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Saturday, August 31, 2019

Indian dance Essay

Kathak is the one of eight forms of Indian classical dances perform by men and women, originated from northern indian, known as kathakars or storytellers. The styles of dance have its unique character from the rhythmic footwork with rhythms that he or she stomps out barefoot on the floor, accented with many bells worn around the ankles ( and from seeing the guest artist I can say there were more than 100 bells around her ankles making lots of noise to go with the beats of the drum), spectacular spins, and also every dance piece has a story behind it. A traditional kathak performance features a solo dancer on a stage, surrounded on all sides by the audience. The repertoire includes amad ,the dramatic entrance of the dancer on stage. Male dancers perform in Persian costume of wide skirts and round caps, while female dancers wear a traditional Indian garment called a sari. Back in the day women are the one who preserved this traditional dance more than the men. Kathak are typically performs by one dancer surrounded by a group of musicians. The solo dancer performs the parts of all the characters in the story. For example the guest artist were going back and forth rapidly from one of her dance piece between two characters. She did it without changing her positions on stage, changes in gestures and facial expressions signal instantly which character they take on at that moment. Before the guest artist started her dance so did a pronom giving thanks to all five elements or also known as the god, space, wind, fire, water and earth. Dance is on the earth, the eyes wherever the eyes are the mind, where the mind there are feelings. The way Antara gave thank to the god were a little different from what we normally did in class, with more steps and she also added some singing and harmony into the rituals. Based on what Antara told us, kathak is a very intimate dance where it is a three ways conversation, between dancers with musicians and dancers with the audience. The tempo for kathak consist of 16 beats. Dancers sometime precise the beats while dancing. With kathak you can play with the rhythms, there is no set rhythms. Kathak consisted of a lot of feet movement and with that the bells around Antara added a more prominent movements. Even though the focused on her foot because of all the bells, we can still see that she’s using her upper body. The arms movement were very smooth and elegant, her eyes moved according to her hands gestures. Antara played the Theka which looked and sound like the accordion, along with singing and dancing. The Theka did not stop Antara from doing her incredible spins and keeping the tempo while doing all these things at once. Stomping her foot very fast and loud on the floor seems to be away for her to keep her tempo. Even when she was stomping her foot her hands and head was still doing a lot of movement to help tell the story. During her performance she uses a lot of phrases in Indian and it was hard for me to understand or catch what she was saying. But she later on explained that it is just like how we counts beats in america instead of using numbers, in Indian dance they used the language of the drums. Her right foot always ended in the front to help her keep up with the beat and also so that her body can face the audience and interacted with them. Her dance move was not all fast but it was very precise and very professional. Antara dances very elegant and somehow I can see her personality throw the way she moved the way she carry herself on all the dance pieces. She is a great dancer and a great guest artist for the style, she makes me want to learn more about the style and actually go see her performance in San Francisco.

Our Casuarina Tree Essay

Our Casuarina Tree is a poem by Toru Dutt, an Indian poet. The poem gives an objective description of the tree and the charm associated with poet’s childhood. It begins with an account of the giant tree with a creeper wrapped around it like a huge python. It is the centre of busy life of birds and beasts. The tree is depicted as grand and charming. It has become dear to the poet because of the memories that surround it – memories of a time when happy children played under its shade. The thought brings out an intense yearning for the playmates, who are now no more alive. For their sake, the tree has become a symbol of their memory. The tree is an immortal memory of the poets joyous past which the cruel waves of time had swept away. The last stanza unfolds a desire of the poet for the immortality of the tree – May Love defend thee from Oblivion’s curse. In the poem the poet celebrates the beauty and the majesty of the tree. She uses the medium of the tree to receive her memories of the past. The poet attempts to recapture the happy time of her childhood in the company of her siblings – Abju and Aru. She immortalises those glorious moments of happiness by recalling the memory of the tree. The emphasis goes beyond that one tree. In this poem, the poet delicately recaptures the past and binds it to her present. The tree has been made immortal by Toru dutt. The first two stanzas scrutinize the tree objectively. The following two subjectively analyses its relation with the poetess’ own state of being. It connects the immortal tree to the mortal siblings, and thereby renders them immortal.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Action plan

The Student Activity Council (SAC) of HAIFA has formulated the following rules to promote the cleanliness throughout the campus: 1 . Littering inside the campus premises should be avoided by all the students. 2. There will be trash bins for non-biodegradable, biodegradable, and recyclable materials. These trash bins will be color coded. Red trash bins are for non- biodegradable, black for biodegradable, and green for recyclables. 3. There will be stewards for the day.They have to perform the tasks assigned to them. 4. Each classroom will allocate an area where to put used papers so as not to rumple and throw them anywhere. 5. There will be bottle receptacles along the hallways and chapel. Empty bottles should be put there. 6. Waste segregation activity will also be done by assigned students. There will be students assigned every day for the said activity. The selected students will segregate the recyclable materials collected from the bin for recyclables. 7. Sanctions await the viola tors of the rules.Those who violate the rules will be cleaning some areas of the campus and will be segregating trashes for 30 minutes during their free time. 8. Incentives will be given to those who follow the rules. They will be given extra points in their MAPLE subjects. For the students to be motivated in maintaining the cleanliness of the campus, there will be a contest among all the sections from grade 7 to grade 10. These rules apply to the said contest: 1. Each section will be given 1000 points at the start of the month. Corresponding points for every violation committed by the section.Loneliness of the room orderliness of the room (arrangement of the chairs, the books, and other things inside the classroom) 30% cleanliness of the fade (includes the hallway, the entrance of the classroom) 25% consistency of the cleanliness 5% The section with the highest percentage will be awarded as the section with the Most Organized Classroom.The award will be given at the end of each mon th. 3. At the end of the month, incentives/awards/prizes await the section with the highest remaining points. 4. On the other hand, the section with the lowest number of points will be sanctioned. Every student that belongs to the section with the lowest number of remaining points will be tasked to clean the school facilities (classrooms, hallways, science laboratory, and the like). . Health and Sanitation Committee will be formed and will be tasked to observe for the progress of the school campaign. 6. Steward of the Month is the one who has a noticeable act of cleaning the surroundings and segregating the trashes. This role model for cleanliness will be selected by the committee at the end of every month. Also, the selected steward of the month will get special award.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Information Systems - Essay Example It makes switching cost or consideration of an alternative costly that it discourages customers to switch to another system. The classic example we can cite is SAP procurement system. The program is being used by many big businesses across the globe that includes industry leaders such as BMW, Ericsson, BASF Corp., Audi, Burger King, just to name a few. SAP markets its product to its customers by stating that it could â€Å"boost contract spending and and enforce compliance with procurement guidelines† (SAP, 2012). The â€Å"contract boost spending† just meant that its potential customers will have more business because it will lock in their clients to their business and will make it extremely costly for them to find an alternative because the present system (using SAP) reduces procurement cost by â€Å"automating, simplifying and accelerate the business’ procure to pay process for goods and services (SAP, 2012). It thus emphasize operational efficiency that the consideration of an alternative would be prohibitive in terms of cost, human resource and time spent looking for another supplier because SAP will already streamline the purchase of goods and services. In other words, the system (SAP) will make the products and services exchanged between suppliers and customers to be cost effective or cheap as long as the customer will buy solely from the supplier that uses SAP. To further simplify how informational technology lock in the relationship between the supplier of goods, services or information and its customer, we can further cite the popular computer tablet of Amazon which is the Kindle Fire. Kindle Fire makes a good case of how a supplier locks in or lures its customer it uses this to differentiate itself from its dominant competitor, iPad of Apple. Amazon knows that it has the advantage of deep informational database over Apple which is its online bookstore Amazon and would like to capitalize on this advantage to take away Apple iPadà ¢â‚¬â„¢s market share on the computer tablet business. Instead of offering numerous apps and competing with the technical features of iPad which Amazon knows it cannot measure up, Amazon instead offered numerous books and magazines for free with their Kindle Fire and will sell the same if a customer will purchase them using the iPad. It is short of saying that many books and magazines are free if you buy Kindle Fire and it will cost you a lot if you buy iPad. In addition, Amazon also offer their Kindle Fire way cheaper than Apple’s iPad and market it more as a book and magazine reader to differentiate from iPad. Above all, Amazon also offers unlimited cloud storage for books and magazines for free that was procured from Amazon. In the same vein, the same services of cloud storage will cost a lot if customers will buy it from their iPads because they have to buy the books at premium prices from Amazon which were free with Kindle and they have to pay again if they want to save it in Amazon’s cloud storage. In the examples stated, it showed that informational technology is not just used to make business efficient, but also made as a tool to keep existing customers and make the alternative costly for them. Information technology will not only make switching costs expensive but could also be used as a strategic capability that would serve as a barrier to new entrants into its markets. The classic example we can use to illustrate how companies make

