Preformance Managemant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Preformance Managemant - Essay Example For instance, there are assumptions that managers might undertake when taking evaluation of an employee. Sometimes, the responses from an employee may not be reflective of the potential and skills that he possesses. Thus, at this point, it is expected that the manager would assume faulty quotes for the employee’s service within the organization. At some point, the main essence of performance appraisal or management may not be fulfilled because the manager may be biased or have an opinion which is built before the appraisal process (Cardy and Leonard). As per research, another reason which has been noted to affect managers is the psychological underpinning of performance management. At some point, managers may feel that they are insecure about their own positions because performance management requires a lot of evaluation and understanding. It should be noted that managers feel burdened with the strategic planning of needed for performance management within an organization (Cardy and Leonard). Finally, the most important reason behind resistance of managers towards performance management is the fact that they would have to set targets for their subordinates. As a result, it is expected that some of the subordinates would show resentment towards the managers. Therefore, an air of miscommunication arises that does not make the team and manager feel confident or communicative about each other (Cardy and Leonard). Other than this, it is noted that managers would focus on day to day achievements of the individuals. But it is ineffective because managers should look at employees as team members. It is due to this reason that they stay motivated and communicative within an organization. Secondly, managers believe that all employees are similar which only false assumptions are. Managers need to understand that all employees have different responsibilities and skills. Thirdly, managers often

Marijuana research paper Essay Example for Free

Marijuana research paper Essay In today’s society there are a list of many banned drugs which in coincidence are the five most used drugs by most individuals. These drugs are methamphetmine, cocaine heroine, ecstasy and marijuana, out of all five of these drugs one that I believe to be the most scrutinized is marijuana, known also as cannabis. I believe this drug is the most harmless illegal substance in the world, especially when compared to its counterparts. Marijuana not only has the least negative side effects to your body but it is also the only drug that is used in a social, musical, medical and cultural manner. The most popular of all recreational drugs, Cannabis, or Marijuana, Grass, Hemp, Weed, Pot, Hash, Dope or a variety of regional names has been cultivated for thousands of years. Derived in various forms from the Cannabis plants, Cannabis Indica or Cannabis Sativa, is native to central Asia but its cultivation and use is global. It is a Psychoactive and a Psychedelic. It can be smoked as leaves or flower buds, it can be ground down to isolate the crystallized sap and then pressed into a solid, or the resin extracted by collection via contact with the sticky plant parts.(http://listverse.com) This excerpt from listverse.com explains why marijuana use is so commonly used not only in America but across the globe. What makes this drug adorn by many of it users are also the proclaimed â€Å"negative† side effects, constant smoking or overdosing on marijuana results in â€Å"being forgetful, over sleeping, not getting things done, concentration difficulties, neglecting work or duties, loss of balance or dizziness, problems with performing tasks, and nausea (Hammersley, R. and V. Leon, 2006).† These side effects may not be looked too as negative by on the user, especially when compared to its counterparts. An overdose of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroine will almost always lead to â€Å"seizures, coma, and loss of a life† (http://mental-health.emedtv.com) Marijuana is acclaimed by many of its users as the â€Å"ultimate stress reliever† and what better place relieve stress than at college, a place where for four to five days out of the week students are overwhelmed with the stresses that come from the many classes they take. This explains why college is a perfect example of marijuana being used in a social setting where one can obtain the drug in a calm environment with little authority from parents or the police. Through my college experience I have met students who enter college deciding they will never smoke a day in their life, I have also met students who admit they were peer pressured into at least trying the substance and I have met students who have said they tried marijuana out of straight curiosity. In an interview held with a female Old Westbury student, who’s name is preferred not to be mentioned, I asked the student â€Å"how long have you been smoking marijuana?† student replied â€Å"I would consider myself a newcomer to smoking pot, I started this semester.† I then asked â€Å"why did you choose marijuana out of all illegal drugs to use?† she replied â€Å" I honestly choose marijuana because all of my friends were doing it, I saw after smoking many of them would go from uptight to calm and funny, not having a care in the world, I wanted to feel for myself what the â€Å"hype† was and depending on how I reacted to pot would determine if I would continue smoking or not†. My last question before ending the interview was the big one, â€Å"Do you still continue to smoke marijuana†, with a smirk on her face she said â€Å"yes I do, not often like my friends but on Thursday after a long week of homework and classes I smoke one to ease my mind and forget about my tough week, plus it puts me to bed (laughing)†. Marijuana use has and still continues to be a cultivating driving force in the music industry, specifically hip hop. During the 80’s and 90’s many of the great hip hop legends; Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur and Notorious Biggie Smalls all have been known for there outstanding musical abilities but also for their public habit of smoking or as the street term calls it â€Å"getting high.† Many individuals look at these artist and automatically assume ignorance when in fact when under the influence of marijuana these artist have said some of the most prolific lines in hip hop. Tupac Shakur is quoted saying I believe that everything that you do bad comes back to you. So everything that I do that’s bad, I’m going to suffer from it. But in my mind, I believe what I’m doing is right. So I feel like I’m going to heaven. This quote spoke meant allot to me and Im sure to many young adults that are just like me who live a life of violence and chaos. Often as teenagers we feel that since we are not living the supposedly â€Å"Godly† way that includes attending church regularly, helping other and praying at night that we ourselves don’t hold a place in heaven, that we are the scums of the earth. Lines such as these mentally help us make it through our days and allow us to understand that they are other people out there who are going or have went through our daily struggles. Hearing words like that from your icon, you can only imagine the relief that boy’s and girl’s feel knowing someone who made it out a bad situation was going through exactly what you were, simple words can really make an outstanding difference to an individual. Marijuana in the music industry is not only used through the rappers who say the lyrics but it is used also by the producer’s who come up with the beat and flow, the core of the song that sometimes allows you to feel the music in a way that no rapper may be able to get across. Famous producers such Pharell and rap mogul Dr. Dre are both Grammy winners who make their music while under the influence, the drug puts them in a calming place were their mind can roam and listen to each instruments and bring them together in harmony, yes this task can be done sober but these two producers have made