The Social Security System today is one that Beveridge would Essay

The Social Security System today is one that Beveridge would recognise. Discuss - Essay Example Modern social security system is the Great Britain differs from its programs and implementations proposed during 1930s-1940s (Alcock & Craig, 2001). William Beveridge, an economist and social reformer, was one of those politicians who proposed a comprehensive social system aimed to support British population and improve conditions of life for millions of people. It is possible to say that Beveridge would resognise modern social security system because it meets the main principles and values proposed by Beveridge 70 years ago. Critics (Alcock & Craig, 2001) admit that the modern benefit system is still based on the Beveridge Report of 1942 (Siegfried 1963). Beveridge's model for a new system of social security envisaged a central role for universal and comprehensive social insurance, building on the national insurance scheme established by the 1911 Liberal Government (Aaron 1982). His intention was that the new system of insurance benefits would guarantee a subsistence level of income to cover the major causes of income loss, through unemployment, sickness, and old age, whilst individuals would be encouraged to provide a higher standard of living for their families by voluntary savings (Morgan, 1994). Beveridge hoped that such a scheme would satisfy the needs of most of the population, but accepted that a safety net of residual assistance would have to be available for those who failed to qualify under the contributory scheme (Alcock & Craig, 2001). According to the Beveridge Plan, such a social security system could not be implemented in isolation; the government also had to be committed to introducing family allowances and a national health service, and to maintaining full employment. In this way, Beveridge, like subsequent policy makers, recognized the interrelationship between social security and other areas of government policy. Today, to promote security, and particularly economic security, the Great Britain developed a variety of social security programs. Some have taken the form of "social insurance whereby contributions are made to a fund by workers, employers, self-employed persons, and governments, and payments are made to persons whose income has stopped for such reasons as old age, disability, unemployment, or death of the wage earner (Siegfried 1963). Other programs have taken the form of "social assistance" whereby persons in need receive public relief or pensions by virtue of age or for other reasons (Morgan, 1994). Still other social assistance programs have taken t he form of "social benefits" whereby all persons meeting certain qualifications such as attainment of a prescribed age and having a certain period of citizenship or residence receive benefits, without regard to any previous contributions or taxes paid or demonstration of individual need (Alcock & Craig, 2001). In contrast to previous models and programs proposed by the government, modern social security meets the basic principles and philosophy of Beveridge. As the most important, modern security system covers not only elderly people but unemployed, poor, old age, disabled and other categories. Each of the Government spends more than 1 billion on benefits and their administration (McKay & Rowlingson, 1999). Today social security benefits in Britain, as in most other developed countries, fall

Business Plan Final Essay Example for Free

Business Plan Final Essay Castle’s Family Restaurant Business Plan: Stage III Executive Summary The purpose of this business plan is to understand the restaurants business and its operations to improve its customer service and its employee relations. The Castle Family Restaurant has eight restaurants that operate under one regional manager that also acts as the Human Resource Manager for the restaurants. The goal is to develop a plan that can decrease the travel time of the regional manager so; that he, Jay Morgan, can save on gas due to high gas prices since each restaurant is located in the northern California area. The objective is to introduce a HRIS application and one vendor that can assist in the developing of the HR department and ease the transitioning of one individual HR manager to multiple employees. There are restaurants with profits in mind and provide the same food and service while the Castle’s Family believes in family, partnerships and developing relationships with one another for a great customer service. Introduction The Castle’s Family Restaurant has eight restaurants in northern California with about 300-340 employees. Most of the employees are part time with about 40% of them full-time. This business plan is to determine strategies that will eliminate the Human Resource position from Jay Morgan, so that he can reduce his travel time to all eight locations and to develop an HR department for the restaurants. In addition, the business plan is to enable Jay Morgan to concentrate on his operation manager duties. Company Review The factors that cause many issues to the Castle’s Family restaurant business are having one individual with so many responsibilities. Therefore, hiring an HR manager to schedule, recruit, hire and assist the employees in their needs will help in creating order. In addition, the restaurant must hire an assistant to help in the administration work; it will decrease the amount of  paperwork for the general manager. And each restaurant