Bangladeshi Film Industry Essay

Dhallywood, which is a nickname commonly used for film industry in Bangladesh, has had quite an advantage since 1971 as far as facing competition is concerned, but is most probably about to lose it for good. When it was separated from Pakistan, they established a law to protect their film production by excluding and prohibiting Indian films. But this non-competitive situation led to a disastrous state of the industry. They did not innovate nor care about and use new technologies and had fallen into the state of disregard. As a result of lesser films produced every year (ten years ago it was about 100, nowadays it is only sixty and the prognosis are that it will drop even lower), many halls and cinemas have been closed and/or transformed into stores. On one hand film-makers strongly disagree with cancelling the prohibition of Indian films, but on the other hand there are the owners of cinemas who would welcome and appretiate the opportunity to broadcast other films as that would boast their income. General impression is that the current state of film-making industry here is not viable and needs to be revamped. Which could happen by means of cooperating with foreign experts and this way learning and improving one ´s skills, as a Bangladeshi director, Ms Hossain, suggests. All in all, it seems that Bangladeshi original films will not be able to satisfy the demand which is in these days quite extensive and aimed at good-quality products and thus be forced to accept the competition very soon.

Abundance of drama Essay

She and the other girls give the names of innocent people who had nothing to do with witchcraft leaving the act with a dramatic hysterical close as all the girls try to cleanse themselves of the confrontation with Beelzebub hinting at the future prospects of the play. The act steadily builds up to when Tituba is accused at the end of the act of witchcraft. Each ingredient of the, story, which we know is hearsay, is added until it comes together and there is sufficient evidence for her to be accused by Hale. The story, which has been building, takes a turn and instead of the inquisitive nature of which it started, it becomes more action orientated and becomes a name and shame game where people are incorrectly blamed and gives a dramatic effect to the audience. This final dramatic scene of the act is placed there to end the act with a mini peak of the story and to keep the audience interested and wanting more. Act two begins with a long conversation between Proctor and his wife. They talk about the every day things but the stage directions and language Miller uses, like the scene with Proctor and Abigail, strongly projects the dramatic effect on the audience and emotions of the relationship. Proctor is not at ease with his wife, the atmosphere appears tense and uncomfortable. He attempts to make conversation, â€Å"are you well today? † which is not the sort of thing a husband would say to his wife. He tries to make her happy by complimenting her: â€Å"it’s well seasoned† and grinning. It is obvious that the atmosphere could be cut with a knife â€Å"as gently as he can† depicts that he is carefully choosing his words and trying to be a good husband but desperately trying not to bring up the affair. But it is not in vain as Goody Proctor reacts warmly to him, â€Å"blushing with pleasure†; giving an inkling that she still loves him. Though the feeling is that of betrayal and guilt there is a warm, gentle fragment of loyalty and love emancipated out of their conversation, which proves they still both feel love towards one another. Mary Warren comes in to the house-hold to discuss the events which took place in Salem earlier on and that, â€Å"Aye a proper court they have now. They’ve sent four judges out of Boston,† and that â€Å"39† women have been accused of witchcraft. She then proceeds to talk about the accused and that Mrs Proctor has been accused. This shocks them and that Rebecca nurse has also been accused, as she is a well-respected person in the Salem community and adds to the drama. Both of the women have enemies who wish to destroy them (Abigail and Mrs Putnam) and two rival factions are now clearly taking form, Goody Proctor is arrested. The home scene between Proctor and his wife is placed before she is arrested to dramatically show how innocent and plain Goody Proctor was and the contrast of her seeing John in the wrong by her being arrested, this dramatically portraits injustice. Proctor’s actions towards the arrest of his wife are dramatic as he runs out adding to the action and pace of the scene, â€Å"I will not have her chained! † The fact he will not have her chained when they are authorised to do so indicates conflict and gives drama, the use of an apostrophe shows his anger again adds gives a dramatic effect to the audiences Towards the end of the act pressure is placed on a character this time it is Mary who is being pressurised by the now fiery Proctor due his wife’s imprisonment. Proctor tries to force Mary to tell the court about the â€Å"poppet† which Mrs Proctor was arrested for, â€Å"You will tell the court how the poppet come here. † Mary claims she â€Å"cannot†, which she repeats and she begins to cry. Proctor’s language creates his mentality with the omnipotence of his language and the harsh anger which has built up inside to terrify Mary to get her to divulge her information to the court, â€Å"Aye naked! And the wind will, gods icy wind will blow! † His use of the word icy creates the chilling ominous threat to all the people who are dishonest and shows that he himself would not do it or he would be severely hypocritical. This, from what he said, is the first indication of his stern and ethical character and that Mary’s character is frail and easily manipulated both by Abigail and Proctor. Not only does the dramatic structure give the end of the act a dramatic finish but also the end of the act uses language to get across the seriousness and religious terror being brewed in Salem. Act three is set in the courtroom, the cases are being investigated and the questions and debating ensues. Mary now forced by Proctor to support Goody Proctor tells the court that she lied the day before. However she shows her weakness when she herself is blamed by Abigail, and cracks when Abigail condemns her by pretending that there is a spirit conjured by Mary, â€Å"Let me go Mr Proctor, I cannot, I cannot†. This leads to Proctor to loose his cool and condemn Abigail for doing all of this to spite him and to rid the world of his wife. He now has to admit to committing the sin of adultery: â€Å"I have known her sir! † This leads us to the turning point in the play. Proctor reveals to the court that his wife never tells a lie and that she would tell the court about his affair. By stating the truth it would obviously mean that she was telling the truth about the witchcraft and proving her innocence but would she be able to disgrace Proctors, name, which means so much to the people of the time period that the play was set. Miller’s dramatic structure brings the play to a mini climax if not the most important one by great structuring of the play; the play reaches a cross-roads. If Goody Proctor tells the truth it undermines everything that Abigail has said and shows her as a liar and everyone wrongly accused is released and brings about the end of court. But if she lies it means that all the people who have kept their morality and not lied will be charged. It defines the future of the factions and the play, having been built up throughout the opening acts. This is well dramatically structured to create complete unpredictability and a sense of curiosity as to how it will end. She is brought in and interrogated. Goody Proctor’s body language portraits the tension: â€Å"liking her lips to stall for time† now created in the court, as they all know this is the defining moment. She thinks about what she should say and â€Å"glances at Proctor† looks for help. In, agony, she answers the questions. Hard thought and constant silent pauses build the pressure within the room, â€Å"Is your husband a lecher? † Danforth the judge asks her. â€Å"No. † The pressure is lifted and the stomach churning feeling of the characters and audience takes over, this is summed up by the comment, â€Å"oh god! † when Goody Proctor realises what she’s done. But by lying, going against everything she stands for. She obviously forgives Proctor as she took one for him when he had committed adultery this shows the romantic drama that she loves him so much she would give up her morals for his name. Abigail then starts off again pretending to draw attention on to herself, that Mary is conjuring spirits and uses her power to create mass hysteria. Miller liberally uses exclamation marks to emphasise the shouting and adding to the general madness of the courtroom. Abigail’s actions are dramatised and create a lot of fear, â€Å"Abigail pointing with fear† and which is added to by having all the girls at once shouting. It gives a fearful representation that the girls are possessed by some sought of satanic spirit. Mary shifts the blame onto Proctor who is then accused by the court. This is dramatically used as the story declines after the climax in act three and the story needs to be built up quickly to reach the final climax. In Act four this is done by the hysteria and the fact that Proctor is now being blamed by Abigail and ironically the reason the trouble started was because she wanted him, now she is getting rid of him and achieving nothing. In Act four Proctor has an emotional talk with his wife as she tries to persuade him to confess and be released. Miller goes to work on giving the audience’s heart strings a pull using again language and stage actions to show the emotions of love and despair and create a great sense of drama using dramatic devices. Goody Proctor has forgiven him and believes; whatever, he does â€Å"it is good man that does it†, and thinks she drove him to have an affair. She states that, â€Å"John, I counted myself so plain, so poorly made no honest love could come to me! Suspicion kissed you when I did†. She thinks that there was nothing to love about her and before it was not her who kissed him but personified. This also implies that now when they talk and hold each other it is pure love for the first time in their relationship bringing a sense of romanticism to the ordeal that they’ve been through. Miller’s dramatically structure places the conversation before the final and ultimate climax to act as the calm before the storm and to increase the pressure on John and ultimately be decisive to the final sequence of events. Proctor is to be hung but because he was persuaded he confesses but all the official figures want his confession in writing. By doing this he is giving up his, name. He realises that he will die before he will give up his name and rips up his â€Å"life† which he had signed. This then brings us to the most powerful and dramatic action within the whole play in my opinion as, â€Å"His breast heaving, his eyes staring, Proctor tears up the paper and crumples it, and he is weeping in fury, but still erect. † This shows that he will not sign away his, name, showing his courage. He has thrown away his life but still stands â€Å"erect†, they’ve pushed him all the way physically and mentally but he has not fallen keeping his dignity, ethics and pride, which we know mean so much to him as does his life which is why it is so dramatic. Miller has created a twist luring the audience in with Goody Proctors persuasion, hooking them in with signing the confession but masking the fact he was to â€Å"rip up his life,† and die for what he believes and becoming a type of martyr or tragic hero. Miller’s, The Crucible, is structured to gain dramatic effect. Each act takes on the same structure and has very similar properties. The first two scenes to begin with build up information about different events, which take place off stage. All acts build up to a climax, giving away hints about the next act and each act ends with pressure being placed on a certain character. Act one it is Tituba; act two it is Mary; act three Mary and Mrs Proctor and act four John Proctor. â€Å"The Crucible† is a fitting name for the play as a crucible is a melting pot, which eventually displaces the pure from the waste. Which also happens in the play each act is a small melting pot as in act one, the different things are added by way of the story being built up and then heated. The heat in act one is Hale and overall the whole play is a melting pot. The story built up, the heat added by the way of the court and the pure displaced from the waste. The pure, being the characters that wouldn’t pass on the blame because they were too strong and would not give up their morals. The irony is that the people who deserved to be killed i. e. Abigail and Paris compared to the remorseful Proctor and the innocent Rebecca nurse. Miller created a dramatic play by incorporating dramatic language, stage directions and the play is structured in such a way that it gives the audience an abundance of drama.

