Financial Modelling and forecasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Modelling and forecasting - Essay Example They are used for propose of measuring the performance of the firm and also to measure hoe stable is a firm financially. They are also used for future planning, determining whether a firm is able to borrow loans and service them, and also evaluating the performance of the firm under different models. Most models are based on sales volume This paper will seek to analyze the financial statement of JB Hi-Fi by use of historical data to predict the future.I will therefore forecast the years 2013, 2014 and 2015 using the year 2012 as my base year. Ratio analysis of relevant sales ratios will be used for the analysis. Financial statement analysis is the use balance sheet and income statement data to come up with values for financial interpretation and identification of the strengths and weaknesses of an organization (Stickney et al., 2006). Various techniques of financial statement analysis are: trend analysis, comparative statements, common size percentages, ratio and fund analysis as well as changes in working capital changes (Libby et al., 2004). For the purpose of analyzing JB Hi-Fi, relevant sales ratio analysis will be undertaken. For a successful financial analysis, comparison has to be made using consistent percentages through the years of analysis. The use of the sales ratios to analyze the years will reveal their similarities, trends, as well as differences in the company (Palepu & Healy, 2007). As Gregory (2008) notes, the stakeholders of the information contained in a financial statement include, potential investors, creditors, managers, shareholders, the government and creditors and they require the information for different reasons. Use of historical data is a major limitation of ratio analysis as it is therefore assumed that it reflects on the future trends whereas no one could be certain of the future (Palepu & Healy, 2007). Resvine et al (2004) explains that another limitation of using financial statements in analysis is that GAAP allows

Interest Groups Essay Example for Free

Interest Groups Essay They vary considerably in size and ideological perspectives. The strategies and tools employed by interest groups are not static, and they differ depending on the geographical scope of their operations and the resources they have. While many interest groups tend to address a wide range of issues, others deal with distinct issues. The life span of interest groups is also not static. In this case, some groups have long term objectives; hence, they remain active for long duration. For instance, the interest groups that aim at challenging policy issues and politics operate on a long term basis. On the other hand, some groups are usually initiated with an aim of achieving a particular end after which they are dissolved. For example, during elections, many groups usually emerge with an aim of ensuring that the process is handled according to the stipulated guidelines of the electoral process. A representative government is always formulated in manner that facilitates participation of contending interests, and at the same time it tries to mitigate the variance that inexorably accompanies faction competition. In the traditional creation of pluralism, contending interests work together by mobilizing resources and opinions in order to enhance effective formulation and implementation of essential public policies. â€Å"Institutions are formed to accommodate the inevitability of diverse and competing interest from becoming powerful enough to undermine the rights of others† (Wilson, 2009). This process is governed by constitutional provisions, which stipulate the nature of interest groups’ activities. Therefore, many interest groups that work together tend to stabilize political environment, and this enables them to forward their interests to the government. â€Å"This implies that the pluralist vision of politics is an ideal vision of interest group politics and political institutions† (Barber, 1990). The activities conducted by various interest groups can be used to differentiate them. For instance, some of them endeavor to address several public issues, while others have a narrow scope of private interests. There are two distinct types of interest groups, and they can be described as follows. First, we have public interest groups, and they aim at working on issues that benefit the general public. For instance, they support policies that provide equal opportunities that can be enjoyed by everyone in the society. However, the success of public interest groups may not be very substantial at an individual level since they aim at reaching out to many people. â€Å"Some of the major public interest groups in his category are National Taxpayer’s Union and Concerned Women for America† (Orman, 1988). The second category is referred to as private interest groups. These are groups which endeavor to challenge public policies in order to specifically benefit their members or individuals that support their interests. Nonetheless, the objectives and activities of private interests groups should not interfere with the welfare of other individuals. Political self interest is perceived to b e healthy for a political system. In the USA, there is a popular belief that contending interests make the society more successful. This is because bad policies are always eliminated when various groups compete against each other â€Å"Other examples of interest groups include business organizations labor unions, Professional associations, and Non Governmental Organizations† (Grossman, 2002). The Relationship between Interest Groups and Political Parties There is no great disparity between political parties and various interest groups, because they are both composed of individuals having common objectives and opinions. Apart from this, â€Å"they are similar in the sense that they both seek to challenge government institutions, elections, and they all make public policy choices† (Brunell, 2005). Nonetheless, there are significant variations between these two bodies. Generally, interest groups never directly support their own members to contest for public office, especially in a case where economic parameter is concerned. In most cases, interest groups never adopt overt party labels, which electors use to identify and express their political affiliations (Dulilio Wilson, 2011). However, some electors may link particular interest groups with specific parties in a general manner. For example, the Tea Party is often linked with the Republicans and the white conservatives. In the recent past, public interest groups that are ideologically driven have increased considerably (King, 2011). For instance, a there are some groups which have pushed the tax agenda in political circles. Another distinguishing factor is that interest groups have a limited focus, and they only handle specific issues of concern in the public policy. For example, â€Å"interest groups form around specific concerns like environment, free speech, tax reform, and labor standards† (Petracca, 1992). In contrast to this, political parties tend to focus on several issues. Moreover, political parties try to merge some of these facades under one â€Å"big umbrella†. In some circumstances, interest groups seriously struggle against political parties. For instance, some internal rivalries have been witnessed in key political parties that operate in Texas. When elections were conducted in 2000, several environmentalists who were members of the Texas Democratic Party massively supported Ralph Nader, the Green Party candidate, since they felt that Al Gore was less committed toward environmental issues. They labeled him â€Å"not green enough†. On the other hand, some Republicans have tried to make the party conservative by working against some of their Republican colleagues. This indicates that the interest groups tend to favor parties and politicians that support their interests, and they ignore those who are less committed in helping them. Interest groups always aim at maximizing policies, while political parties are usually trying to obtain many Congress seats. These competing interests influence the manner political parties relate with the interest groups. According Thomas Brunell, â€Å"interest groups have a preference as which party controls a majority of seats in Congress, which leads them to direct â€Å"sincere† and electorally useful money to this party† (Hay, 2001) When interest groups offer funds to the â€Å"other† party, they always fund it in a manner that is less effective. Interest groups usually execute this goal by offering strategic funds to this party as follows: provide little financial support particularly to the popular candidates who do not necessarily have to be funded in order to succeed in the elections. They can also choose to fund incumbent candidates who already have political clout. Therefore, even if these groups offer funds to these parties, they always do it in a biased manner, and they favor only the parties that are likely to push forward their interests. These funds enable their preferred candidates to run their campaigns smoothly without experiencing financial hitches. Apart from offering finances, interest groups also provide key information that enables their favorite candidates to be more competitive than other contenders. They also sensitize their preferred candidates on issues that always influence election outcomes. All these services are organized by interest groups with an aim of fulfilling their common objective of influencing election results and policies. The fact that these institutions have a relationship is therefore undeniable. These groups often forge close ties and pursue similar objectives in order to enhance their political clout. Nonetheless, they remain independent, and their nature of operation and design also remain different. â€Å"The space for action, speech and flexibility that is maintained in politics makes them much more political than interest groups† (Grossman, 2002). How Interest Groups Try to Influence the President and the Congress? Although interest groups do not directly have elected members in political offices, they do aim at fixing their members into appointed positions. They normally do this to enable them perform their state functions through mechanisms that support the desired policies of the interests groups that facilitated their appointments. The fact that â€Å"groups† operate as political players has always been recognized and examined, even if not properly understood. The manipulation of legislative processes by groups is a question that has not yet been answered, and it is still being begged. Between the period of the 1970 and 1980s, some â€Å"explosions† were witnessed in Washington, and researchers have wanted to clearly understand them. As many groups emerged in Washington, many people joined them, and the groups increasingly funded parties. The citizens at the same time criticized the roles of interest groups and joined them in large numbers probably to suppress the powerful corporate groups. The role of groups in policy issues seemed to have taken a new dimension, and everyone was keen to see how it happened. Therefore, it can be argued that group manipulation of the Congress can be identified by simply examining the development of legislation that a group is favoring. For instance, a group’s ineffectiveness in legislative process can be measured through its failure to intercept unpopular bills. In general, â€Å"interest group activities predict, at least in part, how far bills will progress through the legislative process† (Brunell, 2005). The term influence as applied in this context is quite narrow from the perspective of interest groups, and it is broad from a congressional perspective. Interest groups perceive influence as a process that should produce good policies or prevent undesirable policies from being adopted. However, a group does not have to obtain policies from the Congress that directly indicate their actual desires; rather a group’s influence is seen when the Congress makes or discards a policy, which is in line with the interests of a group. From a congressional perspective, influence emerging from interest groups can come in several ways. Interest groups are often said to have manipulated the Congress when its members are compelled or encouraged to change the course or provisions of a given bill in order to meet the demands of the interest groups. This influence might come in the form of a change of wording, a passage from a subcommittee, and not passing from a standing committee† (Orman, 1988). In this process, interest groups may lead to the change of legislation, and the president may not have the capacity to reverse the whole process of legislation, even if he does not like the content of the bill. On the other hand, the president can also manipulate the Congress by working closely with the interest groups. As discussed above, the law making process can be indirectly manipulated through elections. For instance, an incumbent President may pass some bills in favor of some groups so that he may get some support from them during the next elections. Besides this, interest groups may support pliable candidates whom they can easily manipulate during the law making processes. This symbiotic relationship between the interest groups and the politicians to some extent affect the capacity of both the president and the Congress to formulate effective laws. Politics in America has become complicated to many politicians. This is because interest groups have managed to seriously entrench themselves in politics and much of their attention has been geared towards influencing the White House. â€Å"Since the American President has come to play an increasingly important role in the public policy process, interest groups and their lobbyists now descend on the presidency with the same vigor as they descend on the congress† (Orman, 1988). In this context, the president is faced with the challenge of fulfilling the needs of the ordinary citizens and the interest groups. Interest groups have faced much criticism especially when it comes to policy issues. Its critics contend that most of the policy issues dealt with by interests groups have no connection to the desires of the public. The leaders of these groups have also been blamed for being dishonest because they always fail to fulfill the demands of their members. The weaknesses of the interests groups have been seen as one of the factors interfering with democracy in the USA. It has also been noted with a lot of concern that some political candidates have been seriously intimidated by some interest groups, and this further affects the reputation of the interest groups. Conclusion  The above discussion indicates that the American government is guided various institutions, which work together with an aim of building a more democratic society. The interest groups have been instrumental in addressing the plight of the public by ensuring that policy issues are handled properly. The effectiveness of the government has also been enhanced by the numerous contending interests. The American government has been able to adopt better policies due to the serious competition that exists among various institutions. These groups have played a fundamental role of widening the democratic space in America. The American government has been influenced by several groups over the years to an extent that some individuals refer to it as â€Å"a world of interest groups†. The interest groups should, therefore remain committed towards enhancing democracy and good governance. And I think those groups have same mission, its to make the government do something right like that should be. for example, national education thinks that the system of lesson in ur country have to be changed because it is not effective, so the collect the data to support their argument, and send it to government, and hope it will influence the policy.

