Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth Essay - 10

Report on the Religious Life of Planet Earth - Essay Example f religion that I will analyze in this paper will involve the possibility of sacred places, which are protected and adored for religious functions and prayers. During the tour, I noticed that the people who live on earth tend to be notoriously religious, and they believe in supernatural beings, which protect them and guide them, as well control nature. There were structures in many parts of the earth that had been constructed to serve as churches, temples, mosques and monasteries for religious functions and rituals. These structures were well protected and respected by the entire members of the society, and those who violate the conventional rules for the buildings were severely sanctioned by the society (Haught, 1990). Further, serious sermons and prayers were conducted inside the churches by people who were believed to poses exceptional abilities, which enabled them to mediate with the supreme beings. On the same note, I realized that people chose one day in a week to worship and thanksgiving to their creator. Most of the people worshiped on the seventh day of every week while others chose other weekdays apart from Sunday (Caputo, 2001). However, other groups that were extremely religious did worship every day for several times, without ceasing. Further, people performed sacrifices to honor their creator; they mumbled things that were difficult to comprehend (Haught, 1990). During the sacrifices, it appeared as if the people on earth were confessing their sins and they were pleading with the super natural power; this serves to forgive them the transgressions that they had committed. The roles that religion seemed to play in the world was to foster solidarity among the society members as they came together to worship and share their life experiences (Caputo, 2001). Religion seemed to make people hopeful about the life. Further, religion was the tool of checking morality in the world; people used it judge moral behavior from immoral behavior. The religious

Is There a Soul Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Is There a Soul - Assignment Example Firstly, other than the physical matter that differentiates one individual from the other or one living thing from the other, what exactly differentiates one individual from everyone else, or one living things from all the other living thins of the same species?   Secondly, what exactly feels the pain, sorrow, and sadness on the event of the loss of a loved one through death? The attempt to answer these two questions simply points to the existence of a distinct non-physical matter component of the living things that makes the living things distinct from the other members of their species, and which experiences the pain of loss through death (Bishop, 2000).  Further, if two individuals are born as identical twins and brought up in the same environment, observing the same behavior and mannerisms, there will still exist some aspects that make each of the two identical twins distinct from each other. Thus, the distinct non-physical and non-matter element of humans and other living th ings, which gives each individual living thing the â€Å"I-factor†, makes it unique from all the rest. This individual element of consciousness that makes an individual distinct from all the rest is essentially defined as the soul (Klemp, 2009). In this respect, the soul represents the irreducible element of consciousness, which makes it impossible for scientists to make any form of life in the laboratory by mixing any of the non-living matter. The simple fact that life stems from life and never from the non-living matter, is a clear demonstration of the fact that there is some aspect of the non-physical matter that holds the essence of life, which in itself is the soul.

Good Governance Essay Example for Free

Good Governance Essay Introduction The topic of this essay concerns about good governance namely what is it, what is its possible application in the formal and informal sectors added to its context, do the different ideological systems concord with it and lastly does it produce any, whatsoever, improvement or development in any sense and sector? And to answer to all that issues I will firstly define it, secondly discuss all its characteristics and indicators from the various organizations directly and/or indirectly involved with it and thirdly compare and contrast by analysing any situations within the main political orientations in which it is present or absolutely absent and the consequent effects. And finally I will try my conclusions to whatever it could produce with plausible recommendations. Well, the meaning of â€Å"governance in the normal daily use and the first one that comes straightforward to the mind is: the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented). The concept anyway of governance† is as old as human civilization and that is since human being felt the need to organise themselves by gathering in groups and electing among them those who will decide for the communities way of life, the eventual relation between the members and theirs with any other possible group around. However it is very recent when developmental professionals and different actors (international organizations, local, national and regional governments) noticed the relevance of governance on the causes that produce bad or good outcomes regardless the expected results  and the intentions behind. The increased use of the term â€Å"governance† good or bad, in the development literature is real and evident, but because bad governance is being absolutely regarded as one of the main causes of all evil deeds in all over the world, most of the International developmental institutions and financial donors have changed approaches by pretending from aid eligible poor countries to ensure good governance in order to have access to aids or loans. Not to ignore the fact that it is anyway the civil society, tacitly to ask, first of all, their relative governments for good governance if it ensures for a decent and better standard of life. The aforementioned definition implicates the automatic existence of decision makers whom are usually called actors by scholars and professionals. On the bases of this definition it can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance. Add to this that any analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and implementing it and the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision. Among the various actors Government, is the one per excellence, followed by the numerous local and regional ones in one side and the international or global institutions in the other. Within the same country there are for example, beyond the government that has the super power and final decision, other actors in rural and urban areas such as influential land lords, farmers, cooperatives otherwise known as associations of productive workers, NGOs, research institutes, religious leaders, finance institutions, political parties, the military etc. At the national level, in addition to the above actors, there are media, lobbyists, international donors, multi-national corporations, and many others that may influence the decision-making and or condition the decision-making process. It is worth to remember any way that all actors except government and the military are grouped together under what is known as civil society. In some countries in addition to the civil society, organized crime syndicates also influence decision-making, particularly in urban areas and at the national level. Moreover it is normal to hear about formal and informal government structures and formal and informal sectors and that all of them are one means by which decisions are arrived at and implemented. In some remote rural areas, locally powerful families may informally make or  influence decision-making and most of the time corrupted practices are the final outcomes. So governance may be a good or a bad one depending mainly on whether it is constructive and positively fruitful or corrupted and destructive. Unfortunately it is a real perception that, almost in the majority of the countries in the South of the world, there is an uncontrolled widespread corruption as a result of the bad governances of those minority, the elite in power with no distinction between the trio: Government, the military and civil society. But on the parallel carriage there is, at a global level, a huge campaign aimed to achieve some bettering improvement with the expectations to at least minimise all that corruption if not eradicate it at all. It is known how usually this minority misuse the governmental power to personal and or restricted group’s interest depriving in that way the civil society which represents the majority. If this sort of government in power is of a military extraction it makes the situation very difficult and worse because they, most of the time, impose themselves by intimidating the citizens and treating them as enemies, but the impact of their mismanagement will be discussed later. So the main problem in developing countries is a combination of power misuse, political immaturity and prioritising of personal interests to the communities expenses. The international community, in order to prevent further power misuse, promotes Good governance as the remedy to all that and in the intent to grant a decent standard of life to every single citizen regardless of her/his race, religion and social, political or ethnic group. It is not an easy target implementing it, and at the same not that hard but it, surely, needs or better demands, professionalism with some good deeds. Professionalism is the difficult task to answer since it requires competence, political maturity, responsiveness and responsibility. In other term, to have functioning governance toward the citizens interests and to achieve such governance there is, for the time being, eight major characteristics and several indicators to be fully implemented. These characteristics are the result of a long and hard work of scholars and professionals that offered their intellectual powerful services to the societies in order to find out the solutions for a better life, on common grounds, regardless the different political and ideological views. The eight characteristics are: Participation, Rule of law, Consensus oriented, Transparency, Equity and  inclusiveness, Effectiveness and efficiency, Accountability and finally Responsiveness. According to United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and The Pacific (UN ESCAP) these eight characteristics are defined as follows: â€Å"Participation Participation by both men and women is a key cornerstone of good governance. