Monday, January 27, 2020

Bureaucracy in Pakistan by Charles H. Kennedy | Review

Bureaucracy in Pakistan by Charles H. Kennedy | Review BOOK REVIEW Suhai Aziz Book: Bureaucracy in Pakistan Writer: Charles H. Kennedy Published by: Oxford University Press Published in year: 1987 INTRODUCTION OF AUTHOR Charles H. Kennedy has served as director of American institute for Pakistan studies for 13 years. Book Bureaucracy in Pakistan is product of writer’s seven visits spread over a period of 39 months in Pakistan. Mr. Kennedy has written and co-authored more than 18 books on political set up of south asia. He is also credited with writing several papers both published and unpublished on same subject. His other academic interests include the issues of political Islam, and in US foreign policy with respect to the Middle East and South Asia especially pertaining to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and Iraq.[i] Writer’s enormous experience guarantees credibility of his work Bureaucracy in Pakistan. Intended Audience: Government machinery International audience (personnel of foreign office) Students of political science Bureaucrats SUMMARY OF BOOK This book is about the dominance of bureaucratic institutions and polity over other institutions and political cultures in the country. Author has described the evolution of bureaucracy in the country keeping in the context of political changes and their aftermath. Impact of Bhutto’s reforms on civilian bureaucracy and political environment behind that are discussed in detail. Writer has substantiated his opinion stating the fact that it is the elite class that has ruled Pakistan from its very beginning. AUTHOR’S CONCLUSION The author in this book has attempted to explain the prime structure, evolution, reforms, and consequences of political interventions and impact of these factors on the state of Bureaucracy. Author has maintained a very pragmatic and realistic approach in description and analysis of early bureaucratic state and structure along with functioning of the government. Various cadres, posts and groups of service have been discussed in detail. Kennedy has tried to explain preferences that have always remained in the Civil Service leading to inter-group interaction-whether positive or negative. The contents of the book are spread over a period beginning from pre independence era up till Bhutto’s reforms where in the quota system and cadre abolition has been discussed that was introduced during the tenure of Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. However, Post Bhutto reforms have been discussed in more detail and have been accorded most of the space in the book. Author has stated reasons f or strength of bureaucracy in the country. According to him, one of the many reasons for strengthening of bureaucracy during the initial phases of this country after the independence was that the reins of power were in hands of a Governor General and a Prime Minister who were themselves former bureaucrats. In addition to that Pakistan had inherited a powerful colonial tradition that could not be effaces or blurred and was adopted keenly. Symbiotic relationship in the interest of the nation between politicians and bureaucrats could not materialize as a result of disparity and disproportion of power among them. The issues related to bureaucracy which have ardently been questioned by the Author are given below: Nature and extent of authority of a Minister compared to that of a Secretary to the Government is apparently lesser. This is a result of appointment of Ministers who are politically strong but administratively weak and that the tenure assigned to them is relatively short and uncertain when compared to that of a 21 Grade officer. Preference for generalists. The author argues that general recruitment without requirement of specialization in the administrative domain leads to recruitment of generalists who may have performed well in academics but later fail to deliver when put in a position of administration. Similarly, the author has questioned the fact that DMG despite being a group with no specialization in any field enjoys privilege, commands respect and is accorded high posts in echelons of power. Apart from that Professor Kennedy has also discussed hurdles in the way of technocrats such as preference for generalist groups, norms and practices of bureaucracy and mind set which considers technocrats to be naà ¯ve administrators. Cadre system that was introduced some 200 years ago was adopted by Pakistan with some minor modifications. This system compels officer of any group to remain within the ambit of that particular group for rest of his life. In his opinion, aforementioned points have retarded the process of Administrative reform, have contributed to administrative efficiency and have encouraged political intervention. Professor Kennedy has discussed rationale behind Quota system in detail. When Pakistan came into being, the higher percentage of Civil Servants comprised of immigrants from Indian state of U.P and Pakistan’s province of Punjab. Where as majority of Pakistan’s population lived in its eastern wing. Representation of Sindh, then N.W.F.P, Baluchistan and former Eastern Pakistan was fairly low. It was the success of Quota system that representation of provinces became proportionate to their populations. The author has rephrased the Administrative Reforms of 1973 as â€Å"Personnel Reorganization† aimed at weakening the position and power of CSPs. He explains that these reforms were a result of negative public opinion formed over a period of time due to inefficient performance and the belief that as CSPs acquired high posts in the Government machinery thus they were to be held responsible , envy and hatred that had developed over time in the heart of other non CSP bureaucrats and political ambition to abolish the authority of CSPs. He explains that as Cadre system was transformed into Occupational Groups it did not affect much other than change in nomenclature. CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Although it is a fact that bureaucracy is quite strong in the country but it does not have enough power to derail democracy on its own. Whenever democracy is threatened, bureaucracy has played the role of ancillary partner and not the main culprit. There are other institutions which can be fittingly blamed