Drug Testing and Ethics Essay

Is drug testing an unwarranted invasion of employee privacy? Which is more important–getting drugs out of the workplace or protecting the privacy of the employee? What about other health-threatening activities, i. e. smoking outside of working hours, unprotected sex, etc. Should employers be able to question or test employees or potential employees about these activities? Both of these scenarios are tricky ones. On the one hand, any employer would want to get drugs out of the workplace. On the other hand you don’t want to invade an employee’s privacy. At the same time some jobs may require employees to conform to a certain standard of behavior both on and off the job, but how much is too much? How much should be employees be judged and how high of a standard should be set. Where do we draw the line? Shaw and Barry in their text Moral Issues in Business state â€Å"A firm has a legitimate interest in employee conduct off the job only if it affects work performance† (Shaw & Barry 2010, p477). It can be argued that as long as the drug use doesn’t affect the employee’s work performance, then he shouldn’t be tested. If he is tested and the result is positive, but work performance is satisfactory, then drug use should not be considered as grounds for termination. Perhaps a better way to state this could be that as long as employee performance meets or exceeds the expected standards, then drug testing should not be used even if drug use is suspected. Egoism can be used to argue from both points of view. According to this theory, â€Å"an act is morally right if and only if it best promotes an agent’s interests† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p59). Following this theory, if the employer drug tests several employees and fires all who test positive, then they are acting in their best interests. On the other hand, if the employee’s best interests are served through their drug usage, then the employee has acted in the best moral way that he can. Using this theory does however raise some interesting questions. If the best possible person for a specific job is fired as a result of a drug test result, and the company’s performance in that specific department falls as a result of this, then was the action a morally right one? From a personal point of view, I believe that drug testing should be used only if the job requirements demand it. I don’t see any need for the person who picks up my garbage to be tested. I do however see a need for the school crossing guard at my children’s school to be tested. The person who shovels the snow from my driveway in the winter and mows my lawn in the spring and summer doesn’t need to be drug tested. My doctor should be. Several years ago my husband and I had a spat over my decision to hire the town drunk to do some lawn work and prune some tree branches off our roof. In all fairness I had no idea that he was the town drunk when I hired him, I was out in our backyard picking up fallen branches and he walked by at that moment. He asked if I had any odd jobs to be done and since he came across as clean and presentable and lucid I hired him on the spot. It wasn’t until three weeks later when my husband came home early and saw Bruce (the town drunk) at the top of a 50 foot tree sawing branches off that he realized who his new handyman was. Since he was usually the one on call at night whenever Bruce had one of his â€Å"benders† and had had cleaned him up several times, he now knew where Bruce was getting his drinking money from. My husband came home and told me he’d fired him. I rehired Bruce a day later. My reasoning was that he’d never shown up drunk, he did a great job on any task I set for him and his fee was reasonable. It was within my best interests to keep Bruce employed therefore I was acting as an egoist. It was within Bruce’s best interests to remain employed since it gave him the money to support his habit. He was acting as an egoist. We were both also following the theory of Libertarianism under which each person is free to live as he or she wishes â€Å"free from the interference of others† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p122). My husband in his decision to fire Bruce was also acting partially from an egoist point of view since an unemployed Bruce meant a sober Bruce which meant no trips to the ER which meant that my husband wouldn’t have to deal with a cursing, screaming, bloody drunk Bruce. At the same time he was also acting from Kant’s theory which states that â€Å"Only when we act from a sense of duty does our action have moral worth† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p69). My husband felt that it was his duty as a member of the medical profession, not to enable a habit that could possibly cause harm to an individual. A high incidence of false positive results in drug testing is another reason for the argument that drug testing should not be used. In researching this paper I was surprised to learn how many over the counter drugs can produce false positive results. According to an article on The National Center for Biotechnology Information website entitled â€Å"Commonly prescribed medications and potential false positive urine drug screens† published Aug 15th 2010, â€Å"A number of routinely prescribed medications have been associated with triggering false-positive UDS results. Verification of the test results with a different screening test or additional analytical tests should be performed to avoid adverse consequences for the patients. † Some of the more common drugs that could produce false positive results were nonprescription nasal inhalers such as Vicks, antihistamines, antidepressants, and antibiotics such as Amoxicillin which has been associated with false positive urine screens for cocaine. Employers should not be able to question or test employees about other behaviors that they might consider health threatening. This is a rather grey area and raises the questions of where to draw the line. For example if a company which is trying to reduce health insurance costs, decides to eliminate all smokers from their payroll since it costs more to insure smokers, shouldn’t they then eliminate overweight employees who are more likely to develop health problems than fit ones? What about employees with pre-existing conditions such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure or kidney problems? Shouldn’t they be eliminated as well? Should employers be allowed to use polygraph tests to â€Å"screen† out potentially costly employees who may engage in illegal drug use or any of these activities? The polygraph test, or as it is more commonly known, the lie detector test measures several physiological with in the human body such as increased blood pressure, increased pulse and respiration. However in spite of what most people believe it is not the most reliable test. Shaw and Barry in their text Moral Issues in Business list three assumptions made by those who advocate for the use of these tests. These assumptions are *  1.  Lying will automatically trigger a distinctive response to the question. * 2. Polygraphs are very accurate. * 3. Polygraphs cannot be beaten. (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p480). Unfortunately for these advocates while the polygraph test measures bodily responses to questions it cannot indicate whether or not the response is actually a lie. A person who has a history of being abused may register different reactions to questions along that subject area and all that these reactions may indicate is discomfort to the question not necessarily that the response to the question itself is a lie. Opinions vary as to just how accurate the tests are with the percentages ranging from 90% to as low as 55%, the higher percentages coming not surprisingly from the American Polygraph Association. Finally polygraph tests can be beaten and even generate false positives. Spies John Walker and Aldrich Ames both passed polygraph tests as did Gary Ridgeway the â€Å"Green Killer†. Ames actually passed two different polygraph tests. Since these tests are costly, using them as a screening method for either new hires or present employees may not be the best solution and should be considered on a case by case basis. Other methods should be used before resorting to polygraphs testing such as drug testing which may indicate previous drug use (although as has been mentioned earlier some false positive results may occur) or even background tests which may turn up questionable incidents. If during the course of these two checks questions are raised about the employee or new hire, then the employer could resort to the use of a polygraph. It could be argued that utilizing either or both of these two other methods is even more costly to the employers but I would say that any employer who needs to use a polygraph test to weed out potentially costly employees could afford to administer the extra tests to be absolutely sure. Fortunately for most employees, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988 which protects the rights of employees and outlines the usage and restrictions of lie detector tests states: â€Å"The EPPA prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests, either for preemployment screening or during the course of employment. Employers generally may not require or request any employee or job applicant to take a lie detector test, or discharge, discipline, or discriminate against an employee or job applicant for refusing to take a test or for exercising other rights under the Act†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ It then goes on to outline just which employers are permitted to utilize lie detector tests †¦ â€Å"Subject to restrictions, the Act permits polygraph (a type of lie detector) tests to be administered to certain job applicants of security service firms (armored car, alarm, and guard) and of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and dispensers. Subject to restrictions, the Act also permits polygraph testing of certain employees of private firms who are reasonably suspected of involvement in a workplace incident (theft, embezzlement, etc. ) that resulted in specific economic loss or injury to the employer. † (United States Department of Labor website) My argument to using a polygraph test therefore would be that assuming that the employer fell into one of these categories then yes they should be permitted to utilize lie detector tests but only as a last resort. I submit this argument using the rule utilitarianism theory. This is not to be confused with act utilitarianism. Under act utilitarianism, â€Å"we ask must ask ourselves what the consequences of a particular act in a particular situation will be for all those affected. If its consequences bring more total good than those of any alternative course of action, then this action is the right one† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p63) The action that produces the greatest amount of happiness is the right one. Rule utilitarianism asks â€Å"what moral code †¦ a society should adopt to maximize happiness. The principles that make up that code would then be the basis for distinguishing right actions from wrong actions† (Shaw & Barry, 2010 p80-81). Under act utilitarianism, if 20 employees were polygraphed and 15 of them failed the test and were fired as a result, then the action would not be a moral one since more people would be left unhappy rather than happy. Using those same figures, if the rule or moral code that needed to be followed was that of a no drug policy, and the same 20 employees were polygraphed and again 15 failed and were fired, then the action would be a morally right one since firing the 15 employees made sure that the moral code was enforced. References http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20689123 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygraph_test http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/eppa.htm#who

