Article 258 Tfeu – Key Features

â€Å"†¦judicial and legislative developments *have+ made the *infringement+ procedure [come] of age- from a rarely used, opaque and policy-driven procedure, it has now become a common, fairly transparent and highly technical procedure. † Prete & Smuldres â€Å"The coming of age of infringement proceedings† (2010) 47 CMLR 9 Has the infringement procedure finally â€Å"come of age†? Critically outline the key features of the Article 258 TFEU procedure and relevant caselaw.Article 258 TFEU (Formerly Art 226 EC) empowers the European Commission to deliver a reasoned opinion to a member state when it considers that the state has failed to fulfil an obligation under the treaties. The action seeks to â€Å"fulfil an obligation under the EC Treaty† and to â€Å"obtain a declaration that the conduct of a Member State infringes Community Law and of terminating that conduct†. If the Court of Justice of the European Union finds that the member state has f ailed to fulfil the obligation the member state shall be required to take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment.Other mechanisms exist to secure the correct application of EU Law, including the principle of direct effect and primacy of EU Law. These measures permits an individual or a company to have their rights enforced before a national court on the basis of EU Law provisions, even if such provisions are not specified within the national legal system where the application is made. Article 258 TFEU can be described as a law enforcement tool against Member States. Each Member State is responsible for the applying EU Law in a manner that is full and correct.The Court has the power to decide if a Member State is meeting its obligations that is has under the Treaties. According to statistics from the Court, approximately 200 cases are lodged before it each year. This accounts for a fraction of the suspected infringements that are investigated. The vast majority of cases a re resolved through dialogue and negotiation. As such, court proceedings are considered the final step in resolving a matter where other options have failed.Article 17(1) TEU (formerly Art 211 EC) gives the enforcement and controlling powers required by the Commission to enforce the application of EU Law by Member States. A Member State may be forced to take drastic steps including modification or rescission of national legislation or even modification of a Constitution in order to comply with a Court ruling. Financial penalties may be applied to a Member State if the state fails to comply with a Court ruling. In most circumstances, Member States do comply with the Court rulings, but they may take some time to implement such rulings, which may incur a significant financial penalty.As Guardian of the Treaties, the Commission has improved the transparency of the infringement procedures in recent years. The procedure is objective in nature and the decision rests with the Court to decid e if there has been a breach of law as alleged by the Commission. The infringement procedure begins with a request for information (so-called â€Å"Letter of Formal Notice†) to the member state concerned, which must be answered within a specified period, usually two months.If the Commission is not satisfied with the information and concludes that the Member State in question is failing to fulfill its obligations under EU law, the Commission may then send a formal request to comply with EU law (so-called â€Å"Reasoned Opinion†), calling on the member state to inform the Commission of the measures taken to comply within a specified period, usually two months. If a Member State fails to ensure compliance with EU law, the Commission may then decide to refer the Member State to the Court of Justice.However, in over 90 per cent of infringement cases, member states comply with their obligations under EU law before they are referred to the Court. If the Court rules against a member state, the member state must then take the necessary measures to comply with the judgment. If, despite the ruling, a Member State still fails to act, the Commission may open a further infringement case under Article 260 of the TFEU, with only one written warning before referring the member state back to Court.If the Commission does refer a member state back to Court, it can propose that the Court imposes financial penalties on the member state concerned based on the duration and severity of the infringement and the size of the member state (both a lump sum depending on the time elapsed since the original Court ruling and a daily penalty payment for each day after a second Court ruling until the infringement ends). These decisions cover many sectors; they aim at ensuring proper application of EU law for the benefit of citizens and businesses.Before referring a Member State to the Court, the Commission first requests information from the Member State concerned and then, if nece ssary, formally requests the Member State to comply with EU law. Around 95 per cent of infringement cases are resolved at the administration stage, i. e. before they reach the Court. If after a ruling by the Court of Justice, a member state still fails to act, the Commission warns the member state in writing.In case of continued lack of appropriate action by the member state, the Commission may take the member state back to Court, and can request the Court to impose a lump sum penalty and/or a daily penalty payment on the member state concerned. This procedure is based on Article 260 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. http://www. baltic-course. com/eng/baltic_states/? doc=33306 http://europa. eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction. do? eference=IP/10/ 1422&format=HTML&aged=0&language=FR&guiLanguage=fr http://ec. europa. eu/eu_law/infringements/infringements_en. htm http://ec. europa. eu/eu_law/infringements/infringements_decisions_en. htm http://ec. europa. eu/eu_law/eula w/decisions/dec_20101124. htm#ie http://www. ivoryresearch. com/sample14. php http://justin-santiago. blogspot. com/2009/05/article-226. html The effectiveness of an Art 226 action is diminished by the length of time the process takes and the lack of a serious penalty.The only result of a finding by the ECJ under Art 226 is that the Member State is in breach is a declaration to that effect. The Member State can continue to avoid complying with Community law obligations. Although documents related to the infringement proceedings is available a major source of frustration is difficulty in obtaining access to documents related to infringement proceedings. The Commission does not have enough resources to bring enforcement proceedings against member states under Article 226.By introducing the concept of direct effect of EC law as well as indirect effect or in action for damages on the basis of the state liability doctrine, the ECJ enabled individuals and companies throughout the EU to be come enforcers of Community law in the Member States without the need for Commission involvement. http://justin-santiago. blogspot. com/2009/05/article-226. html http://eur-lex. europa. eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ. do? uri=CELEX:62003J0459:EN:NOT Articles 258 TFEU (ex Article 226 EC) and 260 TFEU (ex Article 227 EC) provide the appropriate remedies in cases where member States fail to fulfil

Notes on Aryl Halides

3/22/2012 ARYL HALIDES 2. displacement reactions of diazonium salts ARYL HALIDES General formula: Ar–X where X = F, Cl, Br or I Examples Structure: ? C-X bonds are shorter and stronger Bond C-Cl C-Br Ar-X 1. 69 AÂ ° 1. 86 AÂ ° R-X 1. 77 1. 91 ? Dipole moments are unusually small. Bond C-Cl Preparation: 1. electrophilic aromatic substitution – useful only if one product is obtained C-Br Ar-X 1. 7 D 1. 7 D R-X 2. 10 D 2. 15 D ? Dipole moments may cancel out depending on the geometry of the molecule. 1 3/22/2012 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: ?Boiling points – similar to those of alkyl halides; same trends ? Melting point – Among disubstituted aryl dihalides, para isomer has unusually high MP; ~70 – 100 Â °C higher than ortho and meta isomers ? Solubility behavior – insoluble in water; soluble in nonpolar organic solvents – para isomer is less soluble than ortho or meta in any given solvent ? can be readily purified by recrystallization Consider : REACTIONS: 1. Electrophilic aromatic substitution (EAS) – recall directing power (o, p director) but ring is deactivated toward EAS. 2.Nucleophilic Aromatic Substitution (NAS or SNAr) ipso substitution ? an atom or group other than H is replaced in the reaction Reaction Mechanisms For NAS: A. BIMOLECULAR DISPLACEMENT: addition-elimination mechanism; occurs under mild conditions ***the aromatic ring must contain strongly electron – withdrawing or electron – attracting groups 2 3/22/2012 Observations: 1. Element effect (Bunnett): Aryl halides do not show much difference in reactivities toward NAS via bimolecular displacement. 2. Aryl fluorides are most reactive. II. Addition – fast removal of the halogen as X- is not the rate determining step . B. The Benzyne Mechanism: Elimination-addition mechanism – occurs under forcing or vigorous conditions Evidence for the benzyne mechanism: 1. scrambling of the label – reaction mechanism: 2. benzyne c annot form if both ortho positions are occupied by other groups 3 3/22/2012 D. Wurtz-Fittig Reaction 3. O-bromoanisole and m-bromoanisole give the same product under the reaction conditions. ANALYSIS: 1. Chemical tests: Test Reagent Br2/CCl4 KMnO4 AgNO3 Result (-) (-) (-)OTHER REACTIONS OF ARYL HALIDES 1. Metallation Reactions for aryl halides without reactive groups Grignard Reaction: 2. IR Spectroscopy C-X absorptions lie in the fingerprint region ? not useful for analysis 1000 – 1350 cm-1 C – F str. 750 – 850 cm-1 C – Cl str. 500 – 680 cm-1 C – Br str. 200 – 500 cm-1 C – I str. Important peak frequencies 1500, 1600 cm-1 3000 – 3100 cm-1 aromatic C – C str. aromatic C – H str. Reaction with Lithium Metal: Transmetallation – most successful with ArBr and ArI 4

How do you evaluate the economics discourse of sustainability Essay

How do you evaluate the economics discourse of sustainability - Essay Example Unfortunately many debates and studies about the measurement of sustainability do not define, or even derive a common understanding, about what is to be measured. Nonetheless, the context of sustainability cannot be separated from its measurement. In simple words, experts argue that there is need to consider economic, environmental and social indicators to measure sustainability. For example, economic indicators are income level in society, inflation, unemployment, exports / imports statistics, GDP, FDI, Public and Foreign Debt etc. Social indicators may include Suicide rates, people living below poverty line, difference between rich & poor, rate of urbanization, spread of diseases, mortality rates, educational and health spending etc. Environmental factors include carbon emissions and pollution. Together, the evaluation of these aforementioned indicators helps determining the level of sustainability in a particular nation or society. It should be pinpointed that economists, statisticians and business professionals have developed various quantitative models and tools to estimate economic betterment and real growth rates. Nevertheless, the nominal growth is not considered as true representation of economic sustainability, growth and expansion. Some of the best examples of quantitative methods for measuring sustainability include Liverman and Sustainable Seattle (that ranges from the simple to complex), Index of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), Moody’s Credit Rating etc. Economists, indeed, claim that a country’s reliance and use of local resources for domestic production (without any violation of environment and business laws) and need fulfillment of local + foreign consumers leads to accumulation of wealth and sustainability in that country. In addition, it reduces dependence on foreign countries, donor agencies and international community, which later enhances its political and economic power, reputation and

