Legal Order of European Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Legal Order of European Community - Essay Example With these points in mind, let us try to find out to what degree it is justified to view the EC as representing a new legal order, and what aspects of this order are indeed unusual. For this purpose we will overview the history of the European law and legal structures, and then will try to single out those specific qualities of European law that contributed to the emergence of a new legal order within the EC. First of all, we should from the very beginning chart a clear interrelation between the EC law and the European Union (EU) law, which stems from the EU structure according to treaties. The EC is one of the so-called three pillars of the EU and is related to economic and social aspects of the single European market. The remaining two pillars are represented, in accordance with the Treaty of the European Union also known as the Maastricht Treaty, by Internal Security (Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters), and by Common Foreign and Security Policy. In the outlined context, the EC law is contained in the EC Treaty, EC Recommendations, EC Directives, and in the case-law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) (Van Gerven, 2005, pp.12-27). 1 TheThe ECs legal nature was fundamentally influenced by the ECJ, created in 1952, in its two precedent-setting judgements of 1963 and 1964. The first one was the famous Van Gend & Loos case, in which the transport company from Netherlands filed a suit against the states customs because a higher than usual duty was imposed on import of chemical products from Germany. "Van Gend & Loos" company viewed this action as a violation of the twelfth Article of the EEC Treaty (today this is the twenty-fifth Article of the EC Treaty), which banned increases of custom duties or introduction of new ones between Community members. The Dutch court passed this matter to the ECJ and asked for the clarification of the relevant Treaty article. This seemingly minor case instigated the ECJ to formulate some important fundamental principles that contributed to the formation of the legal order of the EC. During the Van Gend & Loos case investigation judges considered the issue of whether individuals also c an appeal to the EEC Treaty articles, and in spite of the opinion of the Advocate General and a number of governments, judges of the Court issued the resolution which stated that the EEC treaty was meant to be something more than only an agreement between states, but rather that it as well was related to all peoples. Thus, according to the logic of the Court, newly established European institutions empowered by sovereign rights affected both member states of the Community and their citizens. The conclusion that followed from these observation was that a new legal order was created in the international law which limited sovereignty of states in some areas for their benefit, and was equally binding for their citizens. 2 Soon, ECJ used Costa/ENEL case to clarify its position in more detail. This case stemmed from the situation when Italy in 1962 nationalised electrical industry and passed the assets to the National Electricity Board (ENEL). Mr Costa, who was a shareholder of one of the nationalised companies, claimed that his dividends were stolen, and refused to pay bill for

Evil in St.Augustine's Confessions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Evil in St.Augustine's Confessions - Essay Example He proposed many interesting arguments. This theme was important for Augustine as he was very sinful until realized the essence of God and religion. His theory is very valuable as it serves as the basis for Christian knowledge. However, as every theory, the ideas of Augustine is not fully accepted and actively criticized. The presence of good and evil in the world is obvious, but what are the relations between them? Many experts emphasize the conflict between good and evil. The main statement of St. Augustine is that evil is simply the absence of good. This presumption has a long history. It is a well known fact that St. Augustine was initially a Manichean and became Christian only after he realized the drawbacks of Persian Dualism religion- Manichaeism. The main idea of this religion lies in the belief in two gods, who represent good and evil. In this religion we can see the struggle between the light and darkness. St. Augustine scrutinized Christianity and rejected Manichaeism. He claimed that in this world there could be only one god, a good one. God and the world that he created are the main aspects of the philosophy of Augustine and the relations between them deserve special attention. Augustine argued that the world is the creation of God, God does not depend on the world and the world is fully dependent on God. Creating human soul, God initially incorporated in it the striving for happiness as the main goal in a man’s life. That is why a man must use all the abilities of his soul to achieve the happiness. Happiness itself consists in the maximum cognition of God and in this case the human reason becomes the main basis for belief. That is why belief is the foundation and the initial point for cognition. Cognition without the belief is sinful. The supreme form of cognition is divine inspiration given by God to humans, who have strong belief. This

