Category: Sociology

Introduction

The Internet is increasingly becoming a breeding ground for pedophiles. This research paper is based on literature review and intended to identify the specific challenges facing crime preventers such as law enforcement officers, parents and concerned communities while dealing with cyber pedophiles.

The study has a literature review section, where data from other researches and studies is gathered, a research findings section, where I have documented the information collected and a recommendations section where I have stated some of the ways that can be used by the parents and the law enforcement agents in order to detect and bring pedophiles to justice.

The current day pedophiles rake through internet sites, chat rooms and newsgroups in search of an easy target. This is unlike the pre-internet age when like minded criminals would prey upon children on open playgrounds and schools. The internet provides the cyber pedophiles with the anonymity and the extra confidence required to go about their evil plans with a slim chance of identification and prosecution.

The internet also provides them with a mode through which they can build confidence among their targeted children in preparation for the physical encounter. Pedophiles bold enough to manipulate their children targets sexually use pornographic materials where children are featured in order to justify their actions to the child and prove to the child that sex is not after all a negative thing (Dixon 1).

In view of the increasing risks posed to children by the cyber predators, different government have reacted to the situation through passing relevant laws that would enhance bringing the perpetrators to justice and more importantly, detecting predators before they commit a crime hence preventing more children from abuse. In Britain for example, the police have been given the mandate to “track and capture” that lure children on the internet with the intention of committing sexual crimes to them (Dixon 1).

It is noteworthy that cyber predators do not identify themselves as adults. Often, they will lurk in forums that are popular with their targets and even engage in conversations with the children pretending to be one of them (Dixon 6). In the developed countries (incidentally pedophile crimes are higher in the developed countries due to the wide spread use of the internet by children), the law enforcement officers have realized the need to use similar tactics to detect the pedophiles.

While parents would play a vital role in warning and hence preventing their children from falling prey to the pedophiles, Dixon notes that most parents are either too busy doing other things rather than watching and guiding their children, or are simply technologically challenged hence lacking the means to monitor what their children are engaging in cyber space (6). Others are ignorant about the probability and seriousness of cyber crimes committed against children.

Literature Review

The intent of law enforcers to curtail the activities of cyber pedophiles is challenged by the fact that cyber crime is not as straightforward as other forms of crime. Ekblom notes that for law enforcers to prevent a crime from happening, they must be able to establish that there are motivated offenders and facilitators of the crime (252).

More to this, there must be an attractive or a vulnerable target (in this case children below 18 years), and may be the presence of careless, deliberate of unwitting crime promoter (for example uncensored chat rooms where children are exposed to pornographic materials) (Ekblom 252).

The duty of the law enforcers in this case would be to prevent crime either by limiting access of children by pedophiles, sounding an alarm or intervening when they detect a lurking pedophile and reacting by identifying the pedophile, pursuing and arresting them. In cyber crime, this would involve a lot of technological surveillance by the law enforcers.

Although Ekblom notes that children, parents, law enforcement officers and the community at large are more informed today than was the case ten years ago about pedophiles and how to stop it (250), Sommer states that the children who are unlucky enough to fall prey to the same crime lack the necessary legal and prosecution powers to ensure that their abusers face justice (2). For starters, law enforcement officers are faced by technological challenges, which consequently make them to gather “admissible” evidence that conforms to probative values of the courts (Sommer 2).

According to courts standards, the evidence produced in court against an accused person must be authentic and accurate, in addition to providing a complete account as an exhibit. Sommer notes that handling digital evidence by law enforcement officers have proved quite challenging over the years because “a record or a log can be changed with a few typed keystrokes, and this can remove all traces of crime” (2).

Further complicating the process of pedophile detection and prosecution is the fact that most pedophiles see computers and internet as a hobby and are thus always eager to try out and exploit latest technology releases to their advantage (Sommers 2). If the law enforcement officers and investigators are not equally versed with the technology used, some evidence may be lost.

Penna et al (2) states that pedophiles misuse the internet to; 1) enhance communication between like minded people (communication between pedophiles), 2) Communicate with their target children and transferring files that promotes their intent to the children, 3) locate viable targets for molestation, whereby they initiate communication, learn about the child and strike when the child is vulnerable, and 4) traffic and publicize pedophiles themes through web-based stories or images.

Research Findings

This research has established that the rising incidence of cyber pedophile has given rise to different solutions. Packet sniffers are among the network monitoring software that is common used among law enforcement agencies (Penna et al 5). The packet sniffers capture explicit children related data and trace it down to the related sender and receiving Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.

With the help of the Internet service provider, the law enforcement officers can be able to trace down the IP address and the owner. With increased use of Internet Cafes however, this is usually a preventative measure to the recipient address owner (if a child) since the sender may use different IP computers and hence IP addresses at given times.

Different software that analyze and monitor chat rooms are also used in children based chat groups. According to Penna et al, such software follows chat messages in search of adult language and hence detecting any adults posing as children (5).

However the challenge posed by such software is that they cannot keep up with the multiple simultaneous chats conversations that happen in any given chat room at all times. This hence leaves room for criminal element to penetrate the chat rooms. Discourse analysis is also a way that law enforcers use to trace pedophiles (Penna et al 5).

Here they monitor language interactions for pornographic themes, existing relationships between children and pedophiles or pedophile peers, support themes for pedophiles and related information. Image analysis is also used to detect pornographic images sent to children. With the internet awash with countless pornographic images, law enforcers find it hard to pick specific images that are intended for the underage audience.

This study has found out that technological challenges remain the single most challenge to law enforcement officers, parents and community members who care for the children. More to this, pedophiles can falsify emails accounts and use the same to lure children. IP hiding is also another technique that can be used to hide the identity of people chatting on a specific platform hence giving the pedophile an easy way to execute his attack strategies. Internet hacking has also been identified as a way through which pedophiles take control of another person’s computer and use the same for pedophile activities without the owner of the same knowing (Sommers 2).

Recommendations

According to Ekblom, technology is changing fast (258). Having established in the literature review section that most pedophiles are technological savvy and ready to utilize any new technology to their advantage, it is clear that the crime preventers need to adopt just as fast to new technology.

While Ekblom acknowledges that cyber criminals are “highly creative in spotting opportunities and adopting coping countermeasures”, he observes that “crime preventers need to build on intelligence and creativity in order to increase their adaptive capacities and handle contingencies” (258). This means that law enforcement officers need to keep up with technological advancement if the fight against pedophile is to be won.

Parents also need to play an active role in educating their children about the possibility of meeting pedophiles online. Tremblay notes that if parents were as vibrant watching the activities that the children engage in while on the internet as they were when they watch them on the playgrounds, then cyber pedophile would not be as big a problem as it is today (6).

More to this, parents need to teach their children about the extent of information that they can give out on the internet. “Children should be taught to interpret the ‘where do you go to school, when do u leave school and when can I see you’ type of questions as signs of real danger” (Tremblay 7).