for subversion of democracy. Thus the writer’s claim that bureaucracy is stronger than democracy in Pakistan seems to be an exaggerated notion. Apart from that research conducted by author is rigorous and contains analysis of around 50 tables and of several research papers. Pre-reform environment stated by author is also well articulated. Issues are discussed in context prevalent at that time e.g. the quota system is discussed in terms that were important back then. In present day scenario quota system is not regarded in the same spirit. RECOMMENDATIONS: Sequel of book should be published to address the impacts caused by devolution plan. A glossary of bureaucratic terms should have been added to help readers understand better. This book can be recommended to general public and CSS exam aspirants for better understanding of country’s bureaucratic set up. SYNTAX OF CONTENTS: Author has well followed time scale in describing all the events that have shaped the norms of bureaucracy. References are given properly in endnotes. Arguments are substantiated with the help of tables, charts and illustrations. [i] http://college.wfu.edu/politics/faculty-and-staff/faculty/charles-kennedy/ Music: the International Language Music: the International Language Music: the International Language Music is a part of people’s lives from all around the world. It has been around for at least 50,000 years and most likely originated in Africa (Wallin, et al. 1). There are several distinct genres of music. The most recognized forms in the western hemisphere are: classical, jazz, rock and folk, as well as others which are essentially branches from the four previously mentioned. Many career options exist for those wishing to pursue music, many of which require one or more scholastic degrees. In music, there are a plethora of diverse structural forms in which music is composed. A structural form usually describes the order the â€Å"sections† in a piece of music are written. Without composers, there would be little music today. Most composers have a unique style that they write in that can be identified by anyone with a trained ear. Music is constantly in an evolutionary state, and the music industry changes to reflect that. The future holds endless possibilities for the social and economical effects of new music. Musical notation was not always nice printed symbols arranged in an easy to read format. The Greeks were the first to implement a system for translating written work into sound. However this system made it difficult for someone to imagine the melody, and was extremely difficult to reproduce, and there were usually many errors on copies. The Romans used the first 15 letters of the Roman alphabet above the applicable words to determine pitch with the first letter as the low pitch and the 15th letter as the high pitch. Neuma, or Neumes, is a very peculiar notation used mostly by 6th to 12th century ecclesiastical writers. Deciphering this notation is essentially guesswork due to the number of variables affecting the sounds. (â€Å"Changes in Musical Notation†). Of all the genres of music, classical is the most distinct. It usually includes string instruments, French horns, and trumpets, as well as others. Rock music or â€Å"devil music† as some people refer to it, has bec ome increasingly popular around the world since its inception in the mid 1900’s. This type of music is known to use electric guitars, drum kit, and vocals. Jazz also uses those instruments, but in a different way. In a typical â€Å"big band† jazz orchestra, there will be five saxophones, four trombones, four trumpets, a pianist, a drummer and a guitarist. The jazz style is quite different from that of other types of music. Normally, the first and third beat of a four beat measure are emphasized, in jazz the second and fourth beats are emphasized. In music, there are many formal structures (the way sections of a piece repeat) in which songs are written. Sectional form is a mixture of short chunks of a piece (DeLone. et al. 87). Vocal music often employs the use of the strophic form, which repeats the same section over again (AA†¦). Binary form, as the name might suggest, has two different sections played in succession (AB) or one repeated and then the other repeated (AABB). Similarly to binary form, chain form has three or more sections played in succession (ABC) or (AABBCC). Ternary, or tertiary form, similarly to binary form has two different sections, the difference being there is a â€Å"B† section sandwiched in between two â€Å"A† sections (ABA). Arch form has three different sections, one â€Å"C† section in between two â€Å"B† sections, which is then in between two â€Å"A† sections (ABCBA). Finally, rondo form, which comes in two varieties: symmetrical and asymmetrical. Symmetr ical form is (ABACABA) as asymmetrical form is (ABACADAEA) (â€Å"Musical Form†). There are many fun and rewarding careers in music many of which involve working with an assortment of creative individuals. Composition, the art of writing music, is one of the more difficult, yet also more rewarding choices, although it is hard to make a living as a composer unless the utmost dedication is displayed. Teaching others music, either by instruments, theory, or otherwise, is an occupation in high demand around the United States (â€Å"Bachelor of Music†). Musicians are the key element of music, without them there would be no live music. Music therapy is one of the less known musical vocations. Music therapists help people with mental illness or disability by using music (â€Å"Careers in Music Therapy†). There have been many great classical composers, each with his or her own identifying characteristics in their writing. Johann Sebastian Bach is known for never leaving pauses in his music. However, George Frideric Handel writes so that there are moments where no notes are played (grand pause.) Mozart has written over 600 pieces of music, all of which were written in one draft. Music is all about sound, and for a mostly deaf man, Ludwig Van Beethoven is quite an accomplished composer. The music industry is generally defined as â€Å"the businesses and organizations that record, produce, publish, distribute, and market recorded music† (â€Å"Music Industry†). There are four major record companies or â€Å"labels,† Sony BMG, EMI, Universal and Warner. In 2005, Universal dominated the United States market