Apple Inc. Business Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Apple Inc. Business Analysis - Essay Example The reasons of investing as mutual fund manager in Apple are given, and the paper concludes with a summary of the business analysis. Apple Inc. Business Analysis. Company Background. Apple was incorporated in California in 1977. Apple Inc. and its subsidiaries develop, manufactures and sells its products including personal computers, media devices, mobiles, and digital music players. The Company also sells various related software, peripherals, services, networking solutions, and third party digital content and applications. Apple products and services comprise of iPod, iPhone, Mac, Apple TV, Mac, a portfolio of professional and consumer software applications, iCloud, the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems, and a variety of accessory, service and support offerings. The Company also sells and delivers digital content and applications through the App Store, iBookstore, iTunes Store, and Mac App Store. The company sells its products globally through its online stores, retail stores, and direct sales force, as well as through third-party cellular network transporters, retailers, value added resellers and wholesalers. Also, the Company sells various third-party iPod, iPhone, Mac, and iPod compatible products, including printers, application software, storage devices, headphones, speakers, and various other peripherals and accessories, through its retail and online stores. Apple sells its products to consumers, education, small and medium sized businesses, enterprise and government customers (www.apple.com). The Effects of Recent Economic Trends on Apple’s Business. The performance and operations of Apple depend significantly on global economic conditions. Uncertainty about worldwide economic conditions poses a risk as businesses and consumers postpone spending in response to unemployment, tighter credit, negative financial news and/or declines in asset values or income, which could have negative effects on demand for companies’ services and products (A ndreas, 2011). The Company usually increases prices on goods and services sold outside the United States; this is aimed to offset the effect of appreciating U.S. dollar in these markets, thus affecting the demand of Apple products. Other factors that affect the demand of Apple products and services include; conditions in the mortgage and real estate markets, increases in fuel and energy costs, labor and healthcare costs, unemployment, access to credit, and other macroeconomic factors affecting the spending behavior of consumers. Andreas (2011) notes that the global financial crisis and the debt crisis in Europe have led to new or incremental tightening of the credit market, low liquidity, and extreme volatility in fixed income, currency, credit, and equity markets. This has affected the Company’s business, including the financial instability of outsourcing trading partners or their inability to obtain credit to finance development and/or manufacture products resulting to prod uct delays. The crisis has also, has affected Apple customers, including channel partners by making them incapable to access credit to finance purchases of Apple products. Strategies of Adapting to Changing Economic Conditions. Economic recession provides opportunities to companies of starting new businesses, innovate and manufacture new products, and build and strengthen customer loyalty (Andreas, 2011). Apple operates in a highly competitive and highly volatile industry,

Maternal Stress and the Effects of Childhood Development Essay Example for Free

Maternal Stress and the Effects of Childhood Development Essay In conducting my research on developmental studies, I had the chance to review many academic journals with many different studies. I chose to read, â€Å"The Role of Prenatal Maternal Stress in Child Development,† by Janet A.DiPietro in the, Current Directions in Psychological Science journal. The title of the study itself does identify the independent and dependent variable. The independent variable is the effect of stress, and the dependent variable is the child’s development. In reading the introduction, I learned that throughout history people have thought that the emotions and experiences of a pregnant woman impinge on her developing fetus. (DiPietro, 2004) I also learned that there are no direct neural connections between the mother and fetus. (DiPietro, 2004) The journal went on to describe the physiological processes involved in mother to fetus bio-chemical and hormonal functions. The main studies used in determining theoretical explanations throughout history, have been in animal studies. According to DiPietro (2004), â€Å"the most compelling evidence between maternal physiological functioning and later development in offspring is found in animal studies.