You dicide 2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

You dicide 2 - Assignment Example Since one or two customers, that complaints about the services of your company, has the potential to destroy your relationship with the rest of the customers, you need to take complaints very seriously. Therefore, as a general manager for a service company and I happen to overhear some complaints from the customers, I will tend to investigate further on these complaints. I would proceed to understanding the problem with the service by reviewing a number of factors (Okes, 2009). These may include reviewing the origin of the complaint and how many times the customer complains. It is important to quickly resolve the issues of a customer. This helps in turning the customer into a loyal one and even becomes a brand advocate. When reviewing the origin of a complaint by the customer, I would always listen to them since they have a reason for complaining about the services and it is crucial to understand why they are making complaints. The next thing is apologizing for the mistake Identified in services of the company. Since many customers always look for acknowledgment of their complaint and apologies, they tend to give you more information and the existing problem. This helps you to recognize the intensity of the

Investment Appraisal Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Investment Appraisal Project - Essay Example WACC=wdkd(1-T)+wpkp+wsks Where   Kd = interest on debt   Kp = cost of preference shares   Ks = cost of shares and retained earnings.   WACC is calculated by multiplying the cost of equity by the market value of the equity and cost of debt by the market value of the debt. Cost of equity can be defined as the minimum rate of return that a company must generate and offer to their investors in order to provide a return on their investment and for assuming some level of risk. If the company does not offer this risk to the investors, there is a chance that the shareholders might sell these shares in the market. Selling of the company shares can be interpreted as a negative sign for the financial outlook of the company and will put a downward impact on the market value of the company. Cost of company’s equity can be calculated through ‘Dividend Growth Model’ and ‘Capital Asset pricing model.’ The formula for dividend growth model is as follows. E = D o Ke - g Where E is the market value of the equity, Do is the recent dividend paid or the dividend projected for the next year, Ke is the cost of the equity and g is the growth rate of the dividend. The dividend growth model assumes that the dividend grows in perpetuity at a definite rate. This growth rate can be computed by observing the historical dividend pattern of the company and calculating the growth rate through simple discount rate formula. Cost of debt is actually the rate at which the present value of the interest payments and redemption amounts equals the current market value of the debt. The following formula further clarifies. Where M is the market value of the bond currently on which it is being traded in the market, i is the interest payment and kd is the rate of return required by the debt holder. From the formula it can easily be deduced that the market value of any bond is the present value of the interest payment. But the above formula is only applicable in the c ase of debt having maturity till perpetuity. In case tax is involved, the interest is taken after tax. Cost of debt is basically the internal rate of return. As provided in the given information, the company’s debt equity ratio is 50%, which means that 50% of its operations are financed through debt and the other half is through equity. The company has available cash balance of ?450,000 and thus, in case the company opts to purchase any of the buildings, it will have to issue bonds by acquiring more debt. Since the company anticipates that the interest rates are likely to be increased in the future, it would be prudent to raise more funds through equity in order to curtail the impact of increased finance charge on the profitability of the company. The project under consideration requires a careful estimation of all the relevant costs and revenues; a misjudgment in the forecast will cause an error in the project net present value, which might result in the acceptance of a proj ect which is not financially viable. CALCULATION BASED ON DISCOUTNED CASHFLOW First, consider the building A which costs ?1,112,000. The following table presents the calculation of the Net Present Value (NPV) of the particular investment decision. Item Amount in ? '000 Years Now 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cost of the site (1,112) Cash in-flow

B2B E-Commerce System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

B2B E-Commerce System - Essay Example Users connect to the web server and send requests to the DBMS for information retrieval. The application server that sits at the middle tier takes requests from the web server, looks up into the DBMS and then processes the information to be fed back to the web server which is visible to the user through a session with the server. Tomcat, Weblogic, and WebSphere are application servers whereas Internet Information Server (IIS) and Apache are web servers. Out of these Apache and Tomcat are free software and the others are paid. In terms of functionality and performance, all servers are similar - it is the software level configurations and hardware specifications that matter. [Liu, Xue and Heo, Jin et al. 2005] Justification: Given that we are just starting the implementation of E-Commerce, it may be advisable that we first start with two tier architecture and then gradually migrate to three tier architecture if the volume of transactions increases. Moreover, choice of the web & application servers will depend upon the technical compatibility aspects of the E-Business package that we shall select in due course. Support & maintainability will be a primary concern and hence we shall favour the platform that is better supported by vendors in our region. Background: The backe... n of E-Commerce, it may be advisable that we first start with two tier architecture and then gradually migrate to three tier architecture if the volume of transactions increases. Moreover, choice of the web & application servers will depend upon the technical compatibility aspects of the E-Business package that we shall select in due course. Support & maintainability will be a primary concern and hence we shall favour the platform that is better supported by vendors in our region. The report on Database Management Systems Background: The backend tier needs to be a database management system (DBMS) that shall hold all the information & data pertaining to the E-Business application. In this context, an analysis of MySQL, Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server is presented herewith. Detailed Analysis: MySQL is a freeware and the other two are paid DBMS software. I have studied the comparison between Oracle and MySQL from the perspective of main DBMS features - Data Types, Tables, Indexing, views, synonyms, sequences, Data Definition & Modification language, stored procedures, triggers, functions, XML compatibility, transactional capabilities, security, auditing, replication and clustering. Most of the features of Oracle are available in MySQL current versions. However, few critical features, like two way replications, high availability clustering, hot backups, role based security (grouping of users into roles before assigning privileges) and partial rollback (partial backing out of erroneous transactions) are not supported by MySQL. Given that this is an open source software, further releases can always have these features added. However, one aspect should be kept in mind that the engineering behind Oracle DBMS is the result of decades of competency development of Oracle

How Alex Fuhrman Has Filed a Case against Frederick, Hibbs, and Uvex Article

How Alex Fuhrman Has Filed a Case against Frederick, Hibbs, and Uvex Corporation - Article Example After a period of five years of Alex being in service, the corporation went public. The company built a state-of-the-art facility for cancer treatment. San Rafael was highly capitalized with highly sophisticated radiation therapy equipment. San Rafael was the best-known center due to its best services in treatment of cancer. San Rafael received research donations from generous patience, business parties, and even the public. The research group consisted of key leading scientists with doctorate degrees in biochemistry. Alex was made the administrative head of the cancer research and treatment department. In order to replace Alex a new accountant and financial manager, Christopher Hibbs was hired in West coast division. Hibbs had worked Sacramento city as a bookkeeper. He had a very good recommendation letter from his former employer and Fredrick recommended that Hibbs should be hired as a financial accountant of Uven. Hibbs wanted to make new changes in his management different from those made by Alex. He prepared and sent his financial report directly to the executive controller. Frederic found a memo from Alex stating that some funds were missing, this had happened when Alex was the financial controller. A meeting was organized whereby Alex overreacted and did not finalize into reconciliation with Hibbs. Alex filled a lawsuit. There is the lack of communication between Alex and Hibbs and that has gone to the extent where Alex has filed a case against the company, Frederick, and Hibbs. Alex thinks that Memo from Hibbs as slanderous. He is an administrator and thus he was supposed to handle this case with patience but not being emotionally uncontrollable. Because of good communication, Frederick and the executive controller did not mind asking further questions on Hibbs competence before giving him the job.  

Marketing Audit Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Audit - Research Paper Example Newness in the product signifies minor modification of the existing product that is new to the world and can also create new market for the organization. Higher the degree of newness, higher is the chances of failure or success. On one hand the newness can bring success for the organization by increasing the sales and profit, whereas on the other hand, it may lead to high cost and failure that can create problems for the business (Cravens and Piercy, 2010). This study focuses on conducting a marketing audit for a customised car that can serve many purposes at the same time. This car serves the purpose of multifunction and customization that offers the owner with the opportunity of using and transforming the car in a variety of new designs. It can serve the function of both city car and pick up. Toyota has shown interest in launching this car and in this regards the marketing audit has been conducted. About Toyota Toyota Motor Corporation is one of the world’s most favourable a nd leading manufacturers of automobile. It is the market leader in developing technologically advanced and environmental friendly cars. Toyota Motor Company was officially launched and started up by Kiichiro Toyoda in the year 1937 (Borowski, 2010). In the year 1952 the company experienced exponential growth and become successful. After this success the company began to export cars to South America and five years after this achievement, the company gained firm ground in the automobile market of North America. Entering the market of US proved to be a breakthrough for Toyota in terms of automobile export. In the year 1982, Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) was formed by collaborating Toyota Motor Sales Company with Toyota Motor Company. Currently the company has nearly 522 subsidiaries all over the worlds with about 320,808 staff and having their manufacturing unit not only in Japan but also in 51 other locations spread over 26 countries (Borowski, 2010). In the year 2007 Toyota Motor Co rporation has the highest share price value among all the car manufacturers. In the year 2008 the company recorded total sales of 8.972 million cars generating an annual turnover of $239.4 billion. In the same year the organization was recognised as the biggest manufacturer in the automobile industry (Borowski, 2010). Marketing Audit Marketing audit is described as the process of â€Å"comprehensive, systematic, independent and periodic examination of a company’s or business unit’s marketing environment, objectives, strategies and activities with a view of determining problem areas and opportunities and recommending a plan of action to improve the company’s marketing performance† (Avasarikar and Chordiya, 2007, p. 4.15). The profitability of the organization can be increased by conducting marketing audit before launching a new product in the existing or new market (Kotler and Keller, 2012). In this regards the strength, weakness, opportunities and threat of the product and the organization has been identified. Strength The major strength of the product is customisation. The owner of the car can use this in a variety of ways serving numerous purposes. The owner can use it as a pick up van and as a common city car at the same time. The car has got innovative features that can attract the customers. It is

