Letter to investor + MACROECONOMIC OUTLOOK (by region) Essay

Letter to investor + MACROECONOMIC OUTLOOK (by region) - Essay Example As compass helps a sailor in sailing to the right direction, our portfolio also helps the invested funds to move towards appropriate path of earning higher returns. Thus we expect that our portfolio is going to excel the benchmark and will beat the benchmark in near future. Our aim is to hit the MSCI benchmark that is our benchmark. We follow the strategy of efficiently allocating invested funds by investing largely in large or medium cap business enterprises. Our key strategy is to direct the funds towards value stocks as the time period of this portfolio is very short, only one year. This short time horizon does not allow us to put our prime focus on growth stocks. However, it does not mean that we never invested in growth stocks. In fact, we have invested in the growth stocks of Information Technology industry as it shows the best opportunity. We attempt to invest in defensive stocks to avoid cyclical economic fluctuations. It will take some time for the global economy to recover fully from the shock of the recent recession. Defensive stocks are able to generate higher returns than others during troubled times. In terms of geographic segmentation of invested funds, we efficiently divided our funds between the USA, Europe and the rest of the world. Since the USA is the largest economy of the world and it is recovering at a very fast pace, majority of funds is invested in the USA. The second largest part of the funds goes to European nations as they are performing better than the other countries of the world after the USA. The rest of the world gets the remaining funds. Again, thank you for investing with us. Sincerely Xxxxx MACROECONOMIC OUTLOOK United States The Unites States is the economic superpower of the world. But the recent economic recession was originated in this country. U.S.A has always been a dominant economic power in the world and it accounts for approximately 21 percent of the world economy. U.S. economic recession was held responsible for the global economic downturn as U.S. economy always influences economies of other countries in a major way. The major factor that has caused this huge economic downturn in U.S.A. was a huge credit crisis. The credit crisis is held responsible for the closure of a number of investment banks across the world. This credit crisis actually originated from the U.S. home loan market. This credit crisis was triggered by busting of a housing market bubble in 2006. The prices of housing started to fall rapidly since 2006 and the market collapsed. The fall continued throughout 2007 and 2008. With the starting of the year of 2008, U.S. sub prime-mortgage market started to encounter several problems, which appeared to be difficult to deal with. These resulted in an application of huge correction in this market, which had great implications for making credits more costly across the world. With the implementation of this correction, a large number of banks of the America, European countries as well a s of Asia had been forced to write down billions of dollars in their holdings. More shocking thing was that a number of well-established and reputed banks like Lehman Brothers had to file for bankruptcy. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers is considered to be the biggest ever case of bankruptcy in the history of U.S. Since 2008, more than 80 firms in U.S.A. only have filed for bankruptcy and a large number of firms have appealed to the government for financial

Tylenol Recall Essay Example for Free

Tylenol Recall Essay The worldwide recall of the Tylenol product in light of discovering some samples having poison in them is most certainly correct under the Utilitarian principle, which focuses on what will be the greater good for the greater number.   Obviously, when human lives are at stake the greater good is almost always guaranteed to be whatever will prevent the loss of life. Granted, stockholders, stakeholders, patients, etc. were negatively effected for a short duration, and there were presumably several more stockholders and so on effected by the recall than there were potential deaths, but a company such as Johnson and Johnson has been able to maintain its positive image and consumer loyalty due to behaviors which are viewed as being morally responsible, so the short-term effects were likely minimal and exactly that: short-term.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An opposing argument might be that the risks of any human life actually being lost was minimal, and that a random product sampling would have been enough to determine if indeed any other product had been contaminated, and therefore the product should NOT have been recalled, simply because the potential risk of loss of human life and the lawsuits sure to follow was less than the risk of dollars lost by the company, by the shareholders, by employees, suppliers, distributors, etc.   Some might argue this loss is far greater than any of the potential risks associated with the poisoned pills. However, once again to cite the Utilitarian principle, whatever is morally â€Å"right† is that which creates the most happiness, or overall â€Å"good,† for the larger number of people.   Again, human death is something that is generally received as far more severe than the temporary loss of money (which can be recovered).   15 human deaths in comparison to a loss of 15 million, even billion, dollars is far more significant in the minds of most people in our society. Especially for a consumer product (and not for any greater purpose, such as the freedom of our country which leads to casualties of war), there is no level of acceptable loss of human life in the interest of saving a large corporation some money.   The perseverance of human life produces greater happiness with the public, which also reinstalls faith in a morally responsible company such as Johnson and Johnson, which allows them to fairly easily recover any net losses, which puts all the stockholders and others effected by it right back on a level playing field.   And no lives were lost.   By Utilitarian principles, everyone in this situation wins.

