Fern Hill Essays - Film, Cinema Of The United States, Literature

Fern Hill Essays - Film, Cinema Of The United States, Literature Fern Hill The poem Fern Hill by Dylan Thomas explores childhood memories and the melancholy reality of lost youth. Fern Hill compels the reader to come back over and over again to seek more insight into the joy and pleasure of a time of innocence lost. The figurative speech causes the reader to seek the elusive youth and boyhood days of the character and encourages the reader to mourn and celebrate with the writer for the once glorious days of his youth. From the opening line, the memories of boyhood days are revealed. The writer recalls his carefree life. A beautiful playground, a wooded valley full of apple orchards and fresh green meadows, which bring the boy great happiness, happy as the grass was green, can be visualized. Each line is full of boyhood memories. The boy, as many young innocent boys do, pretends many things in his playground, his cloistered world. It is his golden time, his heyday to be young and carefree, to pretend to be prince of the apple towns. There is a sense of such joy in this time in his life; he sings, happily in his home on the farm. And yet amidst this joyful memory, is a sense of sadness as we realize youth and innocence does not last. This reality and sadness begins to become mingled with the joyful memory as we read, in the sun that is young once only, time let me play and be golden in the mercy of his means. Blended with this awareness of reality, more boyhood memories are offered; memories of pretending to behuntsman and herdsman. All our senses are beckoned into the pleasures of this joyful time in the boys life, we are invited to hear the sounds of the calves singing and the foxes barking clearly and coldly, as he plays his horn. We are welcomed to sense the lovely calmness of sabbath days that seem to be slow and quiet as a babbling brook. We are encouraged to visualize the hay fields, as high as the house; to hear the sounds of the wind whistling through the chimneys. We are swept away into our own memories of childhood bedtime, as we are beckoned to hear the valley's sounds, owls, nightjars, and horses prancing in the corral in the dark. A sense of peace and awe is evoked as the writer remembers awaking each morning to the sight of the farm, the meadow white with dew, the sounds of the rooster crowing, the horses whinnying as they walked out of the stables on to the warm, sunny fields. Then the poem brings us back to the present reality; the young and carefree believe they will live forever, that life will always be this carefree; Under the new made clouds and happy as the heart was long, in the sun born over and over, I ran my heedless ways. The reality of life is that life is all too short, that the joy and innocence of youth is all too brief; Nothing I cared, in the lamb white days, that time would take me up to the swallow thronged loft by the shadow of my hand, in the moon that is always rising, nor that riding to sleep I should hear him fly with the high fields and wake to the farm forever fled from the childless land. The last three lines of the poem bring us to the poignant reality of the joys and sadness of life, Oh as I was young and easy in the mercy of his means, time held me green and dying though I sang in my chains like the sea. All good things must come to an end, and when they do you will look back on the times that you had and wish that it was that way forever. To conclude, this poem helps us to appreciate both the joys and the sadness of life. It is in the remembering that we can cherish the joys of what was; it is in the same memories we can be sad for that which is no more, and it is in knowing both, that we realize that we can live life to the fullest. It has something to do with ageing. Dylan Thomas is looking back at his childhood as being carefree and happy as time let him do what he pleased but the whole time he was getting closer to death.

How to Conjugate Regretter (to Regret) in French

How to Conjugate Regretter (to Regret) in French As you might suspect, the French verb  regretter  means to regret. While the English-French similarity makes remembering the word easy enough, it still needs to be conjugated to make a complete sentence. Its not a very challenging verb, though, and French students with some experience will find this lesson relatively easy. The Basic Conjugations of  Regretter Regretter is a regular -er verb, so transforming it to mean regretted, regretting, or will regret uses the same endings as most French verbs. If you have previously studied common words like tomber (to fall) or tourner (to turn), the same rules you already know will apply here. The conjugation patterns are most apparent in the indicative mood, which includes the frequently used present, future, and imperfect past tenses. The chart will show you, for instance, that an  e  is added to the verb stem (regrett-) to form  je regrette  (I am regretting). If you add  -ions, you get the imperfect  nous regrettions  (we regretted). After a few verbs, these endings become easier to remember and practicing regretter in simple sentences will also help. Present Future Imperfect je regrette regretterai regrettais tu regrettes regretteras regrettais il regrette regrettera regrettait nous regrettons regretterons regrettions vous regrettez regretterez regrettiez ils regrettent regretteront regrettaient The Present Participle of  Regretter The present participle of regretter uses the same -ant ending as all other regular verbs with this ending. This gives you the word regrettant, which, at times, can act as a noun or adjective as well as a verb. Regretter  in the Compound Past Tense In French, the compound past tense is known as the  passà © composà ©. It requires two elements, the first of which is the present tense conjugate of the auxiliary verb  avoir. The other is the  past participle  regrettà ©. The two combine to form phrases such as  jai regrettà ©Ã‚  (I regretted) and  nous avons regrettà © (we regretted). More Simple Conjugations of  Regretter You will find a few more basic conjugations helpful in your French conversations. For instance, should you feel that the act of regretting is uncertain,  the subjunctive  can help you imply that. Similarly,  the conditional  says that someone will have regrets only if something else happens as well. Both  the passà © simple  and  imperfect subjunctive  are literary forms. Theyre used almost exclusively in French literature rather than conversation, though they are good to know. Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je regrette regretterais regrettai regrettasse tu regrettes regretterais regrettas regrettasses il regrette regretterait regretta regrettà ¢t nous regrettions regretterions regrettà ¢mes regrettassions vous regrettiez regretteriez regrettà ¢tes regrettassiez ils regrettent regretteraient regrettà ¨rent regrettassent Should you find yourself needing to use  regretter  in short and very direct statements, you can use  the  imperative.  The main thing to remember here is that the subject pronoun is not required: use  regrette  rather than  tu regrette. Imperative (tu) regrette (nous) regrettons (vous) regrettez

Risk Management and Investment (Portfolio E) Essay

Risk Management and Investment (Portfolio E) - Essay Example The recommendations I made are with the aim to cover the long term and short term goals having analyzed the market and economy trends as at present and the likely trends of the future. With the adoption of these recommendations, the firm is expected to reap maximally from the market (Accounting Education Change Commission, 1993). Introduction Investment management field involves decision making by considering the market in terms of whether to sell or invest. The fact that it involves predictions and analysis makes it a risky venture hence the need for professionals specialized in the area to provide good advice on how better to have good investment. However, it may not really imply that the market trends will turn out as they predicted. It entails three major pillars, analysis of economic factors, industrial factors and the company factors before making the decision on whether or not to invest. Investments are made with knowledge of market expectations and fluctuations (Best Invest, 2013). The current portfolio is facing quite a number of challenges which expose it to risks in the market such that despite the higher levels of investment the return in terms of interest is too low. The fact that it has diversified the investments to a number of sectors is an attempt to avoid the risks. It has invested in oil, travel and leisure, telecommunication, commodity, shares, banks and bonds. The main challenge is the fact that some sectors are giving very little income compared to the investment which is in turn affecting the portfolio negatively therefore the need to change on the same (Bhattacharyya, 2011). History of the Portfolio The portfolio at its inception had a value of ?12,712,642 a value that has steadily depreciated to ?11,784,648 a net loss of ?927,995 a 7.3% loss a negative return which is not good for the portfolio. This could be attributed to a number of issues which include lack of growth and poor investment choices. This hence necessitates the need for a nalysis for prevent the accelerated rate of depreciation in the values of the Company (Cadez & Guilding, 2008). The investments we placed at inception have all different levels of funds placed in them but to date the highest growing has been TUI Travel which was at its inception having an investment of value of ?196.960 which bought us 80,000 shares. It has since grown by a margin of 32.25% increasing its value to ?260,480, a one third increase. The positive growth reported in the investment has earned dividends worth ?18,000these dividends have significantly been utilized by being re invested in other more business ventures the Company is endeavoring in (Clinton & Van, 2006). The down fall is that even though this is our most promising investment at cut of date in the portfolio it is weighted unevenly and different investments hold a different weighting depending on how much money was invested in them. The weighting for TUI travel was only 1.55% at inception and has now increased t o 2.00% which shows growth in weighting but shows that it only accounts for a minute section of the portfolio. Showing that the substantial growth of 33.25% is shadowed by the fraction of weighting it holds. The volatility has been an issue to as over period of the investment the share price valuation has dropped to maximum of -9.00% and the highest gain being around 6% but since May 2012 the share price has been steadily rising this

Response paper to a recent article related to international business Essay

Response paper to a recent article related to international business - Essay Example He was later found dead; an article in the â€Å"Street Wall† describes his death as slow assassination. This is just one among the many adverse challenges that some investors who choose to invest in foreign countries face. In some nations, international businesses, whose home country is America or any other nation that the people in that country have stereotype ideas about often face challenges convincing the law enforcement officers that they are running their business legally according to the laws of that country. Other times it is not necessarily the stereotype ideas, but crude competition strategies by the businesses they met in the area. Some are hit with false acquisitions of corruption, mismanagement and evading taxes. In response to the article investors ought to be extremely selective of the nation they choose to expand their business internationally (Browder 2011). Investors who have had adverse experiences should have the opportunity to air their experiences so as to help other who are looking forward to investing in these foreign investor hostile nations. Many of investors from UK and USA who have had the opportunity to run businesses in Russia, apparently have recorded high levels of un-satisfaction running businesses there. Approximately 21% of them feel that the lack of transparency in Russian business laws and sophisticated hierarchies and legal procedures make it possible for the law enforcement officers to harass them (Meyer, Mudambi & Narula 2011). Russians also tend to rate highly in corruption and some local business owners who feel that these foreigners are a threat liaise with the law enforcement officer to accuse foreign investors falsely of fraud. Of all the complaints these investors raise, the least worrying factors to them are Russian Central Bank Policy, with only 9% complaining about it and corporate culture in Russia, which only about 11% of the investors feel it is a bother. The Russian government, however, insists that i t is doing all it can to improve investor conditions in the country (Hill 2011). Russia is the world second largest oil producer in the world. This is the main economic activity. The government’s plans to diversify to other economic activities are usually challenged since this would lead to the end of the authoritarian governance. This another source of the many challenges foreign investors have to deal with when doing business in Russia. Many complain that the legal and government system, in the country is too bureaucratic, which makes it inefficient to handle the issues these foreign investors face daily. Many complain that for a legal process to go through it takes a long time. For example, the investor in this case had already been deported by the time it was discovered that the allegations against them were a conspiracy plan to get him out of business (Sauvant, Maschek & McAllister 2010). Despite having all these issues the government of Russia seems to be taking steps t owards improving investment environment in the country. The government is encouraging foreign investors to invest in the country with the aim of diversifying and increasing its economic activities. Several earnest foreign investors have set up businesses in the country and have managed to make success stories in the land despite all the