† (p. 1). The hypothesis of this study suggests that maternal stressors are more far-reaching on child behavior than previously suspected. (DiPietro, 2004). The main way that this hypothesis has been studied is by utilizing animal research. In a series of studies done with rhesus monkeys, when the mothers were exposed to loud noises throughout pregnancy, the offspring showed delayed motor development and reduced attention. (DiPietro, 2004) It does seem that most of the studies conducted on animals have reported negative consequences. Although reports of either no effects or beneficial ones make it clear that much is left to be learned about the specific characteristics of stressors that either accelerate or retard development. (DiPietro, 2004) The subjects used in the methods section were humans. Although, according to the article, this is difficult to study in the human because of the physiological differences during the pregnancies of the different species, and the fact that researchers are unable to control events that transpire after birth in humans. (DiPietro, 2004) Therefore, there are no graphs, charts or statistical measures seen in this article. There were several methods used to analyze the data in this article. One was the survey. Surveys were done with mothers who had witnessed a catastrophic even such as the World Trade Center disaster, or an earthquake. Although the study was able to show that the mother was indeed stressed during pregnancy, there was no study conducted on the outcome of the child. (DiPietro, 2004) Another method had mothers report about their stress incurred during pregnancy, and then an observer and not a parent rated the infant’s behavior. The article suggests that even the resulting information in this study may be skewed, because the studies relied on the Mother’s reports of their children’s problems. It finally became apparent through this study that the only way for the researchers to examine the effects of stressors on the fetus was to subject women to a non-invasive stressor and then measure fetal response. (DiPietro, 2004) They gave these women a standardized test called the, Stroop Color-Word Test. (DiPietro, 2004) The test caused the women to feel cognitively challenged, therefore inducing increased physiological responses in mother, but interestingly, not in the fetus. Fetal motor activity was actually suppressed, according to the study. (DiPietro, 2004) The final results of the study showed that higher maternal anxiety midway through pregnancy were strongly associated with better motor and mental development scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. (DiPietro, 2004) Interestingly, the research conducted on humans, showed that the effects on the developing child are opposite of the effects on animals. The article ends with this statement, â€Å" Too much or too little stress may impede development, but a moderate level may be formative or optimal. It seems that there is really too little research on this area of study to come to a conclusion. I found this study to be very interesting and relevant to today’s issues within society, and especially the question of nature versus nurture. It makes me think about children who are displaying such violent behaviors such as shooting their classmates and parents. It makes me ask the question of what was going on in the mother’s environment during pregnancy? Did she have an easy, stress free, supported pregnancy, or was there fighting and unrest during the pregnancy? Could factors such as these affect the child and develop into what we label as sociopathic? It would be interesting to conduct a study of pregnant women in a prison setting versus pregnant women in an ideal pregnancy situation, and to study the offspring from birth to five years old. Would the affects of the pregnant woman in prison create certain developmental issues in the children? Does it even matter? These questions and many more within the psychology realm are what make this a fascinating discipline to study. It truly is the nature of ourselves that we get to ask questions about, and find the deeper, hidden meanings. References DiPietro, J. A. (2004, April). The role of prenatal maternal stress in child development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13(2), 71-74. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182913

Occupational Health and Safety Practice Program Evaluation

Occupational Health and Safety Practice Program Evaluation OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PRACTICE Plan and evaluate programs to promote occupational health and safety practice Student Name: Yi Li Assessment Task 1 Place of work or work placement Te kotuku kit e Rangi Target group for the programmes to promote occupational health and safety practice Te kotuku Ki Te Rangi, Managers and Team Leader, All staffs, Health and safety officer. Key stakeholders (role, and details of what inputs they require or can provide to the potential health and safety programme) Stakeholders What their input could be Te kotuku Ki Te Rangi Committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all employees, which include training, safety program. Team Leader and Managers Knowledge of current or best practice for different activities and tasks in the workplace. Concerns or issues relating to levels of sickness or injury in the workplace. All staffs Follow the safety procedure; participate in the safety program, training. Report if there is any potential hazard or injury in the workplace. Health and Safety officer Knowledge of existing health and safety systems and what information they contain. Demographic profiles of the target group Demographic Profile Information it links to