Power dimension in family

is power in the family best explained by the first, second or third dimensional view of power ? When we think about power in social context it is can be termed as specific ability of influencing or controlling others . Generally authority is considered as power due to being accepted as social norms. Three dimension of Power can be understood by Lake's academic theory which says â€Å"three faces of power†. He discussed how the governments Exercise Its controlling power on people by three ways as by decision-making power, by non decision-making power and by Ideological power.Decision-making power Is easily seen In the people behavior and In the way governments wants It to be: the policy decision making power Is widespread by consulting with the Public representatives and popular voice of public. As government controls the agenda of Important Issues (such as the way education policy In India) unacceptable for Public discussion and debate which moderate public forums In case of n on decision making. The third and the Important dimension of of power Is Ideological power, by which thoughts and wishes of public can be altered of influenced -We can see this in Voting patterns and manipulation forNarrate Mood led AND by Middle class even AND was opposing Public distribution system which benefits the lower middle class the Most,which is the example of even getting public want such things who are against their own benefits . Power can be used involve with or without coercion in the family. We can see the simple power relation in between the relationship of Parents and child. Parents takes various kinds of decisions for their children for their betterment and for good future . Or example parents decide about school, they do it for the good of child which is decided by hem only , He can take others advise and may be for example his neighbor may be having more capability to choose better school its comes under the authority of parents only. We can easily see the use o f first dimension of power here. Power may be termed in bad meaning or unjust but the use of power is routed in even ancient Era. Its interesting to see the explanation of power in Family. Family is the basic unit of society and cultural. In the family environment, use of power can be seen in different forms.Power dimensions in the family depends on the type of Emily ,Complexity of relationships and family values, Which can be seen In Family decisions and interpersonal relations and mostly it Is evident in family decisions and behavior . Power relations and its dimensions always Influence the decisions of the Family head Ã'› At one extreme, Power can be understood as Influence, power and Influence looks different due to the way power Is used In society . The three dimension of Power is described and discussed In detail by Likes In his book, Power: A Radical View.According to him , The effectiveness and the degree of Involvement of power for any defined group or mere Individual can be understood by different criteria. The Importance of such views and outlooks Is easily explained and debated at length In Likes' Views, as he explains how use of power can be done In more appropriate way. The One Dimensional View of Power Is best explained by the behavior in decision making, We can see this on key issues and it offers direct related to subjective interests, specially in family relations as to maintain family preferences and demonstration of authority .Family decision are almost taken by Emily head and are binding on family members as they are considered as god for them. We can see the use of first degree of power in daily family life. Its always depends on the thinking of Family head, his values understanding and need of the family. Family heads take decision to avoid the conflict . In nuclear families ,Use of first dimension of power can be easily seen as the nature of conflict and differences in interest are simple in nature.As of small size of family ,direct C ommunication plays very important role and conflict can be simply resolved with less involvement f negotiations, sometime by give and take relationship which can be seen openly in case of conflict. It can make or break the relationships in nuclear family where there is no influence and support of extended which provides room for flexibility in relationship. As the application of above, we can see rising no of divorce cases in urban life. First degree of power also be easily seen in Joint family in India.Although there are complex structures in family relationships in Joint families, then also there are direct conflicts which need decision by choice of family head for the interest of he family members. Normally it comes with responsibility and social obligation in joint family . Onus shifts on the earning member of the family. It is very interesting to see the structure and power relations in Indian Joint family where family interests are guided by certain family values and social pr essure which is declining and tending towards nuclear family.Declining family values are weakening family bonds which better explains the three dimensional view of power. The Two Dimensional Power is Can be termed as the critique of behavior and focuses on decision-making ND non decision-making. We can even see the two dimension of power in economics of family which can be related to the earning member. Suppose parents has less income which didn't allow them to exercise their choice to admit the child to specific school they choose .Sometimes social structure plays important role in such types of family decisions and when its prohibits or promotes exercise of choice ,3rd degree of power can be easily seen. Sometimes Parents express their displeasure about some acts of children and they are able to modify behavior even without use of force which an be termed as 2nd dimension of power. It also looks at current and potential issues and expands the focus on observable conflict to those types that might be observed overtly or covertly.But the Two Dimensional View still focuses on subjective interests, though those seen as policy preferences or even grievances . We can easily see relates to our Joint family where behavior of child is controlled by fear of parents. Even in other relations in the family , individual members of family limits ,controls and guide their behavior to accommodate the needs of other family embers. I have personally seen this in Joint families where Female members prefer to eat after every member of family finish their eating and sometimes they don't have enough to eat. N this example we can easily see the deterrent value of two dimension of power even this is the main reason of Child and Female malnutrition in the rural part of country. Family decisions are infused by extended members, Close relatives and community members . Sometime family values have a lot say into family decisions. Family values and views of extended family members play ve ry crucial role understand it by chill marriage and honor killing are sues which are social evils but still in practice in India.Concept of family Honor or ZETA is closely related to the third dimension of Power. Sometime Popular views ,fashions and Our role models also play very important role in modifying or influencing our family decisions. Family Buying decisions and cultural following is the best example of third dimension of power. The Power Structure and three dimensions of power can be easily understood by happenings In Rural North India, where issue of cast, class and gender are inter elated.People have inherited tendency of enforcing cast and kinship codes from Colonial period when even Colonial court of law consider marriage without parental consent illegal . Family status and Social acceptance Plays very important role in rural life. The greater danger to the honor and zeta ideology comes from the female which tends the demands a sacrifice of the natural ties created by biology which tries to justifies honor killing. Considerations of class and status establish ones status in society which encourages members within caste for conflict and violence in intra- asset marriage alliances.The female guardianship is related to power and control The low female ratio to male also played important role in controlling female sexuality. The need of hour is to create awareness which with the help of Community and Participation of religious / social leaders to encounter the social evil of honor killing. Woman empowerment and woman reservation can also play import roll as tool of social Justice. So from the above we can see that power in the family best explained by the first, second or third dimensional view of power .

Drama Performance Evaluation

In our most recent performance we created a play called â€Å"The Streets† In this my characters friend dies as he is shot by my brother. I have to show sadness towards his death during the slow motion reaction scene whilst also being shocked. When the scene comes to life I have to use body language and facial expression to show that at the same time. I am upset that my brother has shot my friend and that he took his to dislike towards him that far. Whilst being panicked and anxious, because I don’t know how to deal with the grief. I am searching for help, with my desperate pleas, but nobody is around to help me, as they are all in the same situation as my character. Everybody is dealing with same emotions. I think the piece was effective as the music throughout would have set the mood and atmosphere as the music is quite calming and relaxing, which contrasts with the harshness of the death. Also the â€Å"gangs† reaction is contrasted when they refuse to help him, and then later regret this decision. The sorrow begins to set in, the community will never be the same, as every single persons character is connected in some way to Tom. Whether that’s his friend, family or just someone who knew his family. We are all deeply affected by what has happened. During this performance we touch on the themes of domestic abuse, lies, relationships and drugs. The mood of the play stays the same throughout. As I was a gang member I had to change how I walked, the way I talked and my overall attitude and reactions to things to make it believable. I walked with a lisp, spoke in slang and reacted as if I thought that I was better than everyone else and that I could beat the all if it came to a fight. These are all the ways that I changed my character from my personality to get a higher mark. Of course costume was another factor to help me get in character. Overall I think that as a whole class we did very well, people remembered their cues and lines. Everyone knew what the next scene was. People used facial expressions to convey how they were feeling to the audience. And body language was used to make characters believable. Although of course there were some bad points, people lost focus and came out of character, people mimed actions and they were looking at the teacher whenever she didn’t get the lighting or music cues right. People also talked in between scenes. I would grade myself at a merit, as although it was effective towards the end, I lost my focus and it wasn’t clear as to who I was. As I became my comfortable with the audience being there then I began to become myself more and more towards the end of the performance which would obviously pull my grade down from a distinction.

