Lord Of The Flies How Does Golding Present Contrast

We are told Piggy is â€Å"very fat†, much fatter than Ralph and as ‘the naked crooks of his knees were plump† we also know piggy as to wear glasses, and is asthmatic we imagine Piggy to be the complete opposite of Ralph who appears to be healthy and an athletic child as we know he can swim. We see Ralph is very confident and relaxed as â€Å"he stood their naked† and we are told that as he is twelve he must have â€Å"lost the prominent tummy of childhood† leading us further into believing he has the contrasting physique to Piggy.Ralph and Piggy both take very different approaches to being marooned on the island. Ralph sees mainly the possible bonuses of the marooning, mainly the lack of adult supervision and the freedom he'll have unlimited access to. However the approach taken by Piggy is the more sensible choice to take. Out of the pair, Piggy realizes the potential for danger and consequences the boys will face.Ralph and piggy had very different upbringings as Ralph came from a military background and a higher class background than Piggy, Piggy lived with his aunt who had a sweet shop, we see he is from a lower class by the dialect he speaks in saying â€Å"l can't hardly move with all these creeper things†. Piggy differs from the other boys as he is a caring character, he takes responsibility for the â€Å"little-nuns† and despite the act that both his parents are deceased, Piggy acts most like a parent, Piggy shows the most kindness even though he is shown none.

