Compare the historical value of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons with Essay - 1

Compare the historical value of Turgenev's Fathers and Sons with Gogol's Inspector General - Essay Example His brother represents the gap that exists between the new and the old world, trying to adapt to the society while he tries to comprehend the old customs and attitudes. Arcady is another character that represents the new trends in society and beliefs systems in society. Barazov, is portrayed in the book as the young star, therefore, he represents the youth in Russian society with fresh ideas and new ways of doing things, but who are blinded by their naive hypocrisy. The author of this book vividly describes every aspect of Russian society by giving detailed information about the peasants, government officials, corruption, conventions, and cast withering. On the other hand, the government inspector written by Nikolai Gogol was first published in 1836. The author’s main of writing this book is centered on portraying human greed, deep corruption of societal powers and human stupidity in Russian society. This book looked at the lampooned corrupt government offices. In the Russian history, the â€Å"Fathers and sons† by Turgenev and â€Å"Inspector general† by Gogol, have outlined historical issues in Russian society in a similar way. The two books have also been contrasted through the characters, themes and the historical allusions. In the novel â€Å"Fathers and sons,† the author shows the difference between two generations of life. This book was written to counter the budding cultural schism in Russia from 1830s to 40s. During this time, there were cultural differences between the liberals and the growing nihilist uprising. In the other book, the â€Å"Inspector general,† the author has focused on mistaken identity committed in the Russian society. These two books have common similarities and differences, which have been asserted through the mode of translation, the author’s concerns, the cultural and historical differences especially in history and literature. Change is the main concern in the two books. In the ‘Fa thers and sons’, Turgenev addresses the interest in change with the aim of addressing intergenerational differences in the Russian society. Life’s hyperbole and the balance between the text and the contemporary issues in society is the author’s main concern. In addition, his work is highly topical as it universally appeals the elegance of love. The author also deals with love versus psychology, which has been acutely portrait by the author. While on the other hand, the government inspector hinges on a mistaken identity. Hlestakov is mistaken for being a highly ranking government inspector by the provincial town members. The government fears the visit of the government inspector because of their corruption cases that have torn the Russian society apart. Apart from the government official, the town’s governor is not at peace with the inspector’s visit. Hlestalkov gives the tales about his bribing ways as a high-ranking government official. He does th is by elaborating on the misconception that the town people held before (Harrower 2011). The government inspector majorly ridicules the way corruption has damaged Russian bureaucracy. In this Russian drama about life, corruption, and human deception are vividly explored. The governor addresses the audience by asking what they were laughing at when he talks about corruption. He refers to the citizens as laughing at themselves showing how government officia

History of the Maori language Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of the Maori language - Research Paper Example In the 1980s, there were vigorous initiatives that were aimed at reviving the Maori language (NZ History, 2012). These initiatives yielded admirable results as more than a hundred thousand people could speak and understand the language without any difficulties. The Maori language evolved over time, and it changed as people separated in to villages and occupied different geographical locations. The regional variations came up due to the differences in regional climates and modes of subsistence of the regional constituents. It is imperative to note that the modern Maori language is different from the native language, as it has borrowed many terminologies from other languages like English. The high number of settlers increased the need for communication in New Zealand, and the Maori language did not meet the entire demands for communication (NZ History, 2012). The missionaries imitated the documentation of the Maori language to preserve and protect it from disappearing. Later, in the 1820s, a professor from Cambridge University systematized the Maori language. In the 1870s, the Maori language was the official language of communication with the missionaries, their children and the government officials during official New Zealand national functions (Flittner, 2001). Later on, the Maori language started loosing its popularity to English language. The native speakers of the Maori language questioned the language and its representation of their cultural identity. The Maori native speakers lost pride in their language since they deserved a language that could represent their true identity as a distinct culture. Further, many schools scrapped off the Maori language from the school syllabus, and any student who was caught speaking the Maori language was severely punished (NZ History, 2012). The Second World War gave the Maori language

Global Warming Essay Example for Free

Global Warming Essay Over the past years the problem that has most scientist and people in the world concerned is global warming.What leads to global warming is called the green house effect, where the atmosphere builds up by gases, like methane, carbon dioxide and others, and keeps heat from the sun in the atmosphere, which increases the temperature on Earth. Many people think that global warming and the green house effect are the same thing but it is not. The greenhouse effect is the heat that comes from Eart. While global warming is an issue because the more gases that are produced by man the more gases will be in the atmosphere, which upsets the natural balance. As a result of global warming the polar ice caps are melting and this will lead to a rise in sea levels causing flooding and coastal damage to many countries. The increase in temperature means an increase in water temperature which will lead to extreme weather conditions, such as hurricanes. As a cause of the temperature changes, it can lead to animals and insects migrating to other areas. Taking disease with them that normally wont occur in other places. There is no known solution to reverse global warming yet, but there are solutions that will help to prevent it from growing even more. For instance recycling by using recycling bins and other methods will help prevent the problem to advance. Another way is to use compact fluorecent bulbs. By replacing three frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorecent bulbs you save like 135Kg of carbon dioxide and R$120 per year. By unpluging unused electronics, even if the electronic devices are turned off, they use energy. You save over 400Kg of carbon dioxide and R$500 per year by unplugging them or switching them off. Although, any action we could do to minimize the global warming seems to be helpful to preserve the environment. Maybe with some help from the government we could do a little bit more for our planet and provide a sustainable future for the generation that comes.

