Consumer Attitudes Towards Growth Of Amana Takaful Insurance - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2248 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Changing consumer attitude towards growth of Amana Takaful Insurance Introduction The need for safety and security is very basic to human nature. In todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s, world one cannot think of trade and commerce without insurance. No financial planning and risk management can be complete without life insurance. The concept of insurance as it evolved initially was an arrangement of mutual help in times of need and distress rather than a business proposition for risk management as practiced today. Takaful is derived from an Arabic word which means solidarity, whereby a group of participants agree among themselves to support one another jointly against defined loss. In a Takaful arrangement, the participants contribute a sum of money as wholly or partially tabarruà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (donation) into a common fund, which will be used mutually to assist the members against a defined loss or damage (Islamic finance service board report 2006) Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Consumer Attitudes Towards Growth Of Amana Takaful Insurance" essay for you Create order Takaful is a risk management concept that is based on mutuality and partnership. When simply translated Takaful means Joint Guarantee in which several parties are involved. It brings people together in a joint effort towards safeguarding the interests of all by pooling in their donations so that the unfortunate few may benefit from the contributions of fellowmen. Thus, they become joint owners of the fund and help safeguard its interests. The rise of Takaful was due to the perennial need for a scheme of insurance void of interest, uncertainty and chance to be replaced with transparency, justness and mutual benefit. Takaful is an Islamic insurance concept which is firmly grounded in Islamic financial principles, observing the rules and regulations of Islamic law. This concept has been practiced in various forms for over 1400 years. (https://www.takaful.lk/takaful_conceptnew.php) Amana Takaful insurance started its operation on 1998 pioneering the Takaful concept in Srilanka. Currently company offers both General and Family insurance solutions. Listed in the Colombo stock exchange and operations have expanded to many part of the country and also in Maldives. Amana Takaful is the first insurance company in Srilanka to pioneer the process of refunding surplus at the end of each policy term. (Amana Takaful Annual Report 2009) The need of Takaful is currently felt in the market with the introduction of many Islamic financial solutions as well as dedicated Islamic financial Units among the conventional institutions; recently the numbers have been on increasing trend. Presently Amana Takaful insurance provider in the country and has been in the forefront of spreading the word of the Takaful way of insurance that has grown to be liked by many and revered by all for more than 10years. Peoples awareness about the Takaful industry in the country has increased during the last decade. Currently Takaful has 18 branches in the country and fully fledge operation in Maldives. With the current peaceful situation in the country economy is expected to grow and Oppurtunities for insurance industry growth is very high. To reap the benefit of the current development Amana Takaful insurance should be equipped with all the resources to face challenges posed by the market. The purpose The purpose of the research is to explore the mechanism to change consumer attitude towards growth of Amana Takaful insurance. Goals of research To identify the reason for customer purchase of Takaful Oppurtunities for Takaful Insurance To Identify The challenges in the market To Identify the required changes in the company for growth Importance of the issue Currently only Takaful operator in the country and being in operation for ten years company profit margin remains very low comparatively to the conventional competitors. Identification of core cause of the situation will be beneficial to plan in long term and identify the appropriate future direction of the company. Literature Review According to Billah (2001) the objective of Takaful is to diversify the risk among the members. In a practical sense, Takaful can be visualized as a method of joint guarantee among participants against loss and damage that may be inflicted upon any of them. The members of the group agree to guarantee jointly that should any of them suffer a catastrophe received certain amount of money to meet the loss and damage Islam aims at establishing a peaceful society. Peace in the society can be ensured only when there is guarantee against à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (subsistence) for all individual constituting the fund-pooling institute. Insurance is to act as a risk transfer mechanism, to provide peace of mind and protect against losses. Either can handle risk: assumption, combination, transfer, or loss prevention activities. Insurance schemes utilize the combination method by persuading a large number of individuals to pool their risks into a large group to minimize overall riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Ali, 2000). According to Al-Omar (1996) the risk sharing is very important with in Islamic finance. The shariahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s manages the risk sharing by insisting on the use of well- defined contracts when financial transactions taken place. The contract is to be clear and well formulated to avoid all kinds of misunderstanding and confusion. In this way the uncertainty is lowered and the desire to minimize the risk is met Conventional insurance and Takaful has certain operational differences According to Archer Abdel (2002) the shariahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s does not allow certain condition as interest (riba) and gambling or speculation (maysir). From shariahà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s point of view, business and investments made by Muslims must be conducted in responsible and committed way. Further describing the distinctions Billah (2001) describes the distinction between the conventional insurance and Takaful business is more visible with respect to investment of funds. While insurance companies invest their funds in interest-based avenues and without any regard for the concept of Halal-o-Haram. Takaful companies undertake only shariah compliant business and the profits are distributed in accordance with the initially agreed ratios in the Takaful contract. Likewise they share in any surplus or loss from the pool collectively. Takaful system has a built-in mechanism to counter any over-pricing policies of the insurance companies, because whatever premium charged, the surplus would normally go back to the participants in proportion to their contributions. The nature of the principles of Takaful is different from the conventional insurance because all the operation in Takaful is in line with the Shariah principles. The operation of Takaful is based on the principle of Al - Mudhuraba which is profit and loss sharing techniques which is alternative to interest (Riba) in Conventional Insurance. In Takaful the element of uncertainty is eliminated as subscription and compensation is concerned Takaful in Srilanka Presently Amana Takaful is the only provider of Takaful insurance products and services to the market. Amana Takaful insurance has been in the forefront of spreading the word of the Takaful way of insurance that has grown to be liked by many and revered by all for more than 10years. Peoples awareness about the Takaful industry in the country has increased during the last decade. The versatility of the product range is also a strength that helped to satisfy the needs of customer. Currently Takaful industry lacks an strong and highly capitalized market to meet the growing demand of customers. Sixteen (16) of them are composite companies, Seven (07) of them engage in only General Insurance business and two (02) companies engage only in Long Term (Life). Currently , 43 insurance broking companies were registered with the IBSL in terms of Section 82 of the Act. Insurance Broking companies and Insurance Agents as intermediaries have made a valuable contribution to the industry. Presently the tariff is not observed in the market by the insurers. The gross written premium from Long Term (Life) and General Insurance Business in 2009 is added up to Rs.57,919 Million. In the year 2008, the overall gross written premium was Rs.58,166 Million. Corporate Governance Practice Generally, corporate governance in Islamic insurance institutions distinguish in many forms to that of its conventional counterparts, most importantly Islamic finance institutions need to ensure that they comply with the Shariah (Islamic law) meaning that unlike secular governance practices Shariah would first examine at the transactional structure to find whether the process involves any activities or elements that contradict the profits generation. Also Islamic insurance institutions must invite customers to contribute an active role in the governance process. Regulatory and legislative issues The insurance industry is regulated in terms of the provisions of the Regulation of Insurance Industry Act,No.43 of 2000 (RII Act). The Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) was established under this Act in order to develop, supervise and regulate the insurance industry in Sri Lanka. Over the past year, the IBSL has embarked upon several activities to develop, supervise and regulate the insurance industry with a view to ensuring that the best interest of the Policy-holders and potential Policy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" holders. During the previous year IBSL has strengthened its monitoring process in order to ensure the financial stability of insurance companies and insurance brokers.By virtue of powers vested in the IBSL in terms of Section 15 of the Act, eighteen (18) Insurance Companies (Insurers) registered with the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL), are presently underwriting insurance business. Methodology The method which will be used for the research is a combination of qualitative and quantitative. (van Maanen,1983) defined the qualitative method as an array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate and otherwise come to terms with the meaning , not the frequency of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world. (Orna and Stevens,1995) describe research can be regarded as being à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"searching by means of careful, critical investigation in order to discover something specificà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. In addition analytical and comparative approaches to research will also be applied where Appropriate by conducting scrutiny on relevant documentation with reasonable broad and in-depth study of the subject matter and making some comparison where necessary. This is to ensure coverage on the locus and focus of the issue under-studied are reasonably justified in holistic nature and thus retaining the scientific characteristics of this study (Mohd Nasir, 2004) Sampling Frame The population that has been identified in this study are the customers , employees, insurance users , financial institutes and potential population to insurance products. Quantitative research is justified here because the findings are expected to be representative of the target population. The larger the sample is, the more likely the results will be representative of a larger population (Rose et al, 2005; Saunders et al, 2000, p.155). The chosen sample, the method of data collection, the time requirements and the financial limitations. Judgemental sampling is a form of convenience sampling based on the judgement of the research in the selection of a relevant respondent to the study (Malhotra Birks, 2006, p.364). Both methods have also been chosen based on their small cost and time requirements (Saunders et al, 2000, p.177). Judgement will be used to analyse the individual motives to Islamic financial products Data collection Method Questionnaire will be design and use for gathering information required and further In order to establish the trueness of this assertion, interviews will be conducted with the sample. Field study using observation and interviews approaches will also be carried out in an effort to validate the above assertion in the hypothesis and thus ensuring the reliability of the findings from this study. The interviews were aimed at getting into the insight of the understudied issue from the perspective of the operators, users, regulators and both external and internal auditors. Secondary Research Research will involve secondary research and data will be gathered using sources such as journal articles, trade press and the internet. The aim will be to explore the mechanism and the possibilities of converting customers toward Amana Takaful insurance. Data collection process Two techniques used for data collection and questionnaire completion will be conducted through Emails and questionnaire delivery/collection techniques. Questionnaires delivered via email are easy to administer and to return. It also is cost advantageous. Email also guarantees that the respondent is representative of the target population. This technique also has the advantage of being more secure in terms of control, access and response (Witmer et al.,1999) and (Saunders et al., 2000). The other technique used is the delivery/collection of questionnaires was direct face to face interview with the sample population. Limitations The major limitation of this study is the methodology used for the sample, the research design, questionnaire design and the data collection. The sample can be seen as one key limitation for this paper in terms of representation and size. Even though the sample chosen limit the irrelevance of the findings, other demographics should have been considered. This would have allowed the results to be more representative of a broader scale. In addition, the size of the sample makes conclusions on open to critique. A large sample would have been tougher to get while including participants from different backgrounds and demographics, though it might have increased the relevance of the findings and the overall credibility of the research. Conducting quantitative research alone can be seen as a limitation as well. The validity of the results from the questionnaires would be better supported with the addition of a focus group or depth-interview. Access and Ethical Issues Access My personal influence will be used to make contact with the relevant individuals within the sample. Further relevant regulatory bodies will be contacted by an introductory letter, outlining the purpose of the research, how they might be able to help and what would be required. Ethical Issues Since the subject area surround some ethical issues pertaining to Islamic belief research will be conducted avoiding these matters and sensitive issues will not be taken up on the research.

