Jessica Victim or Villian

Within the content of this essay I will be discussing about two main characters in this novel. Jessica and Shylock. Jessica being the daughter of Shylock with both following the Jewish religion. However Jessica passionately falls in love with a Christian man Lorenzo, she is very determined and enthusiastic to be with this man. To such an extent that she would leave her religion and her father to become a Christian and follow her desires. Your probably be wanting to know a bit more about these characters well let me briefly explain in regards to both of Shylock and Jessica’s characters. Firstly Jessica, she has a very enthusiastic and opinionated character and like I previously mentioned she is very determined so if she wants something she will strive until she gains what she wants. You can also perceive Jessica to be a shy self- conscious character who cares what others think about her. Shylock from what we have gathered from the book so far is a greedy, self-obsessed man who cares a bit too much about his money and gains more than the things which matter more. The things which more attention should be paid to. In Shakespeare’s book and this particular one (The merchant of Venice) you will see that there are different ways of interpreting things different sections which can mean different things. In this evaluation I will be doing that. I will be equally evaluating Jessica’s character and I will be interpreting the book in 2 different ways a victim and a villain. And it will be up to you to decide how you perceive it. The first way which the audience can interpret Jessica’s character is as a victim. This is shown in the book in many ways some of which are; when it is said by Jessica ‘I may be a daughter to his blood, but I am not related to his lifestyles’. This quote shows how Jessica is showing how she is totally distinctive to her father and although she is his daughter this does not mean that they both hold the same qualities and characteristics. Jessica does not want to be related to his lifestyles as the quote mentions. This could be because she resents the way he treats others and the way he is malicious and evil towards other people. But the audience would probably think he’s only evil to them because of the way he is treated by others. Yes I would agree but it is not only others he treats badly, it is also his daughter. Furthermore throughout the amount we have read so far there has been a number of times when Shylock has slandered his daughter and he has said ‘I would my daughter be dead at my foot’. This is the quote that stood out to me because no father would ever wish or say that they would want their daughter dead at their foot. That clearly indicates how much love Shylock has for Jessica. (Not a lot). And when you think that this is something Jessica’s father has said behind his daughters back I dread to think what has been said face to face between them. So his self-centred character makes Jessica the victim, the self -centred man who cares so much about his wealth and silver forgets the fact his daughter has gone and abandoned him. In Act 3 Scene 3 when Shylock first discovers that his daughter has gone away with his wealth his first acknowledgment in fact the first sentence he says is ‘Oh,oh,oh! One of the stolen diamonds cost me two thousand ducats in Frankfurt! This is what kind of man I have been explaining in the above two paragraphs one that is having a big frenzy over his wealth and about all the stolen diamonds and its high value. This sums up his unloving selfish character. Also the stress of his voice in this can be imagined. There are two exclamation marks so you can imagine him talking in a very intense antagonized fearsome voice with firing rage and at the same time very astounded that his daughter has taken his possessions. Moreover the same interpretation of Jessica being shown as a victim. However this time I will not be referring to the way Jessica has been poorly treated by Shylock I will be referring to a different point that being; that the money the jewels everything which her father possess would be inherited to his daughter after his death. So really all which Jessica did steal is all that is hers. So I don’t understand why Shylock was as furious. As he knew it would be hers someday but it was just sooner then he had expected. And because of this reason I feel that it was out of order to say what he said about Jessica when she was entitled to what she has stolen. And at this point in the story we don’t know whether the jewels had been stolen. It could be perceived that she had borrowed from her to then return but we don’t know! So because the audience do not know and Shylock did not know I felt that it was very biased for us to Judge Jessica on that like Shylock did. Now I am moving on to the second interpretation, which is regarding Jessica to be the villain which is another way which the audience can perceive Jessica to be. Jessica can be portrayed as a egotistical, inconsiderate character especially towards her father as she ran away with his money and Jewels which he worked hard to gain. It was already hard enough for Shylock being a Jew and not being able to attain money as freely as others and Jessica totally disregarded this factor and went off with his money. And yes Shylock may have had his faults but let’s be honest Jessica was quite disloyal breaking her father’s trust in the worst possible way. In the novel Shylock says ‘Listen to me Jessica lock my doors up’ here Shylock clearly states to lock the doors and not to open them again she broke this trust and as well as opening the doors to engage with a Christian she then went and stole all his money. This was a total betrayal of trust, and considering all she had done her father was quite reasonable. In addition to show Jessica’s evil villain like character. I would like to point out how I feel Jessica forgot the fact the Shylock was bringing her up on her own without a mother without anyone else he was bringing her up on his own. He clothe her fed her sheltered her gave her everything she possibly needed and for what? For Jessica to change religion, steal run away with a Christian man. Also she was very blind to the understanding of how the Christians loathed him because of their prejudice towards his religion. They spat on him, kicked him, called him a dog. And regardless of this ill-mannered treatment she left her father to be disgraced on his own with no other defender by his side. This was very egocentric of her and she should be very ashamed of what she has done to her father. After he has done so much for her alone. In conclusion, I would like to address what I feel about Jessica’s character. I feel that Jessica was a villain she was totally perfidious to her father. She was blinded from reality and to notice that he had been badly treated. If it is that she did notice and decided not to do anything then she was being totally selfish and heartless. But that is my opinion different people have different opinions. In addition the audience could view Jessica to be either a villain or a victim. There are equally as many points for each showing she is and is not a villain. So it is totally up to the reader to decide whether Shylocks greedy character made Jessica the victim, or if Jessica’s betrayal to her father made her a villain. It’s up to you to decide, but you may find that as you get into the novel these opinions may change.

Harlequin Enterprise Mira Decision

Harlequin enterprise had a competitive advantage in the women’s romance fiction genre up until the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Harlequin faced steady loss of share in a growing women's fiction market due to the popularity of single title novels. It is costly to imitate but to stay competitive I would recommend that Harlequin perform a limited launch of Mira by re-developing titles in their back-list and generating direct-to-reader sales through the Book Club, while it explores global distribution and marketing relationships. The Mira decision is great way of gaining new grounds but there are numerous issues surrounding it. First, competitions are fierce and there is great deal of threat to its potential in the U. S market. The agreement with Simon and Schuster at the end of romance wars may not be sustainable. If harlequin launches Mira in direct competition with S&S it would be very difficult considering harlequin is dependent on S&S for the distribution of its series titles within the U. S market. If Mira is pursued, harlequin would have to redevelop its distribution chain and its value chain within U. S. Harlequin’s brand loyalty is strong due to its readership base. This is evidenced by the direct-to-reader Book Club, which currently provides 3/8 of US Sales at significantly higher margins than indirect sales. With this value, harlequin should proceed cautiously but look towards reducing external threats and external opportunities. The Mira decision could be the solution to increase sales. With harlequin’s reputation of producing high quality books, Mira could be successful. There’s a great deal of risk involved in this investment, with significantly higher cost for production, distribution and marketing and considering harlequin’s inadequate expertise outside of the romance realm. As with the 1987 worldwide case, I believe harlequin could learn from their mistakes and be optimistic towards their future.

Most Interesting Day of My Life Essay

But, culture is something that you cannot actually see, except through its physical manifestations in your work place. Culture is especially influenced by the organization’s founder, executives, and other managerial staff because of their role in decision making and strategic direction. Culture is the behavior that results when a group arrives at a set of – generally unspoken and unwritten – rules for working together. Culture is not usually defined as good or bad, although aspects of your culture likely support your progress and success and other aspects of life. â€Å"Employees learn the culture of their workplace by seeing how people react in various situations and by understanding what is important to management by observing what they do (more than by what they say)†. â€Å"Culture is made up of the values, beliefs, underlying assumptions, attitudes, and behaviors shared by a group of people†. How employees learn culture? Culture is transmitted to employees in a number of ways . An organization’s culture is made up of all of the life experiences each employee brings to the organization. The following points is more significant in learn culture. * Stories * Rituals * Material symbols * Language Stories: Stories such as these circulate through many organizations. They typically contain a narrative of events about the organization’s founders, rule breaking, rags-to-riches successes, reduction in the workforce, relocation of employees, reactions to past mistakes, and organizational coping. These stories anchor the present in the past and provide explanations and legitimacy for current practices. The stories reflect what made progress and what it will take to continue that success.

Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Letter - Essay Example In the research paper, I will argue that the increasing fire outbreak cases in America are as a result of poor or lack of effective measures vital in preventing and dealing with fire outbreak cases. Ultimately, the cases of fire have had a detrimental impact on the safety of individuals and the economic growth of the country. The research paper will incorporate issues like fire prevention, the prevention of rapid spread of fire as well as the provision of resources including fighting equipment in the outbreak of fire. Consequently, I will dwell on the safety of individuals in the case of outbreak. To carry out my research, I will utilize various resources including periodicals, books and the internet as well as case studies relevant to the topic to decipher critical and vital information in relation to current statistics and cause for the predicament. I am particularly aware that it is unethical to utilize someone else’s work and ideas as my own as this will be an act of plagiarism, therefore, throughout my research on fire safety issues, I will utilize proper APA citation as per the project

