Country analysis of The Democratic Republic of Congo Essay Example for Free

Country analysis of The Democratic Republic of Congo Essay This location allows grief from neighboring countries on the other hand it is in an ideal location by way of trade routes to other countries and access to the Atlantic Ocean and the Congo River. The Democratic Republic of Congo is also dense with valuable minerals making it regarded as one of the richest countries as ar as natural recourses go. However, it is one of the poorest countries in the world In 1998, the second Congo war began, this war was also known as The African world war. It directly involved nine other African nations: Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and a few others. The war started because neighboring countries as well as citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo wanted to gain some of the minerals and natural resources from the nation originally creating a civil war which spread to other nations, sucking them in and starting a full out war between the countries. The war officially ended in 2003 however; battles and bitterness still resound and cause mass conflict between the African nations today. This war is said to be the worst conflict since World War II. Around five and a half million people have been killed so far due to this conflict. About 90% of the victims were not killed in battle. They passed on due to ravaging diseases such as malaria. They also died from pneumonia and malnutrition. These reasons for death were brought up by displaced populations living in unsanitary, heavily over populated conditions and were denied access to food, water, medicine, and shelter. This ongoing war has devastated a nation that in theory could be a rich, well off nation. The Democratic Republic of Congo has mass amounts of untapped raw mineral deposits. These deposits are worth 24 trillion dollars. This nation contains 30% of the worlds diamond reserves and 70% of the worlds coltan. There are also enormous reserves of gold, copper, and cobalt. The mineral extraction is done in a process known as artisanal and small scale mining. Mining has created severe problems in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There were many illegal organizations profiting off the mines. Because of this, the government shut down the eastern part of the country to mining. During the war, many of the commanders were making illegal trades with foreign countries with their minerals and natural resources. This trading was labeled as mass scale looting. When the mass scale looting died down soldiers were then encouraged to take part in small scale looting. This brought forth the active and extraction phase. Because of all this looting, there were large amounts of inflation. The Congolese government lost much of their profits from Uganda and Rwanda to transport their resources. They often exported diamonds and coltan out of the country. They would then repackage the diamonds and legally sell them as it they were from their own country. Rwandan soldiers made around 20 million dollars a month from smuggling resources out of the Democratic Republic of Congo. These large mining operations attract migrant workers. Many people migrate to The Democratic Republic of Congo as well to escape the violence in the Great Lakes region. The number of immigrants has been rapidly decreasing over the years. The mass amounts of immigrants have taken over the work force there. In recent years immigrants are starting to migrate to the European nations rather than other nations in Africa. Due to the dense population and poor living conditions, poverty runs rampant through this nation. This also means there are large amounts of crime even though there is a police force, the Congolese national police force. One of the most prevalent crimes in this area is of rape and sexual slavery. The Democratic Republic of Congo is known as the rape capital of the world. With the recent war, the numbers of rape victims have drastically increased. Although the Congolese law rohibits rape these laws are almost never enforced. Rape was a main weapon used in the Second Congo war, which started this ongoing epidemic of sexual violence. Prostitution and human trafficking are prohibited and have a penalty of twenty years in Jail according to the law. However, there will be years where there is not a single investigation of either of these. Proving that the laws are not as heavily enforced in these areas, as they should be. There are also no laws against spousal abuse. This lack of law enforcement is brought up by the lack of a stable and secure government rom the ongoing war. Left with an insecure government the nation is slowly starting to repair itself. The Lusaka Peace Accords set up a government system in 1999. A president was finally elected in 2006. The economy is starting to take a turn for the bright side but it is still wrought with poverty and a failing economy due to the war and mining conflicts. Due to the violence and unstable government, there are few markets and public services. This does not allow farmers to be able to sell their own goods. It forces civilians to fend for themselves. Due to the lack of public services, here are very few hospitals and medicals centers. Disease runs rampant through this nation. Since this nation is so heavily populates diseases spread easily through the communities. There are vast amounts of major health problems in this region including; HIV, aids, malaria, polio outbreaks, cholera, typhoid, yellow fever, the Ebola virus, hemorrhagic fever, and tuberculosis. Many of the illnesses are from poor living conditions, living in filth and with bugs. Diseases are spread through bug bites. Diseases like HIV and Aids are easily spread through a multitude of ways. Diseases re spread through the movement of soldiers and refugees, few HIV testing sites, mass amounts of untreated sexual diseases, human trafficking, sexual abuse, prostitution, and diseased blood transfusions. Due to the ongoing wars and conflicts, it has made it difficult to set up an organization for stopping the spread of these diseases. Because of how poor the civilians are, they have no money for medical help, which is expensive and required to be paid in advance in full cash. The Democratic Republic of Congo is not only rich with minerals but is also a great agricultural location. The general temperature ranges between 68 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit. It is a region covered with rainforest and savanna areas. The farming is done mainly in the open savanna areas. Some of the major cash crops include peanuts, beans, bananas, plantains, rice, yams, and sugarcane. Cottee is also a major crop grown here. It is one of the most exported natural resource. Most of the farming is done through the Feronia Arable Farming division. Smaller farmers often use the slash and burn method of farming nearer the rainforest. This method however, is destroying the environment and the rainforest. Using the slash and burn method it takes around fifteen years before the burned field can recover and be used again making the farmers cut down more and more of the rainforest to sustain products and and income. The Democratic Republic of Congo is an up and coming nation it requires vast amounts of revision with the nations government system, the conflicts with other countries need to be amended, and laws should be more strictly enforced to create a working nation. The DRC has the potential to be one of the richest nations in Africa by way of its large mineral reserves and demand on the natural resources cultivated here. Major reforms need to be made before this country thrives.

