When you draw a picture Essay Example For Students

When you draw a picture Essay When you draw a picture, do you draw the character in blocks first or What? I just cant seem to get my characters anatomically right. I saw your booklets on your site. Do you know of any books Which teach you to draw the body in blocks? From Christine Luau dont draw blocks first when drawing a figure. Usually Ill DOD w? Rye loose, light, scribble gesture drawing instead. If you want to learn the blocks method, try any of the books by George Abridgment, Andrew Loomis, or the books by Robert Beverly Hale. All are listed on my site) Avoid books by Burner Hogwash, (one of my old teachers) as they arena very accurate and can be very misleading. (note: Glenn Fillips books are also an excellent source! ) ay far, the best book for anatomy though is the book by Stephen Rogers Peck (also on the site). There is no quick fix for drawing anatomy It just takes a fearers of study. Keep it up though, its worth it once you get handle on it!!! P. S. Also, draw from live nude models as much as possible , thats the best method to learn it We will write a custom essay on When you draw a picture specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now What is the hardest thing to draw? From Everybody! Nothing is really harder or easier to draw in a mechanical sense, If a person can draw one thing, they are perfectly capable of drawing something else with the same degree of accuracy _ The problem is in the phrase the same degree of accuracy. If someone says they can draw, for instance, landscapes, but they cant draw people, what they are really saying is, when draw landscapes, draw well enough that no one can tell what Ive drawn incorrectly. The reason people, and especially faces, are so difficult to draw is not because they themselves are any harder to draw than a tree. What changes is our tolerance as viewers for any degree Of inaccuracy. We are so intimately familiar With faces and their associated nuances, that the slightest deviation appears as a gross misreporting. Because of this, am constantly demanding my students draw people, and especially self-portraits, because they effectively highlight any weak skill areas that need attention. My students erroneously believe its because Im sadistic, What purpose does drawing have for artists today? From Carols (Shorebird, United Kingdom) think people often misrepresent drawing as a medium, or group of mediums, rather than an activity. See drawing as the visual equivalent of language. t is simply the way we communicate ideas visually through a series of marks on a ground. So to rephrase the question, it is a little like asking What purpose goes speaking have for people today? For both, the answer would give is the communication of information. This information can take the form of ideas, thoughts, commentary, entertainment, or just literal facts, but for all of these, drawing is just the mode of transmission. How artfully this is done is another, separate, issue. In the case of artists specifically, it is the fastest and most efficient way to represent an idea visually. Far more immediate than any other way Of doing it, a quickly drawn sketch or thumbnail is usually the fi rst look an artist has at how they might execute an idea.

The Ipremier Company Denial of Serivice Attack. Case Analysis Essay Example Essay Example

The Ipremier Company: Denial of Serivice Attack. Case Analysis Essay Example Paper The Ipremier Company: Denial of Serivice Attack. Case Analysis Essay Introduction The iPremier Compant (A): Denial of Service Attack Summary of the case: iPremier, a Seattle based company, was founded in 1996 by two students from Swathmore College. iPremier had become one of a few success web-based commerce, selling luxury, rare, and vintage goods over the Internet. Most of iPremier’s goods sell between fifty and a few hundred dollars, and the customer buys the products online with his or her credit card. iPremier’s competitive advantage is their flexible return policies which allows the customer to thoroughly check out the product and make a decision to keep the product or return it. The majority of iPremier customers are high end, and credit limits are not a problem. iPremier had contracted with Qdata, an Internet hosting business. Qdata provided iPremier with most of their computer equipment and connectivity to the Internet. Qdata was not an industry leader and was selected because it was located close to iPremier’s company headquarters and had been serving iPremier throughout the course of its new and developing business. Qdata did provide basic floor space, power, connectivity, environmental control, and physical security, and offered some high-level management services such as monitoring of web sites for customers and Internet security services such as firewall protection. On January 12, 2007, iPremier Web servers were brought to a standstill. A denial-of-service (DoS) attack had occurred. Hackers launched the attack on iPremier. Luckily for iPremier, this was only a denial-of service attack, possibly launched by a script-kiddie, or even a competitor trying to disrupt service. The Ipremier Company: Denial of Serivice Attack. Case Analysis Essay Body Paragraphs The attack could have been a lot worse. iPremier’s customers pay for their purchases with credit cards, and they keep a data base containing all credit card information on their customers. The credit card database is. However, it leaves them vulnerable to an attack by hackers. If a hacker had obtained total access to their system customer credit card numbers could have been in jeopardy. As the events unfold, iPremier managers discover problems with their plans for responding to crises and struggle to understand and control the situation. 1. How well did this company perform during the attack? The company did not perform as well as they should have been able to. There were multiple areas where problems arose, such as the technical architecture of the IT system, relying only on the 3rd party, Qdata, to monitor their IT infrastructure, keeping out of date manuals, and not maintaining their emergency procedures. However, some people trying to fix the attack did an adequate job con sidering the problems the company had. Joanne and Leon Ledbetter did everything in their power to restore the website and protect the customer data, which even included running red lights. Leon was so new that he didn’t know exactly what to do. Training for an emergency would have proven useful. The CIO, Bob Turley, knew of the emergency protocol and out of date manuals, but never did anything to alleviate these problems. This put the company in a significant disadvantage, and created a bigger problem than what was necessary. Faced with this problem, Turley was able to facilitate direction for the company as best as he could, which ended with the security breach stopping. Even after the attack, when the company did not know whether the customer information, which included credit card information, the company had no intention to announce the security breach to the public. This can be detrimental to the company if customers became impacted because of this issue. This is probabl y an unethical response to this event, and further shows how bad the company performed during this crisis. 2. What should they have done differently, before or during the event? One of their main problems was relying solely on Qdata to monitor their IT infrastructure. It sounds like Qdata was not keeping up to date with their investments in technology and adequate personnel. When Joanne was at Qdata, she made it sound as if the staff was uneducated and only allowed her limited access to resolve the situation. Their Website monitoring system and Internet security services did little to nothing to help resolve the situation. Another problem was iPremier neglecting to update their facilities and equipment because they wanted to focus more on expanding the company. This is a risky move because as the company grows the IT infrastructure needs to row to keep up with the greater risks a failure could cause. iPremier was not prepared for an attack; they could not even find their binder full of procedures in case of an emergency such as this one. They also had turned off their ability to log detailed information in case of an attack and Joanne believed that their firewall had not been set up properly. For this reason, they have no idea for why the attack had stopped. In some instances it may have appeared that they had panicked a little too much. They almost notified the police of the incident. They would have been a very hasty and unnecessary move. As far as I know, the police would have not been able to do anything to help the situation and at the same time the press would have access to the story. This would have hurt iPremier’s public relations and upset their executives and BOD. Their panic may also have caused an accident. Joanne was driving fast and running red lights. Again, if she got into an accident and the press got hold of why the accident occurred, there would have been a negative press release about the company. 3. What should they do in the after math of the event? Premier learned the hard way with this web’s attack that they needed to find a more effective outsourcing client. iPremier needs to realize the importance of security, especially in the e-commerce world where there is unlimited access through the Internet to valuable customer information. Security needs to be the top priority of any e-commercial company. They should make some changes to effectively solve their security problem. First of all, their existing contract with Qdata needs to be renegotiated. This will allow employees at iPremier to act as consultants for Qdata and help them upgrade their existing system. The consulting time will be an added cost, however it is far less expensive to consult rather than hiring another outsourcing client. Second of all, iPremier need to separate its web server from its critical system; this will help to eliminate access to important information by a hacker. No system is totally safe from an attack but the separation of systems will help to deter amateur hackers. Beside, iPremier needs to develop a plan of attack if they undergo a DoS again. By doing so, they can have a strategy to implement before, during, and after a denial-of-service. If their plan is effective the system then down time ill be decreased, and vital information will be secure again in a timely manner. Also when an attack occurs iPremier needs to have an expert to call to effectively walk top-level executives through the process of getting their system up and running. Finally iPremier’s current firewall needs to be updated with the addition security for example filter or sniffer, to successfully inhibit information packets that will initiate a DoS attack. 4. What, if anything, should they say to customers, investors, and the public about what has happened? iPremier’s made had no plan to announce the attack to customers. This may be a costly mistake. Because iPremier does not know the extent of the attack, or what was targeted, they do not know the extent of the risk to their customer. Officials of the company feel that making the attack public could risk their reputation from a public relations standpoint. However, not informing customers of the attack could be more costly. iPremier must quickly determine how they are going to approach this problem from an IT standpoint: will they hire another firm to research or will they work with Qdata to investigate the event? Next, iPremier should make a public announcement concerning the potential risk of compromised customer credit cards. Premier should also announce that their plan to remedy this problem and inform customers of how they will keep customer information safe in the future. Finally, iPremier should make a statement to reflect that they made every attempt to notify the public immediately after the attack to prevent any potential fraud to occur on customer credit cards. A similar event occurred with major retailer, TJ Maxx, several years a go. TJ Maxx did not discover the information leak for several months, and did not inform the public for some time after that. Not only did this create a public relations nightmare for TJ Maxx, there were also legal ramifications to their decisions. iPremier is correct in assuming they may lose customers in this process. However, the alternative approach, to remain silent, could prove more detrimental. Many customers will appreciate the honesty and the opportunity to close compromised credit cards immediately. On the other hand, if iPremier takes no action, and customer cards are compromised, they will face strong customer dissatisfaction and potential legal ramifications as well. We will write a custom essay sample on The Ipremier Company: Denial of Serivice Attack. Case Analysis Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Ipremier Company: Denial of Serivice Attack. Case Analysis Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Ipremier Company: Denial of Serivice Attack. Case Analysis Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

