Reading Kafka Essay Example for Free

Reading Kafka Essay Reading Kafkas The Trial, especially for the first time, we often experience a blend of precision and obscurity; words, sentences, and single events are clear in themselves, but are linked to each other in ways we cannot always grasp. The blend of precision and obscurity is one of the most remarkable aspects of the style in which The Trial is written. The device is used constantly and consistently throughout the novel, and we assume that it is used like all other stylistic devices, i. e. to throw an aspect of the novel into relief. In an attempt to determine, if possible, what this aspect is, follows a detailed analysis of two paragraphs on pages 159 to 160 that I deem to be characteristic of the blend of precision and obscurity. In the two paragraphs, detail and precision interact with each other to produce a blend. Almost all descriptions are quite in depth, such as the description of the old woman wrapped in a warm shawl, yet these detailed descriptions are not connected with anything else in the book. The old woman does not reappear anywhere else in the book, and no symbolism, hidden meaning or reference becomes apparent after having analyzed the description. In more conventional novels, almost every character that appears is in some way, whether clear or obscure, connected with the main plot or a sub plot. Not so with The Trial. The old womans importance and connection, if indeed there is one, remains open to speculation: perhaps she belongs to the court, perhaps the scrap of what looked like carpet that K sees in the same paragraph comes from her warm shawl, perhaps this enigma is simply a device used by Kafka to confuse the reader. The possibilities and perhapses stretch on into infinity until they are lost in the obscurity of the cathedral. Kafka describes an object, person, or concept in great detail, with very few omissions in order to give the described every semblance of reality, but the meaning of the described is left completely open to the reader. This is the particular blend which casts its mottled shadow on the novel. A possible interpretation of this presence of this blend would be to say that it serves to give the novel a dreamlike, surreal quality. One knows from ones own dreams that certain aspects remain crystal clear in our memory, yet one can almost never remember for sure what the aspects role in the dream was. It is the same way with the blend: an aspect may be clear, but the rest is hazy. Supporting this interpretation would be the fact that K cannot read: he opens his album and looks through the pages for a while, probably only looking at the pictures without reading the text, and eventually has to stop this futile exercise ostensibly because it is too dark. The dream interpretation would also explain the randomness of events, objects, and people. Since the subconscious is left to work unrestricted in dreams, the products can be quite random and utterly impossible to link together or make sense of using logical means. The blend could also be viewed as a method to accentuate the confusion and plunge the reader yet deeper into the obscurity. In the second paragraph, when the candles have been lit, Kafka states that the candles only made the darkness more intense. If the candles and light are taken to represent precision and the darkness obscurity, then Kafka is clearly showing why he has worked the blend in to the novel. It is impossible to judge anything unless one compares it to something else. It is by contrast that we determine what is what. If one is constantly in the dark, one will not consider it dark, because one has become accustomed. Perhaps the candles of precision are there to throw the confusion and the haziness into sharp (or hazy? ) relief. Kafka only allows in any light so that the reader can see that he is bathed in darkness and confusion, and be attracted to the light. However, when the reader reaches the light he realizes the light is hollow as well: it is only aesthetically different from the darkness. In the second paragraph Joseph K. examines an altarpiece with his electric light. K. sees a Knight and looks at it for a considerable period analyzing it in detail without really understanding what the Knight is doing, nor why he was there. However, when K. shifts his light to see the rest of the picture, he realizes that the Knight is only a small piece of a conventional treatment of Christs burial. The parallel between K. and the reader is too strong to be overlooked. The reader, while reading the book, is looking through it one page at a time, attempting to analyze details and connect events. It is as if we too are looking at disconnected close-ups of a large picture. Like a picture, the events in the book are non-linear. They can be read any which way and in any order and still retain the same meaning. Kafka is essentially telling us as readers that we ought to shift our lights as K. does so that the whole of the picture is lit. If the reader focuses solely on one precise aspect, the rest of the picture is bathed in obscurity. Kafka, through the device of precision and obscurity, is telling the reader to take a step backwards and view the novel not as a succession of events like other conventional novels, but rather like a picture, where ones eyes and thoughts may rove freely along any lines that they choose. Only then will the whole come into focus. With reference to the last paragraph, I have been guilty of doing exactly what Kafka tells us not to do: i. e. analyzing in detail a small part of the text. Thus any conclusion that I may draw from these paragraphs alone are bound to be erroneous. However, draw a conclusion I will. I believe the blend of obscurity and precision is used to immerse the reader completely into the confusion of the text while at the same time advising the reader to take a step backwards. Given Kafkas rather eccentric sense of humor, I think it is quite possible that he believed pulling the wool over the readers eyes was uproariously funny, especially when the wool has directions telling how to lift the wool sewn on the inside, where it is too dark to see.

The Liberal Governments Welfare Reforms in the years 1906-1914 Essay Example for Free

The Liberal Governments Welfare Reforms in the years 1906-1914 Essay Was New Liberalism the most important factor behind the Liberal Governments Welfare Reforms in the years 1906-1914? Explain your answer. New Liberalism was simply an ideology, encompassing reforms spurred by other, more important factors. Crucially was the need to reform, regarding the low national efficiency. As a 1905 report said No country, however rich, can permanently hold its own in the race of international competition if hampered by an increasing load of dead weight [of poverty]. Secondly, was the desire to reform, which housed incentives such as the poverty, moral and social obligation, and tangible electoral victory. New Liberalism didnt evoke reform; it simply housed other factors for it. Although New Liberalism as a new ideology demanded reform in the Party, it is too vague a factor to have had any direct correlation with the reforms of 1906-14. In this aspect, it was an umbrella factor. New Liberalism was perhaps inevitable, as Churchill said this poor man is here as a result of economic causes which have been too long unregulated- in other words, the realisation individualism wasnt working. Indeed, the ideology was not even a product of the Liberals, but grew out of an intellectual tradition formulated by L.T. Hobhouse and J. Hobson in the 1880s, arguing that if people were impoverished through no fault of their own, self-reliance was undermined. Consequently, New Liberalism was merely the opportunistic by-product of the coinciding findings of Hobhouse with the writings of Booth and Rowntree, which raised moral and social awareness. New Liberalism was evident in all the reforms of the party, contravening old liberalism, an example of which is the National