Ha Jin †The Bridegroom Essay

Described as utopian in nature, the Chinese culture is often in pursuit for the perfect individual, a harmonious and structured society where the citizens as a whole create the ideal culture. In a collection of short stories entitled The Bridegroom, author Ha Jin documents this aspect of reality in homeland China. Primarily for the purposes of instruction and satirical verse, Ha Jin, shows how people are trying to find themselves in a society that focuses on the ‘whole’ of the country rather than the individual. He is able to interconnect this theme of individualism through four major stories in the book while presenting ‘Chineseness’ or satire of fictional verse as a way to focus on the changes throughout China and the political discourse that its citizens face. In the short story Alive, Ha Jin depicts individualism, or the loss thereof and its impact on a Chinese family. Headed to Taifu City to collect money at a coalmine, main character Tong Guhan develops amnesia after an earthquake devastated the community and impaired the memory of its citizens. Since the government felt that all people must work together for the betterment of the community, people like Guhan were forced to re-marry, adopt an orphan, and start a new life. For the Chinese government, this was a unique opportunity to create a new movement and â€Å"since this was an emergency [measure], love wasn’t taken into account; so long as the couple didn’t dislike each other, a marriage certificate was issued to them (29). Although as time progresses, Guhan happens to pass by the smell of dumplings and in a flash, instantly remembers his past life. At that point, he decides to return to Muji City where he encounters his original family. What can only be considered as satire, Ha Jin structures this story around wit in his literary style of writing. Who would conceive that the smell of dumplings could suddenly force an individual to remember the past? The amnesia and the government’s reaction to the aftermath of the earthquake show the loss of individualism. Furthermore, the dumpling’s echo Ha Jin’s desire to structure the story around unconventional circumstances and assert a sence of identity to Guhan’s character. The Chinese government was organized and wanted to do what they thought was right for the state as a whole. Unfortunately for Guhan, he was loosing his identity and individualism for the greater good of China. Abnormal behavior is never more apparent than in the story titled In the Kindergarten. When Shaona becomes the second child of her household, she is forced to live outside the city limits in a rural foster home. It is my assumption that Ha Jin is referring to the second child as a male since they are heavily praised in the Chinese Culture. The story depicts how children at a young age do whatever they want to do, inherit bad language and often misbehave. Social conformity and propaganda have yet to be ingrained, as quoted when Weilan, another student in the kindergarten is caught saying â€Å"Big asshole† (47) to another student, who in reply says, â€Å"Say that again, bitch! He went up to her, grabbed her shoulders, pushed her to the ground, and kicked her buttocks† (47). Compared to Alive, this story focuses on the Chinese attempt to secure conformity for all of its citizens. In my opinion, the Kindergarten story is what Chinese life is like prior to the events in the short story Alive. It shows the purity of children at an early age and how social norms are not necessarily inherited; they are learned. Main characters Beina and Haung Baowen join hands in matrimony as a marriage of convenience in the story, Bridegroom. Ha Jin uncovers the truth behind homosexuality in China and the need for Baowen to become protected under the guise of marriage to Beina. To the Chinese society, â€Å"Homosexuality originated in western capitalism and Bourgeois lifestyle. According to [our] law, it’s dealt with as a kind of hooliganism† (96). In this story, Baowen was caught in a club called â€Å"Men’s World† that was a type of salon that only admitted men. He was subsequently arrested and sent to a mental hospital to cure his supposed illness instead of serving a jail sentence. While in the mental hospital, Ha Jin structures the story around Baowen’s accounts of electro-shock therapy as a way to stop homosexual acts and maintain harmony and uniformity amongst the Chinese citizens. Ha Jin is specific about the torture when he mentions how â€Å"Baowen was noiseless in the electrified water, with his eyes shut and his head resting on a black rubber pad at the end of the tub. He looked fine, rather relaxed †¦ Then the nurse gave him more electricity† (106). Unfortunately, Haung repeated the crime of homosexual acts and was subsequently sent to prison. Ha Jin uses this brutal story to show how the government intends to mold its citizens into a ‘family unit’ or community. For the government, there is an image, or structure in which an individual is to conform to so that the community as a whole is structured. The irony is that there is no real mention or word for individualism although it is apparent that the oppressive social values that Ha Jin illustrates through the story of Baowen, shows how a government can undermine a person’s happiness and individualistic nature. In the story, Women from New York, Chin Jinli goes to America to seek a better life for her family. Unfortunately, her trip back to China is faced with the harsh realities of life under Communist China and their perception of American culture; believing that â€Å"Wall Street was paved with gold bricks† (173). Jinli’s family does not take well to her New York trip since she obtained money and wanted to get her teaching job back. To them, â€Å"She looked like a different woman, wearing a gold necklace, her lips rouged, her eyelashes blackened with ink, and even her toenails dyed red †¦ In a way, her makeup and manners verified the hearsay that she had become the fifteenth concubine of a wealthy Chinese man in New York City† (172). Fearing that she had disrupted the delicate balance of harmony, the Chinese government refused her job. Her family shunned her and at every attempt to be become re-acclimated, Jinli’s family looked at her as an outsider. Ultimately, Jinli found herself as an individual, counter to the Chinese, who were so encapsulated in a one-person, one-idea state. It is without notice that Ha Jin interconnects the four stories with fictional accounts of individualism and the struggle the Chinese people have gone through to maintain it, or even imagine it. Form the stores of Guhan’s dumplings, to the accounts of Baowen’s troubled battle of homosexuality, Ha Jin identifies the characters, shares their life story and defines a commonality all through the use of satire.

QVC Vision Statement

External forces of competition affect all companies and the television shopping industry is no different. There are many forces than can be grouped into a few categories: economic, socio-cultural, technological, and political-legal. These forces have had a major impact on the television shopping industry. QVC’s ability to understand their environment and adapt have helped them achieve success. Under economic forces, competition is a major component. The barrier for entry is low, so there is always the threat of new businesses.Substitute products also directly compete with QVC’s products and customer dollars. Other potent forces are changes in the supply chain. QVC must constantly be on the lookout for new products, while maintaining good relations and contracts with existing suppliers. The rate of growth of the economy will affect consumer spending which directly relates to QVC’s goods sold. Inflation is always relevant and can cut into a company’s bottom line. Socio-cultural forces are extremely important to QVC and the television shopping industry.Consumer preference and trends are vital to a company trying to meet the needs of its customers. QVC has adapted to recent trends by promoting its cosmetics, apparel, food, and toys heavily. QVC also has to consider what will attract customers to their channel. They incorporated the reality T. V. craze into their programming and it helped attract viewers and customers. QVC’s in-show appearance of designers has capitalized on designer’s current popularity.Other forces like growing health consciousness, and changing household composition, will be important factors for QVC as they try to understand their customers and improve their shopping experience. Technological forces are important to the television shopping industry for many reasons. In the internal environment, new technology can help improve infrastructure, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. The consumer’s con venience of purchase is crucial to people who shop off of their couches. Harnessing new technology will also help QVC stay in touch with the customer.With the evolution of mobile browsing, social media, and other media outlets, these forces represent a large opportunity to communicate with customers. Technological forces are also important to the shopping industry because firms will look to stay up-to-date on the latest products. If QVC can identify the next iPod-like product then they will reap the benefits of a massive consumer response. Finally, political-legal forces represent laws and regulations to the television shopping industry.There will always be laws and regulations in place that affect the manner in which a company does business. From QVC’s standpoint, they might need to follow certain protocol when describing payment options, or product specifications. Industry regulations are generally in position to protect the customer, which aligns well with QVC’s no hidden fees policy. QVC’s honesty with their customers will bolster their reputation and help them operate well within the guidelines set by the government.

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management Research Paper - 11

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management - Research Paper Example Idea generation is the fulcrum of a solid business plan. An idea is what makes a business go forward and that idea has to be brilliant and functional. This is the starting point; it can be because someone spotted a gap in the market or saw a flaw in the products already being sold. The development of this idea into a viable product or service is the key to a successful business. Including this part in the business plan is important as it shows where you got the idea from, it will also help other people judge how powerful the idea is and how far it can go. Strategic objectives are specific and well-defined objectives over a time frame; they tell you when and where the business’s condition is supposed to be. Some examples of these objectives can be: Increase revenues by 10% annually or Decrease expenses by 15% over the next 3 months. These objectives are essential as they provide guidance to the business. They also provide a picture to investors and other professionals on where the business will be after a certain time period. They are basically goals that will help the business move forward and they will always be a guideline to measure your results and performance against. Every start-up business will have objectives but it is also necessary to prioritize them, perhaps for a new business, it will be essential at first to be financially stable so the financial objectives come first. When the business is established the objective focus can be shifted to getting more customers in. It is always good to quantify your objectives as this way you will have data to measure against. The objectives should be balanced they should not be far-fetched, be attainable but at the same time be challenging enough to make the business move forward.

