Monday, September 30, 2019

Strictly Ballroom Belonging

Belonging or not belonging is the feeling of being included or excluded by a certain group, person, place or community. This is conveyed very well in the film â€Å"strictly ballroom† produced by Baz Luhrmen and the picture book â€Å"The Sneetches† by Dr suess. In stictly ballroom, this concept is primarily conveyed by Scott Hastings struggle with the dance community to find where he truly belongs. In ‘The Sneetches is refers to the group belonging of the two seperate types of sneetches and their journey to belong as a community and individually. In â€Å"Strictly Ballroom† the beginning scenes of the film Baz established the conventional, elegant atmosphere of the ballroom dancing world. Using a combination of techniques such as graceful music, the traditional â€Å"blue Danube†, the silhouette and highly illuminated shots of the dancers waltzing, dressing in exaggerated and ostentatious costumes, hair and make-up along with big cheesy smile and facial expressions as they dance gracefully around the floor. However, the sense of community and belonging is soon fractured as it switches to a shot of Shirley screaming â€Å"Come on team 100!†. Scott and Liz become blocked in by another dance couple and Scott chooses to dance his own steps to escape, deviating from the usual steps that the judges are programmed to. The reaction of the judges and audience shows that Scott's actions were not excepted by the federation. Barry fife leans over to Lez and mutters â€Å"what the hell is going on here?† representing the shock of the judges. The restrictive and competitive nature of the â€Å"strictly ballroom† world is further shown by Barry Fife, the president of the dance federation who is conveyed as an ugly, evil man ruling the dance community. His irrational and controlling nature is emphasised in the scene of the first competition here we see there is no true loyalty or belonging because when Ken and Pam cheat and block out Scott and Liz in the corner they are rewarded and are still given first place. Clearly conveying that the individual or group who wishes to belong to this specific world must be prepared to follow orders and conform to their rules. To find a true sense of belonging within a set world, one must have the courage to stay true to themselves. The protagonists in this film Scott and Fran gradually challenge and redefine the order of this community. Scott â€Å"the up and coming star† of the ballroom world becomes frustrated with only dancing the old traditional steps and wants permission to introduce his own kind of steps. In the illustrated story ‘The Sneetches' illustrated and written by Dr. Suess he demonstrates individuals within a group desperately seeking approval of another group they are made to believe are more elite. Not belonging may not be a permanent state. Doug, Scott's father is portrayed as a very quiet charter who rarely speaks. He is often seen in the dance studio improvising his movements, which is similar to what Scott did earlier on in the film. However he is often captured through a high angle shot and very limited lighting making it appear as though the audience is secretly overlooking his dancing which no one is meant to see. This image suggests that he too wants to express his passion through dance, but he can only do it in the dark alone as if he is too afraid of confronting those who oppose it. The darkness around Doug lets him express himself as an individual and shed his previous conformed life. This is clearly conveying the main idea, that it is very important to belong but only if an individual can first belong to oneself.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Allegory or Reflective Metamorphic Essay on What Ways I am a Prisoner

Waking up in the morning is may be the easiest part of my day. Going through the whole day, every day of my life is the hardest. This is the life of a prisoner, but I am not the typical behind-the-bars crook; I am a prisoner of my own life, with just a peephole as my only chance of escape. It’s not that I hate my life or people around me, it’s just that, I think I could be more than what I am today, that continuing this kid of life that I have is like wasting precious sands of the hour glass.This is not some wild imagination, not just some long shot hope, for I am now creating away out of this prison, making the peephole wider, so that my body could go through. I am currently employed full time, living a life with my family of three kids, one is 8 years old, another 2 years old, and the youngest is just 10 months old. I can say that I can go by everyday with what I do for a living, but still, there are some things missing in my life. I can feel it – even though I can’t see it, I know that it does exist.That’s the point where I realized that I am living my life in prison. Something is hindering me from freedom, from fully discovering myself and my potentials. Even though I have a happy family, it is like its being overshadowed by that desire to break free from prison. A life in prison for me is a typical day doing the same things over and over again. I wake up; spend a little time with my beloved family, and eventually spending the biggest chunk of my day at the work place. Sometimes, I ask myself, does everyone feel like this.Am I supposed to be doing the same things over and over again, spending my time alone, away from my family in order to make some money? I kept asking this question for so many times, but still, the answer just won’t pop in my head. What do I need to do? I feel like I am behind the cold steel bars, locked up away from the real world, forced to live a life under a routine, doing the same things over and over again for so many days. Not a day was different, with no means of escape, no way to fight for my way out.I was living a life of a free man struggling to be freed from an unknown prison which only he knows about it. By the end of the day, I am exhausted, drained to the bones. I can’t spend more time with my family because I have to sleep in order to wake up early for tomorrow’s work. I wanted to spend more time with them, but I can’t; I think this is a consequence of being a prisoner (Anonymous). You can’t decide on the things you really want to do. You have to go by the routine, or else you’ll suffer. For me, suffering is hard because it will not be felt by me alone.It will also affect my family, my loved ones, because they depend on me for sustenance so that they could grow into healthy, normal, free people. I think about them so much, and then I realize that I can’t stop now. I shouldn’t be selfish; if I only think about my self, then my family will suffer. I think a lot, maybe this is what prisoners do with their spare time. Unfortunately, thinking a lot also has its consequences. It keeps me from falling asleep, which is very bad in my case. You see, sleeping has been the only luxury that a prisoner can enjoy.He can be at peace with himself and with his surroundings. He is at ease, blissfully resting the night through, wishing that it would be longer so that his tired body will regain its energy to the fullest. It also gives the prisoner something that he could hold on to for a while, something that he could really treasure. Being in prison you learn to value sleeping because it is where his dreams are made. Dreams for me come in different forms. It could be about the things that make me happy, or be about my family’s happy moments.Sometimes, it could bring about nightmares, but I’ve learned that if you live a life of a prisoner, you learn not to fear these nightmares. Sleeping is only about dreams, and these dreams not only bring about happiness, it can also give you a little bit of hope, and maybe a glimpse of what lies ahead in the future. There was one time when I dreamt about my life, about being a prisoner (Brians). It gave me a clear view of what my real problem was, the reason I became a prisoner in my own life. It was because of my lack of education which has brought me behind bars.It gave me a clear mental picture of what it’s like if had finished schooling. I could be someone else, be someone better. I could have a chance in landing a better job, and possibly a better life. I can make the most of what I do, and I can make my family happier. It wasn’t just a dream because it showed me the way. It is reality – I can make everything real. Everything is possible, as long as I believe that I can. Armed with the dream of finishing school, I packed up everything I need. It would require all of my wits, my confidence and my willingness to p ursue this dream. Luckily, I have everything I need with me.That’s why I took the step which I know would take me out of this prison. Through the small peephole of my dream, I will make a larger hole, in which I can pass through and be free from this prison. It was the lack of education that has kept me well behind bars. It’s now my time to escape. Works Cited: Anonymous. â€Å"Prison Vs. Work†. 2007. September 15 2007. . Brians, Paul. â€Å"Plato: The Allegory of the Cave, from the Republic†. 1998. September 15 2007. .

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Canadian History Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Canadian History Paper - Essay Example But the problem remains: Canada cannot realize its full political and economic promise with a foreign monarch as its head of state, one whose presence is a constant reminder of the nation’s colonial past. As such, Canada should sever its ties to the constitutional monarchy. In March 2002, Prince Charles visited Mexico City to promote trade between Mexico and Great Britain. As often happens when a member of the royal family embarks on a diplomatic visit to the Americas, Canada’s economic position in the international community is marginalized by what can best be described as an awkward, hierarchical relationship. Charles’ mission to Mexico offers a case in point: Mexico and Canada are trading partners under terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and yet according to Canada’s constitutional ties to Name 2 the British throne, the Prince of Wales was there ostensibly as proxy for Canada’s legal head of state, Queen Elizabeth II. In the market place of international commerce, sovereignty and prestige are important to engendering and maintaining confidence among a nation’s business partners. ... When Britain sought membership in the European Economic Community in 1961, Canada, through no fault of its own, found itself in an awkward and potentially damaging situation with the United States. The U.S. complained that Britain’s move into the EEC would pull Canada into a preferential European agreement, which â€Å"would threaten American trading interests by†¦linking Britain and its current and former colonies into the large European market† (Buckner, 109). The constitutional monarchy has also placed undue pressure on Canada’s domestic political scene. Quebec’s lingering separatist movement has for decades drawn on the country’s ties to Britain, the very symbol of imperial/colonialist domination, for political ammunition. The queen’s 1964 visit to Quebec, one of her most disastrous forays into North America, exacerbated anti-union sentiment in Quebec. She was booed in Quebec City, and Rene Levesque, Quebec’s minister of Natur al Resources, boycotted the banquet celebrating the royal visit (Buckner, 89). Worse still, civil unrest followed marked by acts of violence involving protesters and the provincial police, whose actions made martyrs of the separatists. Name 3 Canada’s increasing ethnic diversity has, in recent years, called into question whether a constitutional monarchy is an appropriate institution for a democratic, pluralistic society. It is difficult to imagine that a constitutional monarchy could ever be a unifying factor in a country where citizens of English ancestry are now in the minority (Leuprecht, 68). The continued presence of the Queen (and her successor) affirms a â€Å"symbolic executive (who) would seem to be limited not only for those in Quebec but for the many

Friday, September 27, 2019

Museum spaces and department stores are both phantasmagoric spaces Essay

Museum spaces and department stores are both phantasmagoric spaces - Essay Example The viewer was not able to comprehend the meaning of swiftly and chaotically changing images and thus, could only perceive them as paranormal. Since the inception of time, projection and external beam effect techniques have been used by the magicians and theater to induce their viewers to believe-in, what is displayed for them. The same strategy is adapted by museums and lately it has also been used by the department stores. The psychological implication behind this technique is to produce inimitable impression on the spectators so they can believe the clairvoyant quality of the article on display. The aura, visual light effects, structure of the building and their rapidly changing aspect make these articles exclusive in the museum. Therefore, maximum attention is paid on the surrounding of the article to give it a mystic touch. Kapferer (2002) sheds light on why any space becomes phantasmagoric space and when any space is disjoined from the day to day life thus, due to its unusual a ttributes then such a space would be entitled for phantasmagoric space. Furthermore, he explains that phantasmagoric spaces entail generative forces, which represent them as distinctive. Their aura is beyond comparison as they stand apart from the rest of the world. ‘Victoria and Albert Museum’ of London embraces the premium collection of world’s finest decorative of arts. It represents the art and design collection of over 3000 years, which is worth approximately 4.5 million. The art, design and housing decorative of ‘V & A’ represent innovation and diversity of human kind. The marble sculpture of ‘Samson slaying a Philistine’ by Giambolanga (1560-2) is design inspired from the ‘Book of judges’ (An episode of the old Testament) (Samson, 2006). The seven feet tall large-scale sculpture is well defined in its sense of movement and ‘V & A museum’ authorities have kept it wisely in a central court gallery, where na tural light of sun and dramatic shadows of the surroundings imitate realistic attributes in the sculpture. The architecture of the building is in North Italian Renaissance style with a centralized grand auditorium. In the two storey museum the sculpture is placed amidst in one of the galleries, where viewers can observe them and get enchanted. The English gothic art architecture of ceiling has a rectangular opening in between to throw natural light on the sculptures. ‘The HammerBeam ceiling inspiration’ also entails Italic Vault style in the remaining curving part of the roof. (Courtesy of V & A Museum, 2013 1) The objective of creating a exclusive aura was to display the worth of Giambolanga sculpture. The instrument of killing is carved in a manner that it shows a brutal action without hesitancy. The intertwined figures are portrayed on a differentiated surface. Hence, the lifelike sculptor has a medieval surrounding to give it a complete phantasmagoric effect. The sp ace is edified by a backdrop of carved wood temple and wall. The strap against Samson chest entails the inscription of ‘I†¦. BELGAE†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Victoria and Albert Museum). Though, the inscription is not visible from distance, but with a closer view; it develops the aura of steadfastness and identification. The Caesarean region and tribes

