Doing Business in Russia

Export and Investment Chapter 5: Trade Regulations, Customs and Standards Chapter 6: Investment Climate Chapter 7: Trade and Project Financing Chapter 8: Business Travel Chapter 9: Contacts, Market Research and Trade Events Chapter 10: Guide to Our Services 1 6/7/2013 Return to table of contents Chapter 1: Doing Business in Russia †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Market Overview Market Challenges Market Opportunities Market Entry Strategy Market Fact Sheet Link Market Overview †¢ Return to topWith a vast landmass, extensive natural resources, more than 140 million consumers, a growing middle class, and almost unlimited infrastructure needs, Russia remains one of the most promising and eexciting markets for U. S. exporters. Russia is the world’s 11th largest economy by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and 7th largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). It has the highest per capita GDP ($13,400) of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Afric a). Russia is an upper middle income country, with a highly educated and trained workforce and sophisticated, discerning consumers.Russia’s economy is still recovering from the economic crisis that began in 2008, with GDP growth estimated at 2. 8% for 2013. In terms of trade in goods, Russia was the United States’ 27th largest export market and the 16th largest exporter to the United States in 2012. Russia was America’s 21st largest trading partner overall. U. S. exports to Russia in 2012 were $10. 7 billion, a new record and an increase of almost 30% from 2011. This is six times more than the growth rate for overall U. S. exports worldwide, which rose by 5%. Russian exports to the United States in 2012 were $29 billion, a decrease of 15% from 2011.Russia’s leading trade partners were recently Netherlands, China, Germany, Italy, Ukraine, and Turkey. U. S. accumulated investment in Russia is approximately $10 billion. According to Russian data, the United States is Russia’s 10th largest foreign investor. Russia joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in August 2012. This brought the world’s largest economy outside the WTO into the organization and bound it to a set of rules governing trade. Congress also enacted legislation to extend permanent normal trade relations to Russia in the same year.Russia’s membership in the WTO will liberalize trade with the rest of the world and create opportunities for U. S. exports and investments. For industrial and consumer goods, Russia’s average bound tariff rate declined from almost 10% to under 8%. U. S. manufacturers and exporters will have more certain and predictable access to the Russian market as a result of Russia’s commitment not to raise tariffs on any products above the negotiated rates. For American businesses, Russia’s accession to the WTO will also bring the following: 3 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ More li beral treatment for service exports and service providers.Sthronger commitments for protection and enforcement of IPR. Rules-based treatment of agricultural exports. Market access under country-specific tariff-rate quotas. Improved transparency in trade-related rule-making. More effective WTO dispute resolution mechanisms. The United States is working vigorously to expand bilateral trade and investment cooperation to benefit both Russia and the United States. In the last several years, the positive atmosphere resulting from the â€Å"reset† of bilateral relations has led to an unprecedented advance in economic cooperation between our countries.From 2009 to 2011, U. S. exports to Russia rose markedly by about 57%, and total United States-Russia trade increased by more than 80%. There is much more room for growth in this important relationship. Return to top †¢ Market Challenges †¢ †¢ †¢ Russia is the largest country in the world, spanning nine time zones an d encompassing over 17 million square miles. Seriously underdeveloped infrastructure poses logistical challenges, especially in accessing markets outside of major cities.An incomplete transition from central planning has led to an insufficiently iintegrated economy and disparities in wealth distribution, both geographically and demographically. Conducting business might be impeded by: burdensome regulatory regimes; inadequate intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement; widespread corruption and inadequate rule of law; inconsistent application of laws and regulations; lack of transparency; and the continued presence of large state-owned, or state-controlled, enterprises in strategic sectors of the economy.Investments in â€Å"strategic sectors† of the Russian economy are subject to Russian Government control. Recent reforms make it easier for companies to hire expatriate employees, but the Russian immigration and visa system requires time and patience for bu siness travelers to obtain necessary permissions to do business in Russia. English is not widely spoken although knowledge of the language is expanding especially in the major cities. Return to top †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Market Opportunities In alphabetical order: †¢ Agricultural Equipment †¢ Apparel †¢ Automotive Parts and Service Equipment/Accessories †¢ Aviation 4 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Chemicals/Plastics Construction Consumer Electronics Electric Power Generation and Transmission Equipment Energy Efficiency/Green Build Medical Equipment Refinery Equipment Safety and Security Equipment Travel and Tourism to the United States Return to top Market Entry Strategy †¢ †¢ Commit time, personnel, and capital seriously, as developing business in Russia is resource-intensive. Conduct market research, such as with the U. S. Commercial Service’s Gold Key or International Partner Search services, to identi fy opportunities and potential Russian business partners.Conduct due diligence, such as with the U. S. Commercial Service’s International Company Profile service, to ascertain the reliability of business partners. Consult with U. S. companies already in the market, as well as with the U. S. Commercial Service and business organizations such as the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia and the U. S. -Russia Business Council. Communicate regularly with Russian business partners to ensure common understanding of expectations. Frequent travel to Russia is sthrongly recommended in order to establish and maintain relationships with partners and to understand hanging market conditions. Maintain a long-term timeframe to implement plans and achieve positive results. †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Return to table of contents 5 Return to table of contents Chapter 2: Political and Economic Environment For background information on the political and economic environment of the c ountry, please click on the link below to the U. S. Department of State Background Notes. http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/index. htm Information on Russia can be found at the following link: http://www. state. gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3183. tm Return to table of contents 6 Return to table of contents Chapter 3: Selling U. S. Products and Services †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Using an Agent or Distributor Establishing an Office Franchising Direct Marketing Joint Ventures/Licensing Selling to the Government Distribution and Sales Channels Selling Factors/Techniques Electronic Commerce Trade Promotion and Advertising Pricing Sales Service/Customer Support Protecting Your Intellectual Property Due Diligence Local Professional Services Web Resources Return to top Using an Agent or DistributorEncompassing nine time zones, Russia is the largest country in the world by landmass. Therefore, many busi nesses tend to approach the Russian market on a regional basis. Most new entrants start in Moscow and then move into the regions either through an existing distributor or by seeking new distributors in those locales. As both Moscow and St. Petersburg are major population and business centers, many Western firms have representatives there. The Northwest Federal District consists of the northern part of European Russia and includes eight federal subjects (equivalent to U.S. states), including Russia's second largest city, St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad Region are home to Russia's largest port facilities, and the area has significant natural resources, especially in forest products and oil and gas. The region's population of over 13 million provides a stable and highly educated workforce. In addition, the region shares a long border with Finland, and nearly 40% of European Union-Russia trade takes place along this border.American companies have made signif icant investments in northwest Russia: Caterpillar, Ford, GM, International Paper, Kraft Foods, Wrigley and ConocoPhillips are some of the U. S. brand names with investments there. Some companies have successfully entered the Russian market by starting distribution in other key regions first because of market features and industry sector concentrations (e. g. , woodworking in northwest Russia and energy projects in Sakhalin and western Siberia) and then expanding elsewhere. Well-organized distribution channels are established in western Russia, especially in Moscow and St.Petersburg, and continue to 7 develop rapidly in southern Russia, the Volga region, Urals, Siberia, and Russian Far East. With a high concentration of mineral resources (diamonds, gold, silver, tin, tungsten, lead and zinc), fishing, and timber resources, the Russian Far East also represents business opportunities for U. S. exporters. The Russian Government is promoting a shift in the region to deep processing of n atural resources and fostering local production of high value-added products, while preserving a reasonable focus on resource extraction.Deep processing is focused on the timber, fishing, and agricultural (meat and milk production) industries and will create a need for equipment in these areas. Local and international environmental groups are supporting this strategy, aimed at more sustainable economic development in the region. The Russian Government has mega-projects in the fuel and energy sectors, including continued development of the major Sakhalin oil and gas project at a cost of over 1. 8 trillion rubles. Chemical production facilities using natural gas will likely be built along the pipeline routes.A large-scale petro- and natural gas chemical industry is expected to develop in the Russian Far East along the main pipeline routes to include methanol, ammonia, and fertilizer products, as well as manufacturing of polymeric plastics. These new projects will require procurement o f equipment and machinery to support their production. The mining sector is also expected to be developed, including continued development of gold deposits in the Amur and Magadan regions and the Chukotka Autonomous Region.New projects in the mining sector will drive up the demand for expanded fleets of road construction machinery, and other equipment by local companies. The development of regional aviation as a mearns to connect population centers in the Russian Far East is another Government priority. A new Federal program (adopted in April 2013) plans to allocate 101 billion rubles to support regional aviation, including the upgrade of local airports’ infrastructure. This will create business opportunities for suppliers of regional aircraft and equipment, as well as for service providers specializing in airport modernization.

