A House on Fire Essay Sample

Soon I was at the topographic point. Already a big crowd of people had gathered near a large edifice which was on fire. Fires were lifting high. Peoples were running approximately confused. The calls of kids got assorted with the scream of adult females. It was truly a heart-rending scene. Soon the intelligence spread. Some male child lookouts arrived at the scene. They at one time set to work. They brought buckets of H2O from the pat nearby and threw it on the fires. Some of them brought bags of sand. I. excessively joined in the work. Person rang the fire brigade. Soon it came down the street. doing a loud noise. The sound of its bell pealing tardily at dark served as an dismay to the people of the vicinity. They all rushed to the topographic point. Many came at that place to function the panic afflicted inmates of the house. The brass-helmeted work forces of the fire brigade at one time started their work. They took out their hose pipes and directed H2O towards the fires. It was after an. hour’s difficult labor that the fire began to decease out: At last it was extinguished. The edifice now presented a ghastly visual aspect. It was all charred and in ruins. The valuable furniture and dearly-won points of the house lay scattered on the route. The lookouts formed a cordon round the things and did non allow anyone come near them. The proprietor of the house was all but a destroyed adult male. He looked really sad. His married woman. an old lady. was crying bitterly. The kids. excessively. were terror stricken. They barely knew what catastrophe had overtaken the household. The fire brigade went back. The crowd besides melted off. Soon the topographic point was every bit deserted as earlier. No one knew the cause of the fire. It was rumoured that it was all the consequence of smoke. It was estimated that belongings worth one hundred thousand had been destroyed in the fire. Fortunately there was no loss of life. I. excessively. went back place. It was past midnight. I was tired out but happy that I had been of some aid.

Couse work Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Couse work - Coursework Example From this point, the accounting institutions embarked on seeking an alternative to different accounting principles they had already developed, by generating alternative procedures, which were superior to the others. This move was sparked by the desire for good accounts for the companies that were growing during this period, and the higher desire for uniformity in accounting procedures (Baxter, 1979 n.p.). This move was emulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales immediately after the end of World War II, and eventually many other countries followed. Although it did not initially start as a mandatory move, there was a high recommendation for companies to apply the generated standardized accounting procedures, without seeking the consent of such companies. The accounting bodies majorly depended on the loyalty of the members, to comply with the standards, since there was little they could do to enforce these standards to the companies and other bodies that we re not willing to adhere to them (Baxter, 1979 n.p.). ... Thus, in Baxter’s view, accounting standards entail; accountants showing what they are doing, enhancing the uniformity of accounts presentation layout, providing the basis of accounting for some economic phenomena and making essential disclosures (Baxter, 1979 n.p.). Task B: The extent to which Baxter’s views have influenced the development of a conceptual framework for accounting In Baxter’s view, there are four major factors that form the subject matter of accounting standards. First, the accountant must be able to inform others what he/she is doing, to the stakeholders who may not possess the accounting knowledge, through the published reports, which clearly indicates the policies and procedures followed to arrive at the final financial statements (Baxter, 1979 n.p.). Secondly, the accounting standards enhances the standardization and creation of a uniformity in the layout and presentation of accounts, making it possible to compare the account information of o ne institution to that of the other, while also enabling the evaluation of the accounts for the basis of taxation. With a uniform layout of institutional accounts, it is possible to determine the revenues and the expenditures incurred by the institutions, while understanding the accounting and taxation policies applicable. Thirdly, Baxter presents a view that another subject matter of accounting standards is disclosure (Baxter, 1979 n.p.). This, according to him, entails the revelation into particular details of certain accounting aspects, where the reader of the final results is expected to make their own judgments. One such component that calls for disclosure is depreciation, which is an element that seeks the percentage change in value of an asset over time, in terms of the diminishing asset

Costing and Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Costing and Economics - Essay Example Prevention Costs: The planned costs incurred by an organization to ensure that errors are not made at any of the various stages during the delivery process of that product or service to a customer. The delivery process may include design, development, production and shipping. Examples of prevention costs include education and training, continuous improvement efforts, quality administration staff, process control, market research, field testing and preventive maintenance. Failure Costs: The costs incurred by a company because the product or service did not meet the requirements and the product had to be fixed or replaced or the service had to be repeated. These failure costs can be further subdivided in to two groups - Internal or External failures. Internal failures include all the costs resulting from the failures that are found before the product or service reaches the customer. Examples include scrap, rework, extra inventory, repair stations, re-design, salvage, corrective action reports and overtime due to nonconforming product or service. External failures are all the costs incurred by the company resulting when the customer finds the failure. These external failure costs do not include any of the personal costs of the customer. Examples of these costs include warranty, customer complaint administration, replacement product, recalls, shipping costs, analysis of warranty data, customer follow-up and field service departments. b) Relationship between Failure Costs and Prevention Costs: The following sketch illustrates that actual performance can fall short of customer satisfaction either because of quality of design failure or because of conformance quality failures. Actual Design Customer Performance Specifications Satisfaction Conformance Quality Quality of Design Failure Failure Conformance Quality refers to the performance of a product or service relative to its design and product specifications. For example, if a photocopying machine mishandles paper or breaks down, it fails to satisfy conformance quality. Products not conforming to specifications must be repaired, reworked, or scrapped at an additional cost to the organization. If non conformance errors remain after the product is shipped and the product breaks down at the customer site even greater repair costs as well as the loss of customer good will (often the highest quality cost) may result. Since as outlined above, there exists a strong relationship between prevention costs and failure costs, to ensure that actual performance achieves customer satisfaction companies must first design products to satisfy the customers through quality of designs, and they must then meet design specifications though conformance quality. Thus it may be seen that there is a direct relationship between the prevention cos t and failure costs and if the prevention costs are not taken care of by the company, it may lead to the incurring of additional quality costs in the form of internal or external failure costs.