International Marketing and Digital Media

International Marketing and Digital Media Yanika Limbu, Deevanshu Sahni, Ravreet Kaur TACTICS, OPERATIONAL FACTORS, CUSTOMERS TARGETING AND OUTCOMES: Every business should have its perfect plan to achieve its goals. As for our company to sell our products in the China we are using social networking sites as one of the media to promote and sell our products. There are many social sites in the world and we are choosing those social networking which are famous in China. The social networking sites we are choosing as follows: WEBSITE: Firstly, we are promoting our products through our own Companys website where we will explain everything about products price, ingredients, usage and benefits. Nowadays, everyone use internet to search about new products in the market. So it is advantage for us to have our own website where we will keep posting about our new products arrival, promotion and discounts. As website is available for 24/7 so customers can easily get accessible from anywhere anytime therefore, it will help us to cover a wide range of market (kazdesignworks, 2016). Chinese women which age from 25 to 54 are our main customers as our product is related to beauty care. Like, as mentioned before website is easily available for everyone so our main target customers also fall under this category. They are from young to middle age women who are busy in their own life but with the help of website they can buy the product and no need to go to store. So, with the help of website we can know whether customers are interested in our product or not and are we achieving our goal. For that purposes, we can use different kinds of indicators like Google Analytics and Goal Conversion tracking which will help us to know how many customers have buy our products. In a same way, through Engagement metrics will help us to know that how many times customers are visiting our website. Therefore, if customers are visiting our website more frequently then we can say that they are interested in our products (yola, 2013). WECHAT: WeChat is one of the best platform for the cosmetic products sales in China as in 2015 it had user of 600 million in every month and it is still growing (Eggplantdigital, 2016). So, we can say that many Chinese people are using WeChat for the online shopping. We can set our own WeChat Shop through we can communicate with our potential customers where we can know customers buying habit. As well as, customers can ask questions about the products features and we can give answers for their queries. Nowadays, Chinese people are more interested in buying online rather than going store because its easy and simple with just one touch on the picture of the product (Dickson, 2015). According to the WeChat Impact Report, the users are ages from 18 to 35 so most of our target group are falls under this category (Mobile, 2016). So, users can look picture of our products and they can always give their feedback at any time. With the given feedback, we can improve our product according our customers demands. If our product is like by Chinese customers then they can spread the goods words and share experience with others. As a result, we will get good promotion and more new customers for the product. Likewise, we can offer users free sample and discount by encouraging them to be our member through WeChat shop. As mentioned before, this is a good platform for communicate with customers personally to know their opinions about the products. So, we can present some problems related to skin and ask the customers to give solution later we can select best one and give them rewards. Therefore, it will boost our sales and customers will be more curious about our products. Last but not least, the main benefit of using social media is online payment, like in WeChat there is also online payment which is very convenient and fast for customers (OKOMP, 2015). WEIBO: Another social media we choose to follow to promote and sale our product in China is Weibo which had 280 million user in 2013 that covers almost 45.5% of internet user (HKTDC, 2014). Therefore, it is used by almost everyone in China and it covers our target age group too. Like other social media, it also gives and shares information through video and post regarding new things like products, events and news to anyone. So, it will be great opportunity for us to reach many potential customers in China. We can post and update our product features on Weibo so that users can share the post to their friends and community. As a result, many people can know about our product and helps us to create product awareness in the market. According to Sina Weibo Data Center, with the help of incentives like discounts and gifts users who were not interested buying online products are willing to share the information to their friends and families by sharing the videos and posts (HKTDC, 2014). The refore, we can offer gifts certificate and discounts to attract user to share and promote our product through sharing the post to their friends and communities. Once we have regular customers, we can communicate with them more often and they can also leave their comment on the Weibo page. Customers can know our new arrival product or any special promotion through the Weibo page. According to the HKTDCs Survey on Chinas middle-class consumers, agree that I believe in the products recommended by people I follow on Weibo and WeChat and am interested in giving then a try (HKTDC, 2014). Thus, we can say that most of Chinas customers purchase the product how others gives review it like positive or negative through social media.

