Chilrdens Books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Chilrdens Books - Essay Example However over the last two decades quite a few major changes have come into the social structure and more specifically, the family unit. Statistics show that in contrast to the 80s and 90s more that 60% of all children in the United States today have working mothers and the number of mothers in even a two parent family who are employed went up by close on to 40%. Currently around 27% of all children come from families with a single parent and one in every three births in the United States is out of wedlock. This along with new light thrown on methods of helping children to maximize their cognitive skills, has lead to dramatic shifts in education for children, and books which are written and published with children and young adults as the target group. A radical change came about both in the form and content of books as the emphasis shifted from parent or teacher-directed, to student-directed reading and learning. The intention behind this was that children should develop their own understanding and imagination, not by being exposed to facts in isolation, but by having their curiosity aroused without any external stimulus in the form of rewards. Other factors which have begun to be taken into consideration while promoting books for children are multi ethnicity, sex, including gay and lesbian fiction for children and young adults, and books which

A Freedom Fighter, or Terrorist?

A Freedom Fighter, or Terrorist? The recent surge in Terrorism as a phenomenon has been unparallel in modern history. It now features as one of the top priorities in government agendas for most of the countries around the world. It is debatable whether it has been hyped up to some extent but unarguably has been one of the most unfortunate trends that have made considerable impact on the way of life for all. The security agencies, religious heads, community leaders, experts and such, are all facing a mammoth task of tackling the menace. It is costing governments billions of pounds in loss of lives, properties, trade and importantly confidence. Due to sensitive nature of the issue, involvement of varied drivers, the lethal cocktail of domestic and international politics, the lack of political will to identify root causes, bungled intelligence information and importantly its geographical spread covering all continents are some of the contributing factors that has left the modern world exasperated. The importance of differentiating and defining the legitimate and unlawful has become academic and a matter of statute. This unfortunately has not helped the bigger cause of tackling the issue in a fair manner thus leaving lives of common people at increasing risk. The debate about values of civil society and rights of the oppressed has blurred and can be argued, to such an extent that no common consensus exists in relation to what is acceptable and what is not, leaving ordinary people confused and causing rift between different communities. This however does not diminish the importance of reaching an amicable definition, the need for it is more than ever before, especially to uphold the values of liberty, fairness and democracy in a volatile society. The discussion will elude to some relevant issues in the context of background, causes, and legislation and will endeavour to arrive at a satisfactory definition that hopefully would distinguish the freedom fighter from the terrorist. This discussion would take into account both national and international scenarios on the basis that the phenomenon is not restricted to UK alone and indeed the definitional problems it poses worldwide, as incidentally does the threat of violence from it. Background The Freedom Fighter: To allow this discussion to evolve and formulate, it is imperative to define and differentiate between a freedom fighter and a terrorist. The term freedom fighter can be defined as being for those engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom for themselves or obtain freedom for others  [1]  . The common conception of a freedom fighter is that it is someone who opposes a cruel or unfair government by fighting against it, using weapons usually as a part of an organised group  [2]  or even someone who uses violent action, or threats of violent action, for political purposes  [3]  . These general definitions provided from varied academics, saturate an area which is already filled with many views and opinions on the definition of such word and how it should be classified. The Terrorist The term terrorist has also been attempted to be defined as being the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion  [4]  . It has also been classed as someone who use violence in order to achieve political aims  [5]  or a person who uses violent methods to try to remove a government from power  [6]  . A terrorist in a definitional sense connotates acts of violence being carried out, in order to fulfil aims. The resistance movement can be clearly termed as activities involving conflict of some nature. The conflict mainly against the authorities as the above definitions seems to presume. The purpose of achieving political freedom or aims indicates opposing some political establishment. It also however signifies restriction of liberty and free will and either a violent or non-violent approach to break these restrictions to make inroads for the organisations willing to do something about it. People who are described as freedom fighters are often also called in popular culture as assassins, rebels, insurgents, or even terrorists. This leads to the dictum one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter  [7]  , which poses the difficulty that governments are faced with when trying to define it. A freedom fighter could be meant to consist of someone who will fight for the cause of freedom but as we thoroughly discuss, traditional use of such terminology in popular media is confined to those who are engaged in violent behaviour and those who fight for freedom peacefully are disregarded for the reason that violence by other groups whom claim to be freedom fighter, cast a shadow over them. This also poses the validity of using term armed rebellion as it is linked to violence outside the sphere of traditional terrorism. Nelson Mandela and Yasar Araafat were initially branded terrorists only to be recognised as diplomats and freedom fighters, even though the factions they were linked to were directly responsible for the loss of numerous lives and creating social disorder. In crude comparison even Osama bin Laden was encouraged and supported by US to fight Russia to protect their strategic interest in the area  [8]  . It is ironic that he is now the most wanted man on the earth. The perceived transformation of terrorist to freedom fighter and vice versa in context of their roles blurs the definition even further. The term terrorist and freedom fighter has become distorted with the changing times. It is interesting to note that Seymour above has no qualms in making those blurred boundaries more prominent. His emphasis on differing universal values attached to the activities instead of the blanket definition is worth noting and he suggests that they are the same entity and the difference between them both is only a matter of a opinion and a subjective view. International Perspective: The history of resistance movement goes back to from 1 AD to 6 AD according to various historians, even though no concrete evidence exists as to when the usage of the word terrorism came into existence  [9]  . Various studies have found over 100 definitions of terrorism  [10]  and this coupled with the fact that the term is politically and emotionally charged greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition  [11]  . Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations (UN) strived to classify terrorism, but the implementation of such definition concluded to fail as member states found it difficult to verify it, in regards to the use of violence for national liberation and self determination  [12]  . This was mainly due to Palestine movement which was not only whole heartedly supported by the Middle-East but countries in South Asia, Russia, China and Africa also provided tactical support to the cause as and when it was required. The solidarity groups ac ross the world staged peaceful demonstration on regular basis, mainly to keep the momentum going. The active freedom fighters or comrades of the movement also got involved in violent activities inside and outside of the mainland Palestine. This always posed problems for the countries that hosted such groups and they refrained from making any supporting statements when the activities resulted in loss of lives and destruction of properties. This showed how freedom fighters can immediately become terrorists or undesirables through the actions they undertake. The United Nations General Assembly uses the commonly agreed political definition of terrorism when condemning such acts  [13]  . The declaration reads: Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them  [14]  . The absence of term violence in the above declaration and its reliance on general criminality of the acts makes it less influential and renders it incapable to deal with modern day trend, which is more complex and extraordinary. It is safe to assume that the criminal laws of any country, irrespective of their political structure must be quite effective in dealing with criminal acts and the declaration ignores variety of internal and external threats the countries may face, such as risk to infrastructure, utilities, national treasurers, technology and others. Due to severity and the new reality that has dawned following 9/11 attacks, then Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, described the terrorist attack on USA as an attack on humanity as a whole, without definition, all terrorism to be condemned whatever the political origins  [15]  . This was a progressive step forward and highlighted the need for rigorous definition and a zero tolerance approach. There was also an acknowledgement and underlying message of not getting too wrapped up with the legal clarity about the definition and instead to tackle the issue at hand in a non-negotiable but effective manner. It is also worth noting the usage of term whatever the political origins, as a conflict of any political nature was considered as a trigger point that may result in terrorism and a battle for self determination. It must be observed that since the rise of terrorism in the west, the Patriot Act 2001 was enacted in the United States of America (USA), which attempted to define terrorism as being premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience  [16]  . This definition has no consideration of the social factors for the cause of terrorism and attempts to infer that political pressure is the only aim . The Act was described as a pendulum reaction to 9/11 event by Lord Carlile  [17]  . The act was scrutinised by both major parties in the USA as it encroached upon and showed scant regard for liberties of the individual  [18]  . The UN has made several resolutions to allow uniform adoption of counter terrorism measures. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373  [19]  (2001) was seen as a response to 9/11 and since as become a pillar of the global legal framework for the prevention and suppression of terrorism.  [20]  The introduction of such resolution meant that countries such as Japan took steps in order to freeze the assets of many individuals  [21]  . However it must be noted that although the counter terrorism measure in this resolution were adopted, the resolution failed to define terrorism and persisted to include Al-Qaida and Taliban within the framework of defining terrorism. Further attempts have been made from the UN to understand the growing threat of terrorists. UN Security Council Resolution 1566 defined terrorism as being:- criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.  [22]   This definition takes into consideration of the wide scope of damages that terrorism could cause such as in taking the lives of civilians and does not restrict it to just political aims or in times of war. The further need for a strict definition was attempted also by Tamar Meisels whom advocates a consistent and strict definition of terrorism, which she defines as the intentional random murder of defenceless non-combatants, with the intent of instilling fear of mortal danger amidst a civilian population as a strategy designed to advance political ends  [23]  . This definition seems in include an aim again and shows that violence and instilling fear are the key components of the behaviour of a terrorist. The history of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and African National Congress (ANC) is riddled with violence, kidnapping, civil disorder, threats, incitement in order to achieve the aims of these organisations, which in effect was self-determination, freedom, justice, equality, fairness and so on, similar aims of the freedom fighter. The rights of the Palestinian people to self determination has been recognised by the many organisations around the world including the security council and the international court of justice and most importantly even by Israel as well. About 100 nations recognize Palestine as a state  [24]  . In 1990, the successful negotiations between the government and ANC resulted in ending apartheid, culminating in multi-racial democratic elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress under Nelson Mandela  [25]  . In both the above cases the uprising was internally and externally supported by individuals, organisations and governm ents across the world. The campaign highlighted the injustices, segregation, and deprivation of basic human rights of indigenous people that became magnet for people to protest against it. It also gave platform for other people and groups internally and sometimes externally to participate in the struggle in a non-violent way. The justification of methods within an organisation is met with the internal wrestling between the political arm and the branch that deals with rebellion by way of force. This has meant that disputes within groups stagnate further development for their cause. There has been an increasing interest at the international level in supplementing traditional human rights principles with rights for minorities within in each group. For example, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe adopted a declaration on the Rights of National Minorities and established a High Commissioner on National Minorities in 1993  [26]  , this being significant as within the international framework, the rights of minorities are being protected in reaction to terrorism diluting their rights in certain states. Similarities and Differences The above definitions and backgrounds provide useful information on making an informed decision on the similarities and differences between the two. The overlapping of some triggers and factors are inevitable and readers are urged to be cautious when taking a stand for and against the issue. Most of the formal definitions of terrorism and freedom fighter have some common characteristics mainly a fundamental motive to make political or societal changes through use of violence or illegal force. The terms have stark differences as well. The use of violence perpetrated by terrorist is random and does not take into account the destruction of lives and properties of innocent people. The freedom fighter on the other hand, targets governmental and military installations with a view to bring them to the negotiating table. This is in contrast to terrorists who aims to create fear and terror and instead issues orders and demands to surrender and may lack diplomatic channels, resulting in the approach taken by militants, both can command support. The terrorists support comes from clandestine organisations and rouge states. The freedom fighter cause is celebrated and may get support from all sections of the society including democratic institutions. UK Context There is no single definition of terrorism that commands full international approval. It remains the subject of continuing debate in international bodies  [27]  . Lord Carlile arrived at this conclusion after carefully researching the current terrorism laws that exists in 60 countries. The majority of countries selected for the study had either too broad or too narrow scope of definition and importantly were designed to reflect specific political situation and threat of the individual country. Only few European countries had some similar features to UK legislation and context. The Terrorism Act 2000 was aimed to establish a sound definition of terrorism in the law with a view to introduce entirely new set of police and investigatory powers to deal with incidents that would be deemed beyond the ordinary violent offences. It also superseded and repealed some of the previous acts and provisions. Since 2000, the UK has enacted five main pieces of legislation to deal with terrorism  [28]  . Following the events of 9/11, legislation and security measures from the Government were under threat of not going far enough to deal with the issues raised by violence, such as terrorism. Following the events of 9/11, legislation and security measures from the Government were under threat of not going far enough to deal with the issues raised by violence, such as terrorism. In response to this the government initiated CONTEST (I and II) as the main authority for counterterrorism strategy for the UK. It was designed to take account of the evolution of the threat and of our understanding of the factors which are driving it  [29]  . The latest conception of CONTEST attempts to deal with issue that foreign policy concerns breed violent extremism  [30]  . It endeavoured to define how foreign policy in the UK could act as a catalyst for people to turn to extremism. Real or perceived grievances, some international and some local, including in particular: a perception that UK foreign policy in the Muslim world (notably military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan) is hostile to Islam; the experience of wider conflict in the Muslim world and conflict involving Muslims (often attributed either to western intervention or to western indifference); and a range of domestic issues, including racism, inequalities and the experience of criminality and migration.  [31]   This brings the paradoxical argument that, grievances such as the foreign policy of a country could lead to the radicalisation of those aggrieved, who in turn could result in fighting for the cause, and ultimately for the minority the perceived freedom fighter could become an instrument of terrorist activities. It must be mentioned that he report conducted by Lord Carlile  [32]  where he defined terrorism and reviewed all legislation in relation to this topic, has now become a fundamental part of terrorism legislation Terrorism Act 2000 The introduction of the Terrorism Act 2000 signified a huge step in the right direction in the attempts to define such violent acts. The act defined it as being an action which is designed to influence the government through a threat or to intimidate the public and threats made for the purpose for progress of a political, religious or ideological cause can be seen as terrorism, for the purposes of the act. These attempts show that the UK government had stretched the boundaries and attempted to define it. The act also cleared up discrepancies in regards to what type of damage or threats are caused. Section 2 of the Act also defines what type of actions can be inferred to be that of terrorists and includes actions which involve serious violence or serious damage to property. An action which endangers a persons life or a deed which creates serious risk to the public can be also be deemed as actions of terrorism. The act also attempted to cover the rise of technological warfare by includ ing attempts to disrupt electronic systems can also fall under the heading of terrorist activities. It is imperative to mention that the act also considered terrorist activities committed outside of the UK would still be classified as terrorist actions for the purpose of the act. This is important as the scope for actions is wide thus allowing such actions to be classed as terrorist activities. However, this act even with the attempts and inroads it has tried to make in regards to defining terrorism, has been met with criticisms chiefly from Lord Carliles paper. He suggested that the act should include the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar case  [33]  . If the section 1 (1) (c) was to be amended in the 2000 act, it would provide a positive message by enhancing the legal clarity of the act. The Terrorism Act 2006 also extends the range of offences which can be classed as terrorism and included the term glorifies  [34]  , which can be meant as a novel word for a criminal offence. The amendments made by the 2006 Act, such as, glorification and mere preaching cannot be seen as terrorist actions, Lord Carlile was content with the protection that was in place in regards to the misusing of the clause preaching and glorification  [35]  . Like the Patriot Act in the Unit ed States, the current UK law has been scrutinised due to the slow dissolution of key human rights such as right to privacy which allows the police excessive powers, which could result in misuse of them. The Terrorism Act has been wrongly exploited by authorities such as the Police force and Customs as they have often cited the Terrorism Act when combating terrorism when in fact in various cases these events are not connected to those of terrorism. Another contentious issue arising from the act is section 44. This section involves the authorisations available to senior police officers if they believe that it is expedient for the prevention of acts of terrorism, they can confer powers to other police officers to search people and there is no requirement that the officers to do so on reasonable grounds. Stop and searches have been taken advantage of as those with no connection in terrorism can be targeted, such as protesters  [36]  , however the police must have reasonable suspicion that the person pursued is operating as a terrorist, according to the Home Office  [37]  . In many states across the world which breed terrorist organisations, the experience that they have such as poverty and hardship lead to the radicalisation of the masses. Recent research suggests that poverty and illiteracy as well as the conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq are key factors leading to religious extremism  [38]  . This has led to the school of thought that freedom fighters and terrorist have not always derived out of the same background and it is the ideology that they pursue which is different from one another. Summary The discussion on the said topic was approached with a view to define Terrorist and Freedom Fighter, and includes researching various understanding of these terms and the views as expressed by national and international experts, including relevant legislations. The unique characteristics or commonality that compares and distinguishes both terms are vital in critically considering its legitimacy and legal status. The rapidly diminishing boundaries of terrorist and freedom fighter has not only left ordinary people confused but authorities struggling to provide legal clarity as well. The discussion also ask the questions to ponder on the necessity to define these terms to the hilt at the expense of ignoring such a sensitive issue and in turn giving secondary preference to tackling the issue. The Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation that followed like the Terrorism Act 2006 which made amendments to the 2000 act such as creating new offences in reference to the encouragement of terrorism which deals with the root cause of it  [39]  , provides an insight into the UKs context and how counter-strategy with all its teething problems and weaknesses remains at the heart of providing protection and stability to UK. Conclusion The exclusion of religious causes from the definition of terrorism is controversial and there is no discourse as it stands that political cause may be excluded from the definition, this also applies to an ideological cause. Can there be a religious cause which is neither political nor ideological? If so, should it be under the terrorism umbrella?  [40]   The above questions bring the debate about root cause to the fore. The counter-terrorism strategy identifies the importance of the role specific community should be playing. The Prevent strand aims to tackle the issue through community involvement. It is hoped that by identifying the underlying issues such as foreign policy, discrimination, deprivation etc the authorities would be in better position to address the issue through various community based and led initiatives. This however must not underestimate the importance of containing and eliminating the menace of terrorism through policing and judiciary means mainly via legislation. The international community it seems are still divided over defining the term freedom fighter. The thin line that separates it from terrorist is too risky to be crossed. It also depends on individual countrys foreign policy, e.g. The Middle East whole heartedly supports Palestine movement and some countries also give tactical support in form of funding, promotion etc. The argument with some of the western countries is that the funds can be easily channelled to terrorist causes and openly promoting the cause can have adverse effect on their relationship with Israel, not to forget the wrong message it would send to those elements who could resort to violence and derail the campaign. The current definition of terrorism as it stands now in UK has been rigorously designed and implemented through proper policy making mechanism. The inherent weaknesses and the lessons learnt of abuse of powers since 2000 have either been amended or eliminated. The process of treating each case on merit and trying to identify the root cause can only exasperate the situation. The sensible approach route however would be to look at the end result. Did the activities result in illegal and random violence? Did it cause loss of lives of innocent people and destruction of properties? Have the perpetrators got legitimate concerns that can be resolved through negotiations? Is the issue of persecution, human rights visible and quantifiable? The concept of Freedom Fighting is alien to current UK scenario. The robust laws and legislations in place, the mechanism of transparency and implementation of these laws, the equality and human rights, democratically elected local and central government, rights of citizen, checks and balances of political and judiciary system etc are antithesis to the path of violent struggle for freedom. It is also equally true that any widely accepted and legitimate freedom struggle outside UK such as Burma, Palestine etc must not be underrated. The UK citizens should have right to protest within the boundaries of UK law, including marching, publicity, awareness campaign, funding raising etc. Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy: Examining Volkswagen Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy: Examining Volkswagen A business strategy is an organizational plan with long and short tem purposes of achieving set business goals and objectives. Its a management plan aimed at strengthening the performance of a company through provision of quality products and services and maintaining market share and successfully containing competition (Aaker, 2001). A business strategy can be developed and implemented at three levels of an organization structure; the corporate level, the business level and the departmental level. Developing business strategies at corporate level involves maintaining the business positive performance while ensuring long term success of all business units through improving compatibility among the units. Companies develop corporate strategies to manage their operations, departments, products, services and staff to make the company competitive and ensure that every component contributes to the success and achieving organizational goals. The development and implementation of a business strategy or model involves the use of organizational design which is the process of deciding how a company must form, utilize and combine organizational structure as well as control systems and organizational culture to pursue a business goal (Hill and Gareth 2008). This essay will focus on developing and implementing business strategies at corporate level based on the Volkswagen Group which is a motor manufacturing company. Factors to Consider when Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy Well developed business strategies must address the strategy choice, organization structure, primary people concerns and organizational culture dimensions. Volkswagen Group has identified differentiation as it major market strategy. This strategy involves positioning the group on top of motor manufacturing by the year 2018 with increased service delivery and customer satisfaction. Developing this strategy has been practiced through provision of quality products, new designs and always improving and expanded services that go beyond the normal automobile manufacturing standards. Volkswagen Group therefore focuses on a quality strategy which is a subset of a whole differentiation strategy so that it can outstand among the many competitors in the industry. However, the current increase of many players in motor industry has gone into Volkswagen group strategy plan and implementation because of the greater efforts needed to maintain revenue, market share, reduce costs and most importantly keep customers who seem attract to other cheap car models from other manufacturers. Volkswagen Group management assigns employees to particular value creation tasks and roles that are linked together to create a framework that will increase quality provision, effective service delivery, innovation and responsiveness to customers to increase competitive advantage. This motor manufacturing group has succeeded in integrating the efforts of all employees across all company structure, functions and business sections so that specific set of strategies are achieved. The Volkswagen organizational structure is very flexible with all duties clearly spelled out together with the staff who should undertake them. The structure of the Volkswagen Group organizational structure has been one of the contributing factors to effective implementation of previous strategies because every employee knows his/her job description and expectations. The development of any corporate business strategy must take into account the primary concerns of all the people involved by ensuring production of good quality products and quality services to guarantee customer satisfaction. To achieve this, Volkswagen Group has installed programs to train all its human resources prior and after a strategy is devised and implemented. This assures the company that the staff is capable of turning the business strategies into business values. The choice of its staff is very complete because only staff with great quality combinations for a motor manufacturing industry is considered. Organizational culture is a collection of values, norms, beliefs and attitudes that are common among people and groups in an organization. Volkswagen group has organizational standards that control how the employees interact with each other, with the customers and stakeholders outside the company. Just like many other international companies, the top management of Volkswagen group has the upper hand in ensuring that employees work towards achieving the company strategies and goals because they can influence the kind of beliefs to be exercised in the company. Developing a corporate strategy is therefore a very complex process that is primarily concerned with selection of business area where the organization should operate and compete as well as developing and coordinating business profile through stipulation of objectives, aims and goals (Checco 2005). In developing business strategies organizations must address key strategy components that usually determine the long term performance of such strategies. These components include; strategy reach, competitive contact, managing resources and business relationship and management practices. The corporate strategy reach involves defining corporate mission, vision, objectives and goals. The strengths and opportunities as well as weaknesses and threats are considered in this component. The definition of these management components enables execution of the strategy while ensuring business units are integrated into each other for easy management. The competitive contact is more concerned with speculating the future competition environment and developing products and services that will be able to compete favorable with those of the competitors. Opportunities and threats are more addressed at this point. Coordinating the use of company resources, both material and intellectual across the business units forms the other component of managing corporate activities and relationships. Developing a business strategy dictates that all business units in harmony and compatible with each other such that communication and business instructions can flow from unit to unit (Porter 1998). The effective use and management of corporate resources should be stressed in the strategy since the success of a corporate strategy is dependent on how the resources are utilized. The choice between centralization and decentralization of a corporation needs more considerations such as the external factors that may face business activities, the level of compe tition as well the available resources and the benefits expected to be accrued from such resources. However, every organization should look carefully at its intended corporate strategy as compared to that of its competitors to see if it can better leverage its internal strengths and potential for operational efficiencies because development and implementation of a poor strategy may be the ultimate downfall as many competitors are finding ways to incentivize customer value through lower prices, additional options or more product for the same price to maintain customer base. This could be a battle that Volkswagen group could fail at if it does not keep pace or find a way to show consumers its value. Conclusively, strategic choice, organizational design, culture and principal people concerns shape employee beliefs, behaviors, values and norms and this determines how they will implement the business models and strategies.

