Dealing With Video Games’ Problems Essay Example for Free

Dealing With Video Games’ Problems Essay In present-day society, with the Internet technologies developing rapidly, video games have assumed an increasingly crucial role in people’s lives. Admittedly, video games may attract lots of people, and gaming industry has achieved a good success. However, there are many problems with video games such as game addiction of China’s youth and the utilitarian behaviors of the game companies so that it is important to reinforce the regulation of video games. The most severe problem caused by video games is gaming addiction, especially for China’s youth. â€Å"The youth of China are the most plugged-in, an alarming statistics shows that 42% report feeling addicted to the video games, according to Dr. Tao, who set up China’s first Internet addiction clinic at the Military General Hospital in Beijing† (Dubois). Addiction is an appropriate word to describe those game players who immerse themselves in the virtual world of video games and cannot control themselves. â€Å"Long-term Internet addiction would result in brain structural alterations, which probably contributed to chronic dysfunction† (Dubois). â€Å"People’s Daily reported a 14-year-old boy who died after a four storey fall due to hallucinations brought on by his obsession with the popular video game Legend.† (Dubois). Also, other similar tragedies happened because of the addiction. According to China Daily and The Guardian, two Chinese teenagers from different places committed suicide by  jumping from buildings after playing World of War C raft (WOW) for dozens of hours (Dubois). Therefore, it is apparent from these facts that China is facing a problem of gaming addiction. Moreover, the problems are also caused by the utilitarian gaming industry. Game companies are utilitarian that they do not consider the effect that their games will bring to the players but just care about their profit. To attract more kids, â€Å"Game console sell gift cards at convenience stores that allow kids to make purchases on video games, even if they don’t have a credit card† (Henn 4). This will make some kids play video games without their parents’ permission and may even cause addiction and family conflicts. Henn states â€Å"Researchers in game companies tweak games to get players to stay on longer, or to encourage them to spent money on digital goods† (2) and â€Å"the idea is to make gamers uncomfortable, frustrate them, take away their powers, crush their forts—and then, at the last second, offer them a way out for a price† (3). Young players may not have ability to make money, but they spend more and more â€Å"virtual curren cy (paid for with real cash)† (Clendenin) to get the latest and best virtual gaming equipment, which may even cause crimes. People’s Daily reported that a 19-year-old college student stole 20,000 RMB at school in order to pay for the expensive virtual commodities in his favorite video game. Thus, unethical behaviors of gaming industry are also serious problems to solve. Regulations on video games may help to alleviate the severe situation. But to eradicate these problems, the Chinese government must have regulations that are powerful enough. Although the Chinese government has already built up some regulations on video games, these regulations may be not sufficient. In April 2007, the Chinese government introduced  some regulations to deal with such situation. It introduced an anti-addiction system that required the players register with their real name and ID number and will limit the time players spend in their virtual world (Clendenin). â€Å"There is also a total ban on minors handling virtual currency, used by many online games† (Clendenin). The system indeed prevents players from overindulging in online games to some extent. However, the system is not as effective as expected since players just turn to other games after limited hours or they use fake registration information and change it frequently. Meanwhile, the game companies, which depend so much on video games for profit, will also invent more â€Å"countermeasures to cope with these regulations†(Clendenin). So if these regulations have no supporting measures, they may well become an ineffective attempt to solve these complicated issues. Hence, in order to eradicate the problems caused by video games, the Chinese government should have more powerful regulations on video games. To sum up, video games now indeed have caused serious problems for China’s youth. After knowing the reasons for the problems, to deal with such situation, reinforcing the regulation of video games is essential to help solve the rigorous problems in China. Works Cited â€Å"Multitasking After 60: Video Game Boosts Focus, Mental Agility.† Shots. Writ. Jon Hamilton. NPR, 4 Sept. 2013. Radio. â€Å"Video Game Creators Are Using Apps To Teach Empathy.† All Tech Consider. Writ. Steven Henn. NPR, 20 Nov. 2013. Radio â€Å"How Video Games Are Getting Inside Your Head—And Wallet.† All Tech Consider. Writ. Steven Henn. NPR, 29 Oct. 2013. Radio Zhang, Zeoy. â€Å"Has China’s Online Gaming Addiction Become an Epidemic?† The Diplomat. The Diplomat, 4 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Clendenin, Mike. â€Å"China Tightens Online Gaming Regulations.† InformationWeek. N. p., 25 June 2010. Web. 20 Mar 2014 Dubois, Matthew. â€Å"Log in, sign out.† The World of Chinese. N. p., 9 Mar 2013. Web. 20 Mar 2014

Tax Evasion in the UK | Essay

Tax Evasion in the UK | Essay An Investigation Into Tax Evasion In The British Large Companies Abstract This project looks at the tax evasion in the British large companies and find out the reason of this problem. It aims to discover the methods to control it. As resources find, firstly, tax loopholes cause tax evasion. Secondly, tax is so high and effects large companies much. Companies hope to cut costs without paying tax. Thirdly, the leaders of companies can not realize they have duty to pay tax. Finally, the government ask companies to pay double tax which is unfair to companies. Therefore, British Large companies should raise the awareness of responsibility to pay tax. The Governemt should improve the tax law. The research was conducted by examining previous studies. Two cases study focus on tax evasion of Google and Amazon in the UK. The results show that British large companies have tax evasion problem. Companies use branch offices for transferring British tax money to other countries’ offices which is located at tax heaven. The leaders of companies even are proud of tax evasion. In conclusion, in the UK, tax evasion is quiet serious in the large companies. Whatever ethical and social system cause tax evasion problem. The government should prevent this situation by improving tax system and letting people raise the responsibility to pay tax. 1. Introduction Tax evasion is defined as an illegal behaviour that a person, organization or corporation purposely avoids paying true tax liability. Those caught evading taxes are generally subject to criminal charges and significant punishments (Investopedia, n.d.). Nowadays, with British economy and finance development, tax evasion has increased year by year. This area is important because lots of British companies, such as Google, Amazon, Starbucks and Apple, have tax evasion problem. Britain have turned into a tax evasion heaven that cheats itself in