Complaint Handling in the Hospitality Industry

Complaint Handling in the Hospitality Industry The issue of grievance handling has not been new in organizations and it has been one of the most persistent problems of all times. In the course of running an organization, there are many complaints that are handled daily by the management which constitute the process of grievance handling. Grievances are common not only in organization but also in our social life. However it has been shown that the nature of the grievances is not that important than the process that is used to handle the grievances. Before we look at the process of handling a grievance in an organization, let us look use first understand the nature of a grievance. What is a grievance? (Dentron and Boyd 2005, p. 61) A grievance can be defined as any complaint that is raised by an individual worker of a group of workers in an organization. A grievance is usually raised in allegation of violation of the terms of agreement in the workplace. Therefore it can be said to a complaint that is raised and which is aimed at expressing the dissatisfaction of the employees by what is happening in the organization. A grievance however differs from a complaint in that while a complaint can be verbally expressed, a grievance is usually stated in writing. A grievance can be caused by many things. It has been shown that some of the most controversial issues which usually ends up in a grievance include the discharge of employees from their workplace, lack of a process of collective bargaining for the employees which can be used to express their dissatisfaction, unfair labor practices, and others which are likely to happening in the work places. (Rahul 2005, p. 31) Therefore we can expound on this point by looking closely at the process which is usually used to handle these complaints. For the effective functioning of an organization, there is usually a need to look at the welfare of the employee. Any management will recognize that the employees are the most important asset that an organization holds and therefore the most important thing in the management of the resources of an organization will be first to look at the welfare of the workforces. It has been shown that most of the grievances which hare not well looked at often precipitate to a form of dissident by the workforce which in most case comes as strike. A strike in an organization will not only have economic effect on the organization but it will also have effects on the image of the management of the organization. Therefore many organizations have come up with an effective procedure that can be used to handle complaints of het employees. In order to ensure that there is less participant of the workforce in mass movement of labor unions, many organization came up with human resource departments which are well positioned to handle the complains of the employees. Therefore it is the duty of the human resource department to come up with a well structured way that can be used to look at the welfare of the workforce. The human resource department is the one which is entrusted with the duty of handling all the complaints regarding the employees. Human resource department must come up with a grievance handling procedure. (Finegan 2004, p. 71) A grievance handling produced clearly defines a process which is used by the organization to look at the complaints that has been given by the employees. It presents a process of initial resolving of the complaints through arbitration. It is a process that is used to indentify and resolve the companies in a timely manner in order to promoted the prevail a constructive discussion between the management and the representatives of the employees. therefore the aim of the grievance procedure is to ensure that there is a proper mechanism in place that is used by the management to look at the issues that pertains to employees in order to ensure that there is constructive resolving of the complains at they arises. (Dana 2001, p. 231) The hospitality industry has been one of the rapidly growing industries in the world. In a short period of time, the industry has grown short of its former self. In the last few decades there has been increased travelling by people all over the world. This has been enabled by the increasing wave of globalization which has opened the world and increased the interaction between people. As a result individuals have been able to travel from one corners of the world to the other with no political or legal limitation. The improve modes of transport has been the main factor that has contributed to the rapid growth of the industry. The industry has been one of the most important industries in the world that have been supporting the increased globalization and polarization of world culture. Therefore there has been unprecedented growth of the industry in a very short period of time. The industry has been offering supportive services in the tourism sector. Apparently tourism has emerged to be one of the most important industries in the world. It has been fueled by increased spending culture in the world and increased openness. Tourism has taken many dimensions in its growth in areas of cultural tourism, business tourism, leisure tourism, education tourism, medical tourism, and other areas. In all these segments, individual usually travels away from their homes to go to foreign countries. Therefore they need to be accommodated and given other services. In this regard the hospitality industry comes in hand as it offers them support in accommodation and other necessary services. The hospitality industry has therefore hinged its growth on the tourism sector. (Leornard 2001, p. 52) One of the emerging natures of the hospitality industry has been diversity that has been experienced in the customers that the industry target and also in the workforce. There has been an increasing trend in the industry towards culture convergence in which one hospitality facility in the world is serving people of diverse culture. Therefore there has been an aspect of standardization of culture in the industry. Cultural homogeneity is considered to be one of the competitive factors that need to achieve in order to survive in the competitive market. With the market become more diverse due to divers needs of the customers, the hotel industry have therefore tended to have a divers nature of employees in order to help their customers to feel at home every time they are being served. Therefore there has been an increasing trend of multicultural workforce in the industry. This of course has come with its own challenges to human resource management. One of the most challenges that faces any human resource management is a multicultural workforce is the way to handle complains by the employees. Many a times, employees feel that their welfare is not looked at as needed in the organization and there are usually incidences of unfair treatment of the employees. But due to the diverse nature of the employees, the human resource department may not be in a position to come up with standardized way of dealing with all the demands that employees have. Therefore there are incidence of complaints that are based on the favors in the workforce and discontent in the allocation of duties. Many of het case studies that have been presented about complain in the hospitality industry have all been based on issue of favors in the workforce which arise due to the diversity in the workforce. Therefore in the contemporary human resource management issues, diversity in the workforce in the hospitality industry have been one of the causes of complains in the workforce. The hospitality industry is one of the most hectic industries as visitors check in and checks out. As a result there is a lot of work that needs to be done by the workforce. The nature of services in the industry is based on the fact that the visitors have to feel as comfortable as they want and find value for the amount of money that they are charged. Therefore there has to be a lot of work that is done by the employees in order to meet the demands of the visitors. Some of the visitors can be a little nagging and may require excessive attention than others. Going by the nature of definition of the duties the employee have to perform some employee will always find themselves doing extra work that they have not bee assigned at the time they were hired. Therefore there is usually a conflict with their supervisors who have to make sure that the guest gets all what they want and therefore will have to assign extra duty to the employees. At the end to the day employees will feel that they have done more that they are supposed to do in their duties. This has been shown to be another source of complains from the employees who feels that they are unfair treated and their initial duty assignment is not respected. (Andrew Kurth LLP, 2008) In most cases supervisors are faced with a hard task of ensuring that employee perform all the duties that they have been assigned to and also perform the extra duties that the guests wants to be attendee to. Therefore there is a situation between the supervisors and the employees. The hospitality industry peaks with seasons. This means that there are periods when there will be an inflow of guest while there are other seasons when there will be less guest checking in. In there regard there is a fluctuating need of employees in the industry. When the season peaks, the industry will need to hire more employees and when the season is low the industry will need to lay off some of the employees. In this regard the tourism industry is most affected by the seasonality. Most of the hotels which operation in leisure industries will find the there are periods when there will be more guest especially during holidays and weekend while there are other when there will be less guest. The industry is also prone to political stability and other factors and therefore the times when there is a serene atmosphere will see an inflow of guest while the times when there is political turmoil there will be less guests who will be checking in. As a result the industry is force to keep on hiring and lying off some of the workers. It has continuously become difficult for the industry to hire more employees on permanent bases due to the fact that there are period when the industry will need more workers while the off seasons will need less workers. Therefore there is a factor of the way in which employees are hired and retained in the industry. This has been one of the most contentious issues especially when it come to the labor unions which have been arguing that there is need for the industry to hire employee on permanent bases. There are a times when the industry is forced to lay off the employee unexpected due to the prevailing circumstance. For example in Kenya which is one of the famed tourism destinations in Africa, the last year skirmishes had a negative effect in the industry. It is recorded that though it was the high season when the tourism and hospitality industry expected a great inflow of guest, more than 10,000 employees were laid off. This was due to massive cancellation of bookings that had been done. The industry has apparently hired more workers in anticipation for the high season that had just started to pick up. There has been a conflicting situation in the industry as the employee who had been hired on contracted bases want to be paid all the money as their contract had defend while the industry is trying to recover from a massive losses incurred due to the massive cancellation. The hospitality industry has also been shown as one of the industry which pays the workers low salaries. This has been caused by the fact that the industry sometime will need to hire more employees and other times it will have to lay off some the employees. Due to the fact that the industry goes on of very lean seasons when it has to maintain its operation, there have been incidence of some players in the industry paying their employee very low salaries in a bid to cover the expense in the low season. Therefore there have been conflicts between the workforce and the management on the issue of salaries. This is one of the most conflicting issues that have led to formation of labor unions in the industry. Most of the operators in the industry agree with the fact that the industry pays less money to its employees especially during the low seasons but they try to equate that with the operation of het industry during that period. It has been shown that although the industry has been growing at a high rate, there have been fewer incidences of increased salaries for the workforce even at times when the industry is performing well. There has also been incidence of customer complain in the industry. It has been shown that in most cases customer have been complains about the quality of service that they receive from particular employees in the industry and also from the facility in general. This has been a difficult situation for the human resource department especially since it has to ascertain the nature of the conflict between the employee and the guest. In most case the guest may have rubbed the employee on the wrong side and therefore there must be a way of asserting the truth before punishing the employee. Though the issue of customer complains has been shown to be a responsibility attached to the customer service department, at the end of the day it ends up as a management issue that has to be resolved. Both hotel and hospitality industries fall under any industry in the country. Therefore they are exposed to the same labor laws like any other industry. However the nature of employee relation in the industry has been changing due to some of the factors that have been shown. Although there has been increasing labor unionization of the industry there has also some legal aspects that have been protecting the employees in the industry. One of the laws that protect employee in the industry has been the National Labor Relation Act which are aimed at redressing complain of any employees that has been unlawfully discharged from their duties. Through the law the employee is able to seek redress in the law court. However there has been conflicting situation when it comes to address this issue and when it comes to the application of the law. This is because every time an employee is dismissed from their duties for a genuine reason, they run to the court to place complains and what follows is an argument about the rights of het employees. Although the employer has the responsibility of recognize the rightist of the employee, there has been the question of the responsibility of the employee especially when it comes to the nature of the operation of the industry. Being in an industry that calls for meticulous performance of duties in order to ensure the satisfaction of the employee, there has been incidence where the employee have been dismissed on the ground of misbehaving with the guest or failing to perform their duties and what follows is a lawsuits for the company. (Mitchell, 2007) There has been increasing misinterpretation of the National Labor Relation Act when it comes to the employees working in the hospitality industry. There has been a need to becoming familiar with the law and its interpretations. There has been misinterpretation of the act when it comes to the employers also. It has been shown that there are many incidences when the employers back off from their earlier salary agreement and fire off employee who complains. But the law has shown the act is inclusive even of the employee who works in the hospitality industry who are likely to work for part time bases. Holiday Inn has been one of the most prosperous hotels that have become major player in the hospitality and tourism industry. It has been able to spread its wings all over the world and has grown to be a multinational in a very short period. It has positioned itself in all the corners of the world which have tourism potential and therefore it has a world wide presence. Like any other play in the industry, the hotel has been receiving a number of complains from the customers as well as from the workers themselves. Since the hotel has been relying on tourism activities in its overseas operation, the hotel has been experience same problems as we have mentioned above which are all hinged on the satisfaction of the employee and on other factors. But is has successfully put in place a mechanism that is used to handle all these complains. It has been dealing with a range of complains about its employees and at the same time there have been complains from the employees on the way they are beign treated. (Dilts 2006, p. 34) In order to handle all these complains, the hotel first steps which were aimed at streamlining it relationship with the employees was the formation of the human resource department which was supposed to look at the welfare of the employees. The human resource department was apparently responsible for looking at the welfare of the employee and also it was to handle complains from the employee. Therefore it was given the authority to deal with issue of hiring and firing of the employees. In areas where the hotel has been hiring seasonal workforce, it has been putting the employee on a contractual agreement where they are supposed to be paid according to there performance and not on the bases that eh were hired. This has been made in order to avoid many complains that come from the workforce once they are dismissed from their employee when the low seasons comes. The hotel has also made sure that it has put in place a board that is supposed to scrutinize all the complains that are received from the employees so that it can look into the way of making sure that they are well addressed. The board or the arbitration body is supposed to work in close conjunction with the human resource department to make sure that there is a well defined procedure that is followed while dealing with the complains. Therefore there have been systematic efforts by the hotel that has been aimed at reducing the level of complains with the workforce. These efforts have also been aimed at ensuring that all the employees are handled as equal and that complains are dealt with as a matter of urgency. From time to time there will be complains from the workforce. These complains are most of the time genuine and they indicates that there is a problem that need to be fixed somewhere in the work process. The human resource department that has been given the mandate of dealing with the issue of these conflicts understands that employees are the most important treasure that ht organization holds. It has to deal with the employee well, so that it will gain a competitive edge in the market. Therefore it is good for the management to come up with proper way of dealing with these complains in order to avert further action from the employee. Most of the time if these complain is not dealt with they are likely to precipitate to strikes which will have a negative effect on the productivity of the industry and also on the image of he industry. The tourism and hospitality industry has been one of the industries that have been suffering major grievances from employee due to issues of off and on season employment and low payment. There have been major labor action in the industry which has been caused by these complain that has been expressed by the workforce. Therefore there is need for the players in the industry to handle some of these complains well and take the example of Holiday Inn which has come with effective mechanisms that are meat to deal with the problem firmly. Andrew Kurth LLP, 2008, Hospitality and Hotels: Employment and Labor, Retrieved from http://www.andrewskurth.com/industries-22.html on 10th May 2008 Dana, D 2001, Conflict Resolution, McGraw Hill Dentron, K. Boyd, C 2005, Employee Complaint Handling, Greenwood Publishing Group Dilts, D 2006, Cases in Collective Bargaining industry relations, McGraw Hill, New York Finegan, J 2004, The rigorous customer-complain, Harvard Business Review12 Leornard, A 2001, The service Driven Company, Harvard Business Review 69 Mitchell, M 2007, Union organization Trend in the Hospitality Industry, Retrieved from http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=2363 on 10th May 2008 Rahul, J 2005, Corporate Reputation, John Willey, New