Summary of Sociology

Cutures are made up of different people, differnt backgrownds, Traditions, race and aspects of life. Culture shock can happen to an induvidual or group of people such as a tourisist or foreigner who have a problem adjusting to a new culture. Symbols play a huge part in all cultures around the world. From everything to language, hand gestures and communicating. Different societies could possibly have the same symbols but mean totally different things by them. Adaptation is something human beings have done since the beginning of time to fit the environment best that we live in. Clearly diffusion plays a big part in cultures societies all over when we come in contact with one another expample: KFC in japan and chinese food in america. Diffusion at it's best. Cultural lag is something that some societies suffer, from where one culture is moving faster than another in a technological sence. Scientist believe that animals do not share culture amongst themselves, but some scientisist do, when a test in the 1950's had shown that apes are capable of mastering small aspect of human language without talking. There are three types of norms cultures usally go by. Norms, Ideal norms and real norms. A norm in america would be eating beef and in hinduism there norm would be to worship cows an ideal norm in in china would be that math is something that everyone should be good at. Real norms would mean†¦ There are ten comandments but the way times are in the world the average person has broken at least one anyway. I feel i can relate to cultural shock alot because when i first moved outhere from L. A in 1995 i was a kid and i hated it. No noise at night did'nt know anyone yet had to make friends all over again and start at a new school. Took me some time but after a while i finally got used to it and it took me a while to stop missing where i came form.

A critical study on the contributions of sir henry maine

Whereas Savings and his followers invoke history in the name of tradition, custom and nation against the belief n conscious and rational law making, the second movement, which one might call philosophical histories, develops a definite legal philosophy from the evolution of history. L The exponents of the historical school of Jurisprudence take social institution in their sequence with primacy to primitive legal institutions of society. Thus the school does not attach importance to relation of law to the state but gives primacy to the social institutions in which the law develops itself.While the analytical school pre-supposes the existence of a well developed legal system, the historical school concentrates on the evolution of law from the primitive legal institutions of the ancient communities. The task of Historical school is to deal with the general principles governing the origin and development of law and with the influences that affect the law. The 19th century analytical posi tivism pioneered by Austin, Hart and Keelson in England described law as a coercive command issued by the sovereign devoid of moral or cultural values.They regards law as a creation of arbitrary creation whose sanctions are not embedded in its historical past but emanate from the state authority. It treats law as a command of the state which the subjects are bound to obey, the disobedience of which would lead to penal consequences. The revolutionary ideas generated by positivistic legal thinking had a 1 Legal theory by W. Friedman, fifth edition, page no. 209, universal law publishing Co. Ltd. , New Delhi devastating effect as they failed to meet the needs of the people.Consequently, it led to the emergence of new approach to the study of Jurisprudence based on history and historic conception of law. Historical Jurists banished ethical considerations from resurgence and rejected all creative participation of Judge and Jurist or law-giver in the making of law. They propounded the vie w that all universal ideal principles of by historical study. Frederick Pollock, one of the ardent supporters of historical school firmly believed that morals, as such were out of the domain of Judge or Jurist. It is, however, a different matter that even customs immemorial should not be opposed to morality.Vic in ItalyÃ'› Nonentities in France, Burke in England and Hugo and Herder in Germany heralded a new era in the development of legal theory and viewed law as legacy of the past and product of customs, traditions and beliefs prevalent in different communities. The historical Jurists believe that law has biological growth and it has not evolved in an arbitrary and erratic manner. According to Sir Henry Maine, Nonentities (1689-1755) was the first Jurist who adopted historical method of pursuing the study of legal institutions and came to the conclusion that â€Å"laws are the creation of climate and local situations†.He did not probe further into the relationship between law and society but pointed out that law must keep pace with the changing needs of the society. Four Stages of Development of Law The supporters of historical school of Jurisprudence have traced the evolution and development of law through four major stages. They are as follows:l . Divine Law- In the beginning law originated from Themes, which meant the Goddess of Justice. It was generally believed that while pronouncing the Judgments the King was acting under the divine inspiration of goddess of Justice.Themes were the awards pronounced by the Goddess of Justice (Themes) to be executed by the King as a custodian of Justice under the divine inspiration. Thus the King was merely the executor of Judgment of God. The dooms of Anglo-Saxons pertain to this category of segments or commands. 2. Customary Law- Next, the recurring application of Judgments led to uniform, practice which crystallized into customary law to be followed in the primitive societies. The importance of customs as a s ource of law has been underlined by Sir Henry Maine when he observed that ‘custom is to society what law is to state'. . Priestly class as a sole representative of customary law In the next stage of development of law, the authority of the King to enforce and execute law was usurped by the priestly class who claimed themselves to be learned in law as well as religion. The priestly class memorized the rule of customary law cause the art of writing had not developed till then. They applied and enforced the customary law. 4. Codification – The era of codification marks the fourth and perhaps the last stage of development of law.With the discovery of the art of writing, a class of learned men and Jurists came forward to denounce the authority of priests as law- givers. They advocated codification of law to make it accessible and easily knowable. This broke the monopoly of priestly class in matters of administration of law. The ancient Hindu code of Mann, Hebrew Code, Solon' s Attic Code, Twelve Tables in Rome, the codes of Hamburg etc. Re some of the examples of such law codes. Anthropological investigations into the nature of primitive and undeveloped systems of law are of modern origin and might be regarded as a product of the Historical school.Pride of place will here be accorded to Sir Henry Maine (1822-1888), who was the first and still remains the greatest representative of the Historical movement in England. It is not easy to place Amine's contributions to the theory of law. He began his work with mass of material already published on the history and development of Roman law by the German historical school, and he was able to build upon that and also to bring to bear a more balanced view of history than is found in Savings. Maine however went further. He was learned in English, Roman, and Hindu laws and also had the knowledge of Celtic systems.In this respect he parts company with the German historians. Instead of stressing the uniqueness of nat ional institutions, he brought to bear a scientific urge to unify, classify and generalize the evolution of different legal orders. 2 Comparative method of study for the purpose of a project on law was found useful by the scholars of Historical school. The scope for comparative approach to study of law as immensely widened with the advances in legal literacy and exchange of legal knowledge between various countries.To quote an illustration, the 42nd report (1971) of the Law Commission of India on the reforms in the Indian Penal Code drew heavily on the comparative material from several continental countries such as US criminal law and other sources. The material available for comparative study of law may vary in form and include Code, law books, reports of law reform agencies and so son. The jurists made a comparative study of legal institutions of various communities to trace the evolution and development of law. They applied comparative method in the study of law with the object o f enabling the legal philosophers to construct 2 Jurisprudence by R.W. S. Aids, fourth edition, page no. 532,533;Buttonholer & Co. , publishers Ltd. 1976 abstract theories of law or to assist the historian in tracing the origins and developments of legal concepts and institutions. The distinguishing feature of this comparison was that it did not consist of mere description of differences which existed between the concepts, rules, or institutions of the law under examination, but also probed more deeply into the matter with a definite purpose in view. This helped considerably in unification of divergent laws.Thus the supporters of comparative method of law did not believe in mere compilation of information about concepts, rules, etc. But they also tried to analyses the variations in the existing laws within and outside the country in order to reform their legal system. Sir Henry Maine is considered to be the fore-runner of this approach of law. 3 It is Sir Henry Amine's work which st ands out as the most important and fruitful application of comparative legal research to a legal theory inspired by the principles of historical evolution. Approaches to the study of law, and history in particular, which was destined to bear abundant fruit in the years to come. 5 Studies on Jurisprudence and legal theory, by Dry. N. V. Appearance; page no. 39, fifth edition, central law agency publication Legal theory by W. Friedman, fifth edition, page no. 214, Universal law publishing Co. , Ltd. New Delhi 5 Jurisprudence by R. W. S. Aids, fourth edition, page no. 533 SIR HENRY MAINE (1822-1888) Sir Henry James Sumner Maine born on August 15, 1822 at Roxbury in Scotland, took his education in the University of Cambridge and Joined as professor of Civil Law in that University in 1847.While professor of law at the University of Cambridge (1847-1854), Maine also began lecturing on Roman law at the Inns of Court, London. These lectures became the basis of his â€Å"Ancient law: It's c onnection with the Early History of Society, and it's relation to Modern Ideas (1861)†, which influenced both political theory and Anthropology, the latter primarily because of Amine's controversial views on Primitive law. To trace and define his concepts, he drew on Roman law, Western and Eastern European legal systems, Indian law, and Primitive law.Although some of his statements were modified for invalidated later research- Ancient law is noted for its general lack of reference to authorities and its failure to cite supporting evidence for its conclusions- his study helped to place comparative jurisprudence on a sound historical footing. A member of the Council of the Governor General of India (1863-1869), as a successor of Lord Macaulay, Maine was largely responsible for the codification of Indian law. He studied ancient law of India and drew a comparison between the Indian law and the laws of western societies.In 1869 he became the first professor of Comparative Jurisprud ence in the University of Oxford and he occupied the chair till 1877. Thereafter, he held the distinguished post of the Master of Trinity Hall, Cambridge until shortly before his death in 1888. Among other works of Maine, his books entitled Village Communities', lectures on the ‘Early history of Institutions' (1875), a sequel to his ancient Law, ‘Dissertation on Early Law and Custom' deserve special mention. Maine was the recipient of remarkable number of honors, medals and distinction. His contributions to historical jurisprudence are so great that he is labeled as ‘Social Darwinist' for he envisaged a social order wherein the individual is finally liberated from the feudalistic primitive Onondaga. Amine's Views on Development of Law One peculiar feature of historical method in the context of study of law is that it is not confined to pure law. Even though the material directly under study may be legal, the factual material that comes to light may transcend the ex clusive legal field. It is so, because social and legal factors cannot always be reduced to water tight compartments.Any appraisal of the precise reason for a particular law necessitates special attention to the effect of relevant social, physical, demographic and ideological variables. This view finds supports in the writings of Sir Henry Maine who lived that historical research served as a useful tool to make the present more understandable. Sir Henry Maine, through his comparative researches came to a conclusion that the development of law and other social institutions has been more or less an identical pattern in almost all the ancient societies belonging to Hindu, Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Hebrew and Germanic communities.Most of these communities are founded on patriarchal pattern wherein the eldest male parent called Pater familial dominated the entire family including all its male and female members, children and slaves as also the property. The word of the Pater familial was law t o them, which they were supposed to follow. There were, however, some communities which followed matriarchal pattern in which the eldest female of the family was the central authority to manage all the affairs of the family.It is because of his kinship, namely bold relationship with the family that a person acquired status. Thus the law of person was to be determined on the basis of his status. In ancient societies, the slave, servant, ward, wife, citizen etc. All symbolized statuses which the law recognized in the interest of the community. According to Maine, Pater-familiar constituted the lowest unit of primitive communities. A few families taken together formed the Family-Group which consisted of union of families.An aggregation of families constituted Gene which in turn led to the formation of tribes. A collection of tribes formed the community which Maine termed as commonwealth. It was in this manner that the early primitive societies evolved, their relation being regulated by the law of status which was also called as law of persons. Obviously, the individual member of the family had no individual existence than his status as a son, wife, servant etc. s the case may be. Similarly, servants and slaves had no rights in the early law.LaWs Development through Legal Equity and According to Henry Maine, when a primitive law is embodied in a Code, there is an end o its spontaneous development and such communities are static societies. Therefore, if certain changes are desired in the law, they have to be effected deliberately with the conscious desire of development. The societies which continue development of law in this manner are called progressive societies by Maine. There are three methods by which the progressive societies develop their laws. They are (1) Legal Fictions, (2) equity, and (3) Legislation. 1 .Legal Fictions – Legal Fictions change the law according to the changing needs of the society without, however, making change in the letter of l aw, Maine defines ‘legal fiction' as â€Å"any assumption conceals or effects to conceal the fact that a rule of law has undergone alteration, its letter remaining unchanged, its operation being modified†. According to Sir Henry Maine, fiction is a device to extend new rules to old situations, to new circumstances with a minimum of intellectual effect. In his opinion, a legal fiction is a very useful agency of development of law to suit intricate and nutty situations.A legal fiction pre-supposes certain assumptions made on the basis of which the law assumes certain things to exist which do not exist in reality and thus adopts itself to new circumstances. 2. Equity – Equity consists of those principles which appeal to the conscience of human being. These principles were invoked to remove the defects existing in the common law in England. The rigidity of common laws Judges forced people to approach the King for Justice. The King entrusted the task of administration of Justice to the Chancellor who was also the head of the Exchequer.Though not learned in law, the Chancellor helped in the administration of civil Justice through principles of justice, equity and good conscience. In Rome, similar functions were performed by Praetor who tried to remedy the deficiencies in the existing civil law. Thus Henry Maine defines Equity as, â€Å"a body of rules existing side by side of the original common law, founded on distinct principles and claiming incidentally to supersede the common law by virtue of a superior sanctity inherent in those principles†.In course of time, equity became a system of law which reached maturity and impoliteness and finally the Judicature Act, 1873 amalgamated the common law courts and the chancery courts (I. E. Equity courts) in the High Court of Justice and it was provided that in case of conflict or variance between the law of equity and the common law, the rules of equity were to prevail. The property legislation o f 1925 in England cause Equity to go a second transformation as it brought about a complete fusion of the systems of common law and equity into one integrated system of law.The origin of Equity law can be traced back to the 13th century when traditional hat time suffered from three main defects, namely, (1) absence of remedy in certain cases; (2) inadequacy of remedy; and (3) excessive formalism. These defects were sought to be removed by three Jurisdiction by equity law namely, (1) Exclusive Jurisdiction, (2) Concurrent Jurisdiction, and (3) Auxiliary Jurisdiction of equity. The origin of the concept of trust, appointment of receiver to administer property of the deceased etc. Ell under exclusive Jurisdiction which provided relief to divorced women and protected the rights of inheritance of the children of the deceased person for which there was no remedy available under the common law. The remedies of the specific performance of contract, injunction etc. Came under the concurrent Jurisdiction of equity law which provided relief in matters where, a relief though available under common law, was inadequate. The examination of witnesses on commission set off (I. E. Settling different claims of same parties to litigation in a single suit) etc. Re some of the instances of auxiliary jurisdiction of equity which sought to mitigate the rigors and rigidity of common law due to complexity of procedure. Thus it is evidently clear that equity came to supplement the common law and not to supersede it. 3. Legislation – Legislation is the most effective method of law-making. It is considered to be the most systematic and direct method of introducing reforms through new laws. The power of the legislature to make laws has been widely accepted by the courts and the people all over the world.Legislation is the most powerful instrument of legal reform, and so great is its superiority over other methods of evolution of law that the tendency of 1 1 advancing civilization is to acknowledge its exclusive claim, and to discard the other sources as relics of infancy of law. 7 Movement of Progressive Societies from Status to Contract With the march of time the institution of Pater-families withered away and now rights and obligations were dependent on individual contracts and free negotiations between persons.This led to disintegration of the family system and emergence of contractual relation between individuals. In other words, now the individual could take final decisions himself without depending on the head man of the family. The Banishment doctrine of Individual freedom freed slaves from the bondage of their master and now they could have rights and obligations like any other person. Thus emerged a free society with freedom of individual in various spheres of life.The freedom of individual in economic field has been called as doctrine of laissez fairer which struck a blow to the notion of status as the basis of law. These changes in the pattern of so cieties led Sir Henry Maine to conclude that ‘movement of progressive societies has hitherto been from status to contract'. In India also emancipation of women from the domination f males, freedom available to individuals in social, economic, and political spheres of life, improvement on the condition of labor and workers etc. Evinces that there has been a shift of emphasis from status to contract in modern times.The transformation of English as well as Indian society from feudalistic pattern of individualistic set up, has brought in its wake a radical change in the status of servants, agricultural workers etc. The incapacitates of Hindus in codification of Hindu personal laws in 1955-56. 8 Reversal of Trend from contract to status It must, however, be stated that with the advance of time and due the impact of industrialization, arbitration and modernization, new problems of poverty, unemployment, hunger, ignorance, disease etc. , have cropped 7 Studies in Jurisprudence and le gal theory by Dry. N. V. Appearance, page no. 0 to 44, fifth edition, central law agency publication In modified Hindu law Kart of the family who was the eldest male member of the family, dominated his authority but the codification of Hindu law has done away with the discrimination, inequality and subjugation of women liberating them from the domination of men. The new concepts of liberty, equality, freedom and individualism symbolize movement of progressive Indian society from status to contact. Up giving rise to inequality between individuals and group within society. Consequently, there came a counter current of reversal from contract to status in the life time of Maine himself.It was realized that the idea of freedom of contract between powerful capitalist and starving labor class led to catastrophic consequences resulting in exploitation of workers. This led to the emergence of Trade Unionism. The workers now formed their associations and instead of individual freedom of barga ining their wages and facilities, their Trade Unions had the power of group bargaining. That apart, several labor welfare legislation such as the Minimum Wages Act, Factories Act, Trade Unions Act, Workmen's Compensation Act, Employees Liability Act, Industrial Disputes Act, Payment of Bonus Act, Bonded Labor (abolition)Act, Contract Labor (Regulation) Act, etc. Have been enacted to improve the service conditions and bargaining capacity of workers in order to free them from the unscrupulous industrialists and capitalists. With the increasing role of the state in a welfare state, it has assumed the functions of a regulator to secure a social order based on Justice, equality, liberty and fraternity. These progressive welfare measures have forced upon the individual worker a new kind of status where he does not bargain individually but does so collectively through associations or unions.Commenting on this reversal from interact to status, the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court in P arka's cotton mill Ltd. V. State of Bombay, interracial remarked: â€Å"We must not forget that we are no longer living in the age of laissez fairer and the relation between employer and employees are no longer solely governed by the principles of contract. Contractual rights and liabilities are now subject to the principles of industrial law and also principles of social Justice. † With the changing role of the states, its functions have also radically changed. Now there is greater interference of the state in the individual's activities. Even the