The Hawke Labor Government :: essays research papers

Affect of the Ideology of the Hawke Labor Government on Interactions with Business and Society Since the Second World War, the Australian state has adopted a distinct approach in its dealings with society and business. This approach has been characterised by government intervention in the activities of business and a comprehensive welfare system serving the vulnerable segments of society. Often, government intervenes in the activities of business to force industries to assume a social welfare capacity. Successive governmental actions have been influenced by the ideologies of the incumbent party. These ideologies have not merely made sense of social or economic realities, they acted as guides for government policy. Through the critical use of supporting evidence, the affect of the Hawke Labor government upon relations with business and society will be examined. The Hawke and later Keating governments were often accused by the Socialist left of subverting or ignoring Labor’s traditional egalitarian ideology. While its ideology may be the filter through which Labor saw social and economic realities, it was constrained by international competition and lagging economic growth to adopt a more pragmatic approach under some circumstances. Economic contraction coupled with high unemployment and interest rates meant Labor needed to adopt a measure of economic liberalism, in the same way as Social Democrat European governments are compelled to presently. Hawke’s Labor championed the ‘disadvantaged’, however defined, and altered Australian society by acting upon its ideology of egalitarianism. Socialism has consistently been associated with the welfare of an oppressed class (Heywood 1997, p. 50). Following the second world war, the Labor movement had been at the forefront of the campaign for granting aboriginal Australia voting rights. Consistent with that association, the Hawke government continued Labor’s special protection of aborigines with the ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Act’ of 1990. That special protection was granted upon the aboriginal is in keeping with Labor’s Socialist ethos - that of equal outcomes, not necessarily equal opportunity, and the belief that economic differences are due to differing social environments. Bauman explains the intention of the ‘inventors of the welfare state’, and the theory that previous deprivation made special protection necessary: "What they had in mind was getting rid of the deprivation which made collective care or positive discrimination necessary in the first place: to compensate for the inequality of chances and thus make chance equal." (Bauman 1998, p. 61) Upon critical assessment, Labor’s recent treatment of aboriginal Australia could be interpreted as being in contradiction with its ideology.