York Complaint Handling in the Hospitality Industry Complaint Handling in the Hospitality Industry The issue of grievance handling has not been new in organizations and it has been one of the most persistent problems of all times. In the course of running an organization, there are many complaints that are handled daily by the management which constitute the process of grievance handling. Grievances are common not only in organization but also in our social life. However it has been shown that the nature of the grievances is not that important than the process that is used to handle the grievances. Before we look at the process of handling a grievance in an organization, let us look use first understand the nature of a grievance. What is a grievance? (Dentron and Boyd 2005, p. 61) A grievance can be defined as any complaint that is raised by an individual worker of a group of workers in an organization. A grievance is usually raised in allegation of violation of the terms of agreement in the workplace. Therefore it can be said to a complaint that is raised and which is aimed at expressing the dissatisfaction of the employees by what is happening in the organization. A grievance however differs from a complaint in that while a complaint can be verbally expressed, a grievance is usually stated in writing. A grievance can be caused by many things. It has been shown that some of the most controversial issues which usually ends up in a grievance include the discharge of employees from their workplace, lack of a process of collective bargaining for the employees which can be used to express their dissatisfaction, unfair labor practices, and others which are likely to happening in the work places. (Rahul 2005, p. 31) Therefore we can expound on this point by looking closely at the process which is usually used to handle these complaints. For the effective functioning of an organization, there is usually a need to look at the welfare of the employee. Any management will recognize that the employees are the most important asset that an organization holds and therefore the most important thing in the management of the resources of an organization will be first to look at the welfare of the workforces. It has been shown that most of the grievances which hare not well looked at often precipitate to a form of dissident by the workforce which in most case comes as strike. A strike in an organization will not only have economic effect on the organization but it will also have effects on the image of the management of the organization. Therefore many organizations have come up with an effective procedure that can be used to handle complaints of het employees. In order to ensure that there is less participant of the workforce in mass movement of labor unions, many organization came up with human resource departments which are well positioned to handle the complains of the employees. Therefore it is the duty of the human resource department to come up with a well structured way that can be used to look at the welfare of the workforce. The human resource department is the one which is entrusted with the duty of handling all the complaints regarding the employees. Human resource department must come up with a grievance handling procedure. (Finegan 2004, p. 71) A grievance handling produced clearly defines a process which is used by the organization to look at the complaints that has been given by the employees. It presents a process of initial resolving of the complaints through arbitration. It is a process that is used to indentify and resolve the companies in a timely manner in order to promoted the prevail a constructive discussion between the management and the representatives of the employees. therefore the aim of the grievance procedure is to ensure that there is a proper mechanism in place that is used by the management to look at the issues that pertains to employees in order to ensure that there is constructive resolving of the complains at they arises. (Dana 2001, p. 231) The hospitality industry has been one of the rapidly growing industries in the world. In a short period of time, the industry has grown short of its former self. In the last few decades there has been increased travelling by people all over the world. This has been enabled by the increasing wave of globalization which has opened the world and increased the interaction between people. As a result individuals have been able to travel from one corners of the world to the other with no political or legal limitation. The improve modes of transport has been the main factor that has contributed to the rapid growth of the industry. The industry has been one of the most important industries in the world that have been supporting the increased globalization and polarization of world culture. Therefore there has been unprecedented growth of the industry in a very short period of time. The industry has been offering supportive services in the tourism sector. Apparently tourism has emerged to be one of the most important industries in the world. It has been fueled by increased spending culture in the world and increased openness. Tourism has taken many dimensions in its growth in areas of cultural tourism, business tourism, leisure tourism, education tourism, medical tourism, and other areas. In all these segments, individual usually travels away from their homes to go to foreign countries. Therefore they need to be accommodated and given other services. In this regard the hospitality industry comes in hand as it offers them support in accommodation and other necessary services. The hospitality industry has therefore hinged its growth on the tourism sector. (Leornard 2001, p. 52) One of the emerging natures of the hospitality industry has been diversity that has been experienced in the customers that the industry target and also in the workforce. There has been an increasing trend in the industry towards culture convergence in which one hospitality facility in the world is serving people of diverse culture. Therefore there has been an aspect of standardization of culture in the industry. Cultural homogeneity is considered to be one of the competitive factors that need to achieve in order to survive in the competitive market. With the market become more diverse due to divers needs of the customers, the hotel industry have therefore tended to have a divers nature of employees in order to help their customers to feel at home every time they are being served. Therefore there has been an increasing trend of multicultural workforce in the industry. This of course has come with its own challenges to human resource management. One of the most challenges that faces any human resource management is a multicultural workforce is the way to handle complains by the employees. Many a times, employees feel that their welfare is not looked at as needed in the organization and there are usually incidences of unfair treatment of the employees. But due to the diverse nature of the employees, the human resource department may not be in a position to come up with standardized way of dealing with all the demands that employees have. Therefore there are incidence of complaints that are based on the favors in the workforce and discontent in the allocation of duties. Many of het case studies that have been presented about complain in the hospitality industry have all been based on issue of favors in the workforce which arise due to the diversity in the workforce. Therefore in the contemporary human resource management issues, diversity in the workforce in the hospitality industry have been one of the causes of complains in the workforce. The hospitality industry is one of the most hectic industries as visitors check in and checks out. As a result there is a lot of work that needs to be done by the workforce. The nature of services in the industry is based on the fact that the visitors have to feel as comfortable as they want and find value for the amount of money that they are charged. Therefore there has to be a lot of work that is done by the employees in order to meet the demands of the visitors. Some of the visitors can be a little nagging and may require excessive attention than others. Going by the nature of definition of the duties the employee have to perform some employee will always find themselves doing extra work that they have not bee assigned at the time they were hired. Therefore there is usually a conflict with their supervisors who have to make sure that the guest gets all what they want and therefore will have to assign extra duty to the employees. At the end to the day employees will feel that they have done more that they are supposed to do in their duties. This has been shown to be another source of complains from the employees who feels that they are unfair treated and their initial duty assignment is not respected. (Andrew Kurth LLP, 2008) In most cases supervisors are faced with a hard task of ensuring that employee perform all the duties that they have been assigned to and also perform the extra duties that the guests wants to be attendee to. Therefore there is a situation between the supervisors and the employees. The hospitality industry peaks with seasons. This means that there are periods when there will be an inflow of guest while there are other seasons when there will be less guest checking in. In there regard there is a fluctuating need of employees in the industry. When the season peaks, the industry will need to hire more employees and when the season is low the industry will need to lay off some of the employees. In this regard the tourism industry is most affected by the seasonality. Most of the hotels which operation in leisure industries will find the there are periods when there will be more guest especially during holidays and weekend while there are other when there will be less guest. The industry is also prone to political stability and other factors and therefore the times when there is a serene atmosphere will see an inflow of guest while the times when there is political turmoil there will be less guests who will be checking in. As a result the industry is force to keep on hiring and lying off some of the workers. It has continuously become difficult for the industry to hire more employees on permanent bases due to the fact that there are period when the industry will need more workers while the off seasons will need less workers. Therefore there is a factor of the way in which employees are hired and retained in the industry. This has been one of the most contentious issues especially when it come to the labor unions which have been arguing that there is need for the industry to hire employee on permanent bases. There are a times when the industry is forced to lay off the employee unexpected due to the prevailing circumstance. For example in Kenya which is one of the famed tourism destinations in Africa, the last year skirmishes had a negative effect in the industry. It is recorded that though it was the high season when the tourism and hospitality industry expected a great inflow of guest, more than 10,000 employees were laid off. This was due to massive cancellation of bookings that had been done. The industry has apparently hired more workers in anticipation for the high season that had just started to pick up. There has been a conflicting situation in the industry as the employee who had been hired on contracted bases want to be paid all the money as their contract had defend while the industry is trying to recover from a massive losses incurred due to the massive cancellation. The hospitality industry has also been shown as one of the industry which pays the workers low salaries. This has been caused by the fact that the industry sometime will need to hire more employees and other times it will have to lay off some the employees. Due to the fact that the industry goes on of very lean seasons when it has to maintain its operation, there have been incidence of some players in the industry paying their employee very low salaries in a bid to cover the expense in the low season. Therefore there have been conflicts between the workforce and the management on the issue of salaries. This is one of the most conflicting issues that have led to formation of labor unions in the industry. Most of the operators in the industry agree with the fact that the industry pays less money to its employees especially during the low seasons but they try to equate that with the operation of het industry during that period. It has been shown that although the industry has been growing at a high rate, there have been fewer incidences of increased salaries for the workforce even at times when the industry is performing well. There has also been incidence of customer complain in the industry. It has been shown that in most cases customer have been complains about the quality of service that they receive from particular employees in the industry and also from the facility in general. This has been a difficult situation for the human resource department especially since it has to ascertain the nature of the conflict between the employee and the guest. In most case the guest may have rubbed the employee on the wrong side and therefore there must be a way of asserting the truth before punishing the employee. Though the issue of customer complains has been shown to be a responsibility attached to the customer service department, at the end of the day it ends up as a management issue that has to be resolved. Both hotel and hospitality industries fall under any industry in the country. Therefore they are exposed to the same labor laws like any other industry. However the nature of employee relation in the industry has been changing due to some of the factors that have been shown. Although there has been increasing labor unionization of the industry there has also some legal aspects that have been protecting the employees in the industry. One of the laws that protect employee in the industry has been the National Labor Relation Act which are aimed at redressing complain of any employees that has been unlawfully discharged from their duties. Through the law the employee is able to seek redress in the law court. However there has been conflicting situation when it comes to address this issue and when it comes to the application of the law. This is because every time an employee is dismissed from their duties for a genuine reason, they run to the court to place complains and what follows is an argument about the rights of het employees. Although the employer has the responsibility of recognize the rightist of the employee, there has been the question of the responsibility of the employee especially when it comes to the nature of the operation of the industry. Being in an industry that calls for meticulous performance of duties in order to ensure the satisfaction of the employee, there has been incidence where the employee have been dismissed on the ground of misbehaving with the guest or failing to perform their duties and what follows is a lawsuits for the company. (Mitchell, 2007) There has been increasing misinterpretation of the National Labor Relation Act when it comes to the employees working in the hospitality industry. There has been a need to becoming familiar with the law and its interpretations. There has been misinterpretation of the act when it comes to the employers also. It has been shown that there are many incidences when the employers back off from their earlier salary agreement and fire off employee who complains. But the law has shown the act is inclusive even of the employee who works in the hospitality industry who are likely to work for part time bases. Holiday Inn has been one of the most prosperous hotels that have become major player in the hospitality and tourism industry. It has been able to spread its wings all over the world and has grown to be a multinational in a very short period. It has positioned itself in all the corners of the world which have tourism potential and therefore it has a world wide presence. Like any other play in the industry, the hotel has been receiving a number of complains from the customers as well as from the workers themselves. Since the hotel has been relying on tourism activities in its overseas operation, the hotel has been experience same problems as we have mentioned above which are all hinged on the satisfaction of the employee and on other factors. But is has successfully put in place a mechanism that is used to handle all these complains. It has been dealing with a range of complains about its employees and at the same time there have been complains from the employees on the way they are beign treated. (Dilts 2006, p. 34) In order to handle all these complains, the hotel first steps which were aimed at streamlining it relationship with the employees was the formation of the human resource department which was supposed to look at the welfare of the employees. The human resource department was apparently responsible for looking at the welfare of the employee and also it was to handle complains from the employee. Therefore it was given the authority to deal with issue of hiring and firing of the employees. In areas where the hotel has been hiring seasonal workforce, it has been putting the employee on a contractual agreement where they are supposed to be paid according to there performance and not on the bases that eh were hired. This has been made in order to avoid many complains that come from the workforce once they are dismissed from their employee when the low seasons comes. The hotel has also made sure that it has put in place a board that is supposed to scrutinize all the complains that are received from the employees so that it can look into the way of making sure that they are well addressed. The board or the arbitration body is supposed to work in close conjunction with the human resource department to make sure that there is a well defined procedure that is followed while dealing with the complains. Therefore there have been systematic efforts by the hotel that has been aimed at reducing the level of complains with the workforce. These efforts have also been aimed at ensuring that all the employees are handled as equal and that complains are dealt with as a matter of urgency. From time to time there will be complains from the workforce. These complains are most of the time genuine and they indicates that there is a problem that need to be fixed somewhere in the work process. The human resource department that has been given the mandate of dealing with the issue of these conflicts understands that employees are the most important treasure that ht organization holds. It has to deal with the employee well, so that it will gain a competitive edge in the market. Therefore it is good for the management to come up with proper way of dealing with these complains in order to avert further action from the employee. Most of the time if these complain is not dealt with they are likely to precipitate to strikes which will have a negative effect on the productivity of the industry and also on the image of he industry. The tourism and hospitality industry has been one of the industries that have been suffering major grievances from employee due to issues of off and on season employment and low payment. There have been major labor action in the industry which has been caused by these complain that has been expressed by the workforce. Therefore there is need for the players in the industry to handle some of these complains well and take the example of Holiday Inn which has come with effective mechanisms that are meat to deal with the problem firmly. Andrew Kurth LLP, 2008, Hospitality and Hotels: Employment and Labor, Retrieved from http://www.andrewskurth.com/industries-22.html on 10th May 2008 Dana, D 2001, Conflict Resolution, McGraw Hill Dentron, K. Boyd, C 2005, Employee Complaint Handling, Greenwood Publishing Group Dilts, D 2006, Cases in Collective Bargaining industry relations, McGraw Hill, New York Finegan, J 2004, The rigorous customer-complain, Harvard Business Review12 Leornard, A 2001, The service Driven Company, Harvard Business Review 69 Mitchell, M 2007, Union organization Trend in the Hospitality Industry, Retrieved from http://www.4hoteliers.com/4hots_fshw.php?mwi=2363 on 10th May 2008 Rahul, J 2005, Corporate Reputation, John Willey, New York

