An Analysis of Hammurabi’s Code of Law Essay

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind†. This was said by Gandhi many years after the fall of the Babylonian empire. Judging by the laws of the Babylonian people, there was no insightful Mahatma Gandhi to spread his thoughts on equality and forgiveness. Though they were an advanced and organized society, the Babylonians were also extremely strict, almost cruel, when it came to law making. Revenge, faith in the gods’ sense of justice, and inequality all made up a portion of the eight foot tall stone tablet that we now know as Hammurabi’s Code of Law (Horne). Hammurabi’s reign lasted from 1795 until 1750 BC (Horne). Up until Hammurabi took control, there had been no ruler to publicly establish an entire set of laws. Written in order to regulate the organization of the Babylonian society, this code, consisting of two hundred laws, begins and ends by addressing the gods. Revenge played a large role in the laws, as it was seen as the only way to truly be compensated. Almost all of the laws lack a true explanation; they were simply accepted as fair justice by the people. However, one law in particular does have a reason behind it. â€Å"If an accused man claims to be innocent, he will be thrown into the river. If the man drowns, he is proven to be guilty. However, if he makes it to the opposite bank safely, the accused man is indeed innocent (Hammurabi).† This law gives us an important insight into the lives of ancient Babylonian society. Obviously, the people had a strong sense of faith in their gods. By tossing the man into the raging river, the people are putting the accused man’s life into the hands of the gods. If the man was guilty and lying, the gods would see that tribute was paid to them, as well as to the village, in the form of death. However, if the accused was indeed innocent, the Babylonians would allow the man to safely leave the river, hence living. Not so unlike our court systems (with which you must swear on a bible before testifying), the Babylonian people had strong religious convictions that were reflected in their code of laws. Another aspect reflected in Hammurabi’s Code of Laws was the belief in revenge. To the ancient Babylonians, revenge wasn’t seen as revenge: it was seen as fair and just compensation for a committed crime. To Hammurabi’s  people, â€Å"an eye for an eye† was not just a say: it was a way of life. â€Å"If he break another man’s bone, his bone shall be broken (Hammurabi).† The same was true for putting out another man’s eye, knocking out someone’s teeth, and many other bodily injuries between two man (or woman) or the same class. Though these laws seem cruel and inhuman, they were meant to keep crime and violence at a minimum. Getting your arm hacked off was probably much more intimidating than a prison sentence to the people of Babylonia, hence the laws successfully fulfilled their duties the majority of the time. Though the laws were more often than not effective, they were by no means fair. Women were dignified and treated as equals, but all social classes were not. Ancient Babylonia had a hierarchy consisting of three main social classes: the amelu, high ranking, rich court officials, patricians, and kings, the muskinu, landless and poor, though free, and the ardu, who were the lowest class (Johns). The ardu could marry and hold property, but nonetheless they were low-ranking slaves. The laws clearly reflected these social classes. Punishments were not the same for different social classes, even if the same crime was committed. For example, if a free-born man strike the body of another free-born man or equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina. However, if a slave were to strike the body of a freed man, his ear shall be cut off. Even though the exact same crime was committed, the slave would get a harsher punishment than the free, higher-ranking man. Even in ancient Babylonia, power and money seem to have the same value as they do in the present day. Not every aspect of the Babylonian culture was perfect. The social classes were strictly divided and people were treated as fairly as their birth allowed them to be. Vengefulness was accepted and expected, as was the belief in owning slaves. However, the Babylonians, under Hammurabi’s reign, were also a very admirable culture. Women were treated as equals: they were dignified, respected, and allowed to own land and property. The most important, positive aspect of the Babylonians was certainly Hammurabi’s Code of Law. As an unchangeable, fairly indestructible written code, it not only influenced other cultures (such as the Syro-Roman and Mahommedan) later in history, but it also gave us a first hand account of what life was like in a  culture that was lost so many centuries ago. BIBLIOGRAPHY â€Å"The Code of Hammurabi† by Richard Hineshttp://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MESO/CODE.HTMBryant, Tamera (2005). The Life & Times of Hammurabi. Bear: Mitchell Lane Publishers. Mieroop, Marc (2004). King Hammurabi of Babylon: a Biography. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.

Penn Foster Journal Enteries

That decomposing bodies can bring disease. Many religions turned such b when church and state were homogeneous. Modern medicinal technology allows for the harvesting of organs from a corpse, and the successful implantation of that organ into a living human being. Why is that worse than letting that same organ decompose? Treating our dead with respect and reverence is a beautiful characteristic of any society. By honoring the dead we are cherishing the memory of our loved ones, following paradigms of our various belief systems, and honoring the radiations of previous generations.None of those are time valued traditions hold their value if we do not put a higher value on our living than our dead. Our societies need to move forward, and let go of archaic belief systems that hinder our society and hold our citizens health hostage. Reflect If feel that my attitude to writing is relatively the same. My knowledge about writing though has increased substantially throughout this process.I fee l a lot of growth has happened as I have made my way through this Journey. I know a little bit more about my writing style. I have also learned many essay writing techniques that will prove invaluable as I continue my academic and professional careers. I think I could improve as a writer, by being more patient and allowing more time for my ideas to form. Some I am very thankful for the educational opportunity the English module at Penn Foster College has provided.

1963 March on Washington for Demonstration

Men skiing from Chicago to Washington for the demonstration Washington Parade in 1963 was a major event in the tradition of orderly non-violent protest behavior. Asa Philip Randolph who proposed in Washington in March 1933 tried marching in Washington more than 20 years ago. At that time, he accepted President Roosevelt's orders, founded a fair employment practice committee, and the parade of 1940 was canceled (Saunders 16). However, there were increasingly reasons to follow this path in 1963; black's unemployment, violence against the Birmingham demonstrators and civil rights law have reached their greatest interest at the moment, and the parade may not wait anymore I do not. In June 1963, just before March in Washington, 60% of Americans (undoubtedly, because more than 70% of Caucasians received support of high levels of blacks), civil rights demonstrations were a hindrance to the progress of black people I said. Help the obstacles. In fact, this means that most white people think they know more about the needs of blacks than real blacks. Although the voting right bill was not yet established in 1964, blacks did not vote in the whole southern part, but while discrimination in houses continued, fair housing law was not discussed for 4 years, 4 minutes Three Americans are over 80%. Caucasian said that black people should cease protesting their rights On August 28, 1963, about 250,000 people participated in Jobs and Freedom in Washington, whether black or white. This is the biggest demonstration of the nation's capital history and expansion of the civil rights movement. The most important show. After marching from the Washington Monument, the demonstrators gathered near the Lincoln Memorial, and several civil rights leaders spoke with the crowd seeking voting rights, black equals employment opportunities. More than 250,000 demonstrators attended the capital on August 28, 1963 to participate in Washington in March for Employment and Freedom. This is not only the largest human rights demonstration in American history but also a rare show of solidarity in various civil rights groups. The event began at the rally at the Washington Monument. There were several celebrities and musicians there. Later, the participants marched to the memorial hall with a mile National Mall. The three-hour program at the Lincoln Memorial Hall contains prominent civil rights and lectures by religious leaders. This day ended with the White House Summit Meeting with President John F. Kennedy, the leader of the White House.

End-Game Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

End-Game - Research Paper Example In line with this, four fundamental building blocks are said to influence strategy execution. These include a clarification of the decisions made, designing the flow of information, alignment of motivators and making the necessary changes to the organizational structure (Neilson, Martin, & Powers, 2008). An example of the application of these concepts is in one’s community organization. Usually, when one’s organization introduces a new strategy for an existing project, the program administrators meet with the members to explain the reason behind the strategy, why it is being implemented and the expected results of the strategy. This is being done to make sure that each one in the organization will work towards the achievement of the objectives of the strategy. The execution of the strategy then becomes easier because it is well understood by the employees. The factors listed above are important attributes of a successful strategy execution. Since business environments today are highly competitive, organizations will only be successful if they focus more on how the plans are executed; rather than on the plans itself (Guillà ©n & Garcà ­a-Canal, 2012). Complicated long-range strategies may no longer work in the corporate environment today because of the unpredictability of the markets (Guillà ©n & Garcà ­a-Canal, 2012). Good strategies are important but with the current trends in business, execution is what really

Brooklyn in the 1950's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Brooklyn in the 1950's - Essay Example Among these displays, some of the very best include those on 83rd and 84th streets. For the tourists nowadays a 3.5 hours tour shuttle is also offered whose name is â€Å"Tony Muia† This is what Brooklyn looks like at present times but in this article we’ll try to have a look about the outlook of Brooklyn as it was in 1950s. The main reference to the history of Brooklyn is a beautiful book by Colm Toibin named â€Å"Brooklyn†, it is basically a novel based on the life of Brooklyn in 50s. This novel basically depicts a sad life and gives an overview about the pattern of life in Brooklyn at that time. Geographical Location: In 1950s, Brooklyn had the same boundaries as of the Kings County which is now the 2nd most densely populated county of United States after the Manhattan County, if we go far behind in the past then Brooklyn was an independent city until it was included in New York in 1898, but still in 1950s, despite of the merger into New York., Brooklyn maint ained its individuality in culture, art and its architecture and it has harbor different cultures in different areas. Downfall of Brooklyn: In the post war years, Brooklyn was the main supplier of the industrial goods to the whole of the country but by 1950 these industrial supplies began to diminish pertaining to the fact that the major industrial manufacturers started to move to other cities which appeared cheaper to them as well as the Brooklyn port also started to decline as larger ships came into scene which required larger ports having deep harbors which was deficient factor in the port of Brooklyn, at that time, economy was unstable and banks were providing loans for building houses on easy conditions so a large number of white middle class community left their native homes in Brooklyn and moved to other localities which appeared to have more prosperous future for them such as Staten Island and New Jersey. Whole of the Jewish community left their homes in Brooklyn and moved t o other places such as Flatbush, Borough Park, Eastern Parkway and Brighton Beach. Most of the Italians also moved from Brooklyn and what could be regarded as a major blow was the incidence of Brooklyn Dodgers moving to Los Angeles in 1957. This was quite significant as Dodgers symbolized Brooklyn for a very long time so it was a big setback for the residents of Brooklyn and the dodgers wee the unifying factor for the whole diverse ethnic groups residing in the Brooklyn. So everyone in Brooklyn in some way or the other was related to each other through the Dodgers. One such incidence which showed the significance of Dodgers was the defeat of New York Yankees by the Dodgers in 1955 which made their loyal fans felt proud and when this team suddenly became the Los Angeles Dodgers then it was also taken as a sign of the decline of the golden era of Brooklyn. Once all the colors of Brooklyn faded, the manufacturing power of Brooklyn also declined drastically and this can be shown by the fact that the Brooklyn Navy yard was closed in 1966. The Brighter Side: Despite of a large number of people migrating to other areas from Brooklyn, in 1950s there was an influx of a large number of Italians to this area resulting in the predominance of Italians in these neighborhoods and this dominance of Italians still persists in some areas of Brooklyn such as Bensonhurst which is also known as the â€Å"Little Italy† of Brooklyn. In 1950, one major event was the arrival of New York aquarium into the Coney Island. Though the abrupt voting of the Dodgers to join Los Angeles was the significant dilemma for the Brooklyn residents but event after that there were some leaders in Brooklyn like Galamison and Reverend Milton who continued the traditions of the activists to raise their voices against any injustice or

