Conflict Can Have Tragic Consequences for Everyone.

Conflict can have tragic consequences for everyone as the women portrayed in Bereford’s film, Paradise Road, react in a catastrophic manner in the events that lead on as the film progresses. The characters in the film are based on actual people: nurses or wives of major officials and civilians. These women are caught up in the global conflict of World War II and those who manage to survive are, despite any positive outcomes, are dreadfully damaged by their encounter with conflict both physically and emotionally.These moments of great unrest are captured in the film that innocent people are too often becoming caught up in and suffer from the effects of great struggle that are not of their own making. The viewers are powerfully positioned to recognise with the three main protagonists, Adrienne, Margaret and Susan, as they come to a conditions with the cruel and frequently tragic circumstances of their situation. In the film’s opening scene, we observe a sight of the prote cted and usual lives led by women who were fairly unimportant to the conflict of war.Now, plunged into a terrifyingly brutal and unknown world, they come across the tragic consequences of the conflict. On the voyage to the camp, Beresford highlights the ordinary qualities of the women as they move violently to retain their meagre property or endeavour to help each other endure the long walk. Afraid, starving and exhausted, the women are herded like cattle. On their appearance in Sumatra they see the disengaged head of a following prisoner displayed on a pole in the public square.The tragedies that occurred in the prisoners turn out to be a part of their daily lives, as many gave in to the belongings of untreated sickness. The scene with the two children creating simple wooden coffins for dead babies evidently highlights the tragedy of the conflict in the lives of normal people, and suggests that no reason can justify the dreadful consequences of violent conflict. Children are a figu re of innocence in the film. The innocent suffers the most in situations of tremendous conflict.The camp cemetery, with its rows upon rows of white crosses, is exposed as the camera pans across the penal complex compound throughout a performance of the vocal orchestra, enlightening the large numbers of prisoners who died all through the course of their imprisonment. The film also shows how intense conflict situations positions everyday people beneath a strange pressure, provoking and exacerbating conflicts on a private level, both between and within individuals.Stressed, sorrowing and deprived, a number of the women in Paradise Road find themselves positioned in a ethically and politically compromised condition when confronted with the option as to whether to remain at the Japanese ‘officers’ club’, providing sex in return for food and comfort, or to return to the camp. Those who choose to be recognise by the bribe of the officers who are not only prostituting th emselves but are also consorting with the enemy.Likewise, Adrienne was positioned in a compromising situation when she was asked if the orchestra will carry out a Japanese song for Colonel Hirota. She refuses, risking cruel punishment. At the same time, she makes a diverse option, to that of the women of the officers’ club, Beresford emphasises that war, and the struggle for survival, places harshly and unusual stress on individuals, which is able to cause them to act in ways they would not normally behave; as Sister Wilhelmina intelligently acknowledges, it is not fair to judge the events of others in a period of severe disagreement.In conclusion, conflict has the potential to allow an individual the ability to face challenges in order to overcome them and finally to grow as a person. The range of conflicts that acts as a basis towards venous responses ranging from the extreme life changing circumstances to those that are minor, but yet a significant ambition to change. Refe reeing to the film ‘Paradise Road’ we have seen many faces that have been challenged trough out their lives. However the women are able to follow their presence with the determination, courage and peace.

Benefits of Internship

One of the highlighted part as a graduating college student was conducting On-the-job training or internship. This Training exposes us to the real environment of a certain organization. Thus, adjusting oneself and mingling others is a must to cope up with different standards and attitudes of every individual in a particular field of industry. In furtherance, OJT will be a bridge to enhance our skills in communication and technical activities that makes it a plus point the sooner we landed a job and help ease the culture shock while dealing with different specialized people of their expertise.May 30, 2012 was the date when I started my on the job training at The Nielsen Company, located at Edsa Mandaluyong City. It is an international publishing and information company that is active in the markets for consumer and professional information. In line with my course, I was assigned in IT Department of the Company. Our task has something to do with Networking and Troubleshooting. And as a n OJT technical support, we also assemble lines and switches for local area networks (LAN), creating connections between several workstations by using cables and also wireless technology.We ensure the proper function of computer networks by making certain components are connected properly throughout the LAN/WAN infrastructure and by monitoring server deployment and security. We are also tasked to set up and configure computers. My first day as intern is not that easy, mixed with excitement and unexplainable fear, it is my first time to enter the reality of our chosen field. Since my schedule starts from 9:00 in the morning, I have to awake as early as 7:00 am.At first, it is a big challenge for me to wake up that early, but as the days goes by, I learned how to cope with that situation. At first, our supervisor oriented me on what to do and exposed to other employees as well. As the days pass by, I learned to adapt new things with this kind of environment. This was serve as a bridge for more learning. To tell you honestly, I have a lot of first time in my stay in Nielsen including my first time to have a conversation to a foreigner. All employees are very nice to be with , made my stay very easy.After finishing my internship here at Nielsen, I may now say that I am ready for my future career in the field of ICT. The knowledge and experiences that this company shared to me will help me in the future to become a successful engineer. In 5 months of being an intern here, I gained more confidence and learned how to communicate well with other people. Therefore I conclude that being an intern here at Nielsen is far more enjoyable than I expected. I will treasure all my experience and learnings for the rest of my life.

Why We Crave Horror Movies

In â€Å"Why We Crave Horror Movies†, Stephen King theorizes that everyone is mentally ill to some degree – some people Just hide it better than others. King tongue in cheek observation is offered with a touch of humour to alleviate the discomfort which the reader might feel if at any time there was the thought that this actually might be true. Horror movies, like scary stories and thrilling amusement park rides, allow us to challenge our fears, to show that we are not afraid, to prove that we can.King roposes that these activities confirm for each of us our normality, while also appealing to the worst in all of us, as they allow the freeing of our fantasies without fear of reprisal or repercussion. This is fun with a twist, macabre and voyeuristic, and enjoyed from the particular vantage point of knowing that it is not real, and more importantly, that it cannot happen to us. The thrill ofa horror movie allows not only a suspension of reality, but also of the cynical, J aded view of reality that we feel, as adults, we must bring to bear n our lives.Everyone has demons, which require exorcising, or as King notes, exercising. There is a level of acceptance in society which governs our actions, which is why we need something to achieve the release of these otherwise unacceptable thoughts, hence the need for the sick Joke, the scary ride, the horror movie. In the end, we are not judged by our level of sanity but rather by the socially acceptable degree of our actions, of our particular form of insanity. Why We Crave Horror Movies In the essay, â€Å"Why We Crave Horror Movies† Stephen King attempts to explain why we love horror movies, and he gives a few different reasons why people go to see horror movies. People want to show that they are not scared; people want to have fun; but the main reason that he suggests is that we are insane and we need to watch horror movies to keep that insanity locked up in society. He uses a variety of argumentative strategies and literally decides to prove his thesis. On the other side, King surprised me by the reasons and comparisons he made and gave about why people watch horror movies, but then, the essay went off into tangents that I did not expect. Conversely, Stephen King gives his first thesis that â€Å"I think that we’re all mentally ill†¦Ã¢â‚¬  King presents a case that every person intentionally watches horror to keep one’s under control— well fed, but under control. â€Å"It deliberately speaks to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized†¦and it all happens, fittingly enough, in the dark. King says the basic reason why people will pay money to watch gore is like riding a roller coaster, â€Å"to show that we can, that we are not afraid†¦to re-establish our feelings of essential normality†¦and we go to have fun. † King tries to make the case that murderous insanity is in the same category as public nose picking . The potential lyncher or saint needs to be â€Å"let loose to scream and roll around in the grass. † Why over-work the good emotional muscles and neglect the muscle-tone of those less desirable? There is a logical fallacy in the title of his article, because not everyone craves horror movies. King eventually tells the truth concerning horror movies, which becomes the key to understanding why certain people crave. First, he says,† the horror movie is innately conservative, even reactionary. † What is being held back? What is being reacted against? All that is good, and he writes, â€Å"If we share a brotherhood of man, then we also share an insanity of man. None of which is intended as defense of either the sick joke or insanity but merely as an explanation of why the best horror films, like the best fairy tales, manage to be reactionary, anarchistic, and revolutionary all at the same time. However, I agree with Stephen King’s statement that we are all mentally ill, because mental health or mental illness is conditional to whether our actions interfere with daily task that are acceptable responses to demands and opportunities. In addition, we are all capable of crossing the line between acceptable and unacceptable actions that determine being classified as sane or insane. Horror movies allow us to view and emotionally experience the consequences of insane actions. I am also agreeing that horror movies appeal to all that is worst in us. Horror movies allow us to experience extreme emotional excitement through unacceptable actions acted out in the films. People crave the thrill they receive from experiencing extreme nervousness, disgust, panic, and fear. Horror films cause these sudden, temporary emotions and reactions, but will not interfere with our daily lives once we leave the theater. Packed theaters showing horror films and best selling horror novels are proof that people crave the thrill derived from viewing or imagining insane actions and their consequences. This article tells about how all people are somewhat insane. King says it is our levels of insanity that make us all different. Our insanity is what makes us crave sick, unnatural, and wicked things in life. Specifically, he tells about people’s obsession with horror movies and wanting to watch other human beings be tortured in some frightful manner. We want to feel afraid. For some people, this is done to prove their bravery. Others do this in hopes to make their own lives seem more normal. Although I thought this essay was somewhat difficult to understand, I do agree with the main points of it. I do not understand why I enjoy watching other people be brutally murdered in horror movies; however, I see it as more of an adrenaline rush than insanity. I was also somewhat offended when King commented on baby jokes. He said that the enjoyment of that type of sick joke is insanity. In reality, these jokes are not real; therefore, I do not see the insanity in chuckling at this type of joke. If people actually enjoyed seeing people slaughtered in real life, then I would think that they are mentally ill, but as long as it is just acting, I believe this lifestyle is a craving for entertainment, not insanity. Why We Crave Horror Movies In â€Å"Why We Crave Horror Movies†, Stephen King theorizes that everyone is mentally ill to some degree – some people Just hide it better than others. King tongue in cheek observation is offered with a touch of humour to alleviate the discomfort which the reader might feel if at any time there was the thought that this actually might be true. Horror movies, like scary stories and thrilling amusement park rides, allow us to challenge our fears, to show that we are not afraid, to prove that we can.King roposes that these activities confirm for each of us our normality, while also appealing to the worst in all of us, as they allow the freeing of our fantasies without fear of reprisal or repercussion. This is fun with a twist, macabre and voyeuristic, and enjoyed from the particular vantage point of knowing that it is not real, and more importantly, that it cannot happen to us. The thrill ofa horror movie allows not only a suspension of reality, but also of the cynical, J aded view of reality that we feel, as adults, we must bring to bear n our lives.Everyone has demons, which require exorcising, or as King notes, exercising. There is a level of acceptance in society which governs our actions, which is why we need something to achieve the release of these otherwise unacceptable thoughts, hence the need for the sick Joke, the scary ride, the horror movie. In the end, we are not judged by our level of sanity but rather by the socially acceptable degree of our actions, of our particular form of insanity.

