Exploring Your Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Exploring Your Ethnicity - Essay Example This is rather sad given this is of postmodernity. Diversity can be sourced from gender, ethnic, culture and race. As such, given these numerous sources of diversity it is appalling to realize that some people have not adapted to the presence of other persons who are somewhat different. Such is the fate of people who do not conform to this status quo. True to this assertion, this paper endeavours to explicate on my ethnic diversity. This is in the sense that I am from Saudi Arabia. As such, I am well placed to expound on this subject of ethnic diversity. In addition, I will expound on my experiences in a foreign country. Ethnic diversity is an intrinsic element of society. As such, it should be placed in high regard. I am an Arab. More specifically, I am a Native Saudi Arabian. I was born in Saudi Arabia same as my whole family. Coming from a nation state that is largely, if not wholly, of Arabian descent, I rarely witnessed cases of diversity. This is because the variation in ethnic ity in Saudi Arabia is all but trivial. Additionally, the immigrants in Saudi Arabia are inconsequential in number. As such, all my life I have never found myself in a situation that offers me the opportunity to interact with various people of diverse origins. In such a circumstance, it is highly probable that the first interaction with an environment that is characterized by diversity and disparity will culminate in unwarranted reactions. However, this does not mean that I reacted harshly when I entered this country. Rather to the contrary, given the academic opportunity availed to me via the educational system existing in this country, I more than appreciate this country. Given this fact, it is sad to realize that the feeling is not reciprocated wholesomely. This translates to mean that, not all people react suspetingly to my presence. However, the select few are worth highlighting. Prior to coming to this country, I sought the input of my relatives. A majority of them were agains t this idea. However, head strong as I am, I ventured to partake in this journey of furthering my academic ambitions. This was made easier by the support of my direct family. On coming here, I began to understand the reservations harbored by my relatives concerning my journey to America. However, irrespective of this, I was not raised to be a passive individual. The fear of discrimination owing to my ethnicity should not impede on my academic ambitions. True to the characteristics of the Arab people, who traversed the globe in search of trading merchandise, I have in an intrinsic need to be oblivious of the element of distance. Given that I do not want to live in America on a permanent basis, this somewhat solidifies my beliefs on the importance of distance. As such, the negative assertions by strangers on the American streets will not deter or dissuade me from achieving the academic goals I have set for myself. Saudi Arabia is ethnically Arab. This ethnicity is the generalization o f people from, the Arab peninsula and their subsequent descendants (Lewis, 1993). Each region in the country has various variations of Arabs, albeit minimal variation. There are African and Asian people also living in Saudi Arabia (Hourani, 1991). However, a significant majority of these are Muslims. Unlike the ethnic variation that is significantly present in the United States, Saudi Arabia is by law, characterized by a purely natural Muslim population. So much

The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises Research Paper

The Coca-Cola Company Struggles with Ethical Crises - Research Paper Example All these contamination issues were further aggravated by the slow response from the beverage manufacturer and failure to recognize the severity of the situation. In Belgium, the country’s strict antitrust laws upheld a halt on market strategy seen as illegal strategy to strengthen Coca-Cola’s market share. The reputation of the company was thus deteriorating at an increasing rate. While considering mergers and acquisition, the company’s marketing tactics came under scrutiny due to the strict antitrust laws in the European countries. The French government refused to approve the company’s bid to acquire Origina and Schweppes, other French beverage companies. But still, the company dominates foreign markets throughout the world. Further, claims of racial discrimination came up in the spring of 1999. It is claimed that the top management had knowledge of this since 1995 and had done nothing to neutralize this situation. Discrimination was alleged to take plac e among former and current black employees. Over two thousands of them are said to have been discriminated in terms of promotions, pay and performance evaluations. A mid-level executive accused the Coca-Cola Company of doctoring a study it had done on behalf of Burger King in 2002. The fast food outlet had to take the research on its own to establish the reality of the claims. Coca-Cola was found guilty and had to compensate Burger Kings, the whistle-blower as well as pay millions in pre-tax write offs. It further lost public image among its