insurance Act, 1911. Being governmentally interfering, and therefore traditionally anti-liberalist, this threw aside the conventions of working-class laziness and provided the worker with money and job networking should he be out of work. However, cynical though it is, most of the reforms also acted in the interest of national efficiency, and so the state of the nation on an international scale was a big incentive to introduce collectivist policies, if not the biggest. Recruitment for the Boer War of 1898 highlighted how poor the nations health was, when one third of the population were unfit to fight. Furthermore, Britain struggled to defeat the Boers, despite being a big, imperial nation, and them a poor, insignificant force. Consequently, through the exposure of the nations poor health, the Childrens Charter was introduced. This involved the free school meals act of 1906, in which local authorities were given the power to provide free school meals for needy children, if they wished to use it, and by 1914, this became compulsory (the previous Conservative government had refused to listen to the campaign). Similarly, in 1907, the Liberals introduced compulsory medical inspections in schools, and again in 1912, government grants were made available to cover treatment and school clinics began to be set up. This measure shows the government were realising that, to keep their country and empire great, they had to have more involvement in the maintenance of the nation. Likewise, when Beveridge and Lloyd George -worried about unemployment visited Germany and saw the reforms they and other countries were making, there is no doubt they took influence from them, and so similar policies were introduced in England. Germany was growing economically, and Britain falling behind in terms of economic growth; thus, the imitating Insurance Act of 1910-11 was produced. This showed an effort to boost efficiency by directly shadowing Germany, by this time hugely prosperous, in the hope to improve their own country economically too. Also, the findings of Booth and Rowntree too, ultimately helped lead to social reform through their provision of real, statistical evidence needed to boost the case for state intervention. Charles Booth carried out a series of investigations in London, unearthing that 30% of the population were living in abject poverty, including 45% of old people. It was discovered that, contrary to popular belief, people were poor because of factors such as old age, sickness, and an underperforming economy. Subsequently, Booth organised and led a campaign in favour of a system pensions paid for out of taxation, which won Labour and Trade Union support, and which would have healed the problem of poverty for the elderly.. By no coincidence was the Old Age Pensions Act passed 3 years later, which heeding the advice of Booth was a non-contributory scheme, financed by the government out of taxation, and providing 5 shillings a week to those over the age of 70. Furthermore, to appease poverty from unemployment, the government set up a labour exchange and insurance principal; creating a network of exchange information about local work, and also planned a workers insurance scheme which workers would pay into and, in times of the aforementioned poverty, draw on what they needed. The moral and social justice included in Booth and Rowntrees work was a huge contributing factor in the Old Age Pensions Act of 1908, largely regarded as a significant step forward in terms of governmental intervention. Lloyd George also linked the two, by 1911 noticing The administration of the Old Age Pension Act has revealed a mass of poverty. Moral and social justice were at the heart of many other Liberal policies, for example; the moral obligation to help the ill worker manifested in the Health Insurance Act, 1911, through which a fund was created that the worker would pay four pence into, the employer three, and the state two. When the worker was off work ill, they would receive ten shillings a week sick pay for 13 weeks, Furthermore, the Liberals still had to produce policies that differentiated them from the Conservatives. The free school meals policy, for example, directly distinguished them, as the Tories had refused to pass the act a few years before, as did they with the Peoples Budget. Lloyd Georges Budget conflicted with the Tory ideology of not taxing the rich, with the Liberal government looking to provide extra cash for the old age pensions and dreadnought battleships [and] outwit the House of Lords (Pearce Stewart). An extra à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½7 million was raised by increasing higher rates of income tax on those earning over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3,00 per annum, essentially targeting the rich, which conflicted with the core of Conservative values. Liberalism had the upper hand on Conservatism. The politicians of the party not only wanted to differentiate Liberalism, but also themselves as political heavyweights. For example, Churchills Trade Boards Act (1909) broke new ground, defending the workers Charles Booth had labelled a body of reckless, starving competitors for work, but like many of the Liberals policies it wasnt home grown, and the plight of the sweated industries had been publicized by the National Anti-Sweating League. Lloyd George is another prime example, and historical interpretation suggests his proposed constitutional reform of the Lords was an attempt to put himself on the political map, force the back-down of the Lords (peers against the people) as well as winning votes on the back of this controversy. His Peoples Budget drew on the criticisms launched on the House of Lords for refusing a budget on monetary matters-money, of course, provided by the taxpayer , and them being unelected patrons- something Lloyd George emphasised in ensuing publicity. Indeed, Beatrice Webb has argued Lloyd George and Winston Churchill have practically taken the limelight, not merely from their own colleagues, but from the Labour Party. With the Labour Party proving a growing threat electorally, New Liberalism was an attempt to spike the guns [Beatrice Webb] of the party through popular socialist reforms. Labour gained 29 seats in the 1906 election, and up until that point, the Liberals had been mainly out of power, forcing them to recognise Labour as a threat. As a consequence of this competition, the Trade Disputes Act (1906), which reversed the Taff Vale decision and would gain vital working class votes, was taken from the Labour Partys own bill, and returned the right to strike and picket peacefully to the Unions. The Liberals realised if they didnt deliver, Labour would continue to grow. Again, The Mines Act of 1908, which introduced a maximum eight-hour working day for miners, ( a political compromise-Pearce Stewart) was another reform which Labour were sympathetic too. Furthermore, with extended suffrage to the working class, Liberals had to get the working mans vote, and so their socialist reforms came at a time when Labours guns would have been most appealing to the electorate. Overall, it is clear that the Welfare Reforms were influenced entirely on the climate of the time, and New Liberalism simply put a name to this. Yes, moral and social justice unearthed by Booth and Rowntree were important, and the party still had to settle on their political identity, but poverty and its injustice had been around for decades and reform could have waited if need be; furthermore, Labour, although showing potential, were not a real threat until some years later. The welfare reforms were introduced because Britain as a country was failing, and New Liberalist Reforms were, (arguably), just a semi-socialist guise focused on increasing national efficiency. Thats not to say the reforms wouldnt have ever been introduced had Britain not struggled with the Boers; they would have been delayed, and were created in 1906-14 as a reaction to the (international) state of the nation.