Conclusion

The cases of cyber pedophile attacks can be drastically brought down in different communities with a combination of increased parental responsibility and a more vibrant law enforcement unit dedicated specifically to tracking down pedophiles planning attacks on innocent children.

It’s notable that pedophiles who are deterred from committing their intended action on target children never give up easily. They keep trying out new targets. This thus raises the need for the law enforcement officers to devise better ways through which the pedophiles can be traced and arrested before committing crimes against children.

The legal hurdle that faces investigators when the pedophiles are charged in court needs to be re-defined, consider the dynamics presented by the ever changing environment of the cyber world. Overall, this study recognizes that there is a need to develop more effective tools to profile, monitor and analyze pedophile activities in order to increase the accuracy of detecting and arresting the offenders.

Works Cited

Dixon, Nicolee. Catching ‘Cyber Predators’: The Sexual Offences (Protection Of Children) Amendment Bill 2002 (Qld). The Queensland Parliamentary Library. Web.

Ekblom, Paul. “Gearing up against Crime: a Dynamic framework to help Designers keep up with the Adaptive Criminal in the Changing World”, International Journal of Risk, Security and Crime prevention. October 1997. Vol. 2, No. 4, Pp 249-265.

Penna, Lyta, Clark, Andrew & Mohay, George. Challenges of Automating the Detection of Pedophile Activity on the Internet. IEEE Computer Society. 2009. Web.

Sommer, peter. “Evidence in Internet Pedophile Cases.” Information Systems Integrity group. 2002. Web.

Tremblay, Pierre. Social Interactions among Pedophiles. 2008. Web.

“Self-Reliance: The Communal Past as a Model for the Future” is the eighth chapter in the book by Gilbert Rist The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith. This chapter is a collection of captivating thoughts about the theory of self-reliance, its peculiar features, and paradox that attracts that attention of many people in the sphere of business and market relations.

The author chooses a powerful way to introduce and disclose the essence of self-reliance by means of a clear evaluation of experiences and the analysis of the achievements that are characterized by self-reliance. The main idea of the chapter is to prove that “the history of development merges with the history of the progressive destruction of self-reliance” (Rist 125). In order to comprehend the essence of this phrase it is not only necessary to comprehend how development happened and to evaluate self-reliance as a theory but also unite these concepts together and find out their strengths and weaknesses.

Summary of the Chapter and Ideas

To improve the general situation in many countries of the South, the discourses concerning obligatory modernization and independence were used during the 1960s. People had a hope to change the situation and achieve the necessary improvement, but those times created many difficulties for people. In the chapter under consideration, the example of the Tanzanian President, Julius Nyerere, is used to demonstrate how the theory of self-reliance was applied into practice and what outcomes of this attempt were.

From the very beginning, certain points deserve reader’s attention because the application of this theory “tries to formalize, coherently and exhaustively, the mode of life that has prevailed on earth since the dawn of humanity, but at the same time presents this as a discovery bringing an indubitably new element to debate on ‘development’” (Rist 125).

In 1961, Tanganyika gained its independence, and, as a new country on the world arena, faced considerable challenges on internal and external levels. Export and important of good underwent certain changes, and the government needed to takes the steps to re-evaluate the situation and be able to cope with challenges.

However, what the country did not want to accept is different kinds of foreign aid because “independence means self-reliance” (Rist 128), and an independent country should find another ways to achieve prosperity but not accept the gifts of the others. With the help of this example, the author of the chapter represents a perfect list of ideas, which describe what self-reliance should never be and what main bases of self-reliance theory are.

Writer’s points of view about the subject

In this chapter, the writer’s views are perfectly identified. He does not want to accept the idea of self-reliance as something purely bad or purely good. This is why the analysis of the ideas and experience take place at first. Gilbert Rist admits that self-reliance is one of the theories that is able to stimulate creativity and value confidence, to promote people to accept the existing factors and environment, and finally, to involve different forms of development that is so obligatory to society.

However, the idea that someone may practice self-reliance and someone fails to practice it put this theory under a doubt. This is why the future of this theory is not clear, and the author underlines that much still depends on the way of how society can accept the idea of self-reliance and the conditions, under which it may develop to its full extent.

Works Cited

Rist, Gilbert. “Self-Reliance: The Communal Past as a Model for the Future.” In The History of Development: From Western Origins to Global Faith. New York: Zed Books, 2002.

Introduction

If you want to become a good speaker, it is necessary to train your skills and improve background knowledge day by day. Sophisticated people admit that “ it’s normal to be nervous” (Beebe and Beebe 13), and public speaking is one of those phobias, which are hard to cope with from the very beginning. The purpose of our lecture is

• to help you comprehend that speaking is not the reason to worry about;
• to show that you are not alone, and many famous great people faced the same problems but still were able to find the ways and present magnificent speeches;
• to explain how to cope with your anxiety during public speaking.

If you are not sure that one day you may present the best speech ever, this course is for you. All you need to do is to believe in your powers and in your skills, train a bit to check your reflexes and skills, and be able to find the way out of any situation.

Enduring Understanding

Concepts that lead student thinking. From the very beginning, any person should realize that he or she is not alone. There is a great variety of people, who become nervous because of speaking in public, and it is very important to comprehend that the concept of anxiety may be and even needs to be evaluated to succeed in public speaking. This is why our lecture should help you define the main reasons of your panic before public speaking and explain how your fear of humiliation, care about personal looks, insecurity, or lack of experience may assist you but not disturb.

For example, you are afraid of being humiliated. Stop! What kind of humiliation! You have no right to think about this! You get a good chance to share your thought with other people, you are the only person, who is perfectly aware about the chosen topic, and no one has the right to say or even think about humiliation, because they take lower stage. They come here to listen to YOU.

How to make students think deeper. You may think that you and only you cannot cope with your anxiety. Well, do not be so sure about this fact. Do you know that President Kennedy was afraid of public speaking. He needed more than an hour to cope with his own anxiety and speak on public. However, when the time to go outside came, no one could guess that he had some problems or fears. His speeches always sounded confident and interesting. Just think that you are not the President (yet), and your public is not so great as President’s one. But still, you are to perform this speech, and you may take the best qualities and ideas and pull yourself together. Just focus on your message but not on your fears. If you think that your fears and your public prevent you from speaking interesting and informative, you increase the level of your anxiety. However, it is you, who control this anxiety, so, show your leading skills!

Instructional Procedures

Teaching strategies. First activity. If you want to organize your thoughts and ideas properly, it is not enough to listen to my speeches only. Now, it is time to show how mature you may be and how successfully you may use the material sent.

Let us participate in an inquire that helps you define what you may be afraid of the most. Answer the following questions:

1. What can make you start worrying?
2. What are your first thoughts when you start speaking on public?
3. What can make confuse you while speaking?

Well, look at your answer. Crumple this sheet of paper and see what may happen to the things, which disturb you from speaking. You may forget them, you may burn them, you may throw it away. Everything is in your hands. Remember about it. Second activity. Any public speaker should know his/her audience; prepare to his/her speech in advance; train his/her speech for several times; choose an interesting and burning topic; structure the whole speech; hide nervous energy by means of moving and gesticulation. Present your ideas in chain on how to organize a successful speech and cope with your personal anxiety.