Ob Effective Communication

ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR Case study: Bridging The Two Worlds – The Organizational Dilemma What are the barriers to effective communications in Aluminium Elements Corp and how were they addressed? What would you do differently? GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 2 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Communication refers to the process in which information is transmitted and understood between two or more people. The word â€Å"understood† is emphasized because the transmitting of the sender's meaning to other people is the essence of good communication.In the model of communication, there are various channels and barriers (noise) that can become the factors of communication effectiveness. 1. 1 Introduction to communication Figure 1 Communication Model Figure 1 refers to the communication model. Firstly, communication starts when a sender has a message which he intends to send to the receiver. The sender will encode the message and transmit the message. In this process, sender will choos e the channel of GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 3 communication through which the message is sent to the receiver.These channels may include voice, body language, the social media, electronic gadgets, and so on. However, ‘noise’ may occur during the transmission of message and this can become barriers to the communication. These barriers can be psychological, social or structural and can affect the clarity of the intended message. When the receiver receives the message from the sender, he will decode the message in order to understand it. If the receiver wishes to respond the message, the same communication process will take place. Either way, the ‘noise’ will negatively affect the meaning of the conveyed message. . 2 Case summary The case describes the experience of William Todorovic who was just appointed as the manager of AEC's customer service group. More specifically, this case describes the communication problem that existed between different departments in AEC i. e. the company management, office staffs, and shop floor workers. Firstly, the shop floor workers appeared to be less friendly with the office staff and the company management because they felt that both the office staff and company management do not care about their feelings and opinions.This can be seen in the way the management excluded the shop floor workers in the daily production meeting, and the fact that the management have their own separate lunch rooms, bath rooms, and enjoy other perks that the shop floor workers do not have. These seemed to have negatively affected the relationship between the floor workers and the office staff. Besides that, the communication between the top management and the shop floor workers was also not really effective.William's superior, George, for example, do not like to confront one of the shop floor worker, John, directly, and instead, he sent a long memo to John that was difficult for him to understand. Another machine worker, Tony, has certain ideas about the office staffs. He thought that the office staffs only cared about schedules but not the shop floor workers. GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 4 William was trying to address these problems by listening to the shop floor workers and try to understand their requests and demands.This seemed to have a positive effect whereby, the employees became friendlier and began to accept William as one of their own. Members of other departments also began to rely on him to deliver messages to the shop floor workers. Meanwhile, John has made a significant contribution in the improvement of the scheduling job on the one related to the aluminium slitter. William had made this known to George, his superior. William has also suggested that they should award some sort of promotion to John. George decided that John should attend a management skills seminar which meant that John he would promoted.However, John misunderstood the decision by George and thought that the management did not appreciate the result because they sent him to a seminar to improve his performance. He was very upset and ready to quit from AEC. 2. 0 BARRIERS OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS IN AEC Effective communication is a sharing process which involves the first party sending a message that can be easily understood by to the second party. However, there are some barriers that may influence the effectiveness of communication which may result in misunderstanding or misinterpretation.In the case study of AEC, William Todorovic has discovered several barriers to the effective communication between the employees in the organization. 2. 1 Imperfect Perception There were different perceptions between the management and the floor staff. For example, the floor staff thought that the management were unaware of the problems at the floor and were too self-centered that they only cared about their schedules, issuing orders and making demands. GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 5 As for the management, they thought that they did not have anything to learn from floor employees.Such perception has made them hardly understand the real process in finishing orders and this has created a gap between the management and the floor staff. 2. 2 Poor selection of medium to communicate Choosing the right medium or channel for communication may affect the effectiveness of the transmitted message In AEC, the management has used memos to communicate with the shop floor employees. This was in fact, a one-way communication because after the memo was sent out no further clarification was made by the management, and no feedback was obtained from the shop floor employees.This means that the management would not know whether the staff actually understood what they were expected to deliver. As we can see, George was actually surprised when he found out that John was upset when he received the memo following his accomplishment. The latter misunderstood the intention because the medium used in this communication was usually used to deliver ‘bad news’. William also found that shop floor employees were not accustomed to talking with the management and office staffs.This was because, any verbal communication that occurred between them would be one-way and consisting of orders and demand by the management. Furthermore, shop floor employees have not been invited to join the daily production meeting unless there was a specific issue that necessitates their attendance. This is also a kind of one way communication because the management did not â€Å"hear† the real issues from the production. In fact, the production meeting was held without the production members. GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 6 2. 3 Information overloadEach people have certain level of information process capacity which is the amount of information they can process in a fixed unit of time. When the information a receiver received is more that his process capacity can h old, he may misinterpret the message from the sender. For example in the case study, William found that John found George unpleasant because George always wrote long and complex memos to shop floor employees. John could not understand the memo because of the information overload in the memo. 2. 4 Work space design Work space is another communication barrier in the AEC organization.As indicated in the case study, the lunchrooms and washrooms facilities were exclusively for the management and the office staff. Such work space designs did not encourage both shop floor employees and the management ; office staffs to mingle with each other. This explains why the employees were surprised when they saw William, their manager, not having lunch in the office lunchroom. 3. 0 HOW THE BARRIERS WERE ADDRESSED After William understood the problem between the management and shop floor employees, he came out with some solutions to overcome the problems.Below are the actions taken by William in tryi ng to solve the problems. 3. 1 Mingling with shop floor workers In order to address the barriers of communication in AEC, William had spent more time mingling with the floor employees. He always had his lunch at the lunch area at the floor. GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 7 William also visited the shop floor frequently. This was because by doing so, he was able to talk with the floor employees and share their views and problems. Indirectly, William could discover the real situation in the organization from that department.Besides that, William has allowed the shop floor employee, i. e. John to decide on the scheduling of jobs. Being an experience aluminum slitter, John probably knew better on the operations of the floor job. This was evidenced through his suggestion that William was be able to reduce the new work order turnaround from four to five weeks to a single day His actions have encouraged two-way communication which helped to improve communication effectiveness betwe en the management and the shop floor workers. 3. 2 William as a messengerWhen the relationship between William and the shop floor workers became closer, the staff from other departments came up to him and asked him to relay messages to the shop employees. This was because William spoke the same â€Å"language† with them. Since then, William became the â€Å"middle man† between the management/office workers and the shop floor workers. This approach could improve the effectiveness of communication because the requests from the management could be transmitted to the shop floor workers through William. LimitationsHowever, there are several of limitations in using a messenger as a channel of communication between the two parties. Firstly, William’s job will be overloaded because members from other departments relied on him to relay messages to the shop floor employees. Besides that, William may transmit the wrong message to shop floor employees if he did not understa nd the message well. Moreover, this method may not fully solve the communication problem because if William leaves the company, the situation will resume. GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 8 . 3 Listening feedback from shop floor employees William always walked around to find opportunities to talk with shop floor employees. As described in the case study, he has to have an open mind when listening to them, identifying their problems and hearing new ideas from them. Such approach helped to improve the effectiveness of communication because the management not only can identify the real problem at production side, but also be exposed to new ideas from the employees. 4. 0 WHAT COULD BE DONE DIFFERENTLY?After identifying the barriers of communication between AEC’s management and the shop floor employees, and what they did to address the problems, we have come out with more suggestions to further reduce the barriers and improve the effectiveness of the communication. 4. 1 Enco urage two-way communication between management ; bottom-line employees Communication barriers in AEC organization are mainly cause by lack of two-way communication. Through this method, more effective communication can be achieved because the sender will receive feedbacks from the receiver.In this way, the sender can identify whether the message he sent is understood by the receiver correctly or not. For example, the management of AEC can invite shop floor members to join their daily production meeting because shop floor members know the production well. They can raise the production problem to management directly in the meeting. Management people also can announce their plan ; management objectives / targets directly to the shop floor employees. Communication will be more effective when both parties understand each other and this can be done if the two-way communication is implemented correctly.GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 9 4. 2 Redesign workspace The AEC workspace desig n has also been a barrier to effective communication because both management and shop floor workers have separate lunchroom and washroom. This will limit the chances for both parties to meet with each other. AEC can redesign the workspace by allowing the shop floor employees to use the same lunchroom and washroom used by the management/office staff. Such arrangement will increase the familiarity between the management and the shop floor employees as there are more chances for the two to meet more often.This in the long run will improve the communication between the staff in the company. 4. 3 Make the content of the management memo clearer Memo is one of the channels of communication within the AEC organization. Shop floor worker John, always complained that the company vice president, George, sent long and incomprehensible memos to him. In order to let John understand well the memo, George can reduce the unnecessary content in the memo and thus, make the length of memo shorter. By r ight, a complement memo should not be long and complicated.Besides that, the memo should be clearer to avoid misunderstanding. John may be confused by the content of memo because it did not state that he will be promoted and he was upset when he found out that he was told to attend a seminar. If the memo has stated this clearly, this wouldn’t be happen on him. 4. 4 Implement web based communication AEC can implement web based communication such as e-mail in their organization. They are several of advantages of using e-mail to communicate, for example it will save cost and time, and the information can reach to the right person.More importantly, the e-mail can be used as a two-way communication because the receiver can reply the sender after received the e-mail. Management can give their orders to the shop floor workers and if the latter have any problem, they can raise it to the management through e-mail. GSM 5101 Organizational Behaviour Page 10 For example, George can send his complement memo to John by e-mail. If John did not understand the e-mail, he could reply the mail memo and asked George for clarification. 5. 0 CONCLUSIONAfter reading the AEC case study, we found that effective communication is very important in an organization. A company must use the correct communication channel within their organization to ensure that the right message reaches the intended recipients. However, there are various types of noises/barriers that may affect the communication process such as imperfect perceptual, inappropriate communication channels, information overload and workspace design. These communication barriers must be addressed promptly as they may hinder the company’s productivity.