How To Gain Hands-On Experience for a Job

How To Gain Hands-On Experience for a Job You know you need experience to get a job. Trouble is, you can’t get any on-the-job experience without first having a job. It’s the classic early career Catch-22. The good news, however, is that there are a ton of ways to gain work experience before you ever get your first proper job. Make sure to plan ahead and accumulate valuable skills and knowledge from these experiences in time to apply for your first job. Here are a few great ways to get experience without getting â€Å"hired.†1. InternshipsAn internship is just like a job in that you do a ton of work, learn a lot, and gain valuable experience in a field. But it’s not at all like a job in that you usually get paid very little or nothing at all- and the term is usually short. Internships are widely available, in almost every field. Figure out what industry you want to work in eventually, and then get involved learning the tricks of the trade. You’ll have to fetch some coffee, but it just might get you hired one day.2. ShadowingUse your network, professional association, school career office, other programs, or even family members to find someone in your chosen field who would let you shadow them. This could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days, but lets you get valuable insight into the day-to-day experience of that field.3. VolunteeringYou definitely won’t be paid, except in the satisfaction of helping others, but you will gain a ton of experience that will look excellent on your future resume. Many provide training. All will give you access to learning the skills you’ll want, whether that be in child or elder care, administration, writing, teaching, coaching, fundraising, sales, mentoring, phone manner, construction, arts, etc.4. School/Community WorkThink your extracurricular activities don’t count? Any time you participate in a club or organization, whether sports or arts or religion related, you can gain a ton of experience that will set yo u up surprisingly well for the job market.5. FreelancingSometimes you have to prove you have what it takes before you can actually be brought on board. If you freelance, you can prove your talents and skills and expertise first and then make your way onto the payroll. And after your first gig, you’ll have racked up a ton of professional experience for next time.6. NetworkingIt isn’t always all about what you know. Sometimes a job will come down to who you know. Make sure to start growing a robust network of contacts and keeping yourself as current as possible.

How to Study in Graduate School vs College

How to Study in Graduate School vs College As a graduate student, youre probably aware that applying to graduate school is very different than applying to college. Graduate programs dont care about how well rounded you are. Likewise, participation in many extracurricular activities is a boon for your college application but graduate programs prefer applicants who are focused on their work. Appreciating these differences between college and graduate school is what helped you gain admittance to graduate school. Remember and act on these differences in order to succeed as a new graduate student. Memorization skills, late night cram sessions, and last minute papers may have gotten you through college, but these habits wont help you in graduate school and instead will likely harm your success. Most students agree that graduate-level education is very different from their undergraduate experiences. Here are some of the differences.   Breadth vs. Depth Undergraduate education emphasizes general education. About one-half or more of the credits that you complete as an undergraduate fall under the heading of General Education or Liberal Arts. These courses are not in your major. Instead, they are designed to broaden your mind and provide you with a rich knowledge base of general information in literature, science, mathematics, history, and so on. Your college major, on the other hand, is your specialization. However, an undergraduate major usually provides only a broad overview of the field. Each class in your major is a discipline unto itself. For example, psychology majors may take one course each in several areas such as clinical, social, experimental, and developmental psychology. Each of these courses is a separate discipline in psychology. Although you learn a lot about your major field, in reality, your undergraduate education emphasizes breadth over depth. Graduate study entails specializing and becoming an expert in your very narrow field of study. This switch from learning a little bit about everything to becoming a professional in one area requires a different approach. Memorization vs. Analysis College students spend a great deal of time memorizing facts, definitions, lists, and formulas. In graduate school, your emphasis will change from simply recalling information to using it. Instead, youll be asked to apply what you know and analyze problems. Youll take fewer exams in graduate school and they will emphasize your ability to synthesize what you read and learn in class and critically analyze it in light of your own experience and perspective. Writing and research are the major tools of learning in graduate school. Its no longer as important to remember a specific fact as it is to know how to find it. Reporting vs Analyzing and Arguing College students often moan and groan about writing papers. Guess what? Youll write many, many papers in graduate school. Moreover, the days of simple book reports and 5 to 7 page papers on a general topic are gone. The purpose of papers in graduate school is not simply to show the professor that youve read or paid attention. Rather than simply reporting a bunch of facts, graduate school papers require you to analyze problems by applying the literature and constructing arguments that are supported by the literature. Youll move from regurgitating information to integrating it into an original argument. You will have a great deal of freedom in what you study but you will also have the difficult job of constructing clear, well-supported arguments. Make your papers work double duty by taking advantage of class paper assignments to consider dissertation ideas. Reading It All vs. Copious Skimming and Selective Reading Any student will tell you that graduate school entails a lot of reading- more than they ever imagined. Professors add lots of required readings and usually add recommended readings. Recommended readings lists can run for pages. Must you read it all? Even required reading can be overwhelming with hundreds of pages each week in some programs. Make no mistake: You will read more in graduate school than you have in your life. But you dont have to read everything, or at least not carefully. As a rule, you should carefully skim all assigned required readings at minimum and then decide which parts are the best use of your time. Read as much as you can, but read smartly. Get an idea of the overall theme of a reading assignment and then use targeted reading and note-taking to fill in your knowledge. All of these differences between undergraduate and graduate study are radical. Students who dont quickly catch on to the new expectations will find themselves at a loss in graduate school.

Vatican City Is an Independent Country

Vatican City Is an Independent Country There are eight accepted criteria used to determine whether an entity is an independent country (also known as a State with a capital s) or not. Let us examine these eight criteria in regard to the Vatican City, a tiny (the smallest in the world) country located entirely within the city of Rome, Italy. The Vatican City is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church, with over one billion adherents worldwide. Why the Vatican City Counts as a Country 1. Has space or territory that has internationally recognized boundaries (boundary disputes are OK.) Yes, the Vatican City’s boundaries are undisputed even though the country is located entirely within the city of Rome. 2. Has people who live there on an ongoing basis. Yes, the Vatican City is home to approximately 920 full-time residents who maintain passports from their home country and diplomatic passports from the Vatican. Thus, it is as though the entire country is composed of diplomats. In addition to the over 900 residents, approximately 3000 people work at the Vatican City and commute into the country from the greater Rome metropolitan area. 3. Has economic activity and an organized economy. A country regulates foreign and domestic trade and issues money. Somewhat. The Vatican relies on the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications as governmental revenue. The Vatican City issues its own coins. There is not much foreign trade but there is significant foreign investment by the Catholic Church. 4. Has the power of social engineering, such as education. Sure, although there aren’t a lot of kids there! 5. Has a transportation system for moving goods and people. There are no highways, railroads, or airports. The Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. It only has streets within the city, which is 70% of the size of the Mall in Washington D.C. As a landlocked country surrounded by Rome, the country relies on the Italian infrastructure for access to the Vatican City. 6. Has a government that provides public services and police power. Electricity, telephones, and other utilities are provided by Italy. The internal police power of the Vatican City is the Swiss Guards Corps (Corpo della Guardia Svizzera). External defense of the Vatican City against foreign enemies is the responsibility of Italy. 7. Has sovereignty. No other State should have power over the countrys territory. Indeed, and amazingly enough, the Vatican City does have sovereignty. 8. Has external recognition. A country has been voted into the club by other countries. Yes! It is the Holy See which maintains international relations; the term Holy See refers to the composite of the authority, jurisdiction, and sovereignty vested in the Pope and his advisers to direct the worldwide Roman Catholic Church. Created in 1929 to provide a territorial identity for the Holy See in Rome, the State of the Vatican City is a recognized national territory under international law. The Holy See maintains formal diplomatic relations with 174 nations and 68 of these countries maintain permanent resident diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See in Rome. Most embassies are outside of the Vatican City and are Rome. The other countries have missions located outside Italy with dual accreditation. The Holy See maintains 106 permanent diplomatic missions to nation-states around the world. The Vatican City/Holy See is not a member of the United Nations. They are an observer. Thus, the Vatican City does meet all eight criteria for independent country status so we should consider it as an independent State.

