Afghanistan is a failed state Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Afghanistan is a failed state - Essay Example Afghanistan is a mountainous landlocked country found in the South Central Asia, bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast (Afghanistan, 2011).Various ethnic communities can be found in the country, with the most common being the Pashtun ethnic group, although there are a few other ethnic groups such as Tajiks, Uzbeks, Hazara, and other small groups. Despite having large chunks of underutilized agricultural lands and mineral resources, the country remains one of the poorest nations mainly due to political disturbance and persistent infighting, as well as the 1980 Afghan War (Afghanistan, 2011). A failed state may be described as one where political control and order is non-existence such that the citizenry are oppressed, while the general environment is tense, and consists of warring factions and militant rebels, with the government’s armed forces always at cross-roads with these insurgents or unable to provide enough security. Afghanistan seems to have fallen in this category, not until the US embarked on enforcing democratic rule in the recent past. One reason for classifying Afghanistan as a failed state is the fact that the government institutions have been almost totally destroyed characterized by no rule of law and no democratic system of governance; for example, the Taliban militia oppressed and massacred most people opposed to their rule. In addition, the country seems to have failed due to persistent civil war, internal and external displacements, human rights violations, extreme poverty, and the unending drought with the socio-economic indicators being too poor or inadequate. Other factors have been traced to emerge from the cold war, colonial disturbance of social structures and imbalance between social mobility and nation-building processes. In the recent years, the international community has been keen to help the country rebuild itself, with the US being on the frontline. However, several challenges are encountered in nation building, one being that the policies drawn are not sound enough as the main focus is military intervention to eliminate terror and create a democratic state, but less emphasis on reconstruction. Other challenges include insufficient funding from NGOs, insecurity due to the persistence of an antiregime and anti-western insurgence, and shifting attention by the US and UK to other countries, such as Iraq, Libya and so on. Further in this paper I will look at what has failed and why Afghanistan is being compared to a failed state and the nation building efforts which have received a lot of international support have not been quite a success. The paper will also touch the role of violence, military and humanitarian issues in the Afghanistan. Failed states Countries exist to offer political and social goods in a decentralized manner to the people living within its boundaries. Therefore, countries or ganize and distribute the concerns of their people, and safeguard their people from external exploitation and influences to ensure the country’s internal environment in terms of economic, political, and social aspects are taken care of. Countries are classified as strong states, weak states, failed, or collapsed depending on their ability to provide the important political goods to their people. Any country government’s main function is to provide the political good of security by preventing cross-border invasions and infiltrations, and any reduction of it territories. This is in addition to removing domestic threats or attacks upon the national order and social systems, and providing mechanisms for dispute resolution between the citizens with the state and with fellow

Why might some SME owners give more preference to family involvement Essay

Why might some SME owners give more preference to family involvement in the management of SMEs compared to others - Essay Example ssary ambition to devote their skills in ensuring that the businesses survives the threats of the environment to achieve growth and the overall maximisation of profits (Eisenhardt 2009, p. 78). The following discussion shall evaluate on the several aspects that SME owners evaluate to resolve on the appointment of family members to the management of the businesses as of importance. With the growing competition and the need to grow the segments of operations in order to yield and accrue the benefits born to economies of scale, SME owners acknowledge that managerial positions should be directed to family members since they have a stake in the businesses. Small microenterprise businesses contribute to the biggest percentage of all global businesses. Therefore, competition is evident for each of the business seeks to prosper in growth and profitability over other common and many other entities with similar production and market objectives (Habbershon, Williams, & MacMillan2003, p. 87). SME owners are knowledgeable of the fact that other similar businesses in their segment of operation may engage in unethical ways to amass relevant, but secret information that will serve for the benefit of the competitors. The practice of appointing learned family members to such positions is the fact that the owners are knowledgeable of the positive influences such individuals bear (Gomez-Meja, Nunez-Nickel, & Gutierrez 2011, p. 90). Notably, the appointment of family members following a certain protocol of tangible and intangible forms of incentives serve for the benefit of the organization since such managers realize the importance in ensuring successful outcomes and limited threats to their organisations (Martà ­nez, Stà ¶hr, & Quiroga, 2007, p. 90). Agreements signed entitle an individual to manage the SME as a family business and further as an honourable job position with its interest after some time without necessarily being physically active (Eisenhardt 2009, p. 88). This helps

