The British Prime Minister Now Has Presidential Powers

Thâ€Å"The British Prime Minister now has Presidential Powers† Discuss the Validity of this Statement It would be correct to say that over the years the British Prime Minister has become more of a Presidential figure in Parliament. Recent prime ministers that have been referred to as presidential include Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Harold Wilson. Prime Ministers are supposed to be ‘First Among Equals’ (Primus Inter Pares), however recent Prime Ministerial actions have got people questioning whether or not the Prime Minister has more power and is becoming a Presidential figure.The idea that the prime minister is now more presidential is drawn from the knowledge of the United States president and how the British Prime Minister compares to him. Firstly, the media turns the Prime Minister into a political celebrity. The actions the Prime Minister takes inside parliament and also much of the PM’s personal life is publicised in newspapers and television. T he Prime minister is the spokesperson for the government. Although their access to the media can be used for personal benefit, the media has been more critical of politicians in recent years.There is evidence of this as the BBC made allegations that the Iraq dossier was ‘sexed up’ during Tony Blair’s time as Prime Minister (class notes). The U. S President tends to have media coverage also. The wider use of special advisors increases how presidential the Prime Minister appears. The ‘Spatial leadership’ that the Prime Minister now adopts also gives us this impression. Prime Ministers now distance themselves from parties and government and develop their own ideologies. Examples of this include Blairism and Thatcherism (class notes).In times of distress in the country the people often turn to the Prime Minister in search of a solution. They PM tends to reach out to the people in times of crisis, for example, David Cameron returned home from his holiday early last year to address the issue of the London Riots (class notes). The power of the PM has increased in recent years as the prime minister has now increased control over Cabinet Office, which has turned it into a small scale Prime Minister’s department. The Prime Minister has the capability to dominate his cabinet. This makes him more like a president asCollective Responsibility is an effective way of ‘gagging’ his ministers. All ministers are expected to support publicly all decisions made in cabinet, or else resign. For example, in 2010 David Cameron was discussing with cabinet about building a Millennium Dome. Before a decision was made, he went outside and told the awaiting media that a dome was being built. Therefore the Prime Minister made the decision alone and cabinet couldn’t disagree (class notes). Another example of this is that Gordon Brown announced his decision to give independence to the Bank of England.Blair and Brown took this decisio n alone and Mo Mowlam, one of the most popular ministers in Blair’s cabinet stated, â€Å"I read about the bank of England decision in the newspapers† (Politics Review). This clearly shows that the Prime Minister can dominate his cabinet and make decisions despite him being â€Å"Primus Inter Pares† (first among equals). As the years go on, Prime Ministers are also having shorter and less frequent cabinet meetings and are holding more bilateral meetings. The amount of cabinet meetings has declined from 100 a year to approximately 40.Under Margret Thatcher’s parliament, her Cabinet was used less than previous Prime Ministers and annual meetings took place about 35 times. Under Blair, meetings rarely lasted an hour. This is evidence of the Prime Minister becoming more presidential and tackling decisions alone rather than with Cabinet. Thatcher and Blair also tended to have more committees and sub-committees. Blair’s ‘Sofa government’, Th atcher’s ‘Wise men’ and Wilsons ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ are all operating through bi-lateral meetings between the Prime Minister and advisors, so policy was ratified before it reached cabinet.These are all examples of Prime Ministers taking matters into their own hands and becoming more dominant and presidential. The dominance of the Prime Minister over Parliament is also shown in the ways that he/she chairs important cabinet committees and sets the cabinet agenda. Setting the cabinet agenda allows the Prime Minister to leave anything that may be difficult to come to an agreement on in Cabinet, to the end so that there will eventually be no time to cover it and the Prime Minister has to come to a decision on his/her own. Margaret Thatcher was said to have done this quite frequently.This shows that the Prime Minister can therefore decide on important affairs without having to consult cabinet. Tony Blair was noted to have used cabinet Committees a lot. The P rime Minister is also considered presidential because of what is seen as a growing ‘West Wing’ in Downing Street. This is due to the increase in Political Advisors in the PM’s office. The advisors help the Prime Minister make decisions even though they are unelected themselves. This means that they effectively influence his decisions and help him bypass cabinet, for example Blair gave his advisors power of Civil Servants.On the other hand, the Prime Minister can give considerable control to his cabinet members, which isn’t evident in American politics. For example, during Blair’s reign as PM, the Labour party was said to have a ‘Duel Monarchy’ due to how much power was given to Gordon Brown. Other ministers can constrain the Prime Ministers power and effect his decisions, which doesn’t happen with the U. S president. The Prime Ministers personality is an issue in how much power they have over Cabinet. They have powers over office but some may be more proficient than others in the exercise of those powers.Some Prime Ministers have been good in government management and other haven’t. Some adopted an autorical approach and some others focus on policy reflections. The amount of authority a PM had depends on how assertive a personality he/sh has. For example, John Major was often ridiculed for his inability to make decisions and was seen as a pushover (class notes). The PM’s popularity with the public also dictates how much power they have. At the moment, David Cameron is restricted from acting presidentially as a result of the constraints of a coalition government.The coalition government may weaken the powers of Cameron as many compromises need to be made to keep the government stable. For example, Cameron had agreed to a referendum on the electoral system. He had agreed to introduce fixed term elections. Liberal democrats hold key cabinet positions. Unlike the president, the PM may face resista nce in cabinet as particular cabinet members may not go along with a particular proposal. For example, Thatcher’s parliament lost a bill as the majority of cabinet voted against it.The PM cannot completely ignore his cabinet. Unlike the U. S. A, the cabinet is Britain is elected. The cabinet can overthrow the Prime Minister is he is disliked. This cannot happen in U. S government. In conclusion, the Prime Minister, in many ways over the years has increased his/her power to such an extent as to appear presidential. However, there are many constraints on PM power to conflict with this view. Whether or not the Prime Minister remains in high powers depends on power, personality and circumstance.

