Friday, November 29, 2019

Mind and Stout free essay sample

In the essay â€Å"Selections from Reading Lolita in Tehran† by Azar Nafisi, the author writes of her experiences living in Iran under the power of its totalitarian regime. Martha Stout is a renowned clinical psychologist and author of â€Å"When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday†, in this essay, Stout describes the different forms of psychological dissociation and several stories of her patients fighting trauma. Stout introduces the topic of psychological dissociation and the various degrees it entails, including, play, daydream, and distraction. A ‘trigger’ that causes a person to mentally flee the reality shared with mankind, into an individually altered reality, known as psychological dissociation. In Both essays, there is a shared struggle to overcome troublesome reality, by Stout’s patients and Nafisi, in attempt to lead fulfilling lives. A shared concept from both essays is the presence of ‘darkness’ in different forms, as trauma for Stout’s patients, and in relation to Nafisi and her students, the oppression of women by the regime. We will write a custom essay sample on Mind and Stout or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Nafisi and Stout describe the power of ones imagination, and in these cases its role as a form of escape from troubled reality. Lastly, both authors write of the importance of one’s sense of self and individuality, Stout talks of how trauma can cause a disconnection from oneself and the world around them, relating to Nafisi’s struggle to retain individualism. The power of ones imagination is a key factor for both authors in the attempt to create fulfilling lives for there patients, students, and selves. Through Nafisi’s essay, she writes of her time living in Iran, under oppression from the totalitarian regime. As a woman Nafisi and her students were required to wear veils and long robes, and were born into lives where they were given very little choice in any aspect of life. They were to live, as they were expected, leaving no room for imagination. Instead of sufficing to this brutal and inhumane reality, they create a book club; it serves as a sort alternate world, a sanctuary of flourishing imagination and individuality. The book club was held weekly at Nafisi’s home and consisted of seven of her â€Å"best and most dedicated students†; the club would discuss books that would not be accepted in Iranian universities. These books included â€Å"The Great Gatsby†, â€Å"Invitation to a Beheading†, â€Å"A Thousand and One Nights†, â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†, and several other western classics. Nafisi states, â€Å"Perhaps one way of finding out the truth was to do what we did: to try to imaginatively articulate these two worlds and, through that process, give shape to our vision and identity. † The previous passage from Nafisi represents the personal growth underwent by Nafisi and her students. This better understanding and ability to express their imaginations would have been impossible if not for Nafisi’s book club. The importance of imagination expressed by Nafisi is also a strong topic from Martha Stout. Stout speaks positively of imagination and encourages the application of it, â€Å"In the interest of play, a child can, in a heartbeat, leave himself behind, become someone or something else, on general things at once. Reality is even more plastic in childhood. Pretend games are real and wonderful and consuming†. But stout does not speak plainly on imagination alone; she also discusses thoroughly, mind states created by ones imagination. Stout provides examples form several of her patients who use their imagination in order to escape past traumatic events. One patient of Stouts, a man named Seth says of his escape method that, â€Å"The abyss part, with the sharks and all, that’s frightening. But for most of my life it was really no more frightening than then things that were on the beach, no more frightening than reality, I guess is what I’m saying. So floating in the middle of the ocean was really the best place, even though I guess that sounds strange. Also, being there takes care of the physical pain; theres no more pain when I’m there. †(Stout 396) This passage is from Seth, he is describing his imaginary ocean that he would escape too rather than face the troubles of reality. As Seth escapes too his ocean, Nafisi and her students similarly escape too there book club. These methods of using ones imagination too escape troubled realities, were caused by different forms of ‘darkness’. For Nafisi and her students, this ‘darkness’ came in the form of the Iranian government and the oppression of women. Nafisi states in her book that, â€Å"They had harassed and limited me in all manner of ways, monitoring my visitors, controlling my actions, refusing a long overdue tenure; and when I resigned, they infuriated me by suddenly commiserating and by refusing to accept my resignation. †(Nafisi 253) Nafisi is speaking of the harassment she would endure as woman professor in an Iranian university, where she eventually lost her job for not conforming to  Iranian laws and wearing her veil. Unfair treatment towards women such as this is what led Nafisi to start this book club and share her hope for freedom with a select few students. In relation to Stout’s definition of dissociation, this oppression of women would be seen as the ‘trigger’ and their book club is the form of escape. For Stout’s patients, this ‘darkness’ came in the form of traumatic events. These traumatic events, unique in detail to every of her patients, all lead to different forms of escape from troublesome reality. An example from Stout’s essay is one patient, Julia; she grew up in a house with abusive parents and was clueless to this. She dissociated the memory of her abusive childhood, which resulted in her becoming unable to realize this was her reason for attempting suicide and living with depression. The mind state I’m referring too is psychological dissociation; Stout explains that dissociation is caused by traumatic events, which a person’s mind attempts to bury. Though it would seem that both Nafisi’s students and Stout’s patients used the same method, Nafisi and her student’s were not in a form of dissociation. The reason for this is that Mafiosi’s students willingly chose to create this book club, and altered world, as a form of escape. Wherein dissociation, the person is not mentally aware that reality is being altered, and there escape is brought forth unconsciously by their mind. Of course for every being the most essential need for a person is to have a sense of self or feeling of individuality. Every person is born with a blank slate, and throughout life they shape and mold themselves, into a unique individual. But in order too keep a sense of individuality and have a true feeling of ‘self’, one must be free to make there own choices without restraint. The factor restraining Stout’s patients are past traumatic events, which have disrupted their brains, and holding them back from lives with connections to themselves and the world. Stout says that â€Å"†¦the ability to dissociate from reality, which functions as a life-preserving defense mechanism during times of stress in childhood, can develop into a way of life that leads to emotional detachment and prolonged disengagement with the world. †(Stout 380) In this passage Stout discusses how dissociation creates a disconnection from reality, making it unable for them to truly be themselves. She also says that this dissociation from reality leads to isolation, and detachment from a persons self and the world. The idea’s put in place by Stout are given factual basis from the experiences of Nafisi and her students, in their fight for individuality. Under the totalitarian regime of the Iranian government, women are given few rights and choices to determine their lives; they are expected to live as commanded. The feeling of individualism is absent to these women, who are required to dress identically in robes from head to toe and veils. In a world where women are required to dress as told, and conduct themselves according to the hierarchy of a male’s world. A world such as this leaves women hopeless in obtaining a sense of individualism. Nafisi offers this book club as a short escape for her students, where they could express their personal thoughts freely. â€Å"When my students came into that room, they took of more than their scarves and robes. Gradually, each one gained an outline and a shape, becoming her own inimitable self. †(Nafisi 250) The previous passage perfectly depicts the sense of self that was gained through this book club. The women out of there identical robes and veils, become distinct from one another, not just another robe, but a person, wearing clothes of there choice. This club may have given them a sense of freedom from the regime, and allowed them to obtain a feeling of individualism. This struggle to overcome troublesome realities, in attempt to lead fulfilling lives, is shared by Nafisi and her students, as well as Stout’s patients. Both were presented with a form of ‘darkness’, Nafisi’s oppression from the totalitarian regime and Stout’s patients trauma. But through the power of imagination and the courageous defiance against the regime for Nafisi, and traumatic pasts for Stout’s patients, they were able to retain a sense of self. Opening doors, to lives defined by personal choices, creating individuals with true connections.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Free Essays on What Is NetBIOS

What Is NetBIOS NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System) was developed by IBM and Sytek as an Application Programming Interface (API) for client software to access LAN resources. Ever since its creation, NetBIOS has become the basis for many other networking applications. In a sense, NetBIOS is an interface specification for the accessing of networking services. NetBIOS is a layer of software developed to link a network operating system with specific hardware, was originally designed as the network controller for IBM's Network LAN. NetBIOS has now been extended to allow programs written using the NetBIOS interface to operate on other types of network architectures. NetBIOS has since been adopted as an industry standard for use with Windows 95 – NT4 and it is common to refer to these as NetBIOS-compatible LANs. It offers network applications to carry out inter-application communication and data transfer. In a basic sense, NetBIOS allows applications to communicate with the network. Its intention is to isolate the application layer of the OSI Model from any type of hardware dependencies. It also spares software developers the task of developing network error recovery and low level message addressing or routing. The use of the NetBIOS interface does allot of this work for them. NetBIOS standardizes the communication interface between applications and a LANs operating capabilities. With this, it can be specified to which levels of the OSI model the application can write to, making the application transportable to other networks via that same layer. In a NetBIOS LAN environment, computers are known on the system by a NetBIOS name. Each computer on the network has a permanent name that is programmed in various different ways. These names will be discussed in more detail below. Terminals on a NetBIOS LAN communicate either by establishing a session or by using NetBIOS datagram or broadcast methods. Sessions allow for a la... Free Essays on What Is NetBIOS Free Essays on What Is NetBIOS What Is NetBIOS NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System) was developed by IBM and Sytek as an Application Programming Interface (API) for client software to access LAN resources. Ever since its creation, NetBIOS has become the basis for many other networking applications. In a sense, NetBIOS is an interface specification for the accessing of networking services. NetBIOS is a layer of software developed to link a network operating system with specific hardware, was originally designed as the network controller for IBM's Network LAN. NetBIOS has now been extended to allow programs written using the NetBIOS interface to operate on other types of network architectures. NetBIOS has since been adopted as an industry standard for use with Windows 95 – NT4 and it is common to refer to these as NetBIOS-compatible LANs. It offers network applications to carry out inter-application communication and data transfer. In a basic sense, NetBIOS allows applications to communicate with the network. Its intention is to isolate the application layer of the OSI Model from any type of hardware dependencies. It also spares software developers the task of developing network error recovery and low level message addressing or routing. The use of the NetBIOS interface does allot of this work for them. NetBIOS standardizes the communication interface between applications and a LANs operating capabilities. With this, it can be specified to which levels of the OSI model the application can write to, making the application transportable to other networks via that same layer. In a NetBIOS LAN environment, computers are known on the system by a NetBIOS name. Each computer on the network has a permanent name that is programmed in various different ways. These names will be discussed in more detail below. Terminals on a NetBIOS LAN communicate either by establishing a session or by using NetBIOS datagram or broadcast methods. Sessions allow for a la...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Public health and health policy Discuss the health problems and health Essay