E Commerce In Small And Medium Tourism Enterprises Economics Essay

E Commerce In Small And Medium Tourism Enterprises Economics Essay In the emerging global economy, integration of information and communication technology in business is now becoming inevitable. E-commerce and e-business is becoming a necessary component of business strategy. Use of IT in business has enhanced productivity, enable mass customization, contribute a lot in cost reduction and encourage greater customer participation and boost business. E-commerce poses an advantage of reducing time to search for information and reduce transaction costs i.e. time for payment is drastically reduced as one can do transaction across continent in a very short time. Search of customers and markets is now can be easily facilitated by internet. Internet allows automatic packaging and distributes information to specified target group. Internet development and web-based technologies gradually narrow down distinctions between traditional markets and global electronic market place. The ability of companies to find out the emerging business opportunities and utilize or share the resources available is possible through internet. Companies can make most of opportunities through e-business strategy; it is workable, practicable and simple within the context of global information. With its effect of levelling the playing ground, e-commerce is tied with the appropriate strategy and policy approach that enables Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) to compete with large and capital-rich businesses. On another hand, developing countries are given increased access to the global marketplace, where they compete with and complement the more developed economies. Most, if not all, developing countries are already participating in e-commerce, either as sellers or buyers. However, to facilitate e-commerce growth in these countries, the relatively underdeveloped information infrastructure must be improved. The aim of this research is to asses whether the use of e-commerce in the tourism sector can be a tool to improve the economic prospects of developing countries .Its potentials and challenges is an issue to be scrutinized. SMEs that is able to adopt ecommerce on their touristic activities they can engage directly with the global tourism markets and bypass the intermediary information handlers to attract visitors and retain a larger proportion of tourism receipts. CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS What is e-commerce: meaning and scope of e-commerce It is important to define this term in first place. Different authors have defined e-commerce in different ways making it difficult to have the globally recognised definition. Many authors defined e-commerce simply as buying and selling over the internet which raised different arguments. Kalakota and Whinston (1997) agued that e-commerce involves more than electronically mediated financial transactions between organisations and customers. They refer e-commerce to the following perspectives: A communication perspective The delivery of information, products/services or payment by electronic means A business perspective The application of technology towards the automation of business transaction and workflows A service perspective Enabling cost cutting at the same time increasing spend and quality of service delivery. An online perspective Buying and selling of products and information online. A pan African E-commerce initiative, sponsored by Economic Commission for Africa (EAC) and the International Development Research Centre (IDCR), in 2001 adopted the European Commission definition; Electronic commerce is about doing business electronically, it is based on the processing and transmission of data, including text, sound and video. It encompasses many diverse activities including electronic trading of goods and service activities online delivery of digital content, electronic fund transfer, electronic share trading, electronic bills of lading, commercial auctions, online sourcing, public procurement, direct consumer marketing and after-sales service. (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2006) this definition is broad and it covers the scope of e-commerce to the nation as well as industry. For the purpose of this essay we will adopt this definition. It is seen that almost each definition has similar components for example e-commerce is digitally enabled that means is taken through digital technologies such as internet. Also it is a commercial transaction which means there is an exchange of value. Laudon and Traver, 2007 commented that without an exchange of value no commerce occurs . E-COMMERCE CATEGORIES E-commerce transactions can be categorized in different classes regarding on the nature of the market relationship, that is who is selling to whom Business-to Consumer (B2C) This sale takes place when the business/organization sells its products/services directly to the consumer. Most consumers are likely to use this type of e-commerce. In 2005, consumers spent about $142-$172 billion. (Laudon and Traver, 2007 pp50) Business-to- Business (B2B) This is an online transaction between businesses, which means businesses focus on selling to other businesses. This is the largest form of e-commerce in terms of turnover about 80% of ecommerce is of this type. (Roberto R. Romulo Shahid Akhtar, Barlett, 200; Laudon and Traver,2002; UNCARD, 2002) (See appendix for more details) Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) This is happen when consumers transact directly with other consumers. This form has great potential but it is less widely used (Chaffey, D. 2004 pp7) Hoffman and Novak suggested that is crucial for companies to take into consideration the C2C interactions. Consumer-to-Business (C2B) This is defined as the transaction appeared when consumers initiate trading with companies. (Chaffey, D. 2004 pp7) Mobile Commerce (M-Commerce) This is defined as the use of wireless digital devices to enable transactions on the web. These networks are used to connect cell phones, handled devices such as Blackberries, and personal computers to the web. (Laudon and Traver, 2007 pp18) SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN DCs DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Developing countries differ widely among themselves these days, and no single list of typical features would accurately describe all developing countries (Krugman and Obstfeld, 2006 pp 606). See the recently list of DCs as per IMF in the appendix SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES It is better to ask why focus on SMEs? It is obviously because of its role in economic development in most of developing countries. It acts as the backbone of their economy because most of its people are engaging in informal sector. Before we continue we better define the meaning of SMEs. According to Scarborough et all in their book effective small business management there is no universal definition of a small business. Some analysts and countries define it basing on number of employees or on sales volumes. They define a small business is the one which employs fewer than 100 people (Scarborough et all 2008; OECD 2004) While the South African Act gave their estimate to be between 100 and 200 persons or a turnover rate of 5 million Rand, while micro enterprises have up to 5 employees (Gorden, 2003);( Fred Tetteh Alarti-Amoako , 25/09/2008 )http://www.allbusiness.com/economy-economic-indicators/economic-conditions-growth/14555918-1.htmlDate 2/12/2010 SMEs play a key role in the countrys economical growth in most of the developing countries. For instance in Ghana the analyst says that SMEs accounts for about 90% in the economy which contributes about 60% to the countrys GDP. According to Mr. Baffour Awuah the Regional Minister (Ghana), the informal sector is the mechanism for the economic growth of the country because it is identified as a major source of income and employment. ( Fred Tetteh Alarti-Amoako , 25/09/2008 ) http://www.allbusiness.com/economy-economic-indicators/economic-conditions-growth/14555918-1.html Date 2/12/2010 SMEs have their significant effect on the income distribution, tax revenue, and employment, efficient utilization of resources and stability of family income. SMEs and informal enterprises, account for over 60% of GDP and over 70% of total employment in low income countries, the role of SMEs is well acknowledged in other countries such as Japan, Korea, and all other industrialized economies in terms of creating employment, reducing poverty and increasing the welfare of the society. According to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), SMEs constitute nearly 90% of all the enterprises in Pakistan; employ 80% of the non-agricultural labor