must have a manager to overseas the employees and the operation of the restaurant. The managers will conduct meetings monthly to provide the sales, revenues and customer services of each restaurant. Managers can communicate through emails, phone calls if they have questions for each other, or have any concerns. A needs assessment must be conducted to determine if an HRIS is needed for the company. In order to have a successful restaurant business every factor must be considered. For example, customer service to the customers is a big factor becau se that is what brings in the revenue. For a restaurant to have a successful business they must have the right food for their customers to enjoy and to assist the customers any way they can. In the last year, there had been some speculation into how the government will help the small restaurants and that the fiscal will prevent any type of savings in when tax time comes around. These HRIS and vendor application that will be stated in this business plan is there to develop and help maintain the restaurant’s H R department and increase growth in the company. Business Analysis We have acquired an HRIS system that will help in developing the HR department to provide easy process for the employees. The Sage HRIS application is an innovative way to ease the transition from traditional HR to a strategic HR. The Sage applications provide variety of options to assist in the HR process. For example, the payroll application should be implemented to help the restaurant establish tax, earnings, and deduction codes to perform critical payroll functions and to modify the system to the restaurant’s needs. This is the first time Castle’s Family Restaurant is developing a HR department, having the right tools to run a department the right way will allow less mistakes to be made; with eight different locations, adding the sage application will help in the transitioning all locations into one. Furthermore, it is critical for a company to have leadership to help establish the employee’s strengths and improve their weaknesses. In addition, the sageâ€⠄¢s time and attendance can help manage the employee’s attendance and work time. The system enables you to collect, analyze, and take control of employee’s attendance and labor data. The  application will help the company in providing perks to employees that always come to work on time. In addition, the performance management application tracks employee’s performance; help identify their critical skills to help the employees in their career development. Furthermore, I have compare and contrast a vendor that would benefit your company. These two vendors provide great services but one match your company’s true values and its missions. The Castle’s Family Restaurant need a vendor that can help in developing long lasting relationship and demonstrates positivity so that individuals can be their best. Furthermore, automation is viable to reduce the need of human errors that can results in more major consequences. Automation errors can occur at any time, the solutions are easy to fix, and automation provide easy data that can be change, delete and edit. HRIS Type/Comparison The type of HRIS that the Castle Family Restaurant should implement is the Sage application as I have stated before. In order for such application to be developed a vendor must be selected to help in the process. The sage application is a best fit for the company because it has a group of team that can help in assisting in any technical difficulties. When developing new HR department, errors will consist and questions will need to be answered. Therefore, a new training program will need to develop to increase each employee’s skills and performances in the Human Resources Department. The Sage application has the career enhancement training; they have created a system that can help in detecting IT skills, leadership’s skills, etc.; that can benefit your restaurant. The application has an easy to read system. The vendors that I have selected are the ADP and the Rideau Recognition Solutions. The ADP provides all services for domestic international, small or large companies, it does not matter where you operate, and they are there to assist in developing the business. The Rideau Recognition Solutions provide services that inspire employees to succeed to the vendor’s belief. Their expertise is to help their clients build positive relationships with their people to reflect the company’s values and increase customers’ expectations. The Rideau main purpose and their definition of a business are being inspirational and providing inspiration to others. While  ADP is well recognized company that can assist in developing an HR department, and have the tools to performed the job, but because of the deep meaning and relationship that can develop with the Rideau Recognition Solutions and the restaurant being a family company; I believe that the Rideau is the best solution for the Castle’s restaurant. HRIS Vendor Recommendation I have recommended that your company, The Castle’s Family Restaurant, to choose the Sage HRIS application and the Rideau Recognition Solution as your vendor. They have the right tools that can establish the restaurant business, and their tools can assist in the development of the HR department. In the restaurant business there will be a lot of risks such as food poising, slip and fall and property damages. Once these types of risks occur this is where the HR department comes in to assist in resolving the