European Convention on Human Rights Essay

A.INTRODUCTION We live in the Digital Age and in a fully globalized world in which intellectual property rights (IP rights) are no longer configured in the same way they did before. That is why the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was designed in order to respond to new technological and human challenges. But when ACTA was revealed to the public opinion an intense debate emerged from the first moment and almost immediately civil and Internet organizations totally opposed to the content of ACTA alleging that the agreement was a serious violation of fundamental rights. On the other side, the signatory states, the right holders of those IP rights and the European Union, defended Intellectual Property as an engine of economic growth, job creation and encouragement of innovation and artistic and technological creation. The purpose of this seminar paper is to explain which provisions of ACTA hinder fundamental rights as enshrined in the different European catalogues of human rights, namely the German Basic Law, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. But the scope of ACTA is much wider, it covers topics such as generics medicines, innovation and competition, which are not objective of this paper and therefore they will not be analyzed. In order to understand which violations are perpetrated by ACTA, this paper is divided in four parts. In the first one I will explain what is the Agreement and how was negotiated. We will see that is a matter of great topicality since the final vote at the European Parliament is about to take place, specifically in a month. Second, I will explain how those catalogues of fundamental rights relate to each other. In other words, how a multilevel of protection of fundamental rights affect the guarantees protected by those rights. Third, I will analyse which provisions of ACTA do not respect European fundamental rights. Finally, I will draft some conclusions. B.THE ANTI-COUNTERFEITING TRADE AGREEMENT I.WHAT IS ACTA The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a multilateral agreement  which its main objective is to establish a harmonized standard for the enforcement of intellectual property rights in order to combat the violation of protected rights all around the world. In order to fulfill this task, the agreement contains provisions on international cooperation between States and the coordination of law enforcement, especially the introduction of civil and criminal sanctions for intellectual property infringements , such as counterfeit goods, generic medicaments and copyright infringements on the internet. The countries involved in the Agreement are the United States, Japan, Canada, the European Union (with its 27 Member States), Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore, making a total of 11 contracting parties. Since ACTA is an international agreement that bounds only the contracting parties, it is a method of creation of a new international law. According to the EU Commission â€Å"ACTA will help countries work together to tackle more effectively Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) infringements† . So the interest of the EU to sign this agreement resides in the concern of remaining at a relevant position in the global economy and by this way being able to protect the jobs related to intellectual property all around the European Union. The Agreement is divided in Chapter I for Initial provisions and general definitions; Chapter II for the Legal framework of enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (and subdivided in Section 1: General Obligations with Respect to Enforcement, Section 2: Civil Enforcement, Section 3: Border Measures, Section 4: Criminal Enforcement and Section 5: Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Environment); Chapter III for Enforcement practices; Chapter IV for International cooperation; Chapter V for Institutional arrangements and Chapter VI for Final Provisions. II. HOW IS ACTA BEEN NEGOTIATED During the whole process of negotiation of ACTA, much criticism has arisen due to the lack of transparency and the possible violation of fundamental rights. The potential infringements of fundamental rights will be discussed at a further moment and now we will see how the whole agreement was decided. On 23 October 2007 the office of the Unites States Trade Representatives released an announcement about a new initiative called ACTA . The objective of this agreement was to address a â€Å"new international agreement focused on  cooperation, best practices, and a strong legal framework for Intellectual property rights enforcement†. Since then, eleven negotiation rounds took place between June 2008 and October 2010. But what it was unusual is the fact that this new agreement on intellectual property rights was never negotiated under the scope of the WIPO or the WTO. The Member States of the European Union were represented by the European Commission and the Presidency of the Coun cil. The first consolidated text of ACTA was drafted at the eighth negotiation round in Wellington (New Zealand) in April 2010. On June 2011, the European Commission asked a proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of ACTA , and in December 2011 the final version of the Agreement was adopted unanimously by the Council and signed by the European Commission and 22 Member States on 26 January 2012 (Germany, Cyprus, Estonia, the Netherlands and Slovakia have not signed it yet). In order to be part of EU law the Agreement must be ratified by the EU, which means approval by the European Parliament under the procedure for international commercial agreements described in Article 218(6) TFEU and ratification by Member States under their national procedures. Knowing that there is a need of a vote at the European Parliament, the society has expressed its concerns about ACTA by mobilizations all over Europe thanks to the effort of some NGOs and Internet movements, and even declarations of some MEPs . This made Commissioner Karel De Gucht, under the procedure foreseen at Art. 218(11) TFEU, to decide to refer the Agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union . So on 4 April 2012 the question decided unanimously by the College of Commissioners that was sent to the ECJ was: â€Å"Is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) compatible with the European Treaties, in particular with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union?†. It is known that rulings from the ECJ take time, but until the opinion is made, the European Parliament decided to uphold its vote until the ECJ had made any conclusion . However, it decided that it will continue to supervise the Agreement. The next logical step would had been to make another referral to the ECJ by the European Parliament, but on 28 March, this Institution decided to reject a referral to the Court of Justice because there was â€Å"no need to do so, because the file will anyway go to the court – according to intentions announced by the European Commission†. It was surprising how the EU Digital Agenda Commissioner  Neelie Kroes suggested at a conference on internet freedom in Berlin on 4 May 2012 that ACTA was probably not going to be ratified since she stated that â€Å"We are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA. Now we need to find solutions to make the Internet a place of freedom, openness, and innovation fit for all citizens, not just for the techno avant-garde†. This does not mean that the Agreement will be immediately rejected, there is a need to hold a vote at the European Parliament in order to do so. The final vote on ACTA has been scheduled for the 3-5 July 2012 , but before ACTA goes to vote before the European Parliament, several EP committees will be giving their opinions on the 31 May 2012, namely the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI), the Industry Committee (ITRE) and the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE). Once these committees have drafted an opinion, the main committee in charge on ACTA, the International Trade Committee (INTA), will decide on the 21 June 2012 and it will elaborate a final report that will be used by the European Parliament for its final vote on ACTA. As we have seen, the whole negotiation of ACTA has been of major relevance not only to the public opinion, but also for the MEPs and some other Organs of the European Union, like the European Data Protection Supervisor. Remains to be seen what the final decision of the European Parliament would be and this will undoubtedly have consequences in both ways: If ACTA is ratified by the Parliament, the Agreement will come into force, but if not, it will be pretty much dead if it does not have the support of the European Union. So we still need to wait until the 3-5 July 2012 to see how it will all end and the next weeks are going to be of extremely importance because the ratification process is not over yet, meaning that the issue is really topical. C.THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN EUROPE In this section I will explain the relationship between the different catalogs of fundamental rights that concern this seminar paper, namely the German Basic Law, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights or ECHR) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Charter). It is obvious that this classification can raise questions to EU citizens when they seek  the protection of their fundamental rights, since they exist up to four catalogues: the national constitutions, the ECHR, the case law of the ECJ and the Charter . I.THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS THROUGH THE ECJ AND THE ECtHR At one first moment the ECJ declared it had no jurisdiction to ensure compliance with national law, which did include a catalog of fundamental rights within the national Constitutions. This first stage was changed after the Stauder decision of 12 November 1969 that said that fundamental rights are part of the general principles of Community Law , and the CJEU has the task to protect them, but it didn’t say which rights were those: â€Å"Interpreted in this way the provision at issue contains nothing capable of prejudicing the Fundamental Human Rights enshrined in the general principles of Community Law and protected by the Court†. The next step on the case law of the ECJ was the Internationale Handelsgesellschaft judgment of 17 December 1970. Here the Court confirms the existence of general principles for the protection of fundamental rights within the Community Law inspired by the constitutional traditions common to the Member States : â€Å"[†¦] in fact, respect for fundamental rights forms an integral part of the general principles of law protected by the Court of Justice. The protection of such rights, whilst inspired by the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, must be ensured within the framework of the structure and objectives of the Community†. But the ECJ stated that Community law could not be judged against national law, even constitutions: â€Å"[†¦] the validity of a Community instrument or its effect within a Member State cannot be affected by allegations that it strikes at either the fundamental rights as formulated in that States’ constitution or the principles of a national constitutional structure.† By this way, the Court had to analyze the situation under the national law of the Member States when it was faced with a situation with no legal or insufficient response. Four years later, the Nold judgment of 14 May 1974 made a reference to international treaties as elements of inspiration for the definition of a scope of fundamental rights, but also the ECJ stated that it cannot go in a different dir ection to the one established in the constitutional laws of the Member States. By doing  so, the rights recognized in the different legal orders where the limit to the action of the ECJ: â€Å"In safeguarding these rights, the Court is bound to draw inspiration from constitutional traditions common to the Member States, and it cannot therefore uphold measures which are incompatible with fundamental rights recognized and protected by the Constitutions of those States. Similarly, International Treaties for the protection of human rights on which the Member States have collaborated or of which they are signatories, can supply guidelines which should be followed within the framework of Community Law†. As the judgment states, the ECJ refers namely to the Convention for the Protection on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 (ECHR), becoming this latter treaty the maximum standard for the protection of fundamental rights. Nevertheless it must be said that the constitutional traditions of the Member States as source of inspiration does not mean that t he rights within can be invoked in ECJ. The final step was made in the Hauer judgment of 13 December 1979, when the ECJ stated that: â€Å"[†¦] that fundamental rights form an integral part of the general principles of the law, the observance of which it ensures; that in safeguarding those rights, the Court is bound to draw inspiration from constitutional traditions common to the Member States, so that measures which are incompatible with the fundamental rights recognized by the constitutions of those States are unacceptable in the Community; and that, similarly; international treaties for the protection of human rights on which the Member States have collaborated or of which they are signatories, can supply guidelines which should be followed within the framework of Community Law†. By holding that fundamental rights are an integral part of the general principles of law the observance of which the Court ensures, the ECJ has accomplished two things: To incorporate a central feature of modern constitutions into t he corpus of EC law and to help strengthen the authority of EC law against potential challenges before national courts in the name of domestic constitutional rights . The next step in cooperation between Community law and the ECHR was given in the cases of Matthews and Bosphorus . In Matthews was decided that Member States can be held responsible if EC primary law violated the ECHR, because those Member States are still responsible