Meiji Era (1868-1912) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Meiji Era (1868-1912) - Essay Example The government industrialized the nation with the assistance of investing in enterprises owned by the state, development of the infrastructure for industries and obtained technology, machinery form developed nations such as European countries and privatization of industries. Japan's isolation from other parts of the world did not begin industrialization as early as the other western European countries. The Japanese government by that time tried to resist western influence in trade, and until 1853, they closed their trading boarders and ports for any trading activity with foreigners. They engaged in no foreign contact unless it was decidedly necessary and the laws forbade any Japanese civilian to travel. Japanese government also ensured that there was only one seaport open to trade with any western nation. The port of Nagasaki was the connection point for any trading activity with the western countries especially the Dutch and Chinese ships.2 In 1853, the president of America at that time sent the American commando, Mathew Perry, with a fleet of steam-powered ships (the back ships) to force a trade treaty with Japan and open the Japanese ports and boarders to trade with other parts of the world. Captain Perry gave the Japanese government one year of decision-making, and when he returned in 1954, the Japanese signed the treaty under the influence of force and opened their gates to the world trading. This was an indication of how the Japanese were weak in both economy and military.3 Creation of industrial infrastructure The Japanese realized that they needed a strong modern military to avoid intimidation by any foreign nation. However, the old rule of Tokugawa did not share the view modernizing their weapons and military. In 1968, the old Tokugawa government collapsed, and marked the beginning of the Meiji era when the Japanese begun serious consideration of modernization. However, the military modernization and arsenal buildup could not come alone; it included th e industrialization and industrial buildup of Japan and its principal cities2. Even though, there were several oppositions against industrialization, the Meija government proceeded with the modernization process. The government begun with sponsoring the telegraph system that connected the greatest cities in Japan, then they built roads and, shipyards rail network. The Meiji government also facilitated the building of mines, textile industries, munitions factories, experimental factories and agricultural stations. The leaders reloaded their efforts of military modernization including compulsory military service for all men, establishment of small standing army and a large reserve army system to boost their national security. They also engaged in foreign military education and consultation from studying foreign military, using foreign military advisors and sending cadets abroad Europe and America to study military education4. The Meiji government’s chief aim was to restore Japa nese isolation, but still maintain their contact with the west.

