Issues Concerning Islam Essay

Muslims have been accused of mutilating women. This practice, however, is denied by the followers of Islam. According to them, â€Å"Female Genital Mutilation† (FGM), which is actually a surgical procedure performed on girls before they reach the age of puberty for the purpose of terminating or reducing their sexual feelings, is not an Islamic practice. They explain that FGM is a tradition of â€Å"Animists, Christians, and [some] Muslims in those countries where FGM is common. † Women are given equal rights under Islam. In fact, the Qur’an decreed that when it comes to public life, men and women should have equal rights and participation. During the time of Muhammad, women were allowed to participate actively in their baya which is the equivalent of today’s practice of political endorsements. Evidence of this Muslim women’s status is the voting rights granted to women in the predominantly Muslim countries like Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman. The women in Kuwait followed suit by earning their right to vote and get elected sometime in 2005. In fact, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Prime Minister, divulged a plan to appoint a woman minister in Kuwait soon (Robinson, 2007). Muslims as terrorists and pro-violence Yusuf (n. d. ) said that majority of the Muslims are convinced that while the U. S. government has been blaming terrorism on Islam for years, it was the 9/11 incident which dealt the most telling blow on the credibility and reputation of their religion. This was because the international media was able to depict that many Muslims around the world rejoiced after that incident. The truth is, however, that majority of the Muslim world was saddened by that incident and the repercussions it caused. They would like to tell the world that terrorism is not an official policy of Islam and that, in fact, Muslims also consider terrorists as enemies of their religion. He laments the fact that When a crazy Christian does something terrible, everyone in the West knows it is the actions of a mad man because they have some knowledge of the core beliefs and ethics of Christianity. When a mad Muslim does something evil or foolish they assume it is from the religion of Islam, not because they hate us but because they have never been told by a Muslim what the teachings of Islam are all about. Yusuf blames this lack of Islamic knowledge among Christians to the fact that there is a dearth of credible spokespersons who could defend Islam from its attackers. As a matter of fact, Yusuf stressed that â€Å"Islam is the middle way between excess and neglect† and that terrorism is the preoccupation of zealots and extremists who are, in fact, a plaque of Islam. According to him, there are two types of Muslim extremists whose acts destroy Islam. The first he calls â€Å"reactionary extremists. † This group rejects any form of religious pluralism. According to these reactionary extremists, the world consists of good and evil with nothing in between. Good, according to them, means the reactionary extremists and all those who oppose their actions are evil. Yusuf further explains that these kind of extremists are in the habit of â€Å"excommunicating† other Muslims who reject the way they interpret the Qur’an. However, this kind does not usually resort to violent acts to achieve their goals. Instead, they employ character assassination or takfir to ward their critics (Yusuf, n. d. ). The second type is the â€Å"radical extremist. † These Muslims extremists, according to Yusuf, are the ones who resort to violent acts and tactics to further their objectives. Yusuf stressed that these Muslims act as if they belong to some secret, wicked society whose members believe in the dictum that â€Å"the end justifies the means. † In other words, any method, even the most violent method, is acceptable as long as their â€Å"cause† is advanced. According to Yusuf, this is destroying Islam because the methods employed by Islam should be reflecting the noble ends of the religion. Secondly, Islam is not a â€Å"secret society of conspirators† – rather, it is open with its objectives and traditions which have already been accepted and recognized by people from other religious denominations (Yusuf, n. d. ).