The report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The report - Essay Example The company has grown extensively over the past few decades and opened thousands of stores across America, China, and other countries across the globe. The retail business in US has undergone rapid transformation since the emergence and growth of Wal-Mart culture. The Wal-Mart business model is being widely adapted and implemented by most competitive agencies owing to its successful operations and increasing revenues. The Wal-Mart has emerged as a popular brand name among the consumers looking for competitive rates and a comfortable shopping experience. The success of the business model adopted by Sam Walton is attributed to a deeper understanding of consumer behaviour and consumer psychology that plays actively while making a purchase decision. â€Å"The secret of successful retailing is to give your customers what they want. And really if you think about it from your point of view as a customer, you want everything: a wide assortment of good quality merchandise; the lowest possible prices; guaranteed satisfaction with what you buy; friendly, knowledgeable service; convenient hours; free parking; a pleasant shopping experience† (Walton, 1992). Wal-Mart procures goods from suppliers at low cost that translates to low pricing offered to the consumers. The incredibly low prices offered by the stores attract increased number of consumers to Wal-Mart and this is a major factor behind the success of Wal-Mart. The customers at Wal-Mart are offered with a wide variety of products at comparatively low rates that accounts for a conve nient shopping experience under a single roof. Technology has equipped the workforce with speed and accuracy that has enhanced overall productivity and efficiency within any organization. Innovation is the key to success in most business enterprises and it is evident in the way Wal-Mart has leveraged the use of innovative technology to gain cost advantage in their retail operations. The use of bar code technology has helped the

The U.N’s attempt at peace in Bosnia Essay Example for Free

The U.N’s attempt at peace in Bosnia Essay In this essay the question that I am going to answer is â€Å"Was the United Nations effective in its activities in the Bosnian War?† I am going to show that the U.N was not effective in the activities regarding Bosnia Herzegovina by first providing background on the cause of the war. I will then talk about the U.N’s beginning mandate and the formation of UNPROFOR and how they have attempted to aid Bosnia. That will transition into different perspectives on the U. N’s effectiveness in this world. I will end my paper with the resolution for the Bosnian war and finally conclude with a summary of the essay. Yugoslavia was once a country that bordered Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Albania. In the 1990’s there were a lot of disputes with Yugoslavia from the U.S and Germany. The U.S wanted Yugoslavia to break up because they â€Å"were interested in the more recently established states† (Mahiras) because they controlled key routes through the Balkan Mountains. Germany was interested because as territory of its â€Å"vital interest† Slovenia and Croatia.† In order to obtain this goal the U.S decided to give Yugoslavia and ultimatum that was backed by Germany, and other countries that the U.S â€Å"influenced†, the ultimatum was that â€Å"If Yugoslavia did not announce multi-party elections, it would face economic isolation.† This was the ultimate cause of Yugoslavia’s dismemberment into six different republics which included Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The individual states turned countries sovereignty would be put to the test in the Bosnian war. In each separate republic of what was formerly known as Yugoslavia they had a majority ethnic group. This, however, was not the case of Bosnia, Bosnia in 1991 â€Å"Muslims comprised 44% of the population, Serbs 31%, and Croats 18% with the remainder mixed.† (GOA pg 1)When Bosnia achieved independence there was a civil conflict between the Bosnian Government and the Bosnian Serbs. In order to try and keep the peace the UNPROFOR was first established (UNPROFOR stood for United Nations Protection Force) and they later created a mandate that was extended to Bosnia. Their original mandate was as follows, â€Å"UNPROFORs mandate was to ensure that the three United Nations Protected Areas (UNPAs) in Croatia were demilitarized and that all persons residing in them were protected from fear of armed attack†. (Department of Public Information) The mandate was then extended â€Å"In June 1992, as the conflict intensified and extended to Bosnia and Herzegovina, UNPROFORs mandate and strength were enlarged in order to ensure the security and functioning of the airport at Sarajevo, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to that city and its environs.† There were also hidden dilemmas in the U.N. People were beginning to question whether they were keeping the peace, or forcing the peace unto others. Author Ivo Daalder brought up a controversial point when saying, â€Å"U.N. Protection Force in Bosnia confronted a fateful dilemma. UNPROFOR could actively oppose the Bosnian Serb effort and side with the Muslim victims of the war. But this would entail sacrificing the evenhandedness that is the hallmark of U.N. peacekeeping. Alternatively, UNPROFOR could preserve its much-vaunted neutrality and limit its role to protecting humanitarian relief supplies and agencies. But this would effectively leave the Muslims to face the Bosnian Serb assault virtually unprotected.† (Daalder). After the war the U.N is criticized with not having allocated enough time and effort into the Bosnian War. They did not help out enough until the very end and in some regards are held accountable for the Mass Genocide that occurred on their watch. This is what happened with the case in Rwanda. They did not offer aid or assistance until the very end and because of that countless people die. Back on topic, the UNPROFOR was fighting to keep Sarajevo open. They tried to keep Sarajevo open in order to deliver much needed aid however much of the aid did not reach them. It was later recorded that only about 50% of the total aid reached the areas that were most affected. The reasoning behind this was that the continued fighting prohibited the cargo from reaching certain places. In an US Secretary-General Report â€Å"one UNHCR convoy on its way from Zagreb to Sarajevo had to pass some 90 roadblocks, many of them manned by undisciplined and drunken soldiers of no clear political affiliation† (US Secretary General). In addition to the Mandate the U/N also enforced a â€Å"No Fly Zone†. This meant that they banned all military flights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The U.N also established â€Å"safe areas† around Bosnian and the city of Sarajevo where an airport they were using was located. The public as well as the people in the safe areas expected UNPROFOR troops to protect them, ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid, and, possibly, get them out of these places. However, none of this could be easily delivered. This was because Humanitarian convoys were often halted on the way, usually prior to some military intervention of the Bosnian Serb army. The Bosnian Serbian Army would halt aid because it was going toward the Muslim communities that they were fighting. The UNPROFOR troops did not have sufficient enough numbers or weapons to protect themselves against the Serbian Army. Word was being spread around the world about the war in Bosnia. The media would â€Å"include footage from World War II concentration camps to draw parallels between the past slaughter of Jews and the current slaughter of Muslims by European Christians.† (Hedge). The Serbians were sweeping across Bosnia raiding in destroying predominately Muslim communities. They were better armed, allowing them to slaughter the Muslims who had barely any weaponry. They would leave death and destruction in their wake. When they would go into the villages they would commit as they called it â€Å"Ethnic cleansing† and mass rape. It would later be discovered that most of the people who committed these heinous crimes were mostly from the Bosnian Serbian community. Due to these crimes the United Nations Security Council created Resolution 808 which read an international tribunal shall be established for the prosecution of persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991. As of 2011 they had finally caught the last fugitive to be indicted for his war crimes â€Å"The Yugoslav war crimes tribunal crowned 18 years of operations on Wednesday with the capture of the last of 161 suspects from the wars of the 1990s† (Traynor). Culture played a huge card in this war. â€Å"a cultural dimension, marked by the intentional destruction of historical monuments and cultural artifacts — it has been estimated that by the end of 1992 up to 70 percent of the architectural inheritance of Bosnia-Herzegovina had been damaged or destroyed, including over 300 mosques, 150 Orthodox churches, and 50 Catholic churches†.(Vreme) As the Serbians were going through villages they were destroying any religion affiliated with the enemy. They only wanted things left standing that were important to them. â€Å"Many of these atrocities had an explicitly anti-Muslim character, and were justified as acts of historical revenge directed against the Ottoman legacy, â€Å"the continuation in an extreme form of a process of de-Islamization that had begun decades earlier.†(Mazower)† (Nation) Around this same time there was a treaty that would negotiate peace plans in Bosnia. It called for a multiethnic Bosnia. This plan was presented to the Bosnian Serbian Army. They went on to reject the initial plan and the continued fighting. Due to this turn of events NATO was on reserve to initiate and air strike in accordance the U.N. In 1994 Nato began its first air strikes killing 64 people and injuring plenty other. They became more involves with some of their jets were gunned down. Things starting looking bleak and the war continued through most of 1995. After this time the Clinton Administration decided to take action. This is how the war ultimately got decided. The Clinton Administration created a solution with the help of Madeleine Albrigh who went on to say that the UNPROFO hindered rather than help peace agreements in Bosnia. Instead she along with her follow people helped find a new solution, â€Å"The outlines of such a solution, which was based on the Contact Group plan of 1994, included: recognition of Bosnias sovereignty and territorial integrity within its existing borders; division of Bosnia into two entities—a Bosnian Serb entity and a Muslim-Croat federation; entity borders would be drawn in a compact and defensible manner, with the federation territory accounting for at least 51 percent of the total; and acceptance of special parallel relationships between the entities and neighboring states including the possibility of conducting a future referendum on the possibility of secession† (Daalder). The war end ed with the Dayton Peace Agreement signed on 21 November 1995. The final version was signed on 14 December 1995 in Paris. In conclusion, the U.N was ineffective in its efforts to stop the Bosnian War. They tried to send supplied but the cargo did not reach its destination half of the time. The troops were not armed well enough to put up a fight against the Serbians. Countless people died because they refused to take the drastic measures necessary to stop the War before it escalated. The U.S had to intervene and with them came the plan that ultimately ended the war peacefully. After the war the TCPY arrested and charged 161 people with War crimes that violated Resolution 808. I will conclude with saying that the U.N was not effective in its activities in the Bosnian War. Bibliography. Department of Public Information, United Nations. UNPROFOR. Welcome to the United Nations: Its Your World. http://www.un.org/Depts/DPKO/Missions/unprof_p.htm (accessed November 20, 2012). Daalder, Ivo. Decision to Intervene: How the War in Bosnia Ended | Brookings Institution. Brookings Quality. Independence. Impact.. http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/1998/12/balkans-daalder (accessed November 20, 2012). HEDGES, CHRIS. Muslims From Afar Joining Holy War in Bosnia New York Times. The New York Times Breaking News, World News Multimedia. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/05/world/muslims-from-afar-joining-holy-war-in-bosnia.html (accessed November 20, 2012). Mahairas, Evangelos. The Breakup of Yugoslavia . IACenter.org. http://www.iacenter.org/folder02/hidden_em.htm (accessed November 20, 2012). Nation, R.Craig. WAR IN THE BALKANS, 1991-2002. WAR IN THE BALKANS, 1991-2002. www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/00117.pdf (accessed November 20, 2012). THE SECRETARY-GENERAL PURSUANT TO SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION. Security Council . Security Council . daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N92/202/18/PDF/N9220218.pdf?OpenElement (accessed November 20, 2012). The Role of UN During and After the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Role of UN During and After the War in Bosnia-Herzegovina. www.google.com/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=1ved=0CDMQFjAAurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ceeisaconf.ut.ee%2Forb.aw%2Fclass%3Dfile%2Faction%3Dpreview%2Fid%3D166445%2Fgoga.docei=zKSrUM6NE_K40AHHvoDQDwusg=AFQjCNHsaKAUo7bXMPbP_Hie99RnTfYLXwsig2=tCOCOkY0Y (accessed November 20, 2012). Traynor, Ian. Goran Hadzic capture a milestone for Yugoslav war crimes tribunal | World news | The Guardian . Latest US news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com | The Guardian . http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/20/goran-hadzic-capture-war-crimes-milestone (accessed November 20, 2012). United States General Accounting Office . Effectiveness of U.N, operations in Bosnia. Humanitarian Intervention. www.gao.gov/assets/80/78825.pdf (accessed November 20, 2012).

