World Trade Organisation

The WTO TRIPS traces its origins from the 1994 General Agreement on Trade Tariffs (GATT) Uruguay Rounds which proposed its existence. The TRIPS in essence spells out the standards for divers forms of regulations that touch on the intellectual property rights. To this effect, it divulges on standards each nation must meet to enforce the copyright laws, patenting, trade marks, the protection of confidential information, and the geographical indications. After the narrowness and the limitations that were found in the TRIPS, DOHA was then proposed. The DOHA is a multilateral commercial system that has been enshrined in the World Trade Organization(WTO) and seeks to make enhancements on economic growth, expansion and establishment. Having existed over fifty years, this multilateral trading system aims at working towards the entrenchment of international trade by ensuring a system that promotes the liberalisation of trade and international trade policies that catalyse the recovery of the economy, its growth and development. It is on this backdrop that the DOHA multilateral commercial system is against protectionism in international trade, following the objections that were created in the World Trade Agreement, the Marrakesh Agreement (Yeaman, 2003 pp. 39). Recent developments in the DOHA and TRPS meetings and their impacts on the LDCs' agriculture and industries. The latest DOHA development and TRIPS Agreement national workshop meeting was held on 22nd February, 2007 in Indonesia, under the aegis of the WTO which was in liaison with the ministry of foreign affairs (Oberg, 2002 pp. 14). In the meeting, there were pressure from the developed economies on the developing countries to fulfill their obligations spelt out in the TRIPS Agreement Article 66. 2. This demanded that the Least Developing Countries (LDCs) facilitate and carry out technology transfer so as to introduce and maintain an efficient technological base that will make international trade feasible. The LDCs were censured for only submitting r eports that touch on technological training and capacity erections (Zhang, 2001 pp. 66). This is normally taken as a failure on the side of the developing economies, yet their financial base is too narrow to support this undertaking. The main issue here is the time and the financial resources that are needed to realise the policy- and this is not being well considered by the developed counterparts (Tawfik, 2000 pp. 138). The fourth WTO conference was held in November 2001, in Qatar, to ensure that TRIPS (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) member states are helped to interpret the TRIPS policies so as to be able to take comprehensive measures on public health. Even in the WTO which is still a confederation of different states which have come together for the sake of trade, interests still thrive. The interests range from interstate competition to competition taking on the form of regional blocks pitted against each other (Plat, 2000 pp. 92). In this sense, regions and states will always seek to have policies that are favourable to them, entrenched by the WTO. For instance, Europe, the biggest global importer of agricultural and farm produce wants all forms of local support accorded to farmers plummeted. Europe's main import zones include the developing economies and few developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and Australia. In the same wavelength, it wants all the export subsidies offered to the same farmers extirpated by 2013. On the other end, it is pushing for lower tariffs (Taylor, 2003 pp. 40). The European Union says that it is pushing for global accessibility of all industrial goods in the international market. For this, it is aiming at pressuring the WTO to cut out high tariffs. From the facade, this seems a good idea, but it is, under close scrutiny, an artifice to strengthen Europe. Reduced subsidies will increase farming expenses for the farmers while at the other end, plummeted tariffs will only enable Europe to acquire agricultural and farm imports at a very affordable rate (Probs, 2002 pp. 155). From the days of the WTO's General Agreement on Trade Tariffs (GATT), there have been serious cases of structural imbalances and over protectionism in some trading regions, compared to the others. Therefore, Developing countries in the Uruguay Round expected that the heavily protected sectors (textiles and agriculture) would be made more accessible so as to make it possible for the LDC products to have sufficient international access. Howbeit, the two sectors remain locked being characterised by highly proscriptive tariffs with some striking and passing the 200%- 300% mark (Correa, 2004 pp. 244). This comes in the wake of the OECD's Domestic subsidies having soared from 275 American billion dollars to 326 billion. In the textiles and fabrics domain, very minimal items produced by the LDCs have been removed from the quota list even after ten years of corrective implementation period has elapsed. According to the Bureau of International Textiles, only thirteen out of seven hundred and fifty have been exempted from the quota list by the US, while Europe has only excised fourteen out of two hundred and nineteen, and Canada, twenty nine out of two hundred and ninety five. This made it obvious that most of the quotas will not have been eradicated by the arrival of the targeted period of 2013 (Thomas, 2005 pp. 39). At the turn of the century, the realisation towards this exercise was retrogressed by America's announcement that she would in order to protect her local steel industry, impose a 30% tariff on her steel imports. This demonstrates clearly the fact that most developed nations in the WTO are not ready to forfeit their interests just to facilitate international trade (Rajan, 2005 pp. 139). Inspite of the fact that the developed countries have not carried out all of their liberalization obligations, yet LDCs are the ones currently under pressure to expedite their liberalisation of their investments and imports from the international financial entities and regional trade facilitators. The paradox of these developments is that the developed countries who propose these policies ask for more time to restructure their textiles and agriculture while the LDCs having been forced to restructure, are told to persevere the pains thereof for a time. For instance, the proscription of investment subsidies and measures makes it very difficult to facilitate the domestic or local industries. This in turn ushers in poverty and then consequently, dependency syndrome. The liberalization of the agricultural sector is also a setback to small scale farmers since their products become subject to international competition which is characterised by cheaper foreign products ,making incursions into the market. The products from the developed countries are always cheap, following the fact that the dealers in them enjoy huge government subsidies. On the other hand, the developing economies do not have a financial pool, large enough to facilitate the issuance of subsidies to its farmers. This amounts to nothing else but unequal competition ( Tomilson, 1998 pp. 106). WTO TRIPS tolerates very high standards of IPR ( Intellectual Property Rights) type of leadership. This leads to the entrenchment of high prices on medicine, health services and other essential services at the behest of Northern corporation patenting. These Northern corporations deal in biological materials which come from the south and their patenting leads to high costs and at the same time, diminishes the accessibility of industrial technology to developing countries (Trebilcock, 2000 pp. 91). Again, on the 15th May, 2003 WTO TRIPS Meeting that was aimed at implementing policies that were to aid development seemed to lack sincerity and good will. The TRIPS were to engage in the technical support and assistance of the LDCs. However, even the Secretariat was not accorded with chance to air the key issues as touching on the options of the LDCs. This means that should this plan be carried out, the assistance may not be that which will truly meet the needs of the LDCs (Hoekman, Philip and Mattoo, 1996 pp. 45). The matter of patenting of the pharmaceuticals that have been proposed by the WTO TRIPS is also posing a potential threat to the LDCs. The developed economies know this well and this is why, in liaison with the movers and shakers of these ministerials, are trying to hoodwink the LDCs by exempting them from subscribing to the Sections 7 and 5 fully, citing an extended grace period that stretches to January 2016 (Gamharter, 2004 pp. 9). However, they are quite sure about the accruals that will begin to trickle in on the inception of these sections. This period is not enough for the LDCs to improve their health sectors to match the competition that will be coming from the international medical and health care practitioners. LDCs are likely then to face untold miseries in the public health sectors, taking the form of the in ability to provide comprehensive medicinal services and health acre due to price fluctuation from the international dealers. The local medical care givers will also face a lot of disillusionment, stemming from competition from the international medical care givers. In the agricultural sector, the TRIPS has also been a let down to the LDCs. This is because, although the LDCs have not yet industrialised, meaning that their economic mainstay is agriculture, yet, Paragraph 11 of the Agricultural Section of the TRIPS only lists down matters pertaining to agriculture, in relation to the LDCs' development, but does not elaborate further how the issues are to be tackled. This section contains serious matters such as the LDCs being excluded from the exercise of curbing the subsidies, so as to extirpate cases of cheap foreign food products from inundating the local food products and market, the ratification of a market access that is quota free to the LDCs agricultural products (Evenson and Staniello, 2004 pp. 203). This section also was supposed to tackle the issue of LDCs being given the chance to re- evaluate their bound tariff rate to ward off cases of disillusionment of local farmers in the LDCs . Inspite of the seriousness of this provision, it has never been developed or revised for ratification, since it seems that the accruals will now not be trickling so much more to the developed economies (Carvalho, 2002 pp. 97). The local service providers in the developing world have also been left non- viable due to the fact that developing economies have been forced to open up to international market, their service sectors. For instance, it is on this backdrop that national telecommunication corporations in Africa, are closing down following the arrival of the international telephone service providers such as the American originated Vodaphone company, and the European telephone service provider known in Africa as the Celtel (Trendl, 2002 pp. 49) LCDs' frustrations stemming from inconsistencies in the running of the WTO programmes. Apart from these glaring facts about the competitive interests of the states, developing countries encounter setbacks in the realisation of its goals due to lack of structural balance and some pitfalls within the WTO. For instance, in 1999 Seattle ministerial and in the 2001 DOHA ministerial, developing economies presented these realities with the intention of making the WTO revoke the pristine stipulations, only for the developed economies to state that developing economies had entered commitments that were legally binding, and that it is incumbent upon the developing economies to complete their payments first before such matters of abrogation of policies are considered. In the fifth Ministerial which was convened in Singapore, 2003, the LDCs were being prevailed upon to postpone the issues for the new agreements but at the same time, the LDCs were still subject to the many concessions on their side. This does not only betray the lopsidedness of the WTO, but also acts as a pointer to the fact that the developing economies were going to continue being subjected to double payments (Twiggz, 1989 pp. 80). Hitherto, the developed countries had not accrued any anticipated gain from the textile or agricultural concessions. Developing countries are, concerning the issue being told that their proposals that they be given access to the Northern markets, will only, as a pay package deal, be considered in the post DOHA meeting schedule. However, this was to be on condition that they conform with new WTO issues. It is a fact that the new agreements may not usher in gains since the WTO lacks reciprocity, as is being seen in the international trade imbalance. This is also intimating the fact that even in the face of new agreements, developing countries will still be poised to be shortchanged. Furthermore, there is no clear pointer to the fact that there will be the WTO systems and policy re- evaluation or balancing. Neither is the access to the Northern market by the developed countries, nor the abrogation of these policies going to take place so easily (Wu, 2003 pp. 120). Many developing countries also find themselves receiving difficulties in the form of plummeted prices of commodities and the incapacitation on the side of the developing countries to diversify or to adjust upwards, their exports, due to the limitations on the side of the supplies and the accessibility of the market. This problem also arises out of the imbalances within the trading system of the WTO (Wong, 2002 pp. 75). Even the process by which consensus is reached in the WTO is wanting. The will of the developed countries always seem to inundate that of their counterparts in the developing countries. While it is true that the majority in the WTO comprise the developing economies, yet their unified voices cannot secure their interests against their developed counterparts. When the LDCs presented their objections to the WTO, the developed economies maintained that there was no apparent need for WTO systems and rules being rebalanced. The developed economies being the minority, yet could still prevail upon the WTO panel to have it that the recommendations by the LDCs be reviewed in peace meals. This is the reason why even after several years before and after the DOHA, no re- balancing or review of these inequalities have been carried out. On the contrary, appeals by the developing economies that there be the reviewing of the problems before the inception of negotiations on new areas were drastically scuttled (Vohra, 2000 pp. 19). Upon these development, the developed countries also arose to exert pressure on the WTO to lengthen its mandate to make rules so as to integrate the new areas that were being opposed by the LDCs, an action which the developing economies countered together with other groupings from other regional blocks (Benson, 1996 pp. 102). Apart from stating their case that they were not set to have new negotiations and/ or to adhere to the subsequent rules, the underdogs stated it clearly that they were not in full knowledge of what the newly proposed issues could portend, in terms of obligations. In addition to the above reasons, the developed economies maintained that the newly proposed agreements would add to their already inundating burdens, more obligations which would continue to further derail their development progress. As a result, the LDCs maintained that these newly proposed agreements be still considered for discussions but without being given first hand priority (Burke, 1999 pp. 33) . However, spates of unusual and enigmatic methodologies in WTO decision making, made it possible for the views of the developing countries not to be considered in Geneva DOHA Ministerial Declaration. This state of affairs elicited disgruntlement from the developing countries' side since they saw in this, nontransparent and unrepresentative draftings. The LDCs posited that a draft elaborating the differences between the two sides be availed in lieu of the one sided draft which tended to carry some elements of deception that it was drafted on a consensus. Strangely enough, once again, these proposals were disregarded and the document that favoured the new issues was adapted as the premise of the negotiations. This gave the developed economies an upper hand. At Doha, in the Green Room meeting, only very few countries were allowed in, to act as the representatives of those left out. The process turned out to be unrepresentative, nontransparent, and not the true representation of their views. Objections arose at the last session at DOHA when the chairperson at the meeting declared that a consensus touching on modalities and the newly proposed agreements was a prerequisite for the negotiations to begin in the next sitting (Chan and Sherman, 2000 pp. 54). The prospects of the post DOHA constructions and how they are likely to affect the LDCs. Experts posit that the talk is to touch on nineteen areas which are broad scaled, touching on politics and economy, as opposed to the Uruguay Round agenda which only touched on economics. The Post DOHA program is said to be heavy since it touches on human resources, time and technical expertise which the developing countries lack. Other issues that are likely to come up are subsidies, electronic commerce, dumping, and the new work program which at the present is said to promote the imbalance between the developed and the developing economies in the WTO. Instead of seeking to offset the inconsistency between the two spheres, the WTO has on the contrary, accorded special handling of the high areas of interests to the developed economies and neglecting the high areas of interest to the least developed economies (Shan, 2007 pp. 203). This has translated into situations whereby areas that are considered to portend deep interests are being rushed after by the developed countries while in the mean time the developing economies try to deliberately hinder these areas from being seized by the developed economies. Some of these areas of interest touch on matters such as electronic commerce, matters touching on the environment and employment (Tsuruoka, 1995 pp. 89). More problems are bound to arise since, whereas the the developing countries consider the implementation issues such as the provisions of the balance of payments, textile