with a 31.71% market share. In a close second came Sony BMG with 31.71%. Warner firmly holds third with a solid 15% market share, leaving EMI to clean up with the remaining 9.55%. Independent labels cover18.13% of the US market, but there are many independent companies and none of which hold a candle to he â€Å"big four† (Cashmere). Music artists and record companies alike make most of their money from music sales, but with the rise of peer-to-peer file sharing networks, it has been increasingly popular to illegally download or, pirate, stolen music. According to the American Federation of Musicians, gross revenue for music drops about 20% annually due to piracy. In reaction to the horrifying statistics the Recording Industry Association of America or, RIAA, has taken a number of steps to fight internet piracy. One of their goals is to inform the public of the repercussions music piracy has on the individuals who earn a living from legitimate music exchange (â€Å"Online Music Piracy†). Jazz is the only style of music native to the United States of America. It is clear that many other genres thought to be â€Å"truly American† are actually just bits and pieces from the musical traits of other cultures. Jazz music is brimming with improvisation solos, where a musician is usually given a chord progression also known as â€Å"changes,† and the musician plays notes in the scale of the key given at the specified time. Although the ink on the page may say to play in C7 one could just as well play in Cm in stead. Jazz is also not bound to the â€Å"limitations† of other forms of music and will not always be cut up into easy-to-identify sections. One thing almost all types of music have in common is scalability, for example, there could be a single saxophonist playing â€Å"Harlem Nocturne† on a street corner, or there could be an 18 piece big band orchestra playing the same song in a concert hall. The same applies to classical music, but it is m ore common to see a street musician playing jazz than classical music. The invention of solid-state electronics brought on many changes. The music world was affected when someone figured that if you make a keyboard and set it so each key you press produces a different frequency at a line level current and run it through an amplifier, there will be an electronic piano-style keyboard! This device later became known as the analog synthesizer and was used in many performing bands. Several years later, digital sound synthesis technology made it possible to have hundreds of different â€Å"patches† on a keyboard, eliminating the need for expensive sound modules for analog synthesizers. Today, both technologies are used, but analog is mostly just used and built for historical and experimental purposes. Every kind of music requires an instrument, be it human vocal cords, a bassoon, or a microchip, at least one instrument is required. There are three types of â€Å"traditional† instruments. Brass instruments are devices in which sound is made by pressing the lips to the large end of an almost conical mouthpiece and buzzing the lips whilst blowing. Instruments requiring no buzzing are referred to as woodwinds. The sound can be made either by a single reed, where the player places the top front two teeth on top of a tapered mouthpiece and presses the bottom lip over the bottom teeth contacting the reed and blowing so the reed vibrates in between the mouthpiece and the bottom lip. A double reed instrument has no mouthpiece, only two reeds that are pointed together at the end. The third form of woodwind sound production entails placing the lips one the near side of a hole in the mouthpiece and blowing air over the gap, just like making a glass bottle whistle. In music, there are two categories, one for the high society, and one for the low society. The high society music is that of the classical, baroque romantic and other such eras, are usually preformed in formal venues. In contrast, the low society music such as jazz, rap and hip hop could be preformed in places where formal etiquette is not present such as a casino, night club or parking lot. It is apparent that the average audience member of a classical performance will have an income higher than that of an audience member from a hip hop concert. By analyzing this data, musicologists have concluded that the class distinction is not related to the music itself, rather, the crowd associated with that type of music. Works Cited â€Å"Bachelor of Music.† â€Å"Careers in Music Therapy.† Cashmere, Paul. â€Å"Universal Is The Biggest Music Company of 2005†. â€Å"Changes in Musical Notation.† DeLone et al. Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. â€Å"Music Industry.† â€Å"Musical Form† â€Å"Online Music Piracy.† Wallin, Nills L., et al. The Origins of Music. MIT press, 2001. The impact of sexual assault: Issues in social work The impact of sexual assault: Issues in social work Sexual Assault Abstract Sexual assault is any sexual activity to which you havent freely given your consent. This includes completed or attempted sex acts that are against your will. Sometimes it can involve a victim who is unable to consent. It also includes abusive sexual contact. It can happen to men, women or children. Most people feel that sexual assault occurs when you don’t know the person but that not so, it can be a friend, family member, or a co-worker. â€Å"According to the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Nearly 1 in 5 (18.3%) women and 1 in 71 men (1.4%) reported experiencing rape at some time in their lives.† â€Å"Approximately 1 in 20 women and men (5.6% and 5.3%, respectively) experienced sexual violence other than rape, such as being made to penetrate someone else, sexual coercion, unwanted sexual contact, or non-contact unwanted sexual experiences.