Children Rights Are Human Rights - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2346 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/03/22 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Child Abuse Essay Did you like this example? The United States has always prided itself in being a custodian and upholder of international human rights. As a super power, it has set the pace for recognition and protection of human rights by assenting to different legal international instruments and domesticating them. However, its spirit seems to falter when it comes to children rights and youth well-being (Rothschild, 2017. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Children Rights Are Human Rights" essay for you Create order Are children rights human rights? The United States attitude towards a legal instrument by the United Nation in respect of children aroused the desire to establish and demystify this scenario. This paper seeks to make an in-depth analysis of inter alia the rights of children, the most prevalent forms of child abuse, the legislations pertaining to children rights and how the courts have implemented these laws. Children are considered vulnerable beings deserving protection from the ugly claws of the world. Although most people consider child abuse in a narrow and constrained perspective of physical abuse, child abuse can manifest itself in any form be it physical, emotional or mental abuse (Ackner et al., 2013). The most prevalent form of child abuse is sexual abuse and it goes without saying that it could be without doubt the most reported and documented case scenario. Nevertheless, any form of child abuse should be reported to the authorities regardless of the perpetrator. There is need to cultivate a strong culture of child welfare not just as a fa? §ade but as real foundation informing the best interests of the children. Children rights The menace of child abuse has haunted the society for the longest time. This is so despite the various legal instruments which have been put in place to curb this menace. As a society, one cannot help but wonder about the resilience of these unpalatable incidents visited upon the young ones. Where something has a legal backing putting sanctions on its practice, there is usually an expected turn-around from such behaviour but when it comes to child abuse, this is not the case (United States: Events of 2016, 2017). There seems to exist a resilience and unquenchable thirst to abuse children rights. However, this might not be in the everyday record we peruse due to the fact that most cases tend to go unreported. Consequently, this wrongly depicts a united front to curb such behavior while the sad truth is that the society seems to be mark timing at the stage of baby steps when it comes to this fight. It is estimated that 24% of children become are abused in their first year of life. In 2015, approximately 1,670 children succumbed to child abuse while child protective care centers received a rough estimate of 700,000 cases of child abuse (Co, 2017). Whether it is the society which has failed to protect its most vulnerable or such failure is attributable to the legislative arm of the government, this is an uncalled for debate. There are in place numerous legislations in regard to children rights. These instruments range from those with international status bestowed upon them to domestic legislations which are specific to the United States jurisdiction. It therefore comes as a surprise that such volatile culture towards children seems to thrive amid such measures being in place (United States: Events of 2016, 2017). It is imperative to note that this is a positive indicator of the systems failure to adequately protect the children. In order to address this issue conclusively, there is need to depart from the traditional view of whether there is in place sufficient laws to curb the menace. A new perspective of interrogating the root cause of the failure by the existing laws should be adopted for one to aptly decipher the persistent menace of child abuse. The rights of children must be protected by all means and at all cost whether by the state or the society. Any blame game attributed to failure to undertake the necessary measures is an unacceptable culture. It is important to note that the duty of the government does not end at legislating the respective laws in this sphere. It is called upon to take all measures necessary to see to it that the particular legal instruments are given a breath of life (Co, 2017). This can be achieved by ensuring that there are practical and achievable measures in place to aid in implementing these. For example, it is prudent for the government to not only enact a certain legislature but also ensure public participation before such enactment can be done. It can positively be argued that public participation creates legal awareness and emancipation which may most likely reduce the current trend of child atrocities. Enacted laws on Child abuse Despite its unwillingness to ratify one of the prominent the United Nations convention on children rights, some people argue that the United States commitment to the protection of children rights is unshakable. Some may question this commitment intensely and conclude the government somehow maybe deemed as a perpetrator itself. Nevertheless, it is important to acknowledge that there are quite some reasonably good laws which have been enacted to curb this menace. One of the most celebrated is The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) law which was enacted in 1974 and reauthorized in 2010. This is the largest legislative body which encapsulates in an elaborative manner the rights of children. Among the recognized rights include the right to ethical, legal and fair treatment of children. It further enshrines their right to be free from any form of abuse be it sexual emotional, psychological or physical. In addition there is in place a mandatory reporting law. This law mandates all persons who work closely with children to prudently report any suspicious dealings involving a child. This law tries to harmonize all perpetrators whether they are the victims family or a total stranger. Although the spirit of this law is state specific, it can be deemed as a stepping stone towards alleviating the vice of child abuse. The two conspicuous laws in this sphere coupled with a myriad of state specific laws to some extent ensure children rights are protected within the United States jurisdiction. For a state of its stature, it is evident that the variance in applicable laws in matters pertaining to children rights is not a picture perfect scenario. The failing court system Having successfully established the existence of legal instruments, it is important to analyze the mode of implementing the written laws. Laws do not exist in a vacuum, they exist in a society and the society has forever been known for its resistance to change. Take for example a scenario in which the legislature enacts a law which makes corporal punishment for children illegal. Present the scenario in a societal setting which has carried out this practice for long. Obviously, the expected outcome is some form of resistance from the society. With the law in place and the prevailing resistance, the court must step in and either implements the law as is or interpret it to determine its legality. An effective court system is a sure way of ensuring the operability of any legal instrument. When the legislative arm of government enacts laws, there should be some form of certainty as to its implementation and most especially where the legal instrument is sound. In cases where the courts are not keen to reinforce the legislatures efforts, it can be said that the whole system has failed (Co, 2017). That notwithstanding, seeing as the court is a big part of the government, most times the blame falls squarely on the government. Although courts are meant to promote justice, one can positively say that at times it becomes hard to further this mission and objective. The evident legal divide is a common feature in the court rooms (Brico, 2018). As per s research by the American Psychological Association the likelihood of abusive fathers succeeding in custody cases is way higher than that of the abused mother (Brico, 2018). The resultant effect of such glaring injustice exposes the child to a lifetime of not only anguish and emotional torture but also a violent unhealthy environment. This ultimately affects the childs right to grow up in a conducive environment. Protracted court battles can in their own form be an abuse especially where the children victims are forced to constantly interact with their perpetrators in the court rooms in pursuit of justice. Despite the well-known fact of the role the state should play when it comes to rights of citizens and more so those in the margin of vulnerability, the 1989 landmark decision in DeShaney v. Winnebago County Department of Social Services came as a surprise to many. The honourable judge in that matter opined that it was never the mandate of the government to protect abused children and any other citizens in cases where it is not an active participant of the harm (Co, 2017). This is a perfect example of the few cases in which the court has purported to mislead the government when it comes to children rights. It is the supreme duty of the state to intervene and protect its citizens irrespective of the perpetrator. Similarly, some courts have always viewed child witness differently and are not as eager to admit their testimony. The evidence is often scrutinized jealously before admission. This depicts a system that is still struggling under the influence of the infamous Crawford v. Washington case. This case set a precedent which requires thorough scrutiny of evidence before the same can be admitted (Harmon, 2014). This means that if presented with a case scenario in which the only witness to the abuse is a child and unfortunately the threshold is not met, the likelihood of the perpetrator walking scot-free is high. Instead of adamantly applying the scrutiny rule, the courts should adopt a more flexible means of analyzing child evidence. Aptly put, it will be in line and the spirit of the doctrine of presumed competence for every witness. The issue of children delinquents is another pressing issue which has bedeviled the court system. While the primary role of the courts should be reinforcing the governments efforts to protect those deemed as vulnerable in the society, the court system seems to derail the government endeavors. While a child witness testimony is regarded too vulnerable to be directly admitted as evidence, the courts have sometimes found themselves on the receiving end for failing to adequately protect child criminals. There are claims that some children have often been tried in adult courts and even placed together with older criminals (Children Rights, 2014). This is an outright abuse of the children rights although manifested in an advanced degree. Recommendations Child care protection centers play a vital role when it comes to protecting children rights. However, the disparity in ascertaining what can be reported and what cannot meet the threshold for their action seems to be an impediment in their work. This is largely attributable to the fact that each state has a mandate to promulgate the applicable threshold within its jurisdiction. Given the sensitivity of the matter, the courts should step in and advocate for harmonization of the laws in respect of child abuse. This will go far in ensuring a common objective in the fight against child abuse. While it is the duty of law enforcers like courts to protect the children, the courts cannot effectively undertake this task on their own. The courts largely depend on reports by the care providers to come to conclusions on matters pertaining child abuse. Although the United States court system does not allow the court officers to be actively involved in the investigations there needs to be a different approach. As soon as a case of such nature is reported and brought to the attention of the court, the court can take it upon itself to constitute an ad hoc committee to look into the matter. This will more likely than not provide the court with some inside information and insight into the matter which may subsequently vest on it a better perspective. Efforts to effectively address child abuse and neglect must be properly informed by a thorough understanding of the complexity and integration of culture and social stratification. While deciding on the best interest of the child, the courts must be alive to the prevailing and ever increasing heterogeneity of families units in the United States. The courts should also take it upon themselves to carry out emancipation campaigns on the applicable laws to this issue. Where the society is fully equipped with the laws and their applicability in this sector, the legal backing may ultimately result into a reduction in child abuse cases due to the imposed sanctions. As earlier pointed out, child abuse prevention and counter mechanism involve a multiplicity of agents working together to achieve the core objective. However, most of the agents have stringent measures which the victims have to undergo before finally getting their justice. The system would be more effective where the various agencies get streamlined and harmonized to ensure the victims are not subjected to further anguish in their endeavor to secure justice. Another contributing factor to this menace is the societys outright display and disregard for research touching on children rights. There is little investment both economically and education wise when it comes to such researches. Either the society is ignorantly satisfied with the little information it has or it simply is disinterested in the matter. For example, there are parents who are not aware that corporal punishment can no longer be meted out to the children. They deem state interference as an unnecessary party whose objective is to promote any bad behavior exhibited by their children. A perfect illustration of this phenomenon is the rising figure of parents accused of maltreating their children. Conclusion The glaring inter-agency dependence when it comes to the protection of the rights of a child could be both a blessing and a nightmare at the same time. While other departments may actively take part in this fight, the ultimate safeguard lies with the court system. It is therefore incumbent upon the courts to ensure that a childs best interest prevails at all material times.

