Effect of the Economic Downturn on a Manufacturing Company Essay

Effect of the Economic Downturn on a Manufacturing Company - Essay Example The essay "Effect of the Economic Downturn on a Manufacturing Company" talks about the economic problems in a manufacturing company and analyzes the actions of the management's team. The union, the main company's problem which strongly opposed the layoff of any employee, happened to guarantee their members job security, which was the main reason that nearly all the workers had joined up. A number of alternatives were suggested by managers during a brainstorming session, the most extreme being to lay off twenty percent of the workforce permanently. The least disruptive was to retain the full complement of employees and merely schedule them on a revolving four-day work week until the crisis is over and the company can return to full production. The management eventually decided to reduce the working hours of each production worker instead of laying off employees. They felt that dismissing workers from their jobs would be too disruptive, and before they could do so they would have to meet with the union members and negotiate who should be dismissed, according to the terms of their collective bargaining agreement. They expected stiff opposition and a possible court case if they were to insist on laying off people. Unfortunately, when the decision was implemented, many of the good employees lost interest in their jobs and filed for resignation when they were offered better-paying jobs by a competitor firm. The final decision achieved the objective to reduce labor costs by twenty percent.... A joint meeting of the executive and operations management committee was called, the finance manager briefed them on the need to reduce operations expense of which the labour cost is the largest, and the managers then brainstormed on the different alternatives that they felt were viable. Bounded rationality in the decision-making process Source: University of Portsmouth, 2005 The four best alternatives were as follows: Twenty per cent of the production employees across the board shall be laid off with two week’s severance pay. The managers should identify who are to be separated. Ten per cent of production employees shall be laid off, only from those departments that may be reduced, and some shifts reduced from the regular three to only two. Some departments may not be affected at all. Convince the employees to take a uniform fifteen per cent pay cut. In this case management will also take a pay cut to make up the difference from what employees save to what finance needs to ma ke up. Scheduled leaves will be given to the amount of the cut. Declare a four-day work week for all production employees, eliminating twenty per cent of the work hours and reducing production personnel’s pay by twenty per cent. There are a number of criteria that the management team considered in making the final decision. The top criterion is to absolutely reduce labour cost in production by twenty per cent. The number is not arbitrary. The finance department reasoned that twenty per cent of the production capacity is being suspended until demand picks up. Other than this, there are many uncertainties, such as the length of the suspension of operations, whether further reductions shall be necessary, and whether the firm will still return to full operations after the crisis

Modern Educational System Essay Example for Free

Modern Educational System Essay I decided to write about education system in Ukraine because I think it is very common problem and because I’m a student as well. Educational system in Ukraine at the present stage is sufficiently complex and hard-to-reach for citizens. Despite the fact that officially education is considered to be free of charges on all levels for children, in reality parents confront series of problems that are not so easy to deal with, unless they have certain savings of money. So for example, parents are obliged to reserve places in kindergartens even before the children are born. Because if you do not do this by the time your child is three years old there will be no more vacant place left. And of course we must not forget that all institutions of preschool educations under one reason or another demand financial contribution for various needs. The same range of problems is applied to school education with distinction that parents are forced to purchase different teaching material on their own in many cases. Another very important subject matter is related to the field of physical activity for children and teenagers. It is well known that for everyone, who is nearly six or seven years old, immovable pastime on the lessons for forty five minutes is nearly a torture and fifteen minutes of break are not enough for proper progress and harmony of such a young and growing organism. But even in spite of this it makes no difference to us and we continue to insist on such unnatural methods â€Å"doctrine of torment† for our children. The question is why? Against the background of this day’s schedule we are confronting the constant cases of children’s overwork and fatal outcomes. The structure of higher education in Ukraine according to its ideology and goals corresponds to the structure of education in most developed countries of the world. It is very important that in March, 2005 Ukraine has joined the Bologna system and became an active participant of development of the all-European space in the sphere of higher education. For today there are 951 higher educational institutions of different levels of accreditation in Ukraine which conduct preparation of qualified experts of more than 500 specialties. But even more difficult tasks are in prospect to be solved in the system of higher education, so as to adjust proximate planed dependence from demand and offer of experts in different spheres of activity. Nowadays in our country we experience luck of teachers, medical workers, and profile engineers in various sectors and in the same time we have overabundance of such professions as economists, lawyers and others. It’s not a secret that education is not an exception, as well as other â€Å"systems† in our country, where we confront corruption. This issue is one of the most problematic and hard-to-solve for Ukrainian population. For example, Prime Minister of Ukraine N. Azarov has signed a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers aimed at improving the quality of IT professionals, strengthening cooperation between business and education, bringing education to the needs of industry and labor market. One of the key barriers of IT industry development is lack of human resources. The level of IT graduates rarely meets the requirements of the labor market today. Lack of practical training, insufficient level of English proficiency, miss of skills working in the team – all lead to the fact that only 25% of graduates are to work in IT industry and this is very low index. Most likely that we lost true value of the word â€Å"education† – is educating, that means to create and give new image or character to people but not impose them with unlimited amount of knowledge and information that sometimes is not only interesting but unnecessary. English word â€Å"education† or Latin word â€Å"educo† in comparison with the Russian equivalent, expose more precise definition of the notion we putting in this concept by nurturing. It is the purpose of education in every country – rising new spiritual and moral generation – this is our ultimate aim. One of the most vivid examples of such a high-quality education were times of imperial Russia in the middle of XVIII century, where upbringing of high level ecclesiastical and ethical patriots was not restricted by place of birth or nationality of the person. The biggest delusion in our times is the false idea of scientific and technical progress. Under the pretence of it specialization of each tendency narrows with every day. Workers of such a limited in profile become easy-to-handle manipulators and with their help it is possible to comply almost every conception without their understanding and â€Å"thinking into the truth†. Integration to another educational system, like most of European countries, the tests structure, leads to these consequences. As specialists themselves say, one of the most serious problems of integration of the Ukrainian system of education in the Bologna process – is unawareness of officials of the current situation in the Ukrainian and European education, as well as the objectives of the Bologna process. The system of education in the former USSR was considered to be one of the best in the world. It was not declared by other countries by variety of reasons; some of the main ones were political convictions and disinclination to recognize its effectiveness in every way.