Guided practice. Now, let us divide a class into several groups in order to compete with each other. The desire to win is one of the causes that make you forget about your personal fears and weaknesses. Remember that the winners’ team will be encouraged by me personally.

Take this little hint into consideration: your creative thinking is your key to success. Make use of the following examples to complete this task: it may be a speech of one student, where the second student performs the role of a “little devil”, who introduces negative thoughts and the third student represents a “little angel”, who supports the speaker and finds out positive sides of public speaking. The result of the group has to evaluate this speech and introduce their own ideas.

Ways to check student understanding. I should also have a chance to check your level of knowledge and understanding of the subject. All I want to ask you to do is to present an essay, where you should focus on the ideas on how to cope with your anxiety and how to train your personal skills for public speaking.

Summaries of the Study

Remember that you need to know how to cope with personal anxiety. It is necessary for their future life. Like any other form of communication, your public speaking remains to be a process. Any process needs to be planned and organized. As a rule, you have some time to plan your actions and thoughts. Learn more about your audience, train before the mirror and make sure you look great at this position, and finally, think about the examples, which make your speech more illustrative and more interesting. Almost each speaker-beginner feels nervous before a speech. Do not be surprised if your knees start shaking before the process. Just remember that Kennedy and many other speakers have already passed through it with dignity and respect, and now, it is your turn. Those, who are waiting for your speech, know nothing about the topic you are aware completely. So, use this advantage and win the audience!

A Quiz: Public Speaking

1. One of the points of a good speech is…

2. What should you not do before a speech?

3. If you are nervous before your speech, you should better

Comments

Works Cited

Beebe, Steven, A and Beebe, Susan, J. Public Speaking: An Audience-Centered Approach 7^th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 2004.

Introduction

The question of illegal immigrants has been a serious issue for some analysts in the country. While most citizens would see them as dangerous individuals, invading the country to secure jobs from them and control criminal activities, other stakeholder mark their importance in the economy. How they hurt America may take different viewpoints depending on the preceptor and attitudes that one has traditionally believed. Illegal immigrants may be defined differently, depending on their unlawful nature. In as much as a high number of immigrants are in the country, their presence has a significant implication on the population ranging from the economy, politics and societal factors; these factors are often viewed differently by different components of the society.

Background information on illegal immigrants

Unlawful settlers are essentially people who meet the borders without proper authority, and so their overall impression as criminals. This form of migration goes against national policies and immigration laws (Camarota). There are several types of immigrants who enter the country with different objectives. Some stay permanently, while others cross the border to fulfill interim goals. The largest numbers of immigrants by country of origin come from Mexico. Guatemala, India and china have also reported large numbers.

There are three indicators through which a person may be termed as an illegal immigrant; unauthorized crossing of borders, overstaying in a country beyond the legally allowed time, or through desecration of any laws of disclosure (FAIR). They vary, from those who legally cross borders without inspection, to those who get smuggled in containers. Those who overstay their permitted extent are averagely better educated and monetarily secure than those who illegally cross the border.

Impact of illegal immigrants/findings

Most forbidden immigrants steal jobs or the name of ordinary citizens who are arguably too tired to work. Some companies, operating with judicial employees, are faced with competition from such individuals who run organizations with immigrants, who are commonly underpaid, pay less levies and are comfortable working in appalling states (Camarota).

Thousands of prisoners are held captive each year as illegal immigrants, mostly using advanced technology, which is expensive to maintain. Those who are captured while gaining entry into the country have to be accommodated in prison. There are some who access entry in order to gain some illegal objectives (FAIR).

Drug and human trafficking are related activities that most barons undertake. Others have a violent nature which may result in violation or kidnap activities. They desire to get a better living, and hence go to any extents, thus may be found guilty of murder.

The relationship between illegal immigrants and evil has always been cited. The 9/11 attack has vastly been blamed on these characters. Were there strict measures to curb them from crossing the border, preliminary activities on how they could choose where to foster their subversive activities could have been halted.

Thousands of immigrants residing in Las Vegas valley lost their construction jobs due to a dip in the new housing market (Pratt). As a result, they could not distribute money in the local economy as they used to; further, many of them left the area. The effects of their lost wages and their spending on the administration’s income were felt, impairing some of the basic services rendered to legal citizens. The impact of the cost of illegal immigrants to the community has therefore not been clearly comprehended.

Illegal immigrants who have been lately integrating with locals are better educated than the previous lot, better equipped with an academy education, and in search of better service opportunities. However, huge bulks of the unauthorized immigrants have lower education levels than the native (Normandi). They work in industries and commercial-related centers, including repair and agriculture.

A study covered by the NAS signifies that their excise do not consider the fee of services they entertain. The report further states that Americans cannot be offered superior-quality training, retirement security and appropriate nursing if the country continues to admit underprivileged and inexperienced immigrants.

They are also pleased to work for lower wages, hence depressing the salaries of legal citizens (Camarota). Illegal immigration increases the nation’s population, usually inappropriately as some of them may be undocumented.

Implications

Hosting each of these individuals in prison costs thousands of dollars, which could have been invested elsewhere were there no illegal immigrants. Had there been better control over the borders, such aliens with terrorist mind could not have committed such heinous acts.

Their presence in the country is thus seen as a probable peril to the wellbeing of Americans. From the free trade area of view, unrestricted migration and illicit migration lead to increased productivity, increased earnings and consumer spending, and ultimately lowers employment levels (Normandi).

If these undocumented immigrants are forced out of the country, the state would lose some jobs and billions in cash (Pratt). The amount of money circulating in the economy would no longer be available, and less money would be transacted in design of consumer spending and overseas transfers. Pratt further elucidates that more than 50% of construction workers and manual laborers in most states are not legal citizens.

However, the lack of documentation of these individuals poses a greater harm to the population. Economists and psychoanalysts thus cannot see the risk of losing them (Camarota). Most Americans will also complain about their presence without realizing how the economy may experience a dip without illegal immigrants.

According to the findings of the Perryman group, an organization reputable in economic explorations, the state would lose close to 3 million jobs and ½ trillion dollars in circulation without the presence of these characters. These loses would ripple through the economy, as the companies and industries which depend on their services would fail (Pratt).

The harm that these aliens cause is mostly felt by poor Americans. Children and minorities will also test the brunt, as they contend for social services. These individuals in vulnerable sectors of the economy feel the impact of dishonest immigrants on local resources (FAIR).

An all-inclusive program to control illegal immigration must therefore be formulated. It may require plenty of resources to check their access, but ensuring that they do not falsify documents to obtain employment or operate any public services that tax-payers guarantee (FAIR).

Controlling this migration goes further than restricting the volume, but the government substantially involving intelligence capacities to ensure that illegal immigrants do not abuse its citizens.