Public health and health policy Discuss the health problems and health service issues that are associated with homelessness in L - Essay Example In London, the homeless face the problem of insufficient primary and secondary care, in spite of their critical health situations. National Health Service, the primary provider of public health in the UK, cannot provide such essential services to people without access to fixed address, a common feature in developed nations (Daly, 2013, p.213). In addition, Rogers and Pilgrim (2010, p.60) asserts that the homeless are prone to neglecting their health status, more than the general population, and they only seek such services when their health status have reached advanced stages. Homelessness is a complicated global issue that is caused by several issues while at the same time it does not have a single solution. In recent years, the government and global health organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) have identified the complex health challenges affecting the homeless as the underlying problem apart from the obvious accommodation issues amongst others. In England, ther e are several National Health Services and other privately sponsored charitable services, which provide the necessary healthcare and support to the homeless. The civil society in England, noted that during the global downturn, the National Health Services reduced its spending on the homeless. ... Gramlich (2008, p.70) observes that there is not a single specific definition of the term as variance in temporal dimensions, cognition and lifestyle amongst the homelessness street people. Since homelessness is mirrored in different settings, several situations come into play; this paper posits that the political agenda as well as the prevailing social values have been strongly linked to the definitions. Conventionally, homelessness has a residential dimension and this can often be used to redefine the term in this context. This is because the apparent feature of the classification stems from the lack of conventional housing for those deemed homeless. Levy and Sidel (2013, p.176) applies the United Nations Committee on Human Rights definition of the term and they intone that people who sleep in outdoors such as vehicles and abandoned non intended for human dwelling. Legal and statutory definition of the term have a characteristic contradictory nature and in the United Kingdom alone, there are several acts that define the term both at the national level and in the devolved systems. However, housing authorities in the United Kingdom consider domiciled individuals who have applied for their accommodation as homelessness applicants and therefore categorized. In the strictness of the term, the city of London has often distinctly identified two groups; the homeless and the rough sleepers. The rough sleepers are those who live and sleep on the streets of several English cities, yet in our case we shall be confined to London and Newham in particular. The Department of Communities and Local Government (2013) describes a person as statutorily homeless

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Human Resource Information Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Human Resource Information Systems - Essay Example The HR departments came under pressure with routine work trying to cope with administration and providing more services online, that they could not provide value-added services such as knowledge management, culture management, and strategic direction and renewal. Gradually the focus shifted from playing a purely technical administrative role to being actively involved in the strategic planning and management of an organization. It became essential to add value to enhance competitive advantage. The second perceived need was to incorporate IT in HRM practices. HR functions were transferred to digital formats and even though technology is underutilized, it is increasingly being used in functions such as recruitment, selection, training, promoting, terminating and in complying with legal requirements. IT systems led to the introduction of e-HRM which saves time and costs particularly with online recruitment and training systems. While HRIS can bring substantial savings to an organization , it is necessary that the managers and employees understand the benefits of the new system and are actually ready to use it. Getting the system to adapt to a new system is the greatest difficulty according to Beulen (2009). E-HRM can increase the amount of information provided to people as they obtain online access to HRM policy and practice handbooks. Online notification of holidays and other events facilitate strategic processes while people can even register for training courses online (Paauwe & Farndale, 2004, p11). E-HRM enables help people be constantly ready for change while encouraging online training and learning activities. It also facilitates collaboration between individuals through discussion groups and video-conferencing. It is also known to enhance employee interaction, work-life balance as they can deal with certain personal tasks while at work. In addition to improved accuracy, timely and

Monday, November 18, 2019

Hans Delbruck is one of the most insightful theorist of the 20th Assignment

Hans Delbruck is one of the most insightful theorist of the 20th century - Assignment Example That is why the German historian Hans Delbruck became the voice of professional military history. His family and educational background had a tremendous influence on his interest in war and were key factors contributing to his writings on: ancient, medieval and modern warfare. Delbruck’s great works are not only for military men, but for those who know nothing about the military. Delbruck came from a household of educated parents and political influences. Family, political influences and education became the key factors that developed his personality. Hans was born in a bourgeois family; his parents gave him an opportunity to become an educated person. As a rule, historians apply two terms in order to characterize Delbruck’s family – â€Å"typical† and â€Å"extraordinary.† On the one hand, it was a typical bourgeois family. On the other hand, it gave the world a historian with extraordinary skills. The would-be historian studied at two educational institutions – Bonn and Heidelberg. Here he got the basic knowledge for his future researches. Being a soldier gave Delbruck an opportunity to participate in Franco-German War. After this event young Hans became Prince Waldemar’s teacher. Getting in touch with the German imperial family, participation in war and education influenced Delbruck’s point of view upon life. War contributed to his interest in military issues. Soon Hans became a member of the German Reichstag. Before this he had been a professor of modern history and delivered lectures that were very popular among the students. Being a member of Reichstag Delbruck always opposed the policy led by the Prussian government; especially it concerned its dealing with the Poles and the Danes. It is necessary to stress that Hans Delbruck applied the analysis of battles in order to get information he needed. Thus, The Sachkritik of battle analysis helped Delbruck take previous accounts of engagements and measure those limits of geography, and military craft. These points were discussed in Hans’s book History of the Art of War in the Framework of Political History (1900). In this work Hans Delbruck emphasized the connection between the nature of policy and armies during the battle. The basis for the book became a minute analysis of the Sachkritik. It should be noted that Delbruck’s observation of battles made him popular, both positively and negatively. First of all, Delbruck discovered the major reason for defeats in wars. He proved that everything depends upon the number of soldiers. Hans’s analysis of the battles helped him to draw a conclusion that only the army with more soldiers has chance to win the war. Moreover, the theorist persuaded the public that the number of people in armies was always exaggerated in historical documents. These facts explained a lot of things and filled the gaps in military history of ancient times. As for the negative impact of the theor ist, he tried to persuade the public that military history is the branch of general history and it is necessary to do something in order to match them. However, this means that people studying history are expected to learn military history. In this case, students may conclude that arms, wars and battles are just common things in people’s life. This knowledge may have negative impact and give birth to wars and violence. The scientist gave the world much information about medieval knights. However, it turned to be rather controversial. Here Hans separated a knight from

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Globalization Does It Threaten Cultural Diversity Media Essay

