Paul Krugman, in Praise of Cheap Labor Bad Jobs at Bad Wages Are Better Than No Jobs at All.

In Praise of Cheap Labor Bad jobs at bad wages are better than no jobs at all. By  Paul Krugman|Posted Friday, March 21, 1997, at 3:30 AM ET For many years a huge Manila garbage dump known as Smokey Mountain was a favorite media symbol of Third World poverty. Several thousand men, women, and children lived on that dump–enduring the stench, the flies, and the toxic waste in order to make a living combing the garbage for scrap metal and other recyclables. And they lived there voluntarily, because the $10 or so a squatter family could clear in a day was better than the alternatives. Advertisement The squatters are gone now, forcibly removed by Philippine police last year as a cosmetic move in advance of a Pacific Rim summit. But I found myself thinking about Smokey Mountain recently, after reading my latest batch of hate mail. The occasion was an op-ed piece I had written for theNew York Times, in which I had pointed out that while wages and working conditions in the new export industries of the Third World are appalling, they are a big improvement over the â€Å"previous, less visible rural poverty. I guess I should have expected that this comment would generate letters along the lines of, â€Å"Well, if you lose your comfortable position as an American professor you can always find another job–as long as you are 12 years old and willing to work for 40 cents an hour. † Such moral outrage is common among the opponents of globalization–of the transfer of technology and capital from high-wage to low-wage countries and the resulting growth of labor-intensive Third World exports. These critics take it as a given that anyone with a good word for this process is naive or corrupt and, in either case, a de facto agent of global capital in its oppression of workers here and abroad. But matters are not that simple, and the moral lines are not that clear. In fact, let me make a counter-accusation: The lofty moral tone of the opponents of globalization is possible only because they have chosen not to think their position through. While fat-cat capitalists might benefit from globalization, the biggest beneficiaries are, yes, Third World workers. After all, global poverty is not something recently invented for the benefit of multinational corporations. Let's turn the clock back to the Third World as it was only two decades ago (and still is, in many countries). In those days, although the rapid economic growth of a handful of small Asian nations had started to attract attention, developing countries like Indonesia or Bangladesh were still mainly what they had always been: exporters of raw materials, importers of manufactures. Inefficient manufacturing sectors served their domestic markets, sheltered behind import quotas, but generated few jobs. Meanwhile, population pressure pushed desperate peasants into cultivating ever more marginal land or seeking a livelihood in any way possible–such as homesteading on a mountain of garbage. Given this lack of other opportunities, you could hire workers in Jakarta or Manila for a pittance. But in the mid-'70s, cheap labor was not enough to allow a developing country to compete in world markets for manufactured goods. The entrenched advantages of advanced nations–their infrastructure and technical know-how, the vastly larger size of their markets and their proximity to suppliers of key components, their political stability and the subtle-but-crucial social adaptations that are necessary to operate an efficient economy–seemed to outweigh even a tenfold or twentyfold disparity in wage rates. A  nd then something changed. Some combination of factors that  we still don't fully understand–lower tariff barriers, improved telecommunications, cheaper air transport–reduced the disadvantages of producing in developing countries. (Other things being the same, it is still better to produce in the First World–stories of companies that moved production to Mexico or East Asia, then moved back after experiencing the disadvantages of the Third World environment, are common. In a substantial number of industries, low wages allowed developing countries to break into world markets. And so countries that had previously made a living selling jute or coffee started producing shirts and sneakers instead. Workers in those shirt and sneaker factories are, inevitably, paid very little and expected to endure terrible working conditions. I say â€Å"inevitably† because their employers are not in business for their (or their workers') health; they pay as little as po ssible, and that minimum is determined by the other opportunities available to workers. And these are still extremely poor countries, where living on a garbage heap is attractive compared with the alternatives. And yet, wherever the new export industries have grown, there has been measurable improvement in the lives of ordinary people. Partly this is because a growing industry must offer a somewhat higher wage than workers could get elsewhere in order to get them to move. More importantly, however, the growth of manufacturing–and of the penumbra of other jobs that the new export sector creates–has a ripple effect throughout the economy. The pressure on the land becomes less intense, so rural wages rise; the pool of unemployed urban dwellers always anxious for work shrinks, so factories start to compete with each other for workers, and urban wages also begin to rise. Where the process has gone on long enough–say, in South Korea or Taiwan–average wages start to approach what an American teen-ager can earn at McDonald's. And eventually people are no longer eager to live on garbage dumps. (Smokey Mountain persisted because the Philippines, until recently, did not share in the export-led growth of its neighbors. Jobs that pay better than scavenging are still few and far between. ) The benefits of export-led economic growth to the mass of people in the newly industrializing economies are not a matter of conjecture. A country like Indonesia is still so poor that progress can be measured in terms of how much the average person gets to eat; since 1970, per capita intake has risen from less than 2,100 to more than 2,800 calories a day. A shocking one-third of young children are still malnourished–but in 1975, the fraction was more than half. Similar improvements can be seen throughout the Pacific Rim, and even in places like Bangladesh. These improvements have not taken place because well-meaning people in the West have done anything to help–foreign aid, never large, has lately shrunk to virtually nothing. Nor is it the result of the benign policies of national governments, which are as callous and corrupt as ever. It is the indirect and unintended result of the actions of soulless multinationals and rapacious local entrepreneurs, whose only concern was to take advantage of the profit opportunities offered by cheap labor. It is not an edifying spectacle; but no matter how base the motives of those involved, the result has been to move hundreds of millions of people from abject poverty to something still awful but nonetheless significantly better. Why, then, the outrage of my correspondents? Why does the image of an Indonesian sewing sneakers for 60 cents an hour evoke so much more feeling than the image of another Indonesian earning the equivalent of 30 cents an hour trying to feed his family on a tiny plot of land–or of a Filipino scavenging on a garbage heap? The main answer, I think, is a sort of fastidiousness. Unlike the starving subsistence farmer, the women and children in the sneaker factory are working at slave wages  for our benefit–and this makes us feel unclean. And so there are self-righteous demands for international labor standards: We should not, the opponents of globalization insist, be willing to buy those sneakers and shirts unless the people who make them receive decent wages and work under decent conditions. This sounds only fair–but is it? Let's think through the consequences. First of all, even if we could assure the workers in Third World export industries of higher wages and better working conditions, this would do nothing for the peasants, day laborers, scavengers, and so on who make up the bulk of these countries' populations. At best, forcing developing countries to adhere to our labor standards would create a privileged labor aristocracy, leaving the poor majority no better off. And it might not even do that. The advantages of established First World industries are still formidable. The only reason developing countries have been able to compete with those industries is their ability to offer employers cheap labor. Deny them that ability, and you might well deny them the prospect of continuing industrial growth, even reverse the growth that has been achieved. And since export-oriented growth, for all its injustice, has been a huge boon for the workers in those nations, anything that curtails that growth is very much against their interests. A policy of good jobs in principle, but no jobs in practice, might assuage our consciences, but it is no favor to its alleged beneficiaries. You may say that the wretched of the earth should not be forced to serve as hewers of wood, drawers of water, and sewers of sneakers for the affluent. But what is the alternative? Should they be helped with foreign aid? Maybe–although the historical record of regions like southern Italy suggests that such aid has a tendency to promote perpetual dependence. Anyway, there isn't the slightest prospect of significant aid materializing. Should their own governments provide more social justice? Of course–but they won't, or at least not because we tell them to. And as long as you have no realistic alternative to industrialization based on low wages, to oppose it means that you are willing to deny desperately poor people the best chance they have of progress for the sake of what amounts to an aesthetic standard–that is, the fact that you don't like the idea of workers being paid a pittance to supply rich Westerners with fashion items. In short, my correspondents are not entitled to their self-righteousness. They have not thought the matter through. And when the hopes of hundreds of millions are at stake, thinking things through is not just good intellectual practice. It is a moral duty