Conclusion

It may be argued that it is the individuals hiring the illegal immigrants who are harming America in their desire for cheap labor. Most of these people enter the country in search of opportunities to improve their lives, and in no way do they intend to harm Americans (Camarota).

They are usually more hard working than the average citizen who has a university education, because of their desire to succeed and escape poverty. The term ‘illegal’ is what makes these individuals look worthless. While they may disrupt the economy in forms of record keeping and budgetary allocations in the society, they in fact stimulate the economy. Measures to ensure that such individuals enter the country legally, and proper documentation is done must therefore be formulated.

Works Cited

Camarota, Steven. The high cost of cheap labor: illegal immigration and the federal budget. Center for immigration studies, 2004. Web.

FAIR. Illegal immigration is a crime. Federation for American immigration reform: issue brief. 2003. Web.

Normandin, Ryan. Opinion: illegal immigration: it’s illegal. The Tech, online edition, 2010. Web.

Pratt, Timothy. Report: illegal immigrants contribute billions to state. Las Vegas sun: Housing, Jobs. 2008. Web.

This paper deals with the cultural myth that “Love is women’s whole existence.” Over the years, the society has been made to believe and accept that women live only for love. However, this is not the case; it is a cultural myth whose time to go has come. Love is crucial to women; nevertheless, love is not the only goal or purpose that women live for.

Apart from being lovers, women are responsible mothers, sisters, daughters, and workers as well. With changing times, women can now access decent education and jobs; which make them, lead independent lives without men. Nowadays women are living without that ‘love’ and this may explain the up surge in single mothers and single women.

This myth of love being the woman’s whole existence usually accompanies the notion that a woman’s place is in the kitchen. Far from it, women are found in every profession be it military, healthcare, judiciary or even in presidency.

Nothing can explain a freed woman from this cultural myth than Charlotte Bronte’s works: The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, The Mill on the Floss, and Jane Eyre. Female characters in these works struggle to shake off love and through this; they are in a position to pursue their dreams and gain the much-needed energy to overcome life challenges. For instance, in Jane Eyre, Jane portrays her autonomy and will power to overcome Rochester after realizing he has a wife.

Drowned into the myth of ‘love is woman’s whole existence’, Rochester thinks Jane would become his lover and a missus. However, Jane is not set for these illusions; she walks away with only ten pounds, a piece of bread, and the clothes she was wearing. She leaves behind the jewelry and all luxuries that Rochester had brought into her life in name of love (Cadena para. 5).

This may be in literature, but it translates and links strongly to what is happening in the contemporary world. Women are no longer tied to this myth and they are rising to claim their autonomy. Single mothers are on the increase and this is a clear indication that this cultural myth is obsolete. If love was the only thing that women lived for, there could not be single mothers in the society today.

The word ‘single mother’ here does not refer to single mothers because of spouse’s death; it refers to single motherhood by choice. Interestingly, the current demographics are shocking to those who think that love is the only thing that women live for.

For instance, in 2006 alone, 80% of the 12.9 million families headed by single parents were women (Mackay 36). Moreover, in Australia, 31% of babies born since 2001 are from unmarried women (Rickard 29). In the United Kingdom, of the 5.9 million single parents, 64% were single mothers (Bergman 8). This does not leave out South Korea, a rather conservative society. 1.6 million Children were born by single mothers in 2007 (Sang-Hun 9). These statistics shows how misplaced the cultural myth that love is the only thing women live for is.

In the wake of these revelations, it is evident that there are other components in a woman’s life, which are of more importance or at least equal importance to love. If love were the only thing women had to live for, then these births by single mothers would never be.

These women would have stuck with their spouses in the pursuit of that ‘love’, which matters so much in their lives. Therefore, love is not the only thing that women live; there are other elements like career and autonomy to mention but a few, that matter most or equal love in a woman’s life.

Works Cited

Bergman, Mike. “Single-Parent Households Showed Little Variation since 1994”. U.S. Census Bureau. 2007. Web.

Annotations

Cadena, Christine. “Challenging the Cultural Myth that Love is Women’s Whole Existence.” 2006. Web.

This is a well-written article on how women have moved with speed to disqualify the notion that they only live for love. The author quotes extensively British writers like Bronte, Eliot, and Welden. It brings into light how these novel writers used their writing skills to portray woman’s potential not governed by love alone.

Mackay, Ross. “The Impact of Family Structure and Family Change on Child Outcomes: A Personal Reading of the Research Literature Social Policy. Journal Of New Zealand 2008, 34(3); 36.

Ross Mackay in this journal explores family structures and how they have changed over the time. The article gives insights on how single motherhood is rising with time and how these mothers are independent and successful.

Sang-Hun, Choe. “Group Resists Korean Stigma for Unwed Mothers.” The New York Times. 2007. Web.

This article explains the stigma that unmarried women go through. In the hands of the conservative Korean society. The statistics given is a clear indication that, single motherhood is not acceptable in Korean society.

A wealth of literature demonstrates that research is a discursive practice that must be carried out using meticulous and systematic means so as to meet pertinent norms and standards, especially in regard to its validity, reliability, and rationale (Lankshear, n.d.).

Equally, good quality research must have the capacity to elucidate strong evidence in the form of quantitative or qualitative data that is relevant to a phenomenon or variable under study.

The development of an effective procedure or guideline of undertaking the research is of paramount importance in the context of allowing objective data to be collected, organized, analyzed and presented in ways that will allow people to acknowledge that the findings are not only informative, but the inferences drawn upon them are logical.

This paper purposes to evaluate some of differences and characteristics between quantitative and qualitative research designs.

Both qualitative and quantitative research studies have unique characteristics. To start with, it is imperative to note that qualitative researchers are mainly concerned with studying the subject matter in the natural settings in an effort to make sense of, or to understand, observable occurrences in terms of the meanings attached to them by people (Patton, 2002).

One of the characteristics of a qualitative research study, therefore, is that it is interested in studying real-world situations or occurrences as they unfold naturally without controlling or manipulating any variables. In essence, it is not predetermined as is the case with quantitative studies.

The second characteristic is that most qualitative studies utilize purposive sampling procedures. Specifically, cases designated for study are selected by virtue of the fact that they have the needed information and provide valuable manifestations of the phenomenon under study.

In most qualitative studies, sampling of cases is aimed at getting more insight about the phenomenon under study, not empirical generalization from a sample of subjects to a population as is the case in quantitative studies (Patton, 2002).

The third characteristic of a qualitative research study is that the design adopted must be open and flexible enough to enable the researcher adapt to new inquiry depending on the level of understanding needed.

A qualitative design must have the capacity to accommodate new situations as they emerge in addition to allowing the researcher pursue new paths of discovery as opposed to a quantitative design, which utilizes rigid, unresponsive design (Patton, 2002).

Quantitative studies, on the other part, are basically undertaken by means of developing a testable hypothesis or research questions, and collecting data, which is then ordered and statistically analyzed to come up with findings. Finally, the inferences from the findings will differentiate whether the original hypothesis is supported by the evidence collected from the field (Creswell, 2003). One of the unique characteristics of a quantitative study is that the researcher is independent from the phenomena under study as opposed to qualitative study, where the researcher must always interact with the phenomena under study.

