Quantity of passengers was approximately 5,000 thousands. In 2009 quantity of passengers increased by 66,503,999 million. Ryanairs fleet rose to 232 Boeing 737-800. During 1985-2009 Ryanair has opened bases in the centre and north side of Europe. Low cost airline profits rose 200% to over 318 million euro while many of Ryanairs competitors announce losses and even more go bankrupt (Ryanair 2009). Ryanairs future activities will be considered in below presented articles. 2.0. Findings Figure 1. Ryanair Holdings Logo (Ryanair 2010) 2.1. Organisational Structure Bonderman and OLeary (1996) established a new company Ryanair Holdings, they have bought the control of Ryanair Company just for  £5 million cash, an airline they had valued at approximately  £57 million. From that moment Michael OLeary is Ryanair Holdings legal entity (Creaton 2007:117). 2.1.1. Sector in which Ryanair Trade According to Palmer et al., Ryanair operates in private-sector, because the aim of private-sector organisations is to earn profits for the owners of the organisation. As OLeary is entity of Ryanair, he: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦always acting in the interests of the company because he is a shareholder (Siobhan Creaton 2007:278). Moreover, OLeary said that he will earn as much profit as he cans (Siobhan Creaton 2007:277). In addition, private-sector is able to monitor the results of its marketing activity, as the benefits are usually internal to the organisation (Palmer and Hartley 2006:230). Ryanair publish their annual report which will be used in this report as an example of sources of finance (Ryanair Holdings 2010). Private sector is subdivided into four types, but Ryanair refers to two of them: Private Limited Company (LTD) and Public Limited Company. LTD permits some defence to the shareholders they take a risk to invest money for business. Thus, shareholders can use Ryanairs annual report (Ryanair Holding 2010) which includes detailed financial information (Boddy 2002:488). PLC must have a minimum share capital of  £50,000 and must have at least two directors. As to Ryanair, OLeary and Bonderman have bought control over Ryanair Limited for  £5 million (Palmer et al. 2006:220). Consequently, Ryanair Holdings PLC (Ryanair Holdings) is the holding company for Ryanair Limited (Ryanair). 2.1.2. Structural Style Ryanairs structural style is divisional, where administrators create divisions and make them responsible for all the functions to deliver their facilities to the consumers (Boddy 2002:245). Ryanair Company has geographic divisions, to the location of customers. For example, Ryanair has a group of people who works in Baltic countries, such as Latvia and Lithuania and there are managers, who are responsible for staff, customer needs, and manager use autonomy to meet local needs (Boddy 2002:246). 2.2. Ryanairs Source of Finance Ryanairs company is financed by internal sources sources of finance that come from the business activities retained profit. For example, if the Ryanair business had a successful trading year, the organisation can use got profit for future activities. Of course, Ryanair can use profit only after paying all its costs (Manak 2009:184-185). The advantage is that source is very useful for long term business, because they can use it sources for future business activities. For example, Ryanairs attendants sell a variety of products such as MP3 players, digital cameras, perfumes and so on. All the extras revenues are up to 15% of all revenues. Ryanair Company is trying to earn revenue on everything on the board except seats (Kotler et al. 2009:577). Furthermore, Ryanair is run by equity finance. That means that organisation or a person providing money, does not receive interest and there is no guaranty that it will be repaid. If organisation had a success in borrowing money there will be an increase in share value or in dividends. Besides, after borrowing success, shares could be sold to some on else. (Smith 2007:291). There are different types of shares: ordinary shares and preference shares. Ryanairs organisation has ordinary shares. Shareholders receive ownership of a small part of a business and they carry complete voting rights. The number of ordinary shares that Ryanair has is 1,476.4 (in Ms) (Ryanair Holdings 2010:138). Correspondingly, companys earnings per ordinary shares are 20.68 (euro cent). However, if organisation will have unsuccessfulness, shareholders will be last people who will receive proceeds and may be receive nothing at all. (Smith 2007:292). 2.2.1. Profit or Loss? Being based on Ryanairs Income statement for year 2010 company got the profit of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬341million before tax and à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬305.3 million after tax (RH 2010:135). Thanks to lower oil prices, companys traffic increased to 14% of customers. Ryanairs non-ticket revenues rose to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬661 million or 11% in 2009 but now (2010) account is 22%. Besides, Ryanair opened 280 new routes in 2009, with destinations such as Spain and Portugal for summer travellers, making higher summer rates. Besides, shareholders will receive special dividends up to 550 million euros. Congruently, Ryanairs chief executive OLeary will receive 20 million euros, who owns just 4$of the companys shares. (Guardian 2010) 2.3. Marketing strategy and Target Market Marketing strategy: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦involves the activities of selecting and describing one or more target marketsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Lamb et al. 2008:43). To identify target market, an organisation should identify which of the segmentation is distinct and actionable. Ryanairs target is market segmentation activity. Segmenting market relies on detecting the variables that differentiate customers with need (Boddy 2002:215). Ryanair organisation refers to demographic segmentation social class. It can be used characterised function standards such as education, profession and property worth (Kotler 2009:16). Company select only one target segment to focus on, consequently, organisation use concentrated targeting strategy. The advantage is that business may concentrate on resources and can better meet the needs of defined segment (Lamb et al. 2008:247). 2.3.1. Marketing Mix When target market is identified organisation can evaluate marketing mix. McCartneys four marketing mix tools were expanded to 7Ps by Boden, which had a more services focus and included process, physical evidence and people. 