Importance of Age Discrimination in Employment Regulations

Importance of Age Discrimination in Employment Regulations Abstract This dissertation discusses the rationale for age discrimination legislation, examining both evidence of age discrimination and incentives for employers to discriminate based on age. Questions concerning the justification for and effectiveness of age discrimination legislation are likely to become progressively more significant in light of a rapidly aging population in the United Kingdom, and an often misunderstood and victimized youth. This dissertation presents a summary, critical review, and synthesis of age discrimination legislation. At the outset, it traces out the background of age discrimination and discusses implementation of the new law. It then reviews the existing research on age discrimination in relation to younger and older workers- research which addresses the rationale of legislation, its effectiveness and criticisms. Finally, it looks for answers from the United States and draws a conclusion. In writing this dissertation it was found that empirical tests and certainly commentary on age discrimination were far less numerous, more varied and sometimes less direct than those relating to race or gender discrimination. Neumark believes that there are two reasons for this: research on age discrimination had and continues to have less urgency, because older groups generally do not suffer the sizable pay differences associated with gender and unemployment rate disparities, and; regression-based empirical methods for gender and race are not thought to affect productivity as with age discrimination.[1] Introduction Discrimination: Treatment and Equality Unfair discrimination takes several forms, some more invidious than others. Fortunately, the Framework Directive forbids both direct and indirect forms of discrimination. Direct discrimination arises, for example, where due to the victim’s gender, age, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, that individual would not be treated with the same opportunities and benefits as another individual in comparable situations. In other words, direct discrimination is where an individual is treated less favourably on a forbidden ground, such as age, than another person would be treated. Indirect discrimination on the other hand, occurs where a seemingly neutral practice or rule puts individuals of a particular age, for example, at a specific disadvantage compared with other individuals, and where it is not objectively justifiable. On this basis, two central components relating to discrimination emerge: treatment and equality. The treatment component suggests that discrimination is often due to the failure to treat a person as an individual: The point is not always appreciated by those who write about discrimination, perhaps particularly by those writers who lack personal experience of discrimination. To them it is a puzzle that the remedy for discrimination is seen politically as a matter of groups rather than individuals, for in the traditional debates of liberalism, the wrongs of inequality of opportunity, for instance, are wrongs done to individuals and the remedies are equally atomistic. But discrimination has displaced simple injustice in the language of social and political oppression precisely where it transcends the individualism of traditional liberal values and acknowledges that group-related wrongs are in issue †¦ The issues here are often obscured by the valid assertion that discrimination is what it is in virtue of treating someone as a member of a group rather than as an individual. In contrast, in allocative situations the proper thing to do is to allocate by the merit, ability, need, capacity of the individual concerned rather than on the basis of average (or stereotyped) properties of members of that group †¦ In this sense discrimination is the failure to individuate, that is to treat on an individual basis.[2] Nonetheless, it is the principle of equality which underpins anti-discrimination legislation. Bernard Williams propounds the idea that the central ethical basis of discrimination seems to be that even though human beings may be unequal in their skill, intelligence, strength or virtue, ‘it is their common humanity that constitutes their equality.’[3] All of us share common humanity and are entitled to be considered equally on the grounds of individual merit rather than on the grounds of group stereotypes or suppositions. Nowadays, this is not simply a moral idea but it is also an economic and social necessity.[4] Furthermore, the demands of our modern technologically progressive society for a skilled and working population imply that it is not only unfair but economically damaging to discriminate unduly on the grounds of generalisations and stereotypes. This point was expressed succinctly be Andrew Smith MP, the Minister for Employment, Welfare to Work and Equal Opportuni ties: To base employment decisions on pre-conceived ideas about age, rather than on skills and abilities, is to waste the talents of a large part of the population. In ten years time, for example, more than a quarter of the workforce will be aged over fifty. This is a huge resource- for businesses and for the country- which could be wasted unless we tackle the way stereotypes based on age wrongly exclude people from jobs and training. It is a resource that we cannot afford to waste.[5] Age Discrimination The Age Discrimination in Employment regulations, taking effect in 2006 will make discrimination on the grounds of employment unlawful. Currently, however, discrimination on the grounds of age is not unlawful in the United Kingdom, insofar as it does not amount to discrimination on other grounds, for example sex discrimination. In Secretary of State v Rutherford, for example, a man, who was aged 67, was dismissed by his employers on redundancy grounds.[6] Any person older than 65 years, in conjunction with Sections 109 and 156 of the Employment Rights Act is not entitled to redundancy payment. In the Employment Tribunal’s opinion, a higher proportion of males worked beyond retirement age than women, therefore, the legislation was seen to be discriminatory against men. Although the judgement was reversed, the case clearly illustrates the relationship between age and sex. Preceding the 1997 general election, the Labour Party was faithful to age discrimination legislation. However, following the General Election, it was decided that a non-statutory route was more favourable. It was thought that ‘on balance, there was no consensus of opinion on legislation and a strong case for legislation was not made during the consultation.’[7] Thus, following a consultation, the Government introduced the Code of Practice on Age Diversity on Employment in 1999, rather than legislation on age discrimination. This tactic was a failure, as the following survey suggests. A survey was conducted in 2000 on the Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment. Of 800 companies interviewed in a Department for Education and Employment survey, only 1% introduced a change as a direct result of the Code of Practice on Age Diversity in Employment and just 4% believed that a future change was likely.