Effects of Vote Buying in the Philippines

Effects of Vote Buying in the Philippines It is common knowledge that once you enter politics you are ready to any eventuality, especially when it comes to funding. Money always play a major role in bringing about the chances of winnning of a candidate. Popularity per se is not enough to assure the vote of the electorate especially in local politics. Although the COMELEC has already set guidelines and rules regarding the expenditures of the candidadates for each voter, more often than not, they exceed much more than the set amount. Corruption and dishonesty is deeply rooted in our political system, so as the mentality and attitudes of the electorate. Before and during election period, voters flock to headquarters and leaders of politicians to take advantage of the situation: to ask for favors, influence and even money in exchange for a promise of vote. Vote buying become institutionalized in our political system. Those politicians who have money can device a program to identify and to assure that his or her money will be tra nsformed into votes. This situation is more evident in local elections where wealthy political clans are ruling. They organized leaders in every barangay to identify possible voters to be bought. To make sure, they furnish a copy of voters registration in COMELEC in the area, so as to identify a potential voter to buy or to corrupt the mind of the undecided. In a poor country like ours, it is not impossible to have a power because our politicians know our vulnerability to pressure and our hardships in life. Majority of our electorate are poor and no means of livelihood, no education to back them up and they just resign themselves to taking alms and reliefs. They take advantage of our weaknesses but we cannot blame those who sell their votes. Filipinos minds are set for any answers that are immediate. That is why even when the act is illegal and unlawful, like selling votes, they instanlty resort to it to easily come up with a solution to their problem, like poverty. On the long run, the vote buying will only be a stepping stone for corruption and fiefdom perpetration. WHAT IS VOTE BUYING? -Vote buying involves the individual, immediate, and private exchange of goods, services, or cash for electoral support, usually in violation of legal norms- Hickens, 2006 -most recurrent violation of election ethics Most prevalent form of election fraud. Dispensing of money to opinion-makers, leaders, and directly to voters economic exchange (Schaffer, 2002) -(page 1) research on electoral politics in San Isidro, Bataan- vote buying and vote selling can be understood no longer as an economic transaction between those who sell their freedom and those who buy them in the hope of regaining their investments when they get into powerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ from the standpoint of ordinary peopleà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ elections are the times when equality and justice are temporarily achieved as their patrons fulfill their financial obligations to support them in times of need (Ibana, 1996, 130-131). -voters sells his or her vote to the highest bidder (Schaffer, 2002) apparent efforts by parties or candidates to influence electoral choices through the delivery or promise of material benefits to voters (Schedler, 2002) -Material favors are grabted to obtain electoral support (Schedler, 2002) TYPES OF VOTE BUYING Vote buying can be categorized into two types: direct vote buying and indirect vote buying. Both types are widely used in the case of the Philippines although the idea of direct vote buying serves as the more popular act. DIRECT VOTE BUYING It is the most common type of vote buying where direct payments, in many forms, are given to the voter. It may be in the form of cash donations, shares of stock or a promise of a particular plan of action or payment in exchange for a promise of vote (Dekel, E., et. al., 2004). INDIRECT VOTE BUYING It is a kind of vote buying done in a non obvious and staightforward approach. This type of vote buying uses campaign strategies that target the weaknesses of the electorate. Here in the Philippines, the strategy of the candidates is to use and take advantage of the different Filipino traits. Example of these traits are our values of utang na loob (an act of voluntary assistance that creates an obligation that the receiver must attempt to repay through reciprocal assistance), pakikisama, our close family and kinship ties, our religiousness, and other social values like loyalty, support and trust. They effectively use the various traits to influence and temp us to follow their selfish plans. Bava (1998) gave a concrete example on how this character capitalization happens. Different parties and candidates hire poll watchers and workers who are tasked to distribute sample ballots for their party. Each poll watchers and ballot distributors are given 1500 pesos and 500 pesos respectively, per day of work from 7 am to 3 pm. A poll watcher only needs 4 things in order to land the job: 1) a ballpen 2) a tally sheet 3) at least 18 years of age and 4) a registered vote (Bava, 1998). The last requirement is the most important and advantageous in the part of the candidates. If the hired person is a registered voter, the employer will be sure that the employers vote will go to him or her. A person offered with this kind of job will definitely take the oppurtunity given all the privileges and comfort that it can give.. They can earn almost 1500 pesos a day by just distributing pamphlets and sample ballots. Adding to the convenience is the free meals given to them by their employer. A nd if the candidate won in the elections, most of them are given permanent jobs in various government offices. This is where indirect vote buying takes place. This act, according to Bava (1998), displays the Filipino trait of utang na loob. If a person has done something good to us, we would do anything and everything to return that goodness. In this case, the poll watchers and other employees will feel obligated to vote the candidate/employer because of the job that was given to them. FORMS OF VOTE BUYING Money is the common type of material that the candidates use in order to buy votes. But vote buying not only takes the form of money. It can be other forms of material offers. Schedler (2002) and Schaffer (2002) made a list that summarizes the different kinds of offers into three categories. The first and the most common form is payment. A payment is an amount of money paid. Schedler (2002, p.4) described it as a commercial relationship in which partners trade equivalent values. The citizen trades his vote in exchange of money. The act of accepting money denotes that there is an indirect agreement between the giver and the receiver of the payment. The second kind of material offer takes the form of gifts. A gift is something that is given out of free will without paying something in return. In the context of vote buying, accepting a gift does not give you the responsibility and obligation of voting the giver. The last kind is in the form of wage. A wage is a amount of money paid in exchange of services rendered. Like gifts, it does not require any obligation to the candidate. FACTORS AFFECTING VOTE BUYING According to Schaffer (2002), there are three factors that affect the strategies of the candidates and the perception of the voters toward vote buying. These are socioeconomic, institutional and political factors. The first factor both affects the candidates strategies and the voters perception while the last two factors affect mainly the strategies of the candidates. SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS One of the socioeconomic factor is the social class (Hicken, 2006). The formulation of the different strategies are influenced by social classes existing in society. The candidate must make a strategy that can produce strong and favorable impressions on people from different walks of life. It should cater to the needs of the entire high, middle and low class population. But it is impossible to come up with such strategies given that there is a massive gap and conflicting interests present among these social classes. Different social classes connotes different needs and expectations. A strategy that might work to the lower class might be ineffective to the middle and higher class or a strategy that may be good to the higher class might harm those belonging in the lower class. Adding to the problem is the unequal number of population belonging to a certain social class. In the Philippines, the population of the lower class is greater than the population of the middle and higher class c ombined. The solution to these is to focus the strategy to those who constitute the majority. The easiest and most effective strategy to garner votes is to buy the votes of those who are included in this majority (which is the lower class). It will be very effective since those who belong in this class are financially unable who need money to sustain their everyday living. This scenario is very prevalent in the Philippines since many are members of the lower class. Almost all politicians who are running in office are focusing their campaign on the less fortunate because to them, greater number of voters means more number of votes and more number of votes means greater chances of winning. The second socioeconomic factor is education (Hicken, 2006) which affects the voters view about vote buying. For the high and some middle class voters, vote buying is a deviant and somehow an immoral behavior. Those in the higher and middle class are strong attackers of this practice. They are advocates of different anti-vote buying campaigns and they are known for organizing movements that educate the people about this kind of campaign strategies. They have this kind of opinion because education teaches them about this kinds of things. But for some middle class and most in the lower class (who cannot afford to have a higher education), they accepted vote buying because they perceive it as the time when they can receive free money that they can use to buy their necessities. INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS Hicken (2006, p. 48), stated that the rules and institutions under which candidates must operate can influence their incentives to purchase electoral support. Different institutional factors may encourage or discourage the use of vote buying. One institutional factor is the electoral system itself (Hicken, 2006). Under this factor is the district magnitude. It affects the strategy of the candidate because large constituency means larger amount of money needed to buy votes. Large district also has influence on the manner of distribution of the money. The strategy will be more expensive and costly since the distribution of money will take much longer and there should be an increase in the number of employees to properly accomplish the strategy. As a result, candidates will lessen the amount of money to be distributed to the people in order to prioritize other campaign strategies. POLITICAL FACTORS Political factors are different conditions and circumstances in society that affect the creation of various policies political choices. One of the variable under this factor are the election laws, particularly the anti-vote buying laws (Hicken, 2006). The degree of execution of different anti-vote buying laws affect how candidates device their strategy and distribution plans. In the Philippines, vote buying is illegal yet it continues to occur probably because of inefficiency of the laws and the law enforcers and the light punishments that will be given to the law breaker. There is no strict regulation of such laws in our country that is why the practice of vote buying is still a widespread act. More often than not, the law enforcers themselves are the protector of this scheme. BUDGET SOURCES The first thing that comes into our minds when we talk about vote buying is money. Money is the vital element of vote buying. It is the foundation of any vote buying scheme. We usually think that all vote buying funds are coming from the pockets of the candidates since most of them are members of the elite. But I think that the candidates are smart enough not to make use of their own wealth and to think of other alternative ways of budget sources. Some candidates most likely get their vote buying budget from their own political parties. Others accept donations from different business sectors given the condition that if they win the elections, they will repay them by giving them economic benefits and government protection. For example, the candidate accepted the donation from a construction company. If the candidate won the elections and plans to carry out road projects, he or she will be obliged to make the company the contractor of the said projects. Other candidates resort in getting illegal funds. Candidates who seek re-election have the advantage when it comes to money resources because they can easily tap pork barrel and other government funds. Some ask the help of drug syndicates, smugglers, kidnappers, gamblers and robbers to provide them with untraceable funds. It is true because we can observe that many crimes and illegal acts are happening during the election season. In return, the candidates give them financial support and protection. DIFFERENT STRATEGIES OF VOTE BUYING A carefully devised plan of action is needed to successfully carry out plans, especially if act is illegal. Candidates and politicians are wise in strategizing the effective way to buy the votes of the people. Usually, they even hire experts and professionals who are knowledgeable in fields concerning illegal campaign scheming. One specific strategy to ensure that the money given was translated into vote is what Bionat (1998) called Lanzadera system. In this strategy, the watchers give the voters an already completed ballot which will be dropped by the