System Migration Plan

System Migration Implementation Phase I Oracle Environment On December 16, 2006 the migration of the production database will take place. It has been deemed necessary to move our Oracle production database to a more robust server for future growth. At this time the database resides on a p650 unit that will be utilized in phase two of this migration. Below find the laid out plan as it pertains to the move. December 16, 2006:There will be a complete backup of the existing server. December 17, 2006:Starting early that morning, the backup of the existing server will be restored on to the new server emulating the current environment.While the restore of the new server is taking place, the existing server will be set up for the actual move of the existing Oracle database. Step. 1: The mounted file system will be un-mounted from the operating system, at that point after recording all the necessary paths. Step. 2: The volume group that the file systems reside in will be varied off, and then exported. After this step the database which resides on the EMC Symmetric will no longer exist on the present database server. Step. 3: The server will be totally taken down and power will be totally extinguished. Step. : The remove of the fibber channel card that leads back to the EMC database location. The data on the EMC/database will go unchanged or accessed at this point. Step. 5: The fibber channel card will then be placed in the new server. Step. 6: The new server will then be powered on with the fibber channel card from the now existing server, and then the database will be imported to that server. Step. 7: At this point all the network and fibber connections will be moved to the new sever from the existing one using the same IP/Hostname to eliminate further configuration changes or delays. Step. : A DBA will be contacted to confirm the migration success, and then the server will be taken down for the data center outage. System Upgrade Recommendation Phase II Oracle Environm ent As a result of an evaluation of performance and future growth of the present Oracle environments, it was proposed and recommended that the production database server be upgraded with additional processors and memory. As phase one, on January 29th 2006 each Oracle environment received the recommended upgrade as described in the briefing dated January 3, 2006 and title: Hardware Upgrade for Oracle Financials in Preparation for OAB and iSupplier Modules.The Oracle environment received the recommended memory and has proved to perform as projected. The production application server now utilizes 16GB of memory, and the database server has a total of 32GB. In a continued effort to move toward phase two, the following information has been composed and now submitted for evaluation. It is the opinion of the system administrator, utilizing performance tools that the existing system degradation only appears during multiple thread requests.In short, thread request are granted buy and throw s ystem processors within any given computer environment. To wit, it has been ascertained that during a normal business run the system reflects system degradation at any point of a new presented workload introduction. System memory and IO performance proves to be stable while the now utilized processors show to be at their maximum thread capacity. In today’s environment the production database unit consists of four processors; with the recommendation to increase this number buy four additional processors facilitating a total of eight.This is projected to improve Dallas County production presently as well as future growth performance. See projected cost on page two. Model Highlights 7038-6M2 The Model 6M2 delivers a cost-efficient growth path to the future with: †¢ 64-bit system scalability in 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-way configurations with the following processor options: o 2-way 1. 2 GHz POWER4+ with 8 MB shared L3 cache per processor card o 2-way 1. 45 GHz POWER4+ with 32 MB s hared L3 cache per processor card †¢ Expandability and reliability: System memory expandable from 2 GB to 64 GB o Rack-mounted drawer utilizes 8U (EIA Units) o Supports up to eight 7311-D10 or 7311-D20 I/O drawers per server o Each I/O drawer supports either 6 (for D10) or 7 (for D20) hot-plug PCI bus slots To upgrade to an 8 way system IBM has given a cost of $25,750. 00 2-way 1. 45 GHz POWER4+ with 32 MB shared L3 cache per processor card. The above quote is without any government discount or third party intervention. However, a third party vender’s quotes $9590. Mr. UNIX Sr. UNIX System Administrator

Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Beyond Good and Evil, Aphorism - Essay Example â€Å"Knowing† is the reason as to why Nietzsche thinks philosophers have sought Absolute Truth (Cole, 2006). The act of thinking is the result of an individual, used as the reason and establishes the meaning of thinking. Thinking supposes the comparison of one’s instant situation as compared to other situations known in oneself so that one can ascertain the condition. â€Å"Knowing† lacks â€Å"instant conviction.† As a result, philosophers first intellect themselves before they make decisions or comments (Cole, 2006). Nietzsche depicts Master Morality as the type of morality possessed by those with a strong willpower. It initiates in the dignified type that have an impulsive thought of good deeds, which later develops into bad deeds. Nietzsche depicts Slave Morality as an origin of the weak. It is an effect (Cole, 2006). Negativity and uncertainty characterizes it. Position on morality: Nietzsche supposes there being dominance beyond the moral disquiet and existing on the outer surface of the Slave and Master disputes. This refers to the self-surmounted who cannot exist in real sense since nothing can be beyond morality lacking the perception to differentiate right from

Graduate Reflection Paper 2(b) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Graduate Reflection Paper 2(b) - Essay Example Psychology plays a part in every aspect of leadership, especially when it is applied to employees and customers To keep employees and customers happy, psychology is usually employed. Psychology is also employed when companies go to a global clientele and they are working with people of different cultures. Another area where psychology is important is in the hiring of new employees. Dynamic leaders must understand what the company needs are and then find ways to screen candidates in order to find the best talent for all positions. Some companies rely on psychological concepts and testing to help them define whether the potential employee has the characteristics needed for the position. There are many concepts that use psychology as a base. As an example, Naisbitt and Aburdene (1990) spoke about the fact that most organizations need to capitalize on the benefits of diversity. The reason they must do this is because the way that diverse groups are able to work together will directly impact the productivity that can be expected from the employees. Psychological models will be important to use beaus they reinforce work with others and place building relationships as the most important aspect of dynamic leadership. As an example, Goethals (2005) understood that the model of psychodynamics used by Freud, was useful in studying leadership. In using Freuds theory, he learned that when someone is able to blindly obey a leader, it is because they had an "instinct to submit to authority" (Goethals, 2005, p. 99) and the leader had to assert their authority for it to happen. Another model that is important is the social-cognitive model. This model emphasizes the concepts of social identity and its interaction with a group. Many people find their social identity through interaction with their own groups or teams. This model emphasizes two specific processes that people go through to find their social identity" a0

Reaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 20

Reaction paper - Essay Example There are irregularities with the reports that are being disseminated to the public. These information varies from the number of people who died at Auschwitz to the percentage of the buildings are kept from its original state and which have been modified. Some information that was made public has inconsistencies and there have been no concrete proofs of the â€Å"killings† made at Auschwitz. The interview was made in search of the truth and not to make false conclusions and judgments as to what have happened. It is still in the search of the truth as to what have happened to the people at Auschwitz and how they â€Å"disappeared.† It was an unbiased report and just brought out the inconsistencies of the information being disseminated into the public for them to â€Å"believe.† On a personal note, although the issue regarding holocaust can be considered as a sensitive and controversial issue for most people, it needed to be faced and the public should have the responsibility of facing the facts and deciphering

Why do different theories of the firm exist Essay - 1

Why do different theories of the firm exist - Essay Example It is also not easy to adopt all the theories but it is necessary to learn about all the theories. As it helps in making a firm progressive. Organizational analysis is relatively new among the sciences as a field of study, coming out of the latter years of the 19th century as industrialization became more technological (Pheby, 2000). Originators of organizational management, among them Taylor, Weber and Mayo, believed there was one best way to manage an organization, and all recommended single, universal solutions to management problems, though they did not agree on what the solutions should be (Buchanan, 1997). Organizations were considered to be the setting in which work was carried out, and were not considered to have self-interest of their own. It was in the 1920's when Mary Follett wrote about the "law of the situation", that the notion of organizations taking direction from outside themselves began to take root. In her way of thinking, it is the situation that an organization exists in that dictates the orders of what needs to be done (Buchanan, 1997). Further development of these concepts by thinkers such as Woodw ard, Thompson and Perrow over the next few decades, lead the way for supporters of the contingency approach. That an organizations' structure and management was effected by, and actually contingent upon, factors other than the whim of the owner, and that there clearly was no one best way to be a successful organization, contributed to the development of this new field of study (Buchanan, 1997). The novel concept that organizations interact with their environment and with each other, as social units within and without, sparked interest in the field that has become known as organizational sociology, and led to a broadening and a deepening of theory in the field (Pheby, 2000).. Resource Dependency Theory The key concept of the resource dependency perspective is that organizations are not self-sufficient. Instead, an organization's activities and outcomes are accounted for by the context in which the organization is embedded (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1970.)Dependence is determined by three factors (Pfeffer & Salancik, 1978): the importance of the resource, the degree of discretion others have over allocation and use of the resource, and the concentration of the resource. Without it the organization cannot operate and will cease to exist.. This is in keeping with resource dependency theory as it predicts that organizations will seek to reduce their dependence by expanding into other domains, thereby decreasing their reliance on any single exchange partner (Davis & Powell, 1992).In order to coordinate the actions of the members of the network and the Foundation toward this goal, linkages have been used. These have especially taken the shape of interlocks among board members and shared social norms. Such linkages and interlocks, as described by