situation. This why there should be training when these disadvantages come to light. The sage applications have the proper tools to help decide the professional way to handle such situations. The HRIS application provides professional training to each individual HR employee. While these risks can occur, another problem that cans cause small businesses disadvantage are the fiscal cliff which this year small business operators tax rate has increase by 5 percent. Furthermore, knowing these disadvantages will allow you, the Castle’ Restaurant to prepare yourself as a restaurant. In addition, using these vendors and HRIS system will permit better training; and develop great communication between the HR department and the employees and managers for great customer service. It is important to know the negative factor and a positive factor on owning a small business restaurant and to prepare for any tactics on a professional level. In conclusion, I recommend the Sage as your HRIS application and the Rideau Recognition Solution as your vendor. Conclusion The Castle’s Family Restaurant has been operating on one person basis, with eight restaurants to oversee. There are many duties to maintain to assure a  smooth business; with such issues that can arise in each restaurant, developing an HR department to oversee these tasks will reduce risks that can occur. I have concluded that the Sage HRIS and Rideau Recognition Solution are the chosen application and vendor for your company to help in the developing your restaurant business. The application and vendor will and can assist you in many different factors and help improve employee communication. References Frumkin, Paul. â€Å"How fiscal cliff deal impacts small restaurateurs, franchisees.† Nations’s Restaurant News. Jan 9, 2013. Retrieved on 8/24/2013 http://nrn.com/latest-headlines/how-fiscal-cliff-deal-impacts-small-restaurateurs-franchisees

Examination Of The Organization Of Islamic Conference Politics Essay

Examination Of The Organization Of Islamic Conference Politics Essay The main purpose of these paper is to analyze the performance of the Organization of Islamic conference and find the way forward for the problems existing within the organization . In these paper I would take the prospect of being in charge of the organization of Islamic conference. These means that i will presuppose the position of the secretary general of the organization of Islamic conference ( OIC). While taking that imaginary post , ill be briefly discussing on the origins of the international relations, what were the main reasons for its establishment . In addition, ill be engaging in an in-depth analysis of its achievements , drawbacks . Subsequently, ill develop an practical and implementable solution on three major important arenas The International politics and diplomacy, the educational arena and economical and financials spheres. Introduction: Islamic Thought on International Relation. Its undeniably true that the concepts of politics, diplomacy and international relation realms can be traced back to the ancient Islamic history. Its clearly evident such phenomenon existed during the prophets (p.b.u.h) reign when he had treaties with the Jews, Christians from Najran  [1]  and Aqabah  [2]  , these continued to the times of the four rightly guided caliphates to Umayyad dynasty to Fatimid Dynasty and so on. Also these was under the Islamic concept and umbrella of ummah, which means the community of believers that consists of all Muslim nations and races. The fall of the Ottoman Islamic empire and other many different dynasties across the globe, paved a way to the adoption of the European and western ideology of the state system. Nationalism became the frontier which defined a nation rather than their religious affiliations. The belief and principle of the Islamic ummah was gradually vanishing from the Islamic Nations. Its irrefutable that this was orchestrated by the west for the primary purpose of stopping the dominance of Islam as religion. So by introducing these new concept of state system, it will divide the Islamic ummah into different countries and their citizens would pledge their allegiance to the state rather than the Islamic Ummah. These caused tensions, divides, competitions amongst Muslim nations hence resulting into current unfortunate situation. On the occasion of rising of the modern state system, many Muslim scholars argued back and forth on whether the concept of a nation come to blows with the universality and the unity of Islamic ummah. Many have provided evidence in support of the assertion they can co-exist while many have refuted and give a counter arguments on that case. Muslim thinkers, such as Allama Muhammad Iqbal argued on the basis that Islam provides with the model for human unity and so long as the Muslims believe in the oneness of Allah (Tawheed) ; then, nationalism can co-exist with the principle of Islamic Ummah. Origin of the Organization of Islamic Conference ( OIC). With the modern world order resulting to a rapid rise and continual impact of the western political and economic dominance throughout the muslim nations, some of the muslim thinkers and scholars developed the theory of Pan-Islamism.  [3]  These started from early nineteenth century with scholars such as Mohamed Abdou, Jamaldin Al-Afghani and similar like them. Many attempts of instituting an International islamic body failed miserably. However, it came to fruition in the 1960s and this was through the tenacious adherence and firm believe by the different muslim leaders in that era in having a united front of Muslims. Despite the difference and the existence of the fundamentalists, socialists , nationalists and secularists in the muslim states this was finally achieved. The establishment of the organization of Islamic conference came shortly after the historic event of the Arab-Israel conflict of 1967. Israel as a very small nation was able to crush bigger Islamic and Arab nation such as Jordan, Syria and Egypt. These sent shockwaves through the entire muslim world. The Israelis were able to occupy and take over the third holiest site of Islam, masjid al-aqsa. Afterward this was followed by the criminal and despicable event of blazing down some part of the holy mosque on 21st August 1969. Immediately the muslim leaders called for a quick historical summit which took place in Rabat, Morocco on the 25th September 1969. Ever since the formation of the OIC, it became the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nation with fifty seven member states around the world. These was true success and the organization became the voice of the muslim through the world and it ensured to uphold and protect the interest of Islam and the muslims in the firm believe and spirit of promoting peace, harmony and unity among the various diverse people in the world. In March of 1970, the first Islamic conference of foreign ministers was held in Jeddah and through this meeting Jeddah was selected as the headquarters of OIC, pending the liberation of Jerusalem which would be the permanent headquarters of OIC. As well, the role of permanent general secretariat was set up which the main is to ensure an effective cooperation among member state and to co-ordinate their actions. Two years later, the Islamic conference of foreign ministers meeting for the third session adopted the charter of the institute whose main aim was to strengthen the cooperation, smooth cohesion and solidarity amongst the member states in the political, economical, scientific, social and cultural grounds. Objectives of Organization of Islamic Conference ( OIC) Under the Charter, the organization of Islamic conference aims to achieve the following ; Strengthen the Islamic solidarity among member states. Coordinate action to safeguard the holy site of Islam. Strengthen cooperation amongst member states in the political, economic, scientific, social and cultural fields. Strengthen the struggle of all muslim people to safeguard their dignity, independence and national rights. Coordinate action to support the struggle of the Palestinian people and assisting them in recovering their rights and liberating their occupied territories. Work to eliminate racial discrimination and all forms of colonialism. Work to create a favourable atmosphere for the cooperation and understanding between member states and other countries, parties, and organizations. The charters also spells out some fundamental principles which governs the activities of OIC. To name a few are the full equality amongst member states, the non interference with the internal affairs of member states, the observation of independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each state. And also a major Islamic principle that exists and is clearly stipulated in the OIC charter is the settlement of any dispute that might arise between the member states by peaceful means such as negotiations, mediation, conciliation and arbitration. This mentioned in the holy Quran in surratul hujjarat [49:7-10] But Allah has endeared the faith to you and has made it seemly in your hearts, and He has made hateful to you unbelief and transgression and disobedience; these it is that are the followers of a right way. By grace from Allah and as a favor; and Allah is Knowing, Wise. And if two parties of the believers quarrel, make peace between them; but if one of them acts wrongfully towards the other, fight that which acts wrongfully until it returns to Allahs command; then if it returns, make peace between them with justice and act equitably; surely Allah loves those who act equitably. The believers are but brethren, therefore make peace between your brethren and be careful of (your duty to) Allah that mercy may be had on you. (49:7-10) Structure and Organs of the Organization of Islamic Conference The organization consists of the followings. The Islamic Summit This the highest decision and policy making organ, its attended by the heads of states of governments and usually they met every three years. The Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers During the three year interval between the summits, these organ members meet to watch over the implementation of decisions taken by the head of states. The Permanent Secretariat These is the executive organ of the OIC which is delegated to handle the day to day activities of the organization. Standing committees. In furtherance of coordinating and boosting the organizations action and bring into line to its view points and stands, the organization has created different standing committees which are chaired by the heads of states. i.e Al-quds Committee, Islamic committee for economic, cultural and social affairs etc. Subsidiary Organs These include the statistical, economic and social research and training center for Islamic countries etc. Specialized Institutions. These includes the Islamic development bank (IDB) , Islamic states broadcasting organization (ISBO) etc Affiliated Institutions These includes the Islamic