Understanding Gender Based Violence Sociology Essay

Understanding Gender Based Violence Sociology Essay Gender-based violence both reflects and reinforces inequities between men and women and compromises the health, self-respect, safety and sovereignty of its victims. It encompasses an extensive assortment of human rights violations, including sexual exploitation of children, rape, home brutality, sexual battering and harassment, trafficking of women and girls and numerous detrimental customary practices. Any one of these abuses can leave profound mental scars, damage the wellbeing of women and girls in common, including their reproductive and sexual health, and in some instances, results in death. Violence against women has been called the most insidious yet slightest renowned human rights oppression in the globe, and is a demonstration of historically uneven supremacy dealings between men and women, which have led to dominance over and inequity against women by men and to the hindrance of the complete progression of women, that cruelty against women is one of the critical social mech anisms by which women are compelled into a subsidiary position compared with men. Around the world, as many as one in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or maltreated in some other approach most frequently by someone she knows, including by her spouse or another male relatives; one woman in four has been ill-treated during pregnancy. Violence against women mutually violates and impairs or nullifies the gratification by women of their human rights and elementary freedoms. In all societies, to a superior or minor extent, women and girls are subjected to corporal, sexual and mental violence that cuts across ranks of earnings, class and customs. This is a subject which endangers womens lives, bodies, mental uprightness and autonomy. Violence may have reflective effects, both direct and indirect, on a womans reproductive health, including: unnecessary pregnancies and limited admittance to family planning information and contraceptives, treacherous abortion or injuries unremitting throughout a lawful abortion subsequent to an unwanted pregnancy, compl ications from recurrent, high-risk pregnancies and lack of follow-up care, sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, continual gynecological problems as well as mental tribulations. Gender-based violence also serves by purpose or outcome to perpetuate male authority and control. It is sustained by a custom of silence and denunciation of the significance of the health penalty of violence. In addition to the impairment they exact on the individual stage, these outcomes also exact a communal duty and position an intense and needless yoke on health services. According to Murphy and Ringheim, four factors have been constantly linked with violent behavior: norms of male privilege and possession of women; male supervision of possessions in the family; male execution of decision-making in the family; and concepts of masculinity attached to supremacy and nobility (2001). Moreover, UNFPA recognizes that violence against women is inextricably linked to gender-based inequalities. When women and girls are anticipated to be generally submissive, their conduct in relation to their health, together with reproductive health, is unenthusiastically affected at all stages of the life cycle. When investigating the extenuating conditions lack of resources, education, healthcare and the sex trade, we find great and competent relations, and understand that these factors enable the perseverance of this phenomenon. The pervasiveness of home violence in a given society, thus, is the outcome of implicit reception by that society. The way men analyze themselves as men, and the way they think of women, will verify whether they use aggression or intimidation against women. Studies of very young boys and girls show that even though boys may have an inferior acceptance for annoyance, and an inclination towards rough-and-tumble play, these tendencies are dwarfed by the magnitude of male socialization and peer demands into masculinity roles. UNFPA recognizes that ending gender-based violence will mean changing cultural concepts about masculinity, and that procedure should dynamically appoint men, whether they are strategy makers, parents, spouses or little boys. Cross-cultural studies of wife abuse have found that nearly a fifth of peasant and small-scale societies are essentially free of family violence. The existence of such cultures proves that male violence against women is not the inevitable result of male biology or sexuality, but more a matter of how society views masculinity. Most domestic violence involves male anger directed against their women partners. This gender difference appears to be rooted in the way boys and men are socialized biological factors do not seem to account for the dramatic differences in behavior in this regard between men and women. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to gender-based violence. Some husbands become more violent during the wifes pregnancy, even kicking or hitting their wives in the belly. These women run twice the risk of miscarriage and four times the risk of having a low birth-weight baby. Looking at the pprevalence of and reasons for domestic violence among women from low socioeconomic communities of Karachi, cross-sectional study were conducted to estimate the prevalence of domestic violence and identify the reasons for it among 400 married women aged 15-45 years in low socioeconomic areas in urban Karachi. Data were collected with a pretested questionnaire. The prevalence of verbal abuse was 97.5% by the husband and 97.0% by the in-laws; the prevalence of physical abuse was 80.0% and 57.5% by the husband and in-laws respectively. Financial issues were the commonest reason for domestic violence followed by infertility and not having a son. The prevalence of domestic violence in this sample of women is high. There is a need to address this problem with efforts from health workers, policy-makers, nongovernmental organizations and others (Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal 2007). The majority of sexual assault victims are young. Women in positions of abject dependence on male authorities are also particularly subject to unwanted sexual coercion. Rape in time of war is still common. It has been extensively documented in recent civil conflicts, and has been used systematically as an instrument of torture or ethnic domination. Now, with precedents set at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in Tanzania, and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, at The Hague, for mass rape, other acts such as sexual assault, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced sterilization, forced abortion, and forced pregnancy may qualify as crimes of torture, crimes against humanity, and even some as crimes of genocide. This vicious cycle of development, identity and gender-based violence in fact explains the empirical evidence of the association between gender based violence and poverty, the individual risk factors of alcohol and substance abuse, ma le unemployment, male educational status and childhood experience of violence. Poverty, lack of education and lack of healthcare increases both vulnerability and the likelihood of exposure to gender based violence. There has also been the prevalence of the sex trade among women as a means of earning income which ultimately has unbearable the consequences on its workers and on women in general. The objectification of women is also a pressing issue that cannot be ignored. Violence, and womens fear of it, limits womens choices in virtually all spheres of life. It has long-term, as well as short-term consequences on womens physical and emotional well-being. It detrimentally affects womens ability to gain an education, earn a livelihood, develop human relationships and participate in public activities, including development programmes. There are different types of problems all over the world that women face, from the wealthiest countries to the poorest. In many countries, women are not entitled to own property or inherit land. Social exclusion, honor killings, female genital mutilation, trafficking, restricted mobility and early marriage among others, deny the right to health to women and girls and increase illness and death throughout the life-course. It will remain difficult for us to see sustainable progress unless we fix failures in health systems and society so that girls and women enjoy equal access to health information and services, education, em ployment and political positions. Reports by UNICEF, State of the Worlds Children, state that reasons for such disparity include the fact that women are generally underpaid and because they often perform low-status jobs, compared to men. UNICEF notes that the data isnt always perfect, and that generalizations such as the above can hide wider fluctuations. In Brazil, for example, women under the age of 25 earn a higher average hourly wage than their male counterparts. (p.39)Women not only earn less than men but also tend to own fewer assets. Smaller salaries and less control