Is a successful marriage a utopia today? Essay

The latest marriage statistics should make every couple doubt about whether their relationship shell be sealed with a marriage. Beside the fact that considerably less couples decide to marry at all, in the US every second, in Austria (as an example for middle Europe) every third marriage is divorced. This is not a particularly promising prospect for a couple planning to marry and swear to love each other for the rest of their lives. Therefore the question must be raised: Is a successful marriage Utopia today? When I take a closer look at our society, I can imagine some reasons why successful marriages, which mean staying together happily for a lifetime, have become so rare. One reason might be a shift in our society towards more self-realization and less responsibility. In my opinion many couples may not detect the enormity of their decision to marry. Before making that decision each partner should think about all consequences a marriage might have on the relationship and all consequences a marriage definitively has when it comes to legal terms. Taking the decision whether or not one wants to marry his or her partner should not be made hasty in a romantic mood or occasional feelings of perfect happiness and love. Nevertheless many couples fix their marriage either before really knowing each other or not thinking of the consequences it has. After a little time, when the butterflies in their stomachs are often gone, many couples realize that their relationship has changed, but they then have to realize as well that divorcing is by far not the same as breaking up. A second reason might have to do with the role of women in our society. Nowadays nearly every woman is educated or emancipated enough to earn her own money. Therefore only some women are still financially dependent on their husbands which was/is often a reason for women staying married although being unhappy in the relationship. A woman who earns her own money and can lead an independent life without her husband as well will have no fear of getting divorced, as this was the case in the last centuries. However, not only the roles of women, but also our society as a whole has changed and made divorce absolutely tolerable. In former times our society consisted of either happy or unhappy married couples with at least one or two children. These couples married or were forced to marry fairly early and stayed together till the end of their days. Nowadays our society is structured completely different: many couples life together without marrying or having children, others marry and get divorced once or more often. Additionally homosexual relationships are relatively tolerated and the number of singles, who spend the main part of their life alone, is one the raise too. In such a heterogeneous society divorce has become a normal, for some even a natural, thing. Terms like common law spouses have emerged and some people think of their partners as temporary phenomenon only. Nevertheless I truly believe that in the 21st century a successful marriage must not be or is not Utopia. I, for myself, cannot tell what future holds in store for me and my relationship, but I can observe many happy and therefore successful marriages which have been lasting for more than 25 years by now in my surrounding. In my opinion the society and therefore the people living in a society are always subject to change. And these changes also include changes of people’s behaviours, customs, morals or values. Although today’s marriage statistics do not suggest bright expectations for a successful marriage, I think it is still can and does happen. Maybe the preliminaries for such a marriage have changed, nevertheless many couples show us that living in our society happily and married is still possible. So, for many couples a successful marriage has become Utopia, but the alternative is still there.

Does Racism Contribute to the Over-Representation of Black African Essay

Does Racism Contribute to the Over-Representation of Black African -Caribbean Women in The Mental Health System - Essay Example This paper looks at how racism, prejudice, suppression, and psychiatric diagnostic processes develop stress that leads to the onset or the persistence of mental illness in black women. While ‘black’ is a term associated with non-whites, the focus of the study here will be from the experiences of women from African-Caribbean origin. The world that we live in is a mixture of the rich and poor, the strong and weak, the affluent and the down-trodden, and men and women. Women have never been given equal rights analogical to men. The rich and powerful countries still dominate the weaker and poor nations. The lives of the people in rich countries continue to be an illusion to those living in the poor countries. However, even in rich countries, certain section of society continues to live under constant threat and under-privileges. It’s a fact that women, whether white or black or brown, continue to suffer from discrimination, but those belonging to ethnic minorities are worst hit. This is no different in the UK, where the face of racism rises above law to suppress any move to vindicate them. The condition of the black and minority ethnic women remain appalling to such extents that represent the poorest, unhealthy, and least educated part of the society. Invariably, to say the least, they are insignificantly the worst represented in the corridors of power than both white women and the rest of the UK population. Research studies have confirmed that the situation of these black and minority ethnic women in the UK highlights the massive inequalities and over-exploitation in health, education, employment and pay. Lucy Ward, the social affairs correspondent of ‘The Guardian’ featured a report published by the Fawcett Society (a womens equality pressure group) on data on the 2.3 million BME women in the UK (2005), which made up of just under 4% of the total population and

The future of Food Supply Chain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The future of Food Supply Chain - Essay Example With the concern moving to the scarcity of resources, the world is facing a new challenge of producing more with lesser resources. The food supply chain industry is dominated by features like increasing demands, increasing volatility risks and limitation of resources. Discussion There are various factors that are likely to shape the future of the global food supply chain industry. The factors arising from the suppliers’ side are: increased competition for expenditures by the consumers, major changes in the operating environment, improvement of the quality of the commodities, high differentiation level of food products, cost-effective and flexible modes of logistics. The factors arising from the viewpoint of the customers are nutritional qualities of the food products, health benefits, sensitivity of the customers towards safety and quality of food, ways of production, place of production, environmental and social concerns and welfare of the community. The most important elemen ts for consideration in the designing of the food supply chains are on-shelf availability and cost efficiency for the businesses. But in the light of the emerging environmental concerns other factors like greenhouse gas emissions, energy conservation, increasing traffic congestions and transportation costs are also gaining importance. Challenges The future of global food supply chain focuses on the following critical dimensions: The global food supply chain industry is feeling the necessity of a paradigm shift in the processes as the future of the industry is considered to be highly different from the past trends in the industry. The need for adopting the latest technologies and innovations by the supply chain like the adaptation of the green supply chain is critical to comply with the raising environmental concerns all across the globe. The challenges arising in the global market which will influence operational changes in the major companies involved in the food supply chain indus try. The food supply chain industry has identified the need to implement a new business model to deal with critical issues like taking up new business opportunities and achieving sustainability in the industry. The increasing demand and the scarcity of resources is a major issue faced by the global food supply chain industry (McKinsey & Company 7). The population of the world is increasing in manifolds and so is the necessity to provide food and nutrition to the global population. According to the latest statistics, more than 850 billion people throughout the globe do not have proper access to food commodities and are more sensitive to price increases and nutritional concerns. The global food supplies need a boost by a considerable increase in the production of environmentally sustainable food commodities. But reaching stabilization is difficult due to the complexity of the food supply chains and the various factors diversely affecting its operations. Internal forces driving change The major changes in the food supply chain industry that will influence the changes in the supply chains are the flow of information, consumer behavior and the movement of goods (McKinsey & Company 12). Since these are internal changes occurring within the industry, the industry would have some control over reshaping these factors. Information flow: The proper flow of informatio

Summary and Personal Opinion on Peter Lynch and John Rothchild Learn Essay

Summary and Personal Opinion on Peter Lynch and John Rothchild Learn to Earn - Essay Example economics, mathematics and literature, but are not taught the roles that innovations and companies have played. "Every school child learns (only about) how the pilgrims risked their lives to find religious freedomin a tiny ship The Mayflower" (page 25) Following the 'Preface' and the 'Introduction' are the main chapters. Chapter One traces the history of capitalism. "For much of human history capitalism was an alien concept, for the bulk of the world's population never got their hands on money" (pg 21). We find how stocks got started in Europe centuries ago. We also learn how, more than a hundred years ago, Europeans invested in the then emerging market: The United States. "While optimists paid higher and higher prices for the shares of the Dutch East India Companypessimists bet against the stock through a clever maneuver called shorting". The optimists proved right and made unimaginable profits. Alexander Hamilton, father of the financial system, realized that the country couldn't get along without money, and to have money, it needed banks. Adam Smith understood the basics of how a free market works. Whenever there's a demand for a new product, competitiveness enters the scene. This competition is very good for all consumers, bec ause it forces the product makers to improve their product and cut prices. Without competition, complacency would set in. History of capitalism also speaks about the American economy which alternately moves from ecstasy to panic and back again. "In the euphoric periods, when prices were rising and jobs were plentiful, speculators would spend their last paycheck, hock their jewelry, go into debt, do anything to buy stocks, or bonds, or land, and get in on the action. Then, in the panics, collapses, and depressions, the speculators got their come uppance and people sobered up". We have seen many such stock market crashes in the great depression of 1853 and again in 1857, 1929, 1973, 1981 and 1987. One interesting description here is about what Lynch terms the robber barons. The robber barons were not robbers or lawbreakers in the traditional sense. They were high-end speculators, who struggled, connived, and strong-armed their way to the top of American industry. When you are an owner of a company, you only make money if the company succeeds. This is the risk of buying stocks: The Company you own may turn out to be worthless. It is for tacking this risk that people are rewarded so handsomely if they pick the right companies to invest in. This is also the most humorous chapter in the bookAfter an elaborate first chapter, Chapter Two covers the basics of investing. The discussion here is mostly intended for people who can invest money for a long time. The basic points here are that you should start invest early, and that stocks are the best performers among various investment options. Lynch proves how investors and corporations are true heroes of our great American Republic. Chapter Three outlines the lives of a company. It helps the investor to begin to think like the owner of a company. Chapter Four tells the stories of many companies which he calls the invisible hands. The Invisible Hand keeps the supply and demand of everything from bubblegum to bowling

