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People nowadays do not seem to take the concept of ‘evil’ very seriously, least of all amongst academic circles. The notion of ‘evil’ is a non-starter as an intellectual topic. For example, in an article on the Cambridge psychopathology professor Baron-Cohen, he is quoted of having said the following when proposing a new theory on human cruelty:
Get original essay“replace the ‘unscientific’ term ‘evil’ with the idea of ‘empathy erosion’: ‘People said to be cruel or evil are simply at one extreme of the empathy spectrum,’ he writes.” (Carlisle, 2012)
Evil, it seems, is not a phenomenon worth any genuine research. This, however, was not always the case. Goodness and Evil were two concepts widely accepted for centuries and there were those who lived their lives in accordance with this fundamental belief. However, with the coming of the postmodern age, so too came a rejection of such ideals.
Postmodernism believes that everything is relative, and that the very fabric of reality is constructed by political, social and historical perceptions. Nothing, therefore, can be adequately explained by any sort of theory, idea, or meta-narrative. Indeed, Nietzsche’s famous claim that ‘God is dead’ epitomises that which is championed by postmodernism. God is dead, and therefore all value structures have collapsed. The death of God, within this context, refers to the death of all absolute values and postmodernism teaches that immutable truths – those fixed for time and eternity – do not exist. Evil, therefore, is left for the theologian, clergyman or naïve to worry about. The questions of whether evil is a fundamental to the nature of man or not, or whether evil acts are interconnected or not, are cast aside and not to be taken seriously in a postmodern world.
Despite the problems of postmodernism, the problem of evil has long haunted philosophers and theologians of theistic persuasion. Clearly, if God does not exist then evil (if accepted to be real) requires no explanation; and if there are multiple gods or eternal principles, evil can be explained as the result of a conflict amongst them. Theism, however, must be concerned with the problem of evil. One commentator has written that: The problem of evil is a main concern of theodicy and as important and interesting as an exploration into the area of theodicy is – I have a different focus.
“Perhaps the best solution is no solution at all, for what makes evil such, what gives evil its enormous power, is the very mystery of its existence – the fact that it cannot be explained, and yet it is there.” (L. González, 2005)
For my purposes, I wish to understand what the Bible can tell us about evil. What does the book, that sits at the cornerstone text of Western civilisation – specifically Genesis and the story of Cain and Abel – tell us about the origin of evil? This fratricidal story has long been associated with the fallen nature of man and his capacity for evil, and I wish to explore this in as much depth as this task allows. This tragic, short tale of two brothers is found at the beginning of the Christian story and I wish to discover what hope, if there is any, can be gleaned from such a text. The claim that the bible sits at the foundation of our culture does not seem to be a difficult claim to defend. There have been numerous works and extensive research done on this topic. See for example ‘The Influence of the Bible upon the English Nation’ written in the Journal of Bible and Religion (Vol. 7, No. 1 (Feb., 1939)) or ‘The Influence of the Bible on Civilization’ written in the The American Journal of Theology (Vol. 19, No. 2 (Apr., 1915)). These are but two samples from a list which is not exhaustive.
Before beginning an exploration of evil and violence in this story, there are certain points that I wish to state at the beginning of this work. Firstly, it is the notion that Cain and Abel are the first two human beings, born in history, according to the biblical narrative. The story of Cain and Abel takes place directly following the expulsion from paradise. Therefore, Cain and Abel exist post-fall – the exist in history. They are working, they are self-conscience and as far as one can tell, fully-fledged people. The two brothers are the prototypical human beings. It is also important that Cain is the first human being in the bible. He is not like Adam nor Eve, both of whom were made directly by God and born in paradise. Who among us, after all, were created like such? Clinical psychologist Jordan Peterson has written;
“Cain and Abel are really the first humans, since their parents were made directly by God, and not born in the standard manner… Cain and Abel lived in history… They must make sacrifices, to please God, and they do so, with altar and proper ritual. But things get complicated.” (Peterson, 2018)
One of the first acts committed outside of Eden is murder, despite God and pre-meditated. It is made worse because it was and not just murder, but the murder of a family member, a sibling who was innocent, a brother who was the ideal. The first human being is a murder and the fact that the Bible makes a point of stating this, is something that should kept in mind and is something that is worth taking very seriously indeed. Interestingly, this idea that the first man is a murderer and that humans as a result is naturally drawn to evil and violence is not just seen in the Bible - it has place in the Qur’an also. However, most interestingly, Peterson also points to the ancient Mesopotamian religious belief that; mankind was ‘made from the blood of the worst demon’ imaginable. For an elaboration on this thought see Petersons’ lecture series on the Psychological Significance of the Biblical Texts.
Finally, before I begin to discuss whether there is a horizon of hope to the tale of Cain and Abel – I must first analyse just how tragic the events of this narrative are. As I will discuss later, hope, in the theological sense, requires one to see just how bad a situation truly is. Furthermore, it seems important to state that I do not wish to delve too deeply into an argument around whether this story could be defined as a tragedy in the literary sense – I simply use the term loosely, I could just as easily have described this story as disastrous, catastrophic or calamitic. This is not a literary critique, rather an attempt at a theological discussion on such matters.
It is difficult to understand how people, with even a cursory knowledge of the events of the 20th Century, can deny the existence of the phenomenon evil or, simply discard it as an idea not worth taking seriously. From both World Wars, the extermination of six million Jews by the Nazis, the deaths of nearly twenty million people under Stalin’s reign, to the tens-of-millions of deaths during Mao’s rule in China, it seems clear that the 20th Century was full of evil and violence. I say this to make it clear at the outset of this work that I am not debating whether evil exists or not – I am accepting its existence and I am using the story of Cain and Abel to explore this concept at a greater depth.
The story of Cain and Abel is one of the most profound stories ever written. It can be told in under a minute and yet there are so many ways in which the story can be interpreted. Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, are hostile brothers;
“Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.” Next she bore his brother Abel.” (Genesis 4:1-2 NRSV)
Both Cain and Abel were working men – Cain farming land and Abel breeding cattle. Both bring an offering to God and once this occurs, the story begins to take shape. God shows favour for Abel’s sacrifice and not Cain’s. Abel is then lead to a field where Cain kills him in cold-blood. We, as the reader, are given no explicit reason from the text explaining why Abel’s sacrifice was favoured or why Cain decides to kill his brother. It is a story of two men, engaged in a struggle, which ends in the death of the best one of them – a tale all too familiar that has been acted out throughout human history. This story, clearly tragic, speaks to the very nature of man and, perhaps in searching for an explanation of evil and violence, this tale of murder may be a worthwhile place to begin.
The Inequality of Man and the Murder of Abel.
By the time Cain and Abel appear in the biblical narrative, mankind seems to have already realised how to make sacrifices to God. This is the crux of the story. Both men make offerings to God in an attempting to regain the favour that was lost when mankind was removed from paradise;
“In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel for his part brought of the firstlings of his flock, their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” (Genesis 4:4-6 NRSV)
The account in Genesis offers no reason why God has no regard for Cain’s offering. It is not clear and there has been endless speculation over such. It seems that this is the introduction of inequality into the human story – people will always have varying talents and thus are unequal in standing - here-in lies the foundation of evil and violence in the human narrative.[footnoteRef:4] Unresolved inequality, jealousy or anxiety amongst people today inevitably leads violence - and in Genesis we see the first man fall prey to such a doctrine. Cain, we can safely assume, had become jealous and bitter at unequal treatment he and his brother received from God. It is easy to sympathise with Cain at this point as it would be understandable if he had been rejected for making no sacrifice. Indeed, this would have been preferable as it may have capped his rage as he would have known he was at fault. However, the fact that this was not the case, the he had worked the ground and presented to God with an offering was too much, and there were no limits to be placed on his rage. He reacts: Interestingly, Pope Francis concurs, announcing to the world, in 2014, that; “Inequality is the root of all social evil.” See the Pontiff’s twitter account.
“So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen?” (Genesis 4: 5-7 NRSV)
It is difficult to think of a time when arguing with God would be a good thing to do, and, it is evident that this was not the best way for Cain to react to rejection. God responds, without remorse, and explains that he had nobody to blame but himself. It is a fascinating twist - we do not know the nature of the brother’s offerings. Was Cain’s fruit of the ground not his best fruit?[footnoteRef:5] Was Cain’s fruit not as much of a sacrifice as Abel’s firstling? It is difficult to know, and, as the reader we can do naught but infer at this point. Regardless, from Gods reply, we understand that Cain was at fault; [5: It is generally accepted that Cain did not offer his best offering to God and that Abel did. This is because it explicitly states that Abel’s offering was of high quality does not treat Cain’s in the same manner, however, this remains the subject of heated debate - certainly in the Christian tradition. This is the same in the Islamic tradition, with ambiguity throughout.
