Social Class Structural And Procedural Perspectives Essay

The concept of social class can be observed and conceptualized via structural and procedural perspectives. Analyzing the concept of class through structural approaches requires an evaluation of social class by socioeconomic status indicators such as education, income, and occupation. Taking the procedural approach helps to interpret class as â€Å"group identities† created by shared and common experiences. By contrast, structural approach interprets class as a â€Å"matrix of fixed categories†. This matrix has been characterized in terms of the up and down movement of individuals in a sequence (Wyatt-Nichol et al 2011, 189) According to Max Weber the concept of class can be classified as â€Å"working class†, â€Å"lower middle class†, â€Å"intelligentsia†, and â€Å"upper class†. Lloyd Warner has also depicted his model class through dividing this concept into â€Å"upper†, â€Å"middle†, and â€Å"lower†. He has subdivided these categories into â€Å"upper-upper class†, â€Å"lower upper class†, â€Å"upper-middle class†, â€Å"lower-middle class†, â€Å"upper-lower class†, â€Å"lower-lower class† (ibid). Dennis Gilbert (2002) and William Thompson and Joseph Hickey (2005) constructed newer variations (although with different labels) of the model demonstrated by Warner. The six â€Å"hierarchical levels† of Warner’s model have remained unchanged in the model of Thompson and Hickey. Analyzing the concept of class via processual approaches illustrates class identities and at the same time explores individuals’ development and interpretation (ibid,Show MoreRelatedTheories on Crime1253 Words   |  5 Pagesoriginate from the numerous challenges in developing theories that explain human behavior. In relation to crime, human behavior varies because participants differ in backgrounds, experiences, and characteristics. However, several criminologists and other social scientists have made important contributions in explaining criminal behavior. These contributions have mainly involved the establishment of several theories on crime that focus on various aspects of criminal behavior. Some of the major theories onRead MoreThe Challenge Of Educational Equity Essay4342 Words   |  18 Pagesinsufficient to make up for the accumulated effects of poverty, racial bias, and other social hurdles.† Public school is an extension of a manmade construct, government. As Tawney instructs, â€Å"because men are men, social institutions-property rights, and the organization of industry, and the system of public health and education – should be planned, as far as possible, to emphasize and strengthen, not the class differences which divide, but the common humanity which unites them. (Jackson, 1992, pRead MoreUnderstanding Conflict Through Sociological Perspective Essay5342 Words   |  22 Pagesï » ¿Understanding Conflict Through Sociological Perspective Table of Contents 1. Acknowledgements 2 2. Table of contents 3 3. Introduction 4 4. Objectives 5 5. Research Methodology 5 6. What is Conflict? 6 7. Works of Karl Marx 9 8. Conflict of interest 12 9. Conflict perspective in sociology 13 10. In classical sociology 14 11. Modern approaches 17 12Read MoreSocial Structures And Stressors Can Increase The Likelihood Of A Person3814 Words   |  16 Pages Directed Study in Criminal Justice- CRIJ 5314 Arleen J. Ramos Tarleton State University Question 1 Strain theory states that various social structures or stressors can increase the likelihood of a person to resort to criminal activities. The strains increase the negative emotions of an individual such as frustration and anger, which create the pressure to seek corrective action and therefore crime may be seen as a possible solution to ease the pressure (Bao, Haas, Chen, Pi, 2012)Read MoreMidterm Ritual Analysis By Emile Durkheim, Arnold Van Gennep, And Victor Turner2196 Words   |  9 Pagescitizenship. Juror selection and the accompanying voir dire, when examined for more than its procedural parts, reveals itself to be more complex than a set of ordinary practices. The frameworks established by Emile Durkheim, Arnold Van Gennep, and Victor Turner help to separate the ritual elements present in jury duty from aspects that are more representative of â€Å"technological routine†. British structural functionalist Arnold Van Gennep was studying in circumstances very different from the modernRead MoreThe Structure of Instructional Design: Exploring The Body, Brain and Soul of Teaching2724 Words   |  11 Pagesexample a holistic instruction model, introduced by Orlich, Harder, Callahan, et al. (2007) has four main components: procedural aspects, learning perspectives, attitudinal aspects, and the learner. The procedural aspects of Orlich et al. model demand