Democracy And Electoral Process In Nigeria Politics Essay

Democracy And Electoral Process In Nigeria Politics Essay The wave of decolonisation after World War II has led to a number of Third World nations, attempting to govern themselves through Western-style democratic Institutions. Almost all of them have failed. There have been various theories of democratic stability and explanations of democratic failure. In general, these theories agree that poor nations, with massive socio economic development needs and high popular expectation: as poorly integrated nations, with deep ethnic divisions; and as politically underdeveloped nations, with fragile party system, weak administrative bureaucracies, and little experience with the give-and-take of large representative institutions, Third world nations, at their present levels of development, have little realistic hope of sustaining democratic institutions. According to Diamond (1988) the democratic renaissance in Africa has been led by the continents wealthiest and most populous nation, Nigeria. There was huge expectation after the return of power to civilian elected government in 1979, after thirteen years of military rule. This was to be a crucial test of liberal democracy in Africa (Sklar 1982). The system collapsed in less than four years as a result of massive corruption, mismanagement and electoral violence and fraud. This led to the military coup of 1983. Democracy is defined as a political system which meets three essential conditions, namely, meaningful and extensive competition among individuals and political parties; a highly inclusive level of political participation in the selection of leaders and policies; and a level of civil and political liberties sufficient to ensure the integrity of political competition and participation. Other concepts related to these are democratic stability, the likelihood of its enduring over time, particularly through periods of unusual conflict, strain and crisis. Democratic theorists stress the peculiar degree to which the stability of democracy depends on a widespread belief in its legitimacy. Democracy as it is practised in Western nations such as the united States usually involve a thorough process of contestant selections. This culminates in the primaries within individual parties. In this system, the party candidate is picked based on the acceptance of the individuals manifesto. There is also party loyalty and candidates do not defect to other parties or form entirely new ones if they do not win the primaries. In such systems, the total funds raised by each candidate are also monitored. This system is also transparent and voters are confident in the system to ensure that the best candidate wins. Democracy and Electoral process in Nigeria According to J. Herskovits (1979), Nigeria rejected Britains parliamentary form of democracy which they had continued after independence in 1960 and chose the first wholly Nigerian-made constitution, to follow the American model instead. This choice was made with characteristic pragmatism: Nigeria, like the United States, is large, complex, and heterogeneous. There was therefore the notion that What works for America may work for Nigeria. Nigerias form of government looks familiar to the American style as the president has a four year term and has a possibility of a second term. The national assembly is bicameral, with a senate and a house of representatives distributed among the states by population. There is also the apex judiciary court known as the Supreme Court. Nigerias transition towards democracy has only begun. The re-establishment of an elected government after decades of military rule in 1999 formed merely a starting point in a transition process towards a democratic society-a transition that can be expected to take many years. Democratic government in its full sense comprises a wide area of issues; a very important one among them is the creation of accountable institutions (Harneit-Sievers 2004). Political parties form another core group of institutions in any functioning democratic system. Under current Nigerian conditions, however, most political parties are merely zero-issue alliances of influential individuals and small groups who are able to control; and, often enough manipulate party structures, candidacies and even the electoral process itself. In Nigeria, a major issue impeding democracy is the selection process of political office holders. This is because so far, the country has been unable to hold free, fair and credible elections. The 2003 elections were billed as a landmark as it was the first time since independence in 1960 that political leadership changed hands from one civilian to another (Herskovits 2007). The election results showed overwhelming victories for the ruling party, PDP as the presidential winner received 70 percent of the votes. According to international and domestic observers alike, the elections themselves were disastrous with even more rigging and violence than during the previous presidential elections in 1999. The run up to the elections also witnessed the assassination of two gubernatorial front runners and violent election related incidents. Based on how expensive partisan politics is in Nigeria, governments at all levels will rather starve other sector than lave their electoral ambition to suffer funding. This is apart from the fact that in most places, governance has almost been suspended for scheming ahead of the polls. As a result, Nigerians may therefore have to wait till elections are completed to enjoy several social amenities promised during the last tenure. The electoral process has also witnessed legal challenges as contestants take election winners to court to contest such results. A memorable case of this is the Osun State elections which were overruled after three and half years. The election result stated that the incumbent governor, Oyinlola won the elections. The opposition took the election result to court. During the investigation process, it was discovered using biometric machine that several people has voted up to 30 times each for the incumbent governor. The court therefore asked that this votes be cancelled. This led to the opposition candidate Raufu Aregbesola becoming the governor. As a result of almost four years of uncertainty in the state, local and foreign investors lost confidence in the state. As a result, several companies already operating in the state closed and moved to other states. This led to massive retrenchment and increased unemployment in the state. It also caused a reduction in state revenue generated. The electoral process in Nigeria has a negative impact on the country in general. This is because revenue that could be used to provide infrastructure needed by business are used for funding elections. This has led to continuous borrowing and deficit budget for year 2011. The total budget for the 2011 elections released by INEC was put at N89billion ($659million). In the federal budget for 2011, another N46.4 billion has been allocated to the same elections. Indeed, the total budgetary allocation for elections is about N133 billion naira. It