Womens Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean Essay Example For Students

Womens Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean Essay In every country in Latin America and the Caribbean, women suffer acute discrimination. Often, the discrimination women face is related to social prejudices regarding appropriate patterns of conduct for men and women. This entrenched sex inequality provides the backdrop for the pervasive and widespread human rights violations women face in the region, with little chance of justice. The most pernicious types of womens human rights abuses in the Americas occur in the areas of womens reproductive and sexual health and rights, discrimination and violence against women in the workplace, and violence against women in the home. After decades of dictatorships in some countries, democracy has not meant an end to impunity for violations of women rights. In fact, despite the formal acceptance of international human rights instruments that explicitly define womens rights as human rights, many people challenge this proposition. This challenge to womens rights is particularly prevalent in the area of sexual rights and reproductive health. Women struggle daily to gain even minimal autonomy over their intimate lives. We will write a custom essay on Womens Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Women may be subjected to rape, including by their husbands, while many more are denied access to contraceptives and reproductive health services, and refused the possibility to decide to terminate unwanted pregnancies with safe and legal abortions. Across the region, millions of abortions are performed every year, most of them under unsafe, clandestine conditions, and thousands of women die as a result. For example, in Argentina, women face multiple obstacles to obtaining contraceptives and risk their lives through unsafe abortions due to legal restrictions and a failure to implement even their minimal rights under existing law. As an urgent human rights matter, governments in the region must ensure womens access to safe abortions where abortion is already decriminalized, repeal laws that criminalize abortion, work toward explicit legalization of abortion, and ensure womens voluntary access to safe contraceptive methods of their choice. Womens right to the highest attainable standard of health is also compromised by the manner in which some countries address the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the second highest HIV prevalence rate after sub-Saharan Africa. Women increasingly constitute the majority of those newly infected. Even so, governments have failed to incorporate respect for womens human rights into their central responses to the epidemic. In the Dominican Republic, for example, women are subjected to illegal HIV testing without informed consent when they seek employment or health care, and those who test positive are routinely fired from their jobs and sometimes denied public healthcare. In addition, public health professionals often reveal confidential HIV test results to womens families without the tested individuals knowledge or consent, exposing them to a heightened risk of violence and stigma. Other countries in the region, such as Peru, require as a matter of law that all pregnant women test for HIV without ensuring womens confidentiality or consent, and without linking HIV tests and counseling to the pervasive problem of domestic violence. Womens inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean is reflected in the discrimination they face in the workplace. Since the 1960s, the number of economically active women in the region has more than tripled. Though more than half of these economically active women have entered the informal sector, as domestic workers, street vendors, or other informal employment, women now also occupy positions in the formal workforce in larger numbers, in particular in export-generating industries. With the entry into the formal workforce, abuse suffered by women in the workplace is surfacing as a central obstacle to women achieving economic independence. .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 , .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .postImageUrl , .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 , .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03:hover , .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03:visited , .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03:active { border:0!important; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03:active , .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03 .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub2aa0c8434dc9a48aedcd0692ba69c03:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Searching for Ancient Egypt EssaySexual harassment, pregnancy-based discrimination, and gender-based violence in the workplace are common and constant threats to working womens lives and livelihoods. Migrant workers are especially vulnerable to abuse, including trafficking and forced labor. In countries like Mexico, Guatemala, and the Dominican Republic, the laws fail to adequately protect women workers rights and governments are turning a blind eye to the abuses perpetrated by private-sector employers. Trading partners with Latin America are also ignoring the widespread abuses. To remedy these violations, governments must act immediately to ensure that labor and other laws adequately protect womens rights, and international trade agreements should specifically prohibit discrimination based on sex. Despite recent legal reforms, domestic and sexual violence are still rampant in all countries in the region, affecting an estimated 40 percent of women. In most countries, legislation classifies domestic violence as a misdemeanor rather than as a serious crime (felony), and does not explicitly protect women from marital rape and stalking. Discriminatory attitudes of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and judges, who often consider domestic violence a private matter beyond the reach of the law, reinforce the batterers attempts to demean and control his victim. Few governments offer battered women a real alternative to staying in an abusive relationship, as shelters either are few or do not allow women to bring their children. Some countries issue restraining orders against abusive partners, but few effectively enforce them, leaving women with little protection against their aggressors after they file a complaint with the police. Journalists and womens groups in several countries have gathered information to suggest that up to 80 percent of female murder victims are killed by their intimate partners or ex-partners. For example, in Peru and Brazil, women have faced and in many cases continue to face multiple barriers in overcoming pervasive impunity with regard to domestic violence, including de facto obligatory conciliation sessions between women and their abusers, and lack of training of police officers, doctors, judges, and prosecutors. International human rights law defines violence against women as one of the most basic and reprehensible forms of sex-based discrimination and governments must do much more to eradicate it. Despite continued entrenched sex inequality and womens human rights violations, governments in the region have for the most part formally embraced the concept of international womens rights through the ratification of international human rights instruments directed at eliminating and punishing womens rights abuses. This was achieved mostly as the result of pressure from womens groups and organizations. Latin America is the home to prominent womens organizations, advocates and intellectuals with international reputation. Women are active and prominent members of many social movements in the region, including the Movimento Sem Terra (landless peasants movement) in Brazil and the Piqueteros (unemployed movement) in Argentina. Women also remain the central actors and agents for change in the many organizations of families of the disappeared in South and Central America-organizations that continue to be pivotal in the fight for justice for past human rights abuses in the region. Moreover, organizations that focus specifically on womens rights have been instrumental in generating public debate about womens rights abuses as human rights violations. As a significant achievement for the womens movement in the Americas, every country in the Americas -with the notable exception of the United States-has ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the most important international human rights instrument on womens rights. A number of countries-Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela-have also ratified the Optional Protocol to CEDAW. This Protocol enables individual women to file complaints with the United Nations when violations of their rights are not adequately redressed in domestic courts, and also empowers the U. N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women to investigate situations of systematic or grave violations of womens rights. .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 , .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .postImageUrl , .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 , .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286:hover , .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286:visited , .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286:active { border:0!important; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286:active , .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286 .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u9d55706e6f30d13f40e34e2d7cb71286:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: John Napier EssayIn 1994, the Organization of American States adopted the only international treaty specifically focused on the prevention and punishment of violence against women: the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence against Women, the Convention of Belem do Para. This convention has been ratified by all countries in the Americas, except Canada, Cuba, Jamaica, and the United States. The overwhelming governmental support-on paper-for womens rights has not yet translated into reality for the vast majority of women in the region. The full implementation of this promise of equality is long overdue.