An Article, a Short Story, and a Poem :: Writing Literature Volcanoes Essays

An Article, a Short Story, and a Poem This paper will analyze and compare an article, a short story, and a poem according to; audience, purpose, context, ethics, and stance. The article â€Å"Under the Volcano† is written by Jack McClintock and is the most informative. The persuasion to have people move away from the danger area of Mt. Rainier is very subtle. The article lists volcanoes that have erupted and when they did so. Throughout the article there are pictures of volcanoes and the corresponding text shows what is being done to monitor them. The focus of the piece is the danger to Seattle and Tacoma posed by Mt. Rainier. There is an illustration of the danger zones of Mt. Rainier when it goes off and the towns that would be destroyed by it. The next piece is a short story called â€Å"A Very Warm Mountain† which is written by Ursula K. LeGuin. This story is a first-hand account of what Mt. St. Helens was like when it erupted. She also tells of news coverage and what she writes as well. She also writes people’s reactions as well as her viewing of the eruption like a giant pyrotechnics display. The third is a short poem entitled â€Å"Loo-Wit† and was written by Wendy Rose. This poem gives Mt. St. Helens a female persona and talks about it as if it were a living woman. It tells of how humanity ignored the warning â€Å"she† gave and the destruction that ensued. All three pieces deal with volcanoes and their impact on the existing environment as well as people’s reactions. All three pieces were similar in the intended audience and the author’s stance however, they were contrasting in purpose, context, and the author’s ethics. The purposes for these three pieces were radically different. In McClintock’s article the purpose is to inform people that there is a danger that can affect them. The most blatant way this is displayed is by the map that shows Mt. Rainier’s flow lines overrunning multiple cities including Seattle and Tacoma. The article also has a landscape picture of a big town with Mt. Rainier looming over it in the background. On the opposing page is a picture of Mt.

Stonehenge :: essays research papers

Stonehenge   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the British Isles more than nine hundred stone rings exist. Most people prefer to call them rings rather than circles for the reason that only two percent of them are true circles. The other ninety eight percent of these structures are constructed in an elliptical shape. Stonehenge in itself is roughly circular. Most of these rings cannot be dated exactly, but it is known that they are from the Neolithic period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In southern England the Neolithic period begins around the time of the first farming communities in 4000 B.C. to the time of the development of bronze technology around 2000 B.C., by that time the construction of major monuments was mostly over. Because of the scarcity of the archaeological record at the stone rings, any attempts to explain the functions of the structures are guesses. Most attempts tend to reflect the cultural relatedness of their times. Most people believe that these rings were constructed by a group of people called Druids.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This idea of Stonehenge being constructed by Druids has become deeply implanted in the uneducated minds of popular culture from tie seventeenth century to the present. It is common knowledge that the druids had nothing to do with these rings. The Druids flourished after about 300 B.C., more than 1500 years after the last stone rings were constructed. Even more, there is no evidence that suggests that the Druids even used these stone rings for ritual purposes. Any Druidic connection with the stone rings is purely hypothetical.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, prehistorians attributed Stonehenge and other stone rings to Egyptian and Mycenean travelers who were thought to have infused Europe and Bronze age culture. With the development of carbon 14 dating methods, the infusion-diffusion of British Neolithic history was abandoned and the megalithic monuments of Britain were shown to predate those in most other countries. While the carbon 14 method provided approximate dates for the stone rings it was no use explaining their function. Research by scholars outside the discipline of archaeology suggested a use different to that of rituals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1950s and 1960s, the Oxford University engineer Alexander Thom and the astronomer Gerald Hawkins pioneered the new field of archaeoastronomy-the study of the astronomies of ancient civilizations. Conducting precise surveys at various stone rings and other megalithic structures, Thom and Hawkins discovered many significant astronomical alignments among the stones. This evidence suggested that the stone rings were used as astronomical observatories. Moreover, the archaeoastronomers revealed the extraordinary mathematical sophistication and engineering abilities that the native British developed before either Egyptian or Mesopotamian cultures.

Comparative

Though we are all equipped with the ability of loving someone, but the flow of love we let out is different from one to another. Besides, we can also clearly observe a world of different ways of love between couples, husbands and wives, or even mothers and children. For example, in the poem, â€Å"Leaving the Motel†, are two secret lovers sharing their love after an afternoon sexual encounter, while in † After Making Love We Hear Footsteps†, the presence of the couple's child perfect the family love. Thus, different poet will interpret the same topic distinctly.Reading through these two poems, the very first difference that I observe is the tone used in the poem. In â€Å"Leaving the Motel†, everything seems to go so fast, and the speaker keeps looking from here to there carefully and sprightly. Besides, the large uses of enjambment indicates that the actions shouldn't include any pauses and must be done all the way until everything is in the right position, such as the following lines quoted below, Check: is the second bed Unreeled, as agreed? Landlords have to think ahead In case of need, (lines 5-8)Beside the enjambments used in lines, find out that author ingeniously utilized the enjambment between paragraphs such as paragraph 5 to paragraph 6: We've paid. Still, should such things get lonely, An aspirin to preserve Our lilacs, the wayside flowers (lines 19-22) Leave in their vase And from above, it's dawn on me that though they eager to express the true feelings in their minds, they failed to do so. As the tone shift, the word â€Å"still† in line 19 and the truth that â€Å"A few more hours; / That's all† (lines 24-25) reveals nothing could actually last.This kind of erotic love contained not only worrying but also guilt, because the love can't be preserved as long as possible and can't be confirmed under the sun. This tone is much different with the other poem, â€Å"After Making Love We heard Footsteps†. At the beginning of the first stanza, For I can snore like a bullhorn or play loud music or sit up talking with any reasonably sober Irishman (lines 1-3) these lines portray a lighthearted tone. Later author put down the sweet sex of the couple, describing the sounds of the progress in lines 6 and 7, â€Å"but let there e that heavy breathing / or a stifled come-cry anywhere in the house†.In contrast with the brisk and short tone in â€Å"Leaving the Motel†, it is rather meticulous and enthusiastic. Likewise, the tones secretly shift as the third person shows up, the emergence of a little boy. At first, consider the image of boys insecurity in such a big house would be a bad interruption in a negative light, as the boy leaves a question, â€Å"Are you loving and snuggling? May join? † (line 16) But I am utterly wrong as the tone showing me the love the parents hold for their child.In second stanza, which I considered the most touching and convincing one, when spea ker said, â€Å"this one whom habit of memory propels to the ground of his making (line 22) and this blessing love gives again into our arms. † (line 24), they pick up the meaning of sex and it is through the progress that their child came to the family. Hence, the word â€Å"love† in line 24 carries two meanings. One is sex of love and the other is the child of love. Except the tone and internal form, we may also find details about the poems.

National Stereotypes, essays

National Stereotypes, essays We know most foreign cultures, and much of our own culture, by reputation only. Actually, we have an "image" of the English, Scottish and Irish, Belgian, French or Spanish national character. Even though we personally may know a handful of people from those countries, we cannot evaluate how "typical" these persons are as representatives of their nation. But many people have no problems in recognizing certain temperamental attributes as being "typical" for certain nations: the Scottish reputation for stinginess, the Belgian reputation for stupidity, the Spanish reputation for pride are well known for us from jokes and stories which rely on a knowledge of those attributes. As a result we consider all the Scottish to be tight-fisted, the Belgian to be foolish etc. I judge most of the national stereotypes to be concocted. Once perceived reality is not reality itself, but is a mixture of fact and fiction, if not total fiction. On the other hand we cannot say that the English, Scottish and Irish, Belgian, French and Spanish are the same. There are some differences between nations and we could make some generalization, but I think we should be more accurate and take into account many facts. Most current thinking on national identities relies not on a first-hand observation of reality, but almost always on an existing reputation. I mean that somebody has mentioned about a proud Spaniard heshe met, the other has said that a lot of them are proud, the following concludes that pride is generalisation of Spanish nation. This idea goes from one to another through generations, though in reality it is just illusion and such representation shows nothing but somebodys desires to see the nation from his/her own point of view. Stereotypes can be positive or negative, depending on the political circumstances. Countries, which present a threat in political and economic rivalry, are usually described in negative terms. But countries, which do ...

