An American Slave By Fredrick Douglass - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 519 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/05/26 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: Frederick Douglass Essay Slavery Essay Did you like this example? An American Slave, written by Fredrick Douglass himself, he wrote his narrative to educate audiences on how slaves were treated by their masters as well as others around them. This narrative encompasses many moments where he tries to persuade his readers to believe what is not only taking place in the story, but to plead with his audience to understand what inhuman conditions they were subjected to. At the very beginning he explains how he not only does not know his age but he does not know who his father is and barley knows of his mother. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "An American Slave By Fredrick Douglass" essay for you Create order He describes these moments where people are beaten to satisfy not only their need to punish the slaves, but to satisfy their sexual lust. I want to steer away from those heart wrenching moments and highlight the more positive, inspirational, and courageous moment of his tale. In chapter 7 Frederick sets forth on his journey of learning to read and write. In learning these things he had hopes to gain freedom from his life long sentencing of enslavement. He lived with the Hugh family for 7 years. The mistress of the house, Sophia, whom was kind to him in the beginning, was a soft hearted woman who was always helping another. When Frederick was around the age of 8 Sophia started to teach him his alphabet, and to read small words. When Mr. Hugh became knowledgable of what was taking place he told Sophia to cease the lessons with fear that he would become disobedient. Over time she became cruel and stone hearted. She began to become irate when she would find him with a news paper that she at one time encouraged him to read. He always had to account for his time spent in other parts of the home if he had been out of range for longer than he should have. When Frederick was asked to go out on errands he would always bring along a book and bread with him. He winds up meeting local poor white boys who in exchange for the bread teach him how to read. They sympathies with him agreeing that he no more deserved to be enslaved than them. As time went by he learned to write as well. He started by copying the letters from the ships at the yard. L A S F were his first letters. He came across some boys and had a writing contest with them to see who could write the best. He practiced on walls, fences, and the ground. He started copying from the dictionary and would write in Thomas Aludrs discarded books. He would copy the sentences between the empty spaces of the pages. This moment of the story and ones like this are the moments that make a difference, they show that he overcame the challenges he was faced with and persevered. He had many sections in which he described traumas but what really persuaded me was the fact that he not only succeeded, he never asked for pity. He did not allow his state of momentary deep depression fold him, he made something out of nothing.

Essay on Online Shopping Product Availability and Logistics

Table of Contents Introduction 1 Online shops, Logistics and the Last Mile Problem 3 The E-Commerce Platform’s Accessibility and Availability 6 Efficient Customer Response and Quick Response 8 Conclusion 10 References 11 Introduction Online shops are an alternative to traditional shopping methods, but do they solve product availability issues in a viable way, and are traditional shopping methods preferred over online shopping? Morris, B (2013) points out that more consumers prefer online shopping as 70 % of 3,000 online shoppers surveyed in February 2013 in a study performed by the United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) say they would rather shop their favorite retailer online. This can only lead us to understand that a†¦show more content†¦Nevertheless, the problem of full and timely customer satisfaction in remote areas that lack the infrastructure to fully address the customer’s will, and thus increase his/her likelihood to impact positively the retailer’s profitability is an issue that has not been yet fully solved. As ECR (Efficient Customer Response) times differ in those areas with a broader access to a larger range of tools that facilitate QR (Quick Response) and consequently customer satisfaction (Walters, 2007). On the other hand, The â€Å"back-end† of the online shopping experience is a process that seems to be simple at first sight but proves to be a complex matter as this does not only involve the mere customer request to buy a specific good or service. This process involves the coordination of several retailers that provide the seller of the service or good in need with the optimal conditions to achieve the goal of satisfying a customer’s will as well (Walters, 2007). The process in question will be closely studied by introducing the reader with trends and stages introduced by Fernie, J. 2007. Which comprehend the historical analysis from a period that goes from the 1950’s to the late 2000’s and will briefly enlighten and enable the reader to understand why the transition that logistics have undergone (from DSDs (Direct Store Deliveries) to Relationship between various suppliers) took the path it took. Additionally, thisShow MoreRelatedE Commerce Boom s Impact On Logistics Essay895 Words   |  4 PagesThe E-Commerce Boom’s Impact on Logistics by Matt Magpantay, Marketing Associate, Evans Distribution Systems The time of elaborate, multi-story shopping centers is rapidly coming to a close with the rise of Ecommerce. Over the last decade, technology has inspired an online retail boom that has benefitted some retailers, while leaving others helpless. With the younger generations embracing smart phones and tablets, Ecommerce’s role has shifted from an untested frontier to a vital pillar forRead MoreEssay on CPA117 CASE 1 Online Shopping1609 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿1. Identify the industry, value chain industry segment The industry is the Australian shopping centre industry. Core activities cover building, developing and managing shopping centres in Australia. 2. Value chain Design S/C Project management Leasing sales Property Management Refurbishment redevelopment (Renovation of the shopping centre or optimise the building structure to better suit customers’ need ) 3. What is the current life cycle position of the industry? 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A quarter of Chinese customers were dissatisfied with online-shopping experience due to the low delivery service level(CNNIC,2004). The Kotler(1997) divided the whole model of the satisfaction process in e-commerce into three stages shown in Figure 1: the information search and alternatives evaluation section, purchase section and post-purchaseRead MoreThe Challenges Of Retail Logistics Management4526 Words   |  19 Pages The Challenges of Retail Logistics Management Senora N. Bradford Florida Institute of Technology MGT 5062 Professor: Dr. Essary â€Æ' The Challenges of Retail Logistics Management Introduction Consumers don’t realize the process and logistics it takes to provide goods and make them available for purchase. When we go to department stores and there is a surplus of goods, we as customers don’t fully understand how products were supplied or what demands are being met (Fernie and Sparks, 2009). WithRead MoreThe Role Of Social Media On Global E Commerce1507 Words   |  7 Pages(companies) trade their products and services using computer networks. The buyers and sellers can use platforms like mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain management, online transaction processing, data collection, internet marketing, electronic data interchange and inventory management systems. Currently, most of these transactions have taken advantage of the World Wide Web, which is largely accessed through emails and other platforms. E-commerce entails online shopping web sites, activeRead MoreSWOT of Canadian Operations of Wal-Mart: Supply Chain Innovations to Fight Competition in Canada1202 Words   |  5 PagesWal-Mart –Supply chain innovations to fight competition in Canada Supply chain innovations should ensure on-shelf availability at retail outlets, improving collaboration between vendors and retailers, translating supply chain costs to product pricing, lean inventory and real time replenishment. Wal-Mart should ensure that process differentiation to determine the right method of moving products with varying demand characteristics (Akehurst, C., Alexander, N. (1995) SWOT Analysis of Canadian operationsRead MoreMission And Core Value Of The Target Corporation1999 Words   |  8 PagesThe Target Corporation is the second-largest discount retailer in the U.S. Target?s mission is to ?make Target your preferred shopping destination in all channels by delivering outstanding value, continuous innovation and exceptional guest experiences by consistently fulfilling our ?Expect More, Pay Less? brand promise.? Fostering an inclusive culture is a core value that is integrated into every aspect of Target business. Through fostering an inclusive culture, Target enables all of their team members

Social Class in Great Expectations Essay Example For Students

Social Class in Great Expectations Essay In Great Expectations social class plays a very important role. Great Expectations is all about the role social class played in Victorian times, because in that time there was a very strict social class system and usually people who were born in a particular class would have lived there whole lives in that class. The only way people from that era would have moved up the social system, was if someone from higher up the system, took a liking to them and invested in their future. This novel, which is in the style of a bildungsroman, shows Pip moving through the class system, this actually happening to a young boy from the country fascinated people. Most boys from that era would have wanted and aspired to become a gentleman, because if you were a gentleman you would have had better living conditions, better cloths and better jobs, because if they had stayed working class they would have had to live in little often infested houses, would have worn rags and have jobs such as miners and blacksmiths. Unless you were born in the upper class that would have been very difficult to achieve, Dickens realised how hard it was to go up the social class ladder and felt bad that some of the people born in the working or lower class, could be great kind gentlemen, but people who are born in the upper class havent earned there right to be a gentlemen or even a lady but have everything anyway. He didnt like how the social class system worked or how it stopped people from being great and from socialising, so he based a book Great Expectations on and around social class and how the prejudice created by social class isnt a good thing for the community, or for the lower class working people, so that people could see what was wrong with social system and help try to fix it. The first point about social class in Great Expectations is the character of Pip. Pip is the main character in the book and in the book we follow his journey through the social system. The first thing we learn about Pip and his background is that he comes from a poor family from the country side, also that his parents are dead and hes an orphan, who lives with his sister and Joe Gargery. As a child pip is made to feel that his background is inadequate by numerous characters, the first is his sister and the second is Estella. When Estella first sees Pip she calls him a common labouring boy which would mean she looks down on him and that he wasnt good enough. Then one day when he is older and is working as a blacksmith, he finds out that someone has invested in him so he can become a gentleman. And so he moves to London to start training to become a gentleman. When Pip moves to London and becomes a gentleman he becomes snobbish, stuck up and looks down on the lower classes. The character of Pip teaches us that in Victorian times, it was natural for the upper class such as gentlemen to look down on people lower down the social class then them. In Victorian times to be a gentleman meant you were powerful, well respected and that you had lots of money. And Dickens used this in most of his books because, he thought that even though most gentlemen had those things in those times, but he thought that those things shouldnt be the things that makes a gentlemen and he tried to put that message across in his books. He showed this in the character of Pip, when pip turns into a gentleman he has all the traits of a gentleman but not actually being gentlemanly he showed us that Pip had the money, the job and the respect, but not respect for people in lower classes and because hes got a new suite he thinks hes better then Joe and his old country life. .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea , .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .postImageUrl , .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea , .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea:hover , .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea:visited , .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea:active { border:0!important; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea:active , .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u42001258588a884b8f743cc9ad9e9cea:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Understanding of the story EssayWhen Pip becomes a gentleman various characters start to act differently towards him, these characters include Joe, Biddy and Mr. Jaggers. Firstly Mr. Jaggers changes his mind about Pip in a good way, because as Pip starts to change it feels like he starts to respect him slightly more. But Joe and Biddy start to feel that Pip is getting stuck up and rude and begin to resent him because of it. Dickens also makes Pip go into dept because, it was a way to show Pip falling back into his old life and a way to show that even though you have the respect and money unless you know how to use it you cant be a gentleman. Also at this point Dickens starts to make Pip sick he uses this as a metaphor of Pips moral decline, by using this to get pip back to his home in the country side and to get Pip starting to realise that it was Joe and Biddy who really care about him and for him, so he realises that it was them he should have been trying to impress and be nice to and even though he wasnt they still gave him a second chance. But by the end of the book its not in fact the men that are classed as gentlemen that show us the most gentlemanly behaviour, with the exception of Herbert none of them act like a true gentleman should. Whereas characters such as Joe act like what a gentleman should act like, so its twisted. There are also ladies in Great Expectations an example of this is Estella. Estella is part of the upper class. But only because she was adopted by miss Havisham. When shes younger her first reaction to Pip, as a lower class boy, is that he is dirty, common and not good enough for her. At first people how readers of the book dont like or respect Estella, but when she becomes a lady, some of the readers start to respect her a bit more because, she doesnt look down on the lower class anymore and seems to have matured into a decent human being, then right at the end of the book when she realises she likes Pip the reader really starts to like her. But if you were to compare Pip to Biddy, Biddy has the respect for the whole book, whereas Estella only has our respect at the end so we respect Biddy more than Estella this is because, Estella starts the book with a bad view on the lower classes and the viewer doesnt like that, but with Biddy all we see with her is that she is kind and treats everybody equally, so we warm to Biddy a lot more. My last point about Estella is about her real parentage. At the start we think that she is Miss Havisham child, but on page 409 we find out that Estella is the child of Magwitch, the convict and a former convict turned maid. And if people where to find out about this they wouldnt have treated her in the same way in Victorian times, because she would have been looked upon as scum and not worthy of being anything other then a someone from the lower class. Some of the other characters integrate the theme of social class in there characters such as Joe, Biddy and Herbert these characters show us that no matter what class you are your still equal, Herbert shows us this from a gentlemans point of view and Biddy and Joe show us this from a lower point of view. Whereas other characters such as Magwitch and miss havisham, who think they can use there high class and money to get what they want and back then, thats what most high class rich people thought. .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 , .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .postImageUrl , .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 , .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69:hover , .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69:visited , .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69:active { border:0!important; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69:active , .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69 .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5a3982ccfcdc8ecdb76f536d7d29bb69:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Largely influential play EssayDickens also uses dialogue between different social classes to show class, by showing us how different classes speak in different ways, because when a working class person talks to a person from the higher class, the higher class person will enunciate and speak politely and in a well mannered tone, whereas the working class person would shorten words and not really bovver enunciating and when you have them talking to each other you notice the difference in class. The novel of Great Expectations shows us that in Victorian times social class was a very important thing, which would determine what peoples lives turned out to be. In Victorian times if someone where to read this novel, considering it would mainly be high class people who would have read the book, they would have reacted in a negative way, due to the fact that this would have been pointing out the flaws in there way of living and in there social system, which they would have agreed with because ,there were on top of it. But if someone were to read it today it wouldnt affect them because, although stuff like that still happens, it doesnt happen to that degree anymore, also it doesnt affect us as much nowadays. So it doesnt hold as much relevance to us today as it would have been in Victorian times.

