Human Rights in Africa

The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa Wilfred Nderitu1 Abstract This paper seeks to interrogate the rights-based approach to development and poverty reduction as espoused by the instruments and policies of the United Nations, considering Africa as the key beneficiary of the UN Millennium Development Campaign.The author will also enumerate the justifications for considering poverty as a human rights issue under international human rights law, and how this impacts on the advancement of human rights in Africa. Included is an endeavour to locate the direct and indirect contributions made by the different sections of the international community, including the international criminal justice system, to significantly reduce extreme poverty and hunger and, in so doing, preserve human dignity in Africa as envisioned by the international human rights regime.Furthermore, the paper seeks to justify the res ponsibility of the State in poverty alleviation from a juristic perspective, and argues for the domestication of international human rights standards in developing countries as well as the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as complementary actions towards improving the state of human rights in Africa. The paper will also analyse human rights gaps, particularly those emerging from the socio-economic fabric of developing countries, such as a lack of fundamental freedoms and impunity.Introduction That poverty is a universal phenomenon and a matter of significant global concern can hardly be disputable. The international community, under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) has itself recognised this and acted upon its responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level, by committing to the Millennium Declaration, the targets of which are commonly referred to as the Millennium Development Goals.One of t he most important provisions of the Millennium Declaration is perhaps that of the commitment to development and poverty eradication. By this Declaration, the international community commits to spare no effort in their 1 I wish to express my gratitude to James Gondi for his assistance with some of the background research that went into this paper. 81 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa ursuit of the complete eradication of poverty. The particulars of the international community’s commitment towards poverty eradication include the following:2 To halve by the year 2015, the proportion of the world’s peoples whose incomes are less than one dollar a day and the proportion of people who suffer from hunger and, by the same date, to halve the proportion of people who are unable to reach or to afford safe drinking water.The particulars of the poverty scourge are more prevalent in developing countries, particularly Africa, and are characterised by hu nger, no access to safe drinking water, and the inability of the majority of the population to achieve the minimum acceptable standards of living that are required in order to ensure basic human dignity. In the Millennium Declaration, the global human family resolves to –3 [c]reate an environment – at the national and global level alike – which is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty.It is the position of this paper that creating such an environment requires a multipronged approach to dealing with poverty: an approach which dares to transcend the boundaries of economics and to address wider issues which affect the global environment’s capacity to generate development and, in so doing, reduce poverty and hunger. Any poverty eradication strategy would involve creating income-generation opportunities. The reality, however, is that such opportunities cannot be created in an anarchical or unstable socio-political environment.Hence, there is a need for a multifaceted approach to dealing with poverty which, in addition to addressing the strictly economic issues, also tries to enrich the socio-political fabric of a nation or region in which the war against poverty is being waged. Thus the Millennium Declaration calls upon the international community to –4 [s]pare no effort to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law, as well as respect for all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development. 2 3 4 UN General Assembly Resolution 55/2 at para. 9. (ibid. :para. 12). (ibid. :para. 19). 82 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa This averment in the Declaration is not a separate abstract goal, but is a complementary commitment made in full cognisance of the fact that poverty eradication efforts must have a strong socio-political base, characterised by respect for the rule of law, human rights and democracy. Indeed, creating a stable political, legal and economic environment friendly to entrepreneurship and investment is a precursor for effectively fighting poverty.Nobel Economist Amartya Sen5 acknowledges the argument set forth above in Development as freedom:6 Freedom, the ability of a person to make decisions about his or her life, is not only the most efficient means for building a healthy developed society, but also its ultimate goal. When you put assets in the hands of the poor in a politically distorted environment, not much happens. This sums up the nexus which binds the human rights movement and the global effort to fight poverty and, more importantly, offers succinct authentication for considering poverty as a violation of human rights.Defining poverty as a human rights issue Arjun Sengupta7 argues that human rights are legal rights with binding obligations on the duty-bearers, who are primarily the States. This legality of rights and the binding nature of their obligations is the main attraction of c laiming human rights. It underlines the importance of bringing the issue of poverty within the realm of the human rights movement, and defining freedom from hunger and poverty within the framework of human rights norms 5 6 7Amartya Sen is a Professor of Economics at Trinity College in Cambridge, a citizen of India, and winner of the 1998 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, for his contributions to welfare economics. Sen (1999). Arjun Sengupta is a former Professor at the School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and currently an Adjunct Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and Chairman of the Center for Development and Human Rights in New Delhi.He is also the former UN Independent Expert on the Right to Development, and current United Nations Independent Expert on Human Rights and Extreme Poverty. 83 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa and standards. It fol lows that, once the aforementioned are accepted as human rights, then they become legal rights and the State becomes a legal duty-bearer, charged with ensuring that its citizens are free from extreme hunger and poverty as demanded by the Millennium Declaration.Sengupta adds:8 The duty[-]bearers are primarily the states. They are supposed to be accountable for any failures to carry out their obligations and are expected to take remedial actions if their non-compliance with their duties is determined by an appropriate independent mechanism. Hence, the theoretical advantage of placing the global poverty eradication effort under the realm of the international human rights philosophy is clear. It establishes a legal aspect to the fight against poverty and, most importantly, devises a duty-bearer in the form of the State.It is also important for jurists to establish a theoretical basis for defining poverty eradication as a human rights issue. Taking a human rights approach to poverty is a path towards the empowerment of the poor. A background paper published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) states that the modern-day challenge in the fight against poverty is to establish mechanisms which erode powerlessness and enhance the social capacity of the poor. The OHCHR advances the case for a human rights pproach to poverty reduction as follows:9 When human rights are introduced in policy[-]making, the rationale of poverty reduction no longer derives only from the fact that the poor have needs but is based on the rights of poor peoples’ entitlements that give rise to obligations on the part of others that are enshrined in law. The OHCHR furthers the juristic approach to the eradication of poverty from a practical angle exemplified by empowerment. The argument is that defining poverty in a human rights context not only gives it a legal status and legal rights which can be claimed with respect to poverty, but also serves to empower the po or.Just as civil and political rights have, with the aid of the civil rights movement, empowered minorities and disadvantaged groups in the past, the components of a human rights normative framework can contribute to the empowerment of the poor in Africa. 8 9 Sengupta [Forthcoming]. OHCHR (2002). 84 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa The following is an account of the ‘evidence’ – first in political theory, then by international human rights law – that serves to advance our proposition that the issue of poverty can be defined as a human rights issue.By extension, failure by the State to intervene in curbing poverty becomes a violation of human rights. The medium which brings the aspects of poverty eradication and human rights together is the inherent dignity of humankind, which the State has a duty to protect as established by early political theorists. The protection of the inherent dignity of humankind is also entrenched in modern international human rights law. Social and political theory Jurists come across various political and social theories in search of jurisprudential concepts that form a good proportion of the basis for legal learning.In Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes10 advances the theory of the social contract. This is the contract between the citizen and the State, i. e. the body politic, in which the people advance from an anarchical ‘state of nature’ by handing over their instincts of self-preservation and, as such, mutually destructive powers to a central authority (the Leviathan) to enable the central authority to exercise the collective power for the benefit of the whole populace.Liberal analysis of the social contract theory stipulates that it is from this contract between man and State, that the latter derives its legitimacy. In return, the populace is entitled to certain fundamental rights and freedoms. Like any contract, the social contract entails both rights and duties for both parties. As such, citizens have duties to fulfil as subjects, and have natural rights they should enjoy as human beings. Hence, the very legitimacy of the State is partially based on the ability of the citizens to enjoy certain basic rights.It is the proposition of this paper that no right could be more fundamental, basic or natural than the right to basic human dignity: a right recognised by the social contract, and which forms the basic ethos of the human rights philosophy. Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau are the best-known proponents of this immensely influential theory, which has been one of the most dominant within the moral and political ambit. Rousseau, an influential 18th-Century 10 Hobbes (1998/1651). 85 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa olitical theorist, elaborates on the social contract (also referred to as the social compact) as follows:11 The social compact sets up among the citizens an equality of such a kind, that they all bind themselves to observe the same conditions and should therefore all enjoy the same rights. Thus from the nature of the compact, every act of Sovereignty, i. e. , every authentic act of the general will, binds or favours all the citizens equally; so that the sovereign recognizes only the body of the nation, and draws no distinctions between those of whom it is made up.It is legitimate, because based on the social contract, and equitable, because common to all; useful because it can have no other object other than the general good, and stable because it is guaranteed by the public force and the supreme power. To retain its legitimacy, the sovereign must meet its obligations to the citizen, which include ensuring that the citizen is entitled to his or her fundamental rights. This includes the right to minimum standards of human dignity – which may, from one perspective, be interpreted as the right to be free from poverty and hunger.This is because poverty and hunger den y the citizen the ability to live within minimum acceptable standards of human dignity. This brings out the equality dimension of liberal political theory. In reality, true equality is difficult to achieve, but the argument is that there should be a certain basic minimum standard available to all citizens to ensure that their lives are commensurate with the basic acceptable standards of human dignity. It follows that the right to basic human dignity entails the right to be free from poverty and hunger.International human rights law As members of the international community that recognise human rights and ratify treaties and covenants, all States and institutions take on the obligation of ensuring these rights. Poverty has always been considered as a degradation of human dignity. Indeed, poor people lack the freedom to lead a life with dignity. International human rights law preserves and protects the inherent dignity of the human being and the states parties to international human r ights treaties, particularly the Universal 11Boyd (1963). 86 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),12 are obligated to preserve and protect the inherent dignity of their citizens. By logical abstraction, states parties to international human rights instruments such as the UDHR are obliged to take active measures to deal with all things which violate the inherent dignity of their citizens. Poverty and its consequences are, from a juristic perspective, some of the greatest hindrances to human dignity.An analysis of the provisions of international human rights instruments which emanate from the forum of the UN reveals the express protection of human dignity and the protection of human beings from the derogatory conditions that are synonymous with poverty. The following sample of international human rights instruments portrays this position. The UDHR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the C onvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) will be applied below to expound the international legal basis under which poverty can be viewed as a violation of human rights.The Preamble to the UDHR is unequivocal about the need to preserve human dignity:13 The recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world. This is the root of the protection of inherent human dignity in international law as well as of the argument set forth herein that poverty is a violation of human rights because it deprives people of the capacity to live within the minimum acceptable standards of human dignity.Article 22 of the UDHR stipulates the following:14 Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality. 12 13 14 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948. (ibid. ). (ibid. ). 