Children with special needs in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Children with special needs in Australia - Essay Example Most of the times, children with special needs from all over the world are deprived of education. It must be realized that they too need education as much as, or even more than, the children without special needs do. They need this education for the following reasons. Equal Right to Education. It is said that â€Å"education prepares individuals to be self-reliant and self-sufficient participants in society† (Rothstein & Johnson, 2010, p. 69). Children with special needs are already unable to do many things due to their handicap. They need to have, at least, the basic education to lessen instances of untoward further deprivation of â€Å"social, economic, intellectual, and psychological well-being† in the future (Rothstein & Johnson, 2010, p. 69). Their case, however, require a more intense educational techniques and strategies for them to reach their full potential. Improve their Focus. Normally, children are easily distracted. Children with special needs more often have worse cases. They lack focus and are inattentive most of the times (Bainbridge, n.d.). Special education instructors are packed with different ways to deal with this inattentiveness that can improve their focus while they are taught with reading and solving math problems (AutoSkill, n.d.). Many other academic progresses are told to be seen in children attending special education. Interaction. Being as they are, children with special needs are continually facing social issues that deny them the chance to interact with other people (Hart, 2009). When children are put in a classroom with other children with or without disabilities, they will be able to learn ways on how to react on different situations with other people. Children with special needs interacting with other children with special needs will improve their self-worth by seeing that their differences are accepted and it is fine to be who they are. On

Technical Definition and Description Assignment

Technical Definition and Description - Assignment Example â€Å"The suspension system isolates the vehicle from the shocks, bounce and vibrations due to irregularities of road surfaces. The automobile chassis is mounted on the axles through some form of springs. The spring oscillates due to the road shocks. A damper is provided with the spring to restrict the shocks. The damper is also known as shock absorber. The spring and damper collectively called a suspension system. So the suspension system acts as a filter for shocks.† (Suspension System) Very few people realize the importance of shock absorbers, shock absorbers mainly absorb the shocks produced on bumpy roads, suspension is solely responsible for controlling shock absorbers, suspension also controls the steering of a car giving the driver immaculate control. A weak suspension system can easily cause fatal accidents; suspension also controls the control arm which will be demonstrated in the following diagram. (How Car Suspension Works) Suspension system not only controls the s teering but it also controls the brake system, imagine the extent of damage a delayed brake can cause, this can easily be prevented by ensuring that the suspension system is in the best of conditions. There are several suspension kits available in the market but a lot of research is required before buying one. This again goes to show the importance of a suspension system. It is extremely important to regularly maintain a suspension system; a good suspension system makes road bumps and discomfort easier to deal with. A car with a poor suspension system will experience wear and tear much faster than a car with a decent suspension system. Vehicle noise is another factor which troubles several drivers; this again can be prevented by taking care of the suspension system. A car which has a lack of adequate shock absorbers will automatically start making irritating noises, a good suspension system will prevent all these problems from occurring, it will also prevent the unnecessary wear and tear of vehicle tires. To understand how a suspension system works it is extremely important to understand vehicle dynamics, magnitude, direction and vertical acceleration are three very important concepts, we would not require suspension should the roads be absolutely flat but roads these days are anything but flat. A small bump on the road is more than enough to cause fatal accidents; the following diagram will explain how the whole suspension system works. (How Car Suspensions Work) Road isolation allows the driver to driver smoothly even on rough roads, the energy on the roads is absorbed without causing much oscillation, road holding is another very important function, road holding ensures that there is contact of the tires with the road which is very important. The weight of the vehicle is minimized from side to side, so road holding is also very important. Cornering is the next important concept under suspension, it is important to know how a vehicle travels on a curved path , a centrifugal force directly acts upon the center of gravity of a car allowing it to travel on curved paths, the main goal of cornering is to shift the weight of the vehicle so that it can easily move on curved paths, all these important aspects are a part of

How is the use of body language different in humans and in animals Essay

How is the use of body language different in humans and in animals - Essay Example It can apply to many types of soundless communication, such as formalized gestures. (Wikipedia.) Animals, although not bestowed with the gift of speech, can effectively convey a variety of emotions, both within their group as well as with humans. Some examples of feline, dolphin and gorilla body language can be considered: Fear triggers an adrenaline rush, causing the cats back and tail to arch and the hair to bristle. This is mainly intended to dissuade potential attackers. When fearful, nervous and defensive, their ears flatten or twitch and their eyes dilate fully. Confident, aggressive cats in response to direct confrontations with intruders, narrow their pupils to slits for better depth perception and stare down their opponents, their ears stand up, facing forward or folded so that the backs are seen head-on. To create the illusion of being larger, an aggressive cat will approach the defensive cat in a prancing sideways motion with its rear end held high and tail slung low. (Animalplanet.com.) Bonobos, a subspecies of chimpanzees, are also adept with certain forms of communication. Research into non-human Great Ape language suggest that apes are capable of using human modes of communication to communicate with humans and other apes (Wikipedia.) In essence, although both humans and animals use body language to convey a variety of emotions, it can be said that humans have evolved from a time where body language was the sole means of communication, to the ability to speak and use body language at the same time to convey the meaning more emphatically. In animals, body language is one of the primary means of

Communication Plan Final Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Communication Plan Final Proposal - Essay Example In either way, the customer will be disappointed if the bug is removed and if it will be ignored (Best Game Productions, 2015). From the motto of the CEO â€Å"An ethical company is a thriving business†. To maintain the ethics of the company and to retain the consumer loyalty, the video game has to be released containing the bug. Eventually, the company will implant some measures to employ a technician who will work on complete removal of the threat. The stakeholders are requested to comply with the decision made by the management. Once they release the game in the planned period, the future games will be developed in a more advanced manner that bug will have no room. According to the ground rules of the company’s ethical code, it states explicitly on how to deal with the consumer and also upholding the business’s name (Best Game Productions, 2015). To instill honesty and integrity, the consumer has to know the truth about the effect that will result if they buy a product containing a

Discuss the banking regulatory and market framework in UK, address Assignment

Discuss the banking regulatory and market framework in UK, address thestrengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats - Assignment Example In 2009, collections for insurance premiums alone totalled nearly ?200 billion. The UK market for equities garnered 17% share of the global market in 2009, ranking only behind New York. Likewise, the fund management industry ranks among the world’s largest, managing some ?4.1 trillion for the year 2009. All in all, the financial services sector turned in the largest volume of corporate taxes for 2010, which comprised 11.2% of total tax receipts for the entire year. Contribution of output & employment to the UK economy from each financial services sector Financial Services Sub-Sectors Output (% of GDP) Employment Banking 5% 435,000 Insurance 2% 300,000 Fund Management 1% 50,000 Others including securities derivatives, commodities, and bullion 3% 208,000 Total 10% 993,000 Source: U.K. Parliament, 2011 Definition of financial stability The Bank of England is the statutorily designated entity to ensure the financial stability of the financial system of the UK, as pronounced in the Banking Act 2009. The specific definition of financial stability is difficult to delineate, because its context evolves over time. According to Adrian Coles, Director General of the Building Societies Association, articulated a definition for the proximate term, â€Å"monetary stability† in terms of a measurable objective, that is, the maintenance of a target inflation at 2%. In contrast, he highlights the elusiveness of the definition of financial stability: â€Å"How do we measure financial stability? How do we measure the success of the PRA? Is it one collapsed institution a year is okay but five, the Governor of the Bank has to write a letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer?† (Coles, in UK Parliament, 2011). This is one of the problems that must be faced if an agency is to be created and charged with the monitoring and maintenance of financial stability in the UK financial services industry. A consensus must be arrived at concerning its meaning, the extent to w hich it shall be achieved, the powers needed to ensure it, whether other policy objectives may be traded off for it, and in the case of the latter, how such trade-offs may be carried out. The most likely measures are to institute tighter measures to ensure increased capital ratios and improved quality of capital; however, these may only mitigate the dire effects of a crisis, not prevent them. In the past, however, the economic shocks used to emanate elsewhere in the system, such as in trade or business operations, and sometimes as a repercussion of unforeseen events, and then trickle down to the financial system. The recent crisis, however, emanated from a cause principally within the system, as a direct consequence of the actions of financial institutions, and then transmitted through the financial network by contagion (UK Parliament, 2011). In a market based economy, uncompetitive and inefficiently managed corporations should be allowed to fail: such is the position of the UK fina ncial authorities. In a stable financial system, though, other institutions should not be hard hit by contagion, or the adverse effects should be limited. The companies destined to fail should fail in such a way that it is the shareholders and creditors of the company that bear the risk of failure, not the public. â€Å"If necessary, an institution can be allowed to fail in a way that does not disrupt the financial system as a whole† (Treasury Committee, in UK Parliament, 2011). A major concern that must be addressed in the containment of contagion risks is the