How Does Steinbeck Present the Character of Curleys Wife

How does Steinbeck present the character of Curleys Wife? In this essay I am going to be assessing the character Curleys Wife from Steinbeck’s book Of Mice And Men. The book is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression it features two farm workers called George and Lennie. The travel around together in search of work sharing a dream of a place of their own, a small ranch where they can live and work for themselves. It tells the story of how violence may erupt to destroy those dreams.Curleys wife is a character in the book who from the brief encounters with her is presented in two ways. Firstly the dangerous, flirtatious character who isn’t trusted by the rest of the ranch workers but then later one we realize how she is just a victim of loneliness with her being the only girl on the ranch and how she too has an incomplete American Dream to pursue an acting career. Curleys wife is a very important character and is heavily involved in the outcome of the story when Geor ge ends up shooting Lennie however there is the question of her innocence.Before we meet Curleys wife, Steinbeck deliberately gives us a first impression of her to let us know their honest views on her with Candy and Georges conversation. Candy starts by saying â€Å"Wait’ll you see Curleys wife. †, this makes us anticipated of her and gives us an expectation of what is going to be said about her. During the conversation the only positive thing said was that she was â€Å"purty†. She is portrayed as being flirty and not satisfied with her husband when Candy claims â€Å"Married two weeks and got the eye?Maybe that’s why Curleys pants is full of ants. † This makes the reader think because if they were newlywed they should be on their honeymoon period however one is overly flirtatious and the metaphor â€Å"pants is full of ants† shows the others paranoid over her, this gives us the sense something’s not right with their relationship. S teinbeck exaggerates the use of the phrase â€Å"the eye† to mirror the fact she repeatedly flirts with the men in search of attention.Steinbeck describes her negatively when he refers to her as a â€Å"tart† when Candy says â€Å"well i think Curleys married†¦ a tart†, the ellipsis shows Candy’s unsure whether he should refer to her in such an insulting manner but he chooses to anyway. The conversation prejudices Curleys wife before we even meet her and the fact George thinks she will be trouble prepares the reader for future events. Steinbeck uses his description of Curleys wife carefully to give us a certain first impression on her before finding out more about her. The escription starts with â€Å"the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off†, the light being cut off could be foreshadowing her being the obstacle that would eventually ruin George and Lennies hopes and dreams. Steinbeck then calls her a â€Å"girl† rather than a woman implying her youth and vulnerability, he continues keeps her unnamed to uphold the prejudice women faced in the 1930’s and to show the oppressive misogyny posed against her and how she is only seen through her relation to Curley and is ultimately a possession of his, unworthy of a unique identity.Steinbeck also claims she was â€Å"looking in† showing her as an outsider who doesn’t really fit in and when she does look in, it’s to see something she hopes to have in the future, friendship. When Steinbeck starts to describe her appearance he starts with â€Å"she had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up† this makes us realise she hides her face with makeup showing her self-consciousness and gives the impression she is trying to look older however it’s not working by her previously being referred to as a â€Å"girl†.Steinbeck repeats the word red when he says â€Å"her fingernails were red† and then †Å"red ostrich feathers†, the noun red has many meanings for example, love but it also means danger and stop. This could again be showing signs of what the future could hold for her and how her desire for love becomes a great danger when leading to her death. Her facial features are a great contrast to her â€Å"nasal, brittle† voice that implies she’s about to break.Curleys wife is provocative with her body language as she is described to have â€Å"put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward† and â€Å"she looked at her fingernails†, she is very conscious of the affect she has on men and uses this to her advantage however her inappropriate clothes and her behavior I think are designed to provoke interest and attention rather than to invite intimacy, we later learn this is because of her loneliness in her marriage to Curley.Her loneliness is clear by her constant asking of the whereabouts of Cu rley proving she is just looking for an excuse to continue her conversation with the ranch workers. The perceptions we make of Curley's wife are corrupted from the views of the ranch hands. Because sexuality is her only weapon she is referred to by George as ‘jailbait' and ‘ a tart' ‘Jesus what a tramp. ‘ George has reason to be weary of her presence especially with Lenny around and the incident in Weed. Listen to me you crazy bastard†¦ Don't you even look at that bitch. He is concerned about Lennie safety because he knows he won’t be able to resist her. The next time Steinbeck presents Curleys wife is in her conversation with Lennie, Candy and Crooks. In this extract we see how Curleys wife clearly enjoys having power over others and because she is the only girl on the ranch she is prone to discrimination by being made to feel like one of Curleys possessions.We first get this impression when she refers to them as â€Å" a bunch of bindle stiffs – a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep†, Curleys wife wouldn’t dare say these insults to anyone else but she would to these three men purely because one is older, one is mentally challenged and the other is a black man who in the 1930’s faced larger discrimination than girls. However her vulnerability is still shown when she asks â€Å"whatta ya think I am, a kid? †.The use of this rhetorical question makes us remember how she doesn’t want to be thought of as a little kid linking Back to when Steinbeck repeatedly called her a â€Å"girl† rather than a woman giving us the impression that even she realises how lowly she is thought of in the ranch so Steinbeck makes her speak â€Å"contemptuously† to show how she thinks they are beneath her. This scene adds to making the reader dislike her and see her as the downfall of the men in the story. Steinbeck lets us learn more about Curleys wife in the final scene be fore her death.Here we learn that she too has her own dream just like all the other men on the ranch, her dream was to become a movie star in Hollywood and here we also see a completely different side to her initial flirtatious character we originally meet. Curleys wife’s naivety is demonstrable in her approach and attitude towards her dream. â€Å"I coulda made something of myself† she refuses to accept that her dream had a very little chance of coming true, when she says â€Å"maybe I will yet† she uses her dream as an escape from her loveless marriage and pitiful life; she is deluded that her dream will be realised and clings to the hope of a better life.Curleys wife also blames others for the breakdown of her dream, especially her mother, â€Å"My ol’ lady wouldn’t let me†¦. if I’d went I wouldn’t be livin’ like this you bet† she is using her mother as a scapegoat for the failure of her dream, and her current si tuation. Therefore by marrying Curley, she has managed to escape her mother who she feels is responsible for preventing her from achieving her dream of being a movie star. â€Å"an I coulda sat in them big hotels†, Curleys wife’s dream revolves on what could have been, she yearns for luxuries and attention,.Like the men she desires friendship, but her dream is more materialistic; she seeks the attention she feels she deserves. When Curleys wife is telling Lennie about her dream, Steinbeck states that â€Å"Her words tumbled out in passion of communication as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away† This links to her desperation for someone to talk to and how she yearns for some sort of interaction. Curleys wife dream makes her more vulnerable and human. Steinbeck recreates this impression by portraying her innocence in death.Steinbeck uses very specific language when describing how Curleys wife was murdered by Lennie. In this extract we see ho w she underestimated Lennie’s great strength and this is proven when she says â€Å"Jus’ like a big baby†, we as readers know he is capable of murder and we know he is anything but a big baby adding to the tension. Steinbeck does give us a moment of hope when he remembers his Aunt Clara who he has occasionally forgotten, this gives us hope that he will remember Georges warnings on Curleys wife but this isn’t the case.Curleys wife invites Lennie to feel her hair after hearing about his love of stroking soft things and she soon realises her mistake when she goes â€Å"Don’t you muss it up† and when Lennie refuses to let go she cries â€Å"let go† â€Å"you let go† the use of these short sentences lets us realise her panic. Steinbeck declares how she â€Å"writhed to be free† this could really mean how she ached to be free of the ranch and of Curley.Then when he adds how â€Å"her hoarse cry came out† it creates a ma jor contrast to when she wasn’t heard by the men and when her voice is needed the most she is being stifled. He even mentions how her â€Å"eyes were wild with terror†, they aren’t being described with being heavily made up. When Curleys wife is killed Steinbeck ensures the readers sympathy for Lennie is maintained. The reader sees the killing as an inevitable consequence of Lennie’s bear-like strength and Curleys wife’s desire for attention.The use of the simile â€Å"and he shook her and her body flopped like a fish† creates an unsympathetic image, further emphasised with the alliterative â€Å"f†, as we tend not to feel sorry for dying fish in the way we may for a different animal. The sympathy the reader may feel for Curleys wife is weakened with â€Å"and she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck† as this seems harsh. This tone reminds the reader that Lennie would not have wanted to break her neck it was just something that happened so, even though he has committed a terrible act, the reader does not fully blame Lennie.The repetition of the natural imagery, including the clear link to the animalistic imagery when Curleys hand was crushed as he â€Å"flopped like a fish on a line†, both links Curley and his wife as the enemy, but also reminds the reader of Lennie’s early description as a bear, reiterated with his â€Å"paw†-like hands throughout the novel. Because of this, it seems clear that this was both inevitable and natural as bears do kill fish, and Steinbeck could be highlighting the predatory nature of the world; it could also suggest that Steinbeck was trying to show the constancy of the natural world and Lennie is just another victim in this world.However when Curleys wife is dead Steinbeck seems to show her the respect she deserves as his description of Curleys wife after her death is evidently more complimentary than previous occasions. He starts by saying â€Å"T he meanness and the planning and the discontent and the aches for attention was all gone from her face† this straight away lets us realise that only from her death we see the other side to her, the side that was unhappy with her marriage and her life, her incomplete dream and the constant craving for a companion and all this because of her death simply disappears.Steinbeck also uses words such as â€Å"sweet and young† to project Curleys wife more positively as a pretty, young woman, free of all mean qualities. This contrasts to the other times he referred to her as a â€Å"girl† because this time he is reflecting her purity rather than her childlike features. When he says â€Å"Now her rouged lips and her reddened cheeks made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly† it shows us what her life could have been like if she were to have completed it to its full potential. The way Steinbeck portrays her now is a lot more poetic showing his respect.In my conclu sion I think Steinbeck manages to portray two sides to Curleys Wife in the book Of Mice and Men. The first side is the misunderstood girl who isn’t trusted and her need for company and a friend is mistaken for a flirtatious troublemaker. However at the end of the novel Steinbeck makes her intentions clear and shares her dream of becoming a Hollywood movie star giving the readers the chance to see the vulnerable side of her, the one that shows her as not wanting but needing somebody to talk to.The need for such things is what caused her death. Lennie was keeping her company and she needed this so much that she was willing to let him harm her, and in this case kill her. Steinbeck also shows her differently in death as well. He gives Curleys wife respect and describes her as being beautiful and majorly contrasts the provocative way he did beforehand. How Does Steinbeck Present the Character of Curleys Wife How does Steinbeck present the character of Curleys Wife? In this essay I am going to be assessing the character Curleys Wife from Steinbeck’s book Of Mice And Men. The book is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression it features two farm workers called George and Lennie. The travel around together in search of work sharing a dream of a place of their own, a small ranch where they can live and work for themselves. It tells the story of how violence may erupt to destroy those dreams.Curleys wife is a character in the book who from the brief encounters with her is presented in two ways. Firstly the dangerous, flirtatious character who isn’t trusted by the rest of the ranch workers but then later one we realize how she is just a victim of loneliness with her being the only girl on the ranch and how she too has an incomplete American Dream to pursue an acting career. Curleys wife is a very important character and is heavily involved in the outcome of the story when Geor ge ends up shooting Lennie however there is the question of her innocence.Before we meet Curleys wife, Steinbeck deliberately gives us a first impression of her to let us know their honest views on her with Candy and Georges conversation. Candy starts by saying â€Å"Wait’ll you see Curleys wife. †, this makes us anticipated of her and gives us an expectation of what is going to be said about her. During the conversation the only positive thing said was that she was â€Å"purty†. She is portrayed as being flirty and not satisfied with her husband when Candy claims â€Å"Married two weeks and got the eye?Maybe that’s why Curleys pants is full of ants. † This makes the reader think because if they were newlywed they should be on their honeymoon period however one is overly flirtatious and the metaphor â€Å"pants is full of ants† shows the others paranoid over her, this gives us the sense something’s not right with their relationship. S teinbeck exaggerates the use of the phrase â€Å"the eye† to mirror the fact she repeatedly flirts with the men in search of attention.Steinbeck describes her negatively when he refers to her as a â€Å"tart† when Candy says â€Å"well i think Curleys married†¦ a tart†, the ellipsis shows Candy’s unsure whether he should refer to her in such an insulting manner but he chooses to anyway. The conversation prejudices Curleys wife before we even meet her and the fact George thinks she will be trouble prepares the reader for future events. Steinbeck uses his description of Curleys wife carefully to give us a certain first impression on her before finding out more about her. The escription starts with â€Å"the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off†, the light being cut off could be foreshadowing her being the obstacle that would eventually ruin George and Lennies hopes and dreams. Steinbeck then calls her a â€Å"girl† rather than a woman implying her youth and vulnerability, he continues keeps her unnamed to uphold the prejudice women faced in the 1930’s and to show the oppressive misogyny posed against her and how she is only seen through her relation to Curley and is ultimately a possession of his, unworthy of a unique identity.Steinbeck also claims she was â€Å"looking in† showing her as an outsider who doesn’t really fit in and when she does look in, it’s to see something she hopes to have in the future, friendship. When Steinbeck starts to describe her appearance he starts with â€Å"she had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up† this makes us realise she hides her face with makeup showing her self-consciousness and gives the impression she is trying to look older however it’s not working by her previously being referred to as a â€Å"girl†.Steinbeck repeats the word red when he says â€Å"her fingernails were red† and then †Å"red ostrich feathers†, the noun red has many meanings for example, love but it also means danger and stop. This could again be showing signs of what the future could hold for her and how her desire for love becomes a great danger when leading to her death. Her facial features are a great contrast to her â€Å"nasal, brittle† voice that implies she’s about to break.Curleys wife is provocative with her body language as she is described to have â€Å"put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward† and â€Å"she looked at her fingernails†, she is very conscious of the affect she has on men and uses this to her advantage however her inappropriate clothes and her behavior I think are designed to provoke interest and attention rather than to invite intimacy, we later learn this is because of her loneliness in her marriage to Curley.Her loneliness is clear by her constant asking of the whereabouts of Cu rley proving she is just looking for an excuse to continue her conversation with the ranch workers. The perceptions we make of Curley's wife are corrupted from the views of the ranch hands. Because sexuality is her only weapon she is referred to by George as ‘jailbait' and ‘ a tart' ‘Jesus what a tramp. ‘ George has reason to be weary of her presence especially with Lenny around and the incident in Weed. Listen to me you crazy bastard†¦ Don't you even look at that bitch. He is concerned about Lennie safety because he knows he won’t be able to resist her. The next time Steinbeck presents Curleys wife is in her conversation with Lennie, Candy and Crooks. In this extract we see how Curleys wife clearly enjoys having power over others and because she is the only girl on the ranch she is prone to discrimination by being made to feel like one of Curleys possessions.We first get this impression when she refers to them as â€Å" a bunch of bindle stiffs – a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep†, Curleys wife wouldn’t dare say these insults to anyone else but she would to these three men purely because one is older, one is mentally challenged and the other is a black man who in the 1930’s faced larger discrimination than girls. However her vulnerability is still shown when she asks â€Å"whatta ya think I am, a kid? †.The use of this rhetorical question makes us remember how she doesn’t want to be thought of as a little kid linking Back to when Steinbeck repeatedly called her a â€Å"girl† rather than a woman giving us the impression that even she realises how lowly she is thought of in the ranch so Steinbeck makes her speak â€Å"contemptuously† to show how she thinks they are beneath her. This scene adds to making the reader dislike her and see her as the downfall of the men in the story. Steinbeck lets us learn more about Curleys wife in the final scene be fore her death.Here we learn that she too has her own dream just like all the other men on the ranch, her dream was to become a movie star in Hollywood and here we also see a completely different side to her initial flirtatious character we originally meet. Curleys wife’s naivety is demonstrable in her approach and attitude towards her dream. â€Å"I coulda made something of myself† she refuses to accept that her dream had a very little chance of coming true, when she says â€Å"maybe I will yet† she uses her dream as an escape from her loveless marriage and pitiful life; she is deluded that her dream will be realised and clings to the hope of a better life.Curleys wife also blames others for the breakdown of her dream, especially her mother, â€Å"My ol’ lady wouldn’t let me†¦. if I’d went I wouldn’t be livin’ like this you bet† she is using her mother as a scapegoat for the failure of her dream, and her current si tuation. Therefore by marrying Curley, she has managed to escape her mother who she feels is responsible for preventing her from achieving her dream of being a movie star. â€Å"an I coulda sat in them big hotels†, Curleys wife’s dream revolves on what could have been, she yearns for luxuries and attention,.Like the men she desires friendship, but her dream is more materialistic; she seeks the attention she feels she deserves. When Curleys wife is telling Lennie about her dream, Steinbeck states that â€Å"Her words tumbled out in passion of communication as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away† This links to her desperation for someone to talk to and how she yearns for some sort of interaction. Curleys wife dream makes her more vulnerable and human. Steinbeck recreates this impression by portraying her innocence in death.Steinbeck uses very specific language when describing how Curleys wife was murdered by Lennie. In this extract we see ho w she underestimated Lennie’s great strength and this is proven when she says â€Å"Jus’ like a big baby†, we as readers know he is capable of murder and we know he is anything but a big baby adding to the tension. Steinbeck does give us a moment of hope when he remembers his Aunt Clara who he has occasionally forgotten, this gives us hope that he will remember Georges warnings on Curleys wife but this isn’t the case.Curleys wife invites Lennie to feel her hair after hearing about his love of stroking soft things and she soon realises her mistake when she goes â€Å"Don’t you muss it up† and when Lennie refuses to let go she cries â€Å"let go† â€Å"you let go† the use of these short sentences lets us realise her panic. Steinbeck declares how she â€Å"writhed to be free† this could really mean how she ached to be free of the ranch and of Curley.Then when he adds how â€Å"her hoarse cry came out† it creates a ma jor contrast to when she wasn’t heard by the men and when her voice is needed the most she is being stifled. He even mentions how her â€Å"eyes were wild with terror†, they aren’t being described with being heavily made up. When Curleys wife is killed Steinbeck ensures the readers sympathy for Lennie is maintained. The reader sees the killing as an inevitable consequence of Lennie’s bear-like strength and Curleys wife’s desire for attention.The use of the simile â€Å"and he shook her and her body flopped like a fish† creates an unsympathetic image, further emphasised with the alliterative â€Å"f†, as we tend not to feel sorry for dying fish in the way we may for a different animal. The sympathy the reader may feel for Curleys wife is weakened with â€Å"and she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck† as this seems harsh. This tone reminds the reader that Lennie would not have wanted to break her neck it was just something that happened so, even though he has committed a terrible act, the reader does not fully blame Lennie.The repetition of the natural imagery, including the clear link to the animalistic imagery when Curleys hand was crushed as he â€Å"flopped like a fish on a line†, both links Curley and his wife as the enemy, but also reminds the reader of Lennie’s early description as a bear, reiterated with his â€Å"paw†-like hands throughout the novel. Because of this, it seems clear that this was both inevitable and natural as bears do kill fish, and Steinbeck could be highlighting the predatory nature of the world; it could also suggest that Steinbeck was trying to show the constancy of the natural world and Lennie is just another victim in this world.However when Curleys wife is dead Steinbeck seems to show her the respect she deserves as his description of Curleys wife after her death is evidently more complimentary than previous occasions. He starts by saying â€Å"T he meanness and the planning and the discontent and the aches for attention was all gone from her face† this straight away lets us realise that only from her death we see the other side to her, the side that was unhappy with her marriage and her life, her incomplete dream and the constant craving for a companion and all this because of her death simply disappears.Steinbeck also uses words such as â€Å"sweet and young† to project Curleys wife more positively as a pretty, young woman, free of all mean qualities. This contrasts to the other times he referred to her as a â€Å"girl† because this time he is reflecting her purity rather than her childlike features. When he says â€Å"Now her rouged lips and her reddened cheeks made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly† it shows us what her life could have been like if she were to have completed it to its full potential. The way Steinbeck portrays her now is a lot more poetic showing his respect.In my conclu sion I think Steinbeck manages to portray two sides to Curleys Wife in the book Of Mice and Men. The first side is the misunderstood girl who isn’t trusted and her need for company and a friend is mistaken for a flirtatious troublemaker. However at the end of the novel Steinbeck makes her intentions clear and shares her dream of becoming a Hollywood movie star giving the readers the chance to see the vulnerable side of her, the one that shows her as not wanting but needing somebody to talk to.The need for such things is what caused her death. Lennie was keeping her company and she needed this so much that she was willing to let him harm her, and in this case kill her. Steinbeck also shows her differently in death as well. He gives Curleys wife respect and describes her as being beautiful and majorly contrasts the provocative way he did beforehand.