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 25

Reading response - Essay Example Such portraits provided a chance for an individual to self-express and self-seek (Rosen 866). However, there has been a drastic change in form of self-expression. The change has occurred through emergence of numerous social sites. The most common social sites are listed as MySpace and Facebook. The sites offer an opportunity for the viewers to look at individual life as well as offer comments on such life expressed through online community (Rosen 866). As a result, the author notes that these sites are used by individuals mostly to get attention. On the other hand, the author provides a history perspective of the online social networks. These networks are shown to change and emerge as time progresses. The earliest online social networks are listed as the Bulletin Board systems said to have started in 1980,s (Rosen 867). The network provided a platform for users to send public messages, send and receive private messages, as well as exchange of software (Rosen 867). However, more pronounces social sites emerged in the 21st century. Such sites include Friendster, MySpace, and Facebook. The sites attracted millions of uses in this era. Other social sites are expected to emerge in the future. On the other hand, social sites are shown to play various roles in the society. First, the sites have been shown to provide an opportunity for those that make it in life to get attention. Moreover, the sites have also laid a platform for advertisers to market their products such as record labels and film studios (Rosen 868). These sites are also shown to play a significant role in politics. Politicians are shown to use sites to enlist followers and express their policies. Additionally, the author offers a comparative analysis of the popular social sites. The most popular are shown to be MySpace and Facebook. The sites are shown to be simple in setting online identity (Rosen 869). On the other hand, majority of Americans are shown to be a heavy

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

No Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

No - Essay Example However, with very few EV cars, the switching cost is relatively low since there are not EV car producers in the world. Better Place also included product differentiation in its endeavours. In the car industry, normally there are numerous cars that are similar. For instance, someone can easily locate a very similar Nissan, Toyota, Mazda or Honda. Nevertheless, if they are looking at amphibious vehicles, then Better Place faces little threat of substitute products or services, which can be considered an extreme example (Etzion & Struben, 2011). Bargaining Power of Customers There are primarily two types of markets that Better Place competes in; the market for outputs, in which the firm sells its products to consumers and the market for inputs, in which the firm buys components, raw materials and financial, as well as labour services (Etzion & Struben, 2011). These transactions establish value for both sellers and buyers in both markets. With regards to the output markets, Better Place experiences the bargaining power of customers whereas, in the input markets, the company experiences the bargaining power of its suppliers. This bargaining power of customers explains how tough the client’s attitude, as well as their position is (Etzion & Struben, 2011). Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers can put to practice their bargaining power through increases prices or dropping the quality of products. Materials such as raw materials or labour are vital to Better Place’s existence (Etzion & Struben, 2011). Therefore, Better Place has developed a dependant relationship with its suppliers. However, such suppliers can take more Better Place’s likely industry potential value if they are more powerful. This can make Better Place’s profitability drop if they cannot transfer the greater costs incurred to their clients. Such suppliers seem to be more powerful because Better Place is a single company. However, if Better Place was composed of a number o f firms, then the suppliers would be less powerful (Etzion & Struben, 2011). Intensity of Competitive Rivalry In the world EV market, the number of developed competitors is over 50, but Better Place is the first of its kind in Israel. Nevertheless, since diverse firm’s product ranges, product positioning, as well as target consumer groups, are fairly diverse and the volume of EVs that are launched are limited, in comparison with the traditional automotive industry, the competitive strength of EV in Israel is fairly low (Etzion & Struben, 2011). However, established competitors around the world can be split into four clusters according to their capital scale, production capacity, product ranger, as well as operation pattern. They can also be large firms or small firms according to their capital size (Etzion & Struben, 2011). Scenario Planning Better Place’s business models could be simply summarised as they buy car batteries, as well as electricity and offer miles, on t he other hand (Etzion & Struben

Monday, August 26, 2019

Issue Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Issue Analysis - Essay Example Though there is no definite law protecting bisexual, lesbian, and gay employees from discrimination at work, there are possible amendments to existing laws that could benefit bisexual, lesbian, and gay employees, dependent on the jurisdiction the employee is in and the type of employment the employee holds. For employees employed by the federal or state government, in case of termination, there should be the option of suing the employer based on a violation of federal or state due process and equal protection of law. The procedural due process case should be able to assert that the termination of the bisexual, lesbian, or gay employee violated due process if the employee was not given an opportunity to be heard or a proper notice prior to the date of effectivity of the termination. A considerable due process case should address the equality of the law itself. The employee should be able to file a case against the employer in case the federal or state's termination of the employee for being bisexual, lesbian, or gay in unreasonable and would dispossess the employee of a property or personal right ensured by the constitution. An equal protection argument must be able to assert that the employer gave a different treatment to the bisexual, lesbian, or gay employee from other equally placed employees, for no grounds that are justifiable in law (4). E Employers have no trouble dealing with the worry of proving that the reason for a government action is rational. Until now, alienage, nationality, and race are the only classifications that were directly given the mantle of suspect classification that has produced the instinctive utilization of the pressing state interest test (5). Also, quasi-suspect qualifications were recognized by the Court (6), and merely one court has spared putting lesbians, bisexuals, and gays in this classification (7). That middle ground between rational basis and suspect class require a showing that the government action can be "significantly associated to a valid interest of the state" (8). For employers, it is not hard to defend the disparity in treatment between non-gay and gay employees under the more relaxed rational basis test. Even though courts have largely backed off from allowing a disparity in management based mainly on the employee's identification or standing as lesbian or gay (9), it gener ally does not take much to prove that being lesbian or gay is, on way or another, linked to performance at work. For example, the possibility of security risks from discovery of lesbian or gay employees' affinity orientation was a frequently used justification in treating these employees differently (10). This happens even when the employee does not really conceal their orientation or affinity so that "discovery" is not really a concern (11). On the other hand, some local and state jurisdictions have in fact implemented laws particularly to protect lesbian and gay public employees from discrimination at work, therefore freeing them from this legal struggle over due process or equal protection classification (12). Private Employees The situation is not considerably different for private employees. There is almost no protection from suffering job discrimination merely by being bisexual, lesbian, or gay, or being perceived as such, unless the employee resides in one of the few states that have anti-discrimination laws (13). Under the

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Individual report about Tesco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Individual report about Tesco - Essay Example In the past ten years the general UK grocery market has been increasing steadily. The total grocery market has increased from  £ 93 billion in 1998 to  £ 146 billion in 2008. But following uncertainties like high unemployment, financial crisis, tight household budgets etc. the UK grocery market is facing difficulties. Though the UK grocery market has not been able to completely get rid of these uncertainties, the growth rate assumed by it is still reasonable. In 2008, the grocery market of UK was worth  £ 146 billion which is an increase of 5% from 2007. The above two sectors have given tough competition to the traditional retail, due to which the market share of it has decline to less than 5 %. Online retail channel has a very small market share in the grocery market. There are other supermarket chains in UK namely M&S, Waitrose, Iceland, etc. This report will take a look at the strategic analysis of Tesco. The main direct effect which politicians will have in shopping and retailing is through their power over the land-use planning system. Though land-use planning is a local authority matter, but national government intervene to give guidance and directions on the assessment of development proposals and opportunities. It has become difficult to obtain planning permission for developments away from existing town centres. This has emerged as a general concern among all the retailers. Retailers are also affected by many public policy which tries to regulate competition, trading conditions and safeguard consumer interest. There have been many changes like easing of restrictions on trading hours. There has been tight regulation on food stores due to concerns over public health (Saloner, Shepard and Podolny, 2008, p. 211). This is done for ensuring that the retailers do their jobs properly and to make sure that there is a level playing field. Further political parties draft legislation

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Sustainable Water Use in Australia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sustainable Water Use in Australia - Assignment Example The South Western parts of Australia are the driest parts, which experience varying climatic conditions. In addition to the global climatic change, variability in rainfall in these regions poses a significant challenge towards achieving sustainability in the usage of water. The irrigation methods used by farmers consume a lot of water resulting in water deficits in towns. Due to the increased demand for Australia’s food exports, farmers tend to exploit the water resources to the fullest. Therefore, the fact that some parts of the continent have inadequate water resources makes it hard for the entire continent to achieve sustainability in water usage. In the attempts to ensure adequacy of water in all areas, some politicians in Australia have hindered the achievement of water use sustainability. The political climate, in this case, is created and facilitated by the actors (politicians) who want to protect their interests and stay in power (Filho 2012, p. 243). Â  Another signi ficant challenge to the sustainable use of water is population growth. Most people living in rural areas, as well as urban centres, use water for domestic and industrial purposes. Thus, the increase in population raises the demand for water from the scarce water resources such as rivers and lakes. Population growth is usually associated with environmental pollution and degradation. An increase in the number of people in a certain area without an equal increase in water provision results to over-exploitation of water resources.

Friday, August 23, 2019

Green Claims Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Green Claims - Essay Example The consumers consider them â€Å"as not made for them but for people from high class societies† (Klutz, 2009). According the research done by the United Nations Environmental Program in 2009, global market is not really ready for these products. This may be as a result of the consumers’ attitude towards these products. There are various false green claims being made by various companies around the world. These claims cannot be substantiate hence also misleading the consumers. On the other hand, products making green claims have turned to be a global trend where many companies in the world are adapting to this initiative. For green products to become main stream, they should firstly be bought at an affordable price as the rest of other products. The consumers also need to be aware of these products which can be achieved through advertisements, consumer education about green claims. A radical action should also be taken on companies and manufactures who give false green claims on products in the market. Rules and regulations should be set in relation to the green claim initiative. The U.S does not have a national body that oversees green certificates which makes it hard to enforce the Green Claim initiative programs (Sobha, 2008). As a result, U.S products are less competitive in the global market. In this case, it is difficult to examine the effectiveness of green technology in the states. A body independent body that focuses on green technology should be created to empower the Green Claim initiatives. Klutz M. (2009). Environmentally Conscious Materials Handling: New Jersey. John Wiley & Sons,