The second characteristic is that reality in a quantitative study is viewed in an objective and singular manner, intricately separate from the researcher (Creswell, 2003).

A qualitative study, however, views reality in a subjective manner. Finally, the facts collected from the field must be value-free and unbiased, but in a qualitative study, the facts are often value-laden and prejudicial.

The type of research design adopted by the researcher to a large extent influences the sampling method to be used for the study (Patton, 2002). A sampling method, according to Creswell (2003), is basically a technique employed in drawing samples from a larger population in such a way that the sample drawn will assist in the determination of some observations or hypothesis concerning the population.

There exist different types of sampling methods, each with its own practical importance in relation to the kind of research design employed for the study.

As such, most quantitative research designs utilize probability sampling procedures, which includes random, systematic, and stratified sampling techniques. It is imperative to note that in probability sampling procedures, every subject within a population has an identified non-zero chance or probability of being selected (StatPac, 2010)

In random sampling method, the nature of the population must first be defined to allow all subjects equal chance of selection. This is the purest form of probability sampling, and greatly assists quantitative researchers to come up with objective and unbiased data from the field (Creswell, 2003).

In stratified sampling technique, a stratum or a subset of the population that is known to share some common aspects is used to select the sample, thereby reducing sampling error. When the relevant subsets are identified by the researcher and their actual representation in the population known, random sampling is then employed to select adequate number of participants from each subset.

This type of sampling is helpful to a quantitative researcher since it allows him or her to study the subgroups in greater detail while in their own naturalistic world and free from value interferences or bias (Marshall, 1996; Creswell, 2003). Still, this type of sampling assists the quantitative researcher to study some unique subsets within a population that may have low or high incidences of a particular phenomenon relative to the other subsets (StatPac, 2010).

Systematic sampling, on its part, works more or less as random sampling, but selects every Nth member of an already predetermined sample. The technique assists a quantitative researcher to remain objective, and it is also simple to use.

Most qualitative research designs employ non-probability sampling procedures, with the most common type being the convenience and purposeful sampling techniques (StatPac, 2010).

It is however imperative to note that some non-probability sampling techniques such as convenience sampling can be used in quantitative research and some probability sampling techniques such as stratified sampling can also be used in qualitative research (Creswell, 2003).

In a convenience sample, subjects are selected by virtue of being at the correct place at the right time. In short, subjects are selected based on convenience. This is helpful to both quantitative and qualitative researchers since it does not only saves time, but also money (StatPac, 2010).

Due to the depth of information required in qualitative studies, most researchers employ purposive sampling technique to get the participant who is well placed to offer comprehensive and detailed information about a case or phenomena under study (Creswell, 2003).

As such, this technique is not interested in calculating numbers about sampling errors and sample representation as is the case in samples used in quantitative research; on the contrary, a purposive sample is interested in gaining an in-depth analysis of something, and therefore may be value-laden and subjective. However, these externalities form the basis of qualitative research.

As such, it can be said that a sampling method such as random sampling will assist in quantitative research since the nature of the research design is more mechanistic and only interested in coming up with results that can then be generalized to the wider population.

However, a sampling method such as purposive sampling will serve qualitative studies well since they are interested in providing illumination and understanding of complicated issues that can only be answered by the ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions (Marshall, 1996).

Such questions can only be answered by someone who is knowledgeable enough about the case under study, thus the use of purposive sampling.

Second, it is known that for a true random or stratified sample to be selected, the unique aspects under investigation of the whole population must be known before hand. This is only possible in quantitative studies, but is rarely possible in many qualitative studies (Marshall, 1996).

Third, random or stratified sampling mostly used in quantitative research is likely to generate a representative sample only if the underlying characteristics of the study are generally distributed within the population.

However, “…there is no evidence that the values, beliefs and attitudes that form the core of qualitative investigation are normally distributed, making the probability approach inappropriate” (Marshall, 1996, p. 523). Lastly, it is clear that individuals are not equally good at perceiving, understanding, and interpreting either their own or other people’s actions and behavior.

This translates to the fact that while some sampling methods such as random sampling are best suited for quantitative research since the studies are only interested in coming up with results that can be generalized to a wider population, it would appear more plausible for a qualitative researcher to employ a sampling technique such as purposive sampling, which will enable him obtain information that is richer in context and insightful.

Reference List

Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Lankshear, C. Some notes on the nature and importance of research design within educational research. Web.

Marshall, M.N. (1996). Sampling for qualitative research. Family Practice, 13(6), 522-525. Web.

Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods, 3^rd Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

StatPac. (2010). Survey sampling methods. Web.

Introduction

Wages and benefits are quite imperative in the operations of an organisation. This is considering the fact that they affect the profits, staff motivation and employee turnover rate among other aspects. Various theorists throughout history have analysed factors that influence wages and benefits in organizations.

Davis and Moore argue that staffs always desire rewards and they try to acquire knowledge and skills to achieve this desire. It is based on social stratification focuses on training and talent of staffs in relation to rewards given at the workplace.

The two argue that functional importance is not a big contributor to rewards as compared to training and talent of employees. In this case, the two tend to link differences in wages to classical economics. Other scholars however find this theory to be quite controversial in nature. This paper shows clearly that the economic system, occupational segregation, unionization and geography play a great role on wages and benefits in an organisation. (Maddison, 1995)

Conflict theory

Karl Marx’s conflict theory is based on capitalism, exploitation and surplus value. He asserts that the society consists of diverse social classes and individuals whose wealth or materials differ. This results in poor and rich people in the society. This results in wealthy having more power over the poor.

The wealthy then tend to exploit the poor who are powerless. The high social class in the society therefore use economics and force to exploit the low class people. (Marx, 1971)

According to Marx, a society that is capitalist in nature is run by capital therein. That is materials, factories, money, tools and machines. These are usually owned by the wealthy that form a small percentage of the population. This results in two social classes that oppose each other.

These are proletariat or workers and bourgeoisie or people who own capital. The workers’ only asset is their labor time that the capitalists buy. This results in bourgeoisie exploiting workers by paying them less wages and making massive profits. (Marx, 1971)

Unionisation mediates wages through having collective bargaining of workers’ grievances to employers. Collective bargaining power is normally achieved through using trade unions. The elasticity of demand for labor leads to the decline in bargaining power relating to overall distribution of rent. This is more so in organisations that have supernormal profits. (Marx, 1971)

The use of trade unions is known to play a great role in helping workers have their salaries and wages improved. Unionisation is known to give workers bargaining power over issues such as wages with employers. In a capitalist system, workers are highly exploited by being given small wages while owners of capital make huge profits. Unionisation therefore gives workers the voice and platform to be heard by the capitalists who are the employers. (Marx, 1971)

Geography

Income is a factor that has been known to influence working conditions across the globe. In this case, majority of employers tend to shun away from employing low income people. This was more so related to blacks who were highly disadvantaged even when hired. In places like Chicago, only white men would be given managerial positions claiming that they are skilled compared to their low class black counterparts.