Bankruptcy in the United States Essay Example for Free

Bankruptcy in the United States Essay The paradox set up between the words â€Å"pleasure† and â€Å"burn† shows something unusual about the characterization of the speaker—that maybe he is a paradox himself and is at odds with what is thought of as normal. Who the speaker is has not been revealed yet, so the reader is allowed to form opinions about his character before meeting the fireman. Further into the book, Montag no longer finds a pleasure, and he runs from his job as a fireman. Finally, the feeling of fire as a pleasure returns when he realizes fire can be used for warmth and comfort rather than for destruction. Diction used (burn, eaten, blackened, changed) creates a fearful mood and an ominous tone from the beginning. Chapter 1 Mood â€Å"His lips quivered and the spectacles were dimmed with mist—â€Å"’we may stay here till we die†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ with that word the heat seemed to increase till it became a threatening weight and the lagoon attacked them with a blinding effulgence â€Å" This mood conducts an emotion time to where the boys just came to their senses that they might not make it out of there. Nobody knows they are there so they realized that they have to fight to make their way out. Later on they realized that the have to find or at least try to find others that may still be on the island. A foreshadow of this might be â€Å"we may stay here till we die† because since they are all children from 6-12 they may not make it out of the island Imagery â€Å"The silence was so complete that they could hear the unevenness of piggy’s breathing. The sun slanted in and lay golden over half the platform. The breeze that on the lagoon had chased their tails like kittens wee finding their way across the platform and into the forest. â€Å"‘So we may be here a long time†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ This quote shows that after finding more people they all came to realization that would be there a long time because nobody knows where they are. The boys went silent as they realized what was actually happening. This quote emphasized the awkward silence as they all processed through their heads that they all may not either make it or go home. This symbolized imagery because I could really picture the surroundings and feel how quiet it must have been. Theme â€Å"I agree with ralph. We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all we’re not savages. We’re English and English are the best at everything. So we’ve got to do the right things† This is in first person This part of the chapter identifies that start of them striving to do the right things. They weren’t working together so now they are forming themselves into groups, etc. to hold themselves together. The mood of this is determination because to me it seems that these boys are finally finding out to feel what its like to be on your own so they have to stick together in order to live. Civilization vs Savagery Chapter 3 Tone â€Å"Everyone’s keeps running off. You remember the meeting? How everyone was going to work hard until the shelters were finished? † This passage is showing how they went to fun to serious. Because there are a lot of younger kids in the group it is harder for everyone to concentrate for long amount of times. Causing things to fall apart and now people are getting mad and stressed. This creates a tone of seriousness even though the boys/chiefs are only 12 Chapter 3 Mood â€Å"They looked at each other, baffled, in love and hate. All the warm slat water of the bathing pool and the shouting and splashing and laughing were only just sufficient to bring them together again† This passage shows that all it takes is a little fun to realize that everything is okay. The pass few pages were full of everyone just stressing out and fighting and once they began to let loose and have fun ralph and jack realized that it was okay it brought them together again. The mood is relieved and a feeling of happiness â€Å"There was a ship. Out there, You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out! † The boys are eager to go home but with the choir out hunting the fire had gone out and the ship had passed them because their signal (fire) burned out. Ralph then became violent and angry and yelled at jack creating a mood of intimidation and anger. HE then released all the stress that had been built up and took it out on the gang.

