Iraq War Essay

The past wars among many sovereign countries were caused not only by misunderstanding and miscommunication. Political leaders usually have a set of premature agenda hidden from the public: agenda that seek good fruit from launching wars and political instability. Only one thing is certain: these wars, with their premature agenda, do more damage than what is intended. Invasion of Iraq: Its Positive Side   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though majority of the polls in the United States produce same results and arguments about the negative reputation of the country, it is yet empirically verified (). Poll surveys may give a view of a certain population upon an issue and from there generalizations are being made. These generalizations (based from poll surveys) cannot be the sole justification of America’s reputation because of the mere reason of its limited scope. Even if the poll surveys result to the belief that America’s reputation is damaged, empirically it is still possible that it might not really be damaged.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Considering the facts, some known statesman and scholars believed that US position and reputation had certainly improved after four years of occupation of the Iraqi land. The relationship between the United States and Saudi Arabia was stained before the US invasion of Iraq. Prince Saud of Saudi Arabia expressed that if an attack on Iraq was sanctioned by the UN Security Council, it would not be classified as an act of aggression. He noted, â€Å"So we are ardently urging the United States to continue to work with the United Nations and not to create an act of individual aggression, of individually taking charge of the duties of the Security Council† (Saudis warn US over Iraq War, 2003:1). This stained relationship of the United States and Saudi Arabia had changed after four years of occupation of Iraq by the US. Saudi Arabia supported the United States of its call for rebuilding the lives of the Iraqi people and the country as a whole under a democratic government. A diplomat from Saudi Arabia who came to the White House last August said that Saudi is willing to cooperate with the United States with its genuine effort to rebuild Iraq.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not so distant that other countries in the world supported the call of the United States in rebuilding Iraq. The Philippines and Lebanon were the first countries to accept the challenge of helping Iraq to rebuild itself.   Lebanon said that Saddam Hussein’s regime had killed thousand innocent people during his course of his rule. Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s President said that their country will send military and medical missions that will enormously help Iraq in its rebuilding process. He also promised that the government that will be established in Iraq will be given equal respect like any other sovereign country. Even though many countries had opposed the United States invasion of Iraq, they regain the respect of these countries. United States aim to rebuild Iraq had resulted to the support of multi-sectoral support of many countries. Japan, despite of the treat from North Korea promised to extend its help through Official Development Assistance to Iraq. Australia on the other hand, promised to allot a significant amount of its foreign budget for the Iraqi reconstruction. To sum up, all these promised help from many countries in the world is grounded on the notion that the United States’ effort to rebuild Iraq is genuine and based on the democratic principle of self-determination. The issue of continued occupation of the US troops in Iraq remains an open issue. Although this issue does not damage the image and credibility of the US government in other countries at recent times, it may in the near future. The rebuilding process of the Iraqi government must come into place for the self-determination of its right and sovereignty. In accordance with this, President Bush said, â€Å"The ultimate victory in Iraq, which is a government that can sustain itself, govern itself, and defend itself, depends upon the Iraqi citizens   and the Iraqi government doing the hard work to protect their country† (Reid, 2006, p.1). Bush maintained that the role of the United States is to support the effort of the Iraqi government in the attainment of that objective.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Against War Itself   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Against the political machinations and demagoguery of the Bush government, the US-led invasion and eventual occupation of Iraq is unjustified. Most people in Western liberal countries see the US-led invasion of Iraq as morally and politically unjustified. Added to that, there is also wide belief that the Bush government used the â€Å"existence† of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to launch its war. Bush’s justification of declaring war in Iraq was far from justified. The US military failed to find any weapons of mass destruction. Another justification of the US government is that Iraq can not be able to work things out their own way. They believed that the only chance for the Iraqi government to exercise democracy is to let the US led and rebuild them. In the short run, some people identified the war against Iraq as a desperate move of the US government to overthrow Saddam Hussien’s regime. In the long run, however, it seems that the war created undesirable consequences. The continued occupation of Iraq by the United States is the one referred to as long run. Retired Lieutenant General William Odom, a professor at the Yale University said, â€Å"A rapid reversal of our present situation in Iraq would improve U.S. credibility around the world† (Odom, 2007:4). According to Odom, US forces in Iraq are already caught in a trap that has damaged America’s reputation (Odom, 2007:1). He argued that the invasion is unnecessary given the justifications and reasons the US government had presented. He added that American public opinion is now justifiably against the continued war and occupation of Iraq. The search for a viable and abundant resource like oil was the reason the United States, in the face of a slowing economy, entered into war with Iraq. In England alone, citizen’s opinion on the war was negatively criticized. According to Odom, the red state citizens of England were not in favor of the war against Iraq and the eventual the domination of the country. These reasons, according to him, may give way to the possibility of withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and apparently will improve US credibility. This will allow the United States to reestablish diplomatic and military mobility. Odom mentioned the current Zogby poll which suggested that most US troops would favor an early withdrawal deadline (Odom, 2007:3). He further argued that setting an early date of withdrawal would improve the morale of the US troops in Iraq.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Washington Post released a recent poll which indicates that in the United States alone, most of the adult respondents find the government effort in Iraq vital and certainly giving the United States a negative reputation (Reid, 2006:1). Out of all the respondents, seventy percent believe that the war in Iraq was a major factor in the negative image the United States is facing. Moreover, forty-eight percent of the respondents think that the US government failed to improve the lives of Iraqi people. The opposition of the West had a decisive effect on the result of the survey. In defiance of the opinion of the United Nations Security Council, President George Bush forced his decision to attack Iraq. The war against Iraq caused the death of at least 2,803 American soldiers during its military and naval operations.    Philosophically, the war against Iraq is unjustified in the world of constitutional liberty. Any war can do no good between the involved countries. The people of an occupied country will not accept any compromise of their sovereignty.   The damage that the war may yield is immeasurable and cruel to the eyes of an observer. The history of wars repeatedly resulted to deaths of millions of innocent people. Moreover, the invasion of Iraq is evidence that the US, a superpower, can conquer and take charge of any sovereign country that does not share its ideology. In the case of Iraq, US may use the invasion of Iraq as an alibi to acquire the Iraqi oil. Added to that, the Iraq war and the continued occupation of the US troops are not justifiable because of the damaging effects to the Iraqi nation. Some examples of these are: 1) the abuse of the human rights, 2) the depletion of resources for the benefit of the US, and 3) the continued domination of the US in the oil industry. The continued occupation of Iraq must be stop for many logical reasons. These reasons are the Iraqi resistance, the military itself and the large number of opposition of people in the United States (due to the lack of financial support to many disasters in the United States. Logically, the invasion of Iraq and the continued occupation by the US troops should be withdrawn. From the above evidences of the unjustified war and occupation of Iraq, People might say â€Å"Let the people of Iraq determine their self and future†. In addition, Iraq like any other country has the right to rebuild itself. In this way they will regain their confidence and self- determination. Finally, Iraq’s freedom should not be determined by any other country (even US). The true liberty dwells on the heart and minds of the Iraqi people.

Meeting Learning Needs Case Study

Meeting Learning Needs: Case Study In this rationale I intend to discuss â€Å"Why we do what we do† when it comes to Inclusion and Special Educational Needs (SEN). This will be a case study of a pupil with SEN attending the school in which I work. It will first outline the nature of the pupils Special Educational Needs and then critically examine how these needs are being met. The role of multi-agency approaches in providing support to the pupil and parental involvement will also be analysed. All children, wherever they are educated, need to be able to learn, play and develop alongside each other within their local community of schools† (Dfes 2004 p5), going further to state that â€Å"inclusion is about much more than the type of school that children attend: it is about the quality of their experience; how they are helped to learn, achieve and participate fully in the life of the school† (p25). http://sen. ttrb. ac. uk/ViewArticle2. aspx? ContentId=15915 (Access ed on 20/01/11) The case study I carried out was on Billy who is 9 years old, Billy was diagnosed with Autism at the aged 4 shortly after he started mainstream school in reception. Autism is a type of disability. There are many people with autism in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. 1 out of every 100 people has autism. You cannot always tell that someone has autism just by looking at them. Autism lasts for all of a person's life. But they can still do a lot of things and learn a lot of skills. The three main areas of difficulty which all people with autism share are sometimes known as the ‘triad of impairments' which are Social Communication, Social Interaction and Social Imagination. The triad of impairments is the term that describes the difficulties that people with autism experience in differing degrees. Because all people are different, the way autism affects them is also different. To enable the setting to remove Billy’s barriers to learning we firstly arranged a meeting at his home with him and his parents and the Special Needs Coordinator (SENCo). At the meeting we discussed Billy’s learning and personal needs, at first we concentrated on Billy’s routine at home enabling us to see how he dealt with everyday issues. It is vital that we alleviate confusion and give Billy a sense of security. This will be done by preparing Billy whenever possible if his routine is going to be broken, someone will talk him through what is going to happen. We also intend to invite Billy into the setting to meet his new teacher, and will be providing him with photographs of the settings and his support workers to facilitate him in familiarise himself with his new setting. We have taken photographs to allow us to personalise the learning spaces with pictorial sequences, rule reminders, schedules and labels. A space in the classroom will be made available for Billy to work with his one-to-one support and peers where possible. By using these strategies Billy’s learning can be structured to support his need for routine. ‘Being clear and consistent is supportive to all learners in the classroom but will be essential for the child with an autistic spectrum disorder’ G, Knowles, Supporting Inclusive Practice (p. 16) I feel that it is very important that all children have the right to be included in mainstream school and where possible they should be able to meet there learning needs and the targets set in the National Curriculum. One of the fundamental principles of the Special Education Needs Code of Practice is ‘the needs of children and young people with Special Educational Needs are identified and assessed quickly and matched by appropriate provision’ (Department for Education and Skills, 2001 p. 9). I believe that it should be a collaboration between the teachers, the parents of the child and the child themselves who decides whether they would benefit from being in mainstream school or not. Extensive research studies have been undertaken to determine the effectiveness of integrating and including students with severe disabilities. Tornillo (1994) feels that, ‘teachers are required to direct inordinate attention to a few, thereby decreasing the amount of time and energy directed toward the rest of the class. Indeed, the range of abilities is just too great for one teacher to adequately teach. Consequently, the mandates for greater academic accountability and achievement are unable to be met’. http://www. sedl. org/change/issues/issues43/concerns. html (accessed on 30/01/11) During my research into Inclusion in mainstream school I found that, some parents of students with more severe disabilities are concerned about the opportunities their children will have to develop basic life skills in a regular classroom setting. They are also cautious about inclusion because of fears that their children will be ridiculed by other students. Its at this point I feel it necessary to state that Inclusion is not about making sure all children are taught the curriculum in the classroom, it is making sure that all individuals be they disabled or non disabled have access to the curriculum, and that learning is facilitated to suit their learning needs. The next step to facilitate Billy’s learning needs is to draw up an Individual Education Plan (IEP). An IEP describes the educational program that has been designed to meet that child's unique needs. ‘An Individual Education Plan is an assessment, planning, teaching and reviewing tool which records specific learning goals, teaching requirements and review arrangements to help a pupil with SEN which are ‘additional to and different from’ those of most pupils, to make progress in key areas of learning’ (Dovestone, Cullingford-Agnew, 2006, p. 23). Each child who receives special education and related services must have an IEP. Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel, and students (when age appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability. As stated in the SEN Code of Practise (2001) where possible, children and young people with SEN should participate in all the decision-making processes that occur in education including the setting of learning targets and contributing to IEPs, discussions about choice of schools, contributing to the assessment of their needs and to the annual review and transition processes. Following the initial meeting we arranged for Billy and his parents to visit the setting for a day allowing them the opportunity to assess the setting. All areas of the school were made accessible to them so they could see how Inclusion of all students is important too us as a setting. It is essential that Billy’s parents are involved in every stage of Billy’s integration into the setting as stated in the SEN Code of Practice(2001) ‘It is vitally important that schools welcome and encourage parents to participate from the outset and throughout their child’s educational career at the school’. In my setting we encourage parents to come to us with any questions or concerns they may have about there child/children and we persevere to accommodate their needs. It is vitally important for parents to be involved with every stage of their child’s education as Parents are the most important people after the child. ‘They know there child best and know what they want out of the staff and the school. ’ (As stated in my settings Inclusion Policy) It is our responsibility as a setting to ensure that parents are aware of the Partnership with Parents (PwP). PwP aims to ensure that parents are able to play an informed part in any decisions about the educational provision made to meet their child SEN and to build partnerships between parents, the Local Education Authority (LEA) and schools. WORD COUNT 1343 Reference List and Bibliography Department for Education and Skills. (2001). Special Educational Needs Code of Practice. London: DfES. Dovestone, M, Cullingford-Agnew, S. (2006) Becoming a Primary Higher Level Teaching Assistant: Primary Special Educational Needs. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. http://www. sedl. org/change/issues/issues43/concerns. html (accessed on 30/01/11) http://sen. ttrb. ac. uk/ViewArticle2. aspx? ContentId=15915 (accessed on 20/01/11) Knowles, G. (2006) Supporting Inclusive Practise. David Fulton Publishers Ltd. London

