Dreaming in the 1960s essays

Dreaming in the 1960s essays In 1962, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said his most famous words: "I have a dream." He was not the only one who felt this way. For many, the 1960s was a decade in which their dreams about America might be fulfilled. For Martin Luther King Jr., this was a dream of a truly equal America; for John F. Kennedy, it was a dream of a young vigorous nation that would put a man on the moon; and for the hippy movement, it was one of love, peace, and freedom. The 1960s was a tumultuous decade of social and political upheaval. We are still confronting many social issues that were addressed in the 1960s today. In spite of the turmoil, there were some positive results, such as the civil rights revolution. However, many outcomes were negative: student antiwar protest movements, political assassinations, and ghetto riots excited American people and resulted in a lack of respect for authority and the law. The first president during the 1960s was John F. Kennedy. He was young, appealing, and had a carefully crafted public image that barely won him the election. Because former President Eisenhower supported the Republican nominee, Richard Nixon, and because many had doubts about Kennedy's youth and Catholic religion, Kennedy only received three-tenths of one percent more of the popular vote than Nixon. The first thing Kennedy did during his brief presidency was to try to restore the nation's economy. Economic growth was slow in 1961 when Kennedy entered the White house. The President initiated a series of tariff negotiations to stimulate exports and proposed a federal tax cut to help the economy internally. John F. Kennedy was known as one of the few presidents in history who made his own personality a significant part of his presidency and a focus of national attention. Nothing illustrated this more clearly than the reaction to the tragedy of November 22, 1963. Kennedy was driving through the streets of Dallas. The streets were...

Define and Explain Revolution in Astronomy

Define and Explain Revolution in Astronomy Revolution is an important concept to understand when youre studying the stars. It refers to the movement of a planet around the Sun. All of the planets in our solar system revolve around the sun. The path of the earth around the sun which is one complete cycle of an orbit is approximately 365.2425 days in length. Planetary revolution can sometimes be confused with planetary rotation but they are two separate things. Difference Between Revolution and Rotation While revolution and rotation are similar concepts each is used to describe two different things. Planets, like Earth, revolve or travel around the sun. But the Earth is also spinning on what is called an axis, this rotation is what gives us our night and day cycle. If the Earth didnt spin then only one side of it would face the sun during its revolution. This would make the other side of the Earth very cold as we need the sun for light and heat. This ability to spin on an axis is called rotation. What Is a Terrestrial Year? A full revolution of the Earth around the Sun is known as a terrestrial, or earth year. It takes roughly 365 days for the Earth to complete this revolution. This is what our calendar year is based on.  The Gregorian Calendar is based on the revolution of the earth around the sun to be 365.2425 days in length. The inclusion of a leap year, one where we have an extra day happens every four years to account for the .2425. As Earths orbit changes the length of our years changes as well. These types of changes usually happen over millions of years. Does the Moon Revolve Around Earth? The moon orbits, or revolves, around the Earth. Each planet affects the other one. The moon has some interesting effects on the Earth. Its gravitational pull is responsible for the rise and fall of the tides. Some people believe that the full moon, a stage in the moons revolution, causes humans to act strangely. However, there is no scientific proof to back up the claim that strange things happen during the full moon. Does the Moon Rotate? The moon does not rotate because it is gravitationally locked with the Earth. The moon has synched up with the Earth in such a way that the same side of the moon is always facing the earth. This is why the Moon always looks the same. Its known that at one point the moon did rotate on its own axis. As our gravitational pull on the  moon got stronger the moon stopped rotating. What Is a Galactic Year? The time it takes for the solar system to orbit the center of the Milky Way Galaxy is referred to as a galactic year. Its also known as a cosmic year. There are 225 to 250 Million terrestrial (earth) years in one galactic year. Thats a long trip!