Paper 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper 5 - Essay Example us that his â€Å"home is beyond the mountains† (144) but he is not; he is in the white man’s world a world where trees are planted in â€Å"military rows† (144) and although all living things are beautiful â€Å"it is the beauty of captivity.† His prison is the â€Å"bluff of being civilized† a place where he has â€Å"to do everything [he doesn’t] want to do† a place where he â€Å"never [does] anything† he wants. (144) The narrator of â€Å"She’s Free’ on the other hand, is a negro and has lived life in a white man’s world as a slave subjected â€Å"by law †¦[to] torture and chain† (line 1) solely because of the color of her skin, â€Å"the hue of her face.† (line 2) Thus her enslavement is existent and tangible – she bears the signs of â€Å"bondage and blood †¦ scourges and chains,† (line 7) whereas the Indian bears no physical signs of enslavement and is allowed t o move around and exist without abuse, in his view he is imprisoned â€Å"dancing to the strings of customs and traditions.† (144) Both narrators seek escape from their imprisonment, he by returning to his homeland and people and she by escaping and running away. The difference however is that he is escaping to the familiarity and safety of his family and his people but she, â€Å"with her arm on her child† (line 3) is escaping into the unknown world where â€Å"the danger was fearful [and] the pathway was wild.†(line 4) She is resolute in her journey preferring to be free from oppression even though her future is unknown; she is determined and tenacious in coping with what may come before her â€Å"poverty, danger and death she can brave† (line 13) for the freedom of her child, â€Å"for the child of her love is no loner a slave.† (line 14) The Indian however is not so unwavering. Although still â€Å"twenty miles from home† (146) he begins to feel concern and â€Å"afraid of being looked on as a stranger by [his] own people.† (146) He states that he doesn’t fit in either world, â€Å"certainly not

Business Environment and Public Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Business Environment and Public Policy - Essay Example Apart from these emissions, man's industries also went ahead towards emission of various other gases that resulted in decreasing ozone layer and the protection built that nature has built around the earth. The natural causes that encouraged life on earth were getting destroyed by these artificial sources. Global Warming is a much talked about topic, discussed in many international and national forums, so much so that people have come to accept it as a part of life which is very dangerous. The effects of global warming is still in the laboratory; so is the cause of global warming and the extent to which it will affect human life and the environment. This paper tries to explore the various effects, the lobby that has helped to build up the needed hype to draw attention to the issues. Finally, we also analyze the reasons behind the Global Warming and the methods to counter it and the need to counter it (Global Warming, 1999).. Global Warming is due to what is known as the Green House effect. The green house effect occurs because of the reason that the emitted carbon monoxide and the associated gases that are hot rise to the top of the atmosphere and do not allow the heat of the earth to radiate and lose itself. This results in the green house effect and the global warming. There are a number of contributors to the green house effect. ... More and more work is being done and research carried out to say yes or no on the issue of global warming. But it is very true that there are carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide emissions that are affecting the atmosphere and its constituents. The global warming is observed by some of the indicators listed below. 1. Diseases. With an increase in temperature, the bacteria and the virus seem to be breeding themselves out. This would increase the outbreak of various diseases new and old. An increased number of disease outbreak would also indicate an increased temperature in the air. 2. Early arrival of spring, heavy rains, floods and snowfall are all considered as a result of global warming. 3. Droughts at other places and forest fires that devastate vast extents of forest areas. 4. Bleaching of coral reef, sudden change in animal population and change in their range of operation. All these point to a rise in temperature in the atmosphere leading to a global warming. There are also people who provide an opposite view of the global warming. According to them, (Consumer Alert, 2000) there are evidences that would substantiate their claims that there are no noticeable Global Warming or something that mankind should be working overtime on (Jason Lee Steorts, 2006). 1. Temperature of the atmosphere has been measured using the satellite navigational temperature measuring meters which resulted in noting that there are no significant raise in the temperature in the last 18 years. There is no global warming as is being portrayed. 2. Nearly 98% of the gases that are emitted and that cause green house effect are not effluents of the industries or manufacturing. They are mostly natural sources mostly water vapor that contribute to the greenhouse

Cat's Cradle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Cat's Cradle - Essay Example However, a successful military asset, the machine on the other side had destructive impact to the environment as it could destroy the whole nation’s water supply. This would then lead to the eventual demise of any water body. In the end, Hoinekker’s search for truth ended up with an invention presenting pending threat to the entire humanity (Vonnegut 22-25). After the invention, the scientist comes to terms with the reality that scientific quest for the truth does not in any way result to the solution of human problems. According to Vonnegut, science main aim is to discover new problems to humans rather than discovering solutions.However, scientists have never come to realize the injustice that they are doing to humanity because of their obsession with the pretext of discovering the truth. The writer through the referring to Jonah presents religion as more relevant and less dangerous when compared to science.However,religion does not lack its fare share shortcomings and paradoxes though they are mild when compared to those of science. Religion derives its usefulness not from its ability in telling or finding the truth but from its function in giving people elaborate lies to believe in. Similarities between Bokonon and Jonah come in the ability of both to offer lies that make human beings feel better. Religion is able to achieve this within the people’s destitute nature and lack of purpose. Jonah despite pending disaster gave people home and even went as far as declining to take God’s message of destruction to the people of Nineveh. The core theme derived from Bokononism is that it is the responsibility of man to give life meaning necessitated by the fact that it inherently has no meaning.Bokonon therefore exploits this avenue to provide people with one lie after the other so long as they continue making people feel better. It prevents people from identifying with the truth of Hobbes

Chasing Che Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chasing Che - Research Paper Example Another theme well presented in the book and one which will be focused on in the paper is the theme of poverty that is very widespread from the text and brings itself out on many occasions. Coming back from medical school, Che had had a very great life and enjoyed each day that he had spent studying. This was not only because he was very steadfast but also from the fact that everything that he had needed and was using was availed to him readily1. There was water in abundance and he used to have a very reputable and diet food. This was sure to keep him healthy and delighted all the time. However, the situation changed as soon as he was through with his education and went back to his home town. The area was a mess and he found it very hard to cope with the conditions there. The change was rather drastic for him and his friend and thus they sat down and devised a plan on how to get the conditions back on track. Che thought it through as he carried on his day to day activities back at ho me and with the help of his close friend decided to take a trip across the country in an effort to bring back the so much required revolution. The essence of the revolution was so as to get the economic condition of the country stable so that the adverse conditions of his village could reduce significantly if not come to an end2. The poverty in the country is brought to focus when the effects of having the fuel for the journey as quite a large hustle. This is clearly defined in the manner through which Che complains of lack of enough money to travel throughout the country. Che was a very instrumental man and had decided to give up everything for the success of his journey. The fact that as trained doctor he was having problems with finances was a clear indication of how deplorable the conditions of the country were. When he had left the hometown, he was very sure that with proper education he would gain employment but this was not the subsequent case. Fidel Castro was the leader of Cuba at the time. He was a very corrupt head and did not play by the book but rather went on his own way as he continued ruling the country3. His corruption was witnessed from the manner through which people from his country varied greatly economically. A section of people dwelt in palaces and expensive mansions while another section of the people actually survived in areas that were overcome by poverty and did not have all the resources that they required. The corruption was as much as he did not actually care anymore what the people thought but rather went on to live his life in a fancy manner. The people stated to be living lavish lives were close friends and family of the leader. The uneven spread of resources made other places become poorer than others and this was the major reason as to why Che set out on the journey in an effort to change this. Che decided to take a motorcycle ride all around the country without caring a lot of whether he would succeed or not but rather all t hat he wanted was to have in mind that he had tried his best. The theme of poverty clearly shapes itself from the first few kilometers that Che and his friend took while navigating the country. This was because of the vast amount of problems they had with

Collective Bargaining Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Collective Bargaining - Essay Example Collective bargaining is the bargaining or negotiation taking place between an employer and a group of workers so as to determine the circumstances of employment. These negotiations occurring, results in a collective agreement. The employees are represented by the union leaders at the negotiation. Federal and state laws govern collective bargaining. When federal and state law overlaps, state laws are enforced. (collective bargaining) Collective bargaining can also be defined as a tool used by people to end a conflict, in a way that both parties can have the benefit from negotiation. It is widely used in organizations to settle various issues between the employee and the employer. It is a technique in which the negotiation taking place between two parties, result in an official or unofficial agreement. It is a process of the human resource system in which the employee or their representative take part in the discussion with the higher authority or the employer and put forward the claims and the demand of their co-workers. Collective bargaining has served as an important apparatus for providing a democratic organization to the employees where they can barter with the employer for their basic needs. It has helped solving many organizational issues like reducing inequality, increasing pay rate of employees and improving the organizational environment for employees. It is the system which gives the authority to a skilled worker to put forward his demand at the industrial level. This system was the result of the influence of the rapidly advancing organizational structure, which also illustrated the importance of the rights of labor. EXAMPLE: Some workers or employees have to carry pagers during the off-duty hour, in order to respond to the emergencies. As the result of collective bargaining agreements, all the employees carrying pagers during the off-duty hours were given extra pay of five weeks,  whether they are paged or not. If an

Digital Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Digital Business - Assignment Example the businesss life-cycle, though it may comprise a wider array of proficiency such as e-mail, cellular procedure, societal medium, and handsets as well. Digital trade is typically considered to be the business aspect of e-business. It can comprise of the switch of data to facilitate the advancing and recompense aspects of industry relations. This is an proficient and competent way of associating within an organization and one of the utmost valuable and useful ways of conducting trade. If you have a position store, you are limited by the geographical zone that you can serve. With an ecommerce location, the whole world is your playing arena. Additionally, the influx of mcommerce, i.e., ecommerce on mobile phone appliances, has scattered every remaining control of geography (Safko and Brake, 2012). Physical skill is driven by brand and relations. In addition to these two compounds, online trade is also motivated by passage from exploration mechanisms. It is not peculiar for consumers to track a connection in exploration mechanism consequences, and resolve on an electronic trade site that the people have not learnt of. This extra supply of traffic can be the tip plug for some ecommerce businesses (Safko and Brake, 2012). . In this venture we wish to set up an e Commerce website that will be involved in the renting or hiring of cars. The website in mind is similar to zipcar.com. This venture involves putting up cars around the busy areas of life for example shopping malls and Airports. The rationale behind the venture is as follows. First and foremost it is cheaper than buying a car. Secondly it is more convenient to have a car waiting for you where you land than having it shipped to you in the case of travelers. It is convenient to use since you are going to be responsible for the car only when you have it. You have a wide selection of cars to choose from: meaning you are not limited with only the ones present in your drive way. I chose the ecommerce platform to