Global Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Global Operations Management - Essay Example As manufactured products are tangible, customer demand can be anticipated and products may often be produced, transported, and held win inventory until customers need them. This allows manufacturers flexibility in deciding when to produce products. Inventory can be used as a buffer between a stable production capacity and a highly variable customer demand. This means that when production levels are held constant, in periods of low demand inventory levels of finished goods will climb, and in periods of peak demand inventory levels of finished goods will fall. This is not to say that all manufacturers inventory finished goods, because some manufacturers choose to wait until products are demanded, then produce the products and ship them directly to customers. Services cannot ordinarily be produced in advance of customer demand and must be delivered to customers at the time of demand or later. This means that service operations must ordinarily plan production levels to approximately equa l customer demand. With manufactured products, customers do not ordinarily intrude into the manufacturing process. In fact, customers have little contact with the manufacturing system in most cases. In service operations, however, customers are routinely involved in the production process. In such service operations such as hospitals, restaurants, and banks, the customers enter the production process, are routed to the necessary service operations, and exit from the service system. In almost all services, operations personnel need training in people skills because the key element of quality control is the way in which operations personnel conduct their transactions with customers. Service characteristics include: Intangible outputs Outputs cannot by inventoried Extensive customer contact Short Lead times Labor intensive Services quality subjectively determined Manufactured product characteristics include: Tangible products Products can be inventoried Little customer contact Long lead times Capital intensive Product quality objectively determined 2. The six major components of operations strategy include: 1 Positioning the production system 2 Product/service plans 3 Outsourcing plans 4 Process and technology plans 5 Strategic allocation of resources 6 Facility plans Operations strategy is a long-range game plan for the production of a company's products/services and provides a road map for what the production or operations function must do if business strategies are to be achieved. Operations strategies include decisions on such issues as what new products or services must be developed and when they must be introduced into production, what new facilities are required and when they are needed, what new technologies and processes must be developed and when they are needed, and what production schemes will be followed to produce products/services. 3. Competitive priorities can be thought of as the things that customers want from products/services; thus, they can be used s tools to capture market share. But, all of these competitive priorities cannot ordinarily be used for a single product. Once the competitive priorities are set for a product or service, operations strategy must then determine the required production system needed to provide the priorities for the product or service. The

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Environmental Issue Essay Example for Free

Environmental Issue Essay Poor waste management is one of the major problems that have vast social-ecological and economic negative effects on a global scale. This has resulted from the fast growth of the urban centers which form the main source of wastes and its poor management by the respective authorities. Indeed, over 90% of the total major cities globally have problems related to waste management (Bureau of National Affairs, 2007). However, cities in the third world economies are affected more by the problem than those in developed countries. Urgent measures are therefore required to address the problems and therefore guarantee ecological sanctity and social integrity of the affected systems. Use of qualitative and quantitative data Addressing the problem of the wastes in the urban regions demands the collection of factual information to establish the correct methods and ways that can be used to address the problem. Taking into consideration that the problem has escalated over a long period of time, use of qualitative data would provide the relevant descriptive information for the waste and therefore aid in determining the best modes of addressing the problem (Toma, 2008). Wastes from the cities can be qualitatively categorized as solid and liquid wastes. The data can further be descriptive of the biodegradable wastes, plastic wastes, pharmaceutical wastes, and sharps. Quantitatively data on the other hand would be very essential in understanding various quantities of the qualitatively categorized wastes. Understanding the statistics provides the respective authorities with the relevant information that can assist them in determining the mode they would use in countering the same problem. Chemical treatment of liquid wastes is sustainable and more effective for smaller quantities of liquid wastes while use of aerobic lagoons is better for larger quantities. Besides, understanding the quantity of recyclable materials in solid wastes makes it easier to calculate the economic returns of the recycled products (Toma, 2008). Hypothesis: Scientific process forms the best system for providing the solution of waste management in the cities. With the problem of the waste being a major source of ecological and social problems globally, it demands a holistic approach that appreciates the complexity of the issue and therefore provide the best possible solution. It is worth noting that scientific method of addressing the problem is based on factual information that is qualitatively and quantitatively derived. Therefore, will be able to assess and address actual problem affecting the people and the ecological systems. All aspects of urban wastes are scientifically derived and science only would interpret them on the same tone to establish means of reducing their effects (Worldwatch Institute, 2009). Socially, addressing the problem using scientific methods aid in ensuring that As a result, it has the ability to link the cause and consequences of the negative effects of the wastes and provide a long term solution to them. Conclusion With the pollution problem threatening to get out of hand in the major cities, it has become important to address it in a sustainable mode. Scientific process will therefore be the best mode due to its thoroughness and intrinsic capacity to alleviate the problem. The demand for cleaner and healthier environment over the years has increased greatly globally. Therefore, taking into consideration that the urban centers are growing faster than any other period in history, scientific process seeks to address the waste problem holistically at all levels. Most of the international considerations like Basel convention of 1989 and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development of 1992 have called for scientific approaches to address the problem. The scientific process calls for effective consideration of the wastes from the point of production to disposal. Besides, it emphasizes on reduction of wastes at the source and application of the best systems that reduces its effects to the people and the natural systems (Worldwatch Institute, 2009). It demands for recycling of all the recyclable waste materials in the wastes a notion that goes a long way in improving the resources utility. Through use of the life cycle analysis/ end of pipe system, wastes are slowly turning into precious resources to be used in other areas like conditioning farms, irrigation, and making building bricks. Notably, the scientific process demands that cooperation be instituted at all levels of the waste management to harmonize the process and ensure long term sustainability. Finally, the scientific process sets effective standards that should be observed by waste producers and managements, and monitoring systems to ensure compliance. Reference list Bureau of National Affairs, (2007). International environment reporter: current report. Washington, D. C. : Bureau of National Affairs. Toma, V. (2008). Waste Management Research Trends. Basel: Nova Publishers. Worldwatch Institute, (2009). State of the World 2009: Into a Warming World. London: W W Norton Co Inc.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

A Freedom Fighter, or Terrorist?