International Law Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Law - Dissertation Example esolution is usually included in bilateral international treaties (BITs) which are intended to bind treaty states to commitments for protecting investors and their investments against hostile host state conduct in transactions under foreign direct investment (FDI).7 The proposed dissertation will analyse arbitral awards and their underlying decisions relative to investor/state arbitration with a view to identifying and analysing contributions to customary international law and the consequences for resolving investor/state disputes. In particular, the proposed dissertation evaluates the extent to which international commercial arbitration and more especially, ISA, has established or can satisfactorily establish the necessary legal protections for encouraging and facilitating FDIs. The proposed dissertation will argue that although there is no multilateral international legal instrument regulating FDIs and investor-state relations, international customary law and the principle of fair and equitable treatment included in BITs and emerging from investor/state arbitration has contributed to a sufficiently coherent body of law so that investors are accorded the protection necessary for investing abroad. It will be argued that although international arbitration in general including ISA is not regulated by a centralized forum by which binding precedents may be created, the cumulative effect of BITs and ISAs applying and interpreting BITs have resulted in a customs, norms and rules that have established a coherent body of law applicable to standards of treatment expected of host states.8 It will also be argued, however, that despite the emerging coherent body of law, there are challenges to overcome. For example, the different language used in BITs has resulted in arbitrators rending inconsistent or unclear decisions in their interpretation of protective clauses in BITs.9 Outline: In order to support the hypothesis that ISA or international commercial arbitration has co ntributed to a coherent body of law for promulgating FDIs, the proposed dissertation will be presented as follows: Part I: Introduction. The introduction establishes that over the last 20 years or so, there have been two interesting developments in international commercial transactions: an increase in BITs10 and a decrease in investor/state arbitration.11 The introduction then makes an undertaking that the dissertation will establish that the link between these developments is ISA in that BITs provide for arbitration of investor/state disputes and interpret and apply the level of protection provided for in BITs. Part II: This part of the dissertation

Health insurance should be free Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health insurance should be free - Essay Example This essay aims at showing the various reasons, both social and economic, as to why health insurance should be made free. Although the move to provide free health insurance has some disadvantages the purpose of this essay is to show how the positive side of free health insurance compares with the negative side. One among the major problems facing health-care access around the world and especially North America (U.S. and Canada) is poor access to health services. Due to poor income distribution, the affordability of health care has deteriorated from 2001 to 2005 and further from 2008 towards the end of 2014 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, para. 2-4). Among the reasons limiting access to health care is poor income distribution. For the middle and high-class social classes, health care costs are manageable and provoke few to no major affordability issues. Health care affordability means the ability of an individual to meet his/her medical care costs through self-sponsorship or employer-paid insurance cover. In order to ensure that health care affordability is accessible to members of the public, it is in the best interest of the public to either access income generating opportunities to unify accessibility or to have health care made free to everyone. The latter case is much practical and medical cover is a basic need to every individual. Unlike with the case of luxury and overall cost of living, health care should be made free and accessible to all citizens such that low income-earners can have the same accessibility as high-income earners. Due to the problem of income distribution and unemployment, it is documented that some countries such as the U.S. have a high number of uninsured people. As of 2012, 46% of adults aged between 19 and 64 years did not have insurance cover for the whole year. Based on the population in 2012, 46% of the adult population

The aim of this work is to summarise experience of managing a Essay

The aim of this work is to summarise experience of managing a simulated business with the Sim Venture software. This assignment - Essay Example Decisions made are followed to realize the desired outcome in the organization. This paper gives a summary of experiences gained when managing a simulated business with SimVenture Software. A discussion of business decisions and their significance in a real business is explained. 2. Description  of  the  key  business  decisions  faced. There were different decisions that were encountered. Strategic decisions are related to the overall goal of the organization and give direction to management. They are unique and made once. They are not repeated often because they remain as the preserve of the top management. The decision for an organization to adapt a business customer centric is an example of a strategic decision. High level employees collect and analyze necessary information before settling on a strategic decision. Strategic decisions are made to be implemented over a long time (Harvard Business School Press, 2001, p. 2). Tactical decisions are made by middle level man agers. Using the knowledge they possess and addition information from various sources they base their decision on their analysis. Tactical decisions are used in the management system because their process is repeated many times in the business. Policies concerning pricing and discounts may be part of tactical decision making. Tactical decisions are created to manage performance so that the overall goal is maintained. Operational decisions are made by the employees at the lowest level. They are made very often, for instance when an employee is selling a product to a customer. Operational decisions are made daily and accumulations of the decisions reflect tactical decisions together with strategic decision in the end. Operational decisions are guided by developed rules that led to the appropriate choice. Micro decisions are similar to operational decisions. Operational decisions apply to all the customers while micro decisions are designed for specific customers. Micro decisions take into consideration the existing information and predict on possibilities when making decision on a particular customer. Financial decisions are inevitable when in business. Financial decisions are made by the owners and the top most managers of the organization. At the initial stages of starting the business, the owners find different avenues where they can source funds. They then identify the most important sources and pursue them. When the business grows financial decisions are concerned with the management of cash flow. Moreover, business financial decision could be made to purchase new assets. The business owners may require the expertise in accounting and financial matters to pursue certain ideas or get insight. Another important decision is about the structure of the business. Business structure decisions makes a business individually owned, a partnership or a limited liability company. The different structures get different treatment when it comes to liability, sharing of the profit and losses, and taxation. The legal structure is important because it dictates who is responsible for making decisions (William, 2001). The business relies on human resources to get the work done to realize the goals. Human resource decisions

Business Disaster Recovery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Disaster Recovery - Essay Example The topic of the research has also been recognized by the researchers and social scientist as an important issue for the business so there was lot of literature present at different resources around the topic that cover the topic from different aspects. In this situation it was one of the major concerns to select and review the material that is not only relevant but also useful for the dissertation. Having too much choices in front often creates confusions and a big worry was to overcome this confusion that what to take for the review and what not. In the same way the selection of the company for the case study was also not a simple decision because there are many company that have faced disasters at some time and they have also make their plans for the recovery. Some of them were successful in restoring their losses and some of them were failed so it was a difficult decision to select the company. Moreover it was decided to conduct an in-depth interview of personnel of the selected company so there were also concerns about the matter that weather any of the personnel will allow due time for interview and weather the results or findings of the interviews will be fruitful for the research or not. The present work is done while utilizing all the best possible sources and abilities and if there is another chance got to do the same work again then there much be review of the work previously done to find out the mistakes and flaws so that in the next attempt all the flaws can be removed.