The Effect of “Publish or Perish” Motto on Academics Essay Example for Free

The Effect of â€Å"Publish or Perish† Motto on Academics Essay Retailing, warehousing and producing knowledge are the core missions of the academic scholars in the universities. Universities warehouse† knowledge through libraries; they disseminate or retail knowledge via their teaching function; and they produce or â€Å"manufacture† knowledge through research (Hunt, 2000). In order to accomplish these missions, namely to enhance the production and dissemination quantum of the knowledge, governmental institutions and university administrations use incentive and reward systems (Bloom et al. , 1988). These systems present in most universities acknowledge publications and citations as the evidence of scholarly achievement and necessity for promotion, grant, and tenure (Darko, 2003). However, incentive and reward systems in academia were considered to lead a publish or perish syndrome by keeping the academic staff under pressure (Bloom et al. , 1988). On the one hand, these systems lead to a an increase in the quantity of books and papers (Bloom et al. , 1988); on the other hand, the quality of the generated knowledge may decrease since the academics aim to reach maximum number of publications (Nyilasy et al., 2007). As it is seen, these systems have both advantageous and disadvantageous. In this context, the objective of this paper is to analyze whether the incentive and reward systems have institutionalized a restrictive approach to knowledge development or they enhance and encourage the producing of the knowledge. On the other hand, it will be tried to compare the Turkey’s current academic environment with the other countries in the context of ethical academic behaviours. THE OBJECTIVE OF ACADEMICS  Marketing as a university discipline has several responsibilities such as; to society, for providing objective knowledge and technically competent, socially responsible, liberally educated graduates; To students, for providing an education that will enable them to get on the â€Å"socioeconomic ladder† and prepare them for their roles as competent, responsible marketers and citizens; to marketing practice, for providing a continuing supply of competent, responsible entrants to the marketing profession and for providing new knowledge about both the micro and macro dimensions of marketing; and to the academy, for upholding its mission of retailing,  warehousing and producing knowledge, its contract with society of objective knowledge for academic freedom, and its core values of reason, evidence, openness and civility (Hunt, 2002, p. 306). In parallel with this view, Irele (1993, p. 74) claimed that â€Å"A university has three functions to perform which are to conserve knowledge; to advance knowledge; and to disseminate knowledge. It falls short of the full realization of its aim unless, having provided for the conservation and advancement of knowledge, it makes provision for its dissemination as well†. It can be revealed from these statements that, production and dissemination of the knowledge are two of the core missions of universities. Knowledge produced by academic researchers tends to be distributed to the discipline through research books, journals, academic conferences, training and development courses ((Bloom et al. , 1988; McKenzie et al. , 2002; Nyilasy et al. , 2007). However, according to the American Marketing Association (as of now AMA) Task Force on the development of marketing, academic researchers do not produce and disseminate enough publications (Bloom et al., 1988). Furthermore, there is a dissemination problem that academicians are not successful in disseminating the knowledge they generate (Nyilasy et al. , 2007). In order to overcome these problems and increase the production and dissemination of knowledge, and also to become more competitive, university management boards apply incentive and reward systems (Bloom et al. , 1988). INCENTIVE AND REWARDS SYSTEMS At first sight, the incentive and reward systems may be seen well functioning that it leads to increase on knowledge generation and motivate the researchers. However there are several disadvantages and side effects of these systems and in the literature the outcomes of these systems have been criticized by several authors under the â€Å"publish or perish† mantra (List at al. , 2007;Bloom et al. , 1988; Nyilasy et al. , 2007; Brennan Ankers, 2004; Darko, 2003; Remus, 1977; Gad-el-hak, 2004). One of the best explanation of publish or perish doctrine made by P. Van Den Berghe (1970, p. 87) as â€Å"Publishing has become a compulsion. The average academic author does not write because he has something to say, because he hopes to contribute to knowledge, or because he has fun doing it; rather, he writes and publishes in order to improve his vita. This document is frequently the only thing about him which his colleagues will ever read; it is the passport to academic success; and, beyond the routine acquisition of a Ph. D. , published titles are the main ornament of a vita. On the other hand, there are some alternative views such as Blunt (1973) claimed that equating not publishing with perishing is an over dramatization of the present condition. In fact, in this context incentive and rewards refers to â€Å"tenure† and â€Å"promotion†. Namely, in order to get a tenure or promotion to the more senior academic positions it is essential to publish books, academic paper and be cited (Blunt, 1973). In addition, Remus (1977) claimed that publication is one of the most essential criterion for gaining tenure and promotion in a highly competitive academic environment which Remus defined this environment as a treacherous dog-eat-dog world metaphorically. Since AMA (1988) claimed that publications in the marketing field is not enough and there need to overcome the impediments in order to increase the quantity of the publications. The AMA assessed several suggestions to motivate the researchers; the researchers must be provided large scale funding source and faculty release time for their research; the average revision time of the journals must be decreased as much as possible, thus further expenditures of time and effort of both reviewers and authors will be prevented; special workshops and consortia must be supported related to the need of the researchers. To sum up, this system is very effective and advantageous in order to motivate the researchers and achieve a maximum number of publications. However, there are also some disadvantageous and side effects of this system. In the next section the negative effects of this system will be criticized. SIDE EFFECTS OF INCENTIVE AND REWARD SYSTEMS As discussed in the preceding sections, the system puts the researcher under the pressure of publishing more and more books, journals and conference papers. The strong and undesirable incentives motivate especially the young academics through knowledge development (Blunt, 1973). However, it is extremely short-term in orientation and the system discourages risk-taking in the development of new ideas, discourages investment in long-term projects on significant issues, and instead encourages minor improvements in establishing ideas (Bloom et al. , 1988). On the other hand, the young academicians have started to publish books without getting enough wisdom in a particular field (Gad-el-hak, 2004). When the researcher’s age and experience increase, they provide fewer contributions to the journals. The AMA stated the possible reason for this situation as following; (1) A sense that the rewards for research and publication have been less than expected or are simply insufficient to justify additional effort. (2) A cumulative frustration with the competitive review processes of the major journals of the field. (3) An increased need or desire for outside income during the middle years of ones career. (4) An increased capability to undertake activities that hold higher personal value (e. g. , teaching, consulting, administrative positions) than does research and writing(Bloom et al. , 1988, p. 4). Another important issue affected by the system is the quality concern. Publish or perish philosophy makes the researchers give more importance to the quantity of the publications rather than quality (Lofthouse, 1974). In order to get a tenure or promotion, most researchers focus on publishing as much as they can, even sometimes they use â€Å"cut-and-paste† to reach their goals. Furthermore, to fulfil the increasing demand for publishing papers, everyday more and more journals enter the academic market. Thus, there have been the journals stratified into several quality categories which fits different quality papers (Gad-el-hak, 2004). However, since journals are peer reviewed they can preserve their quality in balance (Bloom et al. , 1988). The quality concern is emerged in book publishing as well and probably more noteworthy that there is no need to be reviewed which makes it easier to publish a book than a journal article accepted (Gad-el-hak, 2004). Gad-el-Hak (2004) provided some extreme examples related to the quantity of publications. The first one is a dean of major school of engineering listed 52 papers that he wrote just in a year which equals to publishing a paper every week. In the second example, a professor was introduces at a meeting as the author of 80 books in his 20 year career which is equal to a book every three months. Citation documents the ? ow of information and the links within and among disciplines or other units of analysis (Goldman Grinstein, 2010). The number of citations is a dominant criterion for promotion, salary increases and funding. It also will determine to what extent the individual researcher is seen as a thought leader. On the other hand, it is an indicator of quality, innovativeness and contribution of the publication to the science. Therefore, the researchers try to maximize the number of times they are cited (Verniers, 2010). However, except the articles published in top journals which represent the core of a discipline, most articles receive few or no citation (Van Dalen Klamer, 2005). Also some researchers use make citation unethically. For example, authors generally do not actually consult some of the references they cite, some authors add references at the completion of a research because they support the researcher’s arguments or findings authors often reference well known authors in order to add credibility and prestige, and that misquotations of what is actually written in the references are prevalent (Goldman Grinstein, 2010, p.1389) As Hunt (2000) claimed another mission of academics is the retailing the knowledge in terms of teaching. However, since the â€Å"publish or perish† motto force the academics to focus on publications, especially the young academicians give less emphasis to the teaching function (Blunt, 1973). On the other hand, this motto also affects the relationship level between the practitioners and academicians. Brennan and Ankers (2004, p.  511) claimed that â€Å"It seems clear that although academics would like to get closer to practitioners, they are inhibited by institutional factors, such as academic reward systems and the â€Å"publish or perish† culture†. Since the Publish or perish culture suppresses the academics, they are tempted to perform unethical behaviours such as copying research, faking data and statistics, intentionally leaving out erroneous findings (Van Dalen Klamer, 2005). (List et al., 2007) made a research on this topic and proved that some researchers have falsified the research data; also they became co-authors of the papers without contributing. In addition, Remus (1977) very clearly identified the publication tricks as following; Joint Author Trick, colleagues write papers independently, and they add his / her colleagues name to the paper. Thus, in average both get more point. Experimental Trip trick, in some cases the academics force the students to participate in experiments. Thus, they can set up experiments in a very short time and free of charge. Graduate Student Gap, Graduate students perform great effort to show him qualified, so the academics may use them for library research, analyze and write up the data, or to find new creative research topics. Senior Author Trick, sometimes the junior academics use the name of senior, well-known authors in their studies without their contribution to publish their articles in top journals and books in quality publishers. Kitchen Sink Trick, since the data gathering phase is time consuming, they may use the same data more than once for different articles. In order to overcome the side effects of the publish or perish concept, Gad-el-Hak (2004) offered some suggestions such as; resumes submitted to promotion and tenure committees should be limited to listing only 5–10 the most significant publications; co-authors should contribute meaningfully to a publication and no name should be added merely because he or she is a member of a research group, or worse, the head of the group; journals should publish their impact factor and it should be an important consideration when libraries decide which journals to drop; Completed book manuscripts should go through peer review before publication. PUBLISH OR PERISH SYSTEM IN TURKEY In this section, as an academic member in a university, I will express my observations about the functioning of publish or perish system by comparing with the outside of Turkey. There is an incentive and rewards system in Turkey as well. For example, In order to apply for an Associate Professor position, academicians have to get at least 6 points by publishing books, articles, conference papers and being cited (UAK, 2012). In addition, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) makes payment for the articles published in top journals in order to motivate academics. However the side effects in terms unethical academic consequences of the system is very similar to the other countries. Probably, one of the most important factors is they are assigned many courses to teach and also they are charged with administrative work load. The most common unethical behaviours in Turkey are plagiarism refers to stealing from other authors’ publications without citation and permission, duplication which is publishing the same or similar papers in different journals or conferences, Fabrication which is making up unreal results and publish, and Salamization  refers to slicing up one research in more or less identical papers (Ruacan, 2008). As indicated in the AMA task force report (1988), most of the senior academicians slow up researching and publishing, instead they mostly focus on consulting to the private sector companies, administrative functions, organizing conferences in their most productive period in Turkey as well. On the other hand in order to increase the quantity of their publications some academics search for the journals, mostly in third world countries such as African journals, that they can easily publish their unqualified articles. Furthermore, some of the academics make a deal with publishing companies to publish their book. Actually, the aim is not selling the book and making profit. In most cases the only reason is just getting point to get a promotion or tenure. In addition, authors in Turkey use joint author trick which was stated by Remus (1977) to gain more point. For instance, there are three colleagues and each of them prepared a paper. If they publish them as single authored in an international journal, each will get 3 points independently. However, if they write the other two colleagues’ names as co-authors each will get 5. 4 point which is approximately twice of the former choice (UAK, 2012). CONCLUSION To sum up, producing and disseminating of the knowledge is one of the most crucial missions for the universities. To accomplish this duty, the administrative directors of the universities and Institutes of Higher Education use some incentive and reward systems. However, in some cases these strategies put the academic staff under the pressure which is called as the â€Å"Publish or Perish† motto. Thus, in order to survive in the academic world, the members sometimes look for some unethical ways such as plagiarism, salamization, duplication, fabrication, joint author, publishing unqualified books, and so on. While the quantity of the publications increases, their quality may decrease. In my opinion, being academic members must be encouraged by increasing the salary of the member, providing extra opportunities, to increase the attraction of being a faculty member. Thus, the more qualified people will demand to be an academician and the cumulative quality of the universities and academics will increase and probably there will be a decrease in the rate of unethical academic behaviour. On the other hand, some reformations must be made to prevent the unstandardized proceedings, patronages, and unfairness: In this way, the motivation and quality of the junior academic personnel will increase and they would be more productive. REFERENCES Berghe, P. (1970). Academic Gamesmanship, London: Abelard-Schuman Bloom, P. , Hirschman, E. , Mcaleer, L. , Group, T. M., Weitz, B. , Wilkie, W. , Dame, N. , et al. (1988). Developing , Disseminating , and Utilizing Marketing Knowledge, Journal of Marketing Vol. 52(October), pp. 1–25. Brennan, R. , and P. Ankers, (2004). In Search of Relevance: Is There an Academic-Practitioner Divide in Business-to-Business Marketing? Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol: 22(5), pp. 511–519. Darko, C. O. (2003). Scholarly Publ? sh? ng In Africa: A Case Study Of The Pol? cies And Practices Of African Un? versity Presses, Inpublished PhD Dissertation, Graduate School of the University of Stirling Gad-el-Hak, M. (2004). Publish or Perish An Ailing Enterprise ,Phisics Today,pp. 61-62 Goldman, A. , Grinstein, A. (2010). Stages in the Development of Market Orientation Publication Activity: A Longitudinal Assessment. European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 44 (9/10), pp. 1384–1409. Hunt, S. D. (2000). Marketing is , Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science Vol: 20,(4), pp. 301-311. Hunt, S. D. (2002). Marketing as a Profession: On Closing Stakeholder Gaps. European Journal of Marketing, Vol: 36(3),pp. 305–312. Irele, A. (1993), The challenge of university Publishing in Africa, with special reference to Nigeria. In Altbach PG (ed) readings on Publishing in Africa and the Third World. Buffalo: Bellagio. List, J. , Bailey, C. , Euzent, P. , Martin, T. (2007). Academic economists behaving badly? A survey on three areas of unethical behavior. Economic Inquiry, 39(1), 162–170. doi:10. 1111/j. 1465-7295. 2001. tb00058. x Lofthouse, S. (1974). Thoughts on â€Å" Publish Or Perish†, Higher Education Vol: 3 pp. 59 80. McKenzie, C. J. , Wright, S. , Ball, D. F. Baron, P. J. (2002) The publications of marketing faculty – who are we really talking to? European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 36 (November), pp. 1196–1208. Nyilasy, G. , Reid, L. , Rodgers, S. , Wang, Y. , Rettie, R. , Alpert, F. , Matthes, J. , et al. (2007). The academician–practitioner gap in advertising, International Journal of Advertising, Vol: 26(4) pp. 425-447. Peter Blunt,(1976), Publish or perish or neither: What is happening in academia, Vestes, vol. 19 (1), pp. 62-64. Remus, Wi?. (1977). Strategies for a Publish or Perish World or Why Journals Are Unreadable, Interfaces, Vol. 8 (1), pp. 64-69. Ruacan, S. (2008). Bilimsel Arast? rma ve Yay? nlarda Etik Ilkeler. Hacettepe Universitesi. Onkoloji Enstitusu. http://www. ulakbim. gov. tr/dokumanlar/sempozyum1/sruacan 2. pdf. (accesed 12. 12. 2012). UAK (2012), Criteria for Associate Professor Application, http://www. uak. gov. tr/temelalan /tablo11. pdf (Accessed 12. 12. 2012). Van Dalen, Hendrik P. and Arjo Klamer (2005), â€Å"Is There Such a Thing Called Scientific Waste? † Tinbergen discussion paper, Erasmus University Rotterdam. Verniers, I (2010), Essays on Marketing and Scientific Innovations, Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University.