A Freedom Fighter, or Terrorist? The recent surge in Terrorism as a phenomenon has been unparallel in modern history. It now features as one of the top priorities in government agendas for most of the countries around the world. It is debatable whether it has been hyped up to some extent but unarguably has been one of the most unfortunate trends that have made considerable impact on the way of life for all. The security agencies, religious heads, community leaders, experts and such, are all facing a mammoth task of tackling the menace. It is costing governments billions of pounds in loss of lives, properties, trade and importantly confidence. Due to sensitive nature of the issue, involvement of varied drivers, the lethal cocktail of domestic and international politics, the lack of political will to identify root causes, bungled intelligence information and importantly its geographical spread covering all continents are some of the contributing factors that has left the modern world exasperated. The importance of differentiating and defining the legitimate and unlawful has become academic and a matter of statute. This unfortunately has not helped the bigger cause of tackling the issue in a fair manner thus leaving lives of common people at increasing risk. The debate about values of civil society and rights of the oppressed has blurred and can be argued, to such an extent that no common consensus exists in relation to what is acceptable and what is not, leaving ordinary people confused and causing rift between different communities. This however does not diminish the importance of reaching an amicable definition, the need for it is more than ever before, especially to uphold the values of liberty, fairness and democracy in a volatile society. The discussion will elude to some relevant issues in the context of background, causes, and legislation and will endeavour to arrive at a satisfactory definition that hopefully would distinguish the freedom fighter from the terrorist. This discussion would take into account both national and international scenarios on the basis that the phenomenon is not restricted to UK alone and indeed the definitional problems it poses worldwide, as incidentally does the threat of violence from it. Background The Freedom Fighter: To allow this discussion to evolve and formulate, it is imperative to define and differentiate between a freedom fighter and a terrorist. The term freedom fighter can be defined as being for those engaged in a struggle to achieve political freedom for themselves or obtain freedom for others  [1]  . The common conception of a freedom fighter is that it is someone who opposes a cruel or unfair government by fighting against it, using weapons usually as a part of an organised group  [2]  or even someone who uses violent action, or threats of violent action, for political purposes  [3]  . These general definitions provided from varied academics, saturate an area which is already filled with many views and opinions on the definition of such word and how it should be classified. The Terrorist The term terrorist has also been attempted to be defined as being the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion  [4]  . It has also been classed as someone who use violence in order to achieve political aims  [5]  or a person who uses violent methods to try to remove a government from power  [6]  . A terrorist in a definitional sense connotates acts of violence being carried out, in order to fulfil aims. The resistance movement can be clearly termed as activities involving conflict of some nature. The conflict mainly against the authorities as the above definitions seems to presume. The purpose of achieving political freedom or aims indicates opposing some political establishment. It also however signifies restriction of liberty and free will and either a violent or non-violent approach to break these restrictions to make inroads for the organisations willing to do something about it. People who are described as freedom fighters are often also called in popular culture as assassins, rebels, insurgents, or even terrorists. This leads to the dictum one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter  [7]  , which poses the difficulty that governments are faced with when trying to define it. A freedom fighter could be meant to consist of someone who will fight for the cause of freedom but as we thoroughly discuss, traditional use of such terminology in popular media is confined to those who are engaged in violent behaviour and those who fight for freedom peacefully are disregarded for the reason that violence by other groups whom claim to be freedom fighter, cast a shadow over them. This also poses the validity of using term armed rebellion as it is linked to violence outside the sphere of traditional terrorism. Nelson Mandela and Yasar Araafat were initially branded terrorists only to be recognised as diplomats and freedom fighters, even though the factions they were linked to were directly responsible for the loss of numerous lives and creating social disorder. In crude comparison even Osama bin Laden was encouraged and supported by US to fight Russia to protect their strategic interest in the area  [8]  . It is ironic that he is now the most wanted man on the earth. The perceived transformation of terrorist to freedom fighter and vice versa in context of their roles blurs the definition even further. The term terrorist and freedom fighter has become distorted with the changing times. It is interesting to note that Seymour above has no qualms in making those blurred boundaries more prominent. His emphasis on differing universal values attached to the activities instead of the blanket definition is worth noting and he suggests that they are the same entity and the difference between them both is only a matter of a opinion and a subjective view. International Perspective: The history of resistance movement goes back to from 1 AD to 6 AD according to various historians, even though no concrete evidence exists as to when the usage of the word terrorism came into existence  [9]  . Various studies have found over 100 definitions of terrorism  [10]  and this coupled with the fact that the term is politically and emotionally charged greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition  [11]  . Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations (UN) strived to classify terrorism, but the implementation of such definition concluded to fail as member states found it difficult to verify it, in regards to the use of violence for national liberation and self determination  [12]  . This was mainly due to Palestine movement which was not only whole heartedly supported by the Middle-East but countries in South Asia, Russia, China and Africa also provided tactical support to the cause as and when it was required. The solidarity groups ac ross the world staged peaceful demonstration on regular basis, mainly to keep the momentum going. The active freedom fighters or comrades of the movement also got involved in violent activities inside and outside of the mainland Palestine. This always posed problems for the countries that hosted such groups and they refrained from making any supporting statements when the activities resulted in loss of lives and destruction of properties. This showed how freedom fighters can immediately become terrorists or undesirables through the actions they undertake. The United Nations General Assembly uses the commonly agreed political definition of terrorism when condemning such acts  [13]  . The declaration reads: Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them  [14]  . The absence of term violence in the above declaration and its reliance on general criminality of the acts makes it less influential and renders it incapable to deal with modern day trend, which is more complex and extraordinary. It is safe to assume that the criminal laws of any country, irrespective of their political structure must be quite effective in dealing with criminal acts and the declaration ignores variety of internal and external threats the countries may face, such as risk to infrastructure, utilities, national treasurers, technology and others. Due to severity and the new reality that has dawned following 9/11 attacks, then Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, described the terrorist attack on USA as an attack on humanity as a whole, without definition, all terrorism to be condemned whatever the political origins  [15]  . This was a progressive step forward and highlighted the need for rigorous definition and a zero tolerance approach. There was also an acknowledgement and underlying message of not getting too wrapped up with the legal clarity about the definition and instead to tackle the issue at hand in a non-negotiable but effective manner. It is also worth noting the usage of term whatever the political origins, as a conflict of any political nature was considered as a trigger point that may result in terrorism and a battle for self determination. It must be observed that since the rise of terrorism in the west, the Patriot Act 2001 was enacted in the United States of America (USA), which attempted to define terrorism as being premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience  [16]  . This definition has no consideration of the social factors for the cause of terrorism and attempts to infer that political pressure is the only aim . The Act was described as a pendulum reaction to 9/11 event by Lord Carlile  [17]  . The act was scrutinised by both major parties in the USA as it encroached upon and showed scant regard for liberties of the individual  [18]  . The UN has made several resolutions to allow uniform adoption of counter terrorism measures. The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1373  [19]  (2001) was seen as a response to 9/11 and since as become a pillar of the global legal framework for the prevention and suppression of terrorism.  [20]  The introduction of such resolution meant that countries such as Japan took steps in order to freeze the assets of many individuals  [21]  . However it must be noted that although the counter terrorism measure in this resolution were adopted, the resolution failed to define terrorism and persisted to include Al-Qaida and Taliban within the framework of defining terrorism. Further attempts have been made from the UN to understand the growing threat of terrorists. UN Security Council Resolution 1566 defined terrorism as being:- criminal acts, including against civilians, committed with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or taking of hostages, with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public or in a group of persons or particular persons, intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.  [22]   This definition takes into consideration of the wide scope of damages that terrorism could cause such as in taking the lives of civilians and does not restrict it to just political aims or in times of war. The further need for a strict definition was attempted also by Tamar Meisels whom advocates a consistent and strict definition of terrorism, which she defines as the intentional random murder of defenceless non-combatants, with the intent of instilling fear of mortal danger amidst a civilian population as a strategy designed to advance political ends  [23]  . This definition seems in include an aim again and shows that violence and instilling fear are the key components of the behaviour of a terrorist. The history of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and African National Congress (ANC) is riddled with violence, kidnapping, civil disorder, threats, incitement in order to achieve the aims of these organisations, which in effect was self-determination, freedom, justice, equality, fairness and so on, similar aims of the freedom fighter. The rights of the Palestinian people to self determination has been recognised by the many organisations around the world including the security council and the international court of justice and most importantly even by Israel as well. About 100 nations recognize Palestine as a state  [24]  . In 1990, the successful negotiations between the government and ANC resulted in ending apartheid, culminating in multi-racial democratic elections in 1994, which were won by the African National Congress under Nelson Mandela  [25]  . In both the above cases the uprising was internally and externally supported by individuals, organisations and governm ents across the world. The campaign highlighted the injustices, segregation, and deprivation of basic human rights of indigenous people that became magnet for people to protest against it. It also gave platform for other people and groups internally and sometimes externally to participate in the struggle in a non-violent way. The justification of methods within an organisation is met with the internal wrestling between the political arm and the branch that deals with rebellion by way of force. This has meant that disputes within groups stagnate further development for their cause. There has been an increasing interest at the international level in supplementing traditional human rights principles with rights for minorities within in each group. For example, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe adopted a declaration on the Rights of National Minorities and established a High Commissioner on National Minorities in 1993  [26]  , this being significant as within the international framework, the rights of minorities are being protected in reaction to terrorism diluting their rights in certain states. Similarities and Differences The above definitions and backgrounds provide useful information on making an informed decision on the similarities and differences between the two. The overlapping of some triggers and factors are inevitable and readers are urged to be cautious when taking a stand for and against the issue. Most of the formal definitions of terrorism and freedom fighter have some common characteristics mainly a fundamental motive to make political or societal changes through use of violence or illegal force. The terms have stark differences as well. The use of violence perpetrated by terrorist is random and does not take into account the destruction of lives and properties of innocent people. The freedom fighter on the other hand, targets governmental and military installations with a view to bring them to the negotiating table. This is in contrast to terrorists who aims to create fear and terror and instead issues orders and demands to surrender and may lack diplomatic channels, resulting in the approach taken by militants, both can command support. The terrorists support comes from clandestine organisations and rouge states. The freedom fighter cause is celebrated and may get support from all sections of the society including democratic institutions. UK Context There is no single definition of terrorism that commands full international approval. It remains the subject of continuing debate in international bodies  [27]  . Lord Carlile arrived at this conclusion after carefully researching the current terrorism laws that exists in 60 countries. The majority of countries selected for the study had either too broad or too narrow scope of definition and importantly were designed to reflect specific political situation and threat of the individual country. Only few European countries had some similar features to UK legislation and context. The Terrorism Act 2000 was aimed to establish a sound definition of terrorism in the law with a view to introduce entirely new set of police and investigatory powers to deal with incidents that would be deemed beyond the ordinary violent offences. It also superseded and repealed some of the previous acts and provisions. Since 2000, the UK has enacted five main pieces of legislation to deal with terrorism  [28]  . Following the events of 9/11, legislation and security measures from the Government were under threat of not going far enough to deal with the issues raised by violence, such as terrorism. Following the events of 9/11, legislation and security measures from the Government were under threat of not going far enough to deal with the issues raised by violence, such as terrorism. In response to this the government initiated CONTEST (I and II) as the main authority for counterterrorism strategy for the UK. It was designed to take account of the evolution of the threat and of our understanding of the factors which are driving it  [29]  . The latest conception of CONTEST attempts to deal with issue that foreign policy concerns breed violent extremism  [30]  . It endeavoured to define how foreign policy in the UK could act as a catalyst for people to turn to extremism. Real or perceived grievances, some international and some local, including in particular: a perception that UK foreign policy in the Muslim world (notably military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan) is hostile to Islam; the experience of wider conflict in the Muslim world and conflict involving Muslims (often attributed either to western intervention or to western indifference); and a range of domestic issues, including racism, inequalities and the experience of criminality and migration.  [31]   This brings the paradoxical argument that, grievances such as the foreign policy of a country could lead to the radicalisation of those aggrieved, who in turn could result in fighting for the cause, and ultimately for the minority the perceived freedom fighter could become an instrument of terrorist activities. It must be mentioned that he report conducted by Lord Carlile  [32]  where he defined terrorism and reviewed all legislation in relation to this topic, has now become a fundamental part of terrorism legislation Terrorism Act 2000 The introduction of the Terrorism Act 2000 signified a huge step in the right direction in the attempts to define such violent acts. The act defined it as being an action which is designed to influence the government through a threat or to intimidate the public and threats made for the purpose for progress of a political, religious or ideological cause can be seen as terrorism, for the purposes of the act. These attempts show that the UK government had stretched the boundaries and attempted to define it. The act also cleared up discrepancies in regards to what type of damage or threats are caused. Section 2 of the Act also defines what type of actions can be inferred to be that of terrorists and includes actions which involve serious violence or serious damage to property. An action which endangers a persons life or a deed which creates serious risk to the public can be also be deemed as actions of terrorism. The act also attempted to cover the rise of technological warfare by includ ing attempts to disrupt electronic systems can also fall under the heading of terrorist activities. It is imperative to mention that the act also considered terrorist activities committed outside of the UK would still be classified as terrorist actions for the purpose of the act. This is important as the scope for actions is wide thus allowing such actions to be classed as terrorist activities. However, this act even with the attempts and inroads it has tried to make in regards to defining terrorism, has been met with criticisms chiefly from Lord Carliles paper. He suggested that the act should include the use or threat is made for the purpose of advancing a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar case  [33]  . If the section 1 (1) (c) was to be amended in the 2000 act, it would provide a positive message by enhancing the legal clarity of the act. The Terrorism Act 2006 also extends the range of offences which can be classed as terrorism and included the term glorifies  [34]  , which can be meant as a novel word for a criminal offence. The amendments made by the 2006 Act, such as, glorification and mere preaching cannot be seen as terrorist actions, Lord Carlile was content with the protection that was in place in regards to the misusing of the clause preaching and glorification  [35]  . Like the Patriot Act in the Unit ed States, the current UK law has been scrutinised due to the slow dissolution of key human rights such as right to privacy which allows the police excessive powers, which could result in misuse of them. The Terrorism Act has been wrongly exploited by authorities such as the Police force and Customs as they have often cited the Terrorism Act when combating terrorism when in fact in various cases these events are not connected to those of terrorism. Another contentious issue arising from the act is section 44. This section involves the authorisations available to senior police officers if they believe that it is expedient for the prevention of acts of terrorism, they can confer powers to other police officers to search people and there is no requirement that the officers to do so on reasonable grounds. Stop and searches have been taken advantage of as those with no connection in terrorism can be targeted, such as protesters  [36]  , however the police must have reasonable suspicion that the person pursued is operating as a terrorist, according to the Home Office  [37]  . In many states across the world which breed terrorist organisations, the experience that they have such as poverty and hardship lead to the radicalisation of the masses. Recent research suggests that poverty and illiteracy as well as the conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq are key factors leading to religious extremism  [38]  . This has led to the school of thought that freedom fighters and terrorist have not always derived out of the same background and it is the ideology that they pursue which is different from one another. Summary The discussion on the said topic was approached with a view to define Terrorist and Freedom Fighter, and includes researching various understanding of these terms and the views as expressed by national and international experts, including relevant legislations. The unique characteristics or commonality that compares and distinguishes both terms are vital in critically considering its legitimacy and legal status. The rapidly diminishing boundaries of terrorist and freedom fighter has not only left ordinary people confused but authorities struggling to provide legal clarity as well. The discussion also ask the questions to ponder on the necessity to define these terms to the hilt at the expense of ignoring such a sensitive issue and in turn giving secondary preference to tackling the issue. The Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation that followed like the Terrorism Act 2006 which made amendments to the 2000 act such as creating new offences in reference to the encouragement of terrorism which deals with the root cause of it  [39]  , provides an insight into the UKs context and how counter-strategy with all its teething problems and weaknesses remains at the heart of providing protection and stability to UK. Conclusion The exclusion of religious causes from the definition of terrorism is controversial and there is no discourse as it stands that political cause may be excluded from the definition, this also applies to an ideological cause. Can there be a religious cause which is neither political nor ideological? If so, should it be under the terrorism umbrella?  [40]   The above questions bring the debate about root cause to the fore. The counter-terrorism strategy identifies the importance of the role specific community should be playing. The Prevent strand aims to tackle the issue through community involvement. It is hoped that by identifying the underlying issues such as foreign policy, discrimination, deprivation etc the authorities would be in better position to address the issue through various community based and led initiatives. This however must not underestimate the importance of containing and eliminating the menace of terrorism through policing and judiciary means mainly via legislation. The international community it seems are still divided over defining the term freedom fighter. The thin line that separates it from terrorist is too risky to be crossed. It also depends on individual countrys foreign policy, e.g. The Middle East whole heartedly supports Palestine movement and some countries also give tactical support in form of funding, promotion etc. The argument with some of the western countries is that the funds can be easily channelled to terrorist causes and openly promoting the cause can have adverse effect on their relationship with Israel, not to forget the wrong message it would send to those elements who could resort to violence and derail the campaign. The current definition of terrorism as it stands now in UK has been rigorously designed and implemented through proper policy making mechanism. The inherent weaknesses and the lessons learnt of abuse of powers since 2000 have either been amended or eliminated. The process of treating each case on merit and trying to identify the root cause can only exasperate the situation. The sensible approach route however would be to look at the end result. Did the activities result in illegal and random violence? Did it cause loss of lives of innocent people and destruction of properties? Have the perpetrators got legitimate concerns that can be resolved through negotiations? Is the issue of persecution, human rights visible and quantifiable? The concept of Freedom Fighting is alien to current UK scenario. The robust laws and legislations in place, the mechanism of transparency and implementation of these laws, the equality and human rights, democratically elected local and central government, rights of citizen, checks and balances of political and judiciary system etc are antithesis to the path of violent struggle for freedom. It is also equally true that any widely accepted and legitimate freedom struggle outside UK such as Burma, Palestine etc must not be underrated. The UK citizens should have right to protest within the boundaries of UK law, including marching, publicity, awareness campaign, funding raising etc. Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy: Examining Volkswagen Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy: Examining Volkswagen A business strategy is an organizational plan with long and short tem purposes of achieving set business goals and objectives. Its a management plan aimed at strengthening the performance of a company through provision of quality products and services and maintaining market share and successfully containing competition (Aaker, 2001). A business strategy can be developed and implemented at three levels of an organization structure; the corporate level, the business level and the departmental level. Developing business strategies at corporate level involves maintaining the business positive performance while ensuring long term success of all business units through improving compatibility among the units. Companies develop corporate strategies to manage their operations, departments, products, services and staff to make the company competitive and ensure that every component contributes to the success and achieving organizational goals. The development and implementation of a business strategy or model involves the use of organizational design which is the process of deciding how a company must form, utilize and combine organizational structure as well as control systems and organizational culture to pursue a business goal (Hill and Gareth 2008). This essay will focus on developing and implementing business strategies at corporate level based on the Volkswagen Group which is a motor manufacturing company. Factors to Consider when Developing a Successful Corporate Strategy Well developed business strategies must address the strategy choice, organization structure, primary people concerns and organizational culture dimensions. Volkswagen Group has identified differentiation as it major market strategy. This strategy involves positioning the group on top of motor manufacturing by the year 2018 with increased service delivery and customer satisfaction. Developing this strategy has been practiced through provision of quality products, new designs and always improving and expanded services that go beyond the normal automobile manufacturing standards. Volkswagen Group therefore focuses on a quality strategy which is a subset of a whole differentiation strategy so that it can outstand among the many competitors in the industry. However, the current increase of many players in motor industry has gone into Volkswagen group strategy plan and implementation because of the greater efforts needed to maintain revenue, market share, reduce costs and most importantly keep customers who seem attract to other cheap car models from other manufacturers. Volkswagen Group management assigns employees to particular value creation tasks and roles that are linked together to create a framework that will increase quality provision, effective service delivery, innovation and responsiveness to customers to increase competitive advantage. This motor manufacturing group has succeeded in integrating the efforts of all employees across all company structure, functions and business sections so that specific set of strategies are achieved. The Volkswagen organizational structure is very flexible with all duties clearly spelled out together with the staff who should undertake them. The structure of the Volkswagen Group organizational structure has been one of the contributing factors to effective implementation of previous strategies because every employee knows his/her job description and expectations. The development of any corporate business strategy must take into account the primary concerns of all the people involved by ensuring production of good quality products and quality services to guarantee customer satisfaction. To achieve this, Volkswagen Group has installed programs to train all its human resources prior and after a strategy is devised and implemented. This assures the company that the staff is capable of turning the business strategies into business values. The choice of its staff is very complete because only staff with great quality combinations for a motor manufacturing industry is considered. Organizational culture is a collection of values, norms, beliefs and attitudes that are common among people and groups in an organization. Volkswagen group has organizational standards that control how the employees interact with each other, with the customers and stakeholders outside the company. Just like many other international companies, the top management of Volkswagen group has the upper hand in ensuring that employees work towards achieving the company strategies and goals because they can influence the kind of beliefs to be exercised in the company. Developing a corporate strategy is therefore a very complex process that is primarily concerned with selection of business area where the organization should operate and compete as well as developing and coordinating business profile through stipulation of objectives, aims and goals (Checco 2005). In developing business strategies organizations must address key strategy components that usually determine the long term performance of such strategies. These components include; strategy reach, competitive contact, managing resources and business relationship and management practices. The corporate strategy reach involves defining corporate mission, vision, objectives and goals. The strengths and opportunities as well as weaknesses and threats are considered in this component. The definition of these management components enables execution of the strategy while ensuring business units are integrated into each other for easy management. The competitive contact is more concerned with speculating the future competition environment and developing products and services that will be able to compete favorable with those of the competitors. Opportunities and threats are more addressed at this point. Coordinating the use of company resources, both material and intellectual across the business units forms the other component of managing corporate activities and relationships. Developing a business strategy dictates that all business units in harmony and compatible with each other such that communication and business instructions can flow from unit to unit (Porter 1998). The effective use and management of corporate resources should be stressed in the strategy since the success of a corporate strategy is dependent on how the resources are utilized. The choice between centralization and decentralization of a corporation needs more considerations such as the external factors that may face business activities, the level of compe tition as well the available resources and the benefits expected to be accrued from such resources. However, every organization should look carefully at its intended corporate strategy as compared to that of its competitors to see if it can better leverage its internal strengths and potential for operational efficiencies because development and implementation of a poor strategy may be the ultimate downfall as many competitors are finding ways to incentivize customer value through lower prices, additional options or more product for the same price to maintain customer base. This could be a battle that Volkswagen group could fail at if it does not keep pace or find a way to show consumers its value. Conclusively, strategic choice, organizational design, culture and principal people concerns shape employee beliefs, behaviors, values and norms and this determines how they will implement the business models and strategies.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Easyjet S Response To Social Responsibility Needs

