Gandhi Concept of Civil Disobedience free essay sample

Given a just cause, capacity for endless suffering and avoidanceof violence, victory is a certainty. †Subsequently, Gandhi abandoned the term ‘passive resistance’, and chose the term ‘satyagraha’. The concept of satyagraha is devoid of any feelings of hatred and violent means. It is basedon spiritual purity. Like Tolstoy, Gandhi was opposed to all forms of violence in his commitmentsto political actions. Arne Naess, a leading theoretician on Gandhi has stressed Gandhi’sâ€Å"constructive imagination and uncommon ingenuity in finding and applying morally acceptableforms of political action. Satyagraha, the unique system of non-violent resistance to thegovernment’s arbitrary methods and actions is, indeed, his greatest gift to mankind. For Gandhi, Ahimsa (non-violence) and Truth were inseparable. He said that â€Å"Ahimsa is themeans; Truth is the end. † Gandhi used satyagraha as a lever for social movements. In order to understand the Gandhian concept of civil disobedience and satyagraha, it is desirableto know Gandhi’s view on the subject in detail. We will write a custom essay sample on Gandhi Concept of Civil Disobedience or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Gandhi said, â€Å"Satyagraha largely appears to thepublic as Civil Disobedience or Civil Resistance. It is civil in the sense that it is not criminal. The lawbreaker †¦ openly and civily breaks ( unjust laws) and quietly suffers the penalty fortheir breach. And in order to register his protest against the action of the lawgivers, it is opento him to withdraw his cooperation from the state by disobeying such other laws whose breachdoes not constitute moral turpitude. In my opinion, the beauty and efficacy of Satyagraha areso great and doctrine so simple that it can be preached even to children. †Gandhi strongly advocated that it was the birth right of every individual to offer civil disobedience in the face of unjust laws. He wrote in 1920, â€Å"I wish I could persuade everybody that civildisobedience is the inherent right of a citizen, He does not give it up without ceasing to be aman. Civil disobedience, therefore, becomes a sacred duty. When the state has become lawless,or which is the same thing, corrupt. And a citizen that barters with such a state, shares incorruption or lawlessness. †In his evidence before the Hunter Committee that was constituted by the Government of Indiato enquire into the disturbances in 1919, Gandhi argued that civil disobedience would be calledfor and is legitimate even in a democracy. He highlighted its constitutional aspects. In his replyto the Hunter Committee as to what he would have done towards the breakers of laws if hewould have been a Governor himself, Gandhi replied, â€Å"If I were in charge of government andbrought face to face with a body who entirely in search of truth, were determined to seekredress from unjust laws without inflicting violence, I would welcome it and would consider thatthey were the best constitutionalists, and as a Governor I would take them by my side asadvisers who would keep me on the right path. †Some people have questioned the efficacy of satyagraha as a universal philosophy. Gandhi’svision was not confined to the attainment of independence from foreign rule, the control ofgovernment by the Indians. He struggled for the Indian soul, not merely for a visible polity. In the concept of ‘civil disobedience and satyagraha’ both ‘civil disobedience’ and ‘ satyagraha’are deeply interlinked as a theory of conflict resolution. Gandhi said, â€Å"Experience has taught methat civility is the most difficult part of satyagraha. Civility does not here mean the more outwardgentleness of speech, cultivated for the occasion but an inborn gentleness and desire to do theopponent good. These should show themselves in every act of satyagraha. †This new orientation of the concept has provided a visionary dimension to the very approachesof conflict resolution in statecraft. The present threat, indeed, to the very existence of mankindcould only be removed by the Gandhian approach of a revolutionary change of heart in individualhuman beings. The basic aim of every political system is to create a social, political and economic climate inwhich the individuals can fulfil inner requirements of their continuous moral growth. The Gandhianmethod of civil disobedience and satyagraha alone helps in creating conditions in civil societywhereby all spiritual values and methods could be appreciated in the state system as a vitalnecessity for progress and prosperity. Dr. King very successfully implemented this Gandhianmethod during the civil rights movement. He said, â€Å"A just law is a man-made code that squareswith the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with themoral law. † In the language of Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rootedin eternal and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degradeshuman personality is unjust. All segregation statues are unjust because segregation distorts thesoul and damages the personality. it implies ‘ non-injury’ to any living being. In its positive form, it means, ‘the greatest love’ and‘the greatest charity’. In Buddhist literature, it is highlighted as an attitude of creative coexistence. According to Henry Thoreau, if there is a conflict between ‘higher values’ and ‘lower values’,then the citizen in no way should resign his conscience to the legislation of the state. He saidthat â€Å"legislators, politicians serve the state chiefly with their heads; and as they rarely make anymoral distinctions, they are as likely to serve the devil, without intending it, as God. A very fewserve the state with conscience also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part†¦, no unduerespect for law is required as it will commit one to do many unjust things. Where ‘immorality’and ‘legality’ come into conflict, the only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do atany time what I think right, what I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myselfto the wrong which I condemn†. The Congress Party organised the Civil Disobedience Movement in pursuance of the resolutionon independence passed in the Lahore session of the Congress in December 1929. It was theresult of British refusal to accept the Congress demand for Dominion Status. Factors such asthe Lahore Conspiracy Case, the tragic death of Jatin Das in jail in 1929, the Meerut ConspiracyCase also forced the Congress to demand independence. The civil disobedience movement gotmanifested in various forms such as the widespread defiance of law, boycott of British goods,withdrawal of support by the army and the police, and non-co-operation with the government. Gandhi highlighted all these demands in his letter to the government in 1930 to break the saltlaw. Gandhi started his satyagraha movement in South Africa. Subsequently, on his return to Indiato lead the non-co-operation movement against the British administration, he used it to removethe grievances of the oppressed workers and peasants of Champaran, Kheda, and Bardoli. Toquote Gandhi, â€Å"†¦ to speak of satyagraha is to speak of a weapon†¦ a weapon which refusesto be limited by legality. Challenge, illegality, and action – there are so many keys with whichsatyagraha is equipped †¦. For though satyagraha rejects violence, it does not renounce illegality. †Gandhi always emphasised the value of proper means. To him, â€Å"Improper means result in animpure end†¦. One cannot reach truth by untruthfulness. Truthful conduct alone can reach truth. Non-violence is embedded in truth. †Often Gandhi has been taken to task for his emphasis on self-suffering and satyagraha. Sometrace it to the streak of masochism in the character of Gandhi, while others have gone over toHindu scriptures to emphasise Indian spirituality. But the Gandhian approach to self-sufferingand satyagraha has little to do with individual self-mortification. It is a simple condition for thesuccess of a cause. It does not imply that there would not be any suffering in the struggle forsatyagraha. It simply means the assertion of one’s freedom and one’s right to dissent. Thismethod often works as a psychological way to change the minds of an opponent. Gandhi said,â€Å"While in passive resistance, there is a scope for the use of arms when a suitable occasionarrives, in satyagraha physical force is forbidden even in the most favourable circumstances. Passive resistance may be offered side by side with the use of arms. Satyagraha and bruteforce being each a negation of the other can never go together. †The Gandhian concept of satyagraha is the product of his faith in religion and spiritual values. He was convinced that the supreme law that governs all living beings and universe is nothingbut love and non-violence, and Gita carried this message of non-violence as ‘ soul force’. The Gandhian concept of satyagraha is not merely an instrument of conflict resolution or nonviolentresistance to injustice. It is an integrated concept, covering the whole life process of asatyagrahi. It includes : truth, non-violence, hastity, non-stealing, swadeshi, fearlessness, breadlabour,removal of untouchability, and so on. Civil disobedience is a ‘branch’ of ‘satyagraha’. All ‘satyagrahas’ can never be civil disobedience, whereas all cases of civil disobedience arecases of satyagraha. Gandhi said, â€Å"Its root meaning is holding on to truth, hence truth forc e. I have called it Love Force or Soul Force. †The legal view, also called the monistic view or traditional view of sovereignty, was propoundedby John Austin (1779-1859), a great jurist, in his book, Lectures on Jurisprudence (1832). According to Austin, â€Å"If a determinate human superior, not in the habit of obedience to a like superior, receives habitual obedience from the bulk of a given society, that determinate superioris sovereign in that society; and the society (including the superior) is a society, political andindependent†. According to Austin, following are the characteristics of sovereignty:i) Sovereignty is necessary for the state. Sovereignty is one of the four elements of the state. There cannot be a state without sovereignty. If state is the body, sovereignty is its spirit. Thestate cannot alienate itself from the power of sovereignty. The end of sovereignty means theend of state. ii) Sovereignty has to be determinate . It resides in a person or a body of persons. To Austin, Stateis a legal order in which the sovereignty can be located very clearly. It cannot be the people orthe electorate or the General Will since all of these are vague expressions. It is not vested inGod also. Sovereign must be a human being or a body of human beings who can be identified. iii) Sovereign is the supreme power in the state. He is the source of all authority in the state. Hisauthority is unlimited and absolute. He does not take commands from any one as nobody hasa right to command him. But he commands every one within the state. His authority is universaland all comprehensive. Sovereignty is independent from any internal or external control. iv) The Sovereign receives habitual obedience from the people. Thus, the authority of the sovereignis not casual. It is continuous, regular, undisturbed and uninterrupted. If a significant part of thepopulation refuses to accept him and renders disobedience, then he is no longer a sovereign. Similarly, a short term obedience is not an attribute of sovereignty. The power of the sovereignhas to be permanent in society. v) Law is the will and the command of the sovereign. He is the source of law. Law is a commandgiven by a superior to the inferiors who are in a state of subjection or dependence. Sovereignis above the customs and traditions of society. They exist with his permission. Whatever thesovereign permits, that alone can exist. The rights and liberties of the individual also emanatefrom the sovereign and do restrict the operation of the individuals’ sovereignty. vi) Sovereignty has the legitimate physical force to exert command and obedience and enforce itslaws. ii) The power of sovereignty is exclusive and indivisible. It is a unit in itself that cannot be divided between two or more persons. Division of sovereignty means its destruction. Thus according to Austin, sovereignty is the supreme power of the state that is absolute,permanent, universal, inalienable, exclusive and indivisible. However, these characteristics arenot acc eptable to the pluralists who reject the entire thesis of Austin in toto. 9. 6 PLURALISTIC ATTACK ON AUSTIN’S CONCEPT OFSOVEREIGNTY The prominent pluralist writers are Dr. J. Neville Figgis, Paul Boncour, Durkheim, MacIver, Laski,Barker, Duguit, Krabbe, G. D. H. Cole and Miss Follet. Here we will study the pluralist attack onAustin’s concept of sovereignty with special reference to Laski and MacIver. The pluralists do not believe that the sovereign is determinate. According to them, the determinationwas possible in old days when the king ruled with absolute powers. But in modern times the political system is based upon the concept of popular sovereignty in which the government isresponsible to the people who can make or unmake the government. The constitutions clearlyproclaim the sovereignty of the people, but Austin will not accept people as sovereign. Similarly,the electorate cannot be termed as sovereign because both the terms- â€Å"people† and â€Å"electorate†are vague and do not constitute determinate human being in the Austinian sense. The task oflocating sovereignty becomes more difficult in case of a federation in which the powers aredivided between the centre and the units and both are supposed to be sovereign in theirrespective fields. In such a system, the constitution is supposed to be supreme but it is not ahuman being and hence, cannot be sovereign. Even in Britain where the supremacy of theparliament is the basic law of the land, the parliament cannot be termed as totally sovereign asit also works under limitations. Laski rightly points out that the real rulers of a society are notdiscoverable. The pluralists believe that Austin’s concept of sovereignty cannot be verified from history. According to Laski, historically, sovereignty has always been subjected to limitations except fora very small period when we really had a sovereign in Austin’s sense. This was the period whenthe nation-state arose and the kings asserted their authority. This nation-state was the result ofthe religious struggle of the 16th century and the emergence of the sovereign state was avindication of the primacy of the secular order over religion. Thus, there were certain historicalfactors which were responsible for the creation of absolute sovereignty of the state. And if we leave this brief period, we do not find any example of absolute sovereignty. In modern times,sovereignty is limited. Political theory is not only a theory of/about politics, it is also the science of politics, thephilosophy of politics at that. As a theory, Bluhen explains, political theory â€Å"stands for anabstract model of the political order†¦ a guide to the systematic collection and analysis ofpolitical data† (Theories of Political System, 1981). Andrew Hacker, enlarging the point ofview, says that political theory as a â€Å"theory, in ideal terms, is dispassionate and disinterested. As science, it will describe political reality without trying to pass judgement on what is beingdepicted, either implicitly or explicitly. As philosophy, it will describe rules of conduct which