the process. The reason is the loopholes of tax evasion system. According to PCS, 90% of tax is effectively voluntary with just few staff to check suspect cases. The National Audit Office reported that HMRC has doubled the amount of tax debt written off in one year and due to its own mistakesrelatively. Labours record on chasing tax loopholes was depressing.In 2009, it set up the patent box – a vast new tax avoidance vehicle. This government s new enormous tax escape leak is the controlled foreign companies management system, allowing British companies to pay tax in the cheapest country they can find, and none when they bring profits back (Polly Toynbee, 2014). Furthermore, profit motivate companies avoid paying tax to save money for themselves.As hypothesis, because of profit, companies keep away from turning in tax to the government on time. In addition, the tax system has the leak so that companies have ability not to pay true tax.Therefore, this project aims to discover the reason of tax evasion and find the way to prevent this situation in the large companies in the UK. 1.1 Research Question Do the profit aims and the loopholes of tax system cause tax evasion? How to deal with tax evasion in the British large companies? 2. Literature review The reason of tax evasion in large companies in the UK. In this world, tax evasion is never ethical. It is illegal whenever the century. Companies and individuals all own a duty to the government to pay whatever taxes the state demands. There is no such thing that taxes are too high even though British resident always complain the level of price and taxes (McGee, 2012). However, in this century, tax evasion is such a normal phenomenon. There are some opinions about the reason of tax evasion in the large companies in the UK. Firstly, although the reforms of the tax structures improve year by year, the British tax system still has loopholes (ZodrowFuest, 2013). Therefore, companies can route around the laws to avoid paying tax. The loopholes cause shadow economy increases. Shadow economy is quite narrow. It does not need to take results and insights of other sciences into account. It is difficult to control. With shadow economy climbs, it attracts original tax system and creates competition for the official firms at the same time (Schneider Enste, 2003). Moreover, because of tax system loopholes, in multinational corporations, the extensivephenomenon of income shifting happens frequently. Multi-national and offshore companies have illegal market and inequitable competitive advantages. Tax system loopholes let overseas and offshore companies avoid finance acquiring, asset stripping companies and markets. The effects impact all tax system and supply and value chains (Nicholas, 2013). The offshore economy tends to be around us. Lots of trades are successful through the offshore economy. What is more, entrepreneurs’ corruption and government expropriation of private resources destroy the balance and interaction between tax and investment. The political structure can not use as effective tool for the original tax system (ZodrowFuest, 2013). Therefore, the tax system loopholes are continued to expand. Furthermore, Endemic avoidance relies on means legitimated by the tax system. Companies exploit tax differences within different places and tax regime and transfer profit to avoid tax. British companies use companies, trusts and partnerships to shelter earnings or assets. (Nicholas, 2013). Secondly, according to ThomasSowell (2012), tax cut for the rich. Tax effects rich companies greatly. Because the total amount of money saved by someone in the large companies is often larger than the total amount of money saved by someone in small companies. With the higher tax, the more money companies have, the more tax they need to pay. All People desire to have more money. By tax evasion, companies can save lots of financial revenue. Thirdly, leaders of companies think government does not give them or society tangible benefits and value. It wastes their paid tax money. So, companies do not want to pay tax to the government. Maybe, companies give money to charity that is better than paying tax to the government. The former can bring more social value and popularity to the companies (D’Souza, 2012).Fina lly, because the government asks British large companies to pay double tax, companies believe that it is unfair to themselves. Therefore, British large companies do not pay tax to the government (Baekdal, 2013). The approach for preventing from tax evasion In the UK, tax evasion situation is serious. Here are some methods to help to solve the problem. Firstly, British government should set law to limit or remove the legal standing of companies or ownership from jurisdictions with cannibalistic tax and secrecy regimes (Nicholas,2013). Secondly,the large companies tax standards need to be updated to prevent loopholes from being abused. Companies haveability to use new data and advanced technology to control fraud and evasion risks.The government has also set up a new centre of system within HMRC to enhance expertise forsolving offshore tax evasion (Gov, 2014). Thirdly, British companies should raise their ethical and legal responsibility to pay tax for developing British society and country. 3. Case Study Case StudyGoogle’s tax evasion Google’s current situation Google, as a large company, uses its dominant position for own economic goals with tax avoidance strategy escape financing of government and public infrastructure (Baekdal, 2013).From 2006 to 2011, although Google has 18 billion pounds revenue in Britain, the company reported only 16 million profit for taxes to British authorities (Reuters, 2013). In 2011, Google’s UK unit just paid six million pound to the Treasury and turned over of 395 million pound (Barford Holt, 2013). The reason of tax evasion in the Google Google operates its European branch companies out of approving tax jurisdiction on purpose. Google own the company’s non-US intellectual property rights in the tax haven of Bermuda. The leader of Google company believe that enterprise has the duty to shareholders to minimise its costs by avoiding paying tax (BBC News, 2012). The chairman of Google even said that he is proud of his company’s tax evasion scheme. As the report said that he even thinks the tax evasion of 2.5 billion pounds in Google is capitalism (Kumar Wright, 2012). In Ireland, Google has a branch office which should pays fee to isolated Dutch company. Google establish Dutch company purely for the purpose of reducing the taxes (BBC News, 2012). As Google’s executive chairman Eric Schmidt said that he does not agree on UK tax debate. He thinks that it is political decision instead of economical issues if the company must comply that the tax laws is changed by British system. It is not fair that com panies should pay more tax when the tax rate climbs up (BBC News, 2013). Therefore, The reason of tax evasion in Google company is that the holders are not conscious of having responsibility to pay tax for the government and society. It desires to reduce the costs in order to achieve their economic aim by avoiding paying tax. Case study Amazon’s tax evasion Amazon’s current situation According to the report given by the Guardian, Amazon earned more than 3.3 billion pounds profit in the UK last year without paying any corporation tax to the tax