How to Seek Reprint Permission

How to Seek Reprint Permission How to Seek Reprint Permission How to Seek Reprint Permission By Jacquelyn Landis In response to a recent article about quoting copyrighted works, a reader asked about how to secure reprint permission. Whenever you quote a significant enough portion of someone else’s work that it doesn’t fall under the umbrella of fair use, you must seek permission to use it. This used to be a lengthy process involving identifying the copyright holder, finding contact information, writing a detailed letter outlining how you plan to use the quoted material, and then sitting back and waiting. And waiting and waiting. It was a frustrating process, all the more so when the request was denied. The process is much easier today. More and more publishers are using the Copyright Clearance Center, an online service that eases and speeds the process for writers. By using CCC’s Purchase Permissions feature (under the Authors menu option), you can search for published material and find out exactly what kind of reprint rights are allowed, as well as how much they will cost. The drawback to CCC’s service is that not all publishers are on board yet. If you need to secure reprint permission from a publisher that does not use CCC, you might try visiting the publisher’s Web site. Often you’ll find reprint permissions instructions there, and sometimes you can even submit your request through the Web site. Otherwise, you’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way: by writing a letter. In your letter, you must include, at a minimum, the following details: Title and author of the publisher’s book Imprint or division of the publisher’s book ISBN (the International Standard Book Number, located on the copyright page) Title of your book or article Your publisher’s name Format (hardcover, softcover, etc.) Territory of distribution for your book or article (U.S., North America, world, etc.) Print run (total number of copies to be printed) Publication date of your book or article Retail price Your complete contact information It’s important to remember that simply requesting reprint permission is no guarantee it will be granted. The copyright holder has the right to say no. However, you’ll greatly increase your chances of a positive response if you follow instructions carefully and be sure to submit all the required information. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Coordinating vs. Subordinating ConjunctionsYay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations7 Other Types of Pronouns

Approaches to self-managed learning

Approaches to self-managed learning This report first notes how self-managed learning can enhance lifelong development by evaluating approaches to self-managed learning, ways in which lifelong learning in personal and professional contexts can be encouraged, and the benefits of self-managed learning to the individual and organisation. Thereafter, the report comments upon my own current skills and competencies. These are evaluated against professional standards and those of organisation objectives. In the third part of the report, I identify my own development needs and what additional activities need to be undertaken for me to meet them. Finally, a personal development plan outlining current and future needs is given. Introduction Self-managed learning is, as Graves (2012) notes, a process by which individual people find different ways of learning things, whether it be within the organisation they are working for, or with reference to longer-term individual career developments goals. Thus, as Pedlar, Burgoyne and Boydell (2013) suggest, self-managed learning is also about the setting of goals through evaluating the purpose for learning and planning ways by which to achieve such goals. People learn new things using a plethora of different techniques which can be shaped, for example, by culture, behaviour, personality, and perceptions. Indeed, commenting further, Bjork, Dunlosky and Kornell (2013) assert that individuals can learn things not only in a formal educational class but also through friends, and newspapers. Thus, as Ho (2011) posits, self-managed learning gives people a chance to come up with their own strategy in learning. The following section outlines a series of different approaches to self-managed learning. Approaches to self-managed learning Individuals can learn through the research they are undertaking as part of their work or as part of an assignment that they have been issued by either the university or college they are studying at. In addition, people can lea rn different techniques for doing the research. Seminars and conferences People can learn through seminars and conferences, as noted by Collin and Hammond (2013). Seminars and conferences are an effective tool as they give people the opportunity to present their knowledge about something to other people who end up learning new things; thus, seminars and conferences, for example such as that held by the University of Odense in 2013 on the role of Gender in Mediaeval European Cities, are a dynamic learning environment. Further, seminars and conferences help people to become more confident in speaking in public and may also develop their presentation skills: transferrable skills that can be useful in a range of organisational settings – thereby empowering both the organisational and the individual. Social networks There are, as Bourner (2011) notes, a range of different social networks including Facebook, Twitter, My Space, and so on, where people spend an increasing p roportion of their time. Whilst logged onto such sites, people can be chatting with friends or learning new things. This is particularly the case if people share information and knowledge through bulletin boards and forums. People can also learn how social network owners such as Mark Zuckerberg he became successful; and using the information that they obtain, people can apply this knowledge to their own lives thereby find the means of succeeding in

Discussion board 5 - international law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discussion board 5 - international law - Essay Example There is evidence, however, that the KP has done very little in solving the world’s climate problems. Even though the treaty was negotiated in 1997, energy-related emissions had grown 24%, and that only limited financial resources had been provided by developing countries to assist them in reducing their emissions. Another criticism of the KP is based upon what Liverman (2008) calls â€Å"climate justice† (n.p.). The emissions created by developing countries make up the bulk of the total number of emissions and are more vulnerable in these countries compared to the high emissions in the developed world, especially by the U.S. and by major multinational corporations. Critics of the KP have stated that it unfairly puts the burden on the west to financially rectify global warming, when developing countries are often more to blame. Therefore, the argument that the KP would have been more effective if the U.S. and China would have signed it is weak because even if they had r atified it, there is no evidence that global emissions would have been significantly reduced. Perhaps other protocols should be used, ones that do not penalize the west so heavily and that are more effective in what they seek to accomplish. 2. Laws of war Regardless of one’s opinion regarding the Bush administration’s compliance (or lack of compliance) with the international provisions governing the use of force with respect to retaliation, the use of certain weapons, the treatment of POWs and civilians, and the use of torture, any state that has signed agreements and treaties prohibiting them should adhere to them. If the United States or any other country that is a member of the UN that has signed these treaties violate them in any way, they should be held responsible. Of course, the controversy is if the Bush administration actually did that. Members of the U.S. government, especially in the Bush years, insist that they did not. That is beyond the purview of this as signment. It depends upon one’s perspective and political viewpoints, and it depends on who you ask. The U.S. Supreme Court, in its 2006 Hamdan vs. Rumsfeld ruling, declared that military commissions for trying terrorist suspects violated both U.S. military law and the Geneva Convention (Brooks, 2006). The Bush administration held that Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention did not apply to Al Qaeda combatants because its protections applied only to conflicts between states. They reasoned that since Al Qaeda was not a state, the Geneva Convention did not apply to them. The Supreme Court disagreed, which potentially made high-ranking Bush administration officials subject to prosecution under the federal War Crimes Act, something that did not materialize. 3. International Convention on the Prevention of the Sea by Oil This convention, also called OILPOL (http://www.internationallawhelp.com/convention_prevention_pollution_sea_oil.htm) and ratified in 1954, was the first of it s kind to prevent the pollution of the sea by oil by tankers. It prohibited the discharge of oil or oil mixture by tankers within prohibited zones. In 1969, amendments were made to OILPOL that created even more stringent requirements for operational discharges. This was done because the design of oil tankers had changed since 1954 to a â€Å"load-on-top system† (Global instruments, n.d.) OILPOL was further amended in 1971 that imposed new standards on the construction of oil tankers. It was superseded by the 1973/78 MARPOL