planning, design of lessons, dynamics of classroom, techniques of instruction and learning assessment. The learning perspectives are developmental, behavioral and cognitive. The attitudinal aspects include equity, active learning, environmentRead MoreWhat Are the Differences and Similarities Between Marxs and Webers Understandings of Capitalist Society?2948 Words   |  12 Pagesdiscuss the differences and similarities of their understanding of the historical development of capitalist society; their view on social stratification on capitalist society and their understanding on the operation and future prediction of the capitalist society in three parts. Understanding of the historical development of capitalist society The different perspective of Marx and Webers methodology to the understanding of human history underline an important divergence of their understanding ofRead MoreWhat Are the Differences and Similarities Between Marxs and Webers Understandings of Capitalist Society?2939 Words   |  12 Pagesdiscuss the differences and similarities of their understanding of the historical development of capitalist society; their view on social stratification on capitalist society and their understanding on the operation and future prediction of the capitalist society in three parts. Understanding of the historical development of capitalist society The different perspective of Marx and Webers methodology to the understanding of human history underline an important divergence of their understanding ofRead Moreconflict resolution Essay8130 Words   |  33 Pagesunderstand the nature of conflict and the dynamics of how conflict unfolds. What Is Conflict? Conflict may be viewed as occurring along cognitive (perception), emotional (feeling), and behavioral (action) dimensions. This three-dimensional perspective can help us understand the complexities of conflict and why a conflict sometimes seems to proceed in contradictory directions. Conflict as Perception As a set of perceptions, conflict is a belief or understanding that ones own needs, interestsRead MoreIndustrial Relations4657 Words   |  19 PagesConceptual Framework of Employment Relations UNIT 2 EVOLUTION OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS AND CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS Objectives After going through this unit, you should be able to: l l explain the historical perspective of industrial relations in India; appreciate the impact of globalisation, technological changes, and other forces on industrial relations; identify the issues and challenges confronting industrial relations in India. l Structure 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Introduction Industrial

Analysis Of M Night Shyamalans Film Signs - 749 Words

M. Night Shyamalans film Signs is about a man whose faith is tested by an unforeseen tragedy. To get through this test Graham must keep his eyes open for the signs that God has planted throughout. He must understand that everything that is happening to him ,both the good and the bad, serves a greater purpose that will come to light when he finally is able to see. In the movie these hidden signs that are God’s way of both bringing Graham closer to Him and saving the Hess family. The movie begins 6 months after Graham lost his wife Colleen. He had since given up his priesthood and all belief in God. During this period Graham has been in the first stage of grief, denial. In his couch conversation with Merrill he points out that there†¦show more content†¦You let mom die.† This statement allows the family to discuss the elephant that has been in the room for the past 6 months and â€Å"hug it out.† In contrast Graham take a bit longer to forgive his father; God. Graham’s moment comes when he and the rest of the Hess family go down to the basement, as he blocks the aliens from entering the door, he whispers â€Å"I am not ready† that is the first time he finally acknowledges God. When Morgan is having his Asthma attack, he curses at God â€Å" Don’t do this to me again, not again...I hate you. I hate you.† He confronts God with his ire about Colleen’s death. He finally is able to forgive God when he sees all those â€Å"bad† things that happened in the past had all contributed to his family’s survival of the alien attack. Without Morgan’s asthma, he would have died from the alien’s poison, if Colleen’s death never Merrill wouldn’t have been there to â€Å"swing away† and without Bo’s weird water tick, they never would have discovered the aliens weakness. At the end of the film when Morgan is saved and Graham sees that not everything is coincidental and fate does exist, he was finally able to reclaim his faith and â€Å"hug it out† with God. The alien attack is the catalyst for Graham acknowledge God’s presence , his anger toward God and finally becoming a Believer again. If not for the invasion Graham would have gone on ostracized from his family who were obviously still grieving the loss of a loved one, but were