Critically analyse two curriculum pedagogical approaches Essay Example

Critically analyse two curriculum pedagogical approaches Essay Example Critically analyse two curriculum pedagogical approaches Essay Critically analyse two curriculum pedagogical approaches Essay The intent of this essay is to critically analyze two curriculum pedagogical attacks. The two attacks that will be discussed in this essay are Reggio Emilia and Montessori. There will be an in-depth analysis of the two doctrines and how they are different or similar to each other. It will besides include the differing positions on the image of a kid, function of the instructor and the inclusion of parents and household. There will besides be some treatment on the critics of both attacks and the relevancy to Te Whariki. Reggio Emilia ( RE ) is a little metropolis in the Emilia Romagna part of Northern Italy. After the Second World War the people of RE desperately needed to construct their lives, non merely materially, but besides socially and morally. In this clip there was a powerful force behind the development of early childhood services ( Thornton and Brunton, 2005 ) . The adult females wanted to construct a preschool to supply a new signifier of instruction that the following coevals would non digest inequality and unfairness. There was a strong sense of hope for the hereafter originating from the hardship of the past ( Thornton, 2005, p4 ) . The Reggio doctrine was developed and shaped by the societal and cultural influences in the country. Loris Malaguzzi was the inspiration behind the educational experience in Reggio Emilia. Maria Montessori was born in the twelvemonth 1870 in Central Italy. Harmonizing to Standing ( 1957, p45 ) Montessori was a strong minded, vibrant and determined kid, exposing the sort of independency so extremely valued in Montessori schools to this twenty-four hours . Montessori graduated as a physician in 1896 and was the first adult female in Italy to make so. In her early clinical experience she became a protagonist of societal reform, chiefly as it related to the well being of adult females and kids. She argued that heightening the quality of the environment in which kids lived was a manner of extinguishing poorness, inequality, unwellness, and criminalism. This statement became the foundations of Montessori s life s work. In 1907 she opened a school for slum kids. The school was called Children s House . It was an environment in which in kids from the slums were progressing quickly in larning. She than decided to abandoned her medical/academic callings and devoted her life t o advancing her educational method ( Feez, 2010 ) . Malaguzzi was a societal constructivist and was influenced by some of the most renown progressive pedagogues and psychologist such as Piaget, Vygotsky, Bruner, Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Montessori, Dewey ( Edwards, 2003 ) . Malaguzzi includes Vygotsky s construct of Zone of Proximal as important to the foundations of kids teacher relationships. There is besides a value for the operation of idea and linguistic communication together in constructing symbolic representation of ideas, thoughts and feelings ( Berk, 2007 ) Malaguzzi believed that kids were social from birth, full of intelligence and active adventurers ( Gandini, 1997 ) . Montessori was influenced by the work of Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Itard and Seguin. Montessori s involvement was more practical than theoretical, but her theoretical position was based on Rousseau s work. Like Rousseau she argues that kids think and learn otherwise so grownups. Montessori instruction gives kids freedom to research the environment through their senses but they are given small external counsel on what to pay attending to and how to believe about finds ( Feez, 2010 ) . To happen an attack that provided chances for freedom and at the same clip assisting kids adapt to society, Montessori looked at the work of Gallic physician Itard and Seguin. It was Seguin method which Montessori used successfully to learn deficient kids in the 1980s, and when she used the same attack in 1907 to educate street kids she was amazed at what unfolded. The RE doctrine was influenced by Malaguzzi. Malaguzzi emphasises that the theory which provides the underpinnings for the Reggio attack requires on-going communicating and duologue, instructors as co-researchers alongside kids, and revisiting thoughts, ushers and pattern. Children are seen as a community of scholars . It recognises the importance of ways in which kids learn and see each kid as gifted. Children with disablements have the full engagement into the construction and are spoken to as children with particular rights ( Gandini, 1997 ) . In the Reggio attack there is no preset course of study. Short term and long term undertakings are developed from kids s involvement, first manus experiences and their on the job theories about the universe ( Rinaldi, 2006 ) . Childs are encouraged to turn in competency to stand for and symbolize thoughts, feelings through any of the 100 linguistic communications. The instructor follows the kid s involvement and do non supply instructions for reading and authorship, nevertheless they promote emergent literacy as kids manipulate and communicate thoughts and feelings. As kids progress through the infant-toddler Centre, or preschool, they stay with the same instructors. This provides chances for a strong relationship between the staff, kids and their households to be nurtured over the long period. The RE attack identifies the environment as a 3rd instructor between kids, parent and instructors. Malaguzzi describes the physical environment and the handiness of resources as the merchandise of complex interactions, many of which can be realised merely when the environment is a to the full take parting component ( Thornton, 2005, p43 ) . Teachers in a Reggio Centre provide amiable environments which encourages geographic expedition, exchanges, and communicating. Montessori believed that her teaching method was based on logical, scienctific enquiry. Harmonizing to Montessori, from birth to three is the clip of the unconscious absorbent head whereas age three to six is considered as clip for the conscious absorbent head . In both these times, the kid seeks centripetal input, ordinance for motion, order and freedom to take and research deeply with reading in a carefully planned environment which encourages the kid to take good. In a Montessori schoolroom kids are in assorted groups crossing from birth to three old ages and instructors move with the kid through the three twelvemonth rhythm ( Feez, 2010 ) . The exercisings of practical life accomplishments are an of import portion of the course of study. It is based on ways people in the civilization relate to each other socially, every bit good as ways in which they complete mundane undertakings. Language besides relates to the exercisings of practical life, as kids use it in different ways to interact and pass on with others. In a Montessori position any resource that is unrelated to the educational intent of stuff has a possible to deflect and confound the kid ( Feez, 2010 ) . Children have limited freedom to what they can and can non make in a Montessori schoolroom, for illustration to be riotous, aggressive and disorderly. The Montessori environment is planned in front of clip to guarantee that kids have every bit much freedom and independency as possible. The attack emphasises on existent things in the environment which requires custodies on interactions. A Montessori schoolroom allows chances for meaningful acquisition in self chosen activities, and purposeful activities which requires concentration ( Feez, 2010 ) . The Reggio position of the kid is cardinal to its doctrine. The kid is referred to as a rich in possible, strong, powerful and competent . At the Centre of the teaching method is the kid who is confident in constructing relationships ; who holds his or her ain values ; who wants to be respected and valued for himself every bit good as keeping a regard for others ; who embodies a wonder and unfastened mindedness to all that is possible ( Thornton, 2005 ) . Childs are encouraged to develop their ain on the job theories of the universe and to research this in greater deepness. Children thoughts are respected so that kids feel fearless to do errors or retracing their thoughts. Self assurance and self image is fostered through treatment which promotes creativeness. The impression of the 100 linguistic communications was Malaguzzi s reading of recognizing the value of all signifiers of look and communicating in which kids interpret the universe and stand for their thoughts and theories. Montessori doctrine position kids as intelligent, active, world based ego regulation and ego righting. Montessori believed that in order for them to populate a quality life, they need to be prepared as competent, responsible and adaptative citizens who are life long scholars and job convergent thinkers. Children s free chosen activity is regarded as work . Through a Montessori lens kids s plant is seen as orientation towards future accomplishments and play that involves purposeful attempt and concentration. Montessori s position on penalties and wagess to do kids pay attending were regarded as forced and unnatural . She saw it as a signifier of bondage from which kids needed to be released ( Feez, 2010 ) . The instructors in both attacks portion a common end in childrearing. They both regard themselves as raisings, spouses and ushers to kids. They depend on the environment as a pedagogical tool which is carefully prepared and aesthetically delighting. Partnership with parents is extremely valued in both attacks. However their contrasting position on a kid s acquisition has lead them act different functions in a schoolroom. Reggio instructors are seen a scholar, enthusiastically seeking new cognition aboard kids. Children and instructors are seen as co-researches in mundane procedure instead than a specialized activity. They provide tools, stuffs, resources and supply aid when needed. Each category has two instructors who work collaboratively as a squad. The instructors plan in coaction with the pedagogista and the aterlierista. The pedagogista helps keep high quality criterions whereas the aterlierista promotes expression through different signifiers of media and symbol systems ( Vecchi, 2010 ) . Malaguzzi suggest that one time kids are helped to comprehend themselves as writers and intercessions, and to happen the pleasance of enquiry, there motive and involvement will spread out ( Edwards, Gandini, Forman, 1998 ) In a Montessori schoolroom instructors are considered as directors which refers to person who guides and draws others together. The function of the manager is to supply a prepared environment and connect kids with it. Montessori besides emphasised the function of an pedagogue as an perceiver instead than teacher. The method of observation still remains an of import constituent of Montessori teacher preparation boulder clay this twenty-four hours ( Torrence and Chattin-Mc Nicholas, 2009 ) . The purpose of the instructor is to assist and promote kids to be independent, derive assurance and adherent so that there are minimum grounds for instructors to step in ( Feez, 2010 ) . Teachers give kids lessons ( besides called presentations ) to demo kids how to utilize stuffs or how to move in the environment. Children are free to take activities after they have had a lesson on how to make the activity. They intervene every bit small as possible to let kids to do good picks. In both attacks parent/families play an of import portion in their kid s acquisition and development and are seen as spouses alongside instructors. They are included in all determinations refering their kid and their input is extremely valued. Parents receive extended description about their kids day-to-day life and advancement. Portfolios and other signifiers of kids work possibly displayed and sent place as cardinal intervals and passages ( Edwards, 1998 ) . Respecting relationships are considered one of the most indispensable constituents of the RE attack. The relationships established between parents, kids and instructors are cardinal elements in supports kids s acquisition and development. Relationships are built on reciprocal, necessitating common trust and regard. The Reggio term the teaching method of listening accents listening as openness and craft to value the point of others. The first preschools were founded by the parents as a symbolic of hope and desire of better hereafters for their kids. Therefore parental engagement has ever been of import portion of the Reggio attack. At the clip a kid enters an infant-toddler centre/preschool, the parents are considered as active participants in the on-going educational procedure. The programme is designed to do households experience at place and an of import portion of the construction. This gives educators the chance to acquire to cognize households and understand their alone position of their ain kid. The Montessori attack includes parent/families in larning that concerns their kid. Strong relationships are established between instructors and parents to follow the kid s advancement in place and schoolroom. Regular duologue and written feedback gives parents information about their kid s experiences and larning. Teachers provide suggestion on how parents can go on to utilize the Montessori attack at place. Parents are welcome to borrow resources and books and have many chances to larn about the Montessori doctrine and pattern. One unfavorable judgment to the RE attack is sing the function of instructors as co-researchers along side kids. Malaguzzi called this unfastened reappraisal method a circle of thought . The thought that kids learn through interactions and geographic expedition of thoughts with pedagogues is regarded as thinking critically about hard inquiries instead than problem work outing . Another unfavorable judgment is placed on the importance of the environment in the Reggio attack. The environment is referred to as the 3rd instructor . It is argued that if the Reggio focal point is on kids and interactions and the usage of infinite farther encourages and supports this interactions and that the course of study is adaptable to the altering involvement to the kid, so excessively does the design and environment alteration. Therefore the environment is a ship of gesture instead than an unchangeable landmark ( Rinaldi, 2006 ) . It is argued that Montessori instruction does non let kids the chance for learning to larn . In a Montessori position a kid had learned when they right finished the activity. It is an terminal province reached when the undertaking is mastered. Harmonizing to Crain ( 2011 ) in the real universe kids need to larn how to larn, to rapidly accommodate to altering environments and to make new environments. The Montessori attack does non let for critical thought or geographic expedition it is instead a method of flawlessness. Freedom for enterprise and creativeness is limited. Teachers have house regulations about how undertakings are done, and a kid finds a manner to pull strings the stuff which they are happy with, the instructor would non see this satisfactory. The instructor will so promote the kid to maintain working on the same activity until is completed the manner it should be. This hinders kids imaginativeness and creativeness ( Gardner, 1966 ) . Finally, both attacks make important links Te Whariki. The rules of Family and Community and Relationships shows relevancy to both attacks as parent/family are considered partners in the acquisition of their kids. The strand of good being and belonging is apparent in both attacks, as instructors support each person kid larning and development. Well being ( Goal 1 ) supports the Montessori pattern of practical accomplishments where the kids learn ego aid and self attention accomplishments ( Ministry of Education, 1996 ) . The strand of Contribution supports RE pattern to research as groups or persons. Each kid has the chance to show their thought. Group undertakings encourage kids to larn with and along side others. The strand of Communication relates more to Reggio Emilia, than it does to Montessori pattern. Communication and duologue is an of import tool which instructors use to widen kids s acquisition. Teachers support and let kids to be originative and expressive. This end of non verbal and verbal communicating shows relevancy to the Hundred Languages ( Edwards, 1998 ) . The strand of geographic expedition is besides more relevant to the Reggio Emilia attack than Montessori, as Montessori is more structured and undertakings are demonstrated on how it should be done , therefore it does non truly let for geographic expedition. Exploration is seen a critical construct in the Reggio attack as instructor recognise the of import of self-generated drama and let kids to follow their involvement in more deepness. Teachers become co-researchers with kids to develop working theories and do sense of the universe ( MOE, 1996 ) In decision, RE and Montessori are both child-centred attacks and have many similarities every bit good as differences. Both attacks were established to turn away from violence/war and to give kids the chance to gain their full potency as originative, intelligent persons. In both attacks kids are viewed as active spouses in their ain development and acquisition. The environment serves as a pedagogical tool for instructors to supply an aesthetically delighting environment which provides kids with freedom and chances for geographic expedition. The instructor plays an of import portion in both attacks ; nevertheless their contrasting positions on the nature of kids and their learning take them to move different functions. A Reggio Teacher regards themselves as co-researchers alongside kids, whereas a Montessori instructor sees themselves as a director or observer . In both attacks parents are seen as equal spouses in their kid acquisition and development. Overall, the Reggio Emilia attack provides kids with chances for unfastened ended geographic expedition, whereas the Montessori attack is more structured and aims to supply chances for kids to take freely and derive independency.

