The resource curse in myanmar

The resource curse in myanmar Introduction Myanmar (Burma) has distinguished diversity in both its ethnicity and geography. Myanmar has been ruled by the formidable military junta that has contributed to raising many problems in the social, political and economic spheres. Myanmar is infamous for the worlds longest civil war, dire poverty, poor public health and systematic human rights violations. Especially, the oppression of the military regime against some indigenous groups and pro-democracy demonstrators have been done in cruel manners such as forced displacement, arbitrary detentions, rapes, torture and massacres. In the pro-democracy demonstration in 1988, as many as 3,000 unarmed protestors were killed by the Myanmar army (Human Rights Watch, 1989). The regime has maintained tight control over all facets of economy and society, including the countrys natural resources. Myanmar has plenty of natural resources: natural gas, petroleum, timber and valuable minerals such as gold, tin, rubies and jade. In contrast with the countrys abundance of natural resources, Myanmars development has never been on the right track; the outcomes are poor economic growth, extensive poverty, military dictatorship and prolonged civil war. In reality, the abundance of natural resources in Myanmar has contributed to extensive human right abuses and environmental degradation: forced labor, displacement, deforestation, soil contamination, etc. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the military regime of Myanmar spends at least 40 percent of its national budget on military expenditures, in contrast with the indiscreetly low allocation of the health budget (only 0.4 percent), regardless of the exploding public health crisis (Taisamyone 2007). The military junta has exploited billions of dollars from the national revenue to fuel the military force; in other words, the money that was supposed to enrich the Myanmar citizens has been used for the military activity to control or oppress the citizens. The situation of Myanmar ― a paradoxical outcome of natural resource abundance ― can be true of the â€Å"resource curse† that has been addressed for years in a multitude of researches of countries development. The term resource curse is used to describe the paradox that dependence on natural resources, especially in developing countries often negatively affects the economic growth, democratization and promotion of human rights. As a matter of fact, many countries rich in natural resources have failed to develop and remain in miserable situations. (Humphreys 2007) It is well known that the economic instability in a resource-rich country is caused by an economic concept called â€Å"Dutch disease† ― a countrys currency value is raised by the export of natural resources, and it will makes the other domestic industries uncompetitive in the other export activities due to the inflationary exchange rate (Humphreys 2007). In addition, it is now widely agreed that the curse of natural resources degrades the quality of governance, and as a result, natural resources often provokes civil war (Collier 2007). This paper seeks to analyze the formation of the resource courses in Myanmar, by taking up the key issues of the primary resources that have largely influenced the states condition. The paper especially focuses on the relation of the parties involved with the natural resource issues in the context of economical, ecological and social aspects, rather than focusing on the theory of economic science such as the Dutch disease. Also, this paper will provide some suggestions of how to resolve the Myanmars resource curse from a point of view of sustainable development and environmental scarcity. Natural Gas Myanmars natural gas exports in the fiscal year of 2007-08 was 2.6 billion U.S dollars, and account for 43 percent of the total exports, according to the report from Myanmars Customs Department (Yao 2008). The largest of Myanmars industrial projects is the Yanada project. The Yanada pipeline was bridged from the offshore area to the Thai border with a 60-kilometer-long route across southern Burma. During the construction, the Burmese military regularly conscripted villagers in the pipeline area to impose forced labor. The villagers were afflicted with extensive human rights violations including torture, rape and extrajudicial killings by the military junta (ERI 2008). Environmental degradation during the construction and operation period is also serious problem. Offshore drilling creates massive toxic wastes that are usually dumped into the ocean. Both the disposal of toxic waste and the drilling cause a hazardous effect on the wet lands, fish and habitats, and pollute water supplies (ALTSEAN-Burma 2009). There is another serious problem in natural gas projects other than human rights abuses and environmental degradation. The military expenditure of the military junta dramatically increased due to the Yanada project. According to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Myanmars military budget was estimated at $900 million U.S. of the total budget of $2.3 billion. The Yanada project provided the largest portion of the revenue, and at least 50 % of it would flow directly to the military regime (CIA Factbook cited in ERI 2008). The natural gas and multinational corporations have not benefited the local population at all but they have contributed much to financing the military junta. There has been no threat from neighboring countries since the countys independence in 1948; the purpose of enforcing military rule is only to control or oppress its citizens. While Myanmar pours its huge budget into the military activities, the country is severely impoverished as one of the poorest countries in the world. Timber Aside from the natural gas industry, the timber industry also produces a significant profit in Myanmar. Because of its lucrative nature, especially in the variable teak, the military junta has overexploited the countrys forests. The extensive illegal logging is a huge problem, leading to the deforestation and the destruction of biodiversity. The forests covered 70% of Myanmars total land area at the time of its independence in 1948, but most independent estimates indicated that over half of the countrys forests were cut down by commercial logging operations as of 1998 (Dennis 1999). Deforestation contributes to massive soil erosion, temperature increase and flooding in the areas logged. Deforestation spoils the quality and availability of water and directly harms the local communities livelihood; farming is impossible in the land and a shortage of clean water undermines the health of the people. Not only that, forests are furthermore important for the indigenous people in their religious beliefs and practices. â€Å"Karen people in Lu Thaw Township are famous for their traditional beliefs related to forests†¦If there was no forest, there would be no rotational farming, plant diversity, and the specific cultural identity, traditional beliefs and values of the Karen would disappear.