Student Anaylsis on FritoLay's Dips Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Student Anaylsis on FritoLay's Dips - Essay Example Frito-Lay's capacity to realize this strategic objective is predicated on the company's ability to accurately identify the relevant strategic issues, understand the challenges to the realization of this goal, and analyze and evaluate its position. This report shall do just that, concluding with a set of recommendations. Frito Dips has been a major player in the salty snacks market with 33% market share. It is North America's largest and most popular snack food manufacturer, and controls a good third of the salty-snack market. Its position in the dips market, however, is unstable. This is largely because of the reputation of its competitors, which include Borden and Kraft, not to mention several local companies who are also determinedly trying to capitalize on the popularity of cheese dips' market. The fact is that the reputation of both Borden and Kraft in the cheese dip market function as an immediate obstacle to Frito-Lay's capacity to realize its strategic objective vis--vis the cheese dips' market. Considering Frito-Lay's supremacy in the salty snacks market and its status as an untested brand in the cheese dips market, several questions impose themselves upon us. As the company has enjoyed a solid profitability base, the question that now arises is how to sustain profit levels in the dips category The major problem lies in how to develop Frito Lays dips and capitalize on the new shelf stable sour cream based dip to maintain the high growth rates the company has achieved in recent years. Would the best future strategy be to pursue an aggressive promotion in the market for the chip-dip category which appears to be reaching saturation levels or develop the vegetable-dip category, which requires the development of new modes of marketing and entry into a hitherto unfamiliar market Indeed, the question is whether or not entry into segments of the snack food market where Frito-Lay does not have the consumer-base its competitors do and which already appear to be highly saturated is w ise. If there are profits to be accrued and a market segment to be capitalized upon, should Frito-Lay, Inc. seek entry into the cheese or the vegetable dips' markets Answers shall be provided in the form of recommendations, following a critical evaluative analysis of the market and Frito-Lay's position therein. Analysis and evaluation: The popularity of dips in general, as accompaniments to snacks and vegetables has grown in recent years. The vast majority of sales, however, estimated at 80%, occur through supermarket outlets, in addition to which, 45% of available dips are of the shelf stable variety. Out of the total $650 million in annual sales for all types and kinds of dips, the latter accounts for $185 million. Two-thirds of the available dips are the prepared, ready-to-serve, variety while the remainder is comprised of different kinds of dip mixes to be prepared at home. Sour cream based dips are most popular, accounting for 50% of total sales. The popularity of Mexican foods

Management of information technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Management of information technology - Essay Example in this hostile environment and to cope with such dynamic environment brought by information technology, it is extremely important to keep pace with management, technological and organizational issues concerned with the development and use of information systems. There are massive issues in this field and they need to be thoroughly evaluated in order to reap maximum benefits. This report explores the management and other issues related with information technology in the leading bank of Middle East, Eskan bank. Eskan bank has a huge customer base and it has been consistently expanding for the past few years. With increased competition from the rival banks entering the market and with consumers demanding a wider range of financial services, the bank was looking for ways to exploit the available technology to sustain its lead. It took a major shift in its direction and invested in information technology and acquired a core banking solution for its banking operations from a well-renowned software service provider Misys. Information Systems Strategic Planning (ISSP) refers to the â€Å"activities directed toward (1) recognizing organizational opportunities for using information technology, (2) determining the resource requirements to exploit these opportunities, (3) and developing strategies and action plans for realizing these opportunities and for meeting the resource needs† (Boynton and Smud, 1987, p.59). Strategic planning is a top level management activity and it requires absolute commitment from those positioned at the higher level of organizational hierarchy. The strategic plan charters the mission, short term and long term plans of the organization. The need for improved information systems project planning has been obvious because the cost of information system has risen rapidly and it’s approximately forty percent of the total expenses in some organizations (Hoffer, George and Valacich 2002, p. 141) As the Eskan bank was embroiled in a competitive