The Evolution of Legacy Acknowledged System of Systems to Directed Research Paper

The Evolution of Legacy Acknowledged System of Systems to Directed - Research Paper Example However, managing emergent behavior of SoS is also necessary since it is capable of generating exclusive benefits. On the contrary, this behavior opens new horizons for engineers to experiment with in order to support the needs of users. This behavior contributes to the deciding factors regarding the methodologies and approach that users will adopt in future to conduct the business. Moreover, they enable engineers to identify those weaker areas of system which are source of hindrance for users to meet their needs and where further nurturing resources must be deployed. It enables the system to combat threats demonstrated by interoperation and attain traits such as flexibility, scalability and cost leadership. Emergence is mostly unavoidable; therefore it is pivotal that engineers learn how to coexist with it, effectively using this phenomenon to establish an invulnerable and highly elastic SoS that can easily respond to changing environment. If emergent behavior is managed effectively , systems forming SoS interact with each other, creating a synergetic effect that enables the entire network to fulfill its essential purposes that cannot be possibly attained in isolation as a standalone system. Therefore, it is only fair to state that the evolutionary process of SoS is a direct product of effective management of its emergent behavior. Figure 2: Simple example of emergent behavior of SoS (Thwink.org) Emergent behavior has largely been researched into and many experiments have revealed different definitions and characteristics to it. Dyson and George claimed that it is a behavior shown by SoS which is not easy to foresee and analyse through evaluation of its components; instead, it must be seen as a single system on the whole. They... This paper stresses that SoS is a complex network of systems that individually have different characteristics but collectively display entirely distinct behavior. This behavior emerges due to synergetic effect of interaction between these systems and components of SoS. This behavior is so strong that it is capable of ripping the entire system apart through cascade effects. High coordination among stakeholders and components and distributed control are required by system engineers to manage it. Researching and harnessing on this issue is vital for SoS to be successful in achieving its primary purposes. This report makes a conclusion that agent modeling devices and simulation settings are prime tools that can be used to mitigate consequences connected with emergent behavior by speculating it beforehand and developing strategies to undermine its effects. If controlled effectively through these engineering tactics, the SoS has high potential to achieve levels of flexibility, cost leadership and scalability that cannot be possibly attained via conventional systems. This paper shall be a source of great contribution towards SoSE Body of Knowledge since it addresses the most crucial obstacle faced by SoS and due to its highly radical and dynamic nature, still to date the researchers and engineers have not been able to fully attain grip and certainty over projecting behavioral patterns and interactive process. Since it is a replication technique and small scale research, only limited assurance can be assumed on results achieved. Nonetheless, further research is required in this field to b e in a better position to draw conclusions.

Research Methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Research Methods - Essay Example A key figure in business organization is a leader. His or her role and significance in the modern market society can not be underestimated. Developed countries spend vast resources on training professional managers. This problem is especially acute for many countries, which have very limited experience in training managers with the leadership skills in a market economy. Its solution depends on developing the right ideas about what qualities should be possessed by any leader working under modern conditions. The main objective of work boils down to, to learn the concepts and essence of leadership, to analyze the relationship between supervisor and subordinates, and make recommendations for the improvement of the organization efficiency on the whole. Implementation of the function of leadership must always entail changes and renewal. If any organization wants to survive and succeed in its business, then, on the analogy with people, it must adapt to environmental conditions and change al ong with them. Leaders are the first people, implementing innovations in their organization’s business. There are always people, individuals and whole groups, who fear to lose-something as a result of change. The last cause tensions, even in such cases, when it is obvious, that such changes are overdue and necessary. Without leadership any organization becomes detached from life, losing its ground, becoming less popular and effective. Leadership involves the process of social impact. The emphasis on "group" was and remains common to leadership theories and research in this area. This level of analysis refers to the micro level of organizational behavior and leadership studies. Business organization and, especially, organizational culture, in this case is rarely included in the scope of scientific interests. In this connection, study of problems of organizational leadership takes its particular relevance through the prism of an entrepreneurial culture under modern conditions. The extent of the given problem, relations between the leadership and team and the root causes of this universal social phenomenon were interesting for both thinkers of antiquity and modern times: Socrates, Aristotle, Machiavelli, and Kant. Analysis of business organizations as socio-cultural phenomenon dates back to the tradition of Max Weber, Talcott Parsons, K. Levin, F. O. Selznick, and especially Charles Barnard and H. Simon (the latter largely foreshadowed the notion of "organizational ethics", the main features of the "organizational culture" category). The very introduction of the term "organizational culture ", as part of the business culture, and its detailed study dates back to the late 70-ies of XX century. G. Hofshtede (2000) conducted the most comprehensive study in the area of establishment and functioning of the enterprise culture and its typology. The models of the organizational culture influence on the functioning and management of the organization were suggested by V. Sate, T. Peters and R. Waterman, R. Quinn, J. Rohrbach, R. De George, J. Burns. The new aspects of leadership analysis were labeled in trade organizations in

Construction contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Construction contract law - Essay Example By this stage, the job had become quite extensive. It involved the demolition of the cold store and other buildings, and the construction of a workshop, a double inspection pit and a covered parking area. The overall job would require a great deal of demolition and drilling out of concrete and excavations, the construction of structural steel framing, cladding, extensive roofing and paving, the installation of equipment purchased by Clarke and the partial demolition, rebuilding and refurbishment of the office accommodation.Works progressed on a piecemeal basis with ACT submitting interim applications for payment during the course of the works. The works went on for a period of nearly two years, by which point ACT had been paid approximately  £1.3 million.At this point the parties have drifted apart. Later, ACT submitted to Clarke a "reconciliation statement" for its work. This showed that the value of the work calculated by ACT was of the order of  £1.5 million. This led to a dis pute and ACT commenced proceedings for the recovery of a claimed balance of approximately  £200,000.Analysis of court’s responseThe court initially interpreted on certain preliminary questions on existence of a contract, and if so, what were its terms as to payment, the scope of the work and the contract period? Clarke argued that there was an agreement between the parties that ACT would construct the job, including the supply and installation of the necessary workshop equipment, for a cost, which was to be not more than  £815,000.

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

A Letter - Essay Example Having a healthy economy implies that the government concentrate on social issues in a means of tackling unemployment. The youth and women population has the highest potential in the labor market but still lugged behind in matters employment. The investment in education indicates a change in perception and the labor market accommodation the new elements. This attributes to the highest levels of employment over the past seven years (Zumbrun, 2014). The fact that the levels of employment are on the rise, the government main concern is on cyclical unemployment. The trend has little to do with the government but the employers themselves. Many tend to maintain a given number of workers as a means of reducing expenditure and maximizing on revenue. It is evident on how each sector plays a role in ensuring the improved levels of employment. Creation of jobs bases on government policies including taxation and the commitment by both local and foreign investment to satisfy the labor

How Do people make economic decisions Essay Example for Free

How Do people make economic decisions Essay The purpose of this paper is to evaluate how decision-making affects the economy and people. It is obvious that free markets perform much better than communist markets. The decision making principals, according to this there are four decision making principals. In the first principal people will trade off, they will give something up for another thing they want. Making decisions means people will have to trade one goal for another. The second decision is giving up something when they already had one thing. People make trade off according to the economy. People have wants and needs therefore they need to choose carefully how to spend their income and resources. Choosing and item will benefit and cost, it will also mean that the person will not have the benefit of the item he or she gave up. Third the margin is thought of in this step. When considering the margin people will take into consideration the marginal benefit and only then if it exceeds the marginal cost. Last, people will react to incentives. People will react to price and benefits associated with their decision. My example of purchasing my first home was based on marginal cost and marginal benefit. I was renting an apartment in California and rents seem to be going up because the economy going down. People were losing their homes due to foreclosure and had to live somewhere. House prices were going down and rents going up, there was no telling when they were going to stop. I did the math and figured my mortgage would be the same if not lower with some money down. The marginal cost would be greater up front in the form of cost associated with purchasing a home. However, my marginal benefit in the long term would be even greater. Therefore, if rent was cheaper now, I would have to pay more the longer I stay in that apartment. The marginal benefit to purchasing a home would be the same for the following 30 years. The only incentive that would have led me to make a different decision is if they guaranteed my rent for the next 30 years. The economics related to the decision making and the working of the economy can be demonstrated by me purchasing a tool for my job. When I purchase tools I get the benefit of making money based on my ability to fix the customers gas turbines. The economy benefits the store where I purchase the tool makes money. When I fix a gas turbine it allows the customer to pump and produce millions a dollars a day, and they sell the product and make money, in turn they sell the gas to customers which, get to work and make money. A market economy is a type of economic system in which the trading and exchange of goods, services and information takes place in a free market (Market Economy, 2010). These types of markets are governed by supply and demand. A centrally planned economy like Cuba and North Korea decision are made by the government. Mixed economies rely in the state and the private sector to make decisions on the market economy and economic system. In a free market people purchase and sell services and goods. In this type of market people are free to interact. In a communist economy, such as Cuba and North Korea the government decides what needs to be produced and where to work. Decision can be based on marginal cost or marginal benefit; there is no doubt that they are a huge part of the consumer’s decisions to purchase goods. Whether it is the cost of buying a home or just a simple meal people will always weigh the cost of goods.