† (PKDS and KESAN 2004) In the peripheral part of the country, the ethnopolitical groups manage the logging industry for the benefit of .hard currency. The logging business provides both the military junta and the local ethnopolitical minorities with profit, and this has led to an incompatible relationship between them. The military junta started to monopolize the timber industry and forcibly removed ethnopolitical groups that managed some forest areas, such as Karen National Union States (KNU) that dealt with the logging business in the unreserved forest area of Karen State. The military junta has cut down forests indiscriminately whether they are reserved or unreserved. The military junta stripped the living environment and a significant source of income from the local communities. Thus, logging and political conflict are interrelated in the Karen State (PKDS and KESAN 2004). Dams The military junta has been enforcing the construction of dams along the Salween River for the sake of hydropower. In the dome sites, forced labor and human rights violations were regularly conducted by the Burmese military, as well as the construction of the natural gas pipeline construction described above. A series of dam constructions caused a threat of flood and water scarcity, and tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee to higher ground. Although the military junta once promised abundant electricity and water supplies along the dam sites, the local population has never received the benefit. On the contrary, local communities in the area, mainly Karenni ethnic people, have been suffering from the destruction of the environment and shortage of water, which have directly damaged both farming and fishing industries, and the local communities livelihood. One of four dams of the Salween River, the Weigyi Dam, flooded several times, extending over 640 square kilometers, and made 30,000 villagers homeless, submerging 28 towns in Karen State (KDRG 2006). Ongoing Civil War in Myanmar Myanmar has a long history of numerous civil wars due to the great diversity of the ethnic groups and the problematic politics of the military regime. Several ethnopolitical minorities had organized rebellion and fought simultaneously against the military regime to achieve their self-determination. Most of the ethnopolitical minorities, however, compromised on cease-fire agreements with the military regime in the end of 1980s, after an offer of the military regime that promised a part of the political rights for the combatant ethnopolitical groups. A few ethnopolitical groups such as the Karen National Union (KNU) and Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) are still in combat against the military junta. Both the Karen and Karenni state have been severely oppressed by the military junta. In Karen State, the number of Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs), by forced displacement or relocation by military junta, counts over 157,000 since the end of 2002, and over 240 villages were destroyed or relocated (Human Rights Watch 2005). In Karenni State, more than 81,000 civilians, equivalent to 25 percent of the total population, were displaced and 267 villages were destroyed (Burma Issues 2008). Karen and Karenni State are the locations that are troubled with some of the largest numbers of IDPs in Myanmar. The cruel oppressions of the military junta against Karen and Karenni definitely caused a grievance that incites the ethnopolitical groups to take up arms against the military junta. In some cases, those oppressions are closely linked with the interest of natural resources. As a reason for displacement, there are two main reasons: â€Å"conflict induced displacement†Ã¢â‚¬â€¢ a forced displacement induced as a result of conflicts in the area and â€Å"development induced displacement† ― a forced displacement for the purpose of development or exploitation of natural resource of the area (Burma Issues 2008). Karenni State is a very example of development induced displacement. â€Å"Karenni State a number of different development projects are being undertaken by the military junta including, mining, logging, hydro-electricity, industrial development and agriculture projects.† (Burma Issues 2008) The development project led the military junta set up military base along the construction sites, and forces extensive human rights abuses and causes environmental degradation. Massive forced displacement was done along both with its process and operation process (see Dams section in this paper). Also, there are several examples that conflicts were exacerbated over a right to control natural resources. One of the cease-fire groups, Karenni National Democratic Party (KNDP), was compelled to recruit into the military junta as the exchange condition for receiving the control of the local area. The KNDP participated in the Burmese troops in 1997 to attack a refugees shelter located in the side of Thai border. This means ceasefire groups fought against non-ceasefire groups, resulting in intra-ethnic conflicts. Moreover, the military junta granted control of areas and resources to the ethnopolitical groups who joined to attack non-ceasefire groups to raise a grievance among ethnopolitical groups. (KDRG 2006) Some displacement in Karen State was done for the purpose of seizing control of the dam, mining and logging sites, that is, the development induced displacement. However, the displacement of Karen State was triggered in reasons for conflict-induced displacement rather than development-induced displacement. Those conflicts can be regarded as the consequence of a series of oppression and development-induced displacement by the military junta (see Timbersection in this paper). The destruction of environment, livelihood, and cultural value of the ethnic people induced the KNU to take up arms against the military junta. As a result of prolonged numerous conflicts, the people in Karen State, especially the 157,000 IDPs, were severely victimized in both development-induced displacement and conflict-induced displacement. As the examples of Kanenni and Karen State, an abundance of natural resource have induced huge mount of cruel displacement and civil wars across the country, and it would be the body of the resource curse in Myanmar. Analysis from a Concept for Sustainable Development and Environmental Scarcity This section examines: 1) how the military junta, the body of Myanmars politics, is getting along with a major concept of sustainable development, 2) the relation between environmental scarcity and conflict, based on a academic theory. Promoting sustainable development is based on the three pillars: The social: this relates to human mores and values, relationship and institutions. The economic: this concerns the allocation and distribution of scarce of resources. The ecological: this involves the contribution of both the economic and the social and their effect on the environment and its resources. (Ekins 2000 cited in Banker 2006) For the social context, military junta has extensively violated human rights against the citizens, especially ethnopolitical group who live in the sites of natural resources. For the economic context, military junta has monopolized the profit of the resource to enforce their military capacity, intending to control over the population with the country. This resulted in the extremely poor economic growth of the country. For the ecological context, there have been a myriad of environmental degradations in any types of natural resource extraction (see sections of Natural Gas, Timber and Dam in this paper). Unflatteringly, the military junta has been doing the things in the opposite way of sustainable development. In the concept of sustainable development, scholars all agreed that social participation is an essential to promote sustainable development; making decision procedure should involve democracy with local communities (Banker 2006). In the case of Myanmar, the National League for Democracy gained the support from the majority of the country citizens in 1990 national election, and Aung San Suu Kyi was elected as the Prime Minister. However, the military junta demolished the election and refused the citizens to participate the national politics, by making military threats. In recent decades, environmental scarcity could plausibly generate some types of violent conflict in a country much dependent on environmental goods and services. One of the types refers to â€Å"Disputes arising