Top Love Songs free essay sample

Top Love Songs Recently, while reading a magazine, I saw an article listing the top love songs. The songs listed were cheesy and/or overused songs, such as Howie Day’s Collide, and James Blunt’s You’re Beautiful. The article gave me the idea to create a list of what I felt were the best underappreciated love songs, shown below in alphabetical order. 1. Can’t Stop- The Red Hot Chili Peppers 2. Casimir Pulaski Day- Sufjan Stevens 3. Catalyst- Anna Nalick 4. In Liverpool- Suzanne Vega 5. In My Head- Anna Nalick 6. If You Sleep- Tal Bachman 7. Kathy’s Song- Simon and Garfunkle 8. Miss You So Badly- Jimmy Buffet 9. Pieces- Dan Powell 10. Quelqu’un m’a dit- Carla Bruni 11. Romeo and Juliet- The Dire Straits 12. Separate Ways- Journey 13. Something So Right- Paul Simon 14. Somewhere Out There- Our Lady Peace 15. Suzanne- Leonard Cohen 16. Take This Waltz- Leonard Cohen 17. The Space Between- Dave Matthews Band 18. Walls- Trapt 19. Who†™s To Say- Vanessa Carlton 20. You’re Mine- Monkeys

The New World essays

The New World essays Environment of The New World Environment is defined as all the external factors that influence life, including light and food supply. Some of the greatest nations to be influenced by their environments are those of the first civilizations of the New World, the Americas. The New World to me is considered North and South America, focusing on the United States later in history. This Continents environment varies extremely: from hot to cold, mountain highs to valleys low. Exactly when the first inhabitants of the New World occurred is unknown exactly. Estimates gather it occurred around fifteen thousand years ago by Homo sapiens. The New World found by what they say, Christopher Columbus, is like finding a river in the Desert. North and South America have incredible resources to utilize, followed by very encouraging weather. The Americas to me represent the fruit of the planet, as far as their environment goes. They have land that is very habitable to hunt, fish, build and explore. The land is also very maneuverable for the most part and creates great conditions for trade. The first settlers of North America, Americans were hunters and gatherers. These nomadic people lived close to their food supply. If they were promising farmers is unknown, but there is evidence of squash and legumes. Farming on these soils is very feasible, due to the weather conditions and nice climate. The first real civilization appeared in the Yucatan Peninsula, early as 5000 B.C. Teotihuacn is considered Americas first Metropolis, its thirty miles northeast of Mexico City. The greatness of this city is rivaled to that of Rome in sophistication and size. The Architecture is amazing and very well organized and planned. Huge Pyramid like buildings was created by the people there. The city inhabiting as many as one hundred and fifty thousand people, making it rather large for a nomadic time. This area is now known as Centra...

Biography of Bartolomé de Las Casas, Spanish Colonist

Biography of Bartolomà © de Las Casas, Spanish Colonist Bartolomà © de Las Casas (c. 1484–July 18, 1566) was a Spanish Dominican friar who became famous for his defense of the rights of the native people of the Americas. His brave stand against the horrors of the conquest and the colonization of the New World earned him the title â€Å"Defender of the Native Americans. Las Casas efforts led to legal reforms and early debates about the idea of human rights. Fast Facts: Bartolomà © de Las Casas Known For: Las Casas was a Spanish colonist and friar who advocated for better treatment of Native Americans.Born: c. 1484 in Seville, SpainDied: July 18, 1566 in Madrid, SpainPublished Works: A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, Apologetic History of the Indies, History of the Indies Early Life Bartolomà © de Las Casas was born about 1484 in Seville, Spain. His father was a merchant and was acquainted with the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Young Bartolomà ©, then about 9 years old, was in Seville when Columbus returned from his first voyage in 1493; he might have met members of the Taà ­no tribe that Columbus brought back with him from the Americas. Bartolomà ©Ã¢â‚¬â„¢s father and uncle sailed with Columbus on his second voyage. The family became quite wealthy and had holdings on Hispaniola, an island in the Caribbean. The connection between the two families was strong: Bartolomà ©s father eventually interceded with the pope on the matter of securing certain rights on behalf of Columbus’s son Diego, and Bartolomà © de Las Casas himself edited Columbus’s travel journals. Las Casas eventually decided that he wanted to become a priest, and his father’s new wealth allowed him to attend the best schools of the era: the University of Salamanca and the University of Valladolid. Las Casas studied canon law  and eventually earned two degrees. He excelled in his studies, particularly Latin, and his strong academic background served him well in the years to come. First Trip to the Americas In 1502, Las Casas finally went to see the family holdings on Hispaniola. By then, the natives of the island had been mostly subdued, and the city of Santo Domingo was being used as a resupply point for Spanish incursions in the Caribbean. The young man accompanied the governor on two different military missions aimed at pacifying those natives who remained on the island. On one of these trips, Las Casas witnessed a massacre of poorly armed natives, a scene he would never forget. He traveled around the island a great deal and was able to see the deplorable conditions in which the natives lived. The Colonial Enterprise and Mortal Sin Over the next few years, Las Casas traveled to Spain and back several times, finishing his studies and learning more about the sad situation of the natives. By 1514, he decided that he could no longer be personally involved in the exploitation of the natives and renounced his family holdings on Hispaniola. He became convinced that the enslavement and slaughter of the native population was not only a crime but also a mortal sin as defined by the Catholic Church. It was this iron-clad conviction that would eventually make him such a staunch advocate for fair treatment of the natives. First Experiments Las Casas convinced Spanish authorities to allow him to try to save the few remaining Caribbean natives by taking them out of slavery and placing them in free towns, but the death of Spains King Ferdinand in 1516 and the resulting chaos over his successor caused these reforms to be delayed. Las Casas also asked for and received a section of the Venezuelan mainland for an experiment. He believed he could pacify the natives with religion rather than weapons. Unfortunately, the region that was selected had been heavily raided by slave traders, and the natives’ hostility to the Europeans was too intense to overcome. The Verapaz Experiment In 1537, Las Casas wanted to try again to demonstrate that natives could be controlled peacefully and that violence and conquest were unnecessary. He was able to persuade the crown to allow him to send missionaries to a region in north-central Guatemala where the natives had proved particularly fierce. His experiment worked, and the natives were peacefully brought under Spanish control. The experiment was called Verapaz, or â€Å"true peace,† and the region still bears the name. Unfortunately, once the region was brought under control, colonists took the lands and enslaved the natives, undoing almost all of Las Casas’ work. Death Later in life, Las Casas became a prolific writer, traveled frequently between the New World and Spain, and made allies and enemies in all corners of the Spanish Empire. His History of the Indies- a frank account of Spanish colonialism and the subjugation of the natives- was completed in 1561. Las Casas spent his final years living at the College of San Gregorio in Valladolid, Spain. He died on July 18, 1566. Legacy Las Casas’ early years were marked by his struggle to come to terms with the horrors he had seen and his understanding of how God could allow this kind of suffering among the Native Americans. Many of his contemporaries believed that God had delivered the New World to Spain as a reward of sorts to encourage the Spanish to continue to wage war upon heresy and idolatry as defined by the Roman Catholic Church. Las Casas agreed that God had led Spain to the New World, but he saw a different reason for it: He believed it was a test. God was testing the loyal Catholic nation of Spain to see if it could be just and merciful, and in Las Casas’ opinion, the country failed God’s test miserably. It is well known that Las Casas fought for justice and freedom for the New World natives, but it is frequently overlooked that his love for his countrymen was just as powerful. When he freed the natives working on the Las Casas family holdings in Hispaniola, he did it as much for the sake of his soul and those of his family members as he did for the natives themselves. Though widely disparaged in the years after his death for his critiques of colonialism, Las Casas is now seen as a significant early reformer whose work helped pave the way for the liberation theology movement of the 20th century. Sources Casas, Bartolomà © de las, and Francis Sullivan. Indian Freedom: the Cause of Bartolomà © De Las Casas, 1484-1566: A Reader. Sheed Ward, 1995.Casas, Bartolomà © de las. A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Penguin Classics, 2004.Nabokov, Peter. â€Å"Indians, Slaves, and Mass Murder: The  Hidden History.† The New York Review of Books, 24 Nov. 2016.

Marketing Assignment 2 BENG Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Assignment 2 BENG - Essay Example does it offer sufficient growth rate to warrant investment, and how strong the company vis-Ã  -vis its competitors in the industry i.e. how much market share it command in the industry. Estelami2 stated that BCG matrix can also be employed under product elimination decisions (55-56). Thus using this model, the company can plot all of the its businesses or products in the matrix and identify the best strategies for businesses (product) in various categories. Thus, the model gives clear guidance to a company as to how it should go about its investment decisions. The concept of product life cycle is based on the concept of human life cycle. According to Kotler & Keller (2007)3 products passes through various stages of their lives. At each stage the position of the product in the market is different and thus it have to respond accordingly. To help that marketers can use various strategies suggested for the various stages. Drive Thru – This is in the growth stage marked by recent surge in the number of drive thrus that are witnessed. There life cycle will stretched, given the busy life styles; people would love to have them. Cart and Kiosks - It have been the earliest form of coffee shops, though earlier mostly managed by unorganized nondescript market players. Then the sophisticated organized players taked it up and have introducing a lot of innovative features in to it. So I would say the organized players resuscitated this product form. Currently the product will in maturity stage given the kind of competition we see. Growth stage - Marked by the entry of competition, the stage witness a segmented approach to marketing and separate marketing mix to various segments. The firm may go for skimming by lowering the price; the product will have new features and improved versions; the advertising would shift from product awareness to preference building. Maturity Stage – This stage witness heavy price discounts and trade promotion.