some of the beast beats in the world, it only goes to show once again marijuana is not as self destruction drug as it rivals cocaine or heroine . Medical Cannabis refers to the use of the drug cannabis as a physician-recommended herbal therapy, most notably as an antiemetic. Cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for approximately 4,000 years. Writings from ancient India confirm that its psychoactive properties were recognized, and doctors used it for a variety of illnesses and ailments. These included a whole host of gastrointestinal disorders, insomnia,  headaches and as a pain reliever frequently used in childbirth.In the 1970s, a synthetic version of THC, the primary active ingredient in cannabis, was synthesized to make the drug Marinol. (Why Is Smoking Cigarettes Bad For You? | LIVESTRONG.COM) Marijuana is yet again used as a beneficial part of our society but instead of the individual users who use it for leisure or to have fun, marijuana is used for the sick and impaired. Known by its correct term as medical marijuana, the drug is used to relieve muscle spams, chronic pain,glaucoma, weight loss(in smoking marijuana one of the few side effect is called â€Å"the munches† during this time the user will crave to want food. People who dont often eat will more than likely have a good portion plate of food or a snack) Aids and Cancer. Having a grandmother who was prescribed marijuana for her excessive swollen feet conditon I personally saw the positive effects the drug had her. Marijuana allowed my grandmother to relax and focus less attention on her feet, being under the influence put my grandmother in a happy place where her pain no longer bothered her as much as it would if she was sober. What she always enjoyed about marijuana was that she could smoke it, coming from the Caribbean’s smoking marijuana was a normal thing, something she had grown accustomed too. She much rather smoke instead of swallowing pills, being old fashioned she thought the side effects of pills would be detrimental to her health. Smoking marijuana has had an impact on the lives of those who suffer from depression and low self esteem. Joan Bello, author of The Benefits of Marijuana: Physical, Psychological Spiritual, is quoted saying; Marijuana will not tolerate repression. Tranquilizers and depressants relax the body and release tension, but the state of mind associated with these drugs is unconsciousness whereby we escape rather than resolve our dilemmas. Alcoholism is an extreme need of both the body and personality sometimes to release the nervousness that has accumulated and continues to build up to an unbearable degree. It serves the same function for the collective personality for the society, as well A culture in which alcohol and tranquilizers are the prevalent form of release prefers not to witness  internal confusion and actually choose to act without conscious participation, maintaining a semi-numb condition. Mr. Bello not only speaks about the positive of marijuana use but he also speaks on how smoking puts you at a better state than one of its many counterparts alcohol, who when under the influence liquor individuals tend to act angry or in rage, marijuana users are always put in a calm statement, which is reason to why after smoking one side effect the user may feel is tiredness. Marijuana usage has not been secluded too only America, it has made a huge cultural impact on the tropical island community, specifically Jamaica. Jamaicans have a subset group of people on the island that participate in a religion known as Rastafri, as Catholics partake in the Eucharist and Muslims participate in Ramadan, the Rastafarian lifestyle usually includes ritual use of marijuana, avoidance of alcohol, the wearing of ones hair in dreadlocks, and vegetarianism. Rastafrains look at marijuana as the hold plant and have scriptures in the bible to prove that they aren’t making it up, Psalm 104:14: He causeth the grass for the cattle and herb for the service of man.† The marijuana or as they call it gangja is also used for social and medical purposes. Marijuana is used primarily during the two main Rastafari rituals: reasonings and nyabingi. The reasoning is an informal gathering at which a small group of Rastas smoke ganja and engage in discussion. The ritual begins when one person lights the pipe, or chalice, and recites a short prayer while all other participants bow their heads. The pipe is then passed around the circle until all of the people have smoked. The reasoning ends when the participants depart one by one. Rasta’s do not condone any other drug beside marijuana because it is the only God given plant, it is not tainted with any human contact unlike alcohol methamphetamine cocaine or heroine. These rastas normally live long healthy lives, which only proves that the drug does not do serious damage to your body. So far they are eighteen legalized marijuana states in the United states. Regardless what the majority may say I believe marijuana has made a positive impact on the world. \. The amount of deaths that occur from smoking cigarets or drinking alcohol is in the millions and yet it is still being used, marijuana has had zero deaths in its history. The next time you see someone high or in the act of smoking think about the pros and cons and then make your decision.

Book VII of the Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle Essay -- Aristotle Ni

Book VII of the Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle Introduction In book seven of the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle sets out his theory of akrasia, or weakness of will. Aristotle attempts to explain both how such actions are possible (contra Socrates), and how we can dissolve the puzzles (aporiai) generated by our most important (kurios) commonly held beliefs, which arise in response to the actions of the incontinent person. This paper will review book VII of the Nichomachean Ethics (EN), and attempt to resolve some of the remaining questions left open by Aristotle’s critique. According to Aristotle, ethika is not an exact (akribes) science, for it only provides â€Å"usual† truths (hos epi to polu), or those that are true for most, but not all, cases. Ethics is a practical discipline, which depends on the prudent person to make competent decisions with respect to various particular cases; unsurprisingly, it would be difficult (if not impossible) to determine any invariant rules of application for every ethical situation. Accordingly, Aristotle consults the opinions of the common majority as an initial starting point from which to proceed in ethical study. The beliefs of the hoi polloi are revisable, however, and in the case of incontinence, we shall see that Aristotle cannot resolve all of the puzzles resulting from them. The format of this paper will proceed as follows. First, we will attempt a rough description of Aristotle’s conception of incontinence. Next, we will survey the most salient puzzles with which he is concerned. Subsequently, we will attempt to resolve any remaining questions concerning the plausibility of Aristotle’s theory. Section One Aristotle’s conception of inc... ...ned earlier, we remain convinced that the incontinent knows the entire time that what she does is the wrong thing to do. If we think she doesn’t know, or forgets momentarily, then why is she morally responsible for her wrong-doing? Likewise, Aristotle’s own explanation lacks enough specificity as to why and how the appetite makes one â€Å"unaware† of the good conclusion. Simply put, the ambiguity interpretation is the most plausible way to account for both our pre-theoretical intuitions and our everyday practical experiences. In this respect, it remains true to the spirit of the Nichomachean Ethics. Works Cited Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics, Translated by Terence Irwin. Second Edition. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 1999. Davidson, Donald. â€Å"How is weakness of the will possible?† in Essays on Actions and Events. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1980.