What Should government do to protesct society from mass shootings Research Paper

What Should government do to protesct society from mass shootings - Research Paper Example The debate rages on. In recent years, the debate has become increasingly vocal, as mass shootings have begun to invade the American landscape. Some argue that such shootings are the very reason why the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to bear arms. Others, however, argue that society has changed in the past 300 years and the time for strict gun control has come. There are valid points to both sides and this paper will highlight some major positions, while arriving at the conclusion that the right to own and maintain a gun must remain a part of the American fabric for now and the foreseeable future. The Argument for Gun Control Individual freedom and liberty is a cornerstone birthright that comes with being an American citizen. There are certain rights that are written into the Constitution in an effort to prevent any future government from taking that liberty away. As time goes on, however, and society develops, the language written into the Constitution can become muddled and filled with doubt and uncertainty. There are some, for example, that claim the right to own a gun is not actually a fundamental right guaranteed under the second amendment. Much of this opinion involves cause and effect, and examining that actual reasoning behind the second amendment. There are multiple reasons a person might own a gun. Some may own a gun to hunt wild game, while others will maintain a functioning weapon for purposes of self-defense. Still others might have a gun due to military or police service, and some might own a gun to commit a crime such as robbing a bank. The modern day argument in support of gun control, then, largely centers on this issue. Since the Constitution does not possibly permit the right of a gun owner to use such a weapon in the commission of a crime, then it certainly does not permit the right of every individual in the country to own a gun. Guns are permitted under the second amendment for purposes of military service. Few would argue that point. Many would argue, however, that the Constitution does not inherently protect the right of gun ownership for other reasons (Stevens para. 4). The center of this debate is on the language in the Second Amendment. While it seems so clear to some, it is far from it to others. While the courts have generally upheld the principle that Americans have the right to gun ownership, there is a growing movement in government circles to have the courts take another look at the language and to issue new rulings. On this side of the issue, the opinion is that gun ownership is a right for some, but not for others. The distinction comes in the language used to write this part of the Constitution. The actual purpose governing the inclusion of the Second Amendment into the Constitution was to allow citizens to protect themselves from a well-regulated militia. In other words, if the government took away the rights of the people, the people had a right to fight back, or to defend themselves. In th is vein, people have argued for gun control on the basis that gun control, and the limiting of gun ownership, is permissible under these guidelines (Faria 133). In recent years, there has been an unfortunate rise in violence on school campuses, particularly colleges and universities. Some have used this as an argument for gun ownership and the permissibility of students to be able carry guns on campus in order to better protect themselves against threats, such as mass shootings. Others, however, have argued that this is the very reason we should have gun control. By taking guns out of the hands of all individual citizens, they claim

Social Movements in Cuba and Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Movements in Cuba and Brazil - Essay Example There are definite trends that social movements in the Americas face, issues that have united them. U.S. imperial aggression have increased, with the expansion of U.S. military bases, the revival of the U.S. Navy’s 4th Fleet, and an increase in covert operations by the U.S. against South American nations like Venezuela and Bolivia. Social movements have had to fight bilateral trade agreements by the U.S. and the EU in individual nations throughout the region. Cities and towns throughout the Americas have been under attack for the exploitation and control (through trade, energy, and security agreements) of natural resources such as land, water, and energy; this has resulted in global warming, as well as other worsening environmental and health impacts. The most serious impact of the gap left by multinational organizations is the criminalization of social movements. Internal security laws, modeled after the U.S. Patriot Act and Homeland Security department, have been adopted by Latin American governments. In other words, political resistance to neoliberal strategies has been violently repressed, in the form of interrogations, the monitoring of social organizations by national governments, and political assassinations. As Hector de la Cuerva of the Mexican Network Against Free Trade (RMALC) has stated, â€Å"The face of neoliberalism is now militarism. In 1996, well before 9/11, Brazil used these kinds of tactics to suppress social movements. On April 17, 1,500 families of landless peasants making up one of these movements, the Movement of the Landless (MST), gathered near the town of Eldorado do Carajas, demanding land reform because in Brazil, only 1% of the population owns 50% of farmable land.3 The police opened fire on the prot estors, killing almost two dozen and wounding dozens more. Ever since, the MST has worked for justice for victims of the massacre. One way was declaring April 17 as International Day of Peasant Struggle and by fighting for agrarian reform, equality, justice, and peace for both the landless peasants in Brazil and throughout the world. In Cuba, the situation for social movements is a bit different. The fact that the Cuban government is socialist and shares many of the same values and beliefs as many of the country’s social movements helps the situation for these organizations. Fortunately for Brazil, Cuban-Brazilian relations have been â€Å"excellent† in May 2008 and Brazilian President Lula da Silva expressed desire for Brazil to be Cuba’s â€Å"number one partner.†4 One of the worst things that could have happen to social movements in Cuba was the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, which as political scientist George Zarur has stated, â€Å"represent ed a national catastrophe for Cuba.†5 Up to that point, Cuba’s economy was entirely dependent upon the Soviet Union, which subsidized the Cuban economy between four and six billion dollars per year, making up 20-40 percent of its GNP. It also enjoyed a monopoly for sugar production for

What likely happened to the price of prostitution services in New Essay

What likely happened to the price of prostitution services in New Jersey during the most recent Super Bowl and why - Essay Example During the event, prices were adjusted accordingly, and this made the prices go up due to the various reasons outlined in this paper. First, the increases in demand for sex in New Jersey during the Super Bowl event lead to an increase in prices of the prostitution services in the city. In economic terms, prostitution refers to a commodity traded in a supply and demand market. Braeutigan illustrates that, if the demand of the commodity increases and the supply remains constant then prices of that commodity goes up (45). The influx of people in New Jersey to watch the Super Bowl games at Mat Life stadium increased the demand for prostitution, which in turn increased the price of the prostitution services in the city. Second, the constant supply of prostitution services during the Super Bowl also contributed to the increase in price of prostitution services in New Jersey (Stigler 6). Super Bowl event attracted tens of thousands of people to the city of whom most of them wanted prostitution services. Due to the constant supply of the service provided during the event, the prices went up. There was a low level of supply of the prostitution services in the city during the event because of the Super Bowl crackdown, strict rules and regulations laid by the NYID police during the event. These were meant to reduce the number of prostitution providers in the city who were not legally permitted into the business. Therefore, the supply of the prostitution services during the event was very low, hence; caused the increase in the prices of the prostitution services in the city Third factor that lead to increase in the prices of prostitution services in New Jersey is the monopolistic competition market structure in New Jersey. This type of the market structure is where there are few firms in the prostitution industry more so during the Super Bowl event. This created the monopoly power in the prostitution industry in the New Jersey, which resulted in high

Many historians feel that American Revolution was fundamentally Essay

Many historians feel that American Revolution was fundamentally conservative in that the colonists were simply trying to perserv - Essay Example The discussion will include the major rights and powers that the Americans thought were denied to them and their evidence for believing so. The colonists, sooner or later, had been familiar with managing their own concerns and had been building provincial and local elected administrations. Traditions and institutions founded on the ideals of individual rights, free trade, and private property had progressed from the initial period of the colonies (Morison 1976). The most important question then is what are the justifications of the premise that the American Revolution is a conservative one? The English colonists who headed the revolution were remarkably knowledgeable of their natural rights and privileges as ‘free-born Englishmen’ (Wahlke 1962, 57). They would have abandoned their life in England to start anew or run away from religious discrimination and persecution, and per se were expected to think firmly about sustaining their virtual independence or sovereignty (Lea ch 1986). Furthermore, they were predisposed to relate themselves with the tradition of the ‘Commonwealth Whig’ which had been powerful and influential in 17th century England, when a large number of them run away, a doctrine which stressed individual liberty and a viewpoint against despotism (Morton 2003). Lockean Whiggism of the 1600s and natural rights discourse was prominent in the pre-revolutionary dialogue (Morison 1976). The manner the colonies were structured and ruled differed significantly, and could barely be characterized as absolutely independent (Morton 2003): the New Englanders benefited from the absolute democratic structure, with the electorate having rights to make a decision on all issues of significance and elect local authorities in annual assemblies. The voters were apparently restricted to white male elite, but due to the wealth and realizable property requirements, this select few was strangely huge. Since massive areas of land was obtainable, mo st of it belongs to free owners, who were destined to feel somewhat implicated in the political discussions impacting the colonies at the moment, with a threat in their prospects they tried to safeguard (Morton 2003). The colonists had benefited a lot from comparatively modest taxes from Britain, with almost all taxes defaulted due to prevalent corruption, fraud, and smuggling (Leach 1986). Apparently, most of the heads of the American Revolution were wealthy or propertied individuals, members of the select few that had ruled the colonies prior to the separation from Britain. They were affluent lawyers, traders, and property owners. They were by no means members of the aristocracy (Leach 1986). There was social mobility. Nonetheless, the individuals who ruled the fight for freedom and self-government viewed themselves as the natural rulers of a society that was essentially fair and reasonable. Several of these individuals feared the social implications of the revolution. They still felt the same although they espoused the rationale of their political insights and motivated a broader group of people to take part in government (Morison 1976). These individuals exploited the extended opportunities and acquired top positions in the military, the government, and the Congress (Swift 2002). John Jay articulated a similar apprehension when he stated that the revolution was â€Å"giving rank and Importance to men whom Wisdom would have left in obscurity†

American History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

American History - Assignment Example Townshend Acts were pursuing the goal to tighten British control over the colonies’ trade. It specifically imposed some restrictions on the imported goods such as: tea, paper, glass, etc. In order to keep judges and governors independent from the colonial rule the Parliament decided to pay their salaries from the tax revenues obtained with the help of the Townshend Acts. In this case Britain tried to create an effective enforcement mechanism and keep controlling colonial trade and seas. At the same time Stamp Act failure proved that the British Parliament could not impose its decisions on the internal regulations in the colonies. It was difficult to resist this act since colonies heavily relied on trade relationships with Britain, and in this case Britain had an advantage and could dictate their rules. At the same time the colonial resistance was disorganized, there was no single political leader. 3. Why did colonists dump tea in Boston Harbor? What particular aspect of the Te a Act was most objectionable? After the Townshend Acts were approved the conflict between the colonies and British government escalated. The Tea Act of 1773 favored monopolization of the tea market; only the East India Company was entitled to carry tea from auctions in London and distribute it in the colonies. Clearly this decision was not welcomed in the colonies. Since tea was the subject of taxation under the Act, every ship had to pay this tax for the British government when arrived to the American port. Americans disagreed and claimed that only the legitimately elected colonial representative could impose taxation on them. The protest movement was able to prevent ships with tea from three main harbors. However in Boston the situation escalated: the Royal Governor allowed the tea cargo in the port and refused to return it to the British. In this situation protesters preferred to destroy the tea by throwing it into the water rather than complying with the British rules and pay ta xes for it. Boston Tea Party became a symbol of the resistance movement in the US. 4. How did the French effect the outcome of the American Revolution? France played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War from Britain, the old French enemy. French society perceived this war as a war against the British oppression. France was able to support Americans by providing them with arms and troops even though it was not their initial goal. After the war period France was able to reinforce its image of the strong country, even thought French economy was affected by the military expenses. Hopes of the French government to become the main trade partner for the US fell short of expectations. 5. What became of the Indian nations east of the Mississippi River after the Revolution? How were they treated by the new American Government? After the Revolution a newly created American government followed the British example by controlling the Indians east of the Mississippi River. However the British tried to maintain peace and create special areas for Indians, the new government was interested in extensive colonization of the lands that belonged to Native Americans. Native American communities were disintegrated and their opinions split over which side they should stand for. The United States tried to assimilate Native Americans into their society. However Indians were hugely discriminated and later on the new government initiated relocation of Indians into the lands east of Mississippi River in 1830. By doing so they cleared the