African American Social Standings Essay

The progression of African Americans in America began with a practice called slavery. Slavery is the state of a person who is the chattel of another. It began in 1441 when Portuguese men kidnapped 12 black Africans from Cabo Blanco and moved them to Portugal. This opened the door to slavery in the Americas. A British statesman stated that â€Å"Slavery is a weed that grows on every soil. † The first African Americans slaves in America were brought to Jamestown, Virginia as servants and or slaves in August 1619. In order for slavery to work Africans had to made to seem inferior, one of the main an most common ways to show this was through religious racism ( Aretha, David pg. 21 ) The practice of slavery was then sent to the south were they were put on plantations. Plantations consisted of a large mansion like home surrounded by a large farm where slaves planted and harvested crops and performed other jobs which they weren’t paid for. While on the plantation the slaves called the owner Master or Mistress, they provided the slaves with food housing and clothing. ( David Brion Davis, World Book online†¦ Slavery) While on these plantations many of the slaves faced severe consequence for disobedience. They received consequences for not working hard or fast enough, they would also be used as an example in order to control the others. Their harsh punishment would include branding, whipping, mutilation, chaining and sometimes the harshest punishment of all cold blooded murder. Slavery was one of the worst periods in American history. During this period of slavery there were few revolts but many runaways. While slavery continued to spread and get more brutal in the South, the North disagreed with the idea of free labor. Their difference fueled the abolitionist movement. The Abolitionist Movement was the first movement that lead to the African Americans’ political and physical freedoms from slavery. â€Å"Antislavery activity began in colonial days. During the 1680’s, Quakers in Pennsylvania condemned slavery on moral grounds. In the late 1700’s, several leaders of the American revolutionary movement, including Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, spoke out against slavery. † (David Herbert Donald, World Book Online? Abolitionist Movement). During the start of the movement there were almost no public newspaper that publicized the abolishment of slavery. William Lloyd Garrison, an American journalist and abolitionist who became famous in the 1830 for denouncing slavery, published the first issue of his abolitionist newspaper The Liberator January 1st 1831, which was at that time the first Abolitionist newspaper. The reason William Garrison published the newspaper was because he was tired of the other methods that many abolitionists had tried. Garrison said slavery should be ended immediately. Another front runner during the Abolitionist Movement was Sojourner Truth. She was an ex-slave and also one of the main figures in the fight for women’s rights and equality. On January 1, 1863, the Abolitionist goals were reached when President Abraham Lincoln the 16th president issued his Emancipation Proclamation. It read that â€Å"all persons held as slaves† in rebellious states â€Å"are and henceforward shall be free† (McPherson, James M. World Book Online? Emancipation Proclamation. ) . Around the same time Congress passed the 25th Amendment into Constitution which therefore abolished slavery. Months later it was ratified. Following the Emancipation Proclamation, The North (union) and the South (confederate) began a civil war which lasted from 1861 to 1865. The war ended with many of the major cities in the South in ruins and most of the Northern cities left untouched. The Reconstruction period in the U. S followed the Unions victory over the Confederate Army in the civil war . The period was used to rebuild the south and patch-up the relationship between the North and South. Along with rebuilding and patching up relationships, the North sent teachers to the south to educated the African American ex slaves who had became newly members of the society. The teachers taught ex slaves reading, writing an arithmetic. The Reconstruction Act called for a new Constitution to be established in each state. It also gave Freedmen the right to participate in voting. The 14th Amendment was also passed and ratified during the Reconstruction period. â€Å"The 14th Amendment granted full citizenship to all people born or naturalized In the United States of America . Many of the laws passed during this period were set in place to protect the rights of former slaves, such as allowing blacks to vote an giving them many of the same rights as whites and protecting things dear to them such as property and money. During this period many advancements in society were made by African Americans, such as the Self-Leveling Table created by Charles William Allen , the corn planter check rower by Ralph W. Alexander and the spark plug by Edmond Berger these are only three of the more than 200 inventions/advancements made by African Americans during the reconstruction period. These African Americans, lead professions even when high limitations were placed upon them. (Aretha, David pg. 61) Advancements like these opened the door and let people know that African Americans were not incompetent but could actually make a difference in the world. Even though laws were set in place many southern whites still did not want to think an ex-slaves as anything close to equals. This lead to much violence and death of both whites and former slaves. â€Å"In time, southern whites regained control of their state governments and took away many of the rights that blacks had won during reconstruction. â€Å"( Stephen V. Ash, Work book online? Reconstruction). After the Reconstruction period ended and the North soldiers returned back home, which left ex slaves with no form of protection lead to extreme backlash against the African American community by whites. Following the Reconstruction period Jim Crow laws came into effect. Jim Crow laws resulted from the support southern whites and their effort to maintain segregation of blacks. These type of laws plagued the United States during the 19th century. The first type of Jim Crow law was set in place in Tennessee which called for the separation of African-American and white riders on the railway. This practice was soon adopted by other southern states. The spread of segregation laws through the South was supported by a many Supreme Court decisions. â€Å"( Joe R. Freagin, World Book online? Segregation) The Separate but Equal Doctrine arose during the period in which Jim Crow laws were on a rise. The Separate but Equal Doctrine stated that African Americans were equal to whites but should be kept separate from whites. The separate but equal doctrine was totally incorrect. For example Blacks and whites were separated in schools but the white schools had busing an the best books and teachers on the other hand the black schools had run down classrooms and unacceptable books. Blacks and whites were also separated in eateries, the White restaurants had the best locations and best accommodations on the contrary the black restaurants were small and modest. â€Å"Most of these Jim Crow laws were declared invalid by several Supreme Court decisions in the 1950’s and 1960’s and by the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968. † ( Alton Hornsby, World Book Online? Jim crow) During the 1950’s the Civil Rights Movement took flight along with desegregation. The Civil Rights Movement was just that a movement towards civil rights which were stated to be â€Å"The freedoms and rights that a person may have as a member of a community, state, or nation. † (Bruce Allen Murphy, World Book Online? Civil Rights) The first major event of the civil rights movement was the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Board of Education, which desegregated public schools across the nation. Schools in the south were very slow in changing their ways and violence usually erupted when black students tried to register. Then, in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, a seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus. After she was arrested for breaking the law, the Montgomery Bus Boycott began, For 382 days, from Dec. 5, 1955, to Dec. 20, 1956 blacks refused to ride Buses and carpooled to destinations. It ended Dec 20, 1956 with the Supreme-Court-ordering desegregation of Montgomery buses. The boycott brought fame to a reverend named Dr. Martin Luther King. During the Civil Rights Movement the most effective way to get things done many believed was through non violence. Non violence was not just a way of acting but a state of mind and doctrine which Martin Luther King Jr. took from Mahatma Gandhi he stated that with non violence you can move mountains. Some methods they used to get their point across were sit ins, boycotts, marches and public speeches. Although many activist believed in non violence there was another side to the Civil Rights Movement and that was the Black Power Movement. The Black Power Movement was a more radical movement than the Non Violent Movement. Front runners like Malcolm X and other influential faces such as Huey P. Newton and Bud Siegel who together formed the Black Panthers all believed that the white man was the problem and that in order to win equal rights that African Americans needed to start fighting fire with fire and bullets with bullets instead of the more passive ways of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. ( Aretha, Chronicles pr. 261-300) In conclusion I believe that the law has provided African Americans with equal rights as whites but I believe that they may still appear not to be equal. In the 21st century I believe and know that there are many laws that seem to make African Americans and white equals but there is still much discrimination in the world. I also believe that the racism is not as bad but still exist, it just isn’t as blatant and in your face as it was in the past. African Americans still have trouble getting jobs, being accepted into organizations and colleges or university, But I do believe that we have made a 900 degree turn from the time where â€Å"Colored† and â€Å"White† signs decorated the front of every doorway, restroom and waterfountian in the southern U. S.

Thomas Cook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Thomas Cook - Essay Example Thomas Cook Some of the important models such as McKinsey model along with the Pest analysis, SWOT and other models have been used to analyse the organisation. The main aim was to analysis the external and internal environment affecting the organisation. The leadership style along with the leadership style has been talked about and it can been seen that Thomas Cook has one of the cost effective organisational structure and follows a flexible business model so that it can be altered as and when needed. Finally the paper ends with recommendation and conclusion which states that the company should work according to the demand of the customers in order to stay competitive and maintain its number one position. The main aim of the report is to conduct an effective internal and external environmental analysis of Thomas Cook based on separate models. The analysis would help one understand the key competencies of the firm and also the areas where development is needed. Recommendations are also to be provided in due course to enhance the position. Thomas Cook, one of the largest companies in the field of leisure and travel is observed to operate along a large geographical segment pertaining to 22 countries round the world. The company has emerged out to be a key market leader in the leisure and travel category. Thomas Cook, during the financial year of 2011-12 earned total sales revenue emanating to  £9.8 billion from a total customer base of 23.6 million people around the globe (Thomas Group Plc, 2012). Company Structure Thomas Cook operates based on a decentralised structure where the board of directors are responsible for delegation of tasks and duties to subsequent committees and other sub-boards. The structure operates along a top-down or vertical integration fashion in the company (Thomas Cook, 2010, p.53). Main Activities Thomas Cook Plc works along several segments to render value-added services to the customers. The first or the core product segment contains of packaged tourism services where both flights and hotel services are grouped under one bundle and rendered to the customer. The second segment consists of independent packages that help in rendering consumers a larger flexibility in choosing the travel destinations, duration of tour and other value additions. The third product segment focuses on rendering financial support to the travellers in terms of foreign exchange or money transfers and also in tour assurance services. Fourthly the group also operates via retail houses that help in distributing tour packages and offers to the consumers. Finally the group also