McDonald’s and Crespiano’s Restaurants Essay

McDonald’s and KFC’s are two famous restaurants in Doha city. But even though they both serve delicious chicken meals in the same town, they don’t have anything else in common. They have differences in aspects of service speed, meals’ prices, and types of customers. McDonald’s serves meals at high speed as the staff who work there use computers in taking orders, radio headsets to communicate, and automatic timers to help with cooking. Unlikely, Crespiano’s is not as quick as McDonald’s because Crespiano’s staff number is less than McDonald’s. In addition, Crespiano’s system in taking orders is a manual system, no computers used, there is only one person who works as a cashier and takes orders in handwriting. In terms of meals’ prices, McDonald’s meals, are very expensive due to the fact that McDonald’s serves Pepsi and chips with every meal, while Crespiano’s meals are cheaper as they are served without these extras. However, Crispiano’s offers its customers a free home delivery. Unlike McDonald’s, Crespiano’s customers are of the local residents who live nearby the restaurant only because there is one main branch of Crispiano’s in the whole city. On the other hand, McDonald’s has more than one branch all over the city so it serves a bigger number of people and different types of customers. In conclusion, McDonald’s and Crespiano’s serve delicious meals. While they both have a different style in handling their business, customers have an opportunity to choose which style is preferable for them.

On U.S. Foreign Policies Towards the Third World Essay

On U.S. Foreign Policies Towards the Third World - Essay Example Another issue noted is the effect of the US interference on stable countries which include Libya and Egypt. For a long time these two Arabic dominated countries have had the best economies in Africa. However, due to some deemed selfish interference from the US the presidents were removed from power, Muammar Gaddafi was killed as the Egypt president was detained. At the moment the two are still in wrangles and the US is nowhere to be seen. According to Henry (1999), many third world countries rely on the US for aide to facilitate various projects in the respective countries. This has put them in awkward positions as they have to ensure that they do things that are in line with the US references. US has been accused of being biased in political issues and favoring certain candidates. On January, 2013 before the Kenyan presidential elections Johnnie Carson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs warned Kenyan from voting the candidates with cases at the ICC. This was highly criticized as it showed partisan in the elections and it served to show how biased the US can be at

Ethical Steps in Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical Steps in Decision Making - Essay Example As a psychiatric nurse, I work in the therapy section and yesterday while on duty, I was faced with a dilemma. I received young male patient, who had on several occasions attempted suicide. On checking his report, there was a record of symptoms pointing to severe depression. I thus consulted with the mental health nurse, who affirmed that indeed the patient had shown signs of depression during examination, moreover that the psychotherapist in charge was aware of the mild symptoms, but had advised against any further follow-up on the patient, who, he considered was experiencing a post-traumatic stress disorder. Confronted with a dilemma, I utilized the five steps involved in the ethical decision making process, so as to come up with a solution. The first step I took, as set forth by Aiken (104) was to analyze the data I had, in order to come up with relevant information concerning the situation. Thus, after an interpretation of the data I had, I noticed that the patient had displayed several suicidal attempts in the past single month. I therefore concluded that, the physician had let the symptom pass. I thus went on to take the second step, which involves spelling out the dilemma at hand, as suggested by Aiken (104). I was torn between administering therapeutic treatment meant for depressed patients in order to prevent possible harm after discharge, or discharge the patient after slight recovery, as ordered by the doctor, since the mild symptoms had been treated. I was thus left with the option of moving on to the third step. This involved the identification of all the causes of action that can be taken, without emphasizing on the possible results (Aiken 104). I thus followed my judgment, in line with the best interest of the patient. Considering that the psychotherapist had chosen not to order a therapy meant for depressive patients, I went to the chief physician and made known my findings. Thereafter, I examined the merits and demerits that