7Ps is a necessary mix that company should track to maximise marketplace results (Kotler et al. 2009:17).Ryanair is using 7P Formula for its brand image, which consists of: 2.4. Quality Strategy According to David Garvin (1981) there are 8 dimensions of quality that can serve as a quality framework. For Ryanairs Company quality strategy identification we will use only 4 the most obvious dimensions: Performance characteristics of a service (Garvin 1987:50). For example, Ryanairs service speed, flight booking is depended on your own, because Ryanair is offering only self-service. Another example is absence of waiting, unfortunately, Ryanair not the best in this service, because flights are usually delayed. Perceived quality -it is about clients previous experience, what he thinks about that company (image, reputation) (Garvin 1987:59-60). Focussing on core brand value (providing cheap tickets to approximately 49 million passengers who desire low cost to high service) is a key of Ryanairs success. (Kotler et al. 2009:443). Aesthetics it is about personal judgment of individual (Garvin 1987:59). For example, passenger is ordering some food that looks and tastes not as good as at picture was. In addition, sight or vision of service. For example, Air France KLM have an impression of luxury thanks to leather seats, while Ryanair has plastic seats with blue and yellow as the dominant colours of no frill focus company (Kotler et al. 2009:681). Serviceability how fast client will be served (Garvin 1987:57). For example, passenger is ordering some meal and he gives denomination but not a coins, it will take an eternity to receive back your change. So Ryanair has very poor serviceability. Relying on above mentioned facts it is possible to tell that Ryanair has not got any strategic quality at all. Ryanairs chief executive is obsessed with providing a functioning airline and cared little about pleasing its passengers, passengers number growth and companys profit (Creaton 2007:271). 2.4.1. 3 Key Areas of Quality Quality Service People Marketing High (Service satisfies customers needs) Sales promotion Low (customers are dissatisfied) Food for extra pay; Uncomfortable seats; Checked luggage; Bus transportation into town. Employees must pay for own security checks Staff must pay for own uniforms and parking Staff must supply own tea and water Advertising Service is an indicator of poor quality, because while you are flying at Ryanair aircraft you will not receive any food for free. For example, the hot dog for 4 euros (Kotler et al. 2009:577). Moreover, it is well known fact, that Ryanairs seats are uncomfortable, seats do not recline and seat-back pockets have been removed (Kotler et al. 2009:577). Comparing British Airways (BA) with Ryanair, BA has first business and economy classes seats, while Ryanair has only Economy class seats (British Airways 2011). Furthermore, client should spent extra money for bus or train transportation into town from distant airports that Ryanair uses (Kotler et al. 2009:577). Furthermore, Ryanair has poor quality in HRM. Staff could no longer enjoy their tea or coffee for free, staff must to bring own drinks and snacks to work. Cabin crew were banned to use ovens on board, because there will be no additional cleaning costs. Pilots were told that they can use only one ream of paper a day (for reports). They also have to do bi-annual medical examinations, in their own time, and what is the worst they have to pay for their own for it. Additionally, reduction concerns to uniforms, company will deduct monthly sum from staff pay to cover their uniforms. Besides, there is a problem of absenteeism in Ryanairs company (have lost over 10,000 days) (Creaton 2007:239). Ryanair is famous with rude and scandalous posters. One of the examples is poster which offended BAs company (Creaton 2007:239). Comparing Ryanairs posters with BAs we can say that BAs advertising is more enjoyable, because there are no slogans that are concerned with price reduction (see Appendix 1 and 2). The only thing that has a high quality is sales promotion; because a quarter of seats are free, passengers pay only taxes and fees of approximately 7 16 euros (Kotler et al. 2009:577). In addition, buying a ticket passenger can return their 10 pounds, receiving a coupon (after completing online booking Ryanair offer to complete form). 2.5. Sequence of Supply Chain Activities Ryanair Company provides transaction by airplane services. The table below shows the sequence of supply chain activities. At First, passengers decide to use Ryanairs airline then they have to complete the online form at Ryanair.com, then passengers will receive digital receipt at their e-mails. The following stage is online check-in, which you must to complete from 15 days up to 4 hours prior to passengers scheduled flight departure. Moreover, client must to print check in ticket. (à Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã…“ à Ã¢â‚¬ Ãƒ Ã… ¾Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ºÃƒ -à Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚  à Ã‚  Ãƒ Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ Ã… ¸Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ Ãƒ Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚ Ãƒ Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ Ã‚ ¬) At day of flight traveller arrives to the airport and registers their luggage and then goes transportation. When passenger arrives in the airport he should undergo the same procedure as well as before flying (registration, à Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã‚ ¾Ãƒ Ã‚ »Ãƒâ€˜Ã†â€™Ãƒâ€˜Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã‚ ½Ãƒ Ã‚ ¸Ãƒ Ã‚ µ luggage). The disadvantage of Ryanairs Supply Chain service output is waiting time. It is the time that customer has to wait before flight. The lower the waiting time, the higher the level of service (Bowersox et al. 2010:51). For example, Ryanairs flights are often delayed and sometime even cancelled. Consequently, Ryanairs level of service is poor. 2.5.1. Value -Added Services Ryanairs internet booking is the value-added service in Supply Chain process. According to Bowersox (2010) et al. value-added services refer to unique activities that firms can develop to increase their productivity. For example, internet booking is unique activity, and passengers, buying tickets, online can save they time. In addition, online check-in is value added service, because if passenger does not have luggage (more than 15 Kg) he can go straight to the gate. Online check-in helps to save passengers time (do not wasting time staying in the registration queue) and companys time and money (staff working hours). The company is in great demand at consumers despite that consumers are performing self-service, of course except transaction by airplane. People are ready to for this kind of services, because they prefer low cost rather than high quality or supply chain services. Ryanair is offering close distance only that is why consumers prefer low cost ticket, 2 or 4 hours may not cost a high quality. 