Notes on Different types of customers

Dealing with customer complaints why do customers complain? Customers complain mainly because of bad customer service The product they received is of bad quality not happy because of the staff Delayed flights not good service untidy accommodation product they received was not as it was descriptive. Not a not seats on the plane not getting what they want queues why do organizations need to know about customer complaints? To keep their reputation keep one customer happy expand business keep customers keep business to improve o fix one problem How to deal with customers?Offer a discount or a complimentary Item such as a drink. Food item etc. ) or a refund If they take It further ask If want to speak to the manager Reply a. s. A. P start by apologizing Don't interrupt whilst they are complaining Ask what's wrong face to face offer something else e-mail written communication make it formal be sympathetic make eye contact Listen suggest the course of action check the customer is happy with the solution and ask them if there is anything else you can do for them. Keep calm keep customer informed at all times Why is It Important to resolve a complaint? O keep the customers happy so you will get customer loyalty so you don't get a bad image/reputation of you or the organization To prevent it from happening again so I OFF quality of service they give how good their products are minimum standard of quality procedures they follow Equally With respect Fairly Friendly Welcomed well With a helpful manner NIce Politely Regardless of the customer type all customers have different needs. A hen party traveling to London for the weekend. Transfers Accommodation Group accommodation rah receptionInformation on local nightlife Different types of customers Mobility Pre-boarding Disable Access Guides Wider corridors Handrails Ramps Treated with respect and equally Special seating Bigger facilities Information about excursions suitable for their needs Special cabins/accommodation specifi cally for the disabled Lifts Visually impaired Braille White stick Career Guide dogs Assistance Be sensitive Hearing impaired Hearing aid Hearing loop Lip reader Sign language translator Speak loud and clearly Signs Devices to help them in case of an emergency el calling people, phone ringing, fire alarm going off Cultures/Countries Health documents Leaflets in their language Maps in their language Treat them equally and with respect Helpful staff Injection Visas/Passports Currency exchange Insurance Translator Elderly/Confused Treated with respect Show empathy Speak slowly and clearly Make sure they understand the information they were confused about Communication methods best suited to the customers needs. Hearing – Written, Face to face (For lip readers) Visual – Telephone, Verbally Elderly – Face to face, verbally Different language – Written – diagrams

Describe the different forms of disguise and deception that feature in Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’

For this essay I shall try and describe the different forms of disguise and deception which appear in ‘Twelfth Night'. The elements of both disguise and deception are both very important to the play, they bring confusion between the characters which add to the comical tones of the play. The main thought that we, the reader think of would be Viola's physical disguise as a male ‘Cesario' which is one of the central plots that contribute to the comedy of the play. The thought of a male dressing up as a female (and vice versa) is increadibly funny to us today. This would work especially well on a stage, where the full impact of seeing someone trying to accumulate the characteristics of the opposite gender would hit the audience. Yet, because in Shakespeare's day, the female parts were played by boy actors, the original Elizabethan audience would have found a special sophistication in the part of Viola – which would have been a boy, dressing up as a woman, who in the play dresses up as a man. As confusing as it may seem, it does enable the audience to understand more of the situation when either Olivia or Orsino are on stage. It is also these situations which cause a lot of disruption and confusion which make up the plot. In ‘Twelfth Night' disguise and deception are the key feature in the more comical scenes. A good example of this is the humiliation of Malvolio, who is unknowingly decieved into thinking that Olivia is in love with him by Maria, Sir Toby and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. The audience would have found this hilarious in Shakespeare's day because Malvolio embodied all the attributes of a solem strict puritan, which the fun loving Elizabethan audience hated. There is no real sympathy felt for Malvolio at all in the play because of this, and the audience would have seen the mistreatment of Malvolio as their own retribution for how the puritans controlled their lives. Malvolio is further humiliated a few scenes later when Feste (The Clown) dresses up as Sir Topaz, the Curate, and taunts the Emotionaly drained and locked up Malvolio. Whilst Malvolio was a good figure for deception, another good example would be Sir Andrew Aguecheek who is tricked both into also believing that he as well has a chance with Olivia and also Being tricked into a duel with ‘Cesario' by Sir Toby. However when Sebastian comes on the scene, he is mistaken for ‘Cesario' by Sir Toby and Sir Andrew, and unlike ‘Cesario', Sebastian wasn't afraid to defend himself, and Sir Toby's plan backfires. While it is easy just to think of how phsyical disguises deceive a person's perception, some of the character's in ‘Twelfth Night' are deceived about their true natures. Viola's disguise as a male ‘Cesario' enables her to work undetected in Duke Orsino's Court as his messenger. ‘Cesario' is drawn into a love triangle and falls in love with Orsinio, yet is somehow happy to ‘Woo' Lady Olivia for him regardless of his/her feelings. However, the play gets even more confusing when Olivia Falls in love with ‘Cesario' and begins to actively persue him. Although the possibility that Olivia may be in love with a woman is more upsetting to the tradtional structure. While Shakespeare's audience excused it as a case of mistaken identity, a modern audience may think it might have been something more. Olivia's attraction lies in the more feminine qualities of ‘Cesario' like his ‘Angry lip' or ‘Beautiful Scorn'. This creates a debate among modern audiences of whether Olivia suspected or maybe even knew ‘Cesario's' true gender, yet chose to love him/her anyway. Here Shakespeare is challenging the status quo as this challenges the traditonal role of the male being dominant in courtship and shows Olivia obtaining the role of ‘The Woo-er'. As a result of this, Viola is unable to express her love for Orsino – for fear of rejection and therefore she is now trapped in a web of deception. Alternitively Viola's Disguise as ‘Cesario' was necessary for her survival to pass undetected in Duke Orsino's court. Another example of a character using disguise as a means for survival is Antonio, who is in hiding from his enemy Duke Orsino and risks his life by helping Sebastian. Some Characters in ‘Twelfth Night' are deceived about their true natures. A good example of this is how Olivia adopts the pretence of mourning for her brother and father's death. Although the audience is unsure whether this is actually a pretence because losing close family members is very traumatic, however Olivia takes this trauma to the extreme and vows that she will mourn for seven years and for that time no one shall see her face. Alternitively, Her feelings may be a pretence that she feels that mourning for that amount of time is the ‘noble' thing to do, or it's what is expected of her. Olivia's true emotions and intentions are disguised behind a pretence, outer appearence or attitude. These same feelings, however are soon discarded when she meets ‘Cesario'. This kind of extreme emotion links very closely to how the Duke Orsino deludes himself that he is in love with Olivia. In the first scene we are introduced to his feelings about Olivia when he is listening to music in his court ‘If music be the food of love,play on- give me excess of it' however his mood soon changes and he makes the music stop. This shows a very fickle side to the Duke and also mirrors how at the end of the play his feelings for Olvivia turn into a murderous rage ‘I'll sacrafice the lamb that I do love, To spite a raven's heart within a dove. ‘ We believe Orsino's deception of his true nature lies in his ‘self love' and he is actually in love with the thought of being in love, rather than for seeking a relationship. Another good example of a character deceiving their true nature is when Malvolio is duped into the role of Olivia's suitor and changes from his old puritanical self into a smiling ‘courtier'. He changes both his appearence and attitude because he thinks he is doing so for Olivia and even Malvolio's yellow stockings and cross garters are a masquerade. The dramatic convention of disguise creates uncertainties of the meaning and emotions throughout the play. A good example would be the lover's in ‘Twelfth Night' who create two purposes. They firstly create humourous misunderstandings, but also challenge us as an audience into what we see in appearences, gender roles and ‘platonic' same sex feelings. With male actors playing the female parts in the play, the idea of having a stable identitiy, may seem as misleading as disguises. However these disguised characters provide a wider significance by giving us a deeper meaning to ponder about what our beliefs and others are actually based upon. The play brings out the true natures of Olivia, Orsino and Malvolio to the surface. However, it is only Malvolio at the end who still seems unsure to recognise himself as he is blinded by his overwhelming pride and self- righteousness.