for infringements although they have transferred some of their competences to the European Communities. In Bosphorus the problem at issue  was whether an EU Member State could be responsible under the ECHR for an execution of a Community Regulation. As stated in Matthews, Member States are responsible for acts and omissions of its organs regardless whether the competencies are national or at supranational level, but the difference was that in this case, the Member State was obliged by a Regulation, which gives no discretion when implementing it. In order to solve this situation, the ECtHR gave a status of â€Å"equivalent protection† to the ECJ, meaning that â€Å"State action taken in compliance with such leg al obligations is justified as long as the relevant organization is considered to protect fundamental rights, as regards both the substantive guarantees offered and the mechanisms controlling their observance, in a manner which can be considered at least equivalent to that for which the Convention provides† . The Court continues: â€Å"If such equivalent protection is considered to be provided by the organization, the presumption will be that a State has not departed from the requirements of the Convention when it does no more than implement legal obligations flowing from its membership of the organization† . Since that level of protection was indeed guaranteed by former judgments of the ECJ, the ECtHR decided not to interpret Community law and from now on, the ECJ has an equivalent protection of fundamental rights as the one within the ECHR. When the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (Charter) came into force with the Treaty of Lisbon , the ECJ could now rely its fundamental rights jurisdiction on a single catalog of European law . But what is the relationship between the rights in the Charter and the ones in the ECHR? Article 52(3) of the Charter explains it: â€Å"Insofar as this Charter contains rights which correspond to rights guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the meaning and scope of those rights shall be the same as those laid down by the said Convention. This provision shall not prevent Union law providing more extensive protection†. The reason for such provision is to avoid a lower standard of protection than the one of the ECHR. Therefore, a restriction of a fundamental right can only be acceptable under the terms of the ECHR and it prevents possible confusion of the Member States when being subjected to two different catalogs of rights . Moreover, as the Charter reiterates and complements the ECHR, there is no dual system of fundamental rights. In fact, it reaffirms the same common list of fundamental rights . II.THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GERMAN FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES / THE EUROPEAN UNION The main problem at stake was that two different levels of protection were created. One circle was the one created by the case law of the ECJ and the other circle was the list of rights protected by the national constitutions . How did the German Federal Constitutional Court solve this problem? In the Solange I -decision, the German court stated that in case of conflict between the Community law and fundamental rights protected in the German Basic Law, the latter would prevail as long as the European Communities did not have a catalogue of fundamental rights which is equivalent to the catalogue of fundamental rights guaranteed by the German Constitution. But after how the ECJ ruled, namely after Nold and Hauer, the German Constitutional Court changed its opinion and stated in the Solange II -decision that as long as the European Communities ensured a protection of fundamental rights which is to be regarded as substantially similar to the protection of fundamental rights by the German Constitution, and safeguards the essential content of fundamental rights, it is not an obligation for the Constitutional Court to examine the compliance of Community law with the German law. But in 1993, the German Constitutional Court seemed to go back to the previous doctrine of the Solange I-judgment in its famous Maastricht decision , where it stated that from that moment it wanted to apply its jurisdiction regarding to the protection of fundamental rights in a cooperation relationship with the ECJ. The Constitutional Court had the strong opinion that it is the only one capable of protecting the fundamental rights enshrined in the Basic Law, so for this purpose it extends the meaning of public power and declares that no matter what kind of power (German Government or the European Communities) violates fundamental rights enshrined in the Basic Law because it will always have the jurisdiction. By doing so, the former Communities were supervised by the German Federal Court every time their activity fell under the scope of application of the Basic Law. Seven years later, in June 2000, the Court changed its mind again at the Bananenmarketordnung judgment. It explained tha t the previous doctrine was a â€Å"misunderstanding†. The German Constitutional Court will review  possible violations of fundamental rights only if the European Communities fail to do so. But this cannot be justified by a single case, but by a serious deficiency at european level . This means that while the ECJ continues to effectively protect fundamental rights, there will be no German control of those rights over the European law. We can conclude that over the ruling of the German court, this has been a reluctance to recognize the supremacy of Community law concerning the protection of human rights, but this supremacy has finally been recognized as a prerequisite for Germany to participate in the European Integration Process . III.THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GERMAN FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) contains a catalogue of fundamental rights which the Federal Republic of Germany is bound to guarantee as well, since it ratified the convention on 3 September 1953. The basic principle of International law pacta sunt servanda obliges to do it . It was never a problem, since the fundamental rights protected in the German Basic Law followed a parallel interpretation to the ones guaranteed in the ECHR. In fact, Articles 1 to 9 from the Basic Law bear resemblance to the ones in the ECHR . In addition, the Constitutional Court elaborated the concept of Và ¶lkerrechtsfreundlichkeit of the Basic Law , which means that Germany’s fundamental rights should be interpreted in the same way as the ones enshrined in the ECHR in order to fill the possible gaps in the reading of both catalogues . So when interpreting the Basic Law, the development of the ECHR needs to be taken into account without, of course, restricting the protection provided in the Basic Law. It seems that this doctrine would not lead to a confrontation between the German Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR), but this was not the case in the Gà ¶rgà ¼là ¼ judgments. It is peculiar how the German Court does not confirm that a judgment of the Strasbourg Court should be simply executed, but instead says that â€Å"the authorities and courts of the Federal Republic of Germany are obliged, under certain condition, to take account of the European Convention on Human Rights as interpreted by the ECtHR in making their decisions.† . By saying â€Å"taking account† and not, for example, â€Å"comply  with† the Court declares that under some circumstances it can decide not to execute a judgment of the ECtHR. The only requisite is that the competent court under the German legislation needs to give reasons why this doctrine can be applied . In fact, the German judgment states : â€Å"If [†¦] the ECtHR establishes that there has been a violation of the Convention, and if this is a continuing violation, the decision of the ECtHR must be taken into account in the domestic sphere, that is the responsible authorities or courts must di scernibly consider the decision and, if necessary, justify understandably why they nevertheless do not follow the international-law interpretation of the law.† The main reason for this was that it could be eventually possible that under the view of the ECtHR a situation could be interpreted widely and under the German law it should be more carefully viewed. But still, after the ECtHR has made its decision, national authorities cannot challenge it, except when, in opinion of the German Court, through a constitutional complaint . The Federal Constitutional Court thinks of itself as the Guardian of the due to respect of ECtHR’s decisions . Although this new doctrine means a significant change in the case law of the German Court it does not affect the content of the fundamental rights within both catalogues. It is true that now the German Court could be a kind of appeal organ in some cases for the judgments of the ECtHR, but as already said, both catalogues interpret their rights in the same way, so it is not a question of which rights prevail, but a question of sovereignty that does not affect the interpretation of those rights. IV.IS THERE A TRUE MULTI-LEVEL OF PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN EUROPE? It is true that within every State exist three different catalogues of protection of fundamental rights, namely the national Constitutions (the Basic Law), the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (plus the case law of the ECJ), but as we have seen each of these lists are interrelated to each other: -ECJ draws inspiration of national constitutional traditions and the ECHR; -The Charter has its minimum standard of protection in the ECHR; -The fundamental rights in the German Basic Law must be interpreted as in the ECHR. Therefore, when an agreement like ACTA infringes fundamental rights it  does it indeed at a multi-level, but that does not mean that such rights have a different protection or a different interpretation within the distinct catalogues. D.ACTA AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS ACTA have undeniable effects on fundamental rights as protected in the German Basic Law, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Namely, these rights are: -The right to freedom of expression and information (Art. 5(1) BL; Art. 10(1) ECHR; Art. 11(1) Charter); -The right to privacy and data protection (Art. 10(1) BL; Art. 8(1) ECHR; Art. 7 and 8(1) Charter); -The right to a fair trial (Art. 103(1) BL; Art. 6 ECHR; Art. 47 Charter); We will also discuss about the â€Å"fundamental principles† that ACTA seems to guarantee. I.THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND INFORMATION Art. 10(1) ECHR guarantees the right to freedom of expression and information, but also the right to freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information without interference of public authorities . The German Basic Law must consider the ECHR as source of interpretation when applying its Art. 5(1) BL. Moreover, ECJ has considered the right to freedom of expression and information as one of the general principles of European law which is enshrined now in Art. 11(1) Charter. It is impossible to deny the importance that today has the Internet when talking about freedom of expression and information: online newspapers, video channels, bloggers, webmasters, tweeters, etc. The ECtHR has many times stated that freedom of expression is the foundation of a democratic society: â€Å"The Court’s supervisory functions oblige it to pay the utmost attention to the principles characterising a â€Å"democratic society†. Freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of such a society, one of the basic conditions for its progress and for the development of every man† . Moreover, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression has declared that access to the Internet and the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas over the Internet is an inherent part of the freedom  of expression . In a democratic society people must feel free to express their ideas and must be able to receive information with no censorship. Any action that goes in a different direction would hinder the fundamental rights within the different European catalogues. Art. 23 ACTA refers to criminal offences: 23(1): Each Party shall provide for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied at least in cases of wilful trademark counterfeiting or copyright or related rights piracy on a commercial scale [Fn]. For the purposes of this Section, acts carried out on a commercial scale include at least those carried out as commercial activities for direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage. Article 23(1) ACTA implies the criminalisation of certain acts carried out in the digital environment, but it does not define in a clear way what kinds of acts could be considered as criminal offences. We should ask whether private file sharing match the nature of those acts. In opinion of the EDPS , the article makes no reference to criminal offences recognised in the law of the contracting parties, so he deduces that the provision refers to a new category of offences which Art. 23(1) ACTA fails to provide with a clear definition to meet the legal certainty required. Another worrying provision from Art. 23(1) ACTA are the notions of â€Å"commercial scale† and â€Å"direct or indirect economic or commercial advantages† which are also not defined at all. The EDPS thinks that the interpretation of those words can be very broad and include acts carried out by individual in the Internet that could be innocent and/or trivial . Since there is no list again of what acts could be done at a â€Å"commercial scale† this is not sufficient to see whether that notion would fit under the definition that the European Union gives to â€Å"commercial scale†, which excludes those acts â€Å"carried out by private users for personal and not-for profit purposes† . All these measures are real interferences to the right to freedom of expression and information because such a legal uncertainty could criminalise innocent and trivial Internet data exchange, which its main purpose is not to violate IP rights, but the possibility to expre ss, be informed, hold opinions and to receive and impart information which are essential for