customers, stakeholders as criminal investigations were instituted. Channel stuffing – shipping additional stock at above board rates to retailers and wholesalers are allegations came up. This was aimed at manipulating the numbers just before the end of a quarter to create a strong demand picture. This makes the financial statement earning impressive to the investors. From 1997 through 1999, the company was accused of this in the Japanese market. Coca-Cola is facing a shareholder suit regarding this kind of actions also in the Europe, North America and South Africa markets. Other supplies of the company such as PowerAde – a sports drink- came under scrutiny. Its delivery to Wal-Mart beyond Texas test area was looked into as bottlers alleged the contracts engaged in did not permit such. Initially the company was using direct store delivery, bottlers dropped off products to all stores, stock shelves and building merchandising displays. Bottlers did claim diminishing of their businesses due to this new change of delivery tactic and also a violation of antitrust laws. The media reported this wrangle negatively hence costing the company its reputation as well as the reputation of firms within its supply chain. The integrity the company had across its shareholders and partners was eroded. Internal wars with unions were up around the same time in Colombia. The death of eight Coca-Cola workers, hiding of further fort y eight and sixty five receiving death threats was attributed to Coca-Cola and its local bottler by the union though it was a coincidence. The union sought reparations to families of slain workers as well as the displaced. The companies denied all these claims and attribute them to the Colombia’s four decade long civil war. There was an arrest of an administrative secretary and two accomplices in 2006. Fraud charges were brought against them as well as stealing and trading

Application of ANN Model

Application of ANN Model 4.0. Introduction In this chapter, the results of ANN modelling are discussed through performance parameters, time series plotting and presentation through tables. Before the application of ANN model, statistical analysis of data are done. It is discussed earlier that the selection of appropriate input combination from the available data is the crucial step of the model development process. Five different types of input variable selection (IVS) techniques were utilized and twenty six input combinations were prepared based on the IVS techniques which are discussed in section 4.2. Finally, results of four ANN models are discussed one by one. Firstly, the feed forward neural network model were picked to predict dissolved oxygen of Surma River with all twenty six input combinations and compared with one another. Secondly, the sensitivity analysis was done by changing the value of individual input variables in a certain percentage. Thirdly, six best input combinations were selected based on their performan ces and rest of the three ANN models were utilized with those selected six input combinations. Finally, three best models from each ANN model were picked to compare with each other. The results of statistical data analysis, results of IVS, and results of ANN models will be discussed in this chapter chronologically. 4.1. Statistical Analysis of Data: Statistical parameters are very important components to understand the variability of a data set which is prerequisite of any modeling works.This study used some basic statistical parameters i.e. minimum, maximum, mean, standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variability (CV) as defined below: Where, N is the total number of samples, is the water quality data, is the arithmetic mean of that particular data series. The summary of analysis is represented in Table 4.1. Standard Deviation (SD) shows the variation in data set, where smaller value represents the data is close together, while larger value denotes wide spreading of data set. The SD of dependent variable (BOD) showed relatively small value with respect to other parameters. But sometimes its difficult to understand variability only by SD value. Thus, coefficient of variability (CV) was used in this study for clear understanding of variability. Value of CV for BOD displayed larger variation (75%) that represents huge quantities of untreated wastewater was dumping from various point and nonpoint sources into this river during sample collection. All independent variables (remaining 14 parameters) also showed an enormous variation in CV value (8% to 144%). Such variability might be happened due to geographical variation s in climate and seasonal inà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uences in the study region. pH showed lowest variation and it may happen due to the buffering capacity of the river. Table 4. 