The Sierra Leone Civil War (Methods used by the RUF whether effective Research Paper

The Sierra Leone Civil War (Methods used by the RUF whether effective or not) - Research Paper Example In presenting this paper, I intend to analyze the effectiveness of the methods used by the RUF in terrorising young children and other refugees in becoming forced fighters as well as their sheer ruthlessness in destroying civilian dwellings by theft, loot, and murder. In doing so, I have considered to present some important events of the war: the beginning of the war and the formation/evolution of RUF, the resistance faced by the RUF, techniques implemented by the RUF, effects of the war and the RUF brutalities, and the eventual end of the war along with the RUF. The paper ends with a conclusion regarding the effectiveness of the RUF in their approach and the effects that it generated throughout the life and times of the people of the fated country – Sierra Leone. Tarawalie 2 BEGINNING OF THE WAR: THE FORMATION OF RUF AND ITS AGENDA On 23rd March, 1991, Sierra Leone was engulfed in a civil war that was to last for more than a decade. The inception of the war was triggered by t he rebel army named Revolutionary United Front which was led by Foday Sankoh – a former corporal of the Sierra Leone army who later became a pro-Gaddafi insurgent. On returning back from Libya after receiving specialised training, he initiated an insurgency movement which later culminated into a civil war. His actions were supported by Charles Taylor- the then Liberian president â€Å"who (Charles Taylor) was the principal beneficiary from this criminal business† (Gberie 184). Although the RUF theme was aimed solely to set up a multi-party democracy by overthrowing the Momoh regime, they completed failed to define a future political agenda. What seemed to be the bottom-line were the massive diamond resources that were to come under their disposal once the current regime was powerless. These economic perks along with the ineffectual retaliation from the government forces and the subsequent defection by many civilians and soldiers led the country to a grotesque civil war . Although the RUF would later face some resistance from the Sierra Leone army, negligence and incompetence would allow them to later push back across the country and maintain their strongholds on many economically and geographically important areas like the mines of Moyamba and Bonthe districts and the country’s capital- Freetown. For most of Sierra Leone’s youth, there were only limited options left- either to remain where they were and get themselves obliterated by the rebels or to flee to the neighbouring Liberia. Ironically, this was to led them into war rather than distance them from the conflict. What the world was going to witness was the grotesque killings of refugees and forced inclusion of children into the military either by force or by the fake promises of food, water and medical care. Tarawalie 3 RESISTANCE FACED BY THE RUF The RUF in the course of its aggressive journey encountered many resistances which it either quelled or dealt with tactical approach. "Despite their brutality the RUF retained coherence as a military force and their links to neighbouring Liberia ensured that they could maintain themselves with equipment and provisions" (Dorman 38). Nevertheless, most of the initial resistances were either not consistent or were quite incompetent in their fight

Cultural competence in nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cultural competence in nursing - Research Paper Example The first national identity is the national anthem. National anthem was composed at the start of the country’s first war of independence in 1868.Its symbolizes a call to arms that evokes the image of the country’s poor peasants in Bayamo. The second national symbol is the country’s flag. The white stars on it represent Masonic lodges in which the fight against its enemy, Spain was organized (Kapcia, 2005). Lastly the country third national symbol is flag of the 26th July movement. This flag is used as a symbol to remember and honor Castro’s attack on the army barracks. It serves as a symbol of the country resistance from dictatorship of imperialism of the U.S. Question 2 Willingness of Cubans to share their thoughts, feelings, and ideas Cubans are very friendly and open in their communication. They normally share their problems, ideas, thoughts, concerns, and also many details relating to their personal life with other co workers (Herrera, 2011). Cubans te nd to regularly share their thoughts and ideas with other Cubans. They are mainly spotted standing closer to each other in public places as the converse and share their thought with their friends. Cubans take it as a taboo to discuss about their country’s government, political or social situation whenever they are talking to a stranger whom they don’t have a close relationship with (Herrera, 2011). This is because the socialism form of governance in the country is not a democratic system thus people are afraid to be labeled as enemies of government, thus they avoid any political, government, and social discussion with strangers and government officials. Question 3 Practice and meaning of touch in Cuban culture Cubans highly embrace the power of touch in their daily lives. Touching is considered as a sign to show affection to your friends and close relatives (Kapcia, 2005). Touching your friends and relatives does not indicate any sign of sexual attraction to the other person, thus it is culturally accepted. Both men and women, ensure there is fair amount of touch amongst themselves during conversations periods.Usually,whenever men are greeting one another, they shake hand, and even to some extent close friends engage in giving each other a firm hug, which may be followed by a few slaps on the back. This is a sign of appreciation and showing friendship amongst themselves. Whenever the male is greeting a person of opposite gender, mostly a handshake will do. But to family members and close friends, a light kiss on the cheek is shared (Kapcia, 2005). To women, whenever they are greeting each other, they mainly kiss each other once in the cheek. Question 4 Personal spatial and distancing strategies used by used by Cubans when communicating to their friends and families versus when communicating to strangers In Cuba, when an individual is communicating with a family members, friends, and also co workers, he or she tends to maintain a very short distan ce. Cubans perceive a distance of more than three feet’s between the communicators as a factor that hinder their communication efficiency (Herrera, 2011). They always step closer to a range of one foot distance to be more comfortable as they speak to their friends and relatives. However, whenever they are speaking to strangers, Cubans always tend to maintain a distance. This clearly shows that Cubans always prefer standing close to one another whenever they are talking to a person they know well as opposed to talking to a stranger, when they keep a far