is important to state that INECs budget for 2011 dwarfs the budget of most states of the federation. Osun state has budget of N88.1 billion, Kwara state N68.6 billion and Edo has a budget of N106 billion. It is also important to note that this would be funded by government borrowing. When compared to other developing countries such as Bangladesh, India and Ghana, the cost on per capita basis in Nigeria was more than double. INECs N74 billion on v oters register amounts to N1, 138 per capita for 65 million registered voters. Ghana conducted its 2008 elections at the cost of $40million which amounts to $3 per capita. The instability caused by flawed elections has led to a threat to foreign investment. As a developing country, Nigeria required foreign investment to survive. The use of large sums of revenue for funding elections rather than developing infrastructure necessary for investment makes the country less desirable to investors. As a result, there is lack of confidence in the country. The political violence and killings have also affected the countrys image abroad. There is also a threat to security as assassination of political aspirants and kidnap of their families is becoming rampant. Recently, the government has taken various measures to ensure free and fair elections in Nigeria. This was affirmed by the sack of former INEC boss, Maurice Iwu who was widely accused of corruption and complacency in electoral result manipulation. The new INEC boss, Jega has committed to ensuring a free and fair election in the country. There has also been the amendment of the electoral law in Nigeria in order to further curb the widespread election rigging in the country. Conclusion The issue of political instability has affected the activities of multinational companies in Nigeria; the oil companies in the oil rich delta where kidnap is rampant have been seriously affected. Most multinational companies are currently closing their business and relocating to other countries with more favourable environment and required infrastructure. The level of uncertainty and instability disrupts the profit hunt and causes inability to meet corporate targets. In the political foyer, some groups have been neglected which is not a practice of true democracy as power is been controlled by the dominant party with large resources. In order to reduce the problem of election rigging, Nigeria has to be firm in its commitment to providing free and fair election. This goes beyond paying lip service. The INEC also should be given more powers in order to prevent it been manipulated by the government. There is also the increased need for foreign observers to train and sensitise INEC officials and also to monitor elections.

Affirmative Action Essay -- Affirmative Action Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Should a man be hired for his skills or for the color of his skin? Is racial diversity in the business world more important then the most qualified workers? Affirmative action has become an important topic in today’s society to better diversify the different races in America. Affirmative action is a set of public policies that were designed for the elimination of discrimination toward race, color, sex, etc. These policies are under attack today because of the unfairness toward the more qualified people. Increasing opportunities for a minority that has suffered past discrimination is the cause for affirmative action, and for the reverse discrimination toward the majority. Many people view discrimination toward one race today to compensate for the discrimination of another race in the past as unfair. This reverse discrimination is unfair treatment toward the majority. Affirmative actions are policies created to give preferential treatment to the discriminated , but also discriminate as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Affirmative action was first referenced to in 1961 with the signing of Executive order 10925 (Brunner). With this the Committee on Equal Opportunity was created, and was mandated that â€Å"projects financed with federal funds ‘take affirmative action’ to ensure that hiring and employment practices are free of racial bias† (Brunner). Three years later, in 1964 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights act that prohibits any form ...

Critique of Gilgamesh as a King in The Epic of Gilgamesh Essays

A Critique of Gilgamesh as a King in The Epic of Gilgamesh   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are some characteristics that most great kings have. All of the great kings did not have all of these characteristics, but they had some of them. Gilgamesh did not have many of these traits. Although he was a powerful king, he was not a great king. He had some good traits, such as being a leader, and fighting evil powers. He tormented his people, oppressed them them, exhausted them in daily life and in combat, and he gave himself the right to sleep with any unmarried woman.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gilgamesh uses his strength to get anything he wants. He especially uses his power to get women. He â€Å"demands to be first with the bride, the king to be first and the husband to follow.†(68) To c...

Psychology and Christianity Essay

An integrative approaches to Psychology and Christianity by David Entwistle explains the fundamental question whether Christians can take a place in psychology. By marrying both scientific and theological disciplines, the author takes a stand to argue that psychology and Christianity can help an individual to serve the Lord within the parameters of duty to love. In this book, Entwistle gives a concise understanding for the interplay between theology and science by taking us through the historical analysis of psychology and how it explains how individuals have their characteristics, qualities and talents which help them serve God and society (p 35-37). Arguably, a person cannot be an effective psychologist without the basis of what is right with is captured in Christianity as a moral concept. With regard to these, our society is shaped by history as well as environment. The knowledge we acquire throughout our existence is inspired by our past experiences. Significantly, Christianity has facilitated how we structure our mindsets over various moral issues in the society. To bridge the gap between Christianity and psychology, Entwistle argues that there are five important paradigms that show the interplay between theology and psychology. This includes spies, enemies, neutral parties, colonialists as well as allies as elements serving ones master called sovereign (p39). The argument presented by Entwistle articulates the concept that psychology resembles theology in line with goals and serve fundamental human purposes of improving as well as giving meaning to the life of a human being. The two disciplines revolves around human functioning and nature hereby, an integrative approach to psychology and Christianity underscores that when it comes to dealing with human life and truth, there should be a unified approach that uses both secular and sacred elements of thinking. With