Human Error Definition Glossary of Ergonomics Terms

Human error can simply be described as an error made by a human. But it gets a little more complicated than that. People make mistakes. But why they make mistakes is important. With that in mind, human error is when a person makes a mistake because that person made a mistake. As opposed to being confused or influenced by other factors of the design. It is also known as Operator Error. Human error is an important concept in ergonomics but it is mainly referred to in context. It is a possible answer to the questions: What caused the accident? or How did it break? That doesnt mean that the vase broke because of human error. But when you are evaluating a mishap from a piece of equipment or a system then the cause may be human error. It may also be incorrect installation or a manufacturing defect or a slew of other possibilities. Theres an old episode of I Love Lucy where Lucy gets a job working on an assembly line boxing candies. The line is moving too fast for her to keep up and madcap comic romps ensure. The breakdown in the system was not mechanical but human error. Human error is typically called into being during an accident or mishap investigation such as a car crash, house fire or a problem with a consumer product leading to a recall. Usually, it is associated with a negative happening. In industrial operations, something called an unintended consequence may occur. This may not necessarily be bad, just unexplained. And investigation may conclude that the equipment or system design is fine but the human component messed up. The legend of Ivory soap is an example of positive unintended consequences due to human error. Back in the late 1800s Proctor and Gamble were manufacturing their new White Soap with hope to compete in the fine soap market. One day a line worker left the soap mixing machine on while he went to lunch. When he got back from lunch the soap was extra frothy having incorporated more air than normal into it. They sent the mixture down the line and turned it into bars of soap. Soon Proctor and Gamble were inundated with requests for the soap that floats. They investigated, found the human error, and incorporated it into their product Ivory soap which is still selling well over a century later. (Note-recent research by Proctor and Gamble suggests that the soap was actually invented by one of their chemists but the legendary example still illustrates the human error point)​ From a design perspective, the engineer or designer produces a piece of equipment or a system with intentions to function in a certain way. When it doesnt function that way (it breaks, catches on fire, messes up its output or is befallen of some other mishap) they try to find the root cause. Typically the cause can be identified as a: design deficiency - when the mechanical, electrical or other components of the design have a problem that caused the mishapequipment malfunction - when the machine operated incorrectlymanufacturing defect - when the material or assembly has an issue that causes it to failenvironmental hazard - when an outside factor such as the weather causes the hazardous conditionhuman error - when a person did something wrong If we look at watching TV as a system we can give examples for all of these types of errors that would lead to the TV not working. If there is not a power button on the set itself it is a design deficiency. If the channel scanner cant pick up the channels because of a software glitch it is a malfunction. If the screen wont light up because of a short it is a manufacturing defect. If the set gets struck by lightning it is an environmental hazard. If you lose the remote in the couch cushions it is human error. Thats all well and good, you say, But what constitutes human error? I am glad you asked. To better analyze the mishap and better understand the human error we have to quantify it. Human error is more specific than just making a mistake. Human Error Includes Failing to perform or omitting a taskPerforming the task incorrectlyPerforming an extra or non-required taskPerforming tasks out of sequenceFailing to perform the task within the time limit associated with itFailing to respond adequately to a contingency To continue with our TV example if you omit pressing the power button the TV wont come on and its human error. If you press power on the remote with it facing backward youve performed the task incorrectly. Pressing the power button twice is an extra task and no TV. If you try to turn it on before you plug it in youre going out of sequence. If you have an old plasma TV and you move it laying down if you turn it on without letting it sit upright for a while to redistribute the gasses you can actually blow it up by going out of sequence. If you dont pay your cable bill on time youve failed to act within the allotted time and, again, no TV. Furthermore, if you dont tackle the cable guy when he comes to disconnect it youve failed to react adequately to a contingency. Human error may be identified as the cause when the root cause is actually something else on the list. If a switch malfunctions when the operator uses it that is not human error it is a malfunction. While there are some things that contribute to human error, design deficiencies are often misdiagnosed as human errors as well. There is an ongoing debate between ergonomically centered designers and engineering-minded designers about human error and design deficiency. On one side is the belief that almost all human error is related to design deficiency because a good design should take into account human behavior and design out those possibilities while on the other side they believe people make mistakes and no matter what you give them they will find a way to break them.