[8] Two thirds, 68%, of the respondents believed that a future change linked to the Code was unlikely, with a quarter, 27%, uncertain as to whether they will introduce the change or not. The main reason given for no change was the credence that their company practice and policy already meets the guidelines. The survey intended to cover a cross section of randomly selected employers, with results weighted to imitate the profile of companies in Great Britain. When asked directly about the Code, 29% of companies were aware of the Code, with awareness being notably higher in large companies, where 60% were aware of it. Nonetheless, only a quarter, 23%, who knew of the C ode had actually seen a copy of it. In one survey, 86% of all respondents favoured a statutory approach to age discrimination in employment, compared with 13% preferring a voluntary one.[9] Gender and race discrimination have been the principal focus of researchers studying discrimination and are thus by far the most vociferously debated. Nevertheless, a comprehensive analysis and understanding of age discrimination is crucial. The simplest definition of age discrimination, which highlights much of the empirical work on race and gender discrimination, is aversion on the part of employers for hiring from precise subgroups of the population, as in the Becker employer discrimination model.[10] Neumark believes that such ‘discriminatory tastes are most easily interpreted as based on animus.’[11] He also states that discrimination may be based on ‘incorrect stereotypes,’ which cause employers to treat employees differently, for instance due to age; a feature which is isolated from productivity or costs.[12] That said, Neumark recognises differential treatment based on age for reasons other than animus or stereotypes, but warns that interpreting whet her such treatment is discriminatory is notoriously complex.[13] The tension lies in distinguishing between differential treatment based on age and factors that happen to be related to age but are not necessarily driven by age related considerations per se. The Government’s consultation document failed to sufficiently define age discrimination; it simply stated: It is hard to define age discrimination succinctly. The consultation made it clear that there can be both direct and indirect forms of age discrimination in employment. The most obvious forms are where people held strong, stereotypical views about a person’s capabilities to do a job or to be developed because of their age.[14] There is an inherent difficulty with arriving at an acceptable definition because the concept of discrimination implies that there is a discrete group who are being discriminated against, yet, in the context of age discrimination, ‘everyone has some age.’[15] In other words, to define age discrimination in terms of discrimination on the basis of age is unacceptable, because it identifies the discrete group as the entire population. The Government’s consultation document does not define these distinct groups but speaks of discrimination as it affects large numbers of workers. As Sargeant notes, the mistake with this approach is that it fails to recognize solutions which might be age specific, for example, the solutions for discrimination against younger workers might be different to the discrimination against older workers.[16] A comparative analysis of age discrimination in the European Community offers the following definition: Direct discrimination: measures targeted at older workers based solely on grounds of age, and no other factors, such as abilities or health. These measures use specific age limits to exclude older workers from, for example, training and employment schemes, or from applying for jobs †¦ Indirect discrimination: measures which are not directly age-specific, but which have disproportionately negative impact on older workers, compared with other age groups. This hidden discrimination usually has the most widespread negative impact on older workers in employment.[17] However, age discrimination does not take place simply in relation to older workers; it also takes place in relation to younger workers also, as the following discussion will demosatrate. Main Body The New Law The age component of the European Employment Framework Directive is to be implemented by the United Kingdom Government in October 2006. Consultation was resolved in October 2003. The Regulations are intended to afford protection for a number of different categories: people who are working (including agency workers and self employed workers); work applicants; people undertaking for or applying for employment training; people undertaking or applying for further education or higher education courses; members, or applicants for membership, of trade unions or a trade or professional bodies. The protection will apply to both direct and indirect discrimination, including victimisation and harassment. The current state of the transposition of the age discrimination provisions vary from member state to member state. Some member states, including the United Kingdom, have utilised a delay in transposition, taking advantage of the provision outlined in Article 18. The United Kingdom government has taken an approach that includes both detailed consultation and active awareness raising; which is welcome. It is also reviewing wider equality issues and has sought a delay to enable it to embark on this work. For this reason, there is considerable uncertainty over the detail of the age legislation because it is not known how the government will implement Article 6 of the Directive Article 1 Equal Treatment and Employment and Occupation Directive, provides that the purpose is to provide a general framework for combating discrimination in relation to a number of grounds including age.[18] The Directive does, however, cover a number of other areas besides age. The Preamble refers to equal treatment and the right to equality before the law and protection against discrimination, as recognised by the UN and ILO declarations. Article 3 informs that Article 1 will apply in relation to conditions such as access to employment, access to vocational training, employment and working conditions and membership of employers’ or workers’ organisations. Article 4 permits the discretion that a difference of treatment may be justified where there is a ‘genuine and determining occupational requirement, provided that the objective is legitimate and the requirement is proportionate.’ Article 6 refers to justifications in differences of treatment due to age. It follows that differences in treatment may be justified if ‘they are objectively and responsibly justified by a legitimate aim including legitimate employment policy, labour market and vocational treatment.’ Examples of such differences were provided as: where there are special conditions for access to employment and training, including dismissal and remuneration for young people, older workers and persons with caring responsibilities in order to promote their integration into the workforce; fixing minimum conditions of age, professional experience or seniority for access to employment or certain advantages that are linked; fixing a maximum age limit for recruitment which is based either on the training requirements of the post, or the need for a reasonable period before retirement. In order to set in context the problem of age discrimination and therefore the benefits of the new legislation, it is necessary to refer to statistical evidence. One in four people in their fifties and sixties report that they have experienced discrimination in work or when applying for a job[19] and one in five people are discouraged from applying for a job due to ageist recruitment advertisements.[20] In addition, almost a million people over fifty who would like to work are not working.[21] The Government estimates that the economy will benefit by over  £1 billion during the first twenty years with the new age legislation.[22] Similar figures are mirrored in an interview of 150 people, where 78% of older workers, who had been victims of ageism, said that the experience continued to stay with them and ‘scar’ their lives.[23] The same survey revealed that 71% found that ageism effected their mental wellbeing, with one in three believing that it had affected their marr iage. The delay in transposition of the Directive, in terms of the United Kingdom government, was taken in order to enable it to conduct consultation and awareness- raising. In this respect, AGE has called upon the member states to establish an independent body with powers to promote awareness and ensure compliance on age. The Directive does not make such a provision but it is undoubtedly important for employers to receive advice and guidance. The United Kingdom government has created an advisory group on the Directive, from a range of stakeholders and a taskforce on the creation of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. These bodies intend to compliment the government’s Age Positive Campaign, to promote positive attitudes amongst employers. BT has welcomed the new legislation, already instigating a proactive approach to employing older workers: A work environment that actively supports all our employees is central to BT’s culture, and equality of opportunity- regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, disability or age- is championed throughout the company †¦ Encouraging diversity and developing an inclusive culture is vital to our strategy of creating customer-focused business †¦ Promoting diversity and inclusion is for us a way of establishing a meritocracy within the company and is a means of ensuring that we have the right people in the right jobs. In many ways our commitment to diversity and equal opportunities has gone beyond the business case.[24] It has introduced a portfolio of flexible options to support a decade of retirement for its employees and this has seen an increase in its proportion of employees aged over 50 from 13% to 24% in three years.[25] If this is an indication of support by employers about the new legislation, it is to be welcomed.[26] Such rapid and early changes are highly advantageous to employers, since they can gain a comprehensive insight of the laws in advance and are thus more likely to avoid claims of age discrimination and associated costs. Certainly, the United Kingdom, along with other industrialized countries, has a rapidly ageing population. Therefore, age discrimination legislation will become increasingly more important. In 1971, half of the population was aged under 34.1 years,[27] with the median age rising to 38.4 years in 2003.[28] This is owing to declines in both fertility rates and mortality rates, for example, between 1971 and 2003, the number of under-16s fell by 18% while the number of people aged 65 and over rose by 28%.[29] [30] Continued population ageing is inevitable during the first half of this century, since the number of elderly people will rise, as the relatively large numbers of people born after the Second World War and during the 1960s baby boom became older.[31] Indeed, projections suggest that the number of people aged 65 and over will exceed the numbers aged 16 from 2013. [32] Furthermore, the working age population will also fall in size as the baby-boomers move into retirement and since relatively small numbers of people have been born since mid- 1970s.[33] Another report, by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development claimed that if nothing is done soon, standards will fall.[34] This is one demographic argument in favour of the new legislation: there is a need to retain older workers in the workforce, because there will be a reduction in the number of young people entering it. The other demographic argument is to raise the retirement age, so as to stop people becoming an economic burden on a reducing workforce.[35] Never before has age discrimination legislation been so essential! It was reported in Equal Opportunities Review that the Irish Labour Court awarded  £6,000 to a legal secretary, who claimed that she had been discriminated against on the grounds of age.[36] At the time of the hearing, Ireland was the only European country that had protection against age discrimination in its employment legislation. The case represents the first age discrimination case to be decided by a European Court. It therefore presents favourable optimism for enforcing the new legislation.[37] The complainant was employed by a law firm, as a legal secretary for eleven months. The complainant alleged that her dismissal was due to the respondent’s decision to employ a younger person. The dispute was initially based on whether the complainant was a temporary or permanent employee, but she had never been presented with a written contract of employment and the court motioned that, in any case, this was of no value if the reason for her dismissal was based on age. The Court discovered that, prior to the complainant’s dismissal the partners of the firm had decided to redesign the job, which meant being trained to provide a quasi-legal and secretarial service. It emerged that the complainant was not considered for the new job, despite her experience and suitability for the new post. The Court observed that the complainant’s dismissal was arose because the new post had been designed for a younger person and that, the complainant, by reason of her age, did not m eet the prerequisite. It was therefore held that the complainant was discriminated against by reason of her age. The new legislation is welcomed more so when one looks to current policies employed at work on age discrimination. From one report, it emerged that just over half of the employers- 63 out of 122 respondents- had a written policy mentioning age diversity.[38] The remainder of employers did not yet have a policy on age diversity or indeed age discrimination.[39] Where the policies did exist it emerged that age discrimination was just one part of a list of possible grounds of discrimination. An example of such a practice was characteristic of Nottingham Primary Care Trust.[40] Age was included in the equal opportunity policy stating, ‘no employee or job applicant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, age, race, martial status, disability, religion, sexual orientation, sexual assignment, creed, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins.’