“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4: 7-8 NRVS)
It would not be easy to be told that your rejection, despite your efforts, is your own fault, and then be told that you must control your feelings considering this rejection. It certainly was not easy for Cain. God’s response, lacking apology, adds to his resentment and anger. Cain becomes bitter and begins to plot the murder of his brother who has received nothing but praise. Then, he leads Abel to a field and murders him, committing the worst sin possible;
“Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him.” (Genesis 4: 8 NRVS)
The tragedy of this tale is also exemplified in the punishment of Cain:
“And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield to you its strength; you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear! Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me.” (Genesis 4 11-15 NRSV)
Cain’s punishment is delivered and in response, we hear a fervent response from him. The punishment hurt Cain. Angry, frightened and maddened, Cain now pleas with God despite having ignored God’s own call earlier in the tale.
Firstly, I would like to point out that the punishment delivered to Cain has a connection to his relationship with the earth. Cain was a farmer once and he received sustenance from the ground – it was his livelihood – but no longer. The earth would no longer provide for Cain because the earth was forced to open her mouth and receive the blood of Abel. Interestingly, it has been recently argued in an article written by Mari Jørstad, that the ground may be more than simply the setting, but instead, a character in the story. In establishing a pattern between Adam, Cain and Noah, Jørstad presents a different analysis of reading Genesis 1 – 11. In his article, he argues that;
“By establishing a close and unique connection between Adam, Cain, Noah and the ground, Gen 1-11 ruminates on the nature of the relationship between humanity and the ground sand the extent to which the ground is available to human choice and control.” (Jørstad, 2016)
The relationship between humans and the ground is an intimate one. Indeed, like Cain, we have depended on the ground yielding her fruit to us for millennia to ensure our survival. It may be a worthwhile endeavour to study what the ground might do, independently of people, and what shape that action might make. Furthermore, the ground in this story has been personified, the ground is the only subject of an active verb in the verse that states “Which has opened its mouth to receive your brothers blood”.[footnoteRef:6] Ultimately, the question of our relationship with the earth is certainly an element of this narrative, Jørstad continues: It has been argued that believe because the nature of the grounds reaction was such, the ground is not only character, but potentially an accomplice to the murder of Abel.
“The curse on Cain is not primarily a punishment of the ground; it is, rather, an expression and description of the ground’s loyalty to God’s will. If humans attempt to use the ground for destructive and noncreative ends, the ground will resist.”
This is certainly an interesting idea and worthy of further research and study, however, for my purposes an elaboration on such will not be possible. It is worth noting that this is but another notch of tragedy in the tale. Like Cain, are we making the mistake of disregarding our ecology to suit our own purpose? Are our sins at odds with mother nature herself?
Similarly, throughout the remainder of the Old Testament, in God’s relating, the earth can be made to morally sensitive. A long time after the events of Genesis 4 take place, the Israelites are warned that if they should not follow the laws that God has laid out before them, the land itself would vomit them out;
“Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, for by all these practices the nations I am casting out before you have defiled themselves. Thus the land became defiled; and I punished it for its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.” (Leviticus 18: 24-26 NRSV)
The consequence of this rejection by the earth had sever implications for Cain. He would no longer have a settled place to live nor would he be able to practice his trade to provide for himself. He would thus ever be restless, a perpetual exile, and alienated from working the land, thus dependant on others for the sustenance which he himself once derived from the earth.
While the relationship between Cain and the ground may have forever changed and thus man’s relationship with the earth also, this was not as immediately dangerous for Cain as the other part of his punishment. Cain receives a mark from God, representing God’s promise to protect Cain despite their divorce. Exegesis varying forms of early scripture, particularly the Septuagint text, presents Cain’s a ‘groaning and shaking upon the earth’ – his mark leaving him to suffer in pain (Byron, 2011).[footnoteRef:7] Interestingly, Cain’s decision to wreak havoc does not stop with him – his offspring are equally inflicted with the seed of evil and violence, and the tragedy of this tale seems to perpetuate throughout his family line. In his rage, Cain kills once. However, his descendent, Lamech, says; [7: The Septuagint collection is the earliest Greek translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew. It was probably made for the Jewish community in Egypt when Greek was the common language throughout the region. See Byron’s listed work for more detail. ]
“…I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” (Genesis 4: 23-25 NRSV)
The evil in Cain’s heart is revealing itself in the hearts of his descendants – another aspect of the tragedy that struck Eve’s eldest son. The fact that murder was now a possibility amongst men, made Cain’s separation from God even more worrying. Cain seems aware of the implications of what he had just done. The security, that was once present amongst man was no longer there - people were now threatening and no longer safe in each other’s company. Now that he had murdered his brother, who knows what everyone else was now capable of? As society develops, violence went beyond the simple killing of a brother. The aforementioned Peterson, describes this: Before Lamech there is Tubal-cain, who according to Gen 4: 22, in the NRSV, created “…all kinds of iron and bronze tools.” Depending on the translation however, Tubal-cain is widely regarded to be the first creator of weapons of war. Again, this could be indicative of the violent nature of man.
“You hurt me; I hurt you back. No — you hurt me; I kill you and six other people. The thing that happens after that is, it’s not to make it seven people, but to make it seventy people. And so there’s this idea that once that first murderous seed is sown, it has this proclivity to manifest itself exponentially.” (Peterson, 2017)
Evil it seems, has entered the world when Adam and Eve are removed from paradise. However, it is not acted upon until Cain’s violent act. Evil and violence then become a part of the biblical narrative, the human story, the narrative upon which our society is based. The evil that dwells within the heart of Cain is within the hearts of all his descendants. We see from Lamech’s words how evil and revengeful violent acts are not done in equal measure. Again, this is evident even in today’s world.
The tragedy of the story of Cain and Abel is evident. From disturbing nature itself, to Cain’s hellish existence divorced from God, death of the better brother, the curse that seems to have attached itself to the descendants of Cain leading to the creation of weapons and the exaggeration of violence to the inescapable reality of inequality - it seems clear that this tale points us to the unavoidable fact that evil, violence and tragedy enter humanity with the expulsion from paradise. The parallels between the events of this tale and the realities of recent history and the world today are palpable. It seems staggering the authors of this text managed to articulate an absolute truth about the nature of man – he is cursed to experience tragedy, violence and evil throughout his life. It is unavoidable.
Is there any hope to be taken from this story? When discussing such matters, certainly from the theological perspective, it is important to note that hope is not optimism – this is not simply a conceptual distinction but a distinction in motivation. An optimist will not allow themselves to see how grave the situation is whereas hope forces you to see just how bad a situation is – an endeavour I have attempted to undertake thus far. For example, one who sees the glass as half full instead of half empty is not a hopeful person but an optimistic one. The banality of optimism is that this perspective entirely rests upon one’s own point of view. The image of the glass betrays the fact that there is nothing in the situation itself to determine one’s response to it. This image states that that it is simply one’s perspective that matters – an attitude which will lead one to ignore the facts of the situation and maintain and unrealistic view. I have attempted to lay down the facts in this essay- regardless of perspective, the tale of Cain and Abel is one of tragedy and this has been important to glean any hope from such.
In the Christian tradition, hope is one of the theological virtues. Hope, as I have said, is not optimism rather, for Christians it is a continual looking forward to the eternal world. This is not a form of escapism but rather something a Christian is meant to do. An awareness of this hope will affect how we live our lives. The Apostles, for example, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, all left their mark on earth precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. As C.S Lewis rather eloquently wrote;
“It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this [hope]… Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither.” (Lewis, 1952)
It seems clear that Cain, when murdering his brother, was not thinking of Heaven. As I have laid out, the tragedy of this story is overwhelming yet, understanding just how bad the situation is, may allow hope to enter when reflecting upon this tale.
The question which often comes to mind at the end of reading this text is; why was Cain allowed to keep his life? Why did God, not only spare his life in his punishment, but go one step further and actively ensure his protection from those who would harm him?
Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! Whoever kills Cain will suffer a sevenfold vengeance.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, so that no one who came upon him would kill him.” (Genesis 4: 15-16 NRSV)
The mark of Cain has evoked endless speculation and there seems to be no consensus on its meaning. While there are those who have argued that by ensuring Cain’s survival, God was punishing Cain some more as he must now live with the guilt and shame of his actions on display for all of those who met him. However, there seems to be another element to this. For example, Walter Brueggemann writes:
“God's mark over Cain… may originally have referred to a visible mark as a tattoo, it must now be understood in terms of its function in the narrative. That function is two-edged. On the one hand, it announces the guilt of Cain. On the other, it marks Cain as safe in God's protection. In such a simple way, the narrative articulates the two-sidedness of human life, in jeopardy for disobedience and yet kept safe.” (Brueggemann, 1982)
The acknowledgment of guilt and the reality of grace come together in this narrative. Cain is forced to have his sins displayed to the world yet by the Grace of God has kept his life and can be kept safe. Could a connection be made here to the lives of Christians today? Like Cain, Christians sin and are separated from God a little more by each one committed. Like Cain, they are asked to be aware of their sin and the guilt which accompanies it. Then they must acknowledge it. In doing so they acknowledge their awareness that the penalty of their sins equals condemnation. And yet, like Cain, despite this tragedy, they are kept safe. Through the grace of God and the sacrifice of his only son, Jesus Christ, Christians may receive the promise of salvation.
