Monday, September 30, 2019

Importance of fault-based liability in English law Essay

Fault is regarded as blame, or responsibility for doing something wrong. The concept of fault is integral to the English legal system when it comes to deciding guilt of liability. In fact, in many areas of law if fault could not be assigned, the system would fall apart as liability can only be found if fault is established first. Fault is particularly important in cases which require mens rea. In these cases it will have to be proven that a certain state of mind was present in the defendant. In criminal law the requirement that mens rea or a guilty mind be established amounts to saying that criminal liability is imposed on blameworthy activity. This close connection between fault and mens rea results in punishment being based on the degree of moral blameworthiness that the defendant is believed to have possessed. The fact that this degree of blameworthiness not only determines whether the defendant will simply be found guilty or not guilty, but is concerned with the punishment, deterrence and rehabilitation of individuals whose conduct is considered by the law to be not only wrongs against other individuals, but also against society as a whole, suggests fault is clearly an essential element. To determine fault the person in question must understand the nature of their actions, be able to exercise control over their actions and must have genuinely chosen to act as they did. These three requirements mean a person’s degree of fault can be reduced if it can be said they are insane, in doli capax (incapable of a crime i.e. a child under the age of ten), or have acted under duress. The recognition of being insane or in doli capax clearly means that they were not able to fully understand the nature of their actions, whilst acting under duress results in them not being able to choose to act as they did. It is also possible that they may not have the capacity to make a genuine choice. In these circumstances it can still be said that the defendant is at fault, but only partially. When dealing with criminal law fault is central to crime in the form of mens rea. Without this element being satisfied the defendant cannot be found to be criminally liable, with the exception of crimes of strict liability. There are three distinct degrees of fault in criminal law, namely, intention, recklessness and negligence. The more at fault a defendant is, the highest degree being intention, then the more they will be held responsible for their crimes. There is also evidence to support this when looking at the two broad categories of crimes; Specific intent crimes and basic intent crimes. Crimes of specific intent consist of those where the mens rea must be intention. Since these crimes hinge upon the highest degree of moral blameworthiness, the greatest degree of fault, they apply to the most serious crimes, such as murder, section 18 GBH and wounding offences, robbery and burglary for example. Subsequently, these crimes also carry the most severe sanctions. Basic intent crimes however require only recklessness to prove criminal liability. It can be considered then that a defendant in a reckless state of mind is less at fault than one possessing the necessary intention, so these crimes tend to carry less maximum prison sentences for example. Involuntary manslaughter, section20 GBH and wounding offence, assault and ABH are all included in the definition of basic intent crimes. The reasoning behind these categories can be understood using Oatley. The defendant here was suffering from severe postnatal depression when she killed her 11-day-old baby by swinging her head against the stairs. Although she was of sound mind this act would have been given a very severe punishment, probably a lengthy prison sentence, she was given a two year probation order and medical treatment. Clearly the defendant was at fault, but only partially due to the postnatal depression. The degree of fault that she possessed at the time of the actus reus was impaired and therefore the degree of punishment should reflect this. Civil law also incorporates the idea of fault into its system. Liability for negligence only arises when the defendant has breached his duty of care to his neighbour and harm occurs as a result of this. In these circumstances fault is defined as falling below a standard of conduct expected of the reasonable person in those circumstances. Although there is evidence to suggest that fault is in fact an essential element in liability, there is some evidence to weaken this theory. Firstly, it is possible that in practice, liability can hinge on chance as well as fault. This can be illustrated using a number of cases, including R v White. In this case the defendant tried to poison his mother but she ended up dying of natural causes before the poison could take effect. Because of this he was not able to be convicted of attempted murder. The defendant clearly had the necessary mens rea, he intended to kill his mother, but chance meant his mother died of natural causes, just a few moments later and maybe the poison could have had an input. However, the poison did not cause the prohibited result so he was not criminally liable. Also, in R v Mitchell, the defendant pushed a man in a queue, who in turn fell against another, who in turn fell against an elderly lady who had to have an operation from which she died. The Court of Appeal ruled that transferred malice applied to unlawful act manslaughter. Chance played in a part in this case too, as it just so happened that the elderly lady was in that queue, that the person he did push fell, not only falling onto someone else, but then that person falling onto the old lady. It was chance therefore in this case that enabled the defendant to be liable for the death of the lady, instead of maybe just for the battery of the first man in the queue. Both these cases illustrate that fault alone is not just what determines someone’s liability; chance can often play an essential part too. Indeed, sometimes fault may be left out altogether from the equation, in crimes of strict liability. Fault can be further understood when looking at negligence. Negligence is carelessness, the defendant wasn’t thinking like the ordinary reasonable person would have done, it’s a lack of thought as oppose to actual thought, not taking enough care that the ordinary reasonable person would have done. In the case of Gibbons and Proctor, Proctor actually wanted the girl dead and so she was convicted of murder as she intended to kill, however Gibbons was merely negligent he wasn’t taking enough care of the child thus he wasn’t convicted of murder he was only convicted of GNM. It must be questioned as to the importance of fault here, negligence is a very low level of fault, it’s not thinking of something you should have thought yet it can lead to a conviction of manslaughter, a homicide conviction. It would seem therefore that fault doesn’t seem to be that important here because you can still convict someone of manslaughter however if you are convicted of manslaughter the judge in that case has complete discretion over sentencing. However still should fault not be more important in this instance, should there not be a higher level of fault than mere negligence. The judge can give an absolute discharge if they chose to do so, if we take in to account proportionality, this is still recognised in the sentence however the defendant would still be labelled as a murderer. In cases involving negligence, the neighbour principal, established in Donoghue v Stevenson is used to determine whether or not the defendant was at fault. This involves looking at whether there a duty of care that was breached, causing the damage to occur, as it was deemed unfair to expect the individual to be liable for people to whom a duty of care cannot be found. The defendant will not be found to be at fault if they have taken reasonable steps to avoid damage occurring, which meet the standards of care that an ordinary and reasonable person would take. The concept of fault is also central to criminal law, for example at trial the prosecution will try to show that the defendant was at fault, whilst the defence aim to show that they were not at fault, and during sentencing the amount of fault which the defendant is considered to have will affect the severity of their sentence. The highest level of fault comes in crimes which were committed intentionally, with the defendant setting out to commit the crime, perhaps having planned it first. The next type of fault is recklessness, which following G v R will always be subjective, which is less serious as there was no intention to commit the crime. However this is still a serious form of fault as the defendant has foreseen a risk. The use of fault in strict liability crimes has been quite controversial as in these crimes the courts are able to assign fault without the presence of a mens rea, so long as the actus reus has been committed. For example, in The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Storkwain, a pharmacist was found guilty of supplying a drug to an addict on a forged prescription despite there being no fault on his part, which many would view as being overly harsh given that by the ordinary person’s standards he would not be considered to have been at fault. Strict liability offences are those where a conviction results from proof of mens rea alone. There is no actus reus requirement, and therefore no need for the defendant’s degree of fault to be established. For example, in the case of Callow v Tillstone, a butcher was convicted of selling meat unfit for human consumption even though it had been inspected and approved by a qualified vet before hand. Similarly, in Smedley v Breed, the defendant was found guilty of selling unfit food even though only four tins out of three million tested were found to contain caterpillars. One case that illustrates absolute liability is R v Larsonneur. The accused was an alien the subject of an exclusion order under which it would be an offence for her to enter the United Kingdom. She was brought to the United Kingdom handcuffed to the police and very much against her will and yet she was still convicted for violating the exclusion order. It is clear that in these examples from the criminal law there is some liability being imposed in the absence of fault. These exceptions can also be found in civil law, although limited. Perhaps the major instance of liability being imposed without fault in tort can be found in the area of vicarious liability. This is when one person is held liable for the tort of another person. This was a practical mechanism established to find someone who was able to pay for damages to the claimant, primarily in respect of the employer for the torts of the employee. Obviously it would be in the claimant’s best interest if they could obtain damages from a large employer for the actions of an individual employee. The justification for this is that the employer should be able to exercise control over their employees and so they can be held liable for the torts of their employees providing that the employee is not on a ‘frolic of his own’. This can be seen in Rose v Plenty where the employers were liable when an employee gave a lift to a person, who subsequently assisted with the deliveries that were the job of the employee and died. In some circumstance liability is still imposed even when the employer gave express and implicit instructions to the employee not to do the very thing that he then did so incurring vicarious liability on the employer. Therefore, whilst this handful of examples of some of the exceptions, both in criminal and civil law, to the general case, they are sufficient to show that the statement that there can be no liability without fault is too general to be true, thus weakening the argument that fault is an essential element in determining liability. Similarly controversial is the use of fault in State of Affairs crimes, where the defendant may have involuntarily committed an offence, yet are still guilty. One such example is Winzar v Chief Constable of Kent in which a drunken man was taken from a hospital onto a road outside by the police, and then arrested for being drunk on the highway, even though he would never have made it onto the highway without the â€Å"help† of the police. As with Strict Liability crimes, the ordinary person would not see the defendant as being at fault here, and may view the use of fault in this area of the law as being unfair. The issue of fault is even present in defences, in that aggravating and mitigating factors can be used to lessen the amount of fault which the defendant is thought of having. For example someone on bail who plans an attack on an old lady will be seen as being more at fault than someone committing their first offence and entering an early plea of guilty. The concept of fault therefore is present in many areas of law, both civil and criminal. In many cases, without the need to prove fault, system would not work as it is necessary for one party to be blamed for the criminal offence in order to settle it.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Insider Dealing in Hong Kong Essay