87 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in AfricaThis provision fully portrays the aspect of multiple responsibility and approaches to ensuring human dignity by setting out certain minimum rights requiring pursuit through the concerted efforts of a wide spectrum of actors at national and international level. By preserving the right to social security, protecting economic, social and cultural rights – including the free development of the individual – and placing the onus for the fulfilment of these rights at the at both the national and international level, this provision of the UDHR cements the value of ensuring certain minimum tandards of living for citiz ens by way of the use of State resources as a precursor to preserving human dignity. When poverty prevails, these minimum standards are out of reach. Therefore, any poverty alleviation effort needs to consider ensuring these basic rights as a cornerstone of its strategy. Similarly, Articles 23, 25 and 26 of the UDHR address issues related to basic minimum living standards aimed at preserving human dignity, and similarly crucial to poverty eradication.In summary, the aforesaid articles of the UDHR demand that everyone has the following rights: †¢ Work †¢ A standard of living adequate for his health and well-being and that of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care, and the necessary social services, and †¢ Education. In similar fashion, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) contains provisions which aim to preserve basic rights related to living standards.Article 11(2) of the ICESCR states the following:15 Th e States Parties to the present Covenant, recognizing the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, shall take, individually and through international cooperation, the measures, including specific programmes, which are needed: (a) To improve methods of production, conservation and distribution of food by making full use of technical and scientific knowledge, by disseminating knowledge of the principles of nutrition and by developing or reforming agrarian systems in such a way as to achieve the most efficient development and utilization of natural resources; 15Ghandhi (2002). 88 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa (b) Taking into account the problems of both food-importing and food-exporting countries, to ensure an equitable distribution of world food supplies in relation to need. This goes to the heart of the juristic argument that poverty is a human rights issue, and that creating stable political and socio-economic structures in which respe ct for human rights related to ensuring minimum standards of human dignity are observed is a precursor to any credible poverty eradication strategy.Furthermore, Articles 6, 7, 9, 12 and 13 of the ICESCR seek to preserve the following: †¢ The right to work and to enjoy just and favourable conditions at work, which ensure fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value. †¢ The right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and †¢ The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.Article 14(2) of CEDAW states the following:16 States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit from rural development and, in particular, shall ensure to such women the right: (a) To participate in the elaboration and implement ation of development planning at all levels; (b) To have access to adequate health care facilities, including information, counseling and services in family planning; (c) To benefit directly from social security programmes; (d) To obtain all types of training and education, formal and non-formal, including that relating to functional literacy, as well as, inter alia, the benefit of all community and extension services, in order to increase their technical proficiency; (e) To organize self-help groups and co-operatives in order to obtain equal access to economic opportunities through employment; (f) To participate in all community activities; (g) To have access to agricultural credit and loans, marketing facilities, appropriate technology and equal treatment in land and agrarian reform as well as in land resettlement schemes; (h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communications. 16 (ibid. ). 89The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa The relationship between the rights of women and development vis-a-vis poverty eradication is well established. In developing countries, the burden of direct provision for the family in terms of basic necessities is predominantly carried by women. It is they that till the soil. Thus, the empowerment of women serves as a useful avenue to the achievement of poverty eradication goals and objectives. Hence, it is important that women are not denied a suitable environment for the creation of opportunities for the generation of income. This means that women in developing countries should have similar access to capital as their male counterparts.This includes access to loans, membership of cooperatives, and equal treatment in land matters among other rights, as stipulated in CEDAW. To improve the position of women with respect to access to capital, the support for women’s inheritance rights should be strengthened. As such, human rights non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the developing world that promulgate women’s inheritance rights should be applauded and given additional support by the international community. The argument here is that inherited property, such as land, serves as an asset that can be used to obtain investment capital and generate income and, in so doing, contribute to the eradication of poverty.Furthermore, particular attention should be directed at the education of women as a means of raising their living standards, in conformity with minimum acceptable standards inspired by the inherent dignity of man – which the international community seeks to preserve and protect. Preservation of the above rights under the various international instruments ensures minimum standards of living commensurate with human dignity. Hence, the fulfilment of these rights by States and the participation of the international community are an invaluable contribution to efforts a imed at eradicating extreme poverty and hunger as per the Millennium Declaration. The People’s Decade for Human Rights Education (PDHRE)17 asserts that the human right to live in dignity is a fundamental right and, more importantly, 17Founded in 1988, PDHRE International is a non-profit, international service organisation that works directly and indirectly with its network of affiliates – primarily women’s and social justice organisations – to develop and advance pedagogies for human rights education relevant to people’s daily lives in the context of their struggles for social and economic justice and democracy. PDHRE’s members include experienced educators, human rights experts, UN officials, and world-renowned advocates and activists who collaborate to 90 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa is essential to the realisation of all other human rights.The PDHRE specifies the particular rights that constitute the ov erall right to live in dignity. These include – †¢ the right to be free from hunger †¢ the right to live in adequate housing †¢ the right to safe drinking water, and †¢ the right to a healthy and safe environment. These rights are not static and inelastic: they are fluid, interconnected, and interdependent. Synergy between the efforts of different international institutions and other actors in the fight against poverty Women, conflict and poverty The Millennium Declaration resolves as follows:18 To promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as effective ways to combat poverty, hunger and disease and to stimulate development that is truly sustainable.The focus on gender in the poverty eradication effort is significant. Modern thinking demands improvement of gender equality as a means of reinforcing the development agenda. Women who have low levels of education and training, poor health and nutritional status, and limited access to resources have t he 18 conceive, initiate, facilitate, and service projects on education in human rights for social and economic transformation. The organisation is dedicated to publishing and disseminating demand-driven human rights training manuals and other teaching materials, and otherwise servicing grass-roots and community groups engaged in a creative, contextualised process of human rights learning, reflection, and action.The PDHRE views human rights as a value system capable of strengthening democratic communities and nations through its emphasis on accountability, reciprocity, and people’s equal and informed participation in the decisions that affect their lives. The PDHRE was pivotal in lobbying the UN to found a Decade for Human Rights Education, and in drafting and lobbying for various resolutions by the World Conference on Human Rights, the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Commission, the UN Treaty Bodies, and the Fourth World Conference on Women. UN General Assembly Reso lution 55/2 at para. 20. 91 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa ffect of reducing the quality of life of the entire population. This is because women are the driving force behind the family – the basic unit of the community. Discrimination against women then impairs other elements of development. Different components of the human rights normative framework can contribute to the empowerment of the poor and provide useful poverty alleviation input. Women’s rights are one such component. The empowerment of women is central to combating all manner of international scourges and the pursuit of developmental goals worldwide. The participation of women in mainstream development activity and poverty reduction strategies is essential.For this to take place, all factors which tend to discriminate against the participation of women in income-generating opportunities and other poverty reduction strategies need to be abolished. In cases of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, over which the International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction, women and children are the primary victims of inhumane and cruel acts, which are inextricably connected to armed conflict. Women are captured, raped and tortured. In recognition of this, the Rome Statute includes such acts of cruelty against women in defining war crime and crime against humanity. In seeking to combat impunity, the Rome Statute seeks accountability to women for gender-specific offences that are expressly defined in it.In the past, treaties have failed to address crimes against women with the requisite specificity:19 Treaties have been drafted outlawing, in excruciating detail, everything from particular kinds of bullets to the destruction of historical buildings, while maintaining enormous silence or providing only vague provisions on crimes against women. Provisions are needed in international humanitarian law that take women’s experiences of sexual violenc e as a starting point rather than just a by-product of war. The experiences of the ad hoc tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia have contributed greatly to the growing recognition for and action against crimes committed against women in armed conflict. This journey has culminated in the express definition of crimes of sexual violence being included in the Rome Statute. In a United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) publication 19 Askin (1997). 92 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa ntitled Women, war and peace, Elizabeth Rehn and Ellen Sirleaf capture the recent history of mainstreaming crimes against women into international law:20 The campaign to end violence against women took root and gained momentum throughout the 1990’s on the agendas of the UN World Conferences, from Vienna in 1993 to Cairo in 1994 to Beijing in 1995, where the principles for codifying international law on violence against women began to be recognized. Those principl es were later tested in landmark decisions by the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and ultimately informed the definition of crimes of sexual violence included in the Rome Statute of the ICC. The continued progress of bringing gender violence issues to the fore of international law now lies partly with the ICC. It is our hope that the gains already made will be tested and strengthened further in proceedings before the Court.Justice Theodore Morton of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) echoed these sentiments: 21 The crimes recognized by the ICC Statute, including the gender-specific offences, may well take on a life of their own as an authoritative and largely customary statement of international humanitarian and criminal law and become a model for national laws to be enforced under the principle of universality of jurisdiction. In addition, post-conflict jurisdictions are normally devastated and the remaining po pulations stay destitute as a result of the destruction of assets and economic endeavour. Yet again, those who suffer the most are women, as they bear the onus of rebuilding their family structures. This is part of the ethos behind the establishment of the ICC’s Trust Fund for victims of these atrocities, since it recognises the poverty scourge that is characteristic of post-conflict jurisdictions.Thus, in addition to seeking justice for the victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity (for which women suffer the most), the ICC recognises the poverty dimension. It is hoped that proceeds from the Trust Fund will help victims, particularly women, to have a fresh start to their lives by creating income opportunities which help to alleviate poverty. Traditionally, reparations for violations of international humanitarian law are the subject of States, and are paid to States rather than to the individual. Now, however, important developments are taking place in this respect. The OHCHR 20 21 Rehn & Sirleaf (2002). (ibid. ). 93 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa as appointed a Special Rapporteur on the right to reparations, and principles relevant to reparative remedies have been drafted by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 22 In fact, the Draft basic principles and guidelines on the right to a remedy and reparation for victims of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law, if adopted as they are, will require the State to –23 [p]rovide reparation to victims for acts or omissions which can be attributed to the State and constitute gross violations of international human rights law or serious violations of international humanitarian law.In cases where a person, a legal person, or other entity is found liable for reparation to a victim, such party should provide reparation to the victim or compensate the State if the State has a lready provided reparation to the victim. Also interesting to note in the above respect is that the Preamble to the Draft basic principles refers to a right to remedy for victims of violations of international human rights found in regional conventions, particularly the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights at Article 7, among other regional human rights instruments. 24 Article 75 of the Rome Statute of the ICC extends reparation rights to individual victims. Article 75, titled Reparations to victims, reads as follows: 1. The Court shall establish principles relating to reparations to, or in respect of, victims, including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation.On this basis, in its decision the Court may, either upon request or on its own motion in exceptional circumstances, determine the scope and extent of any damage, loss and injury to, or in respect of, victims and will state the principles on which it is acting. The Court may make an order directly against a convicted person specifying appropriate reparations to, or in respect of, victims, including restitution, compensation and rehabilitation. Where appropriate, the Court may order that the award for reparations be made through the Trust Fund provided for in article 79. 3. Before making an order under this article, the Court may invite and shall take account of representations from or on behalf of the convicted person, victims, other interested persons or interested States. 2. 22 23 24 (ibid. ). Van Boven (2004). (ibid. ). 