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediate institutions or representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand. Accountability Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Who is accountable to whom varies depending on whether decisions or actions taken are internal or external to an organization or institution. In general an organization or an institution is accountable to those who will be affected by its decisions or actions. Accountability cannot be enforced without transparency and the rule of law. Transparency Transparency means that decisions taken and their enforcement are done in a manner that follows rules and regulations. It also means that information is freely available and directly accessible to those who will be affected by such decisions and their enforcement. It also means that enough information is provided and that it is provided in easily understandable forms and media. Rule of law Good governance requires fair legal frameworks that are enforced impartially. It also requires full protection of human rights, particularly those of minorities. Impartial enforcement of laws requires an independent judiciary and an impartial and incorruptible police force. Consensus oriented There are several actors and as many view points in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable human development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community. Equity and inclusiveness A society’s well being depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their well being. Effectiveness and efficiency Good governance means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best use of resources at their disposal. The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of the environment. Responsiveness Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.† In theory it is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. It assures that corruption is minimized, the views of minorities are taken into account and that the voices of the most vulnerable in society are heard in decision-making. It is also responsive to the present and future needs of society. It is people centred matter trying to address gender inequalities. It is really vital and important from local level to global to achieve good governance, with the awareness that its achievement requires absolute professionalism and consciousness, two attributes that are unfortunately absent or worse than that, not considered especially in the South. Following this â€Å"new† approach the international community, leaded by the United  Nations different and various specialised organizations in collaboration with the International Financial Institutions with Bretton Woods institutions in the first place and some other world organizations, demands those countries in the South, who are always involved in corruption, to adopt good governance’s paradigm by modelling their governmental systems so that it might import huge changes and lead to better their country’s economical and social situations. The aforementioned institutions, after long and on-going hard research on what causes bad governance, and as the ones who perpetuate developmental progress, they use to propose solutions, which most of the times fail because of negligence regarding the way they approach and solve or deal with the problems and because of â€Å"disinterest† from both sides: the proposing and the recipient. However each and every institution has its own proposals, indicators and monitoring systems and some of them need revision and reconsiderations. United Nations institutions: The United Nations different institutions are for instance involved in developing country’s redressing developmental programmes according to their specializations and interests and it is sufficient the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) as an example. In fact, their purpose is to tackle the main tragedies that mankind is facing now in most parts of the planet, with different intensity anyway between North and South. These problems are mainly the followings: -widespread poverty and hunger; -lack of primary education; -absence of Gender equality; -Increasing infant and child mortality; -absolute absence of maternal healthcare; -dangerous diseases such as HIV/AIDS; -mismanagement of environmental resource without sustainability; -misconception of what is a global partnership. And according to these problems the Millennium Development Goals are designed to: -eradicate extreme poverty and hunger -achieve universal primary education -promote gender equality and empower women -reduce child mortality -improve maternal healthcare -combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases and -ensure environmental sustainability -develop global partnership development. These goals will be achieved and implemented not later than 2015. As seen they are eight goals focusing on the alleviation and tackling of those problems. Each goal has its own targets and indicators under the supervision of the appropriate different organization in order to measurably achieve developmental improvements in the poorest of the developing countries. In total there are 8 goals, 18 targets and 48 indicators. Regarding to the monitoring institutions there are for example concerning to health based programmes UNICEF, WFP, UNAIDS and WHO while to tackle poverty and hunger there are WB, IMF, FAO and UNICEF. UNESCO is concerned with educational problems while ILO (International Labour Organization) and IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union) are more likely to deal with Gender inequality and women empowerment and so on. One of the eighteen targets [target twelve (12) of goal eight (8): Develop a global partnership for development] demands commitment to good governance, but at the other way round these goals are achievable only in an environment where good governance exists. It is a â€Å"cause† and â€Å"effect† at the same time. The expectations anyway and in any case are less encouraging because of unreasonable policies of some aid institutions that are not allowing a bettering situation, such as IMF and WB or the well known Bretton Woods Institutions. The Bretton Woods Institutions Good Governance One of the major causes of under development is represented by the heavy debts that plague these countries as a result of continuous increasing interest loans hardly repayable. Stabilisation, deregulation, devaluation, distortion of prices and many other interventions render developing countries life very miserable. The killing factor anyhow is represented by the Bretton Woods Institution’s Structural Adjustment Programmes (SPA) with the intention to help heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) repay or clear their debts in order to be eligible to new loans . But, these criticised institutions and related organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), dedicated from long time their efforts to help poorer  countries to overcome corruption, but unfortunately and sorely without positive tangible results, and this is because of their mismatching â€Å"rigid† policies and certain conditionals imposed on borrower such as Structural Adjustment Programme, that did n ot succeed to alleviate but, at the contrary, worsen the already existing conditions of poverty. The worse part is that IMF conditionals diminish the states authority to govern its own economy as national economic issue and not differently. But with the stabilisation programmes, deregulation, price distortion and privatisation of nationalised industries predetermined by the structural adjustment packages does not help the borrower to implement good governance. Equally the WB’s acting in partnership with the private sectors of a given country results in substituting the state which represents the primary provider of essential good and services. Imposing the reduction of government’s expenditure on food subsidies, education and healthcare or changing its import and export policies does not at all help developing countries to achieve good governance. This replacement usually ends in a shortfall of those services when most likely the condemned country is more in need. But now the Bretton Woods institutions realized that they need to review their policies in order to en