Kid-Friendly Elephant Toothpaste Demo

Kid-Friendly Elephant Toothpaste Demo The elephant toothpaste demo is one of the most popular chemistry demonstrations, in which a steaming tube of foam keeps erupting from its container, resembling a smooshed tube of elephant-sized toothpaste. The classic demo uses 30% hydrogen peroxide, which is not safe for kids, but there is a safe version of this demonstration that is still very cool. Materials Empty 20-ounce plastic bottle (or other container)3% hydrogen peroxide solution (available at nearly any store)Packet of active yeast (from the grocery store)Liquid dishwashing detergent (such as Dawnâ„ ¢)Warm waterFood coloring (optional, but it looks nice) Make Elephant Toothpaste Pour 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide solution, 1/4 cup dishwashing soap, and a few drops of food coloring into the bottle. Swish the bottle around to mix the ingredients. Set the bottle in a sink or outdoors or some other place where you wont mind getting wet foam everywhere.In a separate container, mix a packet of active yeast with a little warm water. Give the yeast about 5 minutes to activate before proceeding to the next step.When you are ready to do the demo, pour the yeast mixture into the bottle. The reaction occurs immediately upon the addition of the yeast. How It Works Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a reactive molecule that readily decomposes into water (H2O) and oxygen: 2H2O2 → 2H2O O2(g) In this demonstration, yeast catalyzes the decomposition so it proceeds much more rapidly than normal. Yeast need warm water to reproduce, so the reaction wont work as well if you use cold water (no reaction) or very hot water (which kills the yeast.) The dishwashing detergent captures the oxygen that is released, making foam. Food coloring can color the film of the bubbles so you get colored foam. In addition to being a nice example of a decomposition reaction and a catalyzed reaction, the elephant toothpaste demo is exothermic, so heat is produced. However, the reaction just makes the solution warmer, not hot enough to cause burns. Christmas Tree Elephant Toothpaste You can easily use the elephant toothpaste reaction as a holiday chemistry demonstration. Just add green food coloring to the peroxide and detergent mixture and pour the two solutions into a Christmas tree-shaped container. A good choice is an Erlenmeyer flask because it has a cone shape. If you dont have access to chemistry glassware, you can make a tree shape by inverting a funnel over a glass or making your own funnel using paper and tape (which you could decorate, if you like.) Comparing the Original Reaction With the Kid-Friendly Recipe The original elephant toothpaste reaction, which uses a much higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide, can cause both chemical burns and thermal burns. While it produces a larger amount of foam, its not safe for kids and should be performed only by an adult using proper safety gear. From a chemistry perspective, both reactions are similar, except the kid-safe version is catalyzed by yeast, while the original demonstration is usually catalyzed using potassium iodide (KI). The kids version uses chemicals that are safe for children to touch. The lower concentration of peroxide can still discolor fabrics. Care should be taken to avoid ingestion because the project includes detergent, which can cause vomiting. Key Takeaways The elephants toothpaste chemistry demonstration produces heated foam when chemicals are mixed.The original demonstration results from decomposition of hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by potassium iodide. Detergent solution captures gases to form the foam. The kid-friendly version uses a lower concentration of hydrogen peroxide, with the decomposition catalyzed by yeast.While both versions of the reaction may be performed for a young audience, the original version uses concentrated hydrogen peroxide, which is a strong oxidizer, and potassium iodide, which may not be readily available.The kid-friendly version uses chemicals that are safe for children to touch, in case of a splash.As with all chemistry demonstrations, adult supervision is recommended. Sources Dirren, Glen; Gilbert, George; Juergens, Frederick; Page, Philip; Ramette, Richard; Schreiner, Rodney; Scott, Earle; Testen, May; Williams, Lloyd. Chemical Demonstrations: A Handbook for Teachers of Chemistry. Vol. 1. University of Wisconsin Press, 1983, Madison, Wis.Elephants Toothpaste. University of Utah Chemistry Demonstrations. University of Utah.

Healthcare Reforms In Hawaii And Massachusetts Essay

Healthcare Reforms In Hawaii And Massachusetts - Essay Example Hawaii was the first state to pass legislation, Hawaii’s Prepaid Health Care Act 1974, which requires employers to provide employees with health insurance. The state has remained consistently pro-health reforms and this is evident in the legislation that was passed in 2009 that created the Hawaii Health Authority. This authority has been mandated to plan for healthcare needs of the state and to determine future capacity needs for the state’s health providers, support services, equipment, and facilities. Hawaii’s support for health reforms is also seen in Hawaii Health Authority’s task of determining, implementing and maintaining the waivers that are available to the state’s residents under federal law. Similarly, Massachusetts has demonstrated its support for health reforms by adopting health care reform laws like the one it adopted in 2006. This law required residents to have insurance coverage, employers to provide employees with health insurance cover and pledged that the state would provide residents earning below 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL) with free health care insurance. The state amended this law in 2008 and 2010 in order to realign its health reform goals to those of the Federal Affordable Care Act. The Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority is Massachusetts’ equivalence of Hawaii Health Authority (Bauer & Hollier, 2012). Despite their support for health reforms, there exist disparities in how these reforms play out in the two states.

Intercultural Conflict Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Intercultural Conflict Analysis - Essay Example The text of the analysis in this piece of writing is about the South Africans culture and conflict resolution. Many countries in Africa have different communities living together or rather close to each other. The cultural diversity among the communities forms the basis of conflicts among members of the different beliefs and cultural practices. Solution to such conflicts is also attained through strategic cultural practices among the communities involved in the in the conflict. South Africa proves the best place to analyze due to several reasons. The first reason is that it is inclusive of the western culture and ways western culture interacts with the African custom. One can be able to see customs and practices by different groups of people and the conflict that arises with such a scenario. Another importance of the text is seen by the analysis of the dominance of the nonverbal communication among the different communities. It is seen where a man is seen as a superior being in the c ommunity and given special treatment by the feminine. Examples given on the article clearly portray the cultural values and ties during the Apartheid. Cultural values in South Africa influenced the details in the article. The female among the South African communities are the inferior beings among and are supposed to offer special services to the male. The ladies are expected to take care of the children as a man works to ensure the family is well fed and protected against all forms of dangers. The man being the masculine figure of the family and community as a whole is expected to perform hard and risky tasks. The man in the majority of the South African societies if not all, is treated with respect to the extent that the lady leans or kneels before the man as she serves food or greets the man. Local leadership among these communities is left for men and therefore the decision making on matters

Discussion Question Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Discussion Question - Assignment Example He has an autocratic style that created an environment of fear among his managers which resulted in high employee turnover (Kapner, 1998). A former manager of the company described Schmitt as one who â€Å"destabilized the company and surrounded himself with Yes people. All the entrepreneurial spirit left" (Kapner, 1998). Some investors and analysts have faulted Schmitt because of his inability to react immediately to the changes in the marketplace (Kapner, 1998). Michael Hamilton, a portfolio manager at Invista Capital Management stated that Rubbermaid â€Å"lost control of the brand and expenses† (Kapner, 1998). Given the above scenario of Rubbermaid during Schmitt’s time, it would have been for the good of the company if Schmitt was more open to the opinions and suggestions of people who are more knowledgeable than him in certain aspects of the business. Major strategic decisions cannot be made with a snap of a finger; it should be discussed thoroughly and comprehensively. In an organization as huge as Rubbermaid, Schmitt cannot solely rely on his abilities to come up with major decisions. Schmitt can definitely learn a lesson from Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks who said, â€Å"I think its very difficult to lead today when people are not really truly participating in the decision. You wont be able to attract and retain great people if they dont feel like they are part of the authorship of the strategy and the authorship of the really critical issues. If you dont give people an opportunity to really be engaged, they wont stay" (Vogan, 2006). This statement from Schultz is certainl y the wisdom behind the amazing success of Starbucks. Jackson, E. (2012, January 2). The seven habits of spectacularly unsuccessful executives. Retrieved May 30, 2012, from forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/01/02/the-seven-habits-of-spectacularly-unsuccessful-executives/ Kapner,

Business Strategy and Development - Company Report Assignment

Business Strategy and Development - Company Report - Assignment Example GoPro is the world’s leading activity image capture currently the highest selling wearable HD camera. Political instability in America has encouraged GoPro to carry out its operations smoothly through formulation of liberal laws and policies that do not affect prices and labor. Following recovery from financial crisis, American economy is currently stabilizing thus forming a good environment for operations of GoPro. Most athletes’ sound financial capabilities in extreme sports also enable them to acquire GoPro products so easily. Moreover, social factors that entails belief in new technology and love of capturing experiences has hugely boost the relationship between GoPro and the society. GoPro boasts of faster technological advancement that saw them beating the likes of Smartphones and therefore the significance of their advancement in their technology cannot be assumed (Mac 2013, n.p). It has embraced intense marketing in the social media which has been key in catapulting their sales. GoPro develops highly innovative cameras that are consistent with the customers’ needs of capturing videos and sharing online. The company focusses on the needs of the customer and satisfies them instead of just advancing the technology. Having mix of features is integral for the company especially those features valued by customers at an affordable price and great solution (One Network Enterprises 2013, n.p). Gopro is known to building products that concentrates on the needs of the customers such as ease of use, robustness and footage quality. Gopro targets specific market instead of broad mass market by targeting passionate performers of many sport genres (Barca et al. 2012. P.21).This is because the company believes that target group is more willing to adapt to new technology within capturing hence making it easy to address their needs and satisfy them. Additionally, GoPro encourages closeness to their lead users and this

The Most Effective Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Most Effective Government - Essay Example The most effective government fulfills its purpose. As it has been stated, â€Å"government exists to control: to govern means ‘to control’† (Janda et al, n.d; p.9). At first glance all governments seem to fit this definition. However, additional considerations must be given to determine if a government is truly effective. If the government only exists to enforce control over society, then people have little reason to submit themselves to being ruled. Government must offer benefits to society in order for it to truly fulfill its purpose. It has been reported that, â€Å"throughout history, government has served two major purposes: maintaining order (preserving life and protecting property) and providing public goods. More recently, some governments have pursued a third purpose, promoting equality, which is more controversial† (Janda et al. n.d; p.9). The purpose of government as so described can be used to determine if a government is effective. Therefore, effective government will be successful in fulfilling all of its purpose as has been described. Democracy can be considered the most effective government because it is most successful in maintaining order, providing public goods, and promoting equality. The Ability to Maintaining Order Communism is marked by a â€Å"disappearance of civil, political, and economic rights† (Sanchez 2010:p.1). People that live in such countries are not free. Having no rights, they become ordinary gears in the clockwork of society. By this it would seem that communism is a form of government that is the most effective in maintaining order. Yet, where there is order there should also be peace. Where people are oppressed, there are limits to their peace. Due to the oppression that is characteristic of communist governments a government which offers more liberty better fulfils this requirement. As it has been stated, â€Å"A free society requires a citizenry that is capable of taking personal responsibility for bettering their lot, and voluntarily promoting and protecting public goods such as education, health, public order, peace, and justice† (Thunder, 2009). According to this statement democracy, with its promotion of free society is better equipped to fulfill the require ment of maintaining order by design. The maintenance of this government requires the existence of public order and peace. Such is not the case with communism. Providing Public Goods Communist countries demand work from their citizens. Many have laws that call for the imprisonment of any citizen who fails to maintain a job. The people’s work may aid in the continuation of existence and maintenance of their countries, but there is much lacking in the governmental provision of public goods. It has been reported of communist North Korea that â€Å"due to the nature of it being a tightly controlled police State, very little information leaves the country about the daily life of those who live there† (International Christian Concern 2010). Communist governments maintain a tight grip on the lives of their people. To the communist government, whatever provisions they allot the people are sufficient. However, it is clear that this government fails to supply adequate public good s to its people. In fact, communist governments have been identified as purposefully oppressing their people in order to further their own interests. It has been told that, â€Å"†¦North Korea seems confident its long-suffering people –battered by famine, floods, and economic mismanagement – will continue to suffer in silence† (Magnier 2006). Having failed to provide for the people adequately, democracy has won over communism in fulfilling the purpose of government. While poverty may be found in democratic countries such as America,

Business Strategy and Development - Company Report Assignment

Business Strategy and Development - Company Report - Assignment Example GoPro is the world’s leading activity image capture currently the highest selling wearable HD camera. Political instability in America has encouraged GoPro to carry out its operations smoothly through formulation of liberal laws and policies that do not affect prices and labor. Following recovery from financial crisis, American economy is currently stabilizing thus forming a good environment for operations of GoPro. Most athletes’ sound financial capabilities in extreme sports also enable them to acquire GoPro products so easily. Moreover, social factors that entails belief in new technology and love of capturing experiences has hugely boost the relationship between GoPro and the society. GoPro boasts of faster technological advancement that saw them beating the likes of Smartphones and therefore the significance of their advancement in their technology cannot be assumed (Mac 2013, n.p). It has embraced intense marketing in the social media which has been key in catapulting their sales. GoPro develops highly innovative cameras that are consistent with the customers’ needs of capturing videos and sharing online. The company focusses on the needs of the customer and satisfies them instead of just advancing the technology. Having mix of features is integral for the company especially those features valued by customers at an affordable price and great solution (One Network Enterprises 2013, n.p). Gopro is known to building products that concentrates on the needs of the customers such as ease of use, robustness and footage quality. Gopro targets specific market instead of broad mass market by targeting passionate performers of many sport genres (Barca et al. 2012. P.21).This is because the company believes that target group is more willing to adapt to new technology within capturing hence making it easy to address their needs and satisfy them. Additionally, GoPro encourages closeness to their lead users and this

Existential themes in the movie - My life without me Review

Existential themes in the - My life without me - Movie Review Example Existentialism as a philosophical system is not very well defined and nor is the system currently in vogue. Existentialism loosely concerns with the purpose, nature and possibilities for human existence. It arose in the aftermath of the Second World War, as a reaction to the widespread death and destruction that the event accounted for. In this regard, it is fair to claim that death is as important a preoccupation in existentialism as is life and life-affirming actions. Or rather, it is about the inevitability of death and the possibilities such a terminal reality opens up. This is exactly the situation faced by Ann. Her impending death makes her think hard about what it is to live. She then makes it a goal to experience all the bounties of life during the dying of the light. Herein Ann takes ‘responsibility’ for her life and actions. A less resolute soul might have descended into self-sympathy and melancholy. But not Ann - a true existential hero, she doesn’t see the point in complaining about her situation. Instead, she proactively and constructively engages with it. Jean Paul Sartre attempts to understand why human beings do not have innate ‘essence’ or a programmed set of values, traits and aspirations. Ann’s words and actions were linked to the Absurd Universe, whereby her diagnosis created a journey for her towards understanding the meaning of human life. Ann’s decisions fit into the existential framework for she decides to give meaning to the reminder of her life the way she best sees fit.

