National Strategy for Combating Terrorism Essay

In the recent years, global terrorism has come into picture as a serious problem that threatens the world peace. The world community has expressed deep concern over the menace of terrorism in different parts of the world. Terrorism has struck countries like the United States, India and countries in Middle East and other parts of Asia. The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 forced the United States to take a tough posture on this issue. The George Bush administration formulated a national strategy for combating terrorism, known as the Bush Doctrine. However, the war on Afghanistan and Iraq also revived the debate over the principles of the Just War Doctrine that exists for centuries. These two doctrines are contrasting in nature. A large number of people believe that the Bush Doctrine violates the basic principles of Just War. Just War Doctrine Just War always distinguishes between justifiable and unjustifiable use of force. The main objective of Just War is to restrain the use of arms and use them only when the peace and justice are in danger. A war always causes widespread destruction. It results in the killing of innocent civilians and creates economic and social turbulence. Although the war ends within a few days and or months, the survivors feel the impact for the years to come. People from different sections of the society always questioned the use of violence to preserve peace. Although killing is morally not justified, the inevitable war between states often leads to mass killing. Just War Doctrine aims at the protection of unarmed civilians and the need for necessary measures to minimize deaths. Just War is a theory practiced by the Catholic Church. The Catechism’s teachings on Just War forbid the intentional destruction of human life. It states that all the citizens and governments must work for peace. However, it allows a country to go to war for its self-defense if all peace efforts have failed. Just War theory believes in the principle of legitimate self-defense in the form of war. However, the threat must be real and grave and there should be no alternative to avoid war . It completely denounces initiating armed conflict without any provocation. The main principles of Just War are: ? Before going into war, it is necessary to explore all non-violent options to resolve the conflict. ? A legitimate authority must endorse the use of violent force by using discretionary power. ? A Just War fought against injustice with right intentions, is always justifiable. ? It prohibits States from using unnecessary use of force. Peace is the ultimate goal of a Just War. ? Just War allows use of force only against the armed combatants. It requires all States to take necessary steps to avoid civilian casualties . Just War makes a clear distinction between the use of arms against sovereign nations and the political compulsion of going to war. Nobody can justify the mass killings. However, the circumstances often warrant such an action. A Just War is defensive and cannot be aggressive under any circumstances. The main concern in every war is the loss of lives and property. Civilians always suffer heavily whenever there is a war. Just War Doctrine strongly emphasizes on protecting the lives of innocent civilians. National Strategy for Combating Terrorism (Bush Doctrine) In the wake of the terrorist attack on 9/11, President George Bush led the way to fight against global terrorism. The military doctrine of the United States had been a policy of deterrence for years. George Bush changed it into a policy of striking at the countries that threatens the interests of the United States. Under the Bush Doctrine, the United States adopted the idea of pre-emptive strikes on the suspected countries. The Bush Doctrine is a national strategy for combating terrorism. The new doctrine clearly states that the US would not allow any country to question its military supremacy. It also believes that the US has a bigger role to play in maintaining peace in the world by waging war against the rogue nations and terrorists. It denounced terrorism in strong words and calls for non-compromise on its national interests . The need of a comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism has become necessary keeping the strong capabilities of the terrorists. By using weapons of mass destruction, terrorists sent a clear signal that they could launch attacks on important installations at their will. The Bush Doctrine identified possible threats in three categories. These potential threats are global terrorist organizations, states that harbor such organizations and rogue states. It defined rogue states as states that oppress their own citizens and squander the national properties for the self-interest of the rulers. Countries that disregard international law and threaten their neighbors are also fall in the same category. In this context, the Bush Doctrine termed Iraq, North Korea and Iran as rogue states. However, the focus was on Iraq. The US policy stated in clear terms that it would not wait and watch until the rogue nations acquire or develop the weapons of mass destructions and use them to destroy the humankind . Preemptive strike is not a substitute for the non-military measures such as financial sanctions and diplomatic offensive to isolate a nation that practices dangerous propaganda. It is just an add-on policy to combat the new threat of invisible war launched by the terrorist groups. The main objective of the Bush Doctrine is not to tolerate the ghastly act of terrorism in any form. Conclusion In the past decades, people from some sections of the society developed new ways of terrorizing people to force the government and administration to meet their demands. Suicidal attacks in the United States, India, Israel and Iraq are the examples of the newly developed way of warfare. There is little option left with the states to tackle terrorism. A full-fledged war against terrorism and countries harboring terrorists has become inevitable. In this context, the Bush Doctrine seems to be an effective option. The leaderships in the world always explored ways for dialogue and discussion to tackle such problems. However, from the recent incidents, it has become clear that bringing the terrorists into negotiating table is almost impossible. They hardly showed any willingness to enter into dialogues. Their intransigent attitude forced the governments to take tough decision in curbing terrorism. Many people question the policy of the Bush Doctrine citing the principles of Just War Doctrine. However, in the recent years the world witnessed deadly acts of terrorism that killed thousands of people and caused loss of public and private property. In such a scenario, war against terrorism becomes completely justifiable. The only concern is about the loss of civilian lives. States going to war must address this concern properly and take necessary steps to avoid this. Bibliography Dolan, Chris J. In War We Trust: The Bush Doctrine and the Pursuit of Just War. Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005. Elshtain, Jean Bethke. Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World. New York: Basic Books, 2003. Daalder, Ivo H. , James M. Lindsey, & James B. Steinberg. The Bush National Security Strategy: An Evaluation. Washington: Brookings Institution, 2002.

Litrature Review on Fii’s Impact on Indian Banking Sector

Women Empowerment in India Women empowerment in India is a challenging task as we need to acknowledge the fact that gender based discrimination is a deep rooted social malice practiced in India in many forms since thousands of years. The malice is not going to go away in a few years or for that matter by attempting to work at it through half-hearted attempts. Formulating laws and policies are not enough as it is seen that most of the times these laws and policies just remain on paper. The ground situation on the other hand just remains the same and in many instances worsens further. Addressing the malice of gender discrimination and women empowerment in India is long drawn battle against powerful structural forces of the society which are against women's growth and development. Women empowerment in India: The need for ground level actions We have to accept the fact that things are not going to change overnight but because of this we cannot stop taking action either. At this juncture the most important step is to initiate ground level actions however small it might seem. The ground level actions should be focussed towards changing the social attitude and practices prevalent in the society which are highly biased against women. This can be initiated by working with the women at the root level and focusing on increasing women's access and control over resources and increasing their control over decision making. Further working on the aspect of enhanced mobility and social interaction of women in the society would positively influence all round development and empowerment of women in India. Women empowerment in India: Reality check at the ground level Today there are lot of things that is happening in the name of women empowerment in India and lot of resources are spent in this direction. Keeping this in mind it is crucial to have a reality check on what is happening on paper and what is the actual ground situation. It is worthwhile to ponder on the fact that we are one of the worst in terms of worldwide gender equality rankings. In India women are discriminated and marginalized at every level of the society whether it is social participation, economic opportunity and economic participation, political participation, access to education or access to nutrition and reproductive health care. A significant few in the society still consider women as sex objects. Gender disparity is high, crimes against women are increasing and violence against women is all time high and in most cases go unreported. Dowry related problems and death is increasing and is profoundly manifesting in the urban population. Workplace harassment of women is another phenomenon which is rapidly increasing as more women join the workforce. Early age marriages are still taking place in large numbers and the number of girls going to school is abysmally low. Moreover majority of the girls who join the school drop out by the age of puberty to get married and live a life of drudgery. Female feticide and infanticide is starring the nation as one of the biggest social crisis. All this is happening despite the fact that there are number of programmes and policy initiatives that is being run by the government and other bodies. The year 2001 was declared as the National policy for empowerment of women. So it is time to ask the question whether we are moving in the right direction and where are we in terms of the paper actions and the actual ground realities. Women empowerment in India: Discrimination against women in all walks of life One of the major aspects of women empowerment in India is to change the attitude of society towards women. The problem in India is that the society never worked on the premise of gender equality from a long-long time. Atrocities and discrimination against women is a way of daily life in Indian society. There is an attitude which still prevails in India where women are considered to be only worthwhile of household activities and managing the children. The veil system, child marriage and dowry are testimonies to this truth. Women have never been part of the mainstream society in India and they are still considered as a great liability. If we just look at the sex ratio it will show the plight of women in India. It is the lowest at around 933. Female literacy is just 54. 6 % as per 2001 Census. In Indian parliament and assemblies women have never represented more than 10%. Most of the women workers in India are outside the organized sector. Administrators, managers, professionals combined together and technical workers on the other hand are the lowest at 2. 3% and 20 % respectively. Now these figures gives the real truth of the actual mentality of the society which has restricted women, marginalized w omen and discriminated against women quite openly. Can we achieve women empowerment in India with these alarming and dismal figures? djustments and sharing of gender based specific performance or tasks which are Women empowerment in India: Ending gender inequality and gender bias It has to be understood that unless we change the basic social attitude which cultivates gender inequality and gender bias we would not be able to achieve much in terms of women empowerment in India. There are many laws and there have been many amendments that have been carried out to end the discrimination against women and empower women in all aspects of life. Gender equality is enshrined in Indian constitution and constitution empowers the state to end the gender based discrimination against women. There is reservation of seats in local bodies and municipalities and another law is being envisioned for reservation in parliament. But the sad part is that all these laws and amendments have become toothless as the fundamental problems lies in the attitude of the society which is highly biased against women. Now what is the solution? The only solution is for women to come together as a unifying force and initiate self empowering actions at the ground level. Let it happen even if it is at a slow pace initially but it must happen despite however small the initial steps might look like. So the connection is very clear. Once we work towards self empowerment through small number of infinite actions, we become aware of the ground realities and then we can think about taking further recourse towards changing the mindset of the society which fosters gender inequality and bias. When we talk about women empowerment in India the most important aspect that comes into the mind is the attitude of the society towards women. Women are still considered as burden and liabilities. They are also considered as properties. These kinds of attitudes give birth to the evil of violence against women. Women empowerment in India is not possible unless violence against women is eradicated from the society. National Commission of women was created in 1992 and Convention of elimination of all forms of discrimination against women was ratified in 1993. Apart from the laws and policy formulations the violence against women can be only tackled through attitudinal change that need to take place in the family, in the society and the female members of the society as well. Only this attitudinal change and proactive action against violence by every single individual will help in galvanising the slumbering structures of the government and society towards further concrete steps and action. Unless society accepts gender equality as a fundamental principle of human existence all efforts will only partially bear results. Gender sensitisation and gender training is primary need of the hour. The struggle of gender equality should be carried at every level and it should overcome the barriers of caste, class, race and religion. RIDDLES 1. There is a bus full of people travelling over San Francisco and no one gets off the bus throughoutthe journey. But when it gets to the other side there is not a single person left. How is thispossible? A. They are all married. 2. How do you fit ten horses (pictures. All seperate pictures. ) in 9 boxes? A. One letter for each stable. [T][E][N] [H][O][R][S][E][S] 3. What can keep you alive but kill someone else? What can let you have fun but can take you away? A. The sea 4. What is seven lettersis greater than god more evil than the devil a homeless person has it a wealthy person needs it what is it? A. splinter 5. figure out if you can read this or not Yy u r Yy 4 me u b i c u Yy 4 me A. to wise you are to wise for me you be I see you to wise for me 6. there is 3houses the red house is next to the white house and the white house right of the red house the blue house is next to the white house. wheres the white house at? A. this is not only a trick question it can be a normal question the white is in the middle and washington d. c/ in the riddle you can always trick to person you told it to if they think its a normal question and say in the center or middle u can say was