able good governance to be achieved and the veracity of this is reported in the 1994 Naples summit communiquà © of the G-7’s countries. This communication clearly explicitly urged the need of reforms and reviews because of the Bretton Woods failure to achieve its primary mission of poverty alleviation. Reforming and reviewing the International Financial Institutions means they themselves need to practice and apply good governance and not pretending only from their borrowing members. If they succeed to change their policies in better then perhaps there will be a hope of improvement for the developing countries. All the above exposition concerns the theoretical side of good governance and it is very ideal and difficult to be realised in practice up to be considered a utopia. Nevertheless, the real fact is that good governance is absent from the international scenario and only few countries could be said to be close to implement it fully. Besides, the hilarious aspect of this assertion is that they are of different political orientation. This means that good governance does not require a certain political view than othe r. Examples of these politically differently  oriented states are: OECD, Japan, China and the Arabian Gulf countries. Good Governance and the main political systems and governing ideologies As stated before Good governance is not necessarily related to any of the political systems existing nowadays and this because countries with totally different political orientations seem to succeed implementing it. Moreover these systems might be used as temporary solutions in certain difficult political moments regardless their main â€Å"normal† one. In the purpose to understand which of these systems could conciliate with what could be seen as good governance paradigm it is worth to remember them with some useful comments. There are two main different groups on which these systems are based namely collectivism and individualism. The first one considers human being the pillar around which to build a society with the result that the types of the societies are different as it is different the means to design it. What they have in common is the notion that one (king or dictator) or many men (majority) should rule the others. At the contrary the individualist are more philosophical concepts in respect to the other group. Under the umbrella of collectivism there are autocracy/ dictatorship/ despotism, communism, conservatism, democracy, fascism, imperialism, monarchy, pluralism, plutocracy, socialism and theocracy, and the individualist are: anarchism /nihilism, liberalism (classical), libertarianism, objectivism, capitalism, and the republic. Each of them has its characteristics and less or more they could be simply interrelated and or contradictory. -Autocracy, dictatorship and despotism, for instance, are very similar in term of definition and that is an uncontrolled supreme right of governing in a single person with the difference that autocracy is supposedly benevolent. But there is a paradox in the sense that anyway an autocrat needs a huge amount of force to subordinate perhaps an unwilling people and from autocracy we pass to dictatorship. An example of this sort of dictatorship could be the Russia of Stalin for instance. Dictatorship though is the main factor that unfortunately destroyed most of the countries of the South mainly in the decolonization decades (1950-1970) leading them to extreme poverty. It is clearly evident that this type of system does not favourite the achievement of good governance because lacks most of its characteristics such as transparency, accountability, consensus  oriented, and respect for human rights just to mention some. -Communism and socialism have the same collective view of mankind with the difference that socialism is a political system while communism is a scheme that tends to equalize the social conditions of life by collectivising the private property under the governing of the legislator (the State in socialism); a problem that could be mentioned is concerned with what socialists call supervision on freedom of expression just to preserve the community integrity and this represent a restraining factor. Moreover socialism’s paradigms contradicts and represses the private initiatives ignoring so the potentiality of the private on development. Lately in few western countries there is an acceptance of it but in a diluted fashion. This leads to think that socialism differently from communism could give birth a good governance if well managed up to realize at least the corresponding and similar characteristic of both: good governance and socialism. I think this is enough for our purpose but it can be otherwise developed. Opposing to socialism and communism there are, as secular antagonists, democracy and capitalism. Democracy is usually intended for two major modes: 1) retained and directly exercised by the people and 2) retained by the people but governed by a delegated periodically renewable constitutional authority, a popular representation. It relays on whatever the majority’s choice is sacrificing so the minority, even if represented by one single person. This is the same as dictatorship with the difference that in the latter is the single person who sacrifices the majority for his choice. The major difference between socialism and democracy lays in the way deal regarding the collective. Democracy uses to favour the powerful capitalists at the expenses of others with less economic and consequent social power. In this sense capitalism  exerts inequalities born from wrongly created adversarial. Nevertheless capitalism allowed technological progress to be achieved more rapidly than communism. Hence good governance might be implemented by these later systems albeit in a different way and intensity and there are no consistent and distinctive criteria to declare the suitability of one of them to the best achievement of good governance. Remember that all depends about good deeds and professionalism. -Monarchy is a currently used system in different part of the two hemispheres. As a rulership, in which a king or a queen, an emperor or empress, it holds unlimited power having similarity with autocracy or lately limited power (constitutional), usually inherited. It is proven that monarchy in these last centuries succeeded to implement good governance albeit with more suffering civil society. But seen that good governance is people centred system there should be a redressing effort and good intent. According to the other systems I think that they are either out of fashion such as fascism, imperialism or nihilism or have a temporary or transitory use such as pluralism, conservatism, libertarianism, liberalism, plutocracy, objectivism, theocracy and so on. Among these later systems pluralism seems, in my opinion, to be helpful to most if not totally of the African governments. According to an article on the web of freedom in the UK, pluralism is: â€Å"Government carried out by a process of bargaining and compromise between a variety of competing leadership groups (business, labour, government, etc.). Advocates of pluralism claim that it best serves the democratic ideal in a complex modern society, in which individual participation in every act of decision-making is impractical. According to pluralism, individual rights and interests are protected by a sort of extra-constitutional checks and balances: No single group holds the dominant power position, power is always shifting, and individuals can have influence on policy-making through being active in one of these power groups. Some claim that America is such a pluralistic society; other theories say that pluralism is in fact a myth and American society is elitist. Despite this pluralism is not limited, other than by the common sense of its participants. Therefore it is still, in essence, collectivist and adversarial.† Analysing this sort of definition it is easy to encounter, at least most of good governance’s characteristics such as participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. In 1994-5 I was following Yemen’s political crises during the controversy between the socialists system supporters from the south and the, let us say, non socialist promoters in the north. At the end came winner those from north  formed by a coalition of religious forces and the pseudo capitalist system in power. During the contention the President proposed a joint supreme governing power composed by three representative members of the main three forces: the president, a socialist and a religious leader stabilising so a sort of bargaining government and the result was that the socialist part lost the partnership. My aim anyway was to prove how pluralism worked in this crucial time and for this reason it is seen as a myth since good governance tends to be utopia matter. But nevertheless different countries of different political orientation nearly implemented its characteristics it means that other could succeed by trying it. There is nothing unachievable if there is the willpower to succeed and people are determined to obviate the obstacles. And to do so the actors need to, first of all, understand the nature of the obstacles and then analyse the eventual solutions without being second to none in decision making putting themselves in that way in a subordinated position. They need to be capable of bargaining and only by that way they can validate their voices over bargaining powers on the other side. Understanding your power, resource availability, willpower