Literature Review On The United States - 1780 Words

Literature Review Education in the United States is important because every student has the right to an education. However, many students are not capable of fulfilling the school standards and meeting the requirements because English is not their first language, which is causing them to work twice as hard compared to students whose first language is English. Schools throughout the United States have been increasing in students that are from different ethnic backgrounds. From all of the ethnic groups in the United States, the Hispanic community is growing the fastest and more Hispanic students are being seen at schools. According to Pereira and Gentry (2013), â€Å"the increase in the Hispanic population in U.S. schools is a phenomenon that†¦show more content†¦410). However, the NCES did not provide newly year statistics. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released their data and statistics that compares Hispanic ELLs to non-ELLs and according to their information Hispanic ELLs are reading at a basic level or below basic level (Tong, Irby, Lara-Alecio, Koch, 2014, p. 410). De La Cruz (2008), mentioned that students in grade second or third will start to realize and feel a disconnection between their education because they are not understanding the material (34). Once a student feels like that, self-blame and discouragement will interfere with their learning. With that being said, many Hispanic students start to get frustrated with their education that many of them will drop out of school. The NCES from the year of 2000 stated that, â€Å"Hispanics between the ages of 16 and 24 years old drop out of school† (DaSilva Iddings, Katz, 2007, p. 299-300). The NAEP also mentions that Hispanic ELLs have the most trouble in the subjects of reading and mathematics. Many Hispanic ELLs have the most trouble in reading and mathematics because words and numbers can have a different meaning and/or symbolic interpretation. Focusing on re ading, Quirk and Beem (2012), stated that Hispanic ELLs have the most trouble in decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension (540). Teachers and other professionals have also noticed that many Hispanic ELLs are able to decode a word, but have lowShow MoreRelatedLiterature Review : The United States Essay1505 Words   |  7 PagesChassidy Barnhardt Professor Redmond SOC 320 Section 1 September 29, 2016 Literature Review Literature Review The United States has quite a storied history in terms of discrimination towards women in the workplace. Such discrimination only increases when the events of childbirth are taken into account. When women give birth, they often opt to stay lengthy amounts of time with the members of the family as opposed to remaining in the workplace for the duration of their maternity leave. 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Bacteriophages Vs Antibiotics Free Essays

string(57) " striking evidence of the effectiveness of these agents\." Bacteriophages are actually viruses highly specialized to attack bacterial cells while doing no harm to animal cells. When a phage discovers a bacterium to which it possesses the correct key—that is, suitable receptors on the bacterial cell to which the phage can attach its tentacle-like extensions—then the phage will inject its hereditary DNA into the bacteria cell. Taking over the bacterial cell’s biochemical apparatus, the phage produces hundreds of phage copies, rupturing the cell. We will write a custom essay sample on Bacteriophages Vs Antibiotics or any similar topic only for you Order Now As the victim cell dies, the released phage copies attack any remaining bacterial cells like a pack of hungry wolves (Reidel). Advantages The advantages of the therapy are obvious. Bacteriophages are very specific parasites and, unlike antibiotics, do not damage the useful bacteria that live in and on the body. Phages are â€Å"intelligent† medicine: They increase just where they are needed, while antibiotics often do not get to where they are needed. Once all phage-susceptible bacteria have been killed, phages are eliminated from the body. The most apparent benefit of phage therapy is that although bacteria are able to develop resistance to phages the resistance is much easier to overcome. The reason behind this is that phages replicate and undergo natural selection and have probably been infecting bacteria since the beginning of life on this planet. Although bacteria evolve at a fast rate, so too will phages. Bacteria are most likely to modify the molecule that the phage targets, which is usually a bacterial receptor. In response to this modification phages will evolve in such a way that counteracts this change, thus allowing them to continue targeting bacteria and causing cell lysis. As a consequence phage therapy is likely to be devoid of the problems similar to antibiotic resistance. Increasing evidence shows the ability of phages to travel to a required site — including the brain, where the blood brain barrier can be crossed — and multiply in the presence of an appropriate bacterial host, to combat problems such as meningitis. However the patient’s immune system can, in some cases mount an immune response to the phage (2 out of 44 patients in a Polish trial (Carson)). Development and production is faster than antibiotics, on condition that the required recognition molecules are known. Disadvantages According to Reidel, the phages’ high specificity, with which they look for their bacterial victims, is at the same time also their therapeutic Achilles’ heel. Therefore, either a cocktail containing many different types of phages must be developed by the infection control specialist, or a phage effective against the specific pathogen of each patient must be custom-made through detailed microbiological analytical work. Western regulatory authorities tend to loathe recognizing such manually manufactured anti-infective agents as medicines, which explains why currently phage therapy is routinely only available at phage therapy centers in Georgia (part of former Russia), Europe and Poland. However, the Wound Care Center in Lubbock, Texas, has started to treat patients. For chronic infections due to multi-resistant pathogens, phage therapy could become a kind of miracle medicine. Wikipedia condends that Bacteriophage therapy is generally very safe; however fevers can occur with phage treatment. This is thought to be caused by endotoxins released by the bacteria within the patient after they have been lysed by the phage (Herxheimer Reaction), of course this can happen with antibiotics also. Additionally care has to be performed in manufacture that the phage medium isn’t contaminated with bacterial fragments and endotoxins from the production process. It is beneficial if testing on animals is performed to ensure safety. Lysogenic bacteriophages are also thought to be risky, and are now seldom used therapeutically. These viruses can act as a way for bacteria to exchange DNA, and this can help spread antibiotic resistance or even, theoretically, can make the bacteria pathogenic. To work, the virus has to reach the site of the bacteria, and unlike antibiotics, viruses do not necessarily reach the same places that bacteria can reach. Finally, some non therapeutic (lysogenic) phages transfer genes between bacteria that code for pathogenicity, notable in cholera. This makes it important to identify the phages being used to show that they are not harmful ones. What are ANTIBIOTICS? An antibiotic, according to Wikipedia, is a drug that kills or prevents the growth of bacteria. They have no effect against viruses or fungal infections. Antibiotics are one class of antimicrobials, a larger group which also includes anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic drugs. They are relatively harmless to the host, and therefore can be used to treat infections. The term, coined by Selman Waksman, originally described only those formulations derived from living organisms, in contrast to â€Å"chemotherapeutic agents†, which are purely synthetic. Nowadays the term â€Å"antibiotic† is also applied to synthetic antimicrobials, such as the sulfa drugs. Antibiotics are generally small molecules with a molecular weight less than 2000 Da. They are not enzymes. Some antibiotics have been derived from mold, for example the penicillin class. Volume 4 of How Products Are Made says that antibiotics differ chemically so it is understandable that they also differ in the types of infections they cure and the ways in which they cure them. Certain antibiotics destroy bacteria by affecting the structure of their cells. This can occur in one of two ways. First, the antibiotic can weaken the cell walls of the infectious bacteria, which causes them to burst. Second, antibiotics can cause the contents of the bacterial cells to leak out by damaging the cell membranes. One other way in which antibiotics function is to interfere with the bacteria’s metabolism. Some antibiotics such as tetracycline and erythromycin interfere with protein synthesis. Antibiotics like rifampicin inhibit nucleic acid biosynthesis. Still other antibiotics, such as sulfonamide or trimethoprim have a general blocking effect on cell metabolism. Advantages It is estimated that the average duration of many infectious diseases and the severity of certain others have decreased significantly since the introduction of antibiotic therapy. The dramatic drop in mortality rates for such dreaded diseases as meningitis, tuberculosis, and septicemia offers striking evidence of the effectiveness of these agents. You read "Bacteriophages Vs Antibiotics" in category "Papers" Bacterial pneumonia, bacterial endocarditis, typhoid fever, and certain sexually transmitted diseases are also amenable to treatment with antibiotics. So are infections that often follow viral or neoplastic diseases, even though the original illness may not respond to antibiotic therapy. Antibiotics in small amounts are widely used as feed supplements to stimulate growth of livestock and poultry. They probably act by inhibiting organisms responsible for low-grade infections and by reducing intestinal epithelial inflammation. In cattle, sheep, and swine, antibiotics are effective against economically important diseases. The use of antibiotics in dogs and cats closely resembles their use in human medical practice. In fish farms, antibiotics are usually added to the food or applied to the fish by bathing. The incidence of infections in fish, and animals in general, may be reduced by the use of disease-resistant stock, better hygiene, and better diet. Although effective against many microorganisms causing disease in plants, antibiotics are not widely used to control crop and plant diseases. Some of the limiting factors are instability of the antibiotic under field conditions, the possibility of harmful residues, and expense. Nevertheless, antibiotic control of some crop pathogens is being practiced, as is true of the rice blast in Japan, for example (Science and Tech). Disadvantages Some individuals may have allergic reactions to antibiotics. If symptoms of an allergic reaction (such as rash, shortness of breath, swelling of the face and neck), severe diarrhea, or abdominal cramping occur, the antibiotic should be stopped and the individual should seek medical advice. Because antibiotics can affect bacteria that are beneficial, as well as those that are harmful, women may become susceptible to infections by fungi when taking antibiotics. Vaginal itching or discharge may be symptoms of such infections. All patients may develop oral fungal infections of the mouth, indicated by white plaques in the mouth. Injected antibiotics may result in irritation, pain, tenderness, or swelling in the vein used for injection. It is a common assertion that some antibiotics can interfere with the efficiency of birth control pills. Although there remain few known cases of complication, the majority of antibiotics do not interfere with contraception, despite widespread misinformation to the contrary (Gale). And there’s also what is known as Antibiotic Resistance. Wikipedia says that Antibiotic Resistance is the