Top Gun ( La Times ) - 957 Words

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Identify The Regional Economic Issues Evident At 7 Eleven - Sample

Question: Discuss about the Identify The Regional Economic Issues Evident At 7 Eleven. Answer: Introduction: As stated by Hill, Jones and Schilling, (2014), regionalisation is the process of engaging within a close geographic region in order to gain advantage of the common ground trade, economic agreements and partnership that would provide benefit to the member nations operating in the particular region. The initiative of the regional partnership agreement is to acquire economic benefits from the pool of consumers of the particular region. 7 Eleven is an international chain of convenience stores that operates in franchises and licenses in over 18 countries. The organisation has been operating in Australia for more than four decades (7eleven.com.au, 2017). A number of issues have been filed against the organisation related to the wage theft. The purpose of this report is to identify the regional economic issues evident at 7 Eleven and propose a number of recommendations that would eventually help the organisation to carry out its organisational activities in a proper way. Overview of the organization: 7 Eleven is a company that has the members like directors or CEO. A company has some legal liabilities that it has to adhere. There are strict standards under the Corporations Act that requires reporting to Australian Securities and Investment Commission. For most trading businesses, a company is more limited by shares and liability of the shareholders than their own value of shares. 7 Eleven is such a company that has to obliged by the rules and regulations designed meant for the companies to operate. It operates in different parts of the world by the major means of franchise. In fact, the Company has been ranked in No. 3 spot in Entrepreneur Magazines 31st Annual Franchise 500 (7eleven.com.au, 2017). 7 Eleven has been operating in the market of Australia since 1977. It is a privately owned company by the Withers and the Barlow family. It has the license of operating with franchises in 7 Eleven stores in Australia from the US based 7 Eleven Inc. In the recent time, the company has more than 630 stores operating all over the country including Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Western Australia (7eleven.com.au, 2017). It has more than 190 million transactions a year and has been serving six customers per second. The organisation generates sales of approximately $3.6 billion. Impact of Regional Economic Issues: Regional economic integration is the agreement among the countries in the geographic region aims at removing the tariffs and non-tariffs barriers that a free flow of the goods and services carries on. As commented by Whalley, (1998), that in the last few decades the proliferation of the regional trade bloc has unprecedented contribution towards regional economy and have secured the free flow of goods and services. Economic and social crisis has haunted regions of Australia. There has been a change in the political landscape of Australia by the rise of Pauline Hansons One Nation and Independents. Focus has been made on increasing the global presence but the major objective always remained at considering the well being of the people working for the organization. However, in the lieu of greater expansion, major organisations are now exposed to domestic competition (Abc.net.au, 2016). As a result of the increasing competition, the organisations are being found to compromise on the cost o f the workers that directly determine the allocation of the resources. As argued by Wallis, (2015), in Australia the financial and the labour market has been more evident in this respect. The major organisations are considering the wage of the employees and workers determined by the market. The provision of compromising the wage with the workers seemed to create greater distress in the overall business activities. Similar issues have been identified in the organisational activities of 7 Eleven. In the last couple of years, since 2015, 7 Eleven, operating in Australia has been criticized with respect to a number of parameters. In 2015, it was reported that the company has been conducting certain ill employment practices. The investigation showed that the employees and the workers were underpaid. The workers are found to paid around A$ 10 to $A 14 per hour (Business Victoria, 2016). The legal issue that has been identified against 7 Eleven is that the major franchisees were found to maintain the pay record that would show that the employees have been paid ethically but what actually included in the report was record of half of the hours of work that the employees did in the complete week. Therefore, it clearly signifies that the employees are paid half compared to what they should actually being paid. In fact, to add to unethical practices, it was also found that the workers were often not paid loadings and penalty rates that are legally entitled to pay to the workers, for ex ample, for overtime or night duty or even on the public holidays. Identification of critical issues: The economic and the monetary union entail economic integration and cooperation. Economic union requires the free flow of products from the major country to the member country. This definitely requires the adoption of a common trade policy like considering the tax rate, common monetary and fiscal policy. The Australian economy has increased at a rate of 2.3% in the last 2014-2015. This clearly gives evidence that the labour market would flourish because of the presence of a strong growth ahead. Major organisations are facing issues in terms of adjusting with the domestic and global economic reforms. As evident by reading Williams, Hickey and Nader, (2011) that there has been an increase in the GDP from 6.1% to 11.5%; but the prices of main commodity exchange has declined to a great extent over the past few years. This created constrain in the prices and expenses of the commodity from a higher level. This created a situation where the common people and the households have been found t o become softer towards their domestic spending (Australian Institute of Company Directors, 2016). Major businesses have been considering their spending and investment. Government is also focused on the fiscal consolidation as the world economy is getting fragile (Smh.com.au, 2016). The IMF has downgraded the outlook of the global growth in the past few years it has resulted in the decline from 3.8% to 3.6% (Frei, 2008). The value of Australian dollar has also fallen by over 23% that automatically created an impact of the price of the commodity because weaker exchange rate can lead to long-term challenges for the Australian economy. In order to combat against the increasing fiscal and economic challenges in the market, 7 Eleven has been found to undertake certain initiatives. For instance, the organisation has recently being reported to replace the cashier and the employees with technological amenities. As commented by Munson and Jackson, (2015), that there are major organisations that undertake the approach of technology for carrying out organisational activities but not on the cost of the employees rights. For instance, the organisation has planned to completely rely on the payment option by cards or mobile and removing the cashiers from their respective positions. This approach has been undertaken by major other organisations as well to fight against certain challenges like lack of workers or for reducing the work load of the employees, but the approach undertaken by 7 Eleven is to slash away the employees and rely completely on the technology which is a wrong approach (Williams, Hickey Nader, 2011). Recommendations to improve organizational performance: With the analysis of the issues and the challenges faced by 7 Eleven, it is important that the organisation undertakes certain serious approaches towards their business activities that would help it to improve its organisational performance. Some of the major steps that the organisation could easily undertake can be mentioned here: Conducting a comprehensive market analysis: The Trans Pacific partnership agreement between the major organizations in the Trans-Pacific Regions, like Australia, Japan, Canada and others that negotiated in strengthening the regulatory coherence among the major organisations to promote economic development and also focus on the transparency of the laws and regulations in terms of employment. This would create better opportunities and benefits for both the workers and the consumers. Commitment to regional approach: 7 Eleven needs to focus on the development of the production and supply chain. This would eventually create better employment scope and would also improve the standard of living of the workers and employees. Enhancing conservation effort and facilitating the cross border integration shall be beneficial for the domestic market. 7 Eleven could focus on building up their own supply chain that would eventually reduce their overall expenses and the organisation would be able to pay the right amount of money to the workers. Addressing new market challenges: It is also important to promote innovation and take a competitive approach towards the organisational activities. Coming up with technological advancement and considering digital economy, are some of the steps that the organisation would easily undertake in order to fight against the increasing competition. Taking the opportunities of the market: The economic reforms have also focused on the part that ensures the development of the businesses in all level. It can be recommended that an organisation can easily take the benefits and opportunities of the market to ensure proper advantages and benefits to the organisation and the employees working in it. Conclusion: A detailed analysis on the organisational activities has been carried on in this report. It has been found that the organisation has been operating in the regions of Australia as a means of franchise of the company. The organisation has been certain issues in terms of its operational activities. The poor condition of the employees has lead to the situation that created major dispute in the organisational management. There are major evidences that clearly show how the situation of the employees has been degraded in the organisation. This is the reason that the organisation has come under criticism. It has to be understood that economic reforms and crisis are common but it shall remain the major objective of an organisation to consider the situation of the employees as well and design organisational policies likewise. In order to overcome these distresses, certain recommendations have been made. It is expected that if 7 Eleven undertakes these approaches, it would improve the organisat ional activities in the future. References: 7eleven.com.au (2017) About us. Retrieved from: https://www.7eleven.com.au/about-us [Accessed on 29-5-2017] Abc.net.au (2016) 7-Eleven: More workers speak out about 'cash back' scams Retrieved from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-14/7-eleven-workers-speak-out-about-cash-back-scam/8113622 [Accessed on 29-5-2017] Australian Institute of Company Directors, (2016). Guiding Principles of Good Governance, AICD Retrieved from: https://www.companydirectors.com.au/director-resource-centre/governance-and-director-issues/guiding-principles-of-good-governance [Accessed on 29-5-2017] Australian Securities and Investments Commission, (2016) Corporate Governance on ASIC Retrieved from: https://asic.gov.au/regulatory-resources/corporate-governance/ [Accessed on 29-5-2017] Business Victoria, (2016). Setting up a Business, Business Victoria Retrieved from: https://www.business.vic.gov.au/setting-up-a-business/business-structure [Accessed on 29-5-2017] DFAT, (2016). Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Retrieved from: https://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/tpp/Documents/tpp-overview.pdf [Accessed on 29-5-2017] Economist, (2016). The Economists Guide to Britains EU Referendum Retrieved from: https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21700592-brexit-briefs [Accessed on 29-5-2017]. Frei, F. X. (2008). The four things a service business must get right.Harvard business review,86(4), 70-80. Hill, C. W., Jones, G. R., Schilling, M. A. (2014).Strategic management: theory: an integrated approach. Cengage Learning. Munson, C. L., Jackson, J. (2015). Quantity discounts: An overview and practical guide for buyers and sellers.Foundations and Trends in Technology, Information and Operations Management,8(12), 1-130. Smh.com.au (2016) How 7 eleven is ripping off its workers Retrieved from: https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/2015/7-eleven-revealed/ [Accessed on 29-5-2017] Wallis, M. (2015). Why corporations should have their special status reviewed. The Conversation at the Conversation Retrieved from: https://theconversation.com/why-corporations-should-have-their-special-status-reviewed-42644 [Accessed on 29-5-2017]. Whalley, J. (1998). Why do countries seek regional trade agreements?. InThe regionalization of the world economy(pp. 63-90). University of Chicago Press. Williams, T., Hickey, M., Nader, T. (2011).Cambridge HSC Business Studies 2ed Toolkit. Cambridge University Press.