Investigation and Report about the sports betting industry related to Essay

Investigation and Report about the sports betting industry related to key issues - Essay Example Moving Overseas 19 7. Conclusion 20 References 21 1. Introduction Sports betting industry in the United Kingdom has gained considerable significance in the economic structure of the country for the past few decades. It is due to the growing participation of the industry in the total earnings of the economy, that the industry is being termed as one of the potential industries of the current and future era. For instance, the total revenue earned from sports betting industry in the year 2007 was valued at ?2.5 billion with more than 10% of the total UK adults participating in the bets regularly (William Hill, 2011). However, the sports betting industry in the UK is currently witnessing a fall in the total revenue earned due to which many betting organisations, such as William Hill, are tending to expand their business in the US and other countries (Davidson, 2011). The discussion of the report will be based on the trends of the UK sports betting industry for the past few years. In this regard the report will focus on describing the expansion and growth trends of the industry considering its performances for the past four years, i.e. 2007 to 2011. The report will further attempt to identify the various factors to influence the potential customers in participating in sports betting. Analysis of these issues is likely to assist in identifying the future prospects of the industry. Furthermore, the report shall intend to analyse the advantages of moving overseas in terms of tax incentives and lower costs. 2. Research Methodology The research method implemented in this paper is based on the qualitative research method. The reason to select qualitative research approach is due to the time consuming and complex nature of quantitative researches. The data in this paper has been gathered from the secondary sources available online. Due consideration has been provided to the aspect of reliability of the data obtained. In this regard, only news, organisational and governmenta l websites have been considered. Although, the findings of the research focuses on the statistical data to reveal facts regarding the Sports Betting Industry of the UK, the discussion of the paper has been based on the descriptive analysis of the findings adhering to the characteristics of qualitative research. 3. The Expansion and Growth of the UK Betting Industry 3.1. Current Structure of the Industry The market value of sports betting industry in the UK is recorded to be almost ?400 million in the financial year of 2010-2011 (UK National Statistics, 2011). It is worth mentioning that the sports betting industry in UK includes itself as a major facet of the gambling industry. It can be well-recognised from the graphical representation of the current data below. [GGY is the abbreviation of Gross Gambling Yield] Source: (Gambling Commission, 2010). Two types of betting operators can be identified in the industry, namely the on-course betting operators and the off-course betting oper ators. The betting industry is regulated by the Gambling Act 2005 (William Hill, 2011). Currently, there are 590 individuals who are provided with the license of on-course betting operators and 681 individuals as off-course betting operators. The industry is subjugated by five top operators, i.e. Ladbrokes, William Hill, Gala Coral Group, Betfred and Tote that contribute over 80% of the total betting shops (Gambling Commission, 2010). The statistical data

Graphic Design History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Graphic Design History - Essay Example Such effective printing technologies facilitated the reproduction of larger presses (Gomez-Palacio and Armin 54). Among the key media that arose from the advent of reproductive technologies was the poster. Printed on large wood types, posters became appropriate modes of advertising at the time. This way, the prominence of graphic design spread rapidly. Key among the artists who exploited the use of the new technologies in reproducing art was Jules Chà ©ret. The French painter and lithographer pioneered the growth of the Belle Époqueposter art and the â€Å"father of the modern poster.† The advent of the large poster era enhanced the growth of his art as he could now produce his work both in bulk and in large posters that reached a large audience. He for example created a collection entitled the  Maà ®tres de l’Affiche, which was a significant publication in the growth of the art. It consisted of smaller sized posters in which he featured the works of the early Persian artists. This relived the works thus enhancing the growth of graphic design. His works influenced the growth of both the poster and advertising industry thus creating space for other iconic artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec among others. Enlisting soldiers into the First World War was a major undertaking that influenced the success of various countries. As such, countries devised appropriate ways of enhancing the spread of propaganda in order to attract recruits into the military besides enhancing the growth of nationalism by portraying the enemy in a negative way. Key among the media used in spreading such propaganda was posters. Graphic design helped create appropriate posters that conveyed specific messages. Propaganda posters grew in prominence as governments develop provocative message with the view to influencing public opinion thus increasing the number of citizens enlisting in the military or in changing the public’s view of the perceived enemy (Gomez-Palacio and Armin 121). In

Education and Recess Essay Example for Free

Education and Recess Essay Since public schools have started recess it has been set in place to allow students time to express their energy, become active and socialize. Although within the past years, most schools have removed recess from their schedules. School administrators argue that recess wastes time, causes problems and is dangerous. But it is actually a good thing for students. In most schools, the average school day is about eight hours long. During the elementary school year especially, students are bursting with energy that causes their minds to wander. Recess is a great way to allow students to wind down and expel some of their pent-up energy. Also during this time it was usually the teacher who went outside with the class. So while the kids are taking a breather the teachers can too. A growing problem in America today is obesity. Many school cafeterias have switched to a healthier menu and schools have removed snack machines, in an attempt to improve students eating habits and weight. Meanwhile, the same school boards are removing recess from their schedules As a result, obesity rates have tripled in the past forty years. School administrators believe that recess is not needed because the students are required to take Physical Education. Although P.E. is physically active it does not give students many options. Students are graded on their performance and participation so P.E. is not much of a relax and recoup time. In school, it is important for students to develop necessary social skills. In class, students are unable to communicate because they are busy doing their work. Recess allows students to develop relationships, experience and deal with confrontations and learn about other people. These skills will be extremely important in almost every job. You may have noticed all of the big time business men or woman, and they got that job by being a good people person. That’s because when they were kids, recess was an every day thing. In conclusion, recess should be a thing student’s experience everyday. It should be something students think back on as adults and think of how it helped them. If schools go on with out recess for too much longer the obesity and people skills of the future could not be good. If I ever become  an important member of the school board you know what my vote for recess is going to be. What’s yours?