Organisational Behaviour in Action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organisational Behaviour in Action - Essay Example Similarly Mill, Bentham and Locke tried to include the principles of pleasure, pain and hedonism in describing human motivation but could not distinguish what factors accounted for differences in individual motivation. It was Douglas McGregor who pointed out that in order to achieve organizational objectives, it was better to treat workers with respect and compassion (McGregor, 1960, 12). One’s morale can suffer on account of undue pressures at work, bad supervision or the state of the economy when others are being laid off. In this paper we will try to discover how to keep the employees motivated and happy despite the dismal conditions all around them. Using Equity Theory to Motivate Employees at Bain & Company Psychologists and social scientists have developed various theories to explain how to motivate employees towards greater productivity and satisfaction in the workplace. Among these are Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory, Herzberg’s Two Factor or Hygiene t heory, Vroom’s Expectancy theory, J. Stacy Adams’ Equity theory and so forth. In the case cited, we have the example of Bain and Company, where the worldwide Managing Director Steve Ellis is still not afraid to hire new employees in hot growth areas despite the recessionary trends in the economy as of 2009. He has managed to placate and address employee fears of being fired by reducing their goals to achievable levels looking at the state of the economy. He is also raised the rewards for lower level and temporary employees, so that they remain motivated and happy to have a job despite the economic slowdown. The equity theory states that there should be a balance between the output or productivity of an employee on the job and the rewards given to them. If the rewards given are perceived to be less than equal, the employee becomes dissatisfied and his productivity will drop in the near future. If the rewards given to an employee are perceived to be matching the level of his efforts at work, he will be suitably satisfied and his productivity will remain at the same level in the near future. The theory also states that if we want to increase an employee’s productivity, we should reward him a little bit more than he expects for his efforts. The employee will thus be pleasantly surprised and will definitely be motivated to work harder considering the faith that management has put into him. This is what Bain and Company is trying to do with the lower level employees by reducing goals and giving more rewards at lower levels of achievement across the organization. It is also seen that when employees are made to work harder and longer hours without a commensurate rewards program, ultimately they will leave the organization when things get better in the economy. Perhaps this is the very thing that Bain and Company wants to avoid. So by rewarding employees in this fashion, staff is not only happy to come to work every day but also learn not to worry like their counterparts in other organizations who are living in fear and despair. They can produce without undue worry about tomorrow. Using Expectancy Theory to Explain Motivation in Bain & Company The case cited also mentions that Bain and Company is hiring employees in hot growth areas. Steve Ellis thinks that a downturn is the best time to hire some outstanding employees away from the competition because of economic uncertainty and layoffs adding to the fear

Describe how Arthur Miller creates Essay Example for Free

Describe how Arthur Miller creates Essay Describe how Arthur Miller creates an exciting climax for both acts of A View from the Bridge' A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, is a play about obsession and betrayal. The main character, Eddie Carbone, becomes overprotective over his niece, Catherine, to the degree of infatuation. This obsession helps to cause the break down of Eddies marriage, as his wife, Beatrice realises the alarming nature of Eddies fixation. Eddies feelings for Catherine existed before Beatrices cousins, Marco and Rodolfo came, but their arrival intensifies the situation, as Eddie becomes more and more jealous of Rodolfo, and of Catherines love for him. This play is a tragedy and, like most tragedies, it is serious and ends with the death of the main character, Eddie. Eddie dies after betraying his wifes cousins to the immigration bureau. As a result, Marco, who is filled with hatred and in need of justice, stabs him. Arthur Miller was a New Yorker who worked on the Brooklyn docks, for a time. His experience of the docks and of the people around them, led him to write this play, which is set there. During this coursework, my aim is to study the ends of the two acts in depth to see what techniques Miller uses to make them dramatically effective. The last scene of act one (from page 39 when Catherine puts paper doll on the phonograph) portrays at first is one of a reasonably happy home but Arthur miller uses a combination of significant action and verbal nuances to show depth of characters and character emotions. The basic events of the scene are Rodolfo and Catherine dancing, Eddie showing Rodolfo how to box, and then Marco, challenging Eddie to lift a chair. These are three main parts of this last scene, which demonstrate symbolic changes in the character relationships, the first two build up to the final conflict between Marco and Eddie, which sets the tone for the second act. The first important section of the scene is the dancing between Rodolfo and Catherine. We see in this scene that Rodolfo feels uncomfortable because of Eddie he Stiffly rises, feeling Eddies eyes on his back this shows that Rodolfo may realise how Eddie feels towards his niece, Rodolfo doesnt want to upset him, we see the way Eddie feels about the dancing in the stage direction EDDIE turns his head away. These few simple actions are very important to the play, they show Eddies feelings and the start or progression of the hatred Eddie feels towards Rodolfo and show a subtle conflict between Eddie and his niece. During we find out about a number of things in more depth, for example our understanding of the plays characters changes considerably. We find that Marco disapproves of the way Eddie is treating Rodolfo, this is quite a surprise since we, as an audience do not expect Marco who has previously been shy and quiet to make such a blatant challenge as he does in this scene. Twists and surprises in a plot tend to create suspense and tension so this is a very effective technique to use. The action in this scene Marcos action of holding up a chair triumphantly in front of Eddie is an interesting and significant action because the chair seems to be a symbolic weapon. Marco is threatening Eddie with it, this is analogous to the way he actually uses a weapon to kill Eddie in the final scene of the play. The way that Arthur Miller uses such an imposing action as lifting a chair above head height to make a defined, pointed change in Marco is effective because it is dramatic and startling in the way that it breaks from the tone of the rest of the scene. Although powerful and startling the action of lifting the chair is also subtle in that it states without using words, just how Marco feels and sets out his warning, it is succinct which is part of what makes it effective. I do not believe words would have worked as well at portraying the overall feelings, not just of Marco but also of the other characters. This is a major way that Arthur Miller creates an overall atmosphere. He uses actions that involve the audience reactions and opinions of all the characters and the aids the creation of a climax. Emotions of the audience towards characters are mixed. They may feel happy for Catherine and Rodolfo in that they have found each other and seem so happy. Some may speculate, however, about that, this relationships days are numbered due to Eddies obviously hostile feelings towards Rodolfo. They may also feel anxious as to how the conflict that has arisen between Marco and Eddie will be resolved. This emotional uncertainty is exciting and leaves the audience thinking because of the culmination of events. This last scene in act one is used very effectively by Arthur Miller to sow the seeds of events which are going to happen in the 2nd act of the play. It is only at this point in the play that we get true insight into the feelings of Marco, his stubbornness, his need to prove himself and his brother, which turn out at the end of the play to be fatally strong. It is also only now that we see any dislike of Marco from Eddie, it is this dislike and need for apology that causes the end scene to happen in such a tragic manner. The Characters in this scene are very interesting to observe on their own but it is also interesting to see how Arthur Miller has contrasted the actions of his characters in this scene. One such contrast is that between Marco and Eddie. Eddie uses Aggressive action, such as boxing to make his point whereas Marcos subtle challenge with the chair is, non-aggressive but still makes the intended point. These contrasts between the two mens actions are very interesting and are very effective in demonstrating the differences between their personalities; this makes it even more interesting at the very ending of the play how Marco has changed into a person willing to be violent to get revenge. This final scene leaves many questions unanswered. The conflicts between the characters in this scene could lead the audience to speculate as to how things will develop in the next act but although this scene gives the audience, some idea of how things turn out it does not tell them everything. They may ask themselves what is going to happen to Catherine and Rodolfos relationship since it seems plain that Eddie dislikes Rodolfo and disapproves of his relationship with his niece. And they may wonder about Beatrice and Eddies marriage since it appears to be weakening there is no way, however that at this point the audience realise the ending, they are left in suspense. This means that the ending of this act is all the more of a climax; the audience are left teetering on the edge of knowing more but are left to ruminate till the second act. That in itself is enough to explain the way Miller creates of a climax here. The situations that develop in this play would be difficult for anyone to deal with. Eddie finds the situation that he is in especially difficult and consequently he is seriously affected by it. In this play Eddie goes from being a popular man, respected in the community to being a man willing to betray his own family and, in the final scene one prepared to kill. Eddie started by just being over protective of Catherine, which developed into jealousy of Rodolfo because Catherine loved him and this, in turn developed into passionate hatred of both Marco and Rodolfo. Eddie hardly understands what he himself is feeling at the end of the play. These emotional changes are central to Arthur millers play since they help to cause the chain of events leading up to the final tragic end and are very important in creating interest and drama in the play. This is especially significant at the ends of the acts and creates a charged atmosphere. The changes in Eddie during the play also have consequences on the people around him, especially on Beatrice. Eddie spends less and less time throughout the play with Beatrice socially and more importantly, he spends less time with her intimately. There is evidence in other scenes that the sexual part of the Carbones marriage has already collapsed but that Beatrice desperately wants to save the marriage by sitting down and sorting things out.

Ronald Schaffers America In The Great War Essay -- Ronald Schaffer Am

Ronald Schaffer's America In The Great War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ronald Schaffer’s America in the Great War gives new insights into World War I. The book gave historical accounts about the war that other books negated to included. The thesis that Schaffer tries to prove that the Great War was the start of the American welfare state and the beginning of â€Å"big† government. America in the Great War was structured in chronological order of the war, from America’s mobilization to the actual fighting. What the book did not include is a detail account of the fighting. This was the biggest draw back in a otherwise well thought book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book begins with the mobilization of the United State’s industry and man power. The first two chapters dealt with how the Federal Government shaped the view of the war in America’s minds. The methods that the Federal Government used varied from propaganda to coercion. The point behind the Federal Government’s involvement in propaganda was to rally the country to fight the war. The first step in shaping the people’s mind was to get the labor and industry to work together. The Federal Government established committees and teams to persuade the minds of the United States. One of these committees were the Committee on Public Information established in April 13 1917 by order on the President of the United States. The committee was led by George Creel, former social reformer. He had great power in what the United States saw and heard for the next few years. His first order was to manage American minds without directly using propaganda and censorship. Other nations fighting the war practiced wide spread censorship of all war related material. Creel realized that this would not work in the United States, instead he flooded Americans with news. The news released to the public was in such large numbers and in such great detail that Americans could not understand all of it. The Committee on Public Information also produced films. The films were designed to rally Americans behind the war effort. The films were nothing else but propaganda, but Creel designed the films to not come across as propaganda. The committee was very successful in hiding the fact that they were engaging in propaganda. Many Americans believed in the films and supported the war e... ...overnment helped veterans in such a large scale. The treatment of the shell shock veterans would eventually lead to one of the largest welfare programs, the Veterans administration.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition Schaffer changed my views about the American home front. I was not aware about the extent of propaganda involved shaping the thinking in the United States. I did not know that the Federal Government suppressed dissent to the level that it employed. Such use of propaganda and suppression in the United States would be impossible and such a government using that would be called a Fascist government.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, I liked the book due the fact that Schaffer proved his thesis, the Great War gave rise to the American welfare state. I believe that Schaffer proved his thesis with clear and concrete evidence. I enjoyed how Schaffer shed new light on the Great War. Many historical accounts only deal with the actual fighting and not the behind the scenes action that Schaffer writes about. Schaffer’s account about women and blacks during the war gave new levels. History has forgotten the contributions that these groups gave to the war.

