Legal Aid

â€Å"It is difficult to judge the success of reforms in legal aid provision as we lack agreement on the aims and objectives of a legal aid system†. Discuss. INTRODUCTION Legal aid helps with the costs of legal advice for people who can’t afford it. If anyone needs help with the costs of legal advice, he can apply for legal aid. Whether he   will receive it depends on: the type of legal problem he has; his income (how much he earn) and how much capital (money, property, belongings) he has; whether there is a reasonable chance of winning his case and whether it is worth the time and money needed to win.The legal aid scheme was set up after World War 2 by the  Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949[1]  in UK. The Legal Aid system was mainly introduced to help people who otherwise would not be able to afford it, to gain access the courts. It therefore enabled them to get a fair hearing and resolve legal problems. Legal Aid is central to a society based on social justice. It i s there to help everyone who really needs it. And by reducing discrimination based on a person’s financial standing, it enables fair access for all to the courts.We have to remember that before Legal Aid was introduced, many people could not afford to get the protection of our legal system due to the high costs involved. Thus, the aim of the Legal Services Commission[2]  is to make quality legal aid accessible to everyone thereby ensuring effective delivery of justice and legal advice. The aims and objectives of it are, * help people to resolve their legal problems as soon as possible * make it easier for people to get legal help especially if they belong to a disadvantaged group * help people find alternatives to going to court Provide a high quality legal service. HISTORY OF LEGAL AID SYSTEM Prior to  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[3]  in UK, legal aid service was based upon demand laid system. The system became increasingly expensive to run while catering for fewer and fewer people. In 1950, 80% of the community was covered by legal aid provision. In 1998, the provision of legal aid had fallen to less than 40%[4]. From the mid 1980s, various Lord Chancellor tried to reform the system. Their task was made acute by the fact that expenditure on legal aid doubled to ? 1. 4 billion over a four year period to 1995.A variety of reforms were attempted. Payment systems were changed, eligibility criteria revised and control shifted from the Law Society to the Legal Aid Board (Legal Aid Act 1998)[5]. In 1997, Labour government suggested that there might be a change in the direction of legal aid policy[6]. A number of the changes have been made by the  Children Act – 1989[7]  and the  Courts and Legal Services Act – 1990[8]. In 1993, two significant changes were made. Standard fees for criminal legal aid in the Magistrates Courts were introduced and the practice of franchising was initiated.However, over the past seven years, the cost of civil and family legal aid had tripled which meant; the taxpayers were paying more and getting less in return. The problem was not simply the rising costs. As fewer people were becoming eligible for legal aid, it would appear that expenditure was not accompanied by an increase in value for money. Therefore, in 1996, Lord Mackay capped the legal aid budget[9]. CHANGES AND ADVANTAGES IN LEGAL AID SYSTEM Following the  Access to Justice (AJA) Act – 1999, there had been many changes in legal aid system in UK.Access to Justice (AJA) Act – 1999  established a Legal Service Commission[10](LSC) to maintain and develop the Community Legal Service[11]  (CLS), replaced of civil legal aid and Criminal Defense Service, replaced of criminal legal aid. Section 5 of Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[12]  provides the budget for the Legal Service Commission (LSC) to maintain the Community Legal Service (CLS) fund. The Legal service Commission (LSC) funds th ese services by entering into contracts with solicitors by way of a franchise. The main aim for introducing the franchise scheme was to secure value for money.Therefore, if solicitors feel that there are few chances of success in a case, they are deterred from expending money given to them by the Legal Service Commission (LSC). Thus, this leads to effective fund management on the part of the solicitors. Those who are ineligible for public funding, have to pay privately for legal services and this can be expensive. For this reason, the Lord Chancellor has developed the Conditional Fee Arrangement (CFA), which is a no win, no fee basis[13]. It was introduced by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 and was extended recently by the  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999.However, it does not apply in criminal case, family case etc. Under the  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999, not only the court can order a losing party to pay the costs and success fee to the winning pa rty, but it is also possible, by virtue of  Section 29, Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[14], to ensure against losing a case, which if won, the court may order the losing party to pay the cost of the insurance premiums. The Criminal Defense Service[15]  (CDS) was established under  Section 12 Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[16]  for the purpose of securing those individuals who are involved in criminal investigations or criminal proceedings.They have access to ‘such advice, assistance and representation as the interests of justice require’. It is funded in a similar way as Community Legal Service (CLS), by the issue of franchise contracts, grants or loans or through the establishing and maintaining of advice and assistance bodies. Moreover, a duty solicitor scheme, which is free, is available to those people who are arrested and held in custody at a police station. LIMITATIONS OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT (AJA) – 1999 However, despite the above, the legal aid service is still not very effective. There are lack of commitment and poor communication from the lawyers.Community centers and Law centers are more effective in providing help and assistance. There are lack of advisers in areas like social security, housing, disability discrimination, employment and immigration. There is a distinct problem of ‘Access to Justice’ in certain where there are no solicitors who do publicly-funded work. Even, those solicitors who do publicly-funded work cut back on the number of cases they take on due to low rates of pay. Beside, the statutory charge may mean that a claimant may have nothing left even though he/she has won the case. CARTER REVIEWIn 2006, Lord Carter, in his review, drew attention to the need to continue reforming legal aid[17]. The review was concerned with the design of an efficient procurement system that also contained quality guarantees. Thus, it was based on the notion of an open and responsive mark et. The review argued that cost increases because of systematic weakness in the way legal aid services are procured and therefore, inefficiencies increases in the way the services are delivered. The Carter review recommended that fees should be paid on a fixed or graduated scale. However, fixed fees will impact negatively on advice, particularly in more complex cases.This will eventually result into work being done by para-legals and less qualified advice workers. Some research available to Carter Review suggested that whereas small firms could provide criminal legal aid in an efficient manner, larger firms were not able to do the same. This would suggest that further research would be required on the impact of reform as it might drive out of the market those very firms that were best suited to provide value for money in provision of legal service. CONCLUSION Implementation of legal aid act in both developed and underdeveloped countries indicates government’s willingness to s erve the poor.However, the government must also ensure that the act is regularly reviewed to address loopholes. The Government should follow a strategy of continuous improvement. In order to judge the success of reforms in legal aid provision, it is necessary to first establish a set of criteria against which it will be evaluated. These criteria should be set by the Government officials, Judges, and Legal Aid experts. Few criteria that could be used to evaluate the system are given below. * Administrative efficiency with focus on the procedural aspects of legal aid applications. Easy access to the courts irrespective of claimant’s or defendant’s financial means. * Initiative to create awareness in rural areas, especially in under-developed countries. * Effect of legal aid on tax payers. It is also essential to have accessible legal aid services beyond the government organizations. An active partnership between and NGO and a government agency can play a very significant role in social service delivery. They compensate for each other’s weaknesses and deficiencies. However, the government has to balance the needs for legal aid with the pressuring needs of other social services such as healthcare and education.

La Liberte guidant le peuple

Art is beyond the limitations of country boundaries and its values should be shared by people from all over the world eternally. When talking about art, I have to say that France Is my favorite country for the representation of art, as the country has a long history for pursuing art and fashion since Louis XIV, the King of Sun, who Is a king keen on the pursuit of art and fashion. Therefore In this summer I took the opportunity to go to Louvre Museum In Paris to pay a visit to the famous 011 paintings in the museum.In this essay, I would like to choose one of the famous oil painting La Liberty guiding el people from my personal perspective of gendered art. On entering the museum, I could sense a strong atmosphere of history and a deep sense of reverence rose deep from my soul. Then I saw the famous painting drawn by Delicacies. In the middle of the painting is a young French lady who is calling on her villagers to fight against the Restoration of Bourbon in July Revolution.The woman is half naked in the upper part of her body, with her breasts out. On her right hand, she is holding a flag with three colors, which represent freedom, equality and philanthropist. Now the flag has become the national flag of the Republic of France. On her left hand, she was grasping a long gun with a sharp knife on It. Though she Is wearing a long dress, we can see her legs are powerful and firm, and she Is leading the soldiers to move forward across the dead bodies and the ruins of the bulldogs.The background of this painting is set before Notre Dame in Paris where there is full f the smokes from gunpowder, which shows that the war is in its hottest point. Most of the critiques believe that she is the symbol of freedom, with great passion and romantic characters. To look at the female in detail, we can find that this woman shows a temperament of masculinity different from her own gender.Different from John Burger's traditional opinion on man and woman in artistic works, which mean s that a man's presence is dependent upon the promise of power, while a women's presence expresses her own attitude to herself, or his belief that men focus on the outside while women focus on the inner part Noon Berger, 1 990), here a sense of cross-gender Identification Is emphasized In the work as a way of showing opposition to the old binary system. As a result, the symbolic meaning In this painting Is evident.Just as the view from feminist that â€Å"gender is a social construction† this painting seems to reconstruct our social norm about the binary system. Traditionally, gender is presented as biological and predetermined instead of a culturally constructed, external performance (Sloop, 2004). So although the women act like men, their female dies are inscribed with sexual frailty—a weakness that can only be matched by masculine strength as their rescuer is physically privileged (Sarah Cornfield, 2011).This painting seems to doubt that: why men should be prior to women? As is seen, on the left side of the painting, there is a dead, thin male body, whose lower part of the body Is naked. Also, beside the leg of the woman, there Is a male enemy whose seems to be begging for the forgiveness of the woman and the working class. These two characters are uncommon in the paintings, as they show the weakness of male In trench. Throughout the history of OLL painting, male Image seldom appears weaker than female image, according to the introduction of John Berger.What is more, on the painting: he is holding his gun high up his head alongside with the woman. Contrary to use a strong and matured male as the hero in the painting, the existence of a young boy, though not so powerful than a strong male, represents the hope emerging in the new world. On the left side of the woman, there are two men dressing very fashionably. They represent the emerging working class who are fighting against the Bourbon. But they are not the main characters in this painting, a s their existence is for the purpose to highlight to woman representing freedom.After all, all of the unusual and creative arrangements by the painter here in fact want to suggest us that everything old will be ruined and a new social norm based on love freedom and equality will be set up in the future. To sum up, the bold imagination, the rich implied meanings in this work all contribute to its successes during the whole history. This painting gives us a romantic and ideal feeling in the severe war, and constructs our traditional conception on gender, that women not always appear as a weak image and women can be more powerful men to some extent.However, in the same time I also admit the fact that differences between male and female do exist. And in the whole painting history, as Berger has pointed out, the â€Å"ideal† is always assumed to be male and the image of the woman is designed to flatter him. In my opinion, as long as the painting present people with the aesthetic c haracters of masculinity and femininity instead of torturing them. I admire the painter Eugene