regard to these, both psychology and Christianity need to be integrated because life at large revolves around helping others with issues that promote quality lives and harmony in the society. Critical and Concrete Responses After reading an integrated Approach to Psychology and Christianity, I was led to thinking that the understanding of God and psychology relates coherently to the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I agree with the argument because my experiences in the past have acquired as a result of my environment and needs as a human being which moves closer to the relevance of psychology in the life of human beings. Similarly, the feeling of self-actualization is realized through a Christian’s association with God through divine moment of prayer, fellowship and engagement in charitable works because the Bible stipulates that such gestures will grant one an eternal life. On the same note, psychology understands that self actualization is a need that must be met after all the other seven basics ones have been met. Entwistle asserts that both eternal life and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs portend single ideas of achieving in life and feeling the sense of achievement. The truth revealed in the word of God and the various works of Jesus Christ as well as the Christian ministry is something that is characterized in my life. Arguably, life revolves around all these and it is somehow impossible to separate it from life in a Christian perspective. Equally, my life experiences have led me to conclude that certain things in life should be done in my own way. Accordingly, there are many times I have learnt from my experience and have faced many consequences as a result of my choices. In view of this, Entwistle asserts that doing things the way we want articulate the psychological belief of emotions, socialization, intelligence and human needs. However, this argument raises the question of conflicting forces between our beliefs and human desires. As Christianity stipulates how we should behave in line with morality, psychology justifies why we must attend to our human desires. As such, an integration approach to life should cover both Christian teachings and the sentiments echoed by psychologists (pg 59-63). I was a temperamental person who for years reprimanded people for wronging me. Although I justified my case by arguing that I respect my feelings and that is me, God called upon me to change my temperament by managing anger so that I can accommodate others. God’s intervention in this case harmonized how I lead my life because; I was able to strike a balance between my religious beliefs and human desires. Most significantly, managing a balance, or rather moving my hot tempers to reasonable levels necessitated the intervention of counseling services. Accordingly, I embarked on regular counseling with gave me an insight on how to understand other and tune my emotions to the levels that accommodate others feelings. This way, the book an integrated approach to psychology and Christianity, underscores the importance o integrate theology and psychology. Somehow, psychology helps Christians to understand their human face and through services such as psychotherapy, counseling, a Christian will be able to moderate the psyche of the soul as well as the soul of psychology. Personal Reflection Although Entwistle advocates for s linkage in the two disciplines and goes ahead to propose that Christians should integrate science theology in viewing issues of life, it becomes critical to the Christians because one question that is raised is how can Christians be motivated to use psychotherapy and counseling services as a way of integrating psychology and Christianity. Entwistle asserts that moral concepts of live are well explained in Christian doctrines and through psychology, such moral doctrines can be well explained and a Christian will consciously understand the essence of being a Christian. However, the book fails to recommend how counseling can be promoted and how psychotherapy and other psychological services can be enshrined in the Christian education. Accordingly, the question of how we as Christians should accomplish the goal of promoting the integration of science to theology takes the center stage of the entire debate that Entwistle engages in concerning reaping the full benefits of integrating psychology and Christianity. Arguably, Entwistle uses words that further complicate the message of integrative approach to psychology and Christianity. In essence, this makes it difficult for an average reader to appreciate the information being conveyed let alone retention. In addition, it plausible to note that as a reader I found it hard to grasp the interests as well as concept of integrating psychology and Christianity because of the fact that the book is written broad view hence it seems to argue in circles around the importance of using both psychology and Christians teaching. Recommended Action Owing to this weakness of language and jumping around ideas, there are measures that can be taken to help us benefit from the Christian psychological integration. Advising others on how to benefit from counseling will form the fundamental action that spearhead the campaign for integrating Christianity and psychology. In this view, sharing some of my experiences with regard to how I have benefited from counseling to succeed in my Christian faith and life at large will work in helping in the whole initiative of promoting such kind of integration. If possible, all counselors who happen to be Christians should uses their positions to root the belief of integrating Christianity and psychology into other Christians and equally work with other counselors to devise methods of overcoming challenges that may come with their initiatives. At the same time, the basis of my intervention will revolve around moral maturity. As such, it is recommended that encourage Christians to search for the truth and thus understand for themselves how best they can use psychology to succeed in their lives and Christian works. In a nutshell, Entwistle espouses that it is only through a concise integration of both science and theology that Christians will embrace the concept of togetherness. In other words, they will understand how humans functions and thus structure their spiritual beliefs in a realist way to avoid the self conflict that is always inherent among many believers. Psychology signifies the many teachings that are typical to Christianity such as values. Reference Entwistle, D. (2004). Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christian. New York: Wipf & Stock Publishers

Crash Review