One Must Search for Beauty in All Things :: Law College Admissions Essays

One Must Search for Beauty in All Things    I never had the benefit of a spiritual guide. No one ever counseled me to â€Å"search for beauty in all things†. Perhaps it is most beneficial to learn some things through experience.    I ran away from an abusive stepfather and an alcoholic mother when I was thirteen and it was the best decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a year before the state took custody of me and placed me in a group home. Over the next four years I would live in several different homes ranging from a hundred children to less than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on time and with honors.    Group homes are a strange place to grow up in. There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven o'clock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would take turns doing the dishes and preparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities. But group homes are also lawless. They are crowded. The majority of the children are on some sort of probation. Violence is rampant. Upstairs there are gang meetings, freehand tattoos, and games of dice. Liquor and hard drugs are common. While we were required to leave in the morning, we were not required to attend school, and as such, most kids did not finish high school.    In many ways, the group homes defined who I am, much the way a person's family and upbringing would define them. The core of my value system was formed during the formative years of fourteen to eighteen. In the group I learned to be discerning without being judgmental. With my friends I was able to go into the neighborhoods where they grew up, neighborhoods I would never have been able to go into otherwise. For a while I lived in a home across from the Robert Taylor Projects, the largest housing projects in the world. In these group homes I met the people who still constitute my family.    For me the group homes were a positive experience, for most they are not. I was fortunate in that I was a little more driven, and maybe a little more intelligent than the average kid in my circumstances. One Must Search for Beauty in All Things :: Law College Admissions Essays One Must Search for Beauty in All Things    I never had the benefit of a spiritual guide. No one ever counseled me to â€Å"search for beauty in all things†. Perhaps it is most beneficial to learn some things through experience.    I ran away from an abusive stepfather and an alcoholic mother when I was thirteen and it was the best decision I ever made. I slept on rooftops and hallways for a year before the state took custody of me and placed me in a group home. Over the next four years I would live in several different homes ranging from a hundred children to less than ten and attend four different high schools. Ultimately though, I finished high school on time and with honors.    Group homes are a strange place to grow up in. There is a structure. Dinner is eaten at a certain time and after eleven o'clock everyone goes upstairs. There are case reviews and mandatory meetings with social workers. We would take turns doing the dishes and preparing meals. Some of the group homes I was in are locked facilities where the children only go out for specific activities. But group homes are also lawless. They are crowded. The majority of the children are on some sort of probation. Violence is rampant. Upstairs there are gang meetings, freehand tattoos, and games of dice. Liquor and hard drugs are common. While we were required to leave in the morning, we were not required to attend school, and as such, most kids did not finish high school.    In many ways, the group homes defined who I am, much the way a person's family and upbringing would define them. The core of my value system was formed during the formative years of fourteen to eighteen. In the group I learned to be discerning without being judgmental. With my friends I was able to go into the neighborhoods where they grew up, neighborhoods I would never have been able to go into otherwise. For a while I lived in a home across from the Robert Taylor Projects, the largest housing projects in the world. In these group homes I met the people who still constitute my family.    For me the group homes were a positive experience, for most they are not. I was fortunate in that I was a little more driven, and maybe a little more intelligent than the average kid in my circumstances.

Preserving the Sanctity of Marriage

Preserving the Sanctity of Marriage â€Å"They are preserving the sanctity of marriage, so that two gay men who've been together for twenty-five years can't get married, but a guy can still get drunk in Vegas and marry a hooker at the Elvis chapel! The sanctity of marriage is saved! † Lea DeLaria states her views on gay marriage. Some although, view this topic very differently, it is seen as a dirty abomination to many that heterosexual marriage is being corrupted by the possibility of homosexual marriage.The year is 2010, yet America has seemed to take a step back in giving everyone and anyone equal rights in today’s society, leading back when America thought it was not a good idea to give African Americans their rights. Is that situation so different from today’s argument of giving homosexuals their rights? Although heterosexual marriages are more acceptable in America today, homosexual relationships as well as marriages need to be respected, not restrained so homosexuals can live freely as they please. People who are against gay marriage often are very religious in the Christian sense.They can relate gay marriage back to the bible with quotes like â€Å"Marriage shall consist of a union between one man and one or more women† (Genesis 29:17-28; II Samuel 3:2-5). These kinds of people are the ones who stay in tradition; the union between a man and women has been the only way of a legal connection in a society of any kind. This tradition proves to be strong; in June of 1986 the U. S Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that adult gay members practicing a gay lifestyle were not protected by the constitution. This was the first ruling in the U.S that outright said that gay marriage would not be tolerated. Since 1986 not much has changed, a gay lifestyle is not widely accepted, as well as marriages between them. Being part of the gay community is not an easy task, especially when marriage is involved. Just because someone is gay does not mean that t his person should have different rights than a straight person. Both are human beings, both deserve the same rights. One does not choose to be a homosexual or heterosexual, it is how one is wired as one grows up, neither is wrong and therefore, why does one get to marry and not the other?This is a question still being answered today where through the ages homosexuality was considered a disease up until 1973, where it was finally taken off the DSM-II (official list of psychiatric disorders). Gays were also blamed for AIDS, the disease being called the â€Å"gay plague. † These things are absolutely horrendous; as this shows, some people are extremely ignorant about the gay culture. When people do not know what these people are like, they make assumptions and stereotypes that lead to the culture to not have the same rights as others because of the nasty things that are spread like wildfire throughout the world.In Africa, gays can legally be killed for just being themselves. It is exactly like the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. People accuse others in Africa of being gay and they can be imprisoned for life or killed simply for being accused. This is not what should be going on in a 21st century world. The same thing goes for being gay and trying to get married, they are denied time after time in the U. S. America is known for its free land and democratic values, yet America cannot handle the simple task of giving one group the full rights that everyone else has.I strongly believe that denying one’s rights because of their sexual orientation is beyond wrong, it is an abomination to what America stands for. It makes me angry to think that someone who loves another that just happens to be the same gender as they cannot legally marry. They deserve to be happy just like anyone else. Why would someone deny happiness to someone because they love the same gender as they? Is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness not part of America’s Declaration of Independence?I believe the U. S has lost sight of this in today’s religiously ridden society. The separation of church and state has been lost and blended together, creating a storm of hatred and racism toward the gay community. These people are some of the kindest I have ever met, and yet they get some of the cruelest comments I have ever witnessed in my life. These people deserve more, including an equal right in everything, especially marriage. It is time for America to move forward for the goal of equal gay rights.These people have seen enough turmoil throughout time, longer than any community to date. It is time for acceptance, love, and peace toward the gay community. I have too many friends who have so much love for everyone else and they are turned away by society, dumped in an area called disgusting, repulsive, and unacceptable. Even though in America homosexual marriages are beginning to be accepted, their relationships as well as marriages should be given the same right as everyone else anywhere in the world, to truly save the sanctity of marriage.