Corruption in Electricity Sector

INTRODUCTION Corruption is a topic of interest and concern in academic circles, in the media, among people of different professions, within the civil service, among members of parliament, politicians, government officials, members of the business and financial communities, students, foreign investors, aid agencies and non-governmental organizations. In other words, the term corruption is not new to Bangladesh. A general impression conveyed by the media and by popular discourse is that among ordinary people in Bangladesh; corruption is viewed quite clearly as ‘a way of life'.A recent survey carried out by the Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad reinforces that impression: the survey found, among other significant data, that 95 per cent of respondents believed that the police were the most corrupt department in the land, followed very closely by the customs, the department of excise and taxation, the bureaucracy, and the judiciary. A solid 62 per cent of respondents believed that the pri mary responsibility for corruption in Bangladesh lay in the hands of government officials. Corruption is not identifiable as a single, separate, independent entity which can be isolated and destroyed.Corruption is a complex set of processes involving human behavior and many other variables, some of which are difficult to recognize or measure. Even though corruption manifests itself as a force on its own and often generates its own momentum, it is linked to many other factors, and it is by understanding these factors that we can hope to understand corruption. What is corruption? There are several meanings of the word corruption but when we use the term, we usually refer to a specific kind of exchange, activity or behavior.For instance, corruption could mean a process of physical decay or degeneration; the loss of innocence; a state of moral impurity or moral deterioration; perversion in taste or language; and also the wrongful, negligent or willfully corrupt act of a public official in the discharge of his or her public duties. Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone whose life, livelihood or happiness depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority. Corruption (philosophical concept), often refers to spiritual or moral impurity, or deviation from an ideal.Corruption is not just an economic exchange, generated by a monetary or ‘economic' motive. Neither is corruption an exclusively political activity, motivated by a desire to attain or retain political power. The process of corruption is more than economic or political – it is a social process as well, existing side-by-side with, and sometimes complementing economic and political activity. Historical Background: Power is the key source of productivity and an effective breakthrough to the modernization of the world society.Electricity was first installed at Dhaka in 1901, and in 1948, the Electricity Directorate was established in East Pakistan. D uring that period, the highest plant size was only 10 mw Steam Turbine in Siddhirganj along with other plants in Chittagong and Khulna. Box 1: Historical Background of The Power Sector 1901: Electricity was first installed at Ahsan Manjil, Dhaka City (Generation: 21 MW by Public; Distribution: 17 towns by private companies) 1948: Electricity Directorate (ED) 1959: Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) 1960: EPWAPDA statuary org. 972: Bangladesh Water Development Board and Bangladesh Power Development Board 1978: Rural Electrification Board 1991: Dhaka Electricity Supply Authority 1996: Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh and Dhaka Electricity Supply Company 2002: Ashuganj Power Supply Company Ltd. 2003: West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd. 2005: North West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd Source: http://www. bpdb. gov. bd The construction of the Kaptai hydro-electric project with an installed capacity of 40 MW and commissioning of Dhaka-Chittagong 32 KV tran smission line in 1962, was a milestone in the history of power development in this country. Each year the demand is increasing at the rate of 10 – 12 percent or 800-1000 mw and the government is also commitment to meet the MDG (Millennium Development Goal) regarding the access to electricity for all by 2020, the country’s power generation has to be increased by at least 8 per cent each year. Besides, to ensure energy security, there should be an arrangement of 16–22 percent power to be reserved in both of public and private sectors through quality investment†3.Since only 12 percent of the households in the lowest 20 percent of the income distribution have access to power, the need for better access to affordable and reliable electricity to the majority of the people of Bangladesh by 2020. However, the yearly growth of the generation verses the demand for new connections provides the reverse scenario. Therefore, the determination of consumer tariffs and the reliability of power are important issues in terms of the policy formulation, as energy prices should be based on production costs and efficiency, and subsidies should be given on the basis of social and economic need.Overview of the Power Sector in Bangladesh: The Government of Bangladesh is committed to provide affordable and reliable electricity to all citizens by 2020. However, the nation’s 1386 million people, only 42 percent7 have access to electricity, which was only 3 percent in 1971; but per capita electricity consumption is 165 kwh/unit, still one of the lowest in the world, against India’s 561 kwh per. Unfortunately, 79 percent of the connected suffer severe load-shedding, and 60 percent of the consumers face low voltage supply. The power sector of Bangladesh is usually characterized by natural monopolies10.Conventional wisdom states that since natural monopolies threaten competitive pressures, they should be regulated either by the government, through inde pendent regulatory agencies or directly by public enterprises. Table 1: Key Statistics of the Power Sector SectorPublicIPP+Captive Installed Capacity5275 mw2490 mw* De-rated Generation Capacity4582 mw Generation (Effective)Demand* Maximum Generation (sep’ 07)4130 mw5368 mw Minimum (Jan’ 07)2331 mw Transmission Lines (230 and 132 KV in km)4119 Distribution Lines in Km2,64,891 Access of electricity (%)42Per capita generation 165 kwh Per capita consumption 140 kwh Consumer Number including WZPDCL97. 33 lac Agricultural Consumers2. 16 lac System Loss (Average Percentile) 21. 3 Source: Power Cell, February 25, 2007 * 1290 mw generation in IPP and 1200* captive power consumption Moreover, allowing another firm would increase cost or inefficiency. The Power sector includes the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity among different holdings including residential, commercial, industrial and service sectors under the guidance of the Power Division of MPEMR.At p resent, BPDB has total installed capacity of generating 4680 MW in 65 units, including the public and private sectors. The Independent Power Producers (IPP) is now producing 1290 mw in 37 units of power plants located at different parts of the country11. In this situation, the GoB drafted an energy policy accounting the increased scope of gas exploration and power generation to meet the future demand for both renewable and nonrenewable energy. Currently, 80 percent of power is non-renewable indigenous gas-based, and 70 percent of the commercial energy is recovered by gas12; the rest 20 percent is from power and 10 percent from coal.Due to poor generation, the maximum demand served was the lowest of 3000 mw at peak hours in January, 2007. Though there was no significant increase in power generation, the transmission network was expanded rapidly by the funding from ADB. However, due to the intervention of vested interest groups, poor co-ordination, the absence of accountability and tr ansparency is perverse. Power shortage hampers the contribution of power to GDP growth and creates huge excesses/unbearable demand.Under these critical circumstances there is an immediate need to identify or diagnose the major reasons for the unavailability of power as well as the low level performance of the power sector. Corruption is one of the major threats to global development, especially in developing countries; for instance, â€Å"corruption is jacking up the cost of power projects in the Philippines, delaying their implementation and providing Filipino households and businesses with expensive but unreliable electricity services†.According to the Household Survey on Corruption in 2005, â€Å"around 10 percent of the consumers are using illegal connections and around 48 percent paid bribes for taking a new connection or meter†. This corrupt practice was first identified in 1956. According to Husainy, â€Å"Dacca Electricity Supply Co. was also nationalized in 1 956 due to virulent corruption in new connection due to excess demand, maintaining uninterrupted power supply; though some improvement was observed but not significant at all during that period. †In terms of distribution of electricity, non-technical loss and pilferage of electricity make the sector more vulnerable and the bribery and harassment of the staff faced by 70 percent of the consumers18 are few of the examples of the mismanagement of this sector. Under the above circumstances, it is necessary to identify the prospect and governance in the power sector. This study tries to find the source of corruption in several issues of procurement, generation, transmission, distribution and human resource management, including the effectiveness of the existing act to combat the corruption and abuse of power.Purpose of the study: Broad Objective: The broader objective is to review the governance system of the power sector and to identify the nature of corruption likely to be presen t in the different division of the power sector. Specific Study: ?To diagnose governance failure and demand-supply shortfalls ? To identify whether any governance failure exists, regarding human resource, administration, finance etc. ?To identify the rate of corruption are occurred in this sector. To identify the actual lose has been occurred in this sector and so forth. ?To identify the sufferings and harassment faced by the consumers, especially by the poor in the commercial services including new connections, day-to-day services, billings load shedding. Methodology: Data Collection Process for Secondary Materials: Literature, articles, periodicals, reports, acts and rules, also electronic journals, documents of power sector, case studies on power generation and distribution have been reviewed. Collection of Primary Information:The primary sources of qualitative data are informal discussions with stakeholders, employees and experts of the power sector and documents on the procurem ent and distribution sides to assess whether any mismanagement or illegal practices such as abuse of power and/or funds and resources took place. Rapport building played an important role in the extraction of the qualitative data. Key informants were sector experts, policy makers, academicians who provided specific case studies and recommendations to improve the governance of the power sector, including procurement, BERC, generation, distribution and legal practice.Consumer Survey on the Quality of Commercial Service and Billing: A cross section survey among all types of consumers was administered during 5 May to 5 June of 2006 to find out the quality of services provided by different organization including DESA and DESCO. The instrument of the survey, i. e. the questionnaire, was developed by the researcher and then validated through field tests. The questionnaire on consumer survey covers the nature and extent of the corruption and harassment faced by the consumers. Questionnaire for Consumer Survey:The components of the questionnaire were six: i) the basic profile of the consumers with the information on the socio-economic profiles of the consumers/adult respondents, consumption pattern of electricity, ii) the types of connection, the new connection process, problems and harassment faced by consumers, the amount of bribe transacted during the connection process; iii)the quality of electricity service in terms of meter reading and billing process, illegal practices such as collusion with meter readers, fake billing, and other day-to-day service-related problems; iv) load extension, load shedding and voltage variation, losses of equipment due to voltage fluctuation; v) and finally, the consumers’ satisfaction regarding the different commercial services has also been illustrated through this measuring scale. Sampling Technique: A multi-stage stratified sampling technique has been followed to determine the sampling of the consumers for the survey  œ Stage 1: Consumption pattern of DESA DESCO, to put the proportionate weight in determination of the number of the sample for each agency. Then, the proportion of consumers across the distributors is considered in stage 2.Stage 2: Based on this proportion, different types of consumers are considered to select the sampling from each distributor agency. Stage 3: Distribution of Sample Consumers sing the standard formula of random sampling, the precision level or observed probability of corrupt practices was extracted at 0. 