Pride and Prejudice Critical Analysis

Privatization of Health Care System in Canada Essays

Privatization of Health Care System in Canada Essays Privatization of Health Care System in Canada Paper Privatization of Health Care System in Canada Paper Arguments both for and against the privatisation of Canada’s health care are plentiful. There is evidence by looking at any Canadian newspaper, television news program, or news oriented website on the Internet. Election polls consistently rank health care as Canadian voter’s number one concern (Wickens, 2000, 26). Reasons for supporting a two-tier system include reducing line-ups in the so called â€Å"cash? strapped† system (Fennell, 1996, 54), and to allow Canadian doctors a financially viable alternative to the United States by presenting the option to set your own wages as well as the luxury of more flexible working hours. Supporters of the blended private? public system insist that privatisation is required to advance technology and decline government budgets (Vanagas, 1995, 24). However, those worried about a change in the way this country delivers its health care feel a two-tier system would be â€Å"unCanadian† (26). In this paper I will attempt to discover for the positives and negatives of an implementation of a two? tier health care system in my home province of New Brunswick as well as the rest of Canada. Two? tier health care can be simply defined as a health care plan that will allow for a private or for? profit system to operate along side Medicare (Marshall, 200, 48). The system will allow the opportunity for those people who are willing to pay for health care to do just that. Ideally, it will take pressure off the current Medicare system by shortening waiting lists and generating revenue. The form of two-tier being proposed in New Brunswick involves a private system that will operate parallel to the current public system and will allow people to purchase private insurance if so desired (Deber et al, 1999, 539? 43). Some politicians like to define two? tier health care in different terms. BC Health Minister Paul Ramsey says, â€Å"I cannot think of a clearer definition of a two? tier health system than having one set of services available to those who have large bank accounts and can afford to just go to it and another public system for the rest of us. † This politician is obviously voicing his negative opinion of the proposed system by constructing this biased definition. I believe politicians try to appeal to voters by voicing emotional tirades about proposed alternatives to Medicare. Dr. Edwin Coffey, a past president of the Quebec Medical Association and a well-known supporter of two tier health care explains the system in this way, â€Å"In a parallel, non-competitive health insurance system, everyone pays into the universal public system also has the option of paying for private health insurance. † Before presenting the arguments that push for the implementation of a two-tier system, there is evidence that two-tier health care already exists in this country. Dr. Coffey brings to our attention that, â€Å"thanks to money, connections, influence, geographic location, level of intelligence, and availability of highly trained physicians and up-to-date technology, (some) get served first or better. † A good example of this already existing two-tier health care is the ironic case of Allan Rock, the present Federal Minister of Health. It is suspected that Rock was able to use his influence, whether directly or indirectly, to speed his wait to receive treatment. Another example supporting this theory is how our health system takes full advantage of a private system by paying and insuring â€Å"medically necessary† services such as physiotherapy, MRI tests, massage therapy, etc. (Deber et al, 1999, 539). Why is there so much controversy hovering around this issue now? Is there an alarming trend that is occurring that is making our government nervous about the integrity and stability of our health care system? Or are people beginning to notice a subtle emerge of private health care into our system? There is evidence to suggest both hypotheses. To support the latter you have to look no further than Bill 11. The controversial bill was passed in May 2000 in the province of Alberta to set new standards for private clinics by allowing publicly funded minor surgeries to be contracted to them (Palmer, The Edmonton Sun, 2001). With a passing of a bill like this I can see why some people might suspect that a trend toward two-tier is beginning. Actually, since 1975, health care purchased privately has reached above 28 per cent from less than 24 per cent (Fennell 54). You do not have to research for very long to realize that our system is riddled with problems. Our government is struggling to save money that is being spent on Medicare. Since 1993, 6,000 hospital beds have been closed across the country (54). In Ontario, health care funding has been cut from $707 million to $407 million (Turner, 1999, 13). There is also the problem regarding a doctor shortage. A recent college paper has indicated the decline of family physicians (FP’s) in the province of Ontario (Sibbald, 1999, 561). The report explains that in 1980, about one thousand doctors became FP’s in the province of Ontario, in 1997, only 187 moved into this field. I believe a private system would make it more appealing to a young medical student to practice in Canada where they will be able to set their own wages, their own hours, and other benefits seen in private clinics. Finally, there is growing concern among the people of this country about the stability and integrity of our health care system. This was clear in a 2000 MacLean’s conducted poll, which revealed for the second year in a row that the issue of health care is the main concern of Canadians (Marshall, 2000, 48). An article in the British Medical Journal revealed that the percentage of Canadians satisfied with the health care system dropped from 56 per cent to 20 per cent between 1987 and 1997(Spurgeon, 2000, 1295). There are many problems plaguing our current health care system among them waiting lists seem to be a major concern among Canadians. A survey reported in an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (Sanmartin et al, 2000, 1305), claimed that almost two-thirds of those surveyed felt that waiting times for surgery had grown over the previous 12 months, and half felt that access to specialists had become more difficult. Daniel Doyle, a cardiovascular surgeon from Laval University described how patients are dying while on waiting lists for bypass surgery. This was reiterated by