Importance of Ignatius of Loyola Essay

In the year 1491, the future founder of the Jesuits was born in northern Spain. He would soon be known as Saint Ignatius of Loyola. By the time that he was fifteen he was already interested in to religion. When he got older he became a soldier. He would end up crushing his leg in battle by a cannon ball in the battle of Pamplona. Ignatius would soon go to college to be a teacher. And he achieved that goal. He would soon invent the Jesuits who were priests that would teach and go on missionaries. Ignatius’s goals were to become a strong church and to bring people back to Catholicism. He would soon accomplish it. Ignatius in order to become a strong again, you must have education to do that. That is when his spiritual exercises came into affect. He would teach the priests and the priests would teach the students. He would also create a constitution, so that everyone would stay good. And in 1556 he would be laid to rest. Ignatius of Loyola was important because, he founded the Jesuits, that would soon put their focus on education and missionary work. Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus in 1540; these members would soon be known as the Jesuits. The Jesuits were a group of priests that believed education was key to being successful. Ignatius was so high on education that every Jesuit had to be trained to be a scholar and clerics in case someday they would take over the Catholic Church (Simon 105). Ignatius wanted the Jesuits so well educated that he started his own school for the Seminarians since there were no Universities with high enough academic standards (Simon 105). Seminarians are professors that teach students. Ignatius of Loyola taught the Seminarians through his spiritual writings. So Ignatius decided that he would build a college that would meet his standards in grammar and human relations that is when he founded the Roman College in February 1551. He also had as many as 300 students sign up for the college the following year, and in 1552 Loyola also established the German College (Dalmases 355). Loyola does this so that he can show that the Jesuits are a good order of monks. He is trying to get more people to come and join the Jesuits. Ignatius made the Jesuits go to school for ten years before they could go and teach. They also had to go to mass once a day and were required to listen to seminars that were spoken in Latin. Loyola did this so that when they went out to be professors they were equipped with the right knowledge and they would know what they were doing. Ignatius did such a good job of teaching his students that people heard about them around the world. The Jesuits were so well known, that universities and schools recruited them. They ended up taking over the teaching in many universities teaching (Simon 105). The Jesuits liked to teach so much that by the 1600’s they had over eighty percent of the Jesuits being teachers. Therefore, Ignatius is an important man because of his works in education and his beliefs that knowledge is an important aspect in the Catholic Church. Another reason that Ignatius of Loyola is important is through his missionaries. Missionaries are people who are sent out to preach about what they believe in and try to get people to switch to their religion. In order to become a Jesuit you had to be willing to do what you told by your superiors. All the missionaries had to go to class to learn about what they  are to preach about (Broderick 904). â€Å"Part of Ignatius’ inspiration was his vision of the Society as carrying out the mission of Christ to defend and extend his kingdom throughout the world† (Meissner 211). Loyola had the missionaries go to many foreign areas such as Africa, Asia, India and many other countries. On of the best-known missionaries was Francis Xavier who traveled all around the East. Loyola knew so well what he was doing that by 1749 he had 3,276 people out being missionaries teaching about the Jesuits. That is one-seventh of the Jesuits. The Jesuits had such good missionary work that that they spread throughout five continents (Broderick 904). Ignatius and the Jesuits had one of the best orders, he not only sent missionaries around the world but he started orders that stayed in the countries and preached about the Jesuits and converted them over to the Catholic Church. Thus Ignatius of Loyola wanted to create a dominant order that would bring Catholicism back to order. The second point that makes Ignatius of Loyola important are his Spiritual writings, he did this by writing the Spiritual Exercises and Constitution. Loyola started writing the Spiritual Exercises after the battle of Pamplona. He started writing the book in 1521 and ended the book twenty-seven years later in 1548 (Lewis 578). Once the book was finished was printed out and used by all the Jesuits. â€Å"The first week in concentrated on with the sinful condition of man and the three other are taken up with the consideration of the life of Christ: His hidden life and public life, His Passion, Resurrection, and Ascension† (Lewis580). They would be told how to use the Spiritual Exercises. The way that they taught the Exercises were that they needed to give the students a summary explanation on what they were learning about. This would help the students to remember the material easier. Therefore, Ignatius made the Spiritual Exercises so that the Jesuits could learn and improve the knowledge of the Christ. The last reason that makes Ignatius of Loyola important was the Constitution. Ignatius created the Constitution after he founded the Jesuits in 1540. The Constitution is made up of a series of laws that consist of obedience, loyalty and respecting the Pope. When Ignatius set up the Constitution he knew that there would be changes in society and that the laws couldn’t stay  the same. So in 1558 the General Constitution made the law that you can adjust or modify the law, as long as there is no disagreement with Papal law (Ignatius 276). The Constitution ended up traveling allover the world with the missionaries and would set the standard for the Catholic Church. Consequently, Loyola wrote the Constitution so that if you became part of the Catholic Church that you would have to the follow the rules that were set. He also wrote them because if you wanted to be a Jesuit you needed to act in an orderly fashion. Ignatius founded the Jesuits and they would soon put their focus on the education and missionaries. Ignatius also was important through his spiritual writings; he did this by writing the Spiritual Exercises and Constitution. This is why Ignatius of Loyola was important because, he not only founded the Jesuits in 1540 but he emphasized on education. He was so interested in education that he started universities. The Jesuits were a major contribution in education around the world. Ignatius of Loyola thought that they needed to spread Catholicism, which is when he sent Jesuits on Missionaries. He would finally get job done by creating orders of monks around the world. He also has contributed the writings of the Spiritual Exercises and the Constitution. The Jesuits for knowledge and discipline look upon these two books. Works Cited Lewis, J. â€Å"Spiritual Exercises.† New Catholic Encyclopedia. 1967. De Dalmases, C â€Å"Saint Ignatius of Loyola.† New Catholic Encyclopedia. 1967. Meissner, W.W. Ignatius of Loyola. New Haven: Yale University Press 1992. Simon, Edith. The Reformation. New York: Time-Life Books, 1996 Ignatius. Ignatius of Loyola. Trans. George E. Ganass. New York: Paulist Press, 1991.

Brindis Speech

The speech was Rizal’s toast to the triumph of Juan Luna’s Spolarium and Felix Hidalgo’s Las Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al populacho in their work of arts whose works illuminates two ends of the globe: East and West (Spain and the Philippines). It’s about the acknowledgement and thanking them for the pride and glory they gave to the Filipinos. But most of all, he gives praise to those youth’s actions that can make a difference and contribute to the glory of the Philippines.He wanted to make the people realize that glory doesn’t based to a country alone. What he wanted to prove is that geniuses bloom and sprout all over the world with its own uniqueness, talents, and intelligence. No one needs to have same culture and the greatness of a country, but the real talent comes to their works. What he takes jab are elites who does everything just to stop the education system among filipinos because they are afraid that they might learn to defend.I n the speech he made, there are values and lessons he teach us that can be applied in a real world up until now such as mentioning geniuses can be born and made anytime and anywhere. No one has the right to judge or put down a person because anyone can be great. He also said that Spain and Philippines are equal, no greater nor slaves. Dr. Jose Rizal is great because he discussed bravely what the Spaniards are afraid of: EDUCATION of the filipinos but what he focused more is to inspire filipinos and prove how worthy a nation can be.

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) - Definitions

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) - Definitions Definition A traditional term for the use or study of the English language by non-native speakers in countries where English is generally not a local medium of communication. English as a Foreign Language (EFL) corresponds roughly to the Expanding Circle described by linguist Braj Kachru in Standards, Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism: The English Language in the Outer Circle (1985). See examples and observations below. Also see: English as a Second LanguageTop Four ESL WebsitesCommunicative CompetenceContrastive RhetoricEnglish as an Additional LanguageEnglish as a Lingua FrancaEnglish as a Native LanguageEnglish as a Second LanguageGlobal EnglishInner Circle, Outer Circle, Expanding CircleInterlanguageNative SpeakerismNew EnglishesNotes on English as a Global LanguageSecond Language (L2)World English Example and Observations: ESL and EFL instructional approaches differ in significant ways. ESL is based on the premise that English is the language of the community and the school and that students have access to English models. EFL is usually learned in environments where the language of the community and the school is not English. EFL teachers have the difficult task of finding access to and providing English models for their students. . . . As the number of ESL students has increased in schools across North America, more classrooms and school have become more like EFL than ESL environments.(Lee Gunderson, ESL (ELL) Literacy Instruction: A Guidebook to Theory and Practice, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2009)Distinctions Between ESL and EFLAlthough ESL (English as Second Language) and EFL (English as Foreign Language) are often used interchangeably, there are unique differences between the two. . . .ESL countries are nations where the medium of instruction in education and government is in English, although English may not be the native language.On the other hand, EFL countries do not use English as a medium of instruction but English is taught in schools. Malaysia was once considered an ESL country but now leans more towards EFL.The methods and approaches of teaching English as a second language and foreign language do differ greatly.(Christopher Fernandez, Of English Teachers Then and Now. The Star [Malaysia], November 11, 2012)The distinction between second language and foreign language is not, however, a sharp one, and there are cases, like Indonesia, where classification is disputable. Moreover, there is a considerable amount of variation in the roles played by second languages, for example in education, in the fields of discourse used, and in the giving of prestige or power. In India, the medium of instruction in schools was changed from English to the regional languages after Independence, and subsequently there has been a gradual process of Indianization of the universities, which at one time were all English-medium.(Charles Barber, The English Language: A Historical Introduction. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000)Indonesia, a former Dutch colony, used to emphasize the teaching of Dutch . . .. The movement towards English as a foreign language began at independence, and English is now the main foreign language being learned in Indonesia. English is taught for eight or nine years from primary school (from Grade 4 or 5) through high school (Renandya, 2000). The main objective is to provide reading skills to enable Indonesians to read science-related materials in English.(Maria Lourdes S. Bautista and Andrew B. Gonzalez, Southeast Asian Englishes. The Handbook of World Englishes, ed. by Braj B. Kachru, Yamuna Kachru, and Cecil L. Nelson. Blackwell, 2006)

French Words Describing the Home (la Maison)

