Assessing Autism Article Critique Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assessing Autism Article Critique - Term Paper Example The usual way of measuring behavior such as limited eye contact, lack of reciprocal social interaction, fewer greetings and failure to initiate interactions such as offering comfort to someone who is hurt, for example, is to observe how children react in certain contrived situations. This study hypothesizes that children with autism will behave differently from children with mental retardation and children with typical development during natural situations. It proposes that that a standardized way of observing children in the everyday context of school recess would be a helpful assessment tool. The playground observation checklist is just such an observation tool, and the article describes how it was used and the results it produced. These results were then checked for accuracy against other information obtained by the usual autism assessment methods. There were ten items on the behavior checklist, which is a very small amount, and for each child in the sample of 81 a score of yes/no was recorded against each item during a 15 minute observation period. Two observers recorded the sessions simultaneously, and any instance where a child interacted with an adult during the 15 minutes was discounted, and the observation was repeated until a session with only peer to peer interaction took place.... n educator this is an interesting article which recommends an intervention that is relatively inexpensive, easy to administer and suitable for operation in a school context in a way that does not place any undue pressure on the child. This article was an exploration of the method itself, and more needs to be done on that to ensure that the criteria are worded well, for example avoiding gender bias in the way interactions are described and scored. Assuming these details could be ironed out, this observation checklist does appear to be a good method for making initial assessments to indicate what kind of specialist referral, if any, would be appropriate for a particular child. So long as the observation is conducted by trained observers it could be introduced in an elementary school. There are ethical issues about the method, of course, since parents would need to give permission for such observations to take place, whether for research purposes, or for the benefit of the children them selves. There could be a danger of over-diagnosis, or of inappropriate referrals if too much weight is placed on a single fifteen minute observation, and so any use of this tool would be best placed within a school policy on autism, to be called upon under specific circumstances and regulated by school protocols that protect everyone’s rights. The article by Bradley-Johnson et al. (2008) takes a wider perspective than the article by Ingram et al. (2007) and is aimed at school psychologists, rather than educators. The definition of autism used by Bradley-Johnson et al. (2008) is that of the Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) which is broader than the DSM criteria. From the start there is an emphasis on â€Å"verifying eligibility for special services for autism† which betrays an

Developmental perspective to bullying Essay Example for Free

Developmental perspective to bullying Essay Researches have found that the nature of bullying and victimisation changes with age and differs by gender as well. It is also found that previous experiences influence the likelihood that children will become bullies and/or victims. The type of aggression and the relationship context for the aggression change as the child grows and development occurs. A general guideline can be prepared for the type of aggression and the target of aggression that emerge in different stages of development of children. (Pepler, D. , 1999) Figure 3: Type of aggression by developmental stage (Pepler, D., 1999) A Social- Ecological Systems Perspective on Bullying Social –ecological system perspective looks at bullying in terms of influence from multiple environments. Figure 4: A social-ecological framework of bullying among youth (Espelage, D. L. et al 2004) This perspective is based on the understanding that bullying does not occur in isolation. According to this principle, bullying is a phenomenon that is encouraged or inhibited as a result of the complex relationship between the different entities, namely, the individual, family, peer group, school, community and the culture. As shown in figure-1, the individual is at the centre of the social ecology. The individual involved may be a victim, bully, bully-victim or bystander. Individual factors influence the participation in bullying through different actions or inaction. An example is how the individual gender mediates the engagement in bullying. The bully, bully-victim, or bystander, all could exist in a family. This points to how the family can influence bullying behaviours. The bullying behaviour between the siblings can influence the development of bullying or victimisation in the individual at school. The social ecology includes other entities such as peers and the school as well. The social environment at school also influences bullying and victimisation. If an individual attends a school where a bullying climate exists, it is likely to be involved in bullying either as a bully, victim or any other role. The peer group often influences how the individual is likely to behave in terms of bullying. If the individual’s peer group supports bullying, then the individual is more likely to engage in bullying behaviour. The community extends the environment of the school to other areas that the individual uses. The community consists of school, peer group, family, and the individual apart from other roles that the individual interacts in day-to-day life. The culture consists of the general norms, beliefs and practices that could either support or inhibit bullying of individuals. The ecological-systems theory is based on the principle that all individuals are part of an inter-related system that consists of several roles and entities, but keeps the individual at the centre and looks at how the other entities affect the individual from the perspective of bullying. This model was put forward by Bronfenbrenner (1979). It puts forth the nature of human interaction and behaviour and how it is inter-related to other systems. According to this theory, the child is an inseparable part of a social network that consists of inter-related systems. These systems can be categorised into four: micro system, meso system, exo system and macro system. These different systems are inter-related to each other and the child is at the centre of these systems and actively involved in the interplay of these systems. The micro system pertains to the child’s relationship with one system such as home, classroom or playground. It depicts the child’s interaction with others as well as other’s reaction to the bullying behaviours. It also includes the status of the child in the bully/ victim continuum at any point of time. The micro system takes into account the interaction between the bully, victim, bully-victim or the bystander and the social environment. This can either encourage the bullying behaviour or restrict it. The meso system involves the congruence of two or more environments that are relevant to the individual. An example of such environments is home and school. It includes the inter-relationship between these systems. The exo-system consists of influences from other contexts that are related to bullying. An example of this context is the effect of a school district’s anti-bully policy or even the involvement of parents in the school system. The macro system involves the influence of broader entities such as the society in general. It looks at the attitudes of the society towards the bullying behaviour. This theory provided framework for prevention and intervention techniques that can be derived from it. It also helps to measure the effectiveness of these programs by looking at it from different perspectives. It provides framework for collection of data from multiple informants who are in different sub-systems using different methods. The model also can be effectively used for assessment. This is because each individual or the school or the environment is different. Any intervention or prevention program need to take into account this peculiarity. It also provides a framework for different programs that are applicable to different sub-systems such as individual-focussed program, family-focussed program and system-focussed program. (Espelage, et al, 2004).