Thursday, September 26, 2019

How to combat racism in schools and create positive learning Essay

How to combat racism in schools and create positive learning environments - Essay Example How to combat racism in schools and create positive learning environments A school is the best place to impart education on religious, cultural, gender and social equality; and to train young minds to look beyond all kinds of disparities, and to respect each other’s values and cultures. There are many ways a school can create an environment that can be positive, safe, and well suited to bring about a change in social racism. The learning environment in a school that has a safe and positive attitude would: A learning environment is a part of the strategic plan that is developed on key concepts, like the basic core curriculum and a quality framework. â€Å"It embraces the physical and the psycho-social environment and is meant to help stimulate the pupils and apprentices in their personal development and identity. The Strategic Plan is furthermore meant to contribute to the development of ethical, social and cultural competence and to the ability to understand and take part in democratic processes†. A positive learning environment will discourage all kind of racism, violence, vandalism, or even bullying, while taking care that each student is given equal attention, and all their problems taken care of. While developing this positive learning atmosphere within a school educational framework, the teacher forms the most important resource. However, it is not the duty of one individual teacher to create this positive environment; and there must be the active support of all his collea gues, the school authority, the community members, and even the school children.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Decision support System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Decision support System - Essay Example Information technology experts are investing heavily in finding out the trends of IT uptake in the business world and utilize this information in key decision making for the organization (Albert & Kenneth, 2004). The demand for IT in businesses increases when customers realize there are programs in the market which are meant to help them avoid errors in decision making which affect their organization negatively through the losses incurred. Application of computers especially for decision support services is broad. There is no area in human existence where right decisions are not important. Whether it is health care settings, not for profit organizations, profit organizations, learning institutions, business organizations and any other place or institution where there is spending or cost incurred, all these require making decisions to strengthen the sustainability of the organization. Whether these are individual or corporate owned, there is need to gather information from consumers d irectly so as to offer products and services which will satisfy them (Albert & Kenneth, 2004). There is no business which operates within a vacuum. It is not very difficult to witness more than one organization which provides similar services, or companies selling goods within the same geographical area. Sometimes there goods which are originating from different companies present in retail outlets and customers do choose one item and leave the other. These decisions which customers make are based on several factors which attract them. In order to attract customers and influence their decisions to buy one product and leave another of the same type manufacturers spend so much in advertising their products to many people (Basil, 2010). The outcome of those promotional efforts is the large number of customers who demand for their products, thus boosting their capital base and profit. The quality of products or services also contributes much on the customers’ demand of those servi ces or products. It is important that clients take their time to provide goods and services which will be able to meet the basic standards in a given setting since every country has a board which oversees the sale and distribution of goods and services to ensure that consumers are protected from counterfeit products and services. Other external factors which affect a business organization include the political, legal and social systems in a particular country. It is important to understand the preferences of people you expect to be your customers for the products and services you offer. The behaviors, habits, customs and practices of people usually have a strong foundation which is sometimes very difficult to change. Therefore before you decide to invest in certain products while having a certain population in mind as your target population; it is important to consider the social nature of these people since it influences the purchasing habits of these people. The legal system is al so important in a given country since it lays a framework under which a business should operate. When investing in a foreign country it will be important to gather information on the laws which exist in that country so as to ensure you don’t incur unnecessary costs which come as fines due to breaking of business laws. These are some of the factors which aff

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

The Trouble With Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Trouble With Business Ethics - Essay Example It was concluded after investigation that Lowry was wrong in her judgment and the reports about Mona Williams were falsely accused. But this lead to the exposure of Lowry herself; and she was terminated from the job and is searching for other jobs outside of Wal-Mart. There are few features that makes whistle blowing a dangerous act for the employees; one of the reasons that employees are afraid to report such behaviors is that they will either lose their jobs or they would be relocated to a different and low profile post. Ethical behavior is one of the key which is taught during the training of the new employees but the credibility of the same is lost because most of the companies which are pro active in ensuring that ethical requirements are met are the companies which were involved in the same crime at one time or the other. The whistle blowing is a tough job to perform because under law a person become liable to report a crime and if he does not report a crime he is as guiltier as the culprit himself. But to announce a crime is not the end rather it’s the means to start of an investigation and legal case and legal proving and so on. These activities take a lot of time of the individual and a lot of family life is ignored; which has even lead to worst scenarios as divorce cases. Few of the employees leave the organization to report such issues; because they are afraid that if they do while they are working they wouldn’t be able to find other suitable jobs in case they are not protected by the company. That is why in most of the cases the ethical issues are not reported and in few the person first secures him/herself with other financial sources before going after the company who might not even take them seriously. The whistle blower are not appropriately protected by the companies; if they would have given the sense of security and trust they would not have

Monday, September 23, 2019

MSc International Management Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MSc International Management - Dissertation Example Cultural diversity is a trend in the age of globalization. Meanwhile, the demand for localized products is growing. Adaptation is one innovation that global organizations have to apply in their marketing strategies to adjust to cultural differences. McDonald’s UK is the main focus in our study of standardization and adaptation. McDonald’s originally came from the United States. When it penetrates foreign markets, it has to adapt to the cultures of the country of destination. This is what they call adaptation, as opposed to standardization of products. McDonald’s UK suffered rough sailing in the initial stages. Later on, it adapted strategies. How the company did it is a test of the company’s desire to succeed is the primary focus of this paper. There are criticisms that McDonald’s do not apply diversity in its marketing strategy and that as an international organization, it is an agent of globalization. Adaptation is coping with a culture of a count ry where an organization operates. If an organization wants to do business in a country with a different culture, it has to adapt. It always has to cope with the local culture. Cross-cultural aspects affect the people in the organization, including organizational knowledge, marketing, product mix, etc. International organizations have their own way of doing international marketing. Some modify a little of their products and strategies, or adapt to the culture and behavior of the local community. 2. Literature Review A remarkable gap between standardization and adaptation is that it is still one of the controversial issues and has always been a subject of debate among international companies since 1961 (Vignali and Vrontis 1999; Elinder, 1961 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009). To date, international companies still battle over which one to choose. There have been numerous studies conducted on these two subjects but it remains a hot topic for discussion (Vrontis et al., 2009). Vignali an d Vrontis (1999 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009) stated that the debate started as far back as 1961 when advertising was one of the primary topics. Multinational companies wanted to standardize advertising, and to further apply it to other promotional mix and marketing mix. Until now the debate whether to standardize marketing (or to adapt new products) remains a focal point for discussion (Schultz and Kitchen, 2000; Kanso and Kitchen, 2004; Kitchen and de Pelsmacker, 2004; Vrontis et al., 2009). Ryans et al. (2003 cited in Vrontis et al., 2009, p. 478) pointed out that academic research on this subject has covered much of the literature on marketing. They pointed out that because of globalization, there has been a surplus of exports over imports, prompting international companies to minimize cost of production. However, firms realized that it was necessary to answer or meet the needs and wants of consumers. Meeting the needs and wants of customers is a primary marketing strategy of i nternational companies nowadays. A study was conducted by Hite and Fraser in 1988 on whether firms used standardization or adaptation in their international trade and business throughout many countries. The study utilized a sample of 418 Fortune 500 companies, and the findings were varied and, in fact, surprising. The respondents comprised of 66 percent international firms who advertised internationally, but of this percentage, only 8

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Dream Worlds Essay Example for Free

Dream Worlds Essay So much has changed in how gender relations are carried out in today’s society. In past societies, much attention was paid to hierarchical relations. The women in the days of yore were only given a certain set of rights and privileges that were determined by men. Over the years, however, there has been a so-called â€Å"emancipation† of women. Beginning with the right to suffrage, women were gradually given increasing rights and participation in present day society. The influence that women have in today’s world is such that it can even be argued that they might even have the upper-hand gender wise. As Dream Worlds II reveals, one of the tools that women have used to regain their dominance over men is their sexuality. As the proverbial gate-keepers for sexual satisfaction, women are able to use their sexuality, seemingly at will, to gain whatever they want in society. While it seems that it is the men who are inducing these women to use their sexuality for material favors or otherwise, a close inspection will reveal that it is the result of a conscious decision of society. By engaging in a more capitalist mentality, the relation between the sexes is no longer about gender but rather accumulation of material wealth. The struggles that emerge between the sexes in today’s society are more concerned with gaining the upper-hand in a material aspect and everything, even sexuality, can be used as a tool in all of this. Given this situation, it would be incorrect to cite that it is subservience to men but rather it is the realization that such a facade is necessary to gain an upper-hand. There is no clear cut solution to this problem. In fact, it can be likened to supply and demand. There is a supply of women that meets a certain demand but in order to take advantage of this there must be an equivalent or greater exchange. It is more of a function of society than it is a battle of the sexes. A mutual agreement that this relationship is ideal in today’s situation.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Assessment For Learning Essay Example for Free

Assessment For Learning Essay Although Hamlet and Agamemnon both follow Aristotle’s definition of tragedy, I believe Hamlet is a more tragic play. Many more innocent lives were taken in Hamlet than Agamemnon. Hamlet, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius and Laertes were all killed due to Claudius’ deceptive and cheating ways. In Agamemnon, Cassandra and Iphigenia were the only innocent lives taken, both caused by Agamemnon’s lack of morals. The sheer number of deaths in Hamlet that were caused by unjust means and intentions brings a great amount of unrest to the audience. It holds even greater unrest for the audience when compared to Agamemnon. The level of understanding I had with all the characters was far greater in Hamlet than in Agamemnon. Hamlet, the tragic hero in his play, was the main character. The audience was able to connect and sympathize with him through his struggles with avenging his father and his many soliloquies. Touching on the topic of Hamlet’s desire for suicide in his soliloquies gives the impression that he is trapped in his life. Even though he may be miserable in the world he lives in, suicide is forbidden by his religion, and thus he is trapped to stay in a world he hates. Agamemnon does not appear in his play until at least half way through. This makes it difficult to justify Agamemnon, the tragic hero in his play, as the main character. His wife, Clytemnestra is the main character since her story is followed from the beginning to the end of the play. Making a connection with the tragic hero in Agamemnon is much more difficult since the audience does not have a chance to connect with him, ultimately making his death less tragic and compelling to the audience. An element of Aristotle’s definition of tragedy is involving a tragic hero of higher standing. Both of these plays follow that element. Hamlet is the prince of Denmark. Agamemnon is the king of Argos, Greece. Both of these men make and error in judgement that eventually leads to suffering and their final downfall. Hamlet accidently kills Polonius, believing him to be Claudius. This sets a chain of events in action that leads to the death of not only himself, but many people around him. Agamemnon makes the mistake of trusting his wife upon his return. He walks on the purple silk into his palace, where Clytemnestra kills him. This event feels less tragic since the audience almost believes Agamemnon deserves death for sacrificing his own daughter and taking Cassandra as a concubine.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Is globalization to be blamed for child labour