authorities. In 2011, Amazon, which has earned about 3.35 billion pounds in the UK, only reported a tax expenditure of about 1.8 million pounds (BBC News, 2013). Now it is under investigation by the UK tax office. The reason of tax evasion in the Amazon The tax structure loopholes are used by Amazon company. Luxembourg country is well known as tax heaven. The tax rate in Luxembourg is much less than the tax rate in Britain. According to the report, the goal that Amazon company establish deliberately branch office in Luxembourg is to round around the British tax laws. Tax system loopholes are used by Amazon to transfer billions of pounds profit from British customers to Luxembourg. Then, Amazon’s profit is used Luxembourg’ s law to pay the tax which is much less than paying in the UK. This behaviour aims to payinvisibleBritish tax (BowersWintour, 2013). Under current laws, Amazon has 4.2 billion revenue annual years in the UK, which rely on a network of eight grand warehouses across Britain by routing through Luxembourg. (Bowers Wintour, 2013). According to Ibtimes website (2014), Amazons accounting strategies have been attacked by John Lewis and other high street stores, which they think give Amazon an unfair advantag e by using the Luxembourg loophole to shield its profits from the tax authority in the UK. 4. Discussion According to the resources, in the UK, tax evasion in the large companies is known as the fault of the companies. There are three reason of tax evasion. The first is that tax system has loopholes which is used to transfer the profit from high tax rate place to low tax rate place. The Second is the leader of companies may not realize they have responsibility to pay tax to the government and society. They just desire to achieve the economic goal. The third is that tax rate is so high and tax effects the rich more. As cases of Google and Amazon show these reasons have been proved. The leader of Google was proud of tax evasion and desired to reduce costs to achieve their economic goal. Amazon company used branch offices which is in tax heaven country to transfer revenue for avoiding paying tax. However, there has other agreement that government is greedy to ask companies to pay double tax. Generally speaking, because government put tax money on social infrastructure and companies have a lot revenue, companies should raise the awareness of duty to pay tax. Moreover, government is probably the one that should improve the tax system and establish the law to punish these illegal attitudes. Furthermore, comparing to other countries, Tax authority should control tax rate and keep balance between each area in order to prevent companies to transfer profits to branch offices in other countries. 5. Conclusion As resources found , in current century, tax evasion situation is much serious in the large companies in the UK. There are four reasons of tax evasion. Firstly, although the reforms of the tax structures are developed year by year, the British tax system still has loopholes. Therefore, companies can route around the laws to avoid paying tax. Companies use branch offices for transferring British profits to other countries which is located at tax heaven. Secondly, tax effects rich companies much. The companies are more rich, the tax money they should pay to the government and society. Companies desire to save costs for economic goal. Thirdly, leaders of companies might not have sense of responsibility. Two cases of Google and Amazon have proved the most of people believe that tax evasion should due to British large companies themselves. However, a few people think government causes tax evasion because it asks companies to pay double tax which is unfair to companies. According to discus sion, companies have responsibility more than the government because the government puts tax money to society with developing medicine system , charity and others. 5.1 Recommendations According to the research, British large companies should be enthusiastic with paying tax to the government and society. .In addition, the government might better to develop British tax laws to control tax system loopholes. In the future, with society, economy and technology development, the situation of tax evasion would be changed. British people should continue to research tax evasion. 5.2 Limitations and scope for further research As the place and time limited, research was limited in two British large companies in recent years. If the research carried out in several companies and researched the situation of tax evasion in 10 years, it could has more accurate results. (Words: 2015) 6. References Amazon Facing Fresh UK Tax Avoidance Row. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/amazon-facing-fresh-uk-tax-avoidance-row-1449978 Amazon UK paid  £2.4m tax last year, despite  £4bn sales. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22549434 Baekdal, T. (2013). The Other Side of Amazons, Apples and Googles Tax Evasion. Retrieved from https://www.baekdal.com/opinion/the-other-side-of-amazons-apples-and-googles-tax-evasion Barford,V. Holt, G. (2013). Google, Amazon, Starbucks: The rise of tax shaming. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20560359 Bowers, S. Wintour, P. (2013). Amazon told: time is up for tax avoidance. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/jul/19/oecd-tax-reform-proposals-amazon D’Souza, J. (2012). Terrorist Financing, Money Laundering And Tax Evasion: Examing The Performance Of Financial Intellgence Units. Boca Raton, Fla: CRC. Factbox: Apple, Amazon, Google and tax avoidance schemes. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/22/us-eu-tax-avoidance-idUSBRE94L0GW20130522 Googles Eric Schmidt perplexed over UK tax debate. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22676080 Kumar, N. Wright, O. (2012). Google boss: Im very proud of our tax avoidance scheme. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/google-boss-im-very-proud-of-our-tax-avoidance-scheme-8411974.html Mc Gee, R. W. (2012). The Ethics Of Tax Evasion: Perspectives In Theory And Practice. New York: Springer. Nicholas, C. (2013). Twelve steps to stop tax avoidance. Retrieved from http://www.newstatesman.com/business/2013/09/twelve-steps-stop-tax-avoidance Reducing tax evasion and avoidance. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-tax-evasion-and-avoidance Schneider, F. Enste, D. H. (2003). The Shadow Economy: An International Survey. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press Sowell, T. (2012). Trickle Down Theory And Tax Cuts For The Rich. Stanford, Calif: Hoover Institution Press Starbucks, Google and Amazon grilled over tax avoidance. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20288077 Tax Evasion. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/taxevasion.asp Toynbee, P. (2014). This farcical tax system is cheating us out of billions.  Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/29/farcical-tax-system-cheating-billions-chase-avoiders Zodrow, G. R. Fuest, C. (2013). Critical Issues In Taxation And Development. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Thermal Energy Conversion Essay -- physics energy power renewable powe