Furthermore, as I have previously mentioned, Cain was divorced from God and cursed to be a fugitive wandering the lands and never again to see the light of His face. It seems a punishment void of all hope – Cain certainly see it this way. Being separated from God does not seem pleasant but perhaps there is a slight element of hope to such punishment. For example, Terry Eagleton writes;
“For traditional theology, to be in hell is to fall out of the hands of God by deliberately spurning his love, if such a position is actually thinkable…But since there can be no life outside God, who is the source of all vitality, the finality of hell is a matter of extinction, not perpetuity… If there is such a thing as hellfire, it could only be the fire of God’s ruthless love, which burns up those who cannot bear it… Those who live in fear of hellfire, then, can rest assured. The good news is that they will not roast forever and ever. This is because the bad news is that they will simply be consumed to nothing.” (Eagleton, 2010)
Using Eagleton at this point can be helpful. Hell is a state of non-existence rather than the agony and torture of hellfire. Eagleton seems to argue that even amongst the hellfire that God is still present as there can be no life outside of God. The fire can only be the fire of ‘God’s ruthless love’. If one was to apply this to the situation of Cain, one may begin to see some hope. It is true that Cain has been banished and left to wander bereft of God, and yet, he still exists. He still has life. As painful as his rejection is, he still exists within God and hope remains. Perhaps Cain could someday regain redemption or absolution from his sins, or perhaps he may not. But at least he can now begin to live his life in a way that aims at such.
Keep in mind:
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Get custom essayIn conclusion, I would like to note that I understand I have not come to any new conclusion that has no already been concluded from a reading of such a text. That was not my aim. My aim was to engage in a discussion around the text and take any insights about evil, the nature of man and hope, that I could do. Ultimately, it seems that like Cain, we as people do not necessarly have to do anything completely wrong for things to get out of control – it is a terrifying doctrine. But it is not a hopeless doctrine. Perhaps there remains a path forward. God will not abandon us totally - despite our sin – and, for the Christian, it is through His son that the door for redemption remains open, all we must do is find it.
Gaps Identified:
Get original essaySafety or security is one of the vital aspects that must be taken into consideration by a company like Grab that is providing direct customer service. Security concerns everyone involved as incidents related to safety or security in the ride sharing companies are quite frequent and sometimes not even reported. This is directly related to the company goodwill and perceived value to the customers and any bad PR can severely damage the organization. Bellini et al., (2005) stated that tangibles like the safety and convenience for customers and it representative as company’s image and quality (Zeithaml et al., 2006). Safety concerns should be taken into serious consideration by any organization like Grab who has a larger stake in the market and has the potential to lose the market leadership due to any unforeseen incident. According to the research conducted by Balachandran et al. (2017), the second most influential factor to customer satisfaction is Safety and Security, after comfort. Hence, e-hailing services like Grab should focus more on the safety and security issue in order for them to ensure optimum consumer satisfaction and adding value to their service.
Among the gaps identified, one of the major issue recognized is the lack of safety of the passengers, especially females as well as Grab should invest in training their drivers through taking more ownership. People in Malaysia are vastly dependent on Grab for their day-to-day travel as it is the only e-hailing service available now. Everyday large number of people are using the Grab services and a significant number of the users are females. The female passengers do not feel very safe to ride the Grab cars for transportation especially in night or travelling alone or both. There is also an issue of development of the drivers, as Grab needs to take more ownership in the aspect of training and educating their drivers. Grab should focus on a basic and standardized but short training and development program to ensure a level of service provided.
Survey Findings:
Based on the survey results, it is clear that over the half of total respondents find that safety is important while choosing a mode of transportation. This can be interpreted in a manner that people will prioritize safety over waiting time or travel time as well. This is a very important aspect and needs to be addressed accordingly. In response to the question of whether Grab is a company prioritizing safety, nearly 47% of the respondents remained neutral where only 41% respondents agreed with the statement. It is evident from the responses that the users do not usually associate Grab with safety and security of the passengers.
From the chart on the right, it is clear that the passengers want to ensure the safety of the female passengers by Grab. Nearly 47% of the respondents strongly agree with the idea that Grab should take actions to ensure safety of the female passengers. Under the survey question of whether, Grab needs to improve its approach to the safety of its passengers, nearly 48% of respondents agreed with that statement.
Nearly 44% respondents in the survey also believe that Grab should work into the training and development of its drivers. Grab should increase the ownership with the drivers and device up a unified plan to provide a development program to ensure better customer experience and to add value to the service itself. In order to increase the value to its customers, Grab need to ensure the customer safety as well as increase the customer experience by developing the drivers.
Recommendation and Limitations:
Recommendation: In order to ensure safety, Grab can take some actions in collaboration with the drivers. Some Grab cars have cameras inside which records inside and outside simultaneously. Grab should make the use of camera obligatory and share a portion of the initial cost. In case of a reported accident, it will be easier for Grab to identify and take actions against the party responsible.
Grab should also focus on the training and development of the drivers to ensure that the drivers are friendly, vigilant and cooperative. Grab is providing a very delicate service and the drivers are a very important part of it. In order to add value to the service that Grab is providing, drivers needs to be educated so that they provide the service with high standards.
Limitation: However, installing cameras to all grab cars will be costly and some drivers can resistant to the idea at first. Grab should device a plan to share the cost between Grab and the drivers as this will benefit both the parties and through discussion, this can be attainable. Major security companies can provide the security solutions at a discounted price in exchange for advertisement facilities or proportional activities that can be useful to both parties.
However, this is going to cost Grab a significant amount of money but in the end, this will benefit Grab to get competitive edge and also to get more customer satisfaction. Grab can provide training to some drivers, not all, based on user reviews targeting the areas where needs development. Reputed universities and/or training institutes can be engaged for short training and development at a discounted price in exchange for promotional activities and for academic purposes.
Additional Recommendation: We also recommend introducing a service especially for the female passengers as there are many female drivers and passengers using Grab cars each day. A specialized service, for example ‘Grab Pink’, should be launched with only female drivers and for female customers. Like the competitor Riding Pink, this will make the female passengers feel safer while using Grab in their day to day life.
Writing is fundamental activity ability, and it is an aspect of each activity. The textbook writing and approval is by all accounts the head and tail of the cycle. The head is the writing cycle that comprises of the methodologies and procedures and it tails at its possibility testing for approval.
Get original essayAs a business to business item, it's a perplexing assignment to make an item that fulfills the requirements of the watchmen (Administrator who set the text) and needs of the end clients (pupils who pay for the' text). The harmony between the need of the scholarly and student is under research in numerous viewpoints — for instance, are photographs and shading delineations expected to separate the text and make it fascinating, or are the' texts just not being adequately intriguing, and the interest for pictures is a side effect of a more concerning issue? Different issues exist with the absence of market information on what supplemental materials are utilized, helpful and what enhancements are risky and selection plugs. Since the text is picked by the instructor, focusing to the students likewise requires some artfulness - writing a coherent and charming text can crash and burn where the speaker sees the text as 'too lightweight' to be in any way solid just on the grounds that they accept texts ought to seem troublesome.
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Anyone who writes a book, completely or to a limited extent, ought to be perceived as the writer or one of the writers of a book. This announcement is significant in light of the fact that there have been situations where psychologists supposedly composed or modified huge pieces of textbooks for a charge without accepting credit or joint authorship. Normally the professional writer, who is pretty much generously, compensated for his work, ha no grievance. In any case, it is clearly dishonest for any writer to get kudos for what another person has done. Regardless of whether our extended code ought to or can cover such a circumstance is in any event an intriguing inquiry for conversation. With regards to the rule that the commitments of people ought to be perceived, numerous government-supported distributions have been composed by people yet distributed under the authorship of government organizations or boards.