voters in the ballot box. After dropping the already completed ballot, the voter, then, takes with him or her the blank ballot and give it to the watcher. The watcher will complete that ballot and give it to the next paid voter. In this system, the money is given only if the voter returns with a blank ballot. I interviewed people from our barangay in Bulakan, Bulacan about the chronic vote buying in our place. They had first hand experiences on how vote buying takes place in our town. Based from that interview, I was able to learn other strategies and series of actions on how the scheme of vote buying happens. According to them, vote buying is usually conducted a night or two before the election day, usually around eight in the evening until midnight. Each politicians has their own leader per community who is responsible for the identification of supporters and potential vote buying targets. They are also responsible in delivering the money to the house of the identified voters, at times in the apperance of paying the watcher. The intense vote buying is very evident and common in our place that the people are the ones coming and lining up in front of the politicians headquarters to ask for the money. Another strategy done by the candidates is getting the trust of barangay officials and other community leaders. In this way, the candidate can almost assume his or her hold in the community. The local leaders, then, are given large amount of money in exchange of buying the votes of their constituencies on behalf of the politician or the candidate. One more strategy that was mentioned by my neighbors is buying non-supporters. Candidates will offer those non-supporters with a huge amount money. If they accept it, they will not be allowed to come out of their houses on the day of the election. There will be someone who will serve as a watchman that will ensure that the voter will abide to the agreement. Some politicians, in order to be extra sure, hire a bus that will take all the paid non-supporters to an out-of-town trip on the election day. Another startegy is the taking advantage of the politicians on our deep family and kinship ties. Some politicians use a relative or an influential member of a clan to convince members of the family and close friends to accept the money and to vote for that politician. Vote buying also happens during the election day itself as said by the interviewees. Buying may take the form of 100 pesos attached to the sample ballot. There are also ways in order to ensure that the paid voter will comply to the agreement. Before giving the money, they are required to give proofs that they voted that candidate. Usually, they bring with them a carbon paper or they are asked to take a picture of the ballot with a cellphone camera. Others asked the voters to make an agreed mark (a particular fold for example) on the ballot to serve as an identification in the course of the counting of the votes. REASON WHY POLITICIANS BUY VOTES The primary reason why politicians buy votes is the hunger for power. Vote buying is a form of desperation to remain in power. Many politicians fight for the privelege of power because it implies influence and control over other individuals. They see power as the easiest way to achieve fame and fortune. Candidates want to perchase the vote of the people to obtain domination on different public organizations as mechanisms. They are not afraid to spend a big amount of money because the moment they win the elections, they can recover much more money than that was paid to the individuals who sell their votes. REASONS WHY PEOPLE SELL THEIR VOTES According to the April 2007 of the Social Weather Station (SWS), one in two of the registered voters think that there is nothing bad in accepting the money offers from the candidates (refer to Figure 1). Others may not see this from of money-giving as an attempt to buy their votes. They accept the money but it does not necessarily mean that they will vote for that candidate. Another reason is the offer seems as an opportunity to get the money, that was stolen by the politicians, back to the people. They might as well accept the offered money since it came from the taxes of the people. The April 2007 SWS survey also found that those in the rural areas were more probable in accepting money compared to those who live in urban areas (refer to Table 1). This shows that the primary reason for the selling of votes is poverty. Those who live in or below the poverty line mostly are unemployed individuals. They accepted the money because they needed it. For the poor, payment for a vote can mean a week without hunger. They just accept the offer because for them, dignity and pride cannot create food and money. Some may see elections as the only chance to obtain something from the government. They have this view that it is an obligation of a candidate to give money and other material things to their supporters. There are some reasons that we can consider negative in the part of the voters. People accept payments because they are being threatened. Most of the times, material offers are accompanied with terror, making the offer difficult to refuse. Figure 1. In an election, it is not bad to accept money provided one votes according to ones conscience. Source: http://www.sws.org.ph/pr070503.htm Table 1. Rural areas approved accepting money compared to those in the urban areas. Source: http://www.sws.org.ph/pr070503.htm IS REFORM POSSIBLE? For the past few years, many have attempted to stop and eliminate the practice of vote buying in the Philippines. They even formed different organizations that promotes the values of an honest election. But none of them actually succeeded. Probably the most successful technique that was done to eradicate vote buying is the campaign against vote buying through different public service posters (see Illustration 1, Illustration 2 and Illustration 3). Successful in the sense that it enables the public to gain information that the act of vote buying is wrong. But it did not really help in the removal of this unacceptable practice. Illustration 2: 3M public service ad, May 2001. blinded by money. Vote with your conscience. Source: Schaffer, 2005 Illustration 1: Namfrel Public Service Ad, May 2001. Your vote is valuable, it doesnt have a price. Your character is priceless. So, in this election, dont sell your character, dont sell you vote. Source: Schaffer, 2005 Illustration 3: Red Horse Beer public service ad, May 2001. A little pocket change wont put you ahead. Dont ask for a bribe. Vote for a good candidate. Source: Schaffer, 2005 A reforms aims to change the behavior of the candidates and the the voters HISTORY OF VOTE BUYING IN THE PHILIPPINES Vote buying is not just a recent development in Philippine elections. Its existence started with the coming of foreign colonizers and continued to flourish and evolve with the advancement of new technologies and the development of new ideas. Pre-colonial elections in the Philippines did not have vote buying because the leadership was assumed not through election but through succession. The same thing goes probably with the elections during the early Spanish period (17th to 18th century). I did not find any account stating that there was vote buying but I assume that there was none because there was no elections and the leaders were only appointed by the Spaniards. In the late Spanish period (19th century), Spanish colonial control in the Philippines declined as the Philippine revolution started. The revolution led to the development of a government established by Aguinaldo. Under this government, most officials were selected individuals from the principalia class and elections were only held for higher positions. There was no large scale elections during that time so vote buying was not an option. The coming of the American period started vote buying in the Philippines. The Americans gave all Filipinos the right to rule and the right to vote. Act No. 60, which became the organic law for all municipal governments, started the elite rule in the Philippines (Tangcangco, 1988). The Act provided a requirement that only allowed the elites to vote and participate in elections. The elites became powerful and they may have realized the advantage that the position can give them.They became accustomed to the power that was once denied by the Spaniards. From then on, in order to sustain this power, they did whatever means and costs to be elected in office. Here are some of the documented instances of vote buying from the American period until the present period. In the 1929 Elections (during the American period), money was very essential in the campaign period. Money was used to pay-off rivals to withdraw their candidacy, to buy the votes of the people, to threathen the people, and to bribe campaign leaders of the rival candidate. (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996). In 1940 Local elections (Commonwealth period), Money was again a very important tool. Specific example for this one is the case of Pedro Abad Santos of the Socialist Party. He was predicted as the winner of the gubernatorial race in the province of Pampanga because of his massive popularity to his constituents but his wealthy opponent won the election by almost 7000 votes. There was no evidence of the strategies his opponent had used but the Abad Santos camp was really sure that his opponent used his money to buy the votes of the people. Another example was the electoral protest of Dr. Hilario Moncado against Tomas Cabili. They were fighting for a congressional seat in Lanoa province. Moncado accused Cabili of unlawful campaign by promising free legal services and employment for those who will vote for him. (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996) In the 1949 National Elections (during the post-independence period), all forms of fraud and manipulation were reportedly done by President Elpidio Quirino to ensure his position as president. Quirino and his other candidates used massive and whole-sale vote-buying in forms of money, jobs and pork barrel. It was reported that Quirino had used almost four million pesos during his election campaign. The three provinces where the massive vote buying occurred include Negros Occidental, Nueva Ecija and Lanao. (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996) The 1969 Presidential and Congressional Elections was between The Nacionalista Party and the Liberal Party. This was considered as the bloodiest and dirtiest election (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996, p.111) prior to the Martial law period. Both parties reportedly used different techniques to ensure their victory. These included cheating, ballot stuffing and massive vote buying. It was stated in the reports that the Nacionalista Party and the Liberal Party spent around 700 million pesos and 300 million pesos respectively. Those money came from the pork-barrel funds and was used as media fees and in buying votes. (Banlaoi Carlos, 1996). During the Martial law period, all kinds of wholesale fraud were committed including vote buying. In order to capture the loyalty of the rural people, Marcos personally distributed 4000 pesos to every barrio captain during his campaign. The barrio captains were tasked to divide the money among the inhabitants of the barrio. (Abueva, 1970). In the 1992 elections, there was a ban on media advertisements so the candidates had more cash to spend on their campaigns. Feliciano Belmonte, Quezon City congressional candidate at that time, was reported to have given cash and free tickets to Hongkong during his campaign. (Bionat, 1998) The media advertisement was also banned in the 1995 elections. According to Bionat (1998), mayors in Cebu received a bonus of 50,000 to 100,000 pesos for campaigning the 12 senatorial bets of the administration. Like what Marcos did, candidates also bought the votes of the grassroots leader. The difference is that the value of their support was more expensive. Barangay captains accepted a minimum of 500 pesos and a maximum of 20,000 pesos from the candidates. (Bionat, 1998) In the 2004 Presidential elections, Arroyo commited almost all kinds of fraud according to Tuazon (2006). One example is the Oplan Mercury that was exposed by Rudy Galang (one of the brains of this idea). The goals of this plan is to use public funds to the campaign, to provide money to local officials and to buy the support of those in the opposition. (Tuazon, 2006). Elections in the Philippines from pre-colonial era to the present shows how we incorporate influences of colonial rule into our political system. The good and bad effects of these interventions became part of the changes in Philippine elections. History tells us that the face of Philippine elections has never really changed. We still continue to perfrom the practices of the past. The difference now is that it just assumes new shape and form. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION giving up your rights to vote/ selling ones ethical standards -Vote buying-short term effects are long term. Soon after the election, its pay back time. Reform must start in the smallest unit of the society, which is the family. Our family should inculcate in us the values of honesty and transparency and the importance of a single vote to the development and progress of the country. Change must start within ourselves. Anti-vote buying campaigns will not succeedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Vote buying is not a native Filipino idea. It was only an reflection of our colonial experience. But this experience manifest in us that it became a constant scenario in every elections. History has an indirect effect on the start of vote buying in the Philippines. The desire for self-rule that was forbidden to the Filipinos for almost 300 years was suddenly bestowed to us that it might have created the idea of doing whatever it takes (may it be good or bad) to preseve and uphold this right.