Drug Test Benefits Free Essays

Recent increases in the use of illegal drugs and problems related to that use have raised a variety of public health and safety concerns. These concerns have led many to propose drug testing as one of the best ways to combat the proliferation of drug use. Although the focus is testing for drugs, it is worth noting that similar calls for increased testing has risen due to the spread of HIV and the threat it poses to those exposed to it. We will write a custom essay sample on Drug Test Benefits or any similar topic only for you Order Now Clearly, these public health and safety concerns conflict with privacy claims of those being targeted for testing. Nevertheless, many view the public safety threat as serious enough to override completely any individual privacy interests. Indeed, public opinion polls indicate that there is widespread support for a variety of testing programs, even those that are random and mandatory. Although drug abuse should not be tolerated in the workplace, care must be taken to limit the extent to which drug testing intrudes on people=s privacy. The idea is to use the technology carefully, with adequate justification, and with enough safeguards and precautions to ensure that testing is done thoughtfully and responsibly. Both the government and private business argue that they have a significant interest in testing citizens and employees for a variety of reasons. First, they can fight the Adrug war@ by weeding out users and stopping drug use. Second, they can ensure safety by revealing conditions that pose a serious threat to co-workers or the public. Third, they test employees so they can maintain a fully responsive and effective workforce. Fourth, they can identify those who will be unable to work in the future. Fifth, it will help reduce the cost of employee health care plans. Finally, drug testing will help maintain public confidence in the integrity and trustworthiness of their operations. Many insurance agencies argue that testing is necessary because it fundamentally causes the healthier employees to pay higher premiums to cover the costs of the coverage for those who are at greater risk levels. All of these arguments provide strong reasons to consider drug testing. In some industries, such as health care and transportation, even casual drug or alcohol use can result in not only increased costs, but also in lawsuits and loss of life. Even if the employee is not chemically dependent, a spouse or family member using drugs or alcohol can mean missed work, extensive personal phone calls and increased dependent medical benefits. Supreme court justice Antonin Scalia found drug testing to be an invasion of privacy and a practice of A needless indignity. @ He states that if a blood test is used, it involves puncturing the skin. If a urinalysis is utilized, the sample must sometimes be gained under direct observation to guard against drug-free substitutions and falsification of results. He feels that there are more effective methods of identifying drug users. For example, a daily observation of moods, behavior, and productivity, can detect drug use and be dealt with immediately. Many employees feel that implementing a drug testing program will prove to the lack of trust between the employer and employee. They feel that this will cause high turnover rates from year to year. It will also lower employee morale and effectiveness while on the job. These problems could be avoided by just utilizing the observance plan mention earlier. Opponents of drug testing also focuses on the limitations of the testing procedures, arguing that the tests are highly inaccurate. One worry is the sensitivity of the tests. Many types of tests procedure inaccurate, innocent parties will be harmed because most tests produce a large number of false positive results, indicating that there has been drug use when there has actually been none. Such false positive results can rise from the use of medications, passive inhalation of marijuana smoke, or the technology employed for many drug tests. Drug testing opposers cite the human error of lab personnel that further implicates the accuracy of results The first two cases on drug testing to reach the Supreme Court were argued in 1988. From the decisions issued the following year, it is clear that the court held that urine tests are a significant intrusion into a fundamentally private domain. Since then, every court that has addressed the issue has found that urinalysis and blood tests intrude on privacy as a search and seizure forbidden under the fourth amendment. Courts have mainly focused on the privacy invasion involved, first, in the process of urination and the manner in which the specimen is obtained, and second, in the individuals interest and safeguarding the confidentiality of the information contained in the sample. While drug tests might also violate the fifth amendment protection of due process and constitutional privacy interests, courts have taken the privacy claims of the fourth amendment to be the most forceful constitutional threat. Some surveys show employees strongly support drug testing because it promises greater safety and harmony at work. However, scores of civil suits in the early and mid 1980’s challenged the procedure as an invasion of privacy. The courts have upheld most testing programs, and fewer suits are now being filed. In a study conducted by the society for Human Resources Management, human resource professionals most consistently favored the use of drug and alcohol testing, soliciting criminal record checks, and monitoring visual display, terminal keystrokes and phone activity. While employers may deem these activities as essential to preserve workplace safety and productivity, many employees would argue that they violate their privacy, both on the job and at home. Employees may not be invaded by having to participate in drug tests with the urinalysis. Technology has advanced so that any impairment in a workers performance while on the job due to drugs or alcohol will be monitored on computers. It is called performance or impairment testing by its creators, and is a game-like device that can test judgement and motor coordination through the ability to manipulate a cursor on a VDT screen. The benefits reveal the cause of an employee impairment. Performance tests would offer more privacy to the worker and promote a less hostile environment People have objected mostly to random drug testing, which is mainly limited to government and private jobs that effect public safety, like those at nuclear power plants, airlines, railroads and trucking companies. More than 90 percent of the testing is of job applicants. But most of these same companies also test after accidents and when suspicions are aroused through erratic behavior. Fewer than 10 percent of the companies test randomly or at the time of annual physicals An employer has an extreme amount of influence on an individual to receive some type of treatment for their addiction. They are in the position to provide incentive for accepting treatment, as well as emotional support afterwards, because the job usually is of extreme importance to the addicted individual. The management should offer and accessible health insurance plan so that when the employee needs to receive the treatment that they can easily do so without having to involve several other people Once the addict has received the needed care, their job structure should be altered by management. They should be placed in a less stressful atmosphere. Their amount of work decreases for a certain amount of