A Report Into Consumer Behavioural Theory

Creating a psychological struggle for customers as well as curing it can be vital to increase market share and customer satisfaction. * Overcoming pre-purchase alternatives to Benecol is a great challenge due to the highly saturated market the brand finds itself in, although this is not impossible as promotion of the products health benefits can lift it. * Consumers can be conditioned to relate to Benecol both consciously and unconsciously through various marketing and production techniques. Marketing strategies can be put in place which are directly or indirectly linked to the purchase or use of the product that gain short or long term boosts in sales or customer satisfaction such as sales promotions or school giveaways to promote health in children which improves brand reputation. * Taking advantage of every point of interaction between the product and the consumer can greatly increase the likelihood that a customer will become loyal to the brand and perhaps even aid the increase of market share. Introduction Consumer behavioural theory gives marketing departments the opportunity to gain a more effective understanding of the customers they have or wish to attain. The theories attached to this subject emotional, cognitive and psychological reaction to marketing and brand management. The following is a report on consumer behaviour related to the Benecol brand with the intention to gain a better organisational understanding of marketing theories and methods relevant to the specific brand. Due to the market segmentation of Benecol, the report largely aims to focus on consumer behaviour closely linked to health and food products, as well as applying more general consumer behavioural theory where relevant. As the relevant theories to consumer behaviour in the case of Benecol are outlined, recommendations will be made in order to aid the company in customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Motivation and Need Recognition In assembling this report it was understood that many theories of behavioural aspects of marketing are derived from an organisation’s awareness and understand of its target markets’ needs and desires and those who utilise this most effectively are often the most successful brands. For instance, Coca-Cola has no health benefits, therefore it is marketed as hedonistic product and the more its target market become increasingly health-conscious the more Coke will play on its slogan ‘enjoy’, whilst also increasing its market share in other ways, i. e. hrough the purchase of shares in drinks companies that promote health (Macalister Teather, 2010). The need or desire that is recognised by Benecol’s products is clearly the reduction of cholesterol, the motivation for this is increased health as well as Benecol’s ease of use. The motivation for buying a product that increases the health of the consumer is self-evident in many ways. Value Theory Many researchers have suggested that consumers are ‘value driven’ and find that the enjoyment of a product is balanced between what is given and what is received (Torben, 2005). In short, this theory argues the following factors are counted when a future purchase is considered: From this, it could be argued that Benecol’s price and quality are subjective to the customer as the benefits from use of said product are only noticeable long-term and the economic cost of the range are noticeably, although not unreasonably, higher than alternatives. However, the value the product gives to the consumer from a marketing perspective will be discussed in greater details through other behavioural theories as the above chart is too rudimentary to give explicit argument to Benecol’s potential without more exploration. Information Processing Something highly intrinsic to the product value of Benecol is the emphasis on being ‘the only range of foods to contain Plant Stanol Ester, a unique cholesterol lowering ingredient. ’ (Rasio Plc. , 2011). Getting this information to the public through advertising happens through the brand website, but on television the advertising is focused on basic prompts that will motivate the audience into believing in the benefits of using the product. One example is the latest UK advert which places stress on the convenience of the product with a line in fairly small print about the plant stanol ester underneath the visual of how easy it can be to help lower cholesterol. The information of stanols is considered secondary in marketing the convenience product and therefore is only likely absorbed by those already interested in the product or the advertising. Dissonance This theory is based on a consumer’s cognitive struggle where two beliefs that are reasoned to be true are not consistent. This process of a cognitive clash brings about a motivation to come to a positive conclusion where a psychological compromise can occur to bring an end to the inconsistency, therefore ending the dissonance (Torben, 2005). By advertising the negative effects rival products can have on a consumer’s health, Benecol creates a struggle within the consumer’s mind that whilst they enjoy their regular food and dairy products, they are damaging to their health by creating large amounts of cholesterol. Benecol is then introduced as an alternative to health-damaging products that bridges the psychological inconsistencies in the consumer’s mind by offering a products that helps prevent cholesterol whilst not taking enjoyment away from eating. By offering advertisement reinforced with clinically proven information, the customer is also limited in averting the dissonance caused by Benecol’s initial information about rival product. Benecol therefore markets by initiating dissonance and then promoting a solution to end the consumer’s self-conflict. Balance Theory and Modelling This motivational theory argues that ‘people desire cognitive consistency in their drive to achieve psychological balance in their thoughts, feelings and social relationships’ (Dacko, 2008). In relation to marketing, consumer can be attracted or put off of a product due to a linked influencer even if it is not directly linked to the product, also known as modelling. For example, a woman could be attracted to an anti-wrinkle cream if she sees it endorsed by Dame Helen Mirren because she is a fan of the actress’ work and beauty. Similarly, if an organisation were thinking of using Accenture, a deal could have been negatively affected due to the unrelated infidelities of Tiger Woods, had the latter not ceased to sponsor him when they did. The theory promoted by Benecol is the trifecta of a person balancing convenience, taste and health. Ergo, Benecol is promoted as a product that does not impede on the consumer’s convenience from daily routine in preparing food, manages to taste as good as unhealthy products whilst being a product that promotes good health. Although it has done in the past with Carol Vorderman, Benecol currently does not market its product using celebrity endorsement, something that its rivals, Activia and Actimel do in the UK. Although these products are not exactly the same as Benecol, they produce many products in the same market advertising similar benefits, such as yoghurts and mini-drinks that aid well-being. Pre-purchase Alternative Evaluation This theory bases its argument on the focus that a customer makes a cognitive and emotional decision on the alternatives to the product in question before a purchase is made. Through judging the price, quality and branding of the products in question cognitively, a consumer will then make their decision based on the positive or negative effects that the previous factors will have on their life. As Benecol is marketed as an alternative to unhealthy dairy staples such as yoghurts and spreads, it is undeniable that the market that Benecol is placed in is highly competitive. Benecol spread is nearly twice as expensive as similar products including own brand olive spreads that cost under half the price for twice the weight of product (Ocado, 2011). The following is a statement from international brand analysts Datamonitor in a report for the UK dairy industry: ‘From the consumer’s point of view, dairy products may be used directly as food or beverages, or ingredients for other home-made foods. There are a wide range of foods and drinks that can be used in similar ways to dairy products, so if dairy prices raise too high, it is easy for consumers to replace them with alternatives. This reduces the pricing freedom of retailers and market players. Some of the alternatives may have advantages for retailers, such as cheaper storage or higher margins. The threat of substitutes is assessed here as strong, although dairy products are important parts of most peoples’ diet and are unlikely to be completely replaced’ (Datamonitor, 2008). From this we see that Benecol has the challenge to promote the positive effects it can have on a consumer’s life rather than any economic benefits it may possess, unless it was marketed in a way that suggested it could save customers money in the long-term as a prevention of high spending due to ill-health. This however is playing on consumer fear and would not be recommended as a means of increasing customer acquisition, retention or satisfaction. Classical Conditioning This theory refers to an argument that consumers can be programmed into acting without being conscious of their conditioning. Through classical conditioning it is argued that by stimulating different emotional states in a consumer through the use of marketing, product placement, packaging or use, the consumer’s approach to the product becomes altered to act immediately with a certain approach to a product that is involuntary (East, Wright, Vanhuele, 2008). With Benecol, it could be argued that consumers are conditioned into both positive and negative emotional reactions through our marketing. The deep mint green logo surrounded by a heart blended with soft, sky blue backgrounds in our packaging and advertising is warming and few products in the same or similar markets share the same colour scheme so not only are we unique in our packaging so when customers do see similar colours, they are quickly linked back to Benecol which aids them to buy more. As mentioned in relation to other theories of consumer behaviour, fear plays a large part in motivating one to purchase an item which promotes health. Although as a company it would not be ethical to play on fear to boost sales, there is no denying the very real possibility that consumers are motivated to purchase goods when they are conditioned to understand that not doing so could lead them to health problems down the line. A Report Into Consumer Behavioural Theory Creating a psychological struggle for customers as well as curing it can be vital to increase market share and customer satisfaction. * Overcoming pre-purchase alternatives to Benecol is a great challenge due to the highly saturated market the brand finds itself in, although this is not impossible as promotion of the products health benefits can lift it. * Consumers can be conditioned to relate to Benecol both consciously and unconsciously through various marketing and production techniques. Marketing strategies can be put in place which are directly or indirectly linked to the purchase or use of the product that gain short or long term boosts in sales or customer satisfaction such as sales promotions or school giveaways to promote health in children which improves brand reputation. * Taking advantage of every point of interaction between the product and the consumer can greatly increase the likelihood that a customer will become loyal to the brand and perhaps even aid the increase of market share. Introduction Consumer behavioural theory gives marketing departments the opportunity to gain a more effective understanding of the customers they have or wish to attain. The theories attached to this subject emotional, cognitive and psychological reaction to marketing and brand management. The following is a report on consumer behaviour related to the Benecol brand with the intention to gain a better organisational understanding of marketing theories and methods relevant to the specific brand. Due to the market segmentation of Benecol, the report largely aims to focus on consumer behaviour closely linked to health and food products, as well as applying more general consumer behavioural theory where relevant. As the relevant theories to consumer behaviour in the case of Benecol are outlined, recommendations will be made in order to aid the company in customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. Motivation and Need Recognition In assembling this report it was understood that many theories of behavioural aspects of marketing are derived from an organisation’s awareness and understand of its target markets’ needs and desires and those who utilise this most effectively are often the most successful brands. For instance, Coca-Cola has no health benefits, therefore it is marketed as hedonistic product and the more its target market become increasingly health-conscious the more Coke will play on its slogan ‘enjoy’, whilst also increasing its market share in other ways, i. e. hrough the purchase of shares in drinks companies that promote health (Macalister Teather, 2010). The need or desire that is recognised by Benecol’s products is clearly the reduction of cholesterol, the motivation for this is increased health as well as Benecol’s ease of use. The motivation for buying a product that increases the health of the consumer is self-evident in many ways. Value Theory Many researchers have suggested that consumers are ‘value driven’ and find that the enjoyment of a product is balanced between what is given and what is received (Torben, 2005). In short, this theory argues the following factors are counted when a future purchase is considered: From this, it could be argued that Benecol’s price and quality are subjective to the customer as the benefits from use of said product are only noticeable long-term and the economic cost of the range are noticeably, although not unreasonably, higher than alternatives. However, the value the product gives to the consumer from a marketing perspective will be discussed in greater details through other behavioural theories as the above chart is too rudimentary to give explicit argument to Benecol’s potential without more exploration. Information Processing Something highly intrinsic to the product value of Benecol is the emphasis on being ‘the only range of foods to contain Plant Stanol Ester, a unique cholesterol lowering ingredient. ’ (Rasio Plc. , 2011). Getting this information to the public through advertising happens through the brand website, but on television the advertising is focused on basic prompts that will motivate the audience into believing in the benefits of using the product. One example is the latest UK advert which places stress on the convenience of the product with a line in fairly small print about the plant stanol ester underneath the visual of how easy it can be to help lower cholesterol. The information of stanols is considered secondary in marketing the convenience product and therefore is only likely absorbed by those already interested in the product or the advertising. Dissonance This theory is based on a consumer’s cognitive struggle where two beliefs that are reasoned to be true are not consistent. This process of a cognitive clash brings about a motivation to come to a positive conclusion where a psychological compromise can occur to bring an end to the inconsistency, therefore ending the dissonance (Torben, 2005). By advertising the negative effects rival products can have on a consumer’s health, Benecol creates a struggle within the consumer’s mind that whilst they enjoy their regular food and dairy products, they are damaging to their health by creating large amounts of cholesterol. Benecol is then introduced as an alternative to health-damaging products that bridges the psychological inconsistencies in the consumer’s mind by offering a products that helps prevent cholesterol whilst not taking enjoyment away from eating. By offering advertisement reinforced with clinically proven information, the customer is also limited in averting the dissonance caused by Benecol’s initial information about rival product. Benecol therefore markets by initiating dissonance and then promoting a solution to end the consumer’s self-conflict. Balance Theory and Modelling This motivational theory argues that ‘people desire cognitive consistency in their drive to achieve psychological balance in their thoughts, feelings and social relationships’ (Dacko, 2008). In relation to marketing, consumer can be attracted or put off of a product due to a linked influencer even if it is not directly linked to the product, also known as modelling. For example, a woman could be attracted to an anti-wrinkle cream if she sees it endorsed by Dame Helen Mirren because she is a fan of the actress’ work and beauty. Similarly, if an organisation were thinking of using Accenture, a deal could have been negatively affected due to the unrelated infidelities of Tiger Woods, had the latter not ceased to sponsor him when they did. The theory promoted by Benecol is the trifecta of a person balancing convenience, taste and health. Ergo, Benecol is promoted as a product that does not impede on the consumer’s convenience from daily routine in preparing food, manages to taste as good as unhealthy products whilst being a product that promotes good health. Although it has done in the past with Carol Vorderman, Benecol currently does not market its product using celebrity endorsement, something that its rivals, Activia and Actimel do in the UK. Although these products are not exactly the same as Benecol, they produce many products in the same market advertising similar benefits, such as yoghurts and mini-drinks that aid well-being. Pre-purchase Alternative Evaluation This theory bases its argument on the focus that a customer makes a cognitive and emotional decision on the alternatives to the product in question before a purchase is made. Through judging the price, quality and branding of the products in question cognitively, a consumer will then make their decision based on the positive or negative effects that the previous factors will have on their life. As Benecol is marketed as an alternative to unhealthy dairy staples such as yoghurts and spreads, it is undeniable that the market that Benecol is placed in is highly competitive. Benecol spread is nearly twice as expensive as similar products including own brand olive spreads that cost under half the price for twice the weight of product (Ocado, 2011). The following is a statement from international brand analysts Datamonitor in a report for the UK dairy industry: ‘From the consumer’s point of view, dairy products may be used directly as food or beverages, or ingredients for other home-made foods. There are a wide range of foods and drinks that can be used in similar ways to dairy products, so if dairy prices raise too high, it is easy for consumers to replace them with alternatives. This reduces the pricing freedom of retailers and market players. Some of the alternatives may have advantages for retailers, such as cheaper storage or higher margins. The threat of substitutes is assessed here as strong, although dairy products are important parts of most peoples’ diet and are unlikely to be completely replaced’ (Datamonitor, 2008). From this we see that Benecol has the challenge to promote the positive effects it can have on a consumer’s life rather than any economic benefits it may possess, unless it was marketed in a way that suggested it could save customers money in the long-term as a prevention of high spending due to ill-health. This however is playing on consumer fear and would not be recommended as a means of increasing customer acquisition, retention or satisfaction. Classical Conditioning This theory refers to an argument that consumers can be programmed into acting without being conscious of their conditioning. Through classical conditioning it is argued that by stimulating different emotional states in a consumer through the use of marketing, product placement, packaging or use, the consumer’s approach to the product becomes altered to act immediately with a certain approach to a product that is involuntary (East, Wright, Vanhuele, 2008). With Benecol, it could be argued that consumers are conditioned into both positive and negative emotional reactions through our marketing. The deep mint green logo surrounded by a heart blended with soft, sky blue backgrounds in our packaging and advertising is warming and few products in the same or similar markets share the same colour scheme so not only are we unique in our packaging so when customers do see similar colours, they are quickly linked back to Benecol which aids them to buy more. As mentioned in relation to other theories of consumer behaviour, fear plays a large part in motivating one to purchase an item which promotes health. Although as a company it would not be ethical to play on fear to boost sales, there is no denying the very real possibility that consumers are motivated to purchase goods when they are conditioned to understand that not doing so could lead them to health problems down the line.