malaysia essays

malaysia essays Geography is the different feature of the land terrain all of the mountains and the rivers that is has within its the borders of Malaysia. Malaysia has a mountains regions and an ever-decreasing forest but like most countries, Malaysia is not that big and still it has all different characteristics that a bigger country would have. Malaysias total area is 329,750 sq km, which is composed of 1,200 sq km of water and 328,550 sq km of land. Malaysia is compared to as being slightly larger than New Mexico. Malaysias terrain is describable to be like coastal plains riding to hills and mountains and it has a coast line is 2,068 km for peninsular Malaysia and for east Malaysia that is 2,507 km and all together is 4,675 km. Malaysia is divided in two major landmasses and the one which is a peninsula is called Sabah and the other which is part of Borneo a combination of Malaysia and Indonesia is called Sarawak. The highest point in Malaysia is Mount Tahan at an elevation of 2,187 m. Mal aysia also includes small islands including Langkaw and Pinang of the north east coast and Tioman, which is a popular tourism destination. East Malaysia has the countrys largest river the Rajang in Sarawak and Kinabatangan in Sabah they are each 560km long and very navigable. Most of the rivers in Malaysia are steep, descents, and mostly in Sarawak. Malaysias largest lake is Lake Bera and it is in West Malaysia. Malaysias climate is hot and humid all year round with average daily temperatures of 70 degrees to 90 degrees and has an annual rainfall of about 100 inches. The exposed northern slopes of Malaysia can receive up to 200 inches of rain. Its land has land divided into There are also monsoons that effect the southwest from April to October and the northeast from October to February, which leaves only march the month with no monsoons. In Malaysia have several natural disasters that occur which are flooding, landslide...

Writing an Education Term Paper A Complete Guide

Writing an Education Term Paper A Complete Guide A term paper is a large written assignment you are given an entire term to write. Usually it consists of a critical and analytical report on one of the topics you’ve studied as a part of your course, to give you solid ground to build your argument on. Unlike many assignments you may have written in the past that dealt either with summarizing the existing body of research on a particular topic or consisted of your own thoughts on the subject, a term paper is supposed to contain both these elements. In a sense, its goal is to check if you can both collect information from external sources and think on your own. An education term paper is associated with additional peculiarities, because education by definition is located at the crossroads of a number of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, philosophy and others. This means that you have to, on the one hand, have sufficient grounding in several disciplines, and on the other hand – clearly decide exactly which aspect you are going to research. That what this education term paper guide is all about. As for the size, normally education term papers are about 10-15 pages long, although the requirements of your particular university always take precedence over conventions. How to Select a Topic for Your Education Term Paper Sometimes an instructor will assign you a topic to work with, but most often, they only broadly delineate the area with which you will have to work, leaving the choice of a specific topic to you. You shouldn’t approach the choice lightly – you are going to write the paper for an entire term and won’t have an opportunity to change the topic once you’ve committed to it. Here are some tips that will make this choice a bit easier: Stick to what you know. Preferably, if you know something about a topic from beyond the syllabus – this way you will be able to almost effortlessly impress your instructor. Having a personal interest in the subject matter also helps; Brainstorm for ideas. Take a clean sheet of paper, write ‘Education term paper’ in its middle and start writing down all the ideas that come into your head around it. Don’t worry if the ideas are good or bad at this point – your goal is to generate as many of them as possible, you will have an opportunity to evaluate them later. Try using catalyst questions: Are there controversial issues you have strong opinions about? Have you seen something in the news that made you angry or anxious? Is there any issue you want to know more about? Do you have any personal experiences you may use as a basis for your paper (after all, you see the education industry from the inside right now)? Read general background information and look for sources for a few topics you are considering. This will help you decide if the topic is manageable: it should offer enough information to satisfy your obligatory word or page count, and at the same time leave you enough to research on your own. If you see that the exact topic you currently consider has been studied through and through, better look for something else to pursue; Modify the topic if necessary. It is important to retain flexibility and be ready to alter your topic. You don’t know what kind of information you are going to find, and sometimes you may discover that your findings make your original topic invalid, or open up a much more promising avenue for research. You may not want to change your topic, but if it is going to benefit your work, in the long run, it is better to do so. Unless you have to mention your topic to the instructor at the beginning of your work and are directly prohibited from modifying it, this tactic is a fair game. Here are some good topics you so that you can see what you should aim at: Early Childhood Education: Advantages and Disadvantages; Education for Students with Special Needs: Current and Possible Methodologies; Punishment for Bad Grades: What Short- and Long-Term Effects It Has on Children; Role of Social Media in Education: Effects on Students, Their Relations with Teachers and Parents; Bullying in Schools, Its Effects on School Life and Methods of Countering It; Education of Children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families: Advantages and Challenges. Preparation The choice of topic doesn’t signify the beginning of writing process – you have a lot of preparatory work to do, namely: Collect information sources; Formulate your thesis statement; Prepare an outline. Let’s elaborate on each of these stages. Collecting Information The difference of a college-level term paper from what you used to write in high school is that it should not only express your own thoughts and findings but have a firm grounding in the existing body of research. It is just the way academic research is built. That’s why before you start writing you have to make sure you have enough sources to rely upon. Know how many is enough. How many sources you need depends primarily on the size of your term paper. According to the rule of the thumb, you should have at least 1-2 sources per every page of your paper – i.e., if you have an average-sized 15-page education term paper, find at least 15 or 20 sources. Take into account that the requirements of your instructor may be different – make sure to consult him about this; Differentiate between primary and secondary sources. Primary are the ones that contain first-hand knowledge (reports, statistical data, documents, interviews, etc.), while secondary contain research, analysis and evaluation of primary sources by other scientists. Your term paper should use at least some primary sources to achieve credibility, although secondary ones are also necessary; Differentiate between high- and low-quality sources. As a rule, the most valuable sources are found in peer-reviewed journals and magazines, and the more times they are cited, the better (you can find this information out by using indexing and search services like Google Scholar or Microsoft Academic Search). The number of citations reflects the influence the paper had on the academic community; Be wary of using Google to look for sources. Many of the results you will get are going to be non-academic and/or biased. Web resources in general are considered a fairly low-value type of sources. Nevertheless, Google can be useful when you do preliminary evaluation of the topic and assess its depth; Be even more wary of Wikipedia – information there can be edited by anybody, and there is no guarantee this anybody is an expert. Again, it is an excellent source of preliminary information, but doesn’t hold up as an independent source. Its most useful part is often overlooked – it is â€Å"References† section at the end of each entry. There you can find lots of links to relevant information sources; Use different types of sources. Although peer-reviewed papers are bread and butter of any term paper, consider using sources of other types: books, articles from mass media, reports from governmental agencies, statistical information on education in different states, interviews, etc. If you manage to land an interview with a person relevant for your topic, it will do a lot to add credibility to your account. Formulating Thesis Statement A thesis statement is the central idea of your term paper, its main point or message. If you heard that it is a mere repetition of the assignment’s topic, you’ve heard wrong – a thesis statement is, well, a statement. ‘Influence of Standardized Tests on the Quality of Education’ is a topic. ‘Standardized tests negatively affect the quality of education, as corroborated by the evidence I’ve collected’ is a thesis statement. You state your point of view on the subject and clarify what you are going to prove in your assignment. It should be a part of your paper’s introduction (usually closer to the end of the first paragraph), but you have to prepare it beforehand. Make it clear, precise and specific. Express your main idea in as few words as possible, as clearly as you can; Make sure it stands out but avoid introducing it using phrases like ‘The point of my paper is†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢; Be ready to revise and refine it as you proceed with your term paper. You may find information that will change your point of view; Check if your thesis contains two or more loosely connected statements (for example, by a coordinating conjunction such as ‘and’, ‘or’, ‘for’, ‘so’). If yes, then why is it so? Can you make the relationship between these statements stronger and more obvious (e.g., by using a subordinating conjunction such as ‘through’ or ‘because’)? Preparing an Outline Before you start writing, you need a plan, and outline serves as such. Whatever structure your term paper has, write down each significant point here and follow it as you work on each subsequent part. If you mark down all the important elements before you start writing, you won’t discover suddenly that you’ve forgotten to mention something five pages before or put body paragraphs in the wrong order. Writing Education term papers have more or less the same structure as any other assignment of this type, usually consisting of an introduction (including thesis statement), body paragraphs, conclusion and bibliography. Each of them is written following its own set of rules. Introduction The role of introduction is to give the reader a rationale behind your work and justify that your research is viable and important for the field in general. Although you aren’t usually assigned a specific word limit, strive to keep it as short as possible. In as few words as you can, try to interest the reader, explain the reasons behind your research and lead him up to the main part. Body Paragraphs One paragraph should contain but a single new point. If you feel the need to introduce two or more points within a single paragraph, either break it up or restructure your paper. Other than that, normally body paragraphs follow the following structure: Introduction of a new point; Supporting evidence 1; Supporting evidence 2, 3, etc.; Possible objections and counter-arguments against them; Summary; A tie-in with the following paragraph. Conclusion A conclusion shouldn’t give you much trouble, as it is more or less a repetition of what has been said in the introduction – this is why most specialists recommend writing these parts of your term paper together and last of all. Mention the point you made in the beginning, summarize your evidence, explain why you believe your research to be relevant and point out what needs additional investigation. Revision and Proofreading In order to realize the full potential of your term paper, it has to go through rigorous revision and proofreading. Don’t do it as an afterthought even if you are sick and tired of your assignment by now – for its overall success, it is just as important as the first two steps. Check your style guide. Usually, education colleges use APA style for their papers, but there are exceptions. If style isn’t mentioned in your handouts, make sure to consult your instructor about it. When you find out the requirements, carefully read them and make notes in places you consider most relevant for your paper. Then reread your paper and carefully compare how you’ve done your citations, bibliography, page numbers, titles and everything else; Check if you are consistent. Do you use the same terms to refer to the same ideas and concepts throughout the paper? If you don’t, correct it. There is no need to fight tautology in a scientific paper – if repetition makes your writing clearer, repeat without reservations; To notice more mistakes, alter the appearance of your assignment. Print it out or at least change its font and its size. This will transform the text’s â€Å"landscape† and make it easier to notice mistakes; Don’t start proofreading immediately on finishing. You desire to get it done is understandable, but let your paper sit for a couple of days (at least if you have time to do so); Peer-check your term paper. Arrange it with one of your classmates to read each other’s papers and point out flaws in them. Another person is always more likely to notice imperfections than the author. We hope that these education term paper tips will make writing your next education term paper into a much easier and more enjoyable experience than it used to be!

