SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES OF SPECIAL EDUCATION Research Paper

SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERVICES OF SPECIAL EDUCATION - Research Paper Example It is at this point that special education, or special needs education sets in. To this end, special education refers to the learning programs, institutions, or systems that are specifically designed to cater for students with special needs (Morellion 2007, p. 87). These educations systems have to be structured in a manner that ensures all the inadequacies of the students with special needs are met in a way that tries to keep them at par with the regular students. As such there are certain assigned effective models for providing these secondary special education services. An effective model for secondary special education services has to factor in quite a number of aspects to ensure that the students can get the best from it. For a start, it has to understand that the students are specialized in such a manner that they need special attention to be able to learn as effectively as the rest. Moreover, the specialized approach needs to be unique to each and every student with a special need. This is due to the fact that special needs students vary in terms of specific needs and individualistic traits. These include the strengths and weaknesses of each student, their processing and cognitive abilities as well as the specific form of disability that they may be possessing (Lian and Kim 2002, p. 131). In this line, a mental disability has to be treated differently from a physical deficiency. Similarly, the same type of disability has to be treated differently across different age brackets. Consequently, a model that identifies the specialty in special needs education is expected to be more effective than that which generalizes and does not give any unique attention to individualistic traits. One of the most effective models for providing secondary special education is the collaborative model for secondary special education services. Through this model, both a regular teacher and a special education teacher work collaboratively to provide