McDonalds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

McDonalds - Essay Example People started being more dynamic, always on the road, changing customer taste and complex menus affected McDonalds’ ability to consistently deliver quality, service and value. Customers had to wait longer for special orders and they could notice changes in the standard originally set by McDonald. In response to these challenges, McDonald designed and implemented its new just-in-time kitchen system named ‘Made-for-You’. This kitchen is technically an overhaul of its previous kitchen designed to improve food quality, allows more menu items to be easily introduced and provide superior customer service. ‘Made-for-you’ mean whatever the customers have ordered is made just for them after they have ordered it. Nothing is prepared before the customer arrives. However, some components are prepared in advance. Its new system is based on five major criteria to succeed. First is service, which would take ninety seconds or less from ordering to delivery. Quality, which is second, is achieved by meeting high customer standards and food safety requirements. Third is food preparation, which should be easier to do right than wrong. Fourth are people. There should be increased job satisfaction, and finally profitability by reducing cost yet increasing customer satisfaction. New technology and extensive market research helped McDonalds developed a kitchen system that encompasses all of these operational and customer requirements. The company spent number of years exploring cooking technology, and holding technology where a component should be prepared in advance and kept in warming environment where it holds its temperature and moisture. McDonald’s ‘made-for-you’ kitchen system enables faster service to the customer. For example, when a customer places an order for a hamburger, it will show up on a screen and that would signal the crew to take a ban, put it through a special toaster up to 150 degree in eleven seconds. At that point, in time, the product is put on a rap various items added and finally meat is added from a special meat holding cabinet, and the product is rapped and presented to the customer. McDonald’s heated cabinet, called universal cabinet, was specifically designed for the made-for-you system. It enables them to handle all meat products for all of its sandwiches at temperatures that will be very much as if they have just come off the grills. In its new system, it also had a rapid speed toaster, which toast bans in only eleven seconds compared to twenty four seconds in the previous system. When an order is made, it is relayed to the kitchen and appears on the kitchen video monitor that is visible to the whole crew. Prior to the order, its computer system monitors customers’ traffic all the time in attempt to determine the flow orders. Computer can then detect times when business would increase and the types of food items ordered during these times. The computer then genera tes orders for the best selling items creating a buffer of items that are ordered in quick times this helps employees get a head during a rush. The computer also monitors employees output. Personal Opinion Changes in customers tastes and behaviors did bring challenges that initiated research carried out by McDonalds. These challenges might have brought negative impact to the business for sometime but in the end, it was an opportunity to conquer the world with new technologies. Several years of service gave it an edge over its competitors and through that it was

Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

Essays - Essay Example Based on studies prepared years before the new millennium, Flowers (2002) concluded that the use and abuse of drugs, among other substances, have been robustly related to juvenile delinquency and criminality. Conditions have not improved much since then. Bartol and Bartol (2008) reported that juveniles made up 17 % of arrests made in 2005. Mocan and Tekin (2005) established that the use of drugs wielded a profound influence on one’s predilection to commit crime. Indeed, from LSD to OxyContin to ecstasy, drugs have figured significantly as triggers to commit crime from the late 60s until the present time. Called by its own inventor, Albert Hoffman â€Å"my problem child†, lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD has itself spawned real-life problem children or juveniles since 1938 when it was first synthesized (Carey, 2008; Berger, 2005a). Psychedelic or psychoactive drugs, like LSD, are among the purported mind-altering drugs. Drugs classified as psychedelic or psychoactive consist of a concoction of chemicals not necessarily taken to improve health but known to have the effect of changing the user’s thoughts, reactions and perceptions of bodily sensations (Berger, 2005b; Drug-Free America, 2004). Mind altering substances in the same category as LSD are heroin or diamorphine, which is a powerful analgesic; cocaine, a highly abused narcotic anesthetic; and the psychoactive cannibus resin or oil from the hemp plant and its flower-bearing stem or tops known as marijuana (â€Å"Heroin†, 2005; Berger, 2005c; Jenkins, 2005). Other mind altering drugs include, but are not limited to OxyContin tablets, a licit narcotic drug used for pain management; dextroamphetamine, a drug which is fast gaining notoriety as a â€Å"recreational drug† but is medically prescribed for sleep disorders or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; and methamphetamine, which is a stimulant and a â€Å"feel good† drug usually smoked, swallowed or injected and used illegally

Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Comparison - Essay Example Winning could be determined using various standards determined by the respective judges. Examples of these sports, which would be featured in this paper as it seeks to compare and contrast them from various aspects, include football and baseball. Football refers to sports involving ball kicking with the aim of scoring a goal. The most common form of football, association football, just referred to as football originated from Romans and Ancient Greeks. There would be opposing teams comprising of between 11 and 18 players with a maximum of 11 players being in the field at any playing moment. The points in the game would be earned by scoring goals by moving the football towards the opposite team’s side of the field with the aim of having the ball enter between the two goal posts. The opponents would be defending the goal line to make sure that the ball does not cross it with goalkeepers being the only players with the right of touching the ball in preventing a score. Several code s such as offside, free kick and being carded would be determined by the set rules and regulations to govern the game. The winner would be determined by the team with the highest number of goals. Various clubs have existed since the 18th Century involved in competitively playing football. The official international football governing body, FIFA has its headquarters in Zurich with six associated regional confederations. Baseball sports involves two teams each of nine players aiming as scoring runs through hitting a thrown ball using a bat a hitting four bases at the corners of the diamond, usually 90 foot in size. The batting team players hit in turns against the pitcher of the opponents, the fielding team which stops them from scoring runs. With the recording of three outs from the fielding team, the teams switch between fielding and batting. The winner would be determined by the number of runs such that the team with the most runs wins. Baseball and football have attracted huge fan s in countries with these sports such as the US. Both football and baseball are ball games, despite the difference in the sizes and shapes of the balls. Players would throw the ball and run after it. To win in either of these sports, teamwork plays a crucial role in ensuring that the highest number of scores has been recorded. This means that teammates have to co-operate with each other, following the strategies given by their coaches for a win to be recorded. Just as there would be substitute players and goalkeepers in football, baseball would also have substitute catchers, infielders and outfielders. Both sports have rules and regulations that govern the way the players should conduct themselves and the determination of the winner. The players have the technical team that holds the decision of who to feature in the starting line-up, who to substitute and coaching on the strategies to use so as to win. Football teams and baseball teams have owners and even at times share owners bet ween football and baseball clubs. For example, while having a shareholding in Arsenal Football Club, Stan Kroenke also owned the St. Louis Rams (NFL). Nonetheless, these two sports have distinctive features. First, in football, players would always attack the opposite team to prevent them from moving forward towards the goal. But in baseball, this would be a rare observation. While goals would be scored in football as the determinant of the winner, runs would be scored

Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Death Penalty - Essay Example Death penalty has been a controversial issue in the international community. Many nations have been disturbed and argued about the best way it can be handled. This has made generation of questions on how best the capital offenders can be punished in order to have justice for both the offenders and victims of the circumstances. The bill of rights supports the right of individuals to live and associate freely. On the other hand, the same legal provision is also used to condemn capital offenders to death sentence. The religious community questions the legality of the death sentences and at the same time urges citizens to follow the law. It is still ironical when they defend the law breakers. Many countries stress that the justice system must be observed for the victims. Several views have been given on this issue. They are legal, religious, political and socialist perspectives. There are arguments about the pros and cons of execution. Publicized studies have also confirmed that many innocent people have been wrongly executed. On the other hand, the issue of terrorism is a threat to state, especially when the perpetrators are not brought to book. What should be the best action to take? This has brought divergent views. Generally, opinion is divided on the step to take on this issue. Some people insinuate that it will be very expensive on the tax payer’s side if execution is allowed. It costs about between two to five times more to execute a criminal than to maintain a criminal in the prison for the rest of the life (Paternoster and Bacon 91). Those against argue that the financial amount required is pegged on the long court procedures, legal wrangling and many endless appeals. A criminal can be on death row for up to 20 years (Baumgartner, Boydstun and De Boef 47). This is very expensive for the state due to the said legal procedures. Supporters of the death penalty state that it is better to use state resources to penalize the murderers in order to save lives of innocent people. They categorically state that this action creates crime deterrent. Crime would always be on the increase if there is no any stern action taken against these people (Vaughn 98). According to research carried out in P ennsylvania alone, there are ineffective defense attorneys who fail to conduct satisfactory investigations to support their clients. This has lead to conviction of innocent suspects, especially those involved in complicated cases (Hood and Hoyle 105). Many cases are confirmed that some lawyers made mistakes and the judges have made rulings based on their findings. It is also argued that death penalty is barbaric form of punishment. Paternoster and Bacon state that all forms of death penalty are unfair (55). In exemplifying this, the argument states, whether it is through lethal injection, hanging, using the firing squad or electric chair, this state sanctioned murder is not fair before a crowd of people (Paternoster and Bacon 56). For instances, California physicians refused the demand by the government to use lethal injection as a means of execution hence execution was stopped. They claimed that there are many constructive ways in addressing violent crimes and those two wrongs do n ot make a right (Baumgartner, Boydstun and De Boef 78). However, the proponents of death penalty action feel that this is the only way to deter criminals from any further illegal actions. They argue that justice must be served in favour of the victims. Most fundamental legal provision is that punishment should always fit the crime. In addition, justice delayed is justice denied (Morris 70). Those against death penalty sentences say that it is bad because the state should not use killing to show that murder and manslaughter are bad. There should be another appropriate method. Prison alone is effective because life there is quite deterring, as stated by those who are against the death penalty. They quote, ‘

Windows Vista Installation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Windows Vista Installation - Assignment Example 9. The computer will then automatically reboot. 10. Now comes a long waiting period, where the installation process configures the system. Again, the exact amount of time will greatly depend on your computer's hardware. 11. After the long wait, the system will then reboot once again. 12. You will think something went wrong because of the relative long time it take the system to display anything besides the black screen, but finally, after a few moments you will note a small colored circle: 13. A few seconds after that you will be prompted to enter a username and password for the first user on the computer. Although the setup program will let you continue without entering a password, note that it is very advisable to enter a password here, and the best option would be to choose a complex password made of at least 8 characters or more (something like P@ssw0rd or MYpa$$w0rd). Make sure you remember it. Type the username: ITStaff and proceed with a password. Also pick your user's display picture. This can be changed later. 14. Pick a name for your computer. The setup program will create one based upon the username you chose in the previous step, but you can change it now (and later). Also pick a background for the user's desktop. This can be changed later. 15. Choose what sort of protection your computer gets. The recommended settings are best for someone that doesn't plan to hide their computer behind a corporate firewall (and even then, in some cases, this would be the best option). If you plan to install a 3rd-party firewall later you can opt to be prompted later. Note that this setting will also have effect on how the computer uses the Microsoft Windows Update (Automatic...Pressing the Advanced button will bring up the following options. 12. You will think something went wrong because of the relative long time it take the system to display anything besides the black screen, but finally, after a few moments you will note a small colored circle: Although the setup program will let you continue without entering a password, note that it is very advisable to enter a password here, and the best option would be to choose a complex password made of at least 8 characters or more (something like P@ssw0rd or MYpa$$w0rd). Make sure you remember it. Type the username: ITStaff and proceed with a password. 15. Choose what sort of protection your computer gets. The recommended settings are best for someone that doesn't plan to hide their computer behind a corporate firewall (and even then, in some cases, this would be the best option). If you plan to install a 3rd-party firewall later you can opt to be prompted later. Note that if the computer was connected to the Internet while installing it, it will automatically download and prompt you to install any missing hotfix or update it finds for the current state of the operating system. Click the Window Icon and then click to open the control panel. In the control panel click on user accounts and then select "Add or remove user accounts" in the sub menu.