7 at a 5 percent level of error. Sample size, 1027 was determined using the design effect and across agencies in regional clusters. Distribution of Sampling Consumers: DistributorDistrict/Area Or Ward D C ISub totalTotal DESA DESCO Dhaka, Mirpur Dhaka, Karwan Bazar 10 10 10 10 10 10 30 30 60 (D= Domestic, C= Commercial, I= Industrial) Governance Failures and Problems in the Power Sector:Under the co-ordination and guidance of the Power Division, BPDB, a holding com pany, is solely responsible for generating, transmitting and distributing power through PDB, DESA, DESCO, WZPDCL and REB/PBSs though out the country. Usually, the Prime Minister is in Charge of the MPEMR and a State Minister runs the Power Division under the guidance of the PM. The PDB Chairman is Chairman of the newly converted holding company of BPDB21 and the Secretary of corporatized companies such as PGCB and WZPDCL. Furthermore, Chairman of DESA is also the Chairman of DESCO. The newly established BERC is to regulate planning, tariff fixing, dispute settlement and licensing.The following Flow Chart-1 shows the functional relationship between the different wings of the power sector. Adverse Power Crises: According to the ADB (2005), â€Å"Consumption of electricity in Bangladesh grew at an average annual rate of 8. 2% from FY 1994 to FY 2004 and forecast is to grow at an annual rate of about 8% for the next 10 years. † Since the early 1990s, the supply of power went down and system loss shot up and the frequency of load shedding increased vigorously by the middle of the 1990s. In this situation, the Government proposed the National Energy Policy in 1995, but this also failed to meet the crisis and finally Power Cell formulated the Private Power Generation policy in 1996 in order to boost the generation of power.Crisis in the power sector or the staggering demand-supply gap has emerged due to several key reasons. Since the generation of power did not increase at the rate of the increase in demand, the gap between served generation and peak demand has increased over the period shown in Figure 1. In mid ‘90, the shortage was almost zero, but the staggering gap and the demand has been increasing, the official figure is at 4250 mw, but the production is only at 2100-2200 mw which resulted in a 2000 – 2200 mw shortfall in generation. According to the PSMP 2006, the real demand was forecasted at 6200 mw in 2007, but at the same time the amoun t of power generation went down to 3,200 mw.It is noted here that the demand for power has been increasing at a rate of around 10 percent per year and furthermore then the total shortage of power would be around 435032 mw in 2010 or even more than the current estimate (shown in figure 4) if the progress of the establishment of the proposed power plants is not completed as per schedule. In estimating demand, the PDB does not usually consider economic growth and the exact demand of the prospective consumers. The crisis also emerged due to the absence of a vision and mission by PDB and DESA as well. Absence of clear organization goals of the PDB and DESA: The Power sector is such a dynamic sector that it requires clear organizational goals or objectives and the strength to take sharp decision. In reality, however, the PDB and DESA do not have clear working paper, organizational goals.As a result, there is always a sense of confusion between policy makers and the management. This hamper s the productive growth of the sector as well as its day-to-day services. New Connection Process and harassments faced by the consumer: The staff is responsible for completing the several tasks associated with a new connection. In a particular holding, no more than one residential connection is provided, with each flat considered flat as a separate entity. Requirements need to be fulfilled as per tariff rules and pro-poor documentation. In reality it is quite tough for an applicant to complete the process by himself due to harassments by the staff and agents or media.According to the survey, on average, 27percent of the consumers (the highest figure being 42 percent) face the harassment during the new connection process. A new connection process and the tyranny of â€Å"media† or â€Å"broker† According to the 2006 survey, among the applicant for a new connection, 94. 2 percent took the new connection through an agent in order to avoid the hassle and to save time; only 4. 3 percent of the consumers got the new connection by themselves. According to the consumer survey in the case of both LTI and HT connections, 94 percent of the applicants took the help of brokers or agents such as meter readers, MLSS/Fourth class employees, or electrical Contractor. Process of new connection IN DESA;Average bribe of a new connection: Reduction of bills at cost of bribe in DESA: The S & D Office disconnected the line with an outstanding amount of Taka. 3,00,000 and filed a case against ‘x’ consumer of Lalbagh S&D. The Meter Reader proposed a bribe of Taka. 1, 50,000 to settle the case. The concerned consumer agreed to the proposal in order to become benefited and to avoid harassment. Finally, the case was dismissed and office issued the reduced bill for only Taka. 28, 000 for the following month. It is noted here that the meter reader did not provide any bank receipt to the consumers, just a paper upto clearance. This is a reflection of the DESA†™s management system.Average bribe to reduce meter change Delay in Providing New Connections: According to the 2006 survey findings, if any consumer does not pay a bribe then the consumer can get connection even before the deadline of around 30 days; the longest delay in DESCO for providing a new connection was 103 days, but at the payment of bribe the connection took only 6 to 7 days for getting a new connections in DESA and RDB respectively. Interestingly, the PBS, through efficient in maintaining the desired import-collection ratio, also makes delays in getting new connection if the consumers do not bribe to the officials (Table 9). Complexities in File Processing:Bureaucratic dilemma/delay is a regular phenomenon in Bangladesh; and it is also practiced during the provision of a new connection, as application files pass through around 36/38 hands/tables before an applicant get a connection. Though the office claims that the delay is due to the insufficiency of MLSS and inadequa cy of the required documents, the real cause of the delay is illegal practice152 or the paying of bribes to speed up the process. Bribe for meter change: Office staff takes monthly bribes to reduce the electricity bill of the consumers by issuing a minimum bill against the huge bill of the power consumed (which are remaining unadjusted and stored in the meter).When the cumulative amounts of the unpaid bills, especially of HT consumers, become high, the meter reader proposes to change meter claiming to be concerned amounts showing the damage. Taking a handsome bribe, officers change the meter claiming to be concerned about the clients showing the cause of the consumer’s safety and GoB loose huge amount of revenue. Consumer, on average, pays an extra Taka 2056 as bribe to the meter reader, lineman, foreman or the Gatish of the meter reader if he/she wants to change the damaged meter. Interestingly, the highest amount has to be paid (i. e. Taka 8685 and Taka 2748) by the consume rs of the corporatized or said to the efficient organization REB. PBS and DESCO161. Erroneous and/or false billingOn average, 39 percent of the consumers of all the distributor agencies claimed that they received excess bills and the meter readers with the help of ledger keeper and the billing section. In case of the unavailability of receipts, consumer has to pay the bill with a fine including a surcharge; the significance of the chi-square value162 justifies the allegation on the wrong meter reading. It supports the presence of erroneous and bogus billing in the PDB, DESA and PBSs as well. If any honest consumer, particularly, is the small industries category (such as cold storage, cinema halls etc. ) where refrigeration plants, air conditioners had standard loads, does not agree To conclude with meter reader and wants to pay the correct bills, he is likely to be in serious trouble.Conclusion and Policy Recommendation: A number of efforts have been made by the present caretaker go vernment in order to mitigate the power failures. These efforts include the following: Cancellation of the tendering process of small power plants addressing the allegation of nontransparent process and attempt for re-tender. Identification of major targets to rehabilitate and maintain the power station, and sign of treaties to establish both public and private power plants. Unfortunately, it is alleged by local power company that the aid providing agencies have put several clauses in the bid manual so that they cannot submit the bid papers fulfilling the conditions.Approval of five IPPs (three foreign companies) of 1,930 mw capacity, increasing the share of IPPs in the total power generated up to 3,190 mw (62%). Unfortunately, no significant decision has been taken yet to identify the leakages and rampant theft of power. Appointment of two members for the BERC and development of several guidelines along with the methodology of the determination of power tariff. However, in this met hodology, the peak and off-peak demand was not considered. Besides, there is no vivid guideline from BERC on how submitted documents and information by applicant IPPs would be cross-checked and the previously completed contracts between PDB and IPPs are out of the proposed formula.This study was undertaken with the aim to diagnose the problems prevailing in this sector. The scope of this study includes review the state of governance in this sector, demand-supply shortfalls, the current procedure of power plant procurements and identifying the nature and extent of corruption, accountability of the staff, investigate the sufferings and harassments faced by the consumers, day-to-day services, billing, load shedding, and rural-urban disparities. Information from both primary and secondary sources has been used in preparing the report. Sources of secondary information included acts and rules, published articles, periodicals, reports, as well as official documents.Primary sources of infor mation include a consumer survey, informal discussion with stakeholders, employees, and experts of the power sector. The consumer survey covered the nature and the extent of corruption and harassments faced by the consumers. The cross section survey among all types of consumers (1027) was administered to find out the quality of services provided by different organization including PDB, REB/PBSs, DESA and DESCO. Adverse power crises and governance failures The PDB’s official report shows a shortfall of generation of around 2000 – 2200 mw. However, according to PSMP 2006, the total shortage of power would be around 4350 mw in 2010.The reasons for power shortages are identified below. Policy Level Failures: The government failed to put adequate emphasis on the power sector; there has not been any clear and specific guideline to estimate the real demand and supply; there have also been violation of the PSMP in the form of politicization of the location, size and types of p lants, emphasis on short-term planning, inadequate autonomy in making financial and administrative decisions, appointment of foreign consultants for rent-seeking purpose despite the availability of local hands, and imbalanced expansion of distribution lines for rent-seeking purposes Limitations and malpractice within the procurement process:The procurement process in power sector has been distorted due to unwanted intervention in the procurement process, complexities of the bidding process, wrong evaluations, absence of uniform Technical Evaluation Committee (TEC), delay in hiring consultants and resolving disputes due to bureaucratic dilemma, corruption such as putting specific condition, nepotism, extortion by vested interest groups, collusion between the bid officials and bidders, false experience certificate submitted by bidders, appointment of contractors for maintenance and rehabilitations without any tender, abuse of funds by plant and policy-level staff, supply of low qualit y machinery violating the contract, and power purchase agreements made at high rates. As a result, around Tk 4,007 crore or US$ 688 million (from purchase of the 6 power plants and outsourcing the maintenance and rehabilitation works to a foreign company) during 1996-2005 have been abused.Inadequate financial capacity: Around 17000 crore Taka is required to meet the demand for power of 8000 mw by next 2010; but the concerned organizations have inadequate financial capacity due to i) cumulative increase of unpaid bills and unaccountable indebted organizations, ii) poor rate of collection (caused by high T&D losses, legal shelter taken by large bill defaulters, low density of consumers in several PBSs of REB), and iii) instantaneous increase of financial burden due to contract with IPPs at a floating exchange rate, iv) contract, under PPA, with IPPs at high tariff arte, v) high input cost of diesel based generation plants. References:Analysis of the Sustainability of the Electrical Po wer Sector, Advanced Engineering Associates International (AEAI), February 2003, Asian Development Bank, 2005, Sector Assistance Program Evaluation of Asian Development Bank Assistance to Philippines Power Sector. Asian Development Bank, â€Å"Special Evaluation Study on Cost Recovery in the Power Sector Operation and Evaluation Department†, SS-55, April 2003 Bacon, R. W. and Besant-Jones, J. , 2001,’Global Electric Power Reform, Privatization And Liberalization Of The Electric Power Industry In Developing Countries’ The International Bank of Reconstruction and Development, The World Bank. Washington. D. C. Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission Act 2003, BG press, MPEMR, GoB, 2003, DhakaBose, Sudhansu, Poor collection efficiency of Indian state owned power distribution companies: causes and remedies, White Paper, Wipro InfoTech Complexity of Electric Power Distribution Governance†, Journal, 26 (3), 1-39, 2004 Dr. Hardiv H Situmeang, June 1, 2005, THE CHA LLENGE OF FINANCING POWER PROJECTS. Jakarta Fiany, Ronald, et. al. July 2003, Governance Problem in the Brazilian Power Sector, Oxford University Gilbert, Richard and Kahn, Edward et al, 1996, International Comparisons of Electricity Regulation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. HYPERLINK†http://www. stenmar. com/oil_and_gas_sector. asp† http://www. stenmar. com/oil_and_gas_sector. asp