William O'Douglas' (The Black Silence of Fear), Essay

William O'Douglas' (The Black Silence of Fear), - Essay Example In this enlightening document, he points out how intolerance and arrogance play major roles where the minorities are concerned, suppressing them still further into a corner of oblivion. However, O’Douglas believes that if a person has to fully understand and apprehend its meaning, he has to leave his own country and lose himself in the dark regions, and absorb himself in the trials and tribulations of other civilizations. He feels that after this is carried out and when the person comes back to his own country, he would definitely be shocked at the intolerance and arrogance exhibited by the leaders who hold public office, the press and the general attitude of the Americans towards their Asian counterparts. He would also understand that thoughts were becoming standardized, ideas limited, discussions narrowed because minds have become closed. According to O’Douglas, the very thought of it, is rather disturbing especially when one loves his country. He believes that the ph ilosophy of strength brought about through free speech, is being replaced with the philosophy of fear due to repression. The author takes the example of the Soviet society when Russia was ruled by Lenin. During that time ministers and officials were allowed to debate and come out with new ideas or criticism, but once a final decision was taken, there was no question whatsoever, of either disagreement or dissension. However, in the case of Stalin’s rule, the system of control remained totally under his custody and there was absolutely no question of free speech nor action. O’Douglas believes that America too is moving in the same direction and closely resembles the Soviet society because of the intolerance and arrogance it exhibits towards the developing and underdeveloped countries like Asia. He drives this point home when he says that the Asians identify the Americans not by freedom but by guns. Therefore, the fear mounts as the Soviet imperialism expands and while th e free world contracts without putting up a fight. Communism within the country is another manifestation of inherent fear among the people, as its glories are being magnified and exalted beyond all reality. Fanning the flames of fear are some irresponsible people, especially those at the helm of affairs. Suspicion has been substituted for the goodwill of people, while character assassination has become the norm of the day. Innocent acts now bear the stamp of disloyalty. In O’Douglas’ opinion, the days when we could bravely debate, challenge, question or present our thoughts, ideas or even solutions to problems are gone because no one is permitted to enjoy such freedom. The author once again points to Soviet Russia’s policy and strongly feels that America is closely following in its footsteps and therefore the resemblance between America and Russia becomes all the more evident. According to O’Douglas, orthodoxy has gained popularity due to the rising growt h of suspicion, because orthodoxy seems to be the safest bet that supports Communism. When suspicion mounts, there is no question of trust. This is the reason why there is competition for embracing orthodoxy because those who follow the path of unorthodoxy would always remain suspect. People who do not adhere to the military policy makers become suspect. All those who stand up and oppose are called ‘subversive’. People who are honest and truthful are suppressed and pushed aside. All these forces fan fear and encourage it to run rampant. Shedding light on our present way of thinking and reacting, O’

Countries and Climate Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Countries and Climate Change - Essay Example Within the country, there are cultural and linguistic variations in different regions, but however, because of its high population, the culture is relatively uniform. The climate in china varies from region to region because the country is very large. The key biophysical climatic change impacts on the country’s environment are the rising sea levels, increase in natural disasters and biodiversity loss (Bloom, 2010). At the northeast side of the country, the summers are hot and dry and the winters are freezing cold. On the other hand, the north and the central regions have recurrent bouts of rainfall together with hot summers and cold winters. In the southeast there is abundance of rainfall (Harris, 2011). China rainfall in the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau as a result of monsoon winds that blow north from the Indian Ocean, semi-tropical summers and cool winters. Flooding can occur in the central, southern and western regions and the country in common experience earthquakes. Although countries across the globe are facing environmental challenges that result from climate change, the case of china is more different due to her culture that has seen her engage more in the production industry right from the advent of the greatest world civilization in the ancient times. Indeed, in the history of the world’s civilization, China consolidated the global power and dominance and was considered the world’s leading in innovations that gave the whole world its backbone in industrial development (Li, 2014). As a result of her knowledgeable and better political, economic, hypothetical, artistic and scientific technology, climate change has been influenced due to the corrosion of ecosystem and natural environment. These activities have led to the increase in the variability in the rainfall patterns that affects the supply of fresh water; more frequently floods have been experienced coupled with heightened risk of water-borne diseases that have