The demand for an efficient renewable energy source is a driving force in ongoing research. Thermal energy conversion is one such potential source that is under constant investigation and has endless avenues of possibility. The two requirements of energy production are efficiency and renewability. Many possibilities exist for energy production including: Fossil Fuels (natural gas, oil, coal, oilshale), nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wastes, & hydroelectric. Efficiency of the use of these resource are directly related to the location and the demand in that location. For example Hawaii is a prime candidate for the use of the oceans mechanical wave action, the thermal gradient of the ocean, wind, and biomass from the high levels of plant growth. The demand for another energy source comes from Hawaii's dependence on oil that has to be transported there. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion(OTEC) is the utilization of the energy stored in the world's oceans by the thermal gradient created. The thermal gradient is the difference of the surface temperature of the ocean that is heated via solar energy and the water at depths of significantly colder temperatures. This thermal gradient is the energy source that is converted to usable energy by OTEC plants. The idea for using the oceans thermal energy is credited to several visionaries including Jacques D'Arsonval, a French Engineer, in 1881. The temperature difference needed for an OTEC plant is about 36 deg F (20 deg C). Temperature differences of this amount are readily available in many locations in the world. The areas depicted in red on the above map produce the best areas for OTEC sites due to the stablility of warm weather throughout t... ...ntially be exploited for one of the municipalities that stand beside the pipeline? Arctic North Slope Borough - 179.2 mi. Fairbanks North Star Borough - 89.1 mi. City of Delta Junction - 5.5 mi. City of Valdez - 20.8 mi. Could the pipeline at least help to power one of the ten pump stations located along its winding path? It is not likely that the heat exchange in either of the two above systems would produce a sufficient enough amount of energy to produce electricity. The temperature of the oil as it is extracted is approximately 160 Â ° F and the flow temperature approximately 140 Â ° F. These temperatures need to be maintained for the oil to remain in a viscous enough state to be transport with some amount of efficiency. This inquiry into the potential use of excess heat being produced as a by-product does however open the door to other possibilities.

Philosophy for Children Essay -- Philosophy Philosophical Metaphysica

I. The concept of the Community of Inquiry Central to the heart of P4C lies the notion of a community of inquiry. Originally a term from Pierce to reference interaction among scientists, the concept of "COI" dominates the discussion of educational revisionism as presented by commentators on the P4C movement. The key description marking a COI is: a group (a social setting) of individuals who use dialogue (interaction among participants) to search out the problematic borders of a puzzling concept (inquiry as philosophical.) Implicit in the ideal workings of this group are two key concepts: a demonstration of thinking that is caring (each member is supported and allowed to be an integral member of the community), creative (new ideas are sought out and encouraged) and critical (good reasons are expected for one's ideas and positions). fallibilism (a willingness to be corrected and an acknowledgment of possible error or perspectivalness). Thus, the COI offers us a dual message of promoting critical thinking and encouraging an obligation to one's fellow inquirer. As such the concept of COI attempts to address contemporary challenges to education to produce better thinkers and more caring members of society who can tolerate differences at the same time they can submit conflicts to reasonable scrutiny. In a COI all participants must respect one another as thoughtful persons who seek communally to better understand the issue at hand. In describing the COI as central to philosophical inquiry with children I have tried to achieve a certain degree of metaphysical neutrality by focusing upon the methodological structure of the discussion. However, once we probes beneath the surface definition we discover a cache of important meta... ...e Communities," Analytic Teaching, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 3-16. Schleifer, Michael. "Philosophy and Community in Education: A Critique of Richard Rorty," Analytic Teaching, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 27-34. Sharp, Ann Margaret. "The Community of Inquiry: Education for Democracy," Thinking, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 31-37. _________. "What is a 'Community of Inquiry?", Journal of Moral Education, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 37-45. _________. "Feminism and Philosophy for children: The Ethical Dimension," Thinking, vol. 11, no. 3/4, pp. 24-28. Slade, Christina. "Conversing Across Communities: Relativism and Difference," Analytic Teaching, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 3-12. Thomas, John C. "Community of Inquiry and Differences of the Heart," Thinking, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 42-48. Traverso, Gabriela. "Community and Hermeneutic Rationality," Analytic Teaching, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 21-26.

Anti Abortion - The Truth of Abortion :: social issues

Anti Abortion - The Truth of Abortion "And, behold, one came and said unto Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but One, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto Him, which? Jesus said, THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." ~ Lord Jesus Christ Quote, Matthew 19:16-19, King James Version Bible †¢ Introduction : To know and feel truth is essential to understanding. You may say, "...not another religious person..." but I say unto you, I come about this conclusion through pure reason. Of course, this is a tender subject, but that goes to reason. For it is essential for truth and feeling to come together in the expression and beholding of understanding. †¢ Abortion and Choice : We have freewill to either magnify goodness or not. We have freewill, as has been given to us by our Creator, to do good or evil. Hence, I nor anyone else – not even God – has the right to deny another from any course of action – in this case, abortion. †¢ Abortion Stance : Truth is eternal regardless of situation. Though, as I have clarified above, do not have the right to deny another of choice, I do and will utilize my right in voicing my stance against it – that abortion is murder. I understand there are pregnancies by rape, and I know it is wrong to, not only, forbid an abortion, but it would also be cruel. Still, I remain with belief that abortion is murder. I understand there are pregnancies that endanger the mother's life, and I know it is wrong to, not only, forbid an abortion, but it would also be cruel. Still, I remain with belief that abortion is murder. I understand there are pregnancies that are unwanted, which have occurred by the voluntary engagement in the activity of reproduction. Whatever the case may be, which results in an unwanted pregnancy through voluntary engagement in the activity of reproduction, the couple has acted irresponsibly. For when a couple engages in the activity of reproduction, it comes with the possibility of responsibility in assuming parenthood.