time, and they should not be placed on a demanding quota schedule that could trigger an emotional swing back toward the addiction The key to this success is having a good prevention program in place to detect problems at an early stage in their development. @If these problems can be detected early then outpatient treatment can be successful,@ says Maureen Whitmore of Occupational Health Services in Larkspur, California. Once a company has invested their time and money in rehabilitation of the employee, there are steps that must be followed to keep the employee from returning to their addiction. First, a peer support group should be provided where open discussion is encouraged in trying to cope with a new life and the new found pressure of work. Second, management should help their employees reintegrate back into the workplace. They will be confused and easily persuaded by stress that might have led to the problem in the beginning. Third, the company should hold AA meetings on-site and provide a crisis number to call in case of an emergency. Fourth, supervisors should be educated to watch for returning signs that the person is under stress. Fifth, management should involve family members and provide lifestyle education. Finally, stress reduced activities should be offered on-site, such as aerobics and fitness classes, and workshops on how to improve interpersonal skills. I feel that employee drug testing in some manner is essential to the performance and effectiveness of an employee in a company. Management needs the assurance that every employee is doing their job without any type of impairment from an outside source. However, I also feel that urinalysis testing is an invasion of privacy. As an employer, I will not be concerned with what types of drugs the employee is taking, but he is impairing the performance of the company. As I mentioned earlier, technology has advanced in such a manner that there will be no need for urinalysis tests. Performance or impairment testing programs will test the employee=s judgement and motor coordination through the ability to manipulate a cursor on a VDT screen. This will provide the employer with accurate information on the abilities of the employee to perform their job. It also keeps the employees addiction private and not for their employers to know. I feel that the increased health insurance coverage and the increased ease of access for employees will help them seek treatment for their addiction. However, there will need to be severe disciplinary actions for those who continually test positive. Once an employee has received treatment, the follow-up plans must be persuaded by management. This should help the employee to receive the needed attention for their problem, and help the company continue to have an effective employee. Drug testing has many benefits and set backs for both employers and employees. Certain types of drug testing are necessary in to days workplace for there to be an increased effectiveness of a company on their industry. However, employees still have privacy rights that cannot be infringed upon. A good and successful detection program and rehabilitation program are essential to the survival of the employee in the workplace. Eventually, the drug addiction will impair their abilities for life. 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Smart Grid Communication Infrastructures †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Smart Grid Communication Infrastructures. Answer: Introduction Smart Grid is nothing but the integration of 20th centurys traditional electrical power grid made up of newer 21st centurys telecommunication and information technologies (Al-Ali Aburukba, 2015). This integration enables the efficient resource utilization for optimizing energy consumption aspects within electrical energy production industry. Henceforth, this technology includes the energy and communication flow in two specific ways. The smart grid technology emerged for managing significant areas of development in energy consumption therefore; the National Institute of technology has developed one model for managing the system architectural development of smart grid technology. Additionally for the evolution of this technology it introduces various other technologies for managing effective communication measures. Among all of this Internet of Things are considered within this assignment for managing highly compatible communication plan management for Smart Grid Technology. History of Smart Grid Technology and Internet of Things Almost as soon as there were the evolution of electrical distribution grids, the demands for devices that will be monitoring and measuring consumptions that needs to be managed with the help of supplier distributions and price controlling processes. Henceforth, the concept of smart grid was evolved within the technical domain of operation for managing the system architectural development within the industry (Al-Fuqaha et al., 2015). There were various obstacles that opposed the information gathering process of grids and these are managed for developing grid management processes. In the year of 1882, Pearl Street System in lower Manhattan attempted to drag one electromagnet against one cautiously attuned spring closed or opened associates that illuminates red lamp or blue lamp. This experiment proved the smart operation of smart grid preparation process (Falvo et al., 2013). In addition to this, in the year of 1872, Samuel Gardiner innovated one stopped clock that also includes the te chnological advancement of smart grid technology which invested its role in developing the significant areas of operations within network architecture. Internet of things is another aspect that manages the internal as well as external connectivity involved within the significant system architecture of network infrastructure. Internet of things is nothing but one technology that integrates significant resources and functional elements which connects the elements involved within the network infrastructure (Fortino Trunfio, 2014). Internet of things connects functional blocks with respective situations for managing developing significant areas of operations within network architecture (Fettweis, 2014). There are different areas of operations that manage internet connectivity for appliances. These appliances includes smart air conditioners, smart TV, smart other appliances that connects itself with respect to various functional operational perspectives.these appliances are managed with respect to significant IP addresses assigned within each of devices. Relation with Smart grid and IoT Smart grid is nothing but the integration process of managing the significant appliances over a specific network infrastructure that manages the development of functional blocks involved within a network infrastructure (Friess, 2013). In addition to this,every device or functional block includes a specific assigned IP address that identified their operational status. Now these status is sent through the internet connectivity provided by Internet of Things within the network infrastructure. Therefore, smart grid technology requires the help of smart Internet of Things for managing their operational performance within the network infrastructure for managing their system architecture as well as their operational excellence with respect to the demands of network infrastructure (Gubbi et al., 2013). Communication protocols also play important and significant role mitigating issues and functional errors for the operational excellence being measured within the considered network