European Business Environment Essay Example for Free

European Business Environment Essay Introduction This paper focuses on the enlargement of the European Union (EU) and its effects on external and internal relations. Taking into account the analysis and forecast presented before enlargement, it shows the real consequences of the development. The most essential consequences, as well as problems in part of decision-making and administration in the EU, social consequences of the enlargement, as well as the result of the possible economic enlargement of the on both existing member countries and new entrant countries. In taking into account the future of the European Union and the perception of regional European, the study specify that for the first time in many decades the EU has the opportunity to strengthen the global role of the society and reunify the continent supported by a common democratic standards and rules, a collapse in the process of European integration would mainly perhaps mean the gradual marginalization of Europe as a foremost actor of international associations. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of the bipolar order greatly affected the development of European integration. One of the main basic challenges was the disappearance of the Eastern Bloc, as the threat of the Soviet hostility served for many years as a amalgamate aspect for the Western community (Baun, 2004). The next challenge was the unification of Germany, as it was obvious for most of European countries that the prospect role and position of the united German state would be stronger and further important than that of Cold War-era Western Germany. At the same illustration, the European Union, formally established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993, had to respond to broader problems about its international target and the future shape. It was apparent that the European Union possibly could not have opened its door to nation that was unwary or unable to prove the good organization of their democratic governance. Additionally, the setback for the EU was that planed to outlook for the relationship served as encouragement for the new democratic organization in East-Central Europe to carry on their complex and socially troublesome reforms, the flourishing results of which became significant for the strength of the whole continent. The solution was the Copenhagen condition, explained at the summit of the European Council in Copenhagen in 1993. The rules placed general necessities for starting effective democratic organizations, respect for individual and minority human rights, and suitable instruments for promised market economy (Lindner, 2003).Upon meeting the requirement, the first candidates was capable of open the accession talks in 1998. Ten new members that united the European Union on 1 May 2004 completed these consultations in 2002. Jointly with the growth in 2004, the EU-15 developed into EU-25; after Bulgarian and Romanian accession on 1 January 2007, the coming together became the EU-27. The growth from 15 to 27 member states was the biggest in the history of European incorporation process growing the number of the EU population from about 380 to 485 million. The new states members were medium-sized and small countries, though; each of the new associate has achieved the same rights as existing members of the EU. The enlargement of Eastern has been the major difficulties in the history of European integration, not simply because of the number of new states member joining the European Union at the same time, but mainly because of differences in the level of the gross national product (GNP) involving the old and the new members states of the EU. An evaluation of GNP per capita confirms that the richest new members state have not go beyond 40% of the standard EU-15 level and much bigger asymmetry is opened by the evaluation with the wealthiest states members of the old union (Miles, 2004). In reality, earlier enlargement rounds, like the one in 1973, to comprise the Ireland, Denmark and United Kingdom the one in 1995, to include Austria, Finland, and Sweden, was accessions of states similar in economic improvement and wealth. Merely the membership of Spain and Greece in 1981 and Portugal in 1986 caught up the enlargements of countries, which were much not as good as at the moment of their accession than the standard member of the society. This led to a question of harmony between the poorer members and the rich, and needed additional financial contribution of the wealthiest member states to sustain political and economic transformation in the new member countries. Although the old member countries reacted with hesitation, they finally agreed to such assistance, being aware that it would support democratic transformation on the Continent and support to eliminate intimidation of instability for the whole society, while contributing to formation of the common European marketplace. Nevertheless the Eastern enlargement twenty years later on was incomparable in its unevenness of economic potentials and the interns of GNP per capita involving the old and the new members still with the Southern growth of the European Community (EC) in the mid-1980s (Nugent, 2004). This irregularity of enlargement collectively with fears in Western Europe about social cost, problems of intra-union administration as well as the continuing crises of EU characteristics have compounded the face of the Eastern enlargement years after the enlargement, these concern continue to distress the integration development, consequently it is worth focusing on a few of them. Even ahead of agreement, it was obvious that the Eastern enlargement from 15 to 28 members would force management and decision-making processes in the European Union, as well as the possible to paralyze or at least make difficult the mechanisms formed in the EU-15. Predicting the enlargement, the old members attempted to organize the internal decision-making systems to incorporate the new members. The Amsterdam and Nice Treaties broaden the scope of verdict to be taken supported on Qualified Majority Voting (QMV), as an alternative of harmony, and the Nice Treaty formed a specific majority system (Schmitter, 2004). It established each of the 27 members an exact number of votes gleaming its demographical potential. The major members of the EU France, Germany, Italy and the UK, were awarded 29 votes each, and the smallest states: Luxembourg 3 and Malta 4 votes, correspondingly. Poland, as the largest new member, was given 27 votes, the equivalent to the number as Spain. However, the rule of the accord has remained at as the foundation of all decision-making in the EU, particularly when it comes to critical political decisions. Even so, the caution of Taylor remained applicable as the effectiveness of decision-making in the distended European Union needed further internal amendment. The response was Treaty making a Constitution for Europe signed in Rome on 29 October 2004. The new agreement went comparatively far in its application, yet Netherlands and the France rejected the European Constitution in referendums and the last effort to improve the internal utility of the EU was the Lisbon Treaty signed on 13 December 2007. The Lisbon Treaty is in actual fact a series of provisions originally presented in the European Constitution. It has make things easier for the   EU’s legal procedures and has established the European Union a legal personality, as well as helping harmonization of the EU’s policies establishing the posts of the EU President and Foreign Minister. It reflects the objections of some members who strained the principal independence of the member states, resultant in the cut of most references that could advocate for the character of the European Union as a (super-) state, counting the initial names of the new EU council. As an effect, the new EU Foreign Minister has lastly become the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. However, the prospect of the treaty had been vague for almost two years, as its implementation required confirmation in all member states. After the optimistic result of the second Irish referendum on 2 October 2009, the president of the Czech Republic, the Polish president, Vaclav Klaus and Lech Kaczynski, finally decided to sign the Treaty. This permitted the Lisbon Treaty to come in into force on 1 December 2009 (Nugent, 2004a). The approach of the citizens in the new member states towards European incorporation has generally been optimistic. For instance, the effects of the agreement referendum in Poland demonstrated support for the association at 77%. After enlargement, assistance in Poland is still at a high level of about 70% (Preston, 1997). The Office of the Committee for European Integration, Warsaw 2009 all together, still, enlargement provoked serious worries among Western EU member countries. The forecast of the enlargement were a basis of anxiety among the populace in the old, wealthier counties members of the EU, as well as the fears of joblessness and huge immigration of employees from the much poorer states of East-Central Europe. Piotr M. Kaczynski specified that the new states were better organized for enlargement as they projected changes and were required to plan for membership. The older members and their societies only experienced the test of the Eastern enlargement on the day of new members’ agreement (Nugent, 2004b). This resulted in the distribution of fears and slogans about the â€Å"Polish nurse† or â€Å"Polish plumber† frightening for employment chances for local Western Europeans. Few in Western Europe left devoid of the benefits of the Eastern enlargement for stabilization, democratization, and union of the continent. Yet the Westerners worried that Eastern enlargement would establish   the questions of decision-making, management, asymmetry in economic potentials and as well as raise the requirement for a broader process of structuring mutual consideration between the two share equally of Europe divided for almost 50 years by the â€Å"Iron Curtain.