Phillips

Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Why Hazaras flee: An historical perspective of their persecution1 Submission for the Government’s Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Denise Phillips BA (Hons), PhD Candidate, University of New England, 19 July 2012 Quetta are also discussed. The past ethnic and religious animosity against minority Shiite Hazaras continues to drive the bloodshed today. When we shift our esponsibilities offshore, vilify refugees and pursue a punitive style of deterrence as a solution, we ignore these past and present atrocities. Executive summary This paper provides historical information about the source country, Afghanistan. As minority Shiites, Hazaras’ current persecution is borne out of an unresolved, century-old religious and ethnic hatred of them. This has resulted in massacres, dispossession of their lands and decades of institutionalised discrimination. Their persecution was fiercely reignited during the civil war and by the Taliban in the 1990s.Understanding that history is critical to policy-making. Not only are Hazaras dying on boats, but also in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Australia must respond to this over-all crisis with humanity rather than punitive measures. I support the recommendations made in the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s submission and the Open Letter. As Afghanistan moves towards a possible Taliban alliance or faces growing lawlessness, and as Hazaras continue to be slain or attacked in Hazara-populated regions and in neighbouring Quetta, Hazaras are likely to continue to flee and have grounds under the 1951 Refugee Convention to fear persecution.Introduction In addressing the problem of asylum seekers risking their lives on boat journeys to Australia, the reasons for their flight should remain at the forefront of policy-making and political debate. I o ffer an historical overview of a key source country, Afghanistan, and of the origins of Hazaras’ persecution. Current crises in both Afghanistan and Abdur Rahman’s subjugation of Hazaras in the nineteenth century After the traditionally dominant Pashtuns and the Tajiks, Hazaras are the third largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, although a minority. The Hazaras traditionally live in theHazarajat, a loosely defined region within the central highlands. While about 85 percent of Afghanistan’s population follow Sunni Islam, most Hazaras are Shiite Muslims, causing them to be condemned as ‘infidels’ at different points throughout history. 2 Their suffering began in earnest in the late 1800s. The Hazaras were a semi- autonomous society living in Afghanistan’s central highlands, the Hazarajat. The entire Hazara population possibly numbered over half a million, with about 340,000 families in the Hazarajat. Although not a cohesive group, most were Shii tes and spoke theHazaragi language, a derivative of Dari. In contrast, their surrounding ethnic groups were mostly Sunni Muslims and spoke Pashto or Dari. 3 Against a backdrop of imperial tensions between Britain and Czarist Russia, Britain helped install an anti-Russian Pashtun, Amir Abdur Rahman (1880-1901), on the throne in Kabul in 1880. In between British India and Russia. 4 exchange for a British annual subsidy, Afghanistan was to provide a buffer zone In the previous century, the Pashtun tribal ruler, Ahmad Shah Durrani (1747-1773), had already established a pattern of subjugating sub-groups and other ethnic groups within he region. To bring Afghanistan’s many different tribes under a centralised authority, Abdur Rahman proclaimed the Durrani Pashtuns as supreme and mobilised Sunni Islam with a patriotic xenophobia. Condemning Shiite Hazaras as ‘infidels’, Rahid Rahman 1 Over-all notes drawn from Denise Phillips, From Afghanistan to Australia: An oral hist ory of loss and hope among Hazara refugees, PhD thesis, University of New England, Armidale (forthcoming); Denise Phillips, ‘Wounded memory of Hazara refugees from Afghanistan: Remembering and forgetting persecution’, History Australia, vol. , no. 2, August 2011, pp. 177-198; and Denise Phillips, ‘Hazaras’ persecution worsens: Will the new government show leadership by lifting the suspension on Afghani asylum claims? ’, Australian Policy and History, August 2010, http://www. aph. org. au/files/articles/hazarasPersecution. htm. 2 William Maley, Security, People Smuggling and Australia's New Afghan Refugees, Working Paper no. 63, p. 8; M. Hassan Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, in M. Hassan Kakar, A Political and Diplomatic History of Afghanistan, 1863-1901, Leiden, 2006, p. 26. 3 Sayed Askar Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan: An Historical, Cultural, Economic and Political Study, Richmond, 1998, p. 114; Kakar, ‘The pacifi cation of the Hazaras’, pp. 120-122, 126. Amin Saikal, with assistance from Ravan Farhadi & Kirill Nourzhanov, Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival, London, 2004, pp. 6, 7, 12. 4 1 2 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 rallied soldiers and tribal levies to quash Hazara rebellions in the Afghan-Hazara wars of 1891-1893.Hazaras were slain, raped and sold into slavery. Soldiers piled Hazaras’ heads into towers to warn others against dissent, and some were skinned to death or had their tongues cut out. Although slavery was banned in 1895, many remained enslaved until King Amanullah’s emancipation laws were passed in the 1920s. Much of the Hazarajat was decimated, and their agricultural economy destroyed. Starving, some ate grass and sold their children for wheat to survive. The Hazaras were fined for rebelling and taxed indiscriminately. All facets of Afghani government, society and law conspired against Haza ras, seeking to destroy their property, tribal systems, religion and culture. Rahid Rahman attempted to impose Sunni Islam and demanded that qazis (judges) and muftis (Islamic leaders) in various districts use only Hanafi, a Sunni Islamic legal system, for dealing with Hazaras. To depopulate the Hazarajat, the government issued ‘firmans’, royal decrees, authorising Pashtun nomads, Kuchis, to access Hazaras’ lands for grazing their livestock. Possibly several tens of thousands fled to Central Asia, and Balochistan in what is now Pakistan. Victorious, Rahid Rahman demeaned the Hazaras and claimed that Afghanis saw them as ‘enemies of their country and religion’,7 laying the foundation for a century of persecution to the present. Marginalisation in the twentieth century Successive governments have since marginalised Hazaras. Under the banner of nationalism in the early 1900s, ruling Pashtuns tried to assert their identity, culture and history over all o ther ethnic groups. The Hazarajat was removed from official maps and lands were divided into five provinces to weaken the Hazaras’ political authority.King Nadir Shah (1929-1933) outlawed the promotion of Hazara history and culture, 5 Peter Marsden, Afghanistan: Minorities, Conflict and the Search for Peace, London, 2001, p. 6; Saikal, Modern Afghanistan, pp. 5, 12, 17, 35-39; Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, pp. 120122, 132-137; Burchard Brentjes & Helga Brentjes, Taliban: A Shadow over Afghanistan, Varanasi, 2000, p. 75; Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 101, 120-129, 131-136. 