[41] It also emerged from the report that 30% of organisations in the public sector had an age policy, and public sector organisations formed just 23% of the respondents.[42] Just 27% of the respondents adopted the government’s Code of Practice, despite an increasing number, 63%, being aware of it.[43] Furthermore, it was found that just 56% monitored the age profile of their workforce.[44] However, although legislation is an important start, combating discrimination also needs a broader approach. Indeed, the Directive explicitly calls on the member states to consult with stakeholders when transposing the Directive. In addition to legislation, member states should develop initiatives to inform individual workers and employers about their new rights and responsibilities, and to change employer and social attitudes towards age issues. Without this, the Directive will be less effective, as the House of Lords observed: Few employers operate overtly ageist recruitment and retention policies (except in so far as they use fixed retirement ages). Age discrimination is frequently the unconscious outcome of an employer’s more general human resource management policy and procedure †¦ the eradication of unconscious discrimination will require a fundamental cultural change on the part of employers and workers.[45] Failure to acknowledge the new legislation, coupled with its novel influence, could create ‘an explosion of unnecessary tribunal cases,’ according to the CBI.[46] The Employers Forum on Age claims that employers could be exposed to litigation costs for unfair dismissal and discrimination claims of up to  £193 million in the first year of the legislation alone.[47] A survey of 500 firms revealed that two-thirds of firms observed a rise in dubious employment tribunal claims and that companies feared the problem will escalate with the implementation of the new age legislation. Certainly, John Cridland, the CBI deputy director general, remarked: ‘In the current compensation culture, there’s a risk that people will take advantage of legal clarity.’[48] 44% of companies have little confidence in employment tribunals, believing the system to be ineffective.[49] This, of course, has the knock-on effect of costly charges of discrimination claims being brough t by employees. In order to prevent such costly proceedings, United Kingdom businesses should prepare and protect themselves in advance of the age discrimination legislation, just as BT has done. Combating age discrimination is certainly a new concept for many member states, indeed the United Kingdom. There is evidence that a number of governments and social partners do not yet recognize the reality of age discrimination and perceive it as similar to the other grounds of discrimination.[50] Certainly, one powerful criticism is that the Directive takes a negative and retrospective approach to discrimination, in line with other areas of discrimination protection. It appears that the extensive use of the discretionary power within Article 6 of the Directive, seeks to validate differences on the grounds of age as a legitimate criterion for discrimination.[51] The fact that these exceptions were spelled out in the Directive is interesting. Sargeant believes that it is perhaps indicative of the way that age discrimination should be treated differently from other types of discrimination.[52] Sargeant continues: There appears to be an economic or business imperative that suggests that more harm will be done if discrimination does not take place, rather than an imperative that states that age discrimination is wrong and can only be justified in exceptional circumstances. Effectively, widespread discrimination is to be allowed to continue except those forms which are held not to be for the economic good of the business.[53] The lack of understanding on the issue, is highlighted in the prevalent malpractice among member states, for example, age limits in human resource management.[54] In its report on EU Proposals to Combat Discrimination, the House of Lords Select Committee was highly critical of the draft Framework Directive’s failure to tackle discrimination effectively, particularly in relation to Article 6.[55] In the Committee’s opinion, the draft failed: To achieve the Commission’s goals of providing clear limits and certainty in the field of age discrimination. As drafted, there is a strong possibility that it would do more harm than good, effectively legalising age discrimination throughout the Community. There appears to be no coherent pattern in the list of justifications. Equally, it is unclear what ages will be covered, and what comparisons will apply in judging age discrimination. The draft framework Directive will give no protection to the growing proportion of the population which is over the age of retirement. It appears that the determination to tackle age discrimination is not uniformly strong. It is therefore vital that the Action Programme and similar measures should place particular emphasis on building awareness of the issue. At the same time the government should seek to ensure that any exceptions to the principle of equal treatment irrespective of age are clearly defined and justified. There have been minor improvements in the drafting of the Directive, but the substance of the criticisms remain. A wide latitude is given to the member states about the scope and limits of the legislation and there is a concern about the effectiveness of the right in the sanctions for infringement that are ‘effective, proportionate and dissuasive.’[56] Moreover, dilemmas are resulting from an uneven transposition. As stated previously, some member states have asked for a delay in transposition. Whilst the United Kingdom’s reasons may be justified, this undermines the essence of a Directive. A Directive aims to regularize the legal systems of member states, insofar as possible so that the same material conditions are in force throughout. A Directive is binding on the member states as regards the overall objective to be achieved. A recent case suggests why States need to work closely on these issues. Easyjet and British Air Line Pilot’s Association, have reported a complaint that three member states have banned pilots over the age of 60 from their airspace, due to health and safety grounds, despite there being no correlation with any other countries in the European Union. To emphasise this point further, in some Member States, such as Germany, Portugal, and Luxembourg, there has been little or no progress reported in the transposition process.[57] In other member states, such as France, Italy and Austria, there has been technical compliance with the legislative requirements of the Directive but nothing to promote awareness of age discrimination and engagement of stakeholders.[58] Other member states, such as Ireland and Belgium, have widened the scope of the legislation into the field of goods and services, while others, notably the United Kingdom, have asked for a delay.[59] It seems that the Council has missed the opportunity to adopt a single unified Directive, which is not on miscellaneous grounds.[60] On the other hand, the House of Lords have expressed their anxiety in relation to implementing the new legislation in such a short time frame and that the delay is not long enough: We are concerned that the timescale for the implementation of the legislation on age discrimination will allow employers and workers at most two years to revise their procedures and expectations to conform with the new legislation. This is a very short period given the scale of the cultural shift required, and it may impose a part