Juvenile Justice System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Juvenile Justice System - Essay Example The most important facet of all this is the "best interest of the child" theory that guided the courts lingers in the purpose clauses of juvenile codes throughout the world.4 However, it seems to have failed to address the concerns raised by victims or communities about the juvenile justice system. The therapeutic intervention and punishment models of justice also appear to be incomplete. If these two models coexist in a jurisdiction, they are in constant conflict. However, if either one of these exists by itself, it fails to serve all stakeholders in the system. There are further studies according to the framers of the code that is the balanced consideration of community protection, offender accountability and competency development. This could bring clarity and reason to juvenile system issues. Through this comprehensive philosophy it will deal with every aspect of delinquency, punishment, treatment and prevention. With the concept of these three principles, if fully implemented, it could create a juvenile system that truly operates in the best interest of the child and the community.5 In all the instances when a dual or multi-diagnosis of several problems result, experts recommend that sources of treatment if not available at the moment, should be developed and reflect the developmental needs of juveniles in conflict with the law and are not merely replications of service delivery systems originally designed for adults. According to the recommendations of specialists, useful interventions for juveniles must ensure a close match between risk of re-offending, nature, level, duration of intervention. They must employ practitioners whose teaching approaches correspond to the learning capacities of children and use material tailored for a certain juvenile. It must be community-based and closely connected to the youth's home environment than like an institution. A drawn range of methods must be developed to cover anger management, social skills training and problem solving.6 Furthermore, many practitioners suggest that a continuum of care and a set of protocols must be established to determine who will provide services to the youth. There must be a case manager whose selection will be based

Organization behavior Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organization behavior - Case Study Example This is caused by the fact that people have different attitudes and different motivations in their endeavors. For instance, in this case, it can be argued that the two managers have different attitudes towards people. There are many learning theories such as behaviorism and humanism. Behaviorism for instance argues that people learn based on stimuli. If a person knows that his actions will cost them, they are likely to refrain from these actions. Other theories of learning articulate that individuals learn as a way of making their own knowledge. In the above case, it seems that Susan is a behaviorist and believes that if Don is made to suffer from his actions, he will change his bad behavior. On the other hand, Bob seems to subscribe to humanism as a theory of learning. As such, he believes that if given the right resources, Don will learn in order to meet his needs. Employees expect to be rewarded for their hard work and their contribution to the firm. Sometimes employees can contribute more to the firm than is required by their employment agreement. This is what Jackie has been doing because she has been going beyond her expected outcomes. However, in most cases, when the employees do this, they also expect the employer to go beyond his formal responsibilities when rewarding them. This passive agreement between the employer and the employee is called psychological contract and if one side breaches it, the other will feel demotivated. In this case, Steelfab Corp has failed to honor its side of the psychological contract with Jackie. To remedy this, Steelfab Corp must be able to meet its side of the psychological contract by rewarding her more for the work she is doing. This can be achieved by having a performance-based work environment where employees will be rewarded not based on how close they are to the seniors but in accordance to their con tribution to the firm. Amy should have assigned her a job description with proper roles. This could have

