Childless Couples on Television Essay -- Television Media TV Esays

Childless Couples on Television Throughout the evolution of television, there have always been TV shows of childless television couples, such as The Honeymooners or King of Queens. As television has changed throughout the decades, so have television’s childless couples. In the beginning of television series with childless couples, the wife was the one that stayed at home, cleaned, cooked, and did the laundry. The husband was the one that made the money by going to work. Television series always portrayed women as the weaker characters. â€Å"Women in the early 1950s family were weak, secondary characters, and as such were usually dominated by their husbands and their own conceptions of marriage† (Hastings, 1974). Certain episodes of these shows always tried to prove that women should stay at home. When I Love Lucy came out with a woman as the main star, they still had her stay at home, cooking and cleaning, but still made her seem useless. â€Å"Women characters frequently were shown as less mature and less capable human-beings and their husbands often took a quasi-parental role by... Childless Couples on Television Essay -- Television Media TV Esays Childless Couples on Television Throughout the evolution of television, there have always been TV shows of childless television couples, such as The Honeymooners or King of Queens. As television has changed throughout the decades, so have television’s childless couples. In the beginning of television series with childless couples, the wife was the one that stayed at home, cleaned, cooked, and did the laundry. The husband was the one that made the money by going to work. Television series always portrayed women as the weaker characters. â€Å"Women in the early 1950s family were weak, secondary characters, and as such were usually dominated by their husbands and their own conceptions of marriage† (Hastings, 1974). Certain episodes of these shows always tried to prove that women should stay at home. When I Love Lucy came out with a woman as the main star, they still had her stay at home, cooking and cleaning, but still made her seem useless. â€Å"Women characters frequently were shown as less mature and less capable human-beings and their husbands often took a quasi-parental role by...

Research Paper Essay

Organisation’s Profile and Management Approach8 Report Content and Quality9 Range of the aspects of performance reported11 Performance Indicators11 Conclusion14 References16 Part 1 – An analysis of a published academic paper Introduction We have evaluated a published academic paper – â€Å"Corporate sustainability: historical development and reporting practices† (by Andreas Christofi, Petros Christofi and Seleshi Sisaye, 2012). The purpose of the paper was to compare the disclosure requirement between the two widely used sustainability reporting instruments  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Dow Jones Sustainability World Indexes (DJSI World) and Global Reporting Initiative G3 Guidelines (GRI-G3 Guidelines). These two instruments are similarities in the content but their disclosure requirement are different and the depths of the complexity of sustainability indicators are vary. The authors suggested that sustainability reporting framework needs undergo further standardization and enforcement of the disclosure indicators to avoid any negative impact on investors and consumers in case of corporate failure or mismanagement in the upcoming future. There is growing concerns associated with whether organisations have to report their sustainability performance from the early 1990s. Fortunately, there are many corporations are voluntary elect to employ and report their sustainability performance. Nevertheless, there is no indication of any development of formal international recognised legislation to enforce corporations to report its sustainability performance. The authors believed that part of the recent corporate failures were caused by corporate mismanagement mostly a human error and failure moral-hazard system risk control. Hence, the motivation of this academic paper was to recommend that an adequate risk control was necessary to be put in place, and a meaningful and accurate corporate sustainability disclosure to be required. The paper suggests that Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) should actively work on a standardised sustainability reporting. Theoretical Concepts There are theoretical and practical rationales in this research. The theoretical concepts examined in the paper are stakeholder theory and public interest theory. There are many organisations that voluntary report their sustainability performance to the public. There are different reasons for them to adopt this reporting strategy. This may due to an entity is more likely to focus on meeting the expectations with a particular group of stakeholders such as investors, employees, customers, regulators and other specific groups. Usually an organisation has the responsibility to account for the right of their stakeholders such as ‘right to information’. If an organisation fail to meet the expectation of the public and stakeholders, this may result lose their support from the community and the opportunity to run their business locally. Therefore â€Å"alignment of company reporting with the expectations of key stakeholders serves to improve the quality of a company’s relationships with such stakeholders and thus protect and enhance the value of the organisation† (G100, 2003). Therefore it is critical for an organisation to address the needs and expectation from their identified stakeholders. On the other hand, the authors analysed the disclosure indicators between GRI and DJSI. In 2009/2010 there were 317 global organisations listed on the DJSI. In 2009 there were 1299 registered reports with GRI. Among