In what ways has the economy of Azerbaijan been affected by Assignment

In what ways has the economy of Azerbaijan been affected by globalisation - Assignment Example Accordingly, the capital and financial market interactions in terms of exchange rate, interest rate, inflation and unemployment etc are also altered. Globalization has enormous effects on the economy of Azerbaijan as well. Azerbaijan is the Contiguous Transcontinental Presidential Republic situated in Caucasus region (United Nations, 2003). The economy of this province is characterised by inefficient public administration, high inflation and unemployment rate. In this paper, how globalization affects the economic sectors of Azerbaijan such as energy, import and export, transportation as well as science and technology will be critically analysed. Azerbaijan gained independence in the year of 1991. Since independence, the economy of the country has been transformed from centrally planned economy to a free market economy. Overtime, the country started establishing diplomatic relationship with other countries. Presently Azerbaijan is having steady trade relationship with 160 countries of five continents (United Nations, 2003). Naturally, occurrences related to globalization largely impact the economic sectors of Azerbaijan. Initially, the economy encountered a lot of problems such as high inflation and unemployment rate, unstable currency and very low GDP growth (International Monetary Fund, 2012). After 1995, particularly after joining treaties with foreign enterprises for oil supplies, the country started experiencing rapid growth. Such economic growth facilitated the economy to privatise a number of state enterprises; the national currency Manat became stabilised (The Economists, 2015). As the economy approached towards stab ility, many foreign investors got attracted and companies started investing foreign capital in order to tap lucrative business opportunities lying in the economy (International Monetary Fund, 2012). Hence, import-export accelerated. Inclusion of foreign direct investment helped the Azerbaijan economy to gear up its

Managing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 4

Managing - Essay Example He argues that power cannot be easily repressed because it has productive aspect. Power cannot be seen only in terms of economic determination though it can be exercised for economic utility on human subjects. He examined the creation of modern disciplines, their principles of order and control, and how they tends to disindividualize power, making it appear as if power exists in the institution rather than the people. He used the Panopticon model by Bentham to explain the way institutions function in that the modelmakes power automatic and disindividualized. He held that the principles of power were concentrated on a distribution of bodies rather than one person. In The Subject and Power, he explained that modern-day disciplinary organizations allow a large number of people believed to be specialist to exercise control over a smaller number. He says power exists only when it is put into action and it does not mean a renunciation of freedom or transferring of rights of majority to few. In a power relationship, power involves actions executed based on another person’s actions and reactions. In this understanding,Freedom is a condition for the exercise of power and is exercised over free subjects, but only in as far as they are free. Foucault believes that power is productive, it is not a property of the state and it operates all social relations among persons. He views the mechanisms of power to produce different types of knowledge which collects information on people’s activities and existence in order to further reinforce the exercise of power. Other than the disciplinary power, Foucault describes pastoral power as ultimate power where people discipline themselves.it applies to the everyday life of an individual and imposes a law of truth on him making him a subject. Power produces subjects but not conformity; it ensures the individuality of all persons with their differences and deviances being

Separation of Ownership and control, and agency costs Essay

Separation of Ownership and control, and agency costs - Essay Example The agreement structures together with the present production technologies and the outward lawful constraints to ascertain the cost function for conveying an output with a specific type of organization. The type of organization that survives is the one that conveys the output as per the customers’ demand at a cheaper price (Fama and Jensen, 1983, p. 302). The main agreements in any business organization outline two key things. These are the form of the lasting claims and the breakdown of the decision-making procedure that affects representatives. These are the agreements that make organizations be unique from one another and illustrate the reason behind the survival of various kinds of organizations. While concentrating on entrepreneurial organizations that require the entrepreneur to make all decisions, economists often disregard the analysis of the decision-making procedure. ... There is an emphasis on the factors that give survival value to organizational types that separate ownership and control. Residual Claims Most types of business organizations resort to agreement structures that reduce risks undertaken by representatives. This is achieved by introducing either fixed terms of remuneration or those that are pegged on performance. In addition, the agreements of most representatives comprise an implied or unequivocal provision that in exchange for the particular payoffs, the representative affirms that through the resources he accords, the interests of the residual claimants are met. Residual claimants emanate from one of the agent teams and it is likely to survive due to two reasons. First, it minimizes the expenses incurred while supervising the agreements made with other groups of representatives. Secondly, it minimizes those costs used to modify agreements for the dynamic risks encountered by other agent groups. The survival value of organizations is further enhanced by the agreements that express decisions towards the interests of lasting claimants. Different organizational forms have residual claims with varying controls. For instance, common stocks in large organizations are the least controlled lasting claims in regular use. Stockholders have provisions that do not require them to have any other duty in the organization, and their lasting claims are separate without limits. Such provisions enable stockholders to have unlimited risk sharing. These large scale organizations with such properties are referred to us open organizations. They are different from closed organizations which are not only smaller but also have lasting claims that are greatly restricted to

Critically analyze how successful the British government's use of Essay - 2

Critically analyze how successful the British government's use of Spending Reviews has been as a way of making government more - Essay Example This essay seeks to critically analyze the success of British government in using spending review in the execution of government strategies. The labor government has been using spending reviews from 1998 to the year 2007 to set out spending plans. The departmental expenditure limits (DELs) covers the predictable spending of the government. This includes spending on hospitals and schools. Annually managed expenditure (AME) covers the public elements that are driven by demand. Examples include debt interests and social security spending. The spending review cover three years but they occur annually. The last year of a spending review is subject to reassessment in preparation to the next spending review period. The labor government increased spending which necessitated tight spending plans between the April 2008 and March 2011. According to the treasury, the public spending was expected to fall. The fiscal projections indicated that tax receipts were set to be increase over the active t hree year period. This was the only way to meet the borrowing forecasts of government (Corsetti & Muller 2009). In the previous four years, the labor government had increased public spending. The British government predicted that total managed expenditure (TME) would be ?587 billion in the period between 2007 and 2008. This was considered the broadest measure of the government expenditure. The amount was equated to roughly 43 percent of the British national income (Floud & Johnson 2004). The previous year, just before the labor government came to power, the government has spent roughly 41 percent of the national income. This was between 1996 and 1997. This represented roughly a 2 percent increase of the national income in the gross public spending (Hills & Stewart 2009). This is equivalent to ? 28 billion in the 2007 terms. For the first two years in office, the labor government maintained the conservative spending plan. This was in accordance to their manifesto promise from 1997 to 1999. During that period, there was s robust economic performance and the public spending was seen to decline with regard to national income. The labor government based its spending plans on the comprehensive spending review prepared for the year 1998. This was buoyed by the spending reviews from 2000 to 2004. This was later affected by the economy-wide inflation which was also referred to as real terms. There was significant departmental under spending. As a result the economic performance was resilient between 1999 and 2000. The 2007 march budget increased the education spending to 77 billion pounds (Hills & Stewart 2009). This was equated to 2 percent annual average in real terms. The increment was seen to be slower than the education spending. In the overall, it was still a cut. However, this increment was expected to grow from 1999 to 2008. Over the same period of time, the average increment was 5.5 percent annually in real terms (Floud & Johnson 2004). The plans of education spending led to a spending fall in the national income (Giudice & Kuenzel 2012). The labor government manifesto had committed to increase education spending in the 2005 election. During the period the labor government remained in power, the spending increment in education sector was supposed to be maintained. However, this had an impact in the ability of the British government to deliver on other aspects of education in the United Kingdom (Corsetti & Muller 2009). The 2006

CASE STUDY QUESTIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CASE STUDY QUESTIONS - Essay Example Economists assume that price is the most important influence on the amounts of any products or services purchased. Apart from price, economists explained that there are many other factors like consumers’ taste, numbers of consumers in the market, consumers’ income, price of related goods etc that also influence the amounts of goods or services purchased (McConnell and Brue, 2004, p. 42- 43). These factors are generally referred as determinants of demand. A person’s taste, preferences and opinions of the product or service consumed are some of the basic determinants of how much a consumer buys them. At higher price of the product or service, the consumer generally economizes and reduces quantity purchased. Similarly, as consumers’ income increases, the consumer is generally found to be buying more of many products and services in the market (Pugel, 2003, p. 19). When it comes to the case of tourism of Guam, 85% of the total tourists are from Japan and the n umbers of visits to Guam from Japan have been decreased in recent years. Demand for tourism can also be a function of consumers’ income, price of the service or price of competing goods. ... 81). As far as consumers’ income is considered to be a main determinant of the tourism to Guam, the price of tourism in relation to three different components are to be analyzed. These three components are cost of transportation, living cost in Guam and exchange rate. When more consumers are to travel to Guam, their relative spending on transportation and living would likely to increase. Similarly, they may have to spend more on exchanging currency too. In order to attract more customers to Guam and increase travelling to Guam, it is recommended that cost of transportation between Guam and Japan must be discounted or the government has to promote tourism through some seasonal programs. As a government policy maker, it is also recommended that cost of living, especially for those who visit Guam from Japan has to be adjusted in order to attract more visitors from Japan. If government fixes a specific fixed exchange rate between US Dollar and Japan’s Yen for the Japanese t ravelers to Guam, the expenditure issues that Japanese concern in relation to the exchange rate can also be solved and thus to increase numbers of travelers from Japan to Guam. A number of political and social factors have also caused decrease in travelling to Guam. The downward trend in Guam’s tourism has been caused by Japan’s sluggish economy and some political events like Gulf War in 1991, Typhoon Omar and Earthquake rated 8.1 in 1993, Korean airline crash in 1997, Asian crisis in 1998 etc (Dougan, 2007, p. 80). Japanese were choosing Guam for tourism for several reasons like beautiful beaches and safety in Guam. Safety in beaches, resorts and hotels should be

Marketing Final Term Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Final Term - Essay Example Among the cabin crews, Emirates Airlines has one of the largest numbers of cabin crews which hail from around 95 different nationals. Emirates Airlines has installed individual entertainment system in all of its classes enabling customers for not only making online booking but also facilitates for choosing their arena of seating. These outstanding features have enabled this airline to be a customer oriented and pioneering contributor for advanced services. Emirates Airlines have empowered over 280 international awards, among which the prestigious award has been CAPA airline award for the year 2005, as awarded by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Target market Targeting the kid’s market The needs of kids can be used to increase the share of market. There are a lot of families and parents who cares for the needs of their kids much more than themselves. Offering a suitable and comfortable environment to kids can reduce the misgiving of families. After launching of the campaig n of â€Å"kids go free†, more family groups were received by Emirates Airlines than before. Through cooperation with tourism companies and hotels in Dubai, the emirates are keen to attract large number of tourists. The parents are also willing to take their kids and enjoy affordable travel with Emirates Airlines. The kids friendlier environmental can provide pleasure to kids for having a great time with their parents in Dubai. Now, the focus is more towards the kids market as the kids can influence the decision of parents. UAE’s tourism and business segment customers The emergence of Dubai as a tourism hub and regional business has provided Emirates Airlines to fuel the traffic of regional air passenger enabling abundance of room for growth. The law of freehold ownership has been attracting tourists and business communities. Expatriates in UAE UAE, being 5th largest crude oil exporter of world and Dubai, being the fastest growing city of world, has created huge demand for skilled and unskilled workforce for feeding its emerging labour market and booming economy. A major attraction for various workforces around the world is its highly paid labour market. So, Emirates Airlines targets the expatriates in UAE. Transit passengers For Emirates airlines, Dubai is the operational hub. It has been positioned as a connector between Australia/ Asia and Europe and has supported the growth of emirates airlines. This connection point has been used by Emirates airlines to promote the business, especially transit passengers. Emirates airlines target to prosper in this particular segment through marketed and well established wide range network. Goals Emirates Airlines focuses towards maximizing the return on capital of overall Group, to take full advantage of the competencies of Group in market and to be diverse and balance to the earning streams of Group. The objectives pertaining to the fulfillment of these goals are to improve and retain the market share of f requent business class traveler, to tap the market of low cost carriers for achieving the return on investment of company, to promote the tourism activities of Dubai and to introduce Dubai to the world and to increase the market share. Part two Marketing mix The Emirates Airlines hold an extraordinary achievement during the previous years. However, during 2009 which was one of the