Research Essay Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Essay - Research Paper Example Opium is a danger that is rottening the economical and social development of the country and also is destroying the future generation of the world. The Afghanistan was once notorious for its opium cultivation .However recently this business has weakened due to the international fight upon them by western power and destabilizing faced by the Taliban regime. It could be accounted that, the illiteracy and poverty in this nation are the main culprits which intimidate people to indulge in drug cultivation and trafficking. In the website Bryskine writes that :â€Å"According to the survey on drug use in Afghanistan by the UNODC, there are nearly 50,000 heroin users in the country as a whole, and an additional 150,000 who use opium†(Bryskine). Another disturbing fact is the wide use of drug prevalent among the people of opium trading communities. The young people as well as middle aged men are not educated, skilled and advanced to take up a normal job and they ignorantly remain engag ed in the ecstasy of the opium consumption Drugs effect on the people and society. It is seen that numerous amount of people including children and women are taking the escort of drugs to forget the pain and poverty they face in their daily life. In a news article writer Nelson states that: â€Å"United Nations survey begun this month is widely expected to show that at least 1 in 12 people in Afghanistan abuses drugs double the number in the last survey four years ago†(Nelson). The women, who are much suppressed in their social interaction, develop the habit of drug abusing inside the secrecy of mud compounded walls. The soaring number of drug use in Afghan region also aggravated violence and domestic atrocities among men and youngsters .They remain in the intoxication of opium, and refrain from attending schools or potential professions opportunities. They smoke opium which is cheap in their region and beg for money which is an easy method to sustain them. According to the w riter Kelly: â€Å"Conditions are ripe for drug use in Afghanistan: the country is swelled by the return of refugees from Pakistan and Iran, where opium use is endemic† (Kelly).The widespread abundance of the opium has alleviated the number of drug abusers all around the opium cultivating regions of Afghanistan. Seemingly, there are millions of drug addicts in Afghanistan and the government instead of taking care of this population is thriving on the business of opium. The number of drug addicts of the country is only increasing with nobody to educate this poor people about the ill effects of opium use. It is even observed that ,women even sell their babies in search of the drug which is a pathetic plight for humanity Force behind drug trafficking in Afghan Currently Afghanistan is the largest drug producing country in the world. In an article the writer Carpenter mentions that:â€Å" The 2010 Afghanistan opium survey, which United Nation have recently released have revealed that the country’s opium production have decline 48% over the past year†(Carpenter) The opium plants are grown in the lands of tribal war land lords and these landlords are the part of Afghan government .This opium cultivation has taken the place of cottage industry in

The Reason Behind Criminal Sentencing Essay Example for Free

The Reason Behind Criminal Sentencing Essay When someone commits a crime and they are caught and convicted they receive some type of punishment through the process of sentencing. The three main reasons for criminal sentencing are punishment, crime reduction and reparation. Some types of sentencing may contain things to help with deterrence, rehabilitation, incapacitation and retribution of the convicted criminal. When someone is found guilty of committing a crime a court of law must decide what the punishment will be. The eighth amendment to our constitution prevents some one from receiving â€Å"cruel or unusual punishment† which means that someone found guilty of robbery can not receive the death penalty or that the punishment must fit the crime. Punishment may come in the form of serving time in a jail or prison. The length of time will depend on the type of crime committed and how serious the offense was. Someone who deprives another person of property is not going to receive the same amount of time as someone who intentionally kills someone. A convicted criminal may also be subjected to probation or some other types of things as part of being released out into society again. These are meant as a type of prevention tool to help a criminal not reoffend in the future. When people who are convicted of crimes receive some type of punishment it is hoped that it will reduce the rate of crime in an area or city. It is assumed that when others see and hear about a person being punished for doing a crime they might stop and think before they commit a crime themselves. Punishment can also come in the form of reparation which is often in the form of money being paid by the criminal to the victim. In certain cases community service can be imposed on a criminal in place of money or jail time or can be added as part of a way to be released early. When it comes to deterrence there are two types specific and general. Specific deterrence is meant to scare the offender enough to prevent them from committing crime in the future. General deterrence is meant to scare society by teaching them a lesson and showing those in society what can and will happen if you commit a crime. http://www.uslaw.com/us_law_article.php?a=249

A Good Samaritan Law is Never a Good Idea Essay -- Argumentative Persu

A Good Samaritan Law is Never a Good Idea Less than one year ago, the largest television audience since the series finale of M*A *S*H tuned in to watch the last episode of Seinfeld As the nation watched, Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer said farewell with the arrest, trial, and conviction of violating a Good Samaritan law. While this made for a hilarious television show, this law itself seems to both contradict its essence as well as violate the right to freedom of choice of a citizen. The Good Samaritan law, which requires a bystander to provide aid to those who are in harm’s way if there is no apparent immediate danger to the bystander, encroaches upon the rights of a citizen. This law is an inexcusable violation of American civil liberties and should be stricken from the records, leaving only people’s moral compasses as their guide. The morality of this law is relatively simple: help those in trouble. Generally society seems to consider it a moral obligation to prevent the injury of another person, sometimes even at risk to one’s self. People who do not help others in need are frequently bad examples for the rest of the world. For example, in Charles Dickens’s classic A Christmas Carol, Ebeneezer Scrooge is infamous for his selfishness and disregard for the well-being of others such as Bob Cratchett and his family (barely paying him and not allowing him more than a day for Christmas). Scrooge’s partner, Jacob Marley, is damned for the same type of crimes. The only path to redemption for Ebeneezer is through helping others who are in need: giving food to the Cratchetts and caring for a sickly Tiny Tim. While Scrooge had a moral reason to help others, there was no Constitutional burden to do so. If the federal... ...ce call buttons more accessible to the public since many are willing to contact the law enforcement officials. Although Jerry and Elaine can not seem to provide more than a few jokes when seeing their fellow man in trouble, the majority of Americans seem to be willing to help. Despite several incidents to the contrary, the morals of most people will guide them. These less-talked-about occasions in which people called the police, yelled for help, or even tried to physically stop attackers outweigh the apathetic few. With these facts in mind, this law presents unacceptable violations of the freedom of liberty. Ultimately, then, Good Samaritan laws are both unnecessary and dangerous. Bibliography â€Å"Good Samaritan Laws are Questionable.† alt.politics.lawenforcenieflt.Ca.Com (12 October 1998) â€Å"Rapist-Murderer Case.† alt.adoption.com (03 September 1998).