6 Kakar, ‘The pacification of the Hazaras’, pp. 137, 138; Lenard Milich, ‘The Behsud conflicts in Afghanistan: A blueprint to avoid further clashes in 2009 and beyond’, Eurasia Critic, June 2009, pp. , 3, http://www. eurasiacritic. com/articles, accessed 10 June 2010; Alessandro Monsutti, trans. Patrick Camiller, War and Migration: Social Networks and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan, New York, 2005, p. 105. 7 Mir Munshi Sultan Mahomed Khan (ed. ), The Life of Abdur Rahman, Amir of Afghanistan, with a new introduction by M. E. Yapp, vol. 1, Karachi, 1980 (1900), pp. 276-279, 282-284. imprisoning or executing intellectuals who wrote on the subject. Official policies tried to strip names associated with the Hazaras from historical archives. Between the 1930s nd 1970s, the Anjom-e Tarikh (Historical Society), aided by the Pashto Tolana (Pashto Academy), rewrote much of Afghanistan's official histories. Significant texts were also reportedly burnt. Until 1978, the Hazaras were marginalised, taxed indiscriminately, and denied equal rights and vital infrastructure in their villages. 8 Former president of Afghanistan Dr Najibullah (1986-1992) acknowledged their suffering, saying that ‘the most difficult and lowliest paid jobs, poverty, illiteracy, social and nationalist committed, and bloodshed continues to t his day. discrimination were the lot of the Hazara people’. No justice was gained for atrocities Massacres during the civil war and Taliban regime Hazaras became politically mobilised in the 1980s and have since gained greater political representation. However, their persecution was brutally re-ignited during the civil war by rival ethnic groups and by the Taliban. In 1993, soldiers under command of the Rabbani government (1992-1996) targeted the stronghold of the Hazaras’ political party, the Hizb-e Wahdat, in Afshar, a district in West Kabul with a large Hazara population. Soldiers, however, turned against civilians. After a frenzy of looting, rape killed or remain missing. 10 nd summary executions driven by ethnic hatred, approximately 700-750 Hazaras were Persecution intensified under the Taliban regime (1996-2001) as its soldiers advanced into Afghanistan’s north and the Hazarajat. Not only do Hazaras shun the Islamist beliefs of the Taliban, the Taliban ar e recruited mostly from the Pashtun group, the Hazaras’ traditional enemy. (In reverse, being Pashtun does not automatically equal Taliban support and millions of Pashtuns have also suffered within Afghanistan’s 8 Hafizullah Emadi, ‘The Hazaras and their role in the process of political transformation in Afghanistan’, Central Asian Survey, vol. 6, no. 3, 1997, pp. 363-371; Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 5-8, 155-174, 218; Saikal, Modern Afghanistan, pp. 111-113, 283. Hazaras cite Puta Khazana (The Hidden Treasure), published in 1960, as an example of a controversial or fictitious history funded by the government which promoted Pashtun superiority. 9 Quoted in Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, p. 162 10 Mousavi, The Hazaras of Afghanistan, pp. 198, 199; Human Rights Watch, Blood-Stained Hands: Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan’s Legacy of Impunity, New York, 2005, pp. 70-100. Numbers have never been accurately ascertained.One Haza ra website estimates that approximately 1,000 were killed or remain missing. See ‘Afshar and Kateh Sahe massacre’, Hazara. net, 2009 http://www. hazara. net/taliban/genocide/afshar/afshar. html, accessed 19 June 2010. 3 4 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 conflicts. ) In 1998, in retaliation for war crimes committed by the United Front (of which Hazaras were a part) against Taliban soldiers, the Taliban slaughtered approximately 2,000 or more Hazaras in Mazar-e Sharif. Civilians were killed in residential areas and market places, some dying with their throats slit.Highlighting the accompanying religious hatred, Taliban governor Mullah Manon Niazi had publicly incited the attack, preaching that, ‘Hazaras are not Muslim. You can kill them. It is not a sin’. Hazaras were reportedly warned to take lessons from their own history, and to either convert, flee or be killed. Hundreds fled the terror of Mazar-e Sharif. Massac res continued, with Taliban soldiers rounding up civilians in the Yakaolang district in 2001, publicly executing at least 170, many of whom were Hazaras. Near Robatak Pass, the Taliban also executed at least 31 civilians, with 26 confirmed to be Hazaras. 1 A resurgent Taliban After more than a decade, American and NATO forces have failed to bring peace and a withdrawal is imminent. Regrouping since 2001, the Taliban is now made up of an alliance of three Islamist groups; the Quetta Shura Taliban, the Haqqani Network, and Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin, an insurgency described by the US Department of Defence as ‘resilient and evolving’. 12 With safe havens for terrorism in western Pakistan, the insurgency maintains strongholds in southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan, and has been expanding to the west and north. 3 The Taliban’s clear presence in Shinwari district of Parwan province, less than a few hours from Kabul, was demonstrated with news last week of the Tali ban’s execution of a young woman on ‘adultery’ charges. 14 Terror in the Hazarajat Analysts recently deemed Ghazni to be ‘among the most volatile provinces in southern Afghanistan’. 15 In 2006, a former governor was assassinated, and in 2007, the Taliban held 23 South Koreans hostage. Located in Ghazni province is Jaghori, an Hazara- populated district and former home of many Hazara refugees now in Australia. Jaghori nd Hazara-populated Malistan are surrounded by Pashtun areas under Taliban control. In June 2010, the Taliban reportedly distributed ‘nightletters’, a method of intimidation, to districts within Ghazni province, warning that the main road out of Jaghori to Kabul is now closed. Residents need to travel beyond Jaghori for medical, commercial, study and work reasons, but travel is now perilous. Taliban routinely search travellers on the Qarabagh-Jaghori road. Travellers have been tortured, detained and some have gone missing. T heir vehicles have been stolen and the road is periodically closed.Many fear a repeat of the Taliban’s 1997 road blockade of essential supplies. Additionally, Jaghori strongly supports education, with numerous high schools and primary and middle schools. The Taliban, however, have targeted schools. For example, in July 2010, the Taliban attacked and burnt schools in Tamki, Jaghori district, and in Qarabagh district. The Taliban also killed Syed Sekander Muhammadi, the head teacher of a school in Shaki Nuka, in Qarabagh district, as he travelled to Ghazni. 16 In nearby Oruzgan province, the decapitated corpses of 11 Hazara males were iscovered in the Khas Oruzgan district on 25 June 2010. Police official Mohammed Gulab Wardak reported that the Taliban killed them ‘because they were ethnic Hazaras and Shiite Muslims’. 