† When it comes to sexual assault, most people don’t want to talk about this because they don’t want to re-live that time in their lives. Most people want to push it in the back of their minds as if it didn’t really happen. Being sexual assault can lead to many different feeling causing a person to become physically, emotionally, and mentally disturbed. Women are more likely to be assault than men because most women don’t want to talk about what happen because they are afraid no-one will believe them. Most women don’t report what has happen to the police because they are afraid nothing will happen so they just keep quiet and keep it bottled up inside. Each year in the United States, between 300,000 and 700,000 adult women are estimated to experience sexual assault, with 40,000 of such victims typically seeking treatment in an emergency department (Kwence, Sherri). When a women is sexual assault an start seeking professional help for what she has went through can be hard just trying to move forward from such pain that she has endure. It is said that sexual abuse is the most common and threatening behavior calculated to induce fear in all women, it means men have chosen to maintain control over women. Rape is the fastest growing crime in the country. Rape occurs in India every twenty minutes (Behere, P.B). In 2011, more than 24 thousand cases were reported-about 70 a day. New figures released by the Delhi Police reveals that a women is raped every 18 minutes or molested every 14 minutes. There are 80, 000 pending rape cases in India and nearly 1,000 rape cases are pending in Delhi courts (Behere, P. B.). In the United States, 1 in 6 women reported experiencing rape or attempted rape at some time in their lives. Being sexual assault can make a women start feeling anger toward men. When someone you know has been sexual assault they must seek professional help so, they can live a healthy life. As a social worker we must help victims who has been harm in any way possible. The conflicts in which a social worker may face when working with women or men who has been sexual assault. The value of the social worker is to promote resources to help victim who has been mistreated. When a women has been assault it take a lot from her. Once someone take something as precious as sex from you, can make you feel bad about yourself. When you think about sex, it something that should be shared between two people who care about each other. For someone to come and take that away from you can make a person become very bitter at the world? As a social worker we must promote social justice to make sure our client get the best help possible by setting up counseling. We first has to assess the problem at hand and see what really happen and then we can move forward with the problem. As a social we must not impose on the client right to do what she feel is right for her, we can only try and led them down the right path. Social worker values can’t get in the way when it comes to helping a client get the best help needed. The client have every right to refuse any help at any time. Social worker have to be the voice for those who are not willing to speak and the ear for those who can’t hear what is been said, and the legs to help the client walk that extra mile needed. Not only do sexual assault happen to women but it also happen to men and children. Most people don’t think that men are sexually assault but it happen, but more common in small children because it’s hard for them to fight back. Most men are victim because they choose to be gay or because they are locked up in jail. As a social worker no, matter who is seeking help it is our job to provide the best care needed. When someone has been assaulted by a family member it hard to te ll someone especially when you are a small child because they are scared and don’t want to get anyone is trouble so children suffer for a long time from assault because they are afraid to tell because no one will believe them. Children will grow-up feeling ashamed of what happen to them so it will cause them to sexual assault someone. They why it’s important to get the proper help needed when you have been assault. Everyone deserve to live a happy and success life. Results of this study showed that 66% of the women were aged 15-24 years old and 75% had met the perpetrator before the sexual assault with nearly 50% reporting that the perpetrator was a current or former boyfriend, family member or someone they considered a friend. Women with no previous contact or knowledge of their perpetrator were more likely to report to the police and were at a higher risk of sustaining an injury, the research showed. Looking specifically at alcohol, the study found that over 40% of women had consumed more than 5 units of alcohol. These women were more often sexually assaulted by a stranger or someone they met within 24 hours prior to the assault. Furthermore, a physical injury was found in 53% of cases and 33% of the victims had suffered a previous sexual assault (Wiley). In fact, researchers found that college women who experienced severe sexual victimization were three times more likely than their peers to experience severe sexual victimization the following year. RIA researchers followed nearly 1,000 college women, most age 18 to 21, over a five-year period, studying their drinking habits and experiences of severe physical and sexual assault. Severe physical victimization includes assaults with or without a weapon. Severe sexual victimization includes rape and attempted rape, including incapacitated rape, where a victim is too intoxicated from drugs or alcohol to provide consent (University at Buffalo). We don’t realize just how much sexual assault go unreported while in college. No-one should have to experience this kind of abuse while they are trying to learn. It hard trying to learn when sexual assault is going on at a campus sight because you are afraid to walk around at anytime day or night because you don’t know who to trust or who is watching your every move. You have to be aware of your surrounding at all times. A student, age 24 came into my office just like any other day set down and she had a strange look upon her face. I spoke and said what, I can help you with today. She replied, I was sexual assault at a party which I had attended on Friday with a couple of my friends. My response to her was are you alright and she replied no. She started telling me in details what had happen so I just sat and listen to what she had to say. It was a surprise party for her best friend so it was a lot of people there as you know the usual crowd family, friend, and co-worker. At this part there were loud music, drugs, and lots of alcohol, so we all were having a good time so it was this guy who I’ve known for a long time was there and we started talking, laughing, and dancing. As the night grew old we went back to his place of course I had been drinking and so had he. While we were alone in