Although insider dealing has been a criminal offence under section 291 of Chapter 571, Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) in Hong Kong since 2003, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) was initially slow to prosecute offenders, commencing its first criminal insider dealing prosecution only in January 2008. Factors to be considered to commence criminal proceedings In deciding whether to commence criminal proceedings against an alleged insider dealer, the SFC will have regard to the guidelines in the prosecution policy of the Department of Justice, which require two basic factors to be considered: 1. Sufficiency of evidence The burden of proof is greater in criminal proceedings and the SFC will generally only recommend criminal proceedings where there is admissible, substantial and reliable evidence that an offence has been committed and there is a reasonable prospect of a conviction. Where there is a lack of sufficient evidence to meet the criminal burden of proof, the SFC is likely to initiate civil proceedings. 2. Public interest Whether, taking into account the circumstances of a particular case, it is in the public interest to bring a prosecution before the courts. First Criminal Case of Insider Dealing in Hong Kong In the case of HKSAR v Ma Hon-yeung (DCCC 229-240/2008) which involved Ma Hon-yeung, former Vice President of BNP Paribas Peregrine Capital Ltd, now known as BNP Paribas Capital (Asia Pacific) Ltd (BNP Paribas), an investment bank. The case is related to trading in the shares of Egana Jewellery & Pearls Ltd (â€Å"Egana†), a listed company in Hong Kong prior to an announcement made to the market on 11 Jul 2006 aboutprivatization of the company. Ma Hon-yeung learned of a proposed privatization of Egana and tipped off his girlfriend, Ivy Lo Yuk-wah and three other family members, Sammy Ma Hon-kit, Cordelia Tso Kin-wah and Ronald Ma Chun-ho, within days of becoming privy to the proposed deal. All of them bought shares in Egana before the company announced a privatization plan and made a profit as a result. Between 1 June 2006 and 6 July 2006, trading in Egana’s shares ranged between HK$1.35 and HK$1.61 with average daily turnover of 636,630 shares. Trading in the shares of Egana and EganaGoldpfeil were suspended on 7 July 2006 pending an announcement. On 11 July 2006, Egana and EganaGoldpfeil made a joint announcement about a proposed privatization of Egana. The proposal offered shareholders a choice of receiving HK$1.80 per share or one share of EganaGoldpfeil for every 1.5 Egana shares or a combination of both. Following the announcement on 11 July 2006 the share price closed at HK$1.84 with substantially increased turnover of 25 million shares. The privatization proposal was approved by shareholders and by the court and became effective on 23 October 2006. Egana was delisted on the following day. Ma acted as a financial consultant for Egana during the privatization move, which he knew was confidential, price sensitive information. Ma had counselled or procured Ivy and Sammy to trade in Egana shares. He was convicted of insider dealing contrary to section 291(1)(b). Ivy, bought 1.51 million shares in Egana between June 20 and July 6, 2006. She was convicted of insider dealing contrary to section 291(5)(a). Ma transferred a total HK$1.7 million into Ivy’s account before the privatization announcement. She later sold the shares and transferred the money back to Ma’s account. Sammy , Cordelia and Ronald bought Egana shares separately from July 6. Sammy, Ronald and Cordelia traded in Egana shares having information through Ma’s connection to Egana about the proposed privatisation. Owing to their close family relationship between Ma andhis three family members, who received and made profit by utilizing such information, all of them were convicted of insider dealing contrary to section 291(5)(a) and (8) of SFO. Ma and Ivy were given custodial sentences of 26 months and 12months respectively. Ma’s three family members were ordered to serve 200 hours of community service. Fines were also imposed in amounts equivalent to the profits they had made while dealing in Egana shares ahead of the privatization which are HK$230,000, HK$210,000, HK$330,000, HK$110,000 and HK$17,000 respectively. The Court also ordered them to pay the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) investigation costs totaling HK$322,742. This is the first time any person has been sentenced to jail for insider dealing in Hong Kong. The family members avoided custodial sentences because they were merely opportunistic investors making use of the relevant information divulged by the vice-president. There was no evidence that they assisted him in carrying out his plot for personal gain by using insider information. The conduct of the girlfriend, on the other hand, warranted a custodial sentence as she was the person executing the plot on behalf of the vice-president. She was fully aware of his position of trust in the financial institution and had used her trading account to perpetrate the plot. As such, the court viewed her involvement in the misconduct as being much more serious than that of an opportunistic investor; community service could not adequately reflect her culpability. However, we continue to see obvious and flagrant breaches of the insider dealing laws, such as insiders and/or their families’ members will exploited the confidential information they obtained to make a gain on disposal of shares. One of the reasons may be that the punishment for insider dealing in Hong Kong is mild for the offenders.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 39

Business - Essay Example It also notes how changes throughout the project will be made and effected1. AÂ  four year financial project has net cash flows of $20,000; $25,000; $30,000; and $50,000 in the next four years; it will cost $75,000 to implement the project. If the required rate of return is 0.2, conduct a discounted cash flow calculation to determine the NPV If the calculations are based on the numeric model, then Ms. Portillo can review her minutes and make a comparison with the actual figures of the financial period to ascertain everything. After which she can counter check the calculations once more after re-running to confirm the prediction accuracy of the model. Ensure a uniform technique model is used by all the managers in addition to learning on how to implement them. She should also provide auditing to ensure the figures are correct. In addition, she should also aim at reducing the chances of errors from occurring by enabling random sampling of the decisions that are

Friday, September 27, 2019

Coporate finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Coporate finance - Essay Example 2.1 Describe the business model and strategies of Tesco by taking on strategy and discuss with evidences cited from the case how it is consistent with corporate objective of maximizing shareholder wealth. Tesco’s business model is for the company to what matters better together as it deliver its core purpose to customers. The core retail activities of insight, buy, move and sell are what the company tries to make better as supported by its strategies, among others, of building the Tesco Brand, Leveraging Group skill and scale, operating responsively, establishing multichannel offer for customers. The financial results measure the performance on how the company was able to accomplish its strategies and objective of wealth maximization. The business model of Tesco includes those made from the perspective of strategic choices. The strategies being used in relation to its business model including that of operating responsibly which include maintaining its good profitability, efficiency management of its assets, acceptable liquidity, balanced gearing ratio and responsive investment ratios. As to whether the strategies are consistent with the corporate objective of maximizing shareholder wealth, it could be said that there is good amount of evidence. The results of the company’s profitability, liquidity, good Solvency , and good investment ratios provide good pieces evidence of meeting the financial objectives of the and which are consistent with the objectives of maximizing wealth of shareholders. Making good strategic judgements has a good way to determining the company’s prosperity and building value for its shareholders over the coming decade. Building shareholder value cannot be done in instant or in short-term. It is actually long-term as it may even be sacrificing in the short-run in order to attain the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Article Critiques on Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Article Critiques on Finance - Essay Example For example, although, â€Å" 70% of Swedes and 61% of Americans aged 55 to 64 work, a mere 32% of Austrians and Belgians in the range do [so].† In analyzing certain trends, the OECD report has divided its members into four groups having similar characteristics. These groups are â€Å"English speaking’, ‘Northern Europe’, ‘Continental and southern Europe’ and ‘Central Europe’. The first two of these groups have been successful in maintaining high employment rates. This, as per the report is attributed to the fact that countries in these two groups have, â€Å"weaker job protection; less generous unemployment benefits and thinner tax wedges than the average†. The message here is clear, namely, that the best way to reduce unemployment is to get more people out to work by the simple expedient of loosening labour markets. Workers must have an incentive to work to make ends meet, which might not be enough motivation if unemployment benefits are too attractive, or conversely, if the take-home pay is not worth the difference in effort. Encouraging people to work until they are much older is one way of reducing the pension burden, but this is offset by the fact that, â€Å" wages are often based on seniority not productivity†. Hence a correct balance has to be drawn, especially since wastage through retirement is one of the methods of job creation. This article examines Europe’s attempts at a monetary union and whether in fact countries that have adopted the Euro have really benefited in terms if increased trade. When Britain stayed out of the merger, it was projected that should Britain join it would result in a possible increase in trade by as much as 50%, and living standards by up o 9%. However, studies carried out by Richard Baldwin do not support these estimates. Baldwin has worked out that the increase in trade on the Euro adopting countries is only between 5% to 15%, with the average being 9%. The three EU countries that did not join