Is globalization to be blamed for child labour This paper addresses an issue that appears to be on the increase worldwide; Child Labour. Recent ILO estimates state that every seventh child in the world is engaged in working activities. Because of their familys financial difficulties these children are forced to give up their future in terms of education, health and leisure. This emphasises the importance to carry out further research and analysis on the phenomenon of child labour as well as come up with effective policy inventions in order to eliminate child labour. According to Basu (1999) designing policies should be based on careful analysis and research instead of underlying emotions or feelings towards child labour. It is extremely important to consider the precise definition of child labour before proceeding. There is immense heterogeneity in defining child labour as different groups view it differently. For example according to Ashagrie (1993) a child is categorised as labourer if the child is economically active. Then again we need to come to an agreement on what age group being a child consists of. Most studies however follow the ILOs convention No.138 and treat a person under 15 years old as a child and estimate child labour by observing economic activity of children under the age of 15. For the purpose of our study we will be looking at children between the ages 0-14. The aim of this paper is to discover the impact globalisation has had and is having on child labour. As globalization is a broad topic, I will be focusing specifically on trade liberalization, which plays an essential role within the globalization process. Liberalised trade had been the engine of capitalistic growth from colonial times; however globalization has led to a change in this pattern. Under colonialism, land conquest operated as a pre-condition and  (foreign) capital and (foreign) labour converged on land to produce goods for trade (e.g. plantation production). But, with globalization, capital is seeking investment outlets globally, where, besides marketing opportunities,  cheap labour is a key determinant. This has resulted in large scale foreign direct investment (FDI) with multi national corporations yielding the necessary structural change. LEDCs are keen to receive FDI and have gone to the extent of creating a suitable environment for such capital overlooking socia l issues.  The policy had been conducive for cheap labour in the form of children and women (e.g. garment industries within the FTZ in Sri Lanka). Economists argue that international trade is beneficial in terms of increasing the income of the country as well as creating job opportunities in the country. It is also one of the important sources of revenue for a developing country. But there is no denying that there may be losers from international trade too; for example the imports of cheap goods produced by low skilled workers may not only reduce the demand for those goods but also reduces employment opportunities for low skilled workers. Although trade can bring some disadvantages to a countrys economy, it is necessary that it does not effect the younger population who will determine the future of the economy. This paper investigates whether trade liberalization increases the incidence of child labour. Since our concern is working children, who are predominant in the developing world, my focus will be on developing countries specifically on India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The main reason for why it is interesting to consider these South Asian countries is due to the high proportion (40%) of the worlds child labour emerging from these countries as well as the rapid export growth monitored in these countries. One would expect a positive relationship between trade openness and child labour as more trade means more exports, which in turn means an increase in demand for labour; therefore, children enter the labour market. However this is an extremely generalised statement, the next section presents what the economic theory says about this matter. This study looks at a panel of 50 developing countries over a period of 4 decades to in order to observe the effect of trade on chil d labour. Another reason for the use of panel data is due to the fact that child labour is not a recent issue, it has been happening for several decades now, therefore it is interesting to see if there has been a trend over time. It also makes sense to observe the consequences of globalisation over time as there has been a rapid, continuous progress in information and technology which highly contributes to trade liberalization (Krugman 1995), especially in the 1980s when globalisation got in its stride. In order to test the effect of trade liberalization on child labour, a multiple regression analysis will be carried out using economic activity rate of children between 10-14 as the indicator for child labour and the countrys imports and exports (%GDP) as the measure of trade openness. In addition control variables such as GDP per capita and proportion of children between 0-14 as well as regional dummies are added to the regression. Data are mainly collected from the World Bank and UN common database. The report proceeds as follows. Chapter 2 reviews the theory of trade and how it is likely to affect child labour. The methods used to carry out the empirical analysis along with the description of the data used is described in chapter 3. The results and findings are presented in chapter 4 followed by the conclusions and possible policy recommendations in chapter 5. Theory Parents make the decisions regarding whether to send their children to school; they make these decisions by comparing benefits and costs of education as well the opportunity cost of time spent in education rather than working. Ranjan (1999) says that credit market imperfections are the reason for the existence of borrowing constraints. Therefore when parents cannot borrow against their childrens future earnings, the deep poverty forces them to send their children to work. When the country opens to trade in an unskilled labour abundant country (i.e. developing country) this may affect child labour in two ways. Firstly, the demand effect due to the increase in wage of the unskilled workers which in turn reduces the returns to skilled workers. Looking at it in this perspective makes it more likely that parents would send their children to work rather than to school. Another perspective is that households with unskilled workers become better off as they receive higher wages; therefore th ere is less of a need to send the children to work. The overall outcome will depend on which of these effects dominates (Ranjan 2001). However it is important to note that the impact of trade liberalization on child labour will be varied in different countries depending on the factor endowments of the country. Developing countries are relatively abundant in unskilled labour therefore trade growth may not have a significant impact on child labour. Krueger(1996) says that trade between two countries is determined by comparative advantage. A country has a comparative advantage in producing a good if the opportunity cost of producing that good is smaller in that country compared to other countries. The country with a comparative advantage also uses its resources most efficiently in the production of that good. So for example if developing countries specialize in goods that make use of unskilled labour, more of those goods are produced. The country gains from trade due to its specialization in the products that uses its resources more efficiently. This in turn brings more income to the country which can then be used to buy the goods and services the country desires. Domestic workers also benefit from this as the familys real income increases from producing the good the country specializes in. This theory can be linked with the two possible implications trade has on child labour as discussed by Ranjan; income effect reduces child l abour as the additional income helps parents reduce the work load of their children or the higher income to families may also mean parents would rather send their children to work. However Cigno et al (2002) found a negative relationship between trade and the incidence of child labour in their cross country study. The problems using a cross country study is that data collection methods in different countries may vary; therefore results may be less reliable when comparing. Also cross sectional  studies are carried out at one particular point in time or over a short period of time, therefore its only a snapshot. The results may be different if the study had been carried out in a different period. Findings of Shelbourne (2002) also supports the results derived from the study carried out by Cigno et al. Her reasoning was that the economy expands due to international trade which in turn increases per capita GDP reducing the need for child labourers. This is not necessarily true as an i ncrease in the volume of production within the country might mean there is higher demand for cheap labour in order to maximize profits. The Heckscher-Ohlin theory explains trade through differences in resources. For example let us now take a look at a simple framework where capital and labour are the factors of production. Under this framework a country will have comparative advantage in producing goods which intensively uses the factor with which they are abundantly endowed. According to this theory openness to trade increases demand for the good produced by the abundant factor which indirectly increases the demand for the abundant factor itself. This also increases the price of the abundant factor. In other words, countries that have a relatively high proportion of labour (labour intensive), which are mainly the developing countries will tend to export labour intensive goods and countries which are well endowed in terms of capital will export capital intensive goods. (criticize) Brown (2000) and Dixit (2000) believe that when countries involve in trade the wages are determined by the prices of the products. In conjunction with Heckscher-Ohlins model, this means the increase in price of the export products can actually reduce the incidence of child labour as adult wages rise. However according to Maskus (1997) the demand for child labour depends on the demand for export goods. In other words the higher the demand for export goods the higher the demand for child workers through higher equilibrium wages. His theory, however contradicts with Stolper Samuelsons theorem, which states that the expansion of the export sector increases adult wages and therefore it reduces the supply of child labour. These are two contradicting views as the expansion in the export sector can either increase or decrease child labour. However, all these theories are solely based on income and how child labour is affected due to the income effects triggered by trade. Perhaps other factor s such as poverty and welfare benefits should be taken in to account. It is generally accepted that liberalization under globalization has led to a maldistribution of income, which has created relative poverty. The worst affected has been the LEDCs. It is also true that certain  LEDCs, the least developed ones, are also affected by absolute poverty. When families are threatened to be  below poverty lines, child labour becomes a convenient means to enhance family incomes. Moreover part of the liberalized programme under globalization has been a reduction in welfare activities both in the developing and developed world. World Bank and IMF impose on LDCs welfare reduction as a pre-requisite for capital and any other form of assistance. It has led to privatisation in especially health and education driving a lot of families to lower income levels, eventually, culminating in denial of proper educational facilities  and the creation of child labour. Overall, the review of theory works seems to be more supportive towards a negative relationship between trade openness and child labour mainly due to the positive income effect trade brings to the country. We will now take a look at some empirical evidence to see if they support these theories. Empirical evidence The empirical evidence already found on the relationship between trade openness and child labour does not give us a clear picture. Most cross-sectional studies tend to show a negative relationship between trade improvement and the incidence of child labour. In fact in the panel study carried out by Cigno et al. (2002) there were no significant relationship between the two variables. The overall effect of trade liberalization on child labour seems to differ across countries. Kis-Katos (2007) carried out an empirical study using a panel of 91 countries measuring variables every decade from 1960-2000. However she only included the countries that reported a positive value of child labour; one needs to take into consideration that not all countries let out information about issues such as child labour and also countries tend to underreport work by children, therefore her results may have been different if these secretive countries were also included. She found an overall increase in trade openness over the decades as well as a steady decrease in the incidence of child labour. However the reliability of the data should be taken into account as illegal work or household work carried out by children may not be reported, which affect the reliability of the results. Moreover in developing countries economic censuses are rare and the ILO often makes adjustments such as intrapolating or extrapolating data in order to get estimates. This means the actual values may be over or under estimated than the true value. Cigno et al. (2002) found no empirical evidence that international trade raises child labour. In fact their cross country study shows that trade liberalisation actually decreases child labour. One of the indicators they used to measure child labour was primary school non-attendance rate. It is important to note that child not attending school does not necessarily mean the child is engaging in economic activity. It may for example be the case that the family cannot afford to send the child to school or even that the child has health problems. Therefore using primary school non attendance rate is not as appropriate as an indicator. The other indicator used was economic activity of children between ages 10-14, which clearly excludes children younger the 10 who are more of a cause of concern. However considering there are only limited data available on child labour, these indicators do give us a broad brush picture of the evolution of child labour. Issues with the reliability of data are the same as those discussed for Kis-Katoss empirical study above. As we have seen, most of the empirical findings are consistent with the theoretical considerations we discussed previously. In other words empirical work carried out so far mainly find a negative relationship between trade openness and child labour supporting most of the theories. Methodology Our empirical work is aimed at understanding whether the panel data evidence suggests a link between trade and child labour and whether there is any evidence to support our hypothesis of trade liberalization exerting an upward pressure of child labour. Data and variables In order to address the research question which is to observe whether trade liberalization increases child labour, a panel of 50 developing countries are used, where the variables are measured every ten years between 1960-2000. The focus of the regression is to observe child labour over time keeping in mind the current wave of globalisation progressed rapidly around the 1980s. However by looking at the data it is important to note that not all countries have experienced an increase in trade over each decade. There are a total of 250 observations for each variable considered over the years 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000. A panel data method has been carried out for this analysis for several reasons. Firstly the use of panel data increases the number of observations. For example in our case using data over 5 different time periods has increased the sample size by 5 times which will help increase the precision of the regression estimates. It also increases the degrees of freedom and reduces the collinearity among explanatory variables, again increasing the precision of the estimates. Moreover it allows us to analyse important economic questions which cannot be addressed using cross sectional analysis alone. For example in our case using a cross sectional analysis will not be appropriate as we are interested in observing a trend over time. Data was taken from the World Bank development indicators (reference) and the United Nation common database. The dependent variable used is the economic activity rate of children between the ages 10-14 taken from the ILO estimates. Using this variable as an indicator for child labour has two main problems. Firstly children under the age of 10 who may be involved in child labour are excluded. Secondly this indicator does not include children working within the household, or children involved in illegal work such as prostitution. In developing countries economic censuses are rare and the ILO often makes adjustments such as intrapolating or extrapolating data in order to get estimates. This means the actual values may be over or under estimated than the true value, which also have an impact on the results. However considering the lack of data available on child labour and comparing with other indicators present, this indicator serves best available proxy for measuring child labour. As we are looking at the impact of trade on child labour the main explanatory variable used in our analysis is trade (% GDP). The trade variable gives the sum of exports and imports of goods and services measured as a share of gross domestic product. In addition to this two other control variables have been included. The control variables are GDP per capita growth (%) and the age group 0-14 as a percentage of the whole population. The reason for the use of control variables is to see if there is actually a relationship between trade and child labour given that these control variables which also affect the dependent variable are kept constant. It would have been desirable to control for variables such as poverty and differences in income distribution, but the data available was not sufficiently consistent across the countries and years we are considering. GDP per capita is used as a control variable because it controls for average income effects caused by trade liberalization. As we mentioned earlier increase in trade means countries gain new production opportunities which in turn increases GDP per capita. This positive income effect is most likely to reduce child labour. Therefore it is essential to control this variable. The other control variable used is age group 0-14 as a percentage of the whole population. This variable allows us to observe whether the increase in number of children in that given age group over the years affects child labour. The notion behind this is that the larger the families the higher the demand for income therefore a higher chance of children entering the labour force. As my main focus is on South Asian countries a regional dummy variable has been added to the regression which takes a value of 1 if the country is in South Asia and a value of 0 if not. This regional dummy helps to capture the change in child labour in the south Asian countries which is known to have a high prevalence of child labour. Results By looking at the data for every 10 years from 1960 to 2000, we can see a general increase in trade openness over time as well as a steady decrease in economic activity rates. We begin our analysis by considering the association between volume of trade (openness) and child labour for the years 1960, 1980 and 2000. This allows us to have a rough overview of how the relationship has changed (if any) before and after globalisation (considering globalisation occurred around the 1980s). 1980 This figure shows a scatter plot of the data for 1980 for the variables trade and child labour. A point on this scatter plot represents the volume of trade in 1980 and the economic activity rate of children between 10-14 in 1980 for a given country. The OLS regression line obtained by regressing these two variables is also plotted on the figure, which shows a slightly negative relationship; the estimated regression line is: CL = 26.6601794934 0.0149024702066*TRADE (1980 data) Because we have data for more than one year, we can re-examine this relation for another year. The scatter plots for the years 1960 and 2000 are given below. CL = 36.3205247048 0.119594768169*TRADE (1960 data) CL = 26.0540622351 0.109873185356*TRADE (2000 data) All three scatter plots show a negative relation between trade and child labour although year 2000 has the highest coefficient on trade implying that the reduction in child labour was greater in the year 2000 compared to 1960 and 1980. Keeping in mind that globalization took its stride in the 1980s, these scatter plots show that globalization has in fact reduced child labour further. However these plots only show what happened in that specific year, there may have been fluctuations between the years (i.e between 1980 and 1990) and also we cannot tell the trend over time using these individual plots. A better way of estimating the relationship is a regression approach that takes into account both the time and the cross section. Estimation strategy The estimation equation is of the following form: CLit = f( Tradeit, GDPit, Population 0-14it, Regional dummy for South Asiait), Where i= country x and t= time (decade t). More formally: Yit = ÃŽÂ ²1i + ÃŽÂ ²2X2it + ÃŽÂ ²3X3it + ÃŽÂ ²4X4it + ÃŽÂ ´(SAit) + ÃŽÂ µit. The anticipated signs of the coefficients: The coefficient of trade (ÃŽÂ ²2) which is what we are most interested in could either be positive or negative, although according to theory it is most likely to be negative. Coefficient of GDP (ÃŽÂ ²3) is expected to be negative as the higher the GDP per capita the lower the incidence of child labour due to the positive income effect. The coefficient of the number of children aged 0-14 (ÃŽÂ ²4) is expected to be positive as the larger the number of children per family the higher the demand for income in order to support the family. As south Asia has a high incidence of child labour, the coefficient of the dummy variable is expected to be positive and large. Dependent Variable: CL Method: Panel Least Squares Date: 03/21/10 Time: 16:24 Sample: 1 5 Periods included: 5 Cross-sections included: 50 Total panel (balanced) observations: 250 Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob.  Ã‚   C -1.326061 7.182926 -0.184613 0.8537 TRADE -0.103054 0.031110 -3.312572 0.0011 GDP -0.448464 0.186588 -2.403504 0.0170 POP 0.778480 0.163337 4.766091 0.0000 SA 6.023961 3.378131 1.783223 0.0758 R-squared 0.149969   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mean dependent var 25.40160 Adjusted R-squared 0.136091   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  S.D. dependent var 15.99024 S.E. of regression 14.86241   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Akaike info criterion 8.255344 Sum squared resid 54118.32   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Schwarz criterion 8.325773 Log likelihood -1026.918   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hannan-Quinn criter. 8.283690 F-statistic 10.80618   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Durbin-Watson stat 0.152585 Prob(F-statistic) 0.000000 CL = -1.32606116682 0.103053628312*TRADE 0.448464386734*GDP + 0.778479521915*POP + 6.0239606613*SA The results show the coefficients of ÃŽÂ ²2, ÃŽÂ ²3, ÃŽÂ ²4 are as expected. For a given country i, when trade liberalization varies across time by one unit, child labour decreases by 0.103 units. Similarly when GDP and population vary across time by one unit child labour decreases by 0.448 and increases by 0.778 respectively. Looking at the results it is clear that trade liberalization does not have much of an impact on child labour as indicated by a very small coefficient, which we may even interpret as there being no impact of trade on child labour. It is important to note that being a South Asian country is associated with child labour that is 6.02 units higher, everything else held constant. This was also expected as we found out earlier that a large proportion of child labour comes from South Asian countries. Our previous theory discussion implied that the relationship between openness and child labour could be either positive or negative. Our results suggest that grea ter openness is associated with slightly less child labour or even no effect on child labour. In order to test the significance of the coefficients, t-tests have been carried for each variable: Trade: H0: ÃŽÂ ²2 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 0 (there is no relationship or a positive relationship between trade openness and child labour) H1: ÃŽÂ ²2 t = b2 = -3.313 se(b2) Under the 5% significance level the critical t-value is t(0.05,246) = -1.651. Since -3.313 GDP: H0: ÃŽÂ ²3 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ 0 (there is no relationship or a positive relationship between GDP and child labour) H1: ÃŽÂ ²3 t = b3 = -2.404 se(b3) Since -2.404 Number of children between 0-14: H0: ÃŽÂ ²4 = 0 (there is no relationship between number of children and child labour) H1: ÃŽÂ ²4 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚   0 (there is a negative relationship between number of children and child labour) t = b4 = 4.77 se(b4) Since 4.77 > 1.651 we do not reject H0. In this case there is insufficient evidence in our sample to conclude that there is a relationship between number of children between 0-14 and child labour. Therefore we cannot be confident that this variable is actually has an impact on child labour. Perhaps further research into this will be useful. Estimating the regression excluding the population variable yields similar coefficients for the trade and GDP variables however the dummy variable for south Asia has a much smaller coefficient compared to when population was included. This shows that population is an important variable when considering South Asian countries and excluding it leads to an omitted variable bias especially when south Asian countries are involved. This is true as countries like India have a very large population therefore the proportion of children between 0-14 is likely to be high. As discussed earlier large number of children per household means extra income is required to support the family, which may lead to a necessity for children to work. Although population is an important variable, regressing it with child labour may not yield extremely reliable results in our case. This is because we are only taking into account children between the ages 10-14 as a measure of child labour, which is excluding the age group 0-9, whereas the population variables includes all ages between 0-14. This implies that the coefficient is likely to be much higher if we were to include economic activity rate of children between 0-14 as our dependent variable, which was not possible due to limited availability of data. This may be a reason why the coefficient of the population variable was insignificant as we found when carrying out the t-test. These results interpreted above however did not control for the characteristics of the countries. Fixed effect approach An advantage of panel data is that we are able to hold constant individual differences which allow us to focus on marginal effects of the independent variables considered. It is reasonable to into include the fixed effects model in our analysis as the data complies with the 2 basic requirements of using the fixed effects model; firstly dependent variable must be measured for each country for at least 2 periods and secondly the independent variable must change in value across the periods. There is no need to add the dummy variable in this case as the fixed effects are already controlling for location. Having the cross section as fixed yield the following results: As we can see from the table the coefficient of trade is more or less the same as before, however GDP now has a slightly positive coefficient. The regression R2 jumps from 0.0705 to 0.9097 when fixed effects are included. This shows that the country fixed effects account for a large amount of variation in the data. Although fixed effect approach has an attractive feature that allows controlling for the variables that have not or cannot be measured, they only take into account within country differences discarding any information about differences between countries. An F-test can be carried out to see if there is individual differences and it if is important to include cross section fixed effects in the model. Ho: ÃŽÂ ²11=ÃŽÂ ²12=ÃŽÂ ²13à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. =ÃŽÂ ²1N (no fixed effect differences) H1: the ÃŽÂ ²1i are not all equal F = (SSER SSEU) /J = 38.63 SSEU/(NT-N-(K-1)) Where the degrees of freedom J = N-1 = 50-1 = 49 and NT-N-(K-1) = (50x 5)-50-(3-1) = 198. Under the 5% significant level the critical value is Fc = 1.419 We reject Ho if F à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥ Fc, since 38.63 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¥1.419 we reject the null hypothesis of no fixed effect differences between these countries, therefore it is good to include fixed effects in the model. Overall, changes in trade over the decades had no impact or very little (decrease) effect on child labour. The other explanatory variables GDP and population also had the expected signs on the coefficients although under the fixed effects GDP had a small but positive coefficient. (what does this mean?) These finding are consistent with the theory we discussed previously. Policy interventions What can the Government do to reduce child labour? Some of the previous studies carried out on this topic have mainly mentioned improvements in schooling facilities as one of the main policy recommendations for combating child labour. For example Basu (0000) says that availability of good schools and provision of free meals for the children would be a way to reduce the number of children working. However, developing countries are generally poorer due to the lack of funds; therefore it may not be feasible to invest a lot on schooling. Moreover, attending school is only going to decrease full time work, whereas children could still be involved in part-time work after school. This shows that it is very difficult to abolish child labour completely by changes in schooling policy. Basu also mentions that a total ban on child labour may be a better option as a large scale of withdrawa