Second Foundation 2. Two Men without the Mule

The ship was in near-readiness. Nothing lacked, but the destination. The Mule had suggested a return to Trantor – the world that was the bulk of an incomparable Galactic metropolis of the hugest Empire mankind had ever known – the dead world that had been capital of all the stars. Pritcher disapproved. It was an old path – sucked dry. He found Bail Channis in the ship's navigation room. The young man's curly hair was just sufficiently disheveled to allow a single curl to droop over the forehead – as if it had been carefully placed there – and even teeth showed in a smile that matched it. Vaguely, the stiff officer felt himself harden against the other. Channis' excitement was evident, â€Å"Pritcher, it's too far a coincidence.† The general said coldly: â€Å"I'm not aware of the subject of conversation.† â€Å"Oh- Well, then drag up a chair, old man, and let's get into it. I've been going over your notes. I find them excellent.† â€Å"How†¦ pleasant that you do.† â€Å"But I'm wondering if you've come to the conclusions I have. Have you ever tried analyzing the problem deductively? I mean, it's all very well to comb the stars at random, and to have done all you did in five expeditions is quite a bit of star-hopping. That's obvious. But have you calculated how long it would take to go through every known world at this rate?† â€Å"Yes. Several times,† Pritcher felt no urge to meet the young man halfway, but there was the importance of filching the other's mind – the other's uncontrolled, and hence, unpredictable, mind. â€Å"Well, then, suppose we're analytical about it and try to decide just what we're looking for?† â€Å"The Second Foundation,† said Pritcher, grimly. â€Å"A Foundation of psychologists,† corrected Channis, â€Å"who are as weak in physical science as the First Foundation was weak in psychology. Well, you're from the First Foundation, which I'm not. The implications are probably obvious to you. We must find a world which rules by virtue of mental skills, and yet which is very backwards scientifically.† â€Å"Is that necessarily so?† questioned Pritcher, quietly. â€Å"Our own ‘Union of Worlds' isn't backwards scientifically, even though our ruler owes his strength to his mental powers.† â€Å"Because he has the skills of the First Foundation to draw upon,† came the slightly impatient answer, â€Å"and that is the only such reservoir of knowledge in the Galaxy. The Second Foundation must live among the dry crumbs of the broken Galactic Empire. There are no pickings there.† â€Å"So then you postulate mental power sufficient to establish their rule over a group of worlds and physical helplessness as well?† â€Å"Comparative physical helplessness. Against the decadent neighboring areas, they are competent to defend themselves. Against the resurgent forces of the Mule, with his background of a mature atomic economy, they cannot stand. Else, why is their location so well-hidden, both at the start by the founder, Hari Seldon, and now by themselves. Your own First Foundation made no secret of its existence and did not have it made for them, when they were an undefended single city on a lonely planet three hundred years ago.† The smooth lines of Pritcher's dark face twitched sardonically. ‘And now that you've finished your deep analysis, would you like a list of all the kingdoms, republics, planet states and dictatorships of one sort or another in that political wilderness out there that correspond to your description and to several factors besides?† â€Å"All this has been considered then?† Channis lost none of his brashness. â€Å"You won't find it here, naturally, but we have a completely worked out guide to the political units of the Opposing Periphery. Really, did you suppose the Mule would work entirely hit-and-miss?† â€Å"Well, then† and the young man's voice rose in a burst of energy, â€Å"what of the Oligarchy of Tazenda?† Pritcher touched his ear thoughtfully, â€Å"Tazenda? Oh, I think I know it. They're not in the Periphery, are they? It seems to me they're fully a third of the way towards the center of the Galaxy.† â€Å"Yes. What of that?† â€Å"The records we have place the Second Foundation at the other end of the Galaxy. Space knows it's the only thing we have to go on. Why talk of Tazenda anyway? Its angular deviation from the First Foundation radian is only about one hundred ten to one hundred twenty degrees anyway. Nowhere near one hundred eighty.† â€Å"There's another point in the records. The Second Foundation was established at ‘Star's End.'† â€Å"No such region in the Galaxy has ever been located.† â€Å"Because it was a local name, suppressed later for greater secrecy. Or maybe one invented for the purpose by Seldon and his group. Yet there's some relationship between ‘Star's End' and ‘Tazenda,' don't you think?† â€Å"A vague similarity in sound? Insufficient.† ‘Have you ever been there?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Yet it is mentioned in your records.† â€Å"Where? Oh, yes, but that was merely to take on food and water. There was certainly nothing remarkable about the world.† â€Å"Did you land at the ruling planet? The center of government?† â€Å"I couldn't possibly say.† Channis brooded about it under the other's cold gaze. Then, â€Å"Would you look at the Lens with me for a moment?† â€Å"Certainly.† The Lens was perhaps the newest feature of the interstellar cruisers of the day. Actually, it was a complicated calculating machine which could throw on a screen a reproduction of the night sky as seen from any given point of the Galaxy. Channis adjusted the co-ordinate points and the wall lights of the pilot room were extinguished. In the dim red light at the control board of the Lens, Channis' face glowed ruddily. Pritcher sat in the pilot seat, long legs crossed, face lost in the gloom. Slowly, as the induction period passed, the points of light brightened on the screen. And then they were thick and bright with the generously populated star-groupings of the Galaxy's center. â€Å"This,† explained Channis, â€Å"is the winter night-sky as seen from Trantor. That is the important point that, as far as I know, has been neglected so far in your search. All intelligent orientation must start from Trantor as zero point. Trantor was the capital of the Galactic Empire. Even more so scientifically and culturally, than politically. And, therefore, the significance of any descriptive name should stem, nine times out of ten, from a Trantorian orientation. You'll remember in this connection that, although Seldon was from Helicon, towards the Periphery, his group worked on Trantor itself.† â€Å"What is it you're trying to show me?† Pritcher's level voice plunged icily into the gathering enthusiasm of the other. â€Å"The map will explain it. Do you see the dark nebula?† The shadow of his arm fell upon the screen, which took on the bespanglement of the Galaxy. The pointing finger ended on a tiny patch of black that seemed a hole in the speckled fabric of light. â€Å"The stellagraphical records call it Pelot's Nebula. Watch it. I'm going to expand the image.† Pritcher had watched the phenomenon of Lens Image expansion before but he still caught his breath. It was like being at the visiplate of a spaceship storming through a horribly crowded Galaxy without entering hyperspace. The stars diverged towards them from a common center, flared outwards and tumbled off the edge of the screen. Single points became double, then globular. Hazy patches dissolved into myriad points. And always that illusion of motion. Channis spoke through it all, â€Å"You'll notice that we are moving along the direct line from Trantor to Pelot's Nebula, so that in effect we are still looking at a stellar orientation equivalent to that of Trantor. There is probably a slight error because of the gravitic deviation of light that I haven't the math to calculate for, but I'm sure it can't be significant.† The darkness was spreading over the screen. As the rate of magnification slowed, the stars slipped off the four ends of the screen in a regretful leave-taking. At the rims of the growing nebula, the brilliant universe of stars shone abruptly in token for that light which was merely hidden behind the swirling unradiating atom fragments of sodium and calcium that filled cubic parsecs of space. And Channis pointed again, â€Å"This has been called ‘The Mouth' by the inhabitants of that region of space. And that is significant because it is only from the Trantorian orientation that it looks like a mouth.† What he indicated was a rift in the body of the Nebula, shaped like a ragged, grinning mouth in profile, outlined by the glazing glory of the starlight with which it was filled. â€Å"Follow ‘The Mouth.' † said Channis. â€Å"Follow ‘The Mouth' towards the gullet as it narrows down to a thin, splintering line of light. Again the screen expanded a trifle, until the Nebula stretched away from â€Å"The Mouth† to block off all the screen but that narrow trickle and Channis' finger silently followed it down, to where it straggled to a halt, and then, as his finger continued moving onward, to a spot where one single star sparked lonesomely; and there his finger halted, for beyond that was blackness, unrelieved. â€Å"‘Star's End,'† said the young man, simply. â€Å"The fabric of the Nebula is thin there and the light of that one star finds its way through in just that one direction – to shine on Trantor.† â€Å"You're tying to tell me that-† the voice of the Mule's general died in suspicion. â€Å"I'm not trying. That is Tazenda – Star's End.† The lights went on. The Lens flicked off. Pritcher reached Channis in three long strides, â€Å"What made you think of this?† And Channis leaned back in his chair with a queerly puzzled expression on his face. â€Å"It was accidental. I'd like to take intellectual credit for this, but it was only accidental. In any case, however it happens, it fits. According to our references, Tazenda is an oligarchy. It rules twenty-seven inhabited planets. It is not advanced scientifically. And most of all, it is an obscure world that has adhered to a strict neutrality in the local politics of that stellar region, and is not expansionist. I think we ought to see it.† â€Å"Have you informed the Mule of this?† â€Å"No. Nor shall we. We're in space now, about to make the first hop.† Pritcher, in sudden horror, sprang to the visiplate. Cold space met his eyes when he adjusted it. He gazed fixedly at the view, then turned. Automatically, his hand reached for the hard, comfortable curve of the butt of his blaster. â€Å"By whose order?† â€Å"By my order, general†- it was the first time Channis had ever used the other's title -â€Å"while I was engaging you here. You probably felt no acceleration, because it came at the moment I was expanding the field of the Lens and you undoubtedly imagined it to be an illusion of the apparent star motion.† â€Å"Why? Just what are you doing? What was the point of your nonsense about Tazenda, then?† â€Å"That was no nonsense. I was completely serious. We're going there. We left today because we were scheduled to leave three days from now. General, you don't believe there is a Second Foundation, and I do. You are merely following the Mule's orders without faith; I recognize a serious danger. The Second Foundation has now had five years to prepare. How they've prepared, I don't know, but what if they have agents on Kalgan. If I carry about in my mind the knowledge of the whereabouts of the Second Foundation, they may discover that. My life might be no longer safe, and I have a great affection for my life. Even on a thin and remote possibility such as that, I would rather play safe. So no one knows of Tazenda but you, and you found out only after we were out in space. And even so, there is the question of the crew.