The issue of the number of names and dates will show up in a text, and where. There starting understudy ought not to have his textbook jumbled up with the names of people and the dates of their revelations. The best plan, presumably, is to follow the ongoing custom of putting sources toward the finish of a section or toward the finish of the book, pointing out them by utilization of unnoticeable numbers at proper spots in the text. In this manner the sources are recognize, and might be followed by the intrigued reader
The stress in the text appropriate is the place it ought to be - on truth and thoughts. The main special case to his standard ought to be names and date of remarkable verifiable significance. In some cases, obviously, as on account of the James-Lange hypothesis, the name of the originator is essentially engaged with the conversation of thoughts. In more significant level textbooks or handbooks whose capacity is fundamentally to introduce and coordinate examination or hypothesis, there is likely valid justification to specify names in the body of the text. The further developed reader may wish to have these names and even dates before him as he reads and endeavors to assess what he reads. It is disappointing to him to need to look for the somewhere else in the book. At the point when such books are utilized with less develop students, the instructor should, as I would like to think, disclose to the students why the references are there and clarify that they won't be needed to remember names and dates.
Numerous textbooks showed up under various authorships. When there is more than one author there ought to be away from of the commitments which the various authors have made. It generally happens that some commonly pleasant type of credit is orchestrated by the gatherings concerned. Yet, there are maybe a few occurrences where joint authorship is constrained upon the writer of a textbook by a scholarly predominant, who may have urged him to write the book and who may even have given it the benefits of his criticism. It the author repels his boss it might harm his odds of progression. Yet, on the off chance that the ethical code covers such a possibility the compulsion may never be endeavored, and in the event that it is endeavored, the writer can allude to the code as the premise of refusal to agree to the solicitation for joint authorship. No one ought to show up as an author except if he has really composed all or part of the text. Support and criticism might be suitably perceived in the prelude.
One ought to maybe never write a book except if he feels that it fills some need of associates, students or the overall population. There is a bad situation for simply one more book of a similar kind that others have composed. Before embraced to write a book regarding a matter recently managed in textbook structure, the writer should feel that he can make a superior showing than other have done, that an alternate precise treatment is beneficial, that a fresher methodology is fundamental, or that a more cutting-edge treatment is called for. The rule that one ought to contribute something new instead of simply one more book will likely not be spread by any proper code. Such a guideline, despite the fact that it ought to be remembered' is hard to apply in any case. The individual who writes a textbook is the sole appointed authority of whether he feels that he is accomplishing something not done previously. Moreover, if his textbook is simply one more of a similar kind as those which as of now exist, the negative reaction, or absence of reaction to the book, will presumably be adequate to debilitate further endeavors along comparable lines.
Overall, writing is signi?cant ability in language creation. Its signi?cance increments with regards to write in English language which is broadly utilized for worldwide intervention of information, execution in language advancement is dependent upon progress in writing skills. A text of an e?ective writer must be strong, legitimate, unmistakably organized, intriguing and appropriately composed with a wide scope of jargon and dominance of shows in mechanics. Nonetheless, writing is frequently viewed as only a piece of educating and learning sentence structure and punctuation, which resultantly thinks little of the nature and significance of writing, and a?ects its development.
The strategies and forms of international business have continuously evolved in the last few decades as a result of continuing progress in technology, liberalization of investment flows, and increased competition among enterprises. Growth is an inherent part of business enterprises and also represents a survival chance. The pressure from the competitors to gain significant market share while doing their business, force the organizations to be on constant vigil and monitor competitors so they can expand beyond the limits of their domestic markets.
Get original essayThe expansion of the organizations globally is the need of the hour not only because of the width and breadth of their home markets but also because in a free trade world the market share in the domestic market becomes threatened by foreign competitors. Several different reasons force the businesses to seek constant growth and outplay their competitors through global variables like, environment, price and competitiveness and the global business scenario.
For many businesses, the internalisation is undertaken with caution as a process involving multiple processes which include planning of strategies and reducing the risk to maximum extent. Generally the companies chose the markets which are less risky and which are relatively easy to enter, and later move and dig deeper in the respective market to gain more market share and gain confidence about foreign business.
The evolvement of different technologies like information technology, the broadening of international tourism, the vast improvement of living conditions in various developing countries and exchange of cultural heritage led to the emergence of consumer groups in different countries and regions of the world with comparable educational backgrounds, lifestyles, purchasing power, needs for goods and services, and aspirations to quality standards. This scenario, combined with the liberalization of international trade and the availability of global distribution channels, opens wide opportunities for enterprises to market their products and services on a global scale.
The race for market leadership in a segment leads to heavy investments ranging from R&D to innovating and the cost for development of new products and to differentiate the existing ones. In the car industry, for example, the introduction of a new model may represent an investment to the tune of one billion dollars. In the pharmaceutical industry, the cost associated to the successful development of a new drug is of the same order of magnitude. In the consumer goods sector, the cost of promoting a new brand could be as high as $US500 million. A single domestic market would not allow companies to achieve economies of scale and to break even on such costs, hence the need to project operations with the global market in mind.
The reasons that businesses from around the world think of internalisation is to obtain advantage and be ahead of their competitors and to keep competition at home at bay due to various reasons like economies of scale or expertise at operating in global markets. As stated going global would give the business the flexibility of economies of scale and cutting the prices in the home market and also the expertise of operating gives an edge in devising a strategy in keeping the competitors at bay.
Although the notion of strategic alliance suggests the pooling of complementary skills and resources to achieve a common purpose, the fact is that in many cases the partners are also competitors outside the specific purpose of their collaboration. Consequently, it may happen, either by design or by the natural course of events in the alliance’s life, that the learning process and the benefits of partnership evolve asymmetrically to the parties in a way that changes their relative competitive positions. In some cases, which are not the rule, one of the partners enters the alliance with the deliberate intent of undermining the other party’s competitive position. This is what we can call predatory tactics. Also, in many cases, a major aim of each of the alliance partners is to learn as much as possible from the other partner, continually assess the benefits reaped from the alliance, and eventually discard the partner and leave the alliance when there is no further room for value appropriation.
Failure to adhere to contracts due to rapid internationalization changes:
Cross-cultural negotiations are often difficult to conduct. On top of the normal obstacles, the relationship building is made more difficult by differences in nationality, culture, race, gender and language. Similar difficulties may occur in negotiations between two entities of vastly different corporate culture, such as between universities and large corporations or between small and large entities. In any of these cases, special care should be taken to understand how the parties expect the negotiation process to evolve and prepare for it accordingly.
According to Arnold (2013), financial management entails the understanding, evaluation, analysis, and forecasting of economic, legal and regulatory issues. As such, financial managers have the obligation of acting in ways that improve organizations’ profitability. In their responsibilities, the financial managers experience various challenges in different market structures. As such, to have a proper understanding of the challenges that financial managers face today, it is necessary to understand the general characteristics of the different market structures and the impact of competitiveness, market liquidity, and efficiency on financial managers. A clarification of the market structures shows the basic context in which financial managers work.
Get original essayThe video discusses four market structures. The four market structures identify the varied types of markets in the world of business. The four market structures are; oligopoly, monopolistic competition, perfect competition, and monopoly. This paper will discuss the different types of market structures and two of the major challenges that financial managers face in these market structures. Further, this paper will analyze and review two scholarly articles that deal with financial managers’ challenges including competitiveness, market liquidity, and efficiency.
Under this market structure, the homogenous market products, and services. Under this structure, no single firm is allowed to set the prices of products solely. The structure has five main characteristics which are; buyers are aware of all the goods and prices set by each firm, all the firms have small portions of the market shares, all the organizations are price takers, the industries have the characteristics of free entry and exit, and all the organizations sell similar goods. However, according to the video, a perfect competition does not exist in the real world.
The first and major challenge that financial managers face in the perfect competition structure is price setting. Financial managers have the tasks of setting prices for their firms’ products. While undertaking this task, they need to consider various factors including the cost of production and the quality of the products (Moyer et al., 2011). However, in the perfect competition market structure, the prices that the financial managers set will need to concur with the general price in the market. Under this market structure, if a financial manager sets a price that is higher than the market price, no one will abide by the products. As such, price setting is a crucial challenge facing financial managers in the perfect competition market structure.
The second challenge that financial managers face in the perfect competition market structure is in the maximization of profitability. Financial managers have the task of ensuring higher profits for their firms. The various characteristics of the market structure limit the maximization of profits by the firm. For instance, firms cannot set prices to increase their revenues. Also, the firms can only serve a very small portion of the market share; meaning the firms cannot produce in large scales to enjoy economies of scale.
The video identifies a monopolistic competition as a market structure where there are many firms that produce slightly different products in an industry that has minimal barriers to entry. Under this market structure, the buyers place special emphasis on what they value most about the firms from which they buy products. Under this market structure, the price that one firm sets do not affect the prices of other firms in the industry. All the firms are price makers and have a relatively low degree of market power. Firms in this type of market structure tend to advertise heavily, and the demand is sensitive to changes in price.