1: Basic Statistics i.e. minimum (min), maximum (max), mean (M), standard deviation (SD) and coefficient of variation (CV) of the measured water quality variables for a period of three years (January, 2010-December, 2012) in Surma River, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Variable Min Max Mean Std. CV (%) Phosphate (mg/l) 0.01 3.79 0.53 0.70 132 Nitrates (mg/l) 0.18 4.0 1.53 1.05 69 CO2 (mg/l) 8.0 127 32.66 20.99 64 Alkalinity (mg/l) 21 195 59.34 30.56 51 TS (mg/l) 55 947 292.2 165.69 57 TDS (mg/l) 10 522 142.3 102.15 72 pH 5.7 8.25 6.92 0.55 8 Hardness (mg/l) 45 262 119 43 36 SO4-3 (mg/l) 2.0 33.10 10.68 6.82 64 BOD (mg/l) 0.6 17.3 3.79 2.86 75 Turbidity (NTU) 4.18 42.62 11.84 7.37 62 K (mg/l) 1.47 35.22 5.45 5.75 106 Zinc (mg/l) 0.1 0.52 0.19 0.09 47 Iron (mg/l) 0.09 6.09 0.48 0.69 144 DO (mg/l) 1.9 17.30 5.40 2.45 45 4.2 Results of input variable selection: It is mentioned earlier that selection of appropriate input variables is one of the most crucial steps in the development of artificial neural network models. The selection of high number of input variables may contain some irrelevant, redundant, and noisy variables might be included in the data set (Noori et al., 2010). However, there could be some meaningful variables which may provide significant information. Therefore, reduction of input variables or selection of appropriate input variables is needed. There are so many IVS techniques available such as genetic algorithm, Akaike information criteria, partial mutual information, Gamma test (GT), factor analysis, principal component analysis, forward selection, backward selection, single variable regression, variance inflation factor, Pearsons correlation and so on. In this research, five IVS techniques such as factor analysis, variance inflation factors, and single variable -ANN, single variable regression, and Pearsons correlation (PC) are utilized to find out appropriate input combinations. The explanation of five selected IVS techniques are explained with the respective input combinations. 4.2.1. Factor Analysis: Factor analysis is a method used to interpret the variance of a large dataset of inter correlated variables with a smaller set of independent variables. At the initial stage, the feasibility study was carried out for the input variables used in this study was done by KMO index and correlation parameter matrix. The data are suitable for factor analysis if KMO index is greater than 0.5 and correlation coefficient is higher than 0.3. According to Table 4.1, the data are feasible for factor analysis as the KMO index of all data is found as 0.720 (greater than 0.5) and a null hypothesis (p=0.000) indicates a significant correlation between the variables. Moreover, from Table 4.2, many of the correlation coefficient (Pearsons) between water quality parameters are greater than 0.3 which also confirms the feasibility of water quality parameters for factor analysis. Table 4.3 describes the eigenvalues for the factor analysis with percent variance and cumulative variance. To find out the numbe r of effective factor, factors with Eigen values 1.5 are considered for ANN model. The scree plot of Eigenvalues are illustrated in Figure 4.2. As observed in Figure 4.1, the Eigen values are in descending order and a drop after 2nd factor confirms the existence of at least two main factors. Table 4.2 Coefficient of KMO and Bartlett test results Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy 0.720 Bartletts Test of Sphericity Approx. Chi-Square 533.3 Df. 78.00 Sig. 0.000 Normally, factors having steeper slope are good for analysis whereas factors with low slope have less impact on the analysis. The first two factors cover 64.607% of total variance (Table 4.4). The results of rotated factor loading using Varimax method are tabulated in Table 4.5. The results indicated that the first factor is CO2, Alkalinity and K+, which are the most influential water quality parameter for Surma River. However, hardness, total solid (TS), Fe and total dissolved solid (TDS) are grouped in the second factor. Figure 4.1 Scree plot of eigenvalues of the Surma River Table 4.4 Individual eigenvalues and the cumulative variance of water quality observations in the Surma River Factors Eigen Values % Variance Cumulative Variance % 1 3.800 29.227 29.227 2 1.839 14.147 43.374 3 1.553 11.947 55.321 4 1.207 9.286 64.607 5 0.997 7.668 72.275 6 0.802 6.172 78.447 7 0.645 4.965 83.412 8 0.639 4.914 88.326 9 0.442 3.400 91.727 10 0.331 2.548 94.275 11 0.304 2.341 96.615 Table 4.5 Rotated factors loading for water quality observations in the Surma River using a Vartimax method 12 0.241 1.855 98.470 13 0.199 1.530 100.000 Factor NO3 pH CO2 Alk. Hard. TS BOD Tur. K+ Fe TDS PO4-3 01 .070 .173 .791 .876 .238 .273 -.178 .443 .859 -.038 .079 .179 02 .133 -.22 -.004 .143 .702 .797 .007 .141 .176 .621 .787 .165 03 .789 -.41 -.050 -.13 .107 -.25 .152 -.526 -.010 .114 -.135 .613 04 .156 .737 -.199 -.057 -.283 .117 .613 .287 -.079 .416 -.162 .170 Phosphate and nitrate are grouped in factor 3 whereas pH, BOD, Fe are grouped in factor 4. In this research, the variables in the first, second, third and fourth factor are named as the M16, M17, M18 and M19 respectively. All the model names along with their respective variables are tabulated in Table 4.6. Table 4.6 results of factor analysis with their respective inputs Model Input Variables FA I CO2+ Alkalinity + K+ FA II Hardness + TS + Fe + TDS FA III NO3+ PO4 -3 FA IV pH +   BOD 4.2.2. Variance Inflation Factor The variance inflation factor (VIF) is a method which measure the multi-collinearity in a regression analysis. In this study, variance inflation factors (VIF) were utilized to find appropriate inputs for the proposed model. The performances of VIF are tabulated in Table 4.7. It is found that, the VIF value is not that much satisfactory for all the variables. However, alkalinity, potassium, total solids and phosphate show quite a good result. To prepare some effective input combination for the ANN model, alkalinity was preferred for the model first and all the variables were added one by one. Moreover, only alkalinity is individually not considered in the model as the SV-ANN shows a weak performance for alkalinity (Table 22222).   