Communism vs. Fascism

Communism vs. Fascism Communism and fascism are at the opposite ends of the totalitarian spectrum. Their major differences lie in their economic and social characteristics, but they do share many similarities in the political aspect. Soviet communism and German fascism are, in fact, very unlike each other, but they affected the people of the Soviet Union and Germany in many similar ways. You can observe how the ideas of communism and fascism differ mainly through their goals, along with other characteristics.Communism pursues international goals, which is shown in Stalin’s strive to push the Soviet Union to be a leading economic power. Fascist leaders pursue goals limited to their own nation. A communist society pushes have no social classes, which is why private ownership of land or property is not supported. Contrarily, fascism is very much class-based, as seen in Hitler’s views of race superiority. Though the goals of these two governmental systems differ very much, the methods used to achieve these goals are remarkably similar. The similarities between communism and fascism lie in their political methods.The most obvious comparison is that they are both dictatorial, one-party governments. Under each government, citizens are expected to be entirely devoted to the state, which glorifies military and war. Their rights are virtually nonexistent, and the media information they see is censored so that they only are aware of what the government wants them to know. In Germany, citizens that didn’t fit the ideal image of the dictator, Adolf Hitler, were sent to concentration or death camps, mainly because the state had the power to do so.Though the ideas and goals of communism and fascism contrast, the methods they use to achieve them are almost identical. Generally, communism and fascism are considered opposite in reference to totalitarianism. They are very different in their economic and social aspects, but they do share similarities in their political characteristics and governing methods. Soviet communism and German fascism are very contrastable, but they affected the people of the Soviet Union and Germany in many similar ways.

Positive Psychology – a Well Lived Life

What constitutes a well-lived life? Defining the meaning of life and the conditions, traits and features of a well-lived life is a question that throughout history engrossed theologians, philosophers, artists and, more recently, positive psychologists. This essay outlines findings from a selection of the literature and research to answer this question with the aim of identifying whether happiness is the true sign and the ultimate goal and marker of a well-lived life.This review of the literature has yielded findings that possessing a disposition towards gratitude is not only indicated to be present in a well-lived life, but can enhance and improve mental, physical and spiritual life outcomes. The different research models used to explain, measure and identify the markers of a well-lived life are briefly outlined, and finally further research directions are indicated to expand understanding about how gratitude affects life satisfaction outcomes in specific populations.A challenge in r esearching this topic is that the literature describes happiness and well-lived in terms that are used by different researchers interchangeably and inconsistently. In this essay and in accordance with the literature reviewed, the terms happiness and the well-lived life are used synonymously. Definitions A problem with defining a well-lived life is that the terms well-being and happiness (Frey, 2011; Kristjansson, 2010), and the good life and happiness (Dunn & Brody, 2008) are used by researchers interchangeably.Indeed Diener (2000) notes that the very term well-being has come to be known in common usage as happiness. Seligman (2011, pp 420) notes that sometimes the terms happiness and well-being define emotions whilst at other times refer to activities. This ambiguous terminology has caused some to criticize Positive Psychology but, as both Lazarus (2003) and Kristjansson (2010) point out, precise definitions to describe a well-lived life have also eluded philosophers and other acad emics for over 2,000 years.Imprecision of terminology aside, many have attempted to describe the conditions required to nurture a good or well-lived life. Some researchers have described the good life as one full of the hedonistic pursuit of frequent positive experiences (Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, & Schkade, 2005). Others have described it in terms of the result of employing unique talents to achieve abundance (Seligman, 2002), whilst still others have argued that the good life involves personal growth (Bauer, McAdams, & Sakaeda, 2005).Seligman (2002) argues that these descriptions are all valid because there are different pathways to happiness, although it is by combining them that one lives a full or well-lived life. He describes these pathways as the pleasant life, concerned with hedonistic pursuits, the good life, concerned with gratification of desire and the meaningful life, using ones talent to serve a higher purpose (Seligman & Royzman, 2003). Research Findings And ChallengesEar ly studies involved in identifying precisely what elements contribute to life satisfaction involved field research with participant self-reported satisfaction ratings recorded against a range of factors (Diener, 2000; Lazarus, 2003; Lyubomirsky et al. , 2005). Self reported satisfaction ratings are problematic because they are, as noted by Kristjansson (2010), by their very nature subjective. People in difficult situations can report themselves as living a good life, whereas people who are in happier circumstances can report themselves as having low life satisfaction.Additionally the factors used to measure life satisfaction are problematic because what some would consider critical to a well-lived life may be anathema to another (Bauer et al. , 2005) or not supported by the participants culture (Diener, 2000; Peterson, Ruch, Beermann, Park & Seligman, 2007). Further research is indicated to firstly identify what factors are actually desired in a good life, rather than simply measuri ng and reporting happiness levels (Kristjansson, 2010). Diener’s (2000) and Peterson et al. 2007) findings appear to support Kristjansson’s suggestion (2010). Both research studies identified significant cross country differences not only in the rates of life satisfaction but also the factors rated as important to life satisfaction. The findings appear to indicate that individualistic cultures, or those that place high value on individual choice and desires, and collectivist cultures, where the needs of group are paramount, prioritise factors contributing to life satisfaction differently (Diener, 2000).By way of example, Diener (2000) notes that participants from collectivist cultures may sacrifice personal desires for the common good, and this is not a normative feature of individualistic cultures. Diener further notes that sacrifice in collectivist cultures may, in fact, benefit the individual by providing them with the knowledge they are performing their duty. The c oncept of personal sacrifice as a factor affecting life satisfaction does not appear to be studied in the literature reviewed for this essay.Despite the significance of the findings in both studies, the researchers note a limitation of their design is that is that they relied upon self-selected participants who were motivated enough to complete the survey (Diener, 2000; Peterson et al. , 2007). This may have resulted in bias. Conclusions concerning differences in cross cultural impacts upon life satisfaction levels and factors are not unanimous. A study conducted by Linley, Joseph, Harrington and Wood (2006) found no significant difference in life satisfaction ratings or factors amongst participants from different cultures, ages or gender.A limitation of this research however, as noted by the authors, is that the study only included a small number of countries with participants who could speak and respond in English (Linley et al. , 2006). It may well be that the participants who re sponded to the survey were Westernised. Linley et al. (2006) indicate that the study should be repeated using a multi-lingual questionnaire so that participants are drawn from a wider sample. The Social Component of a Well Lived Life Examining the literature outlining models related to a well-lived life yields important clues towards determining the ultimate signs of a well lived life.The three pathways model of a full life which includes the pleasant life of hedonistic pursuits, the good life full of desire gratification and the meaningful life (Seligman & Royzman, 2003), has been criticized because the model could be applied to the non ethical, such as drug dealers, as well as those engaged in more ethical activities alike (Kristjansson, 2010). Seligman (2000) noted this as a possibility but argues this is not problematic because science is not concerned with morality.Morality aside, anti-social activities do not necessarily promote relationships and research indicates that a well lived life does indeed involve actions that promote positive social relationships (Bauer et al. , 2005; McCullough, Kimeldorf & Cohen, 2008; Peterson et al. , 2007). One way that Kristjansson (2010) suggests that the thorny issue of morality and psychology could be overcome is by applying values to define those behaviours that fall outside of societal norms, although this may result in other issues if these norms are restrictive.Although Kristjansson is not a psychologist, the idea that a well-lived life should involve societal norms does seem to be supported by Diener (2000) who suggests that societal pressures do have some bearing upon individual life satisfaction reporting. Building on the concept that a life satisfaction includes a social component, Bauer et al. (2005) argue that a well lived life includes social experiences and the ability to ascribe those experiences to a positive meaning. They go on to explain that in psychological terms this translates to having a balance b etween social interactions and having positive feelings about them (Bauer et al. 2005). These findings imply that there is indeed a social element to a life well lived which is supported by further research. Peterson et al. (2007) found that the sociable character traits such as gratitude have strong effects upon life satisfaction. Indeed Peterson et al. (2007) note that social character traits such as gratitude are more strongly correlated with life satisfaction than the three pathways to happiness (Seligman & Royzman, 2003, pp 153). Gratitude As with a well-lived life, gratitude is not easily defined (Wood, Froh & Geraghty, 2010).Although gratitude is variously described as an emotion, a trait and an action, nevertheless the literature indicates that a grateful disposition tends to be positively associated with happiness and a well-lived life (McCullough, Emmons & Tsang, 2002; McCullough et al. , 2008; Wood, Joseph & Maltby, 2008). Typically, gratitude is described as a response t hat occurs after the receipt of something perceived as positive due to the prosocial actions of another (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).Aware of the limitations of previous field research, Emmons and McCullough (2003) attempted to apply a study design that randomly assigned participants to different treatment conditions. They found a difference in mean well being scores across gratitude treatment groups from the comparison group, although less than expected, concluding that gratitude tended to increase psychological, social and spiritual well-being. One of the limitations noted in the study design (Emmons & McCullough, 2003), however, was that the study period was only three weeks long which ay not have been long enough to identify changes in responses. This limitation has been commented upon by others (Lazarus, 2003). Indeed, Lazarus (2003) notes in particular that the lack of longitudinal studies in Positive Psychology studies concerning life satisfaction makes it difficult to identif y causation and track precisely how different circumstances affect individuals, whatever the factors that contribute to a well lived life. Kristjansson (2010) notes that this is not a problem unique to studies of well-lived lives. Wood et al. 2010) noted that the definition of gratitude used in the Emmons and McCullough (2003) study did not include all of the things participants reported gratitude for that did not include a benefactor. He proposed that gratitude includes an eight level hierarchical life orientation including in ascending order; noticing and appreciating life could be worse, life is short, the present moment, engaging in ritual acts of thankfulness, admiring beauty, focusing on what one has, appreciating other people and reflecting upon what one has to be thankful for (Wood, et al. 2010). Using this expanded definition, Wood, linked gratitude to the Big Five traits, used to broadly describe human personality (Watson, Clark, & Harkness, 1994) and that people who are g rateful tend to be more agreeable, sociable, less neurotic, conscientious and extroverted. Commenting upon the benefits of gratitude, Lyubomirsky et al. (2005) note that an attitude of gratitude appears to be incompatible with negative life feelings such as greed and envy.They note that appears to encourage individuals to reflect on experiences and social relationships in a positive way. It has also been suggested that gratitude appears to protect individuals from depression (Wood et al. , 2010) and support recovery from injury (Dunn & Brody, 2008). Possible Future Research Directions The literature indicates several interesting areas for future research. The first, based on observations by Wood et al. (2010) is that there have been only a few studies studying the direct relationship between gratitude and happiness.Given the lack of longitudinal research to date as noted by Lazarus (2003) and alluded to by Emmons and McCullough (2003), it may well be promising to conduct intra-indiv idual longitudinal research of the impact of gratitude on an individual’s perception of happiness when experiencing the normal stressors of daily living (Lazarus, 2003). It may also be useful to apply a longitudinal study to examine if the things that make one grateful change across cultures, ages and genders (Diener, 2000; Linley et al. , 2006; Peterson et al. 2007) although it would be highly recommended to avoid using self-selected participants in the study. Conclusion Defining a life well-lived and the factors associated with it is a problem that has defied easy explanation for philosophers and other academics across the ages. Much of the previous research has involved recording self-reporting by participants. Given this and the fact that the very nature of happiness and a life well lived is a subjective experience, it has been argued that a propensity for gratitude impacts on an individual’s ability to view their lives in a positive way, despite individual circums tances.It has also been argued that an attitude of gratefulness has several physical and mental benefits for the individual, although these studies have not yet examined precisely if the factors that make an individual grateful change across cultures and genders. Further research is indicated in this fascinating area, possibly using longitudinal studies to explore how gratitude enables individuals to view adverse circumstances differently over time. References Bauer, J. J. , McAdams, D. P. , & Sakaeda, A. R. (2005). Interpreting the Good Life: Growth Memories in the Lives of Mature, Happy People.Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 88, 203-217. doi:10. 1037/0022-3514. 88. 1. 203 Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of happiness and a proposal for a national index. American Psychologist, 55(1), 34-43. Dunn, D. S. , & Brody, C. (2008). Defining the good life following acquired physical disability. Rehabilitation Psychology, 53(4), 413-425. doi:10. 1037/a00137 49 Emmons, R. A. , & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 84, 377-389. oi:10. 1037/0022-3514. 84. 2. 377 Kristjansson, K. (2010). Positive psychology, happiness, and virtue: The troublesome conceptual issues. Review Of General Psychology, 14(4), 296-310. doi:10. 1037/a0020781 Lazarus, R S. (2003). The Lazarus Manifesto For Positive Psychology And Psychology In General. Psychological inquiry, 14(2), 173-189. Linley, P. , Joseph, S. , Harrington, S. , & Wood, A. M. (2006). Positive psychology: Past, present, and (possible) future. Journal Of Positive Psychology, 1(1), 3-16. doi:10. 1080/17439760500372796 Lyubomirsky, S. , Sheldon, K. M. , & Schkade, D. 2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review Of General Psychology, 9(2), 111-131. doi:10. 1037/1089-2680. 9. 2. 111 McCullough, M. E. , Emmons, R. A. , & Tsang, J. (2002). The grateful disposition: A conceptual and empirical topography. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 82(1), 112-127. doi:10. 1037/0022-3514. 82. 1. 112 McCullough, M. E. , Kimeldorf, M. B. , & Cohen, A. D. (2008). An Adaptation for Altruism The Social Causes, Social Effects, and Social Evolution of Gratitude. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(4), 281-286.Peterson, C. , Ruch, W. , Beermann, U. , Park, N. , & Seligman, M. P. (2007). Strengths of character, orientations to happiness, and life satisfaction. Journal Of Positive Psychology, 2(3), 149-156. doi:10. 1080/17439760701228938 Seligman, M. E. P. , & Royzman, E. (2003). Happiness: The three traditional theories. Adapted and edited by Paul Quek. Retrieved from http://pq. 2004. tripod. com/happiness_three_traditional_theories. pdf Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Authentic Happiness. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Retrieved July 27, 2012, from Ebook Library. Watson, D. , Clark, L. A. & Harkness, A. R. (1994). Structures of personality and their relevance to psychopathology. Journal Of Abnormal Psychology, 103(1). 18-31. doi:10. 1037/0021-843X. 103. 1. 18 Wood. A. M. , Joseph, S, & Maltby, J. (2008) Gratitude uniquely predicts satisfaction with life: Incremental validity above the domains and facets of the five factor model. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(1), pp 49–54 Wood, A. M. , Froh, J. J. , & Geraghty, A. W. A. (2010) Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration. Clinical Psychology Review, 2010, Vol. 30(7), pp. 890-905.