Crash (2004) Paragraph 1: Crash tells the story of people from wildly disparate walks of life as they collide and intersect with one another. Each life is in some way personally affected, changed, damaged, or victimized by racism. They’re also all in some way guilty of racism themselves. via interlocking stories, the cultural, racial, and spiritual isolation of Los Angelinos. Due to the sprawling city's decentralized, car-reliant layout, Haggis's characters have become sheltered from those not in their own socio-economic sphere, and this seclusion has led to virulent narrow-mindedness. Rick Cabot (Brendan Fraser) is the white District Attorney of Los Angeles who participates in racial politics in order to further his career. Rick and his wife Jean are carjacked by Anthony and Peter, both of whom are black. To preserve his support in the black community as the election approaches, Rick arranges for his assistant to blackmail Detective Graham Waters, who is black, into testifying against a white cop whom Graham thinks is innocent in order to create a press event that will reassure voters of Cabot's racial sensitivity. The film alludes to the possibility Rick might be having an affair with his black assistant. Jean Cabot (Sandra Bullock) is Rick's wife, whose racial prejudices escalate after she and her husband experience a carjacking. When a tattooed, Mexican-American locksmith changes the locks to her house, she insists that the locks be changed again in fear that he is keeping an extra copy of their house key. Following an accident in her home, she comes to the realization that the person who is her only true friend is Maria, her Hispanic maid who she has belittled and treated sub-human up until this point. Anthony (Ludacris) is a black, inner-city car thief who steals cars to sell to a chop shop. Anthony brings awareness to many racial and stereotypical views others hold to blacks even though some of his actions at the same time reinforce them. He provides a good example of the term ‘double consciousness. ’ Anthony steals a van which was full of trafficked people from South East Asia. Even though he is aware of racism suffered by black people, he refers to the immigrants as Chinamen, a stereotype in itself. After refusing to sell the trafficked people to the chop shop owner, he instead shows compassion for them and lets them out onto the Asian district of Los Angeles and gives them money to eat. Peter Waters (Larenz Tate) is Anthony's friend and partner in crime. He is also Detective Waters' younger brother. Like Anthony, he is black. Peter is shot to death by Officer Hansen, who picks him up in the Valley, hours after their failed carjacking of Cameron's Lincoln Navigator and mistakenly shoots him after assuming he is drawing a gun during an escalating argument. In reality he was reaching into his pocket to show the cop a figure of Saint Christopher, identical to the one Officer Hansen had stuck to his dashboard. As he is dying, he has an expression of shock/surprise and holds out his hand to reveal he had no weapon. Detective Graham Waters (Don Cheadle) is an African-American detective in the Los Angeles Police Department. He is disconnected from his poor family, which consists of his drug-addicted mother and criminal younger brother. He promises his mother that he will find his younger brother, but he is preoccupied with a case concerning a suspected racist white cop who shot a corrupt black cop. Flanagan (William Fichtner), an assistant to the district attorney, offers Graham the chance to further his career in exchange for withholding evidence that could possibly have helped the white cop's case. Flanagan also tries to convince Graham that the black community needs to see the black cop as a hero, and not as a drug dealer, as Graham suspects that he may have been. Graham is both offended and opposed, and is ready to storm out, when Flanagan mentions that there is a warrant out for Graham's brother's arrest, and that this is his third felony, which carries a life sentence in the state of California. Graham makes a very difficult personal decision to withhold evidence and possibly corrupt a case in order to have the District Attorney forget about his brother. That brother is eventually revealed to be Peter, the hitchhiker who is killed by Officer Hansen. Graham's detachment from his mother culminates when his mother, having learned of Pete's death, blames Graham as the reason behind his brother's murder. It is shown that she has always favored the younger brother. This fact exasperates Graham at the end when his mother claims Pete came home and brought groceries for her, when in reality, it was Graham that took the time to restock her previously desolate food supply. Ria (Jennifer Esposito) is a Latina detective, as well as Graham's partner and girlfriend. When a phone call from Graham's mother interrupts his sexual romp with Ria, she becomes upset with Graham for being disrespectful to his mother and his subsequently racially insensitive remark towards Hispanics after implying she was a Mexican, which she was in fact Puerto Rican and Salvadorean. She is shown to be racist toward Asians, as she criticizes an Asian woman's driving. Officer Tommy Hansen (Ryan Phillippe) is a Los Angeles police officer who, after observing his partner Officer John Ryan pull over Cameron Thayer and Christine Thayer and sexually molest Christine, requests a change of partner because of feelings of guilt over the incident. His supervisor, Lieutenant Dixon, tells him he will transfer him if he claims his â€Å"uncontrollable flatulence† requires him to drive a one-man car. The next day, after he presumably files the request, he is reassigned to a single-man patrol car. While on patrol he joins a police chase of Cameron Thayer, who was being car-jacked, but fought off his carjackers and is fleeing the scene with one carjacker still in the car. After driving into a dead-end, Cameron, now resentful of the LAPD, confronts the police officers. Tommy jumps in front of Cameron and tries to convince him to stand down to avoid a confrontation which could possibly result in Cameron's death. He then vouches for Cameron, stating that he is a friend of his, and lets him off with a â€Å"harsh warning. Tommy is later seen driving in his car when he picks up Peter Waters, who is hitch-hiking. He ultimately reveals his own insecurities with other races (African-Americans in particular) through his treatment of Peter Waters and how he quickly dismisses Waters' attempts to compare similarities between them. He pulls over when he assumes that Peter is laughing at him, and tells him to get out of the car. As Peter reaches into his pocket, Tommy wrongly assumes that P eter is reaching for a hidden gun, and shoots him dead. He removes Peter from the car to cover up the incident. We later see Peter, who is the brother of Graham Waters, dead in the grass near where Tommy pulled over. Finally, we see Tommy walking away from his burning car wearing a pair of latex gloves, thus concealing his involvement in the shooting. Officer John Ryan (Matt Dillon) is a bigoted white police officer who sexually molests Cameron's wife, Christine, under the pretense of searching for a weapon after pulling over their vehicle and accusing them of endangerment due to Christine performing fellatio on Cameron while he was driving. Meanwhile, Ryan is trying to get help for his father, who possibly suffers from prostate cancer but has been diagnosed with a bladder infection, despite the ineffectiveness of treatment. His anger manifests in prejudice, as is evident when he exhibits a racist