Political power of women Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Political power of women - Research Paper Example However, while women in the region continue to rise into the highest positions of leadership in the region, the rise in the number of such leaders does not result in the protection of the rights of women (Pamela and Melanie 65). The position of women in the two societies contrasts thereby depicting definite pattern of weak political institutions that do not consider the position of women in the Asian societies. The position and participation of women in politics should facilitate the inclusion of their rights and roles in the constitution as the essay below portrays. The democratic processes in the countries are illusionary and use the high political positions as rewards to women who lose either fathers or husbands in political assassinations. The Sri-Lankan female president for example rose to power after the assassination of her husband who served as the president prior to his murder. While the women hold the highest positions in office, they work in heavily bureaucratic systems of ten working under the influence of men. This explains the inability of the female presidents to improve the status of women in the countries. The status of women in Asia is appalling with some societies showing abject disregard to the fundamental human rights. The rise of specific women into the positions of power does not help address such deeply entrenched social structures that perpetuate the disregard of the fundamental human rights (Pamela and Melanie 231). India, the world most populous nation and a strong economy in Asia has had few women in leadership positions. This perpetuates the traditional stereotypes in the society most of which support the disregard to the rights of women. The recent case of a girl gang raped in a public bus in Mumbai depicts the hopelessness of women in the country. The incident portrayed the fact that numerous rape cases in the country go unreported. The police in the country lack the motivation to investigate crimes against women. The lack of both motivation and resources to investigate cases of crimes against women and bring the suspects to book as depicted by the actions of the police investigating the case of the young girl gang raped in bus shows the lack of representation of women in the society. The political system in the country does not uphold the values and rights of women thus compelling female rape victims to feel ashamed and shun any attempt to report such atrocities. The police force in the country consists of men who therefore uphold the laws that safeguard the rights of men often disregarding the plight of women. The police force in India for example requires effective reforms in order to increase the number of women in the force. The presence of a female president surrounded by male cabinet secretaries and male parliamentarians does not help elevate the position of women in the society. The change in political representation requires enactment of legislations that safeguard the rights of women. Additionally t his requires an attitudinal overhaul in order to influence the feelings and thoughts of the populace in order to recognize the rights and roles of women (Gelb and Marian 41). The solution to the social problems in Asia is improved female representation. As determined above, having a female president is not enough since an individual may not influence the political and policy changes required to alleviate the plight of women in the s

Commentery Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Commentery - Thesis Example The king was then considered to be the guardian of the country and the rise of the parliament was obstructed for a very long time as a result of this theory of the Divine-Right of the king. The powers of the king and the institution of monarchy in England and other parts of Europe have been extremely pronounced and have maintained a strong hold on the public imagination. The king often worked in conjunction with religious authorities of the day so as to maintain monarchical control over the kingdom and over the minds of the people. Through the ages, the institution of monarchy sought to perpetuate itself through discourses that brought in several ideas such as the divine and the social. There have been occasions on which this dissent has translated itself into great violence. One of the greatest instances of this is the execution of the king in England in the seventeenth century by the Puritan regime. The French revolution can be considered to be the culmination of the bourgeoisie so ciety’s resistance against monarchy (New Tensions in the Western Political Tradition: Absolutism and Parliament 23-4). The French revolution then can be considered to be one of the most important moments in the history of Europe where the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity were considered. These then influenced to a great extent the rise of democracy and the state as an institution of the modern society. The Divine Right theories that were talked of during the medieval ages were then looked upon as something that prevented the transfer of power into the hands of the common people. As explained earlier, the French Revolution led to the displacement of the ideals of monarchy. The importance of this lies in the fact that the overthrow of monarchy was accompanied by a great many changes in the social structures of that period. The complicity of the church in the control that was exercised