Jesus Christ-Life and Influence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Jesus Christ-Life and Influence - Research Paper Example Jesus is unanimously regarded as the one and the only virgin birth that has appeared in the entire history of mankind since the creation of Adam and Eve in the paradise. The Old Testament had already made a prediction about his arrival in the world through the virgin delivery to be made by a pious and chaste noble lady i.e. Holy Virgin Mary (Isaiah, 7:14). Thus, the pious and religious-minded Jews were well aware regarding this exceptional kind of birth in their tribe one day in the wake of the Commandments to be made by the Lord in order to show the pagans, non-believers, and hypocrites the signs of the Omnipotence of the Lord. Since all the tribes having faith in Almighty God were in wait of such a sacred birth, the Magi also travelled wide from the ancient Persia to the city of Nazareth in order to see the blessed child arrived in the world from the high heavens in order to fill the world with the dazzling sacred light of justice, equality, righteousness, and faith. The Gospel of Matthew provides a detailed and comprehensive account of the visit of the three Magi from the distant region of Persia (Matthew, 2:2). Since the Magi had been blessed with the knowledge of astrology, and their association with the Zoroastrians had increased their faith in the Oneness of Almighty God the Creator, the three Magi set out to an exhaustive expedition towards Nazareth in order to see the holy child and present their gifts to the Savior of humanity. Consequently, the child would certainly be unique and extraordinary one, which would spend his entire life in teaching, preaching and helping the people without discrimination, and would embrace death at the prime of his youth just for saving the humanity from becoming a victim of the punishment and agony for committing the original sin. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and the Magi also met him there (Anderson, 2005: 23-24). However, because of the opposition made by the hypocrites and non-believers, Holy Mary had to proceed to Eg ypt in order to save the sacred child from the hatred of the envious and resentful people of Nazareth. Little is known about the childhood and early youth of the Holy Christ, though the historians and theologians appear to be agreeing with the notion that the signs of the spiritual elevation of this sacred child had started appearing in his personality since the childhood years (Littleton, 1975: 22). Somehow, Jesus returned to his native city along with his sacred mother in his early youth, where he was baptized by Holy John the Baptist (Matthew, 3:13-16), though John is noticed to be declaring Jesus superior to him in all respects. Hence, it becomes evident that his contemporary righteous men of Nazareth had maintained the knowledge of the spiritual and elevated status of Jesus Christ. The Christian faith is attributed to Christ, who preached love and kindness to all mankind.

The strength of an electromagnet Essay Example for Free

The strength of an electromagnet Essay Mass of iron filings attracted in grams (g) dciana, please do not redistribute this coursework. We work very hard to create this website, and we trust our visitors to respect it for the good of other students. Please, do not circulate this coursework elsewhere on the internet. Anybody found doing so will be permanently banned. 0. 0185 This work from www. studentcentral. co. uk 0. 0190 HV6 from HV6 coursewrok HV6 work HV6 info HV6 0. 0185cofa far sefafaw orfa fak infa fofa fa! Mass of iron filings attracted in grams (g)codc dcr sedcdcw ordc dck indc fodc dc. 0.0185 Weber refuted dcianas rationalisation hypothesis. 0. 0175coeb ebr seebebw oreb ebk ineb foeb eb. 0. 0180coca car secacaw orca cak inca foca ca. Mass of iron filings attracted in grams (g)coaa aar seaaaaw oraa aak inaa foaa aa. 0. 0185coac acr seacacw orac ack inac foac ac; 0. 0190 This dissertation from www. studentcentral. co. uk 0. 0180cobg bgr sebgbgw orbg bgk inbg fobg bg. Average Mass of Iron filings in grams (g) dciana, please do not redistribute this paper. We work very hard to create this website, and we trust our visitors to respect it for the good of other students. Please, do not circulate this paper elsewhere on the internet. Anybody found doing so will be permanently banned. 0. 0187 dciana, please do not redistribute this dissertation. We work very hard to create this website, and we trust our visitors to respect it for the good of other students. Please, do not circulate this dissertation elsewhere on the internet. Anybody found doing so will be permanently banned. 0. 0187 This dissertation from www. studentcentral. co. uk 0. 0185 xRbb Visit coursework ef in ef fo ef for ef more project ef Do ef not ef redistribute xRbb Average Current in Amps (A) nX6ehKf5 Visit coursework cc in cc fo cc for cc more paper cc Do cc not cc redistribute nX6ehKf5 2+coce cer sececew orce cek ince foce ce; 2+ FUZlDg from FUZlDg coursewrok FUZlDg work FUZlDg info FUZlDg 2+coed edr seededw ored edk ined foed ed; Average Voltage in Volts (V) NTBfPtDXg from NTBfPtDXg coursewrok NTBfPtDXg work NTBfPtDXg info NTBfPtDXg 3cogd gdr segdgdw orgd gdk ingd fogd gd; 3coca car secacaw orca cak inca foca ca. 3 P5zpmk from P5zpmk coursewrok P5zpmk work P5zpmk info P5zpmk Graphs: This hypothesis from www. studentcentral. co. uk Fig 1. 5 Fig 1. 6 DKREDG7nc Visit coursework db in db fo db for db more cours db Do db not db redistribute DKREDG7nc Conclusion: hFxX4CVX Visit coursework fa in fa fo fa for fa more work fa Do fa not fa redistribute hFxX4CVX From the results obtained in this experiment, it becomes very clear that changing the positioning of the solenoid on the iron core has no effect on the electromagnets strength. This is because from Fig 1. 4, 1. 5 and 1. 6 the results show that there is hardly any significant change in the results. However when the solenoid is placed on the right hand side of iron core there is a slight change of 0. 0002 grams of iron filing collected in comparison to the other two positions (middle and left hand side) but this change is quite insignificant. The voltage also remained the same throughout all the nine experiments (as expected) and was measured with a voltmeter since the power supply was set to 3 volts at all times and therefore was anyway a constant (the voltage was measured with a voltmeter eventhough it wasnt really needed because the power supply was set to 3V). From the results that were obtained for current a conclusion could not be drawn and there for it is difficult to say anything about current in this specific experiment. There was one set of results (Fig 1. 4, Right hand side position) that was slightly anomalic (0. 0002g) in comparison to the other results but this will be later on analysed in the evaluation. Weber suppressed dcianas functionalism . I can conclude by saying that my hypothesis was correct since the results (except for current in Amps) received were as I thought they would be. dciana, please do not redistribute this project. We work very hard to create this website, and we trust our visitors to respect it for the good of other students. Please, do not circulate this project elsewhere on the internet. Anybody found doing so will be permanently banned. Evaluation:coee eer seeeeew oree eek inee foee ee. As in most of the experiments there are always a few improvements that can be made to get even better and more reliable results than the ones obtained from the previous one. The first factor in this experiment that could be improved is that of the ammeter readings, since the ammeter that was used was first of all not digital and only went up to 2 amps (however for this experiment we were looking at a greater current than just 2 amps). So either a potentiometer /variable resistor (to decrease the current) or a digital ammeter could be used, which would display higher currents than just 2 amps. The second factor in this experiment that could be improved would be that of the coiling of the wire around the metal coil because the wires were supposed to be tightly wrapped around the coil so there would be a 1 mm space between the wires (the solenoid was made up of 25 loops of insulated wire). Not following this factor was the reason for slight anomalic results (see Fig 1. 5) between the positions middle and right plus left and right because for the two sides (middle and left) one partner looped the wires around the metal core and for the other side (right) the second partner looped the wires around (obviously differently than the first partner) the metal core. The third factor that could be improved in this experiment would be that of the tape (to keep the solenoid in place), since this could have been measured (e. g. 4cm per experiment) because in this experiment the tape was not measured and therefore became an uncontrolled variable. It is very difficult to say whether the last positions (right) results were anomalic because of the third factor or simply because the balance might have been reset incorrectly since the difference between the right hand side position and the other two positions (middle and left) was just 0. 0002 grams. If this experiment was to be done again then it would a good idea to have a closer look at the three factors mentioned above.cogc gcr segcgcw orgc gck ingc fogc gc; Altogether this was a successful experiment because not only was the aim met but also the hypothesis was proved to be correct and most of the results were also reliable except for perhaps that one set mentioned above. coce cer sececew orce cek ince foce ce; Bibliography: fo ea fGCSE Double Science Physics Book The Revision Guideor ea more dissertation ea Do ea not ea redistribute mqR8F15 I would like to acknowledge this book in helping me with scientific evidentiary support.

