The American Indian Movement

The American Indian Movement existed more than 500 year ago without a name and was formalized as the American Indian Movement (AIM) on 1968, July 28th at Minnesota in Minneapolis. It grew from policy making movement to making programs and projects from its initial task as a movement that was meant to serve many Indian communities.Its success cannot be disputed and is attributed to the spiritual and elderly guidance in its operations. It was initially meant to renew the Indian religious practices and was further against the ruinous policies that existed in the America.It led protests that advocated for the indigenous American interests, implemented employment programs for the Native Americans in rural reserves and cities and advocated for cultural renewal in and outside America as well..Among those who co-founded it in 1968 included NeeGawNwayWeeDun, Herb Powless, Dennis Banks, Eddie Benton Banai, Leonard Peltier, Clyde Bellecourt, and Russell Means among others.The movement used tact ics that would publicize its needs; it further used the media and American press. It used forced seizure, peaceful sit- in and forceful takeovers. The AIM take-over and the occupations includes the:1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1973, the wounded knee incident ( Pine ridge reservation)2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1973, the Custer county   courthouse3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1972, the bureau of Indian affairs that was located in Washington DC.The Pine Ridge incident of Wounded Knee was a widely assimilated idea because it demanded the reinstatement of about 300 treaties between the federal government and the Native American that had been broken.  This led to trials of several IAM members who were eventually acquitted. The AIM had held 11 hostages that resulted to a 71 days stand off between the federal agents and the Aim. The Wounded Knee, a tiny village was the site of the 1890 last great massacre of the Native Americans.The taking over of Indian affairs headquarters bureau in 1972 was supported by many Americans because the government had created a tribal council in 1934 that was against the development of the Native Americans.A gun battle between the FBI and the IAM members in 1975, July26th, which resulted to the killing of two FBI agents and Joseph Stuntz, this eventually led to conviction of one of the leader of AIM, Leonard Peltier, for the murder of the FBI agent.This conviction has been opposed by many human right activists in the world, a court of appeal judge, Gerald Heaney in his ruling said that though the Natives were guilty of the murder government had overreacted resulting to fatal shooting. This showed that the movement was a widely assimilated idea.The mid 1980s conflict in Nicaragua between the Sandinista government and the Miskito Indian where by these Indian opposed their relocation upon being supported by the AIM leads, more specifically Russell Means. This movement at that time was seen as a minority movement since even the white who supporte d it was against their opposition of relocation.AIM has been advocating for the for improved living conditions for the of the native Americans while founding institutions meant to serve their specific needs, some of these institutions include   Heart of the Earth School and American Indian Opportunities and Organizations among others.REFERENCESA Brief History of AIM, retrieved on 17th, October, 2007, available at www.aimovement.org/ggc/history.htmlAIM Grand Governing Council, retrieved on 17th, October, 2007, available at www.aimovement.org/ggc/index.htmlAmerican Indian Movement – AIM, retrieved on 17th, October, 2007, available at www.aimovement.org/Kenneth S. Stern (1994) Loud Hawk: The United States Versus the American Indian Movement, Net Library publishers, US

Cost Accouting Essay

Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of bringing a product or service to the market without fully understanding the total costs involved and the prices they can charge. As a result, they discover they can’t sell enough of the product or service to make a profit. One of the most important tools you can use to make better business decisions is the break-even analysis; it enables you to determine with great accuracy whether or not your idea is a profitable one. Best of all, you can use this tool to evaluate every product or service you offer. The break- even point is the starting point for CVP analysis because before a company can earn profits; it must first cover all of its variable and fixed costs. What is CVP? Cost-volume-profit analysis is a tool that can be utilized by business managers to make better business decisions. Among the tools in a business manager’s decision-making arsenal, CVP