Eleven input combinations were prepared based on the VIF value which is shown in Table 4.8. Table 4.7 Result of variance inflation factor for individual variables Input Combination VIF Alkalinity (mg/l) 3.180 K+ (mg/l) 2.847 TS (mg/l) 2.628 PO43- (mg/l) 2.070 CO2 (mg/l) 2.036 TDS (mg/l) 1.997 pH 1.898 Hardness (mg/l) 1.820 Turbidity (NTU) 1.696 Fe (mg/l) 1.290 BOD (mg/l) 1.177 NO3 (mg/l) 1.175 Table 4.8 Results of variance inflation factor (VIF) with their respective inputs Model Input Combinations VIF-I Alkalinity + K+ VIF-II Alkalinity + K+ TS VIF-III Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3 VIF-IV Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2 VIF-V Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS VIF-VI Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS+ pH VIF-VII Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS+ pH+ Hard VIF-VIII Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS+ pH+ Hard+ Tur. VIF-IX Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2+TDS+ pH+ Hard + Tur. + Fe VIF-X Alkalinity + K+ TS+ PO4-3+ CO2 +TDS+ pH+ Hard + Tur. + Fe + BOD VIF-XI Alkalinity +K+TS+PO4-3+CO2+TDS+pH+Hard+Tur. +Fe + BOD + NO3 4.2.3. Pearsons correlation coefficient   It is not always true that all the variables should contribute to simulate the value of other parameters. Some variables can have a very good relationship with other, some may have weak connection. Pearson correlation is an effective option to understand the relationship with one variable to another. While modelling DO value for the Surma River, it is important to select the variables to have positive relationship with one another. For this reason, a Pearson correlation was prepared which is tabulated in Table 4.3. It is found that there are 4 different types of data combinations which have positive and significant relationship with each other as tabulated in Table 4.9. Table 4.9 Input combinations using Pearson correlation Model Input Combinations PC I Alkalinity + TDS+ PO4-3+CO2+K+ PC II pH + Hardness + Turbidity PC III Alkalinity + Hardness+ TS+CO2+K+ PC IV Hardness+ TS+ K+ Turbidity PC V Hardness+ TS+ Fe +TDS PC VI TS + Turbidity + Fe +TDS + K+ 4.2.4. SV-ANN The performance of single variable artificial neural network was also done to find out appropriate input variables for the proposed model. All the individual variables are separately trained, tested and validated. During utilization of SV-ANN, only correlation coefficient (R) is considered to select the appropriate variables. The performances of SV-ANN are tabulated in Table 4.10 for testing, training and validation array. From the analysis, it is found that the individual variables show a weak performance. Only TS and BOD perform better comparing with other variables.   The SV-ANN with TS shows a correlation coefficient of 0.596, 0.600 and 0.700 for testing, training, and validation phases respectively. Moreover, the respective correlation coefficient (R) for SV-ANN model with BOD are found as 0.578, 0.574 and 0.652 for testing, training and validation. However, turbidity, carbon di oxide, phosphate and nitrate have quite good relations with DO. As individual variables did not pro vide significant result, the variables are not considered in the ANN model individually. BOD and TS have quite well Table 4.10 the correlation coefficient (R) for single variable ANN and single variable MLR Variables Phase SV-ANN SV-MLR R R PO43- (mg/l) Testing 0.439 0.115 Training 0.549 Validation 0.440 NO3 (mg/l) Testing 0.211 0.148 Training 0.311 Validation 0.112 pH Testing 0.234 0.087 Training 0.201 Validation 0.432 CO2 (mg/l) Testing 0.391 0.057 Training 0.453 Validation 0.514 Alkalinity (mg/l) Testing 0.222 0.200 Training 0.211 Validation 0.099 Hardness (mg/l) Testing 0.139 0.089 Training 0.649 Validation 0.155 TS (mg/l) Testing 0.596 0.199 Training 0.600 Validation 0.700 BOD (mg/l) Testing 0.578 0.100 Training 0.574 Validation 0.652 Turbidity (NTU) Testing 0.431 0.183 Training 0.583 Validation 0.398 K+ (mg/l) Testing 0.111 0.046 Training 0.543 Validation 0.219 Fe (mg/l) Testing 0.217 0.002 Training 0.210 Validation 0.306 TDS (mg/l) Testing 0.222 0.084 Training 0.345 Validation 0.245 relations with DO so they are grouped in one model (SV-ANN I) and turbidity, carbon di oxide, phosphate and nitrate are grouped in another one (SV-ANN II). The input variables utilizing SV-ANN is tabulated in Table 4.11. 