ability of a micro-organism to withstand the effects of an antibiotic. It is a specific type of drug resistance. Antibiotic resistance evolves naturally via natural selection through random mutation, but it could also be engineered for the purpose of creating bio-weapons. SOS response of low-fidelity polymerases can also cause mutation via a process known as programmed evolution. Once such a gene is generated, bacteria can then transfer the genetic information in a horizontal fashion (between individuals) by plasmid exchange. If a bacterium carries several resistance genes, it is called multiresistant or, informally, a superbug. Antibiotic resistance can also be introduced artificially into a micro-organism through transformation protocols. This can be a useful way of implanting artificial genes into the micro-organism. Phages Vs Antibiotics (A Summary) Bacteriophages are great because: †¢ Bacteria evolve at a fast rate, but so do phages. This makes Bacteriophages devoid of problems similar to antibiotic resistance. †¢ Bacteriophages are very specific parasites and, unlike antibiotics, do not damage the useful bacteria that live in and on the body. Phages are â€Å"intelligent† medicine: They increase just where they are needed, while antibiotics often do not get to where they are needed. †¢ Development and production is faster than antibiotics. †¢ The recovery rate was discovered to be faster in some cases—a tribute to the speed with which the phage multiplied and overcame its host bacteria. †¢ Incidents of misuse are relatively unknown. Antibiotics are great because: †¢ The use of antibiotics on domesticated animals, closely resemble its use in human medicine thus greatly benefiting them. †¢ Phages work best when in direct contact with the infection, so they are best applied directly to an open wound. This is rarely applicable in the current clinical setting where infections occur systemically. †¢ Unlike Phages, which are hardly ever used for therapeutic reasons, antibiotics reduce the incidence of both suppurative and non-suppurative complications of sore throat. A new study from Holland has confirmed that antibiotics protect against quinsy. †¢ Lysogenic bacteriophages are thought to be risky. These viruses can act as a way for bacteria to exchange DNA, and this can help spread antibiotic resistance or even, theoretically, can make the bacteria pathogenic. To work, the virus has to reach the site of the bacteria, and unlike antibiotics, viruses do not necessarily reach the same places that bacteria can reach. †¢ Antibiotics are more readily available because phages have high specifity and require detailed microbiological analytical work. Conclusion The research is still ongoing. Though the odds are in favor of Bacteriophages becoming more common, there have been no large clinical trials to test their efficacy. This therapy today essentially exists only in some Eastern European countries, including Georgia and Poland. But largely because of the growing concern over antibiotic resistance, a lot more people in the medical field are interested in pursuing bacteriophages as an alternative to antibiotics on a large scale. W O R K S C I T E D 1. Reidel, William. â€Å"Book Review: Viruses vs. Superbugs: A Solution to the Antibiotics Crisis? † Epoch Times. (6 May, 2006). 14 April, 2007. http://en. epochtimes. com/news/6-5-6/41280. html 2. Carson, Christine, and Thomas Riley. â€Å"Non-Antibiotic Therapies for Infectious Diseases. † Communicable Diseases Intelligence Supplement on Antimicrobial Resistance 27 (2003): pages not given 3. â€Å"Phage therapy. † Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 4 Apr 2007, 00:38 UTC. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 14 Apr 2007 http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Phage_therapyoldid=120112914. 4. â€Å"Antibiotic. † How Products Are Made. 2006. 14 April 2007 http://www. madehow. com/Volume-4/Antibiotic. html 5. Science and Technology Encyclopedia. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007 6. Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer. Michigan: Thomson Gale, 2005 7. â€Å"Antibiotic Resistance. † Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2007. Answers. com 14 Apr. 2007. http://www. answers. com/topic/antibiotic-resistance How to cite Bacteriophages Vs Antibiotics, Papers

Culture Contribute to Managing Globalisation †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Culture Contribute to Managing Globalisation. Answer: Introduction The post-bureaucratic organisation is a hybrid form of organisation that provides more emphasis on intrinsic difficulties that are associated in the refurbishment of complex organisations (Clegg et al. 2015). In the previous time of the post-industrial revolution, new technologies, key industries and machines were introduced into the organisation. That time, the definition of organisations can be defined as people, knowledge, technology and objects. The organisations are shaped by its actions its take and hierarchy structure was the systematic arrangement of command and control. The responsibilities of the employees are defined by the responsibilities, roles and actions that could unfold the future actions. In this essay, managing culture within the organisation at post-bureaucratic era will be discussed with instances from the practices. Furthermore, the thesis statement of the essay is to take the standpoint that culture can influence the organisational work in the post-bureaucrati c era. In the first part of the essay, managing culture in the workplace in post-bureaucratic organisational structure will be explained. In the following part, a different perspective of culture within the workplace will be discussed. In the next part of the essay, the industrial and organisational psychology of the employees in building ethical culture will be discussed in light of corruption and labour law. Above all, in this essay, the corporate culture in the post-bureaucratic ear is the main focus. As stated by Jones and George (2015), Max Weber describes bureaucracy in observing the Prussian army and industrialisation that can describe ideal organisations in light of rational-legal bureaucracy. Moreover, bureaucracy is an organisational form that creates hierarchy of differentiated knowledge in which disciplines must be managed not in a hierarchical manner but in a parallel manner. In the design of the organisation, the organisation must be operated in the system of responsibilities and decision making. On the other side, according to Barker (2013), bureaucratic approaches to management have always ignored the culture of the organisation. In Max Weber bureaucratic approach was supported in scientific management by Taylor in which it is mentioned that organisation in previous time did not provide explicit focus on maintaining a culture of the organisation. During the bureaucratic ear, it was noticed that organisational management mainly focused on utilitarian monoculture that m ainly focuses on increasing productivity. In bureaucratic era, it was ensured that productivity of employees must follow employees' compliance that led to the profitability of the organisation (Barak 2016). Before, post bureaucracy era, it was seen that humans made contributions to create components with large machines through maintaining rules, efficiency and optimisation. In this era, information got silos, inefficiency was there in organisational structure and cumbersome chains of command were obvious. In post-bureaucratic economy, organisations can toy with the creative structure as hybrid structure, temporary workforce, flat organisational structure, gig economy and freelancers. In the recent development of post-bureaucratic era, the organisations mainly focus on culture within the workplace as, after globalisation, the culture of the organisations drastically changed. As opined by Rice (2015), bureaucratic era started the concept of power position' and in the post-bureaucratic era, this concept changed to participative leadership'. From bureaucratic to post-bureaucratic, there has been undeniable organisational alteration taken place seemingly in traditional controlling, particularly in managing organisational culture. In a post-bureaucratic era, management is focusing mainly on beliefs, values and norms of an organisation that are related to the organisational culture (Kirton and Greene 2015). In this era, more contemporary methods and dominative practices have been made that c an differ the approaches of the organisations. Different organisations focus on different values with different aspects that make up organisational culture. In recent time, most of the large organisations comprise employees from various backgrounds with multi-ethnic groups. Managing this diverse cultural person needs communication and it can attract strong cultures, hold people that provide rewards the employees to achieve goals. After globalisation, cultural competency refers the ability to interact people who come from different backgrounds (Innocent et al. 2017). In some of the firms, power is vested in a few people who take the decisions. Organisations can follow teamwork, target and solve the issues through task culture. In case, employees feel that they are more important in the workplace, then, person culture is followed in the organisation. Lastly, role culture is related to the employees are delegated responsibilities and roles according to the specialisation (Sturdy et al. 2016). Knowledge, beliefs and values of equality in the workplace are needed to all that can provide skills to the employees to require component in working on cultural competence. In the age of modern period, most of the private and public organisations adopt different operations that can be guided by the philosophy of the organisations. In managing ethical culture, the success of the organisation is solely responsible for maintaining team-culture. The team-centred approach is helpful for the organisation in maintaining an ethical culture. The team leaders must have knowledge in recognising benefits of informal and individual empowerment (Dischner 2015). Empowerment is popular topic and in this word, most of the management and consultants have focused. The main aim of the empowerment of the employees is the self-management and employee productivity. There is a concept that employee behaviour can assist an organisation to achieve the objectives of the organisation. In the post-bureaucratic structure of the organisation, ethical culture is followed and most of the large organisations are unequivocal about this ethical culture. However, as opined by Nistoskaya an d Cingolani (2015), non-management concept defines empowerment as the notion of oppression and powerlessness. In addition, corporate culture is somehow the shared beliefs of the managers about managing workplace and culture within the workplace. Ethical culture concept is about tone at the top that means ethical leadership in the organisation (Moran et al. 2014). Creating ethical environment is not easy and leaders can create standard behaviour that must be part of the code of ethics. In this regard, managers or leaders in post-bureaucratic era influence the employees to respond mainly to ethical challenges. After globalisation, leadership concept is judged as ethical leader and leaders are perceived as trustworthy and staffs' trust can be increased through this. Moreover, in order to improve the ethical culture within the workplace, it is needed to establish clear policies with the code of ethics. According to Igo (2016), in the post-bureaucratic era, top levels staffs need to over see the compliance ethical policies within organisations. In addition, some of the large organisations engage ethics training programmes in order to instil ethical act of the employees. Post-bureaucratic era changed the concept of human resource management. In this era, focus mainly put into women in the workplace and another is employment in abroad. Moreover, HRM practices in globalisation, working age and issues for disabled people in working have brought significant changes in the workplace. Human resource management has significant power