† Channis was smiling again, ironically, in obviously complete control of the situation. Pritcher's hand fell away from his blaster, and for a moment a vague discomfort pierced him. What kept him from action? What deadened him? There was a time when he was a rebellious and unpromoted captain of the First Foundation's commercial empire, when it would have been himself rather than Channis who would have taken prompt and daring action such as that. Was the Mule right? Was his controlled mind so concerned with obedience as to lose initiative? He felt a thickening despondency drive him down into a strange lassitude. He said, â€Å"Well done! However, you will consult me in the future before making decisions of this nature.† The flickering signal caught his attention. â€Å"That's the engine room,† said Channis, casually. â€Å"They warmed up on five minutes' notice and I asked them to let me know if there was any trouble. Want to hold the fort?† Pritcher nodded mutely, and cogitated in the sudden loneliness on the evils of approaching fifty. The visiplate was sparsely starred. The main body of the Galaxy misted one end. What if he were free of the Mule's influence- But he recoiled in horror at the thought. *** Chief Engineer Huxlani looked sharply at the young, ununiformed man who carried himself with the assurance of a Fleet officer and seemed to be in a position of authority. Huxlani, as a regular Fleet man from the days his chin had dripped milk, generally confused authority with specific insignia. But the Mule had appointed this man, and the Mule was, of course, the last word. The only word for that matter. Not even subconsciously did he question that. Emotional control went deep. He handed Channis the little oval object without a word. Channis hefted it, and smiled engagingly. â€Å"You're a Foundation man, aren't you, chief?† â€Å"Yes, sir. I served in the Foundation Fleet eighteen years before the First Citizen took over.† â€Å"Foundation training in engineering?† â€Å"Qualified Technician, First Class – Central School on Anacreon.† â€Å"Good enough. And you found this on the communication circuit, where I asked you to look?† â€Å"Yes, Sir.† â€Å"Does it belong there?† â€Å"No, Sir.† â€Å"Then what is it?† â€Å"A hypertracer, sir.† â€Å"That's not enough. I'm not a Foundation man. What is it?† â€Å"It's a device to allow the ship to be traced through hyperspace.† â€Å"In other words we can be followed anywhere.† â€Å"Yes, Sir.† â€Å"All right. It's a recent invention, isn't it? It was developed by one of the Research Institutes set up by the First Citizen, wasn't it?† â€Å"I believe so, Sir.† â€Å"And its workings are a government secret. Right?† â€Å"I, believe so, Sir.† â€Å"Yet here it is. Intriguing.† Channis tossed the hypertracer methodically from hand to hand for a few seconds. Then, sharply, he held it out, â€Å"Take it, then, and put it back exactly where you found it and exactly how you found it. Understand? And then forget this incident. Entirely!† The chief choked down his near-automatic salute, turned sharply and left. The ship bounded through the Galaxy, its path a wide-spaced dotted line through the stars. The dots, referred to, were the scant stretches of ten to sixty light-seconds spent in normal space and between them stretched the hundred-and-up light-year gaps that represented the â€Å"hops† through hyperspace. Bail Channis sat at the control panel of the Lens and felt again the involuntary surge of near-worship at the contemplation of it. He was not a Foundation man and the interplay of forces at the twist of a knob or the breaking of a contact was not second nature to him. Not that the Lens ought quite to bore even a Foundation man. Within its unbelievably compact body were enough electronic circuits to pin-point accurately a hundred million separate stars in exact relationship to each other. And as if that were not a feat in itself, it was further capable of translating any given portion of the Galactic Field along any of the three spatial axes or to rotate any portion of the Field about a center. It was because of that, that the Lens had performed a near-revolution in interstellar travel. In the younger days of interstellar travel, the calculation of each â€Å"hop† through hyperspace meant any amount of work from a day to a week – and the larger portion of such work was the more or less precise calculation of â€Å"Ship's Position† on the Galactic scale of reference. Essentially that meant the accurate observation of at least three widely-spaced stars, the position of which, with reference to the arbitrary Galactic triple-zero, were known. And it is the word â€Å"known,† that is the catch. To any who know the star field well from one certain reference point, stars are as individual as people. Jump ten parsecs, however, and not even your own sun is recognizable. It may not even be visible. The answer was, of course, spectroscopic analysis. For centuries, the main object of interstellar engineering was the analysis of the â€Å"light signature† of more and more stars in greater and greater detail. With this, and the growing precision of the â€Å"hop† itself, standard routes of travel through the Galaxy were adopted and interstellar travel became less of an art and more of a science. And yet, even under the Foundation with improved calculating machines and a new method of mechanically scanning the star field for a known â€Å"light signature,† it sometimes took days to locate three stars and then calculate position in regions not previously familiar to the pilot. It was the Lens that changed all that. For one thing it required only a single known star. For another, even a space tyro such as Channis could operate it. The nearest sizable star at the moment was Vincetori, according to â€Å"hop† calculations, and on the visiplate now, a bright star was centered. Channis hoped that it was Vincetori. The field screen of the Lens was thrown directly next that of the visiplate and with careful fingers, Channis punched out the co-ordinates of Vincetori. He closed a relay, and the star field sprang to bright view. In it, too, a bright star was centered, but otherwise there seemed no relationship. He adjusted the Lens along the Z-Axis and expanded the Field to where the photometer showed both centered stars to be of equal brightness. Channis looked for a second star, sizably bright, on the visiplate and found one on the field screen to correspond. Slowly, he rotated the screen to similar angular deflection. He twisted his mouth and rejected the result with a grimace. Again he rotated and another bright star was brought into position, and a third. And then he grinned. That did it. Perhaps a specialist with trained relationship perception might have clicked first try, but he'd settle for three. That was the adjustment. In the final step, the two fields overlapped and merged into a sea of not-quite-rightness. Most of the stars were close doubles. But the fine adjustment did not take long. The double stars melted together, one field remained, and the â€Å"Ship's Position† could now be read directly off the dials. The entire procedure had taken less than half an hour. Channis found Han Pritcher in his private quarters. The general was quite apparently preparing for bed. He looked up. â€Å"News?† â€Å"Not particularly. We'll be at Tazenda in another hop.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"I don't want to bother you if you're turning in, but have you looked through the film we picked up in Cil?† Han Pritcher cast a disparaging look at the article in question, where it lay in its black case upon his low bookshelf, â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And what do you think?† â€Å"I think that if there was ever any science to History, it has been quite lost in this region of the Galaxy.† Channis grinned broadly, â€Å"I know what you mean. Rather barren, isn't it?† â€Å"Not if you enjoy personal chronicles of rulers. Probably unreachable, I should say, in both directions. Where history concerns mainly personalities, the drawings become either black or white according to the interests of the writer. I find it all remarkably useless.† â€Å"But there is talk about Tazenda. That's the point I tried to make when I gave you the film. It's the only one I could find that even mentioned them.† â€Å"All right. They have good rulers and bad. They've conquered a few planets, won some battles, lost a few. There is nothing distinctive about them. I don't think much of your theory, Channis.† â€Å"But you've missed a few points. Didn't you notice that they never formed coalitions? They always remained completely outside the politics of this corner of the star swarm. As you say, they conquered a few planets, but then they stopped – and that without any startling defeat of consequence. It's just as if they spread out enough to protect themselves, but not enough to attract attention.† â€Å"Very well,† came the unemotional response. â€Å"I have no objection to landing. At the worst – a little lost time.† â€Å"Oh, no. At the worst – complete defeat. If it is the Second Foundation. Remember it would be a world of space-knows-how-many Mules.† â€Å"What do you plan to do?† â€Å"Land on some minor subject planet. Find out as much as we can about Tazenda first, then improvise from that.† â€Å"All right. No objection. If you don't mind now, I would like the light out.† Channis left with a wave of his hand. And in the darkness of a tiny room in an island of driving metal lost in the vastness of space, General Han Pritcher remained awake, following the thoughts that led him through such fantastic reaches. If everything he had so painfully decided were true – and how all the facts were beginning to fit – then Tazenda was the Second Foundation. There was no way out. But how? How? Could it be Tazenda? An ordinary world? One without distinction? A slum lost amid the wreckage of an Empire? A splinter among the fragments? He remembered, as from a distance, the Mule's shriveled face and his thin voice as he used to speak of the old Foundation psychologist, Ebling Mis, the one man who had – maybe – learned the secret of the Second Foundation. Pritcher recalled the tension of the Mule's words: â€Å"It was as if astonishment had overwhelmed Mis. It was as though something about the Second Foundation had surpassed all his expectations, had driven in a direction completely different from what he might have assumed. If I could only have read his thoughts rather than his emotions. Yet the emotions were plain – and above everything else was this vast surprise.† Surprise was the keynote. Something supremely astonishing! And now came this boy, this grinning youngster, glibly joyful about Tazenda and its undistinguished subnormality. And he had to be right. He had to. Otherwise, nothing made sense. Pritcher's last conscious thought had a touch of grimness. That hypertracer along the Etheric tube was still there. He had checked it one hour back, with Channis well out of the way. Second Interlude It was a casual meeting in the anteroom of the Council Chamber – just a few moments before passing into the Chamber to take up the business of the day – and the few thoughts flashed back and forth quickly. â€Å"So the Mule is on his way.† â€Å"That's what I hear, too. Risky! Mighty risky!† â€Å"Not if affairs adhere to the functions set up.† â€Å"The Mule is not an ordinary man – and it is difficult to manipulate his chosen instruments without detection by him. The controlled minds are difficult to touch. They say he's caught on to a few cases.† â€Å"Yes, I don't see how that can be avoided.† â€Å"Uncontrolled minds are easier. But so few are in positions of authority under him-â€Å" They entered the Chamber. Others of the Second Foundation followed them.