Photostory Essay Essay Example for Free

Photostory Essay Essay This essay is to comment on my photo story that I did for my coursework, I will be talking about various things like the lighting, costumes and mise-en-scene, what they did for the photo story and how it helped. The genre I chose for my photo story was a sports genre. I thought it would appeal to the vast majority of male readers of around 14-18 years old, as it is a football magazine, which I have called The Kick-A-Bout Crew. I think that the story I chose would also interest younger readers as an incident like this one could crop up in their everyday lives. In a newsagents local to me, most of the space for papers and comics had been taken up by football magazines; this is partly why I used a football idea. If I were to sell my magazine, I would be very confident that my target audience would be teenage boys, and my grey market would be female readers as they are not likely to want to read football stories very often in most cases, but not unheard of. I would be very satisfied with this target audience. The way my story was narrated was through caption boxes and speech bubbles; this made my story quite easy to understand without too much difficulty. My captions were being placed at the bottom of a photo, to be read first, while the speech bubbles on the photo, perhaps slipping onto the background of the document to make sure that they didnt cover up the characters faces. I placed my speech bubbles in the direction the storys pictures were placed, normally flowing from left to right so as to make it easier to read. I used many different camera angles, to subtly highlight the events occurring in my story. For my first photo, I took an establishing shot from a fairly long distance away, taking it from a high angle to symbolize the fact that the boys are really just kids, innocent in youth and also to show the readers were the story takes place. In my second photo I take the photo as a medium shot, from a slightly low angle, so that it appears to the readers that the watching boy is much taller physically and symbolically than Paul and Jimmy showing that he is more important. For my third and fourth shots, I used eye-level close-ups that display the clear emotion on both of the boys faces, to depict to the readers the emotions of the boys and put the readers in their positions. The fifth photo is simply an eye-level medium shot that was the plainest and most obvious way to show the audience what is happening quite clearly. When my main character, Paul, gets tackled, the photo is taken from a high angle from a medium distance for the first view of it, to show the vulnerability of Paul to the audience before switching to an eye-level close-up to make the readers see how cheap the tackle was. The next shot is taken back to a high-angle showing the discomfort and pain that Paul is feeling, making him pitiful to the audience and to make them feel sorry for him, whilst not showing the boy, who is helping Paul up in the same light. For the next shot I used another eye-level medium shot, with a slight over-the-shoulder feel to it were you see Jimmy listening in behind the two talking boys, to show his sly jealous side to the more judgmental of the readers. For my penultimate shot I used an eye-level long shot to fit the characters all in but not leave too much background so the audience are drawn to the colour and action of the shot. And finally I used an eye-level close-up of Jimmy getting punched; the camera is supposedly a first-person view from Paul, to make the audience feel as though theyre throwing the punch. I think that all of these different angles have really illustrated the point that I was trying to make in each photo, they help keep the readers entertained and even kind of involved and would easily help them to understand the characters. I used particular colours in my background to lure my readers attention and immediately tell them the type of story I have chosen. I used a background of green and white like a football field and had the title set against a black and white football, in the actual title the word foul was a chilling blood red in the style of chiller. For each of my photos I used a different colour for each caption boxes to try and not make the page too boring and also to try and describe the photos, for instance at the start of the story where it is just a friendly kick about the caption box is a merry yellow, while proceeding through the story coming to the tackle it has slowing turned to a violent shade of scarlet. I shot my photo story at Dundonald Playing Fields as it fitted in with the story and provided a good mise-en-scene. Its in the grounds of a shabby looking high school to show that these kids lead a normal school life and this is their day to day surroundings, a the dual carriage way in the background shows how busy the place is and stands for their urban lives. I also used different costumes to display the type of characters starring in my photo story. Jimmy wore a black tracksuit to show him as the villain, while Paul wore a green and grey Northern Ireland tracksuit, to show that he is not exactly good as gold either, but generally decent and has strong loyalties. The boy watching is wearing a bright red Man U top to show that he is very friendly and is chasing a spot on Manchester United Youth team. The only lighting was the afternoon sky that made it seem as though they were still at school having a lunch-time game. The football and the goalposts fitted in nicely with the story giving it that sporty touch. I also added a competition to star in the magazine, which I thought would really grab the readers attention and spread the word to their friends. These are all the devices and techniques I used to make the story interesting, eye-catching and comprehendible.

Ethical Dilemmas in Social Work

Ethical Dilemmas in Social Work Pashan DeShields Introduction Throughout the years of being a social worker, a person can come across many different ethical dilemmas. An ethical dilemma involves being faced with a situation where a decision must be made under circumstances where ethical principles are in conflict. Dealing with these types of things, there is really no perfect answer that can conform to all of the ethical principles in the professional codes. Due to the fact that social workers have established guide lines for difficult situations, we can do better decision making. Ethical Dilemma. Jennifer, 23, is a student working at a halfway house for men on parole, who are also substance abusers. This is part of her final 480 hour field internship. Jennifer is very attracted to Sly, a 26-year-old, handsome client who is also quite charming. She finds it very difficult to avoid responding to his flattering, flirtatious advances. She is halfway through her placement and is finding it extremely difficult not to respond to Sly and secretly date him. The agency has a strict policy that no worker should date a client within six months after either have left the agency. Jennifer finds herself preoccupied thinking about him much of the time. She feels that she’s losing control. Professional values that apply to the dilemma. A professional value cited in the NASW Code of Ethics that was used in this case in â€Å"Integrity†. It tells us how social worker’s should continuously be aware of their mission, values, as well as ethical standards. (p.6) Jennifer forgets her mission and the standards required to obtain this career. She was there on her internship and allowed herself to get caught up in a conflict of interest. In the code, it describes the precautions needed when facing this kind of dilemma. At all times, social workers should be alert and try to avoid having conflicts of interest. Worker’s professional role and boundary issues involved. Jennifer is taking on the role as an intern which means that she should be following the guide lines for the â€Å"Social workers’ ethical responsibilities to the client†. One of the boundaries that have been crossed is Conflicts of Interest. According to the code, social workers should not engage in any dual relationships with clients or former clients (p.9). They should establish appropriate boundaries. This applies to Jennifer and Sly’s situation since they both cannot resist the flirting and are hiding their dating life. They are involved in a dual relationship. She is already in violation with site of where she is interning, who gave a strict rule of no dating clients within six months of leaving the agency. Another boundary that has been broken is Sexual Relationships. This tells us that for no reason should a social worker participate in any type of sexual contact with a client, whether it was consented or forced. (p.13) Jennifer and Sly may not have had a moment of intimacy, but according to the dilemma, they are close to doing so. She can’t resist his advances and is finding it hard to control herself in secretly dating him. They are young, optimistic, and flirtatious; it is very possible that a mishap can occur. What emotions, wants, and needs might characterize the worker involved in the scenario? It could appear that she is looking for an outlet herself and has found it in this relationship. Sometimes we search for answers through things, hoping that we will find our help as well. It is very important that a social worker is healthy and whole in every aspect of their life. As a social worker, you have been given trust by your patients that you will help them receive what they need and live a fulfilled life. Alternatives available for the worker to take. Although Jennifer feels that her situation is becoming too much, there is alternatives that she can take to lessen the stress of the situation. Since she is attracted to him and is very tempted by him, she should address her feelings, sooner than later. She is halfway through with her internship and to not look bad, she should tell the site director. There, the supervisor or her educator can tell her what may be the best route for her to take in regards to her maybe later being employed at which she is interning. Or perhaps there should be a termination of the professional relationship. She should let Sly know that she will no longer be professionally working with him and find him another practitioner where he could still get proficient help from. Or, she could even just keep what has already been going on a secret. She and Sly can secretly date and wait until the 6 month rule has expired that allows her to date a client. Potential positive and negative consequences for each alternative. Weighing the pros and cons of each alternative is a common perspective in various aspects of social work practice. It is also useful in resolving ethical dilemmas. A pro in being upfront with her supervisor is that she will possibly gain respect. She could tell the truth about her and Sly and how now avoiding him is hard and she doesn’t want to go against the code. The supervisor will see that the intern is aware of her professional responsibilities and wants to maintain the upmost respect of her patient. She could keep her internship and the client could possibly be relocated. Or, the supervisor may not trust Jennifer still being at the site since she has acted unethically. He/she may have to report her which could lead to Jennifer missing out on a good job opportunity. This record may also follow her to future job employments. Then, there is terminating the client. If they terminate Sly as a client, a positive would be that she won’t be distracted in her work place. She can be more focused in completing her internship. This is usually the approach that is used for those who have been involved in dual relationships. Also, Sly can really continue to get the help that he needs instead of being at the facility flirting with the newly, young worker. However, in a termination, the clients’ reaction to things can be very negative. Sly can go into a mode of denial or even rage. He may not believe that they are removing him or even get mad that Jennifer is allowing this to happen. By being enraged, this could also cause Sly to relapse back into his substance abuse. Lastly, she could keep the romance between them a secret. The pro in this is that she can continue to work on landing a good job while establishing a relationship with someone she likes. Due to the fact that Jennifer has already stated the frustration in trying to be in a secretive relationship, this could very quickly turn into a negative. She could ultimately be looked down on and could lose respect and a job. Also, she and Sly’s relationship may not even be long lasting for her to be risking her career. She would be better off being upfront and showing concern with following the code and respecting what is asked of her by the job instead of keeping it a secret, possibly ending up with the same outcome. Professionally, it would look better for her to do so. How might each alternative affect the client and the worker/client relationship? Ways in which the alternatives can affect the client and the worker/client relationship can come in a lot of forms. Action that the worker should take that would be the most ethical and appropriate for both worker and client? Ethical choices must be made to allow people to survive and thrive, existing with their basic needs met. There must be a decision made in regards to what is best for the social worker to take. However, before that decision has been made, critical thinking has had to have taken place. It is imperative to use critical thinking and ethical decision making to achieve the optimal result. She should talk the issue over with her supervisor or get counseling help. Face and evaluate the serious negative consequences for both her and Sly. Ultimately, she should terminate their professional relationship, referring Sly to another practitioner so that his services will continue. Extent to which individual professional discretion is required. It is very important that when dealing with a situation like this, nothing is said or done that causes offense or reveals any private information. You have taken an oath to the service of humanity and to social justice. As a professional, the welfare of your patient is your first priority and the main focus is to make sure the client receives what he/she needs. Conclusion Sadly, the pattern associated with Jennifer’s unethical involvement is noticed in a small percentage of social workers, who have been associated with inappropriate behavior with their clients. Although this behavior is known, many social workers have upheld their oath and maintain a high expectancy of the honor and tradition of the social work profession.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 Essay -- History Soviet

I recollect as a child how I cherished the way my mom took care of me and made all my executive decisions. I recall getting excited about my weekly allowances and about her picking out my clothes for school. However, when I became a teenager I wanted my independence. I know longer wanted her to buy my clothing and I wanted to financially support myself by getting a job. I was so tired of her telling me what to do and how to do it that I revolted. At first it was difficult trying to establish independence in my mother's house, but after a while it seemed as if I had won the battle. Unbeknownst to me that battle would be short-lived and ultimately my mom won the war. Basically, I had constructed my own crazy revolution against my mother. You see a revolution is â€Å"a fundamental change in political organization; especially: the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed .Activity or movement designed to affect fundamental cha nges in the socioeconomic situation (Webster Dictionary).†One revolution that is said to have inspired communism was the Russian Revolutions of 1917. A communist revolution is inspired by ideas of Marxism whose main purpose is to replace capitalism with communism also considered socialism. â€Å"Marxists believe that the workers of the world must unite and free themselves from capitalist oppression to create a world run by, and, for the working class (Britannica).† The Russian Revolution began in 1917 and consisted of two periods of revolts; the February Revolution and the October Revolution. It has been said that the 1905 Russian Revolution prompted the February Revolution due to â€Å"the massacre is Saint Petersburg, Russia known as Bloody Sunday. A council of wo... ...ns change history whether it is positive or negative. In the case of the Russian Revolution things could have been avoided or done differently however because of this revolution Russia began to slowly rebuild programs such as the New Economic Policy (NEP) were created. Works Cited "Russian Revolution of 1917." Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online. 02 Dec. 2010 . "socialism." Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online. 02 Dec. 2010 . Hindsight, Sept 2008 v19 i1 p22(4) Russia, 1914-17: Part 1 the road to revolution. Hugh Jebson. Kirby, David, The Baltic World 1772-1993: Europe's Northern Periphery in an Age of Change (London: Longman, 1995).