94 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa 4.In exercising its power under this article, the Court may, after a person is convicted of a crime within the jurisdiction of the Court, determine whether, in order to give effect to an order which it may make under this article, it is necessary to seek measures under article 93, paragraph 1. A State Party shall give effect to a decision under this article as if the provisions of article109 were ap plicable to this article. Nothing in this article shall be interpreted as prejudicing the rights of victims under national or international law. 5. 6. It is hoped that the proceeds from such reparations will go towards rebuilding efforts and, in so doing, inject some finance, however modest, towards reestablishing post-conflict economies.Thus, two dimensions are recognised here by the goals of the ICC and the Trust Fund in relation to poverty alleviation: †¢ The first dimension, as argued above, is that the empowerment of women serves as a useful avenue to the alleviation of poverty because women in the developing world are the driving force of the family, the basic unit of society, and The second dimension is to seek justice for the victims of war crimes – the †¢ most ravaged group being women. Reparations for victims, as envisaged by the Rome Statute, are a key component of this quest for justice. Convergence between international criminal justice and poverty alle viation efforts The legendary philosopher, pacifist, and leader of the people of India, the late Mahatma Gandhi, saw the human being as a limited creature capable of cruelty, narrow-mindedness and violence.Indeed, this character or weakness is observed daily when we see women and children marching in their thousands across national borders trying to escape from violence and genocide. Such are the human weaknesses which make the world susceptible to breeding a culture of impunity. With this in mind, the international criminal justice system seeks justice for the victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, with one of the intended outputs being deterrence against the culture of impunity. The link is clear: impunity leads to armed conflict, which leads to anarchy, which in turn yields poverty. Nevertheless, we realise that this relationship between 95 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa mpunity, conflict and poverty is not absolutely linear , and that each factor contributes to the other in some way. However, the experience of those involved in international criminal justice is that a poverty-stricken environment is always one of the most grievous outcomes of a post-conflict situation. As such, from the lens of transitional justice, dealing with impunity contributes to preventing the exacerbation of poverty brought about by armed conflict. As stated earlier, the fight against poverty is itself a demonstration of respect for the inherent right to human dignity. A world community in which a culture of impunity is allowed to thrive will be characterised by gross contempt for human dignity.In tackling the problem of impunity through ad hoc tribunals, special tribunals and the ICC, the international community is effectively combating one of the triggers of poverty. Thus, the international criminal justice system should be viewed partly as an indirect actor in the effort to eradicate poverty. This would be in keeping with th e collective responsibility with which the entire international community (including all international institutions) is charged by the Millennium Declaration. Furthermore, it is agreed that poverty alleviation requires the creation of incomegenerating opportunities. History teaches us that armed conflict destroys the economic fabric of society and creates anarchy. It is impossible for incomegeneration activities to take place in an armed conflict situation.Having seen that a culture of impunity provides a breeding ground for armed conflict which yields poverty, it is arguable that the international criminal justice system, by deterring impunity, indirectly acts to prevent the destruction of stable socioeconomic environments and, in so doing, helps to prevent the exacerbation of poverty. A further area of convergence and synergy between international criminal justice and the global poverty eradication effort – keeping in mind that international criminal justice mechanisms are arms of the wider system of international law – is revealed by a conceptual analysis of justice in international law on the one hand, and economic and social justice on the other.Any conceptual analysis of justice explores the ideals of equity and fairness. Justice in the international realm comprises a sense of horizontal equity between States, and vertical equity between States and their citizens. This is a conceptual 96 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa analysis of justice as viewed through the lens of international law. The same is expressed by Sengupta:25 International law should concern itself with a just and fair relationship between the States, and the vertical relationship between the States and their citizens should be treated separately, through constitutional reforms within the sovereign states.But when the claims of equality of relationship are advanced in terms of human rights, such as the right to development, vertical relations a lso come within the purview of discussions. If the equality of human rights relationships referred to by Sengupta include freedom from extreme poverty and hunger (and, by extension, the right to development), as we have experienced in our sample analysis of key international human rights instruments, the vertical equity conceptual aspect of justice in international law also encompasses the duty of States to take all necessary measures to free their citizens from hunger and poverty. Thus, in seeking justice from the perspective of international law, States are, by extension, simultaneously obliged to address the economic and social aspects of justice by fighting poverty.This analysis reveals that, although all international actors in the global fight to eradicate poverty may pursue separate avenues and be inspired by various economic, social and political concepts which all contribute greatly to the fight, we are all intrinsically motivated by a desire to achieve justice. The interna tional criminal justice system pursues legal justice for victims of crimes against humanity through international courts, while other international actors (more inclined towards scientific and economic approaches) seek economic and social justice for the world population through the implementation of poverty eradication programmes on the ground.Indeed, this idea of a common intrinsic motivation finds support in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which declares as follows:26 The wide diffusion of culture, and the education of humanity for justice and liberty and peace are indispensable for the dignity of man and constitute a sacred duty which all the nations must fulfil in a spirit of mutual assistance and concern. The vertical equity relationship between States and their citizens, as sought by international human rights law and explored above, is similar to the Hobbesian 25 26 [Forthcoming]. Preamble to the UNESCO Constitution, which came into force on 4 November 1946 after ratification by 20 countries. 97 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa social contract.Hence, the common intrinsic pursuit of justice by various international actors (including the international criminal justice system and the poverty eradication movement) is visible both at the level of international law and within the sphere of political theory. Responsibility of the State in poverty alleviation from a juristic perspective Domestication of international human rights standards A proposed new focus within the human rights framework itself would aid the fight against poverty and, in so doing, cement the human rights approach to poverty eradication. For decades, human rights advocacy has leaned more towards civil and political rights and less towards the sister economic and social rights.This is due partly to the impetus for democratisation and ending discrimination, which were major fea tures of international affairs after World War II. The 21st Century presents the international community with new challenges and new priorities. The human rights movement and the international community as a whole must, in keeping with new priorities espoused by the Millennium Declaration such as the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, apply economic and social rights advocacy towards the reduction of poverty. The OHCHR supports such a renewed approach:27 Recognition of the complementary relationships between civil and political rights on the one hand, and economic, social and cultural rights on the other, can strengthen as well as broaden the scope of poverty eradication strategies.In expounding on the scope of the right to health, the Economic and Social Rights Committee – a body established by the ICESCR to monitor compliance by states parties with its provisions – says that –28 [t]he right includes a wide range of socio-economic factors that promote c onditions in which people can lead a healthy life, and extends to underlying determinants of health, such as food and nutrition, housing, access to safe and potable water and adequate sanitation, safe and healthy working conditions, and a healthy environment. 27 28 OHCHR (2002). (ibid. ). 98 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa These underlying determinants go to the heart of the most crucial poverty-related problems, and would constitute part of an effective human rights approach to poverty eradication as well as support the arguments in favour of defining poverty as a violation of human rights.Returning to the obligation of States to their citizens under international law and backed by political theory, the ICESCR demands that states parties take steps, utilising their maximum available resources, to progressively achieve the realisation of the rights contained in the Covenant by, among other initiatives, adopting appropriate legislative measures to thi s end. The duty to take steps constitutes an immediate obligation. The aspect of duties and obligations (to be performed by the State for the benefit of the citizen) attached to economic and social rights, which include factors central to poverty eradication such as the provision of food and clean water, provide a legalistic colour to the provision of basic human needs and, in so doing, support the juristic view of poverty as a violation of human rights.Overall, the domestication of international human rights standards – civil and political, and economic, social and cultural – in the national legal systems of developing countries would create a suitable foundation for the generation of income opportunities and contribute to the alleviation of poverty, while reinforcing the juristic consideration of poverty as a violation of human rights. Ratification of the Rome Statute and implementation of the necessary national legislation The Millennium Declaration calls upon State s to consider signing and ratifying the Rome Statute as part of their commitment to peace, security and disarmament. Looking at the Millennium Declaration holistically, a perspective is developed which portrays the different development goals and declarations in pursuit of those goals (e. g. peace, security and disarmament; development nd poverty eradication; human rights democracy and good governance) as interlinked and interdependent. Thus, the commitment to the theme of peace and security, for example, is not a commitment to the theme in itself, but a complementary commitment to the wider, more holistic goals of the Millennium Declaration, which includes 99 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa the pursuit and achievement of the other thematic goals such as development and poverty eradication. These portray the challenges facing the international community in the 21st Century in striving to make the world a better place for the entire human family.There fore, just as the commitment to peace, security and disarmament is complementary to the goal of development and poverty eradication, the signing and ratification of the Rome Statute is a correlative and facilitative pathway to the achievement of both poverty eradication and the aforesaid wider objective. More directly, the ratification of the Rome Statute and the implementation of relevant legislation in national legal systems provide a stable platform for transitional justice, and deal a fatal blow to the culture of impunity which is the cause of international armed conflict, characterised by genocidal ambivalence, within the remit of the ICC.To belabour the point, transitional justice in the developing world contributes to peace, stability and the rule of law – which are the ingredients of a suitable income-generation environment that, in turn, is crucial to the eradication of poverty and hunger. The substance of this paper poses certain fundamental questions worth ponderin g. What part can jurists play in the fresh impetus to eradicate poverty, as embodied in the Millennium Declaration? What is the role of the international criminal justice system in these efforts? Just as justice is fundamental to the widening of democratic space, it is equally important to bridging the poverty gap.The international criminal justice system will play its role in contributing to these efforts by adhering to the principles of zero tolerance for impunity and delivering justice to the victims of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The international criminal justice system recognises that impunity breeds violence, which destroys the environment for income-generation and, thus, exacerbates poverty. This is why the Preamble to the Rome Statute recognises that grave crimes threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world, and is determined to put an end to impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes. The Millennium Declaration further resolves to †“29 29 UN General Assembly Resolution 55/2 at para. 12. 100 The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa c]reate an environment at the national and global levels alike – which is conducive to development and to the elimination of poverty. In so doing, the Declaration recognises the importance of international systems that, through various aspects and initiatives, contribute to dealing with the causes, triggers and aggravators of poverty. International criminal justice mechanisms seek justice and deter impunity – a cause of conflict and, thus, an aggravator of poverty. This recognition, coupled with the plea to ratify the Rome Statute in the Millennium Declaration, inspires an increasing convergence of thought, effort and interaction between the spheres of international criminal justice and economic development. ConclusionPoverty is a violation of human rights because States are obligated, under international human rights law and the social contrac t from which the State derives its legitimacy, to remove the impediments to the enjoyment of resources required to sustain a standard of living commensurate with the minimum acceptable level of human dignity. The consequences of poverty deny the citizen a standard of living commensurate to his or her inherent dignity. Thus, a human rights approach to poverty eradication has a strong foundation both in theoretical dimensions and at a practical level. The OHCHR argues for the active participation of the poor in poverty reduction strategies, in keeping with the right of citizens to participate in decision-making.In arguing for such participation, the OHCHR provides a linkage between poverty reduction and human rights, arguing that the poor –30 [m]ust be free to organize without restriction (right of association), to meet without impediment (right of assembly), and to say what they want without intimidation (freedom of expression); they must know the relevant facts (right to info rmation) and they must enjoy an elementary level of economic security and well-being (right to a reasonable standard of living and associated rights). In so doing, all persons will enjoy the basic rights and freedoms that enable them to participate in the conduct of public affairs and decision-making. This ultimately involves the distribution of resources key to the alleviation of poverty. 