Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Business Continuity and Crisis Management Essay

Business Continuity and Crisis Management - Essay Example As the study outlines most comments that arise in the use of business continuity and crisis management is that people tend to confuse its role with that of insurance companies. The manner in which business continuity and crisis management are also explored by providing an example from the City of London Resilience Forum. Introduction Business continuity management helps to ensure continuity of a business by focusing on the critical business process within and outside the organization. Unplanned events have a very devastating effect on both small and big businesses and they range from fire, damage to illness of key staff, IT system failure that makes it impossible to carry the smooth running operations of a business. The negative impact of business crisis is that it can make business loose customers who make an important component of the business and prevent the closure of businesses. Good planning of the business process helps minimize the potential impact of disaster thus prevent it from happening and spoiling for the business. Business continuity is an all-inclusive management process that recognizes potential effects that impends a business and gives an agenda for building elasticity and the ability for the organization to safeguard the interest of various stakeholders. According to Blyth, business continuity involves the management approving a strategic and tactical approach to dealing with emergency disasters that are unforeseen and may pose a negative effect to the company. In addition, business continuity can be defined as a cost-justified method aimed at reducing risks that may hinder the continuity of a business in the event of a disaster. Elliot, Swartz and Herbane in their book define business continuity as responding to a business interruption in such a way as to achieve the lowest level of inconvenience possible for the continued stability of the business. According to Regester and Larkini business continuity involves identifying the potential issu es that threaten to interfere with the existence of a business and formulate a framework that can effectively handle such issues whenever they arise. According to Kadam, business continuity management aims at managing risks in order to guarantee that the company endures in operating at the lowest prearranged risk level. An organization applies business continuity and crisis management practices to ensure continuity in the ways a business handles various crises. From this paper it is clear that the need for businesses to apply business continuity and crisis management strategies is conceived from the need to provide assurance for the continuity of the business process. The management should ensure that their business continuity and crisis management framework is able to restore a business to its earlier position and preserve all sectors of the business. Business continuity management is thus more than a crisis management since it is a comprehensive program that helps a business react quickly and effectively when faced with unplanned interruptions.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Gullivers Travels Essay Example for Free

Gullivers Travels Essay Ten days after returning from his previous voyage, Gulliver is confronted by Captain William Robinson to work as his journey to the West Indies. The doubled salary is cause enough for Gulliver to accept the invitation and sets sail two month after the invitation. Upon arriving in Tonquin, Gulliver is appointed Captain of a sloop (a small sailboat with one mast and two sails) and ordered to transport goods; he is shortly captured by pirates. He earns his crews freedom but his attitude lands him on a small boat with limited food. He soon finds a few isles and decides to stay in the cave of a seemingly barren island—except for a few shrub patches. After some keen observation, Gulliver notices something strange obstructing the sunlight and deduces it must be a floating island. He tries to be noticed but the inhabitants seem to give little regard for his shouting. Eventually, the floating mass draws near and from it, descends a seat that Gulliver is instructed to mount. He is then drawn up into the Island. Gulliver is welcome by many people, whom he noticed to be very strange. Their eyes look in different directions and their heads do not sit level upon their heads. In addition, he takes note of their attires, which are covered with â€Å"celestial bodies and musical instruments. † People also have a servant who follows them and carries a â€Å"flapper. † This is essentially a mace, but with a soft sac on the end. The servant’s use it to slap their masters’ mouth or ear with the intent of alerting them that it is their turn to speak or listen while in conversation. After meeting with the King, Gulliver is appointed a language tutor. Shortly after his first lesson, Gulliver notices the island to move over villages, during which, subjects collect monies from the people below. In addition, he learns that the people value mathematics and music above all. (Because of this, their language is primarily based on the sciences stated previously. ) Their skill sets are limited to these two disciplines, as well as astrology. There are also in constant fear of an apocalyptic demise, resulting from an ever incumbent meteor. After a months stay, Gulliver is learned enough to speak to the King. Gulliver is now informed by the Prince, (one of the few free thinking