American Torture Techniques Against Detainees

American Torture Techniques Against Detainees The U.S. government has been accused of using torture-lite or moderate physical pressure against detainees, persons held in custody for political reasons, typically because they pose a distinct threat to the U.S. or possess information crucial to American security. In practical terms, what does this mean? Palestinian Hanging This form of torture is sometimes  referred to as Palestinian hanging due to its use by the Israeli government against Palestinians. It involves binding the prisoners hands behind his back. After fatigue sets in, the prisoner will inevitably fall forward, putting full body weight on his shoulders and impairing breathing. If the prisoner is not released,  death by crucifixion  may eventually result. Such was the fate of U.S. prisoner  Manadel al-Jamadi  in 2003. Psychological Torture The number one criterion for torture-lite is that it must leave no physical marks. Whether U.S. officials are threatening to execute a prisoners family or falsely claiming that the leader of his terror cell is dead, a steady diet of misinformation and threats can be effective.   Sensory Deprivation Its remarkably easy for prisoners to lose track of time when theyre locked up in cells. Sensory deprivation involves removing all noise and light sources as well. Guantanamo prisoners  were additionally bound, blindfolded and wore earmuffs. Whether prisoners subjected to long-term sensory deprivation can still tell fiction from reality is a matter of some debate.   Starvation and Thirst Maslows hierarchy of needs identifies basic physical needs as the most fundamental, more so than religion, political ideology or community. A prisoner may be given just enough food and water to survive. It may take as long as a week before he appears physically thinner, but his life will come to revolve around a quest for food and he may be more inclined to divulge information in exchange for food and water.   Sleep Deprivation Studies have shown that missing a nights sleep temporarily drains 10 points from a persons IQ. Consistent sleep deprivation  through harassment, exposure to bright lights and exposure to loud, jarring music and recordings can drastically impair judgment and wear down resolve.   Waterboarding Water torture is one of the oldest and most common forms of torture. It arrived in the U.S. with the first colonists and has cropped up many times since then. Waterboarding  is its latest incarnation. It  involves  a prisoner being strapped down to a board then dunked in water. Hes brought back to the surface and the process is then repeated until his interrogator secures the information being sought.   Forced Standing Most common in the 1920s, forced standing involves prisoners standing in place, often overnight. In some cases, the prisoner may face a wall, standing with his arms extended and his  fingertips touching it.   Sweatboxes Sometimes referred to as a hot box or simply as the box, the prisoner is locked up in a small, hot room which, due to lack of ventilation, essentially functions as an oven. The prisoner is released when he cooperates. Long used as a form of torture in the U.S., it is particularly effective in the arid Middle East. Sexual Assault  and Humiliation Various forms of sexual assault and humiliation documented in U.S. prison camps  as forms of torture include forced nudity, forcible smearing of menstrual blood on prisoners faces, forced lap dances, forced transvestitism and forced homosexual acts on other prisoners.

Comparing the differences of purpose of government according to Term Paper

Comparing the differences of purpose of government according to Philosophers. (Plato, Aristotle, Hobbes, and Locke) - Term Paper Example Some of the difficulties that society in the classical period faced are the same as what society experience today. For example, the question on whether to have a democratic, aristocratic, tyrannical or oligarchy was handled by in the classical period by Aristotle yet the same question still presents when discussing modern forms of governments. Thus, it is true to say that philosophers of classical period and modern philosophers are still faced with the same question on what is the purpose of the government and how does the government exercise its powers. According to Plato’s idea of an ideal state, the structures and functions in society should be explored in relation to the structure of individual soul. According to him, the individual soul is the different parts of the body in which the workers were the productive part that is represented by the abdomen, the solders that are the protective part represented by the chest and philosopher kings are the governing part that is rep resented by the head. From this classification, Plato envisioned the government, solders and workers each performing a different function in the state. The state as represented by the head can be seen to control and direct the functioning of other parts of the state as the whole body. This means that the government which is represented by the head, has the role of coordinating the activities all other parts of the society (Chang 71). Plato’s stand as expressed in the Laws presents and authoritarian view of government and authority. He claims that for a society to prosper, the authority must impose the right conditions on the people. Further, for maintenance of this prosperity, the authority should be iron fisted in dealing with the people (Crombie 178). My view is that this form of government does not allow the people to exercise their rights freely since all the power rests on the rulers and the people cannot question the decisions made by such a government. A government tha t functions under such ideals might become tyrannical thus denying the people their rights to exercise their opinion freely. Plato and Aristotle differed in their views of the functioning of the government where Plato’s idea of government was a centralized system with power resting in the hands of a few individual who belong to a political class and they exercised sovereignty over laws governing the land. His idea of the soul and the body where governing is a function of the head means that the government is a reserve of a few who are able to climb to the highest pinnacle of society. I find Aristotle’s government functioning as a more suitable one since it allows for the governing of the people through a constitution. This is a favorable system given that the sovereign power lies with the people and the government exercises such powers according to the demands of the society. Aristotle sees the functioning of the government as determined by the aspirations of people th at is enshrined in the constitution. According to him, the functioning and purpose for which the society sets up a government is enshrined in the will of the people and is further expressed through the constitution. The government function is based on the different forms that they take. Aristotle claims that the role of government will vary depending on whether it is a tyranny, aristocracy, an oligarchy or a democratic government (Simpson 215). Aristotle stated in his definition that a constitution is an organization of offices particularly one that has sovereignty over all the others in the society. In this definition, Aristotle recognized offices as the constitution and not a written law. A government will function differently, he argues, when

Artificial Intelligence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Artificial Intelligence - Research Paper Example Perhaps other schools of thought surrounding the origin of the human race would not have much to argue about the ability of humankind to create because the records are clear to show that humankind has been able to cater for himself to a very large extent through the invention of machines and other minor items that he needs to live a better life. Generally, the things that are invented or created by men are called artificial things. Careful consideration of the trend of human creation (invention) shows clearly that the ability for humans to create keep getting complicated by the day. The threat and big question therefore remains if humans would not keep getting complicated with their inventions till a stage when the situation would just get out of hand? This research paper shall there delve more into what the risk stands for this world if out of the curiosity to make artificial intelligence products better, there comes a time when the activities of these machines cannot be regulated b ecause of the absence of moral reasoning. Overview of Artificial Intelligence In the 1940s, the world witnessed the ability of humans to create computers to make basic human manipulations such as calculations, sorting and writing very simple. Along the way, the process became even more complex as humans continued to invent machinery to aid him undertaking certain activities that would have rather involve human intelligence (Chaize, 2008). Because these sought of ‘intelligence’ where made by humans (artificial) and not by nature (natural), they were assigned the name artificial intelligence. The commonest form of artificial intelligence that comes to mind when mention is made of the phenomenon is the making of robots. The fundamental idea behind artificial intelligence therefore has to do with the infusion of machines with the ability to think. A mentally sound machine could therefore be said to be the product of artificial intelligence. It is not surprising therefore th at there are now robots that play intelligent games like chess. There are also robots and other forms of machines that have been induced with the intelligence to perform brain related functions such as planning, deduction, knowledge representation, reasoning, problem solving and natural language processing. The question that researchers have always asked has been about what the future of artificial intelligence would be. This is because scientists have always wanted a way of making their inventions better. They have also sought ways of making their inventions more and more complicated and useful for solving immediate problems. Artificial Intelligence and Moral Reasoning Artificial intelligence, though directly concerns computer science have had a lot of controversy and debate even in other fields of studies. One of these fields is philosophy. Philosophy generally concerns the human mind and how it functions. It is also closely related to intelligence since intelligence deals with th e human brain and its function. For artificial intelligence to deal with ‘intelligence’ as a phenomenon therefore, it is expected that philosophers would be concerned about the subject. One major debate that philosophers have always been caught in is the question as to whether or not machines could really be intelligent. In the present research paper, the

Benefits and shortcomings of getting this additional degree Speech or Presentation

Benefits and shortcomings of getting this additional degree - Speech or Presentation Example Tuition for one semester costs $685 (15 or more credit hours), or he can pay $55 per credit hour if he takes less than 15 credit hours. It will also cost him $5 per credit hour for Student Fees and there is a technology fee of $16 per semester. Jose will need to take 14 more 3 credit courses to complete a degree in electronic commerce. He figures that he will need to attend school for 3 more consecutive semesters (1 full year plus 5 months) to complete the electronic commerce degree. Textbooks will cost him $95 per class. a. Jose is planning on taking five courses during his first two semesters in the electronic commerce program, and four courses during the third semester. How much will it cost to get this second degree? b. Jose needs to determine how much money he will need to borrow if he works 15 hours a week at a local video store making $9.50 per hour (take-home = assume 4 weeks per month). He will be able to rent a room from a friend for $200 per month, who is also willing to share groceries and phone costs. Williams share of the food and phone expenses will be $130 per month. He estimates other expenses such as car insurance and clothes to come to about $300 per month. How much will he need to borrow to complete the second degree in 1 year and 5 months? 4. What do you think? Using the evidence from above, explain in a well-structured essay the benefits and shortcomings of getting this additional degree. Research the trends, salaries, and job availability of entry-level graphic design jobs in the electronic commerce industry. Be sure to consider both short-term and long-term