Women's Role In Christianity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Women's Role In Christianity - Research Paper Example In the early Christianity, there was no separation in the description of roles of men and women. But as the time passed by and the rights of religion started changing, there started arising negative aspects of Christianity, which said men and women are not equal and that women are inferior to men (Witherington & Witherington, pp.19-22). In the ancient Greece and Rome in Christian societies, men considered women as inferior to them and they treated them as some property possessed by them. In those days, women teachers used to preach about the second coming of Christ and that this world will end very soon. At that time, Christian churches started enjoying the cuff, which lead to patriarchal thought in Christianity emphasizing on unequal treatment of men and women. This cuff remained for next two thousand years and proved to be very brutal for women. People slaughtered women pitilessly giving them the names of witches. This atrocity continued until twentieth century, only after that the re was a change in this activity (Laporte, pp.15-16). This change was only possible because of initial protest of women for women rights in 1960s. This movement brought an intense change in the role of women in Christianity and women’s rights highlighted (Kung, pp.12-13). A feminist theology emerged containing prose on women’s role in Christianity and expressed God through a feminine image. Women started experiencing social, political, and cultural freedom and equality after 1960s but the patriarchal thought did not disappear completely. Its shadows still prevailed in the form of sexual dualism. This idea suggested that men and women are not only biologically different but men are more religious and stronger than women are. Whereas women were more poignant and instructive than men were. This concept was prevailing since the Greek times and only first women protest of 1960 had courage to challenge these thoughts. There aroused another concept called Marian Devotion rega rding women and it proved to be controversial because Catholics appreciated this phenomenon where as protestants were in strong opposition. Many people assumed that this was strengthening the feminine view of God while others said that it was in fact damaging the feminine movement because it was destructing womanhood of women. The sexual and civilizing rebellion of the 1970s and 80s specifically desired to get rid of elevated pedestals of probity emotionally involved in womanhood (Kung, pp. 16-20). There appeared two parallel movements one as a religious and other as societal. These two movements were modern and conventional in nature. The goddess reverence, â€Å"Jesus’ movement, and Marian devotion influenced the liberal feminist theological movement† (Kung, pp. 16-20). Whereas the religious rights in Christianity works on the key of sexual dualism. The religious right strives to discover morals only within customary tradition and they refuse to accept the amendment of any kind to a customary manner. The religious right resists the liberal reproductive rights of women particularly the right of abortion and homosexuality. It also does not accept the cloning technology look for reinstatement of traditional family principles standing on the patriarchal system. In the beginning, the religious rights were only supporting the faith but then they augmented their presence in important matters of the society, such as culture and politics so they that they affect the society with their opinions. It is very likely that religious rights have abhorrence for women because they doubt that women will

Theories, models and techniques on Business Environment, Marketing and Assignment

Theories, models and techniques on Business Environment, Marketing and Human Resources - Assignment Example The growth of businesses in the modern market is depended on their ability to face the market’s pressures – as these pressures are reflected to the delays and the difficulties each organization faces when trying to secure its position towards its rivals. Current paper is important for the following reason: it explains the potential relationship among key organizational aspects, such as business environment, marketing and human resources. Moreover, it clarifies the terms under which the above frameworks can be developed. At this point, the reference to the theories and the techniques used for promoting organizational growth – especially in regard to the above frameworks – has been considered as necessary for highlighting the following issue: organization is a complex entity – meaning its processes but also its needs. For responding to the needs of organizations, as parts of the business environment in all markets worldwide, theorists and researchers have developed appropriate theoretical and practical models. It has been proved that the management of critical organizational factors can be based on tools and theories which have similar characteristics; however, the level at which these theories and techniques are effective is not standardized. The literature published in the specific organizational sectors, those mentioned above, has been carefully reviewed – as possible.... It has been proved that the management of critical organizational factors can be based on tools and theories which have similar characteristics; however, the level at which these theories and techniques are effective is not standardized. The literature published in the specific organizational sectors, those mentioned above, has been carefully reviewed – as possible. It has been proved that even if business operations are likely to be equally addressed – in terms of their needs – there are organizational sectors which are likely to attract more the attention of organization’s management team – for example HR needs are often set as a priority when designing the organizational plans while other aspects of the organization are not given equal attention, for example, the marketing of the firm’s products/ services. Such phenomenon is explained by the following fact: all firms are likely to be based on certain sectors/ operations. These sectors are not equal, in terms of their contribution in the development of daily organizational tasks. For instance, employees are traditionally considered as being the most important organizational asset; however, today, the role of employees within organizations has been changed – not only financially. The theories, models and techniques presented below reflect this inequality but at the same time they highlight the following problem: the monitoring on the firm’s practices is often problematic, meaning that employees are not always aware of their obligations towards the organization. The use of the theories, models and techniques suggested above could help to the increase of effectiveness of organizational plans – since the planners of the

E-Compensation Human Resources Information Systems Assignment

E-Compensation Human Resources Information Systems - Assignment Example The development and configuration of the infrastructure requires skilled personnel as well as resources. Another merit of the web-based compensation tool over the client-server and stand-alone PC based compensation tools is that it requires less hardware. This is because most of the hardware required for the web based compensation system are available over the internet and supported by the company hosting the web based services. The client/server and standalone PC based compensation tools require all hardware needed for the compensation system to be available locally. For this reason, the client/server and PC based compensation tools require higher initial cost to setup (Mukherjee, 2012). As much as the client-server based and stand-alone PC based compensation tools require higher initial cost to setup, they offer superior long term savings than the pc based compensation tool. The reason behind the long term saving offered by the client-server and PC based compensation tool is because an organization does not have to pay monthly or annual fees for the services to a third party company. The web based services are offered by id party companies at monthly or annual subscriptions that can result into higher long term costs. On the other hand, companies choosing the client-server and PC based compensation tools require high skilled IT department personnel to support the systems. Therefore, the web based compensation tool is recommendable for the organization stakeholders because it does not require high IT support to support the infrastructure. Moreover, the system can be upgraded and updated at lower costs compared to the client-server and stand-alone PC based services ( Sistare, Shiplett & Buss, 2009). From an employee perspective; the e-Compensation tools can motivate the organizations employees to work harder thus improving their performance. The reason behind motivation is that the efforts of

Leadership and Organizational Change Assignment

Leadership and Organizational Change - Assignment Example The driver in this case is the leader in the topmost organization post who is responsible for the running of all activities (Amagoh, 2008). This leader has to possess and apply styles of leadership that support positive organizational change, and not hinder it. The following text in discussion studies the importance and application of organizational change; highlighting Brunswick Indoor Recreation Group, which underwent the process to come out better, in additional to how a transformative or charismatic style of leadership contributed to the success of the said changes. Sengupta (2006) defines organizational change is that process through which an organization will optimize its performance, a move geared at achieving its ideal status. The need for the change is to either address a crisis situation or respond to put up with the ever-changing business environment. On another point, though, a progressive leader or manager can trigger organizational change, especially after a transfer or reshuffling of executive powers within an organization. Organizational power can be understood through three theories: the teleological, dialectical, and life-cycle theories. The teleological theory explains that an organizational change, strives to achieve an ideal status via a continuous strategy of setting goals, executing, evaluating, and restructuring to fit the required state. The dialectical theory uses a hypothesis that an organization is a context in society which occasionally encounters opposing values. The life-cycle theory on its part dictates that an organ ization is an entity which depends on the external environment, the stages through creating, growing, maturing, and declining (Chen, Suen, Lin, & Shieh, 2013). The Brunswick Indoor Recreation Group is a division unit of the larger Brunswick Corporation, which is based in the United States, a history dating back to 1845. Its headquarters are in Lake Forest, Illinois, in North Chicago. The organization deals with the

Business strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business strategy - Assignment Example Indian restaurant owners would already have a solid customer base from which to work from, and there is also the possibility of picking up some other ethnicities too. Cheap Indian food could be offered by encouraging Indian to be spoken within the restaurant, thus attracting the target market. c) The video rental firm market segment is not as attractive as it used to be. This is because more and more young people are using other means to watch their favorite movies. This type of business could possibly work if it was attached to some other kind of product, most likely televisions or DVD players. Special promotions could even be used to encourage people to rent a video along with another kind of purchase. 2) I do not agree that the appropriate positioning is obvious once you have identified the right segment. This is because once the right segment has been discovered further research must be done to narrow down the target customer market. This could be done through surveys of focus groups. Also, the market is always evolving and changing, so it is impossible to automatically know where to position a product in the market. 3) An organization’s competitive stance is the segment of the target market that a company chooses to pursue: low-cost supplier, differentiation, or niche marketing. The functional strategy of marketing activity depends on what the competitive stance is. For example, a company that chooses a low-cost strategy must produce its products for as cheaply as possible in order to offer low prices. Also, this company would need to produce far more products than its competitors in order to make any kind of profit. In a well-designed strategy, an organization’s competitive stance and marketing activity can work well together as long as when one changes, the other one changes to reflect that change. 6) Apple has a competitive advantage over its competitors