The Weaknesses Of The U.S. Criminal Justice System Essay Example for Free

The Weaknesses Of The U.S. Criminal Justice System Essay Introduction The Michael Jackson, a continuation of the an epic cycle of celebrity trials that started with O.J. Simpson, passing through Kobe Bryant, Robert Blake and Phil Spector have undoubtedly brought to the fore concerns about the American Criminal Justice System1. The verdict of the Michael Jackson trial, delivered on June 13 2005, capped the chain of events that was sparked off by the broadcast of Living With Michael Jackson a TV documentary programme by British journalist Martin Bashir. Like every other celebrity trial in history, the Michael Jackson trial offered a cocktail of fame, sex and violence. It provided an opportunity to look behind the veil that normally protects the private lives of celebrities. However, most importantly, it brought to the fore questions about the politics that influence the U.S. Criminal Justice System2 In the last couple of decades, there have been growing concerns about the politising of criminal justice in the United States and the increasing punitive approach to crime control. It has been argued that the criminal justice system is in decline in its goal of crime control3. The last few decades have witnessed dramatic increase in the number of American citizens in prison and other custody facility, but this has not translated to decrease in crime rates. Beck and Paige4 reports that the 1990s saw an unprecedented rise in the United State’s incarceration population. They reported that in 1990, there were approximately 1.1 million US citizens incarcerated in federal, state and local facilities, by the year 2000, this figure has increased to 2,071,686. The U.S Bureau of Justice Statistics, corroborating the above fact, states that the rate of incarceration in the U.S. increased from 292 inmates per 100,000 US residents in 1990 to 478 at year-end 20005. Unfortunately, this increasing toughness on crime has not in anyway translated to reduction in crime. In a study released by the US Department of Justice in June6, entitled Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994, it was reported of the approximately 300,000 prisoners released in 15 states in 1994, 67 percent were are-arrested within the first three years. Compared to a similar study done in 1983 where 62 percent of prisoners released were re-arrested, the growing ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system becomes apparent. The rest of this essay intends to adequately support the argument that the United States Criminal Justice system is weak and ineffective, using the 2005 Michael Jackson trial as a yardstick. In this regard, the rest of the essay will be structured thus: The next section will provide a brief review of the Michael Jackson trial. This will be followed by an analysis of the United States Criminal Justice System. This section will detail factors that have been indicted as responsible for the ineffectiveness of the criminal justice system and also attempt to examine how these factors have come to play in the Michael Jackson trial. The last part of the essay shall provide a summary of the argument thus far, and then a conclusion. The chain of events that characterised the Michael Jackson trial started with the broadcast in February 2003 of Living With Michael Jackson, an unflattering television documentary by British-Pakistani journalist Martin Bashir7. In the programme, the boy was shown holding hands with Jackson and resting on his shoulders. In November of the same year, California police authorities searched Jacksons Neverland Ranch after child molestation allegations were made against him. Later that month, Jackson was booked and arrested on child molestation charges and released on $3 million bail8.   Formal charges were filed against Jackson in December of the same year and in April 2004, a grand jury indicted Jackson on charges of molesting the boy at the centre of the trial, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold him and his family captive in 2003. Jackson, however, pleaded not guilty and did not testify during the trial, though testimony and losing arguments lasted about 14 weeks before the jury took over the case9. The Grand jury proceedings started in March and by April 21 2004, indicted Jackson10.   The grand jury was composed of nineteen jurors; the indictment required the votes of at least twelve of them. Prosecution witnesses testified without defence cross-examination. The judge ruled that witnesses before the grand jury could talk to defence attorneys about their knowledge of the case as long as the witnesses did not tell what they saw in the grand jury room or what questions they were asked and their answers11. Later in April, after the indictment, a sudden change in Michael Jacksons defence team was announced.   Ben Brafman and Mark Geragos were replaced with Robert Blakes defence attorney Thomas Mesereau12. According to CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, tension from the Jackson family from not having Geragos full attention, because of the Scott Peterson death penalty case being at trial, and quick responses to their questions regarding media coverage of Michaels case were the reasons for the dismissal13. The jury selection for the trial started on January 31, 2005, and lasted less than a month. Twelve members of the jury, comprising eight women and four men, were selected from a pool of 200 people from the Santa Barbara County. The twelve member jury, ranging from 20-79years old had no single Black American, although, there was one African-American juror in the eight alternate jurors (four men, four women), selected for the case14. The trial, as it unfolds, was full of scandalous testimonies, dramatic moments and lots of celebrity defence. While, on the one hand, prosecutors alleged that in the aftermath of the Bashir documentary in 2003, Jackson and five others, who where not indicted, have contrived to control and intimidate the childs family in other to get them to cooperate with damage control efforts, including forcefully keeping them at Neverland against their will15; on these grounds, Jackson was charged with four counts of lewd conduct with a child younger than 14; one count of attempted lewd conduct; four counts of administering alcohol to facilitate child molestation; and one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment or extortion16. On the other hand, Jacksons lawyers consistently portrayed him as a naive victim of the childs family, who were allegedly schemers and good at extorting money from rich and famous people. There were 91 prosecution and 50 defence witnesses throughout the trial period17. In May 2005 the witnesses for the defence testified. Closing arguments of both sides were presented in the beginning of June and on the 13th of June, 2005, the jury, after a 37hour deliberation that spanned seven days, announced Jackson not guilty and acquitted him of all the charges18. However, and most importantly for this discussion is the consequences of the trial. The aftermath of the trial witnessed several allegations of jury misconduct and several criticisms tossed back at Janet Arvizo, the mother of the accuser19. Among the several jury misconduct allegations, the fifth jury admitted to illegally bringing in a medical text to show Jackson fit the books definition of a paedophile, while also conceding to have winked Michael Jacksons mother, Katherine Jackson, even though jurors are supposed to avoid all such communication, no matter how innocent. Furthermore, she claimed that there were three devoted fans of Michael Jackson in the jury, who made it clear from the start that they would never convict Michael Jackson (with one referring to him affectionately as my Michael), while she herself allegedly came in on the jury with the sole intent of convicting Jackson and later writing a book about it. When Jackson was acquitted, her book deal fell through20. Jurors Cook and Hultman also claimed that the juror foreman, Paul Rodriguez, threatened to remove them from the jury, unless they agreed to acquit Jackson, even though jurors cannot be removed from a jury simply because they dont agree with the others. Both jurors expressed regret about acquitting Jackson (Jackson Juror Sues over Book Deal, 2005). Also, in the aftermath of the trial, Janet Arvizo, the mother of the accuser, was charged with welfare fraud on August 2005 for allegedly collecting nearly $19,000 in payments while making false claims21. During her testimony at the Jackson trial, Arvizo cited the Fifth Amendment against criminal self-incrimination in refusing to answer questions about how she succeeded in illegally obtaining welfare payments while having more than $30,000 in the bank. However, during the defence case, a Jackson lawyer walked a California Department of Social Services representative through Arvizos welfare applications, pointing out how she repeatedly failed to disclose, as required by law, assets and financial assistance she was receiving. Among many devastating criticisms tossed at Arvizo during the Jackson trial, the welfare fraud allegations were particularly damaging since they appeared to be backed by government documents22. Though this cases finally died, the lapses that came to the fore as a consequence of the trial, especially allegations of influences on the jury and other misconducts, undoubtedly re-affirms the concern that the American criminal justice system is greatly politicised, ineffective and weak. The rest of this essay will examine the nature of the American criminal justice system with a view to ascertaining influences or factors that have contributed to this weakness. Criminal Justice refers to the system used by government to maintain social control, prevent crime, enforce laws, and administer justice. The police, prosecution, courts and corrections facilities are the major component of any criminal justice system23. To be most effective, criminal justice systems must not only seek to punish offenders, but also attempt to rehabilitate and successfully re-integrate offenders into the larger society, so that they can become law abiding and useful citizens. Anything short of this goal should be unacceptable24. Unfortunately, most modern criminal justice systems take an ineffective punitive approach to crime control. The last few decades in the United States has witnessed increasing emphasis on incarceration as a crime control tool, with a political mandate to â€Å"get tough on crime† as opposed to using alternative sanctions. This effort has failed to combat crime, in most cases; it has further increased crime rates25. As mentioned earlier on, in a study released by the US Department of Justice in June 2002, entitled Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994, it was found that of the nearly 300,000 prisoners released in 15 States in 1994, 67 percent were re-arrested within three years; while a study of 1983 prison releases estimated that 62 percent re-arrested within the same timeframe26. This shows that despite the increasing number of incarcerated populations, the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in combating crime is reduced considerably. It becomes very obvious that the several environmental factors which includes legal, culturally and political influences on the American criminal justice system has produced a weak, fragmented and utterly ineffective criminal justice system27. The organisational environment of any system can be described as any external phenomenon, event, group or individual which may compose of technological, legal, political, economic, demographic, ecological and cultural forces that affect such a system28. Kolfas and colleagues further contend that as environmental conditions change, demands for service, legal resources and positions on policy and programs of both public and private organizations may change. They then explained that in adapting to these new demands, constraints and pressures may alter the mission or policy of the organization. Relating this to the criminal justice system, for example, increasing the number of arrests as a result of an increase in crime and public pressure will impact on the criminal justice system. The populations of jails will increase and court dockets and caseloads of prosecuting attorneys will expand29. Governments and essentially, the political climate is another strong organisational environment that could affect any organisation, especially the criminal justice system. For example, government’s response to political conditions can be passed on to an organisation and its agencies within the system30. Governments can be influenced to change budgets and mandates, and to alter the composition of top administrative personnel. It can be argued that such change in organisational environment has led to the development and application of several justice models throughout history. Cole and Smith31 identified seven justice models that have been developed and used from the 1600s through to the 1990s. These includes: the