A cultural analysis of Greece Essay Example for Free

A cultural analysis of Greece Essay This paper presents a cultural analysis of Greece and how this translates into the countrys business practices. The importance in such profiling can be seen in the emergence of many cross-cultural studies that aim to come up with an effective theoretical framework that guides international companies to relate to other companies from different countries with different cultures. One of these frameworks was formulated by a series of national studies conducted by Hofstede in which the author identified cultures according to five indices. Basically, Hofstedes approach presents that culture can be described as a set of characteristics ingrained or wired-in to the brains and the psyche of the members of a particular society thereby affecting behavior. With such understanding according to national cultures, cross-cultural managers can therefore make use of this information that can serve as a basis for cross-cultural and international initiatives of the organization. In application, this paper examines Greece according to Hofstedes five dimensions and how this translates into the countrys business culture; this paper then compares this with the business culture in the United States. The conclusion then leads to the identification of the different points of compatibility and conflict, and the areas which the Greek and the American business cultures can reconcile for a more successful business communications and relations. Global Business Cultural Analysis: Greece I. Section One Introduction Communication plays an important role in any cross-cultural relations, and in the aspect of business, communication in the international context spans beyond language and includes protocols, perceptions and other elements pertaining to business practices. According to Hendon, Hendon and Herbig (1996), the challenge is that although two or more parties are trying to reach an agreement aiming to serve each others interests, cultural factors whether in terms practice and perception significantly contribute to the processing of information that would lead to either the success or the failure of the negotiations or the management strategy should international companies decide to operate together. As Hendon, et al. (1996) pointed out, cultural aspects influence managers, thereby affecting their behavior; this also reflects at the organizational level thereby the degree of the embodiment of the national culture of these companies is constantly present. Cross-cultural issues have become crucial given that more and more businesses are taking advantage of the opportunities brought by globalization. One of the issues that emerged from this is that there was an identified potential point of conflict based on the precept that the differences in the values of the different groups may lead to problems, thereby jeopardizing the advantages offered by the global and international markets (Fontaine, 2007). As a result, international organizations have invested in cross-cultural management initiatives in order to create the most effective approach should the company reaches the point of venturing into foreign operations or cross-cultural negotiations. In addition to the organizational dimension in cross-cultural issues are the elements that can further influence the operations of any business. Kanungo (2006) identified that globalization ha also created a significant impact to the consumers behavior now that they are aware of the strong global forces; technological innovation; and the environment. These elements do not only represent modifications in terms of the markets and the societies global businesses cater to but also the potential overall shift and cultural perceptions that resonate at various levels, from the individual to the organizational behaviors. Which is why given that globalization has become a phenomenon that represents present-day reality (Steger, 2003), even companies who are not internationalized are still subject to many global forces such as buying or selling their supplies from sources overseas. It is also possible that the company may have to work with a foreign employee or a worker from a different cultural background. In any case, the instances of a cultural add-on has become more and more regular (Berger, 1998, 124). However, it is important to look at the many theoretical foundations on cross-cultural studies, especially as to how national cultures are perceived as an important influence in organizational and management behavior. There is one distinctive studies that can be considered to have created a substantial buzz in the entire context of cross-cultural studies: Geert Hofstedes four dimensions, which would later add another component. Hofstedes studies gave way to conclusions that would help in the different approaches towards understanding different cultures, and how these can also create effects at individual, organizational and national levels. Hofstedes Four Dimensions One of the most commonly used model in cross-cultural studies is Hofstedes four dimensions; these dimensions emerged from Hofstedes studies on 40 different countries in which he identified four major prevailing factors in terms of the cultural aspect (Bjerke, 1998): ? Power distance ? Uncertainty avoidance ? Individualism/collectivism ? Masculinity/femininity In order to understand these four dimensions, it is important to look at how Hofstede views culture and how this plays a role in global business applications. Hofstede is renowned for his research on differences among countries in terms of their culture and how these differences are essential. Hofstede operated based on the concept that comparisons among cultures can play a significant role in the making the right decisions based on the acquired information about other cultures; this is deemed helpful when it comes to making negotiations and even designing business strategies should companies decide to enter a foreign market. Hence, Hofstedes works have been founded on how the differences of these cultures are influential to behavior across may social levels. Hofstedes dimensions tend to generalize groups, hence, for instance, multicultural nations are taken as a singular culture (Fontaine, 2007). The four dimensions Hofstede formulated are the main indicators that can identify the points of similarities and differences across these many national cultures (Vinken, Soeters Ester, 2004). His studies on many national cultures have therefore served as a reference point among many cross-cultural managers. Hofstedes approach is known to adapt a more scientific approach as he argued that cultures can be measured and analyzed (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohavy Sanders, 1990); such can be seen not only in his database which analyzed countries according to their measures in power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, and masculinity/femininity but also in terms of how these factors can impact many organizational tasks such as business negotiations. Culture is therefore an important indicator of behavior and at the same time, it acts as a binding force that defines a group, a society or a region. The four dimensions Hofstede identified are based on how a culture can be also defined according to relations, attitudes and values; in specific contexts, it can be observed that these four dimensions that pertain to Hofstedes definition of culture the programming of the mind that differentiates one group of another (as cited in Fontaine, 2007, 125) presents a predictable framework of characteristics. A fifth dimension was also introduced by Hofstede by including Confucian framework to his dimension, and he identified this as the long term/short term orientation. The long term/short term orientation, a recent addition to Hofstede/s dimension, was founded on the perceptions of time, and how this can affect the behavior of people. This dimension was based on the Confucian orientation with respect to past, present and future, and for Hofstede, this fifth dimension can reflect a societys perception of time, especially as to how this affects their perseverance and regard for values, and how societies also wish to command respect and gain stability (Jacob, 2005). This orientation is seen as an important component as this can reflect how some people can act as based on their expectations with respect to time, such as, for instance, whether their actions are motivated by long-term causes or their short-term goals. The power distance aspect refers to a cultures orientation towards authority. This orientation includes how people understand power and how power works in their communities. With this component, power distance serves as an indicator of equality such as whether some cultures tend to be more democratic or practices a great amount of inequality (Hofstede, 2001). Another index identified by Hofstede (2001) is the uncertainty avoidance. Generally, this refers to how society can tolerate uncertainty. This therefore shows how a culture may be more comfortable in a more structured and rational framework because the tolerance of ambiguity is low whereas some societies may tend to live in the uncertainty, hence, their systems do not adhere to strict rules. Individualism/collectivism pertains to how a culture tend to be more individualist and autonomous or the spirit of the collective fills the members of its society (Hofstede, 2001). In the former, there is a greater sense of independence because the individual is encouraged to think for himself or herself. A collectivist culture, its opposite, tends to have a greater degree of influence according to the social or cultural psyche and norm. Although individuals can be said to initially come from defined groups such as families, the degree of cohesion across social levels differs from one culture to the next. Last but not the least, the masculinity/femininity index measures gender roles in a culture, especially as to how each of these genders are positioned in the society. The values among these two genders are among the fundamental elements in any society because one tends to dominate the other, if not, the attempt to equalize roles can be said to be also present in some cultures (Hofstede, 2001). In addition to the aspect of the relevance of power in these roles, this indicator also describes whether the country is masculine or feminine; the former associates the culture as more assertive and competitive, thereby embodying the male characteristics whereas feminine cultures are viewed as caring and more modest. The strength of Hofstedes approach is that the study and the gathered data have come up with a set of information that generally describes the national cultures thereby demonstrating a general sense how people in a certain country can be expected to behave. The five dimensions have served as an important framework and Hofstedes model has served many nation-level researches especially as to how the applicability of his collected data can be regarded to be valid at a certain point (Smith, 2006). However, the model is not without any criticisms as this brings the issue on how many dimensions must be used as a means to measure culture (Smith, 2006). Another study conducted by Blodgett, Bakir and Rose (2008) that the model has limitations especially as to its validity among individuals. From this, it can be gathered that applicability of Hofstedes framework mainly gives a good reference for a cultural overview of nation, but in more specific terms, there is still some debate as to the design of a more effective cross-cultural analysis model. II. Section Two Greek Culture: an Overview Greece can be easily associated with its glory during the antiquity, with the country immersed in a rich culture of intelligence and might, in addition to the production of several works of art and architecture that can be considered to still have an influence in the modern world. Hence, Greece has always had the impression of classicism, especially with the mark left by Hellenism in the world and Greek history transcending fact and has become an interesting subject for literary works. From political thought to mythology, Greek as a culture remains to be an object of fascination, especially as it has founded an important definition where the Western world begins in this Mediterranean archipelago. Culture can be basically defined through customs and traditions, and in Greece, albeit its development into modernity, has maintained a strong grasp for tradition; this tradition is defined by the roles played by religion and paganism in the country. Greece is dominantly Orthodox Christian although some variations of the faith, as determined by paganistic influences, can be seen to be present and also vary from island to island. This is why Greek culture is generally regarded to have a higher degree of mixed beliefs and that Greeks also tend to be superstitious (Buxton, 1999). Early Greek civilization has demonstrated a significant amount of intellect yet at the same time, the society was also driven by its mythological past. Such combination can be seen to present an attempt to balance myth and reason, and in modern Greece, this can be seen to have developed as modern Greek society remains to take pride in its past through the continuous presence of its customs and traditions, yet at the same time, modern Greek culture has demonstrated significant social changes that have take place in the last century. This is discussed by Mouzelis (1978) who mentioned how societal values remain to be dictated by its core values, and these core values, evidently, play a significant role in the definition of a societys culture. The economy, in the past centuries, has created a significant impact to the social development of any society, and Greece, as it moved on to the modern times, had adapted to these changes. In the social context, Greece had demonstrated the ability to adjust to these new economic demands, and its society, inevitably, has redefined social classes. Its economy also started to redefine itself especially as to how it would define its role in the modern world. All in all, the modernization of Greece has created a degree of impact to its modern culture, but interestingly, Greek culture has strongly maintained what it has always been. As previously mentioned Greek culture has been distinct in terms of the roles religion plays in the lives of the people; this religion fuses the more organized leanings of the Christian Orthodox Church and the more paganistic or mythical practices that many Greeks still practice today. In addition to customs and traditions, Greek culture has maintained its strong identity across many cultural facets, from its art, music, food and wine. The Greek people has demonstrated a strong sense of resilience considering the number of wars they had to endure in the modern times. These wars include its conflict with the Ottomans in which the country fell under rule for a long time, the Balkan Wars, the First World War, and the Greco-Turkish wars. The country also fell under military dictatorship from 1967-1974. With their wounded past, the Greek people had redeveloped a strong national character that had adapted to the realities they faced, especially as Greeces glory would seem to be stuck more in the past and the modernity seems to have favored more the Western nations (Chilton, Dubin, Edwards, Garvey, Fisher, Ellingham, 2008). Interestingly, as Greece would struggle to find its place in the modern world, the Greek society and the people had gone through periods of diaspora in order to escape the conflicts at home. Those who were left behind would be stuck in the chaos of the country in which the economy would find a hard time adjusting to the greater powers coming from the western world, more specifically Europe. The Greek people experienced lack of opportunities in addition to poverty, especially as the country would prove to lack in enough economic resourcefulness until recently. Greece, for a significantly portion of the 20th century, was under-developed, but it was not until in the 1980s that the country would start to catch up and become more integrated with the rest of Europe (Chilton, et al. , 2008) There are some interesting factors in Greek culture that can be regarded to have influenced attitudes of its people. One of these concepts is filotimo. Although hard to translate, filotimo generally refers to the Greeks love for deep honor that they should possess; this goes well with anther important Greek characteristic of integrity which is about behaving as an upright individual. Although a sense of deep honor, as a translation, does not provide enough interpretation of the concept, filotimo can be considered to refer to a character that is highly desirable, but basically, it can be associated with a sense of self who is intrinsically good (Makedon, 1995). In addition to the concept of filotimo, modern Greece had emerged with additional cultural concepts in terms of character, and these are leventia and palikaria. Leventia refers to a sense of manly excellence thereby emphasizing the importance of having certain male characteristics. Leventia is paired with palikaria which also refers to the same meaning. As pair, possessing or being leventia and/or palikaria is about the ability to survive through hard times, especially if the individual or the family has been subject to a critical amount of duress. Having leventia and palikaria can gain an individual substantial admiration from those around him because of the display of a strong sense of self as seen in courage or proactiveness that addresses the source of any problem (Makedon, 1995). Last but not the least, albeit its painful periods of oppression, the Greek people have a great amount of love towards freedom. The love for liberty has always been a Greek characteristic, as seen from the ancient Greek civilization to the modern Greek society. Many themes in the Greek arts have portrayed the importance of freedom, and evidently, as the cradle of democracy, Greek culture had long wanted to fight oppression and aimed for a more liberal and democratic society in which they get to possess a certain amount of freedom despite the restrictions posed upon them (Makedon, 1995). Generally, these characteristics show how modern Greece have managed an important element of its identity, and that is its Orthodox church; however, despite the practice of orthodoxy, this aspect of freedom is practiced in such a way that the Greek people remains to have an open mind towards its paganistic past. In a way, the Greek culture can be regarded to have managed to lessen the conflict between mythos and logos, and today, the Greek people has been finding ways to make room for the modern and how it fits to its long standing tradition. Greek Business Culture Studies on the Greek business culture has had references to Hofstedes cultural framework. In terms of the scores of Greece according to Hofstedes four dimensions, Greece has the following measures in these four indices (Hofstede, 2001): ? Power distance index: 63 ? Individualism: 35 ? Masculinity: 57 ? Uncertainty avoidance index: 112 In terms of Greeces score in the power distance index, this score shows how its people, according to Hofstedes framework, demonstrates the emergence of the social classes in Greek society. This is to say that people are aware of the powers that are present in the society and they know their place with respect to that power. The score of the country in this index can be considered to be average, hence, demonstrating that although people do recognize the presence of inequalities in its society, they see the presence of means to get over certain barriers. The median score for this index is 55, and with Greece at 63, the amount of inequality is above average yet not as drastic as compared to other countries. Basically, this shows how hierarchy plays in the society which can be considered as a paradox considering the Greeks love for liberty and democracy. In a sense, such score shows how the Greeks have embraced reality and that certain powers have created a strong influence in the country. The next score shows that the country has lower measures of individualism thereby showing that Greece is a highly collective society. This shows how Greeks have a strong regard for family and community, and how individuals are strongly influenced by their environment. Kessapidou and Varsakelis (2002) mentioned that when Greeks enter an organization, there is already the expectation that the Greek employee expects to work for this company for the rest of his or her life, and at the same time, in exchange for this loyalty, they expect that the firm will also look after their family. The next indicator is masculinity, and Greece scored slightly above the global average of 50 (Hofstede, 2001). This is an interesting score as generally, the Greek society has demonstrated the strong male influence in terms of their position in the family and the society. The roles between males and females have been regarded to be also more distinctive, in which case the women know their positions and the limits of their power and influence. The uncertainty avoidance index shows the highest score for Greece, and based on this, there are many rules that prevail in the Greek society. Again, this is an interesting score because this contradicts the Greeks love for freedom, but then again, such rules and restrictions may have brought the Greek people to be hungry for more liberty in its societies. The many bounds in Greek society can be seen in its history where the country went through oppression through foreign occupancy and dictatorship. Overall, as employees, Kessapidou and Varsakelis (2002) discussed the characteristics of Greek employees, as follows (273): For Greek people, the working culture is based on sense of honour, dignity, loyalty, and sense of duty reflected in the Greek word filotimo which is similar to the concept of face as reported for China in these societies, filotimo or face becomes an asset for organizations. In cases, however, where expectations are not met, the personnel can be alienated. From the results of Hofstedes study, Greece can be summarized as high power distance, strong uncertainty avoidance, collectivistic and masculine (Joiner, 2001, 232). This profile, as translated into Greeces business culture, strongly demonstrates its association with societal values. According to Hofstede (2001), among the four indicators in his cultural model, the most relevant in the aspect of organizational design can be attributed to power distance and uncertainty avoidance which is why these factors are important in assessing the relationship of national cultures and the organization. In the organizational context, the Greek business culture shows a strong sense of hierarchy and the partenalistic relations that exist in Greek companies; this is evident in the high score in the power distance. In further putting this with respect to Hofstedes description of this dimension, the Greek society as well in Greek organizations, there is the accepted presence of inequalities in terms of the distributio of power. The acceptance in human inequality, interestingly, may not fair well with the Greek fundamentals on democracy but apparently, such cultural characteristic is more of an indicator of a strong sense of respect towards authority (Joiner, 2001). Leadership is therefore emphasized in Greek organizations, and in business, there is much dependence on the companys leaders when it comes to making decisions. Such cultural factor can then be attributed to the historical development in Greece which, accoding to Psychogios and Szamosi (2007), lived in a society with the centralized Greek political system that highlights the powerful state and the large public sector (8). In terms of the reflection of Greeces high uncertainty avoidance index, many studies have actually revealed that groups with hih uncertainty avoidance index demonstrate a fear of making decisios, hence, the presence of many rules that can be easily referred to. In Greece, according to studies by Bartholomew (1995), Bourantas, et al. (199), among others (as cited in Joiner, 2001), fear of decision-making has been found among Greek managers and subordinates, hence, much of these activities are left to the upper management. There is indeed the influence of culture in terms of the business own practices. Although this may not be true in all cases, the general perception towards Greek businesses reflect how the business culture have its foundations according to its societal values, these values are which influenced by the countrys culture. III. Section Three In Comparison with the US Business Culture Based on Hofstedes cultural model, Greece scored high in power distance index, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance index, whereas it scored low in individualism. These scores translate to the Greek business culture of centralization, concentrated power, more distinct gender roles, and high reliance on the organizations to take care of the employees family. Greek employees are also found to possess the characteristics of loyalty, integrity and dignity, as guided by the concept of filotimo. In comparing this to the American culture, the contrasts can be immediately seen the differences in the scores Hofstede gave the United States (Hofstede, 2001). The US scored high in individualism, low in power distance index, uncertainty avoidance index, and long term orientation, whereas in terms of masculinity, the US scored above average. The similarities can be therefore seen in the masculinity aspect in which both shows that gender roles remain to be differentiated in the American business culture. However, the similarities end there. Based on the scores, the American culture can be described as highly individualistic, with a greater sense of equality and fewer rules thereby showing greater tolerance in new ideas and beliefs. Basically, the American business culture does embody these characteristics. As the country embraced capitalism and industrialization earlier than Greece, the countrys business culture tends to have a more progressive and liberal approach. There is a strong presence of market economy forces in the United States, and employees are also driven by the economic opportunitis presented to them. One of the important aspects in the American business culture is the presence of competition, and competition is present not only among businesses but among individuals as well (McCraw, 2000). Hence, unlike in Greece where a bulk of the important responsibilities are left to upper management, American organizations and their employees grab these opportunities to hold more responsibilities because it means more opportunities for them to gain better positions. Competitive is therefore a characteristic of the American business culture, and this makes sense according to the results of the scores of the United States according to Hofstedes model. Although these scores and comparisons between national and business cultures can be regarded to be applicable, it should be noted that the degree of relevance may not be true in all cases. In addition to the challenges as to the validity of Hofstedes model (Blodgett, et al. , 2008), there is also the case of change that can possibly take place at social and business levels. As discussed in the first section, the applicability is limited as to the relevance of national cultures to business cultures although the fundamentals of a national culture tends to become apparent generally. For instance, the Greek concept of filotimo can be considered to be true even at business levels, and at the same time, the collective spirit can be seen in how many Greek corporations are family-owned. Such is true in the case of the United States in terms of the masculunity scores. Although in some instances gender roles remain defined in the US, in the business world, more and more women have started to hold significant positions across many organizations. Therefore, the relevance of national culture perceptions are only true up to a certain extent but information such as those gathered by Hofstedes studies serve as useful references to the basics of the social and business dynamics in a country. IV. Section Four Opening an American Business in Greece Based on the scores in Hofstedes cultural framework, the USAs national culture distance from Greece is at 3. 47 according to 42 surveyed American firms in the country (Kessapidou Varsakelis, 2002). With this number, it can be assumed that there will be greater difficulty in the successful establishment of the American company in Greece; however, this may not be the case, and the same is true even if the company has a Greek affiliate. According to Kessapidou and Varsakalis (2002), the strength lies in the Greeks characteristic to be collective, hence, they tend to comply with the requirements of the company. In addition, the concept of filotimo can drive Greek employees to perform better, thereby filotimo, in a sense, serves as a source of competitiveness, which is compatible with the American busines culture. However, there may be some problems in terms of the management aspect between the American and the Greek managers, or the Greek managers needing to comply with the demands of American management practices. Although there are highly centralized American companies, the delegation of power and responsibility is one of an American companys assets, hence, should decisions need to be made, even some subordinates may step in and show a sense of leadership. This may intimidate Greek managers and employees, especially if the firm would have American employees working in the Greek operations. In addition, the Greek employees may think that the Americans are too aggressive and ambitious in the workplace, thereby possibly creating a rift among the employees. Hence, the recommendation is that prior to the establishment of the American operation in Greece, both sides need to be educated about the cultures they are about to encounter. Since that Greece is going to host the company, the American company needs to comply more with the Greek culture, but since it is the American company that is going to establish the business, the Greek employees and managers also need to