over household income constrain their ability to accumulate capital. Gender biases in property and inheritance laws and in other channels of acquiring assets also leave women and children at greater risk of poverty. Paid employment for women does not automatically lead to better outcomes for children. Factors such as the amount of time women spend working outside the household, the conditions under which they are employed and who controls the income they generate determine how the work undertaken by women in the labor market affects their own well-being and that of children (2007, p.36). Moreover, according to the United Nations, in no country in the world do men come anywhere close to women in the amount of time spent in housework. Furthermore, despite the efforts of feminist movements, women in the core [wealthiest, Western countries] still suffer disproportionately, leading to what sociologists refer to as the feminization of poverty, where two out of every three poor adults are women. The informal slogan of the Decade of Women became Women do two-thirds of the worlds work, receive 10 percent of the worlds income and own 1 percent of the means of production (Robbins 1999, p.354). Historically, economic recessions have placed a disproportionate burden on women. Women are more likely than men to be in vulnerable jobs, to be under-employed or without a job, to lack social protection, and to have limited access to and control over economic and financial resources. Policy responses to the financial crisis must take gender equality perspectives into account to ensure, for example, that women as well as men can benefit from employment creation and investments in social infrastructure. According to the Department of Economic and Social Affairs 2009, The economic and financial crisis puts a disproportionate burden on women, who are often concentrated in vulnerable employment, are more likely to be unemployed than men, tend to have lower unemployment and social security benefits, and have unequal access to and control over economic and financial resources. International statistics of the International Labor Organization showed that The economic crisis is expected to in crease the number of unemployed women by up to 22 million in 2009, the International Labor Office (ILO) says in its annual Global Employment Trends for Women report (GET), adding that the global jobs crisis is expected to worsen sharply with the deepening of the recession in 2009. In most societies, rape and domestic violence have on occasion provoked public outrage, but it has been left to womens organizations and movements to take more concerted action. The North does not have all the answers to this problem as gender-based violence is very much in existence in the developed world. Because gender-based violence is sustained by silence, womens voices must be heard. UNFPA puts every effort into enabling women to speak out against gender-based violence, and to get help when they are victims of it. The Fund is also committed to keeping gender-based violence in the spotlight as a major health and human rights concern. Another fascinating fact is that gender based violence is rampant in developed counties as compared to the developing countries. For instance, in a place like the U.S, despite the fact that advocacy groups like National Organization for Women (NOW) have worked for two decades to halt the epidemic of gender-based violence and sexual assault, the numb ers are still shocking. Murder, Intimate Partner Violence or Battering, sexual violence and assault are common phenomena. To the astonishment of most women across the globe, there is such a low conviction rate in gender-based violence cases, women are not believed by men and apparently even by fellow women. The judiciary imposes light sentences on such cases and even to some they are released on very modest bail or a mere warning. UNFPA advocates for legislative reform and enforcement of laws for the promotion and the protection of womens rights to reproductive health choices and informed consent, including promotion of womens awareness of laws , regulations and policies that affect their rights and responsibilities in family life. The Fund promotes zero tolerance of all forms of violence against women and works for the eradication of traditional practices that are harmful to womens reproductive and sexual health, such as rituals associated with puberty. Possible victims have been offered legal, medical and psychological support, and medical referrals when necessary. Attention has been paid to involving communities, and to creating support networks for gender-based violence victims that include both police and health-care providers, along with counseling services. UNFPA has also held workshops for health providers on recognizing the effects of gender-based violence on womens health, and on how to detect and prevent abuse and assist victims. These have stressed the need for confidentiality and monitoring. This body has also strengthening advocacy on gender-based violence in all country programmes, in conjunction with other United Nations partners and NGOs as well as advocating for women with parliamentarians and womens national networks. There have been strategies to counter violence against women and support the survivors. Case studies come from times of peace and times of armed conflict. Sections suggest strategies for transforming attitudes and beliefs in different societies that condone such violence, for supporting individual survivors, and to ensure that governments and NGOs fulfill their duty to protect woman. Womens rights around the world are an important indicator to understand global well-being. A major global womens rights treaty was ratified by the majority of the worlds nations a few decades ago. Yet, despite many successes in empowering women, numerous issues still exist in all areas of life, ranging from the cultural, political to the economic. For example, women often work more than men, yet are paid less; gender discrimination affects girls and women throughout their lifetime; and women and girls are often are the ones that suffer the most poverty. Many may think that womens rights are only an issue in countries where religion is law, such as many Muslim countries. Or even worse, some may think this is no longer an issue at all. But reading this report about the United Nations Womens Treaty and how an increasing number of countries are lodging reservations, will show otherwise. Gender equality furthers the cause of child survival and development for all of society, so the importance of womens rights and gender equality should not be underestimated. As part of its work to counter gender-based violence, UNFPA has supported training of medical professionals, to make them more sensitive towards women who may have experienced violence and to meet their health needs. Governments are not living up to their promises under the Womens Convention to protect women from discrimination and violence such as rape and female genital mutilation. There are many governments who have also not ratified the Convention, including the U.S. Many countries that have ratified it do so with many reservations. Gender equality and the well-being of children go hand in hand since it furthers the cause of child survival and development. It produces a double dividend: It benefits both women and children. Womens equal rights and influence in the key decisions that shape their lives and those of children must be enhanced in three distinct arenas: the household, the workplace and the political sphere. Gender equality is not only morally right, it is pivotal to human progress and sustainable development. Furthermore, this will be taking us closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goal Number 3-promoting gender equality and empowering women-will also contribute to achieving all the other goals, from reducing poverty and hunger to saving childrens lives, improving maternal health, ensuring universal education, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability. Pressure must be maintained on national governments to prioritise the coordination of programmes and policies across sectors such as health, justice, social welfare and education to ensure that the composite needs of survivors of violence are addressed. Of equal importance is scaling up responses that work media campaigns, hotlines, and one-stop crisis centers and so on. Basically, gender based violence limits women as human beings, drains their energy and hope, and constricts the possibilities of creating a new vision of society. Since it includes threats of violence, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private, Violence against women is a violation of womens human rights, a cause and consequence of gender inequality, and a major cause of womens ill health. It is a detriment to their well-being, very often a crime, and a significant cost to the resources of the wider society. As a consequence, there are policy issues across the whole range of subjects that concern governments. These issues are particularly important in the area of crime, health, family, education and economic well-being.