a democratic society. One of the reasons of why ACTA was so much criticized in the beginning was due to the so unpopular ISP liability  and the â€Å"three strikes† rule. This was originally intended by the drafters of the Agreement which did not please the public opinion when a provisional version of the agreement was leaked . As the European Parliament study on ACTA on July 2011 reveals, there were extensive provisions relating â€Å"liability of online service providers, including restricted safe harbours; takedown or removal of material at the request of rightholders; and third party secondary, and contributory liability. In prior proposals put forward by other parties, provisions for the cutting-off of internet service of infringers (so-called three strikes provisions) were also put forward, although these did not appear in later texts†. In the actual consolidated version such measures were eliminated from the Agreement. However, residues of liability can be seen in Art. 27 ACTA: Art. 27(1): Each Party shall ensure that enforcement procedures, to the extent set forth in Sections 2 (Civil Enforcement) and 4 (Criminal Enforcement), are available under its law so as to permit effective action against an act of infringement of intellectual property rights which takes place in the digital environment, including expeditious remedies to prevent infringement and remedies which constitute a deterrent to further infringements. Art. 27(2): Further to paragraph 1, each Party’s enforcement procedures shall apply to infringement of copyright or related rights over digital networks, which may include the unlawful use of means of widespread distribution for infringing purposes. These procedures shall be implemented in a manner that avoids the creation of barriers to legitimate activity, including electronic commerce, and, consistent with that Party’s law, preserves fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and privacy. [fn] Footnote: For instance, without prejudice to a Party’s law, adopting or maintaining a regime providing for limitations on the liability of, or on the remedies available against, online service providers while preserving the legitimate interests of right holder. There is the opinion that the initial idea of the drafters of ACTA still remains in their minds. The footnote suggests that liability on ISPs will always exist, but now, the only requisite is to have a limit to this liability, but it does not say under what terms it must be done. What it says is that interests of rightholders are the first ones to take account. According to this opinion , this would still allow ISPs to disconnect users of alleged IP rights violations and therefore deprive them  of their right to freedom of expression and information. II.THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION Art. 8(1) ECHR guarantees also the confidentiality of individual communications, that is why private life and correspondence are protected under the same article. Since telephone communications fall within the scope of the article, Internet communications too. Art. 10(1) BL goes beyond and also protects from prohibitions, interruptions or delays of communications . Both rights are considered basic principles of European law and now they are enshrined in Arts. 7 and 8(1) Charter. The provisions of ACTA that violate these specific rights are Art. 11 and Art. 27(4): Art. 11: Without prejudice to its law governing privilege, the protection of confidentiality of information sources, or the processing of personal data, each Party shall provide that, in civil judicial proceedings concerning the enforcement of intellectual property rights, its judicial authorities, at least for the purpose of collecting evidence, relevant information as provided for in its applicable laws and regulations tha t the infringer or alleged infringer possesses or controls. Such information may include information regarding any person involved in any aspect of the infringement or alleged infringement and regarding the means of production or the channels of distribution of the infringing or allegedly infringing goods or services, including the identification of third persons alleged to be involved in the production and distribution of such goods or services and of their channels of distribution. Art. 27(4): A Party may provide, in accordance with its laws and regulations, its competent authorities with the authority to order an online service provider to disclose expeditiously to a right holder information sufficient to identify a subscriber whose account was allegedly used for infringement, where that right holder has filed a legally sufficient claim of trademark or copyright or related rights infringement, and where such information is being sought for the purpose of protecting or enforcing those rights. These procedures shall be implemented in a manner that avoids the creation of barriers to legitimate activity, including electronic commerce, and, consistent with that Party’s law, preserves fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and  privacy. Under Art. 11 extensive disclosure orders are allowed . This covers â€Å"infringers†, â€Å"alleged infringers† and â€Å"any person involved in any aspect of the infringements or alleged infringement†, they also include â€Å"the identification of third persons alleged to be involved†. In addition, Art. 27(4) allow data disclosures for the purpose â€Å"to identify a subscriber whose account was allegedly used for infringement†. But are IP addresses personal data? In order to know that, we need to read the definition of personal data provided in Art. 2 Directive 95/46/EC : â€Å"any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (â€Å"data subject†); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number†. It is obvious that such IP addresses constitute personal data since individuals can be identified by those numbers. Although the purpose of those articles is the detection and prevention of possible IP rights infringements, the wording makes it clear that Internet users will not be warned while they are being monitorised, even if they are not suspicious for having infringed some sort of IP rights. Moreover, this monitoring would be done by ISPs if right holders ask them to do so. In opinion of the EDPS a generalised monitoring is an act that invades individuals’ private sphere. So, for these acts to be justified, they must be necessary and proportionate, but when ACTA does not apply any limit to the monitor process it is obvious that it would count as infringements all those acts that are carried out for no profit. If there is no proportionality and rightholders can access to private data with no restrictions, even if individuals are not violating IP rights, it is a clear example of an infringement to the right to privacy and data protection. III.THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL The right to a fair trial is a general principle of law of the European Union common to the Member States and which the Federal Republic of Germany is bound by it , which is now embodied in Art. 47(2) Charter. Also Art. 6 EMRK protects the right of a fair trial and since the Và ¶lkerrechtsfreundlichkeit doctrine Art. 103(1) BL gives meaning to it. Art. 12 ACTA contains the provisional measures which are part of the legal answers that right holders can rely on in civil law. But Art. 12(2) fails to provide guarantees for a  fair trial: Each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities have the authority to adopt provisional measures inaudita altera parte where appropriate, in particular where any delay is likely to cause irreparable harm to the right holder, or where there is a demonstrable risk of evidence being destroyed. In proceedings conducted inaudita altera parte, each Party shall provide its judicial authorities with the authority to act expeditiously on requests for pr ovisional measures and to make a decision without undue delay. It is true that provisional measures, even in inaudita altera parta procedures, are allowed, but only because they are the exception. This is against the principle of â€Å"equality of arms† defined by the ECtHR (and followed by the German Federal Court and the ECJ) that means that in judicial procedures a defendant may not be placed at a substantial disadvantage against his counter-party . When such a possibility is accepted by a legal system it also provides safeguards to ensure that the defendant can restore his â€Å"equality of arms†. But ACTA do not seem to provide this. It does not stress that provisional measures and proceeding inaudita altera parta should be the exception and this could lead to two possible consequences. First, when protecting IP rights it is justified to use those extraordinary measures as normal and second, that there is no need to provide guarantees . Regarding the provisional measures of Art. 27(4) it is not clear to which â€Å"competent authorities† the article refers to. In opinion of the EDPS the ambiguous concept does not provide with the sufficient legal cert ainty of whether the disclosure of information would be taken place by judicial authorities. He believes that such concept could also include administrative bodies that are not embodied with the sufficient â€Å"guarantees of independence, impartiality and respect of the rights to the presumption of innocence and to a fair trial†. It must be also considered that ACTA enable to private parties to adopt functions that belong to judicial authorities and it seems as if there is a â€Å"privatisation† of IP rights law . Art. 27(3) enable the â€Å"business community† to address IP infringements: Each Party shall endeavour to promote cooperative efforts within the business community to effectively address trademark and copyright or related rights infringement while preserving legitimate competition and, consistent with that Party’s law, preserving fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and privacy. Right holders cannot judge  whether a particular action violates IP rights, in fact, when certain type of data must be processed in relation to suspected offences or criminal convictions, Art. 8(5) Directive 95/46/EC states that those acts †may be carried out only under control of official authority, or if suitable specific safeguards are provided under national law†. Moreover, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression has stated that â€Å"Lack of transparency in the intermediaries’ decision making process also often obscures discriminatory practices or political pressure affecting the companies’ decisions† and â€Å"To avoid infringing the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy of Internet users, the Special Rapporteur recommends intermediaries to: only implement restrictions to these rights after judicial intervention† . If ACTA does not make any effort to offer any guarantee to the right to a fair trial and even aims to provide the â€Å"business community† with the powers of the judicial authorities it is evident that departs from the fundamental rights enshrines in the Basic Law, the ECHR and the Charter. IV.THE â€Å"FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES† The digital chapter, namely Arts. 27(2), 27(3) and 27(4) refers to the need to preserve â€Å"fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process and privacy†. The EDPS states that by only referring to those principles and no giving real safeguards is not enough. He asks himself whether the drafters of the Agreement did not choose o include â€Å"fundamental rights† instead of â€Å"fundamental principles†, since freedom of expression and privacy are not â€Å"principles†, but fundamental rights. Also, the negotiators chose to avoid referring to the right to a â€Å"fair trial† or to the right to â€Å"due process†, instead they referred to the term: â€Å"fair process†, which, as confirmed by the European Commission , that is not a fundamental principle of international law. To make a comparison, the EDPS gives an example of the necessary safeguards that must be always included and must always be â€Å"in conformity with the European Convention on Human Rights and general principles of Community law, including effective judicial protection, due process, the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to privacy†. It seems that such terms are not intended to properly ensure  fundamental rights in the way they do the different European catalogues. D.CONCLUSIONS It is true that IP rights must be protected and since we live in a digital era, that task has become more difficult due to a more globalized world. But the protection of IP rights must not be given precedence over fundamental rights. ACTA have failed to respect the fundamental rights within the Basic Law, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Much of it is due to a very vague, ambiguous and unclear wording of its provisions, making it impossible to foresee what kind of actions, both civil and criminal, infringe intellectual property rights. Moreover, there are no explicit de minimis rules that could make the provisions of ACTA proportionate so they do not hinder fundamental rights. IP rights are not above fundamental rights. This is something that the ECJ stated twice in the Telefà ³nica/Promusicae and Scarlet/Sabam cases. Namely, in the latter said that a â€Å"a fair balance be struck between the right to intellectual property, on the one hand, and the freedom to conduct business, the right to protection of personal data and the freedom to receive or impart information, on the other†. ACTA will be voted next month at the European Parliament and it seems that MEPs will vote against it (although it is not sure yet). Meanwhile, the European Court of Justice will decide whether the Agreement is compatible with the rights in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and, as we have seen, there are grounds for the incompatibility of ACTA with this catalogue of rights. If we want to enforce the legitimate IP rights that rightholders have we need to stop criminalising trivial and private use of data in the Internet, we need to stop thinking in mechanisms to deny access to information and we need to ensure that judicial authorities continue to be the ones capable to enforce those rights.