Need for Accountability of Predatory Corporations

Need for Accountability of Predatory Corporations Abstract The increased power of non-state actors in developing countries has given multinational corporations considerable influence over the human rights of citizens. Corporations now have power within political economies and the ability to undermine democratic systems.[1] Governments within developing countries rely on corporate investment to support their economy. Due to the expansion of human rights violators, there has been an evolution in the way that transitional justice is implemented. Historically, international human rights laws have focused on the state when dealing with human rights violations. In response to this, international human rights laws or a legally-binding instrument need to be developed in order to hold corporations accountable. This paper will look into the actions currently in motion and the limitations victims may face. The existing tools that transitional politics use to deal with business enterprises that exploit breakdowns of humanity are traditionally international human rights laws. At this time, the framework used against corporations is not legally binding. This is due to the lack of current mechanisms to bring criminal charges against large transnational corporations. The Alien Tort Claims Act has been used in rare occasions and has resulted in settlements outside of court.[2] In an attempt to create voluntary guidelines, the US and European governments created the non-binding UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011. In 2014, the UN Human Rights Council passed resolution 26/09 that established the need for an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises.2 This paper will look at the current evolution within corporate accountability in transitional politics and the weaknesses that were shown when corporations were found to violate human rights. This study will also analyze the effectiveness of various attempts made by international organizations and civil society groups towards implementing human rights accountability on corporations. Introduction Due to globalization, multinational corporations now have the ability to influence human rights practices in developing countries. This has been an issue of major concern due to the significant role corporations play in the national economies of these countries. In these instances, corporations can apply pressure to developing countries to lower national human rights standards.3 According to the democratic social justice organization, Global Justice Now, of the 100 largest economic entities in the world, 69 are corporations and only 31 are countries.[3] The issue of accountability of corporations for the protection of human rights has been largely overlooked and presents new challenges due to the new far-reaching impact corporations have gained over citizens.[4] However, the increased power of other non-state actors like NGOs has resulted in an evolution and increased liability of corporations for human rights violations during breakdowns of humanity. First, we will look at what predatory business behavior is. There are many cases in which the corporation is not the physical perpetrator in human rights violations. In the past, corporations have done this by economically supporting repressive governments, supplying governments or terrorist groups with weapons or materials, contaminating agricultural fields and drinking and bathing water, discriminating against workers, and water privatization.4 During breakdowns of humanity, transitional justice is implemented in order to obtain accountability for victims of human rights violations. Since transitional justices development in the 1980s, their goals have included holding perpetrators accountable, compensating for wrong doing, and preventing future abuses.[5] However, transitional justices goal for holding perpetrators accountable has been predominately focused on criminal prosecutions of individuals.[6]   The rule of law framework that actors use when implemented transitional politics is based upon international law, treaty bodies, and principles and guidelines. However, International human rights law (IHRL) has historically focused on powers only states can exercise and functions only government can fulfill. The gap between host state law, international law, and transnational corporate accountability has led to numerous unaddressed corporate human rights violations.   This study will look at the current framework used by state and non-state actors during transitions and the limitations, challenges, and gaps that exist. Due to increased economic power of transnational corporations, we will look at different levels of obligation focusing on the state and international level.   Finally, this paper will explore the effectiveness of present day efforts by the UN Human Rights Council and other non-governmental organizations and the increased potential for the Alien Tort Claims Act to hold corporations accountable for human rights violations specifically during times of transitional justice.[7] Research Question: How can or should businesses be held to account for predatory behavior around breakdowns of humanity? Thesis Statement/Hypothesis There has been a positive evolution in corporate accountability, however, current legal instruments are not sufficient in holding corporations that violate human rights during breakdowns of humanity accountable. Methodology of the Study The focus of the study will be corporate human rights violations in Africa from 2000-2016. Africa has seen an increased documentation and focus on the relationship between host governments, corporations, and human rights violations. We will focus on this time frame because there has been a noticeable evolution of corporate accountability within transitional justice since 2000. We will do a macro analysis and look at different cases within Africa, identify their patterns, compare key steps that they took, and analyze the outcome. This study will use large datasets and will undertake quantitative data analysis. We will study social trends and the measurable effects of particular policies. This study will explore the steps taken during the transitional justice process and why some instances were successful in obtaining a level of accountability and some were not. We will look at what laws and statues were used and the success of national law and international law. Data Collection Due to recent developments and existing research on this topic, this study will rely heavily on current articles and journals applicable to the study. Secondary analysis will be used to explore areas of interest without having to collect data ourselves in the field. This study will also analyze the existing legal international human rights system for corporate liability and accountability. Research will be collected from various journals, including: Business and Human Rights Journal, International Journal of Human Rights, Journal of International Criminal Justice, and American Journal of International Law. In addition, due to the currently evolving resolution, data will also be collected from the International Center for Transitional Justice, Business Human Rights Resource Centre, Human Rights Watch, United States Institute for Peace, UN Human Rights Council and UN Guiding Principles. Operationalization/Conceptualization Human Rights Within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), human rights are defined as inherent to human beings and can neither be granted nor taken away by any authority.[8] This issue of human rights violations is viewed as matter of domestic law that historically attracts attention internationally. The UDHR states that human rights consist of basic fundamental rights and freedoms.7 In brief, human rights violations have received international legal recognition through various forums. Throughout this study, the term human rights and the violations against them will be referring to the legal concept of the civil, political, economic, social, cultural, and collective rights laid down in international human right instruments.[9] Corporate Accountability Corporate accountability is the obligation for companies to be answerable for harming the community they reside in and liable for their human rights violations.9 The corporate accountability approach puts corporations in the role of duty-bearers within the framework of human rights.[10] Theoretical Framework The lack of corporate accountability during breakdowns of humanity has led to an abundance of literature seeking to explain the occurrence based on various theories. The Non-Aggressive Principle can be used to reinforce the significance of holding predatory corporations accountable for violations. Economist and political theorist Murray Rothbards formula for the Non-Aggressive Principle states that, No one may threaten or commit violence (aggress) against another mans person or property.[11] This principle is a code of conduct for peaceful living and holds that aggression against the person or property of others is always wrong.9 The Non-Aggressive Principle reinforces the requirement for accountability of aggressive corporate human rights violations during breakdowns of humanity. Literature Review Literature on corporate accountability during breakdowns of humanity has advanced greatly since the 1970s and is reflected by the creation of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Draft Code of Conduct on Transitional Corporations.8   However, until the 1990s, the majority of advocacy was focused on the impact that corporations had on the physical environment rather than the human rights of citizens and communities in the areas of operations. The intensification of globalization and the amplified number of human rights abuses has resulted in increased research on the impact corporations have on citizens during breakdowns of humanity. This has resulted in the rise of large NGOs like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in reporting human rights violations by corporations and exposing the effects they have on citizens. In the early 2000s organizations and institutes like the International Center for Transitional Justice (2001), Impunity Watch (2004 ) and Transitional Justice Institute (2003) were formed to further pursue accountability for human rights violations during breakdowns of humanity. This study looks at publications by Stephen Bottomley and David Kinley. Their book, Commercial Law and Human Rights, delves into the relationship between non-state actors like corporations and human rights violations.10 This literature argues that corporations are prone to violating human rights. Their work assesses the relationship well, however, it touches on human rights norms in a general sense and it does not address the repercussions of violations or who is responsible for holding corporations accountable.[12] Additionally, the author does not analyze violations specifically during breakdowns of humanity. This study will also look at, Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors, by Andrew Clapham. Clapham details the evolution of corporate accountability and the legal subjectivity of transnational corporations.