4.3.5. SV-MLR Like the performances of single variable ANN model, SV-MLR with all the input individual variables show weak performance. Moreover, variables like alkalinity, nitrates, total solid and turbidity show good result comparatively. The performances of SV-MLR are tabulated in Table 4.10. It is found that, alkalinity and TS show quite good results comparing with other variables and hence they are grouped together (SV-MLR I). Another model (SV-MLR II) was prepared using all the variables with correlation coefficient more than 0.200. The input variables using SV-MLR model are tabulated in table 4.12. Table 4.11 results of single variable artificial neural network with their respective inputs Model Input Variables SV-ANN-I TS + BOD SV-ANN-II TS + BOD+ PO4-3+ CO2+Turbidity Table 4.12 results of single variable multiple linear regression with their respective inputs Model Input Variables SV- MLR I Alkalinity + TS SV-MLR II Alkalinity + TS + Turbidity + NO3 Model IVS Type Input Variables M1 PC I Alkalinity + TDS+ PO4-3+ CO2 +K+ M2 P

The Mormons :: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The Mormons Mormonism is a way of life that is practiced by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over two-thirds of the church's membership is in the United States. However, members are also located in many other countries around the world. Mormons use the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and two other books or revelations to Joseph Smith, founder of the church. These other two revelations are the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. The Mormon organization consists of a three member First Presidency and a twelve man Council of Apostles who make up the major policy-making body of the church. Mormonism's founding doctrine was based on the assumption that Christianity was corrupt and that it was necessary to restore the "true" Christian gospel. The Mormon church sees only itself as recognized by God. Joseph Smith founded the church in New York in 1830. He said that he had visions of God and other heavenly beings that told him to establish the restored Christian Church. He was "directed" to some thin metal plates that he translated into what is now called the book of Mormons. This book describes the history, wars, and religious beliefs of a group of people who migrated from Jerusalem to America. Smith attracted a small group of followers who settled in Kirtland, Ohio, and Jackson County, Missouri. Because of persecution, the church moved to northern Missouri, then to Nauvoo, Illinois. The people of Illinois welcomed the persecuted Mormons, and Smith began to construct a temple and a hotel there. In 1843, Smith secretly instituted the practice of plural marriage among a group of his followers. This could be because he himself had 50 wives. The Mormons lived in relative peace until 1844 when a group became mad about Smith's practices. They started a newspaper called the "Nauvoo Expositor" and attacked him, accusing him of practicing polygamy. Smith denied this charge but was killed anyway. Brigham Young took over as their new leader. In 1852 , polygamy was officially announced at the Mormon conference. Points of Debate What was so wrong with their views? * Belief in the Bible and Book of Mormon ==> How? The Mormons believe the Bible and The Book of Mormon to be the Word of God. However, the Bible states that it is the only Word of God. ==> Mormonism believes that God has a physical body. The Bible contradicts this belief * Belief in Polygamy ==> Teach that Jesus Christ himself is a polygamist. * Mormonism and Blacks ==> Mormonism teaches that African Americans have dark skin because they are cursed by God, and are an inferior race. The Mormons :: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Mormons Mormonism is a way of life that is practiced by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Over two-thirds of the church's membership is in the United States. However, members are also located in many other countries around the world. Mormons use the Bible, the Book of Mormon, and two other books or revelations to Joseph Smith, founder of the church. These other two revelations are the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. The Mormon organization consists of a three member First Presidency and a twelve man Council of Apostles who make up the major policy-making body of the church. Mormonism's founding doctrine was based on the assumption that Christianity was corrupt and that it was necessary to restore the "true" Christian gospel. The Mormon church sees only itself as recognized by God. Joseph Smith founded the church in New York in 1830. He said that he had visions of God and other heavenly beings that told him to establish the restored Christian Church. He was "directed" to some thin metal plates that he translated into what is now called the book of Mormons. This book describes the history, wars, and religious beliefs of a group of people who migrated from Jerusalem to America. Smith attracted a small group of followers who settled in Kirtland, Ohio, and Jackson County, Missouri. Because of persecution, the church moved to northern Missouri, then to Nauvoo, Illinois. The people of Illinois welcomed the persecuted Mormons, and Smith began to construct a temple and a hotel there. In 1843, Smith secretly instituted the practice of plural marriage among a group of his followers. This