and agriculture, these matters have not been slotted anywhere in the work programmes main text book. On the other hand, matters that are considered more important by the developed countries compared to the developing counterparts, – matters such as science, technology, and finance are already in the main text book of the main program. Matters such as special and designated treatment are also considered important by the developing countries since this party wants to tackle the issue in the next DOHA ministerial, to instill precision, effectiveness and efficiency. In the main text book of the work program, this matter has not been featured anywhere, meaning that the developing countries will in the meantime continue to be subjected to the whims of those with the upper hand in the WTO. This system of special and designated provision plummet the substantive extent of the obligations that are to be presided over by the developing economies. It is thus very clear that even the work programs provision, or its running is lopsided and is therefore of no benefit at all to the developing economies. Instead, it is a stepping stone to the developed countries for their beneficence, yet, these countries give nothing to the developing countries (Schuller, 2002 pp. 144). This happens in the face of total contravention to the GATT/ and the WTO Reciprocal Principle since the process of negotiations amongst all members of the WTO must be guided by the chief principle of reciprocity. The concept of reciprocity according to experts should not be pegged on particular commitments in the agreements, but should also be based upon the designation of items for close attention . Albeit, it must be noted that it is quite paradoxical that the WTO new face started with a promotion of an imbalance. Interestingly enough, this same work program has been at times referred to alternatively as the development plan. It is commonsense that if the development plan itself is faulty, and has also been totally fixed by the top developed countries to suit their own economic interests, given the fact that nothing has been reflected in it to give priority to the developing countries, then the world should anticipate nothing else but the widening of the gulf between the rich countries and the poor countries ( Chan, 2002 pp. 002). Not only this, but if the situation is not turned around (for which there is a very slim chance), then capital is likely to continue flowing from the developing countries into the metropoles, making the metropoles richer day by day, while leaving the poor more emaciated upon every actualisation of an international business deal. As touching on the imp lementation issues, the decisions by Doha has not been very satiating. For instance, it is now a WTO policy that agreements and countervailing policies touching on subsidies in the least developing countries with a Gross National Production (GNP) less than 1,000 US dollar per annum, keep on being included in the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement measures list. It is only upon exceeding this line for three consecutive years that a country will be expunged from this list. On any country's GDP falling below this mark, the country will automatically be re- included in this list (Chan- Gonzaga, 2001 pp. 21). This portends more problems to the Developing economies since they are the ones who are highly susceptible to fall into these traps, given their small scale economies and hence, low GDP. Although there have been proposals by developing economies that these systems that cause imbalances and give rise to problems be revoked, yet as far as touching on these substantive matters, there has been hardly development made on the issue. It is on this premise that many developing economies will be given no priority in the oncoming post DOHA meetings, since these countries will be falling within this rubric of countries that fall below the mark of 1,000 US dollars per annum. Much to the chagrin of these developing nations, the matters already designated for negotiations (the Singapore issues) are not only very sensitive, but are also posing higher potential of reaching the negotiation status. This makes it harder for the rest of the developing countries, should there be need to reach consensus through a plebiscite, which is usually a game of numbers (Das, 1999 pp. 120). Following the stipulations from the Uruguay Round, part of the oncoming designated agenda for the WTO will touch on the negotiation on agriculture. The previous DOHA declaration spells out that in the agricultural negotiations, the principal focus will be working out towards total excision of the export subsidies. This will also include the working towards making governments desist from issuing local support offered to the farmer and the trader, since this local support, they say, distorts international trade. Mostly, this will demand that developed countries be prevailed upon to to revoke the issuance of subsidies (Elchelberger and Allen, 2000 pp. 55). Experts point out that the major developed countries can use these terms to point out that the measures of the domestic support that were included in Annex 2 are not to be subjected to reduction talks. This will lead to the major developed nations being exempt from the reduction injunctions. This will be catastrophic to the farmers and traders in the developing economies since they will not be liable to receiving subsidies while their counterparts in the developed economies will be receiving the subsidies. This brings about unequal competition in the international market yet at the same time, it poses high protectionism in the developed countries. This is an outright application of double standards. The oncoming negotiations will also include the part of services as one of the set- in agenda. This will follow in the wake of the realisation of the fact that the WTO branch, the General Trade on Services, the GATS, is also imbalanced. The developed economies poses far much greater power in the services sector, while the developing countries on the other hand, are very feeble in this sense. In addition to this, they are faced with limitations in supply. This leaves the developing economies with the incapacity to fairly compete with the developed countries. General impact of the WTO stipulations on the LDCs Having looked at that pitfalls of WTO and its bodies (the DOHA and the TRIPS), it is now incumbent that the consequences of these pitfalls on developing economies be looked at. It is also important to note that some of these implications have already been dealt with. The WTO deals with other nations through the two Bretton Woods institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It is these two Bretton Woods institutions that some times make sure that the policies carried out in the WTO to promote the international financial transactions are implemented or carried out by the developing countries. It is to this effect that these institutions are known to carry out draconian measures on developing countries to ensure that these countries ratify the implementations. For instance, the 1990s saw most African countries and other developing countries being denied foreign aid because they were still resisting the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programs. Apart from the fact that this measure stagnated the development process and the financial growth rate, most countries were left paralysed, not being even able to support even the running of the daily domestic economic activities (Guo, 2002 pp. 100). These Structural adjustment programs were in themselves not suitable to the developing economies' prospects and programs ( it must be remembered that the Structural Adjustment Programs were the initiatives of the WTO which then was out to bolster international trade). To be more precise, the Structural Adjustment Programs had one of its guidelines being cost sharing. Herein, developing countries were to reduce their debt- to- revenue ratio by accepting this methodology of cost sharing. This policy was being heralded by the developed economies and the two Bretton Woods Institutions as the panacea that was to extirpate the widespread cases of over reliance on foreign aid (Lewis 2000, pp. 208) In the first case, African countries and their developing counterparts were told that they were spending too much on their educational programmes. To turn around the situation, these countries were supposed to withdraw permanently, the custom of issuing allowances to students. In addition to this, access to educational loans was to be plummeted, meaning that only students with high outstanding performance were to access these loans. The governments in the developing countries, and especially Africa, were to invent ways of making money from the educational sector, and for this, the Module Two Programs emerged. These Module Two Programmes, otherwise known as Parallel Programmes run autonomously from the government funded, or subsidised conventional university programs (Hu, 2001 pp. 255). These measures on the educational programs have lead to massive cases in the developing economies not being able to expand their educational programmes, to match the rising educational demand that stems from the growing population. As a result, many students who merit going to the university miss securing admission. In addition to this, the Parallel programmes are too expensive for the ordinary citizens in the developing countries to afford. In a nutshell, this measure of cost sharing in the educational sector only succeeded in making education in the developing countries inaccessible, and thus making these countries susceptible to massive cases of brain drain. For the first time, in the 1994, four years after the inception of the Structural Adjustment Programmes, there were cases of university students being dismissed from universities due to fee arrears in the eastern Africa region. At the same time, those students with good grades and a fair financial pool who fail to make it to the government subsidised programmes opt for oversees studies in the developed countries. Upon completion, these students prefer to work in these developing countries. This massive cases of transnational exodus for greener pastures has left the developing countries more and more subjected to brain drain and lack of skilled labour (Kang, and Feng, 2002 pp. 107). Still on the concept of cost sharing, the governments in the developing countries were prevailed upon by the two Bretton Woods Institutions to reduce their expenditures by carrying out a massive exercise of downsizing the civil service so as to trim its size. These exercises were to be carried out starting from 1995- 2005 in most African economies for example. In Latin America, the measure was to be carried out in phases starting from 1992- 2002. However, contrary to what developing countries were told, the carrying out of this exercise only proved to be a Pandora box, ushering in untold catalogues of untold misery at the hands of poverty. Simply put, the myriad numbers of the retrenched civil servants found themselves subject to poverty ( Low, 1997 pp. 124). In the same spectrum, the concept of international trade which was formed by the WTO and heralded by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund that nations cede away the production of certain products to other countries with specialisation ( both natural and human resources, together with technological endowment), does not ager well with the developing nations. Developing nations are kept from realising their dreams of indutrialisation through this concept. Moreover, the concept itself is innately twisted since a nation can be having adequate natural resources and man power, but can be a fledgeling economy that has not yet fine tuned its technological advancement with its indutrialisation programmes (Lyon, 1996 pp. 51). More importantly, the exercise translates into more problems since it leads to more cases of jobs being forfeited, especially in the developing economies, since developing economies have not yet fully been industrialised. This strain of international outsourcing coupled together with its twin, the downsizing of the civil service, has increased the level of unemployment in the developing sector. The problem proves to be hydra headed since the potential tertiary education students who miss out on learning opportunities together with the retrenched civil servants, add to the bulk of the unemployed population with no means of livelihood. It is on this backdrop that all the developing economies have national security matters making it to the top five national agenda in the annual review of national programmes (Shrybman, 2001 pp. 7). World trade, an undertaking which the WTO Is chiefly interested in, is in itself also bedeviled by many issues that touch on the entrenchment of political, cultural and economic domination of the developing countries by their global trading counterparts, the developed countries. For instance, although the developed countries form the minority in the WTO DOHA, yet their will is highly predominant over the developing countries' (Wong and Mc Ginty, 2002, pp. 40). In addition to this, the same institutions that are used to channel foreign funds to the developing economies, the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Funds (IMF), belong to the developed economies. In addition to being the conduit through which foreign fundings reach other countries, these two Bretton Woods Institutions are supposed to offer advisory services, and at the same time, carry out investigative and monitoring activities on the developing economies' progress (Mah, 1998 pp. 120). In the course of the monitoring progress, the developing economies are supposed to submit their statements of accounts to either the WB or the IMF. This exposes easily, the developing countries to political manipulation by the developed countries, especially those in the west (Markel, 2000 pp. 43). It is also through the WTO's international outsourcing that different multinational corporations have been able to make incursions into the developing nations territories to indulge in the provision of goods and services in the developing countries. Some of these companies include the shipping company, Maersk, the petroleum companies such as the British owned, British Petroleum (BP) and the Shell, and the American and British owned Kenol Kobil (Lauffs and Singh, 2000 pp. 173). Any country that wants to take part in the trade that uses the sea routes in the eastern African region must register with the Italian shipping and handling company, Maersk. This in itself amounts to economic domination since these countries are accorded a laissez faire condition, devoid of domestic competition. In the same vein, the companies that come from the developing countries are not accorded by the WTO and the international trade counterparts any chance to trade in the developed countries' backyard ( Lewis and Rhodes, 2002 pp. 88). It is a well known fact that the process of international trade relations is mostly hinged upon the concept of instantaneous exchange of information in a trans border sense. Because this process is aided by the existence of technological advancement, the previous WTO DOHA ministerials and the TRIPS meetings have been characterised by the prevailing upon the developing countries to hasten the process of technology transfer and installation (Li, 2002 pp. 187). This was in accordance with the aim to have free and efficient flow of information in an interstate manner that could promote trade. Although this measure being considered by the TRIPS under the aegis of the WTO is not geared towards any harm, yet the WTO has not yet looked at the full repercussion of this measure. For instance, it is on this backdrop that developing nations have fell for serious cases of cultural domination. Since the developed countries exceed the the LDCs in commercial and technological knowledge and skills, most of the trans border exchange of information flow from the developed countries to the LDCs. However, with this huge volume of needed information, also comes, information that always insinuate the socio- cultural traits of the developed countries as being superior to the LDCs'. At the same time, the Socio- cultural practices in the developed economies are insidiously permeated into the social fabric of the developing economies (Lewis, 2002 pp. 62). It is on the above premise that small factions have come up to resist these spates of developments by using terrorist attacks. While these attacks are always aimed at the major developed economies, yet to instill pressure on the developed nations, these quasi religious military ragtags also aim at the trading allies of the major developed countries who are normally, the LDCs. It is because of these state of affairs that there were twin bombings in the two most lucrative capitals in the eastern African region in August 1998 by the Al Qaeda forces. Similar cases are also widely common in the world of the developing countries (Mukherjee, 2000 pp. 172). Conclusion. Therefore, it can be seen clearly that the LDCs in the international trade through their relations with the developed countries, courtesy of the WTO, has elicited more pain than gain. Nevertheless, all is not lost for the LDCs, since the Doha declaration posits that it, as an organisation, has an aim of making the development of the LDCs actualise. To this end, the development needs of the LDCs such as food security and health will continue to remain core issues that will control the implementation of other policies. The LDCs should seize this provision to illustrate that their indutrialisation and development will not come without food security, and food security will not be realised by their economies since the mainstay of their food source remains, small scale farming. These small scale farmers being economically challenged, deeply need government subsidies and domestic support. In nearly the same manner, the LDC factions within the WTO such as the the Group 15 that is made up of the heads of the governments should continue working towards collaborations among the LDCs in calling for new global approaches, as it was agreed upon by the same in the 11th Summit that was held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