Islam and terrorism

Islam and terrorism INTRODUCTION When the terrorists attacked the United States on the morning of September 11, 2001, they set in motion a sequence of events that demonstrated unequivocally the power and influence ofterrorism. Less than two hours of unimaginable violence by nineteen terrorists led to repercussions felt around the world. Beyond the death and destruction that the terrorists caused more than 3,000 people were killed in the suicide attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. They also inflicted a deep psychological wound upon United States and the rest of the world.[1] Although the United States had experienced major terrorist attacks on its soil in the past, including the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the September 11 attacks were beyond most peoples worst nightmare. Hijacked planes crashing into U.S. landmarks and live television coverage of the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsing images that will likely be etched in ones mind forever. The tragedy of September 11, 2001, has revealed the roots of deep planetary contradictions that threaten the world community and indeed life itself on planet Earth. This act of unprecedented terror against thousands of innocent people ought, at last, to start humanity thinking about the stark incompatibility of modern achievements in the areas of scientific knowledge, human rights, and the establishment of human moral standards with ideological, nationalistic, or religiousfanaticism in any form. Lately, most of the terrorismseems to be about Islam, and it all seems to be the same. By all accounts the specter of jihadism looms large. Even if we suspend the belief for a moment and simply cast aside all those terrorist groups that clearly have nothing at all to do with the Islamic religionthe Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, the FARC in Colombia and the IRA in Ireland (to name but a few)we are still left with a slew of seemingly similar groups all motivated by and distorting Islam to suit their own ends[2]. The anatomy of propaganda The document found in a suitcase belonging to leading September 11, 2001, terrorist Muhammed Atta further strengthens this belief. The suitcase document is reproduced below and analysed in the ensuing paragraph: Pray during the previous night. Remember God frequently and with complete serenity. Visualize how you will respond if you get into trouble. Read verses of the Quran into your hands and rub them over your luggage, knife, and all your papers. Check your weapons, perform ablution before you leave your apartment, and remember God constantly while riding to the airport. Take courage and remember the rewards which God has promised for the martyrs. [3] The suitcase document is remarkable for four reasons. First, it embodies a classic ascetical strategy for applying formulaic principles to intended actions. Second, it shares much in common with repetitive techniques for self-hypnosis. Third, it bears a striking resemblance to mainstream traditions such as Catholicism in ascetical manuals like The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola or The Rule of St. Benedict that says, keep death daily before ones eyes. Whether or not such manuals threaten human freedom depends, of course, on the various contexts in which they have been presented. If in the wrong hands they can function as formulas and meditations both for indoctrination and for fighting holy wars. Fourth, the document from the suitcase directly connectsreligiousformulas and meditations with intentions to perpetrate mass murder. Practical checklists of objectives, terrifying in magnitude, are interwoven withreligiousstatements and then repeated and applied as mantras of s elf-indoctrination. Religion The Terrorists Best Weapon Whileterrorism even in the form of suicide attacks is not an Islamic phenomenon by definition, it cannot be ignored that the lions share of terrorist acts and the most devastating of them in recent years have been perpetrated in the name of Islam. This fact has sparked a fundamental debate both in the West and within the Muslim world regarding the link between these acts and the teachings of Islam. Most Western analysts are hesitant to identify such acts with the bona fide teachings of one of the worlds great religions and prefer to view them as a perversion of a religion that is essentially peace-loving and tolerant. Western leaders such as George W. Bush and Tony Blair have reiterated time and again that the war againstterrorismhas nothing to do with Islam. It is a war against evil[4]. Modern International Islamistterrorismis a natural offshoot of twentieth-century Islamic fundamentalism. The Islamic Movement emerged in the Arab world and British-ruled India as a response to the dismal state of Muslim society in those countries: social injustice, rejection of traditional mores, acceptance of foreign domination and culture. It perceives the malaise of modern Muslim societies as having strayed from the straight path (as-sirat al-mustaqim) and the solution to all ills in a return to the original mores of Islam. The problems addressed may be social or political: inequality, corruption, and oppression. But in traditional Islamand certainly in the worldview of the Islamic fundamentalistthere is no separation between the political and thereligious. Islam is, in essence, both religion and regime (din wa-dawla) and no area of human activity is outside its remit. Be the nature of the problem as it may, Islam is the solution.[5] The role of religion of Islam needs closer examination since the majority of terrorists of contemporary times are practising the religion of Islam. One of the enduring questions is what religion of Islam has to do with this. Put simply, does religion of Islam cause terrorism? Could these violent acts be the fault of religion-the result of a dark strain of religious thinking that leads to absolutism and violence? Is religion the problem or the victim? When one looks outside ones faith it is easier to blame religion. In the current climate of Muslim political violence, a significant sector of the American and European public assumes that Islam is part of the problem. The implication of this point of view is the unfortunate notion that the whole of Islam has supported acts of terrorism. Most Muslims refused to believe that fellow members of their faith could have been responsible for anything as atrocious as they September 11 attacks-and hence the popular conspiracy theory in the Muslim world that somehow Israeli secret police had plotted the terrible deed. Recently, however, Islam and fundamentalism are tied together so frequently in public conversation that the term has become a way of condemning all of Islam as a deviant branch of religion. But even in this case the use of the term fundamentalism allows for the defenders of other religions to take comfort in the notion that their kind of non-fundamentalist religion is exempt from violence or other extreme forms of public behaviour.[6] CHAPTER II METHODOLOGY Statement of Problem Terrorism has been a persistent feature of warfare and the international security environment for centuries. The magnitude and impact of terrorism has not remained consistent but rather has ebbed and flowed over the course of time. Today terrorism has emerged as one of the most significant international and regional security issues. The terror attacks of Sep 11 have brought about a lasting change in the way contemporary society perceives the religion of Islam. The perception of the people all across the globe has been that Islam is source of violence. Scope Islam is a vast religion and consists of various facets. The dissertation would aim to study the historical perspective of terrorism, conceptualise terrorism and then determine how religion is used as a motivator for terrorism before studying the Quranic interpretations associated with the violence and finally aim to answer the question Is there a link between Terrorism and Islam. The scope does not cover the causes and motivators of terrorism like cultural conflict, globalisation, and economic disparity e.t.c. but is limited to investigate the general belief that Islam is associated with the terrorism. Methods of Data Collection Data for this research has been collected from the following sources: Books, journals, periodicals and studies on the subject. Authenticated information from selected web sites. A bibliography of the books, periodicals and web sites referred to is appended at the end of text. Organisation Of The Dissertation Topic is intended to be dealt in the sequence enumerated below: Introduction Methodology The Genesis of Terrorism A historical perspective. Conceptualising terrorism Definitions. How religion is used as a motivator for terrorism. Interpretations of Quran and Terrorism. Conclusion Is there a link between Islam and terrorism? CHAPTER III THE GENESIS OF TERRORISM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE Introduction The terrorism is as old as the human civilization. Although the use of violence has been integral to the human beings in the entire process of evolution. Zealots of Judea. The earliest known organization that exhibited aspects of a modern terrorist organization was the Zealots of Judea. Known to the Romans as sicarii, or dagger-men, they carried on an underground campaign of assassination of Roman occupation forces, as well as any Jews they felt had collaborated with the Romans. Eventually, the Zealot revolt became open, and they were finally besieged and committed mass suicide at Masada fortress. The Assassins. The Assassins were the next group to show recognisable characteristics of terrorism, as we know it today. A breakaway faction of Shia Islam called the Nizari Ismalis adopted the tactic of assassination of enemy leaders because the cults limited manpower prevented open combat. Their leader, Hassam-I Sabbah, based the cult in the mountains of Northern Iran. Their tactic of sending a lone assassin to successfully kill a key enemy leader at the certain sacrifice of his own life (the killers waited next to their victims to be killed or captured) inspired fearful awe in their enemies. The Zealots of Judea and the Assassins were forerunners of modern terrorists in aspects of motivation, organisation, targeting, and goals. Although both were ultimate failures, the fact that they are remembered hundreds of years later, demonstrates the deep psychological impact they caused. The period between 14th and 18th century was of relative calm. From the time of the Assassins (late 13th century) to the1700s, terror and barbarism were widely used in warfare and conflict, but key ingredients for terrorism were lacking. Until the rise of the modern nation state after the Treaty of Westphalia[8] in 1648, the sort of central authority and cohesive society that terrorism attempts to influence barely existed. Communications were inadequate and controlled, and the causes that might inspire terrorism (religious schism, insurrection, ethnic strife) typically led to open warfare. By the time kingdoms and principalities became nations, they had sufficient means to enforce their authority and suppress activities such as terrorism. The French Revolution. The French Revolution provided the first uses of the words Terrorist and Terrorism. Use of the word terrorism began in 1795 in reference to the Reign of Terror initiated by the Revolutionary government. The agents of the Committee of Public Safety and the National Convention that enforced the policies of The Terror were referred to as Terrorists. The French Revolution provided an example to future states in oppressing their populations. It also inspired a reaction by royalists and other opponents of the Revolution who employed terrorist tactics such as assassination and intimidation in resistance to the Revolutionary agents. The Parisian mobs played a critical role at key points before, during, and after the Revolution. Such extra-legal activities as killing prominent officials and aristocrats in gruesome spectacles started long before the guillotine was first used. The 19th Century Narodnya Volya. The terrorist group from this period that serves as a model in many ways for what was to come was the Russian Narodnya Volya (Peoples Will). They differed in some ways from modern terrorists, especially in that they would sometimes call off attacks that might endanger individuals other than their intended target. Other than this, they showed many of the traits of terrorism for the first time. These traits included clandestine tactics, cellular organisation, impatience and inability for the task of organising the constituents they claim to represent and a tendency to increase the level of violence as pressures on the group mount. Internationalisation of Terrorism Modern Terrorism. The age of modern terrorism might be said to have begun in 1968 when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked an El Al airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Rome. While hijackings of airliners had occurred before, this was the first time that the nationality of the carrier (Israeli) and its symbolic value was a specific operational aim. Also a first was the deliberate use of the passengers as hostages for demands made publicly against the Israeli government. The combination of these unique events, added to the international scope of the operation, gained significant media attention. The founder of PFLP, Dr. George Habash observed that the level of coverage was tremendously greater than battles with Israeli soldiers in their previous area of operations. At least the world is talking about us now.