could be because he himself had 50 wives. The Mormons lived in relative peace until 1844 when a group became mad about Smith's practices. They started a newspaper called the "Nauvoo Expositor" and attacked him, accusing him of practicing polygamy. Smith denied this charge but was killed anyway. Brigham Young took over as their new leader. In 1852 , polygamy was officially announced at the Mormon conference. Points of Debate What was so wrong with their views? * Belief in the Bible and Book of Mormon ==> How? The Mormons believe the Bible and The Book of Mormon to be the Word of God. However, the Bible states that it is the only Word of God. ==> Mormonism believes that God has a physical body. The Bible contradicts this belief * Belief in Polygamy ==> Teach that Jesus Christ himself is a polygamist. * Mormonism and Blacks ==> Mormonism teaches that African Americans have dark skin because they are cursed by God, and are an inferior race.

Negotiating Skills

Negotiation refers to the process of reaching an agreement that is acceptable to all parties. Thus, it necessarily requires the recognition and analysis of the interests of all parties. Successful negotiation requires careful understanding of the perceptions and interests of each party and the utilization of surefire techniques of negotiation (Management Sciences for Health and United Nations Children’s Fund 1998). It is suggested by many that the hardest part in any negotiation occurs before the parties sit down at the negotiation table. This means that a lot of the success in negotiation may be attributed to adequate preparation prior to the actual negotiation process itself (Management Sciences for Health and United Nations Children’s Fund 1998). Preparation to negotiation involves planning and intelligence gathering. One of the important things that a negotiator must learn include the interests and expectations of the parties, the non negotiable and negotiable terms, different negotiation strategies, and possible concessions and other alternatives. Preparing adequately for negotiation would enable the negotiator to anticipate issues and problems and plan strategies in advance, placing him at an advantage (Dolan 2004). Negotiators must act ethically in any given situation. It should be kept in mind that the goal of negotiation is the resolution of conflict and reaching an agreement mutually acceptable to parties. Therefore, both parties must treat each other with respect, transparency and honesty so that the process remains a viable option in case of conflicts of interest (Cohen 2004). Finally, negotiators must know how to act when actions get stalled. There may be no hard and fast rules in such kinds of situations; the ultimate guide to any negotiator lies in the nature of the negotiation process itself, which is a tool for reaching an agreement. Thus, when actions get stalled, parties must exert effort to choose alternative courses of action that could still benefit all stakeholders (Management Sciences for Health and United Nations Children’s Fund 1998). References Cohen, S. P. 2004, â€Å"Negotiation Ethics: A Matter of Common Sense.† The   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Negotiator Magazine [Online], Available at    http://www.negotiatormagazine.com/article217_1.html Dolan, J. P. 2004, ‘Six Steps For Negotiation Preparation,’ Available at Management Sciences for Health and United Nations Children’s Fund. 1998, ‘Negotiation Techniques,’ Available at http://erc.msh.org/quality/ittools/itnegot2.cfm

Factors Affecting Democratization

This time period witnessed the collapse of over 30 authoritarian regimes in Europe, Asia, and Latin America which then made the transition to democracy and were characterized mainly by one party systems. Nations that undergo the translation to a democratic form of government usually display three particular characteristics: a high level of economic development, a highly educated public, and a large middle class.The second table, below Huntington, provides the literacy rates, Gaps, and life expectancies of five imaginary countries. Of these five countries, D and E are the most likely to democratic and hey are also the most likely to consolidate democracy because they possess the three main characteristics of democratic countries. Huntington provides a chart, on page 62 of his work, In which countries are classified according to their GNP In 1 976 In relation to the type of government they possessed in 1974.It also shows whether the countries democratic or liberalized between 1974 and 1989, or whether they maintained their non-democratic regimes throughout those years. The chart below Huntington provides the literacy rate, GAP per capita, and life expectancy of five imaginary countries. The characteristics provided on the second graph are critical to understanding each Individual country potential towards becoming democracies and their ability to consolidate democracy.The first characteristic of the chart is the literacy rate of the five countries, which is an excellent indicator of the overall level of education the countries. A highly educated public is a crucial factor in the transition to democracy, and political scientist Mitchell Gilson argued