3.0. Conclusion The main conclusion that can be drawn therefore is that: 1. Ryanair organisation is trading in the public sector that gives an advantage for its owners, because private sector helps to earn money for them. Also, Ryanair adopted divisional structure, because airline has it offices almost in all over Europe. 2. Ryanair is run by retained profit and equity finance. Furthermore, company is making profit of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬341m before tax. 3. Ryanairs target market is demographic segmentation if speak in detail Ryanair company is considering social class for characterising function standards such as education, profession and property worth. Ryanair is using Seven P Formula as a marketing mix for its brand image. 4. Quality dimensions speak about that Ryanair business organisation has got a poor quality. 3 key elements: people, service and marketing -are not high quality. The only thing that is high quality is Ryanairs sales promotion. 5. Almost all the Ryanairs services are self-services, except transaction by airplane. Correspondingly, Ryanairs supply chain has disadvantage such as service waiting time and supply chains poor quality. Ryanairs trading in the last 5 years are talking that organisation had pick moments and also had some falls. Generally, company had shown excellent performance in low-cost strategy, increasing it passenger number from 34.8 million (2005) to 66.5 million (2009), while many of Ryanairs competitors announce losses and even more go bankrupt. During 5 years Ryanair has opened bases several new bases such as Bournemouth, Birmingham and Belfast. Forecasting how the Ryanair business may proceed in the current economic climate, I may say that Ryanair will continue to exist in the world market, because its chief executive knows what people want low cost tickets. Consumers interest in traveling will continue to exist even in economic recession time. While consumers incomes are falling but supply is increasing, Ryanairs organisation will continue to offer low cost seats or even seats for free. I assume that in future Ryanair will expand it destinations to other continents such as South America and Africa, because company has got huge possibilities for that. The only thing to do is to find additional investors and to think over the strategic plan. 4.0. Recommendations In the light of these conclusions, I would recommend Ryanair organisation to improve organisations supply chain. All the Ryanairs destinations are operating into far-flung airports and passengers are confused about airports. All that it is necessary is change some of the destinations to major cities. Another solution is to write not only the airports name and country but write a citys name as well. In addition, I would recommend to improve quality strategy a specially one of the quality aspects people (HRM) as staff may start to strike. Their needs are not considered, company should prove such necessary elements such as uniforms and bi-annual medical examination. Of course, it will cost huge amount of money for the organisation but still staff will be satisfied. As a consequence, staff will work better and Ryanairs service will be little improved as well. References Boddy, D. (2002) Management An Introduction (2nd Ed.) Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Bowersox, J., D., Closs, J., D., and Cooper, B., M. (2010) Supply Chain Logistics Management (3rd Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill. British Airways (2011) Travel classes [online] available from [5 February 2011]. Garvin, D., A (1987) Managing Quality, New York: The Free Press. Guardian.co.uk (2010) Ryanair returns to profit [online] available from [9>HYPERLINK http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/jun/01/ryanair-returns-to-profit> [9 [9 February 2011]. Kotler, P., Keller, K.L., Brady, M., Goodman, M., and Hansen, T. (2009) Marketing Management. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited. Lamb, W., Hair, F., J., and McDaniel, C. (2008) Marketing (10th Ed.) Mason: Nelson Education, Ltd. Manak, S. (2009) Introduction to Business Organisation 121BSS, Glasgow: McGraw-Hill. Palmer, A., and Hartley, B. (2006) The Business Environment (5th Ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill. Ryanair (2009) About Us [online] available from [27>HYPERLINK http://www.ryanair.com/en/about> [27 [27 January 2011]. Ryanair (2010) Logopedia [online] available from [31>HYPERLINK http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Ryanair > [31 [31 January 2011]. Ryanair Holdings (2010) Annual Report Financial Statements 2010 [online] available from [3 February 2011]. Siobhà ¡n Creaton (2007) RYANAIR: The Full Story of the Controversial Low-Cost Airline, London: Aurum Press Limited. Smith, M. (2007) Fundamentals of Management, Glasgow: McGraw-Hill Education. Bibliography Beckford, J. (2002) Quality (2nd Ed.) London: Routledge. Calder, S. (2002) No Frills The Truth Behind The Low-Cost Revolution In The Skies, London: Virgin Books Ltd. Harrington. J., H. (1987) Poor Quality Cost, New York: Mareel Dekker, Inc. Hoyle, D. (1997) QS 9000 Quality Systems Handbook, Newton: Butterworth Heinemann. Hutt, M., and Speh, W., Th. (1998) Business Marketing Management a strategic view of industrial and organizational markets (6th Ed.) Orlando: The Dryden Press. McDaniel, C., Lamb, W., Ch., and Hair, F., J. (2008) Marketing (10th Ed.) Mason: Nelson Education, Ltd. Waters, D. (2003) Logistics An Introduction to Supply Management, New York: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN. Appendices Appendix1

Sylvia Plath :: essays research papers fc