Life... The Before After free essay sample

Growing up, I thought that Heaven was just a fairytale, and that Jesus and the stories from the bible were just stories that people like to tell. I was born from a non-Christian family, but was adopted to a Christian family. Every Sunday, I would go to church with my parents and I would listen to what my Sunday school teacher say about Jesus, but at that time I didn’t realize that I needed to get save in order to get to Heaven. I thought church was like school, it didn’t really mean a thing to me. But as I grew older I became to realize that I was a sinner and that there was a missing piece in my life. On December 24, 2001, I was swimming in our pool outside our house when I overheard my mom sharing the gospel to my niece. I didn’t understand what she was talking about, so after they finished talking, my niece prayed and I thought that was quite weird, so I waited until my niece left and I went inside the house to ask my mom what was that all about. We will write a custom essay sample on Life The Before After or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I would never forget that question my mom asked me, â€Å"Do you know where you’re going after you die?† at that moment, that’s when I realize I had no idea where I would go after death. I knew the right answer for that question, but in my heart I didn’t really know where I would spend eternity. That day my mom shared the gospel to me. One verse that I would never forget is Romans 6:23- â€Å"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.† Realizing that I was a sinner and that I needed Christ in my life, as a 5th grader of Capt. Price Elementary School in Guam, I received the gift of God and placed my trust in his son Jesus Christ. I was happy about my new faith, but as I grew older, went to Jr. High and then Senior High, I started to lose my faith. I became in love with the world, I wanted to be part of it. During my teen years in high school, I started hanging out with the wrong crowd, I literally became a hypocrite. I had 3 or probably more personalities than any other person on this planet. At school, I was a person who caused trouble, gossiped, cussed, and did things that I knew was wrong. When I’m at home, I continue my sin but in secret. I started being rebellious to my parents, and then when I went to church, I pretend to be a good Christian. I knew that I needed to repent and ask God for forgiveness, but I just couldn’t. I was too caught up in the world. Then on February 06, 2009, God gave me a lesson to learn. That night of Feb.06, 2009, God took my mother home. My heart broke with regret and I became bitter against God. I was only 17 years old in my junior year in high school. At that time I was being completely selfish, and I was so angry at God for not letting my mom live to see me graduate from high school. My senior year in high school, I was still enjoying the world, I didn’t care what others thought about me, or how much I was hurting my family. Then finally graduation day came and I still hadn’t applied for college. During the summer that’s when I decided that I needed a way out of my life and I thought that going to a Christian college would help. I ended up applying for Harvest Baptist Bible College, which was the last school on this earth I’ve ever wanted to attend. As I attended classes here, each day I became aware that I’d backslid and that I needed to return to God. Then Dr. Vaughan came and preached for our summit meeting. During that week, God convicted my heart. Two nights in a row Dr. Vaughan talked about forgiveness and obedience. Those two nights I cried remembering all the wrongs I’ve done, how I hated God for taking my mother and how I hated my mom for leaving without saying goodbye. I cried of my disobedience to my parents, and most of all I cried because of the sins I’ve lived in and realizing that I needed to be forgiven and how I nearly threw away all the things I’ve learned about God, how wonderful and merciful he is. On October 05, 2010, I rededicated my life to God. Since then, I’ve been yearning to learn more about God and wanting to be close to him. I thank God for being so merciful to me and for having other Christians to help me grow and help me when I’m going on the wrong path. God has been working in my life tremendously; I’ve learned that forgiveness is not a feeling but a choice and I chose to forgive my mother, knowing that I will see her again in heaven some sweet day. I asked my dad for forgiveness, something that I’ve never done before. I’ve seen how God has been working in the lives of those around me, and I know that wherever He wants me to be, He will lead me there.

The Many Ways of Via

The Many Ways of Via The Many Ways of â€Å"Via† The Many Ways of â€Å"Via† By Mark Nichol Via, the Latin word for â€Å"way, is also the basis of many words, many of them disguised, that refer to movement or the way things move (or act). This post lists and defines terms derived from via. In English, via itself often replaces â€Å"by way of† in writing in reference to traveling, though it is seldom employed in conversation. Words in which via is the first element include viaduct, which describes a raised watercourse, and viaticum, which refers to an allowance or provisions for a journey, or the ritual offering of Communion given to someone on the verge of death (the plural is viaticums or viatica). A viatical settlement (the phrase is sometimes simplified to viatical) is an insurance agreement pertaining to a death benefit. Voyage, too, stems from via by way of French. Someone who voyages is a voyager; the French equivalent, voyageur, describes someone employed to transport goods for a fur-trapping company, especially in colonial Canada. Other words derived from via include deviate (literally, â€Å"turn out of the way†), which means â€Å"differ from the norm† or â€Å"leave the expected course.† As a noun, the word describes a sexual pervert, though deviant is more commonly employed for that meaning; deviant is also an adjective in this context, while devious describes someone who is cunning or deceitful (although it is used, albeit rarely, as a synonym for errant, roundabout, or remote). Deviation describes a departure or difference, and deviance pertains to perversion. Convey and convoy (â€Å"with way†) both refer to carrying away, but to convey is to bear, deliver, impart, or pass, while convoy means â€Å"accompany,† especially for protection, and as a noun refers to the act of accompanying for protection, or one or more people or things that provide such protection, usually in the context of a group of vehicles or vessels. An envoy (â€Å"way in†) is a messenger or a representative from one government to another; the word may refer to someone with a particular diplomatic rank. It may also pertain to concluding remarks to a poem, song, or other composition, though the French spelling envoi is usually employed in that sense. Invoice, meanwhile, is not related to voice; it stems from the otherwise obsolete â€Å"message† sense of envoi. Pervious (â€Å"way through†) means â€Å"accessible† or â€Å"permeable,† though its antonym, impervious, is much more common. Previous (â€Å"way before†), meanwhile, means â€Å"prior† or, rarely, â€Å"premature.† An instance of being previous is previousness, and the adverbial form is previously. To obviate (â€Å"get in the way of†) is to prevent or to make unnecessary (an act of doing so is obviation), while obvious means â€Å"easily seen or understood,† and the noun form is obviousness. Quadrivium (â€Å"four ways†) and trivium (â€Å"three ways†) refer to the division of the seven classical literal arts. (The former comprises arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music, and the latter consists of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.) Trivium also, in Latin, referred to a three-way crossing, where information might be posted- or passed on by travelers meeting at the intersection. From that idea, English acquired trivia, meaning â€Å"inconsequential information.† The adjective trivial pertains to such information but also has the broader senses of unimportant and ordinary; to portray something substantial as trivial is to trivialize it, and the noun form triviality denotes the quality or state of being trivial or something trivial. (Trifle, meaning something trivial and the name of a type of dessert, though it appears as if it could be related to trivial, is actually from an Anglo-French word, by way of Old English, meaning nonsense.) 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Math or Maths?On Behalf Of vs. In Behalf Of50 Words with Alternative Spellings