of bargaining through it and accepting compromises are attributes necessary toward good governance. Representing their civil society properly and honestly and prioritising their basic needs will put the actors in the position of enabling it to benefit from the outcomes. All these requirements are possible of realization if the roles of the three main components of a country are well defined and every component knows its limits, rights and duties. Those mentioned three parts are government, civil society and the force army in its different specialty. Only in the case these parts understand clearly their roles there will be the expected good governance, otherwise the developing countries will hold forever the heavily burdens now devastating their lives and live with it. Good governance and the trio: Government, Civil society and the Military It is absolutely necessary to have distinct these three groups in order to avoid any irregular and regrettable interferences among them. This simply means that government’s role is to rule and to make  decisions, to choose the ways of implanting those decisions while the Military is to defend the country from external aggression or to calm an internal subversive. Regarding the civil society it represents the groups and individuals out of the formal structure of government and the military. Concerning political development it represents the extreme expression of political parties. In it there are the opposing forces that recalls government and military’s misbehaviour. Therefore, if one of them interferes with the other’s role and tries to replace them there will be a chaotic situation, and to sort out or put a remedy will be afterwards difficult. Effectively this is what happens in many of the developing countries causing situations difficult to redress. Nepotism, tribalism, racism, clannish belonging and similar congregations are causes of misuse of power, public and private resources and denying basic human rights to whoever does not belong to their circle. Add to this the fact that if the replacing group are the arm forces, the atrocity of the consequences is very deep and bitter. After the decolonization, in most countries in the South there was a subsequent darkening governmental systems that, based on ignorance and limited professionalism and lacking any sort of political stability due to indecisions regarding to which big power block count lean on, ended in disastrous bad governance and continuous coup dà ©tat from military men. At the beginning this sort of endeavour was aimed for a patriotic purpose but the result afterwards become dictatorship and despotism. The general ideas of governing of creating nations become too hard to be accomplished and it is been replaced by personal enrichment. More these fool governors were enriching themselves the civil society was suffering deep poverty. These facts encouraged military men challenge their adversely rivals in order to access to that wealthy life at the expenses of their poor tribal partners and not any more the whole civil society. Moreover such economic patrimony did not stop them from stealing but they have created tribal-based hatred between the poor people and this ended in between failed states and under the denomination of poorest countries. A failed state is the result of internally not functioning one or externally not recognised and that because the damage is more o less incident. There are so partially or totally failed states or better states that internally function but there is non external recognition and vice versa. Anyway the internal malfunctioning ends  in overthrowing o r secessionism, situations that are to be avoided. Well then, it is time that developing countries leave this nonsense aggregation of tribe, race and similar clannish ones and move forward in order to accomplish decent standard of life becoming equal to the civilised world and to put an end to the greediness of their governors. They have just to ask good governance’s characteristics to be implemented or otherwise they will only regress in respect to the progressive globalizing world. From the above discussion it is clear that good governance is an ideal which is difficult to achieve in its totality but this does not mean that is impossible. Very few countries and societies have come close to achieve it. However, to ensure sustainable human development, actions must be taken to work towards this ideal with the aim of transforming it into a reality. It is a matter of competence/professionalism and good deeds. Competency, or professionalism or skill or aptitude, is very decisive or better it represents the core of the power in the government. It is indeed a requirement. Regarding the good deeds the determining one depends mostly from the rich and free societies and the effort they decide to spend. Actually it is the international community’s interest to show good intents in reasonably and responsibly cooperating with and helping poorest countries all around the world otherwise whatever the outcomes will affect them seen that the whole world is becoming a small village due to globalisation. It is surely known how global warming for example is threatening the whole world. Good deeds from national to international level is required and the rich and free societies role. To support this thesis it is worth to mention the United States of America’ 60th president, John F.Kennedy who said in his inaugural Address in January 20, 1961: If a free society can not help the many who are poor, it can not save the few who are rich. Likewise President Mpaka of Tanzania quoting President Kennedy’s statement said in a speech: In a globalizing world, if we cannot help the many who are excluded in global prosperity, we cannot save the few who are included. In conclusion good governance will definitely improve development’s conditions all over the world if the varied development institutions work in favour of good governance. References: 1. UN ESCAP What is a GOOD GOVERNANCE? INTRODUCTION Recently the terms governance and good governance are being increasingly used in development literature at www.unescap.org/huset/gg/governance.htm (accessed 21 December 2004) 2. United Nations Millennium Development Goals. at www.un.org/millenniumgoals (accessed 27 November 2004) 3. Bretton Woods Project Critical voices on the World Bank and IMF. Good governance. 49 items. Fugitive in five-star hotel, IMF foots bill. at www.brettonwoodsproject.org/topic/goodgov/index.shtml 25k (accessed 24 December 2004) 4. Freedom in the UK google search engine: political systems (accessed 28 December 2004) 5. President J. F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech at www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1961Kennedy.html ( accessed 23 December 2004) 6. Chakravarthi Raghavan, Mar 5, 1998 FINANCE: FUND/BANK SHOULD PRACTICE GOOD GOVERNANCE! At www.sunsonline.org.htm 14k (accessed 14 January 2005) ____________________________________________ Bibliography Kingsbury D. et al (2004) Key issues in development 1ST ed. New York: Palgrave Mcmillan

Role of Public Sector in Modern Economies

Role of Public Sector in Modern Economies Forces of demand and supply control prices in modern capitalist economies, government intervention has been limited to provision of social services. Prices of goods and services as well as cost of production are determined with minimal government intervention. A perfect capitalist economy can only exist in an ideal situation and since there is no ideal situation, there are always some government controls, rules and regulations in an economy (Pigou, 2006). In general, government controls the performance of an economy through fiscal and monetary policies. These policies are aimed at changing or controlling certain factors in the economy to enhance or limit production. Government participation varies among countries were developing countries need a higher involvement than developed countries (Ceccacci, Marchesiani and Pecchi, 2007) This paper discusses the role of the public sector in modern economies and factors public sector consider when making financial decision. Political stability The government is made up of political class, who control the economies of a country, they play the role of politicians and economic drivers, and however, political situation in the world is not stable. There have been changes and uncertainty in different countries. A country like Kenya in East Africa underwent tribal crashes in 2007 after a disputed election. The crisis affected the economy of the country. In November 2010, Ivory Coast in Central Africa had disputed election a move that have affected the countrys economic performance. In civilized countries like the United States of America, which is the worlds largest economy, the performance of the ruling class affects the economy positively and negatively. A country as China, which has the highest economic growth in the world, has a stable government (Dalton, 2003) from the above discussion, it is clear that one major functions of government is to ensure there is political stability in the country. If the political class maintain s political harmony in an economy then growth and stability in the country is possible. One of the most surprising thing is that to destroy an economy that had been built for many years can take a matter of weeks in case of political unrests. For example, Zimbabwe was among Africans best performing countries, when there were disputed presidential economies in 2009; the country is now ranked as the