chamber of commerce and industry (ICCI), Islamic committee of the international crescent (ICIC). C ) The Achievements and Drawbacks of Organization of Islamic Conference One of the major strengths of the OIC is the institutional architecture and the charter itself. With that being a strength OIC was able to achieve a lot of success despite their dormancy in the last fifteen years. With the new general secretary Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of Turkey who came in by a voting system. Some of the recent achievements done by organizational Islamic conference is initiating the goldstone report which in turn lead to the international condemnation of the Israel government assault on Gaza .Politics is about perception and the organization of Islamic conference must be credited for putting forth the truth of the matter in Palestine and thus wiping off the perception of Israel the occupier as being innocent. A second major achievements was initiation of the Islamic conference humanitarian affairs department in 2008. During the tsunami disaster they extended help to more than 10,000 orphans. And even before the inception of this department some of the philanthropic work they did can be traced by during the end of Balkan war. Many muslim Bosnians were uprooted from their country of birth and were homeless. The OIC setup a fund named the fund for return of the Bosnians refugees which was located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also in june of 2007 it jointly organized with the state of Qatar an international donors conference for the republic of Niger to help and beef up the food shortages suffered by the muslim in that state. Also they engaged extensively in other poverty alleviation programs in countries such as Somalia. Despite these achievements, the organization of Islamic conference has had a lot of drawbacks and short comings since its inception. A major weakness is the running of the organization with a short-string budget that comes from mandatory payments from some of the member states. The budget isnt enough for the scope of activities which is to be done and its numerous committees. These is majorly caused by the poor state of the majority of the OIC members states whereby almost half of them are ranked the in lower position in the GDP  [4]  per capita and GNP  [5]  per capita indexes. The lack of enough fund has crippled the OIC in terms of helping to develop the educational standards amongst its member states, the funding of research and developments programs. Early, I mentioned that the institutional architecture as being impressive and as a major strength but I have to point out that still there is insufficiency in it. A main point is the lack of any kind of representative form of leadership and this one echoes the deficit of democracy in the muslim states. A disappointing record mainly characterized by infighting, power struggles and failure to articulate a clear and consistent policies. Further another core problem came from the highest decision making organ named the conference of kings and heads of state. In every summit their work was opaque to the public scrutiny. Furthermore, not until recently the organization had a little contact or cooperation with other nongovernmental or inter-governmental organization in the world such as the united nation. Organization of Islamic Conference has failed miserably on their initial objective of coordinating actions to safeguard the holy site of muslims and Islam. Also one of the founding directives they failed is in the strengthening the struggle of all muslim people to safeguard their dignity, independence and national rights despite it being This hasnt been the case with Afghanistan, Iraq and mostly Palestine. Verbal condemnation is not enough but a rather action is required on these cases. The concerns has been reiterated and the main objectives have been reaffirmed countless times at different meeting forums but the organization has achieved little in the way of material change. Practical and Implementable solutions to the advancement of OIC. If you want to achieve and reach at a desired goal and you havent done it after some period of time has elapsed. Then first you need urgently to revise yourself, your actions, study your surroundings, admit any flaws and mistakes, highlight the drawbacks. Only then you can find solutions as to what has made you deviate from your path of reaching your desired goals. With these done you can formulate a better strategy to attain the new desired targets. Same is the case with the organization of Islamic conference, if I was in charge I would do similar steps in finding the solutions to the current existing problems and then i can achieve the envisioned better future. In these part of the paper, I would be discussing on the possible solution on three dimension, the educational, economical and the political arenas. Firstly, the economical arena is a major issue for the OIC member states. Almost half of the member states in OIC are performing badly in all indicators of economy. There are several propositions that can be done for the member state in order to shoot up their economy. Financial sectors, tourism sector, increasing multilateral trades, and allowing foreign direct investments. To start with the tourism sector, the diversity around them and their rich geographical and cultural heritage makes them bear up a remarkable tourism potential. Planning and organizing these sector will play a very considerable role in