force; and their share in the annual GDP is 40%. There are a number of factors responsible for the importance of SMEs in Pakistan. First, SMEs bolster an entrepreneurial spirit and put forward suppleness in the economy. Second, SMEs emanate the fastest growing export sub-sectors, such as cotton weaving and surgical instruments. Third, they can support the poverty alleviation endeavors through employment generation process. Above all, SMEs are more efficient in resource allocation as compare to that of large scale industry from a social point of view. They provide and facilitate the more number of people as compare to that of large scale industry. By: Bashir Ahmad Fida http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Importance+of+Small+and+Medium+Enterprises+(SMEs)+in+Economic-a01073924138 According to NASSCOM (National Assocition of Sftware and Services Companies) suvey there are about 3.4 million SMEs which acconts for 42% of manufacturing sectors turnover and 35% countrys exports.These SMEs employ over 17 million people. http://www.unescap.org/tid/publication/part_three2261_ind.pdfHYPERLINK http://www.unescap.org/tid/publication/part_three2261_ind.pdf Date 6/12/2010 Date 6/12/2010 The above analysis shows the reason why it is important to focus on SMEs in DCs. Adaptation of ecommerce would help the tourism sector to build competitive advantage in the world tourism market and tackle the globalisation pressures in DCs. TOURISM: AN ATTRACTIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOL This section will provide an overview of the tourism industry in developing countries based on secondary data with purpose of illustrating some of the principal challenges faced by the tourist industry in selected developing countries due to the rising importance of ICT and the potential benefits the tourism sector would gain if engaged in ecommerce. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for more than twenty-four (24) hours and not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited. ( UNWTO, 2009) Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism DATE 7/12/2010 Tourism is a significant sector for small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the world and DCs in particular. Tourism is a key export for DCs and is one of the worlds largest industries generating an estimated 11% of global GDP and generating nearly 250 million jobs worldwide (Roe and Urquhart, 2001; WTO, 1996; Mill Morrison, 1999; Edgell, 1999; Lundberg et al, 1995).). DCs are receiving an increasing number of tourists, and this represent a significant part of their GDP. The trend of tourism demand is increasing rapidly and is a significant source of foreign exchange (WTO, 2002) tourism has assisted many developing countries to move away from a dependency on agriculture and manufacturing (Tooman, 1997). DCs are reach on natural endownment they can benefit from great wealth in wildlife and unique resorts, foreinstance Tanzania has a lot of attractions such as Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, Serengeti National Park one of the most beautiful parks in the world, and Ngorongoro Crater which is among the 8th wonder of the world. Lets have a look on how Zimbabwe is benefts from tourim. Tourism is one of the most promising aspects of Zimbabwes economy, attracting thousands of visitors and earning millions of dollars. Over the past 10years Zimbabwes tourist sector has scored impressive annual growth rates ofnearly 20%. According to the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) total tourism receipts account for 4.6% of the countrys GDP. It is estimated that tourism employs close to 100,000 Zimbabweans, up from 40,500 in 1990. This growth in employment is impressive considering Zimbabwes unemployment rate is more than 50% of the potential workforce and that employment figures have remained static since 1990. African Business, 1999. This analysis is convincing that tourism is benefiting the society in developing countries economically and deploying ecommerce in its fully capacity in this sector is an appropriate way to maximize economic benefits in DCs because it improves efficiency and productivity. FORMS OF TOURISM Tourism can be divided into three forms according to the United Nations Domestic tourism is the one which involves residents of certain country travelling only within this country. Inbound tourism, is where by a non-residents travelling in the given country. Outbound tourism, involving residents who travel in another country. This analysis is focusing on all forms seeking to analyse how this sector in general is affected by ecommerce. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism date 7/12/2010 E-COMMERCE IN TOURISM Most managers would agree that we have recently entered a new era The information Age; which differs markedly from the industrial age. (Hollensen, 2001, pp21, Wyckoff, 1997:5) It is true that e-commerce has impacted on the way organizations do business by altering basic business dynamics of industrial economy to be replaced by digital economy. It has significantly effects on industry value chain it changes the tourism industry structure (e.g. traditional distribution model), for example in tourism organization where by company use the internet to bypass traditional tourism distributors. The table below shows these differences. Industry economy (Marketplace=physical products) Manufacturing dominates Barrier: physical distribution Barrier: lack of capital First-mover advantage was years Innovative ideas contained internally Relationships constrained by human capital Digital economy (Market space=e-commerce) Knowledge and relationships dominate E-distribution is the new barrier Capital is a commodity First-mover advantage is months Innovation is in the public domain Relationships can be established electronically. (Hollensen, 2001, pp335) E-Tourism E-Tourism is a collection of tourist services that combine with E-Commerce via Internet considering that E-Tourism constitutes the big portion of E-Commerce because it has included all common elements of tourist activities such as hotels, airlines, travel agents, car rentals, tourist sites, bazaars, and tourist guides. This includes governments which starts utilizing E-Tourism as an effective means to promote the tourism product through the Internet. Lately, banks have also taken their roles as service providers of E-Payment, which is an important element for E-Tourism. Â  http://www.ioeti.org/ioeti/pages/e-tourism date 8/12/2010 Trends and growth It is better to understand the trends of tourism world wide so that to understand where we are and the opportunities to glow. The UNCTAD 2001 report indicates that the demand for tourism products and services on the internet is growing. It revels that UK, German and France the Europes largest economies are expecting to experience further growth in online bookings in 2007.Advancement in information technology assures the increase of tourism market because it reduces barriers such as transportation and communication costs which provide opportunity of people to travel cheaply and comfortable. The World Tourism Organization reports the top ten tourism earners for the year 2009. (See appendix 1) Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism date 7/12/2010 Damian Cook, the chief executive officer of E-Tourism Frontiers said: Online sales have experienced major growth in the past year. Travel is now the number one selling commodity online and is generating over US $110 billion annually in sales. We must get more African tourism products available to the online travel shopper, especially following the massive interest in Africa after the World Cup.( by Paz Casal. 