Google Generates Revenue Essay

Explain how Google generates revenue and identify future levels of revenue given some of the risk factors are for future revenue generation. Google generates the bulk of its revenue from its advertisers and a relatively small portion from enterprise search products like Google Mini. Google uses the pay per click cost basis which is an advertising model used to direct traffic to websites. The advertisers pay Google when the ad is clicked and according to analyst about 25% of searches results in an ad click. Google future levels of revenue include Google Audio Ads which are ads placed in radio programs. Google print ads which as the names suggest are ads placed by Google in printed material like magazines and newspapers. Google TV ads follow the same idea by putting ads in television commercials. Google Video Ads is a revolutionary concept where Google get paid when users click to play video ads. These stream of income come in stark comparison to the risk factors when because all of the risks are geared to stop ads. Ad blocking technology would affect Goggles result especially since this technology has existed for quite some time. Another factor that Google should seriously consider is the Index spammers harming the integrity of the search results. Spam is a nuisance and just like with email Google will have to develop some type of spam blocker to keep from alienating their customer base. Discuss the extent to which SOA will reduce reliance on a single provider of enterprise software and increase flexibility in deploying new applications and functionality. SOA will reduce reliance on a single provider and increase flexibility by leveling the playing field of sorts. The concept is to automate the business process that run across different IT systems. Usually different companies will set up their IT functions completely different from one another. This is understandable because every business has different technological needs. SOA has the ability to automate business processes that run across different IT systems and provide the option of tying them together. This would make working with a project that spans several businesses across the country not only feasible but affordable. This will increase flexibility and functionality when deploying new applications because the system will be able to instantly talk to each other even if they handle a different aspect of the business. Ideally this would be a seamless transition causing a more cost effect use of time and resources.

Creating a Sustainable Environment Essay

The terms Sustainable and Sustainability are used to describe many different approaches toward improving our way of life. Sustainability is a way to develop the environment without harming it, creating a system that keeps its self-feasible for future needs. Thus, sustainability means taking the long-term view of how our actions affect future generations and making sure we do not deplete resources or cause pollution at rates faster than the earth is able to renew them. Hence, if sustainability is enforced and took in action it will create a world where everyone can have fulfilling lives and enjoy a rich level of well-being within the limits of what nature can provide. Nowadays, there are many lifestyle trends that are rapidly damaging the environment and which are not sustainable. The main three lifestyle trends I am focusing on are; Children’s toys, entertainment focusing on cinema and pubs/clubs and office work environment. These lifestyle trends have a lot of unsustainable factors that can be changed and improved till year 2020. It is important that from a young age children will be taught the values of sustainability because they will inherit the world that we create today. Therefore, the stuff given to them should not damage the environment. Today there is the possibility to make sure that children’s playthings are green and healthy. Finding sustainable and less toxic toys for children is important since it can do well both for children and the environment. When buying toys it is important to look for PVC-free toys (polyvinyl chloride). PVC releases toxins into the environment all the way through its lifecycle from manufacturing to disposal. Many PVC toys also contain, chemical compounds that make the PVC plastic more flexible, which can lead to both cancer and hormonal disruption. Therefore, when choosing PVC-Free toys one will not only be sustainable but will prevent children from hazardous toxins. A better and safer alternative is to choose toys made from wood since, they are more sustainable and most importantly will last generations longer than the cheap plastic stuff. Batteries have become second nature in most toys today. Not only this is harmful for the environment due to massive battery consumption but also easily children can chew batteries which are toxic. Hence, one can easily replace these battery-powered toys by simpler toys which still are of an entertainment and fun. Furthermore, these would be cheaper and sustainable. However, for the older children that have more sense and always look for original and new toys which have the latest electronics, one should opt to look into rechargeable batteries to eliminate waste. Sometimes the most rewarding toy might not be a toy at all it might be the act of planting a tree, play catch or hide and seek. Getting children outside provides them with abundant opportunities to run around, have fun, get exercise, and learn about th e urban and natural environments around them. Outdoors needs to get revived again and children should be given the opportunity to play and enjoy more outdoors activities. Another way of being sustainable is by buying Second-hand toys because it does not mean that when a toy has been used once it would not be just as much fun the second time around. Thus, this will decrease the waist of toys which sometimes are hardly used or damaged, also these would be cheaper and one will be more sustainable. Additionally, for children sometimes is not what’s in the box but it is the box! Sometimes it is the stuff that one already has that can prove the most fun to imaginative children. Therefore before throwing the box from that new toy away, think of it as a potential arts and crafts project instead. These factors are really important and not such difficult to practice and understand. These simple adjustments are both beneficial for children and the environment itself. Moreover, the children will be grown up in well sustainable grounding and mentality. Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment may also provide fun, enjoyment and laughter. However, it is still important to be aware of a more sustainable entertainment environment. Thus, the challenge is to create good entertainment that sustains an audience and it is sustainable. Looking at the cinema industry there are so many things that go to waste that can be easily used more than once. Starting from when one arrives at the cinema each person that pays gets a ticket, why not making it a stamp on our hand to prove that we have paid therefore, this will eliminate the use of all those paper usage every day. Furthermore, when buying snacks a lot of packaging material is used, normally it would consist of paper and plastic which are all thrown away after usage since, most of them are not good to be recycled due to certain chemicals that are present. What a waste! So let’s entre a new cinema trend instead of a paper bucket or cups let’s replace them with plastic bowl and cups, which remains in the cinema to be reused. Why Plastic? Plastic is more safe, to prevent broken glass on the floor and since people themselves has to walk with them it will prevent certain accidents. This will be more sustainable due to less of waste and even less expenses since one will diminish the cost of buying so much packaging every year. Looking and the pubs/clubs sector one has no idea how unsustainable they are. From my own experience I work in this industry and therefore know a lot of what goes on. From the bar itself the amount of plastic thrown away every night is crazy. Why this? For safety purposes drinks are given in plastic cups to prevent having a lot of injuries during fights. However, these cups are not reused or recycled thus a plastic cup is only used for a couple of minutes and then thrown away. Therefore, replacing them with solid plastic cups which can be washed during the night and reused again is a better option which is more sustainable, more environmentally friendly and cheaper on the long run. Moreover, a lot of empty plastic bottles of soft drinks and glass bottles of alcohol and beers are thrown away in the same bin without recycling them, which is a pity because one only needs two separate bins to do so. Additionally a lot of paper made tickets are given when paying beforehand for parties. Yes, giving a ticket is the best way to prevent hassle and chaos when entering the club however, the size of the ticket sometimes is too much! Since, sometimes one can actually make three tickets from the size of the normal ticket that is normally given nowadays. If minimizing the size of the tickets one will decrease the amount of paper usage every night. Moreover, a lot of fliers are used to market other parties, fair enough marketing is important however, printing thousands of fliers and not even using half of them is a waist. Today, one can market their party through facebook, internet and even automatic mobile messages, this will decrease the amount of fliers printed which is more sustainable. What about noise pollution? The sound at the clubs is set at a very high volume that one cannot even talk to someone else because it will be impossible to understand one another. Noise pollution has an effect on our health, the extra sound can damage physiological and psychological health. Noise pollution can cause annoyance and aggression, hypertension, high stress levels, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. Then there are certain factors that can be adopted in both sectors, both in the cinema industry and the club/pubs environment. For example focusing on the bathrooms, automatic sensors can be fixed to switch on the light when entering and then switch off when no one is present. Even automatic water turn off devices can be installed to prevent water loss. Additionally, electric hand dryers with automatic turn-off system are good to prevent the use of disposable paper towels. Furthermore, it is good to use water pressure system to save water and energy by adding a water saving device for water taps in wash hands basins to decrease the consumption of water usage. These all are changes which can make a better sustainable environment. Increasing awareness on the work place about sustainable principles can encourage workers to implement sustainability principles into their own personal practices and beyond. There are also sustainable factors that can be adopted till 2020 in an office work environment. Such as using electronic mail to send memos, or route memos to staff members rather than making a paper copy for each person. One can use reused envelops for internal mail. Moreover, is better to do direct deposit instead of making a paycheque every time. Furthermore, it is essential to have a photo copier that makes double sided copies to minimize the amount of paper used every day. Also, cleaning shell be done within office hours rather than at other times which this would require lighting and air conditioning to remain on. It is also vital to encourage employees to bring their own washable mugs to work rather to use disposable cups. Also having a thermos for beverages is a good practice to decrease the use of energy daily. Additionally, it is better to use reusable containers rather than cover launches in plastic or disposable paper bags. It is also good to use a reusable cloth then disposable tissue every time one needs to wipe his/her hands. This will result to a better sustainable environment and less expenses since, an object is used consequently rather used once and then thrown away. These mentioned above are all practices that can be adopted in the future which can make the world more sustainable. If from now people will change their mentality and get more informed how to become more sustainable in 2020 people will be able to live a healthier life, a life where less money is spent, a life which helps build stronger relationship between them and their neighbours, and a life which helps protect, conserve or improve the natural environment. Children are the future, so teaching them sustainability is essential to the well-being of the planet. As a Home Economics and Textile studies teacher it is important to teach students that everything on this earth is related and demonstrated by their behaviours and actions that affect the environment. By teaching students the importance of sustainability, they will be empowered and be more convinced that even they are capable of making a difference. Moreover, in order to make students aware of the importance of sustainability, as a teacher I have to make them aware of the consequences of their actions and decisions taken know and the affect it would have in the future on the environment. Furthermore, it is important to teach students how their daily decisions can affect their ecological footprint so that they make more conscious decisions to boost the sustainability of their lifestyle. Home Economics gives the opportunity to the teacher to entre deeply in the topic (sustainability) therefore it gives us the opportunity to teach and show students the importance of sustainability and build more awareness and knowledge on the meaning and the term sustainability. Furthermore, as a teacher I can show students that being sustainable is not something that require a lot of work but only require some thought. Additionally, show students that we can be sustainable in everything that we do in our life, example trough textile studies I can encourage students to use recycled fabric and teach them how to sew simple things example; repair a zip, make patches to holes, these will prevent from throwing clothes away when little adjustments is required. Therefore it is essential that awareness and education will increase to enhance sustainability. Moreover, encouraging and stimulating good practice in the use and management of natural resources, in particular their minimal use and maximum reuse by recycling in an environmentally sustainable manner is a vital issue. Hence, Education is an essential tool for achieving sustainability.

Argumentative Essay - Being Awkward Sucks Laughter, Joke, Pet Shop Bo

Growing up in a large strict family that limited outside interaction when I was growing up has in turn made me fairly introverted and awkward. I do not do well in social situations and try to avoid them at all costs. See unlike most people, who can strike up a cordial conversation about sports, business, or common interests with people they have just been introduced to; I on the other hand, turn to jokes and sarcasm to break the ice. Sometimes it is well received and I am dubbed â€Å"the funny one† other times it leads to nervous laughter and â€Å"what the hell† looks from everyone. It’s like Russian roulette every time I enter a new situation with a few sarcastic ice breaker comments in the chamber. Take for example, my cousin had a certain type of party that has become pretty common now-a-days. I won’t drop any names but it entails certain battery operated devices commonly used in a romantic nature. A party like this is awkward enough as it is. So let’s take that and layer in my a bunch of people whom I have never met before and for fun, let’s talk about which vibrato...