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Investors in People Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Investors in People - Essay Example a business whose focus seems mainly to be on the external people, their clients/members, to provide a haven from the everyday stressors. The business selected was Fitness First. As the leader in the leisure industry, Fitness First's staff focuses on quality services in order to take care of the members. Employees work so that members can take care of themselves and recuperate from the stressors of daily life. Perhaps by implementing Investors in People, the largest health club operator, which caters to people can also provide cater to their people (employee) and reach its objective more effectively. Hence, the focus of this project was to evaluate how the Investors in People Standard, can be useful to an organization, Fitness First UK, and to evaluate the changes, advantages and disadvantages and possible problems. Objectives of the Research The objectives of this research included: -To critically review the literature on Investors in People, or the Standard, companies that use, and the implementation of the Standard to Fitness First and similar organisations -To identify the strategies in implementing the Standard with Fitness First UK's policies -To find the result of investing in the people who take care of people as an occupation -To investigate the possible impact of the necessary changes, acceptance and rejection of staff,management, clients, and vendors when incorporating change -To monitor employees' motivation and attitude via training, benefits, empowerment,etc. -To examine management's role (this will even involve training managers) -To discover, implement, examine, and find the results of the planning, learning, anddevelopment to achieve organization's objectives as... Fitness First UK's employees work hard in order that client scan recuperate from the stresses of daily life. Perhaps by implementing Investors in People, the largest health club organization, which caters to their external people (clients) can also provide cater to their internal people (employee) and reach its objective more effectively. Hence, the focus of this project was to evaluate how the Investors in People Standard, can be implemented the current policies of Fitness First UK. The Investors in People Standard, or the Standard, provides a framework for organization to follow. However, the framework is kept open and flexible so that organisations can adjust and customize to meet its needs. Based on the actions of the planning cycle, the Standard's guidelines are to Plan, Do, and Review. It is not strictly structured in order that organizations can implement the Standard in the way that is best. This makes sense and is highly effective because each organization and its people are extremely unique. Investors in People UK list their framework: Scutt (1998) lists, "The current Director, John Layne, joined Airline Operations during 1994 and quickly identified the need to improve its business performance, customer service, and reduce costs.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Leader ship Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Leader ship - Assignment Example Leadership is the backbone of the organization. Leaders of an organization are given the mandate of seeing into it that all the organizational operations run smoothly to ensure organizational success. Barnard (1938) defines leadership as the capability of the superior to influence the behaviour of subordinates and convince them to follow a particular strategy. Leaders should inspire confidence to their followers. Various theories have been associated with leadership and have been applied to solve difficult management issues arising in organizations. Individuals in leadership positions must posses’ vast knowledge of social behaviour of individuals or teams within the organization (Robins & Judge, 2010, p. 597). Leaders are innovators and change facilitators. Leaders are concerned with the planning, organizing, staffing, directing, coordinating, reporting and budgeting. Leadership Theories/Concepts There are several leadership theories that have been proposed. They include great man theory, trait theory, behavioural theories such as the managerial grid, theory x and y, contingency theory and many others. The various leadership styles include; participative leadership, transformational leadership, situational leadership and many others. Some leaders think more about their employees than themselves. Others are more committed to their work and have excellent communication skills. For every organization to be successful the leader should show commitment to his work, communicate effectively and motivate employees to perform their tasks (Hassan & Shaw, 2012). The trait theory assumes that individuals have natural traits that help them become leaders. They believe that these merits are inheritable. These traits include intelligence, conduct, sociability, commitment, devotion, determination and perseverance and other inherit abilities (Gorman, 2004). Situational theory argues that leaders arise from different situation in individuals’ face in life. The lead ers are expected to adjust and adapt to new circumstances to be able to deal with the new situation. The path goal theory deals employees motivations so as to enable them achieve the set goals and objectives (Gorman, 2004, p.82). According to this theory leaders have the ability to improve employees’ motivation by clarifying the goals and providing the resources necessary to ensure improved employee performance and achievement of the desired goals. The contingency theories are an expansion of the situational theories. They are based on categorizing various components which can be used to foretell of the best and effective management technique to be applied in a given situation (Hassan, 2009). The Fiedler contingency model proposes that for effective group performance the leaders’ approach must match with the situation, which gives leaders some control. Fiedler tried to establish whether a person is task-oriented or rapport oriented using the LPC scores. He further iden tified three dimensions, which could be used to determine effective leadership (Robins, & Judge, 2010, p. 522). These include leader-member relations, which involves individuals levels of confidence, trust and respect individuals had in their leaders, task structure, which involves the structured and the unstructured degree of job assignments position power which measures the degree of influence a leader has in relation to

Monday, September 23, 2019

Microsofts Products, Domination, Development, Innovations Research Paper

Microsofts Products, Domination, Development, Innovations - Research Paper Example There has been a rapid growth in the number of products Microsoft manufacture. Microsoft released its first operating system. (Cusumano, Selby 1995). It became a massive success, after which the company started to develop. Since then Microsoft continued to hold the best position in the industry. After its invention of the operating system, there was a huge expectation form the other companies. Microsoft developed many new software components other than operating systems. The company started to expand its operations and widened its manufacturing area. It introduced software, without which most of the computers will not work today. The essential software was developed by Microsoft. It had developed a website, MSN which is widely being used. (Stross 1996).According to a survey, this website is the second in the list of sites that have been used frequently. Due to its innovative approach, it out beats the other The products of Microsoft are popular because of its simplicity in terms of usage. People find it easier to use and hence it is user-friendly. Microsoft's search engine, MSN is one among the websites that are being used by most of the people. Though there was a tough competition, Microsoft strived hard to become the best software developers. Microsoft is maintaining a dominant position in the software market as their products continue to rule the market in spite of tough competition. Other companies in the software market consider Microsoft as their major competitor. Microsoft started acquiring other firms and developed their operations. As the company's products are famous, the turnover of the company started to increase. One of the major inventions of Microsoft is the Microsoft Office suite. This turned out to be a huge success. (White, Bruton 2007).

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Why did (west) Germany experience a smoother consolidation of Essay

Why did (west) Germany experience a smoother consolidation of democracy after World War Two than has Mexico more recently - Essay Example democracy can be used to define the power of the people to elect the government representative that is capable of enacting just judgment without prejudice and hate freely. A democratic society allows individuals to experience the freedom without limitations on the choices they make in achieving progress. The people are the makers of a nation, and their policies need to be met without causing discomfort to attribute a free society. Dictatorship, corruption and poor power delegation have been some measures that have led to the unjust policies that limit democracy. Once democracy is achieved, individuals are capable of having their demands met by the government selected and express their desire openly through the personality that they have elected or through the free media. Monarchy and a dictatorship-filled government have been expressed as the systems that limit public participation in policymaking. Germany had defined the society that lacks democracy under their tyrannical leader Hit ler. Hitler had implemented efforts to conquer the world and ruled his nation with policies that he had formulated to benefit his selfish desires. On the other hand, Mexico has been struggling to achieve development even after achieving independence from the Spanish to define a poverty level that warrants intervention. This paper compares the democracy achievement of (west) Germany as compared to the modern day Mexico. Second World War, 1939-1945 had been blamed on the efforts by Hitler to expand his boundaries and gain domination of the world. Hitler had been defeated to lead to the rise of a new Germany attributed to the republic of Bonn (Prowe 1985, p451). This period had been marked with a period of crisis, which was mostly marked with increased political and social chaos. The nation had been used to the rule of the dictator who gave limited room for expression and discriminated against the Jews who were in war against the Nazi. The compositions that had defined Germany had been

Saturday, September 21, 2019

White People and Young Black Men Essay Example for Free

White People and Young Black Men Essay Imagine walking down the street and having people stare at you or call you names, or talk behind your back. Imagine not knowing the time because nobody will tell you. Why wont they tell you the time, or spare you some change? Because you are black. Actually, because your skin is a different color, or because you are a different kind of religion. In a way I admire them because theyve survived for hundreds of years until they were free, and now that theyre free, the modern white man harasses them and beats them. I mean, they even had a world wide organization named for them. The KKK has been around for a while. The KKK, or Ku Klux Klan, began because of their intense hatred of black and Jewish people. Valerie Joseph, author of A Monument To Racism, writes that in front of Danny Carvers house, a KKK leader, in Flowery Branch, Georgia, were 8 or more signs, that read: A brain is a terrible thing to waste, thats why niggers dont have one. Another sign read; NAACP or Niggers, Alligators, Apes, Coons, and Possums. Or insisting that blacks dont have brains and that they should be treated like animals. There was also a figure in the front yard that had 4 young black men sitting on it with 2 KKK hooded members by them. To top it off, Carvers lawn was on the Atlantic highway, the main way through the capital. I strongly agree with Valerie Joseph when she says that she wanted to believe that people actually cared, she wanted to believe that there were lawyers, activists, parents, church groups of all races that were bombarding this man with phone calls and letters. She hoped that maybe teenagers would plan to smash the figures in the middle of the night. She also said that you can help stop this, all you have to do is try to accept people different than you as you do anyone else. If you cant, you dont have to express it, keep it to yourself. If you hear somebody saying something about somebody else, all you have to say is, listen, theyre just as equal as you are. If you do, pretty soon theyll quit. Many years ago, the states had to force businesses and schools to allow blacks in. For example, one of the establishments was the Brown V. Board of Education. Many years before, federal troops forced Little Rock Central High School to admit black students. The question I ask is, why would they want to be there if the government had to force the school system to let them in? Many years ago, there was a segregation where blacks and whites were separated in everyday life. They had different water fountains, restrooms, and even different lines at the movie theaters. Blacks also had to sit in the back of the bus while whites had top picks on seats and standing when a white person wanted your seat. Then, segregation was finally abolished. As blacks acquired middle-class status, just like their whites counterparts, they moved out of central cities and the sustaining buffers between lower-class blacks and the surrounding white role models, etc,were largely removed. (USA TODAY 55) I came across a Time magazine article that was titled Evict The Neighbor. It was about a couple that had been getting harassed by their neighbors and so they sued for $10 million in damages. U. S. District Court Judge Ann Williams granted a settlement agreement whereby the harassers will have to leave their home within 180 days. People continue to do these things even though they know that they could go to jail. Why? We ask ourselves, why do people do this? Well, it all started with the slaves. The African-Americans came to the United States hundreds and hundreds of years ago from Africa. Most of the slaves came from Ethiopia, Zaire, Somalia, and Nigeria. They came across that Atlantic Ocean with some of the first settlers. They were then sold to slave traders and auctioned off. But, back to the modern day; blacks should have some sort of protection or sense of safety with police officers, but lets consider the Rodney King trial in 1993 when police pulled over a drunken black man that they said was swerving all over the road. When the man, Rodney King, got out of his car, more than 3 police officers approached him and beat him almost to death. The whole thing was captured on video tape from one of the police cars dash-mounted cameras. The four identified police officers had a trial and when the verdict given was not guilty. The L. A. riots started almost immediately. People were beating others, looting stores, blacks were shooting people and beating white police officers. Some think that there would have been riots all over again if the jury would have found O. J. Simpson guilty a few years ago. Texaco, a large chain of gas stations throughout the United States, was sued for calling black employees porch monkeys and orangutans. Texaco pled guilty because an employee walked in on a faculty meeting and heard white employees copying the way African Americans talk. All the white employees were also getting promoted to higher ranks whereas black employees were working harder and receiving reduced checks. The settlement in the Texaco case was $115 million to about 1,400 current and former black workers, $26. 1 million in pay raises over five years for black employees, $35 million for a task force to set up diversity training programs, and an independent panel to oversee Texacos employment practices. Another suit was filed against Avis for refusing to serve blacks in North and South Carolina. Also, rappers, who everyone knows are mostly black, are harassed and put down daily, because of what they sing about. Nobody criticizes country singers who sing about the same thing over and over, or the love songs that all sound the same; you cant tell one apart from the other. It shouldnt matter what color that are or what they look like, its the music that they sing. Every parent thinks that rap is bad, because it has a few swear words, but not if you get the edited version. Everyone thinks that only rappers commit crimes. But in actuality, blacks make up to 12 percent of the population, and 30 percent of arrests made are blacks being arrested for violent crimes (US NEWS 93). A black man can not even get a cab for hours because cabbies are afraid to drive through the ghetto. Really, what is the ghetto? Only a place where homeless and low income black and white people live and hang out. In a recent Associated Press article, (Charles J. Ogletree, Harvard Law Professor), a powerful group of civil rights and class-action lawyers will seek compensation for American black descendants from slaves. The effort appears to be the most serious initiative to get compensation for American blacks for 244 years of legalized slavery. Ogletree stated, We will be seeking more than just monetary compensation. We want a change in America. We want full recognition and a remedy of how slavery stigmatized, raped, murdered, and exploited millions of African through no fault of their own. There are more questions than answers in the planned lawsuit, such as: when will the suit be filed, who are the defendants, and what damages will be sought? However, both public and private parties will be the subject of their efforts. This will be the most important case in the history of out country. No one knows the magnitude effect the lawsuit will have on this nation. It would have seemed better that America aggressively pursue a political solution but lawsuits and legislation have really gone nowhere in the past. It will probably come down to this, that when corporate America is hit in its own pocketbook, real change will occur. I strongly believe that the responsibility doesnt solely lie with big businesses and government but also within each one of us. one person can make a difference Making a choice to treat everyone equally, fairly, and with respect is the first step. Watching what we say by putting ourselves in anothers situation first is also doing our part. Otherwise, we just become part of the huge problem we currently have. Whats it going to bewill you be a part of the perpetual persecution of blacks or stand up for what is rightÃ'Ž