his place he started hugging, kissing, and touch me and it was making me feel uncomfortable so I asked him to stop and he said you know you want it and I said no but he didn’t pay me no attention and processed to throw me down and force himself upon me. I started screaming saying stop but he didn’t you continue on until he was finish. After he finished he took me home like nothing never happen I was so scared. When I made it to my house I ran upstairs and started to shower because I was feeling so dirty. So could you please help me I am afraid to tell someone what happen because I shouldn’t went there? She replied, I just feel so helpless all I do is just sit in my room and cry it’s driving me crazy. The scene just keep playing over and over in my head. So, I felt that I needed to talk to someone before I go crazy. I don’t want my friends to know what happen to me Friday night. I don’t need no-one judging me because I had too much to drink. I thought I knew this guy that’s why I agreed to go to his place not knowing he had other things own h is mind. It goes to show you, can’t trust anyone these days not even a good friend. So, I found myself walking around in a daze and it led me to your office on Monday. Please help me figure out what to do before I beat myself up about what happen. As a social worker I assure her it wasn’t her fault and I will do everything to help her gain her self-respect back. She didn’t want to go to the police and tell them what had happen because she felt the police wouldn’t believe her because she went to his house on her own and plus she had been drinking. As we were talking, we talked about the negative and positive things that was going on with her. I had to ask some personal question such as did he use protection, do you know if he had any sexually transmitted diseases, or do you think you might be pregnant. She replied, I don’t know. So I advise her to go and get herself checked out and so she did and everything was just fine. Now that’s something you want have to worry about. After the assessment I set her up with a counselor to help her understand that she wasn’t at fault. While in session with the counselor we talk about how she can regain her self-respect back and not let this get the be st of her. First just accept what had happen and talk to your family and friends so you don’t have to go through this alone. No-one will judge you because of what happen, right now you need all the support you can get. The more you talk about what happen to you that night is the only way the healing can begin. Later when you regain your strength you can go to the local authority and report him so it want happen to someone else. Always stay involved with people in the community because your story can help safe someone else someday. Remember to always hold your head up high and don’t let negative talk get you down because you survive. You have to start setting goal in your life to help you get back on the right track. We can’t change the facts about what happen or the feeling you have. The only thing we can do is just help you begin to heal. At the end of the long session she was able to deal with her feeling and regain her self-respect. As a social worker we have to get involved with families, groups and organization or communities to help promote social justice when dealing with people. As a social worker we must be equipped with the skills and knowledge to be able to better serve clients. As a social worker we play many roles in people lives for example: negotiate, mediate, advocate, broker, and educator. As a social worker, in the work, that we do go a long way in helping client achieve their goal weather they are short term or long term we have to do whatever it take to make sure our clients are treated with the up-most respect. When a social worker deal with someone who has been assault they have to deal with outsider also and it can make it hard on the victim. Because the victim have to re-live the whole thing all over again so many time they just sit back and deal with the problem the best way they know how by just leashing out at the world for no reason. Being the victim trying to pick up the piece and move forward can be one of the hardest things to do because they feel as if they have the weight of the world on their shoulder. They just have to be strong and not show anyone what’s really going on inside. According to The Canadian Press (2014), the most common reasons for not reporting were shame and embarrassment, fear of the offender and lack of confidence in the justice system. While 53 per cent of participants stated that they were not confident in the police, two-thirds stated that they were not confident in the court process and in the criminal justice system in general, the study says. Par ticipants cited ongoing, long-term effects of being attacked, including depression, difficulties with trust and forming relationships, and anxiety, fear and stress. The women described a number of means of coping with effects of the trauma, both positive (such as reading, exercising, and writing in a journal) and negative (drug and alcohol abuse, self-harm, suicide attempts).The women suggested that survivors of sexual violence become informed about the criminal justice system, and know that help is available for victims and that legal proceedings can take a long time. The best way of sharing this information is through school programs and counsellors, they said (Canadian Press). There are many form of sexual assault it’s all around you just have to sit back and watch and see what is going on in people lives. Looking at the women and men in the military we don’t look at them as being victim but in reality they are victim. They are putting their lives on the line every day for us and look at what is happening to them. In the serves its their policy to not tell what happens in the field but look at how many lives are been ruin because of the way men are treating women or because of the way men or treating men. No-one deserve to be treated that way. The sergeant are up holding the men in their wrong doing telling them it ok what they are doing because no-one will never find out. No-one want to be label as a snitch because they will lose all their right and benefit and no-one will be able to provide care for their families. The men and women just have to live with this until