Storm Born Chapter Four

We were on each other before we even made it to his room. If our actions on the dance floor had been racy, our grappling in the elevator was downright X-rated. Fortunately no one else rode up with us, which was a good thing, considering the disheveled state of our clothing when we finally made it inside. All the while, some reasonable voice in my mind kept whispering, You don't do this kind of thing. But I was. And I wanted to, very badly. It was a nice room, not surprising in such a nice hotel. A king-size bed offered comfort in the moonlit room, and beyond it, a sliding glass door opened out to a balcony that overlooked the desert. I didn't have time to admire the view because Kiyo pushed me down onto the bed, pulling my shirt off at the same time. I'd already done a fair job at undoing his pants in the elevator, so I had an edge in the race. When we were both naked, I saw him sit up and lean over the side of the bed, fumbling with the grocery store bag on the floor. We'd had to make an unromantic – but necessary – stop for condoms. I was on the pill, but even in the heat of passion, I wasn't so foolish as to trust going into unprotected sex with a stranger, no matter how charming. Kiyo's eager hands practically tore the box apart, causing the little packets to scatter on the floor. He picked one up and opened it, and I helped him put it on. I smiled both at his reaction to my touch and the fact that the condom was a deep scarlet. When it was on, I admired him for a moment. Everything about him was perfect: the shape of his body, the sculpted muscles, the tanned skin. His eyes were dark and demanding in the dim lighting, black depths that wanted to wrap me up. There was an intense quality to him, something primal and feral. He regarded me in a similarly scrutinizing way just before pulling me down onto the bed with him, laying his body across mine. All he did was kiss me at first. Everywhere. He tasted my lips again and then my neck, tracing its shape with his tongue. My breasts held his attention for a long time after that, but then, breasts occupied most guys' attention as a general rule. He held them and kissed them, biting the nipples, keeping his eyes locked on mine the entire time. For me, it was like traces of fire shooting under my skin, like his touch was some kind of drug my body needed to survive. When his face moved between my legs, it was only to nuzzle against the sensitive skin down there, to run his tongue along the place where my thigh connected with the rest of my body. He inhaled deeply, burying himself against me as though he needed to take more of me in. He moved back up so that we were face to face once more, his body again on top of mine. My own body was in agony, uncertain as to why we weren't expediting things. I don't know what look was on my face, but he smiled at me. It was a knowing smile, an animal smile. â€Å"There is nothing in the world,† he said in a soft, burning voice, â€Å"like the smell and look of a woman about to let you have her.† â€Å"‘Have?'† I laughed. â€Å"Are you calling me a possession?† â€Å"We're all possessions during sex, Eugenie.† And then I felt him slide into me, slowly at first as though he would inch his way in and catch me unaware, and then plunging all the way. I thought the earlier delay around the tour of my body might have made him less hard, but if anything, he felt harder and bigger than when I'd put the condom on. He moved at a rough, fast pace that in any other man would probably have ended things in thirty seconds. Somehow I suspected that wouldn't be the case here. It wasn't. I dug my nails into his back, arching myself up as though I could drive him farther and farther into me. Already I was almost painfully full, but it was a good pain, the kind that danced with pleasure, making the two inextricable. He moved with long, rapid strokes, watching my face carefully to see how I reacted to every movement and shift of position. When he hit a spot that made my lips part and cries grow louder, he thrust harder and more fiercely. My cries bordered along the edge of screaming, and he moved his hands to hold my wrists and keep my bucking body from moving. The wrist that had been hurt with the keres complained a little, but it was lost to the building sensation between my legs, that burning liquid heat waiting to explode through me. Besides, I wasn't being gentle either. I slipped my hands from his hold and clutched at his back, letting my nails dig in fierce and deep, almost hard enough to draw blood, I realized. That knowledge didn't make me stop. If anything, I dug deeper until he snatched my wrists back and held me down again. It was the roughest sex I'd ever had. And probably the best. â€Å"Don't close your eyes,† he told me. I hadn't even realized I'd been doing it. Vision seemed a superfluous sense at the moment, compared to everything else I felt. â€Å"Look at me,† he whispered. â€Å"Look at me.† Our eyes locked as the pressure within me finally exploded, sending my body thrashing and shaking. My screams faded to one low moan, the only way I could give voice to the feelings coursing through me. One might have thought Kiyo would slow down after that, but he didn't. He kept up the same ardent pace, still holding me, and it was almost too much after that orgasm. I could see from his face that my reactions aroused him, drove him on further. I was his possession in that moment, just as he had said. My combative, fighter nature flared up just then. I decided that I didn't want to be the possession anymore. Dominance and power ruled my days; it would with sex too. I moved my hands from his back to his upper arms and shoulders. Relying on the element of surprise, I rolled him over, using my legs to pin him down, wrapping them around his hips. Pleased surprise poured over his face. He hadn't expected me to be so strong. He shifted as though he might try to throw me, and I shoved him down. It turned into a rougher motion than I intended, but he didn't mind. If anything, it made the passion on his face grow. â€Å"You submit now,† I growled, pressing my palms down onto his chest. A smile twisted at his lips. â€Å"Sure.† I guided him back into me, exultant that I was the one in control now. I moved my hips up and down, leaning over so I could watch him slide in and out of me. My hair, long since freed from its ponytail, hung over him, grazing his skin. I have hair the color of cinnamon, a tawny russet not dark enough to be auburn, nor light enough to be strawberry. In this lighting, however, it was only a dark veil between us. He brushed it aside and rested his hands gently under my breasts so he could feel their movement as I rode him. Looking up through my hair, I watched his face now that I was the one controlling him. It was exquisite. I moved faster and harder, bringing him all the way into me, watching and adjusting as I did. I wanted to see him come so badly, see the look on his face when he lost control. I knew we were close when his hands dropped from my breasts to grip my waist and hips. His fingers clenched tightly into my skin, just as mine had earlier. He kept his gaze on me, bold and unafraid of me seeing him in climax. I moved more fiercely, urging him on, and then I heard a soft, ecstatic sound issue forth. His eyes never left mine, and his hands slid to the backs my shoulders, suddenly raking down my flesh as his body released itself into mine. I yelled out in surprise at the pain from where he'd scratched me. How sharp were his nails? Did he have talons? I'd dug into him too but nothing like what he'd just accomplished on me. When he'd recovered, and his frantic gasps had returned to normal, he seemed to realize what he'd done. â€Å"Oh my God, I'm sorry,† he said, his breathing still heavy. He pulled me to him, putting his arms around me, careful to avoid the places he'd gouged. I laid my cheek against the warm, sweaty skin of his chest. â€Å"Did I hurt you?† I didn't know which part of sex he referred to – probably that last bit of scratching – but really, it didn't matter. â€Å"No,† I lied. â€Å"Of course not.† When we'd both sort of come back to ourselves, we ransacked the shopping bag again and produced the cheap wine we'd purchased along with the condoms. It had seemed hilarious at the time, considering our earlier conversation on courtship gifts. We sat naked and cross-legged in bed, drinking from the glasses that had already been in the room. We talked a little, and though the conversation was a bit less substantive than in the bar, it still felt comfortable. It was hard to be eloquent after the wild, animal experience we'd just had. I went to the bathroom at one point and peered at my back in the mirror. He'd missed my tattoos but definitely drawn blood and torn skin. It was startling. I wet a washcloth and cleaned my stinging back as best I could, then pulled on one of the plush white robes hanging on the back of the door. Kiyo still sat on the bed, watching me, but I left him there and took my wine outside to the balcony. It was a gorgeous night. The cacti and other desert plants stood painted in shadows and moonlight cast from a full silver moon. Selene was out tonight, and I guessed she'd come through for me just now. Crystalline stars adorned the blackness. I had a telescope at home and mused that it would have been a good night to study the heavens. Except that it looked like the weather would turn on us soon. This surprised me, considering how clear it had been most of the day. Rain was rare this time of year. But dark clouds were tumbling quickly across the sky, blotting out the stars they passed. On the horizon the clouds came from, I saw a faint flicker of lightning. A wind picked up, the kind of wind that rises and falls like one's breath. The air was warm and alive, building up tension and power. It wouldn't be a dismal, glowering storm; it would be the kind of storm that left you awestruck about the power of life and nature. I felt alive too in that moment, as restless and wild as the tempest about to come. I felt pretty confident I had never opened myself up to anyone as much as I had to Kiyo just now. I had let myself go. It was frightening and thrilling at the same time. I heard him step out onto the balcony a few minutes later and then I felt his arms slide around my waist and his chest press against my back. He rested his chin on my shoulder. All was quiet around us. We were far from the highway, and no one else seemed to be awake. There was only the sound of the wind blowing around us and thunder growing louder. Kiyo's hands slipped to my waist and loosened the ties. He then reached up and tugged at the robe so that it fell off, leaving me naked to the elements. I started to turn away, shy, but he held me where I was. â€Å"No one's out,† he murmured, running his hands over my body, grazing my breasts as he moved farther down. â€Å"And even if they were, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You're beautiful, Eugenie. You are so amazingly beautiful.† He buried his face against my neck, and I leaned into him as he kissed me. His hand slid down between my legs and stroked me as the wind caressed my skin. When I whimpered out of desire, he released me for a moment, and I heard a slight rustling. He'd brought a condom outside with him. Presumptuous bastard. He had it on in seconds and then returned his hands to me, positioning me so that I bent over, my hands holding on to the railing. He pressed up behind me, and then that hard thickness was inside me again, once more claiming possession. I was almost rubbed raw from our last round, but as he kept moving into me, I eventually grew wet again, allowing the line between pleasure and pain to blur once more. It seemed crazy, having sex out here in public like this, but it was the kind of crazy that felt pretty damned good. Apparently he had an exhibitionist streak. But no one was out here. It was just us and the desert and the storm. I hadn't thought I could come any more tonight, but he proved me wrong just as the first warm drops of rain began to fall. Thunder and lightning occurred together around us now; the storm had reached us, screaming its own ecstasy to the earth. Still Kiyo moved into me, oblivious of the weather, intent only on me and him. At last, when we were in a full downpour, I felt him shudder and give a few last hard strokes before pulling out. Then he turned me around and drew me to him again. I could hear his heart beating in his chest almost as loudly as the thunder around us. The desert flickered and flared to life in the lightning, and the pounding rain threatened to drown us. But neither of us noticed. I fell asleep pretty quickly after that, lying under the covers in his arms once we'd both toweled off. No insomnia tonight. Yet, I woke up a couple hours later, not entirely certain why. Then I knew. Kiyo's hand was pressed against my mouth, making it hard to breathe. The storm had stopped; all was silent in the dark room. I started to struggle, and then his mouth was by my ear, his voice barely audible. â€Å"Shh. Something's in here.† I nodded my understanding, and a moment later, he released his hold. We both lay perfectly still, and I thought about his choice of words. Something, not someone. Literal and figurative chills suddenly crept over me. Following Kiyo's gaze, I looked up at the wrought-iron headboard and saw ice crystals spreading along it like fine white lace. Our breath came out in small clouds, and my bare skin shivered with the cold. A shape moved into my field of vision, shining in the returned moonlight. I had known what it was before seeing it. An ice elemental. A creature vaguely anthropomorphic and composed of sharp, glittering ice crystals. Technically, however, it was just one of the gentry. Some of them could not pass physically into our world, just as some shamans could not cross physically into theirs. Gentry not wanting to come in spirit but lacking the strength to come over with bodies intact would sometimes cross in an altered, flawed form. An elemental form. Of course, the thing was, any gentry not strong enough to come physically was not even close to being as strong as me. I could kick any elemental's ass easily. Well, if I had the right tools, of course. At the moment, all I had – aside from my own physical strength – was my jewelry, which was more defensive than offensive. All of my weapons had been left at home, save my wand, which was in my purse. Unfortunately, my purse still sat over by the door where it had been dropped immediately upon entering the room, lest it hinder Kiyo and me ripping each other's clothes off. A dilemma, truly. But the ice elemental could see we were awake now, and a cold smile – seriously – crossed its face. Screw this. I was going to have to make a move for the door and hope I was faster than it. I started to tell Kiyo just to stay still, but suddenly he leapt from his lounging position and nailed the elemental squarely with a kick straight to the solar plexus. The elemental flew backward, hitting the wall, and for a moment, I could only stare. I'd barely seen Kiyo move. One minute he was with me, the next he was on the elemental. And was he on it! I mean, I was stronger than a lot of people, but I could not have landed that blow. I knew of few who could. It was my will or weapons that fought a creature like this in the end, not my body. How had Kiyo done that? I stared at him incredulously, then realized I was missing my window here. I sprang from the bed, slipping out of Kiyo's reach. â€Å"No, Eugenie! Stay away!† I made it to the door, but the elemental was getting up. Its eyes focused on me, and my stomach lurched, knowing I had attracted this creature here and possibly put Kiyo at risk. The elemental gave a tinny laugh as it watched me empty out the purse onto the floor. â€Å"Yes, Eugenie Markham, stay away. Stay away, little swan.† It took a step toward me. Frantically, I searched for the wand. Where had all this shit in my purse come from? â€Å"How do you know my name?† I asked, hoping to distract it. Gentry, no matter their form, loved to hear themselves talk. â€Å"Everyone knows your name. And everyone wants you.† I'd never thought a walking chunk of ice could look lascivious, but this one pulled it off. I shuddered and not from the cold. â€Å"But I see someone has already tasted you tonight. No matter. I don't mind following in another's wake, nor will I be the last to spread those soft legs – â€Å" The creature was so fixated on me and what it wanted to do to me that it'd forgotten about Kiyo. Kiyo had surveyed the room during the exchange, and I'd seen his eyes rest on a tall, wrought-iron lamp. His eyes glittered with a dark heat, almost frightening in its ferocity. With the elemental distracted, Kiyo dashed for the lamp, again moving with incredible speed, and then in one motion, swung it at the elemental, hitting it with the force of a tank. A large chunk of ice broke from the elemental's body, and it roared in agony. Iron or steel will always hurt the gentry, regardless of which world they walk. I wondered if Kiyo had known that. The elemental lunged at him, and the two of them wrestled on the floor, rolling over and over as they struggled to land a hit. Kiyo fought savagely, and each time he dug his fingers into the monster, it would hiss in pain. I had my wand now and advanced toward the two of them. I thrust it out, making it an extension of my arm. With alcohol still metabolizing in my body, as well as me being physically exhausted, I knew I couldn't destroy the elemental, but I could sure as hell send it back to the Otherworld. The air tingled around me, and again I smelled ozone. The elemental realized what I was doing and released Kiyo, trying to stop me. Kiyo did not let his prey go so easily, however, and moved forward, his foot again connecting with the creature – this time on the back. The weakened elemental stumbled to its knees. I could usually do expulsions on my own, but tonight I needed a little divine help. â€Å"By Hecate's grace, I cast you from this world. In Hecate's name, I return you to your own realm.† The elemental screamed its fury, but it was already dissolving. â€Å"Leave here, and return no more, you fucking bastard. Go.† The elemental shattered in an explosion of ice. Some of the crystals grazed my skin, cutting it. An onlooker might have thought it had been destroyed, but I had only damaged its elemental manifestation. It had gone to the Otherworld in its own body. I could hear the blood pounding in my ears, adrenaline surging through me. Another creature had known my name. And like the keres, it had seemed terribly interested in me in a†¦Biblical way. Bleh. But I had more pressing problems. Slowly I turned to stare at Kiyo who was watching me with equal caution, taking in my posture and the charged wand in my hand. Kiyo. Dark, sexy Kiyo, who had wooed me in the bar and just given me the best sex of my life. The same Kiyo who had just fought an elemental with more strength and speed than I ever could have mustered – more than any human could have mustered. He had also not turned into a blabbering, shocked idiot like most humans would have – should have – around an elemental. He had seen one before. He knew what it was, just as he knew what my wand and incantations were. What had earlier seemed like a passionate encounter for me suddenly had a vile edge. Fear traced my spine as we stared at each other, neither of us certain what to do. The words were on my lips, but he asked them first. â€Å"What are you?†