macbeth as a tragic hero Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A Shakespearean tragic hero starts out as a noble person; a great exceptional being who stands out. A tragic hero has a tragic flaw of an exaggerated trait that leads to their downfall and eventually to death. William Shakespeare often made his main characters tragic heroes in his plays. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the role of the tragic hero is given to the main character: Macbeth. This is because he starts off as a loyal and well liked man in the beginning, but has a tragic flaw of ambition which ultimately leads to his downfall.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Macbeth started off a great and noble man of Scotland and was honoured by the king and his people. He was thought of as a great man and brave among the soldiers. â€Å"†¦for brave Macbeth- well he is worthy of that name†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (I, ii, 26) The king thought so highly of Macbeth that when he killed the traitor Macdonwald, Duncan crowned Macbeth with the title of thane of Cawdor. â€Å"And for an earnest and great honour, He bade me, for him, call the thane of Cawdor: In which addition hail, most worthy thane! For it is thine!†(I, iii, 109-12) As every tragic hero does, Macbeth also has a tragic flaw: ambition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Macbeth can be considered a Shakespearean tragic hero because he possesses the tragic flaw of ambition. He is thought of to be a very ambitious man by himself and other characters, like his wife, Lady Macbeth. â€Å"Thou wouldst be great:/Art not without ambition, but/ Without ...

Exploring The Novel Poisonwood Bible And Macbeth English Literature Essay

The drama Macbeth by William Shakespeare and the fresh Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, are literary plants that explore the deep desires of self fulfilment. While many different literary devices are outstanding in both plants, this paper will concentrate on the intervention of subjects by both writers. Namely the subjects of power and control. These subjects are best highlighted in Lady Macbeth from Macbeth and Nathan Price from the Poisonwood Bible. These two characters best develop the subjects of power and control through their shared features of aspiration, use and pitilessness. Ambition is a reoccurring tool of character development in both The Poisonwood Bible and Macbeth, employed by the writers to stress the overall subjects of power and control. Nathan is a clergyman from America in the Congo trying to conform the small town of Kilanga to the Catholic religion. His aspiration and motivations are powered by fright and blind religion in God, coupled with desire for personal power-which he self interestedly translated into taking control of the small town and holding power over the people. He besides believes that if he does non finish the undertaking he will be unable to come in heaven. His aspiration begins to over power his judgement, his ability to ground and his construct of household, which causes the small town people to beat up against him to seek and re derive their freedom and independency hence exercising their ain signifier of power and re-enforcing the overall subjects. Unlike Nathan ‘s gradual and increased aspiration, Lady Macbeth â₠¬Ëœs aspiration is instantly apparent from the beginning of the drama, and merely grows as the desire for the throne and its power direct her over the border. She right off begins to piece a program to kill King Duncan in order to put her hubby Macbeth in line for the throne. This compulsion drives her insane, and like Nathan her ability to ground, her judgement and her scruples are clouded by her demand for power and control. She acted in ways that showed that she would halt at nil in order to derive the throne even if it meant slaying. Both characters became so ambitious in their efforts to derive power and wield control, that it finally drives them to their ain deceases. Manipulation is another changeless, though more subtly employed, word picture tool in both plants. She manipulated Macbeth into killing Duncan, in order to derive the rubric of King and Queen. Lady Macbeth ironically, felt excessively guilty to kill Duncan herself-due to resemblance to her father-however, had no scruple or concern for Macbeths witting when she manipulated him into killing his friend. In order to carry through this she began oppugning Macbeth ‘s manhood, seeking to convert him that he was emasculate -hence weaker so she, so she and that he could non step up to the undertaking of killing Duncan. This mental use made him oppugn his judgement, which led to him going really baffled. In the terminal her uses were successful, assisting her achieve the power and control she so greatly desired. Nathan like Lady Macbeth, abused his household in order to acquire what he wanted. The villagers had become so fed up with Nathan seeking to command them and their faith that the y rebelled, killing all the white people in their small town. Nathan ‘s married woman and kids are in secret fixing to get away to America, but Nathan, out of fright of solitariness, begins to mistreat and pull strings his married woman, and endanger the lives of his kids, in order to acquire them to stay in the small town and let him to go on his quest. This maltreatment and use allowed Nathan to recover power and control over his household, while doing them even more anguish as they impotently watch the deceases of many people they loved. Both Lady Macbeth and Nathan ‘s uses and evident deficiency of guilt over them, show to the audience merely how pitiless both characters are. This pitilessness is a 3rd of import manner the characters are both developed and the subjects enriched. Nathan is so determined to complete the quest God sent him to make that he forgot his ethical motives and committed awful Acts of the Apostless in order to obtain power over the small town people and control over his household ensuing in the loss of many guiltless lives. His chief distressing act of pitilessness was working his girls and coercing them to remain in the Congo so that he could keep his control over them while the villagers fought for their freedom. These egoistic actions resulted in the decease of his four girls and married woman, go forthing him entirely. Lady Macbeth was far more pitiless so Nathan, upon hearing that Macbeth was to be king she immediately began to inquire God to do her into more of a adult male in order to be able to perpetrate slaying. â€Å" Come, you spirits that tend on moral ideas, unsex me here, aˆ?aˆ?And make full me, from the Crown to the toe, Top-full of direst inhuman treatment. aˆ?aˆ?A Make midst my blood. â€Å" ( Lady Macbeth- Act 1 scene V ) . She lost her scruples wholly and began to move without witting in the effort to derive the throne, her symbols of power and control. Lady Macbeth increasingly becomes more pitiless, until she does non even question the idea of killing Duncan in order to be following in line to the throne, she is over whelmed in her ain desires, that she forgot about everything else that use to affair. Throughout both Macbeth and the Poisonwood Bible both writers develop their several characters of Lady Macbeth and Nathan Price by foregrounding their picks and actions through aspiration, use and pitiless action. These characters therefore serve to foreground the overall subjects of power and control in both plants. Both Nathan and Lady Macbeth sacrificed everything for power and control non recognizing the true cost. Nathan losingss his full household and is left to populate entirely, and Lady Macbeth looses her saneness, driving herself to take her ain life. Their battle for power and control wrecked many lives and in the terminal their several triumphs was so little that it all did non look worth the attempt. COMPARATIVE ESSAY Having†¦ Lady Macbeth from Shakespear ‘s Macbeth and Nathan Price from the Poisonwood Bible By: Tori Skot For: Ms.Zaikos January 7, 2008