An analysis 3 coffee companies who operate in this industry Essay

An analysis 3 coffee companies who operate in this industry - Essay Example Every year 500 billion coffee cups are consumed amongst which 14 billion cups are Italian espresso. It is a fact that beside several flavours of coffee, there are two types of coffee beans in the world known as Robusta and Arabica. Therefore, coffee shops are among fastest growing niches in the business world. Most of the coffee production is undertaken in developing countries as it is a labour intensive work (Business Insider, 2011). These countries include Brazil, Columbia and Vietnam. It is found that Finland has a high consumption per capita of coffee. PESTLE analysis of coffee industry Political – there is influence of politics on coffee production as it is majorly produced in developing countries. The political condition there is highly volatile which could affect the coffee industry. Economic – it is to mention here that Brazil is having strong influence over coffee industry as Brazil is a major coffee producer. Any affect in the economy affects the entire indust ry. Social – social aspects of coffee and increasing awareness for coffee and its issues results in more social pressure on industry. Therefore, it can be said that social factor can influence the coffee industry. Technological – there is increased demand in variety of coffee products and freshness is also a concern of consumers. With technological advancements, industry effectively caters the needs and requirements of consumers. Technological factor also affects coffee industry. Legal – legal issues affects the industry in a way as there is increased focus on ethical and legal requirements of business. Environmental –it is to mention here that environmental factor is important in the process of coffee production. Therefore for optimum level of operations environment should be under standard needs of coffee production. Profile of three companies in coffee industry Starbucks (Industry Leader) Starbucks Corporation is among the premier coffee roasters, spec ialty coffee and marketer of coffee. It is to mention here that Starbucks operates in more than 55 countries across the globe. It is present in North America, European Middle East Africa, Latin America and Asia. There are approximately 149,000 employees in Starbucks Corporation. It is headquartered in Seattle Washington. Net revenues generated by Starbucks Corporation at the end of fiscal year 2012 were USD 13.3 billion as compared to USD 11.7 billion in 2011. Comparable store growth in 2012 was 7 percent. Operating income earned by the company was USD 1997 million with operating margin of 15% (Starbucks, 2013). Costa Limited (Emerging Company) Costa Coffee is entirely owned subsidiary of Whitbread. Costa Limited is involved in operation of coffee shops chain. There is a wide variety of coffee products that the company offers and it includes coffee, coffee beans, coffee bars, hot chocolate drinks along with various other food products that includes sandwiches, paninis, fruits and yo ghurt, scones, muffins and toasties and wraps. Costa coffee majorly operates in Europe, Asia and Middle East. It employs approximately 8,200 employees and it is headquartered in Dunstable, United Kingdom. In the fiscal year which ended in March 2012, the company recorded revenues of approximately USD 865.3 million as compared to revenues generated by the business in 2012 of approximately USD 678.7 million in 2011. Among its revenues the profit generated by the company

Motivational Interviewing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motivational Interviewing - Case Study Example Approaching verbal abuse requires entails a set of five changes before the client can come into an outcome. The first stage is the precontemplation stage whereby the client is unaware of the need to change hence does not intend to change. The second stage is the contemplation stage whereby the client is aware of the need to change but has not made the decision yet. Thirdly is the preparation stage whereby the client makes decides to take a step towards change in the future and has already tried changing but has been unsuccessful. The fourth step of change is action in which the client has started working on the change with measurable success but not the full expected outcome. The fifth stage is the maintenance stage whereby the client has already attained the set goal and is now working maintain the acquired status (Cormier, Nurius, and Osborn, 2009, p.231). In response to the different stages of change, I intend to follow through a set of interventions specific to each step of change. During the precontemplation stage, I should keenly listen to the client while ensuring comfort as a measure of encouraging the client to transition to the next stage. In response to contemplation stage, I should focus on educating the client about change while focusing more on the advantages in support of the client’s ambivalence about the change. During the preparation stage I should take the client through the possible alternatives while emphasizing on trying some of them. This is meant to give the client a taste of the change process thereby encouraging change acceptance. During the action stage my main role is to take the cline through appropriate strategies to prevent backslides once the expected goal is achieved. Finally, interventions in the maintenance stage are meant to provide emotional support to the client once the change has taken effe ct. After successfully going through the change process it is important

Financial Modelling and forecasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Modelling and forecasting - Essay Example They are used for propose of measuring the performance of the firm and also to measure hoe stable is a firm financially. They are also used for future planning, determining whether a firm is able to borrow loans and service them, and also evaluating the performance of the firm under different models. Most models are based on sales volume This paper will seek to analyze the financial statement of JB Hi-Fi by use of historical data to predict the future.I will therefore forecast the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 using the year 2012 as my base year. Ratio analysis of relevant sales ratios will be used for the analysis. Financial statement analysis is the use balance sheet and income statement data to come up with values for financial interpretation and identification of the strengths and weaknesses of an organization (Stickney et al., 2006). Various techniques of financial statement analysis are: trend analysis, comparative statements, common size percentages, ratio and fund analysis as well as changes in working capital changes (Libby et al., 2004). For the purpose of analyzing JB Hi-Fi, relevant sales ratio analysis will be undertaken. For a successful financial analysis, comparison has to be made using consistent percentages through the years of analysis. The use of the sales ratios to analyze the years will reveal their similarities, trends, as well as differences in the company (Palepu & Healy, 2007). As Gregory (2008) notes, the stakeholders of the information contained in a financial statement include, potential investors, creditors, managers, shareholders, the government and creditors and they require the information for different reasons. Use of historical data is a major limitation of ratio analysis as it is therefore assumed that it reflects on the future trends whereas no one could be certain of the future (Palepu & Healy, 2007). Resvine et al (2004) explains that another limitation of using financial statements in analysis is that GAAP allows

Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Ethical Dilemmas in Nursing - Essay Example Humanism is a concept that goes beyond any person’s professional laws and requirements. Nurses may need to resort to their moral values and beliefs when coming up with a solution. (Benjamin, 2010). Some situations need to be weighed on closer look so that the best decision is made. During a moral dilemma there is not a right or wrong decision to make. (Hold, 2013). All in all, the dilemma must be solve particularly when the patient’s life is at risk.   Mr. Smith, 67 years of age and widowed, is fighting a UTI. This is a urinary tract infection which if not treated at the stage in which it is, it can cause further complications in his system. The only way to stop this complication is to offer him with Intravenous antibiotics which will ultimately kill the bacteria causing the UTI. However, Mr. Smith refuses the medication at all costs even after the doctors, nurses as well as his close family members have explained to him the importance. Informed consent is important i n medicine and the doctors have done a good job telling Mr. Smith and his family of his condition and what needs to be done. While it normal to see such a case where old people refuse treatment, Mr. Smith happens to not have a sober mind following the serious effects of the complications. The doctors and nurses have used this as basis that he is not legible to make any serious decisions by himself. Following this, the IV antibiotics are still being administered to Mr. Smith without his approval. Informed consent is not fully.