Youth Empowerment Scheme for Poverty Reduction

Youth Empowerment Scheme for Poverty Reduction The depiction of Nigeria as a paradox by the World Bank (1996) cannot be faulted. The paradox is that the level of poverty is a contradiction of the countrys enormous wealth. Nigeria is immensely endowed with human, oil, gas, agricultural, and untapped mineral resources, just to mention but a few. Unfortunately, despite these endowments, the country remains one of the poorest in the world. In its 2000 Human Development Report, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) placed Nigeria among the 30 least developed countries (LCDs) of the world (UNDP, 2000). Although poverty is rampant in Nigeria, it is more prevalent in certain areas; and with a much more devastating dimension in rural communities. One of these areas is the Niger Delta region, which is the mainstay of the Nigerian economy because of its significantly high level of oil reserves. The region has vast oil reserves but remains poor, underdeveloped and torn apart with conflict (Eweje, 2007). Amnesty International (2005) confirmed that the Niger Delta remain among the most deprived oil communities in the world with 70 per cent living on less than US$1 a day, which is the standard economic measure of absolute poverty. Decades of political and economic marginalization that resulted from the neglect of the Niger Delta region by successive Nigerian governments, and the initial hesitation of multinational companies (MNCs) to attend to their social responsibility and contribute to social development, enshrined poverty in the region (Idemudia, 2007). According to Orogun (2009), the many years of oil production has benefited the federal, state, and local governments as well as the multinational oil companies, yet this huge profit has yet to improve the deplorable human condition, misery index of the indigenous inhabitants; nor has it fostered sustainable economic development in the oil producing communities. Sequel to this, the youth of the region have incessantly expressed their grievances by attacking deployed law enforcement and security agents, vandalizing oil installations, kidnapping and taking foreign oil workers hostage, bearing arms against the state, and forming militia groups in order to draw governments and multinationals attention to their plight. Globally, there have been growing demands on MNCs to provide community development programmes and assistance to their host communities, especially in developing countries in other words, meeting locally defined social and economic goals. This is primarily because developmental projects and other social infrastructures are lacking in most of these countries; and most of the time they are not provided by the state. Multinational corporations, as Etheredge (1999) believes, have an obligation to act as responsible members of the societies which grant them legal standing. He goes on to say that MNCs good corporate conduct does not only imply responsibilities that are only within the bounds of minimum legal requirements but also social responsibilities that are both acceptable and beneficial to various social constituencies that surround business enterprises. In developing countries, MNCs are expected to provide some social services and welfare programmes in addition to their normal economic activities. Although these are not the functions of businesses in economic terms; but in the developing countries, as Eweje (2006) stresses, these roles are expected from MNCs as an expression of demonstrating corporate social responsibility (CSR). Elucidating this view, Wasserstrom and Reider (1998) maintain that oil and gas companies in Asia, Latin America and Africa, for instance, are facing demands from the local community to provide education and healthcare programmes. They continued, saying that, these programmes are not give-aways, but involve training and working with community members to allow them to plan for meeting their own needs in the future. Wasserstrom and Reider (1998) further noted that by establishing such programs and working with the demands of the community, firms find less resistance to their operations, not only from the local community but from environmental and human rights special interest groups as well. Against this background, the Multinational oil companies in the Niger Delta have demonstrated commitments to the reduction of poverty through their respective community development initiatives. The study, therefore, evaluates the youth development strategies of Shell (normally called Shell Petroleum Development Company SPDC) in the Niger Delta. From the foregoing, it suffices that MNCs have a role in development not only through capital investment but more importantly by investing in human capital and providing local people with the tools to drive their own economic development (Nelson, 1996). Statement of the problem The high incidence of poverty in the Niger Delta is in sharp contrast to the regions critical importance to the Nigerian economy. The Niger Delta oil contributes enormously to the well-being of the Nigerian state, which depends on the oil industry for approximately 95% of export earnings and 80% of government revenue (SPDC, 2009); yet the poverty level in the region is higher than the national average (Clark et al., 1999; NDDC, 2004). Zandvliet and Pedro (2002) illustrated the picture of the region in the following words: About 70 per cent of the community lack access to clean water, has no passable roads or electricity supply, a shortage of medical facilities, a large number of dilapidated schools and suffers from severe environmental degradation due to oil production. After over 40 years of oil exploration and hundreds of billions of dollars of oil revenue, the oil producing communities have received little attention from successive administrations, particularly in the areas of socio-economic and infrastructural development. The cumulative circumstances have led to perceived alienation, and the result of which is the frequent social disorder as the only means by which attention could be drawn to them. Obi (2008) states the following as being responsible for the regions agitations: Oil pollution, extreme poverty, high levels of youth unemployment, pollution, perceived discriminatory employment practices against locals by oil companies and socioà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ economic and political marginalization and neglect by successive administrations constitute the main grievances against the oil companies and the government. The prevalence of poverty is very high in the Niger Delta, with over 