Saturday, August 31, 2019

What a Brother Knows Essay

The Things a Brother Knows Essay There are many relationships throughout the book The Things a Brother Knows by Dana Reinhardt. Levi’s relationships vary throughout the book. Levi’s main relationships are with Boaz, Perl and Zim, along with Christina. Levi’s relationship with his brother Boaz seems rocky. There are quite a few ups and downs. When Boaz first arrives home, Boaz would not come out of his room. Levi could somewhat relate to how Boaz was feeling. Levi ended up letting Boaz use his laptop.Everything was going fine until Boaz found out that Levi was looking through his history. Later when Boaz finally leaves for his trip Levi gets worried about him and is curious on where he is going. A few days later Levi goes looking for him. Levi has a strong relationship with his two best friends Pearl and Zim. Pearl and Zim are both jealous of each other, because they both want to be Levi’s best friend. Yet Levi tries to treat them equal. Zim seems to always be there when Levi needs to talk about Boaz.When Levi told Zim that Boaz was lying about going hiking, Zim always tried to make positive comments. Pearl is also a supportive friend. On the trip to find Boaz Levi did not want to spend his money on a hotel because, he wanted his money to last him the whole trip, so Pearl ended up paying for the hotel. Levi has a somewhat close relationship with his brothers ex girlfriend Christina. Ever since Levi was younger he thought that Christina was good looking with a nice personality.When Boaz arrived home Christina had come to visit him. While she was waiting to talk to Boaz Christina and Levi had a close conversation. Later Levi ended up dreaming about Christina. Levi has many relationships in the book What a Brother Knows. Some of the relationships are good, but some of the relationships are rocky at times. Throughout the rest of the book I am sure most of Levi’s relationships with his brother Boaz, his friends Pearl and Zim, along with Boaz's ex girlfriend Christina will become stronger.