A Report on Health and Safety in Architecture

A Report on Health and Safety in Architecture In simple terms, health and safety is about identifying risks and eliminating or controlling them to stop accidents and occupational ill-health. Today there is a high focus on safety in the industry. Many companies have documented that the safety and well being of their workers and fellow human beings deserve the highest priority. In history, this is a major leap. If one looks at the approach and many deaths during projects such as the great Chinese wall, which is still measured to be the largest construction project to date, the dive is visible. One ancient Chinese myth states that each stone in the great Chinese wall stands for a life gone during the walls construction. Although no files are obtainable this myth may be nearer to fact than we would like to think. Archaeologists have revealed thousands of bodies covert in the foundation of the wall. Bodies were also used to make up the walls thickness. It has been estimated that millions of workers lost their lives due to accidents, strong physical labour, hunger, and disease. This is in the order of size of a life per metre of wall length! Statistics from the UK Health and Safety Executive show that normally one or two people are killed every week as a effect of construction work. Occupational ill-health, which can build up over time, accounts for further loss of life. This fact sheet provides an foreword to health and safety best practice for construction companies and construction industry professionals, clients and their advisors. 2.2 million people work in Britains construction industry, making it the countrys biggest industry. It is also one of the most risky. In the last 25 years, over 2,800 people have died from injuries they received as a result of construction work. Many more have been injured or made ill. One in five construction sites failed health and safety checks during the latest national inspection proposal carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Inspectors from Britains workplace regulator visited 1759 refurbishment sites during March and checked on how 2145 contractors were complying with health and safety regulations.On 348 sites sufficiently grave risks were discovered to warrant enforcement action being taken either stopping work straight away or ordering improvements to be made (Phil Hughes, 2005). PROVISIONAL TITLE HOW CAN WE IMPROVE THE SAFETY PERFORMANCES AT CONSTRUCTION SITES. STUDY THE DIFFERENT SAFETY MEASURES FOLLOWED IN GREAT BRITAIN. This paper investigates the existing safety measures at construction sites in Britain. The review of literature touches on the importance of safety in the construction industry, the types of construction hazards, British Labour Law on the protection against occupational risks and industrial accidents, construction site security, etc. The background of Britain is described; a study of safety levels at construction sites is conducted through questionnaires. Conclusions are made about the legal approaches to the regulation of occupational safety and health. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES Aim: To investigates the existing safety measures at construction sites. Study the importance of safety in the construction industry, the types of construction hazards, industrial accidents, construction site security, etc. Analysis the health and safety in British constructions. Objectives or Purpose of the study: To achieve the goal of this study, it is needed to: Make a brief overview of all health and safety in the present construction industries. Analyse the ways in which these safety measures are using in various construction industries. Study on British construction industries and their way of using safety measures. Identify recent accidents occur at construction industries in Britain. Attempt a brief comparison between the difference in safety measures using in Britain and other developing countries. Suggest various ways to reduce accidents at construction sites by using safety measures effectively. LITERATURE REVIEW Due to the current condition of the U.S. economy, the construction industry is throbbing. The amount of financial support from both government and independent contracts has been adequately decreased; contractors are going to have a hard time funding and implementing their projects. Construction deals are being broken down and shut down due to a lack of capital while others are rolling without the correct needs, safety standards, and training programs. When the latter occurs there is a far greater risk for a construction accident to happen. Structures used to facilitate construction, such as framework and scaffolding, are often not given the importance they deserve, because of their momentary nature and because their cost is not recoverable from a single construction as a line item. Consequently, in many countries, the accident and failure rate for temporary structures are higher than those in eternal structures. Every industrial accident leads to tragedies such as injury or death to persons, and damage to property and the environment, with all the linked direct and indirect costs and effort. Economically and professionally more important is the fact that accidents also lead to delays in the construction process. All these add up to unwanted repercussions, not only on the workers and the organizations concerned, but also on the entire construction industry, the community, and, if the accidents and failures are sufficiently great or frequent, on the government itself. Most of the accidents and failures in momentary struc tures may be traced mainly to minor mistakes in fabrication, to moderately inexpensive items of materials or equipment, and to oversight or negligence in the functioning of applicable codes and regulations (Alan Griffith, 2001). Statistic has shown that the number of casualty and permanent disablement cases due to accident at the Malaysia construction sites is one of the uppermost as compared to the other sector. Even though the number of engineering accidents decreasing but the benefits paid to the accidents victims are ever increasing. Hence, there is an burning need to mitigate this problem. There are three basic steps that should be taken namely identifying the hazard, assessing the risk and domineering the risk to ensure a safe and conducive working condition. Implementation of effective hazards control methods may require different approaches due to changing of working environment at the construction sites. Latest technology employed at site had wiped out traditional method of construction and consequently bring in new types of hazard to the industry. There is an state compulsion for workers to ensure their own safety and health and, in agreement with specific instructions and the preparation they have received, to make correct use of safety devices and observe all safety rules, both collective and individual, and any other means of protection, warning or control. This obligation also extends to the use of machinery, equipment, tools, substances and risky products to ensure that inappropriate use does not jeopardise the health and safety of other employees and persons who may be there in the place of work. The basis of British health and safety law is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.The Act sets out the general duties which employers have towards employees and members of the public, and employees have to themselves and to each other. These duties are capable in the Act by the code of so far as is reasonably practicable. In other words, an employer does not have to take method to avoid or reduce the risk if they are technically impossible or if the time, trouble or cost of the measures would be grossly disproportionate to the risk. What the law requires here is what superior management and general sense would lead employers to do anyway: that is, to look at what the risks are and take reasonable measures to tackle them. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (the Management Regulations) generally make more clear what employers are required to do to manage health and safety under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Like the Act, they apply to every work ac tivity (Vivian Ramsey, 2007). The injure and death rate on buildings sites in London makes construction work the most risky job in the capital. People are injured every day and on average someone dies every month. What makes this even more appalling is that these are the least accident rates yet recorded. Our report is concerned with improving the health and well-being of Londons construction workers at a time when construction work is booming. Nearly  £5 billion is being spent each year, just on new building projects. It is clear that we are not yet doing all we can to stop accidents. The industry has set itself targets to reduce accidents, but is not yet on track to reduce these targets. Everyone involved in commissioning, delivering and working in construction still must do more to make this industry as safe as any other. We should not accept as a fact of life that construction work is dangerous and nothing can be done. The 2012 Olympics is the perfect cabinet for how construction projects can be Commissione d and delivered to the highest standard. We do not want a repeat of the Situation in Athens where 14 workers died on the projects unswervingly associated with the Olympics and as many as 26 in the building of following transport infrastructure (Richard Fellows, 2001). Complete safety does not exist. Safety is often defined as taking acceptable risks. This recognises that in fact every activity, whether it is driving a car, cooking in the kitchen or working on a drilling rig has linked risks. By accepting that there will always be a certain risk concerned it is possible to reduce risks, by dropping the chance of an unsafe event and mitigating its result. Lack of training has been recognized as one of the major contributory factors in accidents and ill health in construction. Many activities are made safe simply by ensuring that those doing the work have knowledge of and understand the importance of safe practices. The incidence of inspections depends on the nature and place of work. For example, following the first inspection, work at places over two metres in height require weekly inspections. In contrast, for work in excavations (including shafts and tunnels), inspections are necessary at the start of every shift. Inspections help to ensure that safety is monitored during changing site circumstances. Reports detailing inspections are generally required every time an inspection is carried out, but there are exceptions. Executive Research Methodology In order to understand the various health and safety measures in the present construction industries in Britain different methodologies have to be adopted. Primary Sources Interview Direct Interview is one of the main sources of primary data today. This method would be used for the internal research. The internal research will focus on a few semi-structured interviews with a few senior and top managers. The intention is to formulate a true picture of the health and safety measures used in Great Britain These interviews will help to find out the reasons for the accidents occurring in construction industries. Questionnaires Another methodology that I hope to adopt for my research is the questionnaires. Questionnaires are more economical, and easier to arrange; the answers too will be in a standardized format. In situations of difficulty to get appointments with the top-level managers this method would be used. Postal questionnaires will be sent to top managers of the Companies and the responses can be analyzed. Secondary Sources Book Reviews The external research will be carried out through the reading and understanding of published material. This includes books and articles written on the importance of safety in the construction industry, the types of construction hazards, British Labour Law on the protection against occupational risks and industrial accidents, construction site security. Etc. Internet Research Internet research is another source of secondary data. This will be used to gather historical and current information on health and safety in the world especially in Britain. This will also help us to get information on Company infrastucture as a whole. Documents Documents can be treated as a source of data in their own right. In effect it can be an alternative to questionnaires, interviews or observation. This includes published materials of company details Data analysis In order to analyze the data both quantitative and qualitative research has to be performed. Qualitative research In qualitative research words are the units of analysis. Qualitative research tends to be associated with description. The data needed for qualitative analysis has to be gathered from interviews and questionnaires. Methods like ethnography will be used for the process of qualitative analysis and ethnographic data storage software will be used to store information. There are many advantages of using such software which will help store the data safely, the data can be coded easily, and retrieval of data will be more reliable. Computerization removes barriers and scales to the scale and complexity of analysis. There are virtually no clerical limits to how much stuff you get now, and few to how complex it is. (Richards and Richards 1993:40) Quantitative research Quantitative research tends to be associated with numbers, as the unit of analysis and it tends to be associated with statistical data. Charts and graphs have to be constructed from the figures and information gathered from the questionnaires and researches. Word processing and spreadsheet packages can be used for this purpose. Information in the form of numbers will be gathered from Company Mangers by using different data collection tools like questionnaires, review of previous documents etc. and the data will be used to construct meaningful figures and charts using software. Form of Presentation The dissertation will be presented in a written form supplemented with charts showing current and historical data. Projected Findings The importance of health and safety measures in the construction industries and the methods used in Britain. REFERENCES: Phil Hughes (MSc, FIOSH, RSP.), Ed Ferrett , Introduction to health and safety in construction, Butterworth-Heinemann; 2 edition (2005) Alan Griffith, Tim Howarth, Construction health and safety management, Longman (2001) Vivian Ramsey, Construction law handbook, Thomas Telford Ltd (2007) Richard Fellows, David Langford, Robert Newcombe, Sydney Urry, Construction Management in Practice, WileyBlackwell; 2nd Edition edition (2001) http://www.forthconstruction.co.uk/downloads/an-introduction-to-health-safety.pdf accessed on 14/12/09 at 5.30 pm http://www.engineeringpage.com/technology/safety/safety_induction.html accessed on 14/12/09 at 6.00 pm http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/index.htm accessed on 14/12/09 at 6.00 pm http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149934.php accessed on 14/12/09 at 10.30 pm http://www.profkrishna.com/ProfK-Assets/CAFEOPaper.pdf accessed on 15/12/09 at 8.30 pm http://eprints.utm.my/445/1/1A_5._Abdul_Rahim_Hazard_at_construction_site_PAGE_(95-104).pdf accessed on 15/12/09 at 11.30 pm http://rome.angloinfo.com/countries/italy/work13.asp accessed on 15/12/09 at 12.30 am http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/hsc13.pdf accessed on 16/12/09 at 1.30 pm http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/reports/health/construction.pdf accessed on 16/12/09 at 5.30 pm http://www.healthandsafety.co.uk/conregs.htm accessed on 16/12/09 at 10.00 pm BIBLIOGRAPHY. John R. Illingworth, Construction methods and planning, Taylor Francis, 2 edition (2000) http://www.constructionhealthandsafety.co.uk/ accessed on 16/12/09 at 12.30 am http://www.theiet.org/publishing/books/bus-comp/construction-health-safety.cfm accessed on 16/12/09 at 1.00 am

Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - Same-sex Marriage Laws Violate Gay R

Laws Violate Gay Rights When I was in third grade, I learned that there are certain "inalienable rights"-- the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- all of which the United States government is committed to protecting for every human. Last week, I learned this government feels that these human rights are limited to some people, based on how they choose to practice sex. In two separate legislations last week, the United States Senate sanctioned discrimination against homosexual Americans. The issue recently surfaced in Hawaii when the state denied marriage privileges to a lesbian couple. In May 1993, the State Supreme Court ruled in a 3-1 decision that the state's exclusion of same-sex marriage was sexual discrimination and thus unconstitutional unless there was "compelling evidence" for it. In 1995, a governor's commission recommended the state grant marital rights to homosexuals. The "full faith and credit" clause of the U.S. Constitution says that states must accord reciprocity to laws (and contracts) of other states. Thus a couple could get married in Hawaii, move to another state and demand that the state recognize their marriage contract unless laws in the new state conflict directly with laws in the former state. This led the House to pass the Defense of Marriage Act (DoMA) this July with the Senate concurring on Sept. 10. Social Security, Veter-an's and other federal benefits such as married tax status will simply be denied to Americans who do not conform to a sexual pattern preferred by others in society. I don't know where in the Constitution Congress is permitted to legislate the morality that a man must marry a woman. Furthermore, DoMA permits states to... ... other may make some people uncomfortable. But their union does not infringe on anyone else's life, liberty or pursuit of happiness, and they have a claim to pursue their human rights and marry each other. What has Congress to gain by passing this restrictive law? It is only election-year politics to woo the radical right. The United States government is unfairly discriminating against a portion of the United States population and we should not stand for this public "gay bashing." Discrimination is still legal because the measure failed 50-49. Senator Pryor (D-Ark.) was attending his son's cancer surgery; otherwise, he would have supported the bill. Vice President Al Gore had promised to break the tie in support of the bill, but the motion failed. Now it is legally OK to not hire someone based on his or her sexual preference.

Programs for Children and Adolescents

Bullock, L. , M. , and Gable, R. , A. (2006). â€Å"Programs for Children and Adolescents With Emotional and Behavior Disorders in the United States: A Historical Overview, Current Perspectives, and Future Directions. † Preventing School Failure, Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 7-13. A. The article by Lyndal M. Bullock and Robert A.Gable is devoted to the important and ever urgent topic of the difficult problems that teachers and other educational professionals encounter during their attempts to find effective ways for a proper inclusion of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) into the educational processes, either in frames of the general educational institutions, or under the auspices of special programs and educational settings specifically designed for those having various forms of E/BD.The format of the article is such that it includes both general historical and factual information about the discussed field, and sets forth several research question s that are elaborated and partially answered by the authors during the course of the article. Those questions pertain to the influence that factors of the disproportionality and personnel shortages have on the effectiveness of programs for children and adolescents with E/BD. B. It is important to point out, that for a clear and focused discussion of the mentioned complex topics, it is essential to distinguish between various forms of E/BD and related disorders.The authors of the article do exactly that as they classify the population of children and adolescents who are covered and not covered by their study. For example, they not only discuss statistics related to E/BD, but as well provide comparative tables that show the place that E/BD hold among all disabilities that are served under â€Å"Individuals With Disabilities Education Act† (IDEA). Furthermore, in the article the analysis is offered that shows how the population of participants identified in the study is structur ed according to age and race or ethnicity, which significantly enriches the methodological usefulness of the article.In general, the authors make it easier for readers to trace throughout the article information about the population of children and adolescents with E/BD of ages 3-21 and of Caucasian/White, African American, American Indian, Hispanic, and Asian races and ethnicities. C. The study contained in the article is of a relatively short length, but has quite a concentrated amount of information, and offers a large number of references and an extensive bibliography.In this way, the study by Bullock and Gable is not limited to a certain location, but rather is a summary of their own more narrowly focused pieces of research combined with relevant contributions of other researchers. D. Due to the chosen approach to the investigation of the research questions, the result that the authors reach is not limited to the confirmation of the urgency of those questions, but as well is re inforced by the authors` ability to place the problems related to the much needed programs for those affected with E/BD into the general social context.Indeed, the authors manage to convincingly show that the passive stance towards the discussed problems may lead to their significant aggravation already in the near future. E. Considering the mentioned points, the main strength of the article is the ability of the authors to synthesize specific information in such a way as to make it understandable not only to experienced educational professionals, but as well for younger ones to whom the authors appeal in the article as they discuss personnel shortages presumably with the aim to interest new potential specialists on E/BD.Also, the strength of the article is its successful combination of historical data and forecasts, which gives the sense of the direction of the development of the discussed field. As a weakness of the article may be identified its lack of inclusion of relevant forei gn experience which might add useful insights on E/BD treatment.F. Similarly to the above mentioned strength of the article, I believe that I should use the strategy of integral and coherent presentation of information in my teaching because it helps students correctly appreciate the general context that any given information is almost always placed in. In practice, this way of presentation of information can increase the interest and personal involvement of students in the process of study, and may help them immediately see how even a small contribution of one teacher can have significance for many people.

Light and Dark in The Road by Cormac McCarthy essays

Light and Dark in The Road by Cormac McCarthy essays In the novel The Road, Cormac McCarthy uses many binaries. A binary opposition is a pair of related terms or concepts that are opposite in meaning; one of which is Light versus Dark. The common idea of light versus dark is that light is always good and darkness is always evil. However this idea tends to be too much of a generalization. Not all of the people who follow the light are good and many good people do happen to follow the dark. Despite all of the issues with Light versus Dark it really is a simple thing. All it comes down to is ones personal point of view. Someone who looks upon the world as a bad place to live, who feels no hope that anything could get better, is someone who lives with a dark mind. People of this sort arent necessarily FOLLOWERS of the dark but they ARE the basic orientation of darkness. On the other hand someone who always finds the positive things in life and finds the good in almost everything is someone whose basic orientation is of the light. Neither of these is right or wrong, and each of these can make plausible arguments for their points of view. Since people who follow the light tend to be optimistic, positive, and hopeful people the boy from The Road falls under this character. Throughout the novel the boy remained to always be positive and optimistic about the south. He is filled with innocence since he has known no other world. "Maybe he understood for the first time that to the boy he was himself an alien. A being from a planet that no longer existed. The tales of which were suspect. He could not construct for the child's pleasure the world he'd lost without constructing the loss as well and he thought perhaps the child had known this better than he." (129-130) The man sees light in two ways. The first one is through the boy. He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke.(5) The boy is the man...

5 Sentences with Problematic Parallelism in Lists

5 Sentences with Problematic Parallelism in Lists 5 Sentences with Problematic Parallelism in Lists 5 Sentences with Problematic Parallelism in Lists By Mark Nichol It’s too bad you can’t eat grammatical errors or use them to fill your gas tank, because they’re a cheap, endlessly renewable resource. Here’s a five-course meal of sentences with troublesome structure, starting with dessert. 1. â€Å"The writer will sit, eat, and interview the subject.† It seems more logical for the writer to interview the subject after being seated but before eating him or her, but whatever. If the intended meaning of the statement is that the writer will dine with the subject rather than cannibalistically consume him or her, however, the sentence should be revised as follows: â€Å"The writer will sit and eat with, and interview, the subject.† Better yet, for a smoother flow to the sentence, introduce a pronoun: â€Å"The writer will sit and eat with the subject and interview him [or her].† 2. â€Å"The committee consists of the executive directors of the Bay Area Toll Authority, California Transportation Commission, and California Department of Transportation.† Normally, items in a list can share an article (â€Å"the birds, bees, flowers, and trees†), or each can have its own (â€Å"the birds, the bees, the flowers, and the trees†), but when the list items are proper nouns, it’s best to assign an article to each one so that it doesn’t appear that the entities after the first one are erroneously referred to without an article: â€Å"The committee consists of the executive directors of the Bay Area Toll Authority, the California Transportation Commission, and the California Department of Transportation.† 3. â€Å"His contribution to the interior design of the home is his impressive antique musical instruments and modern art collection.† The statement implies that the collection consists of antique musical instruments and modern art, but technically, the reference should be to two distinct collections, described in the plural form and with each description preceded by its own plural pronoun: â€Å"His contributions to the interior design of the home are his impressive antique musical instruments and his modern art collection.† Alternatively, the sentence could be revised as follows, with the collections referred to as a single contribution or a pair of contributions: â€Å"His contribution(s) to the interior design of the home is (or are) his impressive collections of antique musical instruments and modern art.† 4. â€Å"The organization promotes sustainable landscaping practices, green building-construction methods and products, and minimizing pesticide use in the home.† The inconsistency of syntax here is that the first two items are modified with adjectives, while the third is described as an action. Change the verb in the final item to an adjective: â€Å"The organization promotes sustainable landscaping practices, green building-construction methods and products, and minimal pesticide use in the home.† Alternatively, introduce verbs into each of the other items: â€Å"The organization promotes employing sustainable landscaping practices, utilizing green building-construction methods and products, and minimizing pesticide use in the home.† 5. â€Å"Here come the summer movies- the usual formulaic action flicks, dumb comedies, and sequels.† This sentence is not wrong, but the rhythm is off because the first two items are preceded by adjectives but the final element is a bare noun. Introduce an adjective before that item for parallel structure: â€Å"Here come the summer movies- the usual formulaic action flicks, dumb comedies, and weak sequels.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†One Fell SwoopApostrophe with Plural Possessive Nouns