† (Hagemann, Sara/De, Julia 2007) Still, there were numerous forecasts concerning the migration prospective. Some of them projected that the immigration from the new states would differ from 6% to even 30% of their total populace (105 million), but those more practical showed that the migration would be approximately 3-5% or yet only 2% in the longer time, taking return migration into consideration (Nugent, 2004b). In actuality, the Eastern enlargement has only in part established the fears of Western European civilization and its social effects have been less serious than projected. At the same time, it has established most of the scholars’ forecasts. In agreement with the data obtainable by Euro stat for the end of 2008, the total digit of the immigrants from the new states members has been approximately 1.7 million (Guà ©rot, 2005).This does not comprise session seasonal personnel, the number of which could be expected as an additional few hundred thousand with a propensity to sluggish down for the reason that of the current world economic disaster. The most frequent immigrants were Poles (Poland being the most crowded new member state) and Romanians operating mostly in the Ireland, Spain, and United Kingdom. Polish specialist have projected that the actual number of Poles operating in the old member countries of the EU has been at the level of 1–1.12 million (out of entirety 38 million of populace) with a possible of additional 0.6 million of seasonal recruits (Stacey, and Berthold 2003). These numbers may seem considerable, but it would be difficult to treat them as a massive influx of workers from the East. All in all, the trouble of migration from the new state member cannot be overlooked and will go on to play an important role in the opinion of euro-skeptics, but it emerge to be much less grave than originally estimated. This is accurate mainly in the situation of the current world economic catastrophe and increasing social protests adjacent to the foreign employment force in the UK and other principal states of the European Union. It may perhaps also persuade the old members to formulate informal efforts at protectionism, although the regulations of the free movement of industry and capital within the European particular market. One of the areas of debate before enlargement was the cost of the process. Yet it seems that the Eastern enlargement of the European Union has not been overly expensive, especially in comparison to the benefits. Several authors have concluded that in the longer term the enlargement would have small but positive growth effects on the whole EU, although lower in the case of the old members and higher with regard to new member states, with forecasts of an additional overall EU growth by 0.5 to 0.7%. However, it is clear that the main benefits of the enlargement are political ones, namely the opportunity to reunify the Continent and in this context, the costs of the enlargement were indeed low (estimated for the financial framework 2004-2006 at 40.16 billion euro, or 1.08% of EU GNP) (Faber, 2009). Though, looking at the differences in economic prospective and wealth-level involving the old states and new states members, it seems not possible to expect that their convergence would be attained in the short or even medium time. This implies a tough need for aiding funds from the richest states of the European Union for the improvement of the new state members. Therefore, the dilemma of financial unity between the poorest and the richest in the EU will turn into much more grave for the future of the Union than whichever time before, still after the Southern enlargement in the 1980s (Falkner, 1996). The narrow financial wealth at the Union’s disposal has led to discussion in the EU about its financial point of view. The member states take up two differing positions. France and Germany, as the leading donors, have grown hesitant to increase their assistance to the common EU budget. The financial discussions for the period 2007-2013 incorporated the demand of the major net-contributors to edge the EU resources to 1% of the Community’s GNP. The ultimate resolution accepted a maximum of 1.045%, but the indecision of the richest members to wrap the additional expenditure of the enlarged EU was understandable. The new state members, conversely, joined the EU with the hope of financial support and harmony. Knowing that their active growth depend on the kindness of the richest states of the EU, the new state fear that, the imposing idea of harmony might crash with the exaction economic interests of the main EU members. Such a distribution of the EU members into the center of the most urbanized and wealthiest nations and East-Central Europe as an edge could intimidate European integration. Yet even though the limited economic resources exist in the EU budget, the supporting of the new members states has been reasonable so far. Poland, for instance, as the largest recipient, is getting a net-assistance of â‚ ¬60 billion in the episode of 2007-2013, mostly in the form of structural and solidity funds. However, the most important concern is to keep this level of the help in the next financial agenda (2014-2020). This will be the main issue of the future discussion. The wealthiest and strongest states of the EU have well thought-out reducing some forms of support to new member’s states and support spending that would center more on new technologies, competitiveness, and innovation of the EU in the global economy. Even if it is apparent that the EU requires being more successful on the global prospect, it is evident that the financial capital available in the upcoming EU budget for innovation and new technologies would most possibly help the wealthiest state of the Union. The new states with their much poorer economies and less innovative will not be capable to struggle for this money. The new East-Central European members projected full-fledged contribution in the decision-making method of the EU, as well as value for their opinion, despite their imperfect economic potentials. But the political discussion just after the Eastern extension, which led into the new suggestion of the European Constitution and the Lisbon Treaty, were challenging for the new members states and tackle them with the perception of the new form of the European Union only a few months following their agreement. These circumstances were most difficult for Poland the largest country in the group of new states, however a medium-size state members in the EU with its ambition of playing an active political task in the European Union. In the case of Poland, which was to lower some of its recognized position in the EU exacted in the number of votes in a number of Union institutions, it was hard to clarify to people why the regulations of the membership must be altered so quickly after the agreement. Examining the first epoch after the Eastern extension, Piotr M. Kaczynski sustains that the economic outcome of the growth have been clearly constructive. The new state members improved quickly and much earlier than expected. Though, he finds that the political aspect of the enlargement is harder to review. After a first period of compliance, the new state members, particularly Czech Republic and the Poland, became more self-confident in the EU, which resulted to some quarrel between the administration of these nations and EU system. Equally Czech Republic and the Poland mainly reacted to the thoughts coming from the Western part of the EU. Their political program, if any, were typically poorly set and cast off (Steunenberg, 2002a). Later, after the enlargement, Poland and all new members comprehend more visibly that it is not only the amount of votes that make a decision their place and ability to pressure decision-making procedures in the EU. They have attained convenient experience and become more familiar with the actual political device, including the regulations of effective alliance building and cooperation. Dirk Leuffen has explained it as a progression of â€Å"socialization† in which the new state members learn how to deal with the informal and formal rules and standards in the EU. From his perspective point of view, this socialization should be well thought-out as a medium-term development ( Dirk 2010). The skill gained; during the five years following the enlargement appear to back up that the time of socialization will be shorter relatively than longer. The current Polish-Swedish suggestion of Eastern Partnership (Steunenberg, 2002b), to reinforce collaboration with several Eastern neighbors of the inflamed European Union, helped by the other members of the EU, demonstrate that new states can efficiently take part to flourishing program, or at slightly be significant partners of doing well initiatives offered together with some old states members. As consequence, the succession of the new states from East-Central Europe has not been as â€Å"detrimental† to the EU administration as it was at times recommended in Western Europe earlier than the enlargement. In conclusions, the effects of the Eastern enlargement on external and internal relations of the European Union have not been as â€Å"tragic† as it was occasionally feared prior to enlargement. The addition from 15 to 28 member nations, as well as the significant economic unevenness between old state and new state member have shaped some administration problems for the EU, but they have not busted it. The European Union ought to now focus on amplification of its present instruments and institutions. The new states have rapidly learned the Union’s regulations and procedures and to place political conciliation before majority of votes. Thus, the agreement code has retained its center value in the EU. The significance of the incorporation process is the vision of a new regional individuality based on resolution among the European countries. The Eastern enlargement has opened the way to a real unification of the continent. After the occurrence of two World Wars on its region, it behooves Europe not to lose this opportunity. Thus, harmony between the old states and new members remains the subject to a flourishing future of the society. References Baun, Michael 2004: â€Å"Intergovernmental Politics†. In: Nugent, Neill (ed.) European Union Enlargement. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 132-145. Blockmans, Steven/Prechal, Sacha (eds.) 2008: Reconciling the Deepening and Widening of the European Union. The Hague: T.M.C Asser Press Dehousse, Renaud/Deloche-Gaudez, Florence/Duhamel, Olivier (eds.) 2006: Élargissement. Common l’Europes’adapte. Paris: Centre d’à ©tudes europà ©ennes, Presses Sciences Po. Dirk Leuffen 2010. â€Å"Breaking the Camel’s Back? Eastern Enlargement and EU Governance.† ECPR Paper Number 853, Center for Comparative and International Studies, ETH Zurich, p. 6 Faber, Anne 2009: â€Å"Eastern Enlargement in Perspective: A Comparative View on EC/EU Enlargements†. In: Loth, Wilfried (ed.): Experiencing Europe. 50 Years of European Construction 1957-2007. Baden-Baden: Nomos, pp. 305-325. Falkner, Gerda 1996: â€Å"Enlarging the European Union†. In: Richardson, Jeremy J. (ed.) European Union. Power and policy-making. London/New York: Routledge, pp. 233-246 Guà ©rot, Ulrike 2005: †Consequences and Strategic Impact of Enlargement on the (Old) EU†. In: Brimmer, Esther/ Frà ¶hlich, Stefan (eds.): The Strategic Implications of European Union Enlargement. Johns Hopkins University: Centre for Transatlantic Relations, pp. 53-72. Hagemann, Sara/De Clerck-Sachsse, Julia 2007: Decision-Making in the Council of Ministers: Evaluating the Facts. CEPS Policy brief No. 119, January 2007, available at http://www.ceps.be. Lindner, Johannes 2003: â€Å"Institutional stability and change: two sides of the same coin†. Journal of European Public Policy 10:6, December 2003, pp. 912-935. Miles, Lee 2004: â€Å"Theoretical Considerations†. In: Nugent, Neill (ed.) European Union Enlargement. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 253-265. Nugent, Neill (ed.) 2004: European Union Enlargement. Palgrave Macmillan. Nugent, Neill 2004a: â€Å"Previous Enlargement Rounds.† In: Nugent, Neill (ed.): European Union Enlargement. PalgraveMacmillan, pp. 22-33. Nugent, Neill 2004b: â€Å"Distinctive and Recurrent Features of Enlargement Rounds.† In: Nugent, Neill (ed.): European Union Enlargement. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 56-69. Preston, Christopher 1997: Enlargement and Integration in the European Union. London/New York: Routledg Schmitter 2004: â€Å"Neo-Neofunctionalism†. In: Wiener, Antje/Diez, Thomas (eds.): European Integration Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 45-74. Stacey, Jeffrey/Rittberger, Berthold 2003: â€Å"Dynamics of formal and informal institutional change in the EU†. Journal of European Public Policy 10:6, December 2003, pp. 858-883. Steunenberg, Bernard (ed.) 2002: Widening the European Union. The politics of institutional change and reform. London/New York: Routledge. Steunenberg, Bernard 2002a: â€Å"Enlargement and reform in the European Union†. In: Steunenberg, Bernard (ed.): Widening the European Union. The politics of institutional change and reform. London/New York: Routledge, pp. 3-20. Steunenberg, Bernard 2002b: â€Å"An even wider Union. The effects of enlargement on EU decision-making†. In: Steunenberg, Bernard (ed.): Widening the European Union. The politics of institutional change and reform. London/ New York: Routledge, pp. 97-118.