Hamlet’s and Laertes’ Revenge: Which One Seems More Justified Essay

When one does an intentional (or even unintentional) act to the detriment of another, the aggrieved party or his or her loved ones may vow for vengeance against the perpetrator of the act. It has always been the kind of emotion that causes a person to feel hatred, show hostility, and display aggressive behavior, revealing the worst of him or her. Revenge can sometimes be bitter and relentless, but some people also call it sweet and fulfilling at times. Thus, it has been a common theme and concept in literature. The world of literature has been flooded with numerous tales about revenge and its consequences. Although most of these stories are tragic and melodramatic, they have nonetheless created a remarkable impact on the readers’ consciousness about the reality and nature of revenge. Shakespeare has been proven by history itself to be a one-of-a-kind literary artist who was able to launch and create many successful tragic plays about revenge. One of his most popular plays about this emotion is that of the life of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark. In this play, Hamlet found several reasons to kill and to make a lot of people suffer due to the death of his beloved father who was mercilessly murdered. However, in the play, there is another character who had the same reason to of taking revenge — Laertes, whose father was killed by Prince Hamlet himself, and whose sister killed herself because of the sorrow brought by their father’s death. Considering Hamlet’s and Laertes’ vow for vengeance, it can be inferred that although they both share the same reason for being revengeful, only Hamlet’s revenge appears to be justifiable in the sense that he knew the truth behind his father’s death, whereas Laertes was blinded by Claudius’ lies and took revenge upon the wrong person. Hamlet’s Revenge The cause of death of Prince Hamlet’s father was actually unknown to the entire kingdom. After his father’s death, his uncle Claudius married his mother and took over the throne. It was only when the spirit of his father appeared in front of them when the real reason of his death was unfolded. The ghost revealed that it was actually the ambitious Claudius himself, the brother of Hamlet’s father, who killed him in order to put the entire kingdom as well as his wife in his possession. Angered by the ill-fate of his father and the unforgivable, abusive, and unjust actions of his uncle Claudius, Hamlet vowed to take revenge on Claudius in order to give his father’s horrible death its due justice. The knowledge of his father’s murder and of his mother’s betrayal of her wedding vows with Hamlet’s father filled him with so much anger and vengeful spirit, as clearly reflected in the following lines: Oh God! A beast that wants discourse of reason Would have mourn’d longer – married with mine uncle, My father’s brother; but no more like my father Than I to Hercules. Within a month, Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears Had left the flushing in her gallà ¨d eyes. (1.2.150-155) This was the start of his revenge. After this point, he almost went mad with all the thoughts that kept running inside his head. He was torn between morality and his revengeful feeling towards his uncle and those people who betrayed his deceased father. However, if one would look closely and analyze Hamlet’s revenge, although it may look relentless and heartless, it all boils down to the fact that Hamlet realized that his father, whom he loved so much, had been mercilessly killed for selfish reasons. His anger as a son can completely be understandable since readers would be able to understand that a son’s love for his father will always be immeasurable. To think that Hamlet did all he could to be at the least careful of not punishing innocent people, it can be said that he never aimed to do worse things than avenging his father’s death. Laertes’ Revenge Just like the reason behind Hamlet’s aggressive revenge, Laertes also lost two of his love ones. That is why, in a fit of rage, he fearlessly faced Hamlet whom he believed was the sole reason behind the loss of his family. His father, Polonius, was accidentally killed by Hamlet who mistakenly identified him as Claudius, while Opehlia, Laertes’ sister, died by drowning herself into a river due to the unbearable grief caused by his father’s death. Thus, just like Hamlet, Laertes was crushed by the incidents, and he felt the same kind of anger and pain just like what Hamlet felt. However, recalling how Laertes got hostile towards Hamlet, it can be observed that Claudius made him believe that Hamlet was to blame for his father’s and sister’s deaths. Hence, brokenhearted at that time and naturally vulnerable and helpless in that condition, Laertes was easily convinced and moved by Claudius’ words. Thus, he started to feel that overwhelming anger and drive to kill Hamlet regardless of what ways or process he had to go through. The events which occurred next were a series conspiracies and plots that Laertes made in order to bring Hamlet down. He also went to Claudius to seek help and advice as to how to kill his mortal enemy. His mind was then clouded by Claudius’ deceiving words which allowed evil to close Laertes’ heart to anything and made him a relentless and merciless enemy of Hamlet. He also succumbed to the evil plans of Claudius that were designed to kill Hamlet in the surest of ways. Although Hamlet succeeded in killing Laertes first, he was still wounded by the sword covered with poison which immediately cut his breath shortly after Laertes fell to the ground. Thus, it may seem that the driving force behind Laertes’ revenge was the deception of Claudius. Unlike Hamlet, Laertes’ revengeful acts were pushed and encouraged by someone else’s motives and intentions which were that of Claudius. As it appears, while Hamlet decided on taking revenge on the people who brought upon his father’s death, Laertes, who went so weak to deception, was nothing but Claudius’ dummy who did just what the deceitful character wanted, without knowing the truth behind the deaths of his loved ones. Which Revenge Appears More Justified? Upon exploring Hamlet’s and Laertes’ revenge, it appears clearly that both of them felt anguished and pained due to the death of their loved ones. The death of Hamlet’s dear father was so cruel and unjust that he himself felt that he should do what he can to make his father’s murderers pay for the crime that they committed. On the other hand, the reason behind Laertes’ revenge was merely fed by Claudius’s lies who wanted to eradicate Hamlet as his opponent from the kingdom. It clearly implies that Laertes’ revenge was pushed through by deceitful and selfish reasons which covered his eyes from seeing the truth behind his family’s death. With this, it can be safe to say that Hamlet’s revenge is more justified in the sense that he knew the truth that his father has been murdered and therefore, justice must make the murderers pay for their crime, while in Laertes’ case, he had been so weak to deception that his anger and hostile treatment of Hamlet had no real and true basis. The tale which made him so angry had been fabricated by Claudius’ lies which made him fight for the wrong reasons and kill the wrong person. However, in whatever ways revenge is justified by others, it is still unacceptable to me since no one must take justice in his or her own hands. To fulfill their vengeance, Hamlet and Laertes had to hold justice in their hands, but as it appears, a person can easily be deceived; therefore, one’s revenge can always be misled, just like what happened to Laertes. Hamlet’s revenge only appears justifiable as he knew the truth completely. Thus, although Hamlet and Laertes shared similar reasons behind their revenges, only Hamlet’s revenge appears to be justifiable in this context.

Health Promotion in the preschool age Essay Example

Health Promotion in the preschool age Essay Example Health Promotion in the preschool age Paper Health Promotion in the preschool age Paper Health Promotion for Preschoolers Many people have questioned the benefits attributed to early health promotion in preschool age. There are several benefits that are associated with early learning for children, with regards to their hygiene, as they grow into adulthood.   This paper analyzes the health issues facing preschool children, and the benefits of addressing them early in the childs life. Introduction Early health promotion has a significant effect on the health of children.   According to Hatfield (12-27), the preschool childrens health problems attributed to lack of knowledge on health matters, manifests themselves into adulthood. This means that children are more likely to have similar problems as adults, that they had as children, if they do not attempt to change their habits.   Early health promotion teaches children the importance of observing hygiene, which prevents them from catching infections.   Since children have relatively weak immune systems, infections are very likely to lead to disease, and hence the need for health promotion in their early years of age. It is very important to promote the health of children, not just when they are in their infancy, but also as they grow into adulthood.   The young children in their infancy stage, experience problems that include toilet training and diaper rush, those in school going years experience bed wetting and learning disabilities, while those in their adolescence experience issues like substance abuse and eating disorders. According to Phinney (63-74), early childhood health problems are likely to manifest themselves into adulthood, and hence the need to address them in their infancy stages. Health issues in preschool children. There are several common health problems that occur to preschool going children and some of them are as follows; The first problem that these children are likely to experience is biting. This can take several forms, among them biting their peers and other people, and biting objects such as toys.   Biting can be caused by several factors; experimental biting may be done by young children as they explore the world.   Frustration biting may be done when the children are frustrated, while powerless biting may be due for the need to feel powerful.   Biting can cause an infection to the other person as well as to the infant, if he or she bites an infected object. Parents should address this problem through making sure that the child feels protected, is not stressed, explaining that biting hurts, and trying to get the child to understand the danger of infection from biting objects and people. Another very common problem among preschool going children is thumb sucking.   In fact, according to   Grombakh (77-89), 90% of children begin this habit when they are aged about two hours old.   He further goes on to say that it is a normal habit that should not cause much worry to parents, provided that it is discontinued by the time the child reaches five years of age. If thumb sucking continues beyond five years of age, there are problems that can result from the habit.   Some of these problems include thumb calluses, protruding front teeth and sore thumbs.   There is also the danger of catching an infection, especially if the hands are not clean. The parents should try to discourage the child from thumb sucking through the use of pacifiers, which cause lesser damage to teeth, as well as due to their ability to be cleaned.   However, the parents should also make sure that the child understands the dangers associated with thumb sucking for long periods of time. The third health problem that is common to children, in their preschool going years, is stuttering.   This is a speech disorder that may take several forms, such as poor pronunciation, pausing between words, leaving out sounds or words, and repeating phrases or words.   This problem is made worse by parents who try to force their children, with this problem, to speak well. This is because the child recognizes that he or she has a problem, and in struggling to improve their speech, actually makes it worse.   According to Kimbrough and Henderson (33-51), speech problems are normal in the development of children, and occur in about 90% of them. However, they further add that true stuttering is rare and occurs in just 1% of children, and is more common in boys than girls. Developmental stuttering is usually caused by language and speech development processes, and the child usually outgrows it.   True stuttering is usually caused by brain disorders, and a child specialist will be able to diagnose and treat the disorder. Parents can however help in the development of speech through making talking fun, and not interrupting the child as he or she speaks, regardless of whether they are making mistakes.

Decline of Rural America essay

Decline of Rural America essay Decline of Rural America essay Decline of Rural America essayThe issue regarding the decline of rural America has been widely discussed in the mass media sources. In the video Great cities: Rise of the megalopolis, there is much important information about the formation of cities, associated changes in rural areas, and alternatives leading to higher quality of life. After viewing this video, it is necessary to define the positive and negative impacts of the growth of mega-cities. In fact, mega-cities create serious problems, but at the same time, provide massive opportunities for human beings (Korgen Furst, 2012).The positive effects of the increased growth of mega-cities include the use of new technology, communication and transport systems to enhance the quality of life; the ability to provide top quality services in different fields of human activity, etc. In addition, mega-cities can be viewed as sources for imagination, invention and technological innovations. Mega-cities constitute the main growth engine of humanity as they generate new opportunities for human beings.   In general mega-cities have become a new form of development of human civilization. Mega-cities with population of 10 million people and more help to increase the level of urbanization aimed at improving the quality of life (New Atlantis, 2007).The negative effects of the growth of megalopolises include high poverty rate, unemployment, high crime rate, poor health care, air pollution and water pollution, gender discrimination, and other problems. These problems lead to social conflict. The influx of new immigrants leads to considerable social, economic and cultural problems. Moving back to the country could not solve the social problems created by our move to the urban areas because the same problems could exist in rural areas. Rural areas are also affected by the problems caused by new technologies.   Although mega-cities create many problems, they remain very attractive to young people coming from all parts of th e world (New Atlantis, 2007).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, it is necessary to conclude that the decline of rural America is inevitable. The growth of communication, transportation, commerce and other areas of human activity requires the use of mega-cities as the main sources for human development.