poorest in the world. Other than local politics, international politics affects country economic, social and political performances. International policies and relations affect how economies conduct their business. There are times that goods from a certain countries have been limited to enter in the international market through tariff and non-tariff barriers (Buchanan, 1987). Maintaining good International relations Foreign ministry in different countries is given the responsibility of maintaining good international relations with different countries. Globalisation and international trade has opened the international market, assisted by transport and communication networks (Quigley, 2000). To ensure that a country participates in international trade effectively and reduce chances of international rivalry, it should ensure that there are good international relations. Switzerland has managed to be the world largest tourism country because of its political neutrality and maintaining of good relations with other countries. Sometime to be competitive, countries engage in economical alliances to be able to negotiate for better teams in the world markets. Such integration includes European Union, East African Community, and Pan African among others (Dietmar, 2000). Other than having a good international relations, it is the role of the government to ensure that its country have a good reputation. It sh ould not be known for negative things like poverty, corruption and inequality. Such reputations are not built by word of mouth by through actions undertaken by the government. Protection of citizens The government has the mandate of ensuring that the constitutional rights of every human being are respected. These rights include rights to protection, where the government provides security to its citizens. Security is from foreign and internal attackers. There are times that the government sets minimum or maximum prices of goods to ensure that consumers are not exploited. On the other hand, the government also sets standards required in a country; this is in the move to ensure that it has protected its consumers against substandard goods and services provided by businesspersons. There was another move made by Chinese government, which has been seen as a new government move where the government aims at reducing the rate of economic growth in the country (Edward, McCaffery and Joel, 2006) Infrastructures The government has the mandate of providing infrastructures like roads and communication networks, which cannot be left in the hands of individuals. These infrastructures ensure that an economy has social resources that can be used by society members without paying for them directly. In time of disaster, the public sector is called upon to assist. This is in case of terror attacks, drought and floods. The government should have adequate machinery and mechanisms to ensure that in case of a disaster, it has assisted its own citizens and sometimes extend the help to other nations. Other social economic factors affect an economy. They include inflation and deflation. The government has the mandate of ensuring that its economy has neither excess funds (inflation) or has limited funds (deflation) (Gabriele, 2009). Leadership and strategic decision-making The government is expected to make strategic decisions, which define the pathway that the country aims to follow over a certain period. This can be yearly or take a couple of years. Every year, governments make financial budgets to be followed when financing various projects in the country. These budgets contain yearly, monthly or projects that take more than one year. Such policies are the ones, which attract international investments in a country. In the 1990s, many countries had Vision 2000, which they wanted to have attained certain economic, social and political goals. In the current 20th century, there are calls to Vision 2020, Vision 2015 and visi0n 2030 among others depending with a country and the goals it has for the economy (Wildasin, 2008) Issues a government need to take into account when financing the activities adopted to fulfil the role set out in (a) above The government control an economy using fiscal or monetary policies. They can be either direct or indirect. The kind of financing adopted, depends with the goal and objective the government want to attain in a particular time. To control the economy effectively, consideration must be made to ensure that the most appropriate measure is taken (Reed and Swain, 1997). Generally, there are factors that government need to consider when financing different projects in the economy they are: The level of economic development in the country or locations The government has the role of setting up infrastructures to be used by the public and private sectors in their efforts to grow the economy. Before certain infrastructures are made, the government need to analyse the project and ensure that it is economically viable. Priority should be given to those places that have potential yet the exploitation of such potential is hindered by lack of infrastructures like roads and communication networks. Investments in infrastructures is an expensive exercise where the government spend public resources to make such infrastructures, they should thus benefit the greatest majority in the country. In developing economies, the government has a more active role where it is expected to make a platform that international and national inventors can built on. Such infrastructures include electricity production plants, transport networks, taxation incentive and communication networks. Some countries like China have had the government cut down its public fin ance expenditure to ensure that the economic growth rate in the country slows down. It has opted to have higher taxation to companies and individuals to ensure that they have low income to spend in economic development (Schulte, 2000). Countries competitive advantage sectors Different countries have different economic potentials; the kind of products that can be produced effectively by a nation varies among different nations. There is need to understand the potential that a country has and investments should be skewed to that direction. For example is a country has a potential in natural resources like oil reserves or good climate, then the government should direct most of its finances to these sectors. This will ensure that high levels of efficiency have been attained for economic development. Absolute and competitive advantages are important when deciding the countries to make economic integrations. There are times that countries produce the same commodities, in such cases such countries can make good economic blocs to negotiate for better prices for their products. They though cannot make good trading partners since they make more the same products (Schumpeter , 1994). The rate of inflation/deflation The rate of inflation in country affects expenditure decision by the government. When an economy is facing high rate of inflation, then the government has the mandate of controlling the economy. Controlling inflation and deflation are monetary issues where the government devises measures to reduce money in circulation (in the case of inflation) or increase money in circulation (in the case of deflation). In inflation, the government can decide to sell government securities like bond and bills at an attractive interest rate where investors will be attracted to buy them and the money in circulation is reduced. On the other hand, it might decide to increase the lending rate to banks through central bank, which will be transmitted, to consumers making the cost of lending money expensive. This reduces the rate of money attractiveness thus, the growth of money in the economy reduces (Sheila, 2004). In the case of deflation, the government devises measures to increase the flow of cash in the economy. If the government decides to reduce central banks lending rate, then banks will be more willing to lend money. This increases the money in circulation curing the deflation (Tresch, 2002). Living standards Different countries have different living standards. It is the dream of leaders to have citizens who have high living standards. To attain this need, the government takes deliberate measures to increase the living standards of its people. Such measures include wide investment in social facilities like public hospitals, building of roads, communication networks and education facilities. There are countries, which have opted to offer free medical and educational facilities to their citizens in the move to have increased living standards. Countries with high living standards do not require much invention of the government in their affairs but those that are underdeveloped and have reduced living standards the government intervention is highly required (Shinnick, 2008). Some government have national libraries, some even mobile ones to ensure that its population has access to information for personal empowerment. Adoption of technology in different sectors has enabled a countries population have higher living standards as people are more informed of their rights that they can fight for (Shoup, 2006) Resources distribution Resources in a country are not equally distributed; there are some parts, which have higher allocation of natural and manmade resources in a country. The in-equally bring about difference in social, economic and sometimes political. The government should ensure that its country have well distributed resources