an article in Canadian Business (Turner, 1999, 13), which described the unfortunate death of a 59-year-old Toronto machinist who died of a heart attack while waiting for an angiogram. An angiogram is a test done to determine if a heart condition is present. Also in this article it is apparent that doctor’s concerns are rising dramatically. I feel that waiting lists will be reduced if people have an alternate parallel system to seek their health care. There is also some concern among doctors that their ability to provide quality health care in this country is reduced because of our system. This was demonstrated in the case of Dr. Jacques Chaoulli, a FP in the province of Quebec. His case was reported in a 1999 article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by Susan Pinker. He has created a mobile emergency room in a van that is equipped with an X-ray machine, a darkroom, a portable electrocardiograph, intravenous equipment as well as other medical equipment. His plan was to charge people for his emergency medical care. However, under the Quebec Health Care Act, it is illegal for him to sell his private medical service. In pure Hippocratic Oath style, Chaoulli has retorted, â€Å"I have a duty to provide a good service to my patients. No one should interfere. No one should block me when I want to help my patients and alleviate their pain. † Embedded in the Hippocratic Tradition is Percival’s Code of 1803 which describes the duty a physician must fulfil to benefit the patient (Veatch, 2000, 6). It seems that because of the current health care system, Chaoulli feels that he is being prevented to completely fulfil his duty to benefit the patient. By allowing the doctors the option to work in a private health care setting, we are allowing them more of an option to fully benefit their patients by removing the confines of long waiting lists and legal issues about the degree of health care they can provide (I. E. , providing a medical emergency van which would be extremely useful to those people confined to their homes). There is evidence that private health care already exists to some extent in this country. Former president of the Canadian Medical Association, Judith Kazimirski explains, â€Å"We are allowing passive private medicine to move in . . . in an unregulated and unplanned way. † This statement was made in 1996, and only Bill 11 passed in Alberta is all the significant action that has taken place. I believe that if something is introduced into society laws and regulations must be placed on it. For example a new drug finds its way into our society, it has healing powers but if used in alternate ways, it is a very appealing recreational drug. It would be expected that laws would be put into place to help regulate its use. The above mentions notions are ones that paint the possibility of a Two-Tiered system in a positive light. There are however, many countervailing arguments on this topic. Firstly it is the argument of whether or not we are morally obligated to prevent the transition of health into a buyable commodity. People feel that it is unfair to profit from vulnerable families or individuals when they are ill (Weir, The Telegraph Journal, 2001). People also see the danger in health care becoming a commodity with risk of costs going up and up just to see what the market will stand. Another argument is one, which is bounded in the legalities of the Canada Health Act (1984). The claim is, the Act was explicitly designed to prevent the birth of a two-tier system (Shortt, 2000, 1291). The Canada Health Act (1984) is based on five words: pubically administrated, comprehensiveness, universality, equality, and portability (Kluge, 1999, 48). Kluge argues that part of the foundation of the Act is prevention of the ability to pay to improve your access to health care. The argument exists that private clinics by symbolizing inequality are not following the principle of universality in the Canada Health Act (1984), (Vanagas, 1995, 24). However, arguments to help defend against this stand are quite present. Most notably, an article included in the Kluge text written by John K. Iglehart. He makes comparisons between the Canadian health care system and systems used in the US and UK. Firstly what needs to be acknowledged here is the tremendous pride many Canadians take in our health care system. Al Yarr, a retired physical education professor in Halifax says that, â€Å"Our health care system is one of the things that make Canada great†. Iglehart replies to this â€Å"romantic† idea of a health care system making your country great by explaining how the system is outdated and is not able to cope with rising costs. He points out that: In the face of a large deficit, the national government continues to reduce its financial commitment to the plans; patients and practitioners are demanding access to the latest forms of medical technology; the supply of physicians continues to increase at a rate out-stripping the growth of the population; and doctors are restive as provinces work more aggressively to stem the rise in health expenditures. Another countervailing argument that has been documented is the inability of a two-tier system to reduce waiting lists. As well, the question of whether there really is a waiting list problem in our country. Studies published between 1996 and 1998 reported no significant increase in waiting time for most surgical procedures (Spurgeon, 2000, 1295). Another argument I have come across, is the possibility that a private sector will have the capacity to drain talent from the public sector (Marshall, 2000, 48). Is there a possibility that there could be regulations put in place to reduce the chance of a trend like this occurring? For example, perhaps a doctor must work for so long in the public sector before being able to earn the â€Å"right† to work in the private sector. Throughout the articles I have researched those are the main countervailing arguments. That is to say, they appeared most throughout the articles. In conclusion, I would like to state that when I took on this topic I was relatively impartial. I have always considered myself quite conservative and naturally envisioned myself writing a paper opposed to a proposed two-tier health care system in this country. As I continued reading articles, I realized that many of the arguments against such a system were lacking. Several were based on the idea of making our country a wonderful place to live. I realized now that there is nothing great about a health care system that is not financially viable in the ever-increasing technology base health care society we are now emerged.