Globalization Does It Threaten Cultural Diversity Media Essay Globalization can be defined as the phenomenon of interaction and integration among people, organizations and the governments of different countries. It has not only affected UAE in particular but also nations across the globe. It is a complete process driven by the forces of international trade and investment and at the same time aided by information technology. Globalization is a very vast subject and so its effects are also wide spread (Lechner, 2001). Globalization had negative and positive views, so that it can not be accepted or rejected, the serious matter now is to what extent globalization is permitted to spread. There are both positive as well as negative impacts of globalization. It has its effects on the environment, on the political system of nations, on economic development, prosperity of nations and most serious threats is apparent on cultural diversity and also on well being of societies around the world. Cultural diversity has both its pros and cons. On the positive side, the interaction across boundaries has resulted in the mixture of cultures, languages, traditions habits and costumes. The major drawback on the cultural aspect is the materialism of globalization. Author Frank Lechner has claim that, the movements of the multinational corporation (MCN) today is promoting consumerist culture, and this is done by promotion of standard commodities by exploiting basic material desires, creating similar lifestyles (Lechner, 2001). Globalization has taken an unprecedented spread worldwide, despite of the great challenges this phenomenon is facing. It is becoming clear that the media, politics and economy has been globalized, and these are methods of extending globalization. The consequences of spreading globalization threaten social aspects and cultural identity. The questions arises how it all started. Well, the answer is simple enough. Economic reasons, free trade and international business deals, immigration and education were the reasons for globalization. The researchers who spoke about the emergence of globalization, identified globalization as a cumulative process, meaning that there is a small preceded factors that paved the way for progressing globalization and that what we are witnessing today. Including trading, most big corporations move their business operations to foreign countries by going global. The major reasons for the globalization of business are: trade barriers, customer demands or need for customized products and globalization of competitors. Also immigration, one of the main factors that had facilitated the globalization movement. People immigrate to other countries in the pursuit of better standard of living, career and job prospects and better health care. All this had resulted in the commencement of what is called g lobalization today (Okolo, 2010). Education it is also worth mentioning as a one of the factors that helped in progressing globalization, The prospects of pursuing higher studies abroad also has give rise to globalization. Students are moving out of their countries to developed nations for studies and jobs. The subject of discussion is whether globalization has direct and indirect negative effects on cultural diversity. This shall be discussed in detail in the following paragraphs of this essay. Globalization has myriad influence on society. And it has touched, influenced and involved societies across the world. A close look at the following facts shall make this idea more clear about who was involved and how. The world population was at 6.5 billion in 2006. It shall grow to 7 billion in the next six years. 99% percent of this growth shall be witnessed in the developing nations like India and China. This is happening due to globalization of MNCs, immigration of people to other countries for better career prospects (The Globalist, Society Globalization, Oct 2006). Despite reluctance of governments to liberalize immigration policy, the number of people living outside their country caused an obvious increase growth from 120 million in 1990 to 200 million in 2008. An estimate of the United Nations confirms this. It might seem that Studying Abroad is also involved in globalization phenomenon. In 2007 gathered reports stated that, a higher percentage of UAE students studied abroa d than Indian or Chinese students. The number of Arab students that earn PhDs annually comes to 12,000. The problem lies in employment and contribution to development to the UAE. The Arab brain drain is four times greater than that of China and five times that of India. As a result, there is no employment generation locally (Zahlan Albert, 2007). Governments involvement with globalization and worldwide trade connections have made countries more interdependent. National economies increasingly got affected by trends in the global economy. As a result, risk of global recession is very high resulting in economic downturn. In such a scenario, national government shape and influence their economies. The government promotes or checks globalization so that it benefits their economy and population. Thus, government involvement plays a key role in controlling the impact of globalization on a domestic level and also globally (Carlos M. Pelà ¡ez Carlos A. Pelà ¡ez, Govt. intervention in globalization, Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2010). It is obvious that international treaties facilitated globalization movement. The huge number of international laws and treaties have made globalization possible. Treaties and agreements among nations set protocols for international trade and finance like the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) and worth to mention the Kyoto Protocol foster co-operation on protecting the environment and it was adopted 1997. It may be objected that some organizations are involved in progressing globalization such as UNESCO. This international organization helps in supporting culture as culture is the foundation of societies. UNESCO promotes access to education. Its program Education for All by 2015 is prioritizes on developing skills for the work force through education. Its program also aims to use technology to enhance learning and to expand educational opportunities. UNESCO also partners with big MNCs to bring education to all. MNCs like Intel, Microsoft and American multinational corporation that designs and sells consumer electronics (CISCO) helps to provide consulta tion, partnerships, technology and funding for projects. These companies involve in programs assisting education to absorb a talent pool of employees with 21st century skill sets (The Levin Institute, UNESCO, 2010). People are divided in their opinion about the impact of globalization on cultural diversity. Some believe it undermines culture, while others are in support of it. There are reasons to consider why globalization promotes cultural diversity. The interaction among boundaries promotes mixing of cultures in specific places and practice, it helps in the integration and the spread of ideas and images, resulting in acceptation or resistance reactions. These global practices are often interpreted differently as per local traditions and takes different particular forms. It may be objected that International organizations movements have made diversity become a global value. The main concern arises here, why are people divided over globalization threats on culture diversity. Simply, because globalization has different advantages on cultural diversity. It is obvious that globalization can be useful tool in improving education. Globalization has resulted in the improvement of education by; highly qualified and experienced educationist experts in schools, colleges and universities helping to improve the standard of education. Restructured online professional degree courses like master of business administration (MBA) has helped students and people who may already be working or those who need a higher degree for better career prospects. These advanced courses are enabling students to acquire specialized knowledge a and skills as opposed to offering them a general education on a subject (Doherty, 2010). Also one of the most important contributions of globalization is improving health sector, with globalization the concept of more private hospitals with intern ational experts and doctors were introduced. The benefits are to give patients the choice of hospitals and physicians. Private health care allows patients to be attended promptly. And provides high quality services to patients with expert doctors supervision and trained nurses. Private sector hospitals create employment for thousands of people. It may be objected that private health care premiums are generally paid by employers and that helps in reducing government expenses (Willman, 2010). Globalization has provided more services for entertainment through new technologies and equipments, for example, mobiles. Toady mobile phones are offering more than just making and receiving calls. It is a form of entertainment with the globalization of mobile phones. Listening to music, watching videos, browsing the internet and even watching TV on mobiles (Mark, 2009). At last but not least worth to mention the video games. Video games provide entertainment in terms of action packed games. Besides that, it enhances creativity and develops interest for graphic design and technology. Youths have a very prospective career in the video game and technology industry (June Soh, 2010). There is no doubt that the system of globalization has clearly imposed itself and its influence globally through several methods helped in easy progressing globalization ideas. Satellite television, computers and other means of communication creates different kind of communication among peoples and nations. Regarding to the new means of modern technology , it may be objected that globalization had direct and In-direct negative effect on culture diversity . Internet, the excessive use of the internet can lead to a kind of addiction affecting the individual both socially and culturally. Opponents of this stance argue that, the massive use of internet effects the person socially and culturally. The addiction can be detrimental to ones health and social well-being. This is because extreme addiction leads to anti-social behavior. The addiction can be so severe that it can lead to the inability of the person to communicate with the real world. It affects inter-personal communication. People addicted to the net soon develop personality disorders. They start identifying themselves with their internet representation than their real self. This finally may lead to ones disability to maintain a healthy social and happy life (Breedon, 2009). Admittedly, it could argue that globalization had direct cultural effects. The influence of the western culture is rampant over the internet. Internet is based on the English language. This results in the weakening of other cultures and languages like the Chinese, French and Arabic. It also affects the moral perceptions and the ethics of an individual. The pornography industry of the western countries is basically driven by the million of dollars of profits. Numerous porn sites over the internet depicting nude females and males corrupt the mindset of the modern youth. This finally leads to the decline of culture of a nation (Guangrong,1998). Another effect important to observe is the violence effects of video Games. Video games are directly linked to violence and youth aggression. When this becomes an addiction, the young generation is more likely to act with violence in a real world scenario. They lack empathy for others and develop delinquent activities. Other adverse effects are heath issues like obesity, poor heart conditions. It also results in social isolation and poor grades for students addicted to video games (Konstantina, Violence in Video Games, 2010). Globalization does affect the cultural diversity, by influencing the national identity of a nation in terms of traditional food, clothes and language. Its important to point out how globalization effects traditional food. The idea created by fact food that it is cheaper and faster reduces the demand for traditional food. Western diet also affects health and nutrition as they are rich in animal products, refined carbohydrates and low in whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The consumption of Coca Cola, Pepsi and McDonalds is moving the world towards a deskbound lifestyle (Frank B, 2008). Traditional Clothes, western and globalized fashion trends are moving people away from traditional wear. Traditional clothing enhances the traditional identity of a country. Thus, the expression of identity through traditional wear is psychologically beneficial. Moreover, traditional wear keep women in a more protective environment than adolescents wearing western outfit (Anthes, 2008). Critics for this position point out that globalization has helped in developing one common global language for easy communication, the language of the media, business, education and medicine. It might be true; however, we must consider the serious globalization harm to culture Language. The use of one language in trade, education and profession leads people to stay away eventually from their traditional and cultural language. Globalization ahs resulted in the endangerment and extinction of many languages. An endangered language is one that is not spoken by children and the youth. According to an estimate, the number of endangered languages is about 6000. Language serves as a sense of belonging and without a cultural language, the people of a nation shall lose their cultural identity (Shelly, 2008). The globalization of media also threatens cultural diversity. Through Media perspectives globalization making Indirect threats on culture diversity such a, advertising globalization affects health. Health Advertisers of fast food chains try to project that even after eating a 2000 calorie meals daily can make the younger generation, especially girls look like models on the beach in their commercials. As a result of such global advertising concepts, the youth are getting more and more addicted to hamburgers, pizzas high in calorie resulting in diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart ailments and stroke (Erica Winters, Negative effects of advertising on Girls health, July 2010). Some people believe globalization has some negative impacts on global politics news. Global politics news often tries to portray the idea that Islam is a religion of terrorism. It also creates conflict between people. For example, Muslim women wearing veil caused conflict between people. A British man was given jail of 3 years for removing the veil of a UAE woman (Buray, 2010). Worth to point out the Adverse indirect economic effects of globalization impacts individual financially. Globalization also affects individuals financially. As a result of pressures on prices of products, people tend to migrate to other countries (having low cost of living) in search for better career options and better salaries. Globalization has created income inequalities especially in the developing countries like India and China. This has affected the income of individuals across households (Alli, 2007, Pg. 92). In conclusion it can be said that globalization is making economical, cultural and educational threats on cultural diversity in unconstructive ways. It has been discussed that how our contemporary world is witnessing new trends, through using the latest achievements of technology progress. These trends had become globally spread and known as globalization phenomenon. The globalization movements is taking different forms and different methods, and certain way to practice its activities. And this what had became cleared in recent decades due to development of technologies that contributed to facilitate globalization movements. It has been mentioned that how the media, politics and economy has been globalized and how are these methods helped in easy processing the extent of globalization. Admittedly, I object that these globalization methods reflecting serious threats on social aspects and cultural identity. To extent, co modification of education is in practice with the advent of globa lization. There is also income inequality in the developing countries. Despite economic development, the poverty level of the people of the developing countries is increasing owing to unemployment problems. The invasion of newer technologies like mobiles and video games are affecting the culture of a nation. As an alternative the government must take proper measures to control the prices of products that are consistently rising. Educational institutions like schools must have subjects and materials to foster the sense of national identity. The society too can promote and enhance national identity by way of traditional celebrations, festivals, traditional clothes and most important educating the future generation with these values of national identity.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Street Racing Essay -- Racing Sport Sports Cars Essays