colonial, penitentiary, reformatory, progressive, medical, community and crime control. As the political climate changed in the 1970s and 1980s, a renewed emphasis on the crime control model of corrections developed. The crime control model emphasizes efficiency and the capacity to catch, try, convict and punish a high proportion of offenders; it also stresses speed and finality over the caution against the possibility of innocent people being adversely impacted32. One can argued that these above mentioned components of the crime control model are actually deficiencies and could be part of the reasons why the US criminal justice system is fragmented and not functioning at optimum level. Besides environmental or external influences, the structure of the American criminal justice system lends itself to faults and inefficiency. The U.S. criminal justice system is designed sequentially with interrelated parts. For example, decisions in the criminal justice system are made in a specific order33. The police must make the arrest before the offender is prosecuted, the prosecutor’s decisions determine the nature of the court’s activity, prosecutors and judges cannot bypass the police and make arrests and corrections officials cannot punish anyone who has not been through the earlier states of the process 34. This process creates an exchange relationship among the key decision makers in the criminal justice system that could impact goals, objectives and policy development35. In this light, it appears that a â€Å"cause and effect† relationship exists for every decision made by system members and this; undoubtedly can greatly impact system efficiency and outcomes. Moreover, between these different segments of the criminal justice system, difference in the goals of retribution, deterrence, incapacitation and rehabilitation create differing operating policies that not only affect the efficiency and outcomes of the system, but also how the society at large, and the offenders in particular, view the system. While the public continue to see the system as unjust    the results of national research commissioned by the Open Society Institute, part of the Soros foundations network, discovered that 65 percent of Americans believe that the countrys criminal justice system comprises an ineffective, purely punitive approach to crime 36; the criminal justice professionals are also becoming more cynical about the systemic functions of the criminal justice system, which is perceived as becoming more preoccupied with case processing efficiencies rather than justice and crime control37. Criminal justice experts argue that the criminal justice system is not a system at all but a sequence of autonomous agencies and activities, each one generating a caseload for another, and each one competing for adequate resources from the public purse 38. There is a universal dissatisfaction among all players in the system: offenders feel injustices, which hinder rehabilitation; victims are re-victimised by the system because of inadequate coordination of services; the public believes that justice was not done; and criminal justice professionals are cynical because case processing supersedes the preferred system outcomes39. An overview of the components of the criminal justice system could only help to further strengthen this argument. The police is in most cases, the foremost agency in the criminal justice system. However, most police departments function within the crime control model, and remain enforcement oriented. The priorities of most police departments are largely independent of the influence of the police agency’s external environment 40. Regardless of the rate and types of crime a police jurisdiction experiences, police administrators view protecting the public from crime as a priority, with less interest in providing services or order maintenance functions41. This crime control approach is narrow but popular and neglects the community-based service and order maintenance activities 42. Therefore one can argue that the crime control philosophy of the U.S. police force and the influence of the crime control model itself exacerbate police operating policies and also contribute to certain levels of systemic fragmentation. In the same vein, it is apparent that the crime control model of justice also impacts on the prosecutorial component of the U.S. criminal justice system. It is argued that contemporary prosecutorial systems focus on mass case processing because of the influence of the crime control model. It requires prosecutors and judges to work too closely together in an attempt to achieve case processing efficiency. The crime control model compels judges to adhere to the sentencing recommendations of prosecuting attorneys, pre-sentence recommendations can develop into recommendations from the prosecutor, and probation officers’ pre-sentence reports become incidental 43. From this arrangement, one can infer that since the prosecutor drives the criminal case, this process could have an adverse impact on individual rights, due process and the effective overall effective administration of justice. While the crime control model could also impact on the court system, influencing mass production and prosecution of criminal cases and requiring the judges to act in unison with the prosecutors, there appears to be another significant problem with the American court systems. The majority of American trial courts are highly decentralised, with local judges deciding cases that pass through the courts and also administering the court. Although, this is so structured so that courts are close to the people and thus responsive to their values, this arrangement makes courts subject to local political influences and community values44. While some might argue that the courts are intentionally structured for these reasons, so that in the process, each court develops its own legal culture with differing ways to administer rules, procedures and justice, there are grave disadvantages of this arrangement. Beside disadvantages such as differences among local court cultures and decisions, duplication of process and poor use of legal resources, there are worst problems, and as evident in the Michael Jackson trial, this arrangement makes the court and in essence the whole criminal justice system open and susceptible to external political, culturally etc influences; therefore undermining the criminal justice system in entirety45. Irrespective of what has been said so far, one important characteristic of the U.S. criminal justice system, and perhaps a trend in most Western countries, is the increasing use of crime as a political issue. The special task force of federal state and local law enforcement officials, as well as independent scholars from across the political spectrum put together by the American Bar Association in 200346 reached an unanimous conclusion that the increasing federal influences on criminal justice portends serious danger to government, individual liberty and effectiveness of the criminal justice system. The task force report indicated that for more than a hundred years after the adoption of the Constitution the federal criminal code was limited to treason, bribery of federal officials, perjury in federal court, theft of government property and revenue fraud. However, the present body of federal criminal law is so vast that there is no complete list of federal crimes. There are an estimated 4000 criminal statutes which have been enacted by Congress, but in addition to these there are some 10,000 federal regulations which have legal sanctions for their violation. Put together, the various criminal statutes, regulations and judicial rulings governing how these statutes are enforced comprise 4 million (4,000,000) pages of text. In addition to the 4 million page criminal code there are also general laws against Interfering with Interstate Commerce and Violation of Civil Rights which are constantly being expanded to cover new activities, and each year approximately 1000 new criminal statutes are considered for adoption by Congress. It is needless to say, again, that despite attempts by politicians to appear tough on crime   the federal crime fighting effort has had no appreciable effect at reducing violent crime47. Unfortunately, while the increasing political influence on criminal justice has had to appreciable effect on crime rates, it has created a myriad of problems and potential problems for the criminal justice system. Some of these problems identified in the task force report include: Selective Prosecution. Because only .2% of violent crimes are prosecuted on the federal level, US attorneys must cherry pick specific cases on which to focus. There are no federal guidelines and no judicial review over which cases federal prosecutors decide to pursue or not. As a result the prosecution and punishment of a few individuals will differ radically from the majority of people in the same area who commit the exact same crime. A real danger exists that a federal prosecutor will discriminate against a particular group of people, and that those people will have no recourse. Additionally, federal and state sentencing guidelines reflect very different priorities, which may not well serve the cause of justice. Federal sentencing guidelines for non-violent offences tend to be harsher than for states, while state sentencing for violent crimes is often harsher than for federal. Overburdening the federal judiciary. The federal courts were not designed or intended to handle more than a handful of criminal cases. The federal courts were initially set up to rule on civil cases involving disputes between individuals or corporations in different states. The primary role of federal courts to adjudicate civil disputes has been seriously hampered as more and more of their time must be devoted to criminal matters. The result is that interstate cases requiring federal attention are delayed to accommodate criminal cases which could also be tried at the state level. Distraction and Diversion of Local Police. The blurring of responsibility for a certain conduct between federal and local police may have the ironic effect of discouraging and confusing local police efforts. Some local entities because of assumption of federal jurisdiction may hesitate in pursuing certain types of conduct. Some crimes may go uninvestigated as each level assumes that the other is taking responsibility. On the opposite side is the potential for an unhealthy competition or resentment between local and federal law enforcement. Turf wars could result between local district attorneys and US attorneys as each tries to claim jurisdiction over high profile crimes. It may even occur that one jurisdiction or the other will make an arrest before a case is sound in an effort to beat the other entity. Lack of Local Expertise. Federal law enforcement agencies lack the local expertise, knowledge of the area, contact with local informants, familiarity with local citizens, and trust of the local community which is such a help in the investigation and prevention of crime. In as much as federal law enforcement crowds out local police the federalisation of law enforcement is counter productive and weakens the criminal justice system48. More importantly, the increasing politicising of criminal justice system creates a misconception about the essence of punishment and how to administer punitive measures. It is obvious that punishment is the most complex process within the criminal justice system and the inconsistencies associated with comprehending this process may be reasons for the weakening and inefficiency of the system. According to the Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy49, the concept of punishment its definition and its practical application and justification have during the last few decades shown a considerable drift away from efforts to reform and rehabilitate offenders towards retribution and incarceration. Von Hirsch50 placed the concept of punishment in the right perspective when he argued that punishment is more socially than individually based and he based this concept of punishment on fairness. For example, when someone infringes another’s rights, the person gains an unfair advantage over others in society. The punishment for this act imposes a counterbalance disadvantage on the offender and restores balance 51. The author then argued that if the system is unjust regarding the administration of punishment (in other words, it is undeserved, unfair, unnecessary or extreme) a â€Å"social crime† may be perceived by the offender; therefore the offender perceives society as having an unfair advantage. As a result of these actions, social retaliation could be committed by the offender, in the form of prejudice, hostility, resistance, a criminal act and other acts of deviance in order to maintain the social equilibrium. Putting the argument in this essay thus far into perspective, it becomes apparent that the weakness and inefficiency of the U.S criminal justice system is a as a result of a mix-match of factors. The multiple approaches to the mission of US criminal justice systems have led to the erosion of a common purpose, resulting in a mix of both efficient and inefficient systems. This essay has brought forth information that has clarified the argument that states have failed to plan collectively resulting in a fragmented system of justice. This departure has led to â€Å"state specific† methods of criminal justice processes that have had a widespread adverse impact on the offender, the re-integration process and thus the effectiveness of the criminal justice system as a whole. Again, the state specific nature of the American criminal justice system makes the system more susceptible to local political influences, while the increasing federalising of criminal justice systems, on the other hand, also open the system to influences from the federal level. Taken as a whole, politics appear to play significant role in the direction and outcomes of criminal cases, and this, most evident from the Michael Jackson trial, speaks volumes about the weakness of the system. Considering the outcomes and consequences of the trial, it is obvious that the verdict of the trial was a result of a lot of influences. However, one fact that stands out from the trial appears to be that equity and equality is not really a characteristic of the system. In essence, environmental influences, fostered on the system due to the crime control model of justice, appeared to have complicated the judicial process, hindered due process, stagnated programme development and in sum, considerably hindered the effective administration of justice through the criminal justice system. Conclusion Like every other celebrity trial in history, the Michael Jackson trial offered a cocktail of fame, sex and violence, and most importantly, a test of the American criminal justice system.   