Discussion borad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion borad - Essay Example In the year 2011, approximately 1,000 workers fainted in factories that were owned by South Koreans, Taiwanese, and the Chinese. In spite of mass protests, the situation is quite critical as well as tricky. It is a booming industry in Cambodia that garners revenue of around $5 billion and provides employment opportunities to 600,000 people mostly from lower economic class. The pay is extremely meager with less that $100 per month and this compels many of them to work overtime for extra earnings. Workers from garment factories have been vocal with their complaints regarding their poor working conditions but mostly there have been no positive remedies. Illness is another factor that causes grievance among workers, but any kind of strikes are suppressed by violence from the authorities. For instance, in January this year police fired to control crowds during a strike resulting in the death of five workers. For April 17, workers are again preparing for a strike and this time their demand will be to increase monthly wages from $100 to $160 (Powell). Now the tricky part is where does the solution lie. It is no doubt that Cambodian economy is to a large extent thriving on foreign investments. Since the beginning of global recession in 2008, Cambodia has experienced high economic development in the initial two years all thanks to foreign investments, a flourishing tourism industry and thriving agricultural industry. According to Stephen Higgins, chief executive officer for ANZ Royal Bank in Phnom Penh, â€Å"The Cambodian economy is probably in the best shape it has ever been in† (Corben). Workers are a major factor in any industry, and it is their labour and endurance that provides for the economy of a country. Hence, it is a tragedy that not only in Cambodia, but in many developing countries the situation is almost same. Poor working condition is part and parcel of jobs for the working class in addition to low wages. Such

Relationship between Organizational Culture, Leadership Behaviour and Essay

Relationship between Organizational Culture, Leadership Behaviour and Job Satisfaction - Essay Example Approaches to Research In my career as a student, I have had a little scope to perform researches and therefore had limited knowledge in the field. From this particular module, emphasising on the various approaches used in a research purpose, especially those regarding cultural issues, I was able to come across multiple facts which will surely help me in my future endeavours in the field of academic researches. Research is defined as the expansion of knowledge and/or the use of existing information as a resourceful way in generating new concepts. From my learning, I understood that the collected data are implemented or used in the research process through certain approaches which are often regarded to be the strategies or steps through which the collected data are used systematically. In my study to this particular module, I learnt that the approaches to research, especially those concerning cultural differences, are categorised into four different phases such as separation, encultur ation, assimilation and integration or pluralism while elaborating on the issue. With regards to my module learning, I was able to define the separation approach as a process to identify the individualistic behaviour of restraining own cultures and desires from being influenced by others. Through enculturation approach, I have been able to notice those groups’ practices in which the members keep hold of their primary rules and behaviours, without incorporating other sets of value system from differing ethnic rudiments (Kim & et. al., 2009). Similarly, with the help of assimilation approach, I gained knowledge regarding certain measures to cooperate with the superior culture in order to gain confidence from them for future career developments. From the discussion with regards to integration or pluralism approach, I learnt that it reveals the strategies of managing the cultural diversification and therefore I would categorise the approach as a more practical and objective-orien ted one (Berry, 2011). After gaining an in-depth knowledge regarding the approaches, I can state that the integration, often regarded as pluralism approach, is the most realistic research method which motivated me to work in a group with different cultured members. I also learnt that research focusing on the identification and evaluation of cultural differences are often based on theoretical pursuits, such as those inscribed by Trompenaar and Hall. The theoretical explanation presented by Hall upon the cultural differences helped me to understand the levels or dimensions present within the culture. The theory focuses on the cultural differences in terms of social level, personal freedom and time management as well. From the lecture class, I was also able to gather adequate information that along with the levels of culture, the personal attitude related to liberty and time management also leads to diversification of culture within the environment (Nardon & Steers, 2004). I further le arnt that from a similar perspective, Trompenaar presented the theoretical concept stating the differences of culture with the help of seven dimensions. From the Trompenaar’s theory, I learnt that five of the factors deal with the people’s relationship amid the society and the remaining two factors helped me to indicate the time management

Cost Accounting for Service Businesses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cost Accounting for Service Businesses - Essay Example The return journey through American Airlines will cost $1,460, which would be a one-stop journey. For the two-stop journey, the fare would be $1,242 by American Airlines. On the other side, the fare for one-stop journey by US Airways would be $1,492 and for the two-stop journey, the fare would be $1,524 (Expedia, 2012). It has been found by the researcher that in the case of American Airlines, the cost is lower for a two-stop return journey than a one-stop return one. However, in the case of US Airways, the fare for a two-stop return journey is higher than a one-stop return one. Moreover, the fare in US Airways is more than the fare of American Airlines. The fare is $32 more in case of US Airways when the one-stop return journey is considered. In case of the two-stop return journey, the fare is $282 more than American Airlines. The fixed costs are the cost which is not dependent on the amount of goods. The company has to incur the cost no matter how much units have sold by the company. The variable costs are the type of costs which are dependent on the goods or services sold (Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2009, p.211). The fixed cost in case of Airlines would be the cost of the planes, the cost of the fuel, staff salaries, etc. Airlines are mostly fixed cost based companies. The variable costs are very small like the costs incurred for facilitating the passengers. The unit contribution margin is the amount the company gets against the sale of one unit. Airline companies are generating positive contribution margin from the fares. For an individual passenger, the cost incurred by the company is variable. They have to incur the fixed cost whether the plane is travelling with one passenger or whether the seats are full. However, they have to incur variable costs for the value added services provided to the customers. It has been found from the analysis of the fares of the airlines that American Airlines and US Airways are the two big players in

There are questions for an assigment that need to be answered in a one Assignment

There are questions for an assigment that need to be answered in a one to two sentence form, some answers might need a little more i will put the question in the order instructions - Assignment Example (A2) Tartuffe was able to deceive Orgon was because of Orgons stubbornness and lack of common sense. Julian Taibi in his article states that "since Orgon blindly believes that Tartuffe can do no evil, he refuses to listen to the accusation and consequently turns on his own son, Damis. Orgon has become so obsessed with the notion of Tartuffe’s saintly piety that he kicks Damis out of his house – hardly an act that would come from a religious, or even a sane person," (Taibi, 15). The reason why even today so many people become deceived by politicians or religious zealots and salespersons is because these tricksters know how to manipulate their audience , by adopting any appearance that they know will attract and please their audience (Abrams & Greenblatt 20-30). (A3) Yes Dorine is correct in calling Orgon mad, because he is irrationally obsessed with Tartuffe, seen from the way he continuously enquires about Tartuffes health while ignoring his own wifes ailments, trying to coerce Marianne into marrying Tartuffe, chiding Damis while consoling Tartuffe and asking him to "rise" against his son, and ignoring everyone elses warnings about Tartuffe. Indeed, "Orgon is almost trying to become a missionary figure in his obsession with Tartuffe, putting aside his own earthly cares in favor of what he perceives to be more spiritual matters: the person of Tartuffe himself," (Taibi, 14). (A4) Since Moliere intended to reveal the hypocrisy of religious people, this line "You are becoming so heavenly minded, that you are no earthly good," is particularly apt since it highlights how some religious zealots give the impression that they are constantly thinking about God and doing spiritual work and helping people, but when it comes to putting these plans into reality, these men do not do anything; they are of "no earthly good" since they do not help mankind as they say they would (Abrams & Greenblatt 30-40). (A5) I feel Moliere has tried to present the two

Reading Comprehension Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reading Comprehension - Essay Example Graphic organizers are a powerful tool to the students as it provides students with tools that they can use to show and examine the relationship between concepts in a text. The essay will delve in the teaching comprehension strategies and how the graphic organizers are used to enhance the learning of students. It will also focus on the benefits of using graphic organizers in teaching comprehension strategies. Teaching strategies are the tools that teachers use to enable students learn and understand whatever they are reading. To help students understand comprehension easily, graphic organizers are always used. Graphic organizers like semantic maps are used in self monitoring strategy. Semantic maps are devices that help students to derive explicit and implicit meanings from concepts, ideas and details that are in a text (Sewak & Lubin, 2007). This strategy is helpful to students as it increases their understanding and helps them to acquire, organize and maintain information. This str ategy can be used by providing students with semantic maps, which depict concepts from a passage and the key words (Adler, 2005). Students should read the passage and then find out the key words which they should link to those key words that are on the map. When semantic maps are used in teaching of comprehension, they make students put much focus on the concepts and main vocabularies which will enhance comprehension reading. For example, when a teacher is teaching on the concept of â€Å"whales†, the teacher can trigger the prior knowledge that the students have, by showing them a video and then allow them to point out the key words which relate to that topic. The metacognitive strategy can be enhanced by use of the concept diagrams. Concept diagram helps in comprehension skills and they show the relationship between concepts in a passage. Concept diagrams are graphics which describe the concepts in a passage, and their relationship from top to bottom (Boudah & Hagan-Burke, 2000). They also show how these concepts at the top support those at the bottom and they have lines that show the connections between concepts. The concept diagram makes students focus on concepts that enhance comprehension. When teaching comprehension and teachers are using concept diagrams, the teacher is to give an explanation about the different parts of the diagram. The teacher together with his students, they highlight the main concepts in a passage. Then the teacher provides a blank concept diagram and allows students to make their own connections (Sewak & Lubin, 2007). Hence this makes the students to be actively involved as they engage themselves in writing concepts of the diagram. Other graphic organizers that are useful when teaching comprehension are the story maps. The story maps are used by teachers to help the students to know the story structure. One way of using the story maps is when the teacher reads a story and stops at some points which are strategic to ask the students some questions. This strategy is necessary in understanding comprehension as it allows students to identify some important elements in the story such as the plot, characters and the setting (Adler, 2005). The story maps help to improve the literal, applied and interpretive comprehension skills of the students. In fact, it is a powerful tool for making students pay attention when

Arab Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Arab Culture - Essay Example Along with religion even the culture travelled out wards from Arab lands. They left strong mark on almost all fields of human endeavour: architecture, literature, painting and even technology. Arab land is not only rich in oil, it is rich in iron ore, cobalt, lead, magnesium. What was the ancient culture of mankind Culture means a way of life and a way of thinking. Since primitive man was busy cultivating and managing livestock and hunting the first explored art forms were tool making: tools made with pebbles, Ubaid sherds and flints too have been recovered from archeological sites in Egypt and Arab nations. They were used to hunt, make dwellings, sculpting. Colours were made from tree extracts, flowers and vegetables and used for painting. Ancient Arabic literature is rich in lyric and poetry. The Quran, word of God, is one of the ancient written sacred book. Later Arabic literature has gifted the world with 1001 Arabian nights which is even now one of the best sold books world over. Story-telling was one of the major art form. All the three religions which branched out from the philosophy of One God brought discipline in the land: For if you didn't listen to command of God you are condemned. In the name of God magnificent monuments were built.