Hypostatizationâ€Fallacies of Ambiguity and Language

Hypostatization- Fallacies of Ambiguity and Language The fallacy of Reification- Also known as  Hypostatization- is very similar to the Equivocation Fallacy, except that instead of using one word and changing its meaning through the argument, it involves taking a word with a normal usage and giving it an invalid usage. Specifically, Reification involves ascribing substance or real existence to mental constructs or concepts. When human-like qualities are attributed as well, we also have anthropomorphization. Examples and Discussion of the Hypostatization Fallacy Here are some ways in which the fallacy of reification can occur in various arguments: 1. The government has a hand in everybodys business and another in every persons pocket. By limiting such governmental pickpocketing, we can limit its incursions on our freedom.2. I cant believe that the universe would allow humans and human achievement just to fade away, therefore there must be a God and an afterlife where all will be preserved. These two arguments demonstrate two different ways that the fallacy of Reification can be used. In the first argument, the concept of government is assumed to have attributes like desire which more properly belong to volitional creatures, like people. There is an unstated premise that it is wrong for a person to put their hands in your pocket and it is concluded that it is also immoral for the government to do the same. What this argument ignores is the fact that a government is simply a collection of people, not a person itself. A government has no hands, therefore it cannot pickpocket. If the governments taxing of the people is wrong, it must be wrong for reasons other than a too-literal association with pickpocketing. Actually dealing with those reasons and exploring their validity is undermined by eliciting an emotional reaction by using the pickpocketing metaphor. This arguably means that we also have a fallacy of Poisoning the Well. In the second example above, the attributes being used are more human which means that this example of reification is also anthropomorphization. There is no reason to think that the universe, as such, really cares about anything- including humans beings. If it is not capable of caring, then the fact that it does not care is not a good reason to believe that it will miss us after we are gone. Thus, it is invalid to construct a logical argument which relies upon the assumption that the universe does care. Sometimes atheists create an argument using this fallacy which is similar to example #1, but which involves religion: 3. Religion attempts to destroy our liberty and is therefore immoral. Once again, religion has no volition because it is not a person. No human-created belief system can try to either destroy or build anything. Various religious doctrines are certainly problematic, and it is true that many religious people attempt to undermine liberty, but it is muddled thinking to confuse the two. Of course, it should be noted that hypostatization or reification is really just the use of metaphor. These metaphors become fallacies when they are taken too far and conclusions are formed on the basis the metaphor. It can be very useful to employ metaphors and abstractions in what we write, but they carry a danger in that we can begin to believe, without realizing it, that our abstract entities have the concrete attributes we metaphorically ascribe to them. How we describe a thing has a great influence on what we believe about it. This means that our impression of reality is often structured by the language we use to describe reality. Because of this, the fallacy of reification should teache us to be careful in how we describe things, lest we begin to imagine that our description has an objective essence beyond the language itself.

Mozart's Women Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mozart's Women - Term Paper Example Don Juan changes with generations and the Magic Flute, part of the German folklore, has become a universal tale of striving through the trials and tribulations of life. Comparing the women of two operas has proven to be a false reality as most documentation has used fallacies which would be against the purpose of this paper. One example is shown is Kristi Brown's, Mozart's Women. She compared Donna Anna to a misfortunate Spanish maiden. She never once considered the social context whereas Mozart was writing an Italian opera only using the setting and subject matter of "Don Juan" with an 18th century interpretation as did Moliere use "Don Juan" in France in the precedent century. Social context were taken into account in both cases. During her lecture of Mozart's two operas, Mrs Brown never took mentioned the social context of the 18th century. It is the purpose of this paper to show how Mozart integrated the importance into his opera as a way to integrate his values and judgments as a form of communication as well as dissent. An opera buffa was the style of the period. (Grout 517) It was a light hearted opera which made the audience laugh and also to sell tickets. Mozart's Don Giovanni was opera buffa with much controversy. There was much discussion as the theme was thought to be too serious for a "funny" opera". People usually did not die nor were audiences frightened by stoned statues. Mozart's using three women characters was his own characteristic tool enabling to mix reality with storytelling. Gounoud wrote in the 19th century Don Giovanni was an "apogee of the lyrical drama, a wondrous example of truth, beauty of form, appropriateness of characterization, deep insight into the drama, purity of style, †¦.charm and tenderness in the love passages, and power in pathos." (Krehbiel 69) Don Giovanni "can be viewed as an archetype of every man or woman's alter ego, a man who faces that eternal conflict of the tension, desire and craving for love, and the st ruggle between emotion and reason, the spirit and the flesh, or the sacred and the profane". (Ballantine 19) In the 18th century period of Enlightenment, women were given intellectual and artistic liberties that the Don Juan of Moliere would never have had. These liberties were accepted as long as women adhered to the roles of the domestic life as well as appearing to support one's husband. Sexuality was open but behind the screen. Donna Anna, had she been scorned by Don Giovanni by our standards, she would have been considered as having been raped. Had she been scorned by the standards of the 18th century of Enlightenment, it would be possible to assume that he only shamed her future position as an aristocratic. Her role was to maintain the household and support her husband in appearance? Nowhere in the opera is it said why she is scorned, a 21rst century assumption is being made because of Don Giovanni's past histories with women. Much controversy has been made in literature to th e extent of the role women played in the period of Enlightenment. Needless to say, Mozart was highly touched by the dichotomy of the role of women. His wife would forgive him for his philander with servant girls but not with "educated or artistic"(Stafford 119) (Paumgartner, Mozart, 273). To the extent this showed the sexual freedom of 18th century Italy. It was quite common to have extra marital affairs for both men and women. In prenuptial agreements, women were allowed their cicisbeo or man

General Electric (GE) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

General Electric (GE) - Assignment Example There are numerous core competencies and capabilities of the company which act as the major drivers of success and sustainability of the business in the global corporate segment. The success of General Electric has been rooted to the use of effective corporate and strategic management systems in the business. The company has also been revitalised from time to time through the induction of adopting and self-confidence tools like Change Acceleration Process (CAP) to different types of business units in the various industries of operation for the segments of the conglomerate (Chaffee, 2005). General Electric was the first ever company in the global frontier which systematically applied multiple strategic and corporate management concepts and strategies simultaneously within the business verticals. The success and strong performance of GE has also been driven by other factors like strong corporate portfolio management functions, management of talent and movement of ideas (Cameron, 2012). The adoption of three key companywide performed and growth initiatives including Six Sigma Quality, services and globalization have enabled GE to integrate higher levels of sustainability in the business. Another core capability of the company is that many of the large business segments of the business are able to differentiate their outputs with the production of high quality goods and services while at the same time controlling the costs of operations incurred for per unit of the produced goods.

Managing a multicultural workforce and multicultural customers Essay

Managing a multicultural workforce and multicultural customers - Essay Example Managing a multicultural workforce and multicultural customers The functions of human resource management become more varied and complex when the customers and employees are located around the world. Apart from the factors such as technology, economic systems, legal frameworks and industrial relations, the cultural factors also assume great importance in the managing of a global workforce. And the most prominent manifestation of the cultural challenge is the diversity of modern workforce. Thus the human resource in all transnational business endeavors has become increasingly diverse in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, culture, political views, physical abilities and psychological orientation. This essay aims to explore the thesis that efficient management of a multicultural workforce can serve as a pool of opportunities for businesses that cater to a multicultural customer base. The concept of culture is difficult to define in explicit terms. On a broad and generalized level, culture refers to the set of characteristics and features that defines a group and separates it from other groups. The famous social psychologist Florence Kluckholn has defined culture as â€Å"a patterned way of thinking, feeling, and reacting, acquired and transmitted mainly by symbols, and constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts.† The expert organizational scholar Geert Hofstede has described culture as â€Å"the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes one human group from another†.

The Cost of Higher Eduction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Cost of Higher Eduction - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that the cost of the higher education in America has been escalating, and many people are wondering how they will have education for their children. The higher education in U.S is an ultimate optional stage of the formal learning after the secondary education. The educational institutions include the colleges, universities that are both private and public. The cost of higher education is known to be relatively cheaper for the public institutions compared to the private ones. The cost of the higher education has skyrocketed making the college and university education unaffordable. The level of unemployment has also been increasing, and the employed people are not getting any increment of their salaries, but the college tuition fee has been increasing in the public colleges. The cost of the education services from college tuition could be solely attributed to the fault of the institutions of higher learning with the administration being accus ed of the bloat compared to the reduced governmental funding. However, the facilities of higher education have tried to keep the expenditures and the tuition down. Many institutions do not try to inflate the costs of the education deliberately. When the ultimate projection is made the today's cost of the higher education may seem cheaper compared to the future costs. Still, the costs are rising at alarming rates that are faster than the inflation.