A Rose For Emily by William Faulkner: The Narrator

William Faulkner was the first to turn the eyes of America toward the South six decades after the Civil War.   The war was still a sore spot for most citizens of the United States and the people of the South were still considered by many as the enemy, not just because it had left the Union, but because of the complicated rules of her society.Faulkner allowed the rest of the country a glimpse into this world which can sometimes be macabre.   His short story A Rose For Emily, published in nineteen thirty, was told in third person limited point of view.   The choice of narrator for this story was essential to the story because of the fact that the narrator is an insider in the culture that was almost forgotten previous to the Modernism Period.The narrator is a citizen of Jefferson, Mississippi in the county Yoknapatawpha County, the fictional town and county created by Faulkner that represented his own town of Oxford.Any culture feels threatened when an outsider reveals its negati ve traits; therefore the narrator had to be a Southerner.   When he tells the story, he uses the pronoun â€Å"we† when referring to the citizens of Jefferson.This allows the reader to understand that the narrator speaks for the town and is familiar with the culture.   It seems if the one telling the story is a man even if this is never stated.   A woman would not have made the statement that the narrator does about the reason that Colonel Sartoris has remitted her taxes.â€Å"Only a man of Colonel Sartoris' generation and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it.† (Faulkner)   From the statement one can surmise that the narrator is a male.   He remains unnamed throughout the story, yet he would have to be elderly since he not only relates the details of Miss Emily’s, the protagonist, death, but can also relate the story of her youth.Miss Emily is of the aristocracy in Jefferson, yet the narrator is obviously not.   He is probably working class because he knows her and is privileged to the information of the other citizens as well as having access to her actions when she is outside of her home.   He definitely sees a line drawn between himself and the Griersons, instead, he identifies with the majority of the citizens of the town of Jefferson.He has for years listened to the gossip of the small southern town and accepted it as truth, at times feeling sympathy and other times passing judgment on Miss Emily as well as the others.   â€Å"Being left alone, and a pauper, she had become humanized. Now she too would know the old thrill and the old despair of a penny more or less.† (Faulkner)He feels vindicated when she is brought down to the level of the rest of the people in town, yet his heart feels for her when she is left alone when her father dies and when it seems as if Homer Baron, her lover, has abandoned her.The fictional town Jefferson, Mississippi deep in the heart of the South sha pes the narrator’s perspective of the story.   While the reader will be mortified by what takes place throughout the story, the narrator accepts them as just everyday happenings.  Ã‚   Since the narrator is a citizen, the culture does not seem strange.Because of this the reader can understand that the way of life that is depicted is real.   It really does matter what a person’s last name is and what class he/ was born into in Jefferson and other Southern towns.   It was feasible that certain people could walk into a drugstore and purchase poison without being questions just two weeks later when an odor was noticed outside of her home and her lover disappeared.The narrator would have to be familiar with this setting to not question it himself.   His own reactions reveal that he expects the rest of the world to accept the ways of Jefferson and his Southern culture as normal and natural.If Faulkner had chosen any other narrator than the average man from Jefferso n the impact that the story had would not have been as incredible as it was.   The reader would not have been able to bring an objective point of view to the story if he/she were clouded with the sympathy for Miss Emily telling her own story.It is vital to the story that she is dead at the end and cannot pay legally for what she has done, therefore she could not tell her story.   The fact that men and women will never truly understand the mind of the opposite sex makes a masculine narrator more objective.A female would understand Miss Emily too well and bring judgment to her actions.   The only other character that could possibly tell Miss Emily’s story would be her servant, Toby.   However, he is obviously too loyal to not be shaded by her actions.The negro met the first of the ladies at the front door and let them in, with their hushed, sibilant voices and their quick, curious glances, and then he disappeared. He walked right through the house and out the back and w as not seen again. (Faulkner)He would rather leave everything that he knows than to reveal the secrets he has kept for his whole adult life.   He would simply be too reserved.   The narrator that was chosen is the one who could tell the story and symbolically giving Miss Emily a rose by bringing her story to the world.Faulkner’s genius is clearly at work by choosing the narrator that he did.   His choice of storyteller allowed the readers to realize that there was more to Southern people than the Confederacy and that was a society with clearly drawn lines and rules that were accepted as a way of life.Works CitedFaulkner, William. A Rose for Emily. 30, April 1930 Mead School District. 29, January 2009http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:Ogf7G-mySCwJ:www.mead.k12.wa.us/mhs/Stedman/classweb/Short%2520Stories /A%2520Rose%2520For%2520Emily.pdf+a+rose+for+emily+online+text&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&ie=UTF-8   