The Impact of Human Rights Violations on Refugee Women Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Human Rights Violations on Refugee Women Essay The international concern about the rights of women has been rapidly gaining attention from higher authorities.   Since the end of the World War II, the issue pertaining to this has received significant development until the millennium era.   The first among the organization that concentrated on the advocacy of the women’s rights was the Commission of the Status of Women, which was established in 1948 in order to promote women’s right and equality followed by the International Women’s Decade in 1976 to 1985 (Beyani, p. 29) dedicated to the promotion of women’s right as human rights.. In the same way, the United Nations had conducted several conferences to address the problem of human rights violations committed on women worldwide as well as to outline legal trends that could help minimize violence on women and to advance the cause of women specifically the refugee women. Spearheaded by the United Nation, the conferences composed of loose coalition of groups and individuals worldwide, they launched a petition in 1991 calling on the Vienna to comprehensively address women’s human rights. These campaigns were so successful that women’s right gained recognition in both the UN documents and treatises including the adoption of a UN declaration of on the Elimination of Violence against women. Cases of human rights violations among refugee women are ubiquitous because these people are exposed to numerous threats during all phases of the dislocation or displacement period Displacement period among women simply refers to their loss of jobs by either war or domestic violence.   Their experiences while at the camp leave emotional and physical impact on them, which in many cases traumatic that cause major changes in their lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Likewise, those organizations have identified specific exploitations done on women including refugee women, which have the worst cases of human rights violations all over the world.   Among the recognized forms of abuses are rape, sexual abuse, sexual extortion, and physical injury as outlined by the United Nation. These abuses are rampant regardless of their geographical limitation; abuses are inflicted to many women in refugee camps around the globe most particularly in countries like Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Somalia, and many Asian nations.   The human rights of these refugee women receive less considerable attention unlike their male counterpart or the human right’s abuses among men., because in the first place, their interests have not sufficiently represented in the international body. Stedman and Tanner cited the definition of refugee from African Unity Refugee Convention in 1974, which he stated as, â€Å"every person who, owing to external aggression, occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either part or whole of his country of origin or nationality, is compelled to leave his place of habitual residence in order to seek refugee in another place outside his country of origin or nationality† (p. 139).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Refugees are people who seek international protection for fear of persecution, civil war, or strife, abuses of human rights, and other reasons in their own country because their own country failed to provide that for them (Tarner, 139).   Nowadays, the process of seeking refuge or asylum is under an obligation and/or activity of United Nations with the assistance from United States of America and other participating countries.   The reported cases of refugee prepared by United States Committee for Refugees in 2003 are approximately less than ten million (Martin, p. 3); and the majority of these people are from the least developed countries such as Bangladish, which are mostly women and children. However, the irony here is that, the refugees who are after for protection have stumbled upon worst exploitations in the country they chose to settle.   Refugee women are defenseless in terms of abuse by people in the government and sometimes by rebellious groups.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are factors that can prove the relationship of refugee flows with social, cultural, and political chaos in the society.   Doreen Marie Indra stated that it becomes clear that in many cases these experiences are â€Å"grounded in politics† (p. 326).   Women become the subject of persecution at some occasion because they refuse to oblige with or they transgress social mores. Indra explained that because these women oppose the dictates of a political or religious system they are gendered punishment for violation of â€Å"particular social norms† (p. 326).In other words, even the prevailing social and religious system was oppressive in nature to the women’s right and they punished for disobeying even the simplest dress code (Indra, p. 328).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Michael Penn and Rahel Nardos saw the angle of discrimination of society to women as another ground for human rights violation of refugee women.   Violence against women according to him is a â€Å"manifestation of historically unequal power relations between men and women†¦[and that it] is one of the crucial social mechanisms by which women are forced into a subordinate position compared with men† (p. 182).   Likewise, those women in refugee camps and minority groups are vulnerable to violence according to him.   This concept prompts men to take advantage of women in refugee camps because of the idea that women are property of men.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, Erin Baines believed that problem pertaining to refugee crisis has something to do with the cultural differences among individual groups (p. 32).     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Stedman and Tanner (2003) described the nexus of refugee flows as:   Ã¢â‚¬Å"The result of the failure of the international system to prevent, deter, or terminate gross violations; from failure to hold governments that are guilty of gross violations responsible for the floods of refugees they unleash; from failure to assume political responsibility for refugee situations that threaten international peace and security; from failure to assume political responsibility to prevent violations that unleash refugee floods, and collective responsibility to guarantee remedies, including temporary protection or resettlement† (p. 155).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Accordingly, refugees continue to suffer from exploitation simply because the international political system fails to recognize its collective responsibility in this issue, at least to place individual rights at the top of the normative deliberation in refugee catastrophes.(yes it’s mine.) It means that obviously the rights of individual refugee women were somehow neglected, although in general, there efforts to combat human rights abuses. The relocation itself causes difficulty to refugees especially in adjusting oneself to current culture, language, and society.   Most of them rely on donation from non-government organization, which does not sufficiently sustain the needs of the family. Though they wish to stand on their own, they find difficulty gaining access to important services such as income-generating projects and educational programs, Indra noted that women in many countries†¦ â€Å"Are denied education, access to profession, or paid work (p. 326)   which are important elements to support the need of the family especially in the absence of the husband. Due to this problem, many of them suffer financial complexity and emotional stress.   Meyer and Prugl noted that refugee women cannot enjoy the social services or employment opportunities or be protected in accordance with the UN High Commissioner for refugee   UNHCR policies since most of them rely on their husband’s document; and this resulted to great stress among them as they seek help from the authorities such as the United Nations (p. 250).   These people are likely to experience poverty, illiteracy, encounter conflicts within refugee population, domestic violence, and sexual torture. Poverty is one major problem of the refugees. They are lack of adequate food and safe drinking water that lead to high rates of child mortality and relatively poor health.   Cole, Espin, and Rothblum reported that most refugees â€Å"live in unsanitary conditions where epidemics and disease are common, water supplies are contaminated, and food resources are insufficient (p. 65).   In a report made by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) narrated that women are often reduced to â€Å"exchanging sex for otherwise unavailable food and nonfood items such as clothing, shelter materials, and cooking items† (p. 25). Girls in the refugee camps have little opportunity to acquire education because families do not have funds for school fees, uniform, books, and others.   Lack of education worsens their condition because this limits the employment chances of women and youth in the future. Many refugees encounter conflicts within the refugee population because of major ethnic groups or political factions.   Martin noted that the conflicts among the refugees affect the participation in decision making of the representatives of different groups that hinder possible solution to their problem (p. 18). Domestic violence on women in the refugee camp occurs because male family members are away, or sometimes killed.   According to the report of Human Rights Watch Staff, the levels of domestic violence â€Å"could also be high in refugee setting.†Ã‚   For instance, in the Human Rights Watch’s report of the Burundian refugee camps in 1998, they had recorded relatively high incidence of domestic violence committed on women, which occurred inside or outside refugee camps by relief workers (p. 487).   This group acknowledged this problem as something largely unrecognized and the perpetrators â€Å"enjoyed free movement in the camps† (p. 487). Sexual torture somehow is different from domestic violence.   Martin specifically identified these tortures as something inflicted on the victims in an inhumane manner.   Sexual torture is in form of either heterosexual or homosexual rape; the rape of women by the use of specially trained dogs or forced witnessing of unnatural sexual relations, and many other forms (Martin, p. 33).   Basically, torture causes much severe emotional impact on its victims both physically and psychologically, because of the nature it is being carried out.which Martin describe as â€Å"inhumane, cruel and degrading punishment or treatment (p. 33) Aside from health and protection problems, women in the refugee camps are likely to suffer additional problems due to their gender.   According to Cole, Espin and Rothblum, women and girls are vulnerable to sexual violence in which rape is a common experience for them (p. 65).   Rape is the most frightening and humiliating experience for the refugee women; this is the most traumatic actually that many of them already committed suicide. (Espin and Rothlblum, p. 69) The raping of refugee women is unusually brutal; they are gang raped or raped repeatedly often for days at a time.   Refugee women’s experience while at camp produces both physical and emotional impact on them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First, they suffer from emotional trauma leaving them alone to confront the issue.   Cole, et.al., explained that for Asian and African women, being a rape victim is considered ‘ruined’ because their culture values virginity is â€Å"synonymous with purity† (p. 69).   As a result, they feel they lose all value in society and are rejected by their families.   Rape for Islam, Buddhist, and Taoist is associated with â€Å"karma† or punishment for the sin they have committed.   Thus, most of these women are unwilling to disclose the issue to others, in turn, their behavior show psychosomatic symptoms of these experiences. Theilade LD. Explained that sexual dysfunction is possible to occur if a person has experienced sexual torture or non-sexual, physical, or non-physical torture. He further stated that this problem is â€Å"seen in up to fifty-one percent of torture victims (par. 1).   However, the development of sexual dysfunction may occur largely to people who suffered from sexual torture.   Sexual dysfunction could also be attributed to post traumatic stress disorder.(This info. came from Pubmed.www.pubmed.gov Kemp and Rasbridge mentioned about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by refugee women as a result of stress, physical or sexual torture, and trauma (p. 74).   Women who had been in this traumatic experience said that they avoided going out yet, due to their family responsibility, they had to force themselves to continue with daily activities. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder could be obtained if the person has previous anxiety disorder and other factor such as early childhood trauma or head injuries that may trigger the problem.   Generally, refugees suffer from mental health problem like flash backs and dreams and intense guilt or anger and the percentage is almost sixty-five percent, which lasted for many years especially when they do not receive treatment and support from family members.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Moreover, these women are likely to sustain physical injuries.   Others contract venereal disease or sexually transmitted diseases.   Some became pregnant after the rape. Indeed, women are not only victims of general violence and the lack of health care, they also contending issues unambiguous to their biology and social status. However, despite of predicaments faces by refugee women, Florence Howe (1996) noted that refuge and displaced migrant women are likely to endure any situation. Howe Asserted, â€Å"Refugee, displaced and migrant women in most cases display strength, endurance and resourcefulness and can contribute positively to countries of resettlement or to their origin on their return† (Howe, p. 213). Howe pointed out these women should be appropriately involved in decisions that affect them and their future, since it cannot be denied that women make significant but frequently unrecognized role as educators both in their families and their societies as Anthony Redmond noted (2006) â€Å"women will often be the first to deny themselves in favor of others, particularly children or male partners†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Redmond, p. 21) Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As some authors pointed out, the international human rights and the United Nations has done enough to protect human rights particularly of the refugee women. But is a fact that abuses on women continues to dominate in many countries in the world particularly in refugee centers. Perhaps this social stigma can be attributed to the two of the most pressing problems of the society ever since, Poverty and discrimination.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus no matter how many laws are legislated to protect women from abuses, or no matter how far is the international effort or even the United Nation’s effort to provide necessary protection for women’s right, these abuses on women will continue to persist unless the fundamental sources of the problems are addressed, although this problem maybe is as old as human civilization it self. Authorities therefore must not only look at the crime or run after the offenders but they should also consider the situations involve and gather evidences relating the crimes to the problems mentioned and suggest possible solution to the problems to law making body. The United Nations and all international effort on combating abuses on women must also pay attention to this problem, and try to realign some of their resources to help address the two problems mentioned earlier, along with intensified efforts of the law enforcement to run after the criminal offenders to put them behind bars. Intensifying efforts of both the international body and law enforcements agencies against the offenders and social problems may not completely erased this disease of the society but it certainly will help curb the problem. Work Cited Baines, E.K. Vulnerable Bodies: Gender, the Un and the Global Refugee Crisis. USA: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004. Beyani, Chaloka. â€Å"The Needs of Refugee Women: A Human Rights Perspective.† Women and Rights. Ed. Sweetman, Caroline. UK: Oxfam, 1995. Cole, E., Espin, O., Rothblum, E. Refugee Women and their Mental Health: Shattered Societies, Shattered Lives. USA: Haworth Press, 1992. Howe, F. Beijing and Beyond Toward the Twenty First-First Century of Women: Includes the Complete Text of the Plattform for Action. USA: Florence Howe Graduate School and University Center, 1996.    Human Rights Watch World Report 1999.   New York: Human Rights Watch, 1998. â€Å"Humanitarian Assistance: Protecting Refugee Women and Girls Remains a Significant Challenge.† United States General Accounting Office. May 2003. http://books.google.com/books?id=WHZdHdprBWgCprintsec=frontcoversource=gbs_summary_r#PPP1,M1 Indra, D.M. Engendering Forced Migration: Theory and Practice.   USA: Berghahn Books. Kemp, C. Rasbridge, L.A. Refugee and Immigrant Health: A Handbook for Health Professionals, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Martin, S. F. Refugee Women. USA: Lexington Books, 2004. Meyer, M.K. Prugl, E. Gender Politics in Global Governance. USA: Rowman Littlefield Publishing, Inc., 1999. Penn, M.L. Nardos, R. Overcoming Violence Against Women and Girls: The International Campaign to Eradicate a Worldwide Problem. USA: Rowman Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003. Redmond, A. ABC of Conflict and Disaster. UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2006. Stedman, S. J. Tanner, F. Refugee Manipulation War, Politics, and the Abuse of Human Suffering. USA: Brookings Institution Press, 2003. Theilade, LD. â€Å"Sexual Dysfunction in Torture Victims.† PubMed. 2002 Oct .   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12407879?ordinalpos=1itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVAbstractPlusDrugs1