Religions wage peace Essay Example for Free

Religions wage peace Essay Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi used his influence as a revolutionary spiritual leader to bring about political and social improvement. Despite holding no government office, he was a major participant in India’s struggle for independence. On the 2nd of October, 1869, Gandhi was born in the coastal town of Porbandar. His family belonged to the wealthy Vysya or merchant caste. His father Karamchand Gandhi was the prime minister of a princely state. At the age of thirteen he was married to Kasturbai, who was of his own age (Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand (1869 1948) , 2001). His approach was that of a pacifist and he based his independence movement on non –violent non – cooperation or satyagraha, which means truth and firmness. He started this movement in 1915 and was imprisoned on several occasions by the British authorities. He exerted great influence on the Congress Party and the 1947 independence negotiations. In 1948 British India was partitioned into India and Pakistan, which resulted in a great deal of religious violence. At that point of time he was assassinated. His preaching served as an inspiration for non – violent movements and was adopted by Martin Luther King Jr in the USA, who fought for the rights of the blacks and by Nelson Mandela in South Africa, who opposed apartheid (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). In the beginning, in 1893, Gandhi was practicing law in South Africa, when he started to formulate and practise the principles of satyagraha or non – violent resistance to injustice. Till the year 1914, he led the movement started by the Indian community of that place, which was opposing racial discrimination. In that year, the South African government bestowed a number of important concessions in accordance to his demands. At that juncture he decided to return to India and in the month of January 1915 he set sail for India. In India he assumed the leadership of its freedom struggle from British rule (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). His actions took the form of hunger strikes, the boycott of British goods and civil disobedience. At the same time he made serious attempts to bring about social reform. Even after several rounds of talks and demonstrations, the British chose to ignore the demands of the freedom fighters of India, consequently, Gandhi initiated a non – cooperation movement. This movement had a large number of supporters and many Indians holding official posts in the British Government resigned from their jobs, government agencies were spurned and Indian schoolchildren were removed from schools managed by the British Government. The British were compelled to release Gandhi whom they had arrested (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). Gandhi wanted to usher in Swaraj or self rule in India and economic independence was an essential component of this movement. British industry had adopted measures that had exploited the Indian villagers and had reduced them to extreme poverty. In order to counter this situation, Gandhi advocated the adoption of cottage industries and employed the spinning wheel as a symbol of the movement to revive the indigenous Indian industries and lead the simple lifestyle of the villagers of India (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). He was granted total executive authority by the Indian National Congress, which was the pioneer in India’s freedom struggle, in 1921. Due to the outbreak of a number of violent and armed insurrections against the British, Gandhi stepped back from active politics from 1924 to 1930 (Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) , 2005). On the 26th of January, 1930, a proclamation regarding the Declaration of Independence of India was made by Gandhi. In order to catalyze the process of obtaining independence, Gandhi embarked on a novel civil disobedience campaign. In India the British exercised a monopoly on the production of salt and deemed it a criminal offense for anyone else to produce it. Salt constituted an essential and invaluable commodity for the Indians, a large number of whom were poverty stricken agricultural laborers. Gandhi realized that salt was used by all sections of the society and that an attempt to manufacture salt would appeal to every strata of the Indian society (Graham, 1998). On the 12th of March, 1930 Gandhi and seventy eight of his followers commenced the march from the Sabarmati Ashram to the coastal village of Dandi on the Arabian Sea. The distance covered by them was two hundred and forty one miles and it took them twenty four days to do so. Along the way, they were joined by a tremendous number of people and at one stage the procession was two miles in length. Finally on the 6th of April, 1930 Gandhi reached the sea coast at Dandi and picked up a sod and some salt and boiled it in seawater (Graham, 1998). This act of his shook the British Empire, on which the sun never set, to its very foundations. The man whom a disparaging Churchill had described as a half naked fakir had single handedly defied the might of the British Empire. The British Empire swung into action and arrested Gandhi and his associates. The number who courted arrest was immense and all the jails were overflowing with freedom fighters. Such was the response of the Indians to Gandhi’s call to oppose the British monopoly on the production of salt (Dandi: Salt March). According to Gandhi, there were two difficulties involved with human nature. One was the scope of making a human being perfect and the other related to nonviolence. Gandhi always had an optimistic view regarding men. However, a thorough examination of Gandhi’s political opinions reveals that he never assumed that man had a nature that could be rendered perfect. Further, he opined that reform could only transform a man to a certain extent, but it could never be made perfect. Gandhi proclaimed that it was incorrect to dogmatize in respect of the capacity of human nature to be either besmirched or exalted. This statement clearly elicits Gandhi’s views on man. He also opined that the environmental factors would significantly influence human behavior (Power, March, 1963). Due to individual feelings and thoughts, these efforts have suffered a setback by the negative and irrational forces that reside in them. In particular strong forces like greed and lust could not be diverted by availing oneself of the help forthcoming from other issues. He strongly believed that illogical forces motivated men and this belief was subscribed to by moralists. This is evidenced in situations where there arises a need to participate in a mass movement for realizing socio – psychological interests. Most individuals have shown reluctance to join such movements in the absence of a competent leader. This situation arose in Gandhi’s political career and his opinion regarding this subject was that it was the task of the leader to draw the people towards the objectives. The other issue involves the reshaping of Gandhi’s opinion about the capability of man to engage in acts involving nonviolence. Gandhi had explained in great detail in his thesis that every man had the ability to evaluate the value of ahimsa, where the term ahimsa denotes love or non – injury. Gandhi interpreted ahimsa as individual and social love in thought and deed towards all human beings (Power, March, 1963). Gandhi was prone, on occasion, to restrict this concept of ahimsa as being restricted to himself and his closest followers. For instance, in 1942, the Japanese Army was poised to attack India; at that point of time he permitted all those who did not subscribe to nonviolence to join the effort underway to defend the country. However, the question that remains unanswered is whether he granted such permission because Japanese rule would have been worse than the British rule (Power, March, 1963). The philosophical beliefs of Gandhi were founded on a number of scholarly authorities and social experiences. He staunchly believed that last stage in a man’s journey was the absolute truth, which was described by resorting to theism, pantheism or atheism. He believed that by the use of reason and also by taking the help of faith and intuition, an individual by relying on partial truths could attain the absolute truth. Moreover, Gandhi held that every person was required by dharma to search for this ultimate truth (Power, March, 1963). The method advocated by Gandhi to attain this goal was to follow the path of anasaktiyoga or path of selfless action, which entailed the performance of one’s duty without entertaining a desire for the results of such action. He considered involvement in Indian nationalism to signify selfless action. One of the qualifications to tread this path was the possession of physical, psychological and spiritual courage. He also stated that the man devoid of fear succeeds in realizing his latent prowess by comprehending and practicing ahimsa (Power, March, 1963). The most important characteristic of ahimsa is the attainment of the most advantageous, practical good while treading the path that leads to the absolute truth. The usefulness of such a conviction has to be Its merit is to be elucidated in the light of Gandhis firm belief that it is better to resort to violence than to adopt an attitude of submissiveness or to adopt cowardice in the garb of nonviolence. He also stated that violence to some extent was inherent in the process of living (Power, March, 1963). Gandhi based his interpretation of ahimsa on the Laws of Manu and the tenets of Jainism; however, his views were closer to the beliefs of Jainism. His objective and expectation was that he would be successful in transforming every person in such a manner that they would adapt this ideal as an integral part of their life. This precept of ahimsa was one of the foremost requirements of Gandhi. However, he considered truthfulness to be much more important than ahimsa. In this context he stated that truthfulness was far more important than being peaceful (Power, March, 1963). Despite the recurrent description of his pacifism as being absolute, the fact remains that he did not consider nonviolence to be his main goal. Moreover, when ahimsa is considered to be absolute pacifism, then a distortion of the beliefs that were subscribed to by Gandhi occurs (Power, March, 1963). Some other issues that had been addressed by Gandhi are to be found in his opinion of the optimal political system. In his writings, one sees the recurrence of the panchayati raj or the village republic and a system to ensure the welfare of everyone, which he designated as sarvodaya. These ideas reveal the fact that he sought to usher in a political system that was based on his opinions of truth and ahimsa. Moreover, he abhorred the divorce of political and social responsibility from dharmic obligations or obligations required by the basic principles of cosmic or individual existence (Power, March, 1963). Despite being committed to establishing a functionally and physically decentralized political community, he was not in favor of a society that was stateless. The concepts of Sarvodaya and Swaraj or self rule that is personal or corporate, constitute claims for impartiality, freedom and uprightness, and they do not constitute assaults on the government (Power, March, 1963). If he had been desirous of establishing a stateless system, then he would have had to entertain a more sanguine opinion about people than he did under normal circumstances. Moreover, he would have been compelled to eschew political power like he had rejected personal property. The varieties of Sarvodaya as comprehended by Vinoba Bhave, who advocated the redistribution of land and Jayaprakash Narayan, who was an ideologue, had perhaps aimed at a stateless society. However, this was not a component of Gandhi’s political ideologue (Power, March, 1963). Gandhi never struggled against power, and his disagreement was directed against the legal structure of power and the influence of the bureaucracy on it. This was due to the fact that he considered these factors to be hindrances in allowing self realization among the people, prevented them from obtaining justice and precluded rule based on the universal dharma. The acceptance of these views regarding Gandhi’s beliefs, implies that Gandhi’s display of a lack of interest for public office, both during the freedom struggle and during the transfer of power only shows that he did not believe in special forms of power and not that he disliked political power (Power, March, 1963). Gandhi was attached to political power and this is vindicated by his theory of satyagraha, which he construed to be soul force or direct action of a nonviolent nature, because this stratagem was a system of power, which was used by him in the expectation that he would be able to engender reform in institutions and effect the fulfillment of men. This method assumes that an opponent is redeemable and that it can be used for realizing a range of objectives as long as there is no violation of the principle of ahimsa. However, despite its prominence in his political beliefs, this theory was not a dominant principle of his ideology (Power, March, 1963). Amongst all the political thinkers of India, Gandhi was the most modern. He combined the best practices of the Orient and the Occident and formulated a political philosophy that obtained results bordering on the miraculous. The present day politics, which is steeped in corruption, could benefit enormously by implementing his political teachings. Gandhi has never ceased to be an integral part of the politics of India. Gandhi subscribed to a political philosophy that was founded on a number of tenets that had emerged from what was fundamentally his humanistic outlook towards life. He did not encounter any differences between spiritual and worldly matters. However, he subscribed to a few fundamental beliefs, which he adhered to with great firmness. In an article in his journal Harijan he stated that there existed certain eternal principles which could not be compromised on any account and that a person should uphold such principles even at the cost of one’s life. Gandhi was as good as his word and there were some principles that he never deviated from throughout his life. Moreover, he extended these principles in order to rekindle the flame of the nationalist spirit among his fellow Indians. Non – cooperation and nonviolence have not lost their relevance even in modern times. Violent incidents, lack of interest in addressing major issues and in conducting a rational and meaningful dialogue by political parties are the characteristics of present day Indian politics. The only way to rectify this dismal situation is to adopt the principles that had been formulated by Gandhi. Gandhi gave great prominence to power, which he considered to be a means by which people could improve the quality of their life. His political actions were aimed at attaining power, which according to him was not to be concentrated in the hands of a few members of the elite, but was to be distributed among the public. Further, people had become firmly convinced that revolt was a legitimate manner of expressing one’s dissatisfaction. In the final analysis Gandhi was mainly seized with elevating the consciousness of the masses and bestowing upon them the required authority to determine their destiny. This was a unique contribution to Indian politics. References Dandi: Salt March. (n. d. ). Retrieved July 4, 2007, from Manas: History and Politics: http://www. sscnet. ucla. edu/southasia/History/Gandhi/Dandi. html Gandhi, Mahatma (1869 1948) . (2005). Retrieved July 4, 2007, from The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia including Atlas: http://www.credoreference. com/entry/6428505 Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand (1869 1948) .(2001). Retrieved July 4, 2007, from World of Sociology, Gale: http://www. credoreference. com/entry/4785371 Graham, S. (1998). The Salt March to Dandi. Retrieved July 4, 2007, from emory: http://www. english. emory. edu/Bahri/Dandi. html Power, P. F. (March, 1963). Toward a Re-Evaluation of Gandhis Political Thought . The Western Political Quarterly , Vol. 16, No. 1, Pp. 99 – 108.