Reseach Designs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Reseach Designs - Essay Example are real life or assumed scenarios of any situation in which the readers are asked to access and understand the real problem in that situation and then to implement the best possible way to solve that problem. Case studies or case histories can be used to effectively study behavior of many individuals. Case histories are real life situations therefore; others can take the lead and try not to make the same mistakes again as the ones made in the case history. Another example would be that they can be used to evaluation of the people who have the similar kind of personalities like Type A, and Type B and Type C present will react in different situations. So companies and organizations can use these cases to understand how different kinds of people will react in similar situations. For example, if there is a case history present about how a type personality person will react when faced with failure, it can be used to estimate how others will the same personality traits will be reacting in similar situations. 2. Meta-analysis and traditional literature reviews are two different research techniques. Meta-analysis is used to analyze a wide variety of questions by amalgamating and summarizing and reviewing of a previous quantitative research. Certain parts of the research already done are entered into a database where it is analyzed to give another comprehensive view of the research. In the database, all the similar kind of information is gathered to give a common review that might be difficult to interpret meaningfully. Traditional literature review on the other hand, provides an overview of the research findings done by an individual. It is written by actually examining a body of published work and writing a critical ceremony of the body of the text. Literature reviews are usually used to put up different policies forward and indicate future research directions. One of the major advantages of traditional review is that if properly done by an expert, valuable unique

Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial Management - Essay Example The small company is usually faced by struggling financially that is the company that is acquired usually financial problems. The large company acquires the all the stock of the smaller company and makes become component of their business, that is, the smaller company usually ends up changing its and adopts the name of the large company. In most cases acquisition are usually friendly, where two parties enter into an agreement but sometimes it involves hostile takeover. For example if the board of directors accept the tender offer. Many scholars have postulated a number of different types of mergers and acquisitions in an effort of delineate the increasing trend of strategic alliances observed in the business world. Nevertheless, there are three main types of mergers and acquisitions which are based on the structure perspective. The main three types of mergers and acquisitions include; Vertical merger refers to a situation where two firms which is in the same industry but in different levels of production combine together to form one firm. For example, a shoe manufacturing company mergers with a shoe retailing company. In this case, the combination motive is to control the supply and distribution channel (Vachon, 2011). A horizontal merger is where two companies which are in the same level of production combines. ... The two companies are unrelated in terms of their operation and production (Carney, 2009). For example, a shoe manufacturing companies, mergers with a road constructing company. In this case the two companies are not related but their unification can only be viewed as diversification strategy (Pablo, Javidan, & Society). A G BARR is company in the food processing sector, producing flavored juices and beverages. Over the past few years the company has experienced increase demand in its product. Therefore, due to the increased demand in the product and the increase in the level of competition in the sector there is need to acquire a firm in the in the food processing sector so as to enhance economic efficiency and scope. After preliminary analysis a horizontal merger was essential where NICHOLS was ascertained as a potential target company. After a careful analysis of Nichols financial stability and the market it was ascertained that a merger was not essential but an acquisition of the company was sufficient. In order, to make the acquisition process successful and also to avoid failures that has hampered many merger and acquisition deals a well constructed plan to acquire shares was formulated together with a study of the financial performance of the company was carried out. The company would acquire the entire share in Nichols. AG BARR goal is to expand its market share in order to satisfy the need of customer as well as venture in to new markets. Nichols was the most suitable company to take over based on its financial health the company performance has not recorded major significant improvements the company has an annual turnover of

Autonomhy in healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Autonomhy in healthcare - Essay Example Donchin criticized Engelhardt approach to autonomy and noted that the power and authority of physicians to act as gatekeepers selecting candidates for non-therapeutic elective procedures raised the different set of issues about limiting patient autonomy. Tauber notes that patients lose their ability to make free choices because they are never fully informed. In his perception, by employing the term of adequate understanding, the patients themselves recognize the limits of their freedom and are more concerned with the process of healing and autonomy is rather the aspiration of the curing process. Verkerk and Keller analyzed patient autonomy in the context of care perspective or feministic approach. The patient care is focused on becoming more active and committed caregivers instead of adopting the non-interference attitude and respect of patient autonomy. The ideal of autonomy in terms of independence and self-sufficiency is criticized, while the idea of interdependence is emphasized. Dworkin, on the contrary, has covered the issue of autonomy from different perspectives starting with the Kantian concept of self-governance and ending with the feministic approach to autonomy. Even though Dworkin does not use the word autonomy in his works, while discussing the idea of treating people equally he is arguing for the equal respect for the autonomy of people. For example, according to his liberal theory of equality, the political decisions should be free of any conception of the good life because the conceptions of people are different and the government will be unable to treat citizens as equals if one conception is prefer to other. Thus, autonomy is an equivalent of liberty, self-rule, integrity, individuality, and self-knowledge (6). Dworkin argues that autonomy is not the same concept as liberty. For example, if the doctor

Cultural Diversity Essay Example for Free

Cultural Diversity Essay Cultural diversity is a big part of the community I was raised in and apart of today. Many people spend their whole lives surrounded by one race or culture, but I grew up surrounded by many. Having been raised in a society influenced and shared by so many different races, I had very little idea about what or why racism existed in the world. Having never been taught and seeing very little racism growing up I believed benefited me, today and benefited my future. Today being in the Marine Corps I am surrounded by different races and knowing one day my life could rest in their hands I respect them for who they are not what color they are. Martin Luther King once said â€Å"Men hate each other because they fear each other, and they fear each other because they dont know each other, and they dont know each other because they are often separated from each other.† If the rest of the country had been raised in a military lifestyle then I believe racism would be all but extinct in the United States. Sadly racism is not only intertwined with the United States past but also with its present and its future. Racism has been part of the history of the United States, and helped create this country as we know it today. Racism not helped shaped the United States and infiltrated every aspect of American society while showing no signs of decreasing. Many people view racism as an evil minded treatment of one individual to another. This is not a correct assessment though, and would be more easily understood if it was viewed more accurately, an institutional ideology. The reason racism is allowed to subsist because governments and institutions foster and maintain racism. Even when these governments and institutions determine that the practices of a particular group of people are racist, individuals at the top of these hierarchical organizations are hard pressed to bring about change. To understand how racism relates to us in the United States today, one must understand the real definition of racism. â€Å"Racism is the belief that one group of people with a particular biological make up is superior to other groups with a differing biological make up.† So one could infer that the groups deemed superior gain economic and social dominance over the other cultural groups that are deemed inferior, even with the many strides that have been made over decades to mend the situation. An excellent example of a country that has made those strides and still lack racial reconciliation is the United States. From the bus boycotts in the fifties, to the sit-ins and marches in the sixties one could assume that these would be the starting steps to improvement. While the United States was mending the hatred and racism between black and whites another type of racism was creeping its way into American society. Today racism has taken a new face, one that has become multi-coloured and multicultural. To be able for the United States to keep a culturally diverse appeal new legislation and laws are being written against discrimination. Affirmative action has been taken to allow equal opportunity for employment, housing, and even in the military. Television and movies have had to change their format and even some of their characters in order to obtain political correctness. Even with so many fighting for change, there will always be the ancient invisible barriers blocking the few who are looking to main the status quo. Even with so many people trying to seek improvement for this country, it cannot happen unless every individual is working to abolish racism. There is racism in every facet of life no matter who someone hangs out with, or who someone even works for. Being in the Marine Corps I see different races every day, and work with different races every day. Mission accomplishment is the number one goal of the Marine Corps, so when a job needs to get done every one does their part of their job and race is not an issue. That is the way my career has gone so far, so when I read an article about racism in the Marine Corps it shocks me. New websites and social networking sites are being created all the time. A new social network website was created with the logo â€Å"online community for whites by whites†, so it was a social website for only white people. Out of the many number of people who have made a profile there have been about forty personal profile that have listed the military as their occupation. Out of those forty a number of them are wearing their military uniforms in their profile pictures. Even more disturbing a number of the military members have poster racial slurs and racial propaganda. One member states that he hate(s) illegal immigrants with a passion and feel(s) every true red-blooded, white American should do whatever it takes to stop the foreign invasion. While another lists The Turner Diaries, which is a white supremacist novel, as his favourite book. It is important for members of the armed forces to not participate in these types of websites or groups. The first reason not to participate in these organizations is the Pentagon has regulations in affect that prohibit active duty members form participating in extremist groups. The second reason is those racial extremists who serve in the military could be inadvertently training future domestic terrorists, and the United States does not need any more terrorist on her soil. A solution for this problem would be senior military members mentoring their junior service members on the dangers of becoming involved in these organizations. Being in the United States Marine Corp I have many close friends that are from different countries in the world. One of my close friends is from the Philippines, and has a very strong accent when he speaks. Sometimes he gets his words confused and does not make any since when he speaks. Marines tend to point out these faults, not just with him, but with many other Marines that are from different countries and have trouble speaking English. My friend does not believe that his fellow Marines are being racist, but are just having a friendly poke at him. Marines do not mess with only a few Marines, or the Marines from other countries, but every Marine. It is not because we are racist, or are a mean group of people, but picking and jibing on one another is just the way that Marines bond with each other. When my friend says that he is getting picked on, yes it sometimes hurts, but in the end it makes him feel like he is part of the family. If Marines are not being picked on they are usually secluded and out of the Marine Corps family. Racism is wrong and should not be used for any reason, even to bring people together. Racism may start with a good reason, but the final product will fester into an infection that could spread and destroy a family within a short time. Racism is in this world to stay whether people like it or not. Individuals believe that if they spread the word about the dangers and negatives of racism then it will cease to exist, but that is not the truth and will never happen. As long as we humans exist and have emotions, the knowledge of right and wrong, and pride there will be crimes. Whenever a person graduate’s high school as valedictorian or an athlete becomes the fastest man on the planet, stereotypes will follow. Crimes, education, athleticism all turn into a stereotype and stereotypes are a form of racism. Racism is one of the things that drive our great country, and create some of our countries greatest works. Racism is what helped form and mold this country into what it is today. Without racism then this country could be one of a single culture, there would be no freedom to branch out and try new diverse things. The dangers of bringing so many different cultures into one space are there, but I believe the good thing we bring to the table References Vardell, M. (1998). Cultural diversity. Retrieved from http://www.markvardell.com/quotes.htm. Associated press (2009). Congress asked to address racism in military. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31854789/ns/us_news-military/t/congress-asked-address-racism-military/#.Tr3ZM4LSRkY AllAboutPopularIssues (2011). The History of racism. Retrieved from http://www.allaboutpopularissues.org/the-history-of-racism-faq.htm