Forrest Gump Review Essay Example for Free

Forrest Gump Review Essay The third movie we watched was, â€Å"Forrest Gump†. Tom Hanks plays the main character, a simple man called Forrest Gump. The story is told through his innocent eyes, and we see just how crazy the world really is. His best friend, Jenny, is played by Robin Wright and Forrest’s mother is played by Sally Field. There are a few themes to be found in this movie, the main ones being, love, death and war. You can find love in the movie between Forrest and Jenny being best friends, and how Forrest took care and looked after Jenny in her time of need. Also there is a strong love between Forrest and his mother, and how she took care of him when he was younger and how later he took care of her when she was sick. Finally you can find love between Forrest and his new friend, Bubba that he meets along his journey, and how close they are and the plans they make. Death can be found in a few places in the movie, being it his mother, his wife, or his best friend; we see how Forrest overcomes these deaths and how innocent he is when it comes to death itself. The third theme, war, is found when Forrest finds himself working for the army in Vietnam. We see here that he sees the world as a crazy place and even though he is seen as simple, he sees that fighting isn’t the only way to solve things. This movie shows that no matter how simple people see you to be, you still know the difference between right and wrong. Forrest sees the world in a more innocent and sweet way, and as the movie goes on people start to see the world the way he does and start to understand him a little bit more.

Anthropology Reflection on Death

Anthropology Reflection on Death Vado Tergum In Vicis â€Å"Vado Tergum In Vicis† I hear him mumble as I cradled him and watched him close his eyes, inhale a deep breath one last time before dozing off in a deep unending slumber. Those were his last words. It has been weeks since my grandfather passed away but his words still echo in my head, as if those were only said yesterday. I was going through some of the things in his office when something of interest caught my attention. There, stashed between collections of replicas of fossil fragments, valuable artifacts and dusty pile of scratch papers and moldy books he gathered from years of field work, was a small, odd looking, leather book. Written on its very first page were the exact same words he held before he died. I knew instantly that the book was of something special. However, browsing through its worn out dusty pages, I was only left with disappointment for the book did not contain anything aside from descriptions and a few drawings of our supposed human ancestors. My grandfather was an anthropologist, and a brilliant one I should boast. He spent his years doing field work in different parts of the world until it was time for him to stop because of his old age. Bothered by my grandfather’s last words, I again went through his book, this time going through and reading every chapter, entry by entry, repeating his last words over and over in my head while reading every word in the book, hoping to make sense of the phrase. Suddenly, I felt a weird sensation crawling up my spine, and then everything started spinning right before my eyes until it all went black. â€Å"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!† I heard little chirping sounds as I awoke from a strange and an unexpected deep sleep. â€Å"Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!† I heard them once more. Not noticing that I woke up in a different place, I set off to find where the noise was coming from until I came upon a nest of hungry little eaglets. Marveling at the sight of the poor little creatures, it finally occurred to me where I really was, on top of a tree in a strange and unfamiliar place somewhere and not in my grandfather’s office where I remembered reading before blacking out. Thinking it was only a dream, I started stretching hoping to finally wake up in the comfort of my grandfather’s office. But to my disbelief, instead of slender human arms, big, strong wings came out and stretched in all its might. Still astonished and clueless of how I transformed into this magnificent creature in a single snap, I was left with no choice but to live in this new form and accep t the responsibility of looking after my young eaglets. While flying above the surface, I observed the surrounding area. It was not the typical lush green forest one may find in a typical forest or a mountain somewhere. The area is a dry savanna grassland with trees scattered widely apart (Forey Blaxland, 2013). Then at a distance, not very far from where I was hovering, I noticed a group of species with very distinct features. They have a relatively hairless, tall, slender long legged body complemented by an upright stature and a flatter face with human-like projecting nose (Forey Blaxland, 2013). Then it hit me, could it be that this species were the same as or the ones being described in my grandfather’s book? Is it possible that I have time traveled 1.9 to 1.5 million years in the past (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.) through his book to witness firsthand the existence of the Homo ergaster, which was the earliest known human ancestor to have possessed more human-like features (Forey Blaxland, 2013.), in East and South Africa (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.)? If this was the case, then I can still travel back to the present time and be a human again. The thought of being able to travel back to the present time and be a person again filled me with so much joy and excitement that I quickly perched on the nearest tree that enabled me a view where I could observe and watch them more closely. Remembering my grandfather’s notes and having personally observed the species, which I will now refer to as the Homo ergaster, it can be verified that their relative hairlessness and erect stature can account for the improvement of body cooling techniques (Forey Blaxland, 2013) and for their life on the ground as their climbing adaptations got lost with the development of their ability to walk, run and travel long distances (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.). Notable, among the Homo ergaster was their development, discovery and utilization of tools and fire which I have found drawings in grandfather’s book. According to the description in his notes, tools which included cleavers, hand axes and picks were excavat ed together with the ergaster’s fossils (Forey Blaxland, 2013). The tools were used mainly in hunting and butchering big animals and heavy wood working (Forey Blaxland, 2013). â€Å"Is that fire I can see flickering at a distance?† I excitedly thought to myself. I better fly there and check what is happening. â€Å"Oh, I can see it now! They’re making fire!† (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.) I exclaimed happily. But for what reason are they making it? Eager to know, I continued to hover near the area. A few moments later, when the fire is burning big enough, the species then placed chunks of meat, maybe from some beast, and plant tubers found all over the savannah (O’Neil, 2013) over the burning pile of wood as if they were in a barbecue party. â€Å"How amazing!† I exclaimed, â€Å"These creatures already have knowledge making and cooking with fire!† (Forey Blaxland, 2013). Amazed, I decided to stay a little longer hoping to learn more about them. I built a new nest on a near tree so that I could still look after my young while studying this fascinating group of species. Based from my close o bservations of them, I can infer that there is a clear parallelism between the Homo ergaster and our more modern human species, like tending and caring for the sick or injured, although there were no evidences of them deliberately burying their dead, staying or living within family based social bonds, an extended period of childhood (Forey Blaxland, 2013), and communicating through a limited range of sounds and gestures (O’Neil, 2013). Also, there existed a pattern of cooperation in Homo ergaster males and females which can be attributed to a decreased sexual dimorphism between them (Forey Blaxland, 2013). Until one day, as I was searching for food to feed my young, that sudden strange feeling I felt before coming into this strange new place came to me again. My wings suddenly grew numb and I started falling, I lost consciousness. Few moments later, I woke up, sitting in my grandfather’s office, the book in my lap. Terrified by the experience, I decided to keep the book away but found myself seconds later more drawn to it, browsing and turning it’s every page. Then before I had the strength to put it away, the strange feeling crept through me again, then, I found myself in another strange place. This time, in a grassland area with a more temperate and cooler climate (O’Neil, 2013) far from the dry savannas of East and South Africa. Abounding in mixed steppes, the environment proved to be an ideal habitat for large grazing animals (O’Neil, 2013). Wondering why the book brought me to such an environment, I started wandering through the area. As I go about surv eying the new surroundings, I realized that something very strange was happening. Other animals ran away at the instant they saw me coming. Puzzled, I continued until I came across a small pond. Hot from hours of walking, I decided to wash my face and drink from the crystal clear waters of the pond. But as I bent near the water’s surface, this massive tiger’s face appeared and stared right at me from the water. Terrified, I quickly pulled myself away from the water’s surface and got on my feet to survey the area of the lurking beast. Realizing I was actually alone, I again went near the water only to realize that the tiger’s reflection which scared me earlier was actually mine. Dumbfounded at the idea that I am now a ferocious predator, it made me realize that not only did my grandfather’s notebook allowed me to travel through time but also, it enabled me to shape shift to a different creature in each time period. The sound of passing footsteps pulled me from my thoughts. At a distance, there was a group of short and stocky men, with large faces characterized by a flat nose, a low sloping forehead and massive brow ridge (Forey, 2013) dragging the carcass of a boar, slit open, indicating that it was attacked and eaten by bigger predator and was not killed by the men. Unaware of the present time period and geographic location where I am in, and seeing a resemblance between these men and the species of Homo ergaster which I have observed in the African continent, led me to assume and establish a connection between these two species. While secretly observing the group from behind the bushes as to keep my presence unknown, memories from reading grandfather’s notes in his office suddenly rushed through me. Then I remembered reading on the part when some groups of Homo ergaster started to move out of Africa and dispersed in parts of Asia and Europe 1.8 to 1.7 million years ago (O’Neil, 2013) and might have evolved into more complex beings or side branched into a different species. With this in mind, the idea finally struck me. The book brought me to Asia to meet the Homo erectus, possibly an ancestor or a distant cousin (O’Neil, 2013) of the modern human species, who lived 1.6 million – 100,000 years ago (Forey, 2013). But where exactly am I in Asia? China or Indonesia? As I have knowledge that the Homo erectus were geographically distributed in regions of these countries (Forey, 2013). Judging from the immediate surroundings and the cool climate, I can say that I was in China. Eager to learn more about them, I decided to follow them until they led me to what seems a small settlement. There, I observed that these species, like the ergaster, live in small band-societies, somewhat similar to the hunter-gatherer band societies (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.) Tools can also be found in the settlement. However, comparing them to tho se of the ergaster’s, one may notice that the tools of the erectus were more primitive as they were only simple choppers and fake tools (Forey, 2013). Also, I have seen no evidence of their use of fire which their cousins in Africa utilized (Forey, 2013). When it comes to their diet, I have observed that it mainly consist of meat supplemented by vegetables, nuts, fruits and berries (Forey, 2013). Dried twigs and branches on the ground loudly cracked as I accidentally stepped on them informing the erectus of a presence nearby. Fearing that they become aware of my presence, I remained silently still, hidden behind the bushes. Then, I sensed movement behind me. And when I turned around, it was too late for he had already lifted and thrown a big boulder in my direction. Frightened, I just closed my eyes and helplessly waited for the rock to hit me until I blacked out. A few moments later, I was very thankful to have wakened again in my grandfather’s library. Thrilled with what was happening, I continued reading the book until I again found myself in another place, in another time period, in another creature’s form. Just as I regained my consciousness, spears and arrows made of flint started striking in my direction. Groups of men started chasing after me as I transformed into a deer when I came here. I ran and ran until I lost them. Now, having knowledge that I have time traveled 400, 000 – 200, 000 years in the past, in Europe, or maybe in Central or East Asia, in search of the Homo sapiens neanderthalensis (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.) which I think were the ones chasing me earlier, I immediately set off to find their settlements but anxious that once they saw me, will end up killing me for food as their diet mainly consist of meat and other vegetables (Forey, 2013). After hours of roaming in the new environment, I finally reached their settlement, but only observing them on a nearby hill, hidden from their sight. Living under cold climate to temperate climates in woodland and steppe environments (Natural History Museum, n.d), the Neanderthals developed a short and stocky physique that allows them better conservation and regulation of body heat which enabled them to survive glacial periods (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.). They also have a large middle face characterized by a double arche d brow ridge, angled cheekbones and large nose utilized in warming and humidifying cold air (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.). The Neanderthals live in complex groups and have advanced tools made of stone and flint such as blades, arrows, spears, hand axes and other flake tools which they used in hunting my kind and other big animals (Natural History Museum, n.d). Then something caught my attention. â€Å"What are they doing?† I thought, as I saw a few of them carry one man’s body to another hill adjacent my location. Curious, I went closer but still hiding from them. â€Å"Are they doing what I think it is?† I exclaimed as I saw them place the body in what seems like a grave and cover it with dirt. â€Å"Are they burying their dead?† To confirm my observation, I went to the other site where I saw them bury the man the moment they left. To my disbelief, I saw many other what seems as graves, the hill was a graveyard. This practice of actually burying their dead by the Neanderthals (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.) really amazed me. Aside from this, they also h ave other activities and behaviors very similar to that of modern humans, which other human ancestors doesn’t have or practice, like covering their bodies with clothes made from animal skin, plants or barks coming from trees, making and controlled use of fire, making symbolic or decorative ornaments, and sometimes marking the graves with flowers and other ornaments (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.). I suddenly felt a stinging sensation. An arrow has pierced through my back. One of the Neanderthals went back to the grave to offer flowers, saw me and fired a shot. Suffering from the pain, I mustered all my strength and tried to run away. Growing weak because of blood loss, I collapsed, The last thing I remember was laying on the ground, the man, an axe in his hand, then, everything went black. Expecting to be waking up in my grandfather’s office, I was in utter confusion to have found myself inside a tent when I regained consciousness. Still confused where I was and why I ended up in such a place, I heard a familiar voice from behind, â€Å"What took you so long?† it said â€Å"I’ve been expecting you†. And when I turned around, there, standing behind me was my grandfather. I couldn’t believe what my eyes just saw, â€Å"What is grandfather doing here† â€Å"Is he alive?† â€Å"Am I dead?† â€Å"Is he the devil disguising as my grandfather?† these thoughts filled my mind. â€Å"Do not fear my boy. You are not dead nor I was† the man said. â€Å"Come, I will tell you the whole story,† he revealed the secrets of the book, how he was able to travel through time through it, until we reached a settlement crowded with tents made from tanned hides of big animals like the wooly mammoth, sewn together, wra pped around logs and were pulled to the ground with big rocks or dirt (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.). Then he introduced me the other people in the settlement and I found out that they were the Cro-Magnons who lived 35,000 – 10,000 years ago in Europe (Foley, 2002), my grandfather and I, now one of them. These people, unlike their contemporaneous Neanderthals, were tall and muscular in stature closely resembling modern humans although more robustly built (Foley, 2002). According to grandfather, these people, during the winter months and those living in colder areas wore clothes made from skins of animals whereas during the summer months and warmer seasons, the Cro-Magnons clothe themselves in woven barks or grass (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.). They were a semi-nomadic, hunter-gatherer society who used to hunt big game like the bison, mammoth, deer (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.) with finely crafted tools like spears, javelin, arrows made from made from bones, flint and antler points (Foley, 2002), as their diet mainly consist of meat and vegetables (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, n.d.). The Cro-Magnons also made use of fire, made necklaces and other ornaments from pieces of shell and animal teeth, cared for the sick and believed to bury the deceased in a single grave in cave shelters (Foley, 2002). These people also utilized manganese and iron oxide to paint pictures depicting their culture and activities on cave walls (Foley, 2002), most famous of which were the ones found in France. Having coexisted with the Neanderthals in Europe; there is a possibility of interbreeding between these two human species. However, with the extinction of the Neanderthals some 28,000 years ago, one possible reason was competition and hunting between the two (Foley, 2002). Having experienced all these, made me appreciate and understand more the complexity of human beings. How they have evolved from simple, unassuming beings to more intelligent and complex ones is one of our species greatest mysteries. But the question lingers? Have we, as the most complex and evolved human species occupying the top spot in this great chain of human evolution, reached our perfect and final form? Or are we, like the great ancestors before us, still undergo and are capable of evolving as we discover and learn new things with the passing of time? Strolling inside one of the caves, marveling at the artistic paintings on the cave walls, a leopard suddenly jumps in front of us. Then, I heard my grandfather â€Å"Vado Tergum In Vicis† and before I knew it, we were back in my father’s room, on his deathbed, him in my arms, the book in my hands. Noelle Patricia Alonte References: Dorey, F. B. Blaxland. (2013). Homo ergaster. Australian Museum. Retrieved from: http://australianmuseum.net.au/homo-ergaster Dorey, F. (2013). Homo erectus. Australian Museum. Retrieved from: http://australianmuseum.net.au/homo-erectus Dorey, F. (2013). Homo neanderthalensis. Australian Museum. Retrieved from: http://australianmuseum.net.au/homo-neanderthalensis Dorey, F. (2014). Homo sapiens. Australian Museum. Retrieved from: http://australianmuseum.net.au/homo-sapiens-modern-humans Foley, J. (2002). Fossil hominids: Cro-magnon man. Retrieved from: http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/homs/cromagnon.html Natural History Museum. (n.d.). Neanderthalensis (Homo neanderthalensis). Retrieved from: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/human-origins/early-human-family/neanderthals/index.html O’Neil, D. (2013). Homo Erectus. Retrieved from: http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo/homo_2.htm Smithsonian. (n.d.). Human evolution evidence. Retrieved from: http://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/cro-magnon-1

