Franklin D. Roosevelt's First 100 Days in The White House Essay

Franklin D. Roosevelt's First 100 Days in The White House - Essay Example To enable the transfer of power smoothly from the previous president and his administrative team, Roosevelt had created a â€Å"transition team† (Coker, 2005, p. 87). While selecting people for the key administrative positions under his authority, Roosevelt was found to be concentrating on the intellectual abilities, regional representation and loyalty to him as well (Coker, 2005, p. 89). He, thus, found his people from among â€Å"Ivy League intellectuals and New York State social workers† (Digital Library, 2012). There was â€Å"an inner circle† of persons who were instrumental in his rise to the president-ship, and he took all his important decisions in consultation with this team after the election as well (Coker, 2005, p. 88). When Roosevelt declared the â€Å"New Deal† policy, its lack of strong â€Å"ideological or philosophical frame work† was attributed to the â€Å"diversity and size† of his support teams (Coker, 2005, p. 89). Roose velt is understood as a president who was â€Å"open to all viewpoints and was more impressed with those who had innovative ideas that might generate results rather than advisors who came across as narrow in their thinking†(Coker, 2005, p. 89). Owing to this style of functioning, many policies of Roosevelt were criticized as being â€Å"inconsistent, haphazard, and even contradictory† (Coker, 2005, p. 89). What Roosevelt valued most as an administrator reportedly was â€Å"action† (Coker, 2005, p. 89). The way Roosevelt made his decisions by prompting his think tank into brainstorming sessions, where he would act as a moderator, was a new style of functioning to the US presidency (Coker, 2005, p. 94). The support team that... Roosevelt is understood as a president who was â€Å"open to all viewpoints and was more impressed with those who had innovative ideas that might generate results rather than advisors who came across as narrow in their thinking†(Coker, 2005, p. 89). Owing to this style of functioning, many policies of Roosevelt were criticized as being â€Å"inconsistent, haphazard, and even contradictory†. What Roosevelt valued most as an administrator reportedly was â€Å"action†. The way Roosevelt made his decisions by prompting his think tank into brainstorming sessions, where he would act as a moderator, was a new style of functioning to the US presidency. The support team that he had was known as the â€Å"brain trust†. Generally, the leadership style of Roosevelt has been understood as one that â€Å"yeilds results†.The first thing that Roosevelt did after coming to office was to convene a special session of the Congress and asked the Congress a mandate for h imself to have "broad executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given [†¦] [him] if [†¦] [the nation] were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.". Through acting in this manner, reflecting the urgency of the situation, Roosevelt created an ambience receptive of the reforms and drastic changes that he envisaged to bring in, in all sectors.The first policy decision of Roosevelt as the president was the declaration of a â€Å"bank holiday† to cope with the financial crisis.

Evaluate strategies which may be used by businesses Essay Example for Free

Evaluate strategies which may be used by businesses Essay Evaluate strategies which may be used by businesses and governments to improve the competitiveness of a country’s goods and services. Competitiveness is the ability of a firm or a nation to offer goods and services that meet the quality standards of the local people and world markets at prices that are competitive and provide adequate returns on the resources employed or consumed in producing them. Governments have an important role for improving the competitiveness of their country’s goods and services. Governments are able to change regulations and taxes according to what they believe about their country’s state of economy. For example, a government may decide to decrease the corporation tax in order to improve the competitiveness of a country’s goods and services. A decrease in the corporation tax will encourage new firms to set up and existing firms to invest. Corporation tax is a levy placed on the profit of a firm with different rates used for different levels or profits. They are taxes against profits earned by businesses during a given taxable period. If there is a decrease in the corporation tax, it means that firms will have an increased retained profit since less money goes to the government revenue. This will allow firms to use this money to improve competitiveness. More spending on investment will be possible which will increase productivity. If the firms invest on capital goods such as machinery that will benefit the firm by producing at lower cost, then the firm might able to set lower prices in order to improve price-competitiveness. For example the UK government reduced the headline corporation tax rate from 30% to 28% in 2007 Budget. Reducing corporation tax increased the retained profits for UK firms that can plough back into investment projects. This should help to boost the UK capital stock. It should also help the UK to keep attracting foreign direct investment which improves the competitiveness furthermore since British firms may gain from the advanced technology and innovation of foreign multinationals. (Technology transfer) However, if the government decreases corporation tax, there might be some firms that decide to save the retained profits instead of spending on investment. This might be because there is a period of recession and firms might find it risky to invest. In addition