In this case, the working conditions for the low income people tend to be quite difficult up to date. They are given cleaning jobs and made to work for many hours compared to the top management. This is despite the fact that they are paid far much less than managerial team. This is considering the fact that they have less capital (money) and therefore less bargaining power. This is evident in western nations such as United States. (Goesling, 2001)

Research shows that Data in global arena shows disparities in working hours between nations. Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and France are known to have few working hours. This is compared to countries like Korea, Mexico, Czech Republic and Japan. These disparities still exist between nations pertaining to working hours and income of staffs.

It is however evident that in some nations, the managerial team works longer hours and earns more. This is compared to other staffs that work for few hours and earn less. (Goesling, 2001)

Occupational segregations

According to Wilson, occupational segregations have been noted throughout history in diverse nations. Initially the people with color were highly segregated from management jobs.

Employers claimed that they were not skilled, had poor grammar and spoken language. This segregation broadened further to gender aspects. This is with women being denied some positions within organisations even in cases where they are well qualified. (Wilson, 1987)

Managerial positions in organisations could not be given to women but to the men. In the hotel industry, occupations such as waitresses are given t women and that is why they are highly dominated by female gender. This includes cleaning and cooking jobs in the hotel industry.

The top parts of organisational structure are dominated by men and lower by women. Occupations such as air hostess and nursing are dominated by women. In this case, they ted to receive less pay and benefits when compared to male dominated occupations such as doctors, engineers and pilots. (Wilson, 1987)

Discussion

Analysis of the above information shows a real picture of social issues at the working environment. Karl Marx’s conflict theory is still applicable to date. There are still rifts between workers and employers with the former trying to oppress the later through small wages. This goes further with workers working for long hours and getting peanuts for the job dome.

The concept of capitalism and exploitation are quite relevant even in the twenty first century. Initially, trade unions tried to help through collective bargaining power. With time, employers have learnt strategies of facing out unionisation within their organisation. The terms of employment have continued to shift from permanent to temporary or contract basis.

There continues to be disparities in working hours in different nations. This also relates to wages related to working hours. This has resulted in a situation where staffs have more than one job in order to make ends meet. It is common to find people having three to four jobs so as to earn more.

Occupational segregation has gone through a paradigm shift. This is with female gender gaining skills equal to male counterparts. This has resulted in women slowly taking up occupations totally thought to be masculine in nature. These include engineers, pilots, doctors and even mechanics.

Although Davis and Moore’s theory was highly deemed to be controversial, it is quite relevant in the twenty first century. Future occupation is highly affected by the aspects of training and talent. This is considering the fact that current market bases wages and benefits on one’s training, acquired skills and talent.

This calls for more search for knowledge and skills so as to produce quality services and products in the future occupation. This will therefore narrow down to better salaries and wages and even more bargaining power. The theories on occupational segregations may not matter more in future occupations as one’s skills play a greater role in securing employment.

This is with initiation of organisations that fight for women’s rights, government policies and organisational policies on equal employment opportunities for all despite gender, age, race or color. It is therefore quite imperative for one to acquire relevant skills, training and knowledge if he or she desires to have better wages and benefits at work.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are various theories that try to explain differences in payment of wages and benefits at the workplace. Theorists such as Davis and Moore argue that training and talent are key players in earnings. Karl Marx’s conflict theory shows two social classes of rich and poor.

This is with rich having power and exploiting the poor through small wages. Unionisation played a key role in increasing workers’ bargaining power but is slowly being faced out. It is therefore quite essential that all people strive to acquire training and talent so as to have better wages as this is what counts in the current job market.

Bibliography

Goesling, B. (2001): Changing income inequalities within and between nations; New evidence; American sociological review 66; 745-761

Maddison, A. (1995): Monitoring the World Economy; 1820-1992; Paris; OECD

Marx, K. (1971): Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy; States and Social Revolutions; A Comparative Analysis of France, Russia and China; New York; Cambridge University Press

Wilson W. (1987): The truly disadvantaged; The inner city, the underclass and public policy; Chicago; University of Chicago Press

Allan G. Johnson, the author of the book, Power, Privilege, and Difference, provides vital information about the concept of the systems of power and privilege as applied in societies. In this book, Allan explores how the society preserves privilege, how it interacts with power, and how it can create a difference by interacting with the systems.

In chapter one, he identifies the common problem and posits that all people contribute towards them. I concur with him not only on this opinion, but also on others, as pointed out in chapters two and three.

Allan’s argument that all people are responsible for any problem facing the society is true and to the point. It holds that any change, constructive or destructive must originate from the people.

For instance, race-related problems, sex, and gender are the major problems encountered in every society. They have become part of our daily life such that we hardly realise our connections with them. Basing my argument on how people intermingle with these fields on a day-to-day manner, it stands out that any inconvenience affecting these among other areas must result from the people.

Though Allan focuses his views on the American society, I extend this by treating America as an illustration of a society. This comes from his implication of privilege and power in chapter two. He considers these two as the pillars upon which the entire societal conflicts are built because people have acquired title and given the mandate to handle things they have not worked for. This is true because these favour some on the expense of others.

Not all can be powerful neither can all be privileged. When one has one or both, the rest feel lower-ranked and begin yearning for equality. By so doing, troubles arise affecting the whole society. A way out of this quagmire is people’s cooperation regardless of ranks to influence their society for the better. Neglecting the negative implications of the two words as seen by the society, they ought to bring a change enjoyable by all members of the social system.

In chapter three, the issue of capitalism is brought forward. Every social organization has its own reliable resources, which ought to be distributed uniformly to all the members. Allan points out the problem that is born when this is not the case as capitalism. From my experience, this holds everywhere.

This brings his issue of difference. The society views it as imbalance and rejects it since it seems to be advantageous to some while it is an expense to others. According to it, all social units should be equal. The powerful should ensure that powers are not only felt by some but all in the society. Everyone needs not to treat himself or herself as favoured rather than similar to any other member.

From all the categories of problems faced by the society, man will always play a major part to cause them in as much as he/she lives. From my view, he acts as the force or power behind every activity that happens whether good or bad. He/she is also liable of changing the situation by participating in solving the problems since he/she is able to.

People only need to change their mindsets pertaining to the existence of privileges and power. They need to join hands in discussing these issues openly neglecting the shame-blame notions portrayed by many. To pose a suggestion, they need to look at the present state of the society, identify the prevailing problems, think of their relevant solutions, and then cooperate to implement them.

All these calls for people’s involvement and thus Allan’s opinion that people contribute towards a problem is true though it needs to be broadened to include them as part of the solution.

As the authority of the fire brigade is giving considerations on forming alliances with the international search and rescue team of the United Kingdom, additional information is required before a commitment is fully made. For that reason, this paper is aimed at analyzing how this union will affect the service legally and ethically as well as globally.