Hamlet Essay Essay

Good morning teachers and students, our understanding of Hamlet takes many turns and the most important of these is in act 3 scene II. As a pivotal scene in William Shakespeare’s play, audiences gain an understanding of the characters and their actions leading up to this point. Many of the themes in the play come to light in this scene as the plot gathers pace and it is for all these reasons I chose this scene. Our understanding of a text is greatly affected by the context in which scenes take place. Act 3 Scene 2 transpires after a series of turbulent events and the increasing surveillance of Hamlet’s life. In the preceding scene Hamlet considers suicide in the â€Å"To be or not to be,† soliloquy after learning that his father’s sudden death was in fact a murder by his uncle Claudius’s hand. He plans to prove the ghost’s word by watching his uncle’s reaction to a play that follows the events of Hamlet’s father’s death. Hamlet also confronts Ophelia and denounces her and women in misogynous diatribe overheard by the spying Polonius and Claudius. After hearing this Claudius decide to export Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as â€Å"madness in great ones must not unwatched go†. The latter gives audiences insight to later events in the play. Context is the basis of our understanding of certain lines, soliloquies and actions and overall affects our understanding of the entire play. The ‘Play within a play’ scene is a pivotal scene in Hamlet and its significance resounds throughout the rest of the play. It is a scene dripping in dramatic irony because Hamlet triumphs over the king in full public view while Claudius deals in secret to obtain information. The scene comes as the action following Hamlet’s musings of death, and the relative inaction of the first two acts. Knowing he was correct about his father’s murder Hamlet is emboldened and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern then sets out to confront his mother fracturing numerous relationships. Furthermore, Claudius’s sudden exit from the play raises the question whether he was reacting to the guilt of murdering his brother or to the act of Lucianus, the murdering nephew of king Gonzago in the Mouse Trap, possibly foreshadowing his own death. Either could be the trigger of Claudius’s decision too have Hamlet killed in England. The significance of this particular scene is undeniable because of its importance is upheld throughout the rest of Hamlet and this is why it affects audiences understanding of the entire play. As a pivotal scene, many themes in Hamlet are present including action versus inaction, espionage, revenge and deceit. These mix into a tangible cocktail to which audiences are more likely to pay attention to and gain better understanding. The scene provides the first ‘action’ in the play after driving uncertainty of the first two acts, the audiences reaction epitomised in a player’s line â€Å" so after Pyrrus’ pause, a roused vengeance sets him to work†. Revenge is the motive behind Hamlets writing of the play. Espionage makes another appearance in Hamlet’s urging Horatio to ‘observe my uncle. If this occulted guilt do not unkennel itself in one speech, it is a damned ghost we have seen† Rosencrantz and Guildenstern deceitfulness comes to an end when Hamlet turns the tables on them using the metaphor of how he was played like a pipe then later abandoning and sending them to their deaths. The presence of themes allows audiences to make connections with dialogue and leads to heightened understanding of the play and this is why act 3 scene 2 is crucial to the understanding of the entire play. A plethora of literary devices is used throughout the scene causing the meanings of numerous lines to be left up to the audience’s interpretation. Use of dramatic irony, alliteration, metaphor, pun, repetition and others highlights lines that are of greater importance for example, Hamlet’s mocking â€Å"what, frightened with false fire! † to his uncles reaction to the murder as well as the extended metaphor of hamlet being a pipe played upon by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The dramatic irony of the scene is important, as it is Hamlet’s action that snowballs into the different outcomes. Hamlet’s rhyming flattery to Horatio is full of literary techniques like alliteration (need example), possibly highlighting his desperation to keep one faithful friend by his side or adoration or want of Horatio’s balanced character. Hamlets jovial punning makes light of all that said to him by authority figures, this being an attempt at showing possible rebelliousness or more likely showing his enthusiasm for the outcome of the play’s impact on the king. We do not know which part of the play Hamlet scripted so it can be assumed that some of his own feelings are showing through the repetition of love and fear whether this be about his love of Ophelia or incestuous thoughts about Gertrude. Understanding of act 3 scene 2 is crucial to our understanding of Hamlet. This is assisted through the uses of literary techniques, the presence of many themes to capture audience’s attention, the significance of these and the context in which the scene takes place. These combine to make this scene of upmost importance to our interpretation of the entire play and that is why it was chosen. 5min14secs Matt: I’ve re-worked your speech below using as much as possible, cutting out the repetition, and suggesting where examples from the play are needed to illustrate your point. We can add these in tomorrow as I want you to go through this process of selecting appropriate egs with me. Apologies for typos – something is rotten in the state of our computer (ref to the play, sorry! ) â€Å"The play is the thing in which I’ll catch the conscience of the king† [Good morning teachers and students, our understanding of Hamlet takes many turns and the most important of these is in act 3 scene II. As a pivotal scene in William Shakespeare’s play, audiences gain an understanding of the characters and their actions leading up to this point. Many of the themes in the play come to light in this scene as the plot gathers pace and it is for all these reasons I chose this scene. Too vague: needs a more dramatic opening eg rhetorical question, or fabulous quote or natty and relevant anecdote or recent current happening that you can relate to this scene to catch the audience attention. The intro needs also not to waste words that could refer to specific context, themes, dramatic techniques, particular character development and plot development. Adding language aspects into this intro may be overdoing it but the word play on the idea of the â€Å"play† and â€Å"play within the play† might work. ] e. g. Can you think of a more delicious irony or more dramatic way of catching out a murderous hypocrite like Claudius than putting on a play in full public view that shows two audiences – the court of Denmark and us – how he killed the rightful king? Especially since we know that Claudius has set up all those who are closest to Hamlet, except for the faithful Horatio, to spy on him in secret! I chose this play within the play scene – Act 3 Scene II – for a number of reasons: firstly, for the lovely dramatic irony I just mentioned; secondly, it is pivotal in terms of resolving Hamlet’s doubts and advancing the plot towards the final bloody end; thirdly, it is very satisfying drama, with lots of action following on from the lengthy musings and relative inaction of Hamlet’s famous. â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy; in addition it reflects a number of key themes and preoccupations of the play, including that of surveillance; and finally it is incredibly dramatic and beautifully written, with lots of the fantastic and funny word play, vivid images and other literary and dramatic techniques we all love about Shakespeare. This scene, as I said in the introduction, is pivotal in terms of the action of the entire play, and also in terms of Hamlet’s evolution, from inactive to hyperactive. In the preceding scene Hamlet considers suicide after learning from the Ghost that his father’s sudden death was in fact a murder by his uncle Claudius. The Ghost is a mysterious character about whom there are considerable doubts – does he represent the troubled state of Denmark following the death of a beloved and heroic king and/or does he represent H’s traumatised mind following the sort of tragedy that would unhinge most of us. [ref to a critic here? ]. Whatever we say about Hamlet and his tendency to overdo the thinking aspect of life, he does approach problems with a fair and scientific mind: he does resolve to kill his father’s murderer, but, fair enough, as death is reasonably permanent, even for Shakespeare’s religious audiences, he set up the play within the play as a kind of controlled test for his uncle, whom the Ghost purporting to be King Hamlet has said killed him: He tells Horatio to observe his uncle during the  play as well and â€Å"after we will both our judgments join in censure of his seeming†: this does indicate that Hamlet, despite his understandable hatred of Claudius, is a fair man, who is also aware of the seriousness of killing the man who is now King of Denmark. Elizabethan audiences would have recognised Hamlet’s hesitation about killing the King as reasonable, just as they would have seen his vengeance once his suspicions had been confirmed, as justified. This scene also follows Hamlet’s misogynist confrontation of Ophelia which is overheard by the spying Polonius and Claudius, who decides at this point to export Hamlet to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, since â€Å"madness in great ones must not unwatched go†. Since Ophelia had also been encouraged to spy on Hamlet, we now have his dastardly uncle, his school friends, and his fiance, not to mention his mother, keeping a close watch on Hamlet: no wonder he needed a theatrical outlet! However, seriously, we see here a recurring and important theme in the entire play, that of spying and surveillance. The Michael Almereyda directed film version of Hamlet with its constant CCTV cameras and Hamlet’s speaking into the cameras provide the perfect representation of the sense of inescapable surveillance that Hamlet feels he is under throughout the play. : FIND QUOTES re SPYING IN THIS SCENE. Another key theme of this play within the play scene. amd to the entire play, that relates to the spying is that of deceit, and of illusion masking the reality. The play Hamlet devises to catch the King out is called â€Å"The Moustrap†, and its aim is to depict the exact way in which Claudius killed his brother, that is, by pouring poison into his ear, not the commonest way to kill someone! If King Claudius reacts is a guilty manner, presumably this demonstrates his guilt. So Hamlet’s goal is to unmask his uncle in front of the entire court, including the wife he has won so wrongfully. Plays are a theatrical form of illusion, masquerading as reality, just as Claudius in killing the rightful king, marrying his widow and acting as a legitimate King, is masquerading. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are similarly masquerading as Hamlet’s friends, while in reality they are deceitfully reporting on his actions and words to his treacherous uncle. The play within the play traps Claudius just as Hamlet himself must have felt trapped within this world without honesty and fidelity. The theme of honesty and reliability, those qualities that Hamlet craves and finds in no-one but his friend Horatio, provides a key to a deeper understanding of Hamlet’s apparently cruel behaviour towards his mother and also Ophelia, and also to Polonius and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. â€Å"Give me that man/That is not passions’s slave .. and I will wear him/ in my †¦ heart of hearts†: Hamlet, having suffered the worst tragedy one can imagine, finds no person in his circle whom he can trust except for Horatio. [ repetition Our understanding of a text is greatly affected by the context in which scenes take place. Act 3 Scene 2 transpires after a series of turbulent events too vague – what events? References like this read like padding and markers know it! ] and the increasing surveillance of Hamlet’s life. The play within the play leads us to a focus on another potent theme of this scene and of the entire play: revenge! â€Å" So after Pyrrus’ pause, a roused vengeance sets him to work†. Revenge is the motive behind Hamlet’s writing of the play, and once his suspicions have been confirmed, Hamlet is ready to turn his vengeful thoughts into action. This scene is brilliant drama! There is beautiful dramatic irony in Hamlet’s selection of a play to trap the guilty king. And there is lots of discussion of theatrics, and how the players should speak their lines, which reveals Shakespeare’s own deep understanding of the craft of acting, the more realistic version being more like his own preferred style: â€Å"Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand †¦ the purpose of playing,.. is to hold the mirror up to nature†, that is to act as one would speak and act out such lines in reality. Critics say that Shakespeare is having a go here at the plays of Chrsitopher Marlowe and the players such as Edward Alleyn at the Rose Theatre, who was known for a rather exaggerated approach to acting. Whatever the origins of these descriptions of how NOT to act, they are very funny, and must have made an Elizabethan audience as well as myself, a 21 century lad, laugh! â€Å"O it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters: etc. [we need egs of each of these Use of dramatic irony, alliteration, metaphor, pun, repetition and others] Shakespeare’s literary teachniques also work brilliantly in this scend. As well as the dramatic irony, we have superb play on words combining wioth the extended highlights lines that are of greater importance for example, Hamlet’s mocking â€Å"what, frightened with false fire!  phor of hamlet being a pipe played upon by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. The dramatic irony of the scene is important, as it is Hamlet’s action that snowballs into the different outcomes. Hamlet’s rhyming flattery to Horatio is full of literary techniques like alliteration (need example), possibly highlighting his desperation to keep one faithful friend by his side or adoration or want of Horatio’s balanced character. Hamlets jovial punning makes light of all that said to him by authority figures, this being an attempt at showing possible rebelliousness or more likely showing his enthusiasm for the outcome of the play’s impact on the king. We do not know which part of the play Hamlet scripted so it can be assumed that some of his own feelings are showing through the repetition of love and fear whether this be about his love of Ophelia or incestuous thoughts about Gertrude. Understanding of act 3 scene 2 is crucial to our understanding of Hamlet. This is assisted through the uses of literary techniques, the presence of many themes to capture audience’s attention, the significance of these and the context in which the scene takes place. These combine to make this scene of upmost importance to our interpretation of the entire play and that is why it was chosen. 5min14secs Character development – in this question

Discussion Points about Critical Gender Studies readings Essay - 1

Discussion Points about Critical Gender Studies readings - Essay Example Discussion Points about Critical Gender Studies readings Globalization in the face of this book’s discussion has brought about a whole new change of order in the society and provided more opportunities to those who have been marginalized for so long (Lowe 120). The opening of the world has transformed the role of women as it makes their voice known as well as empowers them. This may not seem such a big deal compared to other positive effects of globalization such as making the United States, not the super power nation it has always been as more countries such as China and Japan grow economically and militarily at a high rate and threaten the position of US but it is a big deal to these groups of individuals (Lowe 122). Women in the developing nations in Africa and Asia has always been tied down by oppressive cultures but with globalization, these cultures are starting to be questioned and even disbanded as an interchange of cultures from all over the world infiltrates these nations. This has therefore brought a social revolution and new meaning to feminism as the roles of women and men not only intertwine by they are even reversed in some cases all based on cultural changes brought about by globalization (Lowe 123). The biggest question that however lingers is whether these changes will continue with their positivity and expansion and to what extent? Will they lead to negative effects and impacts to societies in the long run or are they truly a blessing and will remain that way?