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay Example for Free

Habeas Corpus and the War on Terror Essay The law of Habeas Corpus was created to permit the guilty to present their case in court and to be tried fairly. In todays war on terror, the amount of such enemy combatants who were detained indefinitely without any trial has raised. The courts are split up on following the law by the letter or to practically change it according to the situations needs. I feel its necessary to follow these laws in the same context in which they were written, and the pragmatic approach leaves room for reckless changes. To deny an enemy combatant his or her day in court cannot be justified as taking the pragmatic approach in dealing with war criminals. This paper is an attempt to present the state of law today towards war criminals and the implications of denying the basic right of Habeas Corpus to suspected terrorists. Ever since the onset of civilization, arguments have routinely erupted between various members, families, factions, and groups within civilizations and between civilizations. In ancient times, arguments would be resolved by crude means, means not limited to the powerful person using brute force to show he was in the right. The stronger person would always have, say for example, the first right to food, to agricultural produce, cattle and to wealth etc. The weak wouldn’t dare pick an argument over the stronger person in fear for their life. But as civilizations grew and advanced over time, a code of ethics and laws began to form. Societies began to incorporate and adapt these laws in their daily functioning. Drawing inspiration from religion, past civilization practices and their mistakes, it was only natural that basic human rights were thought about and codified. The rights were guaranteed to all human beings, irrespective of who was physically stronger. The American Revolution has beyond doubt shaped the basic structure of human rights for the entire world to follow. Among many undeniable rights to citizens, the writ of Habeas Corpus was identified and established very early on in the Revolution. In Europe, the writ of Habeas Corpus was first traced to be used around the 12th and 13th centuries during the medieval period. Habeas Corpus translates from Latin to mean â€Å"you may have the body† or you may examine the body. It is essentially a writ that requires any person detained by law enforcers to be tried in a court of law and have his detention validated (Bbc. com, 2005). The writ doesn’t decide whether the accused is guilty or not, it merely stipulates that the accused be tried and detained if only found guilty of the crime being accused for. The US inherited this law from the English and codified it in the constitution in Article 1, section 9. The UN later incorporated it in their international human rights in 1952. The point of contention with the habeas corpus right is to whom it applies. The law stipulates that this right be never be suspended or denied except in cases of rebellion, invasion or when perceived as a threat to public safety. Surprisingly, this writ has been previously suspended twice in the past for seemingly similar reasons. President Lincoln suspended the writ in 1861 to prosecute the war prisoners captured during the American Civil war. His argument was that the confederates were a threat to the union and hence issued the order (Dueholm, 2008). This law was later restored after the war ended in 1866. President Bush in 2006 issued a similar suspension of the habeas corpus writ to detain enemy combatants captured in the global war against terror. It deemed these accused terrorists as a threat to national security and denied them the right to be presented and tried in court. This paper will focus on the consequences faced by the accused and the validity of enforcing such a suspension. Just suspending the writ wouldn’t seem very harmful when looked at by itself. But consider for a moment who the government arrests. American policy makers routinely count any military age males as enemy combatants. Drone strikes assume anyone in the vicinity of a drone strike of military age to be a enemy combatant first and then when sufficient intelligence is available to the contrary, they are posthumously declared civilians (Balko, 2012). In a likewise fashion, arrests were also made based on the very broad physical description of an age group, or depending on where they are and who they interact with, were picked up after being accused of terrorism. Next, consider the location of their detention. Accused terrorists were detained at prison, run by US military personnel backed by US administration; set up in a foreign land i. . Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The single reason for maintaining such an institution away from US soil was to escape the jurisdiction of laws that govern detainees which would apply if held on US soil. Laws of detention stipulate not only the kind of treatment but also the punishment meted out to convicted terrorists. The captors were free to torture their captives in any way they saw fit to gather any amount of relevant information, regardless of whether the person accused is an actual terrorist holding any real information to share. Terms such as enhanced interrogation techniques had to be invented to pass them as legal and humane methods in congress. Add to this polarized scenario, the suspension of the one single law that could serve as the difference between life and death of an innocent civilian the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. The suspension took away with it the only chance an innocent civilian had to prove his innocence. In short, simply standing at the wrong place at the wrong time can get you to serve a lifetime of torture with not even a hint of a fair trial. Naturally, concern about the handling of such detainees grew and petitions filed by family and friends of detainees finally began to reach the courts. The Supreme Court finally in a landmark case of Boumediene v. Bush ruled against the suspension of habeas corpus for the detainees with a 5-4 majority. It declared that the suspension of the writ was indeed unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy who ruled with the majority supported his stand with examples from the history of the writ back in the 12th century and its recent applicability in territories outside the border of US but still falling in its control, such as Chanel Islands. His summary also compared the legality of this writ in Scotland, which is a sovereign nation and yet still under English laws. Once US jurisdiction was proved, Justice Scoter, Ginsburg and Bryer pointed out that it would have to be one that was based on the constitution or no jurisdiction at all. Justice Scalia argued that the habeas corpus law was in fact protected by the Detainee Treatment Act, and refuted the entire judicial intervention. He was supported by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Alito and Thomas. The Justices did a fine job of evaluating the suspension of the writ. From establishing jurisdiction and what kind of jurisdiction, to an alternate mechanism to protect the habeas corpus in spirit, all avenues were thoroughly investigated. The courts also recognized the extremely difficult nature of assessing an individual in a warzone to be a combatant or a civilian in a foreign location. And yet, the writ cannot be suspended out of fear of failure in acquiring adequate proof against the detainee. Personally, I feel strongly that the writ of habeas corpus is a right so basic that it cannot be suspended in any scenario. The very least an accuser can do is to offer a fair trial to the accused. I feel that the President was wrong to remove the last ray of hope of an innocent civilian that might have been unfairly detained. The case also established the judicial soundness of our nation even at times of war, and the entire exercise in judiciary coming in between the functioning of Congress was an example to the world. Denying such a basic right makes us no different than the terrorists who accuse and punish others that broadly fit their own enemy description. Living as a part of a civilized nation for over 200 years, we owe it to ourselves to act in a dignified manner, even with our captives.