Bone and Joint Histology

* It is a specialised connective tissue. * Osteogenic cells ⇒ osteoblast (makes matrix, active when young, and after fracture) ⇒ osteocyte ⇒ osteoclast (functions in resorption, breakdown of bone matrix) (makes cavities) (from blood monocyte) Bone Functions * Framework for support of the skeleton * Protection: brain, spinal cord, lungs and heart * Levers for muscles attached to them via tendons * Reservoir for minerals e.g. calcium, magnesium, phosphates etc. Bone Matrix * Components * Extracellular matrix (ground substance and fibres) consists of inorganic material (65%) e.g. calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, magnesium, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, fluoride, citrate, sulfate, and hydroxide. * Minerals give bone hardness and rigidity * Organic component (35%) mostly type I collagen (95%)- gives bone slight flexibility; and ground substance e.g. GAGs with proteoglycans, which contain chondroitin and keratin sulfates which give bone resilience * Development 1. Bone starts as osteoid, which is collagen and GAG’s with no minerals 2. Bone becomes mineralised (immature, primary, or woven bone). It is the first bone to appear in development and in repair after fractures 3. Bone starts to remodel as the adult form (mature, secondary, lamellar) Bone Cells 1. Osteoprogenitor (osteogenic) cells: from embryonic mesenchyme, which differentiate into osteoblasts. Found in inner cellular layer of the periosteum, lining Haversian canals, in the endosteum (lining medullary cavity) 2. Osteoblasts: derived from osteoprogenitor cells, form and grow new bone by synthesis of organic components of bone matrix. Found on the surfaces of existing bone tissue where they deposit new bone matrix (osteoid) which contains no minerals. Later mineralization occurs, tissue is new bone. Osteoblasts extend processes with neighbouring osteoblasts for molecular transport. Sit on the edge of bone. 3. Osteocytes: flat cells with small cytoplasmic processes. Aid in the maintenance of bone tissue and storage of minerals. Each osteoblast becomes surrounded by secreted matrix, once this occurs, the cell is known as an osteocyte (mature bone cell), and the space it occupies is a lacuna. Radiating out in all directions from the lacuna are tunnel-like spaces (canaliculi) which house the cytoplasmic processes of the osteocytes. The canaliculi allow transfer of nutrients, wastes between the osteocytes and blood. They are very active cells. Communicate via cytoplasmic processes in the canaliculi, metabolic communication. 4. Osteoclasts: large motile, multinucleated cells (150 um diameter) which contain up to 50 nuclei. These cells break up and resorb bone. Osteoclasts occupy shallow depressions (Howship’s lacunae). The ruffled border (infolded plasma membrane) is that part of the cell that is directly involved in the resorption of bone. It removes bone enzymatically, mineral deficiencies then the osteoclasts become active to release the minerals that have been stored in bone, hence the person becomes fracture prone. The multinuclear nature of the osteoclasts is a good identifying factor Periosteum and Endosteum * Vascular, fibrous layer surrounds bone except over articular surfaces. * 2 layers * Outer layer is collagen with some elastic fibres. This layer distributes vascular and nerve supply to bone. * Inner layer is cellular (osteogenic layer, osteoprogenitor cells), gives rise to new bone. * Central cavity of bone is lined with endosteum- thin CT composed of osteoprogenitor cells and osteoblasts. * From the outer layer of periosteum, fine bundles of collagenous fibres (Sharpey’s) penetrate the underlying bone at intervals to attach the periosteum, especially at the sites of attachment of tendons and ligaments. * The periosteum contains blood vessels, nerve endings, and ligament and tendon attachments. Mature bone Organisation * Dense (compact) at the edge * This type has Haversian systems (osteons) which is a complex of 4- 20 concentric, bony circular lamellae surrounding a central (Haversian) canal (20- 100 ÃŽ ¼m diameter) * The canal contains blood vessels, lymphatics, with a few unmyelinated nerve fibres, loose CT and flattened osteogenic cells and osteoblast cells that line the lumen of the canal * Osteocytes are in lacunae (in the concentric lamellae) located within or between the lamellae * A second arrangement of lamellae is found between the osteons (interstitial lamellae- formed by the collapse of old Haversian systems). These are remnants of older, partially resorbed Haversian systems. * A third arrangement (circumferential lamellae) are rings of bone around the entire bone, beneath the periosteum * Radiating from the lacunae are tiny channels (canaliculi). Processes of the osteocytes enter these canals and communicate with adjacent osteocytes where an exchange of gases occurs, nutrients are supplied to the cells and metabolic wastes are eliminated. * The Haversian canals communicate with the marrow cavity, the periosteum and with each other via the transverse Volkmann’s canals, which run at right angles to the long axis of the bone. Each osteon has a cement line of calcified ground substance with some collagen fibres. * Spongy (Cancelllous Bone): * This type is not organised into Haversian systems but is a meshwork of thin bars (lamellae) or trabeculae of bone lining the marrow cavity * The spaces within this latticework are filled with bone marrow. The trabeculae house osteocytes in lacunae that are fed by diffusion from the marrow cavity. Blood and Nerve Supply * Bones have periosteal vessels, which penetrate the bone of the diaphysis of long bones and divide into branches that enter the Haversian systems. These vessels supply the osteocytes embedded in the calcified matrix. * Larger vessels pierce the epiphysis to supply the spongy bone and the midshaft to supply the medullary cavity. * Small myelinated and unmyelinated nerves go into the Haversian canals. * The periosteum contains many pain fibres which makes it sensitive to injury e.g. blow to the tibia Bone Development and Growth Histogenesis (differentiation) * Bone development is mesodermal in origin and if the tissue is membrane like (a sheet of mesenchyme or loose CT), it is intramembranous bone formation * If bone replaces cartilage that is largely resorbed before bone is formed, this is endochondral (intracartilaginous) bone development. Intramembranous Bone formation * The process involves mesenchyme to bone directly (osteoblast laying bone) * Locations: flat bones, e.g. the skull, mandible, clavicle Endochondral bone formation * The process in this type of bone formation occurs in 2 steps: 1. A miniature hyaline cartilage model is formed in the region where the bone is to grow within the embryo 2. The cartilage model grows appositionally and interstitially and serves as a structural scaffold for bone development. It is then resorbed and replaced by bone (all the cartilage is replaced by bone) * Locations: long, short bones, pelvis and vertebrae Developing bone region at epiphyseal plate * Area between shaft and epiphysis is the epiphyseal plate. * Proliferation occurs at the epiphyseal aspect and replacement by bone takes place at the diaphyseal side of the plate * Growth at both ends of the bone is hormone regulated * There are a series of 5 zones beginning at the centre of the disc and go towards the diaphysis: 1. Zone of reserve cartilage (resting zone) : chondrocytes through the matrix are mitotically active producing hyaline cartilage 2. Zone of proliferation: chondrocytes proliferate and form stacks of cells that parallel the direction of bone growth. (Cartilage dies- lose blood cells- hence the bone invades the space) 3. Zone of maturation and hypertrophy (Expanding): chondrocytes mature, hypertrophy and accumulate glycogen in their cytoplasm. No mitosis occurs 4. Zone of calcification and cell death: Chondrocytes die and the cartilage matrix becomes calcified impregnated with calcium and phosphorus 5. Zone of ossification: blood vessels invade spaces left by the dying chondrocytes carrying osteoprogenitor cells from the periosteum and differentiate into osteoblasts which elaborate matrix that becomes calcified on the surface of calcified cartilage. As the matrix calcifies, some osteoblasts are entrapped as osteocytes and bone trabeculae are formed. Coalescence of trabeculae creates spongy bone. Resorption of spongy bone by osteoclasts in the centre of the diaphysis enlarges the medullary cavity. Summary of histochemical processes for both models of bone formation * Osteoblasts secrete osteoid with no minerals * Formation of primary bone whereby osteoid is mineralized * Formation of secondary bone as compact or spongy bone Growth in length of long bone * Due to interstitial growth of epiphyseal cartilage * Growth continues until around 20 when the epiphyseal plate closes (cartilage is replaced by bone) and growth in length stops Growth in width of long bone * As a result of appositional growth from the surface and resorption by osteoclasts of the inner shaft so that the marrow space can be enlarged Bone Remodelling * Continual remodelling occurs in response to forces (e.g. teeth growing jawbones). Bone is deposited due to traction and resorbed due to pressure. * In young, bone deposition exceeds bone resorption. In the adult bone deposition is balanced with resorption. Joints * Joints are classified according to the degree of movement between the bones of the joint: * Synarthroses: little or no movement. There are 3 types based on the tissue making up the union: * Syndesmosis is the union of bones by dense CT e.g tibiofibular and radioulnar joints * Synchondrosis is a junction by cartilage e.g. IVDs and symphysis pubis * Synostosis is a joint united by bone e.g. skull sutures (Starts off as fontanelles) * Diarthroidal (synovial) e.g. knee, hip, shoulder have great freedom of movement and have a CT capsule around a joint cavity held by ligaments. * The joint has an articular cartilage (hyaline) with no perichondrium. The capsule is lined (except over the articular surfaces) with a cellular, vascular, folded synovial membrane made of loose CT which secretes a viscous lubricating, synovial fluid. The viscosity of the fluid varies with temperature. *Fibrous- collagen- little to no movement- interosseous ligament *Gomphosis- tooth joined by cartilage