Role and Performance of Government and Ngos in Relie F

ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 Role and Performance of Government and NGOs in Relief Assistance: A Case Study of 2005 Earthquake61 Khalil Ahmad(Corresponding author) Assistant Professor of Economics University of the Punjab, Lahore Tanveer Ahmed Naveed Lecturer, Department of Economics University of Gujrat Sami Ullah Lecturer, Department of Economics University of Gujrat Tahir Rashid Ph. D.Scholar at Government College University, Lahore (Pakistan) Abstract This study investigates the role and performance of Pakistan government and humanitarian agencies during relief and emergency aid assistance to 2005 earthquake victims. This comparative study is based on empirical data collected from 30 most affected villages of NWFP (Pakistan) and AJK through a sample survey on 1st anniversary of 2005 earthquake. About 500 randomly selected heads of the families were interviewed in the sampled area.Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon test i s used to compare the relief assistance provision and satisfaction shown by sufferers toward government agencies and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) during relief program. While Chi-Squire test is used only to investigate the relationship between affected areas and respondents’ demographic characteristics. Evidently, results show that the NGOs provided more relief items in a better way to victims of 2005 earthquake than did the Government of Pakistan. This study will be helpful in disaster management planning at government and non-governmental levels.Keywords: Performance; Earthquake; NGOs; Government; Relief Efforts BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION Pakistan experienced a destructive earthquake on October 8, 2005, at 8:50 PST, intensity of 7. 6 measuring on Richter scale. Arguably, this was the most devastating disaster in Pakistan’s history. The earthquake epicenter was located 100 kilometers north-northeast of Islamabad. Intensity of losses increased by a series of aftershocks, more than 1000 aftershocks ‘ranging from magnitude 5. 0 to 6. 0’ were recorded as of October 27th in IndiaPakistan Kashmir region. 61 Authors are very thankful to PATTAN Development Organization (National NGO) and Dr.S. M. Naseem for financial help and motivation in study conduction COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1726 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 At least 73,000 people had died, another 70,000 had been severely injured or disabled and over 2. 8 million persons have been left without shelter. In addition, 600,000 houses, 6,298 schools and 796 health facilities were demolished. About 6,440 kilo meters roads were damaged and 50-70% of the water supply, sanitation, telecommunication and power infrastructure was rendered un-operational. Pakistan 2006) It is nearly impossible to figure out exact economic impact of earthquake 2005. In total, about US$5. 2 billion was estimated cost of earthquake; includes cost of relief provision to victims, restoration of livelihood support and short, medium and long term reconstruction (ADB and World Bank, 2005). The most immediate task was rescue of people trapped in collapsed buildings and to transport them at safer places along with provision of relief to survivors to save the lives and to secure the dignity of affected population (ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006).The Government of Pakistan immediately realized the enormity of the task and appealed to the international community for emergency assistance. The Government of Pakistan and national & international agencies took immediate measures for rescue, relief and reconstruction for 3. 5 million affected people of NWFP and AJK. Generally, donor agencies and the external sources prefer to channelize emergency assistance to disaster victims through international and/or indigenous NGOs due to all pervasive corruption and misappropriation of reli ef funds on the part of the Governments.The government of Pakistan and participating slocal, national, and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with the help of domestic and external sources initiated massive rescue and relief activities in the area. (ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006) Both, government of Pakistan and NGOs played important role in relief distribution and rehabilitation activities. Government of Pakistan established the central coordination office for rescue and relief started to work at Prime Minister (PM) Secretariat immediately after the earthquake.Federal Relief Commission was established on 10th October 2005 to mobilize all resources, to coordinate activities and to facilitate flow of relief goods (ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006). The Federal Relief Commission (FRC) of Pakistan Government, Armed Forces, International donors, UN agencies and local NGOs joined hands to undertake the huge operation for delivering emergency relief against challenges s uch as mountainous terrain, distant and difficult to access communities, changing weather conditions, resource constraint, and overwhelming suffering of the people.On March 31st 2006, the Government of Pakistan officially ended the ‘Relief’ phase and the Federal Relief Commission (FRC) was subsumed into Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA). Government of Pakistan, NGOs and international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) performed different rescue, relief and rehabilitation activities during the first year of the 2005 disaster. Relief provided by FRC with assistance from foreign governments, INGOs, NGOs, individuals and corporate sponsors are summarized in Table 1.COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1727 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS Table 1: Joint Relief Delivered to the Affected Population Relief Goods and Services Temporary Shelters to Families Tents Blanke ts / Quilts Ration( in tons) Medicines (in tons) Field Hospitals Established Field /Mobile Medical Teams Sorties Flown Quantity 385,000 951,790 6,361,090 256,376 3053. 76 65 86 30,334 JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 Source: ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006 (From October 2005 to March 2006)Empirical studies suggest that nations with greater resources, better awareness and preparedness are more able to restore and move to normality faster than poor and less prepared nations during disasters. According to the Mid-America Earthquake Center, ‘‘the biggest earthquakes in the region (Pakistan & India) are yet-to-come’’ (Boyd 2006, p. 1). â€Å"Theoretical studies indicate that the energy stored along the Himalayan arc suggests a high probability of several massive earthquakes of magnitude (greater than) 8. 0 in the future† (Shaheen 2007, p. ) â€Å"Theoretical studies indicate that the energy stored along the Himalayan arc suggests a high probability of several mass ive earthquakes of magnitude (greater than) 8. 0 in the future† (Shaheen 2007, p. 1). Research on disasters could be used as a tool for creating better preparedness to combat with future disasters. Further, it helps formulate a comprehensive strategy for disaster management. This research study based on Pakistan’s experience and response to disaster 2005 would be of greater importance for other countries facing similar disasters.Objectively, researchers have investigated various aspects of the 2005 earthquake. However, this study sheds light on role, responsibilities and performance of Governmental institutions and Non-governmental organizations during rescue and relief efforts. This study compares performance of the Pakistan government with NGOs with regard to management and distribution of emergency aid to 2005 earthquake victims during and immediately after the disaster.This comparison is based on data obtained from three most affected areas of NWFP (Pakistan) and AJ K through a sample survey conducted on earthquake victims in October 2006, on the 1st anniversary of 2005 earthquake. Literature Review Pakistan is prone to frequent disasters that inflicted severe losses to property and lives. More frequent disasters are floods, droughts and earthquakes. However, the history reveals that earthquakes were the worst disasters regarding losses to lives (ERRA, Annual Review 2005 to 2006).In 1950, Pakistan witnessed the first severe flood disaster that claimed 2910 lives and affected more than 10,000 villages. Since then, floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have been striking with regular intervals but none of the successive governments could ever devise a comprehensive strategy for disaster management (A Review of DMP&S in Pakistan). There was a major earthquake in Quetta, Balochistan, in COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1728 ijcrb. webs. comINTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BU SINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 1935 when the entire city was destroyed. From 1974 to 1990, approximately 5669 people were killed due to earthquakes in the Northern Areas (NA), NWFP and Balochistan (A Review of DMP&S in Pakistan). A brief history of earthquakes in Pakistan along with intensity and resulting human losses is given in Table 2. Table 2: Details of Earthquakes in Pakistan Date May 31, 1935 November 28, 1945 December 28, 1974 October 8, 2005 October 29, 2008 Magnitude 7. 7. 8 6. 2 7. 6 6. 4 Deaths 30,000 – 60,000 4,000 5,300 80,000 215 Injuries and Destruction Tsunami 17,000 injured 3. 