70% living on less than a dollar per day in the rural areas. This soaring incidence of poverty is in sharp contrast to the regions position as the treasure base of the nation. This, notwithstanding, it is a political culture of governments at all levels in Nigeria and the elites to lay blame on the multinational corporations for the poverty situation in the region. Such culture of blame goes further in inciting the community members into believing that the MNCs are the architects of the regions poverty, and believing that the companies are massively exploiting them, but giving too little or nothing in return to them in form of development. Consequently this has occasioned persistent community protests, agitations and conflicts. The widespread poverty afflicting the people of the region has led to a condition of despair and the recourse to violence against the state and multinationals by the youth. The youths resentment stems from the regions loss of their traditional means of livelihood which are farming and fishing, caused by the activities of the oil companies, such as environmental degradation, oil spillage and gas flaring. Similarly, faced with massive unemployment and a bleak future due to absence of both government and private employment, the youth, which constitute a larger proportion of the region, have persistently expressed their frustration through hostage taking, arson directed at oil installations and attacks on the Nigerian state. Although successive Nigerian governments at different times have put up a lot of poverty alleviation programmes, yet all attempts to put the Niger Delta on course of development have been unproductive. Among the ills that hamper the development of the region are corruption and bad governance. For instance, while the institutions of the state at all levels (federal, state and local governments) are very corrupt, making it difficult for budgeted funds to trickle down to the target population; politics on the other hand is used to promote individual and sectional interests, as against the pursuit of public good. Therefore, due to this lack of significant government commitment to the development of the region, poverty has remained a pervasive problem in the Niger Delta. Hence, conditions have continued to worsen and poverty has become a major issue in the region in spite of her rich resource base. This failure to provide the developmental needs of the communities has led to the reliance by the region on the multinational oil companies to step in and fill this wide development gap. Accordingly, MNCs in the Niger Delta have responded to this challenge by employing community development strategies geared towards poverty reductions in their host communities. The need for MNCs involvement in poverty reduction cannot be overemphasized. As Ite (2004) pointed out, foreign direct investment flowing to developing countries has the potential to make important contributions to the development of local economies, including creating jobs, capacity building, and the transfer of technology. As a result, multinational corporations (MNCs) can have a positive impact in developing countries, especially through corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives focusing on sustainable development and co-operation with civil society. As corporate citizens, multinational companies have contributed in various ways to local community development in the area as a way of addressing the unemployment, poverty and squalor that are stacking realities of daily living for the people of the area. For instance, Shell has been involved in educational initiatives, healthcare services and youth development projects, just to mention but a few. The main focus of the study which is on youth development scheme is a vocational training programme in which participants acquire necessary skills for self employment or eligibility for employment, such as welding, auto mechanics and electrical work. The study, therefore argues that the youth development scheme is an empowerment scheme that has improved the livelihood of the participants; although the efforts of the multinationals are constrained by factors which are political economic and social. However, the strategies must be sustainable if they have to make long term impact on poverty reduction. Has the vocational training on the youths been empowering? Have the youth been empowered by the vocational training? Do the community participate in the scheme and what is the level of their participation? RESEARCH QUESTIONS The following questions will be addressed: To what extent have youth vocational training been empowering? How much does the community participate in the scheme? What are the barriers that hamper MNCs community development efforts in the area? OBJECTIVE OF STUDY The general objective of the study is to evaluate the youth development initiatives of Shell multinational, aimed at poverty reduction among the youth of the Niger Delta. To evaluate the impact of youth development strategies on the participants To examine the level of participation of youth in the projects To identify the barriers of CD efforts of the multinational oil companies in Niger Delta 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY The study seeks to be a contribution to the already existing literature on Niger Delta. It will serve as a reference source to the authorities of Nigeria, multinational oil companies, and other Niger Delta stakeholders in gaining more insights into the root causes of the persistent conflict in the region; and consequently look in a new direction for a more effective approach aimed at addressing the crisis. There is minimal evidence in literature about community development initiatives of the multinationals in Niger Delta. This research adds to the literature on MNCs CD assistance in the region. It also shows that business has an obligation to help in solving problems of public concern. In addition to spurring economic growth and prosperity to the Nigerian state, the community assistance of multinational corporations in Niger Delta should be commended. However, the condition of the region demands a more vigorous corporate social responsibility by the MNCs in the pursuit of community development. Poverty reduction is an important development concern, which requires sustained involvements of the stakeholders in addressing community needs. The study highlights the usefulness of the MNCs corporate social responsibility in reducing poverty among the youth, which represent one of the major assets of any community. In this respect, the study contributes to knowledge on poverty in