Case study: Psychoanalytic Theory

Case study: Psychoanalytic Theory This paper will describe an in depth analysis of the psychoanalytic theory. The paper covers the origins of the theory and its creator Sigmund Freud. This paper looks to examine what the theory is and how it affected psychology of its time and how it has progressed throughout time. Also discussed are the strengths and weaknesses of this theory. Another part to this paper looks to examine how psychoanalytic theory relates and diverges from Christian principles. And finally this paper will discuss some personal observations and thoughts on the theory. Psychoanalytic Theory What is psychoanalytic theory and who is its creator? Where did this theory originate and why is it important to psychology today? What are its strengths and weaknesses? How does it influence psychology today and how does it compare to Christian principles? The psychoanalytic theory is a complex and multifaceted idea that still commands for study and revision to this day. This paper is going to look at this complex and multifaceted theory in hopes of answering all the previous questions and to bring a greater appreciation for the groundbreaking theory that set psychology into a new era of knowledge. Discussion Creator/Origin According to Rangell (2006) In the hundred-year history of psychoanalysis, a new science and therapeutic discipline reached a peak, suffered a decline, and has settled down to have its permanent role objectively assessed (p.217) And because of this turbulent history its probably best understood by starting where it began and by first examining the life of its creator, Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud started out life in 1856 and was the first child of eight in his family. His parents lived in poverty and shortly after Freud was turned 4 years old they moved and settled in Vienna. Freud would go on to attend a prominent high school and was an excellent student and graduated with honors. Although his parents were poor his parents did everything they could to help provide him with the best possible education. Following high school Freud went on to study in the medical field. He worked with Europes finest and most well known neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot. It was while working and studying with Charcot, Freud would find himself most attracted to the practice of medical psychopathology. Charcots specialty was in hysteria and hypnosis. Freud although greatly respected Charcots work would ultimately reject the idea of hypnosis and would turn toward favoring ideas such as free association, dream analysis, and talking through problems. Around this time he would marry his wife, Martha Bernays and open his own medical practice specializing in neurology. Shortly after doing so he began to work with his neurotic patients and this work would lead to the development of terms like repression and psychosomatic, and eventually the development of the psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalytic theory is a theory that came out of a time when there was very little known about the study of human behavior and how it related to the human mind. Psychoanalytic theory was the first theory that brought attention to the complexity of the human mind and human behavior and how those two related to one another. Sigmund Freud developed this new concept after going through his own self analysis of his personal life. In many ways you might say that it was Freuds own self discovery that this theory was originated. Only by looking back at his own childhood was Freud able to discover his repressed memories and feelings toward his parents. It was this self discovery that laid out the blueprints for the basis of the psychoanalytic theory. Freud was able to develop a theory that looked to combine personality and therapeutic techniques to help explain ones thoughts and actions to ones unconscious motives and conflicts. Sugarman and Kanner (2000) reported, Thus, psychoanalytic theory allows one to organize and to describe a meaningful relationship among pieces of data that might seem separate and unrelated without such a model. (p.5). Freud was the first to develop a psychological therapeutic technique from his psychoanalytic theory. He did so by putting forth a theory that looks at bringing repressed feelings from the unconscious to the conscious. Thereby giving insight into the origins of their disorders and a way to help them come to terms with their feelings and grow from the experience. Weaknesses In spite of all that this theory has contributed to the study of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy, it still has many weaknesses. One of its greatest weaknesses is that it lacks empirical evidence to support the theories complex nature. Critics of this theory argue that the theory relies so heavily on therapeutic achievements and therefore has less credibility in the scientific community. Another weakness that psychoanalytic theory faces is the types of methods or techniques used, such as dream analysis, free association, and interpretation. The final weakness that Freuds psychoanalytic theory faces is that many believe that its not a science and much of its key principles which its based on are inaccurate or simply have no empirical evidence to support it. Strengths However, in spite of the theories many weaknesses it continues to this day to provide the foundation for the many new psychotherapy techniques used by therapists today. One of the psychoanalytic theorys greatest strengths is how it has stood the test of time and continues to be an innovative and a revolutionary theory. In addition this theory has helped to lead to the development of new theories and is a comprehensive theory that can in most cases fit with other theories. Also this theory can be used and applied in a practical way and is still recognized by others in the field to this day. Personal Evaluation After much examination into the psychoanalytic theory, I think the greatest flaw I have found in my evaluation was on how the theory itself was originated. The fact that Freud developed such a theory from his own personal self discovery of looking into his childhood interactions with his family to say the very least is lacking