attitude towards an HMO employee preventing his father from seeing an out of network, non-HMO physician. His racial prejudices seem to stem from the destructive impact that local affirmative action policies had on his father's business. After Hansen requests solo patrol, Ryan is partnered with a Hispanic-American with whom he seems to get along. Ryan later puts his own life on the line to save Christine, the woman he molested earlier, from certain death in a fiery car wreck. Lieutenant Dixon (Keith David) is Officers Ryan and Hansen's shift Lieutenant. An African American, Dixon believes that the LAPD is a racist organization that he personally had to work extra hard in to earn a ranking position. When Hansen requests to change partners, Dixon refuses stating that doing so because of Officer Ryan's racism will reflect poorly on their unit. He claims that going on record about supervising racist officers such as Ryan can be a move that will cost both Hansen and Dixon their jobs. In order to get away from Officer Ryan, he then suggests that Officer Hansen ride in a solo car claiming to have a condition of â€Å"uncontrollable flatulence. † Cameron Thayer (Terrence Howard) is a black television director. He witnesses Officer Ryan molesting his wife and later realises that the producers of his television show propagate racist stereotypes about black people. In an emotional moment, he fights off Anthony and Peter when they try to steal his car, takes away Anthony's gun, and argues fiercely with armed white police officers. Just when it is very likely that he will be shot to death, Hansen intervenes on his behalf and prevents any outbreak of violence. After being let off with a warning, Cameron then proceeds to let Anthony go and even gives him his gun back. At the scene of Hansen's burning car (to eliminate evidence of a murder), he is able to find contentment and reconnnects with his wife. Christine Thayer (Thandie Newton) is Cameron's wife. She is molested by Ryan after she and Cameron are pulled over for her giving oral sex to her husband while he was driving them home. She becomes furious with her husband because he didn't defend her. The two insult each other over their upbringings – as both Cameron and Christine have grown up in more privileged environments than many other African Americans. The next day she is trapped in an overturned car due to a car accident and, by a twist of fate, Officer Ryan is the man who willingly endangers himself to save her life. Daniel Ruiz (Michael Pena) is a Mexican-American locksmith who faces discrimination from Jean and others because he looks like a gangbanger to them, when he is actually a devoted family man. After Anthony and Peter steal Jean and Rick's car, Daniel comes over and changes the locks on their home. Daniel seeks a safe environment for his young daughter, Elizabeth, who had a bullet go through her window in their previous home. That is why he moved to a safer neighborhood and enrolled her in a private school. Near the beginning he gives Elizabeth an invisible â€Å"cloak† that he says will protect her should someone try to shoot at her. Farhad shoots at Elizabeth and Daniel but they escape unhurt, because the gun contains blanks chosen by Dorri earlier in the film. However, Elizabeth believes that this is due to the protective powers of the â€Å"cloak. † Farhad (Shaun Toub) is a Persian store owner who is afraid for his safety. He is depicted as frustrated by the racial harassment he experiences in the United States (despite being an American citizen), as well as deterred by difficulties with speaking English. To protect his store – the only thing his family has – he goes to a gun shop and attempts to buy a gun. The gun store owner quickly becomes frustrated with Farhad's conversation with his daughter Dorri in Persian, leading to harassment from the owner, who believes that Persians are Arabs and therefore, terrorists, one of these comments being â€Å"Yo, Osama, plan the jihad on your own time. † The owner refuses to sell Farhad a gun, but finally sells the gun to Farhad's daughter after being cryptic and lecherous about which bullets she needs. The store run by Farhad and his wife Shereen (Marina Sirtis) has a door which will not close properly, so they call a locksmith, Daniel. Farhad's suspicion of others is compounded by his difficulty understanding English; he does not heed Daniel's warning that his shop door needs replacing, believing Daniel intends to cheat him, and as a result suffers a break-in. Shereen reacts to the slurs written on the walls of the store: â€Å"They think we're Arab. When did Persian become Arab? † Blaming Daniel for the invasion and racially-motivated destruction of his store, and angered by the insurance company rejecting his claim on the grounds of negligence, he confronts Daniel at his house, wielding his gun. Farhad fires at Daniel but accidentally shoots Daniel's daughter Lara, to the horror of both Daniel and Farhad. Fortunately, unknowingly to Farhad, the gun contains blanks. Farhad leaves without further incident, later telling his daughter that his â€Å"farishta,† his guardian angel, protected him and his family. Dorri (Bahar Soomekh) is Farhad's daughter, and is more acclimated than her father to American culture. She purposefully purchases blanks after her father has upset the man at the counter in the gun store. She is constantly trying to calm her father down during his emotional outbursts. She is also an employee at the hospital; she escorts Graham and his mother to Peter's body after it is discovered in a field. Paragraph 2: Thirty-six hours in the life of a disparate group of Los Angelinos linked together by a car crash. The debut film from Million Dollar Baby screenwriter Paul Haggis as succession of characters become involved in heated exchanges that either bring to the surface long-buried prejudices or fan the flames of hatred already out in the open. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles. Reminiscent of Magnolia and Short Cuts, Crash comprises a number of separate stories that are loosely connected. Set over a period of 24 hours, each vignette offers a different perspective of the multi-ethnic melting pot that is life in Los Angeles. The film uses its characters not so much to tell a story, but to express an opinion, from the racial cop (Matt Dillon), to the campaigning District Attorney (Brendan Fraser) anxious to capture the black vote, to the black television director (Terence Howard) toning down his ethnicity in a predominantly white industry. All fit into well-defined stereotypes and engage in the kind of dialogue reserved more for an impassioned polemic than everyday conversation. Paragraph 3: Conclusion: It's a bold effort that initially attempts to tackle the issue of racial conflict in a refreshingly unstinting way for a mainstream film. Crash taps into the underlying tension of city where the haves and have nots might pull up next to each other in traffic, but are still a world apart. Haggis ventures beyond the more commonly explored white black issue to encompass a gamut of ethnic vantage points including Hispanic, Korean and Iranian.