Burial Practices of the Ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman Cultures :: European Europe History

Burial Practices of the Ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman Cultures Ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman practices of preparing the dead for the next cradle of humanity are very intriguing. These two cultures differ in a multitude of ways yet similarities can be noted in the domain of funerary services. In the realm of Egyptian afterlife, The Book of the Dead can provide one with vital information concerning ritual entombment practices and myths of the afterlife. The additional handouts I received from Timothy Stoker also proved to be useful in trying uncover vital information regarding the transition into another life. Regarding the burial practices of Greece and Rome, parts of Homer's Odyssey are useful in the analysis of proper interment methods. One particular method used by the Egyptians was an intricate process known as mummification. It was undoubtedly a very involved process spanning seventy days in some cases. First, all the internal organs were removed with one exception, the heart. If the body was not already West of the Nile it was transported across it, but not before the drying process was initiated. Natron (a special salt) was extracted from the banks of the Nile and was placed under the corpse, on the sides, on top, and bags of the substance were placed inside the body cavity to facilitate the process of dehydration. After thirty-five days the ancient embalmers would anoint the body with oil and wrap it in fine linen. If the deceased was wealthy enough a priest donning a mask of Anubis would preside over the ceremonies to ensure proper passage into the next realm. One of the practices overseen by the priest was the placing of a special funerary amulet over the heart. This was done in behest to secure a successful union with Osiris and their kas. The amulet made sure the heart did not speak out against the individual at the scale of the goddess of justice and divine order, Maat. The priest also made use of a "peculiar ritual instrument, a sort of chisel, with which he literally opened the mouth of the deceased." This was done to ensure that the deceased was able to speak during their journeys in Duat. Another practice used by the Egyptians to aid the departed soul involved mass human sacrifice. Many times if a prominent person passed away the family and servants would willfully ingest poison to continue their servitude in the next world.