analysis provides one of the more detailed and objective ways by which a manager can assess and even predict the course of business for the company and its employees. Another major benefit of CVP analysis is that it provides a detailed snapshot of company activity. This includes everything from the costs needed to produce a product to the amount of the product produced. This helps managers determine, very specifically, what the future will hold if variables are altered. For instance, transportation expenses and costs for materials can change. These variable costs can affect the bottom line. CVP analysis allows the manager to plug in variable costs to establish an idea of future performance, within a range of possibilities. This, however, can be a disadvantage to managers who are not detail-oriented and precise with the data they record. Projections based on cost estimates, rather than precise numbers, can result in inaccurate projections. Cost Volume Profit (CVP) Analysis Model says: (Sales – variable costs) – Fixed costs = Operating income TC = VX + F * If the sale minus all costs (variable and fixed), we can make a profit * The contribution margin (revenue – variable costs) helps to pay fixed costs * The contribution margin = fixed costs break

Special Economic Zone in Tamilnadu

Special Economic Zone in Tamilnadu, India By Dr. Srinivasan and Mr. Alagarswami â€Å"The protests against land grab for SEZ's have spread like wildlife. † Vandana Shiva ( 2007). The overarching problem this study tries to address is the question why the wild-fire of protest spreads in some regions, while in others it is either doused living behind a dying ember or perceived not as a fire but as a well spring of hope. What can explain the regional differences in public responses to SEZ?The state of Tamil Nadu has been proactive in implementing SEZ policy both at the regional level as well as at the central policy levels. Mukherji and Shivpuri Singh argue that â€Å"the Act has made partial progress towards evolving a procedure for single window clearance of SEZ projects. Issues such as labour regulations; skill shortages; land acquisition; environmental clearance; power availability; a developer’s powers with respect to town planning; transport linkages; access to fina nce; corruption; and the overall propensity to approve foreign direct investments will have a state-level component.In most of these cases, state-level SEZ Acts will determine the extent to which state-level policies are synergised with central policies†(Mukherji and Shivpuri Singh, 2006). Even before the central SEZ Act was passed in 2005, Tamil Nadu had formulated its policy on SEZs in 2003 and passed the Tamil Nadu SEZ Act in 2005. Since 2005, a series of public hearings were organized by various civil society groups, political parties and government agencies. Civil society groups have argued that the bulk of the land being acquired for SEZs is fertile agricultural land, especially in case of the multi-product zones.The state of Tamil Nadu(TN) one of the four southern states of Indian sub-continent is considered â€Å"a pioneer in implementing many developmental programs such as nutrition noon-meal scheme for school children, integrated rural development program, adult-lit eracy programs, Rs. 1 (4. 7 cent) per kilogram of rice for poor, and more recently self-help group based micro-finance initiatives. It has also been a forerunner in implementing industrial policy focused on small scale industries and marginally successful land reform that sought to distribute land to landless farmers.Tamil Nadu has followed a unique trajectory that blended industrial policy and developmental initiatives, which have withstood the vagaries of local politics, corruption and other malaises that have been traditionally associated with governance in India. † (Ref)Tamil Nadu, being among one of India’s most industrialised states, shows certain unique patterns emerging in the establishment of SEZs. The Indian SEZ model was most widely adopted in the state with both negative and positive fallouts.Even before the central SEZ Act was passed in 2005, Tamil Nadu had formulated its policy on SEZs in 2003 and passed the Tamil Nadu SEZ Act in 2005 (Dhurjati Mukherjee, 2007). With 122 notified and proposed Special Economic Zones (SEZs), Tamil Nadu boasts of maximum number of SEZs in the country after Andhra Pradesh and Maharastra. Two large and powerful state agencies State Industrial Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd-(TIDCO) exercise considerable influence and authority in the acquisition of land.The government is intent on pursuing a policy of aggressive industrialisation, especially of a capital-intensive nature and has proposed to create 10,000 acres land bank in the state as per the 2007 