Discussion 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Discussion 4 - Assignment Example For the second idea, Cose gives the fact of the passing of the McCarran-Walter Act in 1952 which removed racial restrictions in U.S. citizenship and its connection to the blurred definition of whiteness (113). How article supports its side of the issue: The article supports its side by using anecdotal experience and personal analysis of the present vagueness and purposes of America’s White Identity and by offering historical examples and law that assert the difficulty of defining and defending whiteness. Holes in arguments: Cose fails to acknowledge and to respond to counter arguments, specifically that immigration trends do have biased racial and ethnic beliefs and practices that challenge America’s White Identity. Good counterarguments: A good counterargument is: 1) Immigration trends do challenge America’s White Identity because of intermarriage and 2) Immigration dilutes whiteness boundaries through diversity in public institutions. Examples of bias, propaganda: Cose fails to analyze the underlying racism and ethnocentricism that come with the formation and protection of America’s White Identity, which can either be seen as a bias for non-whiteness or simply a propaganda to disregard racism in immigration. I agree that immigration patterns challenge America’s white identity because of intermarriage that reduces white homogeneity, and because immigration improves diversity in American society, which reduces the relevance of defining and promoting a white American identity. First, intermarriage across racial and ethnic groups makes it harder to define what is white. By category, a white second-generation American with a dark Hindu mother and a white Latino father, for instance, is white and not white, depending on how he explains his identity. Intermarriage blurs the concept of whiteness in American identity. Second, immigration improves diversity in American society which makes whiteness

Human resource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 3

Human resource management - Essay Example The total construction area is about 590,000 square meters. In line with this, the program has been designed by world-renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. By constructing the CCTV’s main building, the supporting facilities for television cultural centre and ancillary are improved (Hudong, 2010). With 234 meters high, CCTV’s main building is considered the tallest building in Beijing. From the exterior view, CCTV Tower, the building as a tilt by the two pillars. About 180 meters in the hanging were carried out aerial docking. Its architectural style is elegant. As a single nation-building, it is the largest single building. It is the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, one of the important facilities. The TV centre includes TV theatre, recording studio, and cultural hotel, press room, digital cinema, large auditorium, exhibition areas, multi-function hall and other facilities. Also it is the television centre during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. CCTV is the media agency. It was established from the day will be faced with many stakeholders. And what does stakeholder means here? Stakeholders are an integral part of a project. They are the end-users or clients, the people from whom requirements will be drawn, the people who will influence the design and, ultimately, the people who will reap the benefits of your completed project. It is extremely important to involve stakeholders in all phases of your project for two reasons: Firstly, experience shows that their involvement in the project significantly increases your chances of success by building in a self-correcting feedback loop; Secondly, involving them in your project builds confidence in your product and will greatly ease its acceptance in your target audience (Mariosalexandrou.com, 2010). It is no exception during the Olympic Games in Beijing. Among the stakeholders includes the government regulators, competitors in the same industry, TV stations in various departments w ithin, product advertising, TV

Habituation in Spirostomum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Habituation in Spirostomum - Essay Example The unicellular organisms, Spirostomum also undergo changes on habituation. Spirostomum are ciliated protozoa and habituation helps in studying behavioral changes in these parallel to habituation. But it is viewed as a process to filter out iterative stimuli with no significant changes. And the easiest way to judge the changes is that as habituation is a homeostatic process it optimizes the Spirostomum's likelihood of judging the importance of the stimulus in a new iterative series or a change in it. The method to detect the low or high responsiveness to the stimuli is that if we take the initial responsiveness as organism's threshold prior to stimulus occurrence then if it has high initial response it is said to have lower threshold and if low initial response visa versa. In Spirostomum the time course of contraction is very rapid with 4 to 5 mS as the cells contract at a rate in excess of 100 cell lengths sec-1. And as the stimulus strength duration judges the threshold response, Spirostomum is said to have full or no contraction at all. The changes in resting membrane potential do not cause initial contractions while microinjection of calcium buffers induce contractions. The Spirostomum are habituated to a mechanical shock and cause brief contractions. And as the stimulation is repeated the number of contractions decreases. Ribonucleic acid (RNA) and protein have also been found to increase during habituation as per the foundations of Applewhite, Gardner and Lapan. As the RNA and protein increases occur after a few consecutive stimulations RNA and protein inhibitors can also be used in combination. Though large amounts of RNA and proteins are not needed for habituation in protozoan Spirostomum. For the process of habituation firstly place the individuals on the slide. Tap the slide with mechanical stimulus every four seconds. You'll notice a change in Spirostomum behavior after 12 to 20 stimuli. The calculation of the percentage of the protozoa contracting can be done by counting from photographs taken during the process. Various studies have shown that Spirostomum can remember for ten minutes maximum. The term behavior is used to extend the original meaning to the concept of primary internal processes and changes occurred due to habituation in single cellular organisms. It includes their iterative external stimulation, their initial threshold to the initial stimulus and the behavioral changes in them. The shorter life span of habituation in Spirostomum also suggests that synthesis of macromolecules may not be necessary. Therefore, the adaptive significance of habituation in Spirostomum as viewed across the science of phylogeny. Sources / References: 1) Smith. James, Eisenstein. E.M., Eisenstein. D. Research & Development. Federal Bureau of Investigation, Los Angeles, CA. The Evolutionary Significance of Habituation and Sensitization Across Phylogeny: A Behavioral Homeostasis Model. 2) The Department of Zoology. University of Hul. Hawkins. R.B. 3) http://www.nature.com. Journal. 4) Applewhite and Gardner (1968). Applewhite, Gardner and Lapan(1969) 5) http://www.springerlink.com/content 6) http://www.nature.com/nature/journal 7) Protein and RNA Inhibitors and Protozoan Habituation. Gardener. Frank.T, Applewhite.

Diversity Consciousness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Diversity Consciousness - Essay Example This paper will mainly talk about importance of diversity conscious, how to develop it, success barriers, overcoming barriers, and conclusion. Diversity consciousness is basic recognition that work places and communities in America are being more diverse. Being aware of its impact make a company be in a position to take advantage of its benefits and counteract conflicts that may arise if individuals with various backgrounds meet. Diversity consciousness has various importance. To start with, it enhances skills of diversity. Another importance is that it expands an individual’s horizon and also, empowers the individual. Diversity consciousness strengthens an individual’s social network and boost personal growth. It stresses on importance of education of oneself in diversity area and sees this education as a continuing process instead of an event. It also direct a learner on how developing process of diversity consciousness need commitment, patience, and evaluation. Diversity consciousness, provides a realistic and in depth perspective to diversity all learners will associate with regardless of where they come from and explores a variety of emerging diversity and traditional issues in a readable manner (Deissler, 2011) It is a worker’s right to do work in a place where diversity is given respect. These employees develop conscious to maintain this kind of environment via diversity training. In order to develop diversity consciousness, management team should be assisted to develop a training program that is better, which supports policies at work place regarding diversity (Katherine, 2008) All things come from leadership. In case a problem arises in a team, always, a leader must have faulted. Chances are that there is limited communication or no communication at all. For instance, if a leader does not communicate on how he/she

Compare and contrast and discuss similarities and differences of the Essay

Compare and contrast and discuss similarities and differences of the setting , narrative strategies (Point of View ,Characteriza - Essay Example Circumstantial marriages and love affairs are the most affected kind of affairs around the globe and always end up in painful circumstances as they occur due to the pre-meditated intensions that certain people involved harbors from the beginning usually without the knowledge of the other innocent parties. Once these plans are achieved, the affairs always have a painful ending as the two part ways. Most love affairs today are of such kind as is what is often narrated in most of the love novel commonly referred to as the romantic novels. The pledge novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt and Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles are among the many romantic stories that have been written by various authors to air out what goes on in the world of romance. The two stories involve the circumstances surrounding the two men and women and the feelings they bear as the aftermath of their affair. Though the two stories have different settings, they carry almost the same message to the reader. The pledge novel by Friedrich Durrenmatt is a narration of a love story between two German citizens. The pledge has its setting in a small ton in Switzerland where the couple lives and spends the rest of their lives. The novel narrates the story of a police officer, Matthai, who falls in love with and marries a German lady and a house keeper whose daughter, Annemarie, he uses as a spy to trace the disappearance of a serial killer. On the other hand, the sheltering sky has a double setting with one instance in Africa and another in New York, America. The two novels narrate the stories of two set of couples trying to solve their problems in different ways. The setting of these two novels on the first instance suggests the difficulties that underlie the whole process of conflict resolution in each case. While north Africa where the couples in Bowles story moves to settle their disputes is a dry and does not show signs of live, the pledge has its setting in a small town in Switzerland where life is at its full as evidenced by the presence of enough wealth circulating within the city as Matthai has enough money to purchase a petrol station while in search of a murderer who has been noted to be a serial killer in the region. â€Å"Immediately when you arrive in Sahara, for the first or the tenth time, you notice the stillness†¦ Once he has been under the spell of the vast luminous, silent country, no other place is quite strong enough for him; no other surroundings can provide the supremely satisfying sensation of existing in the midst of something that is absolute. He will go back, whatever the cost in time or money, for the absolute has no price.† (Bowles 240) We can argue that the pledge is a narration of a love affair which is circumstantial as Agee terms it. While Matthai knows very well what he wants in his got lady and daughter, the two remains in total darkness and when his plans fails to work out as he aspires, the two parts ways without the knowledge of the woman . On the other hand, the sheltering sky narrates the story of a real or an almost real love affair a direct contrast of the other affair. These two novels therefore give the sharp contrast in the two contradicting affairs giving an explicit and tacit controversy which goes on in a life shared between two people. It reveals that in most marriages where we see the couples laugh from outward perspective, the inner