[9] Cooperation. Another aspect of this internationalisation is the cooperation between extremist organizations in conducting terrorist operations. Cooperative training between Palestinian groups and European radicals started as early as 1970, and joint operations between the PFLP and the Japanese Red Army (JRA) began in 1974. Since then international terrorist cooperation in training, operations, and support has continued to grow, and continues to this day. Motives range from the ideological, such as the 1980s alliance of the Western European Marxist-oriented groups, to financial, as when the IRA exported its expertise in bomb making as far afield as Colombia. Current State of Terrorism The roots of todays terrorism began to grow in 1990s. The largest act of international terrorism occurred on September 11, 2001 in set of coordinated attacks on the United States of America where Islamic terrorists hijacked civilian airliners and used them to attack the World Trade Center towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. After September 11, it is very easy to be nostalgic about the 1990s. In fact, the post Cold War decade was a very chaotic period. Americans were absorbed by domestic issues and lulled by the fact that the Cold War was over[10]. Summary There were two great forces at work through the 1990s. First, there were the forces of integration, including global economic growth, cross-border development, the communications revolution and the spreading of democracy. The power of these forces was captured in the popular phrase, The End of History. Thats what seemed to be happening after the fall of the Berlin Wall and all of the other great events that were affecting world history. But there was also a second set of equally powerful forces-the forces of disintegration-including religious and ethnic conflict, an ever-widening North-South gap, religious fundamentalism (Islamic and otherwise) and terrorism. The power of these forces was captured in the phrase, the Clash of Civilizations. While I disagree with the ultimate conclusion of Samuel Huntington, the author of that phrase, that the clash is inevitable, Huntingtons words nonetheless capture the import of the forces that were producing post-Cold War conflicts. CHAPTER IV CONCEPTUALISING TERRORISM A few terms that are important to the study of violence in Islam are: terrorism, religious terrorism and Islamic terrorism. A discussion of these terms will permit a comprehensive analysis on the way in which the use of violence sanctioned by the Quran and its interpretations amounts to Islamic terrorism. Terrorism Terrorism is a non-political act of aggression in which the extent of violence used is outside the realm of normative behavior[11]. Terrorists use or threaten to use this violence against combatants and non-combatants to achieve political, social, economical or religious change within a given community. These reforms appeal to the terrorists and do not represent popular opinion of the society from which terrorism arises and terrorists are no respecters of borders[12]. Thus Omar Abdullah, the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir says that there are no well defined or internationally accepted criteria to designate an organization as terrorist. However the UN Security Council has, on occasion, adopted resolutions putting in place specific sanctions and measures against individual countries orcertain terrorist organizations[13]. According to Kofi Annan the Ex Secretary General of the United Nations, the manifestations of terrorism are limitless. The only common denominator among different variants of terrorism is the calculated use of deadly violence against civilians[14]. Terrorists are those who violate the right to life, liberty and security[15] vested in each civilian by the UNs Universal Declaration of Human Rights Resolution: 217 A (III). Thus the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom defines terrorism as a movement in which terrorists directly challenge the authority of democratically elected governments to manage their countrys affairs peacefully, according to the rule of law and internationally accepted fundamentals of human rights[16], to satisfy their own liking. Religious Terrorism Religious terrorism occurs when the use of terrorism is systematized by an ideological and fanatical interpretation of a religious text. Religious terrorist groups functioning in the absence of this pretext, create junk terrorism[17]. According to Charles Kimball, religious terrorism functions on the basis of five essential principles. These are: means justify the end, holy war, blind obedience, absolute truth claims and the ideal times. Kimball explains that truth claims are essential points in a religion at which divergent interpretations arise[18]. Extreme interpretations of truth claims provoke the ideology upon which religious terrorism is based. However the authentic religious truth claims are never as inflexible and exclusive as zealous adherents insist[19]. The staunch truth claims professed by religious terrorists, allow them to use religious structures and doctrinesalmost like weapons[20] for their movement. In the process, religious convictions that become locked into absolute truths can easily lead people to see themselves as Gods agents. People so emboldened are capable of violent and destructive behaviour in the name of religion[21]. This conviction creates fanatical interpretations and ideologies that give rise to religious terrorism. Nancy Connors Biggos[22], states that foreign observers are unfamiliar with the extreme interpretations of religious terrorists. Thus scholars often dismiss the rhetoric of religious terrorism as one that is devoid of any strategic motivation. This creates a dearth of quantifiable data that can be used to assess religious terrorism. However Biggo explains that the lack of understanding or data cannot dismiss the fact that religious terrorism is systematized by extreme interpretations of a religious text. Therefore Wener Ruf, states, where God was pronounced dead all notions of morality have been turned into nihilism[23]. Islamic Terrorism Islamic terrorism is a movement in which the violence caused by terrorism is derived from and used to preserve extreme interpretations of the Quran, in an Islamic community. An in-depth discussion of the how Islamic terrorism is invoked from the Quran, will be discussed in a separate chapter. However, preliminarily speaking Islamic terrorism exists where there is a controversy over sacred space[24]or a Kuranic tenet has been violated. Participants of this movement call for unquestioned devotion and blind obedience[25] to the word of God in order to ameliorate un-Islamic conditions. Islamic terrorism is itself a controversial phrase, although its usage is widespread throughout the English-speaking world. Ordinary Muslims who have nothing to do with terrorism find it reprehensible because it forces upon them a label simply because they, too, are believers of Islam. In fact, the common Muslim believes that you are making him a racial hate target by using the word Islam with terrorism. Bernard Lewisbelieves that the phrase Islamic terrorism is apt, because although Islam, as a religion is not particularly conducive to terrorism or even tolerant of terrorism. In his own words: Islam has had an essentially political character from its very foundation to the present day. An intimate association between religion and politics, between power and cult, marks a principal distinction between Islam and other religions. In traditional Islam and therefore also in resurgent fundamentalist Islam, God is the sole source of sovereignty. God is the head of the state. The state is Gods state. The army is Gods army. The treasury is Gods treasury, and the enemy, of course, is Gods enemy. CHAPTER V RELIGION AS A MOTIVATOR FOR TERRORISM The overwhelming problem in the world today, everyone knows, is terrorism, where people in the name of religion kill each other, kill others just to go to heaven, and thinking only they will go to heaven. . Introduction. The dynamics whereby religion becomes a motivator for terrorism is complex but highly understandable. What terrorists groups using this dynamic have begun to understand is that most ordinary citizens are not highly interested in politics nor dedicated to working for social change. Many ordinary citizens are however interested in religion as it relates to their personal lives and morals and because of this they can be emotionally manipulated when they learn of social injustices particularly if they view them through the lens of religious rhetoric. This is specifically true in todays world of instantaneous news coverage where it is possible to whip up political and religious outrage over events that are seen to be bordering on religious threshold. This is certainly true in the case of al Qaeda and its loosely affiliated groups within what is now commonly referred to as the global salafi jihadist movement[26]. Religious Brainwash. Following the Afghan war in which Islamic peoples from many nations came together to successfully throw out the Russian infidel, Osama bin Laden and similar groups have successfully managed to continue to widen their global appeal by showcasing social injustices against Muslims. This helps to create within a wide group of otherwise less connected Muslim ethnic groups identification with the victims and with each other as a caring and responsive community for their Muslim brothers. Typically, these groups make use of the human rights abuses occurring within the Israeli/Palestinian and Russian/Chechen conflicts and now also include the occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The making of a Terrorist. While instantaneous and repetitive satellite coverage of worldwide events is enough to show injustices and to even create identification with victims sharing similar ethnic or religious backgrounds it is not sufficiently enough to fuel terrorism. However, with the addition of religious rhetoric it is transformed into a potent mix. This transformation is achieved via the following means:- Great Moral Wrong. First the event is presented as a great moral wrong, a threat to religious morality or purity and as one that must be corrected. The message, which is crafted for unhappy persons, social outcasts or those who are already suffering from religious guilt, is framed as one of good and evil and the listener is admonished to be on the side of good. Mind of God. The second tactic in which religion is used to motivate terrorism is convincing the person that it is possible to know the mind of God. For this purpose scriptures are used, and misused, to clearly identify the social wrongs as evil, immoral or impure. Once identified as threats to morality, this tactic is used to take it a step further with additional scriptures that are used to justify violence in order to destroy the evil. In this way religion is co-opted as the means to morally justify violence in the pursuit of social change. While the world debated about the first strike in the Iraq War (to be carried out by the U.S., Great Britain and their coalition forces), moralists all over the world debated about the doctrine of just wars, thereby holding forth about the mind of God on these matters. Overcoming Guilt. Thirdly, because nearly all religions hold human life as sacred and forbid murder the scriptures are used to break down these prohibitions against taking innocent human lives. Islamic rhetoric for example refers to the infidels, nonbelievers, defiled, impure, outsiders, and sinners. In this manner the intended terrorist act in ways that take innocent human lives without suffering guilt for having done so. Common Cause Fourthly, by using religion as a motivator the terrorist group creates a sense of cohesion and belonging to a higher cause. They prey upon individuals who are alienated and disenfranchised. When these individuals find a cause to belong to, especially when it espouses religious rhetoric of brotherhood, love and hope for the future life they can become powerfully motivated to act in behalf of the group simply for the sense of identity.[27] Heroic Martyrdom. The One of the ultimate uses of religion to motivate terrorism is to hold forth a view of the afterlife, promising rewards in the hereafter for sacrificing oneself in the here and now. This is a particularly potent tactic used with those who feel guilty about their actions in this life and uncertain of their standing with God, and with those marginal members of society who suddenly find themselves centered in a group with a purpose. The Muslim interpretation of afterlife while dying for jihad states that the Prophet will be waiting to welcome the martyr with thousands of virgins lined up for his pleasure. Referring to afterlife one martyr also states, I will have God welcome me with open arms. I will be a true hero in the sky.[28] Between the two recent wars in Chechnya (1994-96 and 1999) similar means were used to convince vulnerable Chechen individuals to sign on the new Chechen jihad which began making use of suicide terrorism in 2000. During this time period terrorist sponsored schools used were opened in the capital Grozny which recruited young boys and girls who lost their fathers in the Russian/Chechen conflicts promising their widowed mothers a good education for their sons and daughters. Unknown to their families these vulnerable young students were indoctrinated into militant Islamic ideas foreign to Chechen experiences of Sufi Islam and some became convinced that the price of belonging to higher glory is to be willing to sacrifice oneself for the group. In the words of a hostage who conversed with one of the Chechen terrorists :- He explained to me that while his greatest dream was to continue his education and go to university and that while he wished to live, even more important for him was to die a martyr. He had become totally convinced that martyrdom was his highest calling in life.[29] Conclusion. Religion has always been used as a means of constructing social justice, expiating wrongdoing or sins, and of modulating emotional states. These means however can also be used to manipulate vulnerable individuals into taking social actions that they might otherwise never have considered or consented to take part in. For instance a colleague in Chechnya reports that the children who attended terrorist based schools were taught to rock and chant repeating Koranic verses that invoke jihad, ideas that their masters consider important to instil. This practice can easily make use of inducing a suggestive hypnotic state; a light trance in which susceptible children who have already reason to want to avenge a murdered parent might be induced to do so. People interacting with such persons mentioned that these young terrorists were brainwashed, rocking, singing and praying often, and readily embracing death.[30] CHAPTER VI QURANIC INTERPRETATIONS AND TERRORISM Approximately fourteen hundred years ago, Prophet Muhammad, the last in the line of the prophets of Islam, received revelation from God known as the Quran, which is the Final Testament. He came with a message of peace and reconciliation, mercy and compassion. Yet, ever since the beginning of the call of Islam, its image and that of Muslims has been subject to distortion, misconceptions, and misinterpretations. This chapter aims at establishing the link between Quran and the distortions in its interpretation which has manifested itself in the form of jihad or the holy-war. Quran and Sanction of Violence The Quran permits violence as an act of defence waged to protect the Shariat in an Islamic community. The Shariat can be explained as a system of ordinances outlined in the Quran and Hadis[31] through which God lays down for mankind the rules of conduct[32]. The Shariat is the guidance for all walks of life individual and social, material and moral, economic and political, legal and cultural, national and international[33]. Muslims are advised to closely follow the Shariat to acquire the well being that God has envisioned for the Islamic community. Preservation of the Shariat is an obligation of every able-bodied individual[34]. Oppression, despotism, injustice and criminal abuse of power[35] of the Shariat by Muslims or non-Muslims[36], must be punished. Quran and Jihad The Quran identifies three main kinds of Jihad that can be used for the punishment of oppression and injustice. These are: internal[37], external[38] and inter-communal[39]. The Quran permits the use of violence as an optional method for all three forms of Jihad but it limits the use of violence in internal[40] and external Jihad. It expands on its doctrine of Jihad and violence, mainly in the context of inter-communal conflicts. In these cases, Muslims can individually determine the nature and extent of Jihad based on the freedom of interpretations, and the geopolitical conditions in which the conflict arises. However the most essential prerequisite in the Qurans discourse on violence is that, force should be used only when the Shariat has been violated and needs to be persevered as the very