in order to bring the change and manage the culture of the workplace in this competitive age. However, it is needed that in the time of globalisation, the structure of the organisation has been shifting in changes and HRM practices want to make organisation as evolving and fluid dynamic network. (Heck and Mercoulides 2013) supported this by saying managing corporate culture in post-bureaucratic time has become popular and IRS Employment Trends in the year 2000 proved that many of the large and middle scale organisations went to international cultural change. It was seen during the post-bureaucratic era, personal influence; trust in employee relationship and importance of individuality grew rapidly. In the post-bureaucratic era, view of the job has changed dramatically as this era has introduced mix-full-time, freelancing, casual employees and contract basis work. HRM practices. Meaningful discussion is needed in strategic planning by the management of the organisation in order to get the industry knowledge and strategic orientation in globalisation period. HR function has been going through changes after restructuring the organisation. The developing strategies of the HRM have been focussed mainly in corporate culture. Human resources should not be treated discriminatory and organisational change must bring technological supremacy. Organisational leaders must impact on culture and leaders can find out strengths and weaknesses of the culture. Corporate culture has the relationship with performance management as it can articulate the expectation of the employees and it is related to the feedback mechanism (M oran et al. 2014). Pay system, reward and compensation can motivate employees and motivated human resources can impact on corporate culture in striving for betterment. Conclusion The post-bureaucratic era has led to the vast change in human resource practices and brought the acceleration in work process through technology. In the workplace, the significant changes have come in a culture of work. In post-bureaucratic time, an influence of organisational culture is two-folds, directly through the principles of the organisation and indirectly, behaviour of the employees. In a previous time, a strict work time was there for the employees and the hierarchical structure was followed by the management. However, in recent time, flexible working hours, work from home culture and gig economy has altered the scenario. In social conscious literature, organisational culture can impact on the delivering the services and products. The subsystem of organisation mission brings the culture and managing culture is important since the setting of values of the organisation. In today's organisations, there are four components in managing culture; the first one is about awareness o f the different people that work within the workplace. Attitude to cultural biases should be controlled and organisations can provide training or courses to people to change attitude towards multiethnic people. Corporate values set the sense of organisational ethics and it is related to the competitiveness of the organisation. In the workplace, there are various employees who come from different background and multi-ethnic group in the workplace brings diversity. Reference List Barak, M.E.M., 2016.Managing diversity: Toward a globally inclusive workplace. London: Sage Publications. Barker, J. R., 2013, Tightening the Iron Cage: Concertive Control in Self-Managing Teams, Administrative Science Quarterly, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 408-437 Clegg, S.R., Kornberger, M. and Pitsis, T., 2015.Managing and organizations: An introduction to theory and practice. London: Sage. Dischner, S., 2015. Organizational structure, organizational form, and counterproductive work behaviour: A competitive test of the bureaucratic and post-bureaucratic views. Scandinavian Journal of Management,vol. 31, no. 4, pp.501-514. Heck, R.H and Mercoulides, G.A. 2013: Organisational culture and performance: Proposing and testing a model. Organisation Science, vol. 4, no.2, pp. 20925. Igo, T. 2016, Diagnosing the organizational culture of an Australian engineering consultancy using the competing values framework, vol. 1, no. 1, pp.121-139 Innocenti, L., Sammarra, A. and Profili, S., 2017. From Control to Commitment Work Systems: The Role of HRM in the Post-Bureaucratic Transition. InEvolution of the Post-Bureaucratic Organization. Vol.2, no. 4, pp. 274-296. Jones, G. and George, J., 2015.Contemporary management. New Jersey: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Kirton, G. and Greene, A.M., 2015.The dynamics of managing diversity: A critical approach. Abingdon: Routledge. Moran, R.T., Abramson, N.R. and Moran, S.V., 2014.Managing cultural differences. Abingdon: Routledge. Nistotskaya, M. and Cingolani, L., 2015. Bureaucratic structure, regulatory quality, and entrepreneurship in a comparative perspective: Cross-sectional and panel data evidence.Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory,vol. 26, no. 3, pp.519-534. Rice, M.F., 2015.Diversity and public administration. ME Sharpe. Sturdy, A., Wright, C. and Wylie, N., 2016. Managers as consultants: The hybridity and tensions of neo-bureaucratic management.Organization,vol. 23, no. 2, pp.184-205.

Problems in Thailand

Oda Nobunagas Biography

Oda Nobunagas Biography The oda of Omwari Oda Nobunaga was born Oda Kipposhi on June 23rd 1534 and was a second son of Oda Nobuhinde who by then was a minor lord and whose family was servant to Shiba Shugo. Oda Kipposhi’s father was a very knowledgeable warrior who used much of his time in battles as a Samurai to Mikawa and Mino. At home, Oda kipposhi’s father, later Oda Nobunaga, was involved in power rivalry with his extended family over the control of Omwari province (Seal par 5).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Oda Nobunagas Biography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Oda family was divided into two warring branches. The Nobuhide’s branch was stationed at kiyosu and was run by three elders; the second branch of the family was housed at Iwakura castle in the north of Omwari province. At the time of his birth, Japan was a divided country as Opposed to what it used to be in earlier years before the terrible civil war of 1460s. The country was divided into more than sixty provinces each under the rule of a Daimyo. However, Daimyo were always at war with each other during which time numerous farms and villages would be burned. Oda Nobunaga was brought up in a castle in Nagoya where his father was among the chiefs from his Oda family that ruled Omwari at the time. During his youthful years, Oda was a handsome and unusually graceful man and his father had hired tutors to teach his son the arts of war and other Chinese classics. Oda however proved to be a nuisance to his tutors because of his arrogance and irrelevance. One of his trainers, Kiyohide committed kanshi after writing up a letter urging Nobunaga to take up his studies more seriously. This death made Nobunaga change some bit and honored Hirashi Kiyohide by building the Seisyu-ji in Omwari (Seal par 4). Oda Nobunaga was strange in his mode of dressing wearing odd colored short sleeve and knickknacks hanging from his waist. His moo ds were also unpredictable making people think him crazy. It was rumored that Oda acted in this manner to fool his older cousins from seeing him a rival for the power. Physically, Nobunaga had a prominent nose and a scarce beard and was of unruly behavior. At the age of fourteen, Oda Nobunaga married a daughter of the lord of Mino province. This was a politically instigated marriage based on convenience not loves. The rise of Oda Nobunaga Following Oda Nobuhinde’s death, Oda Nobunaga built a small force of not more than a thousand men and successfully built an army that later repulsed two attacks by relatives and by a rival province. He later killed his chief rival in the family and a brother who challenged his leadership.Advertising Looking for research paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Oda Nobunaga rose to become a minor warlord and only held a small piece of land in Omwari province. Like most other Daimyo of his time, Oda rose to power following military encounters and by the age of 25 years, he controlled a large part of Omwari province by ruthlessly taking over territories from his neighbors. By 1558, Nobunaga had successfully united his family (Morton 47). His rule was only secure in 1560 when he defeated Totomi family from the Ingawa province which was matching through his province on their way to conquering Kyoto. Following this defeat to the largest army in Japan, Nobunaga suddenly became a national figure and as a result many other Daimyos met him in a bid to build alliances (Saito 25). Like other Daimyos of the Sengoku era, Oda Nobunaga took the advantage of convenience marriages to create alliances and strengthen his leadership. To begin with, Nobunaga married his daughter to the lord of Mikawa province Tokugawa Leyasu’s son. This alliance lasted for twenty years . O-ichi, Oda Nobunaga’s sister was also married to Asai who was the lord of Omi provi nce. These alliances helped Nobunaga became the leader of a very strong and powerful coalition. This however was only a start of what Oda Nobunaga aspired to do. It was only the beginning of an empire that he intended to build (Saito 27).He multiplied his army into more than ten times. He even recruited farmer to be foot soldiers who carried spears and lances while whoever showed talent was promoted through ranks (Saito 29). His military prowess and leadership skill were again proved when in 1565 he marched into Kyoto and helped drive out a local warlord who had killed a shogun and instead installed a three year old as the new shogun. Nobunaga replaced the child shogun with Yoshiaki, the brother of the murdered shogun. He also helped rebuild the badly damaged palace and gave money to the emperor who had invited him to Kyoto. Following the rise in power of Minamoto no Yoritomo appointed in 1192, as a shogun, most emperors lost their power, the remaining shoguns too lost their power a lthough they still could appoint judges and other administrators. Nobunaga used Shogun Yoshiaki as a puppet and even obtained rights to sign document without his consent. This period saw Nobunaga become the most powerful leaders in Japan owing to his political and military might (Morton 47). Resistance The developments at Kyoto agitated a daimyo that lived outside the influence of Nobunaga. He saw Nobunaga as a force that would lead to his destruction. To him, Nobunaga could not be compared to many other warlords like Hosokama Sumimoto and Miyoshi Motonaga who were only concerned only about personal gain and prestige. Nobunaga’s gain however seemed to surpass that of the two warlords and could not be filled.