Movie Review of The Patriot Essay -- The Patriot Movies Film Revolutio

Movie Review of The Patriot I. Title- The Patriot Production Date- June 28th 2000 Major Characters- Benjamin Martin: Mel Gibson Gabriel Martin: Heath Ledger Charlotte Selton: Joely Richardson Johnny Issacs: William Tavington Lisa Brenner: Anne Howard Charles Cornwallis: Tom Wilkinson II. Movie Summary: â€Å"The Patriot† takes place during the Revolutionary War. It’s 1776 and intense fighting is going on in the north, while in the south the people are scrambling to recruit anyone who was willing to fight against the British. The main character, Benjamin Martin, is a veteran of the French and Indian war who wants independence from Britain, but is not willing to risk the safety of his already motherless children by going to war. His son Gabriel however, has a different view of the war, and enlists in the Continental Army without the consent of his father. Soon Benjamin is forced into action whether he wanted to be or not. When helping out hurt and wounded soldiers from both sides at his home he is viewed as a traitor, and Gabriel is ordered to be hanged. Benjamin’s son Thomas tries to help Gabriel, but is shot and killed by the brutal and nasty Colonel William Tavington, who also orders the Martin’s house to be burned to the ground. This understandably pushes Benjamin over the edge. He and his two younger sons then by themselves gun down over 20 redcoats and rescue Gabriel. Benjamin’s quick shooting and stealthful movements earn him the nickname of â€Å"The Ghost.† He then leaves his children with their aunt Charlotte, and forms a small militia group full of locals to help in the fight against the British and for personal revenge. Martin’s militia accounts for many redcoat deaths and cause a lot of trouble for the British. Col. Tavington however, results to his brutal tactics against the families and loved ones of the soldiers in Martin’s militia. Tavington is responsible for the deaths of Gabriel’s, wife, most of the citizens of their SC town, and later Gabriel himself as well. Martin’s army however overcomes much adversity, and plays a large part in the Continental effort. They later join up with the main Continental Army, and along with the long awaited arrival of the F rench, force Cornwallis and the British to surrender at Yorktown. Benjamin also gets his revenge by killing Tavington in the battle. This spells victory for the Americans and p... ...eeing this it gave us a look at what it might have been like if we lived during the war. I also disliked some things in the movie. I didn’t like how they put the British in a bad light regarding their involvement in the killing of innocent civilians. The brutal acts that were carried out in the movie by the redcoats could not be proven true. The movie also could have included information about other militia groups and the Continental Army as a whole. I also think that this movie was very one-sided. It was definitely pro-American, and against the British. This makes sense because it is an American movie, but I think it serves an injustice to some of the innocent British soldiers. Mainly Hollywood didn’t really care much about the historical accuracy, but they wanted to make an exciting movie that would sell tickets, and they did that in â€Å"The Patriot.† VI Bibliography Danzer, Gerald A., et al. The Americans. Boston: McDougal Littell, 1998. 108-117. Nash, Bruce. The Numbers. 1997. 13 Feb. 2005 . The American Revoulution Home Page. 1998. 14 Feb. 2005 . The Patriot. Dir. Roland Emmerich. Perf. Mel Gibson,Heath Ledger,and Johnny Issacs. DVD. Columbia Tristar , 2000.

In Field Flow Lines Of Oil Fields Environmental Sciences Essay

As oil Fieldss mature, smaller â€Å" in-field † flow-lines used alternatively of big diameter bole pipes. The little diameter grapevines normally installed by reel-lay techniques. In this technique the grapevine to be laid is manufactured in a uninterrupted length on board of the pipelaying vas and so spooled onto a big reel. During the pipelaying procedure the grapevine is normally straightened and passed over an inclined incline. Tensioners and/or clinchs are used for keeping the antecedently launched ( Joop Rodenburg et Al. Patent application rubric: Marine Pipelaying System and Method for Installing an Offshore Pipeline That Includes One or More Accessories ) . This method normally used in little diameter but requires thicker walled pipe to avoid local buckling during bending and unbending procedure ( M.F. Bransby et a l. ) . Offshore grapevines are buried beneath the ocean floor for protection against angling activity icebergs scouring and to supply on bottom stableness and bettering thermic insularity of the grapevine system. There is extended usage of little diameter, stiff steel grapevines within the seaward oil and gas industries to transport trade goods from their point of recovery to the shore ( or to other installings ) . Burial of these grapevines beneath the ocean floor is necessary for safety, operational and environmental concerns, e.g. bar of harm from angling vass, iceberg protection, on bottom stableness and betterment of the thermic belongingss of the grapevine system. Since grapevines are laid in remote and potentially hostile environments, frequently at great H2O deepness, the cost of puting and keeping the grapevine can be highly high, in footings of the existent work required, equipment mobilisation times and costs, and reduced end product. Therefore, offshore inhumed grapevines must be constructed as rapidly and expeditiously as possible, whilst keeping the highest degree of certainty against failure for the continuance of their usage. To accomplish high flow rates in grapevines, the gas or oil must be kept at high temperature and force per unit area. Normally, these grapevines are laid with close zero axial tonss, at the ambient temperature. On warming, the grapevine will see important axial strain, which is resisted by seabed clash so that compressive forces addition in the pipe. These compressive forces are on occasion big plenty to bring on perpendicular upheaval ( upheaval buckling ) of trenched lines, with the pipe emerging from the dirt or going significantly distorted, so that its ability to defy farther burden is compromised. Upheaval clasping may go on on start-up or as a progressive turbulence clasping during operation. These phenomena are due to cyclic conditions brought approximately by chilling and heating due to line breaks, which bit by bit ‘ratchet ‘ the pipe upwards, or from initial ballad imperfectness ( or a combination of the two ) . The dirt above the grapevine and the floaty weigh t provide opposition to this uplift force and the embedment deepness must be sufficient to forestall the perpendicular pipe motion from happening ( see Figure 1 ) . Among legion reported instances of upheaval buckling, the 17 kilometer long â€Å" Rolf A † to â€Å" Gorm E † grapevine in North Sea could be mentioned which has been reported ab initio in July 1986 one-year study and subsequently in September 1986 as a comprehensive out of straightness study ( M.F. Bransby et a l. ) . Impinging and burial is typically achieved by specialized H2O jetting, plowing and cutting equipment. Knowledge of the in situ mechanical belongingss ( before and following impinging operation ) of these dirts is highly of import for the design of inhumed grapevine systems ; burial techniques can bring forth considerable perturbation to the construction of seabed deposits, taking to alterations in their behavior. Perturbation of the ocean floor in the locality of the trench depends on the dirt type and province, and the manner of operation of the trencher. Ploughed soft and stiff clay backfill is lumpy in nature with big balls of integral clay, making the heterogenous construction supplying a macro construction. Stiff clay is believed to be hydraulicly fractured and really soft or silty clay is liquefied. The exact behaviour between these two extremes is non clear yet. Homogeneity of the subsequent backfill will besides be a map of clip to commissioning of the grapevine ( Cathie et al.2005 â€Å" Frontiers in Offshore Geotechnics: ISFOG 2005 – Gourvenec & A ; Cassidy ( explosive detection systems ) A © 2005 Taylor & A ; Francis Group, London, ISBN 0 415 39063 Ten † ) . The surfaces of the clay balls will be remoulded and soften due to exposure to free H2O during plowing. The nothingnesss between the balls will be filled with H2O, slurry and sand fractions if present. This double porousness stuff will consolidate much faster than a homogenous stuff consisting of purely integral stuff and a suited theoretical account for carry oning analysis of the consolidation procedure is that proposed by Yang and Tan ( 2005 ) and Wilson et al.1982. ( Yang, L.-A. , Tang. S.-A. & A ; Leung, C.-F. ( 2002 ) . Geotechnicque 52, No. 10, 713-725 ) ( R.K. Wilson and E.C. Aifantis, On the theory of consolidation with dual porousness – II, Int J Eng Sci 20 ( 1982 ) , pp. 1009-10035. ) Of peculiar concern to industry are trenches that have been H2O jetted in soft powdered silt and clay dirts, due to the potency for important alterations in construction and the associated uncertainness of the trench backfill belongingss around the grapevine. A remotely operated tracked ‘trencher ‘ is driven over the ocean floor. The trencher has a series of noses mounted in frontward confronting jet-legs, which penetrate the ocean floor below. Water is pumped out of these jets at high force per unit area to destruct the construction of the clay, so the grapevine will drop into it. During jetting, the construction of the seabed dirt is likely to be broken down and may liquefy wholly, particularly where the initial undrained shear strength is less than 10 kPa or where there is a important per centum of silt. Hence undrained analyses are more appropriate in this instance. It is besides possible that some integral balls of clay could stay ( although these may be capable to some remoulding ) and these can increase the strength of the ensuing backfill. Determining the grade of liquefaction or hydraulic break and the conditions under which these phenomena occur is an country of ongoing research. In peculiar, the province of the backfill and strength addition will lend well as to whether drained or undrained conditions occur during upheaval clasping events due to the different drainage features of slurried and ‘lumpy ‘ backfill ( ref ***is it Cathie et al. , 2005? ) . Likewise, the resulting clip dependant backfill behaviour following jetting will be different ; both soil provinces will consolidate and derive strength bit by bit, but this will happen much faster in the ‘lumpy ‘ backfill ( ref *** is it Cathie et al. , 2005? ) . This is peculiarly important in dirts with a high per centum of clay where the consolidation procedure can take many months, particularly after full liquefaction. Due to recent involvement in the country of upheaval buckling, a figure of analytical and numerical theoretical accounts have been developed to foretell the perpendicular opposition to shriek motion provided by the dirt and grapevine system. These theoretical accounts incorporate assorted false failure mechanisms for the behavior of the soil-pipeline system during upwards gesture through the trench backfill. The theoretical accounts are preponderantly flat strain ( 2D ) representations that assume dirt distortion and failure surfaces that either extend to the seabed surface ( shallow ) or are to the full contained within the backfill stuff ( deep ) . The uplift capacity of the soil-pipeline system will depend on the geometry of this deforming system, the mobilised shear strengths and organic structure weights, the comparative rate of burden and the potency for withdrawal of the dirt to happen behind the pipe during upheaval.Scope of the thesisDespite the aforesaid organic structure o f research bing in the literature, much confusion still exists as to the appropriate design parametric quantities and failure mechanisms involved for different instances. Existing design attacks assumes that deep failure does non happen for the trench deepnesss and grapevine geometries that are found in the field, nevertheless jumping malleability solutions based on the upheaval of strip ground tackles suggest that this may non needfully be the instance ( Merifield et al, 2001 ) .This research presents both numerical finite component survey and experimental survey that examines the opposition of slurried clayey dirts against upheaval buckling of inhumed grapevines. It has been conducted to measure the current state-of-the-art, to supply counsel for the design of inhumed grapevines for backfill dirts in this province and to clear up some of the facets of uncertainness in this subject.