Dream of equal schooling Essay Example for Free

Dream of equal schooling Essay Mr. Borsuk also found that with the exception of the element of religion in the voucher schools—an issue many feel is a violation of the separation of church and state â€Å"it’s the same story that’s being played out in urban classrooms across America—a story of poverty, limited resources, poor leadership and broken families. † (2006). Based on firsthand experience observations garnered from visiting each and every voucher school that would allow it, Borsuk concluded that at least ten of the 106 schools visited appeared to â€Å"lack the ability, resources, knowledge or will to offer children even a mediocre education†¦. most of these were led by individuals who had little to no background in running schools and no resources other than state payments. † (Borsuk 2006). Nine of the voucher schools would not allow the reporters to observe their work, making one wonder why the secrecy? Like everything on earth, some bad must come along with the good. Alex’s Academics of Excellence happened to be a school begun by a convicted rapist, and kept on enrolling students even after allegations of drug use by staff on school grounds and a DA’s investigation. Thankfully, Alex’s, along with three others have closed—as a result of outside intervention, not due to parental outcry. Conservatives have focused on the undeniable problems in our public school systems as a reason for the voucher system. They say that the voucher system gives â€Å"choice† to parents and students, but in reality they are more interested in privatizing the schools, effectively removing them from â€Å"public oversight and responsibility. † (Special Voucher 2000). The alternative to the voucher system would be to â€Å"invest in our public schools, not abandon them,† according to the more liberal stance. Our society knows how to teach children, it just tends to do that job in unequal measures. Many times a disproportionate amount of money is spent on the already privileged children rather than on the low income areas. Perhaps the largest distinguishing factor in voucher schools comes down to religion. Many of the students in the voucher program schools pray together in class, read the Bible, the Torah, or attend Mass. Even parents who are not particularly religious feel their children will get a better education and learn moral values when placed in a parochial school. While the religious aspect is a sticking point for those who advocate the separation of church and state, the religious schools are the fastest growing area of voucher schools, and many parents who were interviewed felt their children were receiving a much better education in a parochial school than they did in public schools. Martin Carnoy, a Stanford University professor has been critical of the voucher system, pointing to the fact that other states are not participating. â€Å"No other places jumped on the bandwagon, and I think the reason is they don’t see anything spectacular and terrific happening. Basically, they can live without it. † (Borsuk 2006). It is felt in many sectors that the voucher program has been a huge drain on resources, taking away money and attention from the some 85,000 students who still attend regular MPS schools. These students are effectively losing out so that others can attend private schools. (Borsuk 2006). How do other states feel about the voucher system? The Florida State Supreme Court ruled on January 5, 2006 that Governor Jeb Bush’s pilot voucher program was illegal because it â€Å"violates the provision in the state constitution that prohibits using taxpayer money to finance a private alternative to the public education system. † (OnWEAC 2006). The decision was 5-2 and the court stated that the voucher school program hurt public education because it diverted public dollars into private systems. Voucher schools are being rejected at a national level as in November, 2005, a group of 23 House Republican’s â€Å"bucked its party’s leaders and defeated an effort to include a private school voucher plan in the House budget reconciliation bill. † (OnWEAC 2006). The question remains: What is the future of the Wisconsin Voucher system? From September, 2005 to January, 2006, the number of low income students attending voucher schools dropped sharply, a decline of nearly 1500 students. This could be due to the fact that three voucher schools were closed because they did not meet minimum standards, or perhaps the reasons are more far-reaching. (School Choice 2006). The Laws have recently expanded the eligibility of voucher recipients, now allowing students who are in schools that have ranked in the â€Å"academic emergency† or â€Å"academic watch† category for the past three years to receive vouchers. (School Choice 2006) The Maine Supreme Judicial Court recently upheld a very controversial state law that prohibits students from using publicly funded vouchers for religious schools. Justice Donald Alexander wrote that the â€Å"state is not compelled to pay for religious education; even though the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that these programs are constitutionally permissible. † (School Choice 2006). Although this was a Maine case, the issue may soon arise in Wisconsin as well. Wisconsin has done its best and tried many alternatives, gone down many roads to improve the education of their children. Nobody can fault them for this, however it is clear that it is still far from a level playing field, and that more reforms are in order, more programs that guarantee each child a quality education. References: Borsuk, Alan J. (January 3, 2004). Dream of equal schooling is unrealized. Accessed on May 3, 2006 from: http://www.jsonline.com