Secure Networking Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Secure Networking Technologies - Essay Example Furthermore the paper would also state the methods to mitigate the effects of these threats that have been suggested by various authors and experts. The results of the research have proven a few things. The first finding is that switches and routers are some of the safest devices that are used to connect two different networks or different parts of a network. Other than that firewalls must always be obtained from authentic vendors, as there are individuals who disguise malware in the form of firewalls to gain access to personal computers. The third finding is regarding IDPS. These systems are relatively new and more research needs to be carried out before these systems are perfected and made available for use by the mass population. Securing Networks Introduction The invention of internet brought with it multiple opportunities. Internet helped people share, store and manage data in a completely new way. Access to data became easier and faster than ever before. Where many saw internet as a tool to benefit mankind others saw the internet as a tool to gain unauthorized access to private data. ... Moreover this paper would also suggest various methods with which these threats and vulnerabilities could be mitigated. Network switches and routers Main features and functions: Switch is a device used for the purposes of telecommunication that connects various network parts of a network to each other or connects a particular device to the network. A switch receives signals from a particular device and sends those signals to the device for which they were meant. This is one of the reasons why switches are more popular than hubs. Switches are crucial to the working of Local Area Networks (LAN) with a number of switches being a part of an average sized LAN topology (DiMarzio, 2001). The switch creates a different collision domain for every port on the network by working at the data link layer of the OSI model. That means that conversations between two different pairs of users would not be hindered with the use of a switch. Using a full duplex channel the two different pairs of users ca n even communicate with each other (DiMarzio, 2001). Routers on the other hand are used to connect two or more than two different networks to each other. Once the router receives the data packet it reads the address on the packet that informs the router where the packet has to go. Once the address is extracted the router uses its routing table to determine the network address of the packet’s destination. Form the above stated functions one can say that the router directs all the traffic on the network. The process of directing a data packet continues until the packet reaches the node it was meant for (The TCP/IP Guide, 2005). When more than one router is used to

Risk Management at the Olympic Games

Risk Management at the Olympic Games Strategising to Moderate Risk at Mega Events: the case of Olympic Games Abstract The management of risk at mega events is the focus of this dissertation. The framework for criticality of risk areas is identified through a literature review in the chosen domain of Olympics as an instance of mega events. The study looks at different areas of risk and examines assertions made in online archived articles in the public domain. The dissertation uses web based archival resources to acquire such articles using judgmental sampling. Content analysis is the method of analyses complemented by analysis of variance and correlation analysis. Reflecting on discussion on risk, and on the orientation of shortcomings and prescriptions in articles used as data -is the empirical basis for the study. The implications emphasize a greater role for the host city communities the risk and benefits are central to minimizing risks in planning and implementation. The importance of such moderation in alliancing and orientation is also found to be beneficial for the organizers of mega events. The study is limited in scope due to sample size and accessibility issues but delivers to the two research questions it is based on, draws out key implications for risk management, and also, reflects on the Games themselves as sequential settings that belong to a larger set of mega events. Such events due to their sequential nature of occurrence- have tremendous opportunity to learn for performance improvement. Preface This study has been helped tremendously by online portals as data sources especially Highbeam.com, and also, the House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts reports to do with Olympic Games. Guidance and orientation received from the University have been very helpful in organizing this study. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to friends and family for their co-operation during my busy days while conducting this study. Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Since the decision for revival of the Olympic movement at the behest of Baron Pierre de Coubertin in Sorbonne, in Paris in 1894, the Olympic movement has come a long way. After nearly fifteen hundred years the first games in Athens were held in 1896. The chronology has come a full circle with the Athens Games on 2004. Over this time frame the Olympic movement is a signifier of prestige and also political clout. However, as with all forms of growth and maturity in a continuously changing world problems and issues have reshaped time and again to challenge the smooth execution of Olympic Games and their perception in minds of the global audience whether it be the public or the governments or also, the sportsperson and organisers. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has made sure through instruments, producers, rules and routines that it controls the aspects of these mega events – the primary focus being to maintain them not only as the top sporting event but also ‘the ’ mega-event that has no comparable competitor (Hill, 1992). This mandate of size, scope and ambition brings with it an ever more complex environment. The risk of poor performance is associated with such complexity that is difficult to understand and distil into delivery concerns. The internal facets not withstanding, constant challenges like the unpredictability but at the same time likelihood and associated concern of events such as acts of terrorism compound the interface with externalities. The impact of the socio-economic frame of reference at Game sites, the expectations of the IOC and other stakeholders on the reputation and legacy front et al., provide a platter that has a risk quotient attached to every aspect. The management of this risk is critical to carry the movement forward as a successful global phenomenon that brings together people in a fulfilling manner driven by healthy sporting camaraderie. This dissertation examines risk areas in Olympic Games with an objective to arrive at a risk framework and then derive the relative importance of different risk areas. Using evidence from published sources it also tries to contextualize shortcomings in management of such risk and potential solutions that can help moderate risk. In this frame of reference, the dissertation makes an implicit case for contextualizing and assessing learning from past experience, and the shape of the current schema of risk management for London Olympics, 2012. 1.2 Research Questions The central research questions that drive this study are as follows: 1. What is the relative critically of areas of risk that are associated with the Olympic Games? 2. What are the shortcomings in existing ways of managing risks? How can these shortcomings be addressed? 1.3 Dissertation Outline This chapter sets the mandate for the study and is followed by a literature review that looks at risk from a mega event perspective and in context of Olympic games in particular. The third chapter outlines the approach and methodology for this dissertation. Among other aspects of data and sample selection it provides a perspective of textual analysis and other allied techniques used for interpreting the same. The fourth chapter presents the research findings under different research questions. A relative criticality of risk areas based on the risk framework /typology in the literature review section is arrived at. The orientation of shortcomings and recommendations in the sample articles is also presented. The findings are then taken forward to a research discussion chapter where the implications of the findings are taken forward for Olympic Games as a case of mega events. The dissertation concludes by providing a snapshot of study achievements, limitations of the study, and leads for future research. Chapter 2. Literature Review 2.1. Introduction ‘Mega-events’ are way for cities, nations and economies to further their development agendas. Olympic Games no doubt belong to this fold of events and probably the most significant of them all. The reputational and economic effects on cities of hosting the Games have been well-documented (e.g., Andranovich, Burbank Heying, 2001; Miyazaki Morgan, 2001). However, there is much more work to be done in scoping the risk that is associated with these games. Aside from the fiscal debacle of the Montreal Olympics, right from the onset of the modern Olympics, critical situations have afflicted the games. Political factors have had a role to play with the Nazi bandwagon riding the 1936 Olympics, disruptions through the Wars, and also, anti-apartheid and cold war boycotts. Munich and Atlanta Olympics on the other hand encountered terrorism reshaping the security connotations forever (Burton, 2003). Hosting the Olympic Games requires a range actors and institutions to come together and the risk of management that such diversity brings with it is also considerable. While the rewards for the community remain high e.g., like being labeled an Olympic world class city the risks of failure are equally great both in the execution of the games, and the stigma that such failure may bring to the community, management and the government. Rationalizing, motivating and organizing remain key to risk control in addition to the unpredictable externalities that may impact such events (Ansell, 1997). In the next section I discuss the Risk from a perspective of distilling a typology that can closely approximate the numerous variables that associate with a mega event. There after I discuss Olympic risk in the specific context of Olympic Games and the games to be held in London in 2012. 