Friday, August 30, 2019

European Convention on Human Rights Essay

A.INTRODUCTION We live in the Digital Age and in a fully globalized world in which intellectual property rights (IP rights) are no longer configured in the same way they did before. That is why the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was designed in order to respond to new technological and human challenges. But when ACTA was revealed to the public opinion an intense debate emerged from the first moment and almost immediately civil and Internet organizations totally opposed to the content of ACTA alleging that the agreement was a serious violation of fundamental rights. On the other side, the signatory states, the right holders of those IP rights and the European Union, defended Intellectual Property as an engine of economic growth, job creation and encouragement of innovation and artistic and technological creation. The purpose of this seminar paper is to explain which provisions of ACTA hinder fundamental rights as enshrined in the different European catalogues of human rights, namely the German Basic Law, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. But the scope of ACTA is much wider, it covers topics such as generics medicines, innovation and competition, which are not objective of this paper and therefore they will not be analyzed. In order to understand which violations are perpetrated by ACTA, this paper is divided in four parts. In the first one I will explain what is the Agreement and how was negotiated. We will see that is a matter of great topicality since the final vote at the European Parliament is about to take place, specifically in a month. Second, I will explain how those catalogues of fundamental rights relate to each other. In other words, how a multilevel of protection of fundamental rights affect the guarantees protected by those rights. Third, I will analyse which provisions of ACTA do not respect European fundamental rights. Finally, I will draft some conclusions. B.THE ANTI-COUNTERFEITING TRADE AGREEMENT I.WHAT IS ACTA The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is a multilateral agreement  which its main objective is to establish a harmonized standard for the enforcement of intellectual property rights in order to combat the violation of protected rights all around the world. In order to fulfill this task, the agreement contains provisions on international cooperation between States and the coordination of law enforcement, especially the introduction of civil and criminal sanctions for intellectual property infringements , such as counterfeit goods, generic medicaments and copyright infringements on the internet. The countries involved in the Agreement are the United States, Japan, Canada, the European Union (with its 27 Member States), Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore, making a total of 11 contracting parties. Since ACTA is an international agreement that bounds only the contracting parties, it is a method of creation of a new international law. According to the EU Commission â€Å"ACTA will help countries work together to tackle more effectively Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) infringements† . So the interest of the EU to sign this agreement resides in the concern of remaining at a relevant position in the global economy and by this way being able to protect the jobs related to intellectual property all around the European Union. The Agreement is divided in Chapter I for Initial provisions and general definitions; Chapter II for the Legal framework of enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (and subdivided in Section 1: General Obligations with Respect to Enforcement, Section 2: Civil Enforcement, Section 3: Border Measures, Section 4: Criminal Enforcement and Section 5: Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Environment); Chapter III for Enforcement practices; Chapter IV for International cooperation; Chapter V for Institutional arrangements and Chapter VI for Final Provisions. II. HOW IS ACTA BEEN NEGOTIATED During the whole process of negotiation of ACTA, much criticism has arisen due to the lack of transparency and the possible violation of fundamental rights. The potential infringements of fundamental rights will be discussed at a further moment and now we will see how the whole agreement was decided. On 23 October 2007 the office of the Unites States Trade Representatives released an announcement about a new initiative called ACTA . The objective of this agreement was to address a â€Å"new international agreement focused on  cooperation, best practices, and a strong legal framework for Intellectual property rights enforcement†. Since then, eleven negotiation rounds took place between June 2008 and October 2010. But what it was unusual is the fact that this new agreement on intellectual property rights was never negotiated under the scope of the WIPO or the WTO. The Member States of the European Union were represented by the European Commission and the Presidency of the Coun cil. The first consolidated text of ACTA was drafted at the eighth negotiation round in Wellington (New Zealand) in April 2010. On June 2011, the European Commission asked a proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion of ACTA , and in December 2011 the final version of the Agreement was adopted unanimously by the Council and signed by the European Commission and 22 Member States on 26 January 2012 (Germany, Cyprus, Estonia, the Netherlands and Slovakia have not signed it yet). In order to be part of EU law the Agreement must be ratified by the EU, which means approval by the European Parliament under the procedure for international commercial agreements described in Article 218(6) TFEU and ratification by Member States under their national procedures. Knowing that there is a need of a vote at the European Parliament, the society has expressed its concerns about ACTA by mobilizations all over Europe thanks to the effort of some NGOs and Internet movements, and even declarations of some MEPs . This made Commissioner Karel De Gucht, under the procedure foreseen at Art. 218(11) TFEU, to decide to refer the Agreement to the Court of Justice of the European Union . So on 4 April 2012 the question decided unanimously by the College of Commissioners that was sent to the ECJ was: â€Å"Is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) compatible with the European Treaties, in particular with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union?†. It is known that rulings from the ECJ take time, but until the opinion is made, the European Parliament decided to uphold its vote until the ECJ had made any conclusion . However, it decided that it will continue to supervise the Agreement. The next logical step would had been to make another referral to the ECJ by the European Parliament, but on 28 March, this Institution decided to reject a referral to the Court of Justice because there was â€Å"no need to do so, because the file will anyway go to the court – according to intentions announced by the European Commission†. It was surprising how the EU Digital Agenda Commissioner  Neelie Kroes suggested at a conference on internet freedom in Berlin on 4 May 2012 that ACTA was probably not going to be ratified since she stated that â€Å"We are now likely to be in a world without SOPA and without ACTA. Now we need to find solutions to make the Internet a place of freedom, openness, and innovation fit for all citizens, not just for the techno avant-garde†. This does not mean that the Agreement will be immediately rejected, there is a need to hold a vote at the European Parliament in order to do so. The final vote on ACTA has been scheduled for the 3-5 July 2012 , but before ACTA goes to vote before the European Parliament, several EP committees will be giving their opinions on the 31 May 2012, namely the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI), the Industry Committee (ITRE) and the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE). Once these committees have drafted an opinion, the main committee in charge on ACTA, the International Trade Committee (INTA), will decide on the 21 June 2012 and it will elaborate a final report that will be used by the European Parliament for its final vote on ACTA. As we have seen, the whole negotiation of ACTA has been of major relevance not only to the public opinion, but also for the MEPs and some other Organs of the European Union, like the European Data Protection Supervisor. Remains to be seen what the final decision of the European Parliament would be and this will undoubtedly have consequences in both ways: If ACTA is ratified by the Parliament, the Agreement will come into force, but if not, it will be pretty much dead if it does not have the support of the European Union. So we still need to wait until the 3-5 July 2012 to see how it will all end and the next weeks are going to be of extremely importance because the ratification process is not over yet, meaning that the issue is really topical. C.THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN EUROPE In this section I will explain the relationship between the different catalogs of fundamental rights that concern this seminar paper, namely the German Basic Law, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights or ECHR) and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (Charter). It is obvious that this classification can raise questions to EU citizens when they seek  the protection of their fundamental rights, since they exist up to four catalogues: the national constitutions, the ECHR, the case law of the ECJ and the Charter . I.THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS THROUGH THE ECJ AND THE ECtHR At one first moment the ECJ declared it had no jurisdiction to ensure compliance with national law, which did include a catalog of fundamental rights within the national Constitutions. This first stage was changed after the Stauder decision of 12 November 1969 that said that fundamental rights are part of the general principles of Community Law , and the CJEU has the task to protect them, but it didn’t say which rights were those: â€Å"Interpreted in this way the provision at issue contains nothing capable of prejudicing the Fundamental Human Rights enshrined in the general principles of Community Law and protected by the Court†. The next step on the case law of the ECJ was the Internationale Handelsgesellschaft judgment of 17 December 1970. Here the Court confirms the existence of general principles for the protection of fundamental rights within the Community Law inspired by the constitutional traditions common to the Member States : â€Å"[†¦] in fact, respect for fundamental rights forms an integral part of the general principles of law protected by the Court of Justice. The protection of such rights, whilst inspired by the constitutional traditions common to the Member States, must be ensured within the framework of the structure and objectives of the Community†. But the ECJ stated that Community law could not be judged against national law, even constitutions: â€Å"[†¦] the validity of a Community instrument or its effect within a Member State cannot be affected by allegations that it strikes at either the fundamental rights as formulated in that States’ constitution or the principles of a national constitutional structure.† By this way, the Court had to analyze the situation under the national law of the Member States when it was faced with a situation with no legal or insufficient response. Four years later, the Nold judgment of 14 May 1974 made a reference to international treaties as elements of inspiration for the definition of a scope of fundamental rights, but also the ECJ stated that it cannot go in a different dir ection to the one established in the constitutional laws of the Member States. By doing  so, the rights recognized in the different legal orders where the limit to the action of the ECJ: â€Å"In safeguarding these rights, the Court is bound to draw inspiration from constitutional traditions common to the Member States, and it cannot therefore uphold measures which are incompatible with fundamental rights recognized and protected by the Constitutions of those States. Similarly, International Treaties for the protection of human rights on which the Member States have collaborated or of which they are signatories, can supply guidelines which should be followed within the framework of Community Law†. As the judgment states, the ECJ refers namely to the Convention for the Protection on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950 (ECHR), becoming this latter treaty the maximum standard for the protection of fundamental rights. Nevertheless it must be said that the constitutional traditions of the Member States as source of inspiration does not mean that t he rights within can be invoked in ECJ. The final step was made in the Hauer judgment of 13 December 1979, when the ECJ stated that: â€Å"[†¦] that fundamental rights form an integral part of the general principles of the law, the observance of which it ensures; that in safeguarding those rights, the Court is bound to draw inspiration from constitutional traditions common to the Member States, so that measures which are incompatible with the fundamental rights recognized by the constitutions of those States are unacceptable in the Community; and that, similarly; international treaties for the protection of human rights on which the Member States have collaborated or of which they are signatories, can supply guidelines which should be followed within the framework of Community Law†. By holding that fundamental rights are an integral part of the general principles of law the observance of which the Court ensures, the ECJ has accomplished two things: To incorporate a central feature of modern constitutions into t he corpus of EC law and to help strengthen the authority of EC law against potential challenges before national courts in the name of domestic constitutional rights . The next step in cooperation between Community law and the ECHR was given in the cases of Matthews and Bosphorus . In Matthews was decided that Member States can be held responsible if EC primary law violated the ECHR, because those Member States are still responsible for infringements although they have transferred some of their competences to the European Communities. In Bosphorus the problem at issue  was whether an EU Member State could be responsible under the ECHR for an execution of a Community Regulation. As stated in Matthews, Member States are responsible for acts and omissions of its organs regardless whether the competencies are national or at supranational level, but the difference was that in this case, the Member State was obliged by a Regulation, which gives no discretion when implementing it. In order to solve this situation, the ECtHR gave a status of â€Å"equivalent protection† to the ECJ, meaning that â€Å"State action taken in compliance with such leg al obligations is justified as long as the relevant organization is considered to protect fundamental rights, as regards both the substantive guarantees offered and the mechanisms controlling their observance, in a manner which can be considered at least equivalent to that for which the Convention provides† . The Court continues: â€Å"If such equivalent protection is considered to be provided by the organization, the presumption will be that a State has not departed from the requirements of the Convention when it does no more than implement legal obligations flowing from its membership of the organization† . Since that level of protection was indeed guaranteed by former judgments of the ECJ, the ECtHR decided not to interpret Community law and from now on, the ECJ has an equivalent protection of fundamental rights as the one within the ECHR. When the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU (Charter) came into force with the Treaty of Lisbon , the ECJ could now rely its fundamental rights jurisdiction on a single catalog of European law . But what is the relationship between the rights in the Charter and the ones in the ECHR? Article 52(3) of the Charter explains it: â€Å"Insofar as this Charter contains rights which correspond to rights guaranteed by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the meaning and scope of those rights shall be the same as those laid down by the said Convention. This provision shall not prevent Union law providing more extensive protection†. The reason for such provision is to avoid a lower standard of protection than the one of the ECHR. Therefore, a restriction of a fundamental right can only be acceptable under the terms of the ECHR and it prevents possible confusion of the Member States when being subjected to two different catalogs of rights . Moreover, as the Charter reiterates and complements the ECHR, there is no dual system of fundamental rights. In fact, it reaffirms the same common list of fundamental rights . II.THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GERMAN FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES / THE EUROPEAN UNION The main problem at stake was that two different levels of protection were created. One circle was the one created by the case law of the ECJ and the other circle was the list of rights protected by the national constitutions . How did the German Federal Constitutional Court solve this problem? In the Solange I -decision, the German court stated that in case of conflict between the Community law and fundamental rights protected in the German Basic Law, the latter would prevail as long as the European Communities did not have a catalogue of fundamental rights which is equivalent to the catalogue of fundamental rights guaranteed by the German Constitution. But after how the ECJ ruled, namely after Nold and Hauer, the German Constitutional Court changed its opinion and stated in the Solange II -decision that as long as the European Communities ensured a protection of fundamental rights which is to be regarded as substantially similar to the protection of fundamental rights by the German Constitution, and safeguards the essential content of fundamental rights, it is not an obligation for the Constitutional Court to examine the compliance of Community law with the German law. But in 1993, the German Constitutional Court seemed to go back to the previous doctrine of the Solange I-judgment in its famous Maastricht decision , where it stated that from that moment it wanted to apply its jurisdiction regarding to the protection of fundamental rights in a cooperation relationship with the ECJ. The Constitutional Court had the strong opinion that it is the only one capable of protecting the fundamental rights enshrined in the Basic Law, so for this purpose it extends the meaning of public power and declares that no matter what kind of power (German Government or the European Communities) violates fundamental rights enshrined in the Basic Law because it will always have the jurisdiction. By doing so, the former Communities were supervised by the German Federal Court every time their activity fell under the scope of application of the Basic Law. Seven years later, in June 2000, the Court changed its mind again at the Bananenmarketordnung judgment. It explained tha t the previous doctrine was a â€Å"misunderstanding†. The German Constitutional Court will review  possible violations of fundamental rights only if the European Communities fail to do so. But this cannot be justified by a single case, but by a serious deficiency at european level . This means that while the ECJ continues to effectively protect fundamental rights, there will be no German control of those rights over the European law. We can conclude that over the ruling of the German court, this has been a reluctance to recognize the supremacy of Community law concerning the protection of human rights, but this supremacy has finally been recognized as a prerequisite for Germany to participate in the European Integration Process . III.THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GERMAN FEDERAL CONSTITUTIONAL COURT AND THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) contains a catalogue of fundamental rights which the Federal Republic of Germany is bound to guarantee as well, since it ratified the convention on 3 September 1953. The basic principle of International law pacta sunt servanda obliges to do it . It was never a problem, since the fundamental rights protected in the German Basic Law followed a parallel interpretation to the ones guaranteed in the ECHR. In fact, Articles 1 to 9 from the Basic Law bear resemblance to the ones in the ECHR . In addition, the Constitutional Court elaborated the concept of Và ¶lkerrechtsfreundlichkeit of the Basic Law , which means that Germany’s fundamental rights should be interpreted in the same way as the ones enshrined in the ECHR in order to fill the possible gaps in the reading of both catalogues . So when interpreting the Basic Law, the development of the ECHR needs to be taken into account without, of course, restricting the protection provided in the Basic Law. It seems that this doctrine would not lead to a confrontation between the German Federal Constitutional Court and the European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR), but this was not the case in the Gà ¶rgà ¼là ¼ judgments. It is peculiar how the German Court does not confirm that a judgment of the Strasbourg Court should be simply executed, but instead says that â€Å"the authorities and courts of the Federal Republic of Germany are obliged, under certain condition, to take account of the European Convention on Human Rights as interpreted by the ECtHR in making their decisions.