Outline the Key Principles of Natural Law

Jamshed Masjedi Outline the key principles of Natural Law Let’s start off with a definition of Natural Law: a moral code existing with a purpose of nature, created by God. Aristotle theory of purpose inspired St Thomas Aquinas to develop his idea of Natural Law to present a rational basis for Christian morality. Aquinas developed an absolute and deontological theory which states that certain acts are innately right or wrong. Natural Law directs people to their great purpose, and can be deduced through reason.Good acts are those which enable humans to fulfil their purpose, and are in unity with the primary precepts. Through Aristotle’s idea that everything has a purpose (theory of causality) and we have a purpose to do good and avoid evil and seek happiness and fulfilment in life (eudaimonia), Aquinas started by trying to work out what the purpose of human life was. Aquinas developed the primary precepts which follow from this idea. The Primary precepts are connected wit h preservation of life, reproduction, education, living in a society and worshipping God.These Primary precepts can then be developed into secondary precepts as practical human rules that govern our daily behaviour. For example from preservation of life, one could argue someone who is in desperate need of organs or bloods would be correct. This could lead to a secondary precept of you donating your organ(s) to saves lives of other. Another example is about reproduction linking it genetic engineering with Natural Law suggesting that humans have an essential nature and manipulating it, through genetic engineering, is conflicting to the natural order of things and so is wrong.Aquinas developed four kinds of law: eternal, natural, human, and divine. Eternal law is humans being not being able to know gods intention. Natural law is humans with a natural sense and the discovery of reason. Human law is some sort of man-made law with the natural law supplied by the government to the societie s, and divine law is the specially revealed law in the scriptures. The main aspect of Natural Law theory is that it relies heavily on reason. It can be discovered by anyone, regardless of any religious alignment.For this reason it is universal and not a relativist argument but an absolutist argument. Reason is used in order to establish how we should live our lives. We use our reason to fulfil the requirements of the primary precepts and therefore to achieve our aim of doing good and avoiding evil. If everything is created for a purpose, human reasoning in examining that purpose is able to judge how to act in order to conform to that purpose. Thus, the role of reason plays a huge part as Aquinas states â€Å"To disparage the dictate of reason is equivalent to condemning the command of God. Hence, humans shouldn't be trapped by their desires and that the duty of a Christian is alike to the duty of an atheist or agnostic. Reason is the superlative human asset that ultimately separate s us from animals. However, if human reasoning is misguided it could lead us to the wrong moral choices such as following ‘apparent goods’ which could leads away from Natural Law rather following ‘real goods. ’ An example of an ‘apparent good’ is getting drunk or taking drugs as it seems like we are doing a good thing in the short term however, on the long term, it’s not.Or as a rather deeper example, perhaps we can consider that Hitler with his misguided belief about Jews, seeking an apparent good to remove them, in the end, it wasn't such a wise move. Jamshed Masjedi For Aquinas, both the intention and the act are important. According to Aquinas, God knows the secrets of our hearts and thus, our actions must be interior rather than exterior. The purpose behind an act gets recorded. For example we should help an elderly person cross the road because it is the honest thing to do not because to gain admiration of others i. . someone watch ing nearby. It is said that if humans act towards this way, it’s said that god is glorified. Is this theory relevant to the 21st century? Many theories have been created 10 years ago, 100 years ago or 1000 years ago that still shape and dictate our society today, since it’s the 21st century, many theories have been developed and improved, but as far as questioning the theory of natural law and it’s standing, it’s a theory holding major significance around the world today.For example the Roman Catholic Church supports the theory with them making the primary precepts into absolute rule thus, meaning no room for negotiation. Natural Law has many benefits to society and for individuals. Since it’s an absolutist argument, it provides moral foundation to rules with clear guidance at all times. Most individuals are in favour of Natural Law because it offers a universal code. Most people believe in preserving life, education etc. On the Flip side, Natural Law theory cannot seem to get at certain individuals.It relies to use reason correctly, however, it is fair to say that we do not all have the same ability to reason. If we do, everyone can come up with the same conclusions and decide what’s right and wrong. The precepts are to be looked when one finds them in a situation, but this also is disputed. Homosexuality is a common example of something that Natural moral Law is unable to provide a succinct response to. Furthermore, in modern forms Natural Law does not allow room for negotiation because the Roman Catholic Church has made the secondary precepts into absolute rules.The book of Genesis seems befuddling with Natural Law. It’s inconsistent with the story of the Fall. Genesis 3 teaches that that human reason was separated from God Through sin. Thus, if our reason is corrupt then how can we deduce God’s purpose? Society can never guarantee people’s safety but with the theory of Natural law, it’s open in arms for offering protection, therefore will always be relevant. Furthermore, natural law is a good guide for the believers in God. Natural law will provide an instructive and dependable guide to moral behaviour.The Roman Catholics Church is in favour of Aquinas’s brilliant knowledge of reasoning in the Natural law. What's more, Aquinas himself was a Catholic and so, some might question from whom is it relevant to? It can hardly be claimed that Natural Law ethics is irrelevant to Roman Catholics. Linking to situation ethics, Natural Law would be helpful when making a logical decision depending on the situation a person’s in and with its deontological and absolutist status, it would also create guidelines to follow for all especially for individuals or societies wanting the absolute right and wrong.Due to the adaptation in the 21st century, the Natural Law theory is always going to be controversial. I think the most usual criticism for during our time is that it may be too inflexible over major issues. There is no direct reference to issues, for example like abortion or euthanasia. Others might argue that the theory is too old and other types or similar systems of ethics are better that the Natural Law theory. For example, if Aquinas could have been wrong about the primary precepts, he could have also been wrong about the secondary precepts.Finally, I believe this could be the strongest negative assessment of Natural Law, is that this God-based ethic may no longer be relevant to, what is an increasingly secular society. On the whole, I believe that taking both arguments in on the balance, Natural Law has become not irrelevant, but less relevant, because the modern definition of human nature is much wider than that offered by Aquinas. Natural law is based purely on deductive, rational reasoning. This makes it an objective theory, it is not open to interpretation – should everyone reason correctly we should all come to the same conclu sions about what is right and what is wrong.We can see this in action around the world, with many societies sharing common beliefs about morality – this is strength of the theory since there is evidence of a common system of morality in place, although that is not to say the universal theory is natural law Natural Moral laws relies on our ability to reason correct, that is to use casuistry to deduce the correct action based on how it fits in with our precepts. However, it is fair to say that we do not all have the same ability to reason.Whilst Aquinas maintained that all humans were equal he did say that some were better at reasoning than others and therefore we should practice our logical skills so that they become habitual. This is fine to an extent, but if we were to encounter a totally alien situation we would have no prior experience to draw reference from, and so our ability to decide the right course of action would come down to our individual ability to reason correct ly In such a situation we should stick to the precepts; since they are logically sound, but even these can be ambiguous.Homosexuality is a classic example of something natural moral is not able to provide a succinct response to. On the one hand we can say since homosexuality doesn't lead to procreation, and so it is a misuse of humangenitalia, but on the other hand we can say that since it is pleasurable, that pleasure is there for a reason.

Student Stress

Today's students are faced with many challenges, many additional pressures, and numerous stresses. High school creates a variety of difficulties and challenges for teens but on average their main stresses are schoolwork, personal problems and time consuming Jobs. Teens find themselves under far too much pressure. Being a teenager Is typically thought of as a fun and free time In life, but It's turning Into a stressful period in a person's life. Most teens set a goal of doing well in school to achieve their dream job or Just better themselves.Many classes feel short and quick, teachers buzz through topics and units faster than most can comprehend. Still, the teachers and parents expect you to be able to achieve high marks on tests and assignments. The work load is enormous. Every class you are expected to do an hour or two of homework every night and finding the time is close to impossible. Most programs at university expect a high 80 percent average. For some it comes easy, others, a great challenge. Expectations from universities and parents can add more stress on to your already trustful school life.I personally feel as If school has gotten a lot harder since our parents attended. Since they had a grade 13, an extra year to prepare and learn. This means that everything taught within five years Is now squeezed Into four. Learning at a quicker pace is a lot more difficult than having an extra year. High school impacts a student's life for the rest of their educational path. Along with many hours at school, most students have a part time Job to attend right after school. Work conflicts with school and the work load.I personally have a art time Job and after working 5-6 hours after school, homework is the last thing on my mind. Many teens get jobs to gain independence from their parents and stand on their own financially. However there is also the reality of funding post-secondary education. University tuitions are expensive and have been rising throughout the ye ars. Some the dream of university is all based around grades but the finances too. Saving up and working hard at school Is extremely stressful and hard to find a balance between school, work and a social life.Students need time to relax and moieties that's hard to find. I get extremely stressed whenever I have work and even the smallest amount of homework, so I can only imagine how it is for grade twelve working all the time with huge amounts of homework. Working as a teenager is stressful and adding homework on top of that can be unbelievable. Personal problems are a reality for almost everyone. But for teenagers it's harder to handle due to social media, bullying and parents. Social media has been a huge toll on many of my friends.The drama that surrounds social media can be tolling on a student's incineration. Privacy is a thing of a past with almost every personal problem now being slew on social media sights. This has happened to everyone at some point in high school, either be ing bullied on or off social media. Even If it's not In school, family stresses can dramatically Impact your day or your attentiveness In and out of school. High school is stressful from the start, but the stress accumulates as the years go important that students be able to recognize this stress and deal with it before it becomes overwhelming.

Fast Food Nation Analysis Essay Essay

The non-fiction book â€Å"Fast Food Nation† by Eric Schlosser writes about how the fast food industry works from different viewpoints. Throughout the book it can be very disturbing and very real about the fast food industry. Changing American society and causing many great problems. The author established well credibility by providing well facts and supporting it. He talks about the success and failures of what happened in the fast food nation. Many failures happened in the past such as mistreating the cattle and poultry. The animals were mistreated because they were being fed dead animal and chemicals. The cattle would get injected by hormones to make them bigger so once they get slaughtered there would be a lot of meat. This book is different from the other books I’ve read in my past English classes because the author supports and backed his claims and facts with evidence. Workers at slaughter houses would use lack of health care to treat the meat which caused infectious diseases. From pg. 195 the author talks about the foodborne disease which is very common. Ã'”Every day in the United States, roughly 200,000 people are sickened by a foodborne disease, 900 are hospitalized, and fourteen die. I agreed from everything of what the author wrote. Fast food business owners are mostly greedy and do not care about the public’s health. Read Also:  Analytical Essay Example Topics Teenagers, uneducated adults, and undocumented people work for low wages. Meatpacking jobs is the most horrendous and dangerous jobs today. Fast food has shaped American society because it contributes obesity that many Americans face every day. Fast food companies spend a lot of money to sponsor their food and make people buy their food. For an example Mc Donald’s spend millions to bring consumers especially children. Toys and a Mc Donald’s TV show manipulated children to make their parents take them to eat at Mc Donald’s and get the toys that were sponsored. Now thankfully there is more awareness of the fast food problem. More people are spreading the word of being healthy mostly at schools. Encouraging students to exercise and eat healthy. Natural and organic foods are becoming more popular in the country. Even though the government haven’t really taken any steps to stop the mistreating of animals and of what goes in our food.