5 million people homeless 120,000 homeless District/Province Ali Jaan, Balochistan Balochistan Hunza, Hazara and Swat Muzaffarabad (AJK) Ziarat District, Quetta Source: www. wikipedia. org. com As Pakistan is in a seismic belt, therefore, it suffers from frequent earthquakes of small magnitudes. Mountain ranges of Koh-e-Suleman, Hindu Kush and Karakorum are significantly vulnerable.The devastation can be immense because of the poor quality of buildings and housing (A Review of DMP&S in Pakistan). During the 2005 earthquake a large number of government buildings constructed by the contractors in AJK and Balakot area, collapsed in the first jerk of the quake. This is the overall impression of the people in the earthquake devastated areas that between 30 and 60 per cent of funds for government buildings, including schools, are spoiled by corrupt officials. Contractors habitual of such kickbacks spend less on quality materials resulting in poorly constructed buildings.Therefore, systemic corruption in government construction projects would be directly responsible for the devastating losses of next generation in northern areas of Pakistan (Shaheen, 2008). In addition, there was no adequate crisis management structure in Pakistan prior to the 2005 earthquake and none have any past experience to deal with such severe natural disasters. Although, the army and several NGO groups took the initiative in launching rescue and relief efforts, however, the onerous responsibility of reconstruction and rebuilding rested on the government (Prakash Ouis, 2001).Further, high dependence on natural resources makes communities vulnerable particularly to changes in resource condition (Pomeroy et al. , 2006). Mostly, all-pervasive corruption and abuse of relief aid by Government agencies and bureaucratic style of humanitarian organizations distracts them from the needs of the people they are supposed to assist, in favor of other values that their institutional frameworks dictate (Binini, 2006).This claim was tested by investigating the response to the Pakistan 2005 earthquake and a closer look at data suggests that there was not an optimal match between survivor needs and relief deliveries (Binini, 2006). A certain degree of coordination failure is, of course, inevitable in disasters of this scale. However, Pakistan’s domestic and external political situation made such co-ordination even more problematic and highlighted the need for a bottom up strategy to tap the resources at the local and grass-root levels.Literature represents different strategies adopted by the world by learning from experiences, how to combat with future disasters, how one can better prepare to face less socio-economic and COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1729 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 human losses. Many countries like Italy adopted insurance policy measures to combat natural catastrophes (Amendola, 2000). This raises the question whether government agencies and NGOs played the required role during relief phase of 2005 earthquake?Did the government or NGOs performed better during provision of relief aid to victims. Whether the international donations and NGO development programs aimed at reducing vulnerability to earthquakes are an appropriate response t o the earthquake hazard or not (Shaheen, 2008). Are earthquake victims satisfied that relief provided by Government and NGOs was according to their need and secured dignity during relief disbursement? So did Pakistan learn any lesson? If yes, what policy planning Pakistan adopted for future Disaster Risk Mitigation?These all aspects are required to investigate for better preparedness, mitigation and for future disaster response. The purpose of this research is to investigate the role and performance of government of Pakistan and humanitarian agencies during relief and emergency aid assistance of 2005 earthquake victims. Further to evaluate, comparatively who performed better. This study will be helpful in disaster management planning at government and non-government levels. Typically, this study is unique in its nature and will be an imperative contribution to the body of research concerning disaster management in Pakistan.Methodology and Data collection The primary source of data f or this research was field survey conducted in October 2006, immediately after the Pakistan government earthquake emergency relief assistance programs ended. About 500 household heads in the most affected districts (areas) of Pakistan and Kashmir â€Å"Mansehra, Bagh and Muzaffarabad† were contacted to investigate the role and performance of Government agencies and NGOs in various rescue, relief and rehabilitation programs. While survey team couldn’t conduct interviews in fourth most affected district â€Å"Batagram† due to adverse circumstances (i. . cultural, religious and political reasons, at the particular moment). Individual household was the basic sampling unit. â€Å"A household is a group of people in a dwelling unit living together as a family and sharing the same kitchen† (PAUL 2003). In the first stage of the design of the survey, out of nine, three most affected districts were selected. In the second stage, 15 most affected union councils wer e selected (5 UCs in each district). In the third stage, 30 villages or Mohalahs (for urban) were randomly selected.As affected area is consisted of diversified topography, so to find impartial and faultless response urban and rural localities were also considered. Similarly, male and female respondents were selected proportionately to find statistically reliable and significant results. A comprehensive questionnaire containing demographic information of respondents followed by data relating to socio-economic impact of disaster along with opinion questions with regard to the distribution of inflict relief by the government and NGOs were asked to household heads. A household head is defined as the person who makes the major economic, social, and household decisions, irrespective of this individual's age and gender† (PAUL 2003). Key Questions 1. Comparatively, who performed better during rescue and relief phase of 2005 earthquake, the NGOs or Government of Pakistan? COPY RIGHT à ‚ © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1730 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 a. Who provided more relief to the 2005 earthquake victims in the emergency/relief phase? . To what extent 2005 earthquake victims are satisfied with the Government and NGOs’ performance Performance is measured by ‘both’ provision of relief items to affectees and satisfaction level shown by respondents toward Government agencies and NGOs. Relief includes following items; rescue, transportation, shelters, food, bedding, cooking utensils, information and awareness, education, training, money, health facilities that were essentially required soon after disaster to survivors to live with dignity.Whereas variable government includes; Army, ERRA, PERRA, DRU, Local Administration, Federal Government, and other governmental institutions that took part in rescue and relief phase. Moreover, Non-governmental Org anizations includes; indigenous NGOs, International NGOs, UN Agencies. Analysis Techniques To analyze the amount of external support provided to the afectees by the government and to test whether the amount of received support was in accordance with their socio-economic conditions, chi-square test of association and Mann-Whitney Test (nonparametric tests) are used.Chi-Squire test is used only to investigate the relationship between affected areas and respondents’ demographic characteristics (occupation, education, sex and locality). Mann-Whitney Test is used to determine if a difference exists between performances of two groups: Government and NGOs. Unlike t-test, Mann-Whitney Test does not require normal distribution of data (MacFarland, 1998). Subsequent analysis is performed by using the SPSS.The nature of the relationship between socio-economic indicators receipt of assistance will be helpful for evaluation of the equitability and performance of the government and NGOs re lief assistance efforts during earthquake 2005. In general, there is a positive relationship between the amount of emergency aid received by earthquake victims and their socio-economic conditions. Poor victims, owing to their weak political and economic power, receive much less assistance than rich victims. Results and Discussion Devastation of 2005 earthquake could be portrayed by housing destruction of affected regions.Data represents that 100% living was affected by disaster. In total, 75% people substantiated complete demolition of houses, while remaining 25% claimed partial damage. Table 3 explains the area wise house damage caused by earthquake. Remarkably, data regarding house damage shows approximately similar trends as shown in district profiles prepared by ERRA. Table 3: Destruction of housing by 2005 Earthquake House damage Completely Damaged Partially damaged Not damaged Total Bagh 80. 7% 18. 4% 0. 9% 100% Area wise breakdown Mansehra Muzaffarabad 77. 5% 69. % 22. 0% 30. 1% 0. 6% 0. 00% 100% 100% Total 75. 2% 24. 4% 0. 4% 100% COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1731 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 Nearly, all the respondents reported that they had received the external aid ‘in any form’, either from governmental agencies, NGOs, INGOs, friends/relatives or from individual philanthropists. Collectively, about 85% respondents ranked NGOs and Government agencies topmost helping hands during relief phase.The remaining 15% reported that they seek assistance either from relatives, friends, neighbors, individual philanthropists and they ranked the same at top. The following analysis of the assistance received by victims is based on the response of 85% of respondents who availed some form of assistance. Table 4 shows selected characteristics of the respondents; mainly they were segregated into four occupational groups: farming, services, bus iness, and others. Mountainous geographic location of the area is the reason that only 6. % of the selected population is engaged in farming and 19. 