Ethnomedicine Essay Example for Free

Ethnomedicine Essay Since the beginning of man, there have been ailments that have plagued the human race without concern of who it is inflicting or why they occur. These ailments had to have been combated by some sort of medicine by each culture and their remedies must have been plenty. The plethora of different kinds of medicines and remedies to these ailments among the different kinds of cultures is what we, Team Bloodnut, define as ethnomedicine. Many cultures throughout the world practice some form of ethnomedicine. A field of anthropological research, ethnomedicine seeks to describe the medical systems and practices utilized in different cultures. It examines the origins of what people believe cause illness, as well as examine the ways in which individual cultures treat such maladies. Team Bloodnut wanted to discover the healing beliefs and practices held by Amazonian shamans. Through the use of a life history interview, we sought to understand the traditions held by a people through the experiences of a man working with a former shaman of the tribe. Team Bloodnut formed a hypothesis regarding ethnomedicine in today’s modern world. We hypothesized that the remedies and medicines indigenous cultures use to heal the ill are unorthodox from the stand point of western civilization. Western society will view these remedies as barbarian and a total fallacy. We conducted our research through a life history interview, contacting a filmmaker named Matthew Vincent. Possessing an interest in natural medicines, Vincent spent over half a year living in Peru documenting the experiences of an American Shaman’s journey into the depths of Amazonian Shamanism. Together, they discovered the origins and methods involved in practicing shamanism in relation to this particular cultural group. Matthew trained under the ‘gringo shaman’ Ron Wheelock, learning the techniques and methods required to effectively heal members of the community in which they lived. In order to effectively film his documentary in a realistic manner, Matthew Vincent needed to integrate himself into the rituals, learning their practices and lifestyles. Researching through a life history interview best utilized our information since it enabled us to capture the personal experience of a man submerging himself into such a specific aspect of a community’s life. Our group set out to understand the origins of Amazonian shamanism. We wished to learn about the beliefs of the roots of illnesses as well as the methods used to treat them. Ethnomedicine seeks to understand what illnesses mean within a culture and how to remedy these ailments. According to Vincent, shamans believe people contract illnesses due to a variety of reasons. Culturally, the soul brings balance to the physical body and makes it strong. If presumed damaged or corrupt by devious spirits, souls must undergo ritualistic healing in order to return to a healthy state. Physical illness is thought to be a manifestation of corruption within the soul. In order to correct this corruption, patients go through a mixture of ritualistic songs, plant gnosis, and trances. Shamans utilize trances in order to enter different states of consciousness, allowing them to interact with souls and spirits to perform healing to the soul and bring the spirits back to the sick physical body. One extremely common way to remedy an ailment in Amazonian Shamanism is through the use of ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is an extremely hallucinogenic vine used in brews that are consumed by the Shaman along with the patient so the Shaman can conjure the spirits of the plants used in the brew to foresee any future ailments, cure any immediate ones, and try to prevent any others from manifesting themselves within the patient’s body and or soul. The ayahuasca brew can take any time from a couple of hours to brew, all the way to up to two days, being cooked three times. Wheelock told Vincent that he has treated people who have visited a psychiatrist for over a year and with one ayahuasca ceremony, the patient feels more rejuvenated and alive than ever before. Ayahuasca can also be used for other uses as well, depending on the ingredients used in the brew. For example, if brewed with shapishico, moonshine, and rainwater, and left to sit together for about nine days, this brew acts as an extremely potent aphrodisiac. Shamans are not only medicine men, but spiritual guides. Shamans can choose from two different paths when immersing themselves in their practices. They can choose to be curandero or a brujo. A curandero is a healer. He is the medicine man that can heal physical and psychological ailments that one might have. He does this through plant gnosis and conjuring the spirits of the plants to help cure the patient. A brujo, on the other hand, focuses on the dark arts of Shamanism, although he can also heal. In a Shamans training, they are visited by spirits and are given magical darts. These magical darts are a brujo’s weapon of choice when it comes to causing harm or kill another. He can use those towards anybody in the world as long as he has their name, a mental image of the person, a picture, or some sort of memorabilia that depicts who their target is. A curandero will only use these magical darts, usually, to defend himself. When a curandero sends a magical dart to a brujo, it’s usually with the intention to kill him. After conducting our life history interview, Team Bloodnut came to a conclusion on our hypothesis. We concluded that our hypothesis was correct regarding the differences between western medicines and Amazonian Shamanistic medicines. Western medicines include all of the technologies, modern medicines, and commodities that these indigenous cultures do not have access to; therefore we are much more technologically advanced. These countries are at a disadvantage when it comes to the commodities and technologies but that doesn’t mean that the quality is any less. These medicine men spend most of their lives learning how to conjure and interact with these spirits of nature so that they can heal in their favor. The way in which they do so shouldn’t be frowned upon. If these Shamans have found ways to cure, not just treat these illnesses and ailments, then why haven’t we, Western Civilization, adopted these methods? Is it the fear or the skepticism of failure? We think that it’s not so simple. We believe that the reason for these medicines not being accepted into our country is simply so the government won’t lose money and control. Wheelock cured a patient that had been visiting a shrink for over a year. In that time how much money did that psychiatrist earn? From that income how much did the government take from the psychiatrist in taxes? This is only for one person, too. Some people spend half of their lives, if not longer visiting some kind of medical practitioner or some form of psychedelic help. There will never be a shortage of sick people, so if they are simply just cured with a couple of ayahuasca ceremonies, that’s a pretty significant chunk out of the United States’ money supply. Not only is it a monetary issue, but also a control issue. If these practices were administered in the United States, people would gain insight and enlightenment to its effects. There is a chemical in ayahuasca that is an intense psychedelic. Dimethyltryptamine is the psychedelic in the ayahuasca that puts the body in the state in which it can be visited by manifesting spirits of the vine. If this psychedelic were to fall into the wrong hands, it could be very harmful to not only to America’s economy, but also to the ones who abuse it. Ergo, ethnomedicine is a sensitive subject because it is not only a way to treat people within a certain country or tribe, but it is also the way of life and the way generations upon generations have practiced these remedies. Just because different cultures do things differently, it doesn’t mean that one way is right and the other is wrong. If we, as a species and inhabitants of this Earth, all worked together and shared our practices with each other in the field of medicine, maybe we could find cures, not just treatments to malignant diseases such as cancer. Ayahuasca ceremonies are not just a ritual to heal patients that come to Shamans, but also a lifestyle.