Fixing the debt crisis in Greece Essay Example for Free

Fixing the debt crisis in Greece Essay Introduction: Central Idea: American officials exhorted their European counterparts to use Europe’s own resources to try to solve the crisis. Preview: Echoing past statements, Sarkozy and Merkel said banks should first raise money from the private sector before seeking state aid or money from the EU bailout fund. These issues must all be resolved, Merkel said. Its a painful process. Sarkozy stressed that the leaders are fully aware of their responsibilities, saying they have a moral, political and economical obligation to act decisively. The leaders are also working on how best to leverage the European Financial Stability Facility. The â‚ ¬440 billion fund, which was recently granted the power to intervene in sovereign debt markets and provide loans for governments that need to recapitalize banks, is widely seen as needing additional firepower. Its important to boost the emergency fund to protect the euro, said Merkel. But many EU governments have ruled out backing the fund up with additional loan guarantees. CANNES, France — President Obama plunged Thursday into the fast-moving European debt crisis, arriving here to exhort European leaders to get their financial house in order. But while the president hustled from meeting to meeting with world leaders, he was in many ways thrust into the rare position of bystander, as the unfolding drama over whether the Greek government would fall (it did not) and whether Greece would back the comprehensive accord to protect the euro reached last week (it will, at least for now) dominated conversations in the hallways and conference rooms here in this iconic seaside town. The grand Espace Riviera is more accustomed to red-carpet arrivals by movie stars and hangers-on for the Cannes Film Festival; on Thursday it was transformed instead into ground zero for blue-suited bureaucrats grappling with a financial crisis and the global contagion that it threatened. Instead of Angelina Jolie posing before the paparazzi, it was Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany holding a frozen smile as she greeted Mr. Obama in front of the cameras. There was little preening before the hundreds of reporters gathered from all over the world; President Nicolas Sarkozy of France quickly swept Mr. Obama into a meeting to discuss how to try to stop the unfolding Greek drama from turning into a tragedy, for global markets at least. Mr. Obama arrived early Thursday morning and, during an initial meeting with Mr. Sarkozy, he called the European financial crisis the most important task for world leaders gathered at the Group of 20 economic summit meeting. For Mr. Obama, the stakes are high. He has called the European financial crisis the largest headwind facing the American economic recovery, and he knows that his own re-election prospects are tied to how well the American economy does. But at the same time, his leverage is limited. In public, Mr. Obama largely stuck to his administration’s official message that Europe’s leaders must â€Å"flesh out details† about the plan they agreed to last week in Brussels to deal with the debt crisis in the 17 European Union countries that use the euro. But American officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, were huddled in private with their European counterparts trying to hash out an agreement that, at the very least, would stop the disintegration under way in Greece from spreading toItaly and Spain, a contagion that could further stymie America’s own anemic economic recovery. American officials exhorted their European counterparts to use Europe’s own resources to try to solve the crisis, instead of seeking bailout help from China. Obama administration officials point to the steps that the United States took to try to address its own financial crisis over the past three years. â€Å"Look, we went through this ourselves,† an Obama administration official said on Thursday, speaking on grounds of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. â€Å"They have the capacity to handle this within Europe.† Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said that the 2008 Wall Street crisis could provide insight on steps Europe should take. He maintained that the United States remains influential in advising its allies on how to deal with the problem, even if the United States is in no position to provide financial support. â€Å"The United States, obviously, has a great deal of influence, because of who we are and the role we play i n the global economy, and globally in general,† Mr. Carney said in a news briefing on Wednesday. â€Å"I would not discount the significance of the experience that we have in terms of its usefulness to the Europeans.† The Obama administration is not eager to see an increase in the resources sent by the International Monetary Fund to Europe; that might further mute American influence as the additional resources would most likely not come from the United States, but rather from Asia — and most likely China. â€Å"The I.M.F. has a substantial amount of resources to deal with a range of challenges in Europe and around the world,† said Benjamin Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser for strategic communications. Michael Froman, the deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, said the turmoil in Greece and uncertainty over how exactly Europe plans to carry out its accord to cut Greece’s debt and shore up its finances â€Å"underscores the need to move rapidly toward the full elaboration and implementation of the plan.† Specifically, Mr. Froman said that the United States wants to make sure that Europe has â€Å"a firewall that is sufficiently r obust and effective ensuring the crisis does not spread from one country to another.† Mr. Froman said the United States was also trying to make sure that attention was also paid to stimulating economic growth, both in Greece and throughout the euro zone. Part of the anger among Greek citizens has stemmed from a belief that the euro agreement focuses more on Greek austerity and repaying the banks than on growth, a balance that many people fear could lead to higher unemployment rates as the Greek government cuts public sector jobs to pay its creditors and stabilize its finances. â€Å"I think right now the highest priority in Greece is stabilizing the situation,† Mr. Froman said. â€Å"But the program that Greece has is also about reforming its system and engaging in structural reforms, so that it could become more competitive and therefore grow as part of the euro area.† NEW YORK (CNNMoney) Europes top leaders said Sunday that they were getting closer to finalizing a plan to solve Europes debt crisis. But with a final agreement not expected before Wednesday, the actual details remained under wraps. The technical complexities are significant, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy, adding that there are large amounts of money involved. The European Council, comprising government heads from all 27 members of the European Union, met Sunday in Brussels to hammer out a plan to boost capital levels for banks, enhance a government-backed rescue fund and provide debt relief for Greece. Speaking alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Sarkozy said in a midday press conference that the leaders had made progress on the ambitious and durable response to the long-running crisis. We would not be meeting on Wednesday if we were not really trying this time, Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told CNN. Meanwhile, Merkel noted that EU finance ministers had made progress over the weekend on a solution for capital-starved banks. In principle, the finance ministers have agreed to funnel about â‚ ¬100 billion into banks to boost capital levels. But Merkel added that strengthening banks without resolving the debt crisis in Greece and supporting other nations with unsustainable debts will not work. Europes debt crisis: full coverageEchoing past statements, Sarkozy and Merkel said banks should first raise money from the private sector before seeking state aid or money from the EU bailout fund. These issues must all be resolved, Merkel said. Its a painful process. Sarkozy stressed that the leaders are fully aware of their responsibilities, saying they have a moral, political and economical obligation to act decisively. The leaders are also working on how best to leverage the European Financial Stability Facility. The â‚ ¬440 billion fund, which was recently granted the power to intervene in sovereign debt markets and provide loans for governments that need to recapitalize banks, is widely seen as needing additional firepower. Its important to boost the emergency fund to protect the euro, said Merkel. But many EU governments have ruled out backing the fund up with additional loan guarantees.

Impact of Vibration on Curing and Strength of Concrete

Impact of Vibration on Curing and Strength of Concrete Scope Research Need: During its setting process, fresh concrete transforms from a flowable state, via a plastic state, to a final solid state that includes a large number of crystalline domains formed by ionically and covalently bonded atoms. Early-age concrete thus is vulnerable to vibration damages if the formations of the chemical bonds and crystalline domains are negatively affected, leading to reduced early and ultimate strength. Vibrations could come from a variety of sources, such as passing-by trucks, nearby vibratory soil compactors, and blasting or seismic impulses. As demanded by the fast construction paces today, such vibrations often occur adjacent to newly placed concrete, such as when a soil compactor is used during the placement of concrete for bridge foundations or roadway slabs. Being a pervasive issue that is related to construction speed and structural integrity, weakening of concrete by adjacent vibrations cost stakeholders millions of dollars annually. This issue is b ecoming more imperative recently, owing to factors such as new design concepts and changes in equipment and construction methods. In the current state of knowledge, however, there has been a surprising scarcity of assembled information on the subject of vibration impact on concrete curing and strength. There exists a large number of different stipulations regarding the nearest allowable locations for vibratory construction and earliest allowable time for vibratory construction that are currently practiced by the different transportation agencies across the country, mainly the State Departments of Transportation. For example, the earliest allowable time for vibratory construction ranges from a few hours to a week or so. The existing stipulations appear to build on different principles, including laboratory experiments, field observations, numerical simulation, and most commonly the borrowing from peer practitioners or close engineering and science fields, which are far from systemati c. Work of synthesis on the subject thus is needed to identify, describe, and evaluate the current state of knowledge and practices to benefit the construction of bridge decks, pavement slabs, and overlays. State of Knowledge: It is generally believed that concrete is most vulnerable to vibrations between the initial and final setting times due to the negative effects of vibration on the bond formations in this critical hydration phase. The setting time of concrete refers to the time required for cement paste to stiffen to a defined consistency, which is closely related to the initial chemical reaction of calcium aluminates of the cement with sulfates within the first few hours after cement-water contact. The initial setting time of concrete measures the time as cement paste starts to lose plasticity, and a minimum value is required to ensure the completion of transportation, placement and compaction of concrete. The final setting time of concrete records the time at which cement paste loses its entire plasticity, hardens sufficiently, and attain the cast shape at mold removal. At normal construction temperature, the initial setting time of concrete could come as early as 60 90 minutes and the final setting time could be as late as eight to ten hours. Current practices use two empirical methods, i.e., the Vicat Needle (AASHTO T 131 or ASTM C 191) and the Gillmore Needles (AASHTO T 154 or ASTM C 266) for determining the initial and final setting time. The strength of concrete can be reduced by vibration beyond its final setting time. It was reported that two-day concrete could lose as much as 9.1% of its 28-day compressive strength under continuous vibration from heavy highway traffic, while the loss of the 28-day compressive strength for 14-day concrete was within 3%. Realizing this post-setting phenomenon, stakeholders have specified conservative time limits before vibrational constructions near freshly cast concrete. As an example, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is considering to reduce such required curing time from seven days to five days, to enable more rapid construction while still giving sufficient time for concrete to obtain the design strength. If adopted, this modification undoubtedly will mean huge cost savings and convenience to the public. In addition, vibration seems to have different impacts on different properties of concrete. The same level of vibration can change the compressive strength of concrete by up to 13%, while reduces the tensile strength of concrete by 7%. Based on a study of vibration from highway traffic, the amplitude of vibration seems to be a more important factor than the frequency in causing damage. While a vibration of two Hz and three mm amplitude and a vibration of four Hz and three mm amplitude cause significant reduction in ultimate strength of concrete, the vibration had a negligible strength reduction at a one mm amplitude. To conclude, a synthesis work is needed to collect and evaluate the current state of knowledge and practices regarding the complex dependence of concrete quality and strength on the nearby vibrations. This work will be useful in the designing of both new and repairing projects, for more accurately determining the time needed before the start of nearby constructions and the allowable intensity and nearness of the vibratory sources. Information Sources ACI Manual of Concrete Practice (2015). American Concrete Institute. 2015. Research Results Digest 392. National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). Jan. 2015. Taylor, P. C., Kosmatka, S. H., Voigt, G. F. (2006). Integrated Materials and Construction Practices for Concrete Pavement: A State-of-the-Practice Manual (No. FHWA HIF-07-004). Federal Highway Administration. 2006. NCHRP Report 253. Dynamic Effects of Pile Installations on Adjacent Structures (1997). National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). 1997.

History :: essays research papers

Question 3: Triangle trade brought slavery to America and helped Americans get important commodities it could not otherwise obtain. In the short term, triangle trade allowed farmers, fishermen, and other businesses to export their goods and make money, also allowing them to import goods that they needed from England. Triangle trade was necessary because of the British Navigation Acts, which restricted trade on certain items. Triangle trade also came about because sometime around the 1730’s the English market had reached its saturation point with American goods. The English had no need for American products, but the Americans still needed money to buy the English goods. The answer was in looking to foreign markets. In the early to mid 1700’s triangle trade brought prosperity and important goods to the colonists. Triangle trade did indeed bring important commodities, slaves being one of them. Slavery is the most important thing that triangle trade produced. The issue of slavery continually caused tension between the northern and southern colonies/states until finally there was war. The issue of slavery divided a nation ironically named the United States. While on an issue with all low points there is one fact which stands above the rest, somewhat. Due to the fact that it was a longer voyage for the slaves to reach America they were much higher priced than in the Southern Americas, where slaves were considered expendable and worked until death. Accoridngly, slaves where considered important and treated much better in North America. Slavery is a low point in American history many will try to forget, but will be embedded in the minds of all. The Great Awakening was a time of spiritual revival from the bland, monotone speakers of the past. The new speakers were crazed with enthusiasm and used unheard of methods of preaching, which greatly upset â€Å"old lights† or orthodox clergymen. The Great Awakening caused the creation of many new denominations, preaching styles, and competitiveness in America’s churches. Jonathan Edwards was one of the first men to revolutionize the nation with these new preaching techniques. His most famous speech, â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,† gave a graphic depiction of what eternal damnation was like. He used an example of a spider hanging from its web over a fire to show that at any time you could die and be cast into hell. The other prolific speaker of the time was George Whitefield.