Global and International Business Contexts Essay

Introduction This report has been written by the Boston Consulting Group and uses Porter’s national diamond analysis model to evaluate the attractiveness of investment opportunities in the Tunisian wine industry. Also discussed are two key management issues that need to be taken into account before developing operations in Tunisia followed by recommendations on two strategies for entry into the Tunisian wine industry market. In terms of background to this report, it should be noted that the global market for wine industry is changing significantly with substantial differences in the structure of the wine industry around the world. For instance, there are 232,900 wine producers in France but the top 10 brands control only 4% of the market. In contrast, four firms control over 75% of the Australian wine market. Hence there is a marked difference in industry structure when comparing the â€Å"New World† producers (e.g. Australia, Chile, United States) to the â€Å"Old World† fir ms. These structural differences are driven by institutional diversity and contrasting patterns of historical development in countries. However, they are also driven by the competitive strategies employed by particular firms which are determining factors discussed in Porter’s Diamond model. Porter’s diamond model allows an analysis of why some industries within nations are more competitive than others and takes into account the home base of a business (Tunisia) as one element that plays an important part in  successfully achieving competitive advantage in the global market. (See insert 1.1) Part 1: Porter’s National Diamond Analysis Porter’s national diamond analysis model has four main determinants, which are factor conditions, related and supporting industries, demand conditions as well as strategy, structure and rivalry. Factor Conditions Factor conditions are those factors that can be utilised by companies inherently found within a nation which might provide competitive advantage such as human resources, material resources, knowledge resources, capital resources and infrastructure. These factor conditions can be built upon by companies to improve their competitiveness. Factor conditions could be divided into two resources as home grown resources and highly specialised resources. As Michael Porter described, the home grown resources are important and in the case of Tunisia includes the natural resource of a climate well suited to wine growing, plenty of sunshine, fertile soil as well as limited pollution which all aid the industry of grape planting. Political and historical factors through Tunisia’s history such as the romans, French occupation which resulted in over 600 caves being created for wine aging and a recent flourish in the Tunisian wine industry after the 1980’s has left Tunisia with a number of cooperatives and engineers all with specialist skills in wine production where modern techniques are being used creating innovation, technical progress and competitive advantage. The relative low cost of employment and salary levels in Tunisia compared to European countries brings with it a further home grown Tunisian competitive advantage together with an increasingly skilled base of employees who have worked in the wine industry. (http://www.tunisieindustrie.nat) Salary Per hour rate In Tunisia: 48-hour workweek: 1.538 DT per hr – Equates to 53p (in British pounds) per hour 40-hour workweek: 1.584 DT (http://www.tunisieindustrie.nat) Demand Conditions This is the demand for products in the home market which can be influenced by three factors; the mix of customer’s needs, the scope of domestic demand and growth and how the needs of domestic market translate into the global market. Whilst the annual domestic wine consumption per person in Tunisia is only 8/9 litres compared to an average of 60 litres a year in France, a domestic wine industry is likely to encourage greater levels of demand at  home from loyal customers to increasing levels of tourists (Ariaoui, 2007). Also consumer attitudes and behaviour play a role in domestic wine consumption because wine plays a very different role in European culture as compared to American, Australian culture or even Tunisian culture. In Europe wine remains part of everyday life and consumers often drink it along with the daily meal. Financial incentives offered by the Tunisian authorities have further helped to support the domestic wine industry making it more attractive to foreign i nvestors. As in new world producers, these investments in the Tunisian wine industry have helped encourage innovation enabling Tunisian wine growers to enhance the consistency and the quality of their wines by reducing operating costs through the increasing use of machinery to harvest the grapes crops. Tunisia can also learn from the New World which has more extensive and well-developed markets for its grapes, making it easier for wineries to find multiple avenues for sourcing production. Related and Supporting Industries At present, Tunisia make wines ranging from average to high levels of quality and they export their products to the whole world including famous brand names such as Carignan, Mourvà ¨dre and Muscat of Alexandria. The Tunisia government has supported their domestic wine industry through the construction of railways and roads (national infrastructure) to enhance the innovation and technological development in wine making which in turn is benefiting other related and supporting industries such as transport, holiday and leisure industry, technology and machinery. Taxes at 18% on wine consumption in Tunisia also provide an important income for the Tunisian treasury and so restrictions are unlikely in the future as in such nations as the US, Chile, and South Africa and should ensure continued support from the Tunisian government. Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry The structure and management systems of firms in different countries can potentially affe ct competitiveness and how well a company is able to use its existing organisational structure whether it is hierarchal or flat, against current and potential competitive companies. It is very important that the Tunisian wine industry pays close attention to its industry and company structures and strategies to ensure it is suitable for expansion into the global market. Porter argues that domestic rivalry which involves company structures and the need to pursue competitive within a country like Tunisia  could help provide the wine industry with a basis for achieving global leadership. Structural differences including institutional differences in wine production countries vary considerably and are often influenced by regulatory agencies such as in France, for instance which employs very strict regulations that constrain production so that producers can only designate sparkling wine as â€Å"Champagne† if they produce it using three grape varieties grown in the region with the same name unlike Australia which has a very loose regulatory structure allowing winemakers to source grapes from diverse geographic regions within the country. Different levels of subsidies have led to structural differences globally in wine making such as European governments who often subsidise their small farmers who grow grapes whereas subsidies tend to be lower or nonexistent in most New World nations. In addition, capital markets and corporate ownership patterns differ between geographic regions where typically Europe tends to have many more privately held firms in contrast to most of the largest winemakers in the United States and Australia who have become publicly traded corporations. Land ownership and historical patterns of development represent another major factor explaining the structural differences between global wine production areas. For example in the Old World, winemaking has been organised around family farms for centuries. and the land has remained in family ownership for generations. However currently, Tunisian landowners appear to be able to exert power in particular locations where high-quality land is scarce. This appears to be a problem where most producers are small, and good new acreage in Tunisia is extremely scarce but it is worth noting that grapes now cover more than 10,000 hectares of land in Tunisia compared to around 100 hectares in 1889 and wine production ranks third in Tunisian agriculture just behind olive oil and wheat production (Ariaoui, 2007). Finally, the competitive strategies of firms can affect industry structure such as the United States and Australia where publicly traded firms are much more prevalent. These firms have altered the industry structure and competitive landscape through their acquisition strategies, consumer branding and advertising strategies, capital investment plans, and technology initiatives. Consolidation of the wine Industry began to increase over the past decade, particularly among the New World producers with the consolidation of some premium wineries merging with direct rivals such as Rosemount creating some major global producers.  In terms of industrial structure, Tunisia, as yet is a small but relatively high cost producer of wine in comparison but now successfully exports millions of litres of wine annually to Europe, Russia and the US with two thirds of its wine production being controlled by the UCCCV (Union Centrale des Coopà ©ratives Viticoles) and is looking for global partners to exploit and develop Tunisian wine production opportunities. Part 2: Contemporary Management issues Leadership Style It is undisputable that many of the global wine producing companies who used to dominate the market are now experiencing a decline in market share. There are several reasons that can be used to explain such a decline including leadership style. The appropriate leadership styles are those that can enable the manager to interact closely both with the employees and the customers and as a facilitator whose major role is to bring together and create an organisational culture that is streamlined a geared towards meeting the goals and mission of the organisation. If the Tunisian Wine Industry is keen to expand, its management team should know that leading others is not a simple task. As a people manager, a leader has to treat everyone as equal regardless of their title or position and maintain a pleasant demeanor (Ljungholm, 2014). It is about focusing on gaining trust and commitment rather than enforcing fear and compliance. To be able to lead well, leaders need to be guided by appropriate leadership theories. Some of the theories proposed include supportive leadership model and transformative leadership model. These models should enable the Tunisian wine industry to adapt new environment easily and are described below. Supportive leadership model Supportive leadership model, is where the manager supports every stakeholder emotionally and professionally in an attempt to ensure that he or she performs optimally. It also focuses in forging and creating collaborating and binding relationships among employees (Mahalinga Shiva, & Suar, 2012). The workplace is often made up of people from diverse backgrounds, with varying needs and wants and it calls for patience, understanding and proper leadership skills. The supportive model believes that influencing people to do something is more productive and sustainable than barking orders and instructions to people (Hutchinson &  Jackson, 2013). A leader should always keep in mind that as a manager, he or she has to â€Å"Treat everyone as equal regardless of their title or position and remember to smile a lot and always maintain a pleasant demeanor.