Arguments on genetically modified foods

Arguments on genetically modified foods Introduction Genetically modified foods have become a major concern and have caused controversy regarding both their health and environmental effects (2). Using modern techniques of genetic engineering, it is possible to introduce specific genetic material derived from any species of plant, animal, or microorganism, or even a synthetic material, into different species of plant (Journal 1) This allows a desired trait to be enhanced and reproduced. (3) (4) The resulting plants are commonly known as genetically modified (GM) plants; when used as food sources, they are known as GM foods. (Journal 1) It is probable that crop improvement began as soon as farming did (1) It is thought that improvement to crops and harvesting developed subconsciously with farmers selectively breeding animals and isolating, to then reproduce crops from those with the most desired attributes and from highly variable populations.(1) The first genetically modified crop was the tomato Flavr Savr, produced by a Californian company Calgene, in 1992 whose intention was to create a vine-ripened tomato that was both long-lasting and tasty. (6) However the company failed to prevent the skin of the tomato from soften whilst the fruit ripened. It took 10 years for the development of the tomato, (6) but eventually it received FDA approval in 1994 (6), and led to an increase in GM food products available on the market. Romania, Mexico, Germany, Australia and France are just a few of the 13 countries known to have grown genetically engineered crops on their land for commercial use in the year 2000. (7) The United States of America produced 68% of the worlds GM crops, and therefore became the largest producer of these crops. In comparison to this, Argentina produced, 23%, Canada, 7% and China only 1%. Statistics from 2007 have shown a substantial increase from 1.7 million hectares being used for growing Gm foods in 1996, to 143 million hectares in 23 countries around the globe, with 90% of GM food produced being in developed or newly-developed countries.(journal one). Ways to make GM foods. Genetic modification of a particular plant or animal species can be accomplished by a number of different ways. (3) Genetic engineering involves the DNA alteration of a plant or animals DNA which holds the genetic information of the species. It is the alterations of a specific gene that enables modification of certain characteristics displayed. In order to change a certain characteristic, the corresponding gene coding for it, must initially be isolated in order to be inserted into a new DNA strand using a transfer vector. A Vector is an agent that can carry a DNA fragment into a host cell. (19) Plasmids are circular DNA molecules that are examples of vectors and can replicate independently of the host cell. (3) Once the gene is present in the transfer vector it can then be directed into the cells of the target organism. Then inside the cell the vector replicates and becomes part of the cells own DNA, altering the organisms characteristics. Similar to this method is the vector technique which involves the products being inserted directly into genome via another vector. As well as this there is also the biolistic method, which is commonly known as the gene-gun method and is a technique predominantly used in plant modification. (20) Pellets of metal coated with the desirable DNA are fired at the target cells which are then allowed to reproduce, and may possibly be cloned in order to produce a genetically identical crop. (20) Advantages and disadvantages of GM foods With the worlds population expected to reach 12 billion in the next 50 years, the demand for high quality produce will continue to increase. By growing genetically modified plants with a resistance to pests or herbicides, then the use of chemical applications may be reduced, as can the costs of producing a crop, damage by unwanted pests/weeds.(8) With the rise of various different virus, diseases and bacteria that effect and inhibit the growth of a crop, technologies have enabled genetically engineered crops to be resistant to these different diseases. (9)Plants such as tobacco and potato have had antifreeze genes introduced in to them, to encourage the plants to withstand cold temperatures that would normally kill such plants. (10) A common problem in third world countries is malnutrition with estimations of 1.02 billion people being undernourished and starved. (13) The main staple diet for these people is rice which unfortunately does not contain sufficient quantities of the nutrients and vitamins required to help prevent malnutrition. Genetically engineering this crop in order to create a nutritionally enriched rice variety would have the potential to help improve and in turn, eliminate these deficiencies. Vitamin A deficiency, estimated to affect millions of people around the world prompted the design of Golden rice researched by Ingo Potrykus and Peter Beyer and contained very large quantities of beta-carotene, which the body uses and coverts to Vitamin A, and is required for a number of different metabolic functions including in vision, immune functions and bone metabolism. (3) Genetic engineering techniques are now more commonly being used in order to introduce into plants, particular DNA that leads to the expression of distinct and unique proteins that are of specific interest and may be harvested and used in the production of pharmaceutical compounds. (11) Currently, synthesis of plant-derived proteins intended for pharmaceutical use is still in the early development stages. Examples of the types of protein and their intended use are summarised in the table below. Nutrition Some examples of GM plants with improved characteristics designed to improve health and nutrition are Maize with added vitamin C content, Potato with insulin as well as enhanced calcium levels, rice with added iron or zinc and coffee beans with decreased caffeine content. (journal 2) One study in to which a genetically modified green pepper and a standard unmodified pepper were analyzed for their nutrient and mineral contents and showed no significant opposing results between the two peppers. The analysis showed that there was neither significant difference in the energy and the protein levels nor a difference in the mineral content which included calcium, phosphorus, iron, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and zinc. This therefore concluded that, the nutrient composition of the genetically modified green pepper was found to be equivalent to that of the standard unmodified peppers. (journal 11) Another study that tested genetically modified Bt maize on laying quails also gave a similar conclusion to the green pepper study. (Flachowsky et al., 2005b; Halle et al., 2006).The results showed that Bt maize did not significantly influence health, hatchability and performances of quails nor did it affect the quality of meat and eggs of quails compared with the unmodified maize that was also tested. (journal 2) One exception to this study however was the that performed by Piva et al. (2001a,b) who noted that significantly improved animal performance was associated with a diet containing the Bt maize. It is thought that this improved performance demonstrated by the animals fed the genetically modified Bt maize crop, was because it reduced secondary fungal infection and, as a consequence, reduced mycotoxin contamination. (journal 2) Toxicity Publications on GM food toxicity are scarce. Although there are many arguments and opinions surrounding the toxicity of GM foods, there is little experimental data and analysis to construct such arguments. In fact, no peer-reviewed publications of clinical studies on the human health effects of GM food exist. Even animal studies are few and far between (18) Acute toxicity studies on the Flavr Savr genetically modified tomatoes, required by the FDA, were carried out with rats to determine toxic effects of the GM product. It was concluded that mean body and organ weights, weight gain, food consumption and clinical chemistry or blood parameters were not significantly different between GM-fed and control groups. However it was noted that sections of the stomach in up to 7 of the 20 female rats fed the GM tomato, showed mild/moderate erosive/necrotic lesions and as well as this 7 of the 40 rats involved in the experiment were known to have died a few weeks after for unstated reasons. (18) Another experiment that tested herbicide-resistant GM maize showed significant differences in fat and carbohydrate contents compared with non-GM maize. Toxicity tests were performed and showed that the rats ability to digest was decreased after eating GM corn. (18) Likewise tests in to potatoes transformed with a specific toxin gene or the toxin itself was shown to have caused an array of unwanted effects and showed that, CryI toxin was indeed stable in the gut of the mouse and therefore GM crops expressing it need to be subjected to thorough teststo avoid the risks before marketing. (18) Such studies support peoples concerns about GM foods and highlight the need for further research in to them and their health effects. Allergies Another issue with the rise in the production of genetically modified crops is the transfer of allergens in to new crops and the effects of particular allergens on human immune response. (journal 3) The majority of dietary proteins consumed are hydrolysed, and digested into smaller peptides that do not produce immune response in most people. However for those unfortunate enough to have hypersensitivity disorders, allergic type inflammatory responses can occur when contact with certain foods is made. For this reason, the introduction of genetically modified plants into the human food chain that contain allergens or proteins of unknown allergic potential could be of risk. (Journal 8) Nordlee et al. (1996) cited in (journal 8) demonstrated using the Brazil nut protein that allergenicity was indeed transferable by genetic modification. Amongst other things these studies confirmed concerns that sensitivity could be transferred to transgenic plants when an allergen is expressed in a non-na tive host through genetic modification. (journal 8) Lee et all (2006) compared the allergenicity of GM potatoes with that of non- GM potatoes in which 1886 patients who suffered various allergic diseases etc were used for testing. From his study he was able to conclude that genetic modification of crops did not cause an increase in allergenicity. The use of certain animal models has been developed in order to test whether or not food components such as GM proteins could potentially induce allergic reactions. (journal 2) The animals are often responders to high IgE and are sensitised before given the test compound. The animal models all have in common the production of specific IgE antibodies to the specific proteins. Particular proteins that cause food allergy in humans are claimed to produce more pronounced IgE responses whereas proteins that do not readily cause such effects in humans are claimed to induce poor IgE responses. (Journal 2) An example of one such model is the BN rat which is a high-immunoglobulin (particularly IgE) responder strain and is similar to humans in the way that they produce antigen-specific immunoglobins,-which are glycoproteins that function as certain antibodies. (3) Experimental investigations in to the hypersensitivity of rats to specific proteins performed by Knippels et al., 1998, showed the rats were capable of producing specific antibodies (IgG and IgE) and immune responses to the model antigen ovalbumin, found in egg white and often employed in experiments into immunology and hypersensitivity to stimulate allergic reactions. (3) Analysis of the research showed the rats developed allergic responses to the same problematic proteins that cause reactions in humans. (Knippels Penninks, 2002). (Journal 8) Pharmaceuticals One of the most impressive applications of genetic engineering is now the development of so-called pharma crops. Specific genes in some useful plants are modified with in order for certain chemicals, antibodies, hormones and proteins to be produced that can be used in different applications in the pharmaceutical industry. (14) The company, INB Biotechnologies in Philadelphia have been recently designing a nontoxic anthrax vaccine through the transgenic modification of petunias. This causes the production of new proteins by the plant that in turn causes the development of antibodies against the anthrax bacterium, when consumed. (16) Trials have begun on genetically engineered crops designed for healing wounds and treating conditions such as cystic fibrosis, cirrhosis of the liver and anaemia; antibodies to fight cancer and vaccines against rabies, cholera and foot-and-mouth disease. (15) The concept of genetically engineered crops for pharmaceutical use is a fairly new idea, and therefore such products are still in their preliminary stages of design and testing. However significant concern has been raised surrounding their use and possible consequences. For instance it is thought that food crops already are or may in the future, be contaminated by DNA sequences from GM crops. (15) Genetically modified crops run the risk of eventually introducing unknown, potentially harmful chemicals into the food chain, by accidental cross breeding and seed contamination. (17) Conclusion As well as there being many benefits to genetic engineering and the introduction of genetically modified foods, there are as well, possible dangers and hazards leading to concern over their use and potential risks to both the environment and to humans. However there is inconsiderable evidence to suggest that there are disadvantages and significant risks of consuming GM foods. Various testing has been conducted on an array of substances and components of GM crops to test for certain effects, some of these being toxicity and allergenicity. There are conflicting reports; some suggesting GM foods are safe, others that say they are dangerous and a risk to human health. Although only slight effects have been observed on the animals tested, it is enough to warrant anxiety over GM foods and their possible implications on humans. Some would argue minor changes and effects on animals doesnt necessarily mean that they would have the same effect, if consumed, on humans, yet, there have also been a number of experiments that contradict this and analysis of which conclude little or no clinical, toxicological abnormalities observed in the animals having been tested. It has been demonstrated that Genetic modification as well as being advantageous can also increase the nutritional value of a food source, providing useful benefits, such as crops with extra vitamins/minerals etc such as the example of golden rice highlighted above. However there are also significant disadvantages such as possible toxicity and allergic components in some GM food sources. Having looked at the evidence surrounding such factors it is difficult to say whether or not there are nutritional arguments against genetically modified foods. It is safe to say therefore, that new and improved methods are needed to further investigate the compositional, nutritional, toxicological and metabolic differences between GM and conventional crops likewise the techniques used in developing GM crops in order to expel the fears of many and allow for technology in this field to expand safely. (18) References Websites http://www.greenpeace.org/international/campaigns/genetic-engineering accessed 26/11/09 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/food_under_the_microscope/280868.stm accessed 24/11/09 http://en.wikipedia.org accessed 25/11/09 http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/gloss.php accessed 24/11/09 http://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/gm-foods.php accessed 25/11/09 http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/27236.aspx#ixzz0XoDxyU4H accessed 24/11/09 http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php accessed 25/11/09 Insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis protect corn from corn rootworms (Nature Biotechnology, Vol 19, No 7, pp 668-672, Jul 2001) Lepidopteran-resistant transgenic plants (US Patent 6313378, Nov 2001, Monsanto) cited in (7) Transgenic Approaches to Combat Fusarium Head Blight in Wheat and Barley (Crop Science, Vol 41, No 3, pp 628-627, Jun 2001) Post-transcriptional gene silencing in plum pox virus resistant transgenic European plum containing the plum pox potyvirus coat protein gene (Transgenic Research, Vol 10, No 3, pp 201-209, Jun 2001) cited in (7) Type II fish antifreeze protein accumulation in transgenic tobacco does not confer frost resistance (Transgenic Research, Vol 8, No 2, pp 105-117, Apr 1999) cited in (7) http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/DBS/PDFFiles/06wp429.pdf accessed 25/11/09 Molecular farming for new drugs and vaccines EMBO report http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1369121/pdf/6-7400470.pdf/?tool=pmcentrez accessed 24/11/09 http://www.wfp.org/hunger accessed 24/11/09 http://www.matternetwork.com/2008/7/making-most-pharma-crops.cfm accessed 25/11/09 http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4709 accessed 26/11/09 http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/medical/conference/presentations/genetically-modified-foods.html accessed 26/11/09 http://www.beep.ac.uk/content/371.0.html accessed 24/11/09 http://www.biointegrity.org and Fares, N.H. and El-Sayed, A.K. (1998) Fine structural changes in the ileum of mice fed on delta-endotoxin-treated potatoes and transgenic potatoes. Natural Toxins 6, 219-233 cited in http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/pusztai.html accessed 25/11/09 http://www.web-books.com/MoBio/Free/Ch9A4.htm accessed 09/12/09 http://library.thinkquest.org/C004367/be9.shtml accessed 09/12/09 Journals Risk assessment of genetically modified crops for nutrition and health- Javier A Magaà ±a-Gà ³mez and Ana M Calderà ³n de la Barca Safety and nutritional assessment of GM plants and derived food and feed: The role of animal feeding trials- Report of the EFSA GMO Panel Working Group on Animal Feeding Trials Assessment of the safety of foods derived from genetically modified (GM) crops A. Ko ¨ niga,*, A. Cockburnb, R.W.R. Crevelc, E. Debruyned, R. Grafstroeme, U. Hammerlingf, I. Kimberg, I. Knudsenh, H.A. Kuiperi, A.A.C.M. Peijnenburgi, A.H. Penninksj, M. Poulsenh, M. Schauzuk, J.M. Wall Genetically modified plants and food hypersensitivity diseases: Usage and implications of experimental models for risk assessment A new oral sensitization model in rats to food proteins and the importance of dietary control in oral sensitization with soy- Knippels, LMJ; Penninks, AH; Spanhaak, S, et al The nutrient composition of the herbicide-tolerant green pepper is equivalent to that of the conventional green pepper Hongju Parka, Sunghyen Leea,c,4, Hyunjin Jeonga, Sumook Choa, Hyekyung Chuna, Ohhyun Backa, Donghern Kimb, Hyun S. Lillehojc Books Plant biotechnology. Ed, Nigel G. Halford (2006) chapter 1 pg5 John Wiley and sons Ltd west sussex, England