Though, there have been concerns about the effectiveness of the U.S. criminal justice systems, this trial further helped to strengthen such worries. Criminal Justice refers to the system used by government to maintain social control, prevent crime, enforce laws, and administer justice. The police, prosecution, courts and corrections facilities are the major component of any criminal justice system. Unfortunately, most modern criminal justice systems take an ineffective punitive approach to crime control. This effort has failed to combat crime, and in most cases; it has further increased crime rates. In the American situation, external influences such as legal, culturally and political influences on the American criminal justice system has helped to produce a weak, fragmented and utterly ineffective criminal justice system that appears to only dance to the tune of these influences. Beside these external influences, the structure of the American criminal justice system lends itself to faults and inefficiency. The U.S. criminal justice system is designed sequentially with interrelated parts with decisions in the criminal justice system made in a specific order. This process creates an exchange relationship among the key decision makers in the criminal justice system that could impact goals, objectives and policy development and thus tend to hold a â€Å"cause and effect† relationship exists for every decision made by system members. And this fact has been clearly brought to the fore by the Michael Jackson trial. While the prosecutor indicted Jackson on a ten count charge of child molestation, the jury acquitted him of all charges under circumstances that left so much to be imagined. The consequences of the acquittal have further lent credence to the argument that the process through which Jackson was acquitted was not as just as would be expected. It has also clearly showed that the structure of the American criminal justice system is one that allows for external influences to determine the direction and/or outcomes of the system. Endnotes Olsen, Eric (2005). Michael Jackson Trial: Closing Arguments Begin. BC Magazine, posted on 2nd June. Camon , Alessandro (2005). Guilty! Online Essay available at http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2005/06/14/jackson_essay/index.html Smith, Leslie J (2003). The Organizational Environment and Its Influence on State Criminal Justice Systems Within The United States And The Offender Re-Integration Process. Criminal Justice Studies, Vol. 16(2), Pp.97–112; Weich, Ronald and Carlos Angulo (2000). Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System. Report prepared for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Leadership Conference Education Fund. Beck, A. and P. Paige (2001). Prisoners in 2000. Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, US Department of Justice, August. US Department of Justice (Bureau of Justice Statistics) (2002). Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994, June [On-Line serial] NCJ 193427, pp. 1–16. US Department of Justice. Ibid Jackson not guilty. CNN News Report posted on Tuesday, June 14, 2005. Available at http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/13/jackson.trial/index.html/; Olsen, Eric (2005). Michael Jackson Trial: Closing Arguments Begin. BC Magazine, posted on 2nd June. Jackson not guilty. Supra County of Santa Barbara, CA (2003). PR Michael Jackson. Press release. Available at http://www.countyofsb.org/da/documents/PR-Michael%20Jackson.pdf.; Jackson not guilty. Supra, Olsen, Eric (2005). Supra Olsen, Eric (2005). Supra Camon, Alessandro (2005). Ibid County of Santa Barbara, CA (2003). Ibid Jackson not guilty. Ibid County of Santa Barbara, CA (2003). Ibid Olsen, Eric (2005). Ibid Jackson not guilty. Ibid Jackson not guilty. Ibid County of Santa Barbara, CA (2003). Ibid Olsen, Eric (2005). Ibid The Michael Jackson File – From Superstar to Suspect, Complete Coverage of Trouble in Neverland. E! Online: available at http://www.eonline.com/Features/Features/JacksonNews/index.html, Jackson Juror Sues Over Book Deal. Contact Music (2005). Available at http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/jackson%20juror%20sues%20over%20book%20deal County of Santa Barbara, CA (2003). Ibid Hahn, P. H. (1998). Emerging Trends in Criminal Justice, 10–11:158–160; Cole, G. F. and C. E. Smith (1998). The American System of Criminal Justice, 8, 22–40, 143–257, 456. Smith, Leslie J (2003). Ibid Richard C. Hanes and Sharon M. Hanes (2005). Crime and Punishment in America. Volume 1. Thomas Gale. Farmington Hills, MI US Department of Justice. Ibid Smith, Leslie J (2003). Ibid Kolfas, J., S. Stojkovic, and D. Kalinich (1990). Defining the environment of the criminal justice system. Criminal Justice Organizations Administration and Management. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, pp. 18–30 Kolfas, et al Supra p. 20. Kolfas, et al. Ibid p. 21 Cole, G. F. and C. E. Smith (1998). The American System of Criminal Justice, 8, 22–40, 143–257, 456 Cole and Smith (1998). Supra p. 9. Cole and Smith (1998). Ibid   p. 22. Cole and Smith (1998). Ibid   p. 23. Cole and Smith (1998). Ibid   p. 22. Open Society Institute (2002) Majority of Americans Think U.S. Criminal Justice System is Broken, Ineffective; See Need for Change. Soros Foundation Network. Available at http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/news/systembroken_20020213 Smith, Leslie J (2003). Ibid Smith, M. E. (Ed.) (1996). Who wants an effective crime policy and can deliver one? In campaign for an effective crime policy. Crime and Politics in the 1990s: Three Perspectives. Washington, D.C.: Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy. Smith, (1996). Supra Zhao, J. and Q. C. Thurman (1997). Community policing: where are we now? Crime and Delinquency, 43(3), 345–357. Zhao and Thurman. Supra p. 345 Zhao and Thurman. Supra p. 345–347 Cole and Smith (1998). Ibid; Petersilia, J. (2000). When Prisoners Return to the Community: Political, Economic, and Social Consequences, Sentencing and Corrections: Issues for the 21st Century, November. Washington, D.C.: US Department of Justice; Hahn, (1998). Ibid Smith, Leslie J (2003). Ibid Smith, Leslie J (2003). Ibid, Savelsberg, Joachim J., Lara L. Cleveland, Ryan D. King (June 2004). Institutional Environments and Scholarly Work: American Criminology, 1951-1993. Social Forces 82(4): p1275-1302 American Bar Association (2003). Summary of the American Bar Associations Report on the Federalization of Criminal Law. Available at http://www.localsov.com/abuses/justice/abasum.htm American Bar Association (2003). Supra American Bar Association (2003). Supra Stanford Encyclopeadia of Philosophy (2005). Punishment. Retrieved 4th April 2007 from http://plato.stanford.edu/ Von Hirsch, A. (1996). Doing justice: the choice of punishments. Criminal Justice, 3, 147–152. Von Hirsch (1996). Supra p. 147 Bibliography American Bar Association (2003). Summary of the American Bar Associations Report on the Federalization of Criminal Law. Available at http://www.localsov.com/abuses/justice/abasum.htm Beck, A. and P. Paige (2001). Prisoners in 2000. Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin, US Department of Justice, August. Bedau, H. A., 2001, Feinbergs Liberal Theory of Punishment, Buffalo Criminal Law Review, 5, pp. 103-44. Camon , Alessandro (2005). Guilty! Online Essay available at http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2005/06/14/jackson_essay/index.html Cole, George F., Christopher E. Smith (2005). Criminal Justice in America. Thomson. County of Santa Barbara, CA (2003). PR Michael Jackson. Press release. Available at http://www.countyofsb.org/da/documents/PR-Michael%20Jackson.pdf The Michael Jackson File – From Superstar to Suspect, Complete Coverage of Trouble in Neverland. E! Online: available at http://www.eonline.com/Features/Features/JacksonNews/index.html Walker, Samuel (1992). Origins of the Contemporary Criminal Justice Paradigm: The American Bar Foundation Survey, 1953-1969. Justice Quarterly 9(1). Savelsberg, Joachim J., Lara L. Cleveland, Ryan D. King (June 2004). Institutional Environments and Scholarly Work: American Criminology, 1951-1993. Social Forces 82(4): p1275-1302 Richard C. Hanes and Sharon M. Hanes (2005). Crime and Punishment in America. Volume 1. Thomas Gale. Farmington Hills, MI Stanford Encyclopeadia of Philosophy (2005). Punishment. Retrieved 4th April 2007 from http://plato.stanford.edu/ Open Society Institute (2002) Majority of Americans Think U.S. Criminal Justice System is Broken, Ineffective; See Need for Change. Soros Foundation Network. Available at http://www.soros.org/initiatives/justice/news/systembroken_20020213 Kraska, Peter B (ed) (2001). Militarizing the American Criminal Justice System: The Changing Roles of the Armed Forces and the Police. Northeastern University Press. Jackson not guilty. CNN News Report posted on Tuesday, June 14, 2005. Available at http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/13/jackson.trial/index.html/ Olsen, Eric (2005). Michael Jackson Trial: Closing Arguments Begin. BC Magazine, posted on 2nd June. Jackson Juror Sues Over Book Deal. Contact Music (2005). Available at http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/jackson%20juror%20sues%20over%20book%20deal Nutley, Sandra and Huw T.O. Davies (1999). The Rise and Fall of Evidence in Criminal Justice. Public Money Management, January-March. Smith, Leslie J (2003). The Organizational Environment and Its Influence on State Criminal Justice Systems Within The United States And The Offender Re-Integration Process. Criminal Justice Studies, Vol. 16(2), Pp.97–112. Weich, Ronald and Carlos Angulo (2000). Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System. Report prepared for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Leadership Conference Education Fund. Cole, G. F. and C. E. Smith (1998). The American System of Criminal Justice, 8, 22–40, 143–257, 456 Hahn, P. H. (1998). Emerging Trends in Criminal Justice, 10–11:158–160. Kolfas, J., S. Stojkovic, and D. Kalinich (1990). Defining the environment of the criminal justice system. Criminal Justice Organizations Administration and Management. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, pp. 18–30 Petersilia, J. (2000). When Prisoners Return to the Community: Political, Economic, and Social Consequences, Sentencing and Corrections: Issues for the 21st Century, November. Washington, D.C.: US Department of Justice. Smith, M. E. (Ed.) (1996). Who wants an effective crime policy and can deliver one? In campaign for an effective crime policy. Crime and Politics in the 1990s: Three Perspectives. Washington, D.C.: Campaign for an Effective Crime Policy. US Department of Justice (National Institute of Corrections) (2002). Guidelines for Developing a Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee, January. US Department of Justice (Bureau of Justice Statistics) (2002). Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 1994, June [On-Line serial] NCJ 193427, pp. 1–16. Von Hirsch, A. (1996). Doing justice: the choice of punishments. Criminal Justice, 3, 147–152. Zhao, J. and Q. C. Thurman (1997). Community policing: where are we now? Crime and Delinquency, 43(3), 345–357.