Is consociational democracy democratic? Essay

Today, democracy is both a pervasive presence and a valued symbol in European politics1. Theorists of the concept generally agree on the fundamental principles of democracy but have tended to differ radically in their conception of popular rule and democratic practices2. Consequently, it was somewhat inevitable that democracy as an ideal emerged in different forms across the diverse societies prevalent in Western Europe. Arend Lipjphart’s seminal work on ‘consociational democracies’3 contributed to democratic theory – concerned primarily with political stability of democratic regimes in plural societies4. The democratic viability of Lipjphart’s theory has recently been called into question however5. What then is ‘democracy’? Establishing the benchmarks of the concept at the outset will allow us to evaluate the extent to which ‘consociational democracy’ can be seen as ‘democratic’. An assessment of the key themes of Lipjphart’s theory – that of ‘grand coalitions’, ‘segmental autonomy’, ‘proportionality’ and ‘minority veto’ respectively – will set the structure to the following discussion. Drawing examples from the Belgian and Swiss ‘consociational’ regimes will provide illustrations of the emerging argument that consociational democracy is undemocratic6. Abraham Lincoln famously described the concept of ‘democracy’ as ‘government of the people, by the people, for the people’7. Lincoln’s prominent phrase encapsulates three fundamental principles, which, roughly translated, mean that we as citizens govern through political parties representing our interests; exercise our choice through franchise to elect those in control; and have the right to hold persons in power accountable for their actions. Moreover, the fourth striking characteristic noted by academics is that democracy represents political stability8. For Lipjphart, â€Å"consociational democracy means government by elite cartel designed to turn a democracy with a fragmented political culture into a stable democracy†9. ‘Grand coalitions’ would be used to prevent cultural diversity from being transformed into â€Å"explosive cultural segmentation†10. Politics, by its very nature, feeds on conflicts arising from social heterogeneity11 and the stability of divided societies often depends on whether the elites of rival subcultures are willing and able to reject confrontation in favour of compromise12. A grand coalition enables political leaders of all the segments of the plural society to jointly govern the country13. Nobel prize winning economist Sir Arthur Lewis endorses the system by arguing that all who are affected by a decision should have the chance to participate in making that decision, because â€Å"to exclude losing groups from participation clearly violates the primary meaning of democracy†14. In this sense, by embracing the notion of grand coalition, consociationalism can be said to be ‘democratic’15. There is, however, evidence to suggest that in practice the principle of ‘grand coalition’ does not adhere closely to the benchmarks of democracy. The Belgian governmental arena has overall remained fairly closed to non-pillar parties, which seems to contradict the very essence of grand coalition government16. In Switzerland, even though the major parties are represented on roughly proportional grounds in the Federal Council, the representatives are not always those nominated by the party17. Does this lie comfortably with the initial conception of democracy as government ‘of the people’? What of accountability? Since the Federal Council makes its decisions in a collegial manner, no party can hold its representative government directly responsible18. The Swiss consociational system cannot therefore be said to be truly accountable to the electorate – contrary to one of the fundamental principles of democracy19. Moreover, the Swiss referendum system has often highlighted flaws inherent in a ‘grand coalition’. Although the outcome of a policy decision is one of ‘amicable agreement’ among the elite, it might be opposed by 49% of the electorate at referendum20. Papadopoulos argues that the major problem stems from the fact that, since some decisions are taken at the end of the process by popular vote, it effectively excludes any further appeal or bargaining21. Can the ‘grand coalition’ system truly coincide with the democratic principle of representativeness if binding collective decisions may be taken on very small popular majorities?22 Furthermore, since accommodating strategies are not always effective, they are more easily gridlocked23 and potentially unstable24. Consequently, it seems that elite accommodation does not fulfil its proposed stabilising function and thus does not conform to the ultimate proposition of democratic stability. In all democracies power is necessarily divided to some extents between the central and non-central governments in order to avoid a concentration of power25. The ‘consociational’ school, inspired by the writings of Tocqueville, sees decentralisation of power as the essence of democratic government26. The principle of ‘segmental autonomy’ seeks to ensure that decision-making authority is, as much as possible, delegated to the separate subdivisions of society whereas issues of common interest are decided jointly. In contrast with majority rule, it may be characterised as â€Å"minority rule over the minority itself in matters that are their exclusive concern†27. This follows from Jan-Erik Lane’s proposition that all societal groups will respect the rules of democracy if they have autonomy over their own affairs28. Federalism is the best-known method of giving segmental autonomy to different groups in society. Segmental autonomy may also be provided on a non-territorial basis which is of particular relevance to plural societies where distinct sub-societies are not geographically concentrated. Such non-territorial autonomy characterised the Belgian system prior to its transformation into a federal state in 1993. Switzerland is also a federal state in which power is divided between the central government and a number of cantonal governments. Both systems, according to Tocqueville’s analysis, are conducive to democracy. It is evident that one of the subsidiary characteristics of segmental autonomy in the form of federalism is that the smaller component units are overrepresented in the federal chamber – their share of legislative seats exceeds their share of the population29. The maximum extension of this principle seems to be equality of representation regardless of the component units’ population. Such parity is evident in Switzerland where two representatives stand for each canton. Can an overrepresentation of minorities be truly democratic if it disregards the will of the majority? Moreover, the form segmental autonomy takes in the Netherlands is that pillar organisations in areas such as education, health care and housing are recognised and financed by the government. Each organisation has considerable influence in the running of their policy sector, but the increasing intervention of the state in imposing standards means that â€Å"the organisations that are autonomous in name are, in practice, quasi-governmental agencies†30. Thus, it can be argued that the pillars are to an extent no longer democratically representative of the societies they act for. What of democratic stability? In the Swiss context, highly decentralised federalism has been accused of being a hindrance of effective government31 and Belgium’s new system of federal consociationalism is bipolar, which is not always a good condition for its smooth operation32. â€Å"There can be no doubt that the adoption of a system of elected administrative officers plays a most vital part in the process of democracy†33. The notion of ‘proportionality’ serves as the basic standard of political representation34. The rule of proportionality, said to be so central to the ‘politics of accommodation’, attempts to ensure that all parties have access to state resources35. Indeed, it seems that if partisan conflict is multi-dimensional, a two-party system must be regarded as an â€Å"electoral straight jacket that can hardly be considered to be democratically superior to a multi-party system reflecting all of the major issue alternatives†36. Moreover, in two-party systems the party gaining an overall majority will tend to be overrepresented in parliament, whereas votes translate into seats proportionally through the adoption of proportional representation37. The Swiss consociational system, takes representation a step further through referenda, whereby the public effectively have a veto on state policy38. Thus, with regard to representation, it would seem that consociational democracy acquires the higher democratic ground. On the other hand, even if we concede that ‘proportionality’ is more ‘representative’, it is implicit that a defining characteristic of consociational democracy is the absence of competition since the campaigning is directed at the mobilization of the sub-cultural constituency, not at competition with other parties. Competition between parties is, however, a defining feature of democracy39, stemming from the notion of freedom and choice. Can non-competition be equated with absence of choice and thus be seen as undemocratic? Conversely, certain academics have argued that in its pure form the system of proportional representation â€Å"generally backfires and may turn out to be the kiss of death†40. Indeed, party volatilities may have significant consequences for the political process in consociational democracies41. The Swiss party system is highly fragmented42, and the increasing fractionalisation of the party system in Belgium has led to high volatility elections and instability43. Does this adhere to the democratic notion of stability? Moreover, in the Swiss context it may be argued that referendums are basically majoritarian in their effects, because they are usually decided by simple popular majorities. Indeed, it has been suggested that, due to the inability to discuss matters emerging in referenda, they are bound to be more dangerous than representative assemblies to minority rights44. Additionally, statistics show that the level of participation in Swiss referenda has been low – often below 50 per cent of those eligible to vote45. In the light of some assertions that ‘too many referenda kill democracy’46, can this aspect of proportionality in Swiss politics be described as democratic? The ‘grand coalition’ system of government serves to give each societal segment a share of power at the central level. There is no provide a guarantee, however, that the policy will not be outvoted by a majority when its primary objectives are contested47. The purpose of a ‘minority veto’48 in consociational democracies is to provide such a guarantee. The ‘minority veto’ tool provides a strong system of checks and balances and reinforces the notion of separation of powers at the heart of government. Indeed, academics have noted that Belgium’s federal state is â€Å"replete with checks and balances†49, and the notion of separation of powers in both Belgium and Switzerland manifests itself through a bicameral legislature with equal legislative powers. Consequently, it may be argued that the ‘minority veto’ sustains the democratic principle of holding the government to account. Does ‘mutual veto’ work in practice? One of the ‘rules of the consociational game’ was ‘the government’s right to govern’ with the corollary that the parties should not interfere thus allowing the government to â€Å"rise above inter-subcultural strife†. To a considerable degree, this â€Å"aloofness from party politics has given way to a politicisation of the cabinet by the governing parties†50, making the minority veto principle largely redundant. However, when it does have an effect, the reciprocal control of power inherent in mutual veto often results in mutual obstruction and blocked decision-making. Swiss constitutional amendments, for example, must be approved by a majority of the cantons – which effectively gives the smallest cantons, with less than 20 per cent of the population, a potential veto51. It is implicit in Switzerland that good solutions are often difficult to reach because the Federal council â€Å"does not observe the implicit rules of the accommodation game†52. Can a system that disregards the wishes of the majority be truly democratic? Some have even commented that â€Å"to admit the minority veto as a major and normal means of limiting power is to admit a shuddering principle†53. If you reward divisiveness through veto power, you institutionalise those divisions. In this light, Lipjphart’s machinery seems to engender â€Å"consensus-braking than consensus-making†54. Divisiveness and instability can hardly be reconciled with the traditional concept of democracy. Is consociational democracy democratic? Assessing the main themes of Lipjphart’s concept has highlighted â€Å"fundamental weaknesses† in consociational theory55. Even though ‘grand coalitions’ seek to represent all groups in society, the collegial manner of decision-making raises problems of accountability. ‘Segmental autonomy’ may be praised in theory, but it seems that in practice, smaller pillars tend to become institutionalised through heavy regulation at central level, thus negating the democratic essence of the notion. The concept of ‘proportionality’ aims at a fair distribution of power, yet the party volatilities produced as a result can hardly be conducive to democratic stability. Academics of the consociational school argue that ‘minority veto’ resolves the accountability deficit inherent in grand coalition government since it provides a system of checks and balances. On the other hand, critics contest that mutual veto encourages gridlock and frustration at the heart of administrations. The Swiss and Belgian experience has shown that consociational democracies tend to be stable, but are they stable because they are consociational56? At the very least, empirical evidence highlights a ‘democratic deficit’ in consociational theory57. 1 What democracy is and is not, p.70 2 http://www.xrefer.com/entry/343784 3 http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/spire/Staff/Pages/Luther/researchint.htm 4 Politics and Society in Western Europe, lane + ersson, p.156 5 http://www.xrefer.com/entry/343729 6 Consociationalism has been practiced in Belgium and Switzerland since 1945 and 1943 respectively. Note: It has been argued that the Swiss model does not strictly fit into the consociational mould (Barry, Review article), but for the purpose of this analysis we will discuss Switzerland due to its grouping as one of the four original identified ‘consociational’ societies (Paul Pennings, party elites in divided societies, p.21, also Kenneth D Mc Rae p.520) 7 http://www.xrefer.com/entry/343784 8 ‘On Liberty’, J.S. Mill, Cambridge University Press, 1989 9 Sited in Politics and Society in W Europe, lane + ersson p.157 10 The odd fellow, Switzerland, p.135 11 Politics and society in Western Europe, Neo Taqu. p.2 12 http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/spire/Staff/Pages/Luther/researchint.htm 13 Arend Lipjphart, Consociation and Federation p.500 14 W. Arthur Lewis, Politics in West Africa (London: George Allen and Unwin, 1965) p.64 15 Since 1959, Switzerland has been governed by a grand coalition of the four major political parties. The Belgian state is also maintained according to Luther’s framework of vertical linkage within the subcultures as well as engagement in overreaching accommodation to bridge the gap between the pillars (From consociation to federation, Belgium, p.104) 16 From consociation to federation, Belgium, p.98. In Belgium, to an increasing extent, the system of consociational accommodation became the ‘system’ of Christian Democrat and socialist cooperation. In 1999, the ‘natural’ centre left coalition has been in power for twelve years 17 Brian Barry, review article, p.482 18 The odd fellow, Switz, p.154 19 Indeed, it has been said that power and strict accountability for its use are the essential constituents of good government. Woodrow Wilson, Congressional Government: A study in American Politics (New York: Meridian Books, 1956) p.186 20 Brian Barry, review article, p.483 21 The odd fellow, Switz, p.138 22 In a multi-party system without a majority party, the coalition’s programme will be a compromise between the individual party platforms – a compromise made by political leaders instead of mandated directly by the voters. (Democracies, p.110) 23 Comparative constitutional engineering, p.71 24 Party Elites in divided societies, paul pennings, p.22 25 Democracies p.169 26 Politics and Society in Western Europe, Ersson + Lane, p.169 27 Lipjphart, consociation and federation, p.500 28 Lipjphart, consociation and federation, p.500 29 Democracies, p.173 30 Party elites in divided societies, Rudy Armstrong, p.124 31 The Swiss Labyrinth, p.25 32 From consoc. To fed. Belgium, p.107 33 European democracy between the wars, p.23 34 Consociation and federation, Lipjphart, p.501 35 Parties, Pillars, Rudy B. Andeweg, p.129 36 Democracies, p.113 37 Democracies, p.151. The two-party ‘leader’s bias’ was strongly illustrated in the UK in 1997, with Labour gaining 65 per cent of British seats on 45 per cent of the vote, while the Conservatives were under-represented in the commons (Dunleavy, Developments in British Politics p.147) 38 Indeed, Switzerland has developed â€Å"the theory and practice of the referendum to a pitch to which no other nation has begun to match† (Butler and Ranney, eds., Referendums:A Comparative Study of Practice and Theory (Washington, D.C.: American Enterprise Institute, 1978) p.5 39 What democracy is and is not p.70 40 Comparative constitutional engineering, p.73. It has been said that the dispersal of power across several minority parties adds profusion to confusion, Ibid. p.71 41 paul pennings, party elites, p.38 42 The odd fellow, p.141 43 From consociation to federation, Belgium, p.93. In ‘Democracy or Anarchy?’ Ferdinand A Hermens warned of the dangers proportional representation posed to the survival of democracy, arguing that the instability created by the latter would invoke the rise of autocratic regimes. (F.A. Hermens, Democracy or Anarchy? Astudy of Proportional Representation (New York: Johnson Reprint Corporation, 1972) p.293) 44 Democracies, p.31 45 The Swiss Labyrinth, p.5 46 The Swiss Labyrinth, p.5 47 Consociation and Federation, Lipjphart, p.501 48 Note: The term ‘minority veto’ will be used interchangeably with ‘mutual veto’ 49 From consociation to federation, Belgium, p.103. The Belgian constitution can only be changed by two-thirds majorities in both chambers of the legislature. This rule is effectively a minority veto where a minority or a combination thereof controls at least a third of the votes in one chamber. 50 Parties, Pillars and the Politics of accommodation, Andweg p.127 51 Democracies, p.190 52 The Swiss Labyrinth, p.27 53 Comparative Constitutional Engineering, p.71 54 Comparative constitutional engineering, p.72 55 http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journals/details/issue/abstract/ab013998.html 56 http://www.xrefer.com/entry/343729 57 Craig and De Burca p.155

Masculinity in Paul Laurence Dunbar's The Sport of the Gods Essay

Masculinity in Paul Laurence Dunbar's The Sport of the Gods - Essay Example Regardless of race, class or even geographic location, Dunbar presents the white men’s model of masculinity as the only embodiment of manhood. Responsibility represents an important aspect of masculinity the novel points out. This responsibility requires men to be heads of households and take care of their family. In fact, the South expects its men to be strong and hardworking in order to manage and secure their family needs. For instance, Maurice Oakley, a white man who owns a plantation, believes in this principle and urges his employees to follow his example. Married to Leslie Oakley, a docile and obedient woman who respects her southern values, Mr. Oakley fully plays his role. He especially encourages Berry Hamilton, his butler, to get married: It is then possible to see how Oakley's desire for Berry to find a wife (as he has found one) necessitates that Berry find a wife that is like his, one that embodies the role of an "appropriate" wife and has the disposition that wil l allow Berry to be the head of the household--or in this case, the house in the back of the "big house." Ultimately, Oakley wants Berry to become a black version of himself within the constraints of his own household. (Tsemo) Mr. Oakley wants his servant to marry a woman who will obey and respect him so that he can become a head of household. As the landlord, he urges his employees to follow his steps. When Berry Hamilton marries Fannie, he fulfills Mr. Oakley’s wish and becomes himself a head of household with all the responsibilities and expectations involved. Even though the two households differ because of the social status involved, both men exercise some authority over their wives. Despite their different racial and class background, their southern roots grant them power over their wives who also accept and even expect such role. Mr. Oakley and Berry not only share this privilege their gender grants them over their wives but they also share the same values. Born and ra ised in the South, they believe in the same set of principles and rules of conduct. Berry even raises his children, Joe and Kit, to respect and cherish these values as they grow up. Already a hardworking and trustworthy servant, Berry emulates his employer in his deed, actions and values (Tsemo). Despite their different social status, Berry even tries to follow Oakley’s economic principles by putting aside some money after his family expenses have been met. This economic organization allows him to live decently and save his family from need compared to other black men struggling to survive. This mild success costs him the envy and jealousy of the African American community that accuses him to imitate white people’s way of life. Even though both Oakley and Berry share the patriarchal powers they believe in, some of Oakley’s beliefs will ultimately cause Berry’s destruction. Accused of stealing money from Oakley’s cabinet, Berry is sentenced to 10 ye ars of prison. He therefore loses his head of household status as he leaves his helpless wife and children. This arrest affects his dignity, his reputation and even his manhood. The Southern Values he so much believes in fail to protect and save him and actually makes him an easy target for the accusation. Despite his 20 years of devoted and loyal service to Oakley, his race and class render him a suspect of a crime he did not commit. Convinced of his innocence, the loss of his freedom comes as a surprise.