Industrial Analysis About Burger King Commerce Essay

Industrial Analysis About Burger King Commerce Essay In this assignment we are required to research about the new cafeteria on Burger King out to the market. This research will include the Legal, Ethical, Cultural and Industrial analysis about burger King and also the Porters Five Forces. It also includes some strategies about SWOT and PESTEL that are all being written in the report as a part of this assignment. Also in this report it show the weakness of Burger as a business to others and other business take advantages this because Burger King is one of the main competitors in the fast food industry and also the market. The opportunity it has and can take on and the threats it has. Also includes the introduction and history of Burger King and its position in market throughout till present. To conduct the research and to gather the relevant information, various sources have been referred. INTRODUCTION In this individual assignment we have been assigned to carry out a report on Burger Kings. And on this assignment we are required to carry out reports about Burger Kings on evaluating research as follows: Legal Ethical such Cultural Industry SWOT PESTEL Burger King is planning to launch a cafeteria in competition with McCafe of McDonalds. For that Burger King must carry out the Market Research for the purpose of their marketing strategies to launch their new cafe. Burger King needs to evaluate legal, ethical, cultural, and industry issues which are relevant to Burger King towards conducting marketing research and launching of their cafe. MAIN BODY BACKGROUND C:Documents and SettingsOEMDesktopBurger-King-Logo1-295300.jpg The Burger King is also said/ called in another name which is BK in short. Burger King is one of the fast food restaurant and food that are consumed by the people of New Zealand in the 21st century. According to the Wikipedia page that it was founded in 1953 in Jacksonville, as the Insta-Burger King. Keith j. Kramer and his wifes uncle were the founders and owners of this company. Insta-meat was the equipment around which the first store was opened. After this they started making hamburgers. (Wikipedia, 17 July, 2012 last modified). In launching a new cafà © in competition against McDonald, Burger King will have to research or gather information about the introducing the product. Bibliography Wikipedia. (2012, july 17). Wikipedia (burger king). Retrieved 07 24, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_King LEGAL ISSUES Burger king as one of the fast and busy restaurants locally and international has to make sure that it has all its resources to succeed in what it can do best and thats to serve good quality food to customers and make profit. In this Burger King has to make sure that everything is in order to ensure health and safety of people all over in New Zealand who consumes the Burger King products, every country has its own system to ensure that health and safety standards are met and followed by food industry. In this issues Burger King has its own way like rules to make sure that everyone is safe and secure from the product that are been consumes by the people. From below sentences and paragraphs are some criteria that Burger King is registered on: Food Act Law 1981 Burger King as a fast food restaurant (business) that sells food to the people will fall under this act. This will concern that all product that has been sold by Burger King are safe and can be consume like: Foods are not contaminated. Make sure that food are consumable by consumers in New Zealand The Food Regulations Act 2002 Under this act Burger King has the rights to sure that no one else are selling their products at any cost. This can either if its like an articles that has been in the: Storage Cooking The way its been prepared. HR Safety The HR safety ac t commits on the jobs and workers safety under the act of Safety and Health Act of 1970 on which it looks for work safety and health protection for labours by looking at the safest and healthful working conditions throughout New Zealand as a nation. So Burger King will to follow this Act they want to continue running the business. Fair Trading Act 1986 Under this act it can be said that it protects the consumers against or to avoid us from misleading or treated in a bad manner towards the business on selling goods and services to the consumers. It also applies to every business from the government so that consumers have some information about the product. Consumers Guarantee Act In this act it is all about the goods and services quality. It prevents consumers from buying poor or less quality on goods and services that do not reach its original standard (quality) so that consumers are not just wasting their money on bad quality of goods and services. Labour Laws Under this laws it will show that all workers are treated fairly, work on the right hours (not overworking and getting paid less) and also that labour do get help and support from the business. Industry Act This act gives and provides rules and regulations towards the employees and employers relations and also to prevent any dispute between the two parties. Copyright Act 1994 On 1994 copyright act, it protects the workers and it automatically applies as soon as possible as the business is put in design on which is been decided like logos that has been print and stored. It is also said that it is not right to copy any piece of work without a licence Trade Practice Act 1974 The increasingly competitive nature of todays business environment has meant that business practices involving misleading and deceptive conduct, price fixing, boycotting and market sharing are not only associated with large corporations. In todays highly competitive business environment, more and more small businesses are engaging in business practice, both intentionally and unwittingly, that contravene the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cwlth) (TPA). ETHICAL ISSUES Health Burger as fast food restaurants will have to make sure that it provides good quality products to it every customer by providing a healthy food to its customers in any way good way. This will be one of the main aims of any business (fast food) in New Zealand. So if Burger Kings Is trying to launch a new McCafe they will have to make sure that there are going to provide a healthy product to its customers. Social Responsibilities A social responsibility is also an ethic thing to do by Burger Kings if it tends to launch a new MaCafe. This can make work easy if the business like if the business provide some service to its society like Billboards or Notice Boards that will be usable like putting up Notice from people like Garage sales and many more things or even providing parking and toilets for disable people. Cultural Diversity It is very important that Burger Kings know its people (consumers) culture as a whole. This is because people are not offended by any source like advertisement through media that can hurt the people feeling. It (business) will have to show loyalty and respect to its consumers in a polite manner in order to succeed as a business. Employment Opportunities (Disable) Providing employment to disable people is a great way to promote the business. This is because they will feel that they are not alone. Helping in workplace and not much workload to them. Green Helping the environment is a good way to show responsibilities to the community and towards the people. Like recycling the old oil into the red bin for renewal instead of dumping it on the ground or drain and also separating rubbish which can be recycled like bottles, papers and plastic. . CULTURAL ISSUES Community, Organisation, Gender and Religion Burger King will have to work with its community (helping in a way) to be safe from or to grow with its community. They will also have to accept the different people, ages and culture that will be surrounding the business. This will make sure that they can help/ secure or serve any customers that will consume their products where if its a female or male or no matter what nationality they are from in showing of respect to themselves and also towards the business. Food (Halal, Vegetarian or Others) Burger King has many different types of menu that are available towards the customers to choose from. For example: the burgers sold can either have meat on it like chicken or beefs due to the customers wants or it can also provide vegetarian burgers to those whom does not eat meat like Hindus and even some Muslim that does not consumes bacon and also provide drinks fries and desserts to customers. So selling some Halal food is not a bad idea to attract customers into the business because some people like Halal food. Coming up with many menus for the business to different kinds of people is a good way to promote business sales also to satisfy the customers and to make profit and it will also be a good way to introduce the launching of the new MaCafe. Support Local Community Supporting local communities like a game that brings the people together to know each other. Putting boards to people to use or notice to other people on what is happening in the society. Helping in providing disable car parks and also the toilets. INDUSRIAL ISSUES New Zealand is one of the countries that people consume or eat a lot from Fast Food restaurants like K.F.C, McDonalds, Dominos, Pizza Hut and Burger King. This is because it is very fast to get the food and sometimes cheap for customers to buy due to some sales in the business or promotion that the business have in a period of time. The Fast Food industry in New Zealand helps a lot in the economic so it is a great opportunity to open or launch a new Cafeteria not only for making profit or for the economy but it also will provide employment. Burger King is not only a local but it s an International Business with franchises making it a great competitors in the market with on the help to other industry like Farming on which the meat, vegetables or other product that can bought to (supplier: Tegel) from that its put into a product and selling it to customers, (it a win-win situation) SWOT Strength Burger King as one of the busiest Fast food restaurants in New Zealand by selling lots of burgers is one of the advantages it has from any other restaurants. It serves as many of its customers just on burgers like patty burger or Mushroom burgers which are not available on any other restaurants. Apart from this , it also has dishes like side dishes like Apple pie, Sunday and others which are most bought by customers. All this, is also due to its location of headquarters and also the location of its 11,500 fast food restaurants in just 70-72 countries all over the world in which it include America, Brazil, Asian countries, Canada and also in New Zealand and many more other countries. Weakness One of the weaknesses that Burger King has is the Advertisement it has compare to other fast food restaurants advertisement (competitors) do. One of the main reason is due to some Religion like Muslims people are really not a big or huge fan of Burger King due to the knowledge that they have like they are not really confident to try the Burgers because they are not sure if it Halal or sometimes they get the wrong order in which bacon are presented it which is against the Religion and culture they had. And also the sales are not really that high compared to some fast food restaurants like K.F.C, McDonalds due to lack of Marketing that would be one of the disadvantages they had. Opportunities Due to the weakness of advertisement that Burger King has, one of the opportunities that Burger King do is to increase/ improve the sales of producing sales through advertisement in order to increase sales. And also that they can open new Branches in any part of New Zealand like in Cities, towns or somewhere where populations are high and where people are busy at all times like West Auckland. This is because when people are busy like running late to work, they can just order from Burger King or in the morning Breakfast. Also one of the opportunities it also had is that Burger King can launch or develop new products in the business to increase its sales. Threats One of the main threats that Burger King faces a lot is its competitors from other fast food restaurants like Wendys, McDonalds and also K.F.C since these organisation also are known as fast food restaurants thats deals with the selling of Burgers also. If there will be a inflation in the New Zealand economy it can make the sales to decrease due to people not willing to buy from fast food restaurants which will put them on a tough spot due to taxation also while other business can take advantages of this in advertisement on which is one of the weaknesses that Burger King has already. Also one the of the threats that they faces is the changing of customers behaviour to eat/ consume healthier food nowadays. PESTEL Political This includes the laws and regulations from its policies that is usually used in a effective way that will or has to be related to the business. New Zealand as a country that has a lot of fast food restaurants will have its own policy that will be different from some other countries. So Burger King will have to follow this even if it includes the launching of the new cafeteria. This is done to everyone/ business to followed on which is made by its Government. Before launching the new cafeteria to the market Burger King will have to know all these rules and regulations made by the government (KEEP-UP-TO-DATED). Economic Burger King as a business will always have a good that will last in a long given period of time (long time goal). So they are also contributing to the Country economy as a fast food industry. One of the main goals that Burger King will have is the increase of sales or to make as much profit as possible. But this will depend on the stability of the country economy as a whole. If it is poor, it can be said that some business will be affected because the amount of tax levied to the. Before launching the new cafeteria Burger King will have a research first to see if its good or bad depending on the economy. Social Burger King is one of the world recommended Fast Food restaurants around the world. So this means that it serves different people and also has different people working on the business across the globe. Burger King will make sure that it has a very good background on it towards the government, tourisms, people or other business and even it community. As in food Burger King will have to take considerations about the culture of different people and also the background they have. Technology Technology is one the main advantages that most business used nowadays to run the business in order to make profit. There are always new technology in advance used in a period of time before another technology is made which has a good feature and quality that will replacing the old ones in todays world. Burger King as fast food restaurants will have technology not only to only make work fast, light or easy but also in a way to compete with others in the market but also in another way it can be a disadvantages to other like through employment will not be an increase. Environmental A one of a large organisation in the world it will have to take responsibility of its surrounding. This is because they use a lot of materials to make it menus in the business like papers, rollers, packaging. They have to all this so it does not affect the environment and what can be done to prevent it if occurs. For this not only it is helping the environment but also to other business to do the same with their own business so the natural environment of the country can be still conserve. Legal Burger King deals with the fast customer service as it a fast food restaurant. But also at the same time it has to make sure that everyone working are safe and also the product are safe and healthy to customers to consume. New Zealand government has a set of departments that requires the legal act of any type of business in the country to follow. So before launching the new cafeteria the business will make sure that has the legal act in the new cafeteria. Porters Five Forces C:UsersimmanuelDocumentsimages.jpg Source: http://www.12manage.com/methods_porter_five_force Threats for new entrants When there is a new business entering the market it will be a threat to other business in the market already. There will be more competitors it will have to face in the market so Burger King will also face the same thing. Because it a low barriers of entry which is easy to enter when starting a business in New Zealand. Threats of Substitute products Every fast food restaurants will also have a substitute product it the market for its suppliers or buyers. This can be due to the customers taste. So Burger King will to have the ability to change if these does happen or develop of new products in the business to meets it customers needs Bargaining of power Suppliers. The business will make sure that it has a good relationship with its suppliers at all times. The supplies will make sure that it can substitute a product fast if required but it has to be similar to the products. The business will make sure that the suppliers are a large company to it is able to change if required. Bargaining of power Buyers It mostly deals with the customers whom have the power on want to purchase in the business according to the needs that they want and not the business. Burger King will make sure that it is able to change to substitute the products if customers has change its habits. They will also make sure that the price is affordable to the buyers to buy or spent their money. Competitive Rivalry Burger King is a large business in the fast food industry. It serves lots of customers in a day or at night. So it will face some large competitors in the make like McDonalds in sales. It has a low cost of changing its product in the market if needed and a high customers loyalty. CONCLUSION In conclusion or to sum up. Launching a new cafeteria into the market is a very good move to the contribution to the New Zealand economy and also for the business itself. This is also good for the business to compete with or against its competitors in the market and it can be one of its main strength in the future. But before launching a new cafeteria, burger King as fast food restaurants will have to do some researches on this. Like the country economy or the rules and regulations that been laid by the government. Or what are some ways that will affect the business and the problem solving.