Friday, September 20, 2019

Analysis and evaluation of the NHS

Analysis and evaluation of the NHS The National Health Service (NHS) provides healthcare for all UK citizens based on their need for healthcare rather than their ability to pay for it. NHS is funded by taxes. This report identifies the problem with NHS with problem solving tools and techniques. For finding this problem Casual Loop and BOT methodologies has been used. NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE (NHS): On 5 July 1948, NHS was launched by Health Secretary Aneurin Bevan and for the first time health care became free to all UK citizen. In 1952, Patients started being charged for prescription. First mass vaccination programme for polio and diphtheria started in 1958. Before this, there were 8000 cases of polio and 70000 of diphtheria each year. In 1961, contraceptive pills were launched which gives women control over how many children they have. In 1962, Health Minister Enoch Powell put forward The Hospital Plan which set out a 10 year vision for hospital building. Every population of 125,000 was to get a hospital or district general hospital as they become known. In 1967 Abortion Act was passed by a free vote of MPs and introduced by Liberal MP David Steel which made abortion legal up to 28 weeks if a womans mental or physical health was at risk and further limit reduced to 24 weeks in 1990. In 1968, UKs first heart transplant surgery was carried out in the National Heart Hospital in London with 18 doctors and nurses operating a 45 year old man for seven hours. CT scanners were used for first time in 1972. CT scanners started to be used on patients through the development of the previous five years. CT scan machines take pictures of the body to develop 3D images, revolutionising investigations of the body. Worlds first test tube baby was born on 25 July 1978 before midnight in Oldham District General Hospital. To reduce breast cancer deaths in women over 50, breast screening was introduced in 1988 and along with improved drug treatment screening was estimated to have cut deaths by a fifth. In 1990 NHS and Community Care Act was introduced by the legislation which was known as the NHS internal market with health authorities given their own budgets to buy care for local populations from hospitals. In 1994 organ donor register created to co-ordinate supply and demand. It was the result of a five year campaign by John and Rosemary Cox whose son Peter died in 1989 and he had asked for his organs to be used to help others. In 2006, patients were given the choice of four or five hospitals, ending the long held tradition of going where GPs decides. The scheme has now been extended to include all hospitals in England but not adopted elsewhere in UK. PEST ANALYSIS: A review of the political, economic, social and technical (PEST) environment involves analysing the environment for any organisation. UK based healthcare provider for the public, NHS funded by contributions made from taxes distributed by the government to each of the trusts. NHS operates within a politically stable economy with funds pledged by both previous and current governments to the service for improvements in healthcare and salaries for staff. NHS facing the economic environment is a growing economy with a rising elderly population and less working people to support them. It has become increasingly difficult to recruit medical staff and shortages have often been counteracted by employing staff from other European Union countries which in turn increases the population within the UK. The social environment shapes beliefs, values and norms (Kotler). Belief is the core values of the health service and the services it offers was high on the publics list of concerns during the last general election as if NHS is an internal part of the UK and its culture. The technological environment is moving fast within the health care sector with continually development of drugs, advancement of techniques for operations and the use of technologies for both medical and administrative procedures. SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths: There is no real competitor for the NHS although it doesnt have monopoly in the market. Accident and Emergency service is unique to the NHS though private hospitals are available throughout the UK. The NHS has continued to grow and expand upon its services since it was established in 1948. NHS maintains good relationship with health community partners. Weaknesses: Due to increasing population NHS is unable to cope with the demand. High waiting time for the patients. Bad behaviours and attitudes of some staff. Opportunities: Uses of marketing strategies to raise the profile of the NHS. Partnerships and joint ventures with private and voluntary sector. Threats: Work of contractors affects image of NHS. High turnover of staff. Shift of services to primary care. CAUSAL LOOP DIAGRAM: Causal Loop Diagrams contain several components: One or more feedback loops that are either reinforcing or balancing processes. Cause and effect relationships among the variables. Delays. Where feedback reduces the impact of change, it is a Balancing loop. Balancing loops try to bring things to a desired state and keep them there. Where feedback increases the impact of change, it is a Reinforcing loop. Reinforcing loops compound changes in one direction with even more changes in that direction. Causal Loop Diagram has two kinds of relationships between variables: When variable A changes, variable B changes in the same(S) direction. It is indicated by (S) in the diagram. When variable A changes, variable B changes in the opposite (O) direction. It is indicated by (O) in the diagram. The Causal Loop Diagram for NHS contains variables which are as follow: Number of Doctors, Nurses and other medical staff: The number of doctors, Nurses and other medical staff working in the NHS is inversely related to the waiting time for patients. This implies that when the number of staff increases, the waiting time for patients decreases because of added capacity. The number of staff working with NHS depends on softer variables such as their morale and work environment. Number of Patients on the Waiting List: This refers to the number of patients on NHS waiting list. The waiting list becomes short when a large number of patients shift from NHS to private health care and becomes particularly long due to seasonal peaks. Waiting time: This is time a patient has to wait before he/she can be treated by NHS. Number of hospitals, beds, medical equipment: The number of hospitals, beds and medical equipment are dependent on the annual NHS budget and funding. If there is a lack of these resources than it would increase tension in the system and it would take longer to treat patients. Perceived quality of Health Services (Waiting time, Treatment and After Care): -This varies from patient to patient, if the waiting time is too long, the perceived quality of the service is low and this in turn causes more people to complain against the NHS. Number of Complaints: Dissatisfaction of the patients due to increase in waiting times leads to an increase in complaints against the NHS. This increases pressure on the government and the Department of Health by acts of the National Audit Office. Number of Patients shifting to private Health care: The patients dissatisfied by the long waiting times of NHS, started complaining and shifting to private health care. Government action: Longer waiting lists increased media pressure causing the Government to increase its annual NHS budget which relaxes the system temporarily as new funds increases the NHS capacity. Investment in facilities, Medical equipment and information technology: An increase in the NHS budget allows the NHS to hire more medical staff and improve the capacities in hospitals. More patients can be treated within short time and the waiting lists can become shorter as the budget increases. Partnership with Private Health Care: NHS cannot cope with the excessive demand when the waiting lists become too long. So it tends to outsource its service to private health care e.g. BUPA, NHS express surgery units in partnership with state run German and French health care firms. This is quick and short way to fix the problem and tends to bring down the waiting time in the short run. Morale of doctors and other medical staff: This is a soft variable that depends on factors like the quality of the work environment in the NHS hospitals, the work pressure and employee satisfaction. The morale of doctors and other medical staff has a positive effect on the quality of service provided to patients. It also determines the number of doctors and medical staff that stay with NHS or join NHS. Number of patients coming back to the NHS: The waiting list tends to decrease when a large number of patients shift to private health care or/and when the NHS budget is increased to support improved health care. The waiting time for the treatment becomes short and due to this some of the patients who had previously shifted to private health care return to NHS. This once again increases the waiting list of the patients. All the actions and movements of these variables are shown in the Causal Loop Diagram of NHS (figure 1) Figure : Causal Loop Diagram for NHS Key: = Loop 1(Balancing Loop) = Loop 5(Reinforcing Loop) S = Augmenting Relationship O = Inhibiting Relationship The causal loop diagram suggests that a deeper set of forces is at work and the problem situation to be modelled is complex and dynamic. It is necessary to consider both hard variable (number of beds and hospitals) and soft variables (morale of staff). There are 6 loops in the system. There are 2 positive loops or reinforcing loops and 4 loops are negative or balancing loops. In loop 1, increasing number of patients on waiting list increases the waiting time which leads to dissatisfaction and complaints against the NHS. This also switches some patients to private health care. Increasing pressure from public and media forces the government to increase the NHS budget. This tends to have positive effect on the system by increasing NHS capacity and reducing the waiting list. Loop 1 is affected by loop 5 which is positive and reinforcing loop. Some patients decide to return to NHS from private health care as waiting list is decline. This increases the waiting list once again. Hence, there are no proper solutions to the problem or solution is difficult to achieve. Many obvious solutions to the problem like increasing the NHS budget failed in the past. The causal loop diagram contains more negative loops than positive loops. Hence the system appears to be a negative system that tends to counter uncontrolled deviation and stabilise if the waiting list increases significantly. CONCLUSION: NHS is the UK health care service run by the government funded through the taxes. This report shows environmental condition of NHS through PEST analysis and Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of NHS through the SWOT analysis. The causal loop diagram for NHS point out the main problem of NHS which is increasing waiting time for patients and a temporary increase in resources (NHS budget) gave short run solution for the problem. RECOMMENDATION: Collaboration with private health service to decline waiting time. NHS should maintain good relationship with private health service. NHS should overcome its weakness through its strength and reduce its threats through appropriate use of its opportunities. Increase its work force and equipment. NHS should stop the contract based employee and there should be better coordination between doctors, nurses and other employees.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Politics and Modern Musical Artists Essay -- Music Essays