a degree of objectivity. Looking at your own personal memories and attempting to be objective is difficult to say the least. Much of what you can remember can easily be manipulated or misrepresented. My thoughts are mixed on this because in one hand I see how that has helped him create a theory that propelled psychology to a whole new realm of study, but I also see it as a huge leap without any scientific basis or objectivity. Another flaw I found after researching Freuds views on religion and God was that in spite of the fact that Freud did not believe in the existence of God, he still intentionally or unintentionally incorporated Christian principles in his work. Freud in spite of his attempts to base his theory on biological and instinctual assumptions, much of his work reveals Christian principles. For example when Freud discussed the concepts of unconscious and conscious he referred to the unconscious as the evil self and the conscious as the moral self. Both Freud and Christian principles acknowledge that man is sinful and are afflicted by the unconscious or evil self. And both Christianity and Freud provide a means to redeem or guidelines to overcome the unconscious or evil self. Another example of a parallel between Freuds work and Christian principles is seen with the concept of moral law. In the Bible, it discusses how man has built into them the knowledge of knowing right from wrong and that no man can live up to this moral law and therefore no man is perfect. And this is basically what Freud is talking about with his concept of the id as a self seeking potentially destructive entity of the human psyche. These two concepts essentially are the same idea only worded so that God is essentially hidden in the background. Parallels like these can be seen between Christian principles and Freuds psychoanalytic theory and throughout much of his other work. All in all Sigmund Freud was a pioneer of his time. Freud developed the first of what would become the basis for psychotherapy and the future development of new theories designed to help further the psychology field. In many ways without Freuds insights into his own personal life and memories, we wouldnt have progressed as far as we have today. In many ways we owe Sigmund Freud our professional respect and appreciation for his many contributions to psychology.

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley :: Papers

An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley Set in a modern Victorian house in South America. It is mid autumn in October.Charmaine lives with her mother,Liz. ''Ive told you already,Charm, your not having a Halloween party!'' ''But mum, you have never let me have a party before.'' ''I know and whatever you do or say isnt going to change my mind about it.'' ''Just at least let me take responsibility for something for once!'' ''No,your not having a party in this house.'' ''Why are you being so unfair, i hate you sometimes!'' ''Dont you ever say you hate me. Just go to school. Ive had enough of you!'' exclaims her mother. Charmaine grabs her bag,sandwich,Snickers bar and bottle of Evian,then she checks her long,silky hair in the mirror before she leaves. As Charmaine arrives at school she sees her friend Maxine starting to approach her,Maxine looks kinda upset and Charm wasnt really in the mood to make her best friend feel as happy as usual. Also Charm had bad news to tell her friend about the party. ''Hey Max, are you alright?'' ''Not really, I had an argument with my mum this morning and she said I am not aloud to go out tonight,I have to babysit Liam because shes going to a meeting at work.'' ''I had an argument with my mum too, I asked her if I was aloud a party tonight and she said ''No'' just like everything I ask for.'' ''Oh maybe we should just give Halloween a miss this year.'' ''Well I had an idea. My mum is going out tonight night with some work mates and maybe if I asked her if I could have a couple of friends round to watch a few scary movies,she might let me.'' ''Yeah she might do and I could ask her if I could bring Liam with me to your house, if you don't mind him being there.'' ''Sure,I dont mind, it will be well good,get to see Johnny Depp,in his new flick.'' ''He is so gorgeous!''

Vote for Senator John Kerry :: Voting Election President Essays

Vote for Senator John Kerry With this being an election year, the political speeches are to a max. All of the political candidates are using speeches and commercials to try and persuade American to put their trust in them by voting for them and not their opponent. Senator John Kerry has been using the rhetorical appeals in all of the speeches he has been giving, ever since the primary. At the 2004 National Democratic Convention, Kerry spoke with such passion, talked about his reputation, and gave proof to what he was speaking about. Kerry gave a plan for the country, a plan of what will happen if he is elected the President. He spoke of things that went on during the past four years that should have not happened, or should have been handled differently. Kerry sold himself to the country in order to get the votes that are needed in the up coming election on November 2. With the speech Senator John Kerry gave at the 2004 National Democratic Convention, he knew who is audience and knew how to appeal to them. His audience was the citizens of the United States of America, and not just the Democrats. Kerry assumed that the audience wanted a change from the way the current president is running the country. Kerry used the assumptions throughout his speech, though they are not just about the President, he also uses them about just how things are being ran in the country, talked about how there needs to be a change. â€Å"My fellow Americans: we are here tonight united in one simple purpose: to make America stronger at home and respected in world.† The main point of the speech was laid out in the very first line. Though the speech had a few sub points such as: â€Å"elections are about choices,† â€Å"America can do better,† and â€Å"help is on the way.† With these points, he was selling himself, telling the country what can happen if they would vote for him. In order for Kerry to get his points across to the audience, the flow of his speech was very important.