The period of the twentieth century during genocides than in wars The WritePass Journal

The period of the twentieth century during genocides than in wars Introduction The period of the twentieth century during genocides than in wars IntroductionReferences:Related Introduction Genocide in Rwanda, 1994 Throughout the period of the twentieth century it is believed that more people died during genocides than in wars (Helen Fein 1993:81), despite this staggering claim, the genocides have received noticeably less attention than the recent wars of the twentieth century. There exist many varied definitions of genocide, to state one; â€Å"a form of one-sided mass killing in which the state or other authority intends to destroy a group, as that group and membership in it are identified by the perpetrator† (Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn, 1990) This very similar to the UN definition also used by such agencies as Medecins Sans frontiers (Destexhe 1995), the definition included in the 1948 convention states (Article 2): ‘In the Present convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: A)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Killing members of the group; B)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; C)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; D)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Imposing measures intending to prevent births within the group; E)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.’ Furthermore as Article 1 reiterates ‘genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which [the Contracting Parties to the Convention] undertake to prevent and punish’. The UN definition of genocide highlights in Article 2 the difference between direct and indirect killings, the latter being techniques such as birth control however they both share the same aim; biological destruction of the group. In addition the UN definition for political reasons excludes mass killing, this definition continues to be up for debate for example Helen Fein (London sage: 1993) views genocide as; â€Å"sustained purposeful action by a perpetrator to physically destroy a collectivity, directly or indirectly, through interdiction of the biological and social reproduction of group members, sustained regardless of the surrender or lack of threat offered by the victim†. An exact definition of genocide had direct repercussions when investigating and treating the individuals or groups responsible, it is possible that the potentially guilty party who controlled the genocide may contest the accusation of genocide, stating the actions taken took place in self defence or even under conditions of civil war.   They may also believe that those held responsible should be tried under war crimes and not under the crime of genocide, which is described as a crime against humanity under international law (Republic of Rwanda 1995:31). Throughout this case study I intend to provide a detailed insight into the horrific Rwandan genocide during 1994. Jean Kambanda created history on 1 May, 1998 becoming the first person to ever plead guilty to the crime of genocide at an international court hearing.   Kambanda, the prime minister of the Rwandan government, not only planned but instigated the mass attacks and in turn killings in 1994.   With the logistics of the genocide overseen by Kambanda, local authorities had enough people in place to initiate the killings; those who were not willing to cooperate with the orders were simply murdered. Furthermore he commissioned an ambience of anger and paranoia, initiated violence and as a result eventually oversaw mass murder. Kambanda as a result was convicted on all six counts and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Kambanda’s politics during his spell in government can be described as irrational and extreme; an underlying theme to his work was exclusion of Tutsis, believing them to be evil. In order to fully comprehend the reasons behind the genocide in Rwanda, it’s important to understand the history behind it. The origins of Rwanda’s genocide can be traced back a hundred years previous, when in 1894 the King of Rwanda welcomed Gustav Adolf von Gotzen, a German count, to his court. Ten years previously at the Berlin conference Rwanda was gifted to Germany as Africa was divided amongst the European superpowers. Belgium took control of Rwanda in 1916, until 1962 when independence was gained.   The Belgians favoured the Tutsi minority (Between 8 and 14 percent of the population at the time of the genocide) granting them preferential status. The ethnic relations between the Tutsis and the Hutus (At least 85% of the population in 1999) were respectable, furthermore they were not believed to be distinct races or tribes, thus Hutu and Tutsis conflict didn’t occur often. Furthermore any tension that existed between the two ‘tribes’ was increased further and highlighted by the Belgian colonial policy.   Gerard Prunier (1997:5) believes that â€Å"Each group had an average dominant somatic type, even if not every one of its individual members conformed to it.† With the Hutu being generally a small, stocky somatic type, â€Å"a standard Bantu physical aspect†, in comparison the Tutsi were generally tall and thin. However on the flip side Gà ¼nter (1955:672-7) believes ‘there were gross exaggerations of the physical characteristics between Hutu and the taller Tutsi, with the aristocratic minority invariably being compared with the majority of farmers and servants.’ Furthermore the colonisers implemented an identity card system in 1933, this categorised every Rwandan as Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa (The latter being an aboriginal group that before the genocide in 1990 accounted for 1 percent of the population). The identity cards in question were retained during the post independence era, this providing information to the architects of the genocide, as they located their Tutsi victims and Hutu opponents. The Tutsi, who were deemed better educated and more prosperous, headed the campaign for independence after World War II. As a result the Belgians changed allegiance, now backing the Hutus. The change in allegiance let vengeful Hutu components murdered approximately 15,000 Tutsis over a three year period between 1959 and 1962, as Prunier (1997:63) states ‘ Violence in Rwanda forced many Tutsi into exile between 1959 and 1964, then again during 1972-3, amounting to approximately 600000-700000 people’. The Tutsi fled notably to Uganda and Burundi, where they formed a guerrilla organisation known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), with the aim of overturning the new regime.   This aim came to fruition in 1990, when the RPF invaded and occupied the north east of Rwanda. In August 1993 Habyarimana finally accepted an internationally-mediated peace treaty, providing the RPF with a share of political power and a military presence in Kigali. As a result the UN deployed 5,000 peacekeepers to oversee issues, referred to as UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda). However there is a school of thought that believes the Rwandan government, despite to treaty, didn’t accept the peace agreement. In addition some government’ officials and high ranked military officers had at that point designed personal ways to combat the Tutsi ‘issue’ as early as 1992. Habyarimana’s controversial decision to make peace with the RPF won others over to their side, including opposition leaders. Many believed themselves to be patriots when involved in the genocide. The above situation was referred to as the ‘Hutu power’ movement, this movement included moderate Hutu’s who opposed the genocide, which organised and supervised the genocide of April-July 1994. Additionally not only a strong sense of secrecy but a false sense of security combined to disarm the majority who were murdered during the genocide, Friedlander (1997: 60-1) described the situation pre genocide as an ‘illusion of normality’.   It is thought that a great deal of the Tutsi contingent based in Rwanda failed to anticipate the imminent genocide of 1994, despite mounting evidence that something was being planned, including periodic killings of innocent and unarmed Tutsi’s.   Covert actions were an important dimension of the Rwandan regime’s close political control, and were especially effective in a highly stratified society, where power differentials had long been taken for granted (Maquet 1961). Some high profile politicians and public figures had consistently voiced an opinion that the Tutsi ‘had it coming to them’, however references to a potential future genocide were few and far between. Firm statements of intent were rare, furthermore the rumours that indicated a potential planned genocide in fact served further to disarm the Tutsi contingent of Rwanda, by appearing to ’cry wolf’.   Had the Tutsi believed the genocide to be possible a greater number would have fled the country before April 1994 (Chretien 1995: Reyntjens 1994).   