Execution of Strategy Essay Example for Free

Execution of Strategy Essay Executives, or corporate-level managers, are in charge of many things governing the success of the company as a whole. Among these are developing a strategic vision and business mission, setting objectives, crafting a strategy, implementing and executing a strategy and evaluating the performance of the strategy. Strategies are especially important because of the value-creation process that occurs because of it. Sometimes, though, execution of strategies fail and the question here is â€Å"why? † One possible reason is that the strategies developed by the executives are too broad and do not take into consideration the environment of the firm at the operational level, which is the lowest level and the closest to the markets. One possible way to curb this problem is through a bottom-up approach, wherein the operational-level managers submit their proposed strategies and the corporate-level managers evaluate and approve these, or the top-bottom-top approach, wherein the corporate-level managers forward their suggested strategies to the operational-level managers, who make changes accordingly, and evaluate the said changes before approving the strategy. Supple Supply Chain According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2007), the term ‘supple’ means to be able to easily adapt to new circumstances. When we say that a supply chain is ‘supple’, we simply mean that a firm is very flexible in terms of its ability to synchronize its functions and those of its’ suppliers to match the flow of service, information and materials with cutomer demand. A firm’s environment is constantly changing, especially in our day and age with the advent of technology which brings about major changes to the flow of communication. A firm that cannot take advantage of these changes is sure to fail. For example, the Daimler-Chrysler Corporation had a major problem with regards to the delay in production when a certain portion of its parts was just a tiny bit too large or too small; it would have taken ages for changes to be made. Today, however, using a program called ‘Powerway’, which ables the firm to collaborate more easily with their suppliers, the firm can now avoid delays by forseeing the problem and adjusting accordingly before it even occurs (Mayor, 2007). The best strategy a firm can employ to ensure a supple supply chain is to take advantage of the advancing technology, as the Daimler-Chrysler Corporation has done. The new programs developed by the IT industries offer a way for firms to know and understand the production and business processes to allow for quick response to changes in the firm’s market (Mayor, 2007). One thing to understand, though, is that one should not confuse a ‘supple supply chain’ with a ‘responsive supply chain,’ because a responsive supply chain is a strategy of the firm to counter uncertain demand wherein a supple supply chain is a characteristic of the supply chain. Reference http://www.cio.com/article/119301/The_Supple_Supply_Chain http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/supple

Hype or Worthwhile Essay -- Nutrition

With all of the diets, health concerns, and lack of knowledge about food in general these days it is not surprising that people have turned to other means of getting nutrients. A main way of getting those nutrients is through dietary supplements. Dietary supplements are described by the FDA website as a product that is taken orally and must contain either vitamins, minerals, amino acids, herbs or other substances that are used to help the diet. These are known as dietary ingredients and can come in the forms of tablets, capsules, powders, energy bars, and liquids (N.p.). With this definition of supplements it’s not surprising to find out that the Nutrition Business Journal reported that 28 billion dollars were spent on supplements in 2010.(N.p) Dietary supplements are a part of most people’s daily lives, however are they too integrated or a necessary part of life. Dietary supplements went under a reconstruction in 1994, when the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was passed by the U.S. Congress. Dr. William Soller explained that the DSHEA created a framework where the FDA was allowed to make a regulatory system for dietary supplements. The DHSEA also clarified dietary supplements to mean a part of food while dietary ingredients are not â€Å"food additives†. The DSHEA required manufactures of new dietary ingredients (NDI) to submit paperwork to the FDA so that the FDA could say that the ingredients were safe to consume. Now a day because of amendments added afterwards to the DHSEA the FDA can regulate dietary supplements easier and can use enforcement against mislabeled and unsafe products. (N.p). As good as this sounds it doesn’t mean that before a product hits the market it is FDA approved, basically the FDA can... ...ation of 500 Stories.† Plos Medicine 5.5: n. pag. PLoS Medicine. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. . Soller, Wiiliam R, Holly J Bayne, and Christopher Shaheen. â€Å"The Regulated Dietary Supplement Industry: Myths of an Unnegulated Industry Dispelled.† HerbalGram 93: 42-57. Alt HealthWatch. Web. 1 Apr. 2012. JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=awh&AN=72364965>. Tweed, Vera. â€Å"Supplements and Drugs.† Amazing Wellness Fall 2011: 58-62. Consumer Health Complete. Web. 29 Mar. 2012. detail?sid=7e3aa3ce-39dc-493b-86ac-eff77baaf36e%40sessionmgr10&vid=11&hid=115&bdata= JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=c9h&AN=66865242>.

A Child of Sorrow Essay

It is such a very wonderful love story that tickles your bones and tells you that it is a nice feeling to be in love. Though, its title suggests its tragic ending, but still I on my part like the simple yet elegant story crafted in this novel by Zoilo Galang. Considering the fact that this is the first Filipino novel written in English, it follows suit that it lacks sophistication. The characterization, plot and setting of the said novel are simple. However, behind this simplicity, it is still a good try and a nice start for the future of novels being the youngest literary genre in the Philippines. The story is very well sequenced. It refrains the use of flashbacks as possible in order to avoid baffling the minds of the readers. Thus, somewhere in the part of the novel, we could somehow surmise and predict the flow of events, which is very typical to a Filipino author. Each chapter has its own theme developed and united in one thought. With regards to characterization, Galang made it by having memorable characters as Rosa and Julio. They are very ordinary characters but their love story is unique. I could somehow identify myself with Julio. Like him, I am living in illusion with reading too many books. Sometimes I detached from reality as I try to imagine things which are very fiction in nature. The story of the novel revolves around love as its theme. Love is such a very powerful feeling that could not be prevented by anything else. But inasmuch as love is a feeling, it also demands sacrifice. True love is tested by trials that come along in a relationship. It may come in the form of a third part, rumors and etc. Our cherished lovers in the novel also encountered such things. It is also stressed that inspiration brings change. When we are inspired brought about by being in love, we could have the zest to do things better and could change for the best that we can be. Failures in life must not be considered curses. Failures are sometimes blessings in disguise. If we only have the proper attitude towards life, thus counting the trials that come along our way as another challenge for us to grow, then life is worth living. The novel teaches us a lot of things. It teaches us the reality in life that we fall in love even in an unexpected time. Love buds everywhere and no one is exempted to fall in love. As long as we live, it is inevitable for us to fall in love.