The Role of the Cartels, the United States and the Mexican Federal Gove

The â€Å"Drug War† along the border of Mexico and the United States is one of the longest coordinated engagements of law enforcement (who have accepted the aid of the Mexican military) in both countries’ history (Winslow, 2015). The history of this unofficial war is extraordinarily complicated; rife with both political and criminal players, violence, corruption, bad policy, and controversy. Its importance to America and Mexico cannot be underestimated, especially in its role in legislation, law enforcement techniques, and public opinion. The sheer size and scope of the war surpasses general understandings of battlefields and skirmishes; but it is obvious where the most â€Å"warfare† is occurring—the border (Pacheco, 2009). To explore all of these concepts would take substantial time; so in favor of brevity and efficiency this paper will attempt to provide the reader with a general overview of the current situation, and then go into depth about several subjects: the history, the key participants, the drugs at issue, the range of the war across Mexico (at current date), political controversies accompanying, and proposed solutions by experts. To put current day events into context, one should first glance at the history behind the Drug War. Payan contended in his article The Drug War and the U.S.-Mexico Border: The State of Affairs that the roots of the drug war stem from the resentment policymakers had towards the counterculture revolution of the late 60’s. Mind-altering drugs such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin were in great demand, and many small gangs in Mexico had taken advantage of the opportunity. Nixon saw the rising clamor from conservatives against the trafficking and use of these substances; so he instituted the DEA, coin... ...3/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=fc2f2fad-9bc3-4172-b521-6917fa15c2e7%40sessionmgr13&vid=4&hid=7 Payan, T. (2006). The Drug War and the U.S.-Mexico Border: The State of Affairs. South Atlantic Quarterly, 105(4), 863-880. doi:10.1215/00382876-2006-006. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. http://libproxy.wcjc.cc.tx.us:2253/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=1e7fd309-7c13-410d-92f4-45d5d11968f1%40sessionmgr11&vid=16&hid=12 Vance, L. M. (2011). The Other Unconstitutional War. New American, 27(21), 20-24. Web. 4 Oct. 2015. http://libproxy.wcjc.cc.tx.us:2253/ehost/detail?sid=e07d566c-eb43-4b0b-bb3c-df8a4aedcd7a%40sessionmgr111&vid=3&hid=123&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=67789567 Winslow, Don. America's war on drugs is empowering Mexico's drug cartels CNN. June 28, 2015, Web. 4 Oct. 2015. http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/28/opinions/winslow-drug-war-folly/

Essay --

As a mother of a large family on a very limited budget I have questioned the choices I make in purchasing groceries many times. I want my family to have a healthy diet, yet prices tend to be an issue every time I go grocery shopping. I wonder: What is the relationship between incomes and healthy diets? There are many other questions that need to be explored before we can truly answer the question at hand. Some of those questions include: How do we define a healthy diet? Besides budget, what other factors influence purchasing choices? In what ways are certain foods healthier than others? Also, are healthier foods always more expensive and, if so, why are they more expensive? I recently visited the Mount Vernon WIC office. WIC stands for Women, Infants and children, and is a government program that provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. I interviewed their nutrition specialist, Carolyn, who provided me with some tasty, affordable food choices that kids like, and that are high in vitamins and nutrients. Some of the ideas she gave me were; instead of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, give children celery and peanut butter, but cut up the celery and put the peanut butter in a separate container so the child can â€Å"dip† their food. This is a low cost, high protein snack or light lunch that kids will have fun eating; and instead of a cooked vegetable with dinner, cut up some fresh broccoli, carrots and cauliflower (or other fresh vegetables) and serv e them with a low-fat dressing as a dip for an appetizer before dinner. This helps in get... ...s and having fresh vegetables as an appetizer. Low-income families are in fact at a disadvantage when it comes to eating healthy foods, but this is mostly from lack of education and not necessarily because of costs. Can low-income consumers realistically afford to buy all organic foods and get by month to month? The answer to this is probably not, but what they can do is make health conscious choices when shopping. I believe that the relationship between income and healthy diets is whatever we make it. We all have to remember that what might not seem healthy to one person, might be the healthier choice for another. What it all comes down to is that eating healthy starts by just eating healthier, and changing a bad habit takes time and patience. In a perfect world all foods would be equally available to everyone but the world’s not perfect and neither are people.