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 1

This book is dedicated to MIKE SPRADLIN who said: â€Å"You know, you oughtta write a Christmas book.† To which I replied: â€Å"What kind of Christmas book?† To which he replied: â€Å"I don't know. Maybe Christmas in Pine Cove or something.† To which I replied: † ‘Kay.† Acknowledgments The author wishes to acknowledge those who helped: as always, Nicholas Ellison, my intrepid agent; Jennifer Brehl, my brilliant editor; Lisa Gallagher and Michael Morrison for continued confidence in my ability to tell stories; Jack Womack and Leslie Cohen for getting me in front of my readers and the press; the Huffmans, for preparing a landing pad and a warm welcome; Charlee Rodgers, for the careful reads, thoughtful comments, and just putting up with the process; and finally, Taco Bob, from whom I joyfully (and with permission, which almost ruins it) swiped the idea for chapter 16. Author's Warning If you're buying this book as a gift for your grandma or a kid, you should be aware that it contains cusswords as well as tasteful depictions of cannibalism and people in their forties having sex. Don't blame me. I told you. Chapter 1 CHRISTMAS CREEPS Christmas crept into Pine Cove like a creeping Christmas thing: dragging garland, ribbon, and sleigh bells, oozing eggnog, reeking of pine, and threatening festive doom like a cold sore under the mistletoe. Pine Cove, her pseudo-Tudor architecture all tarted up in holiday quaintage – twinkle lights in all the trees along Cypress Street, fake snow blown into the corner of every shop's windows, miniature Santas and giant candles hovering illuminated beneath every streetlight – opened to the droves of tourists from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and the Central Valley searching for a truly meaningful moment of Christmas commerce. Pine Cove, sleepy California coastal village – a toy town, really, with more art galleries than gas stations, more wine-tasting rooms than hardware stores – lay there, as inviting as a drunken prom queen, as Christmas loomed, only five days away. Christmas was coming, and with Christmas this year, would come the Child. Both were vast and irresistible, and miraculous. Pine Cove was expecting only one of the two. Which is not to say that the locals didn't get into the Christmas spirit. The two weeks before and after Christmas provided a welcome wave of cash into the town's coffers, tourist-starved since summer. Every waitress dusted off her Santa hat and clip-on reindeer antlers and checked to make sure that there were four good pens in her apron. Hotel clerks steeled themselves for the rage of last-minute overbookings, while housekeepers switched from their normal putrid baby-powder air fresheners to a more festive putrid pine and cinnamon. Down at the Pine Cove Boutique they put a â€Å"Holiday Special† sign on the hideous reindeer sweater and marked it up for the tenth consecutive year. The Elks, Moose, Masons, and VFWs, who were basically the same bunch of drunk old guys, planned furiously for their annual Christmas parade down Cypress Street, the theme of which this year would be Patriotism in the Bed of a Pickup (mainly because that had been the theme of their Fourth of July para de and everyone still had the decorations). Many Pine Covers even volunteered to man the Salvation Army kettles down in front of the post office and the Thrifty-Mart in two-hour shifts, sixteen hours a day. Dressed in their red suits and fake beards, they rang their bells like they were going for dog-spit gold at the Pavlov Olympics. â€Å"Give up the cash, you cheap son of a bitch,† said Lena Marquez, who was working the kettle that Monday, five days before Christmas. Lena was following Dale Pearson, Pine Cove's evil developer, through the parking lot, ringing the bejeezus out of him as he headed for his truck. On his way into the Thrifty-Mart, he'd nodded to her and said, â€Å"Catch you on the way out,† but when he emerged eight minutes later, carrying a sack of groceries and a bag of ice, he blew by her kettle like she was using it to render tallow from building inspectors' butts and he needed to escape the stench. â€Å"It's not like you can't afford a couple of bucks for the less fortunate.† She rang her bell especially hard right by his ear and he spun around, swinging the bag of ice at her about hip level. Lena jumped back. She was thirty-eight, lean, dark-skinned, with the delicate neck and finely set jawline of a flamenco dancer; her long black hair was coiled into two Princess Leia cinnabuns on either side of her Santa hat. â€Å"You can't take a swing at Santa! That's wrong in so many ways that I don't have time to enumerate them.† â€Å"You mean to count them,† Dale said, the soft winter sunlight glinting off a new set of veneers he'd just had installed on his front teeth. He was fifty-two, almost completely bald, and had strong carpenter's shoulders that were still wide and square, despite the beer gut hanging below. â€Å"I mean it's wrong – you're wrong – and you're cheap,† and with that Lena put the bell next to his ear again and shook it like a red-suited terrier shaking the life out of a screaming brass rat. Dale cringed at the sound and swung the ten-pound bag of ice in a great underhanded arc that caught Lena in the solar plexus and sent her backpedaling across the parking lot, gasping for breath. That's when the ladies at BULGES called the cops – well, cop. BULGES was a women's fitness center located just above the parking lot of the Thrifty-Mart, and from their treadmills and stair-climbing machines, the BULGES members could watch the ins and outs of the local market without feeling as if they were actively spying. So what had started as a moment of sheer glee and a mild adrenaline surge for the six of them who were watching as Lena chased Dale through the parking lot, turned quickly to shock as the evil developer thwacked the Latin Santa-ette in the breadbasket with a satchel of minicubes. Five of the six merely missed a step or gasped, but Georgia Bauman – who had her treadmill cranked up to eight miles per hour at that very moment, because she was trying to lose fifteen pounds by Christmas and fit into a red-sequined sheath cocktail dress her husband had bought for her in a fit of sexual idealism – bowled backward off her treadmill and landed in a colorful spandex tangle of yoga students who had been practicing on the mats behind her. â€Å"Ow, my ass chakra!† â€Å"That's you're root chakra.† â€Å"Feels like my ass.† â€Å"Did you see that? He nearly knocked her off her feet. Poor thing.† â€Å"Should we see if she's all right?† â€Å"Someone should call Theo.† The exercisers opened their cell phones in unison, like the Jets flicking switchblades as they gaily danced into a West Side Story gang-fight to the death. â€Å"Why did she ever marry that guy, anyway?† â€Å"He's such an asshole.† â€Å"She used to drink.† â€Å"Georgia, are you all right, honey?† â€Å"Can you get Theo by calling 911?† â€Å"That bastard is just going to drive off and leave her there » â€Å"We should go help.† â€Å"I've got twelve more minutes on this thing.† â€Å"The cell reception in this town is horrible.† â€Å"I have Theo's number on speed dial, for the kids. Let me call.† â€Å"Look at Georgia and the girls. It looks like they were playing Twister and fell.† â€Å"Hello, Theo. This is Jane down at BULGES. Yes, well, I just glanced out the window here and I noticed that there might be a problem over at the Thrifty-Mart. Well, I don't want to meddle, but let's just say that a certain contractor just hit one of the Salvation Army Santas with a bag of ice. Well, I'll look for your car, then.† She flipped the phone shut. â€Å"He's on his way.