for a harmonious growth in all regions of the country. The differences make the government direct most of its resources to areas that are disadvantaged (Musgrave, 2008). They are given priorities in the efforts to see whether they can catch up with other areas. A country that has high levels of inequality is most likely to be in political disputes from time to time. This is when some people feel oppressed by the system. In the past, social rivalry in countries for example in French revolution, were brought about by inequality and oppression in the economy. To avoid a repeat of such things in an economy, the government should ensure there is equality in the economy. Equality can be brought through indirect measures like education, social amenities, and employment (Moore, 2009). Unemployment level Government has a role in creating employment in its country. If the economy is facing high levels of inflation, then the government must put on measures to ensure that the economy produces job opportunities. For an increased employment creation in country, the government should create an atmosphere where local and international investors feel attracted (Minea and Villieu, 2009). Such measures include reduce taxation, offer incentives to investors like tax holidays , investments deductions and offering land for factory settlements. Other than focusing on international and local major investors, the government can undertake different measures to facilitate small-scale investments through small traders and artisan. Finances can be directed to the areas where the government offer loans to deserving population to starts up their own business . Other than business, there are other individual talents that can be tapped and still create employment. This includes sporting activities and enter tainment industry where the government can support youth to engage in such activities (McGee, 2004). Security situation It is the role of the government to ensure that its citizens are protected from internal and external security threats. The state of security in a country will determine the amount of investment that will be directed to this task. There are times that a country may be threatened of an attack, or the security system in the country is not good. In such cases, the budget for security should be increased appropriately. Different times require different security levels, for example, in times of political unrests, high security is required than in times of harmony in a country, so the amount of investment that a country makes in investment is determined by security level in the country (Martin, 2005). Global environment The international community affects the trend of spending in a government. There are times that international relation and trade may require a government to spend higher than in normal circumstances. Currently with globalisation, the world is facing an increased trade among countries. The trade calls for improved infrastructures, communication systems and security along borders. Although these factors benefit an economy, they require the government to make investments in the economy. To facilitate international trade, the government need to invest in good roads to transport goods produced within the country to the departure ports and those coming from abroad to their destinations (Kabelo,  Khalo and Mafunisa, 2007). Communication is crucial in making trading negotiations and contracts where the government should lay good communication systems. International trade does not just happen without government intervention, there is need to control the flow of goods. Through customs depart ment, the government imposes custom duties and tariffs to some imports and exports in its move to collect revenue and protect internal industries. Through borders, some goods that are harmful to a population can get their way; it is the role of the government to ensure that borders are free from such goods. For border security, revenue collection and national companies protection to be effective, the government has to make massive investment in detecting tools like scanners, personnels to patrol the borders and revenue collection officers. Making of ports is capital intensive and thus before such an investment is made the government should ensure that it has analysed the economic benefit of such a move. For example, the decision to make Suez Canal was for trading purposes, it has assisted North African countries like Egypt, however, maintaining high standards in such an entry is an expensive practice (Jà ¼rgen and Wagner, 2004) Technology Scientific innovation and inventions have resulted to an increase in technology in the world. Efficient technology assists a county to produce goods and services effectively with maximum utilisation of resources. The government has a role to play in technological development and adoption in the economy. This can be through its own adoption of technology in its systems or it can be creating an environment that enables companies to adopt technology. There are times that the government controls the rate of technological adoption in its economy. For example in Kenya, the government is opposing the use of tea plucking machines by tea growing factories since it believes that the number of jobs that will be lost as a result are going to harm the economy. To enhance adoption of technology, the government have sometimes offered incentives to those companies with high technology like tax incentives to facilitate further technology use (Hyman, 2007) Environmental concerns The world is having increased concerns about environmental damage. International bodies have enacted rules and regulations to be followed in its efforts to reduce environmental damage. Such international regulations include Kyoto protocol on green gas emission where signatories were expected to reduce their production of green house gasses (Howard, 1992). To facilitate moves that protect the environment, the government is involved in different activities that aim at corporate and to individuals. It has put on measure that reduces the amount of emission from industry. Such measures include taxation on carbon emission, having national environmental control policies and programs, offering tax incentive and facilitating technology adoption (Bradford, Auerbach and Shaviro, 2000). The rate of investments in a country The investment environment in countries determines the rate of investment in a country. When the environments are not attracting investments, then the government has to undertake strategic measures to ensure that it has facilitated investments. This can be through targeting certain industries, which are crucial for investment decisions in a country, and enhancing their capabilities in attracting investments (Gstoettner and Jensen, 2010). For example, the energy sector is important for economic development and attracting investment. The government can control prices in such an industry and cover the deficit. This will make investors attracted by the low rate of production cost offered by such moves. In countries like China, the government have used this consideration to devise measure that reduces the rate of investment. There are times that the government becomes the investor in come strategic industries, which are considered low income generating. This is in the move to ensure that all essential products and services are available in a country (Blanca and   Wodon, 2006) Economic deficits and Balances of payments There are times that a country may be facing economic and balance of payments deficits. The deficits harm an economy, the government requires to take strategic decisions to ensure these deficits are cured. In cases of economic deficits, it means that a government will not be able to finance all budget activities in a particular year or periods. It may be forces to offer some government bonds and bills, which are offered at a cost to the public. It may also decide to sell its products to raise money to finance its deficit. The right move to make in such case is determines the decision made by the government (Bastable, 2003) International trade brings about balances of payments (B.O.P.). For a healthy economy without a deficit in balance of payment, then imports should be of a lower cost than exports. To facilitate an increase export, or reduce importation, the government have a role to play. In facilitation of exports, the government offers incentives to exporters to increase their exportation. These incentives may be subsidies in production. To discourage importation, the government can increase taxes charged to imports and empower local companies to produce goods that were otherwise imported. When a country has a healthy balance of payment, its currency is strong making its goods and services competitive in the international markets (Arye, 2003) Conclusion Modern economies are mostly capitalists, where forces of demand and supply determine prices. Government intervention in these economies is minimal but important. Government intervenes in economies to facilitate an appropriate economic growth rate and protect citizens from violation of their constitutional rights. It uses monetary and fiscal policies to control the economy. Before making an investment decision, government consider economic, political, social, global and environmental implication of such decision. Maintain political stability in a county is an important role of the government. The right decision to make is one that results to increased welfare of majority in the country.