Industrial Policy (TN Industrial Policy Note, 2007). Till date the state has 44 notified, 66 ‘formally approved’ and 19 ‘in-principally’ approved SEZs. Proposals are pending for another 13 SEZs. With over SEZ 54 approvals, State of Tamil Nadu (TN) has one of the highest numbers of SEZs in the country.In Tamil Nadu, 55 SEZs have been approved with 13045 hectares (32, 235 acres) of land as of 2012. In response to the opposition to SEZ in some localities (see chapter on Discourse Analysis for details) as well as in response to national developments in places like Nandigram, where the opposition to SEZ had turned violent, in 2007 , Tamil Nadu released the new industrial policy and announced several measures aimed at mid-course corrections as well as aggressive promotion of SEZ. For example the policy supported the evelopment a land bank of 4,000 hectares to promote industrial development in the state. The new industrial policy announced plans to build a land bank of 10,000 acres eventually to meet the growing demands for SEZ or industrial parks. The state has explicit policy of not acquiring cultivable land. The land for private parks / SEZs should, as far as possible, be barren, non-irrigated and dry land and the government will not allow proposals for industrial park involving more than 10 per cent cultivable land.Tamil Nadu was also the first st ate to make it a policy to support voluntary acquisition of land, rather than forcible acquisition. The policy also stipulates that promoters of private industrial parks would be required to purchase land directly. In its 2007 policy, the state government said that 10 per cent of the area in new industrial parks promoted by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corp (TIDCO) would be set apart for social infrastructure.According to the new policy, in order to have equitable regional development, proposals for special economic zones (SEZ) in industrially backward areas will be given priority. 20 per cent of the allot-able area in new industrial parks / special economic zones (SEZ) or expansion of existing ones promoted by the Sipcot / Tidco would be reserved for small and medium enterprises (SME) including SME vendors to major industries in the same park.The consequences of 2007 industrial policy were that there was a tremendous increase in applications for SEZs. The speed at which the state government has been sanctioning the projects has raised several questions. There were apprehensions and widespread resistance from the farmers, politicians and academicians towards the implementation of the policy in Tamil Nadu. Opposition to SEZ in TN There are growing concerns over the impact of SEZ on local communities such as loss of agricultural land, unfair land transactions, undermining of uthority of local government, environmental degradation and fears of emergent gated communities. The feasibility and profitability of SEZ are also being re-evaluated in the light of growing opposition to SEZ and volatile markets. There have been several cases of reported opposition to SEZ, but many of these issues were eventually settled. Highlighting numerous instances of speculative land-bank acquisitions, the protestors condemned the Government for targeting the most vulnerable sections with eviction.Acquisitio n of bhoodan land Oragadam (Sriperumbadur), panchami land in Cheyyar (Thiruvanamallai), saltpan land in Ennore (Thiruvallur), grazing land in Thervoy (Thiruvallur), tenancy land in Nanguneri (Tirunalvelli), multi-cropping agriculture in Hosur (Krishnagiri), Sivarakottai, Puliampatti, Swamimallmpatty (Thirumangalam), Ranipet and Panapakkam (Vellore), agriculture land and homesteads in Mangal (Thiruvanamallai) are some examples of controversy over land acquisition in Tamil Nadu.Even though local people participated in protest against land acquisition, these protest did not materialise into any concrete action as it had happened in other states. The government of Tamil Nadu commissioned a report to examine the claims of those opposing the SEZ. Civil society organisations held several public hearing on the impact of SEZ in Tamil Nadu. In the public hearings, several critical questions were raised: Are people willingly giving away their land? What is the process of land acquisition in th e state?What role does the government agencies like Industrial Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. (TIDCO) play in acquiring land for private companies? The loss of agriculture land, accompanied by livelihood insecurity has been on the raise for over a decade in TN. As per official figures, Tamil Nadu has lost more than one million hectares of cultivable land between 1991 and 2003 (Government of India, 2007 Agriculture Statistics at a Glance 2006-2007. Ministry of Agriculture).The government