willsecure good life for all of society†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Political Theory: Philosophy, Ideology, Science, 1961). Political theory is not fantasy, though it may contain an element of political vision. It is notpoliticking, though it does take into account political realities for its study and analysis. It is notall scientism, though it seeks to reach the roots of all political activity analytically and systematically. It is not ideology, though it attempts to justify a political system and condemns another. It istheoretical, scientific, philosophical and at the same time dynamic with a clear objective ofattaining a better social order. It thus, has in varying degrees, elements of ‘theory’, ‘science’,‘philosophy’ and ‘ideology’. Political theory is a theory about what is â€Å"political†, the science and philosophy of what ispolitical. George Sabine says, â€Å"It is anything about politics or relevant to politics†. This beingthe broader meaning, he refers to its narrow meaning, saying that it is â€Å"the disciplined investigationof political problems† (A History of Political Theory, 1973). David Held defines political theoryas â€Å"a network of concepts and generalizations about political life involving ideas, assumptionsand statements about the nature, purpose and key features of government, state and society andabout the political capabilities of human beings†. Political Theory Today, 1991) A very elaboratedefinition of political theory has been given in Political Science Dictionary, describing it as â€Å"abody of thought that seeks to evaluate, explain and predict political phenomena. As a sub-fieldof Political Science, it is concerned with political ideas, values and conc epts, and the explanationof prediction of political behaviour. In its broad sense, it has two main branches: one is politicalphilosophy or normative theory, with its value, analytic, historical and speculative concerns. Theother is empirical theory, with its efforts to explain, predict, guide, research and organizeknowledge through the formulation of abstract models, and scientifically testable propositions. †Political theory is all about politics. It is an overview of what the political order is about. It isa symbolic representation of what is â€Å"political†. In its nature, it is a formal, logical and systematic analysis of processes and consequences of political activity. It is, in its method, analytical,expository, and explanatory. It is, in its objective, an attempt to give order, coherence andmeaning to what may be referred to as â€Å"political†. i) Classical political theory aimed at acquiring reliable knowledge about matters concerning thepeople, a philosophical pursuit to establish a rational basis for belief; a politically inspired pursuitto establish a rational basis for action. (ii) It sought to identify the political with the public, the common: the Greek polis, the Roman respublica, and the medieval age usage of commonweal – all denoted a sharing of what wascommon among the people as partners. iii) Its basic unit of analysis was always the political whole, the body-politic, the inter-relatedstructure denoting activity, relationship, and belief: activity relating to ruling, warfare, education,religious practices;relationships involving those between social classes, between the rulersand the ruled, between the superiors and the inferiors; belief, such as justice, equality, naturallaw and the like. (iv) Relating itself to the political whole, the classical political theory laid emphasis on order, balance,equilibrium, stability and harmony. That is why, it, in the process, dwelt on terms such asconflicts, anarchy, instability and revolution. (v) Classical political theory laid stress on comparative studies for supplying a more comprehensiveexplanation of political phenomena and a wider range of alternatives. That was the reason thatclassical political theory developed a classification of political forms (e. g. , monarchy, aristocracy,democracy, and their variants) and a set of concepts such as law, citizenship, justice andparticipation so as to explain differences and similarities between them. (vi) Classical political theory had been, largely, ethical in perspective. Its response was rooted in amoral outlook: Plato advocated the ideal state; Aristotle, a state that can achieve the bestpossible; St. Augustine, the city of god. Classical political theory undertook to appraise thevarious constitutional forms, to determine the form most suitable for a particular set of circumstances, and to decide, if any, absolutely the best form possible. (vii)Classical political theory, by projecting the best form of polity as the ideal, revealed the boldnessand radicalism of classical theorising, though some dismissed such an attempt as merely utopianand visionary. . 4. 2 Modern Political Theory Modern political theory encompasses in itself a hostModern political theory with its western liberal-democratic shade attemptedto build a science of politics; objective, empirical, observational, measurable, operational andvalue-free. Its features can be summed up as under:(i) Facts and data constitute the bases of study. These are accumulated, explained and then usedfor testing hypothesis. (ii) Human behaviour can be studied, and regularities of human behaviour can be expressed ingeneralisations. iii) Subjectivity gives way to objectivity; philosophical interpretation to analytical explanation;purpose to procedure; descriptive to observational; normative to scientific. (iv) Facts and values are separated; values are so arranged that the facts become relevant. (v) Methodology has to be self-conscious, explicit and quantitative. (vi) Inter-disciplinary synthesis is to be achieved. (vii)â€Å"What it is† is regarded as more important than either â€Å"what it was† or â€Å"what it ought to be orcould be†. viii) Values are to supportfacts, substance to form, and theory to research, and status quo tosocial changeAt the other end of modern political theory stands the Marxist political theory, also called the‘dialectical-materialist’ or the ‘scientific-socialist’ theory. It describes the general laws of motio nin the development of all phenomena. Its importance lies in change through the struggle betweenopposites; between relations of production and productive forces with a view to have a bettermode of production; development from the lower stage to the higher one; from, say, capitalisticto socialistic and from socialistic to communistic. It is a theory which provides a systematic andscientific framework of analysing and explaining social and political change. It is a method ofinterpreting the past, understanding the present, and projecting the future. 1. 4. 3 Contemporary Political Theory (i) Contemporary political theory has been viewed as the history of political thought, involving anattempt to examine the significance of text in their historical context. ii) It has sought to revitalise the discipline as a form of conceptual analysis, and in the process,finding political theory as a systematic reflection upon, and classification of, the meanings ofthe key forms and concepts such as sovereignty, democracy, justice and the like. (iii) It has been developed as the systematic elaboration of the underlying structure of our moraland political activities; the disclosure, examination and reconstruction of the foundations ofpolitical value. vi) It has been revitalised as a form of argument concerned with abstract theoretica l questionsand particular political issues. (v) It has been championed as a critique of all forms of foundationalism, either the post-modernistsor the liberal defenders. It, accordingly, presents itself as a stimulant to dialogue and toconversation among human beings. (vi) It has been elaborated as a form of systematic model building influenced by theoreticaleconomics, rational choice theory and game theory; it aims to construct formal models ofpolitical processes. vii)It has developed as the theoretical enterprise of the discipline of Political Science. As such itattempts to construct theory on the basis of observation and modest empirical generalisations. Contemporary political theory is mainly concerned with the explanation, investigation and ultimately,with the comprehension of what relates to politics: concepts, principles and institutions. BrianBarry (Political Argument, 1965) says that political theory attempts to â€Å"study the relationbetweenprinciplesamp;institutionsâ₠¬ . According to Rawls, a stable, reasonably well-off society is â€Å"a cooperative venture for mutualadvantage. † Along with cooperation, there is also conflict among its members regarding theirshare of the burdens and benefits of social living. The purpose of principles of social justice isto ensure that the distribution of the benefits and burdens of society is just or fair to all itsmembers. The basic institutions of society should, according to Rawls, be so constructed as toensure the continuous distribution of â€Å"social primary goods† to all the members of society in a fair or just manner. Social primary goods† are goods, which are distributed by the basicstructure of a society. They include rights and liberties, powers and opportunities, and incomeand wealth. Rawls argues that the distribution of these social primary goods among the membersof a society is just, if that distribution is made in accordance with the following principles ofjustice:Principle 1 (P rinciple of Equal Basic Liberties) Each person has the same indefeasible claim to a fully adequate scheme of equal basic liberties,scheme which is compatible with the same scheme of liberties for all. Principle 2(2-i: Fair Equality of Opportunity; 2-ii: Difference Principle)Social and economic inequalities are to satisfy two conditions : first, they are to be attached tooffices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity; and second, theyare to be to the greatest benefit of the least-advantaged members of societyThese principles are listed here in the order of their lexical priority. By â€Å"lexical priority†, Rawlsmeans that the first principle must be fully satisfied before the next principle is applied. It means,for instance, that â€Å"liberty can be restricted only for the sake of liberty†, and not, say, for thesake of income or wealth. It must, however, be noted in this context that Rawls assumes thatsociety (his own society, in fact) to which his principles of social justice are to be applied is onewhich is reasonably well-off and in which the basic material needs of all are provided for. The main purpose of the rule of priority is to assign greater importance to equal basic libertiesthan to other primary social goods. In â€Å"basic liberties,† Rawls includes freedom of conscience,freedom of thought, freedom of the person along with the right to hold personal property,freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention or, in other words, the freedom of the rule of law,freedom of speech and assembly and political freedoms. According to Rawls, these basic rights and liberties enable us to exercise and realise our â€Å"twohighest-order moral powers,† namely, (i) the capacity to understand, apply and act according tothe principles of justice and (ii) the capacity to form, revise and pursue conceptions of the good. In Rawls’s view, every member of a just society must be viewed as having these two moralcapacities. These make them free and equal citizens. The moral equality of citizens means thatâ€Å"they each have, and view themselves as having, a right to equal respect and consideration indetermining the principles by which the basic arrangements of their society are to be regulated†. The freedom of the citizens includes their freedom to realise their capacity to pursue their ownconception of the good life. Since the distribution of social primary goods will have to respect the equality and freedom andâ€Å"fraternity† and welfare, etc. f all the members of society, it cannot strictly be an equaldistribution across the board. According to Rawls, once the basic material needs of the peopleare met, their right to basic liberties is to be accorded priority over their right to the other socialprimary goods, which are covered by the principle of equal opportunities and the diff erenceprinciple. While he is opposed to any unequal distribution of basic liberties, he assumes thatsome inequalities in income and wealth are inevitable and perhaps not undesirable. Accordingly,the main purpose of his second principle of social justice is to keep inequalities within the boundsof justice-as-fairness. Obviously, the distinction between just or fair inequalities and unjust orunfair inequalities is of crucial importance in Rawls’s theory of social justice. Rawls thinks that excessive equality in income and wealth would destroy the economic incentivesrequired for greater creativity and productivity. This would be harmful to both the rich and thepoor. From the standpoint of the poor (as well as of the rich), justice does not require thecomplete elimination of economic inequality. Rawls believes that certain inequalities, whichserve as incentives for the greater creativity and productivity of the talented and the gifted, arenot unjust if that greater creativity and productivity are integrated into a social-structural orinstitutional arrangement for distribution to the benefit of all, especially the least advantagedmembers of the society. He also thinks that giving advantage to the least advantaged wouldinvariably entail giving benefits to everyone else. Rawls maintains that a society can so structure or re-structure its basic institutions as to makeinequalities in income and wealth yield maximum benefits to the least advantaged – maximumin comparison to any reasonable, alternative social re-structuring. His Difference Principle ismeant not to replace inequality with equality in income and wealth, but to transform unfair orunjust degrees or kinds of economic inequalities into a fair or just kind or degree by maximisingthe benefits of the least advantaged. According to the Difference Principle, inequalities whichare advantageous to the better off but not to the least advantaged are unjust. Rawls’s principle of fair equality of opportunity stipulates that the state should ensure fairequality of opportunity in the educational, cultural and economic spheres as well as provideunemployment and sickness benefits. These require an interventionist, welfare state to run oraid schools, to regulate the economy, etc. The principles of justice, which we have discussed so far, have been described by Rawls asâ€Å"special† formulations of a â€Å"general† conception of justice. This general conception is stated as:All social primary goods – liberty and opportunity, income and wealth and the bases of selfrespect– are to be distributed equally, unless an unequal distribution of any or all of these goodsis to the advantage of the least favoured. What Rawls means by this general conception of justice is that only those inequalities are unjustwhich, as in the case of utilitarianism, put some members or the society at a disadvantage. This â€Å"general† conception of justice, however, does not differentiate between the different social primary goods. It does not say, for instance, how to resolve the conflict, if any, between thedistribution of income and the distribution of liberty. It is to meet this difficulty that Rawls dividesthe general conception into a â€Å"special conception† of the two principles, which we have discussedabove.