Most-Favoured-Nation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Most-Favoured-Nation - Essay Example MFN is regarded as an important standard code of international commercial transaction. It has been said that MFN clause is one of the commonly adopted principle in the international investment2 domain. The definition of Most favoured-Nation is3 well explained in Article 5 of International law commission Draft Articles4, Treatment accorded by the granting State to the beneficiary State, or to person or things in a determined relationship with that State, not less favoured than treatment extended by the granting State to a third State or to person things in the same relationship with that third state. The scope of Most Favoured nation is a two way sword creating controversies related to whether the international investment treaties covers jurisdictional or procedural matters. The inclusion of MFN clauses became a general practice in the numerous bilateral, regional and multilateral investment-related agreements till 1950. The aim of MFN clause is to reiterate the importance of equality of treatment irrespective of the nationality of the investors5 and eliminate the discriminative forces.MFN clause had a variant approach towards different treaties leading to more problems in identifying the scope and extend protections based on different treaties and their conditional clauses. Thi... There are 2 differing hypothesis raised by experts on the scope of MFN clause such as MFN clause could be extended to cover jurisdictional matter. The scope of application of the MFN clause concerned does not cover procedural or jurisdictional matter.The above hypothesis involves 2 conditional clauses to facilitate the jurisdiction concept. First clause is that the starting point of interpretation process should be a MFN clause. Second clause assumes that the MFN clause allows the incorporation of the provisions of the dispute settlement mechanism included in third-party BITs8. Overview of Recent Arbitration Cases Among the numerous cases brought to ICSID9 in recent years, two cases, Maffezini v. Kingdom of Spain10 and Tecnicas MedioAmbientales Tecmed S.A. v. the United Mexican States stand out as raising issues concerning the MFN clause. In Argentina and Spain treaty(hereinafter BIT) ,the claimant can avoid stipulations in the absence of the a friendly settlement and negotiation within six months period, the host state has eighteen months trial period to work on the dispute as the disputes are first filed at the local courts of the host state. Host state should make an attempt to resolve the dispute before the claimant approaches tribunal arbitration as the next step. The invoking of MFN clause by the claimant refers the Article IV (2) of the Argentina-Spain BIT that. In all matters subject to this, treatment shall be no less favourable than that extended By each Party to the investments made in its territory by investors of a third country11. The above article guarantees a fair and equitable treatment for the claimant and there can be a replacement

The Cost of Higher Eduction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Cost of Higher Eduction - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that the cost of the higher education in America has been escalating, and many people are wondering how they will have education for their children. The higher education in U.S is an ultimate optional stage of the formal learning after the secondary education. The educational institutions include the colleges, universities that are both private and public. The cost of higher education is known to be relatively cheaper for the public institutions compared to the private ones. The cost of the higher education has skyrocketed making the college and university education unaffordable. The level of unemployment has also been increasing, and the employed people are not getting any increment of their salaries, but the college tuition fee has been increasing in the public colleges. The cost of the education services from college tuition could be solely attributed to the fault of the institutions of higher learning with the administration being accus ed of the bloat compared to the reduced governmental funding. However, the facilities of higher education have tried to keep the expenditures and the tuition down. Many institutions do not try to inflate the costs of the education deliberately. When the ultimate projection is made the today's cost of the higher education may seem cheaper compared to the future costs. Still, the costs are rising at alarming rates that are faster than the inflation.

Aspects in Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Aspects in Human Resource Management - Essay Example "Its focus has been traditionally disadvantaged 'group' categories of gender, race/ethnicity, disability and sexuality, and its basis has been seen as one of 'social Managing Diversity which has its roots in the US and has been considered as a "backlash against the promotion of ideas of social justice based on minority group advantage, is explicitly based on the 'business case' and emphasises multiple, individual difference, potentially applicable to all employees" (e.g. Kandola and Fullerton 1998) The basic argument that the gathering and utilising all available talents will greatly benefit the organization has also been found to the basis for the concept of equal opportunities policy. (Liff 1999; Liff and Dickens 2000) However diversity management is viewed more as an organizational imperative. Though the objective of diversity management is also the utilization of all available talents it is said that there is a shift in the orientation of this policy from the concept of equal opportunities. Nevertheless the concepts of equal opportunities and diversity management as emerging aspects of Human Resources Management (HRM) are occupying a central place in the recent periods. In this context this paper presents an overview of the conceptualization of both the HRM aspects and also presents an evaluation of some of the ways in which the present day organizations can improve upon their policies on managing diversity and equal opportunities to make them more effective. 2.0 Concepts of Equal Opportunities and Diversity Management - An Overview: "Managing diversity effectively follows on from, and expands on equal opportunities"(NCVO) Equal opportunities is about keeping within the law and the decisions about the payment of wages, recruitment and promotional policies are to be framed on the basis of the capabilities of the individuals to perform their functions effectively. This requires a systematic policy approach to all facets of personnel management and such policies are framed by a pre-empting discrimination. "Diversity is a more wide-reaching approach to equal opportunities work. It incorporates the principle that all workers should receive equal rights but, rather than ignoring the differences between people in terms of their gender and race, this diversity should be recognised and respected." (NCVO) Diversity management works on the basis of a valuation of the varying aptitudes and skills that different workers bring along with them to be utilized by the organizations. Under this concept the managers arrive at a working environment where all the workers are valued on the basis of their individual skills and expertise and also such skills and expertise are utilized to the fullest extent. Cooper and White (1995) suggested that one reason that equal opportunities had not really made an impact was because those who had the power to change the inequalities - white, able-bodied males - had never really experienced discrimination in employment. This was the possible reason that the interests of the minority group was never focused nor there any empathy with the issue. Research by the Equal