The Kingdom of Morocco BBC Documentary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Kingdom of Morocco BBC Documentary - Essay Example Rarely did they follow Islam. One of the significant events that happened in the Kingdom was the rise of Abdulla Ibn Yasin. He went to Islam centre of learning where he gained knowledge on Koran. He united several clans of Berber and installed himself as a spiritual leader. He led to transformations of Berbers trough Jihad. Nis initiatives led to the expansion of empire and made changes in key cities such as the city of Massar. The transformation and expansion of the empire was through a standing army that role was to expand Islam through Jihad. The kingdom expanded from south to the northwest part of Africa (Casely-Hayford). The kingdom continued to expand further after his death. The expansion was through Yusuf Ibn Tashmin. He led to expansion of Marrakash city. The kingdom expanded into empire up to the southern part of Europe. This was through trading activities and war. In fact, he helped repel Christian influence in Spain and Portugal. He died in 1106, and his son Ali Bin Yusuf took over(Casely-Hayford). His period was characteristic by improvement in architecture and aesthetic value. His reign did not last long as he was toppled by Alhomads led by Ibn Tumarts. This led to reorganisation of the city of Marrakash. The kingdom ended in 12th century. This was due to rebellion, scrabble for power, and loss of Mediterranean hence lack of source of revenue. I liked the movie due to clear description of various ruins such as building of the Caspus. In order to understand cultural knowledge I will enhance my understanding of artefacts’, religion, and various forms of

Argumentative research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Argumentative - Research Paper Example In today’s world, teenagers should know about contraceptive options so if they choose to have sex, they can at least diminish their chances of pregnancy until the time they are ready to be parents. Abstinence-only programs are constantly being demonstrated to have a detrimental impact upon the lives of healthy teenagers. According to a study by Ceci Connolly (2004), â€Å"youngsters taking the [abstinence only] courses frequently receive medically inaccurate or misleading information, often in direct contradiction to the findings of government scientists.† Misleading or simply incorrect information such as the suggestion that simply touching another person’s genitals can cause pregnancy or that AIDS can be spread via tears and sweat has been found in programs utilized by at least 69 organizations throughout 25 states. Not only do these lies work to psychologically threaten teens for their future years, but these propagandizing techniques also prevents them from o btaining the knowledge that would protect them. (â€Å"Knowledge† 2006) Studies that rate the value of abstinence-only programs used in place of programs that emphasize abstinence but also teach contraception have unquestionably demonstrated that contraception should be taught to the country’s teenagers. ... Those groups opposed to sex education have forced their will on the bulk of society and its teens and unwanted children who have suffered for it. Sex education classes in America’s public schools which offer free condoms have been scaled back so as to not upset the vocal minority. Parents want their teens to learn safe sex including the importance of condom use but what is being taught at school falls very short. Parents merely want their kids to understand the potential dangers of intercourse and how to avoid them, just as parent would in any other aspect of their teen’s lives. â€Å"Contrary to common wisdom, when it comes to sex education, parents want it all, from abstinence to homosexuality,† said Steve Rabin, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation (Levine, 2000). Additionally, parents also want schools to discuss abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and the importance of using condoms. As with the other subjects parents wish to be covered in school, the more knowledge, the better off their kids will be. The study by the Kaiser Foundation surveyed over a thousand high school teens, parents and sex-education teachers in addition to more than 300 school administrators. Unfortunately, these vital aspects of sexual education are greatly lacking in high schools despite parental desires and in opposition to what studies have indicated is in the best interests of teen-aged kids. (â€Å"Sex Education† 2000) According to Ramon Cortines, former chancellor of New York City public schools, â€Å"Educators should teach what students need to know, not please the advocates or the politicians who scream the loudest† (Levine, 2000). Still, fundamentalist groups continue to

Offense Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Offense Issues - Essay Example In order to avoid influencing the homicide and burglary crime investigating process, it is important to eliminate the problems of personal beliefs and investigation bias. This can be achieved when the investigator conducts a proper research that helps in getting some careful evidence which isolates and identifies the targeted criminal. This helps in avoiding investigation errors such as false accusation and jail sentence to wrong people. Besides, keep away the people who are not part of the crime investigation process so that crucial information is not leaked to the criminals. This facilitates a quick apprehension of the criminals. In fact, witnesses must be questioned properly to gather adequate information about the homicide and burglary crimes committed. Importantly, the investigator should not lead the suspects to his/her own ideas and the prosecution evidence not damaged or tampered with. Besides, it is important to tell the defendant his/her legal rights, and be allowed to hire a legal counsel to represent him/her in the criminal case (Territo, Swanson & Taylor, 2011). Indeed, if the prosecutor was unethical, a number of prosecution problems are likely to occur when the case is presented for trial. In fact, eagerness can make a prosecutor to commit some legal errors during the litigation and cross examination stages of the crime. The prosecutor can get evidence that suits his/her own personal interest. For instance, evidences on a person who has either committed homicide or burglary can be altered in the favor of the suspect, even before he/she is declared innocent (Walker & Rolando, 2007). The evidence tampered with affect the court proceedings of the case greatly since this leads to wrong delivery of judgment. There are even cases whereby the evidences of one person are used on another suspect so that a lighter