Easyjet S Response To Social Responsibility Needs The intended purpose of Our research papers is that they are used as models to assist in the preparation of Your own research papers. We neither endorse nor tolerate any form of plagiarism, whole or partial, and will not engage in any activity that facilitates cheating. Papers For You or its affiliates will NEVER sell a model paper to ANY student giving us ANY reason to believe that (s)he will submit our work, either in whole or part, for academic credit at any institution under their own name!!! PLAGIARISM IS A CRIME!!!! By purchasing research papers from Us you undertake not to pass off or submit (for any purpose whatsoever) all or any constituent part of the Paper commissioned by You, from Papers For You, as your own work or that of a third-party. 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Please have a look at the Suggested use of our papers If you quote from our paper you must reference the paper in the References or Bibliography section of your assignment, coursework or dissertation (according to the Harvard System of Referencing): Papers For You (year of the paper) Number of the paper and title of the paper, Available from http://www.papers4you.com [Accessed date] Papers 4 You.Com Introduction Since corporations have to draw on the community in which they operate for resources, they also have obligations to their multiple stakeholders, namely, those who get affected by corporate policies and practices who may affect the corporation in turn. This means that businesses dont just have financial accountability but also social and environmental responsibility (Aga, 2004; pg 13). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a doctrine which means that a business, apart from making profits, has a responsibility towards the society and its people. Holme (2006) defines social responsibility as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large. It is about achieving commercial success in ways that honor ethical values and respect people, communities and the natural environment (Aga, 2004; pg 13). The fundamental ide a of CSR is that business corporations have an obligation to work towards meeting the needs of a wider array of stakeholders (Clarkson, 1995; Waddock et al., 2002). More generally, CSR is a set of management practices that ensures the company maximizes the positive impacts of its operations on society or operating in a manner that meets and even exceeds the legal, ethical, commercial and public expectations that society has of business (BSR, 2001, cited in Jamali Mirshak, 2006 ; pg 251). Traditionally, it has been the governments which have assumed the responsibility of improving peoples living conditions but societal needs, now, have exceeded the capabilities of the governments to fulfill them. (Jamali Mirshak, 2006; pg 243) This has turned the spotlight to businesses to play a more responsible and societal role. CSR has really taken off in the last few years, so much so, that businesses seek to differentiate themselves through their CSR engagement. Good examples of that would be Tescos green marketing campaign, Nestle and Krafts fair trade coffee campaign, Experians (Credit Reference Agency) announcement of switching over to renewable energy and making its UK sites run on electricity from green sources. With the climate change issue taking front stage at global conferences, CSR has become a key strategic issue for the aviation industry. Low cost airliners in particular have faced the flak for polluting the environment; they are continuously being blamed by environmentalists for violating the emission norms and are held responsible for bringing about a climate change. Tony Pilcher (2007; pg 25), head of global business travel management at HSBC, pointed out that those who believe climate change is just a passing fad must change their attitude quickly. As a result of all this, economy carriers like easyJet are being driven to change their business process to contribute to tackling the issue of climate change. The study analyzes the proactive and reactive measures easyJet is taking or has taken to make air travel more efficient and environment friendly. Discussion and Analysis Views on socially responsible practices within the aviation sector range from one extreme to the other. Skeptics and other aviation experts believe that Social Responsibility tends to dilute business focus on growth and profitability. Proponents of CSR however believe that CSR gives the aviation businesses an opportunity to look beyond economic returns and take the wider social concerns into consideration. (Jackson and Nelson, 2004; Rudolph, 2005). At the core of the Social Responsibility debate is the idea that aviation industry should undergo a transition from a state of mere compliance to a mode of engagement, from harm minimization to value creation (Luetkenhorst, 2004; Novak, 1996). Major changes have taken place in the European airline industry during the last decade. Although the top players are still full-service carriers (FSC), LCCs like easyJet have achieved strong market positions in the last few years. easyJet, with 29mn passengers in 2005, is in the same league as FSCs like Lufthansa, Air France etc. easyJet was founded by entrepreneur Stelio Haji-Ioannou in 1995 and now operates in 218 routes in Europe, across 65 airports and 62 cities. (easy Jet Company Reports, 2006). Because of the shift in environmental spotlight to the low cost carriers and the aviation sector in general, airliners are being driven to take steps to manage and control the adverse affects on climate change. There has been a renewed focus on social responsibility (especially towards the environment). easyJet is in the process of tackling the issue in its own way. While some changes have been explicitly embarked upon by easyJet, other are embedded in its business model. easyJets business model make sure that some of the environmental benefits are inherently embedded in it. Some of the social and environmental benefits of its business model are discussed below Traditional carriers normally work on a hub and spoke system where passengers have to take two or more flights to get to their destination. EasyJet provides direct short-haul point-to-point services without any connecting services between two locations. This helps cutting down on emissions automatically. Since 2000, easyJets CO2 emissions per passenger per kilometre has reduced by 18%. (easyJet Corporate and Social Responsibility Report, 2007) Another aspect of easyJets business model is to use smaller and less congested airports to avoid high congestion charges and landing fees. Larger airports tend to require aircraft to fly longer holding patterns and longer taxi times to and from the runway leading to higher fuel emissions (easyJet Plc, Annual Report and Accounts, 2006). EasyJet, therefore, has comparably lower emissions as compared to full scale carriers. Waste minimization Easy Jets distribution is purely internet based. The virtue of being a ticket less airline helps minimize waste in the form of paper documents. On board waste is reduced by not offering free food service. Emission per passenger EasyJet claims to have more spacious and bigger aircrafts than other low cost carriers. Eg. The typical seating configuration of an Airbus A319 is 124 seats (source: Airbus). easyJets no-frills service allows them to reduce the space and weight inside the plane devoted to galleys, lavatories and storage. Their Airbus A319s fly with 156 seats which mean they typically carry more passengers per flight thereby reducing emissions per passenger. Each of easyJets A319s carries 26% more seats than the norm and carries up to 57% more passengers per flight than the European norm meaning that the typical European airline operating an Airbus A319 would burn 27% more fuel per passenger. (easyJet Plc, Annual Report and Accounts, 2006). Efficient on the ground easyJets business model is centered on high aircraft utilization which tends to minimize the turnaround time. It makes minimal use of ground equipment, has shorter dwelling time on the ramp and keeps surface journey to a minimum. All this seems to minimize waste and have minimal adverse affect on the environment. Apart from the social benefits, easyJet draws from its business model; it is also taking major steps in becoming a more socially responsible organization. As an employer, it is committed to play a leading role in the future environmental performance of the aviation industry. The steps that it has taken so far include: Changing its business model in wake of rising environmental concerns. Up till now, its business model centered on cost reduction. easyJet is now planning to embark on an advertising strategy focusing on social responsibility. With its latest campaign, it will try to differentiate itself against other carriers through its environment friendly activities. It is repositioning itself to give it a new image and has planned a major shift in its advertising strategy away from price-driven offers to promoting its green credentials through its new campaign highlighting its efficiency in reducing carbon emissions. Reforming of the air traffic system to reduce congestion. Technological up gradation of aircrafts. easyJet is working to reduce emission per aircraft through new generation aircrafts. It is actively engaging with airframe and engine manufacturers on the application of new technologies for the next generation of short-haul aircraft. Its Chief Executive Andy Harrison points out that in 2006, easyJet removed 22 older aircraft at a cost of over  £275 million as part of their drive for efficiency and in the coming four years they plan to buy 100 brand-new Airbus A319s to lead the Green growth in the aviation sector. (easyJet Corporate and Social Responsibility Report 2007) Giving customers the most comprehensive range of environmental information available for travel to a particular destination, and helping them to offset the carbon emissions of their flight. (easyJet corporate and social responsibility Report, 2007) Paying renewed attention to cleanliness of aircrafts for waste minimization and adding more efficiency to its recycling and waste disposal system Leading the way in shaping a greener future for aviation with its campaign for inclusion of aviation in the European Unions Emissions Trading Scheme and EUs Single European Skies programme. It is forecasted that if the EUs Single European Skies programme gets implemented, it could lead to a 12% reduction in flying distances by reducing the patchwork of European traffic control centres. (easyJet Corporate and Social Responsibility Report 2007) Trying to make its fleet compliant to latest international noise and emission standards to tackle the issue of pollution and reduce CO2 emissions. For achieving this environmental efficiency, easyJet has established an environmental code to monitor progress towards its targets. It has a strategy of being environmental friendly both in the air and on the ground. It strives to do this with the help of technological up gradation as new technology aircrafts are more fuel efficient. Its policy is to grow its fleet using the latest technological aircraft, whilst retiring older aircraft usually within seven to ten years of delivery (easyJet Plc, Annual Report and Accounts, 2006). easyJets socially responsible activities also extend to its employees. It is committed to equality and diversity and is an equal opportunities employer. It also complies with age discrimination laws. Attitude and Motives There has been a debate over easyJets response to social responsibility. Friedman (1983) pointed out, Business of business is business, by which he meant that the only motive of a business is wealth creation. With easyJets social responsibility activities, it looks as if; it has taken up CSR activities because of wealth creation rather than social, ethical and environmental concerns. Theorists like Fisher and Lovell (2003) have debated whether organizations CSR activities reflect their genuine concern for the society or whether they embark on CSR activities for business growth and profitability. CSR is slowly becoming a niche segment in itself, which provides organizations with new business opportunities and new segment of customers to cater to. Researchers identify two types of CSR behavior. One, which adopt CSR practices purely because of business reasons and where ethics and the concern for stakeholders other than the promoters do not matter. The other kind is more responsible whe re profit maximization is subject to ethical restraints, appropriate discharge of the companys social responsibility, and a balanced concern for the needs of all the stakeholders, not just the promoters. It is very difficult to classify easyJets social responsibility activities. Conclusions While CSR movements have definitely picked up over the last few years, the motives behind easyJets CSR activities remains open to debate, as most companies like easyjet seem to embark on CSR activities more for business and profitability reasons rather than ethical and social reasons. As highlighted in the text, easyJet is using mainstream marketing to propagate their CSR practices to help redefine their brand image from a low cost carrier to a low-cost ethical carrier. This definitely has an impact on the consumers because the greatly increased profile of CSR activities in general suggests that the concept has a potential to attract environment friendly consumers who can also become a potential advocate for the brand. Organizations like easyJet might be highlighting their CSR operations to market their products but as Fisher Lovell (2003) point out, most organizations social responsibility efforts are little more than Public Relations campaigns designed to promote corporate brands by creating the appearance of being good corporate citizens. But, under the present environmental concerns, Easy Jet, as an organization, is doing what it is supposed to do; making money for the owners by obeying relevant environmental and social rules. While easyJet efforts in responding to environmental change efforts cannot be belittled, the motive behind the efforts still remains unclear. Whether easyJet sees social responsibility as a narrow conception entailing economic and legal responsibilities or a broader concept entailing a wider range of economic, legal, ethical, moral, and philanthropic responsibilities is unclear. References Aga, A (2004) Management Paradigms Beyond Profit Maximization, vol 29, no 3, p 13 Choueke,M (2006),EasyJet abandons price-led campaigns for green focus, Marketing Week (01419285), Vol. 29 Issue 45, p3-3, Clarkson, M (1995), A Stakeholder Framework For Analyzing and Evaluating Corporate Social Responsibility , The Academy of Management Review 20(1), 92- 118. easyJet: Annual Report and Accounts (2006) Corporate and Social responsibility Report http://www.easyjet.com/common/img/easyJet_CRS.pdf, Date accessed 01/06/2007 easyJet Corporate and Social Responsibility Report (2007) easyJet promises action on environmental-efficiency http://www.easier.com/view/Travel/Flights/easyJet/article-99999.html Date accessed 02/06/2007 Fisher, C. and Lovell, A. (2003) Business Ethics and Values,London, FT/Prentice Hall; Holme (2006) CSR- Introduction http://www.tutor2u.net/business/strategy/corporate-social-responsibility-introduction.html Date accessed 09/05/2007 Jackson, I. and J. Nelson (2004), Values-Driven Performance: Seven Strategies For Delivering Profits With Principles, Ivey Business Journal 69(2), 1-8. Jamali, D Mirshak, R (2005) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Theory and Practice in a Developing Country Context Journal of Business Ethics (2007) 72:243-262 Luetkenhorst, W, (2004), Corporate Social Responsibility and the Development Agenda_, Inter economics 39(3), 157-168. Pitcher, T (2007) ITM Conference, Climate Concerns us all, Travel Trade Gazette UK Ireland, Issue 2760, p25-25 Rudolph, P. Letters To The Editor (2005), An Adam Smith Look At Green Regulations, The Wall Street Journal June 6.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Inevitability of Change in Stephen Cranes The Bride Comes to Yellow Sk