Defining Family in a Law Context

Defining Family in a Law Context 1. Introduction The term family is a fluid concept[1], used to describe different forms of expressions regarding the intimacy shared in private life based on care and interdependence. It comprises of diverse relationships, including homosexual or heterosexual couple with or without children, cohabiting with or without legal formality.[2] Therefore, if the family is the core social environment in society, then family law is any form of governing and supporting those close emotional relationships between adults, children and the state.[3] However, it is difficult to define the family law due to changes in social norms and standards. There is also a wide range of laws, such as immigration law and employment law[4], that may have significant influence on family life, therefore family law usually is considered as an ambiguous and incoherent subject.[5] To explore the question of what family law is, this paper will seek to address two main issues. First, to discuss the ways to define the concept of family within the law. Second, to evaluate what family law is from several different theoretical approaches. 2. Changing ideas of family in law The traditional concept of family in law takes the idea of the nuclear family, which comprises of a married heterosexual couple with children.[6] Apart from the context of marriage, it was considered an abuse of the English language to include other relationships.[7] According to the statistics provided by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)[8], the number of the nuclear family has decreased 500 thousand compared to the data from 2000 to 2015 while the cohabiting couple family has become the fastest growing family type reaching 3.2 million in the past decade. Meanwhile, the most common family type changes from the idealised family into the form of the married couple or civil partner couple without any children.[9] This situation pushes the law to respond to this gap[10] by shifting from the traditional nuclear family into the idea of New Families.[11] The concept of New Families[12] begins with the recognition of unmarried couples regardless of children, but still requires an appropriate degree of apparent permanence and stability.[13] Same sex relationships has recently been accepted as a family in Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association,[14] where longstanding, close, loving and faithful, monogamous homosexual relationshipsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦is deemed to make someone a member of a family.[15] Lady Hale also highlights that widening the scope of the family, regardless of the sex, could recognise the importance the principles of dignity, humanity and equality.[16] Therefore, the law does not limit the definition of family life and accepts the different forms of family as long as they can establish the degree of intimacy and stability and sharing of lives. However, the law has categorised an exclusion, friendship has been refused as the relationship of the family due to lack of degree of intimacy and stability.[17] Arguably, Diduck argues that there are blurring lines between family and friends in contemporary society, as friends become lovers and lovers become friends [18]. 3. What is Family Law? This section examines how the family law works in relations to the family. The functions have been briefly divided into four main categories: protection, regulation, radiating message and promotion of equality, and further use several theoretical approaches respectively for evaluation. i. Protection and Support A Good parent in a family is usually considered as a person who provides physical, emotional and financial support for their children. They also protect the children and family members from harm.[19] In terms of the functionalist approach, family law has a series of goals to be fulfilled.[20] Eekelaar has suggested that the main objectives of family law are the enforcers of protection and support to the family.[21] As an example, the most common situation encountered by law is domestic violence. According to the research by the ONS, there are over 78% of incidents of the domestic abuse involved violence.[22] The introduction of Family Law Act 1996 is one of legislation for allowing the victims to obtain the help for protection. It attempts to bring consistency to the civil remedies and emphasises the protection of the human rights for safeguarding victims from domestic violence.[23] The application of this law yielded positive results, as the data provided by the ONS showed the numbe rs of domestic violence have generally decreased by 0.7 million over the past decade.[24] However, difficulty arises when it is assumed that the law is the only factor to influence the family. [25] By using the above example, the law influence may not be the sole reason for the reduction of domestic violence, thus there are other possible factors to improve the domestic violence situation, such as government support and educational policy.[26] The uncertainty of family law further arguably undermines this approach where it is difficult to simplify the laws into one single goal. In the case of the 1996 Act on divorce claims that it is pursuing both contrary goals, including, to encourage marriage and to make it possible to break down the marriage with as little bitterness as possible, therefore, it cannot precisely assess the effectiveness of family law. ii. Regulation and Adjustment of family life The relationship between law and family has been described as the protector of private life.[27] However, the traditional division of public and private sphere have given rises to debates of whether it is appropriate to regulate the private life by the law. The opinion of traditional liberal position suggests that it is improper for the state to regulate and intervene on private affairs.[28] For example, if the law illegalises adultery, it might violate the privacy of family life. It also seems impossible and difficult for the law enforcers to control all private properties for the adultery issue. Respecting private life upholds the principle of autonomy. The traditional liberal position respects individuals decisions about how they wish to develop their own beliefs and personality on the family issue.[29] Arguably, the promotion of autonomy principle does not necessarily mean that the law should be entirely cast out of the private sphere. Some undesirable [30]forms of family life, such as child abuse, might require and deserve the intervention to regulate and adjust to the private family life. For example, there has been an increase of criminal law used against parents whose children misbehave. Therefore, it is not a clear picture to distinguish one of intervention or deregulation. Although the law is difficult to have clear-cut for public and private intervention to family life, it seems to endorse the shift to privatisation. The law attempts to regulate the private life less and less.[31] The law encourages divorcing couples to use mediation for the family and financial dispute resolution, rather than settling it through court. The current Government also gives the clear direction about the role of the court that the law should focus on protecting the vulnerable from abuse, victimisation and exploitation and should avoid intervening in family life except where there is clear benefit to children or vulnerable adults in doing so.[32] In other words, the law can focus on the regulation and adjustment of the family in crisis. [33] iii. Sending Message to the Public With collaboration with the family regulation policy, the Law Commission recognises the ability of family law was to send the message to the public about the desirable behaviour of good family living.[34] Law upholds the traditional values of nuclear families with unrestrictive form, underlining those qualities as an ideal family model. Therefore, the law encourages the former partners of the divorced family and lone parent families to go on to make a new family[35], rather than focusing on the remedying the broken family. The government policy takes this approach to achieve good divorce, now defined as one that creates the separate-but-continuing family.[36] The message sent by the law can be reviewed through the usage of judicial language and style in the judgments.[37] Traditionally, the expression of paternalism or welfare highlight the breadwinner in a traditional patriarchal family was responsible for supporting continually his pre-separation marital obligation after the breaking-down of marriage.[38] In the 1990s, the judgment starts to shift to the language of equality or rights, which supports and assumes a diverse and democratic form of family. The breadwinner became obliged to share what became re-conceived as the fruit of the marital partnership. [39] The language radiates the message that the law shifts to emphasise the principle of non-discrimination, mutuality, right or entitlement and equality. iv. Promotion of Equality Family law positively promotes the principle of equality and non-discrimination. The widening scope of what is a family, by allowing diverse relationships is a significant indication of justice, equality and inclusivity.[40] The enforcements of Civil Partnership Act 2004 and Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 grant most of the rights and responsibilities of marriage to the registered same-sex couples to enjoy the equal right and status for family life[41] as the heterosexual marriage couples. [42] Arguably, there are still some limits on equality and discrimination. On 21st February 2017, the Court of Appeal rejected heterosexual couples entering into civil partnerships.[43] The judgment fails to allow the couples to seek fairness and equality and to eliminate discrimination between heterosexual and homosexual couples. The judgment has further potentially violated the human rights under Article 14 taken with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)[44]. The couples might not make their personal family choices. Hence, Lord Arden further urged the need to change the law by the Parliament. To further argue regarding inequality within the law. Historically, the law has discriminated against women in divorce where the husbands are able to divorce their wives on the basis of adultery. However, the wives are only able to divorce their husbands based on the grounds of the incestuous adultery.[45] Therefore, the law seeks to emphasise the concept of equality before the law that both men and women are on equal footing [46]and to avoid men abusing their gender to obtain an unfair advantage. The law also ensures everyone in society could equally access safety and justice through the law. In terms of domestic violence, the evidence provided by the Rights of Women, mentions that there are up to 40% of women who could not satisfy the restrictive requirements of Legal Aid.[47] On 23rd Feb 2017, the removal of the five-year limit and the admission of fresh categories of evidence aims to help large numbers of women and also men, who were previously been deprived of legal advice and representation, can obtain legal aid for family disputes.[48] Estelle du Boulay, Director of Rights of Women commented that this renew commitment is both victory for women and also for common sense.[49] The law is lowering the thresholds for more people to seek the justice through law. However, feminist perspectives argue that there is still a loophole between gender equalities. They criticise the disadvantages from the assumption of the traditional gender role in society: the father is the active breadwinner whilst the mother is the traditional day to day carer. [50] Yet, SRJ v DWJ [51] invokes the entitlement of monetary value for the contribution of the wife that she gave up her work as a teacher to concentrate on her family. The court attempts to redress the gender imbalance that exists in the traditional family-based discourses. Therefore, the parties respective responsibilities to each other base on the discourse of rights, compensation, mutuality, and gender equality.[52] 4. Conclusion Family law is a special law due to the wide scope of families and wide ranges of issues it deals with throughout its historical and contemporary period. This paper has examined family law from four different categories: Functional, adjustive, radiating message and equality. Although these four categories might not cover all issues, it briefly summarises the main principles of family law and further evaluates its effectiveness regarding on concerned issues. References Bowcott O, Court Rules Against Heterosexual Couple Who Wanted Civil Partnership The Guardian (2017) accessed 7 March 2017 Bowcott O, Legal Aid Shakeup Hands Lifeline To Domestic Violence Victims The Guardian (2017) accessed 26 February 2017 Dewar J, The Normal Chaos Of Family Law (1998) 61 Modern Law Review Diduck A and Kaganas F, Family Law, Gender And The State: Text, Cases And Materials (3rd edn, Oxford: Hart 2012) Diduck A, Shifting Familiarity (2005) 58 Current Legal Problems Diduck A, What Is Family Law For? (2011) 64 Current Legal Problems Eekelaar J, Family Law And Social Policy (2nd edn, Weidenfield and Nicholson 1984) Dyson Holding Ltd v Fox [1976] QB 513 European Convention on Humans Right, Art 8 and 14 Families And Households- Office For National Statistics (Ons.gov.uk, 2017) accessed 24 February 2017 Family Law Ground For Divorce (1990) accessed 26 February 2017 Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association [2001] 1 AC 27 Harris-Short S and Miles J, Family Law: Text, Cases And Material (2nd edn, Oxford 2011) Herring J, Family Law (7th edn, Longman 2015) Human Rights Act 1998, Art 8 Gamman v Ekins [1950] 2 KB 328, 331 Mendoza v Ghaiden [2004] UKHL 30 Minow M, All In The Family In All Families: Membership, Loving, And Owing (1993) 95 WVLR Norgrove D, Family Justice Review Final Report (2012) accessed 12 March 2017 Re G (Education: Religious Upbringing) [2012] EWCA Rights of Women, Evidencing Domestic Violence: Nearly 3 Years On (2015) accessed 26 February 2017 Shannon G, Family Law (1st edn, Oxford University Press 2011) Smart C, Stories Of Family Life: Cohabitation, Marriage And Social Change (1st edn, 2000) SRJ v DWJ [1999] FCR 153 CA Starting In School To End Domestic Violence (Refuge For Women and Children Against domestic violence, 2017) accessed 7 March 2017 The Guardian, Marriage Has Changed Throughout Its History. Making It Equal Changes It For The Better (2015) The Matrimonial Causes Act 1957 c85 Travis A, Domestic Abuse Accounts For One In 10 Recorded Crimes ONS The Guardian (2016) Woodhouse J and Dempsey N, Domestic Violence In England And Wales (House of Commons Library 2016) [1] Carol Smart, Stories of Family Life: Cohabitation, Marriage and Social Change (2000) 17 CJFL 20 [2] Alison Diduck, What Is Family Law For? (2011) 64 Current Legal Problems 289 [3] Jonathan Herring, Family Law (7th edn, Longman, Essex 2015) 16-17 [4] ibid. [5] John Dewar, The Normal Chaos Of Family Law (1998) 61 Modern Law Review 467 [6] Herring (n 3) 4 [7] Gamman v Ekins [1950] 2 KB 328, 331 [8] Families And Households- Office For National Statistics (Ons.gov.uk, 2015) accessed 24 February 2017. [9] ibid. [10] Alison Diduck and Felicity Kaganas, Family Law, Gender And The State: Text, Cases And Materials (2nd edn, Hart publishing 2017), p.9 [11] Herring (n 3) 7-12 [12] ibid. [13] Dyson Holdings Ltd v Fox [1976] QB 513 [14] Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association [2001] 1 AC 27 [15] ibid 32. [16] Mendoza v Ghaiden [2004] UKHL 30 [17] Martha Minow, All in the Family in All Families: Membership, Loving, and Owing [1992-1993] 95 WVLR 319 [18] Alison Diduck, Shifting Familiarity (2005) 58 Current Legal Problems 250 [19] Geoffrey Shannon, Family Law (1st edn, Oxford University Press 2011). [20] Herring (n 3) 17 [21] John Eekelaar, Family law and social policy (2nd edn, Weidenfield and Nicholson, London 1984) 24-26 [22] Alan Travis, Domestic Abuse Accounts For One In 10 Recorded Crimes ONS The Guardian (2016). [23] Herring (n 3) 299 [24] John Woodhouse and Noel Dempsey, Domestic Violence In England And Wales (House of Commons Library 2016) 5 [25] Herring (n 3) 17 [26] Refuge For Women and Children Against domestic violence, Starting In School To End Domestic Violence accessed 7 March 2017. [27] Herring (n 3) 21 [28] ibid. [29] Herring (n 3) 22 [30] Sonia Harris-Short and Joanna Miles, Family Law: Text, Cases And Material (2nd edn, Oxford 2011) 12 [31] Herring (n 3) 24 [32] David Norgrove, Family Justice Review Final Report (The Ministry of Justice, the Department for Education and the Welsh Government 2012) accessed 12 March 2017. [33] Harris-Short and Miles (n18) 12 [34] Law Commission Report No.192, Family Law Ground For Divorce (1990) accessed 26 February 2017. [35] Diduck (n 17) 238 [36] ibid. [37] Diduck (n 2) 292 [38] ibid. [39] Diduck (n 2) 293 [40] Diduck (n 22) 239 [41] Article 8 of Human Rights Act 1998, Right to respect for private and family life [42] The Guardian, Marriage Has Changed Throughout Its History. Making It Equal Changes It For The Better (2015). [43] Owen Bowcott, Court Rules Against Heterosexual Couple Who Wanted Civil Partnership (the Guardian, 2017) accessed 7 March 2017. [44] Article 14 of ECHR, Prohibition of discrimination Art 8 of ECHR, Right to respect for private and family life, [45] The Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 c.85, XXVII, On Adultery of Wife or Incest, and of Husband, Petition for Dissolution of Marriage may be presented. [46] Munby LJ, Re G (Education: Religious Upbringing) [2012] EWCA, para 24 [47] Rights of Women, Evidencing Domestic Violence: Nearly 3 Years On (2015) accessed 26 February 2017. [48] Owen Bowcott, Legal Aid Shakeup Hands Lifeline To Domestic Violence Victims (the Guardian, 2017) accessed 26 February 2017. [49] ibid. [50] Minow (n 17) 313 [51] SRJ v DWJ [1999] 3 FCR 153 CA [52] Diduck (n 2) 297