The Role of Language in Shakespeares Play The Tempest Essay -- The Te

The Role of Language in Shakespeare's Play The Tempest 1 The role of language in Shakespeare’s play â€Å"The Tempest† is quite significant. To Miranda and Prospero the use of language is a means to knowing oneself. Caliban does not view language in the same light. Prospero taught Caliban to speak, but instead of creating the feeling of empowerment from language, Caliban reacts in insurrectionary manner. Language reminds him how different he is from Miranda and Prospero, and also how they have changed him. It also reminds him of how he was when he wasn’t a slave. He resents Prospero for â€Å"Civilising† him, because in doing so he took away his freedom. Language and knowledge is the key to power on the island. Prospero is a well educated man, and has many books, which gives him his magical power. Prospero rules the island and has many creatures under his command. He possesses so much power that he can even cause weather to change and indirectly the fate of the people who were shipwrecked on the island. William Sherman has the opinion â€Å"Knowledge was magical, and sometimes even entailed magic. But the attacks on libraries, the condemnations for conjuring, and the polemical complaints betray a deeper and more significant phenomenon: there were in early modern England dramatic uncertainties about the power of information and those who possessed it. (Cited in Jardine 1996: 105) Throughout the whole play there is evidence of power, someone in possession of it and another subordinate to the person with the power. Mostly this happens in the scenes with prospero, as he is almost an omniscient and omnipotent character, with god-like qualities. He has the means to change many things not possible for humans, because of his magic and his power over magical creatures such as Ariel. Caliban also does the will of Prospero; But, as ‘tis, We cannot miss him: he does make our fire, Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices That profit us. What, ho! Slave! Caliban! (I.ii.351-53) The shipwrecked people also play into Prospero’s hand, but they don’t even realize this. Even Miranda is dutiful to her father, and does what he says with little complaint. There is a hierarchy on the island, with Prospero on top of the list. Lorie Jerrell Leininger writes in her article â€Å"Miranda is given to understand that she is the foot in the family ... ...epresents every person that has been colonized by Europe, and their attempt to civilize the savages. Their method of civilizing and to maintain a firm grip on their savage labourers was language. It was their means to communicate and control the people who they didn’t consider as themselves and a means to discriminate against it. This is reason why Caliban resists and rebels against Prospero and disparage the language he has been taught. To him it is the loss of freedom and the agency through which he is being discriminated against. References: Knight,G.Wilson. â€Å"The Shakespearean Superman: An essay on The Tempest.† The Crown of life: Essays in Interpretation of Shakespeare’s Final Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947. 203-255 Leininger, Lorie Jerrel. â€Å"The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare’s Tempest.† The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Eds Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. 285-294 Smith, Ian. "When we were capital, or lessons in language: Finding Caliban's roots." Shakespeare Studies 28 (2000): 252-256 Tomlinson, Gary. "The matter of sounds." Shakespeare Studies 28(2000):236-239

Celiac Disease Paper

Celiac Disease Unit 4: Assign 2- Disorders Affecting the Immune System April 9, 2013 Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder. It affects the small intestine in the person’s body. It can affect people who have been linked genetically or pre-disposed from infancy to adulthood (www. mayoclinic. com). This disease can be asymptomatic. Which means that the person can be a carrier of this disease and pass it on to their children. The carrier would not have any symptoms of this disease or even know they are a carrier.Celiac disease can affect 1 in 105 people in the United States (www. webmd. com). Celiac disease is caused by a reaction to gliadin, or a gluten protein. The gluten protein is found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats. When the person affected with this disease is exposed or ingests the gluten protein, their immune system has an inflammatory reaction in the small bowel. The inflammatory reaction can be an acute or chronic response within the bowel tissue. The inflammation i n the small bowel blocks the person’s ability to absorb vital nutrients from their food (www. ebmd. com). Signs and symptoms of Celiac disease can range from mild to severe. Diarrhea is the most common symptom of this disease. Abdominal pain, bloating, cramping, and distention of the abdominal wall from gas are also other signs/symptoms of Celiac disease. The blocking or malabsorptio of nutrients such as Calcium and Vitamin D can lead to weight loss, fatigue, and anemia. The person can then get mouth ulcerations as well, and become lactose intolerant.As the disease continues to progress it can cause more damage and it puts the person at risk for small intestine cancer (adenocarcinoma) or Lymphoma. If left untreated Celiac disease can also lead to more complications within the affected person. Some of the complications they would experience are, ulcerations and strictures in the bowel (www. webmd. com). The only affective treatment for Celiac disease is a lifelong goal of diet change. Once diagnosis has been confirmed gluten must be completely removed from the person’s diet.Certain diets that are gluten free will need to be followed to prevent inflammation. Depending on the extent of the damage done, or the stage of progression there may need to be more strict changes to follow. There are websites and support groups to help people become educated with the steps necessary to prevent further flare ups from this condition. The first step to becoming aware of this disease is to be seen by your physician if you are having any of the above signs and symptoms (www. csaceliacs. com). www. mayoclinic. com,2013. www. webmd. com,2013.