Structural Frame(Jumeriah hotels ) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Structural Frame(Jumeriah hotels ) - Assignment Example All these committees are headed by a chairperson and they involve a chain of employees with defined functions. The investment and allocation committee is further divided into three committees including the asset management committee, the operations committee, and the development committee, all headed by a chairperson. The executive committee is also divided into three groups including the risk management working group, the medical services working group, and the fraud and ethics working group. Authority has been delegated to the executive committee by the board of director. The management committees operate under the executive committee that has delegated authority to them. The working groups also directly report to the executive committee. This approach to management has been effective for Jumeirah Hotels given that it groups individuals with specialized abilities and skills under a single department to uphold efficiency. Each of the functional units in the organization focuses on a particular aspect of the services in an attempt to ensure quality customer service (Daft, 2010, p. 104). The top management, in which case is the board of directors and the executive committee headed by a chairperson, coordinates all the functions of the different committees into a single cohesive effort towards meeting organizational goals (Jumeirah Group, 2014). This approach could be risky to the organization as the hospitality industry fluctuates rapidly, especially in the contemporary society. In addition, the organizational structure is efficient in environments wher e the business environment is not inclined towards updating or changing business operations. This organizational structure could be attributed to the success of the organization as it specific functions to different committees within the organization, all of which are aimed at achieving organizational objectives.

Bru Tripura Vision Essay Example for Free

Bru Tripura Vision Essay According to the legends one of the Tripuri prince was expatriated by the king, who along with his followers migrated to the Mayani Thalang area of Lushai hills and founded a state over there. He proclaim as king of the state and the descendant of the exiled Tripuri prince ruled over the state for generations. In due course of time there was no heir to succeed the throne, which lead to anarchy in the kingdom. Owing to some internal feud and vendetta four chief of the sub tribes, namely Twikluha, Yongsika, Paisika, Tuibruha and their entourage left their hearth and home and migrated through Chittagong to the state of Tripura centuries ago. These Reang chiefs could not climb up the Dombur hill peak for two consecutive times and succeeded in third times. Mahendra Manikya was at the throne of Tripura kingdom. After reaching to the capital, these chiefs tried to persuade the ministers and other bureaucrats to give them permission to meet the king and submit their memorandum but was not successful in doing so. By then they have exhausted whatever food and edible they had brought with them and suffered a lot. They were very sad and disheartened by this. They were determined to send the message of their arrival to the king anyhow. In order to send information to the king they broke the dam of the river Gumti where worship was going on at that time. This was a serious crime and all of them were brought before the king. The king ordered them capital punishment. Somehow this news came to Queen Gunoboti. The chiefs prayed in front of the queen who after persuading the king motivated to forgive these chiefs of their crime, who letter forgave them. Since then the Reangs became very obedient and loyal to the queen and throne of Tripura. It is said that the ueen Gunoboti fed these chiefs with her breast milk in a big pan of brass, which is still intact with Ktordofa, which was gifted by the queen. The queen gifted many other valuable things, which were carefully preserved by Reangs till date. Historical Population figures In 1971 the Riang were the second largest of the scheduled tribes in Tripura. There were 64,722 people counted in the Riang tribe in Tripura that year. In 1961 the Riang had numbered 56,597 and in 19 51 they had numbered 8,471. [1] According to the 2001 census, there were 165,103 Reang in Tripura. Meska and Molsoi groups The Reang clans are divided into two groups: 1. Meska, 2. Molsoi. The Meska Group The Meska group is divided into seven sub groups or dopha, these are as follows: 1. Meska :- Meskameans the lemon tree in in kau bru language. 2. Msa :- Msa means tiger in Kau bru. It is said that the fore-father of this dopha was brought up by a tigress in his child hood like the Romulus and Ramous of ancient Rome. 3. Chorkhi :- Chorkhi means Spinning wheel in Kau bru, it is said that one Reang chief was speaking obscene about his daughter-in-law, when his friends started spinning the spinning wheel to musk the obscene of the chiefs. So the descendant are named after the chorkhi. 4. Raikchaoh :- Rai means cane in Kaubru, kchaoh means red in Kaubru; it is said that the fore-father of this dofa used to wear cane made red colour armlet. 5. wairem :- wai means tie, rem means mix/hybrid in Reanglanguage. It is said that they are descendant of Reang man and Kuki woman. 6. Tauma yakcho :- Tauma means hen, yakcho means toeless; the toes of the fore-fathers of this dopha resembled to that of hen. 7. Tuimuiyaphaoh :- Tuimayaphaoh means tortoise in Reang dialect, the fore-father of this dopha were suffering from white patches like the tortoise chest. The Molsoi Group The Molsoi group is sub-divided into six groups, which are as follows: 1. Molsoi :- Molsoi is the derivative of msoi which means msoi in Kaubru. Their fore-fathers first settled in the deer dominated green valley. Since they were called in that name. 2. Apeto :- Apeto is a type of fish in Kaubru. The fore-fathers belly was big like the belly of Apet fish. 3. Nouhkham :- Nouh means house, kham means burnt in Kaubru; once the fore-father of this dophas house were burnt to ashes since then they were termed in this name. 4. Chongpreng :- Chongpreng is a type of musical instrument, it is said that the fore-father of this dopha used to survive by playing this musical instrument as they were suffering from gungri disease. 5. Yaohstam :- Yaohstam means ring of finger, it is said that the fore-father of this dopha used to used to wear ring and used to display proudly to others. This dopha has been in extinct at present. 6. Reang kachko :- Kachko means chief in Kokborok, the fore-father of this dopha were chiefs of Reang. Ktor Dopha In the above thirteen dophas or sub-groups of the Reangs there are 26 chiefs or heads, who are designated as Kotor Dopha. Kotor means head and dopha means clan or group. The chiefs are divided into two categories: * Rai, and * Kaskau. Rai and his subordinates chiefs * Rai :- Rai means Raja or chief of the sub group is bestowed as Rai. * Chapiya Khan :- Crown Rai. * Chapiya :- Crown Chapiya Khan. * Dor kalim :- He is the priest of Rai. * Doloi :- Helper of Rai. * Bandari :- Store keeper of Rai. * Kanda :- Servant and holder of umbrella of Rai. * Doya Hajari:- Drum player. * Muriya :- Trumpet player. * Dugria :- Helper in of priest. * Dauwa :- Arranger of puja, or worshiping. Siakrak :- distributor of prasad, that is the sacrificial animal meat. Kaskau and his sub ordinate chiefs * Kaskau :- The chief minister of the sub-group is bestowed as Kaskau. * Yaksung :- He is the assistant of chief minister. * Hajra :- Servant of Kaskau. * Kangreng :- Umbrella holder of Kaskau. * Kormo : Servant of Yaksung. * Khan Galim: Umbrella holder of Yaksung. * Khandol :- The collector of food and other required articles. P eople of Kotor Dopha are exempted from paying taxes to the king. Occupation, culture and custom The Reangs are primarily an agriculturist tribe. In the past they mostly used to practise the Huk or Jhum cultivation, like most other Tripuri tribes. But now shifted to modern agricultural practice. Most of the educated are employed in government job and many are occupying very high post in administration. Some have also started doing business also. Marriage system The Reang is an endogamous tribe and had very little contact with the Bengali or other sub-tribe of Tripuri. But since the beginning of nineteen century there has been some inter tribe marriages and inter-caste wedding among them. The marriage system is similar to other Tripuri tribe of Tripura. There is no dowry system but the bride-groom has to spend to father-in-laws house for two years before marriage is performed. There are two types of marriages;but nowadays the system to spend to father-in-laws house is no mandatory. Haloksai, and Haloksam. Parallel cousin marriage is prevalent but declining. Cross cousin marriage among the Reang is accidental. Child marriage is not allowed, widow marriage is permitted. Widows are prohibited to wear ornaments before one year is passed after the death of husbands. Widow and widower are forbidden to participate any entertaining and enjoying programme or activity or attending such activity within one year of death of their spouses. Remarriage of widow and widower are allowed after one year of death of the spouse. Monogamy is the present day practice of the society. Marriage is arranged through the matchmaker Andra, who goes to the prospective brides parent for negotiation. Then the brides party is invited to finalise the marriage in Kokswmgma, while pork, fowl, rice, rice beer are served. Marriage is settled to the satisfaction of both the party. The Okchai performs the wedding ceremony on the nuptial day fixed. The Reang widower is not permitted to get marry to an unmarried virgin girl. The Reang marriage bond is very strong and Reang men cannot divorce without the consent of wife. If any Reang is alleged for extramarital relationship and found to be true then they are dealt with strict punishment and heavy penalty is imposed upon. Dress and ornaments The traditional dress of the Reang is simple and plain like other Tripuri people. Traditionally the men wear a hand woven loin cloth and a piece of cloth as a wrapper for upper portion. The women wear a long cloth called Rnai, a wraparound; from the waist to down to the knees. A Rsa, covering the chest, and Rikatouh for covering the whole upper half of the body, wears the upper part of the body. These are woven by the Reang women, which are colourful and very beauty full. But nowadays the educated mass are wearing all the modern dresses like any other part of the world. The Reang women are very fond of personal decoration and take much care for the makeup and hair-do. They love like other Tripuri people, ornaments, flowers, and cosmetics. Silver ornaments especially the necklace of silver coins, the Rangbauk have a pride of place and status. Dance and music It is very much integral part of the Reangs daily life. No other Tripuri people are so fond of dance like them. As a result the Hojagiri folk dance of Riang sub tribe had attained achieved acclaim all over the world. Hozagiri Dance is the most famous dance of the reang community. While the theme of the dance remains almost to be the same as of other tribes, the dance form of the Reang community is quite different from others. The movement of hands or even the upper part of the body is somewhat restricted, whereas the movement beginning from their waist down to their feet creates a wonderful wave. Standing on an earthen pitcher with a bottle on the head and a lighted lamp on it, when the Reang belle dance twisting rhythmically the lower part of the body, the dance bewilders the onlookers. The Reangs also use the musical Instruments like Khamb, Flute made of bamboo and bamboo cymbal. The Reang women prefer to put on black Pachra and Rsa. Reang women put on coins ring, which generally covers their entire upper body. They also put on rings made of coin in their ears. They are fond of fragrant flowers as ornaments to metal things Customs Most of the disputed and differences are settled by the people of Kotor dofa, that is by the Rai and Kasko of respective sub tribe. It is done through the customary law of the Reangs. Whenever a disputes arise in the between the member of the community, a meeting is called by the Rai. All relevant arguments are heard and then justice is done according to the principle of natural justice. Whatever verdict or punishment is pronounced in the judgment it is implemented with firm hand and payments of penalty etc. re made then and there. Religious belief and practices Majority of the Reang in Tripura adhere to Vaishnav Hinduism. They claim Kshatriya status. A growing number of Christians, almost all of them Baptists, exists in both Tripura and Mizoram. In 1943, the Reang were subjected to forcible conversions during the rebellion by Ratanmani Noatia. During the end of 2 0th century, they were again subjected to religious violence in Mizoram by the Baptists. [3] Like other Tripuri people they also believe in many god and goddess. The centre figures are those of fourteen gods and goddess of Tripura. Their important festivals are same those of prevailing in Tripura. These are Ker, Gonga mwtai, Goria, Chitragupra, Hojagiri, Katangi puja, Lampra uathop. The religious observance are community in nature, and each family has to contribute his part of share of payment. It is called as Khain. All the religious festivals are arranged with the prior meeting of chiefs. In such meetings political, social, and religious matters of importance are discussed and decided by the majority of the meeting. The deities of the Reangs are similar those of other Tripuri people. These are: * Sibrai, the supreme deity or Mtai Ktor Tuima, the presiding deity of river, * Mainouhma, the goddess of paddy, * Khuluhma, the goddess of cotton, * Goroia, the god of wealth prosperity well being and war, * Kalaia, brother of Goria, * Sangrongma, the deity of mother earth, * Hathaikchuma, the goddess of hill, * Buraha, the god of jungle, * Thuhnairou, the god of death, * Bonirou, the god of evil spirit, * Nouhsuma, t he goddess of house holds. Worshipping of the deities The worship of different deities are similar to the main-stream Tripuri people. Aokchai, the priest performs all the ceremony along with his helper. The green bamboo pole is used as deity in most on the cases. Different types of life stock like fowl, pig, goat eggs, etc. are offered in the worship. The place of worship is selected out side of the houses. Where the offerings are dedicated in the names of the deities in front of the wathop, green bamboo pole, the symbol of god. But the Rangtouk and Nouhsuma puja is held inside the house only. Two earthen pots are filled with newly grown rice and at top of the pot some oval pebbles collected from huk specially. The pebbles are called the fortune stone. And the pots (Rongtuk) are decorated with the rice powder, vermilion, and garlands. One is named Mainouhgma, the other as Khuluhgma. Rituals on birth of a baby On the birth of baby many pujas are observed. These are Kebengma, Abu suma, Khongkhonok kama, Maitukma etc. for the welfare of the baby. The fowl, prawn, several leaves of trees are needed. When the child grows up special form of worship has to be performed. Bukhuksini the seven-gurdian deities of witches are pleased with sacrifice of a pig, four fowls, and other things beside. Ceremony on death The mortal remains are cremated. The obsequies is done in two stages: Broksakami and Kthuinaimo. Broksakami When a person dies his corpse is first bathed with the Chobtui that is alkali water or soap . After that he is dressed with new clean Rikatouh, head is dressed with another piece of rikatouh like the headgear. In case of woman rnai and rsa. Then a fowl is sacrificed in front of the feet of the corpse. Later on an earthen pot filled with mean and rice placed at the feat of the deceased and it is followed by dance rituals throughout the night. Rice bear is distributed to all the mourners excepting the family members of the deceased. The next morning the body is laid to rest on pyre and cremated usually near a stream. Kthoinaimo It is a ritual connected with the respectful and well wishing offering to the manes. Laotou or the soul deceased remains under the control of the Sisimangi, the son of Buraha , for a year and it is said that Sisimangi is the protector of the soul. On the day of the kathainaimi the widow of the deceased offers dried rice, meat, fish, fruits, and wine in the name of Laotau and Sisimangi, on the smangnouk , then taking the burnt bones or ashes go to the charainok. It is worshiped for over a period of one year or he next hangrai, when it is immersed in any river or in Gomati River at Dumbur,or Ganga, according to the ability of the family. In short the religious culture of the Reang is similar to that of other Tripuri or the Tripuras other cast Hindu . Posted by BRU at 04:37 Email ThisBlogThis! Share to TwitterShare to Facebook No comments: Post a Comment Newer Post Home Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) Followers Blog Archive * ? 2011 (20) * ; December (6) * ; November (12) * ? October (2) * HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF TRIPURA * Demography of Reangs History About Me BRU View my complete profile | | Simple template. Powered by Blogger.