advancing the socio-economic development in these states. The challenges such as lack of technical know-how, poor promotional activities, lack of investment in the tourism sector in terms safety and diversification would be tackled by two way which are at a national level and organization level. At the national level sustainable tourism development should be included in their framework, while at the organization level joint programs and data networks should be established to reveal the opportunities and be made available for the member states. Another aspect of the economical arena is the financial and investment sector, as the general secretary I would encourage and initiate the establishment of Islamic an Islamic security exchange to be located in Istanbul, Turkey. This would help in intensifying the cooperation of their stock exchanges and also partly encourage foreign direct investments. Furthermore, this will create a common market for introducing and trading Islamic financial instruments and also increasing the participation of muslim countries in the international markets. Hence this will in turn increase the multinational trade amongst the member states. The direct impact of this will be the boost up in the gross domestic product of the countries invested in and the gross national product of the investor country. Secondly, its noticeable in the educational arena of the OIC members state thats their exists a very wide gap on the literacy level in the OIC member states compared to the other developed nation. They are lagging behind in terms of curriculum setup, the research and development, innovation and technology advancement. These can be related to the economical aspects but at the same time these countries are rich in resources and energy. And as earlier discussed, developing the tourism sector, increasing the multinational trade, and boosting of the economy would generate a great revenue for the member states. This can be channeled to the education sector especially to increase the number of institutions of higher learning whilst improving and reforming centers in preventing brain drains and also revising the curricula in all levels. In addition, encouraging the states to fund the research and development opportunities at the institutions of higher learning, muslim researchers and technicians should be employed. This will increase the chances of scientific breakthroughs from the muslim world through journals articles and high technological exports and imports. Additionally, there will be a review for all affiliated universities with the OIC. Lastly, the international politics and diplomacy strategies will be reviewed in order to match with the current politics. Developing a regional security that protects the interest of muslim nations is a must in the current times. Events of striking Gaza, Iraq, and Afghanistan has occurred in front of the Muslim eyes and yet nothing concerete has been done. Power matches power and as much as we want freedom, security should come along with. Finally binding all the muslim leaders and kings into one platform of accepting unity through diversity should be established. This would help in getting rid of sectarian divides and divides in ideologies.

Hinduism :: essays research papers

Hinduism The underlying concern of the Upanishads is the nature of Brahman, the universal soul; and the fundamental doctrine expounded is the identity of atman, or the innermost soul of each individual, with Brahman. Formulations of this doctrinal truth are stressed throughout the Upanishadic writings  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Upanishads are the most important portion of the Vedas. The Upanishads contain the essence or the knowledge portion of the Vedas. The philosophy of the Upanishads is sublime, profound, lofty and soul-stirring. The Upanishads speak of the identity of the individual soul and the Supreme Soul. They reveal the most subtle and deep spiritual truths. The Upanishadic period prepared the ground for the development of rational ideas, scientific observation and advanced study in the fields of mathematics, logic and the physical sciences. It also cleared the way for a secular and more humane approach in the realm of social relations and government. Brahmin orthodoxy and ideas of ritual purity were challenged and confronted. The concept of god in Upanishadic thinking was quite different from the more common definition of god as creator and dispensor of reward and punishment. The Upanishadic concept of god was more abstract and subtle. It postulated the doctrine of a universal soul - that embraced all physical beings. All life emanated from this universal soul and death simply caused individual manifestations of the soul to merge or mingle back with the universal soul. The concept of a universal soul was illustrated through analogies from natural phenomenon. "As the bees make honey by collecting the juices of distant trees, and reduce the juice into one form. And as these juices have no discrimination, so that they might say, I am the juice of this tree or that, in the same manner, all these creatures, when they have become merged in the True, know not that they are merged in the True. . . ." The name of Krishna refers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose spiritual form is eternal and full of knowledge and bliss. This is confirmed in the following verse of Mahabharata: "The word krs is the attractive feature of the Lord's existence, and na means spiritual pleasure.