† . By saying â€Å"taking account† and not, for example, â€Å"comply  with† the Court declares that under some circumstances it can decide not to execute a judgment of the ECtHR. The only requisite is that the competent court under the German legislation needs to give reasons why this doctrine can be applied . In fact, the German judgment states : â€Å"If [†¦] the ECtHR establishes that there has been a violation of the Convention, and if this is a continuing violation, the decision of the ECtHR must be taken into account in the domestic sphere, that is the responsible authorities or courts must di scernibly consider the decision and, if necessary, justify understandably why they nevertheless do not follow the international-law interpretation of the law.† The main reason for this was that it could be eventually possible that under the view of the ECtHR a situation could be interpreted widely and under the German law it should be more carefully viewed. But still, after the ECtHR has made its decision, national authorities cannot challenge it, except when, in opinion of the German Court, through a constitutional complaint . The Federal Constitutional Court thinks of itself as the Guardian of the due to respect of ECtHR’s decisions . Although this new doctrine means a significant change in the case law of the German Court it does not affect the content of the fundamental rights within both catalogues. It is true that now the German Court could be a kind of appeal organ in some cases for the judgments of the ECtHR, but as already said, both catalogues interpret their rights in the same way, so it is not a question of which rights prevail, but a question of sovereignty that does not affect the interpretation of those rights. IV.IS THERE A TRUE MULTI-LEVEL OF PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS IN EUROPE? It is true that within every State exist three different catalogues of protection of fundamental rights, namely the national Constitutions (the Basic Law), the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (plus the case law of the ECJ), but as we have seen each of these lists are interrelated to each other: -ECJ draws inspiration of national constitutional traditions and the ECHR; -The Charter has its minimum standard of protection in the ECHR; -The fundamental rights in the German Basic Law must be interpreted as in the ECHR. Therefore, when an agreement like ACTA infringes fundamental rights it  does it indeed at a multi-level, but that does not mean that such rights have a different protection or a different interpretation within the distinct catalogues. D.ACTA AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS ACTA have undeniable effects on fundamental rights as protected in the German Basic Law, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Namely, these rights are: -The right to freedom of expression and information (Art. 5(1) BL; Art. 10(1) ECHR; Art. 11(1) Charter); -The right to privacy and data protection (Art. 10(1) BL; Art. 8(1) ECHR; Art. 7 and 8(1) Charter); -The right to a fair trial (Art. 103(1) BL; Art. 6 ECHR; Art. 47 Charter); We will also discuss about the â€Å"fundamental principles† that ACTA seems to guarantee. I.THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND INFORMATION Art. 10(1) ECHR guarantees the right to freedom of expression and information, but also the right to freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information without interference of public authorities . The German Basic Law must consider the ECHR as source of interpretation when applying its Art. 5(1) BL. Moreover, ECJ has considered the right to freedom of expression and information as one of the general principles of European law which is enshrined now in Art. 11(1) Charter. It is impossible to deny the importance that today has the Internet when talking about freedom of expression and information: online newspapers, video channels, bloggers, webmasters, tweeters, etc. The ECtHR has many times stated that freedom of expression is the foundation of a democratic society: â€Å"The Court’s supervisory functions oblige it to pay the utmost attention to the principles characterising a â€Å"democratic society†. Freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of such a society, one of the basic conditions for its progress and for the development of every man† . Moreover, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression has declared that access to the Internet and the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas over the Internet is an inherent part of the freedom  of expression . In a democratic society people must feel free to express their ideas and must be able to receive information with no censorship. Any action that goes in a different direction would hinder the fundamental rights within the different European catalogues. Art. 23 ACTA refers to criminal offences: 23(1): Each Party shall provide for criminal procedures and penalties to be applied at least in cases of wilful trademark counterfeiting or copyright or related rights piracy on a commercial scale [Fn]. For the purposes of this Section, acts carried out on a commercial scale include at least those carried out as commercial activities for direct or indirect economic or commercial advantage. Article 23(1) ACTA implies the criminalisation of certain acts carried out in the digital environment, but it does not define in a clear way what kinds of acts could be considered as criminal offences. We should ask whether private file sharing match the nature of those acts. In opinion of the EDPS , the article makes no reference to criminal offences recognised in the law of the contracting parties, so he deduces that the provision refers to a new category of offences which Art. 23(1) ACTA fails to provide with a clear definition to meet the legal certainty required. Another worrying provision from Art. 23(1) ACTA are the notions of â€Å"commercial scale† and â€Å"direct or indirect economic or commercial advantages† which are also not defined at all. The EDPS thinks that the interpretation of those words can be very broad and include acts carried out by individual in the Internet that could be innocent and/or trivial . Since there is no list again of what acts could be done at a â€Å"commercial scale† this is not sufficient to see whether that notion would fit under the definition that the European Union gives to â€Å"commercial scale†, which excludes those acts â€Å"carried out by private users for personal and not-for profit purposes† . All these measures are real interferences to the right to freedom of expression and information because such a legal uncertainty could criminalise innocent and trivial Internet data exchange, which its main purpose is not to violate IP rights, but the possibility to expre ss, be informed, hold opinions and to receive and impart information which are essential for a democratic society. One of the reasons of why ACTA was so much criticized in the beginning was due to the so unpopular ISP liability  and the â€Å"three strikes† rule. This was originally intended by the drafters of the Agreement which did not please the public opinion when a provisional version of the agreement was leaked . As the European Parliament study on ACTA on July 2011 reveals, there were extensive provisions relating â€Å"liability of online service providers, including restricted safe harbours; takedown or removal of material at the request of rightholders; and third party secondary, and contributory liability. In prior proposals put forward by other parties, provisions for the cutting-off of internet service of infringers (so-called three strikes provisions) were also put forward, although these did not appear in later texts†. In the actual consolidated version such measures were eliminated from the Agreement. However, residues of liability can be seen in Art. 27 ACTA: Art. 27(1): Each Party shall ensure that enforcement procedures, to the extent set forth in Sections 2 (Civil Enforcement) and 4 (Criminal Enforcement), are available under its law so as to permit effective action against an act of infringement of intellectual property rights which takes place in the digital environment, including expeditious remedies to prevent infringement and remedies which constitute a deterrent to further infringements. Art. 27(2): Further to paragraph 1, each Party’s enforcement procedures shall apply to infringement of copyright or related rights over digital networks, which may include the unlawful use of means of widespread distribution for infringing purposes. These procedures shall be implemented in a manner that avoids the creation of barriers to legitimate activity, including electronic commerce, and, consistent with that Party’s law, preserves fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and privacy. [fn] Footnote: For instance, without prejudice to a Party’s law, adopting or maintaining a regime providing for limitations on the liability of, or on the remedies available against, online service providers while preserving the legitimate interests of right holder. There is the opinion that the initial idea of the drafters of ACTA still remains in their minds. The footnote suggests that liability on ISPs will always exist, but now, the only requisite is to have a limit to this liability, but it does not say under what terms it must be done. What it says is that interests of rightholders are the first ones to take account. According to this opinion , this would still allow ISPs to disconnect users of alleged IP rights violations and therefore deprive them  of their right to freedom of expression and information. II.THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION Art. 8(1) ECHR guarantees also the confidentiality of individual communications, that is why private life and correspondence are protected under the same article. Since telephone communications fall within the scope of the article, Internet communications too. Art. 10(1) BL goes beyond and also protects from prohibitions, interruptions or delays of communications . Both rights are considered basic principles of European law and now they are enshrined in Arts. 7 and 8(1) Charter. The provisions of ACTA that violate these specific rights are Art. 11 and Art. 27(4): Art. 11: Without prejudice to its law governing privilege, the protection of confidentiality of information sources, or the processing of personal data, each Party shall provide that, in civil judicial proceedings concerning the enforcement of intellectual property rights, its judicial authorities, at least for the purpose of collecting evidence, relevant information as provided for in its applicable laws and regulations tha t the infringer or alleged infringer possesses or controls. Such information may include information regarding any person involved in any aspect of the infringement or alleged infringement and regarding the means of production or the channels of distribution of the infringing or allegedly infringing goods or services, including the identification of third persons alleged to be involved in the production and distribution of such goods or services and of their channels of distribution. Art. 27(4): A Party may provide, in accordance with its laws and regulations, its competent authorities with the authority to order an online service provider to disclose expeditiously to a right holder information sufficient to identify a subscriber whose account was allegedly used for infringement, where that right holder has filed a legally sufficient claim of trademark or copyright or related rights infringement, and where such information is being sought for the purpose of protecting or enforcing those rights. These procedures shall be implemented in a manner that avoids the creation of barriers to legitimate activity, including electronic commerce, and, consistent with that Party’s law, preserves fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and  privacy. Under Art. 11 extensive disclosure orders are allowed . This covers â€Å"infringers†, â€Å"alleged infringers† and â€Å"any person involved in any aspect of the infringements or alleged infringement†, they also include â€Å"the identification of third persons alleged to be involved†. In addition, Art. 27(4) allow data disclosures for the purpose â€Å"to identify a subscriber whose account was allegedly used for infringement†. But are IP addresses personal data? In order to know that, we need to read the definition of personal data provided in Art. 2 Directive 95/46/EC : â€Å"any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (â€Å"data subject†); an identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identification number†. It is obvious that such IP addresses constitute personal data since individuals can be identified by those numbers. Although the purpose of those articles is the detection and prevention of possible IP rights infringements, the wording makes it clear that Internet users will not be warned while they are being monitorised, even if they are not suspicious for having infringed some sort of IP rights. Moreover, this monitoring would be done by ISPs if right holders ask them to do so. In opinion of the EDPS a generalised monitoring is an act that invades individuals’ private sphere. So, for these acts to be justified, they must be necessary and proportionate, but when ACTA does not apply any limit to the monitor process it is obvious that it would count as infringements all those acts that are carried out for no profit. If there is no proportionality and rightholders can access to private data with no restrictions, even if individuals are not violating IP rights, it is a clear example of an infringement to the right to privacy and data protection. III.THE RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL The right to a fair trial is a general principle of law of the European Union common to the Member States and which the Federal Republic of Germany is bound by it , which is now embodied in Art. 47(2) Charter. Also Art. 6 EMRK protects the right of a fair trial and since the Và ¶lkerrechtsfreundlichkeit doctrine Art. 103(1) BL gives meaning to it. Art. 12 ACTA contains the provisional measures which are part of the legal answers that right holders can rely on in civil law. But Art. 12(2) fails to provide guarantees for a  fair trial: Each Party shall provide that its judicial authorities have the authority to adopt provisional measures inaudita altera parte where appropriate, in particular where any delay is likely to cause irreparable harm to the right holder, or where there is a demonstrable risk of evidence being destroyed. In proceedings conducted inaudita altera parte, each Party shall provide its judicial authorities with the authority to act expeditiously on requests for pr ovisional measures and to make a decision without undue delay. It is true that provisional measures, even in inaudita altera parta procedures, are allowed, but only because they are the exception. This is against the principle of â€Å"equality of arms† defined by the ECtHR (and followed by the German Federal Court and the ECJ) that means that in judicial procedures a defendant may not be placed at a substantial disadvantage against his counter-party . When such a possibility is accepted by a legal system it also provides safeguards to ensure that the defendant can restore his â€Å"equality of arms†. But ACTA do not seem to provide this. It does not stress that provisional measures and proceeding inaudita altera parta should be the exception and this could lead to two possible consequences. First, when protecting IP rights it is justified to use those extraordinary measures as normal and second, that there is no need to provide guarantees . Regarding the provisional measures of Art. 27(4) it is not clear to which â€Å"competent authorities† the article refers to. In opinion of the EDPS the ambiguous concept does not provide with the sufficient legal cert ainty of whether the disclosure of information would be taken place by judicial authorities. He believes that such concept could also include administrative bodies that are not embodied with the sufficient â€Å"guarantees of independence, impartiality and respect of the rights to the presumption of innocence and to a fair trial†. It must be also considered that ACTA enable to private parties to adopt functions that belong to judicial authorities and it seems as if there is a â€Å"privatisation† of IP rights law . Art. 27(3) enable the â€Å"business community† to address IP infringements: Each Party shall endeavour to promote cooperative efforts within the business community to effectively address trademark and copyright or related rights infringement while preserving legitimate competition and, consistent with that Party’s law, preserving fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process, and privacy. Right holders cannot judge  whether a particular action violates IP rights, in fact, when certain type of data must be processed in relation to suspected offences or criminal convictions, Art. 8(5) Directive 95/46/EC states that those acts †may be carried out only under control of official authority, or if suitable specific safeguards are provided under national law†. Moreover, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression has stated that â€Å"Lack of transparency in the intermediaries’ decision making process also often obscures discriminatory practices or political pressure affecting the companies’ decisions† and â€Å"To avoid infringing the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy of Internet users, the Special Rapporteur recommends intermediaries to: only implement restrictions to these rights after judicial intervention† . If ACTA does not make any effort to offer any guarantee to the right to a fair trial and even aims to provide the â€Å"business community† with the powers of the judicial authorities it is evident that departs from the fundamental rights enshrines in the Basic Law, the ECHR and the Charter. IV.THE â€Å"FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES† The digital chapter, namely Arts. 27(2), 27(3) and 27(4) refers to the need to preserve â€Å"fundamental principles such as freedom of expression, fair process and privacy†. The EDPS states that by only referring to those principles and no giving real safeguards is not enough. He asks himself whether the drafters of the Agreement did not choose o include â€Å"fundamental rights† instead of â€Å"fundamental principles†, since freedom of expression and privacy are not â€Å"principles†, but fundamental rights. Also, the negotiators chose to avoid referring to the right to a â€Å"fair trial† or to the right to â€Å"due process†, instead they referred to the term: â€Å"fair process†, which, as confirmed by the European Commission , that is not a fundamental principle of international law. To make a comparison, the EDPS gives an example of the necessary safeguards that must be always included and must always be â€Å"in conformity with the European Convention on Human Rights and general principles of Community law, including effective judicial protection, due process, the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to privacy†. It seems that such terms are not intended to properly ensure  fundamental rights in the way they do the different European catalogues. D.CONCLUSIONS It is true that IP rights must be protected and since we live in a digital era, that task has become more difficult due to a more globalized world. But the protection of IP rights must not be given precedence over fundamental rights. ACTA have failed to respect the fundamental rights within the Basic Law, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Much of it is due to a very vague, ambiguous and unclear wording of its provisions, making it impossible to foresee what kind of actions, both civil and criminal, infringe intellectual property rights. Moreover, there are no explicit de minimis rules that could make the provisions of ACTA proportionate so they do not hinder fundamental rights. IP rights are not above fundamental rights. This is something that the ECJ stated twice in the Telefà ³nica/Promusicae and Scarlet/Sabam cases. Namely, in the latter said that a â€Å"a fair balance be struck between the right to intellectual property, on the one hand, and the freedom to conduct business, the right to protection of personal data and the freedom to receive or impart information, on the other†. ACTA will be voted next month at the European Parliament and it seems that MEPs will vote against it (although it is not sure yet). Meanwhile, the European Court of Justice will decide whether the Agreement is compatible with the rights in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and, as we have seen, there are grounds for the incompatibility of ACTA with this catalogue of rights. If we want to enforce the legitimate IP rights that rightholders have we need to stop criminalising trivial and private use of data in the Internet, we need to stop thinking in mechanisms to deny access to information and we need to ensure that judicial authorities continue to be the ones capable to enforce those rights.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Personal Finance Budget Plan