The Scarlet Letter Essay -- essays research papers

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne discusses the issues of guilt, pain, and truth. For many people, it is hard to accept the faults of their own failures. Most do not acknowledge the reality of their lives, and wind up suffering for their mistakes. Guilt and Sin are bad and also cause pain. Hester Prynne endures in agony and pain because of the mistake she made. In the novel, Hester rarely gives up hope. Through her suffering, Hester maintains to keep her dignity. Hester is admired because of her strong will, and her ability to ignore other's views of her. "In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbors† (Hawthorne 50). The townspeople had no right to determine Hester’s punishment. God can only make this type of judgment. She also expresses her best qualities when she stands up to Governor Bellingham, and she confronts him about Pearl. Hester, being proud, headstrong, and confident, faces him successfully and convinces Governor Bellingham into letting her keep Pearl. She is not afraid of much in her life, especially for standing up for her family. She gains knowledge each day of her life and continues to live a fierce life. â€Å"This badge hath taught me—it daily teaches me—it is te aching me at this mom...

Internet Taxation Essay -- Taxing Internet Web Essays

Internet Taxation Should states and local governments be able to impose internet tax on individuals and corporations? Maybe they should not, but they are. There are currently twelve states and the district of Colombia that currently impose sales tax on internet access. There are also 10 states that presently collect taxes on data downloads. Who pays for these taxes? And how is this tax computed? Is there truly justification for this taxation or is it just another way for federal, states, and local governments to collect potentially huge tax revenues? And what effects will these taxes have on the internet? Would taxing the internet kill the industry? In any case, individuals should educate themselves about internet taxation. There are three primary types of internet taxes: taxes on internet access, Sales and use tax, taxation on information and other non-tangible goods obtained from the internet (http://by4fd.bay4.hotmail.msn.com). One type of internet tax is the Internet access tax. These are taxes enforced on individuals or corporations for use internet access. Currently, there are 10 states which charge for internet access. These taxes are sometimes undetected by the customer because the tax is already embedded in the information or data processing services fee or the telecommunication services fee that is already being paid. So it is likely that firms or individuals don’t even realize they are paying this internet tax. If the internet tax is not already imbedded in these fees it would mean that the firm or individual would have to pay additional fees to access the internet. In many situations the imposed taxes are paid for by the internet service provider. For the states that are not currently paying taxes f... ...ack and watch internet retailers take advantage for so long. Though it seems fair to tax information and intangible goods, many internet customers are not going to be willing to pay for these taxes in addition to having to deal with longer time period to access the internet. Usually when people pay more they expect something in exchange. So taxing information and intangible goods does not seem like a wise move to make, unless there is a way of speeding up the internet speed and/or making internet access faster. Customers are just not going to pay more for less. This assignment has made me aware of what internet taxation is and informed me about the major controversy over it. I now know that there are many states in the U.S. that charge customers internet taxes. And I feel fortunate to live in Arizona where we do not have to pay these taxes at this time!!!

Essay examples --

The Blind Watchmaker In 1986, Richard Dawkins, an eminent ethologist and evolutionary biologist, published a three-hundred-plus page refutation of William Paley’s watchmaker analogy. The writing itself is thorough, elegant, and forceful. Dawkins possesses what is possibly the most blunt yet poetic scientific writing style that exists, sometimes even quoting pieces of poetry and literature in his writings. While previous works such as The Selfish Gene and The Ancestor’s Tale were scientific masterpieces unto themselves, the insights contained in The Blind Watchmaker are among some of the most important and impressive ever offered by a human being. In writing this paper, it was difficult to decide exactly what to highlight; the book itself is dense, although that’s not necessarily a hindrance to its effectiveness. A good place to start would probably be Paley’s watchmaker analogy itself. To paraphrase, Paley asks you to imagine stubbing your toe in the middle of a grassy field. If you asked yourself how the stone got there, you might just assume it had always been there. However, if you were to stumble upon a watch in that same field, you would not assume the same. You would suppose that at some point in time, a watchmaker designed and created it for a purpose. Paley goes on to explain that â€Å"every indication of contrivance, every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature† (Dawkins 5). To strengthen his argument, life is immensely more complex than a watch. The crux of Paley’s argument was the eye, and in his work Natural Theology he compares it to the man -made telescope. On its face, this appears to be a strong, scathing argument against the natural appearance of life, but the analogy begins... ...rking on randomly mutating, self-replicating creatures in order to create the variety and abundance of life on our planet is surely one of the greatest revelations mankind has ever produced. Chemistry and physics alone are capable of colluding and eventually creating not just life, but sentience, intelligence - no divine nudge necessary. That’s not to say that this idea is entirely original to Dawkins (David Hume was capable of constructing an argument against design by only philosophizing), but that doesn’t diminish the accomplishment this book represents. While many freethinkers out there disagree with his tactics and approach as a proselytizing atheist, he’s certainly earned a level of frustration. In The Blind Watchmaker, Dawkins has done all the footwork for us already. We need only open its pages and utilize the relatively large brains that nature has given us.