Proportion of staff aged between 20-35 years old A report highlighting the high rate of accidents due to the affects of lack of heal and safety knowledge and working experience. Proportion of staff aged between 35-45 years old Statistics about the higher rate of stress related illness amongst older people Proportion of staff aged between 45-55 years old Statistics about the higher rate of illness amongst older people Demographic Profile Information it links to Proportion of staff gender of male A report highlighting the high rate of accidents due to the affects of lack of heal and safety knowledge and working experience. Proportion of staff gender of male Statistics about the higher rate of stress related illness amongst older people Demographic Profile Information it links to Proportion of staff Language as first language. 30 staffs are happy to use English to communicate with others by face to face communication technology. Proportion of staff Language as second language. Only 4 staffs like to use non-English language to communicate with others. Thus it should be carefully explain training details for them. Output of searches of relevant literature The relevant literature has been gathered in the research as follow: Teaching Guide Workplace Fire Safety for staff WORMALD Assessing electrical fire risks in the workplace Any relevant content from courses have attended The student cannot find any relevant courses about Fire risks in the workplace. Peer networking According to staff’s age of organization, the student chose face to face communication with the relevant staff. The researcher arranged interview with a selection of staff across the organization as a way to gather information relevant to promoting health and safety. There were five staffs participate in the interview at workplace, the relevant fire hazard questions were answered by them, such as: Examples of injury and illness that have occurred in the workplace and why? What do you think the most dangerous aspect that needs to be improved in the organization? And the students recorded all the answers as notes. Other information sources including databases, libraries, accident and/or incident reports The website: Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment website Review the Health and Safety training records. Research reports containing statistics about injury or illness Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) experience rating records The website: http://www.acc.co.nz/for-business/experience-rating/index.htm ) ACC366 Implement Safer Workplace Practices Indentified impacts of other existing or proposed program The student asked the health and safety officer and team leader in the house. They approached that there was a workshop program in the organization for the staff called â€Å"How to prevent the fire in the workplace†, but not many staff participated in the program. Assessment Task 2 Indentify issues or situations that have the potential to result in injury and/or health problems Indentify issues The organization is lack of training fire extinguishers, and fire exits. The situation in Te kotuku Ki Te Rangi has just opened a new house which is based Avondale. However, the house is very old, and has potential safety issues. And also, the organization had no health and safety plan to avoid might cause lack of manpower, legal dispute, even the employer will be charged. Thus, the manager and employer should develop a health and safety plan to their residents and staffs. Clearly show that the information enables you to determine potential health promotion and injury prevention strategies. No staff training and plan on health and safety strategy. Student used gathered qualitative information by interviewed with the staff and team leader; the information showed that staffs have no relevant knowledge about fire hazard. By review the documents in the office, there is no staff training and plan on health and safety, no signs to show the fire exits, staffs do not know how to use fire extinguishers. Thus the issues or situations that have the potential to cause injury or health problems will vary by organization. No notice of hazards. After Student observation in the facility, found no fire hazards notice in the house. Such as fire extinguishers and fire exit. By review internet reports containing analysis of fire injury, makes student concerns about particular work placement that could cause injury or health problems. When the fire came, people will not know where the fire exit is, and where the extinguishers are placed. Thus they could be improved in terms of their safety. Assessment Task 3 Develop practical strategies that clearly link to the information have gathered and analyzed Develop staff training and plan on health and safety Develop notice of hazards. Re: fire extinguishers and fire exit. Develop complementary strategies that over education, the work environment and policy. Education: Develop staff training; all staff will be educated about health and safety knowledge. Policy: Develop health and safety policy, fire procedures. Everyone has their own duty if dereliction will be charged. Environment: Develop new equipment, facilities in the organization, such as disabled access. Develop notice on the board, re: no smoking, emergency exit. Develop health and safety plan, all staff