† Theophilus Crowe's mobile phone played eight bars of â€Å"Tangled Up in Blue† in an irritating electronic voice that sounded like a choir of suffering houseflies, or Jiminy Cricket huffing helium, or, well, you know, Bob Dylan – anyway, by the time he got the device open, five people in the produce section of the Thrifty-Mart were giving him the hairy eyeball hard enough to wilt the arugula right there in his cart. He grinned as if to say, Sorry, I hate these things, too, but what aw you gonna do? then he answered, â€Å"Constable Crowe,† just to remind everyone that he wasn't dickmg around here, he was THE LAW. â€Å"In the parking lot of the Thrifty-Mart? Okay, I'll be right there » Wow, this was convenient. One thing about being the resident lawman in a town of only five thousand people – you were never far from the trouble. Theo parked his cart on the end of the aisle and loped by the registers and out the automatic doors to the parking lot (He was a denim- and flannel-clad praying mantis of a man, six-six, one-eighty, and he only had three speeds, amble, lope, and still). Outside he found Lena Marquez doubled over and gasping for breath. Her ex-husband, Dale Pearson, was stepping into his four-wheel-drive pickup. â€Å"Right there, Dale. Wait,† Theo said Theo ascertained that Lena had only had the wind knocked out of her and was going to be okay, then addressed the stocky contractor, who had paused with one boot on the running board, as if he'd be on his way as soon as the hot air cleared out of the truck. â€Å"What happened here?† â€Å"The crazy bitch hit me with that bell of hers.† â€Å"Did not,† gasped Lena â€Å"I got a report you hit her with a bag of ice, Dale. That's assault.† Dale Pearson looked around quickly and spotted the crowd of women gathered by the window over at the gym. They all looked away, heading for the various machines they had been on when the debacle unfolded. â€Å"Ask them. They'll tell you she had that bell right upside my head. I just reacted out of self-defense.† â€Å"He said he'd donate when he came out of the store, then he didn't,† Lena said, her breath coming back. â€Å"There's an implied contract there. He violated it. And I didn't hit him.† â€Å"She's a fucking nutcase.† Dale said it like he was declaring water wet – like it was just understood. Theo looked from one of them to the other. He'd dealt with these two before, but thought it had all come to rest when they'd divorced five years ago. (He'd been constable of Pine Cove for fourteen years – he'd seen the wrong side of a lot of couples.) First rule in a domestic situation was separate the parties, but that appeared to have already been accomplished. You weren't supposed to take sides, but since Theo had a soft spot for nutcases – he'd married one himself – he decided to make a judgment call and focus his attention on Dale. Besides, the guy was an asshole. Theo patted Lena's back and loped over to Dale's truck. â€Å"Don't waste your time, hippie,† Dale said. â€Å"I'm done.† He climbed into his truck and closed the door. Hippie? Theo thought. Hippie? He'd cut his ponytail years ago. He'd stopped wearing Birkenstocks. He'd even stopped smoking pot. Where did this guy get off calling him a hippie? Hippie? he said to himself, then: â€Å"Hey!† Dale started his truck and put it into gear. Theo stepped up on the running board, leaned over the windshield, and started tapping on it with a quarter he'd fished from his jeans pocket. â€Å"Don't leave, Dale.† Tap, tap, tap. â€Å"You leave now, I'll put a warrant out for your arrest.† Tap, tap, tap. Theo was pissed now – he was sure of it. Yes, this was definitely anger now. Dale threw the truck into park and hit the electric window button. â€Å"What? What do you want?† â€Å"Lena wants to press charges for assault – maybe assault with a deadly weapon. I think you'd better rethink leaving right now.† â€Å"Deadly weapon? It was a bag of ice.† Theo shook his head, affected a whimsical storyteller's tone: â€Å"A ten-pound bag of ice. Listen, Dale, as I drop a ten-pound block of ice on the courtroom floor in front of the jury. Can you hear it? Can't you just see the jury cringe as I smash a honeydew melon on the defense attorney's table with a ten-pound block of ice? Not a deadly weapon? ‘Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, this man, this reprobate, this redneck, this – if I may – clump-filled-cat-box-of-a-man, struck a defenseless woman – a woman who out of the kindness of her heart was collecting for the poor, a woman who was only – ; â€Å"But it's not a block of ice, it's –  » Theo raised a finger in the air. â€Å"Not another word, Dale, not until I read you your rights.† Theo could tell he was getting to Dale – veins were starting to pulse in the contractor's temples and his bald head was turning bright pink. Hippie, huh? â€Å"Lena is definitely pressing charges, aren't you, Lena?† Lena had made her way to the side of the truck. â€Å"No,† Lena said. â€Å"Bitch!† Theo said – it slipped out before he could stop himself. He'd been on such a roll. â€Å"See how she is,† said Dale. â€Å"Wish you had a bag of ice now, don't you, hippie?† â€Å"I'm an officer of the law,† Theo said, wishing he had a gun or something. He pulled his badge wallet out of his back pocket but decided that was a little late for ID, since he'd known Dale for nearly twenty years. â€Å"Yeah, and I'm a Caribou,† Dale said, with more pride than he really should have had about that. â€Å"I'll forget all about it if he puts a hundred bucks in the kettle,† Lena said. â€Å"You're nuts, woman.† â€Å"It's Christmas, Dale.† â€Å"Fuck Christmas and fuck you.† â€Å"Hey, there's no need for that kind of talk, Dale,† Theo said, going for the peace in peace officer. â€Å"You can just step out of the truck.† â€Å"Fifty bucks in the kettle and he can go,† Lena said. â€Å"It's for the needy.† Theo whipped around and looked at her. â€Å"You can't plea-bargain in the parking lot of the Thrifty-Mart. I had him on the ropes.† â€Å"Shut up, hippie,† Dale said. Then to Lena, â€Å"You'll take twenty and the needy can get bent. They can get a job like the rest of us.† Theo was sure he had handcuffs in the Volvo – or were they still on the bedpost at home? â€Å"That is not the way we –  » â€Å"Forty!† Lena shouted. â€Å"Done!† Dale said. He pulled two twenties from his wallet, wadded them up, and threw them out the window so they bounced off of Theo Crowe's chest. He threw the truck in gear and backed out. â€Å"Stop right there!† Theo commanded. Dale righted the truck and took off. As the big red pickup passed Theo's Volvo station wagon, parked twenty yards up the lot, a bag of ice came flying out the window and exploded against the Volvo's tailgate, showering the parking lot with cubes but otherwise doing no damage whatsoever. â€Å"Merry Christmas, you psycho bitch!† Dale shouted out the window as he turned onto the street. â€Å"And to all a good night! Hippie!† Lena had tucked the wadded bills into her Santa suit and was squeezing Theo's shoulder as the red truck roared out of sight. â€Å"Thanks for coming to my rescue, Theo.† â€Å"Not much of a rescue. You should press charges.† â€Å"I'm okay. He'd have gotten out of it anyway, he has great lawyers. Trust me, I know. Besides, forty bucks'† â€Å"That's the Christmas spirit,† Theo said, not able to keep from smiling. â€Å"You sure you're okay?† â€Å"I'm fine. It's not the first time he's lost it with me.† She patted the pocket of her Santa suit. â€Å"At least something came of this.† She started back to her kettle and Theo followed. â€Å"You have a week to file charges if you change your mind,† Theo said. â€Å"You know what, Theo? I really don't want to spend another Christmas obsessing on what a complete waste of humanity Dale Pearson is. I'd rather let it go. Maybe if we're lucky he'll be one of those holiday fatalities we're always hearing about† â€Å"That would be nice,† said Theo. â€Å"Now who's in the Christmas spirit?† In another Christmas story, Dale Pearson, evil developer, self-absorbed woman hater, and seemingly unredeemable curmudgeon, might be visited in the night by a series of ghosts who, by showing him bleak visions of Christmas future, past, and present, would bring about in him a change to generosity, kindness, and a general warmth toward his fellow man But this is not that kind of Christmas story, so here, in not too many pages, someone is going to dispatch the miserable son of a bitch with a shovel. That's the spirit of Christmas yet to come in these parts. Ho, ho, ho.