Inevitability of Change in Stephen Crane's The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky Humans are creatures of habit. In his work "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky," Stephen Crane considers this apparent truism as well as its sometimes unfortunate consequences. In the story, Scratchy Wilson and Jack Potter face a dramatically changing society. Although their actions and emotions concerning the changes in their town differ, Scratchy and Potter are both very fearful of the inescapable easternizing influences. Through Scratchy and Potter's embracing of the Old West, their responses to the East, and their optimism, Stephen Crane illustrates that whether attachment or resistance exists, change is inevitable. To emphasize the difficulty and inevitability of change, Crane displays the characters' attachments to the Old West. Scratchy, the sole survivor of an old gang, plays out his beloved past by rampaging Yellow Sky with his long revolvers and drunken curses. His "creeping movement of [a] midnight cat," chants of "Apache scalp-music," and "terrible invitations" all portray Scratchy's devotion to the Old West. Scratchy's loyalty to his past clearly emphasizes his resistance to change and foreshadows that change will defeat him no matter how long or how hard he plays the game. Potter also plays along by acting as the town marshal who must save Yellow Sky and heroically put an end to the town "terror." Nevertheless, though Potter is attached to the Old West, he embraces the new West with his marriage. Unlike Scratchy, Potter accepts that Yellow Sky is changing and decides to change with it. Crane uses this acceptance to show that change is sometimes easier for some than for others. Potter c ontinues to struggle and worries what his hometown will d... ... forever. The future is now unreachable for him. On the other hand, Potter, though apprehensive like Scratchy, slowly opens his heart to the changing world. Through Scratchy and Potter, Crane establishes two choices: one can either resist change as Scratchy does and remain unhappy until the end, or one can accept change as Potter eventually does and further his future and happiness. Humans are creatures of habit where stability and comfort come first. Ironically, though fully aware of it, humans are always surprised at and afraid of change and how to handle it. Through his work, Stephen Crane brilliantly sets forth that one has no control over what is to come but only how he or she chooses to face it. Works Cited: Crane, Stephen. â€Å"Bride Comes to Yellow Sky.† Literature: The Human Experience. 8th ed. Ed. Richard Abcarian and Marvin Klotz. Boston: Bedford, 2002.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Didions Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream Essay examples -- Didion Dr

