Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 28
Journal - Essay Example In this quote, Mama realizes that her daughterââ¬â¢s ambitions are totally different from hers. She feels that her daughter wants to complement her looks with that of a ââ¬Å"whiteâ⬠woman, and by doing so, she feels she is deviating from ââ¬Å"real lifeâ⬠. In this passage, Mama notices that she is not living in accordance to her daughterââ¬â¢s expectations, in spite of the pride she takes from her hard work. This is something that even bothers her so much. Unlike her daughter ââ¬Å"Deeâ⬠, who can always look into anyoneââ¬â¢s eyes, Mama feels that she cannot. At the begging of the second paragraph, Maggie comes out wearing a red blouse and a pink skirt and asks her mother how she looks. It is obvious that she looks presentable before her mother, but when she walks the mother compares her to a dog. This passage presents a change in the Mamaââ¬â¢s perspective about ââ¬Å"real lifeâ⬠. She now feels that Maggie has a better figure than her sister, Dee. Implying that she will perhaps have a better future than her and Dee. In this paragraph, Mama is trying to recall how she thought Dee used to hate Maggie and their house. Although she managed to take Dee to school with the help of her church and the a few money she had, she felt that Dee did not appreciate, but turned to hate her house and small daughter. Dee realized the importance of education and wanted to share the knowledge gained with her mother and sister who only felt that they did not necessarily need such knowledge. This paragraph, therefore, indicates different perceptions about education between the educated and uneducated as well as rural and sophisticated population. At this point, Mama was narrating how Dee used to like nice things, which she always worked hard to achieve. She was quite unlike her mother, who always believed she is a big-boned woman who is conditioned to work. She even says Maggieââ¬â¢s lack of style will finally make her marry John Thomas who has ââ¬Å"mossy teethâ⬠(Walker 317). This
Monday, October 28, 2019
Benefits of Capital Punishment Essay Example for Free
Benefits of Capital Punishment Essay Though death penalty law has received insurmountable onslaught from the opposing activists and human rights campaigners, a number of states have maintained a hard stance and stood their grounds, this has been with good reasons. It is also in the clear understanding of its benefits and the hollowness of the counter claims. The position of this paper is that capital punishment has a wide range of benefits to a nation. Capital punishment deters crime, curbs recidivism, controls overcrowding and reduces the cost of maintaining inmates serving life sentences. A number of econometric studies conducted between 1978 and 2000 in the United States by a number of scholars bear the truth about the deterrence abilities of capital punishment (Paul R. Z. , 2006, 34). These studies have established the obvious, just as incarceration deters crime so does capital punishment. Capital punishment simply refers to an act by state of executing criminals found to have committed capital offenses. History has it that the origin of capital punishment was necessitated by the need to quell soaring rates of grievous crimes and political dissent. There are various crimes that are punished using death penalty; these however usually vary from one country to another and are a product of a states traditions and societal expectations. In China corruption is considered serious enough to attract a death penalty. Majority of countries regard drug trafficking, rape and cold blood premeditated murders as capital offences. Zhiqiang Liu (2004, 12), an economist, is particularly categorical in his study of the ability of capital punishment to deter crime. He goes forth and posits that one execution of criminal by state goes ahead to safeguard about eight lives of potential victims, this is in accordance to a study he conducted in the United States between the early 1930s and the late 1960s. This study is quite confident on the relationship between executions and crimes rate. These findings had earlier been echoed by H. Naci Mocan and R. Kaj Gittings (2003, 29) in a state level study conducted for a period of 20 years up to 1997. The conclusion of this study was reached after a careful analysis of the homicidal and imprisonment rates compared with the rate of capital penalties meted out. The conclusion was that each execution carried out went ahead and reduced the number of homicidal cases after while rescinding of a death penalty generated a significant increase of murder cases. The issue of deterrence has received quite a sizeable proportion of interest from academicians. This interest is not only as a result of its relation to capital punishments only but also in regard to other crimes as well. One of the reasons behind incarceration in addition to locking out criminal elements away from the precincts of the society is to deter occurrences of similar crimes from potential criminals. Theories have been put forward to analyze the effects of imprisonment and punishment as a form of deterrence. Most scholars have found a correlation between the two. The fear of imprisonment, fines and other forms of punishment is one big reason why many people would rather not go against the law. Early philosophers theorized about the origin of state saying it was brought forth to arrest the anarchical situation that reigned in the original state of nature. The presence of state also gave birth to the need to create laws and spell out the nature of punishment for the violators, such punishment would be meant to deter. There is an undeniable link between deterrence and punishment and the harsher the punishment, the more efficient the deterrence (Van den Haag, E. , 1975). The idea hence that harsh punishment meted out against criminals does not deter similar occurrences is inconceivable; almost all scholars are in agreement that capital punishment should be given to the elements in the society charged with grievous crimes. The basic argument here should be that the nature of crime one commits should attract an equally harsh punishment. Capital crimes rank the highest. None would be harsher than death and this would go ahead in preventing others with similar intentions. A total of 53 criminals were executed in the United States two years ago (Amnesty international, 2007). A bigger portion of those were in Texas. Critics admit that these executions went a long way in curbing crimes in the states that they were carried out and most studies agree. The issue of deterrence hence is unquestionable. A secondary objective of capital punishment on capital offenses is to stigmatize grievous crimes like rape and murder. It seeks to portray the horrific nature of such acts. Nothing would portray this better than an execution. Capital crimes cannot be deterred effectively by imposing light sentences or life imprisonments with an option of a parole. It is not in question that prospects of imprisonment would deter future acts of crimes, but this might not be applicable in well mapped out and executed murders. The prospect of a parole itself negates the deterrence that could have been achieved. The prospects of a death penalty on the other hand make any criminal to have second thoughts before contemplate on taking innocent lives. Capital punishments with an intention of deterring crimes should not only be carried out but they should also be highly publicized to ensure that such news reach all quarters (Hugo A. B. , 1997, 67). . Texas has an exceptionally high proportion of executions being with over half of all executions in the United States. These executions have been on the increase in these recent past years. Dale O. Cloninger and Roberto Marchesni (2001, 62) carried out a study with an intention of comparing two periods, when in one, executions were near zero and in another where there were remarkably high number of executions. This study found that the deterrence hypothesis holds. The numbers of homicide cases reported when there were minimal executions were higher than in when the number of executions went up. Other studies have found that executions conducted in one state have a spill over effect to other areas. Executions in one state may result to a reduced rate of capital crimes in a neighboring state indicating how efficient the idea of deterrence is (Van den Haag, Ernest, 1975, 26). Deterrence operates within a framework of three assumptions; the first one is based on what the law stipulates. The contents of the law are themselves enough to deter crime; a tough law goes a long way in preventing criminal tendencies. The second one is punishment. Everyone should be made aware of what the punishment for violating a certain law is. The third aspect is the certainty of such a punishment. This is where capital punishment comes and it is ascertained through carrying out executions. The state goes right ahead in achieving this and deterrence is achieved. Robertson I (1989, 33) notes that ââ¬Å"through punishment corrections serve to deter the offender from deviating and it scares others who might be tempted into crimeâ⬠Capital punishment has also a cost advantage. In the process of meting out a judgment especially for the lesser crimes, the court determines whether to imprison or fine an individual by looking at the possible costs of incarceration, the nature of the crime and the character of the individual. This is a complicated formula that puts into consideration even the salaries and expenses of the probation officers alongside other costs. The average cost of maintaining a prisoner for a whole year in prison as established in the finding conducted in 2003 is well above twenty-five thousand dollars. This number if multiplied with the millions serving jail sentences in the United States really puts a strain on the public coffers. Fines and paroles are important ways of circumventing this cost and to a greater extent eradicates the social and health issues that arise as a result of the increasing over crowding in the jails today, especially occasioned by the three strikes law. The prisons in most countries, United States included, are always carrying above the expected capacity. Although the intention of capital punishment is not to decongest prisons, when imposed, it goes ahead to achieve this. The costs of congestion are insurmountable both social and economic (Gottfried, T. , 1997, 78).
