Thursday, October 31, 2019

Law - Family Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Law - Family Law - Essay Example This paper seeks to discuss some elements of family law and its legal principles. The paper will explore the subject of marriage, separation, and divorce with the aim of advising a party to a case. Facts Samira, a ‘nineteen-year-old’ got married to Devesh when she was still sixteen years old. Devesh was then 22. Their respective parents organized the marriage, and Samira and Devesh did not meet each other until their wedding day. The marriage was against Samira’s wish as she was in love with another person, Clay, who had a different cultural background. She knew that her parents would not approve of her marriage to Clay and agreed to their planned marriage in order to avoid conflict with her family. Her decision was further influenced by the isolation that she would be subjected to by both her family and the entire society for disobeying her parents to marry Clay and not Devesh. Even though Samira decided to forget about Clay and settle in her marriage, she inform ed Devesh of her then existing relationship, a fact that affected Devesh and has been a turbulent element in their marriage. Both parties decided to work out their marriage for the sake of their families. Samira has however started seeing Clay who wants her to cohabit with him. She now believes that her family can accept Clay if they get married but fears the possibility of isolation for divorcing Devesh. Issues 1. Validity of the marriage, whether the marriage is valid or voidable 2. Termination of the marriage, whether Samira is able to terminate the marriage and by which means 3. Possible defences against termination of the marriage and whether they can succeed in the case 4. Possible remedies 5. Breach of marriage obligations prior to termination Ruling and advice 1. Validity of the marriage One of the fundamental principles in family law is the existence of a legal marriage. Based on the contractual aspects of a marriage, it can be valid, void, or voidable. This is because a ma rriage is an agreement and is regulated by laws of contract. While a divorce is dissolution of a legal marriage, an annulment refers to pronouncement of lack of a legal marriage between two parties. Annulment is a consequence of a union, in the form of a marriage that was either void or voidable. Oliphant and Steegh define a voidable marriage as one that is considerably legal until an order is issued to its nullification by a judicial process (Oliphant and Steegh, 2007, p. 48). One of the conditions that may render a marriage voidable is lack of contractual capacity of the parties (Stark, 2005, p. 17). Being a legally binding agreement, marriage is largely regulated by the law of contract. Contractual capacity of the parties is therefore an essential element in determining validity of a marriage. Either under the general principles of a contract, a party lacks contractual capacity if the party is a minor, is intoxicated or if the person is in sane. Contracts entered into by these pa rties are therefore considered as either voidable or void. Voidable agreement can however be ratified by the disadvantaged party at discretion. Samira therefore stands a high chance of annulling the marriage as was held in the case of Pazpenda De Vire v Pazpenda De Vire that presumptions of a legal marriage are rebuttable on strong grounds. Her minority age is a strong basis for rebutting existence of a legal marriage (Helewitz, 2010, p. 124- 127; Bainham, 2003, p. 165). The extent to

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Child labor in India & Peru Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Child labor in India & Peru - Essay Example One of the key reasons as to why children are being used in the force labor is to support their families due to poverty and other conditions. Lack of schooling and inadequate financial resources, caste system and other socioeconomic conditions force parents to engage their children in child labor Peru is another country with one of the worst records in terms of the child labor, however, its government is believed to be working towards the implementation of strategy to overcome this. What is critical to note that children in Peru are working under the hazardous conditions and are being employed mostly in the agriculture and mining sector? Recent data suggests that approximately 68% of the children under the working age are being employed in various sectors with majority being employed in the agriculture and mining sector. In agriculture sector, children are mostly assumed to be working for growing rice, sugarcane, barley and other crops indicating that the children may be involved in the hard labor wherein they may be forced to work in areas where they may not be suitable for this type of hard labor. The herding of livestock is another area where children are being employed or forced to work. (Bekele and Boyden). It is however, critical to note that most of the forced child labor in the country is in gold mines as mining is the second largest area where children are employed as workers. It is critical to note, however, that the working conditions in the gold mines are relatively difficult and hard for children.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Evolutionary relationships between organisms