Police and Evidence-based Policing Essay Example for Free

Police and Evidence-based Policing Essay Evidence-Based-Policing Written by Desiree Rosch Instructor Atthur Moghalu Introduction to Criminal Justice Evidence-based policing is a style of policing that uses research to create or change policies to increase effectiveness. Lawrence W Sherman, an academic criminologist, is credited with making the term Evidence-based Policing (EBP) popular. During a lecture Sherman stated, Police practices should be based on scientific evidence about what works best. Starting in the 1960s several organizations were formed to conduct studies on how to better prevent crime and increase the publics confidence in law enforcement. The first of which was the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration created by Congress in 1969. There are many benefits to using an evidence-based policing stance, such as being able to see the actual results of your policies. This enables an agency to make necessary changes to the way they operate inorder to accomplish their missions more effectively, such as changing where and when units patrol certain areas. It also allows them to come up with completely new programs and procedures they may not have developed on their own. The disadvantage of using research to change the way a law enforcement agency operates is that those changes may be expensive to implement. The agency may even find that the way they approach a situation could be completely wrong according to the research. Another problem with an evidence-based policing system is that the results may be accurate for where the study took place, but may not reflect the samedata you would obtain in another area. Things like income, education levels, backgrounds, cultures, etc can influence the effectiveness of procedures based on studies in another location. The Kansas City Experiment in 1974 is the most well known example of studies done on law enforcement. The results of this study were not what researchers were expecting. The agency found that increased patrol units had no effect on either crimes committed or the publics perception of how safe they were. These findings changed the way many agencies allot their patrol units. Another study conducted in Redlands, California was on the procedure of sending a follow up unit to make contact with a domestic violence victim after the initial call.