Science in Shelleys Frankenstein :: Frankenstein Essays

Science in Shelley's Frankenstein    In Shelley's Frankenstein, it's interesting to use the text to ask the question, whose interest's lie at the heart of science?   Why is Victor Frankenstein motivated to plunge the questions that bringing life to inanimate matter can bring?   Victor Frankenstein's life was destroyed because of an obsession with the power to create life where none had been before.   The monster he created could be seen as a representation of all those who are wronged in the selfish name of science.   We can use Shelley's book to draw parallels in our modern society, and show that there is a danger in the impersonal relationship that science creates between the scientist and his work.   It seems to me that Shelley was saying that when science is done merely on the basis of discovery without thought to the affect that the experimentation can have, we risk endangering everything we hold dear.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When describing the monster he had created, Frankenstein says: No mortal could support the horror of that countenance.   A mummy again endued with animation could not be so hideous as that wretch.   I had gazed on him while unfinished; he was ugly then; but when those muscles and joints were rendered capable of motion, it became a thing such as even Dante could not have conceived. (Shelley, 235)    This was Victor's response to the reaching out of the monster towards Victor on the night of his creation.   Victor, who for months had worked on this creation, was suddenly confronted with the results of his scientific pursuit.   He had labored night and day in an effort to do something that had never been done by man before.   He had figured out the scientific way to bring life to that which was dead, so he blindly went forth and did it.   He never really stopped to think what the consequences of his action might be.   He knows that the creature he is making is ugly, but he never wonders what will happen to the creature after he is brought to life as a result of that ugliness.   The monster is made oversized so it's easier for Victor to work on him, yet no thought is taken about how the creature might feel about such a form.

Ghale Gaun

The marvelous village of the Ghales lies in the west of Nepal. Ghale gaon, known for its culture , natural beauty and hospitality is an old village resided only by the Ghale tribe. The village is one of the famous places under domestic tourism. It is situated in the cold mountains of Lumjunj. The weather is cold throughout the year. It observes heavy snow-fall during the winters and chilling winds in summers. Ghale gaon is endowed by one of Nepal’s pristine natural and cultural beauty. There are two ways by which you can reach Ghale gaon. The first one is via motorized road from Kathmandu to Besisahar and then 5-6 hours of laborious walk from Besisahar up to Ghale gaon. The second one has the same route as the previous up to Besisahar ,but instead of going by foot you can also go by 2-3 hours of ride in a jeep that are available there. As soon as you reach your destination, the scenic extravaganza of Himalayas – Manslu, Fishtail, Annapurna and Kanchenjunga catches your eyes as it reflects the sunlight making it look even more beautiful. City dwellers might feel that they have reached somewhere unreal as abundant green trees envelops the area. The old and traditional houses that are scattered throughout the village make the environment more welcoming. As you stand in front of the gate contemplating about the charisma of the village you are warmly welcomed by the oldest member of the village (usually women) in their traditional Ghale style – white rice tika and a spruce leaf. The reason Ghale gaon is known for its hospitality is because there are no hotels or lodges; instead there is a provision of living in the houses of the residents there. There are around 45 houses, each owned by a family, where they have a provision of making you a temporary member of their family. You are given the same food, support and love that the other member of the family gets. In fact you will get your own bedroom under their roof! The family members are so friendly that when you speak the very first time with them, you’ll feel that you have known them for ages. As you keep on exploring the hamlet, you’ll find out there are no motorized oads within the village, but small narrow paths that connects all the houses of the village. The most fascinating infrastructure of Ghale gaon is their small yet important auditorium. As Ghale gaon is genuinely known for its unique culture and tradition the auditorium is used to exhibit their traditions and culture with the visitors. One of their festival is called â€Å"Krishna Charitra Nach† where they dance in the celebration of their first born baby boy. This shows their biased attitud e towards males than females. Oher festivals include Loshar, Dashain and Buddha Jayanti. Unlike the people of other parts of Nepal who celebrate Dashain by putting on red rice tika(Akshyata) and jamara , the ghale put on white tika and a spruce leaf. This shows how exclusive their tradition is. In spite of being a successful domestic tourism center, it has failed to retain the youths of the hamlet to leave the village for out of country or out of village settlements. Those whose remain in the hamlet are usually old men and women and few underage children. If they were able to restrain the youths going outside, they might have undergone further development in tourism sector. It has been found that most of the youths have gone out in the name of education buy have not return. In my opinion, one can learn a lot by exploring the lifestyles, traditions and culture of the Ghale tribe. In spite of having few drawbacks, it has a very dominating effect on domestic tourism. If you don’t believe be just take a break from your office or school, collect some friends and be ready to call on the Ghales. Once you’re there, you fall in love with the gaon for sure.

L 18 - Presentation Skills (1) Essays - Attitude Change, Free Essays

L 18 - Presentation Skills (1) Essays - Attitude Change, Free Essays L 18 - Presentation Skills (1) In academic culture, you need to express your views clearly on different issues relating to your subject area. These views are often based on a critical reading and evaluation of written texts. It is also important that you develop the language skills that will enable you to express your ideas most effectively. Preparing and planning a presentation There are a number of different situations in which you will need to communicate orally in English in your academic courses. The main situations are presentations, seminars and discussions. In some cases, you will give a short presentation about a topic in order to lead into a discussion. In other cases, you will present information or a summary of a text. In future situations, you may be giving a presentation based on your own work or research. Below is a list of suggestions you may find helpful. Stage 1: Find out what you need to do Make sure you know exactly what the topic is or, if you are choosing your own topic, what is expected of you. Check how long you have for the presentation. Think about your audience. How much are they likely to know about the topic? How much will you need to explain? If the presentation is being assessed, make sure you know what the criteria are. 491241730416500 Stage 2: Brainstorm ideas Task 1 - Arrange the following sentences in the correct order. ________ ________ ________ ________ Explain your ideas to a friend - this will help you to clarify them. Look at your list of ideas - what connections can you see between them? Are there particular ideas you could develop that would be of interest to your audience? Decide which ideas to use. Can each one be summarized in one sentence? If not, perhaps your ideas are not dear and specific enough. Make a list of anything you can think of related to your topic; you will not use all of these ideas, but will choose from them later. Stage 3: Do any necessary research Determine if there are any ideas about which you need to get more information. Gather any evidence you need to support your ideas, e.g., statistics. Think about how much information you can realistically convey to your audience. Keep your audience in mind, especially in relation to their level of relevant expertise. Stage 4: Organize your ideas Decide which point you should begin with. Think about how you can link one idea to the next. Do not include too much information - you want your audience to understand your key points clearly. Decide how you will begin and end your presentation. In the introduction you want to get the attention of the audience. The conclusion is the last part of your presentation, and probably what the audience will most remember. Prepare your PowerPoint slides or other visual aids. Remember: less is more '. Think of the key words you will use and check your pronunciation - there is nothing worse than listening to a presentation in which the presenter pronounces the title of the presentation incorrectly! Task 2 You are going to watch a youtube video entitled " What is a good academic presentation? " by ELC, PolyU . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ze3IiHsHuIA Take notes while you are watching and then complete the following blanks. Academic presentations What is the main difference between academic and secondary school presentations? Academic presentations include r_______________, which means you need to cite r_______________. Academic Style In academic style, you need to show authority and to establish that what you are talking about is r_______________, c_______________ and v_______________. Reference List You should choose references that are r_______________ and that also s_______________ your arguments p_______________. What are the two ways to cite your references? provide the reference in the s_______________ cite it o_______________ / v_______________, e.g. as John Chan points out in his article in 2010 Structure A good structure enables the a_______________ to follow the c_______________ very c_______________. Make sure each section of your presentation is o_______________ properly. What is Signposting? it is the outline at the beginning. it gives direction to where the presentation is leading. it is the use of citations.