Economic Implications for Producer Investments in Value-Added Business Research Paper

Economic Implications for Producer Investments in Value-Added Business - Research Paper Example This has resulted in the increase of production costs and lowering of profits for the grower of commodities that run the cycle of human existence. Consequently, the producers are identifying opportunities for their own growth and investing in value addition of the products that they produce. This removes many of the intermediaries in the supply chain resulting in lowered prices for the consumer and increasing profits for the producer. For today’s growers, the reins of the future are in their hands. Producer investments in value added business with a workable strategy is not only lucrative but also increases the potential of the producer with minimum output, therefore a very attractive option for the producers around the world. Economic Implications for Producer Investments in Value-Added Business The global economic spectrum has changed drastically in the last decade. The rise in population, inflation and prices of raw materials has changed the economic equilibrium that existed in demand and supply change. With the rise in population, the demand for food items is also on the rise resulting in increasing demand of agriculture produce. This should mean higher income opportunities for the producers. The fact is the other way around due to the rise in the prices of raw materials required for agriculture and diminishing consumer capability to buy. As a result, the returns that the farmers and the ranchers earn on agriculture produce decreases thereby affecting the entire rural class that makes up a good number of populations in many agriculture-producing countries. To get higher returns, more farmers and growers are investing in their produce to make them more value added even to the level of retailer. With the final produce reaching the stores and retailers directly from the prod ucers, the profit margins for the agriculture related people has increased significantly resulting in growth of agriculture and of economic prosperity of the growers. Another benefit that the farmers get through these investments is freedom from industrial exploitation making it very beneficial for them (pg11-18, Tadlock Cowan, 2003). The Need of Producer Investment in Value Added Businesses The growing competition in the global market is changing the attitudes of the farmers by motivating them to improve their quality of produce by employing latest technology in farming and growing. Today, the farmers know the market economies and the latest technology that they can use to convert their produced raw material to more finished goods. The modern growers keep in the view the requirements of the end-user of the produce and try to develop the products keeping that in mind. This bold change in the

How have anthropologists responded to colonialism in different Essay - 1

How have anthropologists responded to colonialism in different historical moments - Essay Example Sometimes competition is healthy for development, but at certain times it is carried out by people personally until they hold grudge against the others. In such, colonialism is also important as it shows how societies form, clash, improve and how people interact and cope up with the situation. For the study then, the viewpoint of anthropologists would be examined in response to colonialism and how ethnographic knowledge would play a significant role in the study and history of colonialism. Before going deeply into the relationships of the concepts of colonialism, ethnographic knowledge and anthropology, it would be better to define and set basic foundations regarding the topics involve in the study. It would greatly help in appreciating and understanding their relationships after knowing each one of them. The first concept in the study is anthropology. It would be the viewpoint to be used in response to ethnographic knowledge regarding colonialism. Anthropology is said to be the â₠¬Å"study of human behavior in all places and at all times. It combines humanistic, scientific, biological, historical, psychological and social views of human behavior,† (Angrosino 2002: 1). Various aspects of the human being are being studied in anthropology. The origin of human being is the main concern of anthropology and it would cut across other disciplines like the humanities, scientific research, natural sciences and the social sciences like history, psychology and sociology. The definition supports the claim that â€Å"anthropology is holistic in that it combines the study of human biology, history and the learned and shared patterns of human behavior and thought† which is known as the â€Å"culture in order to analyze human groups,† (Nanda and Warms 2011: 20). The study is not only concerned with the individual but with the interactions in the society as well. Anthropology can also be defined as â€Å"the comparative study of human societies and culture s. Its goal is to describe, analyze, and explain different cultures, to show how groups have adapted to their environments and given significance to their lives,† (Nanda and Warms 2011: 20). The second definition points out that the focus of anthropology is the society and culture as people interact with one another and form groups. And each group and subgroup of the societies formed has its distinct culture or habits that are unique to the members of such groups. The people who study anthropology are called anthropologists. Anthropology has many subfields to allow people to focus on the details that make up the study of man. The two major subfields of anthropology are physical anthropology and cultural anthropology. Physical anthropology can be defined as: the study of the biological, physiological, anatomical and genetic characteristics of both ancient and modern human populations. Physical anthropologists study the evolutionary development of the human species by a comparat ive analysis of both fossil and living primates. They study the mechanics of evolutionary change through an analysis of genetic variation in human populations (Angrosino 2002: 1). Natural science is the main focus of physical anthropology to study the nature of man and its origin of existence. The history is studied using the fossils to identify the body structure of man in the past. It also involves genetics in studying the populations and the differences of people. On the other hand, cultural anthropo