Learning Strategies In A Task Based Learning Education Essay

Learning Strategies In A Task Based Learning Education Essay Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) as one of the ways of implementing a Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach is a favorite method employed by English teachers in Asia; (Nunan, 2003) claimed that most Asian countries surveyed (Mainland China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam) subscribe to the principles of CLT, and in a number of them, TBLT (the latest realization of CLT) is the central pillar of government rhetoric. Task is basically defined as a goal-oriented classroom activity (Ellis, 2003; Nunan, 2006; Oxford, 2006; Prabhu, 1987; Willis, 1998). It requires learners use of target language that is focused more on the conveying of meaning rather than on the practice of form (Ellis, 2003; Nunan, 2006; Skehan, 1998). Oxford (2006) completes the definition of tasks as behavioral classroom instructions that are externally imposed either on a person or a group. There are two basic reasons to select TBL as an English teaching and learning approach. The first reason is the desire for a meaning-focused approach that reflects real life language use (Leaver Willis, 2004). Language use needs to be transferred from real world activities into classroom activities, and this can be done through TBL. Another reason for selecting TBL is that task based interactions stimulate natural acquisition processes (Prabhu, 1987). A number of studies reveal the effectiveness of TBL in enhancing students language proficiency, especially their oral communication skills (eg., Ahmed, 1996; Lochana Deb, 2006). It is official policy that the teaching and learning process of English as a foreign language at the Business Administration Department of the State Polytechnic of Malang is through a Task-Based Learning (TBL) approach. TBL has been adopted by the Business Administration department of the State Polytechnic of Malang because, as the latest realization of the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach, TBL is an implementation of the overarching Competency-Based curriculum the department employs. The selection of English teaching topics in this department is initiated with a needs analysis; the department regularly visits companies to survey employers expectation of their future employees skills. Most companies, especially the foreign companies, expect that their future employees possess adequate English oral communication skills as the first priority. Thus, the first goal of the teaching of English as a foreign language at this department is toward students adequate oral communica tion proficiency. In this study, I define a task as a classroom activity that is focused on meaning rather than on form and that requires the learners to achieve observable outcomes by employing English as the target language for oral communication skills as used in real life. Appendix 1 is an example of TBL activity to develop the required skills. The combination of needs analysis and appropriate TBL activities would seem to be the most effective way to develop the required skills. The implementation of Task-Based Learning has unfortunately had limited success to date. Most students graduating from the Business Administration department do not possess adequate oral communication skills. This problem is common among Indonesian tertiary education institutions, especially in the non-English departments. With my informal observation of teaching in this non-English department, this lack of success is in some part due to teachers limited familiarity with suitable and appropriate implementation of Task-Based Learning. Measures need to be taken to improve the quality of the implementation of the TBL and this can be done through appropriately manipulating task characteristics and conditions. However, manipulating task characteristics and conditions alone does not guarantee the meeting of a pedagogic outcome; attention also needs to be directed to the learners as the participants of the tasks. Learners attention and their own learning needs contribute to their efforts to gain task outcomes (Murphy, 2003). The more effort students make to reach the outcome, the better the result of the learning will be. Their strategies to accomplish the tasks largely determine their success in attaining the pedagogic goal. Learning strategies are personal efforts employed by learners to complete tasks , and students of different learning styles and different cultural background may employ different strategies to learn to communicate in a foreign language (Lam, 2007). Furthermore, appropriate employment of learning strategies plays an imperative role in promoting students self-confidence regarding the development of their communicative competence (Oxford, 1990). Successful learners are believed to effectively employ appropriate learning strategies. Regarding the teachability feature of learning strategies, a number of researchers (Griffiths Parr, 2001; Oxford, 1990, 1996) argue that learning strategies are relatively easy to teach and modify. Students can be trained to be aware of and more conscious of learning strategy use and more proficient at employing appropriate strategies. Task requirements and teachers expectations that are expressed through classroom instructional methods also shape students learning strategy choice. With the assumption that a task-based learning approach will help students in developing their communication skills and that the implementation of this approach will result in students use of effective learning strategies which in turn will elevate students success in developing their communication skills, I am interested in conducting a collaborative action research case study to produce an effective task-based learning program which aims to develop students verbal communication skills and to explore the impact of task-based learning on students employment of learning strategies. Purpose of the Study The prime concern of this study is to analyse non-English department students learning strategies in a task-based learning approach which focuses on their oral communication skills. Research Questions The aforementioned purpose of the study leads to the formulation of research questions as follow: What learning strategies do students with a range of oral proficiency levels employ during the implementation of a task-based learning approach? Do these learning strategies change during a TBL program? What are the students and teachers perception of the impact of TBL on the employment of learning strategies? Delimitation of the Study As reflected by the needs analysis conducted with prospective employers, the first required skills to be possessed by graduates of the Business Administration department of the State Polytechnic of Malang are their oral communication skills. Academically, the TBL program is designed to develop students oral communication skills. In accordance with this focus, my intention to explore students use of learning strategies is focused on the students employment of oral communication learning strategies. Methodology This research will be informed by a qualitative research paradigm and involve an action research case study. It is an action research approach in which I will work collaboratively with one of the English teachers to improve the quality of the EFL teaching and learning process in this vocational higher education institution in Indonesia which is using a TBL program. During the implementation of the TBL, I will explore students employment of learning strategies as a bounded system (a case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over time, through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of information (Creswell, 2007). Regarding the multiple sources of information, I will use some different instruments of data collection namely questionnaire, one on one interviews, focus group discussions, and document reviews (students scores of their oral communication skills which is always officially conducted by the teacher every semester, students learning journals, and teachers reflective journals). The research participants will be nine second year students of the Business Administration department of the State Polytechnic of Malang. These students are within a range of oral communication skills levels: three students are of the high rank, three are average, and the last three are of low rank. The determination of the students levels is based on their test scores (final semester scores). Because the first goal of teaching English in this department is developing oral communication skills, then, their final test scores are to measure their oral communication skills. Based on their scores, students who belong to the high rank, middle rank and low rank will be invited to be recruited as the participants of the study. Because this study, in one part, will be a collaborative action research, the class teacher will also be a participant in the study. The Methods of the study will include: Questionnaire (Oral Communication Strategy Inventory/OCSI), adopted from Nakatani (2006). For detail description of the strategies inventory please refer to appendix 2. Students learning journals (One entry per week) Teachers reflective journal (One entry per two weeks) Focus group discussion (see appendix 3 for the interview guide) One on one interviews (one to expand on students responses on the OCSI questionnaire, one for an interview with the teacher, and one interview for the Stimulated Recall) Direct observations of both students classroom activities and of videotaped students classroom activities. For these observations, checklist and field notes will be used. The observation checklist is presented in Appendix 4. The data collection process will be conducted following three stages: Stage One: Preliminary data collection Indication of students existing language levels (the oral communication proficiency levels). This procedure will be conducted following the official testing method as usually implemented by the institution. The oral production test rating scale including its description is attached. The result of this test will determine the participants whom I will invite to participate in my study. The first three students of the high, three of the average, and the last three of the low rank groups to volunteer will be recruited as the participants of my study. Completion of OCSI questionnaire (Oral Communication Strategy Inventory) which is adapted from Nakatani (2006). This inventory will be translated into Bahasa Indonesia in order to gain true response from the participants without foreign language difficulties that may intervene. This procedure will function to determine the existing language learning strategies that students employ. One -on- One interview This one -on- one interview will assist me to expand on the questionnaire data to gain deeper information from the participants regarding their use of learning strategies. The interview will also be conducted in Bahasa Indonesia Stage Two: During Data Collection Students learning journal (one entry per week, in Bahasa Indonesia) In this learning journal participants are expected to respond to the following questions: What strategy did you use in accomplishing the task? Why did you employ this strategy? Name the strategy and explain how (the context) in which you used the strategy. Classroom activities videotaping There will be classroom activities videotaping once per week with duration of 90 minutes per lesson. This will be conducted for 6 weeks. Stage Three: Final Data Collection Direct observation of classroom activities Redo of questionnaire completion (Oral Communication Strategies Inventory/OCSI) Videotaped pair work activities for use in the stimulated recall interview Final interview on the use of learning strategies as the extension of the OCSI questionnaire completion and Stimulated Recall (pair interview) Official administration of final test on oral communication using the same test administered in the initial process of data collection. Additional data will be collected through the collaborative relationship with the class teacher. Data collection will be in the following stages: Stage One: an interview in which the teacher is asked to explain his understanding of TBL and student learning strategies. Stage Two: a reflective journal Stage Three: a final interview in which the teacher is asked to revisit his understanding of TBL and learning strategies and to reflect on his perception of the impact of the above on the students language skills Details of data collection activities are as put in the data collection calendar in appendix 5. Data analysis approach The data analysis of this study will begin during the data collection process. To analyse qualitative data, it is preferred to do it simultaneously with data collection (eg. Merriam, 2009). The analysis will be focused on students employment of learning strategies during the accomplishment of TBL. This learning strategy exploration is the main tool to analyse the data. The analysis will be based on the Oral Communication Strategies Inventory (OCSI) developed by Nakatani (2006) which sees learning strategies as conscious cognitive behaviours with two main categories namely strategies for coping with speaking problems and strategies for coping with listening problems. The speaking strategies are composed of 8 factors while the listening strategies consist of 7 factors. I will also analyse students employment of learning strategies based on their oral communication levels: students of high rank, of middle rank, and of low rank. Appendix 6 shows the diagram of main framework of the data analysis. Since this study involves more than one subject, the data analysis will be within-case analysis followed with across-case analysis. To answer the second research question, I will analyse the data chronologically from the beginning of the semester until the end of the semester. There will be three periods of chronological analysis with one period covering five-week implementation of TBL. This is to analyse the change of learning strategy use. Data on students and the teachers perceptions of the impact of TBL on the development of learning strategies will answer the third research question. This may be an exploration of differences between students and the teachers perceptions. There may also be an analysis of differences in the teachers perceptions before the implementation of TBL and after the implementation of TBL. In general, the data analysis will follow these steps: Identifying units. This unit is a potential answer or part of an answer to the research questions. To answer the first research question, I will analyse students strategies for coping with speaking problems and strategies for coping with listening problems. Secondly, there will be units of analysis of individual students, a group of students with the same level of oral communication skills, and students of across levels of oral communication skills. Third, I will conduct a chronological analysis of the students learning strategies development/changes of every-five-week period of TBL implementation. Categorizing the units. This will be conducted through classifying units based on the recurring regularities of the data. Included in this stage is sorting or reducing redundant data and making a concrete description of observable data. The identified data of students use of learning strategies in the implementation of TBL will be described in detail. Interpreting the data. At this stage the categorized data will be interpreted and referred back to the theory. It is a process of making inferences or generating theory. I will refer back to the learning strategies theories (for example, Cohen Macaro, 2007; McDonough, 1995; OMalley Chamot, 1990; Oxford, 1990) including communication strategies theories (for example, Bialystok, 1990).