many firms have chosen not to reinvest as they have been more concerned with making short term profits rather than investing in the future. If firms choose to save rather than invest their retained profits, a decrease in the corporation tax wouldn’t improve competitiveness. Another measure to improve competitiveness is to increase government spending on education and training. If the government can improve the quality of teaching in schools and universities and encourage more people to go to university, then this should lead to increase in productivity of the workforce in the future. Greater productivity will lead to greater efficiency in firms which will in turn lead to lower average costs of production. This may improve the price competitiveness of UK goods and services. In addition it would improve the non price competitiveness since a more educated workforce is likely to be able to be more creative and innovative. Greater innovation should lead to better quality products and the creation of patents, copyrights, brands etc. However, increased spending on education and training by the government does not always lead to increased global competitiveness. It will depend greatly on exactly how the money is spent. For example expenditure for improving school buildings or Ofsted inspections may not necessarily improve the effectiveness of the teachers and the quality of education. On the other hand spending on training teachers and advancing their professional development, might be a more effective means of improving educational standards in the future and increasing productivity. However even in this case the effects are not likely materialise until the longer term. Another way in which the government can improve the non price competitiveness and price competitiveness in international markets is to encourage innovation and research. Tax allowances have been made available to businesses spending on innovation and research. However, there has also been a variety of programmes which enable some businesses to gain grants for research and development R D and to set up knowledge transfer networks and universities. Such measures are likely to be more successful than tax cats since firms are given incentives to research and development through receiving tax concessions and from making connection to universities where they have the opportunity to learn about the latest scientific and technological advancements. On the other hand businesses, are able to introduce a variety of measures to improve the competitiveness of the goods and services. These include increasing the level of investment on new technology, on staff training, on ICT, etc . One way by which businesses might improve the competitiveness of their goods or services is by increasing the spending on R D. By increasing the spending on R D, businesses will most probably benefit from product and process innovation. If a business manages to create a unique and different product than the rest products in the market, it would be able to compete much more easily since consumers will prefer to buy the most innovated and technological updated products. For example Steve Job’s firm, Apple spent $758 million on RD during the first fiscal quarter of 2012. If we take Apple as an example which is one of the most profitable companies, we clearly see that it has benefited from the heavy spending on R D. It has come up with products such as the iPhone where the sales reached the number of 98,144,000 in the first three quadrants of 2012. However, some businesses prefer not to spend on R D because they do not think about the longer term. Also there are other firms that fail to spend on R D. For example the procedure of R D may result in no innovative products or procedures that will improve competitiveness and therefore. Another way, by which businesses might improve competitiveness, is by improving productivity. Productivity is the output per worker. There are different ways by which productivity can be improved. For example if the firms increase the wages, workers might be motivated to work harder. Also, training can improve the knowledge and skills of staff. Improved recruitment and selection may have the same effect which will increase productivity in the short term. If the business increases spending on training, workers will be more educated and informed about their job. This will increase the productivity since they will be able to produce more output at the same working hours and wages. If the productivity is increased, it means that more output will be produced at relatively the same costs. This will allow the firm to get bigger in size, lower the running and operational costs, increase income and gain a greater share of the market. This will increase both price and non-price competitiveness. However productivity doesn’t always improve competitiveness. For example if training isn’t done effectively, and workers do not give attention or really care about the job, then they won’t improve their knowledge and skills, training will not improve productivity, and therefore productivity will not improve competitiveness. In addition, productivity might not improve competitiveness because in the case of increasing the wages in relation of the output the worker producers, there are workers that wouldn’t be motivated by an increase in their salary and therefore will not produce a greater output. Productivity can be used as a measure to improve competitiveness only if it is used correctly and it can increase both price and non-price competitiveness. It can improve price competitiveness by allowing the businesses to set lower prices and improve non-price competitiveness by expanding as a firm and increasing its popularity.