Should the government provide child care centers for working parents Research Paper

Should the government provide child care centers for working parents - Research Paper Example There have been developed child-care centers that are privately owned, which have risen to save the situation. However, some of these child-care centers are not offering quality services to the children who attend them. Quality child-care should be a responsive process that offers developmentally suitable atmosphere for little children (Cooperative Extension, University of California (a) 1). Many of children around the world are not getting appropriate child-care opportunities for preschool sessions. However, many of those who attend the preschool are given poor services that sometimes are harmful to the children. The government ought to venture in to funding of these programs that will empower the young children. In the US, funding is varied in different programs that are designed to offer child-care. These programs are independent from each other in the way they carry out their care to children (Barnett and Hustedt 2). Child-care industries have boosted economies of many countries. They contribute to the revenue through taxation and by offering jobs to citizens of a country. In US, government subsidies are given to parents that are needy and to some parents the US government offers tax credits (Barnett and Hustedt 5-6). ... This is a reflective assignment that is seeking to express the two sides of government involvement in providing child care centers to working parents. Child-care is an expensive venture that does not only involve monetary, but also time, concern and energy. The burden of child-care can outweigh the parent if they are left alone to deal with children and still be economically productive. Children are attended by nuclear families when they cannot access the payable child-care centers fees (Bane et al 52-53). Economy has provided constraints that have forced many employees to spend more time and energy to any economic projects they are engaged in. In cases of interruptions, employees incur much loses as a result of wasted time. Companies that have employed those workers lose a lot of revenue on those employees. In that case, even the government experiences reduction in income because they will be entitled to less tax because of reduced productivity of an organization or company. In many countries, working parents are not usually entitled to any child-care services from the government. By the end of the year 2010, the only countries that were nearly giving their working people entitlement to child care are France and Hungary. These countries have high quality health services and other services related to children treatment (Hein and Cassirer 39). According to Cooperative Extension, University of California (b. 2-3), child-care is very expensive for low income earners in US. For example, the lowest charges for a year child care services for only one child was more than a third of annual income of a person who earns an annual pay of

Discuss some of the social and ethical issues raised by living life Essay

Discuss some of the social and ethical issues raised by living life online, especially with regard to personal responsibility and individual rights - Essay Example Also part of the social responsibility of a person living life online is the users right to post pictures and videos of himself or most importantly, of others by tagging them. This is a tool that should not be used lightly as it could be used to harm the social reputation of other people in an instant. (Boyd, Why Youth (Heart) Social Networking Sites...†) It is this particular part of online life that has caused a wave of cyberbullying cases through the irresponsible use of social media profiles and photo tagging opportunities. Due to the egalitarian method by which people interact online, the activity should have promoted camaraderie and greater fairness. Instead, the social networking lifestyle has caused an even greater divide among the public users due to the anonymity of the service.Social networking or online life is not a place where one can expect to develop ethics and virtues such as honesty, openness, and patience. Characteristics which in the real world, help mold th e social consciousness and ethical responsibilty within a person. (Markula Center For Applied Ethics, â€Å"Unavoidable Ethical Questions About Social Networking). All of these instant gratification tools offered by social networking has reduced people and their online interaction to an avatar and a few strokes on the keyboard, thus producing a new generation of highly irresponsible and inconsiderate youth. This is because social networks allow them to act irresponsibly without having to fear repercussions socially because of the difficulty in proving such acts. Ethics is not a consideration because the networking sites do not make them responsible for their actions. It remains an unsupervised world where anything can happen. It is if you prefer to call it, the new wild west waiting to be tamed and brought to a new age of social and ethical

Marketing Analysis on Vivienne Westwood Assignment

Marketing Analysis on Vivienne Westwood - Assignment Example Ansoff matrix serves as a tool to identify external and internal factors and this supports strategy formulation for future. The current strategy that has been adopted by Vivienne Westwood would be compared with proposed strategic options. A SFA framework is used to judge suitability, acceptability and feasibility of suggested strategies. Lastly it would highlight some recommendations for future growth and success of the brand. Vivienne Westwood was founded in the year 1971. The brand started its journey with a punk style fashion. Westwood launch products are considered to be premium in the market place. Customer profile for this brand is high end customers who are more aligned towards fashionable items. Vivienne Westwood is the owner of company and even is the firm’s head designer. Brand’s image is based on her personality and ideas (Temporal, 2011).The product category ranges from shoes, clothing, bags, to accessories and perfumes. This can be further categorized under four distinct labels such as Gold Label, Man, Red Label and Anglo Mania (Kapferer, 2009). Gold Label targets those women who desire to be in upper mainline in terms of fashion. Man represents a classic design and is marketed for men who want to be fashionable. Red Label highlights segment of ready to wear which is majorly for women demanding to appear elegant but has less time. Anglo Mania classifies diffusion segment that ta rgets women and men belonging to younger generation (Batey, 2012). The brand has overall six wholly owned stores and wide array of franchisees in New York, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Glasgow and Newcastle along with showrooms in Honolulu, Paris, Milan and Los Angeles. The major strength of Vivienne Westwood is its brand recognition and iconic status. It is a global fashion brand known for its product’s reliability and quality. Vivienne Westwood enhances its strength through online stores

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Case study - Essay Example and Hasan, H., n.d.) At the outset, the environment although polite and formal, breeds division between management and employees. This is shown by the set up of physical structures, by not inviting employees to participate in management’s plan, with a notion that there is nothing more to learn from them. Result of this environment showed that while it was a good design of operational efficiency and control, there was no flexibility that resulted in loss of motivation and trust that led to unsatisfied performance in the long run. Because there is no chance of communication, even the best intentions could be clouded with suspicions as in what happened to John who failed to see the good intention of training and further development. If the democratic leadership is adopted, as initiated by new manager, there is a fair chance that employees will be more motivated in the work performance, John will not quit as things are communicated well, and system will lead to a collegial system whose basis is teamwork. Sundarasadula, D. and Hasan, H., Closed system and organizational theories, Chapter  11.  A unified open systems model for explaining organisational change Retrieved 15 2010 from http://epress.anu.edu.au/info_systems/mobile_devices/ch11s02.html This case describes a situation of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Interestingly, it is related to career opportunities, work life policies and job characteristics as could be seen with the problem of Suzanne Chalmers. Money, benefits and stress on the job are out of the question since these are not the reasons for her resignation. But why would she quit, along with other IT professionals who quit to later joining start-up software firms that give lesser benefits? In my analysis, management failed to see that job satisfactions among professionals has something to do with †upward mobility† as they are seeking for higher status and

International trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International trade - Essay Example China and the south East Asian countries such as Singapore have been in focus for their export based economies (Rivera-Batiz & Oliva, 2003). External trade is usually heavily controlled by countries by applying duty against imports and subsidizing exports. Free trade means the government does not discriminate against national and foreign producers of goods. The price of goods is determined through the equilibrium of supply and demand. A country which allows free trade does not impose high import duties and neither does it subsidize its exports through schemes and promotions. Body 2)Advantages of International Trade The major advantages of international trade are – It enhances the competitiveness of local industries as they come into contact with international best practices and technological knowhow. It helps the country to overcome the shortage in natural resources. One example is the import of crude oil by many countries to overcome the natural deficiency. International trad e allows consumers to buy products at low cost. An example of this has been the proliferation of manufacturing industries to China. Manufacturing goods produced in China are low cost and thus leads to benefits to the end users. International trade can be a vehicle for poverty reduction. China has increased its GDP rapidly in the last 20 years by becoming an export hub for international companies. This has reduced poverty and created employment for a billion Chinese (Rivera-Batiz & Oliva, 2003). Disadvantages of International Trade Some of the main disadvantages are – International trade can lead to destruction of local industries if they are not able to compete with the cheap products imported from abroad. International trade can lead to jobless growth of the economy. This can cause social unrest among the population. India is a country whose exports largely consist of services such as Information technology. However IT is a capital intensive sector which creates very few job s leading to large scale unemployment in the country. International trade can also lead to depletion of natural resources such as coal, iron-ore etc. if they are exported to other countries (Rivera-Batiz & Oliva, 2003). International trade has also caused various environmental and human rights concern. It is alleged that the factories in China and Mexico do not follow the strict environmental guidelines followed in developed world. They are also accused of employing child labour to reduce the cost of products (Rivera-Batiz & Oliva, 2003). 3)Major Trading Partners of UAE The major trading partners of UAE are Japan, China, European Union and India. Japan is UAE’s biggest export partner (17.27% share) and China is the biggest import partner (15.03% share) (Oxford Business Group, 2010). 4)Most Important Exports OF UAE The most important exports from UAE are crude oil, natural gas, fish, dates and products which are re-exported after processing (Zaman, 2011). 5)Trade Policy of UAE UAE signed the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) in 1994 and became a WTO member in