Malunggay as an effective cooking oil Essay

Commercial cooking oil is an enormous need of people nowadays. These days, cooking oil is becoming expensive. Commoners, or people with insufficient finance, can no longer afford this necessity. Instead, they opt for oil with lesser quality simply because it’s cheaper. It’s very ghastly to do this because for one; your health could be affected, two; you could harbour diseases, and three; on the worst case scenario, it could lead to your death. To think that they would go to extreme lengths, such as that, just to provide oil. Going back to the topic prior to this, we think that although it may be costly, most cooking oils are of unsatisfactory standards especially in our nutrition. With that said, we all share the idea of wanting to solve this problem. We conducted a research about the effectivity of Moringa Olefeira, also known as â€Å"Malunggay†, when used as an ingredient for cooking oil. We chose Moringa Olefeira for a reason; gram for gram, â€Å"Malunggay† leaves contain: seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the Calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, two times and the protein in milk and three times the Potassium in bananas. Using this so called â€Å"Wonder Vegetable† (according to the elderly), we could create a product that can be healthy and useful, and at the same time be sold in a reasonable price. Our main goal is aimed at the welfare of everyone. We hope that this experiment can be of great help to anyone who uses it. We gathered the data of this study from various references. We owe a massive and part of this study to literature and the internet; without them we wouldn’t have anything, even a problem, to begin with. 3 Statement of the Problem. Main Problem Can malunggay (Moringa Oleifera) leave extract be a potential material for formulating cheaper yet healthier commercial cooking oil? Specific Questions 1. At which concentration of malunggay (Moringa Oleifera) leaves extract will it be able to cook food? a. 10 mg/ml b. 20 mg/ml c. 25 mg/ml 2. How effective will it be on cooking safe and edible food? It can be inferred in terms of: a. Period or time of cooking b. Taste of the food cooked c. Nutrition facts or nutrients contained by the food 4. Significance of the Study People living in the community. The study will help the people in the community to manufacture useful cooking oil that can be alternatively used to cook food – which is a basic commodity. Malunggay is very common to the community so people can easily grow them and prepare it for extraction. In addition, unlike the commercial cooking oil we use, it is healthy and contains the nutrients of malunggay. The researchers. The researchers will benefit from the study because in would fulfil our curiosity. It will also encourage us to find other alternatives from malunggay -which is very abundant in our country- that can help us in our everyday lives. Environment. The environment profit from the study in the fact that cooking oil that is already used by people will just be thrown away in the streams and it will cause water pollution. Not like with the cooking oil made from malunggay, its chemical components can be easily dissolved in water. Manufacturers of commercial cooking oil. This study would help big companies as it lessen the production cost of cooking oil because it only uses malunggay. 5 Scopes and Limitations of the Study The study aims to produce budget-friendly and nutritious oil that can be used by people to cook their own food. In able to do this study, researchers must first collect Malunggay (Moringa Oleifera) around the community and prepare it for extraction in the laboratory or do it at home. After the extraction process, series of test must be done to prove and justify the effectivity of the product. It must cook food using stoves at normal cooking temperature that are normally used by households and the food must contain healthy nutrients that must be good to our body. This experiment also has its fair share of restrictions. And one of those restraints is when the researcher doesn’t have sufficient materials to create the said product, especially if they don’t have the main ingredient or, in this case, the malunggay. The person would have to plant or buy these materials, thus spending much time and cash. Speaking about money, another problem may occur if the researcher has a weak budget. An extra problem is if the researcher does not have enough knowledge to create and research about the problem. Another limitation of the study is when the researcher doesn’t have a place to create the product or when his surrounding isn’t fit for the making of the substance. The researcher must remember to take into account even the smallest detail of this project. The researcher must have great dedication in doing this study. He should love what he is doing and he need to make it as one of he’s passion. 6.

Critical Thinking Paper Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Critical Thinking Paper - Thesis Example The argument behind nonevidentialism is that some things that are true dot not have evidence. There are occasions that things have been dismissed as false because they lack evidence only for them to be proved otherwise later. On this basis, it is always wrong to treat everything based on evidence. A good example is a scenario where an individual has seen some visual evidence or even heard some audio evidence. The people to whom this individual will be relaying this information to did not see or hear anything that they can term as evidence to the information that is being given to them. The lack of evidence to back this information does not necessarily prove that the information that is being given in this case is not true. Another thing when it comes to religious beliefs is that they are mostly dependent on an individual’s faith. They are in no way related to the evidence that an individual is given. The Christian religion to be specifically asserts that the belief always come before the evidence. This means that individuals are expected to believe in Christianity. Christianity is one of the most influential religions in the world and has millions of believers all over the world. These believers base their reason for joining the religion on their faith in what the Bible tells them about the existence of God the way they should conduct themselves. People who have been in Christianity long enough have the belief that they have had experiences over time that have played a major role in convincing them of the existence of God and His powerfulness. A number of things in the universe do not necessarily have any physical evidence of their existence but are undeniably existent. A good example of such would be human consciousness. No one can claim that they have ever had a chance to see consciousness, but that no one can really disprove its existence. On many occasions, the decisions that people make are always affected by their

Becoming Influential Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Becoming Influential - Essay Example Second, this could mean lower-cost and in-time PHC delivery to a broader population. Third, it will remove or at least lessen the legal barriers, caused by different state laws that hinder APNs to provide PHC (Hansen-Turton et al., 2010; Safriet, 2011). Lastly, it will give the nursing profession the due recognition that has long been denied of it. As such, I hope; my message will accomplish three things: First, it will convince our policy makers address the legal barrier that only they can resolve in order to make the Affordable Care Act truly realizable. Second, it will allay lingering fears among the general public regarding APNs’ competence and reliability as PHC providers. Lastly, it will challenge APNs to continue improving and loving their profession in order to achieve the respect and recognition they long sought for. Deciding on How to Share My Message Being an ordinary nurse, I don’t think that sending a personal letter to President Obama or anyone in the US C ongress will be influential. I believe that using the social media will be the best thing I can do to make my message most influential. I know that I am not the only one who believes that APNs should be given a wider role in the provision of PHC. Other APNs share the same belief as demonstrated by the lobbying of the American Nurses Association (Appleby, 2013). However, if lobbying for this will involve only the nursing profession, this may be perceived as self-serving. It is therefore important to get involved in this fight those who are at the receiving end of the USHCS. The time for this is right, as the recent study by the Association of American Medical Colleges' Center for Workforce Studies reveals that more people, especially the younger ones (aged 18-34 years old), prefer nurse practitioners or physician assistant (Kliff, 2013). Hence, I will appeal to these people to help APNs convince the President and the Congress to once and for all settle this legal barrier for APNs to become PHC providers. I know that the medical community, especially those who are used to the traditional physician-nurse hierarchy will speak against the competence of APNs to do this job. Yet more than this, I still believe that reason supported by empirical evidence will prove that APN-delivered care are actually at par with physician-delivered care in terms of safety and quality (O’Grady, 2008). My Message From this assignment I learned three sad realities. First, transforming the USHCS is truly difficult, because it is marred with vested interests from various stakeholders. Second, commitment and competence of APNs are not enough to ensure the provision of quality healthcare to a broader public due to legal barriers. Lastly, the important role the APNs consistently play in the delivery of safe and quality healthcare remains undervalued and unrecognized within and outside the medical community until today. This is despite the many empirical evidences affirming the equal c ompetence and reliability of APNs and despite their heightened qualifications, training, and experiences. These happen because nurses tend not to get involved

Effective Crisis Communication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Effective Crisis Communication - Research Paper Example More over, the paper discusses each step of crisis management plan in detail and how to best implement it. Another important factor emphasized in this paper of crisis management, which is often sidelined, is the image of the organization managing the crisis. Restoration of physical, properties and economical losses are possible, whereas restoration of damaged image of the organization is never possible. This paper studies the disaster sustained in Hurricane Irene in 2011 in terms of economic loss and loss of lives. The role of crisis communication that permeates each and every step of crisis management is explored. It is found that action is the best understandable and adorable language of crisis communication, wherein the stakeholders and victims play crucial role in evolving best salvation. Crises are for all and for ever. No community and no organization, public or private are immune from crises. (R. Ulmer et al, 2011). When effective communication modalities are adhered to during crises, the outlook on crises gets completely changed. Crises act as provider of opportunities with the potential to leave the organization stronger in some ways or other than it was before.(p.4). Developing a framework for performance indicators to measure and improve crisis communication preparedness is the need of the hour. Sensing the prodromes is not given its due weight age paving way to havoc via crises. The size and intensity of warning symptoms in many crises are in fact negligibly small. But the nature of those symptoms read the ill-fate to emerge. In an atmosphere of apparently strong administrational activities these tiny warning symptoms usually get submerged or unheard by the top brass. Paucity of frameworks, which ensure diligent monitoring of the performance indicators, is th e current plight in every organization. (Palttala P, 2012). Leveraging the knowledge of human performance technology (Hutchins H.M. et al, 2008) is to be widely established, since

Relexology Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Relexology - Term Paper Example According to the theory of reflexology, different areas on the palms of hands and soles of feet correspond to various organs and glands of the body. Applying pressure on these reflex points stimulates the flow of energy. This creates a balance within the body and brings about a state of relaxation and peace of mind. In reflexology, the term reflex corresponds to ‘reflection’, and comes from the belief that these reflex areas are small mirrors that reflect the internal state of the body (Wills 2004). The oldest evidence of reflexology, dating back to 2500 BC is in the form of a painting that was found from the tomb of ancient Egyptian physician Ankmahar. This painting shows two people, one receiving a foot massage and the other getting a hand massage. Another belief that is particularly held for the reflexology techniques observed among North American Indians is that is that it originated from Incas civilization of ancient Peru in 12000 BC. In 1955, Dr. Henry Bressler pub lished a book called ‘Zone Therapy’ after studying the effects of applying pressure on certain points on feet and its effects on internal organs of the body. He wrote about the use of reflexology techniques in middle Europe countries and also stated its use to date back to the 14th century. Nevertheless, the technique of reflexology came to be realized as a definitive form of healing and therapy when Dr. William Fitzgerald, an ear nose and throat specialist documented that applying pressure to one part of the body can block pain signals in another part of the body, away from where the pressure is applied. He performed various minor surgeries involving ear, nose, jaw, face, throat and shoulder using this technique, without the need of using anesthetics (Keet 2009). In 1917, Dr. Fitzgerald and Dr. Edwin Bowers published their work on reflexology in their book ‘Zone therapy’. It divides the body into ten equal longitudinal zones through an imaginary line runni ng from the top of the head, down through the center of the body. Five equal zones on each side of the imaginary line end on the soles and palms. Zone one starts from the thumb, includes the arm, shoulder neck and the brain. Running downwards it moves straight towards the big toe. Zone two starts from index finger, running up to include the corresponding areas on the arm, shoulder, neck and brain, it moves down towards the second toe. The third zone starts from middle finger and includes the arm, shoulder, neck, brain and runs down towards the third toe. Zone four starts from the ring finger and includes arm shoulder neck and brain and runs down towards the fourth toe. Fifth zone starts from the little finger and extends up the arm to include shoulder, neck and brain and then down the body up to the fifth toe. Each zone includes the muscles and organs underlying its division. Dr. Fitzgerald also gave courses on reflexology and soon medical practitioners started adopting these techni ques and incorporating them in their practice. The credit for the development of this pressure point technique from ‘zone therapy’ to ‘reflexology’ goes to Eunice Ingham, who is considered as ‘mother of reflexology’ by many (Keet 2009). She related the zones on feet to the anatomical structure of the body. She also documented the higher sensitivity of feet to

History Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History Book Review - Essay Example Rosie the Riveter, often depicted as someone in overalls and a bandana, is portrayed as a woman of confidence and strength. The book effectively represents Rosie as a very womanly character who maintained her femininity despite being almost exactly the opposite of how women were stereotyped during that period. One can say that this concept of the â€Å"Rosie† image served as a model to mobilize women to take on factory jobs that the men left behind. She was portrayed almost as a superwoman of that age. She produces things that are superior to what any regular woman can do. She is beautiful and glamorous, muscular and strong. She has to be different from the typical American housewife yet maintain something in her that most American housewives would admire and want. She symbolizes the principle that production and work have nothing to do with gender. Rosie the Riveter’s whole essence is about change, and for this, she has several unions adopting her image as their symbol and was wholeheartedly embraced by the American working class women. In the book, author Penny Coleman expounds on the details of the efforts done by women for the work force during the World War II. They took over industrial works that were usually reserved for men while these men were away for the war. It was very efficiently written and focused, which is one good factor since it aims to educate mostly the young readers. The contents of a written work can usually be disregarded if the writing style is too much for the young minds. That is not the case in this book. It is also clear that the author skillfully delved into the changes that greatly impacted these women’s lives even beyond their own homes. Coleman included several first-hand details that depicted the different forms of struggles these women went through before, during, and after the shift from being housewives or working women’s jobs to the more male-dominated roles. â€Å"Rosie the riveter: Women

Capital budgeting decision is whether to lease or buy an asset Essay

Capital budgeting decision is whether to lease or buy an asset - Essay Example It is very important to study all capital investments options that are available with the firm because of the long-term consequences. The simplest example of a capital budgeting decision is to decide if a firm should buy an asset or lease the same. Buying the asset will result in capital investments while leasing will lead to operational outflow. Capital budgeting methods In order to evaluate the capital budgeting options available with it, a firm can use many of the following ways: Net Present Value: Net present value is the cash the firm will need today as a substitute of making the investment of purchasing the asset (Ross, Westerfield, Jaffe, 2004). If the NPV is positive, this means that the firm will get that cash amount equal to the NPV. The calculation of the net present value takes into account the time value of money along with the cash flow associated with the project throughout the lifetime. A project should be pursued if the net present value is positive. Internal rate of return: This is the discount rate that makes the Net Present Value of a project zero. If the IRR of purchasing the asset is greater than the discount rate, the asset should be brought. Otherwise, the asset should be leased. ... Profitability index: The profitability index ratio is an indication of the cost associated with the project viz-a-viz the initial investment made. The ratio can be calculated as: Accounting rate of return: Accounting rate of return is the rate of return that is generated from the proposed capital investment. Each method has its own advantages as well as disadvantages. While NPV calculation is based on too many assumptions including that of the future cash flows as well as the return on equity. The calculation is also based on the premise that the cash flows generated are invested back at the discounted rate which is not a realistic assumption. The internal rate of return calculation assumes that the returns from the project are re-invested in the project. However, this might not be true in most of the cases. In addition, if the project has multiple positive and negative cash flows, it may have several IRRs. As a result of this, firms shall use modified internal rate of return (MIRR), which is the discount rate that makes the investment equal to the future value of the cash flows from investment (Kierulff, 2008). The actual method used for capital budgeting decisions differ from firm to firm depending upon the size of the firm, the rate of growth of firm and leverage of firm amongst others. Graham and Harvey (2000) in their paper â€Å"The theory and practice of corporate finance: Evidence from the field† indicate that net present value and internal rate of return are the most popular methods used for capital budgeting decision methods. They also concluded that there is no dependence of the method used on the growth rate for firms with smaller debt ratios. Large firms are more frequent user of NPV as compared to smaller firms. Public companies are more likely to

Memo of Advice to Mr. US on Taxation System Case Study

Memo of Advice to Mr. US on Taxation System - Case Study Example The tax rates are applied to taxable income which is arrived after deducting all expenditure incurred by the individual as specified in IRS. Every US citizen (Mr.US) working and residing abroad is bound to report income from sources outside the United States under Form 1099 from foreign payer (Publication 525, 2010). According to Arnold and McIntyre (3) individuals confront serious risks of having to pay excessive levels of tax as Mr. US being citizen of US and resident of UK may have to deal with tax laws of both countries. However dual residence problems are generally resolved through the tie breaker in tax treaties between the two countries i.e. US and UK. Mr.US can be benefited from the double taxation treaty which follows the OECD Model Tax Convention. Mr. US shall file a report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) as his account is maintained by foreign organization in Mauritius, a labor agency which contracts the services of Mr. US to Newco in London for the period of five years. Tax Exchange Information Agreements between US and UK are incorporated in Double Taxation Treaty and Mr. US will have to comply with the double taxation treaty of filing the FBAR reports and paying income tax for his income earned for his services. Similarly, Labor Agency in Mauritius will pay taxes for its income from UK in Mauritius as well as United Kingdom as per the double taxation treaty existing between these two countries. As evident from the case study, Mr. US could face dual source issues arising through varying definitions in tax jurisdictions i.e. in US and UK. Mr. US may seek tax exemption within double taxation treaty between United States and United Kingdom. Mr. US may claim tax deduction in double taxation through exemption, credit or tax deduction through structured finance and possible exemptions in form of dividends and capital gains (Arnold and McIntyre,Ch. 15). It is informed that many tax jurisdictions do not grant deductions for future risk loss o r contingency provisions while some countries permit deduction for pension provisions. Mr. US shall get tax exemption from pension provision granted by Mauritius broker firm. The Mauritius broker company intends to open a discretionary trust in favor of Mr. US family owned by Mauritius firm. It is mentioned that shareholders dividends do not in any legally relevant sense arise in the taxing state which means the taxation belongs to the country to which the corporation belongs, i.e. Mauritius where the firm will be established (Arnold and McIntyre,Ch.3 53). The discretionary trust, where the remaining $225k have been diverted will be paid by the trust wholly under double taxation treat between two countries; United States and Mauritius, as the residence of trustees is in US while the trust is incorporated in Mauritius (Arnold and McIntyre,Ch.1, 21). Works Cited Arnold Brian J and McIntyre Micheal J International Tax Primer, Chapter

Contemporary Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Contemporary Strategic Management - Essay Example The report will be divided into two segments. The first segments will cover the strategic analysis of the company and the second part of the study will cover the strategic choice and strategic implementation. The strategic analysis will be mainly carried out to find the current situation of the company and the strategies used by them to operate in the market place. In order to evaluate those strategies of Vodafone, several strategic frameworks will be utilized. The strategic frameworks which will be utilized in this study are SWOT framework, PESTEL analysis, and BCG matrix. Apart from that, to analyse the UK telecom industry, Porter’s five forces framework will be used. The tools will be directly applied on Vodafone to identify its current situation, performance and ability. Furthermore, the report will also suggest the alternative courses of action by which Vodafone can operate and market its products efficiently in the future. After that an alternative will be chosen and its selection will be justified. Finally, the process of implementing the strategy will be enlightened. SECTION I – STRATEGIC ANALYSIS Vodafone: A Brief Overview Vodafone group Plc. is a UK based multinational company involved in the business telecommunication products and services. The company was founded in the year 1991. However its history goes back to 1983, when it used to operate as Racial Telecom (Vodafone, 2012a). Previously, the company had its headquarters at Berkshire, however recently it moved to London, United Kingdom. The company has presence in places such as Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, Europe and USA. Some of the major products and services of the company are prepaid and post paid voice services, mobile data services, MMS and SMS services, handsets, land-lines and digital television among others. It employs around 70,000 employees around the world. According to the recent media publications, the company holds a mammoth base of 407 million subscribers aroun d the world. Vodafone in listed in the London Stock Exchange and has listing in NASDAQ. With the changing business environment and rapid technological growth, the expectation of customers has also increased. Hence in order to meet the needs of the customers, Vodafone periodically updates its product portfolio by launching new products. For example implementation of 3G is the latest addition. The competitors of the company are Tesco, Fresh, Sainsbury, Virgin, BT Mobile and One Tel among others. Situational Analysis Situation analysis is a method by which companies evaluate their internal and external environment. This helps in understanding the firm’s business environment, customers, capabilities and core competencies (Davis, 2008). In this context i.e. to understand and identify the business environment, capabilities and core competencies of Vodafone, several situation analysis tools will be used. To understand the industry porter’s five forces will be used and to gaug e the external business factors PESTEL analysis will be used. In addition, to get an in depth information about the internal environment of the organization, tools such as SWOT framework and BCG matrix will be used. SWOT