[13] However, it also does not look at specific violations during breakdowns of humanity. This study will use these two sources to further analyze how international and state law can hold corporations accountable during transitional justice. In 2002, the International Council on Human Rights Policy released a report on the obligations of states when business activity has an impact on the human rights of their citizens. This report looks into the current regulations by international and local government laws as well as lobbying by advocacy campaigns. They argue that corporate accountability currently depends on voluntary approaches. The authors conclude that international norms and laws are developing, but states should be primarily responsible for protecting human rights from corporations.[14] The report does not effectively evaluate how the mechanisms detailed within the project are used as a means of improving corporate accountability during breakdowns of humanity. It also does not take into account recent regulations and mechanisms available due to its creation in 2002. Nicola MCP Jagers published a book that focused on corporate accountability for human rights violations. The author argues that there needs to be internally legally binding regulations of corporations and focuses directly on the state.[15] The author analyzes the obligations under International Human Rights Law and international law. However, it does not take into consideration the recently created UN Guiding Principles or the UN Human Rights Council resolution 26/09.[16] This study will also look at Steven R. Ratners article on corporations and human rights. In this literature, the author argues that there are limits to holding states accountable for human rights violations.[17] The author looks at corporations as global actors and analyzes the problem of state action during breakdowns of humanity. However, it does not specify what mechanisms would be most effective to hold businesses accountable for predatory behavior. The International Center for Transitional Justice is a non-profit organization that specializes in helping transitioning states address legacies of major human rights violations.[18] In recent years they have helped train local activists in documentation of corporate human rights abuses. We will specifically look at various publications and the ICTJs role in countries that have faced human rights violations during breakdowns of humanity. The ICTJs current work will help show the evolution that has occurred within transitional justice and will provide current data on corporate violations. This will further support the literature on corporate accountability by providing current data during breakdowns of humanity. Morton Winston argues the importance of human rights nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in their attempt to influence the behavior of corporations. Winston states that there are eight strategies that NGOs can use when dealing with corporations.19 This article concludes that national government needs to enact enforceable international legal standards in order to fully pursue corporate accountability, however, the literature does not detail who specifically will hold corporations accountable.[19] This study will incorporate the effectiveness of this strategy into our research. This study will also analyze the effectiveness of using the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) to hold corporations accountable. Michael Garvey argues the increased effectiveness of the ATS as a means to redress human rights abuses.[20] This study will look at the current issues with corporate liability and the advantages and shortcomings of the Alien Tort Statute. This paper will examine how businesses should be held to account for predatory behavior during breakdowns of humanity. I will focus on corporate human rights violations in Africa from 2000-2016. Africa is home to many multinational corporations and contains numerous conflict-affected areas with failed governments. There has been a noticeable evolution of corporate accountability throughout periods of transitional justice during this time. The literature suggests that international law is currently an inadequate method to obtain corporate accountability. This study will contribute by giving more focus to the recent evolution that has occurred within corporate accountability during transitional justice. It also seeks to assess and examine the avenues available under international law and recent international instruments to obtain accountability for corporations that violate human rights. Work Cited Carranza, Ruben, and International Center for Transitional Justice. Transitional Justice, Corporate Responsibility and Learning from the Global South. N.p., 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. Clapham, Andrew. Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors. OUP Oxford, 2006. Print Corporate Impunity: A Startling Ethical Anomaly? International Center for Transitional Justice. International Center for Transitional Justice, Mar. 08. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017. Dodwell, A. (2016, September 12). Corporations running the world used to be science fiction now its a reality. Retrieved from Global Justice Now: http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/blog/2016/sep/12/corporations-running-world-used-be-science-fiction-now-its-reality Forsythe, David P. The UN Security Council and Human Rights: Promising Developments, Persistent Problems. Journal of Human Rights 13.2 (2014): 121-145. Taylor and Francis+NEJM. Web. Garvey, Michael. Corporate Aiding and Abetting Liability under the Alien Tort Statute: A Legislative Prerogative Boston College Third World Law Journal (Spring 2009) n.pag. Human Rights Historyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ » Corporate Accountability. N.p., n.d. Web. http://humanrightshistory.umich.edu/accountability/corporations/ 14 Feb. 2017. International Council on Human Rights Policy (2000) Beyond Voluntarism: Human Rights and the Developing International Legal Obligations of Companies availableat .(Accessed on 23/02/2017). Jagers, N.M.C.P., Corporate Human Rights Obligations: In Search for Accountability. Brooklyn Journal of International Law, 33.3(2002). Koskenniemi, Martti, Alfred De Zayas, and Steven Wheatley. Book Reviews. International Journal On Minority Group Rights 12.4 (2005): 421-430. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Feb. 2017. McPhail, Ken. Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights and Business Schools Responsibility to Teach It: Incorporating Human Rights into the Sustainability Agenda. Accounting Education 22.4 (2013): 391-412. Taylor and Francis+NEJM. Web. Pagnattaro, Marisa Anne. Enforcing International Labor Standards: The Potential of The Alien Tort Claims Act. Vanderbilt Journal Of Transnational Law 37.1 (2004): 203-263. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Feb 2017. Ramasastry, Anita. Corporate Social Responsibility Versus Business and Human Rights: Bridging the Gap Between Responsibility and Accountability. Journal of Human Rights 14.2 (2015): 237-259. Taylor and Francis+NEJM. Web. Ratner, Steven R. Corporations and Human Rights: A Theory of Legal Responsibility. The Yale Law Journal, vol. 111, no. 3, 2001, pp. 443-545., www.jstor.org/stable/797542. Rothbard, Murray N.. War, Peace, and the State (April 1963). Retrieved 2017-02-28. Santoro, Michael A. Business and Human Rights in Historical Perspective. Journal of Human Rights 14.2 (2015): 155-161. tandfonline.com.library3.webster.edu (Atypon). Web. Stephen Bottomley and David Kinley, Book Review: Commercial law and Human Rights, Osgoode Hall Law Journal 42.1 (2002). UN General Assembly. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations, 217 (III) A, 1948, Paris,   art.1, http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2017. What Is Transitional Justice? International Center for Transitional Justice. International Center for Transitional Justice, Dec. 08. Web. 11 Feb. 2017. Winston, M. (2002), NGO Strategies for Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility. Ethics International Affairs, 16: 70-87. doi:10.1111/j.1747-7093.2017.x [1] Santoro, Michael A. Business and Human Rights in Historical Perspective. Journal of Human Rights 14.2 (2015): 155-161. tandfonline.com.library3.webster.edu (Atypon). Web. [2] Ramasastry, Anita. Corporate Social Responsibility Versus Business and Human Rights: Bridging the Gap Between Responsibility and Accountability. Journal of Human Rights 14.2 (2015): 237-259. Taylor and Francis+NEJM. Web. 3 Dodwell, A. (2016, September 12). Corporations running the world used to be science fiction now its a reality. Retrieved from Global Justice Now: http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/blog/2016/sep/12/corporations-running-world-used-be-science-fiction-now-its-reality [4] McPhail, Ken. Corporate Responsibility to Respect Human Rights and Business Schools Responsibility to Teach It: Incorporating Human Rights into the Sustainability Agenda. Accounting Education 22.4 (2013): 391-412. Taylor and Francis+NEJM. Web. [5] What Is Transitional Justice? International Center for Transitional Justice. International Center for Transitional Justice, Dec. 08. Web. 11 Feb. 2017. [6] Carranza, Ruben, and International Center for Transitional Justice. Transitional Justice, Corporate Responsibility and Learning from the Global South. N.p., 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 1 Mar. 2017. [7] Pagnattaro, Marisa Anne. Enforcing International Labor Standards: The Potential of The Alien Tort Claims Act. Vanderbilt Journal Of Transnational Law 37.1 (2004): 203-263. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Feb 2017. [8] UN General Assembly. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. United Nations, 217 (III) A, 1948, Paris, art.1, http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2017. [9] Koskenniemi, Martti, Alfred De Zayas, and Steven Wheatley. Book Reviews. International Journal On Minority Group Rights 12.4 (2005): 421-430. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Feb. 2017. [10] Human Rights Historyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¯Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ » Corporate Accountability. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2017. [11] Rothbard, Murray N.. War, Peace, and the State (April 1963). Retrieved 2017-02-28. [12] Stephen Bottomley and David Kinley, Commercial Law and Human Rights, (2002). [13] Clapham, Andrew. Human Rights Obligations of Non-State Actors. OUP Oxford, 2006. Print [14] International Council on Human Rights Policy (2000) Beyond Voluntarism: Human Rights and the Developing International Legal Obligations of Companies available at .(Accessed on 23/02/2017). [15] Jagers, N.M.C.P., Corporate Human Rights Obligations: In Search for Accountability. Brooklyn Journal of International Law, 33.3(2002). [16] Forsythe, David P. The UN Security Council and Human Rights: Promising Developments, Persistent Problems. Journal of Human Rights 13.2 (2014): 121-145. Taylor and Francis+NEJM. Web. [17] Ratner, Steven R. Corporations and Human Rights: A Theory of Legal Responsibility. The Yale Law Journal, vol. 111, no. 3, 2001, pp. 443-545., www.jstor.org/stable/797542. [18] Corporate Impunity: A Startling Ethical Anomaly? International Center for Transitional Justice. International Center for Transitional Justice, Mar. 08. 2015. Web. 20 Feb. 2017. [19] Winston, M. (2002), NGO Strategies for Promoting Corporate Social Responsibility. Ethics International Affairs, 16: 71-87. doi:10.1111/j.1747-7093.2002.tb00376.x [20] Garvey, Michael. Corporate Aiding and Abetting Liability under the Alien Tort Statute: A Legislative Prerogative Boston College Third World Law Journal (Spring 2009) n.pag.