French Words Describing the Home (la Maison) The home is the center of French family life, so words identifying the house, furniture, and areas of the home are a part of everyday language for French people. Its important, then, to learn some of the most common words for furniture, house, and home in French. Where provided, click the links to hear how the word is pronounced in French. Ma Maison Starting with  maison  (house), as well as  chez moi  (my home), several words describe a house in French, from searching for a home to buying your abode and perhaps renovating it. la  maison  Ã‚  housechez moi  Ã‚  at my house, my home, at homerà ©nover, remettre neuf   renovate, refurbishconstruire, bà ¢tir  une maison   build a houseun  architecte   architectun agent immobilier a real estate agent, house agentacheter une maison to buy a houseune perquisition domiciliaire a house search Inside la Maison Once youre inside a French home, many French words describe its interior, from la cuisine (the kitcchen) to le bureau (the office).   lintà ©rieur   insidearchitecte dintà ©rieur   interior designerdà ©corateur dintà ©rieur   home  decoratorla pià ¨ce, la salle   roomla cuisine   kitchenla salle manger   dining roomle bureau   office, studyla salle de sà ©jour, le salon   den, living roomla chambre, la chambre coucher   bedroomla salle de bain   bathroom (does not include a toilet)la  salle deau  Ã‚  shower roomles toilettes, les cabinets /  le W-C (pronounced vay say) toilet / water closet  (British)la  salle de jeu   playroomune domestique, une femme de chambre housemaidle sous-sol   basementle grenier  Ã‚  atticla porte   doorle couloir  Ã‚  hallun escalier   stairway Furniture, Appliances, Equipment, and Home Furnishings A number of words can discribe les  meubles  (the furniture) you might use to make your house a home. les  meubles  Ã‚  furnitureun  meuble   a  piece of furniturele living   living room   mobilier design   designer furnituredes meubles en kit   self-assembly furnitureun  bureau  Ã‚  deskune  imprimante  Ã‚  printerun  ordinateur  Ã‚  computerordinateur portable, PC (pronounced pay say) portable laptop computerune  Ãƒ ©tagà ¨re  Ã‚  bookshelf, shelving unitune  chaà ®ne stà ©rà ©o  Ã‚  stereoune  affiche   posterune  peinture   a paintingun  canapà ©Ã‚  Ã‚  couchune  chaise  Ã‚  chairun  rideau  Ã‚  curtainune  tà ©là ©vision, un  tà ©là ©,  un TV (pronounced tay vay)   televisionune  armoire, un  placard  Ã‚  closetun  lit  Ã‚  bedun  oreiller  Ã‚  pillowune  commode  Ã‚  dresserun  rà ©veil  Ã‚  alarm clockun  bain, une  baignoire  Ã‚  bathtubune  douche  Ã‚  showerun  lavabo  Ã‚  bathroom sinkune  toilette  Ã‚  toiletune  cuisinià ¨re  Ã‚  stoveun  four  Ã‚   ovenun  four micro-ondes   microwaveun  rà ©frigà ©rateur   refrigeratorun  Ãƒ ©vie  Ã‚  kitchen sinkune  fenà ªtre  Ã‚  windowune  lampe  Ã‚  lampune  moquette  Ã‚  carpetun  tapis  Ã‚  rugun  miroir, une  glace  Ã‚  mirrorun  mur  Ã‚  wallle  parquet, le  sol  Ã‚  floorle  plafond  Ã‚  ceiling une  porte  Ã‚  doorune  table  Ã‚  tableun  tà ©là ©phone  Ã‚  telephone Outside a Maison Once youre comfortable with your homes interior, you might proceed  Ã‚  lextà ©rieur  (outside), where you can use many words to describe the home in French.   lextà ©rieur outsideune garage garagela  remise   calà ¨ches carriage house/coach housela  maison dinvità ©s guest housele porche,  la và ©randa   porch, verandale balcon   balconyle patio   patioun auvent an awningune clà ´ture   a fencele pergola a pergola (area covered with wooden timbers and climbing plants)le jardin   yard, gardenun potager a vegetable gardenun jardin de fleurs a flower gardenun parterre a flower bedune  jardinià ¨re   a flower boxune  fontaine a fountainbain doiseau a birdbathjardinier gardenerune  allà ©e   a drivewayune piscine en plein air / dà ©couverte   an outdoor swimming pool  Ã‚  Ã‚  le barbecue, le gril an outdoor grill

Free sample - Compare readings. translation missing

Compare readings. Compare readingsHistory of modern times is full of different events and movements, which have been attracting the attention of the publicity for many years already. Those people who are fond of history may find good grounding for numerous discussions and critics. The libraries have a good store of different books and articles related to the historical topic and cinematograph helps the audience to understand completely some problems by means of their screen adaptation. It should be mentioned that political topics and problems of political movements always attract great attention of the readers, as it is exactly politics that is the subject of lively and exciting discussions. Needless to say that the question of equality of men and women in society gives the plot to the numerous movements in different countries. Many politicians made great contribution to the politics of not only their country but the world politics as well. Olympe de Gouges belonged to this kind of politicians. During the period of French Revolution Olympe de Gouge was treated as the voice for women struggling for women’s suffrage. Olympe was struggling for the right of women to vote, as well as for their general equality in society. Being brought up in the society with male domination, Olympe quickly realized all the problems that had to be solved and found the necessary directions to be taken. At that time, the greatest part of men's population regarded themselves advanced to women, and women were afraid to argue with this point of view and contradict it. It was a normal state of affairs although living in such conditions was awesome for women. During the French Revolution, the government had regained its self-assurance and denied to listen to any new demands and necessities for reforms. In its place, it increased political subjugation and police observation. Olympe is rightfully regarded as outstanding and significant person in the history of French suffrage movement. She has the full right to be called the voice of French women. Her thoughts and approach to the freedom of choice and women’s rights that she proposed were really reasonable.   Olympe is the author of the first and one of the most famous documents asserting the necessity of the equity of men and women. One of the main laws that the author tries to promote is the perseverance of all natural and social rights of women. Olympe asserts that all women should enjoy the same rights with men. It concerns every area of social and political life. One of the main statements that the author provides is that woman should have the same political and social rights and bear the same responsibility for every action they may take. According to the point of view of Olympe, there should not be any limitations to women in expressing their views, as the legislation presupposes that everybody has the right for the expression free will, thoughts and actions. The task of Olympe de Gouge was to demonstrate the French government that women also had the same rights as men and there was no right to overlook women’s demands and ideas. Olympe tried to focus on the problem of patri archy, stating that that it limits the liberty and equity of citizens. The material foundation of patriarchy, the control of women's labor, permits men controlling women's right to use to productive resources (Lenner 45). The ability to bear children permits women reproducing patriarchal social relations, comprising intergenerational male-female relationships. Such kind of relations can lead to the misunderstanding within the society.   Women are also the citizens that are able to enjoy the same tights with men and there should not be any limits to this. From her point of view, patriarch structure of society does not lead to anything except the split within the society. Patriarchy, from the point of view of Gauge is not the best way of regime in the government, because men and women should be equal in their rights and should have the same responsibilities (Surhone and Timpledon 25). According to patriarch government only men are responsible for all the available assets and they ca n control the labor of women. Gouges struggled for the conducting of certain type of reforms the main aim of which is to improve life conditions. The first part of reforms, recommended by de Gouges were connected with those to the marriage contract. From her point of view this type of contract was necessary as it could guarantee women the perseverance of their rights and property in case of the diverse. According to the reform of marriage contract, women obtained the right for some property. The contract presupposed that one part of it, that is wife, was entitled with the same rights as the second part that is husband. From her point of view, these reforms could improve the position of women in society and make them equal to men. One more governmental theory under discussion is capitalism and its critique by Karl Marx. From his point of view, this system is not the best for any government and it can only lead to the negative results, as this system is one of inequality and conflict between classes within one society.   Marx is, probably, the most divisive economist in the history of economy. His writings are actively studied and discussed. He was a famous critic of capitalism. He worked at the studying of capitalism comprehensively and much of his writings are concentrated on the problems of capitalism and particularly on the utilization of the worker as the main power of production. By examining the origin of capitalism and the Marxist evaluation of capitalism, we can better understand Marx’s points of view. Capitalism and its studying was the deal of all his life. Marx spent a great part of time studying the change of the feudal society to a new model of society that is to capitalism evaluating its principles, advantages and disadvantages. Before the change to capitalism society took place, there was industrial revolution in England. This revolution influenced practically all the countries of Europe. That is why Russia was not an exception. Capitalist movement and ideas start spreading over the territories of Russia, evoking a great number of for and against issues. Marx takes as the main point the idea that the leading class, the bourgeoisie, takes control over capital, property, the means of manufacture, and hence by addition all those (far more abundant than the bourgeoisie) who compose the laboring class. Indeed, Marx sees equality between capital, property, and the means of manufacture, which are all concentrated in the hands of bourgeoisie. According to Marks, capitalism is a power that can lead to the division of society into two main parts, and can result in the absence of the middle class. According to capitalism as a system of the government, property and means of production belong to bourgeoisie, thus leading to the appearance of conflict within the society. According to Marks, property and means of production should belong to each member of society, in other way such inequity can result in conflicts. Throughout his work, the primary concern of Marx was the rational demolition of capitalism. Although he believed in progressive history and the expected downfall of capitalism, Marx supposed that in destroying the intellectual maintain of capitalism he could speed up its real demise and conduct in a socialist era. Speaking about Marx’s works, many of them can be considered as reactions to the increasing status of the comparatively new sphere of political economy. The views of Marks were based on the principles and ideas of such great economists and philosophers, such as Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus, whose tolerant theories promoted an addition of precisely the features of capitalism that Marx considered as substandard. Hence, his analysis ranges from attacks on the satisfied moderate basis of capitalism to compound analyses of the economics of the day and of foremost theorists. Marx argued the ideas of capitalism and tried to find as many disadvantages of it as possible. His ideas have a lot of supporters and opponents. According to Marks, the capitalists have increased the ability of workers to perform the work harder, quicker and for longer time periods, but at the same time they have deprived the workers from their personal prosperity coming from the products manufactured by them. So, what was the overcome, according to Marx? He, basically, believed that in order to defeat estrangement, it is necessary to overcome the capitalists. The worker should be paid less then the price of the product manufactured by him. So, in this case we observe the process of exploitation (Marx 36). Marx asserts that what our ability to modify and form the world that surrounds us makes people human. In addition, human beings are very sociable, but under capitalism conditions, everything is truthfully confidentially owned and class separates the society. Labor process is the la ck of control over the process of manufacturing. Marks supposed that working class has a complete right to control the result of its production in order to avoid the separation within the society and avoid creation of upper and lower classes. Division of labor, in accordance with Marx, is the basis the capitalism will fall and communism will arise. In the capitalist reality of Marx, division of labor is an essential condition for commodity manufacturing. Marx considered reforms and introduction of a new system of government as essential steps capitalist society should take (Marx and Engels 15). According to Marx, socialism is one of the most successful and necessary reforms of the government. He supposed that only socialism could help the country to avoid crisis and division of society. As Marx stated, socialism is a political and economic system that advocates communal or governmental possession and the management of the means of manufacturing and distribution of goods and services. In the ideal socialist society, there is no any private property and everyone cares for those less providential. In this system of government, everyone has usually the same quantity of money. This society is lack of upper classes or lower classes, there is only one middle class.   Many theorists say that this idea sounds like the utopia, as there is not such a model of society, where the others do not control the labor of ones. Socialism is able to increase the liberty of the society and lead to the equality between classes in the society. Obviously, capitalism has its own advantages, such as economic growth and rapid progress in science. However, its main result is division of society and lack of working class development. Comparing the works and ideas of Marx and gauge, we can say that they have a lot in common. Both of these political leaders were struggling for equity and rights. The views of both leaders were based on the essence of traditions and ideas of equity in rights of people of different classes. Despite the feminists’ points of view by Gouge, her reforms sound very reasonable, as they are devoted to the problems of equity between classes.   The works and ideas of Marx and Gauge were discussed and criticized by Edmund Burke. He believed that these kinds of revolutionary reforms are dangerous for the well-being of society. He considered that each flourishing political movement comprises diverse and often military elements bound together by more than power of feeling and the tempt of power, so it would be rater incorrect to look for untarnished ideological steadiness in a political party. He asserted that political movements and reforms are very dangerous for society as they van lead to conflicts and using of military forces (Burke 7). The thing is that our history did not witness such cases when any political reform was completely supported by every party and every member of society. There were many cases when the reforms and changes of the political ands social life resulted in the revolutionary and military conflicts. Obviously, stability is not a bad thing, but the way to it may result in different negative consequence s, such as conflicts and usage of military power. To my mind, I agree that the dedication to traditions and customs of society can really trump the dedication to the values and liberty, as people are so accustomed to old traditions and way of life and it is very difficult for them to dedicate themselves to something new. Probably, this is an explanation why we were living in the feudal society for so long period. Traditions are so penetrated into our life that it is difficult to imagine it without them. They deal with every sphere of modern life, including politics. Burke, Edmund. Reflections on the Revolution in France (Oxford World's Classics). New York:   Oxford University Press, 2009Lerner, Gerda. The Creation of Patriarchy (Women History). New York:   Oxford University Press, 2010Marx, Karle, Engels   Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto: New York: Indo-European Publishing.com, 2010 Marx, Karl. Capital: A Critique of Political Economy. London: CreateSpace, 2010 Surhone, Lambert, Timpledon, Miriam.   Olympe de Gouges: Feminism, Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, Patriarchy, Reign of Terror, Maximilien Robespierre. Dallas: Betascript Publishing