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Fire and Water Imagery in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essay -- Jane E

Fire and Water Imagery in Jane Eyre     Ã‚   Jane Eyre has to choose between the "temptation" of following the rule of passion by marrying Rochester, which would have made her dependent on him and not his equal, or of living a life of complete renunciation of all passions, by marrying St John Rivers. Fire and water imagery symbolizes the two forces competing for dominance in Jane Eyre, both on a personal and metaphorical level. Throughout the novel, such imagery is used by Brontà «, in keeping with her use of much poetic symbolism, to develop character, strengthen thematic detail and establish mood.    The general use of imagery requires mention. In most novels, imagery is commonly used to symbolise a certain idea or concept, such as the lightning imagery used in Wuthering Heights. Imagery can also be used to represent underlying themes of the novel, or to provide dramatic effect and mood. In Jane Eyre, fire imagery has a strong metaphorical significance, representing passion, sexual desire and the heat of emotion and feeling. On a very basic level, one can already note the underlying significance for Brontà «'s use of fire imagery - fire, as is with the passions, can provide warmth and comfort, but can also burn. With water imagery, it is useful to consider that such imagery includes natural imagery of ice, sea and snow, all common features in the novel. Water, the antithesis of fire, represents the extreme point of cool reason, without any trace of passion. As we see Jane wander between these two points of temptation throughout the novel, the accompanying imagery of fire and wat er is most significant to our understanding of the themes and concerns of the novel.    Fire imagery is used by Brontà « to develop Jane's ch... ...Lodge, Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Brontà «'s War of Earthly Elements Gates, Barbara Timm, ed. Critical Essays on Charlotte Bronte. Boston: G. K. Hall, 1990.    Jane Eyre. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsborough, and Anna Paquin. 1996    Kadish, Doris. The Literature of Images: Narrative Landscape from Julie to Jane Eyre. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1986.    Kinkead-Weekes, Mark.   The Place of Love in Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights.    Lodge, Scott. "Fire and Eyre: Charlotte Bronte's War of Earthly Elements." The Brontes: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Ian Gregor. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1970. 110-36.    McLaughlin, M.B. "Past or Future Mindscapes: Pictures in Jane Eyre." Victorian Newsletter 41 (1972): 22-24.    Solomon, Eric. "Jane Eyre: Fire and Water." College English 25 (1964): 215-217.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Educational Philosophy :: essays research papers