Police Control of Juveniles Essay Example for Free

Police Control of Juveniles Essay The paper that was written by Donald J. Black and Albert J. Reiss Jr. started by the definition of the deviance as a behavior in a group wherein there is a chance that there is a sanction when deviant behaviors are detected. This control approach as defined by the authors is a process carried on with the analysis, detection and the process of giving the adequate sanctions in the process of policing the juveniles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Donald J. Black, as one of the authors of the study, was a professor of the social sciences at the University of Virginia. He completed his doctorate at the University of Michigan during the nineteen sixties. He pursued his post doctoral studies at Yale Law School as a Russell Sage Fellow in Law and law and social sciences. After that, he moved to the Harvard University during nineteen seventy nine. Where he held appointments in law school and the sociology department where he also used to be   in the Yale School. After that, he taught as Law School teacher when he moved to the University of Virginia in the nineteen eighties.Due to his professorship, he is able to teach in any of   the different schools and departments of the university.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due to his wide experience in teaching and studies, he has numerous publications in the sociology of morality, law and conflict. Due to the expanding works o f Black, it includes works such as theory of the differential success of ideas, a theory of scientific theory, theory of scienticity, and theories of the behaviors of natural beings. The 1994 theory Prize plus the Distinguished Book Award of the American Sociological Association due to his most recent work: the Social Structure of Right and Wrong. His other work also include: (1) Behavior of Law which was translated to different languages; (2) The Manners and Customs of the Police and Sociological Justice, and ; (3) an article which has won him the   Distinguished Scholarship Award still from the American Sociological Association entitled â€Å"The Epistemology of Pure Sociology† a recent article that was published in Law and Social Inquiry. He was also an editor of the Oxford University Press for the books called â€Å"Studies on Law and Social Control†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, his popularity made him invitees as speakers and lecturers to a number of countries in the world: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, France, Scotland, Poland, England and Japan. Furthermore, he is father and founder of a sociological class which includes no psychology or even people as such. This sociological class is known as pure sociology. This sociological class is believed to publish a book   regarding the subject with the title â€Å" the Death of the Person†. Also, other works such as a book-length project about a general theory about the prediction and explanation of the existence and of struggle in human relationships.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another author, Albert J. Reiss is considered one of the greatest influences of the Penn Criminology. Reiss works distinct and uniform emphasis on the organized field research and evidence-based policy is considered the trademark of Penn Criminology.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Albert Reiss has been the research director for President Lyndon Johnsons Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice during the nineteen sixties.   Using laboratory like procedures and precision and direct observations, he has able to introduce a fresh way of studying violence. Due to his works, he has found out that the endangerment of having violence directly depends on the type of police encounter. The two types of police encounter is â€Å"proactive† and â€Å"reactive†. The first relies on the idea that the police has been invited by a person who is present in the area to intervene in   the situation while the second one refers to the idea that the police has intervened in a situation even without the invitation of the people whoa are present in the scene. This means that the police has intervened in the situation at their own expense. From the results of the researches conducted by Reiss, he theorized that police encounters on situations with the consent of the people around brings about less resistance compared to the situations wherein the police has intervened on their own which brings about more resistance from the civilians that brings more violence. Reiss studies has made headlines that almost seventy five percent of all the white police exhibits racial discrimination against black civilians. However, the results of Reiss studies brings about the fact that there in no significant difference in the brutality of the police against black and white. He also found out that both races has been illegally assaulted and brutally treated in front of the public either during their arrest or not. Aside from Reiss project on police control, he also introduced the method of using surveys and studies of reported crimes. This method has detected high rates of undetected delinquent works among middle and upper class juveniles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reiss was born in Cascade, Wisconsin on December 9, 1922. He studied at Marquette University, however, he disturbed his studies by joining the US Army Air Corps in World War II by serving as a meteorologist. He finished his doctoral studies in sociology at the University of Chicago. While teaching at the university, he also led some studies regarding probation, juvenile and neighborhood delinquency. When he finished his doctoral studies during 1949, he was promoted to assistant professor. After that, he shifted to Vanderbilt University as he was delegated the chairman of the Sociology Department of the university in the 1952. After serving as the Chairman of the sociology department in the Vanderbilt University, in 1959, he moved to University of Iowa, then University of Wisconsin and then, finally serving as the chairman of sociology at the University of Michigan in 1961. He began doing his field research about police in the University of Michigan. And then, from 1970, until the year he retired in 1993, he began teaching at the Yale University. During his stay in Yale, he published â€Å"The Police and the Public†, his most influential writing about social organizations regarding police confrontation with citizens. He spent his time serving as a senior adviser to ranges of surveys, experiments and researches in Europe, United States and Asia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Basically, the research that was conducted by Black and Reiss is about finding results on the official detection and countenance of juvenile aberrant. In the investigation, the study is centered on the specific conditions that would in effect cause the chance of having sanction by arrest with relation to the involvement of the police force in certain situations. In general, the study is about processing a control method for juvenile deviance. In relation, the study is also inclined to the interaction that is happening between the juveniles and the representatives of the police system. According to the research conducted: (1) most of the representatives of the legal systems engagement with juveniles would come up due to the direct response of the citizens who take the drive in mobilizing the police during situations; (2) a high fraction of juvenile and police encounters occurs due to reasons that are of minor significance; (3) t he chance of having certain sanctions due to arrest was found out to be very low for the juveniles who have had encounters with the police; (4) the chances of having arrest increases with the alleged seriousness of juvenile offenses as defined by the criminal law for adults; (5) the way the representatives of the legal force sanctions the juveniles is directly dependent on the preferences of the complaints of the citizens during encounters; (6) there is highly significant difference between the number of blacks that are detained than the number of whites detained, however, there is low or even no evidence of racial discrimination; (7) situational evidence is very important in correlating the act of juveniles in order for an arrest to take place; and, (8) the chances of having arrest is most likely in respectful juveniles than those who are disrespectful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The research continues from the deviance definition and is defined as applicable to any class of behavior wherein there is a great possibility of a sanction that is negative and is regardless of its detection. From the eight ideas that were gained from the research, it was known that there are different factors that relates the detection of the negative sanctions particularly the sanctioning of juveniles. Therefore, the research was made in order for the instances and factors that requires control for the existence of the situation. Moreover, the aim of the research was definitely to discover and investigate the organization of deviance and control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The study of Reiss and Black about the juvenile control has examined the officers and the representatives of legal systems encounter with the juveniles. They have employed a wide range of methods involving orderly approaches and systematic social observations. The research also took into account the actions that are done by the police and the juveniles in each of the different situations that they have encountered. They have also included the actions and reactions made by the police in their multiple attempts to resolve situations with juveniles. The research has also brought to public a more clear view of the kinds and varieties of offenses and situations in which juveniles can be involved. Moreover, the research also includes a broader scope on the situations that may bring about the juveniles into juvenile justice system and the like.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Generally, the research conducted by Black, Reiss and Lundman is focused on the decisions that are made by the members of the legal system when it comes to juvenile cases and in police-juvenile encounters. Another study conducted by Worden and Myers has similar scopes and documentations. This independent study in the other hand, is focused on the practices that can be observed in police and the representatives of the legal system during encounters and arrest of juveniles. This research also focused on the other forms anf kinds of the authorities that are used by the police such as, investigative tactics, advising, threats and commands. Still another study focuses itself on the contact records from 1968 to 1975 and analyzes the practices that are used by the police members in arresting juveniles. This research has been done Sealock and Simpson.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Generally, all of the studies that ere conducted were very similar to each other. They are focused on the decisions that are made by the police and the members of the legal system during or not during arrest and confrontations. All the researches aims to know the factors that helps the police and the legal   system members decide on what certain actions are they going implement and what factors are they going to consider in implementing such actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are also studies that only replicates the works of Reiss and Black. A study that is conducted by Lundman, Richard, Richard E. Sykes and John P. Clark entitled Prevention and Control of Juvenile Delinquency. For the author, Richard Lundman achieved his doctoral studies in the University of Minnesota in the 1973. Dr. Lundman is also an alumni and a distinguished professor at the Ohio State University. Lundmans areas of expertise is in the deviance, white collar and corporate deviance, criminology, juvenile delinquency rate, race, ethnicity, policing and gender. He has also garnered certain awards such as Excellence in instruction Award of the Department of 2002 Sociology Undergraduate Students at the Ohio University. Also, he is recognized as an outstanding faculty member of the Ohio State University during 1997.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This work has been repeatedly updated and in its third edition, the work has been really updated and has included primary trends in the environment. It also covers neighborhood and  Ã‚   individual based origins of juvenile delinquency. The research also covers the study on the problems which includes the minority problems of ever representation i n the justice system. The study also include the situations pertaining to diversion.  Ã‚   It is also concerned with the vital projects that are fundamentally shaping the ideas, decisions and thoughts or actions regarding crimes that are achieved by the youth. The author of the study also added the idea that the things that has been done in the past should also be the ones to be done in the future. He also believed that doing less to the juveniles than doing more to them will be of great help to them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Primarily, the research that was conducted by the author of the replication of the works of Black and Reiss supports the ideas that were given by the first research. The second research that was conducted by Lundman also believes on the ideas regarding the effects and results given by the reactions of the citizens and the juveniles in certain situations. Moreover, ideas that were presented in the second research were only reiterations of the first research. However, there are only certain changes in the scope and the primary concern of the research. Generally, there the scope and the primary concern of the research was broadened in the second research. The first research has only limited its scope in the juveniles and the representatives of the legal system before engaging in arrests and sanctions. It is also concerned with the results and the effects of the reactions and actions of both the juvenile, the representatives of the legal system as well as the citizens that are present in the situation. However, in the second research, it mostly is concerned with the broadening of the scope and the concerns of the research. If the first research is only about the juveniles and the representatives of the legal system, the second research has also included the reasons and effects that brought about the reactions of youth and the reasons that bring them into crimes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As a summary, the two researches that were conducted by the three different authors are really of great help to the society, representatives of the legal system but also to the juvenile personalities inside and even outside the corners of the prison cell. It also aids in bringing out the idea that the possibility of racial criticism that is believed to be experienced by the black juveniles. Racial discrimination is believed to have been done by the representatives of the legal system during situations wherein the ones that achieved crimes are black. Discrimination is also believed to have been practiced by the police during application of sanctions. For so long, racial discrimination among the blacks and the whites is very rampant and is still believed that it can be still observed in certain situations nowadays. However, due to the researches conducted, it was discovered that the belief that racial discrimination can still be observed in the police and the manner of application of the sanctions to the juvenile is denied. Also, the researches has also set the ideas regarding the actions and reactions that can be observed during police involvement in certain situations. Reference New York Times (2006) In Memoriam: Albert j. Reiss Jr. Retrived, November 30, 2007, from http://www.crim.upenn.edu/reiss.htm. Sage Publications. (1978). Police Control of Juveniles. Retrieved, November 29, 2007, from http://jrc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/15/1/74. URMMA. Juveniles, Police Model Policy. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.urmma.org/html/juveniles.html. Division of Criminal Justice (1990). Juvenile Matters. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.state.nj.us/lps/dcj/agguide/juvenile.htm. Sherman, Lawrence. Criminologist Albert Reiss Dies at 83; Pioneered Research on Violence. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from www.yale.edu/sociology/news/docs/reiss_obituary_nyt.pdf. SCCgov. (2007). Representation for Juveniles. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from sccgov.org/portal/site/scc/chlevel3?path=/v7/SCC Public Portal/. New Hampshire Bar Association. The Rights of Juveniles. Retrieved December 1, 2007, from http://www.nhbar.org/for-the-public/the-rights-of-juveniles.asp. Black, D. and Reiss, A. Police Control of Juveniles. American Sociological Review, Vol. 35, pp. 63-77.

Constructing and analysing financial tools

Constructing and analysing financial tools Part (a) Part (b) Part (c) Independent study skills cultivated in 3 academic years. The first is self-study ability. In level 4 and I will take introduction to accounting and introduction to financial statement preparation. These two modules explain the basic financial reports, liking income statement and balance sheet. The knowledge in class about this part is not enough, and I should find more related explanation and practise to enhance my understanding. Fortunately document and web links provided by Leeds will direct students to reading materials and additional activities in a range of modules such as Introduction to Accounting (H4), Dealing with Accounting Adjustments (H5) and Accounting Issues (H6). Students will be able to self-check their understanding by completing online quizzes. As a student, I should correct my attitude towards study and learn to study independently. Level 4 is the foundation of financial accounting, when I learn more about accounting adjustments and group financial statements in level 5 and 6 with the self-study ability, it is not imposs ible for me to correctly construct financial statements for all diverse kinds of corporations in the future, and this would be a great advantage for a employee. The second is about efficient communication and team working skills. I should value the contributions of my peers in team working, for example in the preparation of a group presentation in the Business Context module and Strategic planning and Control module. Working in groups to manage and carry out a simulated business project synthesizing the expertise and skills developed throughout the course. During the process our group members have to assign reasonable apportional proportion that is suitable to their advantages to each members through efficient communication. In workplace, efficient communication makes you professional and team work makes you competitive. The thirdly is use of university e-services e.g. VLE, portal, library and email. We should use appropriate e-tools to locate, access and utilise information that facilitate learning e.g. library e-catalogue and search engines. In Level 4 students will use Excel spreadsheets to create, manipulate and analyse data in the Data Analysis for Finance module. in Level 5. IT for Accountants will extend students’ Excel spreadsheet skills as well as improve their employability prospects through use of the SAGE accounting software. This will involve importing and exporting information from accounting systems into spreadsheets in order to manipulate data. Students will have to continue to demonstrate digital literacy at Level 6 e.g. In the Strategic Planning and Control module students are required to carry out internet based research and prepare a set of final accounts using Excel. The digital literacy is significant in the career life. It is necessary for a employee to be successful. Part (d) Competencies I already have Communication skills. I control good skills of communicating with people. I can clearly identity other people’s advantages and weakness through talking with them. In addition to that, in the group assignment of Business Context, my responsibility is to coordinate every team members, tell their objective and absorb their ideas. Computer literate. I am interested in computer, I am good at internet detective. And using correct resource to achieve the already set objectives. Time management. Normally I use timetable to arrange my daily work, especially for the team work. I will inform my group members early and guarantee they will be there on time, and urge them to finish their part work on time. Competencies that need enhancing Mathematics. my mathematics is poor, always make mistakes, so I need to concentrate on the question and numbers when I am doing calculation. This should be improved definitely. Problem solving. I am not good at solving problems, so I should read more people’s experience, and learn their decision making in the same situation. Future career path My personal goal is to become a charted accountant within industry or commerce. This allows me to specialise my financial expertise. However, my long time goal is gaining all the knowledge and skills to open my own accounting company. Below I will make a schedule to make my dream achievable

Florida’s Literacy Problem Essay -- Teaching Education Essays

Florida’s Literacy Problem Despite numerous literacy-promoting programs all over the state of Florida, literacy still remains a problem for this state. People just don’t seem to want to waste their precious free time staring at words on a piece of paper, but would rather stare at moving pictures on a screen. Obviously this is a problem, as Florida’s FCAT scores are less then perfect when compared to the scores of the rest of the nation. Something needs to be done to get Florida reading. It may be unfair to attribute all of Florida’s reading problems to television. Not everyone in Florida has cable or even owns a TV. Many poor children have no permanent home and therefore do not have the necessary conditions to learn to read as well as their middle-class counterparts. There are also...