30 OHCHR (2002). 101The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa Thus, not only is poverty itself a violation of human rights, but the key to its alleviation lies in the conferment and entrenchment of fundamental rights and freedoms in developing nations. Considering poverty as a violation of human rights is not merely a theoretical endeavour: the output of such consideration addresses the specific issue of the lack of sufficient quantities of basic necessities. Once poverty is well established as a violation of human rights, resultant advocacy will pursue the attainment of bas ic necessities by advocating for the right to food, the right to health, the right to education, and so on.In so doing, the human rights movement will be contributing directly and substantially to the global effort to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, as resolved in the Millennium Declaration. Therefore, through the construction of poverty reduction as a positive human rights obligation, the adoption of a rights-based approach to development and support for international criminal justice, the UN has accelerated efforts to advance human dignity, particularly on the African continent, which is most affected by the scourge of poverty. References Askin, Kelly Dawn. 1997. War crimes against women: Prosecutions in international war crimes tribunals. The Hague: Kluwer Law International. Boyd, W. 1963. The educational theory of Jean Jacques Rousseau. New York: Russell & Russell. Ghandi, PR (Ed. ). 2002.Blackstone’s international human rights documents (Third Edition). 2002). Lond on: Blackstone Press. Hobbes, Thomas. 1998 [1651]. Leviathan. Edited by JCA Gaskin. New York: Oxford University Press. OHCHR/Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2002. â€Å"Human rights, poverty reduction and sustainable development: Health, food and water†. Unpublished paper for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, September 2002. Rehn, Elizabeth & Ellen Sirleaf. 2002. Women, war and peace: The Independent Experts’ assessment on the impact of armed conflict on women and women’s role in peacemaking. New York: United Nations Development Fund for Women. 102The United Nations and the advancement of human rights in Africa Sen, A. 1999. Development as freedom. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sengupta, A. [Forthcoming]. â€Å"Poverty eradication and human rights†. In Pogge, Thomas (Ed. ) â€Å"Severe poverty as a human rights violation†. New York: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation. Van B oven, Theo. 2004. Draft basic principles and guidelines on the right to a remedy and reparation for victims of gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law. Third Consultative Meeting, Geneva 29 September to 1 October 2004. Geneva: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 103

China Town

1. 0 Introduction During the 19th century, Malaya had been colonised by the British and many Chinese and Indian had migrates to Malaya. As a city, Kuala Lumpur had become the most crowded and fast development place. Many colonial and migrations stay at Kuala Lumpur. Through colonisation and migration, both knowledge and methods of house construction had been adapted to the Malaya architecture during that time. Therefore there are many heritage buildings especially the Chinese shop houses had been influence by the foreign design. In this essay, I had make a field trip to Petaling Street to collect photographs of shophouses. Through the characteristic of the design of the shophouses I need to identify the Malaysia and foreign design influences of the traditional shop houses in Petaling Street. Description and contrast had been made of the influences of the shop houses by comparing the buildings which the structures had been influence by. 2. 0 Background 2. 1 British Colonisation In Malaysia During 19-20 Century Figure 1: Tin mine Tim mining, a popular activity amongst there and they increases many Chinese workers to migrates to Malaya (figure 1). Chinese migrates brought their tradition dwelling design where the two storey Chinese shop houses becomes common. â€Å"During British colonise Malaya, many public and private building had been built by the British which contain the mixture of architecture styles such as Renaissance, Palladia, Neoclassical and revived Gothic because Kuala Lumpur has become the Federal Capital and Headquarters of the Resident General. † (Mohammad Iza,(2010),p. 45. ) 2. 2 Shophouses Before 1880's Chinese shophouses was a very simple construction of one storey houses which only use wooden parts supporting on attap roof which is open to the street. While the rear section of the shophouses was usually built on piles over a river to facilitate the delivery of goods. Most of the construction is use the locally available materials combine with Chinese architecture influence. Therefore curved gable are glazed ornamental tiles are some of the Chinese shop houses characteristic. Moreover the stucco decorations is the intention of which was to emphasis the character and background of the owner. The early shophouses are build in rows with uniforms facades and a continuous, covered five-foot way in front (figure 2). There are also jack roof on the shop houses which rise above the main roof to allowed accumulated hot air in the house to escape (figure 3). Besides that, there is also low rickety, shuttered window on the front of the first floor. Figure 2: Five-foot way Figure 3: Jack roof â€Å"Before World War II, the commercial centre of every Malaysian town was featured by one or more streets lined with usually two storeys high shophouses, where trading were occurred at the lower floor and the upper floors as residential accommodation area. † (Anon,(2008),p. 44. However, the position of the shop and residential space might be different depending on the number of floors of a shophouse. For an example, a single story shophouse tends to include residential area behind the shop; while for the shophouses of two or more storeys have residential space typically located above the shop. Early masonry shophouses were often built around 6-7 metres wide and 30 metres deep occasionally extended to 60 metres according to its location. They were often built in rows with uniform facades and a covered five-foot way in front of the shophouse. The five-foot way was first imposed by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a British colonial administration that founded the city of Singapore in 1822. †(online,www. wikipedia. com). It is an old practice specifying that all shophouses should include a minimum five-foot-wide veranda on the ground floor. This building tradition addressed the extremes of the tropical sun and rain, and created pedestrian linkages at ground level. These shaded areas were conducive to the shopkeepers by providing an extra space area to displaying their products (figure 4) . Apart from that, the typical Chinese shophouse was built in rows with a common wall between each unit. The walls that separate the shophouses are generally constructed by local manufactured baked clay. They are structural, load bearing walls to transfer the weight of the roof and upper floors down to the ground. Besides, the front of the shophouse on the ground floor has no walls, enabling goods to be displayed along the full width (figure 5) . Since the shophouse has no front walls, the front will be boarded up with fitted timber panels and secured with horizontal bars to lock up the shop. In addition, to ventilate the shophouse, a central courtyard can be found inside, which was later reduced to an airwell when space became more precious (figure 6). It was built to cool the building before the air-conditioning was invented. Courtyards were typically for residence all over China especially in the less densely populated areas of the north where they were located at the central of the layout, which often surrounded by high walls. Besides, a lane was also allocated at the back of the shophouse as a sanitary lane. It is a space found in between two rows of shophouses that faced back to back. This lane allows bullock carts to collect night soil as well as for safety purpose, for example, allow access for a fire truck when required. Figure 4: Displaying their products at the five-foot way Figure 5: Ground floor of the shophouses has no front walls Figure 6: Airwell found in one of the shophouse 2. 3 Foreign architecture and design influence There are five types of shophouses, Traditional, Neoclassical, Dutch Patrician, Art Deco and Modern. There are three principal varieties of shop houses during 1930's to 1940's which are Utilitarian design is made by simple wooden shutters and a minimum of decorations. While the Neoclassical design had elaborate the Greek and Roman columns and arnately decorate the Greek and Roman columns and arnately decorated window frames, pediments, paraprets and cornices. However Art Deco is the simplest design which only use simplified lines and geometrical patterns to decorate. The Noeclassical style can by recognised by a Grecian pediment (figure 7) , columns (figure 8) and moulded plasters swags decorated the facade. Besides, some of the Neoclassical style include a parapet and the top of the building and ornate window frames. Different from the Neoclassical, Dutch Patrician design as a Dutch-inspired gable was adopted for the front facade of the shop houses. Figure 7: Neoclassical pediment Figure 8: Original style Neoclassical column Art Deco was started during 1930's. The design only contain geometrical shapes and simplified lines were departure from the 1920's style. The ground floor and windows are not original. This is because it is from traditional vernacular and Western Neoclassical styles to Early Modernism and International style. Art Deco style had marked the transition from traditional vernacular and Western Neoclassical styles to Early Modernism and International style. 3. 0 Analysis 3. 1 Compare and contrast between Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown shophouses to the original foreign Neoclassical styles Figure 3. 1. 1: High ceiling found in Petaling Street shophouses(left) and St. George Hall, London(right). One of the special feature in Neoclassical architecture is high ceiling. High ceilings (Figure 3. . 1), tend to help to ventilate the air in the building through convection process, where the hot air rises and cool air sinks, as a result, the house will be cooling. The shophouses these days have a standard height of 8 metres, where space had become more precious besides saving cost. Figure 3. 1. 2: Petaling Street shophouses(left) and Rue De Rivoli, Paris(right) painted in white o r pastel colours. Apart from the high ceiling, Neoclassical buildings are often painted in white or pastel colours (Figure 3. 1. 2). White and pastel colours are bright and attracts people’s attention. Furthermore, these colours are poor conductor of heat, they helps to reflect more of the visible light spectrum, causing the particular building to be as cooling as posible. This may be the reason why the buildings in Neoclassical period painted in this series of colour. Figure 3. 1. 3: Petaling Street shophouses(left) and Arc De Thriump, Paris(right) with parapet on the top. Parapet (Figure 3. 1. 3) is a wall-like structure at the edge of a roof, which served as a fire wall, that prevents the flames from coming up to the exterior of the building, igniting the roofing membrane. In addition, it also modifieds the wind flow over the roof so that the pressure exerted is distributed evenly to prevent it from collapsing. Figure 3. 1. 4: Petaling Street shophouses(left) and Madeleine Church, Paris(right) with pediment. A pediment is a classical architectural element which consist of the triangular section found on top of a building, supported by the columns. It is founded in the classical Greek temples, Renaissance, and Neoclassical architecture. The pediment of Madeleine Church, Paris is filled with relief sculptures while the one found in Petaling Street shophouses are filled with floral sculptures (Figure 3. . 4). Figure 3. 1. 5: Petaling Street shophouses(left) and New York City Hall(right) columns. A column is an upright pillar which supports a beam or a roof, sometimes it might just simple for decoration purposes. There are 3 types of columns which is doric (oldest and simplest of classical orders), ionic (more complex than doric, with a scroll on top) and corinthian (with most ornate). Ionic order is found in the Petaling Street shophouses, while New York City Hall contained the doric order (Figure 3. 1. 5). Figure 3. 1. 6: Petaling Street shophouses(left) and New York City Hall(right) are symmetrical. Symmetry and balance are the most pedominat characteristic of Neoclassical buildings. This feature is recognizable easily as the left and the right portion of the building is the same to maintain the balance of the building so that it does not fall (Figure 3. 1. 6). 3. 2 Compare and contrast between Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown shophouses to the original foreign Art Deco styles Figure 3. 2. 1: Petaling Street shophouses(left) and Caisse Nationale d'Economie, Monteal (right) with flag pole. Concrete flagpoles are one of the common feature of Art Deco buildings (Figure 3. 2. 1). The flagpoles are stretched from the top of the building with bands or motif sculptured at the base of the poles as if it is attached to the wall of facade. Figure 3. 2. 2: Petaling Street shophouses column(left) and Patel’s Building, Durban’s column(right). On the other hand, Petaling Street shophouses and Patel’s Building (Figure 3. 2. 2) both have geometrical shapes running down the column, which is also a common feature of Art Deco architecture. Nonetheless, Petaling Street’s column has a mixture of both Art Deco and Neoclassical styles as on top of it’s column, since there’s some swirls on it which belonged to Ionic order. Figure 3. 2. 3: Petaling Street shophouses(left) and Caisse Nationale d'Economie, Monteal’s (right) mouldings. Furthermore, plaster moulding is another characteristic of Art Deco architecture. Shanghai plaster is commonly used as it provides the same visual effect as stone and it’s a cheaper building material. This finished plaster was usually left in it’s original colour, sometimes painted in the pastel colour of the era. The fine vertical lines plaster moulding at Petaling Street shophouses and Caisse Nationale d'Economie, Monteal are easily recognizable (Figure 3. 2. 3). Figure 3. 2. : Petaling Street shophouses(left) and Thorp Coffee House(right) stated the year it was built. To the contrary, Art Deco buildings usually state the year that it was built on the top of the building. For example, the particular Shophouse in Petaling Street was built in the year 1910, therefore, the figure 1910 is placed on the top of the building as well as for Thorp Coffee House (Figure 3. 2. 4). Figure 3. 2. 5: Petaling Street shophouses(left) and Louis Hay’s Office(right) with air vents. Lastly, Art Deco buildings have horizontal air vents usually located above the windows (Figure 3. 2. 5). The air vent is placed above the window to cool down the interior of the building as hot air are less dense and rises up, thus, escaping through the air vents. 4. 0 Conclusion Through compare and contrast of the different style of the shop houses, we able find out that the different style of the shop houses was influence by different background. From the 18th century until now we can see that the style of the Chinese shop houses change according to the place the shop houses was built. Beside that, the structure of the shop houses also depends to the need of the owner and the period of time those shop houses was built.