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome - Essay Example Agranulocytosis is hard to detect and is only visible once the symptoms of the infection start to appear. The symptoms include: mucosal ulcers, sore throat and rising temperatures. Nurses should be aware of these signs and should stop administering of Clozapine at the onset of these symptoms. (Keogh & Doyle 2008) Neuroleptic malignant syndrome is another side effect of psychopharmacology. It is ‘an idiosyncratic reaction to neuroleptic medications’ that may be life threatening (Keogh & Doyle 2008). Though it may occur from using any neuroleptic medication, the main culprit is haloperidol. Many clients start developing symptoms of NMS within a two week time frame. The symptoms include: muscular/lead pipe rigidity, changed autonomic functions like blood pressure, increase in white blood cell count, hyperthermia, tremor and change in the mental status of patients. The nurses should be aware of these signs and immediately stop the medication. Intervention of NMS include: use of dopamine to relax muscles, electroconvulsive therapy to reduce NMS and antipyretics like paracetamol to relax the fever. (Keogh & Doyle 2008) Special nursing care is also very important for NMS patients aside from the interventions named above. NMS patients are to be closely monitored to evaluate their mental and physical states, so that in case of a symptom breakout, early intervention is done at the initial stages of the attack. There should be routine checkups and documentations and all forms of anomalies should also be recorded and reported to relevant medical practitioners. Serotonin syndrome is also a side effect. It is a life threatening reaction to excess serotonin, although it occurs rarely. This happens when serotonin is administered with other drugs that affect the serotonergic system, for instance the tricyclic medication. Symptoms include:

Outline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 56

Outline - Essay Example For example, I have interacted with friends currently in this school and have admitted that they have never visited their families in years. Some even admit to forgetting their native languages. Education makes us better than our parents, and with time, most students tend to distant themselves from the parents (Rodriguez, 600). This is because they want to continue to have more education so as not to be like their parents. In this sense, education enlightens in ways that make us see our parents and our past to be outdated, and we imitate our teachers and those around us. Personally, I have had problems interacted with some members of my family who do not have the same level of education. This has distanced me from them and my traditions. Although education is good in preparing one for the future, it has a negative effect on the family life of the student. It distances us from our families and our traditional values by taking most of our time. The need to fit into the modern society has made education an important aspect of human development today. One of the most important aspects of education is its ability to expose us to different worlds and different people, thereby expanding our knowledge. This exposure helps us to connect with our families better, and provides us with opportunities to enrich our cultures and values. In the article by Richard Rodriguez (1982), the author argues that education has distanced him from his parents and traditional culture. For example, he notes that he started to spend more time reading, and began to â€Å"idolize† his teachers and started to imitate their accents (Rodriguez, 601). Unfortunately, the author does not recognize how education brings people closer to their families. For instance, I have used the time in school to read more about my culture and way of life. I have used this knowledge to interact with my parents and other family members. Unlike what is reported in the article, having new knowledge can

Music and Emotion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music and Emotion - Research Paper Example In the "Music and Emotion" essay author describes the effect that music has on our brain and how it manipulates our emotions. The association between music, emotion and brain is an interesting topic which provoked the attention of music lovers, psychologists and medical experts. Music can touch the emotions of all kinds of people like introverts, extroverts, simple or tough people. Music has no languages or it has its own language which is understandable only to the music lovers. It is quite possible that a westerner may infatuate by the Indian classical music and an Indian may love the western music. In other words, music is all about the rhythm, composing styles, lyrics etc rather than the normal languages. Emotional association of music is highly subjective. For example, a group of people who hear the same music in the same environment may develop different emotions. One of them may develop happiness because of the fast rhythm and another may become sad because of the lyrics. A th ird person in that group may focus more on the singing style or the voice of the singer while a fourth person may give more importance to the composing of the music. These differences happen because of the individual differences. In other words, the development of emotion as a result of music listening depends on the nature of the individual. Music is effective in the treatment of psychological disorders like autism because of its ability to touch the emotions of the patient. It is difficult to treat psychological problems like autism with the help of any medicines. In the study of how music therapy improves behavioral abnormalities of autism, Griggs-Drane and Wheeler, a music therapist and educational consultant, respectively, in the Richmond Hospital Education Program, performed a study in 1997 with a blind, female adolescent with autism. The client was asked to listen to music, sing with music, and play instruments to decrease her self-destructive behavior. The study did show a decrease in her destructive behavior (Aguila, p.7) The above findings clearly show that music can affect even abnormal people. Music can be used as an effective communication device between an autistic patient and the therapist. The therapist can cultivate many desired feelings in the minds of the patient after recognizing the specific tastes of the patient. It is not necessary that two autistic patients may react in the same manner to a particular music. In other words, the music which was used by the therapist to cultivate a particular behavior in an autistic patien t need not be successful on another patient. The therapist should vary the music to see the effects and to decide which music is suitable for a particular patient. â€Å"Leanne Belasco, a music therapist at the Kennedy Krieger School's Montgomery County campus in Rockville, says music gives structure and a predictable rhythm to verbal directions† (Hwang). Apart from autism, music therapy can be effective in treating some of the phobias. Some people have the habit of developing unintentional negative feelings. Such people often worried about unnecessary things because

Creating a knowledge sharing culture (Chapter 11) Essay

Creating a knowledge sharing culture (Chapter 11) - Essay Example Thus, information and knowledge are categorized as different elements that need to be strategically aligned and correlated to provide organizations with competitive advantage. While the explicit knowledge is one that can be easily transmitted, the tacit knowledge focuses on experience and values that are accrued over time. The chapter emphasizes four major parameters of knowledge management: top team support and strategic focus; enabling mechanisms; innovation and continuous improvement; and commitment at individual and organizational level. The team thrives on sharing of knowledge and encourages proactive participation of the members to improve and improvise the performance. The workforce is provided with the facilitating platform of continuous learning through system resources and external exigencies that help it to create benchmark for improved outcome. The managerial leadership also ensures that testing new approaches is encouraged and sharing of responsibilities is intrinsically linked to teamwork. Through rewards and merits, the individuals and teams are motivated to strive for higher productivity. The chapter asserts that a ‘sharing culture’ greatly supports knowledge management. Organization culture can primarily be expressed as the shared vision and collective goals of the organization. The leadership within the organization becomes highly relevant because it promotes shared vision through collective decision making, inspiring the workforce for improved performance outcome. It also helps create an environment of learning and innovation that empowers workers to make decisions on informed choices. Thus, an organizational culture that promotes collective decision making through shared learning is highly successful. It facilitates easy adaptability to changing equations thereby, empowering the workforce and the leaders to recognize the wide scope of emerging opportunities. Another important issue that it incorporates is its inherent tendency

Sustainability and earth resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sustainability and earth resources - Essay Example For example, Monte (6) argues that place based practices should focus in healthy eating and active living (HEAL). On the other hand, the other major topics that have been comprehensively discussed in the article include bikeable or walkable communities, partnerships between public health programs and policies of environmental change as well as the sustainable food systems that provide communities with access to healthy, nutritional foods. The purpose of the authors writing is well explained and is fairly convincing. For example, the proposed place based community change approaches are premised on the notion that places where people spend most of their time like workplaces, neighborhoods, schools and worship places have a significant impact on their daily choices and, therefore, a holistic, participative healthy community approach that departs from the status quo should be adopted. According to the author, this is particularly attributed to the fact that the rapid technological and social changes witnessed over the last few decades have significantly impacted on how communities approach the role of health and quality of life improvements. The evidence used by the author to support his claim includes the success of a 1995 ‘Forging the Future’ program by a group of civic leaders in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Although the evidence effectively support the authors position, a number of additional information such as the potential weaknesses and limitations of the proposed community change approaches ought to have been included in his argument. Additionally, the author should have highlighted some of the counter argument s currently being advanced by the critics of the approach. However, the author has also recognized that place based approaches do not have any exact formulas. With regard to his presentation form, the author has uses an essay format to advance his purpose of writing. This form has served the authors purpose by providing a clear and well

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - A Strategic Analysis Assignment

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts - A Strategic Analysis - Assignment Example The third area of examination is with internal strengths. One of the primary strengths for Krispy Kreme is their brand name. The company was founded in 1937 during the Great Depression era, yet survived and proved to be an American success story. Their long history built up good brand equity and reputation over the years. Another research article pointed to the new leadership now in place at Krispy Kreme, after they weathered various accounting and management scandals. James Morgan is the new company chairman; president; and CEO. Another key strength, which is well known, is that Krispy Kreme has a good quality product. Their products are available at many gas stations, supermarkets, Wal-Mart’s, and Target Stores, among other visible locations. The fourth area of examination is with internal weaknesses. One study of the company showed where there is a limited amount of healthy food choices at Krispy Kreme. A second resource pointed how low-carb diets became in fashion just abo ut the time that the company was rapidly expanding (Intini, 2007). Hoyt (2008) pointed out how the company seems to be closing too many stores. Their franchisees are struggling, and even though 28 new franchises opened in the first quarter of 2008; there were 7 closures. The company stated that they â€Å"will close additional stores in the future and the number of such closures may be significant. More problems exist as Krispy Kreme faces slowing customer traffic; a lack of product diversification; and high fixed costs.