Female Foeticide

Female Foeticide: A legal Analysis In 1988 there was an advertisement in the Diwali special number of a renowned Marathi magazine:[1] â€Å"Amniocentesis is a developed science To misuse it for abortion is a great sin. Better go in for sex-selection Read this book. Consult your family doctor for a sure way of begetting sons. Female foeticide is perhaps one of the worst forms of violence against women where a woman is denied her most basic and fundamental right- the right to life enshrined in Article 21 of Indian Constitution. Elimination of the girl child by way of selectively eliminating the female embryos or foetuses is an age-old phenomenon. It negates the fundamental right to equality guaranteed under Articles 14 and 15 of our Constitution. The traditional mentality of the Indian culture of preferring the boy baby over the girl child combined with the ultra modern technology has only succeeded in boosting the status conscious Indian families to perpetuate their choice making process of the girl child elimination in the most sophisticated and easiest way. To top it all, the ethically conscious medical profession has been able to bring down the already imbalanced sex ratio on to 927 women per 1000 men. [2] It raises important issues on the interfacing of technology, health and society, of misuse of medical technology, of using techno-centric solutions for social problems, of violation of the principles of medical ethics, of social and demographic implications of such technologies, of the decision making processes involving technology, which can have far-reaching social effects, of regulating the medical profession (specially reproductive technology) both internally and externally, of limits to research and the techno-docs' power ‘to play God', of the role and limits of social legislation in tackling social problems; of ‘informed consent', and patients' rights and doctors accountability, of the possible fall-out of the advent of New Reproductive Technologies (NRTs) from Sex Pre-Selection Techniques (SPSTs) to non-coital reproduction through IVF- ET or GIFF, surrogate motherhood to genetic engineering; of decision-making process in family and society and women's role (or lack of it) in them. All these interrelated issues mean something to all our lives as it defines the way we see our past, present and future. Traditionally the patriarchal families got rid of the â€Å"unwanted child† either by way of poisoning the new-born baby or letting her coke on husk or simply by crushing her skull under a charpoy. Since modern medical tests have made it easier to determine the sex of the child even before the birth of the â€Å"unwanted child†, the number has only shot instead of decreasing. In one hospital, a study showed that out of 8,000 abortions performed, 7,999 were female foetuses. [3] Hence, the government was forced to pass the Pre Natal Diagnostic (Prevention) Act, 1994 in response to the increasing number of abortions performed on women carrying female foetuses. 4] Thus, India's officials banned couples from using â€Å"technical means† to determine the sex of a foetus. [5] Although India's Parliament passed the legislation in 1994, it could not become law until all state legislatures approved it. [6] The law finally took effect on January 1, 1996. The 1994 Act is bot h prohibitive and regulatory. Prohibitive: According to the Act the use of pre-natal techniques for the purposes of sex determination are prohibited. [7] The Act prohibits any person conducting prenatal diagnostic procedure from communicating to the pregnant women concerned or her relatives the sex of the foetus by words, signs or in any other manner. 8] The Act prohibits any Genetic Counselling centre, Genetic Laboratory and Genetic Clinic to conduct activities relating to pre-natal diagnostic technique unless it is registered under the Act or to employ anyone who does not possess the prescribed qualifications. The medical practitioners are prohibited to conduct such techniques at any place, which is not registered under the Act. Regulatory: The Act provides for the regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. Prenatal diagnostic techniques may be used to detect genetic or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders . Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques may be employed only under specified conditions by registered institutions:[9] O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tests can only be carried out on women who are either over the age of thirty-five; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Have had two or more miscarriages; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who have been exposed to radiation, infection, chemicals or drugs which are harmful to the foetus; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The pregnant woman has a family history of mental retardation or physical deformities such as spasticity or any other genetic disease; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Any other condition as may be specified by the Central Supervisory Board. It is very important to note that the Act permits use of such techniques provided the medical practitioner has explained all the known side and after effects of such techniques to the pregnant woman and more importantly, has obtained her written consent in the language she understands. 10] Persons working in the clinics, as well as women and their families who use the clinics; or are liable for fines and imprisonment for violating the Act. [11] The Act provides for the construction of a Central Supervisory Board [herein after CSB], which shall be established to advise the government on policy matters relating to pre-natal diagnostic techniques; to review the implementation of the Act and its rules; and to recommend changes in the Act and its rules. [12] The CSB has been assigned a very important function of spreading public awareness against the practice of pre-natal determination of sex and foeticide. The CSB shall meet at least twice a year to review the functioning of the Act and make recommendations for its better implementation. [13] An Appropriate Authority shall be appointed in States and Union Territories and regions wherein the authorities are empowered:[14] O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To grant, suspend or cancel the registration of genetic counselling centres, laboratories and clinics; and O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also to investigate complaints regarding breach of the provisions of the Act or the rules. The Act lays down prohibition on the issuance of advertisements[15] relating to pre-natal sex determination by any person, organisation or institutional and provides that any contravention/Violations of the same will entitle the offender a punishment of 3 years imprisonment and/ or Rs. 10,000/- fine for the first charge, this increasing to Rs. 50,000/- fine and 5 years imprisonment for a second charge. [16] But there are various loopholes in the Act, which has made it a failure to a great extent thus letting the demons of female foeticide/infanticide survive and flourish! Hence, the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act, 2002 was passed to plug the loopholes. THE PRE-NATAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES (REGULATION AND PREVENTION OF MISUSE) AMENDMENT ACT, 2002: Objectives of the New Act: The practices relating to female foeticide and techniques connected with the same are considered discriminatory to the female sex and not conducive to the dignity of the women. The proliferation of the technologies mentioned above may, in future, precipitate a catastrophe, in the form of severe imbalance in male-female ratio. The State is also duty bound to intervene in such matters to uphold the welfare of the society, especially of the women and children. Therefore, the government felt the necessary to enact and implement in letter and spirit a legislation to ban the pre-conception sex selection techniques and the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex-selective abortions and to provide for the regulation of such abortions. Such a law is also needed to uphold medical ethics and initiate the process of regulation of medical technology in the larger interests of the society. Accordingly, it is proposed by the government to amend the aforesaid Act with a view to banning the use of both sex selection techniques prior to conception as well as the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex selective abortions and to regulate such techniques with a view to ensuring their scientific use for which they are intended. The Amendment Act, 2002 seeks to achieve the aforesaid objects. Highlights of the New Act: 1. The Act provides for the prohibition and regulation of SD techniques before or after conception. [17] 2. For the words and brackets â€Å"the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)†, the words and brackets â€Å"the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection)† shall be substituted. [18] This lays a lot of emphasis on the issue of female foeticide in particular. 3. Definitions of â€Å"conceptus†, â€Å"embryo† and â€Å"foetus† have been laid down specifically, which helps in determining the cause and stage of use of PNDT. [19] 4. The Explanations added to Sec. (ii) in clause (d), (e) and (g) have enlarged the scope of the Act to include even the portable PNDT equipment/machinery. [20] 5. Qualifications of a genetic has been upgraded. [21] 6. Amendment of section 17 of the principal Act re ads as follows— â€Å"(e) to take appropriate legal action against the use of any sex selection technique by any person at any place, suo motu or brought to its notice and also to initiate independent investigations in such matter† This provision has given extra scope to the authorities for the utilisation of the powers to fulfil their duties. 7. Insertion of new section 17A. -After section 17 of the principal Act, the following section is proposed to be inserted, namely:— â€Å"17A. Powers of Appropriate Authorities. The Appropriate Authority shall have the powers in respect of the following matters, namely:— (a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   summoning of any person who is in possession of any information relating to violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; (b)  Ã‚  Ã‚   production of any document or material object relating to clause (a); (c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   issuing search warrant for any place suspected to be indulging in sex selectio n techniques or pre-natal sex determination; and (d)  Ã‚   any other matter which may be prescribed. †. This provision is very much in tune with the objective of Section 17 (e). 