directly from local environmental degradation caused, for instance, by factory emissions, logging, or dam† (Thomas and Homer 1999). For the relation between environmental scarcity and conflicts, some scientists adopt a process called reciprocal causation. As the causal steps show, Myanmars environmental degradation by military junta caused a significant environmental scarcity in the local communities, such the cases of Karen and Karenni State that is still in a situation of violent conflicts today. All the cases of Myanmar, described above in the paper, have proved that the military junta has contributing to ignoring the countrys sustainable development, and inducing to create violent conflict against local communities. In this perspective, it is absolutely important to address the Myanmars ethnopolitical conflicts, based on environmental issues. Conclusion Due to the combination of the bad governance and an abundance of the natural resources, Myanmar has lapsed into a miserable situation: poverty, poor economic growth, continuous civil wars, etc. These catastrophic outcomes are definitely attributable to the failure of the natural resource management by the military junta. Even the effort to establish a democratic state by the citizens was destroy by the injustice of the military junta. It is necessary to have further cooperation both within the country and out side of the country (international communities). The attitude of international communities against the military junta is controversial.Althoughinternational communities have imposedeconomicsanctionandlimittheir trading, this directly benefited the nonbearing countries such as China, Thailand, and India. As a result, the economic sanction has decreased the performance of the countrys economic growth; Myanmar has to sell their products in cheap price due to the lack of trade partners. Besides, the interest between China and Myanmar has hindered the use of Responsibility to Protect of United Nations Security Council. In any case, international communities have to immediately come up with another alternative to change the military junta. For the cooperation within the country, it is important to refer to the capacity of ethnopolitical minorities. Although some ethnopolitical minorities have some power to negotiate with the military junta, each group has their own policy and sometimes the policies among ethnopolitical minorities are incompatible. If there is a chance to overcome the power of the military regime, it is a time when all the ethnopolitical minorities and citizens unite their purpose for the democracy for whole nation, not pursuing each own political rights. Reference: ALTSEAN-Burma(Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma) (2009) KEY ISSUES ENVIRONMENT, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.altsean.org/Key%20Issues/KeyIssuesEnvironment.htm Collier, P. (2007) The Bottom Billion, Oxford: Oxford University Press Dennis, J. V. (1999) A REVIEW OF NATIONAL SOCIAL POLICIES Myanmar, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.mekonginfo.org/mrc_en/doclib.nsf/0/AE24021D05C497DDC725682E003722D4/$FILE/FULLTEXT.html Burma Issues (March 2008) Living Ghosts -The spiraling repression of the Karenni population under the Burmese military junta, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs4/livingghosts.pdf EarthRights International (ERI) (April 2008) The Human Cost of Energy, Retrieved on 23rd January 2010 from http://www.earthrights.org/sites/default/files/publications/Human-Cost-of-Energy.pdf Humphreys, M. et al (2007) Escaping the Resource, New York: Curse Columbia University Press Human Rights Watch (1989) BURMA (Myanmar), Retrieved on January 22nd 2010 from http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1989/WR89/Burma.htm Human Rights Watch; Vol. 17, No.4 (June, 2005). â€Å"They Came and Destroyed Our Village Again† The Plight of Internally Displaced Persons in Karen State: New York. Retrieved on 25th October, 2009 from http://www.ashleysouth.co.uk/files/Human_Rights_Watch_2005.pdf Karenni Development Research Group (KDRG) (2006) Dammed by Burmas Generals, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.khitpyaingnews.org/reports/Dammed%20by%20Burmas%20Generals.pdf Kramer T. (July, 2009) Neither War Nor Peace: The Future of the Cease-Fire Agreements in Burma, Transnational Institute. Retrieved on 25th October, 2009 from http://www.humansecuritygateway.com/documents/TNI_Burma_CeasefireAgreements.pdf Pan Kachin Development Society (PKDS) and Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) (2004) Destruction and degradation of the Burmese Frontier forests, Amsterdam: Kaboem, Rerieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://www.aaa.htm Taisamyone (6th July, 2007) Editorial: Disproportionate military expenditure in Burma, Burma Digest, Retrieved on 22nd January, 2010 from http://burmadigest.wordpress.com/2007/07/06/editorial-disproportionate-military-expenditure-in-burma/ Thomas, D. and Homer, D (1999) Environment, Scarcity, and Violence, United Kingdom: Princeton University Press. Yao Amber (2008) Natural gas tops Myanmar exports in 2007-08, Xinhua News Agency, Retrieved on 22nd January 2010 from http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-06/15/content_8374394.htm

Gender and Underdevelopment in Non-western Societies :: Gender Equality Women Third World Essays

In Western societies women usually hold respectable jobs, the ability to make the choices of having and taking care of the children, cleaning their homes, cooking meals, doing the laundry and, most importantly, are allowed to be seen as an equal in society. In non-western societies women usually hold degrading jobs, deliver and take care of the children, clean their homes, cook meals, do the laundry and are seen as unequal. In Third World countries, women are seen as the poorest of the poor. They are rarely ever given the same opportunities as the women in western countries, or even the ones their own husbands have. There are two main problems which afflict non-western women. The first is the lack of access to productive resources. This means that the women of less developed countries have no capability to possess resources such as land, capital or skills. Land is not available to them because it is considered a male inheritance only. Capital is more accessible than land, due to the recent ability of women to own credit cards. Until recently, though, money was not something women could obtain very easily. Money, like land, is mostly controlled by the males of the society. Skills are not an option to women because it entails schooling which brings up the next difference. Unequal access to education and health care is the last difference. Schooling is not usually offered to women in less developed countries. The rate of illiteracy in women is a considerable amount higher than men. In some countries the rate between illiterate women and men is doubled. Health care is more available for male children. Baby girls often die at birth, either from lack of health care or by murder. The disappointment of the family's newborn being a girl often leads to murder. Male children are seen as more valuable than female children in Third World countries. Violence and injustices also greatly affect non-western women. Female circumcision, polygamy, the ease of divorce and violence against women, as well as the lack of access to productive resources and unequal access to education and health care, plague the women of the less developed countries. For the modernization of these non-western countries women must play a larger role than they do now. Without equality for women less developed countries cannot move forward. These affiliations are severe but they are resolvable. The Grameen Bank is a possible solution.