The Challenges ahead in Purchasing and Supply Management Essay

The Challenges ahead in Purchasing and Supply Management - Essay Example manufacturing processes, or for the purchase of goods for the inventory that are to be resold as new products in distribution and the retail outlets. Purchasing and procurement have been used interchangeably in many industries2. In many sectors, the acquisition or the buying of services is referred to as contracting, while that of commercial or industrial goods is known as purchasing or procurement. Purchasing needs to satisfy two primary objectives in business. These are to ensure intact operation in the company by facilitating the economic supply of procurement of goods and services and maintaining the profit levels by controlling the flow of money3. In a supply chain management a vendor or a supplier is known to be an enterprise that provides goods and/or services to the buyers in a supply chain. For any business venture as the distributors and the dealers form its one arm, the other arm is formed by the vendors or the suppliers. It is thus essential to form a good bond with the v endor chain4. a. Distribution network configuration which can be the number, location, network connections of suppliers, the production facilities, the distribution centers, warehouses, the cross-docks and their customers5. b. Distribution strategy that will consist of the questions related with control whether it is centralized or decentralized or even shared, the delivery scheme which can be direct shipment, pool point shipping, cross docking, DSD, i.e. direct store delivery, mode of transportation etc. c. Trade-Offs in logistics activities that needs to ensure that the activities are well coordinated in order to achieve the lowest total logistics cost. Trade-offs can increase the total cost if there is only one activity that can be is optimized. The trade-offs are the keys to develop the most efficient and perfect logistics and SCM business strategy6. The petrochemicals industry plays a significant role in many economies. SCM philosophies are used in this sector now-a-days to

E-Commerce in Project Integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

E-Commerce in Project Integration - Essay Example These applications use electronic communications systems and technology of internet (world wide web) and local area networks.1 These depend on computer and non computer technologies. The usage of non computer technologies can be speed up using the e commerce applications. For example the sales and transportation activities can be speeded up by timely communication using computer technologies. According to a survey the ecommerce business applications generated $12.3 billion sales in 2003. this sales is apart from the general sales. The concept of electronic commerce was not same as it was now when compared to 30 years back. The concept has changed with the change of technology. In the present day usage and the needs the e - commerce applications usually integrate various activities in the project management. 30 years back, the interchange of data and funds transfer used to be the meaning of e commerce. They included the transmission of purchase orders and invoices electronically. The process of integration is not present in the beginning. E - Commerce is combination of technology and business. The name itself will represent that combination. It can be defined as the set of processes that execute the business. The analysis of the information available also is part of e commerce. 20 years back, the initiation of credit cards and ATMs occurred. This increased the speed of transaction. After that the e commerce introduced the enterprise resource planning systems. These included data mining and ware housing of data. The increase of databases resulted in increasing the capacity of analysing by the e commerce applications. At present the e commerce includes a wide range of business activities. These activities include number of processes like e banking, offshore manufacturing and e logistics. The growth of the economies of the countries started to speed up when the industries in those countries used e commerce for the integration of their activities. The reason is that it speeded up the execution of transactions and deliver y and production of goods. In this paper the application and advantage of using e commerce for integrating the construction project management will be discussed. 2. E-Commerce in Construction Business Like any other business, the construction business involves the sales, purchase, cash and information transfer and transportation of goods. Along with the aforesaid topics, the process of tenders was also involved. All the above mentioned activities, transactions and processes involved in them can be speeded up by the integration using the e commerce applications. As the groceries are ordered online by customers, similarly the construction material also can be ordered online using e commerce applications. This is possible if the vendor of the construction material also have e commerce applications and using them. This entry of e commerce into number of sectors removed the barriers of selling in number of types of goods. This decreased the investment in establishment of showrooms for many small sized and big sized businesses and industries. As the usage of e commerce decrease the flow of customers to the showroom along with