Underwater electromagnetic communications

Underwater electromagnetic communications Underwater communication using an em-wave:- Underwater electromagnetic communications have been investigated since the very early days of radio communication and again received considerable attention during the 1970s.in those days only the extremely low frequency (ELF) submarine communications system is believed to be the only successfully devolved subsea electromagnetic application. Its implementation was only one way communication to call individual at surface of higher bandwidth using terrestrial radio. Under water networking is a rather unexplored area although underwater communications have been experimented since 2nd world war. In 1945 an underwater telephone was developed in the United States to communicate with submarines. And also underwater sensors and nodes must possess self configuration capabilities like should b able to coordinate their operation by exchanging configuration, location and movement information, and relay monitored data to an onshore station. Water conductivity:- Water in its pure form is an insulator, but as found in its natural state, it contains dissolved salts and other matter which makes it a partial conductor, as so in case of the sea water its becomes more conductive medium than normal water. The higher its conductivity, the greater the attenuation of radio signals which pass through it. As the attenuation of the signal increases the signal strength decreases and its leads to difficulties in propagation of the signal. Conductivity of the water varies both with the salinity and temperature. Average conductivity of the sea is normally considered to be about 4 mhos per meter. What this means that one meter cube of sea water has a conductivity of 4 mhos or a resistance of 0.25 ohm, (its reciprocal). Attenuation:- Attenuation of radio waves in water (any conducting medium) increases both with increase in conductivity and increase in frequency. It can be calculated from the following formula: Attenuation (ÃŽ ±) in db/meter = 0.0173√ (fÏÆ') Where f = frequency in hertz And ÏÆ' = conductivity in mhos/metre From the figure below states Attenuation as a function of frequency for conductive saline water verses normal water .attenuation in saline or conductive water is very high. It is necessary to use very low frequencies (10 kHz -200 MHz) where attenuation would be very low as in order of 3.5 to 10db per metre. Underwater attenuation (VS) frequency Losses at the surface due to refraction or interfaces:- As the em waves had pass through the two different medium like water and air they undergo refraction when the wave travels from the air medium to the water medium and this are also important so they can be calculated as by the formula Refraction loss (db) = 20 log {(7.4586/106) x √ (f/ÏÆ')} As this losses plays a vital role in the performance of the system to avoid such looses we can connect an antenna to the terrestrial system hanging it into the water and could reduce the loose and in sea water this looses would be high and in the vicinity 60db for lower frequency. As compared in the sea and normal water the loss decrease with increase in frequency in the figure below we would illustrate the graph between the sea and normal related with the frequency. Air to water looses are very less in the normal water it would as lees as 27db and when in sea water it would be normally between 60 to 70 db. Wavelength in water:- The wavelength of the wave signal transmitted wouldnt be same in the water as would be in the air it would a fraction of the original expected signal as shown below Wavelength (ÃŽ ») in meters = 1000 √ {10 / (fÏÆ')} And hence taking all this effects on the wave due to the underwater communication. The communication through the underwater had been developing many process and methods to develop to communication underwater. either using the sound signal or the light signal as they the sound and light are used as means of communication in various fields and hence the method that is used with the sound signal is the acoustic communication and that used after the light is the optical communication they have got their own advantages and disadvantages due to several factors influencing them directly or indirectly. As to over the defects of each the other came into existence and the acoustic and the optical methods of communication would be referred later in our discussion and the latest and upcoming means of underwater communication is the electromagnetic wave propagation underwater. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=arnumber=1353478isnumber=29739 http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2867858/RF-Communications-under-water http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=5158896 http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=arnumber=5158896isnumber=5158801tag=1 http://delivery.acm.org/10.1145/1350000/1347372/p23-partan.pdf?key1=1347372key2=7686568521coll=GUIDEdl=GUIDECFID=56483254CFTOKEN=36576706 http://its-nl.org/doc/OIL__GAS_WELLS_RF_PROPAGATION_1st_Edition.pdf http://www.docstoc.com/docs/12533584/Introduction-to-RF-propagation As electromagnetic propagation through water is very different from propagation through air because of waves high permittivity and electrical conductivity like plane wave attenuation is high compared to air and increases rapidly with frequency Through water, full bandwidth, low range, analogue voice communication was found to be impractical and so rapidly it developed an opinion as electromagnetic signals had no application in the underwater environment Re-evolution of em capabilities:- As both the acoustic and optical wireless subsea systems have the disadvantages and so the electromagnetic wave subsea system comes into existence. As the electromagnetic signaling transmission using different mechanism. Many of the investigation had proved that electromagnetic signaling coupled with digital technology and signal compression techniques would provide many advantages which can be suitable for underwater application. As the electromagnetic waves would be more attenuated in water than that of the air. Conductivity of the sea water would be 4s/m were in fresh water its mille-s/m range comparatively less than the sea water. Losses in the water are mainly due to the effect of conduction on the conductive field component. The below parameters shows the variation frequency parameters in fresh and sea water in conductivity. Water relative permeability = Â µ = 1 Water relative permittivity = ÃŽ µ = 80 Sea water conductivity (typ) = ÏÆ' = 4 s/m Fresh water conductivity (typ) = ÏÆ' = 0.01 s/m