Physical Education Effects Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Physical Education Effects - Thesis Example Before discussing the problem, it is important for us to understand the significance of Physical Education. â€Å"Hundreds of studies have evaluated health education and concluded that it is effective in reducing the number of teenage pregnancies, decreasing smoking rates among young people, and preventing the adoption of many high-risk behaviors.† (Summerfield) Most health organizations, around the world, lay stress upon the importance of physical activity. It is recommended that the child must take part in physical activity for about sixty minutes daily to improve his or her health and to eliminate the risk of diseases such as heart problems and obesity and even some most fatal ones such as Cancer. Physical activity has wide-ranging effects on human health. â€Å"Poor diet and physical inactivity might soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of death.† Today, urban community is facing a lot more problems of health than that living some decades ago. This is because of the reduction in physical activity due to the increasing pressure of work in the fast world. Time shortage due to increased workload and financial pressure has led to a substantial decrease in physical activity. That is why; we are facing more and more health problems every day.Probably, physical education has much more important effects on human health than on academic performance, yet the relationship between physical education and academic performance is necessary to be defined in order to support physical education in schools.

Environmental issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Environmental issue - Essay Example These inventions have resulted to overexploitation of the environment leading it to degrade at a great speed, posing environmental discomfort. One of the most common issues of the environment include those which are related to climatic changes which are experienced by different people within their different environment. Climatic changes have contributed to unnecessary stress on the environment while people seek to establish themselves in their areas of residence. In view of this, governments have been forced to look for means and ways to minimise environmental degradation and in the USA and other developed nations this dates back to 1970 when environmental states were created (Pisupati, 2008 p12). In analysing the problem of the environment, there are several perspectives that can be used and in our case, we will use the administrative rationalism versus market based perspectives. When the economy is left to be controlled by the free forces of the market it is bound to collapse as wi th the great depression that lasted from 1929 to 1943, and with the market environmental degradation is bound to happen since environment is viewed as a common good hence the idea of â€Å"tragedy of the commons† come along (Robb, & Colorado General Assembly, 2009). Administrative rationalism

Answer the two thought experiments 'the direction of happiness' and Essay

Answer the two thought experiments 'the direction of happiness' and 'the experience machine'. Based on your answers to the thoug - Essay Example In his argument against hedonism, philosopher Robert Nozick used the thought experiments based on â€Å"the direction of happiness† and â€Å"the experience machine† as he attempted to answer this question. The notion of hedonism, which is manifested by the belief that pleasure should be the ultimate purpose of life, disregards the provisions of a meaningful life. By showing that there are more values to life than happiness, this paper will answer the two thought experiments and discuss what happiness is and whether a happy life is the same thing as a meaningful life. Nozick uses the model of a machine capable of giving people the experience of whatever their desires and pleasures are, which cannot be distinguished from those that can be experienced apart from such machines. People would have a choice to live inside the machine and experience all their pleasures or outside in a lower degree of pleasure. Under such circumstances, where hedonism would opine that the sole intrinsic value is pleasure, most people would choose to remain plugged in to the experience machine. That would show a preference of a more pleasant but less meaningful life than a less pleasant and more meaningful one. However, according to the concept of direction of happiness, the amount of happiness in different lives is exactly the same, only that one tends to slope upwards with increasing happiness while the other slopes downwards with declining happiness. Mistakenly, people would still choose the life with happiness that slopes upwards. It is a mistaken choice because people still care and are concerned about their connection with reality, and it is the factor that the experience machine lacks. People still want their experiences to develop from reality rather than fantasy even if both feel the same. From this, it can be said that what people ultimately seek in life are not merely feelings of pleasure, but also to be in a particular way. Feelings of happiness and pleasure ar e desirable but not enough. People would want to go beyond the simple experience of doing things and actually do them. Therefore, there are more values than happiness and experiences of doing things. The experiences of the experience machine only limit people to their own man-made realities that are constructed within the confines of their perceived important values. Although the experiences of reality may be simulated by the experience machine, no contact is made with deeper and meaningful reality. When one envisages an experience machine and then appreciate that they would not use it, they learn that there are other things that matter more than experiences. The definition of happiness provides that it must contain meaning, pleasure and engagement. The part of meaning is in reference to the contribution to a broader cause while pleasure comprises the part of feeling good. Although a happy life and meaningful life have overlapping aspects, they are fundamentally distinct and a happy life is not necessarily a meaningful one. Happiness may occur as either or both emotional and mental well-being that is characterized by pleasant and positive feelings, which have different meanings to different people because it is quite a subjective matter. It can be a spontaneous feeling caused by positive emotions and last for a moment, as well as a continuous one. The overlap between a happy and meaningful life is mainly manifested by the fact that meaningfulness is among the causal factors

Police officers with TBIs & PTSD, cause and effect Research Paper

Police officers with TBIs & PTSD, cause and effect - Research Paper Example Similarly, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is another mental disorder that is occasioned by constant violent events in the life of an officer. Members of the police service are likely to come across such incidents during the course of their practice. For instance, constant exposure bloodshed, deaths and inhuman treatment of some members of a community are likely to trigger PTSD in police officers. Symptoms of PTSD may encompass flashbacks, hallucinations and severe nervousness as well as irrepressible imaginations about the occurrence. Many police officers who experience traumatic occurrences such as bloodshed often have difficulty coping after such incidents, but they do not have PTSD. However, over time and with good self-care, such officers usually recover. But in the event that the symptoms degenerate into worse episodes running for many months or even years, to an extent that they impede the normal functioning of the brain, the agents in question may develop PTSD (French, & Parkinson, 2008). As such, providing the officers with appropriate care immediately they show symptoms of TBI and or PTSD can be an important to control of the symptoms and the subsequent improvement of the normal functioning of the brain. A police agent may develop PTSD after an episode of TBI or after experiencing a violent incident happen to a third party or after being subjected to long periods of distress that he or she could not withstand (Miller, 2006). Unlike TBI which is caused by physical shock to the head and brain during police training or in actual law enforcement processes, PTSD is caused by two primary factors: first, the public perceptions about a violent mission in which police officers had a hand, especially since the media criticism of police actions became commonplace in the 21st century. The negative perceptions the public have on the police can be one

Planning A Vacation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Planning A Vacation - Essay Example Although nobody has enough time to plan for a vacation; it could be easy if you follow these simple steps. When you first begin planning your vacation get a folder and keep all your vacation plans in one place. This folder will have all the brochures from the sites you plan to visit. It will have information on airline flights and hotels. Make reservations and keep a detailed account in this folder of everyone you talk to. Get information from local restaurants and make a list of the ones you want to visit. With all the information in one place, you can then make a daily itinerary of your planned events. By looking through the folder at your leisure, ideas will bubble forth and in no time you will have a full schedule for your vacation plans. With the schedule in hand, it's time to pack. Pack a carry-on that is small enough to stay with you at all times. Include the necessary items that you must have in the event that you get separated from your other luggage for a day. If you need to take medication, be sure this is with you at all times and not in the checked baggage. Be sure to pack for the climate and the outings you have planned. Let the children pack their own bag with their own special take-alongs. This may include CDs, games, or magazines. Make sure that it is small enough to carry on the plane. Planning makes packing a breeze. T