Child Marraige Essay

It blocks them from education and any possibility of independent work. It subjects them to pregnancy and childbirth before they have reached physical maturity, a circumstance that often produces serious physical trauma, psychological disturbance, and sometimes lifelong physical and/or emotional incapacities. Confusion about the legal status of child marriages results from widespread ignorance of the law by the majority of society. Even ministers were in many cases, unaware of the actual minimum ages for marriage. In Afghanistan marriage is regulated by civil law, various interpretations of Shariah law, and traditional and customary practices. Civil law sets the minimum marriage age for females at 16, but it permits a father to give his daughter in marriage at age 15, if he chooses. Shariah law sets the minimum age for females at 15. Customary practices approve marriage at earlier ages. In any case, Civil law takes precedence over both Shariah law and customary practice. (Shariah law is applied in matters not specifically set forth in the civil codes. Although the non registration of the marriages and the absence of identification documents do not allow the collection of accurate data on the subject, the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) consider the non respect of the minimum age requirement to be the major violation of the right to marry or not to marry. In addition, Afghanistan is bound to end child marriage through its ratification of certain internationalconventions including The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Based on annual report of AIHRC suicides, self immolations, murders, sexual perversions and psychological disorders are amongst the many negative consequences of child marriage. These also include the increase of maternal and child mortality rates, and the low level of education for women which has a long term effect on the role these play in the country’s political, social and economic life. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report, girls who marry during their childhood do not develop properly, neither physically nor psychologically. They are frequently denied access to education and are subject to different types of diseases arising from abnormal births and isolation. Childhood marriages are common place and prevalent in Afghanistan. In this respect, the Afghan Constitution has clear provisions to support families and children. Based on the reports 57% of Afghan girls are forced to marry before the age of eighteen. Pregnancies of sixteen years old girls are relatively common in Afghanistan. Problem statement: Child marriage is a serious problem, and there are frequent cases of young girls being married to the much older men. Many times, children and teenagers are pulled out of school to marry, depriving them of an education and meaningful work. Victims suffer health risks associated with early sexual activity, such as high risks of maternal and child mortality and sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV/AIDS. They are also likely to be victims of domestic, sexual, and/or emotional abuse, and may suffer from social isolation. Child marriages have negative and unexpected consequences like propagation of disease, divorce cases and escaping from home. While parent’s poverty and illiteracy may lead to their marrying daughters as child, these very marriages will prevent the daughters from having access to education and economic progress. Research Questions: 1. What are the Social, Economic and Political consequences of forced and early marriages in rural society? Objective The focus of this concept paper is to know reasons, causes and consequences of early childhood marriages in Afghanistan. In addition this will seek on vulnerabilities which the girls face by forced and early marriages in rural areas and how it is linked with the rural society and contribute with the poverty, violence and isolation of the families. Research method: The Research will included literature review, reviews of existing files in hospitals and schools, interviews with hospital and school directors, interviews with Rural people (Target area), Government officials and NGOs. Forced Marriages in Afghanistan Afghanistan y Tahera Nassrat   |   on April 6th, 2010   |   9 comments Throughout the world, there are 49 countries that have forced marriage or child bride problems. Forced marriage is simply breach of basic human rights. It is a form of domestic violence and child abuse that contributes to a society’s problems. Afghanistan is one of the Islamic countries where people hold strongly tight to customs and traditions. Breaking the tradition of marrying young children, both boys and g irls, is not only difficult, but near impossible in most urban districts. In the rural areas of Afghanistan, girls are mostly married between ages of 7 to 11. It is really rare that a girl reaches the age of 16 and is not married. The customs, traditions and community they live in make it impossible for girls to break free from forced marriages. They do not get ask to speak for self desire. The fathers in the families mostly decide, as the mothers do not get involved in the decisions, because they are women. By marrying   children in early ages, families are putting them in situations of isolation, health problems, abuse, suicide and lack of education. They believe, they are doing best for their children and without their consents, they bond them into marriage contracts. However, they don’t consider that forced marriage affect women and young children adversely. It involves negative situations like threatening behavior, emotional blackmail, physical violence, rape, sexual abuse, suicide and even murder and young children are obviously not in the capacity to handle such pressure. According to a United Nations’ report, between 60 to 80 percent of marriages in Afghanistan are forced marriages. The report states that the reason why girls are dragged into forced marriages are; repayment of debts; to solve a dispute and to pay family expenses. Moreover, It is obvious among Pashtons, that their widow will never marry someone out of their family, as they always marry the brother of their deceased husband. However in a non-Pashton family, the girl is asked to marry her brother-in-law to get support for the children of her sister. Even worse, some sisters are married to pay for the crime of their brothers by marrying the victims. So, people in Afghanistan believe it is part of culture to marry a girl before age of 18th and not let her have a say, but they should consider that forcing a girl to marry cannot be regarded as cultural practice in any society. It is a violation of basic human rights. Therefore, women as part of society should be able to freely express their choices about their lifestyle desires. The video bellow is history of a 12 year girl who was forced into marriage. She ran away to break free from her in-laws, but unfortunately was arrested and in form of punishment by her husband (a Talib) she lost her nose and ear. Child Marriage in Afghanistan October 2, 2011 by Aamozgar01 Filed under Cultural, Featured 5 Comments If the government of Afghanistan does not stop the practice of child marriage, most mothers will lose their children besides their own lives in Afghanistan