Aspects of microeconomics and macroeconomics

Aspects of microeconomics and macroeconomics On this assignment will be looking into different aspect of microeconomics and macroeconomics, will be taken into consideration the definition and concept of the whole question as follow below. Part 1 (Micro section) Q1 To help understands by defining Demand that is the quantity of a good which consumers want, and are prepared and able to pay for. In this case the demand of organic food and drink has fallen sharply, and the main influence for fallen on demand for those products are: price; income; the price of substitute goods; the price of complements; taste; demographic factors; advertising and expectations. Price is one of the most important factors and it shift demand curve when it rises, the effect is shown by a movement along the demand curve, because consumers are likely to substitute cheaper alternative goods. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikibooks/en/c/c1/DemandCurveMovementExample2.png The demand curve is downward-sloping, showing that as a price falls, demand rises, and vice versa. In this graphic, a reduction of price from P2 to P1 causes a rise in demand from Q2 to Q1. Usually, the more people earn, the more they will spend. The demand for most goods increase as income rises, and these goods are known as normal goods. And organic food and drink are normal goods, because the demand falls as consumers income falls, and vice versa. Demand can change sometimes, because of the expectation of price changes in the future. For example, post-Christmas sales may push customers to postpone spending until January. In an article entitled Food Price, Ellis makes the point that (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) The proportion of shoppers buying organic food dropped by five per cent in the previous year. In July 2009, research carried out by marketing consultancy Cohn and Wolfe also reported that British shoppers are turning their backs on premium foods, organic produce and Fair-trade goods. According to the Cohn and Wolfe report, 69 per cent of shoppers say they intend to stick to their belt-tightening shopping practices even after the downturn ends (). www.bbc.co.uk/food/food_matters/foodprices.shtml#what_about_the_recession. Q2 The production possibility frontier illustrates the problems of scarcity and choice and the opportunity cost of resources allocation decisions. The opportunity cost of something is what you give up to get it. To understand the idea the economy, which produce two goods as manufacturing and financial services, with all resources employed, producing more financial services can only be achieved by some sacrifice on manufacturing services. It can be illustrated on diagram below shown. B A 0 The frontier shows all the maximum possible outputs given the economys existing quantity of resources. It can have any combination of goods along the line. Point A shows a society which is failing to use all of its resources to the full, either through inefficiency or unemployment. Point B is currently unachievable, but can be achieved throw economic growth. The shape of the curve is bowed outwards to the origin, is based on the notion of that society progressively allocates more resources to the production of a particular good, the opportunity cost of doing so will increase. In other words the curve is bold because the more input the less is the output. For example, UK economy is based on services because the government decide not to invest on manufacturing and thought the easiest way to make money is by providing financial services especially banks and shoppings only 13% of UK GDP comes from manufacturing. Now the services have been beaten by the recession, many banks are facing financial problems, because they use to lend money to people who were at lower income. Many of these people cannot repay their mortgage because they lost their jobs and they are haven their home been repossessed, it is causing serious problems on economy; records can be seen on graphic below. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7789844.stm Q5 It is important to be aware of the differences between theoretical models: a perfectly competitive firm; monopolistic competitive; oligopoly and a monopoly. But here only two will be taking into account. Perfectly Competitive Monopoly Very many small suppliers One supplier only Homogeneous goods; Suppliers products are a perfect substitute for one another One type of product only; no close substitutes available One market price Price set by one firm. Possibly price discrimination Demand curve of individual firm is horizontal. Demand curve of firm and industry is downward-sloping Perfect information Imperfect Information No barrier to entry in the long run Barriers to entry Clearly the assumptions essential perfect competitive extremely are not likely to apply in the real world; there is no market which obeys all the conditions. On the other hand, there are some that come close. The stock markets and foreign exchange are examples. Also complying with regulations the market is costly, as is training and equipment needed to operate in such a sophisticated, highly computerised market. As you can see, the conditions are not obeyed perfectly, but it may be that the markets are near enough the formal definition that displays the main characteristics of a theoretical perfectly competitive firm. The monopolist produces less, and charges more, than the perfectly competitive firm. He makes supernatural profits, which would be competed away in a perfectly competitive market in the long run. He may also be technically inefficient, operating at above minimum average cost. The monopolist equates marginal cost and marginal revenue. The perfectly competitive market equates marginal cost and average revenue. In perfect competition, each firm produces at the point where P=MC. PART 2 (Macro section) Q1 The economy is in recession because production is below its potential capacity, the term recession mean lack of money supplier. To respond this crisis the government is intervene through fiscal and monetary policy to increase aggregate demand, and the way for doing it is by supporting bank balance sheet; cutting in direct taxation(VAT -2.5); quantitative easing (bank of England) and employment level. Fiscal policy is basically about government taxation and expenditure. To help in this crisis the government has reduce the consumption tax VAT -2.5 to 15% to stimulate investment expenditure, but there was a big criticism about this idea, because reducing VAT did not cause long term impact in the economy, would cause more impact if they invest the  £12 billion building an public infrastructure to increase an aggregate demand. Monetary policy the bank of England is an independent monetary policy institution there a committee people appointed by government to make decision about interest rate, monetary policy is focus in regulating the money supplier in the economy through interest rate it has a big impact on aggregate demand. The bank of England has reduced its interest rate to 0.5% to boost the UK economy and start lending money to business and individuals. As the economy beginning to grown some others part of the economy will be automatically adjust, for example an increase on employment. Some companys worker has agreed to have a pay cut on their salaries to reduce people being redundant (BA Line). Automatic adjust as the economy beginning to grow the employment rate will decline http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7832714.stm According to Kyosaki, Robert, Rich dad poor dad 2, E, (2008), few people have anticipated the financial problems we face today were created more than 60 years ago by politicians and lawmakers predecessors. Q3 In the post-war period government have adopted four central objectives of macroeconomic policy: low inflation; full employment; rising economic growth and balance of payments. But full employment is too hard to archive especially there is a trend for national income to experience cycle of growth and contraction, i.e. boom and recession. These cause severe social problems as failing level of economic activity throws people out of work and causes business to fail. The term unemployment means those of working age who are without work, but who are available for work at current wage rates. Unemployment could still exist because of many causes mentioned below: Cyclical unemployment, this occurs due to a deficiency of demand, often refers to the fact that in such circumstances it is possible that prices will fall. Frictional unemployment, refer those people who are unemployed and jobs available rarely match perfectly, leading to an inevitable degree of unemployment. Technological unemployment, can occur when industry is growing and moving towards more efficient capital intensive methods of operation. Seasonal unemployment, relates to fluctuations in demand for labour directly related to cycles in demand for final product. Tourism and leisure industries are the best examples, these can contribute to regional problems as they are strong in particular areas. Some of the remedies that government can use to reduce the level of unemployment are: direct increase in government spending on public infrastructure; encouragement of business investment by offering grants and loans; encouragement of exports; subsidise firms in financial trouble, guarantee jobs for workers facing redundancy and to restrict imports of competing foreign goods and also using specific measures to get people back into work like new deal programme and so on. The relation between unemployment and inflation can be explained with Philips curve, by Professor AW Philips in the 1862-1958. Philips observed that the rate of change in money wages was inversely related to the level of unemployment. Rising money wages were identified as a source of inflation and the inflation appeared to be inversely related to the level of unemployment. http://welkerswikinomics.com/students/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/fig21-300269.jpg