Exemption of military from environmental conservation Research Paper

Exemption of military from environmental conservation - Research Paper Example This is done by proper legislation through acts of parliament, formation of organizations that ensure protection of endangered species and supporting world organizations whose mandate is to protect the environment. In the process of environmental conservation, an important question about the military involvement is environmental conservation normally surface. Scholars like Benedict Cohen and Jamie Clark have been able to argue out ideas on the military involvement in environmental conservation. Indeed, the issue of environmental conservation should be taken with the seriousness it deserves hence no person or personality should be exempted in the efforts of environmental conservation. Background information Environment is the conditions or the surroundings through which a human being, plant or animal operates. It involves the air, the waters, the soil, forests, etc. The environment is beneficial because it is a habitat to living things, source of food for animals, source of medicine and provides beautiful scenery during man’s relaxation. Over the past century, the military activities have been strongly linked to being insensitive to the conservation of the environment. Research through books, journals, newspaper articles and other forms of media has shown that the environmental pollution and degradation is due to the some of the military activities. The military may affect the environment unwillingly such as during combat or even during the training and testing sessions. In the training sessions and even live combat, the military use weapons, which release harmful chemicals to the environment (Bowden, 2004). These chemicals pollute the environment hence leads to death of biodiver sity. In addition, the contaminated air may lead to increase in temperatures hence tropical diseases like malaria become widespread. Moreover, it has been proven that the radiation caused due to nuclear weaponry causes faster multiplication of body cells hence development of cancer. Thus the effect caused by military activities are more severe that leave the question should the military be exempt from environmental conservation. Method To address the issue, I will conduct a review of related research from the books, journals, newspaper articles and other forms of media. The review will give information on various scholarly materials that have researched on the issue. The findings will be summarized to give the results that on whether military should be exempt from environmental regulations. Literature review Land degradation is the deterioration of top soil in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by one or more combinations of human-induced methods. The explosi ves used during testing or live combats affect the nature of the land by creating large dents in the ground (Schwartz, 2006). These dents accumulate water hence the land becomes unsuitable for agriculture. In addition, the heat generated by the explosives kills the microorganisms, which are responsible for the fertility and aeration of the soil. These lands are left bear hence no agricultural activities can take place. According to Schwarts (2006), military activities during either war or practice may result into leaving some dangerous substances in the environment. These substances may include radiations, unexploded ammunitions, burning oil wells etc. These environments are risky for

Discuss the costs and benefits of this change Essay

Discuss the costs and benefits of this change - Essay Example Peripheral growth is practically always at lower densities than urban cores, which simply means that cities tend to become less dense as they grow. According to the UN, it is projected that in two decades from now the world’ urban population will have risen to 60%, representing almost five billion people. The mega rise in the urbanization level is mostly visible in the growth of the biggest cities (ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT 2005). Ironically, this process is on occasion accelerated by planning decision making. For example, the greenbelt movement in London that banned the extension of housing into the near the city’s periphery has resulted to a greater sprawl to far outside the principal urban area (PRASAD 2003). This has been the case since the 2nd World war thereby forcing commuters to travel longer distance and time to urban centers. Most of the world’s urban population and most of its largest cities are found in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The evolving urban form has also examined smaller urban areas. The dispersal pattern is evident there as well even in traditionally compact cities. For instance, Zurich has had all of its growth outside the core city since 1950. Low income cities such as Addis Ababa represents a pattern of urban expansion are not unlike that experienced in Cairo or Istabul (UNITED NATIONS HUMAN SETTLEMENTS PROGRAMME 2003). It is likely that urban centers will continue to expand as they grow larger, consistent with what might seems like the work of both market preferences and economic pressure for lower cost, more spacious housing. a growth of city is mainly driven by economic development and is characterized by a shift away from agrarian dominated economy to a more industrialized and service economy. Cities are sites of great prosperity and success in many areas, resulting to wealth creation and viable opportunities to many of

How to Manage the Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

How to Manage the Risk - Essay Example The major purpose of the bank is to support the favorable economic conditions which will help to stabilize the monetary policy of USA. This factor includes price stabilization, money supply, acquisition of credit and increase in overall growth and employment. As a central bank, it also needs to monitor and supervise the operations of other commercial banks to make sure the safety and security and to protect the interest of the customers. The most important enforcement capability of Federal Reserve is that it controls inflation and generates employment opportunities in the United States. It also helps the US govt. and other financial institutions in the US in their operations. There are mainly three types of tools used by Federal Reserve Bank to implement the monetary policy- Open Market Operations, Discount Rate, Reserve Requirement. Monetary policy is set by basically raising or declining the discount rate that is charged to banks for interbank lending of surplus reserves. This rate is decided by the interbank market but FED also influences that by usage of three tools that are mentioned above. Consequences of Federal Reserve are that Federal funds rate actually affects the long-term interest rates in the economy. Fed is able to keep monetary and financial conditions stable with its monetary policy. Fed can also make policies that will help to add more reserves to the banks which will encourage the lending of low-interest rates thus influencing the growth of money and credit in the economy.... This will leverage the returns. But as the economy goes downwards, assets prices also tend to go downward and it magnifies the loss. Same was happened in the case of Lehman Brothers. They invested in Mortgage backed securities and when the housing price bubble started to default the investments became illiquid. Assume that a well managed retail bank might have a leverage of 12 times which means for every 1 pound it can lend 12 pound. But in the year 2004, Lehman had a leverage of 20 and then it increased to 44 in 2007. But then the assets prices had started to move downside. The situation had become like with 10000 pound someone was buying a property using 440000 pound mortgage and the borrower of the bank became insolvent and thus the bank. Inconsistent management decisions are responsible for it. Management should have thought again before investing in subprime mortgages. Liquidity Businesses mainly fail not because of lack of profits, but it fails because of liquidity crunch. Lehm an Brothers had its assets and liabilities based on a small amount of liquidity. In other words it didn’t have enough ready cash or liquid assets to face the crisis. When market fell, other commercial banks started to protect own selves by using Lehman’s base of credits. It means that Lehman was losing it liquidity t a very fast pace and by seen that other banks refused to trade with the company and market lost its confidence over the investment bank which was the final nail in the coffin of Lehman. The bank became totally insolvent. Overconfidence of the management that it will earn liquidity in proper time was the most vulnerable decision for the bank. Losses After the devastation of twin towers in USA in 2001, interest rates started to crash