Are social networking sites good for our society Essay

Are social networking sites good for our society? In todays lifestyle it is admitted that Social Network Sites bring convenience, efficiency, fast, speed and width for adolescents’ interpersonal relationship development. With various ongoing debates about why social networking may be bad for society, I have found it to be good for society. Social networking comes in many forms. It comes in the form of facebook, twitter, and even professional forums such as Linkedin. In such a fast-paced world, I find social networking to be an invaluable way of sharing ideas and interests that allow me to remain engaged. Although some may debate that social networking takes away from face to face and/or quality interactions, I have found it to be an invaluable tool in building community and networks. In fact, I believe it has given us a more effective way of communicating and engaging with one another especially in our fast-paced society. If I am on a work assignment one of my favorite tools to research is twitter. I find it to be a quick news feed and I usually learn about news first from there before learning it from the mainstream media such as television or radio. And of course facebook has been the staple for me as for many in helping us remain engaged and to keep abreast of graduations, weddings, births or other special events regarding our family and friends. Social media continues to make strides to make communication more accessible and easier for all of us. Just this week Mark Zuckerberg, founder of facebook, has announced that it is now offering a Graph Search function in order for the user to have the ability to run queries from one’s network of friends. It allows users to run queries in order to find commonalities or other areas of interest within friend networks. Twitter has allowed many in suppressed

CompareandContrast Essay Microsoft vs Apple

Their products can last years like their laptops for example, but if you have a windows based laptop you need to replace it very year in order to keep up with technology. When talking about what to compare with these two companies I am going to focus on the logo, stocks, and their operating systems. Apple is a more consumer-based product, while Microsoft tends to reach out more towards businesses. Apple's logo is more classic and just a picture of an apple with a bite out of the apple. While Microsoft's is just the name Microsoft with four colored squares that look like a window.Microsoft looks like a combination of Google and Apple's design elements. Microsoft tries to use design elements from multiple companies in order to help them with the public. No more logo in technology is more known than Apple's. Microsoft has tried many times to rebind themselves. According to Matt Burns, Microsoft's logo is â€Å"simply me†, and I couldn't agree more (Burns, 2012, Para. 3). Microsof t has regained its position as the number 2 most valuable US company right behind Number 1 Apple. Apple is a maker of closed and proprietary Technology products.Apple has earned a commanding market value of 669 billion in comparison to Microsoft's 408 billion. Apple develops its in secret and unveils them to the public with presentations shown to people all over the world. Apple and Microsoft are in a dead heat this year with shares of Apple rising 21. 5% and Microsoft rising at 20. 3%. â€Å"During the intermediate term, it's a close battle, too. Shares of Apple are up 69. 8% over the past three years, just marginally ahead of the 63. 6% rise by Microsoft. (Karate, 2014, p. ) The edge goes to Apple; over the last five years Apple is up 314% compared to Microsoft 91 % gain. Contrary to popular belief prior to the phone 6 coming out, Microsoft outsold Apple on cellophanes. The trouble for Microsoft though is only 5. 8 million out of 36 million was smartness. Apple SO X and Microsoft Windows are two of the most used operating systems. When is comes to the operating systems Apple has more software bundled with their operating system than Microsoft. There are more titles available on the Windows platform. SO X has more offerings in music and video production.You can run windows non Mac, but you can't run SO X on windows. So you have the best of both worlds on an Apple computer. When it comes to security of the operating system a vicious program can change the system on windows without you even knowing it. When it comes to Apple, SO X added â€Å"sandbagging to improve protection against mallard and Trojan. † (â€Å"Apple vs.. Microsoft,† 2014, Para. 6) When it comes to viruses you have to buy additional software to protect it on a Microsoft operating system, but with Apple it comes built into their operating system.When you want to upgrade your operating system it is more affordable with Apple. If you wanted the newest operating system with Apple it would be free if you had the prior operating system, and with Microsoft it would cost 1 19. 99 for just the upgrade version. With Apple you can just install it from the App store, but with Microsoft you would have to go to a tore to purchase it. While SO X has the benefit off faster startup and higher performance, the graphics applications run faster on Windows.The question of what company is better in my opinion is Apple. All the hardware and software just works well together. Apple offers an absolutely flawless integration of hardware and software. Only with Apple do you get a system built by the same group who makes the operating system, the applications and the computer. The Apple operating system and its hardware make for a far more reliable, less troublesome environment than Windows. Microsoft just does not have a consistent, coherent and unified brand like Apple clearly does.

Old Toen White Coffe Marketing

INTRODUCTION Old Town White Coffee, founded in 1999, made history when the company became the first, the pioneer white coffee producer to manufacture and launch the famous Malaysia Ipoh White coffee as a 3in1 instant Blend. Old town White Coffee 3in1 classic together with the original recipe from 1958 spearheaded a breakthrough in the coffee industry. The company single-handedly captured the original authentic taste of an otherwise localized white coffee, turning in into a mobile commodity a fast moving consumer good (FMCG), capturing the South East Asia market.LOGO, VISION & MISSION Logo The Old Town White Coffee goal is to let everyone enjoy every sip authentic Malaysian Ipoh white coffee anytime and anywhere. Vision To be Asian Pacific’s Leading White coffee producer providing high quality products to customers globally. Mission To promote our unique Malaysian taste- the authentic Ipoh White Coffee and continue White Coffee Legacy the rough continuous improvement and innova tion that exceeds customer expectations. By setting precedence Old Town White Coffee have made a standard that equals excellence, pushing other brands to do the same.Strive for continuous improvement, incorporate innovations and technology in our commitment to create customer value in our both product services. These continuing efforts maintain and reinforce our market leader status and more us forward to become a leading White coffee producer in Asia pacific. SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS-The profits obtained by Old Town is quite high compared to other coffee shop in Malaysia. -Offer other foods, such as â€Å"heavy food†-Has many branches throughout Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. | WEAKNESS-Old town coffee also depends an the coffee and makes them difficult to diversify their product. Innovation is slow because depend on one product only. | OPPORTUNITIES-Able to expend its operation to the global market to be introduction throughout ASEAN. -Able to re-brands and to compete wi th other company using the same material. | THREATS-Consequences from increasing of price of materials which they have use will be make the price product is also increase. -Product imitation is a very higher because they are using coffee which is very common. | STRATEGY BUSINESS STRATEGY All the store of Old Town Coffee White were located at high traffic, high visible location in each Asia market.That the market entry strategies have found to be used by Old Town White Coffee in managing their foreign franchisees when expanding into Asia include master franchising and company owner-stores. The marketing approach is essential to gain a competitive advantage for Old Town White Coffee in the foreign market the construct included market entry, site location, and market positioning. Reason for Old Town White Coffee to choose master franchise as its from of franchising is because of that the master franchising was the most popular made of entry into distant and cultural dissimilar market A sia.COMPETITIVE STRATEGY Targeting Old Town white coffee: While evaluating their consumer market the conclusion was that the ideal consumer’s economic profile will be Upper Middle Class, privileged Class. While the age demographics will be Students and Youngsters, Professionals, families, Mature Consumers. Gender and Ethnic or Religious Background was researched to have minimal or no effect on the choices concerning coffee made by consumers and their patronage of coffee houses. To maximize on brand name (signature) Costa signifies luxury, excellence in Coffee, all over the world, along with the theme of Costa.The marketing communication strategy for Old Town White Coffee is raising awareness of your product in your target market is where sales begin, and this is where marketing communications activities begin the selling process. With today's multiple channels for content to reach potential customers, the art and science of marketing communications has become increasingly imp ortant. However, no company can be sure they are using the most efficient media mix without creating a marcom strategy that is aligned with their overall strategic marketing direction.OPERATION STRATEGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT In 2005, it expanded vertically into the food services sector by opening a chain of cafe outlets based on the traditional Ipoh coffee shop setting and ambience under the ‘OldTown White Coffee’ brand name. Since the opening of its first cafe outlet in Ipoh in 2005, its chain of cafe outlets has expanded to around 160 cafe outlets in Malaysia and Singapore. This includes fully and partially owned, and franchised cafe outlets.The management has successfully mixed tradition with modern conveniences, revamped and revived the traditional cafe concept into a successful working model with outlets conveniently located and easily accessible to customers. PRICING Price does affect customers’ choice on products or  services. Customers are willing to day more because they higher price means higher quality one brand offers. In brand competition, the best price any brand can offer is important yet they have to be careful not to  create bad consequences for long-term. BRANDINGThe Malaysian coffee culture also being improvises by re-branding to enhance experience and increasing sales by multiple transactions from regular customer. From small spaces and only selling few selections of foods, Malaysian coffee culture has expanded by upgrading services, more variety in food and beverage, and creating nostalgia as well as being chic and contemporary. The role of branding in local coffee culture not only providing space but might be escapism for consumer and local society from different hierarchy, not to mention that this is kind of lifestyle and culture that they embrace.As a new life style and trend, Malaysian coffee culture is very popular for all public audience. It has grown along with social change needs and demand. CONCLUTION Old Town White Coffee must be diversify use of coffee product that mention does not too slow. Because of Old Town White Coffee is one coffee shop famous in Malaysia, they should open branches throughout they country to compete with other company. In other way Old Town White Coffee should provide a various service such as shipping orders to customers house. REFERENCE http://www. malaysiaco. com/search/old+town+white+coffee http://www. oldtownwhitecoffee. com/