Todays Rising Gas Prices Essay -- essays research papers

Today's Rising Gas Prices At some point in everyone’s lives, we are affected by the rising gas prices in today’s economy. Natural gas is not a renewable resource, since there is a fixed amount of it trapped in the Earth. However, many people carry the misconception that there is a very limited amount of natural gas, and that we may use all of it up. This isn’t true. The gas shortages of the 1970's were prompted by the government’s lack of faith in the industry’s ability to discover and develop new reserves, not by lack of gas supply. The unfortunate impression left by the shortages of gas in the 1970's caused the people to believe that there was a small amount of gas left. On the contrary, the gas resource base is vast, and probably even larger than currently estimated. People are often confused by the difference in "proved reserves", those that could be economically produced with the current technology, and the total natural gas resource base. Before the 70’s, oil from the Middle East was very cheap, and in North America, it was about $4 a barrel. But then, the leaders of the Middle East discovered that everyone needed their oil, so they formed OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries). Practically overnight, they jacked up the prices of oil by limiting the supply. This was the first oil crisis. It lasted for a while, but then they got greedy, and started supplying more oil, in hopes to make more money. But then there was more supply than demand, so t...

Essay --

Actualmente existe un desequilibrio econà ³mico a nivel mundial. Este tipo de crisis provoca que las estructuras sociales econà ³micas existentes creen desajustes laborales innegables. Podemos observar en diferentes paà ­ses del mundo ya sean desarrollados, sub desarrollados o de tercer mundo problemà ¡ticas graves de conflictos sociales. Evidentemente para todos, el trabajo es uno de los componentes principales para que una nacià ³n se enriquezca cada vez mà ¡s. Es por esto que todos debemos tener un conocimiento bà ¡sico de las relaciones laborales comparadas a nivel mundial. Esto es asà ­ ya que tanto en Puerto Rico como en el mundo entero existe un impacto por causa de la globalizacià ³n y el neoliberalismo. Evidentemente en el mundo moderno vemos una serie de problemà ¡ticas las cuales son parte de nuestro diario vivir. Entre ellas està ¡ el sometimiento del estado hacia la sociedad queriendo su bienestar el cual utiliza la competencia de mercado mundial. Tambià ©n, podemos observar en la sociedad civil pà ©rdidas de los empleos e ingresos, de la seguridad laboral y de la seguridad material. Del mismo modo, observamos una nueva pobreza la cual abarca y provoca la desigualdad, la inseguridad social y la criminalidad. Por otro lado, vemos en muchos paà ­ses del mundo actual la pà ©rdida del poder de los ciudadanos, la dictadura del capital y el retroceso de la democracia. Para algunos la globalizacià ³n y la visià ³n del neoliberalismo no es lago del todo negativo ya que muchos se basan en que con estos conceptos se pueden catalogar como el surgimiento de una nueva era de poder, riquezas, crecimiento, desarrollo y supuestas oportunidades para los paà ­ses. Es por esto que la supuesta globalizacià ³n tiene una versià ³n optimista la cual mejora las oportunidade... ... uno democrà ¡tico y verdaderamente no tomamos ningà ºn tipo de decisiones, en la cual nosotros la sociedad civil parecemos ‘’plebeyos’’ los cuales nunca vamos a tener poder ni dinero en abundancia ya que son solo unos pocos los que gozan de esos privilegio. Son esos pocos que al parecer no les importa quien este en el medio para ellos tener una vida en abundancia y son esos pocos los cuales su visià ³n y misià ³n es ser dueà ±os de todo el dinero del mundo y observar como la mayorà ­a muere de hambre. Tristemente no podemos hacer mucho para tratar de evitar esta triste situacià ³n tenemos que seguir viviendo en este gran horroroso sistema. No obstante, el vivir en el mismo no dejamos de ser personas pensantes. Debemos dejar de patrocinar los polà ­ticos marionetas que los poderosos nos presentan como una obra de teatro de comedia. Debemos vivir en el sistema pero con conciencia. Essay -- Actualmente existe un desequilibrio econà ³mico a nivel mundial. Este tipo de crisis provoca que las estructuras sociales econà ³micas existentes creen desajustes laborales innegables. Podemos observar en diferentes paà ­ses del mundo ya sean desarrollados, sub desarrollados o de tercer mundo problemà ¡ticas graves de conflictos sociales. Evidentemente para todos, el trabajo es uno de los componentes principales para que una nacià ³n se enriquezca cada vez mà ¡s. Es por esto que todos debemos tener un conocimiento bà ¡sico de las relaciones laborales comparadas a nivel mundial. Esto es asà ­ ya que tanto en Puerto Rico como en el mundo entero existe un impacto por causa de la globalizacià ³n y el neoliberalismo. Evidentemente en el mundo moderno vemos una serie de problemà ¡ticas las cuales son parte de nuestro diario vivir. Entre ellas està ¡ el sometimiento del estado hacia la sociedad queriendo su bienestar el cual utiliza la competencia de mercado mundial. Tambià ©n, podemos observar en la sociedad civil pà ©rdidas de los empleos e ingresos, de la seguridad laboral y de la seguridad material. Del mismo modo, observamos una nueva pobreza la cual abarca y provoca la desigualdad, la inseguridad social y la criminalidad. Por otro lado, vemos en muchos paà ­ses del mundo actual la pà ©rdida del poder de los ciudadanos, la dictadura del capital y el retroceso de la democracia. Para algunos la globalizacià ³n y la visià ³n del neoliberalismo no es lago del todo negativo ya que muchos se basan en que con estos conceptos se pueden catalogar como el surgimiento de una nueva era de poder, riquezas, crecimiento, desarrollo y supuestas oportunidades para los paà ­ses. Es por esto que la supuesta globalizacià ³n tiene una versià ³n optimista la cual mejora las oportunidade... ... uno democrà ¡tico y verdaderamente no tomamos ningà ºn tipo de decisiones, en la cual nosotros la sociedad civil parecemos ‘’plebeyos’’ los cuales nunca vamos a tener poder ni dinero en abundancia ya que son solo unos pocos los que gozan de esos privilegio. Son esos pocos que al parecer no les importa quien este en el medio para ellos tener una vida en abundancia y son esos pocos los cuales su visià ³n y misià ³n es ser dueà ±os de todo el dinero del mundo y observar como la mayorà ­a muere de hambre. Tristemente no podemos hacer mucho para tratar de evitar esta triste situacià ³n tenemos que seguir viviendo en este gran horroroso sistema. No obstante, el vivir en el mismo no dejamos de ser personas pensantes. Debemos dejar de patrocinar los polà ­ticos marionetas que los poderosos nos presentan como una obra de teatro de comedia. Debemos vivir en el sistema pero con conciencia.

Willa Cathers Death Comes for the Archbishop: Powerful Prose :: Willa Cather Death Comes for the Archbishop

Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop: Powerful Prose It is understandable that some early twentieth-century critics of Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop said that the "'book is hard to classify,'" and "that it is not a novel" (On Writing 12). At that time, novels generally were written with a recognizable structure, with character development as a focus and chronology as a central organizational strategy (Harmon 350). In Death Comes for the Archbishop the central character's changes are subtle and relational, while the chronology sometimes seems random and unpredictable. Cather's preference to call her work "a narrative," a term usually contained within the definition of "a novel," does make sense, if only to distinguish her style in the minds of her readers. Cather's main character, Archbishop Latour, does not change so much as come into clearer focus. It is as if her story begins with a picture of Latour through a blurry wide-angle lens. He is only a name in the prologue; he is denied authority when he first arrives in Santa Fe; he is traveling in foreign territory. Yet, through a series of vignettes, Latour's personality becomes more vivid and realized, like the landscape around him. Rather than major personal trans-formations or dramatic circumstances, we find that Latour becomes more of what we already thought he was. Although a relatively solitary man, Latour is literarily never alone. Cather almost always sets her main character in relation to either another character or to the landscape. Comparisons of the scenery to that of other locales are made, but like the personality of the Latour himself, the landscape seems to develop its essence, as well. In a scene towards the end of the book when Latour is on one of his many journeys back to Santa Fe, we see a good example of this juxtaposition, "[t]he plain was there, under one's feet, but what one saw when one looked about was that brilliant blue world of stinging air and moving cloud" (DCA 231-2). Cather points the fulfillment of her tale in her title. In the last section, titled just as the book itself, the Archbishop is "active in some other part of the great picture of his life" (Death Comes for the Archbishop 288). During his last days he was "done with calendared time," these words reflecting the arbitrary way in which memories are recalled, and the manner in which the book's minimal plot progresses.

Chinese Influences

China affected Asian countries culturally, socially and politically. Korea, Vietnam and Japan are the typical nations of Chinese influences. Chinese moral ethics, ideal roles of women and the government system considerably impacted those countries. Even so, among these countries, they developed their own unique aspect to some varying degrees. First of all, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese authorities respectively emphasized Confucianism through education. For example, Confucian-based schools were established in Korea and Vietnam.In spite of those schools, Korean students studied Confucianism in China. Japanese students were also taken to China for learning Confucianism by Shotoku Taishi, a leading member of a major clan. After visiting China, he issued the â€Å"Seventh Article Constitution. † Taishi encouraged practicing Confucianism in Japan. Nevertheless, when the Japanese came up with samurai that emphasized bushido or the way of the warrior, they valued warriors rather tha n scholars whom Confucianism valued. Second, while Korean women had limited roles as Chinese women, Vietnamese and Japanese women had unbounded roles.Confucius highlighted women as subordinate characters to men. Therefore, as Confucian-influenced countries, they were expected to have limited roles of women. In fact, Korea was the only one in which restricted wide social activity of women. Korean women formerly raised her children at her parents’ home, but after adapting to Confucianism, she belonged to husbands’ family and raised her children at her parents-in-law’s houses. On the other hand, Vietnamese women had wide sphere of social and economic activities. Also, Japanese women were not restricted.They were able to inherit properties and live with her parents’ house when they were married. Most importantly, Vietnam, Japan and Korea borrowed the Chinese government system although Japanese developed their own in the later years. Vietnam was under Chinese rule for more than 1,000 years and the Chinese officials tried to assimilate into China. Korea is located right under the northeast of China. Therefore, there were a lot of political influences. For example, in the 7th century, the Silla Kingdom united the peninsula with help of Tang dynasty.Chinese tried to control and assimilate Korea. Chinese intervention led Trung sisters’ uprising in Vietnam and military resistance in Korea. Vietnam was able to establish as an independent state in the 10th century and China withdrew military in Korea. Whereas Japan, it was never invaded and conquered by China. It is 100 miles away from the mainland. Hence, Chinese influences were not significant. They did borrow Chinese political system. Then again, the Japanese government was decentralized and came up with feudal system and samurai.