Industrial Agriculture and the Loss of Biodiversity Essay -- Argumenta

Industrial Agriculture and the Loss of Biodiversity Preserving Diversity By Way Of Old Crop Varieties Traditional methods is indeed the most advantageous way to retain sustainable success in farming suggested by Stephen B. Brush in his research of the effect of diversity in agriculture. In "Genetic Diversity And Conservation In Traditional Farming Systems," he explains how analyzing genetic erosion and the loss of genetic resources eventually leads to environmental degradation. Various factors have led to nations turning to improved adoption varieties, primarily the Green Revolution and commercial markets. Brush explores the effects that the Green Revolution has had on resources and agriculture, and explains why nations are turning to markets. The Green Revolution brought an introduction and increase in genetic diversity, to all domains of agriculture, especially too much needed third world countries. Due to alterations in genetic resources, conventional methods were being replaced with modern agriculture that was producing exceptional yielding varieties. This surplus of yield led many small farmers to sell their products and also become principal players in the market. The success from this established the need for movement toward modern techniques and away from traditional cultures. On the contrary, Fowler and Mooney present a different viewpoint in their article "Shattering: food, politics, and the loss of genetic diversity." They assert that the Green Revolution only provided a short-lived solution to hunger, but not to the protection of the ecosystem (Fowler 176). They discussed the history and origin of the introduction of modern varieties, in which they ultimately stated that they might have created temp... ...ect diversity with traditional cultures (Nazarea 4). In my opinion, traditions need to be protected because they are the methods that have been working for so many years. Nevertheless, technology is crucial to helping to stabilize diversity. Improved varieties may not have been the best, enduring solution yet. There are other options out there that can be discovered with more research. I believe that the scientific world can find a precise median that will continuously nurture biodiversity. Until the optimal resolution is found we need to turn our ways back to traditional farming before it is too late. Works Cited Fowler, Cary, Mooney, Pat, "Shattering: food, politics, and the loss of genetic diversity."University of Arizona Press, Tucson. C.1990. Nazarea, Virginia, D., Cultural Memory and Biodiversity. The University Of Arizona Press, Tucson c.1998.

Incarcerated Parents and Their Children Essay -- Children of Incarcerat

The challenges of children who grow up with parents whom were incarcerated at some point in their childhood can have a major effect on their life. The incarceration of parents can at times begin to affect the child even at birth. Now with prison nurseries the impregnated mother can keep her baby during her time in jail. With the loss of their parent the child can begin to develop behavioral problems with being obedient, temper tantrums, and the loss of simple social skills. Never learning to live in a society they are deprived of a normal social life. â€Å"The enormous increase incarceration led to a parallel, but far less documented, increase in the proportion of children who grew up with a parent incarcerated during their childhood† (Johnson 2007). This means the consequences of the children of the incarcerated parents receive no attention from the media, or academic research. The academic research done in this paper is to strengthen the research already wor ked by many other people. The impact of the parent’s incarceration on these children can at times be both positive and negative. The incarceration of a parent can be the upshot to the change of child’s everyday life, behavioral problems, and depriving them a normal social life. There have been many questions raised if the nurseries programs were fair but â€Å"the number of women incarcerated in state prisons in the United States (US) has dramatically increased in the past 20 years, and 70% of these women are the mothers of minor children, as of the last Bureau of Justice estimates† (Mumola, 2000). â€Å"Allowing women to parent their children within correctional facilities in the US may be â€Å"one of the most controversial debates surrounding the imprisonment of women† (Bel... ...e, May 2009. Web. . Mumola, Christopher J. 2000. Incarcerated Parents and Their Children. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, NCJ 182335. Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics Phillips, Susan D., Alaattin Erkanli, Gordon P. Keeler, E. Jane Costello, and Adrian Angold. 2006. â€Å"Disentangling the Risks: Parent Criminal Justice Involvement and Children’s Exposure to Family Risks.† Criminology and Public Policy 5(4). Sroufe LA, Egeland B, Carlson EA, Collins WA. The development of the person: The Minnesota study of risk and adaptation from birth to adulthood. New York: The Guilford Press; 2005. Tolan, Patrick H., Deborah Gorman-Smith, and Rolf Leober. "Developmental Timing of Onsets of Disruptive." Journal of Child and Family Studies 9.2 (2000): 203-20. Print.