Deceit and Sexual Women’s Sexual Sins in Dante’s Inferno Free Essays

Dante’s representations of women and feminine sexuality in the Inferno show contrasts within the various natures of women and their sexuality. His era’s vision of the perfect woman one that idealized beauty, passiveness and purity is represented by his life long love Beatrice. This ideal and its representation in Beatrice are contrasted with the dark depictions of women, their sexual sins, devious devices, and evil act, which Dante encounters in hell. We will write a custom essay sample on Deceit and Sexual Women’s Sexual Sins in Dante’s Inferno or any similar topic only for you Order Now This paper will argue that the severity of condemnation in hell for women’s sexual sins is related to the increasing degrees of deceit. Dante’s perspective of the evil side of femininity becomes apparent from the opening of the inferno. Dante, in midlife, strays from his path into a â€Å"dark wood,† where he is able to see a bright mountain. In his quest to reach his goal, he is thwarted and driven deeper into the wood by the ravenous and promiscuous she-wolf described as â€Å"She tracks down all, kills all and knows no glut, but, feeding she grows hungrier than she was. She mates with any beast† Canto1, lines 92-95 [i] The she-wolf portrays the worst characteristics of women; she reflects lust, pride and avarice. These traits and characteristics are a foreshadowing of the sins possessed by the many women whom Dante will later encounter. This monster is contrasted by Dante’s feminine ideal, his true love Beatrice. She reflects a divine love sent by the purest of women, the Virgin Mary, and even asks Virgil to guide Dante through the hell. Her motivation is clear â€Å"It is I Beatrice, who send you to him I come from the blessed height for which I yearn. Love called me here. Canto 2 lines 70-73[ii] It is her love that provides Dante with the courage to move through Hell and onto the path of God’s light. In many ways, she is his personal savior. Divine, virginal and pure in nature, Beatrice is the perfect woman and all feminine creatures or monsters within Hell are her contrasting antitheses. In the second circle, that of â€Å"the carnal† or lustful we find various famous lovers from throughout history buffeted about in a whirlwind of an endless storm. â€Å"And this, I learned, was the never ending flight Of this who sinned the flesh, the carnal and lusty Who betrayed reason to their appetite. Canto 5, 37-40 [iii] The women condemned to this level of hell knowingly lived their lives in tempestuous adultery and in whirlwind romances, deceiving the men in their lives. When Dante asks who is condemned here, Virgil mentions famous lovers from throughout history. For instance, Virgil mentions first the Empress Semiramis, the perverse Assyrian queen who legalized incest in her kingdom[iv] :â€Å"Lust and law were her one decree† Canto 5, 57[v] There as well are the adulter ers Cleopatra, Helen (of Troy), and Dido, the Carthaginian queen who, when jilted by her love, commits suicide[vi],[vii]. The overwhelming impression given by the emphasis on women is that they are deceitful and at fault in these relationships. It is as if the men were simply swept along like dry leaves by the wind of lust or love. Dante then speaks to two lovers there called Francesca da Rimini and her brother in-law Paolo Malatesta, illicit lovers murdered by Gianciotto Malatesta Francesca’s husband. [viii] They explain that they fell in love reading the story of Lancelot and Guinevere, which was so romantic that they developed feelings for one another. They present themselves as victims of the love’s trials, but there is more to this story than what they contest, for the marriage of Francesca to her husband was necessitated as a peace pact between two warring clans- the Rimini and the Ravina[ix]. The traditional story is that the wedding was arranged, and the handsome and dashing Paulo was initially used to deceive her from learning the identity of the true spouse, Gianciotto â€Å"the cripple,† but on the wedding night, Francesca learns the truth. On their deaths Paulo was a fifty-year old father of two sons and Francesca was a mother of a nine year old daughter[x]. This love was clearly more than a moment of weakness or a whirlwind romance because it clearly was a lengthy affair. The start of this relationship was based on deception and they may believe that this is a sin of love, and they would be naively deceiving themselves by accepting