Cipla Pharmaceutical Company Business Model

Cipla Pharmaceutical Company Business Model INTRODUCTION This is an essay to identify CIPLA a generic Pharmaceutical companys business model and to explain the reasons why the company has to change its existing business model. This is done by first identifying the term business model and then using the definition to explain the business model adopted by the company, also determining the inherent changes in world policies and economic environment that prompt the change of the present business model. The second part of the essay addresses the issue of the conflict between the big ethical pharmaceutical companies and the relatively smaller generic pharmaceutical companies business models. This is addressed by highlighting the big pharmaceutical companies business model and comparing the two models (which will reveal the nature of their competitive relationship) thereby identifying if there seems to be a convergence in their models and they are both becoming competitors in the same market or companies producing the same products but competing in different markets or companies where a symbiotic relationship has become inevitable for their survival in this present economic situation. Conceptualization of a Business Model. A definition of a business model is required to highlight the context to which CIPLAs (a generic pharmaceutical company) business model can be identified. Chesbrough and Rosenbloom (2002) describe a business model to be a concept where technology and potentials are changed into economic output through the market and customers, comparatively, Rayport and Jaworski (2001 cited in Wimmer 2004) defined a business model as the four choices of (1) a value proposition or a value cluster for targeted customers (2) a market space offering which could be products, services, information or all three (3) a unique dependable resource system and (4) a financial model. However Shafer, Smith et al (2005) suggests that a representation of a firms underlying core logic and strategic choices for creating and capturing value (p.202); is a design or creation, not an accident; what structures are in place to ensure firms capture value. Also Brink Holmà ©n (2009, p.109 cited in Lambert n. d.) explains tha t The business model concerns how a firm creates value, the internal source of the firms advantage and how the firm will capture value. Factually no sole definition can adequately cover all aspects of the term business model; however a combination of all the stated business model definitions will give a better explanation for the Generic pharmaceutical company business model. Firstly the focus will be on the definition of this model since most generic companies including CIPLA initially followed this business model before the need for change in 2005. The focus on India is also due to the fact that CIPLA originated from that country. The Basic Business Model of Generic Pharmaceutical Companies. The Generic Pharmaceutical Company (GPC) business model in India is characterised by the production and selling of copy cat pharmaceutical drugs discovered and developed by the Big Ethical Pharmaceutical Companies (BEPC) such as GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), this was achieve through the reverse engineering of the drugs invented by the BEPC and sold at lower costs. This was made possible in India due to the availability of cheap labour in the country and the favourable environment encouraged by the Indian government at the time, which allowed low restriction on process patents, limited multinational companies having equity share in pharmaceutical companies in India and imposed price ceilings on some bulk and formulation drugs. (Greene 2007) Financial evaluation of CIPLAs business model Using the Profit and loss account for 2000-2010, sales turnover steadily increases from 2000-2004 but in 2005 there is a decline of about 10% which can be attributed to the implementation of the WTO law that affected the number of drugs available for replication. This also affected the earnings per share which dropped from about 51 to about 13 in 2005. Investment and debt also showed a steep decline of over 100% from 2004 2005; this corresponds to the change in business environment which can infer a reduction of debt incurred for drug production. However the excise duty showed steady increase from 2000-2005 indicating company focus on domestic market but in 2006 there is a steady decline in excise duties paid and this can be as a result of increased exportation of drugs following a change in business model. Change in CIPLAs Business Model The era of this type of business model however draws to an end as various changes in the economic situation and world policy will threaten the