The Rumor of Rapists Luring Victims With a Crying Child

The Rumor of Rapists Luring Victims With a Crying Child Several viral messages that have been circulating, through email and social media since 2005, claim that gang members in various parts of the world have begun using crying children. This claim surrounds the idea that they are pretending to be lost or in distress to lure female victims to secluded places to be assaulted. Police have repeatedly stated that there is no evidence that such tactics are being used by rapists. This viral text and email rumor is considered false and includes several examples over the years, with versions from 2005, 2011, and 2014. See these versions below, review the analysis of the rumor, and learn how viral rape warnings can be misleading. The 2014 Example As Shared on Facebook ATTENTION ALL GIRLS AND LADIES:If you walk from home, school, office or anywhere and you are alone and you come across a little boy crying holding a piece of paper with an address on it, DO NOT TAKE HIM THERE! Take him straight to the police station for this is the new gang way of Kidnap and rape. The incident is getting worse. Warn your families and friends.Repost this please! The 2011 Example As Received Through Email FW: Fox News Alert - Please Read!FROM CNN FOX NEWSThis is from the County Sheriff Department please read this message very carefully.This message is for any lady who goes to work, college or school or even driving or walking the streets alone.-If you find a young person crying on the road showing you their address and is asking you to take them to that address... take that child to the POLICE STATION!! No matter what you do, DONT go to that address. This is a new way for gang members to rape women. Please forward this message to all ladies guys so that they can inform their sisters friends. Please dont feel shy to forward this message. Our 1 message may save a life. Published by CNN FOX NEWS (Please circulate)..**Please DO NOT IGNORE! The 2005 Example As Delivered by Email Subject: New Rape Case TacticHi everyone, I am not sure when did this happen, but it is best to be careful and safety comes first.She was just discharged from the hospital...Today after office hours, I heard from my sister-in-law that there is a new way to rape women It happened to one of our good friends The girl left the office after working hours and saw a little child crying on the road Feeling pity for the child, she went and ask what happened The child said, I am lost. Can you take me home please? Then the child gave her a slip and tell the girl where the address is. And the girl, being an average kind person, didnt suspect anything and took the child there.And there when it arrived the childs home, she pressed the door bell, yet she was shocked as it the bell was wired with high voltage, and fainted. The next day when she woke up, she found herself in an empty house up in the hills, naked.She has never even get to see the face of the attacker... Thats why nowadays crimes are t argeted on kind peopleNext time if the same situation occurs, never bring the child to the intended place. If the child insist, then bring the child to the police station. Lost child are best to send to police stations.Please send this to all your female friends.(my extra note: guys, please tell your mom, your sister, your wife and your girlfriends too!) Analysis of the Viral Message Rumors Even though recent variants of this rumor have been shared under the guise of police warnings or sheriffs department warnings, no reports have been found. This includes documented cases in which rapists actually used, or even attempted to use, crying children as bait to lure female victims. Law enforcement officials have repeatedly denounced these warnings as hoaxes. The earliest version of the hoax was forwarded in 2005 by a reporter in Singapore who had already identified it as an urban legend. Within a month it had made its way to South Africa, and by May 2005 more copies began to circulate from readers in the United States. As of 2013, eight years later, law enforcement agencies were still fielding inquiries about it from El Paso to Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Viral Rape Warnings Can Be Misleading and Dangerous People sometimes defend viral warnings like these by arguing that, even if false in their particulars, they remind women to keep their wits about them and be careful and that it cant hurt. What weakens that argument is that the false warnings are, in fact, specific. To the degree that potential victims are persuaded to focus their attention on a crying child as a sign that an attacker may be nearby, the more likely it is that theyll be inattentive to other cues, such as real cues, that theyre in danger.

Significant of Edge Waves and Shear Waves Essay

Significant of Edge Waves and Shear Waves - Essay Example Edge waves or low frequency gravity motion waves are water waves that are trapped at the shoreline by refraction. It is produce by the variability of wave energy reaching shore. An edge-wave is a low frequency wave attached to the beach. The edge waves have periods of a minute, a long-shore wave-length of around a kilometer, and amplitude that decays exponentially offshore as shown in figure 1 (Cutchin and Smith, 1973).While they were originally considered to be a curiosity, these waves play a significant role in near shore hydrodynamics. (Eckart C., 1951). The edge waves are modeled by creating incident waves that approach perpendicular to the direction of the constructed shoreline. The numerical modeling of edge waves was first described by Stokes equation in 1946. Shear Wave is also known as the voticity wave. The stability of a steady alongshore current V(x) to small perturbations using a linear vorticity equation based on the shallow water equations and the rigid-lid approximation. They showed that in the region of strong seaward shear (d|V|/dx pressure variance R, is 1 (i.e., equi-partitioning of kinetic and potential energy) independent of the mode mix. For shear waves , R = O(gh/V2), that is, 1 for natural alongshore currents with typically small Froude numbers (e.g., Oltman-Shay et al. 1989). Hence, can be used to estimate the contributions of gravity waves and shear waves to the infragravity band. If the gravity and shear wave velocity fluctuations are assumed to be statistically independent, then the fraction of the infragravity velocity variance contributed by shear waves is approximately given by = 1 1/R.(17). The effects of Shear and Edge Wave in the Environment The shape of the land under sea determines the strength and direction of the wave toward the coastline, while above ground it determines the run-up. Since the generation of a wave is defined by transferance of energy, or force in simple mathematical terms, the decrease in sea floor depth has the proportional effect of focusing and speeding up the movement of the wave. Thus a wave generated from a large, deep body of water will produce larger waves than those produced from a shallower body of water. Beach coastlines. As shown by Adams & Lewis, (1979) offshore coastline has a modifying effect on the wave shape as it breaks on land. The most destructive waves are where the force of the wave is focused as it breaks on l

Final assessment for implement operational plan bsbflm405b Assignment

Final assessment for implement operational plan bsbflm405b - Assignment Example In this project we are going to target all the international students that have a Bachelor Degree in accounting and 3 years of working experience in accounting. The main functional group of this project is the new students having Bachelor Degree. The mission of this project is to provide the international students the facility of higher education. We will act on behalf of the students while dealing with the University and the Australian high commission in getting the visa. In this way the student have to do less effort and their overall process of admission will be easier. The vision of this project is to make sure student visa requirements are met for pursuing the MBA program. Here we will also make sure that the students also have the facilities of the finances for the course fees along with the accommodation. In this project we have to make sure that the overall project can be handled and managed on the time. In this way we will be able to complete the project before the ending date of the admission in the Universities of the Australia. We have to concentrate on the legal areas of the visa processing and financial strength of the students. The main initiative of our agency is to enhance the overall market value and get a better competitive edge in the international immigration. We have established a vision to support and provide better and on time facilities for the Business Visa, Working Visa, Skilled Migration Visa, etc. The aim of our agency is to provide students the better platform for online admission for their higher studies. The agency has settled a business scope and it is established that now it will target international students by providing assistance in applying for a student visa. In this project we have established a project that will facilitate in organizing applications of student visas for a group of international students. Now I will talk about the