Advertising through Social Media Application-Samples for Students

Social media communication has been emerging rapidly in the recent years. However, maximum businesses use the social media as their communication tool to cover a large number of customers (Holt 2016).Social media communication refers to the communication process that is exhibited through the use of digital tool. As commented by Ramanathanet al. (2017), social media communication is a modern business process, which can be done by using electronic media. However, for business organizations, it is crucial to incorporate the modern technology in their communication system to enhance the customer service. Hence, application of the social media gives the opportunity to the business owners to promote their brand as well and their products by using the digital media, which is an example of modern technology. This study deals with the promotion of Orchid women wear, which is a popular brand of John Smedley.   This organization sells over 30 countries in the world. This is a UK based knittin g fashion company and established in 1784. This brand has 200 stores all over the world and their sales revenue generation is high. Therefore, the role of the social media in the branding of John Smedley will be discussed in this study. A critical discussion will be conducted in this study based on the application of social media in branding. John Smedley is a UK based fashion organization that offers various types of women’s wear. However, woolen clothes, cotton wear and various types of fashionable clothing items are the major products of this organization. John Smedley is popular for the knitwear products. One of their popular products is Orchid women fashion wear. This organization is a global operator and has business throughout the world. This organization is considered as one of the leading companies for their fine gauge knitwear products. In the recent years changing demand of the customers is the major challenge of the global fashion market. However, it is often difficult for the fashion organizations to cope up with the changing need of the consumers as a result, there is a huge competition among the fashion companies to make something unique or innovative product. Orchid women wear is a renowned brand of John Smedley among their various women wears (Johnsmedley.com 2018).   This is a knitwear product a nd made up of wool. This is very much comfortable for the women in any weather. Thus, this brand is popular among the women who prefer to use John Smedley products. Traditional communication or advertising process in the business promotion needs a proper budget and a specific market (Bremset al. 2017). TV, direct mail, newspaper, and radio are the traditional communication channels that are used in the business. The traditional communication channels are more expensive in comparison to the social media communication as traditional communication needs more workforce while social media needs less workforce and it depends on the technology. In the recent years, John Smedley has faced issuesdue to the using of traditional marketing communication. Traditional communication channels need a particular target audience as a result, it is difficult for the organization to select the target audience. On the other hand, they are not able to cover a huge range of consumers through this traditional communication process. In the year 2014 their sale was increased by 14% from the previous year and the revenue generation was  £17.2.   In the year 2015 their customer number is increased by 10% from the previous year, which ensures their growth in the global market (Johnsmedley.com. 2018). However, traditional communication process has a specific target market but social media does not need any specific target market as it covers a large range of customers from different geographical regions (Kedzior et al. 2016). Hence, by the application of social media, John Smedley can promote their Orchid women wear in a huge range of customer domain easily. There is no need to expand the high budget to implement this communication process.Traditional media includes personal selling, pamphlets and leaflet distribution that needs more workforces. This enhances the cost of the product promotion (Nyangwe and Buhalis 2018).However, application of the social media in the promotion of the business will be an effective approach for such organization as it will help them to cover a large number of people from different geographical regions. Clothing products among the other products of the fashion industry run fast. However, consumers especially the women have a strong addiction towards the clothing products. They prefer the variety of products, which are comfortable to wear (Kedzioret al. 2016). Hence, the traditional marketing or communication is not as effective as the social media communication in promoting a brand as the traditional marketing process is not attractive like the social media. Through the social media women can see a variety of products and they do not need to go outside. In order to improve the brand image of an organization promotion through social media is an effective approach for the organization. In the context of John Smedley, they want to improve the brand image of Orchid women wear through the application of social media. As commented by Nyangweand Buhalis (2018), social media users keep the brand name in their mind, which they saw in their social networking site. This is a big opportunity fo r John Smedley to improve and promote their brand Orchid women wear. One of the major positive outcomes of social media application in branding is communication with the business goal (Deckers and Lacy 2017). However, in the context of John Smedley use of social media will help them to deliver their business objective regarding their brand Orchid women wear to the consumer domain by providing a detailed product as well as brand information. John Smedley can give the benefits of the products through the websites and it will be shared via social media like facebook, instagram etc. In the recent years, people are more technology oriented as they use the technological device rapidly to make their life fast. They have limited time to watch television, magazine and another traditional advertising process (Dinnie 2015). Therefore, maximum people spend a lot of time on the social media website as they get refreshment and also gather new knowledge regarding any product or service via social media. People have a great attraction towards the social media and they search new fashion products and brand through it (Dinnie 2015). As a result, advertisement through the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram will be effective for John Smedley to promote their brand Orchid women wear. This will give a great opportunity to John Smedley to promote their new product in a large consumer domain by using the social media in brand promotion. Social media makes a unique platform for John Smedley for their new brand and they will be able to get customer feedbacks via such sites. Such customer review is a good process for an organization to understand their brand position in the market (Habibiet al. 2016).Changing needs of the consumers is a big problem for the fashion market and they do not understand the exact demand of the consumers. However, by checking the customer review regarding a product on social media sites the organization will able to understand the type of the products that the current market prefers. Social media is an effective way for the business as it allows the consumers to research discover and share the information about a brand (Dinnie 2015). Application of the social media in the branding of John Smedley will bring a scope for their new brand Orchid women wear to reach in a large domain of the consumers. Social media advertisement will help the consumers to attach with the organization by sharing their feedbacks. This also improves the customer engagement in an organization. Good consumer rating will improve the brand image in the competitive market. Therefore, social media will help John Smedley to share content of the product information quickly in the context of Orchid women wear. As a result, the consumers can easily access the product details as well as the brand details, which enhance the branding process of such organization. Today the application of the social media is an integral part of the daily life. People from different parts and the entire world can be connected through the social media. In the context of business as well as the fashion industry social media plays an important role to promote a brand and to improve the brand image (Habibi et al. 2016). It is important for John Smedley to improve their brand image by suing the social media application. They can influence the public opinion regarding their new brand Orchid women to wear. As commented by Dinnie(2015), social media is the best platform to communicate with the people and people also share their opinion regarding any product or brand. As criticized by Kohliet al. (2015), is the business industry does not train their employees properly to use social media for business purpose then they fail to communicate their brand vision. This can lead John Smedley to an inconsistent as a result; their brand image can be affected.   However, John Sm edley can represent their brand image through the social media application in the context of their Orchid women wear. On the other hand, misrepresentation of the offered service or products and their features can hamper the brand image of such particular brand. Social media creates customer’s interest towards a product or a brand (Chahaland Rani 2016). In the context of John Smedley, advertisement or the promotion of Orchid women wear through social media enables them to deliver their messages to the public domain quickly. As a result, the audience starts to get information about the particular brand. Then they talk about the brand and pay their attention to it. Shopping in recent times is popular in the social media platforms. For example, Twitter and Facebook are two of the major social media platforms, which contribute more to improving the promotion of a brand and the enhancement of its image. For John Smedley, if they promote or advertise their products through such social media then audience get information about their Orchid women wears. This will make their brand popular and to improve its image in the consumer domain. Besides the positive aspects of social media advertisement there are some negative aspects. As argued by Koh li et al. (2015), advertisement via social media often affected due to the overflowing newsfeed. In the Facebook often people skip the messages or advertisement of a brand due to the overflow of the newsfeeds. This may affect the brand promotion in the context of John Smedley. Therefore, it is important for the organization to give a regular update of their product or brand on the social media. If the gap occurs in this process then it will be difficult for John Smedley to promote their brand Orchid women wear through social networking sites. On the other hand positive outcomes of social media highlights that social media especially the Facebook increase the customer engagement (Habibiet al. 2016). However, if John Smedley creates a page on facebook regarding their Orchid women wears with more details then it can reach easily to the consumer domain. Therefore, the consumers can give their feedbacks on this Facebook page regarding this particular brand. For John Smedley, they want to promote Orchid women wear via social media. Hence, it has been found that women discuss more about the fashion over social media like Facebook. Therefore, they refer to their friends the fashion brand that they have used. This will give John Smedley a good opportunity to improve the brand image as well promotion of Orchid women wear via social media advertisement. The above piece of the study reveals the social media application in branding in the context of John Smedley. However, this fashion organization is going to promote their new brand Orchid women wear through the social media advertisement. However, the major problem of current fashion market is the changing demand of the consumers. Hence, the application of the social media will help John Smedley to gather the customer feedbacks and develop innovative product as per the needs of the current market. It has been found that social media communication to market a product is very popular in the recent years. People, specially he women search new brand over the social media. One of the major drawbacks of the social media application is the inappropriate presentation of the brand information. Despite these challenges, social media communication is an essential element of the modern business. Brems, C., Temmerman, M., Graham, T. and Broersma, M., 2017. Personal Branding on Twitter: How employed and freelance journalists stage themselves on social media.  Digital Journalism,  5(4), pp.443-459. Chahal, H. and Rani, A., 2017. How trust moderates social media engagement and brand equity.  Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing,  11(3), pp.312-335. Deckers, E. and Lacy, K., 2017.  Branding yourself: How to use social media to invent or reinvent yourself. Que Publishing. Dinnie, K., 2015.  Nation branding: Concepts, issues, practice. Routledge. Habibi, M.R., Laroche, M. and Richard, M.O., 2016. Testing an extended model of consumer behavior in the context of social media-based brand communities.  Computers in Human Behavior,  62, pp.292-302. Holt, D., 2016. Branding in the age of social media.  Harvard business review,  94(3), p.13. Johnsmedley.com. 2018.  John Smedley. [online] Available at: https://www.johnsmedley.com/uk/about-us [Accessed 13 Feb. 2018]. Kedzior, R., Allen, D.E. and Schroeder, J., 2016. The selfie phenomenon–consumer identities in the social media marketplace. European Journal of Marketing, 50(9/10), pp.1767-1772. Kohli, C., Suri, R. and Kapoor, A., 2015. Will social media kill branding?.  Business Horizons,  58(1), pp.35-44. Nyangwe, S. and Buhalis, D., 2018. Branding Transformation Through Social Media and Co-creation: Lessons from Marriott International. In  Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2018  (pp. 257-269). Springer, Cham. Ramanathan, U., Subramanian, N. and Parrott, G., 2017. Role of social media in retail network operations and marketing to enhance customer satisfaction.  International Journal of Operations & Production Management ,  37(1), pp.105-123.