infrastruct ure. Smart grid communications are mainly based upon wired and wireless network technologies that are apart from the technological perspectives these networks are based upon the functionalities of smart grids (Markovic et al., 2013). Additionally, these classifications involved within this research are classified Home area network, neighbourhood area network, access network and core or external networks etc. This network generally connects various smart grid objects such as home appliances, smart meters reclosers, capacitors etc. In contrast with these facts, all of these appliances are geologically disseminated throughout the grids from residential units to the substations. As mentioned within the introduction there are various communication protocols that are used within these appliances with the help different speed rates (Moreno-Munoz et al., 2016). The bandwidth and latency are managed with respect to the significant transmission bandwidths and other possible solutions. IoT Smart Grid Conceptual Model As mentioned within the preceding section of smart grid technologies and IoT technologies, it is found that the smart homes have various applications and some form of renewable energy possessions. These applications and possessions are considered as IoT technologies (Siano, 2014). These technologies can download and upload data and information from utilities and residential place owners. At a large intake, many of the devices which are considered as IoT objects such as reclosers, capacitors banks and switches etc. Smart grid or for larger cities may have huge amount of IoT devices within it. Smart Grid application Band Width Latency Substation automation 9.6 56 Kbps 15- 200 ms WASA Automation 600-1500 Kbps 15- 200 ms Outage Management 56 Kbps 100-2sec Distribution Automation 9.6-56 Kbps 100 ms- 2 sec Smart Meter Reading 10- 100 Kbps 2000 ms The research proposes that each appliance have significant IP addresses. These require the smart grid to has huge number of IP addresses (Gubbi et al., 2013). For this reason the IPV 4 is not suitable here as it contains only 32 bit addresses and therefore, it requires IPV6 addressing scheme (Zanella et al., 2014). In addition to this, this research is considering the 6LowPANcommunication protocol for managing the communication between different components of smart grid appliances. Smart home appliances combines smart appliances that are considered as one object for managing various operations within smart grid network (Al-Ali Aburukba, 2015). These appliances are air conditioners, water heaters, dishwashers etc. Unique IP addresses are assigned within each of the appliances of smart home and these can be accessed with the help of internet that is IoT (Gubbi et al., 2013). With the help of IoT the status of the appliances are transferred to the monitoring heads. The power substation has many devices that such as transformers, breakers, recorders and IEDs etc. Similarly, the substation is also considered as one object and these are assigned with significant IP addresses and their status is transferred through internet (Al-Fuqaha et al., 2015). There are authorized operators within the areas who manage these operations. Distributed renewable energy resources The dispersed renewable energy possessions are one of the key smart grid enablers that are installed within the housing areas of operations (Fettweis, 2014). This supplements power sources to the areas for these appliances being installed within the network architecture of the system (Gubbi et al., 2013). These are also have significant IP addresses and these are accessed through the internet of things devices over any significant regions. For operating grid efficiency a mobile labor force needs to be available for 24 hours within the network architecture. These include laptop, fridges, power lines etc (Fortino Trunfio, 2014). These also used different IP addresses and are accessed with the help of internet activity and these IP addresses within the network. This center have huge amount of appliances and database services within their network, such as DMS (distribution management system), CIS (Customer information systems), SCADA etc. Each of these services has their own IP addresses and these can be connected with help of Internet of Things approach (Friess, 2013). Echo systems are nothing but the external power server providers. These are also known as third party power provider (Gubbi et al., 2013). Each of these also has significant IP addresses over their network infrastructure. Conclusion This can be concluded that the conceptual model for the smart grid technology within the IoT concept. In consideration with the research processes, appliances and devices are considered as the objects. Each object are assigned with some specific IP addresses that are connected with the help of PLC, LTE and other communication measures and IoT plays a great role in managing relation in between these functional elements. Therefore, these are managed with respect to these functional areas and domains of operations within this report. IoT is used within this research as linking communication components that manages the communication measures for these considered objects. All of these information collected and gather from this research proceses, it is highlighted that the consideration for smart grid and internet of things are very essential for managing the development perspective of any network infrastructure and developmental aspect of the network infrastructure. References Al-Ali, A. R., Aburukba, R. (2015). Role of internet of things in the smart grid technology.Journal of Computer and Communications,3(05), 229. Al-Fuqaha, A., Guizani, M., Mohammadi, M., Aledhari, M., Ayyash, M. (2015). Internet of things: A survey on enabling technologies, protocols, and applications.IEEE Communications Surveys Tutorials,17(4), 2347-2376. Falvo, M. C., Martirano, L., Sbordone, D., Bocci, E. (2013, May). Technologies for smart grids: A brief review. InEnvironment and Electrical Engineering (EEEIC), 2013 12th International Conference on(pp. 369-375). IEEE. Fettweis, G. P. (2014). The tactile internet: Applications and challenges.IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine,9(1), 64-70. Fortino, G., Trunfio, P. (2014). Internet of things based on smart objects.Fortino P. Trunfio, eds., Cham: Springer International Publishing. Friess, P. (2013).Internet of things: converging technologies for smart environments and integrated ecosystems. River Publishers. Gubbi, J., Buyya, R., Marusic, S., Palaniswami, M. (2013). Internet of Things (IoT): A vision, architectural elements, and future directions.Future generation computer systems,29(7), 1645-1660. Markovic, D. S., Zivkovic, D., Branovic, I., Popovic, R., Cvetkovic, D. (2013). Smart power grid and cloud computing.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,24, 566-577. Moreno-Munoz, A., Bellido-Outeirino, F. J., Siano, P., Gomez-Nieto, M. A. (2016). Mobile social media for smart grids customer engagement: Emerging trends and challenges.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,53, 1611-1616. Siano, P. (2014). Demand response and smart gridsA survey.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,30, 461-478. Yan, Y., Qian, Y., Sharif, H., Tipper, D. (2013). A survey on smart grid communication infrastructures: Motivations, requirements and challenges.IEEE communications surveys tutorials,15(1), 5-20. Zanella, A., Bui, N., Castellani, A., Vangelista, L., Zorzi, M. (2014). Internet of things for smart cities.IEEE Internet of Things journal,1(1), 22-32.