as a result of under age marriage. Indeed, getting married under the age of eighteen or sixteen is not legal according to any law around world because it is internationally accepted that at least the couples should be sixteen. Although according to the Afghan Civil Law the minimum age of marriage for male is 18 and female 16, according to reports of Medica Mondiale and UNICEF, 57 per cent of Afghan females are married under the age sixteen without their consent because of their parent’s financial problems. Moreover, Getting married under 16 sixteen will result several serious health problems for mothers that cause them not to develop properly, neither physically nor psychologically (Earily Marriage in Afghanistan). For instance, a woman living in Qala-e-Bakhtiar of Kabul with her six children has said to Medica Mondial that she was only 15 when she was married against her will. She hates the noise of her children   because   of   having   psychological   problems. (W. Mukhatari , pg 6). The marriage of children by force is against human rights. Children know nothing about their sexual relationship with their life partners, because they are still child and their parents should take care of them. Therefore, to save the Afghan female hildren from being exchanged for an amount   of   money   to   solve   a   family s   financial   problems,   Afghanistan government   should   educate   and campaign     about   consequences   of   child   marriage,   increase employment opportunities for parents, and enforce the law by making the marriage registration legal. In spite of understanding the childhood condition of children, most of the Afghan parents marry their daughters because financial problems they are facing. Poverty is a challenge, which changes the lives of children besides the culture of early child marriage. According to the report by Millennium Development Goals for Afghanistan, the average income of per member of family is 200$ a year and less than one dollar   a   day. So, they   are   considered   below   the   poverty   line     (Earily     Marriage   in Afghanistan). Thus, to get out of the financial crises the marriage of their daughters before their legal ages such 16 or 18 would be considered for some families the only option for the parents to protect their family honor, pay their debts and take a little amount of money in exchange for their. First of all, one of the reasons of child marriage is to receive an exorbitant amount of money, which is called Toyana (wedding expenses) in Dari. The payment that parents   receive from the groom family is not less than 300,000 Afs. and is not meant to be the wedding expenses, but the price of their child daughter. In a report about the child   marriages   in   Afghanistan   by   the   Women   and   Children   Legal   Research   Foundation (WCLRF) shows that most of the interviewees have said that the only reason they were married in their childhoods was to receive Toyana from the groom’s family (Earily Marriage in Afghanistan). Secondly, the other factor that makes the poor families marry their daughters under the age sixteen, often times in rural areas, is to exchange women for women which is called Badal. The practice of this type of marriage is very common among the afghan people. This kind of marriage saves a huge expense of both sides because of exchanging their child daughters from a family to another family to satisfy both sides. The wedding party of such kind of marriage is often   celebrated at one time to avoid spending an   large amount of money. Indeed, it is the little young female who is devoted for her brother and is victimized for a little amount of money. Third, debt is another function that the females are exchanged for under the age sixteen in Afghanistan. When a family is unable to pay its debt within limited time that agreed, then the family is supposed to pay a huge amount that satisfy the lender, such as building, farming land, in some cases even a daughter otherwise the family is put in jail. So, the only remaining option for the family to protect its ancestors   property would be to sacrifice a daughter as a form of repayment for debt. It does not matter whether the child daughter is 9 or 18 years. As an explicit example, Shahs Family had to marry their 9 year old daughter Khalida   two years ago. Shah had received almost 2000$ from a drug trader to grow opium in his land, but the government crop-eradication team destroyed his poppy field and put the Shah family in debt. So, he had to give his 9 years daughter to drug trader because nothing was left in his life. (Clifford) Forth, the traditional custom of Afghan people is victimizing the child females in most of the rural areas. One of the reasons of child marriage in Afghanistan is Baad, which is a traditional way of having the child females to marry one of males from the family of   enemy and forcing her to accept him as her husband in compensation for the crime that her father or brother has committed against the enemy family, and to stop the enmity between two families. For instance, Aisha, an Afghan female whose nose and ears were cut by her Al-Qaeda husband in Oruzgan province, was just 8 years old when she was given as a Baad to her husband family 10 years ago (Shaming her in-laws costs ). Because her father had killed a member of her husband family, so he had to give his daughter to compensate his crime and to avoid being imprisoned or being killed by his enemy. Unfortunately, when the child female goes to her husband house in Baad marriage she is not going to her in-laws   house as a bride but as a slave. Consequently, the child marriage has several negative impacts on the health of both, mothers and babies. The female children wh o are married under the age of 16 0r 18 would not be prepared for pregnancies and child birth. A statistic of child marriage by Women and Children Legal   Research   Foundation   (WCLRF)   shows   that   28. 7%   mothers   have   physiological   and psychological problems, 34. 1% have physically weak children,   8. 9% have handicapped and disabled children, 1. 6% have children with different types of diseases and disorders, and 40. 4% of these women have suffered from gynecological disease (Earily Marriage in Afghanistan). In addition, the child marriage would result to take the life of the mothers along with losing the babies. Most   of   the   mothers   who   are   dying   at the age of   18-19   are   because   of   their   early regnancies, and the chance of   survival for the babies would be forty per cent comparing to the mothers who married in their proper ages (Sadik). Furthermore, child marriage would result the child brides to be abused by their in-laws family. Most of the child females face various violations after t hey get married, such as no right to choose, no right to go somewhere without the permission of her husband . When the violation increase the child bride is going to be isolated from the families and relatives. Thus, the only options that remains for the child bride is to suicide or escape from home. The interview of female prisoners by   the   Medica   Mendials   legal   staff   shows   that   60%   of prisoners   were   the   escapees   from husbands   houses who were married under the age sixteen. Most of the prisoners have said that they   