Nigeria. SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF STUDY The study evaluates the impact of vocational and skills training programmes employed by Shell to empower the youth. It will also examine the level of youths participation in the programmes. Thirdly, it will identify the factors that constrain the CD efforts of the multinationals in the Niger Delta. It will examine several government intervention programmes in the region and why they yielded no positive results. Among the limitations of this study is inability to cover the entire oil producing communities of the chosen state of study due to time, financial constraint and proximity. The geographical terrain of the communities and the presence of security personnel also constitute an impediment to reaching certain key individuals. Further, the volatile condition of the area poses difficulties to the researcher as fresh conflict is capable of springing up at any moment. Hence, the researcher would, as a matter of caution avoid some locations, that otherwise would have provided useful information to the study. OPERATIONALIZATION OF CONCEPTS In this section, the important points and variables to be considered are described to foster a clear understanding of the proposed inquiry. Niger Delta Niger Delta is defined both geographically and politically. The former comprises of states in the South-South geo-political zone, namely, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River States; while the political Niger Delta extends to the neighboring oil producing states of Ondo, Abia and Imo, for reasons of administrative convenience, political expedience and development objectives (UNDP, 2006). The study focuses on the geographical Niger Delta, with River State as the case study. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and Multinational Oil Corporations (MOCs): Multinational Corporation is a firm which control and organize production using plants from at least two countries (Caves, 1996:1). Multinational oil corporations are corporations operating in more than one country for the purpose of exploring for, producing, refining, and marketing oil. In Nigeria, there are many of these multinationals oil corporations such as: Shell, Texaco, Chevron, Elf, Exxon, Mobil, Agip, Fina, and Total, just to mention a few. For the purpose of this study, Shell multinational will be my case study; although references will be made to other multinationals, where necessary. Poverty: Poverty connotes a condition of human deprivation or denial with respect to the basic necessities of life food, shelter, and clothing. It is above all a symptom of embedded structural imbalance, which manifests in all domains of human existence (Hamdok, 1999). The author also believes that poverty is highly correlated with social exclusion, marginalization, vulnerability, powerlessness, isolation, and deprivation. Community Development (CD): Community Development means improving the quality of peoples lives and expanding their ability to shape their own futures through improving their access to opportunities to better themselves (Soubbotina, Sheram World Bank, 2000). Community development in this study refers to the provision of capacity to the youth of the Niger Delta, through vocational training, with the ultimate goal of reducing unemployment among them. Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS): The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD, 2000) defines CSR as the commitment of business to contribute to sustainable development, working with employees, their families, the local community and society at large to improve their quality of life. According to Idowu and Papasolomou (2007), CSR addresses the fundamental role that business plays, or ought to play in society. Corporate social responsibility in the current study refers to Shells community development programmes targeted at youth, with the view of improving their livelihood through job creation programmes. Capacity Building: Capacity building is the process by which individuals, groups, organizations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to perform core functions, solve problems, define and achieve objectives; to understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner (UNDP, 1997). UNDP. (1997). Capacity Development Resources Book. New York: UNDP Eade (1997) is of the view that within the concept of capacity building is the idea of development, which is an empowering process; while the notion of overcoming poverty is part of the process of development [Eade, D. (1997]. Capacity Building: An approach to people-centered Development. Oxford: Oxfam Publication. Capacity building as employed in this study refers to the process of equipping the youth with skills such as welding, electrical work, auto-mechanics, which will enable them to become gainfully self-employed, thereby reducing poverty. Chapter three: Methodology This chapter presents the research methods used to guide and accomplish the study objectives. It discusses the research design, how the researcher intends to gather his data, the type of techniques to be employed in assembling the information, the respondents, and the method of analyzing the data. The appropriateness of the design, the target population, the sampling frame and the size of the sample are also discussed. 3.1 Research Design The study will utilize the qualitative research approach, using in-depth interview, and will be analyzed descriptively. Qualitative in-depth interview provides a valuable means to probe intensely into subjective realities; covering a wide range of topics because of its flexible formality. According to Kvale (1996), qualitative in-depth interviewing approach is comparable to wandering together with interviewees; while interviewers who genuinely want to understand are on a journey with interviewees, giving the later an opportunity to communicate stories in their own perspectives. Kvale, Steiner. (1996). Interviews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Potter (1996) confirms that the ability of interviewing to explore the subjective perception has made in-depth an essential data collection tool in research. Potter, W. J. (1996). An analysis of thinking and research about qualitative methods. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. The method enables the researcher to understand the experience and viewpoint of the interviewee and gather information about issues that cannot be comprehended by other means. On it flexibility feature, Lindlof and Taylor (2002) advised that it can be conducted wherever two people can talk in relative privacy. Similarly, Fontana and Frey (1998) are of the view that it can take the form of face-to-face interviewing and telephone interviewing. Rubin Rubin (1995) further maintain that another quality of in-depth interview is its malleability in redesigning the study by the researcher based on new information emerging from his probing. In-depth interviewing is most appropriate for this study because of the aforementioned merits; and more importantly, because of its distinctive ability to generate rich information on topics that have limited literature and topics that have been relatively understudied as the current study. Lindlof, T. R., Taylor, B. C. (2002). Qualitative communication research methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Fontana, A., Frey, J. H. (1998). Interviewing: The art of science. In N. K. Denzin Y. S. Lincoln (eds.) Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials (pp. 47-78). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Rubin, H. J., Rubin, I. S. (1995). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 3.2 Population and Sample The population of the study will be drawn from Obia-Okpor community of River State. The youth of this community who have been involved in the Shell projects will constitute the sample frame. A total of seven respondents will be selected from among the sample frame to make up the sample size for the study. This number is considered suitable for the in-depth interviewing, as the interview itself will cover a wide-range of questions. It is hoped that the diverse contributions of the seven respondents will provide extensive information to the researcher. In qualitative research, a sample is chosen, not to be representative of a larger population but rather for the depth and insights the sample can offer the researcher on the topic of interest (McCracken, 1988). [McCracken, G. (1988). The Long Interview. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.] Also, an official of the multinational company who is directly involved in the youth projects will be interviewed in order to have his insight into t he impact of their projects on the youth. 3.3 Data collection: The research will use both primary and secondary sources in collecting data. Semi-structured interviews will be employed as primary data collection method. This is the type of interviewing conducted with a written list of questions and probes that are used as an interview guide (Bernard, 1988). [Bernard, R.H. (1988). Research Methods in Cultural Anthropology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications] McCracken (1988) discusses many benefits of conducting semi structured interviews with interview guide. Some of these benefits include the fact that the guide ensures that the researcher discusses all the topics that are vital to the understanding of the issues under study. Also the guide allows the researcher to focus attention on listening to the informants responses, thus offering more understanding of the testimony and better probing by the researcher. McCracken (1988) also stated that the guide does not hinder the open nature of the interview process. There is still opportunity for the researcher to follow the informants interesting lines of thought and their unexpected explanations of the issues. A semi-structured interview is the most useful interview format for conducting qualitative research. This is because the interview is neither highly structured as is the case of an interview comprising of all closed-ended questions nor is it unstructured such that the interviewee is simply given the permission to talk freely about whatever comes up. Semi-structured interviews present topics and questions to the interviewee, but are carefully designed to draw out the interviewees ideas and opinions on a given topic, as opposed to leading the interviewee toward preconceived choices. They rely on the interviewer following up with probes to get in-depth information on topics of interest. This study will also rely on secondary data obtained from textbooks, journals, periodicals, newspapers, reports from both the government of Nigeria and multinational corporations. 3.4 Data Analysis: After data collection, notes and recorded interviews will be transcribed and descriptively analysed. Interview transcripts and notes will be copied and pared down to represent major themes or categories that describe the topic being studied. Transcripts are also coded as they are transcribed. This involves assigning a particular theme or idea a number or keyword (the code) and then marking the code next to any text on the transcript that concerns the relevant theme. Otherwise called thematic analysis, it is a process for coding qualitative information. A thematic approach will be employed in the analysis of the transcribed data. According to Gibson (2006), thematic Analysis is an approach to dealing with data that involves the creation and application of codes to data. The data being analyzed might take any number of forms an interview transcript, field notes, policy documents, photographs, video footage à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ there is a clear link between this type of analysis and Grounded theory, as the latter clearly lays out a framework for carrying out this type of code-related analysis. This general approach to qualitative data analysis was first developed by Glaser and Strauss (1967) and termed grounded theory to refer to the fact that the data for analysis (in the proposed study, the transcribed responses of interviewees) are grounded in their experiences and the context of the topic under study. The researcher will create codes to label the findings, and will analyze the interview data obtained from each participant independently. The notion of Capacity Building Capacity building is in some sense as old as development assistance itself. Slogans such as helping people to help themselves and the proverb, teach a man to fish point directly at capacity building. Capacity building is a relatively new concept in the field of development, emerging in the 1980s (Lusthaus, Adrien Perstinger, 1999). Lusthaus, Adrien Perstinger. (1999). Capacity Development: Definitions, Issues and Implications for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation. Universalia Occasional Paper, (34), p.1 As with the concepts such as globalization, development, and sustainability, the term capacity building is an ambiguous concept that means different things to different people, groups and organizations. Although many people use these terms, their definitions do not conform to the same, as each puts emphasis on a certain aspect of capacity development (James, 2001). (James, R. (Ed.). (2001). Power and Partnership: Experiences of NGO Capacity Building. Oxford: INTRAC Publication. However, a group of these definitions have emphasized that capacity building is a tool to build and improve the skills, resources and ability of people to implement, monitor and assess a project. Thus, capacity building is seen as a process by which individuals, groups and organizations, institutions and societies increase their abilities to perform core functions, solve problems and define and achieve objectives; to understand and deal with their development needs in a broad context and in a sustainable manner (UNDP, 1997) UNDP. (1997). Capacity Development and UNDP: Supporting Sustainable Human Development. New York: UNDP. Morgan (1993) conceives capacity building as the ability of individuals, groups, institutions and organizations to identify and solve development problems over time. Another definition sees capacity building as an approach to development which encompasses all the fields that influence the development sphere (Eade, 1997) Eade, D. (1997). Capacity Building: An Approach to People-Centered Development. Oxford: Oxfam Publications. In this approach to development, capacity building identifies the weaknesses that people experience in achieving their basic rights, and finding proper means through which to build up (develop) their ability to overcome the causes of their exclusion and suffering. To have successful capacity building is attainable through a strong process of learning and education. And for capacity building to be sustainable, new technologies, new knowledge and information need to be introduced, especially in this period of globalization. This is because development is not comprehensive without sufficient knowledge in this age of globalization and information and technology. Capacity building is a comprehensive process that involves all dimensions of life. It is not so much a matter of just implementing a project or enhancing a particular aspect of life. It is an approach to development which aims to enhance the capability of people in its broadest and in a comprehensive manner. As a people-centered activity, capacity building is a process of community development where people are the focus of capacity enhancement. It creates an enabling environment where people are developed in order to manage themselves and contribute to their societies. To this end, community development becomes the ultimate output of capacity building process. Thus, capacity building is a response to community development needs. Capacity building therefore is seen as women and men becoming empowered to: bring about positive changes in their lives; about personal growth together with public action; about both the process and the outcome of challenging poverty, oppression and discrimination; and about the realization of human potential through social and economic justice. Above all, it is about the process of transforming lives, and transforming societies (Eade Williams, 1995). Eade Williams. (1995). The Oxfam Handbook of Development and Relief. Oxford: Oxfam Publications. In this process of capacity building, people acquire and improve their abilities. This creates an avenue for them as individuals and as members of the community to achieve their development objectives. Capacity Building and Sustainability The concept of sustainability has generated varied interpretations in literature, just like other development concepts. Although the concept emerged as a human response to the human destruction of the environment, it has been argued that sustainability cannot be an issue for a solely social and natural science (Kohn, 1999). Notwithstanding the myriad definitions and interpretations of sustainability, the ultimate goal of the concept is to improve human well being (Sachs, 1999). Capacity building, therefore, as an approach to development is linked to sustainable development. While sustainable development is an attempt to provide improved livelihood for the people, it is through the process of capacity building that the potential of people to achieve sustainability in their lives can be realized. Eade (1997) likened achieving the objectives of sustainable development to the outcome of capacity building, and maintained that both cannot be differentiated. Kohn, J., Goody, J., Hinterberger, F., Straaten, J. (1999). Sustainability in Questions: The Search for a Conceptual Framework. Northampton: Edward Elgar Sachs, W. (1999). Planet Dialectics: Explorations in Environment and Development. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. Capacity Building and Empowerment Empowerment is a cross-disciplinary term, mainly used in fields of Education, Psychology, Community Development, Economics, among others. The understanding of the concept varies among disciplines, too. Based on this many meanings of the term, it has been seen as a construct easy to define by its absence but difficult to define in action, based on the idea that it takes different forms in different people and contexts (Rappoport, cited in Page Czuba, 1

Adolescence Development Essay -- Adolescent Behavior

Adolescence is a period of physical and psychological development from the onset of puberty to maturity. The adolescent is no longer a child, but they haven’t yet reached adulthood. Adolescence is considered people between the ages of 13 and 21. Puberty is the physical maturing that makes an individual capable of sexual reproduction. Puberty is important to adolescence because when a child hits puberty, that’s when the child is becoming an adolescent. Puberty is a big part of an adolescent’s life. Adolescence is not cultural universal. In some societies, young children go straight from childhood to the adult life once they have done the necessary puberty rites. Puberty rites are formal ceremonies that mark the entrance of young people into the adult life. People at the age of 13 to 14 that completed these puberty rites can become accepted into the adult society. Three factors are important in the development of adolescence as a distinct stage of the life cycle. The first factor is education. Young children are required to spend many years in school and state laws make education mandatory up to the age of 16. The second factor that separates young people in a different type of group is the exclusion of youth from the labor force. In many states, child labor laws keep people from going to the labor force until they hit the age of 16. Adolescents usually work part time while still going to school. The third factor is the rise of adolescence as a distinct stage of the ...