these 1299 reports, the authors discovered that the level of compliance with the GRI guidelines were inconsistent. In general, there are three levels in GRI Guidelines to determine what the degree of compliance that a reporting organisation has account for their disclosure on materiality. Level A is intended for advance reporting organisations. Suppose these ‘Level A’ reporting organisations are expected to report a thorough materiality process in response and communication with their stakeholders. Lower compliance level is Level C that includes those reporting organisations are at lower compliance level. However, the authors found that there were only 31% of the reporting organisations were with great process towards sustainability implementation. In addition, there were 25% of the reporting organisations were most likely not to adhere to the disclosure guidelines. The reason for this are either (1) reporting sustainability are voluntary so they don’t need to adhere all the requirements, (2) some aspects may not be relevant to a particular organisation or the organisation choose not to report part of the requirement, (3) they have combined/used other sustainability instrument to report their sustainability performance. The authors reveal the above were some of the limitation to the current G3 Guidelines. As GRI Guidelines are non-regulatory and non-binding disclosure requirements, as well as missing ‘enforcement’ that require those reporting organisations have to comply with. The authors believed that legislation is necessary to be put in place by an authority and/or professional bodies. They said legislation is needed in order to maintain a stable capital market, and refinement and early detection of any corporate mismanagement. As a general rule, the introduction of regulation is to rotect investors as well as the public. It is believed that regulations are initially to benefit the society as a whole and it is an instrument to create confidence to the society in relation to the capital market. However, there are arguments about the cost-and-benefit to the increasing of regulations. These regulations may create huge cost to companies but with less corresponding benefit and it may crea te a false sense of security to the society. This may be one of reason why there is uncertainty for other organisations to employ the sustainability development. Comparison We have found that the authors have compared the GRI reporting guidelines with the DJSI World disclosure indicators and the report revealed some difference between the GRI-G3 Guidelines and DJSI World: (1) Data Availability and Accessibility: The DJSI covers the top 10 percentage of the biggest 2500 companies in the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index (DJGTSM) that pursue economic, social, and environmental reporting (DJSIs, 2009). Each year, the index components will be announced by the SAM Indexes GmbH, a Switzerland-based investment group. It serves as a reference point to the global rating agencies and investors. On the other hand, the GRI Guideline is designed and developed through a process of multi-stakeholder consultation including individual, professionals and non-governmental organisations (NGO). According to G100, 2003, â€Å"Internationally, the most prominent, comprehensive and generally accepted guidance is that published by the GRI. † The GRI-G3 Guidelines provide reporting framework to an organisation of any size, sector or location to prepare their sustainability report. 2) Objectives: The DJSI defines corporate sustainability as â€Å"a business approach that create long-term shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriving from economic, environmental and social developments. † (DJSIs, 2009) and that can be quantified and screened for investing purposes. On the other hand, the GRI guidelines are based on the notion that transparency and accountability about economic , environmental, and social impacts are of interest to a diverse group of stakeholders (GRI, 2008). 3) Application disclosure information: The authors utilize sample firms from both standards to draw inferences on sustainability indicators of performance. They discovered that the content of both standards are similar but the disclosure format method and the depth of indicators are differences. For example, they have compared the ‘social responsibility’ between both standards. The authors find that GRI Guidelines have better disclosure indicators especially in the systemic risk of moral hazard such as anti-corruption and anti-trust practices. As a result of the above findings, the authors believe that DJSI’s information is focus on an investment perspective. Alternatively, GRI Guidelines are more focus on a wider group of stakeholders. Although both standards are served for the same purpose that is to enhance sustainability measuring and reporting. However, these two standards are with different scope of data availability, accessibility, objectives and indicator measurement. The authors suggested it is necessary to further standardization sustainability disclosure and enforced by a professional body such as Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Implications & Conclusion The implications of the above findings indicated that it is significant to form a standard sustainability guideline that appropriate to any size of corporations to employ their sustainability development. The quality, content, as well as the disclosure indicators are the critical factors; this is to determine the level of risk and materiality related to the financial and non-financial information. In particular, to certain an entity’s sustainability development can create an opportunity for an entity to sustain itself through risk management in the long run. The research paper written by Christofi A. , Christofi P. , and Sisaye S. as discussed about historical