Politics and Modern Musical Artists Musical artists of the modern age have had a great affect upon the generation that the writers of the paper are a part of. Not only have the songs they produced brought us enjoyment and heightened our emotional states, they have also informed us of their opinions. One of the issues drawing the strongest opinions as of late is the American government, particularly the Bush administration. Some of the most popular bands and artists have made it a point to express their views on such matters through their music and concerts, rallying to fight or support a matter relating to the U.S. government. The following bands have influenced at least one of us as their listeners, and the message we carry is that opinion expressed through music is quite an important thing. Eminem has become a huge media icon, not only amongst young people, but also by the regard given to him by older adults. He is the king of controversy, not only for his opinions of homosexuals and drugs, but also his political views. He has been in the public spotlight for about five years now, and ever since his first single, â€Å"My Name Is†, in which he portrayed a promiscuous President Clinton; he has made his view on political figures clear. Eminem seems to have a major problem with authority, and the President is the highest authority, so you can bet your bottom dollar that he has a few things to say pertaining to our Commander and Chief. For Eminem this is not a one-time thing, throughout all of his albums he has always had something to say about politics or the government. In songs such as â€Å"White America†, he speaks on the government's efforts to silence him with censorship. In ... ...hville, 2002. Klosterman, Chuck. â€Å"Fitter Happier: Radiohead Return† Spin Magazine . 2003. Vibe Ventures LLC. 14 Nov. 2004 Mathers, Marshall . Encore . Interscope Records, 2004. Mathers, Marshall . Straight from the Lab EP . Interscope Records, 2003. Mathers, Marshall . The Eminem Show . Interscope Records, 2002. Radiohead. Hail to the Thief . Capitol Records, 2003. Radiohead. OK Computer . Capitol Records, 1997. Sum 41. Chuck. Island Records, 2004. â€Å"Sum 41 Online: Biography.† Island Records . 2004. Fearless Concepts. 16 Nov. 2004 â€Å"Toby Keith: Biography.† CMT.com . 2004. Viacom Company. 17 Nov. 2004

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Flyboy, Inc :: essays research papers

Flyboy, Inc Flyboy, Inc which is successful manufacturer of aircrafts wants to expand its market to Pumonia.(a small oil rich kingdom that was once an Italian colony). The government would be the principal purchaser, along with some royalty private families. It is not possible for Flyboy to enter the marker without a local representative. Flyboy is aware that â€Å"grease payments† and lavish gifts to customer is Pamonia is customary. Before Flyboy can make any decisions in expanding to Pamonia, several aspects need to be carefully analyzed and planned out, to avoid future troubles and make a smooth transaction. Both the advantages and disadvantages of this transaction should be considered. Typically the advantages of effectively expanding abroad outweigh the disadvantages and therefore the advantages will only be boldly stated. More time will be spent in analyzing in more detail the minuses of this transaction and showing how these disadvantages can be overcome by Flyboy. The two major advantages of Flyboy moving into Pamonia include: The opportunity for Flyboy to expand its geographic scope of its marketing. And the local presence permits Flyboy to maintain the aircrafts sold abroad, which can lead to better customer service and translate in to customer loyalty and satisfaction. This by the same token crates an increase in revenue. On the other side of the coin- the disadvantages or not so attractive side of the transaction are the following: By setting up and hiring agents (dependent or independent) the company has subject itself to local laws and regulations. There are many different international laws that help out a firm when entering a new foreign market, but there are just as many new host country regulations that Flyboy should consider before making any critical decisions. An example of one of the regulations that Flyboy should consider, especially if it will be in charge of marketing, is the regulations for advertising abroad. Adverting regulations are established so the host country can make sure that the new company complies with regulation such as publishing the truth in advertising, the language used in the ads, and so they can have some control over the specific content. Flyboy should have very well planned marketing strategies and local marketing considerations. Since many of the advertising regulations abroad are not even a stated law, but rather an industry code observed by the local marketing organizations; the best thing any new foreign company should do is seek legal advice from local practitioners and fashion local advertising appropriately.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

japan :: essays research papers

In the year 710, the first permanent Japanese capital was established in Nara, a city modelled after the Chinese capital. Large Buddhist monasteries were built in the new capital. The monasteries quickly gained such strong political influence that, in order to protect the position of the emperor and central government, the capital was moved to Nagaoka in 784, and finally to Heian (Kyoto) in 794 where it should remain for over one thousand years. One characteristic of the Nara and Heian periods is a gradual decline of Chinese influence, which, nevertheless, remained strong. Many of the imported ideas were gradually "Japanized". In order to meet particular Japanese needs, several governmental offices were established in addition to the government system, which was copied after the Chinese model, for example. In the arts too, native Japanese movements became increasingly popular. The development of the Kana syllables made the creation of actual Japanese literature possible. Several new Buddhist sects that were imported from China during the Heian period, were also "Japanized". Among the worst failures of the Taika reforms were the land and taxation reforms: High taxes resulted in the impoverishment of many farmers who then had to sell their properties and became tenants of larger landowners. Furthermore, many aristocrats and the Buddhist monasteries succeeded in achieving tax immunity. As a result, the state income decreased, and over the centuries, the political power steadily shifted from the central government to the large independent landowners. The Fujiwara family controlled the political scene of the Heian period over several centuries through strategic intermarriages with the imperial family and by occupying all the important political offices in Kyoto and the major provinces. The power of the clan reached its peak with Fujiwara Michinaga in the year 1016. After Michinaga, however, the ability of the Fujiwara leaders began to decline, and public order could not be maintained. Many landowners hired samurai for the protection of their properties. That is how the military class became more and more influential, especially in Eastern Japan. The Fujiwara supremacy came to an end in 1068 when the new emperor Go-Sanjo was determined to rule the country by himself, and the Fujiwara failed to control him. In the year 1086 Go-Sanjo abdicated but continued to rule from behind the political stage. This new form of government was called Insei government. Insei emperors exerted political power from 1086 until 1156 when Taira Kiyomori became the new leader of Japan.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Enron Case