Plagiarism Excuse Essay Example for Free

Plagiarism Excuse Essay This letter is regarding the charge on violation of the University’s Student Code of Conduct. I comprehend that plagiarism is a crime, it is wrongful to copy some one else’s work or even idea without giving the author credit for his work. But, my assignments, term reports and coursework are never plagiarized not even a single bit, I always make it a point to cite my entire work appropriately. The reference list I have at the end of my coursework clearly reflects where I have taken my work from. However, my mistake this time was that I forgot to properly do in-text citation of the things I took directly from the author’s text; I should have put those lines that I copied directly from the author’s document in quotes and then should have cited it both internally and at the end of the paper. I comprehend that I made a mistake by forgetting to put the author’s words in quotes, but my intention was not to cheat or commit a crime. All of this happened completely unintentionally. The work pressure I was going through at the time of submission and continuous distraction by of clients and employees just made me feel sick and I completely forgot the basic requirements I had to fulfill in completing the paper. Sir, I am aware that the university is very strict regarding the rules it has towards plagiarism. I am not irrational and foolish enough to submit a plagiarized paper in college and ruin my future. I realize that it is better to shed tears for some time because of getting a bad grade in a course rather than weeping my entire life by submitting plagiarized work. I am a student who cares about his academic career and wants to achieve a lot of goals in life. I can be a motivated contributor to the university; I am even capable to become much more than that if I am provided with the opportunity. Please don’t take this away from me because of my one silly mistake which I committed by coincidence, this university has taught me how to be a better person and has changed me. I feel a part of it and the thought of being separated from it is so painful. I hope for your maximum cooperation as my future is in your hands! My life, my education, my respect in the eyes of my friends and colleagues is at stake and I may not able to digest any charge due to my silly mistake. I also fear that any action or charge against me will have a very negative effect on my health and business. Sir, Please consider my statement that I had no intention to plagiarize in any circumstances before taking any step against me as it is a matter of my whole life . All my life I have studied very hard , was a brilliant student in class and a good person with everyone . I assure to the disciplinary committee with full confidence that my future paper will not be affected by any personal and business issues and I will pay full attention to all the university’s disciplinary requirements. I also hope that the reasons I gave to proof myself innocent will be taken into consideration. Reference: Gilmore, B. (2008). Plagiarism: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It. Heinemann

Investigation: Water Scarcity in Australia

Investigation: Water Scarcity in Australia Students Name: James Yu Abstract This paper indicates the water scarcity and water pollution in Australia. These two things can be serious problems in Australia because it is so major a food exporting country. The sources we use as references are all websites and two scientific paper. The solution for these two water issues are cloud seeding and enacting some laws which forbid people from throwing plastic casually. However, just clouding seeding probably can work efficiently if Australia have sufficient capital to conduct these experiments. The limitation of this paper is source availability, all what I can use is Internet because it is tough for me to find books on this topic in English version. 1.0 Introduction This scientific paper indicated several causes of water scarcity and water pollution in Australia, and also provided some solutions of solving this issue. Australia is one of the most developed countries all over the world, however, this country got a severe water restriction. One of the most underlying causes is sea surface temperature (SST). In the south of Australia , the SST is lower than average. This signified that there was few evaporation of water, caused atomospheric desiccation, and led to limitation of raining (Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Contour Charts 2013). The cause of water pollution in Australia was polyolefins, which accounts for 52% of plastic production and were used for manufacturing throwaway packaging (Schneider J 2013). These plastics could spoil our food web and ecosystem. Australia mostly gather water from raining and a large proportions of water was used for agriculture, because Australia was a major food exporting country (M. Ejaz Qureshi, Munir A. Hanjr a, Ward J 2013). Our hypothesis was Australia could conquer water scarcity and water pollutionif they develop cloud seeding and enact some regulations on environmental protection. Table 1: Variability of à ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ow in some of the worlds major rivers compared with a Australian rivers. COUNTRY RIVER RATIO BETWEEN THE MAXIMUM and THE MINIMUM ANNUAL FLOWS Switzerland China Sudan USA South Africa Australia Rhine Yangtze White Nile Potomac Orange Hunter 1.9 2.0 2.4 3.9 16.9 54.3 This table illustrated the Australian river got a very unstable fluctuation between the maximum and the minumum flows, compared to one major river in other countries. Reference: http://www.wentworthgroup.org/docs/Chartres__Williams.pdf 2.0 Methodology The source of this scientific paper was all Internet. I typed some key words like Water scarcity in Australia. I look through all the web pages and gathered the beneficial information and type them into search box once again. For instance, I found one of the solutions of water scarcity in Australia is Cloud seeding and I typed this term into search box to get further information. I spent about 40 minutes on researching and found 2 websites for each solution. I haved verified all these sources were all written by reputable professors, scientists or publishers by researching these people and publisher to ensure if their dependency is strong enough for my paper. Some of my sources were another scientific paper. 3.0 Findings Two of the most severe fresh water issues in Australia were water scarcity and water pollution, these problems have existed for last of a decade. These two water issues could be a massive problem for Australia. Cloud seeding was a significant solution which throws drikold into cloud, it could increase supply moderately in Australia. Figure 1 demonstrated the mean of precipitation of seeded clouds was 2X103 m3 exceeded from unseeded clouds, it means seeded clounds can actually raise the percipitation (E. J. Smith). In fact, a great percents of water in Australia was polluted by plastics. Meanwhile, Australian plastic production had increased from 170 thousand in 1950s to 280 million in 2011. Figure 2 shows the distribution of plastic pollution in water of Australian city . Most heavy polluted cities were concentrated in the south-eastern and north-western Australia, the place where need to control the plastic production. Some cities in south-eastern Australia had over 15500 km-2 of pl astic concentrations. During the a long term of flowing, these plastics could be broken down into small fragments within 5 mm length, which commonly called microplastic and damaged to the food web and ecosystem easily. Therefore, we had two methods to solve this issue. Approximately 37% of plastics were used for manufacturing disposable packaging, comprising bottle, cups and bags,hence, the first solution was reducing the production of single-use plastic package and decreased the demand of using these plastic manutacture by advocating awareness of this water issue (Schneider J 2013). Another efficient solution was enact the laws which prohibit people and also factories from dumping plastics into sea. Figure 1: Total rainfall from isolated cumulus clouds The total rainfall of seeded cloud and unseeded cloud whose tops were -100C or cooler with 30 minutes of seeding from isolated cumulus clouds. Reference: http://www.wentworthgroup.org/docs/Chartres__Williams.pdf Figure 2: Distribution map of plastic concentrations in Australia    Marine plastic concentrations in waters around Australia. White crosses indicate location of major Australian cities Reference: http://theconversation.com/australian-waters-polluted-by-harmful-tiny-plastics-20790 4.0 Discussion From the scientists and researchers perspectives, they think that the best solution that is able to augment the amout of water is cloud seeding. Via this solution, Australia could have sufficient supply and overcame water scarcity lightly. But on the contrary, cloud seeding can be very costly. In most of the cases, it takes millions of RMB to implement one cloud seeding, therefore, Australia would better have a strong economic background beforehand like developing their agriculture or IT industry. On the other hand, as for the water pollution in Australia, most of water is polluted by fragmented plastic and majority of people and factories concentrated in the eastern coast of the Australia, so we could see eastern Australia is more polluted than any other part of Australia. Moreover, because it is hardly to eliminate all these plastic pollutants and made sure there is no plastic contamination in the furture in a scientific way, we could just do it in a political approach. For instanc e, government could enact laws of environmental protection or making some advertisments to persuade people do not throw plasctic bags or products into any kind of natural water source. In addition, some eco-friendly organizations can just simply set some dustbins around those highly polluted cities for recycling the plastic. But its a little bit tough for them to conquer water pollution via this method. All in all, I think Australia can conquer these two water issues based on the previous contents. 5.0 Conclusions and Recommendations In general, cloud seeding still got a substaintia chance to resolve water restriction by it extra precipitation. Australia just need to develop their economy and have enough capital to conduct these experiments. To handle the increasing plastic pollution in Australian water, government have appeal people do not throw any plastic manufactures casually and set several laws to forbid people from doing this, in particular the eastern part of Australia. The effectiveness of this measure rely on the governmental actions and Australian qualities. There are some limitations in this scientific paper, first of all is source restrictions. Sources in this paper are all from Internet. The research suggestion is using books references, because books always much more trustworthy than websites. If we get enough money, we will find a new scientific way to reduce the plastic pollution in Australian water. Reference List      Ã‚   Chartres C., Williams J.(2006), Can Australia Overcome its Water Scarcity Problems, Wentworth Group. [Online]. Available from: http://www.wentworthgroup.org/docs/Chartres__Williams.pdf [Accessed 1 October 2016] (2013),Sea Surface Temperature (SST) Contour Charts, NOAA. [Online]. Available from: http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/Products/ocean/sst/contour/ [Accessed 1 October 2016] (2013), M. Ejaz Qureshi, Munir A. Hanjra, Ward J.,Impact of water scarcity in Australia on global food security in an era of climate change, Science Direct. [Online]. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919212001170 [Accessed 1 October 2016] E. J. Smith, Cloud Seeding Experiments in Australia, Berkeley. [Online]. Available from: http://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/math/ucb/text/math_s5_v5_article-10.pdf [Accessed 1 October 2016] Schneider J.(2013), Australian waters polluted by harmful tiny plastics, The Conversation. [Online]. Available from: http://theconversation.com/australian-waters-polluted-by-harmful-tiny-plastics-20790 [Accessed 2 October 2016