Analysis of Rights and Duties in Nepal

Women's Property Rights Movement in Nepal by Binda Pandey Nepal is still running under strong feudalistic social values and norms. There were no clear provisions regarding Nepalese women and property rights until 1975. Following the UN Declaration of 1975, which was International Women's Year, the Nepali government began to celebrate International Women's Day on the 8th of March. That same year, the Civil Code was amended and a clause on women's inheritance and property rights included.The clause states that if a woman remains unmarried up to 35 years of age, she would have a right to inherit property. However, the amendment limits itself as it continues â€Å"if she gets marriage after having property that should be returned back to the brothers by deducting the marriage cost. † With the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1990, the new constitution guaranteed that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of sex. Furthermore, in 1991, the government ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW-1979).The nation's Women's Movement demanded that all inequalities in Nepali law be eliminated and focused attention on the equal right of women to inherit property. All political parties have included this demand in their respective election manifestos. The opposition party in parliament, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist, has raised this issue repeatedly but the government has neither considered it seriously, nor taken any initiation to amend discriminatory laws. In 1993, a case was finally filed in the Supreme Court with a demand to amend the Civil Code to give women equal rights over property.After two years, in 1995, the Supreme Court issued a directive to the government to introduce a Bill in parliament that would guarantee a woman's rights to inherit property. Following the Supreme Court directive, the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare drafted a Bill, popularly known a s the â€Å"Women's Property Rights Bill† in order to amend the existing Civil Code. It was tabled for discussion in the 11th session of Parliament. It took almost six years more to be passed through parliament, despite a number of other Bills being adopted in this time parliament.During this period, different political parties and parliamentary committees have made a number of changes to the original Bill. On July 17, 2001, a parliamentary committee unanimously declared that women should have equal rights to inherit property. However, the ruling Nepali Congress party expressed some disagreement and proposed that inherited property â€Å"should be returned back to respective brother/s if she gets marriage†. The ruling party passed the Bill with a majority vote in the Lower House of Parliament in October 2001.But, the Upper House – National Assembly, which is dominated by the opposition party, failed the Bill and it was sent back to the Lower House for reconsider ation. In due process, the Bill came back to the Lower House. Here, the ruling party was pressing for the Bill to be adopted while the main opposition party, supported by almost all women organizations, was pressing hard to guarantee inherited property rights for women equivalent to that of their brother/s. In this situation, there was a risk that the Bill would not be passed again and it might take several more years to go through another round of discussion.At this point, the opposition party made the tricky decision to vote for a Bill with its reservation on the provision, which do not recognize the equal right of sons or daughters to inherited property after marriage. Major Achievements through 11th Amendment in Civil Code-2020 (1963) After all these turning points, the bill was finally passed in parliament on March 14, 2002. It was sent to the King for his seal of approval and came into effect from September 27, 2002. The major achievements of this amendment are as follows: â⠂¬ ¢ Women's Right to PropertyToday, women in Nepal can enjoy their right to inherit property from birth. But when they marry any property will be returned to the parent's family. The new law establishes a wife's equal right to her husband's property immediately after marriage, rather than after she reaches 35 years of age or has been married for 15 years as before. A widow's right to claim her share of property from the joint family after the death of her husband, and to use this property even if she gets re-married, is now also established in law. †¢ Women's Right to DivorceThe Bill gives women the right to seek divorce from her husband if he harasses her physically or psychologically; if he establishes sexual relationships with other women; if he is incapable of producing children; or if he is affected by and std, including hiv/aids. Previously, the law allowed a wife to claim only food stuff from her husband for the five years following their divorce. Today, a woman can als o claim property. †¢ Increase Penalty for Polygamy Polygamy is still rampant in Nepal, though it was declared illegal in 1975.Previously, those who violate the law in this regard face a punishment of 1 to 3 months in prison or a fine of 1000 to 2000 Rupees, or both. The new amendment increases these punishments, a man can now face 1 to 3 years in prison or a fine of 5000 – 25,000 Rupees, or both. †¢ Women's Right to Abortion Previously, abortion was illegal unless a doctor advised that a mother's life was endangered unless a foetus was aborted. Charged with this crime, more than five dozen women are imprisoned across Nepal. The new law legalizes abortion with some conditions.In normal cases a woman can make her own decision to go through with an abortion, though only within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. However, if the child's delivery endangers the mother's life, or if a women becomes pregnant through rape or incestuous sexual relations then abortions can take p lace within 18 weeks of pregnancy. Nepal is the first South Asian country to legalize abortion in this way. †¢ Stern Action against persons involved in Rape Rape is one of the major issues that has been raised by the women's movement in Nepal.In this regard, the amendments to the civil code make the law stronger and increase the punishment for rapists. According to the new provisions, a rapist can be imprisoned for 10-15 years, if their victim is below 10 years of age; 7-10 years of imprisonment, if their victim is between 10 and 16 years of age; and 5 – 7 years of imprisonment, if the victim's age is above 16 years. In each category, an additional five years of prison can be given if the victim is a pregnant or disabled woman. Lacunas still remain It is a big achievement that women have been granted more legal rights with this amendment. But, there remain issues to be addressed.One major issue is to establish equal rights of property inheritance regardless of a women's marital status. The struggle to achieve rights based on gender is ongoing. If gender equality has not been achieved even when important goals are met then the struggle should continue. Challenges ahead There is a bigger challenge ahead of the women's movement. Until and unless women and men in wider society are aware of these new legal instruments, they cannot bring any remarkable change to the real lives of Nepalese women. In this regard, it is the role and responsibility of the women's movement to make women and men aware of their legal rights.At the same time, social and bureaucratic structures including those in civil society and government must institutionalize these changes. Only in this way will feudal and traditional attitudes towards women's rights change. To ensure the impact of these legal rights, authority should be delegated in a practical way and the implementing apparatus should be correctly managed. The women's movement can lead the campaign to make people aware and to check that the law is implemented properly. We can prove that legal instruments are important tools and play a crucial role in creating gender equality in society. Updated version of the published article in Workers News 32, March 2002) Women's Movement Scenario in Nepal Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world. Our socio-economic life and hence the national life is largely dependent on agriculture. 42 percent of the national income is being contributed by agriculture and almost 81 percent of the population is employed in this sector. However, agriculture itself is in a very miserable condition. It has become away of life to majority of the population, but its fruitfulness is decreasing every year.In the Nepalese context, the women struggle started against British imperialism. Patriotic struggle against British imperialism dates back to the battle of 1814 at Nalapani. Women marched shoulder to shoulder with men in the civil right movement of 1948. Women took act ive part in the democratic revolution of 1951 which overthrew the 104 year autocracy of the Rana family. Its goal was to overthrow the 104 years of Rana autocracy from Nepal. The first women organization the â€Å"Nepal Women Association† was established in 1948, it worked to inculcate political awareness among women.After the fall of the Rana regime and dawn of democracy in 1951, political parties became active. Women's organization began to be affiliated with various political parties. During the thirty year rule (1960-1990) of the party-less Panchayat system, all political parties and independent women 5 organizations were banned. However, the left democratic forces continued their struggle against the suppressive political system. The communist organized peasants and workers to fight against the exploitative regime. Women came out in large number during the struggle for democracy.The All Nepal Women Association (ANWA) functioning under the party, was very active in organi zing revolutionary women. It is during this period of struggle that ANWA established itself as a revolutionary wing of the party. Many members of ANWA were tortured by the rulers. The persistence in the struggle attracted women to join the movement. The movement was successfully expanded throughout the country. Also there were some sectoral women movements in existence against the feudal exploitation of landlord and Rana regime. But they were limited in coverage and could not take larger shape to include women from all over the nation.In order to understand the shaping of the movement, it is necessary to mention how the women's political and organized form of movement was connected with the political parties. The first underground mass meeting of All Nepal Women Association was held in 1980. The gathering discussed and analyzed situation of the country, set goals and strategies of women struggle to achieve the women's rights and liberation. It formulated the long term and short term national policy and programme for the women struggle. The period of eighties is the most active and important period for Nepalese women movement.The oppression from the then rulers was intolerable. Many women activists were jailed and tortured, more than 70 women activists were full-time underground and semi-underground activists. They developed thousands of activists who were over-ground, and they continued their underground activities. It played a crucial role in creating political awareness and played significant role in organizing women of different class, profession and strata. During its underground political training, the All Nepal Women Association equipped its cadre with true ideals in the struggles for political rights, social justice and economic equality.It also made best use of the 8th March International Women's Day (started since 1972, 8th march), and national festival such as Tij (exclusive women festival) and Tihar (festival of light) celebrated each year for five days culminating the worshipping of brothers by sisters on the last day. On this day women folk gather at their parental houses, hence an opportunity to make best use of gathering. ANWA organized its first National Conference in 1989 in underground way, second National Conference in 1992 and the third National Conference in 1995 with the theme â€Å"Social Security and Employment, Equal Rights in all Sectors†.All members of ANWA and other women organizations cultivated a dream-a dream of new progressive and democratic Nepal where women participation in all walks of national life is ensured. In spite of all these struggles, sacrifices and enthusiasm, women have been marginalized in politics as in any other sectors. The paternalistic structures of the family, society and the male-dominated political organizations gave little space to women. There exist a big gap between saying and doing, preaching and practicing about women's participation and leadership in Nepal.Constitutional ly, 5 percent seats of the total candidacy in the parliamentary election are reserved for women, in each political party. Recently the government has decided to provide 15 percent reservation in each VDC and Municipality. Altogether there are 4000 VDCs and 58 Municipalities and in each VDC there are 9 Wards (Unit). Each ward of the VDC will have 5 members including chairperson elected. Among four members one seat is reserved for women. There is a provision of Advisory Committee in VDC and municipality and participation of women is provisioned.Thus, at the local level altogether more than 120,000 women will be mobilized representing all parties. It is a welcome step forward to include women in politics at the local levels. The position of women in civil service is also very bleak. While the 1990 High Level Administration Reform Commission gave suggestions to improve the situation, only 5 percent of the civil servants at officer level were women in 1992. National and international eff orts have been made to bring multilateral and bilateral agencies for aid and assistance for women's cause.In spite of all these efforts, gender gap is still very wide. Inequalities are rampant in all fronts–cultural, social, economic, political and in education. Women have no separate identity of herself. They are identified in relation to her father, husband, son and grandson. Women in the society The Patriarchal system is the root cause of social injustice in Nepal. Sons are preferred over daughters. Sons are considered economic insurance in old age. They carry the family name, perform death rituals and rites.Girls are considered as other's property to be given away in marriage. They are unwanted, neglected ad overworked. They are seen as auxiliary contributors to the household. Thus, the women are caught in the corrupt circle of the family system of exploitation and deprivation. The socialization pattern of Nepalese society is very discriminative. From the childhood, boys are groomed towards productive work and decision making and girls are confined to an â€Å"inside world† conditioned to be home makers, dutiful wives, loving mothers and service providers.A woman is subjected to the protection of man and has no mobility. Women are controlled by men and are considered as a property of men. Hence they do not have their own property. Even religion, education and rituals are denied to women. A women's life is not for her self. Health status of Nepalese women is deplorable. Nepal is one of the three countries in the world where the life expectancy of women is lower than that of men. In Nepal 20 percent of pregnancies are said to be in the â€Å"high risk† category. Violence on girl-child and child prostitution is alarmingly increasing.Trafficking of girls into India are increasing and of those trafficked 20 percent are minors under 16 years of age. The overall health condition is alarmingly poor in Nepal. The average life expectancy is 55. 9 for males and 53. 5 for females. Only 10 percent of the pregnant women get maternal service. The maternal mortality rate is 850 per 100,000 live birth. Average child bearing age among 40 percent of women is 15 to 19 years. The fertility rate is as high as 5. 7. Women have been the focus of population policies and the main target for family planning and fertility control.The girl malnutrition rate is double than that of boy under 5 years. 78 percent of rural women suffer by anaemia in the delivery period. 85 percent of women depend upon the traditional birth attendants instead of health post and hospital services. Even in the urban areas, the maternal mortality rate is 8. 5 per 1000 but in rural and geographically distanced rural area the MMR is 15. 4 per 1000. Economic Status of Nepalese Women Nepal is an underdeveloped agricultural country with a per capita GDP of US $ 202 (1994). Almost half of its population is below the poverty line.It ranks second among the poorest countries of the world. Studies have shown that women's contribution in the economy is large and significant with 57 percent of agricultural activities being carried out by women. They contribute about half of household income and work 11 hours a day. Despite women's substantial contributions both as cultivators and managers in the production process, all their labour is unnoticed, undervalued and unaccounted in the economy. Women as the workers Women constitute a little over one-half of the Nepalese population. 