Whos Life Is It Anyway Essay Example for Free

Whos Life Is It Anyway Essay The play ‘Whose Life is it Anyway? ’ by Brian Clark explores conflicting issues and views through the protagonist predicament. Having conflict is essential in drama. Conflict is created through disagreement of different perspectives and allows the audience to question their values in society. The three keys areas of conflict that arise in the play are the dignity of choice, professionalism and desire. Dignity of choice is a key conflict that is conveyed throughout the play. Ken is a paraplegic resulted from an accident which stripped him from his dignity of choice, unable to make decisions himself. Throughout the play, dignity of choice has been portrayed effectively in many key scenes which lead to the tension of the issue of euthanasia. A key incident where Ken has had his dignity of choice removed was when he was forced to take the injection as one of a series of measures to keep him alive. The author utilises dramatic techniques to further enhance the conflict of dignity of choice. Contrast is employed to portray the two conflicting ideas in the play between Dr Emerson’s concept and Ken’s notion of the right to be discharged. Ken’s quote: ‘’Don’t stick that thing in me! ’’ suggests his lack of authority over his own decisions as he is powerless against Dr Emerson. Another key conflict that is skilfully portrayed throughout the play is professionalism. Ken has a strong view on his subject of euthanasia and the doctors are having a hard time caring for Ken without being emotionally affected. During the scene with Mrs Boyle, Ken confronts her with many of his own opinions about his rights and decisions. Mrs Boyle being so called ‘’professional’’ by Ken completely ignores Ken and continues with her own perspective of what should happen. Ken says ‘’You doctors with your appalling so-called professionalism, which is nothing more than a series of verbal tricks to prevent you from relating to your patients as human beings’’. This suggests the professionalism of the doctors ignoring the patients as human beings. The play writer uses stage directions to portray the anger which builds up as well as the lack of oxygen built up by the anger and tension, over the ignorance of Ken’s views by Mrs Boyles so called ‘’professionalism’’. The last conflict of desire is presented strongly through the use of techniques and language throughout the play. The playwright uses symbolism, to symbolise Ken as a skateboard. This objectifies Ken, describing him useless and dehumanizes him from normal humans. The conflict of desire is presented as Ken tells Dr Scott that he still has ‘’a man’s mind’’ and feels ‘tremendous sexual desires’ even though he knows that he can never again have a physical relationship. This suggests the conflict of being human or mechanical as he is rendered useless in the face of his desires. Overall, the conflict is essential as it provides issues presented towards both sides and creates the question of values in society. The play writer has successfully achieved his purpose through the use of dramatic devices and has produced a strong purpose in showing the conflicting views and values of euthanasia in our society.

Principle of Non-maleficence Violation: Case Study

Principle of Non-maleficence Violation: Case Study Introduction Pakistan is a developing country with 184 million populations; majority of people is living in rural areas, where literacy rate is very low. The burden of Chronic liver disease (CLD) is increasing day by day due to poor compliance to preventive measures. According to Qureshi, Bile, Jooma, Alam and Afridi (2010) the burden of hepatitis B and C is increasing in general population and it is currently 7.6%. High prevalence of hepatitis B and C will result in increased incidence of CLD. Quality of life among CLD patients is very poor and the only option for them is liver transplantation. Unlike liver transplantation renal transplantation started early in 1985, currently facility is available both in public and private hospital across the country. On other hand very few liver transplantation were performed in the country despite the fact that every year 10,000 people die due to CLD (Ali, Qureshi, Jilani, Zehra 2013). The liver transplant project was initiated in 2011 at Pakistan Institut e of Medical sciences under special instruction from prime minister of Pakistan. The purpose of this project was to provide liver transplant facility in the country on affordable cost. Scenario 32 years old male having three children diagnosed with CLD, was operated liver transplantation in public sector hospital. The liver was taken from live donor 28 years old wife of the patient. On 3rd post op day the patient start severe bleeding with tachycardia and hypotension. Patient become unconscious and was rushed to operation room (OR). Meanwhile patient crashed and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) started. After 6 hours of CPR patient cardiac activity was resumed, but still bleeding from drain and body orifices. Patient was on high inotropic support and back to back transfusion of blood and blood product to maintain hemoglobin and platelet of patient. Later on patient expired and his wife remain in hospital till her recovery Analysis of ethical issue The procedure was performed without enough resources and principle of non-maleficence was violated. The hospital management and transplant team were responsible for the malpractice. They assured the patient and his family that the hospital has cutting age technology, expert human resource and outstanding material resource comparable with other advance liver transplant center in the developed countries. But in reality the situation was worse with no training of health care staff, three bedded intensive care unit (ICU) without isolation, and small operation theater with poor infection control measures. Lack of standard laboratory without computerization increases the misfortunes of liver transplant center. In short these facilities were not sufficient for such advance level surgery which risks the life of donor as well recipient. These leads to negligence and malpractice on part of hospital management and liver transplant team which arise the question in mind that â€Å"Is this ethica l to perform liver transplant in limited human as well material resources.†? The ethical principle of justice non-maleficence and virtue of veracity are violated. Moreover, the act of hospital management and transplant team were against the theory of deontology. According to news in media initially a memorandum was signed between the hospital and Royal Free Hospital, London but later on after inspection of infrastructure and human resource they refused to perform such complicated procedure in this facility (Wasif, 2012). Although government provided 200 million PKR to build state of the art facility in capital city of Pakistan but these huge amounts were wasted and golden opportunity of liver transplant in public sector hospital was misused. Ethical principle violated in decision making to perform liver transplant My preposition is that without adequate expertise and material as well as human resource performing such intricate surgery is not justifiable and against the ethical principles. While performing their duties health care professionals must adhere to ethical principle and rules. Any breach or violation of these principles may lead to malpractice and negligence. The patient trust on health care professionals and believe that they will apply their knowledge and skills to provide benefit to patient. Similarly, according to Hippocratic pledge health care professionals will abstain their self from harmful and mischievous act (Markel, 2004). Obligation of non-maleficence not only include to avoid harm but also not to impose risk of harm (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001). In the above situation the health care workers lack proper training, skills and material resources to perform such sophisticated procedure. Moreover the professional standards were violated which determine due care in such situation and risk of harm was inflicted on patient. The hospital management and liver transplant team act negligently and harm the patient, his family and specially his wife. Hospital management and transplant team stance The health care team stance was to maximize the benefit and happiness to the society. They support their position using act utilitarianism for the greater happiness of greater number of people. According to act-utilitarianism an action is right if it produces consequences like any other action available to the agent (barns, 1971). The hospital management and transplant team argued that patient was known case of CLD with complication and no other alternative, So according to act-utilitarianism our action is justified and if successful this center will provide care to thousands CLD patients waiting for miracle in the country. Our intention was good and according to Islamic principle of ethics actions are judged according to intention. One of the saying of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him â€Å"the reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.† (Bukhari: 1). Justification of my stance using deontology To justify my position, I will refer to famous philosopher Emanuel Kant and his theory of deontology. I According to Emanuel Kant action are not justified on basis of consequences, rather they should be judged independently of its outcome (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001). If we judge the action of hospital management and liver transplant team independently of its outcome we came to result that action was performed without enough evidence which harm the patient and against the basic principle of ethics. According to Nathaniel and Burkhardt (2008) deontology stresses that individual must fulfill their obligation and in the above scenario the obligation to do no harm and provide beneficence was violated. Furthermore one principle of Islamic ethics is certainty which mean evidence based practice (Mustafa, 2013); this principle of certainty was violated as performing liver transplantation without standard human and material resource, which is against the evidence base practice. Consequences of Acting on my Position If the hospital management started this project after appropriate training for different professionals along with good infrastructure equipped with modern equipment and according to international standards, then the consequences will be different for patient me and other staff. The patient life could be saved and new patients will be enrolled for transplantation. The other staff will remain in the center providing care to liver transplant patients. I myself will be there taking care of patient and contributing towards the betterment of community and huge money will be utilized in appropriate place according to the need of public. Recommendation On basis of above scenario and analysis, I am going to put forward some suggestions to stakeholders. First of all such sophisticated project must be plan and each and every step should be taken according to plan. The second is hiring of proper and competent professional; these professionals include doctors, nurses, technicians, laboratory, and radiology staff. Training for these professionals should be arranged in leading liver transplant center of the world. The third is that all the units including ICU, OR, laboratory, radiology and pharmacy should be under one roof preferably in separate building and equipped with contemporary instruments. Moreover these units should be connected with each other through computer and internet.

Modernizing The Crucible Essay -- The Crucible Arthur Miller Witchcraf

Modernizing The Crucible Imagine you are a director who has been asked to direct a modern version of The Crucible. Decide on how you would make the play modern and the kind of setting that you feel is the most appropriate for conveying the themes of the play. In your discussion, you should deal with what you feel are the main themes of the play that you want to focus on and how the setting will enhance and even add depth to what you have to say. Firstly, I feel that in order to make the play as modern as possible, the play has to have a feel which all of its viewers can instantly identify with, as well as being realistic when compared with current world events. Hence the setting which produces the most realistic play, as well as portraying events that viewers can identify strongly with, will therefore be the most appropriate for conveying the themes of the play. I have also decided to elaborate on the themes of hysteria, intolerance, integrity and choosing a scapegoat. For my setting, I will rely heavily on a combination of two world events that, in differen...