Educational Philosophy Throughout the years the topic of an American public education has been a very controversial subject. Since the time of the early Massachusetts Bay Colony, many have been divided on the role, if any, the government should play in educating America’s children. There has also been debate on the type of education American children, and teachers should have. Although, there has been tremendous progress in creating an â€Å"ideal public education†, there is still an ever-evolving need for change in America’s public educational system. This paper strives to focus on this matter. First, it will look at the history of American education, beginning with colonial America to the present day. It will also examine America’s philosophy of education over the years. And lastly, it shall give insight on my personal views of an ideal educational system.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The New World was grouped in three geographic categories, consisting of the southern, middle and New England colonies. Since the southern colonies depended on an agrarian economy dominated by a plantation system based on slavery, there were great distances between each house and plantation; making it was rather difficult to establish schools for all. For this reason learning occurred mostly in the home, by parents or tutors. For the slaves in the southern colonies, there was very little education because their lack of education was used as a to maintain their present state of ignorance. Most of the settlers in the southern colonies arrived as indentured servants, and were of English lower or middle-class background. However, once arriving to the New World these same English men became the new aristocrats of the southern colonies. S. Alexander Rippa notes, â€Å"family fortune and great wealth were accumulated by land acquisition and tobacco growing†¦these we re the quickest ways to prosperity† (Rippa, 6). In the southern colonies, religion was not a focal matter as it once was in England. The Anglican Church was a primary institution were governmental matters were handled instead of religious matters. Therefore, we see that religion was not as important to the southern settlers and it did not serve as an â€Å"instrument of civic discipline† as it was for the other colonies. In the other colonies, religious matters was the main reason for education, however, â€Å"education in the southern colonies was considered to be a private and individual concern instead of a civil or religious matter. The Anglican Church, to which the southern colonists officially adhered, was not indifferent toward education.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Valuing Wal-Mart

Assessment of Wal-Mart valuation using different methods To test the assumption of a discount rate of 7% as given in the outline of the case, we calculated the required rate of return for the Wal-Mart stock using CAPM . Using rWalMart = Rf + ? WalMart [E(RM) – RF], we find the required rate of return to be 7. 01% and in line with the information given in the case outline. Perpetual dividend growth model: The standard method of calculating a stock price using the perpetual dividend growth model is done by assessing a company’s dividend one year into the future adding the future expected growth rate.The Cardiovascular SystemThe formula is written as: P0 = D1/(Ke ? g), where Ke is the investor required return, D1 is next year’s dividend and g is the expected growth rate of the dividend. The standard method can however be rearranged if the company analyzed is consider in â€Å"steady state†. A steady state implies that the annual return on equity equals the co st of equity capital providing the rational that the dividend payout ratio is the sole determinant of the dividend growth. It requires some complexity to determine if a company has reached steady state.To investigate and analyze if Wal-Mart is in steady state, we would employ the following definition: Steady state value = free cash flow / discount rate . After careful consideration we have reached the conclusion that we find it fair and realistic to label Wal-Mart as such. This is further underlined by the maturity and stable performance of the company, which is illustrated in the stable revenue growth (exhibit 1), stable financial market stock data and relative stable dividend distribution (exhibit 3).Further, we are comfortable using the simplified steady state formula given the foreseeable forecasting period as we are only forecasting the stock price a few years in the future and not conduction long-term multiyear forecasting where the underlying assumptions of the model and the competitive landscape can dramatically change. We find evidence that the forecast period is essential in the selection of method in the INSEAD article â€Å"Selecting an accounting-based Valuation Model† of May 2011. If we were to forecast long-term price levels, we would opt for the conventional formula of P0 = D1/(Ke-g).Given the steady state nature of Wal-Mart we use the adjusted dividend growth model of: P0 = (E1 ? p)/ (Ke ? g), where g = (1-p)*Ke and where E1 is the earnings 1 year into the future and p is the payout ratio or the percentage of earnings paid in dividends. Using this method, P0 = (E1 ? p)/ (Ke – ((1-p)* Ke)), we estimate the stock price to be $58. 56 . For reference and to provide validation to our estimates, we have in addition estimated the stock price using the conventional dividend discount model of P0= (D1/(Ke-g). Using the conventional model we estimate the stock price to be $59. 8. We conclude that the estimated price of the stock is higher t han the current market price of $53. 48 , which means we believe there is unrealized intrinsic value, hence the stock is undervalued and should we be analyzing the stock on this basis only, our recommendation would therefore be buy. Forecasted Dividend for the next 3 years plus future sale of the stock: Instead of valuing the stock with infinite dividend approach, we use a set number of years (3) plus we included the value of selling the stock after the set number of years.The selling of the stock is represented in the model as a terminal value. The terminal value is the value of the company’s expected cash-flow beyond the forecast period. We estimate the terminal value by using the perpetuity method mentioned above and be employing the formula of Terminal Value (TV) = FCFt+1 / WACC . We used the approximation that WACC equals the required rate of return as found using CAPM (7. 01%, appendix 1). This also corresponds with the given discount rate of 7%.As we are asked to find to price by forecasting dividends for the next three years plus the selling of the stock after year three, we have extrapolate our findings from the perpetuity method using the earnings per share with the given earnings per share growth and the required rate of return. By calculating the dividend per share until D=3 and employing: P0 = D1/(1+Ke)^1 + D2/(1+Ke)^2 + D3/(1+Ke)^3+TV/(1+Ke)^3, where TV is the terminal value we calculate the present day intrinsic value of the Wal-Mart stock to be $62. 15 hence the market value is consider low compared to our forecasted value.This method replicates the basic foundation of the Discount Cash flow Model (DCF), which in our opinion is the preferred method in valuation studies. Three-Stage Approach: There are no questions about this approach in the outline of the assignment, so the following comments should be considered â€Å"back of an envelope† considerations. In general the three-stage approach allows us to add complexity to the stand ard dividend discount models by enabling changing growth scenarios throughout the forecasting period: an initial period of higher than normal growth, a transition/consolidation period of declining growth and final a period of stable growth.The main assumptions are that the company on which we conduct the calculation study currently is in extraordinary strong growth phase. The time period with the extraordinary strong growth must be strictly defined and eventually be replaced with the declining growth assumption. Lastly, Capital Expenditures and Depreciation are expected to grow at the same rate as revenues. . Analyzing exhibit 4 we see a theoretical stock price of $120. 37. Using the excel template and by entering the calculated discount rate and the data given in the case, we find the theoretic value to be $95. 68.We recognize the calculated theoretical value is considerable higher than the market value of the Wal-Mart stock, which could provide a strong indication for investing. H owever, we also recognize the weakness of the three-stage model thus we are careful to draw too decisive conclusion. We are especially concerned about the sensitivity and impact on the end theoretical price when making just marginal changes in the input factor. Valuation models in general are sensitive to the input factors, but we believe the extra complexity in the three-stage model amplifies even small forecast errors.We understand that the three-stage model can be very useful for companies approaching the transition phase between growth phase and consolidation, but Wal-Mart does in our opinion not fulfill this characteristic. Thus, leading us to conclude the three-stage model isn’t particularly applicable to valuation studies of Wal-Mart. Price/Earnings multiple approach: The debate on whether to use trailing or projected price/earnings multiple is ongoing. We have found evidence in literature that there is no clear preference on which method to use as both have advantages and disadvantages .We have no strong view or preference generally speaking, but in the case of Wal-Mart we believe there is a case for use trialing data rather than projected data. For reference we have calculated both using P0 = EPS * P/E . We see the range of estimates is very wide, which is due to the sensitivity of the input factors i. e. even small changes in the P/E-data will have significant influence on the estimated value at P0. We prefer to use the P/E multiple to assess how Wal-Mart is perceived and valuated against peers. In addition we use S&P500 as reference index and benchmark.Using the data in exhibit 6, we have identified Wal-mart, Target, The Gap and Costco to be peers. We have concluded this after examining key financial data of all the companies provided in the exhibit. We realize that Wal-Mart is not directly comparable with the peers mentioned given the much larger market capitalization and turn-over, but knowing this a comparability study still adds value in our opinion. Detailed data of the comparison is brought in appendix 5. Looking at the graphical representation we see a clear trend in the peer group of declining P/E-ratios.The trend is confirmed by further lower P/E-projections for the coming year. We are not overly concerned with the declining P/E ratios as it seems to be an industry wide trend and not isolated to Wal-Mart. Hence when assessing relative attractiveness of the grocery industry players, we do not see Wal-Mart having worse financial performance than the peers. As argued in the beginning of this paper in the section when discussing the steady state phase of Wal-Mart, we believe we can make a rough estimation of whether the P/E-ratio reflects a fair value of the stock or not. The method e employ is a rewritten method of the DDM. By arguing steady state we can also defend arguing Wal-Mart to be a zero growth company by assuming the company pays out all of its earnings in dividends. As we know from the data provided, thi s is not entirely reflecting the real scenario, however we still believe it adds value to the overall assessment of the value of the Wal-Mart stock. The rule of thumb argues that the P/E-ratio using the zero growth company assumption is fair when it equals the 1/r, where r is the discount rate meaning when Projected P/E = 1/r the P/E ratio is fair and reflects a fair value of the company.Based on the research in this section we have found no red flags in the financial performance or when analyzing with peers. The historical P/E-ratio of Wal-Mart has been higher than the industry average so the decline over the time period can at first glance look dramatic. However, we believe the declining P/E-ratio is an industry wide tendency and not isolated to Wal-Mart. Further, given the strong P/E-growth in the early part of the data sample the Wal-Mart P/E-ratio is also subject to a strong base effect.When applying the zero growth company fair value estimates, we see the projections made by t he analysts are lower than the 1/r which we for this purpose consider a fair P/E, which can be seen as a supportive factor for the overall valuation of the Wal-Mart stock. Conclusion and recommendation: As indicated in the text above we have the most confidence in the first two methods in the paper. Taking a simple average of our findings we estimate the Wal-Mart stock price – or fair value – to be $60. 16 (58. 56; 59. 78; 62. 5), which is higher than the current stock price of $53. 48 hence we believe the Wal-Mart stock is $6. 68 or 12. 49% undervalued. Further, we find our estimates to be in line with the general analyst consensus target price of $60. 50. Given our findings and research we will recommend Gupta to buy the Wal-Mart stock. However, we recommend Gupta to employ a margin of safety. We recognize that our calculated price estimates have considerable projection risk given the future value is calculated based on estimates.It is out of scope for this paper to evaluate the quality of the projections and forecasts, so we recommend Gupta to be conservative in communicating the price target. We suggest communicating the buy recommendation with an initial price target of $57. 75, which is +8% from the current market price. When the $57. 75 price is achieved we recommend running the models again to get validation on the $60. 16 price target. We recommend this step-by-step approach as margin of safety for projection inaccuracies. Given the time and year of the research done, we find further evidence that employing a margin of safety is a solid strategy.This is especially due to the distressed situation of the financial markets after the collapse of the financial system starting in 2008. Given the unusual market situation any investments in stock or other financial instruments are subject to considerable risk from external factors, hereunder risk appetite, liquidity and macroeconomic developments, which currently are not properly factored in our price estimates. However, we are encouraged to invest in Wal-Mart given the defensive characteristics of the stock compared to the S&P500 benchmark given ?