Theology Essay: Church State Relations

Theology Essay: Church State Relations Church-State Relations and Secularization Throughout history there has developed a variety of relationships between Christian churches and governments, sometimes harmonious and sometimes conflictual. The major forms of relationships between Christian churches and governments are in large measure grounded in various perspectives in the Christian Bible. The Christian Bible is not a single book, but a collection of books written over more than a millennium and containing very diverse perspectives on religion and government. One perspective, represented by the Psalms, which were hymns sung in the Temple in Jerusalem, exalts the king to an almost divine position, sitting at the right hand of God (Ps 110:1) and receiving the nations of the earth for an inheritance (Ps 2:8). Coronation hymns celebrate the king’s special relationship to God. This perspective dominates the self-understanding of the kings of Judah, the southern part of ancient Israel. In sharp contrast, the prophet Samuel denounces kings as crooks and oppressors who are allowed by God only as a concession to human sinfulness. Samuel warns the tribes of Israel that if they choose to have a king, the king will draft their young men into his army and put the young women to work in his service. In this trajectory, prophets, armed only with the conviction that they have been called by God to proclaim the Word of God, repeatedly stand up to the kings of ancient Israel and denounce their sinfulness. Thus Samuel condemns Saul, Nathan condemns David, and later prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah condemn the kings of their times. Meanwhile, in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells the Roman governor Pontius Pilate that his kingdom does not belong to this world (Jn 18:36). This suggests a separation of responsibilities between civil governance and religious leadership. Repeatedly in the gospels, when people want to make Jesus a king, he slips through their midst and escapes. His mission is to proclaim the reign of God, not to establish a worldly kingdom. There are also various covenants that set forth the relationship of God and God’s people (Gen 9:8-17; 15:18-21; Ex 20; Deut 5); a covenant in the ancient Middle East was a solemn agreement that bound both parties to observe certain obligations. The covenant with Noah was made by God with all of creation. The covenant with Abraham initiated a relationship with Abraham and his descendants forever. The covenant made with Moses at Mt. Sinai became the central framework for the relationship of the people of Israel to God. The Book of Deuteronomy renews and reflects upon this covenant a generation later, as Moses is at the end of his life. These four options would shape, respectively, later Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist views of the proper relation between church and state. The political theologies of the later Christian tradition consist in large measure of a series of conflicting appropriations of these perspectives. One can read the major political options taken by later Christian communions as developing one or more of the biblical trajectories. The Byzantine Orthodox tradition and some aspects of the Roman Catholic tradition continue the tradition of sacred kingship. Later strands of the Roman Catholic tradition view earthly rulers as prone to corruption and in need of repeated rebuke by religious leaders, such as popes. The Lutheran tradition focuses on Jesus’s statement to Pilate that his kingdom is not of this world and concludes that there are two kingdoms: the kingdom of God, which is ruled by the gospel, and the kingdom of this world, which is ruled by civil governments. The Calvinist tradition focused on covenant in a way that none of the earlier traditions had done, placing covenant at the center of relationships both with God and with other human beings. In this lecture, I will not discuss the original biblical texts themselves, but I would like to explore the way in biblical perspectives have guided later Christian political theologies. Divine Kingship The ideology of the Judean monarchy, with its lofty view of the monarch as favored by God and called to mediate divine justice in the world would shape the Byzantine Orthodox tradition’s view of the Emperor as a sacred figure with responsibility for the empire and the church together. Psalm 110 proclaims: â€Å"The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool† (110:1). That is, God says to the king: be enthroned beside me. This strand of the Bible sees God as entrusting a special responsibility to the king, which included particular care for the rights of widows and orphans, who were usually the most vulnerable persons in the ancient world. In this perspective, kings are divinely chosen beings with both rights and responsibilities of proper rule. This perspective would influence later Eastern Christian views of church-state relations. For example, after Constantine had unified the Roman Empire in the early fourth century and made Christianity legal, the fourth-century bishop Eusebius of Caesarea in Palestine described the Emperor who was formally only a candidate for reception into the church, as receiving, â€Å"as it were, a transcript of divine sovereignty† from God and directing the administration of the entire world, including the church, in imitation of God (Life of Constantine). That is, Constantine had a divinely given responsibility to govern not only the Roman Empire but also the Church. This view of a sacred emperor would shape the self-understanding of Byzantine Emperors until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the self-understanding of the Russian Czars until 1917. All of the first seven ecumenical councils—meetings of bishops from throughout the worldacknowledged by the Byzantine Orthodox and C atholics were called by Roman Emperors and were presided over by them or their legates. If the pope did not wish to have a council, pressure would be applied. In the sixth century CE, the Byzantine Emperor Justinian wanted to call a council, but Pope Vigilius disagreed with him. Justinian had Vigilius kidnapped by the Byzantine police while he was saying Mass and held until he agreed to the council. Then the council was held in Constantinople, where Justinian wanted it, not in Sicily, where Pope Vigilius wanted it. At the end of the council Vigilius did not like the idea of condemning men who had died two centuries earlier in communion with the church. Justinian applied further pressure to the Latin clergy, and Vigilius eventually accepted the Condemnation of various bishops from two hundred years earlier. The model of sacred kingship would also dominate early medieval Western views of kings and emperors from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. During the first millennium of Christian history, lay rulers, inspired by the ideology of the Judean monarchy, regularly called bishops and popes to account for their misdeeds and had recognized authority to depose unworthy ecclesiastical leaders and appoint new ones. In one year alone, 1046, Emperor Henry III, imbued with the divinely given mission of sacred kingship, deposed three popes (Sylvester III, Benedict IX, and Gregory VI) and appointed a new pope, Clement II. Before his death in 1056, Henry would appoint three more popes. There is certainly the danger of abuse of power here, but there was also a genuine concern that the papacy not be dominated by corrupt Roman nobility. This tradition leaves a heritage that challenges Christian political leaders to accountability to God for the way they enforce justice in this world and charges them with responsibility for good governance of the Church. During the first millennium popes from Gelasius I onward would insist on a distinction between sacred and secular authority in order to limit the role of Emperors in the church. Like Samuel and other prophets who challenged the pretensions of biblical monarchs, Augustine rejected Eusebius’s exaltation of a Christian Roman Emperor and the entire model of sacred kingship. Like Samuel, Augustine thought earthly rulers were largely thieves and saw monarchy as a tragic necessity because of human sinfulness and not as directly willed by God. Augustine believed that no form of government could assure true justice in this world, and he questioned: â€Å"Justice removed, what are kingdoms but great bands of robbers? What are bands of robbers but little kingdoms?† Empires in principle are not Christian. This perspective would buttress the Gregorian Reform in the eleventh century, when a series of popes and reformers would reject the model of sacred kingship. Pope Gregory VII, echoing Samuel and Augustine, insisted that kings are largely thugs and oppressors who need to be called to accountability by religious leaders and who can be deposed by papal autho rity. The inability of either popes or emperors completely to dominate Europe would lead to new distinctions between secular and sacred in the twelfth century and in later medieval and early modern thought. From about the year 1100 on, emperors and pro-imperial apologists insist on a distinction between the sacred and the secular to limit the power of the papacy in politics. The suspicion of great empires as great robbers that need to be called to account by religious leaders would inform the battles of popes against emperors and kings for centuries and hovers in the background of Pope John Paul II’s challenge to the Soviet Empire on his trip to Poland in 1979 and his eloquent defense of human rights against oppressive governments around the world. The claim of papal authority over kings and nations could manifest itself in dangerous ways as well. In Psalm 2, God promises the king: â€Å"I will give you the nations for an inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession. You shall rule them with an iron rod; you shall shatter them like an earthen dish.† Even though never fulfilled in ancient times, that promise, buttressed by the conquest narratives of the Hebrew Bible, lived on in Christian memory, and fifteenth-century popes saw themselves as the trustees of this inheritance. In 1452, as the Portuguese were inaugurating their journeys of discovery and conquest, Pope Nicholas V granted to the king of Portugal the right to conquer and enslave the entire non-Christian world: â€Å"In the name of our apostolic authority, we grant to you the full and entire faculty of invading, conquering, expelling and reigning over all the kingdoms, the duchies . . . of the Saracens, of pagans and of all infidels, wherever they may be found; of reducing their inhabitants to perpetual slavery, of appropriating to yourself those kingdoms and all their possessions, for your own use and that of your successors† (Nicholas V, Dum Diversas, 1452; quoted in Peter Schineller, A Handbook of Inculturation, 34). In 1493 and again in 1494, shortly after the discovery of the New World, Pope Alexander VI drew a line on the map of the Americas, marking a partition between the areas that Spain and Portugal could dominate. The dream of empire, inspired by biblical promises, would shape centuries of modern colonial history. Reformation During the Reformation, the two major Protestant traditions rejected both the Byzantine Orthodox and the Roman Catholic models, but they drew sharply contrasting visions of politics from the Bible. Citing the Gospel of John, where Jesus denies that his kingdom belongs to this world, Martin Luther used the distinction between two kingdoms as a central principle structuring his theology. Luther insisted that God rules God’s own people by the Gospel and God rules those outside the church by the Law (â€Å"Secular Authority: To What Extent It Should be Obeyed,† in Dillenberger, 368). However, Christians remain sinners throughout their lives, and so God also rules Christians by the Law insofar as they are sinners and part of a sinful society. Luther shared Augustine’s and Samuel’s skepticism about earthly rulers, but he interpreted Paul’s Letter to the Romans (chapter 13) as calling the Christian to obey even rulers whose policies offend a Christian cons cience. He insisted on freedom to preach the Word of God, but he generally trusted governmental authorities to rule the temporal realm. In the later history of Lutheranism, contrary to Luther’s intention, the Lutheran church was generally subservient to the state, and the state often supervised ecclesiastical governance. In contrast to all the earlier models, John Calvin placed the covenant at the center of his political theology, with implications that would echo through much of European and American history. For Calvinists, covenants governed relations not only between God and Christians but also between earthly rulers and their subjects. In various countries the Calvinist tradition developed a forceful critique of monarchy based on the mutual obligations of each party. For Calvin, God alone is truly king, and all humans are radically fallen and subject to constant temptations to idolatry. No figure, whether pope or emperor or king or even a Protestant preacher, can claim infallible, final authority. Since rulers are forever tempted to rebel against God, all earthly power must be limited. Calvin distrusted democracy because a majority can be just as tyrannical as an individual, and he thought democracy could easily lead to sedition. He judged that in a fallen world, no single figure can be trusted, and thus all political powers must be checked by the self-interest of others. He advocated a mixture of aristocracy and democracy, a model that would be very influential on political developments in North America. Calvinists often suffered attacks and persecutions. After the St. Bartholemew’s Day Massacre in France, when Roman Catholics murdered thousands of Protestants, Theodore Beza, Calvin’s most faithful disciple, proclaimed the sovereignty of the people, the right of revolution, and the binding nature of a constitution. Presbyterians in Scotland insisted on mutual responsibilities of the covenant as a way of limiting the powers of the Stuart monarchs. When Mary Stuart accused John Knox of grasping for power, he denied the charge and insisted: â€Å"My one aim is that Prince and people alike shall obey God.