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Oda Nobunagas Biography specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He knew that Nobunaga’s aim was to rule the whole of Japan. Four other warlords during Nobunagaâ₠¬â„¢s rule: Mori Motonari, Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin and hojo Ujiasu had no say in the capital as they had been removed by Nobunaga. Their movement was also curtailed by Nobunaga who occupied a strategic location. Taking Kyoto only made things better for him as he was now positioned in the middle of Japan. Nobunaga’s power was based on the point of the sword with the use of diplomacy waning as he put additional territories under his rule. Nobunaga crushed his enemies completely especially those troublesome to him (Morton 49). Real trouble The first real trouble came when Asakura Yoshikage turned down an invitation by Yoshiaki who was ordered by Nobunaga to invite all local daimyos to a banquet at Kyoto. Nobunaga took this as a symbol of disloyal to both shogun Yoshiaki and the emperor. Using this as an excuse, Nobunaga raised an army to attack Echizen which was ruled by Asakura. He made good his threat and was approaching Echizen capital, Ichijo-no-Tani, when he received news that his brother-in-law , Asai Namagasa, husband to his sister O-ichi had shifted bases and was fighting on Asakura’s side. He later moved back to Kyoto and attacked the combined forces of Asai and Asakura but the winner of this battle was no other but Nobunaga. This win propelled Nobunaga to the highest point in his military and political career (Hooker par 1). He now was a force to reckon with in the larger Japan. However, Asai and Asakura had killed Nobunaga’s own brother, Nobuharu and sought the assistance of the monks of Mt. Hiei. The fall of Monasteries In 1570, Nobunaga’s army under the command of Hideyoshi defeated his brother-in-law, Asai, who had defected from his camp to join that of his rival, Asakura. However, both Asai and Asakura could not be captured as they escaped and sought refuge in Mt. Hiei which was a home to Enryakuji, one of the oldest and holiest Tendai Buddhist monasteries at the time. It is important to know that in middle of the second millennia, Buddhist monks were not as saintly as we know them today, but were rather armed, very political and held a lot of wealth. This resulted into a lot of resentment from Nobunaga who coveted the extensive land holding they held and their use of religion to disguise their power pursuit. When he failed to annihilate Asai and Asakura, Nobunaga pleaded with the monks of Eryakuji to either maintain neutrality or face his wrath.Advertising Looking for research paper on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The monks too were in bad terms with Oda Nobunaga who took some of their lands and had threatened to tax them. They too could not understand how anyone could take the action Nobunaga was intending to fulfill of burning their eight century old monastery. In the mean time, Asai and Asakura took the opportunity to escape as the armed monks engaged in skirmishes with Nobunaga’s men. In October 1571, in the mid of a very windy night, Nobunaga’s revenge was terrible as his soldiers surrounded Mt. Hiei and set it on fire. As enormous flames engulfed the mountain city, thousands of warrior monks, women and children were consumed by the fire that reduced the Eryakuji monastery into ashes. Close to three thousand homes, schools, temples and libraries were destroyed in this fire. The whole of Japan shuddered at what Nobunaga had ruthlessly done. To this day, at the mention of Nobunaga, Japanese first thing in the mind is the burning of the Eryakuji monastery. This act of burning the monastery had the impact that Nobunaga intended as many Japanese monks were terrified and stopped maintaining armies, cease to be political and also accepted their loss of land without a word. In 1574, one of remaining defiant Buddhist sect went up in flames while a second one was suppressed with gun fire in the following year. Only the Honganji monastery on Osaka bay remained defiant as it enjoyed naval support from some western Daimyos, however, in 1580, Nobunaga’s marines in seven warrior ships destroyed close to six hundred war boats. This brought to an end the defiance of the Honganji monastery. Most other Buddhists had however lost their power by 1573. In that same year, Asai and Asakura committed suicide and Nabunaga had their skulls gold and silver plated and used them as drinking cups. As a result of asai’s death, his widow O-ichi, returned to his brother Nobunaga with three daughters and an infant son who was executed. O-ichi, with her striking beauty, wa s married off to a top general in his army, Shibata Katsue. Christian Missionaries and the Gun Powder Oda Nobunaga first interaction with the westerners was recorded by a Portuguese missionary named Louis Frois in 1569. Louis described Nobunaga as a tall man who was greatly addicted to military exercise and who scorned both Buddha and the Kami tradition medicine and who neither believed in life after death nor the immortality of the soul. Nobunaga welcomed Jesuits missionary whom he liked and from whom he received gifts such as maps, tiger skins, magnifying glasses, improved guns and who also shared his contempt for Buddhism. In 1543, three Portuguese traders sold matchlocks to the Japanese at the island of Tanega south of Kyushu. These guns were copied by the local lord’s blacksmith’s but these guns failed to function due the gunpowder failing to explode. Later, a Portuguese blacksmith settled down and began teaching the Japanese finer points of gun making. Within no time, the Japanese were making guns at a very fast rate. Sooner, the port of Okai, on Osaka bay became a major gun manufacturing center in Japan. Until 1569, this very prosperous town was under the rule of merchants but in that year, it fell under Nobunaga’s direct rule. Nobunaga’s Administrative Skills It is recorded that Nobunaga was a very skilful administrator and a good warrior. He promoted trade by minting standardized currency and also standardized weights and measures giving merchants an easy time in the process. ‘Marotoriums’ were also abolished as they exempted the dictatorial warlords from paying debts. In his attempts to further improve trade conditions in Japan, he abolished all toll barriers and guild monopolies in his territory and in major cities. The more Nobunaga expanded his territorial borders by conquering neighboring provinces, the more it became easier for merchants as trade areas increased. Nobunaga modernized his armies and in fact bought tens of thousands of guns that were used by his armies in practicing. The soldiers were trained to fast load the gun powders and to shoot and were also trained on arrangement in the battlefront especially formation of alternating rows. In this arrangement, as the first row bent to reload, the second row would shoot while the third row would be aiming. This ensured a continuous bombardment that was devastating to the rival army. He too armed peasants who at times massacred thousands of samurai swordsmen (Weston 144). Shogun Yoshiaki who too was in communication with Asai, Asakura, monks at the Eryakuji monastery and the daimyo of Akai province was too expelled from Kyoto. Nobunaga imposed taxes on the wealthy city dwellers and those who resisted had their wealth burned. This scared others who hastily complied. Yoshiaki’s life was spared and he was left to wander in Japan for close to thirty years. During this time, Kyoto stayed without a shogun with the emperor failing to persuade Nobunaga to take up the position. Nobunaga had no interest in titles and chose to remain a warrior but demanded obedience from all those ha subdued. He even requested for obedience from his general Shibata Katsue whom he warned never to have any evil thought towards him. The Azuchi Castle In 1570s, Japan was enjoying a peaceful period following the rule of Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga decided to build himself a seven storey castle on a hill in Azuchi province. This was a magnificent palace build forty miles north of Kyoto and was completed in 1579. The Azuchi castle had very beautiful rooms and were painted by top artists of the time especially Kano Eitoku who was the finest. Each room was unique and was painted in a different theme including falcons, horses, trees, Chinese scholars and even Buddha and his disciples. His tea room was painted in leaf gold and it was in this room that he held tea ceremonies. Nobunaga was a great tea lover and collected rare tea utensils and gav e them to his great generals as gifts. The castle at Azuchi underwent various changes. It was during this time that modern Japanese castles were born (Weston 145). Azuchi castle revolutionized castle building in Japan. It was among the first Hiramayajiro castles that were build on a flat topped mountain and on low hills. The hills chosen were on a plain enabling large numbers of troops to be positioned here. Other features of the Azuchi castle included a bigger and higher tenshu allowing a greater view of the plains, Masugata, multiple maru and an ishigaki at the centre of the castle. There were also secret floors within the tenshu. The Azuchi castle not only served for the defensive purposes but was also a show of power for Nobunaga. Nobunaga’s castle was later copied by other leaders who came after him such as Nagahama and Himeji castles build by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the Sakamoto and Tanbakameyama castles that were build by Akechi Mitsumide. Nobunaga’s Major Achiev ements Military Nobunaga revolutionized the way wars were fought in Japan. His army was one of the most organized in the world during his time. He made many inventions and innovations that helped properly arm his forces (Murray 125). The most notable implementations were use of long pikes, advanced fire arms, ironclad ships and fortifications of castle to boost security. He also started a warrior class in which positions were assigned based on merit and not by name, tribe, rank or the size of land that one owned. Retainers were rewarded on the basis of the amount of rise that a rice farm produced not on the size of the farm. This measures ensured equality and fairness and helped reduce any complaints from his army. This system of army organization was later copied by his rivals such as Tokugawa Leyasu during the formation of the Tokugawa Shogunate that was based at Edo (Murray 128). Trade Nobunaga was a very keen businessman who understood and practiced the principles of macro and m icroeconomics. He was pivotal in the modernization of both agricultural and manufacturing industries. Service bases and castle towns were established as the centers of trade and local economics. To further improve trade and ease the movement of his large army between cities, Nobunaga improved roads. He opened up Japan beyond china and the Korean peninsula to the larger Asian countries such as Philippines, Siam and Indonesia. Trade with Europe especially with Portuguese and Spain was also expanded. As a way to improve and promote trade and industry, Nobunaga instituted the Rakuizi-rakuza policies. Under this policy, Nobunaga’s goal was to abolish and prohibit monopolies and helped open up suppressed unions, associations and guilds. He established a proper tax system and exemptions and instituted laws that governed borrowing (Weston 142). Fine art With the rise of Nobunaga as a national leader, he amassed a large amount of wealth that he used to support major causes most notabl y the fine art. Nobunaga had a liking for the art and later used it to display his power and prestige. His many gardens and castles bore great artistic features with the Azuchi castle being one this great art works. In later years, Nobunaga became a devout Christian and used this as a basis for terrorizing the Buddhist Ikko monks (Peterson 85). His tea master, Sen no Rikkyu helped him established the tea ceremonies which Nobunaga used for politics and business. The westernization of Japan Nobunaga eagerly embraced the western religions especially Christianity and welcomed the Jesuits missionaries with open hands. As a result of his conversion, he became among the first Japanese leader to appear in the European histories. He also imported the western technology like the firearms into Japan. This technology coupled with offensive and defensive mechanisms imported from Europe contributed to the modernization of his forces. His armies were always retrained to cope up with new imported t actics and in addition, massive stone forts were constructed that would defy modern gun fire. He also improved his warships by iron cladding them which resulted into nearly unbeatable models (Weston 145). The Death of Nobunaga Nobunaga’s glory came to its highest point in Kyoto, august of 1581, during this day; Nobunaga had gathered nearly twenty thousand horsemen all brilliantly dressed who flew in full gallop in front of the emperor and half of the Kyoto population. Hideyoshi, one of his top brass general was not in this parade as he was on a mission to conquer the Harima province. The story was that since 1577, Harima province had put up a strong defense following the unification of all western Daimyos under the leadership of the Mori family, who were allies of the Ikko-ikki clan. This province had a united army with as many soldiers and complex gun power as Nobunaga