Which parts of the corporate governance system, internal and external, do you believe failed Enron the most? In the evaluation of the Enron’s case; by trying to see the very big picture, it is not only about that the internal part of the corporate governance system was failed or but also the external part of the corporate governance system was also failed. As noted on the last paragraph of the mini case, many people from different positions and different companies didn’t act responsibly and according to the generally accepted corporate governance rules.Internally; because of the head executives used the companies resources and the power that their positions provides them for their own interests without thinking on behalf of the stakeholders and shareholders, collapse of Enron’s corporate governance system affected not only Enron’s company but also all the other institutions which integrated to the Enron’s system. Externally, especially legal counsel and auditor company didn’t act ethically. To avoid losing the best and the most powerful customer, they swept all inappropriate practices under the carpet.Therefore we can think that, internal and external part of corporate finance act harmoniously in that case. In the event of the absence of any single actor would result in different consequences or to outbreak of the event much earlier than it did. 2. Describe how you think each of the individual stakeholders and components of the corporate governance system should have either prevented the problems at Enron or acted to resolve the problems before they reached crisis proportions? If we evaluate the Enron Case without going on deeply, we will surprise how such a giant corporation can break down in a very short time process.However, when we evaluate the case deeply, it is understood that the fall of Enron is the last part of a chain reaction which has been already started long time ago. Therefore, before reaching the crisis point, stakeholders or components of the corporate governance should have taken some measures. The radical changes by Enron’s managements can be evaluated as the first alarm of the bad end. For such big companies Board of Directors should have been controlling for same neutral authorities for the sake of stakeholders. This control mechanism is not just necessary for financial of accountancy issues.After the fall of Enron, the government brought the General Accepted Accounting Principles, Statements on Auditing Standard and Auditing Procedures. However, if these kind of preventive laws have been implemented before the fall of Enron and A. Anderson, result could be very different. In fact, auditor companies are the part of commercial mechanisms. Therefore it is very normal to expect them to act in favor of companies that they consult, if there are no control mechanisms over them as in the case of Enron. For this reason, US increase the pressure over these kinds of companies.Man agement is responsible of corporate governance applications to decrease fraud and irregularity and control the procedures. While the duty of internal auditor is to control the entity’s internal applications, the responsibilities and duties of external auditor are to make efficient audit planning, to audit based on audit planning work done and to make appropriate documentation which forms evidence in the documentation process. Another important point for the Enron case is that why the government allowed the Enron act as a monopoly in the US energy sector. After fall of Enron, the electricity couldn’t be delivered to the some parts of US.Obviously, supply control system has been disfunctional in this market as a result of inefficient political management. 3. If all publicly-traded firms in the United States are operating within the same basic corporate governance system as Enron, why would some people believe this was an isolated incident, and not an example of many fail ures to come? We cannot say â€Å"The Enron collapse is just an example of misleading financial reporting†. It may be said that it is the wrong combination of leadership, business evolution, market behaviors, and the ‘times’ all combined to create a monster.As it is known, Corporate Governance is the system used to direct and control a corporation. And it defines the rights and responsibilities of key corporate participants such as shareholders, the board of directors, officers and managers, and other stakeholders. The Enron Case is a breakdown of corporate governance in the most baroque of recent scandals where there were not only conflicts with standards for good corporate governance but also unusually extensive use of sophisticated techniques and transactions to manipulate the firm’s financial reports.During the same year’s with Enron Case, Parmalot and Worldcom cases also occurred, mainly because of the same reasons, and resulted in a same way. Therefore wrong combinations for the corporative governance may result in a same way. Corporative Governance has been argued too much after the Enron Case. However some people believe that Enron was an isolated incident and not an example of many failures to come according to above writings. The biggest factor behind this thinking can be related to that Enron is much bigger than other failed companies and was acted like a monopoly.That is to say, all of the case showed us that how some companies can bankrupt because of the wrong combination of leadership, business evolution, and market behaviors. We think the following citation would be helpful so as to cover the Enron Case a little more. On March 5, 2002, Kirk Hanson, executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics gave a speech on a newspaper: â€Å"Enron is a prominent example of a â€Å"new economy† company. Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling claimed that Enron was the most innovative company in the United Sta tes and at times tried to intimidate reporters or analysts who questioned their strategy.In the new economy, new kinds of companies have been created. Enron's collapse will encourage investors, analysts, reporters, and employees to ask â€Å"old economy† questions about these new economy companies: How does this company make money? Can it sustain this strategy over the long term? How do those who work in and with this company feel about it? The new economy has lost some of its appeal after the collapse of many dot. com companies and of Enron. †

Satire: High School Students

Satire How to Succeed in School Being a high school student with a fair amount of experience and observation in the field of achieving good grades with minimal effort, I should like to bestow upon current and future high school students some advice that may lead to their success. Before doing so, I would like to make clear that I do not necessarily endorse these methods. It is just observed that the application of these methods is shown to have worked with some of the most highly ranked high school students, the â€Å"elite,† and here’s how they do it, and how you can too.Always wait until the last minute. This may seem counterintuitive, as teachers and parents are always telling students to not procrastinate. However, procrastination is what drives a student to success. Procrastination gives a student the drive to finish that assignment or project that was assigned weeks ago and is due tomorrow. As time boils down, a student’s senses become sharper, allowing the m to focus on the task at hand.How can one not enjoy the excitement of completing a project in the nick of time, or the pride felt when they have bested their friends in a competition of who can survive with the least amount of sleep? This brings me to my second piece of advice: sleep in school. High school life is extremely busy. Students must balance schoolwork, homework, recreation, sleep, and a social life. Since, logically, recreation can only be done outside of school, homework must be done at home, and a social life must include elements outside of school, schoolwork and sleep should be done in school.Students already spend a good eight hours in school. Then afterwards, they must complete hours of homework at home. Therefore, it is only logical that students use some school time to catch up on sleep, as they must be rejuvenated in order to deal with the massive amount of homework awaiting them after school. Study at the last minute as well. Teachers say that students should s tudy a little every day. However, that does not help. By the time of the test, one will already have forgotten what they have learned in the beginning of the unit.Instead, if a student were to study everything last minute, they would remember it all for the test because they have just looked at it. You should study the day before, and preferably, on the day of the test to obtain maximum scores. Pay attention in class. That means, get ready for the teacher to call on you at any minute. It is important to always know what is going on to avoid looking like a fool and getting yelled at. When the teacher is not paying attention to the class, feel free to doze off. You must learn to multitask.Multitasking will help you get a lot more done and make your life easier. A skilled high schooler can do homework, listen to their iPod, watch T. V, eat, and talk on the phone all at the same time. This maximizes productivity and efficiency, giving you time to do other, more important things, like ha nging out or playing video games. Lastly, you must remember that play is greater than work. Play first, and work later. Why, you ask? Well, the fun you have now will release anxiety and stress over the work that you have to do in the future.After all the fun and games, your mind will enter the â€Å"oh crap, I have to finish that project† state. This state of mind will help you keep focus as the deadline looms closer, and maximizes productivity and efficiency as well because you are working your hardest to finish. So there it is. I present to you six pieces of wisdom coming straight from my personal observation of those at the top. Follow my advice, and you will soon find out how much effort is required of those who aspire to be the best.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Illusion vs. Reality A Streetcar Named Desire Essay

Tennessee Williams uses the constant battle between illusion and reality as a theme throughout his play A Streetcar Named Desire. Many use illusion to escape the reality they are living in. This theme is present in all of his characters in different ways. Each character is shown to live their life in either the way of illusion or reality. Harold Mitchell, also known as Mitch buys into Blanches illusions. He is overtaken by her charm, but in the end finally faces reality. Stella who is Blanches sister is always wishing for everything to be perfect with her and Stanley even though he abuses her. She overlooks Stanley’s downfalls to escape her reality. Blanche is the center of all illusion. She fishes for complements and believes she is a step up from all people. Lying to herself and to others allows her to make it seem as if her life appears as it should be rather than how it is. To Blanche the loss of Bell Reve was as dramatic as if she lost her castle. Because of this she pretends that her life in Laurel didn’t occur. She cannot stand the light because she is living in fear that people will notice that she is older and is in denial about it. Each of these characters show how powerful illusion can be. Williams includes specific situations where illusion is portrayed. Such as, in Blanche and Mitch’s relationship. Blanche wants Mitch to want her and creates illusion of what she should be. From this she wants to seem more appealing and lies about her age to him and hides in the darkness she he will not see her clearly. Blanche owns a costume trunk filled with things that are dear to her. Meanwhile, they have no true value. She wears the crown she owns with the costume jewelry and goes through moments where she can pretend she lives the life of a princess to escape reality. Shep Huntleigh is a rich character who works in the oil business whom we never truly find out exists. To Blanche he is a man who she made an escape plan for him to take her and Stella away to Miami. Stella doesn’t want to leave because she thinks Stanley her husband is true to her. In all of these instances illusion plays a key role in a way for the characters to do away with the lives they do not want to be living. Although, not all characters are living in illusion Tennessee Williams does include some who face reality. Stanley Kowalski, Stella’s husband, is strictly a reality based character. He is constantly looking into Blanches real past. He sees through all of her illusions and wants the truth to things. This is proved in the rape scene when Stanley turns Blanche into the victim as she had made herself out to be throughout the play. Eunice the character who lives in the upstairs of the house with the Kowalski’s. She knows how untrue Stanley is to Stella and is always telling her to face reality and not put up with how she is treated like garbage from him. Towards the end of the play Mitch finally overlooks Blanches illusions and begins to question her by telling her how he has never seen her in the light and asks her age. Mitch’s sick mother helps to keep him focused in the real things in his life by having him put aside all other things to take care of the one who cared for him. Escaping your reality and living in an illusion world will leave you blind to the things around you. In some cases, if you are strong enough to withhold from the illusions around you, you may end up in the reality, like Mitch. Both Stella and Blanche found it best in their minds to live in a fantasy but if you live in it too long it can take over your reality.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Human motivation Essay