Explain the limitations of the Capital Asset Pricing Model and the Essay - 1

Explain the limitations of the Capital Asset Pricing Model and the extent to which the multi-factors approach has overcome these limitations - Essay Example Under the efficient frontier the portfolio generally has minimum risk and it measures the variance of returns therefore it is known as the minimum variance portfolio with the minimum rate of return and the maximum return portfolio which includes maximum risk. The portfolio that stands below the efficient frontier mainly provides less return for the same level of risk (Nonaka, 2001). CAPM explains the extent to which the asset is priced in terms of the risk. The APT is considered as another equilibrium pricing model. The CAPM mainly faces criticism which is not testable. Therefore APT is considered as alternative to testable. The combination of the different factors is estimated for finding out the return on the asset that is risky which affects the return on the assets. The various possible portfolios are represented on the various indifference curves that generally do not yield high return for the same level of risk. These portfolios generally stand below the efficient frontier. The optimal portfolio can be defined as the portfolio on the efficient frontier that yields the best combination of the risk and return for the specific investors which will provide maximum possible satisfaction for the investors (Markowitz, 2008) CAPM model is mainly based on the various assumptions that differ from reality. This creates a problem in explaining accurately the Capital asset pricing model related to the investment attitude of the investor and the beta may not be able to determine the risk of investment. It is very difficult to calculate the project related discount rate. Beta measures and estimates the future risk of the securities therefore it is expected that beta must remain stable and constant. But under CAPM model beta does not remain stable therefore it creates problem for the investors in estimating the data. The main limitation of CAPM model is that only single time period horizon is taken into