Fashion Is An Expression Of The Character Essay

There is an old saying, â€Å"You are what you eat† and in fashion this consists also as, â€Å"You are what you wear.† Clothing is often an expression of spirit and character, so there is nothing wrong with finding a look that suits you. Everyone is an individual and your clothes can help you to express your innermost thoughts, your kindliness and your good feelings toward yourself. Fashion can mean many different things to different people but above all fashion is a leeway to ones character. According to Tiwa Savage (2011) in the article, â€Å"Fashion is an extension to ones character,† she states, â€Å"To me whatever you put on reflects your mood, and if I am feeling glamorous I wear something that is glamorous, when I am feeling more relaxed I put on things that make me feel relaxed; so basically fashion is an expression of your person (p.1).† Your personal mark is the one that really counts and can make a difference by connecting two strongly related worlds that apparently seem totally incompatibles: our inner world and our exterior image. Every texture, color and other artificial shape becomes a way of emphasizing different personality aspects. Read more: Is fashion important essay Classic Look In a world of stereotypes where people sometimes tend to take fashion as an induced way of expression, personal style plays a major role. These people are the types who are into the classic style. They are certainly someone who is a conservative person who loves stability and perfection. Fitting in is an essential thing and the way people see them is crucial. Self-control is one of their main characteristics. When it comes to trends, they do not follow others in the new fashion look. Classic, comfortable style is for them and they prefer to wear darker, plain colors rather than patterns or prints. Their wardrobe is elegant, refines with simple and clean tailoring. Stated by Calefato (2004): Versace loved to use black in fashion creations. His little black dress is perhaps one of his most memorable garments. This garment provocatively inverts the bourgeois role of the classic little black dress as a sign of perennial bon ton that every lesson on style advises woman to keep in her wardrobe. (p.111) They keep their outfit simple, timeless and business like. They usually prefer suits with pants or skirt, and they try to avoid too severe clothes. They tend to match rather then be loud with faddish trends. They need to be careful as they might transmit a dull image that lacks imagination. In order to avoid this thing and give a fresh feel to their look, they can wear colorful scarves, brooches or interesting textures. An example of someone who would be considered a classic fashion personality would be Jennifer Aniston. She wears well fitting clothes in straightforward shapes with clean lines that are always neatly turned out. Classic fashion people are conservatively than other fashionistas. Romantic Look Another fashion personality would be the romantic character. For this look it is more feminine and you have adoration for everything pretty. According to Damhorst (1986), â€Å"Cool colors are perceived as more feminine† (p.90). Romantic characters prefer feminine details on clothing and soft, flowing fabrics. Ruffles, lace and velvet attract them. They are ones who view the past as a more romantic time and can picture themselves as the heroine in a historical romance. The Victorian Era appeals to them as part of a romantic past when women always wore long skirts, hats, and gloves. A Romantic character is likely to be a collector of beautiful objects perhaps antique hatpins or china with floral motifs. When walking into their closet one would see dresses and skirts that fall below the knee sometimes even far below the knee. They like to wear soft colors and often choose fabrics like chiffon and silk that drape graciously on their body. Furthermore, they may wear dark colors such as burgundy red or black but wear them sparingly to convey an alluring appeal. Their sweaters also seem to be long and may fall below the hip. They have more sweaters than jackets and may not own a suit. They prefer soft pastel colors and floral prints. They also like pants that are soft and drapey, rather than crisp and tailored. Most of their jewelry may be antique or vintage, but if it isn’t, it still reflects a vintage fashion sensibility. They are more likely than other fashion personality types to wear hats or gloves as fashion accessories. A celebrity example of this personality would be Marilyn Monroe. She had timeless beauty and style. Trendy Look The last look is the trendy follower style. These people prefer to wear the most up-to-date fashion available. They usually get caught looking in magazines to see what fashion is out before it hits the stores. The present and what is in â€Å"now† is important to trendy followers. Celebrity fashion, fashion magazines, and fashion designers influence their type of style. When walking into a trendy followers closet one would see clothing and accessories that are fashionable and available in stores now. They wear the most popular colors, prints, and styles in both clothing and accessories. Shoes, handbags, and jewelry all play a huge part in their wardrobe. Their jewelry drawers are filled with large hoop earrings or anything that looks edgy but cool. Also, the jewelry they wear are gold chains, often with lots of sparkly faux diamonds or studded accessories. Kim Kardashian and her sisters Kourtney and Khloe are perfect examples of glamorous and girly-on trend fashionistas. They love mixing bold colors, like for example hot pink with electric blue. Creating a fun, edgy and innovative fashion statement is a part of their style. Although they appreciate a good sale, they don’t look for value in their wardrobe and investment dressing is not their thing. Trendy followers spend more money on fashion than the other two types of characters. They love designer â€Å"it† bags and statement shoes, and buy them whenever they can. They are so informed with fashion that they know the do’s and don’ts. Their trendy style goes to work perfectly in fashion retailing and the entertainment industry. According to Barthes (1989) he states, â€Å"Clothes are an art, a set of constraints which permit either persuasion or, subsequently, expressiveness† (p.84). Conclusion Establishing a fashion personality means developing a sense of style, which reflects a woman’s personality, lifestyle, dreams and passions. Finding her own fashion personality can take a woman on a journey of discovery but once she finds it she can understand the style, which truly defines her, and play to it. Every season trends change. However, the beauty of the fashion world stands in our capacity of using common sense in order to choose everything with good taste. All latest trends give us the opportunity and freedom to choose. These trends are not made for everyone as every personality has the ability of adapting the already existing trends to their own style. Therefore, whenever choosing something trendy we must think first what’s the main purpose of the item and how can we get the result we are looking for without losing our personality. Every person is different and therefore has there own fashion personality. They can range anywhere from the classic look, to the romantic look, to the trendsetter. All of these different looks describe the individual and their clothes can really say a lot about them. As Watson would say, â€Å"There’s nothing interesting about looking perfect- you lose the point. You want what you’re wearing to say something about you, about who you are (p.1).†