17 This occurred in the very province where Australia’s Defence Personnel have been deployed in a security and reconstruction role, showing th e dire 11 Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan: The Massacre in Mazar-I Sharif, vol, 10, no. 7(C), November 1998, http://www. unhcr. org/refworld/docid/45c9a4b52. html, accessed 18 June 2010; Human Rights Watch, Massacres of Hazaras in Afghanistan, vol. 13, no. (C), February 2001, http://www. hrw. org/legacy/reports/2001/afghanistan/, accessed 18 June 2010; Peter Marsden, Afghanistan: Minorities, Conflict and the Search for Peace, London, 2001, p. 22; Mullah Manon Niazi quoted in ‘On genocide of Hazaras’, Hazara. net, January 2011, http://www. hazara. net/taliban/taliban. html, accessed 18 July 2012. 12 Department of Defense, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan: Report to Congress in Accordance with 2008 National Defense Authorisation Act (Section 1230, Public Law 110-181), USA, January 2009, p. 7, http://www. efense/gov/pubs/OCTOBER_1230_FINAL_pdf, accessed 12 August 2010. 13 Maria Golovnina, ‘Factbox: Insurgency in Afghanistan: Who are they? â€℠¢, 25 September 2009, Reuters, http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE58O2F620090925, accessed 12 August 2010. Dylan Welch & Ben Doherty, ‘‘God tells us to finish her’: Taliban remind world they are no spent force’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 July 2012, p. 1. 14 threat to Hazaras, even alongside a broader military presence. 15 William Maley, ‘On the position of the Hazara minority in Afghanistan’, 28 June 2010, posted on Welcome to Ataullah’s Page, http://ataullahnaseri. ordpress. com/2010/06/28/on-the-position-of-the-hazara-minority, accessed 5 August 2010. 16 Thomas Ruttig, ‘A new, new Taliban front’, Foreign Policy, 21 June 2010, http://afpak. foreignpolicy. com/posts/2010/06/21/a_new_new_taliban_front_0, accessed 5 August 2012; Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, New Haven, 2000, p. 67; Abdul Karim Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven: Hazaras in Afghanistan and Pakistan’, Spe cial report, University of Technology Sydney, October 2011, pp. 18, 19. 17 Tahereh Ghanaati, ‘The Hazara carnage in Afghanistan’, Press TV, 27 June 2010, http://www. resstv. ir/pop/Print/? id=132225, accessed 28 June 2010; Ismail Sameem & Jonathon Burch, ‘Police find 11 beheaded bodies in Afghan South’, 25 June 2010, Reuters, http://www. reuters. com/article/idUSTRE65O2ML20100625, accessed 28 June 2010. 5 6 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Hazaras. Although the Taliban denied involvement, Afghani analyst Ahmad Shuja fears In Maidan Wardak province, land disputes between Hazaras and Kuchis often erupt each summer but have worsened in recent years.Kuchis have been arriving in the Behsud and Daimirdad districts heavily armed for conflict. Kuchis believe the aforementioned decrees issued under Abdur Rahman entitle them to access, while many Hazaras have never accepted the loss of full rights over their land. Consequent ly, Hazaras have been killed and their homes burnt. In 2008, approximately 60,000 people were displaced, and in May 2010, a report estimated that 1,800 families had been displaced, 68 homes burnt, and 28 schools closed, leaving10,000 students without school facilities.As nomads, the Kuchi are also a minority group, but belong to the traditionally dominant Pashtun group. It is feared that the Taliban may be exploiting the past to incite attacks by their fellow Pashtuns, the Kuchi, against Hazaras. The Karzai government has either largely ignored repeated Hazara pleas for assistance or has been impotent in stopping the violence, sparking worldwide protests by Hazaras. 18 These crises cannot be dismissed as internal land disputes; rather, they stem from the nineteenth century acts of conquest, dispossession and persecution – and another government’s marginalisation of Hazaras.Terror in Kabul Brutal assaults also have occurred recently in Kabul. On 6 December 2011, a suici de bomber killed at least 56 Shiites pilgrims worshipping at the Abdul Fazal Abbas Shrine in the Murad Khani district in Kabul during commemorations for Ashura, the holiest day of Muharram. On the same day, a bomb attached to a bicycle exploded, killing Shiite pilgrims in Mazar-e Sharif and bringing the death toll to 60. A spokesperson for Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ) claimed responsibility via Radio Free Europe.LeJ, formed in 1996, is a militant Sunni Deobandi Islamist group based in the Punjab region of Pakistan. Among links with numerous terror groups, it has a close relationship with Afghani Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Most killed and injured were 18 Lenard Milich, ‘The Behsud conflicts in Afghanistan: A blueprint to avoid further clashes in 2009 and beyond’, Eurasia Critic, June 2009, pp. 1-3, http://www. eurasiacritic. com/articles, accessed 10 June 2010; Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, ‘AIHRC grave concern about armed onflict be tween Kochies and native inhabitants of Behsood district of Maidan Wardak’, Kabul Press, 22 May 2010, http://kabulpress. org/my/spip. php? article11725, accessed 9 August 2010; ‘UNAMA silent on Kuchi attack in Behsud’, Hazaristan Times, 21 May 2010, http://hazaristantimes. wordpress. com/2010/05/21/unama-silent-on-Kuchi-attack-in-behsud, accessed 6 August 2010. the attacks will inflame religious tensions, echoing a recent past in which the Taliban massacred thousands of Hazaras. 19 Increasing bloodshed in Quetta, PakistanSince the nineteenth century, Hazaras have traditionally fled or migrated to Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, in what is now Pakistan. Quetta has long been a ‘second home’ for Hazaras; some live there as permanent Pakistani citizens, others as refugees. Possibly 30,000-50,000 Hazara refugees now live in Pakistan after fleeing the Taliban in 1996. Over the last decade, however, Shiite Hazaras in Balochistan have been dying in an escalating spate of sectarian attacks, often occurring daily. LeJ have distributed leaflets condemning Shiites as ‘infidels’.Proclaiming their right under Islam to kill them, LeJ publicly state that they will continue acting against Shiites. One of its leaders, Milak Ishaque, had 40 murder charges pending against him: after serving 15 years imprisonment he was released on 14 July 2011. Hazaras and the Asian Human Rights Commission report that the Pakistani government, army and law enforcement impunity. 20 authorities are failing to act, openly allowing the banned terror organisation to kill with These are but a few examples in a litany of bloody attacks. Eight Hazaras were slain inPoodgali Chowk in 2001, and 12 Hazara policeman killed in Sariab, in 2003. On 20 September 2011, armed men intercepted a bus in the Ganjidori area of Mastung, southeast of Quetta. It carried 45, mostly Shiite, pilgrims travelling to Taftan, Iran. Ordering them off the bus, gunmen shot t hose identifying themselves as Shiites in the ‘head, chest and abdomen’. Twenty-nine Shiites were killed and five escaped. An hour 19 Ernesto Londono, ‘Dozens dead in rare attack on Shiite mosque in Kabul’, The Washington Post, 6 December 2011, http://www. washingtonpost. om/world/rare-attack-in-kabul-targets-shiitemosque/2011/12/06/gIQAVnEkYO_print, accessed 7 December 2011; ‘Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)’, Australian National Security, Australian Government, updated 15 March 2012, http://www. ema. gov. au/agd/WWW/nationalsecurity. nsf/Page/What_Governments_are_doing_Listing _of_Terrorism_Organisations_Lashkar_I_Jhangvi, accessed 18 July 2012. 