that in Latin America the thresholds that made democracy possible were both a GNP of $250 and a literacy rate of over fifty percent. This demonstrates that a countries literacy rate Is almost as Important as the level of economic development of a country In demagnification.Between 1960 and 1981 many more people began attending secondary schools to improve their educations. It has been proven that highly educated people tend to develop the characteristics of trust, satisfaction, and competence which form the civic cultural attitudes necessary in a democracy (Huntington, 69). Without an educated public, it is very difficult for democracies to survive. Thus, a high literacy rate provides evidence of a highly cattle puddle, wanly Is also positively oscillate Witt democracy.In Alton, a high literacy rate also provides evidence that a particular nation possesses a large middle class, which is often a product of industrialization and economic growth. The presence of a large middle class is another one of the most important factors of demagnification. Due to the fact that democracies often rely on a system of majority rule, a middle class is necessary in order to accurately represent the wishes of the populace. In addition, it is the middle class which strives to achieve their objectives.In virtually ev ery country the most active supporters of demagnification came from the urban middle class,[l]† and it was this group which led the third wave movements for demagnification. For example, in the Philippines, the middle class, comprised of professionals and business people, encouraged and actively participated in the demonstrations in 1984 against the oppressive regime of Ferdinand Marco's. It is clear that â€Å"When tear gas meets the middle class†¦ Tear gas loses. 2]† A large middle class is crucial in the transition to democracy because they are the people who lead the demonstrations, rallies, and protests calling for an end o authoritarian regimes and the transition to a democratic form of government. The literacy rates of the five countries suggest that countries A and C most likely have a very small middle class and only a small percentage of the overall population is highly educated, country Bi's literacy rate was unavailable, and that countries D and E have both a highly educated population and a large middle class.The second characteristic of the chart is the GAP per capita of the five countries. The gross domestic product (GAP), the gross national product minus the net income earned abroad, tells us the economic development and status of each particular nation. A higher GAP per capita is found in wealthy, economically advanced countries such as Switzerland which has a per capita income of $21 ,330. Conversely, a lower GAP is found in poorer countries such as Ethiopia with a per capita income of $130 (Huntington, 60).Undoubtedly, there exists a positive relationship between economic development and demagnification. Huntington claims that the nations most likely to undergo a transition to democracy are those characterized as â€Å"middle- income† countries. The correlation between wealth and democracy implies that transitions to democracy should occur primarily in countries at the middle levels of economic development. In poor c ountries demagnification is unlikely; in rich countries it has already occurred. 3]† Thus the GAP per capita of country D shows that it is the only country out of the five which is in the middle income range which Huntington claims possesses the most potential to make the transition to democracy, while countries A, B, C, and E are in the lower income range and less likely to make the transition to democracy. The third characteristic on the chart is the life expectancy, which is another important factor because it helps determine the level of technology of a nation.Countries with high life expectancies are more technologically advanced than those with lower life expectancies due to above average health care systems, medications and vaccines, and competent doctors. Most wealthy countries tend to have higher levels of technology than poorer countries, and most wealthy countries are democracies. â€Å"Most wealthy countries are democratic and most democratic countries – In dia is the most dramatic exception – are wealthy. [4]† As such, a higher life expectancy is also associated with democracy. Entrees A, c, Ana nave ten tenure lowest Tie expectancies wanly demonstrates Tanat they are the least technologically advanced. Country D has the second highest life expectancy, but based on life expectancy alone, country B would be the most technologically advanced of all the countries because it has the highest life The literacy rate, GAP, and life expectancy are three vital statistics in expectancy. Formulating a hypothesis as to the level of education, level of economic development, and level of technology that a country possesses and help in determining the type of government of a particular country.From these characteristics it is possible to infer that the countries least likely to democratic would be countries A and C, country B has somewhat a chance of demonstrating, depending on its literacy rate, and countries D and E would be the most