The Many Views of Sylvia Plath   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pulitzer Prize winner, Sylvia Plath began her misunderstood life on October 27, 1932, in Jamacia Plains Massachusetts. She was born to Otto and Aurelia Plath, who were both teachers (Sylvia Plath).Her father was a professor at Boston University. He studied bees.(Personal Influences) Plath has been seen in a variety of ways; as a tragic poet, the all-American, girl next-door, but, most of all, a heroine of the feminist movement.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Plath’s life was haunted by visions of her past. Her father died when she was eight from neglected diabetes, after the amputation of a toe, and eventually and entire leg (Personal Influences). â€Å"Otto Plath was diabetic, yet chose to ignore doctor's warnings about certain prohibited foods. He projected an arrogant self-confidence as if nothing could defeat him. It was this same arrogance that caused his death.† (Personal Influences). Plath never fully recovered from her father’s untimely passing (Personal Influences). She felt betrayed, and was consumed by her own guilt. She felt that if he loved her more, he would have taken better care of himself. Otto Plath is a recurring theme in her works. Her poem ,Daddy, expresses her resentment and bitterness toward being deserted by him (Personal Influences).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After receiving straight A’s throughout high school, Plath attended Smith University. In the summer of 1953, she received the opportunity to go to New York and intern with Mademoiselle. While in New York, Plath suffered an emotional breakdown. She plunged into a deep depression (Sylvia Plath). When she returned home to Boston, where she was living with her mother (whom she hated), she took a handful of sleeping pills, and attempted to end her life (Sylvia Plath). After this, she was sent to McLean Hospital, to be treated for mental illness (Sylvia Plath).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upon her release from the hospital, she returned to Smith, and then to Cambridge, England to study at Newnham College. (Sylvia Plath) Here she met, fell in love with, and, after four months, married the future Poet Laureate of England, Ted Hughes (Gray). The two were together for six years, and produced two children together, Frieda in 1960 and Nicholas in 1962, (Sylvia Plath). However, Hughes left Plath for Assia Wevil in the winter of 1962 (Sylvia Plath). Desperate and alone, Plath sealed off the doors to her children’s rooms on February 11, 1963, placed her head in a gas oven, and died (Sylvia Plath). Ironically, Assia Welvill eventually killed herself in the same exact way as Plath (Kirjasto).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hughes felt that he was powerless to help Plath. He believed that she was destined to kill herself because of her fixation with her father (Gray). â€Å"What happens in the heart simply happens,† Hughes said

Cant We All Just Get Along?: Competition Essays -- essays research pap

Can't We All Just Get Along?: Competition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In our country, everything is run by competition. From basic family roles, to sporting events, to economic well-being. It is this competitive nature that makes us able to better ourselves, and others. Competition is the driving force that pushes one forward. However, assume our nation were cooperative in nature. What would that be like? Would it be a better place than the competitive world of today?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First there must be a clear understanding of just how this competitive nature affects our everyday lives. Nearly every aspect of our day has competitive under tones. Some of this competitive nature is unknowing to the person at the time. For instance, a school is one of the best demonstrations of competitive nature at play. W...

From Pilate to Pilate and Song to Song Essay -- essays research papers

Toni Morrison presents various different allusions to the Bible in her novel Song of Solomon. The most apparent examples of this are represented within the parallels between Pontius Pilate and Pilate Dead, along with the thematic plot of love present in the novel and in the biblical book Song of Solomon. Morrison shows a great deal of correlation between the Bible and Song of Solomon. She uses her creativity to present familiar characters in a new and different light. She is able to present the same characteristics in an original story that has a vast amount of biblical similarities in love, strength, and power. There are several circumstances that demonstrate Morrison’s creativity in the parallel aspect of the story. Pilate, for one, is a strong and independent character determined to live the way she sees fit. Fascinating is how Pilate got her name. Macon remembers after their mother dies during child birth, their father must point to a name out of the Bible, but unfortunately, he cannot read. â€Å"How his father, confused and melancholy over his wife’s death in childbirth, had thumbed through the Bible, and since he could not read a word, chose a group of letters that seemed to him strong and handsome; saw in them a large figure that looked like a tree hanging in some princely but protective way over a row of smaller trees† (18). Even more interesting is the description of Pilate cooking when Macon is spying through the window as â€Å"Pilate swayed like a willow over her stirring† (30). This is a representation of what Pilate Dead will be and what the biblical Pilate was; strong like a willow tree. There is clear evidence from scripture that Pilate was a strong man that primarily did what he thought would be best for him. In the book of John, after Jesus is sent to be crucified, â€Å"Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS†¦and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written† (Holy Bible, John 19.19-22). This is unmistakably a description of the dominance enveloped in his character. The chief priests of the Jews did not want it written out for all to see that Jesus was considered a king, but Pila... ...ffection for his lover, in the novel they kill or act irrationally, in a conventional sense, for love. In their minds every action is justified by the love that they feel, whether it is for power and wealth, closeness, or maintaining the race. Love is all around them and drives them to be the people that they are. In all cases, including biblical, they cling to the love that inspires even the most absurd of actions and live their lives to fulfill their needs. Works Cited Bryant, Cedric Gael. "Every Goodbye Ain't Gone: The Semiotics of Death, Mourning, and Closural Practice in Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon." MELUS 24.3 (1999): 97+. Buehrer, David. â€Å"American History X, Morrison's Song of Solomon, and the Psychological Intersections of Race, Class, and Place in Contemporary America.† Journal of Evolutionary Psychology 25.1 (2004): 18+. Glickman, Craig. â€Å"Solomon’s Song of Love: Let a Song of Songs Ispire Your Own Romantic Story.† Publishers Weekly 250.47: 60-61. Holy Bible: Authorized King James Version. Michigan: Zondervan, 1994. Life in the Spirit: Study Bible. Donald C. Stamps, gen. ed. Michigan: Zondervan, 2003. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Vintage, 2004