Comparative Criminal Justice Systems

In Phillip L. Reichel’s book Criminal Justice systems 6th edition Phillip Reichel uses the historical, political and descriptive approaches to compare criminal justice systems, although it is the institution and actors strategy that Lynch emphasizes. Legal systems and legal traditions have been studied and compared since the early 18th century. We will be discussing why criminal justice systems are studied and evaluating and comparing how the historical, political and descriptive approaches are used to study today’s criminal justice systems.In reference to why we study other justice systems although a society cannot replace their legal system completely with that of another country’s legal system it is important that we use comparative studies, as there are both provincial and universal benefits. Comparing how other criminal justice systems operate provides a point of contrast for a country’s own justice system also enabling them to analyse and to better u nderstand their legal system in order to help improve the way in which their system operates.As to the universal benefits comparative studies help nations to better understand differences and similarities in other nation’s justice systems to help them cooperate and work together to combat international crime. Although law enforcement agencies have worked together for centuries with the first extradition agreement between America and Great Britain being made in 1794. One may suggest that it is essential that criminal justice systems work more closely today than ever before as organised crime has developed more on an international scale. Countries can co-operate together on both a bilateral and multinational basis.The latter being where more than two countries work together for example the EU and the former being where two countries work together usually neighbours for example America and Canada. As with all three approaches the primary goal is to convey information. With the h istorical approach information studied is used to tell us what mistakes and successes have already occurred and what earlier experiences tell us about the present. Although perhaps the most important benefit gained from using the historical approach is how knowledge of the past prepare us for the future?As the criminal justice system and judiciary changes over time and by not having an understanding of the past one may suggest it would be difficult to prepare for the future. Over the years there have been many changes in criminal justice systems around the world and the historical approach has helped legal systems learn from past mistakes and successes in their penitentiary system’s, rehabilitation processes, judiciary, case law and other areas such as investigative techniques and the way in which we gather evidence.As mentioned some of the benefits of using an historical approach is how knowledge of the past can help prepare us for the future and what we can learn from our m istakes and successes. Improving conviction rates and decreasing wrongful convictions has always been a goal sought by criminal justice systems globally. The introduction of DNA had a huge impact on law enforcement agencies around the world and improved the way they investigated crimes, gathered evidence, prosecuted, solved crimes, decrease wrongful convictions and helped in exonerating people who had already been wrongfully convicted people.In 2002 the innocence project was set up in the United States and as of December 2011, 307 were exonerated of wrongful convictions by the use of DNA testing since 1989, 17 of whom had been sentenced to death. The first use of DNA was in England in Leicester when police asked Dr. Alec J. Jeffery’s in 1986 to help identify a suspect involved in two rape-murders. The tests actually cleared the original suspect and police then took several hundred DNA samples from males in the local area which led to Robert Melias being the first person being convicted with the use of DNA in 1987.After this case America began using DNA evidence and Tommy Lee Andrew was the first person to be convicted in the United States in November 1987 also for rape. Another example of the historical approach is Gustave de Beaumont’s and Alex de Tocquellive’s report of the American penitentiary structure in 1831 and 1832 and the French’s prison system. They criticised the French penitentiary system as it was costly to the treasury, was low on discipline and there was a high rate of inmates being sent back to prison.The American system however showed a profit as inmates were made to work during the day and there was a high level of discipline as inmates were kept in isolation at night. Having the system run this way not only showed a profit but also provided a low rate of recommittals. Gustave de Beaumont and Alex de Tocquellive’s compared the American penitentiary system with not only their own French system but also the p enitentiary system of Switzerland. Their report suggested ways to try and help their system by incorporating the American system and is an example of how we can learn from earlier mistakes and successes.As discussed one of the reasons we compare legal systems is in order for countries to work together to combat crime they must understand the differences and similarities in how their legal systems operate. Although for a country to work with another country it is also important to understand each other’s political system. The political approach is of importance when comparing legal systems as politics not only has an effect on a nation’s justice system but also effects interaction among nations.An example of how politics has effected both a nation’s justice system and interaction among nations is the case of Yvonne Fletcher. On the 17th April 1984 Yvonne Fletcher a Police officer was on duty during a protest outside the Libyan embassy. Without warning from one of the windows of the embassy gunfire was discharged at the protesters. Eleven people were injured including Fletcher who was fatally wounded after being hit in the stomach. Yvonne Fletcher died one hour later after being taken to Westminster hospital.The shooting resulted in MI5 being called and armed police surrounding the Libyan embassy for eleven days in one of the longest police sieges in London’s history. Britain at the time had diplomatic relations with Libra which meant they needed permission from the Libyan government to enter their embassy as under International law an embassy is a diplomatic premise. Although police were aware of this they still wanted to enter the Libyan embassy but at least needed authorization from the British prime minster, then Margaret Thatcher.As Margaret Thatcher was not in the country the responsibility was Douglas Herd’s then Home secretary to negotiate permission from the Libyan government to enter their embassy or to ignore Interna tional law and enter the embassy without their permission. The leader of the Libyan government then Gaddafi not only decided to not give consent to enter the Libyan embassy but declared that their embassy was under attack and in turn Libyan soldier’s surrounded the British embassy in Libya. With the risk to employees of the British embassy being harmed and diplomaticimmunity under International law the British government allowed the embassy staff to leave the building and escorted them to the airport to return to Libya. As a result of the embassy siege and Yvonne Fletcher the United Kingdom ended all diplomatic relations with Libya and in 1987 passed the diplomatic and consular premises act. The Diplomatic and consular premises act 1987 allows the UK government to determine which land is considered to be a diplomatic or consular premise and has been used once when the Cambodian embassy was occupied by squatters.Another example of how politics has effected a nation’s ju stice system is the war on Iraq. In 2003 George Bush declared war on Iraq and within a month America had declared victory. Although the American army had taken control there was widespread looting and riots and the need for a new police force was required. New York City’s former police commissioner Bernard Kerik was given the task to not only reform the police but to improve other areas such as: the border controls and customs.Bernard Kerik decided that the best way to do this was to retrain the Iraqi police force from everything from human rights to the use of fire arms. The training was out sourced to an American consulting firm called Dyn Corp International, this is an example of how a political system can influence a nation’s police force. Today there are 42,000 members of the Iraqi police all of which have completed the training provided by DynCorp International with more than 5,700 also completing specialized training from the Italian police and NATO.Although whe n comparing legal systems Lynch uses the historical and political approaches it is the descriptive approach and in particular the institution and actors strategy that Lynch emphasizes on for his book. In order for us to evaluate and compare each other’s legal system’s we first need to know how a system is supposed to operate. The descriptive approach gives as a description of how a country’s legal system is supposed to operate. It is by using the descriptive approach that we can compare similarities and differences between legal systems.The descriptive approach use’s two strategies the functions and procedures strategy and the institution and actors strategy. The main difference between the functions and procedures and institutions and actors strategy is that the institutions and actors strategy enables us to compare a large number of legal systems. It is because of this that Lynch emphasizes this strategy. The functions and procedures strategy can help u s group and compare countries based on their similarities as Lynch argues that all countries require that similar jobs be done or thou there may be more differences between the people doing the job then the jobs themselves.The functions and procedures strategy is not as helpful when comparing differences between legal systems. For example America, France and China have procedures for arrest and gathering evidence or trying to protect suspects against prolonged pre-trial detention. The functions and procedures strategy can be used to group such countries and compare similarities for example America, France and China all have time limits on how long a suspect should be held without charge. However when comparing a large number of legal systems on how they try to protect suspects against prolonged pre-trial detention we may find more differences.The institution’s and actors strategies approach helps us more when there are more differences between legal systems. For example when comparing how countries protect suspects against prolonged pre-trial detention. If there are a number of differences the institution and actors strategy compares systems based on their institutions such as their courts and corrections thus enabling to compare more countries and both similarities as well as more differences. The Historical, Political and Descriptive approaches each provide ways to compare criminal justice systems and each have their own benefits.The Historical approach tells us how knowledge of the past can help us prepare for the future and helps us learn from past mistakes and successes. The Political approach tells us how politics can affect a nation’s justice system as well as interaction among other nations. The descriptive approach (functions and procedures/institution and actors strategies) explains how a nation’s justice system is supposed to operate, the main components of a justice system and helps us compare a large number of different justic e systems.We compare legal systems not only for the provincial benefits but also to improve multinational cooperation to help combat international crime. Organized crime has increased over the years and criminals work more closely with criminals from other nations, as Thomas Friedman a New York columnist writes in his book â€Å"The world is flat†. Therefore it is equally important if not more important that criminal justice systems work together and understand each other’s legal systems and traditions.

Bridging Social Sciences Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bridging Social Sciences - Assignment Example Some crimes may be committed in the name of honor, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices that have proved harmful to the lives of the women like forced marriages. Some violence against women may be penetrated by the state or state officials for example sexual slavery, forced displacement at workplaces and trafficking of the women for the purposes of sexual and economic exploitations that may result into violation of human rights of women Violence against women is a vice that is collectively an act that is committed exclusively against women. Some times this type of violence targets a specific group of people with gender victims as main motive (Owoh, K., 1998). Violence against women has been a manifestation of unequal power relation between women and men making it to become a crucial social mechanism through which women are forced in the subordinate positions when compared to men. The calculated data resulting from the motivated violence against women by their intimate partners are estimated to have greater impact both on the direct and indirect individual and public costs. These costs are related to suffering health issues, employment cost among very many other issues. The main cause of domestic violence against women has been struggle for power. The consequence of this vice of the domestic violence against women may be both psychological and physical and may be so devastating that to some people it might be seen as some form of torture. Because of the pervasiveness and the prevalence of this vice in almost all parts of the world, domestic violence has become too common that it affects not only women and their children but also affects the entire community As a result of the pervasiveness of the vice of domestic violence against women in almost all parts of the world, the society must consider and react to this vice with a comprehensive