Critical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical analysis - Essay Example Nevertheless, the real issue at hand is the motive behind taking the image. Clearly, there is a voyeuristic element with the way the images are being represented through the lens. It can be observed how the acts are conforming to the intended obscenity, the poor lighting, and the predating conditions before Yoshiyuki’s encounter with the couples. No one could honestly testify the real intent behind the scopophilia but judging from a critic’s point of view, there seems to be no cooperation between Yoshiyuki and the group of people. In the context of photography, while Yoshiyuki did not anticipate the happenstance, the drive that sticks him with the ongoing public demonstration could be related to personal photography, wherein he intended to seize the image for personal use (Wells 56); â€Å"here is a person making choices, not a stationary camera recording what passes before it (â€Å"Gefter, Sex in the Park, and Its Sneaky Spectators†). The photo also suggests o f his nature as a photographer: a voyeur. Although, he vehemently disagreed that he is one. He asserts that â€Å"My intention was to capture what happened in the parks, so I was not a real ‘voyeur’ like them† (Gefter, â€Å"Sex in the Park, and Its Sneaky Spectators†). ... As a matter of fact, the â€Å"curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art, agrees that Yoshiyuki’s work falls into a photographic tradition† (Gefter, â€Å"Sex in the Park, and Its Sneaky Spectators†). In the past and maybe until today, â€Å"aesthetic and subject matter of the photograph was considered as only of secondary importance† (49); what is more important is the image itself. Looking at the photo, it is rather conspicuous that no artistic impression was intended; considering the ephemerality of such activity, the motive behind the photo is the image alone – an idea that conforms to personal photography – in which the practitioner was more concerned of capturing the image rather than understanding its significance. Indeed, obscenity does not entail good standing; hence, this has been discounted in the process, perhaps, due to the voyeuristic purpose of the photograph. As mentioned earlier, it can be argued that obscenity does not entail good standing. If this is so, what was the real motive of the practitioner? Voyeurism and scopophilia can be very subjective oftentimes and so Yoshiyuki, as he proclaimed himself a voyeur, points towards what he can take out of the â€Å"perfect† encounter; although, the picture expresses manifold significance in the society. The picture somehow signifies the employment of nudity as an indicator of certain types of prejudice in that body is essential to "colonial modes of power, including the processes of representation" (84). The picture relatively depicts a social stratification in the Japanese civilization, in which women are significantly controlled by the men. Photography, in history, took part in the employment of modernist thinking that criticizes â€Å"high and low cultures†, which are

Examine a published research report which has been conducted about Essay

Examine a published research report which has been conducted about police management or management in a related field profession - Essay Example Best Value policing is also bringing in a major change in the daily routines of the forces and would need major organizational change management techniques. It is an acknowledged management concept that implementing new ways of working brings instability and uncertainty among workers if not managed well. The legislation required authorities to review all their services over five years and critically examine whether the service is needed in the first place comparing it with other competitive alternatives. Review findings must be published together with improvement actions and targets in an annual performance plan. The legislation deliberately did not provide what mechanisms and techniques are needed to provide best value but left it to local police and fire authorities along with other public service providers to decide ''how best to establish their strengths and weaknesses, how to benchmark; what consultation methods to use; how to produce and carry forward action plans; and so on.'' Early 1999, the home office working group on police performance and best value decided to develop briefing information on best value policing. There was a recognized need to draw on practical experiences in three formal best policing pilots authorities and on preparatory work in some departments the service. Most forces were at differing stages of their preparations, but it was clear that developments were moving at a very fast pace. Though authorities were adopting different methods of implementing best value, at a point, the approaches and preparedness was broadly converging. Authorities were mainly aiming to build on existing structures, systems and cycles rather than creating radical changes in their set ups. All forces were using the business excellence model in varying degrees though, as a self-assessment tool. Most forces were forming teams to oversee daily best value management details. There were signs that police authorities were developing closer working relationships. Despite these developments, there were some emerging concerns and challenges. Some of these were Forces were feeling challenged about

Consensual Relationship Agreements Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Consensual Relationship Agreements - Case Study Example This discussion stresses that there might be emails, instant messages, phone chats etc. while two people are in a workplace relationship. These things will affect the performance of the employees. Still, these might be controlled if the boss makes it clear that these things will not be appreciated in workplace but then again, there might be rebellious behavior from them. The worst nightmare, however, can be when these people breakup and end their relationship on a bad note. This might affect their performance to great extremes. For example, if one is superior in rank than the other he/she might become biased, judgmental and the other might be discriminated against. Bad words might be exchanged and gossips about them might start which will eventually affect their work. There is also a chance that sometimes on e party might claim that he/she was pressured to be in the relationship. This can bring extreme results which will immediately affect company’s rapport and performance. From this paper it is clear that in such circumstances, the company cannot just tell the employees that there will be no workplace relationships as this will cause rebellion which might bring aggressive responses and attitudes from employees which is even worse. Moreover, more people will do it just to show their adventurous and thrilling side. Also, this can cause frustration among employees. In order to avoid all of the above, an approach might be taken which is called Consensual Relationship Agreements (CRA) which is a written contract signed by two people who are involved in a romantic relationship in an organization. In such a contract, both the parties agree to certain things that mainly cover that both of them are involved in the relationship willingly, with their full consent and are not under any pressure.

Competition among Hospitals for HMO Business Case Study

Competition among Hospitals for HMO Business - Case Study Example The independent variables are: an index of relative hospital prices for HMO business in each market (price); high tech-capability; teaching status (teaching or non-teaching); ownership status (non-profit, for-profit, or public); and location. To provide answer to the second research question, that is, to account for the effect of the structure of the hospital market on market share, three variables were added: no. of hospitals in the market, no. of HMOs in the market, and the HMO penetration rate. For both price and non-price attributes, the regression test pointed to an effect on market share variables. Hospitals with lower prices had a bigger share of HMO business. The more high-tech a hospital was, the greater the share in the HMO business. Teaching hospitals were more preferred by HMOs than non-teaching ones. On the effect of ownership: on average, nonprofit and public hospitals had less market share than for-profit ones.

Consensual Relationship Agreements Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Consensual Relationship Agreements - Case Study Example This discussion stresses that there might be emails, instant messages, phone chats etc. while two people are in a workplace relationship. These things will affect the performance of the employees. Still, these might be controlled if the boss makes it clear that these things will not be appreciated in workplace but then again, there might be rebellious behavior from them. The worst nightmare, however, can be when these people breakup and end their relationship on a bad note. This might affect their performance to great extremes. For example, if one is superior in rank than the other he/she might become biased, judgmental and the other might be discriminated against. Bad words might be exchanged and gossips about them might start which will eventually affect their work. There is also a chance that sometimes on e party might claim that he/she was pressured to be in the relationship. This can bring extreme results which will immediately affect company’s rapport and performance. From this paper it is clear that in such circumstances, the company cannot just tell the employees that there will be no workplace relationships as this will cause rebellion which might bring aggressive responses and attitudes from employees which is even worse. Moreover, more people will do it just to show their adventurous and thrilling side. Also, this can cause frustration among employees. In order to avoid all of the above, an approach might be taken which is called Consensual Relationship Agreements (CRA) which is a written contract signed by two people who are involved in a romantic relationship in an organization. In such a contract, both the parties agree to certain things that mainly cover that both of them are involved in the relationship willingly, with their full consent and are not under any pressure.

1980s Latin America Debt Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

1980s Latin America Debt Crisis - Essay Example Latin American countries followed a heavy reliance on debt finance. First, increases in foreign debt in these countries were higher than the revenues they had derived from their annual exports. In 1976, Mexico exported oil which paved the way for excess imports since cheap loans can be readily tapped. Brazil implemented a program of industrial expansion. Argentina and Chile established an overvalued exchange rate policy as an integral part of anti-inflationary strategy. Diverse government policies led these Latin American countries to defective exchange rate policies and excessive dependence on external capital flows.Another factor for the persistent debt problem was the fact that state enterprises became the conduit for absorbing external resources. The government guarantee provided for foreign denominated loans was attractive to external lenders who had no information on the real risk profile of the debtors. Public enterprises implemented programs of investment which guaranteed dir ect control over the foreign exchange proceeds to the national government. (Wesson, 9)In the years after 1983, these countries suffered from capital outflows and from the persistent slide in primary commodity prices. From 1983 up to 1986, Latin American terms of trade declined by 15 percent. Increased exports were negatively affected by falling prices. Countries. Argentina and Peru were especially hard hit. Mexico went into crisis due to falling oil prices in 1986.The lingering imbalance in the U.S. balance of payments contributed to the disadvantage of Latin America. The United States buys manufactured imports from Asian Countries (NICs) while shutting off capital flows from Latin American countries. Japanese and European surpluses were sent to the United States to get higher rates of investment. Economic growth in Latin America was supported by an import-substitution industrialization which protected the domestic industrial economy by means of high tariffs, import duties, and government subsidies. The initial arrangement benefited the economy but by the late 1960s, it was beginning to negatively affect agriculture which provides the needed foreign exchange. The industry had expensive domestic inputs that resulted in making major Mexican agricultural exports uncompetitive. Government policies which controlled domestic food prices also discouraged the increase of food production. As the population increased, consumption rose, reducing the amount of food available for export. It became necessary either to generate more resources to satisfy the demands of the population, or to control or decrease such demands without undermining the peace of the ruling party. By 1970, Lus Echeverra Alvarez, was elected president. He implemented the policy of stabilizing development. Stabilizing development is the economic strategy which emphasized growth over equity. The assumption had been that these resources would trickle down to the poor. The Echeverra administration opted for a strategy of shared development. This policy would emphasize equity and growth by policies that channel a greater share of economic gains to Mexico's lower classes. Echeverra encouraged more aggressive trade unions and he rued that foreign investors and domestic businessmen for exploiting the country. As conflict increased and confidence in the administration's policies declined, capital flight began. The government was forced to devalue the Mexican peso twice. Echeverra's anger and dismay led him to expropriate vast tracts of private agricultural land to give them to landless peasants. The president's attempt to spend his way into growth and equity had clearly failed by 1976, when Jos Lpez Portillo succeeded him. Portillo assumed a conciliatory approach in the face of problems. He then decided to secure foreign funding using the vast petroleum reserves of Mexico. Finally, commercial bankers were lining up to lend Mexico money in an attempt to reinvest billions of petrodollars that Arab governments had placed on