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening Chapter Eight

Elena had gone into the bathroom dazed and numbly grateful. She came out angry. She wasn't quite sure how the transformation had taken place. But sometime while she was washing the scratches on her face and arms, annoyed at the lack of a mirror and at the fact she'd left her purse in Tyler's convertible, she startedfeeling again. And what she felt was anger. Damn Stefan Salvatore. So cold and controlled even while saving her life. Damn him for his politeness, and for his gallantry, and for the walls around him that seemed thicker and higher than ever. She pulled the remaining bobby pins out of her hair and used them to fasten the front of her dress together. Then she ran through her loosened hair quickly with an engraved bone comb she found by the sink. She came out of the bathroom with her chin held high and her eyes narrowed. He hadn't put his coat back on. He was standing by the window in his white sweater with bowed head, tense, waiting. Without lifting his head, he gestured to a length of dark velvet laid over the back of a chair. â€Å"You might want to put that on over your dress.† It was a full-length cloak, very rich and soft, with a hood. Elena pulled the heavy material around her shoulders. But she was not mollified by the gift; she noticed that Stefan hadn't come any closer to her, or even looked at her while speaking. Deliberately, she invaded his territorial space, pulling the cloak more tightly about her and feeling, even at that moment, a sensual appreciation of the way the folds fell about her, trailing behind her on the floor. She walked up to him and made an examination of the heavy mahogany dresser by the window. On it lay a wicked-looking dagger with an ivory hilt and a beautiful agate cup mounted in silver. There were also a golden sphere with some sort of dial set into it and several loose gold coins. She picked up one of the coins, partly because it was interesting and partly because she knew it would upset him to see her handling his things. â€Å"What's this?† It was a moment before he answered. Then he said: â€Å"A gold florin. A Florentine coin.† â€Å"And what's this?† â€Å"A German pendant watch. Late fifteenth century,† he said distractedly. He added, â€Å"Elena-† She reached for a small iron coffer with a hinged lid. â€Å"What about this? Does it open?† â€Å"No.† He had the reflexes of a cat; his hand slapped over the coffer, holding the lid down. â€Å"That's private,† he said, the strain obvious in his voice. She noticed that his hand made contact only with the curving iron lid and not with her flesh. She lifted her fingers, and he drew back at once. Suddenly, her anger was too great to hold in any longer. â€Å"Careful,† she said savagely. â€Å"Don't touch me, or you might get a disease.† He turned away toward the window. And yet even as she moved away herself, walking back to the center of the room, she could sense his watching her reflection. And she knew, suddenly, what she must look like to him, pale hair spilling over the blackness of the cape, one white hand holding the velvet closed at her throat. A ravaged princess pacing in her tower. She tilted her head far back to look at the trapdoor in the ceiling, and heard a soft, distinct intake of breath. When she turned, his gaze was fixed on her exposed throat; the look in his eyes confused her. But the next moment his face hardened, closing her out. â€Å"I think,† he said, â€Å"that I had better get you home.† In that instant, she wanted to hurt him, to make him feel as bad as he'd made her feel. But she also wanted the truth. She was tired of this game, tired of scheming and plotting and trying to read Stefan Salvatore's mind. It was terrifying and yet a wonderful relief to hear her own voice saying the words she'd been thinking so long. â€Å"Why do you hate me?† He stared at her. For a moment he couldn't seem to find words. Then he said, â€Å"I don't hate you.† â€Å"You do,† said Elena. â€Å"I know it's not†¦ not good manners to say it, but I don't care. I know I should be grateful to you for saving me tonight, but I don't care about that, either. I didn't ask you to save me. I don't know why you were even in the graveyard in the first place. And I certainly don't understand why you did it, considering the way you feel about me.† He was shaking his head, but his voice was soft. â€Å"I don't hate you.† â€Å"From the very beginning, you've avoided me as if I were†¦ were some kind of leper. I tried to be friendly to you, and you threw it back in my face. Is that what agentleman does when someone tries to welcome him?† He was trying to say something now, but she swept on, heedless. â€Å"You've snubbed me in public time after time; you've humiliated me at school. You wouldn't be speaking to me now if it hadn't been a matter of life or death. Is that what it takes to get a word out of you? Does someone have to nearly be murdered? â€Å"And even now,† she continued bitterly, â€Å"you don't want me to get anywhere near you. What's the matter with you, Stefan Salvatore, that you have to live this way? That you have to build walls against other people to keep them out? That you can't trust anyone?What's wrong with you ?† He was silent now, his face averted. She took a deep breath and then straightened her shoulders, holding her head up even though her eyes were sore and burning. â€Å"And what's wrong withme ,† she added, more quietly, â€Å"that you can't even look at me, but you can let Caroline Forbes fall all over you? I have a right to know that, at least. I won't ever bother you again, I won't even talk to you at school, but I want to know the truth before I go. Why do you hate me so much, Stefan?† Slowly, he turned and raised his head. His eyes were bleak, sightless, and something twisted in Elena at the pain she saw on his face. His voice was still controlled-but barely. She could hear the effort it cost him to keep it steady. â€Å"Yes,† he said, â€Å"I think you do have a right to know. Elena.† He looked at her then, meeting her eyes directly, and she thought, That bad? What could be as bad as that? â€Å"I don't hate you,† he continued, pronouncing each word carefully, distinctly. â€Å"I've never hated you. But you†¦ remind me of someone.† Elena was taken aback. Whatever she'd expected, it wasn't this. â€Å"I remind you of someone else you know?† â€Å"Of someone I knew,† he said quietly. â€Å"But,† he added slowly, as if puzzling something out for himself, â€Å"you're not like her, really. She looked like you, but she was fragile, delicate. Vulnerable. Inside as well as out.† â€Å"And I'm not.† He made a sound that would have been a laugh if there had been any humor in it. â€Å"No. You're a fighter. You are†¦ yourself.† Elena was silent for a moment. She could not keep hold of her anger, seeing the pain on his face. â€Å"You were very close to her?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"What happened?† There was a long pause, so long that Elena thought he wasn't going to answer her. But at last he said, â€Å"She died.† Elena let out a tremulous breath. The last of her anger folded up and disappeared from under her. â€Å"That must have hurt terribly,† she said softly, thinking of the white Gilbert headstone among the rye grass. â€Å"I'm so sorry.† He said nothing. His face had closed again, and he seemed to be looking far away at something, something terrible and heartbreaking that only he could see. But there was not just grief in his expression. Through the walls, through all his trembling control, she could see the tortured look of unbearable guilt and loneliness. A look so lost and haunted that she had moved to his side before she knew what she was doing. â€Å"Stefan,† she whispered. He didn't seem to hear her; he seemed to be adrift in his own world of misery. She could not stop herself from laying a hand on his arm. â€Å"Stefan, I know how it can hurt-† â€Å"You can't know,† he exploded, all his quietness erupting into white rage. He looked down at her hand as if just realizing it was there, as if infuriated at her effrontery in touching him. His green eyes were dilated and dark as he shook her hand off, flinging a hand up to bar her from touching him again- -and somehow, instead, he was holding her hand, his fingers tightly interlocked with hers, hanging on for dear life. He looked down at their locked hands in bewilderment. Then, slowly, his gaze moved from their clasping fingers to her face. â€Å"Elena†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he whispered. And then she saw it, the anguish shattering his gaze, as if he simply couldn't fight any longer. The defeat as the walls finally crumbled and she saw what was underneath. And then, helplessly, he bent his head down to her lips. â€Å"Wait-stop here,† said Bonnie. â€Å"I thought I saw something.† Matt's battered Ford slowed, edging toward the side of the road, where brambles and bushes grew thickly. Something white glimmered there, coming toward them. â€Å"Oh, my God,† said Meredith. â€Å"It's Vickie Bennett.† The girl stumbled into the path of the headlights and stood there, wavering, as Matt hit the brakes. Her light-brown hair was tangled and in disarray, and her eyes stared glassily out of a face that was smudged and grimy with dirt. She was wearing only a thin white slip. â€Å"Get her in the car,† said Matt. Meredith was already opening the car door. She jumped out and ran up to the dazed girl. â€Å"Vickie, are you all right? What happened to you?† Vickie moaned, still looking straight ahead. Then she suddenly seemed to see Meredith, and she clutched at her, digging her nails into Meredith's arms. â€Å"Get out of here,† she said, her eyes filled with desperate intensity, her voice strange and thick, as if she had something in her mouth. â€Å"All of you-get out of here! It's coming.† â€Å"What's coming? Vickie, where is Elena?† â€Å"Get outnow . †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Meredith looked down the road, then led the shaking girl back to the car. â€Å"We'll take you away,† she said, â€Å"but you have to tell us what's happened. Bonnie, give me your wrap. She's freezing.† â€Å"She's been hurt,† said Matt grimly. â€Å"And she's in shock or something. The question is, where are the others? Vickie, was Elena with you?† Vickie sobbed, putting her hands over her face as Meredith settled Bonnie's iridescent pink wrap around her shoulders. â€Å"No†¦ Dick,† she said indistinctly. It seemed to hurt her to speak. â€Å"We were in the church†¦ it was horrible. It came†¦ like mist all around. Dark mist. And eyes. I saw its eyes in the dark there, burning. They burnt me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"She's delirious,† said Bonnie. â€Å"Or hysterical, or whatever you call it.† Matt spoke slowly and clearly. â€Å"Vickie, please, just tell us one thing. Where is Elena? What happened to her?† â€Å"I don't know .† Vickie lifted a tear-stained face to the sky. â€Å"Dick and I-we were alone. We were†¦ and then suddenly it was all around us. I couldn't run. Elena said the tomb had opened. Maybe that was where it came from. It was horrible†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"They were in the cemetery, in the ruined church,† Meredith interpreted. â€Å"And Elena was with them. And look at this.† In the overhead light, they could all see the deep fresh scratches running down Vickie's neck to the lace bodice of her slip. â€Å"They look like animal marks,† said Bonnie. â€Å"Like the marks of cat's claws, maybe.† â€Å"No cat got that old man under the bridge,† said Matt. His face was pale, and muscles stood out in his jaw. Meredith followed his gaze down the road and then shook her head. â€Å"Matt, we have to take her back first. We have to,† she said. â€Å"Listen to me, I'm as worried about Elena as you are. But Vickie needs a doctor, and we need to call the police. We don't have any choice. We have to go back.† Matt stared down the road for another long moment, then let out his breath in a hiss. Slamming the door shut, he put the car into gear and turned it around, each motion violent. All the way back to town, Vickie moaned about the eyes. Elena felt Stefan's lips meet hers. And†¦ it was as simple as that. All questions answered, all fears put to rest, all doubts removed. What she felt was not merely passion, but a bruising tenderness and a love so strong it made her shake inside. It would have been frightening in its intensity, except that while she was with him, she could not be afraid of anything. She had come home. This was where she belonged, and she had found it at last. With Stefan, she was home. He pulled back slightly, and she could feel that he was trembling. â€Å"Oh, Elena,† he whispered against her lips. We can't- â€Å"We already have,† she whispered, and drew him back down again. It was almost as if she could hear his thoughts, could feel his feelings. Pleasure and desire raced between them, connecting them, drawing them closer. And Elena sensed, too, a wellspring of deeper emotions within him. He wanted to hold her forever, to protect her from all harm. He wanted to defend her from any evil that threatened her. He wanted to join his life with hers. She felt the tender pressure of his lips on hers, and she could hardly bear the sweetness of it. Yes , she thought. Sensation rippled through her like waves on a still, clear pond. She was drowning in it, both the joy she sensed in Stefan and the delicious answering surge in herself. Stefan's love bathed her, shone through her, lighting every dark place in her soul like the sun. She trembled with pleasure, with love, and with longing. He drew back slowly, as if he could not bear to part from her, and they looked into each other's eyes with wondering joy. They did not speak. There was no need for words. He stroked her hair, with a touch so light that she could scarcely feel it, as if he was afraid she might break in his hands. She knew, then, that it had not been hatred that had made him avoid her for so long. No, it had not been hatred at all. Elena had no idea how much later it was that they quietly went down the stairs of the boarding house. At any other time, she would have been thrilled to get into Stefan's sleek black car, but tonight she scarcely noticed it. He held her hand as they drove through the deserted streets. The first thing Elena saw as they approached her house was the lights. â€Å"It's the police,† she said, finding her voice with some difficulty. It was odd to talk after being silent so long. â€Å"And that's Robert's car in the driveway, and there's Matt's,† she said. She looked at Stefan, and the peace that had filled her suddenly seemed fragile. â€Å"I wonder what happened. You don't suppose Tyler's already told them†¦ ?† â€Å"Even Tyler wouldn't be that stupid,† said Stefan. He pulled up behind one of the police cars, and reluctantly Elena unclasped her hand from his. She wished with all her heart that she and Stefan could just be alone together, that they would never need to face the world. But there was no help for it. They walked up the pathway to the door, which was open. Inside, the house was a blaze of lights. Entering, Elena saw what seemed like dozens of faces turned toward her. She had a sudden vision of what she must look like, standing there in the doorway in the sweeping black velvet cloak, with Stefan Salvatore at her side. And then Aunt Judith gave a cry and was holding her in her arms, shaking her and hugging her all at once. â€Å"Elena! Oh, thank God you're safe. But where have you been? And why didn't you call? Do you realize what you've put everyone through?† Elena stared around the room in bewilderment. She didn't understand a thing. â€Å"We're just glad to see you back,† said Robert. â€Å"I've been at the boarding house, with Stefan,† she said slowly. â€Å"Aunt Judith, this is Stefan Salvatore; he rents a room there. He brought me back.† â€Å"Thank you,† said Aunt Judith to Stefan over Elena's head. Then, pulling back to look at Elena, she said, â€Å"But your dress, your hair-what happened?† â€Å"You don't know? Then Tyler didn't tell you. But then why are the police here?† Elena edged toward Stefan instinctively, and she felt him move closer to her in protection. â€Å"They're here because Vickie Bennett was attacked in the cemetery tonight,† said Matt. He and Bonnie and Meredith were standing behind Aunt Judith and Robert, looking relieved and a little awkward and more than a little tired. â€Å"We found her maybe two, three hours ago, and we've been looking for you ever since.† â€Å"Attacked?† said Elena, stunned. â€Å"Attacked by what?† â€Å"Nobody knows,† said Meredith. â€Å"Well, now, it may be nothing to worry about,† said Robert comfortingly. â€Å"The doctor said she'd had a bad scare, and that she'd been drinking. The whole thing may have been in her imagination.† â€Å"Those scratches weren't imaginary,† said Matt, polite but stubborn. â€Å"What scratches? What are you talking about?† Elena demanded, looking from one face to another. â€Å"I'll tell you,† said Meredith, and she explained, succinctly, how she and the others had found Vickie. â€Å"She kept saying she didn't know where you were, that she was alone with Dick when it happened. And when we got her back here, the doctor said he couldn't find anything conclusive. She wasn't really hurt except for the scratches, and they could have been from a cat.† â€Å"There were no other marks on her?† said Stefan sharply. It was the first time he'd spoken since entering the house, and Elena looked at him, surprised by his tone. â€Å"No,† said Meredith. â€Å"Of course, a cat didn't tear her clothes off-but Dick might have. Oh, and her tongue was bitten.† â€Å"What?† said Elena. â€Å"Badly bitten, I mean. It must have bled a lot, and it hurts her to talk now.† Beside Elena, Stefan had gone very still. â€Å"Did she have any explanation for what happened?† â€Å"She was hysterical,† Matt said. â€Å"Really hysterical; she wasn't making any sense. She kept babbling about eyes and dark mist and not being able to run-which is why the doctor thinks maybe it was some sort of hallucination. But as far as anyone can make out, the facts are that she and Dick Carter were in the ruined church by the cemetery at about midnight, and that something came in and attacked her there.† Bonnie added, â€Å"It didn't attack Dick, which at least shows it had, some taste. The police found him passed out on the church floor, and he doesn't remember a thing.† But Elena scarcely heard the last words. Something had gone terribly wrong with Stefan. She couldn't tell how she knew it, but she knew. He had stiffened as Matt finished speaking, and now, though he hadn't moved, she felt as if a great distance was separating them, as if she and he were on opposite sides of a rifting, cracking floe of ice. He said, in the terribly controlled voice she had heard before in his room, â€Å"In the church, Matt?† â€Å"Yes, in the ruined church,† Matt said. â€Å"And you're sure she said it was midnight?† â€Å"She couldn't be positive, but it must have been sometime around then. We found her not long after. Why?† Stefan said nothing. Elena could feel the gulf between them widening. â€Å"Stefan,† she whispered. Then, aloud, she said desperately, â€Å"Stefan, what is it?† He shook his head. Don't shut me out, she thought, but he wouldn't even look at her. â€Å"Will she live?† he asked abruptly. â€Å"The doctor said there was nothing much wrong with her,† Matt said. â€Å"Nobody's even suggested she might die.† Stefan's nod was abrupt; then he turned to Elena. â€Å"I've got to go,† he said. â€Å"You're safe now.† She caught his hand as he turned away. â€Å"Of course I'm safe,† she said. â€Å"Because of you.† â€Å"Yes,† he said. But there was no response in his eyes. They were shielded, dull. â€Å"Call me tomorrow.† She squeezed his hand, trying to convey what she felt under the scrutiny of all those watching eyes. She willed him to understand. He looked down at their hands with no expression at all, then, slowly, back up at her. And then, at last, he returned the pressure of her fingers. â€Å"Yes, Elena,† he whispered, his eyes clinging to hers. The next minute he was gone. She took a deep breath and turned back to the crowded room. Aunt Judith was still hovering, her gaze fixed on what could be seen of Elena's torn dress underneath the cloak. â€Å"Elena,† she said, â€Å"whathappened ?† And her eyes went to the door through which Stefan had just left. A sort of hysterical laughter surged up in Elena's throat, and she choked it back. â€Å"Stefan didn't do it,† she said. â€Å"Stefan saved me.† She felt her face harden, and she looked at the police officer behind Aunt Judith. â€Å"It was Tyler, Tyler Smallwood†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Acquiring and Using Funds to Maximize Value Essay