Nicotine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nicotine - Essay Example Nicotine levels might rise in formulated products up to 34 ÃŽ ¼g/kg (Andersson, Wennstrà ¶m & Gry, 2003, p. 9). In commercial cigarette tobacco, nicotine is present in around 1.5% by weight of the product and it constitutes for 95% of total alkaloid content (Hukkanen, Jacob, & Benowitz, 2005, p. 79). This organic compound is alkaloid in nature and consists of a  pyridine cycle and a pyrrolidine cycle. This bicyclic chemical has an asymmetric carbon and so display enantiomeric behaviour. Nicotine is naturally found in S enantiomeric form in nature which is levorotatory (Hukkanen, Jacob, & Benowitz, 2005, p. 80). Nicotine’s IUPAC nomenclature is 3-(1-methyl-2-pyrrolidinyl) pyridine (Pubchem). Chemical formula is C5H4NC4H7NCH3 and Empirical formula of nicotine is C10H14N2. Its CAS number is 54-11-5 and molecular weight is 162.23156 [g/mol]. Nicotine is a hygroscopic, colourless to pale yellow oily base which have acrid burning bitter taste. Nicotine is also sensitive to air or light and on exposure changes its color to brown. Therefore it should be protected from light and air. It has relatively high vapour pressure and has ability to form salts with almost any acid, and double salts with many metals and acids. It is stored at room temperature not more than 30 °C. The pKa-values of nicotine are: pKa1 6.16, and pKa2 10,96. Nicotine is highly soluble in alcohol, chloroform, ether, kerosene and oils, and is miscible with water below 60 °C. The mixture of nicotine and water occupies less volume than water alone (Andersson, Wennstrà ¶m & Gry, 2003, p. 13). Initial isolation of nicotine from tobacco plant was done by German chemists Posselt & Reimann in 1828, who referred it as a poison (Henningfield & Zeller, 2006, p. 286). Its bicyclic chemical structure is fixed in 1895 by Pinner. Chemical structure of nicotine is shown in Figure 1 (pubchem). Chemical sythesis of nicotine was done in 1904 and structure is confirmed (Andersson,

Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Culture - Essay Example Observing the night skies could have also been used by the ancient Chinese as a guide like how travellers depend on the North Star. Earliest records of stars were found carved on bones and shells. One very significant record made by ancient Chinese astronomers was that of a solar eclipse in 2136 BC, the first human record of a solar eclipse in the world found encrypted on a bone. In 2006, a stone carving of what is believed to be the Big Dipper was found by Wu Jiaca in Inner Mongolia and is predicted to have been carved in 4000 BC. The position of the carving was on the north side of the stone, pointing to the direction of the said constellation. Carvings and maps of the stars by ancient Chinese astronomers were found by some European at Dunhuang, a major resting place before travelling into the western deserts. It was speculated that the maps were used by the travellers to guide them along the Silk Road. The maps dated to 700 AD and contain 1,350 stars arranged in the manner on how one sees the horizon. The oldest star map known in Chinese history dates back to the Warring States Period (403-211 BC). It was made by Shi Shen and was already been missing. Other maps were at the Ancient Beijing Observatory and the International Dunhuang Project of the British Library. The long years of watching the moon, stars and the sun by the ancient Chinese astronomers led to the birth of the Chinese calendar. Observation of the sun, the moon and the stars is very important in predicting the reoccurrence of an event. The first Chinese calendar was said to be lunisolar or based on both the lunar and the solar cycles. The Huangdi Li, Zhuanxu Li, Xia Li, Yin Li, Zhou Li, and Lu Li were some of the earliest formal calendars accepted. There was an estimated 102 Chinese calendars that have been developed and revised from the Xia dynasty (2070-1600 BC) to the Qing Dynasty (1645-1911) until finally the Chinese

Is Monogamy a More Sustainable Relationship Style than Polyamory Research Paper

Is Monogamy a More Sustainable Relationship Style than Polyamory - Research Paper Example However, the circumstances are rapidly changing and the institution of marriage has been brought into great disrepute by the rising number of divorces worldwide. This has raised the question of whether monogamy is still relevant in the modern times or people should instead embrace the various forms of non-monogamous relationship styles such as polyamory (Barker, 2005). On this backdrop, this paper seeks to determine whether monogamy is a more sustainable relationship style than polyamory. The paper proposes and roots for polyamory and more specifically egalitarian polyamory as the most sustainable relationship style in the prevailing circumstances. Monogamy is the relationship style where a person has one spouse. For so long, monogamy has been upheld by the Western culture as the ideal and the right relationship style (Gourdreau, 2012). Strassberg (2003) asserts that the most significant benefit of monogamy is fidelity. The partners in the relationship uphold sexual faithfulness. Sexual fidelity implies that neither spouse could get into a sexual interaction that potentially makes the other partner feel uncomfortable (Goudreau, 2012). The emphasis is thus on sexual, emotional and spiritual exclusivity with the spouse. Monogamy has, however, come under close scrutiny in the recent past due to the increased cases of divorce. It is estimated that around 53% of marriages in the US end up in divorce before the fifth year of marriage (Mitchell, Bartholomew and Cobb, 2014). According to Ashbee (2007), a significant percentage of these divorces are grounded on sexual infidelity. Furthermore, incidences of cheating scandals among celebrities, political and power elites have also increased remarkably. Monogamy has, thus, showed that it is less sustainable in contemporary times where people are demanding to get their needs satisfied be it by a single or multiple partners. Given the evident

Aspects Of Contract Essay Example for Free

Aspects Of Contract Essay Task: 1.1: Explain the importance of the essential elements required for the information of a valid contract? Offer A valid offer identifies the bargained-for exchange between the parties and creates a power of acceptance in the party to whom the offer is made. The communication by one party known as the offeror to the another party called the offeree b) Acceptance To constitute a contract, there must be an acceptance of the offer as noted above. Until the offer is accepted, both parties have not assented to the terms and, therefore, there is no mutual assent. Offeree in a manner invited or required by the offer. Whether an offer has been accepted is a question of fact. The effect of acceptance is to convert the offer into a binding contract. To form a contract it is necessary that there is a party capable of contracting and a party capable of being contracted with on the other side. In other words, to enter into a valid, legal agreement, the parties must have the capacity to do so. Consideration No contract will exist without sufficient consideration due to agreement with the other two party has agree with the term and condition as well. Mutual Assent There must be mutual assent or a meeting of the minds on all negotiated terms between the parties and on all the essential elements in terms of the contract to form a binding contract. Intention to create legal relation In some jurisdictions, the parties must also have a present intent to be bound by their agreements. It is not necessary that the assent of both parties be given at the same time. Also, it is not necessary that communication of the assent be simultaneous. Task 1.2: Discuss the impact of different types of contract? A bilateral contract is an agreement between at least two people or groups. A bilateral contract is enforceable from the get-go; both parties are bound the promise. For example, one person agrees to wash the other’s car in return for having his/her lawn mowed. Acceptance of the offer must be communicated for an agreement to be established. A unilateral contract is one where a party promises to perform some action in return for a specific act by another party, although that other party is not promising to take any action. Acceptance may take effect through conduct and need not be communicated Task 1.3: Analyse terms in contracts with reference to their meaning and effect? Terms of contract set out duties of each party under that agreement. Generally, the terms of a contract may be either: Wholly oral, wholly written and partly oral and partly written. Terms are to be distinguished from statements made prior to the contract being made. Express terms When a contract is put down in writing, any statement appearing in that written agreement will usually be regarded as a term, and any prior oral statement that is not repeated in the written agreement will usually be regarded as a representation, due to the assumption Implied term These are terms that courts assume both parties would have intended to include in the contract had they thought about the issue. They are implied on a â€Å"one-off† basis. Two overlapping tests have been trade used to ascertain parties’ intention. Business efficacy test: terms must be implied to make contract work. There are terms which the law will require to be present in certain types of contracts (i.e. not just on â€Å"one-off† basis and sometimes irrespective of the wishes of the parties). Task 2.1: Apply the elements of contract in given business scenarios? Offer can be seen from the case when Tam’s college offers admission to it student who under take s the vocational qualification. Acceptance can also be seen from the student when they agree to bound by the school regulations. Consideration is when the student promise to act in certain way. This is particularly important where the agreement involves a promise to act in a particular way in the future. Task 2.2: Apply the on terms in different contracts? Conditions These are the most important terms of contract. Serious consequences if breeched. Innocent party can treat contract as repudiated (and thus is freed from rendering further performance of contract) and can sue for damages. Description in contract of term as â€Å"condition† is not necessarily determinative of question whether term is condition. Courts tend to search for evidence that parties really intended term to be such. Task 2.3: Evaluate the effect of different terms in given contract? Conditions are so important that without them one or other of the parties would not enter into the contract. Consequently, to make a condition  falsely, or to breach a condition, is viewed so seriously that the wronged party will be entitled to treat the contract as void, voidable or at least rescinded. Where the term is a warranty, the wronged party will only be able to seek monetary damages for any loss suffered. Task 3.1: Contract liability in tort with contractual liability? The non-breaching party has a duty to mitigate damages. If it does not do so, its damages will be reduced by the amount that might have been avoided by mitigation. In employment contracts, the employee is under a duty to use reasonable diligence to find a like position. Liquidated Damages A liquidated damages provision will be valid if (i) damages (ii) the amount agreed upon was a reasonable forecast of compensatory damages. If these requirements are met, the plaintiff will receive the liquidated damages amount even though no actual money damages have been suffered. If the liquidated damages amount is unreasonable, the courts will construe this as a penalty and will not enforce the provision. Task 3.2: Explain the nature of liability in negligence? The primary function of the Law of Torts is to provide remedies to claimants who have suffered harm, loss, or an infringement of rights. The harm includes physical injury to persons or property, damage to persons’ reputations or financial interests, and interference with persons’ use and enjoyment of their land. However, just suffering such a loss does not necessarily mean the law will provide a remedy; a claimant must show that the person committing the tort owed them a duty of care and that the tort caused the loss. Task 3.3: Explain how a business can be vicariously liable? The company is liable when the manager is under the control of the employer that the employer tell the employee how to the work and when to the work. the work that the employee does forms part of the general business of the organisation. There is a contract of service between the organisation and the employee. Daniels v Whetstone Entertainments Ltd [1962] A nightclub bouncer forcibly ejected Mr Daniels from the premises following a disturbance. Once outside, the bouncer assaulted him. Task 4.1: Apply the element of the tort of negligence and defences in different business situations? Negligence is an important tort that covers a wide range of situations where persons negligently cause harm to others. In order to succeed in an action for negligence, it is necessary for a claimant to establish the following three elements: 1. The defendant owed the claimant a duty of care. 2. The defendant breached that duty of care. 3. Reasonably foreseeable damage was caused by the breach of duty. Task 4.2: Apply the elements of vicarious liability in given business situations? Employers are vicariously liable for Employee acts authorized by the employer Unauthorized acts so connected with authorized acts that they may be regarded as modes (albeit improper modes) of doing an authorized act. There is normally rarely an issue as to whether a given act falls within the first category The difficult cases involve assessing the connection between the act and the employee’s employment. Bazley established that the connection between the employment and the tort contemplated in the second branch of the Salmond test had itself to be addressed in two steps: The Court must first examine â€Å"whether there are precedents which unambiguously determine on which side of the line between vicarious liability and no liability the case falls.† If the prior case law does not clearly suggest a solution, then the Court is to resolve the question of vicarious liability based on a policy analysis directed at ascertaining whether the employer’s conduct created or enhanced the risk that the tort would occur. Task 4.3: Discuss three methods you can use to apply elements of tort properly in a work a place? CONTROL One of the traditional explanations of vicarious liability is that the employer should be vicariously liable since the employer controls the activities of her employees. The relationship between the parties As duties in tort are fixed by law, the parties may well have had no contact before the tort is committed. Unliquidated damages The aim of tort damages is to restore the claimant, in so far as money can do so, to his or her pre-incident position, and this purpose underlies the assessment of damages. Tort compensates both for tangible losses and for factors which are enormously difficult to quantify, such as loss of amenity and pain and suffering, nervous shock, and other intangible losses.. LIST REFERENCE Atiyah P S — Introduction to the Law of Contract (Clarendon Press, June 1995) ISBN: Beale/Bishop and Furmston — Contract — Cases and Materials (Butterworth, October 2001) Cheshire/Fifoot and Furmston — Law of Contract (Butterworth, October 2001) ISBN: Cooke J — Law of Tort (Prentice Hall, May 1997) ISBN: 0273627104