Blogs seem to be helping reorganize political debate along more Essay

Blogs seem to be helping reorganize political debate along more partisan lines - Essay Example Today, not only do those central to the leadership of America participate in the practice, including politicians like Howard Dean and Wesley Clark, but the mainstream media in an attempt to grow stronger connections with its audience, and give the news a seemingly interactive feel. Blogs allow individuals who otherwise would not have a voice to express their opinions and provide more effective feedback to their leaders. However, blogs, with their phenomenal success, have also created a situation where Americans are becoming more aware of their political views, and thus are becoming more polarized. In America’s liberal democracy, this may not be the best course proceeding forward into uncertain times. Ultimately, blogs which focus expressly on political matters have a greater power to polemicize and polarize than to unify and unite—making it questionable whether the benefits that blogs bring to political discourse are really worth the costs of such influence in the long run. Bloggers are regularly courted by politicians for endorsements for their ability to shape election news (Sappenfield). But given the enormous rise in the popularity of blogs, until recently there was surprisingly little information on those who actually use them. Lately, a study found that roughly thirty-four percent of Americans read blogs, with fourteen percent of those respondents saying that they have particular interest in political blogs. The study found the following facts about that subset of the population: that they (1) are more likely to have a college degree, (2) are more likely to identify with one side of the political spectrum, (3) are more likely to vote, and (4) are more likely to support candidates either monetarily or in conversing with others. Of that subset, almost nine-tenths of them read fewer than five blogs, and almost ninety-four read only blogs that come from one side of the political

Under take a deep and wide Market (or industry) analysis for Heineken Essay

Under take a deep and wide Market (or industry) analysis for Heineken - Essay Example What therefore has been the key to success in Heineken? Well, it is the uniqueness of the marketing strategy and the industry analysis that has been adopted by Heineken over time. In a keen study of Heineken’s strategic platforms, one can simply notice why Heineken is destined for even a brighter future (Duetsch 2002, p. 78). This paper aims at analysing the beer industry, with reference to Heineken, being a key player in the industry. What makes the Heineken strategy unique and what are some of the marketing and analytical platforms pursued by this giant (Heineken) in the beer industry. David A. Aaker is credited for having come up with AAKER Marketing Analysis, a marketing strategy that puts emphasis and focus on the micro- external environment in which an organization operates. Most organizations today have adopted the AAKER Marketing Analysis in their market analysis, strategy so as to understand more their various immediate external environment (Bohrer 2007, p. 37). An analysis of the immediate external business environment is critical to the success of any organization. In the beer industry, specifically, Heineken has employed AAKER Marketing Analysis with the main aim of creating a competitive advantage over other industry players in the following ways: It is a policy at Heineken that any market ventured into must be fully exploited. In order to fully satisfy their customers, Heineken did their market analysis by first identifying the size of the market that they (Heineken) intended to operate into. In analysing the market size, Heineken put focus on the number of their consumers and potential consumers; followed the quantitative analysis with qualitative analysis of what can be the demands of those customers (Bohrer 2007, p. 43). With this analysis put into consideration, Heineken has been able to understand the needs of their customers, thereby working towards satisfaction of

Stereotypes & Prejudice Essay Example for Free

Stereotypes Prejudice Essay Please complete the following exercises, remembering that you are in an academic setting and should remain unbiased, considerate, and professional when completing this worksheet. Part I Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each: Race Ethnicity Religion Gender Sexual orientation Age Disability Category Stereotype 1 Stereotype 2 Stereotype 3 Sexual Orientation Men who get manicures are homosexual. Gay Partners do not make good parents. If your gay you are not be a good Christian, Gender A woman will not make a good President. Video Games are made for men. Women do not know how to drive. Ethnicity African American’s are good at basketball. Asian people are highly intelligent. Middle Eastern own gas stations. Part II Answer each question in 50 to 100 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What are the positive aspects of stereotypes, if any? What are the negative aspects of stereotypes? Part III Answer each question in 50 to 150 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. Define stereotypes and prejudice. What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? Use examples to illustrate the differences. What is the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice? What can be done to prevent prejudice from occurring? ? Associate Program Material Stereotypes and Prejudice Worksheet Please complete the following exercises, remembering that you are in an academic setting and should remain unbiased, considerate, and professional when completing this worksheet. Part I Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each: Race Ethnicity Religion Gender Sexual orientation Age Disability Category Stereotype 1 Stereotype 2 Stereotype 3 Sexual Orientation Men who get manicures are homosexual. Gay Partners do not make good parents. If your gay you are not be a good Christian, Gender A woman will not make a good President. Video Games are made for men. Women do not know how to drive. Ethnicity African American’s are good at basketball. Asian people are highly intelligent. Middle Eastern own gas stations. Part II Answer each question in 50 to 100 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What are the positive aspects of stereotypes, if any? What are the negative aspects of stereotypes? Part III Answer each question in 50 to 150 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. Define stereotypes and prejudice. What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? Use examples to illustrate the differences. What is the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice? What can be done to prevent prejudice from occurring?