2.2. Risk and Mega Events The idea of risk is very subjective and highly contingent on the situation and area in question. The understanding of risk as the probability of loss is very macro. This probability is sometimes complex to diagnose as the involved variables are subjective and the probability itself is to make it ambiguous-uncertain. Furthermore, risk is also a matter of significance and relative consequence that various negative influences bring upon an initiative or institution (Tannert et al, 2007). A discussion to arrive at a typology of risk that is comprehensive and suitable to be considered for mega event scenarios needs to start with Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). With its moorings in financial engineering of risk, ERM covers risk associated with all organisational and institutional silos whether insurance, financial or in general- operational issues. The detailed risk maps that inhabit the increased awareness about risk are now even more important especially in light of the externalities and unpredictable that have been re-emphasized in the aftermath of 9/11. These range from a risk typology that involves interest rates to even more subjective reputational risk aspects. Furthermore, risk is more associative and less silo-ed as the consequences ricochet for the whole organisation or institutional system that may comprise multiple organisational entities as in mega events – thus culminating into macro level strategic risk frame also (Ahlquist, 2003; Barnoff, 2004). Risk management can be seen at several levels in the case of institutional mechanisms (Quarantelli, 19988; Horlick-Jones et al.; 2001; Kunreuther et al. 1995; Tarlow, 2002): : Stemming from externalities with some predictability consensus associated with them. For instance, political-legal, economic, and also social Stemming from externalities with very less or no consensus on the predictability like natural calamities and terrorism (different from perceived likelihood. For instance, an act of terrorism may be likely but cannot really be predicted as against the earlier type!) Institutionalization and legacy risk Corporate/institutional risk that stems from integrating multiple parties into the management- decision frame. The challenge is to effectively work on negotiation and on the complex pattern of alignment of different stakeholder objectives. For instance, given multiple organisational systems that comprises institutional mechanisms for mega events. Reputational risk are a part of this risk in the main but also can stem from other types Operational risk -that could stem from supply chain management issues, sub-contracting issues, and work efficiency problems, among others. In the case of mega events another form of risk that has to do with the size and scope of the event, and is based on the premise that greater these are the more likely are the above likely to manifest themselves. This can be termed – ‘Event Complexity’ Risk (Ceniceros, 2001). Risk of managing information about risk is also an associated factor here. In the information age a lot of data is available on all risk related variables but this also makes the potential for complexity through multiple interpretations very likely. In the pursuit of information – intuition has lesser and lesser of a role to play. This becomes critical when the issue is of externalities with a low prediction quotient. 2.3. Risk at Olympic Games The idea of Olympism is ingrained in an institutional mechanism that integrates a legacy and numerous organisations when the legacy has to be taken forward in the form of other games. Beyond the exchanges and relationships that are contracted out to be economically meaningful the social, legacy and reputational aspects impart a â€Å"common meaning system† (Scott, 1995: 56). By extension the implications of risk become even more nuanced for Olympic Games. In part, because the baggage of ideology and thus the expectations being immense –more than probably any other mega event on the planet. The following snippets that emphasize this ‘expectation assertion’ and thus reflect not only on the nuanced nature of risk but also the risk of failure: The Olympic Games are subject to a most complex web of risk variables given the scope and expectations discussed so far. The categories of risk discussed in the previous section apply, and the aspect of ‘event complexity risk’ (Ceniceros, 2001) discussed before amplifies them in the context of Olympics. The legacy of Olympics marked by manifestation of externalities, strategic and operational issues all come together to shape an ever increasing concern for ‘things that can go wrong’ The Olympic Games are staged in collaboration with a given city. The consequences of how risk is managed are thus most important for the city and its people. The ramifications of course are nationwide. The connection is depicted in the naming of the Olympic Games Berlin 1936; Los Angeles 1984; Sydney 2000 et al.– it is the city that is associated with operationalisation of the Games, and also has its own mascot, emblem et al. The communities both in administration and in public domain of host cities provide for the direction to the initiative in the specificities of control that are given to a city. It is this localized application of the global and time established mandate of Olympics that initiates the formation strategies, operations , delivery mechanisms and the relationships that comprise them within the host city and beyond it also. Finally, in turn, this impacts the host city and all stakeholders beyond and within its frame of reference through the performance of the Games and the legacy the Games leave behind (Burbank, 2001). In the run to London 2012 risk management has become a much codified and dwelled upon feature. However political lobbying and public sentiments some times take attention away from it. For instance, during the bidding evaluation process the London transport system was seen as having serious problems by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) – this was given a back seat in subsequent evaluation exercise. While provisions for risk are formally made as for the 2012 games, the provisions are but only token in light of the heightened risks of terrorism. Athens 2004 in particular -was also marked by delayed, rather ‘dangerously just in time’ completion of facilities. The experience has resulted in the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) imposing a master schedule that supervised ongoing progress (Burbank, 2001; Jennings, 2006). Sponsors and license fees are a key component of revenues and in light of the failure to adequately protect these in Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 saw innovative strategies in place and the learning has continued to shape the delivery mechanism of the London 2012. Lessons from the past improve the delivery mechanism and the risk management apparatus, changing times require innovation to be continuous- proactive and not only in response to problems and failures of the past (Hamel, 1996). Increasingly most of the investment that is to help host the games is sold to the taxpayer as additional benefits or infrastructure improvements that would occur irrespective of winning the bid to host the games. Besides moderating most internal political and fiscal discontentment, this also contributes to ‘planning of a lasting tangible legacy’. This is one of the seven key risk areas identified by the House of Commons Committee of Public accounts (July, 2007). This list that highlights both the generic and specific concerns is adapted from the report with excerpts of comments from the House of Commons highlighting the nature of concern. It is important to note that many operational facets especially security span several of these listed areas like for instance ‘Coordination of the multiplicity of organizations and groups involved in the Games’ and ‘Delivering the Games against an immovable deadline’ among othersHouse of Commons (2007) The delivery of the London Olympic