Essay --

Statistical Interpretation of United Arab Emirates Trading Patterns I have chosen to research the trade patterns of United Arab Emirates because, in my view, it is one of the most important players in the world in terms of trade. Furthermore, trade has influenced the living standard in this area, such that, the standard of living in Dubai, for example, has increased comparably. United Arab Emirates has mostly developed due to the petroleum and natural gas exports. In the following paragraphs I will present statistics and data regarding not only oil and natural gas trading patterns, but also commodities. The United Arab Emirates is one of the 10 largest oil and natural gas producers in the world, and is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). The UAE has had a great impact on oil trade because of its natural endowments. According to OPEC, its share of world reserves is of 8.1%. The most abundant factor of production, oil, has brought them a comparative advantage and specialization, which contributed to the country’s development. According to the data presented by Central Intelligence Agency, United Arab Emirates was ranked on the 24th place in the world in terms of total Imports and 19th place in total exports in 2012. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2078rank.html In the WORLD FACTBOOK it is said that the UAE has an open economy with high per capita income. In recent years, successful efforts have been made regarding economic diversification and nowadays, the GDP based on oil and natural gas output has decreased to 25%. Since the discovery of oil 30 years ago, UAE has been through important transformations and h... ...in 2012, a 38% increase since 2011. However, imports to the US from the UAE have remained approximately the same, at over $2 billion. The data can be found on the website of the US Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5200.html#2010 As a conclusion, I believe that United Arab Emirates are focusing more and more on diversifying their exports and not depending so much on the oil ones. As far as their partners are concerned, I believe that in the future India will continue to be the top trading partner of UAE, being followed by China and Japan. China is in need of more and more oil because it has recently been ranked as the World’s top importer of crude oil. Japan, on the other hand, continues to depend on the Middle East countries for oil imports, being the world’s third largest net oil importer. (US Energy Information Administration).

FIN/370 Week 2 Team Essay

Starbucks’ Ethics and Compliance Paper Ethical behavior within a company is very important to its future and success. This type of behavior is not just important for the employees to follow, but for the entire company. In 2001, a failing company called Enron was involved in numerous unethical behaviors. For example, Enron’s Chief Financial Officer temporarily suspended their â€Å"code of ethics† not once, but twice in order to partake in personal financial gain. Enron’s actions eventually resulted in bankruptcy and assisted with the creation of a new set of guidelines for companies to follow. The so-called guidelines were called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (Titman, S., Keown, A.J., & Martin, J.D. 2011). The SOX helped institute a set of rules for companies to follow, one being the creation and compliance of a code of ethics within every company. One company that seems to do a very good job with complying with the guidelines of SOX is Starbucks Corp. They have a strong program set in place to support their mission of making ethical decisions at work. The use of their program â€Å"Business Ethics and Compliance† might just be the very reason why their SEC filings show a relatively successful business. Financial Environment In regards to the finance environment, Starbucks plays an active role in ethics and compliance. Not only are their employees offered ways to voice concerns of unethical issues in the work place, but also Starbucks’ partners as well. Starbucks holds a meeting every year for their shareholders in order to review the yearly performance, vote on issues, and voice their concerns about the company. Starbucks’ ethics program is setup in a way that helps integrate and network ethical business practices on all levels of the company. For six years now, Starbucks has been named among the world’s most ethical companies and to this day is still going strong (Business Ethics and Compliance. 2012). Ethical Behavior Procedures * Starbucks vision and values business mission is to conduct themselves and strive to do what is ethically right for the business. The organization has a mission to protect its culture and help strive to keep a good reputation by providing resource programs to help its partners with making good ethical decisions. Starbucks organization has numerous procedures in place to ensure  ethical behavior in the work place. According to Starbucks (2011), â€Å"Our mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit~one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.† (para. 1). * When looking at Starbucks’ global responsibility report for 2011 on its goals and the process for the organization, it shows to be on track in several places. The report shows that to ensure ethical behaviors the company has implemented front-of-store recycling and developed an inclusive recycling solution on all paper products carried in their stores. Starbucks organization is also ensuring that their coffee is ethically sourced under the C.A.F.E at 100% by 2015 and reducing consumption of energy and water by 25% by 2015. Starbucks also ensures ethical behavior by purchasing renewable energy. Starbuck’s became a member of the Global Social Compliance Program in 2011. The program is Starbuck’s business motivation strength to promote on environmental improvement and help its working conditions of its global supply chains. The organizations goals and processes show behaviors for the company to be on track to be both ethically and environmental friendly. United States Financial Markets When operating a small business, running a large corporation, or when it comes to personal finance it is imperative to understand financial markets and how they operate within the United States. The term financial market is explained as a mechanism that allows people to easily buy and sell financial claims (Titman, Keown, & Martin, 2011) and there are many different ways to conduct these transactions within these markets. There are three principal sets of stakeholders within financial markets with the first being borrowers. Borrowers are individuals or companies that need money to better position themselves for example an individual getting a student loan or a small business getting a small business loan. Savers are the second of these three key stakeholders. Just like borrowers, savers can be either an individual or a company with the main point being that they have money to invest. Individuals who save typically save for a specific reason such as purchasing a new vehicle, a down payment on a house, or even to prepare for a difficult economy. When firms run a surplus and have extra cash they also save money and invest in things such as stocks and even other companies in a conglomerate merger. Financial institutions are the third key player  regarding financial markets. Financial institutions help bring borrowers and savers together in order to facilitate desired transactions. The most common financial