very successful model in which the generics pharmaceutical companies in India have been thriving. In 2005 Indian government changed its law concerning patent drugs and fell in line with World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Related Intellectual Property Agreement (TRIPs) this limited the production of certain drugs that was filed as a patent from January 1, 1995(Greene 2007). Another important point is that the rate at which ethical pharmaceutical companies come up with new blockbuster drugs is declining, as the well known procedure for creating chemicals to treat ailments is not as productive as in times past (Martinez and Goldstein 2007). With a shift of investment from Research and development (RD) to marketing this trend will continue in the nearest future. This can be as a result of the immense cost to deliver a new drug to the market; costs can range from 802million 1billion over a period of 10-15 years (Mogalian, Myrdal 2004). Yusuf Hamied (CEO of CIPLA) stated in an interview that it was his belief that since the implementation of the law in 2005 their businesses where at risk of being taken over by multinational drug companies. Most generic companies in India adapted to this setback in their business model by transferring focus from domestic market in India and increase export of copy cat drugs to Western Europe and the United States, also entering into RD agreements, mergers and acquisitions of foreign drug companies and developing alliances with foreign pharmaceutical firms. CIPLA however chose a slightly different approach than most generic pharmaceutical companies in India by focusing on organic growth in India and only seldom indulging in strategic business alliances, technological services (such as knowhow transfer, plant supply etc) and in licensing with big pharmaceuticals. CIPLA however increased the exportation of generic drugs to countries like United States and Western Europe. Some points in CIPLAs corporate presentation in August 2009 highlight the companys focus: Business model based on international strategic alliances- Business focuses on organic growth and leads to reduced capital commitment and regulatory/litigation risks. RD targeted at ensuring efficient utilization of resources and focused at developing and launching niche products. The graph below shows a steady increase in the value of Indias pharmaceutical RD expenditure from 2001-2006 as a result of a shift in business model. Exhibit 1 Source: William Greene, US Trade Commission (2007) The emergence of Indias pharmaceutical industry and implications for the US generic drug market, US Office of Economics Working Paper 2007-05-A The graph above shows the increase in RD expenditure in the generics companies in India where they now focus on creating their own branded drugs. This approach was also used by CIPLA to better compete in the changing business environment. They boasted of new drugs like Imidara, Lopimune, Bifilin and many more (CIPLA seventieth annual report 2005-2006) Business models of Big Ethical Pharmaceutical Companies and rational for changes in the model. The big pharmaceutical company business model is the traditional pharmaceuticals company business model which comprises of large scale Research and Development departments which discover new drugs for diseases and the sale of those drugs to consumers .This is a rudimentary definition of their business model as it also entails many more components than those mentioned above for instance in recent times we see a shift of emphasis from the research and development to sales and marketing campaigns due to the competitive nature of the environment. Mogalinan and Myrdal (2004) describe the process of bringing out a new drug to entail the discovery of a new branded drug for which the company has to get approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by handing in a new drug application containing a report on the drugs efficacy and safety. The document also highlights dosage, strength and dissolvability of the drug. Once approved the company sells the drug exclusively under the brand name for as long as it is under patent protection. However a new external threat has evolved apart from the usual competition of rival companies in the form of Generics pharmaceutical companies. These companies as mentioned in prior section of the essay have used the process of reverse engineering to create cheaper replicas of the drugs produced by these big pharmaceutical companies and selling the drugs at cheaper costs to consumers. This has been of great profit to the generics companies as they had to indulge in little or no cost consuming research for the development of new drugs in the first place and the availability of low cost of production was just an