Depiction Of The American Dream in The Great Gatsby Essay -- The Great

As children, we have all dreamt of money, being rich; owning an extravagant mansion, magnificent cars, and being married to a prince or princess. Basically, we dream of the perfect life, with the perfect spouse. Generally, this dream is known as the American Dream, which is the belief that if one works hard, that person will succeed by becoming rich. The topic of the American Dream can be found throughout The Great Gatsby, the most prime example of this is the dream of Jay Gatsby. Gatsby’s dream is to work hard to get rich in order to win the love of Daisy Buchanan, his long lost love. Despite these beliefs, the American Dream, in it’s modern form, generally fails to make that person happy. As for Gatsby’s dream to win Daisy’s love with elaborate material possessions, his attempts eventually lead to his death. Both the noble intentions and the resulting failures of the American Dream resemble the intentions and corruption of Jay Gatsby in the novel, The Gr eat Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  F. Scott Fitzgerald included many examples of the American Dream in the novel. Myrtle Wilson is an example of this. Myrtle, who was married to George Wilson, a low income mechanic, desired money and a higher social status. This desire, which is equivalent to the desire for money in the American Dream, eventually led to the death of Myrtle. Myrtle was having an affair with Tom Buchanan in spite of the fact that he was awful to her, for example, â€Å"†¦Tom Buchanan broke her nose with hi...

Storm Born Chapter Five

The fact that we were having a standoff while completely naked might have been hilarious under ordinary circumstances. But these were not ordinary circumstances, and even my twisted sense of humor had its limitations. â€Å"Me?† I demanded. â€Å"What about you? You're not a veterinarian. Veterinarians give dogs rabies vaccines. They don't throw elementals around.† Kiyo regarded me levelly. â€Å"And Web designers don't banish elementals to the Otherworld.† â€Å"Yeah, well, sometimes I moonlight.† The faintest ghost of a smile flickered across his face. He relaxed a little, found his pants, and pulled them on. Not me. I stayed rigid and ready to strike. I was also trying very hard to think of him only as a potential threat, not as the man I'd just slept with. Because if I thought about that, I might falter. Worse, I might have to face the fact that I had just let a creature of the Otherworld – His pants now on, he approached me. â€Å"We need to talk about this – â€Å" â€Å"No. Don't get any closer.† If I could have cocked the wand like a gun, I would have. â€Å"What are you going to do? You can't cast me out. It won't work.† I hesitated, wondering about that. He seemed so human. He had felt human. I hadn't sensed anything from him like I would one of the gentry, yet his speed and strength had been superhuman. And that wasn't even counting his unholy stamina. That should have been a dead giveaway right there. â€Å"What do you want from me? Why did you bring me back here?† His eyebrows rose. â€Å"I thought it was obvious. I wanted to have sex with you.† â€Å"No, damn it! There's more to it. What's going on? What are you trying to get from me?† My cool demeanor was plunging rapidly. â€Å"Did someone send you?† â€Å"Look, Eugenie, just put the wand down. We'll talk. We'll figure this out.† â€Å"I thought you couldn't be cast out,† I reminded him. â€Å"Why are you afraid of the wand? Maybe the Otherworld couldn't hurt you†¦but what about the Underworld?† He didn't answer. I sent my will into the wand and felt the air crackle with power. Fear crossed Kiyo's face. So. He was afraid. That was all I needed to know. The words were on my lips to send him to the crossroads, but suddenly he moved with that rapid speed I'd seen earlier. He backed up toward the sliding glass door, opened it up, and then ran out and over the edge of the balcony. A small scream escaped me in spite of myself. We were three floors up. I dropped the wand and dashed off to the balcony, peering around on the ground for him. No way could he have survived that uninjured. Yet, there was no sign of him. A few bats flew up over the eaves of the building, and around the far side of it, I saw the flicker of headlights. A coyote howled from far out in the desert, and a cat slunk into the shadows. There was life out here but not the kind I sought. With a lot of maneuvering, I hung over the side of the balcony, making sure he wasn't hiding under it like escaping people often did in movies. Nope. Nothing. I gazed back over the desert, wondering what had happened to him. It was possible he could have â€Å"jumped† figuratively to the Otherworld. He'd have to be a very powerful gentry to do that without a thin spot nearby, but similarly, a strong gentry would have also been able to hold a perfect physical shape in this world. I supposed it was also possible someone so powerful could pass themselves off as human. I hadn't encountered any who were that strong. Walking back inside, I sat on the bed cross-legged, wrapping my arms around me. The residual ice from the elemental had melted into small puddles. The bed smelled like Kiyo and sex, and I swallowed down the nausea building within me. Oh God. What had I done? Had I had sex with a monster? Had I had sex with the very kind of thing I hunted and hated and killed? Kiyo had spoken to me about honesty, yet it seemed to have all been a lie. At least it had been safe sex. Worst of all, I had liked him. Really liked him. When was the last time that had happened? Dean and I had seemed to date and sleep together simply because neither of us had anything better to do. With Kiyo, I had started to feel a real connection. Real chemistry. His betrayal hurt me deeper than I liked to admit. I opened my eyes, thinking. Most gentry were too technologically inept to function seamlessly in the human world, yet he had navigated it well. He'd had a car back at the bar, one we'd passed over in favor of letting me drive. He'd also had a wallet and cash to pay for drinks and the condoms. And if he was checked into a hotel, he had to have a credit card. Credit cards were traceable. If he had a dual life in our world, I should be able to find out something. I picked up the phone and hit the button for the front desk. â€Å"Good morning, Mr. Marquez,† a pleasant desk clerk answered. Kiyo Marquez. It was a start. â€Å"Um, actually this is Mrs. Marquez. I was wondering if you could tell me if my†¦husband already prepaid for the room?† A pause while she looked it up. â€Å"Yes, he did upon check-in. He left the same card on file for incidentals.† â€Å"Can you tell me the number on the card he used?† A longer pause. â€Å"I'm sorry, I can't give that out to anyone but the cardholder. If you can put him on the phone, I can tell him.† â€Å"Oh†¦I don't want to bother him. He's in the shower. I just wanted to make sure we weren't maxing out the wrong card.† â€Å"Well†¦I can tell you it's a Visa ending in 3011.