Mamma Mia! the Musical: History and Music

Mamma Mia! is hit Broadway musical that celebrates the music of ABBA, a 1970’s Swedish pop group.   It includes over 20 original ABBA songs, the most famous of which is Mamma Mia, which lends itself to the title of the musical.   The musical is based on a book written by British author Catherine Johnson, and the music was primarily written by Benny Andersson and Bjà ¶rn Ulvaeus of ABBA. ABBA began in the 1970’s in Sweden, and became famous when the group won the 1974 Eurovision song writing contest.   It consisted of four members: Benny Andersson, Bjà ¶rn Ulvaeus, Ani-Frid Lyngstad, and Agnetha Faltskog.   It is from their first names that the group’s name came.   They wrote songs that became extremely popular world-wide, including Dancing Queen (which was number one on charts across the world, including the US.   It was only song to become number one in the US), Waterloo (the song that won the Eurovision contest), and of course, Mamma Mia.   All of these popular songs, and more, are included in the show that became Mamma Mia! (Mamma Mia official site). Catherine Johnson’s book tells a story about a daughter (Sophie) who is about to get married, but she doesn’t know who her own father is.   She is living on a Greek island paradise, and invites the three potential candidates to the island to see her – the first time they’ve all set foot on the island in 20 years (Harry, Bill, and Sam).   She tries to figure out which one of these men is her father while hiding this from her mother, Donna, who won’t talk about her past.   Her goal is to have her real father walk her down the aisle. Ultimately, her mother walks her down the aisle because everyone realizes that they don’t know who her real father is, but that it doesn’t matter – they will all be a part of her life.   She also realizes she doesn’t actually want to get married, so her mother ends up marrying one of the three men (Sam) instead, and Sophie and her fiancà © go off to travel the world (Wikipedia). The musical is interspersed with songs like Does Your Mother Know, Super-Trouper, Lay All Your Love on Me, and more.   Many of the songs are not used in their original context, but are used in key parts of the musical.   For example, the original lyrics in Does Your Mother Know are sung by a man who is asking his underage date if her mother know she’s seeing him.   In the musical, it is sung by women and used to ask Sophie if her mother knows she’s invited these men to the island (Wikipedia). The original idea for the musical was conceived in 1989 by Judy Craymer, and was to use popular ABBA songs in the new context of a musical.   Bjà ¶rn and Benny had attempted to write their own musical in the 70’s, consisting of songs like Thank You for the Music (now used in Mamma Mia!) and others, but it was never completed.   Lending songs to a musical that was completed and performed was obviously something they were interested in.   In May 1999, 10 years after the original idea, Mamma Mia! was born, and made its debut in London theaters.   While the creators and producers were initially worried about audience reception, it was an instant success, and went on to play all over Britain, and then in the United States on Broadway. The U.S. debut was in 2000, and has since played in many Broadway and off-Broadway theaters throughout the country.   It is playing simultaneously in more theaters than any other musical.   Today, it is estimated that over 20 million people have seen the show (Mamma Mia official website).   The show has toured all major US cities and many minor ones as well, and continues to play on Broadway.   There are several casts that are performing the show at any given time. The show is now playing world-wide, including in Japan, Sweden, and other European countries.   It is estimated that 1.3 million people have seen the show in one of these countries.   The show has swept not only the English-speaking countries, but the entire world.   The soundtrack is also available in different languages for the diverse audience members. Typical advertising lines include â€Å"People are singing in their seats and dancing in the aisles† when they see the musical.   Also, audience members are encouraged to sing along during the encore, which consists of three songs sung earlier in the musical; there are 22 unique songs in all.  Ã‚   Audiences consist of people of all ages, as the musical is family friendly and the music is loved not only by the older generation that grew up with it, but also by the younger generation becoming familiar with it for the first time (Mamma Mia! official site). The combination of familiar, well-loved songs with a new, exciting story is what makes Mamma Mia! what it is.   Many of the adults in world were growing up during the 1970’s and spent a lot of time listening to ABBA music.   Their songs topped charts around the world from their debut in 1974 straight through the mid-80’s.   They produced several greatest hits CDs, include ABBA Gold and More Gold, which together include over 40 songs.   ABBA continues to play on â€Å"oldies† radios today, and their music has been passed down to younger generations. The music is so upbeat and exciting and perfect for the stage that when it was combined with the cute and interesting story by Catherine Johnson, it was well-received and well-loved.   Mamma Mia! will likely continue to play in theaters throughout the country for several more years, as it continues to be an exciting, fun show for all to enjoy. Bibliography â€Å"Mamma Mia!† Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Modified Dec. 8, 2006.   Accessed December 12, 2006.   Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamma_Mia! â€Å"Mamma-Mia Official Website.†Ã‚   Accessed December 12, 2006.   Website: http://www.mamma-mia.com/