making the war drag for years (Peterson 87). In 1582, the Mori troops were making advancement towards the c astle in Bitchu province and were overwhelming to the Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s army. Hideyoshi asked for reinforcement from Nobunaga who at once decided to head west himself. In the process, Nobunaga commanded his top Generals to join him in this worthy course. He however took a two night’s stop at a temple in Kyoto in order to make the final arrangement for a battle that never took place. June 21, 1582, Akechi Mitsuhide, the general appointed by Nobunaga to lead some ten thousand soldiers to attack Harima province chose to attack Nobunaga instead. This took Nobunaga at a sheer surprise as he was entertaining guests at a Homno temple. Nobunaga had less than a hundred board guards making escape out of question. For the first time, Nobunaga took part in a battle but was wounded by either an arrow or a spear. He decided to retreat into a room and locked himself from where he committed Seppuku, a ritual suicide (Peterson 89). The temple was then burned down and no remains of N obunaga’s body were ever recovered. His eldest son was also killed in this battle and his Azuchi castle looted and then burned down by the mob. It is not known up to today what caused Mitsuhide turn against his master and he never had time to explain as he was hunted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who took his head. At his death, Nobunaga was forty six years and ruled Japan’s thirty one out of sixty six provinces. His aim was to conquer many more and bring them under one rule. Conclusion Oda Nobunaga was truly one of the Japan’s most influential men and women and is remembered for his attempt to form a united Japan. He had a modern outlook for Japan and helped modernize warfare in Japan, broke the power of the monks, improved trade and industry, westernized Japan, gave equal opportunities to all especially the peasant and surprisingly ignored titles (Berry 35). It is however ironical that this fierce warrior who had the heart to burn thousands of innocent children and wo men was attributed to have brought peace to Japan which by the time was racked by a two hundred years of war. This peace he brought fearfully and was based on one man who ruled Japan with an iron hand. It is no surprise that his allies were also relieved following his death. But the question many ask is ‘to what length Nobunaga would have gone had his life not been cut short?’ By the time of his death, Nobunaga changed Japan forever (Berry 35). Berry M. Elizabeth. Hideyoshi. Havard: Havard University Asia center, 1989. Hooker, Richard. â€Å"World civilizations: Odo Nobunaga.† Washington State University, 1996. Web. Morton, M. Scott, and Olenik, J. Kenneth. Japan: Its History and Culture. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2005. Murray, David. The Story of Japan. UK: G.P. Putnam’s sons, 1894. Paterson, Paterson. Oda Nobunaga: The Battle of Okehazama. New York: Jetlag press, 2008. Saito, Hisho. A history of Japan. Tokyo: Forgotten books, 1990. Seal, F. W. â€Å"Oda Nobunaga. Samurai, Mar 5 2011.  samurai-archives.com/nobunaga.html Weston, Mark. Giants of Japan: the Lives of Japan’s Most Influential Men and Women. New York: Kodansha America, 2002.

Human Health and Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Human Health and Environment - Assignment Example In 1793, more than 5000 Americans died as a result of the yellow fever epidemic which started in Philadelphia. (Murphy, J., 2003) There are an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever, causing 30,000 deaths, worldwide each year. (Yellow Fever, 2009) On the other hand, The World Health Organization’s Guidelines for the treatment of malaria (2010) has reported an estimated 863,000 deaths in 2008 due to malaria. Still another similar factor yellow fever and malaria share is that they almost have the same symptoms. Both diseases make the victim feel feverish and body ache. Conversely, yellow fever can be different from malaria, too. Firstly, where malaria has a cure thanks to the medicine quinine (Agosta, W., 1997), there is only a vaccine for yellow fever and a cure dependent on the resulting illness manifested by the patient. (Hayes, J.J., 1858) The said vaccine was discovered by Max Theiler in 1937. (Monath, T., 2010) Secondly, the incubation fever for yellow fever is only for 3-4 days, malaria victims only show signs of the symptoms after 7 to 30 days. (WHO, 2010) Last but not the least, while yellow fever has mostly affected people in Africa and Latin America, deaths and cases of malaria are in sub-Saharan Africa. (WHO, 2010) 1.b) A mosquito’s bite causes malaria and yellow fever. Since North America goes through the winter season, egg production stops and there is no drive for the female mosquito to take blood meals. (Humphreys, M., 2001) Because there is no need to bite humans for blood, these diseases are not threats in North America. 1.c.) No single country in sub-Saharan African has shown a substantial decline in malaria, according to WHO’s Africa Malaria Report 2004 (Crowe, S., 2003) This can be attributed to two things: Africa is a tropical country and a poor one at that. Tropical countries only have two seasons: sunny and rainy. Inasmuch, the climate in tropical countries can be warm, humid or cool.

Different languages in the united states Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Different languages in the united states - Essay Example Spanish is ranked second after English, among spoken languages of United States. French comes third, and after these million of Americans speak  German, Italian, Chineese, Urdu, regularly.  There are two counties, where Navaho speakers are in highest concentration and Yupik speakers in one out of total thirty-five. US English Foundation Inc. reported 322 languages are spoken in the United States; among that English is the most common language. There are more than two Billions English speakers. Among all Americans, 96% are well versed with English. If languages are arranged alphabetically it starts from Abnaki to Zuni, whereas in order English, Spanish, French, Chinese, German is the most common language of United States. In numbers, it is found. Eight languages have a speaker more in 1 Million, 13 languages have a speaker in 0.5 Million and around 38 languages have a speaker in 0.1 Million. Furthermore, only English and Spanish are the languages spoken by +1 percent of total Amer ican population. California is the state where 207 different languages are spoken, whereas 169, 163, 145, 138,135,134, 132,130, and 129 different languages are spoken in New York, Washington, Texas, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and Arizon respectively. Wyoming is the state where fewest languages are spoken in United States ("Languages in America "). ... Urdu, Punjabi, Gujratic, Hindi, Iranian, and Greek languages are also placed in this category. 3. Asian and pacific Island languages Chinese; Korean; Japanese; Vietnamese; Hmong; Khmer; Lao; Thai; and Tagalog is put in Asian and P Island languages. Furthermore, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam; Philippine, Polynesian, and Micronesian are also placed in this division. 4. Others All other languages named above are grouped in this category.  Ã‚  Uralic languages (such as Hungarian), the Semitic languages (Arabic, Hebrew, etc.), languages of Africa, and N North, South and Central America, etc. are placed in this class. English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, etc. is the most common immigrant language in the United States. English is the most common language of the United States. However, it is not the official language, instead of many recommendations of making English its native language.  Ã‚  American English is the title given to the diversity of English spoken in the United States; an d when it amalgamates with the Canadian English it makes up the group of languages known as North American English. Spanish is the second most spoken language in United States, because of rapid growth in their population, especially in the United States.  United States  is considered  as the  fifth largest population where Spanish is spoken. In all, 2,725 of the 3,141 counties (86.8 percent) in the United States had English and Spanish as their first and second most common languages – 2,690 with English first and Spanish second and 35 with Spanish first and English second. Frequency of Germany spoken is alternative to Spanish in the United States. It is the

Fiscal Policy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fiscal Policy Paper - Essay Example The taxpayers are adversely affected by the increases in the tax imposition. Recently owing to the high fiscal deficit there has been increase in the various taxes on the employers, manufacturers, wage suppression on the employees and so on. There has been a problem of inter temporal budget and the huge deficits are actually burdening the current generation as well as the future generation. One of the analysts in New York Times stated that, â€Å"taxpayers will end up paying the costs of today’s deficits tomorrow† (Ackerman, 2004). But in this situation tax regime has to be tightened for bringing dynamic stability to the US economy and sacrifice has to be made now. Future Social Security and Medicare users Owing to the huge fiscal deficit, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act enacted by the current President Obama directs towards access of equality, affordable health care and transformation within the health care system necessary to contain costs. The budget o ffice of the congress determined that the act will allow coverage to more than around 94% of the Americans staying within a limit of $900 billion bending the health cost curve and reducing the deficit over the next decade. The social security administration forecasts that by the next four decades from now on the trust fund of social security will be utilized in either borrowing, increasing revenue or that of diminishing profits (The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 2012). University of Phoenix student With the American fiscal deficit reaching lowest levels recently hit the for -profit University of Phoenix with higher costs and tremendously declining overall enrollment. As a coping strategy the University has planned to close down around 115 locations affecting the careers of around 13000 students. The University currently has about 328,000 students declined from a peak of more than 400,000. The closure of the branches will leave around 112 locations in 36 states of Unite d States, the District of Columbia as well as Puerto Rico. Although the President of the University has assured that the affected students will be shifted to online courses but it will leave a sense of moral degradation among the students for sure (Veiga, 2012). The United State’s financial reputation on an international level The trade deficit of United States of America has widened in the month of August 2012 with exports falling to the lowest levels in the last six months indicating a sign of worry indicating that the global economy has reduced the demand for the US goods. The chamber of commerce declared that the deficit increased to a level of $44.2 billion in August which is biggest gap since May. In the global front the American made cars as well as farm goods have declined. The imports reduced but with a slight 0.1 percent to $225.5 billion as purchases of foreign-made autos, aircraft and heavy machinery fell. The cost of oil also fell significantly. A significant gro wth in the trade deficit imparts a negative vibe as it signifies that the US is earning less on an overseas scale with respect to its domestic products. The manufacturers of US have been also hampered by slumping economies in countries like Europe, China and other key export markets which accounts for at least one-fifth of U.S. exports. The economic growth also declined to an annual rate of only 1.3% in the quarter of April-June (Crutsinger, 2012). Unemployed individuals Unemployment is a serious problem which requires particular attention.