LL Bean Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

LL Bean - Case Study Example Beyond that maximum physical number, there is no way for the physical store to find out what the real demand is if all customers potential customers were provided with the amount that they want. If the inventory runs out, then the store can re-order, but there is really no way of knowing whether while the good is out of stock more people want that particular good or not, because there is no catalog or mechanism for the store to demonstrate what an out of stock good looks like, unless there is a physical sample and the physical stores have an supply on demand option. Moreover, in a physical store, the audience for a particular good is limited to those who physically go to the stores to view the merchandise, limiting the potential demand to the shop frequenters. In contrast, LL Bean, by making the catalogs available for the duration of a season, and allowing for orders, is able to capture the demand for a larger subset of potential customers. In this case this demand is more real or co mprehensive than the more limited demand subset that the physical store is able to address/cover. On the other hand, one can also say that the audience for the good is limited to those who receive the catalogs. In this sense this demand is arguably not universal enough. Moreover, from the point of view of being able to satisfy all demand, the statement needs to be qualified. Demand forecasting is part art in LL Bean, as has been demonstrated in the study, and even with the use of A/F and probability distributions for probable demand there are many opportunities to overshoot targets. This is especially true when the costs associated with overstocking on an item are larger than the costs of understocking, or being conservative on demand projections. In the case where stocks on hand turn out to be larger than the actual demand, then one can say that LL Bean is indeed able to capture the true demand, with the caveats on the limits of catalog marketing being able to capture all possible demand as discussed above (Schleifer, 1992, pp. 1-5). Question 2 Recording demand for an item that is out of stock may not have much of a bearing in that current season, given that for many of the items there is a long lag time for deliveries that replenishing out of stock items during the current season is often not feasible. First if it were feasible to restock within the season, obviously not being able to capture demand for an item that is out of stock means that the company misses out on any additional sales tied to that non-captured demand. The company is unable to know how many of that out of stock item to reorder. Second, for most items that cannot be replenished during the season, the implications for LL Bean are with regard to being able to record future demand and factor them into the forecasts. This is so because from the case itself, LL Bean uses historical actual demand and forecast demand figures as a weighting factor to determine how many to order of individual items for the coming seasons. If LL Bean is unable to record demand for items that are out of stock, then they are no different from operations that are purely based on physical stores, and their future demand forecasts then become continuously flawed and inaccurate Such inability to record out of stock demand translates to perpetual misses in future forecasts for the demand for that out of stock item. This has consequences for the company’s profits obviously (Schleifer, 1992, pp. 1-5). Question 3 The marginal unit profit for a sale of the shirt is $ 25. This is selling price minus cost. The marginal unit loss for a non-sale is $15. This is cost minus liquidation price per shirt. The most

Story of an Hour Essay Example for Free

Story of an Hour Essay In A Story of an Hour, Mr. Bentley Mallard was a controling figure that completely dominated his marriage with his wife Mrs. Louise Mallard. Through out the story Mrs. Mallard longed for some sort of freedom. She could never have that freedom because from a young early age she was empowered by her parents and when she became of age she married and her husband became in charge. You see freedom is something that we all crave, whether it be something insignificant or something earth shattering we all have the will and desire to do whatever we please no matter how silly it is we long to do things with out judgment or with out someone telling you what to do and how to do it. From the time that I was born, to the time that I reached about 14 years old there was an invisible barrier that developed called â€Å"The Sacred Places† in life. This â€Å"Sacred Place† separated me from the outside world. As a kid I was always told to stay inside unless I went outside with a parent or some sort of guardian watching over me. The  reason behind this was not to keep us from all of the fun things that are outside of the four walls of my house, but it was to keep me safe and secure from harm. However if I did happen to go outside with out any sort of supervision I were punished with a spank or a stern voice informing me to never do that again or else I would be in bigger trouble. In A Story of an Hour, Louise Mallard was trapped in her home and was not aloud to go outside under any circumstance. Mr. Mallard didn’t let her go out because in those days women were treated as property and not as actual people with rights. When I was a little bit younger I thought that I knew everything and that I was my own person that had nobody to tell me what to do, and although I thought I knew it all until I reached the age of 18 I had to realized that I was my parents property and I had to submit to there authority. No matter what I did or what I said to them to try to convince them to let me do something that I wanted to do they would always stay true to there decision  even it made me upset and frustrated with my parents. In the Story of an Hour, Mr. Mallard (the husband) was the head of the house; this meant that the house and everything in it was his including that people that lived in it. Being that Mrs. Mallard was his wife, he too owned her. Unlike me, Mrs. Mallard was contempt; she knew her role and her place in society and with out a word she obeyed she was used to this because this is how she was raised her whole life, she never questioned any authority. During this era married women and children were not aloud outside unless there were special circumstances such as a wedding or funeral, etc. This somewhat resembled my family  because as I said before if I was being supervised by someone that was older than me and responsible (special circumstance) I was aloud outside to play in the yard. However I was aloud to go out when there wasn’t a funeral or wedding. When it comes down to it I believe that every single person wants freedom, I remember as a young kid looking out of windows everywhere I went. I would always look out and imagine what certain things looked like. For instance when I would drive on the freeway going towards Phoenix I would always pass the downtown area of Tucson and I would see big buildings towering over the city and I always wondered who lived there, what type of foods were over there, and many more different things like that. I think what fascinates all of us is being able to understand and know the unknown. What’s behind the curtain? What’s behind the wall? What’s behind door number three? Those are questions we all ask. Throughout A Story of an Hour I honestly wasn’t captured by the story until Mrs. Mallard was lying on her deathbed. They story says that â€Å"she looked out the window†. To me when the author says this I believe that she is yearning for the outside world and thinking about all of the things she could have done. 1 can only imagine what is going through her mind at this point because when I was 13 I would long to do something I wasn’t aloud to do and was always so consumed by the fact that I would have to stay behind and do whatever my parents did, but Mrs. Mallard on the other  hand is on her Deathbed and has no control of  what she can do anymore. Mrs. Mallard hasn’t done any of the things that she truly wanted to do in life and is forced to watch the world go by while she is helplessly on her deathbed. Has there ever been a time in your life where you wanted something so bad for so long but never actually got it, but on the day you finally got it suddenly lost interest in the object. Well that’s how I was. From the age of 14 I wanted to drive and do my own thing. I literally counted down the days that I would be able to drive. The day finally came when I could drive and I was so excited and for the next few months I was on cloud nine. However as time went on I found my self strongly disliking the chore of driving, and I would be always asked to drive at night when I was tired so my dad could sleep, or my parents would ask me to go to the store for them at 11pm. The things that I didn’t think about, came back to haunt me. Another example would be when I would ask for the new game system that had just came out and after a few months it would be stuck behind the closet collecting dust because I was bored of it. Mrs. Mallard never had that freedom; she never had a choice or anything like that so it was something that she couldn’t have that made her want to be her own person. At the end of the story she was told that her husband had died, she became so excited that her heart began to beat at an extremely fast rate. Freedom and independence were something that she longed for, for such a long time and she finally had it. When Mr. Mallard walked into the room her heart and mind filled with so many emotions, she didn’t know what to do and how to do it so she was completely shocked. According to the doctors she died of joy. She thought that she had finally been freed from the life she was living but when she saw her husband things change. I believe that we all long to be our own person with no direction, but I believe that over time we  grow accustomed to the things we are comfortable with even if we don’t like what we are doing.