Conflict Analysis in Bend It Like Beckham Essay

What you want and what your parents will accept is a common disagreement in most households these days. In the movie ‘Bend it like Beckham’ they showed the conflict between Jess between and her parents. The conflict was how they feel and what they want for her, how Jess sees the situation and how it is resolved. Throughout the movie Jess is constantly pulled in different directions for what she wants and what her parents and culture expect from the Indian girl Jess. Jess’s dreams are more important to her then her culture. They are more important to her because they are who she is as a person. Jess does not want to be the traditional Indian girl her parents want her to be. Jess wants more from her life then the day-to-day life of the traditional Indian girl. Jess decides that instead of following the traditional path of the Indian girl life style she goes off on a limb and decides to play soccer. Despite what her parents want from their little girl, she wants to be free and chase her dreams. Jess’s passion for soccer trumped her feelings for her culture that she was willing to bend all the rules to do what she loved to do, and that was to play soccer. Her parents are her major downfall. Jess’s father worried about Jess playing soccer in fear that she will get hurt just like he did when he wanted to play cricket. Her father was treated differently because of the way he looked. In the movie her father talked about how they made fun of the towel he wore on his head and was not allowed to play on any of the teams. Her father is afraid that she will be disappointed and end up just like he did. Jess’s mother seems to be caught up way more then her father in this soccer situation. Her mother does not agree with Jess playing soccer at all. Jess’s mother thinks that she should be spending all her time cooking and trying to be a traditional Indian girl. For example when her mother talks about running around outside playing soccer with a bunch of guys with her legs showing she says â€Å"you bring shame to our family!† Jess’s mother says this because it is against their cultural beliefs. The conflict is present due to many reasons. Jess loves to play soccer, but also respects and loves her family and culture. She is drawn to decide to keep her soccer life hidden from her family. She does not want to keep it a secret because everyone believes she is amazing at soccer, but she does not want to disappoint her parents. Jess tries so hard to meet her mother and father’s expectations to avoid disappointment. The fact of the matter is that Jess loves soccer and is not willing to give it up just for some silly tradition. This story shows us that if you are always trying to please your parents you are going to not be happy were you are in life. It is always important to follow your dreams. When different cultures come together it can be difficult to combine them both without losing original cultural values. Bend it like Beckham shows it is possible to incorporate the values of another culture into Jess’s lifestyle while still maintaining her cultural identity. It also shows that regardless of what culture a person is, there are always challenges that you must overcome in order to be who you want to be.

Marketing and Samsung Electronics Samsung Essays

Marketing and Samsung Electronics Samsung Essays Marketing and Samsung Electronics Samsung Essay Marketing and Samsung Electronics Samsung Essay Planning Dream Home road shows. Expanding its sales network. Revamping sales infrastructure. Samsung Marketing Academy  ± set up to train renting sales force and shop demonstrators. Core value: Approach market through technology and design leadership. Launching hi-tech and contemporary products with hazel and speed. Target is not only number driven but also about acquiring and retaining customers. Created a Unique Brand Image for itself as a high end value driven brand. The Samsung Marketing Academy Approach market through technology and design leadership: a slow process. Not targeting the mass market Not spreading the brand all over India OPPORTUNITIES LAG: its slowing down and has not had any product innovation in the last 6-8 months. 6th Indian Mass Market. The high end value driven proposition helps increase the Market Share. Samsung is well known for it product differentiation THREATS Animal Mass Market may De captured Day a rival company, LAG, Oneida, Evidence;etc. The consumer durable industry is not in the best of health. Due to increased price of inputs and continuing price erosion there is downtrend in the consumer durables market. Increased emergence of modern retail chains- a comprehensible as Samsung is investing in building a retail network across the country Any Queries (Everyones invited) THANK YOU