John Rambo and Jack Ryan: Men America Can Count On? :: essays research papers

John Rambo and Jack Ryan are two amazing men. They are honest, trustworthy, heroic, never crack under pressure, and stand for truth, justice, and the American way. Sylvester Stallone and Harrison Ford do their best attempting to make the audience believe that men such as Rambo and Ryan actually exist. Try as they might, not even Stallone or Ford can convince me that men of this caliber actually live. Rambo is able to not only foil his corrupt, superior American officer trying to sabotage his mission, but eliminate an entire army of Vietnamese and Russian soldiers, and save a handful of POWs. Jack Ryan defies the entire government and the largest Colombian drug cartel because he stands for the â€Å"truth.† Sorry, but I am not buying it. An interesting aspect of the two films, Rambo / First Blood Part II (George P. Cosmatos, 1985) and Clear and Present Danger (Phillip Noyce, 1994) is the differences the two men display, despite the fact that what they represent is extremely similar. John Rambo is more of a renegade, a decorated soldier of the Vietnam "conflict," with only his mentor Colonel Trautman at his side. He was jailed for blowing up a small town in Oregon (a detail from the first film). The mindless, fickle public would then overlook all of the great things he did in the war because he blew up an "innocent town." On the other hand, Jack Ryan is an important member of the CIA, a very noble position to hold. It is also revealed in the film that Jack Ryan is a very noble man, not violent unless absolutely forced to be. Little could change society's view of him. Within their own films, Rambo and Jack Ryan are the only men capable of "saving" America from the evils that plague it . The difference is that Rambo is looked at as a violent killing machine, whereas Jack Ryan is seen as a man who will do only what is necessary to "do the right thing." In a simple plot comparison, Danger seems much more in-depth and intelligent than Rambo. Rambo is sent to get pictures of POW’s, and must not engage the enemy in combat. Jack Ryan has to uncover the scandal, and the twists and turns that are ahead, with many characters being introduced over many locations. However, upon closer inspection, it appears that Danger is only hiding under a lot of technical jargon and piles upon piles of details.

Against Capital Punishment Essay -- Papers Argumentative Death Penalty

Against Capital Punishment Currently in the United States, the death penalty is ruled constitutional. This is a mistake, and capital punishment should be unconstitutional. The imposition of the death penalty has been challenged under the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution that states, ?Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted.? 6 (United States Constitution) Throughout its existence, the death penalty has been racially bias, performed on the innocent, and administered cruel and unusual punishment. Many cases have been brought before the Supreme Court arguing that the death penalty should be considered Cruel and unusual punishment. ?In 1967, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice found the death penalty is most frequently imposed and carried out on the poor, the Negro, and the members of unpopular groups.? 1 (references of www.deathpenalty.org). This finding supported the claim that the death penalty was unusual punishment because it was not administered fairly to everyone. It also one of the major factors that helped to stop in executions and that lasted nearly ten years. On June 3, 1967, the death penalty was put on hiatus while the Supreme Court entertained arguments that attacked the unconstitutionality of the death penalty. The first case to reach the Supreme Court after the unofficial halt of executions was the case of Witherspoon v. Illinois in 1968. In this case the jury handed down a death sentence. The state had purposely excluded all citizens from serving on the jury who had feelings opposing the death penalty. This was not constitutional for the state to do and the Supreme Court agreed sa... ... or verbal formulas that actually will provide consistency, fairness, and reliability in a capital-sentencing scheme. I am not optimistic that such a day will come.? U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackman The fact is that there is no perfect method for imposing or carrying out capital punishment. Too many factors such as race and the chance of error or mistakes make the death penalty flawed. It is an extremely cruel and unusual form of punishment and should be ruled unconstitutional. Bibliography: 1) References of www.deathpenalty.org 2) CQ Researcher, Congressional Quarterly Inc., March 10, 1995. Vol. 5, No. 9 3) When The State Kills..., Amnesty International USA, 1989 4) Helen Prejean, C.S.J., Dead Man Walking, pg. 19-20, 216-217 5) Newspaper Article-California Gas Chamber 6) United States Constitution