â €  The leader should focus on gaining trust and commitment rather than fear and compliance (Hutchinson & Jackson, 2013). This cannot be achieved without deliberately motivating the people to become better. Motivating them requires that you first understand their training and development needs. The leader should learn to foster warm relationships amongst the Tunisian employees to understand them and identify ways in which interpersonal relationships can be improved for a more fulfilling work experience. Transformative leadership model The second most important model is transformational leadership theory or model. This is a new model that was formed in around 1970s following the realisation that there was need of greater flexibility in employment. The current employment conditions have changed significantly and this model is particularly relevant to the Tunisian wine industry which is relatively new as an industry (1980’s onwards) and because most of the Tunisians of employable age are from the millennial generation. One thing to note about this new generation is that it is educated and culturally more mixed than any generation before them. In the US this typically means they are job-hoppers who hate officialdom and mistrust traditional hierarchies (Goudreau, 2013). This group of employees, according to Forbes, is willing to sacrifice pay for increased vacation time and the ability to work outside the office. According to the study conducted by Forbes, one of the ways of motivating this generation is that they want employers who offer flexibility or rather alternative work arrangement. The transformational leadership is characterised by a lot of motivation as under this leadership model, the leader is expected to provide constructive feedback, encourage employees to exert effort and to think creatively about complex problems (Xueli, Lin & Mian, 2014). Transformational leadership is based on what is called lead, learn and grow model.. A leader can implement transformational leadership by keeping track of the impact of his action, engaging in formal evaluation at the right time (Abbasi, & Zamani-Miandashti, 2013). A leader must also be willing and able to learn on an ongoing basis and should realise that learning is never complete. That is why under transformational leadership, no one is an expert (Watts, &  Corrie, 2013). Unlike in most European wine producing areas the problem with most leaders there, is that they tend to believe that they are qualified or that they are expert, whereas in Tunisia producers are looking for expertise outside of the country and seem willing to learn. Tunisia wine production has an opportunity to analyse and create and take into account the appropriate leadership style for the wine industry and country that will be maximise competitive advantage before wine production operations can be developed in the country. Part 2: Continued Contemporary Management issues Knowledge and Change Management Rapid changes in business and technology and increasing competitions means organisations have to adapt the best training and education to enable them continue to stay on top of their games. The complexity, relative newness and competitiveness of the Tunisian wine industry environment requires that Tunisian companies will have to continuously raise the bar on their effectiveness to compete globally. Top performance increasingly demands excellence in all areas, including leadership, strategy, productivity, and adaptation to change, process improvement, and capability enhancement on knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies, trust and motivation. An organisation in the wine industry should ensure that all levels of employees are given the opportunity to continue to improve by acquiring new skills through training. Much of the improvements needed in business to meet the demands of changing markets and economic conditions can only result from well-implemented organisational change measured against increased technological excellence and operational efficiency as well as productivity. Kotter (2011) defines change management as the utilisation of basic structures and tools to control any organizational change effort. Change management’s goal is to minimise the distractions and impacts of the change. Organisational change is incredibly complex and one of the key skills for managers is to understand the nature of change and to prepare themselves to lead and manage change in their unique organisational contexts. Where there is a lack of knowledge in the Tunisian wine business in terms of management strategies to deal with changing markets and economic conditions, Tunisia will need to look at their alliance business partners and those business  sectors in Tunisia that are successful in order to transfer and recruit the necessary management skills to succeed. Part 3: Market entry strategy – Strategy No 1 Formulating a mode of entry is very important factor that a company or industry intending to expand into a new market should bear in mind and predicts whether the company will turn out to be successful or not. The entry mode, according to International Business Publications (2009), is important in protecting the company from facing challenges such as legal, registration and even cultural challenges. In selecting the entry mode, the company should put into consideration the cost of doing business in destination country, and determine which entry mode will help in cutting down those costs and at the same time will ensure that the Tunisian wine industry gets maximum profits and also the largest market share in the target nation. In terms of advantages and based on the market situation, this paper proposes that the Tunisian Wine Industry should adopt cross-border strategic alliances to take advantage of a number of benefits compared with the export strategies. For example it creates different synergies in the domestic and foreign markets. In addition, it promotes production alliances, which help each of the allied firms to reduce production costs both in their domestic plants as well as their foreign plants. As far as distribution costs is concerned, the cross-border marketing, which is a product of cross-border strategic alliance, reduces the allied firms’ distribution costs in their foreign market (Qiu, 2006). Compared to other entry mode methods, cross-border strategic alliances create different synergies in the domestic and foreign markets (Qiu, 2006). Some of the synergies include production cost synergies and distribution costs synergies. These synergies will help the Tunisian wine industry to reduce the production and distribution costs and hence increase profits. In terms of disadvantages, cross-border strategic alliances can sometimes lead to a loss of control of individual wine production and their related services. Members of Tunisian wine production may well find that they can become restricted and unable to take decisions by themselves without first referring to the alliance partners. In addition, the complexity of making business alliances work is high and could further complicate business  structures, exacerbate cultural differences and have detrimental effects on intercompany working relationships. Part 3: Market entry strategy – Strategy No 2 Alternatively, the Tunisian Wine Industry may enter into new market through what is called licensing. Licensing mode of market entry allows foreign firms, either exclusively or non-exclusively to manufacture a licensed product in a certain market under specific condition and for this reason is particularly relevant to the situation faced by the Tunisian wine industry. A licensor in the home country makes limited rights or resources available to the licensee in the foreign country in which he or she is to do the business. This includes any resources may like patents, technology trademarks, managerial skills that can make it possible for the licensee to manufacture and sell in the foreign country a similar product to the one the licensor has already been producing and supplying in his home country. This enables the licensor to have several shares in similar companies without necessarily having to open a new branch in other countries. The licensor is usually paid on basis of one time payments, mechanical fees and royalty payments usually calculated as a percentage of sales resultant thereafter. The decision of making an international license agreement depend on the respect that foreign government show for intellectual property. The licensee should be able to cooperate with the licensor to avoid unhealthy completion in the market. In terms of advantages, licensing is a flexible agreement and can be adjusted any time to suit the conveniences of the both parties. However, this mode of entry can be disadvantageous to the licensee, as parts of the profits have to be shared to the licensor on these terms. Recovering the initial profit and getting reasonable profits can take a relatively longer period of time. Again it can also result in the loss of control over manufacturing and marketing of goods and export to other countries. A further risk to the Tunisian wine industry to take into account when considering this strat egy is that the foreign licensee may sell similar competitive wine products after the licensing agreement has expired. Recommendations To Board of Directors To conclude, when entering into a new market, there are many existing factors  to keep in mind. Porter’s national diamond model can help potential investors by allowing them to understand the macro environment in the Tunisian wine industry. Generally speaking, factor condition, demand condition, related and supporting industries and rivalry could encourage the entering activities. It is worth noting that the past high cost performance of Tunisian wine could also become a strong competitive advantage by restricting new entrants into the Tunisian wine producing market. As for recommendations, Tunisia offers the advantages of a natural wine producing climate and fertile soils, a relatively low cost of employment, significant financial incentives and investment in the countries’ infrastructure by the Tunisian government and unrestricted company structures and land ownership. The limitations of Tunisian wine industry relate to the relatively higher costs of wine production in Tunisia, increase in licensing opportunities across the wine industry and cross border alliances which can complicate international working relationships and introduce some uncertainty in the future as licensees from other countries continue to exploit Tunisian wine production opportunities resulting in possible delays in the release of profits available to international investing businesses. Appendices: Appendix 1 Insert 1.1 – Porters National Diamond Analysis Model References: Ariaoui Jamal, (Web) A Guided Tour of Tunisia’s Wine road, Magharebia, 2007 Rugman, A. & Collinson, S. (2012). International Business. (6th ed.), Pearson: Prentice Hall Dicken, P. (2011). Global Shift. 6th ed. Sage Hill, C. (2009) International Business, 8th edition, McGraw-Hill Peng, M. & Meyer, K. (2009) International Business, Cengage Learning Porter, M. (2008). The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, 86(1), 78-93. Porter, M. (1990). The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Harvard Business Review, March-April. Peng, M. (2014) Global Business, 3rd International Edition, South-Western Cengage Learning Xueli, W., Lin, M., & Mian, Z. (2014). Transformational Leadership and Agency Workers’ Organizational Commitment: The Mediating Effect of Organizational Justice and Job Characteristics. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 42(1), 25-36. Goudreau, J., 2013, 7 Surprising Ways to Motivate Millennial Workers. Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2013/03/07/7-surprising-ways-to-motivate-millennial-workers/ Ingrid B. (2006). Facilitating to Lead. Jossey-Bass. ISBN 0-7879-7731-4 Watts, M, & Corrie, S 2013, ‘Growing the ‘I’ and the ‘We’ in Transformational Leadership: The LEAD, LEARN & GROW Model’, Coaching Psychologist, 9, 2, pp. 86-99, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. LJUNGHOLM, D 2014, ‘The Performance Effects of Transformational Leadership In Public Administration’, Contemporary Readings In Law & Social Justice, 6, 1, pp. 110-115, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. SHENG-MIN, L, & JIAN-QIAO, L 2013, ‘Transformational Leadership and Speaking Up: Power Distance And Structural Distance As Moderators’, Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journa l, 41, 10, pp. 1747-1756, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. Abbasi, E, & Zamani-Miandashti, N 2013, ‘The role of transformational leadership, organizational culture and organizational learning in improving the performance of Iranian agricultural faculties’, Higher Education, 66, 4, pp. 505-519, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. Mahalinga Shiva, M, & Suar, D 2012, ‘Transformational Leadership, Organizational Culture, Organizational Effectiveness, and Programme Outcomes in Non-Governmental Organizations’, Voluntas: International Journal Of Voluntary & Nonprofit Organizations, 23, 3, pp. 684-710, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. Hutchinson, M, & Jackson, D 2013, ‘Transformational leadership in nursing: towards a more critical interpretation’, Nursing Inquiry, 20, 1, pp. 11-22, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 30 October 2014. Qiu, L. D. (2006). Cross-Borde r Strategic Alliances and Foreign Market Entry. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Retrieved from: http://www.etsg.org/ETSG2006/papers/Qiu.pdf