they have a break-down in their lives and break the bond and tell what has happen to them while they were out fighting for their country. No man or women should have to feel in shame for what happen while they were serving their country. Yes there need to be stronger sentence for people who commit these type of crimes. In the U.S. Military academies, 5% of women report surviving rape every year, as do 2.4% of the men,for women abused as children, 92% of perpetrators were men, of those men who enter the Navy, 15% are perpetrators prior to their service, 28% of women in the military experienced rape during their military service. Of those women who men rape in the military, 96% of the perpetrators are U.S. military men (Sadler, Booth, Doebbeling, 2005). No one should have to lose their right because they chose to speak about the truth. Although the truth may hurt a lot of people because being assault in the service will follow you for a long time. Making it hard to truth anyone in authority. A young male 22 walk in my office and spoke and said he was gang rape and needed some help. We both sit down and I assess him on the nature of the matter of just what happen. He said, they he was walking home from a party and a group of guys pulled him into the car and drove him down a dark back road and that’s where the assault occurred. It was three guy that he recalled pulled him into the car. He said, he was scared for his life. What made the guys pull you into the car? He replied, I was dress in women clothes and when they got to the place and realize, I wasn’t a women it made them mad. To teach me a lesson the guys place a drink bottle into my rectum and begin to push with all their might. That wasn’t good enough each of the guys took turn and place there penis inside. I never imagine anything like that happening to me. I was afraid for my life they left me there to die. I was screaming but no one could hear me because we were on a dark lonely road. The cou nselor assured me that it wasn’t my fault and that I had nothing to be ashamed of. The counselor advice the young man to go to the doctor so he can get himself checked out. While at the hospital the police officer pulled up on the scene and gather some background information on what had happen. The guy went into detail and told the officer what happen. The counselor ask the young man would he be interested in seeking professional help and he replied yes. The counselor made come called and got him place in outpatient care. The counselor ask him some personal question. He said, as you know I am a man trapped into a woman body. The counselor asked are you sexually active and he replied no I am not. Did they use any type of protection you use protection he replied, I don’t know. The counselor said make sure you get yourself checked for sexually transmitted disease. The counselor reassured him that it was not his fault that he didn’t do anything wrong. In order for y ou to heal you will need to get set up in individual counselling and group therapy. You must be willing to talk with family and friends and let them know what you are going through. You must learn to let your feeling out and get involved in positive things and start setting goal in your live to help you get back on the right track. Talk to family and friend because they want judge you because at this point in your life you need all the support you can get. The counselor let him know that this wouldn’t be an easy journey. After all he went through time will heal all wounds. No-one can take the pain away after all the therapy, he did gain his self-respect. In conclusion I provide insight on sexual assault and how it effect people in many ways. Most people don’t like talking about sexual assault because it makes them feel dirty and ashamed, but they must realize it wasn’t their fault. As a social worker it is our job to help reassure the victims that everything will be alright. If you know of anyone that has been sexual assault my advice is to please get the proper help so you don’t have to live in fear. The healing only start when you are ready to tell your story. Reference Behere PB, Sathyanarayana Rao TS, Mulmule AN. (2013). â€Å"Sexual abuse in women with special reference to children: Barriers, boundaries and beyond. Indian J Psychiatry 2013;55316. www.candianapress. Denmark, F., Paludi, M.A. (2010).Victims of Sexual and Abuse: Resources for Individuals and Families. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger. Kirst-Ashman, K.K., Hull, G.H., jr. (2012). Understanding Generalist Practice (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole. Sanderson, C. (2004). The Seduction of Children: Empowering Parents and Teachers to Protect Children from Child Sexual Abuse. London: Sherri, K. (2012). Encountering the Victim of Sexual Assault. Clinician Reviews. University of Buffalo. (2014, September 5). Past sexual assault triples risk of future assault for college women. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 17, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140905152947.htm Wiley. (2014, October15). Risk factors for sexual assault identified, including age, alcohol ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 17, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141015092243.htm

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Marketing Analysis of Blizzard Entertainment Essay

Blizzard Entertainment ® is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software. After establishing the Blizzard label in 1994, the company quickly became one of the most popular and well-respected makers of computer games. By focusing on creating well-designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences, Blizzard has maintained an unparalleled reputation for quality since its inception. Blizzard’s track record of back-to-back number one selling games spans more than a decade, and with blockbuster hits such as World of Warcraft ®, Warcraft ® III: Reign of Chaosâ„ ¢, Diablo ® II, and StarCraft ®, the company has earned several consecutive Game of the Year awards. In addition, Blizzard’s online-game service, Battle.net ®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active users. The high-quality products based on Blizzard’s games have also proven popular and garnered much critical acclaim. These products include action figures, novels, manga, board