Games 2012 has been configured around two new bodies the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), and the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympics Games (LOCOG)- the former providing facilities, and the latter, staging the games. These bodies are supervised by the Olympic Board, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that comprises the Government Olympic. The number of bodies that link up to provide services feed into a complex supply chain which is not easily comprehendible but the delivery mechanism can be seen as follows: The complexity of the delivery mechanism and the even more nuanced supply chain has a knock on effect on the other listed factors- for example the timely delivery aspect is contingent upon the effectiveness of co-ordination. The timescale from securing the bid to eventual hosting is quite big- the resultant inflation and unpredictable external factors affect budgetary issues. On the other hand, the contractual procedures required to say for instance, harness fresh private sector funds make it cumbersome to source then with such re-estimates. One example of changing circumstances is heightened security risks that may also require re-estimates. The lottery money that is going into 2012 is being diverted from other just causes and such resource re-direction needs to come good in the future from surpluses created by the impetus of the games. Having a structured approach to supply chain management and recognizing the extensive processes that will be required to facilitate construction and reworks for instance- are key to effective management. Monitoring of progress via a steering group will help keep a check on the various cogs of the complex machine that also stems from the ‘master schedule’ requirement mentioned before (Jennings,2006). The lasting legacy issue is about reuse and sustainable orientation of facilities and infrastructural developments to generate a source of income over life. This is key to realizing long terms benefits from the impetus of the games. The discussion on the above that leads from the typology provided also suggests as range of micro factors that need to be put in context. As later in this dissertation – these micro factors that lie within the ambit of the typology are crucial to examine shortcomings and recommendations from web based archived publications. These micro risk areas can be listed as follows as mainly from the above discussion: Scheduling (the preparation flow from award of the games to being ready comfortably and in time) Infrastructure Quality (the quality of facilities and how customized they are to delivering the games) Sponsorship (a resource bracket that is not only about monetary issues but also to a degree about sanction) Licensing issues (the arrangements to appropriate services and rents) Security (issues to do with management of crowds in the old days now primarily about terrorism) Legacy (the impressionistic statements the Games make on the city-nation and the Games themselves) Resource opportunity cost (in light of other good causes) Coordination (in delivery) Extant literature that has dwelled on shortcomings and recommendations across some of these areas hints at resourcing, sanction from top and public support as driving variables towards addressing shortcomings related to the aforesaid areas. Toohey and Taylor (2007) for instance, have highlighted the role of public sentiments in shaping response to threats of terrorism. The impact of how fear, anger, optimism, and pessimism as attributes of such sentiment translate into the public ‘buying in’ to the organisers claims about the efficacy of security, were key as per their empirical analysis. In the risk management area the need for ‘special events to have special risk management’ mandates (Ceniceros, 2001) is propounded explicitly or implicitly in most literature. Such literature highlights the ‘event complexity’ issue that is a part of the typology propounded in this review based on literature. What such research also suggests is the need to be very explicit in fleshing out risk variables no matter how unconventional they may appear (McGee, 2006; Roche, 2006). The unconventionality is what has required me to distill a novel framework in typology and in micro areas in this literature review – to be examined and validated in the later chapters In the subsequent chapters I examine the Risk associated with Olympic Games. This is done in two complementary ways. I examine the perceptions about risk in recent past through a methodologically embedded analysis and then draw implications largely in context of the prospective frame London Olympics 2012. While the former provides for a perspective on relative criticality of risk areas, and how shortcomings and recommendations associated with it are tabled the latter provides a platform to contextualize the findings. In the parts of the dissertation to follow -data sources for this analysis and a detailed methodology are provided prior to analysis and findings of the study. Chapter 3. Approach Methodology 3.1. Introduction This dissertation is based on secondary data sources. Web based archival documents, and also literature that provides narratives of different Olympic Games have been used. In some cases, references to changes in the delivery mechanism in the aftermath of a critical incident in the preceding games, form basis to reflect on the genesis of approaches to risk management. In others, which are a majority, author perception and orientation are taken as an indicator of the risk and shortcomings of risk management at the mega events of Olympic Games. A detailed methodology as described and illustrated in this chapter tries to work on these in a robust manner. The listed areas of risk in general for mega events and contextualised to London 2012 games in the literature review- are taken as the bedrock to flesh out different factors that associate with each area. There are overlapping and micro factors like private funds generation, contractual arrangement for physical assets and security- but these have been worked at in an aggregated manner under the risk typology proposed. Some specific discussion on these follows under the findings section but the focus remains to generate a holistic risk perspective as per the research questions of this dissertation. An analysis based on web based published material using content analysis or textual analysis (as archival text is the frame of reference) informs this dissertation. This is on a sample of articles in leading newspapers and periodicals on Olympics Games. The content analysis technique will make use of phrases, concepts, and their meaning to elucidate which are prime areas relating to risk concern and how the related factors are perceived. There is an opportunity to see cultural variations not only over time but over samples that belong to different parts of the world but the lack in spread in articles has defeated this additional objective – not affecting the addressal of the research questions. Textual analysis bases itself on the extent of occurrence and also on the implied meaning as in opinions voiced and intended (Lecompte et al., 1992). The data codes generated have been processed using statistical tools as described later in the chapter. As stated, after presenting the r esearch findings in the chapter to follow, the relative criticality of risk factors is discussed primarily in light of London 2012 and mega events in general later in this dissertation. 3.2. Data The sample of popular newspaper and periodical articles under content-textual analysis was expected to be about 50 over the last five years, given that we need to examine contemporary- relative importance of risk areas and factors. I have been able to locate 51 articles that are of relevance after going through nearly 200 articles to generate this shortlist. The sampling can thus be classified as judgmental. As mentioned, a regional classification was also intended but lack of articles that were comparable from the Asian and African perspective did not allow for this. The popularity weighing has also been done away with given this modification in selection criteria brought upon by access and availability issues – new criteria drawing to some degree on discourse architecture by a lead thinker in the field of semiotics- Foucault as described later is used for assigning weights. Archival information from the House of Commons Committee of Public accounts (HC) is available and upda ted version(s) have been used to support the comparison between content analysis findings and the risk assessment schema that exists. Though the Beijing games in 2008 were kept out of the frame of reference as material on these was rather limited, and also because the prospective frame was intended to be the London Olympics- some articles inevitably referred to the forthcoming Beijing Games as well. 3.3. Textual Analysis Textual analysis is a form of content analysis where archival text is the platform for distilling meanings and implications. This includes online material. The analyses includes a perspective on the ‘intended’ vs. the ‘visible’ meanings and also the environment and players who enact the ‘transaction’ of the message.