development and reporting practices of corporate sustainability. To be exact it gave an overview of how and why sustainability reporting has been developed and moreover it discussed reporting instruments such as GRI and DJSI. We understand the reason why organisation will voluntary to report their sustainability performa nce as well as how important of the disclosure indicators are. According to GRI, 2008 – â€Å"A sustainability report should provide a balanced, objective and reasonable representation of the sustainability performance of a reporting company – including both positive and negative contributions†. We will take into account of all these factors when we  evaluate the sustainability report of our chosen organisation – Samsung Electronics. Part 2 – A Critical Evaluation of an Organisations’ Sustainability Report Introduction Samsung Electronics Co. , Ltd. is found in 1969 in Suwon of Korea. They are the first Korean company included in the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World in February 2011. In 2010, they was ranked 19th in the Interbrand’s Best Global Brands. Their main business is manufacturing and sells a wide range of electronic goods, communication devices, and semiconductors. They have one global headquarter in Korea and nine regional headquarters worldwide, which consists of 199 subsidiaries, and they have employed 178,732 full time staff and 11,732 contractors at the end of 2010. As they are one of the largest manufacturing corporate in the world, so we are interested to evaluate their sustainability performance. Vision & Strategy Since 2009, they set their long term corporate vision for 2020 as ‘Inspire the World, Create the Future’. The objectives of their core strategy are harmonising among diverse stakeholders by (1) protecting the environment, (2) improving the social conditions in their service regions, and, at the same time, (3) generating economic performance (as per the CEO report in 2011 sustainability report). They believed that integration of sustainability development is essential for sustainability growth. To achieve their sustainability development, they have categorised their strategies into six areas: talent management, integrity management, green management, social contribution, partner collaboration, and product and services. In recent years,  Samsung has built their organisation structure into eight divisions, including visual display, IT solution, Digital Appliance, Mobile Appliance, Mobile Communications, Network, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor, LCD divisions. The goal of organisation structure is help managers to implement and control the system facility and efficiency. Furthermore, the new structure enhances global competitiveness and more effectiveness organisation management. Samsung has established successfully the corporate governance to implement and monitor the sustainability strategy across the company. As seen in the annual sustainability report, the company has suggested three significant strategic approaches; visions for industry, vision for society and vision for employees. To ensure the accuracy of implementing and monitoring these approaches, Samsung has established creative management, partnership management and talent management. The responsibilities and roles of each department are increasing the external capabilities, partner collaborations, satisfying the expectation of its stakeholders. Organisation’s Profile and Management Approach Furthermore, Samsung has set up the management systems to ensure the company continuously obtaining future probability and sustainability, which is based on main direction of creation, innovation and change in consistent with the global economy. Their scope and tasks to achieve their sustainability development, that reflecting significant influences to employees, societies, partnerships, and customers as a whole, are classified in the following areas: * Talent management: employee value, work-life balance. * Integrity management: corporate ethics, fair trade compliance and intellectual property protection. Green management: emphasis on climate change, develop eco-products, encourage Eco-Friendly workplace, green communication. * Social contribution: pursuing a happier society, partnership programs. * Partner collaboration: global competitiveness. * Products and services: customer enjoyment service and customer trust. In January 2009, Samsung built the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Liaison Office that is responsible for reporting directly to the CEO and the Sustainability Management Committee. Report Content and Quality There are four principles for defining report content: materiality, stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context and completeness. (1) Materiality: We found that the level of information provided form Samsung sustainability report is not detailed enough. For example, information about global network gives us an understanding on how many departments of production, research and development and sales in each region and the report also provided information about how many people are working in each region; but it is missing further information on how many people work in individual division. This is key information for us to compare with the accident rate. It seems they are not complied with this principle. (2) Stakeholder Inclusiveness: In both of their reports, they have identified their stakeholders into eight groups – customer, business partners, shareholders/investors, non-governmental organisations, employees, local communities, government and press. In order to meet with the needs from their stakeholders, they will identify all relative issues and will follow up with communication activities. In addition, they have expanded social network services to strengthen communication with both internal and external