Short story the company of wolves Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short story the company of wolves - Essay Example Her aging grandmother had set an example of a staunch Christian by spending her days singing praises and her defense against the wolves included hurling a bible at them. The wolves in the story clearly represent a sexual predator, a man who believes this is their world to take; a man’s world. A world in which the female gender are taught to fight, fear and shield themselves as the only way for survival. The wolves represent sexual predators, rapist, domestic abusers and all forms of temptation, as written by Carter (1979) "the wolves have ways of arriving at your own hearthside. We try, and we try but sometimes we cannot keep them out" (p. 647). Women are clearly taught to be ashamed of temptation; that it is a sin to be tempted. The woman in the company of wolves who was bitten by wolves while straining macaroni clearly fell into temptation as she carried out her maternal duties, showing temptation has no respect, no boundaries, so women should always be alert; always be on the defensive. Her father, being a man himself seems to be aware of what danger the little girl clearly faces out in the woods and thus is seen to be so protective. The little girl clearly represents a new breed of evolving women who are aware of their femininity. The girl is shown to be at the tender age where she is getting to know herself. She is aware of the transformations taking place within her body; according to Carter (1979) â€Å"Her breasts have just begun to swell; her hair is like lint, so fair it hardly makes a shadow on her pale forehead; her cheeks are an emblematic scarlet and white and she has just started her womans bleeding, the clock inside her that will strike, henceforward, once a month. She stands and moves within the invisible pentacle of her own virginity. She is an unbroken egg; she is a sealed vessel† (p. 650). Carter clearly describes the feminine features that the girl carries, features and

Impact of Dividend Policy on Share Price Research Paper

Impact of Dividend Policy on Share Price - Research Paper Example To understand the overall idea about the dividend policy, it is essential to categorize the policy. There are mainly two types of a dividend policy that is being followed by the corporate sector i.e. residual and managed. The residual dividend policy distributes cash among the shareholders. It is left after the business firm spends desirable amount for the purpose of investment, according to the NPV. The risk related to this dividend policy is very high due to highly variable in nature or it may be zero. On the other side, the managed dividend policy is mainly stressed to increase the return of the shareholders. The managers of the business firm who believe that dividend policy has a strong impact on the share price of firms. It generally uses this mechanism of dividend policy. The primary objective of this optimal dividend policy is to enhance the stock price trend of the business firm that results in maximization of shareholders’ wealth. Nowadays, the business firm relates the dividend policy with the product life cycle (PLC). For an example, a firm with large cash flow, high growth rate and lower trends in project appraisal tries to pay more dividends to the shareholder, as the earnings of the firm are comparatively high. The firms with high growth rate follow different interesting patterns in order to change the pattern of such decisions and enhance the complexity (Lease, 56). If the earnings of business firms are increased, then the dividend should increase too. On the other side, the dividend cut denotes the decreasing trend of earnings.

Reflexive managers are required for contemporary organizations Essay

Reflexive managers are required for contemporary organizations. Discuss using examples - Essay Example Consequently, it can be affirmed that without proper strategies, companies will not able to gain a sustainable position in the market. In this regard, it is important that companies devise their objectives and strategies parallel to one another in an effective and efficient manner further enhancing the prospect for gaining utmost level of success. However, it will also be important to mention that proper execution of the strategies is also deemed to be quite vital in order to attain the benefits for the overall business. Contextually, the role of managers or management comes into being. Managers provide the ultimate guidance to the entire business from which it can move to the positive direction and yield beneficial results for the entire business. However, executing the plans of the business needs proper support from the various resources of the corporation which primarily include the human resources as well. Proper guidance to the human resources requires appropriate and innovative style of leadership from the managers (Nieuwenhuizen, 2007). Contextually, it is believed that reflexive style of leadership is quite vital as it is effective and efficient in the domain of influencing employees towards their work. In order to get a proper understanding in in this regard, the paper will provide a thorough discussion regarding whether reflexive managers are required in the contemporary organisations with the assistance of examples. Notably, the scenario of business activities has altered by a considerable extent in recent years owing to which companies have the need to develop diverse range of strategies so that they could be able to gain utmost level of efficacy and competitiveness in their operations. However, it is important to execute the plans of the business effectively in order to ensure maximum benefits from the strategies devised by the business. Contextually, the role of human resources of the business becomes quite significant