(Babbie, 1997). Textual analysis thus works in a frame of reference that seems to stem from ‘Semiotics’ of the study of meanings ( Bignell, 1997), is key to understanding such analytical approach. This is profiled here to draw on concepts that can be reflected in coding of the textual data. Roland Barthes (1915-1980) is the first key thinker here of course building upon the basics of semiotics propounded by Saussure (Barthes, 1954, 1967, 1975). He speaks of certain levels at which meanings are pegged – the explicit sign actually indicates a deeper meaning or implication. Among many others’ Michael Foucault is another important thinker – his views on the ‘context’ and the manner in which ‘discourse’ gets shaped both across time and within a given situation at a point in time have been much cited (Groden Kreiswirth 1994). 3.4. Methods in Analyses From the preceding discussion it can be summarised that the following are useful in setting out works for textual analysis: (Barthes amongst others) – looking at deeper meanings (Foucault) – looking at lineage and moorings support from past expressions The characteristics of the web based published articles are as below for profiling the analysis to give a snapshot of how the analysis has been conducted They are a form of written text that arise both in response to previous postings and also independently in context of a phenomenon or event. To this extends the signs can be primary or secondary. For instance, critiquing claims about the efficacy of arrangements at the proposed game or just objectively stating the resource input into risk management and the claims about how these are going to affect the games They can be quasi –primary signs at a particular point in time as they may refer not directly to the event but follow a line of thought from previous events that had temporarily terminated in the past. So signs can manifest themselves in dormant forms till they are called into play again. For instance, semblance to arrangements in Olympic games that were held far in the past So going back to our classification of risk in the preceding chapter: Stemming from externalities with some predictability associated with them. For instance, political-legal, economic, and also social Stemming from externalities with very less or no consensus on the predictability like natural calamities and terrorism (as argued before : a likelihood there but prediction is not possible) Institutionalization and legacy risk Corporate/institutional risk that stems from integrating multiple parties into the management- decision frame. The challenge is to effectively work on negotiation and on the complex pattern of alignment of different stakeholder objectives. For instance, given multiple organisational systems that comprises institutional mechanisms for mega events. Reputational risk are a part of this risk in the main but also can stem from other types Operational risk that could stem from supply chain management issues, sub-contracting issues, and work efficiency problems In the case of mega events another form of risk that has to do with the size and scope of the event, and is based on the premise that greater these are the more likely are the above likely to manifest themselves. This can be termed – ‘Event Complexity’ Risk Demonstrating analyses for coding: I will take snippets (some parts of articles) from the postings used and reflect on them. From the discussion presented, in the main, I will keep in mind the base concepts of Semiotics as by Saussure, extended by Barthes and the explanation provided by Foucault that discontinuity and lineage are characteristic of every discursive statement or published text. Here I explain how the article has been looked at to draw coding for analyses. The source URL article produced here which is by Sally Jenkins in the Washington Post. Only some parts of the article are reproduced below as in quotes italics for this demonstration purpose. â€Å"†¦.The thing to do with the Athens Games is to believe in them until were absolutely forced not to. Anyone who has a chance to go to the Olympics is asking themselves a plain question: Is the trip worth it? The answer is plainly, yes, if only because of a principle best expressed in The Greek Way, by Edith Hamilton. She wrote something that all American athletes should take note of: Civilization, a much abused word, stands for a high matter quite apart from telephones and electric lights†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.This could be the motto of the Athens Games, given the delays in finishing stadiums, roads, and other infrastructure, and the explosion of three small bombs in the last two weeks. Nevertheless, its not a bad lesson, and its one that the more cosseted American athletes could use. In fact, maybe we could all do with some Greek culture†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦..Neither apparently do modern Greeks. Eighty percent of Greeks recently polled said they believe some kind of attack is inevitable. Fifty-two percent of Americans believe an attack is likely. U.S. Sen. Jon Kyle (R-Ariz.), the chairman of the Senate committee on terrorism, said the safest place to watch the Olympics is at home on television†¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦To date, no American athlete has withdrawn from the Games specifically because of security. But an NBA player is your best bet. The players are definitely concerned, Jermaine ONeal, the Indiana Pacers forward and a member of the U.S. team, told the Associated Press. Not even the Queen Mary seems to console Ray Allen, who cited the USS Cole, the American destroyer that was attacked by al-Qaeda in October 2002 and lost 17 sailors. The only thing I can think of, Allen said, is the battleship that got blown up†¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Hamilton wrote, For a hundred years Athens was a city where the great spiritual forces that war in mens minds flowed along together in peace; law and freedom, truth and religion, beauty and goodness, the objective and the subjective there was a truce to their eternal warfare and the result was the balance and clarity, the harmony and completeness, the word Greek has come to stand for . . . and in all Greek art there is an absence of struggle, a reconciling power, something of calm and serenity, the world has yet to see again. Or as an ancient poem says, Greece and her foundations are . . . built below the tide of war†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..† Source: When It Comes to Athens Youve Got to Be

Pay and Pay Detemination Essay -- Employment, Wages, Salaried Workers

The main intention of this essay is to discuss whether the wage earners and the salaried workers are paid according to market value, state edict, or the operational needs of the business and so forth. Indeed, Roberts (1972) implied that the labour cost associated with the pay matters can be the factors to pay determination, such as, affected to the legal regulations and political environments in specific nation, the dimensions view of labour forces and the decisions of the organization in top management. Why pay is important matters to workers, employers and the governments? Admittedly, pay is one of the most significant determinants of benefits to those who works and earns for living. So, to let the readers to understand more about the issue, the explanation on the key term, pay, will be the first and foremost. Generally, ‘pay’ can be referred to the wage and salary for the workforce, as the return of their efforts which putting into the work tasks. In reference to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘pay’ has several explanations, and the most relevant will be as ‘†¦give someone money that is due for work done, goods received, or a debt incurred†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢(Oxford University Press, 2011). Additionally, from the economic terms, there are four types of factors of production, namely as land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship, functioned to describe the input of resources and used to create goods and services (Lipsey and Chrystal, 1999; Vengedasalam and Madhavan, 2007). In more specific terms, derived from the terms as above, ‘labour’, combined together with the terms of pay, this can be decoded that the labour forces have been charged and received their wages and salaries for the labour services that they provided to the employers. As Edwa... ...: In the early age, as the record from Kahn-Freund (1954 cited in Dickens and Hall ,2003, p.125), he quoted that by a leading academic lawyer’s comment about the limited role of British employment law in the period from 1870 to 1960s, as ‘There is, perhaps, no major country in the world in which the law has played a less significant role in the shaping of industrial relations than in Great Britain and in which today the law and legal profession have less to do with labour relations’. Although such statements verified that the legislation during that time has not comprehensive enough to cover the issues of industrial relations, this implied that the laws can play a vital role to such matter, bring more and more significant impacts when more and more areas are covered. So, the following will discuss about the way s of the state intervention directly and indirectly.