The Importance of Employee Retention Term Paper

The Importance of Employee Retention - Term Paper Example The variation in cultural values had a significant effect on the rates at which the newly hired employees voluntarily terminated employment. The relationship between the employees’ job performance and their retention also varied significantly with organizational culture values.† (Sheridan, 1992, p. 1036) Now when the subject of organizational, or more precisely, corporate culture is included in discussing the issue of employee retention, multidimensional analysis becomes imperative. This essay is a literature research based analysis of the issue of employee retention in the global work environment. Sources from scholarly publishers have been utilized and works of reputed experts in the field have been referenced. Quality and Productivity Issue: Employee Retention The term employee retention cannot be defined in a way that does not emphasize on its multidimensional aspects. Employee retention is primarily a human resources related issue, which is an integral part of the c ultural analysis of the corporate world. Here, the word culture points to the work culture of the company, which further spans over the other important topics like business organization, strategic management, organizational behavior, etc. (Garavan, 2007) According to the experts of Management Study Guide (2012), â€Å"Employee Retention refers to the techniques employed by the management to help the employees stay with the organization for a longer period of time. Employee retention strategies go a long way in motivating the employees so that they stick to the organization for the maximum time and contribute effectively.† So, sincere hard work must be done to ensure learning and growth for the employee in his/her current job assignments and help him/her to enjoy them. Contextually, Linley and Harrington (2010, p. 145) have stated that â€Å"organizational theorists interested in the â€Å"Happy/Productive Worker Thesis† almost exclusively concentrated on the role of j ob satisfaction in the prediction of both employee job performance and retention decisions.† In the modern competitive age of stricter labor regulations and more complex corporate cultures, employee retention thus emerges as a complicated problem. Employee Retention: Extent and Importance Employee retention and organizational culture extensively affect each other. An organization has to invest funds and time to groom an individual, make him/her ready to understand its culture, and achieve his/her professional pursuits. A new employee is totally underdone and the management truly has to effort hard so that he/she can be trained. It is an absolute wastage of funds, time and energy when the individual leaves the company all of a sudden. Consequently, the human resource department has to initiate the whole recruitment process once more for the same post, which is a sheer duplication of the employment processes requiring money for the same task repeatedly. Finding the right member of staff for a company is a wearisome job and every effort merely goes waste at the instance the employee quits. (Slugoski, 2008; Garavan, 2007) Contextually, on the basis of the research results, Slugoski (2008, p. 6) writes, â€Å"Indirect costs of replacing an experienced employee with an inexperienced employee included decreased organizational performance, potentially leading to decreased customer