The relationship between social and health problems

The relationship between social and health problems Abstract: The term Social Problems is a misnomer and is an admission of the fact that the actual nature and constitution of the situation has not been deliberated at depth. When senior people see that the rules and behavioural patterns they have held so dear are getting challenged they term it as creation of problems. Criticising the social order that is emerging is the easiest way to admit defeat. The brave and sensible way is to accept the challenges and find ways and means of retaining the value system – may be with certain modifications – that has been followed for generations. In this way the young generation can adjust to the social changes and yet remain healthy and flourish in life. Introduction: The present day health issues are very closely related to the current social set up and coming into existence of a new set of social norms and values. While most of the social norms and values are traceable to and intimately related to the economic factors yet there is a trend of getting carried away by foreign cultures and their different social bearings. The pressure on the present day youth for being economically successful is very high and this gives a peculiar dimension to these ‘youngsters’ way of life which is enormously different to the type of pressures felt by the previous generations. While on one hand parents expect their children to become successful – which is a decent way of saying that they earn pots and pots of money – on the other the boys and girls are expected to follow the same set of social rules which has been followed by the ‘elders’ for generations. Thus the social problems have many causes but one significant reason is the inability of the older generations to accept and adjust to the changes in the society which is inevitable. The main problem that surfaced is that previous generation weighed the social structure of today by the norms and values that were taught to them quite a few decades back. The ground reality has changed rapidly and the senior generations are still getting guided by the rules of the game of yesteryears. The world is changing faster than it ever did before and the changes are not only very wide and rapid but are also very deep penetrating. Thus the changes are in effect causing social ‘evils’ as seen by the previous outlook but in reality the developments of the world is going on for centuries and what is being called as social problems is a manifestation of the inability to change and adjust to the new life order. Discussion: As stated in the introduction above, it is evident that there is need to face the societal changes that are coming up every day. In order to examine the situation in depth, three generation of society were interviewed to get to the bottom of the problem. The first were the generation of grandparents – who learned their ways of life some fifty to sixty years back. The next set consisted of parents i.e. father and mother group of today’s youngsters and they learned what they believe to be correct social norms some twenty-five to thirty year back. The final subset consisted of growing boys and girls of today and consisted of college and university students. These are the people who are bearing the brunt of the social problems which in turn is having a serious effect on their health. The first set of people consisting of grandparents carried fixed and set ideas about what the societal norms and beliefs are supposed to be. They saw no reason for changing those norms and beliefs. The behavioral norms were very strictly defined and centered around simple living and high thinking with very little emphasis and importance – if any at all – being paid to the economic progress and well being. They had lived their life in a very definite way and firmly believed that what was good for them is also god for their grandchildren today. Above all, their firm belief that ‘one size fits all’ concept as far as social behavior is concerned was much too firm for accommodating any updating necessitated by the present day life style. This brought about the severe view of the present day social interactions and the resultant problems. They knew that they had lived their life and were in no mood to accommodate or even tolerate the changing pattern of social values and norms. The best thing is that – in fact it should be called the worst thing – is that his set of people failed to see the few very good aspects of the changing patterns of social behavior. They invariably were quick to point out the drawbacks without for a moment acknowledging the good and beneficial aspects of the emerging new social order. The second set of people who were interviewed represented the parents. This group had its own problems. They fully appreciated the beneficial aspects of the change but were hesitant to admit the same since it clashed with what they were taught as the ideal way of social behavior. They too saw the problems of the present social setups and behavioral patterns but at the same time knew that there is no stopping of the changes coming about. Further they saw the new order did bring new problems but at the same time it encouraged the democratic institutions so very necessary for the well being of the future generations. They wanted to break away from the traditional social order and get into the flow of development of the new order. However, they had reached an age where they were unable to be adventurous and were cautious about accepting the changes. This gave rise to a very unbalanced state since while in their heart of hearts they knew that what was seen as social problems were more of aberrations of their viewing the outcomes than causing difficulties for the new generations. Yes, they wanted their children to bag high-pay job offers but at the same time wanted their children to stick to the ‘five prayers a day’ schedule despite the demands of their job conditions. This kind of situation is prevalent not only in the Middle East but such situation also exists in most of the emerging economies like Brazil, India, China, Pakistan etc. This group, like the previous group of grandparents, also quickly saw the social problems – but with a difference. This group simultaneously tried to find a solution which would accommodate the social change and at the same time keep a balance with the past so that the health (both mental as well as physical) hazards were contained. This is a very healthy indicator of the changes in social order being slowly accepted and though it is a slow process but it is a sure process. The present social norms have taken centuries to develop; it is very likely that the new social order will take some time to settle down. The last group consisted of the people of the below twenty-five age group. The first priority for this group was a better and more comfortable way of life. They valued democracy in all walks of life. They carried no negative feelings for the age old systems and gave full credit to the social order which has seen their predecessors to reach the current state. Yet when any of the social behavioral patterns got into the way of their achieving the goal they so cherished they did not hesitate to set aside the existing social norms. They were ready to burn the midnight lamp if that meant getting higher grades which would translate into their landing better jobs. Yes this was a potential health hazard but it also promised attainment of their dream goals. These groups wanted to make it big and for achieving this they were ready to take on with a ‘no-holds-barred’ situation. Good health is basic pre- requisite of good life. Without having good heath one will lose the very capacity for any human pursuit – from the grossest to the subtlest. He will not be able to enjoy the fruits of his toil. Health does not mean absence of diseases but it implies the possession and cultivation of a physically fit, morally strong and mentally alert individual who is able to meet the physical demands of life pursuits with full vigour and enthusiasm. The present day society seeks comforts, conveniences and freedom from drudgeries and wants to avoid working on monotonous, back-breaking and tedious chores from dawn to dusk – except out of compulsion. They prefer freedom from all hindrances and choose democratic way of life. Democracy for them is not just a merely form of government but it is a foundational societal value and hence they prefer a democratic society. In such a preferred democratic society values of freedom, equality, respect for the individual, collective decision making and the right to dissent should be inbuilt into the social arrangements and transactions. The young people with a democratic bent of mind respected the rights and freedoms of other people. They treated people at the level of equality and were tolerant of the views and opinions which were different from their own. When they were invested with authority they would use it with care and that too for the common benefit of people. Instead of imposing their views on others they would look for a consensus solution for making any collective decision. While the first group (grandparents) stood out by their intolerant attitude, this group of young citizens were endowed with refined, liberal and humanistic values. Though the members of the first group found the young people as creators of all trouble and labelled them as ‘rebels’ the younger generation were accepting their new found status of that of a rebel with alarming ease and comfort. They knew that if they stuck to the ways of the senior citizens then the possibilities of their realising their dreams of making it big would never materialise. There is ample historical evidence which go to prove that change – be it social, economic, technological or even environment – are all here to stay. Either one makes himself capable to adjust to the change or the process of change will eliminate them for good. Now, SOCIETY is an organisation for cooperative working to ensure human development, through production and distribution of sharable social goods. Society is made up of various constituents like individuals, different classes and groups, social, economic institutions and many more. In UAE and other Middle East countries the individual goals and the collective goals are often in conflict with each other. Yet the main objective of any developing and healthy society is to ensure human development which is not restricted to social, political, economic issues but also the development of the members on a total basis which would include health, formality and above all the value system of life. As stated earlier, one of the major aim of any society is to ensure production and distribution of sharable social goods like roads, transportation, water, electricity, health care and a host of other facilities. Opportunities and means of gainful employment, jobs, career and other rightful and legitimate means of seeking personal economic betterment are also to be treated as part of sharable social goods. Thus, the social changes taking place in every country and in every society aim at providing better opportunities and means of gainful employment and suitable jobs to the members of the society. There is no harm if the young people of today seek better standards of living and are prepared to dissociate themselves from the social norms which prevent their advancement in life. Conclusion: To sum up the entire picture it is necessary to understand that the so called Social problems are the result of the failure to appreciate the wisdom behind each and every change that is taking place in the world around. Older people who have lived their lives may conveniently call such changes as resulting in problems causing health hazards but such changes are for ‘GREATER GOOD’ and hence should be accepted if not welcomed. The budding Engineer or Manager or Professor faces an uphill task and shying away from sharing the gains available today is certainly not wise. Though the severe challenges may prove to be a health hazard in the short run but over time people will learn to cope with it and emerge the winner. Thus finding faults with the social problems is the weak person’s way of handling the changes taking place in the milieu. A strong and healthy individual will take the bull by its horns and will certainly succeed in controlling the social changes to his advantage.