I Am Purely Amazed By The Astonishing Personal Revolution By Which A S

I am purely amazed by the astonishing personal revolution by which a simple inarticulate man transformed himself into the Mahatma, who ushered the British Empire out of India without even firing a shot. In the age of Empire and Military might he proved that the powerless had power and that force of arms would never prevail against force of spirit. Based on all this, Mahatma Gandhi surely deserved an award, which spoke of his efforts, his fight for freedom and justice and all his other contributions to this world. This award could be given to a few other people also who have been great reformers. It could be given to one who is a reformer, who has fought for the rights of the people, one who has fought against all the injustice, malpractices of this world, for the oppressed people. One who does not use his status, power and military to reform the world but his own might and that force of spirit to make this place a better world. One who displays the courage and conviction to stand for his beliefs. In short, he/she could be called the guiding light for peace in this world. Gandhi's concept of nonviolent resistance liberated one nation and sped the end of colonial empires around the world. His marches and fasts fired the imagination of oppressed people everywhere. Millions sought freedom and justice under Mahatma's guiding light. He proclaimed the power of love, peace and freedom. He fought for the rights of the Indians, for their freedom from the British. His principles surely made a difference in this world. In spite of being treated rudely and paying all sorts of penalties, he was never deterred. Many people, organizations and awards have already acknowledged Gandhi for his efforts. Recently he was rated the runner up Person of the Century second only to the great scientist Albert Einstein who had himself said that " the future generations will scarcely believe that such a man in flesh and blood, had tread this earth." in reference to Mahatma Gandhi. The British Broadcasting Corporation also voted him as the Man of the Millennium. Gandhi is a great man held in universal esteem, a figure lifted from history to moral icon. I would want to show my respect and reverence for him and also want to express that his efforts have not gone in vain and today even the children who are the future generation of this world remember and respect his work. I would like to call this award the "Life and Leaders" award. It would be given to a living or a dead person every year. I would first like to honor the so-called Father of the nation by the Indians, Mahatma Gandhi, by this award.

The period of the twentieth century during genocides than in wars The WritePass Journal

The period of the twentieth century during genocides than in wars Introduction The period of the twentieth century during genocides than in wars IntroductionReferences:Related Introduction Genocide in Rwanda, 1994 Throughout the period of the twentieth century it is believed that more people died during genocides than in wars (Helen Fein 1993:81), despite this staggering claim, the genocides have received noticeably less attention than the recent wars of the twentieth century. There exist many varied definitions of genocide, to state one; â€Å"a form of one-sided mass killing in which the state or other authority intends to destroy a group, as that group and membership in it are identified by the perpetrator† (Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn, 1990) This very similar to the UN definition also used by such agencies as Medecins Sans frontiers (Destexhe 1995), the definition included in the 1948 convention states (Article 2): ‘In the Present convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: A)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Killing members of the group; B)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; C)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; D)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Imposing measures intending to prevent births within the group; E)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.’ Furthermore as Article 1 reiterates ‘genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which [the Contracting Parties to the Convention] undertake to prevent and punish’. The UN definition of genocide highlights in Article 2 the difference between direct and indirect killings, the latter being techniques such as birth control however they both share the same aim; biological destruction of the group. In addition the UN definition for political reasons excludes mass killing, this definition continues to be up for debate for example Helen Fein (London sage: 1993) views genocide as; â€Å"sustained purposeful action by a perpetrator to physically destroy a collectivity, directly or indirectly, through interdiction of the biological and social reproduction of group members, sustained regardless of the surrender or lack of threat offered by the victim†. An exact definition of genocide had direct repercussions when investigating and treating the individuals or groups responsible, it is possible that the potentially guilty party who controlled the genocide may contest the accusation of genocide, stating the actions taken took place in self defence or even under conditions of civil war.   They may also believe that those held responsible should be tried under war crimes and not under the crime of genocide, which is described as a crime against humanity under international law (Republic of Rwanda 1995:31). Throughout this case study I intend to provide a detailed insight into the horrific Rwandan genocide during 1994. Jean Kambanda created history on 1 May, 1998 becoming the first person to ever plead guilty to the crime of genocide at an international court hearing.   Kambanda, the prime minister of the Rwandan government, not only planned but instigated the mass attacks and in turn killings in 1994.   With the logistics of the genocide overseen by Kambanda, local authorities had enough people in place to initiate the killings; those who were not willing to cooperate with the orders were simply murdered. Furthermore he commissioned an ambience of anger and paranoia, initiated violence and as a result eventually oversaw mass murder. Kambanda as a result was convicted on all six counts and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Kambanda’s politics during his spell in government can be described as irrational and extreme; an underlying theme to his work was exclusion of Tutsis, believing them to be evil. In order to fully comprehend the reasons behind the genocide in Rwanda, it’s important to understand the history behind it. The origins of Rwanda’s genocide can be traced back a hundred years previous, when in 1894 the King of Rwanda welcomed Gustav Adolf von Gotzen, a German count, to his court. Ten years previously at the Berlin conference Rwanda was gifted to Germany as Africa was divided amongst the European superpowers. Belgium took control of Rwanda in 1916, until 1962 when independence was gained.   