Unit 7 Seminar Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 7 Seminar - Research Paper Example While validity helps in determining the types of tests to be used and ensure that researchers make use of methods that are ethical and effective, reliability plays a critical role in psychological tests. Reliability ensures that the test is valuable by maintaining consistency of the outcomes. Before locating the most suitable measurement tools, assess what the clients should know very well, can understand and are able to do. Plan the intent and scope of the assessment by considering the expected experiences after the assessment. Put into consideration how and if the assessment method will determine all the dimensions. Format the assessment instrument to make a clear meaning. When there is a change of program estimates associated with a change in items, then program drift occurs across several administrations. If program values show inconsistency than expected because of measurement errors only, then it cannot be assumed that program values are invariant in testing occasions. Therefore, this may limit the use of the item and warrant its removal from the bank of items. Presence of program drift is mostly associated with construction of irrelevant variance that affects the performance on the item. Due to this systematic performance shift for a long time, cases of program drift may have negative consequences on an assessment program and may ultimately affect inference validity generated from the test scores. This is a common challenge in research. I think both have the same weight. This is because they increase accountability in the political realm. These guidelines help in making decision on evaluation methods to use than reducing errors in

Business Law Assignment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Law Assignment - Coursework Example The purpose of a modern tort law is to compensate the injured person for the harm incurred. Types of torts are; tort of negligence, intentional tort, and strict liability. The injured party has to prove that the defendant owes him the legal duty of care, that the defendant was in breach of the legal duty of care and that the act of breach led to the suffering incurred by the defendant. Whether they are met or not is a question to be decided by the judge. However, they are easy to meet by the complainant should he be aware of the same elements. Question 5 The gourd did not breach the duty of care he owes to the passenger since he didn't know that pushing the passenger in could lead to dropping off the parcel plus, the gourd never knew the content of the bag. In other words, it was not intended. The court was making a public policy statement. The decision was correct. More has been developed on the proximate cause.The three intentional torts are; assault and battery, conversion, trespassing, and defamation. The elements of assault and battery, for example, includes; intent-acting with a purpose or knowledge that the results of the act will cause injury to the person. Acting-this requires the person to perform an act that is harmful or injurious to another, and actual cause, in this case, the victim will have to prove that without the action of the defendant he/she would not have suffered the said injuries. An example of the intentional case was the case of Houdek v.Thyssenkrupp Materials.

Leadership and Managment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Leadership and Managment - Assignment Example This paper approves that the manager sees the existence of the conflict but deliberately tries to avoid it. The manager tries to ignore the sentiments raised by the team members. In as far as the aspect of accommodating is concerned, it can be seen that the other party tries to appease others through placing their priorities on top of his. The other aspect is related to compromising where each party tries to give up something as a way of resolving the conflict. this stage deals with behaviour where it can be seen that the conflict becomes visible in the organisation. In this case, the behaviour of the team members has negatively changed since there is low morale in the organization after the encounter described above. Communication involves the exchange of information between parties involved in a certain conflict. In order to solve group conflicts, there are certain steps that can be taken by the leaders. There are three ways of solving inter-group conflict namely: peaceful coexiste nce, compromise and problem solving. This essay makes a conclusion that in an organisation, it can be noted that conflict is inevitable but it can be solved amicably depending on the leader’s capability and interpersonal skills towards finding ways of resolving conflicts. In the scenario described above, it has been noted that the leader is too authoritarian hence he could not listen to the views of the members of the team. This created the conflict described above. Therefore, it is recommended that the leader should implement the following measures in order to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Compare and contrast nazi and communist sport Essay

Compare and contrast nazi and communist sport - Essay Example For this conclusion to be arrived at before the introduction of the DRL, sporting skills were prior made a criterion for certain events, including school graduations and were also considered necessary qualification for certain other jobs as well as being necessary for admission to universities. In Europe too, emerged one other independent body governing sporting activities elsewhere in the region. This was the communism sport. The communist sports policy in Europe had dominated some of the largest parts of Europe especially during the cold war. However, this is no longer the case. It slowly collapsed giving rise to independent bodies that governed sorts throughout the countries of Europe. Communism sports however lives on in countries like China, Cuba and North Korea. Communism sport was not everywhere recognized or either practiced, in most of the national priorities of less advanced communist nations. Nations all around the world tend to recognize communist sport and more to it, ad apting it. This in view of the research was mostly facilitated by its prior success soon after its establishment: this was particularly at the Olympics games that drew a considerably high level of attention worldwide. One particular and considerably remarkable but far-reaching aspect of the question at at hand, these referring to the communist sport was the evolution of an introduced model of sports that aimed at modernizing community. These too were intended at employing sports for utilarian purposes in view to promote health, defense, and hygiene issues among others. This newly introduced model that placed some attraction for nations in parts of Africa, Asia as well as Latin America was important. In majority of communist states, sports carried with it a huge revolutionary role of being an agent of social change with the state carrying the piloting role (Murray 73). Shifting sides to highlight the Nazi Sports, German sports in general, came to a clear rise in the sporting body, ca me up in the 1930s. This would have been prompted by several issues, among them a myth of Aryan racial superiority and physical power. The Olympics games then, being the first ever in history to cover live television. These provided an ideal setting that displayed a Nazi regime and more to that, what Hitler deemed to be his intended exploit. It would later be quoted that German sports had only one main objective, to strengthen the character of the Germans. This was to be by all means, from imbuing the country with a fighting spirit, termed to be necessary in the struggle for its existence. The Government then resulted to harnessed support for sport as part of its own drive to strengthen a particular race, to exercise political control over its citizens, in preparation of the youths for what they referred to as war. Close to all communist states faced problems of political stability. These would have its own consequences to Nation building at large, but in one way or another, had spo rts to be involved. As stated earlier, sports when facilitated by a common and stable value, experienced success repeatedly. With its involvement in Olympics gave a considerably high boost to this. Since a huge percentage of communist states were born in war torn situations, adverse poverty and the like. Sports

Vulnerable Population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Vulnerable Population - Essay Example Shi and Stevens (2005) offer five reasons to focus national attention on vulnerable populations: these groups have greater health care needs; their prevalence continues to escalate; vulnerability is a societal issue; vulnerability and the nation’s health and resources are interrelated; and there is a growing emphasis on equality with respect to health. This is reflected in the demographic characteristics of the gay men. Although based on opportunistic samples, gay men have higher suicidal ideations, suicide attempts, and completed suicides. Lifetime prevalence rates of 24% to 41% suicidal ideations have been reported. The lifetime prevalence rates of serious suicidal attempts range from 7% to 20% among adult gay men. It has recently been found that 19.3% of men having sex with men would attempt suicide. It has also been found that there are higher rates of reported suicidal thoughts and attempts among adolescents reporting same-sex romantic attractions and romantic relationshi ps. There are considerable social and cultural stressors in these people, which include stigmatization, victimization, and pervasive antigay hostility. The stresses related to antigay victimization may provoke emotional distress that can have both proximal and distal relationship to suicidality. These victimizations may be related to low self-esteem, substance abuse, and subsequent mood disorders that increase their lifetime vulnerability to suicide. Health care disparity is inversely proportional to health status.... Active partnerships between nurses and their intended intervention recipients can be used effectively to plan, implement, and evaluate research and intervention programs that truly address health care and education needs as perceived by the community. Such partnerships need to foster mutual commitment, trust, and respect. Equitable distributions of goal-setting and decision-making power evolve through shared responsibilities and mutual learning among partners. Nurses should move to the forefront in the important research needed to design and implement effective interventions with vulnerable populations capitalizing on their strengths to increase their resources, reduce their risks, and improve their health status with more equitable, quality health care. In this assignment, these issues from the context of gay people and their health care needs will be examined, where a conceptual framework will be utilized to examine the necessities and utilities of interventions designed to that en d. The basic problems with the gay people are lack of recognition or acceptance by healthcare providers, homophobic attitudes, and an absence of awareness regarding the healthcare needs of this vulnerable population. They themselves experience lack of self-esteem, school truancy and drop out, runaway behaviour, and subsequent homelessness. Compounded to this, there is an enhanced incidence of drug and alcohol, abuse, prostitution and sexually transmitted diseases, depression, and suicide. Advanced practice nurses have the opportunity to improve the health of the gay youths through recognition, education, outreach, and advocacy. Shi and Stevens (2005) offer five reasons to focus national attention on