Evolutionary relationships between organisms What makes a good character when determining evolutionary relationships between organisms? Phylogenetics is the study of evolutionary relationships and the history between species. Phylogenetic trees can be used to illustrate phylogenetics. It is important in showing the gradual changes that have occurred between organisms which has caused one species to develop into the next. Without phylogenetic trees we would not be able to trace back to common ancestors and discover from whereabouts certain characters have emerged. Biological species is the most widely accepted definition of a species; individuals that can interbreed with each other to produce fertile offspring. It is directed more towards the idea of interbreeding. The morphological species concept, on the other hand, is based on the appearance of the organism rather than their ability to interbreed. This concept should only be used when the biological species concept cannot be used, for example when fossils are the only obtainable evidence as the organism no longer exists. A character is a feature that separates one species from another using the morphological species concept or behavioural or molecular attributes. A morphological example would be the presence or absence of a tail. To determine whether a character is good or less-good, the organism and its habitat must be taken into account. A good character will increase the chance of a species survival. The presence of wings in birds is clearly advantageous as all birds have wings. A less-good character to use would be one that is not so commonly found throughout the animal kingdom, indicating that it has no real advantage, for example hair found only on mammals. Shared ancestral characters and shared derived characters have an effect on phylogenetic trees. A shared ancestral character is where the common ancestor of a taxon has that particular character and has passed it on to its descendants. A shared derived character is where a character evolves and the common ancestor did not have that character. The shared derived character is what is needed to separate species when constructing a tree because it determines the evolutionary relationship. If systematists were to define humans using the character ‘hair it would be fairly useless as all non-human mammals also have hair, therefore making the character ‘hair in this case a shared ancestral character for humans. Systematists use parsimony to construct phylogenetic trees. Concerning phylogenetics, parsimony is the least complex and most likely evolutionary pathway. For example, it is more likely that a backbone only evolved once, producing vertebrates, rather than several times for many different species of vertebrate. To construct a phylogenetic tree the biological species concept can be used as well as the morphological one. Systematists use characters that separate different taxa in order to construct such trees. Examples of characters that could be utilised include the absence or presence of hair, teeth, eyes, a hinged jaw, vertebral column etc. A computer programme is used to construct the tree accurately. Having carried out a practical experiment I can now use evidence to support my ideas. During the practical I constructed two trees. The initial tree was inaccurate as very few of the organisms were placed next to their closest relative. The absence or presence of eyes was a less-good character to use for my classification because it didnt separate the different species correctly. It is not specific enough and it is a shared ancestral character, therefore not reflecting an evolutionary relationship. The character unicellular or multicellular was, on the other hand, a good character to use because it separated the Amoeba from the other organisms. After having reconstructed the tree by changing some of the characters, improvements were made , but it was still not entirely accurate. The oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) and Brontosaurus are grouped together which correctly suggests they are related, as dinosaurs are an ancestor of birds. However, the whale (Cetacea sp), human (Homo sapien) and badger (Meles meles) should be grouped together as they are all mammals. The mistake I made was choosing some characters that were analogous as opposed to homologous. Analogous characters are when species may look alike but are genetically completely dissimilar. They have been subjected to selection pressures which has caused them to develop similar characters needed to survive in their environment. A good example of this is the bat wing and the bird wing. They have not evolved from a common ancestor, but instead have converged from different ancestors. Homologous characters are when species may look completely different but they are very similar genetically because they have both descended from a common ancestor. These characters are useful for the classification of species and should therefore be used for constructing phylogenetic trees. To conclude, the most useful characters I used for this practical were unicellular or multicellular as this separated the Amoeba from the others, and the presence of a backbone as this grouped most of the vertebrates together. A homologous character is the most use when creating a phylogenetic tree and should be used in preference to analogous characters. Â   Bibliography Lecture notes Campbell and Reece Robyn Beck

Friday, October 25, 2019

turing machine :: essays research papers

A turing machine can be defined as a â€Å"device with a finite number of internal configurations, each of which involves the machine’s being in one of a finite number of states†. This means that in a machine there are certain inputs that when implemented will produce a certain output. These combinations of inputs can be used in a machine table to show the outputs for each state. By looking at a machine table one will be able to know which combination of inputs is related to the different states and also what happens at each state. Mental states can correlate directly with turing machines in that our minds can be described by using a machine table. The inputs for the machine table representation of our mental states can be seen as our perceptions. By saying perception I mean all the sensory body parts/organs that can perceive an input and send a signal to the mind. These inputs in turn determine the mental state and the behaviors related to each mental state. Because our minds can be mapped out using a machine table, each state can be seen as an instance of functionalism. Functionalism is defined as an object that has a function. Functionalism can be used to describe a single mental state. An example of a mental state that is determined by a turing machine can be the feeling of happiness. In order to be happy there are certain things that are needed to trigger it. This mental state of being happy is triggered by our perceptions and then causes one to express their mental state physically. Our physical expression, I believe, can be altered. For example, if one were told that a dog was called a cat and only knew that dogs were cats then he would always see a dog and call it a cat. It is only because of what we hear and learn from our environment that we call a dog a dog. Being a