Review Questions 1. What is the key goal that guides the decisions of financial managers? What challenges do financial managers face when they try to find the best sources and uses of funds to meet this goal? The financial mangers goal is acquisition, financing, and management of assets. The challenges are investment, financing, and asset management decisions. 2. List the four basic types of financial ratios used to measure a company’s performance, give an example of each type of ratio and explain its significance. Liquidity, Solvency, Profitability, and Efficiency are the basic types of financial ratios. The liquidity ratio is the ratio of current assets to current liabilities. Profitability ratios indicate management’s ability to convert sales dollars into profits and cash flow. Solvency ratios indicate financial stability because they measure a company’s debt relative to its assets and equity. Two common efficiency ratios are inventory turnover and receivables turnover. Business manager needs to determine what the financial health of the firm, he would use liquidity ratio. A business needs to figure out how to pay off the debt to the bank, they would use solvency ratio. A company makes paper plates; they need to know how much profit they can make. They would use profitability ratio. For example, if the bank cost totaled $5,000,000 and its revenues totaled $10,000,000, then using the formula above, we can calculate that bank’s efficiency ratio is $5,000,000 / $10,000,000 = 50%. This means that it costs the bank $0.50 to generate $1 of revenue. This is an example of efficiency ratio. 3. What are the key questions financial planning must answer? What role does the budgeted income statement and budgeted balance sheet play in finding answers to these questions? What are your long term goals for the business? What are the most significant risks you are facing? How have you mitigated these risks? How do you expect your market to evolve over the years to come? Those are the four questions. They provide the answers to these questions. It is a plan to predict and show what can happen in time, it is a prediction for theses questions. 4. What is the purpose of a cash budget? How can this tool help firms with rapidly increasing sales? Cash budgets are often used to assess whether the entity has sufficient cash to fulfill regular operations. They can use it to figure out where money needs to go or where they need to gain money. It helps financial managers determine when the firm is likely to need additional funds to meet short term cash shortages, and when surpluses of cash will be available to pay off loans or to invest in other assets. 5. Name and describe 4 commonly used sources of short-term financing. Trade credit, advances from customers, commercial banks loans, and financial institutions are types of short-term financing. Trade credit is a loan in the form of goods. An advance from customers is the reputed business houses receive a part of the price or payment from the buyers before the supply of goods. The finance institutions can help the business by providing short term funds. 6. What is equity financing and what are its major sources? What advantages and disadvantages of are associated with equity financing? Equity financing is the sale of an ownership interest to raise funds for business purposes. Personal savings, life insurance policies, home equity loans, and venture capital are major sources of equity financing. The advantages are it doesn’t have to be repaid. They share the liabilities of company with the investors. The disadvantages are you have to share some of the ownership, and you have to also share your profits. 7. What is financial leverage? How, and under what conditions, can financial leverage benefit a company? How, and under what conditions, can it harm a  company? Financial leverage is the use of borrowed money to increase production volume, and sales and earnings. The use of financial leverage also has value when the assets that are purchased with the debt capital earn more than the cost of the debt that was used to finance them. If a company’s variable costs are higher than its fixed costs, the company is said to be using less operating leverage. 8. Is it possible for a firm to have too much money? Explain. What role does cash equivalents play in a financial manager’s strategy to manage cash balances? Yes because it means there can be problems in the future. They get taxed more and they don’t know what to invest the money in. They use it to show the company’s strengths and weakness. The can use it to make balance sheet, cash flow statement, and income statement. 9. Why is the $1,000 you receive today worth more than $1,000 you receive next year? What concept does this illustrate? Why is this concept particularly important when firms evaluate capital budgeting proposals? It is worth more this year rather than next year because if you receive it this year and you decide to invest in it you will gain interest on the thousand dollars you received this year. It illustrates the concept of interest. It is important for firms because it benefits them in terms of long term investment. 10. What is the net present value (NPV) of a long-term investment project? Describe how managers use NPVs when evaluating capital budget proposals. The NPV of an investment proposal is found by adding the present values of all of its estimated future cash flows and subtracting the initial cost of the investment from the sum. The managers use NVP’s when evaluating capital budgeting by most likely approving a positive NPV because this means the present value of the expected cash flows from the project is greater than the cost of the project. And a negative NPV means that the present value of  the expected future cash flows from the project is less than the cost of the investment. Application Questions 1. Your company has been struggling financially for quite some time now. You have a chance of making a profit this quarter, which is sure to bolster your stock’s sagging price. But it depends on your using a low cost waste disposal practice. The disposal practice is legal but you’ve also seen some studies indicating that it is likely to harm the environment. What would you decide to do and why? 2. Choose a company and obtain a copy of its most recent annual report. (In most cases, you can access annual reports simply by clicking on the link for investors, usually found on the company’s home page. You can also try the IRIN Annual Report Resource Center at www.irin.com, or Annual Reports.com at http://www.annualreports.com.) Using the financial statements, calculate three of the ratios described in this chapter. What conclusions can you draw from these ratios about the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses? 3. Your small company has $25,000 in surplus cash right now. You don’t want to commit these funds to any long-term investments because you know of some expenses coming up in about 8 months that will require the use of this cash. But you would like to find some safe, liquid interest-earning investments where you could park your cash until it is needed. You’ve decided that T-bills and money market mutual funds are your best options, but you want to find out more about both. Use the Internet to do some research about these cash equivalents, and then answer the questions below. How do you purchase T-bills? If you want to invest in T-bills, what is the minimum amount you can invest? Can you sell these bills before they mature? How do you receive the interest on T-bills? What is the interest rate earned on the most recent T-bills? How do you purchase money market mutual funds? How do these funds differ from money market accounts? What are the different types of money funds? Are  there any drawbacks to investing in these funds? Investigate two specific money market mutual funds. What interest rate does each currently offer is the minimum required investment for each? Based on your research, how much of the $25,000 would you invest in T-bills and how much in money market mutual funds? Why? 4. Suppose that soon after earning your bachelor’s degree you are accepted into an MBA program at a prestigious university. It is an intensive program that would require you to be a full-time student for about eighteen months. What are the major financial costs and benefits of enrolling in this program? (Hint: be sure to consider not just the out-of-pocket costs, but also any other financial sacrifices you might have to make if you became a full- time student.) Describe how you could evaluate whether enrolling in this program is a good financial decision. (Hint: Keep in mind that the benefits of your education will be in the form of higher cash flows over your entire career.) 5. Visit the sites of at LendingClub.com and Prosper.com to find out more about peer-to-peer (P2P) lending. How do these sites match small lenders and borrowers? How are the sites similar, and how do they differ? Do some additional research to find out what others are saying about the pros and cons of these sites. Would you be willing to participate in this type of arrangement as a borrower? Would you participate as a lender? Why or why not? Team Project Select 4 or 5 companies in the same basic market or industry, and print their most recent financial statements before class. Break the class into small groups, give each group the financial statements for one of the firms and have them work together to compute basic financial ratios for that firm. (The formulas for several common ratios are given in Exhibit 9.1. If you have a large class you can assign the same company to more than one group  and have the groups compute different ratios.) Then have each group report their results. Compare the ratios reported by each group. In cases where ratios differ significantly among the firms, discuss the implications of these differences. Case Connections Avoiding a Cash Crash Your company’s sales are strong and have been growing rapidly, and your recent income statements show that you’ve earned a solid profit each of the past three years. But despite this good news your firm has faced a series of cash flow problems in recent years. On several occasions you’ve had to scramble to find cash to pay your bills. You feel like you’ve been pushing your luck and you realize unless you make some changes in how you manage your cash and other current assets your problems are likely to continue. In fact, you’ve already identified three major concerns. You believe that once these concerns are addressed you will have gone a long way to reducing the possibility of a real cash crisis. Your first challenge is to find some way to get a better handle on how your cash flows are likely to vary over the year. In the past you’ve just made â€Å"seat of the pants† estimates about the amount of cash you’ll receive each month and the payments you’ll have to make. These estimates haven’t always been accurate, which is a key reason you’ve had to scramble for funds. You want to develop a more rigorous way to predict when you’ll have shortages of cash so that you’ll have more time to make adjustments or find additional sources of funds. A second problem you have concerns your credit customers. You know that offering credit to customers is a necessity; a â€Å"cash only† policy would likely cause many of your customers to take their business elsewhere. But during the recent recession many of your customers began paying late—and some didn’t pay at all. The slow payments clearly contributed to your cash flow problems. You wonder if there are some ways you could still offer credit while doing a better job of collecting payments in a timely fashion. Finally, even though cash is tight in some months, you know that there are other months when your business generates substantial cash surpluses. You’ve been reluctant to invest these surpluses in the past because, with all of the cash flow problems and uncertainties you’ve faced, you didn’t want to tie up funds. But now you are beginning to realize that such a policy has an â€Å"opportunity cost.† You wonder whether there are some safe, liquid assets where you could temporarily invest your excess cash. You Decide: How is it possible for a profitable and rapidly growing company like yours to experience cash flow problems? What can you do to improve its forecast of cash shortages and surpluses? How can your firm deal with its credit customers? What trade-offs are involved if you make changes in your credit policies? Is there any other way you could turn your credit sales into cash more rapidly? What is the â€Å"opportunity cost† of holding cash? What are some short-term investments that would be good choices when your firm has temporary surpluses of cash? Describe these investments and explain why they are good places to temporarily â€Å"park† your cash. Source: â€Å"What Are Cash Equivalents?† Wise Geek website: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-cash-equivalents.htm; â€Å"Cash and Cash Equivalents,† Wikinvest website: http://www.wikinvest.com/metric/Cash_And_Cash_Equivalents; â€Å"Cash Budget,† Investopedia website: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cashbudget.asp#axzz1VEzc8Z9U; Cash Budgets/Cash Budgeting,† Accounting for Management website: http://www.accountingformanagement.com/cash_budget.htm; â€Å"Credit Policy,† Entrepreneur.com website: http://www.entrepreneur.com/encyclopedia/term/82124.html; â€Å"How to Create a Smart Credit Policy,† Inc. magazine website: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090301/how-to-create-a-smart-credit-policy.html