added advantage to their business model. Martinez and Goldstein (2007) noted however the treat of the generic pharmaceutical wont be a problem if the big pharmaceutical companies were creating new block buster drugs, but that is not the case. Exhibit 2: The decline in RD productivity Though the industry doubled its investment from 2002 till 2006 in RD it yielded 43% less than it had in five years during the 1990s of chemical-based drugs. There is a change in the business environment for generic companies in India however with the 2005 adherence to WTO laws. They generics companies are focused on RD to produce their own patent drugs and generic drugs have become more accepted in Western countries over the years, with the rising costs of healthcare these governments are looking to cut costs and are therefore encouraging the adoption generic drug prescriptions to patients. Another major factor affecting the big pharmaceutical companies is the problem of expired patents. Companies like Pfizer that had a blockbuster drug called Lipitor a cholesterol lowering drug will be coming off patent in 2010 and this will allow the generics companies to bring in a cheaper replica of the drug which will reduce the sales of the company drastically. Similarly Martinez and Goldstein (2007) explain that the expiration of patent will affect big pharmaceutical profits adversely, where a drug formally grossing 90% 95% profit under patent protection will fall in profit when its goes off patent and generic companies offer the drug at a reduced price (sometimes the cost of production). Furthermore drugs meant to be under patent protection for 20years will fail to get to the market before 10years have already elapsed. *Sales data is from IMS World Review (except for China and Poland) ** Patented/generic split is from ESPICOM. Generic defined as a drug whose patent has expired ***2001 values for China; 2000 values for Poland; 2003 values for Brazil reflects patented/unpatented (unpatented includes branded unpatented, generics, similar) Sources: IMS; ESPICOM; Factiva; EGA; Mckinsey team Analysis This development will result in the increased encroachment on the market share of the big pharmaceutical companies, though we can see from the chart that countries like China, Brazil, India and Poland have higher percentage of generic drug usage than US, Japan, Germany, France and UK the problem of the global recession may cause an increase in the use of the generic drugs in these countries as well since developed countries like UK are hoping to cut costs on public expenditure like healthcare costs. Definition of relationships Based on these new developments in the business environment of pharmaceuticals companies and my research I begin to recognize a trend where big pharmaceuticals and generics have increasingly instances of working together in order to thrive in the new environment. This aids me in my definition of in tension asked in the question, I identify this as the type of relationship generating between the big pharmaceutical and the generics companies and we can see that it if morphing from a completely competitive one to a more competitive-collaborative relationship, where we can even see a convergence in their business models in some cases. We see the return of big pharmaceutical companies to India after the 2005 law passed by the government protecting their drugs, so they can benefit from the availability of cheap labor and low cost of innovative talent, they are even cooperating with the generics companies for Research and Development, in licensing and use of their distribution lines to transport their drugs to underdeveloped countries formally catered to by mainly generics companies. Companies such as AstraZeneca, Bristol-Meyers and GlaxoSmithKline have announced their intention to outsource a portion of manufacturing to countries such as India ,Eastern Europe and China since they believe it is of the same quality and at a cheaper cost to them (Martinez and Goldstein 2007). However though we see them working together big ethical pharmaceuticals companies still have some strategies to compete with generics pharmaceutical companies. Some defensive strategies of the big pharmaceutical companies are to develop new generic subsidiaries of their organization so as to be able to better compete with generics companies. By having their own licensed generic companies, they are able to limit the rate at which generics encroach on their market share for drugs that are off patents, they accomplish this by allowing their licensed patents to release generic copies of their blockbuster drugs into the market just before they are off patent thereby gaining market share before the other generic companies release theirs. Novartis CEO Dr. Vasella foresees