Ebusiness Plan Online Furniture Shops Marketing Essay

Ebusiness Plan Online Furniture Shops Marketing Essay This report outlines an online business plan for our company known as the Online Furniture Shop. We tend to cater needs of several kinds of customers ranging from large organization, small offices, schools, restaurants, hospitals to homes. We offer a vast variety of products online on our website furniture-online.com. Consumers can not only browse through various categories of products, view their details and prices but they can also order furniture online. The rest of the report will determine several other elements required in the e-business plan for Online Furniture Shop. A.  Ã‚  Ã‚  The E-commerce Infrastructure Electronic commerce can be defined as the type of business or monetary transaction which involves the transfer of goods or services in exchange of some money over the internet. This covers a wide range of several types of businesses. These types include auctions, consumer based retail sites, music sites and business exchanges of goods/services between organizations. This business plan also determines the strategic plan required for establishing an Online Furniture Shop. The infrastructure of the business involves based e-commerce website development which will sell to both businesses and individually through the internet. The infrastructure of this e-business also comprises of DBMS, Web Master, Web-developer, E-marketing, logistics and distribution channels and integration of secure transaction channels.   B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Markets in E-Commerce There are three types of markets in the e-business sector Business-to-Business, Business-to-Consumer and Consumer-to-Consumer. All the three business types have different business strategies and marketing plans since they focus on different groups of consumers. Our Online Furniture Shop will focus   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Business to Business Even though early e-commerce based businesses focused on retailing on the interest however it is believed that revenue generated through B2B e-commerce will exceed that of business to consumer revenue. A research published in 2000 stated that ratio of monetary volume of B2B to that of B2C is 10 to 1 (Rouse, 2010). Our company tends to cater the needs of large to small business organizations. We sell as wholesalers when dealing with businesses and selling in bulks. Our clients belong to categories such as schools, law firms, large business organizations, restaurants and other business class categories. We offer them furniture like office chairs, table, revolving chairs, folding tables, executive chairs, kindergarten chairs, hospital waiting room furniture etc. Organizations can view our products online and contact us through mail since we do not take order in bulk online rather we contact with the firm personally to fulfill their large requirements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Business to Consumer Even though B2C e-commerce has gone through hard times especially after the dot.com bubble burst in 2000. However there has been an increase in the number of online shoppers since then. Even the future looks bright for B2C e-commerce as household shopping in U.S alone has raised from 39 to 48 percent in 2010 (Patton, 2007). Our other main clients are small scale consumers who want to furnish their homes. We provide high quality furniture like sofas, beds, dining tables, sofa-cum-beds, computer table etc. to our valuable consumers. The consumers can come on our website browse through the products and one they have selected what to buy they can register in simple steps, buy online through our highly secure website and get the delivery at their door-step within 5 business working days. Now buying furniture for home is just a few clicks away. C.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Business Models There are several e-commerce business models a company can integrate in their business plan for enhanced profitability. We will focus on merchant business model since we are the retailer and wholesalers of furniture further we also sale directly to our consumers through our website. Another model we might integrate is affiliation model in which the company might place banners on other websites to increase traffic on our website thus adapting pay-per-click traffic generation strategy. II. Marketing Concepts There are several innovative techniques through which our e-commerce business can market the offering and reach targeted markets. We will look individually analyze the strategies which will be used in our e-business.   A. Marketing Techniques Since the target market is individual consumer along with business sector therefore we will look at some of the ways in which Online Furniture Shop can position and market its offerings. Banners Company can place banners on popular websites with heavy traffic having an integrated link back to the site of the organization just like putting up billboards in real world. Crawlers We also intend to integrate SEO in our websites for search engines which use Crawlers technique to search the internet database so that the websites are ranked higher on the result page whenever a potential customer searches for furniture shops. Pop Up Pop-up ads can also be used as a marketing technique even though they are found quite annoying by some internet users. These are ads which will open up in a new window whenever a user opens an associated website like home decoration or office set-up. III. Communicating in e-commerce A. Social networking The use of social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter for promotion of products and services will be quite beneficial for OFS since its a great way to bring customers to your websites and generate sales. These sites are also a great tool for link building by posting URLs which have a link to your website this method tends to increase the traffic (Introcaso , 2011). Through creation of social media our firm can offer discounts, coupons and announce contests to people following us on such social networking websites. Such sites are also a great tool to interact with the consumers directly and get feedback from them along with any suggestions. B.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Content Marketing OFS also intends to use content marketing as a method of disseminating and creating important content to acquire, engage and attract a potential target market. Content marketing basically is the art of communication with potential prospects and customers. The core essence of this marketing strategy is that if businesses keep giving consistent and valuable information to the buyer the buyer ultimately gives their loyalty as a reward. IV. Problems surrounding E-Commerce Due to a massive out growth in the e-commerce business sector there has also been an emergence of associated security threats. Due to which it is essential for e-commerce based businesses to cater some vital requirements. These fundamental security requirements of e-commerce business are the basis of a secure online business since this sector faces the greatest threat as stated by a report that the attacks in this sector have risen from 2006 to 2007 by 15% (Symantec, 2007). A. Privacy and security Since we also plan on starting an e-commerce based business therefore it is vital for the organization to integrate protection against potential security threats in the business plan.   We plan on carefully monitor and securing the monetary transaction channel before offering credit card purchase option like SSL and Address Verification Systems. Our website will also have a satisfactory site security, encryption, privacy policy and also insurance against identity theft if possible. V. Ethical Challenges in Online Business   Identity theft can be defined as the illegally acquired personal information like names, drivers license, address, Social Security Number, Bank or credit card number and exploiting this personal data for some unlawful activities (Sorbel, 2003). It is ranked as one of the fasted growing crimes in America.   Some laws and regulation which might regulate the rising issue of identity theft and which are also applied to our firm are described below. a. The Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 According to the summary by The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (2000) this act has a clause which requires a disclosure of privacy policy by all financial institutions with regards to the sharing of personal information. This act has another requirement which states that a notice should be given to the consumer to opt out of sharing the personal information with some nonaffiliated third party. b. The Fair Credit Reporting Act This was proposed in order to secure the personal information of consumers which is exchanged during any business transaction. This act tends to promote the fairness, privacy and integrity of the information content of consumer reporting agencies as states by Federal Trade Commission (2011). VI. Conclusion Thanks to easy and cheap access to internet more and more people are buying online. Our e-business model caters almost all the requirements for establishing an online merchant business. The target market we are focusing on is also quite large therefore we expect a successful growth in the market.