2010) Source: Euromonitor International. http://blog.euromonitor.com/2010/09/east-africa-turns-to-e-commerce-for-travel.html date 10/11/2010 The sector was badly affected by the late-2000s recession; international travel demand suffered a strong slowdown beginning in June 2008, with growth in international tourism arrivals worldwide falling to 2% during the boreal summer months. THE OVERVIEW OF ICT USAGE AMONG SMES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SMEs go through different stages in adopting e-commerce. They start with creating a Web site primarily to advertise and promote the company and its products and services. When these firms begin generating traffic, inquiries and, eventually, sales through their Web sites, they are likely to engage in e-commerce For countries or sectors to adopt ecommerce on its activities it depends on the availability of ICT and internet in particular and its usage. Lets evaluate extent of ICT usage and the purpose of usage in DCs. Currently the Internet is most commonly used by SME firms in DCs for communication and research; the Internet is least used for e-commerce. ICT usage patterns among SMEs in developing countries show a progression from the use of the Internet for communication (primarily e-mail) to use of the Internet for research and information search, to the development of Web sites with static information about a firms goods or services, and finally to use of the Internet for e-commerce. Studies commissioned by The Asia Foundation on the extent of ICT use among SMEs in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, show common use patterns, such as: 1. wide use of the Internet for e-mail because of the recognized cost and efficiency benefits; 2. use of Web sites more for promotion than for online sales or e-commerce, indicating that SMEs in these countries are still in the early stages of e-commerce; 3. common use of the Internet for basic research; and 4. inclination to engage more in offline transactions than in e-commerce because of security concerns. The worlds highest internet usage survey shows that India is in the fourth position while South Africa is out (see appendix 1). And if we consider regions Africa has the lowest internet usage. This indicates that available and new technologies are not adapted by African nations as well as SMEs to the full utilisation to enable Firms to survive in a rapidly changing environment. Zhu et all finds that the absence of awareness models to encourage SMEs to adopt ecommerce and internet as an available technology shows that the superlative enthusiasms of global on-line growth of business and consumer trade is still under utilized (Zhu et al, 2003) .The current situation of ecommerce application in India and South Africa would show in details. IN INDIA NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Service Companies) survey shows that the penetration of ecommerce transactions in India will increase. B2B transactions will reach on line penetration of 5% by 2003. The NASSCOM and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report of 2000-2001 they estimate that the total volume of e-commerce in India will be Rs 1,950 billion (US $ 41.5 billion), out of which Rs 3 billion (US $ 64 million) accounts for B2C and Rs 1,920 ( US $ 41 billion) will be on B2B.(NASSCOM and BCG, 2001). http://www.unescap.org/tid/publication/part_three2261_ind.pdf IN SOUTH AFRICA The trend of ecommerce adoption in South Africa shows a slow impact (Cloete, Coyurtney, and Fintz, 2002:9) the study from the University of pretoria, summarised by Nua internet surveys, almost half of Internet users have made a purchase online. The University estimates that the B2C market in South Africa is worth R3.9 billion ($500 m), while the B2B market is worth about R20 bn ($2.4 bn). http://www.ebusinessforum.com/index.asp?layout=rich_storyHYPERLINK http://www.ebusinessforum.com/index.asp?layout=rich_storydoc_id=4378countryHYPERLINK http://www.ebusinessforum.com/index.asp?layout=rich_storydoc_id=4378countrydoc_id=4378HYPERLINK http://www.ebusinessforum.com/index.asp?layout=rich_storydoc_id=4378countryHYPERLINK http://www.ebusinessforum.com/index.asp?layout=rich_storydoc_id=4378countrycountry Date 6/12/2010 In SA, 8 online retailers are currently dominating the online consumer and apparel market accounts for approximately 80% of all online retail sales. Motjolopane (2006,20) reports tha Retail sales at the end of 2003 inreased by 35% grew by 25% in 2004. Ecommerce adopition has expanded rapidly in the airline industry in SA. According to Hartley and Worthington-Simith (2003:151-152), the volume of online travel sales compared to Erope. The no frills airline , Kulula.com is considered to be SAs largest revenue generating B2B business. 1time Airline another no frills airline is claiming 75% of online travell trasactions (Wardens and Remenyi, 2005). Andrew Smith, co-founder of Live Alchemy, concurs saying that while the rest of the worlds traditional retailers are often supplement their brick and mortar business quite successfully online, South African businesses are trading online. He says Telkom and the lack of Internet access have taken the blame for slow e-commerce uptake for far too long. http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/394/42916.html IMPORTANCE OF E-COMMERCE FOR TOURISM Scarborough analysed that although ecommerce will not replace the traditional retailing, no retailer from the smallest corner store to the industry giant Wal-Malt, can afford to ignore the impact of the web on its business. (Scarborough et all, 2009, pp 446) .Taking their analysis it is better to identify the impact of e-commerce on tourism sector, mentioning the opportunities which the tourist companies is going to capture by having the web site and the obstacles which impede the adoption of ecommerce in the developing countries and tourism in particular. Tourism is one of the most sectors affected by ecommerce. It affected the structure of the global tourism industry (UNCTAD 2001). For those who capture is an opportunity, but it also has negative effects. THE BENEFITS OF E-COMMERCE FOR SMTEs Companies of all sizes are busy establishing a presence on the web, why this happen? because thats where their customers are (Scarborough, 2008). Also ecommerce offers different opportunities and benefits. There is a clear evidence that E-Commerce have positive impact economically (UNDP, (2003), Pohjola (2000), Kraemer and Dedrick (2000) Dewan and Kramer (2000),}. If ecommerce is effectively utilised in the tourism organisation, and the country as a whole ecommerce can provide the following opportunities to the suppliers of tourist services as well as the tourists. Opportunity to increase revenues since the customers are on the web, by launching a web site a SME is increasing its market as well as sales. Improving Customer Services Electronic tourism is a useful tool for information between stakeholders. Suppliers can receive feedback from customers and make changes to comply with the customer needs. Interactions with customers help to create good relationship and retain the niche customers. The chance to attract new customers. The INCARD report 2001, identifies that demand is intending to increase from $5575 for 1999 to $1325 as total international tourism receipts and a global tourism demand of $8,972 billion as a prediction for 2010. (UNCTAD, 2001) this assures the opportunity of getting new users of the tourism products and services. bricks- and- mortar Global reach The ability of local tourism companies in DCs to expand their reach into the global markets. Internet increase accessibility and convenience it removes country boundaries. This paves the way for SMTEs from countries including those from Developing countries to transact with millions of potential customers in different parts of the world. Different researchers approved this There are opportunities for businesses in DCs to gain access to lager external markets from linkages with businesses operating in these markets (Singh, 1999; Wood, 2003). The ability to remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Internet is not bound to time as it is in brick -and- motor companies Reduction of costs. Studies indicates that e-commerce can help to reduce search cost, administration cost, distribution cost and labor costs. Laudon states that companies can use the internet technology to radically reduce their transaction costs (Laudon, 2002) Coase and Williamson identified that using markets is expensive (Coase, 1937; Williamson,1985) The cost of doing business in the web is low compared to other traditional means such as advertising on the news papers, TVs, posters and Bill boards. An Internet can reach many users at once, more efficiently and effectively. In addition it reduces the managing cost by having less number of employees because a tourist can contact directly via e-mail for booking and receive the E-ticket. Capability to improve efficiency of purchasing and inventory control. MNEs can easily control its inventory levels because the internet make it easier to track these levels electronically so that to shorten the sales cycle. Create new markets E tourism increases the ability to sport new business opportunities and to capitalise on them. Ecommerce enable tourism organisations to customise their products and services by producing what exactly the customer wants at the right time. Increase the tourist barging power. Electronic tourism helps the customers to access information on their tourist destinations. This helps them get information on prices and make booking at a relatively low cost. (Scarborough, 2009 pp 448-450; Chan, 2001: Schneider 2002, UNCTAD, 2001) IMPEDIMENTS TO THE ADOPTION OF ECOMMERCE FOR SMTEs IN DCs There are a number of barriers which impede SMTEs in adopting e-commerce in DCs. SMTEs face the following obstacles while engaging in