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Popes Essay -- Religion Catholicism Christian Church Essays
Popes The Protestant Reformation marked a time of great religious, social and political upheaval. For the first time in history the Christian church was permanently shattered. The Reformation originated from a trend in returning to the biblical days of Christianity and a renewal of morality. Unfortunately the Catholic religious leaders didn't share in the renewal of morality. The Renaissance popes were partially responsible for the decline of the church;however, it was the Church's past history and changing social, political and economic factors that lead to the Reformation's sucess. Commercialization of the Holy See was common for most popes, but , according to Barbra Tuchman, three of these men took particular advantage of the practice. Innocent VII is the earliest acknowledged pope during the Renaissance to have taken liberties with the church's finances. Although he engaged in the practices of simony and the selling of indulgences, his most noted mistake was raising donations for a Crusade that never took place. In 1486 Innocent announced a crusade, as well as at the same time declaring a tithe on all churches, benefices and ecclesiastical persons of all ranks. Military plans were drawn up but, in the end, no great army ever assembled or departed from Europe's shores. Instead, in a twist of irony, the Vatican wound up hosting an infidel in the form of Prince Djem, the sultan's brother. This arrangement confused the general public and the papal status fell in the eyes of the public. Papal status was further weakened by Innocent's successor Alexander VI. Alexander thrived on simony. He acquired the office of pope by buying out his chief rivals and openly boasted about this feat. Alexander went on to sell a total of 43 cardinalships, including to his own family. After the murder of his eldest son, Alexander was inspired in a proposed Bull to try to reform the church by reducing the incomes of the cardinals as well as mend other wicked ways; however, provisions caused Alexander to return to normal and he never issued the Bull. Perhaps if the Church had reformed during Alexander's reign, Leo X would never have taken office. Leo is most noted for writing to his brother "God has given us the papacy-let us enjoy it". Leo took this credo to heart and was considered the most extravagant pope and one of the great spenders o... ...tionalism and strong anti-Roman sentiment. This inspired Frederick of Saxony to welcome Luther into Saxony and inspired other princes, such as Phillip of Hesse, to tolerate Protestant reformers. Luther urged princes to seize the Church's property and bring about moral reform in the church. The Church owned large tracts of land in Germany and German princes realized the opportunity to gain wealth by breaking from the church. A steady stream of duchies, margravites, free cities and bishoprics became followers of Luther. The Protestant princes allied with one another to form the Schmalkaldic League in order to fight the efforts of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, to return the princes to Catholicism. The French king, Francis I, supported the Schmalkaldic League in their resistance against Charles. Although Charles won every battle he couldn't get rid of Protestantism in Germany. The Church's past history and Europe's changing political, social and economic climate contributed more to the Reformation's success than the Renaissance popes did. Had Luther lived in a different time and a different area his Reformation would have been cut down like its predecessors.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
third term project :: essays research papers
Third Term Project Beyond the Waves Value: Thirty points applied to English, Social and Science marks à à à à à You will research your topic using the internet, McConnell Library, school library, UCCB library. You must show references from at least three of these places. Magazines and old newspapers are good information sources. à à à à à You will work in pairs on the topic. Each person must contribute to the building of each section. The research work can be divided up, but then all presentation material must be compiled and completed together. Work on the sections together. Brainstorm together about how you want to do the project. Both people will work on completing a section and then move on to another part together. A working rough draft must be passed in as well. You are to keep a record of what each person does for the project. Some of the work will be done in school but a lot of research must be done on your own outside of the school. You will then bring your research to class to work on in assigned periods. à à à à à à à à à à Every presentation must have a visual part ââ¬âTHIS CANNOT BE A POSTER! Some suggestions would be a video clip, a TV hook-up to an interactive internet site, a skit or dramatization, make a magazine, produce a brochure or a newsletter. Check with me on suggestions that you might have. You must present your project to the class. Remember that this is something new to them, and you are teaching it. Values:à à à à à 5 - creativity à à à à à à à à à à 5 - class work time à à à à à à à à à à 5 - rough draft à à à à à à à à à à 10 - content à à à à à à à à à à 5 - presentation à à à à à All projects must be typed and have a cover page. Bonus points are available!!! TOPICS Oceans:à à à à à name and locate the four major oceans of the world; draw a map and illustrate where the oceans are; make up a riddle for each of the oceans for the class to try and solve; make a Jeopardy game using facts you discovered about the four oceans; describe the oceans - area, coastlines, countries around them; discuss one ââ¬Å"ocean issueâ⬠example - oil exploration versus fishing rights à à à à à Endangered Species of the Ocean World: what is an endangered à à à à à species; what are some specific things that people do to à à à à à cause species to become endangered; Chose one ocean à à à à à animal that is endangered and research it; come up with à à à à à a slogan for a bumper sticker to protect your animal; à à à à à create a brochure that gives people tips for saving the à à à à à animals à à à à à à à à à à Ocean Legends and Tales: Read
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Notes How Steinbeck develops the character of Curlyââ¬â¢s wife Essay
Notes for controlled assessment: Examine how Steinbeck develops the character of Curlyââ¬â¢s wife. INTRO. Develops through different themes and emotions through book. Introduced through males eyes negatively. Gives reader impression she is promiscuous and dangerous. ââ¬ËTart, jailbait, tramp. First appearance in book describes her as flirtatious/temptress. As book progresses the views on the character change from initial perception. Tries to exert some power in the hierarchal structure on the ranch (Crooks). Above all is crying out for attention and company, loneliness seals fate. Themes in order: 1. No name/negative image. 2. Attractiveness/attention. 3. Loneliness. 4. Tragedy/victim/women in 1930s. 1. Introduced to the reader through the eyes/opinions of the males. Quote. Not once mentioned to have a name. Defined by her relationship, not an individual. No real meaning, existence no real identity. Disrespectful. Echoââ¬â¢s how women were treated in 1930s hierarchy (explain). No opinions/rights on matters; couldââ¬â¢ve led to feelings of loneliness and victim of discrimination. Quote. Is above Crooks & uses that power. Quote. Sausages. Quote. Fashionable but described unattractive & negative. The way in which she talks. Quote. Portrayed as weak & delicate. Powerless. 2. Young. Probably doesnââ¬â¢t intentionally mean to come across as a tramp or tart. Bored, has nobody to talk to. Her sexuality, provocativeness & the way she portrays herself as a temptress leaves her considered dangerous. Attractiveness is her weapon, no use as no one likes her. Wears red. Quote. Red nails. Brazenness. Reminds reader of Weed & foreshadows things to come (death). In red when introduced and red when killed. Change of description at death. Quote. Sweet, young and innocence. Uses it for attention. Gets the wrong kind of attention. All because of loneliness. 3. From the start Steinbeck uses irony. Soledad/Spanish/solitude. Loneliness, isolation & seclusion how she feels. Quote. Wants company, lonely, doesnââ¬â¢t receive love and affection she needs/a young girl would want. Doesnââ¬â¢t understand why nobody will speak with her. Quote. Only female on the ranch. Demonstrates inner feelings, reader sympathises. Quote. In the end finally confides in someone, Lennie, leads to death. 4. Loneliness leads to her tragic death. Possible foreshadowing of death through loneliness- explain. Nobody will talk but then when Lennie does it results in her death Quote in a way putting her out of misery. Introduced as a girl quote no powerful presence from start, girl gives impression of vulnerability. Surrounded by all males/only female on ranch. Death that of tragedy as she tells of bright future promised quote felt betrayed by family to then settle with Curly. Women had no real career opportunities, heartbroken to end up a housewife like the rest, trying to live the ââ¬ËAmerican Dreamââ¬â¢ had hope and very nearly independence. CONC
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
The Common Law Derivative Action in Hong Kong Essay Example
The Common Law Derivative Action in Hong Kong Essay Example The Common Law Derivative Action in Hong Kong Essay The Common Law Derivative Action in Hong Kong Essay School of Accountancy ACY 3151 Dââ¬â Company Law Preserve The Common Law Derivative Action in Hong Kong Presented to Professor C. K. LOW Submitted by Tony BAI Dongyi; Ashley CHEN Xi; Ri REN Xinyu; Zoe ZHOU Beinan 30 April 2010 Abstract This paper is a response to the First Phase Companies Ordinance Rewrite Consultation Paper Question 7 whether we should abolish the common law derivative action (the CDA) currently retained by sec. 168BC (4) in the amended Companies Ordinance (2004). This paper firstly briefly introduces the current co-existence of the common law derivative action and the statutory derivative action (the SDA) and figure out potential problems which lead us to think about whether we should abolish the CDA. The main part of this paper discusses five arguable aspects from both the con sides and the pro sides of whether abolishing the CDA. This paper discusses the CCASS system which disables many shareholders to use the SDA; the rights f minority shareholders of offshore companies who cannot use the SDA; the international context regarding the CDA in many other common law jurisdictions; the potential confusions and complications with and without the co-existence and some pitfalls of the CDA which are minor and can be ignored. On the discussion of the above five aspects, the authors find that the CDA overrides the SDA in respect of each issue at the current time in Hong Kong, therefore this paper reaches a conclusion that Hong Kong should preserve the CDA at the current stage. Upon the disagreement of the abolishment of the CDA, the authors also provide some further recommendations to help improve the current situations regarding the co-existence of the CDA and the SDA. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract2 Table of Contents3 1. Introduction5 1. 1 The Facts of Foss v Harbottle Case5 1. 2 The Rules of Foss v Harbottle Case5 1. 3 The Common Law Derivative Action6 1. 4 The Drawbacks of the Common Law Derivative Action7 1. 5 Introduction of SDA into Companies Ordinance7 1. 6 Problems of the Co-existence of the CDA and the SDA8 2. Five Aspects Regarding the Co-existence of CDA and SDA9 2. 1 The CCASS System9 2. 2 Members of Offshore Companies11 2. 3 The International Context of Derivative Action13 2. 4 Confusions and Complications Arisen without CDA15 2. 4. 1 General Discussion16 2. 4. 2 The MDA May Not Continue to Work17 2. 5 Other Drawbacks of the CDA Can be Ignored at the Current Stage18 3. Hong Kong Should Preserve the CDA19 4. Further Recommendations20 4. 1 Slight Amend sec. 16820 4. 1. 1 Extend the Scope of Qualified Plaintiff of the SDA20 4. 1. 2 Only Keep the CDA for Shareholders of Offshore Companies20 4. Require Offshore Companies to Accept Hong Kong Statue20 4. 3 Similar Legal System in the Region20 5. Conclusions22 Bibliography23 1. Introduction Before we discuss whether we should abolish or preserve the common law derivative action in Hong Kong, we would like to briefly introduce the background of the leading case (Foss v Harbottle) which established the principles of the common law derivative act ion as well as the pitfalls of it. Then we will mention the statutory derivative action which was the statutory regime introduced to deal with these pitfalls of the common law derivative action. At last we present the problems faced by the co-existence of these two derivative actions which lead to this paperââ¬â¢s main topic whether we should abolish or preserve the common law derivative action. 