Sex Trafficking And Prostitution Criminology Essay

Sex Trafficking And Prostitution Criminology Essay Trafficking n its dictionary meaning, the concept of trafficking denotes a trade in something that should not be traded in. The concept of trafficking in people refers to the criminal practice of exploitation of human beings whereby humans are treated as commodities for profit, subjected to various forms of exploitation. Sex trafficking is a type of human trafficking The definition contains three main elements that constitute trafficking:  [1]   1.Acts- recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person. 2.Means Threat/use of force ,other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception or abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability. 3. Purpose- Prostitution, forced labour or services, slavery , slavery like practices: servitude, organ trade. Trafficking involves the following: Movement of a person, with deception or coercion and into a situation of forced labour, prostitution slavery like practices: servitude. Trafficking can occur with or without crossing any international border. Prostitution is the sale of sexual services for money. prostitution the word itself speaks about the plight of the women. it is not a problem which exists in India but exists throughout the world. The Prostitution continued from ancient and medieval India and has taken a more gigantic outlook in modern India. India is one of the biggest market for prostitution in Asia with Mumbai alone Accommodating 200,000 prostitutes. The 1990s also witnessed a significant shift in the perception of flesh trade, by differentiating prostitution from trafficking, seeing it not merely as a moral or law enforcement problem, but as a human rights(including legal and democratic rights).violation linked to gender discriminate and disparity in development. Difference between trafficking and prostitution- often, trafficking is confused with prostitution. These are not synonymous. Trafficking is the process/ means while prostitution can be the result/end (of being trafficked). Trafficking is therefore the overall process while prostitution is the result. Human trafficking is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.  [2]  Human trafficking has a history coterminous with that of society and has existed in various forms in almost all civilisations and cultures. It is a trade that exploits the vulnerability of human beings, especially women and children, in complete violation of their human rights, and makes them objects of financial transactions through the use of force and duress, whether for the purpose of sex, labour, slavery, or servitude. The concept of trafficking denotes a trade in something that should not be traded in. Human trafficking as defined by the UN is, the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or service, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.  [3]   Human trafficking includes sexual exploitation, labour trafficking, etc. Nowadays even cross-border human trafficking is prevalent. India has a huge population and because of that and our dwindling economy many people live below the poverty line. The smugglers and traffickers promise them a better life- a ray of hope, jobs as domestic servants, in the film world or in factories. They can offer them money, pleasure trip invitations or false promises of marriage. The main targets are the poor, helpless people are the ones who are exploited the most. Social and religious practices too have been a big cause. The recruiters are the first in the chain -procurer- they may be parents, neighbours, relatives or lovers or people who have been trafficked before. The procurers move to the potential sites for victims which mostly are the poverty-stricken areas where there has been no proper rehabilitation and then they haunt the bus stops, railway stations, streets, etc. The period they choose for trafficking depends on if that place has suffered a drought or social or political disasters recently, so that it would be easier to lure in the already suffering victims. The procurers use drugs, abduction, kidnapping, persuasion or deception to bag the targets. They hand the victims to the brothel owners, escort services, or managers of a sex establishment. Sex Trafficking: The Concept Women and children from developing countries, and from vulnerable parts of society in developed countries, are lured by promises of decent employment into leaving their homes and travelling to what they consider will be a better life. Victims are often provided with false travel documents and an organized network is used to transport them to the destination country, where they find themselves forced into sexual slavery and held in inhumane conditions and constant fear. In India, public debate on the issue of trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation emerged in the 1990s.  [4]  Trafficking of Human being is one of the gravest and worst forms of violation of the basic human rights. Besides the physical trauma mental injuries that the victim suffers in the process are often unbearable. Victims lead a life of complete despair with no hope to emerge out of their pathetic conditions and in this state of neglect lead their lives in completely inhumane conditions. The traffickers deprive the victims of their most basic human rights. Victims of sexual abuse are subjected to physical violence and sexual abuse, and are held under duress against their will. They receive low or no wages. Hence, they have little or no savings. This combined with indebtedness to the trafficker keeps them in a situation of debt bondage and slavery. What gives impetus and fuels this business of flesh trade is a situation where a victim of sex traffick ing is sold against her wishes to a brothel by her procurer and the money that the procurer gets in return for her is a debt which the victim is compelled to pay in order to earn her freedom. What adds on to this problem is that a victim is often uneducated and unaware of the debt on her and continues to work for years to come in the flesh market under the belief that one day she would earn her freedom by repaying this entire amount. The victims are forced to work in extremely harsh and inhumane conditions, in extremely long working hours with little or no time for rest and also in a state of total physical confinement and bondage similar to imprisonment and have little or no control over their own movement. They are subjected to poor living conditions with abysmal hygiene and sanitation facilities.  [5]  Their extremely pitiable state is intensified when a victim contracts various diseases, unwanted pregnancies, physical injuries etc. They are on a high risk of STD, AIDS, HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis etc. Victims have no recourse to even the basic medical needs and facilities. Social stigma and ostracism is the other problem the victims of sex trafficking made to undergo. There is no acceptance for a victim in the society during her stay and even after it if someone tries and emerges out of the clutches of a trafficker. Victims of trafficking are not accepted even by their family members thereby leaving them with no hope to even to them emerge out of it as the prospects of social rehabilitation and acceptance into the society seem not quiet alluring to a victim. They are exposed to drugs and other addictions, and sometimes forcibly made addicts in order to ensure their continued dependence on the trafficker. Once the victim falls into a traffickers clutches, she will be exploited without any hope of redresal as long as she is capable of earning. After she becomes old or ill, or is infected with HIV/AIDS, the trafficker abandons her. He no longer arranges for her bail or pays the fine for her pleading guilty, and she is left alone to face trial and the due process of Law. Trafficking is an offence and the trafficker is liable to punishment, irrespective of the consent of the trafficked person. Other than the fact of being trafficked, the traffickers deprive the victims of their most basic human rights in the following manner  [6]   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They are subjected to physical violence and sexual abuse, and are held under duress against their will. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They receive low or no wages. Hence, they have little or no savings. This combined with indebtedness to the trafficker keeps them in a situation of debt bondage and slavery.  [7]   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They are forced to work extremely long hours in inhuman working conditions leaving little time for rest. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They live in conditions of physical confinement similar to imprisonment and have little or no control over their own movement. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They are subjected to poor living conditions with abysmal hygiene and sanitation facilities. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The trafficker restricts their access to health or medical facilities. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They face social stigma and social ostracism in their daily lives and as a result undergo constant humiliation. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They are exposed to drugs and other addictions, and sometimes forcibly made addicts in order to ensure their continued dependence on the trafficker. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They face a continuous assault on their physical, psychological, and emotional health. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They face health risks such as physical injury, STD, HIV/AIDS, unwanted pregnancies, repeated abortions, gynaecological diseases, tuberculosis, and other disease. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ They also face harassment from the police and prosecution, and convicted by the judicial system under the ITPA. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ When they are no longer in a position to earn, they are abandoned and even the families who lived off their earnings do not support them à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Children of women in prostitution, especially daughters, are prone to being trafficked themselves. They have no access to education and basic needs of life 1.1 Reasons for Trafficking Trafficking occurs not only for prostitution/commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children are trafficked for several other purposes, some of include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Forced labour, including bonded child labour, in the carpet, garment, and other industries/factories/worksites.  [8]   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Forced or bonded domestic work may be bought and sold or forced to work in inhuman and violent conditions that include sexual abuse.  [9]   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Forced labour in construction sites with little or no wages.  [10]   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Forced employment in the entertainment industry, including bars, massage parlours, and similar establishments. In addition to poor or no pay and bad living conditions, sexual harassment is common. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Children are sometimes trafficked for begging. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Organ trade such as sale of kidneys.  [11]   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Fraudulent or forced marriage: this includes sham, fraudulent, and illegal marriages, entered into by the man, residing in India or abroad, with the criminal intention of sexually exploiting the woman. Mail order brides where women are purchased or lured with false promises of a marriage abroad and subsequently recruited into prostitution is also a form of trafficking. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Camel jockeying often involves the sale of young children who are tied on a camels back for racing. Children are often badly hurt or killed in such races. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Purchase and sale of babies for adoption, both within the country and abroad, against established laws and procedures for adoption. 1.2 Causes There are several factors that lead to trafficking of women and children or cause them to become victims of trafficking. These factors can be broadly classified into two categories: supply factors and demand factors Supply Factors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Abject poverty sometimes forces parents to sell their children to traffickers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Harmful cultural practices often make women and children extremely vulnerable. Child marriage is sometimes the route for a child to be trafficked for sexual purposes. The stigma attached to single, widowed, and abandoned women, or second wives through bigamous marriages, causes such women to be abandoned by society. They become easy targets for traffickers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Female illiteracy and lack of access to education by girls. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Male unemployment and loss of family income puts pressure on women to earn and support the family. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Natural calamities and poor rehabilitation of disaster victims puts pressure on women to earn and support the family. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Dysfunctional families or families that have difficulty functioning and communicating in emotionally healthy ways; a family that has a negative environment, which contributes little to the personal development and growth of family members.  [12]   à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Desertion by one or the other parent, uncared for or abandoned children. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Traditional practices give social legitimacy to trafficking. These include the Devadasi and Jogin traditions where Devadasis are often trafficked and sexually exploited. This is equally applicable to other communities such as the Nats, Kanjars, and Bedias where traditionally girls are made to earn through prostitution. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Porous borders. Weak law enforcement and inefficient and corrupt policing of the borders ensure that women from neighbouring countries are brought into India and forced into prostitution in different towns. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Clandestine nature of the crime and weak law enforcement. The crime does not come to light very often because of its clandestine nature. Victims are unable to access justice and even when they attempt to do so, weak law enforcement enables the traffickers to escape. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Urban opportunities. Many women are either lured by false promises of jobs in urban areas or they voluntarily migrate to urban areas on hearing about the opportunities in cities from their neighbours and friends. When a woman is pushed into prostitution due to these causes, the issue of consent of the trafficked person is not relevant. Even if a woman knows that she is being trafficked and gives her full consent, it does not absolve the trafficker of guilt. Trafficking is an offence irrespective of the womans consent (Sections 5 and 6 of the Immoral Traffic(Prevention) Act, 1956). Demand Factors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Rising male migration to urban areas and demand for commercial sex. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Growth of tourism, which sometimes indirectly encourages sex tourism. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Scare of HIV/AIDS and prevalent myths on sexuality and STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) leads to greater demand for newer and younger girls. The number of trafficked girls thus increases and their age decreases. 1.3 Concerns on Trafficking in India In the constitution of India Trafficking is prohibited.  [13]  Yet India is the Destination, source and transit for human trafficking primarily for commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour and with the falling sex ratio trafficking for marriages has become another factor for trafficking women and young girls. Trafficking of persons across the borders of Punjab and Bangladesh is not a cumbersome process, also Indias Policy of an open border with Nepal has made it difficult to identify trafficking.  [14]   There are a number of factors which are responsible for influencing trafficking of women and young girls in India. Women and young girls may be trafficked in India due to cultural practices and also because of poverty. Cultural Practices include the Devdasi System which is still prevalent in some parts of India as shown in a 2004 report by the National Human Rights Commission of the Government of India.  [15]  There are again many women who willingly migrate to the middle East, Europe and the United States to work as domestic labor who are defrauded by the placement agencies and sometimes trafficked. Women and Children trafficked within India are kept in conditions of involuntary servitude with characteristics such as withholding payment of wages, confiscation of travel documents non- adherence to conditions of work, inordinate profits to middle man. India is also a destination country for persons from Bangladesh and Nepal, and a bulk of those trafficked from these countries are women and children. In both cases the initial migration legal, illegal may be voluntary and subsequently migrants may be trafficked for sexual exploitation or any other factor. The numbers are very large, though precise figures are lacking and need to be tackled urgently. The 2010 Trafficking in persons Report  [16]  also points out that ninety percent of the trafficked persons belong to the most disadvantaged groups. It also carried evidence of NGO reports on duping of girls from north east India with Promises of jobs and then forcing them into prostitution as well as forced marriages. This heinous crime needs to be addressed urgently. There are legislations which deal with criminalizing a number of offences which are not specifically dealt with in the ITPA. These include penalizing acts such as procuring, buying and selling of human beings importing or exporting human beings, buying and selling minors, coercing or forcing marriage of minors, kidnapping and abducting and using force for the purpose of trafficking, slavery and slavery like conditions and unacceptable form of labor. A chart detailing miscellaneous legislations relevant to trafficking is given below.  [17]   LEGISLATIONS SECTION DETAILS OF THE PROVISION Indian Penal Code,1860 366 Kidnapping ,abducting or inducing a women to compel marriage. 366A Procuring a minor girl 366B Importation of a girl below 21 for sexual exploitation. 367 Kidnapping/abducting to subject person to grievous hurt, slavery. 370 Buying or disposing of a person as slave. 371 Habitual dealing in slaves. 372 Selling minor for prostitution 373 Buying minor for prostitution 374 Compelling a person to labour. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act,2006 12 Child marriage void if after that the minor is sold or trafficked or used for immoral purposes. Children (Pledging of Labour) Act,1933 4-6 Penalties for pledging labour of children(under 15 years) Bonded Labour System(Abolition )Act,1976 16 Compelling a person to render bonded labour or forced labour. Juvenile Justice Act,2000 2(vii) A child in need of care and protection includes one who is vulnerable and likely to be trafficked. 26 Procuring juveniles for hazardous employment. Trafficking and organised crime as defined by the law in India.- for the purpose of understanding cross border trafficking, especially in the context of organised crime, there are two definitions that need to be analysed, wiz, trafficking and organised crimes. How India defines and engages with these two terms is an indicator of the legal protection given to combat trafficking as an organised crime. Domestic Law of India There is no current central legislation in India with regard to organized crime. Some States however have legislated on the same. Maharashtra, which was the first State to have an Act,  [18]  defines organized crime as any continuing unlawful activity by an individual, singly or jointly, either as a member of an organized crime syndicate or on behalf of such syndicate, by use of violence or threat of violence or intimidation or coercion or other unlawful means, with the objective of gaining pecuniary benefits, or gaining undue economic or other advantage for himself or any other person, or promoting insurgency.  [19]   In the absence of a specific law on organized crime, reliance is placed on general provisions in criminal law dealing with common intention to commit an offence  [20]  , criminal conspiracy  [21]  and abetment. Anti-corruption laws may also be used. India has addressed trafficking both directly and indirectly in its Constitution. There are three Articles spread over Fundamental Rights in Part III and Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV which address trafficking related issues. The chart below summarizes the provisions. Provisions on Trafficking in the Constitution of India  [22]   Article 23 Fundamental Right prohibiting trafficking in human beings and forms of forced labor. Article 39(e) Directive Principle of State Policy directed at ensuring that health and strength of individuals are not abused and that no one is forced by economic necessity to do work unsuited to their age or strength.. Article 39(f) Directive Principle of State Policy stating that childhood and youth should be protected against exploitation. India has a written Constitution, and though the above provisions make Indias mandate on trafficking clear, penalizing and tackling trafficking is dealt with by legislation. The Constitution specifically mentions trafficking in human beings as well as forced labor and also indicates the special protection to be provided to vulnerable groups in society. The Constitution of India discusses provisions on trafficking at two levels one, at the level of Fundamental Rights which are basic rights available to all, irrespective of caste, creed, sex, place of birth, etc., and two, at the level of Directive Principles of State Policy. Fundamental Rights are justiciable and can be directly enforced in a court of law, whereas Directive Principles of State Policy are non-justiciable and cannot be directly enforced in a Court of Law. However, Directive Principles play a major role in shaping the policy of the State and may sometimes be the basis that legislation is built on. As a Fundamental Right in Article 23, trafficking in human beings is prohibited as are all forms of forced labor. According to Directive Principles of State Policy in Articles 39(e) and (f), the health and strength of workers should not be abused. It prohibits exploitation of persons to perform work which is unsuitable for them. It also specifically protects children and you th against exploitation of any kind. While the provisions in the Directive Principles of State Policy do not mention trafficking, it mentions exploitation which is a key element in trafficking. 1.4 International legislation History of international legislation International pressure to address trafficking in women and children became a growing part of the social Reform movement in the United States and Europe during the late 19th century. International legislation against the trafficking of women and children began with the ratification of an international convention in 1901, followed by ratification of a second convention in 1904. These conventions were ratified by 34 countries. The first formal international research into the scope of the problem was funded by American philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, through the American Bureau of Social Hygiene  [23]  . In 1923, a committee from the bureau was tasked with investigating trafficking in 28 countries, interviewing approximately 5,000 informants and analyzing information over two years before issuing its final report. This was the first formal report on trafficking in women and children to be issued by an official body. The League of Nations, formed in 1919, took over as the international coordinator of legislation intended to end the trafficking of women and children. An international Conference on White Slave Traffic was held in 1921, attended by the 34 countries that ratified the 1901 and 1904 conventions. Another convention against trafficking was ratified by League members in 1922, and like the 1904 international convention, this one required ratifying countries to submit annual reports on their progress in tackling the problem. Compliance with this requirement was not complete, although it gradually improved: in 1924, approximately 34% of the member countries submitted reports as required, which rose to 46% in 1929, 52% in 1933, and 61% in 1934. 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children (sponsored by the League of Nations) Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (United Nations General Assembly resolution, came into force in 1951) Current international laws Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages, entered into force in 1964 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; and Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) CHAPTER-II :: LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND POLICIES 2.1 Definition of Trafficking Article 3 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000, states: Trafficking in Persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer,harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery,servitude or the removal of organs.  [24]   Article 1 (3), SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution, signed by India on January 5, 2002, states: Trafficking means the moving, selling or buying of women and children for prostitution within and outside a country for monetary or other considerations with or without the consent of the of the person subjected to trafficking  [25]  . Article 1 (4) of the SAARC Convention defines Traffickers as: Traffickers means persons, agencies or institutions engaged in any form of trafficking. Article 34 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) states: States Parties undertake to protect the Child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. For these purposes, States Parties shall in particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent: (a) The inducement or coercion of a child to engage in any lawful sexual activity; (b) The exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices; (c) The exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials. Further, Article 35 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states: States Parties shall take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent the abduction of, the sale of or traffic in children for any purpose or in any form. The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (ITPA) does not specifically define trafficking. However, the ingredients of trafficking, such as sexual exploitation and abuse of persons; running of a brothel; living on the earnings of a prostitute; procuring, inducing or taking a person for the sake of prostitution; detaining a person for prostitution, etc., are contained in Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, and 8 of the Act. In the ITPA, (amended in 1978 and 1986), even though trafficking is not yet defined in accordance with the UN Protocol, To Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime or as per the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution, the essential ingr