e-commerce. Lack of awareness and understanding of the value of e-commerce. Most SMEs in tourism sector and other sectors in DCs have failed to realize the value of e-commerce to their businesses thinking that is suitable for large businesses. Lack of ICT knowledge and skills. Knowledge on the ICT is of necessity for Ecommerce to be diffused. This in an obstacle in DCs since most workers in SMEs lack ICT skills to develop and manage ecommerce (Chuang et al, 2009; Shiau et al, 2009) Financial costs. SMEs hesitate to deploy ecommerce for the fear of costs because the initial investment costs of computer and internet access is higher in DCs if compared to developed countries. Most SMTEs in DCs are suffering from insufficient financial resources (Chuang et al, 2009; Shiau et al, 2009) One of the major impediments to adoption of ecommerce for SMTEs, particularly those operating in the DCs in the prevalence of high entry barriers brought about, in part, by lack of effective reliance mechanics aimed at enhancing system trust (Patton and Josang, 2004) Infrastructure. This is a major barrier to e-commerce adoption in most of DCs since the communication infrastructure and network of many DCs is not conducive for ecommerce adoption and diffusion for SMEs. This also implies within SMEs their internal infrastructure is poor. (Esteves, 2009). Security. Customers may not opt to buy on line because of the fear of not being secured with the payment system they dont trust the website. This makes security and privacy issues to be critical in the acceptance and adoption of e-commerce in any business sector whether large or small especially in DCs where they have the culture of face to face interactions and credit card usage is still relatively low or there is no credit card facilities for example in Samoa( Purcell 2003) The difficulty in addressing issues of trust and confidence also makes SMTEs more vulnerable than large firms to problems linked to authentication/certification, data security and confidentiality and the settling of commercial disputes (Buhalis, D. Schertler, W. 1999, OECD, 1999). CTRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS AND RISKS FOR SMEs Jeffcoate et all (2002) suggested the following 11 critical success factors to be considered for Electronic business strategy implementation for any SME. This should not be ignored by the tourism SMEs from developing countries in order to implement their etourism strategy more effectively. For the purpose of this report we will not go deeply. Content Convenience Control Interaction Community Price sensitive Brand image Commitment Partnerships Process improvement Integration Chaffey, D. (2004) eBusiness and e-commerce 2nd Ed. Prentice Hall RIKS Though tourism has many benefits it has also negative impacts on social, culture and environment which need more attention so that to reduce its threats in developing countries and the world as whole development (WTO, 1996; Mathieson Wall, 1982, Wahab, 1997). by Chulwon Kim Professor, College of Hotel Tourism Management, Kyunghee University, Korea (smes in Korea) Appendix 1: the top ten tourism earners for the year 2009. The World Tourism Organization reports the following countries as the top ten tourism earners for the year 2009. It is noticeable that most of them are on the European continent, but the United States continues to be the top earner. Rank Country UNWTO Regional Market International Tourism Receipts (2009)[13] International Tourism Receipts (2008)[12] International Tourism Receipts (2007)[12] International Tourism Receipts (2006)[12] 1 Â  United States North America $93.9 billion $110.0 billion $97.1 billion $85.8 billion 2 Â  Spain Europe $53.2 billion $61.6 billion $57.6 billion $51.1 billion 3 Â  France Europe $49.4 billion $55.6 billion $54.3 billion $46.3 billion 4 Â  Italy Europe $40.2 billion $45.7 billion $42.7 billion $38.1 billion 5 Â  China

The Odyssey: The Use Of Hubris :: essays research papers

â€Å"There is no safety in unlimited hubris† (McGeorge Bundy). The dictionary defines hubris as overbearing pride or presumption; arrogance. In The Odyssey, Homer embodies hubris into the characters Odysseus, the Suitors, and the Cyclopes. Odysseus shows hubris when he is battling the Cyclopes, the Cyclopes show hubris when dealing with Odysseus, and the Suitors show it when Odysseus confronts them at his home. To start, within the course of The Odyssey, Odysseus displays hubris through many of his actions. The most prominent instance in which Odysseus shows hubris is while he and his men are trying to escape from the Cyclops Polyphemus. They drug the monster until it passes out, and then stab him with a timber in his single eye. Polyphemus, now blinded, removes the gigantic boulder blocking Odysseus’ escape, and waits for the men to move, so he can kill them. The men escape from the cave to their boat by tying themselves under flocks of rams, so they can easily slip by. Odysseus, now proud after beating the giant, starts to yell at Polyphemus, instead of making a silent escape. Odysseus’ men ask him to stop before Polyphemus would â€Å"get the range and lob a boulder† (436). But Odysseus shows hubris by saying that if they were to meet again, Odysseus would â€Å"take your life† and â€Å"hurl you down to hell!† (462; 463). Polyphemus, now extremely angr y with Odysseus, prays to his father, Poseidon, to make Odysseus â€Å"never see his home† again, and after which, throws a mountain towards the sound of Odysseus’ voice. (470). Because of Odysseus’ hubris after blinding Polyphemus, Poseidon grants the prayer, and it takes Odysseus 20 years to return home, at the cost of the lives of all his men. Next, Polyphemus demonstrates hubris by believing that because he is a giant, he is unbeatable by anyone, even a god. This is shown when Odysseus meets Polyphemus and greets him with gifts, as it is a custom to show courtesy to hosts and guests alike, (unexpected or not). Failure to give gifts can lead to revenge from the gods. Odysseus tells Polyphemus this, but Polyphemus â€Å"would not let you go for fear of Zeus† because the Cyclopes â€Å"have more force by far †. (205; 200) Polyphemus then angers the gods further by kidnapping and eating Odysseus’ men, both of which are considered extremely uncivil in Greek society. Polyphemus is so confident in his invulnerability he lets the men roam free inside the cave, a mistake that leads to his downfall.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud :: Literary Analysis, William Wordsworth

Nature is often a focal point for many author’s works, whether it is expressed through lyrics, short stories, or poetry. Authors are given a cornucopia of pictures and descriptions of nature’s splendor that they can reproduce through words. It is because of this that more often than not a reader is faced with multiple approaches and descriptions to the way nature is portrayed. Some authors tend to look at nature from a deeper and personal observation as in William Wordsworth’s â€Å"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud†, while other authors tend to focus on a more religious beauty within nature as show in Gerard Manley Hopkins â€Å"Pied Beauty†, suggesting to the reader that while to each their own there is always a beauty to be found in nature and nature’s beauty can be uplifting for the human spirit both on a visual and spiritual level. Wordsworth and Hopkins both present the reader with a poem conveying the theme of nature. Nature in its variety be it from something as simple as streaked or multicolored skies, long fields and valleys, to things more complex like animals, are all gifts we take for granted. Some never realize the truth of what they are missing by keeping themselves indoors fixating on the loneliness and vacancy of their lives and not on what beauty currently surrounds them. Others tend to relate themselves more to the fact that these lovely gifts are from God and should be praised because of the way his gifts have uplifted our human spirit. Each writer gives us their own ideals as how to find and appreciate nature’s true gifts. In â€Å"I wandered Lonely as a Cloud,† William Wordsworth accomplishes his ideal of nature by using personification, alliteration, and simile within his poem to convey to the reader how nature’s beauty uplifts his spirits and takes him away from his boring daily routine. Wordsworth relates himself in solidarity to that of a cloud wandering alone, â€Å"I wandered lonely as a cloud† (line 1). Comparing the cloud and himself to that of a lonely human in low spirits of isolation, simultaneously the author compares the daffodils he comes across as he â€Å"floats on high o’er vales and hills† (line 2) to that of a crowd of people dancing (lines 3-6 and again in 12). Watching and admiring the dancing daffodils as he floats on by relating them to various beauties of