The Characters of Tom and Daisy of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald :: F. Scott Fitzgerald

The characters' search of their own identities and the struggle that ensues is the most suffusive theme throughout The Great Gatsby . The fact that we never really know the characters, and the corrupt immoral things they do, directly represent the 20's high society lifestyle. The characters continued to cheat on their spouses, let money become their obsession, and debated the American dream for the hopes of one day obtaining happiness. But the fact remains that they have no true morals or ideals of themselves as individuals. These are a group of people who --no matter how cocky and self- confident they seem-- have absolutely no idea of what they are doing (as many men and women of the 20's do not). Tom and Daisy are two examples. Â   Daisy is a hospitable character who had a love for parties and tended to lose herself in them and the drinking. Daisy once said, "What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon, and the day after that, and the next thirty years?" This quote not only means she lives for one day at a time never thinking of the future, but that she truly has no idea of what to do with herself. She is like loose change floating around wandering from party to party, man to man, friend to friend, in a big house in East Egg with no sense of purpose. She once attempted to plan something when she first reunited with Nick. She said, "What'll we plan? What do people plan?" meaning she has never had to make decisions nor has she had much responsibility. Not only does she have no purpose, she has no morals. She literally killed a woman and went home to eat cold chicken. What more, her lover was killed and she left on a trip missing his funeral. Show me a woman who has no morals or goals and I'll show you a woman who is searching for her own identity. Â   Tom Buchanan is a small man hiding in a big house with an equally large ego. In fact, he once remarked that women run around too much and meet the wrong kind of people. This statement is both arrogant and ironic because he runs around with the wrong people, and women run around with him- he being the wrong people. Also, when stating this he was most likely referring to his wife, and subtly putting her down for her relationship with Gatsby in a most conceited way.

Character in Henry Jamess Washington Square :: Henry James Washington Square

A Question of Character in Henry James's Washington Square After reading Henry James's Washington Square, I was left a bit curious as to why James had so many static characters in his novel. Character development is a major literary device in most works, but was almost completely ignored in this book. I say almost because Catherine's demeanor seems to, even if just to the most subtle degree, drift towards an unphilanthropic attitude. Dr. Austin Sloper, his two sisters and poor Morris Townsend remain rigidly in their roles from start to finish, even throughout the span of two decades. Fortunately, the most accomplished poet T. S. Eliot, defends James on exactly this topic in his short essay, "A Prediction." "With 'character,' in the sense in which the portrayal of character is usually expected in the English novel," Eliot writes, "he had no concern" (55). He went on to add " 'character' is only one of the ways in which it is possible to grasp at reality" (55). Eliot insists that had James been better at developing characters, his writing would have suffered in other aspects (55). Fair enough, but then I was left with a question from his 'prediction'. What then is the driving point to Washington Square? Is it the plot perhaps, or the interaction of these concrete characters? Consider the complexity, or rather lack thereof, of the action and plot. The characters are introduced and Morris Townsend meets young Catherine. They court for a short while and Dr. Sloper investigates the young man's behaviors and concludes that he doesn't like him and forbids the marriage when the idea is presented to him. He and Catherine travel to Europe while Mr. Townsend visits with Lavinia, but upon Dr. Sloper's return, leaves Catherine. Finally, some twenty years later, the doctor dies leaving none of his fortune to his daughter who is visited by Mr. Townsend one last time resulting in absolutely no consequence. If somebody told me that there was a book in which two hundred pages of plot was accurately and completely summarized in one short paragraph and character development was of no concern, I would have been most certain that what they actually had read was a screenplay for a porno. Plot was obviously not one of James' major concerns with this novel, but to his credit, implements it better than Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop. Towards the end of his essay, Eliot hit upon the magic of Washington Square.

The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the main character, Gatsby is the host of many elaborate parties at his home in West Egg. In the morning the lawn crew would come and pamper the yard, in the evening the cooks would begin to prepare the meals, and as dusk approached, the guests would pile out of their taxis, motor cars, and boats (36). Some invited and some not, all were coming in search of a pleasant evening among people. Fitzgerald’s parties unveiled a fun-loving, lazy side of most people in the 1920’s.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Fitzgerald wrote in his novel that the guests would begin to arrive all at once, stepping out of their motor cars, adorned in their finest evening formal wear (36). The women of the story attend Gatsby’s parties in their newest gowns. The biggest concern on the minds of the attendants was their own appearance, and the appearance of others. One female guest indicated a total lack of concern over the shape of her dress at the end of the evening, for after the last discrepancy, Gatsby sponsored a new dress for her immediately (39).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his novel, the apparent scrutinization of modern society is prominent in his descriptive paragraphs, which do not reveal a character’s name. Fitzgerald writes of his guests about the time that they are present at the party, he does not write of their family, or occupational life, leading it to look like their lives were only important due to the party (39). The â€Å"girls in yellow† are a prime example where characterization shadows name and title. The most important thing about the â€Å"girls in yellow† is not where they came from, but what they have to say about Gatsby.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gossiping at a party was Fitzgerald’s way to characterize his modern society as gullible. His own party attendants would have the ill manners to discuss his own background. The hushing circle would marvel over the Kaiser Wilhelm theory, then at the murderer theory (40).

Hamlet and Structural Functionalism Essay

In the famous play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, family takes an enormous part in the failure in the main character, Hamlet. What is interesting about his family dynamic and the way his family affects Hamlet’s actions, is that it directly correlates to Emile Durkheim’s theory on structural functionalism. It is a theory that studies our social structure and culture, and how they work together and affect us. Durkheim suggests that our social system is made up of a bunch of different parts and when one of these components gets taken away, we suffer and go into normlessness- which Durkheim refers to as anomie. Anomie is an indication of a loss of our sense of values and rules of conduct, creating problems. In relation to the play Hamlet, we can establish a connection between structural functionalism and Hamlet’s family through the losses he encounters throughout the book. While dealing with the death and re-appearance of his father, his uncle’s deceit and his mother’s betrayal, he finds himself falling into anomie while overthinking, and becoming mad in result of his loneliness. In the beginning of the play Hamlet, we are promptly made aware of Hamlet’s family situation and what has recently happened with his father, Old Hamlet. When a child is born, the parent of the same sex as the child will usually be the one they feel the biggest connection with. There’s a feeling of common understanding, and when one gets that individual taken away it truly is devastating. That is how it was for Hamlet. We get to see the gravity of his father’s death destroying his optimism, when he’s talking to Claudius and tells him that people can act sad, but he has real grief beneath the clothes that he wears. â€Å"Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief, That can denote me truly. These indeed â€Å"seem,† For they are actions that a man might play. But I have that within which passeth show, These but the trappings and the suits of woe.† (1, 2, 83). Two scenes later, we are showed how the death of his father affects his mental state. When Horatio and Hamlet lay eyes on the ghost in scene 4, Horatio begs Hamlet not to follow him. â€Å"What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff That beetles o’er his base into the sea, †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (1, 4, 72). Hamlet answers him with a shocking comeback and follows the mysterious figure into the mist. â€Å"Why, what should be the fear? I do not set my life in a pin’s fee, And for my soul—what can it do to that, Being a thing immortal as itself? It waves me forth again. I’ll follow it.† (1, 4, 67) This quote reveals Hamlet’s opinion on his self-worth. He explains to Horatio that he does not value his life. If Hamlet’s father had not died, and he had not been so fragile and in such grief, there would have been a significant difference in the way that he handled the situation. His father’s death, r ight from the beginning of the play, started affecting his sense of values and rules of conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness. This is what spun the chaos of Hamlet into action, starting Hamlet out on his path to self-destruction, eventually to the point where his death is the result of his own medalling. In the words of a man who lived long ago, â€Å"what we fear, we create.† After the death of his father Hamlet continues to mourn the loss, as one would usually do if their parent were to decease. Oddly enough, his own mother and lest we forget; the recent wife of his father, says to him: â€Å"Do not for ever with thy vailed lids Seek for thy noble father in the dust: Thou know’st ’tis common; all that lives must die,   Passing through nature to eternity.† (1.2.2) This is shocking because normally, if one’s spouse has passed away they would experience some sort of great grief, however Gertrude takes little discomfort in the matter and in the quote above, tells him not to fret, for everybody must die at some point. To this, Hamlet says to himself, â€Å"O, God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason, Would have mourn’d longer–married with my uncle,My father’s brother, but no more like my father Than I to Hercules: [†¦]† (1.2.151). Clearly her insensitiveness and incentive to quickly re-marry angers Hamlet. How could she not mourn the death of her own husband, and re-marry his brother almost right after? Hamlet demonstrates great disgust for his mother and accuses her of incest. â€Å"She [Gertrude] married. O, most wicked speed, to post. With such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.† (1.2.158). With the loss of his own mother, Hamlet (as would any child) starts to act out and feel a loss of control. We see this in his quote in act 1 scene 2: â€Å"O, that this too too solid flesh would melt Thaw and resolve itself into a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! God! How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable, Seem to me all the uses of this world! (128) Here, Hamlet talks about how he wishes God had not declared suicide a sin, and how pointless life is to him now. This is huge because we get to see how the loss of his mother is affecting his sanity. He needs his mother to support and protect him, yet she is nowhere to be found. Rather, she is with the man that he needs to be protected from. This affects his sense of values and rules of conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness. This is just another push from Gertrude to Hamlet towards his death (failure) in the end of the play. Meanwhile, Hamlet’s uncle and new step father Claudius is being a â€Å"villain, villain, smiling, damned villain!† (107) as Hamlet describes him in act 1 scene 5, because he feels that Claudius has been deceitful and betrayed his own brother. Which he in fact has. In act 3 scene 3, Claudius says he feels guilty for murdering Old Hamlet, yet he states, â€Å"That cannot be [Claudius cannot ask God to accept his apology), since I am still possessed Of those effects for which I did the murder: My crown, mine own ambition, and my queen.† (56) Revealing that he knows that he cannot as for forgiveness when he is still in possession of his brother’s belongings and is not ready to let them go. This whole affair leaves Hamlet very clearly bitter and upset with him. In act 3 scene 4, Hamlet’s mother says to him, â€Å"Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.† (9) And he replies with a snarky remark claiming that Claudius is not his father at all, and that the one doing the real offending is her (Gertrude) to his father (Old Hamlet). â€Å"Mother, you have my father much offended.† (3.4.10) This quote proves to us how betrayed he feels by his uncle. Three scenes before these quotes, Hamlet presents his â€Å"to be, or not to be† soliloquy about suicide. â€Å"To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles.† (3.1.57) He, again, is debating whether or not he should kill himself. This validates the theory that he is losing his mind due to his uncle’s actions, and essentially the robbing of his uncle entirely as a person that he once put his trust into. It affects Hamlet’s sense of values and rules of conduct- leaving him in a state of normlessness, pushing him even more off of the edge towards failure. Hamlet’s inability to remain mentally stable throughout the play is in the fault of the unfortunate death of one parental figure, the betrayal of the other, and the people that he invested into emotionally whom ultimately took advantage of his trust. When a kid is faced with such instability it becomes ridiculously difficult for them to continue on as fully functioning, emotionally stable human beings. When the most important people in Hamlet’s life disappeared, he started to go into normlessness, like we would if we were to lose a vital component in our society, such as the government. He fell into anomie, losing his sense of values and rules of conduct, creating multiple problems within himself. We see this as he overthinks throughout the entire play. He cannot make conscious decisions, think, or function properly. In conclusion, Emile Durkheim’s theory on structural functionalism does in fact directly correlate to Hamlet’s family and their part in his f ailure.