An Open Innovation Business Model Commerce Essay

An Open Innovation Business Model Commerce Essay It is very important to know what innovation is before we can further proceed in answering the question. An innovation is a product or service with a bundle of features that is new in the market, or that is commercialized in some new way that opens up new uses and consumer groups for it. Innovation is invention implemented and taken to market (Chesbrough 2003). Invention however is the creation of something that was previously unknown (Chesbrough, Vanhaverbeke et al. 2006). In summary, INNOVATION= INVENTION+COMMERCIALIZATION. Today companies who, want to deliver consistent organic growth to their shareholders, customers, and their employees can do that only through innovation (Chesbrough 2006). So what is â€Å"Open Innovation†? Illustration 1: Concept of open innovation â€Å"Open innovation is the use of purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge to accelerate internal innovation, and expand the markets for external use of innovation, respectively. [This paradigm] assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as they look to advance their technology.† (Henry Chesbrough, Open Innovation: Researching a New Paradigm). As mentioned by Chesbrough, there are a total of 5 paths to â€Å"Open Innovation†. Firstly, the old fashion model. It work like a fortress, the firm will take ideas internally to market. This path works the same as a closed innovation concept. The second path would be opening up the abilities for others. This can be achieved by bringing in ideas internally; ideas that does not fit into the firm business but might be useful for others. The third path would be acquiring ideas externally. Ideas are everywhere; firms can acquire ideas from university, individuals, start-up companies and etc. They can then come out with new opportunities and solutions using these acquired knowledge by taking them to a new market; a market that the firm might not have got ten into. The forth path would be to bring in external technologies and ideas to fill the gap that the firm might be facing problem with. Without open innovation, companies might need to use more resources to fill the gap. Lastly, an internal project that does not look promising until a certain level of development can be taken out and allow the team to continue working on it outside. This process can help to raise new money, acquire new customer and hire new employees (Specialist) to further develop the project. At certain point, if it seems feasible and viable, firms have the option to bring the project back if it turns out to be strategically interesting. The 5 paths are very important in helping use to understand why firms are moving towards the open innovation business model. The opposite of Open Innovation-The Closed Innovation In order to understand â€Å"Open Innovation† better, we will need to know the opposite of it- the â€Å"Closed Innovation†. In short, â €Å"Close Innovation† is a paradigm that successful innovation requires control and ownership of the Intellectual property (IP). A company should have full control of everything that relates to ideas. Some companies therefore decided to run their own research and development (R&D) units. The entire new product development cycle was then incorporated within the company where innovation was done in a â€Å"closed† and self-supporting way (Wikipedia).

Envision the sustainability city Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Envision the sustainability city - Essay Example The trees grown at an equal distance of San Gabriel Valley portrayed a view of an entrance gate with street lamps replaced with trees. A big tractor-like vehicle would come and water the flower-pots in front of each house. The water would wake them up from their slumber. In Rowland Heights the buildings were not very huge which would easily let the sunshine fall into the streets. I used to spend my time and would roam around in California Hacienda Heights, downtown, shopping malls, which had sparkling ponds in which rare fishes of different kinds would swim. The water was crystal clear and one could easily see the movements of fishes beneath the water surface. Their swift movements and struggle to live life out of their habitat enabled me to think of sustaining the life I had. I the mall, I used to meet immigrants from China, Taiwan and Korea and was able to widen my vision of diverse cultures to some extent. The shopping malls had green bushes growing in the corners and from the top of their ceilings, which made it more natural and ever alive. Next to the city area was the small region known as ‘mini safari’. One could find a wide variety of animals including tigers, elephants etc. There they happily roamed around. All the species of animals were available in their natural habitat. The people who lived there were very social and used to arrange social gatherings every week. Also, there were marathons every month, NO-Tobacco campaigns and Zumba Classes every week, which made the people healthy and they lived longer. Part 2 A few blocks away were the houses built in circular dome shape so that all sunshine would concentrate on it for the production of electricity. These circular domes were numerous and they were surrounded by green belt. The tiny trash bins were available at every step and anything thrown inside would automatically be recycled. There were some robots, which with their laser visions would search for the dirt and remove it if they fou nd any. The silent electric cars would pass by without signalling their arrival and had black solar cells covering their whole body. Covered with silicon solar glasses all over, the people working inside would park their bicycles in a parking lot and start working. From a distance, one could see the gigantic windmills moving with the speed of wind on lofty mountains. Alongside the roads were the street lamps which were quite high with pitch-black solar cells attached to them. At night, they gave a beautiful view of a dark city sunk in a river of illumination. Under the ground were the sewage pipes totally invisible to the people, which transported the sewage from the houses to the specific depressions in a far off city so that the filth can be converted into recycled manure to be used by farmers. Cleaner air meant that the ecosystem was healthy and the animal habitat survived longer. No doubt, people used to live ages more than 100 years. Although, technological advancement has gene rated communication gap by offering virtual identity and life style, the city I envision would be a habitat of diverse ethnic groups living closely together. The community would adapt old fashioned social norms to communicate and live. Close knitted family system would enable people to cherish the joy of living together and would enliven the sentiment of compassion towards others’ sorrow and pain. My vision is not impossible to achieve but requires a little