Foundation Degree in Accounting & Finance Essay -- Business Management

Foundation Degree in Accounting & Finance How training contributes to the achievement of business objectives In order for the organisation to benefit from successful training, there must be a planned and systematic approach to effect management of training. R Harrison (1989:48) defined systematic approach as â€Å"†¦in order to determine as precisely as possible what are the minimum resources the organisation should invest for the development of its workforce, an accurate assessment should be made of known and agreed training needs at all levels. A training plan can then be formulated which can guide the organisation in its investment of resources, in the operation of training and development, and in their evaluation.† A plan for training and development can guide top management to make the following decisions:  · Decision about the investment of resources through time.  · Decision about the agreed corporate goals and strategy for employee development.  · Decision about the key roles necessary to ensure effective implementation of strategy. Within the individual manager’s department, there should be the same agreement on what overall needs exist, however they may be defined and over whatever time length they are to be met. The manager can then put forward a reasoned case for the resources to meet those needs. L Mullins (2002:694) cited that â€Å"The purpose of training is to improve knowledge and skills, and to change attitudes. It is one of the most important potential motivators. This can lead to many possible benefits for both individuals and the organisation.† L Mullins (2002) suggested that training can make an impact on the organisation: * Increase the confident, motivation and commitment of staff. * Provide recognition, enhanced responsibility and the possibility of increased pay and promotion. * Give a feeling of personal satisfaction and achieve, and broaden opportunities for career progression. * Help to improve the availability and quality of staff. Therefore we can see that training is an essential element of improving organisational performance. The intention of training is to generate a greater measure of positive commitment, a reduction of workplace alienation and enhanced quality of output. D Torrington et al (2002) suggested that objectives should give employees a clear idea of p... ...3rd edition, The Cromwell Press, Wiltshire Harrison R (1989), Training and Development, 2nd edition, LR Printing Service Ltd, West Sussex Mullins L (2002), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 6th edition, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow Torrington D et al (2002), Human Resource Management, 5th edition, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow Bibliography Beardwell I et al (2004), Human Resource Management – A Contemporary Approach, 4th edition, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow Garratt T (1997), The Effective Delivery of Training Using NLP, Kogan Page Ltd, London Harrison R (1992), Management Studies 2 - Employee Development, 3rd edition, The Cromwell Press, Wiltshire Harrison R (1998), People and Organisation - Employee Development, 2nd edition, The Cromwell Press, Wiltshire Harrison R (1989), Training and Development, 2nd edition, LR Printing Service Ltd, West Sussex Mullins L (2002), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 6th edition, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow Pettinger R (2002), Introduction to Management, 3rd edition, Palgrave, Hampshire Torrington D et al (2002), Human Resource Management, 5th edition, Pearson Education Ltd, Harlow

Should Juvenile Be Charged as Adults in Criminal Cases

Should Juvenile Be Charged as Adults in Criminal Cases? Robert Horn Post University The purpose of the Adult Criminal Justice system is to punish offenders according to the severity of the crime committed. The juvenile justice system’s aim is to rehabilitate or mentor the juvenile offenders, in the hope that they can prevent further crimes, and to change their behavior. The motivating principle of the juvenile system is rehab. The reason for this is because juveniles are not fully developed, mentally or physically.Many Juvenile offenders come from broken homes, been abused, or come from bad neighborhoods. Juvenile offenders need a second chance, because they have not even received a first chance. Rehabilitation is the best option for them because of the way they would be exploited and turned into criminals if they were sent directly to prison. If given the chance, the Juvenile Justice System can aid in successfully rehabilitating youthful offenders so they are not inclined to commit future crimes. With this reasoning, juveniles cannot be blamed or accountable for their actions the same way adults are.The Justice System fulfills and important function by establishing standards of conduct. It defines what is right and wrong for people and removes them from the responsibility of taking vengeance out on those who wronged them, which deters the escalation of feuds in the community. The Justice System also protects the rights of citizens by establishing and honoring the principle that freedom shouldn’t be denied without a good reason. Rehabilitation does have its objective: to return offenders to their communities as cured members of the society. Efforts in the 1980’s and 1990’s were unsuccessful.There was no one program that was more effective in the effort to rehabilitate youthful offenders than any other program. Because of this, a large portion of released offenders continued to return (Murphy 49). This led many people to believe that the best alternative was to simply remove offenders from the community, preventing vexation and exploitation. Because criminals are more often considered to be inclined to commit crimes than those never convicted of a crime, it follows that some benefits will be derived from incarcerating convicted criminals.The potential of incarceration is great as a method of crime control if it is only a few hardened criminals who commit the most crimes. If those criminals can be identified, sentenced, and incarcerated for long periods of time, there would be a significant reduction in crime. Most supports of correctional reform have this view on the population of criminals. Blame for most of the crimes committed is most often place on a relatively few predatory, compulsive individuals thought to commit a large number of crimes each year (Newburn 54).The last and final goal of this reform movement is reestablishing retribution. Retribution is the most moral of all penal goals. There is an elemen t of rage included because the victim deserves the right to be repaid with pain for the harm suffered. Justice is achieved when the punished given to the offender is equal to the level of harm coming from the criminal act. Consequently, social balance is reestablished and maintained within the society. When it comes to juvenile offenders, the rules are thrown out the window.There is a separate legal system for them and they are also categorized differently. By federal standards, any juvenile who is under the age of 18 who has committed a crime is a juvenile delinquent. This is a decision that society has made. Society believes that there are important and serious differences between adults and juveniles. A one-size-fits-all approach is not wanted and will make the situation worse. Juvenile offenders are easiest to influence and are also the easiest to bend.It is believed that the actions a juvenile criminal might be influenced by outside sources such as neglect from parents, bad liv ing conditions, or poor relationships with the family. Because of these factors, rehabilitation is a popular and attractive option in dealing with juveniles. Many of the rehabilitation programs ask that juvenile offenders with behavior problems meet with adult tutors to produce a stable, trustworthy friendship, which is expected to influence juveniles and to reduce their anti-social behavior (Maruna and Ward 33). Such a change in behavior is ade possible due to the trust and friendship between juvenile and adult – who can listen and care about the problems the juveniles may have, a role model, good advice giver, etc. In such a way, these mentoring programs may play a part on juvenile crime reduction. The goal of rehabilitation is to create law-abiding behavior and to encourage juveniles to know the consequences of what they do and to become law-abiding citizens. It can be a challenging process because it requires the use of the proverbial carrot and stick. The use of coercion and socialization is seen in child rising.With young children, coercion is the only effective control. If a small