Saving on Home Energy Cost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Saving on Home Energy Cost - Essay Example the different ways in which energy is utilised in my home such as through heating and electrical equipment, thermostat, laundry, dish washer, shower, laptops, phones and other rechargeable items, television, furnace, kitchen appliances, lighting, and others. This was followed by a very detailed and thorough audit to determine ways in which the home could cut on energy consumption and eventually save on costs in the range of 10-25% and even more. This was conducted by checking for air leaks such as carbon monoxide around the walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches and electrical outlets. In addition, moisture levels were assessed, combustion and electrical equipment checked and insulations examined. These were followed by inspecting the furnace and ductwork, performing a blower door test to help determine the home’s air tightness, using an infrared camera to help gauge from where the house was losing energy, carrying out thermographic inspections to detect thermal defects and examining air leakage in the building with a PFT air infiltration measurement technique to facilitate the summing-up of a rampant audit process and provide more information about air leakage and energy loss. A personal walk around residence was also done to analyse the energy consumption and come up with solutions for saving on costs. As a result of the extensive audit, a plethora of solutions that would ensure the home saved on energy costs were observed and recommended. Such tips included replacement of some faulty HVAC equipment and combustion appliances and regular checkup of such to ensure their proper operation. If an appliance was not functioning as it should, upon inspection, immediate repair and maintenance according to the manufacturer’s manual is recommended. Conversely, that appliance may be discarded and new well-functioning one purchased in its stead. There was also the need to do away with unnecessary wirings around the house and switching

Managing Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Managing Change - Essay Example From this study it is clear that successful implementation of change very much depends on the manager’s ability to handle and ease the employees and the members into the new processes in the organization. According to the paper managing change in healthcare organizations is essentially similar to managing change in economic or political organizations. The same concept of resistance among employees very much hinges on the organization’s and the manager’s ability to shake off its traditional practices. Throughout this change process, it is important for policies and structures to be altered for purposes of innovation and improved performance. Therefore, â€Å"individuals and groups have to be motivated to continue to perform in the face of major turbulence†. Given time, this major turbulence would not have as much devastating effects on the organization as originally perceived by its members. This paper shall discuss the concept of managing change in an organization. It shall present a case study of how change was managed in a healthcare organization. It shall then discuss the different concepts and issues involved in introducing and integrating change into differen t organizations while considering the events as they unfolded in the case study. A decision and analysis about the management of change shall be drawn from this discussion.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 24

Marketing - Essay Example However, the emergence of the Internet as a purchasing medium has also meant that consumer privacy may be compromised, since it is possible for online marketers to access information about consumers in a manner that the consumers may be unable to detect, such as through the use of cookies, spyware and adware to capture a richer base of data than that which is actually divulged by the consumer.(Ashworth and Free, 2006) In order to complete an online transaction, a consumer must of necessity divulge personal and financial information online, which poses a significant threat to the privacy of the consumer, since unauthorized individuals may hack into such information and misuse it. In recognition of the danger of leaking of such sensitive information, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act was signed into law on December 4, 2003, designed to allow consumers to safeguard their sensitive information and make it federally actionable when such data is used inappropriately.(Moye 2006) . While consumer concern over the unauthorized use of their financial information is justified, such activities are carried only by a minority of individuals, therefore if consumers react to this by completing blocking off provision of any kind of information, this may ultimately compromise their own interests. When consumers provide information about their preferences and purchasing patterns online, they can enjoy the benefits of online shopping with all its attendant convenience and savings in time and energy. Moreover, marketers use such information for product targeting that is in accordance with the personal preferences and tastes of the consumer, thereby allowing the consumer access to a wide variety of personalized goods and services. Therefore, the time that a consumer may spend on the Internet browsing products will be very fruitful in finding Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 6 Marketing - Essay Example In order to dissect the needs of the target audience a market analysis in for of a research shall be initiated and carried out continuously with the sole purpose of ensuring that the messages communicated to prospective lawyers are affected and are not a waste of money. To ensure generalization and the reaching out to as many target audience as possible the plan shall be laid out in such as way as to consider all the geographical zones in the country. In a bid to understand better CSSO’s environment, competitor analysis, was carried out; these include private law firms which are very good at attracting the best lawyers in the country, and the foreign law firms such as those in the US have been identified due to the fact that they offer very competitive salaries and therefore most law graduates head directly to there. The committee overseeing the IMP shall therefore be meeting bi-weekly to brainstorm and keep track of the program as well as sprucing it up In order to ensure effectiveness there shall be initial assessment on messages to prospective audience in order to ensure that the messages are meeting their purpose. The marketing plan will be tailored to be an ongoing scheme but not a one-use strategy. Since the projected kick-off for the program is January 2007, the budget shall factor in any chances of cost variation. In a recent staff meeting chaired by the CEO, it was noted that the ‘the organization was facing an imminent danger of collapsing if it can not attract and retain the best lawyers in the country did not shock many. In fact the situation has been clearly pointed out and brought forth in most of the staff meetings in the recent years. The organization’s IMP is set to change the trends in favor of a more vibrant public law office. Therefore the IMP serves as the link between the future performance of the public law office and the present, it shall further aim at

The Different Facets of Mental Functioning Essay

The Different Facets of Mental Functioning - Essay Example Cognitive psychology began to distinguish itself from an older branch of psychology, behaviorism, when researchers realized that to study the mind often meant studying processes that could not be directly observed, such as the â€Å"stimulus-response† experiments common to behaviorism.               A central concern of linguists in the cognitive arena is the relationship between language and thought. The linguistic relativity theory, put forth by Benjamin L. Whorf in 1956 states that language either determines thought or influences it heavily. The famous â€Å"Eskimos have 27 words for snow† notion, under relativity, means they perceive snow differently from, say, a Florida resident, and therefore have a more highly developed categorizing system for snow. However, the theory did not take into account that different environments, whether physical or created, may affect how much time and effort people focus on various things, which is then reflected by language. Later studies by Heider-Rosch (1972, 1973, in Eysenck, 1984) on color perception across languages with vastly different color naming systems seem to show that it is thought that determines language. However, there may be some cultural or culturally-based learning differences as evidenced by studies on bilingual individuals.            The central focus, then, of cognitive psychologists is the structure and processes of the mind, which are generally equated with representation (the structures) and computation (the processes), as well as the inclusive dynamic systems process (Braisby & Gellaltly, 2005). Representation deals with what things are about, such as the subject matter of a book -- versus its physical qualities such as molecular structure, weight, and dimensions -- is what the book is about. Computation is how the mind processes information and it is in this area that the mind is most often linked to computers and how they learn. Two major systems of computation have been developed, and supporters argue for the relative importance of them or some interaction of both.

Importance and Impact of Global Institutions Assignment

Importance and Impact of Global Institutions - Assignment Example Global institutions also play a vital role in protecting the environment such as by facilitating the signing of treaties to protect the environment. The UNEP, a branch of the UN, concerns itself with matters environmental protection, warns the human race of deteriorating environmental state (as evidenced by phenomenon such as global warming), and teaches on ways of conserving the environment for future generations. On the social front, organizations such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have been instrumental in funding social projects (such as availing water to poor communities and providing relief in form of food and medicine to the less fortunate like refugees) aimed at enhancing human lives. Global institutions equally play great roles in stabilizing world economies and the economies of the regions in which they operate. The WB and the IMF are particularly known to inject (bailout/ loan) massive amounts of cash into struggling economies that can barely afford to look after their citizens with what they have. These institutions, together with world governments, endeavor towards the eradication of hunger and poverty, initiating global partnerships that spur growth, promoting gender equality and empowering women for development, attaining universal primary education, enhancing maternal health, reducing child mortality, fighting disease (that lowers economic potential of economies) and facilitating stable environments for business. These goals aid in the economic growth of an area and the world at large and are especially important for the developing world.

Week 7 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 7 - Case Study Example This seems to be to be like a secret society of sorts with the requirements being you must be rich and powerful within the world of finance. The fact that these nine people can change the prices, policies and procedures at any time to benefit themselves is wrong when it comes to the public trading arena. While the entire finance world has to goal of making money for their company and themselves, it should not be done to the detriment of the consumer. The consumer needs these products and should have the right to all of the cost information since they are paying for it and they should be entitled to these prices upfront and should be accompanied with an explanation if asked for one by the consumer. In short, there needs to be some oversight and regulations. 2. I do not believe that the secrecy in the derivative market should be allowed to continue. Something should be done to create transparency. I agree that buyers and sellers have a responsibility to learn about how derivatives work, but if the fees are kept secret, that is a problem. How can buyers and sellers be expected to participate if they don’t know all the costs? The trading of derivatives should be transparent in terms of costs and should not be managed by just a few who can make policies and procedures, as well as set the fees, for their own benefit. In any other industry, the costs of the product or service are made public to consumers and then consumers can determine what or if they purchase. There is no reason that the derivative market should be any different. I can understand that the nine people controlling this market would like to keep it so it benefits them and their companies; however, it is not good for the American public. It is taking advantage of people . This seems like it should be illegal. There are laws and regulations preventing this in other industries so why is the derivative market different? There doesn’t seem to be any reason why this market is