were   being   abused   or   even   being   threaten   to   dead by   their   in-laws   families (W. Mukhatari , pg 9) . To come out of the child marriage problem and save little young girls in Afghanistan, education and awareness of public are the main keys to prevent from child marriage. The government should provide community education programs to inform the public about negative consequences of child marriage. Such programs can be implemented easily by   Ministry of Women Affairs, which   can   easily   teach   the   women   of   an   area   without   any   problem,   or   in   other   way,   the government should pay the clergymen of mosques to advice the parents on their tribunes. These are the only sources that families can trust on. Moreover, the government should implement public awareness campaigns by international organizations and by holding Shoras and Jirgas with the elders of rural areas to talk about the negative impacts of child marriage (Earily Marriage in Afghanistan). The government of Afghanistan should enforce the law to prevent child marriages. For instance, keeping the marriage registration regularly by the government agencies and receiving the evidence and acquiescence of both sides could be a possible way to reduce the child marriage. For example, in parts of   Indonesia, registration of marriage is dependent on evidence that the marriage is not forced on couples (Sadik). The parents who marry their daughters in their childhood under the age 16 should punished and persecuted seriously by the government as governments of Norway and Kyrgyzstan did. They both have set the minimum age of the girls 17 and the punishment of those who marry the females earlier than the age 17 would be jailed for 2 to 6 years. Weak Economy is another factor, which causes most child marriages in Afghanistan. The government should try to develop the economic situation in rural areas where   women have   cannot   earn   money   for   themselves. For example,   the   project   of Micro finance Investment   Support   Facility   for   Afghanistan,   which   is   donated   by   the   World   Bank   and   is implemented by the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Ministry, should be accessible for all women the Afghanistan. In fact, lending a little amount of money to women can be   the   start   of   their   business   to   provide   their   own   necessities. For example   Saima Mohammad who was about to be divorced by her husband because of having only a daughter and no son. Her husband had borrowed 3,000$, and he was not able to pay it back. So, Saima went to Pakistani micro finance organization called Kashf Foundation, took out only 65$ as loan and bought her 65$ bead and clothes to make embroidery from them and sell them to market in Lahor. She has everything now, and even her husband is working with her (Knistaff). The government should be serious in taking important steps against child   marriages in Afghanistan, because child marriage is dangerous for the health of both, mothers and their babies. People should be informed; the parents who force their child daughters to marry and those who marry females under the age sixteen should be punished. Most importantly, the economic situation of people should be developed to prevent them to not marry their children under the age sixteen in exchange for an amount of money. So, the Afghan government needs to increase peoples’ awareness about the outcome of early marriage, make employment opportunities and persecute those who marry their children before the age sixteen. Written by: Zabiullah Zabi http://www. aamozgar. org/child-marriage-in-afghanistan/ Forced and Child Marriage Forced and child marriages entrap women and young girls in relationships that deprive them of their basic human rights. Forced marriage constitutes a human rights violation in and of itself. Article One of the  Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages  states that â€Å"No marriage shall be legally entered into without the full and free consent of both parties, such consent to be expressed by them in person after due publicity and in the presence of the authority competent to solemnize the marriage and of witnesses, as prescribed by law. † The Marriage Convention addresses the issue of age. According to Article 2 of the  Convention, â€Å"States Parties to the present Convention shall take legislative action to specify a minimum age for marriage. No marriage shall be legally entered into by any person under this age, except where a competent authority has granted a dispensation as to age, for serious reasons, in the interest of the intending spouses. †Ã‚   Under General Assembly Resolution 2018 (XX) of 1 November 1965, â€Å"Recommendation on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages,† Principle II states that the minimum age to marry be set no lower than fifteen years. However, this is only a recommendation and it still allows room for a competent authority to grant â€Å"dispensation as to age for serious reasons. Leaving the minimum age of consent to the discretion of each country and allowing an authority to make exceptions to the minimum age of marriage aggravates the potential for early and forced marriages. Forced marriages differ from arranged marriages. In forced marriages, one or both of the partners cannot give free or valid consent to the marriage. Forced marriages i nvolve varying degrees of force, coercion or deception, ranging from emotional pressure by family or community members to abduction and imprisonment. Emotional pressure from a victim’s family includes repeatedly telling the victim that the family’s social standing and reputation are at stake, as well as isolating the victim or refusing to speak to her. In more severe cases, the victim can be subject to physical or sexual abuse, including rape. In arranged marriages, the parents and families play a leading role in arranging the marriage, but the individuals getting married can nonetheless chose whether to marry or not. Many regard arranged marriage as a well-established cultural tradition that flourishes in many communities, so a clear distinction should be drawn between forced and arranged marriages. However, in some cases the difference between a forced marriage and an arranged marriage may be purely semantic. In her January 2007 report, â€Å"Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Aspects of the Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,† Sigma Huda states that, â€Å"[a] marriage imposed on a woman not by explicit force, but by subjecting her to relentless pressure and/or manipulation, ften by telling her that her refusal of a suitor will harm her family’s standing in the community, can also be understood as forced. † Prevalence Forced and child marriage mainly affects young women and girls, although there are cases of young men and boys being forced to marry—especially if there are concerns about his sexual orientation. Reliable statistics on forced marriage are difficult to compile due to the unofficial and, therefore, undocumented nature of most forced marriages. In 2003, the International Centre for Research on Women estimated that more than 51 million girls under 18 years were married and they expected the figure to rise to over 100 million within the next ten years. Similarly, in 