Therefore, in covering this issue the paper is going to focus on several subject matters. First and foremost, it is going to assess the law in England and Wales and how it operates internationally as it applies to the fire service. Secondly, the paper is going to analyze the role of globalization and how it affects the legislative and substantive work of those in the fire and rescue service.

Thereafter, we will identify how ethical considerations are dealt with in the fire and rescue and services and finally, there will be a summary of what role the practitioners play in the changing world environment.

Fire outbreaks are disasters and normally occur from time to time due to careless human behavior, unsafe electrical conditions such as overloaded sockets or as a result of natural disasters such as earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Prevention of such fire outbreaks is very crucial and is a responsibility should not be neglected. However, at the same time precaution in the case of an emergency is just as important.

It is the need for these precautionary measures that has led to the formation of fire departments and brigades in all the countries of the world. Therefore, a fire brigade is defined as an organization that provides fire protection for the citizens in certain jurisdiction.

These organizations can either be government-owned or privately-owned. Normally, a fire brigade or department is able to host several fire stations under its wing but only within its boundaries, which is are controlled by the government body that manages the fire and rescue department.

The fire department usually launches various branches in the different municipals, counties, states or provinces and the organization of each specific branch is then setup. The distribution and placement of the fire stations within the areas of control is dealt with at the branch level, as well as distribution of the personnel and the firefighting equipment.

However, the fire departments also survey the jurisdictions and how the coverage is being handled by the fire stations so as to make sure that the services being offered to the communities are done so equitably.

In addition, fire departments are usually organized in four systems which are administration, services, training and operations. However, the service system is the one that normally deals with protecting, safety and education to the public.

Furthermore, all fire departments have a form of code that is usually taken up by the state or by the jurisdiction and is implemented by the fire prevention officers who are within the branches of the fire department.

This code is referred to as a fire safety code or a fire prevention code and is comprised of a set of rules which stipulate the prerequisites that are mainly intended at preventing fire outbreaks as well as making sure that well trained professionals and adequate equipment are available in case of a fire.

Haslam, (np) notes “Sections may establish the requirements for obtaining permits and specific precautions required to remain in compliance with a permit. For example, a fireworks exhibition may require an application to be filed by a licensed pyro-technician, providing the information necessary for the issuing authority to determine whether safety requirements can be met.”

Although UNEP has tried its best to reduce the environmental threats generated by environmental causes to human beings as well as the consequences of conflicts and disasters, some of these calamities are inevitable due to a steady increase in global population hence human activities and changes in climate patterns.

These disasters and conflicts usually end up sourcing a lot of negative effects on the natural and human environment. Most often than not, they destroy infrastructure, cause displacements of populations and undermine human security as they increase the levels of poverty and dismantle the structures of sustainable development.

In response to a growing demand for services that address these crises, UNEP has come up with a faction of ‘disasters and conflict’ to be one of major global priorities. The services that are provided to member states by the program are post-crisis environmental assessments, post-crisis environmental recovery, environmental co-operation for peace building and reduction of disaster risks (Trotman, 65).

To complement the services provided by UNEP, international search and rescue teams also supply supportive measures by providing their services particularly during the initial stages of disaster management when saving lives and salvaging property is the chief objective. The teams are comprised of well trained professionals who are supplied with state-of-the-art equipment.

One of the natural disasters that UK’s international search and rescue team offered its services is during the Haiti earthquake in January, 2010 where an estimated number of 100,000 are thought to have died. In an effort to help the victims of Haiti’s earthquake, the international community sent out help to the country with the UK sending out an assessment team to the disaster area.

With the levels of casualties and injuries being high, there was a critical need to find and save the survivors and therefore a great need for search and rescue teams as well as humanitarian requirements on the ground.

As aid continued arriving into Haiti, firefighters from all over Britain were mobilized and sent out to help in saving the lives of citizens from the disaster areas.

In fact, the first of the UK’s search and rescue team which was made up of 64 firefighters from Gatwick was already searching for survivors in the collapsed streets of Port-au-Prince within 48 hours after the Haiti earthquake (Smith 103).

They were then followed by other firefighters, from across the UK’s fire and rescue service that had been grouped into six operating teams. They were equipped with technologically advanced equipments as well as two dogs that are specially trained to deal with such disasters. The dogs, Holly and Echo had been trained by doing a mock-up of a collapsed village and this had adequately prepared them to rescue survivors, which they did for eleven days.

The UK rescue team was able to pull out several survivors from the rubble; among the rescued was Mia, a two year old girl. This survivor was rescued by the Greater Manchester and Mid-Wales brigades who exhibited their expertise in international rescue services.

Due to their first success the team leader, Andy noted “finding Mia alive was unbelievable moment for us (UK team) on the first day in the streets.” However Andy was quick to note that “Part of our training was done on a mock-up of a collapsed village but that scale of that disaster could not be compared to the mock –up training”.

Nevertheless, the UK disaster and rescue services were able to carry out a successful rescue and recovery operation despite the hurdles they faced due to the scale of damage all over the country, due to this Andy noted that “it was a massive honor to be part of the UK team in Haiti.”

However this operation was carried out following certain rules and regulations that were set out by the UK fire and rescue Act 2004. This Act provides for guidelines on four core issues on which the UK fire department is charged with in their mandate. They include; fire safety, fire-fighting, road traffic accidents and emergencies.

Though the Haiti earthquake disaster was an international one and did not fall within UKs jurisdiction, still this Act was put into action in the Haiti rescue operation by the UK team. Therefore this apart from serving the local jurisdiction it is also operational in international jurisdictions.

The team in particular focused on Fire safety, Emergencies and other provisions as provided by the 2004 Act. Under the Fire safety provision of the Act, the UK team was supposed to provide information, and encourage the locals and administration to take steps in preventing fires or injury as a result of fire, which was likely due to gas pipes leaks and other flammables that were exposed after the earth quake, in order to do this, the team was supposed to give advice when requested by the locals or Haitian authorities on how to prevent fires from erupting in risky places for example the gas stations and other destroyed factories and in addition provide advice on how the people should escape in case a fire erupted in their buildings or in their make shift camps after the disaster struck.

Nevertheless, the most applicable clause was the one under Emergencies. Under this clause, the secretary of State has the power to authorize the fire and rescue authority on what constitutes an emergency and by order, authorizes them to act on the situation, which is what happened in the Haiti case.

The secretary noted that “We need to get search and rescue teams on the ground. Every hour matters. There will be humanitarian requirements for food, shelter and sanitation. It is critical to co-ordinate the international effort,” he further added “This is a terrible tragedy and we are determined to do what we can to help. We have 64 British fire-fighters going out from Gatwick.”

In doing so the UK government was acting under the power given to it by the 2004 Act, which enabled the secretary to confer other function to the fire and rescue authority other than those which were defined in the Act. Therefore after the order has been given by the secretary, the authority is supposed, under the provisions of the clause, coordinate personnel, services and equipment to be used in the international mission.

Since it was an international mission it was important to ensure that the operation was well coordinated between the various international rescues services that were heading out to Haiti.