September 11 essays

September 11 essays One day in a persons life is not supposed to change anything, but on September 11, 2001, the whole world changed. Now, people dont look through just one eye, they open both eyes and look through both, not knowing when a horrific event like this will happen again. I know that I will never be the same person that I was now that something so terrible happened. I know, the world wont be the same after something like this happening, and the people who did this to us wont be the same either because there will be a lot of changes for them in the long run. There are a few reasons why this time affected me and bothered me; one reason is that I knew two people who were victims of this horrible event. One of the men I knew lived on my block and I will never forget the first Christmas that we spent on the block. He came to our front door in a Santa Claus outfit and gave us presents, and since that day we would become great friends with their family. My brother became very good friends with his son. Once we found out that the boys father was missing, I was in shock and my family was in shock. We just couldnt believe that something like this would happen to him or any of the people that were there and in those two buildings. We spoke with the wife a couple times and tried to help out as much as we could, but we couldnt help bring her husband back and our good friend. Mr. McGinley will be remembered for always having a smile on his face and for always trying to make you laugh when you were down. He was the true meaning of an Americ an. The second man I knew was a father of one of the kids on the Freshman Football Team. I knew the boy only from school and some classes that I had with him. He is a great kid with a great personality, and nothing like this should have ever affected him and his family. I only met his Dad a couple times but both of the times that I met him, he was a real gentleman ...

How to Analyze a File Line By Line With Python

How to Analyze a File Line By Line With Python One of the primary reasons people use Python is for analyzing and manipulating text. If your program needs to work through a file, it is usually best to read in the file one line at a time for reasons of memory space and processing speed. This is best done with a while loop. Code Sample for Analyzing Text Line by Line fileIN open(sys.argv[1], r) line fileIN.readline() while line: [some bit of analysis here] line fileIN.readline() This code takes the first command line argument as the name of the file to be processed. The first line opens it and initiates a file object, fileIN. The second line then reads the first line of that file object and assigns it to a string variable, line. The while loop executes based on the constancy of line. When line changes, the loop restarts. This continues until there are no more lines of the file to be read. The program then exits. Reading the file in this way, the program does not bite off more data than it is set to process. It  processes the data it does input faster, giving its output incrementally. In this way, the memory footprint of the program is kept low, and the processing speed of the computer does not take a hit. This can be important if you are  writing a CGI script that may see a few hundred instances of itself running at a time.   More About While in Python The while loop statement repeatedly executes a target statement as long as the condition is true. The syntax of the while loop in Python is:   while expression: statement(s) The statement may be a single statement or a block of statements. All the statements indented by the same amount are considered to be part of the same code block. Indentation is how Python indicates groups of statements.

The Changing Global Economy ( ECON401 ) Assignment

The Changing Global Economy ( ECON401 ) - Assignment Example The firms which had failed in UK allowed their businesses to overextend through risk taking and excessive leverage, over dependence on risky product streams like derivatives or buy-to-let mortgages, poor decisions of management in respect of acquisitions, over reliance on wholesale funding. Unprecedented innovation and growth have been seen in the financial sector over the past two decades as new products and higher returns have been sought by the investors in the era of low interest rates. Banks also had an obligation to understand the risks to which they are exposed. The complexity of certain financial instruments and the interconnected developed global market often did not provide well understanding of the dangers involved with the banks, its investors and boards, central banks and regulators (HM Treasury, 2009). The risk models of banks were proved as flawed which was based on incomplete application of principles of finance. It was believed that risks had been widely distributed throughout the financial system by the method of securitization but it proved as mistaken and risks posed by global increase in leverage were under-estimated. The remuneration policies of banks have contributed to the riskiness of financial system as they focused too much on short term prof it. Market discipline also proved as an ineffective constraint on risk taking in financial markets (Independent Commission on Banking, 2011).There were certain deficiencies in the corporate governance of banking institutions. The board of banks failed to understand this and they got prone to the risk management processes of their firms. The senior management also did not question on the sustainability and nature of achieved higher returns. Many institutional shareholders were not able to monitor the effectiveness of senior management of banks nor did they challenge the decisions of board of bank. Generally, the banks and investors rely on the assessments of credit rating agency but

ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM ASSIGNMENT 4b, 3b & c Essay

ENGLISH LEGAL SYSTEM ASSIGNMENT 4b, 3b & c - Essay Example A statute has been defined in previous editions of this work simply as the will of the legislature", the will of the legislature must be expressed either by the agreement of its three parts (Queen, lords and commons)or by the agreement of the queen and commons in accordance with the parliament Acts 1911 and 1949.Granted that a document which is presented to it as a statute is an authentic expression of the legislature will, the function of a court is to interpret that document "according to the intent of them that made it." From that function the court may not resile .however ambiguous Difficult for application the words of an act of parliament may be, the court is bound to endeavour to place some meaning upon them. In so doing it gives effect, as the judges have repeatedly declared to the intention of parliament, but, it may only elicit that intention from he actual words of the statute In this rule its assumed that the words and phrases of technical legislation are used in their technical meaning if they have acquired one, otherwise in their ordinary meaning ,and the second is that the phrases and sentences are to be construed according to the rules of grammar. Blythes v .Blythes- A reference in the matrimonial causes Act 1950 to the court being satisfied was meant to mean precisely what it said, and to require the courts to be satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt. And in Northing ham Finance V.Ashley,the court of appeal held that the words covered of which the hirer was in possession under an existing hire- purchase agreement and which were exchanged in part payment for the goods under the new agreement .it would be too narrow a construction to restrict it to goods actually owned by the hirer. The Mischief Rule. In heydons case in 1954, it was resolved by the Barons of the exchequer, that for sure and true interpretation of all statute in general (be they penal or beneficial, restrictive and considered. Firstly, what was common law before the making of the act. Secondly, what was the mischief and defect for which the common law did not provide. Thirdly, what remedy that parliament hath resolved and appointed to cure the disease of the commonwealth. Fourthly, The true reason of the remedy, and then the office of all judges is always to

Human Rights Act 1998 6(3)(b) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Human Rights Act 1998 6(3)(b) - Essay Example This pigeonholing of information meant for the common people of a democratic country only serve to increase ambiguity about the nature and extent of their existence and most importantly the essential function they possess to help the citizen of the state. Statutory interpretation of Section 6 of the Act makes the understanding of two types of "public authority" seemingly quite clear-cut within the sphere of judicial classification. Obvious public authorities, private authorities that act publicly and as per section 6 (3)(a), those bodies who may be part of any court or tribunal2. Thus Public Authority stands precariously at a very sharp contrast to the given fundamental rights under the British Constitution Law. Briefly, the 6(3)(b) may be seen as one of those restrictive clauses that seek to curb those given rights under imposing specifications that though clarify their function of being exhaustive to their cause, is nonetheless oppressive to universal ideology of the Human Rights. Thus the actual impacts of exercise of such rights are important to the present condition, which shall indicate where our future is headed. Hermeneutics of law is an important step towards grasping the closest interpretation of an evolving constitution that exist side by side to so many case law challenges. To accommodate international or rather European Convention of Rights' incorporating Human Rights law nationally the British Constitution must also revise its fundamental problems of laws full of gaps. The Leonard Cheshire3 case successfully brought forth new interpretation and classification of bodies of 'pure' public authorities. These fell outside the scope and target of the Act since the court had narrowed the whole idea of the 'public authority' for the specific category of section 6(3)(b). The case centered on a home care foundation called the Leonard Cheshire Foundation was unable to fight for the fundamental rights called voicing out. They were thus met with a lot of resistance when they tried to fight against the decision that directed closure of the home thereby leaving the residents free to go wherever they will. This act of closure was problematic to the residents since under the Human Rights Act 1998 the home was being subjected to disrespect by them and the major issue got tied up with finding an apt definition for Leonard Cheshire, which ultimately was declared a non public authority and thus it changed the way human rights act was applicable in its context anymore. The event is familiar to all, but the act requires us to think a step further about the case of fundamental rights being held at variable contexts and thereby being subject to being called null and void when it acted in favor of the residents by helping them find placements too. Similar was the case of Johnson v. London Borough of Havering in 2007 when the Court of Appeal made decision of another care home being governed by the local authority. The transfer from them to another private sector was proposed which brought alarming issues of human rights act and its legitimacy or applicability under the private sector. Hum an rights act enjoyed under the governmental concern would invariably lead to a confusing turn of being loosened and ultimately becoming in effective in the future. Thus under the private sector the public and the private would not be a separate domain at all and be under the constant threat of being violated without any fixed line drawn legally to act in favor of its citizens.