Planning and Control (Project Management) Coursework

Planning and Control (Project Management) - Coursework Example After completing the both parts provide a range of possible duration of the equipment installation activity that is the activity can be completed minimum of 13.33 hours and maximum in 15.33 hours. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 2 Data: The cost for design phase of the software development is as follows: The best case / lowest cost = $35,000, The worst case / highest cost = $60,000, The most typical case / likely cost = $44,000 Part A: Expected Cost = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected Cost = ($35,000 + 4 * ($44,000) + $60,000) / 6; Expected Cost = $45,166.67 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = ($60,000 – $35,000) / 6; Standard Deviation = $4,166.67; Part C: The part A of the question presents that the expected cost of the developing software application in the design phase which is equivalent to the $45,166.67. ... After completing the both parts provide a range of possible cost of the design phase that is from $41,000.00/- to $49,333.33/-. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 3 Data: From the previous records, the following numbers of carpenters are required to complete the job: The best case / fewer number of carpenters = 4 carpenters, The worst case / largest number of carpenters = 9 carpenters, The most typical case / likely number of carpenters = 6 carpenters Part A: Expected number of carpenters = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = (4 + 4 * (6) + 9) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = 6.17 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = (9 – 4) / 6; Standard Deviation = 0.83; Part C: The part A of the question presents the expected number of carpenters required to complete the job and after applying the formula of PERT beta the calcul ated value is 6.17. In the part B of the question the standard deviation of the expected number of carpenters is calculated that is equivalent to 0.83. After subtracting and adding the value of standard deviation from / to the expected number of carpenters, the resulting value would provide us the estimated number of carpenters required to complete the job and the range is from 5.34 to 7 carpenters. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 4 – Dangers allied with PERT Technique The utilization of PERT technique involves several dangers and risks that include but are not limited to the following: The PERT technique becomes complicated when

Civil Litigation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Civil Litigation - Case Study Example How come the two teachers were negligent, and where were they when this started happening. What is the parent's viewpoint on the entire episode The viewpoint and thoughts of Trevor's parents Trevor's reaction to the episode, Shane's reaction Shane's statement of the incident. The expression of calamity is termed with the situation which involves an occurrence that merely took place haphazardly, by probability, or else because of the fact that somebody was not careful. The dictum that damage had been done unintentionally together with a false notion that nothing was done in terms of action to avoid the occurrence. Nearly all the injuries, in these cases are projected as being unnecessary. For instance, if a kid surges off the monkey bars and as a consequence gets a broken arm or a broken leg, he/she may perhaps have done so as the blocks were too remote not together for a youthful individual his/her age moreover the school did not confine the treatment. He/she might not have broken an arm or a broken leg if he/she had fallen on an adequate, impact gripping surface as an alternative of blacktop (Nakpodia, 2007). A tort within law specifies to a national disaster in addition to the word tort is a Norman French word concerning a mistaken event. It is a transgression for which an offended individual can bring the proceedings in court to recover damages against those who committed them. This is for the reason that nearly all of the cases ensuing from school actions fit in to the group of civil events. During a paper obtainable within the substitute Law Journal, Barbara (1996) dealt with an only some inferences of the United Kingdom's Children Act. The experts requested how the innermost standard primary the legislation, that of protection the assurance of the family, may perhaps be met with the limited resources available to the pertinent local establishment within the period of privatization as well as financial rationalism. A lot of aspects of care as well as protection in relative to the associations are hereditarily challenging within the tort incident for the reason that they are so set as ide reliant. They as a result fall tainted of the uncertain dissimilarity guiding principle and operational pronouncements formulated in quite a lot of chief cases. This has been a major theme within negligence law. There is a number of testified incidents within the school arrangement that the amounts to gross negligence on the part of the teachers and/or school heads. A most important feature is who fails to make available for an enough concord for the administration of the school's measures, e.g. morning assemblage, closing, supplementary activities furthermore so forth, may perhaps be held responsible for tort of carelessness if tragedy occurs(Orr, 1995). This case typified need of high job care on the fraction of the principal, in that way risking the children's right to the fortification of livelihood as well as chattels. A serious appraisal of the anthology of activities which children tend to engage themselves beneath the sponsorship of the

Legal risk manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Legal risk manager - Assignment Example Failure to manage any foreseeable legal risk has the potential to affect all sectors of an organization, and this becomes the concern of every shareholder, employee, and business stakeholders in the business. It is plausible that legal risk management is crucial to any organization since it can effectively remove any uncertainties in relation to business operation of the organization, thus avoiding legal liability later in the future. An effective legal risk management initiative should ensure that the company can avoid any costs that may arise due to any form of legal negligence during its operations. The law that governs obligations in corporate information security in the United States has expanded very rapidly. The latest legal requirement, introduced mainly by laws that were introduced over the last few years, is an obligation to disclose any form of security breaches that involve sensitive personal information to the individuals who are likely to be adversely affected by such kind of breaches. The emergence of these rules that impose a duty to make disclosures for such security breaches has been necessitated by a series of security breaches that started way back in 2005. Following the enactment of these statutes, more than 300 hundred companies, federal agencies, and educational institutions have made disclosures of breaches of sensitive personal information security (Stevens, 2012). These breaches have affected a cumulative total of more one hundred and fifty million individual records. The core response to these breaches has been a regulatory and legislative fury, at both federal and state level. As such, the Congress, as well as many other states, has introduced laws that require organizations to notify individuals affected security breaches that involve their sensitive personal information. Indeed, the federal banking regulatory agencies have issued their final inter-agency guidance for banking

Planning and Control (Project Management) Coursework

Planning and Control (Project Management) - Coursework Example After completing the both parts provide a range of possible duration of the equipment installation activity that is the activity can be completed minimum of 13.33 hours and maximum in 15.33 hours. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 2 Data: The cost for design phase of the software development is as follows: The best case / lowest cost = $35,000, The worst case / highest cost = $60,000, The most typical case / likely cost = $44,000 Part A: Expected Cost = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected Cost = ($35,000 + 4 * ($44,000) + $60,000) / 6; Expected Cost = $45,166.67 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = ($60,000 – $35,000) / 6; Standard Deviation = $4,166.67; Part C: The part A of the question presents that the expected cost of the developing software application in the design phase which is equivalent to the $45,166.67. ... After completing the both parts provide a range of possible cost of the design phase that is from $41,000.00/- to $49,333.33/-. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 3 Data: From the previous records, the following numbers of carpenters are required to complete the job: The best case / fewer number of carpenters = 4 carpenters, The worst case / largest number of carpenters = 9 carpenters, The most typical case / likely number of carpenters = 6 carpenters Part A: Expected number of carpenters = (The best case + 4 * (The most typical case) + the worst case) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = (4 + 4 * (6) + 9) / 6; Expected number of carpenters = 6.17 Part B: Standard Deviation = (the worst case – the best case) / 6; Standard Deviation = (9 – 4) / 6; Standard Deviation = 0.83; Part C: The part A of the question presents the expected number of carpenters required to complete the job and after applying the formula of PERT beta the calcul ated value is 6.17. In the part B of the question the standard deviation of the expected number of carpenters is calculated that is equivalent to 0.83. After subtracting and adding the value of standard deviation from / to the expected number of carpenters, the resulting value would provide us the estimated number of carpenters required to complete the job and the range is from 5.34 to 7 carpenters. Exercise # 5.1 – Estimating with PERT Beta Distribution Question # 4 – Dangers allied with PERT Technique The utilization of PERT technique involves several dangers and risks that include but are not limited to the following: The PERT technique becomes complicated when

Legal risk manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Legal risk manager - Assignment Example Failure to manage any foreseeable legal risk has the potential to affect all sectors of an organization, and this becomes the concern of every shareholder, employee, and business stakeholders in the business. It is plausible that legal risk management is crucial to any organization since it can effectively remove any uncertainties in relation to business operation of the organization, thus avoiding legal liability later in the future. An effective legal risk management initiative should ensure that the company can avoid any costs that may arise due to any form of legal negligence during its operations. The law that governs obligations in corporate information security in the United States has expanded very rapidly. The latest legal requirement, introduced mainly by laws that were introduced over the last few years, is an obligation to disclose any form of security breaches that involve sensitive personal information to the individuals who are likely to be adversely affected by such kind of breaches. The emergence of these rules that impose a duty to make disclosures for such security breaches has been necessitated by a series of security breaches that started way back in 2005. Following the enactment of these statutes, more than 300 hundred companies, federal agencies, and educational institutions have made disclosures of breaches of sensitive personal information security (Stevens, 2012). These breaches have affected a cumulative total of more one hundred and fifty million individual records. The core response to these breaches has been a regulatory and legislative fury, at both federal and state level. As such, the Congress, as well as many other states, has introduced laws that require organizations to notify individuals affected security breaches that involve their sensitive personal information. Indeed, the federal banking regulatory agencies have issued their final inter-agency guidance for banking

Capital punishment and why does the Church (Christianity) oppose it so much Essay Example for Free