† I sighed. That wouldn't do me much good, but I doubted I'd get more from this woman. â€Å"Okay. Thanks.† â€Å"Is there anything else I can help with you?† â€Å"Yeah†¦can you connect me to room service?† I ordered breakfast on Kiyo and then showered while I waited for it to show. I needed to wash away the sweat, to wash away the scent of his body on mine. When the food arrived, I munched on toast and ransacked the room for some kind of evidence. Kiyo's wallet had been in his pants, so that was gone. He had no other personal possessions in the room, save the other discarded clothing from last night. I explored every drawer and nook, just in case he'd hidden something away. The sun was well up over the horizon when I finally left the hotel. When I arrived back home, I called Lara and told her his name. I asked her to see what connections she could find to it, Phoenix, and vets. She excelled at that kind of thing, but I knew it might take a few days. Fortunately, a career in banishing and destroying is a great way to relieve frustration while waiting. My first job the day after the Kiyo incident involved frisking a marid out of someone's bathroom. Marids are one of the djinn – genies to most Americans – and are tied to the element of water. Like the keres and most other djinn, marids tend to occupy some sort of physical object. Only, rather than a bottle or lamp, they prefer someplace wet – say, like, a sink pipe. Annoyed at being troubled with such an idiotic task, I cast my circle in the large, black-tiled bathroom and used the wand to yank the marid out of the pipe. She materialized before me, looking very much like a human female, save for her death-pale skin and rippling blue hair. A silk dress hung from her body. I saw her tense up, instinctively ready to lash out at me with her power. Then she did a double take, sizing me up from head to toe. A funny look came over her face, and moments later, she lit up with a schmoozing smile. She swept me a low bow. â€Å"My lady,† she said grandly. â€Å"How may I serve you?† â€Å"You can't,† I told her, holding up the wand. She kept the smile, but there was tension in it. â€Å"Of course I can. I have the ability to conjure up riches and other wonders. I can make your dreams – â€Å" â€Å"Stop it. I'm not falling for this.† The myths about djinn granting wishes aren't entirely fabricated. She wasn't all-powerful, but she could definitely pull some tricks out of her hat. When faced with danger, a djinn's most common strategy is to try bargaining with the enemy. Unfortunately, the â€Å"wishes† they grant rarely turn out the way others expect. Uneasily, she backed up toward the wall. She hit the edge of the circle first. Glancing around, she realized she was trapped. The smile slipped, replaced by true fear. â€Å"Surely there's no need for violence,† she said. Her eyes widened. â€Å"Please.† I stared. I rarely had Otherworldly creatures beg for mercy. I hesitated for a moment, then my Kiyo-induced bad mood took over. I poured my will into the wand, ready to push her through the gate. She felt the power charge up in the air and kicked into true self-defense mode, now that she realized her wheeling and dealing wouldn't work. Her magic trickled into the circle. It reminded me of mist or fog, a soft dampness filling the air. I blinked in surprise. I didn't usually sense magic in this way. Most often, I felt Otherworldly power as a tingle or a pressure. This was tangible. She saw my surprise. Her eyes widened with hope. â€Å"You see? You have no need to tear me apart. Like calls to like.† Like? I was puzzled but didn't hesitate to take advantage of her distraction. Her magic might be weaker in my world, but I still didn't want to fight it head-on. Far easier to deal with her this way. A moment later, I had made my connection to the Underworld. She grew more pale when she realized I'd used my wand to ensnare her and begged me again for mercy. Gritting my teeth, I thought about the way Kiyo had used me and grew angrier. No. No quarter for Otherworldly creatures. And yet†¦staring into her eyes, I recalled the brief feel of mist from her magic. Like calls to like. I didn't know what that meant, but it had struck me. At the last possible second, I decided to spare her after all – in a manner of speaking. There was no way I could allow her to stay in this world. Instead, I shifted my focus to the Otherworld and sent her over there in entirety, rather than giving her instant death via the Underworld. When it was all over, I stared at the empty bathroom, wondering what had come over me. â€Å"Going soft,† I muttered. It took Lara awhile, but she found something about Kiyo a few days later, the same day I decided to go see Roland and break the news that I was going to go after Jasmine. Something about that encounter with Kiyo and the elemental in the room had made me decide I couldn't leave that poor girl to the mercy of the Otherworld. Roland might not like it, but he couldn't stop me, not anymore. My powers had surpassed his awhile ago. I also intended to ask him about my newfound status as bachelorette of the year in the Otherworld. At least in the few days since being with Kiyo, there had been no other attacks specifically targeted at me. Wil had left a million messages with Lara, but we'd been putting him off. I'd had only a handful of small jobs: one banishing and a couple of exorcisms. I could almost have said it was a slow week. Not much was happening while I waited. What also wasn't happening was any healing of the scratches on my back. The blood had dried up and scabbed a little, but the marks didn't fade at all. They stayed red and angry-looking, although they didn't hurt. Every morning I would look at them, hoping they had disappeared. They never did. I harbored a secret thought that if the scratches went away, so would my feelings about Kiyo. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I'd spend my days venting and fuming over him, and at night, scandalous dreams would play through my head, making me wake up hot and restless. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I'd never behaved this way, especially with a guy who represented everything I stood against. â€Å"I finally turned up a Kiyo Marquez at a vet hospital in Phoenix,† Lara told me as I drove out to my mom's house. â€Å"I had to call around a lot. They say he doesn't work a full schedule there and is on vacation for the next two weeks. I couldn't get anything else. His address and phone number are unlisted.† I thanked her and pondered this. So Kiyo hadn't completely lied. He had a job, a very human one. It still didn't mesh with what I'd observed or knew. I saw my mom bent over in her garden when I arrived, requiring me to sneak inside quietly so I could speak with Roland in private. I found him in the kitchen, almost exactly in the same place as last time. We exchanged greetings, and then I dove in, deciding to save the Jasmine thing for last. â€Å"More of them know my name. I've fought with two now who knew me as more than Odile. I also heard about a third who knew who I was.