Admission Essay for Medical School

Since my childhood, I have been dreaming to be a doctor. I believe that a doctor has a noble job because it extends a helping hand to those people who are in need; especially the sick one. Doctors are believed as the living heroes because they are always on duty to lend services for the ill people.Every time I can see people who are seriously ill, suffering from pain and look hopeless my heart really goes out with them. I constantly remind myself that serving them is such a noble profession. The cries and pains of the patients’ eyes that I see every time I visit a hospital really register on my mind and when I remember them, it pushes me to pursue my dream and that is to be a doctor.Moreover, whenever my mom and grandparents are sick, I am really the one, who attends to them and if there are chances to render services in the civic works, I also volunteer.The three people who brought impact to my life are my grandmother, my bestfriend and my mom. Among these three, it is my mom who really brought change and has really affected my life. Well, my grandmother encourages me to have difference in this world by serving people who are in need. I have witnessed how my grandma cares my grandfather when he is seriously ill.I can really see the love and concern; thus, she is constantly reminding me that if I serve people, it should be done in love. That line really inculcates in my mind.   On the other hand, my bestfriend really motivates me to believe that I can do the things which I thought I can’t do; like having a thought that going to a medical school is impossible because I know the qualifications are really high but she let me believe and realize that I have a heart in serving people.Moreover, it is really my mom who has a great impact and influence to me why I want to pursue this career. As I look back my childhood days, I can’t help myself to laugh with those nonsense choices that I have made. Those memories are still fresh in my mind and I can’t remember any incident which I don’t pout every time the day of Monday is coming up, the first day of school.   Monday up to Friday is my â€Å"terrible† days of my life when I am still a child.I need to wake up early so that I will not be late for school and be able to catch the school bus. I need to make many assignments, unending assignments for every subject and I really find them a waste of time. I can still remember how my mom wakes me up by saying â€Å"honey, you have to wake up now†¦You will be late for school.† It is my mom who really pushes me to go to school.I try to ask my mom why I need to go to school when I can learn many things by playing with my friends and watching television. But my mom would answer me that it is different if I am in school because I can learn how to read and write.She also adds that good education is the only wealth that they can leave, with my dad, to me that can’t be stolen by anybody and if I rea lly dream to be a doctor, I should also do my part. I attempt to reason out but then, I am just a loser because my mom would not listen to my sentiments and she just continually sends me to school.She tries to encourage me a lot in order to make me enthusiastic with my studies but then, in my own thinking, going to school is just irrelevant and boring, totally boring! But in a long run, I discover that going to school is a lot of fun especially when my Science teacher starts to discuss about the parts of human beings, its systems and functions.It makes me wonder how these parts function. From that moment, I start liking going to school. In addition, there is one incident that my mom gets sick. I am so worried but when I remember what my Science teacher teaches us on how to take care the sick people, I am relieved.The edge that sets me apart from others who apply to Xavier University school of Medicine, Bonaire is that I am a very patient individual and have the passion to serve othe rs; thus, doing extra mile for the benefits of the many.I am very dedicated and serious to my studies and always ready to learn new things. I am a type of student who does not easily give up when the going gets tough but continues to pursue until I will know it. Furthermore, I am also a graduate of Dentistry which is a good ground for my medical studies.

Interpreting Research Findings Essay

What follows are my responses to the hypothetical students who responded to the topic: â€Å"The human mind is a very powerful tool of research. How does the mind use statistics, deductive logic, and inductive reasoning to interpret research findings? † Student #1. Since you provided the reference for your response, you may not understand the meaning of plagiarism. For example, the statement from Pinker’s article (p. 2): â€Å"In this conception, a computational system †¦ into existence† appears in your response, without quotation marks or a page reference. The addition of the parenthesized word â€Å"mind† does not make the excerpt yours. There are similar examples throughout your response. You might have had difficulty in reading a highly theoretical article: one that actually is from a scholarly journal (Pinker, 2005) and does not address the question of using â€Å"statistics, deductive logic, and inductive reasoning to interpret research findings†. Despite adding these phrases to statements from Pinker (paragraphs 2 and 3), you did not answer the question. Student #2. Your first three sentences, though interesting, aren’t related to the question. Note too that conclusions based on using the scientific method are not â€Å"right answers/outcomes. † The closest one can come to a â€Å"right answer† requires doing an experiment and then using inferential statistics to conclude that the probability of finding a result such as yours by chance is so low (e. g. , < . 05 or . 01) that it’s reasonable to conclude your experimental manipulation caused your results (Levin, 1999). Almost your entire response is related to descriptive statistics, only one part of the question. Your quote about deductive logic (the only route to certainty) does not explain how it is used, and your quote about inductive reasoning is not, in itself, a complete explanation of how such reasoning is used. Student #3. Your response was very good. Note that it isn’t possible to free one’s â€Å"mind of bias,† which is why methods are used to prevent human biases from influencing the results, as in the classic double-blind experiment, where neither participants nor researchers know who is receiving the placebo and who is receiving the medication (Levin, 1999). Also, your son’s conclusion was valid – a conclusion is valid if it must be true if the premise is true. He was incorrect because his premise was incorrect (typical of a bright three-year-old). Also, your discussion of inductive reasoning was weak – try thinking in terms of â€Å"inferential statistics. † As an aside, there were some violations of APA rules regarding citations and references. Student #4. Unfortunately, your response does not begin to address the question. Also, in answering a question you weren’t asked, you reached conclusions that have been disconfirmed in previous research. For example, there’s a strong relationship between the behavior of peers and a teenager’s use of nicotine, alcohol, marijuana, etc. , but not a relationship between parent and child use of these substances (reviewed in Harris, 1995). It’s true that â€Å"educational and prevention programs† have not been â€Å"cost effective,† but there’s no evidence that such programs are effective at all, i. e. , that they influence teenage-smoking. Before you reach a conclusion on the â€Å"something† you will study, you need to read the relevant literature on previous research. Student #5. In a response as brief as yours, the first two sentences should have been related to answering the question. I also have no idea of what your answer means: â€Å"to form somewhat of an ‘argument’ that helps to interpret research findings. † In discussing deductive reasoning, you needed to explain that incorrect premises can result in valid but incorrect conclusions and that factually correct premises can result in incorrect conclusions if the hypothesized conclusions are invalid (e. g. , in the classic example, knowing that â€Å"all men are mortal and that Socrates was mortal† does not imply that â€Å"Socrates was a man†). You also did not explain how statistics and inductive reasoning are used. Student #6. First, you did not provide any source(s). Had you used a book on statistics and design, e. g. , Levin, 1999, you would have avoided some errors, described below. Your examples of descriptive statistics are accurate, but your explanation of inferential statistics is not. A sample is used to generalize about a population, not about a larger sample. Also, if â€Å"blue† were the favorite color of 80 people in a sample of 100, you could not conclude (or â€Å"speculate†) that if you sample 1000 people, blue would be the favorite color of 800. You could conclude, for example, that if you repeatedly (infinitely) sampled 100 people from the same population, the probability of failing to find that a majority favor â€Å"blue† is known and small (e. g. , . 05 or . 01). It may be important to understand correlational research, but the question was to explain how particular tools were used to interpret research findings. One tool, deductive logic, does not, as you stated, â€Å"indicate that a series of statements are facts. † You also needed to use quotation marks in your statement from Kerlinger, 1986, â€Å"Hypotheses are declarative †¦ more variables† and the full Kerlinger reference should have been provided (you should not have included references you had not cited). Finally, your conclusion regarding your dissertation suggests you do not understand how the three research tools noted in the question are used, e. g. , do you intend to use statistics only in your literature review? References Harris, J. R. (1995). Where is the child’s environment? A group socialization theory of development. Psychological Review, 102, 458-490. Levin, I. P. (1999). Relating statistics and experimental design. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Pinker, S. (2005). So how does the mind work? Mind & Language, 20, 1-24.