20 Lashkar-e Jhangvi (LeJ)’, Australian National Security; Syed Shoaib Hasan, ‘A year of suffering for Pakistan’s Shias’, BBC News, Balochistan, 6 December 2011, http://www. bbc. co. k/news/worldasia-15928538, accessed 21 January 2012; Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven’, pp. 20-23; ‘The state of human rights in Pakistan in 2011’, Asian Human Rights Commission, 2011, p. 42, http://www. AHRC-SPR008-2011-HRRptPakistan. pdf, accessed 18 July 2012. 7 8 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 later, gunmen killed 3 Shiites, believed to be victims’ relatives on their way to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones. LeJ claimed responsibility. 21 On 28 June 2012, a bomb blast killed Shiite pilgrims travelling by bus near a fruit market in the Hazarganji area of Quetta.Thirteen were killed and 30 injured, with most of the victims Hazaras. LeJ again claimed responsibility. Prominent leaders, professionals, intellectuals and policemen have been assassinated, along with a sportsman and artist. For example, Chairman of the Hazara Democratic Party, Hussain Ali Yousofi, was slain on 26 January 2011. The general Hazara population, including women and children, are now also being indiscriminately targeted. Australian Hazar as visiting relatives in Quetta speak of witnessing attacks on Hazara civilians in the streets and of a climate of terror.Abdul Karim Hekmat reports that ‘over 500 Hazaras have been killed and over 1,500 injured as a result of targeted’ attacks in Pakistan since 2003. 22 Other sources cite even higher numbers. Failures of protection and continuing fear Afghanistan’s 2004 Constitution includes exemplary protection for human rights and Hazaras have gained prominent government positions. However, with critical failures to implement the rule of law beyond Kabul – or even maintain it in Kabul – reform has not translated to improved safety for Hazaras in remote villages. Insurgents do not recognise government law.Moreover, Afghani culture is bound up with traditions of governing and maintaining security through tribal and religious consensus, gained at district and community levels rather than through a centralised authority. In December 2009, the Karzai government also gazetted a law giving amnesty to all who committed war crimes in the past two decades of conflict, allowing alleged war criminals from various ethnicities to hold parliamentary positions with impunity. Professor William Maley cautions against ‘tokenism’, arguing that the inclusion of Hazaras within overnment has not brought about real changes. 23 History shows that the 1980s’ reforms which delivered greater equity for Hazaras did not stop the bloodshed which followed in the 1990s and beyond. That this is the sixth constitution since 1923 also exemplifies the fragility of Afghani reforms. Safety for minority groups requires broad social changes to address deeply-rooted tribal, religious and ethnic prejudices – this is something that will take years. The possibility of a Taliban alliance with international support, set against the draw-down of troops, causes terror among many Hazaras. 24In summarising why Hazaras risk their lives on boats, an Hazara refugee says: When the government and law enforcement agencies can’t provide protection, when your house [in Quetta or Afghanistan] is on fire, when your home country becomes hell for you, when you can’t go anywhere without the fear of being killed, when your religion and your facial features make you the easy target. When death is hovering over your head every day, then you don’t have options but to flee, seek refuge, knock at other people’s door for help, sit on a leaky boat, choose a dangerous journey that possibly leads to death.Today the Hazara Shias (boat people, the asylum seekers) are in a state of desperation and struggling for their survival as it is a basic human instinct. 25 Recommendations flee. I therefore make the following comments: Based on the continuing and unresolved history of bloodshed, Hazaras will continue to 1) Given the need for negotiation within a democratic process, I have reflected deeply on the current options being debated. However, we cannot participate in the ‘trade’ of 21 Shehzad Baloch, ‘Sectarian atrocity: 29 killed in Mastung, Quetta ambushes’, The Express Tribune, 21 September 2011, http://tribune. om. pk/story/256419/gunmen-attack-bus-in-balochistan-20killed/? print=true, accessed 22 September 2011. 22 ‘Shia pilgrims bus attacked by a rocket near Quetta, 13 martyred over 30 injured’, Jafria News, 29 June 2012, http://jafrianews. com/2012/06/29/shia-pilgrims-bus-attacked-by-a-rocket-near-quetta-13martyred-over-30-injured/, accessed 16 July 2012; ‘Hazara Shia community on strike over Quetta attacks’, BBC News, Asia, 29 June 2012, http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-asia-18640945, accessed 16 July 2012; ‘Blast kills 13, including Shia pilgrims, in Quetta’, Dawn. om, 28 June 2012, http://dawn. com/2012/06/28/eight-including-policeman-killed-in-quetta-blast/, accessed 16 July 2012; Hekmat, ‘Unsafe haven’, p. 22; In formal discussions with Australian Hazaras. 23 William Maley, Radio interview conducted by Geraldine Doogue, ‘Afghan Hazara’, Breakfast, ABC Radio National, 13 April 2010, http://www. abc. net. au/radionational/programs/breakfast/afghanhazara/3039616, accessed 16 June 2010; Una Moore, ‘UN human rights rep in Kabul calls for repeal of war crimes amnesty’, UN Dispatch, 30 March 2010, http://www. undispatch. om/un-human-rightsrep-in-kabul-calls-for-repeal-of-war-crimes-amnesty, accessed 11 June 2010; Department of Defense, Progress Toward Security and Stability in Afghanistan, p. 11; Shahmahmood Miakhel, ‘Understanding Afghanistan: The importance of tribal culture and structure in security and governance’, US Institute of Peace, November 2009, p. 1. 24 Sonya Hepinstall, ‘Holbrooke: Reformed Taliban in Afghan government not wrong’, Thomson Reuters, 6 June 2010, http://in. reuters. com/article/2010/06/07/idINIndia-49088220100607, access ed 18 June 2010. 25 Anonymous Hazara refugee, 29 June 2012. 9 0 Denise Phillips, revised 25 July 2012 human lives with the Malaysian option. I support the principle suggestions made in the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre’s submission and the Open Letter, so will not reiterate their points here. 2) Help educate parliamentarians and the public as to why refugees flee their homelands. Exercise clear leadership in depoliticising the debate. 3) Hazaras tell me they want peace and human rights in their homeland – only then will they stop fleeing. Hazaras have witnessed the brutal deaths of their family members, including fathers, mothers, siblings and children.Flight is accompanied by intense grief, trauma and longing. Waiting years for family reunions will drive loved ones to get on boats. Those left behind in Afghanistan not only face destitution, but are also often brutally targeted by warlords who learn that their husband, son or brother has fled to a Western country. In a recent case, the intimidation of a young Hazara refugee’s family members left in Jaghori resulted in an attack on the family home, killing an eight-monthold baby. I have witnessed refugees’ debilitating distress as they wait years

Massively multiplayer online game Essay