bountiful opportunities for quick growth in generics as a result of impressive performance of its generic unit Sandoz which accounted for 20% of its overall revenue and grew about three times as fast as its initial operati on (Martinez and Goldstein 2007). Competitive strategies of the big pharmaceutical companies include investment in biotechnology and diversification. Biotechnology is of great appeal because of the inability for generics companies to create copies of the drugs as of now. Diversification on the other hand will allow the company to expand the range of services it offers its customers and allow it to get alternative sources of income. CONCLUSION In conclusion we make-out CIPLA business model to be the production of copycat drugs by reverse engineering of branded drugs and the sale of the generic drugs at cheaper prices to the Indian economy and any other country where the big pharmaceutical drugs do not have patent rights, however a change in the business model became inevitable in 2005 because of the Indian government adoption of WTO laws and caused a shift of the business model of CIPLA to focus more on RD for the production of its own Branded drugs and strategic alliances which entail cooperation with Big Ethical pharmaceutical companies through in-licensing and know how transfer. Another point to note is the change in relationship between the generic company and the big pharmaceutical where we see a competitive symbiotic relationship brewing, with increased dealings between the two types of firms where big pharmaceutical companies benefit from the cheaper cost of production and access to generic companies distribution pi pelines and generics gain from the in licensing agreements where they share profits with the bug pharmaceutical companies. However big pharmaceutical companies still maintain development of competitive strategies to combat the generic companies by creation of their own generic companies and increased investment in both diversification and biotechnology. Biblography Brink, J., Holmà ©n, M. (2009). Capabilities and radical changes of the business models of new bioscience firms: Changing Business Models of New Bioscience Firm., 18(2), 109-120. Chesbrough, H., Rosebloom R.S. (2002). The role of the business model in capturing value from innovation: evidence from XEROX Corporations technology spinoff companies. Boston Massachusetts. Harvard Business School. CIPLA Corporate presentation August 2009 Lambert, S.(n. d.) Business Models available from http://www.audiencedialogue.net/documents/Businessmodels_Lambert_000.pdf (accessed 15 December 2010) Martinez, B., Goldstein, J. (2007) Big Pharma Faces Grim Prognosis Industry Fails to Find New Drugs to Replace Wonders like Lipitor Mogalian, E., Myrdal, P. (2004) Whats the difference between brand-name and generic prescription drugs? USA.   The University of Arizonas College Rayport, J.F. , Jaworski, B.J. (2001). e-commerce. New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. Shafer, S.M. Smith, J.H. Linder, J.C. (2005) The power of business models. In: business horizons. 48(3), 199-207 William, G. (2007) The Emergence of Indias Pharmaceutical Industry and Implications for the U.S. Generic Drug Market .U.S. international trade commission 05-A, 1-36. Wimmer, M.A. (2004) Knowledge management in electronic governance. 5th ed. IFIP International Working Congress. (2009) CIPLA Pharmaceuticals Yusuf Hamied: I Am Not Against Patents I Am against Monopolies. India [emailprotected], May 07 available from http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4374 (accessed 10 December 2010)

Shakespeares Macbeth as Tragic Hero Essay -- Macbeth essays

Macbeth as Tragic Hero      Ã‚  Ã‚   A tragic hero is usually a person of high esteem or social ranking cursed with a flaw or obsession that will eventually lead to their demise. Macbeth is a tragic hero. Examining the events that occur as Macbeth travels the typical path of a tragic hero easily supports this claim.    Before Macbeth is even introduced to the audience, Duncan and Ross speak of his greatness. When it is discovered that the Thane of Cawdor has surrendered, Duncan decides to give Macbeth this title: "What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won" (1.2.70). This lets the audience see Macbeth's rank, which starts him in the right direction for a tragic hero.    As Macbeth starts to believe the prophecies of the witches that he will be the Thane of Cawdor, Glamis, and the King, the audience starts to see his obsession with his destiny: "Stars, hide your fires;/ Let not light see my black and deep desires" (1.4.50-51). This great ambition will turn into the flaw that hurtles Macbeth to his demise.    Macbeth is convinced, partly by his own ambition and partly ...