Charles Lindbergh :: essays research papers

Charles Lindbergh was a man of many accomplishments. In his time, everybody loved him. Charles was well known all over the world. He was a hero, he represented all that could be accomplished in the future. He was a figure for doing what nobody else thought could be done. Lindbergh was one of those people that everyone else wanted to be. Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born in Detroit on February 4, 1902, to Charles Lindbergh, Sr., and Evangeline Land Lodge. Yet, he grew up in a small town in Nebraska. Lindbergh was a whiz with mechanics. By age twelve, he was in charge of driving and fixing the car. In high school, he assembled a tractor from a mail order kit. When he was eighteen he entered the University of Wisconsin to study engineering. He found he was more interested in flying, so after two years of college, he dropped out and became a barnstormer, which was a pilot who performed daredevil stunts at fairs, and airshows. Lindbergh was a favorite among the crowds. People would travel from all different places, even Europe, to come see his daredevil tricks. In 1924 Lindbergh enlisted in the U.S. Army so he could be trained to be a pilot. During this time he was given the nickname “Lucky Lindy'; because he would attempt daredevil stunts with his airplane, and always seem to evade punishment from upper officers. In 1925 he graduated as the top pilot in his class. He soon began working as a mail deliverer between St. Louis and Chicago. Lindbergh soon heard of an offer given in 1919 by a New York hotel owner named Raymond Orteig. The offer was this: the first aviator to fly nonstop from New York to Paris would receive 25,000 dollars. Nobody had succeeded by 1927, and Lindbergh decided he could do it if he had a suitable plane. Remember, in 1919 this was a very scary thing to do! There was no radio on your plane, so if it went down, you could not call for help, and nobody would know where you were. Also, there was no coast guard, no search and rescue teams, so if you crashed, you were dead. He arranged for nine St. Louis businessmen to help him finance his plane. A company in San Diego called Ryan Aeronautical Company was chosen to construct the plane, which Lindbergh helped design. The plane was named "The Spirit of St. Louis". A transcontinental record was immediately set in a test run when Lindbergh flew from San Diego to New York City in

With reference to the headscarf debate in France, analyze the extent to which laicite has played a major role in the French law 2004-228.