Shareholder vs Stakeholder vs Market Failure’s Model

Business and ethics are often considered as opposite ends of a magnet, one in the means of seeking profit and other with the common assumption of refraining from profit maximization; so the question become is business ethics really an oxymoron? The usual perception of business ethics is very poor and pessimistic as many corporate executives say one thing yet do another. Although the maximization of self-interest and profit seeking is what drives the economy forward, but how should one’s actions be justified, is it ok to do as you wish as long as the law permits?Business managers along with other professionals have sets of ethical codes laid out and are to be followed. There is the bar set in place to monitor the practices of each individual lawyer; medical association for doctors as they perform medicine; and a ring to be worn to constantly remind the engineers of their professionalism and the potential consequences of their work (Heath). Managers on the other hand do not have an association to oversee the decisions they make, whether they are permissible by law or meet the moral obligations.However not having the standards on paper does not mean there aren’t any to be followed. In order to make justification for the type of behaviours business managers have and to outline the appropriate actions they should take, many ethical theories have been developed since. There are three that best represent the key perspectives in this matter; Friedman’s Shareholder theory, Freeman’s Stakeholder theory and Heath’s Market Failure Model of business ethics (Heath).Each of them is the pillars of which many other theories are based on but have very different and opposite views. The Shareholder theory suggests that manager has fiduciary duties to the shareholders only and must maximize profits as long as the law permits. The Stakeholder theory on the other hand suggests that managers have fiduciary duties to all stakeholders whom are positive ly or negatively affected by the decisions of the firm; shareholders are only of the stakeholders and their benefits cannot account for all.The making of one group’s benefits can only be made in conjunction of making all other stakeholders better too; shareholders are no more special than the suppliers, customers, employees and communities. Both the Stakeholder and Shareholder’s theories are biased towards different ends, one suggesting profits to be maximized for one group while the other stating that profits should be common good for all. Furthermore, the Market Failure Model of business ethics comes in between the two, yet containing arguments of both but in revised versions.I will argue in this paper that the Market Failure Model is the one that best describes the causes and effects of the business environment we have today and the role ethics play within it. First, an extraction and analysis of the Market Failure Model will be conducted and be used to explain why it is the best fit for the current business environment and ethics. I will then explain the shortfalls of the Shareholder and Stakeholder theories and why they lack considerations on a broader scope. Market Failure Model Market failure is the situation when the competitive market fails to provide an efficient outcome.In order for an efficient allocation of resources, there must be the absence of externalities, symmetrical information between buyers and sellers, insurance markets, and utility maximizing agents whom are rational when making decisions (Heath). However in the real world, the above conditions are rarely met and thus the idea of a perfect market becomes only ideal in theory but impractical in reality. In response to such failure in the market, two corrective phenomenons exist. The first being the creation of corporations which is organized in a system of hierarchy.Managers have fiduciary duty to follow legal as well as moral constraints to achieve profit maximization for members in the hierarchy, in this case the shareholders. Moreover, in order to achieve the highest profits for anyone in the market, they will need to compete in prices as well as product innovation. Many historical scenarios has proven that competition leads to economic advancements where without it would result in economic stagnation. China and India had been communist states in the past where there were minimum price competition and product innovations, the government had full control and attempted to effectively allocate resources.However such intervention only led to full economic stagnation and poverty for its people. By the late 80s, both the Chinese and India government returned control to the market itself where competition for profit resumed and thus the economies began to advance and has brought prosperity upon its people. This not only proved profit seeking, price competition in the market is rather healthy for the economy but also concluded that government interventions in the market can create unneeded deadweight loss.The second response to Market Failure involves preservation of the market transaction and is subject to legal and regulatory constraints (Heath). In a competing market, there are various strategies firms may take to maximize their profits. Strategies that involve only of lower prices, better quality and product innovation that would exist in perfect completion are referred to as preferred strategies whereas the ones involving pollution, misleading advertising, sale of products with hidden defects are called non-preferred strategies (Heath).From the Market Failure’s perspective, the ethical firms will refrain from using non-preferred strategies even if they are allowable by the loophole of the law and regulations. These firms seek non-preferred strategies because they bring easy and quick forms of profits, but it is also short lasting. â€Å"Misleading advertising stands to false advertising as deception does to fraud† (Heath). When firms adopt misleading advertisement for its products, it will bring short term profits before consumers realize they are being deceived.However when consumers do acknowledge the unethical behaviours of the business, they will switch products and by the word of mouth spread unfavourable comments of the firm; thus in the long run, such business behaviour is not practical as bad reputation leads to loss of sales and eventual closedown of operations. Profit seeking often bears negative conceptions due to the frequent exploitation of the market and flaws of the legal and regulatory systems.These firms fail to consider the moral obligations they must also endure. The analogy between â€Å"orporate social responsibility† and â€Å"Good sportsmanship† effectively compares and applies such concept. Having good sportsmanship does not only include not breaking the rules of the game but also refraining from exploiting the loopholes and flaws of the regulations. Taki ng basketball for example, unavoidable physical contact will occur during the game; however one should avoid purposely injuring other players just to win.Although certain teams do adopt such tactics like those firms using non-preferred strategies to make money, but most top ranked teams along with the most reputable firms still win by applying only of the preferred strategies. Attack on Shareholder’s Theory Milton Friedman’ Shareholder theory argues that there is a fiduciary relationship between the managers and shareholders; managers by all means possible and permissible by law, must maximize profits (Friedman). However recent corporate scandals proof otherwise.The case of Enron for example, where corporate CEO and president along with other top executives engaged in a sequence of deception behaviours to achieve the maximum profit, not for shareholders but for themselves. Even on the verge of bankruptcy, these top managers froze the shares held by common shareholders so they could sell out all their shares while everyone else will suffer the drop in price. This proved the willingness to break the law never mind moral obligations, in order to maximize the self-interests of the managers themselves.It is mistaken to trust the strength of the fiduciary relationship between managers and shareholders where the shareholders are without protection. One may argue that shareholders can simply fire the irresponsible manager, but as Enron proves, these managers can easily cheat shareholders without being found out until it is too late. Another shortfall of the Shareholder theory is the inconsideration for others who are also affected by the firm’s decisions. Lockean argues that shareholders are entitled to the profits as employee deserves their wages, but it is unconvincing because it only defines the legal obligations but not the moral (Heath). We have no legal obligation to give but do not mean we have no moral obligation to give to charity†( Heath) This quote from Heath suggests that even though it is not by law that we must be moral and has concerns for other, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t any moral and ethical codes to be followed. Attack on Stakeholder Theory The Stakeholder theory compared to the Shareholder theory argues that managers have fiduciary duties to everyone who are affected by decisions of the firm, including suppliers, customers, employees and many others (Freeman).It is true that consideration for these stakeholders are important when making business decisions however it doesn’t mean managers have fiduciary duties to all. Managers in corporations are trusted directly of property rights of shareholders with no alternatives and minimum protection against uncertainties. Suppliers, customers, employees and other stakeholder on the other hand have the ability to choose whether they are to be affected by the corporation.If suppliers refuse to agree to conditions and prices offered by firm, they may wish to supply to other firms instead; when customers refuse to pay for certain products or cannot agree to values (values referred to the corporate operations and its effects in the society) offered by the firm, they may choose not to purchase it’s products; and lastly employees may choose to resign from his position when conflict of interest and ethical concerns occur or may blow the whistle and expose the wrong doings of the firm to the public.Each group of stakeholders have their own alternatives in dealing with managers decisions and do not have property rights already invested and paid to managers for the outcomes of their performance thus they cannot be considered as having fiduciary relationships with managers. The major flaw of the stakeholder theory is that it assumes the stakeholders are not capable of making their own rational decisions and has left the responsibility of their wellbeing in the hands of others.The second shortfall of the Stakeholderà ¢â‚¬â„¢s theory is its short-term and narrow scope view of the matter and failed to consider the long-term strategies of the firm and wellbeing of the people. Walmart has been growing exponentially in recent years, but has also been experiencing much negative publicity like poor wages and benefits for its employees. When worker aren’t paid enough, the most common solution they seek is from the managers raising their wages.However most of these workers fail to realize they are only being paid according to their skill sets, rather than holding the managers and corporation responsible they should instead reflect on themselves and obtain higher education or more specialized skills to be worthy of their pay. If workers demand two or three dollars increase of their wage, they also need to consider the overall effects on the firm and not just themselves; it is not about a little more on one person’s pay cheque but the effect of thousands of workers and the incremental costs t hat a firm will bear.The market is competitive in nature, when firms fail to make profits, it will cease in existence in the long run. When the firm becomes bankrupt, all employees will lose their jobs and whom should be held responsible for that? Conclusion In conclusion, all three theories share different views of business ethics and the role of managers should take in it. Shareholder theory argues managers have fiduciary duty to shareholders only and should seek to maximize profits as long as it’s legally permissible; Stakeholder theory states managers have fiduciary duty to all stakeholders and must make ecisions so when certain stakeholders are made better off, the others involved must also be better than their original state. Both of these theories tries to outline what behaviours managers should take on a biased perspective yet fails to fit actual economic and market characteristics. Heath’s market failure model on the other hand suggests that managers do have f iduciary duties to shareholder only but should make decisions meeting their moral obligations as well, meaning adopting strategies that best benefit the firm and the society in the long run.Certain firms may donate to charity because they feel morally responsible or perhaps to cut taxes or simply for publicity; however in the overall wellbeing of the society, intentions matter but results matter even more. Firms that adopt non-preferred strategies will eventually break laws or be publicly criticized, will suffer losses in sale and be eliminated by firms applying preferred strategies because the market works to correct itself of its failures. Bibliography Heath, J. (n. d. ). Business ethics without stakeholders.In F. Allhoff & A. Vaidya (Eds. ), Business in Ethical Focus: An Anthology (pp. 110-126). Peterborough: Broadview. Friedman, M. F. (n. d. ). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. In A. Allhoff & A. Vaidya (Eds. ), Business in Ethical Focus: An Antho logy(pp. 65-69). Peterborough: Broadview. Freeman, E. F. (n. d. ). A stakeholder theory of the modern corporation. In A. Allhoff & A. Vaidya (Eds. ),Business in Ethical Focus: An Anthology (pp. 69-78). Peterborough: Broadview.