stakeholders. In essence, Samsung has satisfies this principle. (3) Sustainability Context: Samsung has categorises its sustainability issues into 6 areas – talent management, integrity management, green management, social contribution, partner collaboration, and product and services. At the end of the report, it contained performance highlights, short-term plan for the next year and performance indicators. Basically, Samsung has satisfies this principle too. (4) Completeness: Overall, Samsung has provided general information in their reports. By looking at the table of the content of the report, the reader can find that all important topics. Yes, Samsung has satisfies this principle. There are six principles for defining report quality:   balance, comparability, accuracy, timeliness, clarity and reliability. (1) Balance: The balance of the information provided by Samsung is enough but they are relatively emphasised on those positive aspects. In the negative aspects, for example, in the area of product and service, they have employed outside agency to conduct a global customer satisfaction survey and used it for setting improvement targets, but it is missing further information about the effect of the survey. Another example is they have disclosed that they have 57 million customer inquiries and grievances (Korea: 34 million, overseas: 23 million) on their product and after sales services, again, there is no further information. It seems they are trying to meet the disclosure requirement. In general, they have relatively emphasised on the possible aspects, like awards, partnership program in social contribution, economic performance and so on. It is obviously, Samsung has failed to meet with this principle. 2) Comparability: We found that the two reports were inconsistent, the format and level of information provided are different. In 2011 report was with more information with performance highlights, indicators as well as a short-term plan for next year. In 2010 report is with more information in the individual areas, for example, they have included their company code of conduct in their integrity management. Besides, we found that it is quite difficult to compare their report with other company especially in the same industry. Because the format and information are vary from one company to others. We believe that this is caused by lack of a standard sustainability reporting framework. Therefore, their report does not comply with this principle. (3) Accuracy: In general, Samsung as a big corporation have responsibility to provide accurate information. We believe the information they have provide are accurate and reliable, and stakeholders assess their company’s performance. Yes, Samsung satisfies this principle. (4) Timeliness: Organisation should make report available on time for the stakeholders to make informed decisions. In general, Samsung has provided their reports on a regular schedule and information is available in time. Their reports are generally available around early of June. Yes, Samsung satisfies this principle. (5) Clarity: In general, everybody can assess Samsung sustainability information from their company website and can obtain a PDF format of the sustainability report. Besides, their website provides information and contact details of their CSR office and stakeholders can contact them for any queries on their report. Yes, Samsung satisfies this principle. 6) Reliability: Basically, the level of information in Samsung’s report is quite general. However, it still can subject to examination and that establishes the quality and materiality of the information. Range of the aspects of performance reported The range (breadth) of the aspects of performance reported for these two years are adequate. In these two reports, they have categorized their sustainability development into six s egments which are talent management, integrity management, green management, social contribution, partner collaboration, and product and services. In the 2011 sustainability report, they have presented the highlights of progress, a three year performance indicator, and a short-term plan for each of the segments. The level of information provided in each segments is sufficient. However, due to there are lack of standard requirement of what level of information should be presented, we found that the information between the two years are difference and inconsistent. In addition, there are no comparisons with other companies or with industry average. Sometimes, it may be difficult to know how a particular company compares with another one. As a reader, we would like to have more meaningful information and progress in regarding to their economic, environmental and social performance. Performance Indicators In 2010 sustainability report, Samsung has set number of the action plans for year of 210 and they are:- * Sharpen competitive edge in core businesses * Promote open innovation * Develop new businesses and new markets * Expand partner collaboration and establish green leadership * Establish market-driven system * Foster a creative organisational culture We will use the above as short-term goals and will evaluate their sustainability performance. As Samsung is one of the largest manufacturing corporate. We are interested to understand their disclosure indicator in the social performance of (1) labour practices and decent work and (2) society. (1) Labour practices and decent work: Overall, Samsung has demonstrated the results of performance against goals in this area. Information has been covered in the area of talent management. They have set the objective to attract and retain top talent with promoting worker diversity and fostering a creative organisational culture through strengthening employee competencies. The level of information is met with requirement in the performance indicator related to employment and occupational health and safety. Employment status by region| Region| 2008| 2009| 2010| Korea| 84464| 85089| 95662| Other| 77236| 72612| 94802| Total| 161700| 157701| 190464| In 2010, their sales and profits has been boost even though there are weak euro stemming from debt crisis in Europe and they have expanded more business subsidiaries in overseas. Their workforce has been increased significantly. Some of their contractors have been transferred as permanent staff especially in the peak season. However, this situation may arise with some restraint in the labour budgets, overall staff management when the global continuous economic downsizing more severely in the upcoming years (2) Society: As per requirement from G3. 