Sales of Goods by Sea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sales of Goods by Sea - Essay Example The law that governs contracts for the sale of goods entrenched in The Sale of Goods Act 1979 plus 1994 amendments. Merchant B is not supposed to pay Merchant B as supported by the argument below’ â€Å"The seller had the obligation of advising the buyer of the impending war between the two states once he became aware.† On evaluation of the risks of the goods while on transit on the sea, there is a strong link risk allocation. As the seller is in physical possession of goods prior to selling, he has the obligation of assuming the measures of preventing risks (Bernd 1). Before the goods left physical possession of the seller to the carrier, he had the responsibility of advising the buyer the probable outcome of the war such that the buyer could have been aware and accepts to assume the risk. The risk of the cargo is passed to the buyer once goods have been delivered.1 Therefore, the seller (Merchant A) having assumed first physical possession of the goods and keeping in mind that the buyer (Merchant B) had not yet assumed any practical possession of the goods leaves the seller at the legal entity responsible for the cargo. Upon delivery of shipping documents, there is no evidence of goods delivery, thus, Merchant B has not fulfilled his contractual duty to claim meeting his contractual part (Bernd 1). Since the Merchant B had the custody of shipping documents, he is obligated to advice the buyer on any impending risks that may render the goods faulty of not getting to the port of Calais on time (Bernd 1). The reason that goods have not arrived the port of destination does not imply non shipment, but rather, there may be eventualities that the goods have not arrived due to war between France and England. â€Å"It is the obligation of the seller to ascertain the exact state of the goods; whether destroyed of cargo sought refuge at a port in Spain† As per the contract of the case in question, the goods were to be delivered from Dover to Calais. The seller has the obligation of shipping the goods that the answer to the contract (Stone and Carr 39). As stated in section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979,2 that where the contract is for sale of goods by description, the goods ought to correspond to the description. According to Section 2, sub. 5: Under the contract, the transfer of goods from Merchant A to Merchant B was to take place in the future upon delivery at Calais to fulfill the contract to be regarded as an agreement of sale. The agreement becomes a sale upon meeting conditions subject to which goods are transferred. Whether the ship; or goods on board are safe, is not the responsibility of the buyer but the seller. This clearly implies that the goods if happened to have encountered shipment risks of perils of the sea are liable to be indemnified by relevant insurer (Simone 95). The seller being well aware of the conditions surrounding the shipment of the goods, has the obligation of following up to ascertain the sta te of the shipment to ascertain the real situation to ensure terms of contract are met.3 Incorporating the incoterms relating to the contract, a contract of insurance entered into, defines the compensation of goods on transits in case of peril of the sea or any other risk that the cargo may be exposed to.4 For a contract to be termed valid and legally binding it must meet several requirements. Since the contract between A and B had requirements that the goods had to be

Strategies and Actions of African American Women to Overcome Essay

Strategies and Actions of African American Women to Overcome Race-Based or Gender-Based Discrimination - Essay Example It is this reinvigorated movement that opened to women the blue-collar jobs and professions that were traditionally reserved for their male counterparts. When it comes to the fight against race-based inequality, it is plausible that women formed a crucial segment of the Civil Rights Movement, with their contribution seen in their volunteering to organizational and grassroots leaders. Indeed, the women created, mobilized, energized, and spearheaded particular efforts in the movements, ostensibly serving as bridge builders to the rest of the society (Epstein 4-6). Women movements worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring about the changes that everyone in the movement sought by taking the advantage of the white elite’s ignorance towards women power. Furthermore, women movements successfully framed oppression and discrimination as a political issue, thereby initiating public discussions on issues that were previously perceived as private, and hence beyond public scrutiny. It is evident that the modern expression of black power stemmed from two distinct, yet superimposed traditions that shaped black political activism before and after the Second World War. For instance, the New Negro radicalism during the 1920s and the subsequent freedom protests that preceded the Great Depression, and the Second World War era precipitated an enlarged vision of citizenship, democracy, and civil rights. While the legislative and legal victories of the civil rights era performed a fundamental role in these struggles. It is the black power that proved decisive in the inauguration of the first generation of black elected representatives (Ellis 46-63). It is also the black power that made the greatest contribution to the production of an eclectic array of multi-themed and multi-ethnic movements of social change.

Legalizing Marijuana Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Legalizing Marijuana - Essay Example Against the national average of 44.5%,British Columbia has a fair share of 52.1% and the lower then average percentage that is reported in the province like Prince Edward Island (36.5%) Through it may sound bizarre to us but the legalization of Marijuana not only help in controlling black marketing and subsequent war and law& Order impasse, it will help the federal government to get a considerable revenue in terms of tax that is to be levied upon. In economic perspective, it gives a good profit and the government should en cash out of that. In his well researched article, Dr Gieringer has cited the price advantages of Marijuana. The facts are amazingly simple. The ounce of fine tea costs $2, the pipe tobacco costs in between $1.25 to 1.5 while the Marijuana costs something in between $5 including labor cost. The same Marijuana, via clandestine drug market, costs any thing in between $150 to $400 per ounce. No wander, this high margin attracts the elements in crime circle, providing the leeway to full fledged gang war. The economic benefits can be pegged up to a staggering $18-19 Billion. Perhaps one of the most exhaustive reports of its kind The Le Deng Commission Report of 1972 has covered the entire gamut of... The facts are amazingly simple. The ounce of fine tea costs $2, the pipe tobacco costs in between $1.25 to 1.5 while the Marijuana costs something in between $5 including labor cost. The same Marijuana, via clandestine drug market, costs any thing in between $150 to $400 per ounce. No wander, this high margin attracts the elements in crime circle, providing the leeway to full fledged gang war. The economic benefits can be pegged up to a staggering $18-19 Billion. 2.The Le Dang Commission Report Perhaps one of the most exhaustive reports of its kind The Le Deng Commission Report of 1972 has covered the entire gamut of the problem. Tabled as "The Report of the Canadian Government Commission of Inquiry into the Non-Medical Use of Drugs, 1972". Le Dang Report still happens to be the frame work of modern Canada Legal system. Retrieved on November,26, 2009, from : http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/ledain/ldctoc.html(3) Le Dang Report still happens to be the frame work of modern Canada Legal system. Exhaustive in nature, the report covers every related aspect which includes-patterns of social history in Canada and USA. The first use (in mid 30) ,World War II scenario where Marijuana effectively penetrates into middle class to University campus till 1971-72. The extensive chemical analysis and side effect analysis of Barbiturates have also taken place in lucid manner. The most significant part is the national and international law. Canadian law acts in tune to the international law - Single Convention of Narcotic Drugs, 1961. The Canadian Narcotic Law complies all specification of these laws and the Canadian laws have also been framed as per the same stringent norms.Through the annals of time, the situation has

Finance Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Finance Theories - Essay Example Fosberg (2010, p.2) notes that the crisis began due to default on debt instruments and subprime mortgage loans supported by those loan types. However, it was not until 2007 that companies began realizing that the default on subprime mortgages was likely to cause a crisis on the financial sectors of the economy. This follows the discovery by Bear Stearns that realized that some of its assets, which were held by the subprime hedge funds, were slowly becoming valueless (Mizen 2008, p.15). However, the devastating effect of the subprime mortgage defaults on other markets were felt a year later in February 2008 following the subsidence of the auction rate security market. Fosberg (2010, p.2) notes that buyers failure to bid for the securities during a public auction resulted in an end to these securities market. However, the first major financial market collapses in March 2008 following the liquidation of Bear Stearns after going bankrupt. In the same year in September, another financial institution called Lehman Brothers also went bankrupt signaling a crisis. This prompted government intervention with the aim of forestalling further effects of the financial crisis on the financial market, which resulted in the passage of TARP Act (Fosberg 2010, p.2). The act soon became law in October 2008 as noted by Mizen (2008, p.15). However, the law did not help much in preventing the crisis from continuing biting the financial markets and institutions. In fact, many countries still suffer from the effects of this crisis which no sign of full recovery anytime soon. Some of the countries still suffering from the effects of this crisis include the U.K., the U.S. Greece and Turkey just to name but a few (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2002, p.12). In addition, the financial crisis also affected the issuance of sec urities in the market. What was also evident is that the financial crisis of the 2000s created a recession, which financial management experts expect to have also affected the

Clinical Quality Improvement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Clinical Quality Improvement - Research Paper Example The same year, Biotech Week  released an article arguing that the United States’ quality management framework is cohesive. This system operates from the foundation up. This way, it can echo the manner in which clinical researchers operate, which flawlessly automates research behavior. In this article, the system enables the researchers to provide excellent findings. Statistical data collected in Biotech Week’s article to report findings included registration and certification of Spaulding  Clinical  Research, which reflected data on lab findings and Clinical  Pharmacology (Biotech Week  3). In 2010, researchers Thiel and Martin argued that quality management entails all operations that clinical organizations apply when directing, regulating, and matching quality. These operations normally involve creating a quality strategy and establishing quality goals. One of the numerous fields contained by clinical quality management entails the safety of patients. Statis tical data collected by Thiel and Martin to report findings include the presentation of data for patient safety cases from Anglo-European College of Chiropractic (AECC) (Thiel and Martin 46). De Lorenzo and Pfaff noted that in spite of good intentions, the ideas and implementation of clinical quality management and criteria for patient care do not have a proper definition in former literature. This is a problem for today’s researchers aiming at finding out the risks involved with clinical quality management. While focusing on formal military doctrine and policies, the study argues that flexible and random applications range from the helpful and encouraging type to the negative and ineffective. De Lorenzo and Pfaff chose this topic because they intended on bettering the clinical care for casualties in war (De Lorenzo and Pfaff 377).

Police in society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Police in society - Essay Example Dominating mentality is natural for all human beings. Police officers are getting the authority to dominate others through legal channels. If they try to use this authority simply to dictate others, such authority may yield more harm than good. So, it is necessary to make sure that the police recruits are able to use their power judiciously once they got their appointment. Psychological tests or screening are necessary to assess whether the police recruits would be able to use their power judiciously or not Courage is one of the necessary qualifications required for the police officer post. Cowards can never excel in police departments. The threats from the criminals and terrorists are attaining serious dimensions at present and the police officer should be able to counter all such attempts with courage. Only the psychological screening will reveal the abilities of a police recruit in tackling difficult situations in which courage is necessary. In short, psychological screening is ne cessary to police recruits to assess or forecast their future behavior. Vicarious liability is the liability of the superior for the acts of his subordinates. For example, an employee may feel that his manager has the authority to fire him. In fact, the employer need not given such authority to the manager. Here the employee’s belief is developed simply because of his unawareness about the organizational culture in his firm. Here the employer forced to take the vicarious liability of the acts of his manager because of the misunderstandings of the employee about his employer and manager. Chain of command is the order in which the authority and power of the top management is being exercised upon the employees at different levels. If the top management should ensure that all the employees in the organization have the right knowledge about the power, duties and responsibilities of each employees working in that firm. Otherwise employees may keep wrong inferences about the authori ty of other employees and the employer has the vicarious liability in such cases for the wrong assumptions of the employees. Harassment at workplace is common all over the world and America is also not an exception. Most of the workplace harassments are taking place because of the employee’s unawareness about his rights and the rights of his superior. The superiors often try to make the subordinate believe that he has enough power to take any actions against the employee. The employee may try to keep silence over the superior’s torture in such situations and when any disputes occur. In such cases, the employer is responsible to answer the questions about the torture, if he failed to give adequate information to the victim about the power structure in the organization well before the employees tarts his work in that organization. As per vicarious liability rule, â€Å"employers should establish anti-harassment policies and complaint procedures covering all forms of unl awful harassment† (The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) â€Å"An injury inflicted by positive, willful, and aggressive conduct, or by design, as opposed to an injury caused by negligence or resulting from an accident† can be put under intentional tort whereas â€Å"the failure to do something that a reasonable person would do in the same circumstances, or the doing of something a reasonable pers