Analysis of “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez”

The plot of â€Å"A very Old Man with Enormous Wings† is fantastic, but such surrealistic approach is usual for Marques. This is a story of an angel, who came into this world, but people refused to recognize him, so the disappointed angel had to leave[1].Marques used a language, which appears to be rather simple: he just tells a story as if he was telling it to children: with simple words and without too much literary sophistication. This makes the story similar to a legend or a parable. The story develops in logical time flow from the beginning to the end.Marques, as an author, takes a neutral position in the text, he provides an overview of that what has happened and leaves a freedom of evaluation for the reader.However, a reader can hardly fail to be moved, at least because even a simply-told story is fantastic: an angel comes to the world.Another aim of Marques’s simple and even boring language is to underline the indifference of most of the characters, whether it i s father Gonzaga, who rejects an angel because the angel does not speak Latin, a language of Roman Catholic Church, or Elisenda, who finds nothing better, than to sell tickets, as if seeing an angel was a show.The idea of Marques is obvious: people are so far from God, that they are unable to recognize His messenger.Time and place of the story are unknown. It can only be suggested, that it is some Spanish-speaking country. Marques speaks of the time as â€Å"in those times† making a story even more similar to a legend.Such style of writing is rendered as ‘magical realism’, because it is divorced from reality by uncertainty of time and place and by skillful blundering of real and fantastic elements[2].Marques has himself called â€Å"A very Old Man with Enormous Wings† a story for children. It has been written in the period between his two landmark novels: ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’ and ‘The Autumn of the Patriarch’ in a marke dly easy manner[3].Nevertheless, it includes almost all elements of magical realism, which can be found in his great books: a world, which exists by itself without ties with the surrounding, fantastic creatures which enter the world, and biblical language of story-telling.Is it a story for children? In a way yes, it is a story for children or at least for those who are not yet spiritually adult. It is not Marques’s fault, that most of his audience appears to be â€Å"spiritual children†.As any children they have to be warned about possible poor consequences of their action, and in this sense the story of Marques represents such warning. Actually nothing happens in the story, what can be called obviously evil except for one thing: people in their daily routine have forgotten God.Works cited:1. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, at http://www.geocities.com/cyber_explorer99/garciamarquezoldman.html (last viewed: October 16, 2007)2. Faulkner, Tom.à ‚   â€Å"An Overview of ‘A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.’†Ã‚   Exploring Short Stories.   Detroit: Gale Research, 1998.   Rpt. Gale Database: Literature Resource Center, 1999. Available at: http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng104/marquezviews.htm (last viewed: October 16, 2007)3. Nicholas Tornaritis. GradeSaver(tm) ClassicNotes A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, GradeSaver, LLC, 2006[1] For the story see: Gabriel Garcia Marquez, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, at http://www.geocities.com/cyber_explorer99/garciamarquezoldman.html (last viewed: October 16, 2007)[2] Faulkner, Tom.   â€Å"An Overview of ‘A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.’†Ã‚   Exploring Short Stories.   Detroit: Gale Research, 1998.   Rpt. Gale Database: Literature Resource Center, 1999. Available at: http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/eng104/marquezviews.htm (last viewed: October 16, 2007)[3] Nicholas Tornaritis. GradeSaver(tm) ClassicNotes A Very O ld Man With Enormous Wings, GradeSaver, LLC, 2006. P.-19

The Similarities and Differences between Ijarah and Leasing Essay

The Similarities and Differences between Ijarah and Leasing - Essay Example Since the banking crisis around the world, many countries have shifted to an alternate banking system such as the Islamic banking system in which there is a mechanism of sharing profit and loss and using fixed service charges instead of interest charges which eases the pressure on the economy. Some prohibitions and certain guidelines have been drawn by the Shariah law, which makes a clear comparison between the conventional finance system and Islamic finance system. The unlawful charging of the interest, Riba, is the foremost concept that is prohibited by the Islamic Shariah, while it also prohibits gharar, an uncertainty in activities and has made gambling, Maisir, forbidden which makes it to differ from the conventional finance system in which interest is considered to be a common ground. In an Islamic term, Ijarah is an agreement to offer something for a lease, rent, or wage. According to a different meaning in Islamic fiqh, Ijarah is also referred to as a payment offered to a person for the services that were delivered by the same person. However, if the term Ijarah is considered in the setting of Islamic banking, it is referred to as the process of transference of a particular property from one person to another in exchange of a lawful return or rent from the owner. The procedure involves the lawful transference of the asset from the owner to the lessee and ends with the purchase of the leasing object. Ijarah in the context of Islamic banking is known as Ijarah Thumma Al-Bai or Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek, which is a type of leased contract that can only be ended with the purchase of the leased asset. The paper discusses the two concepts relating to the finance system, the convention form of financing system and the Islamic way of financing. Moreover, the paper will discuss the leased contracts based on Ijarah, which is consistently being used by the Islamic institutions. Furthermore, the study will differentiate between the concept of Ijarah leasing and financial and operating leases. The study will also highlight the accounting systems which have been recommended by the Accounting and Audition Organization for the Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Lastly, the paper will give recommendations to conciliate between these approaches. Lease is defined as a rental agreement between the two parties in which the owner of the asset gives rights to the lessee to use the asset, and it would be the responsibility of the lessee to compensate timely and contractual payments to the lessor (Brealey et al., 2006(. There are many benefits in leasing over obtaining external borrowing or purchasing assets by making full payment, and it can benefit in terms of the saving of the taxes, costs associ ated with the use of assets, and mitigation of risks (Ross, Westerfield and Jaffe, 2005). Leasing can create a positive impact as it reduces the cost of financial distress and minimizes the chances of bankruptcy. Even if the lessee occurs to be a defaulter, the lessee would be given a higher priority than a creditor who just borrows money. Leasing generally helps in the sharing of inflation risk, business risk, and residual value risk. The residual value risk is considered to be the risk associated with the market value of the asset at the maturity date which can be transferred from the lessee to the lessor who has the authority to adjust the lease payments to cover the risk. If the lessor can earn an advantage from the secondary market, the lease payments