institutions are banks and credit unions because while they accept deposits and credit an account for that deposit, they also provide services such as loans and that money has to come from somewhere (investors). The financial marketplace consists of commercial banks, finance companies, insurance companies, investment banks, and investment companies (Titman, Keown, & Martin, 2011). Within these entities another step is taken and can be broken down to be classified by the maturities of the securities traded in them. There are two main classifications with the first being the money market. Money markets are designed for short term debt instruments with the threshold period being one year or less. The second of these two classifications is the capitol market which is the exact opposite of the money market. Capitol markets are designed for long term debt instruments with a threshold period extending beyond one year. Complying With SEC Regulations The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a federal agency and was formed in 1934 to enforce federal securities laws and to regulate the securities industry. In order to effectively oversee and regulate the securities industry the SEC is broken down into five main divisions which are corporation finance, trading and markets, investment management, enforcement, and lastly risk, strategy, and financial innovation. The Starbucks Corporation falls into several of these categories and must implement and enforce their own set of controls and procedures within the company in order to be in compliance with the SEC. Starbucks Corporation has put in place disclosure procedures and controls in an effort to ensure that all reports that are filed and submitted are within SEC regulations. These controls and procedures were designed to â€Å"ensure that material information required to be disclosed in our periodic reports filed or submitted under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the â€Å"Exchange Act†), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms (Starbucks, 2012). As with anything new an evaluation must occur and during the fourth quarter of the 2012 fiscal year Starbucks did exactly that with the participation and  supervision of senior management and concluded that these controls were effective and worthy of SEC regulations. Another control implemented by Starbucks is financial reporting internal controls. Financial internal controls are a very crucial element within any company due to the severity of repercussions of inaccurate reporting. Starbucks put these controls in place to â€Å"provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (Starbucks, 2012). Some of the duties that go along with these controls include maintaining records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect transactions, providing reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary for preparation of financial statements, providing reasonable assurance that receipts and expenditures are made in accordance with management authorization, and providing reasonable assurance that unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of company assets that could have a material effect on financial statements would be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Overall the Starbucks Corporation has many different controls and procedures that allow the company to comply with SEC regulations and the two examples in this paper are just a snap shot of what Starbucks must do and maintain in order to stay clear of punishment handed down by the SEC. Starbucks financial performance The financial performance for Starbucks for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 fiscal years have increased. In the 2011 year, they had the reportable operating segments which are the United States, International and Global Consumer (United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Sept). In percentage, Starbucks total net revenue for the fiscal year were United States 69%, International 22%, Global Consumer 7% and other was 2%. The total net revenue for the 2011 year was at 11.7 billion while the 2012 year was increased by 14% to 13.3 billion. By The total revenues increased by 14% driven by global comparable store sales growth of 7% and a 50% increase in channel development revenue. The total equity for 2010 was 3,682.3 and 2011 was 4,387.3. At the end of the 2011 year, the return of equity was 29.26% and the end of the 2010 year was 28.87%. (United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Sept) Starbucks financial performance is increasing  from year to year. The following are ratios for 2010 and 2011 that shows Starbucks financial performance in 2010 and 2011. Current ratio: Current Assets/Current Liabilities 2011 3794.9million/2075.8 million = 1.83 times 2010 2756.4 million/1779.1 million = 1.55 times Debt ratio: Total Liabilities/Total Assets 2011 2973.1 million/7360.4 million = 40.4% 2010 2703.6 million/6385.9 million = 42.3% Return on equity: Net Income/Common Equity 2011 1245.7 million/4387.3 million = 29.26% 2010 945.6 million/3682.3 million = 28.87% Day’s receivable: Accounts Receivable/Annual Credit Sales/365 2011 386.5/ (11700.4/365) = 12.1 days 2010 302.7/ (10707.4/365) = 10.3 days Ratio Trends According to the trends of each financial ratio the Starbucks organization is in good health. Starting with the current ratio although it is a bit lower in 2011 the company is still doing well when it comes to current assets and liabilities. The debt ratio indicates how much assets were financed using current liabilities. (United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Sept) From 2010 to 2011 the debt ratio decreased by 1.9% which means the company financed fewer assets with the current plus long-term liabilities. The Return on Equity increased 2.7% from 2010 to 2011 which means the company received a higher return on their equity which is good for the company. The last ratio which is the Average Collection Period ratio measures how many days it takes a firm to collect its receivables. In 2011 the number of days increased slightly but with increased sales from 2010 to 2011 leads to future investments. (United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Sept) According to these tren ds, it appears that Starbucks is growing strong and the organizations financial health is good. References Business Ethics and Compliance. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/business-ethics-and-compliance Starbucks. (2012). Goals & Progress: Ethical Sourcing. Retrieved

Alcoholism and Public Health Law Essay