5 percent of employed women are confined to agricultural work compared to 75 percent for men. Besides agriculture, women are again mostly confined to traditional jobs such as sewing and knitting. They are rarely engaged in professional and technical jobs. Very few are in community services, commerce, manufacture etc. Jobs are low-paid, requiring relatively simple skills. In the service sector, women are mostly engaged in teaching, health and financial institutions. Women lag far behin d in the legal field and media service. Only 6 percent are found at officer level positions in the civil services.Women in Nepal generally work for longer hours compared to men, and rural women devote much longer hours than urban women. His Majesty's Government of Nepal has fixed the minimum wage and salaries in the industrial and organized sectors without any gender discrimination but in practice such discrimination are noticed. Discrimination in organized sectors are more prominent. Effective and in built participation of women in the development process, both as a producer and consumer of development output, has been accepted as a necessary condition for balanced, equitable and sustainable growth.But Nepalese women are yet to obtain such participation. In terms of labour force participation, women are behind men, are predominantly confined to agriculture, account for the majority of unpaid family workers, number predominantly among the unemployed and are heavily concentrated in l ow-paid jobs, The constraints against women's employment in industry can be summarized as follows, †¢ Women are poorly qualified or not suitably trained †¢ Protective legislation has acted as a deterrent to women's employment †¢ Women are prepared to work for lower wage Both women and men look upon women's income as supplementary †¢ There is no solidarity and no unions among women Women lack the collateral to become entrepreneurs, therefore have no access to †¢ They lack entrepreneurial knowledge They have dual responsibilities and lack societal support credit loans or Ninety percent of the employed women are confined to agricultural activities where as it is less than seventy five percent in the case of men. Less than 6 percent of them are engaged in personal and community services, 2 percent are found in commerce and 1 percent in manufacturing.The employment of women in sectors like electricity, gas and water, construction, transport and communication fina nce and business services is extremely low or negligible (table No. 3). Economically Active Population (10 years and above) by Major Industry and sex 1991 (in percent) Table 1: Occupational Structure of Women and Men (1991) |Occupation |Male |Female Total |Female as % of |Total | |Professional technical Workers |2. 5 |0. 7 |1. 8 |15. | |Administrative Workers |0. 4 |0. 1 |0. 3 |9. 3 | |Clerical Workers |1. 6 |0. 3 |1. 1 |10. 0 | |Sales Workers |3. 9 |1. 7 |3. 0 |22. 6 | |Service Workers |7. 8 |3. 8 |6. 2 |25. 1 | |Farm/Fish Workers |74. |90. 4 |81. 0 |45. 1 | |Production Labour Workers |5. 8 |2. 0 |4. 2 |18. 8 | |Others |3. 0 |0. 8 |2. 1 |15. 8 | |Not Stated |0. 3 |0. 2 |0. 3 |35. 9 | |Total |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |40. | Source: Population Census 1991 Table 2: Women in the Labour force 1991 |Describe |Male |Female |Total | |I. Population(in ‘000) |9221 |9270 |18491 | |2. Labour force |6445 |6554 |12999 | |(Population aged 10 years and above in ‘000) | | | | |3.Labour f orces% of total people |69. 9 |70. 7 |70. 3 | |4. Economically active population |4428 |2982 |7410 | |(Aged 10 years & above in ‘000) | | | | |5. Labour force participation rate |68. 7 |45. 5 |57. 0 | |(4 as% of2) | | | | |6.Economically inactive population |2017 |3572 |5589 | |(aged 10 years and above'000) | | | | |7. 6as%of 2 |31. 3 |54. 5 |43 | Source : Population Census 1991 Table 3:Economically active population (10 years and above) by major industries and sex, 1991(in percent) Industry |Male |Female Total |Female as % of |Total | |Agriculture |74. 9 |90. 5 |81. 2 |45. 0 | |Manufacturing |2. 6 |1. 2 |2. 0 |11. 9 | |Construction |0. 7 |0. 1 |0. 5 |10. 9 | |Commerce |4. 5 |2. 0 |3. |23. 7 | |Transport and communication |1. 1 |0. 1 |0. 7 |3. 9 | |Finance and business services |0. 4 |0. 1 |0. 3 |13. 4 | |Personal & community services |13. 6 |5. 3 |10. 2 |21. 0 | |Others |0. 6 |0. 1 |0. 4. |6. 7 | |Industry not stated |1. |1. 6 |1. 0 |23. 2 | |Total |100. 0 |100. 0 |100. 0 |40. 4 | Source : Population Census 1991 Women are facing problems created by government new economic policy of privatization and liberalization. The policy of privatization and liberalization is yet to show its full impact in Nepalese economy. Even then we expect to encounter the following problems in the field of women workers and employment in the days to come. 1. The employer may prefer men to women or unmarried to married one 2.Difference in salary of men and women may persist 3. Government may not be responsible for capacity building program for women 4. The dignity of women workers might erode as they will be treated as commodity by their employers. 5. Prostitution, sex tourism and sexual harassment will grow together with success of privatization and liberalization 6. Women will have to be restricted to low skilled and low paid jobs. The new policy will reduce the opportunities for formal education and vocational training for upgrading the skills, with a result that women d o not qualify for promotions, job up gradation and higher wage.Education and Nepalese Women For a long time, education was a privilege for a few in Nepal. The first government school for girls opened in 1948 a year after the Civil Rights Movement. It was only in 1951 that education was gradually prompted throughout the country. The literacy rate in the country is 40 percent. Literacy rate among women is only 25 percent. In the schools the dropout and irregularity of girls are higher compared to that of boys. Progress in the promotion of girls education has been made as a result of international women's year and the international women's decade. Several measures have been taken to augment girls education.Female teachers were appointed in each school. Nevertheless, education is yet to be effective in empowering women in Nepal. Education in Nepal is not yet linked with the lives of the people. Equality and empowerment of women is simply a lip-service. Government Policy and Women's Adva ncement There has been some changes in the interests and attitudes of the policy planners after the change in the political system. However, the changes are not satisfactory and are still sectoral. A new ministry looking after women issues has been created. The ministry is to coordinate and further the policies and programs related to the women.Women constitute half of the population in Nepal. Unless they participate fully in the nation building task, economic development of the country will not be possible. Taking this reality into account sectoral strategy and working policy were outlined in the eighth plan (1992-97), the first plan of fully democratic. The strategies to be followed as outlined in the plan are; †¢ Encouraging women's participation in traditional as well as non traditional sectors †¢ Extending access to be formal and non-formal education to women †¢ Adopting affirmative action in training program Increasing women's access to health facilities especia lly FP/MCH facilities †¢ Increasing women's access to credit, technical knowledge, entrepreneurship development programs, marketing facilities and employment opportunities †¢ Extending to rural areas those kinds of technological changes which reduce the time spend in gathering an fetching fuel fodder, water and household work †¢ Revising laws discriminatory to women Though the government of Nepal started a policy on Women In Development (WID) since sixth five year plan (1980-85). The policy aimed to promote the status of women by recognizing women as development agent.The plans stressed on technical and non technical fields of training for women. The Women Training Centre was formed under the Ministry of Local Development (MOLD) for skill development of rural women. Of course there has been some changes in the interests and attitudes among politicians and policy makers. However the change is not overall satisfactory and still is sectoral. Women should be recognized as partner and not as subordinate to men. No doubt, the newly formed Ministry of Women and Social Welfare should take up a leading role in asserting this concept. Girls trafficking and prostitution as major Social Problems of Women in NepalIn Nepal girls trafficking and prostitution problem are becoming similar to that of problems in Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Taiwan. Over 200,000 Nepali girls/women are reported to be indulged into prostitution in India. It is said that between 5000 to 7000 young girls are trafficked to India annually; of which one-third are trafficked forcefully. According to the Indian Health Organization (IHO) 100,000 Nepali girls/women are working as prostitutes in Calcutta, Mumbai and New Delhi alone. IHO estimates that of the 15,000 prostitutes working in the state of Utter Pradesh, 12,000 are Nepali girls and women.The Girls, sold against their will, are subjected to severe mental and physical torture. Most of the girls and women engaged in prosti tution are usually from broken families while others come from poor families. Many innocent teenage girls are abducted or lured from their homes in the countryside and are forced into the job. They are either lured or deceived on fake promises and sold to the brothel houses in Indian cities by the middlemen. As such the Nepali girls/women are found serving as prostitutes in almost every city and towns of India and the practice is, unfortunately increasing.Intra-regional and Inter-regional trafficking has also increased rapidly as more and more people migrate to the cities. There are more than 5000 girls/women from surrounding countryside working as prostitutes in Kathmandu and it is said that there are more than 200 brothels in Kathmandu city alone. Similarly, major market centres work as transit centres for ultimate trafficking into India. The East-west Highway is a fertile ground for prostitution which is being called commonly as highway prostitution.Some reports and investigation s have revealed that large number of girls/women have been trafficked via carpet and garment factories. Many who fall victim are those destitute and helpless women who are neglected, abused and abandoned by their husbands and relatives. Many women belonging to lower castes are also made to be the victims. No doubt the trafficking of girls/women to the urban areas of Nepal and to the brothels of foreign countries tell us a story of fraud exploitation, domination as well as despair frustration and poverty.We need to look beyond the facade of economic problems and try to come with the possible reasons within a larger cultural, historical and socio-political framework. While the subjects of sex remains taboo in Nepalese society, prostitution has gained a big momentum. It is no longer limited to the traditional red light areas of Salyan, Pyuthan and Dang districts where the women of the â€Å"Badi† community adopt prostitution as profession. They adopt prostitution as a social pra ctice. Under the â€Å"Deuki† system the girls are surrendered to temples by people by the way of religious gift or â€Å"Bhakal†.The Deukies are not expected to marry and thus, they adopt prostitution as a means of livelihood when they grow up. The Deuki system has been operating under the guise of religious and cultural beliefs. The cultural practice of Deuki system and Badi community have given way to socially recognized prostitution in Nepal. In Nepal as banning of prostitution remains a matter of dispute, there can be no question on the urgent need to address the issue that force girls and women into the flesh trade.The immediate risk groups like the poor and ignorant girls in the countryside, girls children working in the carpet and garment factories and the children on the streets should be made the immediate target for protection activities. All the government and non government organizations and the conscious citizens need to act actively to abolish the practi ce of flesh trade. Everybody should realize the gravity of the problem which is posing a big threat to a very fabric of Nepalese society. Everyone should work to contribute for he prevention and control of prostitution and girls trafficking.Well coordinated efforts need to be made in creating the congenial environment to discourage the sexual exploitation of women. There should be an effective implementation of laws relating to trafficking of girls. Income and employment generating programs such as knitting, sewing, weaving, bamboo work, sericulture etc. are necessary so that economic status of women in the countryside, the fertile ground for the traffickers is bettered. The profession of flesh trade can not be checked with the legal measures alone.Alternative means for survival are necessary. Both income generating activities as well as programs generating awareness are equally important in this respect. Despite all the existing laws, the enforcement and the threat of AIDS, girls/w omen trafficking and prostitution still remain a growing problem in Nepal. Nevertheless, it is a matter of great satisfaction that since the last few years some of the NGO and INGOs have started taking keen interests on the issue of women trafficking and practice of forced prostitution in Nepal.Similarly, the international and United Nations agencies have also started creating an awareness against girls trafficking and immoral prostitution practices. In the western and far western part of Nepal there is residue of slavery system called Karnaiya. The bonded labourers do not receive their full labour cost. They have to work free of charge for 15-18 hours/day The system is spread in 5 district of Kailali, Kanchanpur, Banke, Dang and Bardiya. In all these districts there is approximately 50 thousands Kamaiya. Generally women from Kamaiya family are required to work free for the landlord.Women under Kamaiya system are more exploited even than the Kamaiyas themselves. Physical and sexual abuse are common among Kamaiya women. Global context of and its effect to Nepali Women In the present context globalization has inflicted its worse effect all over the world. Globalization is generally used t0 designate an aggregate of policy measures which seek to expand market relations on world level and to enlarge the scope for the free movement of capital internationally. Some of the key components of globalizations are trade liberalization i. e. reakdown of tariff barriers, privatization of formerly public sector companies and the reduction of state intervention and the promotion of export oriented production for instance pf cash crops agriculture. In the countries of the south , such policies are generally imposed by WB. IMF , in the name of structural adjustment. while the ideology of globalization states that such polities serve to promote human welfare an increasingly large body of literature migration from rural areas and to a shift from secure to insecure forms of employ ment and production.Under structural adjustment programmes, government world wide have been compelled to sell of public sector companies to the private sector, and such transfers to the private sector have frequently been accompanied but massive dismissals and the flexibilization of labour relations under structural adjustment and liberalization, workers loose various forms of minimal security previously provided by the state or state owned companies. The declarations and programs of action adopted at the four global women's conferences held since 1975 have added important dimensions on the empowerment of women.The second global conference in Copenhagen in 1980 and the third one in Nairobi in 1985 contributed to the adoption of the advancement of women by the year 2000. Now the UN is working on the fourth phase of progress of women. All the four conferences have the message that no progress is possible without a full and equal participation of men and women. Although in many countri es women remain most deprived, discriminated and powerless in most societies.With this global context we should raise some pertinent points regarding Nepalese women's movement which will give the picture of Nepalese women, their social, cultural, economic and political status who are the threshold for the 21st century. Conclusion From the mid 1980s women's movement in Nepal can be characterized in three distinct features. Firstly, women's movement was all activism. The role of academia was insignificant. But now there has been forging links between these two in a variety of ways in different fora, conferences, conventions, and demonstrations.A strong belief among many groups has emerged that the struggle against gender inequalities can not be waged in isolation from struggle in many other fronts. Thirdly, the women's movement is not secluded within the country and is increasingly interconnected with the international women's movement. The four international conferences on women have been successful in bringing women's all over the world in common platform of action (Country Report on International Women's Conference, 1-5 August 1997, Malmo, Sweden; prepared by Sujita Shakya & Umesh Upadhyaya)