What Is Ethnonationalism And Its Political Role Politics Essay

What Is Ethnonationalism And Its Political Role Politics Essay The conclusion of the Cold War in 1991 coincides with the surge of violent civil conflicts and the break of nations based on ethnonationalism. The 1990s witnessed a new surge of violent civil conflicts and the splintering of ethnic wars (graph). Dan Smith, director of the International Peace Research Institution in Oslo (PRIO), has calculated that of the 52 armed conflicts of various sizes that took place in 42 states in 1993, 36, in 30 states, had ethno-national characteristics; that is, at lest one side could be identified as belonging to a distinct ethnic group (Tishkov 2004:72). The term ethnonationalism refers to a politicized group affiliation based on inherent traits ethnicity, race, clan, tribe, cultural heritage or religion that define a group of individuals in the minds of its members. Ethnonationalist violence should not surprise, went the common refrain, as they are based on primordial human emotions and centuries of history. There may be a shift were the individuals pr imary identity and allegiance shifts from the civil state to the ethnonation. This shift may or may not result in violent conflict. As of 2000, fewer than 10% of the worlds 191 nations are ethnically or racially homogeneous (Wright 1973:158). Such conflicts may involve great violence, such as Bosnia and Rwanda; however in other cases there is little violence, such as Northern Ireland. Ethnonationalism violent conflicts also occur within established democracy, for example, the struggle between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland (Slack and Doyon 2001:139). Ethnonationalism The roots of modern nationalism can be found in late eighteenth-century Western Europe and North America, and it subsequently spread to all of Europe and eventually to all parts of the world (Alter 1994:18). Ethnicity is the most central and powerful element in the development of nationalism. Ethnonationalism denotes both the loyalty to a nation deprived of its own state and the loyalty to an ethnic group embodied in a specific state, particularly where the latter is conceived as a nation-state (Connor 1994:?). Ethnonationalist believe nationality is inherent, one can neither acquire it if one does not have it, nor change it if one does; it has nothing to do with individual will, but constitutes a genetic characteristic (Guibernau and Rex 2010:5). Ethnonationalism is rooted in a sense of common origins, primarily ancestral, as manifested in shared linguistic, religious, and racial marker (Riggs 1994:599). Nationalism is defined as an extensive aggregation of individuals closely associated with each other by common descent, language or history, as to form a distinct race or people (Slack Doyon 2001). Nation by the latter definition becomes equivalent to ethnic group. Nation is a matter of self-awareness or self-consciousness (Connor 1978:104). This is precisely why it is so difficult to define nation, because it is a self-defining group. Nationalism arises when the members of a nation demand that the nation be organized into a sovereign state (Slack and Doyon 2001:140). The essence of nationalism is not tangible, but psychological, a matter of attitude rather than fact (Connor 1972:42). MORE ON PAGE 43. Nationalism is likely to be based on ethnic distinctions, rather than the idea that everyone who lives in a country is entitled to the same rights and privileges (Guibernau and Rex 2010:96 Reader). Allegations of ethnic supremacy, along with ethnonationalism and retribution for past in justices, are at the center of much of the ethnic violence (Cozic 1994:93). The causes and implications of ethnic conflict are understood as a dispute about important political, economic, social, cultural or territorial issues between two or more ethnic groups (Guibernau and Rex 2010:90). Ethnicity relates to the identification of individuals by language, religion, geographical location, the sharing of common historical experience, or various other elements. Membership of the group is based on the presumption of a shared trait or traits that can be anything from genealogy to dressing habits (Slack Doyon 2001:140). An ethnic group is therefore defined by a boundary ascribed by the members of the ethnic group or outsider. There is a distinction between primary and secondary ethnic groups (Riggs 1994:592). Riggs asserts that primary ethnic groups tend to function as closed sub-societies within a larger host society, whereas secondary ethnic groups, while maintaining their cultural identity, participate directly in a host society at various levels (1994:592). In modem states members of primary ethnic communities reject the state where they live as a basis for their self-identity, whereas members of secondary ethnic communities accept the state (Riggs 1994:592). Problems arise in both cases but they are different (Riggs 1994:592). Members of a primary ethnic community feel like prisoners and they seek to escape the confines of the state (Riggs 1994:592). This leads them to rebel, to seek autonomy, independence, or unification with another state by boundary changes (Riggs 1994:593). The members epitomize ethnonationalism. By contrast members of a secondary ethnic community often feel that although they ar e unfairly treated by the state, it is possible by peaceful means to secure full equality of status as citizens in all matters involving political, social and economic justice (Riggs 1994:593). Their sense of grievance often leads to political action and non-violent protests or civil disobedience, but not to rebellions (Riggs 1994:593). Conflict tends to emerge when ethnic or national identities are in opposition to each other. Additionally, between 1918 and 1945, nationalism became synonymous with intolerance, inhumanity and violence (Cozic 1994:19). Most ethnic conflicts have a background of domination, injustice or oppression by one ethnic group or another (Wright 1993:158). Although ethnic conflict is viewed as a strife based on religion, economic inequality, political, language, or another tangible element, the conflict is fundamentally based on identity which manifests itself in the us-them syndrome (Connor 1967:46). The ethnic conflict could escalate into ethic genocide. According to Riggs (1994) about 130 million individuals have been slain between 1900 and 1987 as a result of genocide committed by governments on their own people. Many times more people are killed in genocide and mass murder than in all foreign and domestic wars (Riggs 1994:583). While most of the deaths reported by Riggs probably cannot be attributed to ethnonational conflicts, however, it is reasonable to presume that ethnic conflict has been an important factor in many of them. Democracies provide minorities with opportunities for non-violent expression of grievance. Minorities believe they can gain more legitimacy through peaceful political action than by violent rebellions or terrorism. Conversely, in weak authoritarian regimes, where minorities are suppressed and often killed, some will organize rebellions, feeling that only by violence will they gain the autonomy needed to protect their interests. Riggs offers the complementary finding that genocide occurs most often in non-democratic states, whereas democracies are far more non-violent. Among the 169 million victims of democide during the 20th century, Riggs claims that only about 2 million were inflicted on their citizens by democratic states (1994). Of the 167 million, over 110 million took place under communist regimes, about 138 in totalitarian states and well over 28 million under authoritarianism. (Riggs 1994:584). Ethnonational rebellions, therefore, have several dimensions: they often combine r evolt against oppression by hostile but dominate communities with the need to create enclaves of order in a context of disorder (Riggs 1994:584). The Troubles (1968-1998) The conflict of the Troubles dates back the 1600s when Britain began colonizing Ireland, it encouraged Protestants from Scotland and English, to move to Northern Ireland to help maintain and control the Irish Catholics (Healey 2006). The new arrivals began, with the assistance of the English, to own much of the economy, political structures, and land in the northern region of Ireland. The Protestants began to separate themselves from the native Catholics through policies implemented to create separate facilities within the same society for the use of a minority group, similar to Jim Crow segregation in the United States. Difference in laws and customs between Protestants and Catholics were used to reinforce the subordinate position of the Irish Catholics. However, the Irish were not subordinated and attempted to gain their independence through violent rebellions, which ultimately led to their independents. The Eastern Rebellion in 1916, also known as the Proclamation of 1916, led to creation of the Republic of Ireland (Healey 2006). The Republic of Ireland consisted of most of the island, except the providence of Ulster. Now, Northern Ireland consisted of Protestant majority and the Republic of Ireland consisted of Catholic majority, which provided the underlying basis for the Trouble. In Northern Ireland, Catholic and Protestant are terms used to connote two diverse and conflicting cultures (Shivers and Bowmen 1984:3). Distinguishing factors between the two are internal, the way one views oneself. However, Most people in Northern Ireland insist that the civic conflict that occurred was not because of religion but sovereignty: not Protestantism but Loyalism; not Catholicism but Nationalism or Republicanism (Vincent 127). Protestant majority and Catholic minority in Northern Ireland is another way of distinguishing between the two groups. There is no distinct term to explain the minority-majority spilt, but Northern Irish people have use many other terms: Insiders/Outsiders; the haves/the have nots; colonials/natives; Scotch/Gales; Protestant/Catholic; Unionist/Nationalist; Loyalist/Republican; British/Irish; the Orange/the Green (Shivers and Bowmen 1984:4). The attempts by Catholic minority to express through the electoral process their long-standing discontent wit h political rule by a religiously and culturally distinct people, as well as the attempts of the moderate government to move toward equalization of opportunity for the minority, resulted in a series of violent reactions during 1966, and untimely the beginning of the Troubles (Connor 1967:12). The struggle predicated on fundamental differences in national identity. The people of Northern Ireland did not homogeneously consider themselves Irish. In a study conducted in 1968 by the University of Strathcylde, 43 percent considered themselves Irish, 29 percent British, 21 percent Ulster, and 7 percent mixed, uncertain, or mixed (Connor 1967:45). On the basis of ethnic and religious history in Northern Ireland, there is a correlation between those that identify themselves as Irish and Catholicism (Connor 1967:45). McGarry and OLeary (1995) interpret religion as an ethnic marker, a component of ethnonationalism in Northern Ireland, the conflict is about two contesting national identities, Unionist (Protestant) and Nationalist (Catholic). Religion is just a label used to distinguish members of one ethnonationalist group from another. Religion was used as the basis of separate social structures that keep communities apart. Whyte (1990) wrote about the three ways in which religion and social segregation were seen in Northern Ireland: segregation by religion in education, high levels of endogamy (marriage within ones religious group), and high levels of residential segregation. The churches worked together with the political parties and the two states, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, to keep people divided and maintain their power (Fulton 1991). Religion has acted as an agent in historical struggles for political power (Fulton 1991). Churches tried to keep their control through influencing political policy and maintaining their grip on the education system. According to Wright (1973), religion as an ideology is extremely important. Religion was an important source of identity in Northern Ireland, even for Protestants who do not go to church (Wright 1973). Religion can operate as an ideology even for those who are not committed believers (Wright 1973). Religion is important in many complex ways; it provides meaning and substance to ethnonational identities (Mitchell 2006). Religious ideas inform Protestants everyday understandings of social relationships and perceptions of Catholics (Wright 1973). The more segregation between communities, the less information each has of the other. Knowledge comes from socialized teachings, ideas, theories, and mythologies, which are often religious in nature (Wright 1973). Religious ideas overlap with political and economic divisions and this makes them even more important. Religion, according to Claire Mitchell (2006), derives social and political significance from five overlapping dimensions: 1) relationship between the churches and sociopolitical power (i.e. relationships with nationalist and unionist politicians), 2) role of religion as the dominant ethnic marker (maintained through segregated education, marriage, housing patterns and social networks), 3) religions role in the construction of communities (esp. Catholicism, the role of the Catholic Church in organising social life and the importance of ritual), 4) religions role in the construction of ideologies (esp. Protestantism, concepts such as liberty, the honest Ulsterman, and anti-Catholicism), and 5) relationship between theology and politics (esp. for fundamentalists/evangelicals). The essence of nation being is psychologically important. Members of a particular group feel a sense of being related to one another, or of myths of being from a common descendent. The turmoil in Northern Ireland between those who think of themselves as Irish and those who do not is facilely explained as a religious struggle, no other readily identifiable distinction, such as language or race, being in evidence (Connor 1984:146). Ethnonational discrimination does occur in a given state, for example, in Northern Ireland discrimination is a major element in the poorer economic and occupational status of the Irish as contrast with the non-Irish (Connor1984:148). The Good Friday Agreement marked the end of the Troubles, which was established in 1998, created a new power sharing agreement for the governance in Northern Ireland (Healey 2006). Thus, both Protestant and Catholic parties would participate in the government. The Bosnian War (1992-1995) Yugoslavia was formed in 1918, at the end of World War I (Healey 2006:479). The country consists of a variety of ethnic groups, including Croats, Serbs, Bosnians, and Muslims. In 1974 Josip Broz Tito turned Yugoslavia into a confederation of six republics, one of which was Bosnia and Herzegovina (Slack and Doyon 2001:142). Bosnia was the most diverse republic, often described as a microcosm of the Balkans, a human mosaic made up of the genes of innumerable (Slack and Doyon 