The Belgians favoured the Tutsi minority (Between 8 and 14 percent of the population at the time of the genocide) granting them preferential status. The ethnic relations between the Tutsis and the Hutus (At least 85% of the population in 1999) were respectable, furthermore they were not believed to be distinct races or tribes, thus Hutu and Tutsis conflict didn’t occur often. Furthermore any tension that existed between the two ‘tribes’ was increased further and highlighted by the Belgian colonial policy.   Gerard Prunier (1997:5) believes that â€Å"Each group had an average dominant somatic type, even if not every one of its individual members conformed to it.† With the Hutu being generally a small, stocky somatic type, â€Å"a standard Bantu physical aspect†, in comparison the Tutsi were generally tall and thin. However on the flip side Gà ¼nter (1955:672-7) believes ‘there were gross exaggerations of the physical characteristics between Hutu and the taller Tutsi, with the aristocratic minority invariably being compared with the majority of farmers and servants.’ Furthermore the colonisers implemented an identity card system in 1933, this categorised every Rwandan as Hutu, Tutsi, or Twa (The latter being an aboriginal group that before the genocide in 1990 accounted for 1 percent of the population). The identity cards in question were retained during the post independence era, this providing information to the architects of the genocide, as they located their Tutsi victims and Hutu opponents. The Tutsi, who were deemed better educated and more prosperous, headed the campaign for independence after World War II. As a result the Belgians changed allegiance, now backing the Hutus. The change in allegiance let vengeful Hutu components murdered approximately 15,000 Tutsis over a three year period between 1959 and 1962, as Prunier (1997:63) states ‘ Violence in Rwanda forced many Tutsi into exile between 1959 and 1964, then again during 1972-3, amounting to approximately 600000-700000 people’. The Tutsi fled notably to Uganda and Burundi, where they formed a guerrilla organisation known as the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), with the aim of overturning the new regime.   This aim came to fruition in 1990, when the RPF invaded and occupied the north east of Rwanda. In August 1993 Habyarimana finally accepted an internationally-mediated peace treaty, providing the RPF with a share of political power and a military presence in Kigali. As a result the UN deployed 5,000 peacekeepers to oversee issues, referred to as UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda). However there is a school of thought that believes the Rwandan government, despite to treaty, didn’t accept the peace agreement. In addition some government’ officials and high ranked military officers had at that point designed personal ways to combat the Tutsi ‘issue’ as early as 1992. Habyarimana’s controversial decision to make peace with the RPF won others over to their side, including opposition leaders. Many believed themselves to be patriots when involved in the genocide. The above situation was referred to as the ‘Hutu power’ movement, this movement included moderate Hutu’s who opposed the genocide, which organised and supervised the genocide of April-July 1994. Additionally not only a strong sense of secrecy but a false sense of security combined to disarm the majority who were murdered during the genocide, Friedlander (1997: 60-1) described the situation pre genocide as an ‘illusion of normality’.   It is thought that a great deal of the Tutsi contingent based in Rwanda failed to anticipate the imminent genocide of 1994, despite mounting evidence that something was being planned, including periodic killings of innocent and unarmed Tutsi’s.   Covert actions were an important dimension of the Rwandan regime’s close political control, and were especially effective in a highly stratified society, where power differentials had long been taken for granted (Maquet 1961). Some high profile politicians and public figures had consistently voiced an opinion that the Tutsi ‘had it coming to them’, however references to a potential future genocide were few and far between. Firm statements of intent were rare, furthermore the rumours that indicated a potential planned genocide in fact served further to disarm the Tutsi contingent of Rwanda, by appearing to ’cry wolf’.   Had the Tutsi believed the genocide to be possible a greater number would have fled the country before April 1994 (Chretien 1995: Reyntjens 1994).   According to Clapham (1998:209), ‘groups who sought a genocidal solution’ used the period of the Arusha negotiations to prepare for the genocide, and had no intention of agreeing with the terms of any settlement. Ambiguity was deliberately cultivated during preparation for the genocide, and even during its implementation. April 6th 1994, the day that is widely thought to have triggered the holocaust in Rwanda. Presidents Habyarimana was assassinated when his plane was shot down from the sky by a surface to air missile as the plane approached Kigali airport. Although responsibility for the assassination has never been resolved, many believe that the Hutu extremists had opted to remove their president, who had previously allowed the Tutsi back into government, and initiate a ‘solution’ to the Tutsi ‘problem’. This is thought due to the speed with which the genocide was effectively launched. Within 24 hours of the president’s plane being shot down, roadblocks sprang up around the Kigali. The interahamwe ( â€Å"those who help one another†) militia controlled these roadblocks. In addition to this the Tutsi were segregated and hacked to death with machetes at roadside, however because of the perceived physical differences between the two ‘racial’ groups many taller Hutus were also killed. Furthermore death squads were established and given targets, both Tutsi and moderate Hutu, including the prime minister Agate Uwilingiyimana. The genocide quickly expanded from the capital city to more rural areas. The official sanction to kill originated from government state, but the killings were also conducted by normal people and quickly established militia’s, the astounding issue here is why were the population of Rwanda so determined to kill. Prunier (1997:140-1) proposed the ideal of the manipulation of certain group identities; â€Å"In a world where illiteracy is still the rule, where most of the population has horizons which are limited to their parochial world, where ideologies are bizarre foreign gadgets reserved for intellectuals, solidarity is best understood in terms of close community. In turn, these positive (or negative) group feelings are manipulated by the elite in their struggles for controlling the scarce and even shrinking financial, cultural and political resources.