1, society performance indicators focus on any impacts that will arise from the local communities in where they operate, and disclose any risks that may arise from interactions with other social institutions of which are managed and mediated. Risks including bribery, corruption, undue influence in public policy-making, and monopoly practices. In the 2011 sustainability report, it has demonstrated the result of performance against the above plan. They have opened 3 more subsidiaries in 2010 from a total of 196 to 199. The movement of their subsidiaries are as follows:- Global Network| Production| Sales| R&D| Other| Total| Year 2010| 40| 50| 18| 91| 199| Year 2009| 39| 53| 24| 80| 196| Movement| 1| -3| -6| 11| 3| Once their new business subsidiaries are in operation, they will implement their sustainability strategy in the area of social contribution and integrity management. In the social contribution, Samsung has incorporated their corporate social responsibility philosophy: â€Å"leverage Samsung legacy of technology innovation to change our communities and human life and offer new opportunities to more people by preserving the environment for future generations†. In return, Samsung has developed various contribution programs through, partnership, donations and volunteering, which are tailored to each local community and aim at deliver real change to these local communities. Result in 2010 is positive. The number of people participating in volunteering is increased significantly. However, the dollar value on social contribution which is only KRW239 billion. When we compared it with the sales KRW154 trillion and net income KRW16. 1 trillion, the percentage to sales is less than 0. 15% and to net income is 1. 5%. It seems their dollars value contribution to the society is so little. Samsung has identified organisational risks of unlawful activities and violation of the laws in each region, in order to minimise these risks. Samsung has established its own code of conduct outlining ethical standards that require all employees has to comply with. Besides, they have introduced different compliance programs such as compliance education, integrated training through self-inspection to raise awareness of compliance among employees to follow. Any unlawful activities such as bribery, corruption and influence in public policy-making and monopoly are strictly prohibited. Although they have integrated different compliance programs, however wrongdoing activities are still happened. In 2010, 28% of the people who were disciplined were dismissed by Samsung. Besides, Samsung has been fined with KRW16 billion with violation of collusion on system air conditioners in Korea and $145. 73 million Euros with violation of DRAM price collusion in overseas. It seems their controlling system is inefficiency and we believe they need a tightening monitoring system in order to minimise their business risks. Conclusion Based on our evaluation on our chosen organisations’ sustainability report, we are of the opinion that their sustainability reports have covered enough information and this information can be easily accessed. However, the level of detail in their information provided in their report is very general. Their compliance program, for example, is an essential for any company, and does not provide the necessary information for us to properly analyse their integrity. The report roughly covers the data. As a reader, we would like to know more details of how problems occur, instead of what, and how they are going to rectify or prevent it. Besides, when we referring to their report, the currency they are using is South Korean Won which is quite difficult for us to understand the monetary effect. We would suggest an appropriate international currency should be used. The clarity of change between the two years reports are inconsistent. The 2010 report was with more information such as code of conduct, value system which is a useful insight, and the 2011 report was with more information such as short-term plans, performance highlights and more performance indicators. We are trying to compare Samsung’s performance with other company that is in the same industry. However this is quite difficult as the format and level of information are different from Samsung to the other company. This may be a restraint of a voluntary report. These different indicated the current limitation of sustainability development, that is lack of standard sustainability reporting. Currently sustainability reporting is a non-regulatory and non-binding requirement. After we evaluated Samsung’s sustainability report, it seems their â€Å"voluntary sustainability report may more about public relations than about increasing the transparency and accountability of corporations with respect to their sustainability performance† (Cho, 2012). We believe that â€Å"the development of CSR standards could become a major influence on global trade and investment. Questions of effectiveness, transparency, accountability and democratic participation are important for any new manifestation of regulation or governance† (Bendell, 2011). As per the insight from KPMG 2011 â€Å"while