The Battle Against Human Trafficking in Europe : Policy Evaluation

The Battle Against Human Trafficking in Europe: Policy Evaluation Samira Misra Webster University Abstract This paper seeks to evaluate the policies of the European Union directed at combatting human trafficking in all its forms. The current plans of the European Commission and the United Nations are presented, and the rationale behind them is scrutinized. Research shows that the European Union recognizes the problem of human trafficking as a complete denial of human rights, and proposes action to bring to justice the responsible persons.The European Unions perspective is one based on the pillars of democracy: freedom, transparency, the law, and security. This paper argues that the aforementioned perspective is not sufficient in ameliorating the situation. It proposes a broader approach to the construction and design of a comprehensive strategy, encompassing the root causes underlying human trafficking, as well. The chief weaknesses of current policy appear to be its implementation, and EU wide co-ordination.With the identification of these weaknesses, this paper proposes significant reform by regulatory agencies for tangible action against the catastrophic reality of the trafficking trade. Ana, a girl from Quito, Ecuador fell in love with her husband at the young age of 20. What she thought would be the best decision of her life, ended up leading her to living in a nightmare. Her husband worked at a brothel in Quito, hiding his profession from Ana. Ana left her husband, along with her toddler, and moved in with her mother jobless. She soon met the owner of a small salon, a lady who would talk about Europe, and the lifestyle of the people there.Ana quickly became starry-eyed and accepted an offer to move to Paris to make money. She was completely unaware of what lay ahead. When she reached Paris, she came to know that no job awaited her, other than prostituting herself on the streets to pay back her debts for her trip to Paris. Her pimps collected most of the m oney she made, and escape was too risky as the trafficking networks were systematic and even connected with law enforcement. Ana did not return to Ecuador for three years, and lived her life, risking it every single day just to make ends meet. This is only ne of thousands of horror stories of the victims of human trafficking (Knierim, 2012). According to the United Nations Office of Drugs & Crime (UNODC), human trafficking is defined as the: The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, s lavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. (UNODC, 2012). The sex trafficking industry has become the fastest growing industry in the world, and offenders continue to slip between the cracks of the legislative system (UNHCR, 2010). Data indicates that the number of trafficked victims detected in 2006, in West and Central Europe was 7,300 (UNODC, 2006, p. 229).Transcrime suggests a multiplier of 20 for every victim detected, which means that it is estimated that the actual statistic is 20 times what is known, This leads to a possible statistic of 140,000 victims in Europe. It is hard to say what should cause greater concern, the staggering numbers (which are a conservative estimation), or the fact that the trafficking industry continues to boom. Most trafficked victims in Europe come from Balkan countries, and from Russia. Europe also shows the largest number of nationalities of victims than any other region of the world.Victims are recruited into the sex trafficking trade through force, misrepresentation, false promises and coercion. Young, vulnerable women are lured into traps through promises of opportunities such as jobs, study abroad programs, modelling careers, vacations and the like. Research shows that acquaintances, friends or relatives largely conduct recruitment within Europe. (UNODC, 2010, p. 225) Human trafficking is a deeply complex, and multi-faceted issue. It has three main dimensions: criminal, human rights, and socio-economic.In order to effectively combat human trafficking in the European Union, measures that tackle all aspects need to be devised and implemented. This essay will seek to illustrate that the European policies thus far have taken a very limited viewpoint to the challenges of trafficking, and need to extend their vision to incorporate solutions to the root causes of the sex trade. In the first part of this paper, the policies (to date) to fight trafficking will be examined, as well as the rational e they stem from.The second part will identify the main problems with these policies, and propose changes necessary for the EU to effectively confront the prevalence of trafficking. European Union Policy European Commission In the past decade, the widespread problem of human trafficking has gained increasing media attention. However, this rise in media coverage does not imply an increased effort for measures to be taken. Rather, it triggers a false sense that enough is being to combat trafficking. Yet still, few nations remain immune to its adverse effects. Most countries are source countries, transit countries, or destination countries.It is important to note that within Europe, every nation has its own policy framework against the issue, but scrutinizing each system is beyond the scope of this research paper. For the argument, which this essay seeks to propose, it is more useful to examine the policies of European organizations dedicated solely to trafficking. The discussion will be a chronological presentation of the steps taken by the European Union. The role of the European Commission (EC) is to propose legislation in the collective interest of the EU, as well as assist in its implementation.Usually, the commission initiates legislation to meet requirements under EU treaties. In May 2003, under the Brussels Declaration on human trafficking, a policy framework was introduced, which recognized the importance of addressing the human rights violations of trafficking that threatened the freedom and security of victims. It called for cooperative action on regional, national, and international levels by governments, regulatory bodies and NGOs. Thereafter, in 2004 a EU directive was issued Directive2004/81), and introduced a â€Å"reflection period† in which victims could recover without being deported for illegal migration. If they decided to cooperate with enforcement officials and provided concrete information about their traffickers, they would be gran ted a temporary residence permit through which they could pursue education and career opportunities (European Commission, 2004, p. 261). Although the EC released some policy statements between 2004 and 2011, there were very few noticeable changes in strategy. More recently, the EC has taken a supposedly comprehensive initiative against this phenomenon.In 2011, the European Parliament established a framework outlining legal punitive measures concerning trafficking offences, as well as preventive measures to aid victims (Directive2011/36/EU). Under this policy, offenders of trafficking (including partial participants aiding in the process) were subject to five to ten years of imprisonment depending on the crimes they committed. Furthermore, the Directive stated, â€Å"Member States may decide not to prosecute or impose penalties on victims  of trafficking in human beings for their involvement in criminal activities which they have been compelled to commit. † (European Commiss ion, 2011, p. 01). The aftercare procedures consisted of the possible provision of accommodation, medical care, and interpretation and translation services. Children were required to receive psychological assistance and access to education. All victims were required to be protected sufficiently from abusers and trauma. Preventive measures highlighted by Directive2011/36/EU included education and awareness initiatives, and training for police in identification of offenders and victims. The main improvement in this directive from the last version was that it had broadened the definition of trafficking to include more forms of exploitation.The Directive2011/36/EU demonstrates an approach largely concerned with the criminal and human rights violation aspects of human trafficking, but ignores the circumstantial aspect (the socio-economic conditions which lead people to trafficking). According to the Directive’s understanding, trafficking of persons is first and foremost an absolut e negation of basic human rights for the immense physical and psychological abuse endured