The Wetherspoons company in UK

The Wetherspoons company in UK JD Wetherspoon PLC is a UK based company involved in the development and management of public houses in the UK (REUTERS). The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates its business through 793 pubs all over the UK (WETHERSPOON). It provides food and a variety of alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks to its customers at competitive prices. Wetherspoon is known for its cheap drinks and food promotions. It also focuses heavily on its breakfast and coffee menus. In addition to traditional pubs, the company also operates newer styled bars providing a more vibrant and contemporary atmosphere under the Lloyds No 1 brand name. It also operates a relatively new hotel chain consisting of 16 hotels. Wetherspoon was founded by Tim Martin in 1979 with the first pub in London. In its early days, the company grew by opening pubs in unusual former retail locations. Over the 80s the company differentiated itself from other pubs by ridding itself of music, television and games and thus created a unique identity. In 1992 it was listed on the London Stock Exchange as a UK wide chain of around 40 pubs. Going public, provided wetherspoon with the required funding to expand and within the next four years the number of pubs in the chain quadrupled to 160. In the late 90s, the company diversified into the lodging business which still represents a very small proportion of their revenues. Over the past ten years wetherspoon has continued to expand and has successfully established a reputable network of pubs throughout the U.K. This report focuses on critically analysing JD wetherspoons strategic, financial and stock market performance over the past five years in comparison with its competitors and the industry as a whole. In conclusion the report will attempt to make recommendations to a potential investor regarding potential in the company. Strategic Analysis Pubs lie at the heart of British life and culture. Going to pubs has been one of the primary sources of entertainment in the country. According to the Social Issues Research Center (SIRC), an Oxford based not for profit social research organisation, over 75% of the adult British Population goes to pubs and over a third are regulars who go to pubs at least once a week (SIRC). This represents an industry with a customer base of roughly 37 million people. Broad business environment The broad business environment in the UK has changed drastically over the last decade. There have been about 300 pieces of government regulation in the public house sector along with tax increases, smoking ban, and changes in consumer lifestyles and attitudes towards going out and drinking. Pubs have needed to change with the times in order to retain their margins and remain profitable. Those successful have adopted an active strategy of evolving their business with the changing times. A detailed PESTEL analysis has been conducted to analyse the broad business environment and its effects on the Pub industry. Please see Appendix A for the full analysis. The most significant factors responsible for shaping the business environment in the pub industry have been discussed below. Political Factors The UK pub industry has been highly regulated over the past few years. On the other hand, alcohol duty is rapidly increasing and is many times more than in other European nations. This coupled with the rising VAT and increased government activism against binge drinking and alcohol abuse has made it difficult for the pub operators to operate and maintain their margins. Economic Factors The Global economic crisis has led to consumer spending cuts, thereby leading to a decline in pub sales. Moreover rising national minimum wage and aggressive price competition with supermarkets are narrowing pubs margins and leading to reduced profits. However government intention to ban sale of below cost alcohol might come as a slight respite to the pub industry. Social Factors The rising national concern over Britains alcohol habits, have manifested itself in a number of ways. People are beginning to fully understand the problem and the government is taking steps to curb binge drinking and alcohol abuse. The UK drinks industry has launched a huge campaign to address this concern and to make people more aware about the problems associated with irresponsible drinking. Technological Factors The advent of technology has changed societys idea of entertainment, shifting it more inside the confines of the household. This has led to declining public interest in pubs. Pub operators have also increased their investment in technology considerably, in order to enhance the pub experience. These include among others, investments in television systems for sports, electronic point of sale systems and refrigeration systems to store alcohol at precise temperatures. Environmental Factors Pub retailers are becoming environmentally conscious and have taken steps to recycle most of the waste products particularly food, in order to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites. This is a great opportunity for pubs to portray themselves as socially responsible. Legal Factors The Licensing law allowed licensed pubs to potentially open 24 hours a day. This has been a huge opportunity for the pub industry and has increased competition. The law is currently under scrutiny by the government. Any changes to it might have a major impact on the industry. The drink driving laws over the past few years have also been made stringent. This has resulted in consumers avoiding driving to pubs and preferring to drink at home in order to avoid committing a drink driving offence. The above factors have had a very profound impact on all the major pub operators. They have responded to the environment and adjusted their strategy in order to succeed in these conditions. There has been a strategic focus on innovation in the pub industry through food development, skills training, interior enhancement etc. With growth in alternative forms of entertainment, socio-political pressures on pub operator margins, and tough economic climate, most of the market players are looking to diversify into the relatively less volatile and high margin businesses. Industry analysis With over 50,000 pubs catering to over 35 million customers, the pub sector represents a highly fragmented industry. The industry consists of a few big players with a chain of pubs throughout the UK. The six biggest pub chains own only about 42% of the total number of pubs. The biggest players in the industry by turnover, along with their main brands and number of outlets are as follows. Source : Mintel Pub Catering UK September 2010 While wetherspoon operates only managed pubs at city centre locations in major towns and cities throughout the UK (MINTEL, 2010), the business models for some of the other major players in the industry are very different and diverse. Punch Taverns operated both leased and managed pubs. Although a major proportion of their business comprises of leased pubs, they still have over 800 managed pubs in the UK. Enterprise Inns on the other hand only operates leased and tenanted pubs. Greene King has a much more segmented business model wherein its operations are divided into over 2400 managed, leased tenanted pubs and restaurants, two breweries, and a number of wholesale depots. Marstons has a similar mix of activities with over 2100 managed and tenanted pubs and bars, five breweries and wholesale facilities. Mitchells and Butlers (MB) operates managed pubs and pub restaurants mainly in the UK, but also has a small number of pub restaurants (43) in Germany. A very small proportion of their total estate consists of leased and franchised sites. They are the largest operator of managed pubs with over 1800 managed pubs in the UK. Competition for the smaller 58% of the pubs is largely limited to players in the local market. For example an individual pub in Leeds only competed with other individual pubs in Leeds. In order to analyse the pub industry in detail a full analysis has been conducted based on Porters five forces framework (Appendix B). The major outcomes of the analysis are as follows Threat of Entry Starting up a pub is reasonably easy process due to an undifferentiated market, and fairly low set up costs. Obtaining the individual pub license is fairly straightforward. Besides easy access to supply channels and low cost capital, have led to a significant threat of entry. However, a large scale of operations, popular brand identity, experience in the industry and established distribution channels are essential to operate competitively in the industry. Moreover increased government legislation and extraordinary levels of taxation in the sector have made it unattractive to new entrants, thus restricting the threat of entry to some extent. Threat of Substitutes Supermarkets, restaurants, hotels and off licensing shops represent a group of substitutes to public houses. Supermarkets in particular enjoy huge economies of scale and are in a position to undercut pub-prices. The perceived performance to price ratio to the consumer defines their choice between pubs and their substitutes. Although supermarkets cannot replicate the value added services provided by pubs, with the global financial crisis affecting disposable incomes, consumers have become highly price sensitive, thus increasing the threat of substitutes to a moderately high level. Bargaining power of buyers Buyers bargaining power has traditionally been moderately high due to low switching costs and easy availability alternatives. Recent trends categorised by declining alcohol consumption, low consumer disposable incomes, consumer preferences of drinking at home have further increased buyers power. Bargaining powers of suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is quite high as the industry due to the dominance of a concentrated group of suppliers. A number of suppliers own powerful brands and hence pubs have to buy from them in order to satisfy consumer demands. Moreover, supply agreements such as tied house contracts give the suppliers an upper hand. The high power suppliers mean that pub operators, who have their own breweries and wholesale depots, have an obvious advantage. Competitive Rivalry The industry has traditionally been a growth industry with most major players looking to expand and open more pubs. However, pub margins have declined over the years and large volumes have become increasingly critical for pub companies to survive. The threat of competition from supermarkets has also become significant and combined with moderately high threat of entry, and strong bargaining power of customers, has led to increasing levels of competitive rivalry. The industry is categorised by low levels of product differentiation and aggressive price wars between competitors. The declining alcohol consumption, sluggish market growth, high taxes and pub closure rates have resulted in aggressive competition for retaining revenues. The pub industry is in a state of consolidation. The business environment has been tough and falling margins has made it difficult for pubs to meet their costs. With pub closure rates having reached record levels in 2009; all the major pub chains are in the process of reviewing and reorganising their business in order to adapt to the changing conditions. Wetherspoons Strategy Wetherspoon has adhered to simple principles of cleanliness, cheap drinks and good value food. With no music, wetherspoon pubs are seen as places where people can interact with friends over a round of drinks or food. The principle strategy that separates wetherspoon from most of its competitors is its focus on the consumer. Whilst a number of competitors lease their pubs out and are therefore less concerned about the ultimate consumer, wetherspoon makes constant efforts to innovate and enhance the consumer experience. This has given them the competitive edge over their competitors and hence they have chosen to stick to the 100% managed pubs business model. Wetherspoon has traditionally been quick to foresee impending changes in the business environment and strategise in order to adapt. They have stuck to their low price high revenue pricing strategy. Their efforts to provide products at the lowest price possible has been considerable success in recent times as customers have become highly price sensitive and are looking for value for money. They expect their promotions to remain a key driver to high revenues. Wetherspoon is aiming at rapid organic and inorganic growth by opening up new pubs and developing and refurbishing the existing ones. The economic downturn has provided it with the perfect opportunity to expand given low property prices and continued profitability of their pubs. Wetherspoon plans to open 250 new pubs in the period 2009 2014 (RICHARD WACHMAN, 2009). Their expansion strategy involves taking over underperforming bargain pubs and turning them around to profitability. The company rents most its pubs as opposed to buying them in a bid to keep its debt levels low. This has approach has enabled them to reach a position where they have considerable amounts of money to invest whilst their competitors are finding it very difficult to service their rising debts. Wetherspoon is focussing on developing their high margin food and coffee business. Wetherspoon started opening their pubs at 7A.M. to capitalise on early morning coffee and breakfast demand. This has also led to increase in overhead costs but having been rewarded with a 40% increase in coffee and breakfast sales, wetherspoon will continue to focus on the diversified product mix to stabilise and improve their overall margins. The company have invested significantly towards improving their service and standards. They have focussed on personnel and training and are making efforts to enhance customer experience in order to further boost the value provided for the money they charge their customers. Their strategy involves a number of efforts to portray themselves as a responsible business by taking on ethical business practices such as proper implementation of Challenge 21, conserving resources, recycling waste and reducing energy consumption. Wetherspoons chairman, Tim Martin owns around 23% of the company. This helps to reduce agency costs as the objectives of owners and management are likely to be more closely aligned. His 31 year long experience in the industry gives wetherspoon a strategic advantage over its competitors. The companys CEO John Hutson, has also been with the company for more than 20 years. There have been a few problems with the companys management in the past, most significantly the technical breach of the Companies Act 2006 in 2008, when the company failed to file the interim accounts with the registrar of companies prior to paying the 2007 final dividend and repurchasing its shares from the market (JD WETHERSPOON, 2008). Such incidents lead to financial and reputational losses and dent the public image of the firm. More recently, the unexpected resignations of the companys finance director Keith Down and its cheif operating officer Paul Harbottle have raised concerns about the managerial longevity of its board of directors. Financial Statement Analysis This section will analyse wetherspoons financial performance over the past five years as compared to its competitors and the industry in general. Of the competitors identified in the above section, Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns have a more similar business model to