Essay for Hamlet-Character Analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

For Hamlet-Character Analysis - Essay Example Cynthia Gravlee writes, â€Å" Hamlet’s Gertrude ia vindicated by Rebecca Smith(â€Å"A Heart Cleft in Twain: The Dilemma of Shakespeare’s Gertrude†), who proves that while Gertrude is generally assumed to be conniving and lascivious, her words and actions really delineate her as a â€Å"compliant, loving, unimaginative woman whose only concern is pleasing others†¦.†(1981,p.120) One point incidentally. A woman, when she enters into wedlock, possesses the supreme confidence, that she will be able to mould her man according to her choices. Her expectations in this regard may or may not come true. Gertrude has similar faith. With this backgrounder information one needs to understand and judge the personality of Gertrude. Gertrude is more to be pitied rather than condemned as vicissitudes in her life are beyond her control. Can two walk together, except they are agreed? In the case in point, the two are mother and son. Hamlet is her antithesis, but nothing wrong in it. Hamlet is a scholar and a philosopher, with an inquisitive mind to find out the deeper meaning of life. In contrast, Gertrude is as worldly. She is proud of the charm of her body and the secular pleasures of her life. She likes to be pampered. She sees her paradise in soft pillows, warm baths, fine clothes and trinkets. Hamlet is internally devastated by her action in marrying his uncle. That too within a short time of his father’s death! The Ghost intervenes to give more disturbing information about her, which upsets Hamlet thoroughly. The death of Gertrude’s husband is a fact. The question that is often posed by the critics is why she marries in a hurry. Hurry from whose point of view? With the death of Hamlet’s father, her Christian marriage vow comes to an end. She is the queen, accustomed to live with supreme comforts of life. She is eager to restore and secure her position. If Claudius marries some other woman, she will

War crimes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

War crimes - Essay Example o justice has been the fact that it provides a mechanism for international prosecutions where crimes committed that are not catered for within the state policy can be looked into, in addition to this, heads of state are not immune to prosecution thus the full potential of justice is achieved (Maweni, 2011). The court is also not affiliate to the United Nations hence it is not a political instrument. With these views in place, the ICC and other tribunals are in a position to ensure that justice prevails (Maweni, 2011). However, despite these successes, the court is faced with some setbacks. The weakness that tribunals and the ICC face is the fact that given the number and range of crimes that are committed against humanity, it is hard for the ICC to decide on which ones to prosecute and which ones to leave (Russell & Elliot, 2002). This is under the trigger mechanisms, which are three ways under the Rome Statute through which cases can be taken to the ICC. A state party forwarding a case to the tribunal is the most contentious issue because state decision may be interfered with sovereignty and power of the concerned parties (Russell & Elliot, 2002). Therefore, justice for war crime victims may not be achieved if a country does not forward its case to the ICC. As per discussions in the meeting, to ensure that international bodies ensure justice in cases of war crimes, it is the responsibility of various states to support its initiative. This is because the courts can only act in areas where they have jurisdiction. Countries such as America do not support it and this and other nations that do not support the tribunal may be impeding the true course of justice that may be provided by an international tribunal and the International Criminal

School administrators Essay Example for Free

School administrators Essay Education plays an important role in the life of almost all individual because this is the means by which they can gain knowledge and reach their full potential. In line with this, educational institutions give due importance to their curriculum in order to make sure that they are covering all the subjects and lessons that will help their students to develop their skills and talents. In line with this, almost all educational institutions include the arts as an important part of their curriculum because of the essential skills, talents, and values that students can develop from this area of education. Dance class is one of the major parts of the arts area of education that allow students to learn body coordination, music appreciation, and also a better understanding of various cultures through the different dance genres that are being taught. However, there are problems within educational institutions that resulted for most school administrators to cut-back or even completely eliminate dance classes and other art programs. Public schools usually have the most problems when it comes to maintaining dance classes because of the lack of school budget, facilities, and other needed materials to maintain dance classes. In relation to this, public school administrators also have to deal with the limited number of educators or teachers that will instruct students about the different genres of dance. Due to the challenges that public schools have to deal with, there is a continuous debate on whether dance classes should still be included in the educational curriculum. The on-going debate about the importance and need of dance classes in education is an important topic of study because it deals with the holistic learning and development of students. A comprehensive study should be made in order to identify whether there is really a need for dance classes to be included in the curriculum of most schools or having dance classes only give unnecessary cost and further contribute to the problems of public schools. In line with this, the research study that will be conducted gives primary focus on identifying whether there is really a need for dance class in education or not. In doing so, the corresponding pros and cons about dance class in education will be given due attention and importance. Identifying the positive and negative implications about dance class in education will substantially help the stakeholders in the issue. Stakeholders will be able to properly assess whether there is really a need for dance classes to be included in the educational curriculum or not. Studying the need for dance class in education is essential because the holistic development and well-being of students are at stake in this issue. Statement of the Problem The study aims to assess on whether there is a need for dance class in education, particularly in the secondary level of education. Specifically the study intends to: †¢ Describe the commonly used educational curriculum in the secondary academic level with emphasis on arts programs, specifically dance classes. †¢ Identify the positive effects of dance classes in education, especially when it comes to the development of students and their performance at school. †¢ Identify the negative effects of dance classes in education, especially when it comes to the development of students and their performance at school. †¢ Assess the effects of dance class to students and the need on whether to include it in the educational curriculum. Justifications for the Chosen References The articles that are included in the literature review section of this paper are chosen by the researcher because these articles exemplify the corresponding implications of having dance classes in educational institutions. Most the articles that were discussed in the literature review of the paper are studies that are previously made by different researchers about dance classes in education. In line with this, there are also case studies that are part of the literature review of the study that talks about the actual situation and experiences of students in specific schools about dance classes as part of their educational curriculum. Moreover, the researchers and writers that are responsible in creating the articles that are part of the literature review of the study are respectable individuals that actually have the necessary knowledge and expertise about dance and education. Relevance of the Articles to the Research Topic The article which had been chosen for this research are all important aspects pointed out towards the connection of dance with academic and personal life of each student. The chosen articles are a representation of different sides of research which discusses the importance of dance in the life of the youth. The articles contain the positive perspectives with dance and the values which are gained throughout such activity. The values that are highlighted are not only applicable for academics but also within the personal life of each student. More so, the articles will largely support the positive effects of dancing towards the youth. On the other hand, the articles utilized were providing various kinds of perspectives from different authors which are already experienced regarding such matters. Furthermore, the discussions of the authors are true to what is seen within schools. Most of the articles present are explaining the importance of dance in the lives of each student that will lead to their growth. More so, the articles are significant to the development of the literature review as well as the other parts of the paper such that of the analysis and findings and conclusion. The articles have specific concepts and theoretical perspectives that are very efficient in attaining the proper analysis. Also, the authors that are chosen for the whole paper are well versed in the topic they have written. In the light of this, the articles shall create a path towards a clear understanding regarding the concept of dance in relation to academic perspective. Therefore, there is a need to utilize different types of materials which had created earlier studies regarding dance schools in the secondary level. Through the use of different articles, this would shed light to the aim of proving that dance lessons are needed by students in the secondary level. Literature Review Article Title: Dance Education Research: What Train Are We On? Karen Kohn Bradley, a dance educator, conducted a study regarding the role of dance classes in the educational reforms of public schools in the United States. Bradley admitted that as a dance instructor she is aware that learning through movement like dance is a powerful agent that substantially helps in the enhancement of the cognitive skills of students. In the same manner, she also pointed out that dance classes teach students the valuable lessons, especially in terms of discipline. The two aforementioned approaches of dance education often create tension, which is not realized by educators in public schools that teaches dance classes. However, the present condition of public schools requires accountability and educational reform in order to properly address the root causes of current problems. In line with this, the relevance of dance in American public schools during the time of educational reform is given more emphasis (Bradley, 2001). Bradley pointed out in her study that dance programs and classes are among the most under-represented and marginalized, and misunderstood field of education. The important role of dance classes in public schools are often taken for granted, which is why there is a big possibility that it would not achieve due recognition in the reforms that are happening in American public schools. Bradley proposed that dance educators and other stakeholders in the field of dance education should start giving more value to themselves but further mastering in their craft. Furthermore she also pointed out that dance educators and stakeholders should not give up their fight in the inclusion of dance classes in public schools, especially since they are very much aware of the benefits that it can provide to their students (Bradley, 2001). Article Title: Nurturing Excellence through the Arts In the written work of Vanessa Camilleri and Anthony D. Jackson with the title â€Å"Nurturing Excellence through the Arts† stated that it is important that art classes must be taken by different students for it is will provide a very positive effect for the students. In ATA or the Arts and Technology Academy, the students are required to have extracurricular activities in three times a week in the whole school year. Moreover, there is direct participation of various professors and parents in developing a certain program that would enhance the ability of the students in the arts. The authors were able to mention that the arts program is not only limited to dancing but to the wider variety of performing arts. The school was able to create a program where in art shall be a source of education for the students. In the light of this, it is presented that the school wanted to integrate learning from a philosophical perspective of arts. More so, it is dancing which will bring a higher development for students not only in terms of academic level but also for their personal development. In the philosophy of the school, the lessons bring the students bring artistic content and develop the emotional and social skills of children. It is mentioned that in reality, it is the computing and interpersonal skills that must be developed in order to adapt in the modern world. Therefore through the activities in the performing arts, students shall be much more able to comply to the fast paced world with fewer complications. Definitely, the techniques of teaching the children utilized in ATA is highly focused on the arts as its association the development and nourishment of students in their future lives (Camelleri Jackson, 2005). Article Title: Performance and Motivation in Dance Education In the written work of Elizabeth Lazaraoff, it is evident that there is the need to incorporate dancing as one of the main subjects in public schools for it is one of the most effective motivational practices available in teaching. For most students get bored in schools due to their uninterested attitudes, it is dancing or the whole perspective of performing arts must be associated with the development of students and the curriculum in public schools. For most schools are focused in science and math, a new concept that is much relatable for children in the elementary level shall help motivate students in being active in school. Furthermore, the author suggests that the performing arts must be associated not only in the curriculum but also in the teaching techniques of teachers. Article Title: Gliding Glissade Not Grand Jete Elementary Classroom Teachers Teaching Dance This article presents that there is a need to create a program of dancing in the elementary level. Such levels are very fun loving and playful hence, they are needed to be stimulated through performing arts in order for them to be much motivated. However, the article created by Anne Dunkin states that the elementary level is very good in absorbing and appreciating such type of concepts. On the other hand, other levels such as the secondary and university level are less appreciative in such kind of teaching. More so, the US Department of Education pointed in their 2002 report that most secondary and elementary schools are not practicing art education. There are only one fifth of schools in the United States offer the instructions in dancing. Hence, not all students have the opportunity dancing and performing arts as a whole. Therefore, Dunkin wanted to attain a level of awareness that there is a need to incorporate dancing in the curriculum of each school in the United States. Although the goals might not be possible in the next five years of the thought of such association of dance to schools are also not impossible. The author suggests that there must be a full regarding with such type of issue. There must be a high association that would pursue the interests of students in their artistic side. With such type of organization, the possibility of attaining an artistic curriculum shall be created (Dunkin, 2004). Article Title: Dance Education in Elementary Schools Based on the research study regarding the status of K-12 dance education, two levels of implications have been observable about dance education: the first one of the practical effect while the other one involves the clarification of visions. The practical implication emphasized the need to include new requirements about dance classes with corresponding guidance and resources in order for students to effectively learn in their dance lessons. However, there is a huge gap between the requirements and the reality because extensive teacher training and the need for provision materials should be given attention, since these are the main problems that affect dance classes and programs. Moreover, teachers should not be merely regarded as technical support because it is pivotal that they are included in the decision-making process when it comes to educating students (Bresler, 1992). Article Title: K-12 Dance Education: Four Model Programs The article written by Bresler discussed dance education in elementary schools by means of narrating and assessing a particular research study about the status of dance education in elementary schools. The status of dance education was studied by means using four perspectives, namely: â€Å"musician Liora Bresler, an outsider, looks at dance programs in Illinois elementary schools† (Knowles et al. , 1992, n. p. ). In line with this, other reputable personalities also participated in the study of Bresler, such as: Susan Stinson, who represented the perspective of high school students about the value of dance; Patricia Knowles and Rona Sande presented a model dance programs in four different parts of the United States; and Peggy Schwartz is the one responsible in the creation, development and even demise of the dance certification for educators in the state of Massachusetts. The efforts made by the different important people in the study contributed in gathering the necessary data about the national trends in teacher education, requirements for certification, and the application of programs (Knowles et al. , 1992). Article Title: Dance Education in American Public Schools: Case Studies The report of Knowles and Sande are consists of four case studies that represent the results of a national survey that was conducted by the National Arts Education Research Center. The main purpose of the research is to identify and choose model schools that already have curriculum-based K-12 dance education programs. The schools that were part of the research study were: â€Å"Fillmore Arts Center (Washington, D. C. ). Buffalo Academy for the Visual and Performing Arts (Buffalo, New York, Duxberry Park Arts IMPACT School (Columbus, Ohio), and Jefferson High School for the Performing Arts (Portland, Oregon). The important areas of discussion that were included in each case study are: the educators/faculty, curriculum, program objectives, facilities, and equipment. The results of the study showed that the school that were observed have several similar characteristics, namely: â€Å"strong parental and community support; mutual respect among dance faculty and a unified program philosophy; frequent communication and a positive working atmosphere; a belief in integration within content areas and in interdisciplinary work; a curriculum that excites students; and administrative confidence and support† (Knowles and Sande, 1991, n. p. ). Article Title: Revitalizing Pennsylvania through Creativity: Dance Education Giguere, a Pennsylvanian herself, wrote an article that talks about the way by which their place was able to address difficulties through the help of dance education. The author pointed out the bleak future of Pennsylvania due to the economic hardships that it is experiencing. In addition, Pennsylvania also has to deal with other problems such as: slow population growth, aging work force, and the increasing presence of suburban slumps. The aforementioned untoward situation of Pennsylvania is greatly contributing to the â€Å"brain drain† of its highly-educated and competent workers. Giguere was able to found out in her research that the reasons for the flight of most young professionals are due to the lack of arts and culture in local Pennsylvania communities. In line with this, Giguere emphasized that Pennsylvania can actually make its situation better by means of improving its arts and culture by establishing and improving dance classes. The author strongly believes that the strength of Pennsylvania is not found in technology but rather in enriching its arts and culture. (Giguere, 2005). Analysis All the articles have each own relevance in terms of providing information that would help people in attaining the importance of education and dance. Some articles provide different kinds of perspectives in the current development of the association of dance and education. There are articles where in the authors provide the significance and reasons for the need of dance and performing arts in education. Most of the authors mention that dance in the academic setting motivates the students in going to school and it further helps students in attaining a much balanced lifestyle. In addition to this, the authors chosen for this study strongly believes in the concept of dance as the major influence for students in building their social, emotional and personal progress as a individual in the society. The performing arts is not simply a hobby for students but a much enjoyable training ground for students as a preparation for their future in the modern world. Due to the points mentioned by the authors utilized in this study, the researcher chose to view the question of: â€Å"Is there a need for dance education in the secondary level of education. † This research question shall be the main query that will be utilized in the different sections of the study. Therefore, this question shall be provided with accurate data in order to attain the proper response. Conclusion In conclusion, education is the most important aspect in the lives of different individuals for it provides development. More so, education must also develop in association to the development of the modern life. In the current era, people are highly associating themselves with culture and the arts. Therefore, there is a new perspective which is evidently seen in the boom of artistic interests of the current age. Hence, in order to nurture such type of the perspective, there are authors to which believe in the concept of associating education and dancing to comply with the current era. In the section of the literature review, it is clear that most authors see that the association of dance and education is a positive and possible development in the United States. Furthermore, the authors see that such belief is effective for the students due to the variety of values and skills they are able to attain. Moreover, students have a much developed interpersonal skills that are highly important in the work place. In addition to this, the students become confident of what they have for they have developed a unique skill. Therefore, the authors encourage that dancing and the whole selection of performing arts should be associated in the curriculum and also within the teaching technique of teachers. In relation to this, students become more appreciative of the arts most especially with their social and emotional feelings. Due to the fast life and societal norms present in the society. Most students only become nurtured through their science and math skills but in reality, students must be able to link their emotional and social skills to attain their best abilities. The expansive abilities developed in students could not be denied for the results are very evident in the studies created by the authors. More so, this research aims to provide information that through dancing and education, students shall be able to contribute more to the future society not only in the economic view but also in the societal view. References Bradley, K. K. (2001). Dance education Research: What Train Are We On? National Dance Education Organization, 103, 31-35. Bresler, L. (1992). Dance Education in Elementary Schools. Design for Arts in Education, 93, 5. Camilleri, V. Jackson, A. (2005). Nurturing Excellence through the Arts. Educational Leadership, 60-64. Dunkin, A. (2004). Gliding Glissade Not Grand Jete Elementary Classroom Teachers Teaching Dance. Arts Education Policy Review, 105, 23-29. Giguere, M. (2005). Revitalizing Pennsylvania through Creativity: Dance in Education. Arts Education Policy Review, 106, 34-39. Knowles, P. , and Sande, R. (1991). Dance Education in American Public Schools: Case Studies. Illinois: Council for Research in Music Education, School of Music, University of Illinois. Knowles, P. , Sanders, R. (1992). K-12 Dance Education: Four Model Programs. Design for Arts in Education, 93, 5. Lazaroff, E. (2001). Performance and Motivation in Dance Education. Arts Education and Policy Review, 103, 23-29.