Family conflict Essays

Family conflict Essays Family conflict Paper Family conflict Paper I never thought my younger brother Tom would get involved in drugs. He is only fourteen and he is mixing with the wrong crowd. My name is Phil and I have never done anything remotely like that I wouldnt dream of it I am seventeen and Id like to think Im mature enough to never do anything even half as stupid as drugs. Ive told him several times that hes wasting his life. The thing that really gets to me the most is that most weekends he staggers in drugged up to the eyeballs in the early hours of the morning. He says its depression and that I dont understand but one thing I do understand is a fourteen year old boy should not be on a drugs rehabilitation course and sleeping in gutters before hes even eligible to leave school. His friends are partly to blame. They see that hes an easy target and easily lead and they just use it, to provide them with entertainment and get him to do stupid things that they are to cowardly to do which to be honest is not what I call friends. My dad has got to the point where he is thinking of leaving the family. : Hes suggested sending Tom away to a military school but my mum thought it was preposterous and that idea was scrapped. It will be Monday tomorrow start of the week hopefully a fresh start for Tom, but we all doubt it. My parents are downstairs waiting and hoping that Tom will be back in time to go to bed. She is so distraught at the moment she says that if he isnt then hes going to be locked out of the house. She says this most nights but we all know that shes just saying this in hope that it will shake him up a bit and possibly make him listen for once. I woke in the morning I heard my parents shouting in the next room I heard my parents say that tom didnt come back last night this wouldnt be the first time this has happened. Last time this happened my dad was driving round all night searching for him. He found him sleeping outside the corner shop like a tramp. He didnt tell my mum this as it wouldve upset her to find out that her son would rather sleep on the streets than sleep under his own roof. My parents were still at it, it was getting louder and louder and I heard a door slam. I think that was my dad, this is usually the way they finish their arguments. I was starting to get a bit concerned about where Tom had got up to this time so I threw on my clothes and rushed in to the next room to ask my mum what exactly was going on here. I was horrified to find my mum huddled up in the corner of the room. I asked her where dad had gone to which she replied with hes gone and hes not coming back. I swung the door out of my way and ran towards the car in a desperate attempt to save my family although it probably wasnt worth saving. I smashed the door of the hinges and ran outside hoping that Id fall over and knock my head and wake up as this being a very bad dream but reality is never that nice. I was looking for Tom hoping that if I found him I could make him stop dragging his life down and ours down with it, I had a pretty good idea of where to look. I never thought this would happen but I was actually pleased to see my brother. I peered through a window and I saw him lying on someones sofa. I turned to face the door and before I had to knock a boy of roughly the same age as Tom answered he blurted out with what do you want I didnt even bother to answer him. I just pushed past him and rushed towards the room where tom was lying. I firmly grasped his collar and hoisted him into the air causing him no choice but to speak to me. He pleaded for me to put him down but I told him that what I was doing to him now wouldnt come close to what my mum is going to. I clutched on to his jacket to make sure he didnt run off and as soon as we got home I threw him inside and shut the door. He looked up and saw mum still huddled in the corner. He lowered his head as if to say Im sorry I didnt know it had come to this. I told mum to tell him what hed caused but she was too hurt. She couldnt even look him in the eye I told him straight that dad had left. It made me sick to say those words and what made it a whole lot worse was he actually didnt look bothered by it all. I said to him you may not be bothered but mum and I are. Mum screamed for him to get out and she also said that she hated him and didnt want to see him again. Tom was actually affected by what mum had said and it caused him to storm off upstairs I heard the slam of his door and to be honest I wasnt looking forward to the sound of it opening again. I staggered off upstairs and sat on my bed. I was in despair I rested my head in my lap and closed my eyes hoping it would all go away. I could still hear crying coming from downstairs I wanted to go and check if she was alright but I couldnt bring myself to prise my head from my lap and go downstairs. As far as I was concerned, my life was over.