Economics factors as barriers to effective Health Care Term Paper

Economics factors as barriers to effective Health Care - Term Paper Example According to Patricia & Mary (2007) ensuring a health rich globe, may take a million years if all health hazards remained constant. With this scenario impossible it becomes the duty of nations and health bodies to protect their citizens against health hazards. Making it hard to control global health is the fact that there are emergences of diseases which have no permanent treatment yet. However, other factors play a major role in the hindrance of provision of health care. These factors are influenced mostly by human activity. They mostly include economic and social factors. In many occasions social factors get all the attention disregarding the influence of the economic factors. In an argument by Ralph (2011) economic factors pose many threats than social factors yet they don’t get enough attention as the social factors. Economic factors that hinder effective health care include poverty, job descriptions and illegal trade of counterfeit drugs. The three factors are the leading economic factors that affect the global front in terms of provision of effective health care. This paper will focus on these three economic factors as barriers to proper provision of health care. Additionally, the paper will provide guidelines which may effectively address these issues. Also included will be the probability of the issues to be addressed permanently and effectively. Economic factors Poverty levels In words by Roslyn & Rick (2008) poverty is the largest hindrance to access of quality health care in many nations. The most affected nations are in their third world stage of evolution. Nations in the third world have large numbers of their population living under the poverty level line. This is greatly attributed to the fact that unemployment levels are at high levels. As a general assumption in many third world countries, basic needs are the first priority. Health care does not fall under the brackets of basic needs in these parts of the globe. Due to poverty levels lar ge numbers of populations prefer to use over the counter drugs to treat any form of illness. According to Simon & Heather (2007) this tendency is an evidence of how quality health care is made difficult to obtain. For the past five years thousands of people have succumbed to diseases due to lack of proper health care. Health researchers argue that it is not out of will that individual choose to seek poor health care. If given the chance and ability, every single individual on the face of the earth would opt to seek the best health care services. The living conditions and financial abilities determine the quality of health care one can get. It is for this reason that health bodies advocate for free provision of health care when it comes to very serious diseases. A good example is the treatment of HIV/ Aids. The treatment of HIV/Aids was made voluntary and free since the medication of the ARVs was too expensive. This step made it possible for people with poor living standards t access the medication. the results of this move is very significant as there is evidence of people living with the virus and live up to seven years before succumbing to death (Mwabu & Ishola, 2010). In an argument by Tracy (2009) it is an obvious assumption that a person living below a dollar per day may put proper medication as a last need in their budget. Poverty or low income levels also affect nations. Below the third world nations there are nations with low revenue

Career Goals & Learning Plan Paper (1,500 words) Essay

Career Goals & Learning Plan Paper (1,500 words) - Essay Example I agree with the ideas given by them because I have observed the working of these theories in my own education. Kolb (1983) presented his theory about learning styles by basing the process of learning on an individual’s personal experiences. In fact, the theory of learning as presented by him is called the experiential learning theory which has a set of learning styles that can be useful for everyone. The theory is based on other psychological theories that were given by older prominent psychologists such as Piaget and Jung and it says that there are four distinct learning styles which are derived from a four state learning cycle. This learning cycle starts with direct experiences that create private observations and reflections for the learner. I personally prefer this learning style since it supports the interpersonal approach which is useful for me. The observations I make in class or in working experience can be used by me for the creation of theoretical concepts that create new ideas and allow me to learn new concepts that can be evaluated to create new experiences. The four stages of learning for me therefore become (1) experience, (2) reflection and observation, (3) abstract conceptualization and (4) active experimentation. As I found while taking the personal assessment and as suggested by Kolb I would go through all four stages during the learning process before a concept is completely internalized but Kolb discovered that many people prefer to use a combination of two elements listed above. These combinations become the four different types of learning styles which Kolb mentions as Diverging, Assimilating, Converging and Accommodating. Each style has two primary processes which underlie the learning that takes place and these have been described as: Of course a deeper account of these learning styles becomes essential if we are to

Aviation Safety Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aviation Safety Management - Essay Example That effected a progressive deprivation of confidence to safety policy of the company. Numerous hazard reports has tine and again just dallied off and that fact put managers off countenance and caused the failure of safety program. As a result the company has met two serious problems: in one case the foreign object has got in turbine engine and in the other one there has been possible in-flight collision due to altitude deviations and here related litigation. Under such circumstances the question of vital importance is working out company's new safety policy, setting a close coordination with line managers, arising safety standards and ensuring their implementation. a. The new safety policy should ensure protecting the safety both employees and passengers, to guarantee the fulfilling of all legal obligations and standards regarding safety. Moreover the main issue of the strategy should become a constant improvement of company's safety standards. 2. Propose to organize a temporary Committee including the President, the Director of Safety, the Chief of Flight Safety, the Chief of Ground Safety and Chiefs of Finance and Public Relations Department. a. In order to arise the company's safety standards and hence to make the business much more profitable it is necessary to work out a new strategy in company's policy.

Is the cost of college too high Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is the cost of college too high - Essay Example Since the economy is going down and that too at a considerable rate, there are many problems that need to be faced by the parents when it comes to giving in their best with regards to their kids’ study domains. The reason why the cost of college is too high is because the college expenses have increased in the recent years. There are the fiscal elements involved with college as well, whereby the books, stationery and all other student related affairs and connected with curricula has become expensive. This has meant that the students are being properly kept a check upon both by their parents as well as the college authorities who are bringing in more problems with each passing day. There are definitive problems that have come about with the passage of time, and all of these have basically brought about quite a level of distress within the minds of the parents as they have to pay for their children at the end of the day (Baptist, 2001). What is even more distressing is the fact that the cost of college has entailed within it the unexpected costs as well, which has included the entertainment fees, the different taxes and so on and so forth. All of these problems have come about within the worst possible times because now is the era where people are running after saving more and more money, yet what happens here is a totally different matter altogether. The cost of college has become a real problem as the tuition is a necessity in the times much like today since education demands quintessential significance. The uneducated and illiterate individuals cannot make it within the different life domains as has been proven time and again. The wealthy are self-sufficient and thus have no problems with the rising college tuition costs but it is the poor who are finding it hard to make both ends meet. It is a fact that something constructive within these ranks needs to be brought about and that too quickly. Probably the right thing would be to make college tuition fre e for all the kids or it could also be a possibility that the primary level education is targeted as being available at a nominal cost all over the country. Being rich must not help; being able to survive the tenacity which comes with attaining education is what is deemed more pertinent. College tuition brings a sense of understanding within the student that he can always find a support system within education. He can ask his teachers for that extra help which he is in dire need of (Redmon, 1999). The college tuition thus builds the much needed corrective system whereby once he fails within the educational domains, he can always stand up with the encouragement drawn from the education attained at the hands of the college tuition realms. Now if these regimes are expensive, your guess is as good as mine. The students would eventually back off from the college tuition measures and look to narrow down their educational facets. They would rather stick to all-day college at the end of the day as one can decipher that this would not help them much. Thus what can be deemed here as appropriate is that they should be given a proper chance to understand the basics of education by going through the rigors of the tuition system and for that the cost issues need to be adequately addressed in entirety. Having high prices of textbooks means that a college or a university is limiting the

To know oneself Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

To know oneself - Essay Example The â€Å"know thyself† phrase by Socrates is engraved in the entrance of the Apollo temple at Delphi in order to illustrate the importance of knowing one’s self (qtd. in Hergenhahn 44-45). Socrates believes that the essence of something is necessary in order to understand an individual’s self. Essence for Socrates is a definition or a concept that is universally accepted and acknowledged. In relation to this, Rene Descartes believes that a person exist because he or she is thinking (qtd. in E. Paul, Miller, and J. Paul 76-79). Therefore, the ability for a person to think is the greatest manifestation of self and existence. Descartes strongly believes that the only manifestation of the self is the capacity to think. The universe that he believes in may be just a creative hallucination, but the fact that he thinks of hallucinating is a proof of his self and existence. Self, the ability to think, is not relatively related to the parts of a person’s body. Des cartes believes that self, so long as the brain functions, is present even without legs. Therefore, Descartes's argument can be put into simpler sense that a self, which is considered as the personal identity, is the same mind and body. This argument is the same with John Locke; he considers that consciousness, which is the ability to sense and perceive, is the ability of a person to think. He also suggests that no matter what type of body a person has, his or her self will always be the same all throughout his or her existence. The identity will always be the same no matter he or she changes a body. In this manner, a person’s understanding is formed through thinking. As latter stated, self exists because a person thinks, and when this happens, he or she perceives and is able to use his or her senses. Therefore, if a person thinks that he or she exists, then he or she is conscious and can understand. In the light of understanding, David Hume (qtd. in Traiger) and John Locke a ssume that it is consistent from the past to the present. Understanding through the person’s sense and perception is constant similar to one’s self. Immanuel Kant (qtd. in Kitcher) suggests that a person is rational and free if he or she is conscious of his or her self. This consciousness will allow an individual to identify the presence of things in the universe. A person can trust what he or she knows because he or she can identify the objects presented to him or her. The presence of self also opens the door of a person to be fully aware of the presence of things or the knowledge surrounds him or her. Therefore, self manifest knowledge and the presence of knowledge manifest the consistency of things that are known. It can then be inferred that the universal knowledge, truth, or facts that a person know can be trusted to be the universal knowledge, truth, or facts for others. Therefore, knowing and trusting one’s self and knowledge encompass the person’s ability to have a constant self. In summation, according to Descartes, a person’s essence is his or her ability to think. As the argument goes back to Socrates, knowing a person’s self is the ability to know the essence of him or her. Therefore, it can be concluded that once a person thinks, self is present. As a person thinks, the act of sensing his or her surrounding and the act of perceiving are also done. Thinking is simultaneous to the latter acts, which will bear knowledge to the self. For this reason, the knowledge

Citi group Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Citi group - Research Paper Example The project also makes a cost and benefit analysis to identify the most suitable application of strategies. Lastly it recommends suitable ways of application of the strategies to produce desired results. This project tries to identify the present problems confronting one of the leading financial service providers in the world, the Citigroup. The company originated in New York and is based all over the world. The period of financial crisis followed by the economic downturn had serious consequences for the company and its stakeholders. It led to the creation of a number of problems for the organization. The project tries to identify those problems. Identification of problems has been supported by provision of data using secondary research. Each problem has been presented explicitly along with data and examples. The project tries to understand the root of these problems and designs suitable strategies to solve them. It also makes a cost and benefit analysis to priorities the list of solutions. Lastly it tries to present the ways in which the company’s mission can be achieved using the strategies. Citi is the leading company in the field of financial services in the global market. The company is based in New York. The company originated from the merging of two banking giants, namely Citicorp and Travelers Group. It is known for having the most efficient and largest financial services network across the globe. Its business is spread across 140 countries and its customer base goes up to 200 million. The company provides a wide range of products and services to customers, institutions, corporations and the government. Its services include â€Å"banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services and wealth management† (Citi-a, â€Å"Our Brands†). The company considers providing advisory solutions to clients is of paramount importance. It never fails to reinforce this commitment in every