1. 1 The Facts of Foss v Harbottle Case Victorian Park Company was set up to develop parks and gardens. Harbottle was one of the eight promoters of this company. Foss was one shareholder, who brought a law suit alleging that the promoters sold a land to the company at a very high price. But Harbottle argued that Foss, the plaintiff, could not represent the Company to sue the promoters. 1. 2 The Rules of Foss v Harbottle Case[1] The judges in Foss v Harbottle held that the courts should not interfere in the internal management of companies. Because the company is a separate legal entity, if something wrong is done to the company, only the company itself can sue and that is the so called Proper Plaintiff Rule. The effect of this rule is to eliminate vexatious litigation by troublesome minority shareholders. However, the rule was also criticized by many researchers. If the directors of the company do something wrong, they will of course not have the incentive to make the company bring law suits against themselves. Therefore the minority shareholders cannot have the rights to get the wrongdoers to pay remedies to the company and it is to some extent unfair. Due to this reason, later, four exceptions to the rule were established to try to solve this problem. It is held that the Proper Plaintiff Rule will not apply if the relevant transaction ? is ultra vires or illegal; ? requires the sanction of a special majority; ? infringes the personal rights of a shareholder; or ? amounts to a fraud on the minority. 1. 3 The Common Law Derivative Action The exceptions to the Proper Plaintiff Rule in Foss v Harbottle allow the minority shareholders under some limited conditions to sue on behalf of the company. The common law derivative action (the CDA) is applied based on these exceptions. There are two basic requirements for applying the CDA: The alleged wrong or breach of duty cannot be ratified by a simple majority of the members; The alleged wrongdoers are in control of the company, so that the company cannot sue by itself. 1. 4 The Drawbacks of the Common Law Derivative Action Although the exceptions to rules in Foss v Harbottle open a door for the shareholders to take derivative actions, there are still some drawbacks in the CDA which make it not so effective to protect the rights of the minority shareholders. Just like the Australian Senate Standing Committee stated in its Report: Despite a recent tendency towards relaxation, the narrow rules of standing make it difficult for a shareholder to take legal action. There are some obstacles that confront shareholders in bringing litigation in CDA. These obstacles include: ? There are some defects in exceptions to the rule in Foss v Harbottle; ? The expense of litigation is very high; ? It is very difficult for shareholders to obtain information from the company. These drawbacks will be discussed more detailed in later part of this paper. 1. 5 Introduction of SDA into Companies Ordinance Because the CDA have the above pitfalls and cannot adequately protect the rights of the minority shareholders, the SDA was introduced in many common law jurisdictions. For example, SDA was introduced to Singapore and New Zealand in 1993 and Australia in 2001. In Hong Kong, SDA was also written into Companies Ordinance in 2005. Unlike CDA, the court will consider the good faith of the shareholders and the best interests of the company instead of those exceptions to the rule in Foss v Harbottle. In addition, the ratification by a general meeting will not stop the derivative proceedings which mean the hurdle to apply the SDA is relatively lower than that of the CDA. 1. 6 Problems of the Co-existence of the CDA and the SDA Many jurisdictions abolished the CDA after introducing the SDA, for example, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK[2]. But Hong Kong currently reserves the CDA. The co-existence of the CDA and the SDA may cause some problems such as confusions and complications and this was concerned by the Court of Final Appeal in Waddington case in 2008. This directly leads to the Question 7 in the Consultation Paper. In the following session the authors will discuss the potential problems caused by the co-existence and rationally pro ve that indeed these potential problems should not be the reasons to deprive the shareholders of the rights to apply the CDA in Hong Kong because these potential problems are overridden by the benefits brought by the CDA. . Five Aspects Regarding the Co-existence of CDA and SDA In this part the authors will focus on five aspects regarding whether or not abolishing the CDA. In each aspect the authors will compare and analyze both the reasons to abolish and preserve the CDA and rationally prove that the CDA should not be abolished in respect of all the five aspects. 2. 1 The CCASS System Under Section 168BC (Members may bring or intervene in proceedings) (1) of Companies Ordinance, it states clearly that only members of a company can bring a SDA on behalf of company. However, there is no clear requirement whether the plaintiff has to be a member in order to bring a CDA, and the judge is granted discretion to decide. Therefore those shareholders who are not members can still bring a lawsuit on behalf of the company under the CDA. Hong Kong at the current stage still uses the CCASS system for the stock exchange under which the vast majority of shares owned by the public are not held by themselves, but actually held in nominee account which means those shareholders indeed are not registered to be the members of a company even they invest their money and buy shares of that company. 3] Therefore they are not qualified to apply the SDA under sec. 168BC (1). Moreover the nominees who are often huge financial institutions and are custodians of huge numbers of shares from a lot of shareholders may not have the incentive to bring the lawsuit for some minority shareholders. Further even one shareholder wants to suit the directors on behalf of the company ot her directors may not want to do this therefore the nominee may not be authorized to take derivative actions just because one shareholderââ¬â¢s requirement. Then the shareholder may have to withdraw the shares and again deposit them into the CCASS System which is very troublesome in practice and is a waste of money and time. The lag of time is a major concern because it is a great obstacle for the shareholders to take timely action. What is even worse, it is often the case that when the shareholders have the incentive to take such actions the company is already in a difficult financial position and the SFC may block the transaction and register of the shares of the company. Hence the shareholders once withdraw the shares he or she may not be able to deposit them again since the block set up by the SFC. Therefore it is almost very unlikely for a minority shareholder who is not a member of the company to take the statutory derivative action against the directors under the current version of amended Companies Ordinance (2004) and the practical CCASS System. However as stated above the CDA does not strictly require that only members can be qualified to apply. Therefore CDA is a much more feasible proceeding for Hong Kong shareholders than the SDA and actually CDA is almost the only feasible way for the minority shareholders of the listed company to take action (Non-listed companies and private companies do not use the CCASS System to exchange shares). Indeed we observe that from July 15, 2005 when the SDA came into effect most cases applying the SDA are related to private companies which support the opinion the CDA is still very important for shareholders of listed companies. Upon the above discussion the authors reach the conclusion that since the shares of the listed companies are exchanged using the CCASS System and the current SDA is only applicable to members, Hong Kong now should still preserve the CDA. 2. 2 Members of Offshore Companies As will be discussed later in this paper, one of the most important reasons to keep CDA is that it protects the Hong Kong shareholders of companies which are registered outside Hong Kong but have no places of business in Hong Kong in essence offshore companies. However, many people think this is not an effective protection because the procedure is too complicated that it is highly unlikely for small shareholders to take such an action. The right to perform CDA is theoretically feasible but is highly unlikely in reality. Following flow chart shows simply how a shareholder of an oversea company could take action: [pic] First he should go to the Hong Kong court, ideally, get the order. Then the order will be taken to register at a court in Singapore. If that court allows enforcing the Hong Kong order, then they issue another order to enforce it on the company. This might not be the end of the story; the remedy is given to the company, so it is subject to the companyââ¬â¢s managementââ¬â¢s decision whether to distribute it to the shareholders or not. Again this decision will be made by those directors who are sued in the case and they may not be willing to do so. Therefore this CDA is unlikely to be taken by small shareholders to spend huge cost in exchange of the remedy or no remedy at all. However this cannot constitute the reason to simply abolish the CDA. The CDA is difficult to apply however it is the only way for those shareholders of the offshore companies to protect their rights. To illustrate this section 2 of the Companies Ordinance is reproduced here ââ¬Å"Specified Corporationâ⬠means a Hong Kong company or a non-Hong Kong company. (Added 30 of 2004 s. 2)[4] and s168 BC (1) only allows the members of specified corporations to take SDA. As mentioned above, there are a large number of companies (Around 80% according to the HKEX) incorporated outside Hong Kong but with Hong Kong shareholders. It can be inferred that amongst those huge number of companies many have no place of business in Hong Kong, which are neither Hong Kong companies nor non-Hong Kong companies within the definition of specified corporation. Therefore these offshore companies do not qualify under sec. 2 hence sec. 168 BC (1) cannot apply. Analyzing sec. 2 and sec. 168 it is established that shareholders of offshore companies can only apply the CDA because the CDA does not have similar restrictions. The CDA is the only way to help minority shareholders in overseas company therefore Hong Kong should preserve the CDA. The authors recognize that the CDA has high huddle to prove, high costs to incur and complex procedure to apply. However shareholders of offshore companies can only use CDA and we should not deprive the right to use CDA just because that it is complex to use. That is not the purpose of legislation and the spirit of law to develop a fair society. After all, complexity to get the remedies is much better than no way to get the remedies. The CDA can preserve the ability of the members of foreign companies to bring a derivative action in Hong Kong. The rights of these Hong Kong shareholders of such offshore companies to bring a CDA as one more option to defend their own interest may be deprived once CDA is abolished, thus CDA cannot be enforceable in the courts of Hong Kong in any events which is not fair to them. Moreover the existence of CDA also provides a deterrent force to proposed offenders such as offshore companiesââ¬â¢ directors seeking for self-interest. 2. 3 The International Context of Derivative Action The judgment given by Ribeiro PJ in the Waddington case might be the most direct fuse for this issue (para. 32)[5]: The co-existence of both the statutory and common law regimes is unusual in an international context and is a source of confusion and complication. It would appear to be appropriate for the statutory regime to replace the common law derivative action altogether. This question deserves to be addressed by the Administration and the Legislature as soon as possible. He addressed that the co-existence is unusual and might raise confusion. This concern is further addressed in the consultation paper. The discussion here then will start with these points in 2. 3 as well as 2. 4 and expand to the inherent weaknesses with CDA in 2. 