Influence of Religion and Education on Moral Judgement

Influence of Religion and Education on Moral Judgement Morality Education How do people explain what is moral? Or what is right or wrong? Morals signify what is right or wrong and it mainly depends on the cultural context. According to Lalonde in lecture, morality is the behaviour that people regard to be right or wrong, morality depends on culture and as a result morals are culturally imbedded into a person in a particular geographical area. There have been so many researches done on the topic of morality, but the main focus of this research is on how people living in multicultural countries relate to other cultures around them and what they judge to be right or wrong. Morality has become a broad topic for most researches and it is not only fascinating but it is how it has developed and still shapes individuals behaviour regardless of where they are or who they are with. In recent discussion about morals, moral reasoning develops from childhood. When a person is born into a particular society, mainly the he or she learns the morals associated with that cu lture. Society is a leading influence on morality thus, the terms in-group favouritism and out-group derogation support this argument. In-group favouritism is associated with members in a particular group, whiles members outside the group are treated differently. Hence morality has to do with the wrong and right behaviours where, members in particular groups’ behaviours are perceived to be right and outsiders behaviours’ are perceived to be wrong. This paper will cover some literature reviews of other research study and a proposed study on how religion and education influence moral judgements, methods been used and the conclusion. Moreover, Larin, Geddes Eva performed cross sectional study which compares moral judgments within two groups of students who underwent a physical therapy and was measured by ‘Defining Issues Test’ (DIT). According to Larin, Geddes Eva, many researches have used Kohlberg’s concept of moral reasoning which have been criticised in many dimensions, so the results of this research was not characterized under Kohlberg’s theory but mainly on the religious effect on morality in testing different groups across cultures (2009). In this research, two different groups of students in different cultures underwent a physical therapy and were tested after a period of time. One group of students were from a western culture whiles the others were from an Islamic religious background (Larin, Geddes Eva, 2009). The main reason was to test the judgements made by students and to determine how education influence peoples moral judgement. The two groups of students were present ed with a moral dilemma and were tested on how they will respond in such a situation. It was concluded that, DIT scores in the western culture increased while the DIT scores in the Islamic culture remain constant over time. Therefore, education can influence peoples judgement in a western culture where there is no specific religious background but not for people who are all associated with one religious body. Religion becomes the main factor in shaping morals because the students were still confined to the morals of their religion and even education could not change their judgments in anyway (Larin, Geddes Eva, 2009). In relation to the previous study, this study is also a cross-cultural study which also discusses morality based on the concept by Shweder, known as â€Å"the Big 3 Moral Ethics (CAD)† (Guerra Sorolla, 2010). Ethic of Community, Ethic of Autonomy and the Ethic of Divinity has been used in so many researches in countries like India, Brazil, Japan, Philippines and United States and there have been many different responses (Guerra Sorrolla, 2010). The participants were British-born students across different ages, and Western European students, where the research focuses on how people in similar settings respond differently on moral judgements. However, they introduced a new â€Å"novel approach by also measuring how ethics relate to approval of moral actions as right† (Guerra Sorrolla, 2010) and how effective Shweder moral ethics proposed. Different students and their responses were categorized under the Community, Autonomy and Divinity Scale that Guerra Sorrolla devel oped. The scale was designed in horizontal and vertical lines, where horizontal represented equality, whiles vertical was hierarchical system. Autonomy falls under both individualism and collectivism horizontal because each of them is associated with the notion of equality. Another relation was between divinity and community which is associated with vertical collectivism and the prediction was that British student will fall more on the individualism horizontal than the western Europeans who are more collective. The results were valid and that the study they proposed was proven and consistence across culture (Guerra Sorrolla, 2010). In addition, another study was conducted among students in Kuwait University, in order to know the effect of gender and education on moral reasoning. According to AL- Ansari, many literature reviews have mainly certified morals development as a result of education and in his study, 3 questions was constructed. First, what is the overall moral reasoning pattern for the students in Kuwait? Secondly, are the gender differences in moral reasoning? And lastly, are there differences in the moral reasoning of students in higher or lower educational levels? Students were randomly selected in ages ranging from 18-24 and were categorized under freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors (AL- Ansari, 2002). The method used in this study was the short form of DIT and before the study all the participants were registered in a short semester at the university. In order to consider different cultures, 3 different stories were used in the testing the moral reasoning of the student. Ultimately, the sta ge at which the students in Kuwait reason in making moral judgements is at the conventional level of Kohlberg’s theory (AL-Ansari, 2002). There was also no difference in making moral judgements between the females and male, and lastly, there is an effect on moral judgement when there is an introduction of formal education (AL-Ansari, 2002). When all the reviews are put together, the main focus is how morality has been influenced by the introduction of formal education. PROPOSED STUDY The introduction of formal education into people’s lives has influenced their responses on making moral judgement. The development of the mind into different cultural practises as a result of higher education, the more similar judgement a person has with his or her other mates. However different cultures have different morals but as a person mingle with other cultures and study these varieties, the more open-minded they become in making judgements. This study is about how individual from different cultures become similar in making moral judgements as a result of education. METHOD Furthermore, I assembled about 20 immigrants from different cultures, such as Africans, Indians, Europeans and others who have been introduced to formal education but with different curricular. Their education was mainly based on their cultural activities and they were based on scholarships to continue their education in the higher. I was able to gather these people based on a class I took at York know as English as a second language. The incentive for this research was to help them learn English language, so we meet at the end of every semester to discuss our experiences and as a result I developed this study. It is a longitudinal study which is studying the same group of participants across a long period of time. HYPOTHESIS Introduction of formal education influence peoples moral judgements in a similar context. STUDY The participants were given a questioner to answer after reading a moral dilemma. These participants were new in Canada and still had their morals associated with their cultures. The questions were what would you do if you were in such a situation and what do you think about the behaviour of person in the situation. Their answer was characterised under the 3 stages of Kohlberg’s moral reasoning. Level 1: Preconventional, what is bad is determined by the physical consequences, Level 2: Conventional where morality is based on external standards such as what maintains the social order in relation to the family and society and lastly, Level 3: Post conventional where moral reasoning is based on internalised standards of abstract ethical principles regarding justice and individual rights. These students were studies across time with the similar moral dilemmas, thus during their first, second, third and final years. The study was very effective and there were tremendous results. RESULTS In the first year there was a variety of responses between the participants but as more educated they became, the more similar they thought in their moral reasoning. In their final years most of the participants gave answers which focussed more on the conventional level of moral reasoning regardless of their backgrounds. CONCLUSION The hypothesis was proven to be right, thus the moral educated people become; the more alike they are in making moral judgements. This research might not be valid because there might be other factors that influenced the responses of the participants. References Al-Ansari, E. M. (2002). Effects of gender and education on the moral reasoning of Kuwait  University Students. Social Behavior And Personality: An International Journal, 30 (1),  pp. 7582. Guerra, V. M. Giner-Sorolla, R. (2010). The community, autonomy, and divinity scale  (CADS): A new tool for the cross-cultural study of morality. Journal Of Cross-Cultural  Psychology, 41 (1), pp. 35-50. Larin, H. M., Geddes, E. L. Eva, K. W. (2009). Measuring moral judgement in physical  therapy students from different cultures: a dilemma. Learning In Health And Social Care,  8 (2), pp. 103113.

The Education System In The Nineteenth Century

The Education System In The Nineteenth Century For one, the complicated nature of Britain particularly in England schooling and current educational controversies have their roots in schooling development. State involvements in education come late and first attempt to establish unified system of state funded elementary schools was made only in 1870 for England and Wales (1872 for Scotland and 1923 for Northern Ireland) yet it was not until 1944 that the state provided a comprehensive and national apparatus for both primary and secondary state schools, which were free and compulsory. However some church schools long existed. After England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales were gradually converted to Christianity by the fifth and sixth centuries, the churchs position in society enabled it to create the first schools. These initially prepared boys for the priesthood, but the church then developed a wider educational role and its structures influenced the late state system. For example, some schools were periodically established by rich in dividuals or monarchs. These were independent privately financed institutions and were variously known as high, grammar and public schools. They were late associated with both the modern independent and state educational sector. But such schools were largely confined to the sons of rich, aristocratic and influential. Most people received no formal schooling and remained illiterate and innumerate for life. As this shows, in later centuries, more children benefited as the church schools were provided by wealthy industrialist and philanthropists for working-class boys and girls; and some other poor children attended a variety of schools organized by voluntary societies, women (dames); workhouses and the ragged school union, but the minority of children attending such institution in reading, writing and arithmetic. The majority of children received no adequate education. By the nineteenth century, in Britain (expect Scotland) had haphazard school structure. Protestant churches had lost their monopoly of education and competed with the Roman Catholic Church and other faiths. Church schools guarded their independence from state and secular interference and provided much of available schooling. The ancient high, grammar and public schools provided continued to train the son of the middle and upper classes for professional and leadership role in society, but, at a time when industrial revolut ion were proceeding rapidly and the population was growing strongly, the state did not provide a school system which could educate the workforce. Most working class still received no formal or sufficient education. However, local and central government did begin to show some regard for education in early nineteenth century. Grants were made to local authorities for school use in their areas and in 1833 parliament funded the construction of school building. But it was only in 1870 that the state became more actively involved. An education Act (The Foster Act) created local school boards in England and Wales which financed and built elementary schools in their areas. Such state schools supplied non-denominational training and existing religious voluntary (or Church) school served denominational needs. By 1870 the state system was providing free and compulsory elementary schooling in most parts of Britain for children between the ages of five and ten (Twelve in 1899). The Balfour Act (1902) abolished the school boards, made local government responsible for state education, established some new secondary and technical schools and funded voluntary schools. But, although states school provided educat ion for children up to the age of fourteen by 1918, this was still limited to basic skills. In addition to this, adequate secondary school education remained largely the province of independent sector and few state schools. But generally people had to pay for these services. After a period when old public (private) schools had declined in quality, they revived in nineteenth century. Their weakness, such as the narrow curriculum and indiscipline, had been reformed by the progressive head-masters like Thomas Arnold of Rugby, and their reputations increased. The private grammar and high school, which imitated the classic-based education of the public schools, also expanded. These schools drew their pupils from son of the middle and upper classes and use the training ground for established elite and the professions state secondary school education in early twentieth century was marginally extended to children who parents could not afford school fees- scholarships (financed grants) for clever poor children become available; some state funding was provided and more schools were c reated. But this state help did not appreciably expand secondary education, and by 1920 only 9.2 per cent of 14 years-old children in England and Wales were able to enter secondary schools on a non fee-paying basis, the school system in early twentieth century was still inadequate for the demands of society; working-and lower middle class children lacked extensive education; and hard-pressed government avoided any further large- scale involvement until 1944. In 1944, an education Act (The Butler Act) reorganized state primary and secondary schools in England and Wales (1947 in Scotland and Northern Ireland) and greatly influenced future generations of school children. State schooling became free and compulsory up to the age of fifteen and was dived into three stages; primary (5-11 years), secondary schools (11-150 and further post- school training. A decentralized system resulted, in which Ministry of education drew up policy guidelines and local education authorities (LEAs) decided which forms of schooling would be used in their areas. It is been proven that, at the beginning of nineteenth century, European states showed little interest in primary education only in Germany states was a state-run system for it. In 1883, the French government created a system of a system of state-run secular schools by instructing local government to establish an elementary school for both boys and girls. None of these primary schools required attendance, however, which tended to be irregular at best. In rural society children were still expected to work in fields. In industrializing countries like Britain and France, both employers and parents were eager to maintain the practice of child labor. In the decades after 1870, the functions of the state were extended to include the development of mass education in state-run systems. Most western government began to offer at least primary educator to both boys and girls between ages of six and twelve, in most countries it was not optimal. Austria had established free, compulsory elementary education in 1869, In France an 1882 law made primary education compulsory for all children between sic=x and thirteen. Elementary education was made compulsory in Britain in 1880, but it was not until 1902 that an act of Parliament brought all elementary schools under county and town control, states also assumed responsibility for all quality of teachers by establishing teacher-training schools. By 1900, many European states, especially in Northern and Western Europe, were providing state-financed primary schools, salaried and trained teachers, and free, compulsory elementary education for the masses. Traditionally, the private sector has played a significant role in education, only since late 19th century state has guaranteed education as a compulsory service for all citizens i.e. primary education became compulsory for children aged 5 and 10 in 1870. The top age for leaving school was raised in 1944. Education beyond 11 was considered secondary. Universal elementary education required a degree of compulsion, especially as young people were able to begin their working careers much earlier than they can today, at least in the developed world. To commence work at the age of 12 was uncommon. For many poor families educating a child meant the loss of a potential earner in the household, laws that made school attendance compulsory ere passed in the Massachusetts in 1864 and 1890 ( with exception of southern states, which delayed compulsion until the early twentieth century). In Europe, compulsion was applied in 1868 in Prussia, in England and Wales in the 1870s (Scotland and Northern Ireland), and France and other countries in the 1880s. Secondary schools had been state institutions in France as in Prussia from the early nineteenth century although they were fee-paying. In England they remained private institutions until much later, opportunities for free secondary education for some talented children from state primary schools were provided from the late nineteenth century, but universal secondary education did not become general in most European countries until after 1945. It is salutary to contemplate that this was only so recent. The exponential increase in technology since 1945 could not have accrued without a comprehensive system of universal education. In the much more egalitarian social conditions of the late twentieth century, knowledge and expertise could not be confined to a select few. As this shows, In great Britain, early nineteenth- century reforms were stimulated by the philosophic Radicals led by Jeremy Bentham, who advocated dealing with public problems in a rational and scientism way, a reform movement utilizing parliamentary, legal and educational means economic and social philosophers in Britain, including Adam smith and Jeremy Bentham argued for liberalism, rationalism, free trade, political rights and social reform all contributing to the greatest good for the greatest number labour law reforms ( the mines and the factory acts) banning mines children and women from underground work in the mines and regulating reduction in workday to 10 hours were adopted by the British Parliament in the 1830s to 1840. The spread of railroads and steamship the penny post (1840), and telegraphs (1846).Combined with growing literacy and compulsory primary education introduced in Britain in 1876,. This dramatically altered local and world communication. During the 18 and 19 centuries European countries also began as American who started to develop examination for selection into professional civil service. The purposes of the examinations were to raise the competency level of public functionaries, lower the patronage and nepotism. Prussia began using examinations for filling all government administrative posts staring as early as 1748, and the competition for university entrance as a means to prepare for these examinations for all civil service appointment in 872. Public examination system in Europe therefore, developed primarily for selection, and when mass secondary schooling expanded following World War 2, entrance examinations become the principal selection tool setting students on their educational trajectories. In general, testing in Europe controlled the flow of young people into the varying kinds of schools that followed compulsory primary schooling. Student who did well moved on to the academic track, where study of classical subject led to uni versity education others were channelled into vocational or trade schools. In addition to this, in last decades the duration of compulsory schooling has become longer. The trend has in most EC countries curriculum is prescribed by a central authority (usually the ministry of education). In Germany, curricula are determined by each of its states. In France the curriculum is quite uniform nationwide, and in Denmark individual schools enjoy considerable discretion in the definition of curricula. The trend in several countries has been to allow schools a greater say in the definition of curricula during the compulsory period of schooling; school-based management and local control are not uniquely American concept However, the level of prescription varies from system to system. In the Britains systems seems to be moving in other direction. In the past, curricula in Britain were determined by local education authorities and even individual schools, independent regional examination boards exerted a strong influence on the curricula of secondary schools. The centra l government significantly tightened to gap around the regional boards beginning in the middle 1880s and since the education reform Act 1988 the UK has moved toward adoption of national curriculum. It is obviously from this that, since 19 century education (Primary school) has been important political and social too to educate a useful and skilled workforce, to maintain social rest, to create social equality and or secure economic success and innovation. The British government spent most its budget to build new schools after the implementation of Education Acts. The governments aim was to address the state as well as politician and employers rather than children; this was due to poverty and how much the country was destroyed by the war and industrialization. But why education and why education iss young children is mainly concern of the state rather than individual whose learning and life chances. It is about education specially Primary school that could be viewed as parents responsibility to make sure children receive a basic knowledge form early schooling age and for it is also government duties to ensure the schools are all under perfect condition and teachers are paid fairl y therefore the country will be able to stay in competition with other most powerful nations in the world. Education can be viewed as an individual choice and investment for the future career opportunities and was indeed the case until around 1870 when Education Act of that year introduced state primary school (age 5-11) until then, education had been a matter of mainly for the upper class in public schools and middle classes in grammar schools. For the working class only some voluntary of church or church schools had attended to the teaching of reading, writing and rithmetic Universal post 11 educations was not introduced until momentous 1944 education Act, probably the most crucial element of the new welfare state to come out of the Second World War Significantly, the provision of free school meals, milk, dental and medical care was also part of the system reform to encourage children attending schools and most significantly this reform was designed to very much help the poor families who did not have anything to feed their children and would rather sent their children to work. Conclusion During 19 century children of Britain faced a period of industrialization which as result the parents to send their children to work instead of going to schools, it was very depressing period for the country as whole. Education for children was not an option for poor families who were living in terrible condition; schools were only designed for rich. The establishment of education act injected the believe and hope of Britain children with a promise of bright future, by providing equal education to all children boys and girls. This development guaranteed Britain as a nation to improve the skills of children who are the future of the country and also maintaining and competitiveness with other top countries in the world. I personally think it is very clear that the development of education produces important foundation on many levels. Individual benefits by increasing knowledge and future earning and high living standard regardless of your background status. Business will gain more prof it the country will get out the poverty by being able to improve productivity and society will growth stronger by having a much secured level of civil contribution. Words account: 2560 Testing in American Schools: Asking the Right Questions. Washington, DC: Congress of the U.S., Office of Technology Assessment, 1992. Print.