| Personal Financial Planning Budget| 10/11/2012| PFP-110-120A-02 Phase I Individual Project| A personal budget is a financial plan of an individual’s or household’s income and expenses over a given period, typically one month (www. careeredonline. com). The budgeting process involves estimating future results. In order to prepare this particular budget, the previous month is analyzed. This process helps to understand how and where the money is going all month. The bills that need paid out of a $4. 040. 00 income, were as follows: * Income – $4,040. 00 Taxes Taken Out Before Bring Home Income – $40. 00 * Mortgage – not discretionary * Utilities – $190. 00 – some discretion can be applied * Groceries – $400. 00 – some discretion can be applied * Auto Insurance – $120. 00 –not discretionary * Car Payment – $250. 00 – not discretionary * Entertainment – $400. 00 – 100% discretionary * Savings – $168. 00 – preferably not discretionary * ————————————————- Child Care – $360. 00 – not discretionary * Total That Is Left – $1,512. 00 Most of the bills are not discretionary except the entertainment, and this can get cut back on an extreme amount.Going places and buying things that are not necessary could save money to add to the savings. The budget had no risk after paying the bills; however the money that is left could be put into an investment that is analyzed before investing in it. A personal financial budget can provide guidance for anyone with their financial management, which is a type of a management that deals with the financial matters of the individual’s or household’s income and expenses (www. wikipedia. com). Having a personal financial budget can actually help an individual’s credit score. If all of the bills are paid on time, then it looks good to the credit bureau. When going to purchase something on credit, a business will look to find if all the accounts in a person’s name are paid on time and rate your credit to see if the score is high enough. The best point of this budget is the balance did not come out in the negative, so from here on out the savings needs to be the focus. After finding out just how much can be saved, then investing in a particular thing could benefit and contribute to the income that is coming in now.Strategic planning is also an important part of the budget process. Strategic planning can provide information regarding internal and external economic conditions, investigating potential investments that may be beneficial, and can give long-term goals for financial management (www. assets130000. pdf). Setting goals, being disciplined, and learning to budget your finances, can help to reach your financial goals. References www. careeredonl ine. com www. wikipedia. com www. assests130000. pdf www. ctuonline/courses/pfp10. pdf