A Term Paper on Qubee Wimax Essay

Acknowledgement By the cordial mercy of Allah, now we will be able to submit our report to our honorable teacher Tahsina Khan Nimmi we strongly believe that it would not be possible preparing such a report without her help. Now we would like to thank our honorable teacher Mrs. Tahsina khan Nimmi for her keen efforts and invaluable guidance, helped us to understand, what the modern concept of marketing mix, Bostorn Consulting Group (BCG) matrix and SWOT analysis which help us to complete this successful completion of the report. This acknowledgment will remain incomplete if we don’t thanks to this person who helped and being corporate with us specially Fayyad Ahmedul hye(Senior product manager-Qubee) for helping me to find necessary information regarding the report. We would also like to express gratitude to our class members. They should be remembered because they produced the platform of our knowledge. Finally we are really grateful to the other employees and officers of Qubee for their help and valuable advice. Again, I like to thank our honorable teacher for giving us such a chance in completion of the report Finally, we like to say that, we have prepared this report from our own experience. We are ready to accept our unwilling errors and omission which belong to us. Executive Summery The report is prepared to determine the marketing mix, BCG matrix, SWOT analysis of Qubee. Qubee has strong and effective compensation policy which works for raising the morale, efficiency and cooperation among the employees and also adopting new operation process, marketing strategy. Through this report, a clear idea is generated about what actually marketing mix, BCG matrix, SWOT analysis is and its impact in Qubee, the importance of these, the methods and policy used to set for these, what type role these plays to encourage the employees to perform better and achieve the standards fixed and the Qubee’s view toward its necessity and success plus how they measure the results. So I can draw a sharp line of the issue toward its impact of the total human resource management department and overall the total operation and efficiency of Qubee especially in the Foreign Exchange (Bangladesh & Pakistan branch). Here I tried my level best to show the compensation system in online sector and integrate the total process with the functions of the Human Resource Management Department, after that I focused on the issue towards the contribution to other department and at last its contribution towards the efficiency and competitiveness of Qubee. Introduction [pic]Qubee is part of the Augere group. Qubee is a new and exciting company from Augere providing fast and reliable broadband internet services to residential and business customers across Bangladesh. qubee believes that everyone should be able to enjoy trouble-free access to the internet and the world of opportunities that it brings. Their aim is to make a magical internet experience available to everyone, everyday, without exception. Qubee is the creation of a group of global telecoms professionals who saw that a new technology called WiMAX could really change the internet experience for millions of people worldwide. WiMAX means that people don’t  need telephone lines or cable to get connected: all people’s need is to live close enough to a transmitter to receive the internet wirelessly. Qubee is busy building a network of base stations to offer their brand of internet access right across Bangladesh. They’re starting in Dhaka, but quickly plan to do the same in cities nationwide. Qubee has gathered a highly talented team right here in Bangladesh to build a company that’s determined to improve the internet experience for millions of people – not just here, but ultimately all over the world. History Augere Wireless Broadband Bangladesh Ltd, one of the licensees to whom BTRC gave license last year to run business providing Wimax [pic] facility in Bangladesh, has inaugurated Wimax internet service in some selected areas of the capital. The inauguration ceremony was held on 21st October in a hotel in Dhaka. Augere named much-waited Wimax internet service â€Å"Qubee†. On its inauguration ceremony, Russel T Ahmed, head of marketing, Augere, said that the service is initially being given in Gulshan, Banani, Mirpur, Bashundhara Residential Area, and Uttara Residential & Commercial Area. Anyone living in these areas can become a subscriber of the country’s first Wimax service provider, Qubee. Augere said that the service will be available in each part of the country in near future. WiMax is a technology that provides wireless transmission of data using a variety of transmission modes from point-to-multipoint links to portable and fully mobile internet access. Bangladeshi internet users have been dying for this technology since past few years. Last year Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) arranged an auction for starting Wimax business in Bangladesh. Augere, who has already started Wimax Internet service in Bangladesh under the brand name â€Å"Qubee†, is one of the four winners of the auction. After the launch of Wimax in Bangladesh with the hand of Augure wireless  Broadband Bangladesh Ltd, mixed reaction is seen among general people of the country. Most of them are not satisfied due to the â€Å"Extreme Monthly Charge† applicable for Wimax customers. However, on the inauguration ceremony of Qubee, it was said that the monthly charge will be reduced by making some offers in future. What’s qubee: Qubee is the real internet experience from Augere. They believe that everyone should be able to enjoy trouble-free access to the internet and the opportunities that it brings. They also believe that in the internet world, speed is happiness so they offer fast and reliable download backed up by customer service that never sleeps. They aren’t just making the internet work; they’re making it work beautifully. Where’s Qubee: Qubee is a new company providing fast, reliable and competitively priced broadband internet services to emerging markets around the world. They believe that everyone should be able to enjoy trouble-free access to the internet and the world of opportunities that it brings. Their aim is to make a magical internet experience available to everyone, everyday, without exception. [pic]

Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan Essay

Afghanistan is an Islamic country. It is divided into different regions where people manifest their own culture and beliefs. Though Afghans dwell in same country yet they practiced different cultures because of their regions’ location and tradition. What is applied to a certain region of Afghanistan may not be applicable to the other regions of the country. This would only show that there is a cultural diversity amongst regions of Afghanistan. Moreover, Afghanistan is located in south-central Asia. The encyclopedia of Islam stated that: Afghanistan has borne that name only since the middle of the 18th century, when the supremacy of the Afghan race (Pashtuns) became assured: previously various districts bore distinct appellations, but the country was not a definite political unit, and its component parts were not bound together by any identity of race or language. The earlier meaning of the word was simply â€Å"the land of the Afghans†, a limited territory which did not include many parts of the present state but did comprise large districts now either independent or within the boundary of Pakistan† (see â€Å"Afghanistan†. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. November 15, 2006). The northern part of the country is bordered by the Soviet Union and on the northeast; it is bordered by China and Kashmir, on the west side is bordered by Iran and on the east and south it is bordered by Pakistan. Every citizen of the country is called as Afghan though the country is composed of various ethnic groups. One of these ethnic groups is the Pashtun (it is also be spelled as Pakhtun, Pathan, Pushtun, and Pukhtun) which makes up about 60 percent of the population. They are from the Caucasian origin and dwelt in Afghanistan in not less than 1, 3000 year. Normally, they are recognized and acknowledged as the â€Å"true Afghans†. Pashtuns are separated into numerous tribes and sub-tribes, followed an ancient code of conduct called as Pashtunwali. The second most populated group is the Tajik, who were also come from the Caucasian origin (see â€Å"Afghanistan†. New Standard Encyclopedia. Volume 1, Pp. A-91, A-93, 94). The intent of this paper is to describe the different cultures in Afghanistan. II. Discussion As I have mentioned earlier, there are two ethnic groups who dwelt in Afghanistan. These groups practiced different cultures. Moreover, different cultures are practiced in Afghanistan because there are numerous ethnic groups that are smaller in number who are scattered throughout the country. Nuristanis is another ethnic group of Afghnistan. They dwell in the secluded mountains of the northeast of Kabul, near the Pakistan border. The Nuristanis claimed that they are the descendants of Alexander the Great. Before they were converted into Islam, Nuristanis had statue of wooden idols and ancestral images sculpted by them and these are well-preserved in the Kabul Museum. Several of these were possibly used to venerate dead ancestors and used in healing rituals or ceremonials (see â€Å"Other Minority Ethnic Groups in Afghanistan†. 2002). Moreover, life in the Afghan home is upholding high values because they really defined the roles of the men and women. These roles are very different from any culture around the world. The women’s lives only revolve in their home and to their children; thus, this practice is in line with their Muslim beliefs. Starting from late 1950s, the urban women who belonged in a well-off family were allowed to find their work far from their homeland and had opportunity to study on higher education. But these privileges were not enjoyed by all women because women who dwelt in the rural areas or amongst nomadic tribes are not given these opportunities. Everyday, Afghan women supply their families with two meals, together with snacks. Their traditional meals are pilau which has meat or vegetables, poultry or wild game kebabas, mutton, yogurt, hot soup and nan which a flat bread. In addition, Afghan has different ways when they engage in marriage. A man and a woman are united in marriage through an agreement made by both parents by settling financial commitments or also called as the â€Å"marketplace† or â€Å"dowry†. In their culture, marriage is considered as a deal between families not just by individuals and it includes financial commitments on both families. The groom will give a dowry to the family of the bride. The dowry comprises of decorative and functional items that are necessary for establishing a household. It comprises goods like beddings, utensils, clothing, jewelry, fans and hangings. The men who attend the weddings are given presents like embroidered handkerchiefs or turban caps. The process in assembling a dowry involves a long period of time and much effort and it is usually started while the girl is still young. The relatives of the females help in the wedding preparations (see â€Å"Afghanistan†). III. Conclusion Truly, the cultures in Afghanistan are one of a kind. Afghan women are just like precious stones because they are well taken care by their parents. During in their younger years, parents set an arrange marriage for their daughter and ask for a dowry to the male’s side. References 1. â€Å"Afghanistan†. New Standard Encyclopedia. Volume 1, Pp. A-91, A-93, 94. 2. â€Å"Other Minority Ethnic Groups in Afghanistan†. 2002. http://www. afghan- network. net/Ethnic-Groups/other-groups. html 3. â€Å"Afghanistan†. http://146. 186. 95. 23/mat_mus/Tour/t_afghan. htm 4. â€Å"Afghanistan†. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. November 15, 2006. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Afghanistan#_note-4

Short clauses can take commas

Short clauses can take commas Short clauses can take commas Short clauses can take commas By Maeve Maddox Ron Milan wants to use a comma to separate two short clauses: I wrote a sentence: Experts teach, peers comfort. Word creates an error unless I write Experts teach and peers comfort. or Experts teach; peers comfort. (semi colon versus comma).    However, I like the shorter pause by a comma.   Any rules on this? Punctuation exists to help readers make sense of what is written, but it can also be a means of helping a reader hear the writer’s voice. The difference between Ron’s preferred sentence and those suggested by Word is a difference of style. All three sentences are understandable, but the first conveys an introspective tone that the others lack. Julius Caesar’s boast of Veni, vidi, vici is usually translated as I came, I saw, I conquered. The insertion of an and or of semicolons would spoil the effect by slowing it down or making it sound more prosaic than triumphant. The Chicago Manual of Style staunchly defends the semicolon to separate independent clauses not joined by a conjunction: Two independent clauses not joined by a conjunction are best separated by a semicolon or a period. This principle has always been the fifth major rule put forth in The Elements of Style- starting with Strunk’s original (Ithaca, NY, 1918) and continuing almost unchanged . . . through the latest (fourth) edition of Strunk and White (New York, 2000). Strunk, however, doesn’t get the last word, not even in the offices of the CMS. When a writer queried about using a comma instead of a semicolon in a sentence with two independent clauses and no conjunction, the response was that the sentence in question did, in fact, read better with the comma. The CMS editor acknowledged that [s]ometimes the ear is more important than the rulebook. When choosing whether to use a comma or a semicolon, the writer must consider both clarity and desired stylistic effect. Here’s an interesting About article on the semicolon P.S. I just discovered that the National Geographic Manual of Style supports the comma for short clauses and no conjunction. Their example is also the Julius Caesar quotation. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:85 Synonyms for â€Å"Help†Cannot or Can Not?What Is the Meaning of "Hack?"

When Is the Next ACT Test Date

When Is the Next ACT Test Date SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Here's the most updated info on when the next ACT test is happening and when you have to register. At this moment, the next ACT test date is September 10, 2016. Make sure you prep correctly, using our top 5 ACT prep strategies. Thenext ACT registration deadline is August 5, 2016. The late deadline, with extra fees, is August 19, 2016. Make sure you know how to sign up for the ACT and how much it costs. Scores for the next ACT test will be released September 10, 2016. Do you know what a good ACT score is? Make sure you have the right target score in mind. It's important to do well. Here are our best strategy guides to get you on track to improving your ACT score. How to get a perfect ACT score, by a 36 scorer Perfect score guides for ACT English, ACT Math, ACT Reading, and ACT Science Learn our complete set of ACT grammar rules Make sure you know all the most important ACT vocabulary words Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes your prep program to your strengths and weaknesses. We also have expert instructors who can grade every one of your practice ACT essays, giving feedback on how to improve your score. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Final Thoughts on Argument ( 8 ) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Thoughts on Argument ( 8 ) - Essay Example One could claim that marketing cigarette products to the youth is simply too much to handle. First let us examine what prompted cigarette companies to come up with this decision. â€Å"Younger adults are the only source of replacement smokers† (RJ Reynolds). This means to say that as people age – while smoking – signs and consequences of this decision will begin to show. As a result, they wouldn’t be as enthusiastic as they were when they started smoking. This is what many cigarette companies try to avoid. If they want to keep their business thriving and prospering, they need younger adults which will require brand new form of marketing. True – from the industry’s point of view, this may just be the right thing to do. After all, they just mean business and this is nothing personal for them. Without overanalyzing and putting things under simple perspective, cigarette companies are just doing what they need to do to keep up with the current market. But nothing justifies the consequences that will happen in the future. On the surface, this may be an acceptable proposition for many cigarette companies though on second thought they are just taking advantage of our youth – the hope of the future. Why do teens smoke? "Kids are vulnerable to smoking because the transition to adulthood is fraught with stress, insecurity, and the need to be accepted by peers. If kids see smokers who they think are cool or look grown-up, they may strive for that image, too† (Lang and Marks). Judging from this, kids are innocent victims of the adult driven world. Cigarette companies know this vulnerability and weakness and this is the reason why they target this specific market. They know they can earn money from them more than they can from adults who know what they are doing and have other priorities in life already. However, kids don’t realize they are vulnerable and weak. They often have these overly positive views about

Leading in emergent and changed environment Case Study

Leading in emergent and changed environment - Case Study Example This was facilitated by high demand levels that existed in other counties that were not producers of the dairy products. The amount of exports made by Bega cheese is as much as the sales made in the domestic market. Bega cheese has been able to keep their customers and suppliers updated using national and international media. It has also been able to make a contribution to career development opportunities to a large number of people and has been able to employ more than 1700 people from different regions. The model that is applicable in Bega Cheese Company is Kotter’s eight-step change model. This model is efficient in planning and sustaining any change implementation (Bridgeland and Zahavi, 2009). The eight steps involved in the model are establishment if a sense of urgency, creation of a guiding coalition, development of a change strategy, communication of the change strategy, empowerment of employees for action and generation of short term wins. The next step is consolidation of the gains and production of more change, and anchoring the new changes into the culture of the company (Kaplan, 2012).The first step is identifying the sense of urgency. This is usually a situation in the company that will need to be attended to urgently. In the case of Bega cheese, the urgency might be seen as the situation whereby the suppliers of the dairy products discovered that the marketing for their products was not so successful and they discovered the urgency for chance, which enabled them to focus on forming a cooperative society. Another urgency for change in the company may be observed in the situation whereby Bega cheese discovered the demand for cheese in the other countries and made changes from basically selling to the domestic market to extending to the export market (Sabri et al, 2007). Development of a change strategy is another step in the model that will involve coming up with a strategy for the change that is designed for the company. Designing the