According to Clapham (1998:209), ‘groups who sought a genocidal solution’ used the period of the Arusha negotiations to prepare for the genocide, and had no intention of agreeing with the terms of any settlement. Ambiguity was deliberately cultivated during preparation for the genocide, and even during its implementation. April 6th 1994, the day that is widely thought to have triggered the holocaust in Rwanda. Presidents Habyarimana was assassinated when his plane was shot down from the sky by a surface to air missile as the plane approached Kigali airport. Although responsibility for the assassination has never been resolved, many believe that the Hutu extremists had opted to remove their president, who had previously allowed the Tutsi back into government, and initiate a ‘solution’ to the Tutsi ‘problem’. This is thought due to the speed with which the genocide was effectively launched. Within 24 hours of the president’s plane being shot down, roadblocks sprang up around the Kigali. The interahamwe ( â€Å"those who help one another†) militia controlled these roadblocks. In addition to this the Tutsi were segregated and hacked to death with machetes at roadside, however because of the perceived physical differences between the two ‘racial’ groups many taller Hutus were also killed. Furthermore death squads were established and given targets, both Tutsi and moderate Hutu, including the prime minister Agate Uwilingiyimana. The genocide quickly expanded from the capital city to more rural areas. The official sanction to kill originated from government state, but the killings were also conducted by normal people and quickly established militia’s, the astounding issue here is why were the population of Rwanda so determined to kill. Prunier (1997:140-1) proposed the ideal of the manipulation of certain group identities; â€Å"In a world where illiteracy is still the rule, where most of the population has horizons which are limited to their parochial world, where ideologies are bizarre foreign gadgets reserved for intellectuals, solidarity is best understood in terms of close community. In turn, these positive (or negative) group feelings are manipulated by the elite in their struggles for controlling the scarce and even shrinking financial, cultural and political resources.† However the reason could lie in the culture of Rwanda, a culture that embodies obedience to authority. The incursions and attacks of the PRF prior to the genocide made the Hutu’s perceive every Tutsi as a threat even more so. It is estimated that in just two weeks after the start of the genocide, approximately a quarter of a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus had been murdered.   Alongside the mass murder of Soviet prisoners of war during World War II, it is thought to be the most concentrated act of genocide ever; â€Å" The dead of Rwanda accumulated at nearly three times the rate of Jewish dead during the Holocaust.† (Gourevitch 1998:3), however Prunier (1997:261)believes the killings happened at an ever faster rate; â€Å" The daily killing rate was at least five times that of the Nazi death camps.† On a slightly more specific note, the gender aspects of the brutal killings is one of the least investigated factors of the Rwandan genocide. Judy El-Bushra states: â€Å"During the war of 1994, and particularly as a result of the genocide massacres which precipitated it, it was principally the men of the targeted populations who lost their lives or fled to other countries in fear. This targeting of men for slaughter was not confined to adults: boys were similarly decimated, raising the possibility that the demographic imbalance will continue for generations. Large numbers of women also lost their lives; however, mutilation and rape were the principal strategies used against women, and these did not necessarily result in death.† (El-Bushra, 200:73). This trend can be seen throughout the early 1990’s when Tutsi males were murdered as they were presumed to be part of the RPF organisation. ‘Throughout the genocide orders to kill were passed down from the top, and the majority who refused to kill were often killed’ (Gourevitch 1997:44-51), an example of this can be seen when the prefect of Butare refused to order Hutu to murder the Tutsis, he was killed and replaced by militia’s from the north (Prunier 1995:261; Article 19 1996:57). As a result all social ties were abolished,   leaving a situation where ‘pupils were killed by their teachers, shop owners by their customers, neighbour killed neighbour and husband killed wives in order to save them from a more terrible death’ ( Destexhe 1995:31). The Hutu used physical features as a guide during the genocide, such as a ‘long nose, long fingers or height (were) considered a sufficient basis for a sentence of death’   (African rights 1996:45), however as Clapham (1998:197) states ‘the blurred vision between the two ‘ethnic groups’ could not be taken as a re liable identity indicator’. On the topic Prunier (1995: 198,142) states that ‘Chopping up men was â€Å"bush clearing† and slaughtering women and children was â€Å"pulling out the roots of the bad weeds†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. As mentioned above the Tutsis and moderate Hutu males were almost exclusively targeted prior the genocide and in fact in its early stages, however there exist strong evidence that between April and June 1994 the gendering of the genocide altered, with more women and children being murdered in the later stages. Alison Des Forges in a 1999 report on the genocide wrote; â€Å"In the past Rwandans had not usually killed women in conflicts and at the beginning of the genocide assailants often spared them. When militia had wanted to kill women during an attack in Kigali in late April, for example, Renzaho [a principal leader of the genocide] had intervened to stop it. Killers in Gikongoro told a woman that she was safe because Sex has no ethnic group. The number of attacks against women [from mid-May onwards], all at about the same time, indicates that a decision to kill women had been made at the national level and was being implemented in local communities. (See Human Rights Watch, Mid- May Slaughter: Women and Children as Victims, in Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda.) As briefly discussed the Tutsi formed an organisation called the RPF, as soon as the genocide erupted the RPF launched an attack on Kigali.   As a result the government resistance was destroyed; this eventually brought an end to the genocide in many areas of the country.   On July 4 1994, Kigali fell to the RPF and in turn the genocide came to an end on July 18th. It is difficult to establish an accurate death toll for the genocide, a figure of 800,000 is generally accepted, although this remains unclear. This figure provided by the Human Rights Watch and is based upon a 1991 census, thus not taking into account the number of other victims of the genocide.   However Philippe Gaillard estimates that up to one million people were killed, this confirmed by Charles Petrie, the deputy co-ordinator of the UN Rwanda Emergency Office.   Additionally in a preliminary report published by the Rwanda Military of Local Government in December 2001, the figure of just over one million casualties is cited, based on a census in July 2000. The report states that 93.7% of the victims being killed because they were Tutsi; 1% because they had some form of relations with Tutsis; 0.8% because they looked like Tutsis; and 0.8% because they opposed the Hutu movement. Furthermore young people were particularly targeted, as 53.7% of the victims were between 0 and 24 years of age. Furthermore the strategy behind the Rwandan genocide was created and implemented by a small contingent of government officials, led by Bagosora, a Hutu extremist.   Bagosora, a retired army colonel, held the position of defence minister at the time of Habyarimana’s assassination. Agathe Habyarimana, the wife of the former president, Bagosora acted quickly in not only organising the genocide but rallying government support. These leaders exploited the highly-centralized nature of the Rwandan state, The genocide happened not because the state was weak, but on the contrary because it was so totalitarian and strong that it had the capacity to make its subjects obey absolutely any order, including one of mass slaughter. (Prunier1995:353-54.). Reyntjens (1996:244-5) believed the ‘Rwandan peoples tendency for obedient compliance, aided in facilitating the ruthless efficiency of the 1994 genocide’. There can exist no simple explanation to the genocide, a numbers of caus es may have aided in contribution, such as; colonial ideology of racial division (identity cards, preferential status to Tutsi then change of allegiance); political and economic struggles prior 1994; the nature of their organised society; and finally the fragile regional and class base of a political fraction determined to retain state power at any cost, which perhaps resulted in the mass killings To conclude I believe I have provided an extensive background to the genocide in Rwanda, which is crucial when aiming to understand to reasons behind the genocide leaving approximately one million dead. Furthermore I have provided an overview of surrounding factors that contributed to the violence and a detailed account of the genocide. References: Melvern ,Linda, (2004), Conspiracy To Murder The Rwandan Genocide, Verso African Rights. (1995). Rwanda: Death, Despair, and Defiance. Revised edition. London Hintjens, Helen M, (1999), Explaining The 1994 Genocide In Rwanda, The Journal Of Modern African Studies, Cambridge University Press, [Online] Available at   jstor.org/stable/161847?Search=yessearchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3Ffilter%3Diid%253A10.2307%252Fi301388%26Query%3D258%26wc%3Don Accessed: 30-4-2011 Martin, Brian, (2009), Managing Outrage Over Genocide: Case Study Rwanda,   [Online] Available at: bmartin.cc/pubs/09gcps.html#_ftn2 Accessed : 24-4-2011 Rwanda: How The Genocide Happened, [Online] Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/1288230.stm Accessed on: 30-4-2011 Webster, Colin, (2007), Understanding Race and Crime, Open University Press,   [Online] Available at:  Ã‚   dawsonera.com/depp/reader/protected/external/AbstractView/S9780335230396 Accessed on: 18-5-2011 Institute for the study of Genocide, [Online] Available at instituteforthestudyofgenocide.org/oldsite/definitions/def_genocide.html Accessed on 18-5-2011 Accessed on 18-52011 Fein, Helen, 1992, Accounting for genocide after 1945: Theories and Some Findings International journal on group rights 1, no.2:79-106, Kluwer academic publishers Gourevitch, Philip, 1998, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, [Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998], p. 3.), St. Martins Press