B-2 bomber :: essays research papers

WHAT IS THE B-2 BOMBER?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stealth Aircraft, military aircraft, fighters, and bombers designed to elude detection and tracking systems, such as radar and infrared monitoring. Stealth technology is used to mask unmanned objects such as cruise missiles. The United States is a world leader in developing and deploying stealth technology, although much about its program remains classified.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stealth technology includes a variety of design features that affect an aircraft signal, also called its signature, on tracking systems. These features include an aircraft shape and the materials used to build it. For example, it is harder for a radar to detect an aircraft that has smooth and rounded curves. Special composite materials or coatings on the surface of an aircraft can absorb or deflect radar signals. Engines placed within the body of the aircraft and exhaust vents may be arranged to mask the heat coming from engines and help hide an aircraft from heat seeking sensors. Reducing the noise and vibrations produced by stealth aircraft may also minimize its acoustic signature. In addition, stealth aircraft are equipped with special electronics for suppressing or confusing enemy monitoring systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the use of radar during World War II (1939-1945), air forces worldwide have tried to develop methods of confusing radar or making it ineffective. Early attempts at this included the targeted aircraft attempting to electronically jam radar or to release metallic strips to produce false readings. However, in the 1950’s and 60’s, new electronic tracking methods and the new waves devised to confuse them kept pace with one another, prompting military engineers to look for ways to completely mask aircraft.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American aeronautical engineer Clarence L.

Lenin in accounting for Stalins defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929 Essay

How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929 Stalin, throughout the fierce fight for power exploited his attributes to the best of his ability, however his tactics were not the only factor in his eventual success. Perhaps what’s more interesting is the systematic fails, one by one of all of his contenders – which was due to their individual personalities. Many argue this is the more significant reason for Stalin’s rise to power, and that if this had have been changed Stalin’s success would have been entirely different. Stalin’s opponents, understandably had very different personalities. However looking in hindsight none of them seem to create a difficult situation for Stalin. This could be due to Stalin’s natural ability to change and use his opponents strengths and weaknesses, or perhaps the general naivety of many in the politburo. One main example of this is Trotsky, and his rather egotistic and arrogant personality. This intern made people weary of his power, and made him completely oversee Stalin as a contender for power. Lenin in his testament says himself he is â€Å"not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution† and the politburo completely over saw this cautious remark for their own reputation. The evidence seems to suggest members of the Bolshevik party didn’t use their personality’s to the best if their potential. Furthermore Trotsky seemed very trivial about the whole situation. In 1924 he didn’t make Lenin’s funeral, eventually blaming that on Stalin. In the successive years after he didn’t make important politburo meetings and refused to make alliances. In 1926 he did eventually see light forming the ‘united opposition’ however by then it was too late and Stalin’s fan base was too large in the central commission. Another example of this is how Bukharin in 1925 decided to stay strictly to the Bolshevik rules. This perhaps shows how good a man he is, but not how good a politician he is. In that situation he has seen his fellow socialist members being taken over by Stalin, but does very little to stop this. Furthermore he says himself Stalin is â€Å"an unprincipled intriguer who subordinates everything for his appetite for power† The evidence here suggests he saw the dilemma, but does very little about it. In hindsight we now know he allowed Stalin to use his powerbase for his own political marketing. This shows the true naivety of Bukharin and how Stalin’s personality completely overshadowed anybody else’s in the politburo. Moreover this shows how truly significant the personalities of every one of Stalin’s contenders were, in allowing and creating a path for Stalin to walk to power. Perhaps if other people in the politburo were willing to play underhand tactics like Stalin, the end would have been different. In retrospect we can see personalities might not be a main factor – perhaps the individual ideologies played a larger role, but it’s the way people acted towards Stalin, completely overshadowing him that makes personalities so significant. Other peoples personalities did play a vital role, but now in stark contrast we begin looking at Stalin’s personality strengths, and how he uses them to the best of his ability. He, from the very beginning was a ‘yes man’ following Lenin till the very end. However one major strength that Lenin foresaw was Stalin’s ability to challenge his thoughts and ideologies. Stalin from the very beginning has ‘a very strong personality’ (Lenin) and this was used this in the July days (a troubled time for the Bolshevik party) when Lenin needed this unique quality from him. Arguably this is Stalin’s biggest asset. Furthermore Stalin’s ability to change tactics and ideologies, particularly in the later stage of the power struggle was, down to an incredibly versatile personality. Moreover his ability to look into the future and plan his actions to aid his accent was stunning, as if he planned every move meticulously and almost in hindsight. Looki ng at the evidence, Stalin’s personality was vital in his accent, but perhaps if the others had been different the overall outcome would have drastically changed. Personalities were vital in the success and failures of the struggle, however Stalin’s under hand tactics played an equally important role. Before and during the 5 year struggle he implemented many tactics to undermine his opponents, and one by one remove