Television Plug-In Drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Television Plug-In Drug - Essay Example It is the opposite of how the author thinks that people should be, and she blames television directly. Winn also accuses television of damaging family relationships. Before television, families would gather around the dinner table and talk about their day. Now, they take their meals in front of the TV, and don’t talk to each other at all. Winn claims that viewing television acts like a narcotic that numbs us to life, which is going on around us. We lose touch with first hand experience, and do not bond with real human beings. Marie Winn, wrote article â€Å"Television: The Plug-In Drug,† and as mentioned above, she tells about a negative perception of television on families. She sees families as failing to communicate and interact in an authentic way, because of television. Winn’s thesis is that television is an addictive drug, like a narcotic, that keeps people passive. In this article author applies the â€Å"Pathos† style of writing, introduces themes that are detailed and definite, and also presents a lot of examples. To me, it was a very convincing argument overall. I also watch television a lot, and I realize that it is a total distraction from life. Marie Winn writes for the outer world, trying to affect people through the use of emotions and playing on people’s emotions. Questions as well as proximate answers, which were found in the text, encourage the reader to think not wisely using reason, but on the spot, using emotions. Wordplay likewise helps the author convince people about her way of thinking. The author gives the example where parents accept a television-dominated family life so completely that they don’t give enough attention to their children. Or for example: â€Å"Mealtime rituals, going-to-bed rituals, illness rituals, holiday rituals and holiday rituals – how many of these survived the inroads of the television set?† (Winn, 2002). It is a

Allegory of the Cave Essay 7 Essay Example for Free

Allegory of the Cave Essay 7 Essay Many people question themselves when they think they aren’t right about something because everyone else around them believes the opposite. What you think might be truer than you think because the world tends to believe what they want to, and not the truth. In Plato’s philosophical example of life in the â€Å"Allegory of the Cave† he explains and questions his views on human existence and the reality of things. Everyone has a different reality and a way that they perceive things but other factors like the media influence and persuade us. The media has the power through the radio, television, or other technologies to tell us things that might not even be true but we have to believe them because we don’t know what is true. The media even hides the truth in the news, has the ability to persuade us to believe something, and influences human existence. We rely on the news to know what is going on in the world, and we can’t really deny what they tell us because it’s their job to tell us the truth. There have been many mishaps where it has even been caught on television one example was on the news, â€Å"Taking her act one step further, this morning she appeared on a suburban street .. . paddling a canoe. There was one small problem. Just as the segment came on the air, two men waded in front of Kosinki . . . and the water barely covered their shoe tops! Thats right, Kosinskis canoe was in no more than four to six inches of water! † (Finkelstein 1). If the news decides not to tell the truth even if doesn’t prove their story, what reality is there if they can make up some random story with proof that they didn’t even tell the truth on television. The way that the media has the ability to tell us false stories, proves Plato’s theory, â€Å"†¦and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive someone saying to him, that what he saw before was an illusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Plato 1). The ‘shadows’ that he saw represent the shadows that the television cast on the people watching to deceive and manipulate them to believe things that are not true. Then when someone told him that it was all an ‘illusion’ he realized that everything that was said to be true was all one big lie to make it seem like everything in the world was perfect. Plato had the right idea when he was explaining his theory and the synonymous examples he used which relates to the media, â€Å"†¦like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets† (Plato 1). This example of how the prisoners in the cave saw things relates to the way the news channels manipulate their jobs. The marionette players portray the reporters who report news to the public and the screen is the television which is the public’s way of getting information in the outside world. The ‘puppets’ that the marionette players use are the false stories that they use to tell us what they want us to know. The story from the water and canoe on the news story is a perfect explanation on how they ability to not only fool us but neglect us because we rely on the media to know what is going on in our world. To realize the media was one big lie and know that it was always something that we relied on and trusted because it has an image of being honest is unfair. The people who lie to us know the damage they are causing, yet they do not try to stop it from happening, â€Å"The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth; to lie outright; to pervert; to vilify; to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread† (Swinton, 1). The truth of the media is ugly because all the journalists are doing this for is to get money or their ‘daily bread’. The business of the media is to treat us like their slaves and so that we help in believing what is false so that it satisfies them in making them more reliable. Seeing things might not always be a good thing because the media has the ability to manipulate our eyes with all the technology that they are capable of having, â€Å"†¦the prison house is the world of sight†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Plato 2). The ‘world of sight’ are all the things that we see and can interpret which is the worst thing the media has the ability to persuade because they can turn something real into something that is totally fictitious but to our eyes can seem real. Our eyes are vulnerable into turning into a prison house perceiving all these lies that the media shows us. Plato had many ideas that not only related to reality but the branches of reality and the things we see everyday might not even be real, â€Å"†¦how could they see anything but the shadows if they were never allowed to move their heads† (Plato 1). The shadows again represent all the lies that media tells us and we can never turn back because since the media is so widespread and everyone believes what they tell us, for the reason that their job is entitled to. The persuasion and effect that it has on humans is ruining the existence of us as a whole because the vulnerable we get the worse the world will get. Our human existence is in crisis because of the influence the media has on us. When we see things the media shows us in commercials we react and get greedy so we want more things. The media has the power for humans to react a certain way or to change the beliefs and ways that we each are used to, â€Å"the â€Å"media† seems to be invisible, anonymous, everywhere and all-powerful—saturating us, and, at the same time, completely beyond us† (Esdale 1). The media has become an important factor in defining our future because it is always one step ahead of us but yet it has the ability to be ‘invisible’. When the time comes and we all realize that what we thought was true that was going on around the world was all a lie it will affect every single one of us, â€Å"will he not fancy that the shadows which he formerly saw are truer than the objects which are now shown to him† (Plato 1). This would be the first reaction that someone would have when they found out that the shadows which are the lies that are overcast upon us are not real, they would be likely believe what they did before then what all these new things that are known as the true realities. The reaction would be so astonishing, â€Å"When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities† (Plato 1). The light represents the truth coming towards him but his eyes won’t know how to react because they have been manipulated to believe in something else, but yet he still won’t be able to see these new truths. Plato had proven his theories with valuable information and it still affects us today in many areas of human experience. The media is important to what will happen even people don’t come to realize and identify fact from fiction. The media has the power to utilize us in manipulating us through television, persuading to believe in something, and it is starting to influence human existence. The world needs to question itself and speak up or else the power that is behind the lens will one day control us. Works Cited Esdale, Logan. â€Å"Living Under Media Influence† 15 June 2000. Finkelstein, Mark. â€Å"Up a Creek: Accusing Bush of Video Stunt, Today Gets Caught in Stunt of Its Own† NewsBusters. 14 Oct. 2005. Swinton, John. â€Å"Media Blacks Out the Facts or We are intellectual prostitutes† Heall. 1995.

For the Love of Ones Nation :: Political Governmental America Essays

For the Love of One's Nation The country is painted red, white, and blue and the national anthem is being heard nation wide. Everywhere you look you see little American flags posted in peoples front gardens or big flags hanging in their windows. Many stores are closed, even supermarkets usually open 24 hours close for a while, and those that are open for a while have all baked goods with American flags on them. People line the streets for parades, in big or small towns alike, and everywhere you look people are dressed in red, white, and blue. It could be no other day than the 4th of July in the United States. The big day when people remember history and unite together to enjoy their country's independence. This display of the American flag, the sound of the national anthem, and the pride people feel as they watch the morning parade is nationalism. To have the devotion to die for one's country, to hail to one's flag, to sing one's national anthem with pride, and to fear or hate others because they are not one of you are a few of the many characteristics of nationalism. Nationalism makes a person have love, pride, and an emotional union with the nation to which they belong. Being happy and loving one's nation can be a good thing as long as this pride is kept within reason and does not engulf a nations entire existence and lead to racism and the feeling of superiority towards others. A persons pride and loyalty for their nation-state has been a recent development, since previously a persons loyalty went to one's "crown, religion, city, or clan" (Weatherby, 39). A nation-state is a legal entity with people sharing a common identity, land, government, and independence, such as the former Soviet Union. Nationalism results from four types of bonds and is displayed through four types of symbols. However, even though nationalism can br ing nations together it can also hurt the unity of the entire world by causing nations to measure other nations by their own value system which leads to inferiority and racism. One bond of nationalism is common territory, which is a natural bond since people are located close to each other. When traveling to other countries or even other areas in your own nation a person would feel closer and sometimes more comfortable in the new place if they met someone who was also from where they lived.

Voices of Freedom Critique

This selection, Letter by a Female Indentured Servant, really gives you incite as to what life was like in the 1700s as an indentured servant. (Foner, 2011) The reader can really feel the pain she is going through while she was in America trying to pay her dues for passage to what they thought was the promise land. She wanted to ensure her father really knew what kind of horrible life she was living because of the details she included like she was whipped to the degree that she now serves the animals. Apparently, you didn’t speak of the horrible things that would occur as an indentured servant because she writes to her father that she hopes he will pardon the boldness of her complaints and she also hope that he will take pity on her. I feel like she would have been an indentured servant for a very long time because she writes to her father that she is banished forever from his sight and is practically begging for sympathy. Also read this  Critique of Stuff Is Not Salvation However, I am surprised that she was even allowed to write to her family because she describes her life as working very hard almost day and night and often in the horse’s drudgery with the slave masters saying that she doesn’t do half enough work. She also feels that this is the type of work she needs to do for the respect of her father, uncles, aunts, and all friends. On the complete and opposite side of the spectrum, the Letter by a Swiss-German immigrant to Pennsylvania shows that this immigrant was very content with his decision to come to America. Foner, 2011) He now lives in a free country where one can settle anywhere he wants when the land is bought or leased. He thinks a free country is where a person has the right to own property and he focuses on this one freedom and doesn’t even think about the other statues. This immigrant really feels he has in fact found the promise land and that he wants his family to come and join him. In my opinion, I think he c omes from a wealthier family, so maybe he didn’t have to work as an indentured servant because he could just pay for his travel to America. He also states he can buy things like shoes for more reasonably in Pennsylvania than in Germany. These two letters are taken from two very different perspectives and shows you how some people were treated inhumane and some were treated very kindly depending on their social statuses in the 1700s. In the except from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, he did not talk about the horrible treatment of a slave like beatings they would receive or how they were not fed but rather how they were ripped away from their family and friends. (Foner, 2011) The author wanted the reader to realize that they were parted from family and friends because of the greed of the white man and that this is the new refinement in cruelty during those times. He made it known that the only positive aspect of being a slave was at least they were able to be with their friends and family, but now the white man had taken that away. He is asking the white men to liv e up to their perceived belief in liberty and that all men are created equal according to their god. He also is asking, why the African people should give up their comfort of being together because the white men want their luxuries. In the excerpt taken from Pontiac, Speeches the author makes it known that the Indians were not backing down from the Englishmen because they were before the Englishmen and their ancestors had passed down the land to them. . (Foner, 2011) The Indians followed the Great Spirit which was like their idea of a god. The Great Spirit had told Neolin that the Indians had forgotten their customs and traditions and now had become more comfortable with the Englishmen which shamed their ancestors. Their god is basically trying to inform the Indians that if they get too close to the enemies then they will take all the land and food that they had worked so hard for and once they eliminated the English then they would be back in good graces with the Great Spirit. The moral of the story is to not let your guard down for a second, or the enemy will consume you and everything you own. From the article Petition of Committee in Behalf of the Freedmen to Andrew Johnson shows the author of the letter is pleading with the President not to take away their land that they worked so hard to keep after they were freed. (Foner, 2011) The freedmen are saying that they were abused and oppressed on the land and now should be allowed to purchase any land. Basically the freedmen now wanted equal rights because every other free person were allowed to purchase a home in their hometown so why shouldn’t the freed slaves be allowed to purchase land also. They felt like President Johnson was not upholding President Lincoln’s proclamation. Even though the freedmen tried so hard President Johnson did not change his policy. A Sharecropping Contract, shows that few former slaves were allowed to acquire land but not without completing hard labor on their part. Foner, 2011) Essentially, the former slaves were still working in the same capacity as they were before except this time they were able to sell some of the crops. They also had to pay for any damages made to the stock and had to supply everything that was needed to harvest the crops. The Freed men were the land owner’s employees instead of slaves. They also had to harvest one half of the crops for the land owner. This contract is very one sided, and I’m not sure that this is any better than being a slave.