Street Racing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The intricacies that are involved in turning a regular car into a â€Å"Street Racer† are many; and racers pour their souls into these magnificent machines. After seeing â€Å"the Fast and the Furious† many people have or wanted to become involved in street racing. They do not realize that this is a sport that takes knowledge, hard work, and nerve. Many of these racers have spent their lives under a car, learning the trade and improving upon it. As I have learned, this is not just a hobby; it is a way of life. This lifestyle does carry a price, racers face persecution from police and the general public. They have their cars impounded and defaced by those who reject racing. Having a racer is not illegal, but some of the things people do with them are. This is what the general public does not understand. The IRA* is a legal racing circuit that embraces Street Racers. It gives the much-needed outlet to build magnificent cars and race them legally. Police are not the only worry on a racers mind. Death, fraud, and theft are the dark side of this moon. Some racers lack legitimate funds for equipment, and they resort to theft and fraud. This is where the misconceptions of the general public resonate. Yes there is crime; and laws are broken, but in everything there is a good and bad. So I warn anyone who pursues this life, enjoy the good, and be ready for the bad. What drives these racers to this lifestyle? They have an addiction to speed. The six-cylinder engine fuels this â€Å"need for speed.† Some may think that their two hundred thousand dollar car is fast, with these engine modifications will have an Accord blowing the doors off a Ferrari. The six-cylinder engine has six pistons pumping in six cylinders; hence, the name. Fuel is injected and burned; causing gas compression (picture a shaken soda bottle). This compression forces the pistons up and down that move your car. With compression in the cylinder, the Turbo comes into play. If two balloons were filled with air, one half and the other full, which would go faster? This is the job of the Turbo. Burning requires air, and when you introduce more air a fire is larger and hotter. It forces compressed air into the engine, letting it burn more air each time the pistons pump increasing boost**. There is a drawback to more air, more heat in the engine. Heat in the engine makes the air d... ...d slows, this is how the spoiler helps. To add more push to the back of the car, the angle and height of the spoiler is increased. This is why some normal cars have little spoiler for show and racers use them for performance. There is a problem to adding all of these parts to a car, weight. As I have said the racers have adapted to this problem. They have lightened their cars by using carbon-fiber** parts.4 They are strong and half as light at metal, so racers can add these parts and not get dragged down†¦literally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A warning to those who read this, do not get dragged down into the dark side of racing. Racing on streets is dangerous. If you enhance a car like this, it should be raced only on a legal strip. A ten-second rush is not worth killing yourself or others. Work hard and be fair. If you do this you will always win. I hope to have helped any curious person who wanted to know how people make these racers. I wanted to dispel the stereotypes of racers and their lifestyle. Yes, some of this lifestyle is dark; but most racers are kids who love cars. They whole-heartedly adopt the dogma that, â€Å"Nothing else matters, and for those ten seconds or less†¦ they’re free.† 5