little to no responsibility for their actions. Their greatest desire in life was to be together in a whirlwind love; ironically, this has become their fate. Dante the pilgrim moves on through the layers of hell, seeing or meeting other women who represent other degrees of sin. Entering the eighth circle of hell, the circle of frau, in Canto 18, he enters the second malebolige of this level, reserved for the flatters. Here, he sees a woman scratching and scraping herself while she swims in a grotesque pool of excrement. Virgil informs him that: â€Å"It is the whore Thaius who told her lover When he sent to ask her, ‘Do you thank me much? ’ ‘Much? Nay, past all believing! Canto 18 lines 131-133[xi] Thais once was a beautiful courtesan, but she was a woman of degraded sexuality, who prostituted herself with both her body and her speech. She was a whore, who teased, seduced and sold herself to many men for her own gains. Her greatest sin that consigned her to wallow in this pool of feces, deeper in hell than the forlorn lovers, was not her pandering of bodily desires, but her intentional deceit through the â€Å"prostit ution of words†[xii]. She was a victim of the salacious flattery she offered her lovers the while among the living. More sinful than her exploitation of men through sex without love was the overwhelming and ridiculously insincere compliments that she gave men; those lies are now represented by the feces in which she exists. In one of the deepest pits of the underworld, as Dante moves through the eighth circle of hell and the tenth malebolige, he moves through the pit of falsifiers and the evil impersonators. There, he encounters Myrrha, the mother of Adonis. She is running about, much like an insane, vampiric beast, pale, naked and unclean, snapping her teeth as she runs by. Virgil tells him that â€Å"that ancient shade in time above Was Myrrha, vicious daughter of Cinyras Who loved her father with more than rightful love. he falsified another’s form and came Disguised to sin with him just as that other Who runs with her in order that he might claim The fabulous lead-mare† Canto 30 lines 37-43[xiii] Myrrha is dammed in one of the deepest pits of hell for her incestuous relationship with her father, King Cinyras. Her intentional betrayal of her father the king, through her disguise as another lover to seduce her father, is a premeditated act of sexual treachery. This disturbingly lustful act of deceit leaves her pursuing flesh, much like she did her father in life. The corrupt world of Dante’s Inferno allows sinners to get a perverted version of what they sought through out their lives. Dante’s true love, Beatrice, is a pure and virginal woman, which is a contrast to the women committed to hell. The depths of hell that these women are condemned to for their sexual sins are the result of the deceit with which they acted. The more deceitful and heinous the act or treachery, the more severe the punishment and the deeper that woman is in hell. How to cite Deceit and Sexual Women’s Sexual Sins in Dante’s Inferno, Essay examples

The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Essay Sample free essay sample

The infinite bird Challenger had flown nine successful missions between 1982 and the detonation in 1986 ( FAS ) . There were a figure of jobs that delayed the initial take-off of the flight. It was originally scheduled for launch on January 22 but due to assorted holds including the conditions and minor jobs with the bird. the launch did non really go on until January 28. 1986 ( Greene ) . The first seeable marks to bespeak a job happened at. 678 seconds into the flight. when a strong whiff of fume became seeable ( NASA ) . The whiffs of fume continued and so turned into seeable fire. At 73 seconds into the flight. the bird fell apart. and pieces of the bird. including the cabin. continued upwards by their ain force. until they reached 65. 000 pess ( Oberg ) . We will write a custom essay sample on The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The cabin fell into the H2O 2 proceedingss and 45 seconds after the shuttle broke apart ( Oberg ) . There is grounds including the gap of some air bottles that the crew did non decease until this point ( Oberg ) . Research on the topic indicated the cause of the catastrophe was due to an O-ring failure. in the solid fuel projectile on the right side of the bird. This combined with remarkably cold conditions allowed hot gasses to leak through the joint ( Greene ) . The little leak created a fire and a larger hole. The consequence of the fires was a breach in fuel armored combat vehicle leting H and O to unite and light ( Greene ) . This caused the bird to interrupt into single pieces some of which can be identified in the picture of the catastrophe as a wing. the chief tail subdivision and the forward fuselage ( NASA ) . Plants Cited Greene. Nick. â€Å"Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster- A NASA Tragedy. †Approximately. com. The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster – A Closer Look at the Challenger Disaster and Its Aftermath â€Å"Mission Archives† .National Aeronautics and Space Administration.20 June 2007. NASA – STS-51L â€Å"51-L The Challenger Accident. †Federation of American Scientists Space Policy Undertaking.9 February 1997. 