SCENARIO: The scenario developed for the purpose of this paper is that a person has gone through the bitter experience of losing a loved one. In this case, the other person moved away and long distance relationship was not possible due to inevitable circumstances. Now the person who has been left behind has to recover from the sorrow of their loved one moving away, conclusion of a relationship that was a couple of years old, as well as move on with his/her own life. He/she has support from family and friends; however, they prefer to be on their own for now to recover from the close attachment that was developed over the course of two years. Moving away of a loved one has left a gap in the life of the subject. For a while, they were low on self esteem considering the move as his/her own fault. To recover from this depressive state they need to motivated and lured back to life and routine. COMPONENTS OF MOTIVATION: In the given scenario the biological component would be an individual’s need to mate with a partner. While momentarily, the subject is associating this need with their loved one, however, once they are able to move then situation shall be different. The learned component is that the subject now realizes that they have been loved and experienced that emotion. In future, while establishing bonds and relationships, duplicating that emotion can be one important motivational factor or component. Finally, the cognitive component in this case is that subject is to realize that moving on is must. They have given their best to the relationship and that is all they could do. Their self-esteem suffered and getting it back is important motivational component. APPLICATION OF THEORIES: Now, viewing the scenario in light of the motivational theories and possible ways to motivate the subject to move on and get back to life. 1. Instinct theories: Instinct theory in this case points out to the elementary aspect of human relationships. That is, a person’s need to find a mate. The subject is going through a low period. However, this is expected to end as soon as they realize that they need to fill the void in their life with someone special and are willing to give anyone else a chance. This instinctive need to mate is a great motivator in itself (AllPsych, 2003). 2. Personality theories: Personality theories of motivation describe each personality and person on different dimensions. While their focus is on finding similar traits in personalities of different people, categorizing an individual makes it simpler for psychologist to approach the subjects (Boeree, 2007). In this case, the subject can be analyzed on their personality traits such as if they are optimist or pessimist, free will or determinist, has had early or late personality development etc. Once that is determined, it will be easier to understand that what motivates the individual, what amount of effort does their personality require to overcome a trauma and so on. 3. Drive/learning theories: Drive theory is also somewhat similar to the instinct theories. These theories propose that each person is driven towards a certain kind of behavior due to internal biological demand. Their actions are to reduce that drive. In this case it is applicable such that a healthy individual has to fulfill their sexual needs. Reduction of this drive is again a motivator or an incentive for the person to move on with their life (AllPsych, 2003). 4. Growth and mastery motivation theories: The growth and goal mastery theories of motivation suggest that after a person has had an unpleasant experience, they learn from that and make a conscious effort as to not to repeat the behavior in future (East Lothian Council, n.d). In this case it would be that perhaps the subject might be hesitant to commit or fully give himself to a relationship unless they have over came insecurity. It motivates them to carefully choose who they want to be with 5. Humanistic theories: Most applied Humanistic theory; Maslow’s Need Hierarchy is a good example of application of humanistic approach. The subject in this scenario will be at the level of ‘Love and Belonging Needs’. Unless needs of that level are not fulfilled, he wont be able to reach a higher level of self esteem. The subject needs help and support of family and friends or perhaps even a therapist to realize that they need to move on and let themselves go in order to move further over pyramid. Not dwelling on past is the key here (AllPsych, 2003). 6. Cognitive theories: Cognitive theories purpose that an individual’s behavior is dependant on not just their personality and needs but also on dynamic environment that they live in, the external factors acting upon them and so on (Psychological Solutions, n. d). If the subject is able to evaluate and understand the present situation from this view point, they shall come to realize that there is little role for them to play and the dynamics of the environment were unfavorable. However, if they are seeking professional help then a therapist should be able to point out that this might not be true for each experience in their life and motivate them to move on. BIBLIOGRAPHY AllPsych. (2003). Motivation In Psychology. Retrieved June 1, 2007 from: http://allpsych. com/psychology101/motivation. html East Lothian Council.(n. d). Goal Theory Of Motivation. Retrieved June 1, 2007 from: http://www. exc-el. org. uk/content/index. php/main/teaching_and_learning/everything_you_wanted_to_know_about_teaching_and_learning_but_were_afraid_to_ask/motivation/motivational_theories/goal_orientation_theory Boeree, G. (2006). Personality Theories. Retrieved June 1, 2007 from: http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/persintro. html Psychological Solution. (n. d). Cognitive Theories of Motivation. Retrieved June 1, 2007 from: http://www. psychsol. com/html/word_docs/Motiv%202%20-%20ohp. doc.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Media Sensationalism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Media Sensationalism - Research Paper Example It is a hallmark of playing with the public emotions in order to create a picture that is intended by government agents or terror groups. Some of the tactics normally employed include editorial biases, exaggeration, deliberate obtuse information that is intended to play with public emotion. Besides, it encompasses magnifying trivial information in order to appear loud and sensible2. Media sensationalism appears to have thrived best during the American September 11, 2001 terror attack and subsequent events. Notably, as the Bush administration strived to keep bold face after terror act, the reality of the eventually created public discontent on the role of security agents and the government in safeguarding its people. It was a devastating event that left 3031 people dead and many maimed. The paper explores how media sensationalism has since evolved as a terrorist tool and as a counter-terrorism weapon. Without communication, there would be no terrorism. Though it existed prior to mass media, terror groups have begun using mass media as a tool to discredit perceived success on the war on terror. Most notably, the Islamist extremist groups such as ISIS have used mass media as a war tool. Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y video clip by Johan Grimpez in 1997 reflects a medium and the terrorist conflict way back before the September 11, U.S terror attack. The video offers a historical chart of airplane hijacking and how progressive television coverage became more and more deadly. It centers on an imagined conversation between a terrorist and a novelist. As the video progresses, media coverage increases leading to inward society shock on the reality of plane hijack by the terrorist. The media coverage of incidence serves to create societal tension. Mouna Abdel-Majid, a member of PLO, tells the reporter that westerners have fought beyond their territory, and they were now avenging3. Notably, they engage in exchange

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Hypertension Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hypertension - Essay Example This is not a condition which can be treated lightly. If you have Hypertension, you have to get it treated. You ignore it only at your peril. Doctors think that many things combine to cause Hypertension2. Hypertension can be caused by other illnesses and it is often cured once the original medical problem is cured Essential hypertension indicates that no specific medical cause can be found to explain a patient's condition and the symptoms just show chronically high blood pressure. Secondary hypertension indicates that the high blood pressure is a result of another condition, such as kidney disease or tumors, Being overweight, drinking too much alcohol, and eating too much salt, stress ,genetics, older age, family history of high blood pressure , chronic kidney disease and adrenal and thyroid disorders are risk factors because they raise your risk of having hypertension. They do not cause it directly but they can contribute to it and if not watched can aggravate it.. It is interesting to know, that while you cannot accuse a disease of being racist or sexist, if you are an African American you are more likely to get Hyperte nsion. If you are a pregnant woman you are again more susceptible to it. These are things which can't be ignored and many times these risk factors can add up and can be even more dangerous. A pregnant African American woman may need to look at the possibility of hypertension with that much more care. Now it does not mean that if you have any of these you are likely to get hypertension and that if you have none of these, that you won't get hypertension. It just means that if you have any of the above risk factors, you should make an effort to take precautions. Statistics on Hypertension The number of people suffering from Hypertension in the United States is staggering. In reports given by the department of Health, the percent of non-institutionalized adults ages 20 and over is 29% (2001-2004)3. That is more than one out of every four adults has Hypertension. This is a staggering number. And this is not some benign number either. This is a number which directly translates into fatalities. The number of deaths in 2004 was 23,076. In other words deaths per 100,000 populations are 7.9. These are real and frightening numbers. Symptoms of Hypertension Now, how would one know if they have hypertension There are usually no symptoms or signs of hypertension. In fact, nearly one-third of those who have it don't know it. The only way to know if you have hypertension definitely is to have your blood pressure checked regularly. If your blood pressure is extremely high, there may be certain symptoms to look out for, including, Severe headache , Fatigue or confusion , Vision problems , Chest pain , difficulty breathing , Irregular heartbeat Blood in the urine . People often think that High Blood Pressure is dangerous and while very often it is true, we deal with high blood pressure constantly on a daily basis. Blood pressure goes up in all people during periods of stress or exercise. But avoiding stress will not prevent high blood pressure. You can have High Blood Pressure even though you are usually a calm, relaxed person. High Blood pressure is fairly common and that is precisely why, everyone

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Build a 4g network Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Build a 4g network - Research Paper Example It is expected at the same time to deliver an increase of approximately eighty two percent of high-speed network connectivity, and a 19 percent increment of subscriptions of mobile platform. From the inspiration by Gardner (2009), this technology also aims at minimizing the operational cost of the connection deal that has been won, and to enjoy the fact that there is no barrier in the use of laws, technology and language, political limitations and rules which have to be of major emphasis to the organization. From the earlier studies, it had been revealed that the internet connection can be used to establish more advanced data communications. Empirically, the network is ideal since it can revive the falling position of the company. Considering the cost factors, there are massive plans to invest a lot of funds into the up-and-coming 4G connection and high standard Long Term Evolution (LTE). The advanced TDMA technology will not only be a source of revenue for the USA business, but will also raise a lot of interest in practical areas that can be applied to the construction and implementation of the 4G network as an upgrade from the previous versions, 3G. The installation of this 4G network will focus on popularizing its use in the US. Selection of Equipment for the System The tests of the TDMA network gives data reports on the behaviors of the equipment right from the manufacturers to the requirement of the fourth-generation (4G) measurements, using both the single instrument and integrated instrument system solutions popularly applied in the U.S. It will serve the purpose of satisfying the growing demand for quality services and solutions such as voice, video and data communication. It is clear from the discussion by Browne (2009) that the 3G technologies have not been able to provide the solutions. The technology in this plan is a 4G series of network that uses the Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless technique. One of the requirements will be wireless signal anal yzers which are able to support devices of 2G and 3G specifications. This project views both the technical and analytical aspects of the higher standard requirement in the 4G technology, with the aim to increase the connectionless radio frequencies of the signal analyzers designed for use to support this 4G network. The design of these systems together with the corresponding software is planned to be the foundation for the Long Term Evolution 4G wireless connection. Long Term Evolution in this context expects the subsequent telephony Generation to be made up of mobile broadband technology. Data transfer takes place at the rate of 100 MB per second. Devices Required In order to solve the coverage issues that have been identified in the preliminary studies of this project, the fundamental device that will be required is the signal analyzer. Secondly, the 4G network will use Nokia cellular phone handsets versions that can support the GSM, TDMA and CDMA protocols. Using the idea from Le cklider (2009), the connection will require wireless connection channels of at least 30KHzs and speech coding devices. It will also require a modulation device that works with modulation of Differential ? / 4 – QPSK. Other devices include Smart Antennas, which essentially imply antennas stationed in the base connection station and cancelling the interference using digital signal