Charles Dickens Great Expectations Essays -- Charles Dickens Great Ex

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations One of Dickens’ most popular novels ‘Great Expectations’ is a griping search for identity- the narrator’s self-identity Pip has been born into a difficult world in the early years of the 19th Century. Philip Pirrip is the narrator of ‘Great Expectations’. In the book he is known as Pip. He called himself Pip because as a young child his infant tongue could only get across to Pip. I the first few chapters of the book he is described as a timid, sensitive and guilt-ridden person. His parents had died earlier, probably due to poverty. Pip is living with his sister, who intimidates him in every form. We realise his intimidation when he arrives late from the graveyard, â€Å"I twisted the only button on my waistcoat round and round, and looked in great depress at the fire. Tickler was a wax-ended piece of cane, worn smooth by collision with my tickled frame† I see a parallel between Dickens and Pip. Dickens’s lived in an over-crowded place when he was young. His parents had no intentions of sending him to school. He spent his days running errands and doing chores around the house also his younger sister died of smallpox just like, Pip’s brothers and sisters. Dickens was very concerned with social issues like poverty. At the time when the book was written, there was a very high level of infant mortality, which was made worse by deaths among poor adults, hence the number of orphans. The first meeting with Magwitch is in the churchyard, where Pip is lost in childish absorption grappling with his family’s fate. His state of mind is very unstable when Pip is grabbed violently and the convict threatened to cut his throat if he was to make noise. Pip imagines Magwitch as a pir... ...r. Pip felt, Estella looked down on him because he was poor and not a gentleman. Pip was asked to play, but he didn’t know how to ‘play’. Estella lived in a society where her class did not have to work, and we read that Pip wanted to leave when he was told to ‘play’ because he did not understand the word ‘play’. In chapter 9, when Pip returns home his shame will not allow him to tell the truth to his sister and Pumblechook so he is exaggerates. We see that Pip is telling Joe about his real feelings about his trip to ‘Satis House’. Unlike the theft, which he kept secret, he eventually confides to Joe because he knows Joe will keep an open mind and he is the only one person he can speak to without being punished and having a guilty conscience. What he is confiding to Joe is his shame as a working-class person and how he must change in order to win Estella.

Swire Swot

Such issues increase the operating costs of the group which may adversely impact Swore Pacifism's results of operations profitability. Swore Pacific has operations in Asia, Europe and North America. Despite having a global presence, the group's operations are concentrated in Asia, mostly in Hong Kong. During PAYOFF, the group generated about 89. 4% of its revenues from Asia out of which 51. 3% were generated from Hong Kong only. Overconfidence on one geographic region makes it susceptible to changes associated with the economic and political situation of the country.Concentrated operations could also make Swore Pacific uncompetitive against rivals who have globally diversified operations. Partnerships and Joint ventures enhancing business The group is expanding its presence through partnerships and Joint ventures. In December 2013, Swore Foods Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Swore Pacific, formed a 60/40 coffee Joint venture for Hong Kong and Mainland China with Movements Foods Lic ensing, a subsidiary of Movements Holding GAG.Movements Foods Licensing will contribute its brand and its coffee expertise to the new company, while Swore Foods Holdings will provide an area-wide distribution network and its knowledge of the Mainland Chinese market. Similarly, Swore Properties, through Marvel Glory Limited, a joint venture company formed with other partners, entered into an agreement to acquire a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITE Pacific Limited which indirectly owns DC Commercial Centre, in December 2013. These Joint ventures could enhance the group's business and improve its market share.Increasing spending on food in merging markets As the global economic shift towards the emerging economies continues, opportunities for several industries including the food and beverage manufacturing sector are created. According to industry estimates, approximately 58% of processed food is consumed by developing countries, owing to factors like a rapid increase in population in th ese countries. Furthermore, by 2050, it is expected that nearly 72% of the food consumption will happen in the developing countries supported by the fact and India. Swore Pacific derived 21% of its total revenues in PAYOFF through its beverages segment.The beverages segment of the group has the rights to manufacture, market and distribute the products of the Coca-Cola Company in Hong Kong, Taiwan, seven provinces in Mainland China and in the western US. Counting on these huge markets being created, companies like Swore Pacific are increasing their investments in emerging countries and looking at expanding their businesses. This trend of increasing spending on food in emerging markets is likely to increase the group's Beverages business. Page 6 As a global business, Swore Pacific is vulnerable to several local business risks in different countries.The group may increasingly become exposed to changing political, social, legal and regulatory obligations at the national and internationa l level, such as those required by the European Union or the World Trade Organization. These regulations include changes in tariffs and trade barriers; competition law requirements, such as restrictions on the group's ability to own or operate subsidiaries or acquire new businesses in certain Jurisdictions; delays in the process of obtaining or maintaining licenses, permits and governmental approvals necessary to operate certain businesses; and environmental laws and regulations.These regulations could have an adverse impact on the group's strategic planning and geographic expansion. Swore Pacifism's principal business operations face significant competition across the diverse markets in which they operate. New market entrants, intensification of price competition by existing competitors, product innovation or technical advancement could adversely concern the group's financial condition and results of operations. The group faces several competitive risks across its divisions.In mari ne services division, with a large number of newly built vessels continuing to enter the offshore racket, increased competition is expected to result in further pressure on charter rates. This could result in a decline in Swore Pacifism's revenues. Similarly, in the property business, an increasing number of developers are undertaking property investment and development in China, which could result in lower returns achieved on the group's property developments.Intense competition in the group's key divisions could impact the group's financial condition and results of The demand for petroleum and related products has historically been cyclical and sensitive to the availability and prices of oil and related feedstock. Historically, international prices of crude oil and refined products have fluctuated widely due to many factors that are beyond the control of companies like Swore Pacific, which has substantial interest in the aviation business through Catchy Pacific group, the HASTE gr oup and YACHT.Fuel prices and availability are subject to wide price fluctuations based on geopolitical issues and supply and demand, which can neither be controlled nor accurately predicted. The high Jet fuel price had a major impact on Catchy Pacifism's operating results in 2012. Regardless of the effect of fuel hedging, Catchy Pacifism's fuel costs increased by HOOK$323 million ($41. 6 million) (or 0. 8%) in 2012. The Jet fuel price, which was $12. 7 per million British thermal unit (Btu) in 2009 is expected to reach $23. 7 per million Btu in 2015.It is further forecast to grow to $27. 6 per million Btu by 2030. Furthermore, the political turmoil in the Middle East has impacted the oil prices. Page 7 Historically, fuel costs have generally represented 10% to 15% of an airline's operating costs, but due to volatility in prices over the past few years, fuel costs have been in the range of to 40% of total operating costs. Thus the increase in global ND regional oil prices exposes th e group to extreme fluctuations in earnings, which is likely to have an adverse consequence on its growth initiatives.Any inability to obtain Jet fuel at competitive prices would materially have an impact on Swore Pacifism's results of operation and financial condition. Page 8 Copyright of Swore Pacific, Ltd. SOOT Analysis is the property of Marketing, a Denominator business and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

Private Public partnership

Over the last few decades, our administration focuses on developing our economy where they can address the problem of poverty and of modernization on the Philippines. As our country is still developing and the government resources are limited, new ideas and strategies such as partnerships are needed. This highly evolved development strategy is nowadays termed as Public Private Partnerships (Pops), is a cooperative venture between the public and private sectors in the provision of goods or services which is traditionally provided by the state (Recite &Affable, 2006). The public and private sectors have common goals and their partnership can take advantage of the separate strengths of each to achieve their objectives. On the Executive Summary of Proceedings about Public-Private Partnerships in the Social Sector they elaborated that the private sector exists to make a profit and applies market-based solutions to problems while the public sector attempts to ensure equity and access for c itizens and redresses problems of market failure (Asian Development Bank Institute, 1999).On view of this program, there will e greater opportunities that will come in the future especially in developing our country economically. The program caters mainly to the needs of the public users and also it creates an environment where there will always be consistent growth. Many are still skeptical and in fear of the Private Public Partnerships. Mainly because of there is a conflict of interest between the public and private sector and also there is a chance of higher transaction cost due to its long term contract. An article entitled, For Mutual Benefit-the Advantages and Challenges of Public-PrivatePartnerships cited, the state, that often provides the fixed assets and even the financing for APP is interested in improving the delivery of public goods and services; while on the other hand, private firms are concerned with enhancing profitability and the welfare of their stockholders (FIT Consulting, Inc. , 2012). On this sample risk, it shows that both sectors have different objectives which create a negative impact on the status of nation's social and economic health. In this partnership, the government and the public sector must work together to establish quality standards that will help OTOH of them in the long run.Real partnerships will require Joint planning and discussions and better specifications of the potential roles for each other is needed (Asian Development Bank Institute, 1999). Therefore; accountability, monitoring and transparency by both the public and private sector is really significant. On the conference in Tokyo, Dry. Patricia Craig (Asian Development Bank Institute, 1999) highlighted the urgency of solving some of the problems of the social sector today because of the intensifying pressures of population ageing and globalization on this sector.With the ever increasing population, greater expectations and demands from the society, our government is facing an increasing pressure to deliver new and improved services with only limited resources available. Thus, the private sectors who are much more knowledgeable in terms of market rules and the ability to deliver projects on time can greatly aid the government in providing the services to the public in a way that benefits the people and delivers economic development.Our country today experiences a so called ‘infrastructure deficit', evidenced by congested odds, deteriorated schools, lack of facilities in the hospitals, poorly maintained transit and water treatment systems, and other infrastructure assets which are either non-existent or in urgent need of repair (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, 2008). Because of the increasing shortage of government funds as evidenced by lack of facilities and manpower, our country critically requires a more serious look at the APP option.With the help of the partnership program, the problems that our country is facing wil l be addressed properly since there will be proper distribution of susceptibilities between the private and public sectors. And as a developing country trying to approximate good governance, the Philippines has already properly characterized the private sector is its most potent partner in meeting said formidable infrastructure challenges, through Pops (Recite & Affable, 2006).Public Private Partnership will surely addressed the challenges of reducing poverty and establishing a more rapid developing system. The program will surely be a reliable strategy that can efficiently deliver its services. Sine there will be proper identification of the needs of our country, there will also be proper implementation of all projects planned by our government with the help of the private sector. This can too produce more Job opportunities for Filipinos since there will be more infrastructure projects so manpower will also be required.Also, the needs of the people will be properly catered since fa cilities are being improved and properly maintained. The APP agenda in various infrastructure sectors and development projects, is aimed at facilitating trading and investments thereby reinforcing the amounts investment climate and its competitiveness in the Asia and with the rest of the world (Recite & Affable, 2006). The Philippines is regarded as an ideal site for investment because of our rich natural resources, highly educated people and a high standard lifestyle at a low cost.With the help of APP, our country will invite more foreign investors which results to an economic growth. Private-public Partnership is a program that will provide greater opportunities in developing our country economically today and in the future. Because the program caters to the needs of the people, as a result, it creates an environment where there is growth and prosperity. Though many doubt the effectiveness of partnership between the private and public sector, but a change from the traditional welf are state is a moving step towards productivity.In reality, markets are imperfect and government may not always work in favor of the most disadvantaged but each sector can do certain things well. In order to have a good governance the private sector needs to consider its social responsibility while the public sector needs to create the appropriate legal and ejaculatory structures as well as a democratic and participatory process in decision making (Recite & Affable, 2006). Real partnerships will involve Joint planning by the public and private sectors, where a culture of true cooperation will need to develop.