Accrual Accounting vs. Cash Accounting Essay -- Financial Accounting B

The recording of financial activities in a business is essential in making sure accurate information is provided for decision making. Zafirakis (2005:4) states that "Accrual accounting is the cornerstone of modern accounting procedures." In this essay, the importance of accrual accounting will be considered by looking at how it functions in the Double Entry System and comparing it to cash accounting, another method of gathering financial information. Time and an accurate accounting measurement is what will be considered in determining the importance of accrual accounting. Double-entry accounting is used to develop accounting data. From this data, we can determine the performance of a business by calculating its profit, revenues - expenses. Juchau et al (2004:F146) states that "double-entry accounting is necessary for the accounting equation to be kept in balance." That is the five types of accounts, Assets, Liabilities, Equity, Revenues and Expenses must equate: Assets = Liabilities + Equity + Revenues - Expenses, this is the accounting equation. These accounts are recorded in the General Journal as entries and posted to the General Ledgers as `T'-accounts. Recording of these accounts are governed by Debit and Credit rules. When an asset or expense increases, it is considered a debit, when either of the two accounts decreases, it is considered a credit. Liabilities, equity and revenues can be considered the opposites to assets and expenses in that they form a debit when decreased and a credit when increased. From this, a duality of recording is formed since every event of recording a transaction involves recording one debit and one credit. For example, Famous Zamous, a cookie company sold $1000 worth of cookies on th... ...ugh the sale was made on the 1st of Jan, the cash measurement of accounting has failed to show any activity on the 1st of Jan. This results in a distorted report of financing operations of Famous Zamous. Similarly, net profit for the month of January in cash accounting would have differed from that of the accrual measurement, being that revenues and expenses recorded are of different balances, cash accounting being that of lacking information. In conclusion, accrual accounting is the better system as it provides a more accurate account of the operations and performances of a business. Bibliography: Juchau R., Flanagan J., Mitchell G., Tibbits G., Ingram R.W., Albright T.L., Baldwin B.A. & Hill J.W. 2004 Accounting information for Decisions Australia: Thomson Zafirakis, M. 2005 Accounting Handbook Australia: Trinity College Foundations Studies Program

Marketing In business organizations

1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The buying decision process as a general concept and as applied to commercial / industrial buyers. In business organizations, the various participants who are involved in the purchasing decision making process are initiators, users, influencers, deciders, approvers, buyers and gatekeepers. The gatekeepers are the important participants in the industrial buying process as they are the focal point for entry into the firm. They constitute the decision–making unit of a buying organization termed as the buying centre. The business buyers have the advantage of seeking the highest economic, social, service and technical benefit with respect to a market offering’s cost. The buying process begins with problem recognition- in this case the industrial buyer identifies the main need or problem which affects the firm’s business processes. The next step is Product specification – The buyer identifies the product’s general technical specifications by specifying the size, quality, quantity, design, features etc. Supplier Search – After the specifications have been set upon, the buying centre tries to examine the appropriate suppliers for its supply of raw materials. Proposal Solicitation – The proposals and quotations will be invited from various suppliers contacted and one, which satisfies the firm’s objective with minimum cost and better economies of scale will be accepted. Supplier selection – Based on certain characteristics, the buyer will determine parameters to select the suppliers based on price, reputation, product reliability, and service reliability and supplier flexibility. Order – Routine Specifications : Here negotiation on the order takes place with the final supplier selected by the buying centre. Performance Review – the suppliers will be periodically checked and evaluated on their performance in-order to identify the gap between the actual and the expected performance. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Describe how the business environment is analysed, segmentation, targeting, positioning. The major environmental factors that influences and affects the buying behaviour as an industrial customer are environmental factors like the level of demand, the economic outlook, social responsibility acts, technological and political change; Organizational factors speak on the objectives, strategies, policies, plans and systems etc; Interpersonal factors highlight on the status, empathy, interests, power, authority etc; Individual factors such as age, income, education, job designation, culture, social class etc. are the requirements to be looked upon; The overall market dynamics can be studied by understanding the levels of market segmentation. Segment marketing, niche marketing, local marketing and individual marketing are some of the ways of micro marketing. Some of the variables for segmenting business markets are Demographics where-in the industry details, company size and the location have to be decided; Operating variables which includes technology, user or nonuser status, customer capabilities in the buying process have to be worked upon; Purchasing approaches – The way the customer approaches while buying the industrial goods, Situational factors- like size of the order, urgency; and Personal characteristics – buyer-seller similarity relationship, loyalty between the firm and the customers and attitude towards risk are chief parameters while segmenting.. These are the important bases for segmenting the market in case of industrial or business buyers. Selecting one or more of the market segments, which yields better returns at minimum cost and improved profits, is known as the process of targeting. The firm could use certain patterns for targeting such as single-segment concentration, selective specialization, product specialization, market specialization and full market coverage. Positioning is what you do to the minds of the consumers. The various differentiating or positioning categories will be product, services, personnel, channel and image. Different positioning strategies adopted could be attribute positioning, benefit positioning, application, user, competitor positioning, price positioning and product-category positioning. 3)Some of the patterns for market coverage are based on the segment’s overall attractiveness and firm’s objectives and resources. In Single segment concentration – the company selects just one single segment, which implies a product in a single market. In selective specialization – the firm selects certain segments, which are supposed to be lucrative, and which are more attractive. Product specialization – The firm focuses on a single product in all the available market to spread the business risk. Market specialization – the firm constitutes on serving a certain focused market with the acceptability of various products. Full Market coverage – The firm attempts to serve all the markets and all the products considering the whole market as one globe. References – Advertising Management, Edited by R. Batra, J. G. Myers, and D. A. Aaker. New Delhi: Prentic, 1999. Marketing Management, Edited by P. Kotler. New Delhi: Prentice, 2000. Marketing Management: Planning, Implementation and Control, Edited by V. S. Ramaswamy and S. Namakumari. Delhi: Macmillan, 2004. Retail Marketing Management, Edited by D. Gilbert. New Delhi: Pearson, 2003.               

Free Essays on Machiavellian Politics In The Prince

The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, is one of the first examinations of politics and science from a purely scientific and rational perspective. Machiavelli theorizes that the state is only created if the people cooperate and work to maintain it. The state is also one of man’s greatest endeavors, and the state takes precedence over everything else. The state should be one’s primary focus, and maintaining the sovereignty of the state one’s most vital concern. The state is founded on the power of its military. Therefore, a strong military is vital to maintaining the state. Machiavelli believes that men respect power, but they will take advantage of kindness. He believes that when given the opportunity one must destroy completely, because if one does not he will certainly be destroyed. The prince should lead the military, and he has to be intelligent. An effective politician can make quick and intelligent choices about the problems that coneztly arise before him. He must also have virtue, which means he is strong, confident, talented, as well as smart. A prince cannot be uncertain, because uncertainty is a sign of weakness. Fortune controls half of human’s actions, and man’s will control the other half. Virtue is the best defense for fortune, and virtue must be used in order to keep fortune in check. The prince must take advantage of situations based solely on if it is best for the state. He should choose his decisions based on contemporary and historical examples. A prince cannot consider whether his acts are moral or immoral, and he instead must act in an unbiased manner for the state. Also, it does not matter how the state achieves its goals, as long as these goals are achieved. Finally, regardless of the personal morality involved, the prince should be praised if he does good for the state and berated if he hurts the state. Machiavelli’s principles have widespread influenc... Free Essays on Machiavellian Politics In The Prince Free Essays on Machiavellian Politics In The Prince The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, is one of the first examinations of politics and science from a purely scientific and rational perspective. Machiavelli theorizes that the state is only created if the people cooperate and work to maintain it. The state is also one of man’s greatest endeavors, and the state takes precedence over everything else. The state should be one’s primary focus, and maintaining the sovereignty of the state one’s most vital concern. The state is founded on the power of its military. Therefore, a strong military is vital to maintaining the state. Machiavelli believes that men respect power, but they will take advantage of kindness. He believes that when given the opportunity one must destroy completely, because if one does not he will certainly be destroyed. The prince should lead the military, and he has to be intelligent. An effective politician can make quick and intelligent choices about the problems that coneztly arise before him. He must also have virtue, which means he is strong, confident, talented, as well as smart. A prince cannot be uncertain, because uncertainty is a sign of weakness. Fortune controls half of human’s actions, and man’s will control the other half. Virtue is the best defense for fortune, and virtue must be used in order to keep fortune in check. The prince must take advantage of situations based solely on if it is best for the state. He should choose his decisions based on contemporary and historical examples. A prince cannot consider whether his acts are moral or immoral, and he instead must act in an unbiased manner for the state. Also, it does not matter how the state achieves its goals, as long as these goals are achieved. Finally, regardless of the personal morality involved, the prince should be praised if he does good for the state and berated if he hurts the state. Machiavelli’s principles have widespread influenc...