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

May riots in indonesia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

May riots in indonesia - Research Paper Example It is worth noting that these named locations were strongholds of the Chinese community, who had developed fairly than other locals in business economically, and even established their homes around. Many believe that there was misleading information on the influencers of the riots, some accusing the government, military and elite groups’ involvement in the mass destruction to secure their interests. Other violent movements had been conducted as early as in 1965 among others minor cases worth mentioning, to the 1998 May riots, which was the peak of destruction that undermined the country’s reputation; however, all these incidences demonstrated the specific history of anti-Chinese sentiment and oppression in Indonesia. Thesis statement: The riots began as student peaceful movement protesting against the death of their fellow reformist, but later became politically motivated to force resignation of President Suharto. The violence of the riots intensified when the non-stude nts, young and poor people in the urban areas took advantage of the country’s situation to cause lootings, steer destruction and human violation against the rivaled Chinese community. The local Indonesian rioters rage highly impacted on Chinese ethnicity, their women being sexually assaulted and causing many of the locals and foreigners to leave or migrate. The political and economical instability led to the eruption of the riots, whose effects were later characterized as anti-Chinese action. Cause of the Riot In the month of May, the students had been protesting against the death of their fellow reformist and students, who generally hoped to have change considering the economical situation and the political climate that was unsuitable to steer the nation ahead. The Suharto regime was characterized by a lot of corruption and had been in power for thirty two years (Abrash pbs.org). In his position, the public interest was disregarded as he sought to show favourism towards his family and elite groups who were few, but very rich in the development over time. Apart from the potential Chinese businesses, his favorites had established growing businesses, which were believed to have steered the public anger over Suharto rule. Coincidentally, the gasoline price hike as a reform measure that was being implemented by the government, gave an opportunity for severe riots in major contested towns. The incident became serious when 6 of university students were shot dead in a Jakarta on 13 May, in a confrontation with the Indonesian security forces (â€Å"Refugee review† 3). On the same day, the riots spread across Medan, Solo, and Jakarta among other areas as the non-students or young urban men took control of the riots, while the students mourned the fall of their fellow students. As a result of the differences in the economy and power, the Chinese were the major scapegoat beside the minority elites and royal family. The demonstrating students from different universities later marched forth to the parliament building demanding the stepping down of President Suharto, which was later a success. Effects of 1998 Riots Chinese women rape: Following the Chinese community being the targeted group in the country, their women and female children risked being violated sexually in the times of the riots. The families therefore had an obligation to secure their women, even if it meant moving out of the country for their safety.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Communication and self-concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication and self-concept - Essay Example When I was six years old, I was so much interested in drawing and painting. This is because my elder brother was an artist and I enjoyed what he used to do. I used to see him spend countless hours in his room drawing and painting. Although my paintings did not mean so much to me at the time, I enjoyed drawing. My early interest in drawing and painting was increased by the communication in the family. My parents, relatives, and family friends would always talk of drawings and paintings that my brother used to draw and therefore, my world became centered in drawing. They gave me the direct definition by nicknaming me the baby painter. As I continued to grow, the concept of particular others came into play. I began being influenced by my peers and role models on television shows. This increased my passion for soccer. I saw myself in the eyes of favorite soccer players. I wanted to be one of the best football players and this became part of my life. I played football all through my adolescence until I reached age 17. Some of the life scripts that determined my passion for soccer changed and began working against me. Playing soccer was an acceptable and expected way of life for teenagers in my neighborhood. For example, my parents used to tell me that all work without play makes jack a dull boy. They always taught me to socialize with other people of my age through social activities such as soccer. They believed that socialization makes people to be successful in life. However as I reached age 17, the expectations of the society changed. I was expected to behave in a more mature way by performing well in academics. According to the society, people who have good academic certificates enjoy a higher social status than those without one. The theory of social comparison came into play this time. This happened at the time when I moved to U.S for my studies. I feel that I need to do good academically in order to be successful in the society. After viewing