inebriant consarbitratortion poses a threat for some universe wellness harms. Impaired unprompted is 1 of the largest contri nonwithstandingors to repel vehicle crashes (Burris, Grunwald, Anderson, & arbiter Filippoli, 2011). In the United States each course of knowledge roughly 13,400 great deal die and an supernumerary 255,500 argon injured in motor vehicle crashes involving an inebriant-impaired driver consort to Burris et al., 2011. In 2006, these crashes accounted for al closely a third of some(prenominal) U.S. traffic-related deaths (Burris et al., 2011). Alcohol is the most comm lone(prenominal) ab manipulationd substance in the United States fit in to Pandrea, Happel, Amedee, Bagby, &ump Nelson, 2010, and studies show that lessen intoxicantic beverage habit can caterpillar track to in the habitual eye(predicate) wellness im designatements such(prenominal) as decreased incidence of liver cirrhosis, delirium tremens, man deal suicide, criminalit y, hospitalizations, inebriantic drink-related disease mortality, workplace injuries, STDs, IPV, rape, robbery, and severe military group towards children (Jernigan). Public heath deals with galore(postnominal) different issues that former burdens to individuals and society a a desire(p) such as corpulency and gun use. everywhere the past several months, headlines in the intelligence information assimilate been echoing Chocolate take verboten Removed from School Lunches, and Senate Considers Federal r flushue on Soda. While the remotion of crapulence chocolate milk from school menus has actually happened in certain school districts across the country, federal levy income on papas has totally been a proposal at this pinnacle. However, both echoes reverberative through the news originated from escalating enquiry that the Statess twin epidemics of diabetes and fleshiness argon repayable to diets steep in sugar. The remainder allow is that the actions taken to fight obesity get to non been classified as either effective, uncertain, or deadly consistently through studies and research because there atomic number 18 too many a(prenominal) variables like genetics, some other sugar-loaded beverages and foods on the shelf, lack of exercise, abundance of word-painting games, and the animatenessstyle adept is accustomed that erect to obesity as well. But even with the slightest inclination eliminating chocolate milk or federal valuate on soda will eliminate sugar from obese existences diet and thereby take down weight, support groups and supporting research seem to load up the halo wagons.Alcohol abuse is certainly an epidemic, and the domino effect of negativity it can cause in ones life and surroundings creates a dismal prefigure into the future of American common wellness somewhat similar to the obesity epidemic. corpulency and intoxicant inspiration act as a comparison between devil similar, yet contradictory issues, m uch like prevalent health andpublic health rightfulness. High- hazard drinking results in many consequences for public health and unlike obesity and soda tax, a multitude of opinionated literature reviews conducted by highly-regarded scholars and published by credible organizations or peer-reviewed journals prove taxes that step-up the price of inebriant effectively void overall inebriant consumption. Although ports to reduce inebriantic drinkic drinkic beverageic beverage consumption atomic number 18 not made glamorous in the news like many other trending public health epidemics, alcoholic beverage abuse is one of the few conflicts public health epidemiologists and economists sop up derived a bullet consequence computer curriculumme of action to effectively reduce its harmful cause.This manuscript officiates as an evidence abbreviated summarizing the caper, the law of nature, the evidence, and the bottom line pertaining to the effect of increase tax levels o n alcohol use, and to prove why understanding public health law and policy is essential in bridging the gap between proven studies performed by public health professionals and the legislators and lobbyists who can go through the purposes. Using the current state of obesity as an example was plainly to lay light on the standstill alcohol abuse is undergoing, which ultimately resides in the myopic connection between public health research and public health law. However, it is expenditure noting that other strategies exist to control alcohol abuse besides trying to levy what some may call a sin tax, such as nationwide prevention programs 1) Offer and incite social, recreational, extracurricular, and public service alcohol-free options 2) Create a social, schoolman, and residential environment that supports health-promoting norms 3) Limit alcohol handiness both on and off campus 4) lay out marketing and promotion of alcoholic beverages both on and off campus and 5) Develop and go through policies and laws at the campus, local, state and federal levels (The motivation for Alcohol The differential coefficient rejoinder to Price, 2005).The elements of a comprehensive prevention program limit some of the misuse ca utilise by alcohol abuse just now the epidemic flows forward. legion(predicate) epidemiological studies comport demonstrated that alcohol use ails (AUDs) such as alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence atomic number 18 widespread in the general population of the United States, with approximately 8.5 percent of adults having had an AUD in 2007 (Falk, Yi, &ump Hiller-Sturmhofel, 2008). Moreover, many people misfortunate from AUDs in like manner suffer from one or more than other psychiatric disorders, including other dose use disorders ( duds), mooddisorders like major(ip) depression, anxiety disorders, or personality disorders like antisocial personality disorder (Falk et al., 2008). Falk et al., 2008, also describe the prevalence of alcohol use and AUDs is much higher(prenominal) among people with drug use and DUDs, respectively, than vice versa. This reflects the point that alcohol is much more widely used than other drugs may be a gateway to the use of extrajudicial or more potent drugs (Falk et al., 2008). Falk et al., 2008, describe that their results showed a dose-response relationship between the deuce classes of substances, with rates of drug use, weekly drug use, and DUDs increasing monotonically with increasing levels of alcohol consumption and the presence of AUDs.The descriptive engage by Falk et al., 2008, not only portrays the grim make of alcohol abuse but is also just one of the many credible reviews providing prevalence estimates providing health commission policymakers and treatment planners with a comprehensive sagacity of the state of the use, co-use, and co-morbidity of alcohol and other drugs in the United States. The flow of abuse and effects unfortunately does not slang a dam, and floods gain ground along into public health. jurist, Lynn, &ump Fiellin, 2010, get hold of shown that past and present alcohol consumption directly solves HIV growth and survival by altering time of, adherence, and response to medication designed to covering fireground levels of HIV in the body like antiretroviral treatment (ART). Alcohol use also influences patient outcomes by increasing the risk for HIV and antiretroviral associated co morbidities, including liver disease, cardiovascular and cerebral vascular disease, pulmonary disease, elevate disease, and cancer (Justice et al., 2010).Those with HIV expect a commence tolerance for alcohol, fit in to Justice et al., 2010, yet preserve intense levels of consumption as they age and the growing effects of past and current alcohol consumption is likely to increase because patients with HIV transmittance are expected to live 20 to 30 years with ART. Lamentably, alcohol is a terror that looms around society and adverts the purposeless and strong alike. Strong populations mostly embarrass college and university students, who likely do not have HIV or AUDs or DUDs while pursuing a higher pedagogy. However, 25 percent of students report pedantic line of works caused by alcohol use tally to The affect for Alcohol The Differential reception to Price, 2005.Students who practice high-risk drinking are at risk for a soldiery of line of works, including 1) A decline in academic performancedue to poor grades, helpless classes, and falling behind that may lead to academic probation or dropping out of school 2) Engaging in insecure sex 3) Increased risk of perpetrating or being a dupe of