Dual Perspectives of Driving a Car Essay -- Personal Narrative

Dual Perspectives of Driving a Car Do you remember when you were little and you could not wait until you hit sixteen so you could go and get your driving permit? I remember waiting until that special day so I could go down to the DMV to take my test to get my drivers permit. My stomach had butterflies floating all around inside it. I remembered they called my name, and then I had to go up to the front and take a test. I went and turned in the test, and was so nervously watching to see how many red checks they would make on my test. As I had my eyes glued to checker’s hand, with the red, felt tip pen interlaced in between her fingers, I anxiously awaited her telling me that I passed. After leading me on a nervous roller coaster ride, she looked up and told me that I did indeed pass the test. I suddenly got the chills throughout my body to know that I am legal to drive on the roads, of course with somebody else in the car. After a few months of driving with one of my parents in the car, it was now time for me to go and take the big test. Once again I got that nervous, sick feeling in my stomach. I had gotten to the DMV and it was my turn to go get into the car with somebody I had never met before in my life and who was going to put the check mark next to pass or fail. I was so scared and kept thinking can I just bribe her to let me pass the test without actually having to do it, but of course the answer to that question was no. So after completing a dr...

Athleticism Essay -- Sports, Politics

When I think about the black athlete I experience both pride and discomfort. In America where black people are still politically and economically disenfranchised, it appears that athleticism is the realm where black people excel and dominate. The discomfort comes from the observation that ‘domination’ is only viable when the black male body is harnessed in a way that doesn’t challenge white supremacy in other arenas (Collins, 2005). His body is controlled by contracts of powerful owners, regulated by standardized rules and by-laws from sporting associations and placed in physical spaces where his bodily performance is a spectacle for largely white audiences. There is something historic and normal about the sporting performance that has at once, drawn me in and isolated me. I didn’t quite know why. Ben Carrington’s work Race, Sport and Politics helps me to understand that these boundaries and meanings mark and define ‘the black athlete’ a nd that they can be understood as sites of political struggle. From the onset, I was captivated by his careful and through analysis of various social frameworks in order to utilize sports as a lens to understand the â€Å"intra relationship† between racial discourse, the performance of sport, and the politics in making the ‘black athlete’. In this paper I will explore the various concepts and contentions Carrington discovers as they apply to black males while he tries to formulate a framework to understand the complexity of race and sport and the politics created therein. I will focus on the key concepts essential to creating his theoretical framework specifically, ‘the black athlete’, the ‘white colonial frame’, and the ‘sporting black Atlantic’. The black athlete is a political entity and a global s... ...ind of black humanity. This actor performed feats of brute, physical, endurance, and ‘natural’ prowess which would place him in a category of animalistic sub-humanity. The assumed all body and no mind position of many of the African Diaspora. However within the sanctuary of modern sport, these feats became exceptionally superhuman; a show of raw masculinity and rational dexterity. As a political act, Johnson’s defeat of his white component sent ripples thought the world and attacked the foundation on which the very system that subordinated him was built. Using Carrington’s sense of the sporting black Atlantic. We can fully understand the significance and ramification of this feat. We can come to understand the global implications of this win for black people and see Jackson's â€Å"diasporic politicization† and his rise as an â€Å"anti white supremacist figure (p. 18)†.

The Perils of Affirmative Action Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Top

The Perils of Affirmative Action    On January 16th of this year, I picked up the Washington Post and read an article by Richard Cohen that weakly criticized the lack of ethnic diversity in President Bush's new cabinet. The article was an interesting analysis of the ethnicity of Bush's cabinet, but it is even more significant as it dealt with an issue that is becoming of greater concern in this country: affirmative action. This issue has affected me in the past. I live in Northern Virginia, which is a very race-neutral area, and last year during my college application process was the first time in my life when affirmative action affected me. The applications say the race checkbox is only being used for statistical purposes, but when somebody sees these tiny little words on such a very important document, who doesn't get a nagging feeling that their future might be determined by the color of their skin? A lot of students worry about this checkbox. At the time it seems so unfair. You've worked hard for four long years, t aken the SATs twice, joined as many clubs and sports as possible, and yet that might not be enough. The issue of affirmative action is an important one, one that directly shapes our economy and our country. It influences the way people work and live, but should it? The issue of race in this country lingers while it is realistic for us as a people to get rid of it. In today's society, why should race be an issue to anyone, black or white? How can we create a country that is free from fear of the "other" race? There has been a strong pull in the last few decades to ethnically diversify the workplace, as most companies have been and still are dominated by Caucasians. The call for diversification is a big facto... ... in getting a job only pits one race against another in the job market. If nothing is done about affirmative action, then it will eventually grow to become a monstrous proponent of prejudice. What, then, should be done about affirmative action? Well, I for one believe that the idea of affirmative action has become entrenched in our minds. Diversity has become very sought-after, and not just because the government is looking over people's shoulders. Therefore any existing government affirmative action programs are not needed and should be phased out. Affirmative action won't go away. It will always be in our minds, but it will no longer be binding. Employers will no longer have to worry about race in hiring an employee, just their qualifications. Only then can we as a country truly strive for equality, and an end to the race issue that has plagued us for centuries.