Beowulf vs Hercules(Disney) Who is a better hero? Essay

What is the definition of a true hero? Many people have been considered heroes for many different reasons. Both Hercules and Beowulf have both been regarded as heroes. Beowulf was a great warrior who lived in the time of the Vikings. Beowulf traveled the face of the earth fighting monsters and beasts in search of money and fame. Hercules was also a great warrior but he lived during the time of the Greek gods. Hercules was born a god but he was stolen as an infant and turned into a mortal by his fathers nemesis, Hades. Hercules retained his godlike strength and now he must prove himself a hero. This is the only way he would be able to reunite with his family of gods. In the Disney animated film â€Å"Hercules† the character is a far greater hero than the character Beowulf from the epic poem â€Å"Beowulf† because he had more of a desire to be a hero, he fought his battles with better motives, and he had stronger friendships in his companions. Beowulf’s desire to b e a hero had mostly selfish reasons. In one of Beowulf’s speaches he states, â€Å"Let me live in greatness and courage, or here in this hall, welcome my death.† Although this might sound heroic, he shows how he wants to be a hero to gain fame. This shows that he is more worried about his personal image than the people he plans to protect. Beowulf also says, â€Å"My lord Higlac might think less of me if I let my sword go where my feet were afraid to.† Any warrior, no matter how noble, knows he must have advantages over their enemy to win and showing up to battle without proper equipment is a dumb thing to do. This shows how he is more worried about his personal image than the safety of the people. In Beowulf’s death speech he said, â€Å"I sold my life for this treasure, and sold it well.† He does not mention the people he saved, only the treasures he gained. This shows his goals in life are material. A persons desires to be a hero should have more meaning than a persons ego and material wealth. Hercules’ desire to be a hero has much more meaning than Beowulf’s. For example, when he finds out he must prove himself a hero to be able to reunite with his family, he sings, â€Å"I will beat the odds, I can go the distance. I will face the world, fearless, proud and strong†¦ til I find my heros welcome right where I belong.† This shows that he knows he will have to work hard to prove himself a hero but is willing to do whatever it takes. When Hercules is trying to persuade a great trainer to train him he asks, â€Å"Haven’t you ever had a dream, something you wanted so bad you would do anything.† This shows that he is willing to do anything to become a hero and reunite with his family. He also explains, â€Å"I am different from the other guys, I can go the distance.† This shows how he is confident that, under the right training, has what it takes to become a hero. He knows that other people have let the trainer down before, and knows that he is different from all of them. Hercules’ desire to be a hero comes from within himself like the desire to reunite with his family and to prove to everybody, especially himself, that he is a true hero. Beowulf’s motives for fighting were mostly extrinsic and self centered. For Example, Beowulf is told â€Å"Purge Herot and your ship will sail home with its treasure-holds full.† This shows that Beowulf’s motivation for battle comes from the material reward of treasure. A person in the poem named Unforth argued about the motives of one of Beowulf’s previous battles and explained how â€Å"all older and wiser heads warned you not to do so, but no one could check such (Beowulf’s) pride.† This shows how Beowulf’s pride is so strong that it can pull him into battle. He felt he needed to prove to everyone how great of a warrior he was by fighting a pointless battle. A true hero should be motivated intrinsically by the self satisfaction of helping others and achieving personal goals. Hercules’ motives for his battles are much more heroic than those of Beowulf’s. For instance, when he finds a damsel in distress, he put his life on the line to save her and ends up falling in love with her. This shows how he is not concerned with his own safety as long as he is out to protect another. Also, when the Titans are battling with the gods on Mt. Olympus, he goes to great lengths to save his father and fellow gods. He knows that if he does not fight this battle the world will be taken over by an evil god. This shows that he fights his battles for greater causes than material riches and to boost his ego. Friends are especially important in every bodies life, and especially one of a hero. In Beowulf’s quests he never saw the importance of friendship. This made him a weaker warrior and ultimately led to his death. For example, in one of his battles he watched as â€Å"Grendel snatched at the first Geat, he came to, ripped him apart†¦Drank the blood from his veins†¦Death and Grendel’s teeth came together.† This shows that Beowulf is willing to allow an enemy to slaughter one of his men just so he can make the battle easier for himself. He does not value the life of anyone but his own. The strength of the bonds he had with his comrades showed when â€Å"None of his comrades came to him, helped him. His brave and noble followers ran for their lives. This shows that he never proved himself as enough of a companion to his comrades and they felt that their life was more important to save than Beowulf’s. If he had cared more about others, they might have cared more about him. Hercules cared for many, which led to many strong friendships. Building strong relationships with others was very important in Hercules’ quest to become a hero. For example, Hercules became good friends with his trainer. At one point when Hercules was down and felt like giving up, his trainer told him, â€Å"I’m willing to go the distance. How ’bout you.† This shows that his trainer cared about him and would not let Hercules give up on his goal. His trainer could have also just gave up then, but their friendship h elped both of them achieve their goals. Another relationship Hercules had was with one of his enemies slaves named Meg. Meg gave her life to save Hercules and when asked why she did it, she responded, â€Å"People always do crazy things when they are in love.† Hercules’ friendship with Meg saved his life. This shows that Hercules’ friends cared about him so much they would give their own life for his. Hercules also was willing to give his life to get Meg back. He found Meg in the Sea of the Dead in the underworld. He knew that to save her, he must get her out, and in doing so would kill himself. When he went in to get her, it proved he was a true hero and he became an immortal god. When he was asked why he did it, he responded, â€Å"People always do crazy things when they are in love.† This showed that their love was mutual, and they would do anything for each other. Even though he tried so to be a god, he decided to spend his life on earth as a mortal with Meg. At the end of the movie â€Å"Hercules†, Hercules’ father explained, â€Å"A true hero is not measured by the size of his strength, but the strength of his heart.†Although Beowulf showed that he was a powerful warrior he never proved himself a true hero. Hercules’ proved himself a tru e friend, fought for the right reasons, and had great desire to be a hero, which were all needed to prove himself a true hero. Many people today are regarded as a hero for simple things like being admired by many or being a great ball player. Being a true hero takes much more than these things, once again, â€Å"A true hero is not measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.†