The Limits of Efficiency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Limits of Efficiency - Essay Example And so unions formed, and enough of a public outcry was raised to stir Congress to action. The COPE Act sounds like a promise to return to the easier days before regulation in some parts of the cable television and Internet industry. Because it can take months for cable companies to be awarded franchises, this bill sets up a system of "national cable franchising" in Title I (Summary of COPE Act). The bonus is that applications will now be awarded in thirty days. However, this will lead to the elimination of competition, and insufficient media infrastructure in poor communities, and so this bill threatens the access of many to affordable media. As a result, it should not be made into law as it is currently written. It may seem that creating one franchising standard nationwide would be a positive change. As it stands now, cable providers have to work out local franchising agreements with every local government where they want to offer their programming. Because telephone companies want to enter the cable television industry, they also have to go through this maze of negotiation, and one force behind the COPE Act is the telephone companies' complaint that the negotiation process is excessively "burdensome"(COPE Act of 2006). However, for this bill to be fair to all Americans, it should contain more specific requirements for infrastructure. There are currently no requirements for providers to set up infrastructure to all neighborhoods within a particular market, and so people in rich neighborhoods could end up with more choices, and therefore better pricing, than those in poor neighborhoods (COPE Act of 2006). Without this requirement, companies are likely to avoid areas where collections and maintenance costs could be higher, because of higher occurrences of delinquent accounts and vandalism. If one segment of the American population has the chance to receive lower cable prices, then all segments should have that chance. Also, by creating a national set of franchising requirements, this bill takes away the ability of state and local government to regulate the cable industry in the area of consumer protection, giving that ability instead to the FCC, an already burdened government agency that does not have the time to regulate the cable industry's consumer practices as well. The FCC is not currently authorized to order refunds, as state and local governments are - the FCC only has the power to fine companies, and that money just goes to the government - not to the victims (COPE Act of 2006). Another area of concern has to do with public, educational, and government channels, or PEG TV. If cable companies no longer have to answer to municipal and state governments, it will no longer have the incentive to give up channels for public/community access space (Davies). This will even further reduce the amount of non-commercial media available

High School and Tina Essay Example for Free

High School and Tina Essay Even my mother knows I am wasting my time there. Counselor- What makes you dis-like school and hate everyone? Tina- I just do. Everyone picks on me and bullies me. I don’t fit in. No one cares what happens to me. Counselor- Well what makes think you don’t fit in? Tina- I don’t get along with anyone. I think the kids don’t like me because I am fat. Counselor- So that’s why you don’t think you fit in with your peers. Tina- SILENCE Yeah, I am always late, I am in trouble all the time, and dumb. I am overweight and so is my family. It’s really embarrassing cuz (because) they don’t care about anything, especially me. Counselor- I see talking about your family makes you really upset. Have you talked to your mom about how you feel about school? Tina- No. Not really. Counselor- Maybe you can sit down and talk to her about your grade and how you feel. Tina- Why should I talk to her about school and what I feel when she doesn’t even show up for parent teacher meetings? Counselor- Has she told you why she does not go to the meetings. Tina- Yeah, she told me she is too ill to go and I am just fine at home. Counselor- Would you like to do better in school and go on to the 8th grade. Tina- No, I give up with school. Counselor- What would you do if you dropped out? How would you get a job? Tina- I do not know. I would become a hair dresser; you don’t need school for that. Counselor- Is that what you want to do? Tina- Yeah, I like doing hair. Counselor- Did you know that you need a high school diploma for beauty school? Tina- Really No I didn’t know. Counselor- So how do you think you will get in if you don’t finish seventh grade. Tina- I guess I do need to finish seventh grade. Counselor- Alright, how about we look for a good technical school that offers cosmetology so you can work on becoming a hair dresser? Does that sound like a good idea? Tina- Yeah that sounds good, I like that idea. Counselor First we need to get through the end of 7th grade and move on to 8th. Tina- I can do that, but getting to school is difficult. Counselor What about getting up one hour earlier and getting mom up as well? Tina- Maybe, I do only get up 5 minutes before I school starts. Counselor- So getting up earlier and going to bed a little earlier is a goal you can work on. Tina- Ok, I would like that. I need to go to bed earlier. I am actually really excited. I can’t wait to go home and look up beauty schools and new styles. Then maybe I can make some new friends to because I can do their hair. Counselor- I am glad you have something you aspire to. You have a great positive attitude. I could see you making a great beautician. I am looking forward to hearing about some research you did and new hair styles you have looked at. I would like to work on getting your grades up so you can get into that technical school. Are you wanted to tell mom what you want to do when you pass? . Tina- Yeah, I cannot wait to tell her. I think she will be excited with me. Thanks.

Rachel Nickell The Investigation of Colin Stagg

Rachel Nickell The Investigation of Colin Stagg In July 1992, Rachel Nickell was attacked and murdered, her throat was cut, and she was stabbed 49 times then sexually assaulted. The sensitivity and cruelty of this case from the beginning, police faced pressure from the public and media to solve it. The investigation was carried out by Scotland Yard officers of the Metropolitan Police. After collecting evidence from a crime scene, there was no DNA found, which means that there was no forensic evidence to link any suspect with the crime scene (Evans 1992). The Metropolitan Police reached for help and advice from Paul Britton, a criminal psychologist, as profiling is mostly used in those cases where police have just a few clues (Britton 1997). It uses combination of psychological processes and theories with investigation to create offender profiling, geographical analysis of the crime location and offender, advises on interaction with media and providing interview strategies (Stelfox 2009). The work of Paul Britton can be criticised on the basic grounds, as it looked like he was leading the investigation or had too much powers form investigators instead of just offering the help to investigators to profile unknown suspect. Paul Britton was accused of breaching the British Psychological Societys code of conduct when he helped the Metropolitan Police detectives to design and conduct the operation Ezdell, a honey trap (Morris 2002). Paul Britton gave a detail description of a suspect and directed the investigation to Colin Stagg. However, the main aim of profiling is not to provide information for the police about who exactly committed a specific crime as mention earlier, but to make predictions and suggestions about the most probable characteristics, social and psychological assessment of the offender (Ainsworth 2001, Holmes and Holmes 1996). Paul Brittons work and involvement in this case can be criticised according to Gudjonssons statement, that criminal psychologists tend to work on probabilities, suggestions and predictions, whereas police operate in terms of quilt or innocence, it is like a black and white scenario. It also means that the person labelled a suspect, Britton provided profile of Colin Stagg labelled as a potential suspect, will be presumed guilty until proven innocent (Gudjonsson 1992). Honey-trap: The Metropolitan Police carried out the covert operation just to see if Stagg will eliminate or incriminate himself. An undercover police woman from the Metropolitan Polices Special Operation Group played role of covert human intelligence source (CHIS). She had to establish and maintain a relationship with Stagg to collect information about his sexual and violent fantasies (Stelfox 2009). Due to his psychological profile of a murderer he was supposed to confess and revel his deepest secrets (Roberts and Zuckerman 2004). In his letters he talked about violent fantasies and over the phone described that he enjoyed hurting people. During the covert operation Stagg never admitted to murdering Rachel Nickell. However, Britton was confident about Staggs guilt and received an advice from Crown Prosecution Services lawyers. Once again Brittons role went beyond making predictions and suggestions about most possible characteristics of the suspect (Ainsworth 2001, Holmes and Holmes 1996). He leaded the investigation. Police also believed that those evidences would be sufficient in court and guarantee conviction, after consultation with Britton. Colin Stagg was arrested and charged with Rachel Nickells murder in August 1993 (Evans 1992 and Cohen 1999). The case of Colin Stagg was seen as a textbook example of the unethical use of profiling and the abuse of powers (Turvey 2008 and Ormerod 1999), because the investigation was concentrated on finding the suspect and then constructing the investigation instead of investigating the crime scene and conducting investigation. In the other words, thats an example of a case construction to charge the suspect (Maguire and Norris 1992). However, the entire and sophisticated psychological trap was created by Britton. Stagg was manipulated, entrapped, enticed and promised an affair with a beautiful woman only if he would confess. Simply speaking, the aim of the operation was to trick Stagg into confession. Brittons way of constructing the covert operation, hints during the interview and analysing his reactions were unethical (Cohen 1999, Evans 1992 and Morris 2002). Also an undercover operation was seen as misconceived and the Metropolitan Police tried to incriminate a suspect by deceptive and unprofessional conduct to receive a confession, entrapment and profiling evidence were excluded and the case was withdrew by the prosecution (Ainsworth 2001, Cohen 1999, Evans 1992 and Johnson 2006). Arrest and interviewing: An introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 determined many illegal activities of British detectives and introduced basics changes in approaching and interviewing suspect in the interview room. It is necessary to remember that inappropriate interviewing techniques may result that a genuinely innocent person will make a confession (Ainsworth 2001 and Cherryman, Bull and