Monday, August 26, 2019

Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civilization - Essay Example Despite this immortality, the gods were subject to demise, loss of power, struggle and emotions. They weren’t neutral but were biased a thousand ways; they weren’t pure but were lust driven. Achilles was chosen by them, because of physical ability and military position. Yet he was full of shortcomings, arrogant, short tempered. But because the gods are nepotistic, he gets chosen. This is how Homer shows that however gods they might be, they were still prone to wrong decisions. He writes â€Å"We everlasting gods†¦ Ah what chilling blows, we suffer; thanks to our own conflicting wills- whenever we show these mortal men some kindness†(Iliad 346-348). There is realization, there is acknowledgement of fallacies yet there is continuity in their vices, their modes of action in the lives of their chosen ones. Yes, the humans are depicted as mere tools subjected to the likes and dislikes of gods. Blinded by their pride they might be, yet they were driven, whipped by gods, Gods who couldn’t stay headstrong themselves. Achilles did feel he was being monitored, driven, yet he continued on his fate. He knew about the divine intervention, but he didn’t settle down, he couldn’t settle down. This shows how deeply gods were into him, how minutely they carried out and observed each of his moves. He wanted to do otherwise but he couldn’t. He was a victim of indomitable power. The part where Achilles battles with and is at the verge of killing Agamemnon but is stopped by Athena who discloses the gods’ fear for the death of one if not both of their favorite humans. Is that not driven enough? Is that not prejudiced enough? The gods are indecisive of their actions but when one thing they seem perfectly in control of; Power Over Mortals. Another one of his nepotistic quotes shows flawless prejudice â€Å"Zeus and all gods: grant that this my son may become, as I am, foremost among Trojans, brave

Organizational strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational strategy - Essay Example Strategic information technology outlines a company’s mission objectives and goals. On the other hand, it implies that information technology changes how a company competes in the industry. Competent organizational strategy facilitates a company to create an organization efficient of delivering its oversight. Charlesmore Partners International (2008) asserts that it needs a combination of analyzing and thinking by comparing the state at which the company is at the moment, to a desired state and analyzes the gap, and capabilities to execute which make the changes to happen. Key purposes include: The prorogated structure of the company which shows the reach extensions, re configurations and strategic correlation that are required to deliver the adopted strategy. The new skills and potentials needed, knowing how they will influence workforce combination, talent possession and advancement needs; which serviceable capability advancement will be all-important. The necessary talent management practice to form a high achievable workforce. It shows the adjustments needed to design a climate that enlivens and retains the whole organization for peak execution. The business operating culture which shows how it might require changing the value program and performing style needed. The work results required and a way of attaining them. The decided combination and fit of all operating actions to give an assurance of total enterprise adjustment to the purpose of attaining it.

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Value Chain Framework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Value Chain Framework - Essay Example The main changes are that at this value chain sophistication level, the company’s reliance on ERP for provision of Value chain support has been reduced and has initiated the utilisation of more BOB solutions for provision of more-advanced functionality. House-sourced technology tends to have been slightly increased within the stage as well. Here, companies develop specific applications for supplementing the core ERP functionality. Within this level, the amount of outsourced technology reduces the typically reduced functionality of some SCM SaaS solutions is deemed to be too functionally light, and on-premises BOBs are preferred. (Dua et al., 2011) Despite investing for growth, companies are aware that the disruption potential at any time does not vanish. Many work towards improving their Value chains’ resiliency for this risk mitigation. The past year brought about disruptions of global-scale Value chain which impacted multiple industries, right from chemicals to semiconductors as well as electronics to automotive. Increase in demand uncertainty as well as much more complex global Value networks reliant on high-risk geographic zones placed added pressures on Value chains’ ability to deliver results that are predictable. The disruptions have even called into question if Value chains have become too lean, requiring an essential approach change. (Shoanen and Joseph, 2004) In stormy times, as well as during the face of increasing risk and complexity, leading companies need more bearable, resilient Value chains which, support profitability and as well drive industry leadership. This necessitates that managers re-evaluate their Value network designs layout to ensure that they are made more resilient to future disasters. It may as well include designing products which, allow more flexibility in manufacturing and value, increasing long-term substitute sources of raw materials and logistics

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Book Report for Creative Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book Report for Creative Business - Essay Example It's spawning new businesses, transforming existing ones, saving companies money, and creating wealth. It's changing the way people shop for books, cars, vacations, advice-just about everything. It's forcing companies of all sizes and types to face new competition, explore new business opportunities, and adopt new ways of conducting business. In the span of just a few years, these changes had touched every business and industry. Cameron Foote's The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business (2002) is a landmark book that contributes to the idea of graphic designers of how they could manage their own small business in the Information Age. Starting a new business or successfully managing a small company in today's global economy could be a cumbersome challenge and it definitely requires immense creativity and willingness to exploit new opportunities. Small companies often lack the resources to buffer themselves from competition. Furthermore, once a new product or process is brought to the market, competitors need only a short time to be up and running with something similar. Thus, the biggest challenge for small businesses today is to make a product or provide a service that is hard to imitate. Foote's book is divided into five sections. ... He tackled the things one had to know in starting and running a single-person operation in graphic design. It includes the norms, standards, and appropriate expectations. There are some helpful tips strewn over like: "Just remember that the only place you'll ever find that is 100 percent free of politics is your own, single-person office. You'll have more time for personal work. When you work alone, you can work very productively" (p. 20). He reminded that the fact that one has decided to stake his or her future on freelancing shows he or she is to be a person with high energy and an entrepreneurial spirit. It also marks us as the type of person whose self worth depends on what we can do best. In Section 2 of his book, Foote tackled the pricing and the taxation part of this kind of business. This section of the book gives the readers an overview of how to charge for time, explains the preparation estimates, and keeping more of what one makes in managing a freelance designer job. In pricing, for instance, he suggested before sitting down to determine how much to charge, one must look at the big picture. Many individuals assume that pricing is the most important factor in business success. When a designer decides that "I'll make up with higher volume what I lose through lower rates", it could mean two flaws. First, working harder at lower prices often results in creative burnout. It may be financially successful, but for how long and at what price Second, a reputation for low-price work attracts smaller, less sophisticated, and more demanding clients (p. 99). In Section 3, Foote tackled the marketing and selling strategies in this type of business. He gave some tips where the opportunities are, the portfolio preparation and presentation,

Friday, August 23, 2019

Wilsonianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wilsonianism - Essay Example Since Woodrow’s fourteen points provided a succinct plan for world peace, they formed part of the Treaty of Versailles. Notably, not all points were encompassed in the treaty, which ultimately resulted in its partial success. Although the Treaty of Versailles was successful, it failed substantially in its enforcement and its inherent human element. Woodrow’s fourteen points invigorated the idealistic notion of peace in the absence of victors. Woodrow’s fourteen points incorporated in the Treaty of Versailles include self determination and the League of Nations augmenting idealistic notions that concluded that the war’s aim was to end all other wars. The treaty reflected European countries’ need to end Germany’s power and affirm their own. Through the self-determination point, Woodrow points showed that some of the causes of the war, for instance, imperialism and nationalism were avoidable. This was because, theoretically, countries demanding recognition would acquire it through the world ruling countries; the US, France, Italy, France and Britain. Conversely, Woodrow’s point on the League of Nations argued that the influence of the League of Nation would unite the countries of the world and deter the incident of another war. In addition to self determination and the establishment of democracy through the League of Nations, Treaty of Versailles also incorporated Woodrow’s points on free trade, as well as open agreements. Notably, Woodrow’s points 1-13 were not encompassed in the treaty in order to give leeway for the incorporation of the League of Nations in the final treaty (Niall 74). Since the treaty failed to incorporate the first to the thirteenth points, the treaty failed to address the real causes of the war and left an imbalance of power in Europe, thereby paving the way for another war during which Germany claimed that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair. The treaty should

Thursday, August 22, 2019

IB Interesting Facts Essay Example for Free

IB Interesting Facts Essay 1968, IB, standing for the International Baccalaureate, has been founded as a non-profit educational organization at the International School of Geneva. It was created by teachers at the school, in addition to help from teachers from all over the world. Today, the International Baccalaureate has grown into a university preparatory program that has been divided, in most schools, into three programs for students as young as 3 years old to students 19 years old. †¢It was first created to accommodate English and French. †¢It is aimed at developing a global awareness for its students. In other words, students learn how to accept global cultures, perspectives. †¢IB first originated in private schools. Over the years, this changed so that nearly fifty-percent of all schools providing the International Baccalaureate would be government owned and thus free of tuition. †¢The fact that many governments all over the world have adopted the International Baccalaureate shows the confidence that they have that their future generations will truly be better off in this type of curriculum. †¢It was through the efforts of Alec Peterson (director of the Department of Educational Studies, Oxford University) that universities recognized the International Baccalaureate. †¢At first, in the beginning of the 1980s, the International Baccalaureate was viewed as a threat from some governments all over. Governments believed that the International Baccalaureate would draw their children away from their national educational systems. †¢However, this idea was later refuted and the International Baccalaureate was viewed as a enhancement to their educational systems and was later adopted at a very rapid rate. †¢Today, people who acquire the International Baccalaureate get accepted to the top universities all over the globe (in North America, Europe, UK, etc) †¢IBO, in 1994 founded the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program for students aged eleven to sixteen. †¢In 1997, IBO created the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program, which is aimed at creating well-rounded and cultured students whom are three to eleven years old. Works Cited IB Timeline. IBO. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2012. .