Kant Political Leader :: essays research papers

Kant held that nothing was good in itself except good will. In other words, no action, in and of itself, was either wrong or right. Only the motive of the actor lent the action its morality. If a person acted out of a vested interest (because of a possible consequence) then the act was non-moral—it had no moral implications whatsoever. But, if a person acted because she thought she was doing the right thing, then she was acting out of good will and the act was a moral act. In Kant’s view, actions have true moral worth only when they spring from a recognition of a duty and a choice to discharge it. For example, using Kantian logic, an advertiser who avoided untruthful advertising because he was afraid of getting caught and fined would not necessarily be acting morally. However, if the advertiser recognized a duty to his constituents to tell the truth, and that is the reason he didn't lie, then the act would be a moral act. Kant defined good will as the uniquely human capacity to act according to one's principles, not out of an expectation of potential consequences. In fact, Kant had learned through the writings of the Italian philosopher and royal counselor, Niccolo Machiavelli, that basing decisions solely on likely consequences could excuse any action, even the most abhorrent. In his famous treatise, The Prince, Machiavelli had proposed that any action taken by a monarch should be based on an assessment of the best outcome for the monarch himself. Under this guideline (which is also known as egoism), actions such as murder could be excused if they are in the best interest of the person making the decision. Like other Enlightenment theorists, Kant believed that human beings were endowed with the ability to reason, and reasoning would logically lead to an understanding of how to construct moral rules to live by. Rational beings would, then, logically abide by the rules they set for themselves. In this, he was in accord with the social contractarians. Rules arrived at in this manner would also become morally obligatory, and Kant saw obligation (or duty) as the overriding determinant of morality. He believed that we would recognize our duty when we saw it because we could reason, and reason would lead us logically to recognition. For Kant, there were two obvious types of duties: perfect duties and imperfect duties.

Study the short stories of both Raymond Carver and John Cheever

It is my intention within this essay to study the short stories of both Raymond Carver and John Cheever, in doing so I propose to address the theme of masculinity which runs throughout both of the author's stories. I shall do this by considering, among other things, such subjects as Post Modernism, Dirty Realism and social climate and how these are applied to the texts Boxes and Elephant, by Carver and The Season of Divorce by Cheever. The background in which both Carver and Cheever write, is very significant to the way in which both writer's male characters are emasculated within the stories. Carver was writing in the decade of the eighties, and as such Reaganite economics had much to do with the way in which the men lost their grip on the hunter gatherer stereotype which had preceded. The traditional role of the male shifted from heavy industrial work to more emasculated work, such as secretarial/office roles, and domestic captivity therefore diminishing their agency. On top of this many men became jobless due to redundancies concerned with this shift from a blue-collar society to a white-collar society, and so this domestic captivity was enhanced. It is such men who Carver writes about in his short stories. The men who have slipped out of this â€Å"traditional male breadwinning world† Cheever again, writes men relevant to the political climate in which he both lived and set his stories in. In the post war era of the fifties, the male role had begun to become redundant, as during the war women were compelled to do work which had been traditionally thought of as male, and as such the myth that women were not equipped to cope with such jobs, was dispelled. Therefore in the post war when all of the men came back from war, there was a new air of female liberation, which they had not had to deal with previously. Given this fact men became emasculated by the new found power of the female. We can see this treatment of masculinity within Raymond Carvers short story Boxes. The narrator, who unsurprisingly is never named within the story is captive within a suburban world of women and sears catalogues, in which he seems a spectator to his own life. This can be seen through the style of the narrative, in which there seems to be a collapse of male agency. Throughout the story the narrator, seems to be completely inexpressive of his feelings: â€Å"I don't know why, but it's then I recall the affectionate name my dad used sometimes†¦ (p. 25) The use of the statement â€Å"I don't know† permeates the text, and shows the narrators lack of voice compared with the expressiveness of the women who seems to surround his life. Contrary to a narrator's role, he seems to say or think very little, and it is in fact his girlfriend, Jill who has all of the active verbs in the story: â€Å"†¦ â€Å"this is what we want†, she says. â€Å"This is more like what I had in mind. Look at this, will you† but I don't look. I don't care five cents for curtains. â€Å"what is it you see out there, honey? † Jill says. â€Å"Tell me. (p. 25) This is one of the rare occasions when the narrator expresses how he feels about the situation, but he expresses it only to the reader, and again within the story itself he has no voice. Jill's use of the word â€Å"we† expresses her dominance over the narrators character, as it shows that she makes his decisions for him and that he is not his own person but has inescapably become part of a couple, from which he can no longer be distinguished, and as it is Jill who is in the driving seat, the narrator seems to have lost his identity altogether. It should also be noted that the way in which Jill addresses the narrator seems more befitting a pet or a dog than it does someone of equal stature and respect. We can see however through this that she does not regard him as of an equal stature to herself within the relationship, or even his life as a whole. Throughout the story the narrator has no contact with anyone of the same gender at all, except those who he sees through his window. It is significant that the men, whom he watches from a distance, always stand in stark contrast to himself. I. e. he is on the inside confined by a â€Å"five roomed cottage of his very own† (Boyd), and the real men are on the outside where they are free of the constraints of domestication. Also they are always doing something masculine, whereas when he is watching them he is always doing something feminine or is feminised in some way, for example a man changes the oil in his car while he, attempts to do something masculine by finding a roach and trying to smoke it while drinking a ginger ale. This scene is highly feminised in that he tries to do something masculine but falls short, because he simply has lost the ability to be male. So where a man would smoke a roach and drink a beer, he only attempts to smoke and drinks a ginger ale instead. The theme of feminisation permeates this novel and there are many other ways in which the narrator is disempowered, which I shall not go into. The image of suburbia however, is significant to this disempowerment as the surroundings represent, among other things the bland depredation of the characters lives. It also represents a highly feminised culture. One in which the sears catalogue is the coffee table equivalent of the bible, it is second nature to be house proud and for miles around there is no refuge from the reminder of the life, in which the characters of Carver's stories live. Within another of Carver's stories Elephant, we can see masculinity and the role of the male portrayed from the point of view of a man desperately trying to hold on to the shred of power which he has, rather than succumb to powerlessness as the narrator of Boxes did. The main theme of Elephant is that of the breadwinner, however within the story this role is taken for granted, as all of his family emasculate the narrator by taking advantage of every male role that he could be classed under, as husband, father, brother, and son. Each of his family guilt trips him into giving them money except his ex wife, who doesn't need to, because it is the law that she gets his money. â€Å"That's four people, right? Not counting my brother, who wasn't a regular yet. I was going crazy with it. I worried night and day. I couldn't sleep over it. I was paying out nearly as much as I was bringing in. You don't have to be a genius, or know anything about economics to understand that this state of affairs couldn't keep on. I had to get a loan to keep up my end of things. That was another monthly payment† (p. 80) We can see from this that the narrator refuses to let his grasp of the role of breadwinner go easily, even although he does not have the ability to sustain such a role. It is the fact that the narrator is trying so hard to maintain some sort of control, that his family are taking for granted, and conversely it is this â€Å"control† which is emasculating him. The brother, plays a very important role within the story, and as such I believe that this is why Carver chose to make him stand out from the rest of his family, as more obnoxious and more amoral than the rest of the narrator's family, the reason being twofold. Of all of the narrator's family the brother is the only male to whom he is not obliged to help, and therefore the narrator grudges him more than the others. He has been emasculated by all of the women in the story, and his children, however his brother seems more than anyone to have picked up on this and be jumping on the bandwagon, and this creates a tension as the narrator feels that as a male adult he should also be a breadwinner. More importantly, however is the fact that his brother epitomises the failure of the traditional male position in life, which he fears more than anything, and as such he resents being confronted with his worst fear. Within this story, we are not given so strong a representation of suburbia, as we are within Boxes, however what we are given is a post modern minimalist image of the narrators life, in which there is very little reference to his surroundings at all. When we are given a glimpse of his surroundings however, it is a very sparse image: â€Å"I didn't bother to lock the door. I remembered what had happened to my daughter but decided I didn't have anything worth stealing anyway†¦ I had a TV but I was sick of watching TV. They'd be doing me a favour if they broke in and took it off my hands† (p. 8). The strength and impact of the story lies in the fact that there is very little to say about the narrators own life. It is empty and devoid of meaning so in order to have some use in life he feels the need to continue on his breadwinning path to destruction. The narrator lives in an emotional suburbia. Through this use of Dirty Realism to create an image of a life so futile and empty that it is barely worth living it at all. But the characters do, and it is because of this futility that many of them attach importance to minor things, such as the type of curtains they want to put up. As I have said earlier, like Carver, Cheever also portrays a portrait of the suburban American man as defeated and emasculated, and we can see this well within his short story The Season of Divorce. Within this short story traditional American masculinity, and the freedom to be a sexual predator, is displaced by the role of the husband and father and commitments to family life. The first two words in the story are â€Å"my wife† and this sets a trend for the rest of the story, in which the narrator is first and foremost part of the family unit, and secondly, if at all, a man. The main plot of the story, is about the way in which the narrator deals with another man attempting to usurp his position as husband, however the way in which Cheever has portrayed these events, creates a reversal of roles, as the man who tries to usurp his position is not put across as very predatory, and it is the narrators wife who is in the position of power. She is flattered by the attention and allows the situation to escalate. It seems that Ethel is in the male gendered role and both her husband and her suitor portray the female reaction to such occurrences: â€Å"At nine o'clock the doorbell rang†¦ e seemed distraught and exhilarated when he appeared†¦ ‘I know that you don't like me here, I respect your feelings†¦ I respect your home, I respect your marriage, I respect your children†¦ I've come here to tell you that I love your wife'†¦ ‘get out' I said. ‘you've got to listen to me'†¦ ‘I know that there are problems with custody and property and things like that to be settled'†¦ ‘get out of her, get the hell out of here' He started for the door. There was a potted geranium on the mantelpiece, and I threw this across the room at him, hitting him in the small of the back†¦ (p. 190) We can see from this passage that the reactions of both of the men, Trencher coming to talk rationally to him, and the narrator screaming and throwing a potted plant at Trencher, are both instinctively female reactions to such a situation. I believe that it is through the suburban surroundings in which they have been immersed that they have come to lose sight of what it is to be male and as such have become homogenised to the femininity of a suburban life, in which all that really exists is a home life. In conclusion, it seems that each of the central male characters within these stories, all seems to have the same fleeting moment of epiphany, in which they realise the futility of their life, but then they forget what it meant and continue on with their lives, convincing themselves that they are happy. In a typically post modern manner both authors seem to draw heavy reference from their own lives and I believe that it is because of this that both Cheever and Carver seem to be protesting against this feminisation and downfall of the traditional American male. Carver however, I believe is much more negative about the downfall of the male role, as he always ends his stories with the feeling that there is no hope: â€Å"what is there to tell?†¦ they leave the light burning. Then they remember, and it goes out. † (p. 26) Whereas Cheever in the end always reverts to a blissful ignorance on the part of the male character, and everyone lives happily ever after†¦ or do they?