Monday, September 16, 2019

Animal abuse Essay

When Richard Acton was young he had a neighbor. The neighbor was on the small side. It always seemed as if he was getting bullied. He was so shy, he always stayed in his house. He was seldom seen in the yard playing or anything. And if he appeared in the yard, he would not stay out long. One day Richard asked his parents about him, and what they thought. They told Richard to sit down that they needed to explain something to him. They said â€Å"there are people out there in our world that do things to others just to hurt them. They do it because they are sick or maybe enjoy it. Some just do it because that is all they know. People will really never fully understand why it happens, but it does.† The situation is termed abuse. The definition of abuse is â€Å"to use ill; to maltreat; to misuse; to use with bad motives or to wrong purposes; as, to abuse rights or privileges† (Webster, N/A). see more:types of animal cruelty The fact is this occurs all around the world. â€Å"Animal cruelty or abuse can be either deliberate abuse or simply the failure to take care of an animal. Either way, and whether the animal is a pet, a farm animal, or wildlife, the victim can suffer terribly† (Humane Society of The United States, 2011). Animal abuse is a growing problem in today’s society, and it needs to be stopped. As humankind has progressed, there has been an increase in governance and rules and regulations of everyday life. These rules and regulations are implemented as a result of various situation that occur around the world. One such rapidly growing concern is the concept of animal cruelty. Animal abuse is cruel unwarranted treatment of animals. Such treatment has one focus to subject animals and sometimes pets to unnecessary harm and pain. The increasing number of cruelty cases reported daily in the media is only the beginning of reported animal abuse. Most cases are never reported, and most animal suffering goes unrecognized and unabated. Although there is no national reporting system for animal abuse, media reports suggest that it is common in rural and urban areas. Cruelty and neglect can also cross socio-economic boundaries. While many people would like to think animal cruelty no longer exist, what people fail to realize is that it is still happening all over the world today. The treatment of animals is completely unethical. Ethics is defined as, â€Å"A system of moral principles; a system of rules for regulating the actions and manners of men in society† (ethics. 2014. In Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. , n.d.). We live in a world governed by ethics and the concept or right and wrong. This is why animal cruelty in today society is so unreal. The fact animals are still regarded as a product rather than living breathing creatures is morally wrong. Unfortunately our morals don’t extend to animals. Although many people claim that they are against animal cruelty they still see animals as forms of entertainment, clothing, and experiments which is complete unethical. Animals are not ours to use. Some may argue that because animals do not think and act like a human being, that they should not be treated like them; therefore, animals should not have rights, or be treated as fairly as a human. â€Å"The concept of rights to animals on the grounds that they have similar  physiological and mental capacities as infants or disabled human beings† (Wilson, N/A). They are wrong because animals are living, breathing creatures that were placed on Earth for a reason, the same as humans. Does an innocent animal feel the need to abuse, beat, and kill a human being because the human is not an animal, like itself? No. Therefore, it should not be okay for any human to beat and kill an animal because the animal is not human. So in an ideal world, animal cruelty would not exist. But, this is not an ideal world, and animals, domesticated and wild, are abused and beaten every single day. Should animals have rights? Yes, they should. All animals have nervous systems; they can feel, both physically and emotionally, therefore, it should be illegal to abuse any animal, not just  domesticated ones. Every day in the United States animals are beaten, neglected, or forced to struggle for survival. Left in unsanitary conditions with no food or water, they have little hope as they live out their days without the compassion they deserve. â€Å"It’s even more so when we realize that the everyday choices we make—such as what we eat for lunch and the kind of shampoo we buy—may be directly supporting some of this abuse† (People for the treatment of animals, N/A). Some are found and rescued, given the chance to experience how great life and humans can be; others are not so lucky. To grow as a nation, we must fight for these abused animals’ rights and severely punish heartless owners. It is up to us to speak for these creatures who lack a voice, for who will if we don’t? One of the first steps in protecting animals and  ­creating effective cruelty laws is knowing what animal cruelty actually is. There are two categories: passive cruelty and active cruelty. First  ­involves acts of omission, meaning the abuse happens as a result of neglect or lack of action. Passive cruelty might seem less serious, but that is not the case; it can lead to terrible pain and suffering, and ultimat ely death. Examples include starvation, dehydration, and untreated parasite infestations, inadequate shelter in extreme weather conditions, and the failure to get medical care. Passive cruelty is sometimes due to the owner’s ignorance, so many animal control officers will first try to educate neglectful owners on how to properly care for animals before giving them a citation or placing them under arrest. Active cruelty, on the other hand, is more well-known and disturbing. Sometimes referred to as non-accidental injury, this type of abuse involves purposefully inflicting harm on an animal in order to feel more powerful or gain control. Active cruelty against animals should be taken very seriously, since it can be a sign that a person has serious psychological issues and may commit more acts of violence – possibly against humans. It’s not only up to the legal system to ensure that communities across the country are aware and educated about animal cruelty. There are plenty of things everyday citizens can do. The simplest action is for people to take care of their own pets and learn the facts so they can educate others on proper animal care. Another easy way to help is by donating to or volunteering at a local animal shelter. Contrary  to popular belief, volunteering doesn’t require a lot of time; simply going in a few hours a week helps. Finally, by writing letters you can remind your local lawmakers that animal abuse is a real problem that needs to be addressed. â€Å"In media-reported animal cruelty cases, dogs–and pit bull-type dogs, in particular are the most common victims of animal cruelty. Of 1,880 cruelty cases reported in the media, 64 percent involved dogs, 18 percent involved cats and 25 percent involved other animals† (Humane Society of The United States, 2011). â€Å"More American households have pets than children. More money is spent on pet food than on baby food. There are more dogs in the U.S. than people in most countries in Europe-and more cats and dogs. A child growing up in the U.S. is more likely to have a pet than a live in father† (American Humane Association para 2,3, 2013). Know who to call to report animal abuse. If unsure who to contact. Contact your local police department at 618-826-5000 or call 911 if it is an emergency. Get to know and look out for the animals in your neighborhood. Start a Neighborhood Watch Program. Fight for strong anti-cruelty laws on federal, state and the local level. Set a good example for others to follow. Talk to your kids about how to treat animals with kindness and respect. And what is believed to be the most important, support your local shelter or animal rescue organization. It is a wonderful way to make a difference. Funding is an important issue when it comes to animal abuse. Most agencies that handle the calls for animal abuse are very understaffed. They also rely on support from others. Some agencies rely on grants to fund their operation to help rescue abused animal. Grants can be obtained from agencies such as the Animal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). The ASPCA Anti-Cruelty grant program supports private organizations and public  agencies dedicated to the prevention and elimination of animal cruelty throughout the United States. Every state in the United States and the District of Columbia has a law prohibiting cruelty to animals. These laws  do not give animals rights, but do afford some legal protection. The purposes of these laws is to deter violence by humans in any form as well as to protect animals from mistreatment and cruelty by imposing a penalty for those acts. Most of these laws fall under the purpose of morality, meaning the purpose is not to protect the animals, but to keep people on the straight and narrow. Whatever the reason, many more states are recognizing that animal cruelty, neglect and abuse are serious issues. There are now 41 states plus the District of Columbia with felony provisions for animal cruelty 32 plus DC with â€Å"Felony† specifically stated in the statute, 8 with felony punishments attached, but the status of the crime is not specifically defined. Animal abuse comes in all forms, from physical abuse to simple neglect. Both intentional/malicious abuse and neglect or passive abuse may be tough to spot as laws defining what constitutes animal abuse can be vague and differ from municipality to municipality. Before reporting abuse, one must evaluate the entire situation to determine whether or not abuse is actually occurring. Make sure all the facts are in order. One of the best solution in order to stop the awful trend is to teach a child while they are still young on how to treat an animals. Keeping in mind that they are the future, teaching a young child can help reduce the problem. Many agree on the educational value that owning a pet could have on a child. People aren’t always able to relate to animal, as humans, were not born with the ability to know how to treat animals. A recent statistic shows that kids who partake in animal abuse, may, as they get older abuse others and their belongings. This is not necessary saying that your child is the next serial killer or murderer but helping them understand early on the rights and wrongs when having contact with an animal could help. Showing children what a happy pet looks like, so they care more for their pet’s emotions. Parents often don’t take the time to teach the child rights and wrongs when caring for an animal. They need to make sure they set limitations when a child and pet are left alone. Teach your child early on and they will be able to help stop animal abuse. Another great solution is, educating ourselves on proper pet care, we also educate others by sharing the knowledge. In most situations, people have the right idea in  mind when it comes to pets, but they are not always well educated in proper pet care, and sometimes don’t notice the risk they put their animals in. Pet education is key. If planning on stopping animal abuse it is needed to identify early what is the cause of the abuse and also help the abusers. â€Å"Studies show that males are 94% more likely to commit the abuse towards animals. Minors, under the age of 18, were 31% likely to abuse animals.  Also, animal abuse is 21% more likely in families that involve family violence† (Andrea, 1999). Every living thing has a heart and feelings, God put animals on earth for us to enjoy, not to abuse. We all need someone to love and to care for. Why not a pet? With a pet, the key is to educate our young on how to treat them. With this education it can be passed on where one day animal abuse will be stopped. References American Humane Association para 2,3. (2013). Retrieved from American Humane Association: http://www.americanhumane.org/interaction/support-the-bond/fact-sheets/animal-abuse-domestic-violence.html Andrea, L. (1999, Feburay). We Speak For Them para5. Retrieved from http://animalabuseitneedstostop.weebly.com/index.html ethics. 2014. In Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. . (n.d.). Retrieved from ethics. 2014. In Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. : ethics. 2014. In Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language. Humane Society of The United States. (2011). Retrieved from Humane Society of The United States para 4: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/facts/animal_cruelty_facts_statistics.html People for the treatment of animals. (N/A, Para 2). Retrieved from PETA: http://www.peta.org/issues/ Webster. (N/A). abuse,1828 Webster Dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.1828.mshaffer. com/ Wilson, S. (N/A). Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from IEP para 4: http://www.iep.utm.edu/anim-eth/