Fires on the Plain: a Reflection

Fires on The Plain: A Reflection Fires on the Plain is truly the most depressing, haunting, and sad story I have ever endured reading. The complete abandonment of the Japanese soldiers on the island of Leyte by the Japanese Army is revolting, as well as the complete disregard for each others well being among them. It becomes a battle between one another for survival. The lack of comradery among the Japanese soldiers is dumbfounding, and leads me to believe that it may very well have been there demise.The weaknesses we see in Tamura and the other soldiers not only have a great impact on their unfortunate outcome, but are also a result of a weakness within the Japanese Army itself. The awful fate of these soldiers, at the hands of their own command, is infuriating. Shohei's story holds powerful, and several dangerous implications of what war is like and what it's effects can be on those who fight in them. I would like to start by talking about comradery. Comradery can be defined as the spirit of friendship and community in a group, like a group of soldiers.Tamura's story shows zero evidence of any sort of comradeship, he even describes the way in which it he saw it disappear on Leyte, â€Å"Before long any comradeship that we once felt for each other had virtually disappeared. †(pg. 9). I could also see this in the way they treated each other. Initially, Yasuda and Nagamatsus' relationship could be mistaken for comradeship, but I realized that they were only using each other and did not care at all about the others well being. Which becomes quite clear at the end of the book.I have no doubt that this complete lack of comradery was mostly a result of their horrific situation, but I also believe that it could have existed before it. The way in which Tamura laughed while watching his fellow soldiers run around like â€Å"insects†(pg. 59), and the fact that Nagamatsu would hunt, kill, and eat his fellow soldiers are disturbing examples of the complete d isregard they had for one another. These instances serve as proof to me that there couldn't possibly have been much of a comradeship between these men at any point. One dangerous implication that this story holds expressed directly byShohei, â€Å"For people like us, living day and night on the brink of danger, the normal instinct of survival seems to strike inward, like a disease, distorting the personality and removing all motives other than those of sheer self-interest. †(pg. 9). While this certainly seems true for the Japanese soldiers in this story, I refuse to believe it to be true for all men. My personal experiences from being a Marine and doing two tours in Afghanistan have showed me what true comradery is. My fellow Marines and I would have gladly died for one another, and some did.In class, we discussed how the way in which these Japanese soldiers turned on one another when torn down to their most animalistic nature, could be true of all men or soldiers when under the same circumstances. The fact that somebody could believe that to be true is not only offensive, but scary. It is scary to me that examples from a book written by someone who is clearly insane, could be generalized to all men or all soldiers of every kind. What really irks me about this is that Shohei, portrayed through Tamura, shows absolutely no characteristics of a soldier.I think his most accurate depiction was when he said they resembled domestic animals â€Å"helplessly uprooted and perplexed†(pg. 35). I believe that he portrays someone with certain mental weakness. He wonders about the island countryside, it seams, waiting for his death to come. He has no plan but death. I understand that his circumstances are beyond my understanding, but they way in which he so easily abandons any hope of surviving, and doesn't put up any real fight for his survival, doesn't sit with me.It makes me realize that this weakness is most likely due to reasons beyond his control, such as the way in which, and the culture in which, he was brought up. As well as the poor military training and/or lack there of, did not properly prepare him for the nightmare of a situation he was put in. Which forces me to re-evaluate my initial reaction to write him off as a pathetic, weak individual who should have shot himself right then and there after he murdered the Filipino women.I am sympathetic for poor Tamura, who was drafted into the army and clearly given incredibly insufficient training. Tamura did not belong there and, I feel, none of them belonged there. The infuriating part of this story is the way in which these men were sent to what any person with intellect could tell was a certain, horrific death. Not only were they ordered to go that island, to that shit hole of a situation, it seams as if the people who ordered them there just left them for dead. Even his commanding officer told him that the best thing he could for his country was kill himself.They were given abso lutely no support against an enemy whose support was rivaled by none. Which resulted in them fighting each other for survival. Fires on the Plain is a very disturbing story from a war that resulted in many awful things. It has many implications of what war can be like, but I want to emphasize that not all wars are the same, and the men and women who fight in these wars certainly are not either. I would hope that those who read this understand that they shouldn't generalize the behavior of these poor Japanese soldiers to all soldiers or fighting men.I believe that the circumstances surrounding this horrific example of what war can be like are incredible and the ingredients that went into making this shit sandwich are hard to come by all at the same time. My final thoughts of this story are wrapped around Shohei's idea that life is nothing more than â€Å"a mere succession of chances†(p. 233). I have been debating over this idea with myself ever since I came back from my last t our in Afghanistan, and I can't say that Shohei's story has helped me in making a decision.