Female Foeticide

Female Foeticide: A legal Analysis In 1988 there was an advertisement in the Diwali special number of a renowned Marathi magazine:[1] â€Å"Amniocentesis is a developed science To misuse it for abortion is a great sin. Better go in for sex-selection Read this book. Consult your family doctor for a sure way of begetting sons. Female foeticide is perhaps one of the worst forms of violence against women where a woman is denied her most basic and fundamental right- the right to life enshrined in Article 21 of Indian Constitution. Elimination of the girl child by way of selectively eliminating the female embryos or foetuses is an age-old phenomenon. It negates the fundamental right to equality guaranteed under Articles 14 and 15 of our Constitution. The traditional mentality of the Indian culture of preferring the boy baby over the girl child combined with the ultra modern technology has only succeeded in boosting the status conscious Indian families to perpetuate their choice making process of the girl child elimination in the most sophisticated and easiest way. To top it all, the ethically conscious medical profession has been able to bring down the already imbalanced sex ratio on to 927 women per 1000 men. [2] It raises important issues on the interfacing of technology, health and society, of misuse of medical technology, of using techno-centric solutions for social problems, of violation of the principles of medical ethics, of social and demographic implications of such technologies, of the decision making processes involving technology, which can have far-reaching social effects, of regulating the medical profession (specially reproductive technology) both internally and externally, of limits to research and the techno-docs' power ‘to play God', of the role and limits of social legislation in tackling social problems; of ‘informed consent', and patients' rights and doctors accountability, of the possible fall-out of the advent of New Reproductive Technologies (NRTs) from Sex Pre-Selection Techniques (SPSTs) to non-coital reproduction through IVF- ET or GIFF, surrogate motherhood to genetic engineering; of decision-making process in family and society and women's role (or lack of it) in them. All these interrelated issues mean something to all our lives as it defines the way we see our past, present and future. Traditionally the patriarchal families got rid of the â€Å"unwanted child† either by way of poisoning the new-born baby or letting her coke on husk or simply by crushing her skull under a charpoy. Since modern medical tests have made it easier to determine the sex of the child even before the birth of the â€Å"unwanted child†, the number has only shot instead of decreasing. In one hospital, a study showed that out of 8,000 abortions performed, 7,999 were female foetuses. [3] Hence, the government was forced to pass the Pre Natal Diagnostic (Prevention) Act, 1994 in response to the increasing number of abortions performed on women carrying female foetuses. 4] Thus, India's officials banned couples from using â€Å"technical means† to determine the sex of a foetus. [5] Although India's Parliament passed the legislation in 1994, it could not become law until all state legislatures approved it. [6] The law finally took effect on January 1, 1996. The 1994 Act is bot h prohibitive and regulatory. Prohibitive: According to the Act the use of pre-natal techniques for the purposes of sex determination are prohibited. [7] The Act prohibits any person conducting prenatal diagnostic procedure from communicating to the pregnant women concerned or her relatives the sex of the foetus by words, signs or in any other manner. 8] The Act prohibits any Genetic Counselling centre, Genetic Laboratory and Genetic Clinic to conduct activities relating to pre-natal diagnostic technique unless it is registered under the Act or to employ anyone who does not possess the prescribed qualifications. The medical practitioners are prohibited to conduct such techniques at any place, which is not registered under the Act. Regulatory: The Act provides for the regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. Prenatal diagnostic techniques may be used to detect genetic or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders . Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques may be employed only under specified conditions by registered institutions:[9] O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tests can only be carried out on women who are either over the age of thirty-five; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Have had two or more miscarriages; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who have been exposed to radiation, infection, chemicals or drugs which are harmful to the foetus; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The pregnant woman has a family history of mental retardation or physical deformities such as spasticity or any other genetic disease; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Any other condition as may be specified by the Central Supervisory Board. It is very important to note that the Act permits use of such techniques provided the medical practitioner has explained all the known side and after effects of such techniques to the pregnant woman and more importantly, has obtained her written consent in the language she understands. 10] Persons working in the clinics, as well as women and their families who use the clinics; or are liable for fines and imprisonment for violating the Act. [11] The Act provides for the construction of a Central Supervisory Board [herein after CSB], which shall be established to advise the government on policy matters relating to pre-natal diagnostic techniques; to review the implementation of the Act and its rules; and to recommend changes in the Act and its rules. [12] The CSB has been assigned a very important function of spreading public awareness against the practice of pre-natal determination of sex and foeticide. The CSB shall meet at least twice a year to review the functioning of the Act and make recommendations for its better implementation. [13] An Appropriate Authority shall be appointed in States and Union Territories and regions wherein the authorities are empowered:[14] O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To grant, suspend or cancel the registration of genetic counselling centres, laboratories and clinics; and O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also to investigate complaints regarding breach of the provisions of the Act or the rules. The Act lays down prohibition on the issuance of advertisements[15] relating to pre-natal sex determination by any person, organisation or institutional and provides that any contravention/Violations of the same will entitle the offender a punishment of 3 years imprisonment and/ or Rs. 10,000/- fine for the first charge, this increasing to Rs. 50,000/- fine and 5 years imprisonment for a second charge. [16] But there are various loopholes in the Act, which has made it a failure to a great extent thus letting the demons of female foeticide/infanticide survive and flourish! Hence, the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act, 2002 was passed to plug the loopholes. THE PRE-NATAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES (REGULATION AND PREVENTION OF MISUSE) AMENDMENT ACT, 2002: Objectives of the New Act: The practices relating to female foeticide and techniques connected with the same are considered discriminatory to the female sex and not conducive to the dignity of the women. The proliferation of the technologies mentioned above may, in future, precipitate a catastrophe, in the form of severe imbalance in male-female ratio. The State is also duty bound to intervene in such matters to uphold the welfare of the society, especially of the women and children. Therefore, the government felt the necessary to enact and implement in letter and spirit a legislation to ban the pre-conception sex selection techniques and the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex-selective abortions and to provide for the regulation of such abortions. Such a law is also needed to uphold medical ethics and initiate the process of regulation of medical technology in the larger interests of the society. Accordingly, it is proposed by the government to amend the aforesaid Act with a view to banning the use of both sex selection techniques prior to conception as well as the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex selective abortions and to regulate such techniques with a view to ensuring their scientific use for which they are intended. The Amendment Act, 2002 seeks to achieve the aforesaid objects. Highlights of the New Act: 1. The Act provides for the prohibition and regulation of SD techniques before or after conception. [17] 2. For the words and brackets â€Å"the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)†, the words and brackets â€Å"the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection)† shall be substituted. [18] This lays a lot of emphasis on the issue of female foeticide in particular. 3. Definitions of â€Å"conceptus†, â€Å"embryo† and â€Å"foetus† have been laid down specifically, which helps in determining the cause and stage of use of PNDT. [19] 4. The Explanations added to Sec. (ii) in clause (d), (e) and (g) have enlarged the scope of the Act to include even the portable PNDT equipment/machinery. [20] 5. Qualifications of a genetic has been upgraded. [21] 6. Amendment of section 17 of the principal Act re ads as follows— â€Å"(e) to take appropriate legal action against the use of any sex selection technique by any person at any place, suo motu or brought to its notice and also to initiate independent investigations in such matter† This provision has given extra scope to the authorities for the utilisation of the powers to fulfil their duties. 7. Insertion of new section 17A. -After section 17 of the principal Act, the following section is proposed to be inserted, namely:— â€Å"17A. Powers of Appropriate Authorities. The Appropriate Authority shall have the powers in respect of the following matters, namely:— (a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   summoning of any person who is in possession of any information relating to violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; (b)  Ã‚  Ã‚   production of any document or material object relating to clause (a); (c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   issuing search warrant for any place suspected to be indulging in sex selectio n techniques or pre-natal sex determination; and (d)  Ã‚   any other matter which may be prescribed. †. This provision is very much in tune with the objective of Section 17 (e). 8. Provision with regard to the advertisements has been made more stringent. [22] 9. Definitely, the strongest provision of the Bill is the new section 24, which if brought to effect shall wipe all doubts with regard to the application of penal provisions to women undergoing the PNDT tests. The rovisions has rightly identified the problems of women in the cases of PNDT as in most cases, women are forced to go for these test or to forgo their marital lives their homes, even their lives. [23] Drawbacks of the new Act: I. Amendment of section 3. -In section 3 of the principal Act, for clause (2), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(2) No Genetic Counselling Centre or Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic shall employ or cause to be employed or take services of any person, w hether on honorary basis or on payment who does not possess the qualifications as may be prescribed. † The Section is negatively worded which gives a scope for the people specifically excluded in the provisions to take advantage of the loophole. Instead, if the provision was positively worded in the sense that it lad down as to who is eligible to carry the PNDT under the circumstances specified under the Act, it would have restrained anyone who is otherwise not specifically authorised to conduct such tests. II. Section 3B: Prohibition on sale of ultrasound machine, etc. , to persons, laboratories, clinics, etc. , not registered under the Act. – No person shall sell any ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of foetus to any Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory, Genetic Clinic or any other person not registered under the Act. † Though this is a strongly worded Section, which aims at curbing the clandestine sale of the PNDT equipments, it suffers from a major drawback. The Act or he Section does to talk about the manufacturing of these equipments because since manufacturing is the first step towards the black-marketing and other misuses. As such, there have to be specific guidelines as to the manufacturing. The manufacturing license should be issued only to the Governmental Institutions so that the monitoring becomes so much easier because of the control that he Government can exercise over these institutions. Also very closely linked to above point is the licensing function. If licenses for prenatal diagnosis were granted only to government institutions, the task of vigilance would be further simplified. The ban on misuse of techniques for SD imposed upon government institutions has not been violated for the past 15 years. Also there is no provision to the effect that the registration of the portable PNDT machinery/equipment’s are also registered. III. Amendment of section 4. -In section 4 of the principal Act, for clauses (3) and (4), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(3) No pre-natal diagnostic techniques shall be used or conducted unless the person qualified to do so is satisfied for reasons to be recorded in writing that any of the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:— The provisions of this section prima facie seem like a good provision but are a toothless one. The issue is that though citing a reason which satisfies the condition precedent laid down in the Act before the PNDT tests are conducted, the provisions misses out a crucial point. It does not mandate for the production of the documents to prove that the condition in fact, is satisfied and is very much in spirit wit the object of the Act. Also should be included in this provision the requirement t record al these documentary proof which shall be made available for verification by the CSB/SSB, etc. IV. Section 13 sub clause (vi) Any other condition as may be specified by the Board: This provision gives a lot of discretionary powers to the Boards, which have to be curtailed in the form of the guidelines. V. Amendment of section 5. In section 5 of the principal Act, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(2) No person including the person conducting pre-natal diagnostic procedures shall communicate to the pregnant woman concerned or her relatives or any other person the sex of the foetus by words, signs, or in any other manner. † This provision has practical difficulties in terms of implementation. It is suggested by the author that a kind of code system be adopted whereby the tests which have satisfied the conditions of the Act be given a code number and sent for testing in a place which is authorised to conduct he tests for a particular area or region. This is to ensure that there exists no direct links between the family concerned and the medical practitioner who can convey the sex of the foetus, which might lead to the death of the foetus in case it turns out to be a female. This is because though the provisions bar the practitioner from conveying in any manner whatsoever, the proof that the same has not been conveyed cannot be assured. VI. Automatic suspension/cancellation from the Registry of Medical Practitioners of the name of doctors found guilty by the court without referring the matter to the Medical