Mendez vs Westminster Essay

We all know of the famous trial that happen on May 17, 1954, a trial that ended all segregation in school districts all over the United States of America. With this law being enforce by the 14th amendment, it change the whole nation, colored people were now being allowed to enter into real academic schools, and compete for a better future. Of course I am talking about the Oliver Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, better known as Brown vs. the Board of Education. Even though this trial was a large stepping stone in the United States, it was not the first attempt at the desegregation of the school system. There was another case that was the creation of Brown vs. the Board of Education. This case has been forgotten over time due to the huge popularity of Brown vs. the Board of Education. Even though Brown vs. the Board of Education was more popular, both cases were important and had a large amount of similarities. The only differences were that the first was fought seven years prior to the second and a difference of ethnicity. Both cases were important in many ways, the only problem is, why is it that only one is credited and the other not? Both cases were fought for the same reason. Mendez vs. Westminster was the first big court case that stopped segregation in all the schools systems of the state of California. The reason I say this is the stepping stone of Brown vs. the Board of Education is because The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the favor of Mendez vs. Westminster, which concluded to the desegregation of schools all over California; this was the stepping stone to Brown vs. the board of Education because it was seven years prior to the ruling of Brown. The Mendez case was used to back up the Brown vs. Board of Education case and helped shape the ideas of a young NAACP attorney, Thurgood Marshall, it very surprising to people to see that Thurgood Marshall was also a lawyer in the Mendez case. You may be thinking that only LULAC (which is a Latino organization) was the only one involved with this case; but as you now know, the NCAAP contributed their part (Maria Blanco, The Lasting Impact of Mendez v. Westminster in the Struggle for Desegregation, Thu, Mar 25, 2010, http://www. immigrationpolicy. rg/perspectives/lasting-impact-mendez-v-westminster-struggle-desegregation). This was great because it forced two different ethnicities and cultures join together for the same cause, which was to have the same education as white individuals and to desegregate school campuses. We are going to be looking more into the history of the trial Mendez vs. Westminster, as well as how and why it started and similarities between both the Mendez case, a s well as the Brown Case. On April 1947 there was a decision ruling on the Mendez vs. the Board of Education. The United States of America Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco ruled in favor of Mendez and the other parents that stood up to the Westminster School District. Judge McCormick stated that â€Å"according to California Laws the segregation of Mexican-American public school children in the absence of a state law mandating their segregation violate California law as well as the equal protection of the law clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution (A History of Mexican Americans in California, Wed, Nov 17 2004 10:00:00 pm PDT http://www. cr. nps. gov/history/online_books/5views/5views5h99. htm)†. The reason this lawsuit did not go all the way to the Supreme Court was because in the Court’s ruling, it noted that the United States Supreme Court’s segregation decisions were not controlling because, at this time, there was no Hispanic race; In this era all Mexican Americans were considered Caucasian. â€Å"The key fact . . . was that California’s Education Code did not specifically provide for segregation of children of Mexican origin. . . . And since California law did not allow for separate Mexican schools, the requirement that children at tend such schools could be considered arbitrary action taken without ‘due process of law. †(Charles Wollenberg, All Deliberate Speed, 1976, p. 127) This case could not have gone to the Supreme Court because the law of the state said nothing about segregating Mexican Americans in the Constitution (http://www. cr. nps. gov/history/online_books/5views/5views5h99. htm)†. On Brown vs. the Board of Education it was a little different, because Black was considered a different race; and according to the Plessey vs. Ferguson case of 1896, it states it could segregate a race, as long as it provides a separate but equal law (http://www. cr. nps. gov/history/online_books/5views/5views5h99. tm). Now that we know a little bit more information about the trial, lets learn why all the Mexican American parents got together in order for their kids to get the same education as all the other Caucasian kids in the neighborhood. It all started in the late 1920s-1930s. As the Mexican and Mexican American population started to increase in California, more white Americans started getting scared; this led to segregation in schools. Not only were schools getting segregated but housing was also being segregated as well (Maria Blanco, The Lasting Impact of Mendez v.  Westminster in the Struggle for Desegregation, pg. 2 Thu, Mar 25, 2010). It all started in 1945 with Gonzalo and Felicitas Mendez, who were new to the city and had just moved to a farm in Westminster. The reason they moved to Westminster was because they had leased a farm there from a Japanese family, due to Roosevelt’s executive order 9066. As the Mendez family sent their kids to the public school closest to their neighborhood one early morning, which was the Seventeenth Street School, Westminster, in Orange County. The parents were shocked when both kids had to return, because they could not attend the school do to their race. They had to attend the Mexican American School that was further away. That was not the only case, the Mexican American schools that were built for the children, were unethical. The 17th Street School was not only brand new, but it also had had a beautiful playground, it had a nice cafeteria, it had good educators that could help the students, and do not forget a non-electronic fence. How could you compare that with Hover, which was the Mexican school? Hover was old and next to a cow pasture that was made out of old barracks WESTCOTT, JOHN. â€Å"OUR LEGACY: MILLENNIUM MOMENTS Family Rejected `Mexican School’; Mendez Vs. Westminster Ended State Segregation Ahead of U. S: MORNING Edition. † Orange County Register,1999). Robbie who was one of the Mexican American students, that was supposed to attend 17th Street School, but because of his ethnicity had to go to the other school Hover explains his experience, â€Å"†¦It was a terrible little shack, I don’t even remember having any monkey bars or any swings or anything like that to play with. In fact when we had to eat lunch, we would go outside and eat lunch at the tables that were next to the cow pasture. There was wire around the cow pasture to keep the cows out, but it was electrocuted. There was a little bit of electricity; at that time it was allowed to have a little bit of electricity on the wires to keep the cows from getting too close to the fence†¦ (Espinosa, Martina, California hidden curriculum: institutional Discrimination in the Fourth Grade, pg. 57)†.