Human rights in the Middle East

Human rights in the Middle East Human rights, an integral part of global development, is still a dilemma that virtually every region in the world faces. Within the Middle East, many countries have human rights violations ranging from honor killings to child labor. With the long road of human rights progress, and progressive thinking, it is hard to imagine any inhumane human rights violations today. However, everyday, innocent peoples human rights are violated throughout the world. Even with the almost equal treatment of women and men in the western world, many other countries are subjecting their women to unfair and very brutal treatment and customs. In some countries, children are abducted and threatened with death until they submit themselves and become child soldiers. Following the Cold War, democratic ways, emerging markets, and human rights development seemed to emerge from different parts of the Middle East. The important question to address is why some countries in the region where able to respect the concep t of human rights, while many find it difficult to establish. Do they merely not want to address the situation of human rights? Or maybe the countries religious observance conflicts with that of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Surely, most of these countries share the same religious dogmas and perhaps some are more conservative than others, but addressing each countries inability to accept the issues pertaining to their human rights violations is very important to understand. To completely recognize this situation, we must analyze certain case studies of diverse Middle Eastern countries, such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. P A K I S T A N Since its creation as a Muslim country in 1947, Pakistan has gone through a chaotic course of building and establishing its own country. The delay in creating a parliamentary democracy in a national setting has been hindered by the multi ethnic groups, disagreeing elite, and the overall influences from other countries. In Pakistan, the civilian rulers have often relied on the military to preserve their power. Since the creation of Pakistan, the martial law has been called into effect three times. The military considers its authority of Pakistani politics as imperative to protect the territorial integrity of Pakistan with the various ethnic, linguistic, and regional diversity. In 1977, when General Zia ul-Haq took power, he used Islam to eliminate democratic elections and constitutional liberties. He also utilized Islam to legitimize his own control. Zia instituted a concept of Islamization that shifted the laws from a more secular tradition to an Islamic one. This abolished the value of Pakistani institutions, particularly their system of justice. Zias attempts to create an alliance with Muslim clerics in Pakistan, he offered them positions as judges. This allowed people with no previous legal qualifications in the seats of judges. This decision and change damaged the reliability of the Pakistani judiciary and also tied its power directly to the state and Zia. (Mustafa pg 168-84) Cultural and religious developments such as traditional Islamic influences and the strict enforcement of Sharia law, have negatively affected the countrys human rights situation. The prospects for the improvement of human rights in Pakistan are unwelcoming, although the country is ranked, according to the comparative survey of freedom worldwide, as being partly free. (Malik 117-28) Death from torture while in police custody is very common in Pakistan. Indistinct custody without any charges, that sometimes add up to one year, is not unusual. Speaking out against the regime is silenced, especially on matters relating to the military and religion. Forced or child labor is prevalent in rural areas, and the government appears incapable of recognizing and preventing it. After the threat of sanction by sporting goods manufacturers and labor organizations, Pakistani authorities have investigated child labor in the soccer ball industry. Ethnic and religious discrimination are rampant. The dif ferent minority groups in Pakistan that are continually targeted are: Baluchis, Pathans, Ahmediyans, Christians, Shiite Muslims, and Hindus. The Federal Sharia Court has prescribed the death penalty for insulting the Prophet Mohammad. Traditional and religious groups block political and legal equality for Pakistani women. An all-Pakistan Working Women Convention in Karachi uttered concerns over social attitudes towards women. The convention called for an end to abuse of property rights, inheritance, and social traditions. (Khan 181) Womens rights, however, are restricted in varying degrees in Pakistan. The underprivileged womens rights condition can often be attributed to actual underdevelopment, low female literacy rates, and harsh local traditions in the case of Pakistan, and to patriarchy, and to strict social codes. (Nizamani 317) While Pakistan has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, Pakistan have thus far refused to ratify those agreements (Malik 2007 117-28) More than half of Middle Eastern and North African countries have ratified the same covenants. Pakistan has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. With the exception of Saudi Arabia, which is not a party to any human rights instruments, all Muslim countries are a party to one or more of those instruments. Although the ratification of these human rights instruments is no evidence of palpable improvement of fundamental rights, becoming party to such treaties has at least made their governments vulnerable to international criticism in cases of grotesque violations of global standards. It should be noted, however, that effective enforcement of human rights instruments remains almost entirely within these countries purview. (Whaites 2005 229-54) The most active and vocal human rights monitoring groups, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and the Bonded Labor Liberation Front (BLLF), have been instrumental in promoting legislation which bans the bonded labor system. (S.V.R 2005 135-36) S A U D I A R A B I A Saudi Arabia is a monarchy without elected representative institutions or political parties. The Government has declared the Islamic holy book the Koran and the Sunna (tradition) of the Prophet Muhammad to be the countrys Constitution. The Government bases its legitimacy on governance according to the precepts of a rigorously conservative form of Islam. Neither the Government nor the society in general accepts the concept of separation of religion and state. The Government prohibits the establishment of political parties and suppresses opposition views. In 1992 King Fahd appointed a Consultative Council, or Majlis Ash-Shura, and similar provincial assemblies. The Majlis, a strictly advisory body, began holding sessions in 1993 and was expanded first in 1997 and again in May. The judiciary is subject to influence by the executive branch and members of the royal family. The Governments human rights record remained poor. Citizens have neither the right nor the legal means to change their government. Security forces continued to abuse detainees and prisoners, arbitrarily arrest and detain persons, and hold them in incommunicado detention. In addition there were allegations that security forces committed torture. The Mutawwain continued to intimidate, abuse, and detain citizens and foreigners. Most trials are closed, and defendants usually appear before judges without legal counsel. The Government infringes on citizens privacy rights. The government prohibits or restricts freedom of speech, the press, assembly, association, religion, and movement. However, the Government continued to tolerate a wider range of debate and criticism in the press concerning domestic issues. Other continuing problems included discrimination and violence against women, discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, and strict limitations on worker rights. The two declarations have inflamed on the Saudi constitution such article 26 and below, the state protects human rights in accordance with the Islamic (Shariah), the state guarantees the rights of the citizen and his family in cases of emergency, illness and disability, and in old age; it supports the system of social security and encourages institutions and individuals to contribute in acts of charity. The state provides security for all its citizens and all residents within its territory and no one shall be arrested, imprisoned, or have their actions restricted except in cases specified by statutes, the home is sacrosanct and shall not be entered without the permission of the owner or be searched except in cases specified by statutes, penalties shall be personal and there shall be no crime or penalty except in accordance with the (Shariah) or organizational law. There shall be no punishment except for acts committed subsequent to the coming into force of the organizational law, inf ormation, publication, all other media shall employ courteous language and the states regulations, and they shall contribute to the education of the nation and the encouragement of its unity. All acts that foster sedition or division, harm the states security and its public relations, or detract from mans dignity and rights shall be prohibited. The statutes shall define all that. Nevertheless, this is only the theory, what about the reality? Well Saudi Arabia is one of a number of countries where courts continue to impose corporal punishment, including amputations of hands and feet for robbery, and lashings for lesser crimes such as sexual deviance and drunkenness. The number of lashes is not clearly prescribed by law and is varied according to the discretion of judges. Saudi Arabia also still engages in capital punishment, including public executions by beheading. Some are also executed in private by shooting. There have also been allegations that stoning and crucifixion are carried out. Recently, in 2003, the case of Abd al-Karim Mara`i al-Naqshabandi, who was executed after being convicted of practicing witchcraft against his employer. The organization concluded that the Saudi legal system fails to provide minimum due process guarantees and offers myriad opportunities for well-connected individuals to manipulate the system to their advantage. By western standards Saudi women face severe discrimination in many aspects of their lives, including the family, education, employment, and the justice system. Women are not allowed to drive or ride bicycles on public roads. Religious police enforce a modest code of dress. Also it is illegal for Saudi women to go out, meet with men. If these laws are broken they are punishable by death. Freedom of speech and the press are restricted to forbid criticism of the government or endorsement of un-Islamic values. The government officially bans satellite television, but the rule is generally ignored. Trade unions and political organizations are banned. Public demonstrations are forbidden. Saudi Arabia forbids missionary work by any religion other than Islam. Officially all religions other than Islam are banned and churches are not allowed. Unofficially the government acknowledges that many of the foreign workers are Christian and on Aramco civilian compounds, foreign Christians are generally allowed to worship in private homes or even hold services at local schools provided that it is not spoken of in public. This is a degree of unofficial tolerance that is not given to Judaism, or Atheism. Freedom of religion does not exist, Islam is the official religion, and all citizens must be Muslims. The government prohibits the public practice of other religions. Foreigners must conform to local practices in public. Conservative dress is expected, especially for women who travel to rural areas. Shops and restaurants close five times a day for prayer, and public displays of foreign religious or political symbols is not be tolerated. During Ramadan eating, drinking, or smoking in public during daylight hours is prohibited. Foreign schools are often required to teach a yearly introductory segment on Islam. At October 27, 2005, a death sentence of Ahmad al-Dammam, an Egyptian boy resident in Dammam, who was convicted for a crime committed when he was thirteen years old, a Saudi court sentenced him to death in July 2005 for the April 2004 murder when he was thirteen years old of his neighbor, three-year-old Wala `Adil Abd al-Badi, also an Egyptian citizen, in Dammam, Saudi Arabia.