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The Making of the Korean War and Its End Term Paper

The Making of the Korean War and Its End - Term Paper Example With the help of communists, North Korea was sure of a swift win in South Korea and never thought that the United States would come to the assistance of South Korea in time. However, the South Korean communists had been suppressed harshly with no chance of helping North Korea forces. After successfully defeating the South Korean army and on the brink of winning, a combined United States and United Nations forces attacked North Korean forces successfully pushing North Korean forces past the 38th parallel. Kim had grossly underestimated the United States armed forces capacity in the region and the U.S commitment to Ryee’s government. North Korea invaded South Korea starting the civil war in which Koreans fought each other on their own soil. Had Kim not invaded the south the civil war would not have started but still it could not have been fought if the communist Russians and the United Nations had not divided the country at the 38th parallel splitting the country into an industr ial north and an agricultural south after World War II. North Korea had a superior army and quickly overwhelmed the South Korean Forces. With military support from Stalin and blessings from Mao, South Korea could not hold long, and they did not; they had a weaker army and were not prepared for war. North Korea’s leader had unified his country with swift reforms and nationalistic policies, which increased his popularity in contrast to Ryees government, which had embarked on a campaign to root out communists. It was his unification ambition and his brutal leadership that had prevented the United States from strengthening his military strength. Kim’s army had the support of the Soviet Union and without Stalin’s support; he would have delayed his attempts at unifying Korea through military means. Why Did United States and Russia Interfere In The War? Failing to unify their country due to bad communications and different ideologies, Kim and Ryee had to involve extern al powers to unite Korea. Stalin initially did not support Kim in attacking South Korea, he changed his mind when China’s communist took china’s leadership and the Soviet Union acquired and tested their first atomic bomb. NATO was established when Russia’s relation with the west was very poor. They could not support the war because the country’s sovereignty was threatened by the west and he did not want to aggravate the situation1. The atomic bomb made the Soviets more secure and hence they stopped being concerned with the reaction of the United States if they actively supported the war. The United States could have attacked the Soviet Union from the south but through Acheson statements America weakening involvement in Asia was evident. Russia wrongly interpreted this as a weakening of the United States military capabilities and influence around the region. If Russia did not have the capability to defend itself against the west, Stalin would not have cons ented to the war. The increasing communist successes in the region concerned the United States government. Communist governments spread would weaken their influence in the region. If South Korea had suppressed North Koreas attack, Washington would not have a valid reason to attack. By defending the South Korea nationalistic government, it would empower the people through democracy, but Bruce Cumings disagrees claiming that the United States and South Korea committed sustained atrocities during the war. He claims that many unarmed civilians were shot

Teachers and bullying Essay Example for Free

Teachers and bullying Essay â€Å"Bullying poisons the educational environment and affects the learning of every child. †(Olweus) Some of the common effects of bullying on children include sadness, depression, poor body image and eating disorders, skipping school, bad grades, headaches, stomach aches, sleeping trouble, thoughts and even acts of suicide. The study also looked at relationship between empathy of the teacher and how they handled bullying incidents. Among the teachers who thought that the incidents were not serious or thought that the victims misperceived the situation, it was found that those teachers who felt empathy for a child at least tried to understand the child’s experiences and factors that shaped his or her behaviours. The teachers who did not show empathy did not try to understand the children. The research also cites two teachers who described some children as crying fake tears while describing their experiences. The teachers did not try to comprehend the children’s experiences or behaviours. They termed the children as provocative victims who exhibit that both the peers and adults find irritating. When such children report victimisation and bullying experience, the school personnel tend to be unsympathetic and ignores it. This strengthens the findings by researchers such as Craig et al (2000), Eslea and Smith (2000), Kallestad and Olweus (2003) that defies empathy as a key factor in how the teachers characterise and respond to bullying incidents and also how they implement anti-bullying programs. The research found that even when the individuals are able to articulate a clear definition of bullying, other factors can influence how they characterise and respond to the bullying situation. This can have an affect on the children if they perceive that sufficient action has not been taken by the teachers. Hence it would be beneficial to provide the teachers information on the factors that can influence individual’s decisions about what constitutes bullying and not. Indirect bullying was found to be the most challenging for the teachers to recognise as well as to know whether and how to intervene. Most often the teachers were unaware that children were bullied and did not consider the child’s case serious. This was also found by researches Craig et al (2000), Hazler et al (2001). Research by Siann et al (1993) found that teachers neglected to consider repetition in most of their definitions. The research found out that the assumption of the teacher about the characteristics displayed by the victims prevented them from recognizing the victimised children when they did not match the assumptions made. Researches conducted by O’Moore (2000) found that focussing on the individual characteristic of children who bully or who are victimised can minimise the awareness of factors such as social context and can obscure other factors that are central to the bullying such as the victimised child’s experience with distress due to the bullying activity. Researches conducted by Siann et al (1993) and Ireland and Ireland (2000) found that that subjectivity, especially when related to the indirect bullying can severely influence the intervention negatively. The teachers doubting the child’s view may contribute to the further lack of disclosure to the teachers. This was found to be intertwined with empathy shown by the teacher. Craig et al (2000), Kallestad and Olweus (2003) found the important relationship between empathy and how teachers responded to the bully victims. It was identified that the teachers require assistance to become cognizant of their attitudes also that their views may not correspond to the views of the children. This helps teachers to understand that sometimes the child’s distress may be greater than that anticipated by the teacher. According to Landau, Milich, Harris and Larson (2001), this understanding can increase the teacher’s ability to recognise and intervene in bullying situation. This assumes greater importance considering that the educators need to protect children who are victimised but who may not recognise or feel that they are being bullied. The research also found out that majority of the teachers was themselves subjected to bullying as children. According to the teachers, this personal experience influenced how they reacted to the bullying of their students. Kallestad and Olweus (2003) found an association between the teachers who identified as bullied as a child with the responses and interventions they participated in. However a study conducted by Nicolaides et al (2002) indicates that there is no strong influence of bullying during the childhood on the response of the teacher to bullying. Gibbons, Lichtenbert and van Beusekom (1994) found that it is necessary for the educators and other professionals need to deal with their own feelings that the incidents may evoke in order to respond effectively to the bullying situations. According to the research conducted by Boulton (1997, Craig et al (2000), Townsend-Wiggins (2001), training is essential for the teachers to increase the confidence and competence to respond to the bullying activities. It was found that most of the teachers had not received any training and expressed their desire to undertake this type of training. (Mishna, F. et al, 2005).

Importance of Knowledge Management in Organisations

Importance of Knowledge Management in Organisations CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction This chapter provides a brief introduction about the research topic along with the research aims and objectives in detail. Further in this chapter, the scope of research, personal interest and the motivation to choose this particular research topic are all discussed briefly. Finally, the dissertation structure content of the six chapters is highlighted. 1.1 Introduction to the Topic The use of Internet and Intranet technologies within an organisation has changed drastically over the past ten years. Modern organisations are striving hard to maintain an appropriate strategy towards knowledge management in order to provide the employees of the organisation with the data related to their work. The main use of using a companys knowledge-base by employees is to help them develop their skills in all aspects and at the same time helps an individual to learn from any mistakes highlighted during projects undertaken. All past experiences and solutions provided at that time are recorded so experts can analyze these mistakes and make sure that they are not repeated in any of their future product developments or assignments. This research will evaluate whether knowledge management is an effective way to enhance an organisations profit and at the same time achieve employee training and development. Furthermore this research will evaluate whether Intranet and Internet services within an organisation play an important role in knowledge management process. 1.2 Personal Interest and Motivation During the learning process at the university, the author was exposed to different modules of Information Technology (IT), such as, Project Management, IT Management, Knowledge Management and Professional Issues that prevail in the present IT industry. Among these modules the author developed a kind of affection with the subject of Knowledge Management and wished to know more about it. Therefore the author has chosen to taken up this opportunity to explore this research topic and gain further understanding of knowledge management in more detail. This has not been an easy task, but with good guidance and advice from my mentors, tutors and my loved ones it has helped to finalize this topic choice and commence the research work. 1.3 Main Topics Discussed In this section, the main topics and sub topics discussed in the literature review are listed: Introduction to Intranet and Internet Services, Information Technology (IT), Impact of the Intranet on Organisations, Knowledge Management Studies, Knowledge Management, Types of Knowledge Management, Benefits of Knowledge Management Implementation in Organisations, Knowledge Circulation Process (KCP) for Organisational Performance and Management of Knowledge. All the above main topic and sub topics are related to one another which gives a complete understanding about the topic and its necessity within todays organisations. With this understanding a survey questionnaire is formulated which is analyzed at later stages of the research work/discussion. 1.4 Scoping of the Research The main purpose of this study is to evaluate whether knowledge management systems are necessary in todays organisation and also the study is to point out the important features of knowledge management when implemented within organisations. This research topic has been a major attraction for many researchers; a lot of studies have been carried out on this topic. At present, the authors research identifies a few opinions about the topic and its importance within the scope of an organisation. 1.5 Aims and Objectives The main aim of this research study is to evaluate whether knowledge management is important in todays organisations and also to discover whether knowledge management helps in employee development and learning processes. Furthermore, the research also provides a chance to evaluate the role of the Internet and Intranet technologies in implementing knowledge management. Below is a list of objectives: To understand the research topic in depth Provide a clear understanding of the role of Internet and Intranet technologies Seek information in relation to Knowledge Management 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation The dissertation structure is divided into six chapters and the contents of each chapter are briefly discussed below: Chapter One In this chapter, a brief introduction concerning the topic is discussed. Furthermore, the aims and objectives of the research topic are detailed, personal interest/ motivation, scope of the research, main topics and sub topics related to the research topic are discussed. Finally, the chapter concludes with a dissertation outline, this provides the reader with a structure of the research work that will be carried out. Chapter Two This chapter mainly focuses on the literature review based on the research topic. The discussion focuses on the analysis of a variety of researchers views and different authors opinions about the chosen topic area. Additionally, literature on knowledge management systems, types of knowledge management, and benefits of knowledge management when implemented within an organisation, knowledge circulation process, Internet and Intranet services within organisations are all briefly discussed. Chapter Three In these chapter different research paradigms, research strategies and data collection methods are discussed briefly, out of which only appropriate research paradigm, research methodology, research strategy are chosen based on the topic. Further in this chapter, assumptions and ethical issues are also discussed. Chapter Four In this chapter, the data collected from participants are gathered together, the data is stored in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and the data is then analyzed by relating it to the research aims and objectives in order to meet them. Chapter Five This chapter includes a brief discussion of the analysed results of the obtained data from participants. The data is represented in the form of graphs and each graph is followed by a discussion. Chapter Six This is the conclusive chapter. In this chapter, the obtained results are compared to that of research aims and final conclusions are drawn from the analysis. The discussion focuses on relating to and linking the survey data to the aims and drawing conclusions. Finally, the chapter suggests future recommendations. 