Marketing Plan For Fragrance Direct Marketing Essay

Marketing Plan For Fragrance Direct Marketing Essay Fragrance Direct is a toiletries retailer who sells branded, discounted perfumes, aftershaves, cosmetics,hair care, skincare, cosmetics and beauty products. This report investigates and discusses the Fragrance Directs current marketing situation in an intensively competitive marketplace and to prepare an appropriate two-year marketing plan which could lead the company to increase its market share. The report was prepared after critically considering all marketing theories and tactics in context of Fragrance Direct like e-business strategies, product development, marketing decision making and organizational strategy, marketing segmentation and positioning, SOSTAC planning model etc. A projected budget was prepared and justified for the projected marketing plan. Marketing plan Regardless of types of business, any business needs a concrete marketing plan if they were to succeed. Brassington Pettit (2006) define, Marketing plan is a detailed, written statement specifying target markets, marketing programmes, responsibilities, timescales and resources to be used, within defined budgets. A two-year marketing plan is made for Fragrance Direct which could aim to help them to achieve a growth in market share. SOSTAC planning model Many approaches can be used to make a marketing plan. SOSTAC planning model is the one which includes all essential marketing plan and it is the most useful one. Here I used Smiths (1997, pp 32) SOSTAC planning model to make a two-year strategic marketing plan for Fragrance Direct: S- Situation Analysis (where are we now?) At present, direct selling businesses are booming due to increased home broadband services. The case suggests that Fragrance Direct is one of a number of specialist internet-based retailers at the moment. Their strength is they can sell products cheaper than any other competitors who trade through physical stores. According to their website, they are able to offer highly competitive prices and this is done by keeping overheads low. There is no shop, no middlemen as they supply their products directly to the customer ( Fragrance Direct, 2009). So the company is in a good shape and has the ability to grow even further. O-Objectives (where do we want to go?) Though the company has been growing rapidly but according to the case scenerio in order to achieve their medium-term growth targets they need a major push to broaden their customer base and increase market share. There is opportunity for the company to do that. So the key objectives Fragrance Directs management should adopt right now are to target new segment while maintaining existing products portfolio and develop new products for the targeted segments. This way they can manage to retain the present market share as well as there is possibility to increase their customer base with the help of launched products. S-Strategy (how do we want to go there?) Selecting the correct segment and correct proposition is the key to success. Kotler Armstrong (2006) point out that the market consists of many types of customers, products and need. The marketer has to determine which segments offer the best opportunity for achieving company objectives. Traditionally Fragrance Direct have not focused in male grooming audience yet although the case report suggests mens fragrace market is worth over 500 million US dollars and the demand is steadily increasing. So as an existing market player this the segment where Fragrance Direct should exploit if they want to increase their market share. Most of the existing toiletries market players targeted young man while the report indicates this segment is declining. On the other hand older segment is increasing so Fragrance Direct should target this segment with widen products base. Market segmentation is important for any company like Fragment Direct as it helps to target its marketing mix more closely and p recisely. T-Tactics (the details of strategy) Tactics tend to be short term and flexible, whereas strategy is longer term and more enduring. When strategy is agreed the next job for marketers to develop tactics. Smith Chaffey, (2005) hinted that E-marketing tactics focuses on deciding the optimum marketing mix (pp 338). Marketing mix The marketing mix concept is one of the core concepts for marketing. 7Ps framework for marketing has achieved high degree of acceptance. Armstrong Kotler (2007) define A marketing mix is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. Here, the 7Ps marketing mix tactic has been discussed in context of Fragrance direct: 1. Product: Products should be developed in accordance with customer demand and developed products should meet the need of targeted segment of the market. At present the male grooming product market is confined with aftershave fragrances and a limited range of hair care products. So there is scope to broaden the sell of different others new products like mens bath and body, mens skin care, mens sun care, mens accessory etc. as the demand is consistently increasing. 2. Price: When determining the price it is important to remember that whether customers are willing to pay the price or not; they have the ability or not. Wrong pricing could lead the market failure. According the companys website their one of the aims is To keep prices as low as possible to make high street shopping a thing of the past. However they are under intense compitition from traditional sellers lke chains of chemists (pharmacists, drugstore) and supermarket chains who have started selling health and beauty products thorough their physical stores as well as through internet and they are capable to offer cheaper price. So new products should be priced as cheap as as possible as a penetrating price while continue to offer existing cheap price for others products. 3. Place: The place is where customers buy the product. For Fragrance Direct place is internet from where customers by their products. Products must be delivered in right time, and in the right quantity in order to maintain the highest level of customer satisfaction. Fragrance Direct aims to make shopping online quick, easy and convenient and to provide an excellent level of customer service. They also aim to make their site fun, interesting with bargains and a range of products (Fragrance Direct, 2009). To mainten these services storage, inventories and distribution should be maintained appropriately. 4. Promotion: Through promotion activities a company delivers messages to its cusomers about the products, brands using variety of media and communication tools. Smith Chaffey (2005) suggests that the ten promotional mix (advertising, selling, sales promotion, PR, sponsorship, direct mail, exhibitions, merchandising, packing and word of mouth) -can be used to communicate or promote in the online or offline world (pp 54). Fragrance Direct should use all of these means to fulfill their mission-To be the first name you think of when buying fragrance and cosmetics on the internet. The case article suggests that male style magazines such as GQ, FHM and Loaded have huge impact on male in the UK so they should specially promote the site with those magazines. 5. People: We could assume the online business as service marketing. In service marketing people or staff is a very important part of marketing mix. The challenge for Fragrant Direct is to continue recruiting right people, train them and reward them appropriately. 6. Process: Process in a web-based company includes internal and external process as well as transactions, internal communications etc which are necessary to run a business. All processes have to be executed excellently to make the business a success. Fragrance Direct must keep an efficient process by keeping site updated to indicate if any number in stock changed, product specification, price change, dealing with customers e-mail enquiries, product dispatch etc. 7. Physical evidence: In an online business, the quality of the site is the physical evidence (Smith Chaffey; 2005, pp. 66). Normally customers buy intangible services from Fragrance Direct through their site so there is an amount of uncertainty in the process. So Fragrance Direct must ensure customers buying the services must meets acceptable standards of speed and ease of use. A- Action (or implementations-putting the plans to work) Smith Chaffey (2005) states that action stage reveals the details of tactics. Actions implement the tactics. Any kind of project action plan can be used like critical patch or Grant chart. Following is the Grant chart which reflects a two-year action plan for Fragrance Direct: Table 1. Grant chart for Fragrance Direct Activity April 2009 June 2009 July 2009 Dec 2009 Jan 2010 March 2010 April 2010 September 2010 Oct. 2010 Dec. 2010 Jan 2010 March 2011 Get approval for new product development Product development Build information/brochure Run banner campaign on website Offline press launch of new products Website update C- Control (measurement, monitoring, reviewing and modifying). In any marketing planning, details should be added about how the plan would be monitored, measured and controlled. If any components of the plan are not working it should be reviewed, modified if necessary even should be stopped. The following diagram shows a two-year Control system for Fragrance Direct: Table 2. Model of Control systems for Fragrance Direct (two-years) Quantified objectives Means of measuring Frequency of measurement (quarterly) Accountability Cost Action (Who needs to be alerted?) Building information/brochure June 2009 Marketing executive  £2000 Marketing executive à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Sept. 2009 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Dec. 2009 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. March 2010 June 2010 Sept. 2010 Dec. 2009 March 2011 The 3Ms In any marketing plan all company resources required to be included. Smith Taylor (1997) state that the three resources, 3Ms, cover: 1. Men/Women (the human resources) Skilled professionals (men/women) need to brought in to make the organization run as well as existing human resources need to be retained with training, rewarding. However it was discussed before in the marketing mix people section. 2. Money (budget) 3. Minutes (time) These two points are discussed in the later section. Timeframe Any e-marketing plan must contain timescales, schedules and deadlines. It must take time for Fragrance Direct to analyze their recent market situation, targeting, segmentation, new product development, promotion campaign etc. So everything should be done according to timeframe as time seems often the most tight of the resources. Without a proper timeframe the marketing plan may get uncontrollable. There is a time frame for fragrance Direct: Table 3. Timeframe Activity Timing Market research 6 month Product development 3 month à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Projected budget An adequate budget is required in order to achieve the plan. Like any other retailer Fragrance Direct now have to face the tough competition from competitors. Retailers are cutting prices in a desperate bid to sell their goods. A research by Ramasesham (2000) found that even prices are cut to a level where extra sales are made at a tiny gross margin. At the same time retailers are facing cost rises which are in many cases higher than the rise in selling prices. The following projected budget is made according to Ramasesham (2000) research where he investigated from marketing budget how much money should be spent in different marketing activities e.g. 33% of total marketing budget should be spent for advertising and so on. Table 4. Projected marketing budget Item of Percentage of total marketing expenditure accounted for by item Advertising 33 Promotion 15 Personal selling 28 Storage 2 Order filling 4 Delivery 2 Clerical sales, accounting 5 General and administrative 5 Research 1 Credit 1 Others 4 Total 100 Recommendations conclusion Fragrance direct is a successful company who posseses the ability to offer products at great prices, whilst still concentrating on a high level of service. So it is possible for them to out perform their rival and increase market share if they have been able to follow a perfect strategic marketing plan. It is strongly recommended that they strictly follow the suggested two-year strategic marketing paln in accordane with tight controlling measures. It is also recommened that this is the time to concentratte on suggested marketing segment, penetrate the market with new developed products and apprppriate marketing mix. References Armstrong, G. Kotler, P. (2007) Marketing: An introduction. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Prentice Hall Brassington, F. Pettitt, S. (2006) Principles of Marketing. 4th edition. England: Pearson Education Limited Fragrance Direct (2009) About Us [online] http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/Customer-Services/About-Us/page/aboutus [accessed 9 April, 2009] Kotler, P. Armstrong, G. (2006) Principles of Marketing. 11th edition. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Prentice Hall Ramasesham, B. (2000) Research Note: Marketing Budgeting Practices of Retailers Retailers Marketing Budgeting. Smith, P. R. Chaffey, D. (2005) e Marketing eXcellence. 2nd edition. Oxford, England: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Smith, P. R. Taylor, J. (1997) Marketing Communications. 4th edition. London: Kogan Page