2006, experts estimated that thirty-eight percent of young women aged 20 to 24 in the fifty least developed countries were married before the age of 18. >>Learn more Causes and Risk Factors No major world religion sanctions forced marriage. It is purely a cultural practice. However, no culture exclusively practices forced marriage. Victims are forced into marriage for many different reasons. In the  United Kingdom, the Working Group on Forced Marriage found that most cases were a result of â€Å"loving manipulation, where parents genuinely felt that they were acting in their children and family’s best interests. †   To families living in poverty or economic instability, a daughter may be seen as an â€Å"economic burden† who must be married as soon as possible to take financial strain off of the family. Marriage can also be used to settle a debt, or to strengthen family or caste status through social alliances. Fears about sexual activity before marriage, or fear of rumors about such activity ruining a daughter’s opportunity to marry well, also fuel early and forced marriages. >> Learn more Consequences and Effects Forced and child marriages have severe psychological, emotional, medical, financial, and legal consequences. Victims tend to be isolated from their peers and friends. They rarely have access to social services that could assist them. Early marriages often interrupt a victim’s education. This deprives them of their right to education, as well as limits any possibility of economic independence from their spouse, making it more difficult to escape from an unwanted marriage. The unofficial nature of many of these marriages means that they often go unregistered, leaving a woman with no legal protections in cases of separation. Forced and child marriages are also more likely to become violent because the relationship is based on the power of one spouse over the other. In addition, complications during childbirth are much more common among young mothers. >>Learn more International and Domestic Law and Policies Numerous international legal instruments prohibit forced and child marriage, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Although most countries have signed onto these documents, many countries have not taken sufficient steps to implement these treaties. In 2005, the Council of Europe adopted  Resolution 1468  on forced marriages and child marriages. However, only a few countries have criminalized forced marriage.

“Of Mice and Men”: George’s actions at the end of the novel Essay

Discuss George’s actions at the end of the novel. How can we justify what he does to Lennie? How can we condemn it? Although murder is morally incorrect, mercy killing can be justified as it may prevent a later inevitable and painful death. In the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ written by John Steinbeck, the character George shoots his friend, Lennie. Whilst George’s actions can be condemned, George had good intentions towards the death of his friend. Steinbeck makes it clear throughout the novella that although horrid incidents may occur such as Lennie’s death that it was how it was during the Great Depression. However one may like to condemn George’s actions in shooting his only friend, George had forgivable intentions as to why he chose to shoot Lennie. George’s murdering of his friend was without malicious intent. It is clear from the start in the novella that George cares for Lennie, as he protects and looks out for him. Killing Lennie was not an easy choice.. He also prevented a further painful and torturous death for Lennie, as Curley plans to ‘shoot that big bastard’s guts right outta him.’ This implies that Curley intends no mercy and an excruciating death awaits Lennie. By shooting his friend, George gives Lennie a peaceful death. During the scene where the two men are in the bush, George once again recites their dream which reminds the audience and Lennie of their friendship. He tells George, ‘I got you an’ you got me.’ This conveys in the idea that George truly cared for Lennie and has no vicious intent when he is to shoot Lennie. By shooting Lennie, George gave him a merciful and peaceful death with no intended malicion. The murder of Lennie is justified as Steinbeck shows the audience through the novella, realistic themes that were evident in the 1930s. Steinbeck’s writing style has been described as a naturalist or realist type. It is clear from the start, that in ‘Of Mice and Men’ there is a predatory nature in human existence. Candy says to George, â€Å"I shouldn’t have let no stranger shoot my dog.† Having said that, it foreshadows Lennie’s death and what George must do. It also conveys in the idea that Lennie will face a similar fate to Candy’s old dog who is weak and handicapped. Society does not tolerate the weak as there were limited resources during the Great  Depression. As seen in the scene where Slim drowns the smallest pups, it is clear that Steinbeck is trying to send across the message that only the strongest lived during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck gave the reader a realistic view on what would have happened during a difficu lt time and Lennie’s death is similar to what would have occurred during the 1930s. The final reason that justifies Lennie’s death, is when one ponders the reality of the men attaining the ranch. As evident in the novella, Lennie has no problem killing small animals and even people. If the reader is to imagine Lennie on a ranch with a large group of animals, especially rabbits; no matter how many times Candy calculated the numbers, there would be no possible way for the men to make a profit off the rabbits given the amount Lennie would kill due to his brute strength. By forgetting the reality of the situation, the men forget that the ranch was not even a reachable goal in the first place. As indicated by George, â€Å"I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her.† This supports the idea that there was really no chance of the men actually getting the ranch. By killing Lennie, George puts an end to the unrealistic dream in which Lennie would have created problems in making the dream farm profitable. George’s actions are justified through realism that the ending scene portrays. When George shoots Lennie, he ensures he dies a peaceful death. If George did not kill Lennie, Lennie would have faced a possible torturous death. His actions are also justified as George meant no malicious intent and only wants the best for his friend. Lennie would have made life difficult even on their own land. Steinbeck shows the realism that people in the Great Depression would have faced in situations similar to Lennie and George’s; he shows us a piece of history and the tragedies attached. Although one may condemn George’s shooting of Lennie, mercy killing was the best choice for both of the men. Loved the point about the Depression times. (Paragraph 3) and also the â€Å"unrealistic † dream point in the next paragraph You could also discuss the fact that George also â€Å"loses† something by killing  Lennie. He really believed their relationship was special. ( George tells Slim this). Killing Lennie wasn’t just the easy way out for George. Once again, an original approach. I am sure your exam essay will reflect your mature approach and your hard work.