How Today’s Managers Use Scientific Management Essay

An overview During the past 57 years, Pakistan’s experiences with democracy have been transitory, as brief democratic rules have been followed by prolonged military regimes.As a nation, Pakistanis have time and again refused to delearn the incremental lessons in parliamentary democracy. Due to this fact, the four military regimes that Pakistanis saw finally reverted to controlled and guided democracy in quest for legitimacy. ‘Basic democracy’ of General Ayub Khan and ‘Islamic democracy’ of General Ziaul Haq were the efforts to appease popular sentiments and ‘sustainable democracy’ of General Pervez Musharraf is also not different from the two previous experiments with democracy. All the three military dictators patronized and promoted their own factions of Pakistan Muslim League — the party claimant to be the founder of the country — to block the way of normative political forces. In order to supplement their efforts to monopolize the political sphere, the military rulers as unfair referees framed biased rules for the political game. The outcome was a paralysed parliament run by privileged puppets. So-called intellectual brigades mostly comprising retired generals and former bureaucrats nursed not only militarization of state and society but also pleaded for authoritative presidential system. However, with the exception of Ayub Khan none of the military rulers succeeded in such efforts. Ayub Khan’s so-called presidential system immediately collapsed  with his ouster from the political arena. Shockingly, such debates still exist to eclipse the future of parliamentary democracy in Pakistan. The argument derives its logic from the experience of certain East Asian nations that mortgaged their political liberties for economic growth in first place. In this scenario, a qualitative judgement on Pakistan’s democratic experiences can only point to trends and perceptions. Integrity of a nation state The lack of continuity in the democratic process meant that most of the interests groups in the country, whether economic or sub-national at one stage or the other, feel that the system is not fully responsive to their interests. It is generally perceived that during the undemocratic regimes, sub-nationalist forces grew in their disenchantment with the state and governance pattern. Conversely, whenever there have been even quasi-democratic governments, these sub-national entities felt to be part of the system and voices of dissent against state have been considerably mild. To that extent, the democratic experience in Pakistan has played some part in assuaging the concerns of the federating units. Interestingly, with the exception of a few hardcore jihadi outfits, all major religiopolitical parties have been stakeholders in the democratic process. Despite their cherished theological dream and desire of caliphate, the religious parties competed and contested all general elections in the country. The story of ethnic and nationalist voices from periphery namely smaller provinces — Balochistan and NWFP — is not different. These forces have fully participated in the democratic institutions to plead for their demands. Democratic institutions Juxtaposed to above-mentioned trends, the governance and the democratic institutions have not been sufficiently participatory and democratic in their conduct, and failed to cobble up some institutional mechanism for making decisions democratically. The conflicts between the opposition and ruling party often led to use of state apparatus against the opposition parties. Thus, it has been common to see rulers of yesterday as prisoners of today. Therefore, the democratic empowerment remained an illusive dream, and execution and exile emerged as alternatives for the politicians. Many  political observers agree that although the country’s political leadership commendably fought for democratic governance whenever they faced a military rule, there own actions in power have been autocratic.â€Å"Despite making struggle for restoration of democracy, they have failed to build a legal framework, create a pro-democracy environment and most importantly build a policy framework in which  conflicts may be resolved through negotiations, by making bargain, and by building consensus.† (Saeed Shafqat — Democracy in Pakistan: Value Change and Challenges of Institution Building) In this context, no wonder that conflicts between different political forces in the 1980s and 1990s were resolved through the military mediated coercive state powers. Both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto launched major military operations in Karachi to counter Muttahida Qaumi Movement. Though the conflict was not entirely political in nature, during the course of events such operations backed by the military establishment somewhere crossed lines from merely a law and order restoration to political vendetta. Present discontentment among Baloch nationalists over the alleged abuse of their resources by the federal government, especially in Gwadar, points to the inability of the state to satisfy the federating units. Moreover, the way these concerns are being addressed exemplify that nothing has changed in terms of coercive methodologies employed to settle major political issues. Constitutional amendments In order to evolve and erect a fair social contract between the state and the citizens, Pakistan has had three constitutions in 1956, 1962 and 1973, two interim constitutional arrangements in 1947 and 1972, and two major attempts of constitutional engineering in 1985 and 2002. All these attempts were to oscillate the power pendulum towards the designer. The casualty in the process was the rule of law and a viable social contract between the rulers and the ruled. In spite of these odds, Pakistan has exhibited unique resilience to survive. The critical question, however, remains that whether instability would stay as the professed policy of the powerful civil-military establishment or Pakistan would finally witness any moment of democratic triumph? Flawed legislation Legislation process that traditionally flows out of the constitution and contemporary needs of the society is often considered as the most important function of democratic institutions. Unfortunately, this process has been highly flawed even in the democratic eras. In the statute books, majority of the laws are those inherited from the colonial rulers, whereas the second biggest chunk is the set of presidential ordinances (though these are later converted into acts of parliament without any major changes), and very few laws that epitomize the brain of legislators. The tradition of private member bill has never been encouraged in Pakistan. Role of state institutions in protecting citizens The state has miserably failed in protecting life and property of its citizens. The actions to curb the crime have been selective and demonstrative, and that too marred by corrupt practices of the functionaries in different state agencies responsible for providing protection to masses. The state of affairs in the country’s police department and judiciary is no secret, and popular perception is that all efforts on part of the state have been mere an eyewash. Registration of cases by the police even on commission of a crime of heinous nature is very difficult for a common citizen, particularly the poor. In some instances, cases are registered even months after commission of a crime and obviously this leads to loss of critical evidence to prove the cases. Not only this, even if an aggrieved person gets a case registered, the rampant corruption in judiciary makes the accomplishment of justice impossible for the weak and vulnerable segments of the society. Thus, this state of affairs has badly shattered the public confidence in the state institutions, leading to aggravation of situation at the grassroots through giving further boost to the lawlessness and prevalence of uncertainty among the masses. Decision-making and people’s voice Lack of a culture of public debate before legislation is one of the major reasons that today there may be thousands of laws on the statue books but their enforcement is very weak. Sometimes, multiple laws to address any  single issue empower the law enforcers to employ their discretionary powers. Drivers of legislation are often self interests of the ruling class, expediency or some external pressures when it comes to things that have a global perspective. Constitutional amendments to strengthen the interests of the ruling party or one-sided amendments by the military rulers are also not uncommon. Therefore, the present lawmaking system has been unable to keep pace with the changing realities. The government often comes up with quantitative figures to project its legislative performance that in fact is nothing more than minor amendments to the existing laws. Similarly, policy formulation also remain highly personalized and outside the ambit of the parliament. Lack of credibility of elections Country’s record in holding fair and free elections is also not very impressive. It has become a common practice of the defeated parties or politicians that they invariably blame the state for manipulating the elections, and the reason for such scepticism is ingrained deep in the country’s political history. Understandably, when the state institutions (military and civil bureaucracy) seem to have a lucid tilt towards a particular political force or the other, the losing party has all the reasons to suspect the transparency of elections. Moreover, the results of the elections are further manipulated when it comes to the formation of a government. Many a time, the party that has gained larger number of votes or larger number of seats is kept out of the power through post election alliance making. This exercise could be a positive development if entirely left to the dynamics of politics alone, as this could lead the political parties to create some kind of minimum consensus. But contrary to this fact, the outside players, like intelligence agencies, take up the responsibility of forging the alliances. Such manipulations not only create further doubts about the democratic process but also have inbuilt flaws and instability. Such alliances mean that the government has no connection with the masses. Pakistan’s history also testifies to another fact that though the people are allowed to elect governments, they have rarely been given an opportunity to vote out governments. The elected governments have been mostly removed through some arbitrary and discretionary power vested in the head of the  state or by direct military intervention. In a sense, people in the country are not fully aware of the power that their vote may have. Communication gap between political parties and masses Despite a majority of people in the country accepts that democracy is the best system of governance, political parties have not really been able to capitalise on this broad consensus. As the infrastructure of the political parties over the past two decades has lost the ability to educate masses at the grassroots level, and the parties are less interactive with them, the creed known as political workers is becoming extinct. Political parties are now talking to the electorate through media alone, and this practice has led to an ample communication gap between the parties and the people. While this gap increases, some other impediments in the development of democratic culture continue to influence the common man’s mindset. Textbooks taught in schools do not talk favourably about political parties as institutions. Rather these books target some of the elected leaders while eulogising the military rulers of the country. Even the overall sense of the textbooks does not come out positively for a democratic system of governance. The common perception propagated vehemently by the establishment that members of the parliament do not remain in touch with the electorate once they are elected. Although a deep look at the mechanisms of politics suggest this may not be true, as it might have almost been impossible for politicians to get reelected if they completely lose contact with the electorate, it is largely true in case of big landlords who  have such clout in their constituencies that they cannot be defeated whatever the situation may be. However, in case of some politicians from the urban centre, the past elections have proved this perception wrong. Public perception of democracy Despite all odds pitched against vibrant and transparent democratic governance, 88 per cent Pakistanis value democracy as a good political system. In a survey, conducted between August 15, 2001 and February 28, 2002, 2,000 people were interviewed, and only four per cent of respondents preferred military rule over democratic governance. However, the level of  trust in political parties was pretty low as compared to the civil service and the armed forces. See table below: Answers Questions Yes in % Is democracy a good political system? 