Public health Essay Example for Free

Public health Essay The difference in the roles of the public health nurse and the community health nurse lie not in the types of care offered but in the level at which this care is offered to patients. The public health nurse provides care to individuals or to the members of a family. The community health nurse, on the other hand, provides on-going care and tips to a wider base of persons within a community. The goal of the public health nurse is to promote the wellness of the persons that reside within a community, so this role is often confused with that of the community health nurse. In fact, in many regions and countries, the terms are used interchangeably. However, while the role of the public health nurse is to identify and deal with distinct illnesses being faced by persons at a given time, community health is concerned with the identifying issues in the physical and social environment that may affect the etiology of disease. The community health nurse works to educate the public regarding any such issues found to be of medical concern rather than merely to treat specific people with specific illnesses (Lundy James, 2001).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is often the case, however, that the role of public health nursing is contained within that of community health nursing. One particular definition of community health nursing gives its role as promoting and preserving health within a given population through education and the integration â€Å"of skills relevant to both nursing and public health† (Lundy James, 2001, p. 874). Another definition demonstrating this integration of public health nurse’s role into that of the community health nurse is found in a journal by the ACHNE. It states that â€Å"Community health nursing is a synthesis of nursing theory and public health theory applied to promoting and preserving the health of populations† (qtd. in 2001, p. 874). It can therefore be seen that community health nursing extends beyond simply promoting prevention and good health practices; it also includes some measures taken by nurses toward ameliorating the effects of diseases being suffered by individuals in a given instance. This incorporates the role of the public health nurse. Therefore, the main difference between the two still appears to be the level at which the care is offered to the members of a population. Reference Lundy, K. S. S. James. (2001). Community health nursing: caring for the public’s health.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Sudbury: Jones Bartlett.

Critique of The Law of Apostasy in Islam Essay Example for Free

Critique of The Law of Apostasy in Islam Essay In 1924 Samuel Zwemer wrote The Law of Apostasy in Islam as a response to several books and articles that claimed there is no punishment in Islam for apostate Muslims. Zwemer quotes Khwajah Kemal-ud-Din who wrote in his book India in the Balance, in Islam there is no penalty for apostasy and Mohammed Alis English translation of The Koran neither here nor anywhere else in the Holy Koran is there even a hint of the infliction of capital or any other punishment on the apostate. Zwemer disputes these claims and tries to prove his contention that there is a long history of punishing apostates throughout the Muslim world (Zwemer 8-9). Zwemer was a missionary for the Christian Dutch Reformed church in the Middle East during the latter part of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The people he worked with and tried to convert to Christianity were Muslims. Zwemer begins his argument in the chapter Why so Few Moslem Converts by citing numerous cases where Muslims practiced punishment and ostracism against apostate Muslims, that is, Muslims who had converted to Christianity. The incidents described are anecdotal and deal with specific examples where apostate Muslims underwent punishment or discrimination at the hands of practicing Muslims. Assuming, for the sake of argument, Zwemer is correct and such practices occurred, Zwemer still does not disprove either of the statements quoted above. What Zwemer proves is that some Muslims were punished, nothing more. He has not proven the Koran supports such practices. The title of this chapter must give the reader pause; it does not seem to be the title of an intellectual argument, but more like a defense of his and other missionaries efforts while working among Muslims. Apparently he had concluded the reason for his lack of success was due to fear of punishment by other Muslims, not because he was a bad missionary, or because the tenets of Islam were more convincing to people in the region than the principles in Christianity (Zwemer 15-29). In the chapter two The Law of Apostasy Zwemer quotes three passages of the Koran that he claims indicate an official sanctioning of punishment of apostates. Zwemer is unconvincing. The phrase take from them [apostate Muslims] neither patron or help (IV. 90, 91) and alleges that the standard commentary of Baidhawi, whoever that is, means take and kill him wheresoever you find ye find him, like any other infidel (Zwemer 33). It appears Baidhawi has chosen an interpretation that is not justified from the original text. He treats the other passages in a similar fashion, interpreting them to mean apostates should be killed or punished, when a more straightforward interpretation does not imply his conclusion. Zwemer errs in at least two fashions. First he appears to equate evidence that indicates punishment has been administered against apostates indicates the sanction of such actions by the teaching of Islam. This is not the case. Throughout history there are far too many examples where common practices were either directly prohibited by official policies or were not addressed by these policies. This does not indicate official policies authorized such actions. Secondly, Zwemers evidence is largely either anecdotal or demand such contrived interpretations of the Koran as to unconvincing. Consequently The Law of Apostasy in Islam does not prove that punishment for apostate Muslims is a tenant of Islam. Works Cited Zwemer, Samuel M. The Law of Apostasy. London: Marshall Brothers Ltd, n. d.