l ikely to democratic. Countries A and C have the lowest literacy rates, Gaps, and life expectancies of the entire group and as such lack the high level of economic development, highly educated public, and large middle class which are almost always present in countries making the transition to democracy.The lack of an educated population and large middle class shows that it loud be extremely difficult to establish a democracy in these nations because the people, for the most part, would be unable to participate or take an active role in their governments. Country B would most likely remain whatever government, most likely authoritarian, that it currently was because of its decent GAP and because it has the highest life expectancy of the group.The high life expectancy suggests that the people are living relatively well, and as such, they would most likely not attempt to undermine their current regime. However, country E would most likely emaciation, and country D is the most likely to democratic out of the entire group. The reason that countries E and D are the most likely to democratic is because they possess the highest literacy rates (68 % and 78 % respectively), highest Gaps per capita ($700 and $1600), and good life expectancies (46 and 48 years).Both countries possess the characteristics common to democracies: high levels of economic development, a highly educated public, and a large middle class which is why they are the countries which would undergo the transition from a non democratic form of government to a democratic form of government. Country D is the most probable, out of the five countries, to democratic because it is precisely in the middle income range which Huntington believes leads to the demagnification of a nation.He proves his assertion in his chart which shows that the highest percentage of countries to democratic or liberalize between 1974 and 1989 did in fact occur in countries with per capita GNP in the $1000 – $3000 range (the mi ddle income range). In fact, 76 percent of countries in the middle income range democratic or liberalized, while poorer nations with per capita GNP of $250-$1000 such as countries A, B, C, and E) experienced only a 29 percent transition rate.Therefore, countries A and C are the least likely to democratic, B is somewhat likely to democratic, and E and D have the highest probability of demonstrating. Furthermore, supposing that all five nations have experienced a transition to democracy and have established a democratic regime, countries A, B, and C would be the least likely to consolidate democracy while countries E and D would be the most likely to consolidate their newly emerged democratic regimes. Political scientistAdam Paperwork's claimed that â€Å"Democracy is consolidated when under given political Ana economic contraltos a particular system AT Institutions Decodes ten only game in town, when no one can imagine acting outside the democratic institutions, when all losers want to do is to try again within the same institutions under which they have Just lost. [5]† It could be argued that countries A, B, and C have such low literacy rates, and Gaps that their situation could only get better; however, they do not have the resources (both economically and population-wise) to maintain or strengthen their new found democracies.Out of the five nations, countries E and D are the most economically developed which means they are the least likely to experience an economic crisis which could potentially undermine their regimes. The fact that they are the least likely to experience an economic crisis is extremely important, because economic crises were one of the main reasons that countries converted from non-democratic governments to democratic forms of government in the third wave of demagnification. In the third wave, the combination of substantial levels of economic development and short-term economic rises or failure was the economic formula most favorabl e to the transition from authoritarian to democratic government. [6]† Country E and Ad's educated middle class will actively work to maintain, improve, and strengthen the democratic system which gives them their freedoms and opportunities.Those two countries have the most potential and the most resources available at their disposal to maintain and strengthen their democracies. Therefore, due to their superior economic development, abundant resources, and the existence of an educated, middle class, countries E and D are by far the most likely to consolidate democracy. The third wave of demagnification witnessed the transition of over 30 countries to democratic forms of government, predominantly due to the economies of those countries.The countries most likely to establish a democratic regime are those which display a high level of economic development, a highly educated public, and a large middle class. These factors are crucial to demagnification. Countries A, B, and C are the least likely to democratic and consolidate demagnification because of their low literacy rates and lack of abundant resources. As time progresses and their literacy rates and Gaps increase, they may eventually enter the â€Å"middle income† range which is so conducive to democracy.