4 Reasons Why Trees Drop Nuts Early

4 Reasons Why Trees Drop Nuts Early Sometimes nut-bearing trees, such as hickory, walnut, and pecan, drop their fruit before full maturity. At times, it can be a natural shedding of a portion of the nut crop. Other causes can be more problematic, including adverse weather conditions, poor tree health, inadequate  pollination, insects, and disease. How Nut Trees Set Fruit Most nut-bearing trees have male pollinators and female flowers, both called catkins. Female flowers produce nuts during the current seasons growth and have to survive through that years growth before the crop of nuts is set. Not all flowers on a tree will produce a nut each year; in fact, they may alternate years.   There can be several natural nut drops between mid-Mays pollination through the end of Augusts fruit set, and they can be minimized by proper tree fertilization. For example, if a tree wasnt adequately pollinated or didnt have enough potassium to set good fruit, there will be nuts that may be malformed with few seeds inside (fruits on the tree grow but embryos inside dont develop). The tree will drop this fruit early because its not biologically sufficient for the trees reproduction. The tree will concentrate its energy on growing fruits that are going to set good seeds. A Trees Physical Condition Poor tree health can cause premature dropping of nuts. A trees health is often compromised because of inadequate nutrient uptake, which is most evident during drought. Insect and disease infestations increase during these times of tree stress and can further degrade a trees condition, especially if trees are growing in poor soil. Any early defoliation will cause nut drop and low-quality fruit. Water and fertilize your tree adequately to make sure it has the proper nutrients to set and grow its fruits. Weather Influence on a Trees Nut Crop Excessive rain or frost during late spring/early summer pollination will cause inadequate pollination of female flowers. Those poorly-pollinated flowers may produce a nut that will drop early or produce no nut at all. Sometimes, male pollen can mature either before or after the female flower is receptive, and this condition is usually weather-related. An extended drought during nut growth may also result in the dropping of tree nuts, particularly if the plant is in sandy soil that dries out quickly. Thats a resource competition drop, or a so-called June drop, as the tree is concentrating its energy on the number of nuts it can support.   Mechanical injury to leaves, flowers, and nuts from hail and wind may cause premature dropping as well. Insects and Diseases of Nut Trees Early pecan scab infection of young nuts will cause nuts to drop and is a major cause of pecan crop failure. Black walnut is highly vulnerable to anthracnose, and the disease is of much concern in commercial orchards. Leaf diseases in nut trees such as scab, scorch, mildew, blotch, brown spot, and downy or vein spot may also cause nut shedding. The pecan nut casebearer probably causes more nut shedding than all other insects combined in pecan orchards. Codling moth causes significant premature nut drop in black walnut groves. Other insects, such as black aphids, walnut caterpillar, shuckworms, stink bugs, and pecan weevils may cause early nut dropping. Avoid using pesticides during flowering, as chemicals can kill beneficial insects and result in inadequate pollination.

RUSSIAS'S GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS Term Paper

RUSSIAS'S GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS - Term Paper Example ts to demonstrate how political corruption impacts the judiciary and individual human rights in a transitioning state by drawing on the details of the Yukos company trials. Gorbachev’s new Russian economy gave way to several conglomerates known as the Financial-Industrial Groups (FIGs).4 The FIGs were engaged in the privatizing the Soviet Union’s economy.5 The Menatep Group, founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky was one of these business conglomerates.6 By the middle of the 1990s the Russian government made a decision to divest itself of its holdings in Yukos, an oil production company.7 Menatep obtained government approval for the purchase of Yukos and together with a number of commercial banks, individuals and companies placed a bid for 78 percent of Yokus’ shares.8 As a result of these efforts, Group Menatep which was controlled by Khodorkovsky was able to acquire Yukos for a sum equivalent to US$300M.9 By 1997, Menatep owned approximately 85 percent of Yukos’ share holdings.10 By the year 2001, Yukos had earned its place among the echelons of Russian oil industries as a giant, and was similarly recognized globally as a one of the world’s top private oil companies.11 With Mikhail Khodorkovsky at the helm, Yukos established a reputation for best global practices which included elements of transparency, efficiency, performance, valuable shareholdings and sound corporate governance.12 Political changes were taking place that would ultimately have a role to play in the Yukos trials that followed. When Vladamir Putin took office as Russia’s president successor to Boris Yeltsin, the colour of government-commercial relations would shift somewhat. Those changes would be reflected in Putin’s desire to restore the state’s power, despite his public manifestations of support for democratic evolution.13 Ultimately, Putin was predisposed to the adaptation of twin policies, the revival of the Russian economy and the strengthening of state power.14