One of the major challenges that face financial managers in a market having a monopolistic competition is regarding advertisement. Financial managers have the obligation of ensuring that the firm’s products are well-known by potential buyers. With the extensive emphasis of advertisement in the monopolistic market structure, financial managers may find it difficult in prioritizing the resources for advertisement and product quality improvement. In such a market structure, if a financial manager fails to pay enough emphasis on an advertisement, the firm’s revenues may drop as customers become more captivated by other firms’ products.
The second challenge faced by financial managers in this market structure is regarding the competitiveness of the industry. With the relatively minimal entry barriers, any firm can easily enter the industry and produce similar goods at lower prices. The differentiation of products also allows the production of substitutes by other firms. As such, financial managers have the responsibility of ensuring an extensive promotion of the firm’s products.
A monopolistic market structure occurs when there is only one seller of a particular product in an industry. Under this structure, one firm dominates the market and may control entry into the market, making it extremely difficult for other firms to operate in the industry. Given that the monopolistic firm is the only seller in the market, the firm’s demand curve is the market demand curve. The firm also sets the prices.
The first challenge faced by financial managers in the monopolistic market structure is regarding product development. Financial managers have the responsibility of ensuring that the products produced provide value to the buyers regarding the financial consideration. However, since, there is no completion in this type of market structure, the firms do not significantly invest in research and development. Hence, it leads to lack of innovation and poor products.
Another challenge faced by financial managers is regarding pricing. Financial managers are often tasked with setting the appropriate prices for the firms’ products. Given no competition in the industry, the prices set by the firm become the market price. With little pressure on the prices of products, financial managers often have challenges in setting prices that reflect the firm’s input in the production of the products and the utility that the buyers would derive from the products.
An oligopoly is a market structure where there is a small number of firms that have the large majority of the market share. An oligopolistic market is similar to a monopolistic market, except that, in an oligopoly, two or more firms dominate the market.
The first major challenge that financial managers face in the oligopoly market structure is competition. Having very few firms in the market, there is intense competition among the firms. As such, every major decision that a financial manager makes regarding prices or other aspects affects the decisions of other firms in the industry. As such, financial managers are tasked with the responsibility of keeping an eye on the competitors. In some circumstances, getting intel from other firms on their course of action might be difficult, posing uncertainties to the financial managers.
Under this market structure, financial managers also face challenges regarding differentiation of products and prices. Having few firms in the industry, there is an immense need for differentiation. In the efforts of differentiation, financial managers have to ensures that the types of products and the prices set do not divert from the needs and expectations of the customers.
Both the articles imply that two of the biggest challenges facing financial managers today in the varied market structures are setting prices and competitiveness. The prices of products are derived from what the buyers are willing to pay for the products, considering the complete cycle of every process involved in the production of the products. The ease in which a firm can turn the assets into cash is known as market liquidity. Financial managers must consider the type of market structure that their firms are operating in to understand the possible impact of other firms involved in the same market. The impacts that other firms have in both the quality of the products and the price in the same market is known as competition (Moyer et al., 2011).
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Get custom essayRegarding the different types of markets structures, financial managers need to understand the challenges associated with the competitiveness. For instance, in a perfect competition market structure, the level of competition is higher than in other market structures. The ease in which the market structures operate with the correct price, demand, and supply is known as the market efficiency. In this regard, financial managers need to have a comprehensive understanding of the effective elements in the market structures in which they operate to ensure the firm’s efficiency (Arnold, 2013).
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Anishinaabe-Ojibwe Creation Myth Ladder to the Sky explain that to be human is to ignore their limitation and to have aspirations that are too high. Victor Frankenstein in Shelley’s novel creates danger for humanity by his high aspiration of being like God to create a human kind. Similar to the grandmother in Ladder to the sky, where she creates danger to entire village through her aspiration of saving her grandson therefore climbs the forbidden vine. Throughout two stories, both Frankenstein and the grandmother create danger for others through their actions of ignoring human limitation therefore results in others to face the consequences of their high aspirations.
Get original essayIn Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein ignores his limitation as a human that he uses the power of science to create a being, just like God. As consequences, his loved ones suffered from his actions. He says while creating his creature, “a new species would bless me as its creature and source”. Frankenstein believes that his aspiration has helped him in breaking his limitation as a human, where he, with him newly found power placed himself as God, the creator. However, his aspiration leads others to find the negative consequences. As Shelley mentions in the book that Frankenstein’s creature has killed people who Frankenstein loves, including his brother William, his best friend Clerval, and his bride Elizabeth. Their death represents the negative consequences of Frankenstein’s high aspiration. Through this, Frankenstein has made his family and friend face the negative impact of his high aspiration of being equal to God.
Equally, in Anishinaabe-Ojibwe Creation Myth Ladder to the Sky, the grandmother with her aspiration to save her grandson breaks the limit of human by reaching to the forbidden vine that results in the punishment from Gitchi Manitou to the entire community. It stated in the story, “She broke through the power of the vine.all night she climbed”. By aspiring to have hr grandson back, the grandmother would do anything, including disobeying the Great Spirit and therefore breaking the human limitation of approaching the sacred vine. As a result, Gitchi Manitou sends a spirit to announce a punishment for the entire community, “Disease and pain will live among you people...your people will no longer live forever...all must die when the time comes”. Through this punishment the community does not have strong and healthy people anymore, which means all must be sick and die at the end. The grandmother's aspiration doesn’t only result in the punishment of herself, but also the entire community as a whole.
The two stories are very different, but the two characters, those of Frankenstein and the grandmother, reflect the same aspiration as humans. Both of them have ignored their limitation by aspiring too high that results in negative consequences for others around them. Frankenstein's aspiration result in the death of his beloved ones, similar to the grandmother's, which results in the punishment of the entire community. By aspiring too high and ignoring their limitations as humans, they both have created misery not only for themselves, but also to others around them.
As vital to our lives, information technology is facing a number of serious problems and it is up to IT professionals and IT consumers to respond. As more emerging IT technologies become available on the market, most IT experts and users are unable to meet the challenges posed by these technologies. The challenges of IT are major: privacy, security, copyright violations, and increased computer crimes. As IT strongly supports speed, flow, and connectivity, cybercrime has become a growing occupation. Most organizations and corporations, if not all enterprises being focused on electronic networks, are at risk of becoming cyber targets on a daily basis.
Get original essayThe possible threat is also posed by unfaithful or revengeful people who use IT to achieve their own personal goals that can harm an enterprise. IT itself is not bad but it is important that people use the resources of information technology.
Technology progresses quickly and appears on every side of the media. This requires IT employees to implement new technologies simply because it is new to users, management at every level, and even competitors. The real challenge is to determine which of these new technologies can best serve to encourage and stop the enterprise for now. Long-term objectives and organizational priorities tend to be relatively static. Technology has gone much faster and changed faster. In order to determine whether and when it is fit, IT management needs to evaluate each new tech progress organizing value.
New technologies such as cloud, big data, virtualization, and mobility are all becoming instruments for experienced IT managers who understand the priorities of their organization. Because each company is different, the IT importance of each new technology varies with the strategic objectives of the organization.
Most companies still need to prepare for the cloud. They choose to retain and manage their data and applications in-house. The organization's preparations for a possible cloud move are common sense with advances in cloud technology and the Network's future-proof. For example, what happens when the management wants to create a cloud service internally? Perhaps this is a step towards getting devices and software off-site.
The main point: today, you must create portable apps that will not stop your company from doing anything in the future.
Big data analytical systems
In the next five years, data are expected to grow by 800%. More than 80 percent were unstructured. This is the major challenge. The types of unstructured data; vary from plain text, e-mails, brogues, fonts, standard objects, non-standard images, audio, vice, animation, input sensors, and web search logs. Unstructured software expands more rapidly than structured data. Unstructured data analytics can provide relatively new, undetected information about previously very difficult or unclear interrelations as a source of organizational insight. Part of the unstructured data comprises data from outside the organization called ' the collective ' from communities, groups, and social networks. Collective data mining is a great way to understand the market and customers of the organization.
The life of many users is already comprised of desktops, laptops, notebooks, tablets, and smartphones. In some cases, drawing the line between them has gotten harder and harder. Does a tablet substitute for laptops and laptops? Do desktops want to take dinosaurs on their way?
Tablets and smartphones perform many desktop tasks already. It means that companies have to respond to multiple user programs. Internal users and customers can now use many different methods, depending on their current location, to access organizational data and applications.
The creation of value is a repeated IT problem. This is a priority now. IT teams need to concentrate on optimizing service to the corporate client and the departmental needs of the enterprise. To order to do this, IT departments must delete any operations which are non-essential.