individuals) of the dimensions and working of the Island. He is most intrigued by the motion of the Island and how it manages to stay afloat. It is explained to him that the most experienced astronomers figured that by mounting and manipulating a great magnet in the center of their island, they are able to float and move in any direction at will. However, the island is only able to move over a specific area on earth because of the specific magnetic forces required to maintain their desired altitude. Gulliver also learns how the Island is able to rule over the inhabitants of the land below. This is done mainly through varying degrees of punishments. Essentially, Laputa uses its size and position to, block out the sun, bombard the villagers, or, simply crush the village by means of ‘dropping’ the island. Gulliver then learns of a rebellious village, with capabilities to ‘capture’ the island and kill the King. In order to maintain peace and save himself, the King has granted freedom to these people. From that instance, the King and his family are restricted from leaving the Isle. Gulliver’s boredom leads him to want to leave the Island. He approaches a lord who seems to be genuinely intelligent and curious. (An oddity on Laputa) The lord lacks musical talent and is therefore regarded as unintelligent by the inhabitants. With the help of this lord, Gulliver proceeds in petitioning the King to leave Laputa. The King accepts and proceeds in leaving Gulliver with a friend of Laputa in a place called Balnibarbi. The man whom he is left with goes by the Lord Munodi. He is of high rank and possesses great wealth. The Lord proceeds to take Gulliver around the city of Lagado. It is of great surprise to Gulliver that the city is in shambles, the people are poorly dressed, and the ground is barren. They then proceed to the lord’s estate and it is evident of the stark contrast between the city and the estate. It is well built, well managed, and has fertile vineyards, as well as cornfields, fountains and meadows. The villagers do not have high esteem for this estate and do not strive to exemplify it—rather the opposite. Gulliver is then informed that, after a visit to Laputa by some if the city’s inhabitants, they decided to construct the Academy of Laguda. The sole purpose of this Academy is to develop new agricultural and architectural techniques. The new techniques are very flawed and extremely outlandish and have left the city in its current in its current state. The techniques are supported by so many mindless individual that they allowed for the destruction of the mill. Gulliver is very curious to the details of the projects that the Academy is working, so much so, that he decides to visit. Gulliver is allowed to visit the Academy. He takes careful note of the ongoing projects. First he sees a man attempting to use cucumbers as sun storage devices. He then witnesses a scientist attempting to turn feces into food. Another researcher attempts to turn ice in gunpowder and is fully invested into the idea of the â€Å"malleability of fire. † Gulliver travels throughout the Academy and witnesses many more experiments. There are blind paint mixers who are under the impression that they can smell color. There is even a scientist who is under the impression that his random word generator is capable of writing books on any topic. A linguist is under the impression that speaking is a waste of life and every breath used to speak brings people closer to death. He proposed everyone be mute and simply act out the message they wish to convey. Lastly, Gulliver witnesses a professor attempt to teach mathematics by writing equations onto wafers and feeding them to his students. Part III: Chapter 6 Gulliver is still at the academy and proceeds to visit professors who are dealing with politics and government. They propose that taxation of women be based upon their physical attributes and relative beauty. Other claims that to uncover conspiracies, they should search through the feces of the citizens. They even propose kicking and pinching the politicians to make them ‘less forgetful. ’ After witnessing the propositions and experiments of many, Gulliver concludes that there is nothing here that he could benefit from and wishes to leave. Gulliver wishes to travel to Luggnagg but cannot find a vassal to take him. Not wanting to stay in Lagado any longer, he decided to travel to Glubbdubdrib. He is able to deduce that the Isle is inhabited by people capable of doing magic. Upon his arrival, Gulliver requests an audience with the King—he is granted his wish. Gulliver then witnesses people simply disappearing and reappearing and ghosts serving food. He is initially surprised and startled by these events but becomes accustomed to them. He even goes so far to request the King to appease his personal requests. The King willfully satisfies Gulliver’s requests to speak the dead. He speaks to many prominent historical figures such as: Hannibal, Caesar, Pompey, Brutus, Junius, Socrates, Epaminondas, Cato, and Sir Thomas More. He converses with them and learns that history is not as it seems and that often, it is glorified in order to cover up the embarrassing truth.   