Monday, November 11, 2019

Land Law in Kenya Essay

An interest in land according to The Registered Land Act Cap 300 is defined as follows: â€Å"interest† in land includes absolute ownership of land. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, interest with regard to land law is defined as a legal share in something; all or part of a legal or equitable claim to or right in property that is, right, title, and interest. Collectively, the word includes any aggregation of rights, privileges, powers, and immunities. Oxford defines interest as interest with regard to land law as a right in or over land. It may comprise equitable ownership of the land such as the interest of the tenant for life under a settlement, where the legal estate is owned by trustees; or the benefit of some other right over the land of another, such as an easement or rent charge. In all these definitions, the characteristics of rights over the land, ownership and title are key features of interests in land. We should therefore examine these three to develop a full understanding of what interests in land really are. Rights over Land Definition A right over land is the exclusive liberty and privilege to enjoy land due to the individuals with legal shares in the land. Land here is perceived as the following definitions: Section 2 of the RTA defines land as including ‘land and benefits to arise out of land or things embedded or rooted in the earth, or attached to what is so embedded for the permanent beneficial enjoyment of that to which it is so attached, or permanently fastened to anything so embedded, rooted or attached, or any estate or interest therein, together with all paths,  passages, ways, waters, watercourses, liberties, privileges, easements, plantations and gardens thereon or there under lying or being, unless specifically excepted’. Section 3 of the RLA defines land to include land covered with water, all things growing on land and buildings and other things permanently affixed to land. Section 260 of the Constitution of Kenya’s definition of â€Å"land† includes— (a) The surface of the earth and the subsurface rock; (b) Any body of water on or under the surface; (c) Marine waters in the territorial sea and exclusive Economic zone; (d) Natural resources completely contained on or under the Surface; and (e) The air space above the surface; Therefore when regarding rights over land, this is looking-glass through which land is viewed. The definition of a right over land has roots in two Latin maxims. 1. Cuius est solumeius estus que ad coelum et ad inferos: meaning he who owns the land owns everything extending to the very heavens and to the depths of the earth. This maxim was set forth in Wandworth v United Tel. Co. Ltd (1884) 13 B.D. 904 2. Quid quid plantatour solo, solo cedit: meaning whatever is attached to the ground becomes a part of it. The rule also implies that objects attached to the building in question become annexed to the realty with the result that they are regarded as â€Å"fixtures.† The Land Registration Act Cap 300 Section 30 represents an evolution and stratification of these rights and goes on to describe these rights as follows: 30. Unless the contrary is expressed in the register, all registered land shall be subject to such of the following overriding interests as may for the time being subsist and affect the same, without their being noted on the register – (a) Rights of way, rights of water and profits subsisting at the time of first registration under this Act; (b) Natural rights of light, air, water and support; (c) Rights of compulsory acquisition, resumption, entry, search and user conferred by any other written law; (d) Leases or agreements for leases for a term not exceeding two years, periodic tenancies and indeterminate  tenancies within the meaning of section 46; (e) Charges for unpaid rates and other moneys which, without reference to registration under this Act, are expressly declared by any written law to be a charge upon land; (f) Rights acquired or in process of being acquired by virtue of any written law relating to the limitation of actions or by prescription; (g) The rights of a person in possession or actual occupation of land to which he is entitled in right only of such possession or occupation, save where inquiry is made of such person and the rights are not disclosed; (h) Electric supply lines, telephone and telegraph lines or poles, pipelines, aqueducts, canals, weirs and dams erected, constructed or lay in pursuance or by virtue of any power conferred by any written law: These rights are acquired by the proprietor of the land. A proprietor, according to the Registered Land Act Cap 300 is (a) In relation to land or a lease, the person named in the register as the proprietor thereof; and (b) in relation to a charge of land or a lease, the person named in the register of the land or lease as the person in whose favour the charge is made; These rights are enshrined in the Laws of Kenya and as such they are a fundamental aspect of the Kenyan legal position. The importance of the rights over land are as important as the issue of land itself for the rights over land are the reason and rationale to own, occupy and sell land. After all, what is the point of owning land if one has no rights over it? The Rationale Behind Rights over Land The importance of these rights is engrained as much in their history as much as their practicality. The history of rights over land in Kenya can be traced back to the pre-colonial era. In pre-colonial Kenya, the land was owned by the community at large. Rights over land were granted to all members of the community. All members of the community could derive all benefits he or she so wished. (It is important to note that the pre-requisite to enjoy these benefits was membership to the community not proprietorship as is the case today.) However, the land being owned by the community and by virtue of the entire community being able to use the land as they wished was by all means and purposes owned by the community at large not by individuals. Therefore the appropriation of such land was not under the purview of individuals. By its very nature, appropriation is based on capitalist concept. The principle behind appropriation is the exclusive  enjoyment of certain property and all rights pursuant to it. The African view towards land was inherently communist. The shift from the communist view towards the rights over land to the capitalist view was a result of the British invasion and colonisation of Kenya. Colonialism brought with it a free enterprise economy. A characteristic feature of that mode of production is that it is individualistic. That is to say, at the core of it, the individual has the greatest motivation if he knows that whatever he applies, whatever he produces through his own sweat and effort will be entirely his and not available to be shared by others or subjected to being communally owned. One immediate impact of the introduction of the free enterprise system was that land was treated as a commodity which could be individualized, sold, owned, or dealt with as per the wishes of those who had titles to such land. Due to agriculture being the main income generator for colonial settlers and in turn the colonial government, the issue of land ownership and the rights over land were dispensed with expediently. Over the years, land policy in Kenya has undergone a transformation especially as a result of the 2010 Constitution. However, the basic rights over land have remained the same. Land Tenure Definitions 1. The use of land in a manner established by custom or law. 2. The right to hold property; part of an ancient hierarchical system of holding lands Under capitalism the system of land tenure is based on the right of private land ownership (by capitalists or small working peasants) or on a land rental agreement. Various forms of rental relationships are becoming increasingly prevalent in agriculture. Under socialism the system of land tenure is based on public socialist ownership of the means of production and on the socialist economic system. When the new system of landholding was introduced in the eleventh century, the king gave rights over large areas of land to each of his most powerful  supporters, in exchange for an oath of loyalty and the performance of services (which very often involved ï ¬ ghting for the king when necessary). In turn, each lord would grant to his followers similar rights over parts of the land he had received, again in exchange for loyalty and services. The relationship between the grantor (the king or lord who granted the rights) and the grantee (the tenant who received them) is called ‘tenure’ (from the Latin word ‘tenere’ which means ‘to hold’), and various forms of tenure developed, according to the nature of the services to be performed by the tenant. These forms of tenure came to be described as ‘freehold tenures’, because rights in land could be held in this way only by free men (i.e., not by the unfree serfs or villeins, who were obliged to remain in the area in which they had been born and to work for the local lord). Over the centuries, changes in society meant that the services due from the tenant were no longer performed and the link between lord and tenant was forgotten. However, the underlying theory that land is held from the Crown remained, and although most forms of tenure have been abolished a ‘landowner’ is still said to hold his land from the Crown by the one remaining form of tenure (‘free and common socage’). Nevertheless, for all practical purposes the doctrine of tenure has little modern signiï ¬ cance, and it is very likely that the owner of a house is completely unaware of his tenurial relationship with the Crown. Under feudalism there were four principal forms of land tenure. Land tenure by the feudal lord, based on various forms of hierarchical feudal land ownership and on the dependent position of the workers themselves, the serfs or feudally bound peasants. Tenure of allotted land by serfs who were attached to land not belonging to them and who therefore bore various obligations to the feudal lord for its use; this form secured the economic basis of the class rule of the feudal lords (gentry’s landowners) and, within certain limits, created conditions for the development of small-scale peasant farming. The third form was land tenure by peasants who enjoyed personal freedom but had to pay a quitrent (monetary or in kind) to the feudal lords or fulfil  personal obligations. The fourth was land tenure by free peasants, based on their free, alodial ownership. Such a free peasant, however, was a rare phenomenon under feudalism. Doctrine of Tenures is a doctrine followed in old English law whereby it is presumed that all land is held of the Crown, either directly or indirectly, on some type of tenure. Legal Effect of Doctrine The crown is the owner of all the land. No one has absolute ownership. Rather, landowners hold the land ‘of’ the Crown as tenants (therefore tenure). They may then alienate their land further, creating subtenants (subinfuedation). The relationship between a lord and his tenant is one of mutual duties. In return for tenure, a tenant provides the lord with services and a right to incidents. Elements of Doctrine According to the doctrine, all of the land ultimately belongs to the Crown, who gives it (via ‘grants’) to people. This means that no one has absolute ownership (no ‘allodial’ land). The people are said to hold the land ‘of’ the Crown. They are ‘tenants’ of the crown, therefore, they are granted ‘tenure’. The doctrine creates the system of lord and tenant – the lord alienating land to a tenant (who can then alienate the land to someone else, creating a new lord and tenant relationship). There is a mutual exchange or duties and obligations between the lord and tenant: Services – the tenant has to provide a variety of services for the lord in return for his tenure. In return, the lord provides the land, a court (manorial courts) and protection. Incidents – the lord also had rights to incidents – . Roots of Doctrine The doctrine originated in the Norman Conquest, when William the Conqueror made the Crown the absolute owner of all land. His supporters were made ‘tenants in chief’ pursuant to a ‘grant’. The old landlords who did not rebel were entitled to keep their land. To deal with this, William created the legal fiction of the Crown having ‘granted’ this land to the landlords. Land ownership had a pyramidal structure with complex ties between Kings and tenants in chief. The King was at the tip, and sub-tenants were at the bottom. In the middle were tenants who made grants. These tenants who made grants became Lords, for they possessed and held their land. The sub-tenants merely had a right to occupation. There was fragmentation in a spatial dimension (i.e. There were overlapping sets of rights over a particular area of land). This allowed more than 1 person to have an interest in the same land. Development of Doctrine The modern absolute definition of ‘ownership’ simply did not fit the feudal system of land ownership as no one person had absolute title. A freehold was not really ownership. Only the Crown had what came close to being considered absolute rights. The doctrine of tenure allows overlapping rights over one piece of land because of the subinfuedation. The process eventually became too cumbersome, and a statute was created to reduce the difficulties that arose including: 1. It permitted every free man to alienate his interest in the whole or part of his land without his lord’s consent; 2. It prevented further subinfeudation to occur (Substitution still remained). If A held land as a tenant-in-chief (a landlord) from the King, and gave land to B, B would become the tenant-in-chief for that parcel. Earlier, A remained tenant-in-chief, while B was in an awkward quasi-tenured position. Summation There are two building blocks of English land law: 1) Doctrine of tenure 2) Doctrine of estates The doctrine of tenure is now irrelevant, but shaped the doctrine of estates. THE CONCEPT OF LAND TENURE The term land tenure is derived from the Latin word tenure which means â€Å"to hold.† Tenure defines the social relations between people in respect of the object of the tenure, in this case land. Tenure also defines the methods by which individuals or groups acquire hold transfer or transmit property rights in land (Ogolla, Mugabe 1996). Property rights may include a variety of different rights for example to build, to use, to transfer, to mine etc. the rights may be transferred or transmitted either together or individually at the discretion of the holder with or without limitations depending on the tenure system. Formal rules of tenure therefore define the nature and content of property rights in land or other resources and the conditions under which those rights are to be held and enjoyed. LAND TENURE SYSTEMS IN KENYA Interests in land broadly fall into two groups. Rights and that are held through traditional African systems, and rights that derive from the English system introduced and maintained through laws enacted by colonial and then the national parliament. The former is loosely known as customary tenure bound through traditional rules (customary law). The latter body of law is referred to as statutory tenure, secured and expressed through national law, in various Act of parliament e.g. Government Land Act (cap 280), Registered Land Act(cap 300), Registration of Titles Act (cap 281), Trust Land Act (cap 288) of the Laws of Kenya. a) Customary Land Tenure This refers to unwritten land ownership practices by certain communities under customary law. Kenya being a diverse country in terms of its ethnic composition has multiple customary tenure systems, which vary mainly due to different agricultural practices, climatic conditions and cultural practices. However most customary tenure systems exhibit a number of similar characteristics as follows: First, individuals or groups by virtue of their membership in some social unit of production or political community have guaranteed rights of access to land and other natural resources (Ogendo 1979). Individuals or families thus claim property rights by virtue of their  affiliation to the group. Secondly, rights of control are rested in the political authority of the unit or community. This control is derived from sovereignty over the area in which the relevant resources are located. Control is for the purpose of guaranteeing access to the resources and is redistributive both spartially and intergenerationally. Its administrative component entails the power to allocate land and other resources within the group, regulate their use and defend them against outsiders (Ogola, Mugabe 1996). Thirdly, rights analogous to private property accrue to individuals out of their investment of labour in harnessing, utilizing and maintaining the resource. Thus the present cultivator of some piece of land has the greatest rights to it. These rights transcend mere usufruct and encompass transmission and in some communities transfer (Elias 1956). Lastly, resources that do not require extensive investment of labour or which by their nature had to be shared, for example, common pasturage are controlled and managed by the relevant political authority. Every individual member of the political community has guaranteed equal rights of access thereto. The regulatory mechanisms imposed by the political units such as exclusion of outsiders, seasonal variations in land use and social pressure ensured sustainable resource utilization. This mode of ownership in Kenya is currently governed by the Trust Land Act by which all land in the rural areas which is neither government land nor individually owned is vested in the county council in trust for the residents living there. b) Statutory Tenures i) Freehold Tenure This tenure confers the greatest interest in land called absolute right of ownership or possession of land for an indefinite period of time, or in perpetuity. Freehold land is governed by the Registered Land Act (RLA) Cap 300 of the Laws of Kenya. The Act provides that the registration of a person as the proprietor of the land vests in that person the absolute ownership of that land together with all rights, privileges relating thereto. A freehold title generally has no restriction as to the use and occupation but in practice there are conditional freeholds, which restrict the use for say  agricultural or ranching purposes only. ii) Leasehold Tenure Leasehold is an interest in land for a definite term of years and may be granted by a freeholder usually subject to the payment of a fee or rent and is subject also to certain conditions which must be observed. e.g. relating to developments and usage. Leases are also granted by the government for government land, the local authorities for trust land and by individuals or organisations owning freehold land. The maximum term of government leases granted in Kenya is 999 years for agricultural land and 99 years for urban plots. There are few cases of 33 years leases granted by government in respect of urban trust lands. The local authorities have granted leases for 50 and 30 years as appropriate (GOK 1996). c) Public Tenure This is where land owned by the Government for her own purpose and which includes unutilised or unalienated government land reserved for future use by the Government itself or may be available to the general public for various uses. The land is administered under the Government lands Act Cap 280.These lands are vested in the president and who has, normally through the Commissioner of Lands, powers to allocate or make grants of any estates, interests or rights in or over unalienated government land. Categories of government land include forest reserves, other government reserves, alienated and unalienated government land, national parks, townships and other urban centres and open water bodies(GOK 1996). The Government Lands Act does not contain any notion of trusteeship by government of the land to her people. Indeed the government at times acts as a private owner and allocates parcels to those in its favour. d) Other Interests These include: – Reservations of other government or trust land to government ministries, departments or parastatals for their use. – Minor interest such as easements, wayleaves or temporary occupation licences. – Non formalised defacto tenure by which people, individually or in groups invade and occupy other people or government land particularly in major urban centres of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. OWNERSHIP Land has been described as ‘those parts of the earth that are capable in law of being owned and are within court jurisdiction. Generally , ownership of land includes the airspace above it and the sub soil below it (a coelo usque ad centrum; from the heaven to the centre of the earth).Land tenure is the name given, particularly in common law systems, to the legal regime in which land is owned by an individual, who is said to â€Å"hold† the land Ownership is the exclusive right to use, possess, and dispose of property, subject only to the rights of persons having a superior interest and to any restrictions on the owner’s rights imposed by agreement with or by act of the third parties or by operation of law. Ownership may be; Corporeal- of material thing which may itself be a movable or an immovable Incorporeal- of something tangible e.g. copyright  Ownership involves enjoyment of a number of rights of the property. The owner can alienate some of those rights while still retaining others; e.g. an owner of land may grant a right of way or a patent owner may grant a license to manufacture the patented goods. Ownership may be held by different persons for different interests e.g. when a freehold owner grants a lease or when land is held on a trust of land for persons with interest in succession to one another. More than person can own property at the same time they maybe either joint owners with a single title to the property or owners in common each having a distinct title in the property that