child goes into the street, the child is disciplined and is told if he or she does it again, they will be punished again. These threats tend to be only effective when they are accepted; otherwise, people seek ways to bend the rules, or may blatantly disobey prohibitions. By sending such juveniles to prison my not prove to be an effective deterrent. Rather, it may be more effective to understand the socialization process of a juvenile, and try to re-wire it while the young person is still malleable.Vedder explains this: To use sociological lingo: the juvenile acquires the delinquent behavior as he does any other cultural trait of the cultural heritage passed on to him by his group conformist delinquency, stressing the fact the child becomes delinquent through conforming with the behavior pattern in his group† (9) Positive adult guidance, understanding, and support can divert young offenders and also criminals from involvement in crimes and acts of disobedience and also to help them join in on the rules of and behaviors of local communities (Murphy 53).To put it another way: what young offenders need are good adult role models. This can be found in quality rehabilitation programs. Most young offenders have started off on the wrong path, and they imitate the most irresponsible or abusive members of their social set or family. With proper guidance and role models, juveniles can begin to adjust their behavior. It is important to know that instead of looking at rehabilitation programs as a form of punishment, young offenders taking part of such programs should now that they are voluntary and consider them a positive opportunity to change their lives for the best. Such understanding does not come at once. The rehabilitation process can be a long, with juveniles provided with meetings, instructions, training and conferences. By providing juveniles w ith a positive adult role model, supervision, and continual training, mentoring programs aim to reduce the risk of a drift into numerous crimes. These of course, are not the exclusive means of rehabilitation.It may be suitable to mix a softer approach with detention in a Juvenile Center or to take similar action. The carrot and stick is again a key analogy. Detention applied to juvenile offenders has been debated for years. Its advocates argue that it would prevent crime by detaining those offenders that are likely to re-offend (Russel 85). Its adversaries claim that it is unfair because it allows a judge to make a choice about a person’s future behavior. Because no one can accurately predict behavior, particularly criminality, the chances of mistakes are large (Maruna and Ward 83).During the rehabilitation period, the type of sentencing most used is the indeterminate sentence. Legislatures have set wide ranges for sentencing, and judges measure out minimums and maximums that have a wide range. This allows personnel in corrections the discretion of releasing offenders once they are reformed. No one other than correctional authorities cared for this system. Inmates did not like it because their release depended on the whims of the parole board, and the inmates never knew for sure when they would be released (Russel 61).Judges and the public did not like it because the prison term served was never the same as the actual sentence and was almost always shorter. Juvenile laws stipulate that if a young criminal committed a serious crime, they could be â€Å"waived† to the adult court system. The number of â€Å"waived† juveniles each year comes out to be around 8,000 (Deitch). This â€Å"waiver† system is used in all states except for Nebraska, New York, and New Mexico. The only time in these states when the â€Å"waiver† is applied is crimes that include murders or intentional killing of several people.After examining the case, ju dges decided whether the juvenile should be tried as a juvenile or an adult. There are new laws specifying set lengths of sentences for juvenile offenses that allow for modification of the time served based on circumstances associated with a given incident (Russel 66). In some cases, a youth offender gets sentenced to five years, but he or she is only 15 at the time, he or she will not be transferred to the adult prison. Law states that a young offender should be detained in a special jail with other offenders until the age of 18 (Murphy).While most young offenders are worthy of rehabilitation, society states that some are not. There are criminals of all ages who should be imprisoned due to the nature of their crimes. To say that the best way to deal with juveniles is to rehabilitate them is not to say that this method is perfect or will it work in every case. It is the best choice, due to the consideration of issues at hand. Depending on the severity of the crime, and the history o f the offender, there are some instances where the age of the offender does not matter.In 2006, in Omaha Nebraska, Cameron Williams is facing up to 110 years in prison for second-degree murder attempts and also using a weapon to commit a felony. Cameron Williams is 16 years old, and is being charged in the adult courts due to his troublesome past and the â€Å"serious nature of his crime. † (Khan, 2010) In 1999, Lionel Tate, at the time 12, was the youngest juvenile offender in American history to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Tate was charged for the death of a 6 year old while practicing wrestling moves on her.Such instances of these arrests show that depending on the severity of the crime, being a youth doesn’t matter in sentencing. (Reaves, 2001) Rehabilitation is part of a policy for young offenders who have entered the criminal justice system. The policies and programs, which help juveniles to escape imprisonment, are parole an d probation. Restriction of the opportunity for parole and probation are often accompanied by new sentencing legislation. Many states have made it difficult to be placed on probation for certain offenses and impossible for serious ones.Parole, which is defined as the conditional early release from prison under supervision in the community, has been restricted in many states. A return to determinacy and the abandonment of rehabilitation eliminates the need for parole, which, in theory, was designed to help the young offender prepare to reenter the community (Murphy 71). However, parole serves as another important function in controlling inmates in prison, and is one of the few rewards that can be manipulated. Because of this reason, many states have retained it.The Administration of parole has been changed so that the sentence rather than the paroling authority determines the date of the parole hearing. Good Behavior Credit for time served-receiving extra credit for time served while maintaining good behavior-is another form of reward used in prison to control the inmates. Because of the way it reduces the amount of time an individual will serve, and modifies the original sentence; many states have considered eliminating it. However, heavy protesting against the legislation by correctional personnel has prevented its elimination.Young people are less responsible and more malleable than adults. Many juvenile offenders who break the law have come from broken homes and abusive families. Some have never received the support that they deserve. Because they are young, and have many years ahead of them, our society has chosen to separate them from adult criminals, and to make an effort to rehabilitate them. This makes senses, because the cost of retribution is simply too much in many of their cases, and the burden on the criminal justice system and our moral compass would be insupportable. ReferencesCrow, J. The Treatment and Rehabilitation of Offenders. Sage Publicat ions Ltd, 2001 Deitch, Michele, et. al. From Time Out to Hard Time: Young Children in the Adult Criminal Justice System, Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, LBJ School of Public Affairs, 2009. Khan, K. (2010, July 12). Juvenile justice: Too young for life in prison?. Retrieved from http://abcnews. go. com/Politics/life-prison-juvenile-offenders-adult-courts/story? id=11129594 Maruna, S. , Ward, T. Rehabilitation (Key Ideas in Criminology). Routledge; New edition, 2007.Murphy, J. G. Punishment and Rehabilitation. Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1999. Newburn, T. Criminology. Willan Publishing, 2007. Reaves, J. (2001, May 17). Should the law treat kids and adults differently?. Retrieved from http://www. time. com/time/nation/article/0,8599,110232,00. html Russel, C. Alternatives to Prison: Rehabilitation and Other Programs (Incarceration Issues: Punishment, Reform, and Rehabilitation). Mason Crest Publishers; Library Binding edition, 2006. Vedder, C. B. The Juvenile Offender: Perspective and Readings. Random House, 2002.