Still in the company of the King, Gulliver continues to talk to the reincarnations of prominent historical figures. He observes how Homer and Aristotle carry themselves and even goes as far to point out their mistakes; mistakes that they accept without any aggression toward Gulliver for doing so. He then proceeds to interrogate the more modern rulers and is disappointed to learn that they have not been honest with their subjects as they should have. He also calls upon simple ‘less developed’ English ancestors, whom he finds remarkable large and of good stature. He concludes that the Nobles have diminished the physical strength that the English were once blessed with. Part III: Chapter 9 Gulliver returns to Luggnagg in disguise. He only wished to return to his beloved mother country—the Kingdom of England. His shipmates confess to the officials that a stranger is aboard, resulting in his capture, interrogation and confinement. The King has heard of Gulliver’s adventures and wishes to speak to him. Gulliver is then informed that, all of the Kings visitors are required to lick the floor as they enter the Kings room. Because Gulliver was a guest, the floor was cleaned very well, but on occasion, it is sprinkled with poison to kill the Kings enemies. Because of his vast knowledge of foreign places, the King grows to favor Gulliver and treats him very well. Gulliver is ‘invited’ to stay for an additional three months—he is obedient.   While in the company of the Luggnaggs’, Gulliver is told of an immortal people. These people are marked by a spot on their forehead and are called the Struldbrugs. Gulliver fantasizes how he would live his life if he were immortal. He concludes that he would study all arts and sciences and learn to acquire riches. Gulliver ponders the topic even further and postulates that he would ‘reasonably expect’ to be the â€Å"wealthiest man in the kingdom. † After being exposed to these individuals, he learns that they live forever, but are not young forever. This is a tragic flaw and the government actually considers them dead after the age of eighty. He also learns that they grow to be saddened and to live a life with neither joy, nor love. All of their marriages eventually become dissolved and they despise all mortals, most likely out of envy. As he learned of these people and about their true state, Gulliver regretted wishing that he could be immortal. Part III: Chapter 11 After spending ample time in Luggnagg, Gulliver is eventually allowed to leave. He is finally able to find a vassal to take him to Japan, with hopes of continuing on to England. Upon arrival, Gulliver had again; found himself in an uncomfortable situation. He eventually finds a Dutch ship travelling to England. The captain agrees to take him, as long as Gulliver provides works as a surgeon for half the usual rate. By blending in as a Dutchman, Gulliver is able to satisfy the Emperors requirements. He is then excused from the ritual stomping of the cross. They are now free and continue to Amsterdam, from where Gulliver is able to find passage to England. Upon arrival he goes immediately home to his healthy family.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Professional Athletes and Steriod Use Essay -- Professional Sports

Steroid is a name given to drugs that are manufactured from testosterone, a reproductive hormone found in men. Some athletes normally use anabolic steroids because these drugs improve one’s capacity to compete and train, yielding high results. Steroids work by reducing exhaustion during training, and also reduce the length of time an athlete needs to recover from exhaustion. In addition, steroids enable the growth of tissues and muscles in an athlete’s body by instructing the body to produce extra proteins. During the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin, the first rumors of athletes using steroids emerged. The problem of athletes using steroids was again reported in 1954 during weight lifting championships. The Soviet athletes recorded a very impressive performance at all levels of weight lifting. Later on, the team’s physician admitted that the Soviet athletes were being injected with testosterone in order to increase their muscle mass and strength after being question ed about how they achieved their success. WHO (World Health Organization) in 1968 was the first party to complain about incidents of athletes using steroids, these sentiments were later backed by IOC (International Olympic Committee). This paper is going to give reasons why professional athletes should not be allowed to use steroids (Yesalis 25). Professional Athletes Should Not be allowed to Use Steroids Winstrol and Dianabol are the most frequently used anabolic steroids by professional athletes. The main disadvantage of using steroids in sports is that the use of these substances amounts to cheating. This is because steroids give unfair advantage to athletes that use them. Use of steroids has made some prominent athletes to rise and fall during their careers. In all ... ... Beamish, Rob. Steroids: A New Look At Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2011. Print. Canseco, Jose. Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, And How Baseball Got Big. New York, NY: Harper, 2005. Print. Goldman, Bob, Patricia J. Bush, and Ronald Klatz. Death in the Locker Room: Steroids & Sports. South Bend, IN: Icarus Press, 2004. Print. Mohun, Janet and Aziz Khan. Drugs, Steroids, and Sports. New York, NY: F. Watts, 2008. Print. Lau, Doretta. Steroids. New York, NY: Rosen Central, 2008. Print. Sterngass, Jon. Steroids. New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2011. Print. Stevens, Sarah. Steroids. New York, NY: Crestwood House, 2001. Print. Yesalis, Charles E. Anabolic Steroids in Sport and Exercise. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2000. Print.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Poetic Edda and Prose Edda Essay

Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are the two most popular (and deemed to be the most comprehensive) representation of Norse mythology. These two works are written on the same line of interest; but on different periods. The Poetic Edda is much older than Prose Edda; because of this most Norse mythology experts pertain to Poetic Edda as the elder Edda and younger Edda for the Prose Edda. It is worthwhile to note that the term prose was only attached to the Prose Edda to distinguish it from the Poetic Edda. Even if the underlying logics behind these works are similar, they are different in terms of the manner by which they chose to discuss the specifications of Norse mythology. Uncovering the similarities and differences of these two works will be the basic foothold of this paper in tackling Norse mythology through its general nature of deism, and even through its very specific citation of events and characters that created both the mysticism and belief in it. Generally speaking, the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are different from each other, because of the literary arrangement inherent to these texts. The ways that these pieces are structured follow the conventions of both poetry and prose writing. From the free verses of a prose up to the almost rhythmic and tune bound poem, these two pioneers of Norse mythology represents different ways of passing on Norse mythology. However, this is not the nature of similarities and differences that this paper would seek to delve into. Instead, a closer analysis on the evolutionary pattern discernable from these texts will be explained and expounded in this paper. The reason for this is simple; these works have been written on a long differentiated timeline which can further imply that the details of these texts may pertain to similar message but by being modified to the present day forms of literature and even to the present day conventions. Adding up to its primary objective, this paper would also try to establish a more elaborate manner of relating such changes to the general aspects of Norse mythology. The Elder Edda and the Younger Edda The Younger Edda or the Prose Edda is dated approximately around 1220. It was said to be written by one of the pioneers of Nordic mythology, Snorri Sturluson. Prose Edda as established earlier is the younger version of the Poetic Edda; following this line of logic, it can be said that the Poetic Edda, even if without a specific date of writing and compilation, started to exist earlier than the 13th century. It can even be further said that the authorship of the Poetic Edda as far as history and attribution is concerned up to today is still a very big mystery. As said in the earlier parts of this paper, the similarities and differences of these two major Nordic mythology pieces of literature will pave the way for a better understanding not only of the Nordic mythology, but also of the evolution of literature in general. For the sake of organization, this paper will explain the justifications it will use to establish such an evolution through the basic information discernable from these literatures. Notes on the start of human and gods’ existence, the existence of mythical creatures and on the basic nature of gods which can be found in both Prose and Poetic Eddas will be used in this paper. On the Start of Human and Gods’ Existence Following the Poetry Edda or the Elder Edda the basic aspects of the start of human and gods’ existence can be best understood through its poem titled the Seeress’ Prophecy or Sybil’s Prophecy. The visionary in this poem prophesized that process of creation, destruction and renewal can be seen in the first stanzas of the poem (Bellows n. pag. ). In a way the seeress saw the creation of the whole world in a very chaotic setting. The strong tensions with the houses of Esir and Vanir are included in her prophecy, alongside with the destiny of their conciliation. She equally foresaw the trickery of Loki and the punishment accorded to the crime to be done. This setting is even put more value through the citation that the long brewing war between gods and giants will only result to their equal destruction. However, the seeress still shone a sign of hope by stating that good things are still destined to arise from the primary disasters essential to the formation of the whole world (Bellows n. pag. ). However, in this part of the poetic Edda the seeress also foresaw a glint of good and desirable things such as the famous golden halls of the dwarves (Bellows n. pag. ). There is also an imminent sense of redemption which can be seen in this part of the Poetic Edda, the tragedies that she foresaw will be countered by an inevitable rise of another parch of green earth after the total destruction of everything that is considerably bad (Bellows n. pag. ). The same can be discerned from the Prose Edda as translated by Brodeur, life started from an almost dramatic unfolding of every single feature of the whole earth. From the simple grass to the deepest depths of the see, the whole world was formed in a high level of likeness (Sturluson 7-11). Odin as the head of both lands and humans journeyed to establish the kingdom that he assigned to twelve dooms men (Sturluson 12). Everything is specifically created accordingly, as narrated in the Prose Edda the beauty of the whole world even transcend up to the descendants of the gods alongside with the other beautiful things in the world. However, bad things appear to be an inevitable part of the whole world. The existence of these negative things is cited in the Prose Edda through the coming into life