he can dispose of independently. A person may be either the legal and beneficial owner, or the legal ownership of property maybe separate from the beneficial ownership, which is the right to enjoy the property as when a trustee owns the legal estate in land for the benefit of another. A legally valid transaction may confer specific rights to use, posses, or deal with property without conferring ownership of it e.g. a contract may appoint a person as the owner’s agent for the sale of specified land. BRIEF HISTORY OF LAND TENURE Historically in the system of feudalism, the lords who received land directly  from the Crown were called tenants-in-chief. They doled out portions of their land to lesser tenants in exchange for services, who in turn divided it among even lesser tenants. This process—that of granting subordinate tenancies—is known as subinfeudation. In this way, all individuals except the monarch were said to hold the land â€Å"of† someone else. Historically, it was usual for there to be reciprocal duties between lord and tenant. There were different kinds of tenure to fit various kinds of duties that a tenant might owe to a lord. For instance, a military tenure might be by knight-service, requiring the tenant to supply the lord with a number of armed horsemen. The concept of tenure has since evolved into other forms, such as leases and estates. MODES OF OWNERSHIP AND TENURE Here are a great variety of modes of land ownership and tenure: Traditional land tenure. For example, most of the indigenous nations or tribes of North America had no formal notion of land ownership. When Europeans first came to North America, they sometimes simply disregarded traditional land tenure and simply seized land; more often, they accommodated traditional land tenure by recognizing it as aboriginal title. This theory formed the basis for (often unequal and often abused) treaties with indigenous peoples. Ownership of land by swearing to make productive use of it. In several developing countries as Egypt, Senegal, this method is still presently in use. In Senegal, it is mentioned as â€Å"mise en valeur des zones du terroir†and in Egypt, it is called Wadaa al-yad. Allodial title, a system in which real property is owned absolutely free and clear of any superior landlord or sovereign. True Allodial title is rare, with most property ownership in the common law world (Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Kingdom, United) being in fee simple. Allodial title is inalienable, in that it may be conveyed, devised, gifted, or mortgaged by the owner, but it may not be distressed and restrained for collection of taxes or private debts, or condemned by the government. Feudal land tenure, a system of mutual obligations under which a royal or noble personage granted a fiefdom ,some degree of interest in the use or revenues of a given parcel of land, in exchange for a claim on services such as military service or simply maintenance of the land in which the lord continued to have an interest. This pattern obtained from the level of high nobility as vassals of a monarch down to lesser nobility whose only vassals were their serfs. Fee simple ; under common law, this is the most complete ownership interest one can have in real property, other than the rareAllodial title. The holder can typically freely sell or otherwise transfer that interest or use it to secure a mortgage loan. This picture of â€Å"complete ownership† is, of course, complicated by the obligation in most places to pay a property tax and by the fact that if the land is mortgaged, there will be a claim on it in the form of a lien. In modern societies, this is the most common form of land ownership. Land can also be owned by more than one party and there are various concurrent estate rules. Native title ; in Australia, native title is a common law concept that recognizes that some indigenous people have certain land rights that derive from their traditional laws and customs. Native title can co-exist with non-indigenous proprietary rights and in some cases different indigenous groups can exercise their native title over the same land. Life estate ; under common law, this is an interest in real property that ends at death. The holder has the use of the land for life, but typically no ability to transfer that interest or to use it to secure a mortgage loan. Fee tail ; under common law, this is hereditary, non-transferable ownership of real property. A similar concept, the legitime, exists in civil and Roman law; the legitime limits the extent to which one may disinherit an heir. Leasehold or rental ; Under both common law and civil law, land may be leased or rented by its owner to another party; a wide range of arrangements are possible, ranging from very short terms to the 99-year leases common in the United Kingdom, and allowing various degrees of freedom in the use of the property. Rights to use a common, which may include such rights as the use of a road or the right to graze one’s animals on commonly owned land. Sharecropping, under which one has use of agricultural land owned by another person in exchange for a share of the resulting crop or livestock. Easements, which allow one to make certain specific uses of land that is owned by someone else. The most classic easement is right-of-way, but it could also include (e.g. the right to run an electrical power line across someone else’s land. TITLE Definition of title a) The coincidence of all the elements that constitute the fullest legal right to control and dispose of property or a claim. b) The aggregate evidence that gives rise to a legal right of possession or control. c) The instrument, such as a deed, that constitutes this evidence. d) Something that provides a basis for or justifies a claim e) Legal right to possession of legal property Title is the set of facts upon which claim to a legal right or interest is founded, title can exist even when there is no pre-existing legal interest or right vested in a person who claims he has title. Professor Ray Goode distinguishes title and interest in this manner: A persons’ interest in an asset denotes a quantum of rights over which he/ she enjoys against others’, his title measures the strength of the interest which he enjoys in relation to others. Title to a proprietary interest can be either relative or absolute. An absolute title is one that is indefeasible in the sense that there is no-one else who can point to a better title in respect of the same object. The essence is basically that there isn’t anyone with a better title. Instances of proving absolute title: i. Simplest is through creation of something out of nothing for example an author of a book has absolute title over the said book because he wrote it and hence created something from nothing. ii. Manufacturing of something in the absence of other evidence of manufacture of the said thing being manufactured but any one other then he claiming he manufactured it for example coca-cola have absolute products over coca-cola for no one other then they have the correct formula of creating the fizzy drink. iii. Registration of such said title, gives you absolute title. This means that if one is to buy a piece of land and it is properly registered in the proper procedure then he has absolute title to the land A relative title is one that can be defeated by a person showing that he or  she has a better title to the thing It follows from the definitions’ of title that two or more persons may have independent legal interests in the same thing. For example, both a true owner of an asset and a person with mere possession with the intention to control can have absolute legal interests in the asset. This legal interest is enforceable against third parties by both the true owner and a possessor. Whilst they both have identical legal interests, they have titles that are different in nature. The true owner has a much stronger title than a mere possessor of the chattel. A true owner has an indefeasible title whereas the possessor has a mere relative title. The strength of the true owner’s title is greater because it cannot be defeated by anyone so long as the true owner has an intention to control the asset. The title of the possessor is liable to be defeated by the true owner, and thus, whilst he has a legal interest, his title is a relative one. There are different ways that one can take up a title, this are the ways: Sole Owner Taking title as sole owner means that only one person holds title. He or she is the sole owner of the property and no one else needs to be considered. Tenants In Common â€Å"Tenants in Common† means that the only thing the owners have in common is tenancy in the property. The property may have 2 or more owners and they may be related or unrelated. What is essential to note is that the percentage of each owner may be sold or willed without the permission of the other owners. For instance, if both John and Bob own a piece of property and John dies, the percentage of ownership of John goes to John’s heirs, not to Bob. Tenants in Entirety â€Å"Tenants in Entirety† is reserved for married couples only. This means that you own the property as one. If something happens to either one of you, the other person automatically keeps title to the property. Joint Tenancy â€Å"Joint Tenancy† means that each of you owns the property jointly. When you take title as Joint Tenants, you’ve agreed to the right of survivorship to the title of the property. This means that if one of you passes away, the other gets the property. It also means that one owner cannot sell or will the property without the other owner’s consent. For instance, if owner John wants to sell the property, then co-owner Bob will have to agree to that. Trust A popular trend is taking title as a trust. This means that the trust, not you, owns the property. This may protect your asset in the event of litigation Registration of title is made out by the fact that it offers cheap and expeditious insecure methods in property dealings which are in sharp contrast to the position in the unregistered system which was thought to be costly, disorganized insecure and complicated. Its principle objective is to replace the traditional and registered title method with a single established register which is state maintained and therefore conclusive and authoritative as to the details or particulars set out therein. It is precisely because of that that it is credited in eliminating wasteful burden placed on potential purchasers under the unregistered system which requires them to separately investigate titles to assure themselves that it is a good title that can pass and which is free from any hidden claims which may be adverse to their interests. Since it is state maintained and operated, the title registration system enjoys all the advantages that are unavailable under the registration of the deed system which is not very different from the unregistered system. Unlike the registration of the deed system the registration of title system has the capability of investing secure titles in all persons in whose favour such registration may be effected. It is further regarded as final authority on the correct position regarding any registered land. It is also cheap and expeditious in terms of facilitating various transactions regarding registered land. State indemnity is available for any losses that may be incurred and so it makes conveyance very simple. DOCTRINE OF ESTATES Definition What is an Estate? Black’s Law Dictionary defines an Estate as â€Å"The amount, degree, nature, and quality of a person’s interest in land or other property; esp., a real-estate interest that may become possessory, the ownership being measured in terms of duration.† These are interests projected on the plane of time so as to be able to be capable of quantification in terms of duration. An estate must be distinguished from Tenure, which is concerned with the quantity of estate. Tenure as it is basically refers to a set of conditions upon which an estate interest in land may be held. Hence, the relevant question is how much and not for how long, the latter being applicable to the estate. What is the Doctrine of Estates This is an old English rule that a person cannot own land, but can merely own an estate in it, authorizing the person to hold it for some period of time. The Doctrine Of Estates And The Rise Of The Fee Simple There are two elements to the doctrine of estates, corresponding to two ways in which estates may be classified: (1) Duration: An estate in the land is a time in the land or the land for a time so land can be split into slices of time. Illustration Simpson imagines a cake – the whole cake is the fee simple (time in land without end) but slices of cake can be taken out and passed to another; e.g. an estate for life, then get the cake back. This is a present right to present enjoyment. Case Law Walsingham Case1 (2) Time of enjoyment: Not only may the right to seisin be cut up into slices of time, but there may also be a present (alienable) right to a future enjoyment, when the person with the life estate has died. This is a present right to future enjoyment (but that right can still be transferred now to another); to get the cake back in the future. History It was formally known as the doctrine of tenure that concentrated on the quality of interests in land. It has its origin in the medieval theory in English law. After the Norman Invasion of 1066, the king acquired an ultimate ‘radical’ title to all the land in England (the government has similar title in Kenya). It followed that all subjects occupied their land on terms of grant acquired ultimately from the charity of the crown. The King determined who got the best prince for land depending on your benefit to him. (Benefits included service as Knights in his army, produce from the land, service to the Crown as well as other shows of fealty.) In such an arrangement it wasn’t clear what a tenant could say he ‘owned’ but answer was eventually found in the doctrine of estates. This doctrine gave expression to the idea that each landholder owned not land but a slice of time. Each estate comprised of time related segments- a temporal slice- of the rights and powers exercisable over the land. Types of Estates Estates are divided into two: (a) Free-hold Estates (b) Less than free-hold Estates (Lease-hold) Free-Hold Estates Definition Black defines Free-Hold Estates as â€Å"An estate in land held in fee simple, in fee tail, or for term of life; any real-property interest that is or may become possessory.† Bouvier defines free-hold estates as â€Å"An estate of freehold is an estate in lands or other real property, held by a free tenure, for the life of the tenant or that of some other person; or for some uncertain period. It is called liberum tenementum, frank tenement or freehold; it was formerly described to be such an estate as could only be created by livery of seisin, a ceremony similar to the investiture of the feudal law. But since the introduction of certain modern conveyances, by which an estate of freehold may be created without livery of seisin, this description is not sufficient.† (The term livery of seisin means simply  Ã¢â‚¬Å"transfer of possession†: livery means â€Å"delivery† and is from the Old French livrer, and seisin means â€Å"possession† and is from the Old French saisir or seisir. The concept behind livery of seisin, therefore, was the symbolic transfer of the possession of land. ) Summarily, this is an interest in land that a particular person holds and it is usually for an unlimited period of time and is passed on to his/her heirs according to the type of free-hold estate the owner had contracted into. TYPES OF FREE-HOLD ESTATES There are three types of Free-Hold Estates: (a) Fee-Simple Estate (b) Fee-Tail Estates (c) Life Estates A. Fee-Simple Estate Definition â€Å"Fee† refers to estates of inheritance while the word simple connotes possession by the heirs generally. Originally this was an estate which endured for as long as the original tenant or any of his heirs survived. ‘Heirs’ comprised any blood relations, although originally ancestors were excluded; not until the Inheritance Act 1833 could a person be the heir of one of his descendants. Thus at first a fee simple would terminate if the original tenant died without leaving any descendants or collateral blood relations (e.g. brothers or cousins), even if before his death the land had been conveyed to another tenant who was still alive. However, by 1306 it was settled that where a tenant in fee simple alienated the land, the fee simple would continue as long as there were heirs of the new tenant and so on, irrespective of any failure of the original tenant’s heirs, Thenceforward a fee simple was Virtually eternal.† 2 The estate in fee simple is the largest estate known to the law, ownership of such an estate being the nearest approach to ownership of the land itself which is consonant with the feudal principle of tenure, It is ‘the most comprehensive estate in land which the law recognises’; it is the ‘most extensive in quantum, and the most absolute in respect to the rights which it confers, of all estates known to the law’, Traditionally, the fee simple has two distinguishing features: first, the owner (‘tenant’ in fee simple) has the power to dispose of the fee simple,  either inter vivos or by Will; second, on intestacy the fee simple descends, in the absence of lineal heirs, to collateral heirs to a brother, for example, if there is no issue,†3 All fee simple estates in Kenya whether by initial grant or by conversion of long leases can be traces ultimately to the Crown Lands Ordinances of 1902, 1915 and the Government Lands Act4. Accordingly, their radical titles remain vested in the State. Accordingly, to H.W.O Okoth Ogendo5, the only practical implication of such conclusion is that where the fee simple cannot pass due to failure of issue, the estate will escheat to the State as the ultimate heir of all property rights in land. This is the effect of Section 8(A) (I) of the G.L.A6, which expressly preserves the doctrine. Types of Fee Simple Estates There are three types of fee simple estates: a) Fee Simple Absolute Definition Interests of rights are limited as against others but not as against the State. This means that ownership is exclusively enjoyed by the owner and is indefeasible by anyone other than the State b) Determinable Fee Simple Definition The Estates terminates automatically upon the occurrence of a specified event. Some of the terminologies used are â€Å"so long as†, â€Å"until† â€Å"during† â€Å"while† and others that denote duration. c) Conditional Fee Simple This has a stipulation attached to it by which the Estate may be cut short upon the occurrence of the said event. Some of the terminologies used are â€Å"but† â€Å"if† â€Å"on condition that† â€Å"provided that†. In Free-hold Estates is known as the â€Å"grantor† while the person being given the estate is known as the â€Å"grantee†. With Fee Simple Estates, there are certain terms used by the partakers of a Fee Simple Agreement such as: The person in possession, in remainder, in reversion: â€Å"In possession†: This denotes the person enjoying the property at that point in time â€Å"In Remainder† :This denotes the person waiting for his/her turn to enjoy the estate(s) â€Å"In Reversion†: This denotes the grantor who is waiting for the land to revert to him/her. B. FEE TAIL Fee here refers to a person’s hers/inheritors while â€Å"Tail† connotes that the land passes on to specific heirs based on gender, trait or other parameter as may be specified by the grantor. It is essentially an estate that is heritable only by specified descendants of the original grantee, and that endures until its current holder dies without issue. C. Life Estates pur autre vie (For the life of another) Here the estate is determined by a particular life,it could be that of the grantee or that of another individual for example the spouse. life estate (1888) A life estate for which the measuring lite – the life whose duration determines the duration of the estate – is someone’s other than the possessor’s. This is an estate, which subsists for the life of another and not of whom the property rights are/were vested. Thus if property is vested in A for the life of B, the estate will last for as long as B lives. But if B dies before A, the property reverts to B, the settler.7 The Kenyan position The foregoing classification of rights and interests in property has been imported/ into or inherited by Kenya, albeit with a few qualifications i.e. the fee tail estate is not relevant in Kenya. Accordingly we only have the fee simple estate. The fee tail estate disappeared in 1942 when the colonial government enacted the Trust of Land Act. This enactment was with one object – to abolish settlement. A settlement was a devise used in England to tie up Land within the family and accordingly, to control property. After the life estate, there is a remainder, which reverts back to the donor i.e. the fee simple. For continuity, the donor can transfer the property to another and another and eventually a tail, which however, will still have a reminder, which will revert to the donor. This situation was abolished by the Trust of Land Act8. This act defined a settlement as an attempt to create a settlement without exploiting the full estate i.e. The Fee Simple. Under the act, if a person attempts to do so, whatsoever is done will be converted  into a trust for sale. A settlement will be converted by Cap 290 into a trust. An equitable interest is an interest that lies behind a trust since it creates a settlement. A trustee can always dispose of the settlement subject to the rules of the trust. The Kenyan position is further made advent of the Absolute estate. This is purely a creature of the R.L.A9. Accordingly, the absolute estate under the R.L.A supersedes the fee simple estate existent under the ITPA. However its worth noting that under the ITPA, the fee simple estate remains to be the largest estate. We still have in Kenya, the customary estate i.e. an estate in land defined by customary law