Ethical and Legal Systems of Health Care Organizations Essay Example for Free

Ethical and Legal Systems of Health Care Organizations Essay Aetna Incorporated, a health care plan company, is one of the American leading companies in diversified benefits of a range of traditional and consumer directed health care insurance services. It includes vast service offerings in health care insurance from mental and behavioral health to long-term care benefits and other health-related care and concerns . (Aetna, 2007a; Wikipedia, 2007) Moreover, it is the nation’s pioneer in full-service health insurer that proffers a consumer-oriented health plan. Aetna provides its members with the opportunity to reach out on suitable tools and comprehensible information for them to perform based decisions regarding health and financial interest (Aetna, 2007a). For over 150 years, Aetna has been committed to supporting people in attaining health and financial security. The company establishes information and necessary resources to work for its members and clients for them to execute â€Å"better-informed decisions about their health care. Currently, Aetna membership numbers up to 15. 7 million (M) medical members, around 13. 7 M dental members and around 10. 5 pharmacy members (Aetna, 2007a). In terms of health care networks, it holds on more than 783,000 health care professionals, 458,000 major care doctors and specialists, 4,681 hospitals and a network called AexcelSM, of specialist physicians. Aetna is also the provider of benefits through national employers of small, mid-sized and large multi-state scales in all 50 states, as well as individuals and Medicare recipients in certain markets. Aetna: Code of Conduct The company’s Code of Conduct contains a unique and consistent set of values and standards of integrity and business practices. It mediates in guiding the company in complying with the laws, regulations and ethical standards that controls Aetna’s business functions (Aetna, 2006). According to the preface message of Aetna’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President Dr. Ronald A. Williams, every company’s employee, officer, and director is expected to follow the Code of Conduct because: a) it is the expectations of the customers from the company; b) they have a vow to live b their values, and; c) they would be functioning with the utmost principles of fair and ethical business guidelines given that they follow the contained guidelines in all their business aspects. However, the Code cannot cover all situations and Dr. Williams encourages the assistance or guidance of The Aetna Way and their Ethical Decision-Making Framework (to be discussed later in this paper) to conduct sound decisions and take the right actions in performing Aetna business practices. Ethical System The Code of Conduct contains ten (10) specific areas of topics in which the company discusses some policies on specific matters. The first one or Statement 1 deals with Conflicts of Interest that in general regards with the company’s requirement that its employees, officers and directors to keep away form real or obvious conflicts of interest to protect Aetna’s reputation. There should be avoidance in ownership interests or participation in excluded activities that would create a conflict of interest or interference in performing of a job. This requires reporting to the manager and compliance officer for review and sanction of affiliations on hand or ownership concerns that involves him or her or a family member or even a close friend residing in a home such as any positions with any â€Å"business, nonprofit organization or government entity that is an Aetna competitor, customer, provider or supplier† or for other cause or motives that may induce conflict of interest, and; getting hold of a considerable amount of partnership in possession of interest in any business or even partnership. However, the determination of conflicts of interest might sometimes be blurry and hence, guidance of a compliance officer might come necessary. There are also guidelines in the affiliations and interest of the Director and are not far-related to what have been discussed previously, and the review by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee must also re regarded relevant. There are also guidelines and rules in accepting or giving gifts; travel, entertainment and honorarium; discounts and preferential treatment; and loans and guarantees of obligations. Statement 2 deals with record-keeping and use of the company’s property and resources which should be entirely legal and proper. This is so since Aetna and any other companies for that matter, is mandatory to submit relevant documents, reports and public communication to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulators that also includes disclosure in a manner that is whole, impartial, accurate, timely and comprehensible. All of the company’s resources and property such s e-mail, internet and other computing and communications systems should only be used for the company’s purpose. Bribes and other illegal payments are also strongly discouraged by the company. Statement 3 embarks on fraud, dishonesty and criminal conduct since these apparently affect Aetna’s reputation and continued success. Hence, all business functions must be performed with honesty and with compliance with applicable laws, regulations and ethics rules. Statement 4 is with regards with protecting member and other confidential information of members, employees and the company itself from any inappropriate access, use or disclosure. This is also in integration and compliance with federal and state privacy and security laws that is applicable to the company. Private company information refers to member information, the company’s professional interests, and other relevant information about its clients, subordinates and even suppliers that might be used against the company or for the benefit of its competitor. This is applicable in the course of being under Aetna or after the affiliation with the company. Statement 5 deals with the company’s business and trade practices which should be complied with honesty and integrity since Aetna has its own laws and regulations that apply to the company’s business which are under federal law. The company’s Record and Management Policy is also strongly encouraged to be followed. Statement 6 encourages the company’s subordinates to support Aetna to be a responsible and trustworthy government contractor since the company treasures winning and keeping government contracts. This can be achieved by following federal, state and local laws that regards with government contracting and procurement. Employment laws must be also strictly complied with. The Code is also concerned with proper employment practices and welfare as well as the appropriateness of its workplace (Statement 7). The company complies with policies and programs that ensure the inclusiveness and safety or the workplace for its employees and business partners, promote fairness and respect for all, and promote a working environment where diversity and inclusion are appreciated. Federal laws that discourage discrimination, harassment, special personal relationships, violence and vices are strongly administered by the company. Such laws that are complied with in the company are the Equal Employment Opportunity and the Affirmative Action, which takes away the basing of business decisions on individual’s characters (such as sex, race, color, nationality, age and others; and the company’s very own Alcohol and Drug Policy that prohibits distribution, possession, use, purchase or sell of alcoholic beverages and illegal or prescription substances and drugs. Statement 8 deals with Aetna’s securities transactions which prohibits trade securities if an individual has no material nonpublic information about particular securities. Under this code, all are expected to comply to all insider trading and securities federal laws and the company’s own relevant regulations. Also included dealing and transacting with securities matters and management and secrecy of private information. The company and a subordinate could face civil and criminal consequence for insider trading since insider trading is unethical and unlawful. The statement also discusses on â€Å"material information† relevant in decision-making that concerns any transactions on the company’s securities. Statement 9 deals with the company’s interaction whether private or public to any external institution such as media organizations and even with the federal government. Anyone in close relation to the company and even its subordinates should not speak in behalf of Aetna only there was consent or authorization from the Board of Directors to take such action. Personal views should also be kept separate from the company’s view. He funds of the company should not be also utilized to engage on a lobbyist or to make a political donation except authorized by the Government relations. These are for the protection of Aetna’s reputation and an individual as well, under compliance of laws. Finally, Statement 10 deals with Aetna’s intellectual property. Apparently valuable, such property must be protected from improper use or disclosure whether owned by the company or licensed from others. Intellectual properties of the company must be controlled the legal and proper way. Usage of such property must be under approval of an internal legal counsel and in accordance with the Aetna Intellectual Property Guide. Policies on Aetna’s intellectual properties are also extended to the websites, videos, music and publications. Aetna’s ethical system as contained in its own Code of Conduct presents a vast range of policies that protects the reputation, integrity, security and welfare of both the company itself and its subordinates and members. As discussed above there are specific policies or code of ethics from recordkeeping, employee’s equal opportunity and to intellectual property rights. According to the company, all policies are established in compliance with federal laws. The company’s policies regarding conflicts of interest and confidentiality have general basis as concluded by the study in a position paper from the Society for Health and Human Values and Society for Bioethics Consultation Task Force on Standards for Bioethics Consultation (Aulisio, 2000). One of their conclusions is that, abuse of power and conflicts of interest must be avoided in health care companies. This is so since ethics consultants have the authority and power to influence clinical care and such power can be exploited. Since conflicts of interest can be partial to consultants’ recommendations, important personal or professional linkages with one or more parties should be disclosed and be get rid of. In addition, the personal concerns of the consultants may be affected by giving advice that could act against the company’s financial or public relations concerns. Policies that concern on recordkeeping and use of the company’s property and resources, and insider trading are all in accordance to federal laws specifically in the Securites Exchange Act of 1933 and 1934 (USSEC, 2007). The two basic objectives of the former it that to mandate investors or companies receive financial and other relevant information regarding securities being offered for public sale and forbid â€Å"deceit, misrepresentations, and other fraud† in the sale of securities. The latter states that insider trading is illegal when an individual trades a security while in ownership of nonpublic material information in disobedience of an obligation to withhold the said information or renouncement from trading. On the other hand, policies regarding the company’s employment practices are also observed in compliance with federal employment laws. Federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Laws prohibit job discrimination which covers almost all private employers, state and local governments, educational institutions and even the federal government (USEEOC, 2005). The said law is enforced by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and also complies with the American College of Healthcare Executives or ACHE (ACHE, 2003). Overall, Aetna covers the essential and core ethic issues in accordance to federal laws.

Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Goods: Impacts and Policies

Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Goods: Impacts and Policies Title: Illicit trafficking in cultural goods with special emphasis on Mauritius. INTRODUCTION The international market place for cultural goods is a billion rupees market. Every day in the world thief or looters are smuggling out cultural goods from their countries of origins and sold them to foreign countries. My aim in this project is to improve our understanding of trafficking in cultural objects in order to make people aware that illegal trading of cultural goods is an offense as cultural objects function as a repository of memory and which enable each culture around the world to speak about themselves and about their origins. Furthermore cultural goods are the only evidences left for us to promote and to safeguard one’s culture and origins. Cultural goods are the key artefacts and are part of universal story of humanity so once those cultural objects are crossing boundaries of countries to be sold illegally to foreign countries, at the same time our cultural identity is fading. And once those cultural goods are stolen, looted or destroyed, they will be lost forever, thus we must stop illicit trafficking in cultural objects. LITERATURE REVIEW Definition What is cultural good? We often see the terms cultural â€Å"property†, â€Å"heritage†, â€Å"goods† and â€Å"objects† interchanged. Each state has its own definition of cultural â€Å"goods†, â€Å"heritage† or â€Å"property†. And that’s why the two big international conventions addressing illicit trafficking in cultural objects, the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Export, Import and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects was created for the purpose of helping each state to get a more appropriate legal definition of the term cultural goods so as for them to be able to prevent trafficking in cultural objects and also to prevent the provenance of an cultural good. Under article 1 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Export, Import and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and under article 2 of the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention, both convention define the term ‘cultural property’, â€Å"as property which, on religious or secular grounds, is specifically designated by each State as being of importance for archaeology, prehistory, history, literature, art or science†[1]. And both conventions have set up a categories of cultural objects so as for each states to get a clear understanding of what cultural goods really consist of and as well this will help states to classify and draw a list of heritage which their countries possessed with the reference to the listed categories of cultural objects which both Convention have catered for.[2] Types of cultural heritage: 1) Tangible heritage 2) Intangible heritage tangible heritage is one that can be stored and physically touched. This includes items produced by the cultural group such as traditional clothing, utensils (such as beadwork, water vessels), or vehicles (such as the ox wagon). Tangible heritages include great monuments such as temples, pyramids, and public monuments An intangible heritage is what exists intellectually in the culture. It is not a physical or tangible item. Intangible heritage includes songs, myths, beliefs, superstitions, oral poetry, as well as various forms of traditional knowledge such as ethno botanical knowledge. For example for the Southern Kalahari San, each tree and many other physical sites are part of their intangible heritage as their history is associated with these sites through stories, names and songs.[3] WHAT IS ILLICIT TRAFFICKING IN CULTURAL GOODS? The illicit trafficking of cultural goods is a very complex problem. Illicit trafficking can be classified under various forms and it is a lucrative business. Factors like geography, political environment and socio –economic, are sometimes responsible for the rise of illegal trafficking of those cultural goods.[4] Illicit trafficking in cultural objects is when an individual or a group of people is generating a profitable underground market at the expenses of stolen artefacts or objects, of illegal excavation of archaeological and paleontological sites and of illegal import and export of cultural property. Trafficking in cultural objects allows criminals to seize an opportunity to deal with high amount of items that are very often lack protection. Thus, since these merchandise are poorly protected, the thieves or looters can do illegal import and export from countries to countries. In the paper, Perspective on the organisation and control of the illicit traffic in antiquities in South East Asia written by Christine Alder, associate researcher in criminology University of Melbourne, Duncan Chappell, Professorial Fellow, Center for Transnational Crime Prevention,University of Wollongong,Australia and by Kenneth Polk,Professor of Criminology,University of Melbourne, Australia during the International Conference on â€Å"Organised crime in art and antiquities† Courmayeur Mont Blanc, Italy12-14 December 2008 , the authors noted that since illicit tracfficking is a lucrative business, thus that type of market can become very dangerous as it dealt with a huge amount of laundered money. And when money is made while selling cultural goods, those making that money are often connected to police or military authorities, and take an unpromising and gloomy view of interference in their lucrative business.[5] The fact that illicit trafficking often deals with political development and economic crisis; this further worsens the fight of illegal trafficking of cultural goods. Moreover when a country possesses a rich culture, it is more vulnerable to cultural pillage. For example countries like Cambodia, Italy, Africa, Oceania, Eastern Europe, Greece and Turkey are very prone to plundering of cultural materials. Countries like Cambodia with a rich culture but with a poor economy are more likely to be victims of illicit trafficking of cultural goods. As Etienne Clement, UNESCO,Director saysâ€Å" Cambodia’s culture is very rich, but the country itself is very poor. It’s an ideal situation for illegal trafficking† (BBC online, 2004)[6]. In Cambodia since there economic situation are poor, the looters are usually local people hoping to earn a few dollars. In Cambodia has faced massacre of its cultural goods and the problem is still going on even if the UNESCO has intervene in Cambodia. Hundreds of statues are without heads and walls are often marked with Graffiti. Hundreds and hundreds of sites are being dug up every day, said Dougald ORe illy, the director of Heritage Watch, an independent group aiming to safeguard Cambodias cultural heritage. In Cambodia heritage sites are often difficult to get access and that’s why it is difficult for the authorities to police the sites. And as Dougald O’Reilly said to the BBC online, sometime UNESCO tend to focus on particularly size only then paying less attention to other important sites which dated from Bronze and Iron Ages(BBC online)[7]. And something which is more sad and alarming is when we witness how people little by little are selling their cultural identity and destroying their origins just for the sake of a few coins. This demonstrate that those thief or looter who are selling those cultural treasure lack notions on the history of their countries and on other hands they are forced to indulged themselves to this illegal act because they are also living in a poor conditions. Mr O’Reilly put further to the BBC online that in Cambodia, In some parts of the country, you can buy 10 kilograms of ancient iron from these cemeteries for just 25 cents, its very openly sold in local markets.[8] Moreover cultural objects can easily be sold as shop owner or dealers to promote their goods they even present evidences of plunder as a means of guaranteeing the authenticity of their merchandise.[9] Another problem why cultural goods are being able cross boundaries and reach foreign countries is because there is a lack of documentation regarding the provenance of cultural goods. And also, officials working in the field of exporting and importing have no or minimum knowledge of archaeology or lack notion of cultural studies therefore it is difficult for them to capture criminals and identify cultural goods. All these factors, contribute further for â€Å"heritage plundering†. And today, the illicit traffic in cultural property continues internationally and is estimated to be worth $4.5 million dollars a year.[10] Furthermore according to Dr. George Abungu, an archaeologist and the founding Director at Okello Abungu Heritage Consultant, he said that colonialism and the spread of Christianity are also responsible for the huge plunder of African heritage. African heritage was destroyed with the new religion such as for example, â€Å"the evangelisation of the African continent and the Black man’s heart†, and other were collected and transported in the name of His or Her majesty’s government.[11] Invasion by the British, German and the French are also responsible for heritage destruction. For example the British expedition in Benin City, Nigeria and those of the Asante Kingdom at Kumasi in Ghana. And such expedition were undertaken in Asia, South America, and in Africa and as well as in North America. And cultural goods were looted and those responsible for this illegal act were considered as lawful collecting rather than plunder.[12] The fact that cultural goods has the ability to communicate, either directly or by association, an aspect of reality which transcends time or space gives it special significance and is therefore something to be sought after and protected. Legal instruments to combat illicit trafficking in cultural goods Every day around the world, massive pillage of cultural heritage is taking place. Cultural heritage since it is irreplaceable by nature; therefore it should be protected at any cost. The illegal trafficking of cultural goods affects humanity greatly. This type of trafficking affects museums, private and public collections, legitimate owner or possessors, worship buildings, cultural institution and as well as archaeological sites if we do not take actions immediately. As we all know if cultural goods are destroyed completely, nothing will be left for our future generations. And today since many people want a rich and better future for their children and family and for their countries as well so as not to kill the rich culture of one’s family or country, many states have decided to work together to create severe laws so as to punish those responsible for the destruction of our only cultural objects left by our people and by nature. The magnitude of this type of trafficking is becoming very alarming and developed countries are not excluded from illicit trafficking like developing countries. For example countries like France, Poland, Russia, Germany and Italy are known to be the most targeted countries for heritage traffickers. For example in 40 years, the Italian Carabinieri ( The National Military Police of Italy) has recovered 800 thousands stolen or illegally excavated artefacts[13]. Furthermore, the destruction of our world cultural heritage should not be held responsible mainly by theft or looters, as factors like climate change, globalisation, wartime, pollution and uncontrolled tourists are also factors contributing to the destruction of cultural objects. Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria are facing massive heritage plundering. For example in Afghanistan, according to the Afghan Ministry of Culture, 35 artefacts and approximately 7000 books, housed in the department building were destroyed in the 4th September attack. Over a hundred cultural artefacts were rescued as well as 5000 books.