The Existence of Crime Culture Among Certain Social Groups Essay exampl

Albert Cohen’s thesis is that class based status frustration is the origin of subcultures. Crime culture existed in certain social groups and the individuals learned the value of the delinquent subculture through participation in gangs. Delinquent subcultures have values that are in opposition to those of the dominant culture. The strain is rooted by low economical conditions, poor parental relations, and low school standards, with no chance of succeeding in the future. The anti social structure of cities also affects the why a boy and or girl joins a gang. The formation of gangs in cities, and most recently in suburbs, is assisted by the same lack of community among parents. While almost half of high seniors used marijuana at least once, thirty-seven percent said they had used it in the past year, and twenty-three percent said they had used it in the previous month. Strain Theory, posits the disjuncture between socially and sub culturally sanctioned mean and goods as the cause of criminal behavior. Albert Cohen’s thesis is that class based status frustration is the origin of subcultures. Cohen's focus is on school based achievement status. The institution of the school symbolizes middle class values for honesty, courtesy, personality, responsibility, and the middle class measuring rod. It is this environment where competition takes place for status, approval, or respect. Strain is interpersonal, located at the level of group interaction. There are many problems facing today's society. One of the problems is the violent condition that surrounds the lives of children in America. We are awarded of the violence among our juveniles because we read, hear and see it. The newspapers, magazines, news media, and our neighborhoods testify the living proof of the chaos. What can we do to influence these kids to stay out off trouble? First of all, we have to realize this is a very serious problem. And it has to be stopped. The second step is to figure out what causes children to be violent and become juvenile delinquents. This negative attitude causes them to lead a life of delinquency and a life isolated from society's idealistic world. When we ask this question, many others come in mind. Do these problems begin in the family? Are parents good role models or are they condoning the violence? How can we prevent parents from destroying the minds and future o... ...ephan C., Understanding Criminal Justice. Boston: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999. Lyman, Michael D. and Gary W. Potter, Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control. 3rd ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Company, 1998. Nisbet, Merton, Contemporary Social Problems. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1971. Regoli, Robert M. and John D. Hewitt, Delinquency in Society. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2000. Schmalleger, Frank, Criminology Today: An Integrative Introduction. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1999. United States of America, National Drug and Safety League, Leading the Fight Against Gangs in the United States. GPO, 1996 ---. National Center for Juvenile Justice, Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report. GPO, 1999. Dukes 17 ---. National Center for Juvenile Justice, 1998 National Youth Gang Survey. GPO, 1999. Void, George B., Thomas J. Bernand and Jeffery b. Snipes, Theoretical Criminology. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Williams, Frank P. and Marilyn D. McShane, Criminal Theory: Selected Classic Readings. 2nd ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: Anderson Publishing Company, 1998.

north and south korea from (1953 to present) :: essays research papers

After the conclusion of Korean War in 1953 the North and the South became hostile to each other. During this period of confrontation which lasted till the seventies Beijing emerged as North Korea's closest ally. But, especially after the Sino-Soviet split Moscow competed for influence by providing arms to the Kim Il Sung regime. The United States felt concerned about the dangers of war damaging its key Asian ally Japan and encouraged South Korea to concentrate on economic development. With strong American support heavy Japanese investment and strong arm-military rule in Seoul, the South Korean economy began to boom. In the North the rule of Marshal Kim Il Sung continued uninterrupted through the seventies. However in South Korea General Park Chung Hee seized power in 1961 after Rhee's flight to Hawaii in 1960. Park was selected President in 1963, 1967 and 1971. By this time idea of reunification of North and South gained ground. As a result both the Koreas held talks in 1972 and 1979 on the peaceful unification of fatherland but no success could be achieved because South did not concede the withdrawal of foreign troops from its soil. Martial law was declared in the South in May 1980 when the students agitated for political reforms. The year 1984-85 witnessed resumption of talks for unification but these too did not go beyond a few dozen visits in either direction to see relatives. In 1988 the South Korea gained international prestige by hosting Olympic Games in Seoul. In September 1990 South Korea developed full diplomatic relations with Moscow and later on held Prime Ministerial Summit with North Korea. After the disintegration of USSR, North Korea could see it was under increasing pressure to capitulate to the South. Russian aid dried up and China wanted calm environment.