Jane Eyre :: essays research papers

In Charlotte Bronte’s, Jane Eyre, Jane goes through numerous self-discoveries, herself-realization and discipline leads her to a life she chooses to make her happy. Jane Eyre has a rough life from the start. Forced to stay with people who despise her, Jane can only help herself. Jane must overcome the odds against her, which add to many. Jane is a woman with no voice, until she changes her destiny. The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte consists of continuous journeys through Jane’s life towards her final happiness and freedom. From the beginning, Jane possesses a sense of her self-confidence and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   contentment. Her integrity is continually tested over the course of the novel, and Jane must learn to balance the frequently conflicting aspects of her so as to find contentment. There are many ways in which Bronte shows Jane’s tribulations, through irony, honor, and tone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Charlotte Bronte includes many different aspects to this novel. â€Å" One of the keys to power of Jane Eyre is Bronte’s deployment of multiple genres† (Clarke 2). Clarke says that there are many levels to the book; the book can have a greater depth than a love story, but as a tale of strength and endurance. 2 Jane Eyre has a rough start to her foundation, to begin she is orphaned at a young age. This sets up many problems for the young girl and her fragile identity. The people around worsen the situation as Jane grows. They challenge her patience, integrity, and intelligence. As a female Jane must deal with the caste system of her time as a threat, and as an orphaned child she must deal with the cast system as an obstacle. The family of Reeds that she lives with reminds her everyday of her low position. â€Å"She suffers precisely because she knows the value of caste; She may be poor, but she does not want to belong to the poor† (Bell 2). This makes Jane want to thrive more because she realizes the odds against her. Originally, Jane comes from a middle-class family but when her father dies she is left to the pity of the Reeds. The Reeds mistreat Jane and she grows to long the outside world. Jane clearly shows her position when she says, â€Å" It is as natural as that I should lov e those who show me affection, as submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved†.

United States Involvement in The Second World War (WWII) Essay

World War II   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As totalitarian sates emerged into power, the United States got involved with World War II to help control these groups and to promote democracy in the European theatre of the world. The party with the most power at the time was the Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler. This socialist party was led by a powerful dictator who broke away from the League of Nations and began to conquer vast amounts of territory at a fast rate. The United States wanted to leave foreign affairs alone in fear of another world war. The United States could not avoid the fact Hitler was taking over Europe and help was needed. The United States became fully involved in the European theatre of World War II when Hitler led his armies on a series of blitzkrieg’s, taking over Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, northern France, and by breaking the Nazi-Soviet pact.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The United States, under the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, wanted to remain neutral and wanted to stay out of foreign affairs. People like Lindbergh strongly opposed any aid to foreign affairs, but Roosevelt felt American security and Democracy was in jeopardy if no help was given. As Hitler began his campaigns in Europe, especially in Poland, the United States sent aid to France and Britain to resist the Nazi’s. Germany defeated Poland and easily took over weaker countries, sometimes without Keith 2 firing a single shot as in Czechoslovakia. The United States remained...

Geopolitics in humanitarian action Essay

The analysis of how political decisions are conditioned by geographical settings is the subject matter of geopolitics. In purely spatial terms, geopolitics is the study of boundaries and areas. In conceptual terms, geopolitics comprises the study of international relations and the outcome of power struggles, at local and global scales. It explores events such as the emergence of new states, the fragmentation of countries, and regional conflicts affecting several countries. The most important and long-lasting geopolitical event of the 20th century is the Cold War. The international humanitarian system has witnessed a dramatically transformation since the end of the Cold War, and even more so since the â€Å"war on terror†. To understand humanitarian intervention in contemporary complex emergencies, the course will analyze the humanitarian action and the changing geopolitical system. We will discuss many of the fundamental debates concerning the nature, effectiveness and evolution of the humanitarian actions, the different humanitarian actors and the accompanying political dynamics that arise in variety of regional contexts. Among other issues, students will critically analyze the relationship between aid and conflict; concepts of neutrality; relationship to military intervention; among others. We will use case studies to understand the growing complexity and the political weave of actors and influences affecting all those involve in humanitarian action and the changing operating environment. The course will encourage students to consider what is or could be the international community‘s ―carrying capacity for response in a future of small-scale and regional wars producing humanitarian crises in the years to come. Finally, the course discussion will focus in on models of cooperation among actors that empower rather than marginalize those populations and communities trapped in conflict, displacement and deprivation. Course general objectives This course examines the evolution of the humanitarian action in relation to changes in the international system. The students will be able to: a) Analyze the political economy of conflict and humanitarian assistance; b) Analyze the evolving nature of conflict in the international context; c) Understand the evolving architecture of the international humanitarian system; d) Analyze contemporary aspects of security and conflict, the concept of state sovereignty, and the uneven geopolitics of humanitarian action; e) Explore major debates and controversies of contemporary humanitarian action. Methods of assessment Grading will be based on the following marks: VG or G (Distinction or Pass) as well as ECTS grades. Grading will be a combination of the in-class team oral presentations (40%), a written final essay (50%), and the active participation of students in class (10%). The groups will be integrated by 5 or 6 students each. They will present to the class one selected humanitarian intervention case in 30 minutes with 15 additional minutes for questions and answers. All members of the group should participate. Presentations will be scheduled the first day of the course. The humanitarian intervention recommended for presentations are: Syria, Iraq, former-Yugoslavia (Kosovo), the Horn of Africa, Ruanda, Afghanistan and Sudan. We can discuss other humanitarian interventions. This course is heavily participatory. For this reason, presence and active participation will be expected at all sessions. Participation shall reflect critical analysis and reflection based on readings. The final written essay will be submitted during the IX Session of the course (Friday 22 November). The professor will explain the essay ´s topic in the beginning of the course. The essay consists of a maximum of 2500 words. Preparation for class includes readings from books, articles, and websites. Classes are a combination of lecture, discussion, presentations, and videos. Sessions overview Session I: Mon 4 November, 10-12 Room TBA Introduction: Overview of course and topics presented; course requirements and expectations. Objectives: 1. Review of Syllabus; 2. Discussion of course requirements; 3. Selection of oral group presentations. Session II: Wed 6 November, 10-12 Room TBA Geopolitics: Overview Conflict analysis and the political economy of violence Objectives: 1.- Understand the changing dynamics of conflict in the international system; 2.- Develop alternative means of analyzing conflict and understanding the impact of conflict; 3.- Understand the interaction of humanitarian programming and conflict. Session III: Fri 8 November, 10-12 Room TBA International and regional organizations in the global system Objectives: 1.- Understand the role of governmental and non-governmental actors in the international system; 2.- Discuss the role of security institutions: What is the role of NATO, UN, UE, OAS and the other regional organizations in dealing with interstate and intrastate conflicts? Session IV: Mon 11 November, 10-12 Room Eng TBA The evolving nature of humanitarian crisis Objectives: 1.- Understand the changing nature of humanitarian crises; 2.- Analyze the implications for state sovereignty of International humanitarian action. Session V: Wed 13 November, 10-12 Room TBA An introduction to humanitarian action and the evolving architecture of humanitarian intervention Objectives: 1.- Describe the historical evolution and trends in humanitarian action; 2.- Understand the normative foundations of humanitarian action; 3.- Understand the normative frameworks that have guided humanitarian action. Session VI: Fri 15 November, 10-12 Room TBA Main players and actors in humanitarian action Objectives: 1.- Understand the definitions, types and organization of humanitarian agencies. Session VII: Mon 18 November, 10-12 Room TBA The contemporary operating environment Objectives: 1.-Explore the major debates and controversies of contemporary humanitarism Presentation of 2 Case Studies Session VII: Wed 20 November, 10-12 TBA The future of humanitarian action 1.-Understand a complex political emergency and its consequences; 2.-Identify recent trends in humanitarian action. Presentation of 2 case studies Session IX: Fri 22 November, 10-12 Room TBA Final discussion on models of cooperation among diverse actors that empower rather than marginalize vulnerable populations and communities trapped in conflict and humanitarian action. Presentation of 2 case studies and final essay submission. Literature List Books required: Walker, Peter & Daniel Maxwell. Shaping the Humanitarian World. New York: Routledge, 2009 http://www.amazon.com/Shaping-Humanitarian-World-Global-Institutions/dp/0415773717#reader_0415773717 Electronic resources: Anderson, Mary. The Do No Harm Handbook. Cambridge, Local Capacities for Peace, Project, 2004. Accessible on: http://www.cdainc.com/dnh/docs/DoNoHarmHandbook.pdf Barnett, Michael. Humanitarianism transformed. Perspectives on politics, Vol. 3, No.4 (Dec., 2005), pp. 723-740. Accessible on: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3688176 Bellamy, Alex. The Responsibility to Protect—Five Years On. Ethics & International Affairs Vol.24 (2), 2010, pp. 143–169. Accessible on: http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/Bellamy.pdf Collinson, Sarah, Samir Elhawary and Robert Muggah. States of fragility: stabilization and its implications for humanitarian action. Disasters. Vol. 34 Supplement, 2010, pp. 275−S296. Accessible on: http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/5978.pdf Klare, Michael. The New Geography of Conflict. Foreign Affairs, Vol.80, No.3 (May-Jun., 2001), pp. 49-61. Accessible on: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20050150 Moore, Jonathan. Deciding Humanitarian Intervention. Social Research, Vol. 74, No. 1, Difficult Choices (SPRING 2007), pp. 169-200. Accessible on: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40971894 Rieff, David. Humanitarianism in crisis. Foreign Affairs, Vol.81, No.6 (Nov-Dec 2002), pp. 111-121. Accessible on: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20033348 Chapters of books recommended: Bellamy, Allex. †Humanitarian Intervention in world politics† in Baylis, John et al. The globalization of world politics: An introduction to international relations. Oxford: Oxford university Press, 2008, pp. 522-538. Duffield, Mark. †Global Governance and the New Wars† In Duffield, Mark. Global Governance and the Causes of Conflict. New York: Zed book, 2002, pp. 108-136. Keen, David, †Going to War: How Rational Is It? in International Committee of the Red. Cross, War, Money and Survival. Geneva, 2000, pp. 28-31. Kupchan, Charles A. †Empires and Geopolitical Competition: Gone for Good† in Crocker, Chester et al. (eds.) Turbulent Peace: The challenges of managing international conflict. Washington: United States Institute of Peace, 2001,pp. 39-52. Spearin, Christopher. †Humanitarians and mercenaries: Partners in security Governance?† in Krahmann, Elke. New threats and new actors in international security. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005, pp. 45-68 Rufin, Jean-Christophe †The Economics of War: A New Theory for Armed Conflicts† in International Committee of the Red Cross. War, Money and Surviva, Geneva, 2000, pp. 22-27 Recommended reports and electronic articles: ICISS. The Responsibility to Protect. Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. New York, UN, 2001. Accessible on: http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICISS%20Report.pdf The Sphere Project. â€Å"Humanitarian Charter & Minimum Standards in Disaster Response† http://www.sphereproject.org/content/view/27/84/lang,english/ de Torrente, Nicolas. Humanitarian Action under Attack: Reflections on the Iraq War. Harvard Human Rights Journal. Vol. 17(1), 2004, pp. 1-30. Huysmans, Jef. Shape-Shifting NATO: Humanitarian Action and the Kosovo Refugee Crisis. Review of International Studies, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul., 2002), pp. 599-618. Accessible on: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20097813 Weiss, Thomas and Peter Hoffman. The Fog of Humanitarianism: Collective Action problems and Learning-Challenged Organizations. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, Vol.1 (1), 2007, pp. 47-65 Useful Humanitarian websites: Relief Web http://www.reliefweb.int Alert Net http://www.alertnet.org Collaborative learning project http://www.cdainc.com/cdawww/default.php United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. http://www.unocha.org/ World Food Program: http://www.wfp.org The Humanitarian Policy Group www.odi.org.uk/hpg/ The Humanitarian Practice Network www.odihpn.org/ The Sphere Project http://www.sphereproject.org/ Action Learning Network for Accountability http://www.alnap.org/ And Performance (ALNAP) The Humanitarian Accountability Partnership www.hapinternational.org/ International (HAP-I) People in Aid www.peopleinaid.org/ Websites of major humanitarian agencies UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian http://www.unocha.org/ Affairs (OCHA) International Committee of the Red Cross http://www.icrc.org/ International Federation of Red Cross and http://www.ifrc.org/ Red Crescent Societies Mà ©decins sans Frontià ¨res http://www.msf.org/ The World Food Programme http://www.wfp.org/ Oxfam http://www.oxfam.org/ World Vision http://www.wvi.org/ CARE http://www.care.org/ Journal of humanitarian Assistance: http://jha.ac Videos: Kofi Annan: Center of the Storm, PBS Video, 2002