It is not clear since most data requirements are short-term, but in these records there is complexity. You may be an unknown victim of this silent crisis. You can be lucky if you have major files on these 5 1/4-inch disks and you have to go back and get one. It is possible that the data is not available anymore, and the computer to read the news has been tossed into the trash bin for a long time. Or, as in my case, switching on the old microcomputers could lead to a fire and a rapid end to the retrieval of your data at the end of the weekend.
This means another way to outsource non-core activities to focus on the creation of value. This externalization means that as many services as possible are transferred to the cloud. Why are software or hardware owned or maintained? For standard services, small or medium-sized enterprises can easily rely on the cloud.
Customers, suppliers, and others are discussing any kind of social media in any organization. This can include, for instance, Twitter and Facebook, and LinkedIn. IT and Marketing departments must at least track these discussions and take part in them. Semantic analytical tools can aid companies in undermining social dialogue, shaping new products and improving customer service, supporting marketing and sales initiatives.
Since IT systems have to work all the time, IT specialists are under pressure to ensure that these systems are accurate and readily available. A stand-by IT team will require many large organizations, which have to operate 24 hours a day, to deal with any issues that could develop during operation. This strain contributes to anxiety and fatigue, which leads to imperfection.
Many of these IT issues in the past have made these lists and some are certainly going to make a list for the next year. To order to offer IT strategies that better suit corporate goals, IT administrators and staff must continue to face problems brought by customers, stakeholders, and departmental managers.
'The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down' essay was written by Anne Fadiman. This story explains the hardships faced by Hmong refugees after migration to the United States from Laos, and in particular we are introduced to the characters of Foua Yang and Nao Kao Lee who fled from Thailand in 1979 while trying to escape communist rule and persecution. Most notably, Fadiman analyzes and describes the complexity and difficulty of trying to integrate two different cultures causing a cultural divide between the Hmong and the American medical system. 'The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down' bookr can show the importance of building a trustworthy relationship when working with clients in a social work environment.
Get original essayIn Fadiman' narration, the book outlines some very depressing and unique situations while all the characters in the book are very real and relatable. In the Hmong culture, and typically other Asians cultures, their medical heritage is very old and laterally connects to their religious beliefs; this cultural manner was one of the many challenges which were involved in their blending into the American lifestyle and culture. Throughout the chapters, Fadiman highlights the many different struggles and hardships the Hmong people endured through the story of Lia Lee, a young Hmong girl, the daughter of Foua Yang and Nao Kao Lee, who was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Lia was the last born child out of fourteen children and the first child to be born in an American hospital - Merced Community Medical Center (MCMC). Her mother, Foua, had birthed all of Lia’s thirteen brothers and sisters back in Laos. Three months after she was born, Lia began having frequent violent seizures. At the age of four, a sceptic shock eventually caused her to become mentally retarted and non-responsive. Describing her character, her foster mother Dee Korda described her as “one of the most affectionate kids she's ever cared for.” Lia was loving, an affectionate child who was exceedingly affected by the side effects of the medicine she had to take for her condition. She was spoiled by her parents and they gave her what she wanted when she wanted it. Her family continued to show love and support towards her and did not stop caring for her even in her vegetative state for over twenty-five years. Against all odds, though, Lia continued to live, even without any form of life support.
Because of Lia’s condition, her cultural values and norms were not as outlined as her parents’ were. Lia’s family’s cultural identity lays out the distinct ways in which people adhere to “various strongly-held beliefs and doctrines set forth by their cultures.” The Hmong culture base their practice on spirituality and even with Lia’s epilepsy, her parents considered the practice of medicine and her sickness to be closely related to the divine in spirituality. Fadiman in many instances evokes the Hmong history to highlight the details and events of Lia Lee’s medical turn of events. Fadiman addresses the history and context of the Hmong ethnic identity in several different chapters, which she identifies as “independent, insular, antiauthoritarian, suspicious, stubborn, proud, choleric, energetic, vehement, loquacious, humorous, hospitable, generous.” This is a characterization that she gathered from tracing the Hmong back to 2700 B.C., when they denied Communist rule from the Chinese. From that time, she argues, they have been resisting to submit to any form of rule that might compromise their traditions and ways of life particularly in Lia’s case, explaining and justifying why Nao Kao and Foua refused to conform and accept Neil and Peggy’s treatment plan for Lia as “agreeing with their medical theories would have contradicted their own beliefs.” Within the same culture, all Hmong people are not the same, Fadiman outlined culturally significant historical landmarks to give readers a framework for understanding the beliefs and making sense of the decisions made by the Lee family and other Hmongs—beliefs that might otherwise seem incomprehensible and lead to bigotry. Fadiman also outlined the cultural significance of Hmong folktales and myths, as many of them summarize the attitudes and behaviors of the Lee family that American doctors like Neil and Peggy found so difficult to comprehend. As the book concludes, we come to the realization that the Lee family’s cultural practices and actions were not “blind stubbornness nor disregard for Lia” but they were simply doing what they saw fit for their daughter’s health according to their cultural beliefs and norms.
Because of her sickness, Lia did not have the freedom of human development. She fell sick at a very young age and lived in a vegetative state for twenty-six years out of the thirty years she survived. Her condition denied her the choice of who to be, what to do, and how to live. She did not have the privilege to attend school and get an education as this opportunity ceased after she suffered her first seizure at the age of three months. This epilepsy defined the structure of her thirty year life span. On the contrary, giving credit to my parents and surrounding adults in my family, I have had the opportunity to live a very healthy lifestyle to this date. From an infancy stage through development to now being an adult, I have constantly been able-bodied without any type or form of mental or physical disability. I have had the opportunity to start and complete all levels of education: primary, secondary and tertiary level, giving me access to higher paying careers in the future.
My ethics and cultural beliefs as an African are similar to those of the Hmong culture in terms of the strength of family. African families tend to be large with an average of about five children per family. Lia had thirteen brothers and sisters. In terms of religion, I am of Christian faith. I believe in a God that eternally exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I believe that the human body takes on three basic elements: the flesh which is the physical component of my being, the soul animates the body and lives within the flesh, and the spirit which allows us to communicate with the spiritual realm and communicate with God. The Hmong however, follow the Buddhism faith. Through the animism tradition, believes that “spirits live in a different realm and are independent of the physical bodies.” They believe that a person has twelve souls. This soul is different from the spiritual world as it dwells in the physical world unlike the spirits. They strongly believe in the presence of the supernatural.
The challenges that I would face in confronting my own biases about the Hmong culture and having Lia as my client would definitely pertain to religion. Christianity is a very dominant religion practiced all over the world so embracing the Hmong culture of a shamanic culture through a neeb healing ceremony to try to return Lia’s soul would have been extremely challenging, especially because Lia herself in the beginning when the family sacrificed Lia’s pig was skeptical about the process until she was under the xiv neeb spell. The difference in religion practices could deter me from feeling and expressing genuine empathy to Lia and her family during this challenging experience. Because Lia was so young when she initially fell sick, she had no ability to express her concerns, desires and opinions. The communication barrier with Nao Kao and Foua Lee would have been a hindrance of progress between us because evidently the book showed that even if I have good intentions for Lia as a client, language misunderstandings could have lifelong implications and devastating consequences.
Overall the medical providers in this book appeared to be either frustrated or too busy to develop trust in the patient. If they would have taken the time to build that relationship with Lia and her family, a better outcome and smoother intervention would have been accomplished because Lia’s epilepsy could have been detected at an earlier stage. With the continuing evolvement of globalization, the medical facilities need to emphasize the importance of a higher level of understanding of how cultural boundaries affect the healthcare system. Illustrated by Lia’s turn of events throughout the chapters, healthcare cannot be executed in a vacuum without communication and understanding between patients, physicians, and the patient’s families. It is an essential process of medical care, as it necessitates a healing of a patient’s entire well being.
“We say that slavery has vanished from European civilization, but this is not true. Slavery still exists, but now it applies only to women and its name is prostitution.”
Get original essayWhile the quote above may not be entirely accurate nor particularly contemporary, as prostitution applies to men and children as well, it nevertheless makes an important point: prostitution can be a type of slavery if the circumstances make it so. This is particularly true for target countries of sex tourism, as the demand there is high and there is little drive to make political or social change in the arena. Because the participants in sex tourism are not likely to stay around, the social trend of sex tourism is to meet the demand of foreign tourists with little regard for the implications for the host community, society and country. One case in particular that highlights this point is the sex tourism that skyrocketed during the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, and is expected to rise during the upcoming Olympics in the same city. Sex tourism has long had a part of the tourist industry in Brazil, but the sporting events of the last several years have ostensibly only served to expand this type of tourism in the city and surrounding areas.