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History of Psychology - Essay Example Annoying to some people and beneficial to other as it may look, the behaviorist approach developed with the era and has stayed to be at par with the revolution of psychology (Myers, 2004). People who present the behaviorist approach are more forceful and effective than in the past, with the help of various modernized reporting mechanisms established by the growth of technologies. The Cognitive approach to psychology is a discipline which is utilized to decipher interpretations from previous or past occurrences. Such concept is utilized in modern psychological disciplines and social fields to symbolize a perspective of the value of previous events which leads with the manners that interpretations of events is being analyzed and interpreted by people. There are various manners in which the cognitive approach to psychology can be described. This involves investigating, comprehending the hidden hypotheses, outlines, concepts that establish the framework for idea and concepts and realization. The cognitive approach possesses various aspects of definition in different areas of analysis and investigation. Basically, the humanistic approach in psychology pertains to movement and trend, including the policies and programs that aim to improve the developments of the quality of life that will aid in the adjustments of the people. The humanistic approach to psychology helps change the social and technological aspects of all the people in plenty of measure that most of the time vary form their assumptions (Weiten, 2007). More often than not, the humanistic approach targets the process of helping the people in adjusting to a new cultural and technological change, and this works together with the government that pertains to developments of existing attitudes and inherent behaviors in a citizen who is facing cultural and technological adjustments. A victorious achievement of the influence of the humanistic approach needs a tremendous cooperation between the agents of modernization like the mass media and the public. D. Present Time Without a doubt, the people at present would have to undergo changes of attitudes, beliefs, skills, goals as well as profiles and identities as a primary consequence of the new developments on the field of psychology. The present trends on psychology is normally quickly felt but with several delays in implementation, composed of significant developments and needing extreme adjustments leading to increased pressure to the public. The tremendous level of life developments and changes that the public needs to face as a consequence of the new wave of psychology can result to the development of the idea of discrimination and helplessness which can hinder their motivation in attaining their objectives in their new modernized environment (Hock, 2004). The new wave of psychology and its application at present as well as all over the world have established a critical responsibility in its technological and social development. Media highlights and investigations have insisted the need for studying the positive and negative consequences of the present psychology since the development of every nation's leadership and governance systems also relies on it. The Comparison of the Four Psychological Approaches All the four psychological approaches simply pertain to the field of stating situations and phenomena as they happen. Such stating includes gathering,

Memo to CEO on Eva Concept Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Memo to CEO on Eva Concept - Coursework Example What is EVA? The method for determining a company’s true financial performance pioneered by Stern Stewart & Co. adjusts financial reporting to include the cost of capital expenses. Stern Stewart & Co.’s economic value added metric deducts the cost of capital from the net profit after taxes. A company operating successfully, with no accumulation of excess capital or assets may not be performing as well as ratio analysis projects. EVA takes into account the cost of raising capital, as well as normal operating expenses, showing both the current financial health of the company and the economic impact on wealth generation for stockholders and other investors. EVA shows the total net worth of the company after subtracting operating expenses and expenses like dividends to shareholders and lien holders. The resulting numbers provide a solid depiction of the company’s current financial health, though not with the detail offered by ratio analysis. How to Calculate EVA Dete rmining EVA is much less involved than other financial performance tracking methods. The formula for producing a final numerical value is EVA = NOPAT - c * capital. NOPAT stands for net operating profits after taxes, and the â€Å"c† refers to the weighted average cost of capital. Using this simple formula, companies can get a quick glimpse at their total performance. Adding an EVA calculation to an existing financial report is quick, given the financial tracking already in place. Existing documents, tax return, profit and loss statements, ledgers and so on, provide all the needed information to generate a concrete number using the EVA formula. One of the benefits of incorporating EVA in financial reporting is the ability to gain a clear understanding of performance, divorced from any questionable accounting adjustments. Large companies like Enron managed to show positive numbers on financial ratio analysis, even when barely solvent. Including EVA removes that element of risk when generating financial reports. Another benefit to including EVA calculations is the ability to tailor compensation more closely to results. When used to show economic profit after a management change, taking into account the economic profit at the time of the switch, the change in final EVA from then and now show the amount of company profits attributable to the specific management employee or team. Of course, many other factors may influence the final profit outcome, but EVA gives upper management a way to quickly respond to clear improvements implemented on a department level. Showing the Company in the Best Light with EVA Although EVA does not allow for some of the accounting adjustments which make ratio analysis unreliable when used by unethical financial officers, there are still ways to improve the final number. Ultimately, when improving the EVA, a company must either increase total profits or lower total expenses. Restructuring debt can make a big impact on total econom ic profit. For example, if a company earns $7.8M net after taxes, with a weighted average cost of capital at 6.3% and a total invested capital of $26.3M. The formula would then read 7.8 - .0063 * 26.3 = $7.6, showing a company with very strong economic profit. Of course, the total for invested capital would typically be expected to be much higher. Included in that

Response Speech of Sotomayors 2012 NYU Commencement Essay Example for Free

Response Speech of Sotomayors 2012 NYU Commencement Essay This speech was not awesome, but more than that. Her tenacious and benevolent appearance was enough to attract the audience’s attention. She made jokes to make the audience comfortable and to keep the speech accessible and fresh. Also, she used various anecdotes from her life that both those in the stadium and I could empathize with. Her speech at the commencement ceremony at NYU struck a chord with me. More especially, there was a hopeful message to the young people starting fresh in life. First, she had the ability to convert her weak points into strengths. Her life story is literally ‘a dream come true’. She was born and raised in the Bronx, New York which is not the greatest place to live. Yet, she grew up and graduated from a prestigious university. Moreover, she became the first Hispanic justice of the Supreme Court and the third-ever woman to hold the post. She is a person of great wisdom, because she embraced her identity as a Hispanic woman, in order to make her dreams a reality. Furthermore, her life story shows that anyone can succeed whatever the obstacles or barriers. As we already know, she grew up in a public housing project in the Bronx and never imagined that she would stand on that podium. However, she finally became a supreme justice after going through so many challenges. There might have been enormous trials and tribulations, but it is obvious evident from her example that we can achieve our dreams despite the challenge we face, if we do exert ourselves enough. Last, the five essential emotions that she had referred to are a further guideline for us. In fact, the current tendency in Korea is to be stable rather than to challenge. People think that it may take too much time to reach their dream, so they choose a job that they can do comfortably, rather than what they really want. However, her speech showed me that I should choose what I truly want to do, and I can do that if I embrace her five emotions necessary for a successful life Her speech made me have second thoughts about and reconsider everything about myself, such as my attitudes or my life. Everyone has disadvantages and hardships, but the matter is whether we overcome those things or not. I believe that we all have the ability to do that. So, now I echo her word, dream big, achieve much and keep asking ‘are you ready to challenge and enjoy the engagement of your own life? ’