Global Marketing and the Digital Revolution Research Paper

Global Marketing and the Digital Revolution - Research Paper Example line, the development of the paperless society and the increasing influence of electronic money transfer, the innovation in mobile apps and internet enabled mobile phones, the development of electronic data exchange (EDE) and the increasing development of social media represents some of the developments arising out of the digital revolution. The advent of the internet and its related social media networks has significantly affected and influenced the concept of marketing and the specific roles of marketing professionals (Jurras, 2012). Social media networks such as Facebook, instagram, pinterest and twitter are forever transforming the landscape of the marketing function and how consumers interact with each other, products and organizations. Jurras argues that with many consumers having online presence and finding it increasingly convenient and safe to engage in online purchases and payments, only firms with an effective social media strategy will achieve a cutting edge in the highly competitive global industry. Social media networks represent an online community of customers with shared attributes, characteristics and interests. These social media sites employ virtual and internet accessible technologies such as smart phones and tablets to facilitate real time interaction and connectivity of online consumers. The customers share their thoughts, experiences with products and organizations, their perceptions regarding the ability of certain products to meet their needs and preferences, and their likes and dislikes about particular brands (Field, 2013). Astute social marketers are increasingly recognizing the importance of social media sites, especially instagram, to interact with the online consumers, develop and enhance brand awareness, and implement their market communication strategies and campaigns. Field (2013) observes that small and local businesses are no longer disadvantaged in regards to size and financial capital because they do not need to be

Can we identify a compound that could be added to spermatozoa in vitro Assignment

Can we identify a compound that could be added to spermatozoa in vitro to enhance their motility - Assignment Example In particular, sperm motility is an important parameter because it indicates the integrity of the sperm tail and axoneme structures as well as the status of mitochondrial metabolic machinery (Saharkhiz et al., 2013). The World Health Organization uses a 40% cut off as the lower limit of progressive sperm motility. Although the exact cause of asthenospermia is not clear, there is growing evidence that it may arise due to hyper-viscosity of semen, varicoceles, autoimmunity of the sperm cell, and necrospermia resulting from immotile cilia (Kartagener) syndrome (Saharkhiz et al., 2013). Overall, reduced sperm motility indicates epididymal or testicular failure that can be caused by various factors. Currently, treatment of male infertility has focused mainly on the traditional in vitro fertilization (IVF) approach and newer interventions such as micro-epididymal sperm aspirations and microsurgical fertilization. However, these techniques are uncommon in andrological practice. Current research efforts in this area focus on the use of chemical stimulation of spermatozoa. A number of chemicals can stimulate sperm motility including the addition of compounds known to exhibit phosphodiesterase inhibition (PDEI) activity to enhance sperm motility in vitro without compromising sperm morphology and function. PDEIs are a class of related compounds such as pentoxifylline (PTX) that selectively catalyze the hydrolysis of 3’ phosphate bond in cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate (cAMP) phosphate or cyclic Guanosine Monophosphate (cGMP). In one of the pioneering studies on in vitro stimulation of sperm motility, Shen (1991) demonstrated that Pentoxifylline (PTX) increases motility (velocit y) of ejaculated human spermertozoa both in in vitro aesthenozoospermic samples in oral therapy. Related studies have shown that PTX added in sperm suspensions increases sperm motion within 10 days with the motility characteristics persisting

If you could choose to live in any world you wanted to, what would Essay

If you could choose to live in any world you wanted to, what would that world be like - Essay Example These issues would not be allowed within my own world as I believe these in essence mar the basis of development and growth amongst humans. My world would be different in the fact that it will have a more adequate space for understanding one another. There would be openness amongst people and camaraderie all round so that bitterness would not make the rounds of one another’s minds. People would be forthwith in their dealings and there would be respect for the elderly and love for the young ones. In short, my world would entail a character of its own making. It will make us all proud that we could actually live in harmony without any such issues coming to the fore. My world would have economic relief for everyone. There would not be problems for the people who are less affluent and the ones who essentially cannot afford to buy the most glamorous products on display. The economic well-being of the people would take into account their spending patterns, the manner in which they could afford their true basis within the complexities of life and in essence their salaries, which they get from their respective jobs and undertakings. The rich would not get richer by the day and same would be the case for the poor people within this world. In fact there would be an open ground for the rich and the poor to link with one another and thus interact on a level playing field. Similarly, the government of the time within this world would comprise of individuals who are honest with the masses, have proven track record of doing things right and are known to be steadfast in their respective areas of strength. Citizens will have a say in the affairs of the govern ment so that there is accountability from top to bottom and no such issues of treating people in an undignified manner come to the fore. The middle aged adults would be encouraged to join politics so that they could give somewhat constructive back to the society. One should believe that this is a very enticing

Global Marketing and the Digital Revolution Research Paper

Global Marketing and the Digital Revolution - Research Paper Example line, the development of the paperless society and the increasing influence of electronic money transfer, the innovation in mobile apps and internet enabled mobile phones, the development of electronic data exchange (EDE) and the increasing development of social media represents some of the developments arising out of the digital revolution. The advent of the internet and its related social media networks has significantly affected and influenced the concept of marketing and the specific roles of marketing professionals (Jurras, 2012). Social media networks such as Facebook, instagram, pinterest and twitter are forever transforming the landscape of the marketing function and how consumers interact with each other, products and organizations. Jurras argues that with many consumers having online presence and finding it increasingly convenient and safe to engage in online purchases and payments, only firms with an effective social media strategy will achieve a cutting edge in the highly competitive global industry. Social media networks represent an online community of customers with shared attributes, characteristics and interests. These social media sites employ virtual and internet accessible technologies such as smart phones and tablets to facilitate real time interaction and connectivity of online consumers. The customers share their thoughts, experiences with products and organizations, their perceptions regarding the ability of certain products to meet their needs and preferences, and their likes and dislikes about particular brands (Field, 2013). Astute social marketers are increasingly recognizing the importance of social media sites, especially instagram, to interact with the online consumers, develop and enhance brand awareness, and implement their market communication strategies and campaigns. Field (2013) observes that small and local businesses are no longer disadvantaged in regards to size and financial capital because they do not need to be

If you could choose to live in any world you wanted to, what would Essay

If you could choose to live in any world you wanted to, what would that world be like - Essay Example These issues would not be allowed within my own world as I believe these in essence mar the basis of development and growth amongst humans. My world would be different in the fact that it will have a more adequate space for understanding one another. There would be openness amongst people and camaraderie all round so that bitterness would not make the rounds of one another’s minds. People would be forthwith in their dealings and there would be respect for the elderly and love for the young ones. In short, my world would entail a character of its own making. It will make us all proud that we could actually live in harmony without any such issues coming to the fore. My world would have economic relief for everyone. There would not be problems for the people who are less affluent and the ones who essentially cannot afford to buy the most glamorous products on display. The economic well-being of the people would take into account their spending patterns, the manner in which they could afford their true basis within the complexities of life and in essence their salaries, which they get from their respective jobs and undertakings. The rich would not get richer by the day and same would be the case for the poor people within this world. In fact there would be an open ground for the rich and the poor to link with one another and thus interact on a level playing field. Similarly, the government of the time within this world would comprise of individuals who are honest with the masses, have proven track record of doing things right and are known to be steadfast in their respective areas of strength. Citizens will have a say in the affairs of the govern ment so that there is accountability from top to bottom and no such issues of treating people in an undignified manner come to the fore. The middle aged adults would be encouraged to join politics so that they could give somewhat constructive back to the society. One should believe that this is a very enticing