Banking Industry in Nigeria

Against the backdrop of the role of banks as financial intermediaries and their function as the engine of growth of the economy, this paper examines the extent to which the banking industry has helped to stimulate economic activities in Nigeria and what the prognosis looks like in the post-consolidation era.The paper notes that the banking industry in Nigeria witnessed a remarkable growth in terms of deposit base, number of branches, total asset and volume of loans and advances, especially since the de-regulation of the financial services sector in the last quarter of 1986. However, given the potentials of the market, banks need to do more, particularly in financing the real sector of the economy.It is argued that the consolidation programme is expected to have a positive effect on employment in the long-run, and that has drastically altered and redefined the nature of competition in the banking industry. Furthermore, it argues that mere size would no longer be a critical factor in t he customers’ choice of which bank to patronize. Rather, emphasis would shift to the ability to deliver superior value to customers. THE BANKING INDUSTRY AND THE NIGERIAN ECONOMY POST-CONSOLIDATION By DR. B.B. EBONG GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Banks facilitate economic growth in a variety of ways. In the first instance, they act as financial intermediaries between the surplus generating units and the deficit spending ones. This is a two-fold function involving the mobilisation of savings from the former group which are then channelled to the latter to support productive economic activities. This intermediary role is important in two respects.First, by pooling together savings that would have otherwise been fragmented, banks are able to achieve economies of scale with potential benefits for the users of such funds. Secondly, in the absence of banks, each person or business seeking credit facility would have had to individ ually look for those with such funds and negotiate with them directly. This is a cumbersome and timeconsuming process of double coincidence of wants. By matching the preferences of savers with those of borrowers therefore, banks help in overcoming such difficulties.It is pertinent to note that it is from this intermediation function that banks normally not only earn the bulk of their income by way of interest margin but also pay out returns to savers, compensating them for the opportunity cost of their money. It is important to bear this point in mind because, as we shall see later, if any bank is unable to recover the funds it lends out, its own existence as a going concern would be undermined rapidly and ultimately. This is to the extent that its ability to meet the withdrawal needs of depositors would be impaired.It is for this reason that the officials of any bank cannot afford to toy with the management of its risk assets. Towards ensuring that the funds they lend out are recov ered, banks have found it expedient to provide business advisory services to their customers. The essence of availing their clients these services is to assure themselves that the beneficiaries adopt modern management policies and practices in running the affairs of their respective companies which benefit from borrowed funds. The ultimate goal is to guarantee that these customers are in a position o service their loan obligations as and when due. This, in turn, would enable banks meet their obligations to depositors while also earning a narrow margin to ensure business continuity and corporate growth. Banks also play a pivotal role in an economy by providing a mechanism for producers/buyers and consumers/sellers to settle transactions between themselves. They do this not only within a country but also across national boundaries through a highly efficient and technologically enabled payments systems.In the process, banks encourage specialisation and division of labour, a major advan tage of which is the enhanced production and economic growth of the country. Furthermore, banks act as a conduit for the transmission of monetary policy. They provide a veritable platform when it comes to the implementation of monetary, credit, foreign exchange, and other financial sector policies of the government. Among other things, monetary policy is designed to influence the cost and availability of loanable funds with a view to promoting non-inflationary growth.The instruments available to the Central Bank to achieve this include open market operations (OMO), the cash reserve ratio (CRR), liquidity ratio (LR) and of course, moral suasion. The capacity of the banking industry to perform these functions effectively is, to a large extent, determined by the financial health of the individual institutions themselves and soundness and viability of the industry as a whole. For instance, where the majority of banks are adjudged to be weak and unhealthy, that will impair the ability of the industry to lubricate economic growth and vice versa.Against this background, the objective of this presentation is to examine the extent to which the banking industry has helped to stimulate economic activities in Nigeria and what the prognosis looks like in the post-consolidation era, come January 2006. To achieve its objective, this paper is organised into five parts. Following this introduction, we review the performance of the Nigerian banking industry between 2000 and 2004 in section II. The challenges facing the banking industry, which the current reform programme was designed to address, are highlighted in section III.In section IV, we present the prognosis and outlook during the post-consolidation era while section V contains the concluding remarks. 2. 0 THE PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGERIAN BANKING INDUSTRY IN 1990 – 2004 PERIOD. The banking industry in Nigeria has witnessed a remarkable growth, especially since the de-regulation of the financial services sector in t he last quarter of 1986. In terms of headcount for instance, the number of banks increased by about 154. 8% from 42 in 1986 to 107 in 1990. It further increased by about 12% to120 in 1992.By 2004, however, the number had reduced to 89. This was because, some banks had to be liquidated on account of their dwindling fortunes. The number of bank branches also rose from 1,394 in 1986 to 2,013 in 1990, 2,391 in1992 and by 2004 in spite of the reduction in number of banks, it had reached 3,100. This translates to an inter-temporal increases of 44%, 18. 8% and 29. 7%, respectively. Given this scenario, the pertinent question agitating the critical mind is the extent to which the expansion in the number of banks and their branch network had impacted on the economy.Another way to evaluate the performance of banks is to carefully examine the credits they granted, both in terms of volume, distribution by sectors, and the maturity profile. The data on banks’ credit to the economy are sho wn in table 2 below. Table 2: Banks’ Credits to the Economy, 1990 – 2004 Year Aggregate banks’ credit (Net) (N billion) 42. 58 49. 41 59. 25 125. 75 162. 83 194. 05 266. 44 Growth rate (%) Net Domestic Credit Target (%) 13. 5 10. 6 13. 2 17. 5 9. 4 11. 3 12. 0 Actual (%) 17. 1 45. 3 69. 1 91. 4 29. 2 7. -23. 4 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 16 19. 9 112. 2 29. 5 19. 2 37. 3 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 302. 31 378. 08 608. 44 807. 01 1,033. 64 1,302. 2 1,591. 2 2,078. 1 13. 5 25. 1 60. 1 32. 6 28. 1 26. 0 22. 2 30. 6 24. 8 24. 5 18. 3 27. 8 15. 8 57. 9 25. 7 24. 5 -2. 8 46. 8 30. 0 -25. 3 79. 9 64. 6 29. 1 12. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, (various years) As the figures show, the rate of growth of aggregate bank credit (net) to the domestic economy ranged from 13. % in 1997 to 112. 2% in 1993. However, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, in its 2004 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, an ana lysis of the sectoral allocation of these credits revealed that the less productive sectors of the economy continued to be favoured. For instance, in 2003, those sectors comprising agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing got only 40. 2% of the credits. The situation worsened in 2004 as this figure further declined to 37. 0%.The corollary of this is that, on average, it was more attractive for banks to lend to such sectors as distributive trade, especially import financing, because the risks associated with such lending were relatively lower. The turn around time was equally shorter. Furthermore, as shown in the last column of table 2, actual domestic credit (net) consistently deviated from target for most of the years for which data was shown. If we take the targets to be representative of societal preference, what this means is that the flow of credit for each of those years was far from what was socially desirable.The quality of these risk assets has worsened progressively s ince 2002 as the statistics in table 3 demonstrate graphically. Table 3: Asset Quality of Nigerian Banks, 1990 – 2004 Year Ratio of non-Performing Credit to total Credit (%) Ratio of non-Performing Credit to Shareholders’ Funds (%) 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 44. 10 39. 00 45. 00 41. 00 43. 00 32. 90 33. 90 25. 81 19. 35 21. 5 16. 9 21. 3 21. 6 23. 08 344. 00 222. 00 299. 00 380. 86 567. 70 496. 00 419. 80 253. 09 89. 20 92. 2 77. 1 85. 9 89. 105. 3 Source: Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Annual Report & Statement of Accounts, Various Issues The data in table 3 reveal that the ratio of non-performing credit to total credit declined from 45% in 1992 to 23. 08% in 2004. This means that of every N100. 00 lent out during these years, banks lost an average of N30. 60. These losses contributed in no small way to the erosion of shareholders’ funds as shown in the table. These bad accounts represented 567. 7%, 419. 8 % and 105. 3% of shareholders’ funds in 1994, 1996 and 2004, respectively.In deed, in the years 1990 to 1997, the shareholders’ funds had been impaired by non-performing risk assets in several multiples. The factors responsible for the poor quality of risk assets range from inadequate appraisal of credit proposals, unfavourable environmental factors that adversely affected the cash flow of the clients’ businesses to sheer unwillingness to repay credit facilities on the part of borrowers and the corresponding ineffectiveness of the rule of law to catch up with pathological loan defaulted some of whom moved round and ravaged one bank after the other.The deterioration in the quality of banks’ risk assets took its toll on the health of the industry as the outcome of the rating of all licensed banks by the Central Bank of Nigeria using the CAMEL parameters has shown. The result of that exercise, which is reproduced in table 4 below, has shown glaringly that th e performance of banks in the country has deteriorated since 2001. Table 4: Rating of Banks Using the CAMEL Parameters, 2001 – 2004 2001 No. of % of Banks Total Sound 10 11. 1 Satisfactory 63 70. Marginal 8 8. 9 Unsound 9 10. 0 Total 90 100. 0 Category 2002 No. of Banks 13 54 13 10 90 2003 No. of Banks 11 53 14 9 87 2004 No. of % of Banks Total 10 11. 5 51 58. 6 16 18. 4 10 11. 5 87 100. 0 % of Total 14. 4 60. 1 14. 4 11. 1 100. 0 % of Total 12. 6 60. 9 16. 1 10. 4 100. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, 2004 From the table above, it can be seen that the banks adjudged to be sound was consistently less than 15% of the total number for the four-year period.In addition, those whose performance was considered satisfactory represented as high as 70% of the total in 2001. By 2004, however, this group represented only 58. 6% of the total number of banks covered by the exercise. Apart from poor quality assets, other factors responsible for th is state of affairs include under-capitalisation, weak corporate governance practices, and the challenges of ethics and professionalism. It is these factors that the on-going reform agenda seeks to address with a view to totally overhauling the system.These issues are examined in more details in the next section. 3. 