The Impacts Of Aids Essay Example for Free

The Impacts Of Aids Essay Although the AIDS epidemic has occurred in a period when social conservatives have been politically dominant in most Western societies increasing the stigma against homosexuals and homosexuality, it has also translated into much greater recognition of the homosexual community and a homosexual movement, in most Western democracies. As the 1980s progressed, the gay and lesbian community increasingly realized the devastating impact of AIDS on gay men. The complex of diseases called AIDS was first discovered among gay men in 1981. From the first moment the gay male community became aware of AIDS (which was first called GRID—gay-related immune deficiency), it responded politically. By the end of the summer in 1981, a group of gay men had already met at author Larry Kramers apartment in New York City and had established the Gay Mens Health Crisis (GMHC)—the largest AIDS organization in the country today. It is not, of course, homosexuals who are at risk for AIDS but rather those who practice certain forms of unsafe sex. This distinction between behavior and identity, which often seems academic, is in fact vital to a rational understanding of AIDS. Because the media and the public generally do not make these distinctions, gay and AIDS have become conflated, so that the public perception of homosexuality becomes largely indistinguishable from its perception of AIDS. This, in turn, has two consequences: (1) It causes unnecessary discrimination against all those who are identified as gay and lesbians, and (2) it also means that people who are not perceived (and do not perceive themselves) as engaging in high-risk behaviors can deny that they are at risk of HIV infection. As the gay movement matured in the 1970s, however, it made more concrete demands of governments, pressing for antidiscrimination ordinances and for financial support for gay organizations and activities. But, in large part, the gay movement retained an adversarial relationship with the government, a relationship made possible because of the movements emphasis on self-assertion (coming out) and challenging social stigma. All this changed with the appearance of AIDS. Demands for government-funded research were first made by New Yorks Gay Mens Health Crisis, the first community-based AIDS organization. And the demands have not stopped there: Governments are asked to support research, patient care, services, and education programs. Inevitably such demands involve gay participation in the processes of government—policy-making, membership on liaison committees, day-to-day contact with bureaucrats, and so forth. But the process has been two-way. Governments have understood that to research the disease, to provide the necessary services, and to bring about the behavioral changes (primary prevention) believed to be the most effective strategies against the spread of the disease, contact with the most affected groups is required. AIDS has thus forced governments to recognize organizations they had previously ignored, and this has resulted in strengthened gay organizations, often with the help of state resources. As a generalization, the response of gay groups and those working in local AIDS education and advocacy programs has been to stress large-scale education about primary prevention, while conservative medical, political, and religious figures have emphasized widespread testing for the HIV antibody and restrictive legislation. The issue of testing for HIV antibodies among high-risk populations has been a major debate in most Western countries. AIDS organizations have generally argued that large-scale testing is undesirable and that mandatory testing of high-risk groups will compel those infected with the AIDS virus go underground out of the mainstream of health care and education. As the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) argued: The experience of the gay community—the only group where significant prevention and risk-reduction programs have taken place—demonstrates that education and counseling, not testing, are critical to changing behavior. Not everyone needs or desires to know his/her antibody status. No one should be forced into that position, particularly given the potentially severe social, legal and economic ramifications of testing. The NGLTFs anti-testing position is further strengthened by the fact that test results often obtain false positives for the presence of HIV antibodies. It is easy to portray this dispute over testing as one that pits public health advocates against proponents of gay rights. In reality, the dispute centers on different conceptions of public health: Those who oppose mandatory testing are concerned that the fear of discrimination resulting from seropositive results will force those most at risk to avoid needed testing, counseling, and contact with support services. It is vital to understand the extent to which discrimination (real and perceived) against AIDS carriers is a factor, and how it is strengthened every time a politician or religious figure talks of quarantine or isolation. Certain sorts of discrimination are justified in the interests of public health, and reasonable people can disagree about the balance—as was true in the protracted debate in San Francisco concerning the gay bathhouses. But few diseases in recent history have led to as many stringent proposals to restrict the rights of those affected, and even fewer have led to claims for discrimination against all members of high-risk groups, whether or not they were actually ill or contagious. Fear of AIDS has elicited a welter of irrational reactions based on the stereotyping of homosexuals. The U.S. Justice Department has ruled that persons with AIDS may be dismissed from their jobs because of fear of transmission, even where such fears are not medically supported; some state courts and legislatures, however, have taken an opposite position. Fear of AIDS was invoked by the state of Georgia in its successful defense of its antisodomy law before the Supreme Court in 1986. A number of governments (including the United States) have sought to make evidence of HIV-antibody-free (noncarrier) status a requirement for immigration or even entry; in West Germany this provision has led to a bitter dispute between the Interior and Health ministries. Fear of and hostility toward those with AIDS most clearly overlaps with more generalized homophobia in the attempts by some politicians and a number of fundamentalists to use the epidemic to argue against homosexual rights. In the eyes of the religious right, AIDS is literally viewed as a God-given opportunity to reverse social attitudes toward homosexuality, which have grown more tolerant over the past decade; in English-speaking countries particularly, fundamentalists have invoked fire-and-brimstone rhetoric to argue that AIDS is evidence of Gods wrath. Gay groups have quickly learned which aspects of the political system are most amenable to pressure; in the United States, at a national level, this has involved working through the courts (a vast number of AIDS-related cases are already working their way through the judicial system) and, especially, sympathetic members of Congress. Among the groups most affected by AIDS, only the homosexuals have been able to mobilize and articulate political demands. The publics perception of the disease therefore continues to be more closely linked with homosexuals than its epidemiology suggests. In the United States this is further complicated by racial divisions and intravenous drug use, as a far higher proportion of AIDS cases that are not sexually transmitted are found among blacks and Hispanics than among whites. Even now one feature of AIDS organizations is the under representation of people of color, including homosexuals. Even in countries where this is not a problem, the dominance of AIDS as an issue makes the gap between gay women and men increasingly more difficult to bridge; although many lesbians are heavily involved in AIDS work, most gay women cannot identify with AIDS as a central issue in the way true for many gay men. AIDS has mobilized more gay men into political and community organizations, although not into specific demonstrations and marches, than any other event in the short history of the gay movement. In every major city of the United States, Canada, Australasia, and most of northern Europe, the appearance of AIDS has led thousands of gay men (and others) to volunteer in programs of care, support, counseling, and education. But this in turn creates several problems: It reinforces the publics misperception of the causal link between AIDS and homosexuality; it forces other issues off the gay movements agenda and monopolizes its attention; and it creates new tensions as dependence on government and the emergence of a new class of AIDS experts leads to growing strains within the movement. One could in fact posit that AIDS has created a shift in the leadership of the gay movement, accentuating the trend toward leaders who can claim professional expertise instead of activist credentials—a move already under way during the late 1970s. This has been most obvious in the rise to prominence of openly gay medical doctors, who have been able to use their professional skills and sexual identity to claim a certain legitimacy in the eyes of government; groups like the American Physicians for Human Rights have become prominent within the gay movement largely because of the epidemic. But the new leadership also includes those skilled in legislative and bureaucratic lobbying, and one consequence of this shift has been to reduce the representativeness of leadership in terms of class, race, and age. Observing the gay movement, AIDS has changed the movement in ways none of us could have anticipated in the much headier days of the 1970s. Obviously the stakes are higher: However important law reform was, it does not compare with the urgent need to respond to an epidemic that in some cities (New York, San Francisco, Houston, Copenhagen, Sydney) was striking nearly every gay man. In response, new people have come into the movement; many gay men who had hitherto regarded gay politics as irrelevant, have become the front-line activists because of AIDS. But many experienced activists have found that AIDS has turned them into professionals; the people who run the large organizations, such as GMHC, the Terence Higgins Trust, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the AIDS Council of New South Wales, and so forth, spend much of their time now dealing with government bureaucrats, health-system managers, and various authorities whom they had once denounced as the enemy. Unconsciously, certain forms of co-optation inevitably take place; governments fund jobs, trips, and conferences, and those who take part begin to see things differently. Thus, a new tension develops within the rank-and-file, many of whom came into AIDS work as volunteers concerned to look directly after the sick and dying, who feel estranged from the new bureaucrats their own movement seems to have spawned. It is difficult to speak of the impact of AIDS without speaking of the changing perceptions of homosexuals, so intertwined are the two in the public imagination. AIDS seems to have heightened both the stigma and the respectability of homosexuals; in unraveling this apparent contradiction, we can come to terms with certain crucial social changes. The common assumption is that AIDS has been responsible for reversing, or at least halting, a gradual social acceptance of homosexuality as an alternate life-style, an acceptance that had grown out of changes in sexual mores and the commercialization of sexuality during the 1970s. It is not hard to point to the hostile rhetoric, increased antigay violence, and the quite considerable discrimination directly linked to AIDS. Evidence of increased violence directed against homosexuals, much of it linked to AIDS, was recognized by a special congressional hearing in late 1986.The reality may well be that the response to AIDS thus far has largely been a reflection of the extent to which preceding gay-rights struggles had achieved a place in the political process for gay organizations; AIDS has thus highlighted a process already under way. The point has often been made that the epidemiology of AIDS would have been very different in most Western countries had it not been for the expansion of gay sexual networks in the 1970s. Equally, the response of governments would have been very different—and almost certainly slower and more repressive—if this expansion had not also been accompanied by the growth of gay political organizations that provided a basis for the development of community-based groups in response to the epidemic. At the level of conventional liberal political analysis, the case of AIDS bears out the adage that the squeaky wheel gets the oil. AIDS has brought issues of central concern to the gay movement onto the mainstream political agenda: at an enormous price the gay movement has become a recognized actor in the politics of health policymaking. Political will and mobilization can have a large effect on the social impact of the disease. The growing impact of AIDS on the American population forced activists to broaden their constituency. Some of the groups were also socially stigmatized and had even fewer resources than the gay community. Occasionally, they had segments who voiced their discomfort with or disapproval of homosexuality. When it came to matters of strategy, AIDS activists even had increasing conflicts with gay and lesbian political elites within the community over political priorities. The politics of AIDS activism forced gay and lesbian activists to have increased interaction with federal, state, and local governments, thereby transforming the lesbian and gay communitys relation with the state. Community-based organizations received government funding and participated in policymaking to a much greater extent than ever before. The AIDS movement has had a significant impact on government research, public health policies, and government funding of treatment, care, and education. This government funding has created large-scale institutions with jobs and career possibilities that did not exist in the lesbian and gay communities before the epidemic. These economic and institutional developments have had two major effects on the gay and lesbian communities. First, they have encouraged lesbian and gay political institutions to engage more with other communities, governmental agencies, and mainstream institutions. Second, they have transformed the class structure of gay and lesbian leadership. The new jobs and career possibilities attracted a generation of leaders who were upwardly mobile and educated at elite universities and colleges. In the past, gay men such as this might have pursued conventional careers. Now, though, many of them were infected with the virus that causes AIDS and took up AIDS activism to fight for their lives. The older generation of leaders had chosen gay political life as an alternative to mainstream careers. Very early on in the epidemic, however, AIDS devastated the founding generation both physically and emotionally. A new generation soon displaced the older one. AIDS had decimated the gay male community, had forced it to reach out to other communities, and had seriously undermined its economic and cultural self-sufficiency. The countervailing pressures of gay and lesbian identity politics and of AIDS activism produced a political situation that required a new perspective—one that conceived of identity as stable, but also recognized the incredible diversity within the community. The perspective needed to account for the kinship of all sexual minorities and the range of possible gender roles, ethnic, and racial identities. Works Cited Adam, B. D. The rise of a gay and lesbian movement. New York: Twayne Publishers.1995. Bell, G. AIDS in Australia, Sydney Bulletin , 17 March 1987 Bullough, Vern L. Before Stonewall: Activists for Gay and Lesbian Rights in Historical Context. Harrington Park Press, 2002. Cante, Richard C. Gay Men and the Forms of Contemporary US Culture. London: Ashgate Publishing. March 2008 ISBN 0 7546 7230 1. Dynes, Wayne R. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Homosexuality. New York and London, Garland Publishing, 1990 Frighten and be Fired, The Economist , 28 June 1986. Epstein, S. Gay and lesbian movements in the United States: Dilemmas of identity, diversity, and political strategy. In B. Adam, J. Duyvendak, A. Krouwel (Eds.), The global emergence of gay and lesbian politics: National imprints of a worldwide movement, pp. 30-90. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.1999. Gawenda, AIDS: Reaping Responsibility, The Age (Melbourne), 2 May 1987. Goldstein, R. The Hidden Epidemic: AIDS and Race, Village Voice , 10 March 1987. Johansson, Warren Percy, William A. Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence. Harrington Park Press, 1994. Katz, Jonathan. Gay American History: Lesbians and Gay Men in the U.S.A. (New York: Harper, 1976) ISBN 006091211 Kitsuse, J. Coming out all over: Deviants and the politics of social problems. Social Problems, 28, 1-13.1980. McCombie, S.The Cultural Impact of the AIDS Test, Social Science and Medicine 23 (1986): 455-459. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, news release, Washington, D.C., 5 February 1987.Somerville, M. Rubin, G. Thinking sex: Notes for a radical theory of the politics of sexuality. In R. Parker, P. Aggleton (Eds.), Culture, society sexuality, pp. 143-178. New York: Routledge.1998. Schroedel, J. R., Fiber, P. Lesbian and gay policy priorities: Commonality and difference. In C. A. Rimmerman, K. D. Wald, C. Wilcox (Eds.), The politics of gay rights, pp. 97-120. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (2000). Seidman, S. From identity to queer politics: Shifts in normative heterosexuality and the meaning of citizenship. Citizenship Studies, 5, 321-328. (2001). Structuring the Legal and Ethical Issues Raised by AIDS, in AIDS : Social Policy , Ethics and the Law (Monash: Monash University Centre for Human Bioethics, 1986). Surgeon General s Report on AIDS (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Public Health Service, 1986), 30. Tatchell, P.AIDS : A Guide to Survival (London: Gay Mens Press, 1986), 97-101 Thompson, Mark, editor. Long Road to Freedom: The Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement. New York: St. Martins Press, 1994. ISBN 0-312-09536-8 Timmons, Stuart. The Trouble with Harry Hay: Founder of the Modern Gay Movement. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1990.

