Culture And Crime Essay Example for Free

Culture And Crime Essay The crime rate of societies differs with each other. If the crime rates of European countries and American countries were compared, the results would be different. The same is true if countries from the East and West were compared in regards to their crime rates. This can be attributed perhaps to different norms and concepts on crime of different societies, as well as the overall way of life of the people in any given area. If this were analyzed further, it will be noted that culture plays a role in the way that crime is viewed in a given society. This essay deals with the concept of culture, especially in the way that it relates to crime. Culture, Society and Criminality Before juxtaposing crime and culture, however, it would be necessary to define the overly used and abused concept of culture. Generally, culture is the overall pattern of the way of life of a given community of people together with the structures of symbols and meanings that they attach to various aspects of their society. This also includes the morality of the society as well as the collection of acceptable and non-acceptable behaviors (Krober Kluckhohn, 1952). Since the moral system is included here, it impinges upon the conception of what is right, as well as the way that people in a given society view law, together with the commission of crimes. Given that culture affects the overall lifestyle of peoples in a society, it is inevitable that crimes are also affected by culture. For example, in a study conducted by Karstedt (2001), she mentioned that culture has been recognized by criminology as one of the factors influencing crime. The study took note of various social control means in Asian countries with low crime rate such as Japan. Karstedt called for the introduction of methods and ways through which cultures may be effectively compared to study the differences in culture and its impact on crime. By conducting an extensive survey in one of the Southern States in the US, Warner (2003) found out that cultural disorganization affect crimes. Her findings show that a prevailing culture conditioned by disadvantage in the society and the disconnection of social ties have significant impact on the level of social relationships and ties of the community. This in turn impacts informal modes of social control in the society. Without these informal social control, it would the tendency for crimes to be committed becomes stronger. On the other hand, Leonardsen (2002) investigated the apparent anomaly of Japan—an urban country with very low crime rate. In his study, Leonardsen pointed out to apparent loss of too much individualism in Japan while focusing on the overall community. He argued that although the loss of individuality can be seen in Japan, it has much to teach to Western countries, especially regarding identity, obligations and social connections. Conclusion Based on the studies mentioned above, it can be seen that indeed culture has a significant impact on crime. Crime cannot only be prevented through formal means such as law, police force, and the prison system. Rather, there are informal institutions and norms that help prevent or perhaps encourage the occurrence of crime. When social ties are severed and a â€Å"negative† culture of the disadvantaged spawns, social controls are weakened, thus increasing the likelihood of the occurrence of crime. A focus on the community’s norms, however, can result to a more orderly society with low incidence of crime. These studies are congruent with Black’s theory that if the culture and the means of informal social control in a society are weak, then the tendency for that society is to have laws that are more powerful as compared with other societies with stronger social control means (Black, 1976). A combination of effective laws and informal social controls, are however necessary so that order can be kept within the society. Reference Black, D. (1976). The Behavior of Law. San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Karstedt, S. (2001). Comparing Cultures, Comparing Crime: Challenges, Prospects and Problems for a Global Criminology. Crime, Law and Social Change, 36 (3), 285-308. Kroeber, A. L. Kluckhohn, C. (1952). Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. Cambridge, MA: Peabody Museum. Leonardsen, D. (2002). The Impossible Case of Japan. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 35 (2), 203-229. Warner, B. D. (2003). The Role of Attenuated Culture in Social Disorganization Theory. Criminology, 41 (1), 73-98.

Drowning in a Glass Half Empty Essay -- Personal Narrative Hiking Essa

Drowning in a Glass Half Empty Wearily walking into the lobby of my residence hall, a group of my classmates gathered to embark on a pilgrimage through Poly Canyon. We meandered over to our rendezvous with our professor on a gravel road sided by a grove of eucalyptus trees rising up like a rib cage. I doubted that this was going to be anything like what Henry David Thoreau intended in his essay â€Å"Walking,† when he described walking as being â€Å"absolutely free from all worldly engagements.† If one frees oneself from worldly engagements, one may journey into mindfulness, a state of total awareness of being. We had a guide, we were a class, and we brought with us society. I carried a backpack with pen and paper, a sweatshirt, and cynicism heavier than the fog we drudged through. Campus housing structures disappeared behind us, and we were on a road winding around hills. I observed sprinklers watering dead grass, telephone wires cutting through trees, and a dumpster full of waste, worsened by a car passing through our ensemble. We had a ways to go before we could get away from civilization. My pessimism deepened as I listened to my classmates chatter in awe about deer on the hillside and heard our professor mention a toxic waste controversy. One deer stood majestically atop the hill, its dark, shadowy outline nearly transparent in the dense fog, while two others eyed us with less interest than we eyed them. I had seen more deer on a public golf course the day before. One of my classmates began her narrative aloud, adding to the worldly engagements I wished to remove myself from. Moving on, I passed under a stone arch onto a trail where I sat and wrote down my thoughts; drawing ... ...each, looking out to sea. Birds chirped, cows mooed, cameras clicked, and an oddly calming and reassuring white noise of car traffic were all audible. I was alone. In the end, my cynicism is fog. I couldn’t have enjoyed the walk as much as I did without overcoming my negativity; moreover, I couldn’t have appreciated the beauty of the fog without walking above it, to look upon it in its entirety. I sauntered, walking towards a holy land. I gained mindfulness through looking at the bowl of milk that was Poly Canyon submerged in fog, focusing on every breath and each step upon ancient rock, feeling the dew from bunch grass cool the pokes of yucca bush, and traveling to a new place in body and spirit. I undertook a pilgrimage despite fighting it the best I could. Walking gradually beat my cynicism, as the morning sun slowly withered away the fog.