Dissociative Identity Disorder and Legal Ramifications

Dissociative Identity Disorder and Legal Ramifications Robert Munro Law and Psychology Considering Dissociative Identity Disorder and  Legal Ramifications Dissociative identity disorder (DID) formerly known, as multiple personality disorder is a controversial psychopathology involving complex disturbances of the self and memory wherein multiple identities are said to coexist within the same person. The first known case of DID was recorded in the 1600s and experienced a steady spike in prevalence during the 19th century (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402406). The separate identities and periods of profound memory disturbance seen in DID lead to important questions when determining criminal responsibility in court proceedings. Defendants have claimed to commit serious crimes while in a dissociated state and under the guise of an alternate identities (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402-406). DID is typically associated with severe childhood trauma and abuse but its origins are hotly debated bringing into question issues of malingering and false memories (Piper and Merskey, 2004, pp. 592-600). The National Institute of Mental Health (Nimh.nih.gov, 2014) reports that although occurring in only 1.5% of the general population, DID is about as common as bipolar (2.6%) and schizophrenia (1.1%). In popular culture, DID has been depicted in horror films such as â€Å"Identity†, comedy movies like â€Å"Me, Myself Irene† and even the recent children’s film â€Å"The Lego Movie†. It is these factors of low but significant rate of occurrence of DID, amnesiac elements of the pathology, high comorbidity with other disorders and the myths created and portrayed by popular media, that form many challenges to having a critical understanding of DID. In this paper, I will discuss the scientific literature surrounding DID to dispel the myths surrounding the disorder and to provide an accurate account of the disorder. I will look at how DID is handled in court proceedings as a legal defense. Finally, I will argue that the topic of DID although involving a number of non-trivial problems should have a trajectory of further understan ding and a drive to create new policy when dealing with DID in the courtroom setting. In this argument, I call upon the importance of the false memory debate involving the children of abuse and posit that DID has similarly challenging issues and is just as worthy of serious discussion. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) describes DID as having the defining characteristic of the individual having two or more distinct personality states or an experience of possession (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, pp. 292-298). The average number of personality states reported is 10 but cases have been observed of as few as 2 to as many as 100 distinct personality states (Nami.org, 2014). The degree to which these personality states are evident or hidden varies with the psychological state of the person and the environment in which they operate. Prolonged periods of identity disruption or amnesia may occur when under extreme stress. Individuals that experience non-possession like symptoms on average do not have overtly evident identity disruption. However, individuals that do experience possession like symptoms do typically display overt identities and personality changes. It is important to note that whether the disorder presents with observa ble identity disruption or not, the disorder is still diagnosable through reported discontinuities in the sense of self and sense of agency and recurrent dissociative amnesias. People with DID report experiences of depersonalization where they feel as if they are observing themselves. They also report feelings of being powerless to stop their actions. Similar to Hollywood scripts, some sufferer’s experience changes in the voices of their inner dialogue or multiple bewildering independent conversations taking place in their mind involving these foreign voices. Individuals have also reported changes in preferences, attitudes and the somatic changes as if their body was suddenly a different shape. Observers of these individuals report outward changes to affect and behavior along with sudden breaks in speech as if cut off mid-sentence. Episodes of amnesia and memory disruption are very prevalent in cases of DID and present themselves in three ways according to the DSM. The first is through amnesia of important life events such as periods of childhood or the death of a relative. The second is through difficulties remembering what happened today or how to execute previously learned skills. Lastly, is the confusing discovery by the individual of evidence that points to periods of dissociation and amnesia that occurred at some unknown point in their recent past. This may come in the form of discovering injuries, written texts, or other bits of evidence that come as a surprise to the individual. Dissociated fugues involving dissociated travel are common, resulting in the individuals finding themselves somewhere they do not remember traveling. Awareness of these memory problems varies with the individual. These symptoms are commonly under reported or ignored by the individual from social pressure, lacking awareness or ou t of embarrassment at having a faulty memory. Already, we can see that DID is much more nuanced than popular media would lead us to believe. DID sufferers do not always present with obvious and flashy symptoms found in the movies. They also are likely to not know they are suffering from DID or to hide their symptoms in a bid to â€Å"not look crazy† (Tartakovsky, 2011). They are likely to be in the mental health system for several years before reaching a proper diagnosis. However, there is some overlap between our cultural understanding of DID and science’s understanding of DID. Memory gaps, voices and depersonalization do seem to occur frequently. We clearly have a powerful psychopathology but an insidious one that is hard to develop a treatment history for with memory gaps and variable awareness. This disorder is therefore hard to prove in court. This is only the beginning of the controversy surrounding DID though. The central controversy surrounding DID is how the disorder is caused. One side of the debate believes that DID comes about as a reaction to trauma (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402406). The other claims that DID is produced by improper psychotherapy (Piper and Merskey, 2004, pp. 592-600) and a heightened hypnotic suggestibility found among DID sufferers. Both sides of the debate suffer from a lack of research with the National Institute of Health funding not a single treatment study (Tartakovsky, 2011). Individuals with DID commonly report having experienced extreme abuse in early childhood. When abuse is not reported, other extreme traumas are cited (Simeon, D. 2008). However, these claims of abuse are disputed in much of the same ways that are involved in the false memory debate (Frances, 2000). The hypothesis for a trauma creation model of DID is that the mind of the child experiencing severe trauma may try to shield itself from experiencing said trauma. In this defense mechanism, separate identities with different memories and experiences may result. It is further hypothesized that DID may be a form of post-traumatic stress disorder as it presents itself in children, mixing with a more frequent use of imagination and fantasy as a coping mechanism (Gillig, 2009, p. 24). The suggestibility involved in imagination and fantasy often debated when children are involved is at the heart of the competing cause for DID. As a part of the recovered memories movement, it is hypothesized that DID may be created through improper use of recovered memory techniques. In favor of the argument are claims that dissociative symptoms and memory gaps are seldom reported before in-depth therapy. The theory proposes that malingering and heightened suggestibility (found to be highest in DID followed by PTSD) can combine with attempts at hypnosis to form the role of a DID sufferer. The questions raised are important to consider in a legal context but it should also be noted that the DSM-5 contains information on the nature of malingering most often seen in DID diagnosis. In this respect, popular culture helps to differentiate malingering from actual pathology. Malingering individuals will rarely report subtle symptoms of the disorder and will over report well-known symptoms. This can be seen in an under reporting of comorbid symptoms and sometimes an enjoyment of having the disorder rather than being ashamed as genui ne sufferers often are. Unfortunately, there are reports of stereotyped alternative identities that are â€Å"all-good† or â€Å"all-bad† in a bid to escape punishment for crimes (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, pp. 297). Lastly, the validity of DID diagnosis and its use in the courtroom is challenged on the basis that is it very rarely diagnosed in children (Piper and Merskey, 2004, pp. 678-683 Boysen, 2011, pp. 329-334). Proponents of the therapy-induced DID theory claim that this lack of DID diagnosis in an age range where DID alternate identities are known to occur may point to the diagnosis being a role played result of therapy and not a genuine pathology. The counter to the traumatic model of DID also points out that most research studies on DID rely on self-report of abuses and not on independently verified abuse by outside parties. In addition, outside of case studies, the same four researchers have published the majority of research involving groups. It is these several methodological shortcomings along with the potential for malingering and the dubious nature of proving amnesia beyond the shadow of a doubt that presents significant hurdles to genuine sufferers of DID and as a defense in the court of law. Today, among the field of psychology there is a consensus that that DID is closely related to PTSD and Borderline Personality Disorder and is probably the result of an employed survival strategy with maladaptive results. However, this is a completely different story in the courts. When DID is used as a defense in court it is typically brought up as an affirmative defense of not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). The defense is responsible for proving mental illness and meeting the requirements of insanity in that state. The first time DID was recognized as a mental illness that could excuse criminal responsibility was in State v. Milligan in 1978 (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402-406). In this case, it was argued that the defendant was insane and not guilty of several counts of rape because they did not possess an integrated personality. Instead, the defendant was said to have within himself both identities that were criminally responsible and non-responsible. The public was outraged at this successful defense and the multiple personality defense failed notably in the trials that followed (State v. Milligan, State v. Darnall, State v. Grimsley, State v. Kirkland, etc). During this period the conversation raised several important questions on what criminal responsibility entails in a person with multiple personalities and several instances of expert testimony being inadmissible but we now turn to the strategies utilized in DID defense (NGRI) cases. The defense in DID cases usually utilizes one of three tactics in proving insanity with DID (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402-406). The first and most prominent tactic is the idea that one of the other identities was in control at the time that the crime was committed. A second tactic is to try to prove to the jury that a particular personality of the defendant may meet the standards for insanity. Lastly, the defense may attempt to prove that the main personality or dominant identity of the defendant meets the standards for insanity. In other legal proceedings outside of DID, the dissociative state itself is hotly debated and it is not well established whether dissociation alone can provide reason for NGRI. Part of this debate concerns the question of whether personal control is removed during dissociation or if memories are simply not encoded for future retrieval (Kennett and Matthews, 2002, pp. 509-526). DID is unique in this sense in that it involves the idea of agency and personal identity. In the case of DID, an argument can be made for the level of autonomy and self-control being altered during dissociative and amnesiac states. Critics of this position counter that acquittal should rest on whether the criminal behavior is involuntary, regardless of the state of consciousness. However, as evident from case reports and the DSM-5, some suffers of DID do experience a frightening loss of control or being unable to self-direct action while in a depersonalized state. In more recent times, DID evidence has been rej ected in proceedings for failing to meet the requirements of reliability that expert testimony must possess. The controversies discussed earlier and difficulty in reliably diagnosing DID create a significant challenge to satisfying Daubert criteria. In addition to the hurdles of meeting Daubert criteria the court must consider the low base rate of DID prevalence and the high possibility of false positive diagnosis in the face of a malingering defendant. A multidisciplinary and multitechnique approach is taken to carefully diagnose DID but is criticized for relying on self-reported data and being susceptible to malingering. Some of the tools for diagnosing dissociative identity disorder include the ‘Structured Clinical Interview for Dissociative Disorders’ (SCID-D), the ‘Dissociative Disorder Interview Schedule’, the ‘Dissociative Experiences Scale’ and the ‘Childhood Trauma Questionnaire’ (Farrell, 2011, p. 33). Although the SCID-D has been tested comprehensively and has been shown to have excellent reliability and validity, the fact still remains that dissociation alone does not necessarily denote lack of self-control. Despite the cynicism and incredulity of DID NRGI defenses, the experts in the field of psychology and law agree that there do exist genuine cases of dissociative amnesia and that the criminal culpability under these circumstances raises hard questions (Farrell, 2011, pp. 402-406). In cases in which the defendant pleads not guilty by reason of mental illness, the legal policy makers and the attorneys of these cases face great challenges in undertaking this defense. However, I believe that these debates must be had in order to assure justice and humane treatment. Despite the obstacles involved in controversial clinical and legal issues, the field must press onward at all times in an effort to fully understand DID and bolster reliability in forensic expert testimony. There does exist a very real danger in the concept of false positives and malingering defendants but the practice of justice is not aimed at perfection and instead is aimed at the ethical and rational management of human fa ctors. One compelling argument to move in this direction instead of ruling all DID expert testimony inadmissible is that psychology is an evolving science and constructs such as DID may see major revision as more research is performed (Take the changes from DSM-IV to DSM-5). As this slow process matures the legal world will need to understand the full picture of DID, the most effective forensic tools for detecting malingering in DID suspected defendants and the degree to which criminal responsibility is thought to apply given challenges to self-control and autonomy present in some, but not all DID cases. Similarly to the false or recovered memory debate involving children, DID is a nuanced condition involving vulnerable populations and disturbances of memory with a high susceptibility to malingering and influences of the culture, the professionals and the court process. The law must engage with these difficult problems and move the profession towards a deeper understanding of all factors involved in dissociative identity disorder as a part of due diligence and to preserve justice.