[14] And the Director and the Representative of the UNESCO in Afghanistan, Mr Paolo Fontani has put forward in a statement at the UNESCO office in Kabul and has expressed his deepest concern on the protection of the cultural artefacts that, â€Å" Our first thoughts go to the victims of this ruthless act, and to their families†, adding that â€Å"the irreversible loss of these unique artefacts should be equally condemned, since such artefacts underpin the cultural identity of the local communities and provide the foundation over which the fabric of society should be rebuilt†.[15] For the purpose to protect the culture of the humanity and in order to preserve and conserve our cultural goods, a set of legal instrument has been created. The three main legal instrument to cater for our cultural heritage are the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Export, Import and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property of 1970, the UNIDROIT 1995 Convention and the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The Hague convention was adopted in 14 of May 1954 during the Second World War so as to combat massive destruction of cultural heritage. And the Hague convention was the first international convention aimed to protect cultural goods during armed-conflicts. The Hague convention deals with both movable and immovable cultural heritage including architecture, art or history, archaeological sites, work of art , manuscripts , books and other objects of artistic, historical and of archaeological inter est and as well as scientific collections of all kinds regardless of their origins and ownership. The article 4(3) of the Hague convention as follows â€Å"The high contracting parties further undertake to prohibit, prevent, and if necessary, put a stop to any form of theft, pillage or misappropriation of, any acts of vandalism directed against, cultural property. They shall refrain from requisitioning movable cultural property situated in the territory of another high contracting party† clearly said that each country should respect their cultural property and the cultural property of other foreign states. Concerned about the new phenomenon of trafficking in cultural property in times of peace, the international community, through the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)adopted in 1970 the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export, and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, which currently has 116 States Parties, including Mauritius. The 1970 UNESCO convention has set up 3 measures as follows: efforts in drawing up inventories, in certification and in education in order to fight illicit trafficking in cultural goods. The convention recommends each party who has ratified the UNESCO 1970 convention to prohibit the exportation of cultural property from its territory unless these cultural properties are accompanied by an export certificate. And the 1970 Convention also states that each nation should define their national treasure in a list and then these will be protected when stolen. The convention also provides mechanism for states to recover stolen property, but the nominated cultural property must be of national importance. The convention also consider that the protection of cultural heritage can be effective only if organized both nationally and internationally among States working in close co-operation and that that, as cultural institutions, museums, libraries and archives should ensure that their collections are built up in accordance with universally recognized moral principles. Furthermore, since we lack a list of cultural goods and services at the international level, the UNESCO has established a list to define cultural goods and services namely the UNESCO Framework for cultural statistics (FCS). This list classified each cultural goods and services in their respective categories. But this FSC was created in the 1980’s and has not been revised since then, nevertheless the FSC still serves us to get the proper definition of cultural goods and services.[16] The UNESCO also raises questions on previous cases which the 1970 convention does not covered which is a very good initiative taken so as to protect our heritage at the maximum. And moreover, in 1978 the UNESCO during intergovernmental committee, for promoting the return of cultural property for its country of origin or its restitution in case of illegal appropriation the ICPRCP[17] was established as a permanent intergovernmental advisory body by the UNESCO. Set up in 1978 by the resolution 20 C4/ 7.6/5 at the 20th Session of the UNESCO General Conference of UNESCO, the return and restitution committee comprises 22 Member States, which meet every two years and can also organize meetings. The main objective of this committee, is, to search for new solutions and means of facilitating bilateral negotiations, promoting multilateral and bilateral cooperation purposely to the restitution or return of cultural property as well as encouraging a public information campaign on the issue, and promoting exchanges of cultural property. Moreover, the 1970 Convention’s most important attribute are a provision for export certification. The cooperative measures are often enshrined in international agreements, that were noted earlier and also a mandate that parties restitute properties within their jurisdiction stolen from museums, monuments and so on. The UNESCO regime to protect cultural heritage also include non-binding declarations and recommendation to amplify the treaty framework. For example the 2003 declaration concerning the International Destruction of cultural Heritage largely responded to the demolition of two colossal Buddhist statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan by the Taliban government of that country. This declaration addresses the problem of intentional destruction, whether in peace time and wartime. mnbb [1] Article 1, 1970 UNESCO CONVENTION http://www.unesco.org/new/en/culture/themes/illicit-trafficking-of-cultural-property/1970-convention/text-of-the-convention [2] article 1 of the 1970 UNESCO convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Export, Import and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property and also see the Annex of the 1995 UNIDROIT convention .Article 1 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention and the Annex to the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention read as follows: â€Å" (a) Rare collections and specimens of fauna, flora, minerals and anatomy, and objects of palaeontological interest; (b) property relating to history, including the history of science and technology and military and social history, to the life of national leaders, thinkers, scientists and artist and to events of national importance; (c) products of archaeological excavations (including regular and clandestine) or of archaeological discoveries; (d) elements of artistic or historical monuments or archaeological sites which have been dismembered; (e) antiquities more than one hundred years old, such as inscriptions, coins and engraved seals; (f) objects of ethnological interest; (g) property of artistic interest, such as: (i) pictures, paintings and drawings produced entirely by hand on any support and in any material (excluding industrial designs and manufactured articles decorated by hand); (ii)original works of statuary art and sculpture in any material; (iii)original engravings, prints and lithographs; (iv) original artistic assemblages and montages in any material; (h) rare manuscripts and incunabula, old books, documents and publications of special interest (historical, artistic, scientific, literary, etc.) singly or in collections; (i) postage, revenue and similar stamps, singly or in collections; (j) archives, including sound, photographic and cinematographic archives; (k) articles of furniture more than one hundred years old and old musical instruments.† [3]www.sanculture.org [4] Illicit trafficking in cultural goods is, as other types of illicit traffics, a complex, vast and multifaceted issue. http://icom.museum/programmes/fighting-illicit-traffic/. [5] Organised crime in art and antiquities, Courmayeur Mont Blanc, Italy12-14 December 2008,p 93 edited by Stefano Manacorda,2009. [6] Race to save cambodia’s heritage, Kate Mcgeown, BBC online,2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3784135.stm [7] Race to save cambodia’s heritage, Kate Mcgeown, BBC online,2004. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3784135.stm [8]Kate McGeown, Race to Save Cambodias Heritage, BBC News. 9 June 2004 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3784135.stm [9] Organised crime in art and antiquities, Courmayeur Mont Blanc, Italy12-14 December 2008,p 98 edited by Stefano Manacorda,2009 [10] UTIMUT, Discussion on repatriation in the 21st century, Copenhagen 2008,p36, by Mille Gabriel and Jens Dahl. [11] UTIMUT,â€Å"UNIVERSAL MUSEUMS†:NEW CONTESTATIONS, NEW CONTROVERSIES, by George Abungu,p34 [12] UTIMUT,â€Å"UNIVERSAL MUSEUMS†:NEW CONTESTATIONS, NEW CONTROVERSIES, by George Abungu,p35 [13]www.unesco.org, 40 Years of Fighting the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Goods | Culture and development UNESCO Multimedia Archives [14] UNESCO office in Kabul, Statement by the Director UNESCO Kabul Office concerning the destruction of ancient artefacts in Ghazni, Afghanistan, www.unesco.org. [15] UNESCO office in Kabul, Statement by the Director UNESCO Kabul Office concerning the destruction of ancient artefacts in Ghazni, Afghanistan, www.unesco.org . [16] A note on the list of cultural goods and services,2004, http://www.unesco.org/culture/culturaldiversity/docs_pre_2007/clt_cpd_note_list_goods_services_en_092004.pdf [17] http://www.unesco.org/culture/laws/returncommittee Extra judicial Killing: Myth or Reality? Extra judicial Killing: Myth or Reality? How interesting it is that in Bangladesh the elite force named as Rapid Action Battalion [RAB] kills the arrested persons by the name of cross-fire and name them the criminals. Extra-judicial, thus the term is used to state the killings. It is called extra judicial because of its type, which works as a process outside the judiciary system of Bangladesh. Farid Ahmed in a non periodical web journal (2010), Such killings are often described in police reports as involving crime suspects who resisted arrests or attacked the police. Many of the victims, human rights groups charge, were killed while in police custody. But in their official statements, police said they were killed in the crossfire during violent incidents in prison facilities. The police were compelled to open fire at those attacking them, they said.  [1]   According to the Human Rights Watch (2006): One of the first publicized RAB killings was of the wanted criminal suspect Pichchi Hannan in Dhaka on August 6, 2004. This is when the era of extra judicial killing has started and still going on. Not only the RAB but also some other armed forces are involved in this kind of activity.  [2]   Whether extrajudicial killing is a myth or is it a reality is the main motive for me to conduct this research. A lot of people are being killed by the armed force, often named as elite force, but is it truly extra judicial killing or is the crossfire the reality, which one is true? We see a lot of incidents addressing the extra-judicial killings everyday when looking at the newspaper. Theres hardly any day with no crossfire news, and thus I think people should be clear about the extra judicial killing matter and to reveal the original fact as I conduct the research. My research will give a clear cut idea about the extra judicial killing and the scenario of our countrys perspective. However, it is often said by the authority and also by the political leaders that these so called extra-judicial killings are only the unfortunate deaths of the suspected criminals in the cross-fire. According to the Bangladesh Media article No extrajudicial executions carried out: RAB DG (2010): The director-general of the RAB, Hasan Mahmud Khandakar, addressing the media at the sixth anniversary of the elite law enforcement body in its headquarters on Sunday, told newsmen, A total of 622 suspected criminals were killed in by the RAB in crossfire across the country in the last six years, including 14 suspected criminals who were killed in the last three months. The RAB chief, however, claimed that no extra-judicial killing was carried out by the battalions personnel in the last six years.  [3]   The issue of extra-judicial killing is one of the big concerns for a country like Bangladesh where the chance of misuse of the theme, under the name of crossfire is highly possible for a 3rd world country like us. The concern of different human right organizations have argued about the extrajudicial killings and raised a lot of questions. My report will reveal whether the extra-judicial killing under the name of crossfire is true or just a myth. The History of Extra Judicial Killing As its name suggest, it is done outside the framework of the judiciary system of Bangladesh, which is the killings of a suspected criminal under the custody of the armed force, often using the term self protection or accusing the suspected criminal to escape; which is a violation of the rule of law. From the very beginning of Bangladeshs birth in 1971, different political parties used their political power to impetus the killings by the armed forces and used these forces in in violation of the law to consolidate power and maintain control. The continuous process started during the time period of BNP led govt. after forming coalition with three smaller parties: Jamaat-e-Islami (which won 4.3 percent), Jatiya Party-Naziur (1.1 percent), and Islamic Okye Jote (0.7 percent) in 0ctober, 2001. After taking power, to fulfill the one election agenda to fight against crime, and to tackle criticism from people, the govt. then deployed fourty thousand military personal to fight crime under the name of Operation Clean Heart. Thousands of people were arrested and at least 50 people were reported to be dead under their custody. Due to the failure of the operation, the government then decided to form an elite force group with a special unit of police with commando training called the Rapid Act ion Team, or RAT, which is now known as Rapid Action Battalion or RAB. As stated by the law, The main tasks of the RAB, according to the law, are to: Provide internal security Conduct intelligence into criminal activity Recover illegal arms Arrest criminals and members of armed gangs Assist other law enforcement agencies Investigate any offense as ordered by the government.  [4]   According to the Asian Human Rights Commission: The army killed 58 people in custody. See Asian Legal Resource Center and Asian Human Rights Commission, Lawless Law-enforcement the Parody of Judiciary in Bangladesh, August 2006.According to the Bangladesh NGO Forum for Secular Bangladesh, the army killed 53 people in custody and physically abused 7,000. See Forum for Secular Bangladesh, Violation of Human Rights by the Coalition Government of Bangladesh, September 2006.  [5]   However, the Operation Clean Heart did not succeed in bringing crime under adequate control, and vigilantism against so-called criminals continued. Hence the special police force proved unsuccessful in combating crime due to the lack of trained professionals, disorganization, and corruption in the force. Structuring from the experience from Operation Clean Heart, the government took steps to give the military a law enforcement role. Then, later on the RAB was created with the motto to fight criminals and reduce crime. According to a human rights lawyer: Critics complained that, rather than building a new crime-fighting force, the government should undertake efforts to reform law enforcement and the courts. Creating RAB, they feared, would undermine the police. With Operation Clean Heart in mind, some worried about using the military for civilian policing. They saw RAB as a way for the government to deploy the army for policing tasks, with one lawyer even calling it martial law in disguise. Other Facts Various human right watchdogs claimed that 1,142 victims have so far been slain in extrajudicial killings since 24 June, 2004 when the RAB began its journey by killing people in crossfire. Among the 1,142 victims, 149 were killed in 2004, 340 in 2005, 290 in 2006, 130 in 2007, 136 in 2008 and 97 in 2009. During the immediate-past emergency regime which continued for about two years, 322 people were killed in an extrajudicial manner. On the other hand, DG of RAB claimed that no extra-judicial killing is carried out but some criminals were caught in crossfire during the battle. He also claimed that 6,931 firearms have been seized by the RAB in the last six years 580 in 2004, 909 in 2005, 889 in 2006, 1,416 in 2007, 1,374 in 2008, 1,338 in 2009 and 425 in the last three months. The RAB arrested a total of 64,664 suspected criminals, after conducting drives throughout the country, on charges of various crimes including murder, kidnapping, extortion, tender manipulation, militancy and possession of illegal firearms. Of them 2569 in 2004, 4929 in 2005, 7277 in 2006, 13569 in 2007, 13378 in 2008, 16730 in 2009 and 4012 in last three months of 2010.  [6]   The attitude of people in law enforcement agencies has not changed, at least on the issue of extra judicial killings despite the judiciary ordering them to stop killing people under the guise of crossfire, encounter, and gunfight. Although much of such action has stopped, it is not a sustainable solution. But the decision has been hailed an eye-opener by many including human rights organizations. The High Court issued the suo motto order over extra judicial killings on November 17. It gave the government two weeks, initially, to explain why the killing of two brothers, Lutfor and Khairul Khalasi by law enforcement agencies in Madaripur on Nov.16 should not be declared extrajudicial. The government has yet to reply and the Attorney General has sought more time, presumably until the court resumes on January 3, 2010. During the year although there were some positive activities by the government, most sectors in the country were devoid of any human rights, the rule of law and good governance. Religious minorities were oppressed and press freedoms were violated almost every other day.  [7]   Only a few human rights organizations have long been asking the government to stop the killings, terming them extrajudicial. Moreover, the High Court of Bangladesh, on June 29, 2009, High Court of Bangladesh asked the government to explain why killing people without a trial, in the form of extrajudicial killings, is not being declared as illegal, and why measures are not being taken against the perpetrators. After this ruling, we still havent seen anything happen. However in recent times, after the Awami League came to power, many thought the Awami govt. will abolish the RAB. But, in march 2006, Seikh Hasina said, But we will not do so. Rather Rab will be given a special assignment to capture corrupt people.  [8]   Extrajudicial killings continue even in violation of the High Courts ruling. How can they continue? Its very alarming for human rights, democracy and the right to life. And why is the High Court silent regarding this gross human rights violation? Both governmental and nongovernmental sources have said that the death toll has reached 133 from such extrajudicial killings labeled as crossfire killings, encounter killings or gunfight killings by the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police since Jan. 6, when the Awami League-led government assumed office. In Bangladesh, we have a so-called democracy, but there is no rule of law if we consider extra judicial killing. Every day sees more killings of citizens by the state machinery, killings which are both well-planned and covered up. However, RAB never said that its extrajudicial killing. In contrast, Rab Director General (DG) Hassan Mahmood Khandker recently stated that, A total of 633 persons were killed in encounters with its members while 750 RAB men were punished for their unlawful acts. Among the 750 punished RAB members, 350 were sacked while the rest 400 suffered imprisonment in different tenures. Also RAB intelligence personnel are only on duty to tackle the criminal activities.  [9]   However, on contrary, extrajudicial killing have been going on very rapidly of violating the highest court ruling order, the Constitution and the Universal Declaration by law enforcers. The term extrajudicial killing means execution without justice. This is a grave human rights violation. Its both a violation of Bangladeshs constitution and of the UNs Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  [10]  But these types of killings still occur frequently in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh has been violating the constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights day after day since 2002 (including operation clean heart). In 2004, the BNP-Jamaat government made a decision about extrajudicial killings and formed the RAB. From March 26, 2004 until January 31, 2009, around 1,600 people (including 58 58 killed peoples in operation clean heart of 2002) have been killed without justice. The government of Bangladesh has sided with the extrajudicial killings. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has also said, in an indirect way, that extrajudicial killings will continue. She spoke clearly, upholding crossfire killings. What was said by our popular Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in New York is very unfortunate for the rule of law, democracy, the constitution, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the people of Bangladesh. According to the Bdnews24.com, Sheikh Hasina talked with journalists in New York on Sept. 27, 2009. Referring to crossfire killings at the time, she said, I do not believe in extrajudicial killings. But if anyone launches an armed attack (against a law enforcer), then they shouldnt be allowed to kill them like sitting ducks.  [11]   Bangladeshs elite Rapid Action Battalion continues to engage in extrajudicial killings despite Supreme Court directives to halt it. Although the court is handling the issue of extrajudicial killings, RAB does not seem to be bothered either about the judiciary or the countrys laws. The assertions of responsible people in the present government are shocking. Home minister Sahara Khatun recently said that, there was no crossfire. It seems, either directly or indirectly, the home minister and other ministers are defending the perpetrators of such crossfire killings. Finally we can say that, in Bangladesh has no rule of law. We want to say that the reports of so-called crossfire killings, encounter killings or gunfight killings that are made by the RAB and the police are totally false. We believe that terrorism should never be combated or controlled through state killings. It is the establishment of the rule of law that is essential to control terrorism. Conclusion Finally we can say that, numerous killings are being carried out extra-judicially; the perpetrators remain above the law; and the victims have no recourse to protection or redress under the law. This represents a violation of Article 31 of the Constitution, which reads: To enjoy the protection of the law, and to be treated in accordance with law, and only in accordance with law, is the inalienable right of every citizen, wherever he may be, and of every other person for the time being within Bangladesh, and in particular no action detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law.  [12]   However, beyond impunity, those responsible for such killings are being rewarded for their actions. Torture and the threat of extra-judicial killing are used by the police and the RAB to extract money from persons that they arrest. Furthermore, the RAB was even awarded the prized Independence Award to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on March 23, 2006, as part of Bangladeshs 35th Independence Day celebrations, for its activities. Therefore, it is revealed that this kind of activities by the RAB is clearly a false ideology to name the extrajudicial killing under the name of crossfire, is just only to eye wash the general public, and some day it may have negative effect on the society and country as a whole. So the govt. and the people of Bangladesh should raise its voice against it and it should be stopped soon.