the GRI Guidelines will continue to be the de facto standard, we believe that global CR reporting would benefit from further global standards that enable the benchmarking of the quality of the information and quantitative performance in CR activities†. We believe that an organisation should initiative to ensure they have made every effort to listen and meet the needs from both their internal and external stakeholders, through incorporated the sustainability development this should be the best channel for an organisation to improve the communication with both their internal and external stakeholders. Finally through sustainability on economic, environmental and social, this will benefit to the organisation, people as well as the planet too. Word count: 4022 References 1. Bendell, J. , Miller, A. , Wortmann, K. (2011), â€Å"Public policies for caling corporate responsibility standards: Expanding collaborative governance for sustainable development†, Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Vol 2 Iss: 2, pp. 263-293 2. Cho, C. , Michelon, G. , Patten, D. , (2012), â€Å"Enhancement and Obfuscation through the Use of Graphs in Sustainability Reports: An International Comparison†, Sustainability Accountin g, Management and Policy Journal, Vol 3 Iss: 1 3. Dow Jones Sustainability Index, available at: http://www. sustainabilityindex. com/Ethibel Sustainable Index, available at: http://www. thibel. org/subs_e/4_index/main. html 4. Dyllick, T. , Hockerts, K (2002), â€Å"Beyond the Business Case for Corporate Sustainability†, Business Strategy and the Environment, 11,2; ABI/INFORM Global pg. 130 5. Giannarakis, G. , and Litinas, N. , Sariannidis, N. , (2011), â€Å"Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsbility Performance Standards†, African Journal of Business Management, Vol 5(17), pp. 7367-7374 6. Global Reporting Initiatives, available at: http://www. globalreporting. org/Home 7. Hammond, A. , Adriaanse, A. , Rodenburg, E. , Bryant, D. , Woodward, R. 1995), â€Å"A Systematic Approach to Measuring and Reporting on Environmental Policy Performance in the Context of Sustainably Development†, World Resources Istitute 8. KPMG (2008), â€Å"Count me in – The re aders take on sustainability reporting† (4/15/2008) 9. KPMG (2011), â€Å"KPMG International Survey of Corporate Responsibility Report 2011† (11/7/2011) 10. Stiglitz, J. , Sen, A. , Fitoussi, Jean-Paul, (2009), â€Å"Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress† 11. World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987), Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Tsa Policies

As an aviation management major airport security is a concern that I have taken a huge interest in. Making travel safer to air travelers is one of the biggest tasks that will never end as long as there is a plane in the sky. However, there are many problems that come about when traveling because passengers feel as if they are being harassed, which doesn’t set a good look for the Transportation Security Administration. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) consist of 50,000 security officers, inspectors, directors, air marshals and managers who protect the nation's transportation systems so you and your family can travel safely. They look for bombs at checkpoints in airports, they inspect rail cars, they patrol subways with our law enforcement partners, and they work to make all modes of transportation safe. Criminals and terrorists have been known to conceal items in private areas of the body, especially in the small of the back above the buttocks and high on the thigh. Screeners are to carefully inspect these areas during pat downs to adequately check for dangerous items. Also, underwire bras can set off magnetometers, and bras have been used to conceal dangerous items. One of the most intrusive and most controversial aspects of secondary screening is the use of pat-down inspections to check selected passengers or to resolve magnetometer alarms. Specific complaints over pat-down techniques have centered on allegations of inappropriate touching and unprofessional or rude conduct by screeners. More general complaints have focused on privacy concerns and perceptions that the pat-down procedures were intrusive and humiliating. A 2005, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigation and audit of pat-down screening procedures found that the TSA adequately advised passengers of their rights under the pat-down procedures, and appropriately accommodated those rights. The DHS also found that TSA screeners were adequately trained in pat down inspection procedures and, based on TSA records, additional screening procedures were performed on proportionate numbers of male and female passengers. Finally, the DHS found that the TSA had implemented procedures to investigate and resolve passenger complaints regarding the screening process. The TSA maintains a screening Performance Management Information System (PMIS) where recorded complaints are logged. Operations research analysis teams and federal security directors review complaints logged in the database to track trends and identify areas of concern and take appropriate actions, including possible disciplinary actions, to resolve specific issues. Complaints involving allegations of discrimination based on color, race, gender, religion, or national or ethnic origin are forwarded to the TSA’s Office of Civil Rights for further investigation. Despite considerable concern raised by some regarding inappropriate behavior during pat-down screening procedures, the DHS found no problems with the technique. Nonetheless, privacy groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ALCU), continue to express concern over potential intrusion on individual rights and alleged cases of sexual harassment and abuse of passengers, particularly female passengers, by TSA screeners. These