8. Provision with regard to the advertisements has been made more stringent. [22] 9. Definitely, the strongest provision of the Bill is the new section 24, which if brought to effect shall wipe all doubts with regard to the application of penal provisions to women undergoing the PNDT tests. The rovisions has rightly identified the problems of women in the cases of PNDT as in most cases, women are forced to go for these test or to forgo their marital lives their homes, even their lives. [23] Drawbacks of the new Act: I. Amendment of section 3. -In section 3 of the principal Act, for clause (2), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(2) No Genetic Counselling Centre or Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic shall employ or cause to be employed or take services of any person, w hether on honorary basis or on payment who does not possess the qualifications as may be prescribed. † The Section is negatively worded which gives a scope for the people specifically excluded in the provisions to take advantage of the loophole. Instead, if the provision was positively worded in the sense that it lad down as to who is eligible to carry the PNDT under the circumstances specified under the Act, it would have restrained anyone who is otherwise not specifically authorised to conduct such tests. II. Section 3B: Prohibition on sale of ultrasound machine, etc. , to persons, laboratories, clinics, etc. , not registered under the Act. – No person shall sell any ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of foetus to any Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory, Genetic Clinic or any other person not registered under the Act. † Though this is a strongly worded Section, which aims at curbing the clandestine sale of the PNDT equipments, it suffers from a major drawback. The Act or he Section does to talk about the manufacturing of these equipments because since manufacturing is the first step towards the black-marketing and other misuses. As such, there have to be specific guidelines as to the manufacturing. The manufacturing license should be issued only to the Governmental Institutions so that the monitoring becomes so much easier because of the control that he Government can exercise over these institutions. Also very closely linked to above point is the licensing function. If licenses for prenatal diagnosis were granted only to government institutions, the task of vigilance would be further simplified. The ban on misuse of techniques for SD imposed upon government institutions has not been violated for the past 15 years. Also there is no provision to the effect that the registration of the portable PNDT machinery/equipment’s are also registered. III. Amendment of section 4. -In section 4 of the principal Act, for clauses (3) and (4), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(3) No pre-natal diagnostic techniques shall be used or conducted unless the person qualified to do so is satisfied for reasons to be recorded in writing that any of the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:— The provisions of this section prima facie seem like a good provision but are a toothless one. The issue is that though citing a reason which satisfies the condition precedent laid down in the Act before the PNDT tests are conducted, the provisions misses out a crucial point. It does not mandate for the production of the documents to prove that the condition in fact, is satisfied and is very much in spirit wit the object of the Act. Also should be included in this provision the requirement t record al these documentary proof which shall be made available for verification by the CSB/SSB, etc. IV. Section 13 sub clause (vi) Any other condition as may be specified by the Board: This provision gives a lot of discretionary powers to the Boards, which have to be curtailed in the form of the guidelines. V. Amendment of section 5. In section 5 of the principal Act, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(2) No person including the person conducting pre-natal diagnostic procedures shall communicate to the pregnant woman concerned or her relatives or any other person the sex of the foetus by words, signs, or in any other manner. † This provision has practical difficulties in terms of implementation. It is suggested by the author that a kind of code system be adopted whereby the tests which have satisfied the conditions of the Act be given a code number and sent for testing in a place which is authorised to conduct he tests for a particular area or region. This is to ensure that there exists no direct links between the family concerned and the medical practitioner who can convey the sex of the foetus, which might lead to the death of the foetus in case it turns out to be a female. This is because though the provisions bar the practitioner from conveying in any manner whatsoever, the proof that the same has not been conveyed cannot be assured. VI. Automatic suspension/cancellation from the Registry of Medical Practitioners of the name of doctors found guilty by the court without referring the matter to the Medical Council. VII. Insertion of new section 16A. -After section 16 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:— â€Å"16A. Constitution of State Supervisory Board and Union territory Supervisory Board. (1) Each State and Union territory having Legislature shall constitute a Board to be known as the State Supervisory Board or the Union territory Supervisory Board, as the case may be, which shall ha ve the following functions:— (10) In respect of matters not specified in this section, the State Board shall follow procedures and conditions as are applicable to the Board. † There are no rules and regulations with regard to the powers of the Boards as to in what way the powers have to be synchronised to fulfil their duties and function as specified in the Act. Also, this Section suffers from a serious defect. That is the Section has adopted a very top-down approach, which has been time and again proved to be ineffective and fruitless. Therefore, the approach should have bee a grass-root eve approach. This is even more applicable n the cases of PNDT because of the Act that a good chunk of cases are from rural areas which are very difficult to monitor and control. A Panchayat level machinery working hand in hand with local rural institutions like the Anganwadis and the school would be an idea way to tackle and combat the problem of PNDT. VIII. Also the Act has certain vague and ambiguous terms and expressions like â€Å"eminent† which are very problematic as to how they should be interpreted and put to use. IX. Punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees for the first offence and for any subsequent offence with imprisonment which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees. The hike in the fines though would be applicable to the urban areas, it’s a mere letter of black and white on the paper when it comes to the rural areas. The rural people who, more often than not are extremely poor, are in no position to pay those high fines, which makes the provisions a redundant provisions. Instead, thee ha to be a mechanism whereby these people can be sensitized to the problems associated with the girl child. It is the firm belief of the author that public awareness is a much better and powerful tool than mere fines, especially with regard to the rural poor. X. A major hurdle in the endeavor to prohibit sex determination and regulation of PNDT techniques is that there is no proper duty laid upon any of he authorities in the Act. There is no penalty attached for non performance of the duties- commission or omission- cast upon the authorities. Especially in the light of the fact that so far the CSB have never met regularly as per the provisions of the Act. XI. The Financial Memorandum affixed to the Bill with regard to the expenses falling under Section 16 A of the Act has no regulation with regard to transparency, a ccountability, and regulatory body. This is very problematic and might just prove to be plunder’s paradise. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. [1] See, http://www. evesindia. com/health/features/reprod_health. html, visited on 10/10/02. | | [ 3 ]. [2] Id.. | | [ 4 ]. [3]In one hospital, a study showed that out of 8,000 abortions performed, 7,999 were female foetuses. See Shailaja Bajpai, India's Lost Women, World Press Rev. , Apr. 1991, at 49. Also see, Vidya Deshpande, Where have all the girls gone? , http://www. indianexpress. com/fe/daily/19991202/faf28033. html, visited 24/12/02. | | [ 5 ]. [4]John F. Burns, India Fights Abortion of Female Foetuses, N. Y. Times, Aug. 27, 1994, at 5, available in LEXIS, News Library, Curnws File. | | [ 6 ]. [5]Demographers pointing to such numbers have finally forced governments to take notice. Thus, India's officials banned couples from using â€Å"technical means† to determine the sex of a foetus. The Sexes; Disappearing Girls; In China, India and South Korea, A Gender Gap Causes Worries, Asiaweek, Mar. 3, 1995, at 32 | [ 7 ]. [6]See India Bans Abortions of Female Fetuses; Another Move to Help Protect Baby Girls, Chi. Trib. , Jan. 10, 1996, at 13, available in LEXIS, World Library, Allwld File. | | [ 8 ]. [7] Section 3. | | [ 9 ]. [8] Section 4(4)| | [ 10 ]. [9] Section 4| | [ 11 ]. [10] Section 5(1)( c)| | [ 12 ]. [11] See section 24. Common response to the Act has been â€Å"If I do get arrested, I'll spend a couple of months in prison, but what's that compared to a lifetime of misery trying to bring up a girl? â€Å"| | [ 13 ]. [12] Section 17| | [ 14 ]. [13] Section 18| | [ 15 ]. [14] Sections 20-21| | [ 16 ]. [15] Section 22| | [ 17 ]. [16] Section 23| | [ 18 ]. 17] The long title of the Bill that is proposed to substituted the present long title reads as follows:— â€Å"An Act to provide for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. † | | [ 19 ]. [18] Amendment of section 1 of th e Act. | | [ 20 ]. [19] 4. Amendment of section 2. In section 2 of the principal Act,— (i) after clause (b), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:— ‘(ba) â€Å"conceptus† means any product of conception at any stage of development from fertilisation until birth including extra embryonic membranes as well as the embryo or foetus; (bb) â€Å"embryo† means a developing human organism after fertilisation till the end of eight weeks (fifty-six days); (bc) â€Å"foetus† means a human organism during the period of its development beginning on the fifty-seventh day following fertilisation or creation (excluding any time in which its development has been suspended) and ending at the birth’ | | [ 21 ]. [20] â€Å"Explanation. — For the purposes of this clause, ‘Genetic Clinic’ includes a vehicle, where ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or other equipment capable of determining sex of the foetus or a portable equipment which has the potential for detection of sex during pregnancy or selection of sex before conception, is used. † | | [ 22 ]. 21] ‘(g) â€Å"medical geneticist† includes a person who possesses a degree or diploma in genetic science in the fields of sex selection and pre-natal diagnostic techniques or has experience of not less than two years in any of these fields after obtaining— (i) any one of the medical qualifications recognised under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956); or (ii) a post-graduate degree in biological sciences. ’ | | [ 23 ]. [22] Substitution of new section for section 22. -For section 22 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— 22. Prohibition of advertisement relating to pre-conception and pre-natal determination of sex and punishment for contravention. (1) No person, organisation, Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic, including c linic, laboratory or centre having ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other technology capable of undertaking determination of sex of foetus or sex selection shall issue, publish, distribute, communicate or cause to be issued, published, distributed or communicated any advertisement, in any form, including internet, regarding facilities of pre-natal determination of sex or sex selection before conception available at such centre, laboratory, clinic or at any other place. See also, Substitution of new section for section 16. –    | | [ 24 ]. [23] Substitution of new section for section 24. For section 24 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"24. Presumption in the case of conduct of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. -Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the court shall presume unless the contrary is proved that the pregnant woman was compelled by her husband or any other re lative, as the case may be, to undergo pre-natal diagnostic technique for the purposes other than those specified in sub-section (2) of section 4 and such person shall be liable for abatement of offence under sub-section (3) of section 23 and shall be punishable for the offence specified under that section. †| | Female Foeticide Female Foeticide: A legal Analysis In 1988 there was an advertisement in the Diwali special number of a renowned Marathi magazine:[1] â€Å"Amniocentesis is a developed science To misuse it for abortion is a great sin. Better go in for sex-selection Read this book. Consult