wetherspoon and hence their performance has extensively been used as a benchmark in this section. Year 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 Revenues (Â £million) 996.33 955.12 907.50 888.47 847.52 Table: Wetherspoons revenues for the past five years Turnover and Profitability Wetherspoon has experienced consistent growth in revenues over the past decade. Rebasing the revenue at the 2006 levels, wetherspoon seem to have outperformed most of the competition in terms of revenue. Although its revenue growth is one of the highest in the industry, it is still far behind Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns in absolute sales numbers. A significant proportion of Wetherspoons revenue comes from its new pubs. Over the past few years absolute revenues from new pubs has remarkably increased with wetherspoon opening more pubs year by year. In 2010, an extraordinary 97.68% of the growth in revenues was attributable to revenues from new pubs while like for like sales only accounted for 2.38% of the revenue growth. This is up from new pubs contributing 77.13% of revenue growth in 2009 and 57% in 2006. This indicates saturation in the revenue capacity of the already established pubs and exemplifies the importance of wetherspoons growth strategy to its revenues. Wetherspoons cost of sales (COS) is the highest amidst the competitors. Over the past five years, the wetherspoons average COS has been over 80% of revenue. This combined with other operating costs leads to an average operating profit of just under 10%. This is considerably low, compared to its competitors specially Enterprise Inns which has an average operating profit of over 55% in the 5 year period. The big difference in operating profit is to a large extent representative of the differences in business models of these companies. As JD Wetherspoon operates managed pubs only, the cost of retail sales is significant. On the other hand, the revenues of some of the competitors like Enterprise Inns, Marstons and Greene King are composed of the less costly rent, lease receipts and proceeds from the wholesale sales from their breweries and other alcohol manufacturing facilities. Since wetherspoons activities are more direct cost intensive, the higher cost of sales is understandable. A unique factor which distinguishes wetherspoon from its competitors is the low and stable debt interest levels. Wetherspoons interest expenses on debt were lower by over 210 million as compared to Punch Taverns for the financial year 2009-10. Besides lower levels of total debt, a low effective weighted average rate of interest on debt has contributed to the smaller interest charge. While wetherspoon are able to borrow at an average of 5.47%, the weighted average interest on debt for Punch Taverns in 6.8% on secured loan notes and 6.5% on finance leases. This is either due to relatively good swap management of interest rate, a safer credit profile, or lower principle amount and maturity period of the loans. This gives wetherspoon a big competitive advantage and enables them to retain a sizeable proportion of their operating profit as Net profit. Excluding the interest charge, Punch Taverns net profit would have been higher than that of wetherspoon. This illustrates the real impact of interest on debt on the relative profitability of these firms. Wetherspoons exceptional items solely comprised of impairment of property and fixed assets and amounted to 10.6 million this year. This represents a steep reduction of 47% from last years figure of 19.9 million and is primarily attributed to no litigation costs and property related write downs. Wetherspoons net profit has been very consistent over the past few years as opposed to its competitors. The tough global economic climate and the hostile business environment in the pub sector have led to a sizeable decline in profits for both Punch Taverns and Mitchell and Butlers. On the other hand wetherspoons consistent growth in revenue combined with low relative impairment losses and interest on debt has enabled it to maintain a profit of 40.78 million in 2010. This is a 61% rise from its profits in 2009. This compared with losses of 84 million and 159.90 million from Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns, reflects an overall superior performance by wetherspoon in terms of profitability. As per the chart above, wetherspoons return on assets and return on capital invested are immensely higher than both of its competitors. The two ratios rose 37.42% and 48.78% respectively from their 2009 levels. These jumps are primarily because of the 61% jump in earnings and represents excellent management of resources by the companys management. Wetherspoon rents a majority of its pubs and hence has a low level of noncurrent assets. This is the primary reason for the high asset turnover and return on assets. Wetherspoons revenues are 1.12 times of their total assets as opposed to Punch Taverns 0.22. This astoundingly high ratio represents wetherspoons highly competitive pricing strategy and its low margin, high volume operations. Wetherspoons ability to extract over 3-4 times more revenue than its competitors, gives it a clear competitive edge. Liquidity A majority of the assets in pub businesses tend to be non-current and hence the short term liquidity ratios tend to be lower. Moreover since the current assets in managed and operated pubs are mostly cash and other very liquid items, slightly lower current ratios are not deemed to be very risky. Wetherspoons current ratio of 0.37 is amongst the lowest in the industry. This has been fairly stable over the past five years with a standard deviation of a mere 0.064. Mitchell and Butlers and Punch Taverns have much higher current ratio of 0.64 and 1.27 respectively. Similarly, Wetherspoons quick ratio of 0.18 is nearly a fifth of Punch Taverns ratio. Wetherspoons current and quick ratios are both the lowest and the most stable in the industry with standard deviations of 0.064 and 0.036 respectively. The incredible stability of the ratio indicates a strategic approach to business operations. Very low liquidity ratios generally mean trouble for businesses, as they are indicators of inability to honour short term obligations. Theoretically, if all the current liabilities need to be paid off, wetherspoon will not have to resort to selling its fixed assets in order to arrange for the payment. However, cash payments from its customers along with favourable and stable credit terms with suppliers ensure that wetherspoon are able to manage will low current and quick ratios. They attempt to keep the current ratio at a reasonably low level in order to extracts maximum value from their current assets. Nevertheless, a current ratio of 0.37 is too low compared to the competitors and hence liquidity issues are more likely. Punch Taverns liquidity ratios are a lot higher primarily due to a high amount of receivables mainly caused by its leased and rented pub business. In those businesses, punch taverns tenants are likely to have a payment period within which they can settle the rent/lease payments. This leads to a significant amount of trade receivables. On the other hand almost all of wetherspoons revenues are retail cash revenues and hence the receivables are either due to prepayments or accrued income Wetherspoons receivables are only about 10 of Punch Taverns which it converts into cash within 1.64 days. This is many times lower than its competitors. Moreover inventories held days is a mere 8.5 days representing a quick and highly efficient cash cycle. Gearing Wetherspoons business model of operating with low level of debt is quite unique in the pub industry. The company enjoys the lowest level of long term debt amidst its competitors. Wetherspoons long term debt of 411.64 million is just 8.6% of that of Punch Taverns. MB and Punch Taverns on the other hand have debts of over 2 billion pounds. A low level of debt despite an active growth strategy and a consistent rise in its plant property and equipment (PPE) is a rare phenomenon. Wetherspoons managed to make this happen by renting quite a few of its pubs and managing debt efficiently. The extraordinarily low levels of debt at wetherspoon are matched by an almost equally low relative level of common equity. As a result wetherspoons Debt equity ratio is not as different from its competitors. Wetherspoons total debts are 2.56 times its equity as compared to 2.89 for Mitchells Butlers and 2.42 for Punch Taverns. The ratio used to be 1.83 in 2006, before the company initiated massive share repurchase programme which was largely financed by additional debt. As per the above table, their Total Debt to Earnings before interest and tax ratio has been the lowest in the industry. Over the years, as other companies have taken more debt relative to their earnings, wetherspoon has continued to utilise its debt with the same efficiency in order to generate earnings. Dividends Wetherspoons dividend payout ratio is incredibly high for a company which is in the growth stage of its lifecycle. In 2010 wetherspoon paid 64.19% of its net income as dividends. This represents a 292% jump from the 2006 dividend payout and is the highest in the industry. While Mitchells Butlers and Punch Taverns havent paid dividends in the past two years, wetherspoon has continued to pay dividends at an average of about 39% of their net profit in the past 5 years. Wetherspoon declared a yearlong dividend freeze in during the financial year 2008-09 in order to direct its cash flows towards debt reduction. The freeze was ended in March 2010 once the new 530 million banking facility was renegotiated. Now with the financing issues sorted, a progressive dividend policy can be expected from wetherspoons management as a measure to signal a bullish future outlook. Cash Flow Analysis In 2009, the pub industry experienced a sharp decline in cash flow as most of the players make efforts to deleverage themselves post the credit crunch. Wetherspoons went from being a cash generator of 7.15 million in 2007 to a cash sink of 2.6 million in 2008. The financing outflows jumped threefolds mainly due to dividend payments of 17.38 million and repurchases of one million shares from the market. The net cash flow continued to be negative in 2009 primarily due to the repayment of long term debts to the tune of around 45 million pounds. Since then the cash position of the company has recovered and the company was a cash generator of 2.48 million in 2010. Wetherspoons has a positive growth in cash inflow from operating activities, but the overall level of operating inflow is low. While Punch Taverns operating inflows are declining due to dwindling revenue and profits, Mitchells and Butlers in contrast, enjoy a much better cash flow from operating activities and hence has access to a bigger pool of funds for its investing and financing activities. Wetherspoons growth policy has led to increased cash outflows from investing activities by over twice the amount in 2006. On the contrary Mitchells Butlers has decreased their cash outflows in investing activities. This is due to their strategic sale of a number of pubs in order to concentrate on the high margin food business. Wetherspoons repayment of the USD 140 million private placement was accompanied by a further advancedment of 96.68 million pounds of long term loans. As a result the cash outflow from financing activities decreased significantly from last year. The total cash flow position would have been much worse, if the company hadnt put a freeze on dividends in 2009. Wetherspoons decision to not declare a final dividend for the financial year 2008-2009 ensured prevented a further cash deficit, given the high levels of capital expenditure in 2009. Accounting policies and Problems in Comparison Given the immaterial size of the companies hotel business, and no international operations, wetherspoon doesnt split its results by business or geographical segments in accordance with the IAS 14. Wetherspoon follows a historic cost model and does not revalue its non current assets. Punch Taverns follow the same method, however Mitchells and Butlers actively revalue its assets. This can lead to distortions in actual value of non current assets and makes them uncomparable. For example Wetherspoon unlike Mitchells Butlers ignores the effect of inflation on the value of its assets. While wetherspoon depreciates fixtures and fittings over a time period of 3-10 years, Mitchells and Butlers do it over a period of 3-20 years. This can further make the asset values uncomparable. Stock Market Analysis The FTSE 350 index seems to be very highly correlated to the FTSE 350 Travel and Leisure index. Prior to the subprime crisis, the travel and leisure index seems to be doing marginally better, while post crisis, the FTSE 350 has slightly outperformed the FTSE 350 travel and leisure index. JD Wetherspoon has outperformed both the indices almost all the time during the last 5 years except for a brief period in 2008 because of the immediate effect of the economic crisis. As per the above graph, JD wetherspoon has consistently outperformed Punch Taverns throughout the past five years. It has also better than Mitchells Butlers since the middle of 2008. This is primarily due to relatively higher revenues and profits at wetherspoon. Wetherspoons expansion strategy has enhanced its future outlook and given a boost to the companys share price. January 06 March 07 The period from Jan 2006 until the beginning of 2007 saw a very sharp increase in wetherspoons share price. While the travel and leisure index only rose up by around 25%, wetherspoon rose by a phenomenal 120%. The football world cup kick-started the 8 month long rally in the travel leisure index. Wetherspoon took advantage of the opportunity by abandoning its no television policy and showing the matches in its pubs. Moreover, they also started to establish a very strong foothold in the coffee and breakfast market. Besides strong financial performance in 2006, wetherspoons purchase of 800,000 of its own shares in September 2006 (REUTERS, 2006) , the interest of Schroder Investment Management in 12.05% of its total common shares, along with significant interests from Aegon UK and Global Value fund Sicav, were one of the primary reasons why wetherspoons rose to its all time high level of 761 pence in March 2007. April 07 September 2008 The smoking ban was implemented in the UK with effect from July 2007. As expected, the ban put immense downward pressures on pub revenues, thereby leading to a crash in share prices. The travel and leisure index crashed around 30% by the end of the year and wetherspoon lost 50% of its value. 2008 presented even worse economic conditions for the pub industry with the advent of the credit crisis. All major pub operators continued to face loss of revenues and hence saw a significant decline in their share price. The extreme volatility in credit markets forced Mitchells Butlers to shelve a 4.5 billion pound property deal (BLAND, Ben, 2007) leading to losses of 274 million pounds on hedges tied to the transaction. Moreover, failed efforts by Punch Taverns to acquire Mitchells Butlers, led to further decline in share prices of both companies. On the other hand Wetherspoon continued to strengthen its revenues due to increased revenues in its food business. In September 2008, wetherspoon d eclared a 5.5% increase in sales and a 12p per share dividend as opposed to zero dividends and huge losses by punch taverns. As a result wetherspoons share price started to consolidate and by the end of