How to Get Hired in Your 50s and 60s

How to Get Hired in Your 50s and 60s Job hunting is hard enough without the additional challenges of age discrimination. While unemployment rates may be low for older workers, the outlook is significantly more grim for those looking for gainful employment: a report from the AARP indicates that the average duration of unemployment was a whopping 54.3 weeks for people over the age of 55 - compared with 28.2 weeks for their younger counterparts. So what’s a savvy 50-plus job-seeker to do? Let’s take a closer look at the best job hunting strategies for today’s older workers. Don’t WaitBecause the road to a new job may be longer, it pays to start searching right away as opposed to waiting until your unemployment runs out. While you may feel like you have a lot of time, you have a greater chance of finding a job that’s the right fit if you give yourself longer to look. Plus, it can help you avoid falling victim to a dangerous cycle: the longer the gap is on your resume, the more difficult i t may be to be hired again.Refining Your ResumeOne of the tricks of undertaking a job search as an older worker is in highlighting your strengths in a resume without laying it on too thick or looking overqualified.The days of the one-size-fits-all resume are gone. Take time to craft a targeted resume which highlights your most recent accomplishments, along with any new talents you’ve developed as they pertain to the job for which you’re applying.Many older job seekers have success with functional resumes, as opposed to chronological resumes.Networking, Two WaysSocial media has opened up a whole new world of networking opportunities. The benefits of age gives you a head start: you likely have plenty of professional connections to call on from throughout your career. Today’s employers are increasingly looking for a good â€Å"fit† for the company culture, and nothing speaks to this better than word-of-mouth from a current employee. But this only works if yo u let people know you are looking so don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.Face-to-face time is also important, and this is an area where you are likely to shine thanks to a lifetime of experience interacting with a diversity of people and relationship building.Be Tech-SavvyThe 21st century workplace demands workers with 21st century skills. Technological abilities are at the top of the list. If your comfort level with computers is low, consider taking a class. This will not only build your skill set and confidence, but also demonstrates appealing initiative to potential employers.One simple way to make a positive impression? Create a LinkedIn profile and include a link to it on your resume. In an era where collaboration counts, this shows you’re able to communicate in the digital age.Show Your InterestThe last thing you want an employer to think is that you’re applying for a job because you have no other options. Make sure you are enthusiastic about why you are the right candidate for the job. Just be careful not to come off as too qualified: a younger manager may feel like you’re out for his/her job.Also, avoid making reference to your age during the interview, or to the age of the person interviewing you to avoid creating an uncomfortable or awkward situation.While you will face some obstacles as an older job seeker, they are not insurmountable, particularly if you apply these helpful tips and techniques. Perhaps the most important piece of advice for 50 and over job seekers? While age might not be an advantage on the job hunt, it certainly has its benefits. Use your experience to demonstrate a successful history of on-the-job problem-solving, critical thinking, and quantifiable results - many of which can only be achieved over time.Joanna Hughes writes on all things finance, business and human resources.

Organisational Politics Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10750 words

Organisational Politics - Dissertation Example In the highly competitive environment, where every individual is concerned about job security, pursuance of self-interest has taken dominance. Managers engage in enhancing their abilities and capabilities to use power, and participate in political activities. In the process, they attempt to exercise coercion and control over their subordinates. This naturally gives rise to resistance which takes the shape of conflicts. However, according to Max Weber, organizations can achieve the coordination necessary for rational, logical and calculable action only through impersonal coercion and discipline of subordinates and clients (McNeill, 1978, p65). Pfeffer (1992, p10) contends that power and influence are social realities and in trying to ignore them, organizations lose a chance to understand these critical social processes and to train managers to cope with them. However, power has been associated with such a negative interpretation that people keep away from it for fear of getting a bad name. Politics in general is also related to negative outcomes; politics is considered to be inherently non-rational and subject to power interactions between diverse interests (Kinicki, 2008) but Vigoda (2000, p1) found weak negative relationship between perception of organizational politics and employees’ performance. ... Allen et al (1978, p78) emphasize that managers must know of the political processes and elaborate on the proactive and reactive behavior of the managers. Lee (1987, p316) identifies sources of power as coalition, expertise, information, rewards, emotional ties, authority and coercion while Varman and Bhatnagar add formal authority, rules and regulations, knowledge and information, counter organizations and informal organizations. However, a person’s actual power is a function of the sources, importance and scarcity of the power available to them (Lee, 1987, p317). Farrell and Peterson (1982, p403) examine individual political behavior within an organization, which they feel has been neglected. Fleming and Spicer (2008, p302) propose that power and resistance in an organization are intertwined. Bureaucratic power is used to exercise control and this gives rise to conflicts in the organization. Thompson (1960, p390) discusses the different forms and sources of organizational co nflicts while Rubenstein (1996) differentiates between conflict management, conflict resolution and conflict settlement. To resolve conflicts power and politics are the facilitators. Most of the literature reviewed here suggests that people are rational and active in pursuit of their goals. They need to influence, they need to manipulate to accomplish goals. This would imply that using tact and manipulation is acceptable as it helps further the interest of the individual as well as of the organization. However, they are seldom conscious of the repercussions of their actions. Imbalance of power can lead to several undesirable consequences such as workplace bullying, harassment and victimization. Several authors such as

Thematic Analysis- The scarlet letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thematic Analysis- The scarlet letter - Essay Example The Scarlet Letter uses the difficult journey of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale to shed light upon the human condition and how human life is characterized by sin and suffering. An important characteristic of a human being is that he is not perfect and that from time to time he has a temptation to drift from the right path and turn towards committing a sin. This characteristic is depicted in the story by Hawthorne by the sin that Hester commits by sleeping with another man despite of being married. Hester becomes pregnant and she is questioned several times regarding the name of her lover but she does not reveal his identity. This feature of human condition (that is sin) is further strengthened in the story when it is revealed that the man who was also involved in this act of adultery with Hester was Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister of the Church. This revelation supports the belief that a human being can never be perfect no matter what position he holds in the society and that ev ery being can be sinful owing to the temptations of human nature. Nathaniel Hawthorne explains the nature of evil and good in the story. Hester and Dimmesdale are the two people who commit the sin but they display their goodness by repenting for their sins. Hester is punished in public for her act but she faces her difficulties with grace and does not run away. She rather becomes stronger and dignified in her period of punishment and this earns respect from the people owing to this. On the other hand, Dimmesdale faces his suffering alone and he pierces the scarlet A on his chest. He is not as strong as Hester to reveal his sin in public but he suffers deep down and falls ill. He finally reveals his act in public and dies. Their characters display the good side of human nature as they repent for their sinful act. Dimmesdale is a religious man who understands that their illegal unity by running away would yield them nothing in this world and the world hereafter. He explains this by sa ying, â€Å"I fear! I fear! It may be, that, when we forgot our God,--when we violated our reverence each for the other's soul,--it was vain to hope that we could meet hereafter, in an everlasting and pure reunion.† These lines are a display of his regret for his sin. The evil side of human nature is seen in the character of Roger Chillingworth. He is Hester’s husband who deserted her years back and left her alone and he returns at the time when she is being punished for her act of adultery. Chillingworth may be considered responsible for the position that Hester is placed in because it is probably her loneliness that drove her towards her act of sin. Despite of the sin being committed by her, she comes out of it gracefully. But Chillingworth works towards seeking revenge. The evilness of Chillingworth is explained by Dimmesdale when he says, â€Å"That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart† . Chillingworth is an evil man who does not let Hester live in peace and spies on Dimmesdale as well and is ready to go to any depths for the attainment of his revenge. The Scarlet Letter is a perfect story written by Hawthorne which provides a depiction of the human nature. It throws light upon the aspects of sin, evil and goodness. A human being cannot be perfect and sinful acts are a part of the existence of human life. Hester accepts her sin and

Online Ordering System Essay Example for Free

Online Ordering System Essay Reyes conducted on assessment of the effectiveness of computers in selected organizations in Metro Manila. This study found out that the early approach to computer was for data processing of high volume which have an expanded to computer as planning and decision support levels of managements. the study also that at least level 3 computer literacy af tained by must of today’s computer softwares has been generated. Thus internet has increased in developing computerized information over the years. Quieta studied a comparison of the use of electronic commerce and of traditional business process in selected business establishments in Makati City. Based on the finding of this study, the following recommendations were offered: (1) Traditional business process will still be used in the first part of third millennium by the business industries as their back-up/ support in inevitable circumstances such as computer log-down. (2) consumers are secure and are still afraid to take the risk of paying their bills using their account number and credit card through electronic commerce payment system. (3) Electronic commerce concept in the Philippines has barely grazed the business environment. (4) Electronic commerce is expected to glow in the millennium. This study explored the relationship between owner/ manager factors, organizational factors, market structure, technological factors and awareness of government efforts to promote electronic commerce and electronic commerce adoption levels. The adoption level range from using the internet to communication (level 1), using the internet to communicate and setting up a static website (level 2), using an interactive website and accepting orders online (level 3) and doing the complete business transaction online (level 4). Seventy-eight exporting firms in the National Capital Region NCR completed the survey questionnaire either at their offices or during the trade fair at the World Trade Center. Statistical tools such as chi-square and t-tests were used to determine the significant differences in the responses of the participating firms. Binary profit was also used as a statistical model. A Focus Group Discussion and a case analysis were done to further prove the factors affecting the firms Electronic commerce adoption. The results showed that were only two levels  of electronic commerce Adoption among holiday decoration exporting firms, i.e. level 1 2. One factor that proved significant in influencing firms in their electronic commerce adoption was the owner/ managers understanding the benefits of electronic commerce. However, the negative correlation implied that the more the owner/ manager understands the benefits of electronic commerce the lower the level of electronic commerce adoption. Factors that were positively significant with electronic commerce adoption were years that the firm has been existing export market as a percent of total market, firm size based on assets and location of suppliers. The research studied the acceptability of online shopping website to its buyers specifically, the study focused on China’s biggest and still growing site. Sira.com, and its buyers who were students from top universities in Beijing. This study’s general problem was: what factors influenced the acceptability of sira corporations www. Sira.com among online mall buyers in top universities at Beijing, China. Specifically, its objectives were to: 1. Present the respondent’s understanding of sira.com online mall in Terms of product and promotion; 2. Study the relationship between the product and promotion acceptability of sira.com among online mall buyer, and respondents sex, income, and academic rating of their universities; 3. Determine which of the major customer’s perceived issues should be given priority; 4. Study the relationship between the product and promotion acceptability of sira.com among online mall buyers, and customer’s perceived security risk and privacy risk. The study used descriptive and the chi-square statistical test for analyzing its quantitative data. The primary data were gathered from respondents surveyed by the researcher. After observing multi-stage sampling procedures, a total of 200 respondents were chosen from four top universities. The data and statistical results were processed with the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), version 10. The study concluded that (1) Males are not likely to find shopping at sira.com online mall more acceptable than females; ( 2) A University student enrolled in a university rated higher by the government is not likely to find shopping at sira.com online mall acceptable than the student in the less highly rated university; (3) a customer with higher  income level is more likely to find shopping at sira.com online mall more acceptable than a customer with lower income level; (4) The customer more concerned risk is more likely to find shopping at sira.com online mall acceptable than the customer who is less concerned with security risk. (5) The customer more concerned with privacy risk is more likely to find shopping at sira.com online mall less acceptable the customer who is less concerned with privacy risk. The growth of the internet in the last few years has spearheaded the growth of E-commerce . Many companies have moved part and parcel of their business into new medium.