your family doctor for a sure way of begetting sons. Female foeticide is perhaps one of the worst forms of violence against women where a woman is denied her most basic and fundamental right- the right to life enshrined in Article 21 of Indian Constitution. Elimination of the girl child by way of selectively eliminating the female embryos or foetuses is an age-old phenomenon. It negates the fundamental right to equality guaranteed under Articles 14 and 15 of our Constitution. The traditional mentality of the Indian culture of preferring the boy baby over the girl child combined with the ultra modern technology has only succeeded in boosting the status conscious Indian families to perpetuate their choice making process of the girl child elimination in the most sophisticated and easiest way. To top it all, the ethically conscious medical profession has been able to bring down the already imbalanced sex ratio on to 927 women per 1000 men. [2] It raises important issues on the interfacing of technology, health and society, of misuse of medical technology, of using techno-centric solutions for social problems, of violation of the principles of medical ethics, of social and demographic implications of such technologies, of the decision making processes involving technology, which can have far-reaching social effects, of regulating the medical profession (specially reproductive technology) both internally and externally, of limits to research and the techno-docs' power ‘to play God', of the role and limits of social legislation in tackling social problems; of ‘informed consent', and patients' rights and doctors accountability, of the possible fall-out of the advent of New Reproductive Technologies (NRTs) from Sex Pre-Selection Techniques (SPSTs) to non-coital reproduction through IVF- ET or GIFF, surrogate motherhood to genetic engineering; of decision-making process in family and society and women's role (or lack of it) in them. All these interrelated issues mean something to all our lives as it defines the way we see our past, present and future. Traditionally the patriarchal families got rid of the â€Å"unwanted child† either by way of poisoning the new-born baby or letting her coke on husk or simply by crushing her skull under a charpoy. Since modern medical tests have made it easier to determine the sex of the child even before the birth of the â€Å"unwanted child†, the number has only shot instead of decreasing. In one hospital, a study showed that out of 8,000 abortions performed, 7,999 were female foetuses. [3] Hence, the government was forced to pass the Pre Natal Diagnostic (Prevention) Act, 1994 in response to the increasing number of abortions performed on women carrying female foetuses. 4] Thus, India's officials banned couples from using â€Å"technical means† to determine the sex of a foetus. [5] Although India's Parliament passed the legislation in 1994, it could not become law until all state legislatures approved it. [6] The law finally took effect on January 1, 1996. The 1994 Act is bot h prohibitive and regulatory. Prohibitive: According to the Act the use of pre-natal techniques for the purposes of sex determination are prohibited. [7] The Act prohibits any person conducting prenatal diagnostic procedure from communicating to the pregnant women concerned or her relatives the sex of the foetus by words, signs or in any other manner. 8] The Act prohibits any Genetic Counselling centre, Genetic Laboratory and Genetic Clinic to conduct activities relating to pre-natal diagnostic technique unless it is registered under the Act or to employ anyone who does not possess the prescribed qualifications. The medical practitioners are prohibited to conduct such techniques at any place, which is not registered under the Act. Regulatory: The Act provides for the regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. Prenatal diagnostic techniques may be used to detect genetic or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders . Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques may be employed only under specified conditions by registered institutions:[9] O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tests can only be carried out on women who are either over the age of thirty-five; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Have had two or more miscarriages; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who have been exposed to radiation, infection, chemicals or drugs which are harmful to the foetus; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The pregnant woman has a family history of mental retardation or physical deformities such as spasticity or any other genetic disease; or O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Any other condition as may be specified by the Central Supervisory Board. It is very important to note that the Act permits use of such techniques provided the medical practitioner has explained all the known side and after effects of such techniques to the pregnant woman and more importantly, has obtained her written consent in the language she understands. 10] Persons working in the clinics, as well as women and their families who use the clinics; or are liable for fines and imprisonment for violating the Act. [11] The Act provides for the construction of a Central Supervisory Board [herein after CSB], which shall be established to advise the government on policy matters relating to pre-natal diagnostic techniques; to review the implementation of the Act and its rules; and to recommend changes in the Act and its rules. [12] The CSB has been assigned a very important function of spreading public awareness against the practice of pre-natal determination of sex and foeticide. The CSB shall meet at least twice a year to review the functioning of the Act and make recommendations for its better implementation. [13] An Appropriate Authority shall be appointed in States and Union Territories and regions wherein the authorities are empowered:[14] O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To grant, suspend or cancel the registration of genetic counselling centres, laboratories and clinics; and O  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Also to investigate complaints regarding breach of the provisions of the Act or the rules. The Act lays down prohibition on the issuance of advertisements[15] relating to pre-natal sex determination by any person, organisation or institutional and provides that any contravention/Violations of the same will entitle the offender a punishment of 3 years imprisonment and/ or Rs. 10,000/- fine for the first charge, this increasing to Rs. 50,000/- fine and 5 years imprisonment for a second charge. [16] But there are various loopholes in the Act, which has made it a failure to a great extent thus letting the demons of female foeticide/infanticide survive and flourish! Hence, the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Amendment Act, 2002 was passed to plug the loopholes. THE PRE-NATAL DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES (REGULATION AND PREVENTION OF MISUSE) AMENDMENT ACT, 2002: Objectives of the New Act: The practices relating to female foeticide and techniques connected with the same are considered discriminatory to the female sex and not conducive to the dignity of the women. The proliferation of the technologies mentioned above may, in future, precipitate a catastrophe, in the form of severe imbalance in male-female ratio. The State is also duty bound to intervene in such matters to uphold the welfare of the society, especially of the women and children. Therefore, the government felt the necessary to enact and implement in letter and spirit a legislation to ban the pre-conception sex selection techniques and the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex-selective abortions and to provide for the regulation of such abortions. Such a law is also needed to uphold medical ethics and initiate the process of regulation of medical technology in the larger interests of the society. Accordingly, it is proposed by the government to amend the aforesaid Act with a view to banning the use of both sex selection techniques prior to conception as well as the misuse of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for sex selective abortions and to regulate such techniques with a view to ensuring their scientific use for which they are intended. The Amendment Act, 2002 seeks to achieve the aforesaid objects. Highlights of the New Act: 1. The Act provides for the prohibition and regulation of SD techniques before or after conception. [17] 2. For the words and brackets â€Å"the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse)†, the words and brackets â€Å"the Pre-conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex Selection)† shall be substituted. [18] This lays a lot of emphasis on the issue of female foeticide in particular. 3. Definitions of â€Å"conceptus†, â€Å"embryo† and â€Å"foetus† have been laid down specifically, which helps in determining the cause and stage of use of PNDT. [19] 4. The Explanations added to Sec. (ii) in clause (d), (e) and (g) have enlarged the scope of the Act to include even the portable PNDT equipment/machinery. [20] 5. Qualifications of a genetic has been upgraded. [21] 6. Amendment of section 17 of the principal Act re ads as follows— â€Å"(e) to take appropriate legal action against the use of any sex selection technique by any person at any place, suo motu or brought to its notice and also to initiate independent investigations in such matter† This provision has given extra scope to the authorities for the utilisation of the powers to fulfil their duties. 7. Insertion of new section 17A. -After section 17 of the principal Act, the following section is proposed to be inserted, namely:— â€Å"17A. Powers of Appropriate Authorities. The Appropriate Authority shall have the powers in respect of the following matters, namely:— (a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   summoning of any person who is in possession of any information relating to violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder; (b)  Ã‚  Ã‚   production of any document or material object relating to clause (a); (c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   issuing search warrant for any place suspected to be indulging in sex selectio n techniques or pre-natal sex determination; and (d)  Ã‚   any other matter which may be prescribed. †. This provision is very much in tune with the objective of Section 17 (e). 