The Scarlet Letter

The minister hips himself â€Å"Laughing bitterly at himself the while, and smiting so much MO re pitilessly, because of that bitter laugh† (120). Timescale is miserable and pathetic that while he is torturing himself for his sin, he laughs at himself. By laughing bitterly at himself If he shows weakness and knows how pitiful he is, understanding that he is a true disappear ointment to everyone including himself. Though with all this torture it â€Å"Typified the constant NT introspection wherewith he tortured, but could not, purify himself' (120).These punishment TTS reveal the examination of Damselfly's mental and emotional processes, which explain his constant internal struggle. After he tortures himself, Timescale is still not purified. H e can only become wholesome when he exposes the sin to the townspeople. In the forest scene, Timescale decides to run off with Hester, but on the path home his mind becomes controlled by the evil. While passing by young Puritan children, the minister had to restrain himself from â€Å"uttering certain blasphemous jugs sections† (179).Timescale wants to teach them unholy words. By doing this he is corruption g the minds of these innocent, pure children when he is supposed to be a role model for them. As a Puritan minister, Timescale would never be having these thoughts, he was a different man. T he minister had â€Å"Stupefied all blessed impulses and awakened into vivid life the whole brother hood of bad ones† (182). Timescale was tempted by a dream of happiness that he became too eager envisioning a better life than the one he has now.All of his â€Å"blessed senses† had become â€Å"SST updated†, and he is not thinking the way he was before. By using the word â€Å"vivid† it makes the BRB therefore of all the bad impulses more clear and striking. Timescale is now startled at him self of thinking these thoughts and quickly tries to recover himself. Damselfly's confession in the l ast scene on the scaffold is the action that pr vides his salvation. The minister stood on the scaffold with a â€Å"Flush of triumph in hi s face, as One who in the crisis of acutest pain, had won a victory' (209).He has a triumph express Soon on his face in which he appears that he had just accomplished a great victory and achieved .NET. During the time when the minister had kept his sin a secret, he was a miserable man, who WA s pained and distressed from the guilt of suppressing the sin from the rest of the townspeople pale. However, now hat Timescale has confessed the sin his wretched self can now be freed FRR mom the torturing remorse he went through, and can now finally come clean.The minister then finishes his sermon by saying † Had either of these agonies been wanting, [He] had been lost for e eve (210). He is saying his final goodbye, and says that God had brought him there to die in trip unmeant shame in front of all the people. God gave him the burning mark on his chest, and the d ark and terrible Chlorinating to always keep the torture redroot. Without any of these agonies s Timescale would have been lost forever, God's will has been done. Timescale had pop red his heart into this sermon, using all his energy until his spirit departs. The Scarlet Letter I would like to focus on the key points with adultery which is the consequences for adultery all around the world, religion and the media. To begin with, different areas around the world consider adultery to be illegal and other places do not. Adultery's. Org cites that consequences of adultery can be between divorce, criminal actions or even silver lining (â€Å"Adultery Laws†). Just in the united States, our states treat adultery different. Slate. Com notes that Colorado, Georgia, Nebraska and North Dakota andUtah punishes the married person when committing adultery. Also, the District of Columbia, and Michigan says that if the man is married and he commits adultery with a unmarried women he is guilty but if the women is married and she commits adultery with an unmarried man than they are both at fault. In Massachusetts, Michigan, Idaho and Oklahoma treat adultery as a felony. Then in Pennsylvania the adulterer is punished two years in prison or eighteen months of treatment for insanity Acidulate†).Knowing that there are many diverse types of consequences of committing adultery can be valuable especially when Hester Prone committed adultery and she was looked down upon and judged. In my perspective, Hester could've gotten treated worse, such as living in Pennsylvania where you go to prison for a couple years or eighteen months of getting treated for insanity. In Europe, between the fifteen and sixteen century, they would be put in court by the church which would impose good morals.

Literature As A Revolutionary Tool For American

In tandem with literacy, literature has become one of the leading vehicles for social criticism in American history. It amplifies the author's voice, reverberating it throughout the nation, molding the history of America by changing the opinions of the people on certain issues. It can induce cries of hope and merriment, like John Winthrop's sermon A Model of Christian Charity, which speaks about the optimistic prospect of America as the â€Å"City upon a Hill† (Winthrop, 84). But it can also elicit the noticeable cries viciously pointing out the ignored flaws embedded in this â€Å"more perfect union† (U.S. Const. Preamble)†the existence of slavery, racism, ethnocentrism and the absence of gender equality. While reading this textbook, it is important to keep in mind the question of intention†why a certain piece of literature was written and why during that particular time period and not another. In any case, major movements in American literature leading up to the 19th Century are not arbitrary or random; they are all interrelated by a cause and effect, wherein one movement inspires the critical response of another.The arrival of the Puritans in the sixteenth century brought religious literature into the New World, more specifically ermons such as John Winthrop's A Model of Christian Charity, which grounded the principles required for this infant colony to become the â€Å"City Upon A Hill† (Winthrop, 84). Winthrop's sermon was an implicated work of criticism towards the European structure of society, where social class and bloodline would inherently determine a person's fate in life.Winthrop modeled prospective America according to everything the Old World was not†it would be a country where the â€Å"riche and mighty should not eate up the poore, nor the poore,† (81) where the people â€Å"must love one another with a pure hearte fervently†¦ eare one another burthens†¦ [and] not looke only on [their] ow ne things, but also on the things of [their] brethren† (83). This model appealed to the serfs and peasants of Europe because it promoted equality, a concept not unfamiliar but unattainable to the people belonging to the Old World.Although inequality established by the Old World caste system would later be abolished in the New World, gender inequality still remained to be a prevalent form of inequality amongst the people†notice that Winthrop calls out for equality among the â€Å"brethren† (83) and not â€Å"sistren,† which is the female equivalent of it. Over two centuries later, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter would be published in 1850, criticizing the gender inequality within the glorified Puritan â€Å"Model of Christian Charity. Hawthorne points out this flaw by having Hester Prynne, the woman, repent for her sins by public shame and ostracization whereas Dimmesdale, the man, can successfully conceal his sins, albeit it at a great cost in the end. This disparity between the experiences of the opposite sex point out the imperfections within Puritan society as well as society in the 19th century. On the topic of inequality, ccompanied by women were black slaves who received the shortest end of the stick of equality.Following the American Independence in 1774, early 19th century American literature mainly comprised of political documents such as The Declaration ot Independence ot 1776, which was written witn the intention to â€Å"petition tor redress† (US, 1776), which in this case would be independence from the British Crown. The document itself is a social critique on the monarchial system of the British Empire. By listing the â€Å"history of repeated injuries and usurpation† (US, 1776)) inflicted upon the American Colonies, the drafters of The Declaration ofIndependence are explicitly condemning the tyrannical Imperial System that dominated Europe and the Kingdom of Great Britain throughout history. Almo st a century later, the emergence of abolitionist sponsored slave narratives in the 19th century allowed for the direct critique of America's hypocritical claim that the British Crown†the â€Å"Tyrant†Ã¢â‚¬ was unfit to be the ruler of the â€Å"free people† which†later emphasized†excluded the black community.While the fourth of July is often associated with the Joyful celebration of independence, in the perspective of prominent African-American abolitionist Fredrick Douglass, the fourth of July is eferred to as the particular day â€Å"that reveals to [the Negro]†¦ the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim [of]† (Douglass, The Fourth of July). The â€Å"Fourth of July is yours [the white citizens], not mine [the blacks]† Douglass said in his 1852 speech â€Å"The Meaning of July Fourth to the Negro. His statement summarizes the fact that the basic rights the whites were born with were not considered as ri ghts or even privileges for the blacks†free or enslaved. Fast-forward to post civil war in 1983; Mark Twain publishes Pudd'nhead Wilson, a tragic comedy criticizing the lack of ights given to slaves. In the conclusion, the creditors of the Driscoll estate claim fake Tom as their â€Å"lawful property' (Twain, 122). This reference to â€Å"property' can be viewed as criticism towards the Supreme Court Case Dred Scott v.Stanford in 1857, where Judge Taney ruled Scott, the slave, as property and therefore cannot be freed, despite setting foot on a free state, because it would be depriving a person of property without due process or Just compensation which violates the 5th Amendment. The comic tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, then, serves as a critical pprobrium directed upon the inequitable ways in which the slaves were treated. The philosophical movement known as transcendentalism began its short, but impactful lifespan during the 1820s and 1830s.Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Dav id Thoreau are among the renowned icons of the transcendentalist movement. The transcendentalist movement began as criticism towards society and its institutions†particularly organized religion and political parties. Influenced by Romanticism, the transcendentalists respected the individual spirit and the natural world, believing that divinity was present in nature and each person. In his essay Self-Reliance, Emerson compares an institution to the â€Å"lengthened shadow of one man† (Emerson, 26).Self-Reliance circles itself around the idea of Individualism where â€Å"imitation is suicide† (20), so this comparison suggests that organizations teach principles based on the ideas of a single person, forcing everyone else to conform to the ideas of a man other than themselves†a concept condemned by transcendentalists. Transcendentalism also included the core belief that all men were inherently good†a belief that would later breed a completely different g eneration of writers. Herman Melville was among the writers who advocated ealism, the antithesis of all things romantic or transcendental.His novella Bartleby tells the story of a scrivener named Bartleby. Like Thoreau, Bartleby is a passive resistor. However, while Thoreau argues that his act ot passive resistance trees him, Bartlebys passivity provokes the narrator to confront him, and ultimately, his refusal to accept authority results in his self-inflicted death. Furthermore, although Thoreau considers solitude as his most â€Å"companionable† (Thoreau, 88) companion, Bartlebys loneness was the cause for his boss' comment on his â€Å"incurably forlorn† (Melville, 9) ppearance.The key difference between transcendentalism and realism isn't very far fetched†one is optimistic while the other is realistically grim†while Thoreau's passive resistance liberates him and allows him to fully express himself, Bartleby's passive resistance only affirms the authorit y and control that society has over him. Although the motives for social criticism may vary over the decades, the overall purpose of literature is to act as a vessel for social criticism in order to spark movements†for better or worse† in an otherwise monotonous society.