Knowledge in Stevensons The Beach of Falesa and Stokers Dracula Essay

Knowledge in Stevenson's The Beach of Falesa and Stoker's Dracula Several works of late 19th century British imperial literature contrast the role of information with the role of superstition in colonial encounters. Looking at Stevenson’s â€Å"The Beach of Falesa† and Stoker’s Dracula, we see that information plays an important role in both British and non-British characters’ abilities to dominate over their opponents. However, each of these works differs in its treatment of rational and irrational forms of knowledge. In â€Å"The Beach of Falesa,† the natives’ irrational belief in demons stands in contrast to the practical knowledge of the Europeans, which is shown as superior to knowledge based on superstition. The role of information in â€Å"The Beach of Falesa† also demonstrates that the high intellect of whites allows them to dominate over the native people whose land they colonize. Stoker’s Dracula counters this point by illustrating that both Europeans and their non-European oppo nents can use information as a tool for domination and conquest. While â€Å"The Beach of Falesa† portrays rational forms of knowledge as superior to beliefs in magic or folklore, Dracula shows the importance of utilizing multiple types of information in defeating the enemy. Comparing Dracula to Stevenson’s â€Å"The Beach of Falesa,† Stoker uses the theme of information to challenge the idea of a clear separation between Europeans and the â€Å"others† they encounter in imperial experience. In â€Å"The Beach of Falesa,† the protagonist Wiltshire asserts that the native Kanakas have a natural predisposition for superstitious beliefs. As he explores Case’s â€Å"devil’s bush,† Wiltshire tells the reader, â€Å"Any poor Kanaka brought up here in the dark, with the harp... ...defeat the enemy. By avoiding an overly simplistic connection between natives and magic and Europeans and science, Stoker forces the reader to consider a difficult question: if rationality and information does not distinguish the British from the â€Å"other,† then what does? While we may not be able to definitively characterize Stoker as a pro- or anti-imperialist based on the role he gives these types of information in Dracula, his novel shows how information can blur the distinction between Europeans and the â€Å"other.† Works Cited Bolt, Christine. â€Å"Race and the Victorians,† in British Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century, ed. C.C. Eldridge. St. Martin’s Press: 1984. Stevenson, Robert Louis. â€Å"The Beach of Falesa,† in Fictions of Empire, ed. John Kucich. Houghton Mifflin: 2003. Stoker, Bram. Dracula, ed. Glennis Byron. Broadview Press: 1998.

Globalizing an Australian Wine Company Essay

The company’s strategic vision is to become the world’s first truly global wine company. As CEO and managing director of BRL Hardy Europe, Carson’s contribution and achievements had been significant with a 10 fold increase in sales volume, in a tenure spanning just seven years. He successfully turned around Hardy’s U. K. business by implementing cost cutting initiatives and ensuring strong systems, policies, and control. Millar, CEO and managing director at BRL Hardy followed a decentralized approach to management. He believed in delegation and adequately integrated culture and management style into the merged corporation. The U. K. market contributed significantly to BRL Hardy’s revenues and represented 40% of Australian wine exports. In U. K. , the fighting brands, namely, Stamps and Nottage Hill, were positioned at price points of 2. 99 and 3. 69 pounds respectively. As low price good quality wines, they accounted for 80% of the value and volume of the Hardy brand sales. As the image of these brands began to erode, Carson decided to relaunch them by relabeling and repositioning the wines. Carson insisted that sales performance in U. K. depended on efficient labeling that should not be completely dictated by the Australian management. Although management was skeptical about local control over branding, labeling, and pricing decisions, the move significantly boosted the fighting brands’ sales. As the fighting brands gradually moved up the price points, there was an opportunity for an entry level wine that could be priced lower than 4. 9 pounds. In line with the company’s vision of becoming an international wine company, Carson decided to tap non-Australian wine sources and develop a line of branded products that could utilize the company’s strong distribution channels. This strategy would provide vital scale economies, minimize harvest risk, capture rationalizing suppliers, and avoid currency-driven price variations. Carson propose d the brand D’istinto, an Italian venture with a Sicilian based winery. He wanted to develop a recognizable brand which was easy to buy and had global potential. The wine would be positioned to the average wine consumer and would help the company leverage distribution. The Australian headquarters believed that D’istinto would eat into the fighting brands’ share as they were positioned at almost similar price points. Carson’s earlier Chilean venture, Mapocho had proven troublesome and Millar was doubtful if the European unit could support another brand. While Millar recognized U. K. s strong performance and wanted to give Carson as much freedom as possible, the reality was that the Italian venture would stretch the tight human resources of the European unit and dilute focus from the overall corporate strategy. While the Italian venture was being proposed, the Australian headquarters had launched Banrock Station, an environmentally responsible product at a similar price point. Australian management believed that the brand had global po tential and had instructed areas to launch it appropriately. Miller, away from the frontline and external demands of the local customers, has to support Carson’s entrepreneurial experimentation and dynamism. However, the proposal to launch D’istinto should not be approved. It is imperative that the business strategy fit within the broader corporate strategy of the organization. Although Carson’s proposal represented strategic interests, it ran counter the corporate strategy of maximizing global efficiency. D’istinto’s launch would certainly come with financial implications and would also stretch the operating capabilities of the European unit. On the other hand, Banrock Station had already established itself in a few markets and a strong launch in Europe would only increase scale economies. D’istinto had an innovative strategy with catchy and attractive labeling and a distinct image capturing the Mediterranean lifestyle. This positioning would definitely appeal to the mature U. K. consumer and also to the U. K. retailers, who represented the majority of sales. However, there is no certainty that this strategy would prove equally successful globally. While D’istinto would provide short term results, it is important to understand the long term viability that Banrock Station offers. Global consumers are increasingly emerging into environmentally conscious populations that expect corporations to take responsibility of natural resources and the environment. Although through D’istinto, Carson aims to build a global brand, Banrock Station appears to be better positioned in a converging global market. In order to build a true global brand, Miller must establish consistency across organizational units and ensure that the vision is shared by all.