Capital punishment and why does the Church (Christianity) oppose it so much Essay Man is a sacred and precious creature created by God.   When God has created the Universe, light, the birds, animals, the trees, water and the earth, he had given a lot of importance to man.   Evidence from the Bible suggests that God had left creating man as his final task, and after he had created man, God was so amazed, satisfied with himself and fulfilled with his own creation, that he decided to rest (on the Seventh day).   Through his creation of man, he had provided a reflection of himself (The Old Testament: Genesis 1).   In deed God has given a lot of importance to man, and no one has the right to take away or destroy the life this very special and beautiful creation of God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Countries throughout the World are beginning to understand the importance of capital punishment and are slowly outlawing such laws.   However, certain developed countries such as the US are still encouraging Capital punishment.   The US had stopped capital punishment for some period of time (from 1972 to 1977).   However, the practice resumed again following Gregg V. Georgia case (Horigan, 2004).   Most of the states in the US permit Capital punishment only in very specific instances.   However, the very existence of such an option in the judiciary system, does suggest the States Support to this inhuman act.   The rate of execution in the US has dropped since the 1930’s, but this has no fully ended. The largest number of executions is performed by the State of Texas, and the highest percentage of the population executed by the State is Virginia (Robinson, 2006).   The response of the US public to capital punishment is somewhat mixed.   However, the reaction of the Canadian people to capital punishment was also similar, but the Country has abolished capital punishment.   Depending on the seriousness of their crime, the crimes are imprisoned even for indefinite periods (Robinson, 2006).   Canada has also shown that imposition of capital punishment does not necessarily result in a drop in the crime rates.   The Japanese on the other which permit capital punishment have a crime rate much below that of the US. Hence, it can be demonstrated that capital punishment may not play an important role in crime (Robinson, 2006).   In the US, many people who have been executed by the law, were found not even to be given a proper lawyer during their trials. Several states in the US that have capital punishment in their legal systems seem to have a higher criminal rate than those which do not have capital punishment (Robinson, 2006).   People may feel that by incorporating capital punishment in their legal systems, the State is cheapening the value of human life.   Hence, the crime rates in such states are on the rise.   Several other factors such as poor socio-economic status, low educational levels, poor living conditions, etc, may be related with an increase in the crime rates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Church has seriously opposed the use of capital punishment in case of serious crime.   Pope John Paul II has opposed the imposition of death penalty by the State (Dulles, 2001).   Christians give a lot of importance to life and have opposed any action that could result in the ‘violation to the right to life’ such as murder, abortion, suicide, euthanasia, etc.   Christians usually feel that as God has controlled life, no one including the Governments and the Courts can take away a human life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Old Testament, death was specifically suggested to those who had sinned or committed offences (such as murder and adultery).   The Sacred Covenant during Noah had mentioned that anyone who offenders and disobeys God be stoned or hanged to death.   Several episodes in the Old Testament such as those of with Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16), have given instances in which capital punishment was performed to penalize sinners.   People who helped to execute the will of God by ending the life of the offenders were considered as Agents of God.   Many Countries of the World still follow the Old Testament of capital punishment in penalizing serious crimes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, things have changed since the New Testament times.   Although Jesus Christ had not spoken much about the use of capital punishment by the state, indirect instances are present in the New Testament which may suggest that Jesus was against the practice of capital punishment.   One of these instances included the Stoning of a woman who had sinned.   Jesus did not allow his disciples to pronounce curses of destruction of death on people who did not have feelings of love towards others. In John 19:11, Jesus told Pilate that he had the authority to sentence anybody who had sinned against God, and that Pilate had the right to fulfill God’s intentions.   In Matthew 26:52, Jesus told Peter to put back his sword when he was arrested.   Jesus even put back the soldier’s piece of ear, after Peter had cut it with his sword.   In Luke 23: 41, Jesus tells the thief crucified on his side, that they were receiving punishment for the sins that they had committed on earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Christianity believed in the concept of ‘love thy neighbor as thy self’, and Jesus in his preaching expressed that this feeling should be extended to every aspect of life.   We could potentially extent its application for use to prevent capital punishment.   In the New Testament after Christ, there may be several instances in which capital punishment was encouraged.   However, these instances may not directly support capital punishment.   In Acts 5: 1-11, capital sentences were imposed because they disobeyed Simon Peter.   The Letter to the Hebrews also encouraged the Mosaic Laws on capital punishment. St. Paul told the Romans that death sentence was a mean of expressing God’s intentions against sinners.   However, there have also been instances in the New Testament in which the Church and Christians have opposed death sentence.   During the early Christianity period, the Church did not approve Christians to function as executioners of death sentences (Dulles, 2001).   St. Augustine felt that the Fifth Commandant should be utilized even to prevent execution of death sentences and killing of criminals.   He wrote an entire book about Capital punishment named The City of God.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The idea of capital punishment changed a bit during the Middle Age.   Christianity had some influence on the people, and the Courts were told to impose capital punishment only for people who committed serious crime.   This was mainly as a self-defense mechanism to prevent the criminals from committing further crime and to ensure that the society was safe.   Some of the theologists felt that capital punishment was more of a hatred act against the criminal than one to enable him to reform in the future (Dulles, 2001).   Even though the Church opposed death sentence, it constituted a body to pronounce and capital punishment. The Church even conferred the State the power to issue death sentences in the later part of the 16th century.   It derived this power from the Commandant â€Å"thou shall not murder†, and it was performed in several instances.   Slowly the Church began to approve capital punishment only in the case the criminal committed a serious crime.   Slowly the attitude of the Church towards capital punishment began to change as they felt that life was a precious gift given by God and it was morally wrong to take one’s life for sins committed.   The Italian thinker Gino Concetti, wrote a Book L’Osservatore Romano in 1977, demonstrating the importance and sacredness of God-given life.   He said that humans could not destroy the life of another human, and even the criminals who had performed serious crimes should not be punished with death sentence.    He said that there should not be any circumstance in which capital punishment was justified as no person had the right to take the life of another and destroy one of God’s precious creations.   We should be able to respect the view that God is expressing himself in man.   This work had really changed the attitudes of Christians and the Church towards capital punishment. Many people felt that the Church itself did not respect or identify this view of life before.   There was a uproar against capital punishment in the 20th century in Europe.   Several European countries who believed in Christianity began to incorporate the latest teachings and beliefs of the Church in their Legal systems.   The Governments began to underhand the importance of life (Dulles, 2001). Since, the criminal is also a human being; he is a precious creation of God and has a reflection of God in himself.   His actions have an element of God expressed in it.   Hence, it would be morally wrong to even punish the most serious criminals with capital punishment.   In the Old Testament, the view that a criminal action should be punished with a similar action by the law-enforcement agency existed.   However, a person may be expressing the Will of God through his actions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Christianity has developed over a long period, and now it does not permit both, direct destruction (taking the life of a specific person) and indirect destruction (actions performed without the intention of killing another person).   In some instances, taking the life of another person by mistake may be pardoned by the Church.   The Church is also against any individuals taking the life of another on the advice of the State (Pesenke, 1981). God does not allow one human to take the life of another because God is the creator of the human beings and can create or destroy a life.   Any person who takes the life of another with a mental intention is sinning against God.   A Human life is the most precious work of God, and destroying it would be against the Will of God.   No political or legal body in the World has the right to interfere with God’s creation.   It is not justified for any Court or King to take the life of any individual including a criminal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many countries feel that capital punishment should be permitted at least to end the life of criminals who committed serious crimes.   They may also be considering that it would be a cheaper option to end the life of such criminals than to punish them with life-imprisonment.   However, the legal and the political systems should not cheapen human life, and should consider them as important to God.   Having capital punishment options in the legal system is not going to reduce crimes.   It is essential that the Government provides a socio-economic environment that may permit development and reduce frustration of the people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Jews believed firmly in capital punishment and permitted it following murders, adultery, worship of idols, war crimes, and kidnapping.   They feel that capital punishment would ensure that the society is safer from the actions of the criminals in the future.   They also feel that anybody who destroys God-given creations should be punished with death sentence.   A counsel usually issues death sentences in Jewish courts.   The court will examine the criminal during the trial and 2 neutral witnesses should provide evidence for the case.   As the process of issuing capital punishment under Jewish laws is very stringent, such sentences may usually occur less frequently. In several situations (such as wars, emergencies, dealing with non-Jewish criminals, etc), the stringent process is relaxed and death sentences are issued more easily.   In such situations Noah-Laws are usually applicable.   Usually just one neutral witness is required (FAQ, 2006).   During the later part of the 20th century, Jewish thinkers began to oppose the use of capital punishment by the legal system.   The ideas of Christian theologists are now being followed by the Jewish thinkers with regard to death sentence.   Only in extremely serious crimes are capital punishment allowed by Jewish courts (FAQ, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Capital punishment is not only an ineffective way of dealing with crime (as it does not reduce the crime rate), but is also an immature way (as hatred and revenge are spread).   It also cheapens the importance of God-given life.   The Government should look at alternative to punish or reform the criminals. References: Dulles, A. C. (2001). â€Å"Catholicism Capital Punishment.† First Things 112, 30-35. http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=2175%20 FAQ (2006). Question 12.21: What is the Jewish position on Capital Punishment? Retrieved on April 8, 2007, from FAQ.org   Web site: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance from Web site: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/judaism/FAQ/06-Jewish-Thought/section-22.html Horigan, D. P. (1996). Buddhism Capital Punishment. Retrieved on April 8, 2007, from The Engaged Zen Foundation from Web site: http://www.engaged-zen.org/articles/Damien_P_Horigan-Buddhism_Capital_Punishment.html Pesenke, H. C. (1981). Christian Ethics: Volume II – Special Moral Theology in the Light of Vatican II, Bangalore: TPI. Robinson, B. A. (2006). Facts about capital punishment: Part 1: data trends. Retrieved on April 8, 2007, from Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance from Web site: http://www.religioustolerance.org/execut3.htm The Bible Gateway (2007). Genesis 1 (New International Version). Retrieved on April 8, 2007, from The Bible Gateway from Web site: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=genesis+1