must participate in the plan, re: attend to the training, work shop. Outline how you propose to market the proposed program within the workplace. Talk with health and safety officer, manager and team leader. Let them understand the current health and safety issues in the organization, and to propose a new program is necessary. Ask them to advocate and lead the staff pay attention to the health and safety program, and notice how important it is. Everyone has to follow the health and safety policy. Arrange meeting with staffs, analyses the exits health and safety issues, explain why changes is important to staffs, and what changes they need to follow in the new program. For example, they need to responsible for them in the work place by follow the health and safety policy, to reduce the risk of fire hazard and other incident. Request staff to participate in the health and safety training, educate staff and get the certificate in health and safety. For example, they must sign the attendance sheet when they come to training, and the officer has to confirm the name list, connect the person who is absent. Notice on board, to remind all employees bewared of incident and accident. Such as No smoking, emergency exit. Gain commitment from management (on behalf of management and staff), and other key stakeholders to this marketing approach The student gained the commitment from Manager and team leader in the house. The researcher fully explains the strategy to the Manger and team leader. Analyze the possible solution of exist health and safety issues. Assessment Task 4 Evaluation objectives for three areas- process, impact, and outcome Develop Ensure all incidences of hazards are recorded immediately; check if they are completed within one month. The health and safety programs will be implemented using a mix of communication and training courses within two week. Impact All staff understand the hazard risks, and able to protect themselves and clients from hazards within one week of completing the training. All staff attends to the training program, everyone know their own duty if dereliction will be charged within one week of completing the training. Outcome No same incident or accidents caused by five hazards and health and safety issues after they follow the health and safety plan, and completed the training within one month. A 25% reduction in staff absences due to communicable illnesses six months after program implementation. Evaluation objectives must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-limited To achieve 100% attendance of all staff at the health and safety training being held during March and April, the session will be repeated three times to allow for staff being on at different times. Methods for evaluating the achievement of the program objectives Evaluative Methods Definitions Interview with 5 staff and Manager The manager can have interviews with staffs to evaluate their knowledge and skills. Ask them what need to be improved in the program. Questionnaire with staffs Staff does not have to indicate their names; the answer will be more real. Thus the employer can have a correct evaluation about the program. Observation The observation is researcher with a purpose and a plan under natural conditions. Is under natural conditions, purposeful, planned way subjects speech and behavior were observed, recorded to determine their psychological characteristics of psychological research methods. Analysing and interpreting statistics, including identifying trends. Looking at the numbers – for example a decrease in accidents reported across a 5 year period could be considered to be a downward trend. Assessment Task 5 Proposed resources Equipment First Aid, Alarm, Sign, Fire extinguisher A suitable room can accommodate all staffs and managers. Accident/incident report templates Attendance sheet Job description Time The time has to be available for both health and safety officer and staffs. Human Resources Cross functional employees for program development and program evaluation teams, training course facilitators Environment Standard (Policy and procedure) Officer should print it out to all trainers. Print/electronic resources Companywide email, newsletter, poster on staff room wall, produced in house, or sourced externally from government agencies. Assist all the relevant parties in evaluating the safety and wellbeing of the resident Assist all the relevant parties to review the residential care plan: Resources Required Short-term costing Medium term costing Long term costing Training Total per person Total cost per hour Nil Nil Standard (policy and procedure) Nil Nil Nil Time 3 hours for training, one month for program Nil Nil Staff 15 staffs and manager Nil Nil Equipment First Aid ( new 30d) Computer (200d) Alarm (500d) Sign (30d) Fire extinguisher (100d) New window (500d) Nil Nil

The Rebels of Dharma Bums, Takin it to the Streets and New American Po