Whistle Blowing

Whistle Blowing We live in a complicated society. Every decision that we make is based upon our health, safety, economic and human rights. At times the decisions made are by the corrupt, incompetent and lazy, which leads to the compromise of the ethical standards of our society. Accidents happen or corruption flourishes because of employees who know about the wrong doings but are afraid of losing their jobs. In the modern society, the importance of whistle blowing is increasingly being recognized as a measure to reduce corruption and avoid dangerous situations by encouraging the disclosure of unethical, illegal or prohibited activities performed by private institutions or the government. It also helps to improve the inter-organizational culture and helps improve internal management and efficiency. Definition Whistle blowing is a process by which a person claims an occurrence of wrongdoing in or by an organization. Usually the person belongs to the organization and is at a personal risk himself. The allegations made may be internal (to people within the organization e.g. colleagues, subordinates etc.) or external (to people outside the organization e.g. law enforcement agencies, media, regulators etc.). U.S academics Marcia P.Miceli and Janet P.Near set the academic standard for whistleblowing in 1982 as Disclosure of organizations members (former or current) disclosure of illegal, immoral or illegitimate practices under the control of their employees to persons or organizations that may be able to effect action. They have defined whistle blowing as a four step process: A triggering event occurs involving questionable, unethical or illegal activities, and this leads to an employee to consider blowing the whistle. The employee engages in decision making, assessing the activity and whether it involves wrong doing, gathering additional information, and discussing situation with others. The employee exercises voice by blowing the whistle; alternatively the employee could leave the organization, or remain silent out of loyalty or neglect. The organizational members react to, and possibly retaliate against the whistleblower. Common Reactions Around the globe, whistle blowers have been hailed as heroes or selfless martyrs for revealing fraud and corruption in organizations and preventing potential disasters. They may relate to the cover up harmful diseases like SARS in China to the revealing of theft of millions of dollars of public money in Kenya. However, in many cases whistleblowers face severe ramifications for their actions. They end up losing their jobs and being ostracized for their activities. Some may be charged with violation of employee contracts and the dangers might be physical at extreme. It is therefore probable that a lot of people refrain from blowing the whistle due to the fear of retaliation or damaging relationships at work or private life. Utility of Whistle blowing Information revealed by whistleblowers is usually highly critical for the society. In China, Dr Jiang Yanyong possibly saved a million lives by revealing the extent to which the SARS virus had spread even though he was ordered by the authorities not to. In the corporate world, Sherron Watkins of Enron blew the whistle over the financial problems of the company internally which eventually led to the exposure of the scam and the arrest of the top officials. Whistle blowing is also important for improving the internal efficiency of the organization since the employees are the first to know about the problems and early disclosure can lead to remedy of the problem sooner. A 2002 study by KPMG found that around 25 percent of problems reported in an company in Australia was by whistleblowers while the same statistic was 44 percent in Africa. The essence of whistleblowing lies in the fact that staff are able to by-pass the line of their superiors since at times that might be the area where the problem arises and hence they are able to go outside in case they believe that the whole organization is in an improper course. Effective whistleblowing is therefore a necessity for a healthy organizational culture, good governance. Successful whistle blowing is when concerns inside the organization could be raised with confidence, properly investigated and addressed when necessary. Barriers to whistle blowing 1. Fear of retaliation One of the largest barriers in todays organizations against whistle blowing is retaliation against the disclosure. Retaliation can vary from minor harassment in certain cases to the extremity of costing ones life. In a typical case, the employee who blows the whistle would be put under pressure to rescind his words and refrain from further disclosures. Some of the common practices of retaliation are : Marginalise the employee by taking away the job duties. Blacklist the employee so that he cant gain further employment. Conduct retaliatory investigations in order to divert attention from the matter and abuse the whistleblower. Question whistle blowers professional competence, honesty and mental health. Reassign the employee so that he/she is unable to do the job At times, retaliation becomes extreme as Satyendra Dubey was murdered after he revealed corruption on a road project. 2. Legal liability There are significant legal barriers to whistle blowing in several countries. At times there are no significant laws or acts for whistle blowing(e.g. India). These include the traditional laws to respect the employer, act in his best interests etc. There may also be secret laws in institutions to punish whistle blowers and deter further whistle blowing. a. Duty of loyalty and confidentiality Many countries in Asia have is the duty of loyalty and fidelity to the employer. This usually deters an employee from expressing personal opinion or revealing internal information. The Indian Law Reform Commission has recently recognized that while a public servant might be subject to the duty of confidentiality, it doesnt extend to remain silent regarding the corrupt activities of other public servants. The public interest is better served if maladministration and corruption are exposed. b. Secret Acts In most common wealth countries the state has criminal laws prohibiting the release of military and state laws by officials and outsiders. e.g. Pakistan Officials Secret Acts, 1923 makes illegal the disclosure of any information that has been entrusted to him by confidence by any person holding office or to which he has access due the position he holds. These laws thus generate a significant barrier to anti corruption efforts and genrally prohibit disclosure of information without permisiion. In Malaysia, the opposition leader Mohd Ezan Mohd Noor was prosecuted in 2000 under the OSA for releasing police reports of corruption by high level government officials. In London, a whistle blower who revealed that the London police force had released incorrect statements regarding the shooting of an innocent man was also arrested. These laws are also used in political cases. c. Libel In many countries, defamation and libel laws are used to deter the whistle blowers. Power figures and senior officials use their power to threaten the whistle blowers as they can use the court systems to their advantage. In Singapore, National Kidney Foundation suppressed the whistle blowers from revealing wastage of money on first class tickets, excessive salaries etc by using defamation laws and forced apologies. Finally when a major media company refused to bow down, the story was fully disclosed. d. Other Laws There also exists a possibility of criminal or civil charges under laws such as trade secrets or theft. In some countries companies also require that workers sign confidentiality clauses. In Australia, an American who doubted the safety of the new Airbus 380 is facing criminal and civil charges by his ex employer after going public with the potential design flaws. 3. Cultural Barriers There are at times significant cultural barriers to whistle blowers which see whistle blowers as dobbers, sneaks or narks. Some of this comes from the abuses to informants historically. In Nazi occupied regimes, the Soviet Union, Aparthied- era South Africa, informants and anonymous denunciations were often used for maintain power. The organization culture is also equally important. The disclosure of information to outsiders can feel like a betrayal and hence whistle blowers often feel social sanctions for their disclosures. At times, even though formal laws are absent, being shunned or being side lined in the organization can place certain amount of pressure on individuals. Whistleblowers Laws and Protection Initiatives All the countries do not have a legal protection act for the whistleblowers. Legal protection for whistleblowers mostly differs on the basis of the country, state in which malpractice occurred and also the subject matter of whistleblowing. The first law that protected whistle blowers was the US Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912. It guaranteed the right of federal employees to furnish information to Congress. According to the Act, the causes that encourage the efficiency in the service are defined as the just causes. It goes on to say that the right of employees to furnish information to either House of Congress, or to a committee or Member thereof, may not be interfered with or denied. The U.S. Whistleblowers Protect Act of 1989 (amended in 1994) was established to protect public interest disclosures which were made by federal employees. For aiding whistleblowers in the investigation and to prevent retaliatory action against them, an Office of Special Counsel (OSC) was created. But it was not very successful because of a series of hostile judicial rulings which undercut the protection that was afforded by the Act. A similar or even stronger legislation has been passed by more than 40 states in respect of State employees. The U.S. Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 in the aftermath of the debacle of Enron and WorldCom which provided for granting sweeping legal protection for whistleblowers in publicly traded companies. Any retaliation against a corporate whistleblower can now lead to imprisonment for up to 10 years. The Department of Labour (DoL) must complete its adjudication of cases relating to whistleblowers within 180 days. If not then whistleblower has following options he may opt to remain with DoL or ask for ade novotrial in court. Following are the remedies reinstatement, damages for compensation, pay back with interest, fees for attorney, special damages and costs. The U.K.s Public Interest Disclosure Act of 1998 is a one of its kind piece of legislation in the sense that it provides protection to employees in the public, private and non-profit sectors, which includes those working outside the U.K. It provides a framework of legal protection for individuals who disclose information so as to expose malpractice and matters of similar concern. It protects whistleblowers from persecution and dismissal. Under the law, employment tribunals have power to `freeze a dismissal and make unlimited compensation awards. The U.K. example has been followed by South Africa to provide protection to employees of all organisations through its Protected Disclosures Act of 2000. Other countries like Australia, South Korea, Canada, Argentina, Slovakia, Russia, Mexico and Nigeria have enacted or are in the process to enact whistleblowers protection legislation (but only to government employees). United Nations Convention against Corruption (2005) The most significant international instrument on whistleblowing is the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Work on the Convention began in December 2000 and the final version was approved by the General Assembly in October 2003. It was adopted in December 2005 after it was ratified by 30 countries. As of now, it has been signed by 140 countries and ratified by 47. Article 32 on the Protection of witness, experts and victims provides for protections of witnesses and experts and their relatives from retaliation including limits on disclosure of their identities. More fundamentally, Article 33 on Protection of reporting persons envisions countries adopting protections for reporting of corruption by any person. The UN Office on Drugs and Crimes Anti-Corruption Toolkit notes that Article 3 is advancement on previous agreements such as the 2000 Convention against Transnational Organized Crime which only protects witnesses and experts. The Toolkit extensively covers whistleblowing and recommends legal and administrative measures for reporting and protection including compensation, creation of ombudsman institutions to receive complaints, the creation of hotlines, and limits on libel and confidentiality agreements. To date, only a few of the countries that have ratified the treaty have adopted comprehensive whistleblower laws and another dozen have adopted limited provisions. UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression The Un Special Rapporteur has also recognized that whistleblowing is an important aspect of freedom of expression. In 2000, Abid Hussain criticized the use of state security and other laws against individuals disclosing information in the public interest. In December 2004, UN Rapporteus Ambeyi Ligabo joined with the Special Representatives on freedom of expression and the media from the OAS and OSCE in a statement on free expression calling for national governments to adopt better protections Whistleblowers releasing information on violations of the law, on wrongdoing by public bodies, on a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, or on a breach of human rights or humanitarian law should be protected against legal, administrative or employed-related sanctions if they act in good faith. Protecting Whistleblowers in India There are no legislations in India to protect whistleblowers here. There have increasingly been the cases of corporate or political scams and which have cost taxpayers heavily including the banks and investors to the amount of thousands of crores of rupees. A Whistleblowers Protection Act is more important for India than it was for the U.S. and the U.K. It can be a strong tool for ensuring good governance in the country if worked in congruence with the Freedom of Information Act. At this moment we are in dire need of public interest groups like the ones on the lines of Government Accountability Project and the National Whistleblower Centre in the U.S., and the Public Concern At Work in the U.K. These will help in safeguarding the rights of whistleblowers rights and defend the employees against any retaliation. In the act of protecting whistleblowers, we are maybe unknowingly also protecting ourselves. In the case of legal protection also many employees might feel hesitant to, but the very existence of whistleblowers will discourage government and corporate wrongdoings to a considerable event. Based on the experiences of other countries the following set of general principles could usefully be the guidelines for the effective Indian legislation regarding the subject: With the consent of the State governments, Parliament should try and enact a single Act for all employees who work in any tier of government. This shall also include employees working in any organisation be it the private or voluntary sector. It shall also include employees of contractors, sub-contractors and agents of an organisation; former employees and overseas employees; applicants for employment, auditors