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Inchoate offences Essay

The word inchoate offence in ordinary sense means just begun or undeveloped. An inchoate can be defined as a preparation for committing a crime. The Inchoate offences can also be termed as preliminary crimes or anticipatory crimes. Inchoate offence â€Å"has been defined as conduct deemed criminal without actual harm being done provided that the harm that would have occurred is one the law tries to prevent†.. For an inchoate offence there must be Mens Rea and in some cases there must be Actus Reus also. If A after procuring a loaded gun fires at B but however B escapes, but even though A will be liable for punishment for attempting the offense. And also in above case there exists _Mens Rea_ and _Actus Reus_ but however it does not made any injury. This illustration can be categorized into an inchoate offence. Criminal liability is not limited to those people who succeed in committing it also exceeds to those who try to commit and offence whether they succeed or fails are not in question of matter. ‘The Indian Penal Code 1860 has accordingly made provision for the punishment of persons involved in such preparatory acts in order to prevent the crimes from being committed’.[1: Gaines, L. K., Kaune, M., & Miller, R. L. (2001). Criminal justice in action: The core. Australia: Wadsworth Pub.][2: Guar, K. D. (2008). Preliminary crimes. In criminal law: cases and materials (5th ed., p. 245). New Delhi, India: LexisNexis Butterworth’s.] _’Actus Non Facit Reum Nisi Mens Sit Rea_ insists that no criminal liability can generally be fastened to an individual for merely either having guilty mind or an evil design (_mens rea_) or committing a blame worthy prohibited act (_actus reus_ ) unaccompanied with the required culpable state of mind or requisite foresight of its evil consequences’.[3: Atchuthen, P. P., Suresh, V., & Nagasaila, D. (2012). Attempt. In PSA Pillai’s Criminal law (11th ed., p. 179). New Delhi, India: LexisNexis Butterworths.] According to English law the crime which penalise conduct before the commission of the crime are known as inchoate offences. Common law has developed the three types of inchoate offences such as attempt, conspiracy and incitement. It classify attempts as (where the defendant has taken steps â€Å"towards carrying out a complete crime†, incitement, where the defendant has encouraged others to commit a crime, and conspiracy, where the defendant has agreed with others to commit a crime. In each case, the defendant â€Å"has not himself performed the actus reus but is sufficiently close to doing so or persuading others to do so, for the law to find it appropriate to punish him†).[4: Inchoate offences in English law – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. . Retrieved March 29, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inchoate_offences_in_English_law] TYPES OF INCHOATE OFFENCES I.CRIMINAL ATTEMT ‘Attempt in criminal law is an offense that occurs when a person comes dangerously close to carrying out a criminal act, and intends to commit the act, but does not in fact commit it’.’In English law, an attempt is defined as ‘doing an act which is more than merely preparatory to the commission of the offence’ according to the Criminal Attempts Act 1981†².Mainly there are three types of criminal attempt. The first one is a complete attempt that when a person takes every action required to commit a crime but fails to succeed it that is for example A after procuring a loaded gun fires at B but however B escapes , this is a complete attempt. Second one is an incomplete attempt. This is when a person abandons or is prevented from completing a crime due to an event beyond his control such as due to the arrival of police on the spot etc. can be categorised in this type. Next one is an impossible attempt. It arises when the convict makes a mistake in committing a crime for example firing the gun only to realize that it was not loaded.[5: Attempt – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. . Retrieved March 30, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempt][6: Herring, Jonathan (2013). Criminal Law Statutes 2011-2012. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.] ‘It can be drawn that criminal offenses by a person have four distinct stages. The formation of the intention to commit it; The preparations for commission of the contemplated crimes; The attempt to commit it ; If the third stage is successful, the commission of the intended crime.'[7: Atchuthen, P. P., Suresh, V., & Nagasaila, D. (2012). Attempt. In PSA Pillai’s Criminal law (11th ed., p. 177). New Delhi, India: LexisNexis Butterworths.] Among these, criminal law does not penalise the first two stages because it is not possible to look so deep into the mind of a person to prove his inner intention. In early times criminal attempt was not punished under common law or by Indian Penal Code 1960. This is because, ‘if the intention and the  preparation were made punishable it would be impossible to prove that the object of n accused was to commit an offense’.[8: Guar, K. D. (2008). preliminary crimes. In Criminal Law: Cases and Materials (5th ed., p. 263). New Delhi, India: LexisNexis Butterworths.] ‘Early common law did not punish attempts; the law of attempt was not recognised by common law until the case of _Rex v. Scofield_ in 1784’.[9: Lippmann M. (2010). Contemporary Criminal Law, 2nd Ed and Texas State Supplement for Lippmann’s Contemporary Criminal Law, 2nd Ed. Sage Pubns.] Mainly there exists three elements for a criminal attempt they are firstly an intention to commit a crime, secondly an act towards the commission of the crime and thirdly a failure to commit crime. CRIMINAL ATTEMPT UNDER THE INDIAN PENAL CODE 1860 Attempt to commit offences in general under s 511 of the IPC 1860; _Abhayanand Mishra v State of Bihar_ [10: AIR 1961 SC 1698] _Malkiat Singh v State of Punjab_[11: AIR 1970 SC 713] Attempt to commit capital offences , like murder , culpable homicide and robbery ;[12: Indian Penal Code 1860,ss 307, 308 and 309] _Om Prakash v State of Punjab_[13: AIR 1961 SC 1782] _Emperor v Vasudeo Balvant Gogte_[14: AIR1932 Bom 279] Attempt to commit suicide;[15: Indian Penal Code 1860, s 309] Attempt to commit crime against state, head of state, sediction etc.; [16: Indian Penal Code 1860,ss 121, 124, 124A ,125, 130 ,131, 152, 153A, 161 ,162 ,163 ,165 ,196, 198, 200, 213 ,239 ,240, 241 ,251 ,385 ,387 ,389, 391 ,397 ,398 and 460] MENS REA IN CRIMINAL ATTEMPT â€Å"_Mens Rea_ in inchoate offense is not merely a condition of fault. It is a component of the danger of criminal harm that determines the need for forceful intervention†. A criminal intention includes a dual intention , those are an individual must intentionally do an act that are proximate to completion of a crime and the other one is that an individual must possess the specific intent or purpose to achieve criminal objective.[17: Enker, A. N. (1977). Mens Rea and Criminal Attempt. Law and Social Inquiry-journal of The American Bar Foundation, 2(4), 845. doi:10.1111/j.1747-4469.1977.tb00733.x] ACTUS REUS IN CRIMINAL ATTEMPT In criminal attempt, the objective approach requires an act that comes extremely close to the commission of the crime. It also distinguishes preparation or the planning and purchasing of the materials to commit a crime. And the objective approach stresses the danger posed by a defendant’s acts; the subjective approach focuses on the danger to society presented by a defendant who possesses a criminal intent. There also exists subjective approach to attempt focuses on an individual’s intent rather than on his or her acts. FIVE TESTSBY COURTS It is simple to say that an attempt to commit offence begins where preparation to commit it ends, but it is difficult to find out where one ends and the other begins. To solve this riddle various tests have been laid down by the courts. These are as follows: 1) The Proximity Test: – Proximity cause as explains is the causal factor which is closes, not necessarily in time or space, but in efficacy to some harmful consequences; in other words, it must be sufficiently near the accomplishment of the substantive offence. In Sudhir kumar Mukherjee v state of west Bengal and Abhayanand Mishra v The State Of Bihar, the Supreme Court explained the offence of attempt with help of the proximity test, saying that:-[18: AIR 1973 SC 2655][19: AIR 1961 SC 1698] â€Å"A person commits the offence of ‘attempt to commit a particular offence’ when- a) He intends to commit that particular offence; and b) He having made preparation with the intention to commit the offence, does an act towards its commission; such an act need not to be the penultimate act towards the commission of that offence but must be an act during the course of committing that offence. 2) The Locus Poenitentiae test:- The Latin expression speaks about time for repentance. In Locus Poenitentiae the word Locus means, a place,- a word frequently used to denote the place in or at which some material act or even such as crime, delict or breach of contract took place. Locus Poenitentiae means the opportunity to withdraw from a bargain before it has become fully Constituted and become binding. In simple language an act will amount to a mere preparation if a man on his own accord, before the criminal act is carried out, gives it up. It is, thus, possible that he might of its own accord, or because of the fear of unpleasant consequences that might follow, desists from the completed attempt. If this happens, he does not go beyond the limits of preparation and does not enter the arena of attempt. He is, thus at the stage of preparation which cannot be punished. 3) Impossibility Test ‘An act which is impossible to commit cannot be attempted and so it is not culpable’. In ‘Asagarali Pradhaniu v. Emperor’, what the appellant did was not an â€Å"act done towards the commission of offence†, and therefore, he could not be convicted. But in a Malaysian case the accused was held liable for an  attempt to cause abortion when the woman was not pregnant. Even the appeal court held the accused liable because the circumstances in this case seemed to be exactly covered by the illustration to section 511 IPC. The act itself is impossible of performance and yet it constitutes an offence of attempt to commit crime. This was precisely the position in English Law before Houghton v. Smith case.[20: Gaur, K. D. (1998). Indian Penal Code (2nd ed., pp. 696-707). Oxford IBH.][21: (1934) ILR 61, 64] In ‘_R v. Shivpuri’_ it has been held that, if the mental element has proceeded to commit the act but failed his responsibility for attempt would be evaluated in the light of facts as he thought them to be (putative facts).[22: (1934) ILR 61, 64] 4) Social Danger Test In order to distinguished and differentiate an act of attempt from an act of preparation the following factors are contributed. A) The seriousness of the crime attempted; B) The apprehension of the social danger involved. In this test the accused’s conduct is no examined only partially but the consequences of the circumstances and the fullness of the facts are taken into consideration. For example, A administers some drugs to a pregnant woman in order to do abortion. However, they do not produce the result. In spite of this A would be held liable for an attempt from the view point of the social danger test, as his act would cause as alarm to society causing social repercussions. 5) The Equivocality test: It is a situation wherein there are two opinions about the crime here, an attempt is an act of such a nature that it speaks for itself or that it is in itself evidence of the criminal intent with which it is done. A criminal  attempt bears criminal intent upon its face. In other words, if what is done indicates unequivocally and beyond reasonable doubt the intention to commit the offence, it is an attempt, or else it is a mere preparation. CASES The Case of _State of Maharashtra v. Mohd.Yakub_ A jeep driven by the respondent and a truck was stopped at about midnight near a bridge. The respondents started removing the bundle from the truck. At this time customs officials acting on a clue reached the spot and accosted the respondents. At the same time, the sound of a mechanized sea-crafts engine was heard near the side of the creek. Two persons from the neighbourhood were called and in their presence silver ingots were recovered from the vehicles. Respondent no-1 had a pistol, a knife and some currency notes. On the questioning it was found that the respondents were not the dealers in silver. The trial court convicted the accused u/s 135(1) (a) read with section 135(2) of the Customs Act for attempting to smuggle out of India silver ingots worth about Rs. 8 lakhs in violation of Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, the Imports and Exports (control) Act and the Custom Act. But the Additional session judge acquitted them on the ground that the facts proved by the prosecution fell short of establishing that the accused had ‘attempted’ to export silver in contravention of the Law. The High Court upheld the acquittal. The Supreme Court however allowed the appeal and set aside the acquittal.[23: (1980) 3 SCC 57] The reasoning behind the imposition of responsibility for criminal attempts has been stated to be to control dangerous conduct or person. For the commission of crime by person involves four stages viz, formation of the intention or mental element, preparation for commission of crime, acting on the basis of preparation, commission of the act resulting in an event proscribed by law. To criminalize attempts these four stages are involved but the last stage fails to complete. As stated by Kenny, criminal liability will not begin until the offender has done some act which not only manifests his mens rea but also goes some way towards carrying out it. In this regard, to commit offence of attempt mens rea, preparation and actus Reus are  necessary values but the actus Reus is failed to be completed. These values generally criminalize the attempt and impose criminal liability on the person who commits the offence of Attempt. 2. CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY Criminal conspiracy can be defined as ‘secret plan by a group of people to do something harmful or illegal’. The crime of conspiracy is comprised of an agreement between two or more persons to commit a criminal act. ‘Criminal law in some countries or for some conspiracies may require that at least one overt act must also have been undertaken in furtherance of that agreement, to constitute an offense. There is no limit on the number participating in the conspiracy and, in most countries, no requirement that any steps have been taken to put the plan into effect (compare attempts which require proximity to the full offence). For the purposes of concurrence, the actus reus is a continuing one and parties may join the plot later and incur joint liability and conspiracy can be charged where the co-conspirators have been acquitted or cannot be traced’.Conspiracy has been defined in the US as an agreement of two or more people to commit a crime, or to accomplish a legal end through illegal actions.[24: Manser, M. H., & McGauran, F. (2005). c. In Oxford learner’s pocket dictionary (3rd Ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.][25: Conspiracy (criminal) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. Retrieved March 30, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_(criminal)][26: Conspiracy Law & Legal Definition. Retrieved from http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/conspiracy/] Section 120A of the Indian Penal Code 1860 say that members of criminal conspirators are jointly liable for the conspiracy to commit an offence and s 120B provides the punishment in such cases.the Supreme court held in the Krishna Govind Patil v State of Maharashtra that the pre-arranged plan may develop on the spot during the course of the omission of the offence but the crucial circumstances is that it must precede the act constituting the offence. When on the shouts for help given by the complaint and the injured, others came to their rescue , all of them ran away together .the accused  in the furtherance of that common intention began to remove the cheaper and when Ram ha rakh obstructed, they beat him and the others who came to resists their attack and aggression.