8. Provision with regard to the advertisements has been made more stringent. [22] 9. Definitely, the strongest provision of the Bill is the new section 24, which if brought to effect shall wipe all doubts with regard to the application of penal provisions to women undergoing the PNDT tests. The rovisions has rightly identified the problems of women in the cases of PNDT as in most cases, women are forced to go for these test or to forgo their marital lives their homes, even their lives. [23] Drawbacks of the new Act: I. Amendment of section 3. -In section 3 of the principal Act, for clause (2), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(2) No Genetic Counselling Centre or Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic shall employ or cause to be employed or take services of any person, w hether on honorary basis or on payment who does not possess the qualifications as may be prescribed. † The Section is negatively worded which gives a scope for the people specifically excluded in the provisions to take advantage of the loophole. Instead, if the provision was positively worded in the sense that it lad down as to who is eligible to carry the PNDT under the circumstances specified under the Act, it would have restrained anyone who is otherwise not specifically authorised to conduct such tests. II. Section 3B: Prohibition on sale of ultrasound machine, etc. , to persons, laboratories, clinics, etc. , not registered under the Act. – No person shall sell any ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other equipment capable of detecting sex of foetus to any Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory, Genetic Clinic or any other person not registered under the Act. † Though this is a strongly worded Section, which aims at curbing the clandestine sale of the PNDT equipments, it suffers from a major drawback. The Act or he Section does to talk about the manufacturing of these equipments because since manufacturing is the first step towards the black-marketing and other misuses. As such, there have to be specific guidelines as to the manufacturing. The manufacturing license should be issued only to the Governmental Institutions so that the monitoring becomes so much easier because of the control that he Government can exercise over these institutions. Also very closely linked to above point is the licensing function. If licenses for prenatal diagnosis were granted only to government institutions, the task of vigilance would be further simplified. The ban on misuse of techniques for SD imposed upon government institutions has not been violated for the past 15 years. Also there is no provision to the effect that the registration of the portable PNDT machinery/equipment’s are also registered. III. Amendment of section 4. -In section 4 of the principal Act, for clauses (3) and (4), the following clauses shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(3) No pre-natal diagnostic techniques shall be used or conducted unless the person qualified to do so is satisfied for reasons to be recorded in writing that any of the following conditions are fulfilled, namely:— The provisions of this section prima facie seem like a good provision but are a toothless one. The issue is that though citing a reason which satisfies the condition precedent laid down in the Act before the PNDT tests are conducted, the provisions misses out a crucial point. It does not mandate for the production of the documents to prove that the condition in fact, is satisfied and is very much in spirit wit the object of the Act. Also should be included in this provision the requirement t record al these documentary proof which shall be made available for verification by the CSB/SSB, etc. IV. Section 13 sub clause (vi) Any other condition as may be specified by the Board: This provision gives a lot of discretionary powers to the Boards, which have to be curtailed in the form of the guidelines. V. Amendment of section 5. In section 5 of the principal Act, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"(2) No person including the person conducting pre-natal diagnostic procedures shall communicate to the pregnant woman concerned or her relatives or any other person the sex of the foetus by words, signs, or in any other manner. † This provision has practical difficulties in terms of implementation. It is suggested by the author that a kind of code system be adopted whereby the tests which have satisfied the conditions of the Act be given a code number and sent for testing in a place which is authorised to conduct he tests for a particular area or region. This is to ensure that there exists no direct links between the family concerned and the medical practitioner who can convey the sex of the foetus, which might lead to the death of the foetus in case it turns out to be a female. This is because though the provisions bar the practitioner from conveying in any manner whatsoever, the proof that the same has not been conveyed cannot be assured. VI. Automatic suspension/cancellation from the Registry of Medical Practitioners of the name of doctors found guilty by the court without referring the matter to the Medical Council. VII. Insertion of new section 16A. -After section 16 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:— â€Å"16A. Constitution of State Supervisory Board and Union territory Supervisory Board. (1) Each State and Union territory having Legislature shall constitute a Board to be known as the State Supervisory Board or the Union territory Supervisory Board, as the case may be, which shall ha ve the following functions:— (10) In respect of matters not specified in this section, the State Board shall follow procedures and conditions as are applicable to the Board. † There are no rules and regulations with regard to the powers of the Boards as to in what way the powers have to be synchronised to fulfil their duties and function as specified in the Act. Also, this Section suffers from a serious defect. That is the Section has adopted a very top-down approach, which has been time and again proved to be ineffective and fruitless. Therefore, the approach should have bee a grass-root eve approach. This is even more applicable n the cases of PNDT because of the Act that a good chunk of cases are from rural areas which are very difficult to monitor and control. A Panchayat level machinery working hand in hand with local rural institutions like the Anganwadis and the school would be an idea way to tackle and combat the problem of PNDT. VIII. Also the Act has certain vague and ambiguous terms and expressions like â€Å"eminent† which are very problematic as to how they should be interpreted and put to use. IX. Punishable with imprisonment for a term, which may extend to three years and with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees for the first offence and for any subsequent offence with imprisonment which may extend to five years and with fine which may extend to one lakh rupees. The hike in the fines though would be applicable to the urban areas, it’s a mere letter of black and white on the paper when it comes to the rural areas. The rural people who, more often than not are extremely poor, are in no position to pay those high fines, which makes the provisions a redundant provisions. Instead, thee ha to be a mechanism whereby these people can be sensitized to the problems associated with the girl child. It is the firm belief of the author that public awareness is a much better and powerful tool than mere fines, especially with regard to the rural poor. X. A major hurdle in the endeavor to prohibit sex determination and regulation of PNDT techniques is that there is no proper duty laid upon any of he authorities in the Act. There is no penalty attached for non performance of the duties- commission or omission- cast upon the authorities. Especially in the light of the fact that so far the CSB have never met regularly as per the provisions of the Act. XI. The Financial Memorandum affixed to the Bill with regard to the expenses falling under Section 16 A of the Act has no regulation with regard to transparency, a ccountability, and regulatory body. This is very problematic and might just prove to be plunder’s paradise. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. [1] See, http://www. evesindia. com/health/features/reprod_health. html, visited on 10/10/02. | | [ 3 ]. [2] Id.. | | [ 4 ]. [3]In one hospital, a study showed that out of 8,000 abortions performed, 7,999 were female foetuses. See Shailaja Bajpai, India's Lost Women, World Press Rev. , Apr. 1991, at 49. Also see, Vidya Deshpande, Where have all the girls gone? , http://www. indianexpress. com/fe/daily/19991202/faf28033. html, visited 24/12/02. | | [ 5 ]. [4]John F. Burns, India Fights Abortion of Female Foetuses, N. Y. Times, Aug. 27, 1994, at 5, available in LEXIS, News Library, Curnws File. | | [ 6 ]. [5]Demographers pointing to such numbers have finally forced governments to take notice. Thus, India's officials banned couples from using â€Å"technical means† to determine the sex of a foetus. The Sexes; Disappearing Girls; In China, India and South Korea, A Gender Gap Causes Worries, Asiaweek, Mar. 3, 1995, at 32 | [ 7 ]. [6]See India Bans Abortions of Female Fetuses; Another Move to Help Protect Baby Girls, Chi. Trib. , Jan. 10, 1996, at 13, available in LEXIS, World Library, Allwld File. | | [ 8 ]. [7] Section 3. | | [ 9 ]. [8] Section 4(4)| | [ 10 ]. [9] Section 4| | [ 11 ]. [10] Section 5(1)( c)| | [ 12 ]. [11] See section 24. Common response to the Act has been â€Å"If I do get arrested, I'll spend a couple of months in prison, but what's that compared to a lifetime of misery trying to bring up a girl? â€Å"| | [ 13 ]. [12] Section 17| | [ 14 ]. [13] Section 18| | [ 15 ]. [14] Sections 20-21| | [ 16 ]. [15] Section 22| | [ 17 ]. [16] Section 23| | [ 18 ]. 17] The long title of the Bill that is proposed to substituted the present long title reads as follows:— â€Å"An Act to provide for the prohibition of sex selection, before or after conception, and for regulation of pre-natal diagnostic techniques for the purposes of detecting genetic abnormalities or metabolic disorders or chromosomal abnormalities or certain congenital malformations or sex-linked disorders and for the prevention of their misuse for sex determination leading to female foeticide and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. † | | [ 19 ]. [18] Amendment of section 1 of th e Act. | | [ 20 ]. [19] 4. Amendment of section 2. In section 2 of the principal Act,— (i) after clause (b), the following clauses shall be inserted, namely:— ‘(ba) â€Å"conceptus† means any product of conception at any stage of development from fertilisation until birth including extra embryonic membranes as well as the embryo or foetus; (bb) â€Å"embryo† means a developing human organism after fertilisation till the end of eight weeks (fifty-six days); (bc) â€Å"foetus† means a human organism during the period of its development beginning on the fifty-seventh day following fertilisation or creation (excluding any time in which its development has been suspended) and ending at the birth’ | | [ 21 ]. [20] â€Å"Explanation. — For the purposes of this clause, ‘Genetic Clinic’ includes a vehicle, where ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or other equipment capable of determining sex of the foetus or a portable equipment which has the potential for detection of sex during pregnancy or selection of sex before conception, is used. † | | [ 22 ]. 21] ‘(g) â€Å"medical geneticist† includes a person who possesses a degree or diploma in genetic science in the fields of sex selection and pre-natal diagnostic techniques or has experience of not less than two years in any of these fields after obtaining— (i) any one of the medical qualifications recognised under the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956); or (ii) a post-graduate degree in biological sciences. ’ | | [ 23 ]. [22] Substitution of new section for section 22. -For section 22 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— 22. Prohibition of advertisement relating to pre-conception and pre-natal determination of sex and punishment for contravention. (1) No person, organisation, Genetic Counselling Centre, Genetic Laboratory or Genetic Clinic, including c linic, laboratory or centre having ultrasound machine or imaging machine or scanner or any other technology capable of undertaking determination of sex of foetus or sex selection shall issue, publish, distribute, communicate or cause to be issued, published, distributed or communicated any advertisement, in any form, including internet, regarding facilities of pre-natal determination of sex or sex selection before conception available at such centre, laboratory, clinic or at any other place. See also, Substitution of new section for section 16. –    | | [ 24 ]. [23] Substitution of new section for section 24. For section 24 of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:— â€Å"24. Presumption in the case of conduct of pre-natal diagnostic techniques. -Notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the court shall presume unless the contrary is proved that the pregnant woman was compelled by her husband or any other re lative, as the case may be, to undergo pre-natal diagnostic technique for the purposes other than those specified in sub-section (2) of section 4 and such person shall be liable for abatement of offence under sub-section (3) of section 23 and shall be punishable for the offence specified under that section. †| |