Feasibility of Nationalising the South African Mining Sector Essay

Introduction The mining industry forms the foundation of South Africa’s economy. Currently South Africa is the biggest producer of platinum in the world and one of the top producers of gold. Julius Malema, the leader of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) was at the forefront of having a detailed perspective on the nationalisation of mines in South Africa at the beginning of 2010. Malema believes the nationalisation of mines will solve all economic disparities in South Africa. There are many South Africans who agree or disagree with this idea. The following discussion will provide answers to why it should be done and who benefits or why it should not be done and what the shortcomings are and the costs that the country will incur if it were to be done as well as examples of nationalisation in other countries (Roberts, 2011). Discussion Nationalisation is the operation of transferring ownership from the private sector to the public sector. According to the minister of finance, Mr Pravin Gordhan stated on the March 14, 2011 that nationalisation of South Africa’s mines and other economic assets are not government policy. â€Å"Nationalisation of mines means the democratic government’s ownership and control of Mining activities, including exploration, extraction, production, processing, trading and beneficiation of Mineral Resources in South Africa†(ANCYL, 2010). Therefore this would mean that no mines would be publicly owned but they would be owned by the state. It has been sixteen years since apartheid and the white minority of 10% of the population owns 80% of the country’s economic wealth. The Freedom Charter is a document that expresses the economic, social and political will of South Africans and according to the document, the mineral wealth of South Africa belongs to the people as a nation. â€Å"It is against this background upon which a concrete position on the nationalisation of Mines is formulated in order to guide the ANC in the transfer of mineral wealth beneath the soil to the ownership and benefit of the people as a whole† (ANCYL, 2010). If the state owns the mines it would allow them to manage the economy by controlling the important industries. They could also invest a larger amount of money and make their services more efficient. Nationalisation of the mines does not mean all sectors are in the hands of the country’s citizens and that they will benefit from all the sectors. It does not yet say anywhere what the ratio (between state owned and privately owned) of the division will be when nationalisations occurs, if it does. Therefore people shouldn’t think that the state will automatically have over half or a larger percentage. An important factor is whether nationalisation will be with or without compensation. It would almost be impossible to nationalise with compensation as the government currently doesn’t have the figure of about R 2-trillion which is how much it would cost to purchase the mines. But on the other hand, expropriation without compensation would cause a collapse of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). This would bring down provident and pension funds at the same time. A large number of servants and citizens would be without their retirement investments as well (ANCYL, 20 10). Therefore this poses a big problem already. Some people might think why the mines should be nationalised. Below are three reasons. 1. â€Å"Nationalisation to increase the State’s fiscal capacity and better the working conditions† (ANCYL, 2010). It states that the money received from taxes is not enough to help each and every single South African citizen, which it is not. Education, healthcare, safety and security and housing will not be provided to the masses if the government is not in control of the important sectors. There have been other success stories, such as in Botswana where nationalising the mines provided mineworkers with a safer working environment and higher wages. 2. â€Å"Nationalise to Industrialise and Create more jobs† (ANCYL, 2010). More jobs will be created and industrial investors will be attracted to add to education, expertise and the economy. 3. â€Å"Nationalisation to transform South Africa’s unequal spatial development patterns† (ANCYL, 2010). This means the areas that will be focused on will be ones which will be sustainable in the future as well as effective. Smaller areas that have never been mined before could be targeted as it will provide more jobs in these areas which rarely see economic activity (ANCYL, 2010). Malema believes that everybody in South Africa has the right to the wealth that is produced and that the state should own the larger part of the mines. â€Å"South Africa is divided as we speak. We’ve got two economies in one country, two nations in one country, and it is nationalisation that will unite us† (Andrew, 2011). He also believes many jobs will be created once the mines are nationalised. Patrice Motsepe, a South African businessman, states that he would back Malema’s decision as long as it is in the best interests of South Africa. The ANCYL believes South Africa’s minerals, water, land and marine resources should be used to maximise growth of South Africa’s economy and not purely for profit (Shivambu, 2010). If the mines are nationalised, new economic centres will be developed, new industrial development zones will be established, jobs will be created as the mines owned and controlled by the state will increase local beneficiation and industrialisation of the available mineral resources, and local economies will be developed (Shivambu, 2010). General Secretary of Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU), Zwelinzima Vavi says that â€Å"Nationalisation can bolster our economy and it will always ensure development† (Beukes, 2011). He said that the nationalisation of the mines will make available money to all the people of the country, not only those who are currently working in the private sector (current mine owners) (Beukes, 2011). One of the ANCYL’s argument is that nationalisation was a demand found in the Freedom Charter and that South African citizens should share the mineral wealth of the nation between each and every one (Achary, 2010). Thus there are valid reasons for the mines to be nationalised but the major concern is the cost that the country would incur to make nationalisation happen. â€Å"Nationalisation is an unaffordable, untimely and frankly unnecessary suggestion, which has already undermined market stability† (Time, 2009). It would cost South Africa R1.4 to R2 trillion to nationalise the mines which seems silly if you think South Africa has the fifth biggest mining industry in the world. This figure does not include extra running costs as well as the costs that go with running loss-running mines. This shows it is a big part of the economy and would be tough to be nationalised. This figure is the same as trebling South Africa’s national debt over a single night, which is unrealistic (Time, 2009). â€Å"The debate on the thorny issue heated up with business executives and analysts warning that nationalisation would damage the economy† (Isa, 2011). Many say it is a disaster and has been for every country who has tried to pull it off. Susan Shabangu said â€Å"consideration of the step was misguided, as the real issue was to address povert y, unemployment, and inequality† (Isa, 2011). This shows that the debates that are ongoing will deter foreign investments. The ANC do realise that it’s close to impossible to nationalise the mines and come off on the right foot but are currently looking at models of how it could be implemented effectively (Isa, 2011). The nationalisation of mines has also been seen as a ploy to try and save Black Economic Empowerment (which has been in place in South Africa for a while, but has not achieved what it hoped to) and not focusing on the amount of poor in the country as well as the amount of unemployed workers (Business Day, 2011). The market value of South African mines (listed) is almost 850 billion rand which is above a third of the country’s total Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Therefore the government should be more concerned over matters such as the education level and the health of the countries people. â€Å"Zambia nationalised the copper mines, which supplied 90% of its exports, in the early 1970s. It ended up hiring back the multinational copper companies to manage them† (News24, 2010). Zambia is the world’s 11th largest producer of copper. The mines were nationalised in 1969 and at this time were exporting about 700 000 tonnes of copper per annum. By the year 2000, exporting figures had constantly decreased to 225 000 tonnes. The result of the decline was partly because of a lack of investments as well as mismanagement of the mines. â€Å"Zambia has neither the capital nor the skills to run the mines by itself† (Time, 1969). Other factors were the drop in the price of copper, a lack of skills among the citizens in Zambia and they were unable to raise capital. They lacked a strong plan with which to back up their initial aim (Time, 1969). Restrictions were placed on exports and imports which resulted in exchange rates rising and therefore gains from exports reduced. Zambia also failed to save earnings when the copper price was high and thus when the price fell, they suffered immensely. Even though the situation is not exactly the same, it does show that to nationalise mines a lot of debate needs to occur as well as research and obviously the country needs the required funds to make sure it can be made possible. South Africa does not have these funds at the moment and thus would not be able to nationalise the mines unless they are willing to operate with huge debts which is unfeasible (Osei-Hwedie, 2003). Conclusion â€Å"Nationalisation is an unaffordable, untimely and frankly unnecessary suggestion, which has already undermined market stability† (George, 2009). This statement sums up the idea of nationalisation of mines in South Africa. It obviously has its advantages such as giving higher wages and creating more jobs but it is clearly evident that the positives are outweighed by the negatives. With so many jobs in South Africa’s mining sector at stake, it is irresponsible to talk about placing this key sector of the economy in the hands of government people. The country does not have nearly enough funds for this project to take place and thus in my view should not take place in even in the near future (Marais, 2010). Reference List ACHARY, N. (2010). Nationalising the Mining Sector in South Africa [Online]. Available: http://www.suite101.com/content/nationalising-the-mining-sector-in-south-africa-a281585 [Accessed 25 September 2011]. ANCYL (2010). Towards the Transfer of Mineral Wealth to the Ownership of the People as a Whole: A Perspective on Nationalisation of Mines. [Online]. Available: http://www.politicsweb.co.za/politicsweb/view/politicsweb/en/page71654?oid=158357&sn=Detail [Accessed 22 September 2011]. ANDREW, M. (2011). Nationalisation will unite SA, says Malema [Online]. Available: http://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-05-nationalisation-will-unite-sa-says-malema [Accessed 21 September 2011]. 3 BEUKES, W. (2011). Vavi joins ANCYL in calls for nationalisation [Online]. Available: http://mg.co.za/article/2011-08-06-vavi-speaks-in-favour-of-nationalisation [Accessed 25 September 2011]. BUSINESS DAY (2010). Nationalisation won’t help poor – Nzimande [Online]. Available: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=147053 [Accessed 26 September 2011]. GEORGE, D. (2009). Nationalising South Africa’s mines would cost R1.4-trillion [Online]. Available: http://da.wwc.co.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=6967 [Accessed 25 September 2011]. ISA, M. (2011). Nationalisation talk ‘costing SA jobs’ . [Online]. Available: http://www.businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=150052 [Accessed 27 September 2011]. MARAIS, E. (2010). Budget Speech: Nationalisation of SA’s mines [Online]. Available: http://www.da.org.za/newsroom.htm?action=view-news-item&id=8231 [Accessed 23 September 2011]. NEWS24 (2010). Zambia’s nationalisation woes: ANC [Online]. Available: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Zambias-nationalisation-woes-ANC-20100730 [Accessed 20 September 2011]. OSEI-HWEDIE, B. (2003). Development Policy and Economic Change in Zambia [Online]. Available: http://www.dpmf.org/images/Zambia-devt-bertha.html [Accessed 24 September 2011]. ROBERTS, J. (2011) SA’s mining industry losing ground [Online]. Available: http://www.businesslive.co.za/southafrica/sa_markets/2011/08/04/sa-s-mining-industry-losing-ground [Accessed 25 September 2011]. SHIVAMBU, N. (2010). The case for the nationalisation of mineral resources [Online]. Available: http://mg.co.za/article/2010-09-21-the-case-for-nationalisation-of-mineral-resources [Accessed 23 September 2011]. TIME MAGAZINE (1969). Mining: Nationalization in Zambia. [Online]. Available: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,898567,00.html#ixzz1YgJNdxqy [Accessed 22 September 2011].