games, pen-and-paper role-playing games, apparel, and the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game, which is a bestseller in its category. Extending the reach of its game universes even further, Blizzard is currently at work with Legendary Pictures, the studio behind the feature films Batman Begins, Superman Returns, and 300, on a live-action Warcraft movie. The reason that the Blizzard became so successful on making games is that the company interacts with the customers. Firstly, all the staff of Blizzard are the game lovers, they know what is hot, and what the customers want to play and see. This will help the company knows the target market better, also give a direction for gaming development. For example, in the early 90s, when the real-time strategy games came out, Blizzard launched their Warcraft I, and quickly became popular. After the success of Warcraft I, the company launched Diablo I during the 1998 to 2000, this created the new generation of the third person role-play games, which has copied by other companies in the last ten years. Secondly, after the Blizzard’s big success of the Diablo and Warcraft, the company still wanted innovating its products and services through analyzing gamers’ information, the survey questions were posted on its homepage and other big software media, such as computer gaming world, PC gamer and computer life. They were hearing from the Diablo and Warcraft fans for their thoughts of developing new games, and what they want the next games to be. Then the glory days of Blizzard has came—— the Starcraft had launched in late 1998, and became the best real-time strategy game in the 19th century, because the game was perfectly balanced for the 3 species battle in the galaxy. Blizzard could not achieve this without analyzing what the customers want and the data which collected from the gamers. Thirdly, Blizzard is a computer games maker and also providing online gaming servers for the players, such as World of Warcraft and Starcraft. The objective of relationship is more like the cross-selling, once the games are launched by the company; they are going to the market through the dealers such as: Best Buy, Future Shop and also through online shopping, directly from the Blizzard company homepage. Furthermore, Blizzard develops and publishes its own games, then provides them into the market, so they save a lot of avoid selling its games through a publisher like EA Games. Finally, the Blizzard has achieved its success by connecting with the customers; both analyze the data from customers and hire professional gamers giving ideas for the future development. It became more and more important for the company’s marketing in the nowadays.

Saturday, January 11, 2020

Reinventing the Starbucks Experience

In his memo to his senior team, Howard Schultz wrote about his visions of Starbucks and his disappointment over what he called the â€Å"commoditization of the Starbucks experience. † He gave a detailed list of the decisions that has contributed to this fate. His visions are clear and the arguments he presented are impeccable but this paper will look at the situation from a different viewpoint. The question is should they stick with the changes or revert to the old ways and preserve tradition? Going Big Howard Schultz mentioned several decisions that that led to the â€Å"watering down† of the Starbucks experience. These are: †¢ Changing La Marzocca machines with automatic espresso machines. †¢ Shifting from fresh coffee to fresh roasted bagged coffee. †¢ Transforming store design. While he believes these changes resulted to the â€Å"commoditization† of Starbucks, he admitted that these were necessary and instrumental in bringing Starbucks from 1000 to more than 13,000 stores (Schultz, 2007). These changes allowed Starbucks to speed up their services, become more efficient, cost-effective and competitive. Starbucks Soul Everything has its own price. Starbucks achieved their business goals but lost sight of their vision along the way. For Howard Schultz, losing their â€Å"soul† for profit was a high price to pay. In his memo, he mentioned that shifting from La Marzocca to automatic espresso machines removed the â€Å"romance and theater† of the process. The height of the machines blocked the view and took away the intimacy of the experience. Shifting to roasted coffee took out the aroma and stripped the store of its tradition and heritage. Lastly, changing store design eliminated the â€Å"warm feeling of a neighborhood store† (Schultz, 2007). Reinventing the Experience Soul, experience, romance, theater, temple- these are some of the words Howard Schultz associated with Starbucks. Reading his memo gives everyone a glimpse of his vision for Starbucks. It shows how passionate he is about his product and his store. It details the experience he envisions customers would feel in going to his stores. To him, it is not just selling coffee, it’s an experience. It is not just a store, it’s a temple. It is not just good customer service, it is romance. For someone who found his â€Å"Mecca† in Starbucks, those things mean a great deal. However, Schultz has to consider the possibility that not all people share that vision. A lot of people love to drink coffee but that does not mean they are as passionate about the experience as he is. Some customers are not as in love with the tradition and legacy as he is. There is nothing wrong about Howard Schultz’s vision and we can not blame him for being alarmed by the changes that happened in his stores. However, Starbucks have to be open to the fact that there might be a big difference between people who hang out in coffee shops in 1981 to the millions of Starbucks patrons around the world today. They have to realize that it is not just a simple case of profit versus soul or efficiency versus tradition. They have to consider what kind of â€Å"experience† people are hoping to get from their stores and work from their. Starbucks are founded by solid visions but that can only take them so far. In the end it is what the customers think that matters. Conclusion Howard Schultz is not just a businessman, he is a visionary. For him, profit is not enough, he want to preserve the tradition and leave a legacy. However, he has to accept the fact that to some people, coffee is just an ordinary drink, a commodity that does not need to be romanticized.