Sequence Analysis East Of Eden Film Studies Essay

Sequence Analysis East Of Eden Film Studies Essay Elia Kazans film East of Eden attempts to explore the relationship between father and son, Adam and Cal. Cal is desperately seeking love from his father, but he just turns away from Cal and leaves him upset. Conflicts arise between the two and this tears them further apart from each other. In the sequence, Kazan applied non-diegetic elements and various visual techniques to show the tension between Adam and Cal. Apart from that, Kazan also applied different mise-en-scene arrangements like lighting and blocking to reflect the emotions of each character and to illustrate Cal feels distant from his father and bring up the problems caused by the generation gap. With the use of all these film techniques, Kazans film has also demonstrated an understanding of the classical Hollywood style at that time. Kazan has used non-diegetic music to create suspicion in the film, and particular camera angles to reflect the bond Cal and Adam. Within the clip, it can be seen that aggressive music is used when Cal is telling Aron that their mother is still alive. The director used music as a way to illustrate the conflicts between the brothers, which are significant to the film narration. Burt suggested that this is the climactic scene in the film, and the music has successfully filled the explosive potential of the story plot (1994, p.185). Non-diegetic music has been extensively used in different parts of the film, and the repetitive use of music helps illustrate the emotions of the characters to the audience. In the clip, complex harmonies and thudding chordal figure are used to bring out the explosive nature of the climax scene (Burt, 1994, p.186). With the use of background music and lightings in the clip, the director has been able to bring suspense to the audience, and it becomes a clue to what will happen next. At the same time, non-diegetic music has been used for the entire sequence of Sunrise (1927). Due to the silent nature of this film, the emotions of the characters cannot be brought out through the tones of dialogues. In that case, storytelling has to rely on the use of orchestral music. Also, the director applied a canted framing, which means a slope is formed within the frame (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010, p.490). Kazan used this technique to capture the scene when Cal left heartbroken after being rejected by his father. A similar slanted camera angle has been used at the beginning of the film when Cal is trying to confront his father about his mothers death. It can be seen that when the tension between Cal and Adam arises, the director used a canted frame to capture the scene, as a leitmotif to show the distrust between the two throughout the film. The slope could be seen a metaphor of their relationship, indicating that their relationship is unstable. Mise-en-scene arrangements are also evident in the clip. Kazan has put different components into different scenes and he arranged them in a meaningful way. In terms of blocking, it can be seen that Cal often stands further away from other characters and the camera. For instance, in the scene when Cal tries to explain how he got the money to Adam, they stand at diagonal corners, with Adam standing closer to the camera. In an interview, Kazan explained that Cinemascope was used to put Cal at the corner of the frame so that he would look tinier than other characters (Young, 2001, p.203). This technique is used throughout the film in order to show that he is powerless in front of his father. Similar settings can also be seen when Cals brother is confronting with him, a medium shot of Aron standing in front of Cal. After that, it switches to a long-shot, and we could only see the shades of the two characters. Burt suggested that the light settings have made their appearances barely recogn isable (1994, p.188). The darkness has created a feeling of fear in the film, and the staging of the scene has also shown Cals emotional changes, from frustration to anger. As mentioned, the director often put Cal at the corner as he was portraying him as a kid (Young, 2001, p.203). However, when Cal is confronting his brother, he stands on the bench under the tree, indicating a regain of power. At that point, it demonstrates a mental change in Cal, as he is trying to act maturely. The sequence has also illustrated the dominant features of the classical Hollywood film style. According to King, classical style is analysed in two aspects, film narrative and editing techniques (2002, p.4). A typical Hollywood film usually shows how the main character finds a solution to his problem (Bordwell, 1986, p.18). In terms of narrative, East of Eden presents the story in a linear timeline, with Cal struggling to maintain a healthy relationship with his father. It can be seen that the sequence leads audience to the climax of the story plot, as Cal faces an obstacle when he is attempting to resolve his own issues, thus he expresses his long hidden jealousy towards his brother, indicating a breaking change in the relationships between each character. Therefore, the sequence fulfils the struggles for problem solving part of the Hollywood film plot, as suggested by Bordwell (1986, p.18). In the clip, it can also be seen that the director applied continuity editing. This editing method involves point-of-view shot and shot/reverse-shot, which has been used since the 1910s (Bordwell, Straiger, Thompson, 1985, p.194). An example of the point-of-view shot is that after a medium shot that shows Adam asking Cal how he got his money, Cal looks at Abra, and a medium shot of her is shown. The camera is placed at Cals visual direction, and it shows that Cal is getting courage from Abra. Meanwhile, throughout the movie, shot/reverse-shot is often used during conversations between characters. This gives a clear view of each character, and it allows audience to see their facial expressions clearly, which is an important element of a melodrama. Maltby suggested that James Dean in East of Eden was a method performance that combines psychoanalysis and melodrama, which constructs realism and showing expressive emotions at the same time (1995, p.263). Compared with Sunrise, James Dean has a more natural performance. Because of the film nature, actors in Sunrise have to exa ggerate their expressions to illustrate the whole story. In conclusion, that sequence in the film East of Eden has brought the story plot to the climax point, with the use of various visual techniques and scene arrangements. Non-diegetic music and canted frame can be found in the sequence, which are used to build up the tension between Cal and other characters. In addition, Kazan has used staging and lighting subtly to reflect the feelings of each character. Classical Hollywood styles like continuity editing and exaggerated acting can also be seen in the sequence, which are the main features of the Hollywood films at that time. The techniques that are used in the sequence can also be found in other parts of the movie, and this shows that they are essential in constructing the whole structure of the film.

Technology Used on the Military Battlefield Essay examples -- Computer

Technology Used on the Military Battlefield In today’s busy world of technology, where it seems like we can hardly keep up with the daily advances being made, the United States Military is posed on the cutting edge. The military spends billions of dollars each year on electronic technology research with private firms such as International Telegraph and Telephone Aerospace/Communications Division (ITT A/CD). There is a wide range of uses for computers on today’s battlefield. Two of the major areas include communications, and battlefield management systems. All of these systems are just parts of the military’s tactical internet. The Key factor on the battlefield is communications. Excellent communication is necessary to keep all units working in unison, both on the front lines and in tactical command and control centers in the rear element. The United States Military and ITT A/CD developed the Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS) family. In 1988 the first SINCGAR was released for testing. At this point the SINCGAR was a basic voice only communicati...

Midget Village :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Midget Village   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One Saturday night, I left the house to go to a friend’s house, and the last words that came out of my parent’s mouth was to be careful. That statement went in one ear and out the other. People never think that anything would ever happen to them because they take their safety for granted. I told them that I am always careful and I’ll be home soon, so I left.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I started up my car and fished around in my back seat for my CD case so I wouldn’t be bored for the twenty-minute ride to my destination. I was driving my Ford Probe that I had just bought two weeks ago. I was feeling like a million dollars in my new car, even though it was a used, it was new to me. I was driving the speed limit and sometimes I was driving slower than it was because I wanted people to see me in it. Since I was doing that, the ride was taking more time than I expected and I knew my friends were waiting for me. Singing to my favorite CD in the car got me a bit thirsty, so I stopped at the seven-eleven to buy a slurpee.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I parked the car and went in. I greeted the people working at the cash register and went into the back of the store and proceeded to get my slurpee. I happened to glance over my shoulder and I saw that the people working in the store were following me around the store as if I was going to steal something. This got me frustrated and mad because that is racial profiling and I don’t like to be judged by the color of my skin. I confronted the employee and asked him flat out, why he was following me around. He told me that people like me come in there all the time and steal. I asked him what he meant by â€Å"people like me?† He didn’t respond, and I got even more frustrated. I put the slurpee in his hands and walked out of the store. I will not buy things from a store that has those kinds of views about minority races. I could have acted like I was one of those people who he was talking about by cussing at him and making a scene, but I just left a nd held everything in.

The Pros and Cons of The Belmont Honor Code Essay -- Argumentative Per

The Pros and Cons of The Belmont Honor Code To thine own self be true, as Shakespeare writes, is the fundamental principle that defines honesty. Although a variety of factors influence one's decision to be honest, the primary reason to choose integrity is to be true to oneself. Part of being true to oneself is recognizing the need for individualism. Individualism is the state in which a person is able to take in the events of the surrounding world and discern for himself which practices he or she will participate in. The importance of individualism is engraved in Belmont University's purpose statement, yet it is unclear whether or not individualism is valued because of the university's new honor code system. Is forcing Belmont students to comply to an honor code enabling them to make decisions for their own individual selves? On the first page of Belmont's internet web site, one might assume that Belmont is a university that focuses solely on the individual. According to the statement on the web page introduction, "there is a strong distinction between capturing individual spirit and freezing it. It is the line that divides being squeezed into a mold and being cheered as you shape a life to fit yourself. There is no question on which side of the line you'll find Belmont University." Honor code or no honor code, establishing integrity is crucial to developing one's independent self. Often times, those who are dishonest depend on other humans to meet their spiritual and emotional needs. By choosing honesty as a personal choice instead of a mere compliance with Belmont's honor code, one is making the decision for oneself and therefore promoting one's individualism. In weighing the concep... ...ee a decline in academic dishonesty and a multitude of students will be so afraid of failing a class that they will choose to be honest. But, at the same time, how does each individual student benefit from that? Other than that fact that they may take the time to study and actually learn something, the Belmont community that promotes the spirit of the individual will have nothing but simulated honesty and very few students who truly are honest "individuals" by choice and not by force. Works Cited Baylor University Website. www.baylor.edu Belmont Undergraduate Bulletin. 1998-99. 13-56. Belmont University Website. www.belmont.edu. Moore, Susan. "Honor Code Holds Cheaters Accountable." Belmont Vision. 11 Sept. 98. 6. Vanderbilt University Website. www.vanderbilt.edu.