Vrij 2002). In Colin Staggs case, Paul Britton, gave specific advice to the police about the best way to conduct an interview with a suspect and how to approach him. Those advices were concentrated on the way how to persuade a suspect to confess. Staggs interview lasted for three days and during the interrogation suspects behaviour was contradictory and sometimes confusing. According to Britton, his denials were suggestive his basic intelligence level, it did not go through his mind that the suspect may be innocent (Ainsworth 2001). Stagg was detained in custody for interviewing for three days, however a suspect cannot be detained in the custody for longer than 24h without being charged, or it can be extended to 36h with the authority of police superintendent. If there is not enough evidence to charge the suspect, he/she need to be released on bail. According to those three scenarios, Staggs detentions in custody would be unlawful, but in case of murder charges, a suspect may be refused release and remain in the custody until the trail (Home Office 2010). Trial, conviction and eventual acquittal: There was no forensic evidence linking Colin Stagg with a crime scene, witness said to the police that saw him or a man very like him on the day of Rachel Nickells murder that seems to be enough for the Metropolitan Police to tag Stagg as a suspect. The Metropolitan Police officers were under high pressure from the media and public to get a conviction and tend to misused powers of the science of criminal profiling. They examined and rejected 547 suspects but still have no idea who killed Rachel Nickell. Undercover female police officer tried to get Stagg to confess to Rachel Nickells murder, by encouraging Stagg to talk about his sexual and violent fantasies, promising to have sexual intercourse with him if his was the one who killed Rachel Nickell. Months of undercover work produced nothing, Stagg never admitted to murdering and stabbing to death Rachel Nickell. The police decided to make an arrest and charge Colin Stagg with a murder based on the intelligence collected during the undercover operation. Prosecution withdrew the case and Stagg was acquitted in 1994 (Ainsworth 2001, Cohen 1999). Cold case review and new suspect: In 2002, the Scotland Yard police used their cold case review team to have another look at the Rachel Nickell killing. Officers analysed witness statements, checked files for potential suspects and search for a connection between other crimes. They also compared Rachel Nickells injuries with other victims and contacted Forensic Science Service about new methods of DNA matching techniques (Tendler 2007). Latest techniques were used to take microscopic particles of victims DNA from the clothing and tested them in the laboratory to produce a match. The match did not belong to victims partner or son. Sample was helpful to eliminate some of the suspects, but was insufficient to provide identification (Leppard 2007). In 2006, the Scotland Yard team interview convicted sex killers in Bradmoor Hospital. Robert Napper was interviewed was interviewed three times by the murder squad. Year later, Nappel was charged with Rachel Nickells murder and he pleaded not guilty (ONeill 2007). In 2008 Robert Nappel was found guilty of manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on the grounds of diminished responsibility (Leppard 2007 and Dodd 2007). Robert Nappel and series police errors: Robert Nappel was also known as Plumstead Ripper, was suspected of up to 40 violent raped, but has never admitted to them. Police started their gross errors in judgment in 1989 where they failed to deal with Nappels mother claim who reported that Nappel admitted to raping a woman (Casciani 2010). Police officers could have arrest him before he assaulted and murdered more woman, but instead just ignored the claim (News London 2010). He was eliminated as a suspect from Rachel Nickells murder because he was not often in that area of London. However, Metropolitan Police did not checked Nappels past and current activities or involvement. In fact he knew the area well because he was attending for the psychiatric treatment in the nearby clinic. That was another mistake made by police which could save womens life. There were few situations where Metropolitan Police officers did not joined the dots and saw Napper as a suspect. He was asked twice to give a blood sample for examinations in 1992, after phone calls from neighbours that Napper looks like a wanted rapist. Every time, Napper failed to turn up and after few weeks he was eliminated from the suspects because his height did not fit the description. After few months he was arrested for stalking a woman from the local police station. The police searched his flat and found pistol, ammunition, information about how to restrain someone, maps of London, and his private diary which included addressed of previous victims. If the police would link Nappels belongings found in the flat with Rachel Nickells murder, other local murders, then Nappel hopefully would be arrested quicker. Nappels victims were restrained, their addressed were in his personal diary and he also knew how to commune to their houses. However, Napper was only given short custodial sentence and during the trial, references about his mental state were made. No further actions were taken and he walked free from the police again. Year later, he attacked innocent women again, raped and stabbed her to death. After 6 months his finger prints were found in victims flat, but according to Britton and his perfect policing skills, the scenario was different and he was free again. In 1999 he was arrested for the above murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The Metropolitan Police failed to stop Nappel from committing terrible killing many times as shown above and he remained free for years. That was an example of catalogue bad decisions and major errors that allowed Nappel to murder innocent women. The police did not link few dots together to see overall picture of paranoid schizophrenics actions (BBC News 2008, Dodd 2007, Leppard 2007, Laville 2008, Laville, Siddique, Percival and Sturcke 2008 and Sinclair 2010). The Independent Police Complains Commission (IPCC) IPCC released a report in June 2010 about the actions of the Metropolitan Police Service in relation to handling the Rachel Nickells murder. Their actions were described as catalogue of bas decisions which allowed Napper to kill his victims. Police failed to react when Nappels mother called to report that her son raped a girl, he simply continued to walk freely on the street s and pick new victims. They missed serious and clearly visible opportunities to question and arrest real killer, committed dreadful mistakes that resulted in innocent women being murdered and several women suffered violent sexual attacks (Holden 2010 and Maynard 2010). References: Ainsworth, P. B. (2001) Offender Profiling and Crime Analysis, Willan Publishing BBC News (2008) Man admits Rachel Nickell killing, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7783796.stm (accessed on 17/10/2010) Britton, P. (1997) The Jigsaw Men, Banton Press Casciani, D. (2010) Analysis http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10216328 (accessed on 17/10/2010) Cohen, N. (1999) Cruel Britannia: Reports of sinister and preposterous, Verso Cherryman, J, Bull, R. and Vrij, A. (2002) How police officers view confession: Is there still a confession culture?, Paper presented to the 10th European Conference of Psychology and Law, Limassol, Cyprus, 12-14th April Dodd, V. (2007) Man charged with murder of Rachel Nickell 15 years ago after new investigation of case, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/nov/29/ukcrime.vikramdodd (accessed on 17/10/2010) Evans, C. (1992) A question of evidence: The Casebook of great forensic controversies, from Napoleon to O.J, John Wiley and Sons Gudjonsson, G. H. (1992) The Psychology of Interrogations, Confessions and Testimony, Wiley Holden, M. (2010) IPCC says police must apologise over Nickell murder, http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6521OH20100603?pageNumber=2 (accessed on 03/11/2010) Holmes, R. M. And Holmes, S. T. (1996) Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool, Sage Home Office, (2010) Police: Custody, http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/powers/custody (accessed on 03/11/2010) Johnson, B. (2006) Colin Stagg shows why trial by judge, not by media, is right, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/borisjohnson/3625868/Colin-Stagg-shows-why-trial-by-judge-not-by-media-is-right.html (accessed on 16/10/2010) Laville, S. (2008) Nickell case: Missed clues allowed Napper to kill again, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/18/robert-napper-clues (accessed on 17/10/2010) Laville, S, Siddique, H, Percival, J. And Sturcke, J. (2008) Rachel Nickell killing: Serial rapist Robert Napper pleads quilty, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/dec/18/rachel-nickell-robert-napper-murder-guilty (accessed on 17/10/2010) Leppard, D. (2007) Met to charge Robert Napper for Rachel Nickell murder, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2890944.ece (accessed on 17/10/2010) Maguire, M. And Norris, C. (1992) the conduct and supervision of criminal investigations, RCCJ Research Study 5, London: HMSO Maynard, K. (2010) Its too late to bring misconduct proceedings for the police failure to apprehend Robert Napper before he murdered Rachel Nickell and others, http://www.hickmanandrose.co.uk/Press-Releases/3-june-2010-its-too-late-to-bring-misconduct-proceedings-for-the-police-failure-to-apprehend-robert-napper-before-he-murdered-rachel-nickell-and-others.html (accessed on 03/11/2010) Morris, S. (2002) Honey trap case collapse, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2002/oct/31/ukcrime.stevenmorris (accessed on 16/10/2010) News London (2010) Police errors led to Rachel Nickell killing, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10216328 (accessed 17/10/2010) ONeill, S. (2007) Robert Napper charged with Rachel Nickell murder after DNA breakthrough, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2961956.ece (accessed on 17/10/2010) Ormerod, D. (1999) Criminal Profiling: trial by judge and jury, not by criminal psychologist, in Carter, D. And Alison, L. (eds.) Interviewing and Deception, Ashgate Publishing Roberts, P. and Zuckerman, A. (2004) Criminal Evidence, Oxford: Oxford University Press Sinclair. L, (2010) Police failures led to Rachel Nickell murder, http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Rachel-Nickell-Catalogue-Of-Errors-by-Metropolitan-Police-Led-To-Murder-Says-IPCC-Report/Article/201006115642717?f=rss, (accessed on 17/10/2010) Stelfox, P. (2009) Criminal Investigation: An introduction to principles and practice, Willan Publishing Tendler, S. (2007) DNA errors led to murder case review, http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article1421333.ece (accessed on 17/10/2010) Tong, S, Bryant, R. P. And Horvath, M. (2009) Understanding Criminal Investigation,Wiley-Backwell Turvey, B. E. (2008), Criminal Profiling: An introduction to behavioural Evidence Analysis, Third Edition, Elsevier