In American film noir, female criminality is Essays

In American film noir, female criminality is Essays In American film noir, female criminality is Essay In American film noir, female criminality is Essay ‘In American movie noir, female criminalism is linked to destructive gender. Discuss With the exclusion of the Western, possibly no other genre of Hollywood movie devising is more a merchandise of its clip than Film Noir. As Marc Vernet ( 1993 ) inside informations, Noir has its socio-political roots in post-War Europe and its aesthetic roots in German Expressionism, both illustrations of surroundings that depend and originate out of the polarization and the geographic expedition of double stars ( political in the former, aesthetic and thematic in the latter ) . It is small admiration, so, that Noir’s popularity coincided with the societal paranoia that was bit by bit doing itself felt in America ( and most notably in Hollywood ) in the late fortiess and 50s and that would happen ultimate look in McCarthyism ; a point made by Robert Aldrich, manager ofSnog Me Deadly( 1955 ) and cited by Jon Tuska ( 1984 ) [ 1 ] . Despite a changeless trust on mutual opposition and double star, both in footings of narrative and mise en scene ( man/woman, life/death, light/shadow, law/crime ) , Noir, as we shall see, isasconcerned with their evildoing, every bit long as this is followed by a subsequent reassertion. This paper aims to look at this procedure within the context of both depth psychology and historicism, associating the two together to offer non merely decisions about the dramatic art and semiologies of Film Noir but besides its topographic point in the male orientated regard of post-War Hollywood. Nowhere is the construct of the double star more evident than in the figure of the femme fatale who, as Janey Place ( 1998 ) suggests is â€Å"a male phantasy ( like ) most of our art† ( Place, 1998: 47 ) . The femme fatale, in movies such asThe Big Sleep( 1946 ) ,Double Indemnity( 1944 ) andThe Postman Always Rings Twice( 1946 ; 1981 ) exists non merely as the â€Å"icon of desire† ( Porfirio, 1999: 97 ) but, as the fulcrum upon which the narrative flexible joints. It is the male hero’s desire for the femme fatale that provides the footing for non merely his ain criminalism ( inThe Postman Always Rings TwiceandDouble Indemnity) but besides the misrepresentation that normally consequences in his ruin. The building of the femme fatale as Janey Place suggests is â€Å"expressed visually both in the iconography of the image and in the ocular style† ( Place, 1999: 54 ) . Phyllis Dietrichson ( Barbara Stanwyck ) inDouble Indemnity, for case, encapsulates the semiotic over-coding of the typical Noir femme fatale: her hair is an about white peroxide blond, her apparels are monochromatic and she is illuminated, throughout the movie, in blunt contrast to the shadows that are behind her and that cut the characteristics of the male figures in half. This non merely adds to the concretisation of the subtext of good and evil but besides highlights her topographic point in the narrative as desirable yet, finally, out of range a point made by Place and Peterson ( 1976 ) in their survey of Noir’s ocular motives: â€Å"Far removed from the feeling of softness and exposure created by ( the ) diffused techniques ( of Hollywood characteristics ) , the Noir heroines were shot in tough, unromantic close-ups of direct, undiffused visible radiation, which create a difficult, stately surface beauty that seems more seductive but less come-at-able, at one time tempting and impenetrable.† ( Place and Peterson, 1976: 328 ) As this suggests, a major facet of the Noir femme fatale can be seen to shack in her position as impossible object ; her closet, the lighting, the makeup and the camera focal point all combine to bring forth an image that is iconic instead than realistic, that is a signifier instead than a portrayal of existent humanity. As James Naremore ( 1998: 101 ) suggests, this sense of the iconic, of the sacred, is underlined by the changeless mention to ocular fetishes in connexion with the female figure: a lip rouge inThe Postman Always Rings Twice, an ankle watchband inDouble Indemnityor a baseball mitt inGilda( 1946 ) . These articles are synecdochic non merely with the female herself but with the desire that she represents, in other words they are fetishes for a fetish. Of class, the creative activity of a desirable object in the femme fatale is non merely for the interest of the hero but for the audience and as such provides much of the focal point for the male orientated regard. As feminist critics of the genre have argued ( Gledhill, 1996 ; Humm, 1997 etc ) , Film Noir is mostly, if non entirely, centred around the male witness offering merely either a masochistic designation with a ambidextrous female supporter or a sort of transgendered empathy with the male lead for the female audience. [ 2 ] It is the femme fatal that characterises the male regard of Film Noir, as she is filtered through the festishistic phantasies of the hero that are, themselves, condensed versions of the scriptwriter’s and the director’s. The male regard of the camera, that desires the female along with the hero, is instrumental in making the authoritative Noir experience. The hero, and therefore the male witness, is non merely opposed to the female’s gender but besides her sense of legality as, really frequently, it is the woman’s criminalism that prompts the man’s evildoing, a impression postulated besides by Foster Hirsch in his surveyFilm Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen( 1981: 13 ) . The female felon, so of Noir is one founded upon fraudulence and coercion. As inDouble Indemnity, the femme fatal non merely exists as a form for desire but besides for the evildoing of boundaries of legality, both components of what Lacan termedjouissance[ 3 ] . The construct ofjouissanceis most closely associated with Lacan’sSeminarTwenty: Encore( Lacan, 2000 ) and relates non merely to the construct of pleasance (plaisir) or enjoyment but to its possible to be limitless and destructive, as Jean Michel Rebate ( 2003 ) inside informations: â€Å"Jouissance ( can be seen as ) a impression that translates Bataille s constructs of waste, outgo, titillating surplus, and trangression.† ( Rebate, 2003: 18 ) Jouissancein Lacan is both orgasmic and terrifying ; it functions non merely as a sexual attractant but as the field beyond the symbolic, beyond the Torahs of both the personal and the societal. The Noir femme fatal, as Zizek suggests inThe Plague of Fantasies( 1997: 48 ) is a form for merely such evildoing and for the enjoyment that arises out of sexual and legal freedom, the license to make as one supplications. However, this designation is non simply a merchandise of the relationship between the male hero and the female supporter as much Noir unfavorable judgment might propose, alternatively it is formed out of the psychoanalytic illation that arises from the triangular relationship between the hero, the femme fatale and the symbolic male parent figure. It is the last of these that concretises the Oedipal constructions of Noir and, as we shall see, offers us most in footings of construing the nexus between female criminalism and destructive gender. For Lacan, it is the intercession of the Father, and emasculation, that mediates the destructive power ofjouissancethrough the infliction of regulations ( once more, both personal and societal ) , as Dany Nobus ( 1998 ) inside informations: â€Å"It can be pointed out that emasculation, the operation by which jouissance is drained off from the organic structure, is chiefly a symbolic operation of linguistic communication. It is the infliction of regulations and prohibitions that drains the initial quota of jouissance from the kid s organic structure in the emasculation complex.† ( Nobus, 1998: 13 ) In Lacan, it is the ‘No’ ( or Name ) of the Father that frustrates the desire for the Oedipal Mother and that inscribes the Symbolic jurisprudence onto the topic. In Noir, it is this same symbolic Father ( Sackett ( Lean Ames ; William Traylor ) inThe Postman Always Rings Twice; Keyes ( Edward G. Robinson ) inDouble Indemnityetc ) that intervenes between the hero and the femme fatal, stand foring both the jurisprudence of the land and the psycho-social prohibition of incest. It is of import to observe that it is this character, the symbolic Father, that fixes and sets the psychological place of the other two sides of the trigon. This same Oedipal trigon occurs clip and clip once more in Film Noir and its many off shoots:Double Indemnity,The Big Sleep,Criss Cross( 1949 ) , Gilda, every bit good as Hitchcock’sForeign Correspondent( 1940 ) andDizziness( 1958 ) . It is, we could asseverate, the figure of the Father as jurisprudence that finally links the impressions of female criminalism and destructive gender by transforming the relationship between the two lead supporters from one of heterosexual lecherousness to one of Oedipal incest. In Lacanian and Freudian depth psychology, nevertheless, as David Stafford Clark ( 1965 ) inside informations, this Oedipus inspired emasculation centres the kid within the sexual kingdom and prepares him ( for by and large Freud trades with the male kid ) for maturity: â€Å"the secret passions of the kid for the female parent can non stay either guiltless in the child’s ain head or capable of fulfillment with any grade of completeness. It can non be fulfilled because the kid can non hold the female parent wholly to himself.† ( Stafford Clark, 1965: 93 ) Both Freud ( 2001 ) and Lacan ( 1997 ) saw the inability to be inducted into this scenario as a major aetiological ground for the oncoming of psychosis, doing the No of the Father integral to a healthy psychosexual development. What does this state about Noir and, more significantly our hypothesis sing its linkage of female criminalism and destructive gender? As Zizek intimations at inThe Plague of Fantasies, the gender of the Noir can be seen as non merely destructive ( in that desire for the femme fatal leads, really frequently, to the ruin of the hero ) but besides constructive in that it, finally, upholds the Torahs of the society and punishes those that transgress them. It is the emasculation of the hero by the symbolic Father that concretises the boundaries of the Torahs and the societal conventions every bit good as underscoring the place of the male libido in relation to femalejouissance[ 4 ] . This point is related toDouble Indemnityby Claire Johnson ( 1997 ) : â€Å"The split between the Symbolic and Imaginary which structures the text insists in Keyes’ overlapping map as symbolic and idealized male parent, driving the movie towards declaration and closing ( and ) as symbolic male parent Keyes must stand for the Law and manus Neff over to the police.† ( Johnson, 1997: 97 ) As we hinted at earlier, this state of affairs can merely come about through the male regard of the camera and an premise of a male witness. However, this is turn, as Jon Tuska ( 1984 ) invariably reiterates, is a contemplation of the genre’s socio-political roots. As we stated in the debut, Film Noir can be seen to reflect the socio-political political orientation of its clip, as Paul Schrader ( 1986 ) inside informations in his essayNotes on Film Noir: â€Å"As shortly as the war was over†¦American movies became markedly more sardonic – and there was a roar in the offense movie. For 15 old ages the force per unit areas against America’s amelioristic film had been constructing up and, given, the freedom, audiences and creative persons were now eager to take a less optimistic position of things.† ( Schrader, 1986: 171 ) Noir morality is built on evildoing and the crossing of legal boundaries, in many Noir movies it is the hero that is made condemnable, normally through the trickeries of the femme fatale. The audience is made complicit with this because, as we have discovered, through the mise en scene we are made to portion in the adoration of her iconic beauty, we understand why the hero does what he does and we are made to believe we would make the same. Ultimately, so, the Noir movie is mostly conservative ; order is by and large restored at the terminal of the movie and the characters punished, either killed or sent to prison. The No of the Father, merely like in Lacanian or Freudian depth psychology, restores order and allows male Reason and the jurisprudence to enforce themselves on female criminalism and destructive gender. It is easy to see why this motive would be so attractive to the Hollywood of the 1940s and 50s: there is a acknowledgment of complexness, of the presence of both good and evil but there is besides the soothing presence of all seeing symbolic Father who restores the position quo and allows life to go on as it did earlier. There is an obvious linkage between female criminalism and destructive gender in Film Noir, in many ways it is one of the genre’s most abiding cardinal leitmotiv. The femme fatale is invariably held in resistance to the masculinity of both the hero and the symbolic male parent figure and she stands as non so much as a owner but an object of destructive desire. As we seen, nevertheless, in the expansive construction of the Noir existence, this desire is merely destructive to the hero, in footings of the model of the jurisprudence and the symbolic order, it is a constructive, healthy desire because it finally leads to emasculation and the Restoration of legality. The evildoing of the hero, so, becomes what Zizek, inOn Belief( 2001 ) calls â€Å"the obscene supplement† ( Zizek, 2001: 119 ) that upholds the jurisprudence. The inquiry so becomes non is at that place a nexus between female criminalism and destructive desire, but is the desireDelawaresstructive orconstructive. One the one manus, it provides the roots for the hero’s ruin on the other it creates the environment for the Restoration and concretisation of the societal order and, like many things in American Film Noir, the reply to this depends on whose position you are sing from. Mentions Copjec, J ( 1993 ) , â€Å"The Phenomenal Nonphenomenal ; Private Space in Film Noir† , published in published in J. Copjec ( erectile dysfunction ) ,Sunglassess of Noir: A Reader, London: Verso, pp.167-199. Freud, S ( 2001 ) ,The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Vol. Twelve, London: Verso. Gledhill, C ( 1998 ) , â€Å"Klute: A Contemporary Film Noir and Feminist Criticism† , published in published in E. Kaplan ( erectile dysfunction ) ,Womans in Film Noir, London: BFI, pp.20-34. Hirsch, F ( 1981 ) ,Film Noir: The Dark Side of the Screen, New York: A.S. Barbes ) Humm, M ( 1997 ) ,Feminism and Film, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University. Johnson, Claire ( 1998 ) , â€Å"Double Indemnity† , published in E. Kaplan ( erectile dysfunction ) ,Womans in Film Noir, London: BFI, pp.89-98 Kuhn, A ( 1994 ) ,The Power of the Image, London: Routledge. Lacan, J ( 1982 ) , â€Å"God and the Jouissance of Women† , published inFeminine Sexuality, London: Pantheon Books, pp.137-148. Lacan, J ( 1997 ) ,The Psychosiss: 1955-1956, London: Norton. Lacan, J ( 2000 ) ,On Female Sexuality, the Limits of Love and Knowledge, 1972-1973, London: Norton. Mulvey, L ( 1999 ) , â€Å"Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema† , published in L. Braudy and M. Cohen ( explosive detection systems ) ,Film Theory and Criticism, Oxford: Oxford, pp.833-844. Naremore, J ( 1998 ) ,More than Night: Film Noir and its Contexts, Berkeley: University of California. Nobus, D ( 1998 ) ,Key Concepts of Lacanian Psychoanalysis, London: Other. Topographic point, J and Peterson, L ( 1976 ) , â€Å"Some Visual Motifs of Film Noir† , published in B. Nichols ( erectile dysfunction ) ,Movies and Methods, Berkeley: University of California, pp.325-338 Topographic point, Janey ( 1998 ) , â€Å"Women in Film Noir† , published in E. Kaplan ( erectile dysfunction ) ,Womans in Film Noir, London: BFI, pp.47-68. Porfirio, R ( 1999 ) , â€Å"Whatever Happened to the Film Noir? The Postman Always Rings Twice† , published in A. Silver and J. Ursini ( explosive detection systems ) ,Film Noir Reader 2, New York: Limelight, pp.85-98. Rebate, J.M ( 2003 ) ,The Cambridge Companion to Lacan, Cambridge: Cambridge. Schrader, P ( 1986 ) , â€Å"Notes on Film Noir† , published in Grant, B ( erectile dysfunction ) ,Film Genre Reader, Austin: University of Texas, 169-182. Stafford Clark, D ( 1965 ) ,What Freud Really Said, London ; Penguin. Tuska, J ( 1984 ) ,Dark Cinema: American Film Noir in Cultural Perspective, London: Greenwood. Vernet, M ( 1993 ) , â€Å"Film Noir on the Edge of Doom† , published in J. Copjec ( erectile dysfunction ) ,Sunglassess of Noir: A Reader, London: Verso, pp.1-32. Zizek, S ( 1997 ) ,The Plague of Fantasies, London: Verso. Zizek, S ( 2001 ) ,On Belief, London: Routledge. Bibliography Selby, S ( 1984 ) ,Dark City: The Film Noir, London: St James Press. Spicer, A ( 2002 ) ,Film Noir, London: Longman. Filmography Criss Cross( 1949 ) , dir. Robert Siodmak. Double Indemnity( 1944 ) , dir. Billy Wilder. Foreign Correspondent( 1940 ) , dir. Alfred Hitchcock, Gilda( 1946 ) , dir. Charles Vidor. Snog Me Deadly, ( 1955 ) , dir. Robert Aldrich. The Big Sleep, ( 1946 ) , dir. Howard Hawkes. The Postman Always Rings Twice( 1946 ) , dir. Tay Garnett. The Postman Always Rings Twice( 1981 ) , dir. Bob Rafelson. Dizziness( 1958 ) , dir. Alfred Hitchcock. 1