The Rise Of Green Vehicles Marketing Essay

The Rise Of Green Vehicles Marketing Essay Introduction A green vehicle is a motor vehicle that has less dangerous and less deadly effects to the environment than any regular gasoline or diesel powered vehicles. The major inspiration of the development of alternative fuels and green engineering are to reduce the harmful environmental impacts and to create the mentality of reducing dependency to oil. Based on what customers majority demand in automobile industry: low fuel consumption, low cost, low noise pollution, state-of-the-art technology, and environmentally friendly, manufactures are significantly are transforming their technology to the green vehicle technology. Green vehicles are powered by alternative fuels and include hybrids, electric cars, ethanol, hydrogen cars, natural gas, plug-in hybrids, biodiesel, and air powered vehicles. Latest trend of the green vehicles popularity was significantly caused by the rise of oil prices. People are trying to find other ways to save their money from purchasing gas for their gas/diesel powere d cars. Tax saving also contributes to the rise of green vehicles popularity in various countries such as United States and European Union. According to IRS website, The Energy Policy Act of 2005 replaced the clean-fuel burning deduction with a tax credit. A tax credit is subtracted directly from the total amount of federal tax owed, thus reducing or even eliminating the taxpayers tax obligation. The tax credit for hybrid vehicles applies to vehicles purchased or placed in service on or after January 1, 2006 (www.irs.gov). This paper will answer several questions that people might be curios about. First, I will discuss the causes of the booming market of green vehicles in the last decade. Secondly, I will discuss the controversies of GMs electric vehicle EV1 and its relation to the conspiracy theories with Oil Company. Background As mentioned before, green vehicles include hybrids, electric cars, ethanol, hydrogen cars, natural gas, plug-in hybrids, biodiesel, and air powered vehicles. Hybrids combine two or more different propulsion systems, typically a gasoline engine and one or more electric drive motors. Most hybrids on the road today compliment their gas engines by charging a battery when breaking. Engines running on diesel or other alternative fuels can also be used in hybrids. A hybrid drive is fully scalable, which means the drive can be used to power everything from small commuter cars to large buses and even locomotives. Hybrids get more MPG or miles per gallon than most non-hybrids, and usually have very low tailpipe emissions (greencar.com). Electric cars produce zero localized emissions since theyre propelled by electric motors that run on batteries charged at home, or special electric vehicle charging stations. Electric cars are extremely efficient and run for pennies per mile, much cheaper than any other alternative fuel. Ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. As a fuel, ethanol can be used in more than 30 flex fuel vehicle models that have been designed to run on alcohol, gasoline, or any combination of the two fuels from the same tank. Most ethanol today is produced from corn or sugar cane, although this will change as cheaper cellulosic ethanol made from fast growing woody grasses and other biomass becomes a reality. Hydrogen cars perhaps the cleanest of all alternative fuels, burning with nearly zero emissions in an internal combustion engine and with emissions of only water vapor and heat in an electro-mechanical fuel cell. Natural gas, the cleanest-burning fossil fuel, is being used by an increasing number of medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles like refuse trucks and delivery vans. Natural gas is stored and used in its liquefied or compressed states. It is most commonly abbreviated as LNG for Liquefied Natural Gas, a nd CNG for Compressed Natural Gas. While a variety of light-duty natural gas cars were once available, the only factory-produced natural gas car made today in the U.S. is Hondas Civic GX. Plug-in hybrids boast great potential for improving fuel economy. Plug in hybrid technology allows gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles to be recharged from the grid and run many miles on battery power alone. A gas engine provides additional driving range as needed after the battery power is gone. Plug in hybrids may never need to run on anything but electricity for shorter commutes. The combination of gas and electric driving technologies can already achieve up to 150 mpg. Biodiesel is a renewable alternative fuel made from various sources ranging from waste vegetable oil to soybeans. It can often be used seamlessly in diesel engines of all kinds. Biodiesel is a cleaner fuel than standard petroleum diesel. Since it can be produced locally, biodiesel has the potential to decrease our dependence on for eign countries for oil, and enhance local economies where biodiesel production is taking place. Air powered cars are relatively new to the green car scene. Compressed air is currently being explored as a viable alternative fuel to efficiently power car engines with little or no environmental impact (greencar.com). Going back to the history of green vehicles, they have been around for around almost 120 years. Jake Richardson in his article 9 Electric Cars 100 Years Old or More explains that the first green vehicle ever made was 1891 Morison. Made by William Morrison in 1891, some say the Morrison was the first electric vehicle in America. It  had a four horsepower engine, and could  carry 6-12 passengers. Top speed was about 20 mph. The batteries needed to be recharged every 50 miles. It has been said the car was actually completed in 1887 and was driven in a Des Moines parade in 1888. If that is true, the Morrison was first built 122 years ago, and it was built in America, where today they are  almost no electric cars on the roads. Next is electrobat, produced from 1894-1899.   Electrobats were made for several years in Philadelphia. The first ones were very heavy and used steel  tires to support a large lead battery. They employed twin 1.5 hp motors and  had a top speed of 20 mph. They could go 25 miles on one charge. Next is the 1900 Riker. Riker is a bulky enclosed cabin four passenger sedan that was made about the turn of the century; the Riker featured electric side lamps, wooden-spoked wheels, and a voice tube so passengers could communicate with the driver. Cabin windows could be raised and lowered. 48 battery cells were onboard, with an electric engine near each rear wheel.  The drivers seat was about 6-7 feet in the air.   Next is 1901 Riker torpedo. Andrew Riker, the founder of Riker Electric Vehicles, made the Torpedo in 1901 to be the fastest car on the road. Next is the 1902 Studebaker, 1906 Krieger, 1909 Babcock, and 1909 Bailey (http://gas2.org). It hasnt been seriously developed until the 1973 when the oil crisis strikes. Paul Lucas in his article The History of Green Motoring explains that in the 1980s, attempts to develop the green car concept reached new heights. In Switzerland for example, there was an annual race for solar-powered veh icles called the Tour de Sol. This ran from 1985-1995. In 1991, BMW created a pair of battery powered E1 concepts that failed to get past the concept stage. In the same year, the Citroen Citela was born with a range of 130 miles and top speeds of 70mph. GM also introduced its first purpose-built electric vehicle, the EV1, from 1996-1999. Since the turn of the millennium the concept of green cars has expanded at a phenomenal rate. This is because of the contribution of the expansion of hybrid cars, which effectively plug the gap between electric cars and conventional vehicles. Popular models include the Toyota Camry, which was once acclaimed as the top-selling passenger vehicle in America, and the Toyota Prius which in 2007 was the number-one selling hybrid vehicle worldwide. The concept has even been introduced into larger vehicles such as the Lexus RX400h, an off-roader. The Volkswagen BlueMotion Polo, which became available in 2007, cut CO2 emissions even further. Hydrogen fuelled cars arrived in 2006 through the BMW 7 Series, while the Ford Airstream was introduced in 2007 with a lithium battery that was topped up by a hydrogen fuel cell (www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk). Major Reasons So, what exactly encouraged the rise of green vehicle popularity? One of the major contributors to the popularity of green vehicle is the increase of oil prices all over the world. The advancement of technology is causing the green vehicles to consume less gas. Ricky Lim in his article 3 Advantages Of Hybrid Cars Over Conventional Cars explains that Combining the cleaner energy of an electric motor with the long range capacity of a gasoline engine allows a hybrid car to save as much as 30 miles a gallon (http://ezinearticles.com. One of the technologies of hybrid cars is that they will only use the gasoline engine during constant speed such as highways speed. During the stop and go traffic, the electric engine will be functioned thats resulting in saving fuel. People always wonder on why hybrids cars are extremely quiet during idle. It is because the gasoline engine is turned off. The electric engine doesnt produce any noise at all. Here are the data of gas consumption on some of the hybrid cars: Ford Escape 31.9 mpg; Honda Accord 29.4 mpg; Honda Civic 46.2 mpg; Honda Insight 55.3 mpg; Lexus GS 450H 23.5 mpg; Lexus RX 400H 25.3 mpg; Mercury Mariner 29.5 mpg; Nissan Altima 34.3 mpg; Saturn Vue 25.9 mpg; Toyota Camry 36.5 mpg; Toyota Highlander 26.4 mpg; Toyota Prius 47.5 mpg (www.greenhybrid.com). Based on www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com, Hybrid car sales statistics have shown steady growth over most of the last five years, but sales peaked in early 2008 (at 45,000 vehicles) and showed a steady decline in the second half of 2008 with sales starting to recover somewhat in spring 2009. Considering the spike in oil and gasoline prices up to about July of 2008, and their rapid decline once the economic downturn hit later in 2008, its not surprising that sales show a peak followed by a steady drop. Fortunately for hybrid car manufacturers, gasoline price increases in the second through fourth quarters of 2009 have been accompanied by a return to high er hybrid car sales (http://www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com/hybrid-car-sales-statistics.html). Take a look at this chart, which shows three data series: hybrid car sales statistics by month, a 12-month moving average of hybrid car sales, and average US gas prices per gallon, from January 2004 to December 2009: (www.green-energy-efficient-homes.com) According to carsdirect.com, the August 2009 hybrid car statistics show that of the more than 200,000 hybrid cars sold in the U.S. year-to-date (YTD), the Toyota Prius is the top selling vehicle. There were 93,810 Prius sales through August 2009, with 18,886 units being sold in the month of August alone. Behind the Prius were the Toyota Camry, which sold 17,630 YTD, Honda Insight, selling 14,045 YTD, Honda Civic at 14,014 units sold and Ford Escape in the top 5 at 11,222 units sold YTD. In the month of August, Toyota Prius sales were 49% of all August U.S. hybrid sales. Camrys August sales made up 5% of hybrid sales, Insights comprised 11%, Civics 2% and Escape sales were 4% of all August hybrid car sales.   