7% in business profession. Moreover, majority of respondents (68%) were employed in services sector (including both public and private services). The analysis based on Chi-square test reveals that there was a significant difference in the occupational characteristics of respondents in all the three sites covered in the present Table 4: Percentage Distribution of Demographic characteristics of the respondents Characteristics Profession Farming Services Business Others Bagh 5. 4 69. 6 19. 6 5. 4 100 39. 13. 3 31. 9 15 100 25. 2 74. 8 100 55. 3 44. 7 100 Districts Mansehra Muzzaffarabad 11. 7 2. 6 59. 6 74. 7 20. 5 19. 1 8. 2 3. 6 100 100 47. 7 13. 8 23. 0 15. 5 100 22. 2 77. 8 100 52. 6 47. 4 100 46. 2 9. 7 25. 1 19. 0 100 38. 8 61. 2 100 48. 5 51. 5 100 Total 6. 5 68. 1 19. 7 5. 7 100 45. 2 12. 0 25. 9 16. 8 100 29. 7 70. 3 100 51. 6 48. 4 100 X2=18. 490 (df=6; p=0. 005) Education Illiterate 1-5 years 6-10 years Above 10 years X2=5. 531 (df=6; p=0. 478) Locality Urban Rural X2=13. 889 (df=2; p=0. 001) Sex Male Female Total X2=1. 451 (df=2; p=0. 484) study.Analysis indicates greater dependency of the affected area population on non-farming income generation sources. While in Mansehra (NWFP) 11% of respondents disclosed that their major source of income was agriculture which was highest engagement in farming throughout study area. The survey data revealed that sample consisted of 45% illiterate respondents. Further gender analysis shows that illiterate women ratio was significantly higher than male illiterate population i. e. 70% and 30% respectively of total 45%. Table 5 illustrates discriminating behavior of society regarding educational acilities to female population of the area. Chi-Squire test shows highly significant results, that is educational COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Resea rch 1732 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 level is drastically different between male and female population of selected area. Interestingly, official data regarding gender wise literacy also have approximately similar trends. Table 5: Gender wise breakdown of educational level of respondents (in Percentage) Illiterate 1-5 years Male 30. 64. 9 Female 69. 7 35. 1 Total 100. 0 100. 0 X2=76. 827 (df=3; p=0. 000) Sex Educational Level 6-10 years Above 10 years 64. 8 79. 0 35. 2 21. 0 100. 0 100. 0 Total 51. 6 48. 4 100. 0 The null hypothesis that there is no difference in provision of relief assistance to 2005 earthquake victims by Government and NGOs was tested by using Mann-Whitney test. Significance can be verified by comparing the computed test statistic (e. g. , U) with its critical value. By interpretation of the p (probability) value, it is observed that p= 0. 005, which is smaller than the 0. 05.Comparison of te st statistics with its table value and the probability method both suggest the rejection of Null hypothesis which states that there is no significant difference between government-provided relief aid and that of NGOs. Further the higher mean rank for NGOs (518 vs. 467) supports the conclusion that the NGOs provided more relief items in better way to victims of 2005 earthquake than Government of Pakistan. Table 6: Comparison of Relief Support Groups N Mean Rank Government 492 467. 53 Relief Support NGOs 492 517. 47 Total 984 Test Statistics Test StatisticMann-Whitney U Wilcoxon W Z Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) Sum of Ranks 230022. 50 254597. 50 Relief Support 108744. 500 230022. 500 -2. 824 0. 005 Evidently performance is directly associated with satisfaction. Satisfaction is persons feeling of pleasure as a result of comparing a product perceived outcome in relation to his/her expectations. Consequently, if the performance exceeds the expectation, the beneficiary is very satisfied. If out come equals the expectation, the receiver is satisfied. But if the performance falls below the expectation, then the recipient is dissatisfied.In this study Mann-Whitney Wilcoxon test is used to compare satisfaction shown by sufferers toward government and NGOs role during relief program. Test shows extremely significant results. Similar to 1st null hypothesis, 2nd null hypothesis is also significantly rejected, that is, there is no difference in satisfaction shown by victims towards NGOs and Government of Pakistan for relief provision. Further, it explains that NGOs (including both the indigenous and the international) prevailing in Pakistan have played an effective and impartial role in the distribution of relief assistance than did the government organizations.So results show that COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1733 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 credibility of NGOs botto m-up approach is higher than that of the government based on topdown directives. In so for as performance is concerned, people are more satisfied with the role played by NGOs/INGOs as compared to Government Agencies during the relief phase. Table 7: Comparison of Satisfaction Groups/Satisfaction Government NGOs Total Statistic Mann-Whitney U Wilcoxon W Z Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) N 492 492 984 Mean Rank 354. 310976 630. 3689024 Sum of Ranks 174478. 5 310141. 5 Test Statistics Satisfaction 53200. 5 174478. 5 -15. 242 0. 000 Conclusion In 2005, Pakistan experienced the most disturbing earthquake in its history. Pakistan government and humanitarian agencies initiated wide range of relief efforts for the survival of victims. This study is an effort to compare the relief disbursement efforts carried out by the NGOs and the government. Further, it looks at the possible association between socioeconomic characteristics of the disaster victims and the amount of assistance they received from th e government and/or from the NGOs.To probe these objectives, this study used a primary data in which 500 household heads of 30 villages of 15 union councils of three districts have been interviewed. The analysis of data indicates that though both, government of Pakistan and NGOs’ played significant role during rescue and relief assistance, the majority of respondents reported that they were more satisfied by the NGOs work compared to government efforts. Further majority of the respondents believed that NGOs performed much better in relief provision than the government of Pakistan.Recognition to NGOs efforts could be due to non-bureaucratic working style, proper need assessment, ensuring victim participation in decision making, acting as per sphere standards while helping the communities. Moreover, wide range of experience in working with effected communities and use of more participatory approach made them more efficient and successful. Respondents’ opinions regarding less efficient role of government could be due to unmet very high and irrational victims’ expectations. Further NGOs are supposed to work in specified area with having fewer responsibilities and more skills.Whereas governments’ working area and responsibilities are spread to all affected population regardless of degree of severity. Moreover, important policy implication of this study is that if government agencies would not handle relief efforts effectively and efficiently than donor agencies may rethink their procedure and channelize future emergency aid and development funding through NGOs or sub-offices. This mistrust has been experienced by government of Pakistan in current flood disaster on both, public and donors’ ends.But optimistically this might lead to COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1734 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS JUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 expansion of NGOs in Pakis tan. So government need not only develop institutional and technical skills to cope with future disasters but also consider expansion to NGOs as alternative to mitigate the hazards and strive to strengthen them. COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1735 ijcrb. webs. com INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS ReferencesJUNE 2011 VOL 3, NO 2 Action Aid International (2006), The Evolving UN Cluster Approach in the Aftermath of the Pakistan Earthquake: An NGO Perspective. Action Aid International, London. ADB-WB (2005), Preliminary damages and need assessment—Pakistan 2005 earthquake, prepared by Asian Development Bank and World Bank, Islamabad, Pakistan, November 12, 2005. Amendola, Aniello, 2000, ‘Earthquake Risk Management: A case study for an Italian Region†, International Institute for Applied Systems, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austria. Benini, A. A. et al. , 2006, ‘Survivor Needs or Logistical Convenience?Fa ctors Shaping Decisions to Delive’ Blackwell, doi:10. 1111/j. 0361-3666. 2008. 01065. x Boyd, J. (2006), Preliminary report: Future quakes in Pakistan inevitable, http://www. media. rice. edu/media/NewsBot. asp? MODE=VIEW=8166, Accessed on 23-04-2011 at 17:00. MacFarland, T. W. (1998), ‘Mann-Whitney U-Test’ viewed August 2010. http://www. nyx. net/~tmacfarl/STAT_TUT/mann_whi. ssi Pakistan, Government of (2005), ‘A review of Disaster Management Policies and Systems in Pakistan’ Islamabad. Pakistan, Government of (2006), Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), Annual Review 2005-06.Paul, B. K. 2002, ‘Relief assistance to 1998 flood victims: a comparison of the performance of the government and NGOs’ The Geographical journal, Vol. 169, No. 1, March 2003, pp. 75-89. Pomeroy, R. S, Blake D. Ratner & Stephen J. Hall 2006, ‘Coping with disaster: Rehabilitating coastal livelihoods and communities’ Elsevier, Ma rine Policy 30, PP 786–793. Shaheen, M. A. (2007), Academic Institutions and Libraries of Pakistani Administered Kashmir: A Pre and Post Earthquake Analysis, A Paper read on 73rd IFLA General Conference and Council held on 19-23 August 2007 at Durban, South Africa. Shaheen, M.A. (2008), ‘Earthquake effects on educational institutions and libraries of Azad Kashmir An appraisal’, Emerald, Vol. 57, No. 6, 2008, pp. 449-456. COPY RIGHT  © 2011 Institute of Interdisciplinary Business Research 1736 Copyright of Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business is the property of Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