itself does not know how much agriculture land has been diverted till date as has been made clear by the Planning Commission’s July 2006 report of the Working Group on Land Relations for the11th Five Year Plan. The Ministry of Commerce, government of India does not provide any information on the livelihoods lost as a result of creation of SEZs. At the public hearings the verdict was that the bulk of the land acquired for SEZs is fertile, agricultural land, especially in case of the multi-product zones. A special report on SEZ in Tamil Nadu prepared by Dr.Palanithurai(Palanithurai,2009) makes an attempt to document issues related to land acquisition and peoples opposition to SEZ. The report is extensively based on case studies and interview based evidences to make an argument against SEZ. Especially the report focused on the issue of acquiring cultivable land for SEZ, against the government’s own commitment not to acquire fertile lands. The report refers to authoritarian strategies adopted by the government to force local Panchayats to pass resolutions in favour of SEZ.The report cites the example of SEZ at Cheyyar in Thiruvannamalai wherein the Mathur Panchayat passed a resolution objecting to land acquisition, expressing unwillingness to part with common lands. Similar resolutions were passed in Gram Sabha against land acquisition in eight Village Panchayats. The question that is asked was: â€Å"Will Cheyyar be Tamil Nadu’s Nandigram? † (Palanithurai, 2009). But the issue in Cheyyar took a different turn with many local people settling for a land sale and Panchayats now co-operating with the government and the promoters. Is this a case of coercion or voluntary agreement?The report presents the case of Irunkattukottai near Sriperumbudur and Hundai car manufacturing plant in Kancheepuram district, Valasamudram,in Tuticorin District as examples of opposition to SEZ. In the case of Bairamangalam near Hosur in Krishnagiri district local opposition to acquire cultivable land lead the government and private promoters to withdraw the project (Palanithurai,2009). Perhaps the case that drew much media attention was Oragadam village near Chennai, where the claim was that out of the 950 acres nearly 300 acres were cultivable land (Palanithurai, 2009). However as the development of SEZ ontinued, the opposition soon melted. One reason was that the agricultural land ha s been in the process of being re-developed as real estate since early 1990s and thus many of the land claimed to be cultivable were already being reclassified as housing development property—a move encouraged by the government to meet the growing demands for properties in close to Chennai. Villages in another districts lose to Chennai, Chengulpet was already a highly valued real estate’s with many educational, religious organisations already in position of large tracks of fertile land ready to be reused for non-agricultural development.The report also sites examples of SEZ that had little or no oppositions. â€Å"Perambalur District Perambalur is one of the districts in Tamil Nadu . â€Å"Contrary to the stories of land grabbing and bureaucratic compulsion that reeled off about land acquisition in many other districts of Tamil Nadu, people in Perambalur had altogether a different story to narrate†¦ The entire process of land acquisition was smooth, and the loca l community had no discontentment – not even a speck of disapproval, about having lost the land (Palanithurai, 2009). Despite such variable and mixed responses the report concludes by stating that â€Å"If at all, SEZ should do some good to the local development: (i) let it get established in real barren lands based on actual surveys carried out in identified regions, and not as per the British period records in possession of the government; and (ii) the community unrest in SEZ can be avoided, if the National Policy on Rehabilitation and Resettlement 2007 was taken as guidelines for resettlement and rehabilitation of people affected† (Palanithurai, 2009).But more tellingly the report presents rather dramatic description of â€Å"eviction of people, leveling of houses, handling over the land to the SEZ developers. and paying cash compensation to those who part with lands† and concludes that â€Å"The current tendency of making steadfast move towards eviction of people†¦ would only cause damage to agriculture, mock grassroots level democracy, and aggravate poverty†.These observations in the report have exclusively relied on the people who have lost their land and have grievances against the compensation packages. The report draws its conclusions based on selected individual case studies and incidents of few clear opposition to SEZs/ But what about the other stakeholders. Does SEZ have an impact only on those who lose their land?