5. As is mentioned by Ribeiro and the consultation paper, it is unusual in an international context for both the SDA and the CDA to co-exist. So that practices in other jurisdictions where common law applies are reviewed as a reference. Actually, in contrast to Hong Kong, many jurisdictions replaced the CDA after the introduction of SDA. [6] [pic] Take New Zealand as an example, in its s 165(6) Company Act 1993, it regulates: Except as provided in this section (this section refers to section 165 which deals with statutory derivative action), a shareholder is not entitled to bring or intervene in any proceedings in the name of, or on behalf of, a company or a related company. [7] Apparently, the CDA is excluded. However the authors further notice that all above countries are representative ones in terms of developed western countries. The fact that many common law jurisdictions abolish CDA cannot prove the reasonableness of the abolition. This just represents what the situation is in western countries but not represent what we should do in Hong Kong. We should notice that HK has very different economic and political environment as those western jurisdictions and cannot just copy what they do. Thus people cannot suppose this of great value of reference for Hong Kong. Therefore Singapore and Malaysia may be of much more value when considering whether or not abolishing the CDA after introducing the SDA. These three common law jurisdictions have many similarities. All these three are in the Southeast Asia whose economy took off during 1970s and then the structure of the society changed and attention are more focused on developing financial centre and attract more foreign direct investment. Foreign companies are welcomed to be listed in the stock exchanges and local residents get involved in these financial transactions. The economy in these three jurisdictions is now facing similar pressure and the protection of minority shareholdersââ¬â¢ is of great importance in order to make the public confident n the financial markets and the economy. Similar stock exchanges, similar financial positions and similar fiscal policies make it valuable to consider what Singapore and Malaysia does in terms of the derivative action when consider the legislation in Hong Kong. Both Singapore and Malaysia preserves CDA after introduction of SDA. Take Singapore as an example it adopted the SDA in its Com panies Bills sec. 216 A and sec. 216 B in 1993 however it still keeps the CDA and only regards the SDA as an addition to the CDA to make the sets of derivative actions complete. [8] Different jurisdictions should consider their own specific situations and only refer to other jurisdictions of the same economy and political situations to establish or revise for the most effective legal system. Regarding to Singapore and Malaysia, as well as the unique situations of Hong Kong to build an international financial centre, the CDA should be preserved at this stage to make sure each investor can be granted sufficient right to protect their investment and make sure that Hong Kong has healthy financial markets and regulated companiesââ¬â¢ behaviors. 2. 4 Confusions and Complications Arisen without CDA The second claim made by the CFA in Waddington case is that the co-existence of the SDA and the CDA is a source of confusions and complications. [9] The as was addressed in the Consultation Paper in 2003, the CDA and the SDA differ not only in terms of form, but also in substantive issues. Under SDA, a member could, with leave of court, take the company to the court. According to s168BC (3), grant of leave requires: the action appears prima facie in the interest of the company; a serious question to be tried; the company is actually not acting; and there is a written notice. On the other hand, under CDA, the exceptions to the Foss rule must be proved. Where ultra vires acts, special resolution, infringement of rights, fraud on minority must be proved and satisfied. In addition, the effects of ratification by the board of directors also differ. The most confused part might be that the company is the plaintiff under SDA whilst a defendant under CDA. Some scholar mentioned in his work that: The retention of common law may even create the uncertainty and confusion as to what constitutes the lex fori. [10] Recall that in New Zealand, the CDA is abolished. B. Matthew argued that one of the intentions is to avoid confusion which was raised in an early Canadian case Rogers v Bank of Montreal. : To avoid the uncertainty of whether a derivative action may be brought under the oppression remedy as well as via the statutory leave procedure, and whether the statutory leave requirement acts to the exclusion of actions under one of the exceptions to Foss v Harbottle. [11] However the authors do not regard the above confusions will be sufficient reasons to abolish the CDA. The following are the arguments of some general discussions. 2. 4. 1 General Discussions The co-existence arrangement of the CDA and the SDA has been in place for about 5 years since July 2005, it has not caused any major legal problems. It has never been a source of confusion and complication. Besides, Section 168BC (4) states that the SDA provisions ââ¬Å"shall not affect any common law right of a member of a specified corporation to bring proceedings on behalf of the specified corporationâ⬠. 12] In other words, unlike the law in other jurisdictions which abolishes the CDA, the Bill allows the co-existence of the CDA and SDA. This has been done because Hong Kong is unique in the sense that there are a large number of companies incorporated outside Hong Kong, but with Hong Kong shareholders. And there are also safeguards in the Company Ordinance to prevent duplicative CDA and SDA under section 168BE and section 168BC (5) which are reproduced as following. Section 168BE: Where leave has been granted to a member of a pecified corporation under section 168BC(3) and the member, in the exercise of any common law right, subsequently brings proceedings on behalf of the specified corporation in respect of the same cause or matter, or subsequently intervenes in the proceedings in question to which the specified corporation is a party, the court may- (a) order to be struck out or amended any pleading or the indorsement of any writ in the proceedings brought under the common law, or the intervention under the common law, or anything in such pleading or indorsement; and (b) order the proceedings brought under the common law, or the intervention under the common law, to be stayed or dismissed or judgment to be entered accordingly. Section 168BC (5): The court may dismiss an application for leave under subsection (3) if the applicant has, in the exercise of any common law right. [13] This shows that in 2004 when amending the Companies Ordinance, the legislator had ex pressed concern over this problem and tried to avoid confusion. Thirdly, no such confusions regarding which derivative action to use will actually arises because members of private and non listed companies will of course choose the SDA since it is much more convenient and those shareholders of listed companies and offshore companies will of course choose the CDA since they cannot use the SDA therefore we do not see much possibility of confusions arising because of the co-existence. Therefore we should preserve the CDA. 2. 4. 2 The MDA Currently we can take multiple derivative actions (MDA) only under CDA as affirmed by the decision made by Court of Final Appeal in Waddington Ltd v Thomas Chan Chun Hoo. Waddington case introduced a very important way for minority shareholders of the associate to sue the directors of the specific corporation however that case is based on CDA. Although in response to the comments made by the Court of Final Appeal in that case, the extension of SDA to cover MDA has been considered by Standing Committee on Company Law Reform (SCCLR) recently, it has not been really passed yet now. Once we abolish CDA which is the legal basis of MDA Waddington will not longer apply and MDA may come to an end. Therefore that will become a source of confusions as people may wonder whether MDA can be used without the CDA. Therefore the rights of concerned person have to be safeguarded before the legislation of MDA. It is therefore safer to preserve CDA at this stage to protect the rights under the MDA and avoid confusions. 2. 5 Other Drawbacks of the CDA Can be Ignored at the Current Stage Now comes the inherent weaknesses and drawbacks with CDA which can actually be ignored. First, the Foss rule is complicated and instable. Someone even call the Foss rule the deepest mystery of company law. 14] The rule is obscure and outdated. Much of the cases were decided years ago and itââ¬â¢s hard to reconcile all those decided cases. As Parlie Choo mentioned in his work what exactly amounted to a fraud on the minority has been conflicting and difficult. [15] The importance and extent of ratification was unclear And also, the court seems unwilling to get involved with the internal management of companies. [16] Some exemptions are actually hard to be satisfied constitute the second weakness of CDA. Exemptions must be proved under CDA, failing to do so the plaintiff failed the trial. Fraud on minority might be the most representative one. The court will collect shareholdersââ¬â¢ opinions as to decide whether fraud exists. In cases where the wrongdoer is also the controlling shareholder, this is extremely difficult to prove. So injustice exists when the wrongdoer got the majority control. The problem is most severe with listed public companies. Thus, CDA easily fails to protect the small shareholders effectively which means it fails the initial purpose of derivative action. Last but not least, in most cases, the costs of the proceedings must be borne by the individual or minority shareholder who commences the action. As we recall from previous, the degree of evidence differs under each scenario. And we make the assumption that the more evidence to be collected the higher cost. Under SDA, the hurdle is actually low and the company may take over the case as well as the cost. However under CDA, the exceptions are very strict requirements and the shareholder is responsible for the case from the beginning to the end. As Dr Y. C. Choong said, under CDA cost can be crippling as they have to show that he has the locus standi (the right) to sue in a preliminary hearing. [17] However as we say above those people can choose the SDA for easy legal proceedings but those people who cannot use the SDA have to use the CDA. And we should not deprive their rights just because that the CDA is relatively complex. Therefore these issues can be regarded as minor issues and should be ignored at the current stage since the Companies Ordinance has not been perfect. 3. Preserve the Common Law Derivative Action in Hong Kong On the balance of the above five issues the authors think that we should preserve the CDA in Hong Kong at the current stage. 4. Further Recommendations 4. 1 Slight amend the Companies Ordinance 4. 1. 1 Option1[18] Abolish the CDA for specified corporations since the shareholders of those companies can use the SDA. Keep the CDA for offshore companies. Furthermore the MDA should be recognized by the Companies Ordinance and base it on the SDA. 4. 1. 1 Option2[19] Extend the SDA to overseas companies and abolish the CDA. any person who, to the satisfaction of the court, has an interest in the relief claimed in the proceedings, whether legal or equitable. [20] Furthermore the MDA should be recognized by the Companies Ordinance and base it on the SDA. 4. 2 Regulate the offshore compani es Hong Kong may amend the Listing Rules to require the offshore companies to sign to accept the regulation of Hong Kong Statue therefore the minority shareholders may be able to sue under the SDA. However even that is the situation the directors may not have the assets in Hong Kong and remedy is still hard to get in practice. Therefore we have the third suggestion which is a similar legal system in the Region 4. 3 Similar law system in the Region Once the law in different jurisdictions becomes much more similar offshore companies are of course regulated and minority shareholdersââ¬â¢ rights are well protected because similar legal system in the Region can enhance the cooperation between Hong Kong and neighbor jurisdictions in terms of executing the statue and order granted by the court. Or maybe even better the similar legal system will make Hong Kong court judgments have binding effect on the offshore companies and then in practice the remedy can be got much easily than the current CDA model. 5. Conclusions In this paper we response to the Question 7 of the consultation paper and our answer is we should preserve the CDA currently. We consider five aspects and rationally prove that the CDA should be preserved in respect of each aspect. Although the authors prefer to preserve the CDA, further suggestions are also provided for future improvement of some current practical weaknesses in terms of derivative action in Hong Kong. References The statutory derivative action: now showing near you, Paul von Nessen S. H. Goo Chee Keong Low, 2008, Journal of Business Law Griggs, L. (2002). A Statutory Derivative Action: Lessons That May Be Learnt From its Past. Retrieved April 2010, from Australasian Legal Information Institute: austlii. edu. au/au/journals/UWSLRev/2002/4. html Li, X. (2006). nbsp;
Monday, October 21, 2019
A Victorian Readership Essays