them from the possibility of power. Lenin saw this in his final years, and discussed it in his testament, however Stalin persuaded Kamenev and Zinoviev to fight his side, and intern keep his job. Furthermore his ability to switch ideologies and allies is a testament to his versatile personality. An example of this is in the later stages of the struggle, when only him and Bukharin were left for the job. Stalin suddenly rejected NEP because it was failing and turned radically left. This sudden maneuver allowed left wing supporters and nationalist war communists to support him, as well as gaining the support of anti NEP politicians. In all this he managed to leave Bukharin to pick up the pieces of NEP. Furthermore Stalin re introduced grain requisitioning in early 1928 to make sure NEP was a complete fail. Its these quite brilliant tactics that formulate into a plan that make Stalin truly versatile and incredibly shrewd and devious. In everything Stalin did there always seemed to be a very formulated plan, and in this was surrounded by brilliant political tactics. However these tactics were merely ways of getting rid of political opponents, and due to personalities as whole, arguably tactics are not as important as other factors. Alternatively the power bases’ of other opponents could be as significant as personality in the war struggle for power, and the defeat of all his opponents. All Stalin’s opponents had important roles within the Bolshevik party, and in many ways – more significant roles than Stalin. One in particular is Trotsky. Head of the Red army, and an incredibly influential role within the Politburo. Lenin says himself â€Å"personally he is, to be sure, the most able man in the present Central Committee† His power base is remarkable, with huge amounts of Kudu’s within the Bolshevik party. However – arguably as well as him being too â€Å"self-confident† Stalin used this wealth of power base to his advantage by forming the Triumvirate with Zinoviev and Kamenev. When we turn to other members such as Bukharin, we see that generally their powerbases, although more significant for policy making were not as useful for gaining power as Stalin’s, and perhaps this was a significant reason for their in individual defeat. Stalin’s role within the party was General secretary and head of enrolment and promotions. This involved the inner workings of the Party. The evidence indicates that Stalin used his role, from 1922 to strengthen his fan base within the party and Central committee, which later in 1925/26 seemed to secure his position within the party, in 1923 it was up to 30%, and steadily rising. This seems to indicate his role and power base far out saw anyone else’s within the party, and that actually he was in the perfect position to take up power, even foreseeing this in 1924 – by controlling what Lenin saw from the politburo, and vice versa. Stalin took up a highly administrative role, and this worked in his advantage, however the evidence suggests that if other factors were stronger, such as opposition personalities that Stalin still wouldn’t have made it to power. Arguably in this light personalities seem more significant. Ideologies of the opposition and Stalin play of key significance in how arguments were won and lost. For example, Trotsky stayed far left with all his ideologies – perhaps in a more noble way than Stalin, and eventually he was engulfed by Stalin’s devious tactics. Another example would be Zinoviev and Kamenev, in the triumvirate staying right of the spectrum. However when they rejoin to form the left and united opposition – they lose huge respect for changing ideologies within the party. Interestingly this seems like an incredibly vital point – leading onto Stalin’s ideological viewpoints. Throughout the start of the political struggle, he sways right – but doesn’t involve himself in any main arguments about, for example rapid industrialisation. This tactic to stay the middle man has its disadvantages. For example he is described by members of the Bolshevik party as ‘a grey blur’. However it also has its advantages. Stalin was then able to sway from his very Right views within communism – to left views with not much notice – he was able to move ideologies to strengthen his fan base and his viewpoints. For example when the NEP failed – he removed himself from it, thus allowing Bukharin to take the blame – and him stay in the positive public spotlight. It’s this very middle ideological viewpoint that the evidence suggest allowed Stalin to change as he did, allowing him to use it to his great advantage. Despite this, other arguments perhaps suggest it is not the most significant factor in Stalin’s accent within the government, and that actually his deceitful, arrogant and shrewd personality was the true reason that allowed him to flourish the way he did. In conclusion, looking at all the evidence it is clear a combination of factors were involved in Stalin’s accent of power. On one hand it seems Stalin’s powerbase seems to be the primary factor, that despite anyone’s efforts his place within government allowed to build a vast fan base in such a short amount of time. Furthermore others power base didn’t seem to match the superiority of his, even though on the forefront they seem more important, Trotsky is a prime example of this. On the other hand his tactics seem the obvious significant factor – looking at how he manipulated allies and oppositions, such as Bukharin and Zinoviev. More over his ability to control the politburo with his allies over the testament suggests that this could have been a primary turning point for Stalin’s direction on how to achieve power. However diving into the muddle of linked causes, personalities seems to come out on top. The tactics and moral high ground was generally taken by his opposition, but it seems they didn’t play hard enough. They didn’t morally want to use underhand tactics and switch ideologies – because they believed in what they were fighting in. It’s this decorum that contributed more than anything else. Looking at the other side of the spectrum Stalin’s fierce personality, with no conscience seems to be the perfect mix to manipulate not only the communist party – but the general public as well. It is this sheer inhumane ability to be deceptive in this way that allows the evidence to suggest, on the top, personality is the most significant factor in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-1929.