concerns, however, raise a significant challenge for the TSA: to maintain high levels of security, which require resolving all alarms and screening in detail those passengers ascertained to pose an elevated security risk, while maintaining the privacy rights and dignity of passengers identified for these secondary screening measures. While these technologies offer a potential alternative to pat-down screening techniques, they too, raise privacy concerns because the images generated by these systems can reveal private areas, physical characteristics that individuals may wish to keep private, as well as prosthetics and other assistive medical devices. In the fast-paced environment of the passenger checkpoint, pat-down searches may be rushed and certain areas may be overlooked. The difficulty in detecting threat items on passengers is compounded by the requirements to respect the privacy of individuals discussed above, as well as social and cultural norms and individual differences regarding interpersonal contact and expectations of privacy and modesty. Some have also noted cultural sensitivities toward handicapped and disabled individuals and point out that screeners are sometimes hesitant to perform intrusive searches, particularly on individuals wearing various prosthetics. Terrorists and criminals can and have exploited these aspects of individual privacy by concealing prohibited items in body cavities and near private areas of their bodies, and could also exploit a screener’s reluctance to perform thorough searches of prosthetic devices. Covert testers also use these methods to conceal simulated threat items in an effort to test screeners’ abilities to detect items under real-world conditio ns and identify vulnerabilities in checkpoint screening that can potentially be reduced through procedural modifications and/or changes to screener training. These covert tests have revealed weaknesses in screener performance to detect weapons, simulated explosives, and components of explosive devices.

Ben Hur essays

Ben Hur essays Judah Ben-Hur is the main character in the movie Ben-Hur. He grows up in a wealthy and politically influential family who had everything they could possibly want. While still a young child, Judahs best friend, Messala, moved to Rome for education. As the years went by, Judah and Messala never forgot each other. But while in Rome, Messala grew to be a wicked man that would do anything or use anybody to gain social prominence. Ordered by the Emperor, Messala returned to his homeland to rule as a Tribune. Judah heard of Messalas return and met him as soon as he arrived. While talking with each other, they decide to see who can throw a javelin more accurately. Both men hit the same target and Judah interpreted this as a sign that Messala still considered them equal. Proving Romes ruthlessness, Messala only wanted to get information from Judah so that he could fulfill his orders of conquering the land. Through a long line of events, Messala condemned Judah because he refused to comply with Rome and turn in his friends. As a result, Judah ended up as a rower on a slave ship. During the three-year period where he was a slave at sea, he was ordered to row well and live or pay the penalty. Because Rome was so vindictive, anyone who wouldnt or couldnt follow orders would be put to death. Yet Judah did find compassion in one man, the captain of the fleet, who he quickly became friends with. During a battle with another fleet, Judahs ship was rammed and sank. While the majority of the slaves died, Judah escaped and saved the life of the captain. After floating on a piece of driftwood for a day, they were picked up by another Roman ship and discovered that their battle turned out to be a victory credited to the captain. Repaying Ben-Hur for his bravery, the captain adopted him when they returned to Rome. No longer a slave, Judah decided to return to his country and search for his moth...

The Tragedy of Richard III essays

The Tragedy of Richard III essays "The tragedy of Richard III lies in the progressive isolation of From the very opening of the play when Richard III enters "solus", the protagonist's isolation is made clear. Richard's isolation progresses as he separates himself from the other characters and breaks the natural bonds between Man and nature through his efforts to gain power. The first scene of the play begins with a soliloquy, which emphasizes Richard's physical isolation as he appears alone as he speaks to the audience. This idea of physical isolation is heightened by his references to his deformity, such as "rudely stamp'd...Cheated of feature by Dissembling Nature, deformed, unfinished. This deformity would be an outward indication to the audience of the disharmony from Nature and viciousness of his spirit. As he hates "the idle pleasures of these days" and speaks of his plots to set one brother against another, Richard seems socially apart from the figures around him, and perhaps regarded as an outsider or ostracized because of his deformity. His separation from is family is emphasized when he says "Dive, thought's down to my soul" when he sees his brother approaching. He is unable to share his thought with his own family as he is plotting against them. Thus, we are given hints of his physical, social and spiritual isolation which is developed throughout the play. But despite these hints, he still refers to himself as part of the House of York, shown in the repeated use of "Our". The concept of Richard's physical isolation is reinforced in his dealings with Anne in Act I scene ii. She calls him "thou lump of foul deformity" and "fouler toad" during their exchange. Despite these insults, she still makes time to talk to Richard, and by the end of their exchange, she has taken his ring and been "woo'd" by him. After Richard has successfully gained the throne, he isolates himsel...