A Look At Islamic Terrorism

A Look At Islamic Terrorism INTRODUCTION There are differing opinions with regards to Islamic terrorism with the most fundamental of them being the role played by religious beliefs to motivate terrorist organizations. Are the beliefs in Islamic teachings the grounds for terrorist actions or do terrorist groups manipulate religious beliefs to justify terrorist acts? There are many scholars who claim that the teachings of Islam inspire terrorist acts. In this article I will not venture to study this aspect and restrict my study to how terrorists are able to manipulate religion to justify their reprehensible acts. I will attempt to find answer to the question, how is Islam being used by terrorist organizations to achieve political ends? SCOPE I will study the subject under the heads given below. (a) Why are the teachings of Islam being misrepresented? (b) How are the teachings of Islam being misrepresented? (c) Jihad and suicide terrorism. (d) My Jammu and Kashmir experience. WHY ARE THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM BEING MISREPRESENTED? RELIGION : MEANS TO GARNER PUBLIC SUPPORT. Before I deliberate on how teachings of Islam are being distorted by the terrorist groups it would be pertinent to understand the interplay of the goals of these terrorist organizations and Islam. It is important to study terrorist goals because goals shape the strategy and tactics of the groups and study of interplay between goals and religion will give an understanding as to why and how these groups manipulate the teachings of Islam. (a) AL QAEDA. Al Qaedas stated goal is to end American military presence in Middle East and Arabian Peninsula, stop US support for Israel and overthrow infidel regimes. (b) ARMED ISLAMIC GROUP (GIA). GIA is an Algerian group which aims to overthrow the Algerian regime and replace it with Islamic State. (c) EGYPTIAN ISLAMIC JIHAD. Its goals are to overthrow the Egyptian government and to make Egypt an Islamic state and it also has some anti Western and anti US interests. (d) HARKAT-UL-MUJAHIDIN (HUM), JAISH-E-MOHAMMED (JEM), LASHKAR-E-TAYYAIBA (LeT). These are Pakistani groups with declared goal of uniting Kashmir with Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I have listed few of the Islamist terrorist groups operating in various parts of the world to give an idea of the kind of goals that these groups have identified for themselves. Deeper study of Al Qaedas aim will reveal a dream of an Islamic caliphate extending from Europe to South East Asia. Ayatollah Khomeini has a vision of wide Shia crescent of one Iran linking Iraq and Lebanon. The above is indicative of the political ambitions of these terrorist groups and the new world order which they aim to achieve by juxtaposing religion with their stated objectives. In order to achieve their goals terrorist groups need public support and sympathy. In the Muslim world religion has great influence on individual and society at large. The terrorists aim to garner support of this constituency by influencing the thinking in the Muslim world that they are the last bastion of puritanical Islam. They aim to gain support for their political ambitions by manipulating public opinion using the vehicle of religion. They also aim to gain support and sympathy of the Muslim ummah with their promise of regaining the lost glory of the Muslim civilization. Another important issue is that of the links between the terrorist groups. Though some of these groups operate independently, however most of them have developed linkages even if the linkages are of ideology. Because of this, manipulation of the teachings of Islam by one group has impact on other groups, resulting in the way all of them shape their strategy and tactics. Today we see misinterpretation of the teachings of Islam, without exception, by all Islamist terrorist groups. RELIGION: MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. Bruce Hoffman, former Director of the RAND Corporations Washington Office argues that, terrorists message is not necessarily religious, but he is using religion to communicate it. He goes further to say, someone claiming affiliation with an ethnic group cannot expect to get a lot of support beyond the limits of that ethnic group, but those claiming affiliation with a major religion create a much wider potential constituency. Thus terrorist groups try to leverage mosques as communication vehicles where there are captive audiences ready to listen to their views. In the mosques, the terrorists are able to tailor their message to suit their goals, thereby exploiting religion for political purposes. We thus have terrorist groups misrepresenting the teachings of Islam. First, to gain public support for their cause then, use the religion to communicate with the same people to further their cause. HOW ARE THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM BEING MISREPRESENTED? The opinion of the scholars is divided regarding how Islam is being manipulated by terrorist organizations to achieve political ends. There are scholars on both sides of the divide who have strong views on the subject. Bernard Lewis of Princeton University, USA believes that Islam does not approve of terrorism. He argues that there is no evidence of terrorism in the teachings and traditions of Islam. On the other hand, Osama bin Laden quotes extensively from Quran and interprets verses from the holy book to justify many of his actions. According to Bill Warner, Director of Centre for Study of Political Islam (CSPI), USA, Islamic texts have been made difficult to understand and comprehend. As per his study, about 61% of the contents of Koran are found to speak ill of unbelievers or call for their violent conquest  [1]  and about 75% of Muhammads biography (Sira) consists of Jihad waged on unbelievers  [2]  . However, there are many Muslim scholars who do not agree with his wor k. IDENTIFICATION OF THE ENEMIES. The terrorist groups operating around the world can be divided into two categories, the secular and the groups which draw inspiration from religious teachings. Secular groups have been motivated by secular agendas of Vladimir Lenin, Che Guevara, Mao Zedong and so on; while there are groups who draw inspiration from teachings of people like Muslim Brotherhood theoretician Sayyid Qutb, Palestinian theologian Abdullah Yusuf Azzam, Iranian ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. One important difference between the two groups is in the way they identify their enemies. For the secular terrorist groups the enemies are the members of the governmental setup or certain social economic order. For the Islamic terrorists it has much wider connotation. Different terrorist groups have different ways and means to identify their enemies. For example Sayyid Qutb, who is considered to have influenced the ideology of many terrorist groups including Al Qaeda says, the way to bring ab out freedom to Muslims is to fight, jahiliyyah or pre Islamic ignorance is through preaching and through physical power and jihad against organization and authority of jahil system  [3]  . These kinds of beliefs are open to interpretation and to followers of Sayyid Qutb they have justification of his understanding of Islamic teachings to enforce their belief even by the use of force. This leaves room for distortion of Islamic teachings. We have seen that on many instances ideologues of terrorist groups have come out with their interpretation of religious scriptures to suit organisational political agendas. The way terrorist groups identify their enemies has to be seen in the light of the stated goals. My understanding is that though the terrorist groups have a loose alliance but they aim to establish a Pan Islamic Caliphate. To achieve their ambitions the terrorist groups are trying to ensure that not only individuals but the states and the administrative machinery of the jahil system are brought to submission to their understanding of Islam. Today Islamic Terrorism is a worldwide phenomenon. How are these groups able to justify their terrorist acts to the teachings of Islam even when their acts cause casualties to innocent civilians including Muslims? JUSTIFICATION FOR KILLING OF CIVILIANS. Quran and the teachings of Islam have laid down code of conduct regarding the laws of war and the definition of combatants and non-combatants. Off late, certain terrorist groups have broadened the definition of combatants to include all civilians living in infidel lands. The ideologues of the terrorist groups have proposed their interpretations of laws of war whereby such civilians are being perceived in the same way as soldiers fighting on the battlefield. Such a position endangers the lives of innocent civilians including women and children and denies them the protection under Islam from a religious perspective. On 28 June 2002, 28 scholars from the Al-Azhar Institute in Egypt determined that in conducting jihad there is no need to make any distinction between soldiers and civilians. In April 2002, Sheikh Hamed al-Ali, a lecturer on Islamic culture in Kuwait and one of the leaders of the radical Salafi stream, clarified in a religious ruling the circumstances in which it is permitted to kill civilians in the cause of jihad without violating the Prophet Muhammads command prohibiting the murder of women and children.  [4]  It is not as if there are no counter arguments from respectable scholars to such edicts, but the terrorist groups seem to ignore everything that can thwart the fulfilment of their aims. JUSTIFICATION FOR KILLING MUSLIMS. In the world today, there are many Muslim majority countries affected by terrorism. In fact, a large percentage of casualties due to terrorist actions are Muslims. Certainly Islam does not preach Muslims should kill Muslims to advance the cause of the religion. So how do these terrorists justify the killing of Muslims? It would be worthwhile to make a comparison between the targets and modus operandi of secular terrorists and Islamic terrorists. The IRA in the 1990s issued warnings, disrupted public transport system and bombed downtown areas on Sunday mornings. This is in contrast to Al Qaeda which bombed the World Trade Centre towers, carries out bombings in crowded market places, suicide bombings in mosques knowing quite well there will be sizable Muslim population. Bin Laden and the likes of him are making distinction between good and bad Muslims and misinterpret the teachings of the religion. The secular terrorist groups may still have some disinclination to cause casualty to members of their own racial or ethnic groups but some of the religious oriented terrorist groups do not show any such compunction. Anybody who opposes the political ambitions of these groups is their enemy, including Muslims. One of Sayyid Qutbs idea identifies who is a true Muslim and who is not, thereby making many of th em as apostates and giving jihadists a legal loophole around the prohibition of killing another Muslim, and also making it a religious obligation to execute the self-professed Muslim. These alleged apostates also include leaders of Muslim countries, since they have failed to enforce Sharia law.  [5]   JIHAD AND SUICIDE TERRORISM I will now attempt to study how Islamist terrorist organizations are furthering their cause through misrepresenting the concept of Jihad and through suicide terrorism. JIHAD. Jihad in Arabic is a noun meaning struggle and in its common usage means, striving in the way of Allah. Muslims use the word Jihad to describe three different kinds of struggle. (a) A believers internal struggle to live out the Muslim faith as well as possible. (b) The struggle to build a good Muslim society. (c) Holy war; the struggle to defend Islam with force, if necessary  [6]  . This is how Prophet Mohammed probably wished Jihad to be. How did Saddam Hussain interpret Jihad? Just before the Gulf War Saddam had threatened the United States with Jihad. Daniel Pipes in his article in the New York Post of 31 Dec 2002 says it was, Saddams call for legal, compulsory, communal effort to expand the territories ruled by Muslims at the expense of territories ruled by non Muslim. This may be one extreme view but certainly there was no religious obligation for Muslims to answer his call. Saddam probably wished to play on the religious sentiments of the Muslims to perpetuate his regime against an imminent attack. Many of the terrorist groups perpetrate violence in the name of Jihad and many a times even without enunciating demands. There are numerous cases all over the world of bombs going off in market places and on trains which have puzzled authorities about the motives of these acts. There can be no religious justification for these acts. These acts are possibly committed due to terrorists personal grievances, cultural reasons or to change the existing political order. Many scholars of Islamic history argue that the concept of Jihad is dynamic and has been constantly evolving. This has led to the modern day Jihadists to distort the original concept to help them achieve their aims including political aims. Kaisa Schreck, editor of the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) is of the view that, perceived decline of Islamic culture and power, coupled with oppression by secular dictators, gave rise to radical Islamist agenda in Sayyid Qutb which is centered on the concept of violen t Jihad. The original concept of Jihad as enunciated by Prophet was distorted by the likes of Qutb who preached, human society had become tainted by a pre Islamic barbarism. Muslims who did not see this reality were ignorant non believers and therefore legitimate targets in a holy battle. Modern day Jihad got a fillip in the 1980s when thousands of Jihadists were factory produced by the CIA and the ISI in madrassas of Pakistan using the Saudi money. The Islamist guerrillas initially fought the Soviet army and today they fight everywhere from Philippines to Kashmir to Iraq and the United States. Theological credentials of the product of these madrassas, run under the patronage of either the intelligence agencies or by groups having politico religious ambitions, has never been a source of debate. The products of these madrassas are mercenaries who are fighting for political order in the name of Jihad and religion. SUICIDE TERRORISM. Study of suicide terrorism has thrown up conflicting results. There is a school of thought for whom suicide terrorism has been sanctified by the Quranic verses and the Sunnah while for the other group, religious teachings have a minor role in suicide attacks carried out by Islamic terrorists. It is actually a means to achieve political aims. The studies carried out on the subject have thrown up interesting results with regards to education level, background and principle motivation for undertaking such attacks. According to Charles A Kimball, Department of Religion, Wake Forest University, USA there is only one verse in the Quran that contains a phrase related to suicide, verse 4:29 of the Quran. It reads, O you who believe! Do not consume your wealth in the wrong way rather through trade mutually agreed to and do not kill yourself. Surely God is merciful towards you. Islam strictly prohibits suicide and murders. However, Al Qaeda, Hamas and some other terrorist organizations give religious sanctity to such acts. For many of the suicide terrorists Sura 9 Ultimatum, Verse 111 from the Quran preaches the followers of the religion to undertake this venture. For these groups there is sufficient justification in the Quran which assures a place in paradise if a person dies advancing the cause of Islam. But the moot question is, are the terrorist groups advancing the cause of Islam or some politico religious agenda? The other school of thought believes that there are multifarious reasons, other than religious, which motivates people to carry out suicide missions. For them there are Muslim youths in the West who feel a sense of discrimination and alienation because of cultural differences. Some of the Muslims are outraged by what they feel as injustice being meted out to Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. For others it is financial factor which is the cause of recruitment and still for others it could be revenge, ideology, tribal loyalties or the indoctrination carried out in the madrassas. According to Professor Dipak Gupta, San Diego State University the driving force behind terrorist actions tends to be the desire to be an important member of the group. So is suicide terrorism a case of leader inculcating a sense of achievement in the terrorists and justifying the act in the name of Islam? Fahana Ali, international policy analyst at the RAND Corporation says for, women jihadist collec tive identity is more important than the individual identity, and its members are willing to do anything for a charismatic leader. Other reasons for these women to undertake terrorist activities could be revenge for lost husband or a close relative, gain respect of the other members of the group and in the society. From the above it is clear that the reasons for undertaking suicide terrorism are many. However, as seen earlier in the article terrorist groups try to misinterpret religion to garner support of the Muslim world for their acts and also recruit suicide terrorists. Cloak of religiosity is provided to communicate with gullible section of the Muslim community and earn their support for their actions. RELIGIOUS INSPIRATION Vs STRATEGIC CONSIDERATIONS During the course of my study I did come across arguments forwarded by many scholars who felt emphasizing strategic and political considerations for terrorist acts by Islamist groups and downplaying religious inspiration for terrorism was dangerous and inaccurate. Results of many studies on the subject have concluded that Islamic terrorist groups undertake terrorist acts for strategic and political considerations. Some of these studies suggest that politics and grievances (of Muslim community) are the cause of violence and religious rhetoric. It is also important to study reverse relationship that is, the possibility of religious teachings shaping political views. Prudence demands we should not be dismissive of such an idea; however, the role of Islamic teachings in motivating terrorists organizations is a subject itself and is beyond the scope of the article. MY JAMMU AND KASHMIR (JK) EXPERIENCE In my over 20 years of commissioned service I have been posted to JK on five occasions, of that four times for counter terrorist operations. There were certain issues which stood in the face way back in 1993 and my views got reinforced over the years in my many interactions with terrorists, surrendered and apprehended, their sympathizers and the common man. Many of the terrorists and over ground workers I came across were non practicing and neither were their families very religious. These terrorists took on the faà §ade of religiosity once they were indoctrinated or forced to join the terrorist groups. In my interactions with them I got a sense of what they passed on as religious knowledge was superficial understanding of Quran, other religious scriptures and practices. When some of them would quote scriptures they would display ignorance of real knowledge and the context for what they were saying. The above strengthened my belief that these individuals became radical because of la ck of knowledge of Islam rather than being knowledgeable about it. My understanding of terrorist groups, at least of the lower rung, is that the groups do not have any kind of ideology even political. Religion is being manipulated to fill that void artificially. The common man in JK is politically discerning and awake to the ground realities of the sub continent. The terrorist groups are also alive to this aspect and are also aware that their demands are inadequate to attract wide following; therefore it is a deliberate attempt on their part to shroud their political demands in the cloak of religiosity. Another striking aspect of this story is the reason why individuals get motivated for the terrorists cause. In JK, in many of the cases it has been social cause besides friendship, kinship, camaraderie, sense of adventure, easy money which has been a motivating factor rather than religious ideology and this is consistent with my arguments in the article. My interaction with some of the foreign terrorists also threw up similar interesting facets of terrorists training including ideological training. These terrorists were indoctrinated with hate speeches, trained to cause destructions and to cause murder, but even they could not advance any convincing theological rationale for their acts. Perhaps their trainers are aware that ordinary Jihadists in Pakistan are also not well versed with the indepth understanding of Islamic teachings, hence the indoctrination of the terrorists by their handlers in Pakistan is intensely political. They play on the psyche of Muslims who are concerned with the plight of their Kashmiri brothers. They have been indoctrinated on the theme of humiliation and suffering of the Muslims at the hands of Hindus. For them Muslims are being oppressed and humiliated by non Muslims and the only way to defend the honor is through Jihad ensuring liberation of Kashmir and its merger with Pakistan. This heady concoction of f ight for honor and political ambition offered on religious mantle is most effective. CONCLUSION The issue of Islamic terrorism has religious overtone but religion is not everything about Islamic terrorism. Islam does have a history of violence associated with it since its early days but then so do many other religions in the world. The aggression of the Islamist terrorist groups that we see today does emanate in portions from misinterpreting the teachings of Islam and in part is the outcome of political ideas, hence it has to be defeated through teaching correct religious practices and by political tools. The strategy being followed by Government of India in JK viz political activism, winning hearts and minds of the people and military action against the terrorists coupled with keeping communication channels even with dissidents open is part of the approach to the problem of religious terrorism. A concerted effort has to be made to expose terrorist groups of the manner in which they misrepresent Islam. More important aspect is to make citizens of the country in general and Musl ims in particular aware of the true religious practices and teachings of Islam.