Literary Analysis of Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay Example for Free

Literary Analysis of Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay In the English Renaissance, identity was an important concern, particularly the construction of identity. As Stephen Greenblatt argues, there is in the early modern period a change in the intellectual, social, psychological, and aesthetic structures that govern the generation of identities that is not only complex but resolutely dialectical (1). The identity of the sovereign was of particular importance: how monarchs shaped their own identities, and how these identities affected their subjects. Taking Greenblatts argument, this paper examines the construction and manipulation of identity in Shakespeares Hamlet: in particular, the ways in which Elizabeth Is self-representations inform the play. In addition, the paper will show how the characterization of Hamlet is shaped by the rule of Elizabeth I, who controlled her public image through elaborately constructed self-representations. Reflecting her use of these representations, Hamlet, who possesses stereotypically feminine attributes, fights to recreate himself as a masculine character to recover his familys and kingdoms honor. The late Elizabethan period was filled with anxiety and dismay over the aging of Queen Elizabeth I. Concern about her impending death was only made worse by her refusal to name a successor. When Shakespeare composed Hamlet in 1600, the playwright was subject to an aging, infirm queen, who at sixty-seven had left no heirs to the English throne. In Hamlet, Shakespeare thus addresses two political problems that England faced at the beginning of the seventeenth-century: royal succession and female sovereignty. As Tennenhouse argues, History plays could not be written after Hamlet, because the whole matter of transferring power from one monarch to another had to be rethought in view of the aging body of the queen (85). The preoccupation of the English public with who would become their new ruler, along with eager anticipation of male kingship, is expressed throughout Hamlet. Although the play is not written as a political allegory, undeniable similarities do exist between aspects of Queen Elizabeth Is public persona and the character of Hamlet. Before further explaining this comparison, however, it is necessary to describe how Elizabeth I shaped her public persona. Elizabeth Is Image As head of the Anglican Church, Elizabeth I was wary to align herself in marriage with a Catholic. Accordingly, Carole Levin argues that Elizabeth I promoted the image of herself as a pristine maiden well into the middle and advanced years of her life: Elizabeth presented herself to her people as a symbol of virginity, a Virgin Queen (64). Whether political or personal, her refusal to marry was in many ways advantageous, for she avoided the disaster of Mary Is match with Phillip II. Yet it also caused a great deal of concern among the populace. As Levin observes, by not marrying, Elizabeth also refused the most obvious function of being a queen, that of bearing a child. Nor would she name a successor as Parliament begged her to do, since Elizabeth was convinced this would increase, rather than ease, both the political tension and her personal danger (66). Elizabeth Is strategy to retain political power may have prevented the usurpation of her authority by a husband, but it did cause disfavor among the English citizens, especially as she grew older without announcing an heir. Anxiety over the succession led to contempt for Elizabeth I, with many people gossiping that she did not marry because she was an unnatural woman. Levin writes, there were rumors that Elizabeth had an impediment that would prohibit regular sexual relations (86). Levin provides an example for these rumors in an excerpt of a letter from her cousin Mary Stuart: indubitably you are not like other women, and it is folly to advance the notion of your marriage with the Duke of Alencon, seeing that such a conjugal union would never be consummated (86). Others claimed that Elizabeth I had illegitimate children who were kept secret (Levin 85). These accusations indicate that English citizens, as well as family relations, perceived Elizabeth Fs prolonged maidenhood as unnatural and even monstrous. Although Elizabeth I was willing to admit to Parliament that she had spent much of her strength, she was careful to cultivate the image of herself as a young woman to the public. One important example of this method is the famous Rainbow Portrait, which Elizabeth I commissioned in approximately 1600, the same period Hamlet was written. Even though Elizabeth I was sixty-seven years old when the painting was commissioned, she appears in the painting to be a young woman (Levin). Elizabeth I created an intricate and diverse image of herself. As an unmarried monarch, she became Englands Virgin Queen. Possessing two bodies, Elizabeth I established masculine authority as Prince and as mother to her subjects. As Elizabeth I grew older, she relied on iconography to deceive the English populace into viewing her as young and vital. These diverse representations of Elizabeth I are complexly reflected in Hamlet. The similarities between Elizabeth I and Gertrude are obvious: both women are perceived as indulgent, sensuous monarchs and are criticized for attempting to act like women younger than their true ages. To Gertrude, Hamlet even states, O shame, where is thy blush? (3. 4. 91). Despite these correspondences, a more interesting analogy exists between Elizabeth I and the character of Hamlet. The paper will compare Elizabeth I, who claimed to have the heart and stomach of a king (Levin 1) with Hamlet, a prince often castigated for acting in a stereotypically feminine manner. Reflections of Elizabeth Is Constructed Identities in Hamlet One attempt by Elizabeth I to maintain her image as the Virgin Queen was a use of heavy cosmetics in an effort to make herself look younger and therefore stronger. Mullaney quotes Jesuit priest Anthony Rivers as describing Elizabeth Is makeup at some celebrations in 1600, when Hamlet was written, to be in some places near half an inch thick (147). Unfortunately for Elizabeth I, this attempt to hide the weakness of her age seems only to have exacerbated her subjects contempt for the assumed weakness of her sex. M. P. Tilley observes that during the late Elizabethan period, there was a strong feeling against a woman using cosmetics (312). Women who used cosmetics, according to popular feeling, altered their bodies, the creations of God, and were therefore not only immodest but blasphemous. According to Mullaney, women who used cosmetics considered to be false women because they created a deceptive face to replace the one given to them by God; altering their natural female appearance made them not truly women. Not only were cosmetics blasphemous and dishonest, they were physically destructive. A woman who painted her face in the Renaissance thus arguably destroyed her person in every way possible: spiritually and bodily. Hamlet displays notable disgust toward painted women, yet critics have overlooked that many of the contemporary Renaissance objections to womens use of cosmetics apply to Hamlets actions. Similar to the way that painted women used cosmetics to disguise the faces that God had given them, Hamlet puts on his antic disposition to disguise the faculties of reason which God has given him (1. 5. 192), faculties which in the Renaissance were an essential aspect of the virtuous man. Whether or not Hamlet is truly mad, he constructs a persona to dissimulate his purpose of revenge. Painted women were disparaged for poisoning their body with dangerous chemicals; Hamlet engages in a dangerous quest to avenge his father, and because of his quest for revenge, he is fatally poisoned. By assuming an antic disposition, a false face, Hamlet is physically poisoned by the bated sword of Laertes. Laertes poison destroys Hamlets body natural and symbolically disrupts the body politic, since Hamlet will be unable to rule Denmark. In addition to putting on an antic disposition, a type of face painting, Hamlet possesses other womanly attributes that would arguably have caused some anxiety. Mullaney asserts that popular opinion in the Renaissance, especially in the final years of Elizabeth Is reign, was against the rule of a female monarch. The English people had always been hesitant to accept a female queen; as Elizabeth I grew older and more infirm, their tolerance for being ruled by a woman diminished. Mullaney further argues that this intolerance was a part of the English subjects realization that Elizabeth I was feeble and politically weakening: for the Renaissance misogyny may in fact be an integral part of the mourning process when the lost object or ideal being processed is a woman, especially but not exclusively when that woman is a queen of England, too (140). As the English publics grief for the decline of their queens strength increased, so too did their contempt for her bodily weakness and inability to govern effectively. Reflecting anxiety about Elizabeths I old age and infirmity, Hamlet displays a stereotypically feminine quality that makes him problematic as heir to the Danish throne. Early in the play, Claudius chides Hamlet for his unmanly grief concerning the passing of his father (1. 2. 98). Elaine Showalter claims that Hamlets emotional vulnerability can readily be conceptualized as feminine (223). Discussing Hamlets creation of a mad persona, Carol Thomas Neely also lists passivity and loss of control among Hamlets feminine attributes during his period of madness (326). Hamlets emotional vulnerability and passivity, when considered in the politically-charged atmosphere of the late Elizabethan period, can even be seen as his downfall. Mullaney, quoting Tennenhouse, argues that Hamlet is a play keenly aware of its late Elizabethan status, in which the impending transfer of power from one monarch to another had to be rethought in view of the aging body of the queen' (149). He goes on to view Hamlet as inhabiting a male-constructed world. Mullaney asserts that like other Shakespearean males, Hamlet achieves a partial if suicidal resolution of the contradictions of patriarchy by constructing a world that is not so much gendered as free from gender differentiation—a world that is all male (158). It is believable that Hamlets true problem is actually the opposite—his world is too female, or rather feminine. Despite the small number of females in the play, Hamlet presents a feminine character in a male body, a twisted reflection of Elizabeth I, who claimed to have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but the heart and stomach of a king (Levin 1). Hamlet possesses the body of a prince, but the heart and stomach of a woman: a fusion which was particularly problematic in the misogynistic environment that prevailed during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As a feminine character in the body of a male, particularly one who, as Claudius observes, is most immediate to the throne (1. 2. 113), Hamlet cannot be allowed to survive and assume the throne. His death, as well as the passage of the Danish monarchy to the quintessential warrior figure, Fortinbras, reflects the transition of the throne from Elizabeth I to James I. James Is ascension to the English throne alleviated some anxiety of female sovereignty, although his reign showed his peevish, cowardly, and self-indulgent disposition. When Hamlet puts on an antic disposition, crafting himself as mad, he evinces natural traits that are usually associated with feminine weakness. Hamlet is beset with passivity and indecision, two qualities often ascribed to women in the Renaissance (Woodbridge 275-99). Passivity and indecision impede and nearly thwart his quest to obey his fathers demand for revenge. Davis D. McElroy claims that Hamlet, in addition to considering the ghosts exhortation to avenge him, contemplates taking no action at all. McElroy examines the opening five lines of the to be or not to be soliloquy: To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether is nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing, end them. (3. 1. 64-8) McElroy alleges that these lines, which are generally believed to be Hamlets argument regarding suicide, constitute a different deliberation on revenge: killing Claudius, as the alleged ghost of his father demands, or taking no action at all—a more cowardly decision, certainly, but definitely safer. McElroy compares the two options by examining the rhetoric of chiasmus—claiming that to be refers to taking arms against Claudius and not to be refers to suffering outrageous fortune. He argues that the speech pertains more reasonably to revenge than suicide because killing oneself is more like avoiding ones troubles than opposing them (544). It can be posited that Hamlets indecision concerning his vow to avenge his father parallels Elizabeth Fs refusal to name an heir. As Tennenhouse observes, Where Claudius would be second to Hamlet and Hamlets line in a patrilineal system, the queens husband and uncle of the kings son occupies the privileged male position in a matrilineal system.. . It is to be expected that Claudius could not legally possess the crown, the matrilinear succession having the weaker claim on British political thinking. (89) Hamlets duty is not merely to uphold his promise of vengeance. He also has an obligation to his country to see Claudius removed from the throne and Hamlet, the rightful ruler in patrilineal succession, put in his place. When Hamlet contemplates neglecting this obligation, he endangers the succession to the Danish throne in much the same way that Elizabeth Is secrecy concerning her own succession endangers England. Arguably, Hamlet fails in his responsibility to protect the Danish succession: after Hamlets death, Fortinbras, a Norwegian, assumes the throne. Although Fortinbras is a better candidate than the corrupt Claudius, he is a member of Norways royal line, not Denmarks. Elizabeth Is refusal to marry consigns England to a similar fate regarding kingship and royal lines. James I is a member of the British royal family, but he is a Stuart, not a Tudor. As the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I secures her own power by refusing to name a successor during her lifetime, but she allows her familial line to die with her. Elizabeth I also protected her political authority by crafting several personas. As seen in the Rainbow Portrait, she took liberally from mythological figures, such as Astraea, Flora, and Diana. Just as Elizabeth I appropriated the appearance and femininity of goddesses, Hamlet appropriates the masculine authority he observes in Fortinbras. Hamlet attempts to construct a persona that goes beyond an antic disposition, wanting to fashion himself as a strong son and leader of Denmark. After hearing of Fortinbrass plan to attack a desolate stretch of Poland, Hamlet resolves to emulate the militant Fortinbras by fashioning himself as a bloody avenger: How stand I, then, That have a father killed, a mother stained, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep O, from this time forth My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth! (4. 4. 59-62, 68-9) Although Hamlet desires to construct himself as an aggressive and violent fighter, he is never able to attain Fortinbrass forcefulness. Hamlets passivity here shows weakness and debility, not qualities appropriate in a military leader or a monarch. Although Hamlet attempts to assume the masculinity of Fortinbras, shaping himself as a potent agent of revenge, Hamlets attempted emulation of Fortinbrass masculinity is merely another false front. Hamlet recognizes his own passivity, but however much he tries to counter and suppress it, his femininity is too firmly a part of his personality for him to overcome it completely. Even though Hamlet seeks to avenge his fathers murder, he is unable to kill Claudius in Act three, scene three. Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius at his attempted prayer, and he thus does not do what he has resolved to do. At this point in the play, the audience sees a fluid character, one who first fashions himself as mad, then earnestly attempts to mold himself like the soldier Fortinbras. However much Hamlet views himself as mutable, he cannot override his passive nature. Hamlet attempts to put on Fortinbrass masculine disposition after killing Polonius and assuring the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, yet even after returning from his voyage to England, Hamlet is caught in his feminine passivity. Despite his earlier resolve that his thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth (4. 4. 69), Hamlet makes no move against Claudius. He walks with Horatio in the graveyard, where he learns of Ophelias death (5. 1. 253), and he attacks Laertes at her gravesite (5. 1. 273), but he still clings to his false antic disposition. Gertrude calls his behavior mere madness and compares Hamlet to a female dove (5. 1. 302, 304). Hamlets shock and grief at learning about Ophelias death could excuse his distraction from attacking Claudius, but Hamlet delays his task too long. By waiting for Laertes challenge instead of choosing his own time to confront Claudius, Hamlet is forced to fight on the treacherous kings terms and dies at the tip of Laertes poisoned sword. Hamlets struggle mirrors the rule of Elizabeth I, who controlled her public image through elaborately constructed personas. Similar to Hamlet, Elizabeth I attempted to disguise or suppress her feminine weakness. She proclaimed that she possessed a masculine body politic despite her female body natural. Elizabeth I maintained supremacy throughout her reign—no easy task for a woman in the Renaissance—yet her refusal to marry and produce heirs ended the Tudor line of succession. Hamlets plight reflects the anxiety experienced by many English subjects as Elizabeth I grew older with no children to succeed her: as Elizabeth I aged, the question of the sovereigns role or representation to provide for the common welfare became increasingly critical. The Queen was still a mere woman, even though she had the heart and stomach of a king (Levin 1). Equally, Hamlet strives to create a public persona that corresponds with the masculine strength of Fortinbras, but he ultimately succumbs to feminine passivity, even though he is a prince. Conclusion Hamlet reflects the anxiety of many of Elizabeth Is subjects concerning the strength of their Queen and the succession of the monarchy. With no husband and no heir to the throne, the political security of the country was at stake. Furthermore, many citizens were concerned with Elizabeth Is aging body and her undignified attempts to appear younger. This concern developed in many cases into contempt for Elizabeth Is deceptive manipulations of her image. Hamlet has many feminine characteristics that, especially in the climate of Elizabeth Is decline, make him unsuitable as a ruler or potential king. Although he is not naturally suited to the masculine requirements of kingship, Hamlet strives to overcome his feminine nature in order to reinstate the honor and dignity of his family and kingdom. Although he accomplishes this end, his femininity delays him until he is betrayed by Claudius treachery. Hamlet removes Claudius from the throne, but at the cost of many lives, and the Danish monarchy passes to a Norwegian ruler. Like Elizabeth I, Hamlet tries to recreate his identity to gain needed respect and authority, but ultimately fails to protect his fathers line of succession. In Hamlet, readers can surmise some of the feelings Shakespeare may have experienced in the growing misogyny that permeated the final years of Elizabeth Is reign. Like Hamlet, Elizabeth I was not without flaws, and her subjects came to resent her for these weaknesses, anticipating the advent of a more powerful—and masculine—monarch. As Shakespeare demonstrates with Hamlets poignant death and with Fortinbrass triumph, a stronger, more manful monarch is not necessarily a more admirable or worthy one. Works Cited Greenblatt, Stephen. Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1980. Levin, Carole. The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power. Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 1994. McElroy, Davis D. To Be, or Not to Be—Is That the Question? College English 25. 7 (1964): 543-545. Mullaney, Steven. Mourning and Misogyny: Hamlet, The Revengers Tragedy, and the Final Progress of Elizabeth I, 1600-1607. Shakespeare Quarterly 45. 2 (1994): 139-62. Neely, Carol Thomas. Documents in Madness: Reading Madness and Gender in Shakespeares Tragedies and Early Modern Culture. Shakespeare Quarterly 42. 3 (1991): 315-38. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Eds. Barbara A. Mowat and Paul Werstine. New York: Washington Square P, 1992. Showaiter, Elaine. Representing Ophelia: Women, Madness, and the Responsibilities of Feminist Criticism. Hamlet: Complete, Authoritative Text with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Five Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Ed. Susanne L. Wofford. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martins Press, 1994. Tennenhouse, Leonard. Power on Display: The Politics of Shakespeares Genres. New York: Methuen, 1986. Tilley, M. P, I Have Heard of Your Paintings Too. (Hamlet III, i, 148). The Review of English Studies 5. 19 (1929): 312-17