Motivation for pursuing a graduate degree Essay

Instructional perspective The philosophy of education that I ascribe to has been the primary tool motivating my pursuit of a graduate degree in special education. My instructional philosophy has tended to focus mainly on hands on instruction where participants get involved directly in and take responsibility for their own learning. Much like the constructivist theorists and thinkers I believe that this active participation in learning is what makes learning more meaningful and that would produce the greatest successes in the classroom. As a general education teacher I have therefore tended to adopt instructional strategies and learning activities that are reflective of this outlook and have attempted as far as possible to ensure that the learners in my classroom are given the relevant life experiences with which they can interact and which they can utilize in constructing their own meanings and understanding of the things around them. I firmly believe that proper planning is the key to success in the classroom. Planning does not only involve preparing a lesson plan, but psychologically preparing for the learners and their needs in the classroom, understanding each learner and being willing to accommodate all, as far as possible, in the learning process. It is through such detailed planning that the correct activities will be designed for an interactive, constructive and cooperative classroom. Reflection on practice Considerable work has been done in the field of cognitive psychology by numerous theorists and researchers. Much of the research has been focused on trying to understand the characteristics of learners, the optimal age and conditions for particular types of learning, the most appropriate teaching and learning strategies and generally and understanding of how learning takes place. Several theorists have attempted to describe the characteristics of learners. Among them Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, Albert Bandura and Jerome Bruner and some of the most noted forefathers of thought in this areas. Having worked as a teacher for the some years now, the theorist that has been the most influential on my practice is Jerome Bruner. Bruner’s philosophy emphasizes the concept of discovery learning and simulation. He posits that learning is most effective and meaningful when the learners actively explores issues as opposed to reading from textbooks or lectured to by the teacher (Good & Brophy, 1995). Simulation activities, Bruner suggests, are useful tools for promoting forms of discovery learning. I have found that the use of role-play and skits as simulation activities, have helped me deliver learning targets better than traditional lecture-type methods. Given the nature of the classroom and the variety of abilities and learning styles, I have found that the use of role-play and similar cooperative activities have helped me ensure that all learners are actively involved in the learning process. However, throughout my teaching character I have noticed some deficiencies in my teaching methodology, particularly as it relates to meeting the needs of all the learners in the classroom. I have noticed that while I am able to adequately motivate a portion of the class in each year, I have often been unable to fully motivate the entire class of learners or to introduce activities and strategies that are attractive to all the learners in the classroom. I believe in reflective practice so I often review my teaching methodology, with the help of relevant research and theoretical foundations. I have made whatever adjustments possible as I notice my deficiencies and have consistently been involved in improving my teaching strategies. However, despite my best efforts I have continued to face considerable obstacles in reaching out to some students in my classroom. Often these students were those who could be classified as at risk. They were sometimes from single-parent homes, students with tendencies towards delinquent behaviors and other similar students. There have also been students with noted cognitive or other physical difficulties, for whom the general education classroom, as is, was not adequate. More and more it became evident to me that within the general education classroom there is a diverse mix of students of different socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore they had a range of abilities and performed to varying degrees of competence. I have acknowledged that, to some extent, I have contributed to the inability of some students to perform as well as others, as a result of my failure to effectively orient lessons to meet the needs of all learners. Another occurrence that has compounded this issue is the new move towards inclusion in the general education classroom. Increasingly more students with learning disabilities are being incorporated into the general education classroom. These changes in the educational framework has meant that needs have to modify their strategies to ensure that the needs of these diverse sets of learners are adequately met within their classroom and that students from all ability levels, achieve prescribed standards. Evolution With the coming on stream of the NCLB act, more attention is being placed on ensuring that classrooms are inclusive and that each learner is allowed to achieve his/her full potential based on individual abilities. The NCLB is a formidable demonstration of the particular interest that the federal government places on education. This issue presents several challenges for teachers in both the general education and the special education classrooms. Special education students are now being incorporated into the general education classroom and even where they remain in special education classrooms students are still required to demonstrate progress similar to that being achieved by the peers who do not have these special needs. Therefore teachers are required to ensure that every learner, despite their abilities or disabilities aspire to the same broad reaching goals and objectives as general education students. It is evident that the act, though it may present several benefits for special education, will also have its limitations. Educators are, however, still required to aim for the target of leaving no child behind. I firmly support the overall spirit of the NCLB act. The overriding principle of the NCLB is that each child registered within the school system must be given all opportunities to develop and to achieve and I agree with this position. To ensure the success of every child and to guarantee that no child is left behind, the act holds educators directly accountable for ensuring that each child aims for and achieves the prescribed standards. Having a particular interest in the development of students I was inspired by the newly emphasized principles of the NCLB act to obtain adequate training in special education so that I am equipped to deal with not only special education students, but the range of abilities that will come into the classroom. These broad reaching goals are of relevance to all involved in the education of children. Motivations to change I wish to develop the know-how and the skills that would help me become a dynamic teacher that is able to hone knowledge, skills and attitudes within learners from different socioeconomic backgrounds, with different cognitive capabilities, with varying physical and cognitive challenges or any multiple needs that may arise in the classroom. Teaching today is becoming more and more challenging. The influences of the teacher and what is taught in the classroom are being eroded by the mass media. The teacher has to compete with newly emerging communication technologies and the internet. The skills that were developed yesterday to tackle learner’s needs in the classroom soon become obsolete. I therefore wish to ensure that I remain on top of the game and continue to be a teaching who attempts to meet the needs of all learners. References Good, T.L.& Brophy, J.E. (1995). Contemporary Educational Psychology. (5th ed.). New York: Longman Publishers.