of creatures of worse nature as compared to those that are created out of the creatures which are created in the likeness of the gods. The existence of these bad natured creatures further resulted to the turning of negative events such as war, trickery and chaos as seen in the section of the book, Gylfaginning. Even if gods may experience their downfalls because of their own doings, there is still hope for redemption. Such as seen in the latter parts of this section of the book, balance was restored, even if it took a high toll on each of those that seek to return balance to the whole world (Sturluson 56-58). Happiness such as the regaining of the domains of the gods’ sons and daughters is a turning point for the redemption of the whole world from the horrors it suffered from the bad natured characters in the prose (Sturluson 58). The Existence of Mythical Creatures The recognition that creatures of other nature exist can be discerned from both Poetic and Prose Edda. These creatures when compared to the present day conventions of being human can be considered as mythical in nature. The common classification of these creatures is the dwarves, elves and giants; each accorded with their very own nature of interest and characterization (Bellows n. pag. ). General characterizations on these individuals can be seen in the Poetic Edda. However, more detailed characterization of these kinds of creatures can be seen in the Prose Edda. The differentiation that Struluson put on the different norns shows that such creatures exist (28). The three basic kinds of norn such being the gods, elves and dwarves can be seen also be seen in the Prose Edda similar to that of the Poetic Edda (Sturluson 28). The Basic Nature of the Gods In the Poetic Edda, the basic nature of the gods can be seen in the poem Sayings of the High One. In this poem Odin was characterized through the exposition that it is plausible that gods have a strong will in imposing what they have to say (Bellows n. pag. ). The importance put by Odin on the need to put value on his teachings show that it is within the nature of gods to put the notion of death behind their subjects and replace it with a stance not only of belief, but even the highest sense of reverence. It can be quoted that Odin stated that death is irrelevant and even immaterial to the whole act of believing. On the other hand, the nature of the gods can be discerned from the Prose of Edda through the long characterization of each god provided in the prose. Odin for example is treated as the All Mighty who governs all; this is followed by the characterization on other gods as his children (Sturluson 26). This characterizations found in the prose can also be considered as the representation of a divided rule among the gods; each god is accorded with his or her own power. The practice of those power even if subjected to the guides of Odin is sole to that god alone; this characterization of gods even set up the stage for the perfect chaos and struggle in the world. Conclusion: After explaining the basic specific details which can be seen in the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda this paper comes to the need to conclude its discussions. In line with this, this paper conclusively implies that the Prose Edda is indeed as modification of the Elder or Poetic Edda. The Prose Edda being a simple result of the modification of the anonymously written Poetic Edda. The modifications experienced by the Poetic Edda can be deemed to have evolved to become a more detailed version and an almost Christian version in the form of the Prose Edda. In terms of detailed discussions it can be said that it can be possibly attributed to the fact that the prose in terms of literary value is freer as compared to that of poems. However, the Christian nature which can be discerned from the Prose Edda can result from the Christianization in the European countries. The Christian values may have been integrated by Struluson which makes the Prose Edda more Christianized as compared to that of the Poetic Edda. Nonetheless, the main teachings including all connotative definitions which can be found in both Prose Edda and Poetic Edda are undeniably similar with differences only up to the extent that the Prose Edda is a result of the evolution of the Poetic Edda. In a way it can be concluded that the Prose Edda is not just a contemporary version of the Poetic Edda, but also a more modern type of the Poetic Edda in terms of being integrated with Christianity. Bibliography Bellows, Henry Adams. The Poetic Edda. New York: Princeton University Press, 1936. Sturluson, Snorri. The Prose Edda translated by Arthur Gilchrist Brodeur. London: Oxford University Press, 1916.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Neoliberalism in Latin America Essay