Is the identification of the problem half of its resolution Essay

Is the identification of the problem half of its resolution - Essay Example The aim of entire project and paper is to bring about improvements in the practices and approaches of the nursing staff through use of various updated modules and tools and educational kits. Key issue/s to be addressed: Identification of improvement processes pertaining to the various ranks of nursing staff employed in the hospital. Having observed that the bulk of the population of nurses are either fresh graduates or have little or no field experience, therefore it is being felt that it is the ripe time to enhance their abilities and promote good nursing staff for the future days. Secondly having spent some time in number of medical healthcare places, the need was felt to improve the working practices of the nursing staff and bring about more affectivity and efficiency in their practices. The nurse educator should have necessary knowledge of the field along with number of years of experience in the field which will help guiding the nursing students in a proper manner. Experience in any field is vital and there is no replacement for experience, hence in the field of nursing, expert trainers and educators must be in place to accomplish the project of improvements in the nursing field (Fulton & Lyon, 2009). : The clinical coaching pertains to the in depth field associated teaching and training. It allows imparting the knowledge of technical aspects of the field and operations and patients (Gardner & Suplee, 2010). Target Population:Â  The scheme of action is to be implemented at a clinical ward in Perth W. Australia by the Staff development nurse. The direct focus of attention will be nursing team at different levels. With so many changes and improvements at door step, there is need for implementing effective improvement based training. Starting from the very fresh and with zero experience to others with considerable experience in the field but in need of up gradation in terms of the knowledge and tools and techniques. Key stakeholders/Audience: The guidelines will focus on training the new comers, and providing the updated knowledge tips to the experienced ones and those who are working at different levels in the middle ranks with in the clinical ward. Since different kinds of cases are faced in everyday activities inside the clinical ward, the knowledge should be broad based and should keep in view the variable nature of treatments and variable nature of patients and other circumstances (Mason, Isaacs, & Colby, 2011). Use of Tools: Mentorship and coaching are used as tools for the purpose of improvement in the hospital environment. While improvement is an incremental process and takes place in different steps, there must be a measuring procedure that ensures that the transformation process holds its place and results are seen. To determine the results that are desired, proper tools and techniques in form of mentor guidance and coaching manuals serve the purpose of improvement.. Verbal and written tests can be conducted along with the pr esentations which will evaluate the level of knowledge gained and the level of improvements needed. On behalf of the level of improvement in the teaching team, surveys and questionnaires serve the purpose of evaluation a great deal, the students should be asked to fill the questionnaires that would focus on identifying the level of improvements post improvement processes initiation (Tan & Sheps, 1998). Role of Mentor/ Mentorship as a tool: The mentor plays a vital role in the life of fresh students who have just come to the practical field.

Religious Tolerance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Religious Tolerance - Essay Example In addition, the reorganization and study of distinct religious tradition offers different way of conceptualizing and organizing the differing ideas about god and social organization that arise from these different opinions concerning the understanding of God. For long time, religion has been helpful to mankind in that it is very for humans to live without order orientation or religion. This is because; religion provides a basis on which people, societies and different world cultures built their lives and institutions. In order to embrace religious tolerance, it is important for people to establish a basic familiarity with other traditions and develop an open mind to be comfortable with the concept that it is possible for others to apply different conceptual systems to organize the same experience and aspirations that we posses. Additionally, it is also ital to recognize and understand how that in modern age, religion is playing a big role in social and political arena thus we need to be very careful on how we asses and evaluate other religions and develop a mechanism on how to deal with variety of religions and tolerate divergent practices. It is significant to note that religious diversity and the role of religion should play in people’s lives are not new issues. This is because encouraging religious toleration makes people to shun away from religious fanaticism and challenges them to pursue life, liberty, and happiness commanded by rational choice and personal judgment. It is worth noting that awareness of religions distinct from ours and tolerance for them is a rare virtue in any world society. But based on rational choice and personal judgment, makes such awareness essential or important. Religious toleration is very important in maintaining a harmonious civic society and promoting personal religious or spiritual aspirations (Esposito et al, 2002). In order to understand the Hindu religion, it is vital to look at the brief history of Hindu

The Importance to Teach Through the Standards in Science Curriculum Essay - 2

The Importance to Teach Through the Standards in Science Curriculum - Essay Example Science curriculum should be taught by following the standards that must be designed according to the environment of students so that they can make use of their science knowledge in their practical lives. The development of science education has structured more and more recently. So, by looking back at the last century, the curriculum of schools was very basic and everybody used to think about multi-curriculum from his own angle. More in-depth, teaching strategies were clustered around the teacher himself, and he was the center of the classroom. In the beginning, scientists were the one who used to control the science curriculum, and they had the authority for choosing the content to be taught in schools. Thus, it was hard for teachers and students to handle the science subject based on the scientists’ perspective rather than science educators’ perspectives. However, the reformation that was called for by Dewey had taken place in the late 1950s. The development of teaching science as the inquiry has taken place in the 1950s, nevertheless, the years 1955-1974 were called the Golden Age in Education. Numerous findings were poured into education in order to develop curriculum. The 1960s were even enriched with more science projects toward the science curriculum but the reformation was not very clear, until late 1960s when studies showed some achievements and attitude toward science. During the 1970s, the focus of NSF (The National Science Foundation) was on exploring the impact of the new science curriculum such as improving science methods, working in labs and discovering inquiry learning. In the 1980s and 1990s, the development of technology, computer and the World Wide Web were enough to call it a new reformation besides that the beginning of 1990s, it was the beginning of something new, it was the standard era. The complexity of the lifestyle after the 1990s was not only sensed in the States but globally too and the science education became a field for competition through many different

Lighting Schematics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lighting Schematics - Essay Example Camera cutting from a shaky shot to a steady shot was also another cinematography challenge in the Hunger Games. This error was evidenced by the conversation between two characters in which the camera angle of one character was handheld while on the other one it was completely steady. This link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juVckCCMEQQ provides a steady positioning of the camera, and this http://cineblur.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Train-scene-short-loop1.gif provides both steady and shaky position of the camera. The choice of dark setting is one of the production designs that were well utilized in the Hunger Games. In the image below, Katniss portrays a dark face when she walks. The face later appears to be light as she walks towards the light. This lighting design gives Katniss two personalities; an evil side and a nice side. The use of spotlights above Katniss in some parts of the scenes makes it appear interrogative. It appears as if Katniss is in a police station. The lighting of the districts was also dim compared to the bright lighting in the capital city. The variation in lighting enabled the director to sharply contrast between the successive capital city and the poor districts. The shots used in the movie also inform the viewers of certain things. For instance, the focusing of the camera up when the citizens of District Ten are listening to the organizer of the game shows that the people of District are looked down upon by this person. This is further evidenced by the angle of the camera moving down when the organizer of the game picks the tribunes. The choice of color and costume is also one of the production designs that present itself very well in the Hunger Games. For instance, the usual matching of Katniss and Peeta’s uniform shows that the two have something in common or the two obliged to follow specific rules. Katniss’ costume also makes her appear to have broad

Negative Effects of Illegal Immigration in the U.S Term Paper

Negative Effects of Illegal Immigration in the U.S - Term Paper Example Legal immigration benefits the U.S. each year; however, it’s illegal counterpart does not. Illegal immigration in the Unites States creates big problems for many businesses. "Three hundred thousand illegal immigrants enter the Unites States each year" (Green 4). Every year many illegal immigrants sneak across the U.S. borders, or forge the right papers. Many businesses in rural areas hire illegal immigrants knowingly for outrageously low prices. This hiring is not only degrading to the appearance of the US, but is unfair to other businesses that hire U.S. citizens. Illegal immigrants create greater competition between businesses, but for the ones that don't hire them it unbalances their earnings. Since illegal immigrants can be hired for much less than minimum wage, companies can maximize their profit by buying products cheaply, and cutting costs in staffing their facilities. The United States government has tried to enforce laws about the employment of illegal aliens, but has given up time and time again. Some employers may have even employed an illegal immigrant without even knowing it. Some immigrants obtain the papers for a citizenship, but instead of getting them signed by officials, they forge them and end up getting away with it. â€Å"Politicians, scholars, and citizens alike pronounce the immigration policy â€Å"broken,† as the number of illegal immigrants has reached an estimated 11 million.† (Papademetriou 2005). The issues of both immigration and naturalization are currently extremely sensitive and important issues facing the United States. The Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952 clearly asserts that no illegal aliens are allowed into the United States. â€Å"In 2008 alone, 1,305 bills related to illegal immigration were introduced in the United States; 206 laws and resolutions were passed in 41 states.† (National Conference of State Legislatures 2009). Immigration and naturalization laws must be enforced in the U nited States, and without it America would become overpopulated and immigration would be out of control. The INS was organized in 1952 for the sole purpose of controlling immigration in to the United States. There are two ways of becoming a citizen of a country, which are by birth and naturalization. Naturalization is a process by which people become citizens from one country or region to another. Some countries do not allow naturalization or immigration due to over population circumstances. (Levey. 67). Illegal immigrants are breaking the federal law when they do not follow this process. Regardless of their reasons, they need to be held accountable for their actions. On February 7, 2003 the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) released its latest estimate for the size and growth of the illegal alien population in the United States. "The INS estimates that there were five million illegal aliens living in the United States, with the number growing by 275,000 each year."(Kobac h) New numbers are for the long term, illegal population is those who have been in the United States for at least one year. Many people question exactly how many illegal immigrants are really in the country. â€Å"In 2009 the Department of Homeland Security estimated that there were 1.68 million undocumented immigrants living in Texas. (The nation as a whole is said to have 10.8 million, according to the DHS; Texas has the second highest number of

Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Essay Example for Free

Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus Essay Etiology of Diabetes Mellitus â€Å"Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. The chronic hyperglycemia of diabetes is associated with long-term damage, dysfunction, and failure of different organs, especially the eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, and blood vessels.† (Association, National Center for Biotechnology Information , 2009, p. 1) â€Å"The cause of type 1 and type 2 diabetes remains a mystery. Although genetic factors may play a role†. (Association, Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus, 2010, pp. 562-569) Diabetes mellitus generally results from an insulin deficiency or resistance. Insulin transports sugar into cells for use as energy and storage as glycogen which is a carbohydrate. Insulin also stimulates protein synthesis and free fatty acid storage. Insulin deficiency or resistance compromises the bodies access to essential nutrients for fuel and storage. Several processes called pathogens(capable of causing disease) are involved in the development of diabetes. The reasons of the abnormalities in carbohydrates, fats, and protein metabolism in diabetes is deficient action of insulin on certain tissues in the body. The term Deficient insulin action, results from not enough insulin secretion and/or diminished tissue response to insulin at one or more points in the complex pathways of hormone action (a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one cell to another). If insulin secretion is blocked or impaired, then defects in the insulin action occur in the same patient, and it is often unclear which abnormality, the cause of the hyperglycemia. (Report of the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus, 1997, pp. 107-109) Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus is defined as an autoimmune disorder or simply put an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells (What-is-Autoimmune-Disease). This form of diabetes is brought on by a viral infection in which certain cells are destroyed which leads to absolute (complete) insulin deficiency and is usually diagnosed in childh ood. Many pediatric patients that have diabetes normally have Type 1 diabetes and therefore a lifetime dependency on insulin. â€Å"Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder caused by an absolute or relative deficiency of insulin, an anabolic hormone.† (Diabetes-MellitusDefinition-Causes-Symptoms-and-Treatment) In contrast Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is a more progressive disorder in which the glandular organ in the digestive system and endocrine system known as the pancreas makes less insulin over time. Because the body’s cells have a reduced response to insulin, symptoms arise that include poor control of liver glucose (sugar) output, a decrease in cell function, and eventually cell failure. The true cause of Type 2 diabetes is unknown; however, it usually occurs in adulthood, from heredity, excessive obesity and sedentary lifestyle. These lifestyle choices may play a major role in its development. For both types of diabetes the main feature is chronic high blood glucose (sugar) levels (Ignatavicius, 2006). Risk factors for Diabetes Mellitus include obesity, physiologic or emotional stress, which can lead to an elevation of stress hormone levels. In women sometimes pregnancy, which causes weight gain and increases levels of estrogen and placental hormones, may aggravate insulin output. There is also something called the metabolic syndrome which is a combination of medical disorders that, when occurring together, increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. There are also some medications that can provoke the effects of insulin, including thiazide diuretics, adrenal corticosteroids, and hormonal contraceptives (Mackay, 2004). Classification of Diabetes Mellitus There are several different types of diabetes mellitus; they may differ in cause, clinical course, and treatment. The major classifications of diabetes are: * Type 1 diabetes (insulin dependent diabetes mellitus) is caused by B-cell destruction, usually leading to absolute insulin deficiency a) Immune mediated b) Idiopathic * Type 2 diabetes (previously referred to as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus) ranges from those with predominant insulin resistance associated with relative insulin deficiency, to those with a predominantly insulin secretory defect with insulin resistance (Alberti, 2007). Insulin is secreted by beta cells, which are one of four types of cells in the islets of Langerhans (dendritic cells = antigen-presenting immune cells) in the pancreas. Insulin is an anabolic, or storage hormone. When a person eats a meal, insulin secretion increases and moves sugar from the blood into muscle, liver, and fat cells. In those cells, insulin transports and metabolizes glucose for energy. Later it stimulates storage of sugar in the liver and muscle (in the form of glycogen). Following this it signals the liver to stop the release of glucose, then enhances storage of dietary fat in adipose which is a storage tissue. Finally it accelerates the transport of amino acids (derived from dietary protein) into the body’s cells. â€Å"Insulin also inhibits the breakdown of stored glucose, protein, and fat. During fasting periods (between meals and overnight), the pancreas continuously releases a small amount of insulin (basal insulin); another pancreatic hormone called glucagon (secreted by the alpha cells of the islets of Langerhans) is released when blood glucose levels decrease and stimulate the liver to release stored glucose. The insulin and the glucagon together maintain a constant level of glucose in the blood by stimulating the release of glucose from the liver. Initially, the liver produces glucose through the breakdown of glycogen (glycogenolysis). Glycogen is the storage form for glucose in the liver and muscles. Glycogenolysis is the conversion of glycogen into glucose in the liver. After 8 to 12 hours without food, the liver forms glucose from the breakdown of non-carbohydrate substances, including amino acids (gluconeogenesis)† (Hamouda, 2012). Type 1 Diabetes Treatment and Study This form of diabetes is immune-mediated in over 90% of cases and idiopathic in less than 10%. The rate of pancreatic B cell destruction is quite variable, being rapid in some individuals and slow in others. Type 1 diabetes is usually associated with ketosis in its untreated state. It occurs at any age but most commonly arises in children and young adults with a peak incidence before school age and again at around puberty. It is a catabolic disorder in which circulating insulin is virtually absent, plasma glucagon is elevated, and the pancreatic B cells fail to respond to all insulinogenic stimuli. Exogenous insulin is therefore required to reverse the catabolic state, prevent ketosis, reduce the hyperglucagonemia, and reduce blood glucose. Clinical manifestations of all types of diabetes include the â€Å"three Ps†: polyuria, polydipsia, and polyphagia. Polyuria (increased urination) and polydipsia (increased thirst) occur as a result of the excess loss of fluid associated with osmotic diuresis. The patient also experiences polyphagia (increased appetite) resulting from the catabolic state induced by insulin deficiency and the breakdown of proteins and fats. Other symptoms include fatigue and weakness, sudden vision changes, tingling or numbness in hands or feet, dry skin, skin lesions or wounds that are slow to heal, and recurrent infections (Hamouda, 2012, p. para. 8). The onset of type 1 Diabetes may also be associated with sudden weight loss or nausea, vomiting, or abdominal pains. (Association, Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus, 2010) In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the impact of diabetes mellitus on the central nervous system (Lukovits TG, 1999).Clinically and epidemiologically, it has been shown that diabetes mellitus is an important risk factor for cerebrovascular accidents (Kannel WB, 1979), and may underlie many of the neuropsychological and cognitive deficits observed in diabetic patients (CM, 1988). Few studies have sought to establish the pathophysiological mechanisms that occur before these deficits appear, with a view to detecting early subclinical abnormalities that could serve as markers of the risk for stroke in patients who might benefit from preventive treatment. The study I read was performed in 15 insulin-dependent diabetics (eight men and seven women) with no history of central neurological symptoms. Their ages ranged from 27 to 59 years (mean 46 ±8 years) and the mean time since diagnosis of diabetes mellitus was 19 ±6 years. The characteristics of the patients are given in the Table below. The study was been reviewed by the hospitals ethics clinical committee, and before being enrolled each patient gave written informed consent. Characteristics of study subjects No. 15 Gender (M/F) 8/7 Age (years) 46 ±8 Arterial hypertension (yes/no) 5/12 Total cholesterol (mg/dl) 214 ±49 Time from diagnosis of IDDM (years) 19 ±6 Hemoglobin A1C (%) 8.19 ±0.8 Diabetic nephropathy (no/micro/macro albuminuria) 10/1/4 Diabetic retinopathy (yes/no) 7/8 Diabetic neuropathy (yes/no) 7/8 IDDM, Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus The study dealt with the Cerebrovascular reserve (CVR) which is the capacity of cerebral arteries and arterioles to dilate, thus increasing blood flow in areas of decreased perfusion pressure (WJ, 1991). It is one of the first mechanisms of the brain to be activated in cases of hemodynamic compromise and is an early indicator of its existence (Baron JC, 1981). The chemical Acetazolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, induces dilatation of the cerebral microvasculature and has been widely used in assessing CVR in large series of patients with different cerebrovascular disorders. (Julio F. Jimà ©nez-Bonilla, 2001). The study concluded that Insulin-dependent diabetic patients with no clinical history of neurological disorders present baseline abnormalities in cerebral perfusion and a decrease in CVR in extensive areas of the brain. The decrease in CVR and the behavior of baseline subclinical abnormalities after administration of acetazolamide suggested the existence of chronic cerebrovascular disease, the severity of which varied between patients and was better assessed with this technique than with baseline SPET (PET scan). In addition, the introduction of acetazolamide made it possible to classify baseline irregularities as being of probable metabolic origin or of probable ischemic origin. They concluded that the post-acetazolamide brain SPET is a valid tool which, in comparison with baseline SPET, provided additional information on cerebral perfusion in insulin-dependent diabetes. The technique should prove useful in evaluating future preventive strategies aimed at reducing the incidence of complications in diabetics. (Julio F. Jimà ©nez-Bonilla, 2001) The main goal of diabetes treatment is to normalize insulin activity and blood glucose levels to reduce the development of vascular and neuropathic complications. Insulin is indicated for type 1 diabetes as well as for type 2 diabetic patients with insulin openia whose hyperglycemia does not respond to diet therapy either alone or combined with other hypoglycemic drugs. The therapeutic goal for diabetes management is to achieve normal blood glucose levels (euglycemia) without hypoglycemia and without seriously disrupting the patient’s usual lifestyle and activity. There are five components of diabetes management †¢ Nutritional management – teaching the patient to eat properly and manage their diet accordingly. †¢ Exercise †¢ Monitoring – Use of a glucose meter and watching their numbers. †¢ Pharmacologic therapy – medicines that help level off sugars in their system. †¢ Education – finding out all the information they can about the disease so they will be informed as to the preventative measures taken to lead a more normal life. Bibliography Report of the Expert Committee on the Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. (1997). Diabetes Care, 20:1183-97. CITATIONS AND CLINICIANS NOTES: ETIOLOGY, PREDICTION, AND INCIDENCE OF DIABETES. (2005). Current Medical Literature: Diabetes, 22(2), 32-33. Alberti, K. M. (2007). International Diabetes Federation: a consensus on Type 2 diabetes prevention. Diabetic Medicine, 24(5), 451-463. doi:10.1111/j.1464-5491.2007.02157.x. Association, A. D. (2009, January). National Center for Biotechnology Information . Retrieved from PMC US National Library of Medicine : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2613584/ Association, A. D. (2010, January). Diagnosis and Classification of Diabetes Mellitus. Diabetes Care, pp. 562-569. Baron JC, B. M. (1981). Reversal of focal â€Å"misery-perfusion syndrome† by extra-intracranial arterial bypass in hemodynamic cerebral ischemia. A case study. Stroke, 12: 454-459. CM, R. (1988). Neurobehavioral complications of type I diabetes. Examination of possible risk factors. Diabetes Care, 11: 499-505. Diabetes-MellitusDefinition-Causes-Symptoms-and-Treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved 12 15, 2012, from www.healthguidance.org: http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/7366/1/Diabetes-MellitusDefinition-Causes-Symptoms-and-Treatment.html Hamouda, M. (2012, May 24).