Police Corruption Policing

Police Corruption Policing ‘Getting results in policing is more important than how they are achieved. Discuss this statement with reference to the notion of police ethics. Ethics is essential to policing as ethical policing develops and sustains trust between the police and the public it serves. Police corruption, noble cause corruption, Dirty Harry dilemma, Sykes and Matza (1957) Techniques of Neutralization theory, ethical egoism, and ‘Act v Rule utilitarianism are all specific ways of exploring unethical police behaviour being diverted from ethical behaviour, due to ethical laws protecting criminals ‘human rights. Thus begs the question, is gaining results in policing more important than how they are achieved? When the question is posed ‘can we be ethical? for the large majority of us, the answer is perfectly clear. However, with regards to the policing system it is a complicated dilemma that is yet to be properly controlled and prevented. Ethics is vital to policing as this ethical quality not only affects the police officer in question but also the police organisation as a whole. Ethics is not only concerned with the individual police officer but as well as the policies and laws that are enforced to protect everyones basic human rights. Police corruption is one form of unethical behaviour that is due to the authority and power placed and trusted upon the police officer. Power corrupts, and so with this perceptive view, police corruption comes in many stages of development. Kant describes police corruption as actions that â€Å"exploit the powers of law enforcements in return for considerations of private-regarding benefit that violate formal standards governing his or her conduct† (Kleinig, 1996: pg. 38). Police corruption consists of a chain of events that starts from an innocent stage where police officers are sometimes given things for free by the public due to their official status. This process consists of three hypothesis, such as; the society at large explanation, the structural explanation; and finally the ‘rotten-apple explanation (Pollock, 2006). The society-at-large explanation is concerned with the fact that police officers start to expect things to be free, once experiencing small-pay offs and bribes from the public, which leads to more serious crimes known as the structural explanation. This finally leads to the ‘rotten-apple explanation where the officer concerned is purely of dark character morally. One known form o f corruption is ‘noble cause corruption. ‘Noble Cause Corruption (Klockars, 1985), is an act on behalf of the police officer, who is committing a illegal and most certainly unethical crime, on good intentions, to justifiably reach an end result that is noble. For actions that are done for the sake of good are, nevertheless, morally wrong actions. The police officer(s) in question are only acting for the sake of what they ‘believe is morally right, but in fact it is not morally right; their belief is a false belief. For example, suppose a police officer forms a corrupt relationship with a suspected criminal and develops criminal acts to create a portfolio of evidence to convict the criminal. How ethical would this be, despite gaining positive results in policing? Noble cause corruption is strongly related to the ‘Dirty Harry phenomena and so an explanation of this phenomenon is due. The Dirty Harry Problem (Klockars, 1980) is based upon the notion that certain individuals of the police force turn to ‘dirty means of convicting a suspected criminal. Police officers who employ such ‘dirty means think that, by doing this, they achieve three things at the same time. The officer believes that what he/she is doing is morally right; their actions are lawful; and that the wider community will support such heroic behaviour (Thomson, 1999). The movie titled ‘Dirty Harry (Siegel, 1971) involved a fictional character named Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) who pursued a criminal named ‘Scorpio who kidnapped a 14 year old girl and demanded a $200, 000 ransom to release the girl who was buried with just enough air to last a few hours. Eventually Harry apprehends and tortures Scorpio into telling the location of the girl and gaining a forced confession from the suspect. An unethical procedure, but none the less, gaining ‘results (Siegel, 1971).Dirty harry was purposely given this title to the character, harry Callahan, because of the fact that he employs ‘dirty means of gaining positive results and infringing upon the criminals ‘human rights. ‘Dirty Harry, at the end of the film, took his badge and threw it into the river. This strongly suggested that he has lost faith in the effectiveness of the policing system and thus indicating his resignation (Siegel, 1971). When gaining positive results in policing, it can sometimes be in direct conflict with not following ethical boundaries, thus, being ethical is a rule that appears, according to the ‘Dirty Harry movie plot, to be in the favour of the criminal, technically putting the police officer at a disadvantage due to ‘criminal rights being made available to them. According to Sykes and Matzas ‘Techniques of Neutralization theory, unethical police officers justify their behaviour in one of five methods. Skyes and Matzas (1957) proposed the ‘Techniques of Neutralisation theory which demonstrates five basic methods of justifying deviant behaviour from the delinquent individual. The theory is relevant to police ethics as well as the fact that gaining results within the police service can never exceed the ethics of policing itself due to morality and basic human rights for which the police was based and built upon. ‘Techniques of neutralisation theory explains how lawbreakers are able to protect themselves from feeling of guilt and negative self-image by justifying their conduct. The five methods are: denial of responsibility, denial of injury, denial of victim, condemnation of condemners, and appealing to higher loyalties. Denial of responsibility is concerned with how, within the context of the police work, violence may be regarded as an appropriate and necessary reaction to defiant citizens. Denial of responsibility is established when the police officer in question believes that, where excessive force is used, he/she was provoked by the citizen and therefore ‘ethically rationalised his/her behaviour. This shifts responsibility for the use of force away from the officer to the citizen (Albanese, 2006). Denial of injury covers such areas as stealing and violating constitutional rights. Stealing from suspects for personal gain with the threat of blackmail if ever the suspect reported the officer to the police notes the power a police officer possess, given the position of the suspects situation. Kant suggests that â€Å"Whoever tells a lie, however well intended he might be, must answer for the consequences, however unforeseeable they were, and pay the penalty for them† (Klockars, 1996: pg. 79). Kant describes a perfect example that no matter what the situation may be, telling a lie is unacceptable. Fabrication of evidence is an excellent example as although it may help seal a conviction of a major known criminal, is none-the-less a false conviction. This brings ‘Kantian ethics into consideration. Kant believed that the term motive is the most important variable when considering what is ethical and what is not. To be more exact, motives can be defined by acting in a sense of duty towards others. For example, helping a person out of pity or to promote ones self in face of others is not a ethical, moral action, but out of remorse and unethical means. When considering a complex situation, such as a police officer protecting a witness from murder, what does one do? Such an example goes against Kants beliefs on moral, ethical values. Denial of victim is concerned with those who run from police, use illegal drugs, or defy authority are ‘threats predetermined as dangerous and are in need of ‘punishment. This perception gives the notion of the police being the ‘saviour of all deviant acts and that they are justifiable in the eyes of the law and that these aforementioned acts must be punished to sustain control and authority through the wider community and the state as a whole. Condemnation of the condemners lies with the notion that the problem lies not with the officers motives or behaviour but with the rules, motives, and perception of those who would control and judge them. The police argue that not only do they fight criminality but also have to do battle with public criticism, judges who are too lenient, citizen lawsuits and citizen complaints against the police system. This gives a ‘loophole for criminals which makes police work more difficult. With such added hurdles, condemnation of the condemners seem rational and logical from the police officers perspective. Appealing to higher loyalties is concerned with the fact that police officers will always protect ‘their own against any case of accusations or complaints against a police officer. However, protecting another officer even when this involves unethical and illegal conduct is expected and regarded as noble as it demonstrates loyalty and solidarity. ‘Power corrupts, and so with this ‘police power, the officer will use this power to appeal to higher loyalties for their own personal gain. Personal gain is a one of many attributes of human qualities to achieve our goals in whatever means necessary. Such natural behaviour is assessed by ‘ethical egoism which critically examines our own hunger for wants and desires. Ethical Egoism (Neyround, 2001) is a theory of human nature that states that we all have a strong desire for furthering our wants and desires. By nature, we are motivated to pursue our own wants and desires and, therefore, should act in accordance with our nature by following them (Neyround, 2001). Despite living in a civilised world, living according to the laws of the ‘system, inevitable human nature, it seems, takes a hold of our behaviour when presented with opportunities to further our desires. We all naturally possess wants and needs, however, the morally relevant question to consider (with regards to unethical policing) is when, where, and to what extents are we justified in pursuing them? The claim being made by ethical egoism is not simply that we have wants and needs; rather, it is that we are ‘morally obligated to pursue them on all occasions. Due to individual egoism, it would appear that furthering ones personal desires seems to be the corruption of human nature; that we are all out for ourselves on a majority. If ethical egoism theory is correct in its perception of humans desire for pursuing our own interests then surely police corruption is on a course of eternal reoccurrences of continuous self-indulgent behaviour, placed in a unrealistic police system to resist the temptation of abusing ones position. A major critique of ethical egoism is that it does not provide a solution for conflicts that arise between competing self-interested individuals. Simply stated, this criticism suggests that our happiness and aspirations often comes into conflict with other individuals (Neyround, 2001). Further-more, this morality should establish rules of conduct that enables the peaceful and harmonious resolution of conflict. However, ethical egoism provides no such rules on principles. Instead, it understands life to consist of a never-ending series of conflicts on which each of us struggle to ‘come out on top. By the nature of police officers everyday work, police officers are routinely placed in situations where personal advantages can easily be furthered through unethical and illegal means. ‘Act versus Rule Utilitarianism (Quinton, 2003) demonstrates an argument of why police officers break the law. Act utilitarianism states and argues that ‘ethical laws are first decide whether public action would be taken if ever they disagreed with the laws were to be enforced upon the public. This is then, in turn, is further decided whether the law generates the most happiness for the public. However, critics of this theory argue that the minority, whether groups or individuals, would then be treated unfairly and biased upon, thus, not an ethical method to follow. This coincides with the notion of corrupt police officers fabricating evidence to convict an innocent civilian. It may please the majority of the population if this civilian was known for criminal acts in the past and present but it doesnt justify the action to wrongly convict an innocent. ‘Rule Utilitarianism (Quinton, 2003), on the other hand, determines whether a rule should be followed. ‘Rule Utilitarianism argues that if a rule (law) pleases the majority of the population, then, it is in the publics interest to follow this ‘rule, despite the objectionable minority. Capital punishment was once a rule followed by UK citizens as it resulted in the happiness of the majority with regards to killing extreme deviant individuals, even if an innocent had their life taken by mistake, as this overall pleased the population despite the ‘odd innocent loss of life. Critics argue that this reduces rule utilitarianism to act utilitarianism and the rules become meaningless (Quinton, 2003). From such examples, and as an ethical based theory overall, utilitarianism is not a perfect system, thus, flawed. Ethics will either make or break an officer and the decision they make will either strengthen or weaken their ethical values. Police corruption, whether for noble or deviant reasons, weakens the officers moral values and only further leads to deviant temptation. However, temptation and desire appears to be of humans natural instinct to come out top and a means of furthering ones edge over another. Ethics can very much go against the officer inclined to solve a case, such as the Dirty Harry dilemma, such as the criminals basic human rights (although non-deserving) benefits only the offender and develops a loop hole for the offender to escape from justice. Police officers can be taught ethics to a certain degree, but it is the officers own personal benefit to resist the urge of infringing upon criminals rights and also taking an advantage of ones position. This loop hole will promote a real dilemma for future policing and, thus, ethics is likely to play a prominent role in policing in the 21st century. (2124 words)