Leadership Qualities And Duties Leadership Essay

Leadership Qualities And Duties Leadership Essay Leadership is a role that is given to people with leadership qualities, people with authorities, people who can take lead, can direct or work with a group of people to achieve a common goal. First things first, leaders are made not born. In this essay Im going to discuss, my understanding of leadership and the general concepts of leadership. (Nermeen,2005) What characteristic do I think that contributes to good leadership and names of two good business leaders and why. Leadership is an interactive process in which leaders and followers engage in mutual interaction in a complex environment5 to achieve mutual goals. Wren further makes the point that leadership is neither a position or title, nor the actions of an identifiable leader. Fundamentally, leadership is an influence relationship between leaders and followers, within a leadership system(Levy,2004). In ancient decade many people believe that leaders were born not made, as a person from royal back ground were the ones, who carried the legacy forward, but as time changes, thinking changes too. Now days its believed that leaders are made not born. In my understanding the differences are before you were forced, expected or chosen to take the role, whereas now you need to prove, show results, get motivated and have initiatives to be a leader. While leadership is learned, the skills and knowledge processed by the leader can be influenced such as, beliefs, values, ethics, and character.(Susan,n.d) Knowledge and skills contribute directly to the process of leadership, while the other attributes give the leader certain characteristics that make him or her unique. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. gives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization (called Assigned Leadership), this power does not make you a leader, it simply makes you the boss (Rowe, 2007). Leadership differs in that it makes the followers want to achieve high goals (called Emergent Leadership), rather than simply bossing people around (Rowe, 2007). Thus you get Assigned Leadership by your position and you display Emergent Leadership by influencing people to do great things.People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future. (Mischel, 1968). When a person is deciding if she respects you as a leader, she does not think about your attributes, rather, she observes what you do so that she can know who you really are. She uses this observation to tell if you are an honorable and trusted leader or a self-serving person who misuses authority to look good and get promoted. Self-serving leaders are not as effective because their employees only obey them, not follow them. They succeed in many areas because they present a good image to their seniors at the expense of their workers. Two aspects of this definition are important. First, a significant part of effective leadership is the close c onnection between the leader and the follower, which often determines the success of the leaders mission. Unfortunately, this leader-follower relationship cannot be created according to some simple formula. Without inspiration, involvement, and encouragement from both participants, the relationship can not be effective. Leaders, in particular, must give an extra effort to reach out to followers in order to initiate and develop this alliance that is so critical to the achievement of goals. The leaders face special challenges as they try to communicate and interact with their followers and potential followers to understand and know what they think and what they do. Developing their leadership style in response to diversity, and ethics will give them an edge as they build relationships with their subordinators. Secondly, leaders who begin to use force, coercion, and manipulation must later use more force, coercion, and manipulation precisely because their ability to influence truly le ad is diminished. In my company I have never seen our lead to use any force to associates for achieving goals, because hed like to be a true leader for a long time. I believe that there are times in the life of a team or organization when the formula leader appropriately exercises the authority of his or her position or deal with organizational issues. Be, know and do the basis of good leadership is honorable character and selfless service to your organization. (Bens,2006) In your employees eyes, your leadership is everything you do that effects the organizations objectives and their well-being. Respected leaders concentrate on. What they are [be] (such as beliefs and character). What they know (such as job, tasks, and human nature). What they do (such as implementing, motivating, and providing direction). (Bass, 2008) What makes a person want to follow a leader? People want to be guided by those they respect and who have a clear sense of direction. To gain respect, they must be ethical. A sense of direction is achieved by conveying a strong vision of the future. (Lamb, McKee, 2004). The factors that contribute to good leadership is, willingness to go beyond or walk an extra mile, have initiative, or in simple terms put your heart and soul. In what ever you do. The four factors leader, follower, communications and situation are to dealt with effectively. Communications can easily breakdown and misunderstanding. Leaders must have an honest understanding of who their are, what they know, and what they can do. Also, note that it is the followers, not the leader or someone else who determines if the leader is successful. If they do not trust or lack confidence in their leader, then they will be uninspired. To be successful you have to convince your followers, not yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. Followers you must know your people! The fundamental starting point is having a good understanding of human nature, such as needs, emotions, and motivation. You must come to know your employees be, know, and do attributes. Communication is a two-way process.(Hoyle,1995) Much of it is nonverbal. For example, when you set the example, that communicates to your people that you would not ask them to perform anything that you would not be willing to do. What and how you communicate either builds or harms the relationship between you and your employees. All situations are different. What you do in one situation wil l not always work in another. You must use your judgment to decide the best course of action and the leadership style needed for each situation (Mischel, 1968). A good leader is some who does what is right, a good leader produces results a good leader is some one like Mahtama Ghandi, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, Donald Trump or Jaimee Oliver for instances. These people are the ones who set examples; these people are the ones who have followers. Mr. Donald Trump is a person, whom I believe is the greatest businessman ever, according to a documentary in TV (personal communications) Ones Mr. Trump has only a quarter (25c) in his pocket and he made a call to a bank, the bank heard his idea and approve his very small amount of loan and from that loan, he further develop his small idea into a middle size, and from there he kept on developing and growing and as we all know him well. He had a business idea, which no one was interested in, he tried couple of times but failed, but he is a person with resiliences, he bounce back and finally persuaded some one that his idea is wonderful. The last quarter, a man in need, the brain works faster then ever, a li ttle bit of luck and lots of self believe, willingness and initiative, took him where is was dreaming for and one very important thing. He had right people or followers to support him. Hes not a boss but a leader, he leader the way in many businesses, he became a celebrity as well. Soon he became an executive producer of his own TV show The Apprentices and started acting at this age. He is a man of opportunities, he proves that you can do anything at an any age all you need is to believe in yourself and keep on getting ahead. The most important thing to get ahead is to get knowledge. A leader should hungry for knowledge at all times. Studying is another way of getting updated or posted with whats new. Every single day there is something new to be learnt and to deliver or to pass it on. (Victor, 1978) In my option Jaimee Oliver is also doing a great job, he is a good inspiration to lots of people, especially to boys, who dont do good at school, but have some short of hobby or have passion for something. Mr. Oliver is a school drop out (personal communications) His parents forced him to go school but he kept on skipping until one day, his mum knows, that he likes to cook so he started cooking, trying new thing, making his own recipes, mixing the old and the new recipes together to create a new taste or flavor, soon he relished his cook books, and got famous and became the celebrity chef. That was the kick start for his career. He started cooking for famous people, manly celebrities. From there is started cooking shows in Television. This gave him the opportunity to get his own show on the. He started a school in London for students who have passion for cooking, but are not good in school. He helped lots couples to enter the TV show that need a creative cook, the prices was to get t he winner their own restaurant with a flat on top for his family. There are many more TV shows he did that have lot of good impact on lots of people. Soon he started a show that has forced a school to change their menu, at the beginning the school was not happy at all for his idea, but he convinces the management and was given time to promote his ides ant if he gets lots believers then only he would continue.(can view at TV 1) At first the canteen people gave him a heard time together with very fussy students. But he manage to get things around from the he moved to Melbourne Australia, where that time has largest number of children living on the streets. He encouraged them to take a career in cooking and prove everyone wrong. According to Jaimee Oliver that was the most difficult case of all but he manage to get some of them a on the right track by showing a way. Now Jaimee Oliver has relished his cook ware, which is really very expensive. (Dont know how to get one for wife). The wh ole point of this is basically, that he is a good leader, a good human being and he had a vision, he set his goals and knew what he wants out of life. A good leader should always have a vision. In my view a good leader has integrity, vision, willingness, can communicate effectively, is honest, reliable and responsible.(Blake,1964) Workplace frustration Part B Poor communications by senior management offices politics Lack of teamwork The use of politically correct language Nosy co-workers In my prospective I think offices politics is the first, then comes lack team work, poor communications, use of correct language and for me nosy co-workers is not a problem at all. The first three is a major concern, the influence that culture has on leadership. Cultural aspects such as organizational, the way its been run and handled, the heart and souls of business and what it mean the person who owns it for example, he feels its his belonging, his well-being. The ethnicity of the owner, what are they expecting, how things are done in they culture or does he or she is from a multicultural background and etc. All these are to be considered before putting the work place frustration. Offices polities is getting on top of everything nowadays, sometimes how heard you work but cant get any recognition, is basically because of dirty politics. Lack of teamwork is also a major part as its takes the initiatives to go beyond. Sometimes poor communication is one of the factors that cause most of the problems, some times its not all the above but because of broken communication, some of the problems are just for noting, this is where the culture, ethics and believe are hand on hand. Its all interlinked to each other. Its a circle that has a beginning but no ending.