20 June 2007. Challenger Accident Oberg. James. â€Å"7 Myths About the Challenger Shuttle Disaster. †MSNBC.27 Jan 2006. 20 June 2007. 7 myths about the Challenger shuttle catastrophe – Space News MSNBC. com

The Conquest Of Mexico Research Paper Example

The Conquest Of Mexico Research Paper Example The Conquest Of Mexico Paper The Conquest Of Mexico Paper The Conquest of Mexico The Spaniards, in the conquest of the Mexican people, relied Just as heavily on chance and luck as they did on their on their skills on diplomacy and military prowess. The sicknesses that the Spaniards brought over with them in addition to the political situation that the Mexica had established with their neighbors is what really brought about the downfall of the great Mexican civilizations. In addition to these factors there was also the fact that up to this point in history the Americas have had very little in the way of contact from the outside world and consequently had next to o knowledge of the civilizations across the sea. When they first encountered the Spanish Conquistadors they held the belief that they were from the gods and that Cortez was the reincarnation of one of their gods and as such welcomed them with open arms. When you take into consideration all of the factors mentioned above you will see that the conquest of Aztecs and other Native American civilizations by the Spanish was accomplished by three major factors: diplomacy, military prowess, and no small amount of luck. The first of those factors is the diseases that the Europeans brought across the Atlantic with them. The most notable disease that caused the majority of the deaths among the Native American people was the pestilence of smallpox. An account of Just how devastating smallpox was among a populace whose immune systems had no prior experience with or any way to combat European diseases can be found in book twelve of the Florentine Codex. Before the Spaniards came to us, first an epidemic broke out, a sickness of pustules. It began in Tepeilhuitl. Large bumps spread on people; some where completely covered. They spread everywhere, on the face, the ead, the chest, etc. [The disease] brought great desolation, a great many died of it. Lockhart, 1993, 190) The account goes on to describe the horrors that the disease had left behind in the lives of those who were lucky enough to survive. Many of the survivors had been left horribly scared or even blinded if they were unlucky enough for the disease to spread into their eyes. The main reason that these diseases had such a devastating effect on the natives and not on the Spaniards is the fact that the natives had very little in the way of domesticated animals. The Europeans had for housands of years been in possession of a great many domesticated animal, such as pigs, horses, chickens, and cows, and it is these animals that are usually the incubators and carriers of a great many deadly diseases. Since the Europeans had been around them for so long their immune systems had adapted to the situation and were able to combat the diseases. The Aztecs had no such advantage. The deadly diseases of Europe were something completely new to them and their immune systems had no way to combat them. The Spaniards had no compunctions about taking advantage of the situation in their conquest of Mexico. Another huge factor that the Spanish had in their favor was the superior weapons that they had at their disposal and huge advantage that the weapons gave them in battle. The Aztec people were severely limited in the type of weapon that they could wield in battle due to the simple fact that their civilization had never discovered the created were made from wood and stone. One such weapon that the majority of the Aztec warriors had in their possession is described in the book titled Victors and Vanquished. Their primary weapon was a kind of wooden sword set with obsidian lades designed for slashing and incapacitating rather than killing an opponent. (Schwartz 2000 1 1) The weapons of the Aztec warriors were all similar to that in that they were designed to incapacitate instead of kill. The entire reason for the Aztecs to be at war was the capture of