1.7 Conclusion This chapter has provided a brief outline of the dissertation structure where the researcher as well as the reader can gain a quick understanding about the work that has been planned. Additionally this chapter has introduced the topic chosen, highlighted the aims and objectives and briefly discussed the main topics within the study that will hopefully provide a clear understanding for both the author and the reader. Furthermore, this chapter also discusses the authors personal interest/motivation behind choosing this particular topic area and the scope of the research. In the next chapter, literature on the research topic is analysed and discussed this: includes opinions of different researchers and authors. CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Introduction The use of intra-organisational information by employees is widely recognized as an essential part of knowledge sharing within organisations. This way of sharing knowledge helps an organisation to tackle supporting operational and strategic corporate decision makers within the organisation. Intranet technology has proven to be one of the effective ways of accessing and disseminating data or knowledge available within the organisation (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998). The main problem that an organisation faces is the decision-making capability. Managers who are responsible for decision making within a project lifecycle are unable to make appropriate decisions due to the required data not being available. Due to large amounts of data that are available within the organisation, organisations are striving hard to find appropriate tools and techniques to manage their knowledge. Although, techniques such as data warehousing and digital libraries are implemented within the organisation, but these services are limited to a certain range. In order to manage these kinds of situations within an organisation, better solutions are evaluated and the term Intranet evolved (Tan, et. al., 2003). Expertise has identified services offered by the Intranet, some of these services that can be utilized are: alternative approach of managing dispersed enterprise data and decision support services. Intranet usage integrates individual, group, departmental, corporate communication and information sharing tasks together and provides a solution or option for each and every individual who uses it. Organisations have developed in terms of managing data available within their departments, sharing of knowledge within their departments, communication within company employees and sharing of knowledge are available for decision making was found to be improved (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998). Intranets can develop the collaboration among employees who are working for an organisation by creating networks of share spaces which are developed based on common understanding. Employees of an organisation can use this service as a medium to share available knowledge and expertise amongst each other. They have the opportunity to interact with their team and share their advice on work carried out. Though the main use of the Intranet in an organisation was meant to be for data sharing, but the extra features with the use of Intranet in organisations made it popular and these services are widely used in organisation irrespective of their market area (Khasnabish and Saracco, 1997). Strategic engagements that are held by an organisation have seen a new topic that has emerged in the knowledge based view of an organisation. This provides us with a theoretical basis on how a knowledge based resource plays a vital role in increasing the sustainable competitiveness of the firm. It also provides us with a clearer picture of how changes could be brought about to ensure no hassle in the process of knowledge management (Hoegl and Schulze, 2005). If an organisation constantly checks on its resources and promotes knowledge based perspective that postulates a competitive advantage and also builds on the privately developed resources, then tacit and explicit knowledge in an organisation will exist. At the same time, the knowledge based view or perception of an organisation assumes that the present knowledge assets exist at any time provided a valid opportunity for sustainable competitive advantage (Kebede, 2010). The use of previously existing assets along with the creation, accumulation and sharing the new assets amongst the other individuals would happen in an easier way by employing Information Technology and an Information System (IS) in that particular organisation, this is considered here. In an organisational view, it can be explained in a convincing manner the reason why a certain number of organisations or firms are more competitive under the prevailing market conditions (Kebede, 2010). Knowledge assets pertaining to a particular organisation are all dependent upon the quality of organisational knowledge and also the intangible assets of the organisation in general. This generally depends on the methods that are used to store the knowledge within the organisational limits and the extent of its usage within its employees. There is a serious need for metrics and statistics to justify all knowledge management initiatives that are taken up on priority within an organisation. Taking the knowledge management process a step forward would help senior management to justify and also help them improve their ability to manage the knowledge assets in a better manner. The benefits that are extracted from the knowledge management are all intangible and there is one method of measurement called the Balanced Scorecard. This would take both the perspectives like Financial and also the others (e.g. customers or internal business processes, innovation and learning etc.) (Liebowitz and Megbolugbe, 2003). However it is not a justifiable fact to relate knowledge management initiatives to performance. One cannot relate knowledge management with performance in every situation within organisational life, There is a need to have a superior metrics system to assess knowledge management performance, with also the ability to clear it; and also at the same time it also suggests futuristic and strategic actions for an organisation to take up. This not just keeps the work organised, but also improves the performance for the knowledge management process. 2.1 KM Studies The discussion that is taken up in previous sections of this dissertation briefly highlights that knowledge management is built on multiple disciplines such as management, computer science and information systems theory. It also has been reviewed in previous knowledge management literature at the start and the same are summarized in Table 1 below by Lee et. al., (2005). Table 1: KM studies, (Lee et. al., 2005) There are few prior Knowledge Management studies that relates with the Managerial and the Social issues. These issues have brought about the needed change and also brought about the necessary importance into place on specific processes and activities within knowledge management such as the knowledge acquisition, generation, storage, distribution, application and also its measurement (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). On the same grounds, the research agenda and also the general perspective of knowledge management based on the literature review are all addressed with the priorities that were set for them without any deviations. There are few points that have taken the managerial perspective and have requested the reasons as to how a ‘learning organisation could obtain sustainable competitive advantage. Work needs to be conducted within the organisation to develop the same knowledge as there would not be any single individual in an organisation who has all the required knowledge. It is not predictable when an individual working with any certain organisation would choose to leave it, for the offer of a better poosition. Hence relying on a single individual for his knowledge could lead to very drastic effects. The way or the process within which the knowledge has been acquired and the way it is assembled and restructured particularly provides a definite competitive advantage for an organisation. As per the scholar Kebede (2010) states, the process of learning was the only sustainable competitive advantage and there has been a single learning situation that is resulted in organisational knowledge (or memory). Corporate memory has a remarkable effect on the present decisions that are taken and also plays a vital role in the success of an organisations operations and the responses to the changes and challenges. There are numerous attempts that are made and numerous methodologies that were put in place to improve and revive the present learnings and learning capabilities of the individual employees in an organisation, this helps an organisation become a ‘learning system (Kingston and Macintosh, 2000). In the process of improving an organisations learning capabilities, there were problems that were identified at various stages of the process by a considerable number of scholars. These identified reasons and issues were then studied to give a better environment to resolve the same. There are also studies that mentioned the relationship of role of Information Technology in Knowledge Management (Lee and Kim, 2001) (Kingston and Macintosh, 2000). There is a general consideration that a Knowledge Management System (KMS) is a specialized Information System for knowledge management using the latest available technologies (e.g. the Internet, Intranet, data warehouses, software agents) to synchronize, facilitate and also to expedite organisation wide knowledge management. Knowledge Management System research primarily consists of general and also conceptual principles, case studies, scenarios and thesis of such systems of a few organisations. A study by Lee and Kim (2001) states that how a KMS can enhance the effectiveness of the teams that sit and analyse the complex, non-recurring problems by improving all the trouble some areas and also improving the way these teams compositions evolve. Knowledge mining would be the synonymous phrase that could be used as like Data mining. Using this we would be able to see our self in a situation where you can provide the right information to the right persons at the right time (Kingston and M acintosh, 2000). The strategic use of the Internet for all such knowledge management activities is well dealt with in lot of activities. There has been a point that was mentioned regarding the usage of the Internet and Intranet in developing the distributed Knowledge Management systems by (Goodman, 2006). XML (Extensible Markup Language) was developed to transport and store data, this is considered as an ideal tool for knowledge retrieval and for use in knowledge management. 2.2 Impact of the Intranet on Organisations Intranet services are growing rapidly within every possible sector of business due to its wide range of benefits. Some of the impacts where Intranet has changed the business strategy are listed below: It is less expensive to implement as it runs inside the organisations network. Excellent performance enhancement can be achieved because of limited user access Employee performance is increased due to availability of necessary resources and advices due to better communication with their expertise. Effective communication amongst the employees Efficient knowledge sharing process within different departments of an organisation Helps to maintain effective customer relationship Immediate access of data regarding organisational data and documents is possible with the help of Intranet service (Bernard, 1996). 2.3 WEB WEB is known as World Wide Web. It is a hypertext document which can be accessed over the Internet. With the use of these links an individual can actually access almost everything, right from an mp3 (MPEG- Moving Pictures Experts Group) file to video files. Different types of documents and books can be read or downloaded using this process. With the help of this facility an individual can perform some of his daily tasks in a different and a convenient way. The use of the Internet and web technology has changed the entire scenario of database management within an organisation on any given day. Due to the popularity of the web, a newer version of World Wide Web is launched and named it as the second version of it. With the help of web 2.0 one can experience a user friendly approach while accessing the Internet. The quality of web pages that are available is different and more exciting when compared to earlier version of web (W3c, 2010). 2.4 Knowledge Management Knowledge management in general tries to organise and make available important information like the know-how, wherever and whenever it is actually needed. This includes processes, procedures, patents, reference works, formulas, best practices, forecasts, fixes and the like (Maglitta, 1996). This process is not only used for managing organisations knowledge base but also looks for the proper management of the same. Utilization of this knowledge within the organisation at right time and at the right place is also ensured as a part of its activities. Success of an organisation depends less on developed products and more on the appropriate utilization of available information, appropriate sharing of information when needed. Thus knowledge management plays a vital and a key role for all these years and it will be change the future of managing the knowledge within an organisation as well (Kebede, 2010). 2.4.1 Types of Knowledge Mainly there are of two types of knowledge that is available for the individuals of an organisation and they are: Explicit Knowledge: This knowledge can be expressed in terms of specific language and is normally expressed in terms of data or formulae. The information obtained can be stored within the Organisational premises easily and reused whenever there is any need for it. Tacit Knowledge This type of knowledge is completely opposite to explicit knowledge. Knowledge is more personal and cannot be stored. It ‘indwells in a comprehensive cognizance of the human mind and body (Kebede, 2010). In simpler words, this type of knowledge is held within an individual and is not available for any other individuals of the organisation. This kind of knowledge in an individual builds a dependency on him and then the works would actually finish in a slower and un-organised manner. 2.4.2 Benefits of KM Implementation in Organisations One can expect an interactive environment around the organisation where people strive for knowledge and also to show their skills, some benefits of KM implementation are listed below: Provide new ways to collaborate. Boosts up productivity. Leads to innovation within the organisation. Overall profitability. Motivation and encouragement within employees. Reusability of resources (Dalkir, 2005). 2.4.3 What are Knowledge Based Systems? Human-centred would be an apt definition for a Knowledge Based System. Knowledge Based Systems derive their roots from the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and there are evident attempts from scholars to understand and also to imitate human knowledge in Computer systems. In whatever way we see, a Knowledge Based System falls short of the human intellect and the human touch. The system lacks creative powers like reproducing the same knowledge and also the learning capabilities are relatively primitive (Dreyfus, 1986). Compared to a human as such, there is no comparison with the Knowledge Based System. There is a wonderfully acknowledged fact that the intelligence of a Artificially Intelligent System is quite different from human intelligence. There are a second set of definitions that are defined and which only looks for the characteristics in the architecture of a Knowledge Based System. In such a way of defining a Knowledge Based System, it mainly categorizes four components namely: Knowledge base Inference Engine Knowledge engineering tool A specific user interface and is often natural language based (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007) The core of a Knowledge Based System is defined by the first two components namely the Knowledge Base and the Inference Engine wherein the former one is an active collection of ‘formal knowledge or an active database with lots of ‘formal knowledge, its primary purpose being how that data may be used in Practical life. The latter part, inference engine on the other hand defines the ways in which the knowledge base can be put to use to help resolve the situations at hand for an organisation (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007). The remaining two factors are just the added supplements for the Knowledge base and the Inference engine as these offer instruments for filling the Knowledge base with knowledge and act as a dedicated user interface for the user to understand and view the knowledge. Characteristically a Knowledge Based System user interface has to provide the basic know how and should also question itself letting the system explain its behaviour when the system deals with any particular problem. Definitions of a Knowledge Based System that are defined on the basis of architectural peculiarities are not at all satisfactory as compared to the definitions that are defined on the basis of human intelligence, there is an obvious resistance in the way they actually work with such definitions also (Akerkar and Sajja, 2009). The difference in the definitions could be seen when we consider a system based on neural nets and there are no separating aspects of a knowledge base, inference engine. There would hardly be any difference between the knowledge base and an inference engine in such cases where neural nets are considered for a system. Such definitions take the wrong meaning historical form chosen in several Knowledge Based Systems for the hallmarks of such systems. There is also a third set of definition that is given to a Knowledge Based System to indicate all the organisational IT applications that prove helpful and needful for managing the knowledge assets within an organisation. Few examples for such kinds of Knowledge Based Systems could be expert systems, groupware, data warehouses or even the Intranet. The mentioned applications in an organisation provide the individuals all the information that is needed to them to help them in all their day-to-day activities. These definitions are flatly rejected as these lead to the erosion of the meaning of the term Knowledge-based system. Knowledge Based System in our view is not just any IT system that is used to deal with the Knowledge that is present with an organisation (Leondes, 2000). The definition of a Knowledge Based System that provides the most satisfactory organisation-centred viewpoint comes when we focus on the â€Å"Knowledge Modelling†. Key activity in building a Knowledge Based System in that case is to find a formal model that allows the description of knowledge at a conceptual level or at the knowledge level itself, aiming at uncovering the basic schema linking the central concepts of a given domain in a particular organisation (Akerkar and Lingras, 2008). The best suited examples of formalisms for the knowledge representation are the production rules, predicate logic, frames, neural nets and objects. The definition of a Knowledge Based System as an outcome of the knowledge modelling process is very useful and it actually does not direct any discussions pertaining to the organisational values of it to the characteristics of the technology as such. The actual goals of knowledge modelling process could be achieved only by examining the elements of knowledge validly and then has to be described in any of the formalisms for knowledge representation (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007). Given the focus on the process of knowledge modelling not only aids in gaining the best insight into the characteristics of the knowledge, but also guides the discussions concerning the pros and cons of the use of knowledge. It then leads to the identification why or in which aspect of formalisation is not possible or not advisable (for example, it reduces the flexibility or does not do justice to any specific intricacies). The knowledge modelling process thus acts as a vehicle to show and focus thought about the organisational knowledge and also its functionality. The basic aim is to explore that part of the organisational knowledge and how to capture in the formal schemata, and to describe the benefits and the pitfalls that are implied. There are associated benefits of having a Knowledge Based System in place in an organisation. These act as a way to retain the knowledge even