Operational Systems in Early Years Essay Example for Free

Operational Systems in Early Years Essay Structure of the day is one operational system that needs to be in place within an early years setting. This is because, it allows the setting to run smoothly as everyone knows what they need to do and when. Operational systems and financial systems are important elements of a business plan which enable a service to run efficiently. There are many operational systems and financial systems involved in a service. Task 2: Structure of the day: There are many ways in which this operational system impact on early years or play works services. It allows everyone to know their roles and what they need to do throughout the day. This will allow the service to run smoothly as people will not be wondering what needs to be done and things will then get done correctly instead of being left. Due to this, things like forms for the amount children eat and their behaviour will also be carried out correctly as there will be a designated member of staff who has to fill in the paper work for the room they are working in by the end of the day. If the setting has structured the day well enough then the member of staff will have time to write up the information as it comes instead of doing it all at the end of the day. This is because, if the practitioner leaves it until the end of the day, they may forget important bits of information and therefore will not be able to report back to parents correctly. This operational system also helps to keep the organised. However, there are a few problems with this operational system. If a member of staff rings in sick then it may be hard to find cover and therefore, the structure of the day will be jeopardised. Due to this, the day will not run smoothly as there will not be enough members of staff in the setting, meaning that everyone will be panicking and jobs and paperwork will not get done correctly. Especially if the member of staff who has rang in sick is designated with important jobs for that day. It may also be the case that other people are unaware of how to carry out the member of staff jobs and therefore, they will not get done until that member of staff comes into work. If some job roles are linked together, i.e. paperwork then this could also mean that other jobs cannot get done. As a result, the structure of the day will be ruined and the setting will not run smoothly. For this operational system to work effectively there needs to be correct effective communication in place. However, if this does not happen then this operational system wills no work. Health and safety: This operational system has a huge impact on early years or play works services, and it is very important to keep a service running smoothly and effectively. However, there are many positive and negatives points to this operational system. It keeps staff, children, visitors and anyone who may enter or work in the service safe. This happens as the operational system will include task like carrying out a risk assessment daily to reduce the risk of hazards and anyone getting injured. Due to this, the system can be made suitable to the specific setting as each setting may have different hazards. Also, each setting has different health and safety requirements; this is why it is important to have an operation system to each individual service so it fits in correctly and will work appropriately. This system will outline the procedures the staffs need to know and follow to abide to the healthy and safety rules. Due to the setting making them themselves, they will be able to make them simple enough for everybody to understand and follow. This will ensure that the healthy and safety within the setting will be followed correctly and there will be a reduced risk of people getting hurt. Members of staff will also be aware of what to do if a child falls poorly whilst attending the setting. Another positive is that it will give the staff, parents and children a sense of security as they will know they are safe and are able to relax. Therefore, there will not be any one getting stressed, worried or frustrated at the thought that someone might get hurt, as all hazards should have been removed to reduce the chance of this happening. On the other hand, there are also negative points about health and safety as an operational system. This is because, it can be quite time consuming for the setting to create, therefore this may be taking up members of staff valuable time that needs to be spent else where. Due to this, another part of the setting may not run as it should, for example, lunch time. There may not be enough members of staff helping out at that time if some are busy creating and readjusting the operational system. Also, to add to the time of creating it, someone needs to take the time to review the system and add or take away things when it needs updating. This could be very costly to the service because they will have to pay for things like the system to be printed, staff training on the different systems, and health and safety is a big system for staff to become knowledgeable about. Security of the building: The main impact that security of the building has on early years or play work services, is that it keeps everyone safe. Settings will have equipment installed to ensure that only the correct people are entering the building, for example, they may have a bell or a password on the main entrance door, and other doors are only able to be opened from the inside. This also means that they are able to adapt the building however they need. Some nurseries may have to have walls, gates or fences built around their outdoor play area. However, some building may not have to do this as there is already a wall there. Due to this, the setting will also be able to install equipment that will be suitable to the children’s needs. Some settings may have high door handles that the children cannot reach so they can’t let themselves out or open the door and get their fingers trapped in it. A sense of security will also be built up in the setting as everyone will be aware that it is secure and safe. This may also make parents feel better leaving their child at the setting. However, like any operational system, this one also has negatives aspects. Finding a good quality company to get the equipment off and for them to install it may become difficult. A setting will need a reliable company who is willing to come out at late notice when possible to install equipment. The setting also needs to be able to find a company that has their equipment at a reasonable price or else it may become very expensive for the setting. If a good quality company cannot be found, then equipment could be faulty putting the staff, children and visitors safety at risks. It could also then take a long time for the setting to be able to get the equipment fixed, causing problems and unneeded stress. As some equipment might be seen as good, there are also some impractical equipment, for example, if the setting has a bell for people to get in, it may be too loud and then wake up the children who are trying to sleep. Task 3: Within an early years or play work setting there is an operation system for the management and ordering of supplies. One current operational system that I have witnessed was at my primary school. Each classroom teacher recorded the supplies that they might need throughout the term, including books, pencils, paint, games, and work sheets and so on. Once they had done this, they then had to send their list to the lady in the office who would record what supplies the teachers requested onto an ordering form. She would also keep a record of what each teacher asked for so everyone could have the correct stuff. When it came to ordering things like food for school dinners, this was the chef’s responsibility. Each morning, the classroom teacher would ask each child who was having hot dinners what they would like, and there would be a meat and a vegetarian option. From this the chef would then be able to cook the correct amount of food each day. To order fresh food, the chef would do this once a week handing the order list to the office. However, with things like tin food, this would be brought in bulk at the beginning of each half term. For cleaning equipment, the head cleaner would create the ordering form to give to the office and this would include providing cleaning wipes for tables outside each classroom and soap for the toilets and so on. When it comes to the management of the operational system, this is down to the lady in the office as she is the one who rings through to the companies and places the orders and makes a time and date in which everything can be delivered. She keeps a record of past orders to make sure they are roughly ordering the same things each time an order is put in. This will help financial budgets as well. I do believe that the schools ordering of supplies operational system works effectively. The operational system is working well because there is someone to monitor what is being ordered and manage the system. This helps so staffs are aware who to send their order form to, if there are any problems then there is also someone that they can approach to try and solve the issue. All staff is able to put in an ordering form so nothing gets missed and the person in charge is then able to check the orders to ensure that staff are not spending too much money and are being realistic so the school can afford it. The school order supplies at realistic times to ensure that they do not run out of things they need especially things like hot dinners for the children. As a school, they have built up a good relationship with their suppliers and in time of need they can get a next delivery if something drastic happens. Another good point about this operational system is that the person, who manages it, also manages the financial records meaning that they will have a good understanding of what is coming in and going out. They will also be knowledgeable of how to make orders and will know appropriate times in which it can be delivered. however, the only problem is, if the member of staff who always puts the orders through is off work due to sickness, holiday or anything then it could mean that the school do not get there order through on time as know one else will know how to do. Therefore it would be a good idea for them to allow another member of staff knows how to do it so they can make an order if needs be. Schools need financial resources to function. School finances should be carefully managed according to regulations. Financial summaries provide information about the flow of a school’s financial resources, both into the school (income or revenue) and out of the school (expenditure). Financial records within the school are kept within the management office together with all supporting documents, e.g. receipts, invoices, bills and payment records. Access to financial records is restricted to the head teacher and member of staff in charge of the finance. The school has to keep their financial records for a minimum of 5 years. Financial records are kept both on the computer and in filing cabinets. The school has a spreadsheet on the computer in which everything they have to pay for is listed and all the incoming money is also listed. The financial records that are kept in the filing cabinet include things like receipts for orders, and things that they cannot put on the computer. Receipts allow the school to look back to ensure that the money going out is the same as the receipts for things that they have brought. The school has to record their financial income and expenditure. Income that the school records include: school fees, renting out facilities, donations, local community, government and expenditure that the school record includes: construction/repairs, equipment, and rental of premises, teacher salaries, school meals, electricity, telephone, water and maintenance. The school uses the financial summaries to monitor, verify and control the financial position of the school. Bibliography: Gill Squire. (2007): BTEC National Diploma Childrens Care Learning Development: Essex