Analysis of Barclays Bank Essay

Introduction The process of restructuring the telecommunication sector truly got under way in Cameroon in June 1995, when the authorities decided thoroughly to reform network industry sectors such as water, electricity and telecommunications with a view to creating a favourable environment in which to develop their infrastructure and services and thus to satisfy increasingly exigent demand. The process took the form of liberalization, State withdrawal from the sectors concerned and the establishment of a  market structure enabling Cameroon to remain in step with the especially rapid global developments in the telecommunication sector; indeed, in spite of the investments made, the coverage rate and quality of service offered had remained largely inadequate. The process was carried out not only by defining the conditions and mechanisms liable to guarantee the sector’s opening to private initiative, but also by enacting regulations and taking measures intended to enable the sector to play t he decisive role incumbent on it in Cameroon’s economic development. Telecommunication sector reform in Cameroon is not limited to the establishment of new regulations and legislation, to the revision of the institutional framework and the establishment of an interconnection regime or to the introduction of competition. It should also comprise bringing behaviour in line with the times. One of our chief concerns is therefore also effective application of the regulations with a view to fulfilling the universal service obligation, ensuring consumer protection and providing for effective and appropriate regulation of true competition. The acquisition of the required know-how is the biggest challenge we face. The institutional players on Cameroon’s telecommunications scene are, as in many other African countries, of the opinion that any society that delays in jumping on the NTIC train will remain mired in a state of underdevelopment. Observations Background Before 1990, as in most African countries, telecommunication services were managed by a national publicly-owned monopoly. The administration in charge of telecommunications set the rules, ensured they were applied and was itself an operator. The results did not always live up to expectations. In June 1990, the President of the Republic signed the order on the programme to privatize public and semi-public enterprises. The telecommunication sector was added to the programme in June 1995. In July 1998, law 98/014 governing telecommunications in Cameroon (the Telecommunications Act) was promulgated. It established the Telecommunication Regulatory Agency and attributed sector responsibilities to a variety of players: the operation of  telecommunication networks to operators, regulatory matters, i.e. application of the rules and supervision of operators, to a regulatory body, the definition of sector policy and the enactment of market regulations to the telecommunication administration. In September of the same year, two public enterprises, CAMTEL for the fixed telephone service and CAMTEL MOBILE for the mobile telephone service, were set up to take over the telecommunication activities of the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and of the public enterprise INTELCAM, which was in charge of operating and developing international telecommunication installations. The Telecommunication Regulatory Agency was set up at the  same time. Immediately after, the sale of a mobile telephone licence and the process of privatizing CAMTEL and CAMTEL MOBILE got under way. In June 1999, a mobile telephone licence was granted to a private enterprise. The privatization of CAMTEL MOBILE was completed in February 2000. The privatization of CAMTEL is not yet complete. A third mobile telephone licence is to be issued. In less than two years, the sector has undergone sweeping change. Suffice it to mention one indicator: in January 2000 there was one mobile telephone operator with about 5 000 subscribers; on 31 March 2001 there were two operators with over 140 000 subscribers. This rapid and in-depth transformation is taking place within a constantly improving legal framework. II A liberal legal framework The development of new technologies and liberalization have permitted access to new telecommunication services which, depending on their specific natures, require appropriate regulation. The Telecommunications Act sets forth a new regulatory framework, opening the telecommunication sector to competition. The framework, which distinguishes between public and private networks, provides for three legal arrangements: concessions, authorizations  and declarations. 1 Concessions The State can grant one or several public or private corporate bodies all or part of its rights to establish and/or operate telecommunication networks. The concession is subject to strict compliance with the requirements set forth in a list of terms and conditions. This arrangement allows the State not only to keep a watchful eye on the harmonious development of modern telecommunication infrastructure, but also and above all to heighten its control over the development and supply of the basic services and facilities us ually demanded by the majority of users. 2 Authorizations The arrangement of prior authorization applies to the establishment and/or operation of telecommunication networks by physical persons or corporate bodies with a view to providing the public with a basic telecommunication service, a value-added service, a bearer service or any other service by using one or several radio frequencies. A list of terms and conditions containing the requirements to be met is attached to the licence issued to the bearer of a prior authorization. The authorization is issued for a fixed period and can be withdrawn under certain circumstances. 3 Declarations Declarations apply to the establishment of private internal networks, low-range and low-capacity private independent networks (that are not radio networks), low-range and low-capacity radio installations (to be determined  by the Administration), and the provision to the public of telecommunication services other than those subject to the arrangements of concession and authorization. Telecommunication terminal equipment is either freely provided or subject to type-approval. Certain provisions of the Telecommunications Act are detailed in decrees and implementing legislation. We shall not examine all of them here; indeed, some of them are still being drafted. The reform in Cameroon established the separation between the regulatory and operating functions. It works in favour of operators being entities controlled by private capital. The general framework for competition is governed by legislation on competition. The legal framework is supplemented by institutions. III 1 A revised institutional framework The telecommunication administration Spectrum management and the legislation and regulations relating to telecommunications are the exclusive domain of the State. The telecommunication administration has been invested, on behalf of the government, with general jurisdiction over the sector. It sets the general regulatory framework. It therefore establishes and implements telecommunication sector policy, whose aim must be to safeguard the missions of public service, to promote harmonious network development throughout the national territory and effective private sector participation in the sector’s wealth and employment-generating activities, and to ensure compliance by all operators with the applicable treaties, laws and regulations. In addition, the administration supervises the telecommunication sector, oversees public telecommunication enterprises, represents the State at international telecommunication-related organizations and events, and manages the radio spectrum on behalf of the State. The Telecommunication Regulatory Agency, which technically answers to the telecommunication administration, is the specialized body in charge of  facilitating actual application of the regulations issued. 2 The Telecommunication Regulatory Agency The organization of the Telecommunication Regulatory Agency established by the Telecommunications Act is set forth in decree No. 98/197 of 8 September 1998. The Agency has three main duties: – to ensure the regulations are implemented; – to guarantee respect for the regulations and the exercise of competition; – to settle certain disputes between operators. The Agency’s regulatory authority is subject to performance of the following activities: – definition of the principles governing tariffs for services; – examination of requests for authorization and declaration and of type-approval files for terminal equipment to be connected to public networks; – establishment of principles for calculating interconnection costs; – establishment and management of numbering plans; – management of the frequencies attributed to telecommunications; – submission to the government of proposals aimed at developing and modernizing the sector; – opinions on draft legislative and regulatory texts concerning telecommunications; – control and penalties for infractions. The Agency is specifically competent to settle disputes concerning interconnection, access to a public network, numbering, cases of harmful interference, and sharing of infrastructure. The Telecommunications Act provides the Agency with a quasi-judicial body and an arbitration procedure can be set in motion should one or the other of the parties be opposed. The parties remain free to bring their case before the competent court. IV Human resources Human resources are the key to management and progress, for they have knowledge, that rarest of economic commodities in the 21st century. The current transition from a monopoly environment to that of controlled competition has given rise to new demands in terms of basic knowledge and know- how in telecommunication regulation. Telecommunication leaders and staff in Cameroon were still dealing with the transition from analogue to digital when circuit switching was suddenly replaced by packet switching. This recent change has reshaped the concept and definition of telecommunication networks and services. Everything must therefore be done to make sure the human resources acquire the skills they need for their own development and that of companies, which create wealth for the well-being of peoples. The Ecole Nationale Supà ©rieure des Postes et Tà ©là ©communications, an independent facility run by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, provides basic instruction in telecommunications and ICT to technicians (technical and operating staff), supervising technicians (operating technicians and supervisors) and senior technical managers (works engineers and operating inspectors). It plans to organize standing professional certification for the staff of public and private enterprises and of the public administrations in charge of telecommunications and ICT. V International cooperation Cameroon has always been present and active in regional and international telecommunication organizations. It is a member of the Administrative Councils of both the African Telecommunication Union (ATU) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). It has had very few bilateral exchanges of experience and information with other African countries. The ineffectiveness of regional (ATU) and subregional organizations (CAPTAC) has precluded the launch at subregional level of cooperation activities aimed at developing telecommunications in Cameroon. At the international level, ITU  has not been closely involved in telecommunication sector reform. In the past eight years, it has provided some technical assistance but otherwise almost no support for telecommunication development projects in Cameroon, possibly because the Area Office in Yaoundà © is not functioning. The capacities of the Area Office in Yaoundà © should be reinforced. Its main duties should be: – To disseminate ITU documents and information in the area. For this, it should have the means required to provide the documentation centres of the main players in each of the area’s countries with the documents and books needed to acquire knowledge in telecommunications and ICT, for most of the sector’s African managers will have to teach themselves. In this respect, hard as opposed to electronic copies remain invaluable in Africa.