Marketing & Innovation

Marketing & Innovation â€Å"Because the purpose of business is to create a customer, the business enterprise has two—and only two—basic functions: marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results; all the rest are costs. † Peter Drucker (The Father of Management Theory) INTRODUCTION Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. American Marketing Association 2007) An innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization or external relations. (OECD 2005) Four types of innovations are distinguished: product innovations, process innovations, marketing innovations and organizational innovations. (OECD 2005) * A product (service) innovation is th e introduction of a good or service that is new or significantly improved with respect to its characteristics or intended uses.This includes significant improvements in technical specifications, components and materials, incorporated software, user friendliness or other functional characteristics. * A process innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved production or delivery method. This includes significant changes in techniques, equipment and/or software. * An organizational innovation is the implementation of a new organizational method in the firm’s business practices, workplace organization or external relations. A marketing innovation is the implementation of a new marketing method involving significant changes in product design or packaging, product placement, product promotion or pricing. The OCED’s definition is too narrow : it reduces the scope of marketing by separating between marketing, product innovation and delivery. If we mixed t he two definition we can propose that with a marketing lenses an innovation is : â€Å"the implementation of a new or significantly improved method, process or practices in creating, communicating, delivering, and xchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large† * Innovation in marketing could be related to : * The creation (Iphone), * The communication (Web2. 0), * The delivery (Internet), * Or exchanging (Michelin) * offerings that have value 2 Main objective: Understanding and mastering the process from new ideas generation to new value offering for the stakeholders Degree of differenciation of consumer expectations| Degree of improvement in technology | | Low | High| Low | Continuous innovation(cordless phone)| Market breakthroughts (parabolic skis)| | High| Technology breakthroughts (passage from video players to DVD player)| Radical innovation(cell phone)| Innovation continuum Continuous innovation * Modification to an existing product that does not require a change in learning * Improvement of an existing product without major changes Dynamically Continuous Innovations * Modification to an existing product that requires a modest amount of learning or change in behavior to use it Discontinuous innovation (radical innovation) Major changes in the way we live * Product innovation which break the rules and the norms * New consumption behaviors and use * Technology Example: Sharing documents on Internet, Downloading musics, E-business and virtual stores, Free software, Hybrid cars New product development process 3 Phase 1: Idea Generation Sources of new ideas * Internal idea sources: * Formal research and development * â€Å"Intrapreneurial† programmes * External idea sources: * Customers * Pilot customers : Pilot customers methodsThe estimated annual sales of new products developed based on ideas generated by pilot customers are eight times higher than estimated sales of innovations developed from mor e traditional methods. Pilot Customer: users †¢Brainstorming  : Characteristics of brainstorming | 1. | Write a clear, focused objective | 2. | Select participants for the team | 3. | Prepare for the session | 4. | At the session – Rules for brainstorming. | Rules: * A conversation at the same time * Be focused on the subject * Be visual (drawing) * Encourage crazy ideas * The quantity is more important than the quality * Negative comments have to be avoided No interruptions from outside Role of the team leader: * Contribute to, but not inhibit the flow of ideas * Don’t be too controlling * Encourage participation from everyone * Introduce creative games * Call the â€Å"time out† to review and evaluate ideas that have been generated Method * Write a list of ideas (uses) * Classify ideas thanks to criteria * Find common points between application : â€Å"pseudo segments† 4 Interviews Motivation * Focus group / individual interviews Characteristics of focus group | Group size | 8 to 12 | Group composition | Homogeneous: respondents prescreened | Physical setting | Relaxed, informal atmosphere |Time duration | 1 to 3 hours | Recording | Record all the discussion with sound an video | Moderator | Observational, interpersonal, communication skills | * Individual interview  : Type of interview | Required skills | Structured interview | Neutrality, no prompting, no improvisation | Semi-structured interview | Some probing, rapport with interviewee, understanding the aims of the project | Open-ended interview or depth interview | Flexibility, rapport with interviewee, active listening | Focus group | Facilitation skills, flexibility, ability to stand back from the discussion so that group dynamics can emerge |Characteristics of semi-structured individual interviews | Group size | Face to face, one-one-one basis | Interview structure | Semi-structured, direct, personal interview. Use of an interview guide | Physical setting | Relaxe d, informal atmosphere | Time duration | One hour | Recording | Use of audiocassettes and videotapes | Moderator | Observational, interpersonal, communication skills | * 5 Focus on semi-structural individual interview Questioning style * Open ended, non-directive * Little or no direction on how to answer * Relate to topic in own way * Use own language Probing – for detail, depth, clarification – Prompting – encouraging respondent to answer * Non-verbal, repeating, rephrasing, summarising * Salespeople * Service providers * Anyone with direct customer contact * Competitors  : Companies watch competitors’ ads and other communications (new-product pre-announcements) to get clues about their new products * Distributors, suppliers and others  : Companies watch competitors’ ads and other communications (new-product pre-announcements) to get clues about their new products Example of Brainstorming: anti-odor product First step: write a list of uses * D irty socks, Ashtrays, Changing rooms, Refrigerators, Elevators, Subway tunnels†¦ * Second step: classify ideas * Development of a notation system * A Possible today * B possible soon * C difficult and risky * Criteria * Technicity faisability, cost, market accessibility, competitors, time of solution * Third step: Find common points How customers can use the product| Passage from 80 ideas to 8  « pseudo-market segments  »| What is its added value? | Deodorization public places| Types of customers| Chemicalplants| Places| Household odors†¦. |Phase 2: Product development * Expand ideas into more complete product concepts * Describe features the product should have and benefits those features will provide * 6 Evaluate chance for success * Develop a marketing strategy that can be used to introduce the product to the market place After more than a decade of development, Daimler begins to commercialize its experimental fuel-cell-powered- electric car Next step: to develop th is new product into alternative product concepts – Concept 1: A moderately priced subcompact designed as a second family car to be used around town Concept 2: A medium-cost sporty compact appealing to young people – Concept 3: An inexpensive subcompact green car – Concept 4: A high-end sport –utility vehicle (SUV) appealing those who love the space Phase 3: Marketing strategy development * Develop a marketing strategy that can be used to introduce the product to the market place * Identify the target market * Estimate its size * Determine how the product can be positioned * Plan pricing, distribution and promotion expenditures Phase 4: Technical development * The product moves into product develop RD or engineering develops the product concept into a physical product â€Å"Look beyond simply creating products that satisfy consumers needs and wants†¦ Companies work to fashion products that are both satisfying and easy to manufacture. † Phase 5: Marketing Test * It lets the company test the product and its entire marketing programme – positioning, advertising, distribution, pricing, branding and budget levels Phase 6: Commercialization Launch the product! * Full scale production * Distribution * Advertising * Sales promotion * and more 7 INNOVATING BY SERVICESInnovation and Marketing Decision: The customers’ values issue An economic opportunity exists for an innovation when a new value proposition to customer is possible Agreeing the PSS statement (Product Service System)  «Ã‚  What is important is not our offer but what our customers do with it  Ã‚ », there are three kinds of value propositions for an innovation. Innovation and the first customer’s value proposition: * Customer Values are embedded in a three stages consumption scenario. * These stages define three kinds of value. * Stage 1: Decision (potential value) * Stage 2: The exchange (value in exchange) Stage 3: usage (value in use) Innovat ion in potential value First innovative value proposition: Innovation concerning the facilities The facilities include all company resources: employees, know-how, technology, nominal goods †¦ and other facilities that must be accessible (before offer provision is feasible). Make perceptible the strength of a promise POTENTIAL VALUE from facilities stage in an offer provision scenario, ex IBIS Hotel 8 POTENTIAL VALUE from facilities stage in a service provision scenario: ex vending machine Innovation in value in exchange Second innovative value proposition :Innovation