88 Is democracy despite its problems better than other political systems? 82 Is military government good for Pakistan? 4 Is a strong leader better to make decision without consent of the 34 Parliament? Should technocrats make key decisions rather than elected 19 government? Is Pakistan run by big interest groups who looked out for themselves 89 rather than the benefit of the people? Are you satisfied with handling of country’s affairs by the gov ernment 43 (military government)? Are you happy with the country’s political system? 8 Do you have confidence in political parties? 28 Do you have confidence in civil service? 50 Do you have confidence in armed forces? 86 Would like to have higher economic growth? 76 Would like to have more say in decision making? 4 Would like to see improvement in law and order situation? 57 Would like to see higher economic growth? 76 (Data Published in Daily Times on November 24, 2004.) The survey was published as part of a publication: Human Beliefs and Values. The lead author was Ronald Inglehart, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan and president of the World Value Surveys Association. The book is a cross-cultural scorebook based on surveys in 82 countries conducted between 1999 and 2002. According to another opinion poll, conducted by the Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Consortium (PLSC), in Pakistan 45 per cent people believe that political parties are essential and necessary for democracy but 62 per cent think that the parties primarily serve their own interests. Only 13 per cent consider political parties do serve the public interest. These figures show the political parties have to put their house in order to gain wider acceptance and reclaim their lost ground. Mushrooming of political parties Political parties have mushroomed in Pakistan in the past couple of decades. Every shade of political opinion or religious/sectarian group is now organized as a full-fledged party. Thanks to the constitution, there is no condition of the minimum membership for registration of a political party. Presently, over 90 parties submit their internal election certificate and annual income and expenditure statements to the Election Commission of  Pakistan to qualify for an election symbol. As many as 62 participated in the general elections in 2002, and 16 parties and two alliances got representation in the National Assembly, 12 parties and two alliances won seats in the Senate, and a few  more in the provincial assemblies. This is the highest number of political parties to reach the democratic institutions in Pakistan. Interestingly, seven out of 15 parties have just one legislator and another one — Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (Patriots) later renamed and registered as the Pakistan People’s Party — parachuted from the opposition to the treasury benches after the establishment facilitated division of the Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians. Amazingly, majority of defectors hailed from Punjab and many of them have been given ministerial slots. Role of intelligence agencies in politics The role of the intelligence agencies that are mostly controlled by the military establishment is also a major impediment in the growth of democratic culture. The attempts to downgrade the political forces have been a consistent strategy for the establishment. These outfits work behind the scene to purchase loyalties or force politicians for forging alliances to serve the purposes of the establishment, particularly the military. Infliction of political parties by corruption A large number of Pakistanis believe that corruption inflicts political parties, and that political leaders have failed democracy.In Global Corruption Report 2004, published by the Transparency International, Pakistan figures in a category of states where investment in political parties can yield desired policy outcomes sought by the investors in the game. This study conducted by World Economic Forum to expose the extent of political corruption around the world is based on the results of 2003 Executive Opinion Survey in the Global Competitiveness Report. The report places Pakistan in the category of the countries with ‘medium political corruption’ where the culture of irregular payments in government policymaking, policy consequences of political donations and odd reality of illegal political donations do exist. However, the facts belie the popular  perceptions about political corruption. Who is really tainted? An answer came on February 28, 2003 when a federal minister told the National Assembly that the National Accountability Bureau had recovered Rs1.8 billion from 87 senior officials and Rs770.10 million from 149 officials working at lower levels. The second biggest recovery of Rs450.10 million was made from military officers and the much-maligned politicians were at number three as Rs260.20 million were recovered from 17 politicians. Abrupt policy changes In fact, Pakistan first time experienced across the board general elections in 1970 and people clearly voted in favour of the parties that were challenging the established order. Though these elections resulted in the break up of Pakistan, still the process is described as the most transparent one. After creation of Bangladesh in 1971, the remaining part was led by a leader who tried to establish supremacy of the elected leadership over bureaucracy. This gave a new impetus and confidence to the polity to aspire for civilian control over state institutions. But General Ziaul Haq’s martial law tried to reverse whatever had been achieved by the polity. There were many steps like party-less polls at the local level and also later at the federal and provincial levels. Creating new breed of politicians and doling out state funds for development work to strengthen them were some of the steps that affected the political process negatively. However, as soon as an elected parliament was in place the tussle for supremacy once again started. Driven by demands of the electorate for development, jobs and resolution of their problems by 1999, the polity in fact had increased influence and autonomy to an extent where it started to vie for control over the military appointments. In 1999, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s ultimate downfall was a consequence of an attempt to replace the army chief (General Pervez Musharraf) with a general of his own choice, as earlier he had succeeded in securing resignation from General Musharraf’s predecessor (General Jehangir Karamat) in October 1998. Before  that, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto had removed an army chief in 1972. Except the two mentioned instances, the military mostly decided its affairs on its own, without allowing a civilian chief executive to do so. Role of civil and military bureaucracy The elected representatives had largely been powerless. This could be judged easily through role of deputy commissioner as envisaged by the British when they introduced this office for the basic administrative unit (district) in the then India and the functions a deputy commissioner performed till introduction of a new local government system (or devolution of power by the Musharraf regime) in 2001. Through introduction of a new local government system, the Musharraf regime institutionalised the supremacy of elected public representatives at the district level over deputy commissioner. It handed over many powers of the deputy commissioner to the district nazim. In a way, the wish of the polity to have a better control over state affairs at the local level has been granted and accepted. However, in this case too the establishment opted to provide a lease of life to traditional political elite by allowing them to contest for election to the office of district nazim. This way, the fresh blood was recruited as councillors with 33 per cent representation of women. Second odd that goes against the spirit of meaningful devolution of power is that the role of military has been institutionalised at the federal level with a president who is also the chief of army staff and the National Security Council that has representation of the armed forces and is headed by the president. In the words of Jehangir Karamt, a former chief of army staff, the new amendments in the constitution including the one under which the National Security Council has been established were an attempt to settle the question of civil-military relationship on terms of the military. Even at the district level the military establishment is not ready to allow party-based elections as that would mean strengthening the political parties at the grassroots level and once able to organise would again be ready to challenge the military dominance in the affairs of the state. Role of people In the whole equation, where do the people stand? For the people, the elected members remain the only access to the legislatures. However, Pakistani democracy is yet to reach a level where access to parliament means that their issues are debated and laws are framed to safeguard the public  interests. An opinion poll, conducted by the IFES in 2004 on behalf of the Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Consortium with support from the USAID, revealed that the people tend to be satisfied with the closest tier of government. However, the disturbing finding of the survey was that majority of the respondents fall in the category of â€Å"don’t know† and it reflects their apathy towards democratic governance. Satisfaction/dissatisfaction with institution Institution Very/somewhat satisfied % Army 58 Union Council 28 District Government 19 Town/Tehsil Council 18 Judiciary 18 Provincial Assembly 15 National Parliament 14 Election Commission 12 The Senate 10 Very/somewhat dissatis fied % 10 23 22 23 27 19 20 17 18 Don’t Know % 33 49 59 59 56 65 66 70 72 Public Opinion in Pakistan-2004 Role of judiciary In functioning democracies a void is filled by the judiciary. But besides corruption, the lack of proper infrastructure and interference of executive in the domain of judiciary are some of the major impediments. Only in the Supreme Court of Pakistan 25,000 cases are pending, though the Chief Justice of Pakistan claims that during the last year a record number of cases were disposed of. The number of pending cases in the lower courts also runs in hundreds of thousands. In absence of speedy justice, medieval jirga (tribal jury) system competes with formal judiciary in various parts of the country. â€Å"There is a backlog of civil and criminal cases at the level of subordinate judiciary in all provinces. In the province of the Punjab, the number of cases presently pending is 111,839 sessions cases, 343,732 criminal cases and 439,460 civil cases. In the province of Sindh, the number of pending cases comes to 109,833, in NWFP the figure is 96,332 whereas in Balochistan, it is 5,454.