A Victorian Readership Essays A Victorian Readership Essay A Victorian Readership Essay However, quality of life in London ranged from one extreme to another. Whilst many people were suffering in destitution, others were enjoying every luxury. The rich resided in splendid tall houses surrounded by beautiful gardens, clean streets and a waiting carriage on hand whenever they needed it. A troop of servants kept their houses gleamingly clean, prepared lavish meals and dressed the ladies in their finest jewels and dresses. Their houses were even built where the dirty smog of the poor slums could not be blown towards them. The wealthy ignored and isolated themselves from the disgustingly unjust poverty which shared the same city as them, as this made their lives easier and carefree. Why would they, happy and safe in their beautiful, warm houses, want to think about starving, suffering, disease-ridden citizens? Almost as inadequate as its capacity to deal with poverty, London was also inept at dealing with crime. In 1829 the very first London police force was established and they were still much undeveloped a few decades later, when Conan Doyle was writing his stories about Sherlock Holmes. Their emphasis was on prevention rather than detection, which meant that their main method was simply the presence of numerous policemen on the streets in the hope that this would deter any criminals from taking action. What made Doyles stories unique and exciting for the Victorians was the fact that Holmes was a detective he solved crimes after they had happened. The Victorian police force did make an attempt at crime detection but it had little impact. In 1842 a Detective Department was set up, but it consisted of only two inspectors and six sergeants. Furthermore, detectives were seen with a negative view. Very little value was placed on their work; it was considered to be very un-British and sly. This may seem an ignorant view, but it was understandable. Religion was a very important part of Victorian society, and most branches of Christianity taught the values of an individuals responsibility to society. Children were brought up to have a clear conscience and be perfectly behaved, therefore preventing any crime in the first place. Only if society was failing and crime was being committed would a detective department be needed, and therefore Victorians saw the department as a reminder of that failure. The CID (Criminal Investigation Department) was established in 1878 and it contained 200 officers. In 1888 the serial killer Jack the Ripper hit London, murdering five East End prostitutes. This led to an increase in the number of detectives to 200. The police force failed to ever catch Jack the Ripper, and Victorian society became accustomed to un-solved and un-prevented crimes. It was the weakness of their own police force that caused Victorians to love Sherlock Holmes. He solved every crime, provided justice and restored order. He was what the police force couldnt be but what they should be, and so he became a character Victorians cherished. The reassuring, formulaic routine and unique character Conan Doyle created established the convention of the crime fiction genre, as his stories were so popular.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Bengal Tigers Essay Example
Bengal Tigers Essay Example Bengal Tigers Paper Bengal Tigers Paper Royal Bengal Tiger The Royal Bengal Tiger, once known as the reigning feline of Asia, are now on the brink of extinction. This beautiful species is quickly disappearing due to human activity. Land development has pushed back forestry, which is making it almost impossible for tigers to survive in their range of natural habitat. Additionally, even though itââ¬â¢s illegal to own, hunt or trap tigers, poachers continue to trap and sell tiger parts on the black market. Furthermore, tigers are being separated by ââ¬Å"population fragmentationâ⬠which prevents them from mating and producing healthy cubs. Although conservation centers are providing safe havens for tigers, they are not seeing the results they expected. Royal Bengal Tigers are a majestic and alluring animal that will no longer exist if humans continue to poach them and take away their natural habitat. Due to massive human population increase in India, tigers have lost most of their natural habitat in the rain forest. According to the World Wildlife Federation, ââ¬Å"Royal Bengal Tigers have lost 93% of their range and habitat in the last forty years. At the expense of tigers, forestry and grass lands were destroyed to develop land for agricultural and housing use to accommodate the accelerated population of humans. Jonathan Wright, an expert on Royal Bengal Tigers, explains that male tigers are loners and do not share their hunting grounds, with other malesââ¬â¢ only females; they need a large home range. Each male tiger requires 20-30 square miles to mate, hunt and roam, however, this natural process cannot take place without the sanctuary of trees, grasslands and vegetation tigers need to exist. A large amount of forest range in Asia as has been destroyed to improve the lives of humans but has endangered the existence of tigers. Although, it is illegal to hunt, own or kill a tiger, the reduced size of the forest has made it easier for human poachers to trap, kill and sell them on the black market. A National Geographic article says, there were over 100,000 Royal Bengal Tigers just over 100 years ago but now there are less than 2,000 in the wild and about 300 in captivity. These numbers show that there has been a high demand for tigers and their body parts for a long time. According to Tigers in Crises, ââ¬Å"Using tiger body parts in traditional Chinese medicine is nothing new, but what is new is not being able to meet the huge demand for the body parts. â⬠Not only is there a demand for a Tigers fur, rugs and coats, but their bones and organs are also in demand. A small bowl of tiger gall bladder soup cost $320. 00. Not one medical treatment using tiger parts has been proven to cure or even help any illnesses. The high demand for a tigers body parts and the unbelievable prices that human will pay are what encourage greedy poachers to trap and kill these endangered tigers. Population fragmentation,â⬠is another dangerous threat the Royal Bengal faces, prevents the tigers to mate and reproduce healthy cubs. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EAI) in London, ââ¬Å"As habitat is lost, people move farther into what was the forest. Groups of tigers become separated from one another by villages, farms, fences and roads. â⬠Tigers in one area can no longer mate with tigers in nearby areas. Instead, tigers breed with the same small group of animals. Over time, this inbreeding weakens the gene pool and tigers are born with birth defects. Many inbred cubs donââ¬â¢t live to the age of two. If more land is not given to tigers in the wild they will be extinct by 2022, and those living in conservation centers will soon follow. Conservation centers are safe havens to protect tigers with hope to save them from extinction, the results are disappointing. Leigh Pitsko, a zoologist, studied many of the conservation centers and discovered that some of the cats had strange habits. The tigers would pace back and forth and twist their head from side to side. She discovered the tigers were doing these strange behaviors because they were stress and bored. The area they lived in was too small for them to run, roam and hunt. Many tigers raised in these centers would eventually get released into the wild but were not surviving. While living in conservations, tigers would not hunt for food, workers would prepare it for them. So when they were released in the wild they would starve and die. Conservation did not have live animals for the tigers to hunt, so they never learned how to hunt their prey. Conservation centers want to help tigers but they need their natural habitat to survive. All in all, if humans donââ¬â¢t stop poaching tigers and taking their land there will no longer be Royal Bengal Tigers for us to look at in awe. In the near future we will talk about the beautiful majestic cat that once existed. But, this does not have to happen. If more land is preserve for them to roam and hunt and mate. In their natural habitat they can multiply in a safe and healthy environment. Also, laws against poaching, selling and buying tiger body parts need to be strongly enforced with punishment. Tigers can still be saved and eventually taken off the endangered list, if and only if, humans can keep their paws off the tiger and their land. Royal Bengal Tiger Introduction (thesis statement) Tigers are a majestic and alluring animal that will no longer exist if humans continue to poach them and take away their natural habitat. I. Due to massive human population increase in India, tigers have lost most of their natural habitat in the rain forest. A. Loss of range and habitat because of humans B. Tigers need large range areas II. Although, it is illegal to hunt, own or kill a tiger, the reduced size of the forest has made it easier for human poachers to trap, kill and sell them on the black market. A. Poaching for coats, rugs, B. Poached for medicine III. ââ¬Å"Population fragmentation,â⬠is another dangerous threat the Royal Bengal faces, prevents the tigers to mate and reproduce healthy cubs. A. Tigers become separated B. Tigers cannot breed IV. Conservation centers are safe havens to protect tigers with hope to save them from extinction, the results are disappointing. A. Tigers donââ¬â¢t act normal B. Donââ¬â¢t know how to survive in the wild Conclusion All in all, if humans donââ¬â¢t stop poaching tigers and taking their land there will no longer be Royal Bengal Tigers for us to look at in awe
Saturday, October 19, 2019
State and Country Physical Geography powerpoint and short essat Presentation
State and Country Physical Geography and short essat - PowerPoint Presentation Example For Maritime zone, the range of temperature ranges from about 60 0F during summer and 20 0F at winter seasons. In the transition region, the temperature ranges from a low of 60 0F to a low of up to 0 0F. On the other hand, the temperatures for the maritime continental region range a low of 60 0F to -10 0F. Finally, the slopes of the arctic region range between over 40 0F to up to -20 0F. The precipitation of the maritime region gives rise to more than 200 inches of precipitation with the major form of precipitation being the snow fall. The regions receiving this amount of precipitation includes; southern panhandle and northern part of the Alaskan Gulf. However, on the Alaskan Range at the Peninsula and the island of the Aleutian which are both at the south of Alaska, the amount of precipitation reduces to about 60 inches. While you move at the north, the amount of precipitation reduces greatly up to about 12 inches at the continental region (Swaney 33). The amount of precipitation reduces even further to up to less than 6 inches towards and in the arctic region. Over the last seven days (from 4th to 10th April), Alaska capita Juneau has recorded the highest temperature of 52 0F and a low of 29 0F (Wallendorf 201). However, the capital has not experienced any form of precipitation in the last seven days. Due to very low precipitation amounts, the Alaskan tundra may seem to appear desolate and barren with very few plant species. However, there are a few plant species that include; Tufted Saxifrage, Caribou Moss, Bearberry, and the arctic Willow. Alaska experiences strong winds especially in areas having an extremely cold temperature. These strong winds pose threats to people when they get exposed even for a short time. There is also a strong storm that is seasonal. The storm emanates from the Bering Sea and moves north or sometimes northeastward. Other environmental threats include; the continuous
Friday, October 18, 2019
Reflective Journal 3000 words Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words
Reflective Journal 3000 words - Essay Example This paper provides my personal reflection of the HRM concept in terms of ability to work as an effective group as well as the lessons learnt from the course and in interactive group based exercises. These entail an analysis of six aspects of HRM including the HR function, employee engagement, development of capabilities and skills, embracing diversity, reward management, and training and development. In recent times, diverse dimensions appear with the changing face of the HR function. Some of these perspectives point to a mutual connection with others, which only arises in organizations that are more complex (businesscasestudies.co.uk. 2014, np). In this view, organizations focus on increasing the values provided by the HR function in response to customer needs. For interactive group sessions that I have held with other school members, the need for increased pro-activeness by each individual has been of great significance. With improved participation, the quality of meetings becomes clear with improved grades for this unit. Of great significance is the need to achieve a strategic and business-oriented direction as pertains to the HR function (Reilly, Strebler & Tamkin 2006, p. 2). Through developing clear insights into individual roles, our group sessions have involved limited time. However, the response from individual members has been overwhelming. Thus, the need for enhanced HR function stands to be an important aspect for learning institutions. Certain limitations occur as organizations focus on improving the HR function. Firstly, the devotion of too much time on administrative processes, with limited time for change processes arises to be a key hindrance to enhancement of the HR function (businesscasestudies.co.uk. 2014, np). This prompts large and complex organizations to formulate such strategies aimed at consolidating the variety of business processes (Reilly, Strebler & Tamkin 2006, p. 3). I have learnt that change is an