Natue of Science :: essays research papers

Science Report (Nature of Science) Aim To find out the effect of the thickness of a biscuit on the ability of the biscuit to support a finite amount of weights Apparatus o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weights o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Biscuits o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thread Background Information â€Å"Biscuits are designed to be strong so that they do not crumble easily.† (http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/Number/CrossStrand/biscuits.htm) A biscuit consists of flour, oil and other ingredients, which are packed together into a brittle solid. Therefore, biscuits can stand up to a finite amount of weight before it breaks. Hypothesis The thicker a biscuit, the more weights it can support. Variables Independent o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increment of Thickness o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Method of applying weights o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Type of Biscuit o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How the Biscuit/Biscuits are placed Method of Control (Independent Variables) o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increment of Thickness – Regular increment of 1 biscuit thickness o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Method of applying the weights – Placing the weights gently onto the biscuits, increasing the weight by 100g each time, until the crackers break. o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Type of Biscuit – Use identical Khong Guan Cheese Crackers o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How the Biscuit/Biscuits are placed – The biscuits will be strung tightly together and hung on a hook. (Refer to diagram 1.1) Dependent o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The number of weights that can be hung on the biscuits Procedure 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drill a hole in the middle of the biscuit with a needle. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hang the weight holder on the biscuit. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Place 100g weights one by one, until the biscuit breaks (Refer to diagram 1.1) 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Repeat the experiment with 2,3,4 and 5 biscuits 5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Repeat the experiment 3 times 6)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Calculate the average weight required to break the biscuits of different thickness 7)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Plot a graph to identify the main trend of this experiment. 8)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Formulate a conclusion from the results. Margin of Error As the weights obtained are 100g weights, they are not precise. Therefore, if a biscuit breaks when a 200g weight is hung on it, it does not mean that the biscuit breaks at 200g. It is just an approximate amount. To utilize a spring balance would have caused the results to be more accurate. Secondly, whenever a new weight is added to the weight holder, the position of the set-up shifts a little. Natue of Science :: essays research papers Science Report (Nature of Science) Aim To find out the effect of the thickness of a biscuit on the ability of the biscuit to support a finite amount of weights Apparatus o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weights o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Biscuits o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Thread Background Information â€Å"Biscuits are designed to be strong so that they do not crumble easily.† (http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/Number/CrossStrand/biscuits.htm) A biscuit consists of flour, oil and other ingredients, which are packed together into a brittle solid. Therefore, biscuits can stand up to a finite amount of weight before it breaks. Hypothesis The thicker a biscuit, the more weights it can support. Variables Independent o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increment of Thickness o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Method of applying weights o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Type of Biscuit o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How the Biscuit/Biscuits are placed Method of Control (Independent Variables) o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increment of Thickness – Regular increment of 1 biscuit thickness o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Method of applying the weights – Placing the weights gently onto the biscuits, increasing the weight by 100g each time, until the crackers break. o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Type of Biscuit – Use identical Khong Guan Cheese Crackers o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  How the Biscuit/Biscuits are placed – The biscuits will be strung tightly together and hung on a hook. (Refer to diagram 1.1) Dependent o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The number of weights that can be hung on the biscuits Procedure 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drill a hole in the middle of the biscuit with a needle. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hang the weight holder on the biscuit. 3)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Place 100g weights one by one, until the biscuit breaks (Refer to diagram 1.1) 4)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Repeat the experiment with 2,3,4 and 5 biscuits 5)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Repeat the experiment 3 times 6)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Calculate the average weight required to break the biscuits of different thickness 7)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Plot a graph to identify the main trend of this experiment. 8)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Formulate a conclusion from the results. Margin of Error As the weights obtained are 100g weights, they are not precise. Therefore, if a biscuit breaks when a 200g weight is hung on it, it does not mean that the biscuit breaks at 200g. It is just an approximate amount. To utilize a spring balance would have caused the results to be more accurate. Secondly, whenever a new weight is added to the weight holder, the position of the set-up shifts a little.

Related Change :: essays research papers

I have chosen to link the text Saving Private Ryan with The Door by Miroslav Holub, and The Murder Of Ackroyd with Burnt Offerings by Flacco, from the stimulus booklet. I linked these texts as Saving Private Ryan is similar to that of The Door, because both dwell on the changing of worlds, perspective and self. Saving Private Ryan deals with the actual changing, the effects it causes and the regrets of change, Whereas The Door deals with resisting the change, the benefits of the change and the regrets of not changing. Saving Private Ryan presents the soldiers entering into the New World, arriving at Omaha beach, and the pains/obstacles of the change, the death of comrades and ultimately staying alive. Like said earlier in Part Two, the characters discuss their situation and regret ever coming to the war. The Door incorporates the idea of new and exciting things, with the line â€Å"Maybe outside there’s a †¦ or a magic garden†, and regret for not doing so, as showed in the line â€Å"even if there’s only the hollow wind †¦ at least there will be a draft†. I linked the other two texts, The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd and Burnt Offerings, because they both deal with the consequences of changes in circumstances. In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd the circumstances change and James Sheppard has to change in order to keep the circumstances as same as possible, whereas in Burnt Offerings the activist has to change the circumstances so as to stay the same as possible, i.e. in one piece. In The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd Sheppard tries to keep his life the same as before Mrs. Ferrars commits suicide. But to do so he has to change himself, he has to become a killer and abuse the trust of all those around him, and ends up becoming someone completely different in trying to remain the same. To a lesser extent, you can see how in Burnt Offerings the activist tries to do the exact opposite, he tries to change the circumstances of the trees in the forest and ends up with some very physical changes. My understanding of the concept of â€Å"change† has been altered, or shaped, by the reading of my chosen texts. The original idea I had of â€Å"change† was physical and personal/environmental change. I used to think that changes could only be what is written or put obviously forward by the text, the idea of changing circumstances or values having any impact on the â€Å"change† of a text was beyond me.