† â€Å"Were the attacks specifically targeted at you, then? Like revenge attacks?† â€Å"One was. The other was part of a job. Why? Did they come looking for you when your name got out?† â€Å"A little. Inconvenient, but not the end of the world.† â€Å"The weird thing here†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Well†¦they've also sort of been, like, soliciting me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Like for sex?† â€Å"Yeah.† Roland undoubtedly had done all sorts of sexual things in his life – most with my mother, God help me – but he was enough of a father figure that I didn't feel entirely comfortable discussing such things with him. â€Å"Well, you know how they are with human women. If one were trying to get back at you†¦well, rape is a common enough act of retaliation.† â€Å"Great. I'd rather they just beat me to death.† â€Å"Don't make jokes like that,† he warned. â€Å"If your name was just discovered, it's probably pretty hot right now. But I imagine the hype will die down eventually. Just wait it out. In the meantime, watch your back – not that you don't already. Do the usual things. Keep your head clear. Stay armed at all times. Don't drink.† He cut me a look. â€Å"Stay away from the peyote.† I rolled my eyes. â€Å"Come on, I haven't done that in years.† He shrugged. â€Å"You've got something else to unload. I can see it in your eyes.† â€Å"Well†¦speaking of watching my back†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I stood up from the chair and took off the loose button-up shirt I wore over a tank top. I swept my hair aside and turned around so he could view my back. He gave a small grunt when he saw the scratches. â€Å"Those look nasty. You get in a fight today?† â€Å"They're from four days ago. They won't heal.† â€Å"Do they hurt?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"What gave them to you?† â€Å"Not sure. He looked human, but†¦I don't know.† I let my hair drop and turned around, putting the shirt back on. â€Å"How'd he get you at that angle and position?† Roland looked puzzled. â€Å"Were you wrestling?† â€Å"Uh, that's really not important,† I said hastily. â€Å"Have you ever seen anything like it?† â€Å"Not exactly, no, but I've seen enough to not think this is too out there. If there was enough magic or whatever used to inflict them, they may just take awhile to heal.† That didn't really make me feel better, but I was unwilling to elaborate on my encounter with Kiyo. I took a deep breath. â€Å"There's one more thing.† â€Å"I know. You're going after the girl.† So much for my dramatic proclamation. â€Å"How'd you know?† â€Å"Because I know you, Eugenie. You're foolish and headstrong with a naive sense of righteousness. You're like me.† Not sure if that was a compliment or not. â€Å"Then you understand.† He shook his head. â€Å"It's still dangerous. And stupid. You cross in your own body and – â€Å" â€Å"And what?† We both looked up like guilty children. My mother stood in the doorway in a wide-brimmed hat and dirt-covered gloves, further evidence of her gardening. I had a few planters out in the rock garden that passed for my backyard, but she maintained a veritable oasis. Her long, slightly graying hair streamed down her back as she regarded us. Her hair lacked my reddish hue, and her eyes were just blue, not violet-blue. Otherwise, everyone said we looked alike. I wondered if I'd age like her. I hoped so, although I would probably dye any gray away. â€Å"What are you planning on doing, Eugenie?† she asked in a level tone. â€Å"Nothing, Mom. Just hypothetical stuff.† â€Å"You're talking about going over there. I know what that means.† â€Å"Mom – † I began. â€Å"Dee – † Roland began. She held up a hand to stop us both. â€Å"Don't. I don't want to hear it. Do you know how much I already worry about you in this world, Eugenie? And now you want to walk right into their homes? And you.† She turned on Roland, her eyes flashing. â€Å"I spent twenty years worrying about you. I'd lie awake, wondering which night would be the one you didn't come home. I thanked God the day you retired, and now you're encouraging her to – â€Å" â€Å"Hey, whoa, he's not telling me anything here. Leave him out if this if you want to thrash somebody. This is just me. He's not involved.† Roland turned on me. â€Å"Eugenie, if you insist on going, I might as well go – â€Å" â€Å"Mom's right. Your fight's done. This one's mine.† My mom turned on me. â€Å"It's not yours either! Why can't you just worry about keeping them away from here? Why go after them?† I told her. She kept her face proud and stony the entire time I spoke, but I could see her eyes betray her. The severity of the situation wasn't lost on her, even as her words continued to deny that truth. â€Å"You're just like him. Too noble for your own good.† She suddenly looked older than her age. â€Å"You're compensating for some sort of lack of attention as a child, aren't you?† There she was, slipping into therapist mode again. â€Å"Mom, she's fourteen, er, fifteen now. If this were someone kidnapped locally, you'd agree to any measures to get her back.† â€Å"I'd agree to measures that involved backup, not you alone.† â€Å"I have no backup.† â€Å"Except for me,† piped in Roland. â€Å"No,† my mother and I told him together. She turned to me and used that deadliest of weapons known to mankind: the Mom Card. â€Å"You're my only child. My baby. If something happens to you†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I was ready for her. â€Å"Jasmine's someone's baby too, even if her mom is gone. That almost makes it worse, actually. She lost her parents. She has no one. And now she's trapped, being held hostage by some asshole who thinks it's okay to kidnap and rape unwilling girls.† My mom flinched as though I'd slapped her. She looked at Roland. They exchanged one of those long looks that couples who have been together for ages can do. I don't know what they communicated, but she finally looked away from both of us. â€Å"When†¦you get her back, bring her to me. It doesn't matter if it's†¦gentry or humans. She'll need the same kind of therapy any other victim would.† I knew she did that kind of counseling with patients all the time, but I'd never thought of her as helping gentry victims. It was very kind for someone who tried to pretend the Otherworld didn't exist. â€Å"Mom – † I attempted. She shook her head. â€Å"I don't want to know anything else about it until it's all over. I can't know.† She left us then, returning to the peace of her garden. â€Å"She'll recover,† Roland told me after a quiet moment. â€Å"She always does.† Forced to accept the fact that I would be going over now, he was only too willing to flood me with as much tactical information as possible. It grew dizzying. At one point, after I'd refused his third request to go with me, he said, â€Å"I assume you'll be taking your other help.† The tone in his voice showed undeniable derision for my â€Å"other help.† I knew he didn't approve, but he had to recognize the benefits. â€Å"You know they're an asset.† â€Å"So is a grenade – until it goes off in your hand.