Writing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Writing Assignment - Essay Example The period spanned from the fourteenth to the seventeenth century as a cultural movement that began in Italy before spreading to other parts of the world. In the arts, the period marked the rebirth of both knowledge and the representation of the same in art. The Renaissance represented the end of the middle ages thus making the development of the modern day arts (Klaus 43). Artists that thrived in the period perfected in the use of different elements of arts including space and perspective. Among the most prominent artists of the period were the Italian Giotto di Bondone, Jan Van Eyck and Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino commonly known as Raphael. Each of the artists perfected in different types of arts such as painting and sculpting. In developing their artifacts, they each developed their own critical criticism of the societies and the existing authorities thereby contributing to the advancement of knowledge. As Renaissance artists, they used such features of arts as space and perspectiv e differently thereby communicating different messages in their creations. Perspective refers to an individualââ¬â¢s viewpoint on an issue, it is an opinion that one holds on a particular topic thereby influencing his or her presentation of the same. From the definition, perspective thus becomes relative. The different works of the above three artists portray the relativity of perspective as they employed the element in their works. Space on the other hand refers to the portrayal of nothingness; it is an element in arts that help artists develop their concepts. The Renaissance period marked the rebirth of knowledge implying that the period was characterized by development in different aspects of the society. Artists epitomized the development by creating different artifacts. The three artists above were all painters and portrayed their messages creatively depicting space and using perspective to help convey their messages. Giotto for example developed several paintings in which h e portrays his own perspective of the cultural features of the society. In these, he represents space, the boundless three-dimensional amount occupied by objects. One of such works is the painting known as the Marriage at Cana. In the painting, Giotto represents his perspective of the important cultural practice, marriage. The artist portrays the right of passage so exquisitely that it gives details of all the important aspects of the cultural ceremony. In doing this, he portrays a three-dimensional feel of the room; he develops the ceremonial feel of the occasion portraying the importance of the practice. Space helps communicate as it represents the quantity of luxury that characterizes the occasion. Additionally the exquisite portrayal and use of space help communicate the artistââ¬â¢s perspective of the occasion thereby using such to assign the occasion the reputation he felts it deserves. The portrayal of the marriage ceremony is relative since not every marriage had a simila r theme at the time. The artist includes religious leaders at the occasion to help attribute the importance of religion and religious leaders in the process of sanctifying such a union. Jan Van Eyck just as any other artist of the time employed the prevailing technologies to develop his painting. He develops most of his paintings on long lasting materials such as hides and canvas. The artist developed several paintings on which he portrays the relativity of perspective of the trending social and cultural features of the time. He contributed to the development of knowledge as he often forwent classical idealization for faithful observation of nature. One of such works in which he port
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Beyond Leadership, the Social Architecture for the Future Essay
Beyond Leadership, the Social Architecture for the Future - Essay Example The significant policies for this purpose may include Risk Management, Human Resource Management, and Procurement of goods and services, marketing.â⬠(File Formatâ⬠¦) The listing of legal responsibilities is long. Some of the important ones are annual business plans, long term plans, capital needs and budget, manpower planning, preparation of quarterly operating results, and framing a perfect system of internal audit, planning joint ventures, fulfill the demand of the revenue and regulatory authorities. Warren Bennis (1997) writes, ââ¬Å"The new leader is one who commits people into action, who converts followers into leaders, and who may convert leaders into agents of change. ââ¬Å"(p.3) In a military environment, the four actions that should be taken on assuming a new leadership position are: Determine what is expected of your unit; determine what is expected of you; determine the strengths and weaknesses of your subordinates; determine what other key people whose willing support is necessary to accomplish your job.(Militaryâ⬠¦.) A leader immediately after his posting, has to quickly take stock of his duties and responsibilities in the given environment and with the tools available to him. He is a poor leader who has the habit of complaining about the inadequacies and the facilities not provided. In any organization, including the military set-up, there are compulsive limitations of financial resources and constraint of policy decisions. If your resources are not adequate, you need to carry on with the available resources. But the discipline in the unit needs to be perfect; as a leader you cannot say, I somehow carry on with the available discipline! The co-leader may or may not have the power of positional authority, but such an individual does enjoy the authority that may be delegated to him from time to time. Or a co-leader may be given fixed duties and responsibilities to manage and take care of the unit in a military set-up, for which he will be held
International Relations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
International Relations - Assignment Example etwork groups, organizations, movements or individuals who has sufficient powers to influence international relations, though they are not part of any recognized institution of a state1. 2. Defining terrorism is difficult as the motives, methods, and targets of terrorism differ greatly from group to group and case to case. However, in common terms, terrorism is the systematic use of powerful terrorization mostly for achieving political, religious, linguistic, racial, ethnical or ideological motives. Also, it involves lot of complexity since understanding the commonness in each category is also almost impossible. The most of the disparity in defining terrorism lies in describing terrorist motivations. As an attempt to solve this, several definitions are tried by specifically addressing the motives of terrorist groups2. 3. Uncivil networks are the result of governmental failure with regard to political equality or equality of influence in the political process; social equality or equality in wealth, education, and social status; equality of opportunity or equality in chances for success; and equality of outcome. Power of uncivil networks was proved in 1996, where such uncivil networks attained several successes in every endeavor involved by them like human rights, terror, transnational crime and insurgency3. 4. Human trafficking is a serious crime in which people are deceived, sold and exploited for forced labor, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, street crime, organ sale or human sacrifice. Several men, women or children are exploited by the traffickers from their own country or abroad. Human trafficking is a serious violation of human rights. Most of the countries have begun their fight against human trafficking. Recently, USAââ¬â¢s secretary of state John Kerry has stated from annual trafficking in persons (TIP) report that around 46000 victims of human trafficking are exposed to the world. Though, it is expected that around 27 million people are enslaved
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Beyond Leadership, the Social Architecture for the Future Essay
Beyond Leadership, the Social Architecture for the Future - Essay Example The significant policies for this purpose may include Risk Management, Human Resource Management, and Procurement of goods and services, marketing.â⬠(File Formatâ⬠¦) The listing of legal responsibilities is long. Some of the important ones are annual business plans, long term plans, capital needs and budget, manpower planning, preparation of quarterly operating results, and framing a perfect system of internal audit, planning joint ventures, fulfill the demand of the revenue and regulatory authorities. Warren Bennis (1997) writes, ââ¬Å"The new leader is one who commits people into action, who converts followers into leaders, and who may convert leaders into agents of change. ââ¬Å"(p.3) In a military environment, the four actions that should be taken on assuming a new leadership position are: Determine what is expected of your unit; determine what is expected of you; determine the strengths and weaknesses of your subordinates; determine what other key people whose willing support is necessary to accomplish your job.(Militaryâ⬠¦.) A leader immediately after his posting, has to quickly take stock of his duties and responsibilities in the given environment and with the tools available to him. He is a poor leader who has the habit of complaining about the inadequacies and the facilities not provided. In any organization, including the military set-up, there are compulsive limitations of financial resources and constraint of policy decisions. If your resources are not adequate, you need to carry on with the available resources. But the discipline in the unit needs to be perfect; as a leader you cannot say, I somehow carry on with the available discipline! The co-leader may or may not have the power of positional authority, but such an individual does enjoy the authority that may be delegated to him from time to time. Or a co-leader may be given fixed duties and responsibilities to manage and take care of the unit in a military set-up, for which he will be held
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Stock Price Increases in 1990s Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Stock Price Increases in 1990s - Case Study Example However the sharp price increases in the stocks might have been the result of factors like irrational over-enthusiasm on the part of the investors, lower interest rates and higher level of savings by the middle-class and the consequent increase in their investment in stocks. Apart from these reasons, the relationship between the earnings increase and the stock price increase was negligible. Hence the expectations of the large investors in their setting higher target levels on the return on capital employed from those firms in which they held the investments on the assumption that the share price increases would automatically increase the earnings would hold no ground. While the factors responsible for the share price increase are totally different from the performance of these companies it would be illogical to expect the managements of the large companies to service their shareholders with larger returns on the capital employed based on the share price performances. With this backgr ound this paper examines the rationale behind the statement that during the 1990s, nearly all FTSE 100 and S&P 500 companies failed to reach pre and post-tax return on capital employed targets set by large investors and the managements of the giant firms during 1990s should be considered responsible for the mediocre return of capital employed as well as the moderate growth of sales of their firm in spite of the higher stock prices. 2.0 Reasons for Stock Price Increases: As outlined earlier the stock price increases during the 1990s were caused by factors like "Irrational Exuberance' on the part of the investors, declining interest rates and higher level of stock market investments out of savings by the middle classes. The signs of greater economic stability prevalent during the period convinced both the business managers and the investors to take extra risks which later resulted in both positive and negative consequences. Let us analyse the reasons for the increase in the share prices. 1. Irrational Exuberance on the part of the investors: Coined and used by the Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan as a word of caution against the repercussions of the stock market boom, denotes a warning that the market might have been overvalued and a natural consequence, slumps in the prices of the stock was inevitable. "The term "irrational exuberance" is often used to describe a heightened state of speculative fervor." (Robert J Shiller 2000) Irrational exuberance is defined by Shiller (2000) as the psychological basis of a speculative bubble. The speculative bubble on the other hand is the situation where the potential investors are lured by stories justifying the share price increases, who irrespective of their doubts about the real value of the assets continue to invest in the stocks. This luring is also partly due to the excitement created by such investments which resemble gambling and partly owing to the envy of the investors on the others' successes. This might be the main reason for the stock market boom that the world witnessed during the 1990s. 2. Declining Interest Rates: One of the other reasons, though not major, that was attributed to the share