Dame Van Winkle-An Epitome of Non-conformist Behavior

Dame Van Winkle is a dominant and practical-minded lady and her disposition and character does not match with the norms of the contemporary American society. She is an anti-thesis to the Romantic Rip Van Winkle who epitomizes the romantic traits of his age. There is no textual hint that Dame Van Winkle was hash by nature bit it was socio-economic compulsion that made her to castigate Rip time and again. She does not complement but even sometime challenges the contemporary social traditions and norms that require a complacent attitude and behavior on the part of woman.It is the nature ad characteristics of Rip that compel Dame to be a cultural villain. Her villainy is not due to any inherent flaw in her nature or due to habitual formation or propensity in her character. It is due to the circumstances in which she is placed and in which she has to perform suitably. Economic well-being of her family is her ultimate objective. Rip does not pay attention to this aspect and indulge himself helping others. Although he is â€Å"simple good-natured â€Å"and â€Å"a kind neighbor† but he is not a good family head.He is not pragmatic and does not think about the well-being of his family. He is a fellow who â€Å"take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, whichever can be got with least thought or trouble†. He uses to â€Å"starve on a penny than work for a pound†. Dame’s scolding is not a result of any pernicious nature or individual grudges. The story manifests that there are certain other male characters in the story that spend their time in useless activities and enjoy the blessing of indolence but their wives do not scold them. Their attitude is in conformity with the social norms.The author only portrays Dame with the colors of cruelty because she does not conform to the so-called model of contemporary women. This model requires women to act submissively and remain obedient and subservient to their husbands. It further requires them not to complain or criticize the behavior of their husbands. Same is the case with Dame. Her husband, society and author want her to behave and act accordingly but she does not do so. Although her behavior is not appropriate to the social and cultural norms of the day but was most apt response according to the economic and domestic conditions of her family.In spite of doing something practical regardless of her rebuke and reproach, he used to â€Å"frequenting a kind of perpetual club of the sages, philosophers, and other idle personages of the village† and used to take refuge in idle activities. This further infuriates Dame and she further performs a non-conformist act by going into the stronghold of the men and scolds Rip’s companions as well. Although it is courageous act according to the social norms of today but it was considered a height of bad manners by that societies and that company. That’s the reason that contemporary society only blames her for all the misdeeds.Irving provides certain hints about other facets of her characters. He portrays her as a neat and clean lady who always keeps her house tidy. There is no quarrel between her and her neighbors or any other woman of the village. All the above-mentioned arguments and supporting evidence manifest that Dame Van Winkle was not of a tyrannical nature but it was Rip’s failing as a husband and father that make her behave so. Furthermore, she is regarded cantankerous not due to real bad temper but due to non-conformity with the contemporary social norms. Work Cited Irving, Washington. Rip Van Winkle. New York: Philomel Books, 1999.