Q4 The globalization and the environment are linked, because for expansion of economic, environmental damage are produced that are essential to the process of globalization. Mander argue that Globalization is a human creation that aims to remove impediments, such as environmental laws that restrict companies access to resources and markets, environmental damage is therefore an intrinsic part of the globalization system. www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/samples/toc32870.pd The intention of having a globalized world and to lower trade barriers, protecting free trade and my environment, thus bringing the economic development in poor countries, so that people have access to information, improving their health and liability to environmental protection. The process helps to globalize the ideas run free from one country to another, increasing the availability of knowledge and other opinions, helping the development among the nations. But for many environmentalists and anti-globalists Globalization will lead to environmental disaster and will gradually lead to the destruction of the environment, because the vision of globalization and produced without precedents to environmental deterioration. Speth points out that Since the end of World War II economic expansion has produced enormous environmental damage and global economic development can be expected to bring about even more dire economic consequences. www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/samples/toc32870.pd He believes that with globalization the few developed countries are benefiting because there was an opening up huge markets for them, since many of these poor countries produce more effective products and efficient, doing so will be multinationals are setting up in places, boosting investment foreign direct investment, and generating many jobs open to residents, e.g. Asian Tigers of South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore demonstrated the great benefits of globalization and free trade. www.futureharvest.org/ news / globalization_pir. In the other hand, there is a great inequality and between rich and poor countries. Aislin It has been argued that poor countries are often exploited and pushed into the world trade forums. For example, it is evident when the rich nations are allowed to pay huge subsidies to their farmers, which leaves LDN is a disadvantage industrial Workers. http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/politics/dailynews/TheNote_March5.html Q5 If imports goods are too high it may be possible to reduce demand for them in the economy by imposing tariffs to raise the price of imports goods to prevent unfair competition in the home market. Also to avoid buying product from the market were workers have been exploited to export their product cheap. This policy is likely to be met by retaliation from overseas countries, which will reduce exports putting the current account back into deficit. In addition, imposition of tariffs does not reduce expenditure if demand for imports is relatively inelastic, government policy favouring domestic suppliers may mean higher than necessary taxes to pay for the higher necessary purchase cost, and restrictions generally encourage smuggling and black market For example, a poor country that in main revenue comes from the tax on trade, if withdraw the tax trade its revenue will reduce significantly also the amount of investment on public infrastructure will be reduce, consequently many import goods may come into the market in a low price, causing the domestic goods serious problems on market as well as increase unemployment. The balance of payment also will be affected; because of lack of exportation it may cause government to borrow some money to balance the balance of payment.

Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the hardest form of punishment enforced in the United States today. It is a controversial issue that continues to be debated by the American public. Most of the factors people do not agree on the issue of Capital punishment is immoral and for this reason should not be allowed in our society.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the other hand, there are many reasons for the support of Capital punishment. Capital punishment protects the innocent of society against the violence of criminals. Capital punishment deters crime and helps create peaceful conditions for our society. Capital punishment also serves the purpose of justice for the victims of the crimes. Furthermore, people believe that death penalty reduces serious crimes. Although there are many effective reasons supporting the death penalty, many people still deem that Capital punishment should be abolished because it is cruel, inhumane and barbaric. Moreover, the possibility of innocent death is always there. In addition, some people believe that the most effective punishment to deter crimes is life sentence, not Capital punishment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Firstly, Capital Punishment is cruel and unusual punishment. Once a jury has convicted a person, they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment phase. If the jury recommends the death penalty and the judge agrees, the criminal will face some form of execution and then a life is ended. The death pena...