[27: Gaur, H. S., Desai, M. C., Kumar, G., & Sethi, R. B. (2000). The penal law of India: Being an analytical, critical & expository commentary on the Indian Penal Code (Act XLV of 1860) as amended up to date (11th ed., pp. 1101-1131). Allahabad: Law Publishers.][28: AIR 1963 SC1413][29: Gaur, K. D. (2008). Preliminary crimes. In Criminal law: Cases and materials (5th ed., p. 237). New Delhi: LexisNexis Butterworths] According to Indian Penal Code 1860 conspiracy is a substantive offence.it exists in the very agreement. Between two or more persons to commit a criminal offence, irrespective of the further consideration whether or not the offence has actually been committed.[30: Bimbadhar Pradhan v State of Orissa AIR 1956 SC 469] Among the other inchoate offences criminal conspiracy is the most complicate one.it can also be seemed to be arbitrary. ‘If the mere intention of one person to commit crime is not criminal, why should the agreement of two people to do it make criminal? The only possible reply is that the law is fearful of numbers, and that the act of agreeing to offend is regarded as such a decisive step as to justify its own criminal sanction.'[31: Williams, G. L. (1983). The General Part. In Textbook of criminal law (2nd ed., p. 420). London: Stevens’s sons.] ACTUS REUS IN CONSPIRACY The actus Reus of criminal conspiracy is that entering to an agreement to commit crime. The mens rea of conspiracy is the intent to achieve the object of agreement. The House of Lords in Churchill v Walton held that in relation to strict offences the accused is guilty only if he knows of the circumstances. Accordingly, an agreement to commit a strict offence requires mens rea. There are mainly two types of conspiracy they are a chain conspiracy which involves communication and cooperation by individuals linked together in a vertical chain to achieve a criminal intent and next is  a network type conspiracy which involves a single person or group that serves as a hub or common core connecting various individuals or spokes. ‘Following R v Churchill [1967] HL the Law Commission reported on Conspiracy and Criminal Law Reform (Law Com no 76):†What the prosecution ought to have to prove is that the defendant agreed with another person that a course of conduct should be pursued which would result, if completed, in the commission of a criminal offence, and further that they both knew any facts they would need to know to make them aware that the agreed course of conduct would result in the commission of the offence. â€Å"This report led to the enactment of the Criminal Law Act 1977.Conspiracy imposes criminal liability on the basis of a person’s intention. This is a different harm from the commission of the substantive offence. The intention which is criminalised in the offence of conspiracy should itself be blameworthy, irrespective of the provisions of the substantive offence. A conspiracy is looking to the future. It is an agreement about future conduct. Section 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977†³Ã¢â‚¬ ¦if a person agrees with any other person or persons that a course of conduct shall be pursued which, if the agreement is carried out in accordance with their intentions †¦ (a) will necessarily amount to or involve the commission of any offence or offences by one or more of the parties to the agreement †¦he is guilty of conspiracy to commit the offence or offences in question.† The actus Reus of conspiracy is complete in the making of an agreement in which the parties int end to carry out their agreement. The offence is complete even if the parties do not carry out their agreement. The offence is complete even if the substantive offence is not thereafter committed by any of the conspirators or by anyone else.'[32: ixthformlaw.info/01_modules/mod3a/3_10_principles/15_principles_prelim_conspiracy.htm] CRIMINAL OBJECTIVES[33: Lippmann M. (2010). Contemporary Criminal Law, 2nd Ed and Texas State Supplement for Lippmann’s Contemporary Criminal Law, 2nd Ed. Sage Pubns.] a. Modern statutes generally limit the criminal objectives of conspiracy to agreements to commit crimes b. Wharton’s Rule provides that an agreement by two persons to commit a crime requires the voluntary and cooperative actions of two persons that cannot constitute a conspiracy c. The Gebardi rule provides that an individual who is in a class of persons that are excluded from criminal liability under a statute may not be charged with a conspiracy to violate the same law. According to Indian Penal Code 1860, it contained only two provisions by which conspiracy was made punishable. Later in ‘mulcahy v r the judge ruled that A conspiracy consists not merely in the intention of two or more but in the agreement of two or more to do an unlawful act, or to doe lawful means . So longs as such a design rest in the intention, only it is not indictable. When two agree to carry it into effect, the very plot is an act in itself, and the act of each of the parties, promise against promise actus contra actum culpable of being enforced if lawful , punishable if for a criminal object or for the use of criminal means.'[34: (1860) LR 3 HL 306.] 3. ABETMENT Abetment of a crime means instigating, inciting or encouraging a crime. A person who engages in abetment of a crime is also punishable under law. An Abetment can take place in three ways they are abetment by Instigation, abetment by Conspiracy and abetment by Intentional Aiding. When an offence is committed by means of several acts, whoever intentionally cooperates in the commission of that offence by doing any one of those acts, either him or jointly with any other person an abetment happens. People who commit an abetment are titled as an abettor. ‘A person abets the doing of a thing, who- Instigates any person to do that thing; Engages with one or more other person or persons in any conspiracy for doing of fact of that thing ,if an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy ,and in order to the doing of that thing ; or Intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing.'[35: Gaur, K. D. (2008). Preliminary crimes. In Criminal law: Cases and materials (5th ed., p. 246). New Delhi: LexisNexis Butterworths.] MENS REA IN ABETMENT It is essential to note that when considering the law relating to abetment is the requirement of mens rea as a precondition of liability.it has been held in shrilal v state of Madhya breaththat in order to convict a person of abetting the commit ion of a crime, it is absolutely necessary to connect him with those steps of the transaction which are innocent, but in some way or other, it is absolutely necessary to connect him with those steps which are criminal.[36: AIR 1953 MB 155] ABETMENT BY CONSPIRACY A person is said to be abettor when he commit offence that is entering an agreement with one or more persons to do a legal act by illegal manner. For an illustration A, a watchman of house enters in an agreement with the thief to keep open the gate of that house in night so that they might commit theft. An act or illegal omission should have taken place in pursuance of the conspiracy and in order for the commission of the conspiracy conspired for; in the latter offence , the mere agreement if it is one to commit an offence , is sufficient.to prove the charge of abetment by conspiracy , the prosecution is required to prove that the abettor has instigated the doing of a particular thing or engaged with one or more other person or persons in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing or intentionally aided by an act or illegal omission , doing that thing.[37: Atchuthen, P. P., Suresh, V., & Nagasaila, D. (2012). Abetment. In PSA Pillai’s Criminal law (11th ed., p. 204). New Delhi , India: LexisNexis Butterworths.] INGREDIENTS OF ABETMENT [38: Atchuthen, P. P., Suresh, V., & Nagasaila, D. (2012). Abetment. In PSA Pillai’s Criminal law (11th ed., p. 210-211). New Delhi, India: LexisNexis Butterworths.] Abetment of illegal omission is an offence Abetted act need not be committed: effect of abetment is immaterial. Person abetted need not be culpable of committing an offence Abetment of an abetment is an offence Abettor need not concert in abetment by conspiracy. CASES In _Faguna kanta Nath v state of Assam_ , One Narendra Nath was carrying paddy to sell in the market when he was obstruct by an inspector accompanied by appellant and two others and demanded Rs. 200 as bribe but he was forced to pay Rs 150 at the spot and to execute promissory note of Rs 70 in favour of the appellant. The appellant was tried and convicted under S 165A of Indian Penal Code 1860 for having abetted the Inspector for taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act by the latter under s161. The High court maintained the conviction of the appellant. [39: AIR 1959SC 673] 4. OTHER TYPES OF INCHOATE OFFENCES: SOLICITATION AND INCITEMENT 1.SOLICITATION Literally, solicitation means â€Å"urgently asking†. It is the action or instance of soliciting; petition; proposal. In criminal law, it most commonly refers to either the act of offering goods or services, or the act of attempting to purchase such goods or services. Legal status may be specific to the time and/or place where solicitation occurs.Solicitation can also be defined as commanding, hiring, or encouraging another person to commit a crime. Solicitation usually results in a punishment slightly less severe or equivalent to the crime solicited. ‘Criminal solicitation is requesting, encouraging or demanding someone to engage in criminal conduct, with the  intent to facilitate or contribute to the commission of that crime’. [40: Solicitation – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. . Retrieved March 31, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solicitation][41: Solicitation – Find Law. . Retrieved March 29, 2014, from http://criminal.findlaw.com/cr iminal-charges/solicitation.html] THE CRIME OF SOLICITATION The mens rea of solicitation requires a specific intent or purpose that another individual commit a crime. The _Actus Reus_ of solicitation requires an effort to get another person to commit a crime. The crime is complete, the moment the statement requesting another to commit a crime is made. A statement justifying or hoping is not sufficient; there must be an effort to get another person to commit a crime. An individual is guilty of solicitation even in instances that a letter asking others to commit a crime is intercepted and does not reach the intended target. ELEMENTS OF SOLICITATION Though state laws vary, to be guilty of solicitation, one must request that someone else engage in criminal conduct and have an intention to engage in criminal conduct with that person. States vary as to whether the other person must receive the request, or whether the act of making the request (along with criminal intent) is enough to constitute solicitation. Some require that the other person actually receive the request. For example in case of solicitation of prostitution, this generally means that the person must communicate a request that another person engage in sex acts for compensation, and must have the intention to follow through with the request. 2. INCITEMENT In the United States, the term â€Å"solicitation† implies some part of commercial element, consideration, or payment. In some other common law countries, the situation is different where the substantive offense is not committed, the charges are drawn from incitement, conspiracy, and attempt and where the  substantive offense is committed, the charges are drawn from conspiracy, counselling and procuring, and the substantive offenses as joint principals. To an extent solicitation and incitement are similar but they are different. ‘Incitement was an offence under the common law of England and Wales. It was an inchoate offence.’ It consisted of persuading, encouraging, instigating, pressuring, or threatening so as to cause another to commit a crime. In England, The law commission in its consultation paper no. 131, assisting and encouraging crime, 1993 proposed the abolition of incitement and by new offence of encouraging crime. [42: Baker, D. J., & Williams, G. L. (2012). Textbook of criminal law. London: Sweet & Maxwell.][43: Jefferson, M. (2005). Inchoate offences. In Criminal law (7th ed., p. 370). Harlow: Pearson Longman.] INCITEMENT AND OTHER OFFENCE The rationale of incitement matches the general justification underpinning the other inchoate offences of conspiracy and attempt by allowing the police to intervene before a criminal act are completed and the harm or injury is actually caused. There is considerable overlap, particularly where two or more individuals are involved in criminal activity. The plan to commit crime may exist only in the mind of one person until others are incited to join in, at which point the social danger becomes more real. The offence overlaps the offences of counselling or procuring as an accessory. Indeed, in the early case of _R v Higgins_ incitement was defined as being committed when one person counsels, procures or commands another to commit a crime, whether that person commits the crime.[44: Incitement – Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia. . Retrieved March 31, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incitement] CONCLUSION An inchoate crime can also be defined as ‘A crime committed by doing an act with the purpose of affecting some other offence’. ‘In conclusion attempt can be said to be a general inchoate offense on a statutory basis and abolishing the common law offence of attempt it can also been drawn that  indictable offence can be criminally attempted .the statutory provisions should me made recognising that a criminal attempt can be committed by omission where the target offence in the circumstances of the attempt can be committed by omission .the agreement in conspiracy can be established where only one party has criminal capacity. Abolition of spousal immunity rule in conspiracy is much needed provision. Conspiracy can attach to incitement but not to attempt or conspiracy. In case of incitement the formula â€Å"command encourages requests, or otherwise seeks to influence† another to commit a crime is used to define the act of incitement. The inchoate offence with exception of attempt can be incited but charges that certain more than two layers of inchoate liability should not be constructed’. And finally inchoate offences can also be termed as Preliminary crimes or Anticipatory crime.[45: Baker, D. J., & Williams, G. L. (2012). Textbook of criminal law. London: Sweet & Maxwell.][46: Ireland. Law Reform Commission (1998). Report on privacy: Surveillance and the interception of communications. Dublin: Law Reform Commission.] REFERENCE BOOKS PSA PILLAI’S CRIMINAL LAW CRIMINAL LAW : CASES AND MATERIALS ,KD GAUR CRIMINAL LAW, MICHEAL JEFFERSON TEXTBOOK ON CRIMINAL LAW ,GLANVILLE WILLIAMS THE PENAL LAW OF INDIA, H R DESAI CRIMINAL JUSTICE IN ACTION , L K GAINES & RL MILLER CONTEMPORARY CRIMINAL LAW , MATTHEW LIPPMAN JOURNAL LAW AND SOCIAL INQUIRY-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION. REPORTS IRELAND LAW REFORMATION COMMISSION(1988) WEBSITES WWW.WIKIPEDIA.COM WWW.FINDLAW.COM WWW.CLATHACKER.COM WWW.DEFINITIONS.USLEGAL.COM WWW.LAWNOTES.IN