Advertising, Social and Economic Costs and Benefits

UNIT 1 P1 â€Å"describe the type of business, purpose and ownership of two contrasting organisations† Tesco Tesco is in private sector, but it is a PLC, a public limited company, this is an international business, also it is in primary. Tesco is doing service by providing food to its customers. Tesco exist, so people can buy food, they do their own products also, this company exists for making profit. Tesco makes profit by selling its products or making deliveries to customers.Tesco is trying to achieve , to be the best company Our vision is for Tesco to be most highly valued by the customers we serve, the communities in which we operate, our loyal and committed staff and our shareholders; to be a growth company; a modern and innovative company and winning locally, applying our skills globally. Tesco is a global business. Tesco is a public limited company (PLC) this means that the owners of Tesco are the shareholder. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service- This is a public s ector organization, it doesn’t make profit, because it’s service costs more than the amount of money people pay them for fire.This organization exist so when the people have fire or extreme situations they call fire and rescue service and they help them. In 2004 North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority developed a new focused Vision to reflect their broader function within the modernisation agenda. â€Å"Over the 10 years to 2014, in North Yorkshire and the City of York, 125 more people will still be alive through the work of the new Fire and Rescue Service. This will be due to the Service having significantly reduced the likelihood and severity of fire and other emergencies.We will achieve this through the dedication of our staff working in partnership with other agencies in the community†. This is a local company because it is North Yorkshire. Simply summarised as – The term â€Å"125 Alive† captures the Authority's Vision in one simple phrase. It means that 125 people who might otherwise have died in an accident will be alive because of preventative action taken by the Fire and Rescue Service working in partnership with other agencies. The target will be achieved by a steady reduction year on year in fatalities in road traffic collisions and fires.The aims and objectives of this organization are to help people to rescue them away from dangerous things, and also to remove the fire away, so the people will be in safe. They are trying their best , so they will be the best from their competitors. P2 â€Å"describe the different stakeholders who influence the purpose of two contrasting organisations† M1 â€Å"explain the points of view from different stakeholders seeking to influence the strategic aims and objectives of two contrasting organisations† Stakeholders:A person, group, or organization that has direct or indirect stake in an organization because it can affect or be affected by the organization's actions , objectives, and policies. Key stakeholders in a business organization include creditors, customers, directors, employees, government (and its agencies), owners (shareholders), suppliers, unions, and the community from which the business draws its resources. Stakeholder Grouping| Interest| Tesco PLC| NY Fire & Rescue Service| Consumers/customers| They want high quality, value for money products. Customers often identify with the brands they buy.They like to see improvements that give them better value for money. | People who want to buy high quality food or other staff| This are the local people in the local area who wants to take the fire out| Employees/workers| The company provides them with a salary/money to live (a livelihood). They seek security, promotion opportunities, job satisfaction and rewards. | This are the workers in the stores, they are interested in security| This are the firemen, their job is to rescue people and to remove the fire for safety. | Suppliers| They wan t steady orders and payment for supplying stock. They also want to feel valued. People which supply different staff like water, food, drinks etc. They do it because they are sure that Tesco Is a successful business and if they are successful so they have a lot of profit , and suppliers are sure in Tesco and they have more orders cause Tesco has more customers| People, who supply the equipment, like the extinguishers. | Owners| They may be a sole trader or in a partnership. In a company it would be the shareholders. Often thought to be the most important stakeholder. They see themselves as the principal risk taker. They want to see share of profit increasing and the value of the business rising. So the owner of Tesco is the shareholders, they are interested in success of their business, they want Tesco to be the best, as every shareholder does. | The government is the owner of the NYFRS. The government wants to succeed this organization in their job, so people will be in safe. | Trad e Unions| They represent the views of the employees of the business. They want higher wages and better conditions. | They want Tesco to be successful, because if Tesco is successful, so workers conditions will be better, because this stakeholder is interested in employees comfort and life. They are interested in firemen success and conditions, wages etc. So if firemen start to rescue people or removing fire more and more, so they could get salary and this is good for Trade Union, this is what they want. | Employer Associations| They are the employer’s equivalent of the TU. They represent the employer’s interests in specific associations. | Basically this stakeholder is equivalent Trade Union, they have quite the same interests, they also take care about the workers, but in specific way. | They are looking for the comfort of the firemen, in specific associations. Local communities| The actions of businesses can have a big effect on communities around them. They want imp roved facilities and provision of jobs. | Local communities wants Tesco to be considerate about the people who live nearby, considerate about the emotions and feelings. | This are the people who live near by the fire rescue service base, so when they have an emergency call they start to drive fast and a lot of noise etc. People want them to be considerate about them and to think about them, that people could be sleeping now, or doing something different when they can’t be disturbed. Governments| They want successful organisations which contribute to economic growth and provide jobs and tax revenue. They also like businesses that contribute towards the welfare of the country’s society. | Government wants Tesco to succeed, so the economy of the country would improve more and more, and more employees would be needed as the company will grow, so less unemployed people would be. | The government wants to succeed this organization in their job, so people will be in safe, and the country’s level of popularity would