Problems in the United States Educational System Essay -- essays resea

Problems in the United States Educational System Today, the way the educational system works in the U.S. concerns a large number of people in this country. "Only 25% of adults have a great deal of confidence in the people running education, according to the General Social Survey, down from 49% in 1974" (Russel 4). A lot of discussions have been held to find the best ways to improve teaching methods. At the same time, people recognize that a very valuable solution to increase the level of education in the United States is to look at some problems that cause difficulties and hamper the enhancement of the quality of education. The first step is to define these problems. As in every country, the U.S. wants to develop its national standards in education and wants them to be high. This has always been a government function. Being democratic, the government is trying to fit the qualities of democracy into the way to set these standards. Of course, this is not an easy task since this country has a very diverse population. To plea se everybody has always been an almost impossible task. Despite this impossibility, national standards have already been set. "If a visitor from another nation was dropped into an American public school classroom without knowing the state or the region, he or she would be likely to see the same lesson taught in the same way to children of the same age" (Ravitch 9). Everything seems right except the fact that the abilities of children are different. Not everybody is able to study at a college; not everybody wants to continue being educated. It is obvious that every country wants to produce as many educated people as possible. But, at the same time, every country needs workers because, regardless of the fast development of technology, there is still a great necessity for human labor. To satisfy all the necessities of the country, the government should provide different kinds of education. This does not mean that we need to eliminate all of the standards; they could be set in each field of education. Although standards are set, there is still a very big difference in teaching methods in different schools. Perhaps, the most serious problem starts in high schools: some schools provide a higher level of education than others. Students from most city schools graduate with the confidence in their knowledge; their level of educati... ... 1998: 45-47. Gray, Kenneth. "The baccalaureate game: Is it right for all teens?" Phi Delta Kappa Apr. 1996: 528+. McEachern, William A. "The Max for the Minimum." The teaching economist. Issue 15. Spring 1998. Nelson, F. Howard. "How and How Much the U.S. Spends On K-12 Education: An International Comparison." Mar. 1996: n. pag. Online. Internet. 9 Mar.1998. Available http://www.aft.org/research/reports/interntl/sba.htm. Ravitch, Diane. "50 states, 50 standards?: The continuing need for national voluntary standards in education." The Brookings Review Summer 1996: 6+. Rehder, Robert R. "Education and Training: Have the Japanese Beaten Us Again?" Personnel Journal Jan. 1983: 42. Russel, Cheryl. "What's wrong with schools?" American Demographics Sep. 1996: 4+. Sinitsyn, Maxim I. "The Results of a Test." msinits@siue.edu (30 Mar. 1998). Smith, Greg. "How to beat the SAT/ACT blues" Career World Nov. 1995: 13+. Sternberg, Robert J. "Extra Credit for Doing Poorly." New York Times 25 Aug. 1997, late ed.: sec.A: 23. "Strengths and weaknesses of American education." Phi Delta Kappa Apr. 19

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.

Modern Racism Essay

Racism is a problem that has characterized the American society from the historical past and has refused to go away. Though at present, racism is not depicted in overt terms but still kept observations reveal that racism still raises its ugly head in an institutionalized manner. The dream as projected by Martin Luther King Junior where he hoped for a society in which individuals would be judged by the content of their character as opposed to the color of their skin has failed to be fully realized. This paper shall aspire to look at the evidence of racism in the modern American society by citing up specific examples from the various incidences in the country. Background: Despite the tremendous achievements that have been realized following the civil rights legislations, racism has remained one of the most pressing social issues in the American society. Racism is often treated as an issue of the past but in reality, racism is still thriving within the American society. This however can be traced not in the overt practices as the case of the Jim Crow laws in the Southern States at the height of the Civil War, but rather in the covert ways (Wheeler, 2005, p 5). The blame campaigns being witnessed in the American society is a clear example of racism in modern times. In the recent times, the victims have been blamed for the predicament that they find themselves. For instance, the unemployed are blamed for unemployment; those who are not educated are being faulted for not accessing education; and the homeless are being blamed for not having the homes (Dols, 2004, para 3). Evidence of Modern Racism: There has been some statistics that were revealed by studies indicating some biasness in events leading to unemployment and lopsided delivery of criminal justice. After the economic booms of the 1990s, majority of those affected by the economic downturn were the blacks. In the early 2000s, the rate of unemployment amongst the blacks was said to be rising at a faster rate compared to the unemployment rate of the whites (Wheeler, 2005, p 75). The lay-offs that were carried in some of the big corporations including Coca-Cola; Sears; and J. P. Morgan reflect on issues of discrimination in modern times. The African American work force in these corporations comprised of 18% at Coca-Cola, 16% at Sears and J. P. Morgan and yet the lay-offs at these corporations had high proportions of the black workforce with percentages given as 42, 54 and 30 for the respective corporations (Dols, 2004, para 5). Another study at the University of Chicago revealed that African Americans applying for a job were more likely to be denied the opportunity than their white counterparts using the name criterion. It is also worthy noting that studies indicate that African Americans are most likely be found guilty of drug offences compared to the whites (Cole and Smith, 2006, p 16). Apart from the examples provided above, the Africa Americans have continued to bear the consequences of the slavery and the Jim Crow rules at the height of discriminative policies in the United States (Smith, 1995, p 6). Conclusion: The incidences of racism are rampant in our society even though most individuals would think that we have advanced from the dark years. The government and the stakeholders need to be proactive in addressing the issue of modern day racism through the enhancement of affirmative policy actions that would bring parity and stop propagation of the racism connotations. Work Cited: Cole, George, F. and Christopher E. Smith. 2006. The American System of Criminal Justice. Cengage Learning, ISBN 0495006017, 9780495006015 Dols, Chris. 2004. Racism lives on in modern America. Retrieved on 17th August 2010 from; http://badgerherald. com/oped/2004/11/18/racism_lives_on_in_m. php. Smith, C. Robert. 1995. Racism in the post-civil rights era: now you see it, now you don’t. SUNY Press, ISBN 0791424383, 9780791424384 Wheeler, Albert, J. 2005. Racism: a selected bibliography. Nova Publishers, ISBN 1594544794, 9781594544798

Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines

Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines Andres C. Soguilon Juris Doctor-1 UNIVERSITY OF CEBU COLLEGE OF LAW Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines Abstract This paper is a comparison between the laws governing the Muslim marriage and Divorce through Presidential Decree No. 1083, otherwise known as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws and marriage and legal separation under the Family Code.It also compares the rights and obligations of spouses between the two codes. It analyzes the similarities and differences of the provisions on the requisites in contracting marriages between the two laws and the effects of legal separation as far as the Family Code is concern and the same with Islamic divorce as provided by law. Introduction The 1987 Philippine Constitution, in Article XV, Section 2, states that â€Å"Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State. The same constitution admits that â€Å"no law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof†1 and it respects the protection and conservation by the State of the customs, traditions, practices and beliefs of the Filipinos. Presidential Decree 1083 also known as the Code of Muslim Personal Laws took effect on February 14, 1977 and the governing constitution then was the 1973 Constitution. According to Andres H. Hagad in his work â€Å"Comments on the Muslim Code: A Paper on PD. No. 038†, the code refers to Article XV, section 11 of the 1973 Constitution as the legal basis for its existence which states that â€Å"the State shall consider the customs, traditions, beliefs and interests of national cultural communities in the formulation and implementation of State policies. †2 1 2 T he 1987 Philippine Constitution, Article III, Section 5 Andres H. Hagad, Comments on the Muslim Code: A Paper on P. D. No. 1083, Philippine Law Journal [1977] Vol. 52 Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 2 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines RationaleThe Constitution, the laws and even Supreme Court’s decisions pertaining to issues involving marriage have been reflective of how the State wanted to protect the sanctity and value of marriage in the Philippines. The law even so provides that it shall not be governed by stipulations but by the Government and the latter must intervene in order to protect it. In line with this, the researcher seeks to be enlightened of the similarities and difference of marriages contracted in accordance with the Family Code in comparison to those contracted by Muslims provided by the Code of Muslim Personal Laws.Both codes give right to spouses to sep arate from each other on certain grounds, hence, comparison of the two would likely pave way to the idea of adopting one not only to protect the sanctity of marriage per se but also not to prejudice the constitutional and human rights of the parties involved. The Family Code and the Code of Muslim Personal Laws 1. What is Marriage? The Family Code of the Philippines defines marriage as a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by the said code. 3 On the other hand, the Code of Muslim Personal Laws definesmarriage as not only a civil contract but a social institution. Its nature, consequences and incidents are governed by this Code and the Shari'a and not subject to stipulation, except that 3 Familly Code of the Philippines, Article I Andres C.Soguilon JD-1 Page 3 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines the marriage settlements may to a certain extent fix the property relations of the spouses. The two laws have a definition of marriage which is more or less akin to each other. 4 2. Requisites of Marriage Family Code of the Philippines Code of Muslim Personal Laws Art. 2. No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present: 1. Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and 2.Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer Art. 15. Essential requisites. No marriage shall be perfected unless the following essential requisites are complied with: (a) Legal capacity of the contracting parties; (b) Mutual consent of the p arties freely given; (c) Offer (ijab) and acceptance (qabul) duly witnessed by at least two competent persons after the proper guardian in marriage (wali) has given his consent; and (d) Stipulation of customary dower (mahr) duly witnessed by two competent persons. Art. 3. The formal requisites of marriage are: 1. Authority of the solemnizing officer; 2.A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title; and 3. A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officers and their personal Art. 16. Capacity to contract marriage. declaration that they take each other (1) Any Muslim male at least fifteen years as husband and wife in the presence of of age and any Muslim female of the not less than two witnesses of legal age puberty or upwards and not age. suffering from any impediment under the provisions of this Code may contract marriage.A female is presumed to have attained puberty upon reachin g the age of fifteen. (2) However, the Shari’a District Court may, upon petition of a proper wali, order the solemnization of the marriage of a female who though less than fifteen but not below twelve years of age, has attained puberty. (3) Marriage through a waliby a minor below the prescribed ages shall be regarded as betrothal and may be annulled upon the petition of either party within four years after attaining the age of puberty, provided no 4 Code of Muslim Personal Laws, Chapter II, Section I, Article 14 Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 4Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines voluntary cohabitation has taken place and the wali who contracted the marriage was other than the father or paternal grandfather. Apparently, the Code of Muslim Personal Laws has more requirements for contracting parties to comply before they can enter into marriage. Under the Family Code, the cont racting must be at least eighteen years of age, in such case when one of the parties is below eighteen the marriage will be void which will be discussed below. On the other hand, Code of Muslim of Personal laws, the male must be at least fifteen years of age and the female must be of the age of puberty with the presumption provided in the Code that females attain their puberty at the age of fifteen. Also, the female must not be below twelve years of age, in such case the marriage may be annullable. 3. Void and Voidable Marriages under Family Code and Prohibited Marriages under Code of Muslim Personal Laws Family Code of the Philippines Art. 35.The following marriages shall be void from the beginning: (1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians; (2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so; (3) Those solemnized without a license, except those covered by the preceding Chapter; Code of Muslim Personal Laws Section 2.Prohibited Marriages Article 23. Bases of prohibition. No marriage may be contracted by parties within the prohibited degrees: (a) Of consanguinity; (b) Of affinity; and (c) Of fosterage. Article 24. Prohibition by consanguinity (tahrimjbin-nasab). No marriage shall be contracted between: (a) Ascendants and descendants of any degree; 5 Family Code of the Philippines [1988], Art. 3 (1) Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 5Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines (4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not falling under Article 41; (5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the other; and (6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53. Art. 36. A marriage co ntracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.Art. 37. Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether the relationship between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate: (1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and (2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half-blood. Art. 38. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public policy: (1) Between collateral blood relatives, whether legitimate or illegitimate, up o the fourth civil degree; (2) Between step-parents and stepchildren; (3) Between parents-in-law and childrenin-law; (4) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child; (5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child; (6) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter; Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 (b) Brothers and sisters, whether germane, consanguine or uterine; and (c) Brothers or sisters and their descendants within the third civil degree. Article 25. Prohibition by affinity (tahrim-billmusahara). 1) No marriage shall be contracted between: (a) Any of the spouses and their respective affinal relatives in the ascending line and in the collateral line within the third degree; (b) Stepfather and stepdaughter when the marriage between the former and the mother of the latter has been consummated; (c) Stepmother and stepson when the marriage between the former and the father of the latter has been consummated; and (d) Stepson or stepdaughter and the widow, widower or divorcee of their respective ascendants. 2) The prohibition under this article applies even after the dissolution of the marriage creating the affinal relationship. Article 26. Prohibition due to fosterage (tahrim-bir-rada'a). (1) No person may validly cont ract marriage with any woman who breastfed him for at least five times within two years after his birth. (2) The prohibition on marriage by reason of consanguinity shall likewise apply to persons related by fosterage within the same degrees, subject to exception recognized by Muslim law. Section 4.Batil and Fasi Marriages Article 31. Batil marriages. The following marriages shall be void (batil) from the beginning: Page 6 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines (7) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter; (8) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and (9) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other person’s spouse, or his or her own spouse.Art. 41. A marriage contracted by any person during the subsistence of a previous marriage shall be null and void unless before the celebration of the subsequent marriage , the prior spouse had been absent for four consecutive years and the spouse present had a well-founded belief that the absent spouse was already dead. In case of disappearance where there is danger of death under the circumstances set forth in the provisions of Article 391 of the Civil Code, and absence of only two years shall be sufficient. xx Art. 53. Either of the former spouses may marry again after complying with the requirements of the immediately preceding Article; otherwise, the subsequent marriage shall be null and void. (a) Those contracted contrary to Articles 23, 24, 25 and 26; (b) Those contracted in contravention of the prohibition against unlawful conjunction; and (c) Those contracted by parties one or both of whom have been found guilty of having killed the spouse of either of them. Article 32. Fasid marriages.The following marriages shall be irregular (fasid) from their performance: (a) Those contracted with a female observing ‘idda; (b) Those contracted cont rary to Article 30; (c) Those wherein the consent of either party is vitiated by violence, intimidation, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation; (d) Those contracted by a party in a condition of death-illness (marad-ul-mault) without the same being consummated; (e) Those contracted by a party in a state of ihram; and (f) Mixed marriages not allowed under Islamic law.The Family Code provides for marriages that are void and voidable due to the fact that these marriages are contracted with either the absence of both essential and formal requisites and defect or irregularity in the essential or formal requisites. The Code of Muslim Personal Laws, on the other hand provides for several instances where a marriage is prohibited, void and irregular. Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 7Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines 4. Legal Separation and Divorce Family Code of the Philippines Art. 55. A pet ition for legal separation may be filed on any of the following grounds: (1) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner; (2) Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or olitical affiliation; (3) Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement; (4) Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment or more than six years, even if pardoned; (5) Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent; (6) Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent; (7) Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or abroad; bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or abroad; (8) Sexual infidelity or perversion; (9) Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner; or (10) Aba ndonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year. Code of Muslim Personal Laws Chapter Three DIVORCE (TALAQ) Section 1. Nature and Form Article 45. Definition and forms. Divorce is the formal dissolution of the marriage bond in accordance with this Code to be granted only after the exhaustion of all possible means of reconciliation between the spouses.It may be effected by: (a) Repudiation of the wife by the husband (talaq); (b) Vow of continence by the husband (ila); (c) Injurious assanilation of the wife by the husband (zihar); (d) Acts of imprecation (li'an); (e) Redemption by the wife (khul'); (f) Exercise by the wife of the delegated right to repudiate (tafwld); or (g) Judicial decree (faskh). Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 8 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines There is a big difference between legal separation and divorce because the form er only covers separation of bed and board while the latter is an absolute separation. Any divorce proceeding undertaken before the Shari’a Court is valid, recognized, binding and sufficient divorce proceedings. 6 Article 13 of PD No. 1083 does not provide for a situation where the parties were married both in civil and Muslim rites.Consequently, the shari’a courts are not vested with original and exclusive jurisdiction when it comes to marriages celebrated under both civil and Muslim laws. 7 Specifically, divorce in Islam is classified into different types in relation to the grounds that may be used by either the husband or the wife in separating from each other. A divorce by talaq may be affected by the husband in a single repudiation of his wife during her nonmenstrual period within which he has totally abstained from carnal relation with her. 8 A wife in a Muslim marriage may be granted a decree of divorce where her husband makes a vow to abstain from any carnal re lations with his wife and keeps such for a period of not less than four (4) months. Another is the divorce by zihar, where a husband has injuriously assimilated his wife to any of his relatives within the prohibited degrees of marriage, in such case they shall mutually refrain from having carnal relation until he shall have performed the prescribed expiation. 10 Where the husband accuses his wife of adultery, a decree of perpetual divorce may be granted by the court. 11 The wife could also, after having offered to return or renounce her dower or to pay any other lawful consideration for her release from the marriage bond, petition the court for divorce. 12 If the husband has delegated to the wife the right to effect a talaq at the time of the celebration of the marriage or thereafter, she may repudiate the marriage and the 6 7 Zamoranos v. People [2011] G. R. No. 193902 Tamano v. Ortiz [1998] G. R. No. 26603 8 P. D. No. 1083 [1977], Article 46 (1) 9 Ibid, Article 47 10 Ibid, Article 48 11 Ibid, Article 49 12 Ibid, Article 50 Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 9 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines repudiation would have the same effect as if it were pronounced by the husband himself. 13 Lastly, the wife may petition a decree of divorce by faskh (judicial decree) subject to some grounds. A decree of faskh on the ground of unusual cruelty may be granted by the court upon petition of the wife. 14 Muslim spouses, because of divorce granted by P. D. No. 083 for Islamic marriages have many ways in order to separate themselves from each other. Grounds for divorce decree are even classified as to whom it may apply, either to the wife or the husband taking into account the different situations that they may experience in their married life. On the other hand, the Family Code also provides spouses to separate from each other but only limited, however legitimate the grounds are. The grounds for legal separation provided by the Family Code are more specific and relatively of the same weight with the grounds for divorce provided by P. D. No. 1083. However, the Family Code does not at all give the spouses the right to be divorced. 5.Effects of Legal Separation and Divorce Family Code of the Philippines Art. 63. The decree of legal separation shall have the following effects: (1) The spouses shall be entitled to live separately from each other, but the marriage bonds shall not be severed; (2) The absolute community or the conjugal partnership shall be dissolved and liquidated but the offending spouse shall have no right to any share of the net profits earned by the absolute community or the conjugal partnership, which shall be forfeited in accordance with the provisions of Article 43(2); (3) The custody of the minor children shall 13 14 Code of Muslim Personal Laws Article 54. Effects of irrevocable talaq or faskh.A talaq or faskh, as soon as it becomes i rrevocable, shall have the following effects: (a) The marriage bond shall be severed and the spouses may contract another marriage in accordance with this Code; (b) The spouses shall lose their mutual rights of inheritance; (c) The custody of children shall be determined in accordance with Article 78 of this code; (d) The wife shall be entitled to recover from the husband her whole dower in case the talaq Ibid, Article 51 See Article 52-53 of P. D. No. 1083 [1977] Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 10 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines be awarded to the innocent spouse, subject to the provisions of Article 213 of this Code; and (4) The offending spouse shall be disqualified from inheriting from the innocent spouse shall be revoked by operation of law. as been affected after the consummation of the marriage, or one-half thereof if effected before its consummation; (e) The husband shal l not be discharged from his obligation to give support in accordance with Article 67; and (f) The conjugal partnership, if stipulated in the marriage settlements, shall be dissolved and liquidated. The huge difference between the two Codes with regard to the effects of either legal separation or divorce is that in legal separation, the spouse are only entitled to live separately from each other and their marriage bonds shall not be severed while in Islamic divorce, marriage bonds between divorced parties shall be severed and they are entitled to contract a subsequent marriage provided they comply with the requisites to enter into another marriage. The Family does not provide that legally separated spouses can enter into another marriage.In the Family Code, the offending spouse shall not have any right to any share of the net profits earned by the absolute community or the conjugal partnership while in P. D No. 1083, the spouses shall lose their mutual rights of inheritance. As to t he custody of the children, the Family Code provides that the innocent shall be granted custody subject to conditions, while in P. D. No. 1083; custody shall be determined by Article 78 of the same code. 15 Similarly PD No. 1083 is clear that where the parents are not divorced or legally separated, the father and mother shall jointly exercise just and reasonable parental authority and fulfill their responsibility over 15 Article 78 of P.D. No. 1083 otherwise known as Code of Muslim Personal laws states that (1) the care and custody of children below seven years of age whose parents are divorced shall belong to the mother or, in her absence, to the maternal grandmother, the paternal grandmother, the sister and aunts. In their default, it shall devolve upon the father and the nearest paternal relatives. The minor above seven years of age but below the age of puberty may choose the parent with whom he wants to stay. (2) The unmarried daughter who has reached the age of puberty shall st ay with the father; the son, under the same circumstances, shall stay with the mother. Andres C.Soguilon JD-1 Page 11 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines their legitimate children. 16 However, in a case where the mother was originally a Catholic woman and when she separated from her Muslim husband, converted back into Catholicism: â€Å"The standard in the determination of sufficiency of proof, however, is not restricted to Muslim laws. The Family Code shall be taken into consideration in deciding whether a non-Muslim woman is incompetent. What determines her capacity is the standard laid down by the Family Code now that she is not a Muslim. †17 6.The Family Code, the Code of Muslim Personal Laws and the Constitution The Constitution defines marriage, as an inviolable social institution, the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State. 18 The State shall defend the right of spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions and the demands of responsible parenthood. 19 Some scholars especially from the Catholic Church are against divorce because not only does it contravene the teachings of the Bible but according to them it is also against the Constitution which mandates the State to protect marriage as an inviolable social institution. The author would like to believe that Muslim divorce is deemed to be a kind of divorce equivalent to an absolute abrogation of marriage.However, Muslim divorce is protected by the enactment of P. D No. 1083 which granted full autonomy and authority to Muslim’s customs and traditions the marriage relations between Muslims. The 1973 Constitution which is in effect when the Code of Muslim Personal Laws was enacted provides that â€Å"the State shall consider the customs, traditions, beliefs and interests of national cultural communities in the formulation and implementation of State policies. It is the author’s opinion that there is already a conflict between the two provisions arising from the enactment of P. D. No. 1083. However, it is doubtful 16 Bondagjy v Bondagjy, [2001], G. R. No. 140817 17 18Ibid The 1987 Philippine Constitution [1986], Article XV, Section 2 19 Ibid, Section 3 Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 12 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines if the question of constitutionality can be raised, considering the provision of Article XVII, section 3(2) of the same Constitution, which reads: â€Å"All†¦decrees.. promulgated, issued, or done by the incumbent President shall be part of the law of the land, and shall remain valid, binding and effective even after the lifting of martial law†20 20 Andres H. Hagad, Comments on the Muslim Code: A Paper on P. D. No. 083, Philippine Law Journal [1977] Vol. 52 Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 13 Comparative Analysis of the Family Code and Code of Muslim Personal Laws on Marriage, Legal Separation and Islamic Divorce in the Philippines References: Articles: Andres H. Hagad, Comments on the Muslim Code: A Paper on P. D. No. 1083, Philippine Law Journal [1977] Vol. 52 Cases: Bondagjy v Bondagjy, December 7, 2001, G. R. No. 140817 Tamano v Ortiz, June 29, 1998, G. R. No. 126603 Zamoranos v People, G. R. No. 193902, June 1, 2011 Laws: The 1987 Philippine Constitution [1986] Presidential Decree No. 1083 [1977] The Family Code of the Philippines [1988] Andres C. Soguilon JD-1 Page 14