by victims. Secondly, it is a criminal offense (or several) on the part of the ffenders, as they partake in heinous crimes of violence, oppression, and cruelty, which trivialize the worth of a human life. The latest strategy was released in June 2012, when the EC adopted the, â€Å"EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings (2012-2016). † This strategy essentially puts forward detailed concrete steps to meet the aims of the previous Directive2011/36/EU. Main objectives of the agenda are identification and protection of victims, increased legal action against offenders, enhanced coordination and cooperation of states in policy implementation, and increased preventive measures.The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings can only be analyzed conceptually for shortcomings as it has just been put into place. However, despite periodic revision s, it is clear that the EC’s view remains essentially unchanged. The outlook continues to be concerned with law enforcement and organized crime (European Commission, The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings, p. 4-6). United NationsOther than the EC, the United Nations also recognizes human trafficking as a pressing concern for the international community, and acknowledges its duty to mobilize Member States to act against it. In 2002, the UN TIP Protocol (also known as Palermo Protocol) was adopted by the United Nations to â€Å"†¦prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children† (U. N, 2002, p. 1). In December 2003, this protocol came into effect, signed by 117 countries. The UNODC is responsible for upholding the Palermo protocol.Additionally, the UNODC launched its Blue Heart Campaign, directed at increasing awareness and involvement in combatting the trafficking trade. Evaluation Sex trafficking i s a complex issue, which requires an in-depth analysis and understanding of the various dimensions of the problem. The phenomenon of trafficking is immoral and unethical on numerous counts, and therefore the fight against it must confront them all. After a closer insight into the sex trade, it can be reiterated that there are socio-economic, criminal and uman rights standards our society is based on, all of which human trafficking neglects. This section identifies the key loopholes in current anti-trafficking procedures. Data Collection A rather significant issue, which inherently cripples the efficiency of policy-making, is the lack of data on human trafficking. This expresses a concern not with the content of the policies, but rather with the construction of policies, as knowledge of the nature of trafficking remains incomplete. â€Å"Concrete, reliable data on human trafficking is an essential basis for all good programs, interventions, policy and legislation.Without this data i t is not possible to know the extent or the true nature of the trafficking problem, nor understand the complexity of the issues involved. As a result, practitioners and policy-makers are unable to act and react appropriately and effectively†(International Centre for Migration Policy Development, 2008, p. 205). There are several reasons for the dearth of empirical data and statistics. Perhaps the most noteworthy reason is the unwillingness of victims to come forward and report the crimes committed against them.This is because they fear for their personal safety, or fear being prosecuted for crimes such as illegal immigration, prostitution or drug abuse. In extreme cases, victims are monitored by offenders and do not have the access to law enforcement. Other contributing factors are obstacles in legal frameworks, poor data collection methodologies, and reluctance of agencies to share their information. This undermines the foundation upon which policies are devised. Approach to c ombatting trafficking EC policies against trafficking largely ignore problems such as gender inequality, race and class differences.The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that 43% of trafficking victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of which 98% are female (ILO, 2008, p. 3). Although Europe has long recognized the importance of gender equality, it does not view the problem of human trafficking as representative of gender inequality. Trafficking predominantly affects women, and it is because women are disadvantaged compared to men in society, that they are more susceptible to becoming victims. The leading cause of trafficking is the desperate need of potential victims to flee from poor standards of living.Presently, the EU is not taking sufficient measures to support the empowerment of disadvantaged (impoverished, uneducated, ethnic minorities, etc. ). The harsh EU migration and border laws limit the options women have for better prospects. This ca n (sometimes) be the reason for women seeking illegitimate and unregulated forms of escape. The argument propositioned here, is that thus far, the EU has taken a closed view of trafficking, and has designed policies aimed at short- term â€Å"band aid† solutions, and has failed to devise long term strategies to eliminate the conditions which cause people to resort to risky and life-threatening behavior.In addition, these short- term policies are not gender responsive either, and lack mechanisms to help women (specifically) overcome their susceptibility to such crimes. Human trafficking is a result of a chain of events based on unjust social and economic environments, to which women frequently fall victim. Women are physically weaker and hence more vulnerable to physical harm. In addition, the cultural and societal norms (e. g. gender stereotypes, and social roles) that surround most women aggravate the likelihood of the exposure to crimes against them.As of now, gender equali ty policies apply mainly to EU citizens, whereas most victims of trafficking are non- EU citizens. It is counterproductive to have policies seeking to ensure equal rights, which fail to extend to outsiders (even illegal immigrants). Current anti-trafficking measures have been said to be â€Å"collateral damage†, as they explicitly authorize government action against victims such as deportation, and prosecution for petty crimes (Uhl, 2010, p. 122). These ostensibly supportive measures are in effect punitive for women and discourage them from seeking help.Surprisingly, nearly half of trafficking recruiters are also women. Female victims, desperate to find an escape from the unfathomable abuse, become exploiters over time (UNODC, 2010, p. 227). Policies addressing the socio-economic problems faced by women in areas of unemployment, welfare, education, immigration etc. would empower them, and prove more productive in tackling the issue from preventive, punitive and rehabilitative aspects. In essence, the European Union fails to recognize that human trafficking is partially the end result of societal gender inequalities.Although there are separate initiatives battling gender inequality, under social agendas, the European Union can ‘kill two birds with one stone’ by incorporating these measures in fighting trafficking as well. Rathgeber (2002) asserts, â€Å"Integrated and operational structures need to be developed†¦to counteract the feminization of poverty (p. 163). Academic critics of European trafficking policies (such as Rathgeber and Askola) endorse integration of strategy and procedures to overcome social gaps such as economic class, gender, or race. LegislationThe next key shortcoming in the European policy is the implementation of legislation. Although laws have been passed deeming trafficking of humans as punishable, few nations have used them to convict perpetrators. The implementation of the law so far has been lacks, which coul d only have further discouraged victims to come forward and testify. Despite the European Commissions view of trafficking from a crime and justice standpoint, enforcement officers are not equipped with the proper tools for identification and protection of victims, and not all legal institutions are equipped with legislative frameworks.Frequently, victims are offered through front businesses such as beauty salons, massage parlors or escort services, which make it hard for police officers to diagnose as trafficking rings. The United States Department of Health & Human Services (2008) reports that often victims do not consider themselves to be victims, because they are unaware of their rights and are kept too isolated from communication to be informed of the action they can take. In addition, in Eastern European countries, as