Understanding The Definition Of Holy Books Religion Essay

Understanding The Definition Of Holy Books Religion Essay Where do they come from? What role do they have in our lives? How do they work? Do they have any benefit? Most people think of the holy books as a set of heartless rules, laws and ancient story empty of clear meanings, which are difficult for our mind to comprehend fully. Their languages are strange to our modern languages, we do not know their true meanings and their purposes, and we do not have any clue how they can help us in life. Prove 30:5-6, Romans 7 :12-14 Every word of God is pure he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Gods law is holy just good and spiritual. All of these concepts are justifiable because we do not know any thing about them as much as we should do, just to reach them for some religious events. No wonder we are not able to experience God because we do not know his words, the more we learn about Gods word the more we become that close to God. The Torah of Moses, the Psalms of David, the Gospel of Jesus and the Koran of Mohammad, they are magnificent holy books, pure truth, with matchless value, which come from the one and the same source. These heavenly books have been the most influential books in history all of them are miracle with no equal, beyond the capacity of human. Divine religions help people to save and develop their faith , their original holy books are best references which are exclusive from any personal preference, if the people do not add or take away from them for better translation or some times for personal advantage. Koran 32:2 This is scripture free from all doubt has been sent down from the lord of the worlds. They provide us with all the information we need to get enlightened and advanced. Through considering and appreciation our holy books, we could become conscious and to realize the universal realities, secrets, messages and cods. These heavenly books are, slightly cross bridge between visible and invisible worlds, connection between the creator and creature we have been honored with this amazing set of connections. These luminous books tell us how to purify our soul from the impurities for perfection in order to prepare ourselves for our journey toward God, we are people of love who want to observe and experience his love and truth. Their messages have addressed directly to all people regardless to their class, gender and age, they have instruction and information in different styles and ways for all classes of human beings in favor of their happiness. They are the source of truth and true knowledge, which teach us all rational, moral, spiritual matters and principle of happiness, make us aware of our creator through his magnificent creation, and explain our divine purpose for his creation. Romans 10:17 So then faith comes from hearing the words of God. These revelations are the life-maps for us to find our right path and any one could find his own share, they are Gods timeless speeches for whole universe regardless of era, sex, ethnic group and location. They reveal the tremendous meanings and purposes of life and are inspired by God for eternal life and salvation they are heavenly divine truth, religious beliefs, laws and mortality. These practical books contain different subjects; philosophy, sociology, history, psychology, physics, biology, law, tradition, spirituality, mortality, and religion, every body with different level of understanding can obtain benefit from them. Through them, we are able to see how God acts and rules in universe, their insignificant historical events have verity meanings we could draw universal conclusion from those ordinary events. They hold the vast store of divine purposes, facts, and bear hidden universal principle and general law even the rules of personal, social conduct and principal of happy life. Koran 3:164In deed God conferred a great favor on the believers when he sent among them a messenger from among themselves reciting to them his holy book and purifying them. These divines words are a gift of mercy beyond our expectations which enable us to attach ourselves to the spirit of God to see the source of truth, understand the way to the eternal life, find out about the secrecy of life and our magnificent destiny. They are healing for any kind of spiritual sickness that treats any patient in a certain way since human beings are different in the condition of their heart. They invite us to the unlimited peace and delight, the most important thing is to train our heart and our mind to unite with God. To have all answers to all our needs (physically and spiritually) according to our moral purity and our intellectual capacity, we would achieve perfection, and to elevate and revive our soul through learning and understanding these scriptures. God shows his true signs to people through his divinely revelation in order that they find out about the reality of creation. 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works All revelations have specific purposes, to know and believe our creator through his creation, to open the door of more love and blessings, to achieve lasting happiness, to give inner power for faith testing trail. We should take Gods words prayerfully with all our heart because their truth protects our spirit and our body. God has blessed us with extensive knowledge and guidance we should learn and internalize the true meaning of his word through understanding, experiencing, following our heart and our conscience. The most important matter is, to apply Gods principles into our ordinary lives and avoid regretting from making wrong decisions in additional, to build our lives upon the solid rock of divines word in order to achieve eternal happiness. We should recite them over and over to fix them in our scattered heart firmly it means to recite them with the tongue of our heart. KORAN 5:15-16 In deed there has come to you from God a light and a clear book with which God guides him who seeks his pleasure to the ways of safety and brings them out of darkness into light by his permission and guides them to a straight path Every time we read them, our mind and our soul recognize the new truth and meaning from them. When we read them with holiness and sincerity, we discover new meaning and understanding. There is no point in reciting them with out understanding and contemplation. We believe in heavenly books because we follow our heart and our conscious, they are supported by light of faith and signs of Gods wisdom and power and mercy we glorify our God through thankfulness, obedience and specially loving attitude. James 2:21-24 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, and the scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed GOD, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness Hebrews 11:1 Faith is the evidence