The Introduction To The Kashmir Conflict History Essay

The Introduction To The Kashmir Conflict History Essay Demarcating boundaries to create nations has been an onerous exercise that has always been replete with controversies. Conflicts have been prevailing over it across the globe. This conflict has extended towards sea bodies as countries compete to control oil wells and other resources. The conflicts concerning North Korea and South Korea, the US and Mexico and Japan and China are some of the examples that have drawn international attention. The paper will however focus on issues related to the stalemate over Kashmir between India and Pakistan. Before 1947 India and Pakistan were a part of a Union that was under the control of the British Raj. While leaving, the colonial powers separated the region on the basis of religion giving rise to two nations: India and Pakistan. The transition was mired with incidents that were fraught with bloodshed and consequently the two nations developed an animosity towards each other. Another reason for conflict was over territorial command over Kashmir; an Indian state that lay along the borders of India and Pakistan. In a bid to control the region the two countries have been involved in numerous wars: the war in 1948 and 1965 and the Kargil war of 1999. India opines that Pakistan along with its agencies like the Inter-Services Intelligence or the ISI finances terrorism in the region to create instability while Pakistan claims that they rightfully own Kashmir. The region also has a third group known as separatists who want a separate identity without being a part of either India or Pakistan. The people of Kashmir have been traumatized by the level of insurgency in the region along with the atrocities committed by the Indian army under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA). At one time people had an inclination towards a particular nation but the atrocities perpetrated by these nations have held public opinion against these countries. Some have accepted the fact that they are helpless while the reactive ones resort to activities like mass protest and large scale stone slinging in order to claim their basic rights. The literature serves to provide a background to the conflict that includes the three major wars fought between them. It will first cover the reasons that led to the three wars (the 1948-1949 war, the 1965 war and the Kargil war) and the perspectives of both the countries will be discussed in relation to these confrontations. Elaborating on historical and contemporary issues, a comprehensive outlook of India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue will be discussed and the disparities will be extrapolated. Finally the paper will discuss the possible solutions to the Kashmir conflict. The solutions will be intensive and would encompass issues such as water sharing, providing autonomy to the people of Kashmir, nurturing trade and commerce and demarcating the boundaries of Kashmir based on communal considerations. The Battle for Kashmir a. Immediate post-independence 1948-1949 period As soon as the states of India and Pakistan were formed in 1947, the controversy over Kashmir arose. The two nations have been involved in four wars since the British left the subcontinent and the 1947-1948 was the first among them in which the rightful command over Kashmir was the contentious issue.  [1]  When the two countries were first formed, Kashmir was ruled by a Hindu king by the name of Maharaja Hari Singh. He was neutral to India and Pakistan and chose to remain independent. On October 22, 1947 a large number of armed tribesmen  [2]  , made inroads into Kashmir, plundered the villages and later set fire to these villages. It was at this moment that the king sought the assistance of India and in return decided to make Kashmir a part of the Indian Union. This gave rise to further conflict in the region. In 1947, India and Pakistan went to war over Kashmir. Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru appealed to ask the United Nations to intervene and a UN cease-fire was ar ranged for December 31, 1948.  [3]  A ceasefire was established through a Line of Control and Kashmir was acknowledged as a disputed territory (Kashmir is still considered to be a disputed territory against the popular belief in India that the region is a part of it). What needs to be acknowledged is that the war over Kashmir just after Independence had numerous dimensions to it. The Indian contingent claims that the Maharaja of Kashmir was harassed by the constant pillaging of Kashmiri villages by the tribesmen of Pakistan. To protect the interests of the Kashmiri people the Maharaja signed instrument of Accession to India.  [4]  It was further considered that the terrorist forces were under the patronage of Pakistan and was aimed at destabilizing the region. India further claims that it managed to garner the support from the Kashmiris and under plebiscite rule it became a part of the nation. Pakistan on the other hand held an opinion that was totally different. Pakistan never believed in the Accession agreement signed by India and continued to occupy a third portion of Kashmir.  [5]  The varied opinion was the main reason that led to the war and it was only after the interruption of the UN that both sides acknowledged the existence of a ceasefire. India continued to occupy most parts of Kashmir while the international community along with Pakistan refuted such a territorial occupation. Pakistan managed to control a part of the territory and at the same time refuted Indias claim. This was the scenario that prevailed in Kashmir after the war. The endeavors of the UN and the British prevented both the nations from breaking out into a war. Kashmir however was not given the privileges of a democracy by the India Union. India laid down the condition that unless Pakistani troops vacated the remaining portion entirely, democratic rights would be curbed in the region. Through the 1950s  [6]  , there was a tussle between the State Assembly and the power at the Centre in India for a more autonomous government. The Indian government was however very adamant in tackling the situation and maintained a heavy military presence in the region. It was in this period that the people of Kashmir were subjected to strict military surveillance be cause the Indian politicians especially Nehru was of the opinion that if the people were given the liberty, it would promote Pakistan-sponsored terrorism in the region. b. 1965 War The year 1965 saw a desperate attempt by the Pakistani forces to seize Kashmir from the clasp of India. Between 1956 and 1962  [7]  , Pakistan managed to procure a heavy consignment of military equipment and this narrowed down the military prowess of India and Pakistan. Americas assistance to Pakistan could be a retaliatory step considering the fact that India and the Soviet Union had maintained a cordial relationship and this was beyond the comfort level of the US. The procurement emboldened Pakistan and it launched a fresh attack on India. India was however successful in fending off the attack and sought for international intervention in the region in order to settle the dispute. It was for the first time that an international player (other than the UN took part in the Kashmir issue). The Security Council passed Resolution 211 that mandated both the parties to respect the ceasefire and recede back to their respective territories  [8]  . Even countries like the US stopped pr oviding arms and ammunition to both the countries. This was instrumental in bringing both the parties to the talking table with the Soviet Union as the mediator. A treaty was signed by both parties in Tashkent and as per the treaty the armies of both the nations withdrew from the disputed area. The 1965 War clearly demonstrated the significance of the Kashmir issue and brought to light the roles played by China, the US and the Soviet in the geopolitics of South Asia. Unfortunately the cease fire that was promulgated by the foreign powers did not have any bearing in the relationship between the two countries.  [9]  It was only a titular agreement between the two countries that was aimed at preventing any sort of confrontation between the Indian Army and the Pakistani Army. The scenario in Kashmir and the plight of the Kashmiris did not undergo any change after the war. c. 1999 War A recurrent military-hybrid shift occurred in the 1980s through to the 1990s. After establishing a military regime through a coup in 1977, General Zia-ul-Haq came to rely significantly upon Islamist groups for domestic political legitimacy.  [10]  It was in this era that militancy in the region reached new heights. India blamed the Pakistani intelligence agencies for providing financial and logistical support to these militant groups. While a portion of the blame can be attributed to Pakistan, the Indian Army operating in the region had a role to play in the proliferation of these groups. What needs to be acknowledged is the fact there was widespread infiltration from the Pakistani borders into Indian soil. This was a constant feature in the 1990s and the Indian Army resorted to air attacks in a bid to stop infiltration into the country. It was claimed by India that the infiltrators were backed up by the Pakistani soldiers patrolling the borders. As the air raids to curb the infl ux heated up, Pakistan troops retaliated. The domino effect continued and this gave rise to the Kargil War in 1999. Constant shelling and airstrikes was a constant feature of the war. According to a Red Cross Report at least 30,000  [11]  were rendered homeless and they sought refuge in the Pakistani side of the Line of Control. Like the other two battles mentioned before, this too came to an end after an intervention by a third party. Pakistan and India both celebrated their victory in the war but the volatility in the region was never erased. As fallout of the insignificance of the war, the Prime Minister of Pakistan had to pave way for General Musharraf who seemingly focused on economic and social issues. Issue of the disputes The Kashmir conflict presents a very diabolical situation owing to the myriad opinions held by the two stakeholders on either side of the border. Both the sides have been steadfast in holding on to their whims and this has been the most serious issue. While numerous arrangements have been organized to tackle the issue, the unwillingness of both the parties has not allowed these talks to proceed in a positive direction. It is also noticeable that there has been a shift in the viewpoints when it comes to taking possession of Kashmir. A look into the perspectives of both the countries so that our understanding of the problem becomes clearer. a. The Pakistanis Argument Pakistan has always considered itself to be the deprived party when it comes to having a stake in Kashmir. In the earlier stages of the struggle, that is, the period just after 1947, Pakistan was over inclined to make Kashmir a part of it because of the higher percentage of Muslims in the region. So when India occupied the region, it was a feeling of deprivation for Pakistan. In retaliation to it, the Army tried to capture Kashmir but did not succeed. Pakistan has very often resorted to cataclysmic religious violence  [12]  in a bid to destabilize the region and win the sympathy of the Kashmiris. This was not the case in the earlier stage when fundamentalism with respect to religion was not tapped to secure Kashmir. During the early stages of the conflict, the Army was the face of Pakistan and it did not budge in revealing its intentions to claim Kashmir. However the brazen steps taken by the Army drew the wrath of international players and so it resorted to hardliners so that a proxy war could be fought. This can be proven from the fact that the number of infiltrations increasing in the period concerned. One would raise ones eyebrow considering the fact these people managed to cross the border with relative ease and without any sort of hindrance from the Pakistani side. Pakistan has always supported the UN Security Council resolutions that envisaged the Kashmiri people determining in a plebiscite  [13]  as opposed to the command over the region by the Indian Union. The recent statement by the president of Pakistan clearly demonstrates the fact that Pakistan is eager to see a Kashmir which is free from the clout of India. Zardari remarked that Pakistan will continue to support the right of the people of Jammu Kashmir to peacefully choose their destiny in accordance with the UN Security Councils long-standing resolutions on this matter.  [14]  India on the other hand has been able to ward off international pressure in spite of depriving the people of Kashmir a plebiscite rule. This has been the main concern for Pakistan because it would have preferred a neutral player controlling Kashmir instead of India. Occasionally, the Pakistani contingent has vented their war by making inroads into Kashmir through the coercive path. Pakistan has time and again improved its military might with the help of countries like China and Iran and when it felt that it could capture Kashmir, it instigated a war. Pakistan has also maintained s firm base in the Line of Control in the form of terrorist groups. Pakistan is now endeavoring to spread the cult of militancy and terrorism in new areas south of the Pir Panjal range in the Jammu region.  [15]  In this way Pakistan believes that the people of Kashmir would develop a deep sense of animosity towards India and enhance Pakistans propaganda of destabilizing the zone. One can even claim that Pakistan has been effective in this front as there have been numerous incidents involving tensions between Kashmir pundits and the majority Muslim population. The area covered by Azad Kashmir has been the nurturing ground for numerous fundamentalist groups namely Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.  [16]  Pakistan believes that it is their right to fight a battle in the name of religion and to claim Kashmir. Though this perspective is not blatantly endorsed, there has been enough proof to validate this claim. Leaders of militant groups such as L akhvi and Hafeez Saeed have found safe havens in Pakistan and all attempts to extradite them have failed. b. Indias Argument India has always claimed to be the rightful rulers of Kashmir. It does not acknowledge the UNs opinion of considering Kashmir as a disputed region. Additionally India has meted out special treatment to the region by curbing most of the democratic rights. While India is a democratic region, Kashmir has a military rule. Only recently has the legitimacy of the plebiscite rule been felt. The three wars fought with Pakistan have made the country wary of Pakistans intention so it feels justified to ramp up the military operations in the region. Unfortunately the Army and the implementation of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) have given rise to controversies pertaining to human rights. Other moves included detaining suspected terrorists under Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, TADA (a controversial Act passed solely for this purpose), clamping unrest in the form of curfews, house to house searches and indiscriminate interrogation of the natives.  [17]  Throug h stringent rules India intends to keep the radical elements in check but on paper India establishes Kashmir as a democratic state with all the privileges of an autonomous state in the Indian Union. Kashmir is also of prime significance as it is the boiling point for the countries surrounding it. So by gaining extra mileage in any form India wants to exert its presence in the region. India considers such momentum important in order to curb the collusion between Pakistan and China against it. The wars in 1960s and the late 1990s were primarily initiated once Pakistan believed that it has the military prowess to defeat India. This confidence did not generate internally. The support extended by the US and China helped Pakistan improve its arsenal. So by maintain a firm base in Kashmir, India believes that it can negate the attacks perpetrated by Pakistan. Recent events show that the dispute over Kashmir has been taken to a new level after the increase in the number of infiltrators. India has been a victim of many terrorist activities in the past and the trace of the miscreants trailed up to the terrorist organizations in Kashmir and Pakistan. So India believes that unless it ramps up its military activities in Kashmir and the borders surrounding it the influx of such infiltrants would be in the ascendancy. As a result, the late 1980s witnessed a number of measures that was aimed at stopping the inflow. All men above the age of eighteen were issued identity cards and paramilitary patrols were stepped up in the region.  [18]  In spite of these measures and the increased surveillance across the borders, India has been a victim to the infiltrators who were responsible for carrying out blasts across cities and for carrying out the 26/11 Mumbai bloody drama, which involved attacks in as many as 11 places in the city that left 183 people , including 22 foreigners, dead.  [19]   Facets of Dispute Resolution There has been diversity in opinions when commentators narrate the current situation in Kashmir. While most are optimistic in their assessment there are many who still believe (especially separatists occupying Kashmir) that there no hope for Kashmir in the near future. This can be remarked from the increased activism by separatist groups. Even ordinary citizens from either side of the border perceive each other as threats. The era from 1947 to 2000 was unproductive as there were no resolute measures in resolving the stalemate. However according to the first school of thought there is a silver lining that seems to have appeared in this century. In the new century, changing trends in all fields of knowledge and the emphasis of people-to-people contact has become important for promoting mutual understanding between India and Pakistan.  [20]  It is fortunate that both the cultures are similar and this could be a basis for a friendly relationship. Both the countries have nuclear capabilities and this has decreased the possibility of a full scale war. Recently there have been talks that have promoted trade between the two nations. India was never in the most favored list of countries for trade with a very narrow positive list of 786 goods.  [21]  Pakistan has recently considered Indias case and one could soon see a transition in which bilateral trade is conducted between the two countries and this can be a catalyst in the peace talks between the two nations. Kashmir would also be an important region as it could intermediate the high volumes of trade that would ensue once the barriers to trade open up. On the flip side there has been numerous instances in which the talks to promote peace have failed miserably. The failed talks have been a major bottleneck in the way ahead because once such an event occurs there is a period of sustained inactivity in which both the parties refuse to cooperate in the peace dialogues. Most talks seem to revolve around Kashmir, border disputes and water sharing agreement. Unfortunately most issues remain unsolved for a very long time. Pakistans association with China also raises eyebrows in India and this could be a deterrent in the way ahead. India has never accepted China to be a super power in the subcontinent and there have been occasions of territorial dispute between India and China.  [22]  This has been a critical determinant in the interrelationship between India, Pakistan and China. The formation of a separatist group has added to the woes of Pakistan and India by adding another dimension to the Kashmir issue. The separatist groups have also started being vocal in demanding greater control through ideological leanings, political strategies, and goals  [23]  and have therefore started participating in the political agenda of Kashmir. Pakistan have always supposed these groups probably to avenge the 1971 episode in which India supported the creation of Bangladesh which was then a part of Pakistan. The separatists have deep animosity towards the Indian government and they are ruthless in displaying their discontent towards people who favor India. While the challenges that the stakeholders face is mottled, all the parties (India, Pakistan, Separatist and even China) should look to bring peace in the region. There can be numerous ways of coming out of the quagmire but it will require concerted efforts from every party and at the same time each player should be willing to be more open minded in accepting the credibility of the other party. Resolving the Kashmir Dispute The first step would be to demarcate the boundaries of Kashmir in a manner such that all the parties agree to it. It should be noted that the people of Kashmir should have their consensus before any line is drawn. Moreover history has proven that the Line of Control is a very volatile territory and very often the army of one country has a tendency to encroach upon foreign territory. It is therefore advisable that both the countries retract their army to a distance that is of considerable length. Involving a third party in the dispute has rarely paid off but the two countries could have a third party to monitor the activity at the borders. No third party would be willing to provide such support unless the financial assistance is provided by India and Pakistan. This will obviously be a costly affair but it will reconcile the two troops within safe distance from each other. While this is done, the Kashmir people can have their say in deciding their fate. Mere division of territories also presents numerous problems. Kashmir is home to various religious sects and this aspect of it has to be respected while moving along the lines of a division. It is highly improbable for the Hindu dominated region to accept Pakistan while the Buddhist contingent have always opposed the idea of a separate state.  [24]  Therefore when a divide is created based on vote structure, the people who will be the minority may face serious threats from the majority population. They would want to reside in a place where they find safety in numbers and the immigration of minority population may not be a smooth process as witnessed in 1947 after the partition took place. The nuclearization of India and Pakistan is thus an extraordinary moment in the narrative of Partition: both its telos, in that it confirms the national jingoism and the bloodthirsty hatreds that propelled the mass slayings and movements of population in 1947.  [25]  Therefore even if Kashmi r was to be divided based on religious inclinations, both India and Pakistan must provide a safe environment for the minority groups. It is the responsibility of the governments on either side to include people in the administrative processes. Both should give more liberty, not merely by granting elections but also by rolling back restrictions on business, terminating governmental monopolies in trade and commerce, and encouraging international investment bodies such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.  [26]  This is one area where both the countries have failed miserably. Preoccupying the Kashmir people with trade and commerce could have at least reduced dissatisfaction from the indigenous masses. 80% of the people depend on agriculture while the mineral rich state has not been fully exploited for commercial production.  [27]  Kashmir is also a very scenic place and has the scope for exploiting the tourism industry that has the potential to provide job opportunities to a lot many Kashmiris. The other facet of facilitating trade and commerce is that Kashmir will be integrated with their respect ive Unions. It will also provide scope for developing infrastructure like schools, roads and hospitals. With quality education and prosperous job opportunities, hardline groups will not be able to lure the youth into committing radical activities. While sections of the society have been able to lead a life of opulence there are many who have been deprived of basic necessities.  [28]  It was primarily the children of the latter section of the society who had been hoodwinked into pursuing radical activities. Extensive infrastructure coupled with quality education could be a way of appeasing the unrest among youth who rarely have anything to do. While control over Kashmir has been the contentious issue for India and Pakistan, both the countries have failed to resolve issues to sharing of water bodies. Even if the territories were to be demarcated aptly in order to suit the likings of the local masses, Kashmir presents another problem that is very significant. The Kashmir imbroglio has always been looked upon as a territorial dispute and water sharing have been given little thought to water sharing treaties. Both have so far managed to uphold a World Bank-mediated Indus Water Treaty (IWT) that provides mechanisms for resolving disputes over water sharing.  [29]  One cannot rely on the Treaty being a resolute stance taken by both the countries and any form of water scarcity in any country could lead to non-conformant of the agreement. Hostilities over water sharing between India and its more benevolent neighbor Bangladesh has already started and one can only expect the same relationship between India and Pakistan if any sc arcity arises. The Indus Water Treaty (1960)  [30]  that was intermediated by the World Bank has been able to keep both the parties at ease and the issue has not been the mooting point when peace dialogues have taken place. However one should realize the fact that the situation is still volatile. Over the years the issues concerning India and Pakistan have been Kashmir, insurgency, trade etc. Once these issues get resolved it is very likely that the issues related to water sharing may crop up and give rise to hostility between the two nations. As there is a rapid growth in urbanization there is a scarcity of potable water. Waterlogging, salinity, groundwater depletion and irrigation inefficiency continue to threaten agricultural production  [31]  and the Indus Water Treaty should be strong enough to be insulated from these phenomenon. It is also high time that the two countries looked at each other for support rather than going to international agencies. Both the countries h ave developed significantly over the years and they have sufficient resources to assess their situation better. Relying on the World Bank implies distrust towards each other and a sense of incapability to solve critical issues. Finally both the countries should not resort to any means that destabilizes the region. On the Pakistani side there is the Inter-Services Intelligence that is accused of training militants not only in Kashmir but also in regions bounding Afghanistan. People holding responsible positions in Pakistans administration along with many retired personnel have hinted on the relationship between the Inter-Services Intelligence and the militant groups.  [32]  On the Indian side there is the Research and Analysis Wing that is accused of spying into Pakistan and involving in secret activities. Throughout the Soviet/Afghan War the Research and Analysis Wing was responsible for the planning and execution of terrorist activities in Pakistan to deter Pakistan from support of Afghan liberation movement against Indias ally, the Soviet Union.  [33]  Both sides accuse each other for facilitating bombing activities and resorting to means that destabilizes the region. This should be stopped immedi ately if both countries want to look at a brighter future. Sponsoring terrorism can have a retaliatory effect as illustrated by the Al-Qaeda Pakistan relation today. While Pakistan maintained a cordial relationship with the outfit, the 9/11 episode mandated Pakistan to take steps that would destabilize the group. Pakistan still faces a difficult choice; whether to support the group in order to take advantage of state sponsored terrorism or to completely eradicate the presence of these fundamentalist group from Pakistani soil. The Kashmir conflict has become more complicated since its inception and requires a thorough analysis of the issue in order to come to any definite solution. Moreover it is cannot be tackled by a one dimens