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Theory of Mind Term Paper Essay Example for Free

Theory of Mind Term Paper Essay This is called Theory of Mind, or TOM. This theory was first developed to investigate autism and to further understand primates. It was suggested that those who do not posses TOM were the victims of autism. (Tirapu-Ustarroz et. al. 2007) Other scientists suggest that what separates mankind from primates is that mankind possesses a â€Å"species-specific set of social cognitive skills† (Herman et. al. 2007). Arguably that covers a broader range than TOM but it encompasses it, uniting these scientists under one front. However, some scientists say that chimpanzees do indeed possess TOM. By showing a chimpanzee a series of video tapes of humans in situations that lacked a solution, and then presenting several different photos, one with a solution to the problem, it was shown that chimpanzees do indeed possess a version of TOM. For example, the chimpanzee was shown a video of a phonograph, unable to play because it was unplugged. The chimpanzee then chose the photo of a plugged in phonograph as a solution (Premack and Woodruff 1978). Similarly, others continue to suggest that we are not so very different from other primates. In an article titled Humans Have Evolved Specialized Skills of Social Cognition: The Cultural Intelligence Hypothesis results it is suggested that it is not â€Å"general intelligence† that separates us from other animals, it is the level of sophistication and maturity of our cognitive skills. In fact, 2. 5 year old children did not differ from chimpanzees significantly in cognitive skills , specifically those used to assess the physical world (Herman et. al. 2007). In the science world, it has long been debated at what age TOM is developed. Is TOM developed relatively late in childhood (age four) or as early as 7 months? The scientific community is split. There are those that suggest that TOM is developed at age four. And still those that say TOM is innate and can be seen relatively early in child development, it is just undetectable unless a nonverbal false-belief task is assumed (Onishi and Baillargeon 2005). In The Social Sense: Susceptibility to Others’ Beliefs in Human Infants and Adults scientists explore exactly this topic. False belief tasks : Adults vs. infants This article focuses on the differences and similarities of 7 month olds, 3 year olds, and adults in their reaction to several different false-belief tasks. A false belief task is a test, usually using a video or pictures, involving an agent and a participant. The agent is the person watching the video and reacting to it. The participant is the person in the video that is actually doing a task. (Kovacs 2010) There were seven experiments performed in order to reach a conclusion to a compounded hypothesis how do other’s beliefs affect the actions of an individual when the agent is present and absent. Furthermore, how early is this ability developed and to what extent does it differ between individuals, specifically 7 month olds, versus adults. If TOM is innate, it hould be as automatic as our response to our physical environment. This is also explored. (Kovacs 2010) In the first experiment, adults watched a series of videos of a ball and an occluder. In each video, the ball either stayed behind the occluder, rolled off the screen in front of the agent only, or rolled away in front of the agent and participant. The adults watching ar e the agents. The people in the video are the participants. After each video, either the participant and the agent both believed the ball to be behind the occluder, both believed it to have rolled away, or have conflicting beliefs. This is an example of a false-belief task. Then they measured the reaction times of the participants detecting the ball in each situation. The presence of an agent had nothing to do with the task, however, it affected the reaction time of participants. (Kovacs 2010) In Experiment 2, in the last scene of the movie, a pile of boxes was in place of an agent. Surprisingly, the results were the same as experiment one. This shows that the agents beliefs were stored and still affected the behavior of the participant. The participants found the ball quickly when both they and the agent believed it to be behind the occluder. Kovacs 2010) Experiment 3 was performed to show further strengthen the results found in Experiment 1 and 2. Experiment 4-7 were the same as Experiments 1-3 but used infants and looking times versus reaction times. Each subsequent experiment was performed to further solidify the results of the previous experiment. (Kovacs 2010) Conclusion So, to answer the initial question as to how we differ from our primate relatives and when we develop this ability, all pertinent information seems to suggest that TOM is indeed a major distinguisher, and that this innate ability is detectable as early as 7 months of age. Why this matters The results of this experiment are ground-breaking. For decades, scientist have said that TOM is developed at age four. But if TOM is innate and not learned, this reveals a peek into the social structure of mankind. It leads to answers to questions like why we act the way we do in society, and how we evolved into who we are today. It also provides a nonverbal false-belief task that can be performed on infants. This means it can also be performed on other primates, and maybe even those with brain damage that provides them incapable of speaking. With this, we can investigate whether TOM is affected by certain types of brain damage, and if it is specified to one location in the brain. We can identify the absence of TOM in certain patients with certain diseases which would allow us to draw certain conclusions about the disease itself. This experiment opens numerous doors to and exciting field of science. Cited References 1. Herrmann E. , Call J. , Hernandez-LloredaM. V. , Hare B. , Tomasello M (2007), Humans have evolved specialized skills of social cognition: The cultural intelligence hypothesis.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Impact of Domestic Violence on Children