North American and European Airline Industry Essay -- Business Managem

North American and European Airline Industry INTRODUCTION The Airline industry is one of the world’s largest industries generating over $300 billion in revenues in 2001 alone and additionally has the second highest industrial growth rate, after the computer industry, with typical growth rates of 3-5% per annum over the last 20 years (Humphreys, 2003; BA Fact book, 2002). For the purpose of this assignment, freight/cargo airline activities will not be considered as freight travel consists of only 2 % of total airline activity (see figure 3.1 and appendix 1) (BA Fact book, 2002, ICAO, 2003). Furthermore, due to the nature of the airline industry and the Asian market being a lot smaller and internally focused, we will concentrate on the North American and European markets which between them, account for 65% of the market (see figure 3.1 and appendix 1) (ICAO, 2003). Section 1:The main forces shaping the airline sector’s global business environment. The past two years has seen an unprecedented number of airlines, worldwide, filing for bankruptcy and many more would have followed suit had it not been for government intervention (Economist, 2002a). The main factors leading to their demise and to the problems currently faced by the airline industry in general, have their roots in the existing economic and political climate, which according to IATA (2002) continue to remain challenging. 1.1 Economic Forces facing the airline industry Since the performance/profitability of the airline industry is closely connected to the economic cycle (BA Fact Book, 2002), the importance of the global economic environment and the impact that it has on the industry cannot be underestimated (see figure 1.1). This is evident from the performance of the industry during the late 1990’s as profitability soared on the back of a buoyant world economy (characterised by the hype generated by the technological revolution; record levels of corporate activity etc) which fuelled demand for air travel. It is not surprising that the subsequent slump in air travel which began in the USA towards the end of 2000 and slowly spread to other parts of the world (Economist, 2001), corresponded to a change in the economic forces as the knock on effects of the US economic slowdown infiltrated the global economy. One of the main consequences of the g... ... flights and the introduction of ‘World Traveller Plus’ – a new business and economy product. These two markets of business and economy are perceived to be the most demanding and profitable in the future and therefore BA have additionally positioned itself well to take advantage of these developments (Economist, 2002b; BA Fact book, 2002). Therefore, the penetration and consolidation of markets, cost management and refocusing of culture and infrastructure assisted by the collaboration available within its OneWorld Alliance are placing BA in a healthier position to survive the turbulence that lies ahead. FINAL THOUGHTS The future of BA and that of many other airlines is going to depend on the highly volatile political and economic situation facing the world as seen in section 1. War in Iraq is creating an increased sense of panic in the world’s industries and therefore, an accurate forecast as to the airline industry development is somewhat convoluted and complex due to the overwhelming sense of uncertainty that prevails. Therefore, BA’s future positioning and its subsequent success within this sector is going to be decidedly susceptible to the worlds events.

Android: Advanced Technology, Superior Quality Essay -- Technology

The Android operating system is well known among the masses, mostly known for its high tech phones that are released regularly. The mascot, a green alien for Android has also attracted a lot of attention. Android was founded by Andy Rubin and his partners Rich Miner, Nick Sears and Chris White in 2003. In 2005, Google sought out the opportunity and bought Android. It was then developed by Google and Open Hands Alliance. As time progressed many improvements and updates were made since the initial release of the system. The operating system gets â€Å"sweeter† by the upgrade, literally; each operating system is named after a sweet treat. Some Examples are Cupcake, Donut, Éclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, and most recently, Honeycomb. Each operating system released alphabetically, each system greater than the last. Android is currently the most successful operating system, surpassing both Apple and Windows in sales (â€Å"History of Android†). Android appeals to customer s through the consumers’ need for innovative technology; this has created visual aesthetic advertising techniques and brand rivalries, which in turn leads to Androids growing brand. Jib Fowles analyzes advertisers’ methods to appeal to consumers. In his article, â€Å"Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals,† Fowles addresses fifteen methods advertisers use in order to persuade consumers to purchase their products. Like most brands, Android uses these techniques among others to appeal to the masses. One technique in particular is the use of aesthetic sensations to appeal to consumers. Fowles states that â€Å"Advertisers know there is little chance of good communication occurring if an ad is not visually pleasing. Sometimes the aesthetic element is expanded and made into an advertiseme... ...ual for English 103 (2011): 73-91. Print. 15 March 2012. Lyons, Daniel. â€Å"Android Invasion.† Newsweek 156.15. 11 October 2010: 42-49. Web. 23 March 2012. Pogue, David. â€Å"Android Phones Take A Power Trip† The New York Times. 9 February 2012: 1-3 Web. 23 March 2012. Romaniuk, Jenny. â€Å"The Efficacy of Brand-Execution Tactics in TV Advertising, Brand Placements, and internet Advertising.† Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science (2009). Web. 23 March 2012. Rubinson, Joel. Just Asking Why You Should Make People Curious about Your Brand? The Advertising Research Foundation (2009). Web. 23 March 2012. Sprint Android 4G Cat Commercial. 1 June 2011. Youtube. Web. 23 March 2012. The History of Android Operating System. Android 3.0 Tablet vs IPad. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. Verizon Wireless Motorola Droid (iDon’t Commercial) 17 Oct 2009. Youtube. Web. 23 March 2012.