Ambedkar Open University (BAOU) Essay

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University (BAOU), Ahmedabad was established in 1994 by the Gujarat State Legislature. It is the seventh Open University in the country in terms of their establishment. The University offers 72 programs with an enrolment of more than 1, 00,000 learners. The University has established regional centre on the campus of South Gujarat University, Rajkot and has initiated the process of another establishing regional centre on the campus of North Gujarat University, Patan. It has jurisdiction over the whole state of Gujarat. The main objectives of the university are to advance and disseminate learning and knowledge by a diversity of means, including use of any communication technology and to provide opportunities for higher education to a large segment of the population. The university encourages the Open University and distance education system in the educational pattern of the State. The university is open to all persons irrespective of classes, castes, creed or religion. Education is an important situation all over the world, and is maybe one of the most forgotten topics in the underdeveloped countries. This is the main reason why they don’t contribute to the progress of their own countries. Education is a human right, and as a fundamental right it is the responsibility of governments to provide it. The most important thing is that education influences human development, economic growth and the fundamental requirement for democracy. It is important in a country to invest a big part of the profits in education, because in many countries, governments prefer to invest in weapons without thinking that they should give another direction to the resources from the military where war and win are the most important thing. The government is blind, and they want to see first in the outside than in the inside, when there are more important things to fulfill like basic needs including food, clothing and shelter. Another important reason why it is necessary to invest in education is because children are being prepared to be poor laborers, just as the people years ago. Instead of preparing them for the future, they have been sent to the past with obsolete laws. There is a big necessity for programs that can teach the responsible use of resources, because without the right knowledge these people without education could be wasting a lot of resources and at the same time could be contributing to an unsustainable development. When speaking of development, the role of women is important in these processes, because in the countries  with the highest levels of human development it is declared that they offer equal opportunities and gender equity in their societies. It means that women can reach high positions, and they can do many of the things that were restricted to them a few years ago. When people see†¦

Buy vs Renting Research Paper

Buy vs Renting Research Paper Housing Decision: Should we rent or own a house Sugandha Amatya Narayan Deshar Rajesh Maharjan Suman Shrestha Bibek Tulachan Table Of Content (Jump to) Background Should Mr. X stay in a rented house or buy a house? Calculation of Rent Calculation of Cost of Buying House Calculation of Value Appreciation of Property Analysis of Gain or (Loss) between Staying in Rented House or Buying a House Conclusion    Background The Decision Problem The home ownership analysis to follow is intended to represent as realistically as possible as 2014 current market conditions in the areas two core cities of Kathmandu: – Jahmsikhel and Harisiddhi where the price is relatively low comparing to the first one. A quick survey/sampling of property in several housing areas in Jahmsikhel indicated that a house with market value of Rs 3.1 corer could be rented for approximately Rs 60,000 per month and the house with the market value of Rs 1.01corer in Harisiddhi could be rented for appro ximately for Rs 20,000 per month. Assuming that, there are two couples, each with Rs 40,000 per month. All two have the same gross income in salary and the filing status for income tax purposes. The first couple, designated as Owners,† purchases a home. The second couple, Renters†, decides to rent. The home buyers (Owners and Capita lists) are married and file joint returns. (Their income will be itemized later.) The market costs of their houses at Jhamsikhel is 3.1 corer and in Harisiddhi its 1.09 corer. (For tax purposes in Jhamsikhel Rs 75000 per year and for Harisiddhi it is allocated Rs 18,750 per month for the building.) In addition to that for the building insurance for Jhamsikhel @ 0.12% Rs 1500 per month and Rs 750 per month, Rs 5000 per month at Jhamsikhel and Rs 2000 per month at Harisiddhi, for maintenance cost at Jhamsikhel Rs 3000 per month and at Harisiddhi Rs 1000 per month is allocated. The Renters invest their Rs 20,000 in a money fund that yields 6% yearly. They reinvest the interest income into the fund each year. In the initial year, the Renters pay rent of same amount which is not changed of Rs 20,000. Throughout the 20-year period of the analysis, all variables increase annually at the 6% annual inflation rate. These variables include the couples’ salaries, loan service charge, and loan processing charge, property valuation charge, and mortgage loan payment, building insurance premium, maintenance cost, electricity, water and other utilities costs, depreciation on building, property tax and rental expenses. When discounting after-tax cash flows, we use a 6% interest rate that represents these couples’ market interest rate under inflation. Research Methodology: Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. Once can also define research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific topic. Methodologyis the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study, or the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a branch of knowledge. In short, the search for knowledge through objective and systematic method of finding solution to a problem is Research Methodology. Research Objectives: The main objectives of conducting the following research are as follows:

Are juvenile transfer laws effective and does it deter recidivism Research Paper

Are juvenile transfer laws effective and does it deter recidivism - Research Paper Example Recently many of the states have established many laws to that expands the scope and purview of the transfer laws under which the juvenile offenders may be directly prosecuted within the realms of an adult court. It was during the 1980s that many legal reforms were framed to bring in stringent measures as regards juvenile crime. One such reform of great significance was the amendment of transfer laws that led to an increase in their jurisdiction (Griffin, 2003). These changes allowed the inclusion of more offense types, and resulted in an increase in the number of young offenders becoming eligible for transfer from juvenile courts to the adult courts. These amendments elevated the total number of offenses that were regarded as being transfer-eligible offenses, lowered the necessary minimum age limit for allowing transfer eligibility, broadened discretionary powers of the prosecution, while decreasing the discretionary powers of the judiciary in taking decision related to transfer cas es (Fagan and Zimring, 2000). A look at the amendments made in the state transfer laws show us that, in 1979 14 US States had transfer laws that allowed certain juvenile criminals to be prosecuted like adult criminals. However by 1995, we find there were 21 States with transfer laws in place, and in 2003, the number rose even further, where 31 States had transfer laws (Steiner and Hemmens, 2003). Furthermore the minimum age for end of juvenile court jurisdiction in 13 states were decreased to 15-16 years (Snyder and Sickmund, 2006, 64-70). In the face of these amendments, the number of juvenile offenders tried in adult criminal courts and later imprisoned in adult prison... The paper tells that evidences from the study of the general deterrent effects of juvenile transfer laws are rather inconclusive and one cannot arrive to any derivations from these studies. The majority of the studies however tend to show that there is very little, or almost zero general deterrent effect, as regards deterring recidivism in the context of juvenile crimes, which are serious in nature. More research work is necessary for exploring the actual deterrent effects of transfer laws, under the appropriate conditions, on the juvenile offenders. On examining the issue of specific deterrence effects of transfers laws, it was found that were primarily six major published studies. These six studies suggested that juvenile offenders tried under adult criminal court laws tend to exhibit increased rates of recidivism after completing their prison term, than the young offenders tried under the juvenile laws. The scholars however do not clarify whether the transfer laws influence recidi vism for property related crimes (non-violent types) and drug offenses. The six large-scale studies conducted on particular deterrent effects used large size of sample population (ranging from 494 to 5,476), varying research methodologies, examined various recidivism measures, and covered five States (Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Florida) each exhibiting varying sets of transfer laws (prosecutorial, automatic, or judicial types).