Emotional Intelligence and Everyday Behavior Essay Example for Free

Emotional Intelligence and Everyday Behavior Essay On this article the author establishes the relationship between emotional intelligence and college students. It’s very notorious that the author’s focused the research based on measuring the Big Five personality traits (Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism) and related to behaviors, this is because the intellectual measures and the ability to express knowledge don’t give us a complete overview of the person. As the author said: â€Å"The goal of the present study is to assess the criterion validity of EI, and hence the social significance or external utility of EI by relating the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT, 2002a) to selected scales from the College Student Life Space Scale (CSLSS, Brackett, 2001)†. Another fundamental point of this article was to present the genders’ differences and which of the scores on the scale are more representative on each one. Even though the participants as the author expressed were recruited from introductory courses and received course credit for their involvement in the study, the participants were part of a larger study that examined the relation between the Big Five personality traits and the Life Space. There were a 330 total of participants all between 17 and 20 years which 241 of them were female and the 89 left were males. (M.A. Brackett et al., Personality and Individual Differences (2004). The participants were asked for permission to acquire their SAT scores and college grade points average from the university; student’s been not brilliant but can be considered as a standard class. For measuring the results the scales were organized according to three broad content areas: healthy versus unhealthy behavior, general leisure and academic activities and interpersonal relations. In order to mean the gender differences on both scales analyses were conducted separately. Mayer et al. (1998) said that some question formats are items that first, require minimal interpretations on the part of the participant, and that the answers are definite and potentially verifiable. The same was as Shaffer, Saunders Owens (1986) explained that â€Å"such question formats also minimize social desirability response bias†. For improving the data collection I would have had the same sample size for both genders, and have evaluated them both ways: first, by a whole population and them examine the results by gender, this is to understand how any of the gender impact on the whole group. Brackett Mayer (2003), Ciarrochi et al. (2001), Mayer et al. (1999), Mayer et al. (2002a), Roberts et al. (2001), Salovey et al. (2001) found that scores on tests are related to but mostly independent of verbal intelligence, the Big Five, and empathy (rs0.35). The preliminary analysis on the MSCEIT and Life Space indicated that the abilities associates with the two Emotional Intelligence areas (Experiencing Emotional Intelligence and Strategic Emotional Intelligence) are related to one another but still distinguishable warranting separate analysis with the criteria. (Mayer et al., 2000). In other cases MSCEIT and SAT scores didn’t present significant gender differences, but that was known on previous research which showed that MSCEIT scores are mostly independent from personality and verbal intelligence. Brackett Mayer (2003); Salovey et al. (2001). An important issue to be more careful about in the next research and studies is to suggest a same sample size from genders and that the evaluating scales were the same, for this some criteria applies but others doesn’t; even though what is not significant in a group might be significant for the full sample. The present study supports and emerging pattern of correlations between lower EI and larger amounts of alcohol consumption, illegal drug use, and involvement in deviant behavior. Brackett Mayer (2003), Formica (1998), Trinidad Johnson (2001). The results obtained on this and with others researches as base clearly points out that woman are better able to read unstated social information, including feelings from facial expressions and other non verbal clues. Examples of these researches are Rosenthal, Hall, DiMatteo, Rogers Archer (1979). The article says that: â€Å"Recent research has shown that areas of the brain devoted to emotional processing may be larger in women than men, which may also be related to the observed gender differences in Emotional Intelligence. (Gur, Gunning-Dixon, Bilker Gur, 2002). Helmers Mente (1999), Kauhanen, Julken Salonen (1992), Taylor, Parker Bagby (1990) research have tell that males with high scores alexithymia (self reported difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions) measures report increased alcohol consumption and drug use, and psychoactive substance dependence. White (2001) expressed that â€Å"the social deviance scale in this study only contained overt physical aggressive behaviors; perhaps stronger associations for females may have emerged if more covert or verbal aggressive tactics like ostracism, gossip, and indirect vendettas had been included.† That’s maybe why there’s a â€Å"lower frequency and range of violent acts for females than for males.† (White, 2001). The author on the article said that maybe the results found are unique to students of New England area and will not generalize to individuals in ethnically diverse areas. For me, this is very important, due even I know everyone it’s different and the culture might impact over the results there would be a more accurate result if the group is more diverse. For next researches the gender shouldn’t be so notorious on the results. The author’s well explained their conclusions and told that more researches are needed to understand how Emotional Intelligence is expressed in people’s lives. With this been said, the conclusions over this research need more basis to be sustained. The good point of is, that knowing the issues found on this research will help future researchers not to make the same sampling, methods and procedures.