† However the reason could lie in the culture of Rwanda, a culture that embodies obedience to authority. The incursions and attacks of the PRF prior to the genocide made the Hutu’s perceive every Tutsi as a threat even more so. It is estimated that in just two weeks after the start of the genocide, approximately a quarter of a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus had been murdered.   Alongside the mass murder of Soviet prisoners of war during World War II, it is thought to be the most concentrated act of genocide ever; â€Å" The dead of Rwanda accumulated at nearly three times the rate of Jewish dead during the Holocaust.† (Gourevitch 1998:3), however Prunier (1997:261)believes the killings happened at an ever faster rate; â€Å" The daily killing rate was at least five times that of the Nazi death camps.† On a slightly more specific note, the gender aspects of the brutal killings is one of the least investigated factors of the Rwandan genocide. Judy El-Bushra states: â€Å"During the war of 1994, and particularly as a result of the genocide massacres which precipitated it, it was principally the men of the targeted populations who lost their lives or fled to other countries in fear. This targeting of men for slaughter was not confined to adults: boys were similarly decimated, raising the possibility that the demographic imbalance will continue for generations. Large numbers of women also lost their lives; however, mutilation and rape were the principal strategies used against women, and these did not necessarily result in death.† (El-Bushra, 200:73). This trend can be seen throughout the early 1990’s when Tutsi males were murdered as they were presumed to be part of the RPF organisation. ‘Throughout the genocide orders to kill were passed down from the top, and the majority who refused to kill were often killed’ (Gourevitch 1997:44-51), an example of this can be seen when the prefect of Butare refused to order Hutu to murder the Tutsis, he was killed and replaced by militia’s from the north (Prunier 1995:261; Article 19 1996:57). As a result all social ties were abolished,   leaving a situation where ‘pupils were killed by their teachers, shop owners by their customers, neighbour killed neighbour and husband killed wives in order to save them from a more terrible death’ ( Destexhe 1995:31). The Hutu used physical features as a guide during the genocide, such as a ‘long nose, long fingers or height (were) considered a sufficient basis for a sentence of death’   (African rights 1996:45), however as Clapham (1998:197) states ‘the blurred vision between the two ‘ethnic groups’ could not be taken as a re liable identity indicator’. On the topic Prunier (1995: 198,142) states that ‘Chopping up men was â€Å"bush clearing† and slaughtering women and children was â€Å"pulling out the roots of the bad weeds†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. As mentioned above the Tutsis and moderate Hutu males were almost exclusively targeted prior the genocide and in fact in its early stages, however there exist strong evidence that between April and June 1994 the gendering of the genocide altered, with more women and children being murdered in the later stages. Alison Des Forges in a 1999 report on the genocide wrote; â€Å"In the past Rwandans had not usually killed women in conflicts and at the beginning of the genocide assailants often spared them. When militia had wanted to kill women during an attack in Kigali in late April, for example, Renzaho [a principal leader of the genocide] had intervened to stop it. Killers in Gikongoro told a woman that she was safe because Sex has no ethnic group. The number of attacks against women [from mid-May onwards], all at about the same time, indicates that a decision to kill women had been made at the national level and was being implemented in local communities. (See Human Rights Watch, Mid- May Slaughter: Women and Children as Victims, in Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda.) As briefly discussed the Tutsi formed an organisation called the RPF, as soon as the genocide erupted the RPF launched an attack on Kigali.   As a result the government resistance was destroyed; this eventually brought an end to the genocide in many areas of the country.   On July 4 1994, Kigali fell to the RPF and in turn the genocide came to an end on July 18th. It is difficult to establish an accurate death toll for the genocide, a figure of 800,000 is generally accepted, although this remains unclear. This figure provided by the Human Rights Watch and is based upon a 1991 census, thus not taking into account the number of other victims of the genocide.   However Philippe Gaillard estimates that up to one million people were killed, this confirmed by Charles Petrie, the deputy co-ordinator of the UN Rwanda Emergency Office.   Additionally in a preliminary report published by the Rwanda Military of Local Government in December 2001, the figure of just over one million casualties is cited, based on a census in July 2000. The report states that 93.7% of the victims being killed because they were Tutsi; 1% because they had some form of relations with Tutsis; 0.8% because they looked like Tutsis; and 0.8% because they opposed the Hutu movement. Furthermore young people were particularly targeted, as 53.7% of the victims were between 0 and 24 years of age. Furthermore the strategy behind the Rwandan genocide was created and implemented by a small contingent of government officials, led by Bagosora, a Hutu extremist.   Bagosora, a retired army colonel, held the position of defence minister at the time of Habyarimana’s assassination. Agathe Habyarimana, the wife of the former president, Bagosora acted quickly in not only organising the genocide but rallying government support. These leaders exploited the highly-centralized nature of the Rwandan state, The genocide happened not because the state was weak, but on the contrary because it was so totalitarian and strong that it had the capacity to make its subjects obey absolutely any order, including one of mass slaughter. (Prunier1995:353-54.). Reyntjens (1996:244-5) believed the ‘Rwandan peoples tendency for obedient compliance, aided in facilitating the ruthless efficiency of the 1994 genocide’. There can exist no simple explanation to the genocide, a numbers of caus es may have aided in contribution, such as; colonial ideology of racial division (identity cards, preferential status to Tutsi then change of allegiance); political and economic struggles prior 1994; the nature of their organised society; and finally the fragile regional and class base of a political fraction determined to retain state power at any cost, which perhaps resulted in the mass killings To conclude I believe I have provided an extensive background to the genocide in Rwanda, which is crucial when aiming to understand to reasons behind the genocide leaving approximately one million dead. Furthermore I have provided an overview of surrounding factors that contributed to the violence and