My Family :: Personal Narrative essay about myself

Have you ever been influenced by some important person that helped you be the person that you are today? I have been. The people that have had influence on me are the most important humans beings, my family. But before I begin talking about my family, I want to describe to you the place that we spend most of the time together which also means something important to me and my family. This place is called the family room. This room is small but cozy. It is painted in white and has three windows decorated with beautiful curtains. By the windows you can appreciate a nice view of some beautiful trees and a nice pool. On the walls there are some family photos like the ones that show where my brothers and I were born, my graduation photo, some family members photos like my grandparents, and some paintings made by one of my brothers. Also inside this room there is a nice home theater that includes a nice stereo and TV, and a new compact computer. But this is not all, this room has some very comfortable furniture and I can say that they are comfortable because I use them to watch TV, a movie, or just sit and rest. Also the furniture is used by my brothers to sit and play nitendo, to study, or play with the computer. But from all this furniture there is one chair that is the most cozy chair that I have ever sat upon and that is my father's chair. So this is our room, which is very important to us and has a lot of special things, but the most special part of this room is when it brings my family together. I could begin the book of my life with a picture of my parents. They are important because they helped in my development. Also, they gave me the things that I needed to grow up in the moment that I needed and they still gave me everything that I needed to become somebody in the future. Among these things is the education that I have received all in my life, my basic needs like food, clothes, medicine, a place to live, and the most important thing, the love. Like for example, by being there when I needed somebody to talk to and giving me speeches when I do something wrong.

Owens Valley Tragedy :: Environmental California Essays

Earth’s Seemingly Irreparable Landscape Time and time again it has been seen that human interaction with his/her environment and it’s ecosystems has shown to be increasingly arrogant and self-serving. These endless accounts are proven by the amount of important biological diversity that is being lost to the surrounding environment due to these threats of human development and population growth. There are two forms of these losses of diversity by human hand: direct and indirect. Direct losses would be the destruction of an area needed for human requirements be it social or economical. Examples of these losses would be housing, agriculture, and others. Indirect losses would be those caused by the destruction of an area also needed for the same requirements but the area’s commodities which are valued, water, food, land in general, is needed elsewhere. These losses are few in number compared with those of direct losses yet they are of the greatest importance. They are important because they involve the removal of resources of an area in which other inhabitants are dependent upon. A great example of this regrettable indirect expansion is the loss of the rich habitat of the area known as Owens Valley. Owens Valley History Owens Valley lies to the east of the Sierra Nevada mountain and west of the White-Inyo mountain ranges, just to the west of the U.S.’s Great Basin. Early settlers to this area, as all other immediate surrounding area’s originally, were Indians, one of the Paiute tribes. This tribe lived by a simple and direct policy in terms of living with the environment. Their food supply was derived from seasonal crops of wild seeds and roots, fishing, and hunting of the deer, antelope, mountain sheep, jackrabbit, and waterfowl which flourished along the valley floor and hillsides. They took only what they required for food and trade. Unfortunately, pioneer expansion soon took precedence with the majority of them being miners who migrated to the region from the east following the Western mines (Sauder, 1994). With this colonization came agricultural expansion as well, which included cattle production and various farming crops. Of course, confrontation, the beginning of a lifetime of fight over Owens Valley, was spurred with the Paiutes over ownership of this rich valley abundant in usable resources. Due to the Paiute’s simple and peaceful attitude, the early pioneers took over the valley and every one of it’s resources, placing the Paiute’s out in the cold, where they continued urbanization and agriculture of the landscape.

Psychiatric Disabilities: The Role of the Rehabilitation Counselor Essa

Psychiatric Disabilities: The Role of the Rehabilitation Counselor A rehabilitation counselor is the central coordinator of setting up services and the client’s goals. They help develop and enhance the client’s skills to secure independence, employment and function in the community (Garske, 2003). In order to be able to rehabilitate the client and set up obtainable goals and a treatment plan, the rehabilitation counselor must first understand ADA, the client’s functional limitations, challenges and obstacles they are facing, along with barriers that may pose a threat to the success of the client. Rehabilitation counselors also set up a support network the client can reach out to and utilize, as well as resources and accommodations that may help the client transition into the workforce, school or home. Challenges/Functional Limitations Success Rate There are many challenges and obstacles that individuals with a psychiatric disability face and as a rehabilitation counselor one must find ways to overcome those obstacles and help guide the client. According to Gregory Garske (2003), â€Å"those with severe mental illness or a psychiatric disability have an extremely low success rate and are the most challenging group to rehabilitate† (p. 95). One of the largest subpopulations of disabilities with the lowest success rate did not go unnoticed and changes were made in 1992 when the amendments of the Rehabilitation Act were passed. The 1992 amendments paved the way for future growth and ensured that those with the most severe disability that limited one or more life functions received more assistance (Garske, 2003). What is disturbing is that even though those with a psychiatric disability are seeking services the success ... ...on job acquisition and retention among people with psychiatric disabilities. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 33(3), 203-207. doi:10.3233/JVR-2010-0528. Schutt, R., & Hursh, N. (2009). Influences on Job Retention Among Homeless Persons with Substance Abuse or Psychiatric Disabilities. Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 36(4), 53-73. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database. Sullivan, A., Nicolellis, D., & et al., (1993). Choose-get-keep: A psychiatric rehabilitation approach to supported education. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 17(1), 55. Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database. Walsh, J., & Walsh, M. (2003). The role of mental health professionals in responding to employment needs. Sourcebook of rehabilitation and mental health practice (pp. 105-115). New York, NY US: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers. Retrieved from PsycINFO database.

Grandparent and Classroom Clinical Experience Essay

My classroom clinical experience overall was very interesting and educational. Educational in more ways than one, I gained a lot of hands on experience as well learned the basic routine of a nursing and rehabilitation facilities. I was introduced to some really great in the field skills as well some not so great methods of doing these skills. Things were not done to terrible bad just a few skills that I know I learned in class the correct way that should have been implied the correct way at the facility a bit better than they were. Now let’s discuss the wonderful residents that blessed my day and actually made me feel like I had done and accomplished something so absolutely wonderful at the end of the day. These individuals were just as precious as they could be some with great dispositions and some with unknowing dispositions if you will. There was one resident that just really stole my heart but I think she was a nuisance to the other staff there, simply because she was a bit needy or always turning on her light even though you were just in her room. I just melted for her; I felt she just wanted someone to talk to or to just be in the room with her. She seemed to be lonely as well a bit weak and just wanting to feel of importance. So I managed to peek my head in her door whenever I walked by just to say Hello to her. There was one other resident that just absolutely didn’t want to have anything with me the first day of clinicals as to where the next day she just talked and talked like I was one of her kind or something. It is amazing how just getting to know someone just a bit even if it is just seeing them or hearing their voice a few times will let a resident open up. There were a few things I really wished I had all the time of the day to express myself to a few of the staff to maybe let them realize that the residents are just as human as they are and that they are someone’s loved one and needed to be treated as equal as the next. As well they need to treat them like they would their great grandmother or great grandfather or even their mother or father, and some important skills need to be practiced more efficiently such as wiping and cleaning after bowel movements, touching the pillows, covers, faucets, and door knobs with dirty gloves. These two things are so important when it comes to cleanliness and the prevention of spreading germs and should be better practiced. Sometimes I wondered if the staff even washed their hands after they used the restroom. On a much lighter note and off my soapbox clinicals were a great experience and very enjoyable. I did get to actually put some of my skills of what was learned in class to use. I got to experience some good and some bad which was enlightening to help me overall with a better understanding of my skills. My classroom clinical experience overall was very interesting and educational. Educational in more ways than one, I gained a lot of hands on experience as well learned the basic routine of a nursing and rehabilitation facilities. I was introduced to some really great in the field skills as well some not so great methods of doing these skills. Things were not done to terrible bad just a few skills that I know I learned in class the correct way that should have been implied the correct way at the facility a bit better than they were. Now let’s discuss the wonderful residents that blessed my day and actually made me feel like I had done and accomplished something so absolutely wonderful at the end of the day. These individuals were just as precious as they could be some with great dispositions and some with unknowing dispositions if you will. There was one resident that just really stole my heart but I think she was a nuisance to the other staff there, simply because she was a bit needy or always turning on her light even though you were just in her room. I just melted for her; I felt she just wanted someone to talk to or to just be in the room with her. She seemed to be lonely as well a bit weak and just wanting to feel of importance. So I managed to peek my head in her door whenever I walked by just to say Hello to her. There was one other resident that just absolutely didn’t want to have anything with me the first day of clinicals as to where the next day she just talked and talked like I was one of her kind or something. It is amazing how just getting to know someone just a bit even if it is just seeing them or hearing their voice a few times will let a resident open up. There were a few things I really wished I had all the time of the day to express myself to a few of the staff to maybe let them realize that the residents are just as human as they are and that they are someone’s loved one and needed to be treated as equal as the next. As well they need to treat them like they would their great grandmother or great grandfather or even their mother or father, and some important skills need to be practiced more efficiently such as wiping and cleaning after bowel movements, touching the pillows, covers, faucets, and door knobs with dirty gloves. These two things are so important when it comes to cleanliness and the prevention of spreading germs and should be better practiced. Sometimes I wondered if the staff even washed their hands after they used the restroom. On a much lighter note and off my soapbox clinicals were a great experience and very enjoyable. I did get to actually put some of my skills of what was learned in class to use. I got to experience some good and some bad which was enlightening to help me overall with a better understanding of my skills.