2001:141). Before this the Muslims have never been able to assert themselves as a distinct ethnic group, with aspirations of statehood, as have the Croats and Serbs (Slack and Doyon 2001:141). As a consequence of the newly formed republics, Muslims were going to be the dominant group in Bosnia. During the time that Yugoslavia was led by Tito, Roman Catholic Croats, Orthodox Christian Serbs, and Muslim Bosnians coexisted peacefully in Bosnia. However, following Titos death in 1980, Yugoslavia began to be breakup. While the Croats tended to view Yugoslavia as a decentralized federation, the Serbs were espoused to a highly centralized system (Slack and Doyon 2001:142). With Bosnias secession from Yugoslavia in 1992, the Bosnian Croats and the Bosnian Serbs suddenly became apart of the ethnic minorities in the new state of Bosnia instead of being members of the dominant Croat and Serb nations within Yugoslavia. The population Bosnia in 1991 consisted of Bosnian Muslims (1.9 million, 44% of all), Serbs (1.4 million, 31%), Bosnian Croats (760,000), 17%, and Others (all remaining ethnicities jointly: 350,000, 8%) (Tabeaui and Bijaki 2005:188). Demographic conditions can lead to ethnonationalist war when ethnonationalism becomes a political force (Slack and Doyon 2001:159). The relative numbers of rival ethnic populations within a disputed territory becomes an issue of concern for a civil war. Bosnian Serbs, and later also Bosnian Croats, fought (often through ethnic cleansing and terror campaigns) to take and control territories that otherwise would be subject to the rule of Bosnian Muslims. Ethnic conflict takes place when mobilized identity groups struggle for greater power, whether for power in an already established state or a newly independent state. In 1991, the Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic began to increase the dominance of Serbs in the former Yugoslavia, particularly in three republics, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia, felt directly threatened by Serb nationalism and the perspective of Greater Serbia carved out of the territories mainly in Bosnia (Tabeaui and Bijaki 2005:188). The Muslims fought for these terr itories, as they believed they did not have much choice. Breaking away from Yugoslavia put Bosnian Muslims in a particularly difficult position, as they were left with no support other than the one expected from the international community, which came in April 1992, however, it did not stop the Bosnian conflict (Tabeaui and Bijaki 2005:189). Due to the mixed ethnic composition of Bosnia, there was an absence of a single ethnic Muslim republic in the former Yugoslavia. The most essential observation of the Bosnian population at the outbreak of the 1990s conflict is that while there were Bosnians in a geographical sense, there were hardly any Bosnians in a political sense. Bosnian Muslims, Serbs and Croats existed as politically distinct groups who happened to live in Bosnia (Tabeaui and Bijaki 2005:188). Political goals of these groups were too distinct to allow for coexistence. Serbs, and later also Croats, fought, often through ethnic cleansing and terror campaigns, to take and control of Bosnia (Tabeaui and Bijaki 2005:188). The conflicts were not religious wars, but religion and language were important tools of ethnic identification, ethnonationalism. In an effort to distinguish the other the ethnic groups stressed subtle differences among the languages. Located in the heart of the former-Yugoslavia, Bosnia found itself locked between two more powerful states, Croatia and Serbia. The wars caused the most destruction in Bosnia, as the country contains sizeable Croat and Serb populations. The 1990 elections, is an example of growing ethnonationalism in Bosnia, members of each ethnic group voted in the 1990 election along ethnic nationalist lines, even though they were unimpressed with the party leaders, out of fear that ethnic groups to which they did not belong would gain political ascendancy (Slack and Doyon 2001:143). The political construction of ethnonationalism had now begun, and Bosnia was beginning to partition. The Territorial partitions can lead to renewed violence and mass refugee flows, entail an indefinite international peacekeeping presence, and paradoxically can result in new sets of sectarian demands (Wood 2001:70). An imposed partition only rarely results in a homogeneous territory and often leads to civic wars. Signed at the end of the war, the Dayton Agreement was more of a ceasefire agreement than a sustainable, long-term solution for Bosnia. According to this agreement signed in December 1995, Bosnia is a partitioned state divided into two parts. One entity is the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a majority of Muslims and Croat population, and the other entity is Republika Srpska, almost entirely populated by Serbs (Tabeaui and Bijaki 2005:189). The borders were determined by the frontlines when the wars ended, resulting in the formation of ethnic enclaves. The three dominant ethnic groups, Muslims, Serbs, and Croats, are represented in all levels of government thus creating excess personnel and slow reform. The country has three presidents, one from each group, and a parliament in which Croats, Serbs and Muslims each have a third of seats. Furthermore, many politicians gain votes in elections through ethnonationalist campaigns that appeal to their own ethnic and religious group . The entire government reports to a High Representative, who is appointed largely by the international community and will remain in Bosnia for an undetermined time. Since the wars, the population of Bosnia in 2009 was 4.6 million according to the CIA World Factbook. Muslims comprise 48% of the population, Serbs are 37% and Croats are 14%. Religious demographics strongly reflect ethnic demographics in the population of Bosnia, with 40% Muslim, 31% Orthodox, and 15% Roman Catholic. With such a strong connection between religion and ethnicity in the former Yugoslavia, it is not surprising that religion became an important tool of identification of ethnonationalism during and after the wars. Rwanda (1994) While Rwandas two ethnic groups, Hutus and Tutsis, experienced a long history of hatred, the conflict escalated in April 1994 when a plane carrying the Hutu President of Rwanda was shot down over the capital, Kigali (Healey 2006). The suspicious deaths of the presidents of Rwanda triggered a sudden and massive bloodletting, primarily by Hutus against Tutsis (Wood 2001:60). An estimated 5-10 per cent of Rwandas population was then killed between the second week of April and the third week of May 1994; one of the highest casualty rates of any population in history from non-natural causes (Hintjens 1999:241-2). In all roughly 800,000 people were killed, and millions fled Rwanda (Healey 2006). The history of Tutsi and Hutu over the past century is one in which traditional ethnic roles were continually manipulated, fuelling hostility and making recurring mass violence all but inevitable (Wood 2001:64). Colonization and conquest helped fuel the already intense ethnic conflict between the Tutsis and Hutus in what is now Rwanda (Healey 2006). Traditionally, Tutsis had been the rulers over the Hutus. By 1400, Europeans nations began colonizing Africa, and Germany had established control over the region, which possessed Rwanda, in the late 1800s (Healey 2006). In an attempted to administer and control Rwanda, Germany put the Tutsis in a position to govern the Hutus. The case of divide and rule, further perpetrated the hostility between the two ethnic groups (Healey 2006:480). After Germanys defeat in WWI, Belgium took control over the region, and continued the tradition of the political and economic differentials between the two tribes (Healey 2006:480). Colonial support shifted toward Hutus in the 1950s and, by Rwandas independence from Belgium in 1962, a new generation of Hutu leaders were able to turn against the Tutsis, expelling several hundred thousand to neighboring Burundi and Uganda (Wood 2001:62). In 1969, two nations were established in the region: Burundi, which was dominated by Tutsis, and Rwanda, which was dominated by Hutus (Healey 2006). The Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), led by Tutsi, had been waging an increasingly successful war since its 1990 offensive against the Hutu-dominated government of President Habyarimana (Wood 2001:60). His government had managed to control ethnic violence in the 1980s and had been pursuing power-sharing talks with the RPF that culminated in the August 1993 Arusha Accords (Wood 2001:60). At the same time, though, he had also cracked down on political opponents, including moderate Hutus, and had begun to incite violence against Tutsis (Wood 2001:60). An October 1993 Tutsi military coup against the predominantly Hutu government of neighboring Burundi heightened paranoia among Rwandan Hutus (Wood 2001:60). Up to and during the April-July 1994 genocide, the RPF continued to take territory away from government troops and finally ousted the government (Wood 2001:60). Hutu militia (known as the Interahamwe originally a government-sponsored youth movement became an armed anti-Tutsi force in the early 1990s) hunted down Tutsis and moderate Hutus (Wood 2001:60). The Interahamwe ideology behind the government supported genocide painted Tutsis as an invading force from the north. This inaccurate caricature was reinforced by colonial rulers who favoured the Tutsis as natural born leaders, racially superior to Hutus, and imposed ethnic identity cards, thereby aggravating a tightly controlled political system and an economically interdependent society (Wood 2001:72). Officials of the authoritarian regime of President Juvenal Habyarimana, felt as if their power was diminishing so they used their monopoly of media to create a finely tuned propaganda machine that played on Hutu fears of the former Tutsi elite and purveyed false, versions of the history of relations between the two groups (Snyder and Ballentine 1996:30). In April 1994, the Hutu official group unleashed militias trained in the techniques of genocide. At the same time, Radio-T6levision Libre des Mille Collines, a pseudo-private station established by Habyarimanas wife, announced that Tutsi rebels were about to rise up and kill Hutu, and consequently that all Hutu should join the militias in a campaign of preventive killing (Snyder and Ballentine 1996:30). Unlike Bosnia, where ethnic cleansing dragged on for several years, the genocidal frenzy in Rwanda lasted about three months (Wood 2001:60). Exhorted by government-sponsored hate broadcasts and leaflets, and often led by officials, many Hutus turned on their Tutsi neighbors with a vengeance. For the most part, Hutu mobs had free reign to shoot, hack, and beat to death men, women, and children hiding in their homes, churches, hospitals, and even orphanages (Wood 2001:61). Many Tutsi women were raped before being killed and many children, as a means of degrading and terrorizing Tutsi communities. Interahamwe leaders carefully planned the genocide, provided weapons, compiled lists of important Tutsis, and went to each commune to ensure that killings were thoroughly carried out (Wood 2001:61). The ideology behind Rwandas genocide evolved amidst harsh conditions of poverty, arable land scarcity, and income inequity (Wood 2001:64). Theories of racial struggles and hierarchy enhance during the time of economic struggle. In the mid 1980s the price of coffee dropped (Hintjens 1999). The export of coffee and tea has been important in the region (Healey 2006). As a result of the economic decline, the search began for a scapegoat and the decline became another reason for genocide. In Rwanda conspiracy theories and myths were used to justify genocide. In an impoverished ethnocratic state like Rwanda, ethnicity is also the ruling principle of economic and social differentiation, with ethnic groups then forced to confront each other in the process of competition for material and social resources (Markakis 1993, 236). Such demography-linked pressures as shrinking farm size (an average of less than 1 hectare) and high fertility rates (with a population doubling time of under 20 years a nd a young population age structure), as well as a stagnant economy, helped increase tensions between Rwandas 7.8 million Hutus and Tutsis (Wood 2001:64). Nationalism in effect attempts to squeeze an idealized grouping of otherwise disparate people into a territorially defined state (Agnew and Corbridge 1995). Ethnic segregation through the division of artificially bounded political units becomes a requirement for the preservation of a groups threatened identity and thus a matter of life and death. (Wood 2001:63). Comparative Analyze In both Rwanda and Bosnia, the genocides have been part of an overall socio-economic collapse that has left its perpetrators financially much worse off than they were before. Genocidists justified their actions through an ideological than an economic view of national greatness, while exploiting difficult living conditions to scapegoat minorities (Wood 2001:64). In addition, they initiate genocidal measures in peripheral areas of the redefined living space; some of the most brutal violence took place in the rural peripheries of northern and eastern Bosnia, eastern Croatia, northwest Rwanda, and eastern Congo (Wood 2001:64). At the same time, genocidists can go to great lengths to crush heterogeneous and thus politically suspect enclaves within the cultural core of an endlessly purifying homeland (Wood 2001:65). In both Bosnia and Rwanda, the belligerent ethnic groups speak the same language and most Tutsis and Hutus even belong to the same religion. Political leaders in both areas exaggerated perceived ethnic differences and old grievances (Wood 2001:65). They also manipulated violence-inciting propaganda, such as broadcasts by Rwandas infamous Radio Mille Collines describing Tutsis as cockroaches (Wood 2001:65). While not the grand territorially defined strategy that it was in Bosnia, ethnic cleansing was also the goal of Rwandan genocidists. In Rwanda the mechanics of ethnic cleansing were simpler than in Bosnia. Tutsis and some moderate Hutus were killed on the spot or rounded up (either encouraged or forced) in convenient locales, usually church and school compounds, and then massacred by the thousands (Wood 2001:68). But like Bosnia and other twentieth century genocides, ethnic cleansing could not be contained within Rwanda (Wood 2001:68). Bosnia and Rwanda, two radically different geographic contexts, are testimony to how dormant ethnic mistrust and fear can be manipulated into a swift genocidal eruption (Wood 2001:72). In an increasingly heterogeneous world, genocide will remain a fundamental international security threat. (Wood 2001:72). Central to the process of the Bosnian war is the concept of ethnonationalism. The Bosnian war arose out of the collapse of totalitarian control of territory producing a political void that, in turn, exposes a deep-rooted rivalry between ethnic groups leading to a struggle for control of territory ending in an attempt at violent resolution (Slack Doyon 2001:140). Conclusion