Matters Of National Interests And Security Politics Essay

Matters Of National Interests And Security Politics Essay In a very generic sense, national interests are that which is deemed by a particular state to be a . . . desirable goal. The attainment of this goal is something that the identifying state believes will have a positive impact on itself. Realization of the interest could enhance the political, economic, security, environmental, and/or moral well-being of a populace and the state or national enterprise to which they belong.  [2]  This holds true within the territory of the state, as well as in any external relations that the state may undertake outside of the administrative control of that state.  [3]   Interests serve as the foundation and guiding direction for the formulation of policy. For a nation-state, there is more often than not a direct correlation between the nations interests and foreign policy. In most cases, statesmen think and act in terms of interest.  [4]  Those interests believed to be the most significant for the attainment of a policy objective (the states wants and needs)  [5]  will earn the greatest amount of emphasis during the policy formulation process. They should be designed to tell the policymaker why and how much he should care about an issue. Interests help determine what kind and how much attention should be given to both challenges or threats and opportunities. They also assist the policymaker in identifying key issues during the policy formulation process. Some political scientists, like Hans Morgenthau, believe that national interests are permanent features of the international system. Regardless of what government is in power, the interests of a nation-state remain fixed components of the policymaking process. They are unaffected by the circumstances of time and place.  [6]   Morgenthau, himself, indicates that the key concept of interest is not to be defined with a meaning that is fixed once and for all.  [7]  Morgenthau believed the generic concept of interest was unchanging in terms of its importance to the international system. But this did not mean that individual interests could not be adjusted or newly created in order to take into account changes in the international system. Other theorists have argued that interests are likely to be a diverse, pluralistic set of subjective preferences that change periodically, both in response to the domestic political process itself and in response to shifts in the international environment. The national interest therefore is more likely to be what the policymakers say it is at any particular time.  [8]  The underlying three basic interests are:- Security: Protection of the people (both home and abroad), territory, and institutions of the State against potential foreign dangers.  [9]  This has always included defense of the homeland. Domestically, it also includes protection of critical infrastructure such as energy, banking and finance, telecommunications, transportation, water systems, and cyber networks.  [10]   Economic Well-Being: Promotion of international trade and investment, including protection of a States private economic interests in foreign countries.  [11]   Democratic Values: Until the 20th century, this core interest was confined to ensuring that the domestic democratic process and associated values framed the traditional tenets of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Some states may include the promotion of democracy and human rights abroad.  [12]   Just as the development of national interests is complex, so is the actual application of interests in the policy and strategy formulation process. The importance of national interests to the process is significant, as described by Lord Palmerston, the British foreign minister in 1856: When people ask me . . . for what is called a policy, the only answer is that we mean to do what may seem to be best, upon each occasion as it arises, making the interests of our country ones guiding principle.  [13]   The policy framer participating in the development of interests must take the following issues into account: How flexible can the interest of the moment be in relation to the states core interests of the period? Must the interest be based on either realism or morality, or rather; can it be some combination of the two? Where does the interest fit in terms of how it is to be categorized with what degree of intensity? Perhaps the most complicating factor that the policy framer must take into account will be the influence of domestic politics on the interest formulation process. The concept that resource allocation by type and quantity will be impacted by the identification of the interest designed to guide a policy creates a critical linkage between the two. The connection is key because, in a democracy, it is the government of a state actor that will have to sustain the investment of resources required to attain the interest. Interests with greater fidelity and less ambiguity are easier for governments and populations to support because they have a clearer idea of why it is they are being asked to do something, like allocate money or military forces.  [14]  At the same time, such a detailed understanding could lead to a lack of support on the part of either the government, the people, or parts thereof, if the interest is assessed to be too low on the scale of intensity. If they are to develop relevant and executable 21st century interests, a most important understanding for those participating in the interest development process must be that they are endowed with a degree of flexibility allowing them to discern the limits of domestic politics in terms of what types of interests are likely to be supportable. This must entail the provision of the maximum amount of data available for the development and resulting identification of the interests at hand. The greater the fidelity and degree of consensus on categorisation and level of intensity, the greater the possibility that the public will support actions to protect or advance the interest. DEFINITIONS At this juncture it would be worthwhile to look at some definitions, to get a complete perspective in to national interests,power and security. National interests The national interest, often referred to by the French term raison dÉtat, is a countrys goals and ambitions whether economic, military, or cultural. The notion is an important one in international relations where pursuit of the national interest is the foundation of the realist school. It has 5 major dimensions namely; Geo Political, Economic, Military, Socio-cultural, and Science Technology. National Interests therefore stem from the evolving National goals in each of these dimensions and is also a reflection of the relative National Strengths with regard to these dimensions. POWER In the context of international relations and diplomacy, power (sometimes clarified as international power, national power, or state power) is the ability of one state to influence or control other states. States with this ability are called powers, NATIONAL STRATEGY The art and science of developing, applying, and coordinating the instruments of national power (diplomatic, economic, military, and informational) to achieve objectives that contribute to national security. Also called national strategy or grand strategy. NATIONAL SECURITY 1. National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the nation-state through the use of economic, military and political power and the exercise of diplomacy. 2. National security can be defined as a collective term encompassing both national defence and foreign relations.  [15]  In general, it is the study of the security problems faced by [actors], of the policies and programs by which these problems are addressed, and also of the government processes through which the policies and programs are decided upon and carried out.  [16]  It relates both externally and internally to the actor-the foreign and domestic components of national security. 3. In the context of USA it is a collective term encompassing both national defense and foreign relations of the United States. Specifically, the condition provided by: (a) a military or defense advantage over any foreign nation or group of nations; (b) a favorable foreign relations position; or (c) a defense posture capable of successfully resisting hostile or destructive action from within or without, overt or covert. 4. National security is thus a multi-dimensional view and response towards protecting National Interests against internal and external threats. It is dynamic and evolving as a derivative of National Interests which in itself is an evolving derivative of National Strength. It Underpins and guarantees the pursuit of National Objectives in a competing international arena. Further any issue that has the potential to directly impact the pursuit of National Goals can be classified as an area of National Interest, and it can thus be brought under the ambit of national security. ECONOMIC POWER Modern conflict, from conventional warfare to diplomatic disputes, has increasingly involved economics in some form. Nations use economic tools to pursue objectives, seek economic resources as national goals, or are affected by economic events that influence their national security. Both state and non-state actors use economic power to wage war and to influence events regionally or globally. Economic considerations range from simple access to resources like water or raw materials through transforming resources into finished products or services to providing financial resources. The ability to gather, transform, and use resources is a key component to national security. Many human activities, including those involving national security, can be either severely limited or dramatically enhanced by economic factors. Military operations and other national security actions frequently depend on the results of economic capability. Without the capacity to produce, finance, or support key natio nal security activities, a nation would have a limited ability to protect its domestic and international interests. Economic power has spread widely and gained importance in recent years. Globalisation, the reliance on economics, and the diffusion of economic power from a few industrial states to many developing ones has radically changed the world. Global economic success has also conferred power on a large group of sovereign governments and even corporations. The threat or actual action by a government, organization, or cartel can create enormous economic impact. Markets are extremely sensitive to news that would affect potential financial or economic activity. Oil prices can rise rapidly if tensions increase in the Persian Gulf or if a natural disaster occurs. Single events with little obvious international significance could ignite a sell off by investors in overseas and domestic stock markets. Global communications can spread panic and exacerbate the condition. The changing environment has altered the emphasis on national elements of power so that military power is not necessarily the primary coercive tool in international relations, and economic power has gained increased importance  [17]  . During the age of total war that spanned World Wars I and II, military power was the coin of the realm in foreign affairs. Economic power played a role in those wars, but the fight for national survival overrode the impact of domestic and international macroeconomic stability or growth. Economics served primarily as a provider of resources to the military element of power. In an era of increased consumer demand, technological growth, changes in society, and the evolving nature of conflict, the importance of economic considerations rose. During the Cold War, national survival was still at stake, but even then economic considerations became just as important as nuclear parity with the Soviet Union. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned of military ex penditures impeding future economic growth the net result of which would degrade security for the nation. Nuclear sufficiency became acceptable rather than superiority with the associated costly numbers of intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic bombers, and submarines. Guns versus butter questions also arose as the challenges of an undeclared Cold War against Moscow pitted social spending against defence resources. Today, economic issues play a pivotal role in conflict. Advanced technology, contractors on the battlefield, volunteer militaries (that tend to be more expensive than conscript armies), reconstruction of battle ravaged nations, and other considerations make war and conflict expensive. Countries do not have inexhaustible resources to conduct long wars even if there is a direct and desperate threat to national survival. Questions of national treasury, consumer demand, labour constraints, finance, and other economic considerations can sway public sentiment against a conflict. If one nation wages war or takes other actions to isolate another state, investors around the world become nervous. Stock and commodity markets could affect financial conditions and create unforeseen reactions. These reactions may create adverse conditions that could force a change in strategy by the nation trying to influence a rivals behavior  [18]  . As economic issues affect national security capabilities and activities, so might efforts that involve national security create global economic impacts. War or political disruption in an oil producing region will initiate tremors in the international energy sector. Although a nation might not be directly affected by the initial problem, the populace can suffer from increased prices from petroleum products that could result in greater unemployment, inflation, credit issues, and foreign exchange problems. Demands for added military expenditures could translate to increased taxes that discourage consumer spending and business investment or reductions in other governmental activities that can directly shape the economic landscape. Competition for limited resources to meet national security policy objectives could also hamper private or other governmental activities. Nations can increase borrowing, raise taxes, spend surpluses, confiscate resources, or monetize debt. All of these options have unique economic effects on a nation. Economics is an element of national power. Normally, one of a nations key national interests is maintaining a viable economy to ensure a certain standard of living for its citizenry. States can use economic power to deter, compel, coerce, fight, and even rebuild a former opponent to meet a particular need. Economics becomes a vital component of the ends, ways, and means of security. Perhaps uniquely among