concerning the transformation process This is the stage in which company resources are combined with other companies’ resources in order to transform them. Companies act as prime resources integrators and the innovation consists of new ways of co-operating, collaborating, co-branding†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ In this case, these values in exchange will have to be new values in use for the customers †¦ to be success ful VALUE IN EXCHANGE from the exchange stage in an offer provision scenario: ex Senseo, Nike+ iphone app This transformation stage can also exhibit innovation concerning CUSTOMER VALUE in EXCHANGE.Offer provision can include a transformation of customer resources in terms of persons (surgery, hair cuts†¦), physical objects (e. g. car repairs†¦), nominal good (e. g. investment banking, rights (e. g. lawyers.. ) and/or data (tax advisors†¦)†¦ It contains elements which are either pre-prepared within producers’ facilities, or are co-produced by customer and provider during the integration and the transformation of customer resources. Innovation consists of changing the way of integrating the customers’ resources with those of the producers’ VALUE IN EXCHANGE. Innovation in producers-customers co-production: ex WikipediaInnovation and the third Customer’s Value proposition. Innovation in customer’s value in use The usage stage exhi bits CUSTOMER VALUE IN USE. Innovation consists of proposing to customer new values in use, perceived as new solutions. Ex: Wii for the seniors Definition of servicization The key idea behind product service systems is that consumers do not specifically demand products, per se, but rather are seeking the utility these products and services provide. By using a service to meet some needs rather than a physical object, more needs can be met with lower material and energy requirements. A product service system is a competitive system of products, services, supporting networks and infrastructure. The system includes product maintenance, parts recycling and eventual product replacement, which satisfy customer needs competitively and with lower environmental impact over the life cycle. â€Å"A Product-Service System can be defined as the result of an innovation strategy, shifting the business focus from designing and selling physical products only, to selling a system of products and serv ices which are jointly capable of fulfilling specific client demands. Meeting consumers’ needs with a mix of products and services is not a new concept. House rentals, hotels, taxis and restaurants are good examples based on economic interest. There are other new and innovative applications of product service systems that have developed as a response to make business more sustainable. The main difference between product service systems and the classic examples is that the preference of consumers is influenced by environmental, as well as economic interests.Source: UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME DIVISION OF TECHNOLOGY, INDUSTRY AND ECONOMICS 10 Innovation by servicization : an attractive way to Innovate on the markets Three ways to develop innovation by servicization : 1- Product oriented services Provided to increase or optimize the product life cycle, these supplementary services are offered to guarantee functionality and durability of the product (e. g. maintenance an d repair, upgrading and substitution services over a specified time period, advise and consultancy for use optimisation, etc. ). 2- Usage oriented servicesThe product is made available in a different form to the customer, is sometimes shared by number of users, but stays in ownership with the provider. It is the usage of the product rather than the product itself that is invoiced, without transfer of ownership (e. g. car sharing or car pooling, tools location, financial leasing, etc. ). Ex: http://www. lamachineduvoisin. fr/ 3- Result-oriented services (functional economy) Result-oriented services (or functional services): in this most accomplished form of servicization, the seller does not sell a product anymore to the customer, but the desired result rendered by the product.Rather than selling pesticides to farmers for example, the seller decides to offer a global service contract that guarantee a maximal acceptable loss on crops. A BM based on the sold products quantity A BM base d on a service rate Sell a maximum loss rate on crops Firm in functional service is looking for less costly alternating solutions as the reintroduction of parasitics predatories or the earth reoxygenation by earthworms or using R&D in biology, agronomy, entomology.. The competitiveness of the seller depends on its ability to optimise the PSS implemented to reach this goal and to use the least possible resources and energy to reach the targeted acceptable loss. Such functional services are implemented with great success by companies such as Xerox (Xerox Global Services) or Michelin (Michelin Fleet Solutions) for example.