The Fourth Alarm W

In John Speeches short story, â€Å"The Fourth Alarm,† the narrator is perplexed by the recent actions of his rebellious wife. She quit her job, partakes as a nude actor in an amateur theatre, and refuses to listen to her male chauvinist husband. The narrator's wife's abandonment of the Apollonian for the Dionysian serves as a modern day Adam and Eve that, instead of questioning the sinful nature of man, questions the traditional masculine-feminine roles in society.According to Biblical tradition, Adam and Eve lived prosperously in an orderly, Apollonian garden -? Eden. However, once Eve strays from this order and eats the apple of knowledge (while tempting Adam to eat it as well), they both become tainted with original sin. Adam and Eves rejection of tradition, as symbolized by eating the forbidden fruit, results in their ejection from the Garden of Eden and into a more chaotic future. As Eve rejected the Apollonian in an attraction to the Dionysian, the narrator's wife rejec ted her traditional role of mother and teacher and embraced the Dionysian traits of nudity, disorder, and orgy.She disobeys her masculine husband and tempts him to take off his clothes; get rid of his attach, wallet, and keys; and embrace sexual equality. In essence, she is striping off what the narrator considers his identity, â€Å"l held my valuables in my right hand, my literal identification† (Achiever 196). Unlike Adam and Eve, which primary subject matter is original sin, â€Å"The Fourth Alarm† delves into the feminine break from social subjugation. Achiever does not demonic the narrators wife as the Bible demotions Eve. He instead focuses on the husband's reaction to his wife's embracement of a sexual equality that challenges male-female societal roles.The narrator, spite striping, can not let go of his worldly possessions that represent his masculinity. He is comforted by tradition and wishes his wife would be more â€Å"nostalgic† and yearning of the old gender roles like he is. Achiever s portrayal of the narrator and his difficulty in accepting change illustrates society difficulty in leaving traditional female subjugation and moving towards gender equality. The underlying question Achiever asks the reader in â€Å"the Fourth Alarm† is if we are ready to accept change, to put down tradition, and to progress to a society marked by equality where the masculine and feminine are equals.

Alcohol Consumption Drosophila Melanogaster

Alcohol consumption in sexually frustrated fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster Ankit Sharma April 8, 2013 BIO 534 Introduction The fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster show addiction-like behavior towards alcohol where the flies seem to be physiologically dependent on (Atkinson et. al. , 2012). The flies can thus exhibit a cognitive dependence where such behavior is stored in memory and same behavior is also shown in the future. This addiction is linked to NPY neuropeptide levels which can be found in Drosophila where these neuropeptides serve as feeding stimulants (Shen et. al. , 2005).Alcohol consumption rate is higher when these NPY neuropeptide levels are suppressed (Wilcox, 2012). Thus, such factors are linked to the idea that fruit flies consume food that contains alcohol more than regular food, and such behavior increases over time (Devineni and Heberlein, 2009). Sexual frustration is also linked to increase in consumption of alcohol. Fruit flies consumed less alcohol when they were sexually satisfied because sex raised NPF levels and the flies consumed more alcohol when they were sexually frustrated because their NPF levels were suppressed (Azanchi et. l. , 2012). The purpose of the experiment is to determine if sexually frustrated male fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster resort to alcohol after being rejected by females. Thus, the experiment will determine if the number of sexually frustrated fruit flies will be higher where there is alcohol in the environment than non-sexually frustrated fruit flies. The hypothesis to be tested is null hypothesis. The null hypothesis states that sexual frustration has no effect on alcohol consumption by male fruit flies.Thus, there will not be a significantly higher number of rejected male fruit flies in an alcohol environment than non-sexually frustrated flies. Materials and Methods Two plastic cylindrical vials were used to place wingless wild type fruit flies. The vials contained same amount of medium for food. Both vials contained regular medium for food. The fruit flies were anesthesized and 40 males and 40 females were separated. 20 males were placed in a vial with 20 females that were decapitated by a razor blade. 20 separate males were placed in a different vial with 20 females.The experiment was conducted over a period of 4 days. Two more vials were made, both containing 21% alcohol on one half side of the medium which was the closest percentage available compared to 15% ethanol used in other experiments. The males with decapitated females were transferred to one of the vials with alcohol. The males with regular females were transferred to the other vial with alcohol. The number of flies present on alcohol and normal side of the medium was recorded in both vials for 20 minutes in 1 minute increments. Three trials were conducted.The mean numbers of fruit flies present on the two sides of both vials were calculated. The mean was calculated by the summation of the number of fruit flies in e ach sides of the vials and divided by 120. The null hypothesis was tested by conducting a two-tailed t-test. Results For all the number of fruit flies observed in the two vials (n=120) there was a significant difference in the number of fruit flies in the two vials in the (t=4. 87, df=118, p

Core Issues in Crime and Punishment Essay