This paper examines this contention within the context of existing academic research on sex tourism in Brazil as a whole, its relevance to sporting events, and particular statistics that show the rise in sex tourism. Because one of the largest issues has been in child sex tourism and slavery, the paper also touches on the importance of following up on this issue in the wake of the two major sporting events that Rio has hosted in the past few years. Following this overview, the paper turns to an examination of what is currently being done about the issue from a law enforcement and policy perspective. Finally, the paper discusses what can be done in the face of this issue, including both what has worked and what policies need to change. While certainly not an exhaustive account of sex tourism as a whole, nor of the ethical issues in tourism that Brazil faces, this paper shows that the city of Rio faces a unique problem in tourism that must be addressed.
Rio de Janeiro, one of the largest cities in Brazil, has been called “one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations”, not only because of the urban beaches and bustling music scene, but also because of the sex (Kugel, 2009, n.p.). The country – and Rio specifically – certainly has a reputation around the world as being a go-to spot for sex tourism in the city’s many brothels. As one report states, “Every week specialist holiday operators bring in thousands of European singles on charted flights looking for cheap sex,” and Brazil is now even overtaking Thailand as one of the most popular sex-tourist destinations in the world (Rogers, 2010, n.p.). Not only that, but a report from BBC in 2010 stated that “Young children are supplying an increasing demand from foreign tourists who travel to Brazil for sex holidays” (Rogers, 2010, n.p.). According to the news reports cited above, the demographics are simple enough: tourists from the United States and Europe, along with the occasional Brazilian businessman, are taking advantage of the bustling prostitution industry in the city. This has been the case for years, but it is only in the past few years that the connections to sports-driven prostitution and child prostitution have been made. For instance, some news sources reported that the city was host to over 250,000 children and teens being roped into prostitution and sexually exploited in the months leading up to the World Cup in 2014 (Blanchette & Silva, 2016, 3). Therefore, the connection between sports-driven sex tourism and child prostitution is abundantly clear in the case of Rio de Janeiro.
In this way, this paper is not simply about sex tourism in Brazil. Instead, there are two main issues at play in regards to the overarching topic: how sporting events tend to drive sex tourism, and the role that child prostitution has played in the case of Brazil over the past few years. The discussion in relation to these two topics in particular is relevant to our class because they not only deal with sex tourism, but the ethics of tourism and international travel as a whole. Issues like child prostitution and the sports-driven sex industry tend to get swept under the rung, first because the host country is interested in keeping the tourist industry thriving and, second, because the sending countries do not have any special interest in putting it to a stop. While sex tourism is certainly controversial, and even more so child sex tourism, the more important controversy is that nothing is being done about it. This is why the soccer games and sporting events in Brazil are relevant to this class.
While the subject matter may usually be relegated to dim lighting and side alleys, there is a great deal of existing literature regarding sex tourism as a whole, and even several publications that deal with sex tourism and prostitution in Brazil specifically. First, it is worthwhile to discuss the current body of academic research on sex tourism as a whole. The key to understanding sex tourism is to understand the role it plays in society. As one source from the current class states, “Sex tourism engages liminal people; that is, people occupying space on the edges of society. By simply existing, sex tourism denies and plays with concepts such as monogamy within marriages, reinforces notions of hedonism at its most basic and offers insights into exploitations based on attitudes to females, child labour and homosexuality” (Ryan, 2001, 385). Clearly, sex tourism is not a topic to be taken lightly, as it interacts with many other aspects of society, politics and even culture. On top of this, it is important to understand that sex tourism is not isolated, nor is it uncommon. As the scholar quotes above notes, there is a “strong historical relationship” between “tourism and the sex industry” (Ryan, 2001, 386). Far from being a modern adaptation of the sex industry, sex tourism began nearly at the same time as the concept of a holiday or vacation, in the years following the Industrial Revolution. Today, sex tourism is “a niche market of the global tourism industry” (Chow-White, 2006, 884). The prostitutions and child sex slavery seen in Brazil and more specifically in Rio de Janeiro today is simply a modern iteration of a historical process.
It is also crucial to understand that sex tourism does not always translate into direct, paid-for-service prostitution. Instead, there are several different forms that it can take. Ryan (2001) determines several different ways sex tourism can be identified when placed along a continuum: first, “whether the relationship entered into was one that was voluntary or exploitative. The second was whether it was commercial or non-commercial and the third was whether the relationship confirmed or negated a sense of integrity or self-worth” (388). In this way, sex tourism can take many different forms, as it has in Rio over the past few years. This ideation of sex tourism is confirmed by another scholar, who states that in the heterosexual sex tourism context of Fortalez, Brazil, “notions of sexuality, race, class and gender create a complex discursive framework for sexual encounters crucial to understanding the participation of local women from different social strata” (Piscitelli, 2015, 499). In other words, sex tourism includes both commoditized sex and other types of sexual encounters. This paper deals primarily with the commoditized variety, but it is worthwhile to note that more casual encounters can be of equal concern.
But what does the academic literature have to say specifically about sex tourism in Brazil and in regards to global sporting events? First and foremost, it is important to realize that there is are little empirical and quantitative studies on the topic of sex trafficking in relation to sporting events, as one study notes (Finkel & Finkel, 2015, 17). As the study concludes, “Human trafficking for sexual exploitation is a hidden problem on a global scale in plain view” (Finkel & Finkel, 2015, 17). However, more recent studies have taken up the topic particularly in light of the World Cup and upcoming Olympics in Brazil. One interesting finding is that many of the efforts to “clean up the streets” in Rio leading up to these major sporting events may have had an inverse impact. As Gregory Mitchell (2016) states, “By destroying safe and legal venues for sex work, [neoliberal agents, state forces, and nongovernmental organizations] have created the very exploitation they purport to prevent” (325). In other words, efforts to clean up Rio in the years and months leading up to the World Cup in 2014 and Summer Olympics in 2016 may have only driven the sex industry, and child sexual exploitation in particular, further underground. Another study confirms this, identifying sexual exploitation as one of the negative impacts that the World Cup had on Brazil (Rodriguez et al., 2016, 1). Yet another source backs this contention up, stating that everything indicates that child sexual exploitation does occur in Rio de Janeiro (Blanchette, 2016). In this way, the literature makes it clear that sex tourism in general is an important issue to address in Brazil. Not only that, but the literature also points to the way that major, global sporting events make the issues associated with sex tourism even worse, particularly related to child sexual exploitation. Now that this has been established, the paper can turn to what is currently being done about the issue in relation to these sporting events and child sexual exploitation, as well as what political, developmental, law enforcement and policy-related steps can be taken in the future.
Thankfully, there have been steps taken toward addressing the issue of sex tourism in Rio de Janeiro, particularly as it relates to the large influx of sex tourists around the global sporting events of the past few years and child sexual exploitation specifically. For instance, in Rio de Janeiro and cities like it, cities that host global sporting events, “neoliberal agents, state forces, and nongovernmental organizations use discourses of feminism and human rights – especially unfounded fears about a link between sex trafficking and sports – to enact…changes regardless of the political economic conditions or systems of governance” (Mitchell, 2016, 325). This may appear to be beneficial at first blush, but as noted above these efforts could have the inverse impact that these forces wanted in the first place. More specifically, “In the run-up to the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics, the Brazilian government engaged in a militarized campaign to clean up favelas, blighted areas, and red-light districts so that it could ‘develop’ them” (Mitchell, 2016, 325). But have these efforts truly been effective in helping to eliminate the issues associated with sex tourism? According to the scholarly article quoted above, it is clear that they have not. As one source states, “Despite more than a decade of government pledges to eradicate child prostitution, the number of child sex workers in Brazil stood at about half a million in 2012” with some brothels advertising “early bird specials” for Olympic athletes in recent weeks (Papenfuss, 2016, n.p.). Clearly, the efforts of the past have not been working. So what can be done instead?
To truly eradicate the issues of child sexual exploitation associated with sex tourism in Brazil, particularly around the time of major global sporting events, the topic needs global attention. As of now, there are limited organizations and movements fighting for rights in the context of sex tourism in the country. However, the organizations that run these events, like FIFA and the Olympic Commission, have had nothing to say about the issues that have arisen in the past few years in Brazil. Because of this, one source recommends that the bidding and hosting process for events like the World Cup and the Olympics “needs to not only connect the local context with the wider organizational remit of organizing bodies but should also explicitly focus on children’s rights as a key criterion in the bidding process” because major sporting events organizers “have a role to play in preventing or mitigating violations of rights through nonessentialist, context-specific applications of rights policies for their events” (Rodriguez, et al., 2016, 1). Therefore, while law enforcement and individual advocacy surrounding these issues is certainly crucial for mitigating the rights abuses found in the sex tourism industry, when it comes to the spikes in activity surrounding major sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup the responsibility to prevent these rights abuses in the first place falls, at least in some measure, to the organizing bodies. Enforcement agents like police and governing bodies certainly have a role to play, but it is clear they will only take adequate action if pressured by organizations and individuals the world over.