Introduction On March 15th, 2004 the government of French Republic passed a law that banned the wearing of â€Å"conspicuous signs† of religious affiliation in public schools (Bowen, 2007). Whilst this law affected Jewish skullcaps, large crosses, Sikh turbans, many scholars (i.e. Wing and Smith, Tarhan) believe that its main purpose was to ban the wearing of the headscarves, known also as hijab by young Muslim girls. Currently there are approximately 5 million Muslims living in France (CIA, 2012). The majority of them are the immigrants from former French colonies in North and West Africa. Muslims constitute 5-10% of the French population, while Islam is the second largest religion in France (Tarhan, 2011). Hence, the law from 2004 led to objections and protests amongst French Muslims. They regarded the decision of French government as a sign of discrimination and violation of religious freedom in France (Wing and Smith, 2006). French government, in turn, emphasized that French secularism (known also as laicite), assuming separation between state and religion, was a main reason standing behind its decision (Astier, 2004)). Until nowadays the French law 2004-228 is very controversial. The supporters of this law believe that a ban on religious symbols confirmed a secular character of French Republic and defended French national identity. They also postulate that a ban contributed to a greater equality amongst women and men within Muslim society. The opponents, in turn, emphasize a largely symbolic character of the ban, as it affected only Muslim girls attending public schools and did not apply to Muslim women on the streets or university students. The opponents often also rejected laicite as a basis of the French law 2004-228. Instead, they postulate that a fear of multiculturalism and growing division within the French society, especially after September 11th, had a key impact on the governmental decision (Scott, 2005). The following essay aims to examine whether French secularism, laicite, was a key factor responsible for the banning of headscarves in France. First, the essay explains the role of female headscarf in Muslim religion and tradition in order to understand a strong objection against a ban from Muslim side. Second, the essay presents shortly a debate on wearing headscarves in France that had its beginning in the 1980s. Further, the essay considers the concept of laicite in France and its impact on passing the French law 2004-228. The essay analyzes other factors that influenced on the banning of religious symbols in France in order to compare their role and the role of laicite in passing the law. Finally, the essay considers the ban as an unsuccessful reform and presents policy recommendations. The role of headscarf in Muslim tradition The headscarf[1] is an important religious symbol in the Islamic tradition. The Quran, perceived as the source of Allah’s command by Muslims, states that: â€Å"believing women (†¦) should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, or their brothers’ sons or their sisters’ sons, or their women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss.† (Quran 24:31)Therefore, following Allah’s law, Muslim women are obligated to remain modest and to cover their beauty. Moreover, the Quran says: â€Å"O Prophet! Tell Thy wives And daughters, and the Believing women, that They should cast their Outer garments over Their Persons (when outside): That they should be known (As such) and not Molested† (Quran 33:59). It indicates that there are two purposes of the wearing of headscarves by Muslim women. First, headscarf should protect Muslim women from gazes of strange men and from being an object of stranger’s desire. Second, headscarf should help to distinguish Muslim women from women of other religions (Syed, 2001). It is worth adding that the Quran does not state precisely which parts of woman’s body should be covered. Hence, there are different types of head (and body) coverings amongst Muslim women in various countries, depending on Quran’s interpretation and culture. They range from the simple hijab, covering the head and neck to Afghani burqa, covering the entire body and leaving only so-called mesh screen so th at the woman is able to see (Wing and Smith, 2006). Further, the following sentence from the Quran: â€Å"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better so that they may be recognized and not annoyed† (Wing and Smith, 2006, p.751) indicates that Muslim men are also obligated to Quran to make sure that their wives have got appropriate covering when they leave their houses. With the beginning of decolonization in the 1950s and the 1960s, the European countries, in particular France and the United Kingdom, had experienced massive immigrations from the Middle East and African countries. Most of the immigrants were Muslims. Hence, the Western countries, characterized by Christian roots had to face different religion, culture and values brought to the Europe by Muslims. Headscarf has become one of the most visible elements of these differences in the European’s public eyes (Wing and Smith, 2006). Headscarf debate in a contemporary France There are currently around 5 million of Muslims in France, constituting 5-10% of the total French population (CIA, 2012). Mostly they are immigrants from the regions such as the Maghreb, the Middle East, Turkey and Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Additionally there is an increasing number of people of European descent in France who are deciding to convert into Islam. In the recent years, Muslims in France has strongly manifested its cultural and religious separateness. They aimed to â€Å"create an Islamic identity with local institutional, societal and cultural structures† (Wing and Smith, 2006, p.753) and they focused on building new mosques and loud practices of their religion. It led to Islamophobic tendencies in France which were often manifested by hostility, discrimination in employment and housing as well as larger socio-economic exclusion of Muslim society. Currently Muslims continue to be separated from the rest of French society. Key indicators of this exclusion are li mited access to the education for Muslims, houses in the urban ghettos (known also as the zones of economic and social exclusion) but also lack of involvement in French political life and culture from the Muslim side. The debate on headscarves in France has got its root in 1989 and is known as the affaires de foulard (Scott, 2005, p. 1). At that time, three Muslim girls were expelled from their secondary state school in the town of Creil after they refused to take off their headscarves. Although it was not a first such a case (the director of this school had earlier banned Jewish students from wearing the Kippah in school), it brought an extensive attention of French media. The director of school argued that he made a decision on the basis of French laicite[2], a concept postulating separation between the state and religion (Tarhan, 2011). Muslim society was supported by Catholic, Protestant and Jewish leaders. Together, they postulated that laicite should have been regarded as toleration for other religions rather than condemnation of religion (Scott, 2005). This approach was also accepted by the former Minister of Education, Lionel Jospin. He announced that religious symbols and clothing at sch ools were allowed as long as they did not threaten other religious beliefs (Tarhan, 2011). Despite this governmental announcement, a number of similar cases has dramatically increased between 1989 (400 cases) and 1994 (3000 cases), what led to racial and religious violence in France (Bowen, 2007). In 1994 the tensions were so intense that education staff were sending letter to the French government, asking for advices on how to deal with the situation. In result, new Minister of Education, Francois Bayrou implemented new rules on religious symbols in schools. He allowed only discreet symbols in schools, while he prohibited ostentatious symbols. Discreet symbols were defined as those that â€Å"demonstrated personal religious conviction† (Tarhan, 2011, p.18), while ostentatious – as those that led to discrimination and differences into the educational communities. Bayrou’s claim was controversial and brought the attention of French media. In result, the Conseil d ’Etat, the highest administrative court in France, decided to investigate the controversial issue. The court rejected Bayrou’s decision and obligated school administrations and teachers to make decision on the actions of their students. The French government appointed a Muslim woman, Hanifa Cherifi, as a governmental mediator responsible for handling the wearing of headscarves. In result, the issue has grown quiet for nine years (Scott, 2005). The issue of headscarves was brought to the public attention again in 2003, when the Minister of Interiors and Cults, Nicolas Sarkozy postulated that Muslim women should take off their headscarves while posing for official identity photographs. As Muslims became an important minority in France with the beginning of the twenty first century, Sarkozy’s claim reflected growing frustration and intolerance towards visibility of religious symbols in public places amongst French politicians and society. It also brought back the issue of headscarves in schools. In effect, French President, Jacques Chirac formed a commission led by Bernard Stasi in order to investigate the implementation of laicite in French educational institutions. . Students, teachers, intellectuals and also the European Commission got involved in the work of Stasi’s Commission. Muslim girls chose to be interviewed undercover, as they wanted to voice their opinions about wearing the hijab anonymously. The report produced by Stasi’s Commission presented an in-depth study on the role that the hijab plays in the Muslim community. In reference to Islam, one of the most important results was that young Muslim girls, that used to grow up in a society dominated by western culture and values found difficult to reaffirm their identities as Muslims by the way they had to dress. Further, it showed that young Muslim girls were often not participating in classes such as P.E (physical education) as they were afraid of violence and assaults from Muslim men’s side. Moreover, Muslim girls often confessed that they were being forced to wear the hijab by their families and peer groups. The Stasi’s Report also drew open other issues su rrounding Muslim women such as female genital mutilation and forced marriages (Vaisse, 2004). The Stasi’s Report pointed out that the existence of religious symbols in schools was not compatible with the concept of laicite. The Report postulated that the veils were responsible for the alienation of women. As secularism and gender equality were regarded as the important features of laicite, the Report recommended banning religious symbols in schools[3] (Wing and Smith, 2006). It is important to add that the critics of the Stasi’s Report aimed to undermine the validity of the report. They postulated that the report was mainly based on western perceptions on the hijab and Muslim women. The link between forced marriages, female genital mutilation and the hijab, were all based upon the commission negative image of Islam, there was no empirical research to back their findings (Schiek and Lawson, 2011). Muslim women argue that the hijab is worn voluntarily and it brings them a sense of belonging and community (Schiek and Lawson, 2011). Following the Stasi’s Report, on February 10th, 2004, French National Assembly passed the law on the banning conspicuous religious symbols in schools. A huge majority of the Assembly, 494 members, were in favour of the ban, while only 36 members voted against the ban. At the same time, 31 members abstained from voting. Similarly, on March 3rd, 2004, the French Senate also passed the same legislation. 276 voters were in favour of the ban, while 20 of them voted against the ban (Weil, 2009). The implementation of the new law was preceded by three demonstrations, respectively, on December 21st, 2004; on January 17th, 2005; and on February 14th, 2005 that aimed to stop passing the law 2004-228. Mohammed Latreche, an Islamist activist mobilized and encouraged French citizens to participate in these demonstrations. He established a political party, Pati des msulman de France (the Party of French Muslims) with the headquarters in Strasburg. The demonstrations, showed the Muslim publ ics outrage at the law that was about to be passed. The legislative ban was regarded as an attack on Muslims with the Muslim society. Two girls even went as far as hunger strikes to show their opposition to the ban. Some posters propagated slangs such as ‘Stasi killed me’ and ‘1 veil= 1 vote’ (Bowen, 2007). Officially, the law was implemented on March 15th and it is known as the law 2004-228. Despite the demonstrations, the legislative ban in France has been largely supported by the French society. According to Pew Research Centre (2006) 78% of the French population have supported the ban, while only 22% of the population have regarded the banning as a bad idea. The concept of laicite and its impact on the banning of headscarves in France Many scholars (i.e. Wing and Smith, Scott) believe that the concept of laicite was a key factor behind the decision on the banning of headscarves in France. Laicite has a long tradition in France and hence, it is crucial to analyze its influence on the ban of religious symbols. As it was mentioned above, laicite, known also as a French secularism, postulates separation between the state and religion as well as freedom of religion (Tarhan, 2011). It can be viewed as passive neutrality or non-intervention by the state in the private religious domain. This interpretation suggests that the exercise of religion in the private sphere is permissible, and that the French state will not openly support overt religious practices in public spheres (Scott, 2005). Another interpretation of the laicite’ can be viewed as a more active secularism, in terms of which the nation is promoted as a fundamentally political society fiercely independent of any religious authority (Wing and Smith, 2006), and one in which the values of the state can be defended through the concept of Là ¢â‚¬â„¢ORDRE PUBLIC in order to justify interference where necessary with some religious organisations. This definition of laicite’ gives the government more control over public institutions and the amount of religious activity that goes on there, for example schools (Weil, 2009). The concept of laicite was developed during the French Revolution (1789). Initially it concerned the separation between the state and the Catholic Church, which played a major role in France in the seventeenth century. Revolutionaries aimed to redefine citizenship and nationhood and hence, to separate Catholicism from the French identity. New citizenship was meant to be universal, secular and inclusive. Instead, the French Revolution led to ‘xenophobic nationalism’ (Tarhan, 2011, p.4) which targeted foreigners as well as priests, rebels, political opponents and noblemen. Similarly, the Revolution started to reject religion rather than tolerate it. The laicisation of French public schools began with an article that was passed on June 28th, 1833. This law entailed that primary school teaching should have no religious affiliation. Further, laicite was implemented in France through the creation of the public school system, in the years 1881-2 with Jules Ferry’s public school laws (Bowen, 2007). However, despite these steps Catholicism remained an important element of French regime until the end of nineteenth century. More significant changes started in 1901 when France passed a new law, Law of Association according to which religious associations became obligated to have a state supervision. Further, in 1904 the religious communities were forbidden to provide education. In result, approximately 30,000 of clergy lost their teaching jobs and stopped taking salaries from the state. Nonetheless, the legislation passed in 1905, known as the Separation Act, is regarded as first meaningful success of secularists in France (Tarhan, 2011). The 1905 law has become the legal guideline for the separation of the state and the church. The word laicite did not appear in the 1905 law. However, the first article of the law emphasized freedom of religion in France, as it stated that: â€Å"the republic ensures freedom of conscience. It guarantees the free exerci se of religions with the sole restrictions decreed hereafter in the interest of public order† (Tarhan, 2011, p.7). The second article, in turn, declared that â€Å"The Republic does not recognize, fund or subsidize any religion. [†¦]State, departmental and commune budgets, together with all expenses relating to the exercise of religions will be abolished.† (Tarhan, 2011, p.7) and hence, it guaranteed state’s neutrality towards religions. The legislation from 1905 gave a political and legal character to the concept of laicite in France. More importantly, it indicated that laicite was a process that had emerged in France through the confrontation about national identity between Clerics and Republicans (Scott, 2005). Although the concept of laicite in France does not show any historical links to the Islam religion, the ban on religious symbols from 2004 seems to emphasize an impact of laicite on the French politics and tradition. Nowadays laicite is regarded in France as one of the foundations of French Republic and the French collective (national) identity (The Economist, 2004). It represents a sharp contrast to Anglo-American model of multiculturalism. French believe that laicite guarantees tolerance, freedom of religion, peace as well as social cohesion. Further, laicite postulates a sharp division between public and private spheres. Religion and ethnicity can be manifested in the private sphere. However, the only visible legitimate identity in the public sphere should be French national identity. Further, the laic state has right to interfere in the religious issues if the national unity and common values of the French Republic are threatened (Weil, 2009). According to the concept, Muslim soc iety should accept French norms and culture in order to become a part of French political unity. Nonetheless, Muslims have become a significant minority in France, unwilling to adopt French tradition and lifestyle. Instead, they strongly manifested own culture, tradition and identity (The Economist, 2004). Islam was perceived not only as a religion but also as a rigorous lifestyle that rejected Western values such as liberty, freedom and laicite. Muslims were often regarded as the extremist group. Hence, French started to perceive Muslims and Islam religion as the threads to the French national unity that had to be addressed and resolved. The debate on headscarves in France confirms this negative perception of Muslims within French society (Tarhan, 2011). With the exception of laicite, there were also other factors that had an influence on the ban of religious symbols in France. As stated in the Stasi’s Report, the ban aimed to empower Muslim women and to guarantee greater equality amongst the Muslim women and men. However, in this case, the ban was just a symbolic gesture, as it only applied to the young Muslim girls in public schools and did not affect adult Muslim women, working in some public places or just walking on the streets (Bowen, 2007). In contrast, there are several external factors that might have influenced the timing of headscarves debate in France. When the first debate on headscarves took place in 1989, the Communist system in the Central and Eastern Europe collapsed. Instead, the Europe experienced massive inflows of Muslim immigrants and spreading Islam religion across the European countries. Hence, Islam quickly started to be perceived as a thread to the Western values that replaced an old thread, communism . Further, in 1994 there was a civil war in Algeria, a former colony of France that was caused by the conflict between the secular military government of Algeria and Islamic fundamentalists. The Algerian conflict indicated a possibility of similar problems between the state and its largest religious minority in France. Finally, in 2003 the Europe was still strongly affected by the consequences of September 11th (2001). Additionally, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the worsening of the conflict between Israel and Palestine resulted in sharp divergence between the West and Islam culture. At that time, French Muslims definitely identified with the Muslims in other parts of the world and the wearing of headscarves manifested such identification. French government, on the other hand, faced real threads of terrorism. Hence, the main principle of French defense became to prevent French citizens and institutions from potential challenges to their integrity (Scott, 2005). Conclusions To sum up, the ban of religious symbols in schools implemented in France in 2004 was very controversial and led to numerous protests and demonstrations in France. The supporters of the ban underlined the secular character of France and the need to separate religion from the public sector. The opponents, in turn, postulated a minor impact of the ban, as it only affected Muslim schoolgirls, constituting relatively insignificant percentage of Muslim female population in France. Without a doubt, laicite had a key impact on the legislative ban. However, the main factor behind the governmental decision was not separation between the religion and the state, regarded as a traditional element of the concept of laicite. In the contemporary France, key elements of laicite have become nation identity and unity. As the French society was characterized by a strong division on Muslims and non-Muslims as well as by strengthening Muslim influences, the French conservative government of Chirac has become responsible for protecting the French national identity. The ban was believed to be a successful tool to achieve this goal. Except laicite, there was a number of international events such as Afghan war, Iraqi war or Israeli-Palestinian conflict that strengthened Islamophobic in Western countries, in particular in secular France that has always been characterized by the opposition to multiculturalism and foreignness. Although some scholars postulate that gender equality wa s also a factor influencing French decision on the ban, there is no strong evidence to support this claim. In fact, the ban affected only small number of young Muslim girls being in public education. Nowadays it is certain that Muslims have to accept cosmopolitan values and freethinking if they aim to stay in the Western countries. Currently a number of Western countries such as United Kingdom, Spain or Germany have been characterized by a trap of two conflicting cultures. However, forcing Muslims to go against their religious practices, as applied in France seems to be counterproductive. The ban of religious symbols in France led to the riots (2005) in so-called les cites, ghettos focusing North Africans and Arabs that spread around the major French cities. During these riots two Muslim teenagers were accidently killed. However, the ban of religious symbols could have disastrous consequences. Young Muslims, rejected by the French government and regarded as a second-class society, often accept extremism and violence as the solution of their problems. The example of the United States demonstrates prominently the negative consequences of rejecting and underestimating its ethnic min ority. The young, radical Muslims in the US, trained by the conservative European imams became responsible for the dramatic events from September 11th (Kiersh, 2008). The French government should have learnt a lesson from the United States and should stop pushing its Muslim society towards extremism and encouraging violence amongst them. Instead, the French government should establish a long-term strategy in order to incorporate their Muslim minority into the environment they regard as unfriendly. The government must develop new, comprehensive measures that will help Muslims to identify with the rest of the French society and to become involved in various aspects of French lifestyle. In order to achieve these goals, the French government must focus on the reduction of job and housing discrimination in the first place as well as on changing the attitudes within the French policy towards Muslim male immigrants. The French government can expect that other European governments (in particular British, German and Spanish governments) will be also willing to address the problem of separation between Muslims and mainstream society, as they struggle with the same problem. Together, these countries have enough resources to implement reforms and changes so that the Muslims can assimilate with the rest of the societies. Also the United States could probably get involved in such a cross-countries program in the framework of the War on Terror. Without a doubt, the European governments would be more willing to accept such a form of terrorism fighting rather than military interventions in the Middle East. The following concept requires in-depth analyzes and detailed policy planning. However, it would definitely bring larger and more positive outcomes than the ban of religious symbols in public schools (Kiersh, 2008). List of references: Astier, H., (2004). The deep Roots of French Secularism [online] available from: (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Bowen, J., (2007). Why the French do not like the Headscarves. New Jersey: Princeton University CIA, (2012). The World Factbook: France [online] Available from: (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Kiersh, A., (2008). Why the Headscarf Ban is wrong for France [online] Available from: (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Morin, R. and Horowitz, J., (2006). European debate the Scarf and the Veil [online] Available from: (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Scott, J., (2005). Symptomatic Politics: The Banning of Islamic Head Scarves in French Public Schools. New Jersey: Institute for Advanced Study. Schiek, D and Lawson, A., (2011). European Union Non-Discrimination Law and Intersectionality: Investigating the Triangle of Racial, Gender and Disability Discrimination. London: Ashgate Publishing. Syed, , (2001). Women in Islam: Hijab [online] Available from: (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Tarhan, G., (2011). Roots of the Headscarf Debate: Laicism and Secularism in France and Turkey. Journal of Political Inquiry, 4, p. 1-32. The Economist, (2004). The war of the headscarves [online] Available from: (Accessed on 25.04.2012). Vaisse, J., (2004). Veiled Meaning: the French Law Banning Religious Symbols in Public Schools. Washington: The Brookings Institute. Weil, P., (2009). Why the French Laicite is liberalCardozon Law Review, 30(6), p.2699-2714. Wing, A. and Smith, M., (2006). Critical Race Feminism Lifts in Veil?: Muslim, Women, France and the Headscarf Ban. California: UC Davis. [1] The headscarf wore by Muslim women is commonly known as hijab in the Europe. However, Quran uses two Arabic terms: â€Å"khimar† and â€Å"jilbaab† in reference to headscarf or veil. [2] The concept of French laicite will be discussed in details in the next chapter. [3] It is worth adding that Stasi’s Report also postulated the recognition of majority religious feasts as public holiday. However, this law was not passed.