increase. Tesco: 1) Owners 2) Workers 3) Supplies 4) Customers 5) Government NYFRS: 1) Government 2) Workers 3) Suppliers 4) Customers 5) Local communities D1 â€Å"Evaluate the influence different stakeholders exert in ONE organization Tesco: 1) Directors – To be as strong in everything we sell as we are in food Directors are the stakeholders which have the most influence of the Tesco, because they can do everything what they want with the business, because it is theirs. They have ultimate control and power.If they want for example they can change the name from â€Å"Tesco† to something else etc. 2) Workers- To build our team so that we create more value Workers are the second most influence stakeholders in Tesco. This is because if there is no workers so the business can’t grow at all and it will fail, no workers, means no job done. But also if the workers would leave the Tesco, it is not such a big problem, bec ause â€Å"Tesco† is well known successful business, and a lot of employees want to work for them. 3) Customers- To grow the UK coreCustomers are 3rd important stakeholders which have influence on Tesco. So if there would not be customers the business would not be able to make profit at all, so customers are also really important part of each business. If the Tesco loses the customers , so they will go to theirs opponent businesses, such as â€Å"Asda† and â€Å"Sainsbury’s†, and this could be because their would be not enough workers, or the customer service would be at low level. 4) Suppliers- To put our responsibilities to the communities we serve at the heart of what we do.Suppliers are last important stakeholders with influence on Tesco, because if the suppliers wont supply any products so Tesco would have to use its own products, but that wouldn’t make a lot of profit, and won’t be sustainable. If â€Å"Tesco† loses the supplier s, it is not a problem, because there are a lot of suppliers which are free and waiting for their chance, but if the suppliers were too good, this would be sad. P3 â€Å"Describe how two businesses are organised† TESCO: Span of control: The number of subordinates that a manager or supervisorcan directly control.This number varies with the type ofwork: complex, variable work reduces it to six, whereasroutine, fixed work increases it to twenty or more. Chain of Command: The  order  in which  authority  and  power  in an  organization  is wielded and delegated from  top management  to every employee  at every  level  of the organization. Instructions flow downward along the chain of command and accountability  flows  upward. The chart shows that Tesco has a different level of workers in its organization. These shows the mangers and members, whom they control. The managers take responsibility of what their assistants do.Manager of one job can’ t control the assistants of other job manager, so everything is equal. The boss of everyone is the store director, after him is regional manager as you can see, and later is the store manager, and only than other managers of different jobs, and on the bottom of the chart are all of the assistants of all of the mangers. So in Tesco and in all other businesses the member of the working team can’t control anyone above him, or anyone or the same line, he can control only the people who are under him. It is very hard to control big organization. So, it will be better to break the organization into smaller parts.There are 4 main ways of breaking a business down into smaller sections: 1) By Function- What is the sense of each section? 2) By Location- Where is the section situated on the map? 3) By Product- Which service does the section belong to? 4) By Process- A customer staying approached on the other customers who are interested in Tesco. There are 2 main types of organizational structure: 1) Tall 2) Flat The difference between this two is that tall has more levels than flat , however in Flat Mangers there are wider span of control. . So, we can say that Tesco has Tall structure, because in Tesco’s Organizational Chart has a lot of levels.North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service: It is really hard to understand who is who, who is controlling whom, the table is a bit messy, and so I created a better one for you: But on Structure of Commission we can see that Director General has two lines. First, is that he should control 3 Directors, Corporate and Forestry, Central Services (HR, IT, Finance), Business Units, Forest Research. The North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is looking so different comparing to Tesco’s. . In Forestry Commission General Director works with more employees, however in Tesco Director works just with managers.But The North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s type of organizational structure is Tall, because it has many lines. And Forestry Commission is organization by Location, because they are separated on different locations, they have 3 directs in same country. Task 2 1) Finance addresses the ways in which individuals, business entities and other organizations allocate and use monetary resources over time. It helps Tesco with finance. 2) Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. ) The act or process or producing, bringing forth, or exhibiting to view; as, the production of commodities, of a witness. That which is produced, yielded, or made, whether naturally, or by the application of intelligence and labor; as, the productions of the earth; the productions of handicraft; the productions of intellect or genius. 4) Customer Service is the commitment to providing value added services to external and internal customers, including attitude knowledge, technical support and quality of service in a timely manner 5) Sales- Total dollar amount collected for goods and services provided.While payment is not necessary for recognition of sales on company financial statements, there are strict accounting guidelines stating when sales can be recognized. The basic principle is that a sale can only be recognized when the transaction is already realized, or can be quite easily realized. This means that the company should have already received a payment, or the chances of receiving a payment are high. In addition, delivery of the good or service should have taken place for the sale to be recognized. ) Human resources- is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations. Human resources is also the name of the function within an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementi ng strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals. Task 3 I will tell now, what makes Tesco and Forestry Commission similar and what makes them different. Firstly, they both have General Director, and he has helpers.But in Forestry Commission General Director has more employees (they are: 3 directors and other staff members), however in Tesco, Director has just one helper. Secondly, this two organizations have two different, smaller parts. Tesco has broken down on process and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service by Location. Last thing which I want to say is that, they have the same type of organization – it’s â€Å"Tall†. They have many levels and lines, which helps them to control their business. P4 â€Å"explain how their style and organization helps them to fulfill their purpose†