Lamb to the slaughter by Roal Dahl Essay Example for Free

Lamb to the slaughter by Roal Dahl Essay Detective mystery fiction started in England in the 1790s. Then later in the 1850s to 1860s authors started writing melodramatic thrillers known as sensation novels perhaps one of the best known of the melodramatic thrillers is the stories written by Wilkie Collins who wrote The woman in white. By the late 1800s Conan Doyle wrote stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, this type of story was called mystery fiction, and is undoubtedly the most influential mystery fiction novel of the 1970s. These mystery fiction novels were based on Sherlock Holmes who is a detective in murder cases and has a side kick called Watson who very much admires Sherlock Holmes as being very clever in solving crimes by gathering the evidence. In the book he narrates the story and makes clear Hes admiration for Sherlock Holmes, this is what influenced other writers in the 20th century to writing mystery fiction stories based on the structure of the Sherlock Holmes. And you can still see the work of Conan Doyle being used as structure for modern day stories and film series, such as the well known CSI crime which is set in America and involves a group of homicide detectives who have an important role in using state of the art forensic techniques in order to work out the murders and accomplices, with a twist to the story to make it more interesting. However in replacement to where Conan Doyle uses cunning detective work the makers of CSI use the forensic science more as the way of catching the murderess. Law and Order uses the same concept as CSI crime but is set in a different part of America. The Bill is a popular TV series about a police force that use cunning police work by working together to solve all crimes. Unlike in the stories of Sherlock Holmes or CSI crime The bill uses more then one detective just like in Sherlock Holmes. Another detective story based on the stories of Sherlock Holmes is the TV series called Colombo who is a homicide detective and is very cunning just like Sherlock Holmes. Colombo however unlike other modern detectives is a very unconventional detective because when hes on a case he acts very senseless and seems as though he isnt a very good detective, however towards the end he solves the murder very cunningly. Another modern but unconventional detective story is the TV series Diagnoses murder the main character of this series is a doctor who works at the hospital and like Sherlock Holmes has nothing to do with the local police so he works alone solving murder cases, which are brought in buy the people he treats at the hospital where he works this therefore makes this detective story very unconventional and is not like Sherlock Holmes in that respect. The detective story The Speckled band is conventional as the settings are normal for a murder story if you take in to account the detective who is cunning with a side kick Watson and the victims you can see that the setting and atmosphere are very conventional for a murder detective story. However Holmes is responsible for the death of DR Grimsby Roylott which is unconventional. However the structure is conventional, the readers realize this as the The Speckled band works backwards from the discovery of Mrs. Helen Stoners death. Helen stoners sister goes to meet Sherlock Holmes and Watson to bring to their attention the murder of Mrs. Helen Stoner. Then later we read about the investigation that Holmes and Watson undertake at Stoke Moran. The narration in The Speckled band is two linear which we find out when Helen stoners sister tells Holmes and Watson about the murder It is of her death that I wish to speak to you, and when Watson narrates I was early.fair play. However in the story Lamb to the slaughter the settings are very unconventional and instead seem like an ordinary familys life but the story has a cunning twist and Mary Maloney (the wife) murders her husband (Mr. Maloney) who is a detective. This is most unusual for a murder detective story and so is unconventional considering a detective got killed, the atmosphere and settings along with the detectives who are the police but in the story seem very half-witted and ironic as they eat the evidence and drink the whiskey in the middle of the murder case whilst Mary Maloney gets away with the murder. The structure of the Lamb to the slaughter is unconventional because the pinnacle of the story is when Mary Maloney kills her husband. This makes the storey we read about the crime being committed and not very much of the investigation as we had seen earlier in The Speckled band. The story The Speckled band begins with Watson (Sherlock Holmess side kick) narrating, he brings in to account the case of the Surrey family of the Roylotts of Stoke Moran, the story continues to the murder of Mrs. Helen Stoner who had just recently been engaged but before her death she said that It was the band! The Speckled band. However the readers are kept in to suspense of the murderers identity, but Sherlock Holmes is called in he finds later long thin marking on Mrs. Helen Stoner indicating that if an animal is involved then it must be long and thin. When Sherlock Holmes was first called in for the case he proved to be a very observant detective and starts to suspect that Mrs. Julia Stoners recent engagement is a threat to her life and that the murderer of Mr. Helen Stoner will kill her as she also like Helen is engaged, so the murder of Helen must be linked to her recent engagement, During the story Watson continues to narrate, later Sherlock Holmes and Watson check out the house were the murder took place and Watsons narrative tells the reader how observant Sherlock Holmes is and creates an image of him as being a detective who never leaves a stone unturned. As Sherlock Holmes checks the house he find out that DR Grimsby Roylott had added some peculiar things about the house like a ventilator and a dummy bell rope. After a while Sherlock Holmes pieces up the clues and realizes that there is something wrong about the crime scene. Sherlock Holmes arranges with Mrs. Stoner to shine her lantern through the window from her bed room at the house in Stoke Moran when DR Grimsby Roylott gets in to his bed room at night, when Sherlock Holmes and Watson saw the signal from outside they climb in to the house through the window through to Mrs. Stoners bed room. After a while in Mrs. Julia Stoners bed room they finally hear a dark lantern being lit later they hear what Watson describes as a Soothing sound and then a cry which Watson explains was a The most horrible cry I have ever listened, Sherlock Holmes tells Watson that they should go into DR Grimsby Roylott room where they had heard the sound, when they entered DR Grimsby Roylott room they find that he is dead and appears to be wearing a sparkling chain around his neck but when Sherlock Holmes approaches him they find that it is a live snake which bittern DR Grimsby Roylott and caused his death, Its a swamp adder Sherlock Holmes explains, and then continues to say that . It is the deadliest snake in India and comes to the conclusion that the snake was the speckled band which Helen Stoner said just before she died. So in the end it becomes apparent to Sherlock Holmes that DR Grimsby Roylott was the murderer and his motive was greed over money which his daughters would inherit from him in the event of their marriage which is why Mrs. Helen Stoner was killed as she was engaged. It becomes apparent to the reader that DR Grimsby Roylott was trying on that night to kill Mrs. Stoner but failed as the snake he put through the ventilator was blocked so the snake turned round and attacked DR Grimsby Roylott.