Blood Diamonds Essay

The result in the deaths of more than fifty thousand people, left millions homeless, and integrated violence such as mass rapes and mutilations were caused from these jewels earnings which helped to subsidize a war. It was also stated that these blood diamonds increase the battle in Africa which resulted to the loss of four million lives and millions of residents has been dislocated. Same of what happened at Sierra Leone which had discrepancy; these conflict diamonds yet in little ways can cause massive destruction in a country. In the vile civil war at Sierra Leone, the rising up evolutionary United Front apprehended control to a great extent of the nation’s diamond fields. The issue regarding blood diamonds did not occur only long-ago. There was a report recently by the United Nation that twenty-three dollars of diamonds are being smuggled into international diamond markets which are from the Ivory Coast. Diamonds have also played an important role in financing conflicts in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Fortified sadism and vicious human rights abuses go on with over control of diamond mines in eastern Congo which was the bloodiest war since World War II. The Global Witness in 1998 had to start a revelation operation about the role of diamonds in financial support argument. Amnesty International a proletariat human rights organization in the world became so influential in enlightening citizens concerning the problem and urges the governments and industry to take action. International tension has augmented from a large federation of Non Government Officials through the years. United States is the seventy percent of the world’s diamond trader and this only means that it was the leading costumer of diamonds. With this reason, they should be the first and major head to cover on the problem of blood diamonds which also called conflict diamonds. On the way hard works for the United States Congress to control the trading of blood diamonds. Terrorist operation are possible funded by the international trade of diamonds and with this, the United States Congress Members obtains tactics to put a stop to it. Diamonds are expensive goods that can easily be covered and transported according to the U. S. General Accounting Office and was used in illegal means of trading. It was extracted from inaccessible areas which no hint to find from its origin. Government-run Kimberley Process which is an international agreement endorsed by the United Nation which aimed and developed a diamond certification program that would prevent the flow of blood diamond and initiated stop to its trade was presently participate United States together with other countries. The â€Å"chain of warranties† or the â€Å"system of self regulation. † was the agreement wherein the diamond companies will take charge to guard itself in dispatching diamonds from its place to the stores where it should be delivered. This became there support to the Kimberley Process. However this agreement I not fully applied to the industries because it is a must for a company dealing in diamonds to have a course of action in place to guarantee that their diamonds are conflict-free. Actual visit of the government in the diamond industries should be practiced for more assurance of freeing from conflicts and conduct cyclic area confirmation to diamond companies to make sure they have schemes in place to avoid any trade in conflict diamonds. Several of the countries rich in diamonds are those really poor and citizens do not get any benefit from their resources particularly the soil richness. Confusions and explosive natures are widespread in the diamond fields because revolutionary group’s antiterrorists can still seize benefit and right to use the diamonds. Given all the problems concerning the conflict diamonds the United States government should take a look in implementing the diamond law and require all regions to build up a reliable diamond industry. The practice for tracking arrangement in each of the diamond companies will be helpful to make sure to prevent the entrance in the market of conflict diamonds. Additional force should be given off by the Administration for the implementation of Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) in impeding the operation to conflict diamonds as they support the Kimberley Process. Nowadays, blood diamonds are still a serious dilemma. Experientially the government action in controlling the finance conflict in diamonds are not that powerful and functional to ensure that the rebel groups, terrorist and other criminal networks will not anymore make use of it. This continual weakness of the Control System found by the Government Accountability Office of United States was because of the paltry imposing of Clean Diamond Trade Act. The needs for development in monitoring process in the diamond industries in line with the law and accumulating precise information on United States trade in rough diamonds. Being the leading consumer of diamonds, the United States should insist on strengthening the Clean Diamond Trade Act and the Kimberley Process. Suggested step that will be the best help addressing on the problem will be: working with other key administration to reinforce the Kimberley Process and break down on blood diamonds smuggled out of the Ivory Coast. In addition ensure that the Kimberley Process taking on procedures to develop the accurateness and investigation of the information, call for authentication of production conformity, endow with satisfactory financing to encourage effective completion of the system. They should also provide more forceful support as well as technical and financial aid, to help countries develop their accomplishment of the Kimberley Process. The on time application of the proposals of Government Accountability Office including the spot checks of diamond companies and tracking of rough diamonds inside and outside the country especially the goal setting in executing the proposal will be a great help in resolving the problems. Having hands on urgent dealings to progress the accuracy of United States rough diamond trade statistics will also be a help. References: Combating Conflict Diamonds, Retrieved August 18, 2007, http://www. globalwitness. org/pages/en/conflict_diamonds. html Conflict Diamonds, Retrieved August 18, 2007, www. amnestyusa. org/news/doc/diamonds_survey_text. pdf US Congress Tackles ‘Blood Diamonds’ Trade, Retrieved August 18, 2007, www. voanews. com/english/archive/2002-02/a-2002-02-14-2-US. cfm Conflict Diamonds, Retrieved August 18, 2007, www. un. org/peace/africa/Diamond. html Stop the Trade in Blood Diamonds, Retrieved August 18, 2007, worldvision. org/worldvision/†¦ /stable/globalissues_conflictdiamonds

Economic Theory and Application Essay

1. The following graph: (not able to recreate, but in the text), shows a firm with a kinked demand curve a. What assumption lies behind the shape of this demand curve? The kinked demand curve assumes that other firms will follow price decreases and will not follow price increases. For instance, in an oligopoly model, based on two demand curves that assumes that other firms will not match a firm’s price increases, but will match its price increases. The kinked demand curve model of oligopoly implies that oligopoly prices tend to be â€Å"sticky† and do not change as much as they would in other market structures given the assumptions that a firm is making about the behavior of its rival firms. Kinked demand was an initial attempt to explain sticky prices. It is an economic theory regarding oligopoly and monopolistic competition. b. Identify the firm’s profit-maximizing output and price. In Figure 9.1 in the textbook, the firm’s profit-maximizing output and price is when there is an increase in price over the average marginal cost (the difference between p1 and the point vertically down from there that cuts the MC curve) Profit maximization is the process by which a firm determines the price and output level that returns the greatest profit. There are several approaches to this definition. The total revenue total cost method relies on the fact that profit equals revenue minus cost, and the marginal revenue – marginal cost method is based on the fact that total profit in a perfectly competitive market reaches its maximum point where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. c. Use the graph to explain why the firm’s price is likely to remain the same, even if marginal costs change. If marginal costs increase or decrease within the discontinuous range of the marginal revenue curve, the point at which marginal revenue equals marginal cost will remain the same. Thus, price and output do not change, even though costs (and profits) are different. Marginal cost is the additional cost of producing an additional unit of output. Marginal cost shows the changes in costs as output changes. Total variable costs change as the level of output varies but total fixed costs are constant regardless the level of output. Therefore, total fixed costs do not influence the marginal costs of production and actually average fixed costs decreases continuously as more output is produced. Because total fixed cost is constant, average fixed cost must decline as output increases ad spreads the total fixed cost is constant over a larger number of units of output. Both average variable cost and average cost first decrease and then increase. 2. Some games of strategy are cooperative. One example is deciding which side of the road to drive on. It doesn’t matter which side it is, as long as everyone chooses the same side. Otherwise, everyone may get hurt.