U.S. Federal Reserve Monetary Policy

The United States is one of the few industrialized country in the world.   It is a country that is admired by many. The Americans have managed their finances quite well. The Federal Reserves system of the United States is one institution that handles financial fraction of the United States of America. It is the central bank of this developed country that was created by the Congress in 1913 to aid in having a safe, flexible and stable monetary and financial system (http//www.federalreserve.gov). To keep up with the mission of the Federal Reserve, they have created Monetary Policy. This policy is about all the actions taken by the Federal Reserve System regarding the cost and availability of money as well as in promoting economic goals. The Monetary policy is a very powerful tool; it can make or break the status of economic variables like employment and prices of goods and services. This is a responsibility is very crucial for the economic status of the country since their decisions dictates the would be trend. The task of handling monetary policy lies in the hand of able team members of the Federal System, the Federal Open Market Committee. This committee includes the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Reserve Bank presidents (http//www.federalreserve.gov). Making monetary policies is a task that requires close scrutiny and careful examinations of data at hand. The Federal Open Market Committee has tools that aid them in making sound decisions about the policies that will be made by them and implemented country-wide. These three tools are open market operations, discount rate and reserve requirements. An open market operation is one tool used for monetary policies. This tool of monetary policy concerns controlling the supply of money by a buy and sell of U.S. Treasury and federal agency securities. They guide their decisions from the current status of the country’s economy regarding exchange rates or interest rates. The decisions are also based on an objective that is set by the Federal System. This objective is stipulated by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). The objective that is set by Federal Open Market Committee each economic year varies accordingly (http//www.federalreserve.gov). Though there is one thing that is constant is that they base their assessment on how to maintain the stability of prices in the market to encompass a sustainable growth. An open market operation has also change through time. Nowadays, it can also be done electronically. The discount rate is the second tool of monetary policy. The federal system has regional banks and they also give loans to other commercial banks and institutions. The interest rate charged to these intuitions is the discount rate (http//www.federalreserve.gov). This is not given to just any bank or any depository institution though. They have to still meet a specific set of requirements to be able to loan and on what level of credit scoring from the federal system. Reserve requirements are the third tool in creating a monetary policy. The Board of Governors has the exclusive right to amend a change regarding these requirements (http//www.federalreserve.gov). This dictates the minimum reserve regarding customers’ deposits and notes. This year, the recorded reserve requirements in America is ten percent on transaction deposits and zero on time deposits and all other deposits. The booming field of information technology has helped lift the economic conditions in the country. In 2005, it has recorded 12.41 trillion dollars as its gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is one of the measures used to indicate how good the economy of a country is doing. This rate will include the measures of all finished products created and services produced (Wikipedia). It is wise that companies and businesses in the United States have the flexibility to adapt innovations in the field of information technology to make them more profitable. Koznar (2005) has said in his speech that the current stability in the economy is also because of the labor markets contribution. He has attributed some qualities of the American economy that makes it successful. These qualities include flexibility,  Ã‚   trade liberalization, and The monetary policy of the United States has been into ups and downs but the Federal Reserve team members are determined to succeed and to maintain a high standard. They are aiming on a more efficient and effective operation by having just a few locations. Federal Reserve is an independent entity, it is neither under the government’s jurisdiction nor is it to be called a private institution. They make sure that the monetary policies that they implement are in accordance to what the economy needs to succeed by careful deliberating the information presented and analyzing diverse views of the team members. Each of the monetary policy council member also its own team help them in formulating their positions for the economy. The team is complete from an economist and a financial analyst to translate the trends in the market, a payments system expert to check if the policies will an advantage, to an attorney to make sure that every policy is in accordance with the law thus it will not be questioned. Success is nothing if you can not measure it. In an international trade scene, economies of scale will play a critical role in determining the unit cost that will increase returns. Better organizational skills are needed by a management team that is gearing towards success. These factors include how we perceive the environment, time, power, structures and space; the emphasis we place on relationships or tasks, on individuals or the collective; how we think and communicate. Productivity within a team needs to be established for this is critical regarding the success of a company or an institution. Each component contributes to the behavior of the system. No component has an independent effect on the system. The behavior of the system is changed if any component is removed or changed. Reference: Krozner, Randall S. â€Å"Remarks by Governor Randall S. Kroszner   At The Forecasters Club of New York†, September 27, 2006. Federal Reserve. Retrieved November 04, 2006 from http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2006/20060927/default.htm Federal Reserve System. Monetary Policy. Retrieved November 04, 2006 from Wikipedia. Economy of the United States. Retrieved November 04, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_States