Altruism Essay Example for Free
Altruism Essay The statement ââ¬Å"People never intentionally act to benefit others except only to obtain some good for themselvesâ⬠is often described as Altruism or an Altruistic act. This statement is not entirely true. It is possible for someone to intentionally act to benefit others, but this is something that does not happen very often. There are multiple theories as to why people do and do not perform altruistic acts. If someone is a member of your family you are more likely to help a person in need, if you feel sympathetic towards someone you are likely to help a person in need or if it is a social norm you are likely to help them. If in a certain situation helping someone is not a social norm then you are less likely to help this person. Even if someone wanted to perform an altruistic act it is very difficult to do so in our society because we reward people who we perceive to be good, or to have done good things. If you perform an Altruistic act towards a member of your family would be acting within Hamiltonââ¬â¢s kin selection theory (1960s). The kin selection theory which states that you are much more likely to perform an altruistic act if the person you are helping is a member of your family. An example of this is recently in Melbourne there was a wall collapse. Three people died as a result of this incident; a woman in her thirties and an eighteen and nineteen-year-old siblings, the older brother and his sister. The older woman died upon impact, as did the brother, but only after he shielded his sister from the collapsing wall. His sister also died later in hospital. (ABC News, 1st April 2013) This is an example of the kin selection theory. Instead of doing what benefited himself, he tried to save his sister, despite it having dire consequences. This would be considered an act of altruism as it did not benefit him, and in this case even had negative consequences, especially as his sister later died in hospital. Another reason people perform altruistic acts is out of sympathy. Sympathy is a natural feeling of concern for a person. Even if you canââ¬â¢t relate to the person you feel bad for them, or concerned for them. An example of someone feeling sympathetic is Julio Diaz, who when a mugger came up to him one night with a knife he handed over his wallet without complaint. When the mugger went to walk away he stopped him and offered him his coat as well, saying he didnââ¬â¢t want the mugger to get cold. He then continued to offer to buy the mugger dinner. (Huffington Post, 17th November 2011). Diaz obviously felt sympathy towards the mugger, or he wouldnââ¬â¢t have given over his wallet, jacket and paid for his dinner. Diaz ended up getting his wallet back from the boy who handed it over after they had eaten. Diaz felt sympathy towards the boy due to the fact that the boy had almost nothing, where as Diaz had enough money to comfortably live. Sympathy makes people feel like they have a moral obligation to help someone in need ââ¬â the person they feel sympathetic towards. Sometimes people help others because it is considered a social norm. An example of this is saying please and thank you. This is considered normal in most societies and it is often frowned upon if you donââ¬â¢t use these. A social norm is something people often take for granted and a lot of people are shocked when someone doesnââ¬â¢t follow what they consider to be normal. Another example of a social norm in our society is to wear clothes in public. If you were walking down the street and you say someone walking towards you naked you would not think this was normal. You would wonder why they were naked and often avoid walking to close to, making eye contact with, or speaking to this person. If you were in some traditional aboriginal culture you would wear nothing but animal skin, or even walk around naked. This is/was considered a social norm within that society. There are some internationally recognized social norms, like not engaging in cannibalism, and dressing modestly. While not all societies, past or present, follow these social norms most of the world does. There are also norms within society, religion and individual families. A social norm in our society is mate-ship, not letting down your friends, family, or community. There are plenty of social norms in religion, such as in Christianity it is not exactable to love someone of the same sex. This is an example of a social norm that is slowly changing over time, as do most social norms. It was a social norm in Britain in the 1800ââ¬â¢s that you attended church, where as in 2002 only 18. 6% of people in the United Kingdom attended church regularly. (Tearfund report, 2007) This is an example of how social norms change over time, and what we consider to be social norms at the moment may not be considered normal in 40,50,60,70 or more years. These things cannot be considered an altruistic act because you would benefit poorly from not doing these things, so it is good for you to say please and thank you, bringing it back to the first example. There are also plenty of things people do not do to help others because it is considered outside of the social norms. If you saw a drunk person on the street you probably wouldnââ¬â¢t help them because society has shaped us to think that these people brought the state they are in on themselves, therefore it is not our problem to help them once they are in this situation. Social norms can be beneficial, but they can also detrimental. Another instance where helping someone is not considered an altruistic act is if the act is mutually beneficial. This can cover a range of things, from the benefit to you being a smile from someone, to a bravery award. If you see a child drowning and you swim out and save them and when you get back their mother says thank you and buys you an ice cream then you are benefiting, the ice cream being the benefit. If while trying to save this child you drown you do not benefit in anyway, and this even has a negative affect on you. This would be an act of altruism because there is no mutual benefit. A benefit for you may be something as small as a good feeling inside, or a smile, but these are benefits of saving the child, there for there is mutual benefit. You walk away with a good feeling and maybe an ice cream and the child walks away with his life. A real life example of this is Don Richie, who lived just across the road from one of Australiaââ¬â¢s most notorious suicide locations. It is estimated that Richie saved more than 160 lives in his lifetime. He received the title of Australiaââ¬â¢s local hero in 2011(ABC Radio, 14th May 2012). This is something he got out of stopping these people commit suicide. Despite the fact that he had no knowledge he was going to receive this award when he started saving people, because he received this award it is not an act of altruism. Some would argue that even if he hadnââ¬â¢t received this award these would still not be acts of altruism, as he felt good about saving these people, and it made him a happier person. This is his benefit, making it mutually beneficial and not an act of altruism. People do act to benefit others, without obtaining good for themselves, but this is a rare situation. Whether the person wanted to obtain some good for themselves or not they almost always do, as acts of kindness are rewarded in most societies. While people can intentionally act to benefit others without obtaining good for themselves this almost never happens, simply because of the way our society is shaped.
Monday, October 14, 2019
Government Policies to Reduce Domestic Violence
Government Policies to Reduce Domestic Violence Domestic Violence The most serious threat to personal safety occur not on the city street but in the home. Discuss. The explorative of the discussion within this essay will to be examine what constitutes the term ââ¬Ëdomestic violenceââ¬â¢, and what implementations as a result of government policies have been introduced to address and therefore eradicate the problem of domestic violence within society. Crimes committed within a private space, such as domestic violence within the family home are considered and regarded to be less problematic than crimes committed within the public sphere, and are often disregarded and dismissed among public concern and political agendas when addressing and combating the ââ¬Ëproblem of crimeââ¬â¢ within society today. Domestic violence was firstly given recognition and was identified as a social problem in the late 19th century, and was associated with child cruelty, and marital violence. However it was not until the mid twentieth century during a time span of five decades that different form of domestic violence were highlighted and made visible within society. Saranga (2001) cited in McLaughlin et al (2006) pââ¬â¢163 This was demonstrated with cases of child neglect, and the physical abuse of children during the 1960ââ¬â¢s following the work of Henry Kempe in 1962, which brought attention to the ââ¬Ëbattered child syndromeââ¬â¢. Creighton (2002) The amplification of domestic violence incidents, and their effects, exposed by the feminist movement in the 1970s which followed with the establishing of Womenââ¬â¢s Aid in 1974, who campaigned for the introduction of new legislative acts and policies to support victims of domestic violence. Dobash Dobash (1992) pââ¬â¢33. The sexual abuse of children in the 1980s, such as the ââ¬ËCleveland child sex abuse scandalââ¬â¢ where children were removed from their parentââ¬â¢s care, for fear of them being sexually abused, although. Pragnell, (nd). The recognition of elder abuse during the 1990s, following the introduction of a national organisation for Action on Elder Abuse in 1993, to combat the mistreatment of older people. Richardson, (1998). Furthermore In addition, the recognition of male victims of domestic violence, abuse and rape with the introduction of and the increase of parental abuse within the home committed by children of the family The government defines ââ¬Ëdomestic violenceââ¬â¢ as, ââ¬Å"Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality. This includes issues of concern to black and minority ethnic (BME) communities such as so called ââ¬Ëhonour based violenceââ¬â¢ female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriageâ⬠. The reference and the use of the term ââ¬Ëadultââ¬â¢ is defined as ââ¬Å"any person aged 18 or over. Family members are defined as mother father, son, daughter, brother, sister, and grandparents, whether directly related, in laws or step familyâ⬠. (Domestic Violence Mini site:Home). Furthermore, the definition of ââ¬Ëdomestic violenceââ¬â¢ applied by the Crown Prosecution Service (2001), states that the use of ââ¬ËDomestic violenceââ¬â¢ is ââ¬Å"a general term to describe a range of behaviours often used by one person to control and dominate another whom they have, or have had, a close or family relationship and the abuser operates from a position of perceived powerâ⬠. In addition stating that it ââ¬Å"includes forms of violent and controlling behaviour such as physical assaults, sexual abuse, rape, threats and intimidation, harassment, humiliating and controlling behaviour, withholding of finances, economic manipulation, depravation, isolation, belting and constant unreasonable criticismâ⬠. (Broken Rainbow) Therefore from these definitions of ââ¬Ëdomestic violenceââ¬â¢, attributes of the term engage both the female and male sexes, and is regardless of their gender orientation , ethnicity , religious beliefs, social status, age and include children of the family unit, as being either victims or perpetrators of domestic violence. From this it has been suggested that the family is therefore a ââ¬Å"predominant setting for every form of physical violence: from slaps to torture and murder.