Children Education Essay

With the development of world, children’s education is important for every family. Education has been developing rapidly. There are many aspects that affect children’s education. Nowadays, more and more poor children cannot go to school because they do not have enough money. However, learning knowledge and receiving education for children are very important. Each state’s education is not the same. In some countries, there are children who are educated by their parents at home rather than being taught by teachers at school. If children do not have good educations, they cannot go to good university and their ideas cannot improve their countries. In China, we have nine years of compulsory education. It is good for children and every family. According to the research, the impacts on children’s education will be analyzed by responding to the following questions: 1. How does health effect children’s education? 2. How does IQ effect children’s education? 3. How does family effect children’s education? 4. How does money effect children’s education? How does health effect children’s education? As we know, the health is important for everybody, especially children’s education. Health includes two parts. One is mental health. Nowadays, we have good quality of life and children can go to good school to study. The economic situation of many family are good, so many parents want to their children to learn piano, guitar, dance and draw etc. Children do not have enough time to do what they like to do and relax mood. The pressure of the children is very big and they will be afraid to learn. The most important of all that excessive psychological pressure will do a lot of damage. Some of children had attempted suicide because of the parents give their too much pressure. Another one is physical health. In Australia, indigenous children have lower achievement levels and education levels generally speaking. (Lyons & Janca, 2012) In some poor countries, they study in bad environment. It is easy to get some diseases. Because of the health problem, some of students get some diseases during school time, so they will miss class. If you get some disease, you will infect other people. They do not have enough money to treat an illness. It is dangerous. In order to improve this situation, the government has implemented some equality treatment policy between indigenous and non- indigenous people. How does IQ effect children’s education? Everybody have different IQ. Every parent hopes their child has high IQ because their think the high IQ of learning is very important. Some necessary factors are effect children’s IQ. About children’s mental environment, the family is important to change children’s IQ. If the parents like to use brains, this is directly related to children’s mental development. If the parents are eager to learn, children will learn as parents. If the parents just require their child to learn everyday but their do not work, like that child will not be willing to listen to you. The family relationships are also important. The single mothers and married mothers affect education is different. Each family atmosphere, emotion, quality, can effect children IQ. (Am, 2001) According to the research, between urban and rural areas the IQ of children between 6 to 11 ages will be change. Children do not have any experiences of life, the IQ will become low; the families also do not have any conditions of social material life, children’s IQ will become lower. This is not good for children’s IQ development because children cannot try any new things and they cannot know much news. How does family effect children’s education? Nowadays, parents neglect their children in preschool education, this result in many kids have lower academic level and social skills then their classmate. Pre-education was assessed for children age between 60-72 months; the early education can teach children knowledge and let them cognitive more things. Aral et al. (2012) the early education can change children become more health and can change children negative behavior. Parents can better know how to lead and support their children to success. Every parent’s education mood is not the same and the parent’s ideas are important to effect children’s education. The most important is parents had to respect them and parents should pay attention to education child way, they have to insisting on respect while still helping him move toward manhood. (Dunn, 2011) Parents need create a good environment to raise children health and improve their social skill knowledge. According to the report, parents of children are encouraged to have a positive effect. A lot of information can support this point. How does money effect children education? At present, people attach great importance to the child’s education. Nowadays, social competition is very big. The money is important for every person. Because of some economic, many children cannot go to school and they cannot get a good education. Family has rich, children can get high education but if is the opposite, children just get normal education. Most family just have one child, their parents both hope they are can learn more things and pay a lot of money for their children. The condition of their school is very good than those normal school. Their school have different classroom that teach different course. Children can learn more different knowledge and they can learn their favorite hobby. In recently year, there are many economic crisis, it would affect wealthy districts and many poor countries need the countries found. In 2006 years, court ruling that ordered the state to give each child enough money can get a good education. (â€Å"Money†, 2011). In the conclusion, children education cannot be neglected today. Kids will become the core pillar of the world in the future. So, we must be concerned with them in many aspects, such as children’s health and family problem. In both psycho-health and physical health threaten children’s develop nowadays. Reference 1. Lyons, Z. , & Janca, A. (2012). Indigenous children in Australia: Health, education and optimism for the future. Australian Journal Of Education, 56(1), 5-21. 2. Aral, N. , Baran, G. , Gursoy, F. , Akyol, A. , Ayhan, A. , Bicakic, M. , & Erdogan, S. (2012). The effects of parent education programs on the development of children aged between 60 and 72 months. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 39(2), 241-249. doi:10. 2224 3. Am, E. (2001). Stability and change in children’s intelligence quotient scores: A comparison of two socioeconomically disparate communities. American Journal of Epidemiology. 154 (8), 711-777,doi:10. 1093/aje/154. 8. 711 4. Anna, M. (2012). Pay to the order of public school X. Schoolbook. Retrieved from: http://www. nytimes. com/schoolbook/2012/03/19/pay-to-the-order-of-public- school-x 5. (2012). Education. Global action week. Save the Children. Retrieved from: http://www. savethechildren. org/site/c. 8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b. 6153015/k. E633/Education. htm 6. Shiffman, C. (2011). Making It Visible: An Exploration of How Adult Education Participation Informs Parent Involvement in Education for School-Age Children. Adult Basic Education & Literacy Journal, 5(3), 161-170. Retrieved from: www. ebsochost. com 7. Rich district, poor district. (2011). The fiscal crisis. New York, NY, 9. Retrieved from: www. nytimes. com.

Master and Commander Essay

â€Å"Master and Commander† is the best movie to further my understanding of organizational behavior. In short, â€Å"Master and Commander† is a story about how to use leadership, motivation, power and politics, decision making and creativity to beat the French competitor that seems bigger, faster or stronger than his ship. In the first part of the paper, I would elaborate the point of leadership in this movie. In terms of this, the captain has the power to influence the seamen. As the British crew pursued its opponent, the captain and his team were searching for a calculated strategy that would allow them to defeat the French captain and take the ship as a prize. As it turns out, their strategy was its greatest strength. By applying their knowledge about warfare they were constantly learning about the changing environment, such as the new technology used by the French ship. The British naval officers were able to create an emergent strategy. The captain used the Fiedler leadership model, which matches the leadership style of interacting with the seaman and the degree to which the situation controls and influences the leader. For example, when the captain orders the seamen to fight again the battle, he gives orders to those who are responsible for doing the work. All seamen coordinate together with the captain and follow all the orders of the captain. One proactive aspect of the story was the ability of the captain to embrace knowledge from other disciplines and accordingly act on it. The captain’s friend, who was a doctor, was an accomplished naturalist. And his ideology was that insects disguise themselves well according to the situation around them. Naturally, the captain uses this knowledge to fool the French ship by using potential alternative. Master and Commander are sure to provide lessons in leadership and the captain’s character demonstrated many attributes of quality business leadership. For example, when the seamen place their trust on the captain, they are willing to be vulnerable to his action. In addition with the leadership concept, they learnt how to follow the captain’s instructions, knowing when to engage in the battle, inspiration to pursue achievable stretch goals, the delicate balancing of compassion and leadership of others in the ship, and proper leadership development, mentorship and succession planning. The captain did not follow the rules of leader participation model as he was the sole person  in the decision making process. For example, when he decides to fight against the French ship, his other co-members who had high authority did not agree but he still decided to fight the war. In organizational behavior terms, leadership plays a central part in understanding group behavior. In this movie, the captain shows accurate capability of improving the seamen’s performances. Other concepts used in the movie would be initiating structure, where the captain attempts to organize the battle strategy in order to fight against the French ship and attain their goals. Moreover in the movie some of them did not agree to fight the French ship because it was more sophisticated in terms of technology, but they trusted the captain’s decision. The seamen practice leader member relation concept, where they trust and respect their captain. As mention above, the captain portrays good leadership skills in his approach to manage the ship. Therefore, this would contribute directly in gaining competitive advantage. The seamen would perform better to win the battle and attain the goal of the captain. In terms of organizational behavior, the company would be more productive and the employees would feel satisfied and contented to work under the organization because of the leadership style portrayed by the top management. The other concept observed in the movie is motivation. The captain’s higher authority informed him that his mission should be to destroy the French ship, which till date has not been executed. The captain notices that this will not be an easy task as their ship was damaged from earlier warships. From this point on he becomes obsessed with completing the mission. His main motivation was to stop the ship at any cost and to execute this he drags the crew of ship to attain the obsession. This became his main goal in life. His sole aim now was to stop this ship. Even though he knew that the French ship was larger than his ship, he was still motivated to continue the battle. Apart from that, the captain also portrays management by objective concept in this movie, where he has a specific goal to attain. For example, everyone’s goal in the ship was to fight the French ship and win the battle. Moreover, the captain provides motivation for the seaman in the ship. When one of his lieutenants was looking through the telescope, he noticed two ships approaching but when the captain went to confirm it, he did not see them. The lieutenant would have got discouraged if he had revealed the truth  but he went ahead and complimented him for doing a good job. In the other part of the movie, two of his seaman presents to him the model of the French ship which gives him an idea why the French ship is superior to them. For the job done, he treats the seamen with wine. This is an ideal way of motivating the seaman to perform better in future. Before the war the captain encourages his seaman with his inspirational quote â€Å"discipline will count as much as courage† and â€Å"this ship is our home, this is England†. This inspires and motivates the seaman to combat the French ship. This provides a competitive advantage over and above the other tasks. The captains approach results in complete satisfaction and contentment, which enables the seamen to perform better in the war. Moreover, he motivates the seaman during practice for war and he constantly motivates the seaman throughout the movie. In organizational behavior terms, this increases the productivity of the company and enhances employee performance. The movie shows the effects of power. The captain has legitimate power because he has the formal authority to control, to order and to use resources available on the ship. For example, when the captain orders his seamen, all of them agree and act accordingly to his command. The captain has charismatic power which is really an extension of referent power steaming from his individual personality and interpersonal style. For example, the doctor said that he completely trust’s the captain for his capabilities. Moreover, the entire seaman respects him for his decision and as a charismatic person. The captain once mentioned to his lieutenant that he should not make friends with the seaman but should gain respect from them as he is at an authorative level. This would also make things easier for the captain in command to gain a competitive advantage over the others. Since the captain is the most powerful person on the ship, all seamen would have to follow his command and act according to his needs. In term of organizational behavior, if you want a thing to be done in an organization, power does have an upper hand. Using power in an organization may upset some employees, but this is the one of the ways to attain respect and to give order to the employee. Conflict can be considered as a part of the movie. The first conflict arises  when the captain plans to fight the French ship. During the meeting, the other high authority person in the ship goes against his idea because they feel it is impossible to win against the French ship as it was better equipped than their ship. Conflict arises at this point of time but the captain remains with his plan to fight the French ship. Another conflict in this movie is when the doctor on board asks him to stop at an island because he wanted to see the natural beauty of nature as promised by the captain but he does not agree. The reason being he wanted to continue his journey and stop the French ship. But ultimately both of them land up arguing about the topic. This can be related as task conflict because their goals did not match. In organizational behavior, conflict should be managed in order to gain competitive advantage. Apart from that, managing conflict in work environment is essential. When an employee is satisfied and the work environment is conducive, it would increase the company’s productivity and he or she will have better relationship with other employees in the organization. In this movie the captain used centralized decision making. The term centralization refers to the degree to which decision making is concentrated at a single point in the organization. For instance, the captain had a formal authority and rights in making decisions. He does not consult anyone before making his decision to fight the French ship. From the ethical point of view in decision making, the captain uses utilitarianism where his decision to fight the French ship would benefit him and achieve his goals. Even though some of his fellow people do not agree with him in the earlier part of the movie to fight but later they all supported him and worked together to reach the common goal. In term of organizational behavior, decision making process can be considered as the most important concept. This is because without a proper decision a company will not attain competitive advantage and this will not benefit the company in any ways which will hamper their productivity. â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦any organization has to have a sense of where it is going, along with someone to help get it there. Like a ship at sea, all the technology in the world is useless without a firm hand on the tiller and a captain who has a  good sense of direction† (Balancing on a Wire, 1998, p.39). This statement means that the captain should have foresight to manage and control activities towards achieving their goal. In conclusion the captain was in a win-win situation. His primary goal was to defeat his opponents and gain complete control and power over them.