prisoners that they could sacrifice to their gods. The Spaniards were not like that. Their weapons were designed for one purpose, to kill. Many of those weapons, such as the musket or crossbow, had a much greater range than any of the weapons that the natives could field in battle and they had no answer t all to the power of the Spaniards canons. The one factor that made all of every weapon that the Spaniards had at their disposal superior to any Aztec weapon is the simple fact that they were made of steel. There was one obstacle that the Conquistadors had that would prevent them from overwhelming the Aztecs even with their superior weaponry. That aforementioned obstacle was the fact that the Spanish only numbered in the hundreds while the Aztecs had their entire civilization backing them. The way that they were able to overcome that obstacle was through he art of diplomacy. The constant invasions and taking of prisoners by the Aztecs for their human sacrifices had earned them many enemies among their neighbors. When Spain began its exploration of the new world those very same neighbors saw their chance to finally bring about the destruction of their oppressors. An example of this can be found in a Spanish account of the invasion of Chapultepec. The war was sustained fiercely on both sides, since on our side we had the help of many Tlaxacalan warriors (Aguilar, 1993, 196) The constant warfare and human sacrifice hat the gods of the Aztecs demanded of them had finally helped to bring about the downfall of that great civilization. There was no one thing that brought about the downfall of the Mexican people. It was a conglomeration of events that finally toppled the great civilizations. The sicknesses and plaques that the Europeans brought over with them played no small part. The way in which the natives waged war was also a significant factor. The factor that really broke the back of the Aztecs was the constant need for human sacrifice. In their dealings with their neighbors they had created the oundation that Spaniards used for the negotiating of allies in the conquest of Mexico. In this collision of two previously separate worlds it was the Spanish who came out as the victor and the Aztecs as the vanquished. Aguilar, Francisco De. Eighth Jornada. In Victors and Vanquished, edited by Stuart B. Schwartz, 197-198. Boston: Yale University, 2000 Sahagun, Fray Bernardino De. Florentine Codex In Victors and Vanquished, edited by Stuart B. Schwartz, 190. Boston: Yale University, 2000 Schwartz, Stuart B. Victors and Vanquished. Boston: Yale University, 2000.

How Insects Provide Evidence That a Murder Victim Was Moved

How Insects Provide Evidence That a Murder Victim Was Moved In some suspicious death investigations, arthropod evidence may prove that the body was moved at some point after death. Crime scene insects can tell whether the body decomposed at the location where it was found, and even reveal gaps in the crime time line. When Insects at the Crime Scene Dont Belong There The entomologist first identifies all the collected arthropod evidence, cataloging the species present on or near the body. Not every insect belongs in every habitat. Some live in quite specific niches – on limited vegetation types, at certain elevations, or in particular climates. What if the body yields an insect that is not known to live in the area where it was found? Wouldnt that suggest the body had been moved? In his book A Fly for the Prosecution, forensic entomologist M. Lee Goff tells of one such case. He collected evidence from a womans body found in an Oahu sugar cane field. He noted that some of the maggots present were a species of fly found in urban areas, not in agricultural fields. He hypothesized that the body had remained in an urban location long enough for the flies to find it, and that it was later moved to the field. Sure enough, when the murder was solved, his theory proved correct. The killers kept the victims body in an apartment for several days while trying to decide what to do with it. When Insects at the Crime Scene Dont Fit the Timeline Sometimes insect evidence reveals a gap in the time line, and leads investigators to the conclusion that the body was moved. The primary focus of forensic entomology is the establishment of the postmortem interval, using insect life cycles. A good forensic entomologist will give detectives an estimate, to the day or even the hour, of when the body was first colonized by insects. Investigators compare this estimate with witness accounts of when the victim was last seen alive. Where was the victim between when he was last seen and when insects first invaded his corpse? Was he alive, or was the body hidden somewhere? Again, Dr. Goffs book provides a