frederick barbarossa essays

frederick barbarossa essays Frederick Barbarossa, like other men of his age, was influenced by a growing resurgence of neoclassical sensibilities. It should not therefore be considered surprising that he would have considered himself ruling as "Frederick, by the grace of God emperor of the Romans and august forever..".(A letter to Otto of Freisling) He like other leaders before and since saw and welcomed the prestige and sense of legitimacy offered by the title of Roman Emperor. To achieve this, kings since the time of Charlamegne had often traveled to Rome in order to be crowned Emperor. The pope as heir to the Church of Constantine provided the symbolic link between the Roman past and the present Empire. It was in this light that in 1154 Frederick entered Italy, to be crowned in Rome and assert his domination over Northern Italy as such. His subsequent involvement in Italy was to bring him and his family line into conflicts, which would have severe effects on the future of the Hohenstaufen line an d the German Monarchy. As a result, at a time when other dominant royal families were laying the cornerstones of powerful national monarchies, Hohenstaufen power and the Holy Empire crumbled. Frederick Barbarossa's mother, Judith, was a Guelph , Frederick acted as a mediator between his Hohenstaufen uncle Conrad, and his Guelph cousin, Henry the Lion. Prior to his death Conrad III named Frederick as his successor, hoping that Frederick's reign would end the discord between the rival houses of Hohenstaufen and Guelphs. In 1152, Frederick pacified Germany by proclaiming a general land peace to end the anarchy, and in 1156 he satisfied Henry the Lion by restoring the duchy of Bavaria to him, at the same time making Austria into a new duchy as a counterweight to Henry's power. In Italy, Frederick's policy was to restore the imperial power, which had virtually disappeared as a result of neglect by previous emperors....

Macro economics short answers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Macro economics short answers - Essay Example (15 points) Some institutions and institutional arrangements boost economic growth. Institutional arrangements outline the formal and informal rules of the game that direct how people interact. These arrangements form incentives and outline expected and tolerable forms of behavior in social interaction. The institutions that boost economic growth include: Productivity is referred to as the ratio between the output quantity and the quantity of inputs. It determines how well production inputs, like labor and capital, are being employed in an economy to create a specified level of output. Factors that lead to increases in productivity include capital accumulation, more access to natural resources, technological innovation, transformation in labor processes like division and specialization, improvements in business practices and transformation in patterns of trade. Great depression was as result of crash of the stock market. Once the stock market plunged, fearful that banks would fail, people started to withdraw their money. Almost overnight, they put thousands of banks under threat. The more money people withdrew, the more banks failed, and the more banks failed, the more money people withdrew. By 1933, nearly 11,000 of the nation’s 25,000 banks had fallen. In order to boost economic activities the Fed was to put in place policy measures geared toward increasing money supply in the economy but it did not do that in time leading to economic

Racism and Hooliganism in English Football Coursework

Racism and Hooliganism in English Football - Coursework Example A questionnaire to assess the perception of racism in football was distributed to football clubs and their spectators in the North East of England, and 10% of these questionnaires were returned. The results of this research seem to demonstrate that racism has little influence and plays a minimal role in the production of hooliganism within English professional football at least as a simple causal agent. Racism - the theory that people of one race are superior to another race, and this theory often results in hostility towards the supposed inferior race, and practices of discrimination (Williams 1991). Hooliganism - Although the exact definition of hooligans is rather open-ended, it can be characterised as violence toward opposing fans, players, and referee's or destruction of objects inside or around the stadium. Violent incidents that occur following a game that fans perpetrate is also often considered acts of hooliganism (University of Leicester 2002). Professional football in England still suffers from incidents, trends and traditions which suggest that racism is very much a part of the game. For instance, comments by individuals involved in playing, managing and mediating football in England are suggestive of an acceptability of racism in and around the game (Metro 2007). This has largely been attributed to Britain's colonial past, where it was common place for racial stereotypes to prevail (University of Leicester 2002). Whilst most of this racism has been targeted towards black players, it is also affecting England's reputation for international matches with its European counterparts (University of Leicester 2002, Giulianotti and Armstrong 2003, Spaaij 2006). The fact that black players and white, but foreign, players are the subject of racist comments shows the at the term "racist" is not as simple as it might at least superficially seem. The black players may be targeted because of their "blackness", while the other foreign players are targeted for their "foreignness": but "black" and "foreign" are not synonymous. Some black players are targeted for racist comments by supposedly 'friendly' supporters, i.e. supporters of the team that the black player is playing on. Added to this mix is the element of "hooliganism" in which the hurling of racial epithets from one group of supporters to another is often the precursor to violence, then a complex situation arises. This situation has further been exploited by right wing groups who use football grounds to distribute their paraphernalia; examples include the 1982 World Cup Finals, where right wing organisers were actively recruiting sympathisers, before and