The Things They Carried By Tim O Brien - 2499 Words

â€Å"At the girl’s throat was a necklace of human tongues. Elongated and narrow, like pieces of blackened leather, the tongues were threaded along a length of copper wire, one tongue overlapping the next, the tips curled upward as if caught in a final shrill syllable,† (O’Brien 105-106). This is an extreme example taken from Tim O’Brien’s book, The Things They Carried, specifically from a story titled â€Å"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong.† A story of a once-naive civilian woman who, in the process of becoming a soldier in the traditional role of a man in combat, evolves into more than a mere soldier. Throughout history, many women were known to disguise themselves as men in combat. Now, they do not have to disguise themselves. The roles of women have dramatically changed in recent years. Women were not allowed to have an education. They did not attend high school or college, and they were expected to just be the typical housewife of the mi d-1900’s. Some women had children while men were typical â€Å"bread-winners.† That is how the world was at that point in time. As you can see already, men and women were not equal in the minds of others. In the military, the differences between men and women are physical appearances. Women did not have the same muscle strength as men did; they certainly had strength, but could not run as fast as men in 50-80 pound gear, along with other things that could be a challenge. So why would they want to be a part of that? It is simple: equality. For some,Show MoreRelatedThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien892 Words   |  4 PagesThe Vietnam War was a long, exhausting, and traumatic experience for all of the soldiers and those who came with them. The Things They Carried, by Tim O Brien illustrates the different affects the war had on a variety of people: Jacqueline Navarra Rhoads, a former nurse during the Vietnam war, demonstrates these effects within her own memoir in t he book, The Forgotten Veterans. Both sources exemplify many tribulations, while sharing a common thread of suffering from mental unpredictability. DesensitizationRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1377 Words   |  6 Pageslove to have it as good as we do. Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried discusses many veterans who experience the burden of shame and guilt daily due to their heroic actions taken during the Vietnam War. The book shows you how such a war can change a man before, during, and after it’s over.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As I reflect on the many conflicts America has been a part of, none can compare to the tragedies that occurred in The Vietnam war. As told in The Things They Carried (O’Brien), characters such as NormanRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1457 Words   |  6 Pagesthe theme pertains to everyone regardless of their background. It conveys the same ideas to people from all across our society. Lastly, a classic is timeless, which means it has transcended the time in which it was written. In Tim O’Brien’s novel, The Things They Carried, he offers a new, intriguing way to view war or just life in general and also meets all of the crucial requirements mentioned above to qualify it as a book of literary canon. Though this book is technically a war novel, many peopleRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1242 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Tim O’Brien is obsessed with telling a true war story. O Brien s fiction about the Vietnam experience suggest, lies not in realistic depictions or definitive accounts. As O’Brien argues, absolute occurrence is irrelevant because a true war story does not depend upon that kind of truth. Mary Ann’s induction into genuine experience is clearly destructive as well as empowering† (p.12) Tim O’s text, The Things they Carried, details his uses of word choice to portray his tone and bias. Tim O’BrienRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1169 Words   |  5 Pagesbut are set in the past and borrows things from that time period. A story that fits this genre of literature is The Things They Carried. The story is about Tim O Brien, a Vietnam veteran from the Unite States, who tells stories about what had happ ened when he and his team were stationed in Vietnam. He also talks about what he felt about the war when he was drafted and what he tried to do to avoid going to fight in Vietnam. The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien was precise with its portrayal of settingRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1004 Words   |  5 Pages Tim O’Brien is a veteran from of the Vietnam War, and after coming home from his duty he decided to be a writer. His work â€Å"The Things They Carried† is about a group of soldiers that are fighting in the Vietnam War. The first part of the story talks mostly about physical items that each soldier carries, and also mentions the weight of the items as well. Though, there is one exception to the list of physical things. Lieutenant Cross is a character of the story, and Tim O’ Brien quickly states theRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien896 Words   |  4 PagesTrouble without a doubt is what First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross c arried around his shoulders because he was out in war, where mistakes happen. Lost and unknown of his surroundings he had to lead his men into safety, while destroying anything they found. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross only holds onto one thing for hope and that is Martha, the woman who he hopes is a virgin to come back to. Tim O’ Brien introduces symbolism by adding a character that has a meaning of purity and a pebble, which symbolizesRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien Essay832 Words   |  4 PagesSummary: â€Å"By and large they carried these things inside, maintaining the masks of composure† (21). In Tim O’brien’s The Things They Carried, the American soldiers of the Vietnam War carry much more than the weight of their equipment, much more than souvenirs or good-luck charms or letters from home. They carried within themselves the intransitive burdens—of fear, of cowardice, of love, of loneliness, of anger, of confusion. Most of all, they carry the truth of what happened to them in the war—aRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1369 Words   |  6 PagesMany authors use storytelling as a vehicle to convey the immortality of past selves and those who have passed to not only in their piece of literature but in their life as an author. In Tim O’Brien’s work of fiction The Things They Carried, through his final chapter â€Å"The Lives of the Dead,† O Brien conveys that writing is a matter of survival since, the powers of s torytelling can ensure the immortality of all those who were significant in his life. Through their immortality, O’Brien has the abilityRead MoreThe Things They Carried By Tim O Brien1407 Words   |  6 Pages       Our introduction stated that in â€Å"The Things They Carried,† author Tim O’Brien tells us not directly of the soldiers of Vietnam, or the situations they find themselves in, but about the things they carry on their shoulders and in their pockets. These â€Å"things† identify the characters and bring them to life.   I find that to be true as the author unfolds the stories about war and the uncommon things one carries in to war both inadvertently and on purpose.  Ã‚  Ã‚  As it was noted: Stories about war –