Friday, January 3, 2020

Definition and Examples of Degree Modifiers in English

In English grammar, a degree modifier is a word (such as very, rather, fairly, quite, somewhat, pretty, sort of, and  kind of) that can precede adjectives and adverbs to indicate the degree or extent to which they apply. Also known as a  degree adverb(ial) and a degree word. The degree modifiers are adverbs that normally modify gradable words and answer the question How? How far? or How much? See Examples and Observations below. Also see: Adverb of EmphasisDowntonerIndirectnessIntensifierModification Modifier and  Premodifier QualifierSubmodifierTotally Overworked WordsVerbal Hedge Examples and Observations The good thing about Camp Catoctin was that it was  pretty small  overall. It was fairly easy to find your way around, even in the dark.(Beth Harbison, Thin, Rich, Pretty. St. Martins Press, 2010) Susie Van Berg was  awfully pretty, and  awfully kind.(Patricia Wentworth, Outrageous Fortune, 1933)Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep-burning, unquenchable.(Henry Ward Beecher, Notes from Plymouth Pulpit, 1859)I addressed a question to him but he shook his head without speaking and gave me a  sort of sad smile—a lost world of a smile.(Lawrence Durrell, Tunc, 1968) His uniform was  a little too big, his black shoes a little too shiny, the crease in his troopers hat a little too perfect.(Scott Smith, A Simple Plan. Knopf, 1993) When a man asks himself what is meant by action he proves that he isnt a man of action. Action is a lack of balance. In order to act you must be somewhat insane. A reasonably sensible man is satisfied with thinking.(Georges Clemenceau, 1928) Intensifiers and DowntonersAdverbs of degree describe the extent of a characteristic. They can be used to emphasize that a characteristic is either greater or less than some typical level: Its insulated slightly with polystyrene behind. (CONV) They thoroughly deserved a draw last night. (NEWS)Degree adverbs that increase intensity are called amplifiers or intensifiers. Some of these modify gradable adjectives and indicate degrees on a scale. They include more, very, so, extremely. . . .Degree adverbs which decrease the effect of the modified item are called diminishers or downtoners. As with intensifiers, these adverbs indicate degrees on a scale and are used with gradable adjectives. They include less, slightly, somewhat, rather, and quite (in the sense of to some extent.) . . . Downtoners are related to hedges (like kind of). That is, they indicate that the mod ified item is not being used precisely. . . .Other degree adverbs that lessen the impact of the modified item are almost, nearly, pretty, and far from.(Douglas Biber, Susan Conrad, and Geoffrey Leech, Longman Grammar of Spoken and Written English. Pearson, 2002) Context Dependency of Degree ModifiersDegree modifiers . . . give specifications of degree concerning  the adjectives they modify. Adverbs such as very, extremely, absolutely  scale  adjectival properties upwards,  whereas other adverbs, such as slightly, a little, somewhat scale adjectival properties downwards. Rather, quite, fairly, and pretty set the qualities that gradable adjectives denote to a moderate level. Along with moderately and relatively, these degree modifiers are known as moderators (Paradis 1997).Like most degree modifiers,  rather, quite, fairly, and  pretty  are typologically unstable because they do not always neatly fit in the functional categories that linguists have assigned them. For exa mple, quite is likely to be interpreted as a maximizer when it modifies an extreme/absolutive adjective (this novel is quite excellent) or a telic/limit/liminal adjective (quite sufficient), but it is likely to be a moderator when it modifies a scalar adjective (quite big) (Paradis 1997:87). Past research has shown that context dependency  between adverbs and adjectives is not always decisive. It is often impossible to decide whether quite is a maximizer or a moderator. For example, quite is ambiguous when it modifies the adjective different (Allerton 1987:25). . . . Similarly, rather, pretty, and fairly can scale upwards or downwards . . ..(Guillaume Desagulier, Visualizing Distances in a Set of Near-Synonyms: Rather, Quite, Fairly, and Pretty.  Corpus Methods for Semantics: Quantitative Studies in Polysemy and Synonymy, ed. by  Dylan Glynn and Justyna A. Robinson. John Benjamins, 2014) Positioning Degree Modifiers- The word quite [as in the phrase The quite white house] bel ongs to the word class degree modifier.  A degree modifier is positioned  relative to an adjective, irrespective of the surrounding words, just as the article the is positioned relative to a noun, irrespective of the surrounding words. We can understand this by saying that quite and white are in the same adjective phrase, and that a degree modifier must come at the beginning of an adjective phrase.(Nigel Fabb, Sentence Structure, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2005)- Youre either very modest or  quite stupid. Take your choice.†(May Sarton, Anger, 1982)   The Fixed Class of Degree Words[An] example of words that dont fit neatly into one category or another is degree words. Degree words are traditionally classified as adverbs, but actually behave differently syntactically, always modifying adverbs or adjectives and expressing a degree: very, rather, so, too. This is a relatively fixed class and new members do not enter it frequently.(Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, Linguistics for Everyone. Wadsworth, 2010)