Old common law rule

Old common law rule Introduction The old common law rule of The demise of nemo dat quod non habet that a person cannot convey a greater title than that person already has and a person holding a licence cannot convey the superior title of a lease. This old comman law rule had been followed for many years, until the House of Lords decision in Bruton. The House of Lords in Bruton held that someone with no interest in land can grant a lease provided that the exclusive possession is given in the agreement. I will explain and critically evaluate the House of Lords decision in the followings. House of Lords Decision The House of Lords took the opposite view with the Court of Appeal and held that the agreement between the Trust and Mr.Bruton was a lease. I will explain the decision below. Applying Street v Mountford The House of Lord decision in Street had been strictly applied.[1] According to Street, the agreement between the Trust and Mr.Bruton could be a lease/ tenancy if the three elements of 1) exclusive possession; 2) term and 3) rent are satisfied. The agreement permitted Mr.Bruton to occupy a flat in the block on a short-term basis for a weekly sum of ?18. The elements of term and rent are thus satisfied. Whether Bruton had exclusive possession Whether the requirement in Street can be satisfied depends on whether Mr.Bruton had exclusive possession. Although the agreement expressively referred it as a licence, it is irrelevant. Lord Hoffmann said that the language used, such as licence, is irrelevant. It is the true construction that identifies it as a lease.[2] Exclusive possession is a question of law that depends on the characteristic of the terms agreed. Lord Hoffmann said that the Trust plainly gave Mr.Bruton a right to exclusive possession and there was no suggestion on shared possession.[3] Effect of the reservation clause Although the Trust reserved limited right of entry for the purpose of inspection and repair, still exclusive possession was given to Mr. Bruton. Lord Hoffmann used the case of Westminster City Council [1992] as reference .In Westminster City, the only rights which it reserved were for itself and the council to enter at certain times for limited purposes. He further relied on the judgment of Lord Templeman in Street, and deduced that such an express reservation only further reinforced the entitlement of Mr. Bruton to exclusive possession.[4] Special Circumstances Charitable objective Could the charitable objective and the lack of interest in land of the Trust be considered to be special circumstances? Lord Hoffmann stated that the character of the landlord is irrelevant. He said that Although the Rent Acts and other Landlord and Tenant Acts do make distinctions between different kinds of landlords, it is not by saying that what would be a tenancy if granted by one landlord will be something else if granted by another.[5] Therefore, the charitable objective of the Trust did not constitute to a special circumstance. Could a landlord with no interest in land grant a lease/ tenancy The general rule is that if the landlord has no interest in land, he is in lack of capacity to grant a lease. The House of Lords relied on Family Housing Association to justify that there was no special circumstance existed for making an exception to the principle in Street. The House of Lord considered that Family Housing Association v. Jones was wrongly distinguished in the Court of Appeal. Lord Hoffmann regarded the fact in this case was very similar to that in Bruton. The crucial element is that in Family Housing Association, the grantor have no legal title, nonetheless, Slade L.J. concluded that the grantor have no legal title was not constitute an exception to the principle in Street. Therefore, the Housing Trust could grant Bruton a tenancy despite that the Trust had no interest in land. Tenancy by Estoppel MillettL.J. in the Court of Appeal said that an agreement could not be a lease unless it created a legal estate in the land which binds the whole world. He said that the only exception in this case that the grantor could grant a lease was by tenancy by estoppel. Lord Hoffmann thought that MilletL.J. was misled by the term of tenancy by estoppel that an agreement which could not otherwise be a lease or tenancy but which was treated as being one by virtue of an estoppel.[6] Lord Hoffmann and Lord Hobhouse thought that tenancy by estoppel was not a correct analysis. In this case, estoppel arises from the agreement, not the other way round. Critical Evaluation Contrary to the intention of legislation/ Parliament According to section 32(3) of the Housing Act 1985, the Council had no power to grant the Housing Trust a tenancy. Therefore the intention of the legislation was that the trust could only have the capacity to grant licence to homeless people on a temporary basis. The House of Lords decision totally ignored the intention of the legislation. The duty of a Judge is not to make law, but to interpret the intention of the Parliament. In this case, I think that the intention of the Parliament in section 32(3) is to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people through the Housing Trust by granting licence. The intention of Parliament should be supreme and should be strictly followed by the Judges. Street v Mountford should be distinguished Although the agreement expressly stated that it is in the form of a licence. The House of Lords still found that the agreement was a tenancy because the agreement grants exclusive possession to Mr.Bruton. Charitable objective of the Trust should be constituted as a special circumstance that constructs the agreement as a licence despite the rule in Street. Lord Hoffmann regarded that the charitable objective of the Trust is irrelevant and there was no distinction among other landlords. Again, Lord Hoffmann did not follow the intention of the Legislation/ Parliament. The Rent Acts and other Landlord and Tenant Acts do make distinctions between different kinds of landlords. In my opinion, the characteristic of charity does prohibit the Trust from granting a tenancy, since providing a temporary accommodation for people in need required a high degree of flexibility. Therefore a charitable trust should only grant licence rather than tenancy. The decision in Street should be distinguished due to these special circumstances. No exclusive possession I think that exclusivity of possession should be judged in an objective basis. All the terms in the agreement and the intention of the parties should be taken into account. Therefore the reservation clause should be interpreted objectively. As it was an express clause, there was strong evidence showing that the Trust intended not to give exclusive possession to Mr. Bruton. Moreover, with the right of entry is reserved by the Trust, it could hardly be concluded that exclusive possession was given to Mr. Bruton. Floodgate After Bruton, a new type of tenancy called personal tenancy is created. In Bruton, the grantor with no interest in land can still grant a lease. This decision totally departed from the old rule that a person holding a licence cannot convey a lease. After Bruton, Kay v Lambeth [2004] and London Borough of Islington v Green and OShea [2005] both confirmed that a personal tenancy could be granted by someone with no interest in land. [7] The nature of personal tenancy seems to be similar to that of a contractual licence. Unfortunately, the House of Lords did not distinguish personal tenancy from contractual licence. The result would be potentially dangerous since a licence granted by the landlord maybe eventually interpreted as a personal tenancy by court according to Bruton. A floodgate situation would be resulted, since every licensee would argue that a personal tenancy should be granted instead of a licence. Registration The personal tenancy creates no interest in land and the nature of a personal tenancy is similar to that of a contractual licence. A contracts or leases (but not oral lease) are registrable under LRO s.2 but a contractual licence is not registrable under L.R.O, s. 2.. Therefore it is doubtful whether a personal tenancy created in Bruton is registrable. Conclusion After the above analysis, I do not think that the decision of the House of Lord in Bruton is a good decision. It created uncertainty in whether someone with no interest in land can grant a lease or not. Although in Bruton, and the latter case of Kay [2004] and Green [2005] confirmed that a grantor with no interest in land can grant a personal tenancy. But the old common law rule of The demise of nemo dat quod non habet still needed to be considered. And Lord Hoffmann did not give a concrete reason on not applying the old common law rule. It also blurred the requirement of satisfying an exclusive possession. In Bruton, the tenant of the personal tenancy has enforceable rights against the landlord and against strangers,'[8] except the original grantor (the council), which has a superior title.[9] As the tenant cannot enforce his right against someone who has the superior title, the element of exclusive possession in the personal tenancy is in doubt. The House of Lords created an uncertainty in determining whether exclusive possession had been given in the assignment. Lastly, certainty in law and the intention of the Parliament should be strictly observed. And the decision of the House of Lord in Bruton disrupted the legal certainty and contravened the intention of Parliament. Therefore, it cannot be a correct decision. Per Lord Templeman in Street v Mountford, supra at p.818 Per Lord Hoffmann in Bruton v London Quadrant Housing Trust, supra at p.413 Per Lord Hoffmann in Bruton v London Quadrant Housing Trust, supra at p.414 Per Lord Hoffmann in Bruton v London Quadrant Housing Trust, supra at p.414 Per Lord Hoffmann in Bruton v London Quadrant Housing Trust, supra at p.414 Per Lord Hoffmann in Bruton v London Quadrant Housing Trust, supra at p.414 Mark Pawlowski, James Brown, Case Comment Bruton: A new species of tenancy?, Landlord Tenant Review 2000 M. Harwood, Lease: Are They Still not Really Real? (2000) 20 Legal Studies 503 at p.513 John-Paul Hinojosa, On Property, Lease, Licences, Horses and Carts: Revising Bruton v London Quadrant Housing Trust, Conveyancer and Property Lawyer 2005

End-Stage Renal Disease :: Health, Diseases, Hemodialysis Patients

Introduction Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) had higher anemia rate than general population (1). Several studies considered inflammatory markers as predictors of outcome in patients with ESRD and in one of them which was performed on 25000 HD patients, neutrophil count combined with low lymphocyte count were independent predictor of outcome in hemodialysis patients (2). In some of other studies elevated level of C-reactive protein was accounted for higher mortality rate in HD patients (3). In a European study, CRP were presented as one of the uremic syndrome futures and 50% of patients have CRP level >8mg/l and 75% of them had CRP level >3.4mg/l (3). Anemia related increase serum level of pro-inflammatory factors with poor treatment outcomes in HD patients (4). There is relationship between anemia, inflammation and oxidative stress level. Serum level of hemoglobin was increased during 2-3 days after inflammatory response to infection. Inflammation also active macrophages and remove old erythrocytes from the serum of HD patients (5). According to findings of previous studies, ESRD is one of the states that increase pro-inflammatory cytokines and in some of them interleukins (IL) 1, 4 and 6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were 8-10 times higher than general population (6). Statine agents can reduce serum level of CRP in HD patients and decline their need to Epoetin for management of anemia (7). Serum CRP level more than 5-10 mg/l is associated with cardiovascular events and statine agents due to reduce CRP level might decline mortality of HD patients and improve their cardiovascular outcome. Measurement of Serum level of C reactive protein (CRP) in hemodialysis (HD) patients with anemia and their response to lovastatin is aim of our study. Material and methods One hundred fifty hemodialysis patients in Imam Khomeini and Amiralam hospital during 2004 were participated in our randomized clinical trial. Hemodialysis patients had three sessions per week hemodialysis plan with Polysulphone and Hemophane dialysis filters and bicarbonate as dialysis solution. Our study was approved in ethical committee of Tehran medical university and informed consent was obtained from each patient. Our inclusion criteria Our inclusion criterias were more than hemodialysis patients with six months hemodialysis and Hs-CRP higher than 10 mg per liter, without tumors, chronic respiratory disorders, iron deficiency anemia, hypothyroidism, diabetic foot ulcer, total cholesterol more than 200 mg/dl, abnormal liver tests, immunosuppressive, beta blocker and statine usage, and active infection in recent three months.

The Women of Homer’s Odyssey Essay -- Homer The Odyssey Essays

The Women of Homer’s Odyssey   Ã‚  Ã‚   Homer’s Odyssey, by, is typically seen as a male dominated poem: the hero is male and the majority of the characters are male.   We follow the men on their attempt to return to Ithaca.   However, even though women are not the main characters, they are omnipresent through much of the story.   Women play a very important role in the movement of the story line: they all want to marry, help or hurt Odysseus.   During the course of his journey, Odysseus meets three different women who want him to be their husband: Circe, Calypso, Nausicca, and finally one woman who is his true wife: Penelope. Each of these women has a profound effect on Odysseus journey home.   Yet, even though these women are much more powerful than ordinary Greek women are they still carry some semblance of the "good female" in Greek society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Circe, though not the first female we meet in Odyssey, is the first woman Odysseus meets on his journey home from the Trojan War. She is no ordinary woman!   She is not kept separate from men outside of her oikos as proper women are supposed to be (Pomeroy 21).   Good Greek women are to be chaperoned by a male member of their oikos whenever they are in the presence of strange men. "The visitor to the Greek house would meet only the male members of the family; when strangers were in the house t... ...r husband and they all attempt to accomplish this in different ways.   It is interesting to see that even though there are numerous men in the story the women seem to weld power over Odysseus' journey: holding him hostage or letting him go according to the various women.   The fact that all the women are depicted as slightly evil (save Penelope, of course) seems to give evidence to the fact that Greek men are wary of the power of unconfined, unchaperoned women. Works Cited Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: 1996 Kebric, R.B. Greek People. 2nd ed. London: 1997. Pomeroy, S.B. Families in Classical and Hellenistic Greece. New York: 1997.