Marijuana Is Beneficial Essay -- pot should be legal

To toke or not to toke that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of society or succumb to popular opinion and legalize Marijuana. Marijuana is a cure for anorexia as well as glaucoma. Marijuana is even a helping factor for relieving some symptoms of A.I.D.S. Still the government of our nation has Marijuana classified as a Division I drug. Which means it serves no medical use and does in no way benefit society. The studies outdated and scientifically proven to be incorrect still remain beliefs of our government. Supporters of the legalization of Marijuana have many scientifically proven facts that point to the fact Marijuana should be legalized. Marijuana legalization would prove to be beneficial in a number of areas. The first bonus to legalizing Marijuana is its medical uses. Marijuana stimulates the immune system and serves as a cure for glaucoma. Marijuana helps people with AIDS retain and eat food. Marijuana use also has intellectual benefits. Marijuana increases alpha wave activity in the brain. The alpha waves are associated with creativity. This creativity is potentially the foundation of literary and musical revelation. Bob Marley was one of the most influential musical composers of all times. Marley's music has persevered throughout the years. He openly admitted, on many occasions, to smoking marijuana before he wrote and composed songs. Marley's influence is global. His nickname of "the Legend" has distinguished him from many other musicians. His global fame separates him from all other musicians. Many people have attributed Marley's creative genius to his use of marijuana. Socially, marijuana is better from the standpoint of addiction. Marijuana is less addictive than tobacco. Essentially marijuana is neither as physically nor mentally addictive as Nicotine. Another social benefit of marijuana is its not cancer causing when compared to legal drugs like caffeine or Cigarettes. These are only a few of the reasons that Marijuana legal. To really get into the legalization issue not only do you have to look into the facts of the case but also the employment effects it would have. Granted there are no hard facts that say marijuana needs to be legal (or illegal). If a person tries pictures the number of jobs a single American field of Marijuana would create, they find i... ...yet the government says that it still harms you when you smoke it. The government refers to the thousands of chemicals in marijuana you still do inhale when you smoke it. The government fails to mention that every cup of coffee has eight hundred volatile chemicals. After testing a mere twenty-one of the chemicals in coffee studies found that sixteen of them were cancerous. However, coffee considered fairly safe is legal. Investigating each fact of the two cases dealing with marijuana it seems that marijuana should be legal The legalization activists seem to have the answer to almost every fact presented by the anti-marijuana activists. The American public needs to look on these facts as they formulate their personal opinion. This debate is too important to let uneducated people decide the fate of others. America needs to get rid of the old stereotypes of marijuana and formulate their opinion on facts not fancy. Bibliography Page Hager Paul. Marajuana Myths. Not published, :ICLU Drug Task Force Wallace J.M.. "Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subpopulations and Mitogen Responsiveness in Tobacco and Marijuana Smokers" Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.:(1988) Marijuana Is Beneficial Essay -- pot should be legal To toke or not to toke that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of society or succumb to popular opinion and legalize Marijuana. Marijuana is a cure for anorexia as well as glaucoma. Marijuana is even a helping factor for relieving some symptoms of A.I.D.S. Still the government of our nation has Marijuana classified as a Division I drug. Which means it serves no medical use and does in no way benefit society. The studies outdated and scientifically proven to be incorrect still remain beliefs of our government. Supporters of the legalization of Marijuana have many scientifically proven facts that point to the fact Marijuana should be legalized. Marijuana legalization would prove to be beneficial in a number of areas. The first bonus to legalizing Marijuana is its medical uses. Marijuana stimulates the immune system and serves as a cure for glaucoma. Marijuana helps people with AIDS retain and eat food. Marijuana use also has intellectual benefits. Marijuana increases alpha wave activity in the brain. The alpha waves are associated with creativity. This creativity is potentially the foundation of literary and musical revelation. Bob Marley was one of the most influential musical composers of all times. Marley's music has persevered throughout the years. He openly admitted, on many occasions, to smoking marijuana before he wrote and composed songs. Marley's influence is global. His nickname of "the Legend" has distinguished him from many other musicians. His global fame separates him from all other musicians. Many people have attributed Marley's creative genius to his use of marijuana. Socially, marijuana is better from the standpoint of addiction. Marijuana is less addictive than tobacco. Essentially marijuana is neither as physically nor mentally addictive as Nicotine. Another social benefit of marijuana is its not cancer causing when compared to legal drugs like caffeine or Cigarettes. These are only a few of the reasons that Marijuana legal. To really get into the legalization issue not only do you have to look into the facts of the case but also the employment effects it would have. Granted there are no hard facts that say marijuana needs to be legal (or illegal). If a person tries pictures the number of jobs a single American field of Marijuana would create, they find i... ...yet the government says that it still harms you when you smoke it. The government refers to the thousands of chemicals in marijuana you still do inhale when you smoke it. The government fails to mention that every cup of coffee has eight hundred volatile chemicals. After testing a mere twenty-one of the chemicals in coffee studies found that sixteen of them were cancerous. However, coffee considered fairly safe is legal. Investigating each fact of the two cases dealing with marijuana it seems that marijuana should be legal The legalization activists seem to have the answer to almost every fact presented by the anti-marijuana activists. The American public needs to look on these facts as they formulate their personal opinion. This debate is too important to let uneducated people decide the fate of others. America needs to get rid of the old stereotypes of marijuana and formulate their opinion on facts not fancy. Bibliography Page Hager Paul. Marajuana Myths. Not published, :ICLU Drug Task Force Wallace J.M.. "Peripheral Blood Lymphocyte Subpopulations and Mitogen Responsiveness in Tobacco and Marijuana Smokers" Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.:(1988)

The Attitude of Confucius towards Women

No one would not recognize that Confucius until now has a great impact not only to China and to its neighbors such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam but as well as to other countries that his teachings had traveled through. His thoughts had deeply penetrated into their culture believing that they were the right virtues to do for their daily living. But one of his teachings is now questioned and this is his attitude against women. Looking ahead†¦ The Attitude of Confucius towards Women IntroductionNo one would not recognize that Confucius until now has a great impact not only to China and to its neighbors such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam but as well as to other countries that his teachings had traveled through. His thoughts had deeply penetrated into their culture believing that they were the right virtues to do for their daily living. But one of his teachings is now questioned and this is his attitude against women. As change of time goes by, even his descendants had now realized wh at women should be in this changing society. Biography of Confucius and the role of women in his lifeConfucius was believed to have been born 551 BC, at the city of Qufu, of the state of Lu (now modern day province of Shandong). His ancestry is said to have originated from the Royal State of Song, but had fled because of turmoil. It is also believed that Confucius was an illegitimate child because his father had not been given a healthy son by his first wife. According to Peterson (2008), Confucius belongs to the gentry or those who owned a large farm. But contrary to this, it is also believed that three years after Confucius was born, his father died and he together with his mother lived in poverty (Chien, 1978).Confucius then strived hard to rise starting from being a livestock caretaker, clerk and bookkeeper. At an early age of 19, he married Qi Quan then they had a child when he was 20. At the age of 23, his mother died and he had offered a three years mourning for her. Accordin g to the Temples of Confucius, he had became a Justice Minister of Lu at 53 but the sources of Peterson contradicts to this event saying that though Confucius wanted to had a position, he never had at least one and he had only spent his life teaching others who had the same wish to gain position.These discrepancies about the biography of Confucius is said to have its root to the many legendary accounts being attributed unto him by his historian followers later in his life. His ideas about wives in relation to husbands As a teacher of men who wants to rule, one discipline he had taught unto them is their relation to their wives. To start, he had a perception that women are the lone producers of disorders and this should not be blamed as something sent by the heaven. He regards them as cannot be taught nor instructed thus making them inferior to man.He also then gave an advice that â€Å"husbands should maintain a certain distance to his wife. † A philosopher from the Han dynas ty wherein Confucian teachings had been first widely adopted, Ban Gu had explained that women should not make the initiative before man, because â€Å"yin is lowly, and it proceeds to the yang in order to be completed. † Known women by that time had also supported this idea of Confucius, Zhao had admitted that women are weak and lowly, and their primary duty is to serve their husband.She also says that men could remarry twice, but women could not. But she ended her passage by paying respect to their gender, saying that as â€Å"man is honored for strength; a woman is beautiful for her gentleness. † Another saying pertains to the acts that should be done by court ladies, stating that â€Å"A husband is heaven, and Heaven cannot be shirked. † According to another record from the Han dynasty entitled Ritual and Book of Rites, daughter-in-laws should act as a lower class to his husband’s parents.Whatever she wants to do, she should first ask permission from t hem. According then to Nu Lun Lu, this one coming from the Tang Dynasty, says that a husband-wife relationship should be of man’s strength and woman’s weakness, that a wife should just be quiet and blame herself every time his husband is angry, that a wife should not leave his husband especially when he is sick. His ideas about the role of mothers in relations to sonsSpeaking of Confucius attitude about mothers, I might suggest that his teachings would had been influenced by his personal experiences with his father assuming that it is true that Confucius is an illegitimate child because his father divorced his first wife because she could not give him at least one healthy son. According to the famous disciple of Confucius named Mencius, â€Å"there are only three uncivil acts, the greatest of them is not producing a son. † But even though a mother could not give a son, he had not excluded her with the respect her child should give back to her.He had also regarde d that mothers are the first source of education of their children. His thinking about contacts with other states, including both trade and war as being affected by his attitude to women As he emphasized that women should be at the lowest level in the human society, his thinking about contacts with other states is that it should only be run by males and not by the inferior females. He strongly suggests that women should only be kept inside the bedroom to serve his husbands after a hard day’s work.Every work outside the house such as trading then is only of male-concerns, so thus also being a soldier at times of war. Justification As time had changed, people are now realizing that Confucius idea about the inferiority of women in the society had also changed. Basing on my opinion, Confucius had stated those teachings just to stress out the need of his province for men who would rule and protect it at times of war. He then perceived that women are belongings of men and a wifeâ⠂¬â„¢s main duty is to give him a healthy son that would make sure the continuance of his bloodline.