Council. VII. Insertion of new section 16A. -After section 16 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:— â€Å"16A. Constitution of State Supervisory Board and Union territory Supervisory Board. (1) Each State and Union territory having Legislature shall constitute a Board to be known as the State Supervisory Board or the Union territory Supervisory Board, as the case may be, which shall ha ve the following functions:— (10) In respect of matters not specified in this section, the State Board shall follow procedures and conditions as are applicable to the Board. † There are no rules and regulations with regard to the powers of the Boards as to in what way the powers have to be synchronised to fulfil their duties and function as specified in the Act. Also, this Section suffers from a serious defect. That is the Section has adopted a very top-down approach, which has been time and again proved to be ineffective and fruitless. Therefore, the approach should have bee a grass-root eve approach. This is even more applicable n the cases of PNDT because of the Act that a good chunk of cases are from rural areas which are very difficult to monitor and control. A Panchayat level machinery working hand in hand with local rural institutions like the Anganwadis and the school would be an idea way to tackle and combat the problem of PNDT. VIII. Also the Act has certain vague and ambiguous terms and expressions like â€Å"eminent† which are very problematic as to how they should be interpreted and put to use. IX. Punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees for the first offence and for any subsequent offence with imprisonment which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees. The hike in the fines though would be applicable to the urban areas, it’s a mere letter of black and white on the paper when it comes to the rural areas. The rural people who, more often than not are extremely poor, are in no position to pay those high fines, which makes the provisions a redundant provisions. Instead, thee ha to be a mechanism whereby these people can be sensitized to the problems associated with the girl child. It is the firm belief of the author that public awareness is a much better and powerful tool than mere fines, especially with regard to the rural poor. X. A major hurdle in the endeavor to prohibit sex determination and regulation of PNDT techniques is that there is no proper duty laid upon any of he authorities in the Act. There is no penalty attached for non performance of the duties- commission or omission- cast upon the authorities. Especially in the light of the fact that so far the CSB have never met regularly as per the provisions of the Act. XI. The Financial Memorandum affixed to the Bill with regard to the expenses falling under Section 16 A of the Act has no regulation with regard to transparency, a ccountability, and regulatory body. This is very problematic and might just prove to be plunder’s paradise. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. [1] See, http://www. evesindia. com/health/features/reprod_health. html, visited on 10/10/02. | | [ 3 ]. [2] Id.. | | [ 4 ]. [3]In one hospital, a study showed that out of 8,000 abortions performed, 7,999 were female foetuses. See Shailaja Bajpai, India's Lost Women, World Press Rev. , Apr. 1991, at 49. Also see, Vidya Deshpande, Where have all the girls gone? , http://www. indianexpress. com/fe/daily/19991202/faf28033. html, visited 24/12/02. | | [ 5 ]. [4]John F. Burns, India Fights Abortion of Female Foetuses, N. Y. Times, Aug. 27, 1994, at 5, available in LEXIS, News Library, Curnws File. | | [ 6 ]. [5]Demographers pointing to such numbers have finally forced governments to take notice. Thus, India's officials banned couples from using â€Å"technical means† to determine the sex of a foetus. The Sexes; Disappearing Girls; In China, India and South Korea, A Gender Gap Causes Worries, Asiaweek, Mar. 3, 1995, at 32 | [ 7 ]. [6]See India Bans Abortions of Female Fetuses; Another Move to Help Protect Baby Girls, Chi. Trib. , Jan. 10, 1996, at 13, available in LEXIS, World Library, Allwld File. | | [ 8 ]. [7] Section 3. | | [ 9 ]. [8] Section 4(4)| | [ 10 ]. [9] Section 4| | [ 11 ]. [10] Section 5(1)( c)| | [ 12 ]. [11] See section 24. Common response to the Act has been â€Å"If I do get arrested, I'll spend a couple of months in prison, but what's that compared to a lifetime of misery trying to bring up a girl? â€Å"| | [ 13 ]. [12] Section 17| | [ 14 ]. [13] Section 18| | [ 15 ]. [14] Sections 20-21| | [ 16 ]. [15] Section 22| | [ 17 ]. [16] Section 23| | [ 18 ]. 17] The long title of the Bill that is proposed to substituted the present long title reads as follows:— â€Å"An Act to provide for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. † | | [ 19 ]. [18] Amendment of section 1 of th e Act. | | [ 20 ]. [19] 4. Amendment of section 2. In section 2 of the principal Act,— (i) after clause (b), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:— ‘(ba) â€Å"conceptus† means any product of conception at any stage of development from fertilisation until birth including extra embryonic membranes as well as the embryo or foetus; (bb) â€Å"embryo† means a developing human organism after fertilisation till the end of eight weeks (fifty-six days); (bc) â€Å"foetus† means a human organism during the period of its development beginning on the fifty-seventh day following fertilisation or creation (excluding any time in which its development has been suspended) and ending at the birth’ | | [ 21 ]. [20] â€Å"Explanation. — For the purposes of this clause, ‘Genetic Clinic’ includes a vehicle, where ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or other equipment capable of determining sex of the foetus or a portable equipment which has the potential for detection of sex during pregnancy or selection of sex before conception, is used. † | | [ 22 ]. 21] ‘(g) â€Å"medical geneticist† includes a person who possesses a degree or diploma in genetic science in the fields of sex selection and pre-natal diagnostic techniques or has experience of not less than two years in any of these fields after obtaining— (i) any one of the medical qualifications recognised under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956); or (ii) a post-graduate degree in biological sciences. ’ | | [ 23 ]. [22] Substitution of new section for section 22. -For section 22 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— 22. Prohibition of advertisement relating to pre-conception and pre-natal determination of sex and punishment for contravention. (1) No person, organisation, Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic, including c linic, laboratory or centre having ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other technology capable of undertaking determination of sex of foetus or sex selection shall issue, publish, distribute, communicate or cause to be issued, published, distributed or communicated any advertisement, in any form, including internet, regarding facilities of pre-natal determination of sex or sex selection before conception available at such centre, laboratory, clinic or at any other place. See also, Substitution of new section for section 16. –    | | [ 24 ]. [23] Substitution of new section for section 24. For section 24 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"24. Presumption in the case of conduct of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. -Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the court shall presume unless the contrary is proved that the pregnant woman was compelled by her husband or any other re lative, as the case may be, to undergo pre-natal diagnostic technique for the purposes other than those specified in sub-section (2) of section 4 and such person shall be liable for abatement of offence under sub-section (3) of section 23 and shall be punishable for the offence specified under that section. †| | Female Foeticide Female Foeticide: A legal Analysis In 1988 there was an advertisement in the Diwali special number of a renowned Marathi magazine:[1] â€Å"Amniocentesis is a developed science To misuse it for abortion is a great sin. Better go in for sex-selection Read this book. Consult your family doctor for a sure way of begetting sons. Female foeticide is perhaps one of the worst forms of violence against women where a woman is denied her most basic and fundamental right- the right to life enshrined in Article 21 of Indian Constitution. Elimination of the girl child by way of selectively eliminating the female embryos or foetuses is an age-old phenomenon. It negates the fundamental right to equality guaranteed under Articles 14 and 15 of our Constitution. The traditional mentality of the Indian culture of preferring the boy baby over the girl child combined with the ultra modern technology has only succeeded in boosting the status conscious Indian families to perpetuate their choice making process of the girl child elimination in the most sophisticated and easiest way. To top it all, the ethically conscious medical profession has been able to bring down the already imbalanced sex ratio on to 927 women per 1000 men. [2] It raises important issues on the interfacing of technology, health and society, of misuse of medical technology, of using techno-centric solutions for social problems, of violation of the principles of medical ethics, of social and demographic implications of such technologies, of the decision making processes involving technology, which can have far-reaching social effects, of regulating the medical profession (specially reproductive technology) both internally and externally, of limits to research and the techno-docs' power ‘to play God', of the role and limits of social legislation in tackling social problems; of ‘informed consent', and patients' rights and doctors accountability, of the possible fall-out of the advent of New Reproductive Technologies (NRTs) from Sex Pre-Selection Techniques (SPSTs) to non-coital reproduction through IVF- ET or GIFF, surrogate motherhood to genetic engineering; of decision-making process in family and society and women's role (or lack of it) in them. All these interrelated issues mean something to all our lives as it defines the way we see our past, present and future. Traditionally the patriarchal families got rid of the â€Å"unwanted child† either by way of poisoning the new-born baby or letting her coke on husk or simply by crushing her skull under a charpoy. Since modern medical tests have made it easier to determine the sex of the child even before the birth of the â€Å"unwanted child†, the number has only shot instead of decreasing. In one hospital, a study showed that out of 8,000 abortions performed, 7,999 were female foetuses. [3] Hence, the government was forced to pass the Pre Natal Diagnostic (Prevention) Act, 1994 in response to the increasing number of abortions performed on women carrying female foetuses. 4] Thus, India's officials banned couples from using â€Å"technical means† to determine the sex of a foetus. [5] Although India's Parliament passed the legislation in 1994, it could not become law until all state legislatures approved it. [6] The law finally took effect on January 1, 1996. The 1994 Act is bot h prohibitive and regulatory. Prohibitive: According to the Act the use of pre-natal techniques for the purposes of sex determination are prohibited. [7] The Act prohibits any person conducting prenatal diagnostic procedure from communicating to the pregnant women concerned or her relatives the sex of the foetus by words, signs or in any other manner. 8] The Act prohibits any Genetic Counselling centre, Genetic Laboratory and Genetic Clinic to conduct activities relating to pre-natal diagnostic technique unless it is registered under the Act or to employ anyone who does not possess the prescribed qualifications. The medical practitioners are prohibited to conduct such techniques at any place, which is not registered under the Act. Regulatory: The Act provides for the regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. Prenatal diagnostic techniques may be used to detect genetic or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders . Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques may be employed only under specified conditions by registered institutions:[9] O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tests can only be carried out on women who are either over the age of thirty-five; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Have had two or more miscarriages; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who have been exposed to radiation, infection, chemicals or drugs which are harmful to the foetus; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The pregnant woman has a family history of mental retardation or physical deformities such as spasticity or any other genetic disease; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Any other condition as may be specified by the Central Supervisory Board. It is very important to note that the Act permits use of such techniques provided the medical practitioner has explained all the known side and after effects of such techniques to the pregnant woman and more importantly, has obtained her written consent in the language she understands. 10] Persons working in the clinics, as well as women and their families who use the clinics; or are liable for fines and imprisonment for violating the Act. [11] The Act provides for the construction of a Central Supervisory Board [herein after CSB], which shall be established to advise the government on policy matters relating to pre-natal diagnostic techniques; to review the implementation of the Act and its rules; and to recommend changes in the Act and its rules. [12] The CSB has been assigned a very important function of spreading public awareness against the practice of pre-natal determination of sex and foeticide. The CSB shall meet at least twice a year to review the functioning of the Act and make recommendations for its better implementation. [13] An Appropriate Authority shall be appointed in States and Union Territories and regions wherein the authorities are empowered:[14] O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To grant, suspend or cancel the registration of genetic counselling centres, laboratories and clinics; and O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also to investigate complaints regarding breach of the provisions of the Act or the rules. The Act lays down prohibition on the issuance of advertisements[15] relating to pre-natal sex determination by any person, organisation or institutional and provides that any contravention/Violations of the same will entitle the offender a punishment of 3 years imprisonment and/ or Rs. 10,000/- fine for the first charge, this increasing to Rs. 50,000/- fine and 5 years imprisonment for a second charge. [16] But there are various loopholes in the Act, which has made it a failure to a great extent thus letting the demons of female foeticide/infanticide survive and flourish! Hence, the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act, 2002 was passed to plug the loopholes. THE PRE-NATAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES (REGULATION AND PREVENTION OF MISUSE) AMENDMENT ACT, 2002: Objectives of the New Act: The practices relating to female foeticide and techniques connected with the same are considered discriminatory to the female sex and not conducive to the dignity of the women. The proliferation of the technologies mentioned above may, in future, precipitate a catastrophe, in the form of severe imbalance in male-female ratio. The State is also duty bound to intervene in such matters to uphold the welfare of the society, especially of the women and children. Therefore, the government felt the necessary to enact and implement in letter and spirit a legislation to ban the pre-conception sex selection techniques and the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex-selective abortions and to provide for the regulation of such abortions. Such a law is also needed to uphold medical ethics and initiate the process of regulation of medical technology in the larger interests of the society. Accordingly, it is proposed by the government to amend the aforesaid Act with a view to banning the use of both sex selection techniques prior to conception as well as the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex selective abortions and to regulate such techniques with a view to ensuring their scientific use for which they are intended. The Amendment Act, 2002 seeks to achieve the aforesaid objects. Highlights of the New Act: 1. The Act provides for the prohibition and regulation of SD techniques before or after conception. [17] 2. For the words and brackets â€Å"the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)†, the words and brackets â€Å"the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection)† shall be substituted. [18] This lays a lot of emphasis on the issue of female foeticide in particular. 