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Konnichiwa Means Good Afternoon in Japanese

Konnichiwa Means Good Afternoon in Japanese If you want to greet someone in Japanese by saying good afternoon or good day, the word you want to use is Konnichiwa.   Konnichiwa is actually a shortened version of a full greeting. Over time, a more slang version of the term evolved in the Japanese language. â€Å"Konnichiwa was once the beginning of a sentence that went, â€Å"konnichi wa gokiken ikaga desu ka?,†Ã‚  or â€Å"How are you feeling today?† (ä »Å Ã¦â€" ¥Ã£  ¯Ã£ â€Ã¦ ©Å¸Ã¥ «Å'㠁„㠁‹ã Å'㠁 §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹ Writing Rules for Konnichiwa There is a rule for writing hiragana wa and ha. When wa is used as a particle, it is written in hiragana as ha. Konnichiwa is now a fixed greeting. However, in the old days it was a part of sentence, such as Today is ~ (Konnichi wa ~) and wa functioned as a particle. Thats why it is still written in hiragana as ha. The greeting can be changed to good evening, with, â€Å"Konbanwaâ€Å" where â€Å"this evening† is substituted for the word today. (ä »Å Ã¦â„¢ ©Ã£  ¯Ã£ â€Ã¦ ©Å¸Ã¥ «Å'㠁„㠁‹ã Å'㠁 §Ã£ â„¢Ã£ â€¹) Audio File: Listen to the audio file for Konnichiwa. Japanese Characters for Konnichiwa: 㠁“ん㠁 «Ã£  ¡Ã£  ¯Ã£â‚¬â€š More Japanese Greetings: Previous wordNext wordGreetings ArchiveSimple Japanese Phrases Sources: Rocket News 24, http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/04/08/what-does-konichiwa-really-mean-understanding-japanese-greetings/

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Culture Effects on Leadership Styles and Behavior