Before computer games flourished through the past eras, patintero, sungka, tumbang-preso, tumba-lata, tagu-taguan and sipa were one of the most anticipated outdoor games inside our country. Experiencing these kinds of games imprints almost our half life and we can’t have a complete childhood experience without getting tapped hard on the back, been hit by a flying slipper for it missed the target, playing with shells, screaming and cheering over your teammates, jumping over a person and avoiding getting hit its body part, and hiding and camouflage in a place to prevent from being the ‘it’ of the game. Try asking a child what was his favourite childhood experience, and would tell either scratched his knee from running away from his opponent or been scolded by mother because of going home late due to exceeding allotted time of playing outdoor games. And try asking a child from the present century what he has been doing lately, and might get an answer playing tekken with PSP, or Super Mario or Pacman with Nintendo or Xbox. Difference spotted? When a child is in the climax of playing and been taking the game seriously, he doesn’t want to be disturbed for in some instance might loose on his opponent and can’t advance to the next upgrades. A common reaction received by parents when they call their children to gather around while their kids were busy pressing on joysticks and keyboards and faces were just centimetres away from the screen would be â€Å"Mom! Can’t you wait because I’m already on my way to take down Bowser! † And two probabilities might happen after: either the parents would start screaming and repeat on telling to set aside their loving gadgets or the children would get irritated on the booming loud voices and start stomping away and lock themselves in a room where they could continue praising themselves for they have defeated the ‘boss’ in the game. With the help of advanced technological innovation that has spread around the globe, the beginning of 3D and multi-player online gaming (MMORPG) have surfaced and hooked children the most. Children fell into the gaming world, spending more time in virtual rather than in real, which sooner turns to be their life. Like, children must have a deviant childhood like these; playing computers during their free time and having fun with his co-gamers. They feel like they can play anytime any of the newest released games go on without ending, they continue forever, and they can pick up any character they wanted on the virtual world. If a child started to feel in contact more with gaming, he will spend more time in solitary seclusion. It is difficult for some adolescents (particularly male adolescents) who are vulnerable to the area of prone to video game addiction since it might be transparent to say how popular gaming is in children of all ages, which results to mostly negative results. A report like found in Elyria, Ohio, where a seventeen year-old boy named Daniel Petric shot his parents in the head after they confiscated his copy of ‘Halo 3. ‘ His mother was killed and his father wounded due to the gunshots, and the troubled teen fled the murder scene with solely one item in his possession: the ‘Halo 3’ game (Ridgefield, 2009). A similar report flashed on television says that a child has accidentally killed his playmate, stabbed with a knife after playmate got a higher score on the game Flabby Bird and now been sent under the care of DSWD. Several reports similar to this have rang the ears of the mass since the effect of gaming has become more serious. It all started from playing innocently, never knew slowly by slowly they are being eaten with intoxication of gaming and now swallowed of gaming addiction. Results like killing have been a serious warning to those who are sensationally indulged in playing, but often just ignored. The video games are common to be blamed, which we neglect the fact that some might have done crimes since they are often being neglected by parents. Coming from a single-parent family isn’t a factor, but how a parent sees after his child while growing. Far from my knowledge, it is the duty of the parents to look after their kids when engaged into different aspects of real and virtual life. But most children dare to say that they’ve been controlled over their life, treated like human robots; like told to eat properly, sleep on time, do school assignments and how to spend their time practically. But nobody commands them when they got the chance to get hold of gaming materials, because in there, they call themselves the â€Å"Thug Lords of Gaming†. Fond to their name, with raging adrenaline rush cannot escape the virtual life. Restricting kids from playing won’t help to drive the addiction either, for playing is part of our childhood. The more we drag them away, the more they rebel and really determined into getting along with playing. Personally speaking, life with no play is never fun. Who wouldn’t like to experience playing sipa, tumbang preso, luksong-baka and patintero? Who wouldn’t like to meet a childhood friend? None right? Those might not be similar to the games inside the computer world, but those are the basic foundation of gaming not until the late centuries where video games were invented. With increasing percentage of latter sides of gaming, some parents are over-protective over their kids to the extent that they lock their offsprings into a jail afar from their supposed fun childhood. They never had the chance to have ‘real’ playmates. In some instance, a child who has this experience growing up gathering medals for their parents is the only thing instilled in their minds. On contrary, a child who spent more time in playing grows up quitting almost 70% of his social life. This might lead into several serious effects like having a psychological disorder due to excessive malfunction of the brain. And here’s the tricky and dangerous part: they are the ‘unhappy teenagers’ which later have a growing percentage in the globe. They have lost their confidence in communicating and lowered their self-esteem. They’ve spent all of their time interacting in a virtual world and are extremely uncomfortable when dealing with real people in real time. In order to retrieve the part of them which just got lost, they seek attention from others. Or a probability that they would drive all away from himself and just have a life with the unreal, which might lead to serious killing crimes like what we’ve been fearing to happen. Being a gamer isn’t dangerous. It is having a hard time kicking the habit who’s the real enemy. It is not a dissatisfaction to play computer games, but be careful of getting addicted. Think twice before engaging wholly, for everything that is excessive can cause vicious effects, double the harm we think it would cause to us. We, as being the most users of techno-gaming, are the ones in charge of what might happen when we are drowned in the pool of virtual scenes. And as a gamer, too, playing has just been part of my life. It is just how we balance our time between real and virtual space. Even up to this extent, I would be happy if given a rest time and spending it playing with my favourite computer games and would even dare to challenge my siblings into a multi-player game once again. But my playtime has limits too, and I’m the one who limits myself from the red line before stepping into it. References: Ridgefield, A. (2009). Video Game Addiction. Teen Ink. Retrieved April 23, 2014, from http://www. teenink. com/opinion/movies_music_tv/article/82305/Video-Game-Addiction/.