From the 1930s until the 1980s state intervention and protection were key components of most Latin American economies. In these years many Latin American countries were used an Import-substitution industrialization based economy trying to reduce dependence on foreign imports and replacing them with domestic production. Due to the use of an Import-substitution industrialization based economy Latin American countries were forced to keep high tariffs to protect the private companies of their countries. This combined with many Latin America countries providing numerous government subsidized programs eventually led to the 1982 debt crisis. This debt crisis created a vacuum affect in Latin America with many of the countries taking on a new neoliberal economic model, and by the early 1990s John Charles Chasteen claims that almost every Latin American country was led by a president that was pro neoliberalism. This neoliberal economic model called for the slashing of tariffs as well as the reduction of removal of all nationalist-inspired subsides. Also following the neoliberal model, Latin American countries stopped the printing of money to slow inflation effectively undermining the functionality of their local markets. All of this was done so that a completely â€Å"free market† could be created. It was believed that this free market would not only help improve the economies of Latin American countries, but also create more personal freedoms for the people of Latin America. In the article â€Å"Neoliberalism, Neoclassicism and Economic Welfare†, John T. Harvey claims the complete opposite, arguing although a neoliberal economic model was created to produce conditions conducive to social provisioning or democratic problem solving, the exact opposite has occurred. Harvery states in his article, â€Å"Instead of growth, stability, and the narrowing of income gaps, we have seen stagnation, volatility, and increased inequality. † By researching neoliberalism a clear picture can be drawn. Neoliberalism created class stratification with the upper and middle class greatly benefiting from the new policies sanctioned by neoliberalism, while the poor continued to become more impoverished and unable to provide for themselves. Many historians argue that the neoliberal economic model was most beneficial for the small wealthy upper-class of Latin America as well as many upper-class business owners from other countries. The existence of a â€Å"free market† due to neoliberalism in Latin America created many opportunities for upper-class citizens to continue to become considerably wealthier. The upper-class benefit from neoliberalism in many ways but the two largest benefits come from the privatization of government subsidized programs and the lowering of tariffs. Not only did both of these policies line the pockets of the upper-class of Latin America but foreign investors as well. In order to balance their federal budget many Latin American governments privatized their government subsidized programs as well as cut federal jobs. First, the privatization of federal jobs allowed many upper-class citizens to take over these businesses and use them in their benefit to create capital. Former government projects such as constructing roads and government buildings were now being completed by companies that were owned by the upper-class. Prior to neoliberalism these jobs were paid out of the federal budget and were used as a way to lower unemployment by hiring more workers than were really needed. Now that private companies were doing the work efficiency was the most important thing leading to the loss of many jobs for the poor class of Latin America. In the article, â€Å"Neo-Liberalism in Latin America: Limits and Alternatives† Ian Roxborough argues that the immediate beneficiaries of the privatization of government subsidized programs and federal jobs, or what he calls real assets, were foreign investors and people with â€Å"flight cash†. This was because when these programs became privatized upper-class people from other countries as well as Latin America were able to come in and by penny cheap shares of these programs and soon to be private companies. This excrementally helped the upper-class because after they bought this stock at largely discounted prices it quickly grew in value. Clearly, lower classes that did not have extra cash could not benefit from this because they were unable to purchase any of the shares of these newly privatized commodities. This created two problems, not only did real assets of Latin America get lost to upper-class foreign investors, it also created a significantly larger wealth gap between the poor and upper-class because of the large amounts of money the upper-class made from the gains of the stock that they bought at such cheap prices. Another benefit the upper-class of Latin America and other foreign countries gained from neoliberalism was the reduction of tariffs. The reduction of Tariffs allowed foreign companies to come into Latin America and build maquiladoras. This was beneficial for the foreign investors because they could now come into Latin America where working wages were much cheaper and produce their goods at lower prices, which entail created more profit. Lower tariffs were beneficial for Latin American upper-class citizens because as the foreign companies came into Latin America they were able to invest in these companies. The ability to invest in these companies that wouldn’t have come to Latin America with the previous tariffs was just one more way people who already had money in Latin America were able to benefit even more from a neoliberal economic model. Neoliberalism also benefitted the middle class of Latin America. Chasteen argues the middle class benefited from a neoliberal economic model because of the cheap products that were produced due to the maquiladoras in Latin America as well as cheap products that were being imported to Latin America because of the newly reduced tariffs. This was very beneficial for the middle class for two reasons. First, under neoliberalism the middle class society who had money to spend, now had more choices because the large influx of items that were now being imported into Latin America. In his article, â€Å"Magical Neoliberalism†, Alberto Fuguet argues that neoliberalism was what led to amenities like large scale movies from Hollywood and