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Maya Lin a Strong Clear Vision Essay

This documentary was very moving! I was amazed to learn that Maya Lin’s design was picked from so many! It is amazing that a board of representatives chose her design from all others. A twenty year old student had a vision that was so moving. I’ve been to the memorial many times, and it has always brought me to tears. After viewing this documentary, I had the opportunity to go see it again. This time, it meant so much more to me having heard Lin’s explanations on how she conceptualized it. Maya Lin had been viewed as a young woman who hadn’t served in the military, and as an Asian, the view became even more controversial. Various groups in the American public came forward to publicly debate whether Lin’s work adequately or appropriately memorialized the US citizens who had lost their lives in what was the most disastrous and unpopular war in US history. Groups such as military veterans’ groups, politicians as well as average citizens were making this memorial a very politically charged issue. The documentary shows Maya Lin very stoic, and stead-fast in her design. She was unwilling to redesign or give up on making this vision a reality. This speaks volumes of the type of woman Maya Lin is, even at such a young, tender age. It was as if she knew that this memorial must be made, and that the public needed this type of emotionally charged outlook! The arguments against Lin’s design centered primarily on its form, and the simple manner the design presented the memorialization of the Vietnam vets. Some people were demanding statues. One particular representative argued that the blocks be a different color than black and that they be above ground. Some groups were arguing that by putting the memorial into the ground was like â€Å"burying† them, and not honoring them. Maya Lin’s presentation is based on the premise of both presence and absence. Her design allows the viewer to be able to see themselves in the stone, while able to read the names of those who will never be physically represented again. It is a basic memorialization in presentation, but in emotion, it has a very powerful effect. At one point during the film, Lin said that she knew that the piece would make people cry, and that was the point. The rest of the documentary deals with Lin’s post-Vietnam Memorial career. Although her work portrayed in the film is very interesting, and important, it does lack the impact of the first sequence. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was such a monumental event in US history. Before the memorial, the Vietnam War had been dealt with primarily in film, poetry, and fiction. Now, it was inscribed in America’s most historically documented site, the National Mall. For me, I think that this speaks volumes of the artist herself. The simplicity of the design rend so much emotion and charge, from a soft spoken 20 year old Yale student, who since then, had not strived for notoriety, but for her art to belong to everyone. She has used this representation again with the etched words, dates and names in the polished stone she created for the Civil Rights Memorial and Women’s Table at Yale. In the film, she is portrayed as a humane artist, creating humane spaces for both the living and the dead. I am a veteran of two wars. I have served my country in both Afghanistan as well as Iraq. Of course, I have very personal ties to the feelings of misunderstanding and non-appreciation. Most veterans don’t ask for notoriety, a parade, or even a statue. What we do ask for is that our brothers and sisters that were not able to come home are memorialized and remembered properly. Not pomp and circumstance, but in subtle context. I appreciate the work of Maya Lin and think she represented that perfectly!

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Managing Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace

Workplace Bullying (the persistent exposure to interpersonal aggression and mistreatment from colleagues, superiors or subordinates) is a reverent problem in contemporary working life, with devastating effects on both targets and organizations (Nearest, Hole, Zap, & Cooper 2003; Earner & Seashell, 2005) There are different forms of bullying in this 21 SST century as it need not be physical with such advancement in technology. Bullying can be direct, indirect passive and through social media as well. Therefore we must outline the scope on what is bullying and what is not before we are able to draw up a way to manage such incidents.There is no specific legislation to combat workplace bullying in Singapore (Jay Parka's, Inciting Injury: An Expos of workplace bullying in Singapore). There are many a time where workplace bullying is so minute in nature and often left undulate with that it is left unnoticed, however this acts of bullying builds up in time creating a hostile and fragile wor king environment. What is bullying and harassment? Physical and verbal abuse can be factored in as bullying but other forms of bullying may be too subtle. Harassment can be a highly sensitive topic as each individual person can take it to be in different ways.What one individual considers being an act of playful gesture the involved party may think otherwise. The Workplace Bullying Institute defines workplace bullying as â€Å"abusive conduct that is; threatening, humiliating, intimidating, or work interference and verbal abuse†. The consequences to the employers may include; reduced efficiency, productivity and profitability. Increase in absenteeism, sick leaves and staff turnover. Increase in indirect costs such as management time, engaging mediators and counselors. This list is not exhaustive as there are many other uniqueness an employer might face due to workplace bullying.On the other hand when we are to look at the consequences for the employees workplace bullying and harassment can cause extensive health problems including physical and psychological illnesses and injuries causing detrimental effects for them. Therefore for the organization to work towards sustainability it is important to first identify and try to eradicate if not hundred percent at least 90 percent of this problem, reason being it is not only the victim who suffers and feels the effects of bullying it is felt across all bevels of the organizations as we have seen from the non-exhaustive list given above.While it may seem that the above analysis may provide an insight into bullying in organizations, it is becoming evident that management has to start taking proactive steps and measures in identifying and putting forth solutions and implementations to address these pressing needs whereas if not losses can be incurred for the organization. 00006718 The first step to this is that the organization spells out clearly their stance and their outline on bullying and harassment before a person is being pointed to any post in the organization, also the management of the organization should clearly state and constitute which activities are considered to be bullying or harassment therefore making it difficult for employees to find any loopholes in the system therefore escaping the penalties.Once this is done, a directive should be spelled out and sent out to all employees in the organization regardless of their position or role in the organization, therefore bringing everyone in the organization to a common single understanding. Clear penalties and actions should also be included in he directive so as to deter any potential bullies from committing such acts. All staff across the board should be made to sign this directive enabling the management to take actions and hold guilty employees liable .These directives should be clearly formalized and well communicated to the frontline managers so that they can take actions if any one of the staff were to breach the directive . Secondly the organization should have a clear communication channel across the board from bottom up. Staff and personal across all level should have access to this communication channel and mad ware of such communication channel. The magnitude of effective internal communication is evident in past researches ( Muhammad Raff et al. 2009; Mark Chon, 2007) For example, Barrett (2002) accentuates, the best way to reach and employee is via face to face communication than relying on indirect channels such as electronic media. Falkland and Hide (2008) emphasizes on bottom-up communication. Furthermore, Welch and Jackson (2007) claims that, rather than treating employees as a single public, they should be segmented based on say structural levels of demographics. This can help in insuring that the relevant information targeted to reach the relevant person can reach them in a meaningful and smooth manner.Therefore with such communication channels put in place the management team are well aw are of complaints against bullying in any levels of the organization and necessary steps and actions can be taken swiftly. Special helpline or trained HER staff in the area of counseling can be put in place to tackle sensitive issues which some employees may find it difficult in putting forth to their direct supervisors. Information from all cases must be upheld with the highest infallibility so as to protect the interests of the employee who is suffering or facing bullying or harassment in the organization.Lastly is to create a strong bond among the employees working in the organization. Inculcating a strong sense of bond between them and creating a strong sense of ownership towards the company and its common goal would enable the employees to work hand in hand to achieve the goals thus enabling the organization to realize its true benefits and bring out the fullest from an employee. If strong bonds are created at the start employees would e able to identify the differences which t hey have and sort them out accordingly without the help of the management of the interference of their superiors thus creating a better working environment.To achieve this, the organization can hold yearly bonding activities for their employees, invite professionals to give their opinions and facts on employee relationships, hold monthly meetings to iron out any issues arising and to let the employees swiftly handle the matter within themselves, Muhammad Shaffer s/o Mohamed Kids In conclusion, a well working and robust organization largely depends on heir sustainability of their employees. Toxic and unfriendly working environment may lead the organization to lack in certain areas, therefore immobility's the organization in their growth.Organizations should therefore from the Start deter such bullying and harassment issues, even if these issues were to crop up in the later part of the organizations growth the management must be swift in handling and weeding out such problematic activ ities before it impacts the whole organization. As said above, bullying or harassment does not only affect the person who is the victim it's effects can be felt across the hole organization as a whole.