Child Rights in the UK

Child Rights in the UK Children’s rights are poorly served in the United Kingdom. The recent UNICEF report has deemed UK as the worst place for the brought up of children and adolescents. UNICEF studied about the well-being and safety of children, adolescents and youths in the wealthy western countries. The reports were heartbreaking and imply that the present ‘electronic world’ (particularly the UK) is no longer a better place for children and adolescents. In spite of the attempts of children welfare societies and other children care initiatives, children are loosing their basic rights even and are getting sunk into drugs, sex and other wrong activities. Children are aliens to the developed world (Brooks, 2006)[1]. British children are more likely to use drugs and have sex, compared to the children of any other country (Freeman, 1996)[2]. There is an increasing lack of security and contentment for children and adolescents in the UK. There is big difference between the ways and experiences of UK children and the children of other developed countries. Only US may surpass UK in the total number of crimes related to children. The government of UK neglected all these reports, calling them ‘outdated’ and ‘historic’, and also commented that these report are based on the situation that existed before the implementation of the Childrens Act 2004 (Freeman, 1996). However a careful look would make anybody understand that the state of children is not better in Britain even now. Numerous other studies, like the one initiated by Save the Children and the Nuffield Foundation, Institute of Public Policy Research, and other organizations clearly stated the same trend and confirmed that children and adolescents are deprived of even their basic rights. Children in the UK still remain in poverty, oppression, and distress and the problem doubled to what it was in 1979 (Freeman, 1996). Britain has the highest teenage birth-rate compared to other developed countries of Europe (Freeman, 1996). Reports say that this degradation of the quality of the children and adolescents is not just because of computer games, fast food and other aspects of the modern period. Poverty and other sufferings equally contribute to this plight of children and adolescents. Cultural factors also play a major role in this big crisis. The society in the UK does not really value their children. Right from the Victorian era children are least valued in the society and are corralled into classrooms and left without necessary guidance. These children when they become young do not contribute directly to the economy and have zero voice in the political process. Children are easily criminalized (as per the status assigned to them by the media) and are never given proper guidance to bring them to the mainstream of the society (Brooks, 2006). The more the children are exploited the more panicky their behaviour is. The UK is disastrously infected with materialism and modernity that has furnished a hell for children in this nation (Freeman, 1996). Parenthood and its values have disappeared from the society. Society is now ruled by modern ‘no child’ theory that supports the selfhood, freedom and autonomy of selfish couples. Begetting children has become a choice as childless family is found to be economically stronger. Families are encouraged to have kids just for filling future jobs in the nation. Education has become a mere investment for earning money. Schools are grounds of competitions. Modern teaching methods create more losers than winners. Children report nothing but depression, failure and worries and opt to run towards the path that give them temporary relief and satisfaction (Brooks, 2006). Research reports say that Britain’s children are the unhappiest children in the West (Freeman, 1996). They drink most, smoke most and have sex at very early age. They hate schools, neglect their health, and are least satisfied in their life. They never eat meals with their parents and are always out of their house. They lack good company and guidance. According to Professor Bradshaw (from a children welfare association), â€Å"Between 1979 and 1999, children were relatively neglected in Britain, child poverty rates rose rapidly, those living in workless households soared and the numbers not in education or training also rose† (Brooks, 2006). Children in the UK are least confident about the path in which they are moving; their own perception itself is poor. When a group of teenagers were asked to rate their own health, majority of them rated it as fair and poor. They also opined that they are not enjoying their school life and personal life. On an assessment about the welfare of children in the countries of Europe, various factors like child safety, relative poverty, educational achievement, relationships with parents, drug misuse were considered. Netherlands and The Czech Republic were found to be in top position for child well being, with Britain occupying the bottom position. Britain topped in teenage pregnancy rate and teenage drug addiction rate (Freeman, 1996). The government of the UK missed its target to cut short child poverty in the year 2004-05 (with respect to the 1998-99 levels). The plans to eliminate child poverty by 2020 are also not seriously considered. Even though there are not many children who live in absolute poverty there are thousands of young ones who are still in relative poverty (Brooks, 2006). A research was conducted to analyse adolescent drug misuse and parental conflict among black and ethnic minority groups in the UK. The research consisted of personal interviews, surveys, questionnaire answering and other sections for collecting first hand data from adolescents (from various places, schools, colleges etc). After the initial data collection, data was analyzed for getting the exact level of adolescent drug misuse among the racially and ethnically backward groups residing in UK. Data was collected from adolescents of age group 18-20 years. Adolescents were given questionnaires to fill in. Questions are prepared in such a way that the answers would reveal how adolescent drug misuse is related to the parental conflict. The study also included surveys for adolescents about their habits and traits, assessing their family background and relationships. The research brought out the result that adolescent drug misuse is directly related to parental conflict in the UK. The study confirmed that family problems are the real reason behind the drug misuse among adolescents of lower ethnic groups. Many children said that the kinds of relationship they maintain with their parents are too poor. They had experienced physical as well as mental assault or torture in their early childhood life. This reveals the ill-privileged condition of children in the UK. Children are mistreated and oppressed by parents, relatives, caretakers and others. Mistreatment is mental as well as physical. Children undergo torture, sexual abuse and emotional abuse at younger age. In some families, children are not given proper care and they are not treated properly (Vittachi, 1989)[3]. Parents are preoccupied with their works or are under various malpractices, and seldom give any time for their children. There are cases when children are completely neglected. This is when the parents or the caretakers fail to offer necessary care, food, clothing, shelter and other requirements for the child. For some parents, drugs are more important than their kids. Such people may also make their children use these drugs (compelling children to use drugs). Children are nuisances for another group of parents. All these results in severe child abuse issues. In many families in UK, parents get divorced; children stay with one of the parents or with relatives or other caretakers (Brooks, 2006). They undergo physical and mental abuse and even big assaults. Such children are deprived of parent’s love and care and lose a good family environment. Relatives and caretakers are least bothered about their welfare and torture them to maximum. These abused and neglected children suffer from various mental and physical problems that lead them to wrong paths. Some children are exposed to drugs in their childhood itself since their parents use drugs. Children who are brought up in families where there are frequent fights will naturally have fighting mood or other bad characteristics (Brooks, 2006). Also if parents are having criminal background and other unlawful practices, children who are brought up in that environment also will have criminal characters and behaviours. Children are abused in different ways and are made deprived of all their childhood happiness and privileges. They are troubled and exploited and are subjected to mental and physical exploitation s. There were incidents in which children were beaten, burnt and killed even (Vittachi, 1989). In a particular case, a petition was filed in Waukesha County Juvenile Court in order to keep 3 girl children in protective custody as their drug-addicted father troubled them making them accompany him during a crack cocaine binge. In another incident in 2004, a 9-month-old boy died accidentally and later doctor’s testified that the child’s injuries were as a result of smothering and other physical assaults (Vittachi, 1989). The physician who did the autopsy came with the conclusion that his head and neck were affected with smothering and blunt force trauma. The child was found breathless and blue as a result of consistent physical tortures (Vittachi, 1989). His health status was so bad that he suffered from brain haemorrhages and retinal haemorrhages and died in a hospital. The child’s parent was charged for ill-treatment and aggravated battery of the child which lead to the child’s death. It is high time that UK listen to the complaints of their children (Archard, 1993)[4]. Children must be given a coherent social identity that would make them have a good involvement in the real world. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reported (five years back) that the UK is an absolute failure in their child welfare programs (Franklin, 1995)[5]. The committee put forth few recommendations out of which very few were implemented. All the 76 recommendations of the committee should be put in action and a right-based approach should be adopted for the welfare of the children (similar to that undertaken by Sweden). All legislations must be assesses to ensure that they do not bring any negative impact on children (Franklin, 1995). Children must be diverted away from antisocial behaviour and must be given protection from physical punishment like adults. Alcohol, drugs and other similar things must never be sold cheaply so that children will have less access to it (Franklin, 1995). Pe rsuasive advertising and sex ads must be rooted out from the society. Sex education must be open as it is in countries like Netherlands. Britain should carefully look into the underlying causes of their failure to raise happy, healthy children. Children who suffer abuses in collapsed families should be saved from their homes and must be placed in a safe environment. Shelter must be offered to such ill-fated children, providing them all the necessary care and protection. They must be kept away from their parents unless it is safe for them to stay with their parents (Brooks, 2006). Children must be kept in healthy environments, away from disturbances and abuses. Social workers, advocates and law enforcement officers must help government in implementing these measures. The abused children will suffer from various physical and psychological problems (Franklin, 1995). They must be evaluated and treated accordingly, assessing their physical and mental health. They need to be kept in healt hy environment where they can interact with other children. The concerned officers (or social workers) should monitor the children, concerning their health needs and other needs. Children must also be given good counselling, advices and classes that will help them come out of the shock they suffered. The concerned officers should also proceed with other legal formalities of the child’s custody. Efforts should also be taken for reuniting the child’s family if it is possible (Brooks, 2006). All these measures would help upgrade the rights of children in the UK. References Archard, D. (1993) Children, Rights and Childhood, London: Routledge. Brooks, L. (2006) The Story of Childhood, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. Franklin, B. (1995) (ed) Handbook of Childrens Rights: Comparative Policy and Practice, London: Routledge. Freeman, M. (1996) (ed) Childrens Rights: A Comparative Perspective, Dartmouth. Vittachi, A. (1989) Stolen Childhood: In Search of the Rights of the Child, Cambridge: Polity. Bibliography Aitken, S. C. Geographies of Young People: The Morally Contested Spaces of Identity. London: Routledge, 2001. Aries, P. Centuries of Childhood. Cape, 1962. Beddingfield, D. The Child in Need: Children, the State and the Law, London: Jordan, 1998. Buckingham, D. After the Death of Childhood: Growing Up in the Age of the Electronic Media. Cambridge: Polity, 2000. Cunningham, H. Children and Childhood in Western Society since 1500. London: Longman, 1995. Fletcher, A. J. Childhood in Question, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999. Foley, P; Roche, J. and Tucker, C. Children in Society: Contemporary Theory, Practice and Policy, Hampshire: Palgrave/OUP, 2001. 1 Footnotes [1] L. Brooks, The Story of Childhood, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2006. [2] M. Freeman (ed), Childrens Rights: A Comparative Perspective, Dartmouth, 1996. [3] A. Vittachi, Stolen Childhood: In Search of the Rights of the Child, Cambridge: Polity, 1989. [4] D. Archard, Children, Rights and Childhood, London: Routledge, 1993. [5] B. Franklin (ed), Handbook of Childrens Rights: Comparative Policy and Practice, London: Routledge, 1995.