other services, like fast food chains, to come to Latin America. Secondly, neoliberalism was beneficial to the middle class because with a larger selection of goods comes competition. With competition companies foreign and local now had to produce the best quality goods at the lowest price in order to continue to receive business from the middle class. Neoliberalism also benefited the middle class of Latin America because of the advancement in technology that occurred because of the privatization of water resource centers, electrical companies, and telecommunication companies. The privatization of these companies allowed them to modernize as well as make them more reliable. Some argue that neoliberalism was also beneficial for the women of Latin America. In her article â€Å"Love in the Time of Neo-Liberalism: Gender, Work, and Power in a Costa Rican Marriage†, Susan E. Mannon argues neoliberalism allowed women to gain more power and independence then they previously had. Mannon claims that neoliberalism, and the reduced tariffs that come with it, led to the creation of maquiladoras where women could seek employment. Latin American women’s new ability to gain employment in maquiladoras allowed them to earn a wage creating dual-income households. Not only did this give them more power and independence in their individual households, but the ability to buy goods also allowed them to participate in the local economy giving them more power as well. Those who stood to gain the least under a neoliberal economic model were the poor people of Latin America. This is because the privatization of state-run corporations and public service programs made them unaffordable for the poor working class, leaving many homeless and hungry. In the article, â€Å"From Democracy to Development: The Political Economy of Post-Neoliberal Reform in Latin America†, Alfred P. Montero states claims that neoliberalism leads to deepening levels of inequality, a growing percentage of people living below the poverty line, decaying infrastructure, poor access to even low-quality primary education, rising criminality, and inefficient productivity. All of these problems can be linked to privatization of government subsidized programs and the loss of government jobs. With neoliberalism the loss of jobs and government programs made unemployment skyrocket and education too expensive for much of the poor class of Latin America to afford. This lack of education is what many argue led to the problems that Montero claims such as a rise in criminal activity. Also, because neoliberalism privatizes companies that control commodities such as water, telecommunications, and electricity the poor class was unable to afford them, essentially leaving the poor of Latin America in the dark without water or electricity. Neoliberalism also led to the creation of Maquiladora’s which initially created what poor Latin American believed to be desirable jobs. Quickly the poor found out that many of these jobs did not pay a wage that was enough for a person to survive. With the poor pay of maquiladoras also came very poor working conditions that were conducive to creating injury. Omar Gil a former maquiladora worker stated in an interview that his first maquiladora job paid him a dismal forty dollars a week in working conditions that were less than safe. Omar attested that maquiladora workers were injured often because of the intense pressure of Forman’s to produce as much product as possible. Also with neoliberalism came the lack of available occupations. Due to the reduction of tariffs foreign companies were able to bring mass produced goods into Latin American countries at prices cheaper than local inhabitants were able to produce them. This created large scale unemployment and forced Latin American people into the unsafe and low paying maquiladoras. Chasteen argues that for the poor class the inability to produce goods far outweighed the benefits of being able to be a small-time consumer from the dismal wages that were earned in maquiladoras. It is clear that the neoliberal economic model is not beneficial for anyone but the wealthy elites and middle class of Latin American Countries. A neoliberal economic model became fashionably popular in Latin America because the people who were in charge were upper-class citizens and during a down turn in 1982 neoliberalism seemed like a solution due to its approach to better balance the budget of Latin American countries. Unfortunately, either the leadership of these countries assumed wrong, or just didn’t care about the wellbeing of its impoverished people, but clearly a neoliberal economic model does nothing but create a larger wealth gap, create more social stratification, and deplete living conditions for the poor even more. In the article, â€Å"Exploring the Impact of Neoliberal Economic Development on Poverty in Costa Rica: What Went Wrong? †, Paul B Lubliner argues that in order for economic prosperity to complement poverty reduction the state should have more control over the economy not less. I agree and argue by privatizing all state subsidized programs as well as depleting the amount of government jobs to almost zero Latin American countries actually went backwards in their pursuit to shorten the wealth gap as well as social stratification. Abusing your population to closer balance budget is in no way the solution to guarantee countries prosperity in the foreseeable future. Neoliberalism was clearly one sided only benefiting the rich and middle class, disfranchising each countries poor setting them back further then they were before.