Jimmy Boyle’s autobiography A Sense of Freedom (1977) gives a very interesting and honest insight into his life of crime and incarceration. The autobiography, written from inside prison, is according to Boyle an attempt to warn young people that there is not anything glamorous about crime and violence. It gives a full narration of his life from a very young age, with a detailed insight into his childhood, experiences of petty crime, approved schools and borstal, right through to his adult experiences of more serious crime, violence and adult prisons, including his interpretation of the Penal System. Reading this autobiography I aimed to remain detached from the author and seek to create an independent analysis of his criminality. The definition of ‘autobiography’ according to AskOxford (2010) is ‘an account of a person’s life written by that person’; this suggests that in analysing the author’s criminality throughout the book one should not forget that it is written from the author’s perspective and memory and should not be taken purely on face value. With this in mind I intend to apply criminological theories to Boyle’s autobiography with an aim to distinguish which criminological theory most effectively seeks to explain his criminality. Moreover, in doing this I expect to illuminate the criticisms involved within these theories. Crime can be defined as ‘an act or deed, which is against the law’ (Chambers 1998:145). Over the past few centuries there have been numerous theories try to explain why crime is committed and the answers to this question are still quite sceptical. I intend to consider the key principles of Rational Choice Theory and how convincing it is in explaining Boyle’s criminality. Rational Choice Theory is part of a contemporary Classical approach in explaining crime. In order to explain this theory it is important firstly to look into the Classical approach. Classicism is the eldest of these two theories that seeks to explain criminality. It emerged at a time when the naturalistic approach of the social contract theorists was challenging the previously dominant spiritualist approach to explaining crime and criminal behaviour (Burke, 2005:24). It rests on the assumption of free will and suggests that criminal activity is the result of rational choice and of the hedonistic impulses of the individual (Newburn, 2007:114). It was the two key Classical school theorists Baccaria and Bentham who in the late eighteenth century established the essential components of the Rational Actor model. It suggests that crime is the product of evil and people commit crime through choice because they are simply ‘bad’ (Newburn, 2007:114). A key principle of the classicist approach is to state the law clearly to the public and punishment should be predictable in order to create deterrence against crime. Baccaria considered that criminals owe a debt to society and proposed that punishments should be fixed strictly in proportion to the seriousness of the crime. According to Baccaria human behaviour is essentially based on the pleasure pain principle, therefore punishment should reflect that principle and all that are guilty of a particular offence should suffer the same penalty (Burke, 2005:25). Rational Choice theory derives from this same school of thought as Classicism. It emerged during the 1980s with the notion that ‘nothing works’, influenced by the Bentham and the economic utility model. Likewise to Classicism it bases its structure on simple deterrence and retribution principles and also shares the same assumptions that offenders are essentially rationally calculating actors (Newburn, 2007:280). It suggests that offenders make a cost-benefit-calculation as whether to commit the crime. If the benefit (e.g. money) out weighs the cost (e.g. prosecution if caught) then it is likely that they will take the risk and commit the offence. Becker (1968, cited in Newburn, 2007) argued that individuals will commit offences if the ‘expected utility’ of doing so is positive, and will not do so if it is negative. Cornish and Clark (1985, cited in Newburn, 2007) have had a major influence in developing Rational Choice theory. They suggest that rather than a simple choice, a sequence of choices have to be made, and that these choices are influenced by a number of social and psychological factors within the individual. Although this contemporary view still holds some of the main aspects of Classicism regarding rationality, it has moved in a new direction as it now arguably considers the psychological and sociological effects on the offender, an area that Classicism failed to consider. Rather than suggesting offenders are just ‘bad’ in its explanation of crime as Classicism does, the Rational Choice theory became the study of why people make particular decisions and behave in particular ways under certain circumstances (Newburn, 2007:281). According to Cornish and Clark (1985, cited in Newburn, 2007) crime is treated as ‘purposive’; it is never senseless. Moreover, Cornish and Clark (1985, cited in Newburn, 2007) suggest that other than material wealth, the benefits of committing su ch crime may also include excitement, prestige, fun, sexual gratification, defiance or dominance of others. It is arguable that throughout reading A Sense Of Freedom (1977) Boyle is aware of all the benefits from crime he receives, a lot of which are mentioned above. From a young age Boyle admits to the excitement experience by stealing and fighting. It is this that makes it evident that he has made rational calculations of what the benefits received will be as a result of crime, for instance stealing will gain him material wealth, reputation/status and excitement, much the same as fighting would gain him reputation and excitement. In this sense for Boyle the benefit of committing crime outweighed the cost, which explains his ongoing criminal behaviour. However, these benefits received would be an after effect of committing these crimes. What the Rational Choice theory fails to explain is why the need for committing the crime in the first place. Although Rational Choice theory does mention the psychological and sociological aspects that the offender brings with them into certain situations , it bases these aspects on calculating whether to commit the crime or not, rather than what sociological or psychological effects would contribute towards committing the crime in the first place i.e. strain, inequality, poverty, learned behaviour etc. Therefore it still does not seek to explain the individual’s social circumstances. In this sense according to Newburn (2007) it fails to take sufficient account of the structural