violence, including familiar assault, hazing, vandalism, and fights 4) Health problems related to alcohol use and 5) Injury, arrest or death due to drinking and driving, or other alcohol-related causes (The use up for Alcohol The Differential Response to Price, 2005). untold like concrete cracking and ultimate ly more and more cracks ensuing, are the junior-grade effects alcohol abuse has on campuses. Firstly, drinking undermines the goal institutions of higher education set forth, since saturnine drinking leads to a decline in academic performance. Furthermore, thick drinking can affect the campus as a whole through reducing retention rates, increasing expenses due to damage from vandalism, and branding the institution as a party school. The party school figure may attract students who choose to be in high-risk settings, increasing the likeliness of alcohol-related incidents on campus (The Demand for Alcohol The Differential Response to Price, 2005). Students who do not drink may also experience prejudicious consequences of alcohol use by their peers according to The Demand for Alcohol The Differential Response to Price, 2005. Effects may take on study or sleep interruption, taking wish well of a drunken friend, having an unwanted knowledgeable advance, having property damaged, and being a victim of violence including physical or internal assault.Over three-quarters of students living on campus have experienced at least one of the negative secondary effects of alcohol use at their school (The Demand for Alcohol The Differential Response to Price, 2005). peradventure a creative genius health professional strategizes a prevention program that eliminates alcohol consumption, only a miserable duration of time will hunt down and the marketing departments of major breweries will promote their brand in a way to pull the public right back into the flow of intake. Or maybe no successful prevention program forms, but superlative the mint taxes on alcohol is being accelerated by general assembly efforts in order to reduce alcohol consumption and abuse.In this case, consistent attention political donations and lobbying aimed at keeping alcohol excise taxes from increasing are in place for these companies profiting from their membrane-forming product. The prim ary problem this brief sought out to test is alcohol abuse and the extensive sway of problems discussed in detail above itcauses. The problem paves the way to the law. And given the circumstances that stricter law enforcement and prevention strategies have only solved a minute fraction of the problem, the law is the answer as it offers a crosspatch ceiling. No federal tax increases have been implemented since 1991 and many states, although legislative efforts have been accelerating across the country, have failed to increase the tax.However, tax law in the epidemic of alcohol abuse, is the solution with most opportunity for proving effective. Burris et al., 2011, see tax law as a mechanism for reducing consumption of unhealthy products. The same news that reported the removal of chocolate milk from selected school districts has reported increased taxes on cigarettes, so it is unprejudiced to understand that both the federal regimen and the states have used taxes as a means of increasing the cost of products associated with health risks in the past. valuatees can be levied upon the fruit and or bargain of alcohol and are often described as excise taxes Burris et al., 2011, have reported. According to the Federation of Tax Administrators, almost every state taxes the sale or production of beer, booze and wine-coloured (Burris et al., 2011). Nevertheless, increasing alcohol tax is not as straightforward and effortless as simply applying the definiton of tax law to the problem and stepping away. State readiness to act on alcohol tax research findings mark the beginning of constructing the bridge that will fundamentally connect public health to public health law.Many key factors are subject to broad consensus among members of the Coordinating empanel and other participating experts (Tremper &ump Mosher, 2005). Components that are most important are the cipher deficit or other secure need for the state to raise taxes, the efficiency of the advocates/ coalition that would introduce research findings, and the availableness of funds that can be used for legislative advocacy. Items of decreasing importance are existence and efficacy of a lobbyist for the issue, well-positioned maven in both houses of the legislature, and the political effectuality of the alcohol industry and its allies. Other factors include support of the governor, permissibility of earmarking, high proportion of nondrinkers, high proportion of evangelicals and/or fundamentalists, and support of major media (Tremper &ump Mosher, 2005). Discussion of the former findings serve as a starting point for analyzing the conclusions of specific literature reviews that increasing alcohol taxesimproves public health and that various factors affect the likelihood that research findings will influence alcohol tax policy.After the front analysis, possibly the most important finding to extract is the consent among alcohol tax advocates, legislative process experts, advocates w ho have successfully used research findings to influence tobacco plant tax policy, and other interested parties in regard to state tax policy, and whether a state needs to raise taxes for financial reasons. Tremper &ump Mosher, 2005, have stated that in practical terms reflecting political realities, if a state is not facing a budget deficit, reproduction alcohol taxes to attain public health benefits is highly unlikely. go on strain on state budgets has a high likelihood of continuing therefore, raising taxes is going to be on most states legislative agenda for the projected future. another(prenominal) important finding that bodes well for alcohol tax to appear on legislative agendas is that alcohol taxes are low by several measures and in some states have not been raised for decades, which means that pompousness has reduced them to a fraction of their old level (Tremper &ump Mosher, 2005).For example, had the beer tax merely kept up with inflation, it would be more than thr ee times todays rate of $18 per barrel the liquor tax would be more than quin times its current rate of $13.50 per proof gallon (Alcohol Taxes on the Federal Front, 2005). As prices rise, the relative importance of the taxes falls, unless Congress raises them according to the website Alcohol Taxes on the Federal Front. The website further foes on to state statistics indicating beer and wine taxes have been raised only once in the past 55 years, liquor taxes only twice and as a result, tax revenues that accounted for 12 percent of the sales of alcohol in 1980 now amount to only 7 percent of total sales. The result is a de facto subsidy on drinking and extra profits for alcohol manufacturers at the expense of taxpayers (Alcohol Taxes on the Federal Front, 2005). finishingThe beer industry has long opposed raising taxes on its products, even maintaining that they should be lowered. However, lower beer taxes would only add to the deficit, cater to a prosperous industry, reward and enco urage heavy drinking, and attract more young drinkers, fueling increased alcohol problems and increasing public costs. The best interests of consumers, young people, the U.S. Treasury, and the public health and safetyof America would be go served by raising, not lowering beer taxes. (Alcohol Taxes on the Federal Front, 2005)