Rebels of Dharma Bums, Takin' it to the Streets and New American Poetry      Ã‚  Ã‚   You don't need a destination to run away. All you have to know is what you are leaving behind. In the 1960's, young men and women in the United States, especially on the west coast, made a mad dash away from almost two centuries of American tradition. They ran to so many different places that it would be impossible to generalize about their aims and philosophies. What they had in common was the running itself.    America was drowning in materialism. In "A Coney Island of the Mind," Lawrence Ferlinghetti characterized the land of the free and the home of the brave as "a concrete continent spaced with bland billboards illustrating imbecile illusions of happiness" (New American Poetry, ed. Allen, p131).    John Sinclair criticized a country that needed "Eighty-seven different brands of toothpaste" and "Millions of junky automobiles" (Takin' it to the Streets, ed. Bloom, p303). After the novelty of cars and other products wore off, some Americans began to feel that the emphasis on production was changing the character of the country. Economic prosperity had gone to America's head, and in the scramble for profit idealism had been left behind. Kafka is quoted by Richard Brautigan in his novel Trout Fishing in America as having said that "I like the Americans because they are healthy and optimistic." (Takin' it to the Streets, p280) The new generation of Americans, however, was nowhere near optimistic about the future of their country. They saw the land of the free and the home of the brave degenerating into a production line of television sets and plastic gizmos.    The loss of individuality was what many feared. In ... ...ad all the enthusiasm and all the rebelliousness. They were the ones who, according to Ginsberg, "howled on their knees in the subway and were dragged off the roof waving genitals and manuscripts" (p185). However, all their manuscripts said different things. Mainstream America had two hundred years of tradition behind them, and in addition to that they had force of habit and a leader in the form of the United States government. The new generation had only their conviction that a change must take place. But their passion and their flamboyance made people listen up.    Works Cited Allen, Donald, ed. The New American Poetry. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1999. Bloom, Alexander and Breines, Wini. Takin' it to the Streets. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1995. Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1986.

Marketing :: essays research papers

Hewlett-Packard/Compaq Merger   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 2002, the (HP/Compaq) merger announcement was made by Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and Compaq head Michael D. Capellas. If in fact the merger goes through, it would be the largest merger in the computer industry history. Some may ask why this merger was so important to these companies. The truth of the matter is that both of these companies feel that this merger will benefit their company not only at the present time but in the future also. Along with a huge merger like this one, there are some pros and cons that affiliate with a huge merger like this one. According to a reference article these are some of the reasons why some may support the merger and some reasons why some may oppose the merger: Why to support the merger: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The new HP will become the market leader in servers, storage, management software, printing and imaging, and PCs, improving our ability to offer the end-to-end solutions customers demand. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We will double our profitable and growing services business, enhance our R&D efforts, and extend our customer reach in 160 countries. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We will achieve annual cost savings of $2.5 billion, adding $5 to $9 in present value to each HP share; and increase earnings per share by 13% during the first year following the merger. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By improving profitability in enterprise computing systems, in PCs and access devices, and in IT services, we will have the financial strength to extend our successful imaging and printing franchise into new multi-billion dollar categories like digital imaging and digital publishing. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The closer you look, the more you will see that the merger of HP and Compaq is the single best way to strengthen our businesses and improve our market position, deliver more of what our customers need, enhance opportunities for our employees, and increase the value of your investment. Why to oppose the merger: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Acquiring market share does not translate to leadership, i.e., demonstrated better business model, technology innovation or success at winning business from competitors. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Admission of no new significant technology/capabilities added to HP's portfolio. Significant overlap creates cost synergies which are offset by revenue losses from rationalized products and services †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Large stock transactions statistically more risky. Upon announcement of the proposed merger, Moody's downgraded HP's debt rating and put it on negative watch, S&P has also put HP on negative outlook †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bigger, but in an unattractive business, commodity computing. Hardware as diminishing economies of scale and HP and Compaq already has significant scale.