Hate Groups Essay -- essays research papers

Hate Groups   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s society where differences between people are magnified and everyone is discussing diversity, tensions between different groups are remarkably high. The extreme of this tension is brought out in hate groups. Hate groups play off of the stereotypes of specific peoples. They use these generalities in their relentless and often violent persecution of those different from themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many groups that practice in such ways, most of them preaching white supremacy. The main goal of these groups is the advancement of the white race by the segregation of other cultures from society. The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is probably the best known of these groups. They have been around since the Reconstruction era following the Civil War. The KKK was set up to build an all white society based on Christian beliefs. They claim that they are not the enemy of non-white, non-Christian people. They believe that all races would benefit from separation from each other because everyone would work better if they are surrounded by their own kind. The KKK states â€Å"Our purpose is to unite, organize, and educate the white Aryan masses world wide to the dangers that face our race, culture, and Christian civilization† (www.kkkk.net). They also claim that they don’t tolerate people of immoral character in their society such as drug users and dealers, thieves, or c...

The Pros and Cons of NAFTA Essay -- The North American Free Trade Ag

Introduction The North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as the NAFTA, is a trade agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico launched to enable North America to become more competitive in the global marketplace (Amadeo, 2011). The NAFTA is regarded as â€Å"one of the most successful trade agreements in history† for its impact on increases in agricultural trade and investment among the three contracting nations (North American Free Trade Agreement, 2011). Supporters and opponents of the NAFTA have argued the effects of the agreement on participating nations since its inception; yet, close examination proves that NAFTA has had a relatively positive impact on the economies of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Although the NAFTA is not without problems, the trade agreement has leveled the playing field for the three participating nations and increased cross-border trade, positively contributing to globalization. The success or failure of the NAFTA impacts level of employment, the economy, and the environment of the three contracting nations. With the implementation of trade agreements such as the NAFTA, the world has become more interconnected, and citizens must be aware of the affects such trade agreements have on their living standards and job security. Features of the NAFTA The NAFTA was implemented on January 1, 1994 to remove tariff trade barriers between the United States, Canada, and Mexico by providing duty-free trade in multiple classes of goods (Barufaldi, 2008). The NAFTA creates a free trade area where all barriers to trade between member countries are removed. Many of the tariffs affecting agricultural trade among the participating nations were eliminated at the inception of the agreeme... ...ttp://www.ustr.gov/sites/default/files/NAFTA-Myth-versus-Fact.pdf North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (n.d.). USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). Retrieved September 15, 2011, from http://www.fas.usda.gov/itp/policy/nafta/nafta.asp North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). (n.d.). Public Citizen. Retrieved September 16, 2011, from http://www.citizen.org/Page.aspx?pid=531 Teslik, L. H. (2009, July 7). NAFTA's Economic Impact. Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved September 13, 2011, from www.cfr.org/economics/naftas-economic-impact/p15790 USTR- North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) | Office of the United States Trade Representative. (n.d.). (2011). Office of the United States Trade Representative. Retrieved September 16, 2011, from http://www.ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/north-american-free-trade-agreement-nafta

Gene Forrester Essay -- Literary Analysis, A Separate Peace

â€Å"A Separate Peace† begins with the main character, Gene Forrester, returning to the Devon School for boys in search of two places from his youth that he has an emotional connection to. The first place is the marble steps of the First Academy Building, and the second is the tree by the river which he finds â€Å"smaller, shrunken by age† (Knowles, 14). He comes here so that he can resolve what happened there seventeen years ago and move on with his life; to find peace within himself. Once Gene has visited the tree, we find him standing before the tree once again, but now in his youth. Gene is portrayed as a reserved person, a good student, and a good athlete. We also meet his friend Phineas (also known as Finny), an amazing athlete, not so good of a student, and an out-going, positive, people-person. The two of them stand before this enormous tree that to someone like Phineas is an adventure, and to the other boys present is foreboding, just like the future that awaits them. â€Å"The tree was tremendous, an irate, steely black steeple beside the river. I was damned if I’d climb it. The hell with it. No one but Phineas could think of such a crazy idea. He of course saw nothing the slightest bit intimidating about it.† (Knowles, 14) The older, seventeen year old boys jump out of this tree in training for World War II that looms over the characters during this story. Wanting to jump out of the tree shows the eagerness of younger boys wanting to play t heir part in the war, like a challenge to prove their manhood. Phineas jumps out of the tree and encourages Gene to do so as well; they are the only ones who jump out of the tree that day and it sparks a bond between them. World War II is an important part of this story because it forces Gene a... ...ree. So much has changed since his childhood, but only now does he have the strength to face what had happened. Perhaps the tree was no longer so massive and menacing because like all obstacles we face in our youth, when returning to it, it always seems a bit silly to have been so competitive, or to have made such a huge deal, or become so emotional over something so small and insignificant in the scheme of things. The tree itself wasn’t what was truly vital; it was what it symbolized. It was the struggle between Phineas and Gene, the blaze of war, and all the trials from adolescence packed into one moment of his history that actually held the adult Gene’s attention. Returning to this spot and the marble steps, like the headstone of a grave (the headstone for Gene and Phineas it could seem), finally allowed Gene to let go and create finally for himself, peace.

Audit Staffing Memo Essay

I first wanted to thank you for congratulating me on my recent promotion; I look forward to working with you on the new Apollo Shoes engagement. I have read all the information you sent me about Apollo Shoes to gain a better understanding of the company, and I feel like I have a firm grasp of the company structure and environment. After reviewing the company’s last three board of directors meetings, I determined what expertise would be necessary to carry out the audit on Apollo Shoes. If you can assign these staff to our audit team, the productivity and effectiveness of the audit will increase significantly. The first staff member that would be greatly helpful to our audit team would be an information technology specialist. In the board meeting held on June 30, the board authorized up to $1.2 million for the purchase and installation of a new information system. However, to fund the purchase and pay other expenses, the board authorized a draw of over $44 million, which seems v ery excessive. Having an IT specialist will help us determine the total cost of installing a new information system and bring light to why the board drew over $44 million to fund the purchase. Another staff member that would be helpful to our audit team would be a property, plant, and equipment specialist. Despite authorizing the purchase of equipment totaling $1.3 million in January of 2014, the equipment was still not set up during the January 2015 board meeting. A property, plant, and equipment specialist could help us determine the accounting implications of purchasing the equipment in 2014 and still not having it set up in 2015, as far as depreciation and cost recognition are concerned. Quite possibly the most important staff member that we will need on our audit team is a lawyer or legal expert, for a variety of different situations. The first and most glaring situation that will need to be addressed is the board advancing $1,250,000 directly to Mr. Lancaster to cover personal legal expenses for his secretary. Recording it in other receivables instead of employee advances and drawing a check directly to Mr. Lancaster set off a red flag for us and we would like a legal expert to look further into the situation. Another situation that will need the attention of a legal expert is a class action suit that was brought against Apollo Shoes for gross negligence and violation of warranty for $12,000,000. A legal expert could help us  determine the probability that Apollo Shoes will lose the case. The company does not have insurance to cover these types of actions, so losing this case could have huge implications on their cash balances. One of the last situations we would like the legal expert to look into was the retroactive declaration of dividends in January of 2015. At that board meeting, they approve to declare the dividends in the previous year, which we are not sure is allowed, so a legal expert could give us better insight into the situation. These three specialists seem to be the most necessary staff members after reviewing all of the company’s board meetings, and they will be of substantial help if you could assign them to our audit team. If I determine that I need any additional staff support in the future, I will let you know throughout the audit process.

Avianca Flight 52: a Case Study on Human Error

Relevant facts/ Background Avianca Flight 52 touched the ground for a final time on January 25 1990, 16 miles from JFK airport in Cove Neck, Long Island, N. Y. , completely out of fuel. The Boeing 707-321B was carrying 158 people coming from Medellin, Columbia, in which 85 people survived. The crash of Avianca Flight 52 was the largest rescue operation in New York prior to 9/11. There was a severe blizzard on the north-east coast of the U. S. causing bad weather with a low pressure system and wind shear.JFK airport authorities had been told to keep a higher landing rate than safe at 33 planes attempting to land per hour, on one runway – the typical rate being 52 in good weather, with all runways open. The airport was experiencing a rate of 27% missed approaches, with 39 planes waiting in holding patterns for clearance to land and dozens waiting to take-off. Sequence of events The 707 had been placed in holding patterns for a total of 1 hour and 17 minutes during three separate occasions over the U. S. east coast.There were 6 different air traffic controllers that had communicated directions to Flight 52 after they entered U. S. airspace, adding confusion and un-transmitted messages, yet at the same time not providing any more crucial information such as weather conditions. The Flight Engineer failed to communicate the urgency of the low fuel situation to the pilot and co-pilot after they passed the point of no return and had to remain committed to JFK –by not having enough fuel to get to their alternate airport at Boston, 342km away from JFK.He also failed to emphasize the importance of landing in their first attempt because they would not have enough fuel to loop around and try again. Another discrepancy was how the co-pilot used the words â€Å"Low Fuel† and â€Å"Priority† rather than â€Å"MAYDAY† and â€Å"Minimum Fuel† while communicating to ATCs. There was a lot of crucial information left out or misinterpreted a nd not so important information repeated, which could have easily been avoided without the language barriers in place.In terms of the Swiss Cheese model there were many holes in the conversations between ATCs and the flight crew, similarly between the flight crew and passengers, where they weren’t even given a warning. Causes and factors During the chase to point the blame on someone, Avianca stated to investigators that the phraseology used by their pilots was correct as per their training -whether it matched the standard English phraseology used by IATA countries or not they were only following what they thought to be proper protocol.Investigation by the NTSB found many holes in the events leading up to the crash, due to both active and latent failures by the crew, ATCs, and airport management. The leading causes can be attributed to airport mismanagement, inconsistent training for pilots that should have English proficiency, and overall poor communication between ATCs and the flight crew. Repetitive flaws in a system run by human beings shows a clear link in the lack of Risk Management, causing communication gaps referred to as holes in the Swiss Cheese model for human error.CRM stipulates training crew in assertiveness, inter-personal communication, leadership and decision-making, to name a few key attributes these pilots were in need of addressing prior to the incident. There was no problem of experience as both the pilot and co-pilot had flown that route before, and the pilot had 27 years of experience flying for Avianca. The implementation of Crew Resource Management techniques in the previous years must not have been as streamlined as intended, at least not for the American ATCs and those training under Avianca in Columbia.If one lesson would be learned from this it would be that had the crew received effective and efficient CRM training on time, they could have saved 73 people from an almost completely preventable death by human error. Referenc es AskCaptainLim. com {comments}. Aviation, Air Crash. Avianca flight 52: why the pilots failed to use proper phraseology. (Last updated October 19, 2008). Retrieved from: http://www. askcaptainlim. com/-air-crash-aviation-34/830-avianca-flight-52-why-the-pilots-failed-to-use-the-proper-phraseology. html Cushman Jr. , John H.New York Times, Archives, Collections, Fuel. Avianca flight 52: the delays that ended in disaster. (February 5, 1990). Retrieved from: http://www. nytimes. com/1990/02/05/nyregion/avianca-flight-52-the-delays-that-ended-in-disaster. html? pagewanted=all&src=pm National Geographic, Cineflix Productions. Air Crash Investigation series, Episode S02E05 – Missing Over New York. Retrieved from http://natgeotv. com/ca/air-crash-investigation/videos/deadly-delay Wikipedia. org, Avianca Flight 52. (Last updated March 22, 2013). Retrieved from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Avianca_Flight_52