a detailed account of the genocide. References: Melvern ,Linda, (2004), Conspiracy To Murder The Rwandan Genocide, Verso African Rights. (1995). Rwanda: Death, Despair, and Defiance. Revised edition. London Hintjens, Helen M, (1999), Explaining The 1994 Genocide In Rwanda, The Journal Of Modern African Studies, Cambridge University Press, [Online] Available at   jstor.org/stable/161847?Search=yessearchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3Ffilter%3Diid%253A10.2307%252Fi301388%26Query%3D258%26wc%3Don Accessed: 30-4-2011 Martin, Brian, (2009), Managing Outrage Over Genocide: Case Study Rwanda,   [Online] Available at: bmartin.cc/pubs/09gcps.html#_ftn2 Accessed : 24-4-2011 Rwanda: How The Genocide Happened, [Online] Available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/1288230.stm Accessed on: 30-4-2011 Webster, Colin, (2007), Understanding Race and Crime, Open University Press,   [Online] Available at:  Ã‚   dawsonera.com/depp/reader/protected/external/AbstractView/S9780335230396 Accessed on: 18-5-2011 Institute for the study of Genocide, [Online] Available at instituteforthestudyofgenocide.org/oldsite/definitions/def_genocide.html Accessed on 18-5-2011 Accessed on 18-52011 Fein, Helen, 1992, Accounting for genocide after 1945: Theories and Some Findings International journal on group rights 1, no.2:79-106, Kluwer academic publishers Gourevitch, Philip, 1998, We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda, [Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1998], p. 3.), St. Martins Press

Youth Offending Essay Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Youth Offending Essay - Literature review Example Social exclusion refers to the lack of acceptance, belonging and recognition of an individual or a community by others despite the fact that they may be neighbours in a city or a country (Friedman, 1993). Studies have shown that Black and Ethnic Minority (BEM) youths are the most affected by social exclusion in Wales and England. Interestingly, socially exclude youth are often found to be socially and economically vulnerable and have higher risks of living diminished lives in the eyes of the advantaged as well as in their own eyes (Applebaum et al., 2010). The social and economic changes in the free-market economies have been cited as the main causes of social exclusion of minority youths, more so in the Western countries. In addition, weaknesses and inequalities in government service provision have made socially excluded people rather vulnerable in many ways (Coker, 2003). For instance, in England and Wales, the socioeconomically deprived and socially exclude ethnic minority youths have been found to be at higher risks of being crime victims or offenders given their propensity towards committing crimes (CRC, 2008a). This paper thus explores the reasons youths from ethnic minority groups are over-represented in the criminal justice system of Wales and England and the possible approaches with which this trend may be addressed. The Criminal Justice System and Black Minority Youths Perhaps one of the most regrettable and enduring characteristic of the criminal justice systems is racial profiling and stereotyping of youths from minority ethnic groups (CRC, 2008b). Fortunately, there has been a considerable increase in the galvanisation of the link between minority ethnic groups and crime (University of Georgia, 2006). In worse cases, there have been so much racial stereotyping and crime profiling that black youths are referred to as ‘criminal predators’ (Silver, 1994). According to the Youth Justice Board (YJB), which reported that 1,822 young offender s were in custody in the 2010/2011 period, it is this profiling of minority youths that has subtly justified the over-representation of youths from minority ethnic groups and races in the criminal justice systems (BBC, 2011). Out of this population, minority ethnic youths constituted 39%, a 6% increase over the 2009/2010 period. However, the general figures of youth offenders dropped from 1977 of the 2009/2010 period (BBC, 2011). The Guardian also reported similar trends in both Wales and England, reporting that young black men accounted for nearly 40% of the population of youth jails in the two countries. Comparing the 2006 and the 2009/2010 period, the joint report with the Youth Justice Board (YJB) indicated an increase from 23% to 39% by young black youth composition (The Guardian, 2011). This over-representation is not only evident at the trial stages/courts but also in the correctional facilities such as prisons. Although, an unofficial policy, the tendency to racially and eth nically profile minority youths is so rampant that criminal justice practitioners openly practice it. Certain elements have been identified to be core to the culture of racial profiling and the emergence and practice of minority youth typification in the criminal justice system (Walker, 1977). While the number of minority youths incarcerated in the UK and Wales in the last three decades increased, the number of incarcerated white/majority has considerably gone down. Since historical times, youths from minority groups have consistently been over-represented at all the stages in the criminal justice system in the UK and Wales, the senior and the juvenile justice systems (Walker, 1992). In fact, this

Contemporary artists - Ackermann, Andre, Applebroog, Arevalo, Acconci Essay

Contemporary artists - Ackermann, Andre, Applebroog, Arevalo, Acconci - Essay Example The essay "Contemporary artists - Ackermann, Andre, Applebroog, Arevalo, Acconci" will specifically discuss the achievements of some contemporary artists like Rita Ackermann, Carl Andre, Ida Applebroog, Javier Arevalo, and Vito Acconci who contributed much to the world of contemporary art. Rita Ackermann, the Hungarian- American painter was born in 1968 at Budapest in Hungry. She completed her basic training from University of Fine Arts Budapest and flew to New York in order to achieve higher degrees in painting from the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture. Even though Ackermann mainly concented in paintings and drawings, she was also interested in T-shirts and skateboard designing. She is a well known contemporary artist who challenged all traditional concepts of painting and depicted contradictions of human nature on her canvas. In her early stages of painting, she focused on the seductive notions of pubescent girls and their conceptual transitions of nymphoma nia in various phases of their lives. She also tries to enlighten a plethora of social factors which influences or inspires these mental abnormalities. Similarly she bases pornographic ideas in her paintings with the intention of reflecting mental variances in human values and relations. In her opinion, attraction of music and other art performances influence her a lot in the works. Ackermann’s â€Å"work is often most striking where it most closely resembles something we have been seen before† (Schjeldahl).