Ascorbic acid content of fruit juice Essay Example for Free

Ascorbic acid content of fruit juice Essay OBJECTIVE To determine ascorbic acid content in a sample of fruit juice by using titration method with 0.001M 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol, C12H7O2NCl2. INTRODUCTION image00.png Structure of Ascorbic acid Ascorbic acid, the chemical term for vitamin C, are found naturally in fruits and green vegetables. It is a dietary requirement for normal metabolism, formation of collagen, wound healing, and tissue repair. Ascorbic acid is often used as an antioxidant to help prevent free radical damage in the skin, builds resistance to infection, aids in the prevention treatment of the common cold, and aids in the absorption of iron. Yet, vitamin C cannot be synthesized by the body, and needs to be ingested. A lack of vitamin C can cause abnormalities of the spine, scurvy, and a reduction in the ability of the body to heal wounds. The determining factors as to whether organic substances can be determined in an aqueous medium depend primarily on the functional groups that characterise the redox properties. The determination of ascorbic acid content is based on the oxidation of ascorbic acid to dehydroascorbic acid: C6H8O6→ C6H6O6 + 2e- + 2H+ image01.png The redox potential depends on the pH and without adequate buffering the pH at the electrode surface can be displaced by the oxidation reaction of the ascorbic acid leading to peak broadening. Vitamin C is found in fruit drinks such as orange juice and also other sources like vegetables, liver and kidney meat. Vitamin C in food can be destroyed by cooking, leaching out from fruits and vegetable during washing, and being oxidized when expose to the air. Thus, food that rich in vitamin C needs to be stored and prepared well. PROCEDURE 1. Standardization of 0.001M 2, 6-dichlorophenolindophenol solution. 25.00mL aliquot of ascorbic acid solution was pipette into a 100mL conical flask. 0.001M 2, 6-dichlorophenolindophenol solution is titrated until a faint colour persisted for at least 15 seconds. The molarity of the dye solution is calculated by the result obtained. 2. Ascorbic acid concentration of fruit juice is determined. 5mL of fruit juice was pipette into a 100mL conical flask. 10mL of 5M acetic acid, 5mL of acetone (prevent interference of SO2) and 30mL of water was added, then the mixture was allowed to stand for 5 minutes and titrated with 2, 6-dichlorophenolindophenol solution. 3. CuSO4 and bubbling to air. 2 flasks is set up and filled with 25mL of fruit juice in each flask. 1mg of copper sulfate is added to one of the flasks and both are put to bubbled air for 20 minutes. The titration is repeated at the completion of the 20 minutes of air bubbling. DCPIP is a chemical compound used as a redox dye. This dye is blue in base (DCPIP-) and pink in acid (DCPIPH) and the pink form can be reduced by ascorbic acid to a colorless form (DCPIPH2). image03.png Titration with 0.001M 2,6- dichlorophenolindophenol solution Reaction 1: DCPIP- (blue) +H+→ DCPIPH (pink) Reaction 2: DCPIPH (pink) + Ascorbic acid → DCPIPH2 (clear) +Dehydroascorbate If a drop of blue DCPIP dye is added to a low pH solution (pH4.0), it will turn pink (Reaction 1). If a suitable electron donor such as ascorbic acid is present in that solution, it will turn colorless (Reaction 2). When all of the ascorbic acid in the solution has been oxidized to dehydroascorbate, no more electrons will be available to reduce a drop of DCPIPH to the colorless form and the solution will remain pink (Reaction 2 will not take place). The end-point was a faint pink colour that persisted for 15 seconds. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/sosteacher/science/45432.shtml) Acetic acid added in Step 2 (iii) and Step 4 of the method will reduce the oxidation of the ascorbic acid by lower the pH of the orange juice to retard the action of the enzyme polyphenol oxidase. If the pH is reduced below 3.0, the polyphenol oxidase will be inactivated. Acetic acid also reduces interference from any iron present, and thereby facilitates subsequent clarification of the extract. Since the ascorbic acid is not oxidized, it was existed in L-enantiomer form. Therefore, the L-enantiomer form of ascorbic acid was determined in this experiment. ( James , 1999 ) (http://ag.udel.edu/other_websites/foodworkshop/WSFWorkshop/Enzymatic%20Browning%20(Ch2).htm) image04.png From the experiment, the molarity of the ascorbic acid and the dye solution computed are 0.001134 mol/L and 9.8425 Ãâ€"10-4 mol/L respectively. Hence, the concentration of the ascorbic acid in the fruit juice is 3.27mg/100ml which is much more lower compared to the amount stated in the product label (Sunkist) in which the ascorbic acid content is 150mg/100ml. The high discrepancy between these two values might be due to the oxidization of ascorbic acid, which was exposed to the oxygen for a period of time due to the insufficient of apparatus in the laboratory. This can be improved by not exposing ascorbic acid to oxygen, metals, light and heat, as it can be oxidized easily. Therefore, it must be stored in dark and cold and but not in a metal containment. The mechanisms of ascorbic acids degradation is commonly due to the effect of metal ions and the presence or absence of oxygen. The rate of oxidative degradation of ascorbic acids is commonly proportional to the concentration of ascorbate monoanion (HA-), molecular oxygen and the metal ion. It is known that uncatalyzed oxidation is essentially negligible but the presence of trace metals in food are responsible for most of the oxidative degradations. The potency of metal ions in catalyzing ascorbate degradation depends on the metal involved, its oxidation state, and the presence of cheletors. For example, Cu(II) is about 80 times more potent than Fe(III) while te chelate of Fe(II) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (ETDA) complex is about 4 times more catalytic than free Fe(III). (Fennema , 1996) In this experiment, the potency of copper (II) sulfate in catalyzing ascorbate degradation was tested. One of the conical flask with only fruit juice act as control. It is titrated with 44.70ml of DCPIP for oxidation to occur. On the other hand, another conical flask with fruit juice and 1 mg of copper sulfate titrated with only 11.70ml of DCPIP for oxidation to occur. It is proven that the presence of metal ions responsible for accelerates the rate of degradation of ascorbic acid in an air-saturated fruit juice as less DCPIP is needed. During the step 5, bubbling through air is applied to the ascorbic acid to enhance the oxidation of ascorbic acid by the catalyst, copper. If not, it will consume a lot of time before the reaction can take place. Advantages 2,6-Dichlorophenolindophenol served as a good electron acceptor. DCPIP is used as the titrant because it only oxidises ascorbic acid and not other substances that might be present and it acts as a self-indicator in the titration It is reasonably accurate, rapid, and convenient. Can be applied to many different types of samples. Disadvantages The end point of a titration for this reaction is difficult to ascertain due to the lack of complete decolourisation of the DCPIP. These methods are not specific or are not very sensitive. The reagent itself is not stable and needs standardization before use. If the sample solution is intensely coloured (fruit juice or syrup), end point detection will be difficult. Better choice for vitamin C According to the hypothesis, content of vitamin C in fresh fruit is suppose to be higher than commercial packet fruit juice. Due to a lot of processing, most of the vitamin C in commercial fruit juice are destroy. The fewer amounts of millilitres of juice it took to turn DCPIP from blue to clear, the larger the amount of vitamin C there was in the drink. Many of the commercial fruit juice are heavily fortified with vitamin C. Conclusion The molarity of the ascorbic acid and the dye solution computed are 0.001134 mol/L and 9.8425 Ãâ€"10-4 mol/L respectively. The concentration of the ascorbic acid in the fruit juice is3.27 mg/100mL which is much more lower than the ascorbic acid content of the label product (15 mg/100mL). this might be due to the oxidation of ascorbic acid. Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is essential to humans. It is involved in the synthesis of collagen, which is the main constituent of skin, connective tissue, and the organic substance of bones and teeth. A deficiency of vitamin C results in a disease called scurvy. A quantity of 60 mg vitamin C per day is enough to prevent the disease, and this is the recommended daily dietary allowance (RDA). (http://a-s.clayton.edu/ptodebus/CHEM1211/lab/experiments/Vitamin%20C/Vit%20C%20titration%20v1.doc) REFERENCES Ceirwyn S.James , 1999, Analytical Chemistry of Foods , An Aspen Publications , page 138,139 Owen R. Fennema, 1996, Food Chemistry, Third Ed., Marcel Deeker,Inc., pg 561,562 http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks3bitesize/sosteacher/science/45432.shtml http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrievedb=PubMedlist_uids=7016874dopt=Abstract http://darwin.nmsu.edu/~blyons/BCHE_397/VitaminC.htm http://www-saps.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/docs/vitc.pdf http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/chem/issues/kim-02-26-5/kim-26-5-8-0106-6.pdf#search=Determination%20of%20ascorbic%20acid%20by%20DCPIPIntroduction http://www.naturalhub.com/natural_food_guide_fruit_vitamin_c.htm http://ag.udel.edu/other_websites/foodworkshop/WSFWorkshop/Enzymatic%20Browning%20(Ch2).htm http://a-s.clayton.edu/ptodebus/CHEM1211/lab/experiments/Vitamin%20C/Vit%20C%20titration%20v1.doc