and attorneys should also be covered. The Official Secrets Act should be outlawed. This will provide for a public interest defence. Also the `gagging clauses in severance or employment contracts should be nullified for public interest disclosures. It makes no sense to ask if the Acts protection should include members of such organizations as the armed forces, the police and the secret services. But it must be made sure of that the disclosures shall not harm operations or endanger the lives of the concerned personnel. Unless the Contempt of Courts Act is first amended to provide for a public interest defence, the judiciary shall remain outside its purview. The whistleblowers information about a malpractice must be substantially true, and consequently the whistleblower must act in the good faith and true spirit. In the case of the calls that are not legitimate or are anonymous the whistleblower should not be provided protection with. The period given to file a complaint must be such long so as to provide him sufficient time (say, 1 year). There should be a clear definition of what constitutes public interest disclosures. Following can be the disclosures to which protection can be provided illegal or criminal act(s), breach of regulatory law, miscarriage of justice, danger to public health or safety or property and any damage to environment, including attempts which are intended to cover up these malpractices. The Act must be constituted in such a way so as to encourage employees to first raise the matter within the organization and mandate organisations to establish proper mechanisms for this purpose. When it is not reasonable to raise the matter within the organization, or where attempts to solve the matter from within have been unsuccessful, employees who make an external disclosure in a specified way should also be protected. It remain a matter of debate that what should be the specified way. By general wisdom, apart from certain designated offices which may include SEBI, Pollution Control Boards, etc., public interest disclosures to such personalities as MPs and MLAs; employee unions; and reputed public interest groups must be protected. Disclosures made to the media may also be protected in some cases but in such a case the whistleblower must carry the burden of proof. The protection should include any and all forms of retaliation and the possible solutions could be on the same lines as in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including criminal liability for retaliation. To carry out timely adjudication of cases there should be a fast track mechanism similar to that of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Decisions have to be made on the points that whether the existing Administrative and other tribunals should be strengthened to do the job or new agencies should be created. Some Famous Cases of Whistleblowing Sherron Watkins, an accountant in Enron blew the whistle for the company. She raised suspicions of accounting improprieties to Enron Chairman, Kenneth Lay. She also warned about Jeffrey Skilling (Chief Executive Oficeer), Fastow (Chief Financial Officer) and other executives who were duping the company. The Chairman just asked an outside law firm, to investigate about it. Before Enron finally declared bankruptcy, Watkins once again informed the chairman that the financial partnerships set up by the huge Houston energy company would prove disastrous and potentially destroy Enron. Coleen Rowley, a special agent with FBI, initially served in the Omaha, Nebraska and Jackson, Mississippi Divisions. After the 2001 attacks, Rowley wrote a paper to FBI Director, Robert Mueller, explaining that the FBI HQ personnel in Washington DC had ignored the warnings given by Minneapolis, Minnesota Field Office. In May of 2002, Rowley brought some of the pre 9-11 lapses to light and testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee about some of the endemic problems faced by FBI and the intelligence community. As a result, the FBI cleared a new Office of Intelligence and expanded the FBI personnel. Frank Serpico is yet another whistleblower. He joined the New York Police Department (NYPD) as a Probationary Officer in the year 1959. In 1967, Frank made his first formal report about the widespread, systematic police corruption, but the police department failed to do anything about it. He gave a complaint to the police Commissioner and the Mayor, but they ignored him. Frustrated, Serpico exposed the NYPD wrongdoings in The New York Times in 1971. Later, he was shot in the face during a raid. None of his colleagues came to help him. Later, Frank was promoted to the rank of detective and was given a gold shield. In May 1972, Frank was awarded the NYPDs Medal of Honor for his honesty and bravery in fighting corruption. Serpico quit NYPD in 1972. Jeffrey Wignand, Vice-President for tobacco research and development at Brown Williamson became the whistleblower on Bg Tobacco, telling how the industry minimized tobaccos health and safety issues. In a 1995 CBS news interview, 60 minutes, he went on speaking about the companys knowledge of nicotines addictive properties, its reckless use of harmless additives, its quashing of research on safe cigarettes, and a variety of other abuses. He was the center witness in the US governments lawsuit against the tobacco industry, which eventually led to the $246bn federal tobacco settlement. Later, Wignand formed a non-profit organization to educate children about health issues and reduce the usage of tobacco among teenagers. Examples of Whistle blowing from India Satyendra Dubey Talk of whistle blowing in the Indian context and one of the first cases that comes to the mind is that of NHAI engineer Satyendra Dubey. Satyendra Dubey, was one of those rare young men who was completely and uncomplicatedly honest. An engineer from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and working for National Highway Authority of India, Satyendra Dubey was supervising construction of the Prime Ministers dream project in the Koderma division in Jharkhand as a part of the Golden Quadrilateral project. In August 2003 he was transferred to Gaya. At Gaya, he exposed large-scale flouting of NHAI rules regarding sub-contracting and quality control. Meanwhile, faced with the possibility of high-level corruption within the NHAI, Dubey wrote directly to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, detailing the financial and contractual irregularities in the project. Despite a direct request that his identity be kept secret and despite the letters sensitive content, accusing some of Dubeys su periors, the letter along with bio-data was forwarded immediately to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. Dubey faced several threats following this. On November 27, 2003, Dubey was found shot dead in the suburb of A.P. Colony in Gaya while he was returning from a wedding from Varanasi. Satyendra Dubeys death sparked off widespread public protest and highlighted the need and urgency of a whistleblowing act. It exposed the high levels of unethical practices being practiced in the uppermost echelons of the ministries and the unholy nexus with the mafia. Shanmugam Manjunath Another glaring example of the apathy faced by the whistle blowers in India is that of the Indian Oil engineer Shanmugam Manjunath. Manjunath was a marketing manager for the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) who was murdered for blewing the whistle on a scheme to sell impure gasoline. An MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow, Manjunath worked for IOC in Lucknow. While there, he had ordered two petrol pumps at Lakhimpur Kheri to be sealed for selling adulterated fuel for three months. On November 19, 2005, Manjunath was found dead in the backseat of his own car, his body riddled with at least six bullets. M N Vijaykumar M N Vijaykumar is an IAS officer in the southern state of Karnataka. He has a penchant for disciplining colleagues who supplement their modest salaries with bribes, kickbacks and garden-variety pilferage. He exposed serious corrupt practices at high levels. His wife, J N Jayashree, set up a website detailing her husbands efforts to fight corruption, and to safeguard her husbands life. Other Examples of Whistle blowing from Asia Yoichi Mizutani blew the whistle on a scam by Snow Brand Food Co. in 2002 while working as the president of a Japanese storage company named Nishinomiya Reizo. Snow had been mislabelling Australian beef as domestic beef so that it could benefit from the beef buy-back program of the government which was issued after an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) in Japan. Mizutanis reward was an order from the Construction Transport Ministry company to suspend operations a suspension that lasted 16 months during investigation of the scam. Nishinomiya was eventually cleared of participation in Snows scheme. Myron A. Mehlman was the former director of toxicology and manager of Mobil Oils Environmental Health and Science Laboratories. He claimed that Mobil incorrectly reported results of his toxicological testing of Mobil products to company officials and outside agencies. Mehlman held his position from 1978 until he was fired in 1989. He supervised about 100 employees in conducting tests and safety evaluations of Mobils petrochemical products, including gasoline. Mehlman had warned that the true benzene levels in gasoline and other Mobil products posed a serious hazard to the public health and environment and that they should be reduced and that Mobil products should be modified. After his firing, Mehlman successfully sued Mobil charging that the company systematically covered up environmental and human health problems. Sibel Deniz Edmonds is a Turkish-American. She had worked as a FBI translator and founder of the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC). In March, 2002, she had accused a colleague of covering up illicit activity involving foreign nationals and also alleged that there were serious acts of security breaches, cover-ups, and intentional blocking of intelligence which according to her were a danger to the United States security. Following this she was fired from her position as a specialist of language at the FBIs Washington Field Office. Since that time, court proceedings on her whistleblower claims have been blocked by the assertion of State Secrets Privilege. On March 29, 2006, she was awarded the PEN/Newmans Own First Amendment Award in recognition of her defense of free speech as it applies to the written word. Marlene Garcia-Esperat (August 29, 1959 March 24, 2005 in Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat, Philippines) was a Filipina whistleblower and investigative journalist who wrote a weekly anti-graft column for local newspapers. As a result of her anti-corruption work, she was murdered in her own home. Her case is significant, as it is the first in the 56 murders of Filipino journalists since 1986 for which the people ultimately responsible were identified, in addition to the people directly involved. Esperat, as former employee of the Department of Agriculture in Central Mindanao (DA-12) and Midland Review, Tacurong City columnist, exposed the alleged Jocelyn Jocjoc Bolante fertilizer funds scam, in which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was implicated. Dr. Ramin Pourandarjani (9 June 1983 10 November 2009) was an Iranian physician who examined prisoners who were wounded or killed during the 2009 Iranian elections protests. He had reported on the state use of tortureon political prisoners. He died under suspicious circumstances on November 10, 2009, at the age of 26. Tehrans public prosecutor Abbas Dowlatabadi said Ramin Pourandarjani died of poisoning from a delivery salad laced with an overdose of blood pressure medication. The findings fueled opposition fears that he was killed because of what he knew. Pourandarjani had worked as a physician at the Kahrizak detention center. Iranian authorities earlier had claimed at various points that Pourandarjani had been injured in a car accident, committed suicide, or died of a heart attack in his sleep at the health center at the police headquarters in Tehran where he worked. The Future of Whistleblowing The following are some of the principles for whistleblowing legislation based on international best practice that should be considered when developing new legislation. The work of the OAS Working Group is also a valuable resource including the Model Law on whistleblowing developed a few years ago: Broad Coverage The law should have a broad coverage. It should apply to public and private sector employees and also those who may face retribution outside the employer-employee relationship such as consultants, former employees, temporary workers, students, benefit seekers, family members and others. It should also apply to national security cases. Protection against retribution The law should have a broad definition of retribution that covers all types of job sanctions, harassment, loss of status or benefits, and other detriments. Employees should be also to seek interim relief to return to the job while the case is pending or be allowed to seek transfers to other equivalent jobs within the organization if return to the existing one is not advisable due to possible retribution. Protection of free speech The law should recognize that there is a significant importance in free speech whistleblowing. Public interest and harm tests should be applied to each release of any information that could have been released under FOI cannot be sanctioned. Confidentiality The law should allow for whistleblowers to request that their identity should remain confidential as far as possible. However, the body should make the person aware of the problems with confidentiality and also make clear that the protection is not absolute. Waiver of liability Any act of public disclosure should be made immune for liability under other acts such as Official Secrets and libel/slander laws. An even more significant move would be to eliminate archaic Official Secrets Acts such as already has been done in New Zealand. Compensation Compensation should be broadly defined to cover all losses and place the person back at their previous situation. This should include any loss of earnings and further earnings. This loss should not be capped. There should also be provisions to pay for pain and suffering incurred because of the release and any retaliation. Rewards In some cases, whistleblowers should be rewarded for making disclosures that result in important recovery of funds or discoveries of wrongdoing. Qui Tam cases, such as have been used in the US, may be an appropriate mechanism for recoveries. Disclosure Procedures The law should set up reasonable procedures to encourage and facilitate internal procedures to disclosure wrongdoing. However, the procedures should be straightforward and easily allow for disclose outside organizations to higher bodies, legislators and the media in cases where it is likely that the internal procedure would be ineffective. There should be easy access to legal advice to facilitate disclosures and reduce misunderstandings. No sanctions for misguided or false reporting The law should not allow for criminal sanctions against whistle blowers who make false disclosures. The disclosure might have been made in good faith. In case of delibarate falsehood, normal sanctions such as a loss of job should be sufficient. Extensive training and publication The