The Story of the Pea Island Life Savers Essays

The Story of the Pea Island Life Savers Essays The Story of the Pea Island Life Savers Paper The Story of the Pea Island Life Savers Paper JJ 1 J. J. . . . The Story of the Pea Island Life Savers In July of 2007, I explored the Outer Banks of North Carolina for the first time. I had driven down Highway 12 to a beach house for the summer vacation. The environment of the open sea touched by the narrow land gave me a feeling of wonderment as I observed the coastline and its beauty. During that first visit I noted that the ocean surf was strong and the sky constantly changing. On each visit to the Outer Banks, I challenged myself to learn something new of the Outer Banks long history. It was on my third visit to the Outer Banks when I discovered the story of a unique group of black men who were Life Savers. These black Life Savers worked for the government after the reconstruction period of the Civil War and defined the standard of performance in the United States Life-Saving Service; later to become the United States Coast Guard. My history lesson of this unique group black Life Savers began at the Chicamacomico Lifesaving Station Historic Site. My wife and I spent the day traveling along Highway 12 until we reached the Lifesaving Station in the village of Rodanthe. I met James Charlet who was the Site Manager for the Chicamacomico Lifesaving. James shared his passion for the history of the U. S Life-Saving Service with me. He recommended the documentary film RESCUE MEN-The Story of Pea Island to me. James said the DVD would explain about the U. S Life-Saving Service of the Outer Banks. JJ 2 The film begins with a quote The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. from Martian Luther King. At the beginning of the film, I was placed in the middle of a great storm on the terrible night of October 11, 1896 when the schooner E. S. Newman grounded south of the Pea Island Lifesaving Station. Captain S. A. Gardiner and eight others clinging to the wreckage saw two life savers swimming toward them and realized they were black men. It was not until 1996 that the crew of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station was awarded the Gold Lifesaving Medal for their efforts in saving all crew and family members. This late but honorable recognition was explained in further detail in the film. Blacks living during the â€Å"Jim Crow† era as these Life Savers were, found their contributions to the history of the Outer Banks often neglected from the public they served. A key character in the film was Richard Etheridge, a slave born on January 16, 1842. Etheridge was the property of John B. Etheridge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Large plantations did not exist in the Outer Banks; African Americans were relatively few and slavery limited. During his early life, Richard Etheridge learned to work the sea, fishing, piloting boats and combing the beach for the refuse of wrecks. Even though it was illegal to do so, his master also taught him to read and write. After the fighting began between the States, the Outer Banks were the site of one of the first Northern invasions. In February 1862, Union commanders employed black labor to build fortifications for the Union armies. The Union realized the potential that the recruitment of Southern blacks offered their forces but at the same time diminishing the oppositions labor JJ 3 supply. Black troops started to enlist during the summer of 1863. Richard Etheridge joined on August 28. In the 1870s, some of the Outer Banks black army veterans found jobs as Surfmen in the U. S. Life-Saving Service, which had opened seven stations on North Carolina’s coast. Until 1880, the men served with white men at various stations along the Outer Banks in integrated or â€Å"checkerboard† crews. After fighting in the Civil War for the Union, Richard Etheridge joined the U. S. Life-Saving Service. During this time in the Outer Banks, the U. S. Life-Saving Service was full of cronyism and white crews were handpicked by the local politicians. Blacks only held the lowest of positions, such as cooks and stable hands. It was not until the Pea Island Life-Saving Station, crewed by mostly whites, had become incapable of performing rescues that Sumner Kimball, the General Superintendent of the U. S. Life-Saving Service, appointed Richard Etheridge keeper of the Pea Island Station. Etheridge the only black man to lead a lifesaving crew and became the Pea Island Station first black Captain. Captain Etheridge recruited and trained only blacks to man Station 17 know as the Pea Island Station. In 1880, although civilian attitudes towards Etheridge and his men ranged from curiosity to outrage, the Pea Island Station crew figured among the most courageous Surfmen in the service, performing many daring rescues from 1880 to the closing of the station in 1947. The film provides many insightful details of the daily lives of these black Surfmen who turn out to be the best Live Saving crew of the Outer Banks. At the conclusion of the film, the JJ 4 narrator leaves the viewer with his observation. â€Å"The Pea Island crew saved scores of men, women and children, who, under other circumstances would have been considered the hands of those reaching out to help them, to be of the wrong race. † I look forward to my next visit to the Outer Banks and may I be as fortunate to discover something new about the history of North Carolina.