† (Ernst Troeltsch, The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches, vol. 2, p. 634). The rebellion against King Charles I began in Scotland with the proclamation of the National Covenant. Precisely because covenants spelled out mutual obligations for both ruler and the ruled, they could become the basis for rebellion and revolution when the terms were judged to have b een violated. Through reflection on covenants in the Hebrew Bible and on natural law, Calvinists influenced early modern theories of government based upon a social contract and thus relying upon the consent of the governed. Calvin saw the Gospel as a transformative social power, and there is a militant utopianism in Calvin’s vision of Christianity that would change the world. Geneva was to be the New Jerusalem. Puritans frustrated by the Stuart monarchs in England brought this energy and vision to New England, determined to build the city on the hill to inspire the world. Puritans understood themselves as the new Israelites fleeing slavery and coming to the Promised Land. As in earlier papal and imperial models, there was a negative side to the appropriation of biblical promises. Remembering that the ancient Israelites were instructed to destroy other tribes lest they tempt them to worship other gods, Puritan settlers viewed Native Americans as temptations to sin and sought to exterminate them or, at least, contain them in separate areas, reservations that were called â€Å"praying towns† (Richard Slotkin, Regeneration through Violence: The Mythology of the American Frontier 1600-1860, 40- 42). When the Puritan Revolution in England failed in 1660, Puritans in America gave up hope for Europe and saw themselves as the millennial people, with a divine mission to convert the world after the failures in Europe. Secularization and Religious Freedom in North America Thus far we have seen the major models of church-state relations through the 17th century. Every pre-modern government with which I am familiar looked to religion for a source of legitimation. Emperors, kings, sultans, aristocrats all claimed to rule by the will of God. In China emperors ruled through the Confucian notion of the Mandate of Heaven. Buddhist kings cultivated harmonious relationships with Buddhist monasteries to demonstrate their devotion and piety. All this came under suspicion in early modern Europe. During the 16th and 17th centuries, European Christians, both Protestant and Catholic, fought a series of bitter and bloody wars of religion. Each side claimed to be fighting on behalf of God; each side assumed that an empire, a nation, or a smaller polity should be unified in its religious belief and practice. Only a small minority of Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries believed in religious freedom for each individual according to the person’s own conscience. Because religious convictions were so strong, and because religion was embedded in manifold political, social, and economic relations, the conflicts were relentless and merciless. The Thirty Years’ War in Germany, which raged from 1618 to 1648, began as a religious conflict among Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists. By the end the war was more political than religious, with Catholic France intervening on the side of the Protestants to weaken the Holy Roman Emperor; but the damage had been done. There were atrocities against civilian populations on all sides. This was the bloodiest war on the continent of Europe prior to World War I. Meanwhile, about the same time, England went through an extremely vicious, bloody civil war, which killed a higher percentage of the population of England than did World War I. In the wake of these wars of religion, thinking people increasingly began to question whether religion could or should be trusted with the task of legitimating any form of government. Enlightenment thinkers began to reflect on the virtue of religious tolerance, of respecting the liberty of conscience of others in matters religious. They also began to reflect on the possibility of separating church from state. About this same time, in the British colonies in North America, some began to question the wisdom of government regulation of religion. In New England Roger Williams surveyed the bitter history of religious conflicts in Europe since the time of Constantine and concluded that imposing religious loyalties was a violation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Williams interpreted Jesus’s parable of the wheat and the weeds as forbidding Christians to attack those with whom they disagreed. Williams daringly judged the Emperor Constantine, who legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire, to have been more of a danger than Nero, who had persecuted Christians. Under Nero, Christians had heroically suffered and died; with Constantine, Christians took power, became corrupted, and began to impose Christianity by governmental authority. Williams also argued that it was unjust for the King of England to pretend to have the right to give away lands where Native Americans had lived for centuries. Fo r Williams, the fact that Native Americans had different religious practices did not deprive them of their right to their homeland. In 1635 Williams was banished from Massachusetts as a dissenter. The following year he moved south, where he purchased land from Native American Indians and established a new community, Rhode Island, as a â€Å"haven for the cause of conscience,† founded on the principle of religious liberty for all. His ideal of religious freedom or, in his phrase, â€Å"soul liberty† was fiercely opposed by the Puritans in Massachusetts but would stand as a model for later generations. About the same time, Lord Baltimore founded Maryland as a refuge for Catholics fleeing persecution in England. Purchasing land from Native American Indians, he intended the colony to be a home for followers of all Christian paths, and the charter founding the colony offered equal rights in religious freedom to all. In 1649 the Maryland Assembly passed a Toleration Act offering freedom of conscience to all Christians. The example of guaranteeing religious freedom spread to other colonies as well, with similar charters of religious liberty in New Jersey in 1664, in Carolina in 1665, and in Pennsylvania in 1682. There was increasing momentum in the colonies to end government interference in religious practice and to accept a variety of forms of faith. The Americans who fought the Revolutionary war were struggling for religious liberty as well as for political liberty. The quest for religious freedom came from both the tradition of dissenting Protestantism and also Enlightenment ideals of religious toleration. Many of the founders of the United States of America were strongly influenced by the European Enlightenment, with its suspicion of Christianity, its critique of the wars of religion, its deist faith, and its doubts about any claims for supernatural revelation. Thomas Jefferson thought that the alliance of clergy and political officials inevitably led to tyranny, and he believed that clergymen should not be allowed to any hold political office. On occasion he excoriated them as â€Å"the real Anti-Christ.† In return, some New England preachers attacked Jefferson himself as the Anti-Christ and warned that if he were elected president, he would commandeer all Bibles and establish houses of prostitution in the churches. Je fferson and George Washington, like many of their contemporaries, were deists, for whom the natural religion of humankind provided the ultimate answer to the conflicts among particular religions. For both, religious freedom was indispensable for human progress. As military commander, Washington forbade the celebration of the English anti-Catholic feast, Pope’s Day, on November 5, 1775, at a time when he was seeking support from French-speaking Catholics in Canada. Ben Franklin was deeply influenced by Deism and is often considered a deist; but he shaped his own idiosyncratic view of natural religion, with a plurality of deities under the direction of one supreme deity. Franklin, Jefferson, and Washington would quietly attend Christian church services without believing traditional theology; more radical deists such as Thomas Paine, Ethan Allen, and Elihu Palmer, rejected Christianity more thoroughly, criticizing the Bible for its multiple contradictions and substituting a reli gion of nature for Christian practice. While many of the founding fathers were deists of one form or another, American Protestants also contributed strongly to the revolution and interpreted the establishment of the new nation in religious terms. Indeed, the evangelical revival movement known as the First Great Awakening in the early eighteenth century did much to foster communication among the colonies, to establish awareness of a new shared American identity in contrast to the British, and also to arouse evangelical Protestant hostility to Anglican and Catholic forms of worship, thereby paving the way for revolt against the British king. The Puritan practice of interpreting the settlement in North America as a fulfillment of promises in the Book of Revelation was influential on supporters of the Revolution. In Virginia the Church of the England was the established Church, and all other forms of worship were forbidden. The young James Madison was deeply shocked by the imprisonment of traveling Baptist preachers who openly expressed their religious beliefs in Virginia; he would later become one of the leaders in the quest for full religious liberty. Madison asserted, â€Å"Torrents of blood have been spilt in the old world, by vain attempts of the secular arm to extinguish religious discord. . . . Time has at length revealed the true remedy.† The remedy for Madison and his colleagues was full religious liberty and the separation of church and state. The founders of the new nation resolved that the bitter religious wars of Europe should not be replicated on American soil. George Mason was the chief author of Virginia Declaration of Rights, which declared â€Å"all men should enjoy the fullest Toleration in the Exercise of Religion according to the Dictates of Conscience.† The Bill of Rights for the Commonwealth of Virginia, approved on June 12, 1776, was a landmark achievement, the first such list of rights in history. On July 4, 1788, a parade in Philadelphia celebrated the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Clergy from various Christian denominations marched together and with them, arm, in arm, a Jewish rabbi. One observer, Dr. Benjamin Rush, commented, â€Å"There could not have been a more happy emblem contrived, of the section of the new constitution, which opens all its powers and offices alike, not only to every sect of Christians, but to worthy men of every religion.† Two years later George Washington visited the Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island, which still stands as the oldest synagogue in the United States. The Jewish community thanked him and the new government for â€Å"generously affording to all liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship†; Washington, in reply, affirmed that the U.S. government â€Å"gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance,† and he went on to distinguish the religious toleration granted by the British and o ther European governments (often on condition that Jews â€Å"improve†) from the American recognition of religious liberty as an inherent natural right. In principle, followers of all religious traditions were to be fully equal citizens in the United States of America. Secularization in the United States was not hostile to religion but allowed a free range of religious debate. One can read the history of the United States in terms of four Great Awakenings, each of which was linked to a movement of social or political reform. Alexis de Tocqueville would note the paradox that in Europe churches were established but languishing. In the United States, by contrast, no church was established, and all were flourishing. The free competition among Protestant churches called forth creativity and vitality. France and the Papal Reaction A few years after the American Revolution, another revolution began in France, which became far bloodier both in attacking established religion and also in devouring its own children. Because the Catholic Church was intimately intertwined with the ancien regime, the old way of life in France, the French Revolution targeted Catholic bishops, priests, nuns, churches and monasteries. Many Catholic leaders were killed, churches were turned into museums—as is the case with the Pantheon in Paris to the present day—monastery farmlands were confiscated by the French Republic and put up for sale to support the Revolution and its armies. The model of secularization in France was very, very different from that in the United States. Because the Catholic Church had been so powerfully established for centuries, the program of secularization aimed to eliminate the influence of the Catholic Church from the political sphere for the sake of laicità ©. This heritage lives on to the prese nt day, continuing to shape relations between the French government and religions. Catholic leaders in Europe saw the French Revolution as a direct attack upon the Catholic Church, and this prompted a profound suspicion of modernity and its newly proclaimed democratic ideals. Napoleon, after all, had humiliated Pope Pius VII, taking him as a virtual prisoner into France in 1808. Napoleon, in the presence of the pope, crowned himself emperor, thereby signaling that the pope had no role whatsoever to play. Many thought that this would be the end of the papacy. After the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, the victorious European powers gathered at the Congress of Vienna to plan the future of Europe. The pope sided with the forces of reaction. It was commented that the victorious European leaders had â€Å"forgotten nothing and learned nothing.† In this context, the papacy returned to a position of prominence and renewed vigor, albeit on the side of the forces of reaction in Europe. In this atmosphere, a French Catholic priest, Felicità © Robert de Lamennais, sought to accept the ideals of democracy, separation of church and state, and freedom of speech, of the press and of religion into Catholicism. He argued against the interference of governments in religious matters and supported revolutions to transform society. Pope Gregory XVI vigorously condemned him and the ideals of modernity. Pope Gregory condemned democracy, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, and freedom of the press. In a wordplay on the French term for railroads, â€Å"chemins de fer† (roads of iron), he even condemned railroads as â€Å"chemins de l’enfer†Ã¢â‚¬â€the roads of hell. His successor, Pope Pius IX, was originally more positively disposed toward the reform movements in Europe, but after the Revolution of 1848 killed his Priume Minister and forced him to flee Rome in disguise, Pope Pius turned vehemently against the ideals of the modern world. In 1 864 Pope Pius IX issued the Syllabus of Errors, which repeated earlier papal condemnations of modern ideals, and concluding by a famous condemnation of the notion that â€Å"the Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and comes to terms with progress, liberalism, and modern civilization.† During this time the Italian movement known as the Risorgimento was fighting to unify Italy into a modern nation. The pope had ruled the central portion of Italy, known as the Papal States, for centuries. By the time of the pontificate of Pius IX, this territory was reduced to the city of Rome, which was effectively defended by French troops. When in 1870 Prussia invaded France, the French troops were called home and the Italian General Garibaldi was able to capture Rome for the new Italian nation. In protest, the pope declared himself a â€Å"prisoner of the Vatican† and refused to leave its precincts for the rest of his life. This precedent was followed for decades. The loss of temporal power profoundly transformed the papacy. For centuries popes had been not only spiritual leaders but also the temporal governors of Rome and central Italy. As such, they were involved in constant political squabbles and frequently papal armies fought in battles for land and power. Popes intervened on the side of their own families and were perceived as partisan political leaders. The papal states were long thought to be necessary to preserve the independence of the pope from domination by a temporal ruler. In 1870 the worst nightmare of the popes came to pass. Pope Pius IX lost all the temporal possessions except for the Vatican itself. Pius refused any negotiations with the new Italian natgion. Finally, in 1929 Pope Pius XI would sign a Concordat with Benito Mussolini, officially establishing the relationship between the Holy See and the nation of Italy. Paradoxically, however, the loss of the Papal States was one of the greatest possible blessings for the papacy. Once freed from the responsibilities of ruling the central portion of Italy, popes were eventually able to become respected moral and spiritual leaders on an unprecedented global level. This came to fruition in the middle and late 20th c. Pope John XXIII, who served as pope from 1958 to 1963, was beloved by many, many people beyond the borders of the Catholic Church. He was, in a sense, the grandfather to the world, a kindly, spiritual man who spoke vigorously for peace and the welfare of the poor. During the Cuban missile crisis in the fall of 1962, when the United States and the Soviet Union came the closest they ever did to nuclear war, Pope John XXIII served as an intermediary, passing messages between them. Pope J