well as a few others, trafficking rings are so well connected, that they branch as far out as law enforcement authorities.This could mean that police officials ar e willing to either turn a blind eye to, or participate in criminal activity. In order to have legislation actually serve its purpose, European policies must categorize concrete ways for the identification of offenders and victims. Law enforcement agencies assume that there are clear, visible signs of trafficking activity such as locked doors, low sanitary standards, same working and living space, etc. Rather than relying on superficial symptoms like these, Uhl (2010) suggests that victims can be better detected through a profile, or characteristics based on demography and behavior (p. 23). Identification ties back into being able to recognize that particularly vulnerable slice of society- uneducated and poverty stricken. Legal measures should also guarantee the protection of victims from criminal prosecution and not leave it to the judgment of the enforcement officer, or circumstances. The current Directive does not state this as a requirement, and these grey areas are considerable obstructions to effective execution of justice. According to the UNODC, law enforcement bodies also do not place sufficient priority on charging offenders, as they are aware that it rarely results in a conviction.A large majority of victims and witnesses are deported, or locked up for crimes, which makes their statements unusable in court proceedings. In addition, offenders disappear under the radar and are known to flee the country as well. The failure of legislation is result of other shortcomings, rather than a shortcoming in itself. Each inefficiency snowballs to make the presence of legislative tools futile. Harmonization It seems sound to assume that the European Commissions policies reflect uniform standards between nations because they claim to act in the interest of the European Union.However, this is not the case. Although, the EC has the same anti-trafficking strategy for all its members, different states interpret and enforce the policy differently, and some states simp ly do not uphold the EU standard. The absence of co-ordination and co-operation is yet another way in which convicted offenders escape investigation in court. The initial intention of the strategy is lost across borders, as states continue to pick and choose slices of strategy to administer.This is principally dependent on the level of regulation in each country, as well as on national priorities. In several source countries, especially in the Balkans, corruption is widespread and dishonest officials often work with traffickers or turn a blind eye to unlawful acts (Rathgeber, 2002, p. 153). By definition, what constitutes trafficking also varies from country to country. Some definitions include several forms of exploitation (e. g. bad labor conditions), while others only deal with more severe forms.Therefore, the Directive, which is supposed to tackle the same form of trafficking in a dependable way across nations, ends up being translated to suit specific national standards such as border control, labor conditions, migration law, and sexual morality (Askola, 2007, p. 214). A tentative solution is the establishment of a regulatory legislative body in charge of enforcing the correct application of strategies of the European Commission. Its branches should be established in Member States to regularly monitor execution in accordance with the EU standards.Moreover, the strategies need to avoid ambiguities, which encourage nations to modify implementation. The Directive2004/81 allows for authorities to determine whether temporary residence should be granted or not, based on specific circumstances. In having such loopholes, enforcement bodies become more occupied with the determination of these circumstances, and less with the primary objective of assistance and rehabilitation. European countries have shown limited understanding of trafficking as an issue in itself, despite all the research and analysis there is available on the subject.When examining European Commi ssion approaches to social and economic discrepancies across EU nations, it is evident that there are programs in place, which are built with the primary purpose of establishing equality, and eradicating hierarchy based on gender and class. However, these steps have been relatively ineffective, and lack synchronization across borders. Trafficking is one of the outcomes of the failure of the EU’s measures against poverty, income inequality, lack of welfare and benefit programs, and social services for children, education opportunities, psychotherapy and medical assistance, and rehabilitation.It is these dire circumstances that create desperation for money and through it, the prospect of an improvement in living standards. Conclusion Human trafficking is a problem, interlinked to several existing social, political, geographical and economic disadvantages. In order to formulate a comprehensive response to control the proliferation of trafficking, and the tragic outcomes on victi ms, the European Union must pay heed to the social and economic root causes.The strategies of the past decade reflect a generally conservative approach, as well as one that deals with trafficking as a problem in it, rather than a problem resulting from several other problems. There is little real improvement in the progressive refinement of EU policies. The European Commission has recognized the scope of the problem, and urgency to combat human trafficking, yet the measures are proving unsuccessful. Rather than portraying human trafficking as merely a variation of organized crime, it is critical to acknowledge its social, political, economic and criminal aspects as well.Human trafficking is an outcome of failed social measures, ones that are not directed to fighting the conditions from which it arises. Synchronization and coordination between European nations are the first steps to remodeling strategy design and enhancing the influence of legislation. Gender sensitivity and assistan ce to women should be a top priority in EU policy, to help women shift from their underprivileged position in society. From an evaluative perspective, until these actions are taken, we are likely to see iterative adjustments to current EU policies with little advancement in the right direction.References Askola, H. (2007). Violence against women, trafficking, and migration in the European Union. European Law Journal, 13(2), 204-217. Doi:10. 1111/j. 1468-0386. 2007. 00364. x Cochintu, I. , Tutunaru, L. , Stoicu, N. , & Valea, D. (2011). International cooperation against human trafficking. Juridical Current, 14(2), 78-86. Nieuwenhuys, C. , & Pecoud, A. (2007). Human trafficking, information campaigns, and strategies of migration control. American Behavioral Scientist, 50(12), 1674-1695. Rathgeber, C. (2002). The victimization of women through human trafficking – An aftermath of war?.European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law & Criminal Justice, 10(2/3), 152-163. doi:10. 1163/15718 1702401475340 Skrivankova, K. (2006). Combating trafficking in human beings. International Review of Law, Computers & Technology, 20(1/2), 229-232. doi:10. 1080/13600860600705135 Surtees, R. (2008). Handbook on anti-trafficking data collection in south-eastern Europe: Developing Regional Criteria. Uhl, B. (2010). Lost in implementation? Human rights rhetoric and violations — A critical review of current European anti-trafficking policies. Security & Human Rights, 21(2), 119-126. Action against trafficking in human beings. † 47 Countries – 800 million citizens – Council of Europe. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . Communication from the commission to the European parliament, the council, the European economic and social committee and the committee of the regions. (2012). European Commission Strategy Directive 2011/36/EU of the European parliament and of the Council: On preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its Victims and repl acing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA. 2011). Official Journal of the European Union. â€Å"Europe & Me – Human Trafficking in Europe†. Europe & Me Magazine . N. p. , n. d. Web. 14 Dec. 2012. . â€Å"La Strada International. † La Strada International. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. . Trafficking in persons to Europe for sexual exploitation. (2011). Trends in Organized Crime, 14(2/3), 224-234. doi:10. 1007/s12117-011-9136-y