Basic Steps in Strategic Planning Process Essay

Strategic Planning Model Many books and articles describe how best to do strategic planning, and many go to much greater lengths than this planning response sheet, but our purpose here is to present the fundamental steps that must be taken in the strategic planning process. Below is a brief description of the five steps in the process. These steps are a recommendation, but not the only recipe for creating a strategic plan; other sources may recommend entirely different steps or variations of these steps. However, the steps outlined below describe the basic work that needs to be done and the typical products of the process. Thoughtful and creative planners will add spice to the mix or elegance to the presentation in order to develop a strategic plan that best suits their organization! Step One – Getting Ready To get ready for strategic planning, an organization must first assess if it is ready. While a number of issues must be addressed in assessing readiness, the determination essentially comes down to whether an organization’s leaders are truly committed to the effort, and whether they are able to devote the necessary attention to the â€Å"big picture†. For example, if a funding crisis looms, the founder is about to depart, or the environment is turbulent, then it does not make sense to take time out for strategic planning effort at that time. An organization that determines it is indeed ready to begin strategic planning must perform five tasks to pave the way for an organized process: identify specific issues or choices that the planning process should address clarify roles (who does what in the process) create a Planning Committee develop an organizational profile identify the information that must be collected to help make sound decisions. The product developed at the end of the Step One is a Workplan. Step Two – Articulating Mission and Vision A mission statement is like an introductory paragraph: it lets the reader know where the writer is going, and it also shows that the writer knows where he or she is going. Likewise, a mission statement must communicates the essence of an organization to the reader. An organization’s ability to articulate its mission indicates its focus and purposefulness. A mission statement typically describes an organization in terms of its: Purpose – why the organization exists, and what it seeks to accomplish Business – the main method or activity through which the organization tries it fulfill this purpose Values – the principles or beliefs that guide an organization’s members as they pursue the organization’s purpose Whereas the mission statement summarizes the what, how, and why of an organization’s work, a vision statement presents an image of what success will look like. For example, the mission statement of the Support Centers of America is as follows: The mission of the Support Centers of America is to increase the effectiveness of the nonprofit sector by providing management consulting, training and research. Our guiding principles are: promote client independence, expand cultural proficiency, collaborate with others, ensure our own competence, act as one organization. We envision an ever increasing global movement to restore and revitalize the quality of life in local communities. The Support Centers of America will be  a recognized contributor and leader in that movement. With mission and vision statements in hand, an organization has taken an important step towards creating a shared, coherent idea of what it is strategically planning for. At the end of Step Two, a draft mission statement and a draft vision statement is developed. Step Three – Assessing the Situation Once an organization has committed to why it exists and what it does, it must take a clear-eyed look at its current situation. Remember, that part of strategic planning, thinking, and management is an awareness of resources and an eye to the future environment, so that an organization can successfully respond to changes in the environment. Situation assessment, therefore, means obtaining current information about the organization’s strengths, weaknesses, and performance – information that will highlight the critical issues that the organization faces and that its strategic plan must address. These could include a variety of primary concerns, such as funding issues, new program opportunities, changing regulations or changing needs in the client population, and so on. The point is to choose the most important issues to address. The Planning Committee should agree on no more than five to ten critical issues around which to organize the strategic plan. The products of Step Three include: a data base of quality information that can be used to make decisions; and a list of critical issues which demand a response from the organization – the most important issues the organization needs to deal with. Step Four – Developing Strategies, Goals, and Objectives Once an organization’s mission has been affirmed and its critical issues identified, it is time to figure out what to do about them: the broad approaches to be taken (strategies), and the general and specific results to be sought (the goals and objectives). Strategies, goals, and objectives may come from individual inspiration, group discussion, formal decision-making  techniques, and so on – but the bottom line is that, in the end, the leadership agrees on how to address the critical issues. This can take considerable time and flexibility: discussions at this stage frequently will require additional information or a reevaluation of conclusions reached during the situation assessment. It is even possible that new insights will emerge which change the thrust of the mission statement. It is important that planners are not afraid to go back to an earlier step in the process and take advantage of available information to create the best possible plan. The product of Step Four is an outline of the organization’s strategic directions – the general strategies, long-range goals, and specific objectives of its response to critical issues. Step Five – Completing the Written Plan The mission has been articulated, the critical issues identified, and the goals and strategies agreed upon. This step essentially involves putting all that down on paper. Usually one member of the Planning Committee, the executive director, or even a planning consultant will draft a final planning document and submit it for review to all key decision makers (usually the board and senior staff). This is also the time to consult with senior staff to determine whether the document can be translated into operating plans (the subsequent detailed action plans for accomplishing the goals proposed by the strategic plan) and to ensure that the plan answers key questions about priorities and directions in sufficient detail to serve as a guide. Revisions should not be dragged out for months, but action should be taken to answer any important questions that are raised at this step. It would certainly be a mistake to bury conflict at this step just to wrap up the process more quickly, because the conflict, if serious, will inevitably undermine the potency of the strategic directions chosen by the planning committee. The product of Step Five is a strategic plan! 2 What’s in a vision statement? [From http://www.allianceonline.org/faqs.html] Martin Luther King, Jr. said, â€Å"I have a dream,† and what followed was a vision that changed a nation. That famous speech is a dramatic example of the power that can be generated by a person who communicates a compelling vision of the future. Management author Tom Peters identified a clear vision of the desired future state of the organization as an essential component of high performance. Widely-read organizational development author Warren Bennis identified a handful of traits that made great leaders great. Among them is the ability to create a vision. So, What Is a Vision and How Do I Get One? A vision is a guiding image of success formed in terms of a contribution to society. If a strategic plan is the â€Å"blueprint† for an organization’s work, then the vision is the â€Å"artist’s rendering† of the achievement of that plan. It is a description in words that conjures up a similar picture for each member of the group of the destination of the group’s work together. There is one universal rule of planning: You will never be greater than the vision that guides you. No Olympic athlete ever got to the Olympics by mistake; a compelling vision of his or her stellar performance inevitably guides all the sweat and tears for many years. The vision statement should require the organization’s members to stretch their expectations, aspirations, and performance. Without that powerful, attractive, valuable vision, why bother? How a Vision is Used John Bryson, the author of Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations, states that typically, a vision is â€Å"more important as a guide to implementing strategy than it is to formulating it.† This is because the development of strategy is driven by what you are trying to accomplish, your  organization’s purposes. A mission statement answers the questions: Why does our organization exist? What business are we in? What values will guide us? A vision, however, is more encompassing. It answers the question, â€Å"What will success look like?† It is the pursuit of this image of success that really motivates people to work together. A vision statement should be realistic and credible, well articulated and easily understood, appropriate, ambitious, and responsive to change. It should orient the group’s energies and serve as a guide to action. It should be consistent with the organization’s values. In short, a vision should challenge and inspire the group to achieve its mission. The Impact of Vision John F. Kennedy did not live to see the achievement of his vision for NASA, but he set it in motion when he said, â€Å"By the end of the decade, we will put a man on the moon.† That night, when the moon came out, we could all look out the window and imagine†¦ And when it came time to appropriate the enormous funds necessary to accomplish this vision, Congress did not hesitate. Why? Because this vision spoke powerfully to values Americans held dear: America as a pioneer and America as world leader. In an amazing longitudinal study on goal setting, Yale University surveyed the graduating class of 1953 on commencement day, to determine if they had written goals for what they wanted their lives to become. Only three percent had such a vision. In 1973, the surviving members of the class of 1953 were surveyed again. The three percent who had a vision for what they wished their lives would become had accumulated greater wealth than the other 97 percent combined. Great wealth, a man on the moon, brother and sisterhood among the races of the globe†¦ what is your organization’s vision? Shared Vision To a leader, the genesis of the dream is unimportant. The great leader is the servant of the dream, the bearer of the myth, the story teller. â€Å"It is the  idea (vision) that unites people in the common effort, not the charisma of the leader,† writes Robert Greenleaf in Leadership Crisis. He goes on to write: Optimal performance rests on the existence of a powerful shared vision that evolves through wide participation to which the key leader contributes, but which the use of authority cannot shape†¦. The test of greatness of a dream is that it has the energy to lift people out of their moribund ways to a level of being and relating from which the future can be faced with more hope than most of us can summon today. The Process for Creating a Vision Like much of strategic planning, creating a vision begins with and relies heavily on intuition and dreaming. As part of the process, you may brainstorm with your staff or your board what you would like to accomplish in the future. Talk about and write down the values that you share in pursuing that vision. Different ideas do not have to be a problem. People can spur each other on to more daring and valuable dreams and visions — dreams of changing the world that they are willing to work hard for. The vision may evolve throughout a strategic planning process. Or, it may form in one person’s head in the shower one morning! The important point is that members of an organization without a vision may toil, but they cannot possibly be creative in finding new and better ways to get closer to a vision without that vision formally in place. Nonprofit organizations, with many of their staff and board members actively looking for ways to achieve a vision, have a powerful competitive and strategic advantage over organizations that operate without a vision. Perceptions of Ideal Futures: An Exercise in Forming Vision This section outlines an exercise you may employ to assist your organization in defining its own vision. By using this exercise to develop your organizational vision, you may be better assured that the vision statement that is developed is a shared vision. At a retreat, or even at a board meeting or staff meeting, take an hour to explore your vision. Breaking into small groups helps increase participation and generate creativity. Agree on a rough time frame, say five to ten years. Ask people to think about the following questions: How do you want your community to be different? What role do you want your organization to play in your community? What will success look like? Then ask each group to come up with a metaphor for your organization, and to draw a picture of success: â€Å"Our organization is like †¦ a mariachi band – all playing the same music together, or like a train – pulling important cargo and laying the track as we go, or †¦.† The value of metaphors is that people get to stretch their minds and experiment with different ways of thinking about what success means to them. Finally, have all the groups share their pictures of success with each other. One person should facilitate the discussion and help the group discuss what they mean and what they hope for. Look for areas of agreement, as well as different ideas that emerge. The goal is to find language and imagery that your organization’s members can relate to as their vision for success. Caution: Do not try to write a vision statement with a group. (Groups are great for many things, but writing is not one of them!). Ask one or two people to try drafting a vision statement based on the group’s discussion, bring it back to the group, and revise it until you have something that your members can agree on and that your leaders share with enthusiasm. 3 What’s in a mission statement? [From http://www.allianceonline.org/faqs.html] In just a few sentences a mission statement needs to communicate the essence of your organization to your stakeholders and to the public. For example: At the Developmental Studies Center we develop, evaluate, and disseminate programs that foster children’s ethical, social, and intellectual development. While nurturing children’s capacity to think skillfully and critically, we also strive to deepen children’s commitment to prosocial  values such as kindness, helpfulness, personal responsibility, and respect for others – qualities we believe are essential to leading humane and productive lives in a democratic society. Often, however, organizations want to say more about who they are, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. Therefore, another example of a mission statement format is illustrated by the mission statement developed by the Forest Service. After a brief statement, the Forest Service uses three pages to elaborate its mission, vision, and guiding principles. Excerpts from the expanded statement include: The phrase, â€Å"caring for the land and serving the people,† captures the Forest Service mission. As set forth in law, the mission is to achieve quality land management under the sustainable multiple-use management concept to meet the diverse needs of people. It includes advocating a conservation ethic†¦ Vision: We are recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in caring for the land and service people†¦ Guiding Principles: To realize our mission and vision, we follow 13 guiding principles †¦ Neither approach is necessarily the â€Å"right† one for your organization. What is important about your mission statement is that one guiding set of ideas is articulated, understood and supported by the organization’s stakeholders, board, staff, volunteers, donors, clients, and collaborators. The Need for a Mission Statement In Profiles of Excellence, the Independent Sector lists a clear, agreed upon mission statement first among the four primary characteristics of successful nonprofit organizations. Specifically, the four primary characteristics include: a clear, agreed-upon mission statement a strong, competent executive director a dynamic board of directors an organization-wide commitment to fundraising. The primary importance of the mission statement means that failure to clearly state and communicate your organization’s mission can have harmful consequences, including: organization members can waste time â€Å"barking up the wrong tree† the organization may not think broadly enough about different possibilities if its mission statement is unclear or overly narrow the organization may not realize when it is time to go out of business Finally, the importance of mission statements is summarized quite eloquently by Lewis Caroll through the words of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, â€Å"If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t matter which way you go.† Indeed! What Should Be in a Mission Statement? The following concepts are critical in defining â€Å"who† your organization is: The Purpose Statement The purpose statement clearly states what your organization seeks to accomplish: Why does your organization exist? What is the ultimate result of your work? Purpose statements usually include two phrases: an infinitive that indicates a change in status, such as to increase, to decrease, to prevent, to eliminate an identification of the problem or condition to be changed. An example of a purpose statement is â€Å"to eliminate homelessness.† In defining purpose, it is essential to focus on outcomes and results rather than methods: How is the world going to be different? What is going to change? Thus, the purpose of a mental health counseling agency would never be simply â€Å"to provide counseling services,† for that is describing a method rather than a result. Rather, the purpose might be â€Å"to improve the quality of life† for its clients. The Business Statement This statement outlines the â€Å"business(es)† (i.e., activities or programs) your organization chooses in order to pursue its purpose. Specifically, you must answer, â€Å"What activity are we going to do to accomplish our purpose?† For example, there are many ways to work on the problem of homelessness: to construct housing for homeless individuals to educate the public and advocate for public policy changes to provide job training to homeless individuals. Each of these are different businesses, but they may be different means of achieving the same purpose. Business statements often include the verb â€Å"to provide† or link a purpose statement with the words â€Å"by† or â€Å"through.† For example: â€Å"To eliminate homelessness by providing job training to homeless individuals.† A cautionary note: If the word â€Å"and† is in your purpose or business statement, ask yourselves, â€Å"Are we really committed to both ideas connected by the word† and, â€Å"or have we simply not been able to accept that one idea is more important?† Values Values are beliefs which your organization’s members hold in common and endeavor to put into practice. The values guide your organization’s members in performing their work. Specifically, you should ask, â€Å"What are the basic beliefs that we share as an organization?† Examples of values include: a commitment to excellent services, innovation, diversity, creativity, honesty, integrity, and so on. Values may include beliefs such as: â€Å"Eating vegetables is more economically efficient and ecologically responsible than eating beef.† (Vegetarian Association) Marvin Weisbord writes in Productive Workplaces that values come alive only when people are involved in doing important tasks. Ideally, an individual’s personal values will align with the spoken and unspoken values of the organization. By developing a written statement of the values of the organization, group members have a chance to contribute to the articulation of these values, as well as to evaluate how well their personal values and motivation match those of the organization. The example of a mission statement cited at the beginning of this response sheet includes all three elements of what should be included in a mission statement. To review: At the Developmental Studies Center we develop, evaluate, and disseminate programs [business] that foster children’s ethical, social, and intellectual development [purpose]. While nurturing children’s capacity to think skillfully and critically, we also strive to deepen children’s commitment to prosocial values such as kindness, helpfulness, personal responsibility, and respect for others – qualities we believe are essential to leading humane and productive lives in a democratic society [values]. Below is another example of a mission statement which includes all three elements: The YMCA of San Francisco, based in Judeo-Christian heritage [values], seeks to enhance the lives of all people [purpose] through programs designed to develop spirit, mind and body [business]. In addition to the th ree elements discussed above, you may want to address the following questions in developing your organization’s mission statement: What is the problem or need your organization is trying to address? What makes your organization unique? Who are the beneficiaries of your work? Clearly, the answers to the these questions could be included in the mission statement or added as elaboration of the mission statement. How To Write a Mission Statement There is no formula for finding the wording that best expresses the collective intention of your organization. It can be drafted by one person alone or after input gathered at leadership retreat. The most important issue is that there is consensus on the answers to the questions used in developing the mission statement. One approach is to use time at a board retreat to discuss these questions and find out where the areas of consensus are and where there are differences. There is a â€Å"process† benefit to hashing over an organization’s mission statement as well. In the course of discussion and debate, new members are  introduced to nuances of an organization’s mission and changes in the environment, and old members refresh their understanding of both. As a result, the group will have confidence that the mission statement which emerges (whether it is a new statement or a rededication to the old mission statement) is genuinely an articulation of commonly held ideas. Groups are good at many things, but one of them is not writing. Have group discussions about big ideas and concepts and then let one or two individuals draft and redraft the wording before submitting a reworked version for the group to respond to. It is important to circulate the draft mission statement a few times to board, staff, and other stakeholders. Some consultants advise organizations to also seek an outside opinion from someone unfamiliar with the organization to see how easily the mission statement can be understood. Mix with passion, humanity and an eye on the big picture, and keep refining the mission statement until you have a version that people can actively support. 4 Applying this to the Garfield High School Foundation We need to spend the face time (as suggested in the â€Å"Strategic Planning† section above) to construct the Mission and Vision for the Foundation. In the meantime, here are the Mission and Vision Statements for the school. Garfield High School Mission Statement (from http://www.ghs.seattleschools.org/aboutus.php) To provide a comprehensive and effective educational experience for all students, with opportunities for achievement that encourage skill development, self-confidence and an appreciation of cultural diversity. The school staff will use a variety of approaches in motivating students to: Gain knowledge through critical thinking, exploration, and discovery Contribute their knowledge, compassion, and leadership to society Meet the technological challenges of 21st Century Take responsibility for their personal and educational development Garfield High School Vision Statement: (from http://www.ghs.seattleschools.org/aboutus.php) The vision of Garfield High School is to educate and prepare all students to become successful in class, socially, and in their future