Therefore, to avoid a situation where all the rescue teams turned up with the same services and equipments, the UK fire and rescue team under the directions of the Secretary, made up a rescue plan whereby they got in touch with other countries, for instance the USA to make sure that they specialized in other different area of the operation as noted by Secretary Alexander “we have to work with others to make sure everyone does not turn up with the same equipment.”.

Section 3(b) of the Act provides for training of fire and rescue personnel in dealing with a wide variety of disasters which as noted above, the UK team had undergone some mock-up training in a collapsed village which enabled them deal with the earthquake disaster which had similar circumstances.

In addition under, section, 3 (c), (d) and (e) the authority was required to carry out their operations with due diligence to ensure their objectives were carried out successful and professionally while at the same time, ensuring that no or minimum damage is done onto property as they carry out their operations.

But more importantly in the Haiti operation, section (c) and (d) was very applicable as it called for the team to be competent in answering distress calls to those trapped in the rubble and to the general public, avail information on the happenings and the situation on the ground as it was.

Therefore as depicted, the UK team followed this Act accordingly as shown in the way the answered to distress calls from the people trapped underground resulting in saving a lot of lives. In addition, whenever a survivor was rescued or bodies discovered the team coordinated the information using the relevant channels.

For instance when the little girl was rescued in the early hours of the teams arrival in Haiti, the team leader gave out the information to the public which was very encouraging to the rescue team and the public, nevertheless the team leader did not fall short in asking the public to remembering the 500 or so people who perished in the building.

Therefore the team leader was informing the public on their achievements while providing the authorities with figures of victims who perished.

In addition apart from the powers vested in the secretary to declare a particular situation an emergency, the fire and rescue authority is mandate to take any action it considers necessary in a particular situation.

As indicated it is no doubt that the 2004 Act is applicable in international missions since the Act allows for the fire and rescue authority under the mandate of the Secretary of state to act outside UKs’ jurisdiction. The Emergencies clause has indicated how this mandate is to be carried out.

However the Act also acknowledges the different dynamics and complexities in rescue missions internationally as indicated by the UK rescue team leader who noted that although they had undergone mock-up training of similar circumstances, the situation on the ground in Haiti was very much complex than anticipated though they were able to successfully carry out the mission.

Therefore in recognition of this, the Act has provided for a clause that empowers the fire and rescue Authority to respond to other eventualities. Therefore while in Haiti the team was empowered to respond appropriately to circumstances that called for their immediate action.

This is indicated under the “power to respond to other eventualities” section 1 and 2 while section 3 empowers the authority to proved for necessary equipments while section 4 confers them with the power to act outside a given authority’s area, in this case internationally.

However, as the world becomes globalized there has been a lot of changes in how countries inter rely on one another in different situations. These inter-country relations have changed the way some issues are carried, for instance economically, technologically and in humanitarian services.

Hence, globalization has influenced how legislative laws are drafted. In this situation legislative laws governing the fire and rescue Authority are drafted while taking into consideration the global village.

For instance, the 2004 Act takes into consideration the different economies around the world whereby one country may not be in a position to have enough or capable equipments to carry out rescue and fire services, hence countries have drafted laws that allows their fire and rescue services be able to provide countries in need with this vital equipments and also for them be able to carry and use them during their operations abroad (Haslam 187).

In addition, the Fire and Rescue Authority legislations have allowed them to undertake humanitarian activities around the world whenever need arises, hence apart from taking part in rescue and recovery operations, if the situation calls for humanitarian services for instance delivery of safe water, food or medicine, the Authority has the mandate to act as indicated under the “power to respond to other eventualities” clause section 1 and 2.

Also the Fire and Rescue Authority is empowered to provide and use technologically-assisted rescue methods in their operations even though the country lacks the technology.

Thus, they can transfer technology used in their home countries and used in other countries. Thus in response to this and globalization, countries around the world have drafted legislations that allow for fast, efficient and profession rescue services by their respective governments (The source for critical information and insight np.

Practitioners of these valuable services are required to carry out their work with outmost diligence, respect and ethics as required by his/her professionalism. Therefore in instances where a practitioner fails to uphold ethics, the Authority has measures in place that serve to discipline the practitioner.

Works Cited

Haslam, Carl. Fire Service. UK Fire Service Resources Group. 2009. Web.

Smith, David. Jamaica. Information on disaster risk management case study of five: Jamaica. Mexico City: United Nations and IDB, 2007.

The source for critical information and insight. Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. Health & Safety News Brief Occupational Health & Safety Information Service (OHSIS) November 2004. 2004. Web.

Trotman, John . Fire Service. Richmond, Surrey TW Crimson Publishing, 2001. Print.

Socialization, as an important aspect of personality formation, enables one to acquire the behaviors, beliefs, and accumulated knowledge of the society. For hermaphrodites or intersex individuals, fitting into the society is usually a difficult task. These individuals have both the male and female sex chromosomes.

Therefore, they are not easily distinguishable as either male or female. On looking at the mirror, it is straightforward that we are either male or female; however, there are individuals waling around each day who have the same physical features like us but are hermaphrodites from birth.

Intersex people, who do not have a clear-cut difference of their sex, have to live a life of pain and uncertainty as they try to find their right place in the society.

Because of this, some of them feel ashamed and hide their real identity to people. Currently, there are thousands of people born with this condition who need our help to be regarded as part of the society.

If I found out that one of my family members or close associates is a hermaphrodite or intersex, I would recognize him or her as a fellow human being who is capable of feelings and worthy of respect. I mean it is not right for me to regard the fellow as an outcast simply because s/he is neither a man nor a woman.

The society has been shying off from discussing this subject. Most families prefer to keep it a secret when one of their members is suffering from this condition. But one thing is for sure, as much as I can be compelled by my other family members or close associates to keep it a secret, I won’t shy off from sharing with other people on how I can assist him/her so that s/he can not feel left behind in the cultural consciousness.

This is because understanding the condition is crucial when one wants to accept them. Moreover, it would remove any fears that I might be having about the hermaphrodites.

In the article, The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female and Are Not Enough published in 1983, Anne Fausto-Sterling lays out her vision of sexual multiplicity composed of five different sexes: male, female, merm, ferm, and herm.

By her definition, she calls the male pseudohermaphrodites, who have testes and some elements of the female reproductive system, the “merms.” The female pseudohermaphrodites, who have ovaries and some elements of the male reproductive system, she refers to as the “ferms.” And lastly, the “herms” are the true hermaphrodites having a mixture of male and female attributes.

She proposes that the three subcategories among “intersex” deserve to be regarded as additional sexes besides male and female since they posses varied characteristics and their inner lives have not been explored by science.

This article has failed to affect the view I have about intersex people. This is because she seems not to be considering the interests of intersexual people. The so-called “five sexes” theory fails to assist individuals with intersex conditions since it is not only confusing, but also exoticizes and sensationalizes such individuals.

The use of such discrete categories to describe the three subcategories of intersex is very artificial and do not mean anything to the well-being of an individual suffering from such a condition.