the traditional elements of national power, economics might be any of the three aspects of strategy-the objective of a nations strategy might be economic; economics might provide the means to achieve the end; or a nation might pursue its ends using economics as the primary way to exert power. Whether economics is a way or a means to achieve a national interest or if it is a cause or motivation to take an action, national leaders must pay attention to this increasingly significant security factor. ECONOMICS AND NATIONAL INTEREST States and non-state actors have historically fought over economic issues. Wars about open access to resources, trade routes, competition, profit, and other economic issues are common in military and diplomatic history. A keen competition for resources among governments, individuals, corporations, and other actors has created a complex web of economic dependencies and rivalries that was not as important in the past. Similarly, economic conditions can create an environment that fosters demands for change that could create a civil war, a fight for access to markets or resources, or other forms of economic competition. Countries with weak or failing economies may resort to actions that they might not have considered had their economies been stronger. One specific area which deserves a brief discussion is oil as a cause or objective of war. Reliable access to oil at reasonable rates is a vital national security interest for every developed and many of the more developing nations. Governments or international organizations that control oil production or pricing can effectively disrupt global economic conditions-whether purposefully or accidentally. A monopoly or oligopoly that controls a strategic asset, capability, or raw material has great potential to disrupt economies and create political instability, although few commodities have the same potential impact as oil. Major perceived or actual disruptions in the oil market are serious events that easily can trigger hostile responses from concerned governments. Today, oil is the best example of a resource that is both scarce and vital; however, other resources like water are also likely sources of conflict. We can expect economic issues-particularly access to raw materials and resou rces-to remain one of the significant objectives of international relations and causes of conflict. Economic intervention in or withdrawal from the economy of a foreign nation-as opposed to supporting its debt-can have tremendous impact on the financial well being of a region or country. Governments do not usually participate directly in the economy of another nation. However, direct participation in the economy of another nation through private companies is widespread. Depending on the business and political climate of firms home state, such participation may provide some degree of power for that home state  [19]  . Regardless of the degree of external governmental control, decisions by private firms and multinational corporations to invest or do business in a country can influence national policies. Such decisions are independent and can be contrary to a host nations interests. In an age of globalized financial markets, almost any corporation, organization, or individual can transfer capital into a country or take it out. This transfer generally can occur by using national or international stock, bond, commodity markets, or through direct investment into business ventures. Rapid inflow of capital can provide a needed boast to growth while rapid outflow can sink a nation into recession. Governments can use their economic power through other means. For example, rather than lending money by bond purchases, they can provide direct support to another nation through a variety of programs that essentially provide money or services. Foreign aid, loan guarantees, technical aid and services, and other assistance can provide a number of flexible tools to support national interests. The transfer of wealth from developed to developing countries that sell raw materials or manufacture low-cost products can create economic problems. Governments worried about the outflow of capital, goods, services, industries, and jobs might erect barriers to restrict or stop trade. Such actions rarely go unchallenged, and a counter tariff barrier or legal challenge is a likely response. Conversely, governments willing to accept what are hopefully temporary trade imbalances for potential future benefits may allow the transfer of wealth and even industries and jobs to continue. Such is the political and economic theory behind the whole free trade movement-the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) being a visible example. Transfer of key technologies, processes, equipment, or skills can also enable foreign governments and private firms-granting in some cases access to capabilities that would have taken years and many resources to acquire independently. Economic power normally involves the trade of finished goods or raw materials. Few countries can claim to produce all of the goods and services that their citizens use. Many nations require energy imports to subsist. Conversely, nations that may have oil, natural gas, or other energy sources might need food imports or other foreign services like skilled labour. Nations can work within international trade agreements, or they may take unilateral action to expand or restrict trade. A country might try to limit trade to hurt a rival. Economic power could also prevent or limit actions taken by a rival. Suppose a country requires a scarce raw material. If an adversary has sufficient funds, influence, or credit, it could purchase and withhold that raw material from its foe. The nation could also coerce sellers to prevent sale of that raw material to the opponent. States could put pressure indirectly on an opponents allies to force a nation to take certain actions. After the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Arab oil-producing countries refused to sell oil to the United States and other nations that supported Israel. This embargo boosted oil prices and shifted international power from the developed nations to ones that relied primarily on oil extraction. Political and economic power was redistributed when these actions were combined with the nationalization of private, foreign-owned petroleum companies in these oil exporting nations.  [20]   THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS A STRATEGIC TOOL Although not generally controlled by governments, disregarding currency manipulations designed to offset them, commercial balance of payments are another form of debt that can have foreign policy implications. Fears of a pending financial disaster could cause lenders to pull capital out of the market and further exacerbate the situation. Unfortunately, globalized communications can now spread fears among global investors almost instantaneously. The result is that economic issues that might have been localized events only decades ago can now turn into global issues. Additionally, since private investors may act contrary to government desires, governmental and even international efforts to stem economic crises may be ineffective. Some nations fear excessive foreign investment due to a perceived influence or concern over precipitous withdrawal; others accept the risk and welcome foreign investment as a reasonably available source of funds. Although some nations find these actions helpful, critics argue that this capability can also be used to stifle competition, protect national interests, or create geopolitical troublemaking.  [21]  Foreign funds do provide a needed economic boast, but t hey can also disappear quickly should confidence fail Multinational corporations and firms typically have the resources and ability to get access to once closed markets. Governments might offer subsidies or grant special benefits to attract business to their country. Once established, the multinational corporation could exert a powerful influence on the government since its affairs affect the nations economy. Similarly, in highly contested markets, a multinational corporation could offer restricted technologies, move production of key subcomponents, offer bribes, expand production beyond the initial plan, or provide other incentives to gain access to the market. Companies can lobby their home countrys government (assuming it favours the move into the other nations market) for help lifting trade restrictions or access to technology or influencing the host nations foreign policy. In the most basic sense, economic power is an entitys ability to acquire, produce, and use raw materials, goods, and services. A nation cannot engage in conflict over an extended period without an adjustment to its economy. In many cases, countries must devote goods or services to prepare for or fight a war or even to conduct other activities that affect the national interest. Humanitarian aid, defence expenditures, diplomacy, alliance membership, and other vital actions depend on a countrys ability to raise and spend tax revenues, borrow funds, use surpluses, or finance these measures. Economic power allows players to conduct actions by providing the personnel, equipment, operating materials, infrastructure, and short or long term sustainment of that capability Governments purchase commodities and equipment like a business, obtain labour (military, government civilian, and contractor), maintain physical infrastructure, conduct research and development, and in some cases also produce unique goods and services peculiar to national security. Resource decisions mold the creation of force structure to include investments in weapons, recruitment and retention of military and civilian personnel, decisions to fund military or non-military government programs, and a host of other concerns that affect national security policy. Further, economic conditions, once the exclusive concern of financial institutions, investors, and businesses, now affect military decisions that range from recruitment to government borrowing that directly influences a powers ability to provide military capability. Arms sales, transfers of key military technologies or technologies related to weapons of mass destruction, contracting for goods and services by individuals and firms, and other economic activities can influence the national security environment. Nations that have sufficient resources can upgrade their military forces with more and better capabilities. Military forces that lack personnel or equipment could rely on contracted services or purchase advanced weaponry from other nations. If the state has limited forces, it can change the composition of its military forces by hiring specialized services that would have taken years to develop or that they only need for a limited time. Contractors on the battlefield are not new phenomena. The U.S. Government has used contractors in several wars. Other nations have hired military pilots and aircraft, logistics, and combat forces to expand and enhance their limited capabilities. Today, governments can lease satellite communications, photographic imagery, multi-spectral analysis, and navigational systems that were once the province of superpowers that had exclusive use of space systems. Individuals, firms, and governments can use these functions-for a price. This capability can change a balance of power at critical times during a conflict. Oil profits have allowed the Russian government to finance a larger military budget that has given Moscow the ability to build a new intercontinental ballistic missile, aircraft, and other weapons to revitalize its national security and foreign policies. Other countries, like Iran and Venezuela, also fuel their defense and security programs by oil sales. Nations building advanced technology consumer goods like information systems could use similar technologies to improve their military forces. While national leaders consider and adapt economics as an element of national power, these same leaders are also affected by economic events that may limit their policies options. Economic considerations can have very influential impacts on the conduct of military operations and diplomatic actions. Globalisation has allowed nations to conduct business with allies, former enemies, and potential rivals. New relationships between citizens and governments that highlight cost reductions, profits, and long range business activities can impact national security measures in a host of ways. Current economic conditions also have a large impact on military operations. Inflation contributes to reduced purchasing power by a government. This includes activities from purchasing fuel, paying for contracted work, demands for greater pay for military and civilian workers, and other acquisition activities  [22]  . Similarly, a recession-a sustained downturn in economic activities-reduces tax revenues and encourages moves by politicians to stimulate the economy or support the unemployed or struggling citizens. These policies can significantly reduce the amount of defence spending for a nation. However, some of these conditions might provide relief to the government. Unemployment may ease recruitment and retention problems in the military. Increased competition for fewer government contracts might reduce the cost of operations. Tools to fight economic problems may also create unforeseen issues. A central bank could raise or lower interest rates. These actions can affect the ava ilability of investors to purchase government debt and the cost of borrowing for contractors to build the latest fighter aircraft. OTHER ECONOMIC SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS Expanding trade can provide several benefits to nations. It can create better efficiencies in production by seeking the lowest cost, most effective producers. This situation could lead to greater economic growth and improved standards of living around the world. However, not all nations find an economic niche that allows economic growth. Cheaper outsourced services and imported goods may destroy domestic industries. Large numbers of unemployed workers could create domestic problems for a government. Further, reliance on foreign imports could impoverish the state and complicate its financial and credit situation. If nations rely on foreign goods, then any problem that hinders trade could cause issues globally. A natural disaster, potential conflict, trade dispute, or other problem could restrict the flow of needed products. ECONOMICS AND FUTURE NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES In the future, security conflict among nations may change from predominately military contests to ones primarily featuring other elements of national power. That option is also open to non-state a