Areitos Ancient Caribbean Taino Ceremonies

Areitos Ancient Caribbean Taino Ceremonies Areito also spelled areyto (plural areitos) is what the Spanish conquistadors called an important ceremony composed and performed by and for the Taà ­no people of the Caribbean. An areito was a bailar candanto or sung dance, an intoxicating blend of dance, music and poetry, and it played a significant role in Taà ­no social, political, and religious life. According to 15th and early 16th-century Spanish chroniclers, areitos were performed in the main plaza of a village, or in the area in front of the chief’s house. In some cases, the plazas were specifically configured for use as dancing grounds, with their edges defined by earthen embankments or by a series of standing stones. The stones and embankments were often decorated with carved images of zemis, mythological beings or noble ancestors of the Taà ­no. The Role of Spanish Chroniclers Almost all of our information concerning the early Taà ­no ceremonies comes from the reports of Spanish chroniclers, who first witnessed areitos when Columbus landed on the island of Hispaniola. Areito ceremonies confused the Spanish because they were performative art that reminded the Spanish of (oh no!) their own ballad-narrative tradition called romances. For example, the conquistador Gonzalo Fernandez de Ovideo drew a direct comparison between the areitos good and noble way of recording past and ancient events and those of his Spanish homeland, leading him to argue that his Christian readers should not count the areitos as evidence of Native American savagery. The American anthropologist Donald Thompson (1993) has argued that the recognition of artistic similarities between the Taà ­no areito and Spanish romances led to the obliteration of detailed descriptions of song-dance ceremonies found throughout Central and South America. Bernadino de Sahagun used the term to refer to communal singing and dancing among the Aztecs; in fact, most historical narratives in the Aztec language were sung by groups and usually accompanied by dancing. Thompson (1993) counsels us to be very cautious about much that has been written about the areitos, for this exact reason: that the Spanish recognized conflated all kinds of rituals containing song and dance into the term areito. What was an Areito? The conquistadors described areitos as rituals, celebrations, narrative stories, work songs, teaching songs, funeral observances, social dances, fertility rites, and/or drunken parties. Thompson (1993) believes that the Spanish undoubtedly witnessed all of those things, but the word areito may well have simply meant group or activity in Arawakan (the Taino language). It was the Spanish who used it to categorize all kinds of dancing and singing events. The chroniclers used the word to mean chants, songs or poems, sometimes sung dances, sometimes poem-songs. The Cuban ethnomusicologist Fernando Ortiz Fernandez described areitos as the greatest musical artistic expression and poetic of the Antilles Indians, a conjunto (gathering) of music, song, dance and pantomime, applied to religious liturgies, magical rites and the epic narrations of the tribal histories and the great expressions of collective will. Songs of Resistance: The Areito de Anacaona Eventually, despite their admiration for the ceremonies, the Spanish stamped out the areito, replacing it with sacred church liturgies. One reason for this may have been the association of areitos with resistance. The Areito de Anacaona is a 19th-century song-poem written by Cuban composer Antonio Bachiller y Morales and dedicated to Anacaona (Golden Flower), a legendary Taà ­no female chief (cacica) [~1474-1503] who ruled the community of Xaragua (now Port-au-Prince) when Columbus made landfall. Anacaona was married to Caonabo, cacique of the neighboring kingdom of Maguana; her brother Behechio ruled Xaragua first but when he died, Anacaona seized power. She then led native revolts against the Spanish with whom she had previously established trade agreements. She was hung in 1503 at the order of Nicolas de Ovando [1460-1511], the first Spanish governor of the New World. Anacaona and 300 of her serving maidens performed an areito in 1494, to announce when Spanish forces led by Bartolome Colon met with Bechechio. We dont know what her song was about, but according to Fray Bartolome de las Casas, some of the songs in Nicaragua and Honduras were songs of explicit resistance, singing about how wonderful their lives had been before the arrival of the Spanish, and the amazing ability and cruelty of Spanish horses, men, and dogs. Variations According to the Spanish, there was lots of variety in the areitos. The dances varied a great deal: some were step-patterns that move along a specific pathway; some used walking patterns that went no more than a step or two in either direction; some wed recognize today as line dances; and some were led by a guide or dance master of either sex, who would use a call and response pattern of song and steps wed recognize from modern country dancing. The areito leader established the steps, words, rhythm, energy, tone, and pitch of a dance sequence, based on ancient clearly choreographed steps but continually evolving, with new adaptations and additions to accommodate new compositions. Instruments Instruments used at areitos in Central America included flutes and drums, and sleigh bell-like rattles made of wood containing small stones, something like maracas and called by the Spanish cascabels). Hawkbells were a trade item brought by the Spanish to trade with the locals, and according to the reports, the Taino liked them because they were louder and shinier than their versions. There were also drums of various sorts, and flutes and tinklers tied to clothing that added noise and movement. Father Ramà ³n Panà ©, who accompanied Columbus on his second voyage, described an instrument used at an areito called the mayouhauva or maiohauau. This was made of wood and hollow, measuring about a meter (3.5 ft) long and half as wide. Panà © said that the end that was played had the shape of a blacksmiths tongs, and the other end was like a club. No researcher or historian has since been able to even imagine what that looked like. Sources Atkinson L-G. 2006. The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taino. Kingston, Jamaica: University of West Indies Press.Leà ³n T. 2016. Polyrhythmia in the Music of Cuba. Polyrhythmia in the Music of Cuba. Diagonal: An Ibero-American Music Review 1(2).Saunders NJ. 2005. The Peoples of the Caribbean. An Encyclopedia of Archaeology and Traditional Culture. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO.Scolieri PA. 2013. On the Areito: Discovering Dance in the New World. Dancing the New World: Aztecs, Spaniards, and the Choreography of Conquest. University of Texas Press: Austin. p 24-43.Simmons ML. 1960. Pre-Conquest Narrative Songs in Spanish America. The Journal of American Folklore 73(288):103-111.Thompson D. 1983. Music Research in Puerto Rico. College Music Symposium 23(1):81-96.Thompson D. 1993. The Cronistas de Indias Revisited: Historical Reports, Archeological Evidence, and Literary and Artistic Traces of Indigenous Music and Dance in the Greater Antilles at the Time of th e Conquista. Latin American Music Review / Revista de Mà ºsica Latinoamericana 14(2):181-201. Wilson SC. 2007. The Archaeology of the Caribbean. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Senior and middle managements communication and leadership style Literature review

Senior and middle managements communication and leadership style influence on employees satisfaction and motivation in case of Airport of Thailand (AOT) company - Literature review Example The landscape of literature reviw offers the analysis of relevant information concerning leadership, internal communication, employees and management acquired through several years of management and several researches caried ut by various scholars. It is a process where leaders interrelate with their followers and try to persuade their followers in realizing intended goals. Previous studies have identified different types of leadership. Among the common forms of leadership styles are transformational and transactional. Transformational leadership put emphasis on the personal growth and intrinsic motivation of their followers. This type of leadership tries to align the aspirations and needs of their followers to that of the organization. By doing like that, transformational leadership nurtures the loyalty of their followers to that of the organization and inspires them to enhance their performance. In current dynamic and complex environment, transformational leaders are seen as ultimate agents of change who can steer their followers successfully in times of high risk taking and uncertainties (Shah, 2004). On the other hand, transactional leadership gain legitimacy by maximizing the use of promises, praises and rewards so as to meet the pressing needs of their supporters. They engage their supporters by rewarding them so as to achieve certain desired goals. Although transformational leadership is seen as more suitable than transactional leadership, it has been realized that such argument is deceptive. Burns (1998) argued that all leadership is transactional, though such transactions are not limited to short term rewards only. An effective leader has to appeal to the personal interest of the followers and make use of both short term and long- term rewards in order to lead supporters towards the realization of organizational objectives. This subject is very relevant to the study as it offers critical insight on types

Constitutional Law of the EU Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Constitutional Law of the EU - Case Study Example Individuals were given the right to bring actions before the ECJ for judicial review of the acts of Community institutions under Article 173. However, as a means of enforcing individual rights, this Article has limited utility as, first, individuals are not permitted to bring actions against Member States and therefore have no rights or remedies where a State violates their Community law rights and, secondly, individuals are required to demonstrate that the measure is a decision which is of direct and individual concern to the applicant. An individual cannot challenge regulations unless it is demonstrable that it is merely a decision in the garb of a regulation1. The individual must show that the effects of the decision apply directly to the applicant without depending on the exercise of discretion by another body2. Moreover, the decision must affect the individual's legal position3. The ECJ has taken its own view as to the nature and effect of treaties known as the doctrine of 'direct effect.' The concept of Direct Effect of EC law was developed by the ECJ to allow individuals and organisations to use the provisions of EC law within their Member States' domestic courts without having to wait for the Member State to fulfil some obligation which it had omitted to do. Although, individuals could complain to the Commission, nevertheless they could not compel the Commission to ensure that their rights were enforced if the Commission was chary of doing so4. The implication of this jurisprudential concept is that individuals can obtain the required mandate directly from community law, for enforcement in their own national courts. It also places control in the hands of ordinary individuals, as per the provisions of Article 226 EC, which enables the Commission to initiate proceedings against Member States for breaches. Direct effect has in this manner empowered every citizen of the Union to participate actively and in this manner has brought the community into their lives. Its legal foundations were established in Van Gend En Loos 5 in which the Court held that an individual was entitled to invoke Article 25 EC in order to prohibit Member States from introducing new customs duties on imports and exports and other charges having equivalent effects. The Court held that Article 25 EC was directly effective and could be challenged by individuals in the national courts. However the ECJ reasoned that direct effect exists and that the individuals may have the rights conferred upon them directly under EC treaties. This reasoning was based on the need to carry out the political and legislative programme that the treaties had set out to create a community not only of states but also of personsthat calls for the participation of everybody. The spirit of the preamble to the EC implies that reference has to be made not only to member governments but also to individuals, and is therefore, more than an agreement which creates mutual obligations between the contracting states. In this way it is distinct from other international treaties and constitutes a new legal order of international law for the benefit of which the stated have limited their sovereign rights, although within limited fields, the subjects of which comprise not only member states but also their nationals. Therefore it was concluded that, community lawis intended to confer upon individuals righ ts which become part of their