My Personal Goals And Expectation As A Student Essay

It has been 20 years since I have been in school and I want to be here at The University of Phoenix to finally get the degree that I have put off for so many years. I realize there may be road blocks ahead of me that I am not aware of at this time, but I am making a commitment to myself to be successful. The road I have chosen is long overdue, but I believe it is the right choice and something I strongly desire. I selected the U of P due the accelerated program offered, the high caliber of educators, and recommendations by friends. After just one class, I’m very excited about my choice and look forward to the challenges ahead. At the U of P, I hope to obtain the knowledge and tools to help me be successful and to finally make things â€Å"right† with myself and my employer. I say this as, in the past, I have misled my former and current employers that I have an education beyond high school. Through hard work and dedication, I have been able to produce and prosper in my professional life, even without an education beyond high school. But I feel with a â€Å"real† degree in hand, I’ll be more confident and proud of myself for the hard work and dedication it will take to accomplish this goal. Also, the dark cloud of my misrepresentation will finally be lifted. I believe I will finally be proud of myself and gain the honor and integrity I desire. My personal goal is to obtain a Bachelors degree in Business Management. As I pursue my goal at U of P, I must dedicate myself. To achieve this goal, there must be commitment, discipline, desire and expectations. There will be many challenges that lie ahead of me as I steadily make my journey to achieving a degree. But I feel I can overcome any obstacles and face any challenge, due to my maturity level and positive outlook. Twenty years ago, I did not feel the need or have the desire as I do now. Other than the obvious goal of obtaining a degree, I hope to finally have the skills, knowledge and tools to obtain further success in my professional life. I also feel a degree will give me more confidence in myself both personally and professionally. The education that I will receive will help me tremendously in my professional career. I feel I will be much more marketable to my present employer as well as future employers. Advancement  opportunities will come to fruition as I go through the educational improvement process. Throughout this new learning process, I hope to develop the skills to be a better communicator, both orally and in written communications. I’ve always somewhat lacked confidence in writing and I hope to gain the skills to write effective letters and reports. I hope to develop leadership skills and have confidence in myself and in the decisions I make. I hope to learn how to set priorities and manage my time better both at home and at work. Just making the decision and taking the steps to further my education feels liberating and eases the anxiety I’ve always felt about not furthering my education. I feel my fears about â€Å"not measuring up† will subside and a sense of camaraderie will develop with my associates at work. Since beginning classes, I hope the stimulation I feel now will continue to grow and ease the fears I’ve always had about â€Å"learning† again. I expect my confidence level to rise and as I get more confidence, my mind will open up to new ideas and better ways of doing things. I hope this stimulating environment will foster new ideas that I can use in my professional life. Above all, I believe this journey will bring to me a sense of accomplishment, pride, and confidence. In my personal life, I realize I must make many sacrifices. The time I must invest in obtaining a degree will require I give up the very little free time I currently enjoy with my family. My work schedule is extremely full now and leaves very little time with my family. Taking classes will totally eliminate any time I had to spend with them, but they are very supportive and understand the rewards we will all reap from this undertaking. I’m doing this for all of us, as I know the personal and professional growth and successes will be invaluable for our future.