A Case Study Of Standard Chartered Bank

A Case Study Of Standard Chartered Bank This chapter provides an introduction of the study with the main areas presented including the importance of communication in an organisation, branding, intranet, the problem statement, purpose, research questions, limitations and assumptions that will govern the study. Background of the Study Communication is an organisational asset which has a big impact on the success of the business. Communication serves a number of important functions in an organisation such as sharing and clarifying goals, identifying how goals are to be achieved, exerting control, motivating others, developing a sense of community and commitment, sharing information and creating common understanding. It is estimated that employees spend about four fifth of their working life communicating (Ferreira, 2006). Communication in the organisation is central to the success of the business and must be taken into consideration in a quest to increase organisational competitive advantage. According to a study conducted in the U.S. by Watson Wyatt, a human resources consulting firm, companies that communicate more effectively with their employees have a lower turnover rate (on average 33.3 percent) than those that communicate less effectively (average 51.6 percent) (Ewing, 2007). Du Plessis and Boshoff (2008, p.3) defined internal communication as the communication between people working together to achieve individual or collective organisational goals. Internal communication, also referred to as organisational communication, is the process of communication between the people within the organisation (Scheffer Crystal, 2008). Internal communication process is used to maintain good relationships, describe tasks, give instructions and communicate the goals and philosophy of the organisation (Ferreira, 2006). Effective internal communication is a major contributor to the success of change initiatives in organisations. In particular, at the individual level, appropriate in ternal communication helps employees to understand both the need for change, and the personal effects of the proposed change (Goodman Truss, 2004). The study of internal communication is arguably one of the fastest growing areas within the field of communication, with a 25-30 percent growth rate in the past five years. In fact, studies indicate that organisations are pointing to effective internal communication as an influential factor in business success (Cees, Berens, Dijkastra, 2005; Holtz, 2006). Internal communication is defined as the formal and informal communication taking place internally at all levels of an organisation (Kalla, 2005, p.304). Research on internal communication is cross disciplinary, and the number of available definitions reflects this fact. Internal communication can be termed as internal marketing, organisational communication, employee relations (Quirke, 2000), management communication, internal media, cross-departmental communication (Greenbaum, Clampitt, Willihnganz, 1988), business or corporate communication (Kitchen, 1997), strategic communication (Argenti, 2007) or integrated internal communic ations (Kalla, 2005). Welch and Jackson (2007) view internal communication from a stakeholder approach and define it as the strategic management of interactions and relationships between stakeholders at all levels within organisations (p. 183). Literature spanning the last 10 years suggests that good internal communication management is one of the pivotal steps towards successful and productive communication within an organisation (Holtz, 2006; Karian Box, 2006; Cees et al., 2005; Quirke, 2000a; Tourish Hargie, 2000a). Welch and Jackson (2007) state that; internal communication management includes participation in communication, its direction and the content of communication (p.184). However, participation and direction of communication is strongly influenced by the hierarchical structure of the organisation where issues of status, power, rank and prerequisites often cloud the form and content of upward communication (Silburyte, 2004, p.192). Today, organisations are adopting flatter more dynamic structures which have more inclusive participation from all levels of the organisation (Silburyte, 2004) as well as varied content including new developments, organisational achievements, appraisal discussions and employee roles, noted previously in Welch and Jacksons four dimensions of internal communication (see Table 2.1). Similarly, Quirke (2000a) also suggests that internal communication can be shared across different organisational departments and likens it to a jigsaw where each section is responsible for a piece of the internal communication puzzle (i.e. the core departments within an organization). This metaphor suggests that internal communication is more than the realm of corporate communication and is involved in all areas of the organisation. Branding In the modern global competitive environment, corporate branding has become an important source of sustainable competitive advantage and a central element of corporate strategy (Balmer Gray, 2003). It includes core values cherished by a company, its corporate culture, identity, business model, people and it can be described as -the visual, verbal and behavioral expression of corporate identity and business model (CicvariĆ¡, 2006). The corporate branding strategy determines the manner in which a company will fulfill its mission and vision, and realize value for its stakeholders (Jarventie-Thesleff et al, 2011). It is most often expressed through the so-called brand promise which the company has to live and maintain in everyday business, to all stakeholders (Aaker, 2004). In delivering the value and brand promise, as well as in the application of each branding strategy, a strategic part is played by the companys employees (from top management to those on lower-level positions, who co-operate daily with different stakeholders. The employees role becomes clear when considered in conjunction with the corporate branding strategy framework, which is not only the products and services it sells, but it also represents what the company does and actually is, (i.e. a functionally and emotionally rounded unity). Due to intensive technological changes, the life cycle of products and services has a declining tendency, so corporate branding becomes the cornerstone for building and maintaining relations with stakeholders. One the other hand, the corporate reputation definition; describing reputation-as a set of relatively long-term impressions, attitudes and emotions of individuals or groups in respect of an organization, established through experience or partially credible indirect information, in the context of personal and social expectations, which impacts intentions or behavior of individuals or groups in connection with that specific organization (Vlastelica BakiĆ¡, 2012), helps to grasp the significance of employees in the establishment of beliefs and attitudes of the companys other stakeholders. The value of corporate branding and reputation yields benefits for the company which increases its financial performances and market value on the long run. This represents valuable reso urces which competitors cannot copy or imitate. Aside from reputation, being the organizations intangible capital, another precious resource that is unique and attributable to one company only involves its employees, their knowledge, abilities and skills. Kotler Wong, Saunders and Armstrong (2005) define a brand as a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of these, that identifies the maker or seller of a product or service and seeks to differentiate them from those of competitors. The brand is more or less the essence of an organization that informs the customers choice to interact with one brand over another. It is therefore clear that by focusing more efforts on branding, organisations can attempt to differentiate themselves more in the minds of customers and potential customers by increasing the value propositions associated with their brands and create a strong brand image and presence in the market thus giving them a stronger competitive advantage. Fernandez (2004) defines a corporate brand as the institutions image, reputation, financial assets, performance and people. Thus, the corporate brand of an organisation tells us what to expect from the organisation as a whole the set of values, promises, standards and characteristics of an organisation as embodied in the brand. It is thus the totality of the organisation and what it represents and what it hopes to achieve through provision of goods and services in the ordinary course of business. A brand can thus be said to constitute the collection of associations in the mind of a customer connected to the brand e.g. quality, friendliness, added value, superior service among others and such are what can greatly differentiate between similar products and services. The value of these associations, their uniqueness and relevance are an indication of the power of the brand. The underlying brand promise is what many organizations are looking to further underscore and highlight in their increased branding efforts to retain existing customers and attract more customers. One key element of effective employer branding is internal branding. Internal branding is only effective when internal audiences are reached with the message of the organizations values, through effective communicational efforts and when top management also exemplifies the same. Employees cannot be expected to show what they do not know. The service sector particularly has woken up to the fundamental importance of engaging employee commitment in delivering customer satisfaction and loyalty. The service sector does not provide tangible products/output that customers can take away with them and experience on their own; their experience with an organizations brand is through interacting with the organizations staff. There has been a shift in the branding world as explained by Vargo and Lusch (2004) to a new orientation known as service branding which is more balanced in its outlook. It considers both brand identity (internal) and brand image (external); highlighting the importance of st aff in the service encounter. The banking sector is one area where service branding is very vital. Customers experience of the brand begins the moment they walk through the doors of the banking hall and in their dealing and experience with the banks employees. Thus, the way they are treated while in the banking halls, response to their queries, promises made and fulfillment of the same all contribute to their perception of the brand and indeed affect their loyalty to the brand. Hence, there is a need to have employees that fully understand the brand in order to deliver more superior and unique brand experience to the customers in line with the organizations mission and vision. Overview of the Banking Industry in Kenya The banking industry in Kenya is governed by the Companies Act, the Banking Act, the Central Bank of Kenya Act and the various prudential guidelines issued by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). The banking sector was liberalized in 1995 and exchange controls lifted. The CBK, which falls under the Minister for Finance, is responsible for formulating and implementing monetary policy and fostering the liquidity, solvency and proper functioning of the financial system. As at December, 2012 there were forty six banking and non-banking institutions, fifteen micro finance institutions and one hundred and nine foreign exchange bureaus. The banks have come together under the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), which serves as a lobby for the banking sectors interests (CBK, 2013). The KBA serves as a forum to address issues affecting members (KBA, 2012). Over the period between years 2006 to 2012, the banking sector in Kenya continued to grow in assets, deposits, profitability and products offering. The growth was mainly underpinned by; first; an industry wide branch network expansion strategy both in Kenya and in the East African community region. Second; automation of a large number of services and a move towards emphasis on the complex customer needs rather than traditional off-the shelf banking products (KBA, 2012). Players in this sector experienced increased competition over the period between years 2006 to 2012 resulting from increased innovations among the players and new entrants into the market. Key players in the early stages of the operation of the Industry were; Kenya Commercial Bank(k) Ltd. (KCB), Barclays Bank of (K) Ltd., (BBK), Standard Chartered Bank (K) Ltd.(SCB), National Industrial Credit Bank (NIC), National Bank of Kenya (K) Ltd. (NBK) a nd Co-operative Bank of Kenya (Co-op bank) ( KBA, 2012). Background on Standard Chartered Bank Ltd Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited was established in 1911 with the first branch opened in Mombasa Treasury Square. More than 100 years later, Standard Chartered Bank is one of the leading Banks in Kenya, with an excellent franchise. It has a total of 33 branches spread across the country, 90 automated teller machines (ATMs) and 1,698 employees. Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited has local shareholding of about 26%, comprising about 32,000 shareholders and it is a public quoted company on the Nairobi Securities Exchange since 1989. The bank offers a variety of local and foreign currency accounts, both deposit and loan, to its customers. It has a diversified portfolio cutting across select sectors that include business services, manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, transport and communication, real estate, agriculture, energy and water. Further underpinning its importance, Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited hosts the regional Shared Service Centre supporting the banks t echnology operations in Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana and South Africa on a real time basis (Accessed from www. standardchartered.com/en/about-us). Statement of the Problem Despite its importance, few organisations devote enough time and resources to ensure that effective communication systems and processes are in place (Ferreira, 2006). Sanchez (1999) reported in the study conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide in cooperation with IABC Research Foundation that only 40 percent of 913 organisations which participated in the study, mainly from the manufacturing industry had formal communication strategies. Knowledge is important, not only between organisations, but also within the organisation. About 90 percent of the knowledge in any organization is embedded and synthesized in peoples heads (Smith, 2001). The transfer of knowledge is thus important in ensuring that organisational members learn from one another and also create new knowledge. Communication performance within organisations has been considered an understudied area and therefore poorly understood (Pandey Garnett, 2006) yet it is deemed a central component of effective business operations (Hargi e, Dickson, Tourish, 2004, p.5). Hargie et al., (2004) state that a lack of effective communication can contribute to a range of problems including at one end of the continuum, job dissatisfaction and stress, through to damaging strikes, operating losses, bankruptcies, production line injuries, shipwrecks, plane crashes and, at the other extreme, mass slaughter in the field of battle (p.5). Asif and Sargeant (2000) undertook a study of two major United Kingdom clearing banks to explore a range of internal communication issues. Literature specifically referring to the banking industry and internal communication is scarce; however, studies have been undertaken within the last few years that suggest there is growing recognition of the importance of internal communication within this sector (Moorcroft, 2006; Wadman, 2006; Sablosky, 2005; Lennon, 2003; Asif Sargeant, 2000). According to Bierly, Kessler Christensen (2000, p.596) success does not necessarily go to the firms that know the most, but to the firms that can make the best use of what they know. Hence, for knowledge to give competitive advantage, it must be effectively transferred within the organisation (Murray Peyrefitte, 2007; Watson Hewett, 2006). Communication plays a vital role in the knowledge transfer process within the organisation (Du Plessis Boshoff, 2008). One way of managing the knowledge-transfer process is to select appropriate communication media for the property or type of knowledge to be transferred (Murray Peyrefitte, 2007). Information about the employees preferred communication methods and technologies is important in ensuring positive and effective communication (Du Plessis Boshoff, 2008; Ferreira, 2006). Research suggests that intranets should be considered a mosaic of top-down and bottom-up communication with distributed ownership (Dasgupta, 2001). A study carried out by Papasolomou and Vrontis (2006a) on the UK retail bank industry concluded that the problems linked to the branding of intangible offerings can be overcome through an emphasis on the effective implementation of Internal Marketing (IM). The study found out that since employees play a valuable role in the delivery and strengthening of corporate service brands UK retail banks have placed greater emphasis on IM in order to deliver the brands promise. A blanket approach throughout the organisation, regarding regulations on intranet usage, may not be appropriate as different business units will have different requirements. Rather a collaborative and facilitative managerial style would acknowledge diversity and individual contributions (Dasgupta, 2001), thereby allowing individual units and teams to control their own information. Studies show that the versatility and multifaceted nature of intranets has seen an increase in research that is largely multidisciplinary (Lehmuskallio, 2006); however, research into the measurement of intranet effectiveness and perceptions of the employees towards the medium is still in its infancy and is seen as a fundamental shortcoming (Jacoby Luqi, 2007). This study will therefore focus on establishing the effectiveness of intranets to communicate brand message to its internal publics within SCB limited. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study therefore is to establish the effectiveness of intranets to communicate the brand message to its internal publics within SCB limited in an effort to find out if banks are taking the time, effort and resources to sell the brand to their internal audiences and what strategies have been employed to achieve this. Objectives of the Study This study will be guided by the following objectives: To establish whether SCB Kenya limited has adopted internal communication strategies within its organization to communicate the brand message. To find out the effectiveness of intranets in communicating the brand message among internal publics within SCB Kenya limited. To find out how employees in SCB Kenya limited integrate the organizations brand values through internal communication. Research Questions This study will undertake to answer the following questions How has SCB Kenya limited adopted internal communication strategies within its organization to communicate the brand message? What is the effectiveness of intranets in communicating the brand message among internal publics within SCB Kenya limited? How do employees in SCB Kenya limited integrate the organizations brand values through internal communication? Justification of the Study Despite its importance to corporate communications, rigorous corporate communication research about the use intranets in developing nations is limited. Effective internal communication methods and media for knowledge transfer in the service industry are important for organizations to excel. Internal communication processes are therefore used to maintain good relationships, describe tasks, give instructions and communicate the goals and philosophy of the organisation. Effective internal communication is a major contributor to the success of change initiatives in organisations. In particular, at the individual level, appropriate internal communication helps employees to understand both the need for change, and the personal effects of the proposed change. This study will act as a benchmark to influence banks to adopt excellent internal communication strategies in order to better position their employees to deliver a more superior brand experience to the customers of the bank. Significance of the Study This study will add more knowledge in terms of academic contribution and knowledge which is limited in the area of internal communication within the Kenyan banking sector. This study will act as a platform through which the policy-makers within the banking sector can formulate policies to better enhance effective internal communication. The study will be able to provide recommendations and guidance on the effective internal communication strategies that can be put in place within the banking sector. Scope of the Study This study will be an overview of the internal banking environment in the Kenyan banking sector and will seek to undertake a case study of SCB Kenya limited. The subjects of the study will be the Public relations (PR)/marketing managers/Branch managers of the 20 branches in Nairobi and the customer service managers. Assumptions of the Study The assumptions that underlie this study are that: The selected institution for the study will have some form of internal communication strategy in place used to inculcate brand knowledge among their employees. The data required for this study will be available and that the researcher will receive maximum cooperation from the expected respondents to allow for a smooth, successful and timely completion of the study. Limitations of the Study Unexpected negative response from respondents due to the fact that they might be unwilling to give out sensitive personal information. This will be mitigated through counter-checking on organizational information manuals as well as service charters. Lack of local scholarly literature on the topic as relates to banks and internal branding means that the some of the methods, concepts and models used in this study are foreign and will be adopted to suit the local experience. Definition of Terms Brand Stern (2006, p.217) argues that the word brand can be classified as both an entity and a process, depending on whether it is used as a noun or as a verb. When expressed as a noun, it is connected to a person, place, or thing; as a verb, it refers to the process of making a product meaningful (i.e., the naming or positioning of a product). Dual-function brand concepts such as brand identity and brand reputation (both used as nouns) show the flexibility of this concept. The words branding and branded, on the other hand, are used as verbs to indicate how a brands meaning changes over time. Stern further comments that in the physical world, a brand is a name or mark associated to a product while it in the minds of people refers to a mental representation or perception of a psychological meaning. This study will adopt this definition in consideration to the fact that this holistic definition reflects the fact that the brand is expressed in numerous ways, not only through marketing. Brand commitment: Burmann and Zeplin (2005, p.284) define employee brand commitment as the extent of psychological attachment of employees to the brand, which influences their willingness to exert extra effort towards reaching the brand goals. It is the degree to which employees identify and are involved with their service brand, are willing to exert additional efforts (extra touch) to achieve the goals of the brand and are interested in remaining with the organisation. Corporate communication: Steyn and Puth (2000, p.5) define corporate communication as managed communication on behalf of the organisation, aiming to increase organisational effectiveness by creating and maintaining relationships with stakeholders. Internal branding: According Drake, Gulman, and Roberts (2005) and Thomson, de Chernatony, Arganbright and Khan (1999), internal branding is the practice of selling and promoting the brand to the internal audiences of an organisation, i.e. its employees in order to be instrumental in influencing employees attitudes and shaping their behaviours to be aligned with a brand, by creating employees understanding of brand values and engaging them in living brand-reality. Internal customers: This is the concept of customer-service provider relationships inside the organisation; employees providing a service to other employees or departments in the organisation as opposed to providing a service to clients external to the organisation. Services should be provided to fellow employees and departments with the same commitment to customer satisfaction as for external clients (Gronroos, 2000, p.307; Landman, 2005, p.7). Internal communication: Du Plessis and Boshoff (2008, p.3) defined internal communication as The communication between people working together to achieve individual or collective organisational goals. Internal communication, also referred to as organisational communication, is the process of communication between the people within the organisation (Scheffer Crystal, 2008). Intra-organisational communication: Intra-organisational communication is the channels and systems of communication within the organisation. It entails the continuous design of interaction between all members of an organisation forming an all-inclusive device that joins people and structures within that organisation. Intra-organisational communication forms part of internal communication. Internal communication includes many configurations and disciplines of communication, for example interpersonal communication, intrapersonal communication, intra-organisational communication and management communication (Van der Walt in Verwey; Du Plessis, Barker, 2006, p.264; Landman 2005, p.7). Service marketing: Gronrooss (2000, p.7) perspective on service marketing describes it as an organisation taking the view that an enhanced offering is required to support the customers value-generating processes and that the core solution of a physical product, service or combination of services and goods, is not sufficient to differentiate the offering from those of competitors. Landman (2005, p.8) defines service marketing as an approach to an organizations market that recognizes that the external customer becomes an active part of its processes, and that an organisation in its totality and in all its facets determines the quality of service delivered to the customer. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction This chapter presents the review of related literature. According to Chandran (2004), the aim of literature is to provide the researcher with knowledge and understanding of the conceptual and analytical framework in their field of study. This chapter examines, analyzes and adds to the knowledge advanced by various scholars in regard to the effectiveness of intranets to communicate the brand message to its internal publics within Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya. It highlights various works in relation to the study. It looks into current literature on theory and practice in relation to internal communication strategies adopted by banks to its internal publics. Internal Corporate Communication Internal communication within an organisation is dependent on a number of factors including the type of industry; the structure of the organisation; organisational culture and managerial style (Kitchen, 1997; Quirke, 2000). Holtz (2006) noted that, in the past, company communication, typically in the form of publications, consisted of the four Bs: birthdays, babies, brides and bowling scores. In marked contrast, today, the function of internal communication includes the transmission of organisational goals, activities, new developments, achievements and personal contributions as well as strategic visionary messages (Welch Jackson, 2007). Welch and Jackson (2007) suggest the function of internal communications has four dimensions: (1) internal line management, (2) internal team peer communication, (3) internal project peer communication and (4) internal corporate communication (as illustrated in Table 2.1 on page 18). Table 2.1 Internal communication matrix Dimension Level Direction Participants Content Internal line management communication Line managers/ supervisors Predominantly two-way Line managers-employees Employees roles Personal impact e.g. appraisal discussions, team briefings Internal team peer communication Team colleagues Two way Employee-employee Team information, e.g. team task discussions Internal project peer communication Project group colleagues Two way Employee-employee Project information e.g. project issues Internal corporate communication Strategic managers/top management Predominantly one-way Strategic managers-all employees Organizational/corporate issues e.g. goals, objectives, new developments, activities and achievementsSource: (Welch Jackson, 2007, p.185) These four dimensions emphasize that the content of internal communication has moved from the four Bs into all areas of the organisation including strategic goals and personal development. In addition to the content, the four dimensions also highlight the two-way relationship between employees and managers at all levels of the organisation and the importance of internal communication to organisational success (Tourish, Wilson, 2002; Zetterquist Quirke, 2007) with effective internal communication leading to improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, increased levels of innovation, higher quality of services and products and reduced costs (Argenti, 2007). A 2002 study of internal communication in 100 leading blue-chip companies found that 38 percent of internal communication teams were governed by the human resources department (Quirke, 2003). Four years later a 2006 online survey of internal communications conducted by Melcrum, an internal communication research and training organisation, alternatively proposed that of the 1,149 respondents from different industries and locations, 44 percent state internal communication is the governance of the corporate communications department (Dewhurst, 2007). Kalla (2005) suggests that suggests that there are four domains of integrated internal communication; business, management, corporate and organisational. Business communication addresses the communication skills of all employees, management communication focuses on the development of the managers communication skills and capabilities, corporate communication focuses on the formal corporate communication function, and organisational communication addresses more philosophically and theoretically oriented issues Management Communication Business Communication Corporate Communication Internal Communication Organiz