Didion's "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream" In "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream," the author Didion uses fiery imagery to parallel the San Bernardino Valley to hell.   It is a place where the "hills blaze up spontaneously," and "every voice seems a scream." (p.3)   Didions hellish descriptions of the geography reflect the culture of San Bernardino Valley.   It is "where the hot wind blows and the old ways do not seem relevant, where the divorce rate is double the national average." (p.4)   In this culture, the importance of   the "old ways," such as a long-lasting marriage, are devalued.   It is a society where the "dream [is] teaching the dreamers how to live," (p.17) and where reality doesnt hamper peoples obsessions and greediness.   In the essay "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream," the San Bernardino Valleys self-indulgent culture devaluates societys morals and ethics such as religion, law, love, and life. In the San Bernardino Valley, tele-evangelism, Christian gospel spread through television, is prominent.   It is "the California where it is easy to Dial-A-Devotion, but hard to buy a book." (p.4)   It is a society where anyone with money can buy a devotion to God with the dialing of a number.   The usage of religion as a money-making business defiles the sanctity of societys most sacred and cherished belief.   However, money is made so morals and ethics are ignored.   Another example of this immorality is Edward Foley, Lucilles Millers attorney.   He sa...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

12 Hours Without Technology Essay

Those who identify themselves as technological determinists believe we as humans have remarkably little control over technology and the effect it has on the world. Just two months ago, I passionately denied this point of view and identified myself as a social constructivist. Perhaps it is the idea of not being in complete control of my decisions that I did not want to accept. However, after completing the challenge of going twelve hours without technology, I quickly learned that my thoughts on technological determinism were not in line with my experiences. The fact is technology has become an integral part of day-to-day life. Truly understanding the effects and dare I say, control, that technology has on life, twelve hours without it will certainly enlighten each one of us. In the following pages, I will attempt to describe the challenges of my day without technology. Furthermore, I will attempt to interpret how my experiences relate to my relationship with technology and society. Ultimately, my purpose is to identify events which support or defy the view of technological determinism and understand the driving factors behind them. See more:  First Poem for You Essay With a career that heavily relies on technology, I reasonably challenged myself to refrain from using technology on a Sunday. What I learned was quite surprising and honestly, quite stressful. First, to appreciate the challenges I endured on this Sunday, it is crucial to know a little bit about my professional background. As a licensed mortgage loan originator, I have a fiduciary duty to all of my clients that are purchasing a home. While my career requires a large set of professional requirements, the most valuable aspect to being successful is to be available nearly 24 hours a day every day of the week. Going into this project, I knew that refraining from using technology, specifically my phone and the computer, would prove to be challenging but at the same time I figured everyone deserves a day off every now and then†¦I soon learned that this would come with a cost. My Sunday morning started off much the same as any other. I woke up early to tend to my e-mails that had made their way to my inbox from potential homeowners throughout the evening. Responsibly, I made sure to reply to every e-mail, voicemail and, text message prior to 9:00AM. Completely disconnecting from the internet and shutting down my phone was just as nerve racking as I had anticipated it to be. Knowing that this day would be a challenge for me, I had previously arranged a few things to do to keep my mind and attention away from my business. Depending on how one would define technology, someone could argue that I instantly failed to avoid the use of technology within just an hour of starting my project. My wife and I left the house in the technological wonder of a Chevy Tahoe Hybrid around 9:30AM to attend regular church services. I recognized right away that avoiding technology entirely for twelve hours would be impossible for me to accomplish. Instead, I switched my focus to avoiding my phone, internet or computer use for the remainder of the day. My wife and I proceeded to attend church and then went to lunch. When we returned home, I decided to take each of the three dogs for a run. Normally, I opt to take one of them each day on a rotation, but it was a beautiful day and the small blinking light on my phone begging me to check my text messages, e-mails and voicemails were not within reach. This was my first insight into a day without technology. Almost immediately I was able to find more time to do things that are more valuable to me. While I was enjoying the extra time with my beloved pets, I also recognized that as the day progressed, I was growing more and more anxious from not being able to use my phone. Little did I know that by the time I had finished taking the last four-legged child for a run, I was not the only anxious person affected by vacation from technology. There was a storm brewing that would hinder my goal. When I returned home, my wife frantically met me at the door with her phone in hand. My managing sales supervisor had called her because he had received a few phone calls from upset potential clients. Notably, this was just five hours into my twelve hour challenge on a Sunday afternoon. Reluctantly, I took the phone from my wife and proceeded to field the onslaught of exploratory questions as to my whereabouts and reasoning for not answering my phone or promptly replying to my e-mails. It is crucial to remember that I’m essentially self-employed, so I had no obligation to answer to a supervisor for an issue such as this but the fact that I had chosen not to use an ordinary technology such as my phone, I found myself in an awkward and rather challenging position. After taking some time to put out some proverbial fires with my sales manager and a few clients, I put my phone down and resumed my challenge of avoiding technology. Before doing so, I noticed that I had received several text messages throughout the day from friends and family. Reflecting upon the nature of the texts as I read through them, I noticed one general recurring theme. Many of the initial text conversations had begun with an unassuming â€Å"hello† and â€Å"how are you. † Just five or six hours after not receiving a response from me, many of the one-sided conversations had progressed to worry about my safety. At this point, I dismissed the idea that I had control when it came to technology. As I reflected on these events, I could not help but be reminded of Neil Postman. We need to proceed with our eyes wide open so that we may use technology rather than be used by it (Postman, 1998, p. 6). Suddenly, I realized that I have been interacting with technological development in a way where technology was using me more than I was using it. By definition, social constructivism â€Å"presumes that social and cultural forces determine technical change† (Johnson & Wetmore, 2009, p. 143). On the flip side, technological determinism â€Å"is the claim that the introduction of new technologies produces direct and unalterable social changes† (Johnson & Wetmore, 2009, p. 93). I acknowledge that refraining from technological use for twelve hours was an extremely small scale task in terms of the technology available at hand. Despite that, it was surprising how disturbed my friends, family, co-workers and clients alike had become by my avoidance of a phone. â€Å"Technological change creates winners and losers† (Harris, 2012). These disturbances certainly support this idea, and I would argue that this is at the foundation of the technological determinism theory. The introduction of the smartphone into my personal and professional life has set an expectation which has had a direct and unalterable affect. While this reliance on the phone may put me on the loser side of this equation, my clients are certainly on the winning side. My choice of career has brought new technology into my life that may have not been necessary with different decisions on my part. In closing, I should repeat that the main point of this paper and this experiment was to describe the challenges of a day without technology while interpreting my experiences in terms of the relationship between technology and society at a personal level. My experience with this project may have been more extreme than others given the expectations of my profession. However, by the end of my unsuccessful day without technology, it was clear that the technologies I have brought into my own life on a personal and professional level unmistakably dictates how I interact with the world and more importantly, how the outside world expects me to interact with it.

United States Efforts To Combat Domestic Counter Terrorism

The threat of terrorism has become real since the 9/11 attacks in the US. The government as well as the international community has joined efforts in order to combat the ever present terror attacks mainly targeting America. Although there have not been other terrorist attacks in the US soil since the 9/11 attacks, the fact that, terrorists continue to threaten and in fact other US interests outside the US remains as clear pointer to the fact that, terrorism is a real threat to the US and therefore warrants measures against protecting every American’s right to fundamental freedoms guaranteed under law. Terrorist activities recently targeting the US allies and foreign interests include attacks in Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen and Tunisia. The above calls for tough and effective anti terrorism laws to curb the evil. It is against that background that, US has taken considerable measures to combat the evil both domestically and internationally. For the purpose of this, paper, attention will be given to domestic measures aimed at curbing terrorism and only touch a little bit on international terrorism. International measures have included the capacity building programs being initiated by the US in its allies by giving incentives such as training military on the effective military combats styles as well as increasing of satellite surveillance as well as use of communication technology to track and disrupt the activities of the terrorist and carry out preemptive attacks on their bases if suspected to be planning and attack (Abuza, Zachary,2005). On top of that, according to , combating terrorist requires a coordinated activity. The first step involves the use of al means in order to deny the terrorists the chance of committing the crime in other words decapacitating them, this is possible through number of ways which include, cutting arms supply, denying terrorists access to arms and other weaponry which would be harmful if left in the reach of the terrorists and improved security checks in all vulnerable areas such as airports all aimed at lessening the probability of terrorists successfully attacking the US. One can not forget the role on good governance for in some cases the activities of terrorism have happen just because a government official serving in a major security installation such as in the airports or immigration department s failed to execute their duties properly (Acquaviva, Mike, 1989) The US has in measure aimed at improving its home security passed several antiterrorism bills all of which have in one way or another contributed to the interruption of terrorist activities therefore lessening the chances of terrorist attacks in the US. In a bid to protect its citizens and sovereignty America enforced many measures including military operations in places deemed to harbor terrorist activities or are at least sympathetic to terrorist activities. The constitution of America empowers the president through congress to intervene in cases where the country comes under security threat using all means under his/her discretion. It is against this back ground that, the US has taken measures which not all agree to have nevertheless helped to reduce the incidence of attacks. Such measures have included the empowerment of all security institutions such as the FBI and the CIA, to play a bigger role in the hunt and elimination of terrorists and their activities, increasing military expenditure as well as security budget to facilitate programs aimed at combating terrorism. Other activities have included the passing of laws aimed at confiscating property suspected to originate or be ended to terrorist cells or allies. Other key measures aimed at combating the crime involve the passing a bill which empowers key security agencies to intercept communications deemed suspicious and likely to enhance terrorist activities. Other measure have include the coding of the US security levels to also alert the people of America when ever a threat of attacks is deemed inevitable as well as when it is considered relatively safe. Also the US has introduced the concept of travel advisories which although they do not apply domestically are key in protecting the Americans against the thereat of attacks. Other than the methods used, it does not occur there were other alternatives since, the present measures have succeeded in making the US a better place. It is notable that, there has been numerous attempts by the terrorists groups to hit US again possibly to commemorate the September 11 attacks but all have been thwarted or intercepted and if they happen it has been in a small magnitude. Although critiques have argued that, the measures taken by US has increased anti-Americanism especially form Islamic countries, the fact is that, the terrorist are determined to attack US and considers such as achievements. This calls for no less than radical measures aimed at maintaining the security of Americans. In the fight against terrorism, the US has not been alone for it has received all manner of support from its key ally Britain as well as from the UN which helped pass some of the international amendments aimed at curbing the threat and danger of terrorism (Abuza, Zachary,2003). In all regions of the work the US has key partners’ and allies who allow it to operate form the solids in the endeavor to reduce the efficiency of the terrorist. From Africa to Asia, and Far East, the US collaborates with key countries through sharing of intelligence, use of countries facilities, to launch activities as well passing anti-terrorism legislations which are deemed crucial in deterring terrorists. On the other hand the US benefits form these ties in that the countries can arrest suspects wanted in connection with terrorism and them to US for interrogation and trial especially those wanted in connection to the September attacks. Just like all other well intentioned struggles, the combat against domestic terrorism will need the right environment in order to be successful as well as to achieve is objectives. In a nutshell the following are the most immediate needs and changes which may result into a fight with a well guided mission and vision, one which will meet the expectations of the people of America. Firstly, the issue of good PR will need to be emphasized a lot and it needs to be highlighted in all departments and institutions dealing with terrorism. Although the US military has done much efforts to meet this, goal, it is has not been sustained and maintained in that, some organs of the government seem to be comfortable with the progress so far. Far form the truth, there is need to ensure that, every move from the government aimed at countering the threats of terrorism as well as all others aimed at influencing major international partners as well as world bodies such as the UN are not misrepresented or misinterpreted by the public. Against the background of the Iraq war which has resulted into enormous life losses to the Americans, it is easy for people to lose the zeal for the fight and start opposing it. This happens due to poor communication as well as poor PR skills. Therefore the role of communication and PR in this war against domestic terrorism needs to be speeded up in order to ensure that; throughout all campaigns the government has the blessing of the masses. The other challenge in the combat against domestic tourism comes in the form of opposition to legislations or bills aimed at solving the problem of terrorism. When ever a senator or any member of the congress brings up a motion on terrorism fighting, there is a need for all the congress men to put aside all their political ideological differences to back such law because its touches the whole American society. Lastly, the challenge of people withholding crucial information from the law enforcement agents is a matter of grave concern. Usually, terrorists live among the people that they plan to attack. In that case, those who live near the terrorists and shield them from the law enforcer are obliviously on the wrong. The public should be more involved and actually share any crucial information with the police. By hunting down for terrorist in the mountains, jungles and seas, by attacking those who collaborated with the terrorist to attack it, the act of the US in regard to terrorism can not be regarded to as being overreaction. Simply put, there was no other way of doing it, the US had lost close to $100 billion in terms of economic damages as a result of terrorists activities of the recent past. Against such a background, the activities and efforts of the US to combat domestic tourism can be termed only as fair and justified for failure to act would and can lead to further attack hence more losses. This can also significantly affect the world order as the US is looked up on by many vulnerable countries to offer protection in cases of external aggression on their sovereignty as it did in the case o Kuwait.