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Consumer Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consumer Law - Essay Example Consumer protection law is a part of law that regulates personal law relationships between consumers and the firms that sell those products. Consumer protection policies are designed to guarantee fair competition and the free exchange of truthful information in the market arena. These laws are established to prevent businesses that take part in fraud or particular unfair practices from getting an advantage over their competitors and can too offer additional protection for the inferior and those incapable of taking care of themselves. Consumer Protection policies are a type of government directive that protects the welfare of consumers. For instance, a government might require businesses to unveil detailed information concerning products; mainly in areas where safety or health of the public is a concern, like food. Consumer safeguarding is associated to the thought of "consumer rights" as well as to the creation of consumer organizations that assist consumers put together healthier choices in the marketplace. Misleading and deceptive practices are the world over. And the plan is to make the consumers to pay more than they ought to for goods and services, or make them pay for items they don't need. Irrespective of if its misleading advertising, erroneous assumptions, or absolute lies, the outcome is alike: they may pay over what they ought to for what they should get. The interests of consumer can also be protected through enhancing competition in the marketplace that directly and indirectly offer good and services to consumers, steady with economic competence. Consumer protection may too be asserted through non-government organizations and persons as consumer activism. Consumer protection deals with a wide variety of issues, such as privacy rights, product liability, unjust business practices, deception, misrepresentation, and some other consumer/business interactions. These laws handle credit repair, debt repair, goods safety, service and sales deals, bill collector ruling, turnoffs, pricing, utility consolidation, personal loans which may guide to bankruptcy and much more. In Europe, some particular restrictions have been positioned on the standard of party autonomy. Such restrictions naturally apply in circumstances where there occurs a qualified extend of disparity between the parties in regards of their individual negotiating powers. A significant example of such a state of affairs occurs when a business sells products to a consumer and the consumer is deemed as being in an inferior position than the business. Therefore, the jurisdictional regulations in Europe require that the vendor can only take legal action against the consumer in the state where the consumer is dwelling; whereas the consumer can at all times sue the seller in the consumer's state of residence. The EU is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life of its residents. Additionally to direct action to defend their rights, the Union guarantees that consumer interests are put into the EU legislation in every relevant policy field. Because of the sole market and the sole currency open operation borders, as utilization of the internet and electronic commerce develops and as the service division grows, it is significant that the almost 500 million people

Monday, September 9, 2019

Professional skills and ethics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Professional skills and ethics - Term Paper Example Corporate Social Responsibility in Marketing in the Aviation Industry Over the years, environmental interests and various laws and regulations have caused for there to be a general change in the way most organizations view the notion of sustainable business actions. Most of the companies in the aviation industry frequently find that they how have to constantly ask themselves is to what extent do they happen to act responsibly. The paramount reason that causes companies to engage in business is to ensure that the owners and employees stand to gain various economic benefits. Any other actions by the various businesses are frequently considered to be secondary responsibilities and most firms have been ignoring them over the past years (Sun et al. 2010). In recent times that a new system of business has emerged that has forced players in the industry to change the way they conduct business due to the increasing awareness of corporate social responsibility and the vast impact that the ind ustry has on the environment (Sun et al. 2010). ... s customers coupled with the customer’s frequent desire to obtain the very best of services at reasonably decent prices makes it a prerequisite for most of the industry’s operators to ensure that they market their product as being innately cost efficient while offering their customers the very best services that are available. Companies and various operators in the industry are finding this to be increasingly difficult to do due to their incurring rather high operating costs which have been seen to affect and have a profound influence in the entire industry (Flouris and Yilmaz 2011). The Challenges Facing the Conduction of Responsible Business Practices for both Individuals and Organizations in the Aviation Industry Environmental Challenges. The aviation industry is facing the challenge of developing appropriate and sustainable CSR models because it has been forecast that the industry should poise itself for a rather tremendous general increase in the rate of flight tra ffic over the next 15 years. The increased air traffic will consequently result in a general increase in raw material consumption, increased carbon emissions as well as an overall increase in pollution that is resultant of the industries activities. Industry Marketers are finding that they increasingly need to develop actions that will appease and fulfill all the stakeholders’ expectations as well as ensuring that the airlines are sufficiently taking care of the environment (Phillips 2006). Efforts by marketers in the aviation industry to promote the various players in the industry as having appropriate corporate social responsibility practices are being severely hampered by a report released by the Aviation Environment Federation which showed the estimated damage to the environment and society

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Understanding Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Understanding Leadership - Assignment Example Firstly, in Exploration and Production planning a critical determinant of leadership style is the group maturity. Guenzi & Ruta (2013) describe group dynamics and ability to respond to an emergency and normal situation as a primary factor in choosing leadership style. A group that is too dependent in decision-making requires an authoritarian leadership in order to speed up the planning and execution of duties (Goleman et al., 2002). Besides, slow decision-making process due to fear of unknown and departmental lack of confidence within existing options informs the need for an autocratic leader whose words and actions allow for speedy duty execution (West 2011). In addition, leadership should be based on the study the effect of authority and counter-rebellion strategies often employed in planning departments. The best leadership should be seen to work towards the best results and not just authority exertion (Werhane 2007). In order to amalgamate the four divisions in E& P planning, leadership style adopted should be based on an already studied leadership pattern that has produced results either within the organization or even other established companies. As a core duty of a leader, the style of leadership adopted should not be experimental since planning is an enormous task that determines organizational direction (Velsor 2009). Forman & Ross (2013) identify organizational timelines of executing plans as a crucial factor to deliberate on when deciding on the appropriate leadership. For instance, in E &P planning system, the decision reached should be well-thought and based on concrete findings. It involves surveys and various studies, under such circumstances democratic leadership is ideal because it allows interrogation of facts and figures by key decision-makers. Hong et al., (2013) identifies slow pace of decisions in democratic leadership as the

Saturday, September 7, 2019

Social terms in Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social terms in Islam - Essay Example He went to a cave to muse on the problems, and there he prayed. In the year 610, the angel Gabriel appeared to him. It was Gabriel who gave Muhammad the words to the Koran. Muhammad started to preach, and at first his words were not taken well. Meccans were told not to trade with the would-be Muslims. In the year 619 his wife died. It was after this that he had his famous journey to Jerusalem. Soon men from Medina heard of him, and said that if his ideas worked "he would be the strongest man in Arabia." (U.S. News and World Report, Secrets of Islam pg.22) The Medina Arabs soon accepted Islam, but it was far from being accepted by everybody in Arabia. Muhammad died at the age of 63, and within a century of his death Islam spread across three continents. The first split in the religion happened not long after Muhammad's death. When Muhammad died he left no indication of who was to rule after him. The Sunnis believe that Ali, Muhammad's cousin should have been the first caliph to rule after Muhammad. Instead, he was the 4th. The third caliph; Uthman, was killed, and Ali was accused of not pursuing Uthman's killers. Mu'awiya, Uthman's cousin and the governor of Damascus refused to accept Ali as the caliph until Uthman's killers were caught. Ali was killed by one on his own followers, and then Mu'awiya took the title of caliph. Ali's son, Hussein was promised the caliph after Mu'awiy died. However Mu'awiya's son took the caliph, and Hussein died. However Hussien's son Ali survived, and the two lines of caliphs made the split between the Islamic factions of Sunni and Shia. Both sects of the religion are Islam however. A believer of Islam, be the person Sunni or Shia, is called a Muslim. Muslim is the Arab word for submission to the will of Allah. And a Muslim is a person who has submitted their will to the will of Allah. Muslims believe in the 5 Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars are: 1. To believe in Allah and his Prophet Muhammad. 2. To pray in the direction of Mecca five times a day 3. To make a pilgrimage to Mecca during their lifetime if able 4. to pay religious taxes(alms) 5. to observe and fast during Ramadan The holy book for Muslims, the Koran, is the main source for Islamic law. It is considered the ultimate source of instruction and information. The legal interpretation of the Koran is call the Shariah and can vary within the religion. For example, the Koran calls for modesty in women's dress, and some Shariah's say that women should be veiled from head to foot. Islam soon spread far across the world. There is some debate however about how it came to Kyrgyzstan. Some sources say it was brought over by Sufis, Islamic missionaries. The majority of the other sources say that the religion was brought over by merchants and traders. As merchants traded, they would sell their wares as well as spread their Islamic faith. Islam was assimilated into the lifestyle of the people of the area. Some ideas of the religion were ignored, because they didn't fit with the nomadic life style of the people. The people of the area mainly practiced animism and forms of shamanism, and it I believed that they simply took and chose which parts of Islam they wanted to adopt. Many people also considered themselves Muslim, even if they didn't hold any of the beliefs of the religion. Because of the nomadic way of life, Islam does not have a strong hold on the society of Kyrgyzstan. One example of this is the role of women. Due to