Outsiders: Gang Members

The need to belong is a fundamental need within all of humanity, and has played a key role in society since the beginning of time. The novel by S. E Hinton, ‘The Outsiders’ conveys this need and the yearning to feel social acceptance within us all. ‘The Outsiders’ comments on this inherent part of humanity through its realistic portrayal of teenage gang life, centering on the dependency of the gang members to feel a sense of inclusion and support from their gang. Insert The Outsiders plot line ‘The Outsiders’ conveys that the need to belong is apparent within everyone through the universality of the needs and views of the gang members.This conveys that finding a place to belong, as the characters do within their own gangs, is a basic aspect of man. These concepts are explored through the archetypal structure of the gangs represented within ‘The Outsiders’ that the audience is able to relate to, with the gangs clear hierarchy and the ir fierce loyalty and dependency present between the gang members. The novel depicts Ponyboy’s awakening to the true similarities between the rival gangs, and that although they brand themselves as polar opposites, both gangs at the heart are the same.It is slowly revealed that both gangs exist in order to give the teenagers a place to deal with society’s expectations and to feel a sense of inclusion, needs that the whole of society can relate to. The rivalry between the gang also signifies the universality of the gangs, as it is common throughout society for groups to bond themselves through a sense of ‘us versus them’, fulfilling the need within humanity for inclusion and camaraderie. There is also a strong tribal element within the gangs, as both gangs are male centered, territorial and resort to violence.This conveys the inherent need within humanity to belong, as tribes have formed since the beginning of time as an answer to this need. The tribal natu re of the gangs also conveys the gang member’s reliance on the gang and the support it offers them, as throughout history rejection from the tribe leads to death. The gangs instinctually resorting to violence also comments on the tribal nature of the gang, as they conform to primitive behavior of uniting against others. Hinton’s employment of point of view conveys to the audience Ponyboy’s personal opinions and discoveries about the true nature of the gangs.Through Ponyboy realizing the similarities between the gangs and questioning the violent nature of the gangs, the audience gains a greater understanding of the universality of belonging within a group and the inherent need to feel accepted within all of humanity. Although there is a universal element present in the gang life, there are also significant differences between the two rival gangs. These differences capture the importance of belonging as it focuses on the greaser’s loyalty, love and dependen cy within the gang that the SOCS don’t have.The Greasers’ need to belong, unlike the SOCS, stems from their alienation and exclusion from mainstream society. As the title conveys, they are ‘outsiders’, so the unity within the gang is much stronger as they have nowhere else to go. The sense of security created by the gang strengthens the relationships and loyalty between the gang members, making them more like a family then a group of friends. This is presented throughout the book, as the different greasers convey their allegiance to the gang and their willingness to put themselves on the line in order to protect a fellow gang member. When you’re a gang, you stick up for the members. If you don’t stick up for them, stick together, it isn’t a gang anymore. ’ Hilton’s employment of vernacular language and symbolism conveys the greaser’s loyalty to their gang as they mark themselves apart from the rest of society throu gh their appearance and slang. The greasers take a special pride in their long hair, a uniform for the gang of outcasts. The Outsiders conveys that more than anything, humanity feels a need to belong, through the range of characters and their different needs and connection to their gang.Hilton’s employment of characterization captures the drive behind man to belong, and what it can compel someone to do. Dally and Johnny are key examples of this, as their dependency on the gang is due to them not having a supportive family or another place to turn to. This is contrasted with the character of Darry, a more peripheral member of the gang who, due to his stable job and his history of athletic achievements, doesn't depend on the gang for self fulfillment and a life purpose. The Outsiders leads the audience to question the significance of belonging through the allegiance of the gang contrasted with biological bonds of family.Throughout the entire novel, Ponyboy struggles to find his place within the gang and within his family unit, as he fights with his brothers and feels alienated and unwanted. As Ponyboy tries to find his place within life, he turns away from his brothers and towards the support of the ‘greaser family’. Ponyboy’s journey is compared with Johnny, who is pushed away by his parents and looks to the greaser gang for family support and comfort. As Ponyboy gains an insight into Johnny’s life he in turn learns to appreciate his brothers and the sense of belonging they offer. It ain’t the same thing as having your own folks care about you† Johnny said simply. The need to belong is also explored in the Outsiders through the breaking up of the gang following the dramatic events that occur. Throughout the novel, the gang slowly collapses into a state of chaos, revealing to the audience the gang member’s dependency on the gang for their self identity and a reason for living. The gang is conveyed to have a s et structure at the beginning of the novel, each member having their own role within the gang.While the three brothers are the foundation of the gang, as they offer safety and hospitality to the other gang members, it is Johnny who is the heart of the gang, as the gang is tied together through their need to protect and love Johnny. As the bonds between the brothers begin to crumble, the fractures of the gang become apparent. It is the death of Johnny that leads to the gang collapsing and Dally’s suicide.This is conveyed through emotive language at the effect Johnny’s death plays on each character, â€Å"Soda looked like he was going to cry, Two-Bit’s eyes were closed and his teeth were clenched†¦ My heart was pounding in slow thumps. Dally’s suicide depicts his need of the gang, as he loses his will to live following Johnny’s death and the disbanding of the gang. Ponyboy enters a state of discord following the death of his friends that eventu ally allows him to move onto a state of reflection and growth as he realizes the significance of his belonging within his family and the importance of caring for the needs of his family and the gang in order to build a sense of solidarity and belonging. Insert Conclusion