A Case Study Of Sea Turtle Conservation Environmental Sciences Essay

A Case Study Of Sea Turtle Conservation Environmental Sciences Essay Sea turtles are being caught throughout the world even though these endangered species are illegal to hunt them. Most of these sea turtles are being hunt down for food. These turtles are considered a source of fine dine in most parts of the world for centuries now. For instance, one Chinese text that dates back to the 5th century B.[1] describes marine turtles as exotic food. Several coastal countries harvest these sea turtles and use them as a major source of protein in their everyday food. These people also use turtle eggs in their food. Certain other countries like Mexico use these turtles in boots Certain species of sea turtles are hunted down for their shell. For instance, one of the species called hawksbill sea turtle produces Tortoise shell which is a traditional decorative ornament in Japanese and Chinese culture[1]. Similarly the Ancient Greeks and Romans used turtle scutes to make ornaments and jewellery for the elites. The Moche tribe of Peru worship turtles along with other sea animals. Sea turtles have been enormously depicted in Moche arts[2]. Tropical beaches are kind of made safe by the sea turtles that are immune to jelly-fish toxin and frequently eat them. Green sea turtle are few sea animals that feed on the green sea grass. Certain sea turtles graze on the sea grass under the sea that is supposed to be kept short in order to maintain the health of the sea[3]. The sea grass bed is the developmental and feeding ground for several sea animals. Loss of sea grass bed can result in lower levels of food chain and loss of several sea life and endanger countless marine species[3]. The following are the eight endangered species of marine chelonians; loggerheads (Caretta caretta), hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), kemps ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii), olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea), flat-back turtles (Natator depresses), green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas), and the black sea turtles (Chelonia agassizii). These endangered species have numerous biological features as well as in their life cycle which makes them chiefly susceptible to human interference[4]. Usually, the majority migrates between feeding and nesting grounds, have a longer life span, nest on semi-tropical and tropical beaches, breed seasonally, have bulky clutch sizes, and have elevated mortality before adulthood. The sea turtle population size and dynamics are not just affected by one anthropogenic cause rather there are numerous threats both on shore and out in the sea that is responsible for the declining population size in almost a ll the species[3]. The main consideration is commonly given to in shore and beach conservation. This paper will evaluate the present stressors on sea turtle populations from the standpoint of nesting beach associated conservation including instability to nesting females and to clutches and hatchlings. This paper furthermore will comprise an inspection of the management methods to tackle with decreasing populations in nesting areas, including management normally employed in developed countries[5], management with the public education and participation in third-world countries, and management of pre-nesting females present off-shore, who are frequently caught as bicatch during fishing. During breeding and nesting periods the sea turtles gather off shore at the beach and thus are easily accessible to the human populations. This is the time when these turtles can be either positively or negatively affected by the human population. Disturbance to nesting females is the primary hindrance in nesting beach conservation projects. Pedestrian intrusion and under education concerning the suitable manners to interact with nesting females is typically the main threat, and in severe cases such as in developing countries, simmering is extremely persistent and hard to manage, but is generally uncommon in developed countries[4][5]. Human interference can cause females to get lost inland and become entrapped in bushes and die from dehydration and stress, run over by cars, and potentially come in contact with dangerous and toxic materials and protract life threatening injuries. Similar consequences can result from light induced disorientation[6]. The female turtles have an innate tendency to orient themselves to the brightest horizon which is always the sea, but lights from buildings and cars and other kinds of human interference can make them disorientated and crawl towards what can be called as potential hazards. Human interference in addition may lead to abandoned nesting attempts, as the females may find the beach inapt and dangerous, probably taking humans as predators that may eat her clutch or cause her injury. Furthermore, beach furniture, cemented pavements, roads and similar other obstacles can interfere with the normal biology of sea turtles and cause the female turtle to find the beach inapt and insecure for nesting attempts[7][8]. There have been reports of beach furniture and other similar objects being the cause of death for female turtles. The fact that female turtles frequently false crawl has been documented and observed to be true[8]. The female turtle crawls on the beach and then make a U turn to crawl up again and back down, this is a way to reassure that the beach is suitable and secure for the final nesting. On the less disturbed beaches there are generally identical amounts of nesting and non-nesting appearances, where on extremely disturbed beaches non-nesting emergences can be several times higher than nesting appearances[2]. The outcome of high aborted nesting trials is not known, it has been implied that these females typically find a close by beach which is more apt, or probably reabsorb the eggs[1]. The clutch and hatchlings are generally very vulnerable to damage from human interference. Apart from human interference the clutch and hatchlings are also susceptible to natural predators, environment and natural mortality[9][4]. No matter how good a researcher might be, if he or she is not well aware of the needs and risks of these clutch and hatchlings, they can significantly decrease the nests success. Several of the threats on concerned beaches comprise beach tools flouting or revealing eggs, human pests like dogs, cats, raccoons and rats digging up eggs. Artificially constructed barriers and constructions on the beach can lead to the drowning of eggs, the hatchlings can get attacked by fire ants, rà Ã‚ µlocation of thà Ã‚ µ clutch outsidà Ã‚ µ thà Ã‚ µ safà Ã‚ µ 6-hour post-dà Ã‚ µposition window, rotating à Ã‚ µggs during rà Ã‚ µlocation, and entanglement in holes and ruts[10]. The threats discussed above are besides the natural threats like predators and other wild dogs and cats that can potentially attack the hatchlings, and the environmental effects of bad nest position leading to below optimum moisture, plants, sand resolution, aà Ã‚ µration, tà Ã‚ µmpà Ã‚ µraturà Ã‚ µ, and vulnà Ã‚ µrability to sà Ã‚ µasonal interference such as hurricane storm surge[8][9][10]. The most rational method to improve and advance marine sea turtle life is by managing the nesting beaches. These beaches are reachable to researchers and a basis of high mortality for hatchlings and adults. Nest management programs are one of the most widespread and effectual ways of enhancing survival, particularly in adjunct with legislation and community cooperation[1]. There are a number of programs that are completely community based, where marine turtles are an important part of the domestic financial system, custom and food source, and the sustainable management of the animals is a source of income for the community and a safe haven for marine turtle conservation[10]. [5] The majority of the programs in the developed countries are concerned with the safety of the nests and the beaches from intrusion and human interference. Besides this other management strategies deal with the gathering of females off-shore during the nesting period, where leisure and fishing ships cause the death of females from accidents, entrapment in fishing lines, and drowning in trawl nests[4]. The nesting beach program of Sarasota n Florida is a typical model of the developed nesting beach program. During the nesting season, the nesting beaches are constantly patrolled. A documented track is kept during these patrols for nesting and non-nesting emergences[4][6], in addition the nests are marked off with wooden stakes and flags in order to keep a track of nests and at the same time make the public aware of the nests presence. Areas with high risk of predation, human interference or any other similar hazards have a deeply rooted iron cage around the nests to protect the emerging hatchlings from these hazards. The wooden stakes used to mark the nest have a detailed information tag that includes the date at which the nest was laid along with the nest number and GPS coordinates in case the original stakes become lost due to any reason. Records are kept concerning any abnormal tracks or nests made by females, as they are typically a sign of interruption or disorientation from human sources. The nests are under surveillance all through the season for damage caused by delinquents, flood, ant invasion, predators, and damage caused by storm surge[10]. The contents of the clutches are sorted out 24- 48 hours after they have hatched. Alive hatchlings are brought to the aquarium to provide required care and are kept there until the end of the season before releasing them. The amount of dead partially hatched hatchlings are calculated from the remains of the shell[9]. Nest success is calculated for every nest as the amount of hatchlings that effectively hatch and leave the nest; regrettably post-hatch predation can frequently not be calculated and included in the measure. The nest success is used to evaluate the comparative success of the conservation methods, and to recognize main risky and low success locations and may begin the probable repositioning of nests in prospective years. One of the significant things to be considered across the management region is the nests to non nesting emergences ratio. This is important due to the fact that areas that diverge from the anticipated 1:1 ratio may either be extremely disturbed as females terminate most nesting attempts, or an extremely flourishing beach with a high amount of nesting emergences[5]. These beaches can then be prioritized into beaches which need extreme consideration and regulation due to extreme interruption, or need to be conserved so that extremely successful beaches are not lost to development. These management programs and their enforcement power is frequently supported by federal and state legislation that enforce heavy penalties and jail time to people who directly or indirectly contribute to the interruption of a sea turtle, its nest, or hatchlings. Infomration of this program was acquired from personal experience at Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida, 2005, whilà Ã‚ µ corrà Ã‚ µspond ingly dà Ã‚ µscribà Ã‚ µd programs includà Ã‚ µ onà Ã‚ µ in Brazil, in diffà Ã‚ µrà Ã‚ µnt arà Ã‚ µas of Florida (Johnson and Eckhart, 1996; Antworth, et al., 2006), and in Greece[5][7][8][9]. Community conservation is regularly a very booming in terms of economy conservation program in third world countries, as sea turtles are very imperative for the local economy, custom and as a food source[1]. Locals are commonly willing to contribute and operate their own programs as these programs significantly benefit the community. An example of a extremely flourishing program is in Ostional, Costa Rica, which is the sight of one of the worlds largà Ã‚ µst mass nà Ã‚ µsting of thà Ã‚ µ Olivà Ã‚ µ Ridlà Ã‚ µy sà Ã‚ µa turtlà Ã‚ µ. When the fà Ã‚ µmalà Ã‚ µs waiting off shorà Ã‚ µ arà Ã‚ µ cuà Ã‚ µd to begin nesting locals consider the cue is correlated to the lunar cycle- the local group of turtle[2][3][6] watchers and visiting rà Ã‚ µsà Ã‚ µarchà Ã‚ µrs takà Ã‚ µ tourists to vià Ã‚ µw nà Ã‚ µsting for a fà Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã‚ µ, which is an important basis of income for the villagers. At times the turtles start digging up other turtles nest to deposit their own due to the high density of nesting females in the vicinity. Due to the fact that the life span of dislodged eggs significantly reduces 6 hours post deposit the local villagers are permitted to collect the dislodged eggs and sell them in the market at a price of a chicken egg to avoid black market demand. Some of the locals also help researchers and participate in caging clutches at risk from predation, and teach tourists about the anthropogenic and natural risks to sea turtles. The offshore gathering of the nesting females is a threat since these females are at greater risk to accidents through offshore human. Even though the traffic off-shore from nà Ã‚ µsting bà Ã‚ µachà Ã‚ µs is difficult to control, the development of the turtle excluder device for fishing vessels has reduced the number of drowning deaths of sea turtles in nets. In Bahia Magdalena, Mexico, numerous turtle carcasses for numerous species of marine turtle are found decaying all along beaches inside the town, which are typically due to the bi-catch from off-shore trawling, if not from plundering. The turtle excluder device is an add-on to trawl nets that let turtles to get away through a huge trap door in the back of the net, and has saved countless nesting and foraging turtles from drowning. Regrettably in certain parts of the world, such as in Mexico and India, there are enormous deaths due to trawling around the nesting period, and the local fishermen decline to utilize the excluder devices, in spite of being offered without any cost, since they believe they might lose their catch when the turtles exit the net. In fact only few fishes are lost through the trap door and moreover it will save them more money since they wont have to restore or repair the damaged nets caused due to entangled turtles[1]. Another source of mortality is the longline fishing. The sea turtles can potentially take the bait and become entangled in longlines, although, the introduction of circular hooks have helped reduce the mortality due to specific cause. Lately, numerous nesting beach programs globally, have been tagging nesting females through satellite[6][7]. This way they can keep track of the nesting females position before nesting attempts along with their migratory routes and destinations. This helps in refining and cleaning the area in order to regulate fishing and human activity, thus minimizing disturbance. Monitoring turtle population through nesting beaches and enhanced recruitment is an extremely practical and cost effective way to conserve the endangered sea turtle species. While a good amount of a turtles life is spent migrating and foraging, the nesting period during which these turtles come off shore to breed is the only time during which they can easily be accessible to researchers. The majority programs are comparatively successful in improving nesting success mired by human activity simply through presence and protection of nests[5]. Success is generally restricted by the collaboration of the community, since extra stress is placed on the people from communities apart from to the natural level of predation and mortality. In numerous developed countries the maintenance of nesting beaches with legislation and patrol programs linking community education have led to an increment in population growth rates. Even as there are more management problems in third-world nations, owing to insufficient of funding and lax legislation and enforcement, instilling a feeling of liability for the sea turtles in the local people can go a long way in incrà Ã‚ µasing thà Ã‚ µ nà Ã‚ µsting succà Ã‚ µss of thà Ã‚ µ bà Ã‚ µach.