3. Definitions of â€Å"conceptus†, â€Å"embryo† and â€Å"foetus† have been laid down specifically, which helps in determining the cause and stage of use of PNDT. [19] 4. The Explanations added to Sec. (ii) in clause (d), (e) and (g) have enlarged the scope of the Act to include even the portable PNDT equipment/machinery. [20] 5. Qualifications of a genetic has been upgraded. [21] 6. Amendment of section 17 of the principal Act re ads as follows— â€Å"(e) to take appropriate legal action against the use of any sex selection technique by any person at any place, suo motu or brought to its notice and also to initiate independent investigations in such matter† This provision has given extra scope to the authorities for the utilisation of the powers to fulfil their duties. 7. Insertion of new section 17A. -After section 17 of the principal Act, the following section is proposed to be inserted, namely:— â€Å"17A. Powers of Appropriate Authorities. The Appropriate Authority shall have the powers in respect of the following matters, namely:— (a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   summoning of any person who is in possession of any information relating to violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; (b)  Ã‚  Ã‚   production of any document or material object relating to clause (a); (c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   issuing search warrant for any place suspected to be indulging in sex selectio n techniques or pre-natal sex determination; and (d)  Ã‚   any other matter which may be prescribed. †. This provision is very much in tune with the objective of Section 17 (e). 8. Provision with regard to the advertisements has been made more stringent. [22] 9. Definitely, the strongest provision of the Bill is the new section 24, which if brought to effect shall wipe all doubts with regard to the application of penal provisions to women undergoing the PNDT tests. The rovisions has rightly identified the problems of women in the cases of PNDT as in most cases, women are forced to go for these test or to forgo their marital lives their homes, even their lives. [23] Drawbacks of the new Act: I. Amendment of section 3. -In section 3 of the principal Act, for clause (2), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(2) No Genetic Counselling Centre or Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic shall employ or cause to be employed or take services of any person, w hether on honorary basis or on payment who does not possess the qualifications as may be prescribed. † The Section is negatively worded which gives a scope for the people specifically excluded in the provisions to take advantage of the loophole. Instead, if the provision was positively worded in the sense that it lad down as to who is eligible to carry the PNDT under the circumstances specified under the Act, it would have restrained anyone who is otherwise not specifically authorised to conduct such tests. II. Section 3B: Prohibition on sale of ultrasound machine, etc. , to persons, laboratories, clinics, etc. , not registered under the Act. – No person shall sell any ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of foetus to any Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory, Genetic Clinic or any other person not registered under the Act. † Though this is a strongly worded Section, which aims at curbing the clandestine sale of the PNDT equipments, it suffers from a major drawback. The Act or he Section does to talk about the manufacturing of these equipments because since manufacturing is the first step towards the black-marketing and other misuses. As such, there have to be specific guidelines as to the manufacturing. The manufacturing license should be issued only to the Governmental Institutions so that the monitoring becomes so much easier because of the control that he Government can exercise over these institutions. Also very closely linked to above point is the licensing function. If licenses for prenatal diagnosis were granted only to government institutions, the task of vigilance would be further simplified. The ban on misuse of techniques for SD imposed upon government institutions has not been violated for the past 15 years. Also there is no provision to the effect that the registration of the portable PNDT machinery/equipment’s are also registered. III. Amendment of section 4. -In section 4 of the principal Act, for clauses (3) and (4), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(3) No pre-natal diagnostic techniques shall be used or conducted unless the person qualified to do so is satisfied for reasons to be recorded in writing that any of the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:— The provisions of this section prima facie seem like a good provision but are a toothless one. The issue is that though citing a reason which satisfies the condition precedent laid down in the Act before the PNDT tests are conducted, the provisions misses out a crucial point. It does not mandate for the production of the documents to prove that the condition in fact, is satisfied and is very much in spirit wit the object of the Act. Also should be included in this provision the requirement t record al these documentary proof which shall be made available for verification by the CSB/SSB, etc. IV. Section 13 sub clause (vi) Any other condition as may be specified by the Board: This provision gives a lot of discretionary powers to the Boards, which have to be curtailed in the form of the guidelines. V. Amendment of section 5. In section 5 of the principal Act, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(2) No person including the person conducting pre-natal diagnostic procedures shall communicate to the pregnant woman concerned or her relatives or any other person the sex of the foetus by words, signs, or in any other manner. † This provision has practical difficulties in terms of implementation. It is suggested by the author that a kind of code system be adopted whereby the tests which have satisfied the conditions of the Act be given a code number and sent for testing in a place which is authorised to conduct he tests for a particular area or region. This is to ensure that there exists no direct links between the family concerned and the medical practitioner who can convey the sex of the foetus, which might lead to the death of the foetus in case it turns out to be a female. This is because though the provisions bar the practitioner from conveying in any manner whatsoever, the proof that the same has not been conveyed cannot be assured. VI. Automatic suspension/cancellation from the Registry of Medical Practitioners of the name of doctors found guilty by the court without referring the matter to the Medical Council. VII. Insertion of new section 16A. -After section 16 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:— â€Å"16A. Constitution of State Supervisory Board and Union territory Supervisory Board. (1) Each State and Union territory having Legislature shall constitute a Board to be known as the State Supervisory Board or the Union territory Supervisory Board, as the case may be, which shall ha ve the following functions:— (10) In respect of matters not specified in this section, the State Board shall follow procedures and conditions as are applicable to the Board. † There are no rules and regulations with regard to the powers of the Boards as to in what way the powers have to be synchronised to fulfil their duties and function as specified in the Act. Also, this Section suffers from a serious defect. That is the Section has adopted a very top-down approach, which has been time and again proved to be ineffective and fruitless. Therefore, the approach should have bee a grass-root eve approach. This is even more applicable n the cases of PNDT because of the Act that a good chunk of cases are from rural areas which are very difficult to monitor and control. A Panchayat level machinery working hand in hand with local rural institutions like the Anganwadis and the school would be an idea way to tackle and combat the problem of PNDT. VIII. Also the Act has certain vague and ambiguous terms and expressions like â€Å"eminent† which are very problematic as to how they should be interpreted and put to use. IX. Punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees for the first offence and for any subsequent offence with imprisonment which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees. The hike in the fines though would be applicable to the urban areas, it’s a mere letter of black and white on the paper when it comes to the rural areas. The rural people who, more often than not are extremely poor, are in no position to pay those high fines, which makes the provisions a redundant provisions. Instead, thee ha to be a mechanism whereby these people can be sensitized to the problems associated with the girl child. It is the firm belief of the author that public awareness is a much better and powerful tool than mere fines, especially with regard to the rural poor. X. A major hurdle in the endeavor to prohibit sex determination and regulation of PNDT techniques is that there is no proper duty laid upon any of he authorities in the Act. There is no penalty attached for non performance of the duties- commission or omission- cast upon the authorities. Especially in the light of the fact that so far the CSB have never met regularly as per the provisions of the Act. XI. The Financial Memorandum affixed to the Bill with regard to the expenses falling under Section 16 A of the Act has no regulation with regard to transparency, a ccountability, and regulatory body. This is very problematic and might just prove to be plunder’s paradise. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. [1] See, http://www. evesindia. com/health/features/reprod_health. html, visited on 10/10/02. | | [ 3 ]. [2] Id.. | | [ 4 ]. [3]In one hospital, a study showed that out of 8,000 abortions performed, 7,999 were female foetuses. See Shailaja Bajpai, India's Lost Women, World Press Rev. , Apr. 1991, at 49. Also see, Vidya Deshpande, Where have all the girls gone? , http://www. indianexpress. com/fe/daily/19991202/faf28033. html, visited 24/12/02. | | [ 5 ]. [4]John F. Burns, India Fights Abortion of Female Foetuses, N. Y. Times, Aug. 27, 1994, at 5, available in LEXIS, News Library, Curnws File. | | [ 6 ]. [5]Demographers pointing to such numbers have finally forced governments to take notice. Thus, India's officials banned couples from using â€Å"technical means† to determine the sex of a foetus. The Sexes; Disappearing Girls; In China, India and South Korea, A Gender Gap Causes Worries, Asiaweek, Mar. 3, 1995, at 32 | [ 7 ]. [6]See India Bans Abortions of Female Fetuses; Another Move to Help Protect Baby Girls, Chi. Trib. , Jan. 10, 1996, at 13, available in LEXIS, World Library, Allwld File. | | [ 8 ]. [7] Section 3. | | [ 9 ]. [8] Section 4(4)| | [ 10 ]. [9] Section 4| | [ 11 ]. [10] Section 5(1)( c)| | [ 12 ]. [11] See section 24. Common response to the Act has been â€Å"If I do get arrested, I'll spend a couple of months in prison, but what's that compared to a lifetime of misery trying to bring up a girl? â€Å"| | [ 13 ]. [12] Section 17| | [ 14 ]. [13] Section 18| | [ 15 ]. [14] Sections 20-21| | [ 16 ]. [15] Section 22| | [ 17 ]. [16] Section 23| | [ 18 ]. 17] The long title of the Bill that is proposed to substituted the present long title reads as follows:— â€Å"An Act to provide for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. † | | [ 19 ]. [18] Amendment of section 1 of th e Act. | | [ 20 ]. [19] 4. Amendment of section 2. In section 2 of the principal Act,— (i) after clause (b), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:— ‘(ba) â€Å"conceptus† means any product of conception at any stage of development from fertilisation until birth including extra embryonic membranes as well as the embryo or foetus; (bb) â€Å"embryo† means a developing human organism after fertilisation till the end of eight weeks (fifty-six days); (bc) â€Å"foetus† means a human organism during the period of its development beginning on the fifty-seventh day following fertilisation or creation (excluding any time in which its development has been suspended) and ending at the birth’ | | [ 21 ]. [20] â€Å"Explanation. — For the purposes of this clause, ‘Genetic Clinic’ includes a vehicle, where ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or other equipment capable of determining sex of the foetus or a portable equipment which has the potential for detection of sex during pregnancy or selection of sex before conception, is used. † | | [ 22 ]. 21] ‘(g) â€Å"medical geneticist† includes a person who possesses a degree or diploma in genetic science in the fields of sex selection and pre-natal diagnostic techniques or has experience of not less than two years in any of these fields after obtaining— (i) any one of the medical qualifications recognised under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956); or (ii) a post-graduate degree in biological sciences. ’ | | [ 23 ]. [22] Substitution of new section for section 22. -For section 22 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— 22. Prohibition of advertisement relating to pre-conception and pre-natal determination of sex and punishment for contravention. (1) No person, organisation, Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic, including c linic, laboratory or centre having ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other technology capable of undertaking determination of sex of foetus or sex selection shall issue, publish, distribute, communicate or cause to be issued, published, distributed or communicated any advertisement, in any form, including internet, regarding facilities of pre-natal determination of sex or sex selection before conception available at such centre, laboratory, clinic or at any other place. See also, Substitution of new section for section 16. –    | | [ 24 ]. [23] Substitution of new section for section 24. For section 24 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"24. Presumption in the case of conduct of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. -Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the court shall presume unless the contrary is proved that the pregnant woman was compelled by her husband or any other re lative, as the case may be, to undergo pre-natal diagnostic technique for the purposes other than those specified in sub-section (2) of section 4 and such person shall be liable for abatement of offence under sub-section (3) of section 23 and shall be punishable for the offence specified under that section. †| |