Lustration In Czech Republic And Slovakia Social Policy Essay

Lustration In Czech Republic And Slovakia Social Policy Essay Twenty years after the Velvet Revolution resulting in the change of regime, common feeling prevailing in both, Slovakia and the Czech Republic is disillusion. According to the latest polls of STEM agency, forty years of communist oppression would not discourage 12.3% Czechs to vote for the Communist Party in next election. In Slovakia, the Communist Party would enjoy only 3.1% support as FOCUS agency discovered. However, it cannot be concluded that Czechs excused leaders and collaborators of former regime whereas Slovaks did not. These figures have to be seen in the light of approaches Slovakia and the Czech Republic pursued in coping with their communist past. Absence of the lustration law in Slovakia caused that leaders and collaborators of former regime pervaded into new political system easily, and now can be found in many other parties throughout the political spectrum, apart from the Communist Party. Thus, their actual support cannot be verified. Whereas, the lustration law in the Czech Republic disqualified leaders and collaborators of former regime from holding public positions. This essay tries to argue that although approaches Slovakia and the Czech Republic pursued in coping with their communist past were completely different, surprisingly, none of them led to satisfactory outcomes. This essay primarily presents strengths and weaknesses of the lustration law adopted in 1991, as it applied to the Czech Republic and Slovakia together until its dissolution in 1993. Moreover, with minor changes, it has been valid since then in the Czech Republic. On the contrary, in Slovakia it expired in 1996. This essay describes unfavourable consequences of absence of the lustration law in Slovakia. However, it also mentions harms its existence and strict enforcement did in the Czech Republic. While being a common state, Czechs and Slovaks pursued the same attitude in coping with their communist past. Its Federal Assembly passed the lustration law as the first post communist government on October 4, 1991. This law stated precisely who can and cannot hold certain public positions. A person who was: member of State Secret Police (hereinafter referred to as StB), resident, agent, owner of conspiracy flat, informer, ideological or conscious collaborator of StB, high-ranked official of the Communist Party, member of Peoples Militias, student, or researcher at one of the KGB universities for longer than three months, was excluded from public employment (Act on Lustration 1991). In addition, this law specified more precisely category conscious collaborator as person recorded in StB files as confident or candidate for collaboration (1991). The lustration law, valid until 1996, obliged everyone holding a leading public position, including public enterprises, courts, media outlets and higher education institutions to require the Interior Ministry for lustration certificate, of 8-euro value (Lustration Act 1991). However, lustrations happened even before putting the lustration law into life. The Federal Assembly already in January that year passed a resolution in accordance with all members of parliament, ministers, their deputies and civil servants had to be screened for StB collaboration. It did not take long until the first ethical concerns were raised about both, the resolution and the lustration law. Roman David mentions that the International Labour Organisation criticized them for being discriminatory towards the expression of political opinion and human rights groups for violating the right to express, associate, be free from discrimination, and participate in public life (2004, 790). The headlines of internationally respected dailies called lustrations in Czechoslovakia Witch Hunts, Hunts for Villains (New York Times 1991) or Grounds for New Injustices (Le Monde 1992), describing them as threats to democracy, fragile anyway at that time. Many scholars mention that new policy makers used exactly contrary argument, defending lustrations as a mean to build and strengthen democracy. They believed if leaders and collaborators with former regime were given public employment, it would undermine democracy. (David 2004, 795; Williams 2003, 2) In this regard, it is difficult, if not impossible to decide who was wrong and right. However, it is possible to define the strengths and weaknesses of the lustration law from 1991. First, the criticism of the lustration law based on the deprivation of political rights does not hold the water. It prevented leaders and collaborators of former regime from public employment, but as Roman David argues the right to public employment was deliberately omitted from the European Convention of Human Rights (2004, 797). Moreover, he adds that the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1989 was a monolithic organisation which excluded opposition, prohibited discussion and did not allow free elections (2004, 799). It cannot be considered standard political party as it does not fulfil general criteria of a political party recognized in democracy. Thus, it can hardly claim the same legal protection which is given to other parties. (2004, 799) Furthermore, public employment is identified with certain values. Roman David uses an example of USA where the Supreme Court has confirmed several qualifications for public employees, such as trust, integrity and competency, fitness and loyalty and impartiality, fairness and effectiveness' (2004, 797). This shows that the public employment demands exemplary behaviour. Can someone who contributed to oppression of others be an example for others? Does he hold these values? When identifying former regime and its actors, its crimes should not be overlooked. According to the Czech Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism, from 1948 to 1989, 205 486 persons were imprisoned and 248 persons were executed for political reasons, 282 persons died when trying to cross western borders, and 21 440 persons were placed in forced labour camps from 1948 to 1953. Besides, these figures do not include damages of those, who were deprived from possibility to study, work in their field, and were exposed to constant pursuit of StB and regular interrogations, during which StB members were not reluctant to use violent practices. The Communist Party not only gave consent to these practices carried out by the Peoples Militias that was armed forces of the Communist Party and by StB, it encouraged them to use them. Would not their former members be a threat to unstable democracy in Czechoslovakia, if they were given a chance to participate in public decisions? Knowing the context, is not surprising that after 1989 new policy makers took uncompromising stance towards leaders and collaborators with former regime and dismissed them from political life. However, while one ethical concern was solved, another popped up. If a dismissal from public employment was legitimate, then who to dismiss was in question. As nothing is black and white, simple division on bad and good proved to be impossible for a whole variety reasons. Certainly, thousands of people collaborated with former regime voluntarily for personal gains, fully aware of harms their actions caused to others. However, with new lustrations becoming public, new life stories disclosed proved it was not always the case. Some people seemed to be forced to agree on collaboration. Simply, they had no other choice if they wanted to protect their families and friends, keep their employment, study at universities or even if they wanted to continue dissenting against regime. Who could say s/he was in such situation and decided not to collaborate? A handful could. The political party Public against Violence (hereinafter referred to as VPN), created after 1989 mostly from dissidents was one of the firsts that decided to verify whether their candidates ranked to this handful and screened them for StB collaboration. If they were positive (meaning, they had records in StB files as collaborators), either they resigned or we withdrew them from their position. These were dreadful days. We saw life stories of people who were broken in prisons, uranium mines, during their travels abroad or simply at work. Some of them were our long-time friends, Fedor Gal, Slovak dissident and co-founder of VPN recalls (tyzden 2009). It turned out some of leaders of the Velvet revolution had records in StB files as hostile persons, but as collaborators at the same time. The situation got complicated. Was it right to use the same measure for everyone? Moreover, when the definition of categories excluded from public employment in the lustration law proved to be imprecise . However, no controversy could be found in respect to high-ranked officials of the Communist Party, the same could not be said about StB collaborators and members of Peoples Militias. High positions in the Communist Party were to be queued. Everyone who reached this hierarchic level within the system not only decided voluntarily, but also had to put much effort in order to reach it. As Roman David argues, Only devoted and loyal candidates were granted membership. He stresses these were aware of illicit aims of the Communist Party (2004, 802). The StB collaborators were also conscious members. However, in some cases StB members blackmailed them in order to make them sign the agreement on co-operation. Still, the biggest loophole occurred in the category of Peoples Militias members. As Roman David emphasises, even though Peoples Militias helped to oppress the opposition during the communist coup in February 1948, they did not necessarily know this was its purpose when they entered the organization. Later on, when they realized it, they could not disjoin the organization, as it was almost impossible with any communist organisation. (2004, 802) Furthermore, not everyone who entered the Peoples Militias even after the communist coup shared its purposes. The circumstances varied from case to case. This essay would use the case of Milan Kuta, published in the New York Times. Milan Kuta was respected oncologist when he was offered to lead the Oncology Centre in not very favourite Czech town Chomutov in 1985. In order to get this employment, he had to enter the Communist Party and provide the Peoples Militias with first-aid courses. Never being active in political life before, he decided to accept the offer, as he knew it was the only way for the centre to get appropriate finances and for him to get more interesting job. However, in 1991, after the lustration law was enforced, he as the director of state-owned medical centre found himself in unpleasant situation. Coming under the category inconsistent with public employment, he had to resign from his position. (New York Times 1992) Nowadays, Milan Kuta still works in the Oncolog y Centre in Chomutov and is considered renowned specialist in his field. If a role of the lustration law were simplified to being a mean inflicting punishment on collaborators with former regime for their past wrongdoings, it would be difficult to say what Milan Kuta did wrong. Furthermore, in this case, it would be also difficult to defend the lustration as a mean to build and strengthen democracy. How would democracy be endangered if Milan Kuta stayed in his post? He was not active in the Communist Party, and he never collaborated with StB. The only criticism could come from giving Peoples Militias first-aid courses. First, was this inherently bad? Second, could this be compared to pursuing people and oppressing their fundamental rights? It hardly could. Thus, was not a burden of collective guilt too heavy for Milan Kuta? Not only he loosed his post in the Oncology Centre, he had to face a disdain of society. Moreover, Milan Kuta was not the only case. Many people were harmed by imprecise definition of some categories inconsistent with public employment according to the lustration law and by the principle of collective guilt, it imposed. Finally, also the credibility of StB files was questionable. Political leaders, old as well as new, in both countries quickly realized these could be useful tools for political blackmailing. Pavel Zacek, the Czech historian from The Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes in Prague claims, StB files were manipulated and thousands of them possibly destroyed by StB, but also the Communist Party, Peoples Militias, and army immediately after the Velvet revolution (SME 2009). This suspicion puts another question mark behind the legitimacy of the lustration law in Czechoslovakia. The lustration law passed in 1991 in Czechoslovakia was important step in preventing leaders and collaborators with former regime from shifting newly built democracy back to dictatorship. However, it was step uncertain, unaware of direction it wanted to take and of destination, it wanted to reach. The categories of people affected by the lustration law were too broad. The public employment covered significant part of the labour market after 1989. Thus, too many people were deprived from public employment and the lustration law did not differentiate among them. A doctor giving first-aid courses to Peoples Militias was in the same position as member of StB pursuing and interrogating innocent people. The lustration law from 1991 was common basis for both countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. However, Czechs were initiators and insisted on the lustration law more than Slovaks, which proved to be true after the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993 as well. As Nadya Nedelsky mentions, while the Czech Republic kept the lustration law, prolonged its validity in 1995 and in 2000, though the president Vaclav Havel vetoed its prolongation both times, Slovakia let the lustration law expired in 1996 and never enacted it again. (2004, 76, 66) In the Czech Republic, the lustration law was amended in 2000, granting an exemption to persons born after the 1st December 1972. These, if having interest in public employment were not obliged to submit either lustration certificate or statutory declaration (Amendment of Lustration Act 2000). There are several reasons explaining diverged approaches in dealing with communist past. Most often, scholars argue that the regime was not equally tough in both countries. Nadya Nedelsky confirms it and adds to that that the main reason why both countries were not treated in the same way was different level of dissent. According to her, low level of dissent in Slovakia led to lesser oppression of Slovaks, and consequently after the Velvet revolution to lesser interest in transitional justice as well. (2004, 81) After 1989, Slovak public became divided not only in this matter. Certainly, there was a public support for lustration processes. However, it was not so unite as in the Czech Republic. Significant part of Slovak public was already occupied with the idea of independent Slovak state. This one seemed to prevail. Although, strength of regime or disunity of public in the matter of transitional justice played important role in deciding for and against the lustration law, they do not provide with sufficient reasoning of two contrary attitudes. The character of political scene of that time in both countries should not be omitted in this debate. Nadya Nedelsky mentions, even though Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Meciar, Czech and Slovak political leader who gained their popularity from playing crucial roles in a split of Czechoslovakia, had several common features, they led both countries to completely different directions. While the government of Vaclav Klaus got the Czech Republic closer to the western democracies, authoritarian government of Vladimir Meciar, breaking fundamental human rights got Slovakia to international isolation. Even though Vaclav Klaus several times expressed his belief that looking back into past can prevent from moving forward in the present and future, he always voted for the lustration law. On the contrary, Vladimir Meciar was strongly against the lustration law, surprisingly referring to violation of human rights. Moreover, regarding Vladimir Meciar, he was accused of stealing and destroying StB files that could discredit him, as he was suspected to be collaborator of StB. As Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Meciar formed newly created republics for several years after the split to big extent, it is not surprising that the attitude toward lustration turned in the Czech Republic and Slovakia into completely different directions just because they had a different view on it. Nevertheless, surprisingly, different directions these two approaches took did not result in different ends. Harms the lustration law and its strict enforcement caused in the Czech Republic because of its loose definition were described above. Nevertheless, harms its absence caused in Slovakia are not fewer. Lack of public and political interest in settling the past resulted in politics, but also church being riddled by former communists. The most known is the case of Jan Sokol, former Roman Catholic archbishop accused of collaborating with former regime. Even though, his name popped up in StB files several times, never as of hostile person, but as of candidate for collaboration, and later on as of agent, and there was found a record disclosing about whom he informed StB, he never admitted it or offered his resignation. (Nations Memory Institute 2004-2009) Not having the lustration law, Slovakia did not have any mechanisms to withdraw Jan Sokol from his position. Again, similarly as in the case of Milan Kuta, Jan Sokol is not an exception. Slovakia never fully extricated from the influence of leaders and collaborators of former regime. In addition, Slovak political development after 1989 is the case in point, what crucial role the lustration law plays in democratisation processes. Slovakia with its do nothing approach in dealing with the communist past, proved to be weak to protect its young democracy, as Vladimir Meciars government apparently did not comply with democratic principles. Overall, twenty years passed since the lustration law in the Czech Republic has been in force and thirteen since in Slovakia it expired. Certainly, it played important role in strengthening democracy after 1989. A fear that leaders and collaborators with former regime could undermine was understandable. However, is this law tenable in the Czech Republic now being a part of the European Union since 2004? Is not same fear groundless? Who will redress all the damages done to reputations of unjustly accused of collaboration? Vice versa, who will redress all the damages done to dissidents in Slovakia who suffered from oppression of the communist regime, and have to see now their oppressors making public decisions? These unanswered questions did not have to be posed if either the Czech Republic or Slovakia adopted more consistent approach in dealing with their communist past. References Czech Office for the Documentation and the Investigation of the Crimes of Communism. The Number of Casualties of the Communist Regime in Czechoslovakia from 1948 to 1989. http://web.mvcr.cz/archiv2008/policie/udv/popraveni/obeti/index.html (accessed December 4, 2009) David, Roman. 2004. Transitional Injustice? Criteria for Conformity of Lustration to the Right to Political Expression. Europe-Asia Studies. 56, no. 6: 789-812. Engelberg, Stephen. 1992. The Velvet Revolution Gets Rough. New York Times. May 31. http://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/31/magazine/the-velvet-revolution-gets-rough.html (accessed December 4, 2009) Federal Assembly of the Czechoslovak Federative Republic. 1991. Zà ¡kon, ktorà ½m sa ustanovujà º niektorà © d(alÃ… ¡ie predpoklady na và ½kon niektorà ½ch funkcià ­ v Ã… ¡tà ¡tnych orgà ¡noch a organizà ¡cià ¡ch C(eskej a Slovenskej Federatà ­vnej Republiky, C(eskej republiky a Slovenskej republiky. (Act on Lustration) 455/1991. FOCUS (Marketing and Social Research agency in Slovakia). Electoral Political Party Preferences for November 2009, http://www.focus-research.sk/files/110_Preferencie%20politickych%20stran_%20nov2009.pdf (accessed December 4, 2009) Gal, Fedor. 2009. Lustracie III. Tyzden (Slovakia). August 30. http://www.tyzden.sk/casopis/2009/35/lustracie-iii.html (accessed December 4, 2009) Monroy, Catherine. 1992. Difficile lustration en Tchà ©coslovaquie Le sort rà ©servà © aux anciens communistes risque de donner lieu à   de nouvelles injustices. Le Monde. February 24. http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVEStype_item=ART_ARCH_30Jobjet_id=398186 (accessed December 4, 2009) Nations Memory Institute. 2004-2009. Sprà ¡va Ã…  tB Bratislava (The StB Report Bratislava). http://www.upn.gov.sk/regpro/zobraz.php?typ=krajkniha=88strana=62zaznam=82158 (accessed December 4, 2009) Nedelsky, Nadya. 2004. Divergent Responses to a Common Past: Transitional Justice in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Theory and Society. 33, no. 1: 65-115. New York Times, national edition. 1991. A Witch Hunt in Prague? April 6. http://www.nytimes.com/1991/04/06/opinion/a-witch-hunt-in-prague.html (accessed December 4, 2009) STEM (The Centre for Empirical Survey in the Czech Republic). STEM Political Party Preferences for November 2009, http://www.stem.cz/clanek/1884 (accessed December 4, 2009) TASR, Meciar vyuzival materialy StB, tvrdi cesky historik (Meciar abused StB material, says the Czech historian), SME, October 7, 2009. Williams, Kieran. 2003. Lustration As the Securitization of Democracy in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic. The Journal of Communist Studies and Transition Politics. 19, no. 4: 1-24.