after an individual who has created/compiled it has opted out of the organisation or in their absence. These systems could be used for the new comers in their on-job training purposes to fetch whatever the details that are needed of them. There is a consistent way to improve the decision making process and also helps in increasing the availability of the needed expertise. They provide the building blocks or the Corporate Memory and also promotes of knowledge sharing etc. If the knowledge is well documented under KBS, the sole repository for all such information and knowledge then there wouldnt be any potential rivalry between these two. If there is any discrepancy then the risks that have to be incurred is not imaginary also (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Then those would not be considered the failure of a KBS installation but would unnecessary a nd undesirable side effects of a successful KBS implementation. Stating to the earlier point, these mainly derive from the fact that KBS totally depends on the determining and storing of the knowledge at a given point of time. It would be very tough and would be next to impossible to assess all the critical empirical assessments of the harm that a KBS may cause to an organisation. Considering such a point, there would be a definite negative impact on Job satisfaction and also on the labour quality. Once a KBS is implemented in an organisation, there should be an established value that has to be assigned to the same. The friendliness and the rivalry that exists between the KBS and the knowledge that is with held in the hands of an organisation are like the two poles of a continuum. The whole responsibility of having the data be accessible over the Internet/Intranet for all the individuals of an organisation is solely taken up by the organisation. The main area that is concentrated here in this discussion would be the organisational value of KBS, its assessment, and the effective know how process. There should be a proper and a systematic way to respond to all the questions that could be raised on the three issues (Akerkar and Lingras, 2008). Firstly there should be an assessment of the role and the value of the knowledge of the organisation; the measures of their activation. Only after this is done, there would be a proper understanding of the things that are to happen at a later stage in an organisation. Knowledge management is the whole process of considering and implementing measures that would be dealing with the organisational knowledge. There is always a need to have a suitable definition of this concept. Secondly, the provided definition for a KBS has to be appropriate to the context of investigation of the organisational aspects of knowledge. The relationship between the knowledge management and Knowledge Based Systems has to be established and the same should stand on sound grounds. If there are any mismatches found in the definitions, it would affect drastically on both the knowledge and the method through which the knowledge management is achieved. Thirdly, with a proper assessment of the value of a KBS, it needs a careful description of how a KBS relates to the other aspects of an organisation and the disposition of its knowledge. There is also a question that remains unanswered that is the earning that a KBS can obtain the tools that are used for knowledge management. To do all this, there is a particular framework that has to be presented. 2.5 Management of Knowledge There is a certain need for every organisation to crave for more knowledge than what is acquired by an organisation as it has to survive the competition that exists in the market. Every individual that is linked with any process of an organisation, they have to perform their day-to-day activities and routines; it may even add value to the work that an individual does. The knowledge that is acquired or retained within the organisational limits could be put into use by all the individuals in their day-to-day work. The knowledge that is already retained by an organisation has to be used in all the present scenarios and at the same time there are to be ardent efforts to create new knowledge or information are the only two core areas of concern for any organisation that is considered for this research study (Frappaolo, 2006). The knowledge that is acquired and maintained within an organisation should be relevant to the work that an individual works on and the same differs or changes over the time without any doubts. An organisation maintaining the Importance of Knowledge Management in Organisations Importance of Knowledge Management in Organisations CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction This chapter provides a brief introduction about the research topic along with the research aims and objectives in detail. Further in this chapter, the scope of research, personal interest and the motivation to choose this particular research topic are all discussed briefly. Finally, the dissertation structure content of the six chapters is highlighted. 1.1 Introduction to the Topic The use of Internet and Intranet technologies within an organisation has changed drastically over the past ten years. Modern organisations are striving hard to maintain an appropriate strategy towards knowledge management in order to provide the employees of the organisation with the data related to their work. The main use of using a companys knowledge-base by employees is to help them develop their skills in all aspects and at the same time helps an individual to learn from any mistakes highlighted during projects undertaken. All past experiences and solutions provided at that time are recorded so experts can analyze these mistakes and make sure that they are not repeated in any of their future product developments or assignments. This research will evaluate whether knowledge management is an effective way to enhance an organisations profit and at the same time achieve employee training and development. Furthermore this research will evaluate whether Intranet and Internet services within an organisation play an important role in knowledge management process. 1.2 Personal Interest and Motivation During the learning process at the university, the author was exposed to different modules of Information Technology (IT), such as, Project Management, IT Management, Knowledge Management and Professional Issues that prevail in the present IT industry. Among these modules the author developed a kind of affection with the subject of Knowledge Management and wished to know more about it. Therefore the author has chosen to taken up this opportunity to explore this research topic and gain further understanding of knowledge management in more detail. This has not been an easy task, but with good guidance and advice from my mentors, tutors and my loved ones it has helped to finalize this topic choice and commence the research work. 1.3 Main Topics Discussed In this section, the main topics and sub topics discussed in the literature review are listed: Introduction to Intranet and Internet Services, Information Technology (IT), Impact of the Intranet on Organisations, Knowledge Management Studies, Knowledge Management, Types of Knowledge Management, Benefits of Knowledge Management Implementation in Organisations, Knowledge Circulation Process (KCP) for Organisational Performance and Management of Knowledge. All the above main topic and sub topics are related to one another which gives a complete understanding about the topic and its necessity within todays organisations. With this understanding a survey questionnaire is formulated which is analyzed at later stages of the research work/discussion. 1.4 Scoping of the Research The main purpose of this study is to evaluate whether knowledge management systems are necessary in todays organisation and also the study is to point out the important features of knowledge management when implemented within organisations. This research topic has been a major attraction for many researchers; a lot of studies have been carried out on this topic. At present, the authors research identifies a few opinions about the topic and its importance within the scope of an organisation. 1.5 Aims and Objectives The main aim of this research study is to evaluate whether knowledge management is important in todays organisations and also to discover whether knowledge management helps in employee development and learning processes. Furthermore, the research also provides a chance to evaluate the role of the Internet and Intranet technologies in implementing knowledge management. Below is a list of objectives: To understand the research topic in depth Provide a clear understanding of the role of Internet and Intranet technologies Seek information in relation to Knowledge Management 1.6 Structure of the Dissertation The dissertation structure is divided into six chapters and the contents of each chapter are briefly discussed below: Chapter One In this chapter, a brief introduction concerning the topic is discussed. Furthermore, the aims and objectives of the research topic are detailed, personal interest/ motivation, scope of the research, main topics and sub topics related to the research topic are discussed. Finally, the chapter concludes with a dissertation outline, this provides the reader with a structure of the research work that will be carried out. Chapter Two This chapter mainly focuses on the literature review based on the research topic. The discussion focuses on the analysis of a variety of researchers views and different authors opinions about the chosen topic area. Additionally, literature on knowledge management systems, types of knowledge management, and benefits of knowledge management when implemented within an organisation, knowledge circulation process, Internet and Intranet services within organisations are all briefly discussed. Chapter Three In these chapter different research paradigms, research strategies and data collection methods are discussed briefly, out of which only appropriate research paradigm, research methodology, research strategy are chosen based on the topic. Further in this chapter, assumptions and ethical issues are also discussed. Chapter Four In this chapter, the data collected from participants are gathered together, the data is stored in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and the data is then analyzed by relating it to the research aims and objectives in order to meet them. Chapter Five This chapter includes a brief discussion of the analysed results of the obtained data from participants. The data is represented in the form of graphs and each graph is followed by a discussion. Chapter Six This is the conclusive chapter. In this chapter, the obtained results are compared to that of research aims and final conclusions are drawn from the analysis. The discussion focuses on relating to and linking the survey data to the aims and drawing conclusions. Finally, the chapter suggests future recommendations. 1.7 Conclusion This chapter has provided a brief outline of the dissertation structure where the researcher as well as the reader can gain a quick understanding about the work that has been planned. Additionally this chapter has introduced the topic chosen, highlighted the aims and objectives and briefly discussed the main topics within the study that will hopefully provide a clear understanding for both the author and the reader. Furthermore, this chapter also discusses the authors personal interest/motivation behind choosing this particular topic area and the scope of the research. In the next chapter, literature on the research topic is analysed and discussed this: includes opinions of different researchers and authors. CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Introduction The use of intra-organisational information by employees is widely recognized as an essential part of knowledge sharing within organisations. This way of sharing knowledge helps an organisation to tackle supporting operational and strategic corporate decision makers within the organisation. Intranet technology has proven to be one of the effective ways of accessing and disseminating data or knowledge available within the organisation (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998). The main problem that an organisation faces is the decision-making capability. Managers who are responsible for decision making within a project lifecycle are unable to make appropriate decisions due to the required data not being available. Due to large amounts of data that are available within the organisation, organisations are striving hard to find appropriate tools and techniques to manage their knowledge. Although, techniques such as data warehousing and digital libraries are implemented within the organisation, but these services are limited to a certain range. In order to manage these kinds of situations within an organisation, better solutions are evaluated and the term Intranet evolved (Tan, et. al., 2003). Expertise has identified services offered by the Intranet, some of these services that can be utilized are: alternative approach of managing dispersed enterprise data and decision support services. Intranet usage integrates individual, group, departmental, corporate communication and information sharing tasks together and provides a solution or option for each and every individual who uses it. Organisations have developed in terms of managing data available within their departments, sharing of knowledge within their departments, communication within company employees and sharing of knowledge are available for decision making was found to be improved (Lai and Mahapatra, 1998). Intranets can develop the collaboration among employees who are working for an organisation by creating networks of share spaces which are developed based on common understanding. Employees of an organisation can use this service as a medium to share available knowledge and expertise amongst each other. They have the opportunity to interact with their team and share their advice on work carried out. Though the main use of the Intranet in an organisation was meant to be for data sharing, but the extra features with the use of Intranet in organisations made it popular and these services are widely used in organisation irrespective of their market area (Khasnabish and Saracco, 1997). Strategic engagements that are held by an organisation have seen a new topic that has emerged in the knowledge based view of an organisation. This provides us with a theoretical basis on how a knowledge based resource plays a vital role in increasing the sustainable competitiveness of the firm. It also provides us with a clearer picture of how changes could be brought about to ensure no hassle in the process of knowledge management (Hoegl and Schulze, 2005). If an organisation constantly checks on its resources and promotes knowledge based perspective that postulates a competitive advantage and also builds on the privately developed resources, then tacit and explicit knowledge in an organisation will exist. At the same time, the knowledge based view or perception of an organisation assumes that the present knowledge assets exist at any time provided a valid opportunity for sustainable competitive advantage (Kebede, 2010). The use of previously existing assets along with the creation, accumulation and sharing the new assets amongst the other individuals would happen in an easier way by employing Information Technology and an Information System (IS) in that particular organisation, this is considered here. In an organisational view, it can be explained in a convincing manner the reason why a certain number of organisations or firms are more competitive under the prevailing market conditions (Kebede, 2010). Knowledge assets pertaining to a particular organisation are all dependent upon the quality of organisational knowledge and also the intangible assets of the organisation in general. This generally depends on the methods that are used to store the knowledge within the organisational limits and the extent of its usage within its employees. There is a serious need for metrics and statistics to justify all knowledge management initiatives that are taken up on priority within an organisation. Taking the knowledge management process a step forward would help senior management to justify and also help them improve their ability to manage the knowledge assets in a better manner. The benefits that are extracted from the knowledge management are all intangible and there is one method of measurement called the Balanced Scorecard. This would take both the perspectives like Financial and also the others (e.g. customers or internal business processes, innovation and learning etc.) (Liebowitz and Megbolugbe, 2003). However it is not a justifiable fact to relate knowledge management initiatives to performance. One cannot relate knowledge management with performance in every situation within organisational life, There is a need to have a superior metrics system to assess knowledge management performance, with also the ability to clear it; and also at the same time it also suggests futuristic and strategic actions for an organisation to take up. This not just keeps the work organised, but also improves the performance for the knowledge management process. 