Local Development Planning in the Philippines

at the Local Level A  report  by: Sheryl  I. Fernando â€Å"Local governments do not have the luxury d of time to delay the development of their de own capabilities whic will allow them to ch achieve their cherishe objectives. ed They should help them mselves and not stagnate while the rest of the world go by. st Local governments he elping themselves is the essence of the home ru It is also the ule. cornerstone of democr ratic and just institutions. â€Å" LOGODEF,  1993 Local governments in the Philippines have th roots in the colonial administration of Spain, heir which lasted in the Philippines for some 32 years. These three centuries under Spanish 27 government were characterized by a highly ce entralized regime. The Spanish Governor General in Manila actually governed the provinces and cities in the whole country. After Spain, the US d came in the early 1900s and Filippinized local government administration. The last 50 years of the present century saw several develo pments towards decentralization. The Local Autonomy Act of 1959, the passage of the Barrio Charter and the Decentralization Act o of 1967 were all incremental national legisla ations in response to the clamour for a self? rule concept. The Philippine Constitutions of 1972 and 1987 also significantly influenced the movement for political devolution.The most significant constitutional provisions (Article 10 on Local Government) are the following: s The Congress shall enact a local government code which shall provide for a more responsive and accountable local government structure instituted through a system of s decentralization with effective mechanisms of recall, initiative n and referendum allocate among the different local government m, units their powers, responsibilities and resources and provide for the qualificati ions, election, appointment, removal, terms, salaries, power functions and duties of local officials and all rs, other matters relating to the organization and opera tion of the r local units†. The legislative initiative promoting local auto onomy was strongly supported by academics and public servants who spearheaded the nec cessary reforms in changing the structure and organization of local governments and includ new functions to enable local governments to ded address a changing environment. The strugg for decentralization that lasted more than 50 gle years culminated in the passage of the Loca Government Code in October 1991.The Local al Government Code is a most comprehensiv document on local government touching on ve structures, functions and powers, including tax xation and intergovernmental relations. † unescap. org According  to  Panadero (2008)  the  dece entralization  of  governance  was  influenced   by  local  Ã‚  and  international  events  (see  Figure e  1). He  also  added  that  at  the  International Internat tional  Events POSITIVE ? Technological Advances ? Globaliz ation crisis ? Trade/Investment liberalization ? Poverty focus flu) Political †¢ 3  changes  in   administration †¢ EDSA  II  &  III †¢ Increase  Insurgency †¢ Terrorism †¢ Charter  Change †¢ Political  Uncertainty NEGATIVE ?Episodes of world economic Slowdown & economic ? Rising oil prices ? Terrorism ? Heath problems (e. g. SARS, Eco onomic †¢ Boom  bu ust  economic   growth/cr rises †¢ Liberaliza ation/   Deregular rization   Policies †¢ Rising  Ur rbanization †¢ OFW  Deployment †¢ Fiscal  &  d debt  problems DECENT TRALIZATION Social †¢ Persistent  poverty †¢ Lower  budget   allocation For  social  services †¢ Rising  inequality †¢ Disasters Figure  1. Economic,  Social  &  Political  Environme ent  in  the  Last  Years  of  Decentralization level, globalization has the most pervasive influence on the decentralization, which was haste ned by trade and investment liberalization and technological advances.On the Social Sector, there was a focus on the reduction of poverty; on the Economic Sector, the new international issues such as terrorism had positive and negative impacts at the local level, while the economic scenario at the national level significantly shaped local development. The national government in the 1990 sought to upgrade local government by 0s delegating some limited powers to local su ubdivisions and by encouraging people to participate in community affairs. Local auto onomy was balanced, however, against the need to ensure effective political and admin nistrative control from Manila, especially in those areas where communist or Muslim ins surgents were active. During Marcos's authoritarian years (1 1972? 86), a Ministry of Local Government was instituted to invigorate provincial, mu unicipal, and barangay governments.But, Marcos's real purpose was to establish lin of authority that bypassed provin cial nes governments and ran straight to Malacanang. All local officials were beholden to Marcos, who could appoint or remove any provincial governor or town mayor. Those administrators who delivered the votes Marcos asked for were rewarded with community development funds to spend any way they liked. y After the People's Power Revolution, the new Aquino government decided to replace all the local officials who had served Marcos. Corazon Aquino delegated this task to her political ally, Aquilino Pimentel. Pimentel named officers in charge of local governments all across the nation. They served until the first local elections were held under the new constitution on January 18, 1988.Local officials elected in 1988 were to serve until June 1992, under the transitory clauses of the new constitution. Thereafter, terms of office were to be three years, with a three? term limit. Local government units (LGUs) are territo orial political subdivisions of the Philippines that include provinces , cities, municipalities and barangays (the smallest political unit in the country). Because local government officials ar voted into power by the people, their primary re role is people's welfare. Their offices are the major institutions responsible for the e coordination, overseeing and monitoring of dev velopment projects at the local level.The devolution of significant powers and functions formerly held by national line agencies mmunity development and poverty alleviation in to LGUs made them powerful conduits for com the countryside. Among the responsibilities tr ransferred to the LGUs were agriculture, health, social services, environment and natural resources, maintenance of local infrastructure facilities (such as farm? to? market roads, bridges and irri igation) and others. Local legislative powers such as decision? making, resource allocation, rule? m making and enforcement of laws related to these powers were also delegated to LGUs. Governor  Lilia  G. Pineda  meets   with  barangay  officials  of  flooded? municipalities  in  the  province  as  she  instructs  them  to  further   intensify  their  efforts  in  ensuring  the  welfare  and  safety  of  their  r respective  constituents. Board  Member  Cris Garbo,  Provincial   Social  Welfare  and  Development  Officer  (PSWDO)  Elizabeth  Bayb bayan and  Agriculture  Consultant  Roy  Imperial  join  the  meeting  of   the  local  officials. (Photo  by  Jun  Jaso,Pampanga PIO) The planning process in starts at the barangay level. Plans are prepared by the Barangay Council, and then adopted by the Barangay Development Council, composed of barangay y officials elected by the people (Figure 2). Gene erally, barangay officials have completed only the elementary levels of schooling, and have little or no training in development? related activities.Hence, barangay development plans usually consist o nly of lists of projects that focus mainly c on the infrastructure facilities that are the most obvious and easiest to identify. Some communities do have better planning processe but these are rare. es, Level National Planning  Institutions National  Economic  Development   Authority  (NEDA),  Central  Office Regional NEDA,  Ã‚  Regional  Office Provincial Provincial  Planning  and   Development  Office  (PPDO) Municipal Municipal  Planning  and   Development  Office  (MPDO) Barangay Figure  2. Planning  process  and  institutions  in  the  Philippines Barangay  Council/ Sangguniag Barangay Barangay development plans are submit tted to the Municipal Planning and Development Office (MPDO), which comes under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Mayor.The MPDO is in charge of planning activities at the municipa level. Generally, the MPDO consolidates the al â€Å"shopping lists† of projects and prioritizes them in accordance with the plans of the municipality. Before this consolidated plan bec comes the official Municipal Development Plan, it must first be adopted by the Municipal Develo opment Council. From the municipal level, plans are forwarded to the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) where they are again D consolidated and prioritized on the basis of the province's own particular plans. e The provincial development plans are also reviewed by the Provincial Development Councils before adoption.They are then sub bmitted to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Regional Office, which cons solidates all the provincial plans and prioritizes them, based on regional importance. The plans should also be reviewed by the Regional p Development Councils before adoption. The plans are then forwarded to the NEDA Central Office Inter? Cabinet Coordinating Committee for consideration, together with the priorities of f the various government line agencies. Based on the national thrust s and priorities, the projects o that are selected are then consolidated and included in the National Medium? Term Development Plan. The Local Government Code (LGC) man ndates the LGUs with significant local planning functions.In particular, Section 106 of the Code provides that â€Å"each LGU shall have e comprehensive multi? sectoral development pla to be initiated by its development council and an approved by its Sanggunian. The institutional responsibilities for plan formulation, e financing and implementation are likewise clearly g, prescribe by the Code: ed ? The Loc Development Plan (LDP) shall be prepared by the cal Local Development Council (LDC); P ? The LDP will be approved by the Sanggunian; ? Funds for the development plan shall be allocated by the Local Fin nance Committee (LCF); and ? The Loc Chief Executive (LCE), together with the executive cal departm ments, will implement the development plan. This case study highlights the experience of undertaking a Priority e Implementation Partnership on incorporating disaster risk impact assessments into the construction of new roads in the Philippines, implemented by the National Disa aster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with support from Asian Disaster Preparedness Cent (ADPC), UN International Strategy ter for Disaster Reduction (UN/I ISDR) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). † Towards Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into the Planning Process of Road Construction Safer Roads A Priority Implementation Partnership between the National Disaster Coordinating Council and the Department of Public Works and Highways, Philippines Under the Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster Management (RCC) Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development in Asia Road Sector a priority for mainstreaming disaster risk reductionBACKGROUND The Regional Consultative Committee (RCC) on Disaster Management under its program on Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into development (MDRD) have identified Roads and Infrastructure, Agriculture, Education, Health, Housing and Financial Services as priority sectors to initiate mainstreaming disaster risk reduction . With the massive infrastructure development in Asia underpinned by the investment in highways, roads and bridges, prioritizing the Road Sector is certainly a necessity. In the RCC which comprises of heads of the National Disaster Management Offices of 26 Asian Countries, members had submitted expression of interest (EoI) to mainstream of disaster risk reduction into particular sectors depending on the development priorities of their country.The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) of the Philippines which is a member of the RCC expressed interest in taking-up MDRD into road sector in partnership with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the agency responsible for national road construction in the country. Accordin gly in the first quarter of 2006, the Priority Implementation Partnership for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the planning process of road construction in the Philippines was started by NDCC and DPWH. The partnership was technically supported by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) with financial support from UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) through Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). ource: Mapping Philippine Vulnerability to Environmental Disasters – Manila Observatory/Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Floods and earthquakes make the road system in the Philippines prone to landslides, road slips, embankment scouring and other sediment related disasters. Roads are often closed for several days when hit by such disasters causing disruption in transportation services that affects the access of passengers, goods and services. The impact of flooding and typhoons in creating havoc to the c ountry’s economy as well as to damage to property is recognized in the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan of 2001-2004 and accordingly the DPWH has also aligned its policies and strategies.Priority Implementation Partnership (PIP) – a Process towards mainstreaming disaster risk reduction Similar to other countries, the Road sector in the Philippines also works in close collaboration with various government departments like Planning, Finance, Environment and Local Government. While the development of national roads (30,000 km of length) is under the jurisdiction of DPWH, the remaining road network (172,000 km of length) falls under the concern of local government units. In addition, road projects are based on area development plans produced by the National Economic Development Agency (NEDA) and the Regional Development Councils (RDC). Similarly the feasibility reports prepared for each road project undergoes an environmental and a social impact assessment led by th e Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).In order to mainstream disaster risk reduction, further collaboration is required with NDCC and technical agencies responsible for producing hazard information related to natural disasters like the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), Philippines Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). A MULTI-AGENCY TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP TAKES THE LEAD With this understanding, the PIP formed a technical working group of the NDCC at the beginning with multi-agency membership to steer the process of implementation of mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into the planning process of road construction. procedure of road planning and identifying the windows of opportunity to introduce disaster risk reduction.Accordingly the scope of activities was detailed as follows: †¢ Documentation of existing procedure for development of road projects with respect to hazards; Documentation of contents of pre feasibility/ feasibility report of road projects in the country over the past 20 years; Analysis of past damage to road