Implementing Relationship Marketing: the Role of Internal and External Customer Orientation

Developing an internal and external customer orientation will facilitate the implementation of relationship marketing principles by businesses. Relationship marketing highlights the need for an external customer orientation, which in turn raises the need for customer-oriented employees. Employees will only be customer-oriented if an internal customer orientation is evident in the business. Four constructs pertaining to the internal customer orientation of small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province were identified.After checking for internal consistency, effect sizes were determined for these constructs analysing the practical significance of employees’ as opposed to management’s opinion on the underlying constructs. Similarly, four constructs referring to the external customer orientation of the same businesses were identified. The four identified constructs underpinning an external customer orientation were also checked for internal consistency and the practical significance of customers’ as opposed to management’s opinion on the underlying constructs was determined through effect sizes.It was found that the identified businesses lack both an internal and external customer orientation. Recommendations are made to improve internal customer orientation for the sake of an improved external customer orientation. An improved external customer orientation will facilitate implementation of relationship marketing principles in these businesses. INTRODUCTION According to Saren and Tzokas (1998:187) researchers in relationship marketing have come to realise that there is a need for detailed empirical evidence on how this approach could be implemented in order to promote a beneficial customer-business relationship.Morris, Brunegee and Page (1998:360) and Fornier (1998:343) argue that a lack of knowledge and consensus about relationship marketing and the activities involved in the implementation thereof has led to diffi culties in operationalising the construct. This study addresses this concern by arguing that a relationship marketing orientation is facilitated by management being sufficiently orientated to the needs and expectations of employees (internal customer orientation) as well as to those of customers (external customer orientation).The internal and external customer orientations of small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province were investigated by means of effect size analyses. The goal and objectives of the study are subsequently explained, followed by a theoretical exposition on the interface between relationship marketing as well as internal and external customer orientation. A description of the research methodology is followed by the empirical results on internal and external customer orientation of the businesses that participated in the study.Conclusions are drawn from these empirical findings. Finally, managerial implications are discussed based on the concl usions. GOAL AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The goal of this study is to explore internal and external customer orientation as elements facilitating relationship marketing implementation by small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province. This goal will be achieved through the following objectives: to explore the interface between relationship marketing, and internal and external customer orientation; †¢ to report on empirical findings related to internal and external customer orientation of small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province; and †¢ to consider the managerial implications of the above empirical findings for managing these retailers. FOSTERING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION TO FACILITATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETINGSheth and Parvatiyar (1995:261) define relationship marketing as â€Å"an orientation that seeks to develop close interaction with selected customers, suppliers and competitors for va lue creation through co-operative and collaborative efforts†. This definition suggests that businesses should pursue profitable business relationships. Morgan and Hunt (1994:22) define relationship marketing as â€Å"all marketing activities directed towards establishing, developing and maintaining successful relational exchanges†. This definition sets out the ultimate goals of relationship marketing, but does not show what relationship marketing entails.Attempts have been made to address this limitation by emphasising the dimensions and activities of relationship marketing. These dimensions and activities include (Too, Souchon and Thirkell, 2001:290): †¢ customer retention; †¢ product benefits; †¢ quality improvement; †¢ customer service; †¢ customer commitment by the business; and †¢ frequent contact with the customer. The first four issues refer to the business’ customer orientation while the last two relate to customer relationsh ip management practices.Kotler and Armstrong (2001:9, 667-681) indicate that relationship marketing is the process of creating, maintaining and enhancing strong value-laden relationships with customers and other stakeholders. According to this definition, relationship marketing does not end with customers, but includes all stakeholders (i. e. employees, channel members, stockholders and others). Relationship marketing advocates the establishment of long-term and profitable relationships between (both internal and external) partners or stakeholders (Zikmund and d’Amico, 2001:8).These relationships are not naturally sustained and should therefore not be taken for granted (Day, 2000:25). Long-term and profitable relationships are only established when trust, commitment and service are inculcated in relationship partners (Buttle, 1996:8-9). Stakeholder relationships also have to transcend functional boundaries (Beth, Burt, Copacino, Gopal, Lee, Lynch and Morris, 2003:67-68). Rela tionship marketing advocates that an engineer should, for example, take time to see how he could best design the product to satisfy the customer’s needs.The same applies to the accounting department – it should develop credit and payment terms that will best suit the customer while it needs also realising a profit for the business (Ostroff and Smith, 1992:22-23). In this respect Day (2000:24-30) argues that the ability to create and maintain relationships depends, inter alia, on the integration of key internal processes in the business. The implementation of relationship marketing therefore depends on a well-developed internal (employee) and external customer orientation.Taher, Leigh and French (1996:218) argue that in order to be customer-oriented, marketers should provide exceptional performance in quality, delivery and cost competitiveness (i. e. customer orientation). The business should also understand how customers measure value and how these value expectations c an be met. To win orders, a business should exhibit an external customer orientation that manifests the relative strength of the business in relation to its competitors (Koufteros, Vonderembse and Doll, 2000:526).To attain lasting customer orientation careful attention should be given to detail, meeting promises and swift response to the requirements of customers – i. e. competitive capabilities. The same authors define competitive capabilities further as a business’ ability to meet customer expectations compared to its competitor’s ability to do the same. Day (2000:28) argues that a customer orientation should be â€Å"immediately evident† in the mindset of those who deal directly with the customer. Kennedy, Goolsby and Arnould (2003:77-79) found that the development of an external customer orientation will be facilitated by: leadership. Staff members must experience â€Å"an unbroken circuit of passionate, sincere, unified and committed leadership from top levels to local managers†; †¢ centrality of customer requirements and performance feedback. This will also assist in achieving the required inter-functional co-ordination and alignment; and †¢ collection and dissemination of external customer data. This data, however, only becomes conducive for customer orientation development when it is widely circulated in the business to become a shared organisation-wide platform from which decisions are made.Patterson and Smith (2001:438) also support this notion. It is stressed that customer orientation should be explicit, otherwise the business risks over-serving unprofitable accounts and wasting resources that might be allocated to profitable customer groups. In this respect Reinartz and Kumar (2002) distinguished between customer groups and suggested ways of managing each group for increased profitability. Relationship marketing raises the need for customer orientation, which in turn raises the need for customer-oriented employees.Bendapudi and Leone (2002:83) indicate that customers form relationships with employees who serve them, and that these relationships may be stronger than the customer’s relationship with the business represented by the employee. Employees will not be able to develop social relationships with customers if they were not recruited and trained with this in mind (Patterson and Smith, 2001:438). Without customer oriented employees it will be difficult to implement customer orientation because employees are the ones who have to make it happen.If customer-orientation is lacking, the implementation of relationship marketing will suffer. This is because dissatisfied customers will never develop good relationships with the business (Engel, Blackwell and Miniard, 1995:47). Attracting, developing and motivating employees as internal partners foster an internal customer orientation (Conway and Willcocks, 2000:81). Day (2000:28-29) recalls the efforts made by many businesses to m ake employee satisfaction and retention a top priority in recognition of the damage that high employee turnover and disgruntled employees can cause to customer relationships.Employee performance and attitude play an important role in service delivery to external customers. Employee satisfaction impacts on employee attitudes, which in turn influence employee performance and interaction with external customers. Employee interaction with external customers obviously plays a pivotal role in the ultimate success of the business (Lewis, 1989:41). Strauss (1995:62-77) distinguishes between internal customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction. He argues that internal customer satisfaction entails employees’ satisfaction with the performance of internal suppliers (workflow satisfaction).Internal customer satisfaction should, however, not be confused with employee satisfaction – i. e. the satisfaction of employees with their working conditions. He argues further that interna l customer satisfaction reflects in external customer satisfaction. For purposes of this study the identified relationship between internal and external customer satisfaction is acknowledged, but the distinction between internal customer orientation and employee satisfaction is rejected. Employees in small- to medium-sized textile retailing businesses are not dependent on intricate internal workflow processes.As they derive their workflow inputs directly from management, a distinction between management inputs (relating to Strauss’ employee satisfaction concept) and workflow inputs will be vague. Strauss (1995:63) himself points out that if managers are prepared to take responsibility for quality and act as role models, they can expect commitment from their employees – which will eventually result in improved bottom-line results. Sasser (2003) explains the relationship between employee and customer satisfaction in terms of value the business creates for employees, who in turn will be able to create value for customers.If the value created for employees and customers exceeds costs, value is being created for investors. Internal customer orientation is the result of a conscious management decision about the â€Å"organizational setting† (Strauss, 1995:68). Concerning this organisational setting Malherbe and Pearse (2003:2-12) found significant positive relationships between job enrichment characteristics and job satisfaction, and eventually between job satisfaction and service quality in the South African retail industry.Chaston (1995:332-349) investigated possible actions to establish a stronger internal customer orientation in UK clearing banks, and concluded, inter alia, that management’s improved understanding of internal customer needs will be helpful in this regard. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Small- to medium-sized textile retailers from six selected towns and cities in the North-West Province were investigated to assess their interna l and external customer orientation. Retailers from Brits, Klerksdorp, Lichtenburg, Mafikeng, Potchefstroom and Rustenburg were sampled.These cities and towns were chosen on the basis of their geographical representation in the province. They also represent the largest centres of economic activity in the province. A sampling frame of 61 small- to medium-sized textile retailing businesses were constituted by using information obtained from the Potchefstroom City Council, the Bureau of Marketing Research and Braby’s databases. The sampling frame included independent tailoring businesses, textile, fabrics, and cloth retailing businesses (retailers, merchants or distributors).Forty-eight (N1=48) of the 61 business owners/managers were willing to participate in the study and were subsequently interviewed. One hundred and four (N2=104) employees, as found on the 48 premises, were also interviewed. Finally, two hundred and thirty (N3=230) customer responses were gathered using avail ability sampling for periods of two hours at each of the 48 business premises. Separate questionnaires, incorporating close-ended structured items, were developed for management, employees and customers as three separate groups of respondents. Owners/managers had to respond to 77 items.Thirty one (31) of these items pertaining to internal customer orientation were duplicated in the employees’ questionnaire, requiring respondents to respond to them from an employee’s perspective. Thirty-three (33) of the items on external customer orientation related to owners/managers were also put to customers, requiring them to evaluate it from their perspective. Respondents had to respond to the items according to a four-measure Likert scale where: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree and 4 = strongly agree. The responses were statistically processed with the help of SAS software (SAS Institute Inc. 1999). The reliability of constructs associated with internal and external customer orientation was tested by means of Cronbach’s Alpha values and average inter item correlations (Clark and Watson, 1995) as reported below. The practical significant difference between specifically defined constructs for employees and owners/managers (internal customer orientation) as well as for customers and owners/managers (external customer orientation) is indicated by using effect sizes. Effect sizes are calculated as availability sampling was used instead of random sampling.As explained above, the six cities and towns, the businesses who participated in the study, the interviewed employees and the interviewed customers of these businesses were not randomly selected. Statistical inference is therefore not relevant. This eliminates the use of t-tests and p-values as a technique to analyse statistically significant differences between means of responses from management and employees (or management and customers). Unlike t-tests, effect sizes are independent from s ample size, as a standardised difference based on the maximum standard deviation between compared groups is calculated (Steyn, 2000).The effect sizes (d-values) were calculated by using the following formula (Cohen, 1988:20-27): [pic] where: †¢ d = effect size; †¢ [pic] is the difference between means of two compared groups (e. g. management and employees or management and customers); and †¢ [pic] is the maximum standard deviation of the two compared groups. To calculate effect sizes, the maximum standard deviation is used instead of a mean standard deviation to allow for a more conservative approach to practical significance (Steyn, 2000). Cohen (1988:20-27) gives the following guidelines for interpreting effect sizes: †¢ d ? 0. indicating no practically significant effect; †¢ d ? 0. 5 indicating a moderate effect that could be significant if more data had been collected; and †¢ d ? 0. 8 or larger indicating a practically significant effect. EMPIRICAL RESULTS Empirical results regarding both the internal and external customer orientations of small- to medium-sized textile retailers in the North-West Province are subsequently discussed. Empirical results: internal customer orientation Four constructs associated with internal customer orientation, as well as the items comprising these constructs, are reported in Table 1.The items comprising these constructs are also indicated. The four constructs exhibited Cronbach’s Alpha values all greater than 0. 6, indicating â€Å"good or adequate† reliability of the measurement scale (Clark and Watson, 1995:315). Average inter item correlations ([pic]) are also reported in Table 1. Clark and Watson (1995:316) indicate that the average inter item correlation should also be used as a measure of internal consistency. They recommend that the average inter item correlation should lie between 0. 15 – 0. 50.It is evident from Table 1 that the average inter item correlations fall within this range, indicating internal consistency of the constructs. TABLE 1 CRONBACH’S ALPHA AND AVERAGE INTER ITEM CORRELATIONS FOR INTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION |Construct |Cronbach’s Alpha |Average inter item | | | |correlation ([pic]) | |1. Management’s involvement with employees |0. 752 |0. 1 | |Applying management principles strictly | | | |Seeking people who can think of new strategies | | | |Culture of supporting staff | | | |Treating staff the same as external customers | | | |Creating an enabling culture for staff creativity | | | |Exercising staff chievement recognition and reward | | | |Following fair disciplinary action | | | |Development and training of staff | | | |Appreciation of staff contribution to business success | | | |Conducting formal performance appraisals | | | |Making staff a part of solutions | | | |Aggressively competing for talented staff | | | |2. Employee development through communication and participative management |0. 713 |0 . 4 | |Promoting staff learning | | | |Encouraging a learning culture | | | |Practising participative management | | | |Marketing the business’ vision to staff | | | |Creating messages to inspire staff action | | | |Understanding the reality staff experiences | | | |Consulting staff with regard to leadership style | | | |Maintaining a two-way channel of communication in the business | | | |3. Acknowledgement of employees’ expertise and potential |0. 659 |0. 5 | |Incorporating knowledgeable staff inputs into business decisions and activities | | | |Acknowledging that staff is the business’ primary asset | | | |Involving current staff in the process of appointing new staff | | | |Giving responsibility and accountability to staff for their respective performance | | | |areas | | | |Collaborating with staff to draw up strategies, plans and objectives | | | |Arranging for staff to visit customers | | | |4. Satisfaction of customer needs is realised through an integra ted effort by all |0. 623 |0. 5 | |involved in the business | | | |All departments working in collaboration with customer focus in mind | | | |Successfully satisfying customers’ needs and wants | | | To indicate the practically significant differences between employees’ and owners’/managers’ view on internal customer orientation, effect sizes were calculated on the respective constructs. These effect sizes are reported in Table 2. Practically significant effects on constructs 1, 2 and 3 are revealed. Construct 4 only revealed a small effect.TABLE 2 EFFECT SIZES FOR INTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION Construct description |Business owners |Employees |Effect size | | |Mean |Standard deviation|Mean |Standard deviation| | |1. Management’s involvement with employees |3. 103 |0. 447 |2. 787 |0. 445 |0. 707 | |2. Employee development through communication and |3. 137 |0. 504 |2. 767 |0. 504 |0. 734 | |participative management | | | | | | |3. Acknowledgement of employees’ expertise and potential |3. 086 |0. 557 |2. 674 |0. 554 |0. 40 | |4. Satisfaction of customer needs is realised through an |3. 489 |0. 695 |3. 327 |0. 750 |0. 216 | |integrated effort by all involved in the business | | | | | | Empirical results: external customer orientation Four constructs relating to external customer orientation, as well as the items associated with these constructs, are reported in Table 3. The correspondent Cronbach’s Alpha values for the four constructs are all above 0. 6, indicating â€Å"good or adequate† reliability of the measurement scale (Clark and Watson, 1995:315).Average inter item correlations ([pic]) are once again reported in Table 3. These correlations fall within the range of 0. 15 – 0. 50 indicating internal consistency of the constructs (Clark and Watson, 1995:316). TABLE 3 CRONBACH’S ALPHA AND AVERAGE INTER ITEM CORRELATIONS FOR EXTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION |Construct |Cronbach’s Alpha |A verage inter item | | | |correlation ([pic]) | |Building customer relationships through the efforts of employees is important |0. 762 |0. 7 | |Attracting, maintaining and enhancing relationships with customers | | | |Establishing and maintaining profitable customer relationships | | | |Maintaining a mutually committed long-term oriented relationship with customers | | | |Moving customers from one level of the relationship to the next | | | |Extending priority treatment to regular customers over irregular ones | | | |Interacting with regular customers | | | |Forging long-term committed relationships with customers | | | |Employees developing business relationships with customers | | | |Fostering an intimate understanding between customers and staff | | | |The business’ offer to customers is geared towards satisfying customer needs |0. 665 |0. 6 | |Delivering an offer exactly as required | | | |Extending quality and durability as the business’ core offer | | | |Deliverin g superior offers not available from competitors | | | |Continue improving the total offer to customers | | | |Delivering a tailor-made offer to customers | | | |Viewing delivery of the offer from customers’ perspective | | | |Delivering customer satisfaction |0. 642 |0. 6 | |Offering high levels of customer service | | | |Managing and maintaining the delivery of customer satisfaction | | | |Successfully satisfying customers’ needs and wants | | | |Custom fitting service to customers’ particular requirements | | | |Delivering services to the satisfaction of customer desires | | | |Customer orientation of employees |0. 619 |0. 6 | |Instilling customer orientation among staff | | | |Formulating and realising a customer orientated mission statement | | | The effect sizes on the respective constructs for the practically significant difference between customers’ and owners’/managers’ view on external customer orientation are reported in Table 4. Practically significant effects are revealed on constructs 2 and 3, while construct 4 exhibit a moderate effect size. Construct 1 revealed a small effect size.TABLE 4 EFFECT SIZES FOR EXTERNAL CUSTOMER ORIENTATION Construct description |Business owners |Employees |Effect size | | |Mean |Standard deviation|Mean |Standard deviation| | |1. Building customer relationships through the efforts of |3. 303 |0. 557 |3. 100 |0. 442 |0. 364 | |employees is important | | | | | | |2. The business’ offer to customers is geared towards |3. 408 |0. 423 |2. 928 |0. 465 |1. 32 | |satisfying customer needs | | | | | | |3. Delivering customer satisfaction |3. 528 |0. 445 |3. 202 |0. 399 |0. 733 | |4. Customer orientation of employees |3. 360 |0. 591 |2. 991 |0. 635 |0. 581 | CONCLUSIONS From the above empirical results the following conclusions regarding the internal and external customer orientation of small- to medium-sized textile retailers included in this study can be drawn. Internal custom er orientationFrom the effect sizes reported in Table 2 it is evident that management and employees differ significantly (practically significant effect sizes) on the following issues: †¢ management’s involvement with employees (construct 1). Management feels more involved with employees than employees experience it to be the case ([pic] > 0); †¢ employee development through communication and participative management (construct 2). Management is of the opinion that employee development takes place through communication and participative management, while employees do not experience the same ([pic] > 0) ; and †¢ acknowledgement of employees’ expertise and potential (construct 3).Management feels that employees expertise’ and potential is acknowledged, while employees do not feel the same ([pic]> 0). An small effect size was calculated for construct 4. Management and employees therefore agree that satisfying customer needs is realised throu gh an integrated effort by all involved in the business (construct 4, Table 2, [pic] and [pic] both > 3. 0, indicating agreement on the Likert-type scale). External customer orientation As far as external customer orientation, as reported in Table 4, is concerned, owners/managers and customers differ significantly (practically significant effect sizes) on: †¢ whether the businesses’ offer to customers is geared towards satisfying customer needs (construct 2).Management feels it to be the case, while customers differ significantly ([pic] > 0); and †¢ delivery of customer satisfaction (construct 3). Customers feel significantly less satisfied than management thought them to be ([pic] > 0). As far as customer orientation of employees is concerned, a moderate effect size was determined (Table 4, construct 4). Owners/managers are of the opinion that employees are customer-oriented ([pic] > 3. 0) while customers do not experience it to the same degree ([pic] & lt; 3. 0). Table 4 also indicates an insignificant effect size on construct 1. Management and customers therefore agree that it is important to build customer relationships through the efforts of employees (construct 1, [pic] and [pic] both > 3. 0). MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONSWhen considering the internal customer orientation of small- to medium-sized textile retailers participating in this study, it is evident that employees do not feel appreciated by management. Employees indicated that management is not involved with them and that their expertise and potential is subsequently ignored. They also do not feel empowered through communication or participative management initiatives (or rather the lack thereof) from management’s side. Management and employees agree on a basic principle of the marketing concept (Barnes, 2001:7), namely that customer satisfaction is dependent on an integrated effort of all involved in the business. From the above it is clear that a certain amount o f goodwill is evident among employees.Employees recognise the importance of an integrated effort of all involved in the business to satisfy customer needs. It is recommended that management of these businesses capitalise on this aptitude of employees. Communication with employees on matters relating to management of the business will encourage employee participation, paving the way for the implementation of participative management techniques. This will draw on the latent expertise and potential of employees and will ultimately contribute to employee development and a sense of management involvement. As indicated by the empirical results, small- to medium-sized textile retailers participating in this study lack a pronounced external customer orientation.Customers do not regard the businesses as being geared towards satisfying their needs. They are also of the opinion that employees of small- to medium-sized textile businesses are not sufficiently customer-oriented. By improving thei r internal customer orientation as suggested above, the external customer orientation of businesses may take a turn for the better. This may contribute to greater customer satisfaction as the interaction between customers and (more appreciated, and thus better satisfied and motivated) employees improve. After all: management and customers both agreed that the efforts of employees are important to build customer relationships.This is consistent with Sasser’s (2003) exposition that an improved internal customer orientation will contribute towards a better external customer orientation that will result in more satisfied customers.