Will attach the assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Will attach the assignment - Essay Example In being in the presence of an illegal substance, I take the responsibility of accepting a sentence. Since this case is the first of a kind for me, I could attract a jail term of one year. Alternatively, I could receive a fine of 1000 US Dollars. I could partly blame ignorance for my situation. The rules of marijuana refer to possessors and peddlers. Most teenagers in the company of users of the drug fails to realize the repercussions tied to proximity to marijuana. In some states, the charges imposed on the possession of marijuana are less mild compared to charges imposed for possession of other dangerous controlled substances like cocaine. However, some judges in particular instances have often imposed tough sentences for ignorant first-time offenders. The ages of people involved in the possession of the drugs, the criminal records and the status in the community should be considered in determining worthy sentences or punishments. When caught in the possession of marijuana or association with marijuana users, questions are bound to arise. Any police or drug enforcement agencies would bombard any first-time offender with questions regarding the legal consequences of marijuana. Law officials usually outline the probable sentences that may befall individuals in case of possession of marijuana. The sentences would also be announced to people caught in proximity to marijuana users. Many law officials operate on the assumption that peers who associate have similar tendencies. Nevertheless, the perception is misplaced since marijuana users may have friends who never use the drug. In the event of possession or proximity to marijuana users, the law should bend. For people who associate with marijuana users, the punishments or sentences should be mild. Alternatively, the police should offer cautions. Prudently, the police should weigh between imposing wrong sentences and correcting first-time offenders more

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Case Study Example These two methods will be combined to check which one is feasible for the project to be implemented. The scrutinizing of the project will be carried out in three stages. Most of the employees in the aquarium have a science background. They are not aware of the profit making or the marketing objectives of the management. Therefore, they need to be issued a directive to make them understand about the objective of the aquarium. In the selection of the products or services that put in to sustainable profitability importance should be given in altering the business spotlight of portfolio management from financial metrics to client value. By setting aside the financial data and offering more weight to purchaser value data when making product portfolio choices, corporations can in fact look up financial performance by recognizing products with the prospective to delight clients. When importance is given to the purchaser value the clients are satisfied and they demand the products more. Client value which is defined as the clients insight of how well a solution meets their requirements is the only confirmed route to make profit. The greater the value of the explanation to the purchaser, the more likely the purchaser will purchase it and shell out a premium price for it. And, unlike several financial constraints, client value is based on something genuine, which one can precisely measure to yield reliable outcom es. In the case of the aquarium, a 6X6 matrix has been developed to divide the target audiences for whom the projects would be implemented. Those who are aware about the project and interested and committed towards the project would be given preference. This can be done with the help of the observation of the customers and the visitors. Thus, in this case study, also the senior level management of each SBU is required to focus on customer satisfaction so as to attract more customers and generate more of

American and British Civil Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

American and British Civil Religion - Essay Example In order to understand American and British civil religion and its link to Christianity, one must focus on the history and what brought about the changes in these regions historically and their impact on the Christian world in these two most influential regions. In my research efforts, I would like to discuss Gerald Parsons book â€Å"Perspectives on Civil Religion and Sydney Ahlstrom's book on the religious history of these two countries. There are different levels of the definition civil religion and the two most influential authorities on civil religion's definition from Robert Bellah the American sociologist and later Pierard and Linder have in turn served to actually link the concept of civil religion with Christianity (Parsons,2002, p.6). According to Bellah, American civil religion has two aspects :priestly and conservative, liberal and prohetic (Parsons, 2002, p.3). He goes on to explain the Americans on the one hand see themselves as divinely appointed by God to lead the world in a particular direction. â€Å"..For some among the new Christian Right within recent and contemporary American politics, the concept of an American civil religion has been deployed as part of a campaign to create and sustain a distinctively 'Christian America' (Parsons, 2002, p.4).