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Get custom essayThis discussion paper has examined the issue of sex tourism in Rio de Janiero, particularly as it relates to the rise in sex tourist activity surrounding major global sporting events and the impact on child sexual exploitation. Overall, this discussion has shown that at least one thing is going well: the increase in sex tourism surrounding the World Cup and the upcoming Olympics has brought attention to this important issue. However, the efforts designed to stop child sexual exploitation around major global sporting events can certainly be improved. More specifically, this paper argues that one of the first steps in stopping the rights abuses associated with these events is to keep the organizing bodies (like FIFA) accountable. In order to do that, the word needs to get out first. How to go about accomplishing that is a question for another time.
The Police in Malawi is a security government institution responsible for maintaining peace, law and public order. They are stakeholders in the criminal justice system. Its establishment is empowered by the Malawi Constitution under section 153(1) which states that “there shall be an independent organ of the Executive which shall be there to provide for the protection of public safety and the rights of persons in Malawi according to the prescriptions of this constitution and any other law”.
Get original essayThis essay, shall explain the challenges in Security Sector Reform that Malawi Police encounters with in its Endeavour to reform the Police. The essence of expressing the challenges is that there must be possible ways suggested to address them. The essay shall start by defining Security Sector Reform, Police Reform, shall also explain the challenges and the possible ways of addressing them and shall finalize by a conclusion.
Security Sector Reform: Security Sector Reform refers to “the process through which a country seeks to review and enhance the effectiveness and the accountability of its security and justice providers”.
Police Reform: According to Tara Denham, (2008, p.7.), Police Reform is “the transformation or change of a police organization into a professional and accountable police service practicing a style of policing that is responsive to the needs of local communities”.
Police in Malawi is being transforming since 1997 when it changed its name from Malawi Police Force to Malawi Police Service. Since then it has been abiding human rights following a Principle of democracy. However, its reform is gradual and has got several challenges. Some of the challenges are: Interlocutors, Political interference, limited Police “foot prints”, corruption and nepotism, negative perceptions of the Police, and finally, poor use of existing resources.
Interlocutors: According to ISSAT, (2012, p.36.), interlocutors are the stakeholders to engage in the same objective of Police Reform. The stakeholders include the Judicial system, the Malawi Prison and some Non-Governmental Organizations who are Human Rights activists and Police itself inclusive.
Non-Governmental organizations only come in a program of Police Reform when they have money. Once their money is finished, they freeze from the objective of Police Reform.
The Judicial system is a spoiler in Police Reform in a sense that the courts impose custodial sentences to offenders of minor offences instead of ordering alternative sentences like community service work, warnings, and suspended sentences. Again, the courts do not enhance a forty-eight-hour rule. According to section 42 (2) (b) of the Malawi constitution, it states that “every arrested person suspected to have committed an offence must be brought to court before an expiration of forty-eight hours”.
On section 42 (2) (e) of same Malawi Constitution further states that “failure in bringing the suspect before court before forty-eight hours’ elapse, the courts shall release the suspect with bail or without bail unless the interest of justice requires otherwise”. Most Courts does not implement this rule there by not observing the significance of a forty-eight-hour rule. On the same note, Police investigators deny a right for the suspected persons to appear before court of law within forty-eight hours’ period by delaying the investigations. This challenge can be addressed by organizing an inspectorate team which shall be visiting police cells and see to it that every suspect is brought to court within a period of forty-eight hours.
Another challenge in the Police Reform is Political interference in Police operations. Police in Malawi is under the control of civilian elites like the Minister of Home Affairs and internal security and not excluding the commander in chief of armed forces who is the state president. Senior management team in Police service is changed after each General Election, for example; since the advent of multiparty in 1994, eight Inspector Generals of Police were appointed.
This deteriorates the independency of the service and the morale of an organization since operational activities shall be under the influence of the Political elites for example: in the month of June, 2018, Police in Blantyre were ordered by the Democratic Progressive Party Political elites to disperse the crowd gathered on Sadiki Miah’s mass rally. In response, the Police dispersed all crowd by throwing tear gas. This is a great challenge in police reform because the act that was displayed by the Police violated a constitutional right of freedom of association. Again, the act, denies democracy which is associated with human rights and multiparty practice.
Political interference in police reform also come in when the Politicians send their relatives for recruitment. Undesirable people who have no interest in the job are recruited under the influence of the political elites as a result they are the same people who resists change in police reform. Again, the political elites have an influence in making their relatives accelerate in job ladders through promotion by just ordering an Inspector General of Police. Most of the time, people promoted in this way have no capacity to lead and manage their junior ranks as a result they are the police officers who resist change in the police reform.
This problem can be addressed by formulating an independent police commission made up of renowned figures who are liable for managing the recruitment, promotion, discipline, and other personal issues.
Limited Police “foot print” is another challenge in Malawian Police reform. According to OECD, (2007, P.174.), limited police foot prints refers to limited presence of police in many areas. In Malawi, most rural areas have no police units. People travel a distant place to find police. This, makes a lot of people in the rural areas where there is no police unit remain with their cases un reported.
Even though a victim can sacrifice his transport to report the matter at Police, it takes long for the police to arrest the suspect and sometimes the suspect is never arrested. This is so because the police in Malawi has insufficient vehicles and sometimes a vehicle can be present but surprisingly you are told that there is no fuel. Insufficient funding from the Government provided to Police, makes police have difficulties in visiting distant remote areas regularly as a result, crime rate increases in the areas not attainable by the Police.
The limited resources available tend to be concentrated in urban areas of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu, Zomba just to mention a few. Rural areas often lack police coverage. This problem can be addressed by developing innovative ways of providing security in rural areas like developing community based policing partnerships.
Corruption and nepotism is another challenge in the Malawi police reform. Corruption betrays justice in the sense that one who gets corrupted lacks professionalism and gets biased, as a result, only poor people are jailed while reach people are left free despite having committed a serious offence. According to Andrew Goldsmith, 2005, “corruption poses absence of public trust in police and without public trust in police, the public safety suffers”.
Again, corruption brings in negative perception of the police. Due to the negative perception that Malawians have towards their police, many police stations have been looted and set ablaze for example: in 2016, a police unit at Chilomoni was set on fire due to the fact that the police stopped the public from killing a murder suspect who was already in cell by then. The community wanted to take the law in their hands by killing the murder suspect basing on an argument that the accused shall soon be seen amongst the community after being granted bail.
Bail for murder suspects is granted by the high court and not by police but because of mistrust and the negative perception people have towards police, they criticize police having not helped them for releasing a murder suspect on bail not knowing that the High court grants bails to murder suspects. Corruption can be addressed by creating initiatives to help improve the financing of the police so that the police officers can get a reasonable remuneration package. On the other hand, negative perception of the police can be addressed by conducting public outreach and communication work to win over the doubtful public and instilling in them confidence and justice.
According to OECD, (2007), has expressed poor use of existing resources on an angle of referring it to as human resource. Many police officers in Malawi are deployed to walk with and defend the Ministers so that each Minster has his own police officer to protect him. Besides that, every Minister is being guarded by another police officer every night. This deployment is a wastage of human resource. Private security companies could have been hired to fill these guard duties posts so that police officers could be assigned operational patrol duties that are required of them.
Likewise, some sections like catering, and building, currently occupied by police officers, could have been operated by civilians there by leaving qualified police officers to conduct patrol duties as it is required of them. Again human resource is misused in the Malawi Police Service by not allowing those police officers who have graduated in various universities of Malawi to take part in decision making. They are side lined considering that they are juniors as result there is lack of technical skills and expertise which could have helped in police reform.
In summary, interlocutors (stakeholders), Political interference in police operations, limited police foot prints, corruption, and nepotism are the major challenges in police reform in Malawi. These challenges can be solved in the following ways: interlocutors can be addressed by organizing an inspectorate team to be visiting the police cells with an aim of enforcing forty-eight-hour rule. Limited police “footprints” can be addressed by formulating an independent police commission for managing recruitment, promotion, and discipline.
Corruption and nepotism can be addressed y developing innovative ways of providing security to rural areas like developing community based partnership. Poor use of existing resources can be addressed by increasing remuneration package of police officers and conduct public outreach and communication work to win over the loss of trust in the public and instilling in them confidence and legitimacy.
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Get custom essayPoor use of existing resources can be addressed by engaging civilians to guard in the Ministers’ houses and releasing police officers in those posts to conduct patrols and other police work like investigations and arrests of culprits. Again, engaging newly graduated police officers in managerial decision making would address the problem. Police reform helps police officers to work with professionalism, accountability, transparency, and due respect of human rights.