There were 38,701 hybrid cars sold in the United States in August 2009. Sales of the Toyota Prius were 1% of all car sales in the month of August.   All hybrid sales were 3% of the car sales that were made in the month. The number of hybrids sold in the month is up 48.6% over the same time period in 2008, showing a rise in the popularity of these vehicles by American drivers. Toyota, Honda and Ford are the largest makers of hybrid vehicles, with the most sales and models.  Toyota features the top-selling Prius, Camry and Highlander models. Honda has the Insight and Civic while Ford produces the Escape and Fusion hybrid vehicles (www.carsdirect.com). Based on www.mixedpower.com, from the states hybrid sales statistics in 2008, California sold the most hybrid cars with 39,830 units followed by New York: 8,810; Florida: 8,612; Texas: 8,255; and Illinois: 6,107 (www.mixedpower.com). The increasing of environmental awareness also contributes to the rise of green vehicles popularity. Alexandria Haber in his article The Facts About Hybrid Car Emissions and Global Warming explains that hybrid cars emit far lower levels of pollutants in the air than conventional cars, resulting decreased pollution and reduced effects of global warming. Because no two people drive the same way, it is therefore difficult to estimate, but emissions can be reduced from 25% to 90%, when comparing hybrid cars to conventional gas-powered vehicles (www.buzzle.com). Ricky Lim also in his article explains that hybrid cars emit lower toxic emissions compared to conventional gasoline-powered cars due to less gasoline being burned (www.buzzle.com). It is environmentally friendly, causes less pollution and releases less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere (http://ezinearticles.com). Peak oil theory also emerges and causes people to be more aware to consume more oil. Peak oil theory states: that any finite resource, (including oil), will have a beginning, middle, and an end of production, and at some point it will reach a level of maximum output as seen in the graph: (www.peakoil.com) This is the graph of world oil production from 1900-2080 taken from www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net It indicates that in the future we will have no more oil to be consumed, and the productivity of green vehicles has to be increased to decrease the dependency of oil. The last contributor to the rise of green vehicles is the tax incentives for the green vehicles buyers. It was in 2005 that Energy Policy Act of 2005 was passed by the United States congress and passed by President George W.Bush. The act, described by proponents as an attempt to combat growing energy problems, changed US energy policy by providing tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types. Consumers can itemize purchases on their federal income tax form, which will lower the total amount of tax they owe the government. In addition to federal tax incentives, some consumers will also be eligible for utility or state rebates, as well as state tax incentives for energy-efficient homes, vehicles and equipment (www.energy.gov). According to www.hybridcars.com, the exact amount of credit given by the government may vary: Current Models Make Model Tax Credit Audi A3 TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,300 Audi Q7 TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,150 BMW 335d (Clean Diesel) $900 BMW X5 xDrive35d (Clean Diesel) $1,800 Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid $1,300 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid $2,200 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid $2,200 Ford Escape Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Ford Escape Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Ford Fusion Hybrid $3,400 GMC Sierra Hybrid $2,200 GMC Yukon Hybrid $2,200 Honda Civic Hybrid $2,100 Honda 2005 Civic Hybrid (auto) $1,700 Lexus GS 450h $1,550 Lexus LS 600hL $450 Lexus RX 400h $2,200 Mazda Tribute Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Mazda Tribute Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Mercedes GL 320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $1,800 Mercedes R320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $1,550 Mercedes ML 320 Bluetec (Clean Diesel) $900 Mercedes S400 Hybrid $1,150 Mercury Mariner Hybrid (2wd) $3,000 Mercury Mariner Hybrid (4wd) $2,200 Mercury Milan Hybrid $3,400 Nissan Altima $2,350 Toyota Camry Hybrid $2,600 Toyota Highlander Hybrid $2,600 Toyota Prius $3,150 Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,300 Volkswagen Touareg TDI (Clean Diesel) $1,150 Despite of its cons, green vehicles have the cons as well. Phillip Dunn in his article Hybrid Cars Pros and Cons explains that all this new technology comes at a price: a hybrid car is complex and expensive. It has two motors and all the ancillary systems to manage them plus a heavy battery and a regeneration system used to produce electricity during breaking. Hybrids are the most gasoline efficient of all cars they typically get 48 to 60 mpg (claimed). Not bad, but only about 20% to 35% better than a fuel efficient gasoline powered vehicle like the Honda Civic, for example, that gets 36 mpg. But, when comparing prices hybrids cost from $19,000 to $25,000 and gas saver cars cost $14,000 to $17,000 the justification to buy becomes less clear. Much of the fuel efficiency comes from improvements in aero dynamics, weight reduction and, the biggest change: a smaller, less powerful gas engine. In fact, any car will get substantially better mileage just by reducing the engine size. The main reason this is not done has to do customer demand they want the extra power and zippiness (www.physorg.com). EV1 Controversies. Since the rise of green vehicles popularity, have the oil industries been affected tremendously? In the 1990s oil was getting scarcer and the pollution produced by combustion engines was becoming recognized as a very serious problem. Consumers began to demand some solutions that would save their world, their bank accounts and their breathing from gasolines bad effects. Like mentioned earlier, electric cars have been around for 110 years from the first time its been made. Alexandra Paul in her article Who Killed my Electric Car? explains that in 1900, electric cars outsold both gasoline and steam vehicles because electric cars didnt have the vibration, noise and dirtiness associated with gas vehicles. But soon afterward with the discovery of Texas crude oil that reduced the price of gasoline, the invention of the electric starter in 1912 that eliminated the need for a hand crank, and the mass production of internal combustion engine vehicles by Henry Ford the electric vehicle went t he way of the horse and buggy (www.cnn.com). In the 1990s oil was getting scarcer and the pollution produced by combustion engines was becoming recognized as a very serious problem. Consumers began to demand some solutions that would save their world, their bank accounts and their breathing from gasolines bad effects. In 1990 California passed the ZEV, requiring 2% of new vehicles sold in California to be emission-free by 1998, 10% by 2003. In response to ZEV, GM launched their revolutionary car EV1. The EV1 required no gas, no oil changes, no mufflers and rare brake maintenance. The success of electric vehicles would have threatened the status quo and core business models of two of the worlds biggest industries oil and automobile. Electric cars are a threat to the profitability of the conventional gas-powered auto industry. GM said that it spent more than $1 billion to market and develop the EV1 (www.ecosherpa.com). Not only would a successful electric car program cannibalize sale s of conventional cars, but the electric car costs the auto industry in other ways: lacking an engine, it saves the driver the cost of replacement parts, motor oil, filters, and spark plugs. The EV1s regenerative braking system, in which the cars electronic controls handled much of the work of slowing down the car, spared the cars mechanical brake system from wear. Brake parts and repair is a billion-plus dollar industry alone. The EV1s efficiency was a winner for consumers but a loser for the auto industry. Despite of its advantages, EV1 still had its disadvantages: it was only available to be leased to the public; it was only available for three year leases with no option for renewal or purchase at the end lease period. Leases ranged from $299 to over $574 monthly which was pretty expensive at that time. EV1 also had a short range (around 80 miles) and no backup system. It took 12 hours to fill up the battery. All in all, GMs EV1 has brought pros and cons to the public. It was thr eatening the oil industry, yet it also had major weaknesses to sustain its existence. In conclusion, the popularity of the non-traditional energy sources is increasing since more than two decades. People have realized the importance of the green vehicles for the environment. The rise of green vehicles has been encouraged by the uncontrollable increases on gas prices, the awareness trend to save the environment, and also the tax incentives that is given by the government. The electric cars need to be existed for one more time because with the advancement of technology, it wouldnt be difficult to produce a better car than GMs EV1. Electric vehicles will help tremendously to conserve the oil that has been consumed uncontrollably.