Reservation Blues By Sherman Alexie essays

Reservation Blues By Sherman Alexie essays Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie represents to its audience the tale of how the Native Americans had to abdicate their belief, Religion and ways of life after the coming of the White Men. Until the coming of the White Men, the Native Americans were divided into a number of tribes, each preaching their own religion and living according to their own culture and tradition. After defeating the Indians on the battlefield and conquering their lands, the White Men forced them to give up their traditional ways, convert to the faith of Christianity and adopt modernity. In the novel, the author illustrates many contradictions of the Indian life through the representation of the present day Indian Scene with the hurting accuracy of praetorian tribal politicians, ruffians who are at the higher authority then these politicians, drunken parents, inedible commodity food, 7-11 stores, Catholicism, Christianity, ancient Indian knowledge and prudence and the maniacal world of softball and basketball. This is where Michael White Hawk comes in. He is a precarious and an unsteady man who spends his days walking on the grounds of the parochial Softball field and it is through his character that these anomalies of the Indian ways of life, despite the frequent crossing over into burlesque, are expressed through the poetic candor. According to Philip J. Deloria, Early American development of a revolutionary identity, created an Native Americans to help shape American culture. Whites had their own notions of Indianness, but even with such (mis)representations, real to stay present at the margins, insinuating their way into Euro- often attempting to nudge notions of Indianness in directions they (Douglas Ford, Sherman Alexie's Indigenous Blues). ...

What does Judith Butler mean by the social construction and Essay

What does Judith Butler mean by the social construction and performativity of both sex and gender - Essay Example Social construction designs the way in which interaction takes place. The concept of performativity provides for an understanding that roles of gender and sex are the product of acts that are repeated and ritualized in order to define what is meant by those terms. Even deviances from what are considered norms become socially constructed towards the identifiers of sex and gender. While Butler discusses these concepts under the umbrella of choices made, she clarifies later that what she means is while social construction of both sex and gender are created through the choices made, they are by no means voluntary choices. The compulsion to enact gender or sex through the acts that are considered non-conforming are also enacting gender and sex that has been designed by society. The development of ways in which to name different gender types, such as transgender and transvestitism provide ways in which to legitimize and understand how those enactments of gender and sex are a part of human existence. The following paper critically examines the concepts of social construction and performativity in order to understand what Butler means as she discusses gender and sex in these terms. Through looking at examples of human existence in order to understand her intentions, the foundational elements of her philosophy emerge. Post-modernism Post-modernism, according to O’Brien (2009, p. 368) is â€Å"the elimination of universal and dichotomous categorizations of, particularly, the identity and the recognition of co-existing social realities or truths, as well as knowledges and identities†. The post-modern concept of identifying the construction of society is based upon the idea that almost any part of social interaction is the result of the choices to continue to act in manners that replicate, even if evolve, the behaviors and ideas about the world in which human beings live. Under this type of thinking there is almost no absolute truth, but constructed truths th at define the individual, the roles within society, the manner in which those roles are acted, and the way in which the constructed reality becomes an interrelated set of norms that are undeniable and virtually unquestionable. Butler (1993) discusses how the term post-modern was ascribed to her rather than taking on the role of a post-modernist on her own. She seems to be concerned with the habit of the post-modernist to make sweeping generalizations when being critical about the state of the world. Butler (1993) writes of Charles Jenckes who described a temporal collapse, which for Butler signaled that there could be no postmodern because there was a void after the modern period. This collapse was a sign that there was no ontological foundation on which to build theory. Therefore, it is difficult to refer to Butler as a post-modernist, but at the same time many of her theories can be set into a post-modern framework Butler herself, however, does not see the concept of a post-modern framework. Hesse-Biber and Leavy, (2007, p. 86) write that Butler feels that post-modernism is a catch-all idea which has no boundaries to time or meaning. Where O’Brien (2009, p. 368) discusses post-modernism in terms of breaking down barriers to truth, Butler describes postmodernism as a non-existent and ill-defined concept in which whatever exceeded modernism was lumped in order to find a way to discuss that which came after modern thinking. However, where Butler seeks to

Article critique Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Article critique - Lab Report Example This practical value of this model makes this study stand out among the existing publications in the field. The recent projections forecast increasing deficit in the future demand for registered nurses. Thus, according to the HRSA estimate published in 2002, the demand for registered nurses (RN) will reach 2.8 million nurses by 2020 (HRSA 2002). The primary purpose of their study is to correct the existing RN shortage projections by taking into account the recently increasing tendency of late entry into nursing profession. The authors believe that the declining interest in the nursing profession the HRSA and other projections rely upon might have been only a temporary phenomenon related to the choice of first career; on the other hand, the number of people entering nursing at later ages (late twenties – thirties) commonly has not been taken into account despite the rapidly increasing weight of this cohort. Auerbach and colleagues aim to correct this essential drawback by proposing a specific model that considers the tendency of late nursing entry. The research purpose formulated by the authors did not imply any too specific requirements to be addressed: large massive of reliable representative data was, in fact, the only serious requirement. The fact that Auerbach and colleagues employed a simple statistical model, commonly used by demographers and economists, to reveal changes the number and age of RNs over time confirms the assumption that the study did not represent much of a challenge in terms of methodology. Therefore, reliability and representativeness of input data could be considered the most important problem. The authors used data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) from 1973 to 2005 which provided comprehensive nationally representative information on demographics, earnings, hours worked, industry sector, and employment of more than 3,000 RNs employed in nursing