† According to the author, the move in this direction advertises America's ideologies in a Christian context- the ideologies of peace and justice and mingle them in the context of Christian religion. Richard Pierard and Robert Linder have actually defined certain characteristics of civil religion where a nation and its vision are somehow intertwined with each other (Parsons, 2002). His book actually serves to show us how a nation's civil religion is predom inantly linked to some form of religion-in this case Christianity. One must understand through their analyzing of this concept that this concept still is ambiguous to the present day. But in order to under their links, it is only fair to look at the history of these two major powers in the world and their religion in order to understand more clearly their dealings with the world. Both these countries are dominantly Protestant and Anglo-Saxon and their forms of "modernity" go back to the eighteenth century (Parsons, 2002, p.7). In doing so, in my discussion of civil religion, it is important to look at the rituals of remembrance of these two countries. Americans celebrating the 4th of July independence and Memorial day (remembrance of those who have died in civil war), and the British having celebration of Remembrance Sunday (the anniversary of the armistice that ended the First World War in 1918) are most notably viable examples of civil religion in these two countries (Parosn, 2002). In America, the most influential leader Abraham Lincoln who led the civil war in the 18th century, delivered certain key speeches that contributed to the concept of civil religion in America that were intrinsically tied to the Old testament Scriptures :for example at the Gettysburg Address in 1863, "Lincoln used Christian symbolism and language and he saw America as the promised land to which God had led their predecessors (Parsons,2002, p.15)."1 In the meantime in Britain, there is a growing trend in the twentieth century to mark the graves of those who had died in the war (Parsons, 2002). "From 1915 onwards, street shrines were designed to list the names of those who were currently serving with the armed forces and of those who had been killed ...For the clergy they were part of the process of evangelism and the attempt to reassert the relevance of the message of Christianity in the midst of war...it also endorsed the understanding of the war as a holy crusade (Parsons, 2002, p.29)."2 Also , it is notable to include that the British were fueled in their ceremony of marking the graves of those deceased in war-commonly known as the commonwealth war graves were met with huge public support (Parsons, 2002). The British people although

The Vertical Boundaries of the Firm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Vertical Boundaries of the Firm - Essay Example â€Å"Total Quality Management is a wide management perspective that deals with processes and attitudes† (Delfmann & Thorsten, 2008). It emphasizes quality as a major objective in a manufacturing environment as opposed to traditional mode of maximizing production. It is worth noting that quality in production not only applies to manufacturing environment but also in knowledge service industries for instance universities. â€Å"Total quality management operates under the principles of continuous improvement of quality as opposed to maintenance of a static level† (Gattorna, 1998). It aims at approaching quality at an increasing scale. This is possible through training and motivation of employees so as to better quality. It is therefore paramount for the top management to state their commitment open to all employees. The advantage of the mode is that it has the ability to immediately detect and correct quality problems. It doesn’t rectify problems after occurrence. â€Å"Just in Time† is a philosophy in management that seeks to eliminate manufacturing wastes by producing right quantity at the right time and at the right place. Its main goal is to do away with non-value adding operations during production. Lean production or stockless production is a philosophy that aims at reducing inventory levels to an absolute minimum. Effectiveness of logistics performance index to transnational organisations in decision making. Relationship between logistics index and supply chain location selection.... It aims at approaching quality at an increasing scale. This is possible through training and motivation of employees so as to better quality. It is therefore paramount for the top management to state their commitment open to all employees. The advantage of the mode is that it has the ability to immediately detect and correct quality problems. It doesn’t rectify problems after occurrence. â€Å"Just in Time† is a philosophy in management that seeks to eliminate manufacturing wastes by producing right quantity at the right time and at the right place. Its main goal is to do away with non-value adding operations during production. Lean production or stockless production is a philosophy that aims at reducing inventory levels to an absolute minimum. Looking closely at the three aspects, Just in Time increases production, performance and quality in manufacturing industry. Lean, controls stock levels to avoid unnecessary production while Total Quality Management works towards good quality of products. The three aspects support each other in a manufacturing environment. â€Å"Toyota manufacturing industry adopted this principle which saw a reduction in manufacturing defects and parts storage problem† (ElMaraghy, 2012). Question 3 Rough plan Effectiveness of logistics performance index to transnational organisations in decision making Relationship between logistics index and supply chain location selection Management in transnational organisations is a challenging task especially in decisions making pertaining to supply chain. The use of logistics plays a crucial role in the success of supply chain. â€Å"Order execution is an imperative element