good example of a case where insect evidence established such a time gap. A body found on April 18th yielded only first instar maggots, some still emerging from their eggs. Based on his knowledge of this insects life cycle in the environmental conditions present at the crime scene, Dr. Goff concluded that the body had only been exposed to insects since the previous day, the 17th. According to witnesses, the victim was last seen alive two days prior, on the 15th. It seemed that the body must have been somewhere else, protected from exposure to any insects, in the interim. In the end, the murderer was caught and revealed he had killed the victim on the 15th, but kept the body in the trunk of a car until dumping it on the 17th. How Insects in the Soil Help Solve a Murder A dead body lying on the ground will release all its fluids into the soil below. As a result of this seepage, the soil chemistry changes substantially. Native soil organisms leave the area as the pH rises. A whole new community of arthropods inhabit this gruesome niche. A forensic entomologist will sample the soil below and near where the body was lying. The organisms found in the soil samples can determine whether the body decomposed at the location where it was found, or prior to being dumped there.

SWOT Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SWOT Analysis - Essay Example Likewise, the company’s ability to rapidly join the market with such a low entry cost is one of the greatest strengths portrayed by this individual plan. With a little over 100,000 dollars, the firm can buy stock, rent space, hire staff, and make the product offering available to the target market. Opportunities The opportunity for expansion is high due to the fact that this firm requires a very modest amount of initial investment in order to operate and will likely quickly draw a residual revenue. Likewise, a secondary opportunity lies in the ability of the firm to branch out and offer services to other universities statewide or at the national level with the same type of business plan and the same level of initial investment A further definite opportunity that this project enjoys is the fact that people are becoming increasingly mindful of the level of carbon emissions they produce. As such mopeds/scooters are the perfect means to combat this while the entire time providing rapid, easy to park transportation to meet the needs of the customer. Threats The most obvious and extent threat that such a business endeavor faces is born out of the strength that this analysis has previously mentioned. Due to the fact that the cost of entry is so low, it is conceivable that such a firm might have a number of competitors – seemingly overnight. Due to this fact, it must be incumbent upon the firm to ensure that their product is offered at a reasonable price and that their service leaves nothing to be desired. Due to the fact that entrants can come and go so easily, the firm must leave nothing to be desired in the off chance that they will lose a great deal of customer patronage if a competitor can outdo them with respect to any part of the business plan Weakness Unfortunately, the plans weaknesses far outweigh its strengths, opportunities or even threats. The first of these is the question of why a student would choose to rent rather than buy. With such a lo w cost per unit (between 400-700 USD), one wonders why any college student would rent such a device rather than pay for it outright. Understandably college students lack a great deal of discretionary income; however, at such prices it beggars belief that an individual would not themselves perform a rapid cost-benefit analysis and determine that they would be better off purchasing a scooter rather than renting it due to the fact that they could effectively pay it off in the space of a year. Although it is a stereotype, it is without question that a broad majority of college students will not necessarily take careful care of their leased moped during the period in which they are using it. As such, no mention was made in the plan with relation to how University Mopeds work to recoup this loss when a moped is returned in poor operating condition. Furthermore, most parts of Oregon experience a great deal of rain. As anyone with prior experience riding a bicycle, moped, or motorcycle can attest, doing so in the rain is a miserable experience. How will University Mopeds work to provide these products in a market that experiences such high precipitation levels? A further weakness of the plan is the lack of information provided with respect to where the demographic data was obtained (University Mopeds, 2011). The figures and statistics were interesting but without a citation, it is impossible for