conditions within which individual decision-making takes place (Newburn, 2007,296) Simply Rational Choice theory does not explain the reasons for committing crime in the first place. It explains the process that takes place when there is an opportunity for crime. According to Newburn (2007) it fails to explain or is unconcerned with the motivation of the offender. What it does seek to explain is the reasons why offenders such as Boyle repeatedly committed crime, such as the benefits i.e. reputation, status and material wealth. The Rational Choice Theory suggests that we would all commit crime if we thought we could get away with it, the reason we do not is because for most the cost outweighs the benefit (Newburn, 2007:296). This illuminates the question as to why everyone does not commit crime if everyone has the same rationality? According to Jones (2006) ‘the various definitions of ‘rational choice’ provided by the theory’s proponents seems to be too vague and allow for almost any form of behaviour except the most extreme pathological variety’. According to Jones (2006:417), Gibbs (1989) sums it up when he said ‘if rational behaviour is defined as simply goal-orientated behaviour, then virtually all human behaviour is rational’. According to Burke, (2005,44) one of the criticisms with Rational Choice theory is that it is accused of implying a too high degree of rationality by comparing criminal choices too closely with market-place decisions. The work of Cornish and Clark suggest ‘offenders invariably act in terms of limited or bounded form of rationality (Burke, 2005:44). In this sense offenders will not be fully aware of all the aspects involved in making the decision to commit crime nor will they have all the facts to make a wise decision. This is still considered to be a rational choice but to a different degree. Therefore, this suggests that offenders can be categorised separately from ‘law-abiding’ citizens (Burke, 2005:44). Although the Rational Choice Theory has played a large part in the Governments aim for situational crime prevention within the past forty years, with the notion that ‘nothing works’ and its concentration on removing/reducing the opportunity for crime, it seems it has not played a large part in understanding why crime is committed nor has it contributed towards developing criminological theory. Gibbons (1994, cited in Walklate, 1998:38) argues that ‘the Rational Choice theory neither constitutes a new or nor a general explanation of crime since elements of attributing the ability to make choices and decisions to criminals and criminal behaviour are present in a range of criminological perspectives’. Akers (1994 cited in Jones, 2006:416) suggests Ration Choice theory and deterrence theorists have not acknowledged their debt to Social Learning theory, which he states already allows for the adoption of rational decision-making processes in considering whether to commit crime. As it is apparent after reading Boyle’s autobiography that he has made a lot of choices to commit crime throughout his life, it is difficult to apply the Rational Choice theory to specifics as it seems to be a very vague theory, much the same a Classicism. It seems that all his decisions throughout were of a cost-benefit-calculation, however arguably, this could be said about every decision any offender makes from stealing a pen at work, vandalism to murder and more serious crime. With this in mind I am now going to consider a psychological positivist approach in explaining Boyles criminality. Instead of looking at abnormalities of the brain in an attempt to explain his criminality, although there are a number of questions that could be raised when looking at his actions in prison, which could arguably be linked to psychopathic behaviour, in this case it would be beneficial to look into learning behaviour in trying to explain his criminality, with an emphasis on Social Learnin g thoery. From a young age Boyle explains the area he was brought up in as poor and socially deprived (Boyle, 1977:21). He tells of his experiences as a young boy as looking at certain areas as more upper class and the people who live in them are ‘toffs’ which he later admits that they were not, however they had nicer clothes or shoes than himself therefore they were classed as ‘toffs’ by him and his peers. He states that his and his friend’s mother used to call then ‘half boiled toffs’ and used to mimic their accents (Boyle, 1977,9). He tells of his time going around from a young age stealing with his friends from other peoples unwanted possessions, something that was seen by Boyle as not criminal activity just the done thing. Watching the older men come out the pubs at night time drunk and engaging in violent behaviour (fighting) was one of the activities Boyle and his peers used to do, preferably on weekends. (Boyle, 1977:15). Although when read ing the book Boyle’s childish endeavours seems rather inline with the norm that boys will be boys and get up to mischief, it seems that this is where Boyles personality developed. The fact that he was out late watching the fighting outside pubs at the age of 5-6 suggests that his violent behaviour in his adult life could have derived from this. Thus, the significant aspects of this are that Boyle was out at a very late time for a young boy, which suggests that there was a significant lack of supervision by his parents. This is one of the reasons for Social Learning theory’s explanations as to why some delinquent behaviour takes place, and is one of lack of supervision or poor child rearing can lead to aggression (something that Boyle implied he was eventually an expert in) (Newburn, 2007:165) Boyle tells us from the start that his Father dies when he is a young boy, this is significant because of the lack of parenting in his family regarding supervision but also because of his Father’s reputation of which Boyle states he was aware of, which is of a violent nature. It is evident that these activities from childhood and throughout his adolescence c ould be key in explaining his criminality. Behavioural learning theories has its origins in the work of Pavlov and Skinner and their experiments carried out on animals, with their conditioning with stimuli when confronted with different tasks (Burke, 2005:79). This had a profound impact on the perspective developed when considering criminality. Skinner argued from an operant conditioning perspective that a person must actively respond if they are to learn, whereas Cognitivists place the emphasis