infrastructure; Identification of specific steps that can be taken for incorporating hazard considerations in project development and approval process; List of future priority projects for construction of roads in the Philippines. †¢ PIP Technical Working Group comprises: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Chairperson; Planning service, DPWH Co-chairperson; Planning division, NDCC Members Bureau of research and standard, DPWH Bureau of design and bridge division, DPWH Philippines Institute of Civil Engineer Department of Environment and Natural Resources Philippines Institute of Volcanology and SeismologyPhilippines Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration Asian Disaster Preparedness Center †¢ †¢ †¢ The technical working group met frequently over the PIP implementat ion period to look at the mentioned activities above and developed the final report which details recommendations for integrating DRR into the planning process of new road construction in the Philippines. BROADER CONSULTATION PIP LOOKED INTO The technical working group engaged in consultation and decided on the following activities for initiating mainstreaming. Since it was realized that the ultimate aim of mainstreaming could only be achieved by bringing change in the entire system, which road projects are developed, designed, constructed and maintained.Hence this particular partnership would emphasize on understanding the existing The findings of the PIP were shared during a national workshopheld in February 2007, in which a wide range of stakeholders particpated including the Government, technical agencies, UN agencies and the Asian Development Bank. The recommendations were discussed in detail and future steps were identified. The Project Development of a typical infrastructure project in DPWH follows a cyclic process consisting of four phases: Project identification, Project preparation, Project implementation and Project operation and evaluation. consolidated form, with limited access to detailed report on damages and their corresponding costs. Also of equal importance is to benchmark hazard intensities with their Return periods/Damages.This is particularly difficult due to: lack of updated topographic maps at 1:5,000 or higher resolution, a sparse network of hazard monitoring stations (seismic and flood) as well as short monitoring period and limited processed data on hazards. The following key documents were collected during the project to conduct the analysis: †¢ Standard Terms of Reference for Strategic Environment Assessment for Plans and Programmes Standard Report Format for Strategic Environment Assessment for Plans and Programmes Sample of Damage Report DPWH District Office Sample of Consolidated Damage Report by NDCC Sample of Bridge condit ion Inspection Form Sample of Pre- Feasibility and Feasibility Reports of Road projects starting 1984 List of future projects of DPWHAfter the projects are identified, feasibility studies are conducted which includes investigations and analysis to determine the extent and degree of desirability of a project against technical, economic, social, environmental, financial and operational aspects. As part of this project, sample feasibility reports over last 20 years were analysed in terms of content and it was realized that the structure of the report largely depends on the source of funding of the project. Typically due to lack of funding for construction of national road projects, DPWH administers a basic feasibility study, but for foreign-assisted projects the assessment process is more in-depth and extensive.However, it was noted that post 2000, the feasibility reports do tend to include a section on â€Å"Review of hazard specific threats on road sections† though it is prima rily limited to protecting the road segments from geological hazards such as landslides and debris fall. In addition, DPWH feasibility study includes an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The EIA report structure considers the impact of hazards by defining an â€Å"environmentally critical area† of the project site where it is frequently visited by the natural hazards. However, it does not explicitly provide details on how to address natural hazard vulnerability and risks to infrastructure and the consequent impact from its damage or failure.Similarly, Cost-benefit analysis cover only the planned use of the facility and does not factor in other costs (risk based cost) arising from potential damage or possible failure of the structure to function to a certain event. Assessment of damages to roads affected by a natural disaster is carried-out by DPWH at the district level. There is no fixed format followed for collecting information needed for the assessment and the reports are directly sent to NDCC for the preparation of an overall disaster assessment report. Hence, it becomes difficult to trace these records at the regional or central offices of the DPWH. Similarly the damage information of past disasters available from NDCC is in a †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢It is also realized that since mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction involves a broad range of stakeholders, interrelated plans and programs, disaster risk reduction concerns need to be linked with ongoing projects of DPWH such as: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ The earthquake rehabilitation program and similar seismic vulnerability assessments DPWH national roads improvement and management program, Phase II DPWH road maintenance investment programs The study on the nationwide flood risk assessment and the flood mitigation plan for the selected areas in the Philippines Technical Assistance for risk assessment and management Benefit monitoring and evaluation of selected r oads, Phase II, ADB Capacity Building Study on risk management for sediment related disaster on selected national highways Similarly close linkage needs to be established with the ongoing project of NDCC in partnership with UNDP on Hazard Mapping and Assessment for effective community-based disaster risk management (READY). †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢KEY FINDINGS †¢ DPWH adopts a basic â€Å"one size fits all† format for feasibility studies of road projects that does not specifically require assessment of disaster risks. During detailed design, disaster risk reduction aspects are incorporated into the project if required. Mostly national budgets do not provide funds for surveys and investigations at the feasibility study stage, and it is therefore unusual for disaster risk reduction measures to be incorporated at early stages of project preparation. Externally funded projects are prepared to higher standards, particularly in relation to environmental assessments (whe re disaster risk aspects are described if required by the particular agency) and resettlement planning.There is uneven application of building codes and design standards between national and local roads. Absence of one fixed format for collecting information on damage to roads and bridges from natural hazards prepared by district-level offices. Hydrological data are available for major river basins in the Philippines but these information have not uniformly been processed to provide flow/stage relationships for different return periods, which could be used for road design. Learning The key to successful integration of disaster risk reduction on road projects lies in the planning phase of the project cycle which includes project identification and preparation of the feasibility study.Assessing the possible impact on the project of natural disasters or other hazards at this stage means that the appropriate risk reduction measures can be included in the scope, layout and arrangement of the project’s major components—and that these measures will be allowed for in the cost estimate. If such measures are not included at the planning phase, their inclusion at the later stages is unlikely, or could be costly and inconvenient (i. e. possibly requiring a supplementary budget). Attempting to include risk reduction measures at the design stage (after major elements of the project have been decided and the budget has been allocated) cannot adequately satisfy the need for disaster risk reduction. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Recommendations DPWH needs to have a standard on project identification and preparation procedures to eliminate quality discrepancies between nationally and externally funded projects and to pave the way for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in road projects. Feasibility reports should include assessments of the impact of potential disasters. An enhanced natural hazard/impact assessment component should be included in the EI A for nationally-funded and foreign-assisted projects The existing system for monitoring road needs to be improved to allow for the recording of damage caused by natural disasters. Standard formats and reporting standards should be introduced for monitoring and for collecting damage data from the impact of natural disasters on roads.Capacity of staff to assess the impact of natural disasters needs to be increased, particularly at the regional and district levels. The key to successful integration of disaster risk reduction on road projects lies in the planning phase†¦ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Next Steps for mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into road sector in the Philippines In order to take forward the momentum gained under the PIP, the technical working group has identified the following next steps to realize the recommendations: †¢ Identifying two pipeline road projects in a hazard prone area of the Philippines. The two projects would be at different stages namely a pipeline project without a feasibility study and a pipeline project with a feasibility study completed.Integrating disaster risk reduction (DRR) into the planning process of two identified pipeline project. Capacity building of officials from DPWH responsible for conducting feasibility studies on how to integrate DRR. Experience of PIP incorporated in the RCC Guideline on mainstreaming disaster risk reduction into Infrastructure †¢ To share the experience gained during the process of implementation of the PIP with the remaining RCC member countries, the technical working group represented by DPWH and NDCC participated in a regional technical workshop on developing the RCC Guideline on incorporating disaster risk assessments as part of planning process before construction of new roads.The lessons learned from the PIP acted as the guiding approaches for initiating mainstreaming disaster risk reduction. †¢ †¢ Regional Consultative Committee on Disaster M anagement (RCC) The RCC comprises of members who are working in key Government positions in the National Disaster Management Offices of countries of the Asian region. To date, 26 countries are represented by 30 RCC Members from the Asia and Pacific regions, namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.RCC Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation in Asia (RCC MDRD) A key priority identified by the RCC is the integration of disaster risk considerations into development planning. To initiate action on this agreed direction, the RCC Program on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development Policy, Planning and Implementation (MDRD) was launched at the 4th RCC meeting in Bangladesh in March 2004. The RC C 5 adopted the Hanoi RCC 5 statement on Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into Development in Asian Countries which prioritizes mainstreaming of DRR to be initiated in National development planning process as well as Sectoral development.It identified six priority sectors namely Agriculture, Education, Health, Housing, Urban Planning and Infrastructure and Financial services for mainstreaming of DRR. The program has five components for implementation: †¢ †¢ Component 1: Developing Guidelines and Tools for MDRD Component 2: Undertaking Priority Implementation Partnerships (PIP) in MDRD in RCC Member Countries Component 3: Showcasing good practice on MDRD and Monitoring Progress Component 4: Advocacy for Building awareness and Political Support to MDRD Component 5: Mobilizing Partnerships for ongoing and sustainable implementation Lay-out and graphic design by: Philipp Danao †¢ †¢ †¢The Hanoi RCC 5 statement identified the following sub themes within the Urban Planning and Infrastructure to initiate mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction: For more information, please contact: †¢ Aloysius Rego, Director and Team Leader Email: [email  protected] net †¢ Arghya Sinha Roy, Project Manager Email: [email  protected] net Disaster Management Systems Team Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) P. O. Box 4 Klong Luang Pathumthani 12120 Thailand Tel: (66 2) 516 5900-10 Fax: (66 2) 524-5350, 5360 Email: [email  protected] net website: www. adpc. net Introducing Disaster Risk Impact Assessments into the construction of new roads and bridges; Promoting the use of hazard risk information in land-use planning and zoning programsThis case study highlights the experience of undertaking a Priority Implementation Partnership on incorporating disaster risk impact assessments into the construction of new roads in the Philippines, implemented by the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) and Department of Public Works and Highwa ys (DPWH) with support from Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC), UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ ISDR) and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). References:  Ã‚   ONLINE  :   Guide  to  Comprehensive  Development  Plan   http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/philippines/GOVERNMENT. html   Accessed:  June  26,  2012 Local  Government  Code. http://www. chanrobles. com/localgov1. htm   Accessed:  June  26,  2012   Local  Government  in  Asia  and  the  Pacific:  A  Comparative  Study. Country  paper:  Philippines   http://www. unescap. org/huset/lgstudy/country/philippines/philippines. tml  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accessed:  June  26,  2012   Luz  Seno? Ani. Participatory  territorial  planning:  the  farming  systems  development  approach  in   community  planning  in  the  Ph ilippines,  1995–2002. http://www. fao. org/docrep/005/Y8999T/y8999t06. htm      Accessed:  June  26,  2012      Philippines? Government   http://www. mongabay. com/reference/country_studies/philippines/GOVERNMENT. html   Accessed:  June  26,  2012      Rationalizing  the  Local  Planning  System   http://www. dilg. gov. ph/PDF_File/reports/DILG? Reports? 2011712? ea7ba5859e. pdf      e? BOOK/BOOK:      Panadero,  Austere  A. (2008). Strategy  to  Further  Decentralization  in  the  Philippines. LOGODEF   Journal  on  Ã‚  Local  Governance.Towards  Mainstreaming  Disaster  Risk  Reduction  into  the  Planning  Process  of  Road  Construction         PHOTOS:   Gov. meets  with  brgy  officials:   http://pampangacapitol. ph/2011/10/06/gov? meets? with? barangay? officials/      cory  caricature from  the  Filipino  mind:  Bobby  Tuazon   http://thefili pinomind. blogspot. com/2009/08/cora? aquino? how? politics? of? reform? lost. html      Cover  photo  by  Sheryl  Fernando,  documentor,  Executive  management  course  for  Ã‚  PSWDOs  and   MSWDOs  in  Mindanao A  report  submitted  in  partial  fulfillment  of  the  requirements  in   Development  Management  in n  Development  Organizations Submit tted  to: Dr. Jedida  L. Aquino Profe essor Submitted  by: Sheryl  I. F Fernando MD DM