† â€Å"They're better than nothing.† He scowled but said no more, instead discussing more logistics with me: where and when to cross over and what weapons to bring. We decided it would be best for me to wait until the moon was in crescent phase, so I'd have a stronger connection to Hecate. She facilitated transitions, particularly to the Otherworld, which might be useful if I needed a hasty retreat. There'd be a nice crescent in about four more days. I left their house without seeing my mother again. I hoped she wouldn't take her feelings out on Roland, and I wondered how much it must suck to love someone who always walked into danger. I decided if I ever got married, I'd choose someone with a normal job whom I could expect to be home at normal hours. Like an electrician. Or an architect. Or a veterinarian. Ack. As I got into my car to depart, I saw the strangest thing. A red fox watched me from the tree line on the far side of my parents' house. More surprising than seeing it watch me so seriously was the fact that it was a red fox in the first place. They weren't common in southern Arizona. You were more likely to see a gray fox or one of the silly-looking little desert kit foxes. I stared into this one's yellow-brown eyes and shivered. Too many weird things were happening lately for me to feel comfortable with a studious fox, no matter how beautiful. When I got back to my house, I knew it was time to solicit the â€Å"other help.† This was one of the areas where my path had split from Roland's. He'd been my mentor and had years more experience, but we both knew I'd grown stronger. He could never have done what I was about to do. If he could, he might have understood why I relied on this sort of assistance. I closed my bedroom door and then shut the curtains and blinds. Darkness fell, and I lit a candle, letting it be my only light source. I was strong enough to do a summoning without the stage tricks, just as I could cast out a spirit without divine help, but I didn't want to waste the extra strength today. I produced the wand and touched the smoky quartz crystal on it, strengthening my connection to the spirit world. Closing my eyes, I focused on the being I wanted and then recited the correct words. I often improvised words when I cast out creatures – hence my frequent use of expletives – but it didn't usually matter, so long as my intent and meaning proved clear. For a summoning like this, however, I had to have everything right. I was essentially invoking a contract, and as any good lawyer knew, technicalities were everything. The room grew freezing cold when I finished the incantation, a different kind of cold than the elemental had caused. A pressure sort of swirled around me, and then I knew I was no longer alone. I looked around and found him in the corner he usually appeared in, a black shape hidden among the shadows. Red eyes gleamed out at me from the darkness. â€Å"I am here, mistress.†

Defiance and Resistance Essay

In both works The Crucible and The Bride Price by Arthur Miller and Buchi Emecheta, superstition and hysteria play key roles in destroying the morale of the Puritan and African communities. The setting in which both take place in between pre and post modernization effect the odd behavior demonstrated. In both texts, behavior different from that which is customary and accepted is interpreted as supernatural witchcraft. The fear of the unknown as well as jealousy fashion’s agitation, which in turn provokes individuals to turn on one another going against values and beliefs. In the play-write The crucible, Miller demonstrates the theme of the story which was rising over adversity, and standing for the truth even to death. Miller is displaying his interpretation of rise over adversity through John Proctor. John, in the beginning, wanted to keep distant from the trials. He did not want to associate or disregard his personal values by being part of the trials. When Elizabeth was arrested, he was forced to become part of it. He went to court first to set his wife free but after watching the proceedings, he saw that the evil was not only being done to his own wife but many others like his wife. As a result, he worked even harder to free the other innocent people, getting himself arrested. Despite this drawback, he did not give up. He had the chance to free himself if he testified against the others but he realized that this would be wrong, and even though he wanted to free himself, he would not if it meant bringing trouble upon others. He cleansed himself at the trial, standing for what he knew was right and died a righteous person. Though he stayed away from church, he became more pure than the common Puritans, dying as a martyr like the original apostles. He learned what truth meant through his suffering. In the novel, The Bride Price, Emecheta displays defiance and resistance through her protagonist, Aku-nna. In the Ibuza culture, it is not proper to marry or even associate one’s self with an â€Å"oseu†. As the story builds to a climax, so does Aku-nna’s courage build. Her courage, in turn, builds her defiance. After Aku-nna’s menstruation has become public knowledge, she refuses to eat the chicken that has been slaughtered in her honor. At this point in the story, Aku-nna registers what very well might have been her first defiant thought. â€Å"She was beginning to feel that it was unjust that she was not to be allowed a say in her own life, and she was beginning to hate her mother for being so passive about it all. † As she stands in front of Okoboshi, the young man who has kidnapped her as a potential bride, Aku-nna loudly and forcefully speaks out in an attempt to save herself. It is out of fear of not only being raped but also of being deprived of ever seeing Chike again that she finds her voice and creates a story so vile that Okoboshi leaves her alone. The vile story that she creates is a lie, but the lie represents the epitome of her defiance. She tells Okoboshi that she is not a virgin; and, furthermore, she lost her virginity to a descendant of a slave. In so doing, Aku-nna risks everything, possibly even her life. â€Å"Her uncle would surely kill her on sight but if she was forced to live with these people for long, she would soon die, for that was the intention behind all the taboos and customs. Anyone who contravened them was better dead and when you were dead, people would ask: Did we not say so? Nobody goes against the laws of the land and survives†. Although Aku-nna has made her own choice to run away from her arranged marriage and marry Chike against her parents wishes, she cannot let go of the myth that plagues her: â€Å"If a girl wishes to live long and see her children’s children, she must accept the husband chosen for her by her people†¦ if the bride price was not paid, she would never survive the birth of her first child† (168). Though Chike’s father offered to pay Aku-nna’s bride price, her uncle simply refused to accept it, and therefore cursed her to die. In the end of the story, Aku-nna dies in childbirth, and her legend is used to further reinforce the threat of grim results for women who make their own choices. These stories remind its readers of an ugly blemish on human history. It reminds one that man is not perfect, and that we can make mistakes. However, even with these mistakes, we can cleanse ourselves and purify ourselves by making what is wrong right. As in The Bride Price where Aku-nna stands for what she believes in and what she loves and John Proctor standing for what he valued, both were defiant against their setting or community. The sufferings become to the sufferer like a crucible, and one must pay the price be it a bride price or the price of life. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Separation anxiety disorder is a mental health disorder that begins in childhood and is characterized by worrying that is out of proportion to the situation of temporarily leaving home or otherwise separating from loved ones. Approximately 4%-5% of children and adolescents suffer from separation anxiety disorder. Separation Anxiety Disorder is more common in children with family histories of anxiety. Also, children whose mothers were stressed during pregnancy with them tend to be more at risk for developing this disorder.A majority of children with separation anxiety disorder have school refusal as a symptom and up to 80% of children who refuse to go to school qualify for the diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder. Approximately 50%-75% of children who suffer from this disorder come from homes of low socioeconomic status. The Physical effects and symptoms of Separation Anxiety Disorder are: orepeated occurrence of physical symptoms (nausea, stomachache, headache, vomiting, etc. on occasions that involve separation from a major attachment figure, such as leaving home to go to school; opersistent reluctance or refusal to go to sleep without being near or next to a major attachment figure; oExcessive, recurrent distress (as shown by anxiety, crying, tantrums, misery, apathy, or social withdrawal) in anticipation of, during, or immediately following separation from a major attachment figureSocial effects and symptoms are: persistent reluctance or refusal to go to school because of fear about separation There are no immediate effects on the spiritual dimension of health Psychological effects and symptoms of separation anxiety are: orepeated nightmares about separation; opersistent inappropriate fear of being alone at home during the day; oan unrealistic, preoccupying worry about possible harm befalling major attachment figures or a fear that they will leave and not return; oan nrealistic, preoccupying worry that some untoward event, such as the child being lost, k idnapped, admitted to hospital, or killed, will separate him or her from a major attachment figure; If left untreated, Separation anxiety disorder puts its sufferers at risk for depression and anxiety problems as adults, as well as personality disorders, in which anxiety is a major symptom. Teenage separation anxiety is not as common as separation anxiety in younger children, however, it does exist.Most cases of teenage separation anxiety have an earlier onset that went undiagnosed, but some recent case studies suggest there are some teens and young adults that have all the symptoms and a later onset. You can imagine how disruptive this could be to a teen’s life! Not only may these feelings prevent them from going to school, but from working, having normal social and peer relationships, and accomplishing the everyday activities of normal adolescents.

History of Strategy Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

History of Strategy - Literature review Example This book, even today, continues to be the strategy bible for some of the best corporate leaders, football coaches, cricket mentors etc. Contributions to strategy were from different domains – military, political, academic and practitioners as well. The word strategy is derived from â€Å"strategos† – a combination of the Latin words â€Å"stratos† meaning an Army and â€Å"agein† which meant to lead. â€Å"Strategos† was used to refer to an Army General in Athens. In 1505 AD, Nicolo Machiavelli, a politician authored a book titled â€Å"The Prince†. This book consisting of 26 chapters dealt with principles of the governance of a kingdom or a State. His strategy of taking control of country by either treating the powerful citizens very well or crushing them completely, gave rise to the Machiavillean philosophy in politics and governance. The academic origins of Strategy can be traced back to the 1960s when Drucker, Ansoff and Chandler studied the prosperity of large successful American corporations before and after the II World War and created a platform for the "Classical School of Business Strategy". Though it had its roots in the Military Strategy, this school has never been replaced by a better total view about strategy. They propounded that Direction setting or â€Å"Strategy formulation† as an important responsibility of top managers. Business practitioners such as Sloan, the President of General Motors from 1923 to 1946, designed the concept of a â€Å"Divisionalised Corporation†. Jones, the Chairman of ICI, contributed his thoughts on how to make the Board of Directors in an organisation work better. Grove, the President & CEO of Intel Corporation presented his insights as to how to run an organisation in an environment of very rapid technological advances. In 1965, Moore, the co-founder of Intel, brought out the very popular Moore’s Law. The law stated that the number of transistors / inch would double every 2 years. This law held good for about sometime but was overshadowed by the giant strides made by chip manufacturers in the technology front, in so much so that Moore himself, publicly acknowleged that technology had far outgrown the Moore’s Law. The present law suggests that the data density per chip doubles every 18 months. The evolution of the concept of Strategic Management travels back to the 1950s, when Ford and the Carnegie Corporation, sponsored research into curriculum of business schools. The major recommendation of the study was to expand business education to include a course on Business Policy which helped application of analytical techniques to businesses. By the 1970s, most of the top B-schools in the world had a course on Business Policy and the focus became wider. By the 1980s, research literature on competitive strategy had grown and the course on Business Policy began to look at the large picture of business. Hence, Business Policy was changed to Strategic Management. Johnson and Scholes (2002) defined Strategy as â€Å"direction and scope of an organisation over the long term†. It would be prudent to compare and contrast Strategic management with Operational Management. While both these concepts dealt with management per se, these two approaches are diametrically opposite. While Operational Management was routine in nature, small in scale, specific to an operation, was