Symbolism in J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye Essay -- The Catch

Many novels cannot be fully understood and appreciated if only read for face value, and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is no exception. The abundant use of symbolism in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is of such significance that it â€Å"proclaims itself in the very title of the novel† (Trowbridge par. 1). If the symbolism in this novel is studied closely, there should be no astonishment in learning that The Catcher in the Rye took approximately ten years to write and was originally twice its present length. J.D. Salinger uses copious amounts of symbolism in his novel to accurately convey the feelings of his main character, Holden, and, in essence, to reveal information pertaining to human sentiment. Many of these symbols contain irony, multiple meanings, and varying degrees of complexity. Through the comprehension of Salinger’s unique symbolism, however, The Catcher in the Rye can be truly understood and appreciated. The character of Holden Caulfield is a powerful symbol himself which represents people as they truly are. Holden can be related to by anyone; he is occasionally silly, irritating, thoughtless, and irresponsible. He judges others without a second thought and builds his perception of people according to the things that he deems to be â€Å"phony.† Holden Caulfield is representative of idealism. He sees the difference between what is and what ought to be and is bothered enough by this to take action. The name â€Å"Holden† can be phonetically interpreted as meaning â€Å"hold on,† but what is it that Holden is holding on to? The Catcher in the Rye is the tale, from Holden’s perspective, of the three days following his removal from his prep school, Pencey, and the wisdom that comes during his venture. One of the first enc... ...nguage Quarterly 25.4 (1964): 461. Print. Edwards, Duane. "Don't Ever Tell Anybody Anything." ELH 44.3 (1977): 554-65. JSTOR. Web. 20 Apr. 2009. Foran, Donald. "A Doubletake on Holden Caulfield." The English Journal 57.7 (1968): 977-79. JSTOR. Web. 18 Apr. 2009. Miller, Edwin. "In Memoriam: Allie Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye." EBSCOhost. 2000. Web. 22 Apr. 2009. Privitera, Lisa. "Holden’s Irony in Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye." Explicator 66.4 (2008): 203-06. Print. Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown, 2001. Print. Svogun, Margaret D. "Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye." Explicator 61.2 (2003): 110. Print. Takeuchi, Yasuhiro. "Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye." Explicator 60.3 (2002): 164. Print. Trowbridge, Clinton W. "The Symbolic Structure of The Catcher in the Rye." EBSCOhost. 2000. Web. 17 Apr. 2009.

Into The Wild Essay

Into the Wild is the true story of Chris McCandless, an unrealistic risk-taker who died in Alaska near Denali National Park after hiking alone unprepared. Journalist Jon Krakauer wrote this story as one of courage; however, many Alaskans considered it one of arrogance and foolish self-absorption. Chris grew up in wealthy Annandale, Virginia, his parents both successful federal consultants. Strong-willed and intensely idealistic, he amassed physical skills as if training to become Superman. As captain of the high school cross-country team, he drove them as â€Å"Road Warriors† in overly demanding training. Disenchanted with Annandale materialism, Chris dropped out of society, refusing to become a cog in a societal machine and feeling that man can live without machines and society. He declined Phi Beta Kappa membership, named himself Alexander Supertramp and went to Alaska. Influenced by London and Thoreau, he planned to live outdoors by his wits, not learning anything about Alaska first (he felt he knew enough). Because of the amount of corruption in US society and the dishonest dealings I’ve seen in every job I have ever worked, I want to drop out like Chris. However, Chris’s grandiose self-image overtook his idealism, preventing him from thinking to prepare for an Alaskan adventure. He committed suicide by stupidity, because he was educated enough to know to prepare himself. He died just 20 miles from the Parks Highway in the summertime, because he had no map or compass. I feel that technology is full of tool that I can use, and I will run it, but not allow it to run me or allow others to run me into the ground in a meaningless job that uses technology. Thus, I would use technology to prepare myself to live well without the stress, via telecommuting perhaps. Ray Krok ruined this nation with his â€Å"fast food† mentality in which you hire people at minimum wage, run them as hard as you can, and fire them when they get tired. I saw that my first day on a job at McDonalds and that changed my life forever. That mentality is now everywhere in the workplace. I want to drop out of this society, but I will use technology to do so, not walk into a wilderness unprepared. The internet and libraries house anything I want to learn, and I will do so. Chris was not able to form long-term relationships. He hated his parents for being cogs in the federal machine, and rejected advice and offers of supplies from Alaskan friends. This resulted in a lonely, painful, and preventable death. However, I am will not repeat his mistakes. Chris had assumed he could forage for food and hunt game forever, but decided to leave. However, he found his trail blocked by the rushing Teklanika River in its summer cycle. He could have found that out at the library. His body was found in the sleeping bag his mother made. Krakauer believes Chris died from eating the wild potato seeds that contain an alkaloid that prevents the body from using much-needed glucose. Had he prepared himself with research, he could have survived. Instead, he wasted not only a moose he shot and could not use, but also his own life, and hurt his friends and family by rejecting them. Using technology today, I feel this is not necessary. I can work alone on a computer and relate to others with a cell phone or on the internet, so I can drop in and out almost at will and I will be satisfied with that. REFERENCES Jon Krakauer, Jon. Into The Wild. Anchor. 1997.