Free Essays on A White Heron

Short Stories can be interpreted in Many Ways Any type of literary work can contain secret messages throughout the story, and it’s up to the reader to analyze and figure these hidden messages out. Some stories contain themes that are obvious, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have other underlying themes. If the reader reads a literary piece more than once, then they’re apt to pick up much more than when they read it first. In Sarah Ornes Jewetts’, A White Heron, it sounds like a simple story at first, but once it’s analyzed and picked apart, there are many more aspects to the story that are revealed. This story is about an innocent, naà ¯ve girl named Sylvia who matures throughout the story and realizes the importance of keeping the secret of the white heron. When the reader first starts to read A White Heron, it sounds like a simple story about a young, curious girl living with her grandmother on a farm, and a bird hunter who is looking for a heron that the young girl has seen before. This hunter is willing to pay anyone who shows him where the heron is located ten dollars, because the Heron is a very valuable bird that usually isn’t found in that climate. The little girl locates the nest of the herring, but decides not to tell the hunter. After that scene the story ends. Sylvia, the little girl in this story, is portrayed as a young, innocent, curious girl who is discovering the world. By the end of this story, it is quite clear that she has matured a great deal for a nine year old. Sylvia started establishing morals that she will live by for the rest of her life. In the beginning of the short story, A White Heron, Sylvia was very much afraid of the woods which were in the back of her grandmother’s farm house. â€Å"They were going away from the western light, and striking deep into the dark woods..† (Jewett, 183). Her grandmother always warned her about the dangers of the woods, and never to go... Free Essays on A White Heron Free Essays on A White Heron The short story â€Å"A White Heron† written by Sarah Orne Jewett is the story of a young girl and how she becomes her own person in a time when women were supposed to be loyal like dogs toward men. The current views and the beginning of change in those views that some of society held towards the independence of women in the late 1800s can be seen through the character portrayals in â€Å"A White Heron.† In the opening of the story, Sylvia is alone in the woods driving home her cow when she runs into a young man. As the man approaches she refers to him as the enemy, and in a way he is. In the story Sylvia, her grandmother, and even the female cow are living a life that is free of males, yet happy. Suddenly, in comes this hunter to throw off the balance of the independent and female dominant life Sylvia knows. When Sylvia and the hunter return to Sylvia’s grandmother, Mrs. Tilley’s house Sylvia believed Mrs. Tilley had misunderstood the situation and made a mistake in allowing him to stay. The story also showed change when it mentioned the awakening of Mrs. Tilley’s â€Å"long slumbering hospitality,† reminding the reader of how secluded the women were (Charters, 391). Jewett shows men as being proud and always in search of a prize, rather than companionship. When the hunter began to converse with Mrs. Tilley he claimed a love for birds and that he had a great collection of them, in this way he wanted the birds as a prize he could display rather than a companion or friend. With this character and his display of stuffed dead birds, it relates how women were also viewed in this time. In this time women could be considered prizes, part of a man’s belongings to be displayed and admired. It can also be said that women were not expected to really live their life, but instead to become dead inside like the birds were dead. Love for men was similar to ownership. In the story Mrs. Tilley is an older woman who is easily able to rever... Free Essays on A White Heron How does an individual discover ones self? What might a person give up in order to do so? Sylvia, a character from Sarah Orne Jewett’s short story, A White Heron, goes through a plethora of events and personal decision making while unknowingly finding herself. Mrs. Tilley, Sylvia’s grandmother, chose Sylvia to live with on a farm in New England near the woods. Mrs. Tilley thinks Sylvia takes after Dan, her only child still alive other than Sylvia’s mother. Sylvia promptly fell in love with the countryside and would never wish to go home. Whether Sylvia was at home or on the farm, she always did choirs around the house to help out. Miss Moolly, an old clever cow, had to be walked back through the woods into the barn. Knowing how difficult this really was, Sylvia decided to give it a try. After a quick game of hide and go seek, Miss Moolly and Sylvia were on the path and on their way. As the cow stopped for a drink of water, Sylvia heard a loud whistle. She left the cow and attempted to hide behind a bush, but it was too late. A young man spotted her and asked her if she could tell him the way to the main road or where he could find a place to stay the night. Cautiously, Sylvia brings the young man back to grandma’s house. Mrs. Tilley welcomes the gentlemen with a meal and a room to stay in. After dinner the young man and Mrs. Tilley have a conversation about why the young man is out in the woods. The young man explains that he is a bird collector and only needs one more bird, a White Heron, to complet ! e his collection. The man offers Mrs. Tilley ten dollars for any assistance he might get. Immediately the grandmother explains to the man that Sylvia knows where to find such a bird, and she can help him find it. While listening in on the conversation, Sylvia finds herself in a bind. Sylvia knows that her grandmother needs the money, but she also realizes she is the only hope in completing the young man’s coll... Free Essays on A White Heron Short Stories can be interpreted in Many Ways Any type of literary work can contain secret messages throughout the story, and it’s up to the reader to analyze and figure these hidden messages out. Some stories contain themes that are obvious, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have other underlying themes. If the reader reads a literary piece more than once, then they’re apt to pick up much more than when they read it first. In Sarah Ornes Jewetts’, A White Heron, it sounds like a simple story at first, but once it’s analyzed and picked apart, there are many more aspects to the story that are revealed. This story is about an innocent, naà ¯ve girl named Sylvia who matures throughout the story and realizes the importance of keeping the secret of the white heron. When the reader first starts to read A White Heron, it sounds like a simple story about a young, curious girl living with her grandmother on a farm, and a bird hunter who is looking for a heron that the young girl has seen before. This hunter is willing to pay anyone who shows him where the heron is located ten dollars, because the Heron is a very valuable bird that usually isn’t found in that climate. The little girl locates the nest of the herring, but decides not to tell the hunter. After that scene the story ends. Sylvia, the little girl in this story, is portrayed as a young, innocent, curious girl who is discovering the world. By the end of this story, it is quite clear that she has matured a great deal for a nine year old. Sylvia started establishing morals that she will live by for the rest of her life. In the beginning of the short story, A White Heron, Sylvia was very much afraid of the woods which were in the back of her grandmother’s farm house. â€Å"They were going away from the western light, and striking deep into the dark woods..† (Jewett, 183). Her grandmother always warned her about the dangers of the woods, and never to go...

Digital TV essays

Digital TV essays Broadcasting, the transmission of information by radio or television, is a major factor affecting the television industry today. Broadcasting is currently achieved through analogue, a system that has existed since television began in the 1940s and 50s. "Analogue converts sound and pictures into waves, which are then transmitted through the air and picked up by our rooftops or indoor aerials." But, because of rapid technological advances in the modern era, analogue will soon be obsolete, and is presently in the process of being replaced by digital broadcasting, the new form of broadcasting that "turns pictures and sound into computer language, which changes ones television into a form of computer, so that it can connect to the Internet, take interactive programs, and carry many more channels," all of which cannot be accomplished through analogue. As modern technology grows, the television industry is introduced to major issues, such as low consumer confidence, a! nalogue switch-off difficulties, and the lack of technical skills. And unless these problems are resolved soon, they will lead to the collapse of the television industry. Concerns associated with employee technical skills is becoming very common in the digital TV industry. The industry fears that its employees may lack the advanced technical knowledge required for the future. Its major concern right now is to find the right people with the right skills to effectively implement future strategies. Digital TV companies must become much more competent, innovative and creative, which means that its employees must be willing to develop themselves and their company in order to sustain the industry. As many are aware, IT skills will be very essential to the well-being of the industry. Because a number of shoppers today are already purchasing products online and Internet access via digital TV exists, advanced IT skills are definitel...

Research About Buddha Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research About Buddha - Essay Example It was approximately four hundred years later that the traditions were written down, though by then the majority of the deeper teachings had been forgotten or altered because of the oral passing. Gautama as Buddha is something that has been debated, since there was no real proof - at least none that scholars could find - about the life and times of Gautama (Kerouac, 2008). However, this is the case in many religions; a religion, though, would not be what it is without faith from the practitioner. All the same, there are many claims about Gautamas life that have not been proven, yet these are part of his teachings. It is pretty uncommon when the physical appearance of a god or a spiritual figure is important, though this is not so much the case when it comes to spiritual paths like Buddhism or Paganism. The physical appearance of Buddha actually plays a large role in how Buddha is regarded and worshipped in Buddhism. Buddha had a very welcoming appearance, one that would make people comfortable to approach him. However, due to the fact that very little could be proven about Buddhas "human" life, there is a lot of controversy surrounding what he really looked like. The common portrayal of Buddha is of a fat man with long, stretched out earlobes. The appearance that scholars have come to declare as his, however, is that of a man who was fit and healthy, as he had had military training while he was growing up (Armstrong, 2004). Many argue and say that the former description is of Buddha as the godlike figure, while the latter appearance is what he looked like in his human persona. While the godlike figure does not need to be questioned, as this is similar to many other godlike images in spiritual paths, there is very little to be said about how Buddha looked in real life - there is simply not enough evidence to prove against it or in its favor. Buddha is one of the few rare spiritual leaders who was not necessarily considered a god or a deity of any

On the Issue of Debt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

On the Issue of Debt - Essay Example This brief analysis will consider what this student believes to be the most pressing and important issue surround the seemingly ever-increasing levels of debt that both federal and state budgets are currently facing. Furthermore, as a function of this increase in overall debt, the negative externalities that such a change portends are vast and systemic. Whereas in previous times the degree and extent to which governments dealt with the issue of debt has always been a high concern for law-makers and citizens, the level and extent to which the current situation weights upon both the government decision makers and the electorate is unprecedented. As a result, the very nature of governance the degree to which this process encompasses nearly every aspect of society and the economy has only exponentially grown (Eichler 1216). For those that are concerned with the overall sovereignty and freedom of the society, this has naturally become a primal concern due to the fact that many nations are able to leverage the United States due to the level of its debt that they hold in the form of bonds and other financial mechanisms. Furthermore, as a function of these factors that have thus far been enumerated upon, this brief work will seek to elaborate upon some key mechanisms through which the problem itself can be lessened over time. The Simpson-Bowles committee put forward what many outside of the realm of politics would deem a fair approach to an infinitely complex issue. The mixed approach that this committee put forward hinged upon the need to make budget cuts, re-work the tax plan, secure Social Security, and reduce the size of the annual budget deficit. The reason that the plan was not latched on to by either political party is due to the fact that it required both an increase in tax revenue and a decrease in spending/budget cuts in order to make the goals that it defined (Croxson 103). These two mechanisms specifically are precisely what must be targeted for the federal (as well as state) budget deficits that currently exist to be minimized. As it is painfully clear, seeking to reduce and/or cancel budget deficits and debt in a relatively short period of time is beyond the realm of possibility. As a result of this, each political party and or leader wants to ignore the issue due to the fact that no political capital can ultimately be gained by seeking to fix an issue that they themselves nor their party will ever receive credit for; however, the larger issue is the fact that the debt crisis threatens the very sovereignty and vitality of the nation, its economy and society (Barth 98). The issue itself is not only a concern for future generations, although this is perhaps one of the greatest concerns that helps to define the size and scope of the problem. Rather, the issue weighs heavily on the way in which the government, both state, federal, and local, seek to provide key services to the communities which they serve. Rather than building more park s, maintaining infrastructure, and providing a litany of other adequate services, the government is forced to expend a large percentage of its annual budget (which itself is already over and above current tax receipts) to service the debt that currently exists. What this portends is a situation in which the government is borrowing money in order to pay the interest on the money that it is already borrowed. It does not take a degree in advanced economics to instantly realize that such a stance is untenable and cannot be long continued without the structure and legitimacy of the entire economic system falling into a state of collapse. As such, the current status quo with regards to debt level and spending is both untenable and unwise. One need look no further than examples of Greece and other nations to rapidly realize what maintaining a dangerously high percentage of debt to national GDP portends. Similarly, whereas the solution mechanism may be a shared sacrifice over a period of ma ny years, the