Impact of Domestic Violence on Children Contents Introduction Chapter 2: The impacts of domestic violence on children Chapter 3: Protecting children from domestic violence Chapter 5: The multi-agency approach to child protection Chapter 6: Policies to protect children against domestic violence Conclusions and Recommendations References Introduction This dissertation looks at domestic violence and the impacts domestic violence has on children and child protection issues. The dissertation begins with a description of domestic violence, including an estimation of the extent of the problem, illustrated with statistics. The dissertation then moves on to analyse the immediate and long-term impacts of domestic violence on children’s health, education, personality, socialising and future relationships. The dissertation then moves on to the issue of protecting children from domestic violence in terms of the child protection issues that need to be taken into consideration. The dissertation then moves on to a discussion of the role of the mother and why her socio-economic status and culture is important. Protecting the mother, in terms of protecting the child, is then discussed, in terms of whether, for example, it is best for children to live with both parents, even when there is domestic violence occurring. The dissertation then moves on to an analysis of the multi-agency approach to child protection, examining its advantages and disadvantages. The available services for children living with domestic violence are also discussed, as are the policy and legislation against domestic violence and pro child protection in the UK. Through this, the dissertation moves on to analyse the intervention strategies that are available to protect children, in terms of the extent to which prevention is possible and how. The dissertation then moves on to a critically analysis of the roles of policies, legislation, agencies and professionals in protecting children, in terms of whether the legislation enhances or hinders the effectiveness of professional intervention, and what should happen next. The dissertation ends with a conclusions and recommendations section, which provides recommendations as to how child protection can become more effective. This section presents a description of domestic violence, including an estimation of the extent of the problem, illustrated with statistics. Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence, or interpersonal partner abuse, as it is also commonly known, is a pattern of aggressive behaviours, either physical, sexual or psychological (or all three) that adult partners use against their intimate partners (Ganley, 1995). The Home Office classifies domestic violence as, â€Å"Any violence which occurs between current or former partners in an intimate relationship, wherever and whenever this violence occurs. The violence may include physical, sexual, emotional or financial abuse† (Home Office, 1998). It is known that domestic violence is mostly perpetrated by men against women victims and that it often begins, or gets worse, around pregnancy (Nicolson et al., 2006). Domestic violence is generally repetitive, in that once it has occurred once, it is likely to be repeated, either in the same manner or utilising a different form (psychological, sexual or physical), with each form of the violence interacting with the other form and causing problems for the victim(s) of the violence, who are not only the partner but also any children that may be present in the household (see Ganley, 1995). Shockingly, a high proportion of children living with domestic violence are themselves being abused, with almost 80% of the children who are on the ‘at-risk’ register coming from homes where domestic violence is known to occur (see, for example, Mullender and Morley, 1994; Department of Health, 2002). In addition, research has shown that there is a correlation between being an abusive partner and having witnessed abusive behaviour in one’s childhood (see O’Leary, 1987). In terms of the theoretical models that have been posited to explain domestic violence, social exchange theory suggests that human interactions are guided by seeking rewards and avoiding costs and punishment (see Blau, 1964), with domestic violence tending to occur when being violent does not outweigh the rewards on offer (see Gelles and Cornell, 1985; 1990). Following this reasoning, therefore, one of the ways to reduce the prevalence of domestic violence is to increase the cost attached to being a ‘batterer’ (i.e., a person who inflicts violence on an intimate partner) through, for example, creating and enforcing criminal laws against domestic violence (see Danis, 2003). Deterrence can, after all, be defined as, â€Å"the state’s ability to diminish the incidence of a prohibited action through legal threats which clearly indicate that the costs of an action would be greater than any benefits derived from it† (Dutton, 1995; p.242). Other theories suggested to explain the prevalence of domestic violence include social learning theory, which suggests that people learn to be violent through reinforcement (i.e., receiving a reward or being punished directly after an aggressive act has taken place) or through modelling (i.e., basing one’s actions on what one has witnessed) (see Bandura, 1973). As has been seen, intergenerational transmission of the behaviour that leads to domestic violence is possible and, indeed, occurs in many situations (see O’Leary, 1987 and Mihalic and Elliott, 1997). On this basis, many ‘batterers’ are treated, attempting to reverse the behaviour that leads to domestic violence on the premise that what has been learned can be un-learned (see Danis, 2003). The British Crime Survey, and annual survey of crime conducted in the UK, can be used to find prevalence data of domestic violence. Mirrlees-Black and Byron (1996) showed that, in 1996, around 4% of women interviewed admitted some form of domestic violence in the year previous to the survey, with women twice as likely as men to have been injured by a partner in the year previous to the survey. In addition, Mirrlees-Black and Byron (1996) found that 23% of women had experienced some form of domestic violence at some point in their lives, with those most at risk being the under 25s and those in financial difficulties. It was found that only half of the victims had reported the domestic violence, and of the half that had reported the domestic violence, this was to a friend of family, with police and medical staff being notified only in a small proportion of cases (Mirrlees-Black and Byron, 1996). Mirrlees-Black (1999) again used the British Crime Survey data to analyse the prevalence of domestic violence, finding that, similarly to the 1996 survey (Mirrlees-Black and Byron, 1996), around 4% of women reported some form of domestic violence in the year previous to the study, with women twice as likely as men to be the subject of domestic violence. Mirrlees-Black (1999) estimated that there were 6.6 million incidents of domestic violence in the year previous to the survey, with 2.9 million of these incidents involving actual physical injury. This survey (Mirrlees-Black, 1999) revealed that 12% of women had been assaulted on three or more occasions, which Mirrlees-Black referred to as chronic victims. Similarly to the 1996 survey (Mirrlees-Black and Byron, 1996), women under 25 were most likely to report domestic violence, with 34% of women in this category reporting some form of domestic violence, higher than in the previous, 1996, survey (Mirrlees-Black and Byron, 1996). In terms of the actual domestic violence perpetrated against these women, pushing, shoving and grabbing were the most common types of assault with injury occurring in 41% of the domestic violence episodes (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). Alarmingly, around a third of the women surveyed who reported domestic violence episodes revealed that their children had been aware of the last violent episode (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). In addition, chronic victims of domestic violence were usually the victims of more serious types of attack (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). Walby and Allen (2004) present the most recent survey of domestic violence using the British Crime Survey, showing that domestic violence is still widespread with 36% of women reporting some sort of domestic violence episode, although this figure represents concentrated episodes of chronic domestic violence and/or multiple episodes of domestic violence throughout their lives. The study found that 13% of women had experienced some form of domestic violence in the year prior to the survey (up from 4% in the 1999 survey reported by Mirrlees-Black (1999) and that for women subjected to domestic violence, the average number of domestic violence episodes per year was twenty (Walby and Allen, 2004). On this basis, Walby and Allen (2004) estimated that there had been 12.9 million domestic violence episodes in the year prior to the survey, up from 6.6 million in the 1999 survey (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). The 2004 survey also revealed that 2% of women who admitted domestic violence had been the s ubject of a serious sexual assault inside the home (Walby and Allen, 2004). Walby and Allen (2004) found that those women who lived in a household earning less than  £10,000 were three and a half more times likely to be the subject of domestic violence than a women in a household earning more than  £20,000, although it was admitted that the correlations between domestic violence and poverty are unclear. For example, poverty could be the cause of domestic violence, or could be the outcome of domestic violence, in that women who have fled domestic violence often end up living on low income (Walby and Allen, 2004). In terms of assessing the prevalence of domestic violence, studies have shown that it is difficult to provide a realistic estimate, in reality, as many women do not seek help and even when faced with medical professionals with whom they could speak, for example their GP’s, most women do not willingly discuss their problems (see, for example, Bonds et al., 2006). Indeed, research has shown (see, for example, Boyle and Jones, 2006) that women who are the subject of domestic violence frequently only disclose when healthcare staff directly enquire about this possibility, many of whom actively stated, when interviewed, that they do not ask about such matters so as not to offend the patient, even though evidence shows that women who are not the subject of domestic violence are unlikely to be offended by such a question (Boyle and Jones, 2006). One of the most comprehensive studies of the reported frequency of domestic violence against women has been reported by Bradley et al. (2002), who surveyed 1871 women attending general practice through a cross-sectional, self-administered anonymous survey. 40% of the women surveyed had, at some point in their lives, experienced domestic violence by a partner, with 12% of women reporting that their GP had approached them about possible domestic violence (Bradley et al., 2002). In addition, a worrying 69% of the women surveyed reported controlling behaviour from their partner, with 28% admitting to feeling afraid of their current partner (Bradley et al., 2002). Most of the women surveyed voiced support for routine enquiry about domestic violence as part of regular check-ups with their GP, suggesting one route for monitoring the presence of domestic violence in the community (Bradley et al., 2002). Elliott et al. (2002) suggested that better GP training in this issue would lead to highe r detection rates and better care for the victims of domestic violence. As Gerbert et al. (2002) suggest, other risk behaviours that were once considered taboo (such as HIV and alcohol and drug abuse) have been tackled, in that medical professionals routinely ask about such matters in consultations. It is thus not acceptable that domestic violence is not addressed in such a manner, given the high prevalence of this and the deleterious effects this can have on the victims and any children who are present in the household (Gerbert et al., 2002). It is suggested that it is a general lack of training that stops medical professionals from enquiring about such violence, and that the lower domestic violence screening rates, compared to the screening rates of other risk behaviours, may reflect the medical professionals beliefs that they do not know how to screen or intervene or their belief that such interventions may not be successful (Gerbert et al., 2002). It is suggested that screening rates can be improved by educating medical professionals as to the many b enefits that identifying domestic violence can bring to the victims (Gerbert et al., 2002). This section of the dissertation analyses the immediate and long-term impacts of domestic violence on children’s health, education, personality, socialising and future relationships. In terms of children’s exposure to domestic violence and maltreatment, Osofsyky (2003) looked at this issue in terms of prevention and intervention, showing that on the basis of available research, there is no doubt that huge numbers of children are being abused as part of the presence of domestic violence in the household, although the effects on children of this abuse, as a result of domestic violence, depends greatly on the child’s individual circumstances, on their additional risk factors and their susceptibility. Herrenkohl et al. (2008) reported similar results, showing a massive overlap in physical child abuse and domestic violence, which was especially prevalent in situations with other stressors, such as adverse socio-economic conditions, for example. Hartley (2002) also looked at this issue, and found that there is a substantial overlap between domestic violence and child maltreatment, finding that adverse socioeconomic factors were more likely to correlate with domestic violence and child neglect than with child abuse per se, although child abuse was present in a shockingly high number of cases, suggesting, as Osofsky (2002), that domestic violence goes hand-in-hand with child maltreatment, either through child neglect as a result of domestic violence or child abuse by the perpetrator of the violence as part and parcel of the domestic violence (Hartley, 2002). Hester and Pearson (1998) looked at domestic violence in the course of their work with abused children, finding that domestic violence was present in 70% of the cases of child abuse they dealt with, showing that the presence of domestic violence is a major factor in child abuse cases. It was suggested, as a result of this, that it might be useful to screen for domestic violence as routine practice, in terms of this being a possible predictor of child abuse, either current, in which case it could be identified and treated, or future, in which case, if the domestic violence is dealt with, might never occur. Gorin (2004) looked at understanding what children say about living with domestic violence, showing that children are often more aware of domestic violence than is realised, although they don’t often understand what is happening, nor why it is happening (Mullender et al., 2002). It was also reported that children worry about their parents more than is recognised, even though most children choose not to talk about this to anyone, and actively try to avoid the problem by distracting themselves physically and emotionally (Gorin, 2004). When asked about why they chose not to share their experiences with others, a fear of not being believed by professionals was the generally reported concern, with the fear that help will not be forthcoming when asked for being another commonly reported concern (Gorin, 2004). In addition, children report not having any idea of where they can go to get help, which stops them asking for help, although the majority of children affected by domestic viol ence reported that they long for someone to talk to about the violence, in terms of having someone to listen to them and to provide comfort and reassurance to them (Gorin, 2004). During the course of the research, it was found that children most asked for information to help them understand what was happening to their parents, and why they weren’t able to stop the violence (Gorin, 2004). In practical terms, this responsibility, of knowing about the violence but not being able to do anything to stop it, and feeling they do not have anywhere to turn to report the violence, can lead to many problems for the children. Children who have experienced domestic violence generally feel they have to be more responsible in the home than othert children, in terms of undertaking more practical tasks around the home, often as a way of trying to avoid the violence by pre-empting arguments, for example (Gorin, 2004). This responsibility, or knowing about the violence but feeling there is nothing that can be done about it, and the responsibility of taking on extra tasks, can lead to children developing sleep problems, being tired, and not paying as much attention as they need at school, leading to problems with their education (Gorin, 2004). Fantuzzo et al. (1997) looked at the effect of domestic violence on children, showing a myriad of adverse effects in children exposed to domestic violence, especially amongst those children who are already exposed to other risk factors such as drug abuse and/or adverse socioeconomic conditions. Fantuzzo and Mohr (1999) continued the work of Fantuzzo et al. (1997), looking at the effects of domestic violence on children, showing that domestic violence has many adverse effects on children, which are modified according to many factors, such as the child’s age, the nature of the violence, the severity of the violence and the existence of other risk factors in the children’s lives (such as poverty and substance abuse, for example), but which are, nonetheless severe. Childhood exposure to domestic violence can lead to aggressive behaviour, to increased emotional problems, such as the onset of depression and anxiety, to lower academic achievement and to lower levels of social skills (see Fantuzzo and Mohr, 1999). Baldry (2003) looked at bullying in schools following exposure to domestic violence, through a cross-sectional study of 1059 Italian school students using a self-report anonymous questionnaire. It was found that those children who had been subjected to domestic violence (i.e., interparental violence) were far more likely to bully whilst at school than those children who had never been subjected to any form of domestic violence, thus showing a direct negative effect of domestic violence on children’s behaviour (Baldry, 2003). Bauer et al. (2006) also looked at the relationship between bullying and intimate partner violence, through a self-report questionnaire of 112 children, and found, similarly to Baldry (2003) that children who had been exposed to intimate partner violence in a home setting were more at risk of developing physical aggression and internalised behaviours than children who had never experienced intimate partner violence in the home setting. Hall and Lynch (1998) looked at the lifelong effects of domestic violence on children, finding that separating the causes of domestic violence from its effects and from other correlated factors, such as poor parenting, poverty, substance abuse, for example, is difficult and that, as such, pinpointing the specific effects of domestic violence on children can be difficult. Hall and Lynch (1998) report, however, that children in violent households are three to nine times more likely to be injured and abused, either directly or in the course of trying to protect their parent. In addition, children from violent households are more likely to suffer a range of emotional and psychological problems, including self-harm, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide, along with stress-related health complaints, such as insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome (Hall and Lynch, 1998). In addition, these behavioural and psychological problems can lead to other problems, such as involvement in violence and/or bullying (as seen, see Baldry, 2003 and Fantuzzo et al., 1997), educational failure and/or dropping out of, or being excluded from, school (Woodward et al., 1998) (Hall and Lynch, 1998). In addition, it has been found that if a mother decides to leave her partner and go in to a shelter for the victims of domestic violence, this can lead to the children feeling isolated from their previous friends and their established social networks, leading to further problems for these children who were already exposed to a high level of stress and emotional and psychological problems (Hall and Lynch, 1998). In addition, it is also known that being exposed to violence in the home can lead to juvenile crime, with many child victims of juvenile crime being the subject of youth criminal sentences (Hall and Lynch, 1998). In addition, the effects of domestic violence on children are long-lasting, with anti-social behaviour at the age of seven being highly correlated with violent behaviour towards partners in later life (Hall and Lynch, 1998), mediated, as has been seen, through the process of social learning theory (Bandura, 1973). Chapter 3: Protecting children from domestic violence This section of the dissertation addresses the issue of protecting children from domestic violence in terms of the child protection issues that need to be taken into consideration. As children suffer many and varied consequences of domestic violence, including direct child abuse by the perpetrator of the violence and indirect consequences of witnessing the violence, such as emotional, psychological and physical ill-health, the child protection issues that need to be taken in to consideration are many and varied. In those cases where child abuse is suspected, the child needs to be protected against this abuse. This could mean removing the child in to care, or working with the mother to encourage the mother to move, with the child, in to a refuge to avoid the domestic violence. The particular option chosen by social workers depends on the risks assessed in the particular situation. In terms of protecting children more generally, in terms of identifying possible negative effects on children from domestic violence, for example, all health professionals should be aware of the effects of domestic violence, and possible symptoms of domestic violence on children, which, if not physical, can be noted in the child’s behaviour. Medical professionals who come in to contact with children should be trained in detecting these signs of domestic violence in children, with adequate screening programmes in place to detect such signs and to enable children to deal with the problems that domestic violence presents to them, in terms of being given the opportunity, in a safe and confidential manner, to talk about what is happening in their household, how they feel about this, what problems this is presenting to them and what needs to be done about the situation. Children are perhaps more likely to want to talk to the school nurse, or to a GP than to any other professionals, as there is some previous relationship established and some form of trust that has already been built up (Hall and Lynch, 1998). It is essential that teaching about domestic violence be mandatory for all professionals involved in multi-agency teams dealing with child protection issues (see Hendry, 1999). This section of the dissertation presents a discussion of the role of the mother and why her socio-economic status and culture is important. Protecting the mother, in terms of protecting the child, is then discussed, in terms of whether, for example, it is best for children to live with both parents, even when there is domestic violence occurring. It has been found that there is a substantial overlap between domestic violence and child maltreatment (see Hartley, 2002), in that adverse socioeconomic factors are more likely to correlate with domestic violence and child neglect (including child abuse). Walby and Allen (2004) also found that those women who lived in a household earning less than  £10,000 were three and a half more times likely to be the subject of domestic violence than a women in a household earning more than  £20,000, although it was admitted that the correlations between domestic violence and poverty are unclear. For example, poverty could be the cause of domestic violence, or could be the outcome of domestic violence, in that women who have fled domestic violence often end up living on low income (Walby and Allen, 2004). Thus, whilst there are some correlations as to the socioeconomic status of the mother and the probability of being the subject of domestic violence, the links have not been researched fully and, as such, no causal relationships can be found. What is clear, however, is that where there is poverty, or perceived financial problems, there is more likely to be domestic violence, and that where there is domestic violence, there is likely to be some form of child neglect or child abuse also going on. Mothers, therefore, have a responsibility, within the framework of them being victims themselves, to their children, in terms of protecting them, as far as possible, from the violence. This is itself a complicated issue, however, as many women have nowhere to flee to when they leave a violent partner, meaning the women often end up in temporary refuges or low-standard rented accommodation, often outside of the area where their children go to school, often leading to further psychological problems for their children, who then feel isolated from their friends and support networks, which can lead to further emotional and psychological problems for these children (Gorin, 2004; Hall and Lynch, 1998). It is reported that the mother often stays in the household and subjects herself to domestic violence because of fear of what leaving the household would do to their children (see Nicolson et al., 2006). Hazen et al. (2006) looked at female care-givers experiences of domestic violence and behaviour problems in their children, finding that serious problems are faced by children when the mother is subjected to domestic violence, and that these children need to be helped as far as possible in terms of addressing the problems that these children face. If the mother decides not to leave the abusive partner, therefore, the mother has a responsibility to her child(ren) that she will ensure that they are treated as far as possible for these problems. Again, however, this is complicated by the fact that mothers often want to hide the fact that they are being abused from their children, and, as such, do not discuss this with their children. This is a fallacy, however, as shown by Gorin (2004), as children are often far more aware of what is happening than they are given credit for, and the untreated consequences of the domestic violence can lead to major future health and behaviour problems fo r children (see, for example, Hall and Lynch, 1998). The problems facing mothers who are the victims of domestic violence are many and varied. They are the subject of abuse themselves, which can leave them feeling ashamed and not willing to discuss this with anyone, not even their children. Their children, aware of what is going on, but unable to talk to their mothers then begin to develop problems, which – if the mother even recognises these problems are then not treated, as they are viewed, by the mother, as part and parcel of the same humiliating violence they are subject to. The effects of the violence are thus perpetrated, often with severe long-term consequences (Hall and Lynch, 1998). It will be argued, however, that is the responsibility of the mother to protect her child, as the child’s care-giver, against domestic violence and against the effects of domestic violence. However, this is not as straight-forward as it seems, for, in addition to the humiliation that women feel when being abused, there are also financial concerns about how the mother would support her child(ren) if she left the violent partner. Many women victims of domestic violence argue that subjecting their children to poverty is worse than having them witness domestic violence (Gorin, 2004) and so they stay with the partner who is violent towards them, subjecting their children to the range of emotional, psychological and physical health problems already discussed (see, for example, Hall and Lynch, 1998). Thus, the responsibility of a mother to protect her child(ren) against domestic violence and against the effects of domestic violence is a complicated issue. If there is child abuse present, it is obviously the mother’s responsibility to involve the police, and to ensure that the perpetrator is brought to justice, although, as has been seen, this is not as easy as it sounds, as women often have difficulty in approaching the police, witnessed by the low reporting rates of serious instances of criminal domestic violence to the police reported in Walby and Allen (2004). If, however, as has been seen, the violence is mainly directed against the mother, and the mother feels it is better for the sake of the children, on balance, to stay in the violent household, whilst the violence is only directed towards her, then that is the mother’s decision, as a balance between the effects of the domestic violence on the children and the potential effects of moving to a new place and living in worse conditions than their current conditions, and the further emotional and psychological problems this would present to the child(ren). If the mother makes the decision to stay with the violent partner as this is, on balance, the best option out of two possible sub-optimal options, then, in these situations, where the violence is not thought to be serious enough, by the victim, to warrant reporting or to warrant leaving the partner, even though the child(ren) is/are being affected by domestic violence, the question then becomes how to protect the mother, in order to ensure the best protection of the child. This question will be elaborated on in the next sections of the dissertation. Chapter 5: The multi-agency approach to child protection This section provides an analysis of the multi-agency approach to child protection, examining its advantages and disadvantages. The available services for children living with domestic violence are also discussed, as are the policy and legislation against domestic violence and pro child protection in the UK. Through this, the dissertation moves on to analyse the intervention strategies that are available to protect children, in terms of the extent to which prevention is possible and how. As shown by Mirrlees-Black (1999), only about half of the victims of domestic violence told someone about the violence, most likely to be a friend or relative, with the police being notified of an attack in only about 12% of the violent episodes reported in the survey. Medical staff were the next likely to hear about the domestic violence, in about 10% of the violent episodes reported, and were reported to have been more likely to offer help and advice than the police (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). Overall, Mirrlees-Black, (1999) found it more likely that the victims of serious attacks (i.e., those regarded as a crime) would report these attacks to the police, with those women who felt responsible in some way for the attack being less likely to report the attack, even if the attack was criminal in manifestation (Mirrlees-Black, 1999). There is, thus, a massive problem with reporting domestic violence, something that