How to Find the Birthplace of Your Immigrant Ancestor

How to Find the Birthplace of Your Immigrant Ancestor Once youve traced your family tree back to the immigrant ancestor, determining his/her birthplace is the key to the next branch in your family tree. Knowing just the country isnt just enough - youll usually have to get down to the town or village level to successfully locate your ancestors records. While it seems a simple enough task, a town name isnt always easy to find. In many records, only the country or possibly county, state, or department of origin were recorded, but not the name of the actual  ancestral town or parish. Even when a place is listed, it may only be the nearby big city, because that was a more recognizable point of reference for people not familiar with the region. The only clue Ive ever found to my 3rd great-grandfathers city/town of origin in Germany, for example, is his tombstone that says he was born in Bremerhaven. But did he really come from the big port city of Bremerhaven? Or is that the port he emigrated from? Was he from a nearby small town, perhaps elsewhere in the city-state of Bremen, or the surrounding state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony)? To locate an immigrants town or village of origin you may have to gather clues from numerous sources. Step One: Take Off His Name Tag! Learn everything you can about your immigrant ancestor so that you will be able to identify him in relevant records, and distinguish him from others of the same name. This includes: The immigrants full name including her middle name or maiden name, if applicableA date of birth or the date of another event (marriage, immigration, etc.) with which you may be able to identify your ancestorA place of birth, even if it is just a country of origin for nowThe names of all identifiable relatives parents, spouse, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, etc. Immigrants often traveled with relatives or went to join one who had previously emigrated. These names will also help you to identify your immigrants family in their country of origin.Any other information that may help identify your ancestor, including religion, occupation, friends, neighbors, etc. Dont forget to ask family members and even distant relatives about your ancestors birthplace. You never know who may have personal knowledge or relevant records in their possession. Step Two: Search National Level Indexes Once youve determined the country of origin, look for a national index to vital or civil registration records (births, deaths, marriages) or a national census or other enumeration for that country in the time period in which your ancestor was born (e.g. civil registration index for England Wales). If such an index exists, this might provide a shortcut to learning your ancestors place of birth. You must, however, have enough identifying information to recognize the immigrant, and many countries do not maintain vital records at the national level. Even if you do locate a particular candidate this way, you will still want to follow the other steps as well to verify that your same name individual in the old country is actually your ancestor. Step Three: Identify Records Which May Include the Place of Birth The next goal in your birthplace quest is to find a record or other source that tells you specifically where to start looking in your ancestors country of origin. While searching, it is important to remember that your ancestors last residence prior to emigration may not necessarily be their place of birth. Look at research already done by others. In many cases, other researchers have already found where the emigrant came from. This includes searching through published indexes and genealogies, local biographies and town histories, and databases of compiled records.Locate original records related to the immigrants death, such as death records, church records, obituaries, cemetery records, and probate records. Obituaries published in ethnic newspapers are the most likely to contain specific information such as a town of origin.Check both civil and church sources for a marriage record and records of the childrens births.Search other types of genealogical records which may reveal an ancestors town of origin, including census records, court records, newspapers, and land and property records.Immigration records such as passenger lists and naturalization records are another important source in the search for an immigrants town of birth. While it may seem a better place to start, you usually ne ed the information found in previous steps to enable you to locate immigration and naturalization records. In the United States, for example, census records may reveal whether an ancestor was naturalized. Search for these records in each place where the immigrant lived, for the complete time period when he or she lived there and for some time after his death. Be sure to investigate available records in all jurisdictions that may have kept records about him or her, including town, parish, county, state, and national authorities. Be thorough in your examination of each record, making note of all identifying details such as the immigrants occupation or the names of neighbors, godparents, and witnesses. Step Four: Cast a Wider Net Sometimes after researching all possible records, you will still be unable to find a record of the home town of your immigrant ancestor. In this case, continue the search in the records of identified family members brother, sister, father, mother, cousin, children, etc. to see if you can find a place name associated with them. For example, my great-grandfather emigrated to the United States from Poland but was never naturalized and left no records of his specific town of origin. The town in which they lived was identified, however, on the naturalization record of his eldest daughter (who was born in Poland). Tip!  Church baptismal records for children of immigrant parents are another resource that can be invaluable in a search for immigrant origins. Many immigrants settled in areas and attended churches with others of their same ethnic and geographic background, with a priest or minister who likely knew the family. Sometimes this means records likely to be more specific than just Germany in recording a place of origin. Step Five: Find it on a Map Identify and verify the place name on a map, something that is not always as easy as it sounds. Often you will find multiple places with the same name, or you may find that the town has changed jurisdictions or even disappeared. It is very important here to correlate with historical maps and other sources of information to be sure that you have identified the correct town.

Fairness And Equality In Ecuador Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Fairness And Equality In Ecuador Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Fairness And Equality In Ecuador Fairness and Equality in Ecuador Ecuador is small country in south America. is situated over Per and beneath Venezuela and Colombia. Its population is 12.500.000. there are different ethnic groups in Ecuador, there is mestizo (mixed Amerindian and Spanish) 55%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish 10%, black 10% (-1-). The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. 90% of the population knows how to read and write. Ecuador is also very rich in tradition and it has been blessed with tons of natural