The majority of the World’s population now lives in an urban area. Critically evaluate the impact of this change both globally but also for the countries of the South. The WritePass Journal

The majority of the World’s population now lives in an urban area. Critically evaluate the impact of this change both globally but also for the countries of the South. Introduction The majority of the World’s population now lives in an urban area. Critically evaluate the impact of this change both globally but also for the countries of the South. Introduction Urbanisation is inevitable change   The relationship between urban change and urban povertyUrban environmental concerns: a case study of Bangkok, ThailandConclusion   ReferencesRelated Introduction UN-Habitat Report ‘State of the World’s Cities 2008-2009’ pointed that, more than half of the world’s population are people who live in the cities. Over 90 percent of urban growth is occurring in the developing world. Asia will retain the majority of the world’s urban population, account for 63 percent by 2050. During the next two decades, the urban population of the world’s two poorest regions- South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa- is expected to double. A number of Asian countries, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, also have very high rates of urbanisation; by 2020, Indonesia is expected to have five mega cities: a metropolitan area with a total population in excess of 10 million people, and by 2025, its level of urbanisation will reach 68 percent. This global phenomenon is the result from the process of urbanisation. The trend and pace of urbanisation is compounded with various factors and marked by regional disparities. The primary factor is natural population growth, whereas another factor is the combination of rural-urban migration, infrastructure development, and other powerful socio-economic and political processes, including globalisation which drives urbanisation across worldwide (Williams, 1983). Urban growth is the rate of growth of an urban population. It is different to urbanisation which is the process by which there is an increase in proportion of a population living in places classified as urban: the movement from a rural to urban area. Population growth and city size are underpinning urban growth; which is integrated and dynamic process bringing parts into a whole. The data from UN-Habitat can be implied that half of the world’s population will be settle in urban area, especially cities. This trend led to urban transition or urban change that much involve with the scale and rate of urban growth, global economy and development issue. This essay will define the characteristic of urbanisation; examine its changing trend in both positive and negative impacts that resulted from this change. It will also critically evaluate the important urban issue that should be addressed firstly on a case study of Bangkok, Thailand, then conclusion. Urbanisation is inevitable change     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. This term is defined by the United Nations as a movement of people from rural to urban areas with population growth equating to urban migration (United Nations, 2004). Urbanisation is inevitable for development and rural to urban migration can serve as a form of poverty alleviation, provided governments support and facilitate the initiatives of the migrants in both the place of origin and destination. Owing to improvement in transport and better communication, rural to urban migration is no longer a one-time move by and entire family to an unfamiliar destination. This improvement also facilitates contacts by migrants with their place of origin and circular and return migration. As countries develop, rural to urban linkages tend to become stronger (UN-HABITAT, 2003). Small cities and towns can play an important role in regional development and be tter population distribution, it governments support local initiatives by developing basic infrastructure and services. Rapid urbanising countries are spread across the world, and represent a wide range of social, economic and geographical contexts. It resulted in term of urban growth which is attributed to both population growths; refers to natural growth and rural and urban migration, and city growth; refers to infrastructure improvement and city size expansion (Henderson, 2002). Urbanisation contributes to sustained economic growth which is critical to poverty reduction. The economics of scale and agglomeration in cities attract investors and entrepreneurs which is good for overall economic growth. Cities also provide opportunities for many, particularly the poor who are attracted by greater job prospects, the availability of services, and an escape from constraining social and cultural traditions in rural areas. However, urban population growth does not always ensure urban economic growth. The urban poor are often rely on the informal sector for their survival and therefore undertake casual or uns killed labour, or even unregistered and illegal work (Amis, 2004). This weakens their rights and benefits, and constrains their capability to escape poverty. The relationship between urban change and urban poverty   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A number of Asian countries have very high rates of urbanisation; 15.4 percent of total population lived in urban areas in 1950 and will have increased to 49.7 percent by 2025 (Asian Study Centre, 2010). The mega-urban regions of Manila and Jakarta have a number of population over 21 million each, while Bangkok has more than 10 million.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Population density can help ensure lower per capita costs for delivery of basic services and easy access to information. Citizens may find it easier to mobilise around shares problems and pool resources to find solutions (Overseas Development Institute, 2008). Urban centres provide economic advantages and job opportunities. Urbanised countries tend to have higher incomes, more stable economies and institutions and are better able to withstand external economic shocks and volatility. Unfortunately, the global economic downturn is seem to increase the number of jobless in the urban migrants who have involved in unskilled labour firm or unregistered and illegal work. There are also pressing environmental concerns associated with urbanisation, evidenced in most of the world’s energy is consumed by urban settlements. Moreover, they are also generates the bulk of the waste in urban areas. It can be said that urban refers to a context, not a specific area or sector; urban issues are multi-sectoral and require integrated approaches that address a wide range of human needs for people living in urban settlements. It has special relationship between urban growth and poverty in term of development (Asian Development Bank, 2004). Urban change has some particular features. Firstly, the scale of change is unprecedented. Secondly, the rate of change is rapid. Finally, the nature and direction of change is more dependent on the global economy; the capitalist context (Sassen, 2001; Yeung, 2000). It can be said that urban change is resulted by urbanisation; which is driven by globalisation. Many of these factors are obviously related. Urban change refers to a context, not a specific area or sector; urban issues are multi-sectural and require integrated approaches that address a wide range of human needs for people living in urban settlements. It can be cause of urban trend; which is linked to some particular aspects of development both socially and economically as following: Unemployment; a large number of workers in developing countries, including a high proportion within urban areas, operate within the informal sector, which often entails casual or unregulated labour that can be illegal or even dangerous (Amis, 2004). The global economic downturn is in creasing the number of jobless worldwide and the urban poor are likely to be affected (DFID, 2009). Social exclusion; urban poor face social exclusion on various levels. The marginalisation stemming from status as a slum dweller may be compounded by discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, and HIV status. The specific groups such as street children and HIV/Aids are particularly vulnerable (UNICEF, 2002). Climate change and the environment; poor people living in cities in developing countries often live inadequate areas such as flood-prone or water-logged areas and are vulnerable to losing their houses due to rising sea levels or natural disasters. Some live without access to safe drinking water and proper sanitation and faced the environmental pollution (IIED, 2009). These urban trends is challenge to urban development, it offers the chance for greater focus on the urban context. This challenge is heightened by the fact that adequate responses to urban change impacts are likely to depend on strong and committed local government and communities. Urban environmental concerns: a case study of Bangkok, Thailand   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The urbanisation process is an important force driving to urban growth in Southeast Asia region. It seems to have been accompanied by excessively high levels of concentration of the urban population in very large cities. Thailand is estimated to be about 43 percent urbanised by 2006, and will have 50 percent of the population living in urban areas by the year 2015 (NESDB, 1998). Bangkok is a megacity which has grown rapidly in its 200 years. As in many developing countries, economic development has been accompanied by severe environmental and social problems. Bangkok’s path of urbanisation has focus on economic development almost exclusively on Bangkok, which has grown as a primate city to more than 30 times the size of the next most substantial urban centre (BMA, 2009). Its growth related to uncontrolled urban growth both in term s of the spread of the city and of successive changes in land use within it. There has been little form al planning (Roachanakanan, 1999). Ongoing environmental degradation and increasing pollution detract from the quality of life of urban Thai people. Urban environmental concerns are also spreading well beyond Bangkok to the broader Bangkok region and other urban areas. There is also a lack of capacity and often initiative to undertake the needed analysis, mobilisation, and action to tackle these emerging problems. With the ongoing focus on economic development at the local level, this situation can be expected to worsen (Poungsomlee and Ross, 1992). Cities can be view as systems involving people’s interactions with one another and with the built environments they have created. The built environments interact with the natural ecological processes of their sites. Intervention in one part of a system inevitably affects other parts. This analysis will divide the impacts into two parts, firstly: the impact on nature; and lastly: the impact on city people. Due to the growing population, demands for water, food, housing, energy, clothing, and consume goods are increasing alarmingly. Rapid population growth not only lesson available calorie supply from food per person but also risks the present food production with pollution (Brookfield and Byron, 1993). The production of these needs water and creates more pollutants. Many Western companies produce their products in Bangkok because of more flexible environmental law and cheaper production costs. This puts extra pressure on the environment of Bangkok. Of critical importance are problems associated with waste water, air quality, and solid waste. Public health is increasingly threatened by declining environmental conditions, especially air pollution in urban centres, about 39 percent of Bangkok residents suffer from respiratory diseases, a rate that is seven times higher than in rural areas (NESDB, 2005). Only about 60 percent of urban solid waste is disposed of to a high standard, with even a smaller proportion being properly handled in the urban fringe areas (BMA, 2009). In the area of waste water, while vast slums have been spent on treatment plants in cities throughout the country, virtually none are operational. Linked to the underperformance of city planning is neglect of managing the built environment in most Thai municipalities, severely affecting quality of life and overall public health and safety. Public participation in decision making is an important urban trend in Bangkok. Due to urban environmental issue, there has not been strong tradition of public participation in the decision-making process at any level. However, with the advert of the new Constitution in 1997, there are explicit provisions for public input into the local decision-making process, especially in managing the local environment and resources. While there is now a strong constitutional and legal basis for civic participation, the reality is much weaker. On the positive side, through the recent â€Å"Small-Medium-Large† programme, community-level planning is being introduced for the first time as a means of better integrating grassroots input into the development process. However, coordination within the municipal development plans is not being encouraged as funding is going is going directly to villages, bypassing the local administrative planning process.    Conclusion      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The important force underpinning the changing pattern; described as population growth and city expansion, is driven by globalisation process. Rapid changes are spread across the world, and represent a wide range of social, economic and geographical contexts, especially the developing countries. Southeast Asia region is the significant model of urban growth, it has very high rate of urbanisation resulted in many megacities such as Manila and Jakarta which have a number of population over 21 million each whereas Bangkok has more than 10 million inhabitants. Overpopulation problem has been address to urban concern in some megacities, especially urban environmental issue in Bangkok. Ongoing environmental degradation and increasing pollution are directly affected to Bangkok residents. This put greater pressure on the environment of Bangkok. The critical problem brings about the relationship between people and city, and making them to be one system: intervention in one part of a system inevitably affects other parts. Linked to the underperformance of city planning is neglect of managing the built environment in most urban residents affected quality of life and overall public health and safety. The important trend due to urban environmental issue in Bangkok is increasing public participation in decision-making. With the adoption of the 1997 Constitution and the 1999 Decentralisation Act (amended in 2001) made possibly change to greater public participation. However, the question still ongoing due to increasing concern on good governance of local authority. References Amis, P. (2004) â€Å"Regulating the Informal Sector: Voice and bad Governance†, In Devas, N. (ed.), Urban Governance, Voice and Poverty in the Developing World. London: Earthscan. Asian Development Bank (2004) City Development Strategies to Reduce Poverty. Manila: Asian Development Bank. Asian Studies Centre. (2010) Urbanisation in Southeast Asian Countries. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. Brookfield, H. and Byron, Y. (1993) South-East Asia’s Environmental Future: The Search for Sustainability. Tokyo: United Nations University Press. 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