2.1 KM Studies The discussion that is taken up in previous sections of this dissertation briefly highlights that knowledge management is built on multiple disciplines such as management, computer science and information systems theory. It also has been reviewed in previous knowledge management literature at the start and the same are summarized in Table 1 below by Lee et. al., (2005). Table 1: KM studies, (Lee et. al., 2005) There are few prior Knowledge Management studies that relates with the Managerial and the Social issues. These issues have brought about the needed change and also brought about the necessary importance into place on specific processes and activities within knowledge management such as the knowledge acquisition, generation, storage, distribution, application and also its measurement (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). On the same grounds, the research agenda and also the general perspective of knowledge management based on the literature review are all addressed with the priorities that were set for them without any deviations. There are few points that have taken the managerial perspective and have requested the reasons as to how a ‘learning organisation could obtain sustainable competitive advantage. Work needs to be conducted within the organisation to develop the same knowledge as there would not be any single individual in an organisation who has all the required knowledge. It is not predictable when an individual working with any certain organisation would choose to leave it, for the offer of a better poosition. Hence relying on a single individual for his knowledge could lead to very drastic effects. The way or the process within which the knowledge has been acquired and the way it is assembled and restructured particularly provides a definite competitive advantage for an organisation. As per the scholar Kebede (2010) states, the process of learning was the only sustainable competitive advantage and there has been a single learning situation that is resulted in organisational knowledge (or memory). Corporate memory has a remarkable effect on the present decisions that are taken and also plays a vital role in the success of an organisations operations and the responses to the changes and challenges. There are numerous attempts that are made and numerous methodologies that were put in place to improve and revive the present learnings and learning capabilities of the individual employees in an organisation, this helps an organisation become a ‘learning system (Kingston and Macintosh, 2000). In the process of improving an organisations learning capabilities, there were problems that were identified at various stages of the process by a considerable number of scholars. These identified reasons and issues were then studied to give a better environment to resolve the same. There are also studies that mentioned the relationship of role of Information Technology in Knowledge Management (Lee and Kim, 2001) (Kingston and Macintosh, 2000). There is a general consideration that a Knowledge Management System (KMS) is a specialized Information System for knowledge management using the latest available technologies (e.g. the Internet, Intranet, data warehouses, software agents) to synchronize, facilitate and also to expedite organisation wide knowledge management. Knowledge Management System research primarily consists of general and also conceptual principles, case studies, scenarios and thesis of such systems of a few organisations. A study by Lee and Kim (2001) states that how a KMS can enhance the effectiveness of the teams that sit and analyse the complex, non-recurring problems by improving all the trouble some areas and also improving the way these teams compositions evolve. Knowledge mining would be the synonymous phrase that could be used as like Data mining. Using this we would be able to see our self in a situation where you can provide the right information to the right persons at the right time (Kingston and M acintosh, 2000). The strategic use of the Internet for all such knowledge management activities is well dealt with in lot of activities. There has been a point that was mentioned regarding the usage of the Internet and Intranet in developing the distributed Knowledge Management systems by (Goodman, 2006). XML (Extensible Markup Language) was developed to transport and store data, this is considered as an ideal tool for knowledge retrieval and for use in knowledge management. 2.2 Impact of the Intranet on Organisations Intranet services are growing rapidly within every possible sector of business due to its wide range of benefits. Some of the impacts where Intranet has changed the business strategy are listed below: It is less expensive to implement as it runs inside the organisations network. Excellent performance enhancement can be achieved because of limited user access Employee performance is increased due to availability of necessary resources and advices due to better communication with their expertise. Effective communication amongst the employees Efficient knowledge sharing process within different departments of an organisation Helps to maintain effective customer relationship Immediate access of data regarding organisational data and documents is possible with the help of Intranet service (Bernard, 1996). 2.3 WEB WEB is known as World Wide Web. It is a hypertext document which can be accessed over the Internet. With the use of these links an individual can actually access almost everything, right from an mp3 (MPEG- Moving Pictures Experts Group) file to video files. Different types of documents and books can be read or downloaded using this process. With the help of this facility an individual can perform some of his daily tasks in a different and a convenient way. The use of the Internet and web technology has changed the entire scenario of database management within an organisation on any given day. Due to the popularity of the web, a newer version of World Wide Web is launched and named it as the second version of it. With the help of web 2.0 one can experience a user friendly approach while accessing the Internet. The quality of web pages that are available is different and more exciting when compared to earlier version of web (W3c, 2010). 2.4 Knowledge Management Knowledge management in general tries to organise and make available important information like the know-how, wherever and whenever it is actually needed. This includes processes, procedures, patents, reference works, formulas, best practices, forecasts, fixes and the like (Maglitta, 1996). This process is not only used for managing organisations knowledge base but also looks for the proper management of the same. Utilization of this knowledge within the organisation at right time and at the right place is also ensured as a part of its activities. Success of an organisation depends less on developed products and more on the appropriate utilization of available information, appropriate sharing of information when needed. Thus knowledge management plays a vital and a key role for all these years and it will be change the future of managing the knowledge within an organisation as well (Kebede, 2010). 2.4.1 Types of Knowledge Mainly there are of two types of knowledge that is available for the individuals of an organisation and they are: Explicit Knowledge: This knowledge can be expressed in terms of specific language and is normally expressed in terms of data or formulae. The information obtained can be stored within the Organisational premises easily and reused whenever there is any need for it. Tacit Knowledge This type of knowledge is completely opposite to explicit knowledge. Knowledge is more personal and cannot be stored. It ‘indwells in a comprehensive cognizance of the human mind and body (Kebede, 2010). In simpler words, this type of knowledge is held within an individual and is not available for any other individuals of the organisation. This kind of knowledge in an individual builds a dependency on him and then the works would actually finish in a slower and un-organised manner. 2.4.2 Benefits of KM Implementation in Organisations One can expect an interactive environment around the organisation where people strive for knowledge and also to show their skills, some benefits of KM implementation are listed below: Provide new ways to collaborate. Boosts up productivity. Leads to innovation within the organisation. Overall profitability. Motivation and encouragement within employees. Reusability of resources (Dalkir, 2005). 2.4.3 What are Knowledge Based Systems? Human-centred would be an apt definition for a Knowledge Based System. Knowledge Based Systems derive their roots from the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and there are evident attempts from scholars to understand and also to imitate human knowledge in Computer systems. In whatever way we see, a Knowledge Based System falls short of the human intellect and the human touch. The system lacks creative powers like reproducing the same knowledge and also the learning capabilities are relatively primitive (Dreyfus, 1986). Compared to a human as such, there is no comparison with the Knowledge Based System. There is a wonderfully acknowledged fact that the intelligence of a Artificially Intelligent System is quite different from human intelligence. There are a second set of definitions that are defined and which only looks for the characteristics in the architecture of a Knowledge Based System. In such a way of defining a Knowledge Based System, it mainly categorizes four components namely: Knowledge base Inference Engine Knowledge engineering tool A specific user interface and is often natural language based (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007) The core of a Knowledge Based System is defined by the first two components namely the Knowledge Base and the Inference Engine wherein the former one is an active collection of ‘formal knowledge or an active database with lots of ‘formal knowledge, its primary purpose being how that data may be used in Practical life. The latter part, inference engine on the other hand defines the ways in which the knowledge base can be put to use to help resolve the situations at hand for an organisation (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007). The remaining two factors are just the added supplements for the Knowledge base and the Inference engine as these offer instruments for filling the Knowledge base with knowledge and act as a dedicated user interface for the user to understand and view the knowledge. Characteristically a Knowledge Based System user interface has to provide the basic know how and should also question itself letting the system explain its behaviour when the system deals with any particular problem. Definitions of a Knowledge Based System that are defined on the basis of architectural peculiarities are not at all satisfactory as compared to the definitions that are defined on the basis of human intelligence, there is an obvious resistance in the way they actually work with such definitions also (Akerkar and Sajja, 2009). The difference in the definitions could be seen when we consider a system based on neural nets and there are no separating aspects of a knowledge base, inference engine. There would hardly be any difference between the knowledge base and an inference engine in such cases where neural nets are considered for a system. Such definitions take the wrong meaning historical form chosen in several Knowledge Based Systems for the hallmarks of such systems. There is also a third set of definition that is given to a Knowledge Based System to indicate all the organisational IT applications that prove helpful and needful for managing the knowledge assets within an organisation. Few examples for such kinds of Knowledge Based Systems could be expert systems, groupware, data warehouses or even the Intranet. The mentioned applications in an organisation provide the individuals all the information that is needed to them to help them in all their day-to-day activities. These definitions are flatly rejected as these lead to the erosion of the meaning of the term Knowledge-based system. Knowledge Based System in our view is not just any IT system that is used to deal with the Knowledge that is present with an organisation (Leondes, 2000). The definition of a Knowledge Based System that provides the most satisfactory organisation-centred viewpoint comes when we focus on the â€Å"Knowledge Modelling†. Key activity in building a Knowledge Based System in that case is to find a formal model that allows the description of knowledge at a conceptual level or at the knowledge level itself, aiming at uncovering the basic schema linking the central concepts of a given domain in a particular organisation (Akerkar and Lingras, 2008). The best suited examples of formalisms for the knowledge representation are the production rules, predicate logic, frames, neural nets and objects. The definition of a Knowledge Based System as an outcome of the knowledge modelling process is very useful and it actually does not direct any discussions pertaining to the organisational values of it to the characteristics of the technology as such. The actual goals of knowledge modelling process could be achieved only by examining the elements of knowledge validly and then has to be described in any of the formalisms for knowledge representation (Ramirez and Antonio, 2007). Given the focus on the process of knowledge modelling not only aids in gaining the best insight into the characteristics of the knowledge, but also guides the discussions concerning the pros and cons of the use of knowledge. It then leads to the identification why or in which aspect of formalisation is not possible or not advisable (for example, it reduces the flexibility or does not do justice to any specific intricacies). The knowledge modelling process thus acts as a vehicle to show and focus thought about the organisational knowledge and also its functionality. The basic aim is to explore that part of the organisational knowledge and how to capture in the formal schemata, and to describe the benefits and the pitfalls that are implied. There are associated benefits of having a Knowledge Based System in place in an organisation. These act as a way to retain the knowledge even after an individual who has created/compiled it has opted out of the organisation or in their absence. These systems could be used for the new comers in their on-job training purposes to fetch whatever the details that are needed of them. There is a consistent way to improve the decision making process and also helps in increasing the availability of the needed expertise. They provide the building blocks or the Corporate Memory and also promotes of knowledge sharing etc. If the knowledge is well documented under KBS, the sole repository for all such information and knowledge then there wouldnt be any potential rivalry between these two. If there is any discrepancy then the risks that have to be incurred is not imaginary also (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Then those would not be considered the failure of a KBS installation but would unnecessary a nd undesirable side effects of a successful KBS implementation. Stating to the earlier point, these mainly derive from the fact that KBS totally depends on the determining and storing of the knowledge at a given point of time. It would be very tough and would be next to impossible to assess all the critical empirical assessments of the harm that a KBS may cause to an organisation. Considering such a point, there would be a definite negative impact on Job satisfaction and also on the labour quality. Once a KBS is implemented in an organisation, there should be an established value that has to be assigned to the same. The friendliness and the rivalry that exists between the KBS and the knowledge that is with held in the hands of an organisation are like the two poles of a continuum. The whole responsibility of having the data be accessible over the Internet/Intranet for all the individuals of an organisation is solely taken up by the organisation. The main area that is concentrated here in this discussion would be the organisational value of KBS, its assessment, and the effective know how process. There should be a proper and a systematic way to respond to all the questions that could be raised on the three issues (Akerkar and Lingras, 2008). Firstly there should be an assessment of the role and the value of the knowledge of the organisation; the measures of their activation. Only after this is done, there would be a proper understanding of the things that are to happen at a later stage in an organisation. Knowledge management is the whole process of considering and implementing measures that would be dealing with the organisational knowledge. There is always a need to have a suitable definition of this concept. Secondly, the provided definition for a KBS has to be appropriate to the context of investigation of the organisational aspects of knowledge. The relationship between the knowledge management and Knowledge Based Systems has to be established and the same should stand on sound grounds. If there are any mismatches found in the definitions, it would affect drastically on both the knowledge and the method through which the knowledge management is achieved. Thirdly, with a proper assessment of the value of a KBS, it needs a careful description of how a KBS relates to the other aspects of an organisation and the disposition of its knowledge. There is also a question that remains unanswered that is the earning that a KBS can obtain the tools that are used for knowledge management. To do all this, there is a particular framework that has to be presented. 2.5 Management of Knowledge There is a certain need for every organisation to crave for more knowledge than what is acquired by an organisation as it has to survive the competition that exists in the market. Every individual that is linked with any process of an organisation, they have to perform their day-to-day activities and routines; it may even add value to the work that an individual does. The knowledge that is acquired or retained within the organisational limits could be put into use by all the individuals in their day-to-day work. The knowledge that is already retained by an organisation has to be used in all the present scenarios and at the same time there are to be ardent efforts to create new knowledge or information are the only two core areas of concern for any organisation that is considered for this research study (Frappaolo, 2006). The knowledge that is acquired and maintained within an organisation should be relevant to the work that an individual works on and the same differs or changes over the time without any doubts. An organisation maintaining the