â⬠, and that ââ¬Å"some form of physical violence in the life cycle of family members is so likely that it can be said to be almost universalâ⬠. Hotaling and Straus (1980) cited in McLaughlin et al. (2006) pââ¬â¢163. According to the statistics released by the Home Office and published in Crime in England and Wales 2006/2007, one incident of domestic violence is reported to the police every minute, however prior to this reporting, research suggests that up to thirty five assaults upon the victim will have been (excruciated) (executed) by a partner or former partner. Also domestic violence accounts for 16% of all violent crime, effecting one in every four females, and one in every six males during their lifespan. With 77%, of the victims being female, and upon average, ââ¬Ëdomestic violenceââ¬â¢ claiming the life of two female victims, by a current or former male partner every week. (Domestic violence|Home Office) Consequently Dobash Dobash, (1992) stated that ââ¬Å"The four main sources of conflict leading to violent attacks are menââ¬â¢s possessiveness and jealousy, menââ¬â¢s expectations concerning womenââ¬â¢s domestic work, menââ¬â¢s sense of the right to punish ââ¬Ëtheirââ¬â¢ women for perceived wrongdoing, and the importance to men of maintaining or exercising their position of authorityâ⬠.pââ¬â¢4. Statistics from The British Crime Survey published for the period between the years, 2006 to 2007, included 28% of the sample reporting to have experienced domestic violence, between the ages of sixteen and fifty nine years, and non-sexual abuse being reported to be the most common type of abuse. Furthermore, 62% of the female sample reported to experience more than one incident of domestic violence, in comparison to 54% of the males during the past twelve months. Also the study revealed that females were more prevalent to males in experiencing all types of domestic violence, over a prolonged period of time, in comparison with 50% of males reporting to being victims for less than a period of one month. Females were also more likely to sustain injury, or suffer emotional effects as a result of the incident and seek medical assistance, as opposed to the males which had participated within the survey. (British Crime Survey statistics 2006/2007) Furthermore according to the British Crime Survey, of the 74% of ââ¬Ëdomestic violenceââ¬â¢ incidents reported in 2006/2007 it emerged that although the victim had discussed the matter with another, only 13% had reported the incident to the police, with only 11% reporting incidents of sexual assault, and police officers discovering the remaining 2% another way, 45% of the incidents against females were perpetrated within her own, and 23% perpetrated in the home of her assailant. Also, 66% of the victims who had experienced partner abuse did not recognise the incident as ââ¬Ëdomestic violenceââ¬â¢, although more females recognised abuse as a crime, whereas males, regarded it as ââ¬Å"just something that happensâ⬠. (British Crime Survey statistics 2006/2007) Evidentially, Hoare and Jannson stated the comparison between the figures and extent of domestic violence during the period 2004 to 2007, as reported by the victims surveyed for The British Crime Survey, indicate that incidents of ââ¬Ëdomestic violenceââ¬â¢ were consistent in occurrence during the three year period.( ) However, according to the estimation of Pease and Farrell, ââ¬Å"domestic violence statistics are 140% higher than these stated in the British Crime Survey which records a maximum of crimes per personâ⬠. cited in Barron (2007). Therefore, accounting for a distortion of the actual amounts of incidents perpetrated upon the victims. Furthermore according to Walby et al (2001) when disclosing experiences of domestic abuse the victims are reluctant to do so in a face to face situation, which could account for the lack of reporting incidents of intimate personal violence to the police, which could account for why the figures are under reported . Also Walby (2004), suggests that one of the factors that contribute to the underestimation of domestic violence incidents is due to the British Crime Survey recording only a maximum of five incidents per person in a twelve month period within the figures .(ref) From these figures there is a clear indication that crimes committed within the ââ¬Ëprivate spaceââ¬â¢, do not only exist, but are extensive, therefore accounting for a substantial amount of ââ¬Ëhidden crimeââ¬â¢ which are not represented within the statistics for domestic violence incidents which occur. Furthermore, when an act is committed and identified as criminal, such as an adult assaulting another within the public sphere, a location which is accessible to everyone at all times, therefore possibly witnessed by a insignificant other, to that of the victim of the crime, sanctions are more likely to be imposed through the criminal justice system. However that same act perpetrated by one adult against another, within a private space, where the accessibility to that space is determined by one person, or a group of people, such as the family unit, it is often regarded as a domestic problem. Saranga (2001) cited in McLaughlin et al (2006) pââ¬â¢163. Which accounts as one of the key and problematic features of dealing with domestic violence, due to the lack of reporting the incident by the victim, or victims when they do occur, which therefore prohibits outside intervention by the state through the criminal justice system. Although Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (1998), safeguards a general right to respect for privacy for an individual, and their family, with interventions by the state only being permissible and justified in accordance with the law, which includes the prevention of crime, and the protection of health, and the rights of freedom of others (YourRights.org.uk).Which therefore includes acts of domestic violence. Although Gordon (1998) ââ¬Å"challenged the idea that state intervention was an intrusion into private matters by asking ââ¬Ëwhose privacy ââ¬Ë and ââ¬Ëwhose libertiesââ¬â¢ were being violatedâ⬠. cited in McLaughlin al (2006) pââ¬â¢163 Furthermore according to Dobash et al the debate upon state intervention within incidents of domestic violence is divided with ââ¬Å"some maintaining that interventions more likely to be intrusive, repressive and controllingâ⬠, while others pronounce that ââ¬Å"it can be enabling, empowering and prote ctiveâ⬠. Dobash and Dobash (1992) pââ¬â¢4 In order to address and combat domestic violence, which appears to be dependant upon the reporting of the crimes initially by the victim, who may be apprehensive of reporting the crime for fear of reprisals in doing so, The Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004, was introduced to support, protect and safeguard the rights of victims and witnesses, of intimate personal violence, therefore putting the victims at the forefront of the criminal justice system. Furthermore the introduction of The Domestic Violence Act (2007), introduced the governing of new powers for the police to arrest the perpetrators of domestic violence attacks, and introduced the breech of non- molestation orders committed by perpetrators to become a criminal offence, therefore punishable by the state, as opposed to the victim, and making common assault an arrest able offence, with sanctions imposed, therefore strengthening the implications of such actions committed by perpetrators, which were previously dealt with under civil laws.(Domestic Violence Home Office) Consequently, as a result of the introduction of The Domestic Violence Act (2007), and according to the estimation of circuit judge, John Platt, that the figures of ââ¬Å"mostly womenâ⬠, who were applying to secure non-molestation orders has decreased by between the ââ¬Å"figures of 25%, and 30%, since the implementation of the act in July 2007â⬠, he also stated that ââ¬Å"every judge I have spoken to thinks there has been a dropâ⬠In 2006, 20.000 applications were requested for non- molestation orders. Gibb et al (2008). Therefore, allowing for the figure of 25% of a reduction within applications made, would account for 5.000 women, not seeking protection from their perpetrators through the courts for them, and their children. Furthermore Judge Platt stated that ââ¬Å"Obviously this is a very worrying figure. Either offenders have change their behaviour which seems extremely unlikely, or the victims do not want to criminalise the perpetratorsâ⬠which could be due to the fact that they are perceived to be the provider of the family, or the father of the children within the family unit, and the woman refusing to be held accountable for penalising their husband or partners actions, through the criminal justice system, and resulting in the perpetrator obtaining a criminal record, to which Judge Platt concluded ââ¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s human natureâ⬠. cited in Gibb et al (2008) Also other implementations introduced to safeguard children of the family unit, include that of the National Domestic Delivery Plan which has progressed to include children who are effected by domestic violence into the Common Assessment Framework, therefore incorporating them within Local Childrenââ¬â¢s Boards, and furthermore safeguarding that Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangements, and Multi Risk Assessment Conferences are aware of their involvement, and their needs, in order for them to work and comply within child protection arrangements in relation to the child, or children of the family. (National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan 2007) Causal theories of domestic violence include that of the ââ¬Ëintergenerational theoryââ¬â¢, and often referred to as ââ¬Ëthe cycle of abuseââ¬â¢ which is derived from the social learning theory, and based upon the premise that ââ¬Ëviolence begets violenceââ¬â¢, which suggests that young males who had witnessed, or experienced domestic abuse, were more likely to become the perpetrators of such abuse within adulthood, and that young females who had also witnessed, or experienced domestic abuse, were prone to remain within abusive relationships as adults. According to Rosenbaum et al (1991) 70% of abusive husbands were from a violent background. Although in contrast Stark and Filtcraft (1998) stated that only 30% of males which had experienced violence within their childhood became abusive towards their female partner within adulthood. (Tackling Domestic Violence 2005) However according to Dobash Dobash (1979) ââ¬Å"Children may learn to accept, admire, emulate or expect such behavior (domestic violence), but they may also be repulsed by it and reject itââ¬â¢s use. It would be naà ¯ve to assume that a child is such a simple creature that he or she learns only one thing from what he or she observes and that is to emulate the observed behavior in a robot fashion.â⬠cited in Tackling Domestic Violence (2005) Bibliography Barron J ( ) Published on the Internet Accessed Broken Rainbow. Published on the Internet, http//www.broken- rainbow.org.uk/content/definition.htm. Accessed 5th May 2008 Creighton S J (20O1) Published on the Internet http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/research/Breifings/physical abuse_wda48220.html. Definition and statistics. Published on the Internet. http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/dv/dv03a.htm Accessed 5th May 2008 Dobash R E and Dobash R P (1992)Women Violence and Social Change Routledge London and New York Domestic Violence Home Office, Published on the Internet http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/crime-victims/reducing-crime/domestic-violence/.Accessed 5thMay 2008 Domestic Violence Mini-site:Home, Published on the Internet http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/dv/dv01.htm. Accessed 15thMay 2008 Gibb F, Ford R (2008)Women at risk failed by domestic violence law THE TIMES 14 April JOC Published on the Internet Accessed May 2008 Mc Laughlin E and Muncie J (2006)The SAGE Dictionary of Criminology SAGE Publications Ltd London National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan (2007) Published on the Internet Accessed May 2008 Pragnell Published on the Internet Accessed May 2008 Richardson Published on the Internet Accessed May2008 Tackling Domestic Violence (2005) Published on the Internet Accessed Womenââ¬â¢s aid, British Crime Survey statistics-2006-7Womenââ¬â¢s Aid Published on the Internet.http://www.womensaid.org.uk/domestic-violence-articles.asp?itemid=1445itemTitle Accessed 7thMay2008 YourRights.org.uk. Published on the Internet http://www.yourrights.org.uk/your-rights/chapters/privacy/article-8/article-8-the Accessed 1st May 2008
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)