International Integration

International Integration Introduction The ongoing process of international integration is often referred to as ‘globalization'. An organization called the ‘United Nations' (UN) is specifically important as it is contributing to this process by creating a possibility for its members to discuss problems, initiatives and much more. Almost all states are its members and through that an important environment is created for international integration. The question this article tries to answer is; ‘Is international integration an advantage or disadvantage for world peace? ‘.An answer is tried to be found through the exploration of the process of globalization, its link to the UN and the current conflict in Syria. The case study of the current conflict in Syria explores how the UN works in certain situations and the problems it faces for acting on an international level. It will be used as an example to find an answer to the main question. As the UN is almost an unive rsal organization it is the terrain for endless discussion between its members who all have certain interests. But its democratic character may not be truly valid as certain actors have more power than others, influencing the process of equal input.International integration and its features are constantly developing and as will be described the process has multiple consequences, positive and negative ones. Globalization Modern society anno 2012 could be described as an interconnected world where information is shared at a rapid pace through various channels as internet, television and telecommunications. Mankind has evolved a curiosity in everything that happens around him. Nowadays it is possible to acquire the latest news by a single mouse click and we are excited to share even the slightest happenings through our personal domains such as Facebook and Twitter.A global network of intelligence arose with the development of modern day communication resources, one of the reasons for t he process of globalization (Jeffery, 2002). The general understanding of the process of globalization is the increasing international integration of the world caused by mass trade and cultural exchange (Fincle & Govale, 2012). Although opinions also seem to differ about the meaning of the concept it is generally accepted that it is concerned with the growing scope, speed and intensity of interconnectedness worldwide (Goldstein & Pevehouse, 2011).Reasons given for globalization are; freedom of trade, improvements of transportation, labor wages and skills and improvement of communication resources (Fincle & Govale, 2012). Globalization has resulted in increased international trade, transnational corporations, faster and better accessibility of information, freer movement of persons and a greater dependence on the world economy. Opponents of globalization see an expanding gap between the rich and the poor, as wealthy states drain human and natural resources from less developed countri es for unfair compensations (Jeffery, 2002).Several indicators for globalization have been developed over the last decades, relevant are their variables and data they use. One of the first indicators designed and one that is used as reference for many others is the Kearney/FP index which is supported by a database (Lombaerde & Iapadre, 2007). It takes into account; â€Å"[†¦ ] the economic integration in the world economy, the extent of international political engagement, the internationalization of personal contacts of citizens and the use of internet technology. † (Lombaerde & Iapadre, 2007, p. 3).The Modified Globalization Index, by Martens and Zywietz, includes these four variables and adds another two;†[†¦ ] the involvement of a country’s military-industrial complex with the rest of the world, and the intensity of globalization in the ecological domain. † (Lombaerde & Iapadre, 2007,p. 4) Their definition of globalization is; â€Å"[†¦ ] the intensification of cross-national cultural, economic, political, social and technological interactions that lead to the establishment of transnational structures and the global integration of cultural, economic, environmental, olitical and social processes on global, supranational, national, regional and local levels. † (Lombaerde & Iapadre, 2007,p. 4). Another is the Dreher globalization index that builds on the Kearney/FP index and emphasizes on information flows and international integration through economic policy development. Another description of globalization is found in the work of Gibbens, who seems to agree that globalization is a process of cultural, political and economical integration of nation states throughout the globe (Giddens, 2000).Ritzer(2004) introduces, actually prefers, the use of the term ‘grobalization', since he focuses on the imperialistic character of nations and transnational corporations. He pinpoints the will to integrate international ly by those who have the resources required. International integration is a worldwide process with consequences. The process is steered by forces and it is important to mention that these forces are not divided equally across the world but rather are directed from a centre (Iadicola, 2008). Nowadays the United States of America is in this centre of a so-called global empire.It has the most influence on international organizations and the determination of integration on political, economical and societal levels among nation states (Iadicola, 2008). Iadicola(2008)researched this power centre empire idea. A passage concerned with globalization states that;†[†¦ ] globalization is in part a product of the power of empires as a result of conquest and trade and immigration creating patterns of cultural diffusion. â€Å"(Iadicola, 2008, p. 2-3). Globalization started long ago and it intensified during the colonial era.Yet, nowadays it seems globalization has increased in speed a nd reach as could be explained by the intense growth communication means, with internet as key feature. The empire has played a sufficient role in the distribution of capital flows, trade and economic partnership. Integrating more and more states into the world economy does not mean that wealth is equally divided among them, as Iadicola(2008) describes;†[†¦ ] the structure of international flows of income, investments, and royalty payments today does not correspond to any notion of an interdependent world that is mutually benefiting from these flows.In contrast, singular concentration and unidirectional flows towards imperial-based corporations dominates the process of globalization[†¦ ]. â€Å"(Iadicola, 2008). Empires have determined the forces of globalization for ages, The British Empire is a prime example of how trade was used to connect multiple continents. But also the Greek, Ottoman and the European empires as the Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch were all invol ved in international integration as they claimed overseas territories in the form of colonies and motivated international trade(Iadicola, 2008).Maier(2005)sees the empire as a major, leading actor in international integration. The forces needed to influence globalization are found at this actor. Empires are organized by and for those who principally control resources and production and not by those who work for it, as the empire has a class ideology(Maier, 2005). The empire has four essential features that relate to its influence or penetration of those dominated by it. These features can be seen as globalization forces, used to gain more wealth, power and increased global cultures.It uses; military-, economic-, cultural- and political penetration and integration. The USA has used these means with increasing intensity over the last decades to expand their interest (Iadicola, 2008). Globalization can be seen as international integration at multiple levels. Its intensification over th e last decades can be attributed to new and faster ways of communication, increased global trade and the need of the empire for expanding its power. Yet, there is more to describe that will help to discover its limitations, overall developments and influence.Relevant for the increasing international integration is international law. International law can be seen a system of principles, rules, concepts and norms for governing and managing relations among states, intergovernmental organizations(IGO), nongovernmental organizations(NGO), individuals and several other actors in globalization. International law's main sources of creation are custom and treaties(conventions). Customary international law can be seen as law that arises from certain, commonly practiced actions by states. An example is the immunity diplomats enjoy in foreign countries.Custom will most of the time be formalized into a treaty, the most important source of international law (Scott, 2010). These laws are created t o rise expectations, create stability among states and determine how states should interact on international level as well as national. Although states enjoy sovereignty, they are restrained when certain agreements are made between states and adaptation of domestic policy might be required and is sometimes urgent (Shaw, 2008). International law is created by states, IGO's and NGO's and it is made for them.The creation of international law is an outcome of international integration where states work together to set boundaries, create rules and determine what is important. Through international law it becomes clear that globalization influences all involved and will have consequences. The UN is the major actor that creates the environment for the adaptation of international law, what will become clear later in the article. As mentioned, treaties are the main source of international law. It is an agreement that legally binds parties under international law (Scott, 2010).There are bilat eral, two parties involved, and multilateral treaties in where three or more parties participate. The focus on international integration makes it relevant to research multilateral treaties. â€Å"A multilateral treaty is the culmination of what may have been a long political process. [†¦ ]Once the treaty document is in place it provides the central focus for the continuation of the political process that, together with the treaty itself, can now be referred to as a ‘regime'. [†¦ ] a pattern of cooperation[†¦ ]†(Scott, 2010, p. 161-163). According to Krasner(1983) a regime is â€Å"[†¦ principles, norms, rules and decision-making processes around which actor expectations converge in a given issue area. â€Å"(Scott, 2010, p. 163). The described passage provides a reasonable idea of what a regime in international law is. To establish a regime several factors or processes are involved. The first process is that of there being an issue of importance th at concerns three or more states(Scott, 2010). There is a need to manage a common problem. It triggers the process of international integration. This need will be generated by negotiations, the second process.It is in this phase that states or certain parties have the possibility to define, prioritize and recommend. Negotiations happen between states, but also between IGO's and NGO's who are capable of putting certain issues on the agenda of states, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(Scott, 2010). During the negotiations parties are able to hear each other out, trade information or make proposals. The very existence of a variety of parties makes it tempting to think that there are many issues that need attention, much negotiations happen and that there are an enormous amount of multilateral treaties.The last part is a fact, a solid proof of an interconnected world, where cooperation is extensively exercised. Yet, the value of an issue depends on by who it is prese nted. As mentioned before, globalization seems to be steered by an empire and especially from its centre. Scott(2010) does not mention empire, but he uses a different term, ‘hegemon'. â€Å"The theory of hegemonic stability suggests, most basically, that a regime emerges when a hegemon-a state with preponderant power- regards such a regime as being in its best interests.The United States has been a world hegemon since World War II. â€Å"(Scott, 2010, p. 165). A hegemon is a super power who is capable of exercising positive leadership and is capable of making others accept its preferences. Short term costs are seen as a possibility when the hegemon regards the regime to be useful and will pay off in the long run. Phase three and four are closely related. In the event of a conference all parties, or its delegations are presented the basic draft of the treaty in where an issue is