Organizational Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Organizational Behavior - Essay Example There are six main factors, which affect the employee behavior at the workplace. These factors include communication, organizational structure, work design, organizational design, jobs, and performance appraisal. All of these factors play a considerable role in shaping the behaviors of the employees working for any company or organization. Let us discuss how organizational communication affects employee behavior at the workplace. Organizational communication is somewhat different from simple form of communication. In simple communication, people can transmit any kind of information anywhere or can send messages to each other whereas organizational communication refers to the concept of sending work related messages or transmitting information to different kinds of audiences at the workplace. Organizational communication is a field, which makes employees learn effective communication skills from each other.   Consistency of the messages with goals, objectives, strategies, and implem entation plans is very important in organizational communication. Organizational communication is based on two general approaches, which include container approach and social constructionist approach. In container’s approach, a channel is used to transmit information from the sender to the receiver whereas in social constructionist approach, employees make use of language to create different teams, networks, and relationships. Communication is a process, which involves a sender and a receiver.... In container’s approach, a channel is used to transmit information from the sender to the receiver whereas in social constructionist approach, employees make use of language to create different teams, networks, and relationships. Study of organizational communication plays a very critical role in shaping communication behaviors of the employees, which eventually lead to the creation of a productive work environment. Communication Process Model Communication is a process, which involves a sender and a receiver. The sender sends a message to the communication channel, which encodes the message and sends it to the receiving end where the receiving end first decodes the message and then presents it to the receiver. The receiver provides the feedback to the sender, which make the communication process more effective. Encoding and decoding of a message is based on one’s own perceptions, which include the concepts of feelings, cultural values, attitudes, and behaviors. The thr ee main components involved in a communication process include channel of communication, environment or circumstances of communication, and interference that occurs during communication. Formal and Informal Communication Formal communication takes place through formal channels whereas informal communication takes place through informal channels. Formal communication plays its role in maintaining authority relationship whereas informal communication never includes lines of the authority. Formal communication takes place due to job related needs whereas informal communication takes place due to personal needs of the employees. Formal communication needs proper location whereas in formal communication can be done anywhere. Answer: No: 2 Key Areas of

Thomas Randolph and his Career Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10750 words

Thomas Randolph and his Career - Coursework Example One of those, and the subject of this study, is Thomas Randolph, the 1st Earl of Moray. He is an important figure throughout the Scottish Wars of Independence and acted as a Regent to the Crown from Bruce's death in 1329 until his own death in 1332. It is interesting to note that few detailed studies of Randolph have been undertaken, despite his importance within Scottish history. This analysis attempts to balance this situation somewhat, through providing a detailed examination of Thomas Randolph as an individual, in his relationship with Robert the Bruce/other Scottish nobles, of his involvement in both Scottish military/diplomatic achievements and his subsequent tenure as Guardian of the Scottish realm. As a multifaceted figure, Randolph deserves a consideration of the various activities which he undertook during his tragically shortened life. There are numerous contradictions within the story of Randolph which will be considered in a sober and objective manner. He was not an unthinking, blind follower of Robert the Bruce, and indeed changed sides to fight for the English for a while. As an individual who may be considered a 'professional soldier' (as far as such a thing existed in the Fourteenth Century) Randolph was a consummate military commander who had very specific opinions on not only why a war should be fought but also how it should be fought. Randolph is in many ways as good a source for legendary feats as the Bruce himself. His taking of Edinburgh Castle, one of the last English strongholds what stood atop a supposedly impregnable rock, has gone down in history as an act of almost superhuman military skill. Yet it is the man beneath such legendary acts, and thus the individual that has been largely ignored by history, which will be of great importance within this study. A contrast of the legend and the reality is a suitable focus for an examination of such a figure, and it is the one that will be adopted in this study. Literature Review This literature review will be divided into primary and secondary sources and will present some of the varying views of the man that they entail. There are a number of primary sources that may be used in conjunction with a study of Randolph, although these are by necessity limited due to the scarcity of documents in general from this time. Documents are particularly few and far between in the pre-Bannockburn days, although some conjectures can be made using those which are available. Two of the main sources are the Regesta Regum Scottorum V1 and the Regesta Regum Scottorum VI2. These record the various laws and edicts passed by Scottish Kings and their associated noblemen, especially within the Feudal system that was still present during the time period being discussed here. The Exchequer Rolls of Scotland3 give information on financial matters within Scotland at the time, while the