Race And Religion In The Kite Runner English Literature Essay

Race And Religion In The Kite Runner English Literature Essay After reading the two novels I figured out how people lived with racism all around them in all forms and it only hurts more to know that such people still exist around us. To Kill a Mocking Bird covers various themes which are unified into the moral landscape of a small town. As we go through it slowly and gradually we find out about the good and bad times spent by the people living the era, its hypocrisies, its prejudices and racial discrimination amongst the people of their own kind. A more diversified look is further unified when we take a deeper look into the other novel The Kite Runner also based on the discrepancies in race and religion and the level of thinking between the two, though not blood related but brothers brought up under a same father. Race and religion being the only differences between both beings, apart from that nothing could pull them apart except for God. Racism is a result of human ignorance, social injustice, class differences, love and tension and lack of s elf education. The evidences in both the novels are carefully placed noticing not to hinder the originality of the theme. The novels broaden the readers mind, forcing them to analyze their own racial orthodoxies towards are own fellow beings. Racial discrimination is always considered to be a result of personal upbringing but this is definitely not the case when we look into the deeper side of the novels. In both the novels the author highlights the topic of racism together keeping in mind the basic theory of inhumanity against each other. Race has always been a big issue in all eras. Forming perceptions of ones self against people with different color is not too hard; going through differences and disputes at every stage of life is how people mainly develop racism not because they can inherit it from their parents. By the quote Did you know Hassan and you fed from the same breast? Did you know that, Amir agha? Sakina, her name was. She was fair, blue-eyed Hazara woman from Bhamiyan and she sang you old wedding songs. They say there is a brother hood between people whove fed from the same breast. Did yo u know that? Baba expresses his inner feelings about the two boys living their lives together, telling them that nothing should pull them apart (Hosseini, 64-65). As they have been fed from the same breasts and they share a special brotherhood bond, and brothers have nothing different from each other, no color, no religion, no race, no cast should divide them apart. Racial discrimination and prejudices is highlighted boldly in the novel as well as the quotes, in the novel it definitely does not idealize the black community. It defines the virtues of the Black community which the Whites lack, free from hypocrisies, they are shown to be caring, upright people and humble. Though the blacks are not found to be immoral, but still in certain conditions blacks are the only race which come in limelight of the masses, If a white woman sees two black men walking towards her and turns the other way, shes a racist. Well I got scared and didnt say anything, and the next thing I knew, I had a gun shoved in my head!(Crash,2004). Evidence is incorporated over here where it shows that race is still what matters in most conditions. People have this perception that black or of other ethnic minorities are bad and evil, whatever they do is bad, is against them, in some societies blacks and browns are considered to be thugs and criminals since the day they are born, while on the other side whites are considered to be the most well educated, civilized and morally suited people in the society. The society itself has made it hard for young men/adults of ethnic minority and casts to break free of this stereotype. Class status which had built up to make much of the adults world at that time also involved the young children in both the novels critiquing the moral perplexity of the young children giving evidence to the fact that, even though they were young they still had knew what was going on all around them. Scout being a girl in the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird also understood the scene and had an idea about what was going all around her, in school and in her small town. Social Inequality was practiced with great dedication in both the novels, for example Aunt Alexandra refusing Scout to consort with Walter Cunningham just because the Cunninghams belong at the bottom of the white social scale. The white community in general the Cunninghams are racially prejudiced who leads the angry mob to the jail where Tom Robinson who was accused of raping a girl was kept before his trial. After realizing that he was the one who helped him and his family, he calls off the mob. After that, it is one of the Cunninghams in the jury who supports Atticus delaying the verdict and the Cunninghams were proved to be prejudice, ignorant and violent but there is something about them which makes them deserve respect. A similar contrast is made when the Negroes are shown as a warm close knit community Scout refers to them as a solid mass of colored people. We as a society have gotten so emotionally complicated that we have developed a prevalent selfishness and laziness towards understanding others. It is easier to label someone as a gang-banger, because it dehumanizes them (Crash, 2004). The quote over here from the movie says how easy we have made to racially discriminate someone just to make ourselves feel better. The feeling of degrading someone who is not from the same race as us is overwhelming; the concept of labelling a black person or a person from a different indigenous group has been continued from an era where maybe not even our fathers were born in. Similar to the quotes from the movie, there is a good number of evidences from the novel out of which a few are mentioned here. Hassan is emotionally attached to Amir as a friend and considering him his brother. Hassan puts his life on the line for Amir, winning the kite fight competition was not until Amir returns with the losing kite to Baba in order to do so Hassan puts his l ife on the line not thinking about the consequences he has to face to redeem the kite for Amir. In the process he has to face Assef who physically and mentally abuses him, racially tortures him calling him a flat nosed Hazara. Hassan never did let go of his love and affection for Amir and Baba though Baba and Amir both mistreated him for being a Hazara boy and a low cast boy. Though Baba wanted to show his affection for him, he could only do it indirectly by either taking Hassan out with Amir for drives or paying for his cleft lip surgery. The time has come/to say fairs fair/to pay the rent/to pay our share (Midnight Oil, 1987). These lines taken from the song Beds are Burning, provides us with evidences that try to think from a different perspective of not judging people only by how they look or whats their color is. It says try getting into other peoples skin and pay for the sins that we have made being racists Amir and Baba had committed sins that they tried to redeem being in lo ve with each other. The ink is black, the page is white/Together we learn to read and write/A child is black, a child is white/The whole world looks upon the sight, a beautiful sight/And now a child can understand/That this is the law of all the land, all the land(Three Dog Night,1957). The verses describes prejudice discrimination amongst black and white which have now been surely cleaned off, it says that now black and white will work together no one can be on its own, we all have to work in collaboration with each other. The perception of racial discrimination no longer exists is what the verses portray but in the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a white girl. He represents the mocking bird, innocent, loving and caring trying to make everyone happy just like the mocking bird itself which does not harm anyone but sings beautiful songs makes them happy and heals their wounds. Tom Robinson was just accused for a crime which he did not commit but because he was black and from the minorities the prejudice still continued. Finally racism not only appeals the greater audience but also gives a broader aspect in our current times, but it should not be the way it is. To a great extent lack of self education, ignorance and personal issues all lead to prejudices and racial discrimination. Even though more and more people are being educated every day, more connections are being made all over the world in all walks of life, still discrimination and racism prevails. Ignorant human beings amongst us roam around freely, still practicing the cruel act of racism. Who in my opinion should be punished for the sins they are committing, sins which are definitely their deeds and non-redeemable. Being prejudice or a racist is no one mans job and it is definitely not inherited but the concept is what matter, teachings and ideas from our ancestors about black being bad and white being the good is what is still killing our future generations which are indeed getting ready for this difficult race and fight. To accomplish thi s task our generation and the one coming ahead of us will certainly have to erase the stereotype of being and living in a racist society. All men are same, be they be white, black, brown or yellow all our of one bred, we all have the same rights and we for sure have the same mind, the only difference is the way one thinks and judges the other. If only people could start erasing the differences that are created by lack of self education, ignorance and social injustice.

Yangtze River :: essays research papers fc

The Yangtze   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China, the worlds biggest country, is so large it is the home to the fourth longest river in the world. China alone has over 100,000 miles of inland waterways that are open to navigation. The country's most important inland waterway is the Amur River, but that is nothing compared to the Yangtze River.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Yangtze is one of the most economically important water way of not just China, but of the world! Unlike the Amur River the Yangtze River is not icebound in the winter and because of that it accounts for over 40% of the nation's waterways. At 3,716 square miles long it places as the fourth longest river in the world, and the longest river in China and in Asia.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Though this river is a great source for transportation, it wasn't until 1961 that it became officially one of the 15 principle waterways. With 243.7 cubic meters of annual runoff and mild winters around the river it's not a real stretch to believe that the river contributes to almost half of the crops and irrigates a little under 70% of the country's gross volume of rice. It also contributes to much of China's cotton, wheat, barley, corn, and hemp. There are also many large cities next to the Yangtze, many of which have a population of over 1,000,000 people. These cities would consist of Nanking, Wu-han, Chung-king, and Ch'eng-tu.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The river's course begins in the Tibetan Highlands. In these highlands the people there are mostly in Agriculture and Cattle Farmers. The summers are warm and the Winters cold. The growing season lasts for 4 or 5 months in the summer. The people are predominately Chinese with many minorities. They Minorities consist of the Dungans, Nepalese, and Indians.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Here in in the high mountains of the Tibetan Highlands is the sources for this mighty river. The T'ang-ku-la Sun-mo, in the T'ang-ku-la mountains, is 18,000 feet above sea level. The second source is the Ulan Muren. The Ulan Muren is actually a Tibetan which it is more commonly called by, but the Chinese name is Wu-lan-mu-lun. This source is the southern source, but it is also the main source.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The upper course of the Yangtze begins in the Tibetan Highlands and flows through a spacious scenic valley spotted with lakes and resivours. At the end of the Highlands the river character changes. It descends from the great altitudes and winds it's way South of Pe-yen-ka'a-la Shan.