tried to be managed.Proposals of laws, measures to be taken or cooperation to be achieved are pres ented and discussed during the conference which will result in a final draft on which all parties agree. Phase four is adoption and ratification of the final draft, legally binding all parties. A regime is established. Globalization is for a large part achieved through treaty making, where parties work together to find solutions, create plans for development and control processes. Besides states working together, individuals can influence its process by creating needs, address problems and inform.The modern means of communication have increased the connectivity between society and those in power as international integration is increasing on all levels. Some multilateral treaties establish an international organization that is concerned with the provisions the treaty entails. The United Nations The most known international organization, made up of states, is the United Nations(UN). It was established via the UN charter, a multilateral treaty, stating its goals, procedures, means and measures and much more on how all participants were to act. It started with 51 member states and it has 193 nowadays.The UN is an organization that reaches all over the globe and it is possible for every member to address a problem during certain occasions(Scott,2008). The UN is as it were an umbrella organization, it established many others to carry out what was agreed upon in the UN charter. The UN has so many organizations that it practically is involved all over the world with all kinds of problems on economical, social and conflict matters(Scott, 2008). The UN charter is made of several articles, divided in chapters, paragraphs and subparagraphs. It is an immense agreement on how states should interact, develop, help and much more.The first article states the UN's main purpose on which it was founded after World War II. Article 1 â€Å"The Purposes of the United Nations are: 1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace; . To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace; 3. To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and 4. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends. (UN, 1945) International peace and security, globa l peace and security, a global purpose which states that all members should help to solve and prevent problems as peacefully as possible. By signing the UN Charter a state will become part of an extensive network of rules and procedures which it has to embrace, which have been determined by them and others. The UN has increased its influence due to the creation of an environment for treaty making. Over time the UN has become the world's most important organization for international integration by motivating states to solve problems.Its power has be justified by its members and the agreements between them (Schooyans, 2001). The major organs of the UN are the Security Council, the International Court of Justice, the Economical and Social Council and the General Assembly. For finding an answer to my question the focus will be on the Security Council. The Security Council is an organ that is most known due to the measures it can take. It is made up out of 5 permanent members and 10 non permanent members which will be selected by the General Assembly. Its permanent members are China, The United Kingdom, The USA, France and Russia.In chapter V of the Charter articles are defined to state its purpose. Article 24 â€Å"1. In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United Nations, its Members confer on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, and agree that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf. [†¦ ] (UN, 1945). All members should keep the Security Council informed, an obligation to make sure the UN can act if this is required.The five permanent members have a veto right, meaning they can dismiss certain decisions even when they are urgent, generally accepted and majority voted. According to article 42 and 43 of the UN charter the Security Council is able to implement measures as economical and political exclusion, named sanctions. If n o positive result follows, then it is allowed to use article 43 stating â€Å"[†¦ ]it may take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations. † (UN, 1945). Whenever the Security Council comes to an agreement about what measures should be taken it presents a resolution, a formal statement, extensively describing what is to come, how it is to come and who should be involved. A resolution could form the basis for a military intervention. A problem that needs attention, according to the Security Council is (article 39)†[.. ] any threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression[†¦ ]† (UN, 1945).The Security council has presented multiple resolutions with regards to an act of aggression such as resolution 83 and 84, 1950, to use force â€Å"[†¦ ] to repel the armed attack upon the republic of Korea by forces of North Korea. â€Å"(Scott,2010, p. 103). The use of force has been authorized through more resolutions regarding, Kuwait, Somalia and Sudan. Looking back at the main question, it might be tempting to say that an organ, with multiple members, working for a safe and secure world is a definite yes. International integration has reached a point where there is a collective choice.A democratically (up till the veto) determined procedure that takes into account agreed norms and values by almost all states. The vision was formed by 51 founding members and today the charter is almost universal. When a decision to interfere, to use force, to discriminate sovereignty, to ‘ensure' safety and security is made it becomes clear that this world is so interconnected, that it lets an organization decide over life and death. Determining if the use of force is necessary, is not only led by the Security Council, it is allowed to ask help and advice to reach a conclusion.Many international organizations keep track of human rights and they are eager to alarm the security council to act, with sanctions or force, when they think something needs to be changed. Their expertise and resources make them trustworthy, not only for the Security Council but also for the world population. The increasing interconnectedness of the world makes it possible for these organizations to spread their worries and claims faster than ever before due to technological innovations as the internet, smart phones and global broadcast channels.International integration benefits from these technological innovations as problems become more visible and are spread faster. Communication and cooperation between organizations and states can lead to fast decisions and less damage to those under threat. International interventions, approved by the Security council, have increased in numbers since the ending of the cold war. The 1990's can be app ointed as the decade where most international interventions took place. It is also in this period that the idea of diplomacy over the use of force blurred.The use of force, military interventions, became a short term solution that would end the suffering of those suppressed. With regards to the twentieth century Afghanistan and Iraq are the most violent interventions so far. After the 9/11 terrorist attack in New-York, the USA promoted and executed the ‘war on terror'. This replaced the idea behind interventions for humanitarian and conflict reasons to a new enemy; international terrorism and its supporting regimes. The use of violence became a tool to scare off the opponent as well as completely deactivating him.Inner state conflicts that have been addressed increasingly over the past two decades are a relative new symptom for the UN and its Security Council. Shifting from conflicts between states to a state in conflict with itself. The traditional rules for peace keeping did not apply for these kinds of conflicts(Zandee, 2012). International integration reaches to the very integrity of states, as seen with the use of resolutions. Not only in cooperative ways, but also in the form of interventions approved through cooperation between states.The link between globalization and the UN is in its cooperative character, where the United Nations provides a ground for discussion, problem solving, initiatives and the creation of rules. The UN promotes development on different levels and multiple fields and it is to be reached through cooperation between its members (Bertucci & Alberti, 2001). In the year 2000 the ‘UN Millennium Summit' was held for the purpose of the discussion and adaptation of the ‘UN Millennium Declaration'. Over 150 world eaders eventually adopted the declaration, agreeing on the goals it set out to achieve for the upcoming 15 years such as less poverty, better health care and non-violence. Important was the emphasis on better an d more efficient cooperation between its members, an increase of international integration. One of the main points made was to make globalization a positive force for all world's people (Sneyd, 2005). Syria Syria is a state in the middle east neighboring Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq. Its main source of income is the oil- and gas industry and a small sector of tourism can be found at the Mediterranean sea.Syria has had several conflicts over time regarding territory with its neighboring states (Donker & Janssen, 2011). Syria's recent history has been used as one of the many motives for the protests that arose in the spring of 2011. In 1967 the Syrian political party Ba'ath took power by a coupe, overthrowing the government. After this, in 1970, the Ba'athist Hafez al-Assad took power in his own hands via a second coupe. He used his military connections, as he fought in many sections, too establish a loyal security force. Hafez al-Assad appointed many relatives and friends to several high governmental and military functions.In the beginning he was not very popular as he originated from a relatively small community of Alawi. Syria houses a variety of subcultures and religious sects and multiple conflicts between them have passed over time. Yet, the majority of Syria supported him for bringing stability to the economy and its inhabitants. This changed over time as Hafez al-Assads regime became more authoritarian and the economy started to fail. In the 1970's uprisings begun, which became more and more violent under the leadership of the ‘Muslim Brotherhood'.An example is its sniper campaign targeting the government's representatives. Many inhabitants did not support this way of protesting and the increasing awareness of the Brotherhood's intentions gave way for Hafez al-Assad to act brutally in 1982. This was the final standoff between the Islamists and the regime and it took place in Hama. An estimated number of civilian causalities varies betwe en 5000 to 20000. Hafez al-Assad's ruler ship was based on fear and showed severe consequences for those trying to destroy it. The media was state controlled and still is in present day (Donker & Janssen, 2011).To gain stability after the uprisings Hafez al-Assad assigned more political positions to other sub group members of Syria. In response to the Brotherhood, any political form of Islam was strictly forbidden. During the late 1980's and 1990's Syria underwent, as many other states due to ending of the cold war, economic liberation. Policies developed actually improved the position of political elites who had the resources to engage in exclusive economic deals. The tension between state, now seen as corrupt, and its society grew. In July 2000 Bashar al-Assad succeeded his father and he has been the leader of Syria ever since.His attitude and means concerned with ruling Syria do not vary that much from his father; society's voice and politics are still not coherent as a small gro up owns most of the states power as well as economical and military resources. Bashar al-Assad's nationalism, clientelism and severe repression held up over the years until March 2011 (Donker & Janssen, 2011). On March 6, 2011, children that were not older than 15 wrote the text ‘the people want the fall of the regime' (in Syrian) in the southern city Daraa. The children were arrested and tortured by Syrian security forces.Protests arose in response to this incident, first locally, but it did not take long for the remaining Syrians to participate in nationwide demonstrations. At first uprisings were generally peaceful, as people remembered what happened under his father's ruler ship. Yet, over time certain protest groups became more violent and separated themselves from the mainstream, but still recalling its support (Donker & Janssen, 2011). Videos posted on YouTube of the arrests spread a wide feeling of anger, among citizens, but also internationally (Times, 2011).Anti gove rnmental movements have been suppressed to underground spheres under the ruler ship of the al-Assads and its police state. Yet, there was an opening for coming out now. Support for protests and coordinated uprisings were now present and several movements tried to gather as much people as possible. Thus, it happened several times that the government controlled media was manipulated to prevent protest progress as when mobile phone networks were shutdown as well as many websites (Zoepf, 2011).The so-called ‘Arab Spring' started at the end of December 2010 as a series of protests and demonstrations across several North African and Middle Eastern states, such as in Libya, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and also in March 2011 in Syria (Schippers, 2011). The Arab Spring was mostly led by the voices of youngsters concerned with their future. The feeling of repression, unemployment, corruption and little democratic value triggered many to protest against their current leaders and governments. Many other states were showing symptoms of breaking regimes, motivating Syrians to continue to fight for their cause (Schippers, 2011).The peaceful protests gave way for more violent ones once the government started to repress them with violence. Heavy military resources were used to break up demonstrations as well as targeted assaults on protest group leaders (Schippers, 2011). More and more, images, videos and reports came from Syria and were spread all over the world. The cruel acts of armed government forces towards civilians were portrayed as terroristic, suppressive, inhumane and in violation with international laws (Khalay, 2011). As in other ‘Spring' states, governments were not going to settle easy.Violence was commonly used in Egypt and the prime example is Libya where the protests led to a civil war between government and several protest groups. The killing of civilians by a central, repression based government was described as a crime and the international communi ty was to be involved soon (Khalay, 2011). Amnesty International is an international organization concerned with human rights. It is mayor player in international integration, as its reports trigger discussion, provoke change and picture current developments.During the Arab Spring, Amnesty International has been highly concerned with the treatment of civilians. Reports about Syria indicate serious human rights violations and the organization is alarming the international community to act to stop these practices. Violent attacks harm civilians and there is a lack of primary resources and security. It is a situation that needs to be changed and it needs to be changed fast as these gross violations lead to more causalities every day (Khamis, 2012). International intervention returns to the picture.Up till recent day the inner state conflict Syria is dealing with, is still not resolved. Thousands of deaths are marking an ongoing civil war which seems not to end on a short notice as the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad still enjoys military support(although some soldiers turned over) as well as scarce, yet important public support. The international community, with the UN as main player, has alarmed the Syrian government to stop its activities and has applied multiple sanctions to pressure its movement and resources such as oil export restrictions (Iadtu, 2011).The security council has been involved since the beginning of the cruel acting of the armed government forces. The Arab Spring has been interpreted as a period of humanitarian crimes, where old repressive regimes are tried to be destroyed (Iadtu, 2011). The Security Council approved a military intervention in Libya, bombing governmental buildings, weapons depots and providing resources and manpower to the ‘democratic' opposition. The bombings were successful till the extent that they destroyed most of Libya's military force used for repression.Thus, the amount of civilian, unintended, casualties were h igh. The creation of an integrated democratic governmental structure has shown some progress, but the latest report indicates new instability as power protest groups now claims power and use force to gain this (Nazemroaya, 2012). The Security Council has send negotiators, as Kofi Annan, to Syria to discuss possible diplomatic solutions to end the conflict. Yet, Bashar al-Assad does not want to comply. Its government is also stating that it is fighting terrorist groups and not the entire population of Syria.He refers to groups of protestors that are well armed and are targeting the Syrian government. It accuses the USA and other Western countries of supplying the opposition with resources to take out the government. In response to this acquisition the Western society claims the protestors need to defend themselves from ongoing governmental attacks (Cunningham, 2012). The Security Council has suggested a similar intervention as in Libya, thus Russia and China stood in the way as they vetoed this proposal.Russia has been internationally criticized for the ongoing weapon supply to the Syrian government. Battle helicopters have been shipped several times and the USA is the main opponent of this practice as it implies Russia is supporting the al-Assad regime and therefore approving it means on how to settle the conflict. Russia says it is not violating any international laws and that it is providing the helicopters for protection and not for attack (Lathd, 2012) Russia is Syria's biggest arm supplier, it houses the only Russian naval base in the Mediterranean Sea.Syria has quite some Russian inhabitants and the Russian Orthodox church is influential regarding certain accommodations and populations in Syria (Carr, 2012). Besides these interests, other factors play a big role. Russia played its veto card with the statement that it does not want to see a Libya scenario again. That includes many civilian victims, the rise of radical Islamism and a lot of costs (Carr, 20 12). It is stopping the Security Council from taking action in the form of an military intervention.It can also be taken in consideration that Putin faced some severe resistance when he reassigned himself as president and its resulting protests. Supporting another military intervention might give Putin away as a person willing to participate in overthrowing repression led governments, as Russia might be labeled as such with suspicious democratic regulations (Lathd, 2012). The Security Council has not been able to stop the conflict, yet its sanctions are felt more every day. But also these means of conflict suppression are not only inflicting al-Assads government, large parts of the population are facing below average standards of living.Russia also shares the opinion that Western states are providing resources to destroy the regime (Cunningham, 2012). Cunningham(2012) and Nazemroaya(2012) argue that international interventions are a tool of Western imperialism, modern colonialism. T he power of the Security Council and its main members has grown towards a way to change states in such a way that the West will benefit from it, such as open economies ready for more foreign investments. The Western media plays a significant role in portraying situation as cruel and is good at moving the populations emotions and opinions.It tries to justify their actions by showing images of killed children, while negative reporting about NATO bombing and the resulted civilian deaths are hard to find. Once violence has started it is important to supply the opponent, in this case the protestors, with arms, so it can be said that the government, when shooting with sharp, is harming civilians. It is important that the media will justify the intervention with help from international organizations such as Amnesty International. The ‘Responsibility 2 Protect' has been used under the headline ‘humanitarianism' to execute violent operations as seen in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya .The Security Council, and the UN, have enormous international powers and are able to decide over death and life. The hegemon plays an important in addressing and executing issues and missions. Much military interventions have led to the destruction of regimes and set boundaries for future development. Syrians are pessimistic about a foreign intervention as some of them still support al-Assad. It is unlikely that Russia will set for a new direction soon, leaving the situation of ongoing civil war to continue (Cunningham, 2012) (Nazemroaya, 2012).Up till present day no military intervention has been undertaken. Constant debate about the use of such a mean slows the power to act and protect down. Syria is under international interest, but the international community has not yet found a way to act and stop the violence. The conflict in Syria provides a better look at the problems international integration is facing when debate and veto votes lead to a stop in developing solutions for c onflict. The democratic aspect leads to a proper justification of the Security Council's decisions, but it turns against him when there is no cohesion.The consequences are severe, as Syria remains in a civil conflict. Conclusion The answer to the main question revolves around the process of globalization, the United Nations and the current conflict in Syria. International integration has generated an interconnected world, in where more is known then ever before and where states are generating cooperation. The change in communication resources has led to a network of intelligence where one can find and publish almost everything. Accessibility, fluidity and transparency mark modern times.The United Nations is a prime example of international integration and it will continue to be. Its goals, declarations, treaties and resolutions illustrate the worldwide need for international integration and its further development. The UN's power has increased over time and the Security Council is o ne of the most profound organs to achieve its goals. The validity of the resolutions is determined by the permanent members, powerful actors in the world with more influence than other states. History illustrates interventions as successful means to stop violent conflicts and generate peace.Thus, this should be claimed with care as the current conflict in Syria is not benefitting from international integration. The empire steers the interests of the UN, yet others are able to influence its goals. As the USA is a superior military-, economical- and political power in the world, its influence has great consequence for international integration. World peace is one of the main goals of the United Nations and the integration of states worldwide has set out several positives achievements. Is international integration an advantage or disadvantage for world peace?The United Nations motivate international integration and its goals are clear. It wants to distribute wealth, create common inter ests of concern and stop violent conflicts. If international integration was less intense than it is nowadays, the legality of actions by states would be less, possibly provoking new conflicts. The democratic procedures justify the UN's actions and consensus is properly reached. Yet, as the Syria case has shown, it also slows down the process of acting. Overall I would like to answer the question with; an advantage.Cooperation leads to efficient usage of resources as knowledge, money and weapons. It also integrates multiple interests and reflects opinions. The recognition of the UN's goals creates a justifications for its actions and therefore prevents further conflict. If ( almost ) universal goals and means are approved, acting for the sake of world peace will be accepted faster. 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Long Repressed in Syria, an Internal Opposition Takes Shape. The New York Times , p. 12. ——————————————– [ 1 ].Transnational c orporations, also called multinational corporations, are corporations operating in multiple states all over the world. An example is McDonalds, with restaurants in more than 100 countries [ 2 ]. Sovereignty is seen as a concept of a state being independent from other states influences. It entails that a certain territory that belongs to a state should not be interfered by another state so that it is free to make its own choices, create laws and determine a governmental form. [ 3 ]. In this context the word regime refers to states that are lead by dictators, corruption and unjustified government violence.