A Comparison of The Ministers Black Veil and the Birthmark Essay

A Comparison of The Ministers Black Veil and the Birthmark Both of these stories revolve around a lot of symbolism. These stories, since they really don't make a lot of sense on their own, force the reader to look deeper in an attempt to understand the ideas that Hawthorne tries to get across. The first and most evident symbol is the faces of the people. Georgiana has the birthmark if the shape of a hand, and the black veil that Hooper wore. I think that Hawthorne chooses to focus on the peoples faces because a person"s face is pretty much the center of their being. The face is where a person shows the majority of their emotions, and it holds the brain, which well, is where everything starts at. So, a person"s face is very important. Another prevalent symbol to me is the idea of sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper just suddenly one day shows up to church wearing a veil. At first the people are sort of angered by it. People soon start to flock to his congregation to view the spectacle, and go so far as to test their 'courage' by seeing who will go and talk to him. I think that the veil could represent sin. In The Ministers Black Veil Hooper was either trying to hide his sin from the people so that they could not judge him, which is god"s job, or maybe he was trying to protecting his self from the sins of the people. In the end of The Ministers Black Veil Hooper dies, and sees his congregation all wearing black veils, which would probably hint that maybe it represented the sin in all of us. In The Birthmark Georgiana"s birthmark could represent, as some religions believe, the original sin which is bestowed on all by the 'hand' of god. But, unlike Hooper, Georgiana could not help her markings. ... ...iana, almost perfect, is still mortal, and carries the burden of original sin. This is the puritan idea that every human is sinful. The Birthmark is in the shape of a hand because it is the work of God, done by God's own hand and will. In short, Alymer tries to play God by ridding Georgiana of her original sin, and make a perfect being. But no mortal can be perfect, and no mortal can not have original sin. Thus when the experiment works, Georgiana achieves perfection and can no longer be a mortal, thus she dies. Moral of the story: You cannot improve on God's creation. Alymer is a sinner because he tries to be god by trying to improve on God's creation. He is successful in improving georgiana, but is not successful in improving God's creation, because Georgiana can no longer live as a mortal, and she then dies - thus Alymer is unsuccessful.