0 CHALLENGES FACING THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA The current banking sector reform in Nigeria was designed to promote the viability, soundness and stability of the system to enable it adequately meet the aspirations of the economy in terms of accelerated economic growth and development. The reform agenda was motivated by the need to proactively put the Nigerian banking industry on the path of global competitiveness to enable it effectively respond to the challenges of globalisation.The overall objective is to guarantee that the economy and Nigerians do not remain fringe players in the context of a globalizing world. The major challenges that the reform was targeted at include inter alia, the following: Weak capital base. Most banks in Nigeria had a capital base that was less than US$10 million while the largest bank in the country had a capital base of about US$240 million. This compared unfavourably with the situation in Malaysia where the smallest bank had a capital base of US$526 million.The small size of most local banks, coupled with their high overheads and operating expenses, has negative implications for the cost of intermediation. It also meant that they could not effectively participate in big-ticket deals, especially within framework of the single obligor limit. The challenge of ethics and professionalism. In a bid to survive the stiff competition in the market, a number of operators had resorted to unethical and unprofessional practices. Strictly speaking, some even went into some businesses that could not be classified as banking.In appreciation of the enormity of the problems caused by the failure to adhere to professional and ethi cal standards, the Bankers’ Committee set up a sub-committee on â€Å"ethics and professionalism† to handle complaints and disputes arising from unwholesome and sharp practices. Poor corporate governance practices. There were several instances where Board members and management staff failed to uphold and promote the basic pillars of sound corporate governance because they were preoccupied with the attainment of narrowly defined interests. The symptoms of this included high turn over in the Board and management staff, inaccurate reporting and on-compliance with regulatory requirements. Gross insider abuses. One area where this was pronounced was the credit function. As a result, there were several cases of huge non-performing insider-related credits. Insolvency. The magnitude of non-performing risk assets was such that it had eroded the shareholders’ funds of a number of banks. For instance, according to the 2004 NDIC Annual Report, the ratio of non-performing cr edit to shareholders’ funds deteriorated from 90% in 2003 to 105% in 2004. This meant that the shareholders’ funds had been completely wiped out industry-wide by the non-performing credit portfolio.Over-reliance on public sector deposits. These deposits accounted for over 20% of total deposits in the system. In some institutions, such public sector funds represented more than 50% of total deposits. This was not a healthy situation from the viewpoint of effective planning and plan implementation, given the volatile nature of these deposits. On account of the huge reliance on public sector funds, a number of players did not pay adequate attention to small savers who normally constitute a major source of stable funds which should be channelled to finance the real sectors.Instead, they concentrated on a few high networth individuals, government parastatals and blue chip companies. It was in response to this situation coupled with the need to accord the small and medium ent erprises sub-sector the priority it deserves that the Bankers’ Committee came up with the Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Scheme (SMEEIS) with a view to redirecting credit flows to the sub-sector Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the foregoing captures the situation in the banking industry at the time the reform agenda for the sector was conceptualised and introduced.One has taken time to highlight the challenges that the industry was grappling with to enable us better appreciate the rationale for the reform in terms of what it is intended to achieve. Even though the consolidation programme has thirteen basic elements, it is those relating to the minimum capital base for banks and mergers and acquisitions that have received the most attention in the ensuing public discourse on the subject. In the light of this, it might be useful to enumerate these elements, more so that they are at the centre of this discussion.These planks of the reform programme are: Incre ase in the minimum capital base of banks from N2 billion to N25 billion with December 31, 2005 as deadline for compliance; Consolidation of banks through mergers and acquisitions; Phased withdrawal of public sector funds from banks, beginning from July, 2004; Adoption of a risk-focused and rule-based regulatory framework for the industry; Adoption of zero tolerance in the regulatory framework particularly in the area of information rendition/reporting. All returns by any bank must now be signed by the Managing Director;The automation of the process for rendition of returns by banks and other financial institutions through the electronic Financial Analysis and Surveillance System (e-FASS); Establishment of a hotline and confidential internet address to enable Nigerians wishing to share confidential information with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to do so; Strict enforcement of the contingency planning framework for systemic banking distress; The establishment of an Asset s Management Company as an important element of distress resolution;Promotion of the enforcement of dormant laws, especially those relating to the issuance of dud cheques and the law relating to the vicarious liabilities of the Board members of banks in cases of bank failure; Revision and updating of relevant laws, and drafting of new ones relating to the effective operations of the banking system; Closer collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the establishment of the Financial Intelligence Unit and the enforcement of the antimoney laundering and other economic crimes measures; andRehabilitation and effective management of the Mint to meet the security printing needs of Nigeria, including the banking system which constitutes over 90% of the Mint’s business. The likely impact of these measures on the banking industry and the economy are examined in the next section. 4. 0 ANTICIPATED IMPACT OF THE CONSOLIDATION PROGRAMME ON THE BANKING INDUSTRY AND T HE NIGERIAN ECONOMY In this section, we will attempt to paint a scenario regarding the probable impact of the consolidation programme on the banking industry and, hence, the economy.In doing so, it is important to reiterate that even though the reform agenda is targeted at the banking industry, its ultimate focus is the Nigerian economy. In view of this, and in order to put the discussion in proper perspective, we would like to begin this section with a brief review of the performance of the economy between 2000 and 2004 which data are presented in table 5 hereunder: Table 5: Nigeria, Selected Macroeconomic Indicators, 2000 – 2004 Indicator Real GDP Growth Rate (%) Oil Sector Non-Oil Sector Manufacturing Capacity Utilisation (%) Gross National Savings (% of GDP) Gross Fixed CapitalFormation (% of GDP) Inflation Rate (%) External Reserves (US $ million) 2000 5. 4 2001 4. 6 2002 3. 5 2003 10. 2 2004 6. 1 11. 3 2. 9 5. 2 4. 3 -5. 7 7. 9 23. 9 4. 5 3. 3 7. 5 36. 1 39. 6 44. 3 45. 6 45. 0 NA 11. 3 15. 6 13. 6 15. 3 7. 3 7. 2 9. 1 12. 0 16. 2 6. 9 9,910. 4 18. 9 10,415. 6 12. 9 7,681. 1 14. 0 7,467. 8 15. 0 16,955. 0 Source: Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, 2004 The data in table 5 reveal that, in real terms, the rate of growth of domestic output ranged from 3. 5% to 10. 2% between year 2000 and 2004. The average annual growth rate for the period was 5. 6%, which falls far short of the 10% minimum that is required for the country to meet the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Furthermore, the service sector and wholesale & retail trade still account for a disproportionate share of total output, considering our stage of economic development. On the other hand, the real productive sectors like agriculture and manufacturing are yet to assume their pride of place in the economy. As can be seen from the statistics, capacity utilisation in the manufacturing sector was consistently below 50% throughout the five ye ars.Among other things, this is a reflection of the undue competition that local manufacturers have had to face from their relatively more mature and efficient overseas counterparts. These are not healthy developments from the viewpoint of a developing country that is desirous of achieving sustained economic growth. Given the low level of domestic output, coupled with the rising demand, it is not surprising that the authorities were not able to keep the inflation rate below double digit as intended.It is this parlous state of the economy that the banking sector reform was designed to address at the end of the day. The expectation is that the reform programme will impact positively on the banking industry and thus put the economy on the path of sustainable growth. While most analysts have expressed serious concerns regarding the adverse impact of the consolidation programme on the level of employment, the authorities at the Central Bank of Nigeria have allayed such fears.While acknow ledging that employment opportunities in the industry would shrink, at least in the short run, the management of the Bank is optimistic that the long-term positive effects of the reform programme on the labour market will be more far- reaching. The thrust of the argument is that at the end of the day, the consolidation programme will lead to a stronger and more robust banking industry that will adequately support the expansion of economic activities, especially in the real sectors of the economy. In this process of rejuvenating the economy, more job opportunities will be created.The consolidation programme will drastically alter and redefine the nature of competition in the banking industry. By significantly increasing the minimum capital base for banks, the policy has not only raised the barriers for new entrants, it has also reduced the number of banks in the system through the mergers and acquisitions. It will be recalled that hitherto, competition in the industry was essentially between those players that one may safely refer to as the â€Å"industry giants† on the one hand, and those popularly referred to as the new generation banks, on the other.Going forward, however, what we will witness is a battle for survival among the ensuing mega banks, all with extensive branch network. In the new dispensation, stability of individual institutions and, hence, safety of depositors’ funds is not likely to remain a major consideration in customers’ choice of which bank to patronise. Rather, emphasis will shift to the ability to deliver superior value to clients and stakeholders generally as well as the prices for bank products and services. As pointed out earlier, many banks in Nigeria had relied heavily on the public sector as a source of funds.Consequently, they did not aggressively explore available potentials in other market segments. This situation will, however, change with the withdrawal of public sector funds from the vaults of banks as part of the policy shift. We therefore expect that banks will focus more on those sectors that were hitherto underserved like the real, informal sectors, including the consumer market. They need to devise creative ways of effectively tapping into the opportunities in these market segments, both in terms of deposit mobilisation and the provision of credit facilities.Going forward therefore, banks are more likely to provide better support for sustained economic growth in Nigeria. The pressure to aggressively explore those market segments that were hitherto underserved will be reinforced by the desire on the part of the management of each bank to continue to generate attractive returns to shareholders. Currently, the average return on invested capital (ROIC) in the Nigerian banking industry is estimated at 38%. With the substantial increase in shareholders’ funds, however, each bank will need to generate a minimum of N9. billion in profit before tax in order to maintain the same rate of return. This is a daunting challenge that calls for creativity. To meet the challenge, banks will need to radically redefine their business models and strategies. The status of corporate governance in the banking industry is expected to improve remarkably following the change in ownership structure. This is because, even though poor governance practices cut across the industry, they were more pronounced in the privately owned institutions.Given the dilution of ownership in the new dispensation, the situation where individuals and their cronies had overbearing influence in the running and management of banks will become a thing of the past. Moreover, as public companies, each bank will now be subjected to a higher standard of governance in terms of information disclosure. 5. 0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION In this paper, we have examined the probable impact of the on-going banking sector reform on the Nigerian economy.In the process, we drew attention to the challenges facing opera tors in the banking industry that need to be addressed for the industry to make desired contributions to the orderly growth of the economy. These challenges encompass those of unethical and unprofessional behaviour, poor corporate governance practices, weak capital base, and over-dependence on public sector deposits. From the analysis, it is clear that the consolidation programme will impact positively on the economy for a number of reasons.First, the development is expected to have long-term beneficial effects on the level of employment considering that it will facilitate enhanced production in diverse sectors of the economy. The reform programme will also redefine the nature of competition in the banking industry such that each institution will have no choice but to assign priority to its capacity to deliver superior value to its clients, since this is what will ultimately make the difference between losers and winners. By denying anks access to public sector deposits, the reform will make it imperative for them to shift focus to those market segments that were largely unbanked and untapped hitherto. Furthermore, it is envisaged that the consolidation programme will have salutary effects on corporate governance practices in the industry. In concluding this discussion, it is important to reiterate that the realisation of these outcomes would depend on the effective implementation of the programme. In particular, it would depend on how the banks that have embraced mergers and acquisition handle the post integration challenges that will face them.Where these issues are nor properly handled, the anticipated synergy may become elusive.BIBLIOGRAPHY Central Bank of Nigeria, Annual Report and Statement of Accounts, (various issues. ) Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Annual Report and Accounts, (various issued) Statement of Mckinnon, R. I. (1973), Money and Capital in Economic Development Washington, D. C. : The Brookings Institution. Oboh, G. A. T. (2005), Sel ected Essays On Contemporary Issues In The Nigerian Banking System. Ibadan: University Press Plc.