What Is Security Dilemma Politics Essay

What Is Security Dilemma Politics Essay There are a number of security dilemmas currently working in Asia. This security conflict is driven by the competitions between pairs of countries different in their capabilities. Here, Pakistan views India as its primary threat, which in turn views China as its principal security concern. China on the other hand regards the United States as a challenger to its dominance in Asia and the United States is trying its best to maintain its hegemony and the consequent status quo. The unequal relationships in Asia have the ability to thwart global arms control and non-proliferation efforts.  [1]  They also have the deadly potential to fuel a dramatic expansion of ballistic missile and nuclear proliferation throughout the region.  [2]  Scholars gathered at a Russian think tank known as Institute of World Economy and International Relations (Imemo), which advises Kremlin, talked about the threat of nuclear war in South Asia being greater than anywhere else in the world today.  [3]   What is Security? National security has figured prominently in academic and political discussions of foreign policy and international politics since the end of World War II. Richard Ullman defines threat to national security as an action or sequence of events that threatens drastically so as to degrade the quality of life for inhabitants of a state or threatens significantly to narrow the range of policy choices of a state. The term security in International Relations has conventionally been defined to mean protection of a state or nation to threats emanating from within as well as outside its boundaries. According to Walter Lippmann, a nation is secure to the extent to which it is not in danger of having to sacrifice core values, if it wishes to avoid war, and is able, if challenged, to maintain them by such victory in such a war.  [4]  The security of a nation rises and falls with its ability to deter such attacks on its sovereignty and territory. The Western nations and the Euro-centric view of International Relations has largely identified this position with the Realist school of thought that focuses mainly on acquiring more power in the anarchic system. Scholars from the Realist school of thought have always argued that states are self-interested, power-seeking rational actors, who seek to maximize their security and chances of survival. In their view even if there is cooperation between states it is only to maximize their own security and not for any idealistic reasons. The modern nation-state is the highest form of political order we have so far been able to develop and sustain. It evolved into its present form through the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, needed to secure itself from external threats and keep its territory intact. The history is testimony to the fact that the states in the international system are unable to coexist with each other in harmony and have made each other insecure by their mere existence. Their actions in pursuit of their national security have often resulted in frequent wars when combined with that of others. Thus the concept of security as developed in the early years of security studies post Second World War took State as a unit of analysis. What is Security Dilemma? The states in the international system through their actions try to enhance their security as much as possible. There interactions are primarily responses to what is known as Security Dilemma in the literature on International Relations. It is also known as the Spiral Model. John Herz was the first to coin the term security dilemma in his 1951 book Political Realism and Political Idealism. According to him the states are driven to acquire more and more power in order to escape the impact of the power of others. This, in turn, renders the others more insecure and compels them to prepare for the worst.  [5]  In contrast to other classical realists of the time who focused on human nature as the main difficulty, he based his concept on the anarchic structure of the international system. The security dilemma is the core assumption of Defensive Realism, which believes that due to the anarchic structure of the international system, states focus mainly on their survival through any means making them obsessed with security.  [6]  In International Relations, Defensive Realism is a variant of Structural Realism with famous international relations scholar Kenneth Waltz propagating this notion. Waltz argues that the security dilemma is escapable because the weaker states will try to balance against their rivals and bandwagon with the stronger state in order to gain security in event on an attack by the enemy state. In contrast to this Offensive Realism, another variant of Structural Realism believes that states want to accumulate more power rather than just secure themselves. It points out that if states are able to gain an advantage or an edge, they will readily do so. John Mearsheimer, the strongest proponent of Offensive Realism argues that no state can be sure of other states intentions, which can change over a course of time and use its offensive capabilities.  [7]  He is in agreement with Hans Morgenthau, one of the earliest proponents of Realism in Intern ational Politics, that there is not limit of states desire for power. For Mearsheimer the security dilemma is inescapable, as the anarchic nature of the international system will force states to maximize power and enhance their security because they cannot trust each other. Neorealists and Constructivist schools of thought have also used security dilemma as a concept. Neoliberal scholars argue that one of the functions of international institutions is to alleviate security dilemma.  [8]  Whereas Constructivists assert that alleviating the security dilemma is one of the channels through which reshaping identity can remake anarchy.  [9]   Robert Jervis explains this concept as the notion that increasing a states security causes other states to increase their own security, which in turn decreases the security of the first.  [10]  The system thus coerces the states into taking certain losses to cooperate in order to bring stability and relative security. Yet the inherent desire remains to dominate the political arena through cheating, bargaining and collaborating to hinder cooperation. A security dilemma arises out of the anarchic nature of the International System. Each state has to take responsibility for its own security in the system of self-help for its own survival. Without any government at the international level, the states are left to fend for themselves. This leads to states taking every possible step to expand their capabilities in every sphere, be it economy or military, to defend itself when the time comes. The states in order to secure themselves forget about the security apprehension of the neighbori ng states and compel them to take counter-measures to enhance their security. They begin to prepare for the worst, and this common search for security leaves them more insecure then they were before. A case in example talked about in our class on National Security would be India acquiring nuclear capabilities, which put pressure on Pakistan to get nuclear weapons. The process, which started in 1960s, and 70s has left India more insecure now then ever before as Pakistan has refused to agree with a no first-use policy on nuclear weapons like India. It purportedly has more nuclear warheads than India according to the estimates of many reputed think tanks internationally. Jervis identifies a number of the factors associated with security dilemma that impede states ability to work cooperatively towards a mutually desired goal of general security. He mentions intentions, capabilities, creation of buffer states, indications of aggressive intents and incorrect perception of weapons acquired for defensive purposes. The Security Dilemma in Sino-Indian Relations: The scholars of International Relations agree that there would be a geo-political shift from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. And it can be forcefully argued that China and India will dominate the events of the region as rising powers in the international system. Considering the past shared by these two countries after coming to their own, the chances of a classic case of great power competition are numerous. It can be better understood by studying the first Sino-Indian border conflict and the series of skirmishes between them in 1962. The war was a result of tensions that arose during the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the subsequent asylum given to the Dalai Lama after the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) took control of the territory. India on its part can also be blamed for adopting a Forward Policy intended to demonstrate its control of the disputed areas. Fifty years have now been passed since the Sino-Indian conflict and the perceptions in both the countries about each other still remain highly suspicious. There has been constant tussle over various issues between these two countries ranging from Chinas security ties with countries in the South Asian-Indian Ocean region to Indias growing interest in the South China Sea and areas China considers as its sphere of influence. India with its Look East policy has been seeking for deeper engagements with the countries earlier known as Indochina. China on the other hand has long supported Pakistan, Indias archrival, with its nuclear program and infrastructure development. These two countries have left no stone unturned to rattle each other over their actions, which are skeptically viewed and enlarged by hostile media on both sides. It has become one of the most significant factors for the deep-rooted suspicion between the two Asian giants. In this classic Great Power rivalry, China is trying hard to win by keeping New Delhi occupied within the South Asian region. China considers itself as a global power while wants to keep India as only a regional power limited to South Asia. Indias recent ascent in the international scenario with its billion-plus population and growing economy has raised eyebrows in China. The strategy China has applied is to keep aiding Pakistan in its relations with India, which will keep it occupied in the South Asian region and China can expand in the Indo-Pacific till then. While China has slowly inched towards equidistance between India and Pakistan, it continues to have a pronounced tilt towards Pakistan, which casts an inevitable shadow over the Sino- Indian relationship. Chinas other major patron-client relationship in the region is with Myanmar. This is less threatening from Indias standpoint, since Chinas interest in the relationship is not India- centric, and India for its part is consciou sly seeking to upgrade its own ties with Myanmar with some limited success. The notion of security dilemma throws substantial light on the complex relationship between China and India since the past six decades. Conclusion: As the two powers become more economically interlinked war becomes a secondary or a last resort option for them. The decision-makers in both New Delhi and Beijing are conscious of this fact. A key question that remains is whether India and China will remain satisfied with relatively small strategic forces or whether they will seek to develop large, operationally deployed forces.  [11]  India and China are expected to further spread their Spheres of Influence in the Indo-Pacific region with the US willing to support New Delhi as part of its own forward policy in the region. India has to tackle one of the major problems faced in democratic countries that being more reactive than pro-active hampers the policymaking.  [12]  The reason behind this is that the political class in India is not much familiar to international relations and foreign policy receives very little emphasis in the course of day-to-day politics. Though Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is not a classic profess ional politician, and could even be considered more of a statesman, the tendency to look inward has prevented a more active engagement with the outside world.

The Phenomenon of Greece :: Ancient Greece Essays

The Phenomenon of Greece Greece is a strange phenomenon the similar of which could hardly be equaled elsewhere in the world. The greatest misfortune of Turkey is that it is condemned to live with that country side by side. When the issue is Turkey, Greece always sees red. When we analyze the feelings of Athens toward Turkey, it is seen that those feelings exceed every criterion of what would be an "enmity ". The presence of the Turk has manifested itself in the behavior of the Greek as a ' psychological illness ". In other words, the policy oJthat country regarding Turkey is in a word "phenomenon ", and "ill founded ". That diagnosis may not sound well to the honest people. We art respectful for those people, however, is it possible to keep a blind eye to the realities, and continue an artificial cordiality when the issue is the dismemberment of the terrorists of a country? It is a fact that though Greece, with its agitations and behaviors exceeds in many issues any limits of toleration, 7tirkiye does not respond to the ugly policy of its neighbor, continuing its sober and warm policy. The frame of the Turkish foreign policy has been drafted by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. That is "Peace at home, peace in the world ". Turkey, in order not to endanger peace, turns a deaf ear to the behaviors of Greece, and some of its other neighbors. However, every endurance and tolerance has a limit. We are going to give the names of 451 organizations active in Greece below. However, their real number is more than 451. What we will enumerate are only those known. Those organizations after 1974 were founded with the mediation of the Greece governments coming to power. The sole aim for the establishment of those organizations is to "DISMEMBER TURKEY". Those organizations, are the main source of nourishment of the terrorism targeting Turkey. They helped the murderers of innocent women, children, old people to be accommodated in Greece, and then they send them back to Turkey, giving to them weapons. If we deal with the activities of those organizations one by one, we are required to write at least 3 volumes of books. The time of this endeavor will one day come. We cannot accuse all those organizations and associations as terrorist. The duty given to those not related to terrorism was to propagate against Turkey and show the people of the country they live as the "occupied Greek territories ".

Ambient Music And The Impulse Towards Deconstruction :: essays research papers

Out of Light – cometh Darkness, dark ambient music and the impulse towards deconstruction  © 2000 Daniel du Prie 1. â€Å"These recordings may be seen as a notation of our deadminded society, but not as a reaction against it, we will all become ambient dead heads, if not...† (Archon Satani, In Shelter, liner note, 1994) If not, then ellipsis. The conditional clause of fact, followed by an open-ended ellipsis, where not only the conjunction between a conditional present and an effected future (then...), but the whole of future time itself is omitted – is a good way to immerse oneself in a description towards a functional definition of a difficult form of a â€Å"popular† underground music (I write popular because it is, in critical terms, usually excluded from the domain of â€Å"high† culture, or â€Å"serious† music, being more aligned with other popular underground genres, eg, industrial, death metal), that would seem to defy the very notion of popularity a priori: I write of so-called ‘dark ambient’ music. 2. Your attention is drawn to a notation of the future as ellipsis, as a potent form of signifying a coming-into-being that is never-yet, and may well never be, as a danger: The future can only be anticipated in the form of an absolute danger. It is that which breaks absolutely with the constituted normality and only be proclaimed, presented, as a sort of monstrosity (Derrida, 1974: 3). This ellipsis of the future, signifying danger (becoming, in Archon Satani’s space, dead headed), also dislodges the comfort of the present, and of presence; of the representing object, and its relation to the object represented, of the sign versus its referent. Hence the need for a notation, obtuse of signifying directives, not yet as a denotation and decoding, full of revealed meaning, of a certain type of society; but only of the function of recording qua art in reality, over and against symbolised reality, and even without any metaphysical reality. Archon Satani refuse permission for their recordings (not yet historicised as music, nor art) to be seen and hence, to be read as a reaction qua art against society: â€Å"we will all become ambient dead heads...†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. In refusing music, and art, and reaction as historically revealed, politics are also seen to be refused. The future is one where the listener-subject will become as dead as the given inanimacy of the environment that surrounds her. Fundamentally psychoanalytic desires – those hinged upon death and sex may be in nuance in such a statement.