Culture Effects on Leadership Styles and Behavior First Entry Effect of Culture on Leadership The article is about the effect of culture has on leadership. Culture may have a great impact on leadership styles and behavior. A hypothesis that appears to support this claim is that certain leadership behaviors are particularly unique to certain cultures. Another argument is that there are certain specific structures or behaviors that a leader should perform so as to be effective, and this does not have any cultural dimension.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Culture Effects on Leadership Styles and Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These two arguments could be proved by using a Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire as well as a Value Survey Module. Cultural biases may have a significant effect on the leadership of an organization (for example, in the case of a bank). Gender biasness may prevent a female manager from performing her duties effectively. Personality in Leadership There are certain leadership personalities that any leader is expected to posses so as to deliver effectively. A leader should for instance have courage. Courage is the first virtue upon which a leader should depend. All the other leadership qualities depend on it as well. As such, lack of courage would only lead to failure of the management because people hold back and settle for less than their capability. As a bank manager for instance, one may have to take some decisions that might not please all the staff members yet this could be only key to success in the matter is at hand. Any leader ought to have strength and effectiveness. In leadership, strength has a significant effect on the effectiveness of any group. Group focused leadership usually produces group identification hence producing efficiency among the staff. An effective leader needs to inspire the members and pay attention to the specific needs of the group members. Any good and effective leader needs to have the positive trait of integrity. Personal integrity in a leader is a sign of honesty, reliability and trustworthiness. This trait is very vital in any leadership style. When a manager of such an institution as a bank portrays integrity for instance, this helps in shaping that institution. As a result, the manager in question earns the respect of the employees, customers, and other stakeholders of the bank. Given the fact that integrity is an internal trait, it can only be proved by the actions and decisions taken. A leadership that has its basis on integrity makes the employees to feel secure because trust is built between the employees and the leadership, and the organization at large.Advertising Looking for article on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An effective leader also need to exhibit intelligence as another trait of leadership. Individuals with high intelligent quotients (IQs) tend t o be more skilled in management as they enable the other members of the organization to feel at ease while working and they are in a position to balance between their personal lives and work. They tend to be straightforward and help in building rapport between the group members, hence ensuring effective interdependence among the group members. In addition, such an individual is fully aware of his/her strengths and weakness and does not act on impulse. An effective leader needs to have conviction. This is the ability to make a decision confidently, communicate it, and stick to it as well. Before making decisions, such a leader needs to seek input upfront. In addition, it is important for the leader to promote positive, critical and constructive assessment of the available options in open forums. Moreover, the leader also need to make a clear option and justifies the decision. The leader needs to be clear-sighted. The leader should be able to measure the impact that the decisions made have over time. The leader needs to be realistic and not flamboyant. The decisions made should be achievable and not based on imaginations. Second Entry Theoretical Perspectives The Theory of female advantage and diversity dilemmas stipulates that there is prejudice towards the female leaders. This leads to the continued discrimination against those women in top positions. There is therefore need to work towards eliminating such perceptions that are culturally- based and could go a long way to denying those women that have the capability to lead the chances of excising their leadership skills to the fullest. Such women could be having ideas that are transformational. This is attributed to the fact that transactional leadership styles do not differ based on gender. In most cultures, it is always believed that men are the best leaders and women have to act like men so as to be considered as good leaders.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Culture Effects on L eadership Styles and Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to Vecchio (2002) however, in his view of leadership and gender differences, he contends that the male leadership advantage is being replaced by the female advantage assumption which is symmetrical. The masculine male style which is task oriented is being replaced by the feminine style which is people oriented. Gender is usually socially-oriented and the behaviours of the leaders cannot be predicted by the masculine or feminine style dimensions. Each leader usually displays those behaviours that are associated with the respective gender characteristics. According to Cox (2001), gender inequalities only form part of the wider inequality and diversity issues. Diversity poses practical and theoretical dilemmas. Whenever diversity is characterised in a narrow way, the consequence is usually discrimination which may be based on race, gender, or ethnicity. The theories of div ersity usually deal with the consequences of diversity which include ethnographic studies, social identity theory, race or gender studies, as well as organizational demography. Such discriminations may make a leader of an organization not to be given an opportunity to exercise his/her leadership to the fullest. In reality, diversity should be celebrated as it enhances innovation. Dividing stereotypes should be done away with for any leadership to be effective. Margaret Thatcher can for instance be perceived as a female leader who was in a position to lead her country to greater heights during her time as helm in leadership. She was the first female prime minister in the United Kingdom. She worked towards the restoration of Britain’s economic prosperity and she even led her country to win against Argentina in a military dispute concerning the sovereignty of Falkland Islands in 1982. She portrayed leadership qualities, for instance, she was charismatic, believed in self and cou rageous as she did not hesitate to take that leadership position just because of her gender.Advertising Looking for article on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Oriental Glass Ceiling All in all, just like any other leader irrespective of her gender, she had her own weaknesses. For instance, she used the non-consensual leadership style which generated ideal conditions for her overthrow. Cultural factors in many societies usually lead to the exclusion of women from leadership roles. These cultures are mainly defended by traditional groupings. They judge a leader according to the masculinity. Women therefore have to be very strong and work diligently so as to succeed due to such cultural traditions that are discriminative. Organizational diversity is gradually being accepted in the leadership positions at different levels. The different entry barriers for those groups that are restricted are being relaxed particularly by the elite so as to provide equal opportunities for different groups without discrimination. This however is not absolute as progress is still restricted in higher leadership levels in different institutional sectors. Ster eotypical thinking usually ignores the cues of social worthiness. For instance, the fact that female executives usually rate higher on transformational leadership is ignored. Diversity is a potential for superior performances, although leaders have to understand and also deal with the differences. Diversity could be perceived as an opportunity or a problem. The Third Entry Practical Implication All these have practical implications for Australia as a country both to the leaders and the employees as well. It would be a revolutionary stem if at all the discriminative entries to any leadership positions were to be done away with, and everyone e given an opportunity for leadership positions based on his/her leadership qualities, and the ability to deliver and not on the basis of other cultural, racial, ethnical or racial discriminations. Females could for instance be considered for executive positions and other related posts given the fact that they are not just task oriented but people oriented as well. One may for instance base his leadership on task accomplishment and service delivery and yet fail to take into account the worker’s satisfaction. This could only lead to a sad and unsatisfied lot of workers who instead of enjoying their work might in fact be enduring it. The masculinity mindset of many Australians has led to the election and nomination of leaders to management positions just because of their gender. Some of the people elected in such positions may not be able to deliver as they do not have the required skills and qualities necessary for effective delivery in the respective positions. On the other hand, some of those who can deliver have been left out due to the fact that they are female yet they have all the personalities that a leader ought to have. Some of the legislation has also fueled such chauvinistic beliefs of ideas that are irrelevant in the current century. Efforts are however being made to by the government and other organization s to try and stump out gender- based discrimination in leadership as well as other positions. Efforts have been made by the federal government for instance through the establishment of a taskforce that is concerned with the management and leadership skills, with a view to making recommendations for the improvement of managers’ skills. The taskforce addresses gender issues in the management as well. Gender stereotyping has traditionally been seen as a strategy in leadership. The topic is considered critical in the development of management and leadership skills. It is only through addressing such gender issues that greater organizational effectiveness shall be realized. It has been found out by the taskforce that there is reluctance as well as lack of preparedness by the academic and the industrial management in dealing with gender issues. The subject is sensitive and it has not been easy when it comes to dealing with gender issues in the management of different managements of different organizations in Australia including the banks. This has made it difficult for women to proceed with their career as managers. According to the Karpin’s report for instance, it has been observed that women play a minor managerial roles in the Australian economy (Kaprin 1995).. However, this trend appears to have changed in recent days. The taskforce has been relevant as it has researched and established that there are minor differences when it comes to the performance of female managers in comparison with their male counterparts. These differences are concerned with the matters of confidence, dominance, and the sense of security. According to the findings, gender is not very crucial in leadership. In the case of women, it is the issue of opportunity and not necessarily performance when it comes to the comparison between their roles and those of their male counterparts in the management situation. These findings are vital in policy debates. The government is making an effort towards ensuring diversity at the workplace. Acts have also been enacted, for example, the 1999 Public Service Act which requires that the heads of agencies establish diversity programs at the workplace so as to eliminate gender based employment disadvantages. This has proved successful as women are now effectively fulfilling their management roles in the public service. The representation however varies significantly at agency level as men still form a higher percentage of the employees at the management level. For instance, men form 80.1% of the employees at the Bureau of Meteorology, 63.5% in the defense while still at the Medicare they are 80.3%. However women are still not very much represented at the senior levels (Vecchio 2002). Such gender based discriminations only form part of the influences that a culture has on leadership. As much as women are taking up these roles, this has not been easy for most of them, with a number of women witnessing harassment or bullyin g while at the workplace. The issue of cultural influences on leadership could also happen in another form. For example, there are certain cultures which for instance stipulate that a leader must be elderly. Such culture will therefore not be at peace with the issue of youth empowerment, or they may not readily accept a young person as their leader. Reference List Cox, T., 2001. Creating the multicultural organization: a strategy for capturing the power of diversity. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Karpin, D., 1995. Enterprising Nation: Renewing Australia’s Managers to meet the Challenges of the Asia-Pacific Century. (Report on the Industry Task Force on Leadership and Management Skills). Canberra, ACT: Australian Government Publishing Service. Vecchio, R. P., 2002. Leadership and gender advantage. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol.13, No. 6, pp. 643-671