on mental rather than physical activity (Burke, 2005:85). Social Learning theory like the Rational Choice theory shares the same notion that behaviour can be reinforced by rewards and punishment however it emphasises that behaviour can learned by expectations that are learned by watching what happens to other people, in this sense individuals will make a choice as to what is learned and how (Burke, 2005:85). Tarde (1843-1904, cited in Burke, 2005) suggested that crime was simply a normal learned behaviour. He argued that criminals are primary normal people who by accident of birth are brought up in an atmosphere in which they learn crime as a way of life. This leads to my argument as rather than generalising everyone as just rational actors, Boyle was nurtured into crime from a young age. In this sense this takes into consideration that whilst this theory shares the same values regarding rationality it looks closer into why crime is committed in the first place. Albert Bandura had a major impact on Social Learning theory, especially with his demonstration of the ‘Bobo doll’ experiment. The basis of the theory is that the learned behaviour is a combination of the physical acts and how to perform them (skills) and the attitudes and mental understanding necessary to the behaviour (including social skills, morals and choice) (Williams, 2008:289). In this sense criminal behaviour can be learnt through practice, watching others or engaging in the environment (Williams, 2008:289). According to Williams the level of social skills, which the individuals have learnt, may be connected to the amount of crime they perform. Bandura (cited in Newburn, 2007:153) points out that Social Learning theory includes a consideration of motivation and the three types involved, these are; external reinforcement-from the environment, vicarious reinforcement-from observing others and self reinforcement-as a result of taking pleasure or pride from one’s own actions. According to Bandura (cited in Newburn, 2007:153) in this sense we are likely to be influenced by others especially if they are of a high status, which is referred to as models. It is arguable that Boyle learnt his violent behaviour from hearing stories about his Father to watching fighting outside the pubs, in this sense he idolised this behaviour. It is stated in the book that in the book Boyle’s peers stole some money on a particular occasion. Boyle states that he did not want any of the money when his friends were sharing it out. However, he did let them pay for him to get in the cinema. This aloud Boyle to receive the benefits of this cr iminal act, which arguably conditioned him for the future, as this moral decision did not last and before long Boyle was participating in more theft himself. This is a case of learned behaviour from his peers. This shows that not all models have to be of high status, but behaviour can be learned through delinquent peers and what is accepted within a group (Newburn, 2007:165). The Social Learning theory therefore, can be applied to how Boyle became more involved in criminal activity. According to Newburn (2007) Ron Akers and his study of crime, suggests that crime is a result of operant conditioning or imitation. Not only did Boyle involve himself in theft and violent activity at school, but also carried on through his adolescent life which lead him into Approved schools and Borstal. This is where Boyle states that he made a lot of ‘contacts’. He referred to these institutions as ‘University for crime’ (Boyle, 1977:73). This suggest that Boyle believed himself that mixing with people of a more higher criminal status played a significant part in extending his criminality. According to Jones (2006:415) ‘for persistent offenders, the periodic reinforcement of their values by other criminals has been sufficient to outweigh the inhibitory effects of punishment. It is clear that whilst covering only a small area of Psychological Positivism with an emphasis on Social Learning theory, it seems to be a good explanation to Boyles Criminality. What this theory fails to explain is to some extent the social deprivation that Boyle experienced. It does focus on some areas that the social circumstances had on Boyle’s personality, however it emphasises on modelling his personality from influence of his peers and role models. This does seem to be effective in explaining why Boyle became violent and engaged in theft, however it fails to explain why he was influenced in this way in the first place and illuminates the question as to why are people around him acting in this way? According to Howitt (2009) ‘suggesting that people learn their violent and criminal actions from others is a weak argument, unless violence and crime are entirely genetically transmitted then inevitably they must be learnt socially in some way’. In this sense according to Howitt (2009) ‘any explanation of violence and crime in terms of learning is not particularly helpful unless the conditions under which it is learnt can be specified. Violence and crime are not the exclusive means by which goals are achieved. A variety of tactics are involved in achieving goals – working rather than stealing to get a television set being a simple example. As work is a major form of modeled behavior, how can we explain why there is any crime at all if it is simply through social learning’? In this sense the Social Learning theory’s weak ability to explain under what circumstances criminal behavior will or will not be learnt means that it has limited explanatory power (Howitt, 2009:78). Due to official statistics on crime there is a common belief that poverty has a significant role to play in underlying offending (Jones, 2006:151). The work from Durkheim focused on how the organization of society can drive people into breaking its rules (Jones, 2006:157). Durkheim thought that some crime is normal in society and it would be impossible to imagine a society without crime (Jones, 2006:157). Derkheim’s concentration on ‘anomie’ and the sociological perspective of crime had a profound effect on the development of criminological theory as he realised that crime is a contemporary social construct rather than a set of universal values or the reflection of intrinsic ‘evils’ (Jones, 2006:161). This gave rise to Merton’s theory on strain. Derkheim saw ‘anomie’ as created by sudden changes in society, whereas Merton ‘anomie’ applies to disadvantages of the lower classes. This is the area I am going to concentrate on next in explaining Boyle’s criminality.