† — The figures have been taken from speech of the Chief Justice of Pakistan on beginning of new judicial year on October 4, 1999, available at: http://www.ljcp.gov.pk/ Continuous tussle between different power centres in the country has also led a large number of cases of political nature being decided in the superior courts. In a sharply divided society that translates into question marks over the credibility of the judiciary. Judiciary has not served its cause well by accepting supra-constitutional arrangements to work under. Pakistan’s superior judiciary till date is working under an oath administered to them after promulgation of the  Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) 1999. The PCO 1999 was introduced to facilitate General Musharraf. Constitution was restored in 2002 but the judiciary has so far not taken a fresh oath. The lawyers community has been very critical of this role of judiciary, and even today all the major bar associations of the country continue to question the credibility and legitimacy of courts. The Supreme Court Bar Association has for the first time in the country’s history published a whitepaper about the undemocratic role of the superior judiciary and continues to campaign for supremacy of the constitution and independence of judiciary. The collusion between the judiciary and the autocratic rulers has had a very adverse impact on the country’s political and social fabric. Many of the laws that were brought on the statute books by the military rulers to back their particular agenda could not be repealed. Many controversial laws now have the religious seal of approval. This means that even democratic majority cannot amend and change these laws as it fears that such a change may bring adverse reaction by the aggressive religious lobbies. Many of these laws have a potential to be used for selective justice against minorities, women and marginalised sections of the society. This is evident from the laws like blasphemy and Hudood laws. Attempts to change these have met stiff resistance despite attempts by some elected members across the party divide but these have often hit roadblocks. Functioning and outlook of political parties In Pakistan, democracy’s inability to sustain and deliver on the long-term basis not only lies in the unwillingness of the military establishment to let political process take its own course but also in the way the political parties function and grow. The political parties in their outlook remain personality oriented. Each party is recognised by the name of one person. Even breakaway factions if they do not try to give themselves a proper nomenclature and try to stick to the parent party’s name will be recognised with the name of prominent leader heading the faction. The elitist leadership of most of the populist parties limits their ability to articulate, propagate and protect the interests of all societal groups. Majority of the mainstream parties excluding those representing religious right are dominated by the landowning classes. These classes bring their  traditional mode of control and manipulation to party politics also. As a result the political parties whenever they had an opportunity have strengthened a system of governance that is more paternalistic where the local political influential provide solutions like jobs, development, etc, but in the process constitutional governance is ignored. People’s participation in policy formulation at the party level is also scant. Most parties believe in the top down approach and tend to follow the decisions of leadership on critical matters. Party workers most often than not will be wondering what way their leadership is going or what kind of compromises these parties are making to win power. Religious parties have another kind of internal conflict in their discourse about democracy and democratic governance. The religious right has participated in most of the elections since the creation of Pakistan with the best electoral performance in 2002 when these parties joined hands and contested from a single platform. Now at least in one province, the alliance is running a government and in another is a coalition partner. On the other hand, the jihadi offshoots of the religious right do not agree that democracy is the path that can bring the change they desire for. Role of media and freedom of expression During the last 57 years, the pattern of governance in Pakistan thrived on the culture of secrecy and information blockade. Resultantly, Pakistanis suffered bad and corrupt governance. Apathy and cynicism emerged as the logical by-products of such closed culture that retarded the citizen’s capacity to monitor public institutions run on taxpayers’ money. However, now there is a new hope. This hope can transform into good governance and engaged citizenship provided the government functionaries internalize the new spirit of open access to information. Amongst the non-party political influencers, media besides some organised civil society groups play an important role. Pakistani media environment is going through a rapid transformation. Besides privately owned vibrant print media, a number of new FM radio stations, cable television networks, satellite televisions and interactive websites on the Internet are catering to the citizens’ information needs. The unprecedented proliferation of new media outlets  could be attributed to the open media policy of the government. Since March 2002, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) is engaged in providing enabling environment to media entrepreneurs. The role of new enabling information and communication technologies and their cost effectiveness also cannot be ignored. Encouraging feature of this entire scenario is that emerging media voices are no more confined to urban centres alone, and rather rural areas, though at small scale, are also on their way to alleviate their media poverty. All this will have long-lasting impact on the way society and politics have to move over the next decade or so. The most lasting of these was the introduction of media friendly laws that after years of martial law provided breathing space to the country’s print media. Pakistan’s media has in fact fought long and hard for its freedom. The changing world realities also played a major part in ensuring that media is given space and opportunity to play its role. But all said and done, it would be highly risky to conclude that the media is free of any pressures from both the state and non-state actors. While guarding its freedom, media is quite cautious of the fact that whatever freedom it enjoys must be used with care and caution. And a large part of that caution means that some institutions and personalities are not probed enough through quality investigative journalism. Columnists and commentators can express their opinions rather freely. In a recently conducted nationwide survey by the Pakistan Legislative Strengthening Consortium, it was revealed that for 43 per cent people the source of information on political situation is state-controlled Pakistan Television, for 16 per cent Radio Pakistan, for 13 per cent Geo TV, for 12 per cent daily Jang, for nine per cent BBC Radio and for equal percentage daily Nawa-e-Waqt. Among the rest are ARY TV (seven per cent), FM Radio (five per cent), Indus Vision TV (four per cent), Kawish newspaper (four per cent), family and friends (37 per cent), ‘Hujra,’ ‘Chopal,’ and ‘Bethak,’ etc, (12 per cent). The reasonably high percentage for family, friends, ‘Hujra,’ ‘Chopal’ and ‘Bethak’ provides a hint that the media and the medium that exists at proximity remains an enriching source of information. Citizens need information to follow and scrutinize actions of the government. Accurate and timely information enables them to have a meaningful say in decision-making processes and enhances their ability to hold the government accountable. Globally, the idea of citizens’ right to  know is gaining grounds as a proactive concern and today more than 57 countries of the world, including Pakistan, have formally acknowledged it by adopting freedom of information laws. Resultantly, the culture of openness is replacing the centuries-old practices of secrecy in the arena of governance. A democratic government is expected to function in a transparent fashion so that the citizens know what their government is doing at taxpayers’ expense. This enables them to keep a check on the executive and legislative powers, and assess the efficiency of these vital pillars of a state. It ensures transparency in social and economic fields, facilitates rule of law, equality and fair competition. Free flow of information helps citizens articulate their informed political and economic choices. In democracy and governance discourse, information is described as ‘the oxygen of democracy.’ The logic is that if people do not know what is happening in their society, if the actions of those who rule them are hidden, then they cannot take a meaningful part in the affairs of that society. The president of Pakistan promulgated the Freedom of Information Ordinance on October 26, 2002 that came into force at once. Its manifested purpose is to provide for transparency and freedom of information to ensure that the citizens of Pakistan have improved access to public records to make the federal government more accountable to its citizens. The Local Government Ordinance 2001 also envisages that the meetings of District Council shall be open to public unless the council by resolution decides to hold any in-camera meeting. Similarly, the Tehsil Municipal Administration is supposed to seek approval of the Tehsil Council to the plans prepared after due process of information dissemination and public inquiry. Tehsil administration as per law is also required to maintain with the assistance of district government, union and village councils a comprehensive database and information system for Tehsil Municipal Administration and provide public access to it on nominal charges along with maintaining municipal records and archives. Through the Local Government Ordinance 2001, the Tehsil Municipal Administration has also been asked to assign or contract out any of its functions to any public-private, public or private organization only after inviting public objections. The functions of tehsil nazim envisage presentation of a performance report at least once in six  months. The law has provisions to collect and maintain statistical information at union level for socio-economic survey and asks to disseminate information on the matters of public interest. The law requires that Union Council will place a monthly and the annual accounts and other necessary statements at a conspicuous place for public information. Similar clause exists regarding information about the staffing and the performance of the office of a local government during the preceding month. The law also empowers the citizens to have access to information about any office of the district, tehsil and union administration on the prescribed forms on payment of fixed fees. Presently, these enabling provisions are not being used effectively. Perhaps, the government institutions have not divorced the mindset of secrecy and the citizens are also not adequately trained and capacitated to make use of these laws.