LEAN THINKING (Manufacturing Lean Tools) Assignment

LEAN THINKING (Manufacturing Lean Tools) - Assignment Example In other words, demand requests supply hence pulls the supply out of the company. It can, therefore, be argued that the market fuels the needs that stimulate the company to make an individual product, which in turn emerges as a reaction to the pull action of demand. A company is not in a position to develop complete knowledge of the market as well as its players, which are marked by the dynamism and changeability of their needs and actions (Sharma & Agrawal, 2009). As a result, planning for organizational activities becomes risky endeavour and hence cannot be carried out for very long spans of time. The basis for the application of the pull strategy is hence an unstable context where the same business processes cannot be successfully reiterated (Sharma & Agrawal, 2009). Business competitiveness is not established with the creation of rigid cost structures that are steadily reduced with time. This means that the competitive force associated with pull strategies lies in the ability of the pull strategies to react to the market in rapid action. Additionally, experience in production and communications is not hyped (Sharma & Agrawal, 2009). Rather, knowledge is created in flexible responses as per the manufacturing processes, and also to informatio n and communications. For that reason, the competitiveness of pull systems is dependent on the ability to react afore the competition to the varying needs of demand. This applies not only to material flows but also to the flows of information and communications. It, therefore, appears that for the business sectors that experience elevated degrees of competitive intensity, only pull type policies are applied, considering the impracticality of long-term planning as well as the accentuated dynamism of demand and competitors. However, this does not occur because, the type of pull strategy has to be recognized on the basis of the details of each business process. For controlled competition economies, pull

Land law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Land law - Essay Example The bank therefore, has the right to repossess and sell the house from Ben.1 By accepting to sign the mortgage papers as second owner though ignorantly, Ben becomes a holder in due course. Because the mortgage was transferred to him does not make him free of real defense. Real defenses imply the defenses ascribed to the formation of the initial contract.2 In this scenario, Ben was conned into signing the mortgage papers. Because he had been tricked into signing the paper, the bank does not have to allow him freely own the property. The initial agreement is paramount. Despite the fact that Ali has no revenue to recover the loan from Cait, the bank still has the right to recover the mortgage because it was not part of the agreement between Ben and Cait. The bank therefore, has the right to sue Ben and repossess and sell the house so that in can recover the debt that had been advanced to Cait.3 The bank has the right to repossess and sell Ben’s home because the terms and conditions of any mortgage allow the creditor to repossess the mortgage and sell it in order to recover its debt.4 In the scenario that has been presented, because Cait has lost her job and may be financially unstable to pay the loan, the bank has the entire mandate to sue her in a court of law so that it can recover the debt. Mortgages must also be paid within a given period of time.5 If the terms were transferred to Ben though ignorantly, he is expected to meet the deadline that the initial mortgagor had with the bank. If Ben is not able to meet this deadline, the bank, being a business entity that has all its operations governed by the law, has the right to go to court to compel the mortgagor to surrender the property. Inability to recover its loan within the agreed period of time according to the agreement implies that the bank will make losses. In the scenario that has been presented, the

HEA 409 Business Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

HEA 409 Business Plan - Essay Example The other section is financial projections. On the basis of a healthcare organization, the following is a description of service description section and the financial projections. The healthcare organization that is to be formed, HealthCo Organization will provide premier healthcare services especially to home-based care patients. In addition, HealthCo Organization will also be involved in providing skilled and effective nursing services, social work, as well as different forms of therapies (Walshe & Smith, 2011). Amongst the therapies that will be provided by HealthCo Organization include speech, physical, and occupational therapy. The surrounding community is known to be workaholics and would not have adequate time to relax and have adequate physical exercises. In addition, the community is made of many old people that require adequate physical therapies to boost their health. As a result, HealthCo Organization will be involved in extensive home-based health care besides offering the aforementioned forms of therapies in order to enhance the health of the community. HealthCo Organization will also provide other services that include injury case management especially in respect to games and fire (Thomas, 2003). The injury case management that HealthCo Organization will provide involves an intensive program and awareness on the cases of various forms of injuries. Moreover, HealthCo Organization will also be involved in providing adequate and effective assessment of the injuries sustained, planning on how to solve the injuries, providing adequate understanding of how to care for such injuries, and ensuring that the injuries are not only treated but also cared for adequately (Walshe & Smith, 2011). Lastly, there will be professional services in respect to general health and the environment for any community

Canadian Politics - Senate Reform in Canada Essay

Canadian Politics - Senate Reform in Canada - Essay Example Senate reforms are also looked at from a positive outlook based on the comprehension of their connection with democracy and the legitimate establishment of representative institutions that are linked with democratic processes such as electing Senators rather than relying on an appointment procedure upon the discretion of the prime minister. The essay also aims to shed light upon the effectiveness of Senate reforms by analyzing whether a direct electorate process is applicable in the Canadian political structure and what alternatives can be explored to enhance the legitimacy of the Canadian Senate by using the reforms applied by the Australian Senate as a primary model, so that the Canadian Senate reforms can be categorized as legitimate, democratic and most of all applicable to the nation of Canada. The essay follows an assessment on the prospects of senate reform in Canada to conclude both the negative and positive aspects of its implications and impact to conclude whether Senate reforms would prove to be favorable for the Canadian democracy. Carbert suggested that the possibility of senate reform has always been such that its implications on minorities do not often come under discussion. Understanding the effects of a senate reform whether negative or positive becomes even more important when acknowledging the fact that women constitute of a significant percentage in the Senate compared to any other legislative body in Canada. The Senate Appointment Consultations Act postulates that the Prime Minister no longer holds the authority to appoint Senators rather a voting process should be put into place which allows a democratic placement of Senators (Carbert 1). The proposed elements of the Bill C-20 stand on four crucial tenets which are of a preferential voting system, funding for campaigning, a board of nominations and regional magnitude. A scrutiny of these components of the bill suggest that women in the proposed situation could be at a

Land law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Land law - Essay Example The bank therefore, has the right to repossess and sell the house from Ben.1 By accepting to sign the mortgage papers as second owner though ignorantly, Ben becomes a holder in due course. Because the mortgage was transferred to him does not make him free of real defense. Real defenses imply the defenses ascribed to the formation of the initial contract.2 In this scenario, Ben was conned into signing the mortgage papers. Because he had been tricked into signing the paper, the bank does not have to allow him freely own the property. The initial agreement is paramount. Despite the fact that Ali has no revenue to recover the loan from Cait, the bank still has the right to recover the mortgage because it was not part of the agreement between Ben and Cait. The bank therefore, has the right to sue Ben and repossess and sell the house so that in can recover the debt that had been advanced to Cait.3 The bank has the right to repossess and sell Ben’s home because the terms and conditions of any mortgage allow the creditor to repossess the mortgage and sell it in order to recover its debt.4 In the scenario that has been presented, because Cait has lost her job and may be financially unstable to pay the loan, the bank has the entire mandate to sue her in a court of law so that it can recover the debt. Mortgages must also be paid within a given period of time.5 If the terms were transferred to Ben though ignorantly, he is expected to meet the deadline that the initial mortgagor had with the bank. If Ben is not able to meet this deadline, the bank, being a business entity that has all its operations governed by the law, has the right to go to court to compel the mortgagor to surrender the property. Inability to recover its loan within the agreed period of time according to the agreement implies that the bank will make losses. In the scenario that has been presented, the

Canadian Politics - Senate Reform in Canada Essay

Canadian Politics - Senate Reform in Canada - Essay Example Senate reforms are also looked at from a positive outlook based on the comprehension of their connection with democracy and the legitimate establishment of representative institutions that are linked with democratic processes such as electing Senators rather than relying on an appointment procedure upon the discretion of the prime minister. The essay also aims to shed light upon the effectiveness of Senate reforms by analyzing whether a direct electorate process is applicable in the Canadian political structure and what alternatives can be explored to enhance the legitimacy of the Canadian Senate by using the reforms applied by the Australian Senate as a primary model, so that the Canadian Senate reforms can be categorized as legitimate, democratic and most of all applicable to the nation of Canada. The essay follows an assessment on the prospects of senate reform in Canada to conclude both the negative and positive aspects of its implications and impact to conclude whether Senate reforms would prove to be favorable for the Canadian democracy. Carbert suggested that the possibility of senate reform has always been such that its implications on minorities do not often come under discussion. Understanding the effects of a senate reform whether negative or positive becomes even more important when acknowledging the fact that women constitute of a significant percentage in the Senate compared to any other legislative body in Canada. The Senate Appointment Consultations Act postulates that the Prime Minister no longer holds the authority to appoint Senators rather a voting process should be put into place which allows a democratic placement of Senators (Carbert 1). The proposed elements of the Bill C-20 stand on four crucial tenets which are of a preferential voting system, funding for campaigning, a board of nominations and regional magnitude. A scrutiny of these components of the bill suggest that women in the proposed situation could be at a