Challenges Of The United Nations Peacekeeping Operations International Law Essay

Challenges Of The United Nations Peacekeeping Operations International Law Essay Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . Challenges Of The United Nations Peacekeeping Operations International Law Essay 1. War is said to be as old as the civilization. First World War was the proof of devastation that took millions of lives. After this, the League of Nations was formed to bring some ground rules to prevent aggression. But no sooner the First World War was over, the Second World War started and the world observed how helpless the League was to prevent misery. Then the United Nations (UN) emerged with the commitments to exterminate war, maintaining international peace and security, securing justice and human rights and promoting social progress and friendly relations among the nations. The UN charter was signed on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco by the 50 founding states for maintaining international peace and security through close cooperation. The UN started its true journey through the Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) in May 1948, with the introduction of United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTS O) in the first Arab Israel war. But due to the tension of the cold war era, UN could not perform its role. After the end of the tension when both the superpowers wanted to contribute to the world peace, the UN took its rebirth. 2. But there were some significant changes after the end of cold war. The classic interstate rivalry ended and more complex and cruel intra state conflict was emerged. Wars were fought to control power and resources in a single state and were not usually between states. Civilians, not the armed combatants, became the intentional targets of violence. Wars in the former Yugoslavia, Africa and Latin America saw huge number of civilian casualties compared to the killed and wounded in either the regular Armed Forces of a state or in the ranks of insurgents.   [ 1 ]    3. The Sri Lanka Armed force with her huge experience in the recent past has got an enormous potential in becoming one of the most important troops contributing nations in the world. Therefore i t is of great importance to analyze the present state of Sri Lanka Army in dealing with changed peacekeeping environment and how best it can adapt itself in meeting the new demand of the United Nations. RESEARCH PROBLEM 4. Sri Lanka is an island nation which has an Armed Force of a considerable strength. Unfortunately the emergence of terrorism put a huge challenge to the Army. At the very outset of the conflict with Liberation Tiger of Tamil Elam (LTTE), the political aim could not be set in accordance with the national interest which allowed the LTTE to grow and emerge as the deadliest terrorist in the world.   [ 2 ]   But after 2000, the leaders of the country could set the aim and strategy to defeat the terrorist once and for all. Thereafter we could experience the win of Sri Lanka Army over LTTE where the total leadership of the terrorist group was wiped out. This victory over terrorism is the testimony of the brilliant performance and professionalism of the Sri Lanka Army. 5. Because of the decade old involvement of the Army in the battle, the Sri Lanka Army could not participate in the UN missions where the neighboring countries of the region could establish their presence the arena. Though there were modest contribution, but it was not enough in comparison to the potentialities of the forces. As time went on, the peacekeeping environment changed in great extent with which most of the countries could adapt themselves. It seems that due to the non involvement in the peace missions, the Sri Lanka Armed Forces could not achieve expected proficiency in the peacekeeping fields. But the fact is, the Sri Lanka Army rather gained a unique expertise in dealing with the Intra State conflict which made them more suitable for dealing with changed peacekeeping environment.

A Briefer on The Right to Protest and Police Powers Assignment

A Briefer on The Right to Protest and Police Powers - Assignment Example The paper tells that pertinent legal provision that applies to the right to public protest is in Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which states as follows: â€Å"Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.† The second paragraph qualifies the scope of the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of association, by laying down the limitations to this right and reiterating the power of agents of the state, such as the police and armed forces, to impose lawful restrictions. The restrictions to this right are as follows: (1) interests of national security or public safety, (2) for the prevention of disorder or crime, (3